Electronic Music That Makes Me Happy

April 11th, 2012

I think I’m nearly almost done with the damn guide. Hopefully I’ll have it up in a week or two! It’s kind of become a monster. I don’t know what happened.

In completely unrelated news, I got bored tonight and decided to see which of my Sega CD/Sega Saturn games had audio tracks I could rip. Turns out, most of them did. Would anyone be interested in me posting music from such classics as Sonic CD, Panzer Dragoon and Vitura Fighter 2? How about from such not-so-much classics like Golden Axe: The Duel and Virtual On? Are they available commercially anywhere? I have to imagine the soundtrack to Sonic CD was made available at some point wasn’t it? Was it ever released in the states? Sonic Boom!

Utah Saints
Something Good (051 Mix By John Kelly)
Anything Can Happen
Here’s a Lost Turntable protip for life.

Whenever you are feeling down and think that absolutely nothing can go right in your life, put on Utah Saint’s “Something Good.” Nearly any mix will do, as long as it has the full Kate Bush sample (so, um…not these mixes…sorry). Play it on loop. Eventually the etheral voice of Kate Bush will convince you that “Something good is gonna happen” and your life will once again have meaning. Fuck Tony Robbins or any other motivational speakers. This shit works.

Dub Pistols
Official Chemical (DJ Touche Vocal Mix)
Official Chemical (Dogtown Clash Mix)
Official Chemical (DJ Touche Instrumental Mix)
Problem Is (Breaks Mix)
Another one from my “I can’t believe I never posted this” file. I don’t know much about the Dub Pistols, but goddamn “Official Chemical” is my jam. I first heard it way back in 2001 in Frequency, an early rhythm game by Harmonix. I don’t know what it is about the song, something about it pumps me up. None of these remixes are as good as the album version, but they’re all great in their own ways, the guitar lick on the DJ Touche Vocal Mix is especially smashing.

“Problem Is,” while not as good as “Official Chemical,” is still a stand out tune as well, and this mix is worth a listen too.

Leftfield
Swords (Revisited Mix)
Swords (Cari Lekebusch Mix)
Swords (Two Lone Swordsmen Remix)
Swords (To Rococo Rot Remix)
Cliffnotes version of this 12″ single: The “Revisited Mix” is the best. It’s the best because it adds an amazing bassline to the mix that is so powerful that I bet, if used properly, it could cut someone  in half with its sheer awesomeness. It makes me wish I still had my crappy woofer hooked up to my PC. I would crank this tune so loud that my roommate (who is in the room below me) would probably vibrate right out of his bed and out the window. I should totally try that. Then maybe he’d get the message and stop being so damn loud at 7:30 AM.

Additionally, I suspect the dude who came up with the name “Two Lone Swordsmen Remix” really like the movie Airheads.

Posted in Dub Pistols, Leftfield, remixes, Utah Saints | 5 Comments »

One Remix Leads To Another

April 9th, 2012

Rare daytime post!

Art Of Noise
Art Of Love (Extended Mix)
Ambience Of Love
Heart Of Love
So how the hell didn’t I know about this?

In 1990, Art Of Noise released “The Ambient Collection.” As its name suggests, it is a collection of Art Of Noise tunes reworked as a continuous ambient mix. That alone sounds pretty rad. What makes it even more rad (I’m totally bringing “rad” back, by the way) is that the album was compiled and remixed by Youth from Killing Joke, with an added assist by Alex Paterson of The Orb.

So…that’s pretty awesome. What strikes me the most about these mixes (aside from their overall greatness) is how similar in sound they are to Metallic Spheres, the 2010 album by The Orb that featured Paterson again working with Youth (as well as David Gilmour). Hard to fault them for not updating their sound though, this shit sounded great in 1990, and that Metallic Spheres proved that it still sounded good some 20 years later.

In case you can’t tell, I’m really digging on these mixes at the moment. They’re probably the best thing I’ve put up on this blog in months.

The Fixx
One thing Leads To Another (Live Version)
Saved By Zero (Live Version)
I was surprised to find these live cuts, were are the B-sides to a 12″ promo single for “The Sign Of Fire.” I’ve dived through countless Fixx records before, and this was the first I ever found that had songs that, to the best of my knowledge, aren’t on CD. Neither of these live versions really expand or diverge upon the original versions that much, but they do so that The Fixx was a pretty great live band back in the day.

