When I was a student the age of consent for a “homosexual act” (which, I believe, could include kissing someone of the same sex) was 21, whereas the age of consent for heterosexual sex was 16. In 1984 the band Bronski Beat brought out the album “The Age of Consent“, on which nearly every song was about being gay. My favourite song on the album was Smalltown Boy, about a young gay man having to run away from home because of the prejudice against him in his hometown. [note: Peter Coles posted a blog about the same song on his blog about a year ago.]

In 2000 the age of consent for homosexual sex was brought into line with that for heterosexual sex in England & Wales. And in 2005 “civil partnerships” between same sex couples became legal in England & Wales. This week’s news that gay marriages will soon be performed in places of worship shows how far we’ve come. [Note: Scotland has a separate legal system from England & Wales so the dates of the passing of various laws may differ there.]

Homosexuality was only made legal in England & Wales in 1967 (and not until 1981 in Scotland). Before that many (most?) gays were persecuted and jailed for their sexual orientation. Some well known homosexuals took their own lives, rather than face the shame of prosecution and imprisonment.

We still have a long way to go in accepting people’s differences, be they sexual orientation, skin colour, religion or political beliefs. But, we have come a long way in the last 50 years I’m pleased to say.

Raging Spool (NME014) (part 1) (part 2). Late 1984.

1. Marc Almond – The Pink Shack Blues
2. The Three Johns – Sad House
3. Everything But The Girl – Laugh You Out The House
4. Bronski Beat – Screaming (Demo)
5. Floy Joy – Into The Hot
6. The Kane Gang – Gun Law (Demo)
7. Zeke Manyika – Red Hot International
8. Manu Dibango – Abele Dance
9. Alterations – Hank’s Pantry
10. Test Department – VFM
11. Cabaret Voltaire – Mercy Man
12. The Neville Brothers – Fear, Hate, Envy, Jealousy (Live)
13. The Rebels – You Can Make It
14. Screamin’ Tony Baxter – Get Up Offa That Thing
15. Hugh Masekela – Pula En Na-It’s Raining
16. Black Stalin – You Ask For It
17. Aztec Camera – Jump (Loaded Version)
18. The Daintees – I’m A Hypocrite (A Crocodile Cryer)
19. The Go-Betweens – Part Company
20. Strawberry Switchblade – Deep Water
21. The Long Ryders – Final Wild Son
22. The Skiff Skats – Cripple Creek

Here’s the rundown so far (00s to come next week).

The 70s

70s/1 Bay city rollers – shang-a-lang

I suppose they had to be in there somewhere.

70s/2 Frankie Miller – darlin’

What?

70s/3 Nazareth – this flight tonight

The decade’s representative from Beardland

70s/4 Average white band – pick up the pieces

70s/5 AC/DC – whole lotta rosie

First of many spurious entries claiming some sort of Scottishness.

70s/6 Rod Stewart – Maggie May

Here’s another.

70s/7 Sensational Alex Harvey Band – next

70s/8 Gerry Rafferty – Baker St

70s/9 Stealers wheel – stuck in the middle

Two in a row for Mr Rafferty.

70s/10 Gallagher and Lyle – heart on my sleeve

70s/11 John Martyn – solid air

70s/12 Rezillos – top of the pops

Pantomime punk. Surely there were better examples than this….?

70s/13 Skids – into the valley

… this one for example

70s/14 Marmalade – rainbow

Surely this was from the 60s (and should have stayed there?)

70s/15 Middle of the road – chirpy chirpy cheep cheep

10 whole years of music and this is the best you can come up with?? What an embarrassment!

The 80s

80s/1 Associates – party fears two

Right band, right choice

80s/2 Simple minds – waterfront

Right band, wrong choice – what about “I travel” or “promised you a miracle”?

80s/3 Orange juice – rip it up

Another right band, wrong song. As usual they went for the obvious choice but surely “falling and laughing” would have been a better entry.

80s/4 Aztec camera – oblivious

Not overly convinced by this. There are better AC songs but, even so, I’m not sure they shouldn’t have made way for other bands.

80s/5 Proclaimers – sunshine on Leith

Had to be in there.

80s/6 Jesus and Mary Chain – just like honey

Good one. The obvious choice but a good one all the same.

