36 years ago, the album “Technique” arrived as New Order closed out the nineteen-eighties with one, last breath of creative genius in FACT-275 (Released 30 January 1989).

This is an album which has split fans since it inception, between the dark-brilliance of “Power, Corruption & Lies”, to this their more accessible side.
“Technique” was more disco inspired effort, displayed fully in the track “Mr Disco”, highly danceable with that-orchestral-synth crescendo after the first chorus, it manages to still sound fresh against their previous work.
In the single “Fine Time", we find a satirical brilliance in the simplest of themes, based wholly on sex. With an eruption of drums and random guitar that cranks to the high point of eighties-music. Throughout the lyrics are more playful though remaining honest, this is by no means a commercial move but a natural progression in style.

The more mellow sides of the album have a charm all of their own, “Vanishing Point” is a more softly-constructed synth based song, reflective and mood ridden. Throughout “Technique” manages to balance evenly, the guitar-disco anthems and the euphoric dance style already verging on the horizon as ‘House Music’ made its entry into the world. This is the sound of a band at the top of their game, fearlessly treading waters of experimentation and executing with ease all manners of directions taken.

A submerged sound of progressive-rock can surprisingly be found in the abrasive “Run”, although certainly different in style, it does not so much take away from the flow of the album but adds that extra dimension instead. The proceedings close with heavy-synth and guitar solos in the glorious “Dream Attack”, a song built to bring not only “Technique” to a close but also the decade and this chapter in the story of New Order.

Dream Attack;

“Nothing in this world
Can touch the music that I heard
When I woke up this morning
It put the sun into my life
It cut my heartbeat with a knife
It was like no other morning
I don't belong to no one
But I want to be with you
I can't be owned by no one
What am I supposed to do”

Technique (Original 1989 Track List)

01. Fine Time 4:42
02. All the Way 3:22
03. Love Less 2:58
04. Round & Round 4:29
05. Guilty Partner 4:44
06. Run 4:26
07. Mr. Disco 4:20
08. Vanishing Point 5:14
09. Dream Attack 5:13

[Kevin Burke]

Today, exactly 36 years ago, Nitzer Ebb released the second single Hearts & Minds (30/01/1989) taken from their previously released, second studio album Belief (09/01/1989).
It was released by Mute Records as 7", 12" & CD-single in various versions, some with different subtitles and tracklist.

Hearts & Minds (7")
A. Hearts & Minds (Radio Mix)
B. For Fun (LP Version)
Hearts & Minds (12")
A1. Hearts & Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
A2. Hearts & Minds (Mix Subsonic)
B1. Captivate (Orbit Mix)
B2. For Fun (LP Version)
B3. Time Slips By (PK Mix)

Hearts & Minds (Hypersonic Mix)
1. Hearts & Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
2. For Fun (Mix)
3. Time Slips By

Hearts & Minds (Mix Subsonic)
1. Hearts & Minds (Mix Subsonic)
2. For Fun (LP version)
3. Time Slips By (PK mix)
Hearts & Minds (Continued) CD
1. Hearts & Minds (Mix Hypersonic)
2. Hearts & Minds (Radio Edit)
3. For Fun (Mix)
4. Time Slips By (PK mix)

Hearts & Minds stayed 8 weeks in the Billboard 'Dance Club song' chart and peaked at the 16th position on the 26th May 1989.

Hearts & Minds lycrics

You, you, I saw you
You, you, I saw you
Could it, could it be heart
Could it, could it be bone

This body rapture
This body rapture
You're wrapped up tight
You're wrapped up tight

Your empty words
Your empty soul
Your empty words
Your empty soul

You're you, you, you
I saw you
You, you, you
I saw you

You with your heart
You with your mind
Hearts and minds
Hearts and minds

Never again, no never again
Never again, no never again
Bodies wrapped up tight
Bodies wrapped up tight

Is it tight enough for you
Heart and bone
Heart and bone

This could be it
This could be you
This could be it
This could be you

Your body jerks
Your body shakes
Your body jerks
Your body shakes

You're you, you, you
I saw you
You, you, you
I saw you

This body rapture
This body rapture
Your empty words
Your empty soul

This could be it
This could be you
You're you, you
I saw you
You, you, I saw you
You

DISCOGS

Filth Pig is the sixth studio album by American Industrial-Metal band Ministry, released on 30th January 1996.
Rumours say the album title was derived from a statement made by Teddy Taylor in the British House Of Parliament who described Ministry’s singer Al Jourgensen as a filthy pig. Four tracks from the album would be later released as seperate singles; The Fall, Lady Lay Lay, Reload and Brik Windows.

