As an eighties kid, synth pop has been pumping in my blood ever since that first day I turned on my MTV. There’s some debate as to who’s considered a synth pop band and who isn’t. For this September Music Twitter challenge – #SynthPopSeptember – I’m focusing more on what’s considered synth pop, not who. The songs I’m featuring on Mental Jukebox this month aren’t solely composed of synthesizers. There may be drums, bass, and dare I say, electric guitars. But each of these songs were picked because the synthesizer is core to its being.
By the late 80’s and even early 90’s, a late resurgence of synth pop made its way onto the radio waves – led by a handful of bands, including Information Society, When In Rome, Kon Kan and Anything Box. This “newer” wave felt like it was fashionably late, and didn’t feel over-ripe by any means. The resurgence stubbornly and unapologetically clashed with the guitar-driven grunge era. And one of the era’s best outputs was “Living In Oblivion” by Anything Box.
Anything Box sounded like a bright, upbeat strand of Brith synth pop, but the band got their start in New Jersey – a region that benefited from several college and alt rock radio stations that made synth pop an everyday staple. The best part of the dance-oriented “Living In Oblivion” is the melody, but the synthesizers and drum machine (love that iconic drum fill and cowbell) do their part to drive the song forward on the dance floor.
“You can’t hide the pain, I can see it scrawled on your empty face.”