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lonita · 8 months ago

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100 Things About Me

I am legally blind.

I prefer identify first language over person first, because person first makes it sounds as if I can take my disability off as if it's an attachment.

I don't like abled people telling me how to refer to myself or my disability.

I like to drink room temperature water in the winter.

I have three main hobbies: buying art supplies, organising art supplies, and using art supplies.

I love binge-watching old TV shows as background noise.

I have seen Gary Numan live six times.

I love singing jazz.

Cooking is a monumental bore.

I am childfree by choice.

I have had surgery to render myself incapable of pregnancy.

I have zero regrets about either of the above two things.

The only car I've ever driven was an F2000 racecar.

I've been to the US, England, France, Hungary, Germany, and Cuba.

I don't know how to swim.

The older I get, the more politically and socially angry I get.

I like systems that benefit people collectively.

I cannot abide the smell of mutton cooking.

My favourite colours are warm greens - like grasses, leaves, and olives.

Celebrity culture bores the shit out of me.

I have no real desire to own a home. I'm content ro rent.

I love abstract art.

I am an atheist and antitheist.

I haven't watched a sitcom in so long I don't even remember the last one I watched.

I have five tattoos.

I haven't watched any mainstream Canadian broadcast news since the second week of October 2023.

When I have tea, I only like milk in it.

My favourite songs to listen to loud are Gary Numan's Hope Bleeds version of Are Friends Electric?, Led Zeppelin Nobody's Fault But Mine, Fugazi Waiting Room, and Gang of Four To Hell With Poverty.

My love for loud music has not blunted as I get older.

I didn't know my blood type until about five years ago.

Songs that mention luxury brand names annoy the shit out of me.

Things that other people seem to like which I don't: the movie Titanic, Taylor Swift, wine.

Things that I like which other people seem not to like so much, include: pigeons, spinach, communists. Only the middle one for eating. I don't want to eat communists. Although I've had pigeon once, and it was delicious.

i prefer micro fine black ink pens over any other kind.

My first name apparently roughly translates to "ready for battle". Anyone who knows me is going to find that funny.

Crunchy peanut butter is superior to smooth.

I like collecting postcards.

Some things I like include tea, navel oranges, speculative fiction, loud guitar, corn bread, black pepper, leaf scuffing, ruby grapefruit, exploring abandoned buildings, surprise bags, milk chocolate, puns, warm spring days, a seriously good mindfuck, comfort films, the Oxford comma, constrained writing, ice cream, and costume drama.

My favourite mindfuck film is probably still Altered States.

I'm starting to come around to the term apocalist as opposed to bucket list.

I prefer pre-Moonratker Bond films.

I like to sing, preferably jazz standards or things of that like.

I am grossed out by potato eyes.

I don't like people watching me do housework.

I truly believe that Frampton Comes Alive! does have restorative powers.

I like the sounds of wind in the trees and rain on the streets.

My household theme song is Tim Curry's I Do the Rock.

My favourite Beatles' song is Dig a Pony.

I don't like having my picture taken. No paparazzi!

I believe that you should work to live not live to work.

I believe that if life hands you lemons, you should make pie. Everything is better with pie.

I once cut myself with bubble wrap.

For years I've been keeping a notebook in which I write a list of things to be happy about.

I like attention. I don't like being the centre of attention.

I never learned how to put on any makeup other than lipstick.

I think best days ever include: Gary Day (any day on which I get to see Gary Numan live), New Toothbrush Day / Dentist Cleaned My Teeth Day, New Art Supplies Arrive in the Mail Day, The Day I Learned About Server-Side Includes, and Friday.

I like the sounds of wind in the trees and rain on the streets.

I like when there's enough of something.

For a long time when I was a child I wouldn't walk right up to my bed if the lights were out. I'd get about a foot away then jump onto it. I blame this on the movie Blackbeard's Ghost and that scene where he's looking into the mirror and the ghost appears behind him.

Sometimes I eat oranges because I like the sharp sweet smell more than I'm desirous of actually eating it.

One of my favourite things in the world is the tenor solo in the Ode to Joy, and the way it creeps up on you every time, like how Brain Damage/Eclipse creeps up on you and surprises you every time at the end of Dark Side of the Moon. I never get tired of that.

I like the film Lawrence of Arabia.

I believe in the right to choose.

I like to eat sweet things, but I don't like the smell of it on my hands afterwards.

I once volunteered to participate in a psych study just to get one of the perks of doing the study: copies of MRI scans of your brain.

For years I wouldn't get in an elevator first or get out last, because when I was five I got stuck in an elevator during a hydro company oriented power outage. They decided that a school day's lunch time was the perfect time to do some testing. Boy did they get an earful from a number of people.

I get an enormous charge out of location-spotting the city where I live in films and TV shows.

My hair used to be a lovely golden red when I was young. It got blonder as I got older. That bums me out. I want the red back.

My current favourite vulgarity is halve poes.

I don't enjoy magic shows, sitcoms, Star Wars, or superhero movies.

I prefer 1% milk. Homogenised is too fatty and skim is like water.

I like making lists.

I own a green bass guitar.

I have never chugged maple syrup.

I don't like drinking carbonated drinks on hot days.

I like anise in candy but not with meat.

One time my mother ordered me groceries as a gift, but she accidentally doubled everything so I ended up with 20lbs of potatoes.

I hate wearing pink. I don't own anything pink.

Shrimp are too creepy to eat, as are snails.

I have no interest in jewellery and don't like white diamonds.

The skins that sometimes form on top of hot chocolate drinks are gross.

When I was five I had an imaginary friend named Charlie Brokentoaster.

I rarely drink alone. I come from a long line of alcoholics, so I just didn't want to get into the habit of drinking by myself. I want to enjoy alcohol, so I keep alcohol as a social thing.

