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Gratuitous Mandolins and Medleys

Monday, June 1st, 2009

No stupid rants about assholes on Twitter, retarded music trends, idiots on TV or what-have-you tonight. I am very tired and in a surprisingly good mood. Oh well. Don’t worry, I’m sure something will piss me off soon enough.

Soul Asylum
James AT 16 (Heavy Medley)
Soul Asylum may be an also-ran of the grunge-era but I always dug them. I remember seeing the video for “Just Like Anyone” as an ultra-geeky teenager and falling in love with the Angelic Claire Danes. I owned all their popular albums but over the years have managed to misplace most of them. I should give Grave Dancers Union another spin sometime.

Soul Asylum was always straddling the line between pure pop and college-rock/punk and this medley shows their wide variety influences that most likely led to their signature sound. Recorded live at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in 1988, this 11-minute epic is a medley of heroic proportions, covering 13 songs from various genres and periods. The madness knows no bounds and it includes “The Cross” by Prince; “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield; “I’m Waiting For The Man” by Velvet Underground; “Birth, School, Work, Death” by The Godfathers; “Damaged Goods” by Gang of Four; “Play that Funky Music” by Wild Cherry; “Free For All” Ted Nugent; “Oops Upside Your Head (aka “I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up and Dance”) by The Gap Band; “Body Slam” by Bootsy’s Rubber Band; “Staying Alive” by The Bee Gees; “Wishing Well” by Terrence Trent D’Arby; “Get Down Tonight” by KC And The Sunshine Band and finally “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles.

Wow. That has to be the only time anyone every combined Gang of Four and The Eagles.

R.E.M.
Mandolin Strum
Belong (Live)
Orange Crush (Live)
Star Me Kitten (Demo)
Losing My Religion (Live)
Organ Song
I have a love/have relationship with R.E.M., with every album of theirs I love there is at least one other I hate. And they were partially responsible for “Shiny Happy People” which is something I still have not forgiven them for. I’d have to be some sort of emotionless monster not to like “Everybody Hurts” however, which is the single from which these B-sides are culled from.

One of my best high school memories was caused by “Everybody Hurts” and allow me to indulge.

My senior year was pretty awesome schedule-wise. I had an art class second period, an independent study that was also an art class third period, lunch fourth period and then a study hall fifth period. Basically the middle of my day was made up of art and doing nothing. Good times. Anyways, for that study hall I volunteered to be a teacher’s aide in the science library, which was a great gig because no one ever used the science library as it was at the far end of school (and it was a science library). So most of the time I got to sit on an ultra-comfy couch, read comics and listen to the radio while the librarian went out to smoke.

One day some amazingly hot girls came into the library to “study” and in a rare instance of clique-crossover, decided to talk to me. Using their womanly ways they convinced me to change the radio from the oldies station (the librarian’s choice) to the local alternative station. Right then “Everybody Hurts” came on and all three of us just layed on the couch and listened to the song in silence. Very John Hughes of us I know but at the time that moment seemed to mean something.

But enough about my overly dramatic high school days, as I said before, these songs are from two different singles of “Everybody Hurts.” Some of them are kind of scratchy though, and I apologize for the sub-par quality.

Posted in B-sides, live, R.E.M., Soul Asylum | No Comments »

I Don’t The Twits and the Twits Don’t Like Me

Friday, May 29th, 2009

I’m pretty much done whining about the Twits. There’s only so much yelling you can do to the deaf. They’re obviously oblivious to their idiocy. I called one “an example of everything wrong with the Internet” and he said “thank you, that is a hell of a responsibility.”

Wait, what…that doesn’t even make any fucking sense! There’s no responsibility in being an example you idiot. You can be an example of why you shouldn’t smoke crack, that doesn’t carry any responsibility with it. Jesus Christ. I can’t debate/argue with that! I might as well retort with “Vanilla monkey sky flower!” It would make just as much sense, what’s the point. And complaining about attention whores is a futile endeavor since that’s what they want. It is sad that I haven’t become accustomed to the rampant vitriol and idiocy that dominates the Internet though.

