Archive for the ‘remixes’ Category

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YMOh Yeah

Thursday, June 22nd, 2017

Yellow Magic Orchestra
Technopolis (M.S.T. Mix)
Rydeen (Beat Sonic Mix)
Behind The Mask (Live at A&M Chaplin Memorial Studio 7th Nov 80)
I don’t know if the information regarding when and where that version of “Behind The Mask” was recorded is right. Let me explain.

A few weeks ago I picked up YMO Giga Capsule, a special edition DVD featuring live and rare YMO performances. This is not the same as YMO Giga Clips. That’s a different DVD that focused more on TV show performances and music videos. Giga Capsule is a bigger affair, mostly because it’s a two-sided disc. One side is your standard DVD video and features a nice selection of YMO live footage from various concert videos (all of which are annoyingly out-of-print right now). It’s great, but nothing out-of-the-ordinary.

The other side is what’s special, a unique digital experience full of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, outtakes and more. Of course, that’s what I’ve gathered from reading about it online. That’s because I can’t get the fucking disc to work on my computer. I think the thing will only work using an old 32bit version of Quicktime that is no longer available and doesn’t work on modern 64-bit machines. If anyone does know anything about getting this thing to work on a new PC, hit me up.

Even though I can’t run the disc’s program proper, I can browse the file directories, which led me to some interesting discoveries. Rather amazingly, this one DVD contains YMO’s complete studio discography, as well as the Live At Kinokuniya Hall album. They’re AIFF files, but they all sound pretty good save for the live album, which is blown out for some reason. Anyone with a bit of technical skill could rip all these files off the disc, easily convert them to MP3, and then have every single YMO record on their hard drive! That kind of thing would never happen today.

There are a lot of other random audio files on this disc. Apparently, somewhere on it are the raw instrumental tracks for several songs. Tried my best, but I couldn’t find them. What I could find was this live version of “Behind The Mask.” I got the information behind its source via the disc’s Discogs page. It could be completely wrong, I have no way of checking. I think I just wrote more words in English about this disc than anyone in the history of the internet. If I’m wrong, please inform me with the correct information.

As for the remixes, they’re from a bizarre remix compilation (pictured above) that features remixes of YMO tracks as well as YMO-associates Sandii, Snakeman Show and Melon. As remixes of YMO go, these are some of the better ones I’ve heard. However, as you may know if you read my multi-part guide to the YMO discography, that’s really not saying all that much. Nearly every YMO remix is complete garbage, even the ones by prominent electronic artists like The Orb. I think it’s because YMO are, at heart, a pop band, and the majority of their remixes have been done by artists looking to make the music more like whatever dance music trend is hip at the time. That just doesn’t work.

Like I said though, these aren’t atrocious. And if you’ve ever wondered what YMO might sound like if they were a mid-90s hardcore house act, well then you are in luck tonight!

Posted in live, remixes, Yellow Magic Orchestra | 3 Comments »

Another Diva Post

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

Coming here for game music? You’re in luck! I finally posted some. But it’s not here, it’s over on my other blog. Check it!

In other news, I decided to get back on Instagram. I figured the social media platform known more for random pictures of food is probably better for me than the one known for spreading Neo-Nazi hategroups. You can find me at LostTurntable. I mostly post pics of records (shocking I know) but I also put up pictures of flowers and the occasionally weird/funny/pretty thing I see in Tokyo. If you’re ever aching for sneak previews of what I’ll be posting here, that’s a good place to check as well.

I’ve  been posting a lot of avant-garde and Moog-centric nonsense as of late. How about some disco?

Diana Ross
Love Hangover (Tribal Hangover)
Upside Down (93 Remix)
Upside Down (Dub 2)
Someday We’ll Be Together (93 Remix)
You ever notice how most good Nile Rodgers tracks kind of sound the same? You ever notice how that’s not a problem at all because they’re all dope as fuck?

These are all from the 12″ single to “Chain Reaction.” I didn’t include the mix of that track, as it’s on one of Diana’s greatest hits albums and easily available. All of these remixes are still unavailable outside of this single. The highlight of the bunch is that “93 Remix” of “Upside Down,” an eight-minute extension of the disco track that is just more (but not too much) of a good thing. Although I think that the part where they cut up her voice so she says “up up down up up down” is kind of strange. It sounds like she’s trying to dictate the Konami code or something. Still, a great mix.

The remix of “Someday We’ll Be Together” isn’t all that bad as much as it is entirely unnecessary. The original version features a musical accompaniment by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphonic Orchestra, supplementing their instrumentation with a 90s house beat just seems wrong.

Madonna
Celebration (Oakenfold Remix)
Celebration (Benny Benassi Dub)
Celebration (Johnny Vicious Club Remix)
Celebration (Oakenfold Remix Dub)
Edit: Apparently I posted these a few months back? Oh well.

I still have…one second, let me go count…51 or so rare Madonna remixes I need to get around to posting here, so I figured I should get on that. I found myself in a dirge of Madonna about two years ago when a local record shop had a massive Madonna 12″ single sale. I don’t even remember how many singles I bought that day, too many probably. I know I didn’t need that 2×12″ remix single of her cover of “American Pie,” that’s for sure.

While “Celebration” isn’t A-grade Madonna, it’s certainly better than that.

The 2×12″ single from which I ripped these also had a pair of Benny Benassi remixes that I’m not including here as they are currently in print and available on most digital music storefronts.

Posted in Diana Ross, Madonna, remixes | 2 Comments »

MORE FUNK AND MORE TURTLENECKS

Saturday, June 10th, 2017

The era of Prolific James (that’s me) continues. Over on that other site I have for some reason, I wrote about an awesome Mario Paint instructional video that I finally managed to get uploaded to YouTube. I also put together a rambling piece about my musical tastes and how they’ve changed over the years (save for my hatred of Steve Winwood). Check them out if you’d like.

And since I’ll probably have a few more readers than normal reading this post in the coming days thanks to my upcoming appearance on Retronauts, I’d like to share this post I wrote about a sexual I.Q. test on vinyl. Apropos of nothing, I just really like one and want more people to read it!

Anyway, bicoastal keyboards ahoy!

Electro Keyboard Orchestra
The Heated Point
The Iron Side
You probably don’t know this (because why the hell would you) but Japan has its own series of exclusive releases for Record Store Day. Almost all of them are of Japanese acts, which makes sense – because it’s Japan. This year did feature on Todd Rundgren seven inch single though, which is way more Japanese than any Japanese release (Japan loves the Runt).

Of the Japan-exclusive titles, I only bought two. One was an electro covers album of Sly Stone tracks.

It’s weird.

The other was this, a seven-inch single featuring a pair of tracks from a 1975 space-rock/funk/jazz instrumental keyboard outfit  that featured Yuji Ohno, who’s best known for his work on the Lupin series.

Why they just didn’t repress the original LP in full is beyond me, but I’ll take what I can get. These tracks are uberdope. Dope as a mother. Dopest shit. They’re dope.

There was some primo-synthsized funk coming out of Japan in the mid-70s that really embraced the electronic sound of early synthesizers and combined it with vintage funk grooves of acts like Sly Stone. Any random 70s Japanese funk track I’ve heard could have easily served as the soundtrack to a high speed car chase featuring Steve McQueen and/or a Dodge Charger.  One day I will compile a Nuggets-style compilation of pre-synthpop Japanese electronic music. Until that day, enjoy this taste. These tracks are my everything right now.

