Archive for the ‘remixes’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

This post brought to you by a Sudafed Nyquil cocktail

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

And now it’s time for an obligatory “what’s going on with the mysterious and oft-delayed new website” update!

Things are actually coming along! I have a template that I am relatively happy with, and the site is fully-functional. Now I just have to get the hang of some small technical quirks, set up the plug-ins working right and get a few articles polished a bit and it should be ready to go! I was originally shooting for an April 2nd launch date, but as you can see, that didn’t happen. Now I’m thinking (for sure this time) that I’ll have the site up by the 16th at the absolute latest.

It’s going to be a weird, with a pretty wide range of topics being covered, but I hope you will all like it.

Now some remixes from bands whose names start with the letter ‘P’. That wasn’t planned, it just kind of worked out that way.

Primal Scream
Know Your Rights
96 Tears
My trip down the Primal Scream rabbit hole continues. I picked up Sreamadelica on the advice of many commenters here, and I freakin’ love it. Damn, what a great record. I’m happy I took a chance and splurged on the massive super deluxe edition. It was worth it to have all the bonus cuts, remixes and live stuff. And the box itself looks great. If you like that album and have the cash to spare, I recommend picking it up.

These cover tunes are both b-sides to the 12″ single for “Kowalski,” a track off of their 1997 record Vanishing Point, which I’m told served as a soundtrack to the 1971 film of the same name. I have to pick up that record next, I love that movie. People who come here are always recommending music to me, well let me recommend a film to you. Want to see a movie about a a speed junkie (in more ways than one) delivery driver who outruns the police on a cross country chase all while being guided by a psychic blind radio DJ? Then you need to see Vanishing Point. That shit is a trip.

Phoenix
If I Ever Feel Better (Todd Edwards’ Dub Better Remix)
If I Ever Feel Better, I’ll Go To The Disco (said The Buffalo Bunch)
Ugh, this song has been my theme song the past month. Two weeks ago I was hit with a brutal stomach flu that left me in a state I best not describe here, and then yesterday I was hammered with a strange head flu/cold thing that, while not totally kicking my ass, has made working a bit unpleasant.

It’s April! It’s to blame I tell you! Longtime readers may know already know this, but I’m cursed during the month of April. Laugh all you want, but when you get dumped, get fired, break a leg, suffer a horrible allergic reaction to antibiotics, break a rib and fall victim to a violent home invasion all in the month of April (not all in the same April though, that would have been fatal), then you start to take this shit a little more seriously.  Considering it took a record seven hours for this April to turn to shitl, I’m not holding out that this one is going to be a winner. If anything else happens to me I’m just going to bunker down in my office with a mountain of records to my left and a mountain of pizza to my right and ride it out (with a mountain of liquor in the middle).

Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, Phoenix! Yeah, they’re pretty great. I’m stoked for the new record. These are remixes are of a song off their first album, which I do not own but I hear lovely things about.

Posted in B-sides, Phoenix, Primal Scream, remixes | 1 Comment »

One Man and a Blog…Machine

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

Sorry for the lack of updates last week. Life got crazy for a bit, and I lost an entire day because I had to transfer all my music to my new computer. And yo, when you have about half a terabyte of MP3s that shit takes some serious time.

I got good stuff planned for this week though! Check it!

Norman Cook
For Spacious Lies
For Spacious Beats
The Invasion of The Estate Agents
For Spacious Ballad
Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim has gone by about a billion aliases (The Cheeky Boy, Sunny Side Up, Pizzaman, just to name a few) but this 1989 12″ single is one of the few to bear his actual name. It came out during a rather odd time in Cook’s career. He had left The Housemartins a few years before, but was still a year away from finding his first taste of success in the burgeoning dance scene as part of Beats International. He hasn’t yet found his “voice” as a producer/remixer/DJ, and it shows. The A-side “For Spacious Lies” is very generic by-the-numbers hip house, the kind of track made by someone looking to score with broad appeal. It’s rather boring.

