Click the image to download the album from the artist’s site.
Track Listing: 1. Quiet - 2:10 2. Asphalt Dawn - 3:06 3. From the Ground Up - 3:08 4. Bad Deal - 1:24 5. Mass Transit - 3:54 6. These Doors Are Open - 1:45 7. It Never Stops Raining Here - 5:05 8. The Path of Least Resistance - 4:29 9. Arena - 1:41 10. Macrocosm - 2:42 11. Insertion Point - 3:29
Overview: Cyberpunk music is often described as “music with a feeling of living in a cyberpunk world.” Some would prefer that music with lyrics that tell a story; Others prefer just the music. If you prefer instrumental “ambient” cyberpunk, Colin Timothy Gagnon has an album for you to download into your ear canals. Released late last year, here’s how he describes his work:
A collection of tracks composed between 2002 and 2008 in the style of late ’80s and early ’90s video game music. I was reading a lot of seminal cyberpunk fiction when I composed the earliest of these tracks, and I imagine those authors expected the future to sound a little like this.
To me, ambient music is much like the “magic eye” autostereograms from the mid-90s; You may get it right away and the effect is spectacular, or you struggle with it and never get it. Fortunately, Gagnon’s site has a built-in player that will allow you to test the tracks to see if you like them. For now, let’s see what the individual tracks have to offer.
Quiet. The opening track is more tension than actual quietness, with echoing drums. I can probably hear this tune playing in the background while exploring Neocron’s Industrial and Outzone sectors.
Asphalt Dawn. Daybreak over the gritty city. Don’t think I quite got this one, but it does sound uplifting, like watching the sun rise.
From The Ground Up. Not sure about this one. Maybe looking up at the towering buildings
Bad Deal. A transaction has gone sour and now you need to run.
Mass Transit. Try listening to this the next time you’re on a subway or bus on your way to… wherever.
These Doors Are Open. I can imagine waking past a club and hearing a tune like this near the front door.
It Never Stops Raining Here. The opening does sound like water dripping from the roof after a recent rain.
The Path of Least Resistance. Funky bass line at the start, soaring the rest of the way.
Arena. Music you would expect at any sporting event. Bring on the gladiators!
Macrocosm. A term for how one interprets large-scale patterns, maybe like the rifts in this tune.
Insertion Point. You arrive at a spot, ready for action when the music picks-up the pace.
Conclusion: Whether or not this album is cyberpunk enough depends on how you interpret ambient music. Best advice: Visit Gagnon’s site and listen to the tunes via the player application, and make you own call. I’ll be listening to this work to see if I can get it.
This post has been filed under Cyberpunk Music by Mr. Roboto.
1. Omegadrones - 6:49 2. 21st Century Slave - 5:36 3. It’s Today - 3:27 4. When I See You Smile - 6:00 5. Digital Warriors - 5:25 6. Megacorps - 3:35 7. Criminal Intents - 3:32 8. Neuromantics - 4:43 9. Outlaw Thrones - 5:14 10. The World Machine - 4:34 11. It’s For You - 3:40
If you’ve never heard of Italy’s cyber-rockers Dope Stars Inc. (DSI for short), you’ve been sleeping in kool-aid for far too long. Victor Love, Fabrice La Nuit, and Darin Yevonde have been rocking and shocking the system since 2004-05 with a the look, sound, and lyrics that could have originated from any William Gibson / Bruce Sterling novel. Just look for and listen to songs like “Infection 13″ and “Vyperpunk” and you’ll see what I mean. For their 3rd full album, DSI has pulled out all the stops with 21st Century Slave, what can be considered a soundtrack for cyberpunk, complete with a manifesto (from DSI’s site):
21st Century Slave: A new manifesto for Digital Warriors, Outlaw Technologists and Console Riders of the 21st Century to survive in a World Machine where sheeple are being totally brainwashed and enslaved by Corporatocracy’s agenda and vicious propaganda.
Around half a century ago a primitive and promising silicon-form of intelligence, the artificial one, was born to be the guide of a new age. We called it Computer. And the world would never be the same again.
Electronic generated domains are the new frontiers. Cyberspace is the battlefield for the upcoming wars against the old and corrupted system that is naturally fading away. The System is collapsing. The System is obviously wrong. The only working System is the one we know as the computer generated one where we share our common interests and views: among the 0 and 1, among the stream of bit and bytes and an ocean of information that can’t be controlled and where all languages, subcultures and lifestyles are merging together. In Cyberspace we are free. In Cyberspace we are the kings. In Cyberspace we are a global Central Processing Unit. No other path to survive: Master Technology.
With technology we’ll be no more slaves of our Century. With Technology we’ll be no more sheeple ruled by questionable, hypocritical and oppressive authority and its obsolete principles. Technology is the cure: It’s the alternative. Technology is our terrific weapon and the network is our realm.
May the words of revolution spread unstoppable at light speed.
Free the energy. Free the information.
And then a day will come
For what you’ve done
For what it’s gone
For every death we’ll strike a bomb on Megacorps.
Of course, it takes more than a manifesto to make a CD cyberpunk, and DSI provides the sound and lyrics to make it so:
Omegadrones. The opening track has Victor declaring his readiness for the impending battle (I, the evolved machine / I, the adamant who thinks / I will battle), and features a sample of a famous movie line (from a movie reviewed here). By the sounds of it, he may be a machine who has seen through the corporate lies and has decided to join the humans.
