"When Newcleus made "Computer Age (Push the Button)," they couldn't have known just how potent it would sound today. The lead singer, communicating through a vocoder, is fed up with the power of consumer tech: "Everyone must have a machine/They say it's gonna make life easier but I can't stand it!" The pounding instrumental feels like the flashiest '70s synth-pop given a dystopian makeover, and the break arrives in a vortex of alarms, effects, and warning sirens."
"While it's full of sharp songwriting, the album is best known for the 1984 single "Jam on It," a hip-hop anthem that reached No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and epitomizes the eccentric worldbuilding made possible by the widespread adoption of new Roland equipment. It lands somewhere between foreboding, inspiring, and hilarious, with rhymes about the extraterrestrial members of the Brooklyn group fighting off Superman in a crew battle, wowing the crowd with their DJ skills, and saving New York from destruction."
Jam on Revenge is a 1984 electro debut that blends synth-pop, hip hop, and science-fiction themes into urgent, danceable tracks. "Computer Age (Push the Button)" uses a vocoder and alarm-heavy production to critique consumer technology and convey a dystopian outlook. "Jam on It" became a hit single, featuring eccentric worldbuilding, Roland drum-machine textures, tense 808 cowbells, and a rubber-band bass bounce that energized roller-rink and hip-hop scenes. The album reflects early-1980s New York's technological reinvention of rhythm and timbre, and it connects to broader pop culture moments like Beat Street's visibility for breakdance, DJing, and graffiti.
Read at Pitchfork
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