"Supernature" by Cerrone

      That very special time of year is upon us again, friends. The time of ghosts and goblins, vampires and werewolves… and also super heroes, Disney princesses, Star Wars characters, and Paw Patrol pups. Yes, I’m talking about Halloween, that awesome time where you can dress up however you darn well please and eat as much candy and sweets as your stomach can handle and nobody will tell you that you can’t!

The Halloween season also brings about an annual tradition here on the Radio Dial… where we turn the spotlight on a song that sports a spooky or disturbing vibe. The song we have selected today, and its accompanying music video fits in perfectly with the Halloween season. Read on for Cerrone’s "Supernature".

"Once upon a time science opened up the door… we would feed the hungry field till they couldn’t eat no more…"

As much as I love (and tend to focus on) ‘80s music, I also equally love the ‘70s. Many of my earliest and fondest memories revolve around listening to songs like Elton John’s "Rocket Man", Alan O’Day’s "Undercover Angel", The Rolling Stones’ "Miss You", and multiple hits from The Eagles, The Jacksons, Foreigner, Kenny Rogers, Donna Summer, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, and The Bee Gees that were omnipresent on radio back then and continue to get played on classic hits stations today.

But this 1977 tune by French disco producer Cerrone (full name: Marc Cerrone, but professionally known only by his surname) is one that I didn’t even first hear until around 10 years ago, and once I had, I became instantly fascinated not only with its overall message, but it’s method of delivering that message.

You see, "Supernature" carries a serious environmental warning via a science-fiction-horror plotline worthy of a midnight showing at a drive-in-theater. Cerrone weaves a story of mutated animals that were created as an unintentional by-product of the engineering behind maximizing food output for the human population. Though not expressly stated by name, I’m certain GMOs, fertilizers, insecticides and weed control chemicals are on the hook here, and the mutant creatures rise up and slaughter people in revenge. The song even states the rather dark conclusion that "even God is on their side".

However, the bleak storyline offers a glimmer of hope during the final verse by asking "Will there be a happy end? Now that depends on you." (and yes, Cerrone is pointing directly at YOU!)

"But the potions that we made touched the creatures down below… and they grew up in the way that we’d never seen before."

The title track and first single from Cerrone’s 1977 LP Supernature (Cerrone III), the single release of "Supernature", topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play charts, and managed a #70 peak on the US Hot 100. It also snuck onto a few R&B stations along the way and earned a #72 showing on the US soul singles chart. Not surprisingly, it did quite well in the UK at #8, but oddly enough, it underperformed in Cerrone’s homeland, reaching a peak of #26 on the French singles charts.

While "Supernature" would be Cerrone’s biggest hit in the UK, it was another track, "Love in C Minor", a disco quasi-instrumental (also from 1977), which would be the French producer’s highest charting single in the U.S., and his only top 40 entry to boot, at #36.

"They were angry with the man ‘cause he changed their way of life… and they take their sweet revenge, as they trample through the night."

Now let’s talk about that incredible music video! Now, I totally expect that some Dial viewers may find it hilarious due its low budget effects and campy quality. But this was made in the late 70s, when special effects tended to be much more rudimentary, and music videos as an art form were in their infancy. That being said, I still find the clip for "Supernature" to be rather freaky and disturbing, and I just can’t look away.

Check it out… it begins with humans with animal heads crawling out of a science lab (as Cerrone stands there, apparently unaffected by it all), and continues on as the beasts pursue scientists and doctors through a barren wasteland. There’s synthesized growling featured during the chorus, keyboard driven "cricket chirps", images of environmental destruction, and an Eve type figure standing in a forest, as the weird animal-men stare at her threateningly. We are perhaps one unwritten scene away from grindhouse territory here!

Sure, the creatures are clearly just actors wearing what appear to be latex animal head masks left over from Halloween, but the overall freaky imagery makes this an undiscovered gem (at least in the U.S.) of horror based pop music. Plus, the subject matter, while certainly an important and serious message (the chemical poisoning of the environment), seems especially jarring when paired with upbeat Euro-disco dance floors rhythms.

I find the line "touched the creatures down below" particularly intriguing. Does that mean that only the animals that actually live underground were mutated into bloodthirsty killers, such as worms, insects, snakes, and rodents, or does "down below" refer to the animals’… ahem… reproductive systems? Perhaps our chemicals made the animals sterile (instead of mutated), which caused them to revolt and take revenge against man? Or perhaps both events happened? Either way, it results in a lot of ticked off creatures and a lot of dead people. Um… hurray?

"Look what you’ve done, there’s no place that you can run. The monster’s made, we must pay."

