Archive for October, 2011

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Halloween Horrors Part 2 – John Harrison and George Romero

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

I live in Pittsburgh, and let me tell you, people in Pittsburgh love their zombies.

It’s all because of George Romero. The director of Night/Dawn/Day/Land/Diary/Survival of the Dead was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and he set most of the films in the series in and around the greatest Pittsburgh area.

George Romero is known for keeping a semi-constant cast of actors and behind-the-scenes people with him. Both Gaylen Ross and Ken Foree from Dawn of the Dead went to star on in other films by the director, and Tom Savini’s pretty much been his right-hand gore man since the beginning. He’s even had actors grandfathered into this films. “Chilly” Billy Cardille was in the original Night Of The Living Dead, and some 18 years later Billy’s daughter Lori was cast as the lead in Day of The Dead.

Another person who has stuck around with Romero over the years has been John Harrison. A friend of Romero, his work with the director goes all the way back to Dawn of the Dead, where he had the uncredited role of “Screwdriver Zombie.” A couple years later, Romero cast Harrison again for another bit part, this time in the drama Knightriders. From there, his work with Romero increased. He was credited as the first assistant director in both Day of the Dead and Creepshow, and more recently he served as an executive producer on Diary of the Dead.

But wait, there’s more! Harrison didn’t just work as an A.D. and bit-part cast member for Romero, he also worked as a composer (and I thought John Carpenter’s multi-tasking was impressive). Harrison composed the scores for both Creepshow and Day of the Dead. Unfortunately, both of those soundtracks are out of print and go for a damn fortune online, if you can even track them down. But hey, that’s why you come here, right?

 

 Creepshow – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Prologue/Welcome To Creepshow (Main Title)
Father’s Day
The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill
Something To Tide You Over
The Crate
They’re Creeping Up On You
Epilogue
Until Next Time…(End Title)
Creepshow is a pretty awesome movie, and one of the best examples of comedy/horror ever made. Each of the film’s five short stories work great on their own, and both as a larger conceptual piece that pays homage to the EC horror comics of the 1950s. It’s such a great movie that I don’t want to say that much about it just in case someone reading this hasn’t yet seen it. It’s on Netflix Watch Instantly, so if you have that, check it out and marvel at Adrienne Barbeau’s ability to transform herself into one of the most unlikable characters in the history of motion pictures.

The soundtrack to Creepshow is kind of a modern (well, modern for 1982) marvel. As the linear notes state, almost the entire thing was composed on a PROPHET V polyphonic synthesizer and a pair of grand pianos. While the score does have an undeniable electronic sound (which is one of the reasons why it’s so great), it also has a depth and complexity that deny its rather humble origins. Parts of this sound like they came straight from of an orchestra. It’s without a doubt one of the best synth scores of the 80s, and works both as creepy background music and as a standalone piece.

This recording is from my personal vinyl copy, which looks like it was well-loved by its original owner. There are some scratches in parts, but as a whole it sounds pretty good.

 

George A. Romero’s Day Of The Dead – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Dead Suite
Breakdown
Escape Invasion
The Dead Walk
If Tomorrow Comes
The World Inside Your Eyes
Deadly Beginnings
Diner Of The Living Dead
Dead Calm
Bub’s 9th
Dead End
In the five-plus years (holy shit!) years I’ve been writing here at The Lost Turntable, I’ve posted more than my fair share of rare and hard-to-find recordings. So trust me that it means something when I say that this soundtrack might be the rarest and most difficult to track down recording I’ve ever posted.

The Day of the Dead soundtrack was originally issued on vinyl and cassette in 1982 1985. It was comprised of six tracks, with “The Dead Suite” taking up the entire B-side of the record. That version of the soundtrack is rare enough as it is, and you can usually find it going for somewhere between $20-$40 online.

However, like many soundtracks made for vinyl releases at the time, the score to Day of the Dead had to be severely abbreviated to fit on one record. It was not until 2002 when the soundtrack would be re-released on CD, courtesty of Numenorean Music. As far as I can tell, Numenorean Music no longer exists, and in their brief existence they only issued three releases: a 2-CD remaster of The Dark Crystal soundtrack, a release of the score to the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead; and this expanded edition of the Day of the Dead soundtrack.

Each of these releases were given extremely limited runs. They printed 5,000 copies of the Dark Crystal soundtrack, and only 3,000 each of the NOTLD and Day of the Dead soundtracks.

Today, these go for insane prices online, if you can find them at all. A new copy of the Dark Crystal score goes for almost $90 on Amazon, and for about $70 on Discogs marketplace. A copy of the NOTLD soundtrack is for sale for $70 on Discogs also, but the highest it has ever sold for is $32 bucks.

Then there’s this soundtrack. As of right now, someone on Discogs is trying to unload their copy for a whopping $425. They’re probably asking a bit much, but Discogs records show that the CD has actually been sold for as much as $112. I tried to find out if that price was an anomaly, but I couldn’t. I could hardly find anything about this release online. I don’t know how much it routinely sells for because, quite frankly, none of the 3,000 people who have a copy seem to be looking to let it go.

I don’t even think anyone has even ripped a copy and shared it online before, which means I’m making history here tonight!

So how is the soundtrack? It’s good enough. Unlike the score to Creepshow, it actually features some full instrumentation thanks to Pittsburgh band Modern Man. Two of the tracks also feature vocals by the awesomely named Sputzy Sparacino and a gospel singer who goes by the name Delilah. While the soundtrack to Creepshow is an awesome product of its time, parts of this score are a little dated, and the two pop songs are just downright silly in the context of an apocalyptic zombie movie. The 20-minute “Dead Suite” remains a highlight though, as do many of the other instrumental pieces on the record.

