Archive for September, 2016

Greg Hawkes To Save The Future

Friday, September 23rd, 2016

The world is a garbage fire of misery and despair! Let’s listen to obscure 80s music until we don’t feel anything anymore!

Greg Hawkes
Niagara Falls
Twenty-Seven Shirts
Modern Lunch
Backseat Waltz
I’m still ridiculously busy as of late so I don’t have the time to organize a well thought out together post, or even a haphazardly thought together one, so I think I’ll be sticking to some old-school, single artist highlights for a while.

Greg Hawkes is the keyboardist for The Cars. In 1983 he released Niagara Falls, a solo record comprised almost entirely of instrumental synth jams. It is the most dope shit you have never heard. Frighteningly ahead of its time in many ways, all while hearkening back to some of the best krautrock had to offer. It’s moody and introspective at times, while fun and upbeat at others. It’s one of the best instrumental electronic albums of its day and deserving of a second look. So of course it’s out of print.

For a while I was just going to share the album outright, it being out of print and all. But I’d rather start doing that less for albums that have any chance at all of being put back in print. And if the solo album by Elliot Easton can get a re-issue (with bonus tracks no less) I can’t see why Greg Hawkes’ won’t at some point in the future.

So, instead of just sharing the whole thing, here are a few cuts from him. The first two, “Niagara Falls,” and “Twenty-Seven Shirts” are two of my favorite tracks off of the album. They showcase the album’s moodier and darker side very well, and have some solid grooves and riffs. If some asshole in an ironic jean jacket put this out today, it would be called a synthwave classic and Pitchfork would give it an 8.3.

The other two are a little bit different, and are taken from the 12″ single to “Jet Lag,” the only single from the record (and probably the worst song on it). These are not on the album, and instead were taken from the soundtrack to the short film Citizen X, which I know nothing about so don’t ask. “Backseat Waltz” was co-written by Ocasek, making it the only Greg Hawkes solo tune to share a co-writing credit. Sadly, it is not the “Moving In Stereo” of Greg Hawkes songs, but it’s a solid track.

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Holiday from my Holiday

Wednesday, September 14th, 2016

I’m not dead! I feel happy!

Eh, well, I feel okay I guess. Got some allergy shit going on and my leg is acting weird.

I’ve been gone for over a fucking month! Shit! That sucks. I really sorry about that. The first couple of weeks in August were busy as hell, and then the rest of the month (as well as the first week in September) were spent on vacation back in the states. Usually I find some time during my trips to set aside for writing, but that just couldn’t happen this time around. This vacation I saw family and friends in five states, took my boyfriend to about half a dozen or more museums, celebrated about seven birthdays (including my own) and got drunk on bloody marys more times than I’d like to admit. Sometimes life gets in the way of me posting random crap on the internet, and for that I apologize.

I’m still actually disgustingly busy now that I’m back in Tokyo and I have to make up for a month off, but I really wanted to get something up here. Luckily, I happened to find a holy grail single when I was in the states, so I hope this will help make up for my time away.

holiday

Madonna
Holiday (Extended Remix)
Over And Over (Extended Remix)
In 1987 Madonna released You Can Dance, one of the very first remix albums. It’s comprised of extended remixes from her first three albums, as well as one new track, “Spotlight.” The mixes themselves are mixed into a continuous mix (save for when you have to flip the record). That makes for a fun, party-friendly, listening experience, but if you just want to listen to one of the tracks it’s kind of a bummer, as they get cut off suddenly mid-transition. A (very rare) promo CD did get out that features unmixed versions, but those versions were single edits, not the extended versions found on the album proper.

Only two of the remixes from You Can Dance have been released unmixed, and these are it. They were only made available on a promo release that featured them alongside the unmixed dub versions as well (which you can now find on the You Can Dance CD and digital version).

I’ve been looking for this promo for FUCKING AGES. I saw one in Tokyo once, but it was for well over $100. And while I love me some Madonna, I got my limits. Thankfully, I was at home last month (home being Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh, PA) and he somehow had a copy buried in his Madonna section for a steal of a price. I even told him that it was priced too low, but he gave me the deal anyways, because Jerry is dope. Thank Jerry for his dope kindness by swinging by his store the next time you’re in the greater Pittsburgh area, and enjoy these insanely hard to find mixes.

I really, really hope to have something more substantial in the coming days and weeks. Things will definitely calm down come next month at the latest. Thanks to all for your continued patience.

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