21st Century Slave. Consider the title track a warning about what is being done to the sheeple… and to you. They just tell you: Eat this shit / And the big amount of flocks / Just don’t care about this.
It’s Today. We’re trapped in a world / That still refuses technology / It’s better to keep slow / And please corporatocracy. Wake up, sheeple, if you want to change the world.
When I See You Smile. Perhaps a reason for the war against the corporatocracy, other than just revenge? I know I’m not alone and I can fall / Straight down / Into your arms to find the force / And rise up. Certainly would make my cyber-war easier to manage.
Digital Warriors. This was the first track I heard from the CD… and I LOVE IT! This could be the hacker’s anthem: We are the children of the zero and one.
Megacorps. They own the crown, and Victor is looking to take it from them. It’s war in the streets with flamethrowers, pump rifles, and bombs.
Criminal Intents. The hackers get another crack (no pun intended) at the corporate system as My criminal intents / Will break the mainframe spear / That’s killing all you dear.
Neuromantics. All the fighting would drive a person insane if they didn’t have a break. For Victor, it seems to come from a bit of VR: A new reality connects through my brain / But all in all that’s the way I need to cut my pain.
Outlaw Thrones. A bit of concern shows regarding what “hope” can deliver. It’s just a dream / It can’t change the world at all.
The World Machine. Death will come for the corrupt leaders, even if it means waiting it out.
It’s For You. Another reminder of what he is fighting for: Someone to make the future for. It’s for you that is worth to die.
Conclusion. Dope Stars may be following the same path taken by the likes of The Cassandra Complex and Billy Idol, they just don’t tread lightly on that path. With several EPs and two albums of practice, DSI has struck a major blow for cyberpunk music. This is one CD you need to have in your collection, especially if you prefer harder music.
This post has been filed under Cyberpunk Music by Mr. Roboto.
Trans: Latin for “across” or “beyond.” Commonly used as a prefix, IE “transcontinental” or “transhuman.”
Track Listing: 1. Little Thing Called Love - 3:13 2. Computer Age - 5:24 3. We R In Control - 3:31 4. Transformer Man - 3:23 5. Computer Cowboy (AKA Syscrusher) - 4:13 6. Hold On To Your Love - 3:28 7. Sample and Hold - 5:09 (LP), 8:03 (CD) 8. Mr. Soul - 3:19 9. Like An Inca - 8:08 (LP), 9:46 (CD)
Mr. Shakey does cyberpunk? It would seem to be a stretch for Mr. Young to do cyberpunk music, but he did do a little dabbling with electronica and new wave for Trans. Then again, he has been known to try different genres (like grunge music with Mirrorball), and Trans was another musical experiment, one that left his fans scratching their heads in puzzlement. A legendary musician, known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and for songs like “Hey Hey, My My,” “Ohio,” and “Southern Man,” had suddenly adopted the radical, synthesized sound of the early eighties.
Another version of the truth: Trans actually came about as the result of one of his sons being born with cerebral palsy, leaving him unable to speak. Neil found that by using a vocorder, he was able to get the best response from his son. From this experiment, Neil would record Trans using electronics and a vocorder in several of the songs.
The result: An album that has not only classic sounding Neil Young, but a “futuristic” sound. It’s as if Neil was attempting to bridge two rock eras; The classic seventies and the new wave eighties. The album cover also drives that point home, featuring a street with a rustic fifties scene on one side and an ultra-modern scene across it.
Let’s see how the music stacks up, shall we?
Little Thing Called Love. Things start off normally enough for Neil Young fans, with a bouncy little number about… well… a little thing called love. Not much for cyberpunk fans to get excited about… not until the next track anyway…
Computer Age.
A fan-made video expressing “the point that technology is taking over the way we run the world but we should question if that is a good or bad thing.”
This is the first track to feature electronics. A danceable bit about being at ease with the burgeoning new computer technologies (When I see the light, I know I’m more than just a number). Good stuff.
We R In Control.
Another fan-made video, this time for the quirky toe-tapper
As if a quirky video was needed for this quirky number, we seem to have robots proudly claiming to be in control of everything (We control the databanks / we control the think tanks / we control the TV sky / we control the FBI).
Transformer Man. This track is the most direct result of Neil’s experiments in communicating with his son. A touching and motivational number about taking control of your future (You run the show / Remote control / Direct the action with a push of the button) despite not having all the tools needed (So many things still left to do / but we haven’t made it yet).
Computer Cowboy (AKA Syscrusher). Something about this track really got my attention. It’s a rocking western tune with the vocorder in full effect, about a “computer cowboy” with a herd of “cattle” (a botnet?) who crashes another computer. Considering Trans was released a year and a half before Neuromancer and two decades before anyone ever heard of botnets, could Mr. Young have had the insight to make such predictions about botnets and the correlation between hackers and cowboys? Yippee Yi Ay, mofos!
Hold On To Your Love. Getting back to his more “traditional” sound, Mr. Young tells us not to give up on love despite the problems it may bring. This is the second “Love” song on the album, but there was going to be a third called If You Got Love and there are pics of how the label might have looked if the track was not dropped at the last second.