80s/7 Big country – fields of fire

Again, they had to be in. Would perhaps have preferred “harvest home” but you can’t have everything.

80s/8 Eurythmics – sweet dreams

50% Scottish.

80s/9 Hue and cry – labour of love

Never really liked this one at the time but it’s really grown on me since.

80s/10 Bluebells – young at heart

Now irritating through overplay. Again, make way for someone more interesting.

80s/11 Lloyd Cole – are you ready to be heartbroken

Weegieland via Derby. Even ignoring this, is this really their best track??

80s/12 Danny Wilson – Mary’s prayer

This one was also irritating at the time – all that smooth Hipsway, Love & Money, Win nonsense. Give me a hand-coloured sleeve with free flexidisc any day!

80s/13 Deacon Blue – dignity

This one’s in the same category as “labour of love”.

80s/14 Bronski beat – small town boy

Quite glad to see this one, especially as it bumped the Wets off the list.

80s/15 Blue Nile – tinseltown in the rain

One hit wonders. Surely the shop assistants, close lobsters, exploited and the soup dragons have just as much of a claim?

The 90s

90s/1 Edwyn Collins – a girl like you

2^nd entry from Mr Collins. I suppose it had to be in there.

90s/2 Belle and Sebastian – the boy with the Arab strap

Well done.

90s/3 Cocteau Twins – heaven or Las Vegas

What??? If they are going to be in any decade then surely it should be the 80s? And this song is way off their best work.

90s/4 Proclaimers – 500 miles

Second entry for this decade that’s actually in the wrong decade. We’ve already got sunshine on Leith for the 80s, are we really so short of other bands in the 90s that we have to include a reissue?

90s/5 Frankie Miller – Caledonia

This one completely passed me by. Apparently it was number one in Scotland for 583 weeks on the back of a Tennents ad.

90s/6 Shamen – move any mountain

Good choice – they eschewed Ebeneezer Goode in favour of this one.

90s/7 Garbage – stupid girl

American nonsense with token Scottish singer. If you really wanted Shirley Manson, kick out the Blue Nile and stick Goodbye Mr McKenzie in the 80s.

90s/8 Slam – positive education

Never even heard this before!

90s/9 Primal Scream – movin’ on up

Probably the obvious choice, although there were better tracks from the 80s (velocity girl) and later 90s (Kowalski).

90s/10 Teenage fanclub – everything flows

Bit tricky to choose a track here as they’re really more of an album band. Was struck by how much Norman Blake looks like someone out of Coronation Street these days.

90s/11 Waterboys – whole of the moon

Another reissue from the 80s. Were we really so short of 90s bands that we had to include this?

90s/12 KLF – 3am eternal

Another 50% Scottish entry.

90s/13 Travis – driftwood

Drivel.

90s/14 Texas – black eyed boy

Another group that had to be in there somewhere.

90s/15 Capercaillie – coisich a ruin

What?? Just because Alex Salmond likes it, doesn’t mean it has to go in. Runrig got the bump in the 80s but haven’t they got 4 albums in the 90s to choose from?

AM: Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy

1984, yo.  Still catchy as all hell.

Smalltown Boy is the powerful tale of a young man leaving home to escape homophobia and the narrow-minded constraints of his upbringing. Lyrically powerful, it is matched with an amazing video. No band or song is a better match for today, National Coming Out Day. Enjoy this wonderful song and celebrate the freedom to be ourselves today.

Mike Thorne. Courtesy, Sarah Jane Morris.

Two Wednesdays ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Mike Thorne, a classically-trained musician whose career as A&R (Artist and Repertoire) Man and producer of such notable musicians as Soft Cell, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Til Tuesday, Soft Machine, Bronski Beat / the Communards, Lene Lovich and John Cale (to name but a few), is well-regarded and established. Beginning in the mid-1970s, his talent cultivation for EMI Records resulted in bringing musicians such as the Sex Pistols, Kate Bush, and subsequently, Wire - several of whose albums Mike also produced – to that label.

But what is less known about Mike Thorne is his affinity and talent for the high tech side of music. As I noted in a previous post for High Tech History, he was the very first to purchase for commercial application the electronic music composition and sampling system, the Synclavier. In 1979, having flown to the states with Mike Ratledge, founder-member of Soft Machine (and himself a classically-trained pianist and fellow graduate of Oxford University) on “a couple of cheap tickets,” he visited the Synclavier’s manufacturer, New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. Thorne said he thought the three innovators of that company “complemented each other well”: Sydney Alonso the electronics expert; Cameron Jones the code programmer, and Jon Appleton, the Dartmouth College music professor and authority on electronic music. On this particular journey, he met Jones and Alonso; but later got to know and like Appleton equally well.

Mike Ratledge (right) and other members of the pioneering progressive rock group Soft Machine. Courtesy, AllStarPics.

The cathedral bells he heard the first time he placed his hands on the Synclavier’s keys were the Siren call. He knew immediately he had to have this device – even though, in his own words, it cost the equivalent of a year’s retainer at EMI. Sydney Alonso later told Mike he believed this particular machine was the sixth one produced – the other five being in the hands of “more academic people” at universities.

After Mike received his Physics degree from Oxford in 1969, he could have worked in any number of scientific fields. But he chose instead to follow a personal passion: the science of music. This led him to devise a portable disk jockeying system he had personally crafted and modified from various electronics equipment. And though he modestly confessed to me he is “not a tinkerer,” who had only a minimal enthusiasm for the intricacies of a machine’s inner workings, he possessed more than sufficient aptitude and motivation to invent his own “disco” system, which he employed at, among other venues, private parties and some London clubs.

In EMI Abbey Road Studio 4, May, 1975. From left: Mike Thorne (somewhat obscured), Pat Stapley, Alan Parsons and Tom Newman. Courtesy, Mike Thorne, Stereo Society.

In 1971, Thorne entered Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study composition under the tutelage of Buxton Orr; but his continuing interest in popular music led him to become exposed to a wide variety of musicians and musical genres and resulted, seemingly inevitably, to the A&R  position he secured with EMI in 1976. And though the tunes he occasionally spun as a DJ included the Doors and other more established and comparatively conventional rock groups, the talent he was beginning to cultivate and nurture at EMI had increasingly un-conventional attributes.

Wire's 1977 album "Pink Flag." Wire was one of Mike Thorne's first major production projects for EMI Records.

The mid-1970s brought Punk Rock to England, which drew on some American acts like the Ramones, the Stooges, Suicide, Television, and a relatively small clutch of other, largely New York City-based bands. Mike, on the other side of the Atlantic, facilitated the signing of the Sex Pistols to EMI – a band that, in many ways, superseded and commercially pre-empted the New York scene – not least because of their passionate, compelling and widely-shared anti-establishment message. Mike shortly thereafter became EMI’s house producer and went on to produce another Punk group, Wire, which he considers one of his fondest achievements. His Punk credentials reached their acme with his production of Live at the Roxy WC2, widely considered a cornerstone of the genre. But even throughout this musically “stripped down” period, the Synclavier was never very far-removed from his musical repertoire. In fact, Thorne purchased his Synclavier after producing the third Wire album, 154. It then featured on former Wire frontman Colin Newman’s first solo album, A-Z, recorded in 1980 after the band’s breakup.

John Cale's album "Honi Soit" (1982), which utilized Mike Thorne's Synclavier. Andy Warhol designed its cover. Courtesy technodisco.net.

During the 1980s, Thorne used his appreciation for new technologies and musical concepts to take popular music to new aesthetic heights. The Synclavier played a crucial role in such dance club standards as Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy, the Communards’ Don’t Leave Me this Way, and Soft Cell’s Tainted Love. And though it played, in Thorne’s words, “a comparatively minor part” in his production of John Cale’s 1982 release, Honi Soit, it helped establish the technological continuum that was becoming Thorne’s trademark.

               the Communards – “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

During the 1990s, Thorne’s work with Warner Music resulted in his creation of The Stereo Society, an interactive, web-based, multi-media recording and publishing company that comprises and utilizes Thorne’s personal recording studio – the product of decades spent in his pursuit of both the innovative and inventive in music composition. Anchored by his much-loved Synclavier, Mike has used his studio to explore new concepts in musical recording. With the Internet and other virtual resources changing the landscape of the music business so quickly and in so many ways – both commercially and creatively – Thorne believes that giving listeners more options to access his company’s music will result in added opportunities to market The Stereo Society’s offerings. He also believes strongly in his studio’s ability to drive the creative process. As Mike told Tom Flint of Sound on Sound (a Cambridge, England-based music technology magazine) recently: “Creative people are everywhere – you just have to give them toys.”

-Chris Hartman

Due to issues with our local FOX broadcast, I actually didn’t get to see the first few minutes of this episode. Sadly this means I missed what sounds to have been a pretty great group number by the Top 7 guys; something about the seven stages of grief, choreographed by Justin Giles and set to the song “Prague” by Damien Rice. And video of the performance is frustratingly missing from YouTube, so I just have to take everyone’s word for how great it was.

Cat Deeley, adorable as ever in a baby blue China doll dress, introduces us to our four, yes FOUR judges this week. Joining the usual suspects of Executive Producer Mr. Nigel Lythgoe and Hot Tamale Train conductor Mary Murphy is, for some strange reason, Carmen Electra. In light of how successful the guest judges have been up to this point I TRY to be open minded. But she happens to be seated right next to the ever-lovin’ Travis Wall in the fourth judges chair, which makes Ms. Electra seem even more pointless. Travis becomes, as far as I know, the first contestant-cum-choreographer-cum-judge in the history of the series. And (spoiler) he’s just as great at this as he is at everything else. Bastard.

Melanie & Marko
Style: Jazz
Choreo: Ray Leeper
Music: “Americano” by Lady Gaga
Nigel wasn’t a fan the first time Marko auditioned. Had a job as a dancer on a cruise ship in Guam… in a drag show! Melanie talks about her boyfriend Mitchell coming to the show for the first time last week… when she kissed Marko! This week’s performance is far from the best thing these two have done on the show, but I’m going to blame that on the choreo and the really bad, awkward wardrobe. Even so the level of trust and commitment this couple has for each other pays off in beautiful dancing every time regardless of how unfortunate the material they’re given. And apparently they’re Travis Wall’s favorite dancers in the competition, so they’ve got that going for them. Which is nice.

Sasha & Alexander
Style: Hip hop
Choreo: Shawn Evaristo
Music: “To The Moon” by Miguel
Sasha’s sister Natalia comes to every show. Their Trinidadian family is always partying and eating and dancing. Alexander started dancing at 17 to avoid PE class, which seems counterintuitive to me, but it paid off. Went to ballet school instead of college. He was inspired to perform by his actor father. Loved the choreo, and both dancers hit every move. Very clean. Judges disagree, for some reason.

Jordan & Tadd
Style: Smooth Waltz
Choreo: Toni Redpath
Music: “Nocturne” by Secret Garden
Jordan played every sport she possibly could growing up. Dance and the lifestyle that comes with it has taken over her whole family. Tadd comes from a strong Phillipino background, but used to think of himself as Caucasian. Rediscovered his heritage in San Francisco. Tonight’s routine was really good. The first waltz of every season is always interesting, seeing how the various dance styles of the contestants can adapt to the fluid and lyrical movements required. Tadd particularly killed it, but Jordan was just slightly jerky, not quite smooth enough in my opinion.

Clarice & Jess
Style: Contemporary
Choreo: Justin Giles
Music: “Light Through The Branches” by Celeste Lear
Clarice is one of those overachiever-types that make me tired just hearing about; a full time student and also teaches dance. Jess gets his performance genes from his father. He would only come into a room if his parents introduced him onto “stage.” Their performance tonight was pretty tight. Choreo was very staccato and musical, and both dancers moved like cogs in a very finely crafted watch. I genuinely liked this one, which I don’t say too often about this couple.

Ashley & Chris
Style: Salsa
Choreo: Liz Lira
Music: “Mambo Beat” by Tito Puente
Ashley was raised in the church by her Deacon father and dance instructor mom. She loves to cook, and fancies having her own cooking show someday. Chris comes from a huge Texas family. Had a hard time in school because of dyslexia. In terms of the sizzling, smoldering, and sexy that should be integral to a salsa routine, I’m afraid I just didn’t feel it from either dancer here. Maybe I’m just biased towards the hip hop/street dancers in this show because I feel like they tend to have the furthest to come when learning other styles, particularly ballroom and the like, but I favored Chris in this one. Ashley is beautiful and super talented, but I just have yet to be inspired by her. I think this couple has been living on borrowed time for a couple of weeks now.

Ryan & Ricky
Style: Jazz
Choreo: Chucky Klapow
Music: “Fashion” by David Bowie
Ryan studied dance with Mia Michaels, and appeared on HOUSE with her. Ricky is obsessed with the beach and water. Became a cheerleader in high school. Not the greatest zombie routine we’ve ever seen, but it was fun. Certainly the most positive I’ve felt about this couple so far. And I’m not sure why I feel this way, but the song choice was perfect! I guarantee I’ll think of the dancing dead whenever I hear this song from now on. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not, actually…

Caitlynn & Mitchell
Style: Contemporary
Choreo: Mandy Moore
Music: “To Love You More” by Celine Dion
Caitlynn does a lot of outdoor activities and sports. Dad works overseas, so she doesn’t see him very often. Mitchell’s dad died when he was two. He and his mother moved to Atlanta and were actually homeless for a year. This was a crazy fast, powerful dance! Despite my loathing for Celine Dion, I can’t dock any points here because the performance was just so incredible. And Mitchell is clearly emotional afterwards… which kind of gets me emotional. Which is what almost always results in my highest ratings.

The show closes out with the second group routine, this time with the Top 7 girls. And it’s yet another piece about the women killing the men. This is a disturbing (and increasingly less effective) motif for this season so far. Choreo by Ray Leeper wasn’t particularly challenging, and none of the dancers ever really had any standout moments. The whole thing sort of just happened, and now fades away. Loved the song choice though: “My Discarded Men” by Eartha Kitt and Bronski Beat.

And that’s another one in the books. As expected, Travis Wall was great (and fun) as guest judge. Also as expected, Carmen Electra was kind of pointless (and boring) as guest judge. And I’m not sure how I feel about the flood of new choreographers we got tonight. On the one hand I know that we need to keep the choreography fresh and evolving. On the other, I wish we could have had them introduced one or two at a time, rather than all at once. But what say you, Gobblers? Did you fall in love with any brand new choreographers tonight? Do you think I’m being too harsh on Ms. Electra? Did I miss something extraordinary by not seeing the Top 7 guys group routine? Let me know, either here in the comments or send me an e-mail toGobbledygeek@yahoo.com

So I might have to swerve Facebook for a bit until Jimmy fucks off or the restraining order I have applied for kicks in. Thinking about Julia Somerville made me think about all the other female news readers. From my earliest tingles to Angela Rippon and Selina Scott onto Anna Ford and more recently Sophie Raworth and them glasses on Kate Silverton !! Anyway check out this link TV Ark news page  to go down memory lane and blimp, sorry I mean reminisce about days gone past in the world of TV news. Here’s hoping Julia Somerville is on Facebook soon.

Smalltown Boy video below

Peace

Fay x x

***** Stalking is a very serious issue. Anybody else who is having stalking issues by Jimmy Somerville on Facebook or anybody else try http://www.stalkinghelpline.org/ ******

Left to right: Dartmouth’s Sydney A. Alonso, Jon Appleton and Cameron Jones listen to Appleton playing a Synclavier I, ca. 1977. Courtesy, Dartmouth Engineer, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College.

Synclavier I: Invention, and the creation of an industry

The Synclavier, an early digital synthesizer, sampling system and music workstation, was developed by the New England Digital Corporation (NED) of Norwich,Vermont; the prototypical model having been invented at Hanover, New Hampshire’s Dartmouth College in 1975. Dartmouth Professor of Music Jon Appleton, Digital Electronics expert Sydney A. Alonso and Engineering software programmer Cameron Jones collaborated in its invention.

The Synclavier I. Wikipedia.

According to a 2005 story in the Dartmouth Engineer, the prime motivation for the Synclavier’s development was that “The Moog synthesizer, the prime electronic instrument of the 1970s, linked a piano keyboard to an analog computer — but it had no memory. Wanting something better, Dartmouth music professor and composer Jon Appleton turned to [Dartmouth’s] Thayer School [of Engineering].”

The resulting Synclavier was the world’s first digital synthesizer, and pioneered digital sampling, hard-disk recording, and professional sound editing. “It did so many things, and the software was so beautifully integrated,”Appleton later remarked.

Early history

In 1972, Jones and Alonso met at Dartmouth, where they were both working on programming the college’s large, time-sharing computer. Together, they developed software for the computer that allowed it to produce electronic music and, under Appleton’s tutelage, aid with students’ ear training.

Within the next three years, in addition to graduating from Dartmouth, the two men were able to create a 16-bit processor card and then adapted the computer’s compiler for the new processor. This new “miniprocessor” – the ABLE – was the first product for Jones and Alonso’s new company, New England Digital. It was designed to help users avoid having to book time on large, mainframe computers (most academic computer labs in this period operated on a ponderous “time sharing” basis).

Out of the research, the men crafted their new instrument, which they called the Synclavier (pronounced, in three syllables, Sink – la – veer). It was intended as a commercial outgrowth of their “Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer,” which included the ABLE processor. In 1979, they raised some venture capital and brought in another partner to oversee the marketing of their new “Synclavier II.”

Synclavier II

The Synclavier II was revolutionary because it introduced both a terminal display and keyboard and allowed for both software additions and revisions that could even be retrofitted on earlier versions of the device. Encouraged by the success of these developments, in 1982-3, the company added significant “sampled” sound recording and playback capabilities directly from the unit’s hard drive. And with the addition of the graphics terminal, it was possible to analyze and edit sounds in a visual, as well as aural context. This figuratively opened up the flood gates to virtually unlimited possibilities of sound production and “post-production” editing, which made the system very attractive to both the music and film industries.

Dartmouth Professor of Music Jon Appleton demonstrating the Synclavier II (1984)

Decline, fall & resurrection

All of this innovation cost money – a lot of it. Units began at $75,000 and to outfit a proper studio, the price could reach $500,000 or even beyond. One account, from a website called “Yaking Cat Music Studios History,” added a little bit of cheeky perspective on NED’s pricing strategy: “The prices on Synclaviers were based on two primary factors. Those who owned the machine or needed parts generally had money to ‘burn,’ so to speak. NED took advantage of this. Second, there were about 11 guys at the top of the company pulling down six-figure incomes. Sting was paid to perform for the NED employees and their spouses at a big gala at the Roxy in N.Y. There were NED offices across the globe with marble desks. Spend, spend, spend. And make your customers pick up the tab.”

Mike Thorne, producer of such notable bands as Siouxie and the Banshees, Soft Cell and the Bronski Beat, was a pioneer in the use of the Synclavier for so-called "New Wave" music. Courtesy, vblurpage.com

Throughout the 1980s, the Synclavier was the musical device of choice for musicians such as Genesis’ Tony Banks, Sting, Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Stanley Jordan, and numerous others. The machine’s ability to augment musicians’ guitar work though a specially-designed interface was unparalleled; but as that decade passed into the ‘90s, NED, due largely to the price of equipment upgrades, started to lose market share and opted to “repackage” itself in less expensive fashion. They began to move from their original mission of support for musical instruments toward post-production and editing software.

A silver lining to this lateral movement was that there was really no manufacturer who could offer a machine that was so perfectly suited to motion picture and television production. The software upgrades were spell-binding for those who could afford them, and the sound was unparalleled. It is safe to say that this is what rescued the company over its history; but regardless, NED passed into history itself in 1992, only to be resurrected, like the phoenix from the ashes, on several occasions in various permutations. It’s interesting to know that there are still over 100 units of the Synclavier and Synclavier II still in use today in various capacities, and part of the reason for that is their durability.

One example of the Synclavier’s reliable construction involves the B-52 military airplane. NED went out of its way to choose uncompromising materials for the manufacturing process. And one of those choices involved the famous red buttons the B-52 used on its control panels. It’s been suggested that the company’s decision to select superior components was designed to help prop up the instrument’s price tag; but experience has also revealed it was essential to construct units that could hold up to the punishment of musicians – spilled drinks, cigarette ashes and pounding fists included.

-Christopher Hartman

Buy Bronski Beat’s music from:

121: HOME

1. Edwyn Collins – Home Again
2. John Martyn – Over The Hill
3. LCD Soundsystem – Home
4. Soft Cell – Where the Heart Is
5. Miles Davis and Michel Legrand – Going Home
6. Al Green – Call Me (Come Back Home)
7. Digable Planets – Where I’m From
8. Carole King – So Far Away
9. Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
10. Dusty Springfield – Goin’ Back
11. Brian Eno and David Byrne – Home
12. Roxy Music – In Every Dream Home A Heartache
13. New Order – Love Vigilantes
14. Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home

59:12

Dancing magnetics by artist David Durlach of TechnoFrolics, featured at 11 Miller Street during Somerville Open Studios, April 30, 2011, Somerville, MA.

