Let’s kick off 2026 with a throwback to one of my favorite albums from my teenage years. Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder was both an album name and a collaboration of legends: English singer Philip Oakey, lead vocalist of the Human League, and Italian composer and record producer Giorgio Moroder. It was such a cool and unique album, with quite a few bangers. You might know “Together in Electric Dreams” from the movie. It was a collection of singles, but it was also a mega-mix, with each song mixed into the next. And the transitions are so great, they’re done well, but also like mini songs on their own in a few cases.
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Mark Hollis, lead singer/songwriter for Talk Talk, died yesterday. This is one of my all-time favorite songs. I’ve missed music blogging, also missed memorializing others during this interim. No promises, but with SXSW around the corner, perhaps Keith & I will get back in TMIS’ saddle.
Shout Out Louds - In New Europe
Swedish pop-wavers Shout Out Louds are one of the few current bands that really pluck my strings of nostalgia. They're most often compared to The Cure, and I get that, but a strong as the comparison is, that's not the string I'm talking about. (And that incarnation of The Cure, the dreamy poppy version, is not nearly my favorite. Give me the dark, gothic rock of the really early days.) No, to me they remind me of the more sophisticated wave-rock of bands like Visage and Ultravox. This latest single, "In New Europe" feels a bit lighter than all that, it's a bit of a chair dancer, but the hints are there.
Upcoming Shows
New Order - Ceremony
Going old school on TMIS again today. You may remember that I read both of Peter Hook's memoir/band biographies last year. And then, I don't think I mentioned it on here but, one of the highlights of ACL last fall was seeing Day Wave on a small stage, with a small crowd, and hearing him cover this song, Ceremony (just like he did at SXSW the year before). The bass on this is like plucking my heart strings, pulling on my joints to make me bob and sway and feel it -- and I'll get to see the original dude playing it in a relatively small venue!!! I am enormously stoked because Hooky is coming to Austin on his "Substance" tour where he's covering BOTH complete Substance compilations from JD & NE!! (Link to set list.) Fingers crossed for what the vocals sound like but I'm already expecting this to be an all-time-highlight show, for me, and I kinda can't believe it's not sold out here already. Check out the tour dates below to see if you'll be as lucky! (Yes I'm posting Peter Hook & The Light tour not New Order)
Upcoming Shows
Yaz - State Farm
A fun throwback track that floods me with memories. Definitely worthy of a Most Important Song, although not in the band's top 10. This song was never a hit in the U.S. but I must've been friends with some people who had cool older siblings because we used it to choreograph one of our high school competition routines. I don't think I've heard it in 25+ years, and even then it was at least 10 years old. Yazoo holds a special place in the amazing music history of Vince Clarke. If you don't know: he penned and played on Depeche Mode's debut album before leaving them to create this brief (2 album) duo with Alison Moyet, and then went on to partner with Andy Bell and form the everlasting Erasure. Love all that original new wave synthpop awesomeness.