WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Welcome, everyone, to another Deep Dive. We are 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:04.919 absolutely thrilled to have you with us today. 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:08.019 We really are. It's great to be here. Yeah. And 00:00:08.019 --> 00:00:09.820 if you're looking at your player right now, you 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:11.919 might have noticed the specific title and description 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.880 we laid out for today's journey. It's a pretty 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.359 packed title. It really is. Our title is Unpacking 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:20.760 Alien Sex Fiend. It's the album Format Wars and 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.739 80s rock trivia. Which is quite a mouthful, but... 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:27.679 Highly accurate exactly and the description gives 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:29.699 you a perfect roadmap of where we are heading 00:00:29.699 --> 00:00:31.800 I'll just I'll just read a bit of it here. Go 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.079 for it. It says in this deep dive We explore 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:38.340 the enigmatic 1986 release it the album by English 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:41.799 rock band alien sex fiend Join us as we dissect 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.039 the eccentric track list Including a mind -bending 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:48.259 13 -minute opus and analyze the band's brilliant 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:50.920 response to the evolving physical media landscape 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:53.359 of the 1980s Yeah, that physical media aspect 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.109 is huge It is. The description goes on to say, 00:00:56.250 --> 00:00:58.850 from Nick Fiend's DIY album art to the critical 00:00:58.850 --> 00:01:01.770 acclaim from Trouser Press, we leave no stone 00:01:01.770 --> 00:01:04.349 unturned. Whether you're a music history buff 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:07.049 or fascinated by the quirks of cassette and CD 00:01:07.049 --> 00:01:10.370 reissues, this deep dive extracts the most important 00:01:10.370 --> 00:01:12.829 nuggets of insight from the band's fourth studio 00:01:12.829 --> 00:01:15.900 undertaking. And you know, we threw in some keywords 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:19.680 there too, like alien sex fiend, 1986 rock albums, 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:23.180 English rock bands, trouser press reviews, cassette, 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:25.560 and CD reissues. You gotta help people find the 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:27.859 deep dive, right? You know it. But I love that 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:30.680 description because it really captures the essence 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:32.799 of what we are doing today. It sets the stage 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:34.400 perfectly. Right. Because we are essentially 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.170 going on... Like a musical archaeological dig. 00:01:38.189 --> 00:01:40.209 Oh, I like that framing an archaeological dig 00:01:40.209 --> 00:01:43.370 Yeah, we are taking a single cultural artifact 00:01:43.370 --> 00:01:48.209 from October 1986 this album by a highly provocative 00:01:48.209 --> 00:01:50.049 English rock band and we are just gonna look 00:01:50.049 --> 00:01:52.370 at it from every conceivable angle Which is the 00:01:52.370 --> 00:01:53.930 best way to do it. You have to look at all the 00:01:53.930 --> 00:01:55.870 facets. Absolutely We're talking about a band 00:01:55.870 --> 00:01:58.790 with the incredibly striking name alien sex fiend 00:01:58.790 --> 00:02:01.739 and this is their fourth studio album And fourth 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:04.040 albums are usually where bands either cement 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:06.620 their legacy or start falling apart. Exactly. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.879 So the mission today is very clear. We are going 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:12.400 to dissect the release strategy behind this record. 00:02:12.580 --> 00:02:14.840 It's absolutely wild track lengths. The critical 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.780 reception at Garnard and with this one specific 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:19.979 point in music history tells us about the entire 00:02:19.979 --> 00:02:23.520 era. Yes, the entire era of physical media formats. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:25.900 It is just fantastic to be here for this. And 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:28.580 I think your framing of this as an archaeological 00:02:28.580 --> 00:02:31.479 dig is spot on. Thanks. It really feels like 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:33.439 one. It does. When we look at the historical 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:36.520 record of this specific 1986 release, we aren't 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:38.460 just looking at a list of songs. No, not at all. 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:40.680 When you start reading between the lines of the 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:42.740 track listing, you know, examining the production 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:45.659 credits and analyzing the fascinating variations 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:48.000 in how this music was physically packaged. Because 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:50.469 it varied a lot depending on the format. Exactly. 00:02:50.650 --> 00:02:52.969 How it was sold across different formats. A much 00:02:52.969 --> 00:02:55.770 larger narrative emerges. You realize you were 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:59.569 looking at a snapshot of a band that was actively 00:02:59.569 --> 00:03:02.710 playing with and perhaps deliberately subverting 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:05.610 the very concept of what an album even is. They 00:03:05.610 --> 00:03:07.669 were totally messing with the format. Right. 00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:10.389 It's a reflection of a deeply transitional moment 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:12.889 in the music industry. The physical container 00:03:12.889 --> 00:03:15.270 of the music was changing rapidly. Oh, for sure. 00:03:15.310 --> 00:03:18.129 From vinyl to cassette. To the emerging digital 00:03:18.129 --> 00:03:21.870 frontier of the CD. And this band decided to 00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:25.469 make that transition, that friction a part of 00:03:25.469 --> 00:03:27.969 the art itself. OK, let's unpack this because 00:03:27.969 --> 00:03:30.310 right out of the gate. Before we even drop the 00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:33.530 needle on the record, we have to talk about identity. 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:36.550 Yes, the identity is crucial. We have to talk 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:38.569 about the name of the band, the people behind 00:03:38.569 --> 00:03:40.629 it, and how they boldly presented themselves 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:44.610 to the world in 1986. The band is called Alien 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:48.080 Sex Fiend. It's quite a name. Now, you hear that 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:50.259 name and you instantly know what you're dealing 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:52.539 with. You're not expecting soft rock, that's 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:55.219 for sure. Definitely not. If you are an English 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:58.159 rock band operating in the mid -1980s, which 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:01.479 is an era filled with highly polished, manufactured 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:05.120 pop acts, you are making a very deliberate, aggressive 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.639 statement before a single note is played. It's 00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:10.400 a provocation. Exactly. You aren't naming your 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:13.060 band something soft, poetic, or generic. You 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:15.599 are putting a flag in the ground. You are actively 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.519 trying to get a reaction. And they certainly 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:20.459 did. And the core personnel anchoring this wildly 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:24.160 named project is a duo, Nick Wade and Christine 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:28.519 Wade. Yes, a duo sharing a last name, which immediately 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:31.500 gives us a vital clue about the internal dynamics 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:34.800 of the group. How so? Well, if we connect this 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.240 to the bigger picture, of band structures in 00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:40.800 underground music, having a core duo, often a 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.819 husband and wife or a tight sibling dynamic, 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:46.519 it creates a very insular, highly focused creative 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:49.160 engine. Oh, right, like you don't have five different 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:52.180 egos fighting for control. Exactly. You see this 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:54.600 in other legendary underground acts, like Lux 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:56.620 Interior and Poison Ivy of the Cramps, for example. 