A few months ago I posted a public plea to anyone from Australia, asking for help to procure a limited edition Dreamcast vinyl record. One amazingly awesome individual from down under came through, and I became the proud owner of a record that featured the theme song to Sonic Adventure.
Okay, well maybe proud is a bit of a stretch.
Anyways, a similar situation has now arisen. If any UK readers want to help a brother out, shoot me an email or leave a comment with your email addy (if you don’t want your email published don’t worry, I can edit the comments). I’ll  give you the details there.
Now let’s get funky.
Beck
Mixed Bizness (Transatlantic Remix)
Mixed Bizness (Fernando G. Remix)
Mixed Bizness (Transatlantic Instrumental Remix)
Midnight Vultures has become somewhat overlooked in the Beck discography for some reason. It was acclaimed when it came out, but nowadays most people seem to regard Odelay and Sea Change as classics, neglecting Midnight Vultures to also-ran status.
Those people are high. Midnight Vultures might be Beck’s best album. Sure, it’s stupid as fuck, but that’s why it’s so damn perfect. It came out in 1999, and was the definitive party album of the end of the millennium. It’s certainly better than Sea Change, an overrated, overwrought piece of mopey self-loathing crap that makes me want to slice my wrists every time I hear it. “Deep” does not equal “good” people.
Now, Midnight Vultures, this is an album that has a song with the lines “I think I’m going crazy/Her left eye is lazy/Nicotine and Gravy.” And let us not forget “Debra” a work of classless funk genius that would be played at weddings worldwide if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s, well, about a dude who wants to score with a girl and her sister (whose name may or may not be Debra).
All that wacky shit makes “Mixed Bizness,” a track that has the line “Make all the lesbians scream” seem kind of normal by comparison. Even though it’s a bit tamer than the other bits of insanity on Midnight Vultures, “Mixed Bizness” is still a killer tune, and these remixes, which I found on a weird 12″ promo single, are all excellent.
No Doubt
New (New Doubt Club Mix)
So I’ve been having a serendipitous week with the movie Go. On Sunday I watched the film eXistenZ, which feature a very brief appearance by Sarah Polley, who was in Go. Then immediately afterwards I watched Equillibrium, which has both Taye Diggs and William Fichtner, who were also in Go. Then I go to Jerry’s the following day and find this 12″ promo single, a song that was basically the theme song to Go. Weird. If Timothy Olyphant calls me asking if I want to buy some E I’m going to freak out.
The 12″ promo I snagged this from also has the “New & Approved Remix,” but that’s on No Doubt’s Everything In Time B-sides compilation, so I didn’t include it here.
I love this song, but don’t go hoping for some more No Doubt. I only like two other tracks by the group, “Ex-Girlfriend” and “Spiderwebs,” and I’m fairly certain neither got the remix treatment. So, you’re one your own if you’re looking for “Hella Good” remixes or something like that.
My take on Midnite Vultures is that it was intended to be a “get happy” alternative party soundtrack to the then-doomy atmosphere that was going on at the time of its release (due to the supposed millenial meltdown the world would experience at midnight of Jan. 1 2000). So it had an excessive New Years’ Eve kind of feel to it. At the time it came out I thought it was a 4-star album, though the only 3 tracks I really liked were Sexx Laws, Mixed Bizness & his ironic-Prince workout Debra. I actually listened to MV about a month ago, trying to figure out which of my old CD’s I wanted to rip to digital format. The only song I found rip-worthy was Sexx Laws (still a great Beck classic); the rest ran between mediocre and headache-inducing, and for some reason Debra seems unlistenable now (maybe because the irony of making fun of Prince is no longer as hip as it was in the actual year 1999). For me Mellow Gold is Beck’s all-time best, but I’m also partial to the officially unreleased “Banjo Story” from 1988. As an alt-folk comedian, there’s still no one who’s better.
“and if I had my time again, you all know just what I would do” …. Mott The Hoople, The Ballad of Mott the Hoople, mid 70’s. brings back very good memories. Mott, and Ian solo, sustained me and kept me satisfied until Talking Heads and The Clash finally invented themselves in the late 70’s. I miss the suits and the platform boots….never could wear them myself, though. not in Pittsburgh, anyway.