The Stooges classic 'Raw Power' was released on the seventh of February 1973. The game-changer. In 1997 Iggy Pop remixed the album, making it sound like a war of noise and aggression.

Some said there was no need to overhaul the original Bowie mix of this incendiary album, after all, it was that which caused such a huge influence on Punk in the 70s. Probably Pop did do a remix at the request of CBS, more than likely to stop anyone else from doing it.

'Raw Power' is a beautiful album of destruction.

Recorded in the autumn of '72 in London, with a new guitarist in James Williamson. He brought the extra cutting guitar licks into all this. When a suitable rhythm section could not be found, the Asheton brothers were brought back into the frame. Ron, being the original guitarist and core songwriter for the first two Stooges albums, this time switched to bass and the line-up was complete.

Pop produced and mixed the original sessions, but Bowie took the masters to remix them again. Several of the tracks were remixed in one day, another reason why Iggy may have felt in 1997 that he wanted to leave his stamp on it. Willamson and the late Ron Asheton had both publicly stated they preferred Bowie's mix of the album.

All this talk of remixes, does it really make a difference? In this case yes! On Iggy Pop's version, there is a lot more distortion in the mix, especially on the guitar lines, probably down to Pop keeping all the levels in the red and turning them up full for the remix. The noticeable difference is that the Asheton brothers are much more prevalent in the mix, unlike before. Ron proved he was handy enough with the bass, this seems closer to Pop's original vision for the album. Feedback and distortion over the loud mixes are the hallmark of Iggy Pop and The Stooges.

Ironically it was Bowie who pushed to get Pop back on the scene in the early 70s, due to Iggys spiralling heroin problem. What happened with the two gentlemen and their relocation to Berlin in the years that followed makes that effort by Bowie seem a slight contradiction.

Distortion and feedback and talk of remixes to one side, it is Iggy Pop at his finest. His vocal delivery is faultless, snarling, convincing and perhaps his best, from the 'Search And Destroy' opening line:

"I'm a streetwalking cheetah with a heart full of napalm

I'm a runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb"

to the closer -‘Death Trip', all is remarkably well delivered, like the collision of two nuclear warheads.

The argument will always be there surrounding this album. Which is the better version, the true version? That is whichever you personally like the most. The argument is there for both sides, but don't turn the attention away from the fine album it is and what it did for punk- rock, not only in the 70s but in general.

Raw Power (1973 LP Tracklist)

DISCOGS

[KB+FG]

Released on February 6, 2001, 604 is the debut studio album by Ladytron, a British electronic band known for blending Synth-pop, Electroclash, and New Wave influences. The album showcases Ladytron’s signature mix of cold, robotic synth melodies and enigmatic, detached vocals, making it a defining release in the early 2000s electronic music scene.

604 is heavily influenced by 1980s Synth-pop, Krautrock, and Minimal Wave, drawing comparisons to Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, and early Human League. The album’s retro-futuristic aesthetic is enhanced by its use of vintage analog synthesizers, pulsing drum machines, and icy vocal delivery from Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo. Lyrically, 604 explores themes of technology, modern alienation, and dystopian fantasies, often presented with an ironic or playful edge.

Among the standout tracks, “Playgirl” became Ladytron’s first breakthrough hit, a hypnotic, synth-driven track with a melancholic yet danceable groove. “Discotraxx” features a pulsing bassline and detached vocal harmonies, while “The Way That I Found You” exudes an eerie, cinematic atmosphere. Songs like “He Took Her to a Movie” and “Commodore Rock” emphasize Ladytron’s minimalist yet infectious approach to songwriting.

Critically, 604 was praised for its sleek production, nostalgic synth aesthetics, and futuristic vision, earning the band a loyal following in the Electroclash movement. It laid the groundwork for Ladytron’s later success, influencing synth-driven indie and electronic acts that followed.

As a debut, 604 remains an essential record in modern Synth-pop, celebrated for its cool, robotic charm and vintage electronic textures that still resonate today.

DISCOGS

On February 6th, 1982 the Kraftwerk single ‘The Model’, originally released in Germany already in 1978 as 7” single ‘Das Model’, reached the Top 1 of the UK Singles Chart.

Even-though the band initially added the English sung version as only a b-side on their new single ‘Computer Love’ in 1981, DJ’s and the radio audience seemed to prefer this b-side instead of the a-side. After Capitol Records/EMI noticed the commercial potential they re-released the single almost immediately, this time ‘The Model’ as A-side. Apparently this was decided by Capitol Records/EMI much against the band’s own will. Nevertheless this smart strategy by EMI resulted in ‘The Model’ becoming the number one in the UK single charts on February 6th, 1982. The single managed to hang in the UK top 75 for a total of 21 weeks.

Unable to deny the succes another 7” was released by the band, and its label Kling Klang / EMI Electrola, bearing both versions ‘The Model’ and ‘Das Model’.

