Set Adrift On Memory Tapes 80s Bliss

I grew up in the early days of indoor malls, neon buzz, and Cannon Films. Dual cassette players, VCRs, and arcades were the technology I worshipped. If a movie didn’t have at least a part III or IV it wasn’t worth the trouble. Microwave cakes, hi-top Reeboks, and t-shirts enshrined with Alf, The A-Team, and the “Where’s the beef?” lady were a proper wardrobe. Miami Vice was high art, while Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger were our Frankensteins and Wolfmen.

The 80s were my playground, and I came to play with a box full of Star Wars action figures.

The background music of the 80s made quite the impact on my psyche. There’s a switch that gets turned “on” when I hear DX7s, Jupiter-8s, and Oberheim OB-Xas. The analog lushness and digital chill spoke to me in code, written in sine waves, square waves and pre-programmed patches. It was the sound in commercials, popular television, and cinematic fare. Of course horror and sci-fi benefited the most from these newfangled noise machines, as you could score your movie with nothing more than a keyboard. And most of the time that score was usually better than the film itself.

The 80s have been fetishized for years as a magical time. One in which everything was just “better”. The music, the movies, the cars(just kidding), and the many pastel-colored blazers that were available at Chess King.

I’m not jumping on that train.

The 80s were as good and as bad as any other decade. While the 80s gave us some amazing scores by Tangerine Dream, it also gave us pegged jeans. And trickle down economics. And continued fear of nuclear annihilation(thanks, The Day After.) It gave us the war on drugs(the fake campaign, not the band) and it gave us more slasher films than we could shake a stick at. Lots of misogyny and lots of stereotypes. Lots and lots of cocaine and the Home Shopping Network. Oh, and it was also the decade of the TV evangelist.

But despite the 80s many faults it was the decade I went from a little kid in Husky jeans to an awkward sophomore in high school that spent most weekends either playing guitar in my room or renting questionable films from Video World. I loved the mall and shopping. I loved 80s action movies and teen comedies where the nerd got the girl. So the music that scored that decade for me wasn’t so much synth pop on the radio, or the hair metal I bought with lunch money. It was the sound of those synthesizers pulling our emotions to the surface. Leading us to a feeling or a moment. That’s probably why Rewind It’s Memory Tapes Vol. 1 compilation is hitting all the right nostalgia buttons for me right now.

If it weren’t for Texas musician/synth archivist Jake Schrock I would have never heard about this release. I first heard Jake waaaay back in 2018 on another compilation, Holodeck Records’ Holodeck Vision One comp. That was an epic 30-track compilation highlighting the then thriving electronic music scene in Texas(Austin, specifically), before Covid and anti-woke comics destroyed that once wonderful(and weird) southern Mecca. There were many highlights on that album, and Jake Schrock’s “Levitation Station” was a favorite.

Jake has contributed to Rewind It’s new comp Memory Tapes Vol. 1 which was just released 4/4. While not 30 tracks, it does contain 8 amazing pieces by various artists well versed in the world of 80s synth and score work. Mr. Schrock is the only artist I’ve heard of on here, but I’m definitely going to do some deep diving into the many others contributing.

The comp opens on the phenomenal “My Thoughts Are Pictures” by Stefan Smith. It comes out of the speakers with a sense of urgency, pulsating in a cloud of steely, percussive rhythm and lush synths. “Black Limousine” by Persona la Ave is a sexy, lusty banger with a “come hither” flow. Plenty of Synsonics drum vibes to go around, plus a nice pop edge to it. There’s also a very cinematic feel to this song, and it’s 6-minute runtime makes it perfect for some extended steadicam shot.

Meanwhile Agle’s “Little Brother” is subtle, hidden in spaced-out vibes and the spirit of Tangerine Dream. Total 80s sci-fi vibes and I’m here for it. Jake Schrock’s “Bambu” is a playful chromed-out Caribbean dream. He combines the cold Krautrock ambivalence of his album Omnibus with the cool breeze of Tropical Depression. Think Jan Hammer mixed with the Band of the Hand S/T. A sound aged to neon perfection. You also have the moody and retro-futuristic “Preliminal” by Cosmic Angst, and the absolute infectious robo-funk of Albion Venables’ “Spitze”. This is android baby making music right here(I think it would work just fine for humans, too.)

Allen Michael’s “Next Day” feels like contemplation put to music. Bringing things all together, the calm after the storm. And Gnomus’ “Toy Piano” is the perfect summation of this compilation. Equal parts Tandy 1000, mall walks, with a touch of melancholy. Like the feeling you get when it’s time to leave your friends at the mall, as your mom waits out in front of JC Penney’s to pick you up.

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If you hold any regard for 80s sounds and feels, then you need to put Rewind It’s compilation album Memory Tapes Vol. 1 in your ears. Peg those pants, throw on that Alf t-shirt, and hit the local multi-plex and check out whatever John Hughes or Chuck Norris movie is playing.