So, load up your lossless file. Press play on "Red Rain." Listen for the wine glass. That is the sound of a genius smiling at the absurdity of the pop charts.
In 1986, the cultural zeitgeist was shifting. The serious, often dour post-punk era was fading, replaced by a vibrant, technicolor explosion. 1986 was the year where "art rock" decided to dance. It was the year that gave us the monster ballad and the global pop smash. It was a time of excess, but also a time of immense technical innovation in recording studios.
"Sledgehammer" is famously tied to its innovative stop-motion music video, which won a record nine MTV Video Music Awards and remains one of the most-played videos in the network's history.
We cannot ignore the visual of the cover. The cover of So is simply a close-up of Gabriel’s face, manipulated by artist Peter Christopherson using a "paintbox" (an early computer graphics system). The image is out of focus, smeared, and colorized in weird ways. It looks like a Warhol silk screen that was left in the rain.
So, load up your lossless file. Press play on "Red Rain." Listen for the wine glass. That is the sound of a genius smiling at the absurdity of the pop charts.
In 1986, the cultural zeitgeist was shifting. The serious, often dour post-punk era was fading, replaced by a vibrant, technicolor explosion. 1986 was the year where "art rock" decided to dance. It was the year that gave us the monster ballad and the global pop smash. It was a time of excess, but also a time of immense technical innovation in recording studios.
"Sledgehammer" is famously tied to its innovative stop-motion music video, which won a record nine MTV Video Music Awards and remains one of the most-played videos in the network's history.
We cannot ignore the visual of the cover. The cover of So is simply a close-up of Gabriel’s face, manipulated by artist Peter Christopherson using a "paintbox" (an early computer graphics system). The image is out of focus, smeared, and colorized in weird ways. It looks like a Warhol silk screen that was left in the rain.