00:04:56.620 --> 00:04:58.759 That's a great comparison. It creates a closed 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:00.920 loop of creativity where the vision can remain 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.839 incredibly pure and undiluted by outside opinions. 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:06.279 It stays fully intact. But what really stands 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.879 out in the historical record of this album is 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:11.279 how the identity of Nick Wade is handled. Oh, 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:13.860 the credit. Yeah. In the overarching personnel 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:16.399 categories, the broad metadata of the band's 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:20.129 history. He is listed simply as Nick Wade. Right, 00:05:20.430 --> 00:05:23.199 just his normal name. However, when we look at 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.620 the specific credits for the album's visual presentation, 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:29.879 it explicitly states that the album cover was 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:32.939 painted by frontman Nick Fiend. I love that detail 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:35.100 so much. Nick Fiend. It's brilliant. It's like 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:37.680 a comic book alter ego that he just fully steps 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:40.319 into. It really is. And it raises a fascinating 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.600 point about the psychology of the frontman in 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.220 the Gothic and post -punk scenes. How he adopts 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:47.740 the persona. He is adopting the moniker of the 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:50.720 band itself into his own surname. He isn't just 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:52.699 a guy named Nick Wade who happens to clock in 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:55.160 and play in a band called Alien Sex Fiend. Right, 00:05:55.319 --> 00:05:57.980 he becomes the Fiend. He embodies the project 00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:00.300 entirely. And the fact that Nick Fiend is the 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:02.480 one explicitly credited with painting the album 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.279 cover is incredibly significant. Because that's 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.110 not normal for bands at that level. No. Painting 00:06:08.110 --> 00:06:09.889 the cover isn't just about throwing some art 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:12.230 together to wrap a piece of vinyl in. We have 00:06:12.230 --> 00:06:14.649 to view this as a radical act of quality control. 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:17.949 Right, because usually a band hands the music 00:06:17.949 --> 00:06:20.250 over to the label. And the label takes over. 00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:22.470 Yeah, the label's art department mocks up a cover 00:06:22.470 --> 00:06:24.449 that they think will sell at the record store. 00:06:24.769 --> 00:06:28.050 Exactly. The standard industry practice, even 00:06:28.050 --> 00:06:31.310 for many alternative bands, was to let a graphic 00:06:31.310 --> 00:06:34.699 design firm handle the packaging. So by doing 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:38.560 it himself, by painting the cover himself, Nick 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.420 Fiend is seizing total visual control of the 00:06:41.420 --> 00:06:44.779 band's branding. It's a profound statement of 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:47.639 DIY identity. Do it yourself. Do it yourself. 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:50.720 I love that. He is ensuring that what the listener 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:53.560 sees and what the listener hears are born from 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:57.100 the exact same mind. It is a declaration of complete 00:06:57.100 --> 00:06:59.279 creative ownership. I want you, the listener, 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:01.879 to just imagine that tactile reality for a second. 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:04.000 It's a very physical thing. Imagine it's late 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:06.839 October in 1986. You walk into an independent 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:09.399 record store in London. You can almost smell 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:11.980 the dust and cardboard. Yes, it smells like dust 00:07:11.980 --> 00:07:13.680 and cardboard. You're flipping through the vinyl 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:15.480 bins and you pull out this record. You're holding 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:18.220 it in your hand. You're holding a physical object 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:20.660 where the The visual experience you are looking 00:07:20.660 --> 00:07:24.399 at, the actual chaotic paint strokes reproduced 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:27.699 on that 12 by 12 inch cardboard sleeve, and the 00:07:27.699 --> 00:07:29.319 audio experience you are about to put on your 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:31.959 turntable were crafted by the exact same person. 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.800 It's incredibly intimate in a weird way. It's 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.620 raw. It's unfiltered. It's not some slick... 00:07:37.709 --> 00:07:41.149 corporate graphic design. It's Nick Fiend giving 00:07:41.149 --> 00:07:44.089 you a piece of his brain inside and out. And 00:07:44.089 --> 00:07:46.350 that fierce protection of artistic integrity 00:07:46.350 --> 00:07:48.790 extends directly into the recording studio as 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:50.470 well. Yeah, the production credits are super 00:07:50.470 --> 00:07:52.410 interesting. The credits for this album note 00:07:52.410 --> 00:07:55.550 that the producers are Alien Sex Fiend and Pete 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:57.949 McGee. So they produce it themselves too. Right. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:00.639 Again, the band isn't handing over the reins 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:04.240 to some superstar hit -making producer to gloss 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:06.839 up their sound and make it palatable for mainstream 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:08.860 radio play. They're avoiding that mainstream 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:11.259 polish entirely. They are in the booth. They 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:13.399 have their hands on the faders. They are shaping 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.620 the sonic landscape alongside McGee. So it's 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:20.000 totally homegrown. When you combine self -production 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.660 with self -painted album art, you are looking 00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:26.279 at a project that completely rejects the traditional 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:28.740 music industry assembly line. Which brings us 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:31.339 to what might be the most fascinating part of 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:34.200 this entire deep dive. The formats. The titles, 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:39.259 the formats, the physical media meta game. Because 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:41.259 Alien Sex Fiend didn't just release an album 00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:44.240 in 1986. No, they released a concept. They released 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:47.460 a concept of an album. And that concept literally 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:49.700 shape shifted depending on what piece of plastic 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:51.720 you decided to buy at the counter. It's such 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:53.919 a brilliant marketing and artistic move. Let's 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:56.139 look at the standard vinyl release, the 12 inch 00:08:56.139 --> 00:08:59.740 record. It is titled simply and brilliantly, 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:02.860 It the Album. And it's crucial to note the punctuation 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:06.559 there. The word, it in quotation marks. Yes, 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:09.820 quote unquote, it the album. The cheeky self 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:12.639 -aware literalism of that title is just fantastic. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:14.500 It really is. We were talking earlier about what 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:16.460 it means and it really feels almost daddy -ist. 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:18.679 Daddy -ist is the perfect word for it. For those 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:20.480 who might not be familiar, what does that mean 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.500 in this context? Well, daddy -ism was an early 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:26.620 20th century art movement. that totally rejected 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:30.019 logic, reason, and traditional aesthetics in 00:09:30.019 --> 00:09:32.639 favor of absurdity and anti -art. Anti -art. 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:35.259 I love that. Think of Marcel Duchamp putting 00:09:35.259 --> 00:09:37.940 a urinal in a gallery and calling it a fountain. 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:40.799 Exactly. It's like the band is stripping away 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:42.820 all the pretension of rock and roll mythology. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:44.899 They're just giving you the object. They're handing 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:48.279 you a 12 -inch vinyl record and saying, here 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:51.159 is the object. The object is an album. We will 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:54.090 literally call it the album. It's so blunt. that 00:09:54.090 --> 00:09:58.129 it becomes incredibly clever. But then the 1980s 00:09:58.129 --> 00:10:00.649 format wars start to dictate the art. This is 00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:02.690 where it gets really fun. Because if you didn't 00:10:02.690 --> 00:10:04.929 buy the vinyl, if you went to the rack and bought 00:10:04.929 --> 00:10:07.610 the cassette tape instead, you weren't buying 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:10.509 it, the album. No. The format dictated a change 00:10:10.509 --> 00:10:12.809 in identity. If you bought the tape, you were 00:10:12.809 --> 00:10:15.159 buying... It the cassette. It the cassette. Which 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:17.620 is just as blunt. And this isn't just a quirky, 00:10:17.940 --> 00:10:20.860 superficial name change. There is a massive operational 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:22.899 difference between the vinyl and the cassette. 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:25.720 A huge difference. What was actually on it? The 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:28.500 cassette. Right. This is where we see the band, 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:31.399 and likely their label, Anagram Records, making 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:34.059 a very aggressive move in the consumer market. 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:37.080 They really pushed the tape format. The 1986 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.539 cassette version didn't just contain the new 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:42.860 tracks that made up. the album. No, it had so 00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:45.480 much more. It included the band's entire full 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.919 -length previous album from 1985, Maximum Security. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:51.299 The entire thing. They just tossed the whole 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:53.379 previous year's record onto the take alongside 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.419 the new one. Completely. And to understand why 00:10:56.419 --> 00:10:59.409 this is so significant, we have to look at the 00:10:59.409 --> 00:11:01.929 technological reality of the era. The physical 00:11:01.929 --> 00:11:04.990 limitations. Right. A standard vinyl record has 00:11:04.990 --> 00:11:07.830 hard physical limitations. You can only fit about 00:11:07.830 --> 00:11:10.710 22 to 24 minutes of music on one side of a 12 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:12.830 -inch piece of vinyl. Before the audio gets messed 00:11:12.830 --> 00:11:15.129 up. Exactly. Before the physical grooves have 00:11:15.129 --> 00:11:17.830 to be cut so close together and so shallow that 00:11:17.830 --> 00:11:20.309 the audio quality degrades. You lose the bass. 00:11:20.429 --> 00:11:22.730 The bass frequencies in particular start to vanish 00:11:22.730 --> 00:11:26.509 if you pack too much time onto the disc. So a 00:11:26.509 --> 00:11:28.789 vinyl album is naturally constrained to around 00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:31.450 40 to 45 minutes total. And what's the runtime 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:34.230 for the vinyl version of it? We know the vinyl 00:11:34.230 --> 00:11:37.070 version of it. The album clocks in at exactly 00:11:37.070 --> 00:11:39.990 46 minutes and three seconds. Wow. So they were 00:11:39.990 --> 00:11:42.250 right at the edge. They were pushing right up 00:11:42.250 --> 00:11:45.029 against the absolute physical maximum of the 00:11:45.029 --> 00:11:46.610 medium. Right. The vinyl is completely full. 00:11:46.710 --> 00:11:48.870 You couldn't squeeze another note onto that wax 00:11:48.870 --> 00:11:51.980 without ruining the sound. Precisely. But cassette 00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:54.259 tapes were a completely different technological 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:57.399 beast. Because they just have more space. A standard 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:00.600 pre -recorded cassette could easily hold 45 minutes 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:03.100 per side. Giving you 90 minutes of total running 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:06.320 time. Some could hold even more. So, anagram 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.450 records and alien sex fiend. looked at this format 00:12:09.450 --> 00:12:12.370 and realized they had all this empty blank magnetic 00:12:12.370 --> 00:12:15.210 tape just sitting there on side B. Just dead 00:12:15.210 --> 00:12:17.750 space. Now, some bands would just leave it blank 00:12:17.750 --> 00:12:20.129 or they would repeat the new album on both sides 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:22.370 so you didn't have to rewind. Oh man, I remember 00:12:22.370 --> 00:12:24.690 those cassettes. Program repeats on both sides. 00:12:24.909 --> 00:12:28.269 Exactly. But here they use that larger storage 00:12:28.269 --> 00:12:31.970 capacity to essentially give the consumer two 00:12:31.970 --> 00:12:34.450 albums for the price of one. It's such a good 00:12:34.450 --> 00:12:37.730 deal. You get the brand new 1986 release. and 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:40.549 you get the full 1985 release. It's a brilliant 00:12:40.549 --> 00:12:43.009 value proposition, but let me play Devil's Advocate 00:12:43.009 --> 00:12:47.429 here for a second. Is this pure punk rock generosity 00:12:47.429 --> 00:12:49.570 from the band just wanting to give the kids more 00:12:49.570 --> 00:12:52.850 music, or is this a highly calculated marketing 00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:56.070 tactic by Anagram Records? That is a very astute 00:12:56.070 --> 00:12:59.009 question. Because cassettes were cheaper to produce 00:12:59.009 --> 00:13:02.470 than vinyl, right? And the industry was aggressively 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:04.750 trying to push consumers toward tapes in the 00:13:04.750 --> 00:13:06.750 mid -80s. It's almost certainly a mix of both. 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:10.100 The music industry in 1986 was in the middle 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:12.679 of a massive transitional war. Cassettes were 00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:14.519 really taking over. Cassettes were taking over 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:17.080 because of the Sony Walkman. music was suddenly 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:19.399 portable. You could listen in your car, on the 00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:21.799 bus. Labels loved cassettes because they were 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:25.279 cheaper to manufacture and ship than heavy fragile 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.899 vinyl. Meaning higher profit margins. Exactly. 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:31.399 By bundling a second full album onto the cassette, 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:33.919 Antigram Records was creating an overwhelming 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:36.080 incentive for the consumer to choose the tape 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.759 over the vinyl. It's basically a bribe. Buy the 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:41.639 cheaper format, get a free album. But from the 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:44.440 band's perspective, It's also a way to disseminate 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.179 their art as widely as possible. Regardless of 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:50.059 the motive, it totally changes how you, the listener, 00:13:50.679 --> 00:13:52.820 experience the release. It changes the entire 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.440 context. If you bought the vinyl, you experienced 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:58.679 it as a standalone, 46 -minute curated piece 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.940 of art. Very focused. But if you bought the cassette, 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:05.080 you experienced it as part of a massive, overwhelming 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:07.919 double -feature marathon of alien sex fiends 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.480 discography. It's a totally different physical 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.419 and auditory commitment. But the format evolution 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:15.919 doesn't stop with magnetic tape, does it? No, 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:19.220 it keeps going. Because the mid to late 80s brought 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:22.679 us the shiny futuristic laser read technology 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:26.360 of the compact disc. The CD era arrives. So what 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:28.840 happens to our cheekily titled album when it 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:31.639 finally hits the CD era? The title adapts to 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:34.019 the technology once again, proving that the medium 00:14:34.019 --> 00:14:36.179 truly is the message here. I love this part. 