Earlier this year, I wrote a DeLorean post about the resurgence of “coldwave” in New York and then briefly compared it to the post-punk/coldwave of the late 70s and 80s. It initially seemed strange to hear bands still fetishizing the genre; the minimalistic drum machine/synths/deadpan vocals that characterized the original European style carried specific aesthetic and political values that seemed forced and anachronistic in 2010. Once my knee stopped jerking, though, I started to become interested in the ways the classic coldwave sound was being tweaked (and not just in NYC) to incorporate a range of new influences and methods. The idea of this mix was to imagine a Platonic ideal for the genre and then spin off of it rather irreverently in a bunch of different directions, sitting old with new. A mix featuring 12 songs in a “dark, minimalist post-punk style” could have been made 10,000 different ways. This one incorporates everything from The Boss covering Suicide to Ariel Pink utilizing the Joy Division shuffle, because “dark, minimalist post-punk” is a pretty big tent to revel under*.
*For more nuanced and in-depth looks into the genre(s), the Minimal Wave record label is a good place to start.
01. Parallels - “Reservoir” (thisisnotanexit)
02. Marquis de Sade - “Cancer and Drugs” (Naive)
03. Abwarts - “Der Westen ist einsam” (ZIckzack)
04. Josef K - “Sorry for Laughing” (Domino)
05. Bruce Springsteen - “Dream Baby Dream” (Suicide cover) (abridged)
06. Berlin - “Metro” (Geffen)
07. Xeno & Oaklander - “Blue Flower” (Wierd)
08. Gary War - “Everynight” (Sacred Bones)
09. Blank Dogs - “L Machine” (In the Red)
10. Christian Death - “I’ve Been Bed” (Cleopatra)
11. Light Asylum - “Nights and Weekends” (demo)
12. Ariel Pink - “Revolution’s a Lie” (4AD)
[Artwork: Keith Kawaii]