Thankfully, Cook fared far better with the B-side “The Invasion of The Estate Agents.” It’s pretty much just the instrumental for Beats International’s cover of “Just Be Good To Me,”  an incredibly mellow bass groove with a Morricone sample built in. It works great, so great that Cook would later re-use the track as a the basis for his first hit single with Beats International, “Dub Be Good To Me.”

The Wee Papa Girls
Heat It Up (Adonis Chicago House Mix)
Heat It Up (Detroit House Mix)
Heat It Up (Extended Mix)
Heat It Up (Single Edit)
Heat It Up (Adonis House Instrumental)
The Wee Papa Girls are awesome. I already established this when I wrote about them before, first when discussing the Jive Presents Acid House LP, and then again when posting the Jive Presents In House album.

This time, however, they’re made even all the more awesome with the additional production and remix work by Two Men and a Drum Machine. Who are Two Men And a Drum Machine, you ask? Well, they would be a side project by Andy Cox and David Steele. You may not recognize those names, but you’ve surely heard their music before. In the early 80s they were part of the original line-up of The (English) Beat, the excellent ska act who gave up “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Save It For Later,” among other clasics. Then after that group broke up the duo met singer Roland Gift and formed Fine Young Cannibals, who had major smash hits with “She Drives Me Crazy” and “Good Thing.” (They also did the most shockingly brilliant cover of “Ever Fallen In Love” you’ll ever hear).

Their output as TWo Men and a Drum Machine is sadly sparse. The only track the duo released as Two Men And a Drum Machine was the 1988 single “Tired of Getting Pushed Around,” which is actually credited to “Two Men A Drum Machine and a Trumpet,” and this track by The Wee Papa Girls is their only production credit. It’s a shame, their work as Two Men and a Drum Machine was way more interesting and innovative than anything they put out as members of Fine Young Cannibals.

They definitely missed their calling as acid house/hip-hop producers. “Heat It Up” is a great track, of the stuff by The Wee Papa Girls that I’ve heard it’s clearly the best. The acid house production is tight, and the flow by the girls is great. How great? So great that The Beastie Boys swiped parts of it wholesale some 10 years later for their track “Alive.” Either that or both artists swiped from the same source material. If anyone out there knows of another track that features the same vocal hook, please tell me. Rap is so full of “homages” that sometimes it can be hard to tell who was the real originator and who was borrowing from who.

Posted in B-sides, Fatboy Slim, remixes, The Wee Papa Girls | 8 Comments »

I Want More! Industrial

Monday, March 18th, 2013

The records are piling up next to my computer again. Time for another marathon listening session I think. Those take…days.

I still haven’t made my way through all the records I bought while I was in Japan. I think part of my is subconsciously trying to postpone that inevitability as long as possible. As long as those records are next to my desk, waiting to be listened to, then I have a constant reminder of that trip and something to remind me of Japan everyday.

I miss Japan.

Sigh.

Anyways, good stuff this week I think. Should be sharing some really odd soundtracks and hopefully some oddball remixes as well. I’ve been trying to keep a pace of three posts a week going, but with two concerts (TMBG and Ash) this week, that might not hold up. We’ll see.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I sure had a shit Monday. Time for industrial music.

Nine Inch Nails
The Day The World Went Away (Porter Ricks)
I remember when the day the CD single for this song came out. It was the first release of new Nine Inch Nails in two years, and as a Reznor junkie I was pretty starved for new material. I got off work that day at 8pm and then drove directly to the mall to pick up a copy. I went into the local Suncoast and asked if the had it. I vividly remember the clerk saying, “Naw, so that mean’s ya’ll got about 20 minutes to walk down to the Camelot at the other end of the mall to see fif they got a copy.” So much nostalgia! CD singles coming out in America! (Multiple) record stores in malls! Ah, the 90s, those weren’t the days.

This weird remix wasn’t on the CD single I bought that day. This version was, and remains to this day, a vinyl only exclusive. One listen to it and I can tell why, this is a very experimental take on the track. Extremely minimal with barely a trace of Trent’s original vocals, with the entire “nah nah nah” but removed completely. It’s an interesting interpretation, that’s for sure.

