Buy My Records, In Person!

September 18th, 2013

Thanks to everyone who sent me a message of congrats and well wishes in regards to my news about moving to Tokyo. It meant a lot to me.

A lot of people have been asking me what I plan on doing with my records. Well, I’m probably going to put them in storage. I have about 2,000 records, and while I have been whittling down my collection as of late, most of them are just too important to me, I can’t part with them. Right now my plan is to stay in Tokyo for a couple of years or so, if I end up staying their longer, then I might think about figuring out how to bring them over. Regardless, don’t worry, I’m not getting rid of my Depeche Mode records. I’m not crazy.

However, I am getting rid of A LOT of records. So if you live in the greater Pittsburgh area and are looking for some weird records, then you should totally swing by my yard sale, which I’ll be holding this Sunday from 9am -2pm. You can find full details at Craigslist.

Since coming back from my west coast trip, I’ve recorded about 40 LPs and singles, and I got about 80 more to go, so while my posts might be a bit spotty for the next few weeks, you won’t have to worry about a lack of quality tunes. Or “quality tunes” depending on your viewpoint of what I post sometimes.

Ini Kamoze
Here Comes The Hotstepper (Let Go Mix)
I know the second line in the chorus of this song is “I’m the lyrical gangster, murderer,” but for the life of me, every time I hear it, I sing “I’m the leprechaun gangster, murderer.” If the Leprechaun ever returns to the hood (again), they should take my lyrical suggestion and use it for a new remix that could serve as the film’s theme.

Prodigy
Poison (Environmental Science Dub Mix)
95% of Prodigy songs are just “Here Comes The Hotstepper” with more aggro beats and more menacing lyrics. Think about it.

Freur
Runaway (Dun Difrunt)
You’re A Hoover (Dun Difrunt Too)
Freur was an early group by Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, aka the sole consistent members of the legendary electronic act Underworld. They formed in the early 80s and released just two albums, Doot-Doot and Get Us Out Of Here. They broke up in 1986, at which point Karl and Rick went on to form the very synthpoppy original incarnation of Underworld (which was great in its own way).

The title track to Doot-Doot was the band’s only hit, and it was a hit for a good reason. It’s a goddamn beautiful song, easily one of my favorite tracks from the era. You can get “Doot-Doot” on iTunes and Amazon, and I suggest you do. Shit, I suggest you get that entire album, it’s great.

Another highlight from the Doot-Doot album is “Runaway,” which is also a slow-paced, emotional love song, and after listening to it on repeat for the past few days, I like it almost as much as “Doot-Doot.” I think the unneeded (and entirely 80s) sax solo takes a bit away from it though.

“You’re A Hoover” is a weird, wild b-side and reminds me a bit of early Flock Of Seagulls with a slightly more sinister slant. Karl’s vocals are great on it.

Both these mixes are shockingly rare. Doot-Doot has been re-released several times over the years, and while most re-issues include remixes of “Doot-Doot” and “Hold Me Mother,” none have included these mixes. Maybe they were lost to the ages?

I would love to hear Karl and Rick talk about the early Underworld/Freur stuff, but I guess they’ve always been a bit hush-hush on that era of their musical careers. Although they did finally re-visit “Doot-Doot” at a live show this past April. Hopefully they’ll continue to do so for future gigs, and we’ll finally get a live version of “Underneath The Radar.”

That song is fucking dope.

 

Posted in Freur, Ini Kamoze, Prodigy, remixes | 4 Comments »

I Should Probably Learn Some Japanese

September 11th, 2013

Okay, so some news. Big news. Huge news. Life-changing news (for me anyways).

Remember when I went to Tokyo and I was all “OMG this is the greatest place in the history of the universe and I want to go back more than anything?”

Well, I just took a job teaching English in Tokyo, I start in January.

Holy shit!  This is totally a dream come true. I can’t believe it’s actually working out (fingers crossed). I’m so excited to start this new chapter of my life. I’m probably going to write up something that goes into detail about all the reasons why I’m making this move and career change, but I’ll save that for a later date. Right now I’ll address the question that most of you are probably wondering: what does this mean for Lost Turntable/Mostly-Retro?

