There's a stunning scene from the storied teen-TV tour deforce My So-Called Life in which earnest waif-heroine AngelaChase (Claire Danes), dyslexic rocker-rebel Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto), plustheir attendant cliques, lock into a protracted, wordless group stare-down. Asthe edits flick from one expectant face to the next and the music yearninglyjangles (alt-rock foot soldiers Buffalo Tom), time ticks ever more slowly andthe kids' drab high-school hallway is gradually transformed into
A movement that went on to dominate the charts and fashion worldwide grew out of a small club scene in London in the early 80s. One insider recalls how Steve Strange and Spandau Ballet revitalised the UK music scene ... When my phone rang in January 1980, little did I realise its message meant: "Put out the cat. You're coming to the party of your life." The voice on the other end spoke without pausing: "My name's Steve Strange and I run a club called the Blitz on Tuesdays and I'm starting a
(Mute) ... James Chapman, aka Maps, is yet another British laptop electro one-man band, in the mould of Calvin Harris and Theoretical Girl. He comes from Northampton, got a Mercury nomination for his 2007 debut We Can Create, and, in a great many ways, has no distinguishing features in a UK pop landscape awash with arty 80s-influenced synth revivalists. Except for one thing. His second album is a masterpiece that stands with the best - Depeche Mode, Yazoo, the Normal - of the Mute label's
In 1992, Atlanta's main "top 40" station Power 99.7 flipped overnight to something amazing: 99x. Suddenly they were playing, as they called it "the music you actually listen to." R.E.M., The Cure, Depeche Mode - you name it - actual cool music. One of the main players in figuring out what 99x would be was program director and award-winning morning co-host Leslie Fram - would stay with the station until 2008. At 99x, she was a major national force in breaking "alternative" bands and