11.04.2005
Music for Parties
Silicon Teens Music for Parties LP (Sire, 1980)
There is a long list of subgenres that have been unacceptable to the critical czars of rock & roll, the rock establishment. Until recently, bubblegum music has not been given any due. Humor in rock & roll has never been valued. Punk rock not from London or New York is shunned. Non-Anglo/American rock & roll is pretty much ignored (unless it is Krautrock). Novelty records are ridiculed. And party records aren’t taken seriously.
In some ways, critical blindness to the above genres is fine. Too often critics and academics analyze music as if they were boning a fish. Word after word slices through the meat of the music and what we are left with is dead, dry bone.
Luckily, rock & roll spawned a fan culture, a universe of freaks who talk and write passionately about bands and records, people who do not know or care about the rules our cultural czars come up with. It is with this attitude I present to you the Silicon Teen’s Music for Parties LP.
Read the sleeve of Music for Parties and you would think that the Silicon Teens were “real” band. In reality, the Teens are one guy, Daniel Miller, the man who created Mute Records with his seminal synth punk/industrial “band,” the Normal.
The Silicon Teens are like the Normal in that they are pretty much synthesizer, drum machine and vocals. But unlike the Normal, the Teens are not full of dark humor and angst. Instead, the Teens are, as advertised, Party Music. Because they are all electronic and were around when all electronic bands were rare, they are considered a novelty. Toss away the two labels and what you really get is a rock & roll band.
The Teens cover some classic rock & roll songs (Judy in Disguise, Memphis Tennessee, Let’s Dance, Red River Rock, etc.) and play some tasty originals. All the songs are poppy and full of fun. The direct, anti-experimental approach the Teens take to rock’n roll makes me think that if the Ramones or the Rezillos went electronic, this is what they would sound like. For a recent example, I point you to Amsterdam’s Nazis from Mars.
One would think that with Daniel Miller’s legacy, the Silicon Teens would be taken seriously or at least given their due. They are not. Though they were clearly out in front in applying electronics to pop and should be seen as punk pioneers, The Teens rarely rate mention by rock & punk intelligencia. But, who cares anyway? Critical ignorance means you can find this record in bargain bins with ease. And please do. You won’t be disappointed.
T.V. Playtime is one of the Silicon Teens' originals. Just like Eddie was originally a hit for Heinz Burt, the bass player for the Tornados. It was written by Geoff Goddard in tribute to Edie Cochran. The original single was produced by Joe Meek.
# posted by Scott Soriano : 16:30
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Thanks for this cool post. I always wanted to hear this Miller project but never got the chance to. Sire must have thought that one of the covered songs from this LP (such as "Let's Dance") were going to create a odd accidental synth-pop hit song....just like the Flying Lizards had got a accidental hit song a bit earlier when they made the cover of "Money" for Virgin Records.
# posted by 
: 10:06
: 10:06
Is it really that easy to find? I've been looking for this record in every store I've been in for months, and haven't seen it once. Any time I've mentioned it to store employees, they look at me like I'm crazy.
-jeff g
-jeff g
# posted by : 12:05
: 12:05
uhhhh perhaps it cant be found "in bargin bins with ease" anymore, but it is around. sire pressed a whole lot of them. i've seen copies as recent as 6 months ago for $8 or less. then again, since synth stuff is all the rage maybe these are drying up fast.
It used to be as common, and as cheap, as landfill. There was a stack of 'em at the Tower Outlet store, early 90s - got mine for like 25 cents.
"Memphis TN" did come out on a Sire sampler 10-15 years ago. "TV Playtime" is a good choice; always wondered if that was perhaps an anwers to The Normal's "TVOD."
"Memphis TN" did come out on a Sire sampler 10-15 years ago. "TV Playtime" is a good choice; always wondered if that was perhaps an anwers to The Normal's "TVOD."
LP as cheap as $6, and it's even been repressed on CD:
http://www.gemm.com/ddc/search.pl?&disp_ad_format_mode=0&artist=SILICON+TEENS&title=MUSIC+FOR+PARTIES
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# posted by : 11:00
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