Sample and Hold. Imagine a dating service run by robots, for robots… and the occasional robo-sexual human who wants to go bot. Don’t hesitate to give us a call / We know you’ll be satisfied / When you energize/ And see your unit come alive.
Mr. Soul. Going back to his Buffalo Springfield days, Neil re-tools a classic rock number into a funky tune about a fan’s letter that says You’re strange, but don’t change. Kind of sums up Mr. Young.
Like An Inca. The final track returns to Neil’s “classic” sound as the lyrics gives an “apocalyptic” vision (Said the condor to the preying mantis / We’re gonna lose this place just like we lost Atlantis), yet he seems OK with it (I feel sad, but I feel happy / As I’m coming back to home).
Conclusion. With the electronic gear going on five of the nine tracks, and the technology-based lyrics to those tunes, I have to say Trans is a cyberpunk album. Unlike Billy Idol’s effort a decade later, Neil Young probably didn’t know he was making cyberpunk music since “the movement” was still underground at the time and Neuromancer was still eighteen months away.
If you’re a Neil Young fan who dissed this album when it first came out, you should give it another listen but with different ears this time around. Cyberpunk fans should hunt this CD down and add it to their collection next to Billy Idol’s CD. If you live in the US, be prepared to pay a bit of a premium for the CD. Geffen re-released it as a CD in 1998 worldwide, except for the US. So it’s considered an import. Plus it’s a rare album, making it a collector’s item. The lowest price I’ve seen on the net is $25 US, not including tax and shipping. I’d say it’s worth it, unless you want try a torrent.
This post has been filed under Cyberpunk Music by Mr. Roboto.
6 kindofbrandnew cyberpunk-twisted tracks. At first I tried to make the music sound like Blade Runner or Deus Ex but I failed hard at that, so I made my own musical take on the cyberpunk style. There’s a little bit of industrial, a little bit of breaks, doused in ambient and then downsampled to hell, as usual.
Ambient - No lyrics on how to hijack NSAT&T with a buffer overflow worm or what it feels like to surrender flesh to silicon and steel. Just some background music for reading Neuromancer or Altered Carbon, or for playing your favorite cyberpunk mod for whatever game you’re playing right now.
As you can see in this YouTube video of “Evaporative Air Coolers,” OverCoat used a music tracker program to create his works.
SPOON???!!!???
Being an EP, it’s a short but sweet bit of work, and it does sound like OverCoat has the general idea of cyberpunk. At least, the price is good. Maybe if he spent some time here to learn more about cyberpunk…
Best advice: Download it and see if it’s ambient enough for your favorite books and games. I’m going to try it by burning a CD.
The Internet is like a box of chocolates; You never know what you’re going to find.
…So there I was, using Songbird to find some good music to load onto my Creative Zen player. On a whim, I searched for songs with “Heavy Metal” in the title as I was looking for Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal Noise.” Never found that tune, but another tune jumped out at me. It was called “Heavy Metal Kids.” Take a listen to it.
First time I listened to it, I would have sworn upon Satan’s testicles that the tune was from Black Sabbath; It certainly sounded like Sabbath. But NO! It was from Kraftwerk!
Yes! THAT Kraftwerk!
Behind the music. Ralf and Florian formed Kraftwerk in 1970, working with other musicians at the time. Their big breakthrough was the 1974 album “Autobahn,” which would set the standard for their future albums… and the electronic/dance music to come. Before “Autobahn,” Kraftwerk was a “krautrock” band; A band that experimented with various music styles and even some electronics at the time. Two members of Kraftwerk at the time were guitarist Michael Rother and drummer Klaus Dinger, both of whom would form Neu!. “Heavy Metal Kids” features Rother and Dinger along with Ralf and Florian, but it’s not the only tune they play on. There’s a rare album on the net where Kraftwerk rocks out to challenge Sabbath.
K4: Bremen Radio 1971. Live at Gondel Kino, Bremen, Germany, June 25, 1971. This is an apparently rare live recording of the band that hasn’t been released… until now.
From BigO Worldwide:
“There isn’t any extra information about this unofficial release either in the liner notes or on the interweb thing - however, as you listen it becomes obvious that this is indeed a recording of the rather short-lived lineup of Kraftwerk that includes Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger in its ranks! That’s right - Neu! as part of Kraftwerk!!!
“It’s basically a whole CD of extended “side-long” jams in the style of the first Kraftwerk albums performed in front of a small but enthusiastic audience and broadcast on Bremen Radio in 1971. The members of Neu! really take a forward role here, with Rother’s guitar driving things for most of the time and sounding quite rocking, with glimpses of his future soaring melodic sound in the extended jam passages. The guitar and drums are backed up by synth and I believe organ bass, with notable exceptions of flute taking the forefront on the great version of Ruckzack (from the first Kraftwerk LP) and is it distorted electric violin on K4? Maybe just Rother taking a violin bow to his guitar strings! Proto-Kraftwerk and proto-Neu! It’s exciting stuff, and on top of that the sound quality is excellent - a professional radio recording.
