POST NO. 11: MUSIC FOR MOOGS

In case you missed the news, Robert Moog, creator of the you-guessed-it, died on Sunday at the age of 71 in his home in Asheville, North Carolina. His cause of death was brain cancer. The news sends a tingle down my spine, because I was actually in Asheville on Sunday.

For more info on Bob, you can start at his site. Many of you are probably already familiar with electronic music and know of Moog's impact on modern music. Today, I'll pay homage to his brilliant invention with an oldy but goody: the Silicon Teens.

Their 1980 album on Sire Records, Music for Parties, is a total blast. We can trace twee pop's roots back as far as we'd like, but there's no doubt that this record had a little bit to do with the development of keyboard-based indie pop in the '80s and especially the '90s. The Silicon Teens were actually one man, Mute Records founder Daniel Miller (pictured above). Using various vintage synthesizers -- including the moog -- and drum machines, Miller dusted off some of his favorite tunes from the '50s and gave them a revamp that any 11 year-old kid with a crush on Cyndi Lauper would love. From "Let's Dance" to "Oh Boy!" to "You Really Got Me," Miller cruises through a long list of oldies (and a couple originals) with amusing results. I've chosen his cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis Tennessee" along with the instrumental "Red River Rock," which Johnny & the Hurricanes had a top-10 hit with in 1959. Oddly enough, the Silicon Teens version of "Red River Rock" was used in the soundtrack to the Steve Martin/John Candy comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Silicon Teens - "Red River Rock"

Silicon Teens - "Memphis Tennessee"

This was the lone full length for the Silicon Teens. There isn't much available on the Teens online, but you can read up on Miller's influence on technopop here.