DVD OF THE WEEK

When scholars talk about the 70s music revolution, their names hardly ever come up. Everyone references the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, pushing backward to encapsulate the New York Dolls and The Velvet Underground, and forward to take in the Clash and the Jam. But forgotten in the face of punk�s do-it-yourself upheaval was the real sonic shift, a move away from guitars and raw power to cold and calculated electronics. These were bands that drew their inspiration not from the rebel rebels of the 50s, or the garage gangs of the 60s. No, these inspired artists found their muse in the mechanical mantras of Kraftwerk, and in the pure pop presence of disco�s emerging dance beat.

So as London suffered through a post-jubilee filled with anarchy and aggression, Sheffield slowly but surely grew into a Mecca for the new and novel synthesizer experience. Out of a core group of friends and schoolmates came a noise so unique, so unlike what was being peddled on both radio and in the riot clubs that it took a few full years to catch on. But once it did, it set a standard for recorded insurgency that would last for decades to come. Everyone points to Johnny Rotten�s sneer, Sid Viscous�s violent nature, or Joe Strummer�s considered politics as the true essence of the 70s seismic rock and roll mutiny. But it was really the twisting of knobs and the modulating of sound waves that caused the greatest disorder. It was a sound so foreign it could only come from outside the domain of London. Indeed, it was a noise Made in Sheffield...more here