I don't mind renting. Owning property doesn't make a person more an adult than one who doesn't. Besides, when something goes wrong, like the fridge dies or they have to replace the entire hot water heater system, I don't have to suddenly wonder where thousands of dollars is going to manifest from.

I just realised I've been playing Candy Crush for over a decade. That's just weird.

I never figured out Double Dutch when I was a kid.

Sometimes I miss ringing telephones.

I bought the kid version of a Waterpik because it was green and came with stickers.

My first Doctor was Jon Pertwee, but my favourite Doctor was Tom Baker.

Places I still want to visit include Uluru, Death Valley, and Kilimanjaro. None of these things is likely to come to pass.

I don't mind long bus rides. Good reading time.

One of my favourite things to binge watch in the middle of the night for comfort, is episodes of Cadfael.

My favourite scents include the sharpness of lemon, orange, and grapefruit rinds, pine, and cooking soup.

Boomer thinkers annoy the shit out of me.

I like found object art and found poetry.

I wish cereal wasn't so carby. Sometimes a body gets a craving.

I can't eat bananas unless they're still a little green, because they're way too sweet when they're all the way yellow.

I still don't understand how I can not touch the lenses of my glasses and they still get marks on them. What the hell's up with that?

My cousins and I used to sneak fresh rhubarb out of their grandfather's garden when we were little.

Racism and bigotry are deal-breakers for me.

#lists #bio #journal

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hibiscera · 1 year ago

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13 18 and 25 !!!!!!

13. SELF CONTROL!!

The usual Love Live of course. Saint Snow always goes hard.

18. Toxic

What is there to say... it's a classic.

25. Cars

This surprised me tbh. I guess it came on shuffle a lot.

#mir answers #grodyego

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singlesablog · 1 year ago

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The New Wave

“Messages” (1980) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Dindisc Records (Written by Paul Humphreys/Andy McCluskey) Highest U.S. Billboard Chart Position – None

This one is a bit of a cheat because it involves some explicit time travel. In 1980 the duo known as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey) were both still living at their respective parent’s houses in Wirral, Merseyside, a section bordering Manchester in the North of England. They had formed in 1978, were on the “dole” (public relief) and bought their first instruments in thrift shops, not including their first synthesizer (a Korg M-500 Micro Preset) purchased via a catalogue provided by McCluskey’s mother on a payment plan of “£7.76 a week, paid over 36 weeks”*. I, however, was in 9th grade living in Lakeside apartments off of Abercorn Expressway in Savannah, Ga, mostly listening to much more mainstream, shinier fare, and wouldn’t know this song until the late 80s.

Through a series of events that included gigging around town and opening for Joy Division at Eric’s Club in Liverpool (a club which was members-only at a very discounted rate and featured so many punk and new wave bands it is hard to overplay it’s importance), they recorded a one-off single, “Electricity”, for the then unknown Factory records, with a slip cover designed by Peter Saville, and the rest is very fast history. OMD were a true new wave, synth pop band, with a tension between the ethereal and brainy (Humphreys) and the more rock and punk (McClusky). One of their other extreme bolts of great luck was having a fan in Gary Numan (see previous post), who was very popular at the time, and then being invited to open for him in arenas in 1979. It should be clarified that Eric’s Club was a tiny room in Liverpool, as indy as it gets. I am sure the leap was tremendous, especially considering they both still lived at home.

After “Electricity” was released (to fanfare if not actual pop success), the boys signed a 7-album record deal with Dindisc, with an advance of £250,000. With the advance they built a studio to record their first, eponymous album, reasoning that when the label dropped them, they would at least have a studio. It was here they recorded “Messages” in a much sparer, punkier version. Dindisc asked for something slicker to release as a single, and it was this version I first heard at some point in art school in the later 80s—one of the most woeful and deliciously ethereal of pop songs, fully danceable, but almost more in one’s head, an inner sensation not unlike the zombie wiggle I felt come over me in 1980 with Numan’s “Cars”. It is a single that never ages, never grows tired, and always releases the inner goth teenager inside of me. When those first electronic notes appear, and then the tidal wave of faux organ sounds that rush in to McCluskey singing “it worries me this kind of thing” I can feeling my swing bang growing and I am off to another world, that teenage one, one with tons of ambition, cool sad feels, a place I can return to again and again, where in opposition of the stated lyrics, memories are not such uncertain friends. They are crystalized time.

OMD are still recording in that very same studio, as thrifty as ever.

* Wikipedia

#new wave #synthpop #electronic music #music history #80s music

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jarateblog · 1 year ago

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The Ultimate Gary Numan Album Recap

(long post, you don't have to read it unless you really want to)

Because my OCD willed it into existence. Over the past couple weeks I've been relistening to each of Numan's albums and felt like I'd just write short reviews/recommendations for each of them. I planned to make a page on my website for him, but I may just end up copy-pasting this post on there or embedding it in some fashion since the blog function here works pretty well. Without further ado:

Tubeway Army (1978)

His first album with his initial band lineup still going under the name of Tubeway Army. Early demos heard on The Plan compilation show how rooted these tracks were in the stereotypical punk sound of the late '70s, but his songwriting and alien-like vocals made them unique and fun to listen to. The addition of synths to the final renditions of the songs that ended up on this album punch and feel overwhelming on a good stereo, illustrating Numan's common retelling of discovering synthesizers for the first time. While I feel it may be a hard sell for some on first listen because of Gary's idiosyncratic voice, I feel approaching with an open mind will provide a satisfying listen.

Replicas (1979)

Still under the Tubeway Army name, this is technically their last album and the transition to Gary's "solo" career. The Tubeway Army lineup would still be his backing band until 1981. This album is one of his most successful though and it makes sense. There are even more synth-heavy hits that utilize the electronic sound in place of guitars, and an overlapping but loose set of narratives about a dystopian future of androids going about their dingy, daily lives. I feel his lyrics are probably at their most creative here, as they aren't as repetitive in their format as they would kind of become from here on. A high recommend for a listen to the full album, especially if you're familiar with "Are 'Friends' Electric" or "Down in the Park," two of his most popular singles.

