Once upon a time, when I was a wee lass of 12 or so, a friend of my dad's (who I found out this morning is in the hospital with critical injuries) sent us a couple of tapes of something called "URGH! A Music War." I had no idea what it was all about, but I was instantly obsessed with the album. Years later I found out it was film, and has been mostly lost. A few shady video copies float around, and the vinyl soundtrack goes for way too much money on eBay. But then came YouTube. Bless you, YouTube. What follows is a play-by-play of some of my favorite bits, or at least the bits I was able to find clips of on YouTube:
The Cramps - Tear it Up. There are many things about The Cramps that should probably be illegal. These pants definitely qualify.
Klaus Nomi - Total Eclipse. Unbelievable. Without compare. The documentary about him, The Nomi Song, is a great exploration of this truly unique artist whose song has been running in my head for more than 25 years.
Devo - Uncontrollable Urge. I swear - the next person that calls Devo an "electronic" band I'm going to punch in the face. This is such a kickin' rock song.
Oingo Boingo - Ain't This the Life? What happened to big horn sections in rock bands? No one's ever been able to match this sound. I don't care how Hollywood Danny Elfman has become, he kicked ass once upon a time, and that's good enough for me.
Wall of Voodoo - Back in the Flesh. I've only very recently gotten back into Wall of Voodoo, and I regret letting them slip off my music radar.
Gary Numan - Down in the Park. The chair. Gary, do you still have it? I mean the chair, I know you you still have it. Probably the root of my love of electronic music.
Gang of Four - He'd Send In the Army. Wait, didn't I used to work with that guy? The bass player? Yes, yes I did.
And now I'm all pissed off that there's no video online of "Where's Captain Kirk" by Athletico Spizz 80 - but I found another performance of the song, which should suffice.
Athletico Spizz 80 - Where's Captain Kirk
I know there's a guy selling DVDs of URGH! that he's remastered the sound on, and I should probably just get it. It's one of my most treasured cultural signposts.