Archive for the ‘Aerosmith’ Category

Happy belated New Year – here’s Moby remixing Aerosmith

Sunday, January 12th, 2020

Around New Year’s I was showing a friend some other MP3 blog that shares remixes and b-sides. You know the one.

He agreed with me that it was totally lame that said MP3 blog not only shared tracks that are easily commercially available (sometimes on new vinyl even), but that the person behind the blog couldn’t even be bothered to do their own write-up about said tracks. I mean, it’s one thing to hook up a turntable to a PC, go through the sometimes arduous process of ripping a record to a digital format, cleaning it up, and then sharing it on the internet. It’s another to, let’s say, grab a rightfully forgotten piece of 90s electronica, rip it to a digital format, clean it up, properly tag it, upload it to a server that you paid for, and then write about said rightfully forgotten song.

That shit takes gumption.

Aerosmith
Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) (Butcher Mix)
Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) (Butcher Mix Edit)
Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) (Moby Flawed Mix)
Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) (Moby Fucked Mix)

Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhy.

Okay, first things first, there are four remixes here. The first two are by Joe “The Butcher’ Nicolo, the founder of Ruffhouse Records. They’re good examples of your standard remix. They take the basic structure of the song, mix it up a bit, throw in a few more beats, and add some other dance elements. They’re fine. I mean, they’re as fine as remixes to very sub-standard late-90s Aerosmith track can get, but whatever. They are what they are and they accomplish what they set out to accomplish.

Then, there’s the Moby remixes.

What the fuck.

I’m not surprised that Moby remixed these songs. This isn’t an 808 State/Yes situation. He was doing a lot of remix work for rock artists in the mid-to-late 90s. This was around the same time he did remix work for The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Blur, and even Metallica. I’m more surprised with how he remixed them. I don’t think it’s really fair to even call these tracks remixes. I think the only thing he saves from the original versions in his remixes are Tyler’s vocals, and he even cuts and screws them to an (even more) unintelligible mess. These are less remixes and more like entirely new productions that just happen feature vocals by Steven Tyler with some short snippets of Perry’s guitar. They remind me Moby’s “Next To The E” or some of the more hardcore remixes of “Go.”

To be perfectly honest, I really don’t know what to think of them. I respect that they’re just so far out there and removed from the source material. He basically took an Aerosmith song (and not a very good one at that) and turned it into a hardcore techno track. I got to give props where props is due, that’s ballsy. But this is just grating on the ears. I thought for a second that maybe I was just getting too old for this shit, but I took a minute to listen to some other hardcore techno from the era and I still dug it. This is just too much. It’s too noisy, too much is going on, and the ballistic Tyler vocals snippets layered over it (especially over the “Fucked” mix) are just too intense.

But I still find myself respecting the tracks. He took a bad rock song and, through sheer force, determination and drum samples, turned it into a…less-than-average-but-not-entirely-horrible techno track. A techno track that, had I heard it in a club in 1997, I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it and danced right through it. Good on him. Shit, it’s still better than anything on Aerosmith’s Just Push Play, and definitely superior to anything on the last few Moby records.

Sorry to start the new year off with Moby remixes of Aerosmith songs. I had something much better planned but my recordings still sound a bit too scratchy for my tastes. I’m going to run the record through the record cleaner one more time and hope for better results before I share them. I also have just, a near-literal ton of weird Japanese electronic and/or moog albums that I want to share, so you all have that to hopefully look forward too in the coming weeks and months.

 

 

Terri Nunn is Cooler Than You

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

First and most important order of business: Everyone go listen to this song about Dig Dug by Gary Wright. It will change your life.

Okay, now some other pressing matters: I want this.

Unfortunately, Death Waltz can’t ship it to the US (sidenote: Death Waltz needs better lawyers). Anyone want to help me out? I’ll pay for it of course. Cover shipping too. Be your best friend, buy you cake, you name it.

I got a copy! Thanks everyone for your help.

Now, a strange combination of remixes.

Aerosmith
The Other Side [Matt Dike ”Honky Tonk” Version]
The Other Side [Club Mix]
Theme from ”Wayne’s World”
For a rock band, Aerosmith sure as hell has a lot of remixes. At one point in my life, I had remixes of “Love In An Elevator,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” and even “Rag Doll.” I wonder what the point of these mixes was? I can’t imagine people in the clubs were ever really clamoring for Aerosmith dance mixes. And if they were, then where the fuck is the dance mix of “Mama Kin”?

Of these two mixes, the “Club Mix” is exactly what you’d expect. However the “Honky Tonk Version” is really…something. It transforms the tune into a country-flavored rock tune. Very, very odd.

And finally, yo “Wayne’s World” theme. Live. Awesome.

Terri Nunn
89 Lines (Club Mix Edit)
89 Lines (Blurring The Lines Remix)
Terri Nunn is the lead singer of Berlin. She is fabulously awesome and amazing, and no one bought her single solo CD because the world is a dark horrible place and we’re not allowed to have nice things.  I found this promo CD-single in a dollar bin at a record show last week and it was like a beacon of light surrounded by used Jimmy Ray and Constantine CDs. Say what you will about Terri Nunn (I fucking dare you) but she deserves better than that.

Holy Hypnotic Light Show of Hate! Also, Aerosmith

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Two people who know more about music and audio quality than I have said in recent weeks that the quality of my recordings could be better. Thoughts?

After being told, even I’ve noticed the lack of treble in them as of late, and I think I’ve managed to fix that problem via some EQ adjustment, bu I’m always open to new ideas on how to improve my setup. In the coming week or so I should be getting an Ortofon Arkiv cartridge. I’ve read numerous reviews on that one, and the general consensus seems to be that it’s the perfect cartridge for recording vinyl, I’ll let you all know if that’s PR bullshit or if it’s the real deal when I get it and test it out.

In the coming months I plan on getting an honest-to-goodness high-end pre-amp if need be as well as an internal M-audio soundcard (as well as a whole new computer, but that’s another topic entirely). After I do that, then it’s time for the final step, a Technics 1200.

Then if anyone tells me that my recordings sound like shit they can piss off.

Aerosmith – Look Homeward Angel (Bootleg)
S.O.S. (Too Bad)
Somebody
Dream On
Write Me A Letter
Walk This Way
Train Kept a Rollin’
Toys In The Attic
Okay, these songs sound kind of like shit, but it’s not my fault! They are all from a bootleg after all. While the quality might not be top-notch, as bootleg LPs go, this record sounds fucking amazing. According to this fan site, it was taken from a 1975 FM radio broadcast, which would explain the better-than-average sound quality. The fact that it’s an Aerosmith recording from the mid-70s (before the drugs stopped working) is the reason why the performance is fucking mind-blowing. How mind-blowing is it? Well, it has a version of “Train Kept a Rollin'” that’s  nine-minutes long, complete with a brief detour into the 1960s Batman TV show theme! Did you know that Aerosmith also covered the Spider-Man theme song? DC, Marvel, it doesn’t matter. Aerosmith breaks down barriers, man.