And in case you’re wondering how I got a copy of this bad boy, my mom bought it for me at a used CD store for 10 bucks. Go mom!

Posted in Complete Albums, soundtrack | 5 Comments »

Halloween Horrortracks

Friday, October 28th, 2011

I love horror movies.

I also love their soundtracks. It always amazes me how many soundtracks to great (and…not so great) horror movies end up going out of print! A well-crafted horror movie soundtrack can be just as memorable and creepy as the movie’s villain. Think of a movie like Jaws or Halloween, those movies are scarier because of their amazing scores! It’s a shame that so many soundtracks to lesser horror films have become lost over the years.

While I’ll be the first to admit that none of the soundtracks I’m featuring tonight can hold a candle to the films I just mentioned, they are still worth mentioning and might serve as great background music to your Halloween party, if nothing else.

 

The Fog


Matthew Ghost Story
Main Title Theme
Walk to the Lighthouse
Rocks at Drake’s Bay
The Fog
Antonio Bay
Tommy Tells of Ghost Ships
Reel 9
Can anyone else name a director who also scores most of his or her films? I sure can’t think of one – John Carpenter walks alone. With awesome keyboards.

For a long time John Carpenter’s scores were nearly impossible to find, but over the past few years many of his best soundtracks have found their way back into release. Today you can easily pick up the scores to such classics as They Live, Prince of Darkness, Escape from New York,  and the first three Halloween films, complete and uncut! The soundtrack to The Fog was available on CD for a while too, but for some reason that version has lapsed back out of print. It’s a shame. It may lack some of the hooks or melodies that made Carpenter’s other scores so memorable, but I still enjoy it immensely. It has a atmospheric, brooding feeling that perfectly encompasses the slow dreadful feeling you get from the film as you see the zombie-filled fog slowly roll its way across the town, killing anyone who gets in its path. I haven’t seen The Fog since I was in high school, I really have to re-visit this movie. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

Just avoid that remake. Ugh.

It’s Alive 2 (AKA It Lives Again)


Main Title
Birth Traumas
Lamentation
Savage Trilogy
Nightmares
Beautiful and Bizarre
Revulsion
Basement Nursery
Evil Evolving
Living With Fear
Stalking The Infants
Climax
It Lives Again, the sequel to the only movie that I know of that put my mother into shock while she saw it (true story – Hi mom!).

Despite what my mother might tell you otherwise, the original It’s Alive is an awesome movie, and not just for its schlock and shock value. For a movie about a mutant killer baby, there’s a lot going on there! It talks about women’s rights, the environment, government corruption, prejudice, and tabloid journalism. Deep shit!

The movie was directed by Larry Cohen, a twisted genius of a filmmaker who also made The Stuff, a movie about killer ice cream, and Q: The Winged Serpent, an AMAZING movie about a giant winged serpent that lives on top of the Chrysler Building and eats people. Seek those movies out, they will change your life.

The score for It’s Alive 2 is just a slightly modified version of the score to the original film, which was composed by the legendary composer Bernard Herrmann. During his illustrious career, Herrmann composed the scores to countless classics, including Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, Cape Fear, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jason and the Argonauts and Sisters. The last movie to feature one of his scores to come out before he died was It’s Alive, his actual last score was for Taxi Driver, but that didn’t come out until after he passed away.

Of the three scores I’m featuring here tonight, this is my favorite. Just like a great horror film, it’s filled with mystery, intrigue and the occasional jump scare. I also love its subtle use of electronic instruments, something that Herrmann was known for as far back as the 1960s.

This recording sounds amazing too, because until about three hours ago, my copy was sealed and had never been played.

Killer babies!

 

Leviathan


Underwater Camp
Decompression
Discovery
One of Us
The Body Within
Escape Bubbles
Can We Fix It
Situation Under Control
It’s Growing
Too Hot
A Lot Better
In 1989, three underwater-themed horror/sci-fi movies were released in American theaters; The Abyss, Deep Star Six, and Leviathan. Of the three, The Abyss is rightfully the most remembered. It was directed by James Cameron, had a huge budget with jaw-dropping and revolutionary special effects, and a touching story that managed to simultaneously deal with small, interpersonal relationships as well as the dangers of the military-industrial complex and cold war paranoia (at least it did in the Director’s Cut).

Deep Star Six, on the other hand, is a horrendously awful underwater monster film by Sean S. Cunningham, the director of Friday The 13th. It’s only redeeming quality is it’s incredibly bizarre cast, which includes Nia Peeples from Fame, Miguel Ferrrer (The Stand) and that dude from B.J. and The Bear. Don’t see it.

Somewhere in between (although admittedly closer to Deep Star Six) is Leviathan.

Leviathan certainly isn’t a good film by any means, but it’s not horrible, and is definitely entertaining. One thing is for sure, it has a pretty stellar cast of B-movie stars and characters actors, including Peter Weller (fucking Robocop!) Ernie Hudson (a fucking Ghostbuster!), Richard Crenna (fucking Trautman from Rambo!) and Daniel Stern (fucking….Daniel Stern! Dude was in Home Alone! And CHUD!).

It also probably helped that the film had a halfway decent director in George P. Costomas, a work-for-hire director who churned out entertaining films of questionable quality during the 80s (Cobra, First Blood: Part II, Of Unknown Origin) before somehow scoring a gig directing Tombstone in 1993 (although Kurt Russell would later claim he ghost-directed that film). The man knew how to work with a limited budget, and manages to make the most out of the rather silly practical monster effects throughout the film.