“How has this recording not become better known over the past 35 years since it was made?! I don’t know. It appears to be a newly released CDR edition with good-quality (but privately printed) packaging. Maybe it has stayed in the Radio Bremen archives until now? If you’re sceptical about the authenticity I’m sure a listen will persuade you… and hearing someone in the crowd shout “Michael!” in the last second of the recording is the icing on the cake.” - Little Bear [who shared the recording on the internet]
Proto-Kraftwerk and proto-Neu? After hearing parts of the tunes, I was thinking “proto-industrial metal.” Knowing how Kraftwerk pioneered electronic music, hearing what could be the prototype of industrial metal bands like KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, and Orgy is just… WOAH!!!!!!
1. Burn:Cycle (Theme) 2. Karmic Church 3. Flying 4. System Software 5. Buddha’s Voice 6. Into The Televerse 7. Psychic Roulette 8. Zip 9. Kris VR 10. A Beautiful Relationship 11. Meltdown
Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: Very High
Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes: Very High
Rating:9 out of 10
Data thief Sol Cutter has something on his mind. In two hours, it will reformat his cortex into pudding.
Overview: Originally released by Phillips for their CD-i CD interactive system, Burn:Cycle is a live-action interactive movie, a mash-up of Blade Runner and Johnny Menmonic, with some mini-games and puzzles thrown in. The movie/game follows Sol Cutter as he tries to remove a computer virus from his implant while the player controls some of his actions.
If you’re lucky enough to find a version with a bonus CD, you’ll have the extra treat of listening to the music of Simon Boswell, who not only does the soundtrack for Burn:Cycle but also Hardware and Hackers.
The Story: Sol Cutter is a small time data thief who gets his big chance. All he has to do is infiltrate Softech, download some files, sneak out, and get paid for his efforts. Piece of cake…
… except someone put arsenic-flavored icing on that cake. A sudden surge of data hits Sol upside his head like a brick, and left a nasty little going away present. A virus called Burn:Cycle is now in his neural implant. It’s dormant for now, but if Sol doesn’t get that virus out before the clock hits zero, he’ll get a headache no amount of aspirin or ibuprofen will ever cure. That’s assuming Sol manages to get out of Softech in one piece…
The countdown to Sol’s destruction begins from the word go, and all you have to save him is your mouse… and some stuff in your inventory, plus whatever stuff you can find along the way. The mouse cursor will change whenever a certain action is possible, and clicking will make Sol perform that action from moving around to shooting to using objects. Point-and-click action is also used in the mini-games you’ll play along the way.
Sometimes, a man just wants to get in touch with his feminine side.
Televerse, not cyberspace: Sooner or later, you’ll be jacked into the Televerse to find something to get the Burn:Cycle virus out. It operates much like real time in the game, except there’s a central location called The Pulse that you can instantly jump to since some locations in the Televerse don’t have exits.
“It ain’t easy bein’ a two-bit thug in an eight-bit town.” (Sol Cutter)
Bad Graphics, Good Music: PC users may be in for a bit of a system shock when they first play Burn:Cycle, especially if they’re used the accelerated graphic capabilities of their nVidia or ATI Radeon cards. Burn:Cycle was originally ported to the PC during the twilight of DOS/Windows 3.1x. Had Phillips waited, they could have taken advantage of Windows 95’s Direct X drivers, giving them better graphics.
While the graphics leaves much to improve on, the music from the bonus CD gives those who can’t play the game on their NT-based systems an opportunity to experience the game’s environment from the audio side. The music, composed mostly by Simon Boswell, comes straight from the game and even features some dialog for good measure. My favorite track is number 10, “A Beautiful Relationship,” sounding like an electronic version of the saxophone-background music of private-eye fare while a woman who sounds like a prostitute speaks her mind (“Normally I’d like to keep my knees below my ears on a first date.”).
Conclusion: Burn:Cycle is a classic game that has earned its place along side the likes of Syndicate and Blade Runner for good reason. It would have easily been a ten-star game had the graphics been up to snuff. Still, having Burn:Cycle in your collection (as opposed to your neural implant) is a big win. And having the music CD with the game is a major find.
Track listing: 1. Nice Work If You Can Get It - 3:36 2. Let’s Go to Europe - 2:18 3. Happy Days (War Is Here Again) - 1:24 4. Jihad Girl - 3:09 5. Sunshine at Midnight - 1:43 6. I Want You - 2:45 7. Sleeper - 4:03 8. Nightfall (Over Ec) - 3:27 9. Into the Heart - 3:37 10. I Believe in Free Everything - 3:26 11. What Turns You On? - 3:13 12. Ugly - 4:53
If you find similarities between this and Billy Idol’s CDs, that’s because there is some eerily close relations to the two: They’re both concept albums, both about cyberpunk, both were inspired by William Gibson’s Neuromancer, and both we’re commercial bombs. Being released three years before Billy’s CD, The Cassandra Complex made the attempt at a cyberpunk album that Mr. Idol could have taken notes from. While band leader Rodney Orpheus thought the concept was a great idea, an artistic clash between himself and the record label may have ruined it:
Cyberpunx was that scariest of all things, a “concept album”; actually it was even worse, it was devised as a ROCK OPERA! I’ve always felt that rock’n'role lyrics are the worst kind of literature, and I wanted to try to write something that had the depth of a novel. So I put together the whole story of Cyberpunx as if it were an opera libretto, then wrote the songs to fit into sections of it.
Briefly, the story is set in a future war between the European Union and the Arab states, and is told through the eyes of one of the protaganists, an orphan boy who grows up in the jungle, becomes a European helicopter pilot, falls in love with a girl from the other (Arab) side, deserts, takes the girl to a space station where he gets her pregnant, gets brain damaged, becomes a hardcore criminal, and ends up as a dying in a hostage situation.