Pet Shop Boys
Yesterday, When I Was Mad (Jam & Spoon Mix)
Yesterday, When I Was Mad (Junior Vasquez Fabulous Dub)
Yesterday, When I Was Mad (Raf Zone Mix)
I have now posted every single Pet Shop Boys remix in my collection. As Pet Shop Boys singles are a bit harder to come by here (and I already have most of the ones I do stumble upon), don’t expect another post filled with remixes of PSB classics anytime soon. Longtime readers of this site (shout out to both of you) probably remember when this site was almost nothing but Pet Shop Boys (and New Order/Depeche Mode) remixes. Seems so long ago, because it was. I still can’t believe I’ve been doing this thing for over ten freaking years.

I hope to continue this prolific streak of mine for at least a few more weeks. Hopefully expect more posts than usual. Sorry if they’re all covering strange Moog records from the mid-70s. Actually, I’m not that sorry about that. But I thought I’d give a heads up.

Stay sane out there.

Posted in Pet Shop Boys, remixes | No Comments »

Second Hand Fan-Fiction and Sister Sledge

Saturday, June 3rd, 2017

I 90% quit Twitter this week. You can read why here. You can also read about my love giant Hard-Offs. I’m not going to explain that sentence. You’ll have to click the link to find out.

As I say in my blog post about Twitter, I will still check my mentions on the regular. So it’s the best way to get a hold of me if you have any questions about my blog, Tokyo, or collecting records. That’s by far my favorite thing about Twitter, so I’m not giving that up.

Anyways, here’s a goofy single.

Sister Sledge
He’s The Greatest Dancer (Remixed by Brutal Bill Marquez)
We Are Family (Remixed By Marley Marl)
I actually bought this record at a Hard-Off for 108 yen, or about a buck, making it the cheapest record I think I’ve bought in well over a decade. So that’s something.

This record was released in 1998. If Discogs is to be believed, it was a Spanish release. So, at some point between 1998 and 2017, this record made its way from Spain to Tokyo, eventually landing in a Hard-Off discount used hardware store in the outskirts of Tokyo.

Here’s what I think happened:

It was originally bought by a Spanish DJ. It was the late-90s, global economy was booming, he gets a gig at a lavish disco-themed dance club in downtown Madrid. It becomes the hottest dance club for your vintage grooves and a big tourist destination for international clubbers. One day, while mixing some Chic tracks, he catches the eye of a beautiful Japanese tourist. They fall in love.

But she has to return to Japan to finish school. With nothing weighing him down financially, he decides to ditch his home country to be with the girl he loves. All he has to his name are his decks and a crate of records. So he packs them up and heads out for a new life in Japan.

They’re in love but life can cruel, life in Tokyo. The club scene is different there, and he’s having a hard time finding work. The occasional gig comes along every now and then, but he’s not making ends meet. She just finished school. She’s a new recruit at a company. The money is decent, but barely enough to support them.

He’s about to give up and head back to Spain. He loves his girl but he doesn’t want to be a burden. Then he finds out that there’s a market for Spanish teachers. Luckily, he does have a degree, it’s in electrical engineering, but that’s all he needs to get a visa to teach. So he puts his DJ work on the back burner and takes up teaching.

Turns out he’s really good at it and soon he’s making enough money not to be a burden on his girlfriend anymore. Relieved of financial pressure, the two get married. He likes to DJ still but it’s just not financially feasible anymore. The teaching pays so good. He’s getting private corporate teaching gigs now. That’s too much money to pass up.

The wife gets pregnant and they decide that the city is no place to raise a child. They head out to the outskirts, toward Saitama. They find a nice neighborhood with good schools. Their place is even pretty big (for Tokyo standards anyway) but those records, turntables and mixers are taking up a lot of space. With a heavy heart, he decides its time to move on. He keeps one turntable, he still likes to play music at home, but he packs up the rest of his gear and his B-tier records (Sister Sledge single included) and hauls them down to the local Hard-Off. He doesn’t get a lot of money for them, but he’s able to take the wife out for a nice dinner that night.

