Excellent Dance Songs By Bands You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

January 17th, 2014

In today’s adventures in Japanese television, I’m watching what I think is a Behind The Music type program about some horrible trauma that a celebrity Japanese fitness instructor went through. I think. It’s just cut together scenes of this woman dancing, then answering the phone, and then crying uncontrollably. But yo, her abs look great.

Tokyo life has been treating me very well for those who are wondering. I have decided to re-work my other site, Mostly-Retro, into a more personal blog that will focus on my life in Japan, so if you’re interested in that part of my life/Japan in general, I would suggest you bookmark that site.

If you like really rad dance tunes, then I suggest you keep reading this site right now.

Dinosaur
Kiss Me Again (Edit)
Kiss Me Again
Dinosaur was one of the many aliases of Arthur Russell, a prolific musician who was involved with the new wave/punk/minimalist/classical/disco scenes in NYC during the late 70s and early 80s. And in case you couldn’t tell from that exceptionally-hyphenated description, he was one multi-talented mofo.

While he didn’t release much during his life (Russell sadly died from AIDS-related compilations in the early 90s) he’s amassed quite the cult following in the years following his death, with several posthumous albums seeing release in the early 2000s.

Strangely enough, however, none of them seem to have either versions of this song, one of the first tracks that Russell commercially released. If they do, they’re long out of print, because I can’t find it anywhere outside of the 12″ single I bought a few years back. Damn shame too, because it’s a magnificent disco tune, a funky upbeat groovy jam that incorporates the best of leftfield disco and the late-70s dance sound that would eventually evolve into 80s house music. It even has a few elements of minimalism and new wave with its repetitive and hypnotic rhythms. I really dig it, a lot more than some of the other stuff by him I’ve sought out. You might want to check out the “Edit” version first though, as the 13-minute extended cut is a lot to take in.

The Fever
Ladyfingers (Krushed Glass Remix)
Glamorous Life
Glamorous Life (Fake Fur Remix)
Glamorous Life (Deepwood Remix)
Also ran NYC post-punk revival act who tried to re-invent themselves with an ambitious second album and failed. Not a bad group though, and they have a few decent songs. Of all the tracks of theirs I’ve heard, however, I love their cover of “Glamorous Life” the most because Shelia E. is the bomb. Expect a repost of remixes of the original version in a few days/weeks.

Kinky Go
Gimme The Love (Vocal Version)
Gimme The Love (Radio Version)
Gimme The Love (Instrumental)
You probably have no idea who Kinky Go is, and yo I’m right there with you. I love his falsetto on this track though. This is totally the best Erasure track Erasure never recorded. Italian disco at its finest (I think he’s Italian, even if he’s not I stand by that claim).

Posted in Arthur Russell, B-sides, Kinky Go, remixes, The Fever | 1 Comment »

Writing About Big Country While In A Small Country

January 9th, 2014

This Japanese medical drama I’m watching is hella intense. I think the star dude has to make a decision about which patient to save with the limited time and resources he has available. Of course, with the amount of time the dude is being all emo about it he could probably save them both ten times over, but hey where’s the drama in that?

Oh yeah, by the way I’m totally in Japan now! Woot! It’s crazy! I got my apartment and my immigration papers in order. Tomorrow I start processing at my new job! So much change in so little time! It’s like woah.

As I said before, I’m going to be way too busy to rip and write about newly discovered music, so here’s the first in what will probably be a long series of “best of” posts. In many cases the songs will be re-recorded and will sound better than the original versions I put up months or even years ago. So if even if you have downloaded the songs in these posts, I suggest downloading them again because they might sound better!

That being said, I’m pretty sure almost all of these tracks are just re-uploads of original rips that sounded fine in the first place.

Big Country
East Of Eden (Extended Version)
Fields Of Fire (Alternate Mix)
Giant
Wonderland (Extended Version)
In a Big Country (Live)
In A Big Country (Pure Mix)
Look Away (Outlaw Mix)
Look Away (12″ Mix)
One Great Thing (Big Baad Country Mix)
One Great Thing (Boston Mix)
Teacher (Mystery Mix)
Seriously, this Japanese medical show is intense. Dude did a tracheotomy on someone with a pair of diaper pins. That shit was hardcore.