The record company hated the idea, and refused to release it in the form I wanted. After much argument and pressure from them I agreed to let them change the track order, drop some things etc. This was the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life, and I have regretted it ever since. The album as it is now is a bit of a bastardised version of what it should have been. It should have been magnificent, but it’s not. It is still a damn good record however, has some great stuff on it.
Incidentally, some of the tracks from this aborted story appeared on other records: Forests and Fire & Forget appeared on the Finland EP, Why and Lullaby appeared on the War Against Sleep album. Someday I’d like to piece the whole thing together as it was intended to be, including the full original story. And if I ever get the money, I’ll put the opera on the stage. We’ll see…
Typical suits, wouldn’t know art from shit.
It would have been interesting to see what the whole story would have sounded like, and the opera on stage… maybe Billy Idol is thinking the same thing for his CD. Cyberpunx, such as it is, is still an interesting listen even if All Music Guide considers the album “vaguely derivative” and “forgettable,” recommending it for die-hard industrial music fans. Now let’s run this mutha up the flagpole and see if it’s cyberpunk…
Nice Work… If You Can Get It: Track one is a little ditty about a person who murders a wealthy man then hacks his computer to steal his money (Back in car, I load the guy’s computer, ‘Course he keeps his passwords on a smart card Taped under the dash) and flies to Liechtenstein “Spending his money on a diamond mine.” Something many hackers probably dream of.
Let’s Go To Europe: It’s weird hearing this song, knowing it was written in the late 80’s, since the lyrics sound like a slam against modern America (You wrote a constitution and left it unread… Your only source of knowledge is T.V., You censor everything and think you are free). Back then, the US was at war in Iraq while a power-crazed president named George Bush was dictator. Nothing like the US today.
Then again, Europe doesn’t get off easy either (There’s not much to Europe really, it’s so small).
Happy Days (War Is Here Again): What has to be the Bush family anthem, this short instrumental piece sounds almost like a celebration complete with a saxophone.
Jihad Girl: This is where the European helicopter pilot falls for the Arab girl, and when he suffers a mortal wound his thoughts turn to her for strength (Saw my insides in my hands, Survived by force of will, And by the thought of you), probably wishing she was like a robot (Wrap me in your arms of steel).
Sunshine At Midnight: The pilot and his Arab girl on the space station. Another short instrumental, with a bit of a Twilight Zone vibe to it. It segues smoothly to…
I Want You: Nothing cyberpunk here, just continuing the storyline where the pilot gets the girl pregnant.
Sleeper: Something about this song sounds like something from the Matrix or Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime (Someday the phone will ring, I’ll get my orders, I’ll come awake, And I’ll go home).
Nightfall (Over EC): An apocalyptic-sounding number of war in Europe (Jihad is coming, jihad is coming, The Third World War is coming home).
Into The Heart: A surprisingly guitar driven song with drugs (I snort some coke, It’s in my brain, Makes me feel alive, Makes the world insane) and a bit of violence (I got an Uzi, The only work of art, And on the handgrip, I paint my heart).
I Believe In Free Everything: The final instrumental offers voices lifted from some movies somewhere. Could be the anthem to the Free Software Foundation.
What Turns You On?: A serial killer gets sexually aroused murdering girls. ‘Nuff said. (My name is Ted Bundy… I liked to see the dead, And when I came in them, It’s like Jesus giving head).
Ugly: The hostage situation where the pilot dies (Here come the bullets), but not before he has one last say about the world (Your world is ugly). A rather ominous finale to the album.
Conclusion: With only five of the twelve tracks having confirmed cyberpunk lyrics, I’d have to say the album isn’t cyberpunk. But after learning what planned and how the record execs fucked it up, I’m only more interested in hearing the album as it was originally planned, complete with the storyline.
Hopefully, Rodney Orpheus will re-release Cyberpunx as he intended. As it is, it’s still worth a listen, it’s just not quite cyberpunk enough.
This post has been filed under Cyberpunk Music by Mr. Roboto.
Track listing: 1. “Hyperpower!” – 1:42 2. “The Beginning Of The End” – 2:47 3. “Survivalism” – 4:23 4. “The Good Soldier” – 3:23 5. “Vessel” – 4:53 6. “Me, I’m Not” – 4:52 7. “Capital G” – 3:50 8. “My Violent Heart” – 4:19 9. “The Warning” – 3:38 10. “God Given” – 3:50 11. “Meet Your Master” – 4:08 12. “The Greater Good” – 4:52 13. “The Great Destroyer” – 3:17 14. “Another Version Of The Truth” – 4:09 15. “In This Twilight” – 3:33 16. “Zero-Sum” – 6:14
Credit should go to Vesper who posted this thread about Trent Reznor’s upcoming album. As the anticipated release date of April 17 draws closer, there have been numerous sites along with the leaked tracks that have been generating a lot of buzz. So much so that the terminally clueless RIAA has been ordering the sites to stop the viral campaign.