The Pleasure Principle (1979)

Artists in the '70s were cracked. Making two albums within the span of a year is insane, especially when they're both masterpieces. Outside of the obvious worldwide hit "Cars," every track is worth a listen on here too. If I were to critique, however, this is the beginning of Gary finding one instrument sample and sticking to it for a few years before finding something else to use to death. The string synth heard on "Cars" is everywhere on this album, even right from the beginning on "Airlane." It's far from a bad sound, it's actually really cool, very sci-fi-esque, but it's still worth noting that you'll hear it pretty frequently until around '82. With the strings, however, every track feels like an orchestrated event with a rock touch, and the bass and drum work is sublime.

Telekon (1980)

An even more grandiose event than The Pleasure Principle. The opening of "This Wreckage" is still one of the most satisfying introductions to any album for me. The lyrics have a sense of finality to them, partially because Gary planned to retire from the fame and elaborate live shows after its release. It is overall a great close to his self-dubbed 'Machine-Era,' although I'm not a big fan of every song on here to find it a complete masterpiece. The singles released around this era are some of my most favorites of his, however, like "I Die: You Die" and "We Are Glass."

Dance (1981)

Man, did this one take FOREVER to grow on me. Perhaps the most experimental of Numan's work, his original band went on to form their own ill-fated group Dramatis (that Gary still featured on) while he brought on many well-respected producers and instrumentalists to help bring this project to life. It's got ambience, jazz, funk, and rock, and is a long ride in comparison to his previous albums, reaching almost 50 minutes in length (two songs are almost 10 minutes on their own!). It's one of my favorites now though. I'm so glad I gave it another chance after so many years.

Even though I had a hard time getting into it originally, I feel that anybody who has had a longer stake in music than me would find appreciation much quicker than I did.

I, Assassin (1982)

The first album of his that I'm a bit more mixed on. While I feel instrumentally, it is outstanding, this is also one of Gary's most inconsistent vocal performances. Fretless bass provided by Pino Palladino is what gives this album a distinct, sometimes improvisational sound, but it is often marred by lots of vocal drags of Numan's that either don't fit with the funky, danceable grooves, or fail to flow into each other well. Regardless, there are still great tracks like "War Songs" and the B-Sides "The Image Is" and "Noise Noise."

Warriors (1983)

His last album on the Beggars Banquet label, and what feels like another end to another era of his music. Continuing with the experimental, ambient, and funk inspirations from his previous two albums, this album is highly mixed by the public. It took some time for me to fully appreciate, but I like this album about just as much as I, Assassin, if not more on occasion. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of consistent female backing vocals being introduced to his music (something Gary has documented before as a recommendation from Beggars, who must've started losing faith in the uniqueness of his voice). They aren't that bad here, though, the '80sisms of their presence had yet to come I think. Gary's vocals are much more consistent and confident here too (perhaps as a response to the backing vocals being added). Personally, I feel the singles "Warriors" and "Sister Surprise" are the most catchy, while the many other tracks fit well as deep cuts despite their slower compositions.

Berserker (1984)

His first album on his newly opened Numa label. This era started off with a bang that would be nearly impossible to follow up on subsequent albums in the decade. Numan's new ghostly image is paired with heavy drums, icy synths, an occasional oriental theme, and remix-like production edits. Not every song is a masterpiece despite Gary owning full creative control over his music at this point, as he still brought the backing vocals with him and they're even more prominent than last time. He must have taken the haters' criticisms to heart... There is a heavier focus on a pop-funk sound too, which can at times date this record. I still love it despite its flaws and would consider it one of my favorites of his.

(Side note: Gary uses an old slang/offensive term for lesbian on "This Is New Love," but within the context of the lyrics and album concept he isn't condoning the use of it. I guess you could call it a MF DOOM situation, IYKYK)

(Side Side note: Albums from the rest of this decade into 1994 are nearly impossible to listen to in full on streaming services because the current rights holders are lazy, make bad digital transfers, and Gary's ashamed of this era in retrospect. I don't blame him for some, but it's not all bad. The stuff is easy to find on YouTube though. Numa records really didn't release copies outside of the UK either, so a lot of the stuff is absurdly expensive today and piracy is the only feasible way to listen in 'high' quality without going broke.)

The Fury (1985)

While Berserker felt like the perfect start to a new era of Numan's career, The Fury dives further into what I found to be the weaker aspects of it. Opening track "Call Out the Dogs" seems to question the lack of radio play he's been receiving, and this becomes a common theme for MANY, and I mean, MANY of his songs in this decade. In later interviews, Gary has often discussed feeling insecure during this period, and that lead to very uninspired lyrics.

Other tracks are honestly just kind of disgusting to listen to because they require you to suspend your disbelief that Gary is some sort of stud who gets all the ladies (I mean, look at the cover, who wouldn't want a man in a white tux???/s He's legitimately sexy as a DILF nowadays tho ngl). The female backing vocals are at their most prevalent and grating too, often overpowering Gary's own and exuding a level of '80s cheese that no one should have to be subjected to (no offense to the singers, they just shouldn't have been on this album).

I will still say that the song "Tricks" is really good though. I wish the stems for this album would leak or something, because minus the vocals it is quite fun to listen to. There are even more metallic sounding synthesizers that paired with the funky rhythms could really stand on their own. It's noticeably lower in budget than Berserker though, using many stock samples that ignore the sound experimentation he used to employ. I don't hate this album, but it is very mediocre and insulting in comparison to what came before and after.