Still, in Germany, Das Model, never climbed higher than 7th position in the German Single charts. After one week it descended again, still remaining about 20 weeks in the charts.

Das Model/The Model was written by Karl Bartos and Ralf Hütter and with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics and was the preliminary single for their upcoming and legendary album Die Mensch-Maschine or The Man-Machine.

The Model

She's a model and she's looking good
I'd like to take her home that's understood
She plays hard to get, she smiles from time to time
It only takes a camera to change her mind
She's going out tonight but drinking just champagne
And she has been checking nearly all the men
She's playing her game and you can hear them say
She is looking good, for beauty we will pay
She's posing for consumer products now and then
For every camera she gives the best she can
I saw her on the cover of a magazine
Now, she's a big success, I want to meet her again

Das Model
Sie ist ein Model und sie sieht gut aus
Ich nähm sie heut gerne mit zu mir nach Haus
Sie wirkt so kühl, an sie kommt niemand ran
Doch vor der Kamera da zeigt sie was sie kann

Sie trinkt in Nachtclubs immer Sekt (Korrekt!)
Und hat hier alle Männer abgecheckt`
Im Scheinwerferlicht ihr junges Lächeln strahlt
Sie sieht gut aus und Schönheit wird bezahlt

Sie stellt sich zur Schau für das Konsumprodukt
Und wird von Millionen Augen angeguckt
Ihr neues Titelbild ist einfach fabelhaft
Ich muß sie wieder seh'n, ich weiß sie hat's geschafft

Songwriters: Emil Schult / Ralf Huetter / Karl Bartos

DISCOGS

Today in 1980 The Cure broke through with their second release ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ (05 February 1980).

It also marked the first release by the band into the American market. This album heralded the arrival of The Cure on the international market.

Amid the album's thirteen tracks the collision between the bleak and haunting comes to the surface in the upbeat and beautifully-brilliant title track- 'Boys Don't Cry'. This is pure pop, a departure and surprising instalment in the canon of Cure standards. With infectious guitar lines and Smith's pitiful mourning for the girl that is lost, proving the point there was more to this band than was displayed on their debut.

And then there is the tense-paranoia that translates through the album's lead single, ‘Killing An Arab'. Although predating the album by over a year, the song still has the same impact as it did at its release over forty years ago, still raising the same controversy in the post-9/11 world.

“Standing on a beach with a gun in my hand/Staring at the sea/Staring at the sand/Staring down the barrel at the Arab on the ground.'

Indeed, including ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’, all three singles were released before the album. ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ is a solid Post-Punk album, although at times hard to pigeonhole into one particular genre. It is a raw display of melancholic lyrics, submerged in a mesh of catchy melodies that unwillingly plant themselves inside your brain. In reflection ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ mirrors the feeling within the band towards what they saw as the state of the music culture of the time.

Despite their reputation for cavernous gothic misery, ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ presents a lighter and sprightlier take on the punk sound that avoids the political grandstanding of the earlier, angrier-punk bands. The dark edge conveyed by the band runs from the ironic title track to the chorus-heavy album closer- ‘Three Imaginary Boys’, a gothic portrait of solitude put to music.

“See the cracked reflection
Standing still
Before the bedroom mirror
Over my shoulder
But no one's there
Whispers in the silence
Pressing close behind me
Pressing close behind
Can you help me?”

Boys Don't Cry (Original 1980 Track List):
1. 'Jumping Someone Else's Train' – 2:58
2. 'Boys Don't Cry' – 2:37
3. 'Plastic Passion' – 2:15
4. '10:15 Saturday Night' – 3:40
5. 'Accuracy' – 2:16
6. 'Object' – 3:03
7. 'Subway Song' – 1:54
8. 'Killing an Arab' – 2:22
9. 'Fire in Cairo' – 3:21
10.'Another Day' – 3:43
11.'Grinding Halt' – 2:49
12.'World War' – 2:36
13'Three Imaginary Boys' – 3:14

DISCOGS

[KB+FG]

Today, it’s exactly 36 years ago that British EBM/Industrial band Nitzer Ebb released Lightningman (5th February 1990), the preliminary single from their upcoming third album Showtime.

The single stayed in the US Billboard dance charts for 8 weeks and peaked at 14th position on 26th May 1990.

Lightnigman - Lyrics

It seems some story was told
But what is there to tell?
Well, some song had been sung
But none of it sings
So let's spell it out
A, B, and C
Up and down from A is to Z
You meant zed, you said zed

From nothing to something
And something for nothing
From no one to someone
From someone to same one
Same old thing
The only way out
Leads to no way back
What can you do?

Easy
You shove it back where it came
Easy
You never let yourself down

So you got up
And you ran
And you run to get up
Through Chinatowns
To slip right down
Soho's a town in every downtown

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