The plot of Leviathan is almost identical to that of Alien, so it’s probably more than just coincidence that they hired the composer of Alien, Jerry Goldsmith, to do the film’s score. It’s not the most creepy of scores, but it does feature whale songs! So hey…that’s something I guess.

Random thought: Wouldn’t it be fucking incredible if the heavy metal band Mastodon made their album Leviathan to be in sync with this movie? Hey, you potheads out there, go find that out for me.

By the way, the babies in the It’s Alive movies could totally fuck up the monster in Leviathan.

Posted in Complete Albums, soundtrack | 2 Comments »

Falling into a Pretty Soundwave

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Pearl Jam update for those wondering.

Over at the Ten Club message boards there are over 600 posts in the thread petitioning for a re-release of the deluxe Blu-ray/DVD sets. Ten Club’s stance remains that the discs will not be re-pressed, despite the fact that it appears they haven’t even been pressed in the first place due to a manufacturing error. They refuse to say why. The twitter accounts for Pearl Jam and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready remain silent on the matter – despite this, my polite harrassment has not stopped.

The second disc of extras is oddly available on iTunes as a digital download, which I suspect is the real reason why they won’t re-issue the set – another fucking exclusivity deal. I find it odd that Pearl Jam is more than happy to take money from big businesses, but not from eager fans who are more than willing to pay for this content.

Since they aren’t though, if you are a Pearl Jam fan and want this footage, I suggest you steal it from torrents, it’ll be up there soon enough. I bought the second disc of extras on iTunes and while the content itself is AMAZING, the presentation blows, the video quality is shit, and you can’t burn it to disc (on a related note, if you know how to do this, let me know).

Anyways, enough of this depressing corporate bullshit, let’s listen to an incredibly odd assortment of 80s dance music.

Shockingly enough, both of the singles from which I got these songs came out in 1987. They sound like they were recorded in different dimensions, let alone different years.

Pretty Poison
Catch Me (I’m Falling) (12″ Mix)
Catch Me (I’m Falling) (Dub Mix)
Catch Me (I’m Falling) (Dance Mix)
Catch Me (I’m Falling) (Radio Mix)
I think this song is right up there with Stacey Q’s “Two of Hearts” as “the most 80s shit ever.” In fact, I think it might be even more 80s than “Two Of Hearts.” While both feature that awesome “let’s sample the lead singer’s vocals and play it on the keyboard” effect, “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” edges out “Two of Hearts” in a few ways in terms of all-out-80s-amazingness. First of all, it was featured in the soundtrack to Hidin’ Out, a movie starring Brat Packer Jon Cryer. Secondly, the lead singer’s name is Jade Starling. Thirdly, and most importantly, its video is bloody amazing, filled with just about every 80s dance video stereotype imaginable. Random people jumping through the air? Check. Giant dyed hair? Triple check. A keytar? Fuck yeah check (oh, and the dude playing the keytar went by the name Whey Cooler. WHEY COOLER!). And a random shot of someone singing while looking through the blinds at sunset? Oh yeah check.

Most 80s shit ever.

Renegade Soundwave
Kray Twins
Renegade Theme
Kray Twins (Terror Drum Mix)
Kray Twins (7″ Easy Mix)
Kray Twins (Dragon Bass Sound System Mix)
I’m not going to lie, between the artists I’m posting tonight, I’d much rather listen to the Pretty Poison remixes than these cuts by Renegade Soundwave. “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” may be dumb as shit, but it’s also catchy as shit, and as a result, more than a little bit brilliant. “Kray Twins” is just…well…weird? I don’t even know. I usually love me some Renegade Soundwave too, but I just do not get this song. I thought my turntable was playing at the wrong speed at first. But hey, it’s still worth a listen or two. I do enjoy the last remix, some proto-DNB in there for sure.

Also, The Kray Twins were real people. Read up on them, fascinating stuff.

Posted in Pretty Poison, remixes, Renegade Soundwave | 5 Comments »

Being a Fan is a Losing Battle: Pearl Jam, Selling Out and Sell Outs

Friday, October 21st, 2011

I’ve been told by many people that I like music too much. My usual response is “that’s not possible.” But today I think they may be right. If I don’t like music too much, I definitely expect too much from the people who make it, the people who give me one of my few sources of joy and happiness (in case you’re wondering, my other sources of happiness are kung fu movies, sushi, root beer and vodka – sometimes all at once).

I love a lot of bands and I don’t really have a favorite, but whenever I’m pressed to pick on I usually say Pearl Jam, although my fandom with Pearl Jam kind of came about in an odd way.

I was in junior high when Ten first came out and I liked it enough, but by the time Vitalogy was released I had pretty much lost interest in the group. That’s about when I discovered electronic music, and that consumed my popular music interest for a few years.

I didn’t fall in love with Pearl Jam until 2000, when they released live albums for all of their concerts in an effort to combat high-priced, shitty sounding bootlegs. I borrowed a few from a friend who was a die-hard Pearl Jam fanatic and quickly re-discovered the group. By the time I was done listening to all the albums my friend had, I was floored.

I was amazed to hear how different their setlists were from night to night. I loved how open they were to fan interaction and spontaneity. They always sounded like they were having a blast no matter how late into the tour it was. Most importantly though, they sounded fucking AMAZING. I couldn’t believe a band like Pearl Jam, a band that really had nothing left to prove, could consistently hit it out of the park almost every night.

It was then that I became hooked. I bought as many of the live CDs as I could. I joined Ten Club, the official Pearl Jam fan club. I even followed them on tour whenever they came to my neck of the woods. Since 2000 I’ve seen the group over 10 times, far more than any other band.

I have a framed copy of Yield on my wall in my living room for fuck’s sake. It’s an unhealthy obsession.

And Pearl Jam wasn’t just a great live band that put out great records (Binaural is a great, underrated album, check it out) but they also seemed to care about important shit. While so many other bands of the 90s seemed to sell out their indie ideals as soon as the money started to roll in, Pearl Jam seemed to hold on to them as best they could. They released their concerts on CD not to make money, but to save fans from buying crap bootlegs; they played important benefits shows and spoke out on important causes; they never wrote songs that objectified women or glorified violence. It’s a hard quality to quantify, but they seemed to “get it.”

In 2009, they got a lot of shit when they announced that their album Backspacer would be a Target exclusive release. It sounded like they were selling out their ideals for a quick buck, but when the band had a chance to explain themselves it didn’t look nearly as bad. (I even defended the band for doing it.)

It turned out that the album was only a “big box” exclusive for Target. This meant that while other national chains like Best Buy and Wal-Mart wouldn’t be able to carry it, local independent stores (and iTunes) would have the album for sale. And of course you could still get it at the band’s official website on both CD and vinyl. Pearl Jam gets paid, indie stores don’t get screwed, and the fans get the CD at a fair price. Everyone wins. And the album was pretty damn good too, their best in years.

Pearl Jam turned 20 this year (and I feel old). The band had a lot of festivities to celebrate. There was the huge PJ20 concert in Wisconsin, a small Canadian tour, and a movie called PJ20 directed by Cameron Crowe. It had a super-limited theatrical run, so I was excited to buy it when it came out on Blu-ray, which I was sure would have a ton of bonus features. Eventually, a special “Limited Edition” 3 disc Blu-ray set was announced at the website for $80. I didn’t mind that price, but at the time I was still financially recovering from Outside Lands and couldn’t afford it. So I decided to hold off for a bit.

Mistake on my part, because, unlike many of the other products Pearl Jam markets as a “Limited Edition,” this actually was. Now they are both sold out. Why the hell the band would decide to make THAT limited and not the 80 billion other things that they say are limited but actually aren’t just doesn’t make any sense. It’s even more confusing when you consider they announced the very expensive set right after the PJ20 concert and the Canadian tour, so die-hard fans who follow the band on tour were probably strapped for cash.

This is manufactured rarity and I hate it with every fiber of my being. It’s quickly becoming a problem in the music industry that’s driving me batshit bonkers. I get that some things are only going to be available in limited quantities, but it’s not the sort of thing that should be purposely planned if the band or label can avoid it, because it accomplishes nothing. All it does is anger fans who are unable to buy something the second it is announced, and create a sick secondary market where assholes who bought multiple copies can pawn theirs on eBay for hundreds of dollars over the original price. It also takes money away from the band, don’t they want supply to meet demand? That means more money! I’m sure someone out there thinks that it helps fight piracy by encouraging fans to buy physical products, but guess what? Since I can’t buy that three-disc set I’m most likely going to download it off a torrent site or borrow it from someone who does have it and rip my own copy.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, and the aspect about the PJ20 Blu-ray release that bothers me least.

So, I lost the chance to buy the Deluxe Edition, okay, so can I buy the standard edition Blu-ray at their website?

Nope.

How about at an indpendent record store, or online at Amazon or another store?

Nope.

Where can I buy it?

Best fucking Buy.

That’s right. The Blu-ray of PJ20 is a timed Best Buy exclusive. If you want it before Christmas then you have to go to Best Buy to get it. No alternatives.

Let’s go back in time a bit, back when Pearl Jam announced that deal with Target. In an interview on the matter, Eddie said this:

“”We’ve put a tremendous amount of thought into this, and we’ve done it in a way that we think will be good for everybody. I can’t think of anything we’ve ever done without putting it through our own personal moral barometer. Target has passed for us. The fans just have to trust us.”

The band’s manager, Kelly Curtis, also had a lot to say on the topic:

“We’ll have a lot of partners…Target ended up allowing us to have other partners. We’ll be able to take care of all levels of the Pearl Jam fan…Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition.”

“I make decisions around the band’s business that are consistent with their overall philosophy,” said Curtis, “which is to sell music in a way that’s accessible and affordable to their fans, on every distribution platform that their fans access music, and in a way that takes care of the little guys. I wanted our plan to be multi-dimensional to address old and modern ways of fans accessing music. It will allow all of our fans to have the same access.”

Who is this deal good for? It’s good for the band, of course, because they get money. But independent record stores get fucked, They miss out on a huge music release during the holiday season. And fans who actually care about corporate responsibility (something the band used to spout about a lot) and don’t want to support Best Buy because of all the sick, disgusting and horrible things they have done to consumers over the years, then they’re just fuck out of luck too aren’t they? They pass the band’s moral barometer? A company that has actually been fined by the government for illegal business practices is okay with Pearl Jam? What the fuck happened to their morals then?

But wait, there’s more!

Earlier this year the band released an amazing Super Deluxe box set of Vs. and Vitalogy. It had both albums on CD and vinyl as well as bonus tracks, a live concert and so much more. It’s a great set for both hardcore and casual fans alike. I, like many Pearl Jam fans, bought it the second I could afford to.

Well, apparently the band had some extras lying around that they wanted to get rid of, because they re-released the box set with this added bit in the description:

â–ª THE FIRST 500 TO ORDER, beginning 10/19/11, WILL RECEIVE THE “LIVE FROM THE MOORE” VAULT SHOW #1 CD THAT MEMBERS RECEIVED AT ALPINE VALLEY
â–ª YOU COULD RECEIVE ONE OF 8 SIGNED SUPER DELUXE COPIES (RANDOMLY DISTRIBUTED)

So hey, if you’re a die-hard fan then you’re a sucker! You should have waited a few months so you can get even more music (in the form of a super-rare CD!) and a chance of an autograph! Loser! But hey, if you want to buy it again no one is stopping you!

What. The. Fuck.

In one hand you have the Blu-ray and DVD box sets. If you didn’t order them right away then you’re an idiot. You’re never gong to get that again (unless the band re-issues it AFTER the Best Buy exclusive deal for the single-disc version ends). You know, after everyone bought it so they can double-dip.

In the other hand, you have this box set. If you ordered that too soon then you’re an idiot and you won’t get the really cool and hard-to-find content.

Ugh.

When people say I care too much about music, I think this must be what they mean. I care about not only the music, but the people who make it. I want them not to be the scum of the earth, or at least be consistent about it.

If Aerosmith did this, no one would care; because they’ve never ranted about the evils of corporate greed and the importance of independent record stores. When you have no ideals, then you really can’t sell out.

But when you do have ideals, or at least make it appear that you do, then I guess the only place you can go is down.

No music tonight. I was going to put up some rare Pearl Jam (because I have TONS) but I really don’t feel like listening to a bunch of hypocrites right now.

Posted in No music, Pearl Jam, rant | 14 Comments »

Flock of Bootlegs

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

If any of you follow me on Twitter, then you may already know that I might have to go on another grunge-related rant next week. For that I apologize.

Until then, let’s keep the happy synthpop train rolling!

Depeche Mode
Only When I Lose Myself (Lexicon Avenue Remix) 
It’s come to this, I have so many Depeche Mode singles (over 80 if you count the box sets) that I have to resort to white label bootlegs to get my remix fix. I’m willing to accept that if it means I can get more awesome mixes like this one, however. I’m digging this mix a lot at the moment. It’s very chill and minimal, and it really takes its time to develop. And since “Only When I Lose Myself” is one of those Mode tracks where all you need is Gahan’s haunting vocals, the sparse, bare-bones treatment fits the track perfectly. A quality mix that’s better than a lot of the official remixes that were on the last Depeche Mode remix compilation, it’s definitely worth a listen or twenty.

Flock of Seagulls
I Ran (Flatline Remix)
So one time I went to this weird hipster party in Pittsburgh and a band called Tehran Iran was playing. They came out dressed as sheikhs and played punk rock covers of Duran Duran songs. It was pretty awesome. For their encore they played “I Ran,” changing the chorus to “But Iran/Iran is so far away.”  Good times.

Anyways, this is another bootleg remix, bought in the same batch as that previously mentioned Depeche Mode remix. I never thought I’d find a trance remix of a Flock of Seagulls track, let alone like it a lot. Will the wonders never cease?

Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Trevor Horn Remix)
Get It On (Bang a Gong)
Relax International (Live)
Speaking of bootlegs, has anyone ever done a mash-up of “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” with Public Enemy’s “Welcome To the Terrordome?” It seems like the kind of thing that just should create itself into existence, it’s so obvious.

These tracks are not bootlegs, they are taken from one of the 86 zillion Frankie Goes to Hollywood 12″ singles that came out between the years 1983-85.  Because, y’know, the world needed as many remixes of “Relax” as possible! It’s how we survived the Reagan years. That’s a fact. You can look it up.

And that “Get It On” cover is ridiculous and I love every minute of it!

Posted in bootlegs, covers, Depeche Mode, Flock Of Seagulls, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, live, remixes | 2 Comments »

The Human League is Totally Awesome

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Don’t you want me OOOOOHooooooohOOOOOOOHooooooooooooh

Sorry.

Pet Shop Boys
You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk (Brother Brown’s Newt Mix) 
You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk (Attaboy Still Love You When We’re Sober Mix)
You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk (The T-Total Mix)
You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk (Brother Brown’s Newt Dub)
I bought this, along with three other Pet Shop Boys singles today. That brings my total PSB singles count to 40. Forty. Four-zero. That is a lot of fabulous. The only artist I have more singles of is Erasure, and possibly Madonna – I have to recount. One day I’m going to get all the singles from Erasure, the Pet Shop Boys and Madonna and I’m going to open the best gay bar ever. I’m sure that’ll help me get all the women.

I don’t have much to say about these mixes, probably because this isn’t one of my favorite PSB tracks. I like the stutter edit on the title lyric, but other than that, I find it pretty bland, kind of like a slightly more upbeat (musically, not lyrically) version of “Rent.” The T-Total mix has a great beat though and they’re all still worth a listen if you like the Boys.

The Human League
Don’t You Want Me (Snap 12″ Extended Remix)
Don’t You Want Me (Red Jerry 12″ Remix)
Okay, I need help here, is the “Snap” who created this rather amazing remix of “Don’t You Want Me” the same Snap who brought us “The Power?” Someone find this shit out, it’s important. If that is the case, then this remix is automatically 8 billion times better than it already is, and that’s saying something since as it stands now it’s pretty freaking radical. Equally bitchin’ is the Red Jerry mix. I actually know who that is though, he’s a DJ from the UK. Although I only know this because he inexplicably has a Wikipedia page. Yay for needless wiki pages! They make hasty midnight research oh so much easier.

I’m going to rock out to these mixes all night. Who the fuck needs sleep? I have awesome synthpop.

Moby
Everytime You Touch Me (John Blackford Remix)
“Everytime You Touch Me” is one of my top five 90s house tracks of all time. It’s one of the most energetic, upbeat and lovey-dovey dance tunes ever and it makes me happy everytime I hear it. At least, that was the case until I heard this crazy remix, which was actually the winning submission in a fan remix contest by Moby and Elektra back in the mid-90s. This mix is nothing like the original. It strips away all of the positive feelings and energy of the original and replaces them with minimal melodies and creepy as all fuck vocal samples, including this gem:

“I always had a suspicion that it might be supremely pleasurable to be humiliated by a beautiful woman. It was only now I realized what this could entail.”

Okay…um…ew. I’m going to have to listen to those “Don’t You Want Me” remixes about a billion more times just to get this creepfest out of my brain.

Don’t you want me OOOOOHooooooohOOOOOOOHooooooooooooh!!!!!!!

Damn that song is awesome.

Posted in Moby, Pet Shop Boys, remixes, The Human League | 4 Comments »

Two Hours and Twenty Minutes of Countdown Remixes

Friday, October 14th, 2011

I am willing to bet money that the overlap of people who will care about tonight’s post and the people who cared about my Nirvana post will be very small.

Okay, I need to talk about the video for Beyoncé’s “Countdown.” If you haven’t watched it, go do it now. That’s an order, by the way.

What a goddamn masterpiece. How the hell does someone create something that jaw-droppingly amazing? That video is three minutes and thirty-two seconds of utter perfection. Nearly every frame in that video could be framed as a work of art. Everything about it is perfect. It’s one of those things that, when you see it, you’re almost pissed off because it’s so good. It almost makes you mad that someone could come up with something so undeniably brilliant in everyway imaginable.

Or, in the case of some people, it does make them mad, so much that they have to shit on everyone else’s parade.

That’s the only explanation for all the hate the video is getting. Plagiarism accusations have been non-stop and coming from all corners. Specifically, many are claiming that Beyoncé (or her choreographer) stole from Belgium choreographer and dancer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. A video (edited in a way to make the similarities even more apparent) showcasing the alleged theft can be found here.

With evidence that damming, even the most die-hard of Beyoncé fans would have to admit that it’s pretty obvious Beyoncé lifted ideas from De Keersmaker’s work en masse, cribbing not only the dance moves, but in some some of the wardrobe and costumes as well.

And so what?

First of all, Beyoncé’s appropriation of De Keersmaker’s work is so obvious, so blatant and direct, that she would have to be an idiot to think that no one would notice. It should be pretty bleeding clear to anyone with a brain that she’s homaging the original work, keeping it so much in tune with the original that anyone who is familiar with De Keersmaeker would pick up on the similarities. Just like how anyone familiar with Audrey Hepburn or Twiggy will most likely see those influences in Beyoncé’s appearance in the video as well.

Secondly, as this Guardian article points out, De Keersmaker herself has appropriated other works of dance for her own pieces. And there’s nothing wrong with that! That’s how art works. Someone creates something that inspires someone else, and in turn they tweak and modify their inspiration to create something unique. It’s the nature of the creative process. Nothing is truly original.

So if Beyoncé is a creatively bankrupt thief for getting her ideas from an obscure European dance artist, then David Bowie is a thief for coming up with the name for Ziggy Stardust after hearing The Legendary Stardust Cowboy; Madonna is a thief for cribbing Willie Ninja’s vogue moves for her own video; Deep Purple are plagiarists for stealing the riff from Smoke On The Water from jazz composer Claude Nougaro; and Elvis is a thief for stealing, well, basically everything he liked from black culture.

You can copy dance moves, choreography and wardrobe, but you can’t copy personality, which Beyoncé has in droves in that video, and you can’t copy a performance to die for either. You also can’t copy that song; it’s pop perfection in every way.

So shut the fuck up and love Beyoncé . Because she’s pretty damn awesome.

Beyoncé
Countdown (Bobby Duron Club Remix)
Countdown (Carl Tio and Morjac Club Remix)
Countdown (Carl Tio and Morjac Dub Remix)
Countdown (Carl Tio and Morjac Instrumental Remix)
Countdown (DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Club Mix)
Countdown (DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Acapella)
Countdown (DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Dub Mix)
Countdown (DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Instrumental Remix)
Countdown (DJ Nita Club Mix)
Countdown (Jochen Simms Club Mix)
Countdown (Jochen Simms Dub Remix)
Countdown (Manny Lehman Big Room Club Mix)
Countdown (Manny Lehmans Big Room Dub)
Countdown (Mike Rizzo Extended Mix)
Countdown (Red Soul Club Remix)
Countdown (Red Soul Instrumental)
Countdown (Red Top Club Acapella)
Countdown (Red Top Club Instrumental)
Countdown (Red Top Club Remix)
Countdown (Red Soul Club Mix)
Countdown (Reggae Rewind Remix)
Are those enough remixes of “Countdown?” I think so.

I am fairly certain that none of these are easily commercially available. I believe that they are promo remixes for DJs and clubs. The only place I could find them for sale was on eBay, at crazy prices I might add. Instead, I grabbed them from about five or so other MP3 blogs. I would give them shout outs, but they all either hosted full albums you can get legally, or they buried their downloads on shady, pop-up driven download link sites, and I refuse to link to sites like that out.

In case you aren’t interested in downloading all 21 remixes and just want the best, I can recommend a few more than others.

My favorites of the bunch are the Jochen Simms remixes, since they inject the tune with a Eurodance Hi-NRG flavor that I love. If you liked Rihanna’s “Only Girl In The World” then you’ll probably like those versions. I’m also digging the DJ Nita Club Mix for similar reasons.

