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Thursday, May 20, 2010

2nu - Ponderous (1991)

2nu were certainly a pop oddity. The duo, consisting of Jock Blaney and Michael Nealy from Seattle, would have been one of the last artists that you would expect to have a hit, but they managed to the first time out of the gate with their track "This Is Ponderous", with the help of major label Atlantic. The track, which was basically a spoken-word piece of story-telling over a dancey beat and sound effects, reached number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album soon followed, and though the songs varied in musical style, one thing kept them all together, and that was the narration of Jock Blaney. His voice is reminiscent of Brian the dog from Family Guy, and the stories range from odd and funny to surprisingly touching. There are elements of jazz, reggae, soul, funk, rock, and just about every other genre throughout the album, and it was certainly unique, especially in the 1990s. But though a secoond single, "Spaz Attack", saw a promo release, the album failed to generate enough buzz to ensure more hits. And really, the fact that they had a hit at all was a surprise, given how quirky their music was. But a dedicated fan base (including my friend Max) encouraged the boys to regroup in 1997 and in 1999 they independently released the EP Command Z and full length album 2NU2.com, changing their name to 2nu² to reflect their next phase. However, nothing more would be heard from them until 2007, when they independently released The Best Of 2nu (though they left off two tracks from this album that they didn't like, "Why." and "I Like That", and another, "Spill the Wine", because they didn't have the rights, as it incorporates an old Eric Burdon & War song).

Download Ponderous

1
This Is Ponderous
2
I Like That
3
Why.
4
Count 'Em Up Queek
5
Frank's Chair
6
Spaz Attack
7
Two Outta Three
8
Spill The Wine
9
Her Name
10
DDS Blues

11 comments:

  1. They're still at it, doing their spoken word thing, and it still sounds fresh and new. Their song, Crossroads, has been picked up by Johnny Walker as a promotion for responsible enjoyment of their whiskey. The ad is pretty impressive, and the words profound.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZl2rR5NDRY&feature=related

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  2. in southamerica they was unknown but im downloaded from retrowonderland,the song ponderous and its great¡¡-MRDISCO-http://80s-maxis-mrnoche.blogspot.com/

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  3. 2NUvians everywhere are hungry for a new journey.

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  4. There's more at www.jockblaney.com

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  5. Woud you please re-upload it? Thanks a lot

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  6. I really just need "I Like That" and "Why", but if you could re-upload it again that would be great. It says it has expired.

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  7. Could you re-reup, please? I think the link is already dead. Thank you!!

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  8. Wasn't there a hidden track called "She" at the end of this album? It's about a little girl who stumbles across a man (in the desert or something?), and, in the end, the last lines are like this: ..and I... I am her daughter. And you,.... YOU are my father.
    ?????????????????????????????????

    I CAN'T FIND THIS SONG ANYWHERE!

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  9. I loved that song. I had the Ponderous cassette single and I think it was the B side. I found this video:
    https://youtu.be/Dasrwn0U5p0

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