"Supernature" reminds me a bit of Zager & Evans’ 1969 US #1 sci-fi parable "In the Year 2525", in that both tunes are apocalyptic cautionary tales about where we are headed as a society if we rely on technology to solve our problems. Where are we headed exactly? Lots of grotesque disfigurement and sedentary unfulfilling lives according to "2525", and of course, the aforementioned mutant beasts massacring people in "Supernature". Neither one of which sounds like a future I’d like to see.

Additionally, "Supernature" would make perfect bumper music for the "Coast to Coast AM" radio show if it hasn’t been used already.

So click the video below and, give me your comments. Is the video too over the top, too corny? Does it ruin the overall message of the song? Or does it hit just the right blend of creepy horror and cautionary environmentalist tale?

Above all, enjoy the season, and Happy Halloween from all of us at Kyle’s Radio Dial!

"Supernature, you better watch out… supernature, look at you now."

 

 

 



"Symptoms of True Love" by Tracie Spencer

     Hey, how’s everyone doin’? Thank you once again for tuning into to the Dial, where we dust off those tunes that have been missing from radio for far too long! Today, we shine our spotlight on a minor hit from 1988, a danceable pop number featuring a young singer who hails from Waterloo, Iowa… its Tracie Spencer singing about the "Symptoms of True Love"!

"Hey, how did you make it... make me go out of my mind… poisoned arrows, burning fever, strings in my heart."

A sweet, uptempo R&B track about the euphoria surrounding first love, "Symptoms…" was extracted from Tracie’s 1988 debut LP Tracie Spencer, which was recorded when she was only eleven years old. This made her the youngest female artist to sign a record deal with a major label, Capitol Records. Tracie first gained prominence as the winner of the junior vocalist competition on Star Search in 1986, and for those that don’t know, Star Search was basically the American Idol of the ‘80s and ‘90s. (but how could you NOT know that?)

To date, Tracie has released only three albums (her aforementioned self-titled LP, and the follow ups Make the Difference, and Tracie), but she has charted several singles, including her biggest pop hit "This House" (US#3, R&B #7 in 1990), her biggest R&B hit "Tender Kisses" (US#42, R&B #1, ‘91), her mature comeback single "It’s All About You (Not About Me)" (US#18, R&B #6, ‘99), and her ambitious and lovely 1989 rendition of the timeless John Lennon classic "Imagine", which even though it barely registered on the Hot 100 at US #85, and only charted modestly at R&B #31, it is still well worth a listen.

Spencer also enjoyed a side modeling career in the late 90s, and was highly involved with various "Stay In School" programs, created to help reduce high school dropout rates. In the new millennium, she worked as a songwriter and has appeared as a background singer on tracks by hip hop artists such as Eve, Kanye West, and 50 Cent.

"I know what the cure is… I know a thing to take away… all the headache… all the heartache… all of my pain."

I recorded "Symptoms…" off of the radio back then and listened to it over and over on my Walkman (play, rewind, play, rewind…), all the while noticing that it was disappearing from the local top 40 stations rather quickly. It just didn’t enjoying the airplay longevity that I expected it would, when compared to other hit songs of the time. Not too much later I found out it peaked at a surprisingly low #38, and there was my answer. It should have at least reached the top 20.

Even now, thirty years later, (it’s unbelievable to me that it has been that long!) Tracie’s tune is quite catchy, and sounds great played alongside other teen pop queens of the era such as Martika, Taylor Dayne, Debbie Gibson, and Tiffany.

When I revisited "Symptoms" for this article, I was quickly reminded of an early Mariah Carey tune entitled "Sent from Up Above", which was an album cut on Carey’s 1990 debut LP. The cadence of the chorus and the overall rhythm of Mariah’s tune echo’s Tracie’s minor hit fairly closely. Carey’s tune came out two years after "Symptoms", which made me wonder if the songs possibly shared songwriters or producers. After comparing the personnel listings for both tracks, there doesn’t seem to be any connection. I suppose it’s just a coincidence. But then again, maybe it’s one of those "subconscious plagiarism" issues, like what was detailed in the lawsuit surrounding George Harrison’s "My Sweet Lord" and The Chiffons’ "He’s So Fine". Look it up, it’s a fascinating read.

So click that video below to be transported back three decades to a simpler time in pop music, and enjoy Tracie’s early entry not only in her own career, but in the soon to be dominate new jack swing format. And keep it tuned right here for the Dial’s upcoming Halloween review, where we look at a pop song from the past that uses a bizarre horror movie style story to drive its message of environmentalism. Kyle’s Radio Dial… the more you listen, the MORE you remember!

"Symptoms of true love take my breath away… make me shake… I cannot get enough of your kisses Babe… tender touch…"