Archive for the ‘Brian Eno’ Category

Video game music plagiarism, Kraftwerk and Brian Eno

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

Okay, am I insane, or does part of the  music in this game sound totally like Shelia E’s “Glamorous Life”?

The shit you find working at a used game store…

Kraftwerk
Radioactivity (Francois Kevorkian Remix)
Radioactivity (William Orbit Hardcore Mix)
Radioactivity (William Orbit Remix)
My Kraftwerk obsession is getting dangerous. Earlier this year I paid the most I ever paid for a record when I snagged a copy of their entirely out-of-print third album (which I’m going to write about on the new site…which is coming I promise). Then when I went to Japan I paid far too much for a Japanese pressing of The Man Machine, as well as some 12″ singles of “Expo 2000.” Then just last week I bought the German editions of The Man Machine and Computer World, which has led me on a journey to buy the German pressings of Radio-Activity and Trans Europe Express as well.

I already own The Catalog box set that came out a few years ago, but I’m always nervous that I’m going to cave and buy Der Katalog, the same box set but with the German editions of the albums. Even worse, someone has the black box copy of it on Discogs right now! It’s crazy expensive! There’s nothing different about it aside from the fact that the box is black! But I want it! Someone slap some sense into me!

So yeah…I like Kraftwerk. These are some pretty great remixes that I found from a 12″ single that I picked up a few weeks back. The hardcore mix is shockingly hardcore, and pretty rad.

Brian Eno
Fractal Zoom (Up River Mix)
Fractal Zoom (Naive Mix II)
Fractal Zoom (Separate Time Mix)
Fractal Zoom (Mary’s Birthday Mix)
Fractal Zoom (Small Country Mix)
Fractal Zoom (A Cappella)
This is a Brian Eno song, but I don’t really have much to say about Brian Eno. Instead, I want to talk about Robert Fripp. He plays guitar on this this track as well as several other songs on Nerve Net, the album from which the original version of this song is from.

I’m a latecomer to the wonderful world of Robert Fripp, having only recently got into King Crimson and the more ambient experimental work that he did with Eno back in the 70s. However, after looking into the diverse discography of Fripp, I guess it would be more accurate to say that I’m a latecomer to being consciously aware of Robert Fripp. I’ve been unknowingly listening to his guitar work for most of my life.

While what I’m going to say probably isn’t a shock to most fans of the guitarist, it was a shock to me: Robert Fripp, is like, everywhere. Own one of Peter Gabriel’s early solo records? Fripp is probably on that. How about Bowie’s Heroes or Scary Monsters? Fripp plays on those. Like The Talking Heads or Blondie? So did Fripp, he turns up on some of their records. He’s been married to Toyah Wilcox forever, so you can bet he shows up on her albums from time to time. He dropped in on The Future Sound Of London’s ISDN; he’s on a live Stranglers record; he’s done some stuff with David Sylvian of Japan; and he’s worked with electronic artists like The Orb. Shit, the dude even co-wrote and produced some tracks on a fucking Daryl Hall album. And guess what? It’s a really good record!

Robert Fripp is the Kevin Bacon of guitarists. He’s everywhere and has worked with such a bizarre variety of musicians, that I bet you could tie anyone to him in six steps or less. For example, through this song along you can tie him not only to Brian Eno (who himself has worked with a billion or so different artists), but Moby as well, since he’s credited for most of these remixes. Between those two alone you can probably connect Fripp to nearly every popular artist from the last 30 or so years. And that’s just from one song.

Now, it would be really impressive if someone could tie Robert Fripp to Kevin Bacon’s band The Bacon Brothers in six steps or less. Anyone up for that challenge?

Posted in Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, remixes | 13 Comments »

Religion and Cheerleading Go Great Together

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Tonight, I start with some controversial, classy “arty” music and end with…well..the opposite of that.

Brian Eno & David Byrne
Qu’ran
Okay, I’m going to tread lightly here.

In 1981 Brian Eno and David Bryne released My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts. It was their first album together, and was one of the very first albums to incorporate sampling, albeit in a very unusual way. The samples on My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts aren’t taken from records of popular music like most samples today. Instead, the samples are from obscure sources, such as the ramblings of a radio host or from found audio of an exorcism. The samples are then layered over creative beats and other musical creations by the two greats of art-rock.

Today it sounds a bit dated, kind of like early Art Of Noise, but it’s a great record and still worth picking up, even it doesn’t sound as revolutionary now as it did when it first came out.

But if you buy it today, the version you pick up will not have this track. This song, which features Algerian chants of the Qu’ran, angered some Islamic group in England, so Byrne and Eno pulled the song from all subsequent versions of the record.

I’m not going to rant about whether or not I think such a move is stupid. Readers of this blog can probably figure out my stance on such an issue, and I’m too tired to discuss it without probably sounding like a xenophobic idiot. I’m just going to say that I think “Qu”ran” is a beautiful track and worth listening to, even if others beg to differ.

