Archive for the ‘Gary Numan’ Category

I’ll Go To Work By Dolphin

Saturday, October 21st, 2017

I get to go to work tomorrow in a typhoon. How’s your weekend?

Gary Numan
We Need It
Anthem
These tracks were on CD at some point, they were included on the re-issue of Numan’s 1985 album The Fury. But that re-issue has been out-of-print for over 15 years at this point, and the tracks aren’t online in any capacity where you can actually buy them, so fuck it.

I don’t own The Fury, the common narrative regarding Numan is that you should best avoid anything he put out from 1983 to 1993, but I do enjoy these tunes. Very darkwave minimal stuff with Numan’s trademark moan working well to tie it all together. And the vinyl I ripped them from is bright neon orange! See?

Neat.

St. Vincent
Power Corrupts (政権腐敗)
This one might get me a cease and desist but fuck it. Can anyone outside of Japan buy it? No.

This is the Japanese bonus track to St. Vincent’s newest album, the excellent MASSEDUCTION. It’s a re-working of the the title track, that features new vocals by Toko Yasuda, whose been in a few bands over the years. It’s a pretty radical reworking, with Yasuda’s vocals at the forefront. The only vocals by St. Vincent that remain are in the chorus.

Like I said, MASSEDUCTION is a great album and further proof that St. Vincent is a dope as fuck. Pick it up if you can, and even if you hate this track, give other songs from the a chance, this one really isn’t representative of the album as a whole.

Les Daylight
Tango For Cats
I almost posted this full album, don’t fucking tempt me.

I have no idea what this is, by the way. But I did pay $20 for the vinyl. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

Posted in B-sides, Gary Numan, Les Daylight, St. Vincent | 2 Comments »

Happy New Year, let us never speak of 2016 again

Tuesday, December 27th, 2016

I hope you all had a merry little Christmas. I mean, 2016 even managed to make Christmas shit by killing George Michael, but I hope you tried your best. My boyfriend and I went to a special museum showcase of vintage boomboxes! That was pretty fucking dope. Expect a write-up soon!

Gary Numan
Music For Chameleons (Extended Version)
This version of Numan’s single from his 1982 album I, Assassin is approximately 50 seconds longer than the original album version. I feel that, in this case, calling it “extended” is really false advertising. There needs to be another word for it. Maybe “elongated?” No, that sounds stupid. I don’t know. I’m open to suggestions from the peanut gallery for this one.

Yellow Magic Orchestra
Rydeen (Instrumental) (Remixed by YAMADA)
You’ve Got To Help Yourself (POPbanana trap’mix)
These two remixes are from the vinyl edition of the YMO Remixes Technopolis 2000-00. It’s not the best compilation, as most remixes of YMO tracks are downright awful. However, these two takes, which didn’t make it on the CD version, are light years better than nearly every other track on the album, which is odd. Of course, “Rydeen” is a hard song to fuck up, but the remix of “You’ve Got To Help Yourself” is surprisingly great considering that’s not one of YMO’s best tunes. This version has a really rad bassline and some happy fun beeps that sound like something out of a Willian Orbit track, so I can really get behind it.

Posted in Gary Numan, remixes, Yellow Magic Orchestra | 2 Comments »

Tales of Synthpop and Homeless Fat-Shaming from Canada

Sunday, August 18th, 2013

Shit!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Point taken.

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

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

Amazing Women and a Numan

Thursday, 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 »

All My Friends are Coal-Powered

Friday, May 27th, 2011

I would pay a thousand bucks to see a collaboration between the two artists I’m featuring tonight.

RuPaul
Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (D & D Bentley Mix)
Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (RuPaul Talk Radio)
Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (Acapella)
Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (Dubs 2)
Whatcha See is Whatcha Get (Dubs 3)
If you don’t see the inherit humor in a drag queen performing a song with that title, well then there’s no helping you.

I think it’s about time I came out of the closet…as a huge fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race! I hate reality TV, but I find the utter fabulousness of that show consistently fascinating and hysterical. This season was probably the best yet, and not just because someone who was deserving finally fucking won.  I think you can still watch the show on Logo’s website, I suggest checking it out. RuPaul is the shit yo.

I need to get more of RuPaul’s music. She’s a shockingly good singer and has some great tunes. But what I’m really interestedthough isher early stuff. I’ve heard some stuff off of Sex Freak and it sounds crazy. RuPaul was punk rock! Who knew? Anyone know where I can get a copy of that weird record?