I AM TRYING TO BELIEVE
It started in February with a simple phrase, whose individual letters were highlighted on the backs of concert t-shirts. For those who were able to figure out that it was a website and logged into it, they are suddenly thrust into a Parepin-induced frenzy where an anti-bioterrorism drug is suspected of causing people to see “The Presence.” Since then, USB thumbdrives were found in bathroom stalls at NIN concerts, containing unreleased songs. The titles of the songs lead to more websites, and those who did spectrographic analysis of the songs found other clues and signs like a phone number for the “U.S. Wiretap” and “The Presence.” Now, all the pieces fit as the album can be heard in it’s entirety at the official site, along with a trailer and a video for “Survivalism.”
“Survivalsim” video from YouTube. Uncensored for your enjoyment. U.N. Bureau of Cyberpunk.
With all this hype surrounding Year Zero, is there really any reason why it should appear here @ Cyberpunk Review? There’s plenty to take away from the websites, and from the song lyrics.
Overview: “Year Zero” is 2022 after the US Government establishes a new calendar system to be used worldwide. A ricin-based “dirty bomb” is set off at the Academy Awards in 2009, and the US retaliates by nuking Iran and North Korea. When the remaining Muslim nations declare a jihad, the government adds a Cedocore-made drug called “Parepin” into the water supplies, claiming it would negate biological and chemical agents terrorists use. The government also begins stripping constitutional rights by passing the “Emergency Measures Act.”
To escape the religious insanity, people start using another Cedocore-made drug known as “Opal,” which replaces cocaine as the drug of choice. Somewhere between the Parepin and the Opal, people begin seeing “The Presence,” a god-like hand that reaches down from the skies and appears to be grabbing the ground or trying to claw it.
Accoring to the NINWiki, Trent Reznor describes how the album began to take shape:
“This record began as an experiment with noise on a laptop in a bus on tour somewhere. That sound led to a daydream about the end of the world. That daydream stuck with me and over time revealed itself to be much more. I believe sometimes you have a choice in what inspiration you choose to follow and other times you really don’t. This record is the latter. Once I tuned into it, everything fell into place… as if it were meant to be. With a framework established, the songs were very easy to write. Things started happening in my “real” life that blurred the lines of what was fiction and what wasn’t. The record turned out to be more than a just a record in scale, as you will see over time.
Part one is year zero. Concept record. Sixteen tracks. All written and performed by me, produced / programmed by me and Atticus Ross, mixed by Alan Moulder, mastered by Brian “Big Bass” Gardner. Release date: April 17, 2007.
What’s it about? Well, it takes place about fifteen years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you’ll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point - politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, “year zero” examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth. How does it sound? You will hear for yourself soon enough, but given the point of this document is to provide information…
This record is much more of a “sound collage” than recent efforts from me.
A lot of it was improvised.
It is very tedious describing your own music.
It’s not just music.
It’s probably too long, but it felt like the right thing to do to paint the complete picture.
It will sound different after a few listens.
You can think about it and it will reveal more than you were expecting.
You can dance to a lot of it.
You can fuck to a lot of it (maybe all of it depending on what you’re into).
OK, So what about the music? Let’s start at track #1: Hyperpower! A term used to describe a nation like the United States, who dominate the world’s economics and politics. This track gets things off on the right foot with its crunchy drum-and-guitar march, ending with a sonic riot.
The Beginning of the End gives a good rock track, and a bit of a warning of Big Brother’s eavesdropping abilities: Watch what you think, they can read your mind.
Survivalism presents mostly drums and electronics while Trent’s voice marches through lyrics like Hypnotic sound of sirens\Echoing through the street\The cocking of the rifles\The marching of the feet\You see your world on fire\Don’t try to act surprised\We did just what you told us\Lost our faith along the way and found ourselves believing your lies.
The Good Soldier is a bit more relaxed, while a soldier has second thoughts about what he feels about his nation and the direction it’s heading (I am trying to believe).
Vessel gives more electronic distortion as Trent describes being a vessel: I can leave all of this flesh behind\I can see right through this whole façade\I am becoming something else\I am turning into God. That should take care of the transhuman element.
Me, I’m Not has Trent fearing the changes: And I’m losing control\I’m not used to this\What you want from me?
Capital G. As in George Bush, Jr. who decides to screw the constitution in 2008 and go for a third term to continue his dirty work. Sounds like a D’uh’bya supporter rapping: Don’t try to tell how some power can corrupt a person\You haven’t had enough to know what it’s like\You’re only angry cause you wish you were in my position\Now nod your head because you know that I’m right—all right!
My Violent Heart is mostly soft, but gets power during the choruses. Trent tells the powers that be that he does not intend to go quietly, and if he does, there will others: On hands and knees\We crawl\You can not stop us all.
The Warning has a visit from “The Presence,” in verse form: Some say it was a warning\Some say it was a sign\I was standing right there\When it came down from the sky. The last few lyrics are a warning to the powers that be: We’ve come to intervene\You will change your ways and you will make amends\Or we will wipe this place clean
God Given plays up the “We’re right, they’re wrong” mentality of religion (Put your faith in me\I sure wouldn’t want to be\Praying to the wrong piece of wood\You should Get where you belong\Everything you know is wrong) while inviting you to “Come on, sing along everybody now!”
Meet Your Master holds someone hostage: You’ll put on this blindfold\You’ll do what we tell you\You’ll do as your told.
