"Living in the Plastic Age" by The Buggles

   “Talking fast, I make a deal, buy the fake and sell what’s real. What’s this pain here in my chest? Maybe I should take a rest…”

   Hello friends! The Dial returns to transmit another signal containing an overlooked tune from years gone by. This time, we turn our frequency to the work of Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes, “The Buggles”, and their timeless classic “Video Killed the Ra-…”

   Wait. NO. That’s NOT the song we are covering today. Yes, you read that right. And yes, that does mean that the Buggles produced music OTHER THAN that iconic tune that kicked off the MTV generation. (though most of us in the U.S. had NO IDEA!) Allow me to educate you on the ups and downs of “Living in the Plastic Age”!

   Formed in London by keyboardist Geoffrey Downes and vocalist and bassist Trevor Horn, The Buggles released their first album “The Age of Plastic” in early 1980, with “Video Killed…” as the lead single in late ‘79. For a follow up cut, “Living in the Plastic Age” was selected.

   “Plastic” criticizes the trend of plastic surgery being used as a way to deal with the increasing hecticness of modern life, and this was written back in late 1979… I wonder what Downes and Horn must feel about modern life nowadays! Anyway, Trevor sings of a salesman immersed in technology, who suffers a mild heart attack. The “heart police” submit him to a facelift which supposedly makes everything better… but does it really? Trevor offers no real answer to this question, just an unsettling feeling that things didn’t improve and probably won’t at all.

   In contrast to the somewhat dark lyrics, the music video is a campy delight, featuring time traveling monks, humanoids that shoot electricity (and resemble the Silver Surfer), science fiction costumes complete with goggles, Trevor Horn being pulled through walls, Trevor Horn flying on a rotating disk (he has all the fun), and a nice little arcade cameo as the Space Invaders attempt to bomb the Buggles band members.

   “Plastic” peaked at a respectable UK #16, but did not chart at in the US. I suspect it wasn’t even pushed to radio or released as a single over here, as “Video Killed…” only peaked at US #40 (despite being a UK #1... and #1 in Australia, Austria, Sweden, and Switzerland),so American program directors probably weren’t confident that the second Buggles singles would do any better. This is a shame, because I think this is a better song than “Video Killed…” and I would have loved to have heard it on the radio.

   YouTuber and song reviewer Todd in the Shadows (seriously, he’s awesome, and one of my favorites, look him up), has described “Plastic” as sounding like Abba meets Devo, and I can think of a no more concise description of the sound of this track. The Abba harmonies are especially apparent in the vocal buildups that precede each chorus repetition, and the opening keyboard riff, which recalls tracks by the Swedish icons like “Money Money Money”, and “Does Your Mother Know”.

   The remainder of the tune carries the Devo comparisons… the cold, new wave, robotic quality of the verses, and those shouted “PLASTIC AGE!” repetitions. Interestingly, the chorus is the most musically rich part of the tune with a very 80’s blend of guitar, synths, and echoed vocals.

   The Buggles broke up after their second LP, 1981’s “Adventures in Modern Recording”, then joined Yes for the recording of that group’s tenth LP “Drama”. Following that, the guys left Yes, and Trevor became a highly prolific producer, for acts like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, Grace Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, Paul McCartney, Simple Minds, Seal, Tori Amos, Cher, Rod Stewart, LeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, Danny Elfman, John Legend, Robbie Williams… the list is truly staggering, and I even left a ton of people out!

   Geoff didn’t do so bad for himself either, as he co-founded the AOR super group Asia with Steve Howe (ex-Yes), John Wetton (ex-King Crimson, and Uriah Heep), and Carl Palmer (ex-Emerson, Lake & Palmer), which graced us with hits like “Heat of the Moment” (#4/82), and “Don’t Cry” (#10/83). He also entered the Guinness Book of Records for performing with a record 28 keyboards on stage during a single performance.

   So, I invite you to click the video below and check out the Buggles’ second single. Do you think “Plastic” had the potential to have been a bigger hit than “Video Killed...” if given the right push in the U.S.? Post a comment and let me know what you think! And be sure to stay tuned to the Dial for more great overlooked tunes from the past!

http://trevorhorn.com/

"Justified and Ancient" by The KLF and Tammy Wynette

   “They’re justified, and they’re ancient… and they like to roam the land…”

   Tonight… on Kyle’s Radio Dial… A very British amalgam of electronica, hard rock, country, and tribal chants which could not have existed at any other era in pop music history except for the time of it’s release… the early ‘90s. Because that’s what The KLF is about… Also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, furthermore knows as the JAMS. Get ready, and get on the dance floor as the Dial turns it’s receivers to pick up a signal containing The KLF and Tammy Wynette’s “Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMS)”.