These aren’t all the Big Country tracks I’ve posted over the years but they are A: my favorites and B: the ones that didn’t’ sound like total garbage. My plan was to re-record all of my Big Country tracks, but I just go so swamped with bullshit in the last few weeks before I headed out that I got swamped and couldn’t get it done. Sad, but not as sad as the fact that I couldn’t re-record ANY of my Erasure tracks – a real tragedy since most of those sound like steaming shit.

Okay, now  I just saw a commercial where a woman made a bento box of a walrus.

Japanese TV is really distracting.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who has wished me luck in this crazy journey! It really meant a lot to me. Enjoy the tunes, and expect more greatest hits from my archives sometime soon.

I also haven’t forgotten about Mostly-Retro, expect a new post there sometime next week as well.

Posted in Big Country, remixes | 1 Comment »

The Very Best Of Lost Turntable*

December 31st, 2013

This has been an INSANE year. I started it in China acting as the best man in my best friend’s wedding! From there, I went to Tokyo, which set upon a series of events that now have me moving to Japan in just a few short days! This Thursday I leave Pittsburgh to visit my family in Ohio, and then on Saturday I board a plane for Japan, where I begin my career as an English teacher/professional giant.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I am beyond stoked for this move. I can’t believe it took me just a little over a year (369 days, to be exact) to manage a way to not only return to the country, but get a job, apartment, and a whole new life over there! That’s not a lot of time to plan and orchestrate something that big. But waffling is for suckers, go big or go home. Jump in head first or don’t bother, that’s always been how I handle the big changes. It’s funny, when I remodeled my kitchen a few years back I spent two damn weeks going over color combinations. But I think I made the decision to sell my house, quit my job and uproot my entire existence to Japan in about two days. It’s amazing what a combination of personal malaise and disillusionment with the direction of one’s country can do for one’s drive and ability to commit.

This will definitely be the last post at Lost Turntable this year, and probably the last post for at least a week or two. I assume that adjusting to my move and starting my new job will probably keep me occupied for a bit. Don’t worry though, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never be too busy to stop writing this blog.

I will, however, be too busy to record new music for a while. That, and my turntable won’t be with me in Tokyo for at least a month. Which is why I’m temporarily taking Lost Turntable into “greatest hits” mode, re-posting favorite tracks from the years gone by, both chosen by me and some readers who made requests (although to be honest, it’s mostly me).

Some of the tracks I’ll be posting in the coming month or so will be re-recordings. So keep an eye out, I’ll typically mention it if they are. As always, my re-recordings always sound better than my original rips, I’m always improving with this stuff after all.

A lot of these “best of” posts will be artist or genre based, but I thought I’d start things off with a showstopper, my most favorite tracks out of everything I’ve ever posted*

*Two caveats. Like I said, I’m planning a lot of genre/artist-specific posts, so some of my all-time favorite songs have been reserved for those posts. Secondly, a few of my favorite songs are now available legally (mostly Depeche Mode stuff) and since I never post stuff you can buy legally, I won’t be reposting those.

The B-52’s
Good Stuff (12″ Remix)
Good Stuff (Remix Edit)
This is straight up the best remix I’ve ever heard. And if you know how many remixes I have, that’s really saying something.

Fine Young Cannibals
Ever Fallen In Love (Extended Version)
I want to make one thing very clear. I fucking HATE Fine Young Cannibals. I hated them when I was 11. I hate them now. It’s nice to know that some things in life remain constant no matter what. And since I fucking HATE Fine Young Cannibals, I should really fucking hate this cover, as The Buzzcocks are one of my favorite bands of all time, and their original version of this song may very well be my favorite song of all time (although I could honestly never pick ONE song as a favorite. My songs are my children, except I really don’t have a favorite, unlike most parents who lie and say that don’t when they really do).