Finitribe
I Want More (Row, Row, Row The Mix)
I Want More
Idiot Strength
Finitribe were an electronic act out of Scotland whose members at one time included influential industrial musician Chris Connelly. I don’t know if he’s on this song at all, all band credits are simply listed as “Finitribe.”

“I Want More” is a Can song, and this is a shockingly great cover of it. I never thought anyone would have been able to take a fairly minimal krautrock tune and remake it into a synthpop/industrial club banger. So good on them. “Idiot Strength” is an original tune and it’s also not half bad. I could totally see both of these tracks tearing up industrial dance clubs in the late 80s. Great Wax Trax! rarities.

 

Posted in Finitribe, NIN, remixes | 5 Comments »

Shonen Knife’s Super Mix of Superness

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

001

When I went to Japan to buy all the records, I wasn’t just buying for myself, I do have friends after all. One of  said friends is a pretty big Shonen Knife fan, so I made it a goal to pick up an LP or two by the group while I was there.

Turns out that Shonen Knife vinyl is pretty damned hard to find in Japan. They’re not the most popular group in the country by any means, but their records are kind of like David Bowie or Pink Floyd albums are here; the people who buy them don’t sell them back.

In all my shopping across the great city of Tokyo, in all the dozens of stores I explored and all the hundreds of crates I dug through, I was only able to find one Shonen Knife LP, Super Mix. By the time I found it I was nearing the end of my trip, so I pretty much just bought it without paying attention to what it really was. I was just happy to finally find a record by them.

Turns out it’s a remix LP. That’s fine for me (I don’t know if ya’ll noticed, but I like remixes), but my friend is decidedly not an electronic dance music fan. She’s a rawker. So while I think she appreciates the sentiment, this one is more of a cool little souvenir for her than an album she’s going to spin again anytime soon. Thankfully I also found some weird Pearl Jam bootlegs when I was in Japan as well (at a Tower Records no less!) so at least she got something rad to listen to.

As for the Shonen Knife album, I hope you all enjoy it more than she does.

Much like the Lupin albums I posted earlier this month, I’m going to list this one track by track, with some information on the remixers (when available).

Shonen Knife (Remix by Keigo Oyamada)
Oyamada is better known as Cornelius, a very influential electronic musician whose career has spanned nearly 20 years now. He wrote music for the soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and he done remixes for artists such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Yoko Ono.

He also named himself after a character from Planet Of The Apes and did the same to his son, Milo. So I think it’s safe to say that he is…moderately weird. Also, if this remix is any indication, he’s also pretty great.

Parrot Polynesia (Remix by Keiichi Sokabe)
While not as crazy prolific as Cornelius, Sokabe is a dude who also gets around it would seem. He was in an influential 90s Japanese rock group called Sunny Day Service, and since then he’s released a few solo records, collaborated with other musicians and even started his own record label. You can find out more about him here. This is his only credited remix on Discogs, which is a shame. This is a great re-working of a great track, he transforms it entirely into a pretty hectic and frantic drum and bass track to surprising effect. Love this.

Cannibal Papaya (Remix by Thurston Moore)
Fucking Thurston Moore…

Okay, look, I really like Thurston Moore. How couldn’t I? Sonic Youth? Awesome. Daydream Nation? Top five album of the 80s.

All that being said, Moore is a pioneering musician in the genre of noise, experimental and no wave rock music, three genres that don’t exactly leap to my mind when I think “remix.”

Now, to his credit, I haven’t heard many remixes by Moore, the only that come to mind are this one and a remix of Blur’s “Essex Dogs” that appeared on their 2CD set Bustin’ + Dronin.’ Maybe he knows he’s a dogshit remixer and tries not to take that much remix work. Or maybe everyone else realized he was a dogshit remixer and they stopped giving him remix work. Regardless, he’s a dogshit remixer.

No doubt he was given the chance to do this mix simply because he was always a vocal proponent of Shonen Knife, and was in no small part responsible for them getting a record deal in the states. That’s awesome of him. And I’m glad he did it. But him doing this remix as a sign of respect for the group would be like you showing this blog to your friends and me thanking you by breaking your legs. Urgh.

Dog. Shit.

