{"id":2269,"date":"2014-09-24T09:45:24","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T13:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2014-10-03T12:35:37","modified_gmt":"2014-10-03T16:35:37","slug":"information-society-hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/information-society-hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Information Society <br>Hello World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Information_Society-Hello_World.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2270\" src=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Information_Society-Hello_World.jpg\" alt=\"Information Society, Hello World\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Information_Society-Hello_World.jpg 250w, https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Information_Society-Hello_World-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a>An underappreciated aspect of the \u201980s is just how much weird stuff not only invaded pop culture, but also became wildly popular. Of course with the passage of time, many of those stranger moments have been forgotten. Take for example, Information Society. History has relegated the Minneapolis-born band to the one-hit wonder bin with their 1988 hit \u201cWhat\u2019s on Your Mind (Pure Energy),\u201d ignoring the fact that they landed two other songs in the Billboard Top 40 during their tenure and consistently landed on the dance charts. It also overlooks how they bridged the worlds of synth-pop and early house music, as well as managed to have a presence in the freestyle world. One could make an argument that they were instrumental in sampling\u2019s rise to prominence. Oh, and the fact that their self-titled album also went gold in five months, matching the sales of the \u201cWhat\u2019s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)\u201d single, is nothing to sneeze at.<\/p>\n<p>But all things can\u2019t stay gold and after three major label albums, the band broke up. There was a one-man revival by singer Kurt Harland in 1997, but he jettisoned the band\u2019s trademark sound for a more industrial-based one. After that incarnation flopped commercially, it seemed fair to say that the group had finally run its course. However, one thing led to another and Harland reunited with other principal members, Paul Robb and James Cassidy, for a few one-off concerts in 2005. Now 22 years after the release of their last album with the classic line-up, the band is back with <i>Hello World<\/i> (HAKATAK International\/MVD).<\/p>\n<p>Looking back at the initial trio of albums on Tommy Boy (<i>Information Society<\/i>, <i>Hack<\/i>, and <i>Peace &amp; Love Inc.<\/i>), it\u2019s difficult to see the band as cutting edge as it was at the time. There\u2019s been so many technological and production advances since those albums were out, it\u2019s hard to remember how the songs pushed at the borders of what could be done in a pop song. At this point, what was slightly avant garde is fairly commonplace. But while the technology was exciting, it was the tension between the production and the pure-pop songwriting that was exciting. So now 22 years later, the question is whether the band succumbs to nostalgia or does it try to take their sound to new places.<\/p>\n<p>The answer is that <i>Hello World<\/i> goes in both directions. There are plenty of samples mixed with the blend of synth-pop and house that characterized their earlier work. Yet, there are some tweaks to the formula, with different keyboard and drum sounds, a slight nod to dubstep and some other recent electro styles. There\u2019s no overt adoption of anything current, which gives it a slightly dated feel at times, but also ties back to the way the band once existed in its own universe. There is also a faithful cover of Devo\u2019s \u201cBeautiful World,\u201d complete with assistance from spudboy Gerald V. Casale. What hasn\u2019t changed is that the album maintains the strong songwriting of the past. Mixing tongue-in-cheek turns of phrase (\u201cIn the land of the blind, the one-armed man is king,\u201d) with heart-on-the-sleeve emotion and anthemic overdrive, <i>Hello World<\/i> hits every note you\u2019d hope to hear. Now let\u2019s hope there won\u2019t be another 22 years for a reintroduction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An underappreciated aspect of the \u201980s is just how much weird stuff not only invaded pop culture, but also became wildly popular. Of course with the passage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[34,898],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-review","tag-information-society"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Information Society Hello World - The Agit Reader<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/information-society-hello-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Information Society Hello World - The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An underappreciated aspect of the \u201980s is just how much weird stuff not only invaded pop culture, but also became wildly popular. Of course with the passage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/information-society-hello-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Agit Reader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheAgitReader\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-24T13:45:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-03T16:35:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/agitreader.com\/wp2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Information_Society-Hello_World.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dorian S. Ham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@agitreader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dorian S. 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