The Red Top Club Remix is very house-like, and is worth at least one listen because it replaces the Boyz II Men countdown sample with samples from a Speak-And-Spell.

If you like trance then you should check out the Carl Tio and Morjac mixes, since they remove every element from the original version (save for the vocals) and replace them with every trance staple you can think of. It makes me wonder what a progressive trance artist like Hyrbid could do to this song.

The other mixes are good, but not great. The only one I actively dislike is the Reggae Rewind mix, but that’s more because I’m not a fan of reggae. Also, the accapella mixes are not for us regular humans, they’re for DJs, so only get those if you’re really into Beyoncé or if you want the vocals for your own sampling.

Posted in Beyoncé, rant, remixes | 6 Comments »

Bad Girls (Run The World)

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

No more grunge for at least a month. I loved writing about that fiasco and it got me a lot of hits, but goddamn it bummed me out.

Let’s dance.

Orbital
One Perfect Sunrise  (Phil Hartnoll Mix)
One Perfect Sunrise (Stereo-8 Remix)
Acid Pants (JDS Mix)
Orbootal
“One Perfect Sunrise” is a song that sounds like its title; beautiful and awe-inspiring, and these two remixes are almost just as great. The Phil Hartnoll mix works pretty well because it isn’t that different than the original, which makes sense considering that Phil is half of Orbital. The Stereo-8 mix is great as well, but it does make the pretty egregious mistake of burying the beautiful vocals away for the first half of the mix. When you have something that hauntingly beautiful, that’s your lead god dammit.

The “Acid Pants” mix is just like the original version of “Acid Pants,” in that it’s incredibly stupid. However, it makes the same mistake as the Stereo-8 mix, it buries the part of the song that makes it interesting: the crazy acid sound doesn’t show up until the song is halfway over. Still, it has the guys from Sparks saying something stupid over and over again, so it’s worth something.

“Orbootal” is a bootleg white-label remix of “Impact” which is a song I have not heard in years, so I really can’t comment on how it’s different. I like it though.

DJ Rap
Everyday Girl (Sneaky Vocal Experience Mix)
Everyday Girl (Rae & Christian Remix)
Bad Girl (Hybrid Remix)
Bad Girl (Num Club Girl Remix)
Bad Girl (Friburn n Urik Remix)
 DJ Rap is an accomplished drum n bass and house DJ. She’s a singer, songwriter, producer, model and actress. She is by far the most successful woman in electronic music. Not only is she a genius, but she’s also tough-as-nails for managing to thrive and succeed in a genre of music that is notoriously known as a boys’ club. Now if someone could just tell me why her name is DJ Rap. I just don’t get that.

“Everyday Girl” is a very good song, but “Bad Girl” is the one I’m going to talk about. Damn, what a track. Not only is it an amazing example of progressive trance (and the Hybrid remix is a must-hear) but it also has some amazing lyrics about sexism and double-standards. How many dance tracks drop the phrase “glass ceiling?” Shit is deep.

Enjoy the enlightenment via trance music. I’ll see you all again before the week is over.

Posted in DJ Rap, Orbital, remixes | No Comments »

Nevermind Picture Discs: Picture Imperfect

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

For those of you just tuning in, this is my fifth post on the Nevermind remaster. If you want a recap I suggest you check out the following:

The Neverming 20th Anniversary Release: Anatomy Of A Disaster
The Nevermind Remaster: Further Analysis
 The Nevermind 4LP Set – Disaster On Wax
Bob Ludwig want you to know that you don’t count 

If you’re lazy, here is the TL;DR version: The Nevermind remaster is shit and you shouldn’t buy it on CD or LP.

Also, Bob Ludwig is an ass.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know that when I bought the limited edition picture disc set, which I got in the mail today.

Is it any different than the regular 4LP version? Not really, but there are a few aspects of it that I thought were worth mentioning. It also allows me to put this whole Nirvana thing to bed for a while with one more post. So if you’re sick of all this Nirvana stuff on my blog, be happy, this will be the last post to tackle the topic for some time.

Content-wise, the picture disc deluxe edition is identical to the regular vinyl deluxe edition. It includes the album proper; B-sides; the Smart Studio Sessions; The Boombox Rehearsals; and the BBC Sessions.

As for the discs themselves, each side has a unique picture:


 

They sure look neat, but they sound absolutely horrible, but I can’t really fault the master for that. You could press the most high-quality, audiophile-approved transfer in the world onto a picture disc, and it will still sound like crap. Something about the process of putting a picture on a vinyl record makes it sound significantly worse. Every picture disc I own has crazy amounts of surface noise, with more pops, cracks and snaps than a bowel of rice krispies, and there’s never anything I can do about it. It’s just how picture discs are.

Because of this, picture discs are almost never intended to be listened to, they’re for collectors only.

Thankfully, in a very rare example of common sense on the part of Universal, they actually included a download code with this version. So instead of having to listen to a noisy, crackly version of Nevermind that’s a little too loud and over-compressed, you get to listen to a crystal clear 320kpbs MP3 version of Nevermind that’s way too loud and over-compressed.

But Universal even managed to fuck that up. When you download the files they come in a zip that contains eight separate folders, one for each side. When you import the tracks into iTunes they look like this (click on the image to see it larger):

In case you can’t tell, the track listing is screwed up. For some reason, the Id3 tags try to keep the vinyl tracklisting,  making it so the numbering resets at “1” for the first track of each side. When you load the tracks into iTunes (or any other Mp3 player software)  it lists all the track “ones” in alphabetical order, followed by all the track “twos,” and so on. Also, for some reason the track number for “Curmudgeon” is in the track name field. You can fix all these mistakes yourself, but you shouldn’t have to. The fact that Universal couldn’t even get something as simple as ID3 tags right really shows how little they cared about this release.

