I’m Sure The Punisher Rocks Out to Power Ballads too.

October 11th, 2010

I have much to say about the music tonight, so lets just get to it.

Nicki French
Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Extended Mix)
Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Mobius Loop Mix)
Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Radio Edit)
Total Eclipse Of The Heart (7” Edit)
So I have a theory. That theory is that “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” is the greatest song of all time. What? You going to argue that with me? Try It.

“Total Eclipse Of The Heart” is one of the most perfect songs ever written. What I mean by that is that Jim Steinman wrote it with the intention of writing a bombastic, over-the-top, brilliant power ballad and that’s exactly what he did. He created exactly what he wanted to. To me that’s the most important measure of success; creating what you intended to. I think the only song that is more successful on that level is “Layla” since Clapton wrote with the sole intention of impressing Pattie Boyd enough for her to sleep with him, and it worked.

Some people call the song a “guilty pleasure.” Those people can fuck off. Chuck Klosterman once said that songs can’t be guilty pleasures, because for something to be a guilty pleasure it has to hurt you or someone else. Cocaine, he said, is a guilty pleasure, not a seven-minute power ballad. I don’t think “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” ever killed anyone, unless it was by the sheer power of its awesomeness.

I love “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” because it’s just bombastic enough. Yes, there are songs more over the top than this, and yes, Jim Steinman wrote most of them. I think when he gets crazier than this song he just takes it too far.  For example, there’s “It’s All Coming Back To Me.” I like some versions of that song, but it’s really just too much. It’s too romantic, too over-the-top, too crazy. But that”s not surprising when you find out it was inspired by the scene in  Wuthering Heights where Heathcliff digs up Catherine’s corpse and dances with it.

But this song is just insane enough to work perfectly.

The original version was of course performed by Bonnie Tyler, but this dance/house version by Nicki French is fucking great, and almost as good as the original. The only thing that really holds it back is French’s voice. She can sing, don’t get me wrong, but she’s no Bonnie Tyler. This track makes me want to dance like a mental patient, sing karaoke and hold up a lighter all at the same time. Which is probably dangerous, so I won’t do it.

Supernova
Justice (Mix+Magix Clubtool)
Justice (Nikos vs. Porcell Remix)
And here’s a dance track that features a vocal sample from Dolph Lundgren’s version of The Punisher. Because this blog post wasn’t stupid enough already.

Posted in Nickie French, remixes | 6 Comments »

A Whale Of a Blog Post

October 7th, 2010

Word.

Look, sometimes I don’t have much to say.

Tears For Fears
Pale Shelter (You Don’t Give Me Love) (Extended Version)
Pale Shelter (You Don’t Give Me Love)
Saxophones as Opiates
I never noticed this until now, but between the title track, “Mad World,” “Ideas as Opiates” and “Pale Shelter,” The Hurting is probably one of the most bleak and depressing albums of all time. It’s amazing what you can get away with when you throw some catchy dance beats in there. The Hurting came out when I was all of three years old, so I missed it. I did, however, rock out heavily to Songs From The Big Chair, which came out when I was a much more mature five years old. I seriously have a very vivid memory of three kids in my first grade class running across the playground singing their own version of “Shout” which went “Fart! Fart! Let it all out!” over and over again. I don’t think there’s a better sign of a song permiating the American culture than a bunch of six-year-olds in Ohio creating their own scatological remake of it.

“Pale Shelter” has an odd release history. It was actually the group’s second single (originally released under the longer name you see above), but it failed to catch on in the UK. After “Mad World” blew up the band’s label re-released the song, but in a different mix (and shorter title). That later mix is the version that appears on the album. It too has its own extended mix, which weas included on later editions of the album on CD. No version of this original mix has ever been included on CD as far as I can tell.  To be honest it’s not that different, the biggest difference  in the beginning; the older versions starts off with a  backmasked lyric, while the album version does not. Still, it’s an awesome song, and any mix of it is worth a listen. “Saxophones As Opiates” is a b-side from the “Mad World” single.

In case you’re wondering, the backmasked lyric in the beginning of “Pale Shelter” is  “the sickness in the system is an amplification of the sickness in the individual.” That’s totally deep, yo.

Whale
Crying At Airports (Remix by Shawn J. Period featuring Mos Def)
Crying At Airports (Friend’s Wigga-No-No Remake)
I know next to nothing about this group. I bought the single because it had cool art and Mos Def is on it. It’s groovy little trip-hop/dance tune and worth a listen. I really dig the “Wigga-No-No Remake” with it’s drum-n-bass inspired breakbeats. Curious after hearing the tune, I did some research and found of that Whale had a pretty big hit in Europe with their first single “Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe.” I went to YouTube to check out that track and…I think I’m done checking out Whale. Yikes.