Tortoise Brand (Remix by Shonen Knife)
If you don’t know who Shonen Knife is then I don’t know how you got this far into this blog post. This is a cute mix.

Elephant Pao Pao (Remix by Takkyu Ishino)
Takkyu Ishino is the lead singer of Denki Groove, an incredibly prolific Japanese dance/pop group who sound like the lovechild of YMO, Kraftwerk, and half the music that came out in the 1980s. I found out about them through this remix and now I really want to hear more of their music. Everything I’ve checked out on YouTube has been great. This is also a great remix, very glitch and trippy.

Insect Collector (Remix by Ryuichi Sakamoto)
If you read this blog on a semi-regular basis then you should know who Ryuichi Sakamoto is. I’ve talked about him before (several times over in fact). Not surprisingly, this is the best remix on the album. It’s very reminiscent of YMO’s more recent stuff, minimal with a hint of dance flavor behind it.

Burning Farm/Banana Leaf (Remix by Moichi Kuwahara)
I couldn’t find much on this person. Apparently he/she is in Snakeman Show, the comedy group who appear on a few YMO releases. In addition to that, Kuwahara is also credited on Discogs as a producer of a few YMO cover records, and as a remixer on a YMO remix album. After that I got nothing. Anyone who knows anything else, please fill me in.

Cool remix though, very ambient.

Twist Barbie (Remix by Roger Manning)
Roger Manning’s full name is Roger Jospeh Manning Jr., I know this because I actually own some of this dude’s music. First and foremost, he was in Jellyfish, a power-pop band from the 90s that has a crazy cult following. From there, he formed The Moog Cookbook, a covers act who played pop songs on the Moog. I have one of their records (it’s alright). Then in 2000 he teamed up with film composer Brian Reitzell to create a soundtrack to an imaginary sequel to Logan’s Run called Logan’s Sanctuary. I have that record (it’s quite weird).

Since then he’s put out three solo albums, the latest coming in 2009. Since power pop is bigger in Japan than it is in the states, I’m going to assume that his work in Jellyfish got him this remix. It’s a good mix, although he really doesn’t do much to it aside from adding some various vocal and sound effects.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it I guess.

Posted in Complete Albums, remixes, Shonen Knife | 1 Comment »

These Daft Punk Remixes are Neither Hot nor New

Monday, March 11th, 2013

I think I’m honestly starting to make some headway on my other, oft-delayed website. I should have some updates soon. Moving everything off of Nearly Free Speech (scam server site) took a lot of time and set everything back. Now that things are back on track I should be able to get that going sooner rather than later. My goal is to launch by April. Let’s see how that works out. Here’s hoping.

Primal Scream
When Thy Kingdom Comes
Okay, I own five Primal Scream singles and no Primal Scream albums. It’s time for me to jump in! Recommend an album I should start with: GO!

Oh, and this is a B-side from the “Accelerator” 12″ single, in case you were wondering.

Renegade Soundwave
Cocaine Sex (Sub-Aqua Overdrive Dub)
Cocaine Sex (Turbo Lust Mix)
People (mainly British) seem to dig it when I post Renegade Soundwave tracks. These are for them, not for me. While I’ve just recently discovered RS, and loved most of what I’ve heard, I fucking hate this song. It’s, quite frankly, kind of gross, and not good enough to earn it in my opinion. But hey, if you love it, go at it and enjoy!

Daft Punk
Prime Time Of Your Life (Para One Remix)
The Brainwasher (Erol Alkan’s Horrohouse Dub)
It seems that everyone is going crazy for new Daft Punk. The hype is reaching such ludicrous levels that the group even put out a 15 second ad that aired during SNL a couple weeks ago. That’s insane! How the hell did Daft Punk’s next album suddenly become the most anticipated record in all of music? Was it just because of a process of elimination? Did the music press have to find a new “OMG where is it?” release after My Bloody Valentine and Godspeed! You Black Emperor finally released new records (and after everything supposedly associated with Dr. Dre’s long-delayed Detox has sucked)?

I just don’t get it. These are the same people who were underwhelmed by the group’s soundtrack to Tron Legacy; the same circle of critics and hipster assholes who dismissed Human After All completely because it had the gall to be an electronic dance album and not another dance/pop hybrid like Homework. Where did this idolization come from?

Maybe its an ‘absence makes the critic get softer’ thing, it’s been years since Human After All, and even the most harsh critic of Tron Legacy could write off that supposed misstep as it being a soundtrack to a mainstream Disney film, and therefore somewhat forgivable for not meeting their lofty standards. Perhaps all these critics, in Daft Punk’s extended hiatus, have made the group out to be something they aren’t, a savior of the bigger-than-ever/shallower-than-ever electronic dance music scene, a group that might bring a resurgence in “Intelligent Dance Music” or “electronica” style dance music of the mid-90s. Now I almost want Daft Punk’s album to be a disappointment (for those looking for another crossover record anyways) just so I can see all those jerks get all bummed out.

But  whatever. I’m just stoked for more Daft Punk. Wet your appetite with these remixes from a 12″ single.

Posted in B-sides, Daft Punk, Primal Scream, remixes, Renegade Soundwave | 11 Comments »

What Have You Done To Deserve These Remixes?

Monday, March 4th, 2013

I have written so much about these three artists that I literally have nothing else to day about them other than that I think they’re rad and that these remixes are equally rad so you should download them.

Pet Shop Boys
Rent (The Francois Kervorkian Remix)
What Have I Done To Deserve This? (Dub Mix)
First of all, the official title of the 12″ single that I got this from is “What Have I Done To Deserve This/Rent.” I totally read that as “What have I done to deserve this rent?” which is something I often thought before I bought a house. Now you can just replace the word “rent” with “mortgage” and really nothing has changed.

Okay, now for some comments on the actual music. The “Francois Kevorkian Remix” of “Rent” is in my opinion the definitive version of the song. Kevorkian transforms the once brief three-minute pop number into a seven-minute epic, but he adds relatively little to the song’s already sparse sound. He just stretches it out with some added breakdowns and instrumentals, and that somehow makes the already sad tale of a loveless relationship even more heart-wrenching. Amazing work.

Kevorkian is a legendary remixer by the way. That awesome mix I put up of “Lips Like Sugar?” That was him. I’ve also shared his mixes of Depeche Mode, Erasure and Gus Gus songs. Dude is prolific.

Madonna
Sorry (PSB Maxi-Mix)
Sorry (Paul Oakenfold Remix)
Sorry (Green Velvet Extended Remix)
What It Feels Like For A Girl (Above And Beyond 12″ Club)
What It Feels Like For A Girl (Paul Oakenfold Perfecto Mix)
Some of these mixes are on Amazon/iTunes, but they’re “remix edits” and not the full uncut versions. Because someone is stupid and didn’t realize that if a fan is going to shell out $5 for a remix EP then they probably want the full uncut versions and not shortened edits. Isn’t that why people listen to remixes in the first place?

Anyways, in case you can’t figure it out, the PSB in “PSB Maxi-Mix” is Pet Shop Boys, so I got some nice accidental consistency with tonight’s post (aside from the typical “songs you’d hear in the best gay club ever” consistency that I have whenever I post dance music). Also, the best mix of this bunch is the “Green Velvet Extended Remix” because it basically takes “Sorry” and transforms it into a 90s acid house track. That’s the kind of shit I can get behind.

Erasure
Who Needs Love Like That (Mexican Mix)
Push Me Shove Me (Tacos Mix)
Love a 12″ single that has remixes with themed titles. Of course, there is nothing Mexican, mariachi, salsa, or otherwise Latino about these mixes. The “Mexican Mix” of “Who Needs Love Like That” is just an extended mix with some very slight alterations, and the “Tacos Mix” of “Push Me Shove Me” is…well…to be honest I don’t know how it’s different because I’m a bad Erasure fan and I don’t own Wonderland. I own 46 Erasure singles, but only half of their proper albums. Sometimes I’m weird.

Posted in Erasure, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, remixes | 4 Comments »

Punch The Monkey! Lupin The 3rd Remixes, Part 2!