Strange Charm (1986)

A more positive package than The Fury, thankfully. About 7/8 of the songs on this album are good, great, or amazing, with some being his very best. "My Breathing" is a long, Mideast-inspired piece which he occasionally performs live today, and "New Thing from London Town" is a foreboding collaboration with Bill Sharpe from Shakatak (who'll show up later). Thankfully, the backing singers are actually in the back for the majority of this album, which helps enhance the experience like on Warriors rather than overpower it like on The Fury. There's a broader use of electronics here too, helping it stand out among his other albums from this era.

Metal Rhythm (1988)

As the name implies, there is a heavier focus on using loud, reverb-heavy drums, akin to many industrial acts of the late '80s. Unfortunately, because it seems Gary had never listened to bands like Cabaret Voltaire, Ministry, or Skinny Puppy at the time (or he had but was too afraid to take the risk), this album still leans heavily into the pop-funk style like The Fury. Minus the often uninspired or questionable lyrics...

On "Voix": "I don't like young girls, I don't like boys; I like some bitch to scare me, I like that noise"

?????

...there are some tracks that hit exceptionally well. He even played "Voix" well into the '00s, although he never bothered to improve the lyrics. About half of the songs here are good and catchy, but they come with some caveats. The rest are bland attempts at radio-friendly sounding music with generic synth pads and repetitive choruses although the lyrics often gave stations reasons not to air them.

(Another side note: Because his own Numa Records were running low on funds, Gary had to move to Illegal Records in the UK and I.R.S. Records in the US. Therefore, most countries outside of the UK finally received this album as New Anger a year later with an extremely botched track lineup. The original is still probably the preferred way to listen, IMO, but this album as New Anger is available for streaming)

Automatic (1989)

Throughout the '80s, Gary collaborated with Bill Sharpe of the band Shakatak to provide vocals to what were mostly Sharpe-composed synth-pop songs. This album is a sort of compilation of all their tracks from 1984 to 1989 (minus "New Thing from London Town" which featured on Strange Charm), with this album's own "I'm On Automatic." They are very of the time, but well-produced, catchy, and fit together regardless of the years each track originally released. I feel Gary could have utilized more input like this in his sound during the mid-to-late '80s on his own albums, because as it stands, this is one of my favorite (partial) projects of his! According to him in later interviews, he considered collaborating more, but didn't want to rely on other people for his image and career. Which, I suppose that's understandable. Still, for as rough as the '80s had been on him, it may have been better for his mental health in the end.

Outland (1991)

Probably my least favorite album of his.

*GASP,* the imaginary Numanoid I made up in my head reading this goes

Sort of an experimental album like Dance, in the sense it attempts to build an atmosphere with "Interval" tracks and segues. Musically, many songs just feel off, like they're in the wrong key, but it's more likely that it's just an unfitting choice of instrument samples being used. They're often stock or cheap sounding.

It again goes for a pop-funk sound with some more prominent soul influences. "Confession" is a guilty pleasure, "My World Storm" is pretty good, and "Dream Killer" is one of his better ballads, but I can't really stand to listen to the rest. It's not that they ooze too much cheese that it's fondue, they're just... failed attempts at making fromage bleu... I don't know where the fuck I'm going with this.

You may like it. As implied above, there are actually many fans of this album in the community. My thoughts below will probably discredit all my other reviews anyways.

Machine + Soul (1992)

Funny that both Numan and Aphex Twin sample the same thing around the same time lol. Gary's self-proclaimed "low-point" to pay off debts. He claims that this album is musically sound, but not a Numan album, and to that I say BULLSHIT because he's been making non-Numan albums for about a decade at this point if going by his implied definition of what makes one! Anyways, beyond the romanticism of claiming this is the worst to push everything afterwords on a needless pedestal, this album is FINE. It's a perfectly FINE record. It's dated by about 5 years in its style and production, but so was Outland.

Hell, I'd even call some songs good. Great, even. The title track rocks. "Generator" is a slightly embarrassing but catchy pop song. "The Skin Game" is relentless though. One of my least favorite tracks that oddly became one of my favorites upon revisiting. It's actually quite introspective for this time in his career. The lyrics are very self-deprecating when reading into them and it makes sense that Numan almost quit his career after releasing this album. It's veiled under backing vocal refrains that mimic a standard pop song, but it's actually quite bleak. Sounds like something off Cabaret Voltaire's CODE, just half a decade too late. "I Wonder" and "Love Isolation" are two of my favorites of his as well. They evoke a lot of what makes his subsequent '90s releases so good. The B-Sides and Demos of this album (and admittedly many his '80s albums) also really demonstrate that he could make some killer ambient, ominous, or somber tracks that just wouldn't fit with his desire to appeal to radio-play.

You could also tell that he had to really push the runtime for tracks to reach about 50min in total with samples and room to let the drum machines just go, but there aren't many tracks that are hard to listen all the way through. "Poison" is one exception, which has an off-key sounding trumpet reminiscent of Outland and a poor attempt at Gary trying to rap... I think? The Prince cover of "U Got the Look" is fine but sad as Gary rarely covered any artist throughout his career. Plus, Prince should've been the one covering Numan.

Sacrifice (1994)

If Machine + Soul HAD Gary's soul and desires to make what he always wanted. While this album was a sign of things to come, for better or for worse (lyrical themes focusing too much on hardcore atheism basically, something he would only allude to in passing on previous albums), this album is a perfect example of making something with what you have. The ultimate industrial mindset as it were. His to-be wife supposedly introduced him to a world of music he hadn't experienced in his chase for attempted radio-friendly material, including Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails' mainstream industrial records of the time, and the new influences are worn on this album's sleeve while still feeling completely original.

Gone are the backing singers with the exception of the one and only TJ Davis (yes, of Sonic R fame) who adds to the emotion of "Scar" in its chorus and bridge. Every track is amazing on here to me, so it's undeniably my favorite album of his along with Replicas and Dance. Sure, it's lacking any sort of production that should have been expected at the time, and for such a relatively high-profile artist, but it has such raw emotion and energy in it that was sorely missing from his albums in the decade preceding it. It was almost entirely created and produced by himself, with some additional guitar and help from M+S producer, Kipper. So, with no live percussion, Gary just intentionally programmed the drum machines and sequencers to be relentless in their composition while he could focus on singing.