Posted in B-sides, remixes, Tears For Fears, Whale | 15 Comments »

This post is Yellow. And not in a Racist Way.

October 1st, 2010

It’s funny, now that I got a good turntable, I can finally go through the 8 billion records I’ve been wanting to record for the past six months. Good news for all you guys. That means a lot more posts. I guess it’s good news for me too, but it’s also more work, so I think it kind of evens out.

Yellow Magic Orchestra
Tighten Up (Long Version)
I love me some YMO, but this track is pretty annoying. The exaggerated fake Japanese voice is what really gets me. Although “Everybody’s doing it! Even David Bowie’s doing it!” always makes me laugh. This is from a 12” single.

Hardfloor vs. Yello
Vicious Games (Hardfloor Remix)
Vicious Games (Remixed by Boris Blank & Olaf Wollschlager)
Vicious Games (Vorsprung Durch Technik Remix)
This is a remix of a Belgium Swiss dance track by a German acid house duo, making it the most European shit ever. I have a problem with Yello. The problem is that whenever I buy any of their singles I listen to them once and then listen to my remixes of “Oh Yeah” ad nasuem until I have dreams that Ferris Bueller is going to take me on a magical Chicagoland adventure where one of my best friends eventually tries to kill himself but it all somehow works out in the end. Oh, and Jennifer Grey shows up, but she has her old nose still so I know who the hell she is. Yeah, anyways, this is NOT that song, it’s a different song that was also on Stella. Good track, good remixes, especially the first one. These have a few scratches on them, but nothing severe.

Posted in Yello, Yellow Magic Orchestra, YMO | 4 Comments »

Dystopian Soundtracks of Future Past

September 30th, 2010

I’ve been complaining a lot lately (Just lately? Shut up. Shit, I’m talking to myself). so maybe its time to share some good news.

I got a new turntable! And it’s AWESOME.

For those who want the specifics, it’s a Stanton SR-80. It’s a direct-drive model with a bunch of bells and whistles I’ll never use, and a straight-arm as opposed to a curved one. Now, I know straight arms are worse for records, but they also cut down on skipping, so it’s worth it for me. Besides, I usually only listen to a record a couple times at the most before I record it. After that I really never listen to it again unless I find a mistake with the recording.

But most importantly, it sounds AMAZING. No RF interference, no varying speed due to a worn down belt, no motor noise, no hissing, no nothing. Just pure, beautiful music. One of the problems with my last turntable was interference, it was even a problem after I got an external pre-amp. When it wasn’t radio stations busting through my audio signal, it was just annoying white noise, ruining any quiet moments a record had. That’s why I wasn’t able to record this album until now.

Edgar Froese – Kamikaze 1989
I know very little about this album and movie. Let’s get the easy shit out of the way. For those of you who aren’t retarded  New Ave/Ambient fans (and why aren’t you?!?!) Edgar Froese is the sole continuous member of Tangerine Dream, a group that started out as a Krautrock band before slowly morphing into electronic/ambient mellowness, but in the best way possible. You probably know Tangerine Dream like I do, from their soundtracks, because they’ve done a shitload. Near Dark, Legend, Thief, Sorcerer, Risky Business, Firestarter and about a billion other flicks all feature scores by the German keyboard fanatics.

Oddly enough, I’m pretty sure that this is the only soundtrack that Froese created under his own name. Like I said, I know very little about this movie. It is apparently not very good if this incredibly negative review is to be believed and the only thing worth mentioning about it is that it was the last film to feature the legendary German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who died the same year it came out. It’s a dystopian sci-fi fantasy that takes place in the far off future of 1989 (it was made in 1982). And since everyone knew in 1982 that the future was synthesizers, it must have made sense to get Froese to do the score.

If the movie does indeed suck that’s a damn shame, because the soundtrack is pretty good as ambient electronic music goes. Sure, there’ s not always a lot to it, but it is supposed to be background music after all. I’ve always had a soft spot for ambient music, I don’t know why. It really goes against everything I usually like in music (fast beats, high energy). Maybe it’s because everything that I do while listening to ambient music sounds incredibly important and mysterious. Right now I’m listening to Tangerine Dreams’ soundtrack to Sorcerer, and it really gives the imprssion that the shit I’m typing is totally fucking epic.

Anyways, if you like Tangerine Dream type stuff you’ll dig this. If not, avoid it.

Posted in Complete Albums, Edgar Froese, soundtrack | 2 Comments »

Orbital and such. Look, It’s 1:30 AM and I had a shitty weekend, I don’t always need to give you a witty title.

September 27th, 2010

You know what sucks? Many many things.

Oh, you want something specific? Okay, iTunes 10. I had to upgrade to that abomination when I got my new Shuffle, but holy fuck and a half, it’s a disgusting looking resource hog that makes navigating my freakishly huge music collection very difficult. Shit snags all the time. So don’t get that shit unless you have to. And even then, try to avoid it.

