DATE
1st July 2010
With Bionic, Christina Aguilera has become just the latest in a long line of artists to flirt with Ballardian ideas of human-mechanical hybridity, from the oddball compositions of the 1960s pop producer Joe Meek to the Detroit techno of Juan Atkins and Derrick May. Thanks to its wealth of cultural associations – movies, TV shows, comic books and more besides – it’s hardly surprising that this perennial sci-fi theme has proven such a seductive narrative for musicians. After all, folk singers aside, who wouldn’t want to play around with imagery that immediately places their work at the very forefront of sonic progress?
The National – Review – Thursday, July 01, 2010
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THE MESSAGE
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No matter how many performers return to these tropes, though, only one band has ever made them truly its own: the boundary-breaking German art-pop group KW. In fact, so successful was the band’s 1978 album The Man-Machine, that even now it is hard to consider its cover stars (Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos, Wolfgang Flür and Florian Schneider) 100 per cent flesh and blood.
Combining what was at its time the very latest in synthesizer technology with impeccable styling and archly deadpan vocals delivered in enigmatic, European-accented English, this record was and still remains a conceptual triumph. In fact, its highlights, The Model and The Robots, still sound as fresh and futuristic as the day they were first released.
COMMENTS
2010-07-15
Andrew Lagowski wrote
"Should we celebrate them or decry their laziness?" | | I tend to be negative about many things, always pointing out reasons why things are bad. It's making me very depressed because I'm not really like that. Honestly! But I believe there is a line between pop stars stealing older ideas and calling them their own, and those generating truly original ideas. I would separate Black Eyed Peas from Christina Aguilera for example. BEP are quite original to my eyes/ears as they have embraced technology and almost allowed it to take over their music - letting the machines become part of the band. Whereas CA and countless others have looked to past genres and masters of their art and said "This style/genere was popular with the kids - how can I use their ideas and re-invent myself?". I don't believe reinvention is an example of forward thinking. I think you need to go ahead and be true to your own ideals and if people follow you, great. If not, well, at least you did it your way (no Sinatra please!). Does that make sense? | | |
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