May not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's certainly how I like mine. It's just a shame it's not available on any streaming services.

Exile (1997)

Thanks to the turning point of Sacrifice and a conveniently released tribute album by Beggars, his resurgence into popularity seemed to help Numan release this album with a greater budget and worldwide release. You can actually stream this album! While Sacrifice had many moments of introspection and outward atheism, Exile creates a fictitious narrative where there is no distinction between Heaven and Hell. Some fans left at this point because of the concrete shift in lyrical topics. I personally don't care as I'm not religious myself, but I don't have a hate boner for it like Numan. I feel the lyrics could have been fleshed out more for a better defined world that he is describing though.

Although the tracks still rely heavily on drum machines, there is a heavier focus on live guitar, even an acoustic which shows up in the final, eponymous track, ending the album on a somber but foreboding note in its strummed chords. The rest of the album feels fittingly dark for its themes and expression, and Gary's vocals are often shrouded in reverb like he's singing in a black, empty room. There's an official extended version of this album (as well as the rest of his Numa releases minus Strange Charm for some reason), and it's well worth listening to on its own even though some tracks are pretty lazily edited to be longer (like the opener/lead single "Dominion Day").

Pure (2000)

Probably the first true album of Gary's modern era, so his recent albums can be referred back to here for their song structures. As a result, this is where I slightly fall off of the hype train as sacrilege as that may sound coming from me. There are still some elements of the previous Sacrifice and Exile albums here (mainly the keyboard samples), but a greater focus on utilizing live studio recorded equipment that leans further into what I self-dub "headache-metal." Think of NIN from The Fragile onwards, or bands like Pearl Jam, Breaking Benjamin, etc (I know that's A LOT of crossover but if you grew up in the '90s or '00s you probably have at least an inkling of what I'm getting at).

Therefore, this may be just the perfect album for those who like those bands! It's just not my thing, personally. That's where I like the more fast-paced tracks like "Listen to My Voice" or slow but calmer songs like "Little InVitro" (which mourns his wife's miscarriage). He never fully devolves into screamo territory, but he does do a lot of yelling here. This album is LOUD. Like, the first album of his I had the turn the volume DOWN for. Potentially a result of the loudness wars.

Jagged (2006)

The time between Pure and Jagged was filled with smaller collaborations, remix projects, and touring. His touring band started getting involved more in the recording process though, with guitarist Steve Harris finally being given the credit he deserves (I have one of his guitar picks, so I'm biased!). I think Gary was also trying to find someone to help produce this album, leading him to Ade Fenton, who briefly joined his live band on keyboards and has now been his main producer for the past 15+ years. Ade's production work isn't as prominent here, but there is a greater use of electronics than on Pure throughout. It's a bit more of the same though.

Many tracks blend together in sound and lyrical topics (though the latter is expected if you read my parts on Sacrifice and Exile). Tracks "Halo" and "Haunted" are pretty good, but that's probably because I've heard them live a couple times that I can recall them from those experiences lol. This album feels LONG though. Over an hour for 11 base tracks. The slow pace of most of them doesn't help.

Thankfully, two years later, Jagged Edge released (and thankfully, is available on streaming, unfortunately the original version for comparison isn't) and helps give some tracks a more distinct identity. It's a remix album worked on by a number of people including Fenton and members of Sulpher (who produced Pure) that polishes up some demos and edits of final tracks. There are two discs, but I think the first beats out the second in content. So, kind of like Rush's Vapor Trails.

Dead Son Rising (2011)

An odd release from the past two decades of his work, at least in the sense that it's only about 40 minutes in total when removing the edits of two existing tracks. Some call this an EP, especially for its limited physical release (requiring you to stream or go broke nowadays), but I think this project has the perfect length for an album. Because it doesn't stretch into the hour territory, songs can comfortably last for 3-5 minutes and feel memorable. Unlike Pure and Jagged, I can actually name every track on this album! The lyrical themes are a lot more abstract here too, helping distinct them from 'unfiltered atheism' like his previous few albums.

The production is a lot cleaner, so guitars are less muddy and headache-enducing. "Big Noise Transmission" and "Not the Love We Dream of" are some of my favorites of his career, and I got so hyped when I first heard him play "The Fall" live. Highly recommend this for its modern production and length. Definitely my favorite release of his in the 21st century so far.

Splinter: Songs from a Broken Mind (2013)

An album inspired by recent marital issues and bouts with depression Gary had been dealing with. Thankfully, during the production of this album, things seemed to work themselves out. Songs are often very emotional and slowly build to a powerful climax, utilizing string sections akin to what was present in the late '70s/early '80s for him, just with heavy electric guitars spruced throughout. There are very few up-tempo tracks but "Love Hurt Bleed," a standout that I'm still convinced plays better live than on here. "I Am Dust" is outstanding and the music video for it is probably the only one worth watching out of the rest of his 'videography' (I kid, but most MVs for him are very low-budget and just focus a camera on his face the whole time).

Despite how negative I may sound on here, I do really like this album. It's perhaps just a bit too long and some tracks could have been scrapped and used as B-Sides. I also have a bit more appreciation for the officially-released demos on the Deluxe version that clearly have less of producer Ade Fenton's touch. Feels more dark and gothic than Ade's definition of ""industrial.""

Savage: Songs from a Broken World (2017)

Likely his most accessible modern album, especially for how many new fans it introduced to his work (myself, kinda included, it's complicated). Inspired by a story he supposedly wrote (but for the life of me cannot find a published copy of) about civilization in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with a heavy emphasis on the Middle Eastern region for aesthetics and compositions. There are more uptempo tracks than on Splinter, but many can still blur together and sound the same, and that's nothing to say about the slower tracks that fit the structure of stuff seen since Jagged.