Orbital
Nothing Left (Tsunami One Remix)
Nothing Left (Way Out West Remix)
Much Ado About Nothing Left
Nothing Left Out
These four remixes feature Allison Goldfrapp. I interviewed her once for a magazine article – and that’s all I’m going to say about her. These are from a 12” promo single

Band Of The Hand Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Someone who is a glutten for bad Bob Dylan asked for this to be re-upped. Good luck with this one man.

Lori Carson
Fall In The Light
From the soundtrack to Strange Days. Another repost. I’m trying to up my karma. Maybe that’s what I need.

Posted in Orbital, soundtrack | 3 Comments »

I’m not typing any more umlauts unless Lemmy makes me.

September 15th, 2010

Björk
All is Full of Love (Funkstorung Exclusive Mix)
All is Full of Love (Strings)
All Is Full Of Love (Live in Brussels)
Human Behaviour (Close To Human Mix – Speedy J.)
Human Behaviour (Underworld Mix)
Human Behaviour (Dom T. Mix)
Human Behaviour (Bassheads Edit)
Cocoon (Retangled by Ensemble)
It’s In Our Hands (Arcade Mix)
It’s In Our Hands (Soft Pink Truth Mix)
So Broken (Live on Jools Holland)
This is the second all-Björk post by me this month! It’s crazy. Maybe I should add umlauts to the title graphic? No, fuck that, I hate typing those fuckers. I either have to dig out a macro key or find one I already wrote and cut and paste it everytime I want to use it. I don’t know how the Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish bloggers handle it without going insane. I posted a couple of these mixes before, but I still recommend downloding them even if you have those old versions because these are rips from CD singles. As I said before, I think it must be a rule that all Björk vinyl sounds like shit. I have never bought a used copy of a Björk 12-inch that didn’t look like it was handled by someone who had steel wool for hands.

BTW, “rectangle” cannot be made into a verb. I don’ care what Ensemble wants you to think.

Posted in Bjork, remixes | 8 Comments »

The Decline Of Western Civilization Part 1

September 13th, 2010

I’m tired, so let’s just cut right to the good shit.

The Decline Of Western Civilization Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II is one of my favorite movies of all time, but Part 1 is pretty damn good too. Unlike Part II, which is full of unintentional hilarity, Part 1 is a semi-serious look at some seriously damaged individuals and their seriously great bands (um…and The Germs).  The early footage of X and Black Flag is mesmerizing, while the live train wreck that is the Fear show never ceases to amaze. Just like Part II (and the rarely seen Part III), it’s not on DVD, and I don’t believe the “official” website’s claim that anyone is working on those discs at this point. I have a bootleg. You can watch it on YouTube, and you can find it on a bay where pirates hang out. Get it that way. If they can’t be bothered to put the fucking thing out by now then that’s their problem.

Just like the movie itself, the soundtrack to Decline Of Western Civilization is woefully out of print. The copy I’m offering above is from a less-than-stellar vinyl copy I bought last month. It’s a little scratchy in parts, but it kind of adds to the dirt-punk charm of it all. The X songs sound great at least.

In case you’re wondering, here’s the complete tracklisting included in the zip file above:

Black Flag
White Minority
Depression
Revenge

The Germs
Manimal

Catholic Discipline
Underground Babylon

X
Beyond And Back
Johnny Hit and Run Pauline
We’re Desperate

Circle Jerks
Red Tape
Back Against The Wall
I Just Want Some Skank
Bevery Hills

Alice Bag Band
Gluttony

Fear
I Don’t Care About You
I Love Living In The City
Fear Anthem

I separated some of the speaking parts into separate tracks. Basically if it doesn’t have anything to do with the song that’s playing before it I made it a separate track. Otherwise it’s just like the original version.

Oh, and I put up highlights to Part II a while ago, get them too.

Posted in Complete Albums, soundtrack | 6 Comments »

Skunk & Skin

September 7th, 2010

The last of the Skunk Anansie posts, and it’s a big one.

If anyone has a real, legitimate live version of “Selling Jesus” I would be eternally grateful if they shared it with me.

Skunk Anansie
Hedonism (Allegedly Acoustic Mix)
Twisted (Everyday Hurts) (Cake mix)
Pickin On Me (Pick ‘n Mix)
She’s My Heroine (Polyester and Cotton Mix)
Milk is My Sugar (Cement Mix)
Yes It’s Fucking Political (Comix)
Weak (Ackee & Saltfish Mix)
Charity (Clit Pop Mix)
100 Ways To Be A Good Girl (Anti Matter Mix)
Rise Up (Bonhamoon Mix)
You’ll Follow Me Down (Rollo & Sister Bliss [From Faithless] Mix)
You’ll Follow Me Down (Golden Ashes Mix)
Secretly (Optical Vocal Mix)
I always find it odd when rock bands allow their decidedly non-dance friendly tracks to be remixed.  Its an especially odd move for Skunk Anansie, since all their tracks are either emotional ballads about how much love is a motherfucker or aggressive metal about political injustice and racism. I would hate to be Rollo and Sister Bliss when they were handed “You’ll Follow Me Down,” a song about loving a junkie, with the intention of it getting remixed for the clubs. Still, they did a pretty good job.