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.419 The historical record notes that the album was 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:41.879 later reissued in CD format and retitled it... 00:14:41.929 --> 00:14:46.090 The CD. This CD, with no quotation marks around 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:48.389 it this time. It's just incredibly direct. I 00:14:48.389 --> 00:14:50.269 love how they dropped the quotation marks for 00:14:50.269 --> 00:14:52.690 this one. It's just so incredibly blunt. Here 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:56.389 is the CD. It is blunt, but it perfectly reflects 00:14:56.389 --> 00:15:00.299 how the advent of the CD completely upended consumer 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:03.120 expectations and the economics of music. Because 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.159 CDs were so expensive when they came out. When 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:07.279 CDs first hit the mass market, they were incredibly 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.879 expensive. They were marketed as an elite premium 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:12.940 product with pristine digital sound that would 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:15.460 never degrade. You were paying a serious premium 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:17.679 for that little plastic jewel case. But more 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:20.519 importantly, a standard CD. could hold up to 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.580 74 minutes of music. Right. So much more space 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:26.200 than vinyl. Because of this expanded capacity, 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:28.860 a psychological shift happened. Consumers started 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:31.340 to feel shortchanged if they bought a CD that 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:33.580 only contained the original 40 minutes of a vinyl 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:35.220 album. They looked at the disc and thought, this 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:37.279 thing is half empty. Why am I paying a premium 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:39.360 price for unused space? They felt like they were 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.840 getting ripped off. Yeah, exactly. So the industry 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.919 standard rapidly became adding bonus tracks to 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:48.659 CD reissues to bulk up the total runtime and 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:51.460 justify the higher cost to the consumer. And 00:15:51.460 --> 00:15:54.139 Alien Sex Fiend fully delivered on that expectation. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:56.940 They absolutely did. The historical record shows 00:15:56.940 --> 00:16:00.100 they added three specific additional tracks to 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:02.929 it, the CD. Bug me, Hurricane Fighter plane, 00:16:02.990 --> 00:16:05.549 and it lives again. Yes. We are going to dig 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:08.049 deeply into the artistic implications of those 00:16:08.049 --> 00:16:10.070 specific tracks a little later, but right now 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:12.730 I just want to pause and marvel at this. It's 00:16:12.730 --> 00:16:16.110 a great encapsulation. This single release perfectly 00:16:16.110 --> 00:16:19.289 encapsulates the entire physical format evolution 00:16:19.289 --> 00:16:22.710 of the 1980s. It really does. You have the vinyl. 00:16:22.990 --> 00:16:25.570 constrained by its physical grooves dictating 00:16:25.570 --> 00:16:28.769 a strict 46 -minute runtime. The classic format. 00:16:28.970 --> 00:16:31.309 Then you have the cassette leveraging its long 00:16:31.309 --> 00:16:33.950 magnetic ribbon to offer a two -for -one double 00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:37.110 album to win the format war. The portable revolution. 00:16:37.330 --> 00:16:40.110 And you have the CD utilizing its vast digital 00:16:40.110 --> 00:16:43.190 space to offer exclusive bonus tracks to justify 00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:46.149 a premium price tag. The digital frontier. The 00:16:46.149 --> 00:16:48.830 medium literally dictated the title, the length, 00:16:48.909 --> 00:16:51.789 and the volume of the content. It's a masterclass 00:16:51.789 --> 00:16:54.690 in physical media history, all wrapped up in 00:16:54.690 --> 00:16:58.090 one single, bizarre rock album. It truly is. 00:16:58.250 --> 00:17:00.269 The physical container fundamentally altered 00:17:00.269 --> 00:17:03.370 the art itself. Okay, let's pivot from the packaging 00:17:03.370 --> 00:17:06.390 to the actual art. The music. Let's look at what 00:17:06.390 --> 00:17:09.430 takes up those 46 minutes and 3 seconds of the 00:17:09.430 --> 00:17:11.650 original vinyl release. Before we break down 00:17:11.650 --> 00:17:13.660 the track list, though. We need some critical 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:17.279 context. Right. How was this music actually received 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:20.220 in 1986? Was it dismissed as a novelty or was 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:22.519 it taken seriously? It was taken very seriously 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:24.599 by the people who mattered in that scene. Like 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:27.259 the alternative press. Exactly. The record cites 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:29.779 a specific review from Trouser Press written 00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:32.579 by Greg Fasolino and Ira Robbins. Trouser Press 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:35.359 was a big deal. For context, Trouser Press was 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:38.519 not a mainstream pop magazine. It was a highly 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.759 respected deeply analytical alternative music 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:44.079 publication. They really knew their stuff. They 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.740 covered punk, post -punk and underground rock 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:50.279 with a lot of intelligence. Their review calls 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:54.140 the album unquestionably the group's most creative, 00:17:54.539 --> 00:17:57.480 mind -expanding undertaking. Mind -expanding 00:17:57.480 --> 00:17:59.819 undertaking. That is incredibly strong phrasing. 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:02.680 When a serious music critic in the 80s calls 00:18:02.680 --> 00:18:04.880 something mind -expanding, they aren't talking 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:07.880 about a tight three -minute pop song with a catchy 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:10.059 chorus that you tap your foot to. No, they are 00:18:10.059 --> 00:18:12.200 not talking about Top 40 radio. They are talking 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.940 about something that pushes boundaries, something 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:18.700 psychedelic, avant -garde, or structurally bizarre 00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:21.480 that challenges the listener. It demands your 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.779 attention. So, as I'm looking at the track list 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:27.089 for Side A, I am searching for the why. Why did 00:18:27.089 --> 00:18:29.710 Trouser Press call this mind expanding? And the 00:18:29.710 --> 00:18:32.329 answer is staring right at us in the runtimes 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:35.029 of the songs. The track lengths on Side A are 00:18:35.029 --> 00:18:37.309 incredibly revealing about the band's ambitions. 00:18:37.410 --> 00:18:39.769 Let's go through them. Track one on Side A is 00:18:39.769 --> 00:18:42.069 called Smells Like, and it runs for five minutes 00:18:42.069 --> 00:18:45.069 and 49 seconds. That is a very robust, lengthy 00:18:45.069 --> 00:18:47.769 opener. It's not a quick, punchy punk song rushing 00:18:47.769 --> 00:18:50.430 to get to the point. It establishes a mood. It 00:18:50.430 --> 00:18:53.059 takes its time. But then we hit track two. This 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.339 is the one. This is the one that completely stops 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:56.799 you in your tracks when you look at the track 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.700 listing. Track two is titled Manic Depression, 00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:02.700 and the length is 13 minutes and 13 seconds. 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.700 It's massive. 13 minutes and 13 seconds for a 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:09.799 single track. That is a massive structural risk. 