04/14/2008
Synth-Punk Pioneers: The Screamers and The Units
I love evil music and synth-punk typically delivers just that. Over the past year or two, I have been digging deeper into its roots and discovering some really great early sounds from such influential bands as The Screamers and The Units.
The Screamers
Had it not been for The Screamers, bands like Devo or even The Dead Kennedy's may not have existed. Led by a frighteningly charismatic lead singer named Du Plenty, whose iconic appearance was graphically immortalized in the above logo, the band exorcised an erratic and face-melting sound that made a major impact on the entire punk movement. From 1977-1979 they electrified the LA scene with their intense live shows, which bordered on performance art and flirted with chaos. Check out this in-studio performance of their signature tune "Vertigo" and tell me whether I am crazy or Du Plenty seriously looks like an acid-licking, clownish version of Kevin Bacon in the final scene of Footloose:
Youtube Link
The Units
The San Francisco band The Units had their heyday around the same time as The Screamers, but had a different sound. Still regarded as synth-punk it was less aggressive and more grounded in "traditional" songwriting. I have only recently discovered them, but I became a fan immediately after hearing the bubbly and geometric, "High Pressure Days" and the alien-like march of "Warm Moving Bodies," which the band, or someone with way too much time on their hands, produced a disturbing, faux-training video for:
And yes the two bands even shared the same bill one night in 1979...had I been born one month sooner, I so would've been there!
You can read more articles on these bands, as well as the genre, over at synthpunk.org. Also check out The Units MySpace Page, which has pics from a planned anthology release, and The Screamers MySpace page with more pics and streaming demos.
But first, re-wire yourself with these two Screamers demos from 1977 and two Units songs from 1980's Digital Stimulation.
MP3
Download 'The Screamers - Vertigo'2:55 | 4.00MB
Download 'The Screamers - In a Better World'2:44 | 3.74MB
Download 'The Units - High Pressure Days'3:17 | 3.00MB
Download 'The Units - Warm Moving Bodies'3:30 | 3.21MB
Posted by Michael on 04/14/2008 9:57 PM in Electronic, YouTube, Punk
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