And this version of “Saved By Zero” is certainly better than the version that was in that fucking Toyota ad.

Wang  Chung
Fire In The  Twilight (Specially Remixed Version)
Dreaming In The Hills Of Heaven
I honestly didn’t think I would ever find more rare Wang Chung to post but leave it to Jerry’s Records for me to discover some weird import 12″ single, this one for the song that Wang Chung contributed to The Breakfast Club. I don’t own the soundtrack to the Breakfast Club (because even my nostalgia has some limits), so I can’t compare this “Specially Remixed Version” with the original. I bet it’s not that different. It’s certainly not an “extended” mix, since it’s still less than four minutes long. However, I love the track, and I like just having an excuse to post it.

I love love this B-side, “Dreaming In The Hills Of Heaven.” It’s apparently an honest-to-goodness Wang Chung rarity. It only appeared on this 12″ single and has never been released on CD. It’s very reminiscent of the group’s work on the To Live And Die In L.A. soundtrack, with an atmospheric, somewhat tense, quality to it. The vocals sound a little muddled, but that’s not the fault of my rip, I think this is recording is a demo. It doesn’t detract too much from the quality of the track, however. If you love Wang Chung (and you damn well should) then check this song out. And if you don’t like Wang Chung, then I don’t want you to read my blog.

Okay, you can still read my blog, but give Wang Chung a chance, okay? They were an underrated act!

Posted in B-sides, remixes, soundtrack, The Art Of Noise, The Fixx, Wang Chung | 6 Comments »

Amazing Women and a Numan

April 5th, 2012

My April curse is in full effect already. Sure, I haven’t been robbed at gunpoint; broken a leg; gotten a strep infection; been fired; broken a rib; had my parents split up; or have my car break down (all things that have happened to me in past Aprils), but shit ain’t getting off to a good start.Hopefully I can use the power of 80s pop music to scare away the bad vibes.

Cyndi Lauper
Money Changes Everything (This Version)
Money Changes Everything (That Version)
Oh Cyndi, my first crush. I will not rest until I have all of her amazing singles on vinyl. I got one step closer with this release, a really odd promo single that I found in a bargain bin a few months back. Both versions of the track are live, in fact, both are the same performance. However, the “That” cut is about 30 seconds longer, keeping in a bit near the end that’s cut out of the “This” version. Do I need to feature both versions here? Not really, but that’s never stopped me before has it?

Gary Numan
White Boys  And Heroes (Extended Version)
We Take Mystery To Bed (Extended Version)
These untiled extended mixes are taken from a 12″ promo single.

Okay, now that I got that out the way, I can get to the important part…what the FUCK does “We Take Mystery To Bed” mean? I mean, who the hell would want to hear that from a prospective boyfriend/girlfriend/random one-night-stand? “Hey baby, lets hook up, I take mystery to bed.” That would be the worst pick-up line in the history of the world. I don’t know about you, but the bed is one place where I definitely don’t want mystery. I like to know what I’m getting myself into, thank you very much.

And now that I think about it, “White Boys And Heroes” is a pretty damn weird name for a song too. WTF Gary Numan?

Waitresses
Everything’s Wrong If My Hair Is Wrong
Luxury
Open City
Pleasure
Spin
The Waitresses are remembered as a one-hit wonder thanks to “I Know What Boys Like” and that’s a damn shame. What they should be remembered for is being one of the most interesting and unique bands to come out of the new wave era.

So why are they relegated to second-class status in the annals of New Wave History? While it would be easy to say that it’s because they had a female singer and people are sexist pricks, I think the real reason is because they were a New Wave act from Ohio that wasn’t Devo.

Ohio always gets screwed. Ohio musicians are the Ohio sports teams of the music world, destined to runner-up status at best and forgotten has-been status at worst. People always site New York and LA as the birthplaces of punk in America, they forget about Pere Ubu, The Dead Boys, The Electric Eels, The Styrenes and Rocket From the Tombs, many of which predated the punk scenes in NYC and LA by years. Show Ohio some respect people. It doesn’t earn it that often.

But anyways, I’m straying from the topic at hand, which is the Waitresses. Despite the staying power of “I Know What Boys Like,” neither of their albums have been re-issued on CD, instead highlights from the two records have been repeatedly culled for “greatest hits” releases. But who decides what a highlight is? In the case of the Waitresses, its someone who really doesn’t think much of their second album, Bruiseology. All of the above tracks are from that great record, and none of them have ever been re-issued on any of the band’s greatest hits. They’re among some of the best songs on the record, and are well worth hearing, especially “Everything’s Wrong If My Hair Is Wrong.” That song is spectacularly weird in a way that few songs are.

Posted in Cyndi Lauper, Gary Numan, live, remixes, Waitresses | 6 Comments »

Pink Floyd, Duran Duran and Eurythmics. Because Why Not?

April 3rd, 2012

I wanted to write something kind of awesome tonight but technology stopped that from happening. Instead, here’s something I cobbled together in five minutes. Whatever, I’m sure more people will enjoy this than the incredibly bizarre stuff I have planned for later in the week.

I hope that didn’t sound bitter.

Pink Floyd
Not Now John (Single Version)
The Heros’ Return – Parts I and II
Every few years I re-visit The Final Cut to see if my opinion of the record will change, but it never does. I think that album is aggressively horrible. It’s not just bad for a Pink Floyd record, it’s bad for a rock record. Shit, it’s bad for a rock record released in 1983, and that’s saying something.

That being said, it has a couple of tunes that I consider to be…okay if I’m in the right mood (that mood being “I’m too depressed to feel hate”).

One is “Fletcher Memorial Home,” which is a lyrical dirge, but at least it has some pretty good guitar work by Gilmour.

The other is “The Hero’s Return.” I think it’s the only track on the album that gets Roger’s political viewpoints across without him coming off like a self-important prick. It’s probably the only song on The Final Cut that I wish was longer, good for me then that a longer version exists!

I don’t know why, but the version of “The Hero’s Return” that serves as the B-side to “Not Now John” is twice as long as the album version, with an additional verse that adds onto the song’s anti-Thatcher themes. It’s good stuff, very angry. I love how Gilmour delivers the line “Jesus Christ I might as well be dead!” although he’s singing Roger’s lyrics, he really sounds like he believes it. Of course, given the state of Floyd at the time of the song’s recording, maybe he was wishing death upon himself.

I’m including the single edit of “Not Now John” only for completionist purposes. I like it more than the album cut, but mostly because its shorter, therefore it ends sooner.

Duran Duran
Save A Prayer (The Thunder In Our Hearts Remix)
Some of the weirdest records I buy are records made strictly for DJs that are sold as part of a subscription service. These are usually legit releases that feature official remixes, but the remixes are often exclusive to the subscription service, so they’re super rare and weird. That’s where this AMAZING remix of “Save A Prayer” came from. If you’re like me and ever thought “I sure would love a seven-minute version of that sad Duran Duran ballad about one night stands” then you’re totally in luck. You’re also probably my old editor. Hi Dave.

Eurythmics
Sweet Dreams (Bootleg House Mix)
And if you’ve ever thought “I sure would love a seven-minute version of ‘Sweet Dreams,’ but only if its a house version released as a bootleg white label” then you too are also in luck. And we should totally hang out sometime because we have similar tastes in ridiculousness.

Posted in Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Pink Floyd, remixes | 8 Comments »

GNR, Frank Black and Goldie. Yeah, I didn’t plan this one out very well.

March 29th, 2012

I added an RSS/Google Reader/I don’t know what reader to my sidebar. Does it work? I never use that stuff. Someone tell me, I’ll be your best friend if you do.

Guns N’ Roses
Don’t Cry (Demo)
I never thought I’d get a chance to post some rare and out-of-print GNR, mostly because I didn’t think that there was any rare and out of print GNR. But hey, I love being proven wrong. This demo version of the classic “Don’t Cry” is the B-side to to the 12″ “Don’t Cry” single, which is a nifty record because the cover has a hologram on it.

Hologram covers. That’s some 90s shit right there. I can put this right next to my lenticular comic book trading cards.

Frank Black
The Ballad Of Johnny Horton
Surf Epic
I never thought I’d get to post and rare Frank Blank either! But hey, I found some at a record show last week! These are B-sides to the “Hang On To Your Ego” single, which was a track from Frank’s self-titled 1993 debut. While that track is a cover, I’m fairly certain that both of these instrumental tunes are original compositions. There is another song “The Ballad of Johnny Horton,” but I don’t believe they have anything in common (aside from probably being about Johnny Horton). But don’t pay much mind to that track, instead, focus on the aptly-titled “Surf Epic,” a 10 minute smorgasbord of surf guitar and sci-fi sounds that is brain-meltingly good.

