The Book
The subtitle of this book is Inventing Electronic Pop 1978 – 1983, and if that was all that Richard Evans did, the book would be excellent, but he covers so much more ground, putting the music in it’s correct musical, cultural and historical context, that the book is absolutely indispensable for any serious music lover.
Evans begins with David Bowie who was clearly a massive influence on the generation of musicians that came of age in the late 70s and early 80s. The ‘Starman’ performance on Top of the Pops was seminal for so many reasons and Gary Numan, Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and Marc Almond of Soft Cell were all enthralled by Bowie’s stage craft and sound. All four, of course, became major contributors to the electronic music boom of the late 70s and early 80s. It is early on that the real strength of the book becomes clear. There are very few new recollections, and the primary sources include music magazines whose contemporary interviews and record reviews give a fascinating insight into how the developing genre was regarded at the time. Numan himself got a thorough critical mauling pretty much from day 1 as most of the critics fell over themselves to make snide jokes and to dismiss him as lucky or fraudulent. He wouldn’t be the last to be completely misrepresented by Melody Maker and NME in particular. The great thing to reflect on is that reviewers like Sunie, Pete Silverton and Tony Rayns, to take random examples from the many quoted in the book, have disappeared into well merited obscurity whilst the acts they pilloried week after week have delighted millions across the globe. This reliance on primary sources is what makes this book so good. This is not opinion dressed up as fact, nor is it reliant on unreliable memories of 40 or 50 years ago, it is historically and culturally accurate and takes the reader back to the original events and reactions as they happened.
As you read through the book, old memories are rekindled of course, but much more often I found myself saying, ‘I didn’t know that’ or ‘I don’t remember that track’ or ‘I don’t remember that band at all’! It was a delight for me as a massive electronic music fan to find out how much I had no idea of. It makes this an absolute delight of a read for even an armchair ‘expert’ which you quickly realise you definitely are not! The writing is accessible, enjoyable, surprising, amusing and takes what could be a very dry reeling off of facts and figures and gives us more twists and turns than many fiction books. Even if you are not a reader of music books, because you prefer to listen to it rather than understand the context, and I know plenty of music lovers who are not interested in anything from this genre, please give ‘Listening To The Music The Machines Make’ a go. I can’t guarantee Richard Evans will change your mind, but he will give it more of a go than pretty much any music writer I have ever read.
The Playlist
I was at the end of the first couple of chapters when I thought that I could have a go at making a playlist for the book. It’s something I enjoy doing in a variety of situations, but this is definitely a first for a book. Originally, I was just thinking of picking out songs I enjoyed, but then I realised that the whole book was a voyage of discovery so the playlist must be as well. Accordingly, I chose no less than 80 tracks, 16 of which (20%) were songs I had never listened to. When I listen to these songs for the first time I will be broadening my horizons musically in a way I never anticipated. The playlist is just under 6 hours long and follows the book, very largely, on its journey, only choosing the tracks specifically mentioned in the text and with only a couple of exceptions mirror their order in the text. The playlist covers exactly 60 years with the earliest track being Telstar by The Tornados from 1962, and the latest being The Purple Zone by Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys from 2022! The Spotify link is below, so please feel free to save it, like it and share it, but most of all enjoy it.
Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.
One of my biggest problems has always been an inability to be satisfied with days that other people might consider ideal. I can see things that could have been even better and I have tended to focus on little irritations or problems that have robbed me of the feeling of an ideal day. A transport issue, a small disagreement or a perception of things being too expensive have always derailed me.
However, in the past year or so I have been making a real effort to appreciate what is happening in the moment. Two days recently come to mind as being close to ideal.
First there was the trip to Stonehenge to walk inside the Stone Circle. It was a morning of magic, peace and happiness, a feeling of coming face to face with an incredible construction whose magic reaches across the millenia. Having the opportunity to explore this incredible monument was an absolute privilege.
Second was our trip to the Salzburg Christmas Market which took place on a day which started with some flakes of snow to add a little touch of festive magic in November. The market was another piece of magic with an atmosphere of friendliness and happiness from everyone around. It was the most relaxed crowd I have ever been in and I loved every minute of it.
Perfect is the enemy of good and I was guilty of expecting perfection for so long. That’s not to say that I never enjoyed days for what they gave me, but I had that tendency to find fault where very little existed. My attitude has changed now and I am finding I am taking far more enjoyment from my experiences. Perhaps the most interesting element of this change is that I am looking back and realising, at last, that I did have more than my share of ideal days which I loved at the time but had recast in my mind as less enjoyable than they actually were. I am happier and now much more likely to have ideal days in many different forms.
