14 Comments »

1. 

   For me it was Cars by Gary Numan. I would say the Buggles, but I only remember it on my Mini-Pops album when I was 11 or 12!

   Comment by Minty — November 14, 2008 @ 6:22 pm

2. 

   “Cars” by Gary Numan as well probably due to the fact that it was a Top 40 hit. I was 12 and remember buying the 7″ Single.

   Comment by Swerve — November 15, 2008 @ 7:51 am

3. 

   What was the contest and prize, DJ Wave?

   Comment by admin — November 16, 2008 @ 9:00 am

4. 

   Kraft & Sony Spliz Enz/Talk Talk Contest – Mailed in 1 postcard, and they drew the name on the air. Then Martha called me and aired the phone conversation on the air. I won tickets to Spliz Enz/Talk Talk shows in the area, A year supply of Kraft Mac & Cheese, MTV Satin Jacket & Buttons, Sony Walkman..and bunch of small items.

   Comment by Dj Wave — November 16, 2008 @ 11:38 am

5. 

   My first exposure to synthpop was actually through the Devo album New Traditionalists when I was in high school. A friend of mine had bought the album (yes, it was vinyl!) and invited me over to listen to it. While Devo will never really be considered synthpop, I loved the synthesizer in the songs so much that I was inspired to search out for more synth-based music. MTV certainly helped out my search.

   Comment by FlatMatt — November 19, 2008 @ 5:53 pm

6. 

   Gary Numan’s “Cars” for me as well. It must have been the end of 1979, maybe into 1980. I was just getting into music by 1979 so my tastes were usually all over the place with Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Police, Blondie, Rush, Van Halen, and Aerosmith, which is what the local radio stations were playing at the time.

   We didn’t get MTV until 1983 (but, strangely, I could get the audio on my radio). MV3 with Richard Blade and local PBS stations would air a program called VIDEO WEST that would air early video works by The Police, Devo, Michael Nesmith, Commander Cody, and the Stranglers. My first real New Wave album was 1978’s THE CARS (which cuts through the genres of rock and new wave) and, to this day, is still my favorite album ever.

   “Cars” was when I first sat up and noticed the synthesizer. And while my taste in the rock bands began to fade by 1982, synthpop and new wave, thanks to MTV and local Rock of the 80s radio stations, kept my interest alive with synth.

   Comment by atomic99 — November 19, 2008 @ 7:26 pm

7. 

   I would have to say Kraftwerk – “Autobahn”. In mid-late 70’s, I was intrigued oftrn hearing it in commercials and such. Freshman year in college I came to find who the song and artist were.
   Though not really synthpop, seeing Devo on SNL spurred a neighbor to buy the LP the next day, and we often found ourselves listening to it when drinking. Later, a college roomate introduced me to OMD’s 1st LP: “Messages” and “Electricity” were instant favorites. Omd (w/Comateens) was also my 2nd “new wave” concert after first having seen Devo on their 2nd album tour. These, along with early Human League and Gary Numan’s “Are Friends Electric” (”Cars” came later) were my very first journeys into synthpop, and I never looked back.

   DJWave, How much IS a year’s worth of Mac/Cheese?

   Comment by Thor — November 19, 2008 @ 7:42 pm

8. 

   Not enough to cook and put you in it!

   Comment by DJ Wave — November 21, 2008 @ 11:05 am

9. 

   It’d have to be Amii Stewart’s cover of ‘Knock on Wood’, which I think was a great piece of electronica!

   Comment by Jim of Ottawa — December 5, 2008 @ 8:43 pm

10. 

    Would have to be either Human League, Soft Cell or Berlin

    Comment by zeke — December 7, 2008 @ 2:55 am

11. 

    For me there were three huge moments:
    1. Jean Micheal Jarre Oxygene which sounded like nothing I’d ever heard of before
    2. Kraftwerk’s The Robots
    3. Rich Wilde’s The lady wants to be Alone

    I had heard all three growing up in Germany in the late 70s and I can honestly say that those songs changed my life. If it weren’t for these sings, I doubt that I would have ever bought my first synthesizer. I never would have had so much fun being in bands.

    Comment by DJFormaldehyde — December 7, 2008 @ 10:46 am

12. 

    I should like to amend my earlier post! The earliest actual electronica I ever heard was ‘Swithched On Bach’ by Wayne Carlos. My dad brought it home when I was 6 and played the crap out of it, and I thought it sounded pretty neat as well.

    Comment by Jim of Ottawa — December 17, 2008 @ 10:35 pm

13. 

    er, sorry, that should actually read ‘Switched’…….

    Comment by Jim of Ottawa — December 17, 2008 @ 10:36 pm

14. [...] Show #5 is a listener-driven show about what song or group introduced them to synthpop. To see the original listener posts, go here. [...]

    Pingback by Doug Lynner’s World of Noise » Doug Lynner’s World of Noise #5 Playlist — January 11, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment