Archive for November, 2013

Great Songs By Artists I Know Very Little About

Monday, November 25th, 2013

And between the holidays, impending snowstorm, and my ongoing manic fury of getting everything done I need to get done before my big move, I don’t have time to find out more. But they’re good tunes, and I thought some of you all might enjoy them too.

Sweet
It’s It’s…The Sweet Mix
My knowledge of Sweet begins with “Ballroom Blitz” and ends with “Fox On The Run,” so I can’t tell you any of the other songs that make up this six-minute medley. It’s catchy though, and very disco-y, were they always like that? I assumed they were more a light-glam rock thing. Maybe I’ll pick up some Sweet while I’m in Japan. I don’t know why, but they strike me as the kind of act that would be big in Japan. Maybe it’s the wacky skintight outfits. In every picture of them I’ve seen they’ve always come off as a hybrid of glam rock and the Power Rangers.

Material
I’m The One (Dance Version)
Don’t Lose Control (Dance Version)
Material is one of Bill Laswell’s many side-projects. They started out as an entirely inaccessible “no wave” act (spoiler: I fucking hate “no wave” bullshit), but by 1982 they shifted their sound radically, and instead embraced a strong disco/funk sound. I assume this was around the time he started working with Herbie Hancock on the immortal “Rockit” but like I said, I’m way too busy/tired to do some proper research tonight. They sound like it though, as both of them (especially “Don’t Lose Control” have a heavy funk/electro sound to them that sounds very similar to Hancock’s stuff of that era. “Don’t Lose Control” even has superfluous vocoder! So it’s the best shit ever.

Seriously, if you like leftfield disco or early electronic music, check out One Down. It’ll blow you away. It even features a very early appearance by Whitney Houston!

Everyone have a splendid Thanksgiving (if you’re American, otherwise…um…enjoy your Thursday) and I’ll see next week with hopefully some posts of substance.

Posted in Material, remixes, Sweet | 5 Comments »

Depeche Frankenstein

Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Yo.

Want some advice on home ownership?

TIP NUMBER ONE: NEVER BUY A HOME.

That’s the best way to ensure you never have to deal with the shit that’s involved with selling a home. The only way to win is not to play. Argh. You know…when you have to drive to your appraiser’s house and leave a threatening note on the motherfucker’s door to ensure that he gets the appraisal done A WEEK PAST THE DEADLINE HE GAVE YOU, that’s probably a bad sign. Bastard had no problem cashing my check on time though. I want to know what makes people think they can get away with that shit, especially with me!? What about me, a six-and-a-half-foot large man with a short temper, screams “easy mark”?

Anyways, yeah. Musics.

Edgar Winter
Frankenstein 1984 (Monster Version)
Frankenstein 1984 (Human Version)
Frankenstein 1984 (Monster Rap)
I originally posted these in 2009, I am reposting them tonight for three reasons.

  1. I meant to post them for Halloween but got busy.
  2. I recently re-recorded them and they sound hella better.
  3. These tracks are the illest shit ever.

“Frankenstein 1984” is an electro remake of the original “Frankenstein.” The original version is one of the greatest instrumentals of all-time, so it goes without saying that this version is one of the greatest electro instrumentals of all-time. It’s certainly the greatest electro track ever written and performed by an albino keyboardist from Texas. From what I can tell, all the instrumentation of the original version is replaced with various synthesizer and synth effects. There are no drums, no bass, no guitar, just rad synths rocking synth basslines, synth licks and synth rhythms. Oh, and there’s even a vocoder. And as we all know, vocoders make even the dopest shit more dope.

I have no idea if any of these versions ever appeared on a proper Edgar Winter release, I sure as hell can’t find any evidence of such. The “Monster Version” is the uncut version, and that runs nearly a full 10 minutes. The “Human Version” is a single edit at about half the length. The “Monster Rap” version, as the title suggests, features a full rap section, although I don’t know who by. This entire release is lacking credits other than “Edgar Winter,” and while I’m liable to believe he did perform every instrument on this release (the man can play just about anything), I really don’t think he did the rap. At least, I hope not.