There are only 1,991 of these sets, with only 500 allocated to the states. These were only available at the official Nirvana store, so now if you want one you’ll have to pay an inflated price on eBay. I’m seeing them go for over $100 already, I’m sure that’ll skyrocket for a bit and then settle somewhere between $100 and $200 bucks.

Are they worth it? This may sound odd, but if you’re an obsessive Nirvana collector then this version is probably your best bet. Yes, it sounds like shit, but so do other versions, so you might as well get one that looks cool. But if you don’t care about collecting stuff, it’s just another version of Nevermind that you should avoid.

That shouldn’t be a surprise though, let’s look at all the ways that Universal has botched the 20th Anniversary of one of the most important albums of my generation:

  • The remaster is too loud and compressed
  • The Super Deluxe Box Set and the Live At The Paramount Blu-ray are timed Best Buy exclusives
  • The Super Deluxe Box Set doesn’t include a Blu-ray of the live concert, only a DVD, so if you want the Super Deluxe set and the Blu-ray you have to double-dip
  • The audio on the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video on the DVD is taken from the remaster, creating a jarring audio cut
  • The music videos included on the DVD aren’t on the Blu-ray
  • There are reports of many of the Blu-ray copies suffering from audio/video sync issues (to be fair, I never had this problem)
  • The 4LP vinyl set came out a week after every other version, and the picture disc set came out even later
  • There is no way to get the Devonshire mixes on vinyl
  • The 4LP vinyl set has a error 27 seconds into “Polly” that surrounds Kurt’s voice with noise when he says “seed.”
  • Both the official website and Best Buy advertised the wrong dates for the vinyl versions
  • The regular 4LP vinyl set doesn’t include a download code
  • The download code included with the picture disc set gives you Mp3s with bad ID3 tags

It’s a disgrace.

You know how if parents treat their kids like shit they can lose custody? Or how you can lose the right to own an animal if you abuse one? The same should go for copyright.

If a corporation doesn’t respect the artwork that they hold the rights to, then they should lose the right to make money off of it. In a fair and just world, the way Universal has botched the Nevermind re-issue would be a criminal offense, the penalty of which would be a complete relinquishing of the rights to all Nirvana recordings.

Of course, fans can already get Nirvana music for free thanks to the magic of the Internet, and I suggest that’s what they do from now on.

Some may say that encouraging people to steal music is immoral. Perhaps they’re right, but in my opinion, it’s more moral than holding a generation’s cultural milestone hostage and destroying it for no apparent reason, with no respect for the art nor the people whose lives it touched.

What really boggles my mind about all of this is that there are amazing remasters of Nevermind that are already out there! Just two years ago Original Recordings Group (ORG) released a vinyl-only version mastered from the original analog tapes that got stellar reviews! I have their versions of Incesticde and In Utero and I can attest to their quality. In 2007 Universal Music Japan released a 200 gram vinyl that supposedly sounds amazing! Even Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs (MFSL) released great-sounding record and CD versions of the album, and that was all the way back in 1996! I have a copy of that version and I can personally tell you that it sounds incredible! That’s the version to get. It may cost a fortune now, but the Internet is a magical place…

Go to Google and search for “Nevermind mfsl download.” Click on the first link.

You’re welcome.

Posted in Nirvana, rant | 5 Comments »

The Alarm: The Power of Positive Thinking and Power Mullets

Friday, October 7th, 2011

All this talk about Nirvana and the butchering of modern music has made me a bit down, let’s fix that.

Alarm – Electric Folklore Live
Rescue Me
Strength
Rain In The Summertime
Spirit of ’76
Permanence In Change
Blaze of Glory
The last time I posted tracks by The Alarm I described them as one of the most earnest bands in history. After listening to this incredibly emotional and spirited live album, I think a better word to describe The Alarm would be “idealistic.” What are they idealistic for? Well, I don’t think that really matters all that much. They believe in something, dammit and they want you to as well!

And hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little vague idealism and positivity.  For years bands have been making a fortune by tapping into teens’ vague defeatism and negativity, so I think the Alarm did a good job at hitting an underrepresented market. They basically took the attitude of 70s UK punk and inverted it.

Some would say that U2 has made a career doing the same thing, but those people forget that U2 sucks (and yes, I’m aware that The Alarm opened for u2).

But I think the best way to describe The Alarm’s sound, what they believe in, and what they try to achieve is this quote by Woody Guthrie, which lead singer Mark Peters quotes on this live album during “Rescue Me”:

“I hate a song that makes you think that you’re not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are either too old or too young or too fat or too slim or too ugly or too this or too that….songs that run you down or songs that poke fun of you on account of your bad luck or your hard traveling. I am out to fight those kinds of songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood.”

Now that is a man who wants to inspire and motivate people to be positive and hopeful! No wonder the dude beat cancer twice!

Electric Folklore was the only live album The Alarm released during their original run, and I’m fairly certain it’s the only live album by the band that features the original line-up, although I could be wrong about that. The entire album was recorded at the Boston Wang Centre in 1988. It’s been re-issued a few times, but never in an expanded format that includes the whole concert, and that’s a damn shame. The Alarm is a great live band.

This recording was taken from a promo cassette that was still sealed when I bought it, so it sounds pretty damn good. Enjoy, and I’ll see you all next week.

Posted in Complete Albums, live, The Alarm | 6 Comments »

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