Dali's Car - The Waking Hour - 1984

When it comes to my own discovery of music, I am so glad that I have the internet to help me.  I felt that I had been blind (and deaf) my entire life once I began exploring the diverse and expansive landscape of Rock & Roll from it's inception through today.  EVERY DAY I learn something new about OLD music that I didn't know before, and I feel like an archeologist or pirate or explorer on a quest for the hidden treasure that has yet to be uncovered.

So was the case of Dali's Car

Until I did some in-depth research on Discogs of Peter Murphy and all of his musical dealings, I had never heard of Dali's Car.  Never knew it existed at all.  It took me a while to find the nine songs that they recorded in 1984, barely a whole album.  I listened once or twice, then put it away.  A couple months later, I tried it out again.   This time while I was surfing the net late at night, all alone.  Better.  And better again.  It sounds like Experimental/Synth-pop/New Wave with a touch of late 70s Bowie and some of that late 70s Prog.  I'm not ready to say that I'm in love with it or anything, but it's enjoyable and very interesting.

I'm sure when it was released, people were surprised because it is a far cry from what Murphy had done previously.  As for Karn, it seemed like an extension of his work with Sylvian in Japan.  I can only imagine what the fans of Bauhaus were thinking, though...

The great thing about it, is when I finally discovered it in 2009, a full 25 years after it's release, it didn't really sound that dated.  Partially due to the fact that Murphy has that universal and classical vocal style that never goes out of style.

I never heard their 2012 follow-up, after Karn's death.  It would be interesting to hunt it down and see how it holds up with this set.  I'm sure it's a cherry.

Dali's Car - The Waking Hour - 1984

Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids - 1980

The first song I ever heard by Japan was Gentlemen Take Polaroids.  It was the first time that I realized that D2 weren't the pioneers, they were the rip-off artists (I still loved them most, despite that fact.)

But, I've been through my thoughts on Japan in my previous post of them.  My feelings haven't changed, I just wanted to tell you this was the first for me.  Its a great album, I have all the extra tracks, and some great single sleeve graphics...

Anyway...

I'm not going to say much more tonight.  I've got a lot on my mind.

Remember when I was bitching about my job last Friday?  I really wanted to quit.  Well, my wife lost her job yesterday, cutting our family's income in half, along with our healthcare.  So, now I am the sole income, and I get an extra 900 a month deducted from my check that I can't afford at all now, for insurance.  And that's the high deductible plan.  That being said, my family will now be down about 3700 a month in net income.  How the fuck are we supposed to make up for that?

I'd like to get political here, about the fallacy of affordable healthcare, and a good economy and about job growth, because all of that is a bunch of political bullshit that's used to prop up a corrupt system of ideological extremes...  But, I'm not going to go there, right?  I'm a fucking conservative, and I have a feeling that I might piss a bunch of people off...

All I can say is hold on to what you have.  Because, it doesn't matter who wins, I have a feeling that 2017 is going to be a fucking nightmare economically, and it's going to be a struggle just to survive.

Wow, quite the optimist.

Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids - 1980 

Japan - Quiet Life - 1979

So here's why Duran Duran made it big, and Japan really didn't.

1.  -  They both played New Wave music - BUT - Japan was too Disco oriented, while D2 took it to the next level and created the New Romantic sound.

2.  -  They both wore makeup.  Hell, Nick Rhodes looks like he ripped off David Sylvians look.  - BUT - All the boys in D2 were handsome pretty boys, but, Japan...  Well, they were all ugly.  Sorry, but just a fact.

3.  -  They both had great, singles full of pop hooks.  -  BUT - Japan's album tracks and b-sides were pretty poor, and didn't carry the magic that the singles had.  Japan even reused album tracks from previous albums instead of putting something new on them.  Whereas every track D2 had on their albums were fantastic, and their b-sides and remixes were also terrific.

4.  -  Timing.  Japan came out about 3-4 years too soon.  They missed the MTV exposure that D2 received. 

5.  -  They both had videos for their songs.  -  BUT - D2 put a lot of time and effort and money into making revolutionary and visionary videos.  Japan's videos sucked.

6.  -  Japan split up way too soon.  Had they stuck it out, they could have done better and more.  D2 could have stayed together longer, but that's another story....

Regardless, Japan put out some good music, and they definitely sound like a precursor to D2, or even ripped off by D2.  That conspiracy has been argued for decades, though.  It's best just to enjoy what Japan gave us and groove to the Quiet Life...   again.

Japan - Quiet Life - 1979