OPTICAL RACE.
Posted on June 4, 2025 Leave a Comment
I started running. I don’t mean running for love, running for money or running in the heat of the night — but actual jogging. Though I’m not convinced at this point if it’s worth it, for the time being, I’ll keep running.
It probably has something to do with it being Spring. The season of new beginnings, optimism and ‘Optical Race’ — the 1988 Tangerine Dream album. The sound of this record represents a tidal shift in the band’s career, something that’s immediately noticed as these songs are more upbeat, energized and rooted in electronic rock.
I’ve always unintentionally associated Tangerine Dream records with seasons of the year. It comes from somewhere in my subconscious but as the weather changes, I seem to gravitate towards certain albums of theirs. ‘Optical Race’ sees the group progressing towards richer, broader sounds of the late-1980’s with a more sleeker production. The album focuses less on dark, hypnotic themes of previous works but still remains extremely cinematic and powerful as ever.
Just listen to the track Marakesh which opens the record and you can almost see the morning dew on a fresh cut lawn, the sun coming up behind the mountains, followed by a crushing synth odyssey of mystic rhythms and technical mastery. It’s a delight.
This album also represented a new era for Tangerine Dream, not only in lineup changes as band member Christopher Franke was out of the band and also the first album to be programmed with a computer. Not just a computer but an ATARI.
“THIS ALBUM HAS BEEN PRODUCED ON THE ATARI ST USING STEINBURG/JONES SOFTWARE”
Without getting too geeky on the technical side of ATARI ST computer recording production, just knowing that a pack of German synthesizer guys using ATARI to record music is fun to imagine. Do you think while Edgar Froese stressed over trying to get the right chord production, the other guys in the studio played Dungeon Master, Stunt Car Racer or The Secret of Monkey Island?
OK, let’s back it up because it’s getting a little nerdy around here. Before going for a jog this afternoon I had this weird idea of taking a few photos of ‘Optical Race’ by our local track & field. I like how it turned out and now we need to make a music video.
TANGERINE DREAM – Optical Race (1988)
(*NOT AVAILABLE ON STREAMING PLATFORMS….so buy the cassette, compact disc or vinyl!)
PAY THE PRICE FOR PARADISE.
Posted on May 20, 2025 1 Comment
Listening to ‘Cinerama’, the latest EP from Parisian artist Plastic Bamboo is like being hit in the head by a coconut and then waking up in a dreamlike state on the white sands of an exotic but familiar destination. Suddenly you’re a stranger in a strange land on some deserted, enchanted island with palm trees, tanned hardbodies, loin cloths, waves crashing and the scents of banana, pineapple and sea salt. Listen at your leisure.
But wait — that’s not all! Also what comes to mind on the silky-smooth track “A Scene At The Sea” is heavy artillery and a cargo plane containing one giant “LIVE” snake! Wait a minute, that sure sounds like the plot to 1987’s action-juggernaut flick Hard Ticket To Hawaii.
Now it makes total sense because for a brief moment I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what these 6 tracks of cosmic disco collectively reminded me of and then four words hit me like a ton of bricks. HARD TICKET TO HAWAII. Check out an instrumental clip from the soundtrack below and tell me if you agree.
No wonder why I love it so much! As the warmer weather rolls in, give this EP your attention especially if you plan on bopping around the beach this summer. It will enhance your leisure.
PLASTIC BAMBOO – ‘CINERAMA’
buy limited edition 12″ vinyl
stream + download
YEAR OF THE RATT.
Posted on April 30, 2025 1 Comment
The ancient Chinese Zodiac claims it’s the year of the snake but Uncle T begs to differ because all signs are leading to the Year of the RATT.
For whatever reason I’ve been listening to more Ratt than ever before in my life. Is it because this year is the 40th anniversary of the album ‘Invasion Of Your Privacy’? Or maybe it’s because in less than a week I’ll have the privilege of seeing frontman Stephen Peary reunite with guitar messiah Warren DiMartini at the M3 music festival for a night of sacred Ratt ‘N Roll.
Nah, it’s probably just me fantasizing about Tawny Kitaen’s fishnet legs and all those rent-a-rats from the EP album cover. Seriously though, I firmly believe those first four Ratt albums are pound for pound the strongest four album run from any band of the era.
Bottom line? There are a million reasons to love this cool fucking band.
