Harold and Frankie

Caring about baseball for the first time in 16 years (when the Indians were in the World Series, for those wondering) has really taken a hit into my productivity. Games every day? Jesus, how the hell do baseball fans get anything done? I’m used to wasting just one day a week to sports, I don’t know if even I have enough lack of motivation to subject myself to this much longer.

And besides, I have a shitload of stuff to do! Operation: Get Crap Out Of My House is well into effect, but I still got a few “big ticket” items I need to unload.

In fact, can I interest any of you in the following?

Super Famicom (Boxed!)

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A complete Super Famicom system, complete with both controllers, A/V cable and original AC adapter (so you might want a power converter). Comes in its original box too! Looks great and I can verify that it plays games perfectly as well. I’m asking $100 for this (shipping not included). That’s about $20-$40 cheaper than most Super Famicoms you see on eBay when you factor in the high international shipping you typically have to pay.

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I occasionally help out in my friend’s used games store, so believe me when I tell you that coming across one of these in as nice shape as this one is doesn’t happen everyday!

Sharp Front Loading Stereo Turntable RP-117

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Okay, this thing is crazy. It’s a turntable that takes LPs like CDs, and then it can play both sides with no flipping required! It doesn’t sound amazing, but it certainly sounds as good as most mid-range turntables, and it’s a great talking piece to have as an auxiliary deck.  I haven’t played it in about a year, so I’ll test it before I ship it out, but last I checked it played fine. These can be a bit finicky too, so finding one in working condition is a real rarity.

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I’m asking $300 for it, which is $100 cheaper than what they tend to go for on eBay. Don’t ask me about replacement styluses or needles for this sucker though, because I have no idea.

If either of these items interest you, leave a comment with your email (I won’t approve it, I’ll just use it to get a hold of you).

 

Okay, sorry for that brief QVC moment. If you read all that, I appreciate your patience and reward you with silly music from the 80s.

Harold Faltermeyer
Fletch Theme (Extended Version)
Fletch Theme (Radio Edit)
Fletch Theme (Fletch Rap)
Fletch Theme Bonus Beats (Hip Hop Version)
So I’m going to be real and just put this out there: I’ve never seen Fletch.

Okay, yeah, I know. Yeah, I’m sure its great. But by the time I was old enough to really appreciate it, Chevy Chase was well on his path of sucking, so I immediately associated the film with the long line of sucking pieces of suck he’s sadly known for today. I know I should watch it! I know it’s a good movie! But there are a lot of good movies I haven’t seen that I need to watch, and when I start looking at that list, I feel that movies like Godfather II, The African Queen and Manhattan probably take precedence over Fletch. Of course, you’re talking to the guy who decided it was of the utmost importance to mainline the first five Fast & Furious films in a 48 hour period, so what do I know.

Well, I do know that Harold Faltermeyer’s theme to Fletch is pretty fucking rad, and like some commenters have told me in the past, it’s actually even better than his theme to Beverly Hills Cop, something that’s no small feat. All four of these versions of the theme sound pretty similar to me, but whatever, it’s four similar versions of a completely bitchin’ tune, so I’m not going to complain.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Rage Hard (++) [Broad]
Sometimes I feel the need to just write about an album. No reason. Just because I want to. If I ever do this, I think I’d have to write about Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome To The Pleasuredome. Not just because it’s a fantastic record and one of my favorites, but because I feel that I’m in the extreme minority in saying as much.  That album is a fucking masterpiece. Not only that, I feel that it perfectly encapsulates every single thing about the early 80s, from rampant casual sex to the constant threat of nuclear war. It’s an awesome record.

Liverpool, the group’s 1986 sophomore album, and their last release, is significantly less awesome. I’ve listened to it several times since finding it a few months ago, and aside from “Warriors Of The Wasteland” and “Rage Hard” it’s an entirely forgettable album. It also tries far too hard to recapture the magic of the original album in tone and structure too, right down to the random oddball cross-genre cover (a weak rendition of “Roadhouse Blues” filling in for Pleasuredome’s amazing take on “Born To Run.”)

But like I said, “Rage Hard” is a pretty great track, and thanks to Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s shameless(ly wonderful) practice of remixing and re-releasing singles ad nauseam, there are more than a few remixes of it floating out there. I currently have four: The Bob K Remix, an extended version, one simply titled “Vocal/Remix” that I got off of the Japanese version of the Frankie Said compilation, and the one I’m sharing tonight. Of those, I think this one is the best. It’s not the longest, but it’s still a hefty eight minutes, and unlike the other remixes, it never delves off into sample-heavy wankery or excessive non-musical segues or interludes. It just uses its eight minutes to take its time and really stretch the tune out. As I’ve said time and time again, the best remixes are the ones that just let a song’s natural awesomeness shine while not trying to change it too much.

9 Responses to “Harold and Frankie”

  1. Checker Can says:

    Tottaly agreeing on your remix opinion. Best remixes don’t deconstruct the song too much, because it’s the song which makes me want to have it. Speaking so, for me most if the Depeche Mode-Remixes aren’t made in that way, but as you said Frankie have put some great Remixes out, also to mention propaganda, which is no wonder, because Trvor Horn had it’s fingers in it. Concerning Trevor Horn, there is a splendid interview with him on the red bull music academy site where he also speaks of the remix madness in the 80ies and why he had enough of that after a while:

    http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/trevor-horn–buggles-in-the-bassbin

    By the way: A very funny guy!

  2. Troy Tuttle says:

    Hey man,

    First off, loved your appearance on retronauts and I’m happy it took me to your websites, which are also on my regular hitlist.

    If the super famicom is still up for grabs I’d love it.

    Thanks!
    _Troy

  3. Anna says:

    I’ll take the Super Fami ;<

  4. Lost Turntable says:

    It got taken duder, sorry!

  5. Jeremy says:

    Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s debut is pretty awesome, but one wonders just how much was the band and how much was Trevor Horn (and Paul Morley)…

    In any event, I used to read the British music magazine Uncut fairly regularly, and I recall Holly Johnson claiming Springsteen’s “Born to Run” was a good song, but it took FGTH to make it a truly great song. That dude has some chutzpah.

  6. Grebo says:

    I agree 100% that WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME is a straight-up triumph and easily one of the best albums of the 80’s. I’m gonna pitch-in for LIVERPOOL as well – that album does grow on you. “Maximum Joy” is a flat-out fantastic track.
    As for “Rage Hard”, I’ve always been fond of the 12:14 mix “Young Person’s Guide to The 12-inch”. It’s cheeky, bouncy and fun as hell. Honestly, probably one of my favourite remixes of all time — and that’s really saying something, given how obsessed I am!

  7. Brett Alan says:

    See, if you haven’t SEEN Fletch, then you can’t QUOTE Fletch. And there are a lot of situations in life where you need to quote Fletch!

  8. Bonedwarf says:

    Charge it to the Underhill’s!

    Thanks for uploading this. I asked you on Twitter when you posted it if you were going to upload it. This Extended mix is IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere. Believe me, I tried. I DID find an extended cut of the Fletch soundtrack with all of Faltermeyer’s incidental music on it but the link was dead.

    Fletch is a great movie. Watched it again recently and it still holds up. Arguably Chevy’s finest hour.

    As for Frankie I once made my own 12″ mix by taking the “Young Persons Guide to the 12” mix and adding on another mix at the end. The reason being that a Frankie compilation I got did the cardinal sin of FADING the “Young Persons” mix rather than letting it play out to its correct ending.

    I still have that mix I made. All 18 minutes of it.

  9. Peter says:

    “Young Person’s Guide to The 12-inch” is indeed funny as hell.

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