So, what Einstürzende Neubauten and Cabaret Voltaire album should I check out first?

Cabaret Voltaire's Code was a great album, too, but I have no idea how a person would process it in modern times. It sounded like nothing on earth when it came out, that's for sure.

Einsturzende Neubauten I don't know as much about, but the album that had "Yu Gung" on it, the one with the teeth all around the border of the record sleeve, that wasn't so bad. They're really not my thing, though so I'll leave it to someone else to comment.

You said you're not much into the noisier stuff, but you really should hear "Mix-Up", particularly if you like the grimier* side of TG.

Strangely enough, I was listening to "Plasticity" yesterday and was thinking about starting an "In Praise of ... the early 90's Cabaret Voltaire trilogy". "Plasticity", "International Language" and "The Conversation" don't receive the attention they deserve. They ditched the vocals (in part because vocalist Stephen Mallinder started to distance himself from CV) and made three expansive, lush, ambient techno albums, packed with bleeps, epic concept tracks, bizarre vocal samples, and pounding dancefloor numbers. And on "Plasticity", they may have inadvertently invented microhouse.

*not grime=the contemporary genre, rather, grime=the plain old English word

xpost

on the Neubauten tip, I think "Halber Mensch" is a good halfway point between the harsher and the songier ends of their spectrum- I'd say start there. The purest expression of what they do with found objects / metal percussion and screaming is, I think, the first "Strategies Against Architecture" lp. The more guitar oriented, early almost post-punk-ish material is on that recent "Kalte Sterne" reissue and it's great too. For a "lusher" sound, try "Tabula Rasa". "Drawings of Patienten O.T." has the stunning track "Vanadium I-Ching" so that's good too.

But I'll see how this thread develops.

also . . . .

The 70 Billion people of earth
where are they hiding?
where are they hiding?

As for Neubauten, 'Haus Der Luge' is a good balance of EN's earlier metal bashing and the more modern, less overtly abraisive cut-up styles they employed in the 90's.

for neubauten, it's got to be 'halber mensch' as it has the highest concentration of classic songs - 'halber mensch', 'der tod ist ein dandy', 'sehnsucht', 'yu gung' and (if they stuck it on the cd) the greatest metal grinding moment ever - 'das schaben'. but, for pure unadulterated primal berlin meatallic energy, the 'kollaps' album is my pick. 'tanz debil' is one of the best punk (not punk) songs ever written and 'kollaps' itself is pure, pure sex. but then there is 'drawings of patient ot'..... fuck it, buy them all.

The earlier industrial stuff is also well compiled on the almost identical 'Living Legends', 'The Golden Sounds of Cabaret Voltaire' or 'Original Sound of Sheffield 78-82'

They did, at least on the cd I saw a couple of days ago.

Not so much love for these then? Those Rough Trade singles are the bees' knees.

I'm conflicted on the Cabs. I love the electrofunk trilogy on Virgin/Some Bizarre, but it's not really representative. Grab the two different The Original Sound of Sheffield compilations. One of them covers the early dub tape-manipulation years, and the other one covers the electropop years. Either way, it'll let you know which version of the Cabs you prefer. If you weren't there the first time around, you may just find the stuff from Micro-phones, Covenant and Crackdown to be ...well, dated. I love all of it, myself, but I can see why someone might not see what all the fuss was about with that period.

no actually I think I prefer the early stuff! I discovered them through the Some Bizarre period (watchin' Night Flight in high school etc.), but when I finally heard the raw earlys I was impressed

i think it might be wise to pick a couple of albums from both of these groups, but cabaret voltaire have been so prolific.

one album only from each:
cv - the covanent, the sword, and the arm of the lord
en - kollaps

poortheatre, do you like the Fall?

Yea, but only recently. I bought This Nation's Saving Grace about a year ago and never really connected with it. It still kind of drags, I think (excepting "L.A." and "Paintwork"). I picked up Slates and (genuflects) Hex Enduction Hour two months ago, and now I see the light.

Crackdown, second choice - it may sound dated as others say, if you aren't into the early discofied 80's industrial, but as you like Suicide you will probably love it.

Not recommending Red Mecca because I haven't heard it.

EN: My #1 is Haus Der Leuge - it was also a transition between abrasive noise, and actual hummable tunes. I can't listen to the older stuff without wincing a lot, but this stuff sounds almost graceful.

Second choice, 2 x 45 the live album- I don't hear it mentioned much but this stuff makes me think "this is why this band impressed people". You would never think the sound of a cement mixer could be so captivating.