So I should fucking hate this cover. It’s a band I abhor covering a song I adore, but…I have to admit that they totally nail it. Roland Gift’s voice, which usually drives me to Geddy Lee levels of annoyance, is perfect for the track, and the fast-paced-yet-somber production fits the urgent-yet-depressed tone of the lyrics. What I probably like most about this version though is the very end, when Roland echoes “Did you ever” over and over again. To me, that delivery makes it sound like he’s no longer asking if you ever fell in love with someone you shouldn’t have, he’s telling you that you in fact have fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have (like if someone asked you if they fucked up and you responded with “did you ever!”). It’s an interesting take on the song that I never heard anyone else attempt, and I have, like, 80 versions of this track on my computer, so I say that with at least some authority. This is a re-recording, and vastly superior to my original rip.

Joe Strummer
Love Kills (12″ Version)
If there is a more romantic and powerful song about how love (and heroin) can lead to a murder/suicide pact, then I don’t know what it is. Seriously though, this song is incredible, one of those songs that despite being about a horribly negative topic, leaves me with nothing but overpowering feelings of elation and happiness. I don’t even know why this is the case, but whenever I listen to this song I get goosebumps of happiness and forget about my real world problems for at least six minutes and forty seconds. Awesome stuff.

Bell & James
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (12″ Remix)
Make no mistake, while displeasure over my personal life/grand American problems drove me to flee my country, I will NEVER hate Pittsburgh. This city is the bomb. I love it. I’ve been to hundreds of big cities all across America, and Pittsburgh makes them all look like dogshit. Seriously. This place is dope.

I feel that more and more people are catching onto this fact as well. Well, at least Hollywood is. It seems that more and more movies are being filmed in this city every year. And while the chaos and madness that surrounds a movie shoot can be annoying at times, I’m always happy to see the city I love get the attention I feel it deserves.

But if you ask me, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh will always be the greatest movie ever filmed in the Steel City. And it’s theme song will ALWAYS be the greatest track of all time to feature the city’s name. Go Pisces!

RJD2
Through The Walls (Ric Ocasek Vocal Version)
There used to be an mp3 blog called Po77. Although I guess calling it an “MP3 blog” would be a bit of a misnomer. Because unlike blogs like mine, Pop77 posted complete mixes, amazing thematic mixes that sometimes incorporated audio bits from movies and other sources as well as complete songs. It was a fantastic site and I miss it.

I bring it up because I know that is where I first discovered this excellent track. At the time I had no idea who RJD2 was (which is funny considering that I ended up interviewing him just a few years later) but I sure as fuck knew who Ric Ocasek was – since he was the lead singer of The Cars, one of my favorite new wave bands of all time. I ended up finding this version of the track on a Def Jux sampler later that year, a sampler a stoner later stole from me. Yay for digital backups.

Crowded House
World Where You Live (Extended Version)
I think, although I’m not certain, that I discovered this song via an Eddie Vedder bootleg where he performed the track with Neil Finn of Crowded House. I’ll have to post that bootleg someday, it also has a great version of “History Never Repeats.”

Anyways, I was aware of Crowded House before hearing that bootleg, but my knowledge of them began and ended with their one US hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a track that I only really grew to appreciate after hearing it in the opening of the second episode of the Stephen King mini-series The Stand (my musical memory can be oddly photographic at times).  While my first takeaway from that bootleg was that version of “History Never Repeats,” after buying some Crowded House records I found that this song really grew on me. Its lyrics are oddly..evocative? I don’t know. I can’t entirely figure the song out, but they make me think of very specific moments in my life for some reason. To me, the song is about friends/significant others who live in some form of denial about the world (where they live), and I’ve sadly dealt with too many people like that, so I guess that’s why I identify with the track so much.

This extended remix isn’t as good as the album version, to be honest. It tries too hard to extend the track with meaningless instrumental sections, none of which really add anything to the song aside from length. But it was the only way I could justifiably share the track here. And besides, it’s a great song regardless. This is a re-recording.

George Clinton
Atomic Dog (Extended Version)
I once read Roger Ebert say that a terrible movie is always too long, and a great movie is never long enough. That theory, of course, has some holes in it. I love me some Shoot ‘Em Up, for example, but that flick couldn’t hold a four hour running time. However, as I’m writing this I just got done watching Jackie Brown for the second time in a week. That movie is two hours and thirty-four minutes long, and I honestly feel like there’s enough greatness buried within that running time that the movie could be twice as long and be just as good.