If you don’t own an of Frank Black’s early solo albums then you’re failing at life. Go buy Teenager Of The Year right now. that album has “Speedy Marie” on it. A song that an ex-girlfriend of mine consistently referred to as “like the best song EVER!” Myself, I prefer “If It Takes All Night” from Dog In the Sand, but maybe that’s why we broke up.

Goldie
Inner City Life (Full Length Mix)
Inner City Life (Roni Size Instant Mix)
Inner City Life (Nookie Remix)
Inner City Life (4 Hero Pt. 1)
It’s 2012 and I still don’t own Goldie’s Timeless. So I guess I’m failing at life too. In fact, I hardly own any Goldie! Just some 12″ singles and that song he did on the Spawn soundtrack with Henry Rollins (also, for some reason I own that soundtrack on vinyl, red transparent vinyl, what the hell?!).

Anyways, even if you don’t like drum and bass (and why not? It’s the best thing since sliced Beatles) I still think you should give this song a chance. It’s freaking beautiful.

 

Posted in B-sides, Frank Black, Goldie, Guns N' Roses, remixes | 5 Comments »

Here’s to Six More Years of Obscurity

March 27th, 2012

Okay, let’s try this again.

I wrote a thing for Nerve. You should read it.

After you do that, come back here. I have music for you. And if you’re visiting here for the first time because of Nerve, well then welcome! Want to listen to the soundtrack to Urgh!? If so, you might find this post of some interest.

David Bowie
When The Wind Blows (Extended Mix)
When The Wind Blows (Instrumental)
I posted those mixes to “When The Wind Blows” before, but if you say you remember that then you’re damn liar. That’s because they were on my very first post ever, which I am nearly 100% certain no one ever read until about six months after I took the files down.

That post was six years ago this month! That’s crazy. I can’t believe I’ve kept this blog going that long, but I’m so glad I did.

A lot of people ask me why I do this. I make no money on this blog (in fact, I lose money on it) and it’s a lot of work. Well, as much as I would like to say that I do it for you, the people who are looking for rare and hard to find music, the truth is that I really do it just as much for me as for anyone else.

By keeping up this blog, I kind of force myself to make adventurous musical purchases, and seek out rare and hard-to-find records with the hopes that I might find something interesting to write about it. During the times when the fun freelance writing work dries up (which is more often than I would like ) this blog literally keeps me sane, especially when it’s my only outlet for writing about music. And getting comments and tweets about how awesome I am certainly has done wonders for my self-esteem when things have gotten rough.

Basically, what I’m saying is that I’d like to thank everyone for sticking with me on what is essentially an entirely selfish endeavor that benefits my own ego. I’m glad you enjoy it, and I hope to keep doing it as long as I can type sarcastic bullshit with a healthy side of snark.

But enough of my humblebragging, I have David Bowie songs for you!

As I mentioned in my original post about these songs back in 2006, “When The Wind Blows” is the title song to a 1986 animated film about an elderly British couple struggling, and failing, to survive the horrors of a world in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It’s not a cheery flick. In fact, that’s an understatement, When The Wind Blows is a soul-sucking succubus of a film that will leave you depressed and without hope.

But the theme song is great! And six years later this extended version and the instrumental version (which is an entirely different recording, not just a studio cut with the vocals removed) remain out of print digitally! So enjoy them, and try to think happy thoughts. If you can’t then the next songs will probably help out with that.

The B-52’s
Roam (Extended Mix)
Roam (Instrumental)
Roam (12″ Mix)
“Roam” was released as a single in 1990, a year after R.E.M. released “Stand” as a single. Because of this I will forever assume that “Roam” is a diss track to R.E.M., in which The B-52’s shred R.E.M.’s promotion of a sedentary lifestyle in favor of a more exploratory state of being. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.

Stan Ridgway
Salesman (Extended Mix)
Stan Ridgway was the lead singer of the epic Wall of Voodoo before he left the group in the mid-80s to embark on a solo career that most people probably don’t know about, and that’s a damn shame. While I can’t make any claims about his output from the 90s and beyond, his solo records from the 80s were amazing. If you have not, I highly suggest you pick up his debut The Big Heat and his excellent sophomore follow-up Mosquitos.

