Nu Matic Thrill

Apologies in advance as this blip is more suited to a fan page than a photo site but I'm afraid I can't resist this indulgence.

I was very excited to find this CD/DVD in Tower Records yesterday. Ever since his seminal epic 1980 album Metamatic, I have been a big fan of John Foxx. I have also been a lifelong Gary Numan. Numan has never made a secret that Foxx's first three Ultravox albums were a huge influence upon his early career (he even enrolled Ultravox's keyboard player, Billy Currie, to join his band) and, in at least one recent interview, John Foxx has spoken of his great admiration for Numan. He was not bothered that Numan "stole" his ideas, rather he admired the way Numan understood what Ultravox were striving for, got to the core of the band's vision and produced a distilled version of it on albums like Pleasure Principle and Telekon.

Anyway, John Foxx's new album, 21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City proves that Foxx is still at the top of his game. It is a tour de force in which Foxx expounds upon the many varied themes which have been at the forefront of his long career in music, graphic design and education. Best of all, Foxx has finally collaborated with Gary Numan on the final track of the album, Talk: Are You Listening To Me. Every track on the album is a masterpiece, but this track is the creme de la creme. It is almost homo-erotic (Gary and John may hate that so of course that's just my opinion) as John tells Gary that he talks to him in his sleep, while Gary wonders anxiously, "Are you listening to me?" Gary always seems to come across as a John Foxx acolyte, despite his own incredible achievements, overwhelmed by Foxx's scholarly bearing as a university professor whereas he dropped out of school with very few academic qualifications. The idea in this track that Numan and Foxx have a telepathic connection is utterly delicious, and I love the way it segues from being a John Foxx style track to a Gary Numan style track when Numan starts singing!

Johnn Foxx and The Maths featuring Gary Numan - Talk (Are You Listening To Me?)

As if this album isn't awesome enough, it comes with a DVD directed by Macoto Tezka, son of The God Of Manga, Osamu Tezuka. Magic!

Gary Numan and John Foxx interview.

Now that Numan has collaborated with John Foxx, Nine Inch Nails and Jean Michel-Jarre, I just need him to collaborate with Depeche Mode for this mutual love fest to be complete.