I hope you enjoy it.

Tom Tom Club
On, On, On, On… (Remixed Version)
David Byrne was, of course, the lead singer of Talking Heads. The Tom Tom Club features both Tina Weymouth and her husband Chris Frantz, who were also in Talking Heads. So that means the only person from Talking Heads not featured in tonight’s post is Jerry Harrison. Sorry, I don’t have any rare Modern Lovers tracks.

Tom Tom Club is a classic example of a band that I have mixed feelings about. Yes, they gave us both “Genius of Love” and “Wordy Rappinghood,” but they also brought upon humanity “The Man With The Four Way Hips”, a song I find so goddamn annoying that I’d rather rip out my own teeth and shove them in my ears than hear it again. This track falls somewhere in the middle. It’s not a classic, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t make me want to inflict dental harm on myself, so it’s not that bad. This version is a B-side to the 12″ single of “Under The Boardwalk.”

Toni Basil
Mickey (Special Club Mix)
Okay, so here’s how this happened.

I was going to post some Pet Shop Boys remixes, then I found out that they weren’t rare at all.

The next track on my list was a Peter Gabriel B-side I recorded a while a go, but I found out my recording has a skip in it that I have to fix.

The back-up to my back-up was the 12″ remix of Freur’s “Doot-Doot”, but it turns out that even that song has been re-released on CD and iTunes.

Which brings us here, a 12″ remix of Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” a song that is now stuck in your head, even if you have chosen not to download it (sorry about that.) This club mix is an extended mix in the classic sense, and not a drastic remix. In fact, it’s pretty much the exact same song with about two dozen refrains of “Hey Mickey!” thrown in to pad it out. So hey, if you’ve ever listened to this song and thought, “Geez, I wish this song was two minutes longer!” then you’re in fucking luck tonight! Rock out with your pom-pons out!

Posted in Brian Eno, David Byrne, Tom Tom Club, Toni Basil | 1 Comment »

Snow and Tape Delayed

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Hey look, it’s music from a weird soundtrack! Awesome, right?

Married To The Mob Motion Picture Soundtrack
Married To The Mob was a 1988 film directed by Johnathan Demme, who is probably best known for his 1991 film The Silence of The Lambs. Dude has good musical pedigree though, he directed the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense in 1984 and the video New Order’s “The Perfect Kiss”. He also directed Caged Heat, the seminal women in prison film! That’s right, the dude who gave us Philadelphia and Beloved also gave us Caged Heat. God bless you Roger Corman.

This is not the complete soundtrack. I am excluding “Jump In The River” by Sinead O’Connor and “Too Far Gone” by The Feelies as both those tracks are easily available on albums released by both artists. A version of “Bizarre Love Triangle” is also on the soundtrack, but I’m 90 percent sure it’s the 7” version, which if you really want you can get on iTunes (although I don’t see the point, the 12” version is so much better).

Chris Isaak – Suspicion of Love
As far as Chris Isaak songs go this is a pretty good track. I am not a very big fan of the dude.

Debbie Harry – Liar, Liar
The Castaways, a 60s garage rock band, did this song originally, but Debbie Harry’s version kicks ass. It’s very punk, and sounds like she’s channeling the The Ramones with it’s blitzing energy. It blows the original out of the water, although this…spirited performance…by them is pretty impressive.

Ziggy Marley and The Wailers – Time Bums
I’m not a fan of reggae so I will say nothing about this one. Not bad but not my thing.

Tom Tom Club – Devil Does Your Dog Bite?
Ah, Tom Tom Club, are you capable of creating a song that I just like? Either you craft pop masterpieces like Wordy Rappinghood or Genius of Love or songs that grate on my very last nerve like “Man With The Four Way Hips” or this.

Q Lazzarus – Goodbye Horses
Ah yes, Goodbye Horses, one of the most memorable, and rarest tracks of the 80s. I’ve posted this track before, but never this version, which is the shortest available I believe. So if you want your “tuck” mental pictures in and out as quick as possible this is the take for you.

The Voodooist Corporation – Queen of Voudou
Okay, a few questions on this one. Firstly, what language are these guys singing in? Secondly, who are these guys? I can find NOTHING on this group and as far as I can tell this was their only release ever. It’s not a bad song, really rhythm heavy. I have no idea why they decided to spell voodoo “voudou” so any tips on that would help as well. So many questions…

Brian Eno – You Don’t Miss Your Water
And the album closes with another cover, this one was originally a Stax track by William Bell. I’m not familiar with the original version aside from just looking it up on YouTube 10 minutes ago, but I enjoy this version as well, synthpop meets classic soul. Synth-soul. Hey, someone should jump on that shit.

Posted in Brian Eno, Chris Isaak, Debbie Harry, Q Lazzarus, soundtrack, Tom Tom Club, Voodooist Corporation | 6 Comments »