How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
Perspective is, to my way of thinking, a way for the mind to search for patterns. We seem to be genetically hard wired to look for patterns in order to make sense of life. Whether it is the narrow limit of our own life, or the global flow of events, we try to make sense of it with our use of perspective. Often, we impose patterns on things that have happened in retrospect, and those patterns are a case of ‘Post Hoc Ergo Proctor Hoc’ – ‘After it, therefore because of it’. We say, because this happened, that happened, or we were led to this point by whatever supernatural agency you favour. The truth is that our decisions are made from incomplete information, generally random and almost certainly not the result of fate or some guiding force from outside. Note, I say ‘almost certainly’ as I may possibly be wrong. One thing that my perspective has taught me is that I can’t be 100% certain about anything. It is wrong to dismiss someone that you are sure is incorrect or something you are sure is non existent, because, as I said earlier, you are working from very incomplete information.
I am happy to allow for a small element of doubt in the global picture and also to acknowledge that my path through life has been almost entirely random despite any apparent patterns. If you accept those two things ‘you can deal with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same’.
Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.
I am and always have been a massive fan of collecting physical media. From my earliest days of cassettes and singles to the recent resurgence of vinyl records, I have always loved to have my own copies of music and films/TV and I still do. The problem, of course, is that I have discs and records everywhere! I have CDs and DVDs in those cases that used to be all the rage as I remove the outer plastic cases as soon as possible. The issue is that I end up with the cases everywhere and I forget what I have and what I haven’t played in ages. So, every year or so I take the cases off of my shelves fully intending to sort them once and for all. I often get a couple of hours in, make some headway and then get completely overwhelmed by the scale of the task!! 😱😱🤣🤣
So, on my to do list this year is sorting out my CDs and DVDs once and for all, as well as reducing the number of records I have. Will it happen? I doubt it somehow but I will definitely post about it if it ever happens!! 🤣🤣 If you are interested in the sheer scale of the task look at the pictures attached!
This is a companion piece of sorts to Life After Full Time Work. What comes next? What can and should I concentrate on? How do I approach the next stage of my life? Some of those questions and many more will be answered in next week’s episode of SOAP! (Extra points for anyone who recognises the reference and if you do, please let me know in the comments!)
Progress Report
I have reposted my aims for this year to get a picture of how I am doing. It is entirely unrealistic, I think, to be working towards all seven goals in the first month of the year. How have I done, looking back at January?
Well, the fitness was a non starter as I have had a seemingly permanent and very heavy cold that has just not left me since just after Christmas. Fortunately, it has abated enough to allow me to start February with two morning workouts using the dumbbells. Full details in my post at the beginning of next month, dealing with February.
I have not spent anything on myself in the entire month. I have avoided my usual online stores, avoided high street stores and even avoided charity shops. Given that I am not bringing any money into the household, that is perhaps to be expected, but it has been far easier than I anticipated. Yes, there are 11 more months of 2026 to go, but I really think I can nail this target and perhaps even surpass it. I have gone back to using the library and have taken out four books, one of which I have read. Alongside those, I have been working my way through the books I received for Christmas and I have not even thought of buying any other books.
The project work has not yet progressed past the planning stage, but I am sure I will get moving on at least a couple of them within the first quarter.
The blogging has continued every day and I have now posted for more than 200 days in a row. My January figures were 1828 views, more than 10 times as many as last January! Two days into February my total views is very close to 2000, so things are looking really positive.
My social media use has really reduced. I have closed down my profiles on BlueSky and Threads and I don’t miss either platform. I barely opened Facebook until January 28 and only did so to post about my best friend 30 years on from his death. I realised that I didn’t really have Facebook FOMO! At present I will keep Facebook and dip into it, but daily use is now in the past. I still get value from Twitter and Instagram, but I am using them far less than I used to. To a very large extent I have stopped double-screening whilst watching TV. It still happens but when I catch myself doing it I put the phone face down and that’s enough. I am getting far more out of TV programmes and films and I don’t see myself slipping back.
Workwise I have an interview with the RCA next week, so that’s a positive sign. I have also started the process of becoming a volunteer reader for an organisation called Coram Beanstalk. It looks really interesting, but the next month or so will decide whether or not I am a good fit for the organisation and vice versa.
Creativity, rather like project work, is still in the abstract stage at the moment! I want to try poetry, short stories and maybe some drawing, but I can’t quite get myself in the mindset. Again, I hope to get moving on this during the first quarter.
Books Read
Cratchit by R.M. Bouknight
Estella’s Fury by Barbara Havelocke
Adam and Eve and Pinch Me by Ruth Rendell
The Two of Us by Sheila Hancock
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Listening to the Music the Machines Make by Richard Evans (in progress)
Final Thoughts
I feel as though I have made a fairly decent start, and February is already looking positive with the fitness regime having been started. I will let you know how February goes at the start of March so watch this space if you are interested!
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 