So, what I guess I’m saying is that “Atomic Dog” is the Jackie Brown of 80s synth-funk jams. (Why do I feel like Quentin Tarantino would approve of that comparison?) The standard single version is a fucking masterpiece, but the 10-minute extended remix is DOUBLE the masterpiece, even though it is literally the exact same song with just an extended breakdown and some added “bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay.” I don’t care. I could listen to this track all day and all of the night. It brings all the funk. Woof.

As this was one of the first songs I ever recorded, this is a new re-recording that sounds hella better than my original one.

Andrew W.K.
Party Hard (Live)
THIS IS NOT A SONG THIS IS A MISSION STATEMENT.

And I mean that. Don’t live life, party it. Find out what’s “party” for you and fucking party as much as you fucking can until you can’t do it anymore. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Freur
Runaway (Dun Difrunt)
This song has the secret best 80s saxophone solo. It’s pretty great. It’s also one of the best songs about not wanting to be in love (or not wanting to not want to be in love).

Gekirin
Fish Story
Fish Story (Silence Version)
I have written about this movie before, and I will write about it again. That is because FISH STORY IS THE GREATEST MOVIE ABOUT MUSIC EVER FUCKING MADE. I say that realizing that it’s a rather odd description. “Movie about music”? How many movies about music are there? Sure, there are tons of musicals, and movies about performers, but how many are really about music? Off the top of my head, the only movies about music that I can really think of are Fish Story, Footloose, Almost Famous, School of Rock and Purple Rain.

I just now realize that most of those movies would easily place on my list of my top 100 movies of all time, so I guess that says a lot about me. And Prince.

Fish Story sits atop that list easily. Mountains above the other movies, and considering how much I fucking love Purple Rain, trust me, that’s saying something.

Fish Story is a Japanese movie about how a little known punk rock song saves the world. Literally. A comet is going to smash into the Earth. Fish Story stops that from happening. The story of HOW is the story of the movie. It’s also the story of the power of music. How music moves us (often in ways that we do not understand or are even consciously aware of). How music is the guiding force of our lives, how it shapes us and makes us the people we are. And it’s about how comets can’t compare with power chords.

Seriously though, Fish Story. Top 10 movie of all time. One day the world will realize this.

Alien Ant Farm
Movies (Live Acoustic Version)
Ask me why I love this song. Go ahead. I dare you.

“Why do you like th-”

I HAVE NO IDEA. I JUST DO, OKAY?!?!

Sigh. I do not like Alien Ant Farm. I hate their cover of “Smooth Criminal,” and I pretty much despise every other song of their’s I’ve had the misfortune of hearing. But I…really love this song. I think it has to do with the whole “Movies as a metaphor for broken hearts” thing, as I’ve long established that my feelings for movies go beyond typical film buff bullshit and reach a realm of rose-tinted childhood nostalgia that cannot be easily explained nor justified – just like my love for this song (minus the stupid fart noise the singer does at the end).

Japan
Life In Tokyo (Extended Disco Mix)
I am taking one record with me to Japan, and it’s the 12″ single to this song. Sure, it’s a little nail on the head, but whatever, it’s Moroder-produced synthpop and there’s never anything wrong with that.

I hope you all enjoy the reposts and discover some music that’s new to you. That’s why I started this blog eight (holy crap!) years ago, to share little-known music with others, and as an excuse for me to seek out and discover little-known music for myself as well. In good times and bad, hectic and happy, bored and crazed, this blog has always served as a rock for me. I’ve used it as an medium to ramble about shit that pisses me off; rant about the music industry; and on multiple occasions just be a goofy idiot. But if no one read it, then I wouldn’t feel the need to keep going. So thanks to everyone who has kept with this dinky little site over the years. Y’all help me out more than you know.

See you in 2014 FROM MOTHERFUCKING JAPAN!!

And remember, Party Hard.