The best song on The Big Heat is “Camouflage” an excellent yarn about a marine in Vietnam who may or may not have been saved by the ghost of a super-solider. Since The Big Heat is in print and easily available on Amazon (where you should buy it), I can’t post that track. However, I can post this extended remix of “Salesman” which is the B-side to the “Camouflage” single. It’s not as great a track as “Camouflage,” but it’s incredibly catchy and still a solid tune.

Posted in B-52s, David Bowie, remixes, soundtrack, Stan Ridgway | 7 Comments »

Selections From Wipeout 2097 – The Soundtrack (With A Quick Mass Effect 3 Rant)

March 21st, 2012

I’ve been annoyed by something over the past few weeks, and I’ve continually debated with myself if it’s something I wanted to bring up on this blog. But since I’m posting a video game soundtrack tonight, I figure that’s enough of an excuse for me to go on a video game related rant of sorts.

Fucking Mass Effect 3.

If you follow gaming news at all, you know what I’m going to talk about now. If not, a quick summary.

Mass Effect 3 is a video game made by BioWare and distributed by Electronic Arts. As a whole, the Mass Effect series has been widely acclaimed for its amazing story. The characters are nuanced and detailed (with the women actually being characters and not sex objects to be ogled), the conflicts between alien races are fascinating, and the overall themes the games touch on are grand and bold, with some of the greatest dialogue ever to grace video games holding it all together.

The series is also lauded for its high degree of interactivity when it comes to the story. You can choose how to interact with people, how to solve quests, and in some cases who lives and who dies. What’s even more impressive is that the choices you make in one game carry over to the next. So the people and situations I experience in ME3 will vary widely from those experienced by another player depending on how they played the other games in the series.

So you can see how gamers would develop an attachment to the world of the game and its characters, which made playing through the third game all the more painful for them (and me).

Long story short, BioWare fucked up in some pretty major ways when the time came to make ME3, the biggest of which being the ending. Simply put, almost nothing you did actually ends up mattering. The characters you saved/killed, the choices you made, the alliances you forged, none of it really matters. With rare exception, the only difference between the game’s endings is what color explosions you see.

Needless to say, fans were pissed, and since the game’s release, more and more have been sending angry tweets to developers, organizing protests and even filing complaints with the FTC over false advertising. The overall theme of their efforts has been constant: “fix the ending.”

Well, today it paid off when BioWare announced they will be releasing upcoming DLC (downloadable content) that will help to provide “more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey.”

That’s good right? I sure thought so! The fans spoke out and the developers listened!

But I guess it’s bad? I mean, that’s if the gaming media is to be believed.

I follow a lot of gaming journalists on Twitter, and their overwhelming reaction has been one of extreme displeasure. Their basic argument is that BioWare “caved” to fan pressure, and that they’re compromising their “artistic vision” in order to offer what many consider to be fan service and nothing more. Some have even gone as far to claim that this not only sets a dangerous precedent for storytelling in games, but that it also shows that games are somehow a “lesser” form of art.

While some writers have been able to express their distaste in BioWare’s decision with a modicum of class and respect to the gamers who are so passionate about the game, many have simply responded with whiny troll comments, insulting Mass Effect fans’ intelligence. Because we all know that the best way to get someone to agree with you is to insult and belittle them.

Furthermore, I find it curious that the games media is against BioWare for modifying (not CHANGING) the ending of the game, but they seem to have almost no problem with BioWare stripping out content to make overpriced day-one DLC or the fact that you almost need to play multiplayer to get the experience needed to earn the game’s “best” ending.

So, decisions that sour the storytelling experience so BioWare can make more money, those don’t invalidate games as art, but somehow listening to your fans and responding accordingly does? How does that make sense?

As for this setting a “dangerous precedent,” people are giving this instance way too much credit, as if it’s never happened before. Games have had their endings changed with DLC before, Bethesda did it with Fallout 3, and I’m pretty sure that BioWare’s even done it with their games in the past.

Shit, it’s not even unique to video games. Fan reaction often changes the narrative of fiction. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle only “resurrected” Sherlock Holmes after his fans complained to him. Dallas made an entire season of their show a dream to undo the damage they caused (and they retconned the series finale with reunion specials). The makers of the anime Neon Genesis: Evangelion even released an alternate ending to the series to help answer the fans’ questions regarding the show’s bizarre climax. Musicians regularly compromise their artistic vision to sell more records. You can’t just ignore these examples and insist this is something new. Well, I guess you can, but then that just makes you a dick, which is kind of my point.