Anyways, I promised two soundtracks tonight, but one of the albums sounds like shit and is going to take some time to clean up. So I grabbed something that is relevant to today’s events instead.

Marilyn Manson
The Horrible People
The Not-So-Beautiful People
Suicide Is Painless
These songs are doubly relevant considering my earlier post today was all about Trent Reznor and horrible people, an triply relevant since Manson has a new album out. “Beautiful People” was always my favorite Manson song, even though at the time I was not a big Manson fan. I thought his shtick was a bit too much and even as a teen I could see he was pandering to an audience. Looking back though I kind of miss the days when he was popular, at least he was trying to make people think, even if it was for bullshit reasons. I’d rather take a billion Marylin Manson’s than one Shinedown or Hinder or whatever the fuck is on radio right now. These mixes are from a 10” vinyl picture disc. I’m including his cover of “Suicide Is Painless” (which is from the Blair Witch 2 soundtrack) as a fucking hint for certain people out there.

The Thing Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
This was another one of my holy grail soundtracks that I’ve been looking for since as long as I’ve been collecting soundtracks. I got it for five bucks last week. Good deal considering the CD is worth twenty times that. As far as I know The Thing is the only Carpenter film that wasn’t scored by him. Instead he got the legendary Ennio Morricone, the composer of classics like The Good The Bad and the Ugly, The Untouchables and Mission to Mars (okay they aren’t all classics). This score is excellent, a great example of music’s ability to create tension, shock and manipulate your emotions. Be warned though, excessive listening may result in nightmares of Wilford Brimley trying to kill you.

Posted in covers, Ennio Morricone, Marilyn Manson, remixes, soundtrack | 1 Comment »

Critically Critical Of Critical Critics

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Okay, time for another rant against Pitchfork.

So 21st Century Breakdown came out a few weeks ago. I bought it and while I’ve only listened to the whole thing all the way through once, I enjoy it. It’s no American Idiot to be sure but it has its high points and is still better than Nimrod and Warning.

Still, if you don’t like the album that’s fine, that’s your opinion and you are more than welcome to it. Jess Harvell at Pitchfork did not like it, and he wants you to know right off the bat that he didn’t like American Idiot either, starting his review with “I wanted to like American Idiot. Really.”

Okay, Jess didn’t like American Idiot, big deal, but as the review continues he acts like that was the popular opinion, adding, “Two listens in, though, and it was clear: American Idiot was musically dodgy and politically empty. Political pop has its place, at least when didacticism doesn’t drain the wit and life from a band’s songwriting. But American Idiot failed utterly as coherent propaganda and as rock invigorating enough to agitate the pleasure centers.”

If he wants to think that fine, but considering that nearly every other critic in the world said the exact opposite, including the critic who reviewed the album for Pitchfork back when it first came out, maybe Jess should’ve realized that he’s in the minority with that opinion and state as such. If your only information about American Idiot came from this review you’d think that the album was an undeniable critical bomb (when it was, y’know, the opposite of that).

Harvell has no business reviewing this album. Not because he didn’t like American Idiot, but because he is obviously not suited to give the readers the information they want to know about the album, i.e. is it as good as American Idiot.

Partially-hypothetical example: I really really really do not like The Joshua Tree. I think it’s a bloated, indulgent piece of shit and there are only two things I hate in this world more than “With Or Without You,” and those things are “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

My opinion of The Joshua Tree isn’t any more right or wrong as the next guy, however, I understand that I am in the minority viewpoint when it comes to that album. So, if I was a critic in 1991 tasked with writing a review to Achtung Baby (another album I’m not a fan of) I would not begin it with, “Joshua Tree was a failure of a record,” because that’s not really fair. In fact, me reviewing that album at all wouldn’t be fair, I would be ill-suited. Everyone reading a review of Achtung Baby would want to know if it sounded in comparison to The Joshua Tree, and me saying “it sucks less than that other album that I thought sucked” is not a valid answer to that question.

Can a critic review an album by a band he doesn’t like? Sure, but he has to be honest about it, say something like, “I’m not a fan of this band, but if you are and want more of the same by them then you should enjoy this record.” Instead of doing that Harvell retconned reality and turned American Idiot into a critical flop just because the truth didn’t fit his fucking lead.