Gary's vocals are at an all time peak, however, and his own daughter Persia (who helps fit in the regional theme by name alone) adds some additional backing vocals. You can barely tell she's there half the time though, along with Steve Harris or Tim Slade (guitar and bass, respectively), because everything has been post-processed with the same booming, heavy synth sound (supposedly Omnisphere software). It's cool when used sparingly, like on Splinter (even NIN uses a similar sound on The Fragile), but it's too repetitive at times. There aren't really excuses to not diversify the palette even slightly when this album had 4 years in the oven and in the 21st century no less. The Pleasure Principle was made in less than a year in the '70s, so its repetitiveness I feel has its excuses to exist (plus, it still sounds more diverse thanks to the help of the Tubeway Army lineup's bassist and drummer).

Don't want to shit on it too much, it's not a terrible album, but I really wish its success didn't give Gary and Ade Fenton the idea to just keep going in this direction. It's certainly a gateway album for those looking for some heavy electronic rock/metal/industrial, but I feel after listening to the rest of his catalogue this album gets pushed further back in listening preference for me. I've seen many a new fan whose enjoyment of this album just lowers as time goes on too.

Intruder (2021)

At times, diet Savage. I personally find the songs on here much more sonically diverse, but the compositions are very familiar to the past two decades. I'm convinced "Saints and Liars" is just a repackaged "My Name is Ruin" for how similar their chord progressions are. This album was inspired by a poem by his youngest daughter as part of a school assignment that questions the destruction of the environment from the Earth's perspective. Right up my alley, as a tree-hugging freak myself!

As an album released in 2021, there are a couple moments that allude to COVID like on "The Gift," one of the Earth's methods to alarm the population to their actions. It's overall an interesting concept, but it still could have been further fleshed out. The lyrics mostly mirror vague topics and atheism again.

I've seen him live 3 times since its release and I've nevertheless enjoyed every show he's performed. I'm just hoping the future takes a step in a fresher direction, like what Dead Son Rising had going for it.

Conclusion

I can be very critical of Numan's output, especially in recent times, but it is because he is one of my favorite artists that I know can make some amazing and memorable works regardless of who he collaborates with. I wouldn't call him my FAVORITE artist, but my near-religious regimen of listening to him every other day speaks otherwise. Perhaps it is a form of Stockholm Syndrome because I am too deep into the pipeline at this point. I'll shamefully call myself a Numanoid, I collect too much of his shit to be considered anything else.

He's a very open person with official released interviews available from even extremely early on in his career. We know his story better than many, so it's a bit of a shame when some, including himself, overlook certain aspects of his history and the context behind it in order to glorify certain aspects (such as in the case of M+S's reputation). Then again, I can't claim to be a scholar as I have yet to listen to EVERY interview that's easily available. There's definitely gaps I'm missing or have been misinformed on as well.

In my honest opinion, I really do not have high hopes for the rest of this decade of output as long as he sticks with Ade Fenton. Even his oldest daughter is looking to make a break in the industry and he is producing her album (and is a bit too close to her in pictures... That's like at least 20y in age difference...). He's a perfectly competent producer, better than anything I can do, but he has so little diversity in his sound choices and I feel Gary's (and potentially Raven's) sound has suffered as a result. Gary has had an issue with a lack of experimentation too, his lenience is why Ade can continue what he does, but as much as I didn't care for Sulpher, they were at least providing something a bit less samey when it came to Pure and Jagged Edge. That's why I'm afraid of the Sacrifice, Exile, and Pure remakes due to release some time this decade. They deserve better production, yes, but their charm will undoubtedly be lost in translation.

All I can do is stay positive, however, and continue supporting his efforts until I can obviously tell he's running out of steam and wants to retire. I doubt that though, he's got too much energy and flexibility for his age.

Anyways.

How original, a tier list. Here are my objective facts, not opinions /s.

This is not concrete, but about the same as it's been whenever I've made it other years. Savage has only moved down while M+S has moved up though, lol. Maybe one day it will usurp it, you never know.

#gary numan #album review #retrospective #music #choppost

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mje51 · 3 months ago

Video

youtube

Fear Factory ft Gary Numan Cars re-edit 2020

Here in my car I feel safest of all I can lock all my doors And it's the only way I live In carsHere in my car I can only receive I can listen to you And it keeps me stable for days In carsHere in my car When the image breaks down Will you visit me, please If I open my door In carsHere in my car I know, I've started to think About leavin' tonight Although nothin' seems right In carsHere in my car Nothin' seems Here in my car Nothin' seems Here in my car Nothin' seems In carsHere in my car Nothin' seems Here in my car Nothin' seems Here in my car Nothin' seems Songwriters: Gary Anthony James Webb

#youtube

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breedsblood · 9 months ago

Text

Gary Numan - Cars (Live At Terminal 5 NYC 03.19.24)

Click Link For Full Video

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vwiolets · 5 months ago

Text

100 music artists I recommend,, (in no specific order)