Depeche Mode
Should Be Higher (Truss Remix)
Should Be Higher (MPIA3 Definition)
Should Be Higher (Koen Groenveveld Massive Remix)
Should Be Higher (Pangaea Dub Remix)
Should Be Higher (Uberzone Remix)
Should Be Higher (DJMREX Remix)
There are at least 10 different remixes of this track. There are four on the CD single (plus a radio edit) and these six additional mixes that are all exclusive to the 12″ vinyl single. And when I mean they’re exclusive to the vinyl I mean it. As of right now, the only place you can get them is on that record, no digital versions are available anywhere – which is why I feel okay with sharing them here tonight.

I just wish they were better. The first one is okay as a dance track, but it really doesn’t sound much like the original tune, ditto for the two that follow it. The best of the bunch are the last two, which are the only ones to really keep any of the structure from original version at all. If you’re a DM completist (like me) you’ll probably find something to like about all of them, but otherwise I would just stick with the Uberzone and DJMREX mixes and leave the rest. And if you’re looking for a solid remix of a Delta Machine track, check out the Steve Angellos/Jacques Lu Cont mix of “Soothe My Soul.” That shit is epic, although the original version is pretty great too.

 

Posted in Depeche Mode, Edgar Winter, remixes | 4 Comments »

I Feel Lovely

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO BEFORE I MOVE I SHOULDN’T EVEN BE WRITING THIS!

I certainly shouldn’t have taken the time out of my day to review the new re-release of David Bowie’s Earthling LP either!

I’m incredibly irresponsible!

DISCO!

Donna Summer
I Feel Love (Patrick Cowley Mix)
So, I’m moving to Japan (AND IT’S MAKING ME REALLY BUSY – AND YELL) and most “normal person” preparation for a move like that would be things like “find an apartment,” “buy the clothes you need,” “get your finances in order.” And yeah, I’m doing all that important stuff, but I’m also making sure I buy certain things that I’ve been putting off for years that I know I won’t be able to easily get once I move to Japan. Case in point – I’ve had the 2CD out-of-print edition of Journey: The Best Of Donna Summer bookmarked in my browser for over a year now, and I finally went ahead and bought it last week. Because it’s important. Also because I just thought of it again after getting both a Patrick Cowley compilation and a Donna Summer album in the course of two weeks.

Why is it important? Because it’s the only way to get a digital version of this amazing mix of the most important dance song of all-time (that is not hyperbole!). With this mix Patrick Cowley, a genius who I have repeatedly talked about here, and on Mostly-Retro, took a song that was perfect and made it better. He made a perfect thing…more perfect.

Look, I can’t explain it, and like I said, I really don’t have the time to be eloquent right now, so you’re going to have to take what you can get. I just know that this mix, this sensational, amazing, I’m-out-of-superlatives mix might just be the greatest dance track ever. I have literally listened to this all day. Holy shit.

Sylvester
Rock The Box (Dance Version)
Rock The Box (Drum Box)
Rock The Box (Dub Box)
“Rock The Box” came out after Patrick Cowley died, but it certainly carries on his spirit with its catchy synth melodies and heavy electronic sound. The track is from Sylvester’s album M-1015. I haven’t found many positive reviews of that record, but I feel like it’s ripe for rediscovery. When it came out it was probably dated thanks to its heavy disco sound, but today I think it holds up quite well, like a magical combination of the best of early 80s disco and mid-80s synthpop. “Lovin’ Is Really My Game” is straight-up one of Sylvester’s best tunes, with both “Sex” and “Take Me To Heaven” also rocking it hard. The album also features backup vocals by Martha Walsh (“It’s Raining Men,” every C+C Music Factory track worth a damn) and Jeanie Tracy, an underrated vocalist whose awesomeness I’ve covered previously.

I have a ton of other Sylvester and other Megatone (Cowley’s labe) stuff I plan on putting up at a later date, so if this post leaves you hankering for some Hi-NRG bangers, you’ll be in luck! If not, um…sorry?

