Information Society “Information Society”

sfilzen — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 20:56:12 +0000

Information Society “Information Society” 1988. Tommy Boy Records. Dancey synthpop, the Minneapolis-based band’s debut album. It went to #25 on the US charts, mostly on the strength of their first single, the massive hit “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy).” I loved this song so much when it came out the spring of ’88. It’s high (pure) energy electronic dance music; it went to #3 on the US single chart and to #1 on the dance charts. It also samples Leonard Nimoy’s Spock from the Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy” (1967). The rest of the LP is mostly OK! especially when InSoc sticks to the dancey synth pop stuff. The single “Walking Away” is one I vaguely remember from ’88 – it went to #9 in the US and also samples Stark Trek (William Shatner: “It is useless to resist us” and Scotty saying “Let’s go see!.” I’m fairly certain the song “Over the Sea” (another upbeat synthpop ass-shaker) has Star Trek samples but I’m no Trekkie so can’t say who/what episode; same with the funky “Something in the Air” (probably Spock) which hilariously includes a sneaky sample of KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way (I Like It).” When they stray from their formula, like on the electro-ballady stuff (like the single “Repetition” which charted at #76), the record drags and feels very dated.

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Information Society “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)”

sfilzen — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 19:10:25 +0000

Information Society “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)” 1988. Tommy Boy Records. Two days ago, September 7th, was the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and I just realized I had a way to celebrate! Information Society’s infectiously dance-tastic synth pop one-hit wonder (it spent 25 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100, hitting #3 in October ‘88) derives its subtitle and relentless sample from Leonard Nimoy’s Spock in the Star Trek episode “Return to Tomorrow.” Bones (DeForest Kelley) also gets a sample, his contribution from the episode “I, Mudd,” on the single’s intro “it’s worked so far, but we’re not out yet.”

I did a lot of dancing to this song in the fall of ‘88 but always thought that Information Society was British. But! They are Midwesterners from Minneapolis who got together in a dorm room at Macalester College in the early 80s, noodling around with experimental electronic music (how very very 80′s liberal arts collegey). Information Society managed to get permission from Paramount Pictures to use the Star Trek samples on their single because Adam Nimoy, Leonard’s son, was a fan of the band.

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Information Society “Information Society”

Information Society “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)”