JOVM’s William Ruben Helms cerebrates Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison’s 75th birthday.
Tag: New Wave
Throwback: Happy Belated 63rd Birthday, John Taylor!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Duran Duran’s John Taylor’s 63rd birthday.
Throwback: Black History Month: Grace Jones
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Black History Month and pays tribute to Grace Jones.
New Audio: Italy’s Freddi Rituali Shares 80s New Wave-Inspired “Per Ridere di te”
Formed last year, the Italian synth pop/coldwave duo Freddi Rituali — Diego Ballani (vocals) and Marco Tosetti (guitar, synths, programming) — features two, grizzled Italian scene veterans: After spending 20 years in Italian power pop outfit Made, Ballani and Tosetti decided to start a music project largely inspired by 80s British synth pop, Italian New Wave groups like Diaframma and Germany’s CCCP, as well as contemporaries like JOVM mainstays The Vacant Lots and acclaimed Belarusians Molchat Doma.
The duo’s self-titled debut EP was released earlier this year, and the EP features material that pairs angular guitar and icy synths with introspective lyrics sung with an earnest, emotive delivery. The EP’s latest single, the remarkably Flock of Seagulls-like “Per ridere di te,” sees the duo pairing glistening and icy synth arpeggios, mathematically precise, skittering beats with angular bursts of shimmering, reverb-soaked guitar, catchy hooks and Ballani’s earnest, emotive delivery.
For Americans, “Per ridere de ti,” may open up an alternate pop universe that sounds intimately familiar yet alien — but as infectious and as danceable as ever.
Throwback: Happy 73rd Birthday, Phil Manzanera!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera’s 73rd birthday.
New Video: D1V4 Shares Minimalist “WINTERSPORT”
Featuring members split between Berlin and Yberg, D1V4 is a German New Wave duo — Luis (vocals) and Cosy Mo (production) — that officially formed not too long ago, and can trace its origins back to when the duo met while collaborating in film: Luis worked as a filmmaker and director and Cosy Mo as a sound designer. In an attempt to enhance their work, the duo experimented with their own beats, gradually developing a common musical language – which resulted in their debut single “WINTERSPORT.”
“WINTERSPORT” is a minimalist bit of synth pop built around skittering beats and twinkling synth arpeggios and chanted mantra-like vocals that sounds a bit like Kraftwerk and John Carpenter soundtracks with a mischievously anachronistic quality.
The accompanying video features slickly edited footage of what appears to be Olympic Ski Ballet shot during the 1984 Winter Olympics. Each of the competitors manages to move almost in time to the accompanying song’s beats.
Throwback: Happy 74th Birthday, Chris Stein!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Blondie’s Chris Stein’s 74th birthday.
The inaugural Totally Tubular Festival will tour across 17 markets across North America starting June 28, 2024 in Santa Barbara, CA and closing out July 27, 2024 in Cincinnati. The tour includes a July 18, 2024 stop at Pier 17.
The festival’s first lineup features a collection of artists that exploded into the pop culture zeitgeist in the early to mid 1980s as a result of regular rotation of their music videos on MTV. Because of nostalgia — and the songs were great — the sounds of the 80s and the artists, who created that song have seen a resurgence in popularity over the last handful of years.
The artists performing on the 2024 tour include:
- Thomas Dolby
- Thompson Twins‘ Tom Bailey
- Modern English
- Men Without Hats
- The Romantics
- Bow Wow Wow
- Tommy Tutone (in select markets)
- The Plimsouls
“This is a dream lineup for those who love the music of the early 1980’s, and for those who want to relive the days when life was…plain and simply–a total party,” says Jon Pleeter, CPO (Chief Party Officer) of Totally Tubular Festival. “You wore dayglow, you wore parachute pants, you had big hair, perms and more perms, mullets, leg warmers, along with tons of buttons and lots of rubber bracelets. You wore sunglasses at night. The choruses were big, and the hooks were bigger—the party didn’t end.”
A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will go towards food banks locally in each market.
TOTALLY TUBULAR FESTIVAL tour dates include:
6/28 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
6/29 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theatre
6/30 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre
7/3 – Phoenix – Arizona Financial Theatre
7/6 – Englewood, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
7/9 – Irving, TX – Pavilion @ Toyota Music Factory
7/10 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
7/13 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheatre
7/16 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheatre
7/17 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall @ Fenway
7/18 – New York, NY – Pier 17
7/19 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live @ Etess Arena
7/20 – Bushkill, PA – Poconos Park Amphitheatre
7/23 – Laval, QUE – Place Bell
7/24 – Missisauga, ONT – GCT Theatre
7/26 – Detroit, MI – Meadowbrook Amphitheatre
7/27 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center Amphitheatre
Throwback: Happy 62nd Birthday, Robin Guthrie!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie’s 62nd birthday.
Throwback: Happy 68th Birthday, Bernard Sumner!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Joy Division’s and New Order’s Bernard Sumner’s 68th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 64th Birthday, Michael Stipe!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe’s 64th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, Andy Summers!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates The Police’s Andy Summers’ 81st birthday.
Throwback: Happy 49th Birthday, Nick Zinner!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner’s 49th birthday.
Throwback: Happy Belated 62nd Birthday, Larry Mullen, Jr.!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates U2’s Larry Mullen, Jr.’s 62nd birthday.