The End of The Road

I never really noticed Simple Kid when he was active, (maybe I was put off by the trucker's cap he always seemed to be hiding under), and now it seems he has sold all his music making toys and kit and retired from "The Biz".

But he did at least leave us all with something to remember him by in the form of a "lost demo" which was picked up by Mister Marc Riley and played out on his 6music show.  The response was good and in turn the good people at Static Caravan Recordings had their arms twisted to put it out into the wider public domain.

So, here it is, The Road: sounding like simultaneously listening to a life-instruction tape whilst playing a Death Race 2000-style game on the Commodore 64. Which, in case you were wondering, is a good thing.



You can download The Road by Simple Kid from Static Caravan Recordings.

And maybe, if the response is good, Simple Kid might unlock the cupboard where he keeps his "lost album" and share that with the world too.

Computer L.O.V.E. pt.4

RE-BOOT RE-BOOT…
IT’S MORE FUN TO COMPUTE

Well, that’s what Kraftwerk would have us believe. Mind you, that was 1981, and back then people didn’t waste hour-upon-hour staring slack-jawed at a VDU until their eyes popped out on stalks and their fingers cramped up into RSI-locked claws.

Kraftwerk - It’s More Fun To Compute
[buy Kraftwerk: iTunes | Amazon]

No, back then in the brave new world of the early-80’s you’d have to hang around waiting for 2 hours for yr cassette to hit the payload. Imagine all that pent-up youthful anticipation finally unleashed as you got your hands on the controls to help Horace Go Skiing

Yes! Computing was indeed much more fun than sitting round twiddling your thumbs waiting for your game to load. Though some of those epilepsy-inducing visuals you used to get on the telly were often worth the entry money alone.

Here’s another 8-bit hit of ZX Spectrum madness (with thanks to Feline1). This one has some sweet shuffling Casio-tone beats, and an eerie underwater vibrato melody which helps set the scene for the gameplay:
“Pirates have raided the storage depots of the Federation and stolen valuable minerals, jewels, ammunition and the latest battle weaponry. The Cybernoid ship has been depatched with instructions to retrieve the stolen booty and to return it to storage within a specified time limit. The pirates have activated planetary defence systems and the Cybernoid will have to battle with these as well as the pirates themselves in order to retrieve the stolen booty."

Dave Rogers - Theme from Cybernoid (ZX Spectrum 128K)

*********GAME OVER*********

Now put your computer to sleep before you get an unhealthy vector addiction.

Q: Do computers dream of pixelated sheep?
A: It depends what sort of mood you put them in when you send them to sleep…

Every night Polnareff sings a sinister lullaby to his computer and sends it off into a wailing 70’s cowbell wonderland.

Michel Polnareff – Computer’s Dream

[buy Polnareff: iTunes | Amazon]

When silence descends Polnareff’s computer opens his camera eye to check the coast is clear.

It is not.

Polnareff’s computer regresses to his happy place, where he sings a simple song to himself:

“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do…”