Gary Numan
My World Storm (12” Mix)
My World Storm (Instrumental)
This Wreckage (Metalmorphosis Mix)
Are ‘Friends’ Electric? (Metalmorphosis Mix)
For the past few days I’ve been going through all my CDs and cataloging them. Spoiler: I have a lot of CDs.

When you have as many stupid CDs as I do, you start to forget that you own stuff. For example, I completely forgot that I bought a CD single of “Rip” a few years ago, I never even ripped it to my computer (ironically enough). While “Rip” isn’t the best Numan song, the “Metalmorphosis” mixes that are included with it are pretty awesome,  each taking these two classic Numan songs and reworking them into his more modern style. Sure, he does that a lot (he even releases an entire two-CD set dedicated to that) but they’re still worth listening to. I may be a bit bias though, I’d probably listen to a cabaret version of “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and still dig it.

The “My World Storm” remixes were taken from a 12″ single that I bought a few months back in Miami but never got around to posting for some reason. “My World Storm” is from the early 90s, an era that was not Numan’s best. I still like the tune though, even if it’s more than a bit dated.

Posted in Gary Numan, remixes, RuPaul | 5 Comments »

Super Bowled Over

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

So the dome of protection that protected Pittsburgh from the blizzard was apparently part of some black magic pact that cost the city the Super Bowl. Oh well, at least we don’t have to endure headlines about how Ben Roethlisberger somehow “redeemed’ himself because he won a fucking football game.

But lets not talk about that (alleged) criminal. Instead lets talk about some actual criminals. The Black Eyed Peas.

The halftime show.

Holy.

Shit.

Wow. I mean, I knew the Black Eyed Peas sucked. I’ve written extensively about that very subject. Their shittiness is nothing new to me. But even I was surprised as to just how hideous they were. How does that even happen? Didn’t anyone at the NFL know? Shit. Maybe they should start holding auditions for bands before they take the stage and aurally assault America. Anyone notice how even with the autotune they sounded like a shit sandwhich? That’s because in order for the robo-voice effect to work right you have to be able to hold a note. Sure, when Will.I.Am is in the studio, he can shit out horrible take after horrible take of the opening line to “The Time (Dirty Bit),” because he just needs to deliver one average vocal performance. But when he has to puke out some vocals live he can’t even fulfill the bare minimum vocal requirements in order to make an autotuned performance sound good. Of course, if he just would have rapped without any bullshit vocal modification he would have sounded fine. But no, motherfucker wants to sound like a robot.

As for Fergie. Ugh. I almost kind of sort of defended her the last time I went off on an anti-Black Eyed Peas rant. That was a mistake. There’s no defending her now.

Most people know about how autotune can make people sound like robots, but what some people might not know is that autotune’s primary purpose is to not be noticed, and to fix poor vocal performances in the studio. And what I took away from Fergie trying to sing live is that, well, she can’t. She is a product of studio manipulation. Sure, she can rap/sing-talk fine, but you ask her to hold a note or carry a tune and her true, talentless colors come through bright and clear. Yikes. Well, at least she didn’t piss herself on stage this time. So she has that going for her, which is nice.

Oh, and Slash? Fuck you and your shiny top hat.

Sigh. Remember when Prince did the halftime show? That was awesome. Prince should just do all the halftime shows from now until the day he dies. And then we should just get replays of those.

Gary Numan
My World Storm (12” Mix)
My World Storm (Instrumental)
Could you imagine a Gary Numan halftime show? It would be amazing! He could come out in a little go-cart and rock out some of “Cars” before going into “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” “Me! I disconnect from you” and close with a bitchin’ version of “Metal.” Sure, only eight people in the world would want to see that, but shit, we’d be stoked! These tracks are from a 12″.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Don’t Surrender (Extended Mix)
Don’t Surrender (The Most Excellent Mix)
Joan Jett’s halftime show would include her in a camouflage bikini top and leather pants. Then she’d beat the shit out of the entire defensive lines of both football teams.

John Foxx
Enter The Angel (Extended Mix)
Stairway
Foxx’s halftime show would…shit…I got nothing. It’s 2am. I should go to bed.

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Posted in B-sides, Gary Numan, Joan Jett, John Foxx, remixes | 12 Comments »