NUDGE VOL III: New Year, New Wave
Themed playlists for your pinball pleasure
A note from your editor: We’re gonna try something new. Sure it’s great to get MY input on what tunes to listen to — but I’m just one measly man. What if we opened things up to people who like dope music? What if we themed it to the kinda music you like? Welp, that’s exactly what we did, cowboy. Sometimes you wanna get punk, but other times you get wanna New Wave. We get it. Stay tuned in the future for hardcore tunes, nu-soul, and whatever else we find that’s completely DAUPE and 100% certified NUDGE FRESH.
This mix was scientifically designed to get you off
That place where good pinball happens? This mix gets you there. Not every time, and not forever — but it works. Put this shit on and do what needs to be done. It’s going to happen. That’s a Nudge guarantee. We spend a lot of time in various stupors putting mixes together. We’re really good at this. Trust us.
Spotify sucks. Why Spotify? That’s not very punk of you.
Well hey, who died and made you punk rock sheriff? But seriously, legit question. As a buncha former middling musicians and dudes who are still friends w real musicians who struggle to make money: Why are we doing a Spotify playlist? Spotify is notorious for not paying artists what they’re worth, they ruined downtown Oakland, and uh, the whole algorithm approach to liking stuff weirds us out. That said, we’ll give you a couple of reasons why we decided on this format.
It’s easy. We don’t have a team of hackers working around the clock to get you amazing content. We have a guy smoking weed at 11:30 PM and just sorta figuring stuff out. Spotify makes it insanely easy to make and embed playlists.
They have a ton of music. Do they have everything? Hell no. Not even close. They do have a surprising amount of awesome stuff.
Our goal is not to get you to support Spotify. It’s to support these artists. When applicable (and available) we’ll try and link to better, more equitable links for the artists we feature. That’s gonna include a buncha Bandcamp and other streamers who put artists first. IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND ARE AN ARTIST AND DON’T LIKE SPOTIFY, CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY AND WE WILL TAKE YOU OFF — NO QUESTIONS ASKED. That said, I hope y’all take this in the spirit with which it is intended: we wanna showcase dope artists that will make you play pinball better. That’s it. We good?
NUDGE VOL III: NEW YEAR, NEW WAVE
OUR FIRST PLAYLIST COMES FROM OUR RESIDENT ADVICE COLUMNIST AND SECRET MILLIONAIRE, IGGY
Who are you?
I give sage life advice for a burgeoning pinball magazine, and, not for nothing, I listened to over 80,000 minutes of music last year. So, now I’m giving sage music suggestions too. Take it for what it’s worth.
What’s on the playlist?
Let’s call this a new wave playlist. Arguably three of the artists aren’t new wave. There will be no arguments over whether Bauhaus is new wave or goth or why Joy Division isn’t on the list, but New Order is. Maybe I’m not in the mood for music from a band named after nazi sex camps. Google it if you don’t believe me. These tunes are meant to pump you up for some pinball, not drag you down into the horrors of which humans are capable. So, please enjoy this escapism into pinball and music.
Surprise New Wave baddies: Ministry
Ministry doesn’t scream new wave, unless you go far back into its catalog. Who’d have known that the creator of industrial with song titles like “The Land of Rape and Honey,” “Cannibal Song,” and “Psalm 69” would have gotten its start with an electo-dance album called With Sympathy. The first song “Effigy (I’m Not An)” couldn’t be more bangin’ and pump you up for those high scores.
Ulver
Ulver’s musical progression in some respects is the reverse of Ministry’s. Ulver started out as a Norweigan black metal band, apparently avoiding the far-right ideology that often accompanies the genre, and now composes amazing new wave sounding albums. Check out The Assassination of Julius Caesar and Flowers of Evil. While too late for the new wave movement, these albums definitely have that vibe and “Russian Doll” will get you ready to conquer those tables.
Dan Sartain
I didn’t get into Dan Sartain until it was too late. He passed away earlier this year. Though I may have seen him open for Gogol Bordello at First Avenue like 15 years ago. I was young and didn’t appreciate what I saw. Now I’m a sophisticated consumer of music that was popular decades ago. Anyway, unlike the band he opened for, Sartain was a versatile artist releasing songs in a variety of styles including rockabilly, punk, and electronica. I’m sure he would have continued to evolve and put out great stuff for years. I added “Walk Among the Cobras” from Century Plaza because it's brooding, intense and will get you right in the zone.
