I'm reading "Rip it up and Start Again" and Steven Morris says...

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"Our Berlin friend...would send us tapes of electronic Italian disco that was incredibly cheerful..."

He's talking about Everythings Gone Green - so about or before 1981. Apart from Moroder then what are these "incredibly cheerful" records? I always need cheering up at this time of year!

Thanks.

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

I'm reading this too. I'm up to Scritti Politti.

I really don't have anything else to add.

― Mofrackie, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

http://cybernetic-broadcasting.net/home/

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

I'm reading it too, and am in the middle of the Joy Division part. Some parts make me cringe. For example, the quote about Rudolf Hess on the Short Circuit comp. is not only misquoted in terms of words, but it's attributed to Ian Curtis. I've always heard it was Bernard who shouted out, and it certainly sounds like his voice to me. I keep getting the impression Reynolds is writing from the standpoint of a reporter, rather than someone who is genuinely interested in his subject.

― Tomato Voyeur (Bimble...), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 18:50 (twenty years ago)

maybe you're reading it from the standpoint of a critic

― corey c (shock of daylight), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

I think we can pretty safely assume that Simon Reynolds is "genuinely interested" in post-punk.

― nabiscothingy, Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

I like it - it's made me want to listen to some stuff I haven't listened to for a long time - Scritti for instance - and that's always good. But I do want some names for these Italian disco records!

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Thursday, 29 December 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

look up an italo thread, there's plenty of names for you there - there's a real good POX that should be helpful.

― ZR (teenagequiet), Thursday, 29 December 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

Alexander Robotnick-Problemes d'Amour
Amin Peck-Girls on Me
BWH-Stop
Brand Image-Are You Loving
DF & Pam-On the Beat
Doctor's Cat-Watch Out
Doctor's Cat-Feel the DRive
Gay Cat Park-I Am a Vocoder
Gaz Nevada-IC Love Affair
Klein & MBO-Dirty Talk
Mr. Flagio-Take a Chance
Plastic Mode-Baja Imperial
Q-The Voice of Q
RIS feat. Celeste-Love N Music
Thanya-Freedom
Vivien Vee-Blue Disease
Vivien Vee-Remember
Azoto-Exalt Exalt
Diana Est-Tenax (Tony Carrasco Mix)
My Mine-Hypnotic Tango
Wanexa-The Man from Colors
Sun-La-Shan-Catch
Pineapples-Come On Closer

for starters!

To be specific though, it's hard to think of incredibly cheerful italo records from 81. When most people talk of italo they're thinking of the space/electro style that was most popular around 82 or the poppier vocal italo from the mid 80s. Earlier italo/euro disco from the late 70s/early 80s would include stuff like Vivien Vee's Give Me a Break or Kasso's Walkman, Macho's I'm a Man and other Petrus/Malavasi produced stuff like Change.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 29 December 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

BB and Band-All Night Long

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 29 December 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

Dirty Talk is specifically the one considered a prime influence on Blue Monday. It was a relatively big club record, making it out of italy with pressings on NY dance labels and finally an LP release on Atlantic in the US. They were huge with the club djs in New York and Chicago, which makes it a big track in the history of not just disco, but electro and house music. Greg Wilson, the DJ who brought electro-funk to manchester picked it up right away and made it as staple there as well. There are many versions, the easiest one to find online is one of the instrumental mixed because it appears on the Tommy Boy Perfect Beats compilation, but hit ebay or whatever and try to get the vocal version, because the vocals are great.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 29 December 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

I'll wait for the local library to get a copy of Rip It Up.

― Lars and Jagger (Ex Leon), Thursday, 29 December 2005 20:17 (twenty years ago)

i finished this book a couple of weeks ago... as usual, i have nothing to add-- my relationship with ILM is strictly parasitic. it was an informative read, although i'd prefer a slimmer, more engaging book that ended in '80. The highlights for me were the Joy Division, PiL, Scritti, Fall and SST pieces. I really had to push myself to actually read all that Human League/Bow Wow/Basquiat crap.

I kept a record in the back of the book of all the albums, groups, films, and authors to check out. that's been great.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 29 December 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

I kept a record in the back of the book of all the albums, groups, films, and authors to check out. that's been great.

One of my favourite parts of the book isn't actually in it at all – it's the "Postpunk Esoterica" appendix/discography that's linked to at the bottom here.

― The Vintner's Lipogram (OleM), Thursday, 29 December 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

Thanks for all that - and the appendix/discog. - which I hadn't seen (despite being to that website!) - is excellent too.

Now all I gotta do is find one handy to compilation "Incredibly Cheerful italoDisco - Volume 1 - 1979-1981 - it's out there...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Thursday, 29 December 2005 23:54 (twenty years ago)

Rip it up and start again

― Curmudgeon Steve (Steve K), Friday, 30 December 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

Exactly Vintner's! That discography was the reason I bought the damn book in the first place, and then when I realized it wasn't in there...arrgh.

― Tomato Voyeur (Bimble...), Friday, 30 December 2005 18:53 (twenty years ago)

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