 

Posted in Andrew W.K., B-52s, Bell & James, Crowded House, Fine Young Cannibals, Freur, Gekirin, George Clinton, Japan, Joe Fucking Strummer, RJD2 | 8 Comments »

All I Want For Christmas Is A Storage Locker Discount

December 17th, 2013

My records are in boxes. The shelves are dismantled. My turntable is unplugged and sitting on a table across the room, far from my computer and disconnected from my speakers. I know it sounds trite and kind of silly, but my upcoming move to Tokyo didn’t really hit me as a real thing until all that happened. Selling a ton of my belongings didn’t phase me. Putting my house up for sale barely got to me at all. But packing up my records for storage? Unplugging my turntable?! Yikes.

It’s for the best! I know it’s for the best! (And before anyone asks, my turntable is coming with me, it’s a custom-modded Technics that I’d never find in Japan so damn straight it’s coming with me). But that doesn’t make it any less traumatic. Ask my friends, people who follow me on Twitter, anyone who knows me at all, I am “that guy who always says ‘I own that on vinyl.'” So for me to be separated from my vinyl and my turntable is, well, it’s weird. I just have to keep reminding myself that my records aren’t going away, they’re just going into a climate-controlled storage unit, and that my turntable will be joining me in Tokyo sometime next year, where I’ll discover more amazing music than I can probably even imagine. It’s going to be awesome! But right now it’s kind of traumatic.

I plan on putting up one more post before I leave for Japan. In fact, I know I will because that post is 90% done and scheduled to go up the day I leave. However, that post will be a “greatest hits” collection of stuff I’ve posted in the past. This will be the last post of original material before I leave Pittsburgh, and as it’s just a week until Christmas (oh shit I really have to start shopping soon) I figured I’d send off the year with some festive holiday tunes.

And a cover of “Relax.” Because even in times of great stress and furious anxiety, I’m one classy dude.

Captain Sensible
One Christmas Catalogue
Relax
Pocketful Of Dosh
Wendy! Where’s My Snaps?
These are all from a holiday 12″ EP that Captain Sensible put out in 1984. Who’s Captain Sensible? Excellent question! I honestly didn’t know who he was until I bought this record, which I only grabbed for the cover of “Relax” and not because of any desire for festive holiday tunes.

Captain Sensible is a founding member of The Damned, who has played bass, guitar and keyboards during his on-again/off-again/currently on-again tenure with the seminal punk rock group. He’s apparently something of a minor big deal in his native UK, having scored several hits as a solo artist in the 1980s. I don’t think “One Christmas Catalogue” was one of those hits, but it apparently has some sort of following. My searches on Captain Sensible repeatedly turned up references to the track, and it even has a video on YouTube. However, despite it’s somewhat well-known status across the pond, it is entirely out-of-print in the states, and it’s never even received any kind of digital release here at all save for a bizarre “new wave” themed Christmas album from a few years back.

It’s an odd track, and I’ll be damned (see what I did there?) if I can tell you what it’s actually about. Is he lamenting about excessive Christmas shopping catalogs? I dunno. It sure sounds festive though. It’s certainly more festive than anything else on the “Christmas-themed” LP. The last two songs are more bizarre audio experiments than proper tunes, and the cover of “Relax” is, well, it’ a cover of “Relax!” Because I guess nothing says “Ho! Ho! Ho!” like a song about delaying orgasm.

Okay, I’m not ending my Christmas post on that note, what else do I have on this hard drive…

Ash 
I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
I think the UK has more (and better) holiday tunes that we do here in the states. Take this amazing track, for example. The original version is by a glam rock act called Wizzard, and it’s apparently a holiday standard over in England. And for good reason! It’s fucking great!  And check out this video holy shit!

The drummer is my favorite.

What the hell do we have over here? Are there any great American-made modern Christmas tunes that are popular? I mean, don’t get me wrong “Christmas In Hollis” by Run DMC is my jam but I don’t think it’s really stayed in the popular consciousness since it’s original release. All we get that shitty Mariah Carry song and any number of horrible versions of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause.” Meanwhile, in England they have “Fairytale Of New York” (one of the greatest songs of all time) and “Merry Xmas Everyone.” Not fair at all.

At least both sides of the Atlantic can agree that “Last Christmas” by Wham! is great.

Merry Christmas everyone (who celebrates Christmas). Stay safe, have fun, and I hope you all get rad gifts in your stockings.

