Pure Punk Picks
Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric) – Red Noise
Before punk music happened- sure, I was into what would become known as “proto-punk”, bands that led up to the formation of punk like Iggy & The Stooges, The Modern Lovers, The Dictators and New York Dolls. But I must confess, I was also quite taken with “art rock.”
These were bands that had an “arty” feel to their music. And actually, at the time my two main interests we’re music and art. Nowadays, it’s skee-ball and lottery tickets, but I digress. But I loved artsy David Bowie and for a band, Roxy Music who epitomized art rock for me. I loved their early albums and still do. Only kidding about the skee-ball and lottery tickets, it’s really hang gliding and monster truck rallys that I’m most into now.
In the early days of Boston punk it seemed every band had at least one member from Mass Art or The Museum School. And I thought, that maybe punk music would become known as music for artists, because it sure as hell didn’t seem like any normal people would ever be interested in it, at the time.
In the early seventies I liked an English art rock band called Be-Bop Deluxe, led by guitarist/composer Bill Nelson.
Now, I listen to their material and feel it’s fairly lame.
But I did see a concert of theirs at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston in the mid seventies. I had pretty good seats, maybe in the first ten rows. And the opening act was a band that I would go on to see many times. That was Iggy & The Stooges.
So, in 1979, before Bill Nelson went on to create some worthwhile kind of ambient albums, he had a very, short lived art/punk band called Red Noise.
They only made one album, called “Sound On Sound”, but it is one of my favorite albums from that time.
Though I only get to choose one song from it, almost every song on it is great. I think of The Stranglers as prog/punk and maybe that applies here, as well. I guess if you’re willing, like me, to accept a band that sounds like as if King Crimson made a punk album- you may enjoy them, too!
It makes me wince just writing the words “prog/punk” but really, punk was never against moving forwards, just against the so-called “progressive” music of the time that was really, a watered down, caricatured version of jazz and classical music equipped with circus tricks.
This song was from one of the three albums that I first learned to play bass from back in ’79, along with the New York Dolls first and the Talking Heads second. I still can remember playing along with this song.
With an energetic intro that rests on the fourth beat, just to throw a dissonant guitar chord in your face. “Don’t Touch Me (I’m Electric)” sets the pace for a frantic, romp with vocals that are fey and unrestrained. (A bit like Bowie, David Byrne or even the B-52’s!)
“Hey! I said what you doin’? I’m the kind of person you could really ruin!”
The chorus has a drum roll that calls all festivities to a halt.
“Don’t touch me- I’m electric! You can hold the wires but don’t blow the fuse. I got that AC/DC, AC/DC. I got the fast and slow.”
There’s a short, four note sax interlude that sets up the last verse that rocks out like a wave taking out a storm barrier.
“I’m on fire! I’m a real live wire!”
Yes, this song is smoking hot, burning the house down and call the fire department because this song has just engulfed me in flames!
“Artsy” has never been a bad word for me. Andy can attest that I always liked local bands that had the art/punk feel to them, while he was a bit more straight ahead punk and hardcore. Words and literature came in to play for me a little while later, but really, for me there’s little difference between visual art, literature or music- it all comes from the same palette. All springs from the same source, all include the desire to express.
Art rock? Punk rock? Hey, all I know is this song is exciting, riveting and emotional- creative and engaging and wild. And listening to this song, at the time was equivalent to placing one’s ear on the third rail of a public transportation system.
But here you can listen to it without any fear of injury, you can probably survive unscathed.
Though, it may send a jolt of excitement up your spine, shocking your heart causing ecstatic joy.
(Slimedog)
