Tuxedomoon : 59 to 1
In March of 1980 San Francisco Tuxedomoon released Half-Mute, their debut album on Ralph's Records. An album that reminds me of Eno's Another Green World with its mix of atmospheric instrumentals and odd lyrics, it would spend 5 weeks in the UK Indie charts, peaking at #10.
The band was formed by art commune member Steven Brown and multi-instrumentalist Blaine L. Reininger, whom he met in an electronic music class at San Francisco's City College. They developed a style based on the instruments they hand on hand, which is why --in this age of synths and guitars--you'll hear Reininger on violin and Brown playing saxophone.
"The only rule was the tacit understanding that anything that sounded like anyone else was taboo," Brown told author Simon Reynolds in his book Rip It Up And Start Again. "When Blaine and I first started performing in public --a violin, a sax, a synth and a tape recorded--the crowd threw beer bottles and screamed 'Where's the drummer?!'"
The band expanded its personnel and stage presence, which involved props and , yes, tuxedos. 40 years later their songs about paranoia and heartache seem more relevant than ever.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete