This is a great album from a very short lived band. Death From Above 1979. Just look at the cover! You know it's gonna be far out. (Reminded of Pink Elephants on Parade from Dumbo) This album blew my mind when I first heard it in 2005. I believe I heard the band from listening to Bloc Party's shitty remix album. DFA'79 did a remix of Luno which was one of the better ones. So I checked them out. It was and continues to be a very inspiration milestone in my library. I was going through a phase of Dance-Punk lust. I could not get enough of it. LCD Soundsystem, Le Tigre, Liars, Moving Units, The Rapture, Beep Beep, were a short few of the bands in circulation at the time. This came out at just the right time in my life to fully appreciate it. Now that I think about it, it was solely this album that got me into making electronic music. If you've heard it, you might say that the electronics are minimal, and right you are. But on Romantic Rights there is a little synthesizer solo in the second verse that I fell in love with! I needed to be able to do that. As far back as 1998 I was dabbling with electronic music on a program called Fruity Loops. I had a demo version and spent a lot of time trying to emulate NIN and failing miserably. I didn't fully understand the concept of step sequencing and then gave it up. Fortunately my little bro took to it like a duck in water. His music is extremely impressive by the way and he continues to bloom exponentially. So he kept up with it but would only use the stock capabilities of the program. Well fast-forward to 2005 when I heard DFA'79 I decided to try my hand at Dance-Punk. I couldn't afford to buy a vintage 1970's synthesizer so I started researching techniques to perhaps do it on a computer.I found VSTs! VSTs are what are knows as virtual instruments. They are complete synthesizers in the form of a computer program. I was able to snag a demo of GForce's Oddit
y. So I began playing with it and discovered that VSTs could be integrated into a step sequencing programing such as FL Studio in the form of a plug in. Upon more research I discovered that virtual instruments could be controlled with MIDI keyboards and actually played like a real synthesizer. Well it just took off from there and I'm still making music with VSTs and MIDI keyboards. Daniel's music has greatly improved with VSTs as well. We always get excited over the next new virtual instrument. There are 1000's of them just calling me at all times. It kinda possesses me.Anywho, back to the album. So You're a Woman, I'm a Machine is very "In Your Face" kinda album. No bullshit mellow love ballads or 15+ minute experimental tracks, just rough, raw dance-punk. It's just drums, and distorted bass guitar. That's it! I couldn't believe a band could be so minimal and kick so much ass. They set the songs up quickly, tear it up, scream it out and get out. I imagine it would be a great album to get down to although I've yet to try it, I'm sure many people have. It's a very sexual album. Allow the lyrics to demonstrate.
Come here baby I love your company
We could do it and start a family
She was living alone unhappily
We could do it, it's right romantically
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I love my girl
I want to get her off
Turn the lights up
So I can see
Turn the lights up
1-2-3
Push in
1-2-3
Pull out
Let your spirit free girl
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Sexy girl meet me in the bathroom
Sexy girl call me on the phone
Woman friend take me to your bedroom
Let me show how I'm full grown
Sexy woman call me to your office
Sexy woman meet me after work
I wanna show you how I handle business
I wanna show you how the mail-boy flirts
My man wants to buy you something
He wants to take you out for dinner and dancing
My friend wants to take you out then home
Then home alone
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As a matter of fact one group named CSS made a song called "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above". Which is a really kick-ass track and would also be great to get down to.
Too bad DFA'79 broke up so quickly, they were high on my list of band I wanted to see live. I check their website from time to time in hopes of a reunion but no dice yet. Although a spin-off group emerged from the ashes and has become one of my favorites called MSTRKRFT, but thats a whole other blog.
I just realized I never figured out that little synth solo. I'm gonna go try it right now, now that I have my sea legs.