Posted in Ash, Captain Sensible | 7 Comments »

The Neverending Blog Post

December 12th, 2013

This past weekend I got so constipated that I had to go to the hospital.

Yeah, so how you doing?

I know this blog has kind of turned into me complaining about how I don’t have time to do anything and that moving to another country is super stressful but damn, I don’t have time to do anything! And moving to another country is super stressful! I did get a lot of stuff done, however, when I wasn’t doubled over in a hospital bed in agonizing pain. Got my apartment in Japan reserved. Started the prep to get my house on the market here. Packed up even more things for storage. But today I started the biggest endeavor of this entire process, I started packing up my records. And you know what? IT DIDN’T REALLY FEEL REAL UNTIL THEN.

Oh boy this is going to be a long month.

Limahl
Never Ending Story (Club Mix)
Never Ending Story (Instrumental)
I grew up with The Neverending Story. I remember watching the film repeatedly and, as a young geek, hoping and dreaming that I would one day have an awesome giant dog dragon that I could use to lay smite to my schoolyard enemies. That, sadly, never happened – but the dream remains. Who knows, maybe they have those in Japan.

There are apparently two different versions of The Neverending Story, the original, uncut European version and an edited and abridged version that was sent over to America. In addition to being slightly edited in length, the American version also features a different score that was composed by legendary techno god Giorgio Moroder, marking the first time ever that someone said “let’s make the movie appeal more to American audiences by replacing the orchestral music with euro dance music.”

While I’m sure the European version is more in line with the director’s original vision, it doesn’t have the awesome theme song by Limahl, so it can fuck right off.

Adam Ant
Room At The Top (21st Century Mix)
Another Art Of Mix DJ-only remix, albeit a very good one of an excellent track. This same LP had an amazing remix of “Vogue” that I shared a few weeks/months/somethings ago – probably making it the greatest DJ mix LP I own.

Did I mention this song is great? Cuz goddamn this song is great. Adam Ant is right y’know, there is always room at the top and don’t let them tell you is not. Fuck the man! Dress like a dandy highwayman and live your dreams!

Posted in Adam Ant, Limahl, remixes | 4 Comments »

Watch The Guys From Giant Bomb Look At Dumb Records I Sent Them

December 5th, 2013

It’s been a weird year (of Luigi).

Skip to about five minutes in if you want to get to my package (heh, package).

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

British Electro and Two Awesome Songs About Getting It On With Dudes

December 2nd, 2013

One month until the move. Crunch time has begun. This means another super brief post unfortunately. Hopefully I’ll have time to write more soon. I do plan on writing many vinyl reviews at Mostly-Retro in the coming week, so keep an eye out over there, especially if you like horror movie soundtracks or Nirvana.

Now some entirely random tracks.

Newtrament
London Bridge Is Falling Down (Special Vocoder Mix)
London Bridge Is Falling Down (Extended Version)
London Bridge Is Falling Down (Dub Mix)
Originally released in 1983, this  is supposedly the very first UK hip-hop release. I have no way to confirm or deny that claim, although I have no reason to doubt it.

I have no idea who Newtrament is though. This is his only release listed on Discogs, he released this one song and that was it. At least it’s a damn good tune, an excellent piece of early-80s electro. All the mixes are great, but obviously the best of the bunch is the “Special Vocoder Mix” – because everything is made better with extraneous vocoder.

Franz Ferdinand
Dark Of The Matinee (Headman Remix)
This Fire (Playgroup Remix)
Michael (Thomas Eriksen Remix)
Franz Ferdinand are the secret best remix-friendly band in rock music today. All their singles have great remixes as b-sides, and I hope that one day all of these amazing mixes will see a proper release on a compilation of box set.  These excellent mixes are from the 12″ single to “Michael” – which is probably my favorite Franz Ferdinand track of all-time.

Elton Motello
Jet Boy Jet Girl (Full Seven Minute Version)
Last minute special request from the Pope.

This song is weird.

Posted in Elton Motello, Franz Ferdinand, Newtrament, remixes | 1 Comment »

Great Songs By Artists I Know Very Little About

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

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

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 »

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