That’s an excellent question, thanks for asking. To be honest, I don’t expect things to change too terribly much here at Lost Turntable. I don’t know if you know this or not, but Japan has more than its fair share of record stores, and as you can probably imagine, I’m going to continue to buy music once I get situated over there.  Will the focus of my blog change to cover more Japanese music? Well, it already has a bit, in case you haven’t noticed, but don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll be turning Japanese completely. The Lost Turntable’s focus has always been “weird shit that I want to write about” and that will continue to include Japanese synth-pop, German industrial music, British new wave music, and damn near anything else that interests me.

I do suspect, however, that my productivity on this site will take a hit, especially when I’m first getting settled. I’m actually working on creating a backlog of posts though. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the site updated on a weekly basis even if I get too busy to write for a month or so while I get used to my new surroundings and work schedule (I have to go to an office! I haven’t done that in years!).

As for Mostly-Retro, well, that’s a bit trickier.

Writing on Lost Turntable is easy. Find songs, rant, maybe write about songs, repeat. The stuff I put up at Mostly-Retro takes a bit more work and planning. While I have no plans on shuttering that site, I really don’t know what its future holds. Perhaps just sporadic updates, or a shift in focus. It remains to be seen. If you’re one of the very few people who read that site, I’m sorry if updates to it become even less frequent than they already are.

Anyways, I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF TO DO. I may not be leaving until January, but I have to figure out what to do with my house, sell a ton of my stuff, get my visa in order, find a home for my fish, pack up stuff for storage and probably do a billion other things that I haven’t even thought about yet. So this will be the only update to this site for a least a week until I get all that stuff in motion. Don’t worry though, when I come back I’ll come back in force with some truly awesome shit.

Now for the only tracks in my “Lost Turntable” folder that I can post without feeling compelled to write a 10 paragraph summary/analysis.

Adina Howard
Freak Like Me (Dub Instrumental)
Freak Like Me (Boogieless)
Freak Like Me (Remix)
Freak Like Me (Remix Without Rap)
Freak Like Me (Instrumental)
Freak Like Me (Accapella)
God, I hope I can find stuff as pointless as this when I move to Japan.

 

Posted in remixes | 22 Comments »

Lost Turntable: Now with 43% less migraines

August 29th, 2013

You may notice a slight color change here! Why? Well, it’s a long story. Seriously, it goes back like six years.

When I first started this blog in 2006, I was still using an old-fashioned CRT monitor. Now, if you recall, back with CRTs, it was much easier to read white text on a black background than it was to read black text on a white background. Well, flash forward six years and several flat-screen monitors with increasing contrast later and oh my god reading plain white text on a pure black background makes my eyes want to pop out of my head.

So I was bored today and decided to finally give it a go at fixing it. I’m not super-happy with the results, but I do think it makes the site a bit easier on the eyes. What do you think? I know it’s not the prettiest color layout in the world, but hell, neither was hot pink and black. So whatever.

Now for a bit of shameless self-promotion. Over at my other site I wrote up a quick thing on this odd David Bowie record I found. And I also did a review of Death Waltz’s incredible Fog release. Read ’em. Love ’em. Share ’em. Make me happy. Repeat. And if you like reviews of hard-to-find and ridiculously expensive vinyl releases then check back at Mostly-Retro later this week and into the next for a review of the deluxe edition of Franz Ferdinand’s excellent new LP, as well as a look at a ridiculously rare record from a psych-rock band you’ve probably never heard of.

Cuz that’s the shit that really brings in the hits.

Information Society
Make It Funkier (Boot It Up Vocal)
Walking Away (SMD Mix)
Walking Away (House Dub)
Been a while since I posted any Information Society (or as the kids call them, InSoc). “Walking Away” was the second single from their debut album. It’s a solid tune, but let’s be honest here, it’s no “What’s On Your Mind (Pure Enegery).”

I don’t know what the fuck/funk “Make It Funkier” is, but it sure as hell ain’t funky.

Ryuichi Sakamoto
You Do Me (The Justin Strauss Remix)
You Do Me (Froggy Mix)
You Do Me (Just Right Dub)
You Do Me (7″ Mix)
I think I managed to go a whole month without posting some Sakamoto! Let me check to be sure…

Okay, so a few weeks ago I posted those Akiko Yano songs that he produced, co-wrote and performed on, but technically speaking they weren’t Sakamoto tunes, so I’m sticking by that. “You Do Me” is less disgusting than its title suggests, but it’s still not the best track. I like it for what it is, but when I get the Sakamoto itch (ew) I tend to go towards his work with YMO or even his classical stuff more often than this, it’s just a bit annoying if you ask me.