I wish someone in the gaming press would actually talk about the positive aspects of this, and the positive trends that I hope it might help spread, such as the idea that BioWare and every other video game developer out there should care more about their story and less about figuring out how to squeak out more money from the players. And that when you cut out parts of your story for DLC and skim on the narrative to make us play a boring multiplayer mode, we’re going to take notice and we’re going to call out on it. And when you make bold claims that turn out to be boldfaced lies, we’re going to call you out on that too. You can’t just go around and make shit up and expect it to be okay anymore.

But hey, whatever. It’s just a video game, and I’m sure even the most condescending of people I’ve been arguing with on Twitter aren’t bad people, they just like to get a reaction out of people, and that’s something I’ve certainly been guilty of in the past.

But you know what games don’t need stories? Racing games. Let’s talk about an awesome one of those.

Wipeout XL/2097 – The Album (Selections)


The first Wipeout was released in 1995 for the Sony Playstation, with Saturn and PC ports coming soon after. It’s a futuristic racing game where racers drive not cars, but high speed ships that hover just inches off the ground. It was one of the first games for the PS1 that I played, and I remember it blowing my 16-year-old mind away. It was just so fast! Holy crap! Looking at it now, it seems quaint, but at the time I was just in awe of it.

Wipeout XL (Wipeout 2097 in other Europe) was released a year later. This sequel took everything that was great about the first game and ramped it up to eleven, including the speed. This game was flippin’ fast. Your vehicle would shoot across the track at such high speeds that I remember it was hard to even focus on what was going on sometimes.

In addition to the amazing sense of speed and it’s awesome sleek, futuristic look, each game in the series is also known for it’s excellent electronic soundtrack. Prodigy, The Future Sound of London, Photek, The Propellerheads and many other amazing electronic artists of the era were featuring in Wipeout games, and served for me as an excellent introduction to electronic music past what I was hearing on MTV.

Now that I come to think of it, I think a good deal of my musical tastes were shaped by the soundtracks to the Wipeout games. Without them I certainly would not have discovered electronic music when I did, meaning they probably saved me from a life of late-90s post grunge and indie bullshit. So I was very happy to find a vinyl copy of the soundtrack last week. Since most of the songs on the Wipeout XL/2097 soundtrack were liscened tracks, many of them are available today on CD and digital download. I’m only featuring the ones that are not, enjoy.

Prodigy
Firestarter (Instrumental) 
Don’t worry, it still has the “Hey hey hey!” part.

Future Sound of London
We Have Explosive (Herd Killing)
I never heard of FSOL before Wipeout, and I associate them (and this song) with the game so much that I can never think about one without immediately thinking about the other. I’ve been waiting for a chance to put up a version of “We Have Explosive” for years now, but every other version I own has seen a digital release on Amazon or iTunes. This “Herd Killing” variation, however, has never been released outside of the Wipeout soundtracks from what I can tell. And if it has, any album/single that has it is long out of print.

Orbital
Petrol
A different version of the song than the one that’s included on Orbital’s In Sides album.

The Chemical Brothers
Leave Home (Underworld Mix I) (Edit)
Another alternate version that’s exclusive to this soundtrack, this one clocks in at about three minutes shorter than the one on the leave home single. Great tune, Underworld really put their stamp on it with this remix.

Photek
Titan
The Third Sequence
I could be wrong (I’m wrong a lot after all) but I’m fairly certain that these two tracks by Photek were made exclusively for Wipeout XL. Aside from a 12″ single, I don’t think they ever got any other official release. That’s especially odd considering that “Titan” doesn’t even appear in the game itself, just the soundtrack CD. If you like 90s DnB then you should seriously dig on these tunes, they’re great.

Source Direct
2097
Another track that’s on the CD/LP but not actually in the game itself.  A great tune none the less, very reminiscent of Photek.

Fluke
Atom Bomb
V Six
Hey, two songs that were actually in the game! This version of “Atom Bomb” clocks in at a whopping eight minutes, and is different than the version that would later appear on a Fluke album. “V Six” is a straight up exclusive to this soundtrack, and never saw a release on any Fluke record as far as I know. It’s not as great as “Atom Bomb” (few things are) but it’s a great hard-driving electronic tune, the kind of thing you want to listen to while driving a hovership at 200 miles per hour.