The Greater Good sound like a Zen exercise put to electronic noise: Breathe us in\Slowly\Slowly… Persuasion\Coercion\Submission\Assimilation.
The Great Destroyer has Trent being interrogated, but holding a deadly secret: I hope they cannot see\ The limitless potential\Living inside of me\To murder everything\I hope they cannot see\I am the Great Destroyer.
Another Version of the Truth is another instrumental track; An eerily quiet piano piece.
In This Twilight has Trent feeling the end approaching, and wonders what he could have done to make things better: As your time is running out\Let me take away your doubt\You can find a better place.
Zero-Sum brings the CD… and the World of Year Zero… to a bitter end. But something about the chorus leaves me thinking that this “reality” was only a simulation: For all we have done\And all we ever were\Just zeros and ones.
Conclusion: This latest offering from Trent certainly has the potential to be a classic concept album like Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime. All the work to create the future world dystopia definitely gives an intensity to the the tracks. Give Year Zero a listen at the official site and see if you agree.
If you want to see all the sites connected to Year Zero, just head for the NINWiki as your start point, and prepare to lose yourself in Opal, Parepin, and “The Presence.”
This post has been filed under Cyberpunk Music by Mr. Roboto.
SFAM NOTE: We welcome new reviewer “Rover,” who uploaded this music album review into the Review Forum. If others are interested in joining the review team, please post a message in the review forum.
Overview: I guess that everybody has heard about this album? It was released in 93, under the title Cyberpunk by a guy who had until here made only rock’n roll stuff. Some said that Billy used the Cyberpunk thing only for the hype effect, some cyberpunks enjoy this album…Personally, this is how I discovered CP, so I’ll always cherish this album Razz
Well, the question is, is this album CP or not?
Let’s analyze each of the songs…
1) Wasteland: ~lyrics~ a few lines are clearly CP, and promote hacking: “In VR law, computer crime, so sublime…” but the rest of the song has a lot of possible interpretations. It’s about a sort of missionary who wants to bring religion and hope into ‘the wasteland’…This reminds me of this street preacher in the movie Johnny Mnemonic. Perhaps the wasteland is supposed to be a futuristic shanty town, or to symbolize the fall of human relations because of the rise of technology? Anyway, I don’t really think that religion and CP have a lot of things in common. Here, I have the feeling that Billy wants to bring back to human life the cyberpunks??
Tune: not CP…maybe a few elcetronical sounds.
2) Shock to the System : ~lyrics~ Yeah, Billy wants to make a revolution! Don’t forget that in cyberpunk there’s punk…
Tune: Billy added some sounds (flamethrower, police sirens…) to a guitar tune, and this sounds inventive enough to be CP to me.
Music Video: if this is not CP, then what the hell is CP? Machines, riot, cops, special effects made by Stan Winston (he worked on the Terminator movies)…
3) Tomorrow People: ~lyrics~ this song evokes to me a post-apocalyptic future (World War III, a scifi story/a dirt colored sky…), but it could also be about video games: “I like to fight, I kill global oppression, if I quit, no hope of redemption”…Anyway, the sadness and the despair are CP: “blue eyes crying in the rain”, “I lost my love, lost my hold, I lost my heaven too”…I can picture a replicant from Blade Runner saying that.
Tune: Some strange sounds and voices in the beginning which could be considered CP…
4) Adam in Chains: ~lyrics~ The long intro of the song reminds me of zen philosophy, and the rest doesn’t make much sense…
Music video: Sorry, I can’t find any links anymore, but there was a music video where you saw a guy jacked into virtual reality: that’s CP, but this doesn’t explain the lyrics ^^
Tune: The sounds fit with the music video, and it’s appropriated to listen while surfing
5) Neuromancer: ~lyrics~ The song is a reference to Gibson’t book…the lyrics deliver the same message, so, yep, that’s CP.
Tune: Some strange voice (that remind me of Deus Ex Machina in Matrix), and some electronical sounds…yes, this could be CP, but it sounds less CP than any techno song.
6) Power Junkie: ~lyrics~ A song about drugs…Drugs are important in CP, most of the characters are addicted. But to make a true CP song, I think that Billy should have mixed drugs and technology for example.
Tune: it doesn’t really sound CP. Billy made a big creativity effort toward the end, where you hear a very strange voice, and he also played with the right-left effect (gotta listen to this with headphones)
7) Love Labours On: ~lyrics~ Title says it all, it’s a song about love….I tried really hard, but I can’t see the link with CP
Tune: it sounds like an emo songs…I dunno many Cp guys who are emos, though.
8 ) Heroin: ~lyrics~ Another song about drugs. The line “Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” matches with the Cp philosophy, and near the end of the song you can hear Billy say something like “VR hell heroin”: what if he wasn’t talking about drug addiction, but about computer addiction?
Tune: Some parts of it have a strong techno influence
9) Shangrila: ~lyrics~ A song full of hope and love: somewhere there’s a magic place where we can live and love forever. That’s not CP. But….maybe this magic place is supposed to be cyberspace? If Billy’s seeking this heaven, maybe that’s because his real life is an urban hell?
Tune: a strong oriental influence, but it doesn’t sound CP
10) Concrete Kingdom: ~lyrics~ No hope, no love in our modern world…This is CP. Plus, at one moment, Billy sings “what’s for my son?”: it means that he fears the future, because he knows it’ll be even darker than our world…
tune: Billy worked with the voices once again, making them sound like in a techno song by moments
11) Venus: ~lyrics~ Venus was a goddess…well, how is this supposed to be CP? It’s a personal interpretation, but from a CP point of view, Venus could be an A.I.
