| Code | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1987 | |||
| Studio | Western Works (Sheffield) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:16 48:24 (UK CD issue) | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer |
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| Cabaret Voltaire chronology | ||||
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Code (stylized as C O D E) is the eighth studio album by the English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in October 1987 by EMI Records.
While the album itself failed to chart, it featured two songs that charted on the UK Singles Chart, with "Don't Argue" peaking at No. 69, and "Here to Go" peaking at No. 88.
The lyrics and title of "Don't Argue" incorporate verbatim a number of sentences from the narration of the short film Your Job in Germany (1945), directed by Frank Capra. The film was aimed at American soldiers occupying Germany and strongly warned against trusting or fraternizing with German citizens. [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| Record Mirror |  [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 5/10 [7] |
AllMusic wrote that Code "finds Cabaret Voltaire at their loosest and most accessible", calling it "the closest thing CV ever made to a party record" and adding that it "[achieves] a genuine mechanistic funkiness reminiscent of late-'70s Kraftwerk". [3] J. D. Considine, writing in Musician , contrasted Code with Kraftwerk's "elegant electronics," claiming that "Cabaret Voltaire processes sound the way a mainframe crunches numbers" before backing up to say: "cybernetic as the Cabs' sound may be, their sensibility is surprisingly pop." [8]
Rolling Stone wrote that Code "finds the ideal balance between accessibility and menace", calling it "perhaps the duo's most exhilirating work". [6]
Bonus tracks on UK CD issue
Cabaret Voltaire
with:
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive, or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments and punk provocation." The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by members of Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza. While the genre name originated with Throbbing Gristle's emergence in the United Kingdom, artists and labels vital to the genre also emerged in the United States and other countries.
Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974 by Philips Records. The album marked several personnel changes in the band, which was initially a duo consisting of Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter; later, the group added Klaus Röder on guitar and flute, and Wolfgang Flür on percussion. The album also completed the group's transition from the experimental krautrock style of their earlier work to an electronic pop sound consisting mostly of synthesizers and drum machines. Recording started at the group's own Kling Klang facility, but was predominantly made at Conny Plank's studio. Autobahn also includes lyrics and a new look for the group that was suggested by Emil Schult, an associate of Schneider and Hütter.
In My Tribe is the third studio album from the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Released on July 27, 1987, by Elektra Records, it was their second major-label album and their first to achieve large-scale success. John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant's songwriting partner on previous albums, had left the band in 1986, and In My Tribe saw Merchant begin to collaborate with the other members of the band, most notably with Rob Buck.
Cabaret Voltaire were an English music group formed in Sheffield in 1973 and initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk, and Chris Watson. Named for the Zürich nightclub that fostered the early Dada movement, the band are often characterized as among the most innovative and influential electronic acts of their era.
Next Position Please is the seventh studio album by American rock band Cheap Trick, produced by Todd Rundgren and released in 1983.
Stephen William Mallinder is an English artist and musician who was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, and went on to work as Sassi & Loco, the Ku-Ling Bros., Hey, Rube!, Wrangler, and Creep Show.
Three Mantras is the second studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released in May 1980 by Rough Trade.
Micro-Phonies is the sixth full-length studio album by British electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. Released 29 October 1984, the album was the group's most mainstream release to date, with the singles "Sensoria" and "James Brown" gaining popularity, especially the former, due to the music video finding MTV airplay. The album sees Cabaret Voltaire continuing to change, pursuing the more electro and synthpop-oriented direction they had started shifting towards on The Crackdown.
Drinking Gasoline is a 1985 EP release by Cabaret Voltaire, originally released on the Some Bizzare label and distributed through Virgin Records. All four tracks are featured on the band's "Gasoline in Your Eye" videocassette, also issued in 1985. All known copies of the original UK pressing had labels on the wrong discs It peaked at #71 in the UK.
2x45 is the fifth studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released in May 1982 through Rough Trade. This was the last studio album by the band to feature founding member Chris Watson, who had departed during its recording.
Mix-Up is the debut studio album by English band Cabaret Voltaire. It was released on 23 October 1979, through record label Rough Trade.
Live at the Y.M.C.A 27-10-79 is a live album by industrial/post-punk band Cabaret Voltaire, recorded in 1979 and originally released in 1980 by Rough Trade. It was re-released on CD in 1990 on Mute Records in the UK and on Restless Records in the USA. The album contains a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Here She Comes Now" from their album White Light/White Heat.
The Crackdown is the fifth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in August 1983 jointly through record labels Some Bizzare and Virgin. It was produced by the band themselves and Flood. Mixing their earlier experimental sound with more conventional dance rhythms, the album received positive reviews and was listed on NME's "Albums of the Year" in 1983.
Red Mecca is the fourth studio album by English industrial band Cabaret Voltaire, released in 17 August 1981 through Rough Trade Records.
Hai! is a 1982 live album by the U.K. industrial band Cabaret Voltaire. It was recorded at the Tsubaki House in Tokyo, Japan on 23 March 1982, and was released on CD in 1991 by Mute Records Ltd. The original master tapes being lost, the CD was transferred from a vinyl copy.
Radiation is a collection of recordings from Cabaret Voltaire during their most accessible period. They were also made in the BBC's studios with in-house producers and engineers rather than the usual self-produced material at Western Works studios.
Johnny Yesno: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is an album by industrial band Cabaret Voltaire. It was made as a soundtrack to Peter Care's film of the same title, which in turn led to Peter Care directing the video for Cabaret Voltaire's hit song "Sensoria". This started a music video-making career for Peter Care, who has since then directed videos for R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison, and Depeche Mode, amongst others.
The Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord is the seventh full-length studio album by the electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. The album was released through Some Bizzare Records in November 1985. The album's title was shortened to The Arm of the Lord for the United States.
Groovy, Laidback and Nasty is the ninth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in April 1990 by record label Parlophone.
Body and Soul is the tenth studio album by English electronic band Cabaret Voltaire, released in March 1991 by Belgium-based label Les Disques du Crépuscule.
The haunted urban soul of Cabaret Voltaire's "Don't Argue", the opening track on the 1987 Code album (EMI), suddenly seemed out of place. Using stentorian words of advice lifted from a 1945 US army training film, Your Job in Germany, designed to teach GIs how to behave in occupied territory, "Don't Argue" ran counter to the prevailing mood of loved-up euphoria. "You will not be friendly," commanded this new voice of negative authority. "You will be aloof... watchful... suspicious." Blissed out and ready to hug anything in sight, the Stepford Ravers would have a hard time getting their heads around a message like that.