And if anyone can tell me how a 4.8 album is worse than a 4.9 album I’ll give them a cookie.

They Might Be Giants
Cabbagetown
Siftin’
Larger Than Life (Joshua Fried’s remake of She’s Actual Size)
Holy shit TMBG b-sides! You have any idea how hard it is to find these? For a band as fan-friendly as TMBG it’s pretty amazing that they haven’t yet released a rarities compilation (that I’m aware of). Sure, there was Then: The Earlier Years but that only encompassed their first two LPs, we need more dammit! These b-sides are from the maxi-single of “I Palindrome I.”

The Sugarcubes
Vitamin (Babylon’s Burning)
Vitamin (E Mix)
Walkabout (Remix)
After buying that massive box set I was surprised to find out that there were singles by The Sugarcubes that I somehow didn’t own. “Vitamin” is not one of my favorite Sugarcubes tunes, so I’m not that into these remixes. I will say though that the “Vitamin (E Mix)” is one of the most cleverly named remixes I’ve seen that isn’t an Eraser remix, and the remix of “Walkabout” is pretty good.

Siouxsie And the Banshees
Fear (Of The Unknown) (Vertigo Mix)
Cities In Dust (Remix)
The Passenger (LLLLLoco-Motion Mix)
I’ve had that Vertigo Mix of “Fear (Of The Unknown)” for years, but it was a rip from a vinyl that looked like two cats had sex on it then died, so it sounded like shit. Thank god for random maxi-single finds are sub-par record shows! Strangely, the remix isn’t posted on the tracklisting of the single, but only on the CD itself, which makes me believe it was a last minute addition. It’s a hardcore house re-imagining of the track, and is pretty damned good, which is not that surprising since it was remixed by everyone’s favorite gay formerly meth-addicted DJ from PA, Junior Vasquez. The other two mixes are from 12” promo singles. I don’t know what makes the “Cities In Dust” mix that different than the LP version, but the remix of “The Passenger” is about 5 minutes longer than the album cut. Awesome cover.

Posted in B-sides, rant, remixes, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Sugarcubes, TMBG | 7 Comments »

To Boldy Go Where Many Blogs have Gone Before

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Newsflash, I’m a nerd. And as a nerd I enjoy Star Trek.

I’ve seen the new movie three times now (twice on IMAX) and I plan on seeing it at least three more times in the theater if I have anything to say about it. It’s held up on each viewing and I’m beginning to think it just might be my favorite movie of all time. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a movie I’ve liked that much in the theatre. Dark Knight was great, but it sure was flawed (and too long). And a lot of my all-time favorite movies (Aliens, Clerks, A Clockwork Orange to name a few) I didn’t see in the theatres.

I guess the only movie going experiences I can compare to Star Trek in terms of how they made me feel are the first Spider-Man film, Rushmore, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Last of the Mohicans. An odd list for sure, but I fell in love with each of those films because they touched me in unique ways. Spider-Man made be believe in movies again, and restored my faith that sometimes a studio can actually not fuck something up (let’s not talk about Spider-Man 3 okay?). Rushmore is just a great fucking movie, and one that I identified with in ways I can’t even describe, I saw that flick four times in the theatres, a record that will finally break when I see Star Trek a few more times this month. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is just a great fun movie, and I think it was the last action movie I saw “as a kid” that really captured my imagination. On the flip side of that was The Last of the Mohicans, a decidedly adult action film that I appreciated on a more mature level admiring its cinematography and amazing score. It was also the first movie that I remember being happy that I saw it on a big screen because it was so damn beautiful.

I guess Star Trek kind of hits on all four of those points. It gives me faith that some people out there actually know what the fuck they are doing, I identify with it in strangely personal ways, I enjoy it the way a kid would, and I respect and appreciate it as a piece of great filmmaking (the film looks and sounds AMAZING). I think you can add to that the sense of nostalgia it brings to me. Although I was never a huge fan of the original series growing up, I used to watch TNG all the time with my parents, and it remains one of the few pop culture points my dad and I have in common.