Sometime later, a giant gay man from Pittsburgh buys the record and plays it for his boyfriend. He tells his boyfriend that the “He’s The Greatest Dancer” remix is okay, but the “We Are Family” one is a lot better. His boyfriend agrees.

Posted in remixes, Sister Sledge | No Comments »

George Clinton’s Extended Beef

Sunday, May 28th, 2017

Me: I’m going to buy an old VCR this week.

Literally everyone I know: Of course you are.

In case you’re wondering, I’m looking for an old VCR/DVD dubbing machine and if I score one then expect maybe the very first Lost Turntable video feature.

Yes I know I could buy a video capture unit for my PC but have you tried to do that shit? It’s hard. My A/V expertise begins and ends with phono.

George Clinton
Bullet Proof (Extended Version)
Do Fries Go With That Shake (Extended Remix)
Scratch Medley: Do Fries Go With That Shake/Pleasures Of Exhaustion (Do It Till I Drop)
Double Oh-Oh (For Your Ears Only Mashed Mix)
Some of these tracks have been on my Lost Turntable playlist for nearly five years. I have no idea why I’ve never gotten around to uploading them here. I’m such a slacker sometimes.

I definitely need more 80s George Clinton in my life. I’ve said before that “Atomic Dog” is a perfect song that I could listen to all day, and while these tracks aren’t perfect, they’re sure fucking close. “Bullet Proof” might have some of the illest drums of all time. Just a monster track for sure.

This sound is making a comeback of sorts, is it not? Or is it just Bruno Mars dipping into that nostalgia well and no one else? More people need to get on that shit. Hell, more people need to mine vintage R&B sounds. Modern R&B is just boring as all hell. When Dumptruck got elected a lot of idiots were saying that it would be good for music because we would see the return of vicious and revolutionary protest music. Well, it’s been nearly six months now and I’m still waiting for that. Secondly, while I’ve long been clamoring for the return of politically insightful music (especially in R&B and hip-hop), I would also settle for the return fun and upbeat pop music.

The pop charts are a dour disaster zone right now. It’s like everyone is depressed, but not woke enough to write socially conscious songs, so instead they’re just writing mopey-dopey songs about how much partying sucks. Partying is dope. Write about how dope partying can be while how shitty the world is. And try to have fun doing it.

What I’m saying is, more songwriters need to listen to Maggot Brain.

Additionally, I would a top ten hit single akin to “Do Fries Go With That Shake” but gay. It’s not fair to the gay community that the only super-popular openly gay singer in the world right now is Sam Smith. We’ve been through enough.

Thank you for listening.

Posted in George Clinton, remixes | 4 Comments »

Black Days

Friday, May 19th, 2017

I had the immense privilege of seeing Cornell with both Audioslave and Soundgarden. And he was probably one of the greatest vocalists I ever saw perform in person. The world has lost an amazing talent and person. And I am heartbroken as I realize that my generation will be sorely lacking in old rock stars.

Soundgarden
Gun (Live ’90)
Get On The Snake (Live ’90)
Superunknown was one of the first albums I bought with my own money to listen to on my own. I didn’t have to buy a lot of music with my own money when I was a kid, mostly because my mom and I had very similar musical tastes. Having a mom who was way into Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana really saved me a lot of money at the time. Thanks mom! My mom is dope.

Anyways, for some reason I can clearly recall buying Superunknown used at a CD Warehouse and playing the shit out of that album. I would listen to it when I played Doom, read comics or mowed the lawn. I honestly think the main reason that album became my default background music was simply because it’s so damn long. That album is 15 tracks and 71 minutes long. And it doesn’t have a single piece of filler on it. That just never fucking happens.  How many classic, amazing tracks are on that album? Six? Seven? Eight? I mean, shit, “Black Hole Sun” might be the worst song on that album, and it’ s one of the greatest rock singles of the 90s. But it can’t hold a candle to “Spoonman” or “Kickstand” or even the title track. It’s downright criminal that Superunknown isn’t spoken with the same reference as Nevermind and Ten. It’s the Thriller or Hysteria of grunge; every song could’ve been a single. And again, at 15 tracks long that’s a holy shit statement.

For the longest time there were countless Soundgarden rarities. Unlike Pearl Jam or Nirvana, there didn’t seem to be anyone keeping track of the Soundgarden archives. Thankfully, that started to come to an end a few years back. Between the deluxe editions of Badmotorfinger and Superunknown, and the 3CD rarities compilation Echo Of Miles, a good portion of the rare Soundgarden tracks worth a listen are now easy to score, and I suggest you do that. Be sure to check out their oddly sedate-but-great cover of Devo’s “Girl U Want” and the amazing Moby remix of “Dusty,” which I prefer to the original.

These live tracks are from the CD single to “Blow Up The Outside World.” To the best of my knowledge, they were never included on any of the various re-issues, but if I’m wrong please let me know.

FYI: the “movie no one saw” that Cornell references in the beginning of “Get On the Snake” is Lost Angels. He’s certainly right, no one saw that movie, but the soundtrack, which included The Pogues, Toni Childs, Soul Asylum and Apollo Smile, was hella dope.

Audioslave
Show Me How To Live (T Ray Remix)
Set It Off (Live From Letterman)
Gasoline (Live From Letterman)
I’ve always felt that Audioslave is an underrated band. At the very least, their first album certainly is. It is such a great record, a fantastic hard rock album that came out at a time when those were few and far between. I got to see Audioslave live three times, and each time they delivered a stand out show. If you’ve never given the band a proper chance, I really recommend that first self-titled record. And while those second two albums don’t hold up when compared to that stellar debut, they both have some solid tracks. Scope them out on iTunes, each have some buried gems. I’m a big fan of “Man Or Animal” and “Somedays,” myself.

Audioslave doesn’t have many rarities to speak of. I think their only commercially released B-side was “We Got The Whip” and you can get that on iTunes no problem. These three tracks were the only ones in my collection that I couldn’t find commercially available.  They’re all from various singles from the first album. The two “live” tracks don’t sound very live. You get zero crowd noise on these. I suspect that they’re rehearsal recordings. They still sound good though. The remix of “Show Me How To Live” is the highlight of the group though. It’s a good remix of a great song that adds some layers of electronic and psychedelic effects. Simple, but it works.

…

Sigh. Why does everything have to suck so much?

Posted in Audioslave, live, remixes, Soundgarden | 1 Comment »

I have nothing of value to add to the current discourse so here’s some ZZ Top.

Friday, May 12th, 2017

Geez.

ZZ Top
Gimme All Your Lovin’ (live)
Sharp Dressed Man (live)
I Got the Six (live)
TV Dinners (live)
Got Me Under Pressure (live)
Legs (dance mix)
Legs (Album Version)
All of these tracks are from the 2008 Collector’s Edition of Eliminator, which was released in 2008 and has been seemingly out-of-print ever since. For some reason (and whatever the reason is, it’s a bad one) all digital versions currently being sold only have the single edit of “Legs.” Some CD versions have the album version still, while others use the single edit. It’s pretty hard to tell which has which just from looking though. Both are perfectly fine versions, I don’t prefer one over the other, but it would be nice to have the album version on the album (duh).

Completely exclusive to this release is the dope as fuck super extended “Dance Mix” which really jacks up the sequencers. It’s basically “I Feel Love” with blues riffs. A great concept that I’m really bummed more people didn’t get behind in the 80s. The live tracks are decent, but let’s be honest, this is an album that was never made to be played live. It’s a studio creation through and through.

I recently bought the remastered vinyl of Eliminator. It came on cherry red vinyl to match the Eliminator car and it sounded great. That is, until it got to “Legs” and it just suddenly cut out near the end of the song. No fade, no breakdown, it just cuts out entirely. What I suspect happened was that they pressed the original album version on a groove that was allocated for the single edit, which is over a minute shorter.  Whatever the reason, it’s pathetic that Rhino, who released the disc, never issued any sort of public recall for the LP. I emailed them twice, with neither message getting a response. I eventually had to return it to my local record store.

Anyways, between the error-riddled vinyl and the out-of-print 2 CD edition, Rhino/Warner Bros. really need to get their shit together on this one. Eliminator is one of the greatest albums of the 80s. They should teach it in music school and the class should be called “how to sell out for cash and still make a kick-ass record.” Because, let’s face it, a Texas blues band adopting a synth-heavy sound in 1984 was about as hard a sell-out as humanly possible. But they made it work.

Posted in live, remixes, ZZ Top | 7 Comments »

Fretting over the remote possibility of nuclear war with help from The KLF

Sunday, April 16th, 2017

Okay, look.

I appreciate concern, I really do. I like that people out there are looking out for me and care for my well-being, I really do. But if one more motherfucker out there asks me if I’m worried/going to do anything about the increasingly heated conflict brewing between China, North Korea and the United States (with Japan, and by extension me, stuck in the middle) then I’m going to go nuclear and vaporize someone.

Allow me to nip your concerns and questions in the bud right now. No, I’m not worried about the possibility of any kind of military strike against Japan. This is mostly because I have enough, far more tangible things, to worry about. But I also just don’t think it’s going to happen. While I’m rarely the kind of person who says things like “the media is hyping this new story too much,” well, guess what; the media is hyping this story too much. Calm the fuck down.

Additionally, even if I had some inkling that something (whatever that might be) might happen. No, I’m not leaving Japan. This is my home and my boyfriend’s home.

Besides, there are enough dope record stores here to make the distant threat of thermonuclear war worth it. Seriously, look what I found today.

The KLF
It’s Grim Up North (radio edit)
It’s Grim Up North (Part 1)
It’s Grim Up North (Part 2)
Jerusalem on the Moors
America: What Time Is Love? (radio edit)
America No More
America: What Time Is Love? (Uncensored)
America No More (Just the Pipe Band)
Justified & Ancient (Make Mine a “99”)
Justified & Ancient (Let Them Eat Ice Cream)
Justified & Ancient (“The White Room” Version)
Justified & Ancient (All Bound for Mu Mu Land)
Justified & Ancient (Stand by the Jams)
Maybe I’ve said this before (it feels like something I would’ve said before), but one of the best things about living in Japan is walking into a random record store and seeing an “import” that you first heard about on the internet 15 years ago and never thought you’d buy. And seeing it on clearance for less than $20. I just hope I can find part one for a similarly cheap price someday. Because this thing is fucking dope.

I have probably shared many of these tracks over the years here at Lost Turntable. In fact, I’m positive that I have. However, those were all vinyl rips and many were done back when I was still learning how to rip my vinyl, so a lot of them sound like garbage. If you’ve ever downloaded these tracks from me before, you should probably download these too, they sound a hell of a lot better.

Okay, change of plans. If the possibility of a nuclear conflict does increase, then I’m gonna put my boyfriend in a suitcase (he’s tiny) and hop on a plane for Mu Mu Land. Dope beats, acid house and Tammy Wynette await me.

Posted in Complete Albums, remixes, The KLF | 5 Comments »

Hawkwind for Giving Up

Friday, March 31st, 2017

I was silly enough to have hope last week! Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! That sure was funny and stupid of me! Silly me! We’re all doomed.

Hawkwind
Silver Machine (12 Inch Remix)
Silver Machine (New Remix)
Silver Machine (Reconstructed By Utah Saints)
I got it guys. Let’s build a spaceship, call it the Silver Machine and blast the fuck out of here. That’s the only way. What else are we going to? I’m serious. At this point it’ll be easier to build an interstellar spacecraft than it would be to convince the people of our dying planet not to treat each other like the fecal matter of subhuman parasites. I know a guy who can get us some steel (I’m from Pittsburgh after all) and I know some good artists who can paint the thing all rad. Anyone know any quantum physicists on the verge of cracking faster-than-light travel? You’d really be doing me a solid.

These remixes are from two different records I picked up relatively recently. The first two are from a 12″ single called Silver Machine – Infected By The Scourge Of The Earth. Do not ask me who The Scourge Of The Earth is. I don’t know. I mean, I know who 2017’s literal actual scourge of the earth is, but I do not know anything about the artist who called himself that in 1999, which is when this single came out. The 12 Inch Remix is, quite honestly, hot garbage, but the New Remix is pretty great.

The last version, remixed by the immortal Utah Saints, is from a 1996 remix compilation entitled Future Reconstructions – Ritual Of The Solstice. The majority of that album is not very good. However, it shouldn’t be surprising that when you give an amazing group an amazing song to work on, the results end up being pretty good. Actually, I’ve heard enough lousy remixes by The Orb and Aphex Twin to know that’s not always the case, but in this instance it’s 100% true. Their remix is dope as fuck.

 

Posted in Hawkwind, remixes | 5 Comments »

Japanese Acid House Disco Funk And Pet Shop Boys

Sunday, March 26th, 2017

How’s everyone living? Everyone still living? Guess that’s good enough for now, right?

Been a rough week or so, but I’m glad that the forces of non-evil out there can at least chalk up one win for the increasingly marginalized masses out there. I had severe anxiety that Trump and his shitball league of fuckfaces was actually going to dismantle the least worst American health care act passed in my lifetime. So color me surprised that they actually managed to fall on their collective shit-eating faces for no other reason other than the fact that they couldn’t agree on how evil their revised bill had to be.

It’s been said by others, but I feel the need to say it myself; this was a big deal. If the people of America hadn’t been so outspoken against the evils of Trump(no)Care, then it probably would’ve passed. So while it is easy to be depressed and feel utterly hopeless all the time about the current state of affairs that our world is facing, this should give you some hope. Don’t give up. If we all work together as a team then we can achieve some victories.

So get out there and raise hell in whatever way you see best. Here’s some dance music to help you do it.

Denki Groove
A.C.I.D.I.S.C.O.
I’ve been writing about Japanese electronic dance music for a long time now, but I don’t think I’ve mentioned Denki Groove once. But if name recognition is anything to go on, they’re probably the biggest electronic dance group in Japan. Every Japanese person I talk to knows of them, and most like them. They’ve seemingly been around forever, and have released what feels like countless singles and albums. This summer they’ll be playing Summer Sonic, Japan’s equivalent of Lollapalooza, and will also be opening for the J-Pop megastars Perfume at their own Perfume Fes (that’s not a typo, don’t ask me why the “t” is absent). They’re a big deal.

Here’s the thing; I don’t like them very much.

I’ve really tried. Honestly I have. I have a greatest hits CD and a couple of other albums, but I just can’t get into them. They have plenty of decent tracks, no doubt about that, but something about them always rubs me the wrong way. I think its their vocals. Whenever they use vocals I just zone right out. But whatever, I’m sure they have dozens of amazing songs I just haven’t heard yet. They have to be big for a reason.

While I don’t like much of what I’ve heard, I can vouch for this track, my favorite off their 25 EP that they released a few years back. It combines two of my favorite things, 90s acid house with 70s disco. It’s ridiculous, but pretty amazing.

Pet Shop Boys
I’m With Stupid (PSB Maxi Mix)
I’m With Stupid (Abe Duque Mix)
I’m With Stupid (Melnyk Heavy Petting Mix)
I’m With Stupid (Max Tundra Mix)
Let’s Kickstart a Trump/Pence/Putin porno and make this the title track. I’m sure the Pet Shop Boys would be down.

 

Posted in Denki Groove, Pet Shop Boys, remixes | 1 Comment »

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