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

More Lupin remixes! I hope someone likes these. I feel like I’m going super specific here.

These are all taken from Punch That Monkey 2! The second of a three-part series that came out in 1999 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Lupin The 3rd, the popular anime/manga series. I wrote about the series already, so I’m just going to cut to the chase this time.

And in case anyone was wondering, the albums are called Punch The Monkey because the creator of Lupin goes by the pen name of Monkey Punch.

I have no idea why.

Yuji Ohno
Lupin The 3rd ’78 (Afro Rock Theme~Douchatta No Lupin Mix)
Yuji Ohno was the composer for the second Lupin series, which first aired on Japanese television in 1977. He also did the music for the Miyazaki-directed Lupin film The Castle of Cagliostro, an excellent animated flick if there ever was one. This remix is by Yoshihiro Sawasaki, who has been releasing music in Japan since 1994, either under his own name or under various others, my favorite being Doctor YS & The Cosmic Drunkards. His music seems to run the gamut from acid breaks to minimal to straight-up dance, and everything I’ve heard I’ve dug. I really have to start getting into more Japanese electronic music…

Kazuya Senka/Yuji Ohno
Theme From Lupin The 3rd~Theme From Lupin “E” (Vocal Version)
A full vocal mix of the original theme music, with some light jazzy instrumental instrumentation thrown in for good measure. Nearly all the guitars are removed, and replaced with some incredibly laid-back keyboard work. I have no idea who Kazuya Senka is, so if anyone wants to fill me in, please do.

This remix is by ECD, a hip-hop act who I believe is Yoshinori Ishida, or Ishida with another person. Judging from the quantity of stuff he has on YouTube, it would appear he’s still going strong, and has quite the following. also Japanese hip-hop is crazy.

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
Lupin The 3rd ’78
Great name for a band, and very accurate, as they are massive ska group with over 10 members. These guys have been around for over 20 years now, and continue to release new music. If their Wikipedia is any indication, they also tend to go through members like Def Leppard and Lynyrd skynyrd combined, unfortunately.

Takeo Yamashita
Theme From Lupin The 3rd II (Readymade All That Jazz Mix)
Theme From Lupin The 3rd 3
Theme From Lupin The 3rd (Akakage’s Happy Set)
Takeo Yamashita was a composer of various live-action and anime shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He composed the original Lupin The 3rd theme song for the original series, and he also wrote the music for Giant Robo, the live-action version of the series that Americans know as Gigangtor. (He didn’t, however, write the awesome Gigantor song.)

All three of these remixes are by different people. The first is by Yasuharu Konishi of Pizzacato Five fame (he contributed a mix to the other Lupin compilation I put up). It’s crazy, and I love every minute of it, even if it barely resembles the original song.

The second track has no remix name, but it is indeed a remix, and was done by someone from the Japanese group Polysics. They’ve been described by others a Japanese Devo, and that’s pretty accurate. So, imagine the Lupin theme remixed by Devo, that’s what this sounds like. In other words, it sounds pretty rad. It actually sounds strikingly similar to Devo’s cover of “Working In A Coal Mine” in some parts, I don’t know if that was intentional or not. I hope it was.

The last mix is by an act called Akakage. According to Discogs, it used to be a duo, but most of their later stuff was credited only to a single person; Yoichiro Ito. From what I’ve heard of him, he really really likes Fatboy Slim. But hey, I really really like Fatboy Slim, so I’m not going to knock him for it.

Yoshihiko Katori Jazz Orchestra
Lupin The 3rd ’78 Theme (Melting Version)
I have no idea who these people are. Sorry.

Kanaho Maki/Yuji Ohno
Love Squall (Pansasa Love Anthem Mix)
Love Squall -M&M Bossa Bass Space
I know nothing about Kanaho Maki, tried my best, couldn’t find anything. Ditto for Pandart Sasanooha,  who is credited  for the “Pansasa Love Anthem Mix.”

The second mix is by Monday Michiru, an artist I had actually heard of before buying this compilation. Her music goes all over the place, from jazz and electronic to R&B and pop. Apparently she’s a big deal in Japan. As you might have been able to guess from the remix title, this mix has a strong bassa nova vibe to it.