   The KLF (typically explained as standing for “Kopyright Liberation Front”) was officially only two Londoners, musician and producer Bill Drummond (formerly of punk band Big in Japan) and guitarist Jimmy Cauty (formerly of Brilliant). “Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMS)”, a UK #2 and US #11 hit, was a reworking of a track found on their 1991 LP The White Room. The song’s chorus features a sample of Jimmy Hendrix’s 1968 psychedelic rock classic “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”, and a rap from frequent musical colleague Ricardo da Force. The lyrics are unquestionably about the group itself, as they mention their various monikers and tell their detractors not to stop them “because they’re coming through”. This creates a glorious and wacky tune of self promotion, yet also ties into their mythical philosophy of “Mu Mu Land”, a recurring theme throughout The KLF’s output.

   Now let’s talk about Tammy... Wynette that is. Billed on the label as “The First Lady of Country Music”, (and who would argue that?) Tammy charted an impressive twenty-nine top 10 country hits during the ‘60s and ‘70s, of which 1968’s “Stand by Your Man” (her signature song) stood at the top of the country singles charts for three weeks and crossed over to US #19 pop, her highest position on the Hot 100. Wynette’s last significant solo hit was 1982’s “Another Chance” which hit US country #8.

   Her KLF collaboration returned Tammy to the top 40 pop charts for the first time since “Stand by your Man” twenty-three years earlier. There is even a lyrical shout out to her signature song when she sings…

   “They called me up in Tennessee, they said ‘Tammy… Stand by the JAMS’”

   This really was an amazing and out of left field collaboration. It would be like if Diplo dropped an EDM single tomorrow that featured ‘90’s country sweetheart Jo Dee Messina singing the verses. Actually in today’s musical landscape, where nearly every song has at least two or three “featured artists”, and there is a tremendous amount of genre cross-pollination, maybe the Diplo/Jo Dee track wouldn’t be all THAT weird, but you get the idea.

   Another worthwhile cut from The KLF that I recommend is “Last Train to Transcentral”, a UK #2 rockin’ dance cut that featured a cool music video with a flying police car and a model train shrouded in fog and smoke. Last Train never charted in the states, but I watched the video frequently as an employee of Waldorf, Maryland’s Square Circle record store, via an in-store VHS tape of music videos that we played for several months to promote new artists. Plus, train songs are cool. Don’t shake your head, you know I’m right.

   When researching Justified, I saw that an earlier single by the band, “3 A.M. Eternal” hit US #5 in 1991 and was their biggest US hit, so I figured I should check it out as well. Oddly enough I don’t recall that song at all. Not from the radio, not from MTV, not from those Square Circle video tapes either… somehow I completely missed their biggest hit. Not sure how the hell that happened exactly.

   The KLF were a truly weird group who are worth researching and reading about. Basically, their goal was to subvert the music industry, which earned them a reputation as “pranksters”. They wrote a book entitled “The Manual (How to have a Number One the Easy Way)” – which is exactly what it sounds like it is. They also created stunts involving burning one million quid, destroying copies of their first LP, and firing blanks into an assembled crowd for the 1992 BRIT awards, among numerous other crazy acts. Drummond and Cauty dissolved their musical partnership in 1992, only five years after they formed, but they left a legacy that continues to shape dance, techno, house, and electronica to this day.

   Now, while I certainly do not agree with Jane Lynch’s comment (as Sue Sylvester) from an episode of Fox’s “Glee” that Justified is “hands down the worst song ever written”, (I tend to think that pretty much the bulk of Flo Rida’s hits should earn that derision) but I do recognize that Justified is empty of any deep social commentary on the human condition, and it’s devoid of any really complex musical structure. But it never set out to be, and above all, who cares? It’s a hoot to listen to, a bizarre slice of pop culture ephemera, and a product of the time. Check it out below, and take your own little trip to Mu Mu Land. 

   And be sure to stay tuned to Kyle's Radio Dial,where the more you listen... the MORE you remember!

(I don't believe the KLF has an official website - so you may Google them at your leisure)

https://tammywynette.com/