BUCHLA & EML

OSCILLATIONS: BIGGER THAN AMERICA by Heaven 17

After a trio of albums (PENTHOUSE AND PAVEMENT,  THE LUXURY GAP,  HOW MEN ARE) that successfully combined political/personal sloganeering with catchy melodies,  strong beats,  and electronics via the Human League's initial futurism,  Heaven 17's inspired take on pop collapsed under the weight of its own pretensions.  Two albums followed (PLEASURE ONE and  TEDDY BEAR,  DUKE,  AND PSYCHO)  that did little to attract potential listeners.  While I did buy those releases,  I found them unlistenable especially when compared to their early albums.  I had just about given up on Heaven 17 when I stumbled upon the European edition of BIGGER THAN AMERICA on a trip to  Rome during the summer of 1996,  and was pleasantly surprised by the return of cover paintings by Ray Smith,  who had done the wonderful illustrations for those three early classics.  It turned out that BIGGER THAN AMERICA was indeed a return to form,  both in terms of strong lyrical content and the analogue electronics that made early Human League so special.  Topics such as social status,  financial excess,  hedonism,  and political facade/collapse are explored,  and are just as valid today as they were in 1996,  especially in a world broken by America's cultural imperialism and the cost of its promises.  The sound here is all about a stripped down electronic pulse that has more to do with the Human League's early instrumental  EP THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR Parts 1-4 than the highly produced Heaven 17 albums that preceded BTA.  I know this CD may seem dated to some,  but if you're an individual who yearns for an electro-pop vision of our dystopian world,  this may be a time warp worth picking up on.

THE DREAMER HAS AWAKENED: Tura Satana (1938-2011)

Tura Satana (the former Tura Luna Pascual Yamaguchi) died of heart failure on February 4,  2011 at the age of 72.  Her tough,  yet feminine presence,  exotic multi-ethnic looks,  and ample figure  made her something of an icon to breast fetishists like director Russ Meyer and an influence on later movie amazons like those found in Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL movies.  Like the heroine in those films,  it is rumored she was attacked by men at an early age and later exacted revenge on each of them after learning martial arts.  Prior to her film work,  she sought employment as a nude model,  exotic dancer,  and TV actress.  Ms. Satana found her breakthrough role as the quick tempered Varla in Meyer's FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (1965),  a screen first in her portrayal of an aggressive,  no nonsense,  sexy,  and violent leader of a gang of like-minded females on the prowl for "kicks".  Women's Lib never seemed this threatening to men,  as Varla's sacastic wit,  her quick and brutal attacks on male stupidity,  and murderous ways made plain.  The film was originally titled LEATHER GIRLS,  but was changed as Tura became Varla,  whose sense of style and attitude brought both tension and energy to the production.  Other odes to female violence followed,  including  Ted V. Mikel's THE ASTRO ZOMBIES (1969)  and  THE DOLL SQUAD (1974).  She never became a star in the Hollywood sense,  but remained a powerful figure for lovers of cult cinema not only through her film roles ,  but through an extensive web presence (see http://www.tursatana.com/).

OPTIK: ASTRO ZOMBIES

The recent passing of Tura Satana (see an upcoming THE DREAMER HAS AWAKED) had me wanting to re-visit her past glories like FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!,  but opted for the later, somewhat lesser known ASTRO ZOMBIES (1969) instead.  Ted Mikels' film is a mangled low-budget mess from beginning to end,  a guilty pleasure that really must be seen to be believed.  Its "plot", "dialogue",  "special effects",  and "acting"  are nothing short of hilarious. Make sure to catch the solar-powered astro zombie running from the scene of his bungled murder attempt with a flashlight held to the solar panels on his forehead!  Rafael Campos as Satana's campily sadistic, switchblade wielding hitman Juan gives new meaning to political incorrectness!  That someone like John Carradine (who plays Dr. DeMarco) is involved gives you some idea of the kind of financial desperation he was probably feeling at the time. Perhaps he thought he was making Art?  That he was almost certainly paid pennies on the dollar or not at all makes his involvement even sadder.  My favorite scenes are those in DeMarco's basement laboratory,  where the good doctor and his deformed assistant (no makeup,  just a ridiculously contorted face!) Francho experiment in the creation of astro zombies.  Here the soundtrack turns to a kind of no-fi electronica,  and may be one of the first films (along with the much earlier and far superior FORBIDDEN PLANET) to give primitive oscillator-driven sounds such prominence. Nico Karaski is credited with music in the opening "robot dance" credits so I'm assuming he's responsible for the knob twiddling here.  It's truly the sound of cardboard machinery gasping for a good editor.

THE SOURCE OF UNCERTAINTY UNSEEN

ECCENTRIC CURRENTS: A New Buchla 200e Module

A prototype 272e weighed in at last month's NAMM and seemingly caused a bit of a stir with the Buchla faithful,  as it's not an oscillator or a processing module,  but a "Polyphonic Tuner".  Unfortunately there is no info about its price or availability at the moment,  a sad statement of fact as I'll be lining up to grab one at its release.  One Buchla user bemoaned its existence as an elitist,  experimentalist's tool with very little to offer beyond noise.  Well,  I'm perfectly at home with between station static,  as well as the transitory detritus often referred to as "radio".  To me,  this seems like a chance to process those messages from the ether,  or merely allow bits of reality into electronic music,  much like Picasso and Braque collaged found pieces of street refuse on to their canvases.  It's also an opportunity to promote chance or randomness in experimental music,  an idea first  heard in works by John Cage ("Imaginary Landscape #4" from 1951 for twelve radio receivers) and Karlheinz Stockhausen (some versions of Hymnen from 1966).  I've heard rumblings that this 200e module had its genesis in a voltage-controlled radio Don Buchla made for David Tudor in the Sixties,  and later found form in a one-off made for Ezra Buchla.  Who knows the truth about this eccentric module?  I'll stay tuned.

MAGNIFIERS: ANALOG DAYS by Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco

Subtitled "The Invention and Impact Of The Moog Synthesizer",  this 2002 publication goes well beyond any type of hero-worship and presents a thoroughly realistic picture of not only the initial conception of Bob Moog's groundbreaking instrument,  but the cultural history that shaped its welcome.  Its cast of characters is well known to anyone who has worked with electronic sound:  Vladimir Ussachevsky, Morton Subotnick,  Wendy Carlos,  Beaver & Krause, Don Buchla,  Suzanne Ciani,  Keith Emerson,  and many, many others.  This book thankfully avoids esoteric electronic theory and sticks with the essential language of waveforms,  amplifiers,  filters,  and modulation,  making it an interesting read for even the least informed of synthesists.  I found myself especially intrigued with much of the anecdotal information contained here,  especially those moments when we get a glimpse of that other design visionary,  Don Buchla. There seems to be very little of substance written about Buchla and his beginnings,  and he seems to be a very affable,  yet private man (I've spoken to him a few times on the phone),  so those chapters are a treasure.  He's written that "fame,  fortune,  and financial success are of secondary importance",  and that making quality instruments is his primary concern.  Strangely enough,  Bob Moog may have started out on similar footing,  only to find himself swept away by market pressures and celebrity.  An ironic twist is only hinted at in this book,  but comes to me from a very reliable source, that later in life Moog regretted bowing to the limits of the pop marketplace with his keyboard controlled synths,  and wanted to design a much more experimental instrument like his early,  wildly unpredictable modular instruments.  That's a chapter for the next edition of this informative and enjoyable book.