To get everyone in the mood and since summertime is on the horizon, here’s some video bliss from my good friend @neonghoulieglow on IG.
I can’t think of anything I’d rather do this summer than crank some Ratt and dance on the beach after enjoying some corndogs and cold beers. The salt from the ocean and sunscreen fills the air while a seagull soars over my head, winking at me when he hears Ratt playing. Just as one of the snobby and uptight older ladies on the beach is about to take the first bite out of her cucumber sandwich, mister seagull drops a bird turd right in the center of it. Rock on.
Tell me I’m not crazy when I say Stephen Pearcy even sounds like a rat. Something about that nasally vocal style reminds me of a classic talking rat from a cartoon show (and I mean that in the best way possible). Pearcy has one of the coolest, most unique voices in rock and is incomparable to anyone. He’s a rock ‘n roll rodent that snarls and slithers just like the way he moves on stage.
…and TAKE A LOOK AT ROBBIN CROSBY! Or should I say Robbin “Crockett” Crosby while he sports that silk suit and pair of loafers. With a look like that, he could have easily been importing bricks of cocaine on a boat from Havana with his pet alligator.
Nobody does party metal better than Ratt. Nobody.
ALLEY CAT DESIRES.
Posted on April 3, 2025 1 Comment
The other day I started thinking about all the great songs in the history of music that wouldn’t exist without the streetwalkin’ cheetahs who inspired them. Songs about working under the shadow of a neon-lit street corner and putting up with tricks, johns, rent boys, vigilantes, muggers, psychos, butterfly-knife wielding gang members and last but certainly not least — unstable and violent pimps.
Disclaimer: Before we continue, let’s get one thing straight. I’m not talking about modern-day depressing situations of sex trafficking, fentanyl and other gross byproducts of current society. That’s not fun!
Instead, we’re going back to the golden age of big hair, white lace thigh highs and silhouettes walking towards the window of your Buick after a long day at the office. You hear a voice whisper “Hey sugar” while a rat climbs out of a sewer in the distance. It’s like being on 42nd Street in New York City during it’s bygone era when the city was at its seediest and most dangerous (but worth the risk). Long before any serious life-threatening diseases and when all you needed for a health booster after a wild weekend was a shot of penicillin. “Thanks Doc!”
So grab your red lipstick, switchblade, pack of smokes, sleeve of rubbers and join us for a night on the town as TNUC presents ‘ALLEY CAT DESIRES‘ — a tribute playlist for the alley cats working the streets just to make ends meet!
Let’s face it, times are tough in the concrete jungle and sometimes your only chance of survival is a pair of stilettos and your trusty switchblade. If you can relate, then this playlist is for you. Sure, these gals might not be the type you’d bring home to mama for Wednesday spaghetti dinner, but they do what they need to get by.
Now show some respect and pick your poison below!
ALLEY CAT DESIRES on Apple Music
TAKASHI’S VICTORY SONG.
Posted on March 13, 2025 1 Comment
Let’s set the record straight. There will never be another Revenge of the Nerds and THERE DOESN’T NEED TO BE ANOTHER Revenge of the Nerds. This cinematic masterpiece (and I mean that) could only have been released in 1984 and we as a modern day society could never deliver something so precious and sacred. We lack the power, the purity and the innocence to create such lightning in a bottle. We may as well be living on a different planet because it just wouldn’t register with these times. It’s a damn perfect film.
Revenge of the Nerds is a movie filled with zeros turned heroes and one of the most triumphant success stories is Lamba Lamda Lambda’s very own Takashi Toshiro. Takashi is a Japanese nerd with a very thick accent. For all the racial stereotype comments and nerd ridicule he receives, he’s always ultra polite to every single person he encounters, which is something people take advantage of him for. Even his own fraternity brother Booger who constantly cheats during poker games and takes his money!
Booger: What the fuck’s a frush?
Takashi: [showing his royal flush] A *frush*.
Booger: Oh, well I’ve got two sevens and two sevens beats a frush.
Takashi: Oh, thank you!
Takashi: Oh thank you. Good luck to you too Burke!
Always sincere even if very confused and out of place. That’s our main man Takashi.
Which now brings us to today’s brain-destroying discovery. During the tricycle race scene of Atoms College “Greek Games Homecoming Charity Carnival”, competitors had to complete 20 laps on the track while stopping to drink a beer once every rotation. That’s right, 20 beers per tri-cyclist. YES. Revisit the moment in the clip below before continuing.