Whatever the reason is, I fucking love that movie. And I know it’s going to be all I want to talk about for at least another week or so. Thankfully I was able to dig out some Star Trek related stuff in my vast music library, so I can fulfill my nerd trekkie needs and update this blog all at the same time!

Inside Star Trek
This was an album released by Columbia records in 1977. Let’s put that date in context; by 1977 the original series of Star Trek had been off the air for eight years, and the first movie was still two years away. So fans at the time were clamoring for anything Trek related. Star Trek conventions had taken off, and regularly featured appearances by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and various cast members. This album mainly consists for speeches and talks given at various Star Trek conventions, with some other stuff thrown in for good measure. It’s a little uneven, and pretty dated, but fans of the show should enjoy hearing Roddenberry talk, and its an interesting time capsule of what the fandom was like in 1977.

Inside Stark Trek
Star Trek Theme
A quick introduction followed by the original theme song.

William Shatner Meets Captain Kirk
This isn’t Shatner interviewing Kirk, thank god, but Roddenberry interviewing Shatner. Most of these stories have been told before and since but it’s always fun to hear Shatner being Shatner.

The Origin of Spock
A quick speech from Roddenberry about how Spock changed from the inception of the show to the original pilot to the final version we are know and love. Very funny with a great punchline.

Sarek’s Son Spock
Mark Leonard talks in character as Sarek to Gene Roddenberry. A lot of time is spent on Vulcan mating, including how a human woman could be seriously injured during form it. It’s kind of creepy to be honest.

The Questor Affair
Roddenberry tells his story about The Questor Tapes, a failed pilot that was never more than a movie-of-the-week. It’s an interesting bit of Star Trek history since much of it was the basis for Data. Roddenberry rants about network censorship (a common theme of this LP) and finishes with a semi-dirty joke (another common theme of this LP).

The Enterprise Runs Aground
Gene Roddenberry was a perv, I think this speech of his about sexuality and gender equality on the Enterprise proves it.

McCoy’s Rx For Life
DeForest Kelly talks to Roddenberry about life, the universe and everything, he sounded like a pretty awesome dude.

The Star Trek Philosophy
Well, this is what it’s all about. This should really be called Gene Roddenberry’s Philosophy, since he pretty much sums up his entire world view in about four and half minutes. He also goes into detail as to why he thinks the show became show popular later on, while attacking anyone who tries to exploit it. A well-spoken speech, if a little snarky.

Asimov’s World Of Science Fiction
Geekgasm alert: this is Gene Roddenberry interviewing Isaac Asimov. They talk about their legacies and what they consider science-fiction to be. Interesting stuff.

A Letter From a Network Censor
Roddenberry speaking at a Star Trek convention again, this time doing a little bit about how he feels about network executives by reading network notes regarding The Bible. Kind of stupid but funny.

The Star Trek Dream
This closer is similar to “The Star Trek Philosophy” and features Roddenberry waxing nostalgic about his past and how he got into science fiction.

I might have another post tomorrow, if not, more stuff (both Trekkie and not) next week.

Posted in Complete Albums, Nerd Alert, Star Trek | No Comments »

Kirk Doesn’t Believe In Situation No Win

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Sorry for the unannounced week off. Shit happens.

On an entirely unrelated note, I saw Star Trek last week and must say that IT WAS THE BEST MOVIE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE. Totally. Like, it’s total fucking godhead good. It’s mind-blowing, pants-creaming extraordinary awesomeness that will make you forget about the war, the shitty economy, The Black-Eyed Peas and everything else that’s wrong with our world today. I’m planning at least two more trips to the theater to see it, and if you haven’t seen it yet then you’re fucking up. It’s awesome. Go now.

Actually, read my blog first, then go.