Music: “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat.

Michael McVey
Skiffleboom.com

Torrid Love Affair with the Somerville Open Studios, from TheInfamousDance.com

Salsoul Orchestra & Loleatta Holloway – Runaway

Where are we? There’s a funky bass, some parping brass, swooning strings, bongos, and the vibes solo by which all other vibes solos must be judged. We have arrived in the golden age of disco.

What are we running away from? You better not hesitate! Loleatta warns us to get running because she’s going to mess around (that’s the way she wants to be), she doesn’t want our love (it’d just slow her down), and she can always find another clown if she changes her mind. What a cow.

Where shall we run to? To be honest, after hearing that big gospel & honey voice we’re going to be running straight back into her arms to be mistreated. :(

Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy

Where are we? A classic wandering bassline pumping up and down the octaves, the best keyboards that the early 80s had to offer, and Jimmy Somerville’s unearthly wailing over the top of it all – it is the golden age of synthpop.

What are we running away from? Disowned… disowned… You leave in the morning with everything you own in a little black case. We are fleeing small towns full of small minds and their prejudices, especially — according to the video — swimming pool-related homophobia.

Where shall we run to? We will be running to a bedsit in London and hanging around in Soho, on this occasion.

Soul Asylum – Runaway Train

Where are we? We are anywhere in the world, but definitely in the golden age of earnest, angsty rock.

What are we running away from? How on earth did I get so jaded? Life’s mystery seems so faded. The lyrics are as vague as anything, but I guess the band would say ‘universal’. For the video showed a montage of actual missing person appeals, and was released in a variety of locally-relevant versions around the world.

Where shall we run to? Well some of the real life runaways came home after seeing the video. It didn’t always work out for the best and there are some awful horror stories, but there you go. It’s only music.

Devlin (featuring Yasmin) – Runaway

Where are we? We are in the golden age of have-a-go rap. I’m not a big fan of Devlin’s, but there are some nice timpani rolls in this one and getting Yasmin on the track immediately adds a certain class.

What are we running away from? Pain on all the faces of multi-cultural races! According to the lyrics, Devlin’s got a theory that urban violence will end if he leaves the slum behind, and Yasmin’s a bit bored with her job. So it’s a fair swap.

Where shall we run to? There’s talk of of being free and just being yourself, of a path of rediscovery, of the fruits from the lost garden of Eden. They also mention a train from Victoria and the English Channel so I guess it’s a ferry to Calais then.

Kanye West – Runaway

"Your girlfriend is really beautiful." "Ha, thank you." "Do you know she's a bird?" "No I never noticed that."

Where are we? We’re in the depths (or the heart) of Kanye’s twisted fantasy now. The plinky-plonk piano of doom, those gorgeous big rich synthesiser lines, jagged pain coming out as a robot voice, all that territory. And in the video we’re at a surrealist feast with ballerinas, where there’s a terrible misunderstanding involving Kanye’s avian new girlfriend and a roast turkey on the dinner table.

What are we running from? FROM KANYE HIMSELF. Because lyrically we’re back where we started with Loleatta; we should save ourselves because the singer’s full of shit and scared of intimacy. But while Loleatta had an imperious surety about her, Kanye’s just in the mood to squat in his own self-pity and toast his own douchery.

Where shall we run to? As Kanye keeps finding out on his recent albums, there’s nowhere to go when it’s yourself that you’re trying to outrun. We can only run, as always, to music.

This post was never meant to be a tribute to anyone. But Loleatta Holloway died, in-between my writing the text on Monday and sorting out the pictures on Tuesday. So GOODBYE NICE VOICE LADY, I’m sorry I called you a cow, and you’d better have the last word:

The Fabulous Sylvester

Let’s start with one of the first openly gay pop performers: Sylvester. While his music was seldom about being gay, Sylvester was always openly himself. He was a star who probably sacrificed some measure of success for his flamboyant honesty. His You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) is a bona fide disco classic and a delightfully exuberant anthem of attraction. Current out performers like Adam Lambert owe Sylvester a great debt.

Another pioneer is Tom Robinson. Openly bisexual (though understandably assumed to be gay early in his career), Robinson penned the anthem Glad to Be Gay back in 1978.

Bronski Beat were a new wave act in the early 80’s who wore their sexual orientation proudly on their sleeve. With the debut album Age of Consent calling out the hypocrisy of British law differentiating between gay and straight relationships in its liner notes, they, like Sylvester, sacrificed some measure of success to make their very danceable point. Standouts are the wistful coming of age song Smalltown Boy and the militant yet funky Why?

WHY? by Bronski Beat

Contempt in your eyes
When I turn to kiss his lips
Broken I lie
All my feelings denied
Blood on your fist
Can you tell me why?
You in your false securities
Tear up my life
Condemning me
Name me an illness
Call me a sin
Never feel guilty
Never give in
Tell me why?
You and me together
Fighting for our love
Can you tell me why?

The out and ironic duo Pet Shop Boys deserve a mention as well. Their lyrics about odd and broken relationships are often ambiguous, but the pair never were. My personal favorite is the wonderful Can You Forgive Her? which tells the story of a closeted man struggling with his truth and his girlfriend.

The great folk singer Ellis Paul recorded a wonderful story of love in the face of family disapproval on his seminal Translucent Soul. Fitting perfectly into his masterwork of broken lives and redemption through love, She Loves A Girl is a wonderful, bittersweet song.

The original I Kissed A Girl belongs to the wonderfully quirky Jill Sobule. An honest song of yearning, confusion, and freedom, it should have been the hit that some other performer managed to have with her cynical fluff piece.

Stephin Merritt has assembled some of the best queer talent for his band The Magnetic Fields and a number of other projects. Frequently gender-bending in his lyrics, unabashedly out and proud, Merritt and his cohorts offer up gems like I Thought You Were My Boyfriend and When My Boy Walks Down the Street (with the great line “and he’s going to be my wife”). Frequent Merritt collaborator l.d. beghtol crafts wonderful songs about gay life and love, usually with his band Flare. A personal favorite is the dating disaster odyssey Don’t Like the Way We Live Now.

Some songs are affirming for their context. The use of Mama Cass’ music in the wonderful play and movie Beautiful Thing helps the sweet story resonate. As a result, her Make Your Own Kind of Music feels like a gay anthem to me; it’s spirit of pride and individualism certainly earn it a place on this list. Similarly, the delightful Free to Be You and Me encourages everyone, especially children thanks to Marlo Thomas, to be happy with themselves, whoever they are.

Last but not least, thanks to current proto-diva Lady Gaga. Her new single Born This Way is dynamically affirming and helped to inspire this pair of posts.

Although Valentine’s Day is a pretty crass excuse for a holiday, let’s use the excuse to celebrate the ones we love. Enjoy these inspiring, fun, lovely songs with the man or woman of your choice.

At first glance, Smalltown Boy seems to be written for anybody who has moved from a small town to a larger one. It could belong in the pantheon of songs that include ”New York, New York” (which Frank Sinatra made his own), where the motivated outsider triumphs in an environ dripping with the opportunities that do not exist at home.

But that’s clearly not what’s going on.

I’ve just relocated to Berlin and I’m utterly overwhelmed, trying to eek an income and gigs for my alter ego Aurora Kiss. Walking to the post office on some mindless errand, Bronski Beat‘s Smalltown Boy crept into the headphones of my Hello Kitty mp3-player.

And I began to think, sure, the music never fails to get people dancing. It’s upbeat, but perhaps manic is a better word given the underlying melancholia in its cascading minor chords. And lyrically – in stark contradiction to “New York, New York” – the song is not about triumph in a new homeland. In fact there is no reference at all to the destination, only the hurt and the suffering most of us incur growing up in our own claustrophobic home towns, wherever they may be.

Of course, frontman Jimmy Somerville wrote the song to describe the experience of being persecuted for his homosexuality in Glasgow – his small town – and his flight to what I imagine was London. So it is a song about being queer. But in interviews I’ve watched Somerville invites anyone who can identify with the song’s alienation to take it on board.

With the repeated refrain “Run Away, Turn Away, Run Away, Turn Away, Run Away”, Smalltown Boy is the perfect song for a new life in a new city – adrenalin, elation, but a new world inevitably defined by the old.