Leftfield
Afro Ride
I want to ride on a giant afro. That would be awesome. This was also the b-side to “Afro Left.”

Posted in Fluke, Future Sound Of London, Leftfield, Orbital, Photek, Prodigy, soundtrack, The Chemical Brothers | 10 Comments »

Pet Shop Hats

March 20th, 2012

Hey, it’s a post with a couple of bands from the 80s. I’ve never done that before!

Pet Shop Boys
Se A Vida É (That’s the Way Life Is) (Mark Picchiotti’s Deep And Dark Vocal)
Se A Vida É (That’s the Way Life Is) (Deep Dish Liquid Remix)
To Step Aside (Ralphi’s Disco Vox)
To Step Aside (Hasbrouck Heights Mix)
To Step Aside (Davidson Ospina Dub)
To Step Aside (Ralphi’s Old School Dub)
To Step Aside (Brutal Bill Mix)
To Step Aside (Ralphi’s House Vox II)
 I have 50 Pet Shop Boys singles now. That’s insane. I’m insane. Want to know something even crazier? I only own three or four proper Pet Shop Boys records! What the hell is wrong with me? I’m a remix addict, that’s what’s wrong with me.

Men Without Hats
Pop Goes The World (Dance Mix)
Pop Goes The World (Dance Edit)
Pop Goes The World (Dub)
Where Do The Boys Go (Extended Version)
 Eurotheme
 Insert obligatory “you can dance if you want to” comment here.

I posted two of these remixes six years ago (HOLY SHIT THIS BLOG IS OLD!) but I felt the repost was neccessary for a few reasons. First of all, no one read this blog six years ago. Secondly, those rips sounded like ass. And thirdly, Men Without Hats kick ass and I wish I had more opportunities to post their stuff.

Both “Pop Goes the World” and “Where Do The Boys Go” are infinitely superior to “The Safety Dance,” with catchy choruses, fun lyrics and amazing melodies. And “Eurotheme” is Kraftwerkian brilliance, I wish it was longer than its scant 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

How were these guys a 1 and a half hit wonder? Pop isn’t fair!

Posted in B-sides, Men Without Hats, Pet Shop Boys, remixes | 9 Comments »

Lets Dance to Songs about Shacks and Fish

March 14th, 2012

Thought I’d take a break from arguing with game developers on Twitter and pounding my head against my desk trying to overcome a case of writer’s block with some happy tunes.

And I totally promise to have that guide to ripping vinyl up…sometime. I started that when I had almost no writing work going on and now I seem to have a ton. I’m not complaining about getting paid to write, but it does make this blog  kind of a secondary concern. And I’m sure most of you would rather me ramble for a bit and post some awesome remixes than go on and on about ripping vinyl.

Right now it looks like the guide will be split into several parts: Hardware, set-up, software, and editing. I think I should be able to get the hardware and set-up parts done fairly soon. Going into detail about software and editing is a bit more complicated though. Still, I really am planning on getting the whole thing done sometime this month. I appreciate your patience.

Now let’s head on down to the Love Shack.

The B-52’s
Love Shack (12″ Remix)
Love Shack (12″ Instrumental)
Love Shack (12″ Mix)
Love Shack (Big Radio Mix)
Channel Z (12″ Rock Mix)
I can’t believe that I’ve had this single for years and have never posted it! What the hell is wrong with me? Maybe it was because my original recording of it sounded like dogshit. It’s amazing what a stellar stylus and a high-quality record washing machine did for improving the quality of my rips (another tease from my recording guide?).

Since I pretty much everything ever put out by The B-52’s, it goes without saying that I think these remixes are sweet. I will always be confused by the “12” Remix” and “12” Mix” titles though. You think they would have called one of them something a little more unique. What makes something a remix and something else a mix anyways? Anyone know?

Bell & James
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (12″ Remix)
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (Instrumental) 
I posted this film’s amazing soundtrack a few months ago, and I’m still bummed that more people didn’t seem to dig it. If you like brilliantly dumb disco then my god do you need to download that record. It will change your life. You will believe that a fish can save Pittsburgh.

If that doesn’t do it for you, then these two added bonus mixes of the soundtrack’s so-good-it’s-life-changing title track should do the job. This song is a masterpiece of everything awesome. Ever. In the history of stuff. Bell &  James should not only get a lifetime achivement award Oscar for their work on this song, they should also get every best song Oscar from 1979 to 2011 as an apology (okay, I’ll let the people who wrote “Fame” keep theirs, but they’re it)!

So yeah, I kind of dig this song, you should download it.

Posted in B-52s, Bell & James, remixes | 8 Comments »

The Citadel Is A Lie

March 13th, 2012

I’m going to try to update more this week. I’m not covering anything for any magazines right now, I’m not traveling at the moment, and I’m done getting my heart ripped out and shit on by Mass Effect 3 (thanks so much for that ending, BioWare). So hopefully I can plow through my massive backlog of electronic singles that I pick up last week.

In other news, I have a new(ish) post at my other blog, Random Record Reviews! Read it. Leave a comment already! I like positive reinforcement.

Also, do you want to buy some of my records? Well, I’ll be selling some on Marth 24th at the Pittsburgh Record Fest, located at Belvedere’s (4016 Butler Street) from 7pm to…whenever they kick me out! Stop by! I’ll be the big guy with exact change.

Daft Punk
Around The World (Kenlou Remix)
Around The World (M.A.W. Remix)
Around The World (Mellow Mix)
Around The World (RAW Dub)
All these remxies are by the duo Masters At Work, names I have seen on seemingly countless singles throughout the years. They’re good, but chill (a common theme for tonight).

Conjure One (Featuring Sinead O’Connor)
Tears From The Moon (Hybrid Twisted On The Terrace Mix)
Tears From The Moon (Robbie Rivera Mix)
Tears From The Moon (Carmen Rizzo Stateside West Chill Out Mix)
If I see a single that has the word “Hybrid” followed by the word “mix” or “remix” then I will probably buy it, as they are my favorite trance act of all time. It’s a decision that pays off more often than not, and it really paid off here. This song is great, and all of the remixes improve on it in their own unique way.

I never heard of Conjure One before I bought this single and I was shocked to find in my research that it’s the work of Rhys Fulber, who started out as a member of Front Line Assembly. From electro-industrial-metal to beautiful progressive trance music in less than a decade? Maybe he switched from heroin to ecstasy or something. Regardless, these mixes are really amazing. Even if you don’t like electronic music I think you should check them out, especially the Hyrbid one, because…Hybrid.

Leftfield
Release One
Release Two
Release Four
Typically I’m not a fan of dub electronic music. I like my tunes with a bit more energy and a bit less weed. But these mixes of “Release The Pressure” appeal to me for some reason. Maybe it’s because most of them cut down on the reggae vocals and replace them with more chill beats. Of the three, my favorite is “Release Two,” it’s build is pretty great.

And don’t ask me where “Release Three” is, because my 12″ single didn’t have it.

Tricky
Christiansands (The Imposter’s Mix)
Ghetto Youth
Flynn
Much like the Leftfield mixes, these tracks are some chill-ass dub. Unlike the Leftfield mixes, they’re a little more uneven. Sure, the “Imposter’s Mix” of “Christiansands” is great (pretty much because it’s just an extended mix of the already amazing track) but “Ghetto Youth” is a bit on the annoying side since it’s pretty much just an incomprehensible reggae-sounding dude babbling over a beat. “Flynn” is barely more than just a barrage of beats, but it’s only two and a half minutes long so it doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Utah Saints
Lost Vagueness (Oliver Lieb’s Main Mix)
Lost Vagueness (Deadly Avenger Infantile Vocal Mix)
Lost Vagueness (Central Club Remix Edit)
Lost Vagueness (Josh Wink’s Deep Interpretation)
And in the “I would have never guessed the source of that sample” department, the vocal track on this excellent song by the Utah Saints was actually lifted from The Pretenders’ “I Go To Sleep.” And I thought their Kate Bush sample was random.

Utah Saints are awesome. Their first album came out in 1993, and their second in 2000, does that mean we’re overdue for a third? I know they’re still around, they just did a mix for Mixmag, so why the hell can’t they put out a new LP? I need more dance music that’s built of blatant vocal samples dammit. Get on that shit.

Posted in Conjure One, Daft Punk, Leftfield, remixes, Tricky | 5 Comments »

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