The Clash
Return To Brixton
Return To Brixton [Extended Mix]
Return To Brixton [SW2 Dub]
Now here’s something I never knew existed, dance remixes of Clash songs. “Return To Brixton” is, not surprisingly, a remix of “The Guns of Brixton,” which originally appeared on The Clash’s seminal 1979 album London Calling. These remixes popped up some 11 years later on a maxi-single that also included the original version. I have no idea what the reason was behind the creation or release of these mixes, as they don’t seem to be promoting anything – they don’t appear on any proper Clash album or compilation and they weren’t the beginning of some grand Clash remix campaign. On the back of the CD it mentions that the original version of the song is available on The Story Of The Clash Volume 1, but that came out in 1988 and this single came out in 1990. Regardless of the origins, the remixes aren’t bad, if entirely unnecessary.

Big Audio Dynamite II
Rush Dance
City Lights
Rush [Live]
The Globe (12″ Mix)
The Globe (Dub Version)
The Globe (By The Orb)
The Globe (Instrumental)
My B.A.D./B.A.D./Big Audio obsession is well documented, so you can imagine my joy when I found not one, but two maxi-singles (sealed!) for sale for three bucks a pop. “Rush” is probably one of my favorite songs in the history of the universe, and both the dance and live versions don’t disappoint. In fact, the live version ranks up there with the live version of “Fucking in Rhythm and Sorrow” as one of my all-time favorite live B-sides. “The Globe” is less awesome by comparison, but one of the remixes is by The Orb, and that’s pretty damned awesome.

More maxi-single goodness later this week.

Posted in B-sides, Big Audio Dynamite, live, remixes, The Clash | 8 Comments »

Blog With me if you Want to Live

Monday, May 11th, 2009

On May 21st Terminator Salvation comes out and I am stoked to a level that is kind of fucking terrifying, especially considering that I never even saw T3 all the way through. Maybe it’s because of the trailer, which features the best usage of NIN in the history of all things ever.

Strangely enough, the soundtracks to both T1 and T2 are out of print and go for huge buckage on Amazon and eBay. That’s insane. I know the rights to the Terminator films are kind of complicated, and I’m sure the soundtrack rights are even more so, but you think whomever owns the rights would figure out that there might be some major cash-in bucks to made with the original soundtracks. Paying $125 for one on Amazon is a little nuts.

Now, I don’t have the definite edition, which features the complete score, but I do have the original version, which features the pop songs (which are NOT on the definite edition) so it’s a trade-off I guess.

So, without further ado…

Brad Fiedel – The Terminator Score
The Terminator Theme
Terminator Arrival
Tunnel Chase
Love Scene
Future Remembered
Factory Chase
The Terminator score is a work of synthesized art, barren and brilliant, perfectly matching the stark and brutal tone of the film. Brad Fiedel was the composer and performer of the piece (save for some electronic violin) and its probably his best-known work. Aside from the first two Terminator films he also did the music for both Fright Night films, Wes Craven’s Serpent and the Rainbow, and the Jodie Foster drama The Accused (one of the best movies you should never see). In the nineties he hooked up with Cameron again for True Lies and quickly after that did the score for the abomination known as Johnny Mnemonic (one of the worst moves you should see). He was passed for fucking Danny Elfman for the new Salvation, which is a damned shame. This is one of the best synthesized scores ever, ranking right up there with the original Halloween and Wendy Carlos’ A Clockwork Orange. It’s not the best Arnold movie score however, which isn’t a knock on it as much as it is unapologetic praise for the score to Conan the Barbarian, which is probably one of the top five scores of all time.

Tahnee Cain And The Tryanglz
You Can’t Do That
Burnin’ In The Third Degree
Photoplay
Tahnee Cain is actually Tane McClure, a singer/actress whose work you have no doubt seen, especially if you like 80s/90s b-movies like Bikini Academy and Illicit Dreams 2. Her biggest roles were probably in Go and the Legally Blonde films as Elle’s mom. She’s 49 years old, damn hot and has a bitchin’ rack, no doubt thanks to Dr. 90210 (according to the IMDB she was on an episode of the show called “Thanks for the Mammaries”). Tane seems to be a relentless self-promoter, and has her own webpage and YouTube channel. She seems fairly tech-savvy, which means she’ll probably find this blog eventually, so if you’re reading this Tane and you’re pissed I put your songs up just email me and I’ll take them down! Don’t go Steve Winwood on me and DMCA my ass please!