The opposite of the previously released and successful album ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ, also referred to as Psalm 69, it was a less electronically infused record which divided the fans totally.

The cover art shows a man holding the American Stars & Stripes flag, with blood dripping from a chunk of raw meat on his head. He wears a badge on his chest saying 'Don't blame me'.

The highest notation in the Billboard 200 was in February 1996 at 19th position. The album lasted 10 weeks in the charts.

Al Jourgensen stated later: "Everyone hated Filth Pig. They all wanted Psalm 70, and I gave them an electronic-free record full of gun-in-mouth dirges of nothing but pain. Aside from the cover art, the humour was gone. All that was left was misery. And I still had to tour the fucking thing - which went down in history as the interminable, intolerable, absolutely depraved Sphinctour.”

Filth Pig (Tracklist)

Filth Pig (Lyrics)

I start out you're in a daze and people start younger
In a thousand days and it's getting overexposed
Then someone asks, "How do you sleep at night?"
With the borrowed dreams from a broken past

You keep runnin' away don't matter how fast
or long you always wind up there
Another thousand pileups in the ugly name of morality
Fucking ugly, some creepy guy keeps asking

"How the fuck do you sleep at night?"
With a frozen dream and a borrowed hope that died
Filth pig, filth pig
I sleep with both eyes open

Filth pig, filth pig
I keep chasing this tail but the tail gets bigger go figure
A thousand... keep the fires and flames alive
So how the fuck do I dream at night?

With the memories of a borrowed death, the guilty tide
Filth pig, filth pig
He sleeps with both eyes open
Filth pig, filth pig

He sleeps all right because he's a
Filth pig

DISCOGS

On this day, 42 years ago, Frank Tovey performed as Fad Gadget at the Amsterdam Meervaart Theatre (29.01.1983), as part of the second anniversary of the monthly Vinyl magazine. The event was given the name 'The Voice Of Mute' as reference to the, at that time, booming Mute records. Besides Fad Gadget, Mute also had artists like Yazoo and Depeche Mode signed to their label. But also because Fad Gadget was the first artist signed to Mute Records in 1979. Cocteau Twins and local Rite de Passage also performed at this event.

Frank Tovey, born 8 September 1956, died due to heart failure on 3 April 2002 at home, just days after returning from a European come-back tour.

It is mainly thanks to Hotel Suburbia, a music program of Dutch TV channel VPRO, that this historical remembrance exists.

The program interviewed Frank Tovey and recorded four tracks of his performance which they broadcasted one week later, on February 6th 1983.

Hotel Suburbia (1983 broadcast)

Life On The Life
For Whom The Bells Toll / Interview
Lady Shave
Back To Nature

These videos were later added to the 2006 post-mortem 2 x CD + 2 x DVD release Fad Gadget by Frank Tovey (Mute ‎– CDMUTEL13).

Watch and enjoy this incredibly talented man in this musical history document below.

On this day, 43 years ago, the B52's released their Mesopotamia EP (27 January, 1982). It was produced by David Byrne of Talking Heads and was originally planned to be the band's third studio album. Due to conflicts with Byrne and record label pressure, recording sessions were aborted prematurely and only six of ten songs to be completed were released as a shorter than originally intended LP. Three of the abandoned tracks, 'Queen of Las Vegas', 'Big Bird' and 'Butterbean' were re-recorded for the following album, Whammy!(1993).

Mesopotamia is considered as a departure in style for the B-52's; Byrne and the band added plenty of additional instruments, vocal overdubs, horns, synthesizers, layered percussion and an altogether richer sound. It also resulted in a more polished sound than the raw sound of their self-titled debut album The B52's(1979) and the slightly more polished and second album Wild Planet (1980).

Remarkably the European LP release contains vastly different versions of 'Loveland', 'Cake' and 'Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can' sounding more raw and electronic than the ones found on the US releases.

The album reached the 18th position in the 1982 UK album charts and 35th position in the US Billboard 200 charts.

Mesopotamia (LP - 1982)

A1. Loveland 5:00

A2. Deep Sleep 3:30

A3. Mesopotamia 3:51

B4. Cake 5:48

B5. Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can 4:30

B6. Nip It in the Bud 3:32

DISCOGS