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Music supervisors are finding new and daring ways to incorporate songs on television (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
T
he past year has been nothing short of a dumpster fire but God, it’s yielded some great TV. And maybe it’s all this extra time we have on our hands – or perhaps our collective sensory deprivation – that’s leading us to take keen notice of any stimulation thrown our way, but it seems we’re watching this latest cadre of shows with newly opened ears.
Whether it was Anya Taylor Joy’s chess genius drunkenly dancing her way to denouement via the unmistakable bop of The Shocking Blue’s “Venus” in
The Teardrop Explodes
The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single Reward (which is still a staple of 1980s alternative pop compilations), the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s, the group also launched the career of group frontman Julian Cope as well as that of keyboard player and co-manager David Balfe (later a record producer, A&R man and founder of Food Records). Other members included early Smiths producer Troy Tate.
Along with other contemporary Liverpudlian groups, The Teardrop Explodes played a role in returning psychedelic elements to mainstream British rock and pop, initially favouring a modernised version of lightly psychedelic late 60s-influenced beat-group sound (sometimes described as bubblegum trance ) and later exploring more experimental areas. In addition to their musical reputation, the band (and Cope in particular
For anyone who’s been through the agony of coming out, especially to a hostile family, or who lost loved ones to Aids, this series will be especially moving
Martha Wainwright,
Jeniferever, to name but a few.
As we kick off our regular series of label features, it would seem remiss to not highlight the one that exists above our very heads (the room upstairs, innit).
For those who’ve met Sean Adams, you’ll know that he hasn’t changed that much in the last few years. In fact, the only real physical variation is the ever-changing roster of band t-shirts adorning him. Today it’s a deep chocolate (and evidently adored) Sigur Rós one. Very much labelling oneself with love. The job, however, has changed.
Starting in a box-room in southeast London (scaggy Lewisham), the scenery is different now. DiS towers, aka the ‘DiSopolis’, is a bright, nu-media-esque two-floor office in central London covered in press releases, CDs, promo stock, posters and a picture of someone from My Chemical Romance with a tacked-on speech bubble proclaiming
Indie Basement: Best Reissues, Box Sets & Compilations of 2020
Having already posted the Indie Basement Best Albums of 2020 list, I thought I d run down my favorite reissues and compilations from the past year. I stayed within the general confines of the things I cover on a weekly basis. So as much as I dig the Prince ˆmega-deluxe edition and Neil Young s
Homegrown, they re not on this list. For the reissues, I picked things that either had lots of worthy bonus features or had been out of print for a long time (often both). I also picked an additional 12 reissues from this year that didn t quite fit that criteria but were also worthy of note.