Music: Mad Men Theme

So, I didn't watch Mad Men until getting ready for my part as Don Draper in Bar & Grill: Double Feature.  I'm working late in my office, and I just hear the Mad Men theme song coming out of my desk speakers.  It turns out that the show's theme music is from a song called "A Beautiful Mine" by RJD2 (which I downloaded along with some other songs recommended by iTunes).  I'm sure I've heard this song many times before, but I didn't make the connection as I wasn't a fan of Mad Men until a few weeks ago.

Music: Recoil

[Photo: Alan Wilder playing with Recoil; 5-15-10 in Austin]


Ever wonder why Depeche Mode from the late 90's and on sounds a lot different than their earlier work. Is it perhaps missing some of the rich, layered synthesizer elements which give early Depeche Mode its distinctive sound? The answer would be: yes, post 1995 Depeche Mode does have a different sound because that's when Alan Wilder left the band to pursue his then side project Recoil on a full time basis.

I was lucky enough (thanks to some super cool friends) to catch Recoil as they stopped over in Austin for stop two of a three stop show (the other stops were Mexico City and London). Recoil was in town because Joe Richardson, a blues musician and long time member of the Austin music scene, was a collaborator on the Subhuman album. Joe warmed up the crowd with some blues, and then Recoil hit the stage with their "Strange Hour" show (comprised mainly of tracks from their Selected album). It was all pretty intense. The music was complex and multilayered electronica, at times very dark and ominous. It was a good mix of material from Subhuman and additional tracks from Selected. The videos which accompanied the show were often a little bleak and creepy, but the Russian influence exposed in the credits explained a lot of the mood and tone.

Except for a few segments I found to be loud and tedious, I was overall quite impressed. I like complex and intense electronica, and Recoil delivered an excellent sound. Moreover, it was cool to see Wilder (who's now 52) onstage and having a great time putting on a show. We should all be so lucky to be having that much fun with our work.

Music: Nouvelle Vague

Last Saturday, I was wondering what would be more fun than spending the evening watching a couple of French ladies dance and sing lounge style covers of 80's New Wave hits. Answer: nothing. Thus, I was compelled to go down to The Mohawk with the gf and some amigos in order to see Nouvelle Vague in action. The show was a lot of fun. I was hooked at the opening number, wherein they covered Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant". My favorite, though, was their version of the Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere". The Talking Heads' is one of my favorite groups, but when you replace David Byrne with the two ladies in the above photo and their Snidely Whiplash mustache sporting guitarist... man, it is groovy stuff.

Scary French facial hair aside, Nouvelle Vague's music is quite good. The fact that their songs are interesting interpretations of familiar New Wave songs is an added bonus. Check them out on iTunes and download a few of their songs (starting with the two I mentioned above).