Anyways, her songs, oh yeah. I don’t remember “You Can’t do That” from the film that well, but “Burnin’ in the Third Degree” is the song that’s playing when all hell breaks loose in Technoir and it’s a solid example of 80s synthpop/rock that holds up pretty damn well. Tane has some pipes on her. “Photoplay,” which is also in the Technoir scene I believe, is pretty good as well.

Jay Ferguson and 16mm
Pictures Of You
Jay Ferguson was in Spirit, a 60s/70s psychedelic band, but you’d never know it from this synthpop song, which sounds like something Michael Sembello would have record for a never-realized sequel to Flashdance. I don’t remember at which point this track pops up in the soundtrack either.

Linn Van Hek
Imtimacy
This is the song that Sarah Conner’s roomie is rocking out to before Arnold kills her. It’s by far the most experimental of the pop songs on the soundtrack, very post-punk/electronic sounding. I dig it. I can find next to nothing on Linn Van Hek though, other than the fact that this song actually got a 12” single release in Australia. Odd.

Posted in Complete Albums, Jay Ferguson, Linn Van Hek, soundtrack, Tahnee Cain | No Comments »

Better Living Through Orgone

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Not much to say tonight. Actually, I have a bit to say about various non-inportatant things, but I am very tired. Quick review notices:

Julien-K – Death To Analog: My original review for this was just going to be “Fuck these guys.” but my editor said that lacked impartial critisism.

The Future Sound Of London Presents The Pulse EPs: If you like Acid House and you do not own this CD collecting some of FSOL’s most essential (and woefully out of print) tracks then you are fucking up.

Now some tunes.

Kate Bush
Cloudbusting (The Organon Remix)
I was torn on putting this one up because the quality of the recording isn’t that great. There are quite a few pops and crackles and such, but I decided to post it because I’m sure the people who really want to hear it don’t give a shit. Besides, it’s a totally awesome song. How many other songs have you heard about machines that can disrupt the weather using the unseen forces that are created from orgasms? I thought not. This remix is from a 12” single.

Mental Note: I need to buy more Kate Bush 12” singles.

OMD
If You Leave (Extended Version)
La Femme Accident (Remixed Version)
Speaking of shitty recordings…I put this song up a very long time ago, back when I had a retarded turntable that spun too damn fast. I meant to repost this one in March, but I couldn’t find the damn thing in my horribly unorganized record collection. I finally did, so enjoy and spend the weekend waxing poetic about Molly Ringwald.

Todd Terry
Let It Ride (12” Edit)
Let It Ride (Tee’s Mix)
Blackout (Tee’s Out Mix)
And now for the drum ‘n’ bass portion of tonight’s program. Todd Terry is a house legend whose remixes you’ve probably heard before (on this blog most likely) having done remixes for artists as diverse as Garbage and Yes. I didn’t know he was into DnB as well, so these tracks were a pleasant surprise. They are all from the same 12” single.

Bedrock
Set In Stone
Forbidden Zone
Ah those wacky House DJs and their stupid-ass pseudonyms. Bedrock is John Digweed and Nick Muir, and while they aren’t as successful as Digweed’s other collaborative project (Sasha & Digweed) they do alright for themselves. “Set The Stone” is just alright, but “Forbidden Zone” is great, peaking wonderflully near the end. Pure house brilliance. These two trance/house tracks are from a 12” single. Immature sidenote: Having a name like “Digweed” must have sucked in junior high.

Posted in B-sides, Bedrock, Kate Bush, OMD, remixes, Todd Terry | 1 Comment »

Lost Soundtrack Of Lost Angels On Lost Turntable Is Lost

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

I’m going out on a limb and posting some stuff from a rare out-of-print soundtrack. The last time I did that I faced the wrath of Steve Winwood, hopefully that won’t be the case today.