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.460 It is a staggering commitment of time, and more 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:14.539 importantly, a staggering commitment of vinyl 00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:16.420 real estate. Yeah, let's talk about the math 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:18.220 there. Let's break down the physical math on 00:19:18.220 --> 00:19:21.450 this to really understand the audacity. OK. The 00:19:21.450 --> 00:19:24.269 entire album is 46 minutes and three seconds 00:19:24.269 --> 00:19:28.009 long. This single track, Manic Depression, takes 00:19:28.009 --> 00:19:30.910 up nearly 30 % of the entire record. Just one 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:34.869 song. If we assume side A and side B are roughly 00:19:34.869 --> 00:19:38.049 equal in length, meaning side A is about 23 minutes 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:41.609 long, this one song takes up more than half of 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:43.829 the entire first side of the album. It's just 00:19:43.829 --> 00:19:46.490 huge. And the placement is what really gets me. 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:49.160 Track two. It's placed right at track two. You 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:51.140 open the album with a nearly six -minute song 00:19:51.140 --> 00:19:53.579 and then immediately plunge the listener into 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:57.220 a 13 -minute epic. What does that do to the listener's 00:19:57.220 --> 00:19:59.759 momentum? It completely dictates the terms of 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.940 engagement. It forces you to slow down. If we 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:03.680 connect this back to the Mind Expanding label 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:06.720 from Trouser Press, it makes perfect sense. What 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:09.799 does a 13 -minute rock track actually imply? 00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:12.500 That you're going on a journey. It strongly suggests 00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:16.269 heavy, uncompromising experimentation. You don't 00:20:16.269 --> 00:20:19.269 write a 13 -minute song using a standard verse 00:20:19.269 --> 00:20:21.589 chorus verse structure. The human brain would 00:20:21.589 --> 00:20:23.769 get bored. Right. It would just feel repetitive. 00:20:24.049 --> 00:20:26.910 A track of that length implies extended instrumental 00:20:26.910 --> 00:20:30.190 interludes, shifting tempos, perhaps long -spoken 00:20:30.190 --> 00:20:34.670 word sections, or a very slow atmospheric hypnotic 00:20:34.670 --> 00:20:37.440 buildup. It's a complete departure from anything 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:39.980 normal. It is a deliberate, aggressive departure 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:42.799 from anything resembling a radio -friendly structure. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.299 It requires immense patience from the listener. 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:46.960 You can't just put this on in the background. 00:20:47.140 --> 00:20:49.440 It demands active listening. If a 13 -minute 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.359 song is playing, people might leave the room, 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.240 make a cup of tea, come back, and the song is 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.890 still evolving. It's still going. It forces you 00:20:56.890 --> 00:20:59.309 to sit still. It demands that you sit down and 00:20:59.309 --> 00:21:01.690 let the music wash over you and alter the atmosphere 00:21:01.690 --> 00:21:04.410 of the room. The band is asking you to go on 00:21:04.410 --> 00:21:07.190 a very long, very specific journey with them. 00:21:07.589 --> 00:21:10.490 Exactly. And the title itself, Manic Depression, 00:21:11.130 --> 00:21:14.049 combined with that imposing runtime, it suggests 00:21:14.049 --> 00:21:16.970 a piece of music that is going to take you through 00:21:16.970 --> 00:21:20.049 extreme psychological highs and extreme lows. 00:21:20.450 --> 00:21:22.390 Mirroring the clinical reality of the title. 00:21:22.670 --> 00:21:25.859 To place that at track two. is an act of supreme 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:28.160 confidence. They are filtering their audience 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.460 immediately. Like a gatekeeper track. Yes. If 00:21:31.460 --> 00:21:33.700 you can't handle the 13 -minute descent into 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:35.640 manic depression, you aren't going to make it 00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:37.940 through the rest of the album. It's a heavy, 00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:40.700 imposing centerpiece. And think about the physical 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:43.839 vinyl again. Visually, it would look crazy. Because 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:46.299 that track is so long, the master engineer would 00:21:46.299 --> 00:21:48.680 have to cut the grooves differently. The physical 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.640 look of Side A would be dominated by this one 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:55.240 massive continuous spiral. It's an imposing visual 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:57.539 before you even drop the needle. And then, after 00:21:57.539 --> 00:22:00.160 you've survived this 13 -minute sonic odyssey, 00:22:00.259 --> 00:22:02.400 the band brings you back down to earth with Track 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:05.079 3 to close out the side. Yes, Track 3 is, believe 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:07.759 it or not, clocking in at 4 minutes and 40 seconds. 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:10.640 Which, interestingly, feels like a fairly standard 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:14.180 accessible song length. But following a 13 -minute 00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:17.140 epic, it probably felt incredibly brief. Like 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:19.339 a sudden palate cleanser to the listener before 00:22:19.339 --> 00:22:21.420 they have to get up and flip the record. Exactly. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:24.880 So side A is just massive. It's top -heavy, it's 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.859 sprawling, it's only three tracks, but they total 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:30.579 almost 24 minutes of dense audio. It is the absolute 00:22:30.579 --> 00:22:32.960 definition of a mind -expanding undertaking. 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:36.299 It feels like a monolithic crawl. But then, you 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:38.819 physically lift the needle, you flip the 12 -inch 00:22:38.819 --> 00:22:41.480 record over, and you drop it on Side B. And this 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:43.000 is where the album gets even more interesting. 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:44.920 This is where the pacing of the album becomes 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:47.740 a fascinating character in itself. The structural 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:50.680 contrast between Side A and Side B is striking. 00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:53.359 It's totally different. Side B actually starts 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:56.160 by tricking the listener into thinking they are 00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.920 about to embark on another sprawling Side A -style 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:03.599 journey. Right. Track 1 on Side B is April Showers. 00:23:03.769 --> 00:23:07.029 And it runs for 9 minutes and 15 seconds. Another 00:23:07.029 --> 00:23:09.769 massive epic. Almost 10 minutes just to open 00:23:09.769 --> 00:23:12.150 the second side. As a listener, you're settling 00:23:12.150 --> 00:23:15.369 in thinking, OK, this is just what Alien 16 does 00:23:15.369 --> 00:23:18.529 now. They make massive, long -form, drawn -out 00:23:18.529 --> 00:23:21.799 compositions. But then... This strategy completely 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:24.339 violently shifts. Just whiplash. Immediately 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:26.960 after the fade out of April showers, we get a 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.019 rapid fire sequence of tracks that are remarkably 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:32.720 concise, punchy, and completely different from 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:35.220 what came before. Yes. Let's look at this sequence. 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.599 Track two is Wop Bop at three minutes and 42 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:41.240 seconds. Short and sweet. Track three is Get 00:23:41.240 --> 00:23:44.140 Into It at three minutes and 43 seconds. Consistent. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:46.680 Track four is Lesson One at three minutes and 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:50.259 35 seconds. Track five is, do it right at five 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:52.039 minutes and three seconds. It's an absolute sprint. 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:53.920 It's a completely different auditory experience. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:57.740 If side A is this slow, psychological, monolithic 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.859 crawl, then the back half of side B is a sudden 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:02.799 sprint to the finish line. And if you look closely 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:05.279 at the language, the actual linguistics of those 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:08.579 rapid fire track titles, a very clear thematic 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:10.940 pattern emerges. Oh, the titles change tone completely. 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:14.019 The titles shift from the abstract -like, smells 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:17.440 -like. or manic depression, to the highly direct 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:20.039 and instructional. Get into it. Lesson one. Do 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:23.700 it right. It sounds like a demonic 1980s aerobics 00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:26.660 video. Uh -huh. That is a brilliant analogy. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.740 It really is commanding the listener. The band 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:30.579 is giving you imperatives. And this is where 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:32.240 we have to look at the connective tissue of the 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:34.180 entire project. Here's where it gets really interesting 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:37.200 for me. Let's look at track three on side B. 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:41.059 get into it the title drop yes now remember the 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:42.839 title of the record we established earlier the 00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:46.839 vinyl is called it the album the cassette is 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:49.680 it the cassette go on and quote it right and 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:53.259 right here deep on side b they have a track telling 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:56.759 you to get into it they are literally verbally 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.339 instructing you to engage with the physical object 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:01.480 you are currently holding in your hands or spinning 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:04.059 on your turntable It's a direct command to the 00:25:04.059 --> 00:25:05.859 listener. They are referencing their own album 00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:08.079 title in the middle of this rapid fire instructional 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:12.119 sequence. Here is it. Get into it. Lesson one. 00:25:12.380 --> 00:25:16.079 Do it. Right. It's an incredibly cohesive, self 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:18.539 -referential piece of world building. It creates 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:21.740 a brilliant meta narrative. The album is fully 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:24.740 aware of itself as a physical, commercial object, 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.319 and the songs themselves are instructing you 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:30.119 on how to consume that object. It's incredibly 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:32.859 postmodern. Very much so. Yeah. But perhaps the 00:25:32.859 --> 00:25:35.279 most fascinating structural and narrative choice 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:38.680 on Side B is how it finally ends. The finale. 00:25:38.980 --> 00:25:41.680 After this exhausting sequence of punchy, instructional, 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:44.960 high -energy tracks, we arrive at Track 6, the 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:48.200 absolute finale of the original 1986 release. 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:51.819 Trek 6 is to be continued, running at a mere 00:25:51.819 --> 00:25:55.220 42 seconds. A 42 second track to close out a 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:59.200 dense, exhausting 46 minute album. It is an incredibly 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:01.420 cinematic choice. It's a literal cliffhanger. 00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:04.359 It really is. Ending an album with a sub -minute 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:07.480 track explicitly named to be continued deliberately 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:10.059 leaves the listener unbalanced and unresolved. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.299 Think about the psychological effect of that 00:26:12.299 --> 00:26:14.420 sequence. Right, you've just been through these 00:26:14.420 --> 00:26:16.779 massive epics. You've survived the 13 -minute 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:19.619 and 9 -minute tracks, then a relentless burst 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:22.619 of 3 -minute instructional tracks, and then 42 00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:24.940 seconds of what? We don't even know. The historical 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:27.339 record doesn't explicitly describe the audio 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:30.279 of this track, but based on the context, we can 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.299 extrapolate. Is it a fading outro soundscape? 00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:36.009 Is it a snippet of distorted dialogue? Or is 00:26:36.009 --> 00:26:38.250 it a burst of chaotic noise that gets cut off 00:26:38.250 --> 00:26:40.710 abruptly just as the needle hits the runout groove? 00:26:40.829 --> 00:26:42.470 That would be jarring. For those who might not 00:26:42.470 --> 00:26:44.930 collect vinyl, the runout groove is that endless 00:26:44.930 --> 00:26:47.049 looping physical circle at the very center of 00:26:47.049 --> 00:26:49.910 the record where the needle just rides indefinitely 00:26:49.910 --> 00:26:52.049 until you pick the arm up. It's the continuous 00:26:52.049 --> 00:26:55.109 loop of static. To have a 42 -second track bleed 00:26:55.109 --> 00:26:58.109 into that endless loop, it's haunting. It is. 00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:01.309 Whatever the actual audio is, the title makes 00:27:01.309 --> 00:27:03.539 a promise. It promises a sequel. It tells the 00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:06.099 listener that the story of it is not over. It 00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:08.859 deliberately leaves you wanting more, which is 00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:11.759 a brilliant, highly calculated tactic for a band 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:14.339 that, as we will see, is producing albums at 00:27:14.339 --> 00:27:16.920 an absolutely staggering pace. It totally works. 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:19.539 If I finish an intense, weird record like this 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:21.539 and the last thing I see on the label as the 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:23.420 needle hits that run -out groove is the phrase, 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:26.579 to be continued, I am instantly hooked. You're 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:28.299 waiting for the next release. I am wondering 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:30.839 when the next album comes out. And speaking of 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:33.460 more, we have to talk about what happened when 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:36.640 this album transitioned to the CD format a few 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:39.519 years later. The bonus tracks. We discussed how 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.119 the CD format inherently demanded bonus tracks 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:45.900 to justify its premium price tag. But the specific 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:49.559 tracks Alien Sex Fiend chose to add are not just 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:52.640 throw away filler or cheap remixes. They are 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:54.920 incredibly deliberate. They really are. They 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:57.289 provide crucial context for the band's deepest 00:27:57.289 --> 00:28:00.170 musical influences and highlight their specific 00:28:00.170 --> 00:28:02.589 dark sense of humor. Let's break those down. 00:28:02.849 --> 00:28:05.690 The CD reissue bulks up the runtime by adding 00:28:05.690 --> 00:28:10.049 tracks 10, 11, and 12. Track 10 is bugging me, 00:28:10.390 --> 00:28:12.849 which comes in at 3 minutes and 39 seconds. A 00:28:12.849 --> 00:28:14.930 solid addition. But track 11 is one that really 00:28:14.930 --> 00:28:17.720 demands our analytical attention. Track 11 is 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.799 Hurricane Fighter Plane, clocking in at a substantial 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.599 6 minutes and 48 seconds. And the historical 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:25.799 record specifically notes that this track is 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:28.279 a cover song. Originally by the band Red Crayola. 