Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves

In 1985, New Order released 'Low Life.' It's time to dive into the wild story behind "The Perfect Kiss" and discover how a naked manager, Rob Gretton, sparked a synth-pop classic with a desktop rant, and how Jonathan Demme’s iconic video sealed its legacy. From studio chaos to dance floor glory, this is Low-Life’s craziest tale! 🎵🔔

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🎧 NEW ORDER ON VINYL:

EVERYONE is talking about Severance Season 2. Today we look at the WILD history behind the Apple TV series finale's "The Windmills of Your Mind" and its journey from 1968 to 2025. This one includes it all -- a high flying playboy (Steve McQueen), an olympic skier, an Oscar, and about 5000 covers from the likes of Mel Torme, the Muppets, Dusty Springfield, Sting, Jose Feliciano, and countless others. This is the story of "The Windmills of Your Mind."

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Watch the full clip of The Libertines performing "The Windmills of Your Mind" live for la Blogoteque on YouTube.

"‘God is empty, just like me’—this single line fueled the iconic track "ZERO" off The Smashing Pumpkins' monumental 1995 album 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.' How did Billy Corgan channel his self-loathing into a track that redefined The Smashing Pumpkins, and what made it resonate with a ‘messed-up generation’? Was it the nihilism? The desire for controversy? Corgan's negation? Join me as I explore the history and heart of 'Zero.'"

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🎧 THE SMASHING PUMPKINS ON VINYL:

One of the first songs Morrissey wrote for The Smiths was "Suffer Little Children" and it was also one of his darkest. This is the story behind the song, its relation to the Moors Murders, the controversy it caused locally in Manchester, and its legacy. You DON'T want to miss this one!

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🎧 THE SMITHS ON VINYL & MORE:

Released the same day in 1967 as The Beatles’ infamous Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Baroques’ lone release is rumored to have outsold the much more wildly popular release in the local Wisconsin market. This is the story of a band that should have garnered more clout, and the struggles they had along the way during their short-lived tenure as a band. It’s the story of a song that was banned for being too pro-drug despite definitely being anti-drug. This is the story of The Baroques.

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🎧 THE BAROQUES ON VINYL:

"Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots is a story of deception, of heartache, and of addiction. This is the history of the song off the band's 1994 album Purple, and how it reflected the inner struggles of frontman Scott Weiland.

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🎧 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS ON VINYL & MORE:

In March of 2000, Broadcast (helmed by Trish Keenan and James Cargill) released their debut album "The Noise Made By People." Blending a dreamy psychedelia with both futuristic and vintage inspired pop sensibilities, their sound was one that has built quite the cult following over the years. This is the story of that album and how the ghosts within linger, long after Keenan's passing.

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🎧 BROADCAST ON VINYL:

Before they became the patron saints of noise rock, before the major labels and festival headlining slots, Sonic Youth were a band lurking in the dark corners of the New York underground. And in 1985, they released Bad Moon Rising, an album that captured both the decay of America and the restless experimentation of a band on the verge of something bigger. This is the story of that album and how it still resonates more than 40 years later.

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🎧 SONIC YOUTH ON VINYL:

In the mid 1970s, David Bowie released "Station to Station" as he transformed into the Thin White Duke. His mental and physical state was in major decline due to addiction. Becoming obsessed with the occult, he felt Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin was casting dark spells on him. And then there was his haunted Los Angeles swimming pool. This is the story of David Bowie around that time, how he spiraled into madness, and how he hired a white witch to help him conduct an exorcism on his possibly possessed pool.

CLARIFICATION: In Angela Bowie's memoir Backstage Passes, she recounts this story, noting that Walli Elmlark guided David Bowie in the process of conducting the exorcism as opposed to being present in Los Angeles and doing it herself.

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🎧 DAVID BOWIE ON VINYL:

Twice censored, this is the story of Sonic Youth's pivotal release "Sister" from 1987, how and why the album's unique cover art got those black boxes, and the story of the photographer that sparked the change.

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🎧 SONIC YOUTH ON VINYL: