What Is This Kraut-ish Song?!

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I've been looking for this song forever, and since I don't know the
name of the song, or who the performer/group is I'm really not
having any luck.

I'd have to say the song is definitely late 70's - early 80's in sound,
in the electronic/kraut-rock vien, although I think the voice on it
may be talking in english. It's got a constant thump..thump...thump...
beat, with alternating squeals up...thump..thump..thump..thump...then squeal down... and the "chorus" is something like
"War... and the threat..." or
"Wharf... and the rat..." repeated

It can't imagine it would be anything too obscure since I keep hearing
it on a sattalite retail-radio station (thus no DJ's, and therefore no chance of hearing a name or who it's by) called "New Wave Flashback"
alongside the likes of Duran Duran, Elvis Costello, and The Cars...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

― Ian Brownlie, Saturday, 17 January 2004 15:48 (twenty years ago) link

the normal - warm leatherette?

― zappi (joni), Saturday, 17 January 2004 17:05 (twenty years ago) link

Haha oh shit yeah, I would never have worked that out from the description

― Ferrrrrrg (Ferg), Saturday, 17 January 2004 17:07 (twenty years ago) link

Holy shit...just DL'ed it and that's the freakin' one!
No wonder all the browsing around The AMG never got me anywhere...
according to the entry for The Normal, they only ever released
two tracks and I didn't have any of the chorus right. (Although my
variations are amusingly close phonically speaking)

This song is so freaky it's awesome!

Thanks so much.

Ian

― Ian Brownlie, Saturday, 17 January 2004 22:51 (twenty years ago) link

They didn't have to release any more. The Normal was Daniel Miller. Actually, they did, there's a 12" on Rough Trade with Robert Rental from the Rough Trade tour(w/ Essential Logic and Stiff Little Fingers) that's more noisy and weird. After that he "formed" the Silicon Teens to do cover version synth-pop style, did some production work on stuff ranging from the Metal Boys to the awesome Missing Scientists single on Rough Trade, discovered Fad Gadget and Depeche Mode and founded Mute records, which I believe he still runs.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Sunday, 18 January 2004 01:44 (twenty years ago) link

Actually no, Miller sold the label to EMI last year or the year before, I forget which. Not sure what he's doing these days but I hope he's enjoying the fruit of his labors etc.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 18 January 2004 01:50 (twenty years ago) link

it's so funny, the first time i opened this thread, i was in the process of downloading the three versions i knew of it (the normal, chicks on speed and grace jones). very weird timing

― JaXoN (JasonD), Sunday, 18 January 2004 02:30 (twenty years ago) link

Daniel Miller is still working at Mute I think. I remember hearing that he helped out on the recent Mountaineers album - if not actually in the studio, then at the drawing board level.

It's absolutely worth downloading T.V.O.D as well, although I suspect you'd already twigged that one.

― Jason J, Monday, 19 January 2004 00:20 (twenty years ago) link

"Wharf...and the rat" is my new favourite imaginary t-shirt slogan.

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 19 January 2004 02:37 (twenty years ago) link

(damn buzzer wasn't working...)

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 19 January 2004 10:52 (twenty years ago) link

The Normal version is classic but for a while there Grace jones was turning from a one-note discoey novelty into a singer with a real conceptual thrust, great band and well-chosen material. It didn't last, but Warm Leatherette is an excellent album. I remember seeing the video, pre-MTV, some night when I was staying up too late, and it's actually kind of scary.

― Sean (Sean), Monday, 19 January 2004 11:39 (twenty years ago) link

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