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:32.319 This is a massive flashing neon clue for anyone 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:35.140 trying to understand Alien Sex Fiend's true sonic 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:39.119 DNA. Why is Red Crayola so important here? If 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:41.380 we go back to that Trouser Press review calling 00:28:41.380 --> 00:28:44.500 the album mind -expanding, the choice to cover 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:47.539 this specific song validates that critical assessment 00:28:47.539 --> 00:28:50.799 entirely. So Red Crayola was experimental. For 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:54.220 listeners who might not be deep into 1960s obscurities, 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:57.019 Red Crayola, sometimes spelled with a C or a 00:28:57.019 --> 00:29:00.480 K depending on a specific era, was a deeply experimental 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.440 avant -garde highly psychedelic rock band from 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.920 Texas. Wow, from Texas? That formed in the late 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.660 1960s. They were notorious for creating harsh 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:11.339 noise collages, completely unconventional, broken 00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:13.579 song structures, and generally breaking every 00:29:13.579 --> 00:29:15.599 established rule of rock music. So they weren't 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:18.059 just a standard 60s pop rock band, they were 00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:20.400 the weirdos of the 60s. The ultimate weirdos. 00:29:20.599 --> 00:29:23.039 And Alien Sex Fiend, choosing to cover a nearly 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:26.160 seven minute Red Crayola song in 1986, is them 00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:28.279 aggressively planting their flag. They are speaking 00:29:28.279 --> 00:29:30.420 directly to the music nerds. They are telling 00:29:30.420 --> 00:29:33.670 the listener, Look, we aren't just guys wearing 00:29:33.670 --> 00:29:36.809 spooky Halloween makeup making goth music. This 00:29:36.809 --> 00:29:38.990 is who we are listening to. This is where our 00:29:38.990 --> 00:29:41.069 weirdness actually comes from. We know our history. 00:29:41.490 --> 00:29:44.470 Precisely. It proves they weren't just a surface 00:29:44.470 --> 00:29:46.549 level gimmick. They were actually carrying the 00:29:46.549 --> 00:29:50.140 torch for that. weird 60s avant -garde sound. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:54.220 It bridges a massive cultural gap between 1960s 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:58.160 Texas psychedelia and 1980s English post -punk. 00:29:58.299 --> 00:30:01.140 It's a huge leap. By placing Hurricane Fighter 00:30:01.140 --> 00:30:03.259 plane on the CD version of an album that already 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:06.240 contains a 13 -minute monolith like Manic Depression. 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:09.559 They're absolutely solidifying their identity 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:12.099 as the rightful inheritors of that experimental 00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:14.579 boundary -pushing tradition. It legitimizes them. 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:16.599 But they never lose their sense of humor because 00:30:16.599 --> 00:30:18.799 right after that heavy historical cover song, 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:21.299 they close out the seedy version with track 12. 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:23.859 The punchline. Track 12 is It Lives Again running 00:30:23.859 --> 00:30:26.740 at 3 minutes and 46 seconds. I cannot help but 00:30:26.740 --> 00:30:28.960 laugh at this inclusion. They just will not let 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:31.480 the joke die. They won't. They carry the linguistic 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:34.079 motif right into the bonus tracks years later. 00:30:34.269 --> 00:30:36.829 They are treating their own album like a B -movie 00:30:36.829 --> 00:30:40.890 horror monster. It's a brilliant, highly self 00:30:40.890 --> 00:30:43.809 -aware conceptual pun. Think about the timeline. 00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:47.869 The original 1986 album was it. The last track 00:30:47.869 --> 00:30:50.329 on that album was The Cliffhanger, to be continued. 00:30:50.529 --> 00:30:53.130 Right. So when the seedy format comes along and 00:30:53.130 --> 00:30:55.430 resurrects the album for a new technological 00:30:55.430 --> 00:30:59.160 era, what is the final new track they add? It 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.480 lives again. The monster hasn't just returned. 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:04.660 It has been reanimated by the cold digital laser 00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:07.339 of the CD player. It shows a band that takes 00:31:07.339 --> 00:31:10.200 their music seriously enough to construct 13 00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:13.980 minute psychological epics, but completely refuses 00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:16.859 to take themselves so seriously that they can't 00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:19.339 make a great schlocky conceptual joke out of 00:31:19.339 --> 00:31:21.440 their own track listing. It's so good. It shows 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.500 genuine personality, which is something a lot 00:31:23.500 --> 00:31:25.119 of bands in that scene lacked. They were having 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:27.460 fun with the medium. Which brings me to the broader 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:30.059 timeline of this band. I want to zoom out and 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:32.779 look at the alien sex fiend chronology that is 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:35.089 documented in our overview. Because it paints 00:31:35.089 --> 00:31:38.190 a picture of a band that was working at a blistering, 00:31:38.289 --> 00:31:41.369 almost unhealthy pace. Their work ethic, as documented 00:31:41.369 --> 00:31:43.609 here, was truly incredible. Let's run through 00:31:43.609 --> 00:31:46.769 it. The discography footprint lists their early 00:31:46.769 --> 00:31:49.910 studio albums in sequence. They released their 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:52.730 debut, Who's Been Sleeping In My Brain, in 1983. 00:31:52.930 --> 00:31:55.670 OK. They followed it immediately with Acid Bath 00:31:55.670 --> 00:31:59.049 in 1984. Another one. Then Maximum Security in 00:31:59.049 --> 00:32:02.970 1985. That's three for three. And then our subject 00:32:02.970 --> 00:32:07.930 today is the album in October 1986. That is four 00:32:07.930 --> 00:32:10.950 full -length studio albums in four consecutive 00:32:10.950 --> 00:32:12.869 years. Let's put that in perspective. In the 00:32:12.869 --> 00:32:14.869 modern music industry, where bands routinely 00:32:14.869 --> 00:32:17.609 take three, four, or even five years between 00:32:17.609 --> 00:32:20.150 releases to endlessly tour, strategize social 00:32:20.150 --> 00:32:23.089 media, and focus group their sound, a one album 00:32:23.089 --> 00:32:25.480 a year pace is almost totally unheard of. It 00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:27.880 implies a constant, unrelenting state of writing, 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:30.500 recording, and creating. It's a fountain of raw 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:33.000 creativity. But as I was looking closely at the 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:35.119 chronology provided in the digital record of 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:37.460 this band, I noticed something deeply strange. 00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:39.940 The glitch. I spotted a literal glitch in the 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:44.480 matrix of the archive. Ah, yes. The digital archive 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:47.319 anomaly. This is a fascinating wrinkle. Okay, 00:32:47.380 --> 00:32:49.500 listener, I want you to picture how historical 00:32:49.500 --> 00:32:51.799 data is laid out on a digital platform today. 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:54.839 Think of a standard wiki page. At the top of 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:57.799 the record, in the primary information box, there 00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:00.579 is a section mapping out the alien sex fiend 00:33:00.579 --> 00:33:03.180 chronology. The quick summary box. It lists the 00:33:03.180 --> 00:33:04.940 previous album we discussed, Maximum Security, 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:08.779 from 1985. It lists the current album, the album 00:33:08.779 --> 00:33:11.720 from 1986, and then it lists the band's follow 00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:14.900 -up album, titled Here Come Germs, and it explicitly 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:17.440 gives the release year for that album as 1988. 00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:20.140 Correct. That is what the primary top -level 00:33:20.140 --> 00:33:22.960 data states. A two -year gap, placing the next 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:25.289 record in 1988. But if you scroll all the way 00:33:25.289 --> 00:33:27.509 down to the bottom of the digital record to the 00:33:27.509 --> 00:33:29.609 comprehensive navigation menu that attempts to 00:33:29.609 --> 00:33:31.869 list the band's entire studio album discography 00:33:31.869 --> 00:33:34.650 in order, the timeline inexplicably changes. 00:33:34.650 --> 00:33:36.730 It totally contradicts the top box. It lists 00:33:36.730 --> 00:33:39.609 the album in 1986, just as before. But then it 00:33:39.609 --> 00:33:41.369 lists Here Come Germs with the release date of 00:33:41.369 --> 00:33:44.069 1987. Closing the gap. And it places an entirely 00:33:44.069 --> 00:33:46.589 different album, Another Planet, in the 1988 00:33:46.589 --> 00:33:49.589 slot. This discrepancy raises a profoundly important 00:33:49.589 --> 00:33:52.470 point about how we categorize and consume music 00:33:52.470 --> 00:33:56.039 history in the modern digital age. We are looking 00:33:56.039 --> 00:33:58.759 at a real -time contradiction within a single 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:02.319 historical document. The top summary says 1988, 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:05.519 while the bottom comprehensive list says 1987. 00:34:05.859 --> 00:34:08.380 So how do we reconcile this? What does this mean 00:34:08.380 --> 00:34:10.659 for us trying to understand the band's actual 00:34:10.659 --> 00:34:13.280 history? Rather than getting bogged down in the 00:34:13.280 --> 00:34:15.659 mechanics of how digital encyclopedias are edited, 00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:18.500 we should view this anomaly as a testament to 00:34:18.500 --> 00:34:21.519 the sheer chaotic velocity of underground music 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:23.800 in the 1980s. It was moving too fast to track. 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:26.309 Exactly. When an independent band is churning 00:34:26.309 --> 00:34:28.909 out music at this blistering, pace -releasing 00:34:28.909 --> 00:34:31.769 singles, EPs, live albums and full -length studio 00:34:31.769 --> 00:34:34.730 records in a constant stream, the neat, tidy 00:34:34.730 --> 00:34:37.309 digital archives of the 21st century often struggle 00:34:37.309 --> 00:34:39.800 to keep up. They try to box it in, but they can't. 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.159 As an analyst, when I see a chronological contradiction 00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:44.860 like this, my instinct is to look at the established 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:47.139 behavioral pattern of the artists. What's the 00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:49.360 pattern? We know for a fact they released albums 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:54.400 in 83, 84, 85, and 86. That is an unbroken four 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:57.480 -year streak of relentless momentum. A machine. 00:34:57.860 --> 00:35:00.400 The bottom lists suggest they simply continued 00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:03.019 that exact same streak, dropping Here Come Germs 00:35:03.019 --> 00:35:07.360 in 1987 and Another Planet in 1988. That trajectory 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:09.980 fits the established workaholic nature of the 00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:12.019 band much better than assuming they suddenly 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:14.420 took a two -year hiatus and then dumped two albums 00:35:14.420 --> 00:35:16.860 in 1988. It completely fits the pattern. They 00:35:16.860 --> 00:35:18.619 were on a treadmill and they just didn't stop. 00:35:18.840 --> 00:35:21.559 Honestly, I love that this glitch exists. It's 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:23.360 a great reminder for you listening right now, 00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:26.039 digital archives are not infallible. Go from 00:35:26.039 --> 00:35:28.739 it. They are often trying to force the messy 00:35:28.739 --> 00:35:31.940 chaotic reality of 1980s underground release 00:35:31.940 --> 00:35:34.380 schedules into neat little standardized boxes 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:36.760 and sometimes the data just breaks. You have 00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:38.940 to do the work yourself. It reinforces the importance 00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:41.559 of actively engaging with history. You can't 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:43.619 just passively consume the top line summer. You 00:35:43.619 --> 00:35:46.119 have to look deeper, cross -reference, and embrace 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:47.960 the mystery when things don't perfectly line 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:50.280 up. The contradiction in the archive is almost 00:35:50.280 --> 00:35:53.389 as revealing as the music itself. It highlights 00:35:53.389 --> 00:35:56.329 the friction between the analog past and the 00:35:56.329 --> 00:35:59.190 digital present. Man, this has been such an incredible, 00:35:59.590 --> 00:36:01.690 expansive journey. It really has. We started 00:36:01.690 --> 00:36:04.250 with a very simple title, hit the album, and 00:36:04.250 --> 00:36:07.530 a 46 -minute runtime. And by slowing down and 00:36:07.530 --> 00:36:10.030 looking closely at the details, the album art 00:36:10.030 --> 00:36:12.650 credits, the format names, the extreme track 00:36:12.650 --> 00:36:15.889 lengths, and a single review quote, we have painted 00:36:15.889 --> 00:36:19.469 a vivid, tactile picture of this eccentric, highly 00:36:19.469 --> 00:36:22.909 creative English rock band navigating a pivotal 00:36:22.909 --> 00:36:25.130 era. We covered a lot of ground. We see Nick 00:36:25.130 --> 00:36:27.730 Fien painting his own album covers to maintain 00:36:27.730 --> 00:36:30.510 fierce DIY control over the band's identity. 00:36:30.730 --> 00:36:33.090 Artistry. We see a band possessing the sheer 00:36:33.090 --> 00:36:35.510 audacity to push the physical limits of a vinyl 00:36:35.510 --> 00:36:38.449 record with a 13 -minute psychological opus, 00:36:38.590 --> 00:36:41.369 only to turn around and give fans a massive two 00:36:41.369 --> 00:36:43.789 -for -one double album on cassette tape to win 00:36:43.789 --> 00:36:46.829 the format war. Adapting to survive. We see them 00:36:46.829 --> 00:36:48.849 treating their eventual transition to the CD 00:36:48.849 --> 00:36:50.989 format not as a chore, but as an opportunity 00:36:50.829 --> 00:36:53.989 to add experimental 60s covers and self -referential 00:36:53.989 --> 00:36:57.489 horror jokes. It is a powerful reminder that 00:36:57.489 --> 00:37:00.409 art simply does not exist in a vacuum. Not at 00:37:00.409 --> 00:37:03.710 all. A piece of music is inextricably shaped 00:37:03.710 --> 00:37:06.469 by the physical container it comes in. Always. 00:37:07.030 --> 00:37:09.289 Whether that container is a vinyl groove with 00:37:09.289 --> 00:37:12.170 strict time limits that dictate a 46 minute maximum. 00:37:12.460 --> 00:37:15.420 a spool of magnetic cassette tape offering vast 00:37:15.420 --> 00:37:18.300 amounts of blank space to be filled, or a digital 00:37:18.300 --> 00:37:21.079 CD laser demanding bonus content to justify a 00:37:21.079 --> 00:37:24.320 high price tag, the medium fundamentally influences 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:26.860 the message. The medium is the message. Alien 00:37:26.860 --> 00:37:29.380 Sex Fiend understood this intimately, and they 00:37:29.380 --> 00:37:32.659 made the physical format an active, playful participant 00:37:32.659 --> 00:37:35.400 in their art. I absolutely love that phrasing. 00:37:35.699 --> 00:37:37.780 The format is an active participant in the art. 00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:39.900 It's the only way to look at it. So as we wrap 00:37:39.900 --> 00:37:42.159 up this deep dive, I want to leave you, the listener, 00:37:42.380 --> 00:37:45.059 with a final thought to mull over. We've spent 00:37:45.059 --> 00:37:46.940 this time thoroughly dissecting the physical 00:37:46.940 --> 00:37:50.539 constraints and quirks of 1986 media. The limits 00:37:50.539 --> 00:37:53.320 of a 12 -inch cardboard sleeve, the capacity 00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:56.000 of a plastic cassette tape, the pricing economics 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:58.949 of a compact disc. All physical realities. But 00:37:58.949 --> 00:38:01.909 we live in an entirely different world now. We 00:38:01.909 --> 00:38:04.889 live in an era of endless, invisible digital 00:38:04.889 --> 00:38:07.150 streaming. Everything is in the cloud. An era 00:38:07.150 --> 00:38:09.989 where track links aren't constrained by physical 00:38:09.989 --> 00:38:13.429 grooves, where album covers are just tiny thumbnail 00:38:13.429 --> 00:38:16.190 pixels on a glass screen, and where the concept 00:38:16.190 --> 00:38:18.929 of flipping from side A to side B is completely 00:38:18.929 --> 00:38:22.170 obsolete for most listeners. Which changes everything 00:38:22.170 --> 00:38:24.190 about how an album is built. So my question for 00:38:24.190 --> 00:38:27.710 you to explore on your own is this. In today's 00:38:27.710 --> 00:38:30.329 landscape, where music is just weightless data 00:38:30.329 --> 00:38:33.929 floating in the cloud, what are the subtle, invisible 00:38:33.929 --> 00:38:36.789 quirks of today's digital platforms that are 00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:39.329 secretly shaping the way modern artists create 00:38:39.329 --> 00:38:41.150 their music? Oh, that's a brilliant question. 00:38:41.309 --> 00:38:43.230 What are the modern equivalents of the vinyl 00:38:43.230 --> 00:38:46.010 time limit? Are algorithms dictating how quickly 00:38:46.010 --> 00:38:48.269 a chorus hits? Absolutely, they are. 40 years 00:38:48.269 --> 00:38:50.530 from now, what invisible digital constraints 00:38:50.530 --> 00:38:53.369 of today will music historians be trying to decode? 00:38:53.710 --> 00:38:56.889 That is a phenomenal, open -ended question. The 00:38:56.889 --> 00:38:58.769 containers have completely changed, they become 00:38:58.769 --> 00:39:02.269 invisible, but the artists are always, always 00:39:02.269 --> 00:39:04.730 adapting to them. They always are. Thank you 00:39:04.730 --> 00:39:06.849 so much for joining us on this deep dive into 00:39:06.849 --> 00:39:09.210 Alien Sex Fiend, the brilliance of the album, 00:39:09.590 --> 00:39:12.989 and the fascinating tactile world of 1980s format 00:39:12.989 --> 00:39:15.469 wars. Keep asking questions, keep looking closely 00:39:15.469 --> 00:39:17.329 at the details, and keep exploring the history 00:39:17.329 --> 00:39:19.449 behind the music. We'll catch you on the next 00:39:19.449 --> 00:39:19.889 deep dive.