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Thread: Video Killed the Radio Star re-recorded

  1. #1
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    Video Killed the Radio Star re-recorded

    Just came across this - interesting take on it:

    Bruce Woolley and The Radio Science Orchestra have re-recorded the song featuring British singer/songwriter Polly Scattergood (Polly Scattergood, Arrows and On Dead Waves – Mute Records). Co-produced by Keypad, mixed by Cameron Craig and mastered by Mandy Parnell, this darker, more reflective version of the genre-shaping synth-pop classic is a very new direction for the tune, and yet from the first listen, it feels hauntingly familiar.

    Bruce says: “Polly is often described as ethereal, dark, intense and experimental, while her musical style has been described as “early 21st century electro-dance-pop of London proper”. We simply couldn’t think of anyone better to breathe fresh life into this classic song.”

    Polly says: “I remember listening to Video Killed The Radio Star as a teenager. It was always playing in my school canteen and it was one of those iconic tracks everyone instantly knew and loved, so when Bruce asked me to collaborate with him and the Radio Science Orchestra on this re-working of it, I was naturally very excited. We both share a love of synths, so enjoyed spending time together in the studio experimenting with building a new soundscape for the track, layer by layer. It began to take shape quite organically much like the video. None of us really knew where any of it was going until it was finished – it was a lot of fun”.

    The single is released today on Gramophone Records and is available for streaming and download on iTunes and Spotify. XS Noize has the pleasure of presenting the accompanying video to the song which features cameo appearances from synth pioneer Thomas Dolby and The Retronaut’s Wolfgang Wild, as well as typography/design by Paul Sizer and animations by renowned Video Artist Louise Bellairs (The Art of Scared Geometry) A remix by Steve Dub (The Chemical Brothers’ engineer in residence) is also currently in the works and the release will follow in March.



  2. #2
    Oh heck, I'll stick my neck out there: I like it
    If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
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  3. #3
    Bruce co-wrote the song and it is on his excellent album English Garden on which a young Thomas Dolby played (Woolley also co-wrote and recorded another Buggles single Clean Clean).

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by battema View Post
    Oh heck, I'll stick my neck out there: I like it
    Did you hear the John Oswald/Dockstader rendition, John?

    Last edited by Scrotum Scissor; 02-24-2017 at 11:50 AM.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  5. #5
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    I don't really like either of their images so I don't care for this. Maybe if it was a hologram! Hologram's killed the video star...

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    Did you hear the John Oswald/Dockstader rendition, John?

    Dear lord no, but I'm going to remedy that ASAP!
    If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
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  7. #7
    The only good thing in this cover version is Polly on the video - she's kinda cute.

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    I'm afraid I could only manage about a minute. Both the music and the dreadful video just annoyed me. Not my cup of tea, at all.

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    Sucks all the life out of a great song.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Harbottle View Post
    Sucks all the life out of a great song.
    ?

    Just why is the original tune such "[...] a great song"?
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  11. #11
    BTW dammit...the John Oswald version is proving a bit difficult to find online. Still seeking though...
    If you're actually reading this then chances are you already have my last album but if NOT and you're curious:
    https://battema.bandcamp.com/

    Also, Ephemeral Sun: it's a thing and we like making things that might be your thing: https://ephemeralsun.bandcamp.com

  12. #12
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    it sucks! i'm not going to pretend i like it because the chick is hot.

    by the way, it's a 'cover' not a re-recording.
    Last edited by BravadoNJ; 03-04-2017 at 06:16 PM.

  13. #13
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    ?

    Just why is the original tune such "[...] a great song"?
    Personal taste aside how is it not a great song?

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    Member Mr.Krautman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by peterpyser View Post
    The only good thing in this cover version is Polly on the video - she's kinda cute.
    ... especially for a 50+ years old lady : Polly says: “I remember listening to Video Killed The Radio Star as a teenager." (in 1979 ?)

    The EMS VCS3 synth is very cool too.

  15. #15
    It's funny that they call it a "synth pop classic" since the original version doesn't actually have much in the way of synths on it. THe main instrument on the track, besides Horn's voice, is the piano, and it has acoustic drums and a Fender bass on it. There's a little bit of synth here and there, but to me "synth pop" is all synths all the time. Ya know, the whole "guitars and acoustic drums are outdated" brigade (and apparently some of those guys really did feel that way, I remember Martin Gore saying he started off playing guitar, but Depeche Mode wanted to make this "big point" about how obsolete guitars were and how "the future of pop music" was going centered around the synthesiser, ad nauseum, that he stopped playing guitar for about 15 years).

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Digital_Man View Post
    Personal taste aside how is it not a great song?
    I dunno man, I mean, could it be those plain irritating girly utterings, the genuinely unimaginative chord structures or that blandly cheap "futurist" animation of the lead vox?

    But hey, sure - those two dudes became Yes members. So we'll just have to assume that there's "more" underneath there. Sometimes it does come down to taste, yeah. Other times not so much.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  17. #17
    I never cared for the original, not sure why it needed a remake, but this version is just flat-out boring making the original seem like a brilliant piece of art in comparison.

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    The original absolutely IS a great song - actually a great record - regardless of what the members went on to do. This version doesn't do it for me at all.

    And incidentally I've no idea how old Polly is, but she could be twenty and still have heard the original as a teenager...that's how recordings work

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stevie B View Post
    The original absolutely IS a great song - actually a great record - regardless of what the members went on to do. This version doesn't do it for me at all.

    And incidentally I've no idea how old Polly is, but she could be twenty and still have heard the original as a teenager...that's how recordings work
    I was a kid when this song was a hit, and remember it well and liked it from then - regardless of how simple the chord structure is (I was also quite interested in the JG Ballard connection later on). I only got into Yes in the late 1980s when I was a teenager and was baffled when I found a copy of Drama second hand and it had different names to the names on my other Yes albums (Which at that time was Close to the Edge, Fragile, Relayer and perhaps The Yes Album.). As I didn't take much interest in band member's names and didn't really know who Trevor Horn was then I didn't make the connection with the Buggles until a few years later. It was probably when I saw bootleg CDs on the local flea market from the Drama tour that I made the connection!

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Stevie B View Post
    ... And incidentally I've no idea how old Polly is, but she could be twenty and still have heard the original as a teenager...that's how recordings work
    She was born in 1986 (age 30) according to wikipedia.

  21. #21
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    need to slow it down a bit more
    Girl needs an espresso .........ASAP

  22. #22
    It's......different in a muzak kind of way.

  23. #23
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    It really needed a remake?

    What's next TVOD?

  24. #24
    The original is a good, catchy pop tune that has a level of historic significance added to it via its MTV connection. Frankly, the version above is trying too hard to be ironic/creepy/melancholy all with tongue planted firmly in cheek. It seems to be mocking the trend in downbeat electronica without capturing anything but the form; a by-rote rendition. Mileage varies but it doesn't work for me.
    Mongrel dog soils actor's feet

  25. #25
    I guess that if the chick wasn't hot, we wouldn't even been talking about this song.

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