Information Society – Zonker.net

August 6, 2021

August 2021 Bandcamp Friday suggestions: ZENKA, Information Society, Harmony Woods, The Robotic Hands of God & more

Once again, Bandcamp Friday is upon us. It’s a good time to snag anything you’ve had your eye on from Bandcamp, and if you haven’t had your eye on anything? Well, I have suggestions!

Each single or album has a rating, using a modified Robert Christgau scale. Also check out my earlier recommendations from March.

ODDfellows by Information Society ★★★

New this week, ODDfellows has everything I love about Information Society’s early albums without sounding dated or repetitive. Haven’t had time for repeated listens but this is already in the queue for regular rotation. My sole complaint at the moment is that they only seem to be releasing this digitally. I really want this on physical media with the rest of my InfoSoc collection… even if I don’t actually pull the CDs out very often. (Sadly, I no longer have the Information Society cassette I played again and again and again and again in high school.)

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1252112541 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Graceful Rage by Harmony Woods ★★

Bought the LP on the strength of the first song alone. “Good Luck Rd.” will hit you like a ton of bricks. Going to be visiting this one again and again. Look for a longer review when I’ve had more time with it, but don’t wait for that – go check it out today.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=662211766 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

“December” by ZENKA ★

This one grabbed me instantly. It’s got a strong beat, hooks you in right away. Party music with a dark underbelly. Love the minor key synth motif that pops up throughout the song and adds just a little menace and tension. Song’s a bit pricey, with a $7 digital download for the single, but it’s damn good.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3069734625 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Structures: Duo Improvisations for Acoustic Guitar & Tabla by Nate Roberts & Doug Scheuerell ★

Pretty much what it says on the tin. If you enjoy tabla and acoustic guitar, you’ll probably dig this. As the description on Bandcamp notes, this isn’t big on dissonance — which is often a hallmark of improv and puts me off a number of recordings that might otherwise be enjoyable. Highly melodic and enjoyable.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3251904893 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

Music from a Parallel Dimension by The Robotic Hands of God ★

Not quite as interesting or good as The Hidden Master, but still has its high points and is a fun ride.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=177556498 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

EXCAVATION Unauthorized Cut-Up Vol 1 by Bill Laswell★

Shares a name and some tracks with an unofficial release from 2008 on CD-R, EXCAVATION has Laswell tinkering with tracks from JT Money & George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and earlier adventures with Laswell and William S. Burroughs. Not an essential release but fun, nonetheless. “We Wanna See Bootsy” is quite a jam.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3744120894 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

July 22, 2016

“Hack” by Information Society (No. 81)

Hack may, in fact, be the only album to sample a Walt Disney read-a-long album and James Brown on the same track. The fact that it works is just the icing on the cake.

The follow-up to their self-titled album, Information Society put out Hack in September of 1990. This one Takes on a decidedly harsher and more experimental tone than Information Society and failed to have the same kind of success that the debut album did. But commercial success and successful music aren’t always the same thing. Continue reading ““Hack” by Information Society (No. 81)”

July 3, 2016

“Information Society” by Information Society (No. 100)

Things have been a little too quiet on the blog front lately, so I decided I needed a project that would motivate me to write a little bit each day.

So I decided to compile a list of my “desert island” albums. I’m not claiming these are the best 100 albums of all time, even by my own reckoning. But these are the 100 that, if I could only have 100 CDs (remember those?) or 100 albums on my media player, it’d be these.

The goal? 100 posts in 100 days with at least 100 words (probably more) about each album.

First up? The eponymous major-label debut album from Information Society.

Picture the days of the MTV heyday, when the cable channel (brace yourself) still played music.

I know, I know. Boggles the mind. But that’s the backdrop for Information Society. My first introduction to the band was in a friend’s car, might have been the full album, but I think it was a “cassingle.”

While Information Society‘s cutting-edge late-80s synth-pop may sound dated, it’s undeniable there’s some strong song-writing underneath the samples and drum machines. Somehow, Information Society manages to be poppy, a little bit funky (James Brown samples), and nerdy (chock full of Star Trek original series audio samples) all at the same time. It’s as if Depeche Mode went on anti-depressants and a sci-fi binge at the same time.

The singles, “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy),” “Walking Away,” and the Abba cover “Lay All Your Love on Me,” didn’t take over the world – but all hit the top 40, keeping Information Society safely out of the “one-hit wonders” club.

With three strong singles, you might expect the rest of the album to be filler. In this case, the only track that failed to stand as a decent song in its own right is the short, lurching “Make It Funky.” It’s not a great track, but it fits as a come-down after the nearly eight-minute sprawl of “Running,” which ends with a fair amount of intensity.

Nearly 30 years later, I still find Information Society as listenable today as it was in 1988. Not the band’s best effort, but it stands out as an album that doesn’t fit neatly into any category.