Nerd Alert!

I’ve been playing a lot of Little Big Planet 2 (or as the kids say, LBP2). I’m at the point now where I need to do some co-op stuff to unlock the hidden goodies. I keep trying to do this with random people online. But all the random people online kind of suck. No one will let me join their game, and when I have them join my game they just grief me. Goobers.

So if any of my readers play Little Big Planet 2 and are looking for a co-op partner, send me an email so we can talk about it. My email address is on the right side under my disclaimer.

Okay, the video game nerd talk is over, onto the music nerd talk!

Public Image Ltd.
Albatross (‘Melodrama’ Mix)
Death Disco (Swan Lake) (Unedited Monitor Mix)
I got these from a 12″ single that I’m fairly certain is a bootleg. If its not a bootleg it certainly doesn’t make its status as an “official” record obvious. There’s no label information, and no copyright marks anywhere. According to Discogs.com it was release in conjunction with John Lydon’s 2005 best-of compilation The Best Of British £1♫’s, which combined his best Sex Pistols and PIL tracks into one great 2xCD compilation. So maybe its one of those “official” unofficial things meant to appeal to hardcore collectors, who knows. I can tell you that this remix of “Albatross” does nothing to negate its status as one of the most abrasive tracks ever released by a major label recording artist, and that the remix of “Death Disco (Swan Lake)” is pretty much just an extended version of the already extended 12″ mix. If you have tolerance for Lydon’s lovey warble then you’ll probably dig both tracks. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate my love of Lydon at about a solid 7, so while I love the mix of “Death Disco (Swan Lake)” I think I would need to be paid to listen to that 10+ minute version of “Albatross” again. But hey, I’m sure me including here made some noise-rock loving hipster’s week, so I’m glad I can help spread dissonant joy around the world.

The Gossip
Listen Up (Tronik Youth Remix)
I have a bagillion remixes of Gossip tracks, one day I might actually buy a Gossip album. This is from a 12” single called “Indie Rock n’ Roll Remixed,” which also had that crazy version of Muse’s “Supermassive Black Hole” that I featured a few weeks ago. I’m fairly certain it’s a bootleg release as well.

Dalbello
Gonna Get Close To You
Wait For An Answer
Dalbello is a weird case. The Canadian born singer started out with happy-go-lucky disco in the late-80s, but in 1984 she completely reinvented herself (dropping her first name of Lisa in the process) and made a hard left from dance-pop into college-rock/alternative synth-pop with the release of Whomanfoursays, a collaboration between Lisa Dalbello herself and legendary David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson. Its a tad dated, the sparse synthetic sound of the record isn’t exactly tearing up the pop charts of today, but that’s all part of its charm. Besides, Lisa Dalbellos’ voice powers through all of the the somewhat out-of-date production with a power that is nearly unmatched by more popular singers of her time.I don’t know why this album didn’t make a bigger splash when it came out, its a damn shame.

You can buy Whomanfoursays on Amazon for about 11 bucks. And you really should, so I’m not putting the complete album up here. However, I think more people should be exposed to the bitchin’ awesomeness that is Dalbello, so I’m going to share two of the tracks from the album. “Gonna Get Close To You” is the opening number, and really sets the stage for the whole record, with its emotional vocals, great guitar work and overall awesomeness. Oddly enough, it was covered by Queensryche just a couple years later. Their version is good too, and you can check it out here if you’re curious. “Wait For An Answer” is another standout cut, and probably features the range and power of Dalbello’s voice better than any other track on the album, which is really saying something since she sings like a mother on all the tracks.

So please, if you like these tracks do yourself a favor and pick of the album on Amazon. Like I said, its only 11 bucks, way more than worth it for those looking for amazing, well-written music by strong women who know how to rock, something that is sadly a rare commodity in pop music today (P!nk notwithstanding).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 5:29 am and is filed under Dalbello, Public Image Ltd., The Gossip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.