Music Monday (The Buggles/The Age of Plastic)

Before I get to the next Yes album, I thought it might be a good point to take a tangent view at another album that has a great influence on their follow up to Magnification. In retrospect, I should have covered this album after Tormato as it had a great bearing on the following Drama album as well.

I am of course talking about The Age of Plastic by The Buggles.

Original and alternate covers

The Buggles were a British new wave performing and record production duo consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes.

The Age of Plastic is a concept album with lyrical themes of intense nostalgia and anxiety about the possible effects of modern technology. The lyrics, which were written by Trevor Horn, were inspired by the works of J.G. Ballard. The Buggles claimed they were necessarily a "plastic group" to meet the needs of a plastic age, which was why their debut album was called The Age of Plastic. Downes said that the lyrics were "trying to make cynical comments on a number of issues." 

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The Music

1) Living in the Plastic Age - According to Downes, this is about a person's view of plastic experiences from watching and reading news reports on the Vietnam War.

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2) Video Killed the Radio Star - Obviously the most well known song from this album. It hit #1 in several countries and was the first video ever played on MTV. The theme was promotion of technology while worrying about its effects. This song relates to concerns about mixed attitudes towards 20th-century inventions and machines for the media arts.

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3) Kid Dynamo - Cool video using parts of Minority Report. This song is about the effects of media on a futuristic kid of the 1980's.

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4) I Love You (Miss Robot) - This is actually one of my favorite songs off this album. It just gives me a feeling of sadness in a futuristic society. The song is, according to Downes, about "being on the road and making love to someone you don't really like".

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5) Clean, Clean - Supposedly about a young boy who grows out of being a gangster, and, despite not willing to do so, he will at least try to keep the fighting clean.

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6) Elstree - Another favorite of mine. It follows "a failed actor taking up a more regular position behind the scenes and looking back at his life in regret." It is a tribute to the U.K. film company Elstree Studios.

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7) Astroboy (And the Proles on Parade) - Another futuristic song, but not about the movie or cartoon character in the video above.

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8) Johnny on the Monorail - And the album ends on yet another hauntingly futuristic note.

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This is one of those albums that I just think is fantastic. If you listen to it from beginning to end (especially using headphones) it leaves you always wanting more. It is 80's synth pop music for sure, but I think it still holds up well today. It's that combination of moodiness and technology, with a little bit of emo that strikes a chord with me.

What does this have to do with Yes you ask? Well that is answered when they head back to the studio to make their follow up album...