The idiotic but infectious song “Daicheeee Daicheee” that sounds like some warped acid dream locked inside an old Chinese restaurant has been in my head for literally decades. I remember as a kid watching the movie and constantly humming the melody and singing it with my bonehead friends. It’s still happening to this day as a matter of fact.
Something about this song all of a sudden in 2025 sounded familiar to me. Call it fate, call it a spiritual awakening but something about the song demanded some in-depth research. So after spending 5 minutes on the internet looking around, I stumbled on something VERY interesting. Play the video below.
This “Daisy Bell” song was composed by Harry Dacre in the year 1892! Fast forward to 1961 and the IBM 7094 became the first computer to sing, singing the song “Daisy Bell”. The ancient computer song was even the inspiration for a similar scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
So yes, your guess is as good as mine and all points lead to Takashi’s “Daichee” being transformed from this early computer song to the Asian-stereotyped victory song we love so much! Since all the nerds who attend Atoms College are invested in the institution’s computer program, that’s the connection to the old IBM computer song. Here’s a recorded version of “Daichee”:
It isn’t every day that my mind is blown from discoveries like this one but 40+ years after the film’s release and here we are. The goofball song isn’t even featured on the movie’s hit soundtrack which goes to show even in 1984 they must have figured it was best to leave this one a mystery.
Takashi’s life changed forever when he jointed the Tri-Lambs. If it wasn’t for fraternity brothers like Lewis and Booger introducing Takashi to drinking beer, smoking wonder joints and the cherished “hair pie”, who could really say where this foreign exchange student would be in his life. Here in the Land of TNUC, Takashi is a true hero.
SYNTHS ON ICE.
Posted on February 27, 2025 Leave a Comment
Depending on where you are in the world and what time you’re reading this, you might too be experiencing vicious cold temperatures like Uncle T.
Right now I’m staring at a frozen sheet of ice through my whole backyard and even my treehouse looks like a scene from 1982’s The Thing. This was usually the time of year when I turn to music in hopes of escapism by listening to something that makes me think of warmer days. Afternoons spent driving with the windows down, the beach, palm trees, poolside lounging, Van Halen on the boombox, etc.
However in recent years I’ve been fully embracing (and at times, obsessing) over all four seasons and the environments that come with them, good or bad.
I enjoy getting into that headspace as I look outside and the climate somewhat coincides with music. I’ve also been on an absolute tear of Tangerine Dream as of late. Digging into this band’s seemingly endless catalogue of albums and rediscovering the eerie mysticism of this band has been a blast. The 1983 live album ‘Poland’ has always been a stand out recording as it contains some of the strongest, most hypnotic electronic landscapes the band ever created. It also feels ICE COLD which I’m not sure was intentional but given what went down with the setting of this concert makes you wonder..
As the story goes, in December of 1983 Tangerine Dream played two shows in Poland at the Warsaw Ice Stadium. The music performed was under extreme weather conditions, with sub-zero temperatures erasing the band’s equipment memory banks several times. Band members Edgar Froese, Christopher Franke and Johannes Schmoelling played the concert wearing wool gloves with the fingertips cut off in order to feel the keys. The glass roof of the arena was covered in over six feet of snow. The concert was interrupted five times by the power cutting out.
What develops from this chilling show is some of TD’s most highly regarded music by fans. Once again the band played exclusively unreleased material for ‘Poland’, a trend they would continue on several live albums. Four brand new, longform tracks featuring sweeping synths, rigid sequencing, drum machines and soloing into the stratosphere.
By this time in 1983 the band had already released a string of successful albums. They had a strong following and were coming off soundtracking major motion pictures such as Risky Business, Sorcerer, Thief and Firestarter.
While I discovered TD as a kid after watching Risky Business at 1:00am in my living room and hearing the first sounds of electronic music, the band’s non-soundtrack albums have minds of their own, which allows them to be even more intriguing. The impressive thing about these albums is just how massive and cinematic they are delivered — without having the visuals, storyline and characters to be constantly reminded of. Instead, I can’t help letting my imagination to soar and glide over vast landscapes. They have a way of sequencing sounds and melodies that conjure up feelings of nostalgia, romance, power, triumph, impending doom and psychosis all contained inside a 20 – 40 minute side of a record. A pure journey. It’s fucking remarkable.
uncletnuc.com 