Posted in Information Society, remixes, Ryuichi Sakamoto | 5 Comments »

Echo And The Bootleg

August 21st, 2013

When this goes up, I’ll be in (not so) lovely NYC. Remember all the smack I was talking about Toronto and Canada? That was mostly facetious. Toronto is actually a pretty alright town. It might not be for me, but I can see why so many people dig it. And it has some pretty great record stores.

But New York City? Man, fuck that place. An overcrowded, overrated, overpriced and oversantized nightmare amalgamation of everything horrible that America has to offer. Sure, it’s the “city that never sleeps” and you can always find an amazing restaurant, bar or whatever, but damn, between the racist cops, smelly subways, mean people, crowded streets and every other disgusting and evil thing the city has to offer, why the hell would you want to leave your home in the first place?

If the above rant offended anyone who lives in the greater New York City area, I’m sorry…that you’re stuck in New York City.

Echo And The Bunnymen
New Horizon – Live in Tokyo January 1984
Two of my favorite things, Tokyo and post-punk/new wave music from Liverpool!

This is a bootleg. As the title suggests, it was recorded in Tokyo, sometime in January of 1984. I really don’t know much about it aside from that. There are no linear notes on the release, just a poorly made photocoppied piece of paper taped to the front cover. Judging from the setlists at this Echo And The Bunnymen fansite, however, it would appear that this an abridged recording of their January 17th show at the Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, with the encore of “All My Colours (Zimbo)” and “Do It Clean” absent.

I’ve posted bootlegs here before, and unfortunately most have sounded like hot garbage. Not the case with this one! Judging from the snippet of Japanese audio that plays at the beginning of the first track, I suspect this is a rip taken from a Japanese radio broadcast. While that means its definitely a cut above your typical audience recording, it still does have its fair share of flaws. The stereo cuts out from time to time on the first track, and the overall fidelity of the recording (and the vinyl I ripped it from) are less than perfect. That being said, it’s completely listenable, with clear vocals and instruments on all the tracks.

It’s also a pretty great performance from the band during their peak. Ian’s voice is incredible throughout the performance, and the band as a whole sounds damn near perfect. A must-listen for Echo fans who want a glance of the band during their prime, no doubt.

Click on the link above for a complete zip of the concert. But if you’re curious, here’s the entire tracklist:

  • Over The Wall
  • Stars are Stars
  • The Killing Moon
  • The Cutter
  • All That Jazz
  • Never Stop
  • Thorn of Crowns
  • Crocodiles

Posted in bootlegs, Complete Albums, Echo and the Bunnymen | 3 Comments »

Tales of Synthpop and Homeless Fat-Shaming from Canada

August 18th, 2013

Shit!

I didn’t update this blog at all last week, did I?

It’s not my fault! I was in Canada. Blame Canada! (That South Park reference was entirely unintentional I swear.)

But what the hell was I doing in Canada, you ask?

Well, funny story…I’m not going to tell it. It’s top secret. But I will share with you some songs off of crazy weird CD singles that I bought whilst in the land of the rising moose.

Gary Numan
This Wreckage (Metalmorphosis Mix)
Are ‘Friends’ Electric? (Metalmorphosis Mix)
Toronto isn’t really my kind of city. The traffic is hellacious, and despite their “oh, we’re just a bunch of nice people in denim that love hockey, eh?” reputation, big city Canadians are just as dickish as their American counterparts. Example: while I was walking around the city looking for record stores, a homeless guy asked me for some change. Not having any Canadian money on me, let alone change, I walked on by, at which point he said “hey,why you so fat?”

That, of course, led me into a yelling match with a homeless guy, because I’m classy like that, that ended with me saying something along the lines of “yeah, I got this way by eating food! I can buy food because I have money. And since I have money I’M NOT FUCKING HOMELESS YOU HOSER!”

Sure, that might not have been one of my finer moments, but seriously, fuck that dude.

Oh yeah, these remixes are from a CD-single to “Rip.” I like most of the industrial remixes of early-era Numan, so I dig these.

New Order
Crystal [Digweed & Muir Bedrock Radio Edit]
Behind Closed Doors
Sabotage
Someone Like You (Funk D’Void Remix)
So after my lovely confrontation with the smelly homeless man in a Blue Jays jacket (hah, Blue Jays) I ducked into a bar, lured in by the promise of half price wings. The wings were good. The bloody marys were better. The place was pretty dead, so I got into a conversation with the bartender. The bar was playing some pretty rad funk (lots of George Clinton and Morris Day) and I commented on the quality of the radio station. She said, “yeah, you can tell it’s satellite and not a Canadian station.”

I know that Canadian stations have some “Canadian content” laws, meaning that a certain percentage of the music they play must be Canadian. So I asked, “Oh? Not a lot of good funk from Canada?”

To which she replied, “You ever hear of ‘Canadian funk?'”

Point taken.

These are from some CD singles that I also found in Canada. I may have posted the “Funk D’Void” mix at some point, but this copy sounds better.

Posted in B-sides, Gary Numan, New Order, remixes | 3 Comments »

A Japanese Woman Covering a Weezer Song Just Seems Super-Meta

August 7th, 2013

Sorry for last night’s random foray into drunk self-loathing. It won’t happen again…for at least a few more months.

Totally didn’t plan for another all-Japan post tonight. It just kind of worked out that way. I actually should have some interesting 80s/British/New Wave/dance stuff in the coming weeks. Grinding through a major backlog of records right now.

Pizzicato Five
Love’s Theme (Automator Mix)
Love’s Theme (Saint Etienne Mix)
Maybe someone more in the know can than me explain this to me: How the hell did Shibuya-kei music get ever-so-briefly popular in America during the mid-90s? Why that genre? What was so special about it? Remember when Cibo Mato and Pizzicato Five were on American MTV? How the hell did that happen?

Don’t get me wrong, I love both bands, but what made them the breakout stars? How come America couldn’t get behind X Japan? Or YMO? Or Boom Boom Motherfucking Satellites? Did someone from the Beastie Boys really dig Shibuya-kei or something? I assume it had to be a “this American artist likes this foreign music so let’s all like it now” kind of thing.

These remixes are from a 12″ single I found last week. I’m really digging them both, super chill. I need more stuff like that right now.

Akiko Yano
Tong Poo
Dogs Awaiting
Coloured Water
Say It Ain’t So
Akiko Yano is a singer who first starting releasing music in the mid-70s. While I don’t think she ever achieved super pop star idol status in Japan, she’s managed to maintain some level of success throughout her career, continuing to this day – a rarity in the Japanese pop scene. Throughout her career she’s also collaborated with countless other musicians of note, including Little Feat, David Sylvian, Thomas Dolby and Swing Out Sister.

One of her most notable collaborations, at least in my opinion, was with Yellow Magic Orchestra, who worked with her extensively on her 1982 album Dinner Is Ready. All three members play on the record, and Sakamoto produced the album (the pair also married around this time), pretty much making it an unofficial YMO album with a different lead singer. The album even featured a cover of YMO’s “Tong Poo,” which I’m featuring here, as well as a pair of other songs from the album that I especially love.

I’m also including her 2010 cover of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” because damn.

Posted in Akiko Yano, Pizzicato Five, remixes | 2 Comments »

Oh It’s Such A Shame

August 6th, 2013

Jay Reatard
Oh It’s Such A Shame
Post with actual rare music tomorrow.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Last Night A DJ Saved My Blog

July 31st, 2013

I wrote review of Rolling Thunder, a crazy movie you can watch on Netflix if you like disgusting-yet-oddly-satisfying revenge flicks with questionable moral lessons.

And I got a ton of stuff on eBay, in case you might have forgotten.

Trying to get some money together for something big, if you were wondering why I was unloading so much stuff. That, and I came upon the realization that there’s too much stupid shit in my house, and I got to make room for the good shit, like my Japanese import copy of Styx’s Kilroy Was Here.

Y’know, the real gangsta shit.

As for what the “something big” is, you’ll just have to wait and find out.

Linda Imperial & Patrick Cowley
Diehard Lover
Diehard Lover (Instrumental)
More rare Cowley classics. Linda Imperial is no Sylvester, but she has a hell of a voice. Found these from a random 12″ single I bought in a budget bin.

Sylk 130
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Last Night The S-Man Saved The Mix)
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (DJ Saves The Dub)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix with Rap)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix Instrumental)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix)
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Prophecy Mix A Cappella)
Sylk 130 is apparently someone named King Britt, whose real life actual name is…wow, it’s King Britt. Damn, his parents sure felt highly of him.

Anyways, I know little about King Britt. Apparently he’s released a ton of stuff, served as a producer on a ton more stuff, and remixed tons and tons of stuff. I didn’t buy these two separate 12″ singles of this song because of him, I bought them because “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” is one of the ultimate late-era disco club bangers of all time, regardless of who’s performing it. We need more songs about DJs. There’s this, that weird David Bowie song and…”Request Line” by The Black Eyed Peas, and that’s it? Well, at least all of them are fucking fantastic.

Yes, that Black Eyed Peas song is fucking fantastic. I will not hear anyone say otherwise. The Black Eyed Peas used to be good, and don’t forget it.

Well, maybe forget it, it’s just easier that way.

Posted in King Britt, Linda Imperial, Patrick Cowley, remixes | 7 Comments »

Hot Rap Tracks from Movies that even Steve Guttenberg Turned Down

July 25th, 2013

Tonight’s post is going to be rather brief, but I think the quality will make up for the lack of quantity.

Oh, did I say quality? I meant, “complete and utter fucking stupidity.”

But if I don’t post the 12″ remix to the theme song to Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, then who will?

Probably some asshole. Fuck that.

123

Grandmaster Melle Mel & Van Silk
What’s The Matter With Your World (Club Mix)
What’s The Matter With Your World (Radio Mix)
What’s The Matter With Your World (Instrumental Mix)
Grandmaster Melle Mel was an original member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He was the primary songwriter and performer behind the hits “The Message” and “White Lines (Don’t Do It).” He was one of rap’s first true stars, and one of the first to take rap and help to inch it towards the mainstream.

Nine years later, he was rapping the theme song to Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, and they couldn’t even bother to spell his name right on the cover to the 12″ single.

Life can be really harsh sometimes.

And by the way, I found this while scouring a bargain bin soundtrack section looking for the soundtrack the Village People movie, Can’t Stop The Music.

I am history’s greatest monster.

Posted in Melle Mel, remixes, soundtrack | 2 Comments »

Mo’ Sakamoto

July 22nd, 2013

I reviewed the 12″ single to “Get Lucky.” Because if I don’t who will?

Another post dedicated entirely to Ryuichi Sakamoto. I should just turn this site into a Yellow Magic Orchestra fanpage.

Ryuichi Sakamoto
Forbidden Colours
The Last Emperor
Little Buddha
Wuthering Heights
Replica
El Mar Mediterrani
All of these tracks are live, taken from the album Cinemage.

The first four are excepts from musical scores and soundtracks that Sakamoto worked on. “Forbidden Colours” being the theme to Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, while the others are all self-titled from the films they appeared in. This version of “Forbidden Colours” does feature Sylvian’s vocals, but I suspect they were dubbed in later and not performed live with the rest of the music.

“Replica” is the only track on the album that is not taken from some sort of project, it is lifted from the Japanese version of Sakamoto’s solo album Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia. Next to “Forbidden Colours,” it’s probably my favorite track on Cinemage, thanks to its regimented, minimalist feel that echos Phillip Glass.

Finally, there’s “El Mar Mediterrani,” which was composed for the 1992 summer Olympic games. It’s 17 minutes long and crazy. That Olympic theme that John Williams did doesn’t have shit on this.

Bonus Sakamoto!
Jungle LIVE Mix Of Untitled 01 – 2nd Movement – Anger
I put up a ton of remixes from Sakamoto’s album Dischord a few weeks ago and since then a reader sent me along this mix, which he snagged off a promo CD. I love it, it’s just barely removed from pure noise at parts. As a narcoleptic who has built up a near-immunity to caffeine, I really find that comes in handy at times.

Posted in Complete Albums, live, remixes, Ryuichi Sakamoto | 5 Comments »

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