The Ventures
Lupin The 3rd ’78
Yes, The Ventures. Yes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, best-selling instrumental rock group of all time Ventures. How did this happen?

Well, apparently The Ventures are HUGE in Japan. Seriously, at their peak popularity in Japan they allegedly outsold The Beatles. I honestly think the phrase “big in Japan” was created in part because of their massive success there. Shit, they should totally cover that Alphaville song. This is a straight-up cover of the original theme, no remixing, no electronic add-ons, and no vocals (it is The Ventures after all). It’s really, really good. They should have totally rocked this at the Rock And Roll Hallf Of Fame induction concert and blown everyone’s mind.

 

Posted in Anime, Complete Albums, remixes, soundtrack | 2 Comments »

Prince’s Madhouse is full of Bunnymen

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

I finally got all the records from Japan and China cleaned and I’m intent on plowing through them as fast as possible. If I listen to as many as possible for seven days a week, I think I might be done by 2014.

Did I mention I bought a lot of records in Japan?

Ironically, none of tonight’s music is from those records.

Madhouse
6
6 (End Of The World Mix)
6 and 1/2
I’ve written about Prince “associate” acts before. A while ago I did a quick post about The Family, a band that was pretty much just Prince save for a different vocalist (and even that’s debatable). Then a few months ago I posted a tune by Mazarati, a band that was more independent than other Prince associates, but was still heavily guided and controlled by The Purple One.

Madhouse is another Prince associate act, albeit not as well known as those groups or others like The Time. That’s probably because while those acts were just extensions of Prince’s already successful funk/pop sound, Madhouse was an entirely instrumental jazz act with some funk influences. That’s not the kind of act that sells records.

Madhouse released just two albums, both of which came out in 1987. The first, called 8, was pretty much nothing but Prince, with longtime Prince collaborator Eric Leeds contributing some sax and flute parts. The second album, called 16, was more of a group effort, and featured Shelia E on drums and another longtime Prince associate, Levi Seacer, Jr. on bass.

Apparently there were at least two other Madhouse albums recorded, both called 24, but neither have ever seen the light of day (a common story when discussing Prince). Bootlegs are out there though, for those who are interested.

(By the way, all of this is “alleged” I have found no proof documenting any of this, and all the articles I can find online about Madhouse are completely without credible citation.)

I’m going to be honest, I bought this 12″ single just because I knew it was Prince. I really have no interest in jazz fusion, and while I like these tracks, especially the remix, nothing on here really changed my mind. It’s a catchy tune, with an obvious Prince/funk edge, but I’d be lying if I found it especially memorable. Still, I think this kind of thing, a top-secret song by a super-famous artist, is fascinating, and it’s worth hearing once if for that reason alone.

Echo And The Bunnymen
Lips Like Sugar (12″ Mix)
Lips Like Sugar (Dub Version)
I think that “Lips Like Sugar” is Echo And The Bunnymen’s best song. A lot of people disagree with me, but a lot of people can go to hell. I could dance to this song till my feet fell off, and I’m a sucker for a good new wave love ballad. So you all can take your “The Cutter” and “The Killing Moon” suggestions and cram it. Yes, they’re great songs, but they’ll never hold a candle to this one for me.

The 12″ Mix is nearly seven-minutes long, and since we’ve already established that I could listen to this song all day and all night, I’m a fan of this extended mix. Shit, I wish it was even longer. The dub mix is a dub mix, and I’m including it for the sake of being a completionist.

The 12″ single from which I took these songs had two additional tracks. One was the single mix of the song, and the other was the b-side “Rollercoaster.” Both of these are available on the still in-print Echo box set Crystal Days, and I highly recommend you pick that up. Not only for those tracks (“Rollercoaster” is the secret best Echo And The Bunnymen track!) but for additional great rarities, including a haunting nine-minute version of “The Killing Moon” (woot!) and an awesome live cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Heroin.”