The soundtrack in question the soundtrack to Lost Angels, a completely forgotten 80s flick with Donald Sutherland and Adam Horowitz, AKA Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys. It was directed by Hugh Hudson, who blew his creative wad with his debut feature, the epic Chariots of Fire in 1981. He followed that up with the mediocre Greystroke: Legend Of Tarzan in 1984 and the “holy shit that was fucking awful” Revolution in 1985, a film that damn near killed Al Pacino’s career. After this flick he went on to do a film called My Life So Far a decade later and then I Dreamed Of Africa, a movie that nearly killed Kim Basigner’s career. Dude needs to stop making movies. Hell, maybe he has, I Dreamed of Africa was the dude’s last movie and that was nearly 10 years ago.

Anyways, despite Ad-Rock starring in Lost Angels, the soundtrack was Beastie-less and instead featured a weird combination of established and up-and-coming alternative acts. Album cuts by The Cure, the Pogues, Soul Asylum, Soundgarden and Toni Childs were all included, but since all of those songs are on easy-to-find records I’m not including them here (check out a tracklsting at Allmusic. Instead I’m only focusing on the stuff that’s still pretty hard to find, such as…

The Happy Mondays – Do It Better
Ah The Happy Mondays, the band that bankrupt Factory Records and proved that while acid and ecstasy are a-okay when it comes to writing acid house inspired rock, angel dust and crack certainly are not. “Do It Better” is certainly not a rarity by any stretch of the means, it appeared on the band’s sophomore album Bummed, but this version did not. In fact, I don’t know the story behind this version of the song at all, which I think was exclusive to this soundtrack. If anyone has additional information on it I would be grateful.

Apollo Smile – Let’s Rock
Speaking of wanting additional information. What the fuck happened to Apollo Smile? Does anyone out there remember this chick? She was the poster child for the self-promotion, basically willing herself into record contract and a TV host gig on Sci-Fi Channel by basically proclaiming herself to be a “live-action anime girl” (whatever that means). If you’re a video game nerd you probably recognize her voice as the voice of Ulala from the Space Channel 5 games. Was she a prefabricated creation with little-to-no depth? Possibly. Was she hot as hell and super-cool in a silly nineties kind of way? Definitely! So what the fuck happened to her? A quick search for her online finds that her official site has vanished and all that remains are some embarrassing late-90s fansites that haven’t been updated in a decade. I’m not the only person who has pondered this, check out this article (and this one) for a little more information/wondering. Hey Apollo are you out there? Want to do an interview? This tune, which samples some Led Zep, it totally awesome.

Raheem – Self Preservation
Speaking of Led Zeppelin samples, this rap track from Raheem of the Ghetto Boys samples “Whole Lotta Love.” But the no-doubt illegal sampling doesn’t stop there, as this track aslo lifts from Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.” Two classic rock riffs for the price of one, done well and in an original way. Hey Kid Rock, pay attention!

The Royal Court Of China – Love Long Gone
The Royal Court of China, what an awful name for a band from Nashville. Mediocre tune that I’m including just to be a completist.

John Williams and Wayne Shorter – Lost Angles Theme
John Williams is an Academy-Award Winning composer who gave us the themes to Jaws, ET, Star Wars and dozens of other classic films. Wayne Shorter is a legendary jazz saxophonist from the 1960s. Together they created this utterly forgettable piece of music for a movie starring a Beastie Boy. The late 80s were really weird man.

Posted in Apollo Smile, Happy Mondays, John Williams, Raheem, soundtrack, the Royal Court Of China | 7 Comments »

Tole-Doh! Rock

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

I’m heading for the not-at-all greener pastures of Toledo Ohio for the next few days. So this will be the last update of the week. I’m twice as depressed as you are about that fact, I can assure you. The stuff from tonight are all Record Store Day exclusives, most of them being from the Record Store Day 2009 Edition exclusive LP. Half of it was stuff that was already released or from upcoming releases, but there were a few choice rare/exclusive cuts, here they are.

Glasvegas – Daddy’s Gone (Live from KCRW)
I know very little about this band. I just know what my friend Lisa tells me, and according to her they are Jesus wrapped in awesome. Although I’ve learned never to trust her opinion when it comes to UK stuff, since she’s biased. Not a bad track though.

Raphael Saadiq – 100 Yard Dash (101 Yard Remix)
What I said about Glasvegas goes double here. Another good track, but I’m too lazy to Wiki the guy and see who the hell he is right now.

Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (Vince Clarke Remix)
I’m seeing these guys Sunday in Detroit and I haven’t been so stocked to go to the Motor City Hellhole in years. I’ll give a full report of the awesomeness (and sure-to-be-annoying-Hipsters) when I return. This remix is by Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode/Yazoo/Erasure. Vince Clarke remixing a Franz Ferdinand song is the most gay thing that isn’t actually gay in the history of faux-gay ever.

Black Kids – Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo) (Kid Gloves Remix)
This is probably the song I like the least on Partie Traumatic, good beat/groove on this remix though.

Slayer
Pyschopathy Red
I Am A Mistake Of Nature
I Am A Mistake Of Nature (Reversed and Sped Up)
Slayer motherfucker!!! SLAYER!! These tracks weren’t from the Record Store Day exclusive vinyl, but from a special single that was also available on Record Store Day. It’s blood red, big surprise. The song Psychopathy Red is about Andrei Chikatilo, the Russian serial killer. Typical happy happy Slayer stuff. The b-side is a slowed down backwards message, which I presume is a translated statement made by Chikatilo. I’ve gone ahead and sped it up/reveresed it for you, while also provided the original version. Enjoy the murder and I’ll see you Monday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

SLOW BONGO FLOYD FTW!!!

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Today was the first time since I broke my rib/joint/tendon that I was able to work out. I just got done lifting weights while listening to Fear. I could punch God in the face right now I’m so pumped.

On a completely unrelated note, I finally got around to updating my blog roll, check it out, there’s some good stuff there, especially Friendsound, who get deluxe bonus points for putting up a rare CD by Scanner, one of my favorite electronic acts.

Tonight’s post is full of weird, awesome and weird awesome.

Slow Bongo Floyd
More Than Jesus (SBF Mix)
More Than Jesus (Irresistible Force Mix)
Open Your Heart (11 O’Clock Mix)
Open Your Heart (Piano Mix)
Talk about a surprise. I bought this record on a complete whim, mostly because of the ridiculous band name, and was complete gobsmacked by the unbelievable awesomeness hidden in its grooves. This is some crazy-ass Madchester shit to the 10th degree, house beats layered behind wah wah guitars and trippy-ass vocals. I can find next to nothing on these guys. There seems to be a semi-official site dedicated to them, but it’s bloody awful only giving out the most basic of information. That site mentions two albums, Acid House Inspirational and Brenda Salmons. I can’t find the first one anywhere but it seems that Brenda Salmons was just re-released digitally and you can pick it up on Amazon for a cheap six bucks! I bought it and am listening to it right now. I’ll let you all know how it is in the coming days. However, if you liked The Stone Roses or The Happy Mondays you need to download this shit and check it out, it’ll blow your mind that you haven’t heard it before. If anyone out there has any other rare Slow Bongo Floyd tracks for the love of God hook a brother up.

Heaven 17
Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry Parts One & Two (Uninterrupted Single Version)
Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry (Extended Dance Version)
I’m new to Heaven 17, having recently discovered how awesome early Human League was, I’ve branched out and picked up a few Heaven 17 singles and I have to be honest; I’m a little disapointed. I was hoping that the guys from Heaven 17 took the weird from Human League with them when they left, but it sounds like they didn’t. Based on the insanely dark name of this track I was expecting “Being Boiled” round 2, but instead I got an upbeat dance number about the opression of the working class. It’s not a bad song, but damn talk about not having something meet your expectations.

Lene Lovich
Blue Hotel (Dance Mix)
Lene Lovich was an American singer, but she found much more success in England, having signed to Stiff Records when all the cool kids (Elivs Costello, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric) were doing it. This remix to one of her best tunes is from a 12” single. If you like it I suggest checking out her other stuff, it’s all pretty good.

Sparks
Rosebud (Extended Dance Mix)
Theme For Rosebud (Cinematic Mix)
Rosebud (FM Mix)
These guys are fucking weird. That’s all I got to say.

Posted in Heaven17, Lene Lovich, remixes, Slow Bongo Floyd, Sparks | 9 Comments »

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