I also plan on posting an Alien Ant Farm rarity soon too, maybe you’ll like that?

Posted in Donna Summer, Patrick Cowley, remixes, Sylvester | 3 Comments »

Prince Was (Not Was) Madonna

Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

You know how moving is super stressful? Well, take that stress, multiply it by a billion, and you know how it feels to plan a move to an entirely different country. I have so much to do I fel like my head is going to explode and implode at the same time. But nothing makes me calm down like silly remixes to 80s pop music.

And while you’re listening to these awesome remixes of awesome 80s music, be sure to head over to Mostly-Retro, where I check out the new Donna Summer remix album and an amazing release featuring rarely heard tracks by Patrick Cowely.

Hopefully this week I’ll also be able to get up a review of the new edition of Bowie’s The Next Day as well as another edition in my oddly popular Collection Recollection series. We’ll see.

Madonna
Vogue (Club St. John Mix)
I plan on re-recording several (dozen) of my singles before I box them all up and ship them into storage. Among these will probably be an insane amount of Madonna singles. So if you were a fan of my favorite post ever on this site, My Tongue Hurts Here re 32 Madonna Remixes, then you should probably keep an eye for that.

In the meantime, here’s a bootleg mix of “Vogue” that I grabbed off of a DJ-only mix LP. It’s a pretty good edit, and seven+ minutes of motherfucking “Vogue” is never a bad thing in my book.

Prince
Thieves In The Temple (Thieves In The House Mix)
Thieves In The Temple (Temple House Dub)
Sign ‘o’ The Time/The Prince Classic Mega Medley
The original version of “Thieves In The Temple” is from the soundtrack to Graffiti Bridge. I do not own the soundtrack to Graffiti Bridge because I am not a crazy person. Isn’t Tevin Campbell on that album? Yeah he is. See? That’s why I don’t own it. Also, I don’t own Parade, Sign ‘o’ The Times, Lovesexy or many other amazing Prince records. So I feel like I should really get them before I move on to the soundtrack to Prince’s worst movie (which is really saying something if you’ve seen Under A Cherry Moon).

The last track is actually two tracks according to the bootleg DJ record I ripped it from, but they segue together so seamlessly that it felt pointless to split them up. “Sign” takes up about the first four and a half minutes of the track, and then its nothing but classic Prince mixed together for 12 minutes straight. It’s a bit manic at times, almost someone is switching between an endless number of radio stations that are all playing Prince at the same time (oh man, how awesome would that shit be?) but it’s a fun listen. I can’t image any DJ ever played this in a club though, it’s entirely undanceable.

Was (Not Was)
Walk The Dinosaur (The New York Dangerous Version)
Walk The Dinosaur (Bruce’s Prehistoric Dub)
Walk The Dinosaur (The Debunking Of Uri Geller Mix)
Walk The Dinosaur (7″ Version)
Okay, I have to get this out of the way before I talk the song proper: “The Debunking Of  Uri Geller Mix” easily has to be the best name of a remix I have ever seen. It dethrones Erasure’s “Chains Of Love (Truly In Love With The Marx Bros. Mix).” I love it. It makes no sense at all. Brilliant.

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, this stupid fucking song. Y’know what? No. Strike that. This song is not stupid. I love this song. Did you know it’s about nuclear war? Yeah! Damn straight. Was (Not Was) was (not was) (sorry) dropping some deep social commentary on your ass, it just happened to be disguised as a silly dance craze.

That being said, the world probably didn’t need a seven-minute mix of the tune. which is what the first mix is. One can only take so many “Boom Boom Acka-lacka-lack-booms.” The awesomely-named Uri Geller mix does mix things up a bit though (no pun intended) and succeeds in justifying its existence just by its sheer weirdness – of course one could probably say the same thing about Was (Not Was) and their entire career.

If these mixes interest you then I suggest you check out either their 2010 compilation Hey King Kong! or the expanded edition of their debut album Out Come The Freaks. Both feature some pretty insane material that might blow your mind. Their really early stuff was all amazing.

Posted in Madonna, Prince, remixes, Was (Not Was) | 2 Comments »