Posted in B-sides, Echo and the Bunnymen, Prince, remixes | 2 Comments »

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 »

They Might Be Sakamoto

Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

I finally went through and cleaned the rest of the records I bought when I was in Tokyo, as well as everything that wasn’t cleaned before I went…as well as the stuff I’ve bought since I returned to the states.

It took me four hours.

Seriously. I was able to watch the first two Fast & Furious films in the time it took me to clean all the damn things.

So, yeah, I guess I really did buy a lot of records when I was in Asia. So many records! They’re surrounding me! I feel like a hoarder, except, y’know, not as insane or on TLC.

The prospect of listening to/recording all of them would overwhelm me if I wasn’t looking forward to it so much. Although to be honest, now that I see my pile of Japanese anime soundtracks next to my turntable, I’m starting to question the level of restraint (or lack there of) that I had while in Japan. Oh well! I bought those Gundam soundtracks and dammit I’m going to listen to them! I might even share them with you all.

Also, look forward to Kraftwerk. Holy shit. So much Kraftwerk. And Leftfield, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Primal Scream, Erasure…you know what? I’m just going to stop now. I want to leave some surprises. I’ll just say that I think I got the next few months, if not year, of The Lost Turntable covered now, and it’s going to be full of some really amazing shit.

Speaking of amazing shit. Yo, check this shit out.

001

Ryuichi Sakamoto (with Thomas Dolby)
Field Work (London Mix)
Field Work (Tokyo Mix)
Exhibition
I’ve begun to slowly dig into the Sakamoto back catalog. Right now I want all of it, but I suppose that’ll stop once after I accidentally buy one of his classical or more jazz-influenced records. I’m sure all that stuff is excellent for what it is, but I’ll pass.

As for these tracks, they are from a 12″ single. The original version of “Field Work” first appeared on the Western version of Sakamoto’s 1986 album Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia (an abridged and re-edited version of a Japanese only release that first came out in 1984). Dolby fans, however, probably didn’t discover the track until the 2009 re-release of his 1984 album The Flat Earth, which also included soundtrack rarities “Don’t Turn Away” and “The Devil Is An Englishman.”

The version of “Field Work” on The Flat Earth re-issue is labeled as the “London Mix” but it is actually an abridged version of that mix. The proper version runs at about six minutes in length, while the version on the album is only four minutes long. The Tokyo Mix, as far as I can tell, has never been released on CD in any form, and that’s a real shame because I think its the better of the two mixes.

Also rare to my knowledge is “Exhibition.” Dolby is nowhere to be found on this track, and its certainly not a radio-friendly pop number. Instead it’s a 15 minute ambient soundscape with no beats, no melody and no motifs outside of a constant, looping set of beeps and bloops. It’s kind of like something you might find on The KLF’s White Room album, or maybe on an Orb b-side. Not for everyone, but I find it relaxing and oddly enough, a great track to write to. I’ve certainly heard worse Sakamoto, I bought his disco album. It’s…something.

They Might Be Giants
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (Brownsville Mix)
Stormy Pinkness
Chalk up TMBG as another band who seemed to be doing their damnedest to make sure their fans have easy access to all of their b-sides and other rarities. Like I said before, I wish all bands would do that, even if it makes my job of finding out-of-print and hard-to-find stuff all the more difficult.

Still, it looks like at least a couple of b-sides slipped through the band’s re-releasing machine. I found these two oddities on the 12″ single for “Istanbul (Not Constantiople),” which also had “James K. Polk” and “Ant,” two songs that have made their ways onto proper TMBG releases.

The remix of “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” is one of the strangest TMBG compositions I’ve ever heard, and if you know anything about the group, that’s really saying something.. The TMBG wiki states that it contains a sample of Kraftwerk’s “The Robots” as well as an unidentified Janet Jackson sample. I couldn’t make that out, but I wouldn’t doubt it. The vocal samples at the beginning of the track are even weirder. What the hell is a white tornado?

“Stormy Pinkness” is weird, but it’s also pretty short (about a minute) and there’s not much to it. So I really don’t have anything to say about that one. I’m glad I found it though.

Posted in B-sides, remixes, Ryuichi Sakamoto, They Might Be Giants, Thomas Dolby | 14 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »