Back in the mid 80s I fell in love with hardcore punk. The rage, the belligerence, the do-it-yourself ethic; I loved all of it.But while I was thrashing out to the likes of Minor Threat, Bad Brains and Agnostic Front I was also listening to electronic based bands like Skinny Puppy, Wire and Clock DVA and this caused a problem with my hardcore ideology. I was supposed to despise the latter bands for their "pretense" and "artiness." They were, after all, the antithesis of hardcore. Hell, you'd actually have to learn to play your instrument beyond furiously bashing out bar chords.My hardcore punk phase didn't last long, though. I had always loved all kinds of music and I found most of punk terribly boring, never mind the conservative mindset of most people in the punk community. Leaving hardcore punk behind (but not the music), I started listening to more and more of these electronic based bands.The mid 80s were an interesting time for electronic music because while electronic music had been around for many decades it was always in the domain of composers like Edgard Varèse and Iannis Xenakis. Suddenly anyone could go to their local music and purchase some synths and sequencers for very little money. Well, it was still expensive but not insanely so. And so music started going into some weird places.I lived in Boston while all of this was happening and while Boston's galaxies of colleges and universities ensured a incredibly rich and vibrant music scene there was very little in the way of electronic based bands. But there were a few like D.D.T., Big Catholic Guilt, Think Tree and You Shriek and they were all great and they were all very unique.A couple of months ago I thought it would be cool to have D.D.T. come on the show and play some of their songs but then it occurred to me, why not have some of the other bands that I loved so much on the show as well? I contacted them all and to my delight, everyone wanted to participate. It was great talking to them and the conversations brought back a lot of memories of my days in Boston that I had completely forgotten about. If you're fans of any of these bands then I'm sure you'll experience the same thing. If you're new to D.D.T., Big Catholic Guilt, Think Tree and You Shriek then you're in for a very special treat!Photo Credit: Boston PozivivorBig Catholic Guilt "Crank"Big Catholic Guilt "Silence (Remix)"Interview with Big Catholic GuiltBig Catholic Guilt "Descent"You Shriek "Grim"You Shriek "Untitled #4"Interview with You ShriekYou Shriek "New Romantic Circuitry"D.D.T. "H2O (Remix)"D.D.T. "AID, Live"Interview with D.D.T.D.D.T. "Unknown, Live"D.D.T. "Unknown, Live"Think Tree "Hire A Bird"Think Tree "Mampther"Interview with Think TreeThink Tree "Holy Cow"