Tune: this sounds too classic to be CP
12) Then the Night Comes: ~lyrics~ Err…I can’t see any clear link with CP. Maybe with the underground thing? You know, CP have fun at night and go crazy because they don’t give a damn about authority…I’m not sure that it was what Billy meant however^^
Tune: strange rock’n roll…it sounds cool, but not CP
13) Mother Dawn: ~lyrics~ A sort of hymn to the Nature…this sounds more like a Disney movie than anything CP related.
Tune: a soft song, nothing related with any form of CP music…
Is it Cyberpunk? In the end, 8 songs out of 13 could be considered as CP…that’s more than half, so for me, this album is CP. But I agree that this conception mainly depend on the personal interpretation: I think that some songs unintentionally sounded CP (Venus for example). A few musical elements could be CP, but when you listen to the whole album, the feeling that remain toward the tune isn’t really CP. I don’t think that Billy used the word cyberpunk for the commercial effect because of the Shock to the system music video, which is the proof that he had understood and believed in cyberpunk.
Any opinions about this album? I know that a lot of people hate it.
Reviewing Concert DVDs: As this is my first review of a concert DVD on Cyberpunk Review, I thought I’d mention a few words about my intentions. These will not be reviews of the actual bands, but of their performances - specifically of their performances in movies or concert DVDs. I won’t be “tagging” these posts so that they show up intermingled with my movie reviews. Also, while I have about 70 concert DVDs, and have reviewed them in one or two places, I have very few that I would consider cyberpunk, either by visuals or theme. Rage against the Machine, for instance, has the cyberpunk themes or ideas down in songs pretty solidly, whereas Rammstein, in this performance reviewed here, has what I might consider cyberpunk visuals down fairly well. Because I’m relatively new to cyberpunk concert DVDs, it wouldn’t be too surprising if after reviewing a number of them I updated my reviews somewhat. Finally, like the movies, my reviews will be based on the quality of the performance and production. Hopefully, you all can help update the Cyberpunk Wiki with some examples of other really great cyberpunk concert DVDs.
Overview: German’s Industrial Metal band Rammstein puts on a truly phenomenal show on DVD. Atmosphere and other-worldly cyberpunk-like ambiance are in abundant supply. Virtually every song has actual fire shooting out from the most unlikely places. On top of this, the band really RAWKS. That said, there may go a bit overboard on the glitz and flash. But you would never notice it from the way their audience reacts - they LOVE them!
The Visuals: The stage for Rammstein oozes with futuristic dystopia. Invasive metal is the order of the day. Tubes and piping pop out from all angles throughout the stage. The outfits Rammstein starts the performance out with fit perfectly. But throughout, it becomes clear that most every aspect of this performance has been wonderfully choreographed. Truly, Rammstein is putting on a show - and what a wonderful show it is!
The Cinematography: One of the most impressive aspects of this performance is that the MTV style camera work actually works wonderfully to add to the atmosphere. Usually when you get this style of quick-cutting camera work, you feel more like you’re in a music video. While this feeling comes through at first, the constant and supremely interactive crowd, which sings right along with the band, brings you into the concert. The overall feeling is both immersive and edgy. Often, the lead singer stops singing and points the microphone at the crowd, and EVERY TIME they are screaming back the exact lyrics, perfectly in time with the song.
The Band: Rammstein’s music is best characterized as brute force, crunchy and repetitive industrial metal. Most of the songs are driven by the drum player. The keyboardist is bizarre in the extreme, but then again, he fits right in. The guitarists have pale blue contact lenses, and pretty much everyone, from the ultra-muscular lead singer, Till Lindeman to the cyberpunk bassist really emphasizes performance as much as the music. However, the performance makes clear that Rammstein seem far more about show then they are ideas. Similar to Kiss here in the US, Rammstein is creating an immersive facade - one which the crowd is all to eager to take part in.
The Sound: The quality of the sound track is superb, but is not really done in surround-sound in the sense that say, the Eagles When Hell Freezes Over DVD is. You get mostly crowd noises out of the rear speakers, and band from the front speakers. This approach actually helps with the “front row” feeling, but it is at odds with the video-like shooting style. Had they gone for a straightforward Talking Heads “Stop Making Sense” type camera style, the sound would have fit better. But again, the quality is terrific. The band is completely tight throughout.
The Highlight: I first heard of Rammstein on the Matrix Soundtrack. Song #12, Du Hast, really hit me. While I couldn’t understand a word (as its all in German), I was blown away. In this concert, Rammstein REALLY comes hard on Du Hast. The whole thing is just magical. There’s a part where Lindeman completely stops singing (during the slow “Du Hast…Du Hast Mesh” part) adn the crowd does the entire thing PERFECTLY. Watching it, you get caught up in the moment.
The Bottom Line: I have somewhere between 70 concert DVDs and Rammstein’s Live aus Berlin performance definitely sits somewhere in the top tier. The performance is wonderfully choreographed, wonderfully shot, and the energy is contagious. The performance leaves with a sense of pure power. This truly is an experience not to be missed.