Frost Children

100 gecs

Mindless Self Indulgence

S3RL

Alice Longyu Gao

Insane Clown Posse

Mommy Long Legs

Black Dresses

Ween

The Flaming Lips

The Cure

Siouxsie and the Banshees

B-52's

The Dead Milkmen

Alex g

Kikuo

Rio Romeo

Lil Witchy

Joost

Tears for Fears

David Bowie

Queen

Laura Les

Jack Stauber

Mother Mother

DEVO

Pet Shop Boys

ABBA

Wanko Ni Mero Mero

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Ashnikko

Ayesha Erotica

Kets4eki

Siouxxsie Sixxsta

Joy Division

No Doubt

IOSYS

Syris

6arleyhuman

Odetari

Rebzyyx

Duran Duran

The Smiths

Talk Talk

Billy Cobb

The Ronettes

The Cars

Oingo Boingo

The Front Bottoms

Lil Darkie

Mitski

Carolesdaughter

Hole

Rage Against the Machine

Beastie Boys

Beach Boys

TV Girl

Fentanyl

Broadway Homestuck

Madness

Soft Cell

Kate Bush

Sodikken

Paramore

Toby Fox

James Roach

Green Day

Anthrax

Adam Ant

TV Room

Big Baller B

When In Rome

Saint Motel

Friend

Millionaires

Toy-Box

Asteria

Underscores

Ghost and Pals

The Left Rights

DECO*27

Foxygen

The Living Tombstone

BABYMETAL

Gary Numan

Dazey and the Scouts

Penelope Scott

The Oozes

The Clash

Caramella Girls

Lemon Demon

Destroy Boys

Hot Freaks

Anamanaguchi

Kurffew

Glitch Gum

Los Campesinos!

Stxlkin

Toxic Lipstick

Gezebelle Gaburgably

#Guys I just got bored

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barnulv23 · 1 year ago

Photo

Payback and The Machmen

Story : He was different, from all they could tell. Well, they were all robots...androids...things created by the hands of Men, Men who wanted to get better versions of themselves. Cloning was always controversial, but what if it was to save humanity? Lately, Men were only interested in technology, money, and fake lives. In the stats, the number of births per year was decreasing at a great speed. Men didn't have time for futile lives that kept their ancestors going for centuries. The pollution. The animal genocide. They were the culprit, and they knew that, so why even bother getting offsprings? So they could cry at their parents asking them why they didn't reacted before ? It was too late anyway. Those men, the Machmen, they lived among the normal people. Not really hiding. They all looked the same. They were robots made from human's flesh. They were non-sentient. They weren't suffering. They were bland and cold. Payback was a ghost, possessing a robot body that wasn't like theirs. He was entirely mechanical and worked on oil and gasoline. Just like cars. And he could feel. Just wasn't showing it. They were all Replicas. And he wasn't. Some people fell in love with them. But most were scared of them. Despite being different, Payback and them agreed on accepting each others. This was just the way society was now, and he knew he couldn't change it. So what if suddenly, he could use their blindness to non-ethical purposes over humanity..?

Commentary : AAAAAAAA This is like the best piece I did like...EVER??? What is that ??? I love it. Every aspect. Am so proud ;-; ANYWAY So, this piece is inspired of course by the Machman, by Gary Numan, or Tubeway Army, if you prefer. He was inspired by a book he never finished, to create those mysterious half machine half human things. But if you look at the description from the supposed Replicas album Gary should have released, it says : 'Replicas' began as a concept album, based on a book that Numan never completed about a futuristic metropolis where androids with cloned human skin called 'Machmen' team up with machines to keep citizens controlled under fear and force. So of course I was inspired by this for this piece, and the guys you see behind are what is supposed to be the Machmen on the drawings, but IRL this is the design and costume Gary Numan had back then for a few songs, when he was younger. Thought it could be a nice addition to give him credits like that :3 Hope you like it :OOO

Fun facts ??? In the RP I made, where Payback is basically born from, one of those Machmen befriended Payback because he was different. He didn't have brown hair, but blond. And it seemed as he could feel, just like Payback. If you want to see the context/have the story : "[...]But Payback eventually stopped moving, and starred at someone from his sidewalk.

On the other side of the sidewalk, was someone...that looked just like those...agents. Dressed up all same, in those black clothes...skin still pretty pale...but this one had blond hair, not brown like the others. Payback's LED's stayed red, looking at him...but he didn't crossed the street. He stayed there...and starred intensively at him...and that other guy did literally the same. -(-2-) Are ... they bugged..? -(-1-)...are they doing like cats and just...see the one who's gonna flinch first..? -(-2-) ...knowing them...yes. At least it would somehow fit to Payback... -(-1-)so...is it dangerous ? Should we shoot it? But the weird man started to talk, things normal humans couldn't even comprehend, and Payback clenched his jaw and crossed the street, almost like he felt insulted, somehow... Payback stood right in front of the android...awfully close...to...assert...dominance..? But the android didn't even flinched. Seeing it didn't...Payback walked around it a bit, like a cat stalking his prey, waiting for the right moment to jump. Payback's LED's turned off. Well, if the guy wasn't even scared and was just talkative... Payback stood in front of it again. -(-2-) What ... are they doing... Interrogation points appeared on Payback's glasses, in all red with the LED's, as they went from left to right, like a message that had to pass. As the android's dialogue puirsued, the interrogation points disappeared on Payback's glasses. So far, neither of them seemed hostile or close to being hostile... so that was good, right..? Payback then slowly approached his head to the android's...very slowly...Still looking down. He put his forehead against the android's one, and as soon as he did, an electric noise occurred. Like when there was contact with two big electricity tensions, and it just zapped very loudly...actually, it was even visible : some kind or an electricity arc appeared in between both their foreheads. With that noise, -1- flinched. It sounded painful, even, but the androids didn't seem in pain at all. Payback then removed his head, and looked back at the android, who finally opened its eyes back, after the zapping occurred. But everyone seemed fine...right..? Despite the noise and the fact it was visually very impressive...and the high voltage it probably required... Actually, maybe even more than fine : a heart started to go from left to right on Payback's glass, as he looked over the other android. -(-1-)are you kidding me right now- -1- dragged a hand on his face. -(-1-)was that- did they do the same thing than in Wall-E..? -1- looked over -2-. -(-1-)you telling me they're flirting? -(-2-) Oh god I hope not. "

Character (c) : BarnUlv23 / Gary Numan Art (c) : BarnUlv23 © copyright BarnUlv23. You may NOT use, post, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my explicit written consent.