I would like to know who came up with the idea of a “Clit Pop Mix.” I don’t know if I love or hate that name.

Anyways, these are all from a multitude of CD singles. Thanks to everyone who indulged me in these posts. The next one will have some 80s shit I promise.

Skin
Getting Away With It
From what I can tell Skin’s solo career didn’t exactly take off. That was to be expected in America, but her lack of runaway success in England is kind of a bummer. Both of her solo albums are alright, but are very ballad heavy. Maybe there isn’t a market for a black bald chick singing romantic ballads? It is interesting that she’s is apparently a celebrity of some sorts in non-English speaking Europe, especially in Italy where she had a hit single (“Tear Down These Houses”) on a soundtrack to a hit movie (Parlami d’Amore). Of course, neither are available in America.

Also unavailable in America is Skin’s first solo album, Flesh Wounds; which is a shame because it’s quite good. This beautiful cover of Electronic’s “Getting Away From It” is from that album.

Posted in covers, remixes, Skin, Skunk Anansie | 6 Comments »

Live Skunk

September 3rd, 2010

This is post number two in my Skunk Anansie love fest. Probably at least one more of these coming next week. I have a shitton of remixes I want to get out there as well. Don’t forget, their new album, Wonderlustre, comes out on September 13th! It doesn’t look like a physical release is coming to America anytime soon, but you will be able to buy in on Amazon!

Disclaimer: None of that was a paid ad. I just enjoy being a whore for bands I like.

Skunk Anansie
I Can Dream (Live)
Punk By Numbers (Live)
Charity (Live)
And Here I Stand (Live)
It Takes Blood & Guts to Be This Cool But I’m Still Just a Cliche (Live)
Intellectualize My Blackness (Live)
Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good) (Live)
The Skank Heads (Live)
In my last post I mentioned that I was moderately bummed about Skunk Anansie’s reunion announcement, because it didn’t include any North American tour dates.  Whenever I listen to these live tracks (gathered from various singles) I just get more bummed because damn, they sound good live. The best bit is at the end of “I Can Dream” and “And Here I Stand” when the crowd goes nuts and Skin just shrugs it off by saying “Yeah, yeah.”

She knows she’s a bad motherfucker.

Posted in Skunk Anansie | 2 Comments »

Skunked

August 31st, 2010

This post, and the next few, will all be dedicated to my favorite band with a black bisexual skinhead lead singer.

Skunk Anansie got back together and have a new album coming out in just a couple weeks! I am both excited and depressed about this. I am excited because, fuck, it’s new Skunk Anansie! I love them! I discovered them in 1995 when I saw Strange Days in the theater (my mom and I were two of the eight people who actually saw that movie in the theater). Their amazing song “Selling Jesus” is in that film, and Skin shows up briefly in the movie,a white cross painted across her face. It was a fucking amazing image, and the song was brillaint. However, this was before the age of iTunes and MP3s, and it took me a year to find a fucking CD by the band in a CD store. I bought their third (and until recently, final) CD Post Orgasmic Chill on import, paying 30 some bucks for the fucker. I still have the CD, but the case melted in my car during a Radiohead concert. Which was annoying. Anyways, in case you can’t already tell, I’m a pretty big fan of the group, which is why I’m depressed as much as I am stoked.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, the newly reunited Skunk Anansie is never going to play America. Their new single “My Ugly Boy” (which is EXCELLENT) isn’t going to crack American radio. Shit, their new album might not even get a proper physical release here in the states. I really want the vinyl copy because, well, I want vinyl. But I’d have to pay import prices for that, which sucks. Hopefully someone will pick it up for a US release, but it’ll probably happen after the online release, which means I’ll be buying the damn album twice. Oh well, that’s two more than everyone else in America most likely.

Skunk Anansie
All I Want (DVS Mix)
But The Sex Was Good
Fragile
Every Bitch But Me
Punk By Numbers
Black Skinhead Coconut Fight
Skunk Anansie, like every British band in the 90s, released 80 billion different singles, each with their own b-sides, remixes and live cuts.  Over the next few days I’ll be putting some choice cuts from these up. These tracks are all b-sides from the “All I Want” single.

Posted in B-sides, Skunk Anansie | 3 Comments »

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