Tumblr : Youtube : ToyHouse : Alternate ToyHouse : Selling Account : Interested in a commission ?

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longliverockback · 1 year ago

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Gary Numan Hybrid 2003 Jagged Halo ————————————————— Tracks CD One: 01. Hybrid 02. Dark 03. Crazier 04. Bleed 05. Torn 06. Down in the Park 07. Every Day I Die 08. Absolution 09. Cars

Tracks CD Two: 01. Ancients 02. Dominion Day 03. A Prayer for the Unborn 04. Me! I Disconnent from You 05. Listen to My Voice 06. RIP 07. This Wreckage 08. Are 'Friends' Electric? 09. M.E. 10. Down in the Park —————————————————

Roderick Chandler

Francesca Hanley

Rob Holiday

Sandy Mill

Alan Moulder

Gary Numan

Richard Pryce

Mark Ralph

* Long Live Rock Archive

#GaryNuman #Roderick Chandler #Francesca Hanley #Rob Holiday #Sandy Mill #Alan Moulder #Gary Numan #Richard Pryce #Mark Ralph #Hybrid #LP #Industrial #2003

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the-firebird69 · 2 years ago

Text

Watch "Gary Numan - Cars" on YouTube

youtube

This is the s******* Dave AKA Dan next door with this menacing look and he actually had me figured it out earlier and people start looking around and that's kind of like a stupid thing to do but a lot of people forgot but there are certain folks who are investigating the f****** prick for murdering their family and things like that that did not forget and they told people and foreigners too and their technique is lousy these people are very lame they're not spies they're not really military and they're sloppy and they are mean and you can't do that to someone like me I'm confident that they're going to lose probably everything tonight and they'll have to be moved out answer for us this is their move and pretty much their only move except for the AI after that which is kind of lame

Zues Hera

We'll have to be moved out after this fails completely because everyone's talking about it you know what everyone is talking about it and was but we don't care

Dan

Although I like your insulting ranch and enjoy them I'm a bit young and I have a tendency to send a lot of hits out on you Dan okay Dave and I'm sending them now because of you I have tons of money because of the schmuck next door too and you do get hit and yeah when you lose your plan you're going to be a b**** and you have to be forced out

Zues

This is true too you guys are now going to lose everything and try and blame my husband and you've been hearing it all around and then Dave says I'm going to do it anyways and so I'm going to kick your ass anyways just as you lose everything everybody's going to see that it's you and they're going to start slaughtering your people and by the time they get to you you can do these two in the meantime we need to move you out of there and I agree with that

Hera

Restraining and struggling with it now it's no more struggle they have to move out and we have to get them out and Stan will get help Max is getting up and we'll hear what he has to say if anything

Thor Freya

We have a complete set of you too Dan and Trump no we have a bunch of you but nowhere near that many and we have facilities but nothing like that so we're going in there and we're going to take it apart believe you me we can't use your crap it's substandard too and your robot suck but really we're going to attack you now and we're going to repress you like you've been repressing me and our friend here and you have no life and we don't have lives like mental patients in this weird town it was sick of you dumb f****** retards and you suck it's like some knock-off made with toys but they're dangerous enough if they carry devices and yeah that's how you look at it Joel Watts you idiot and when he called you idiot too so man that guy is supposed to be smart as an accent but is an idiot. It's a thank you for doing those surgeries too everything's pointing at you for doing the most as in like 80 or 90% even more than the clones who are infected too because of you

Mac daddy if you have a friend here to think but you're the freaking leak and the loose end and the loose everything and you're loosey-goosey about everything the senior talking about all your business how loud threatening people out loud doing drugs drinking and you're going to lose again and we know you like to be a loser and he doesn't sympathize with you at all and he never has and you're just a loser about that too

I want this loser dead and I need it I'm so sick of hearing from him and about him I'm so tired of hearing what he's been doing and f****** up and I care if people know who I am I Mark Nunez and I'm also Daniel Reyes I don't want anybody to think I'm from the stupid mental house this is such a stupid f****** thing if you God damn idiots and you're small as hell and he says three out of 100 isn't that bad so I see that's not that small and we're going to get to work and he's right we should take down all the bases and f*** you idiots up. But now we can't and we have to devote assets to watching your stupid ass again

Daniel reyes

There it is Trump you're finally got back at him you have to watch you for one night on purpose

Zues

You have my respect Zeus that's what he's done and that's all he's done because it was screaming crying yelling baby s*** ass self and to put up with it all through your mass and Wentworth and you're out to lunch so you're helping in the future but you really need to be doing other stuff I see what you're saying you are inundated with them and they were burying you alive now it's their turn to be buried but they're going to die and I know it I can read it here this is going to be awesome this is so good he says and I'm saying I can't wait to see you dead you're so stupid You two

Hera

I got to get out of this it's so damn dumb we're going to beat up by everybody cuz they're mental patients retirees old s**** and sick people from Florida it's getting beat up by retards who hv sucky s***and yeah it looks like we take the robots and they suck it's like a freaking toaster and he said to do it and he followed his orders you're a f****** dummy said you should see his then run real fast you go straight through concrete walls like 2 ft thick and their man-sized we don't hear anymore you fn losers and all of this says one for thick but that's like 10,000 PSI. . I get out of here it sucks so bad I'm going to take the two big guys with me he says you should they're not a problem in the car or even hanging out they're helpful I need to get out of that atmosphere and not like combat but that's what I'm saying too we need to do something other than this this is dog s*** Justin is a group of people willing to stop these idiots and they have good ideas and we need it now

Mike tew

We're going to go ahead and do this we're going to get out of this I'm talking to Ben Arnold on the phone says I can't get any car at all not to mention the new ones this stifling everybody and the group is not that big and this makes a lot of sense they're under duress out there and they can't move they're paralyzed they have no go between

Ben Arnold

#Youtube

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