Archive for the ‘Siouxsie and The Banshees’ Category

I should really just go to bed already

Friday, September 21st, 2012

As I write this I have to leave in six and a half hours to catch a plane to go to Florida to go to Delunafest to see Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Joan Jett, The Joy Formidable and a few other bands I love. And I know that was a poorly constructed run on sentence but I’ve been writing like a madman all week and I think all my grammatical abilities are nearly shot.

But not shot enough to plug my fire sale! Please, if you’re interested in buying any of the records I have for sale let me know! I’ll be taking them off my site sometime next week and moving them to eBay. Don’t forget, all prices are negotiable! Also, I plan on selling some concert posters (mostly Pearl Jam) as well. So keep an eye on that if you’re interested. I might even try to sell my comic book statues. So if you REALLY like Spider-Man or Punisher, let me know.

But until then, hey, music.

Cutting Crew
(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight (Remix)
Me buying this 12″ single just proves that I will buy damn near any extended version of a pop song from my youth. Well, I guess that’s not true. You’re never going to see any 12″ singles from the Thompson Twins (“Hold Me Now” can fuck right off), but that’s really about it. Shit, if there’s an extended mix of The Outfield’s “You Love” I’ll probably get it at some point.

Also, this song is gross. Google it.

Siouxsie And The Banshees
Kiss Them For Me (Snapper Mix) 
Staring Back/Return 
I bought this single and then less than 24 hours later a friend of mine emailed me and asked if I had a remix of another Siouxsie song. That’s some Siouxsie symmetry right there. As great as “Kiss Them For Me” is, the real star of this 12″ is “Staring Back/Return,” a two-song suite that is powerful, beautiful and a must-hear for fans of Siouxsie. I can’t believe it was never released on a proper album by the group.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Brothers In Rhythm Rollercoaster Mix)
Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Elevatorman’s Non-Stop Top Floor Club Mix)
Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Elevatorman’s Deep Down Bass-ment Dub)
My quest to get every single Frankie Goes To Hollywood remix continues. I know it is an exercise in madness, because the discography of “Relax” remixes is greater than some bands complete musical output, but dammit I’m still going to try. I know own five different versions of that 12 inch, and three different 12 inch singles for this track. These remixes aren’t “original” mixes, instead they come from a 1993 re-issue, but I don’t care. I love me some Pleasuredome and I will take it anyway I can get it (I’m sure that’s a phrase that one person from Frankie Goes To Hollywood said at some point).

Both the Elevatorman remixes are decent, but if you want some bang for your unspent buck, check out the Brothers In Rhythm mix first. It is 16 minutes of hedonism-loving joy.

Sneaker Pimps
Spin Spin Sugar (Farley + Heller’s Fire Island Vocal Mix)
Spin Spin Sugar (Phlude’s Creeping Vine Mix)
Sneaker Pimps is a hideously horrendous name for a band. I posted these remixes a few years ago, but I totally forgot I own this single and I just bought it, and recorded it again this week. So hey, this recording sounds better probably, so you should just go ahead and download it even if you have the other one.

Also, if you want to buy this fucker, let me know. Because I’m stupid and I forget what I own apparently.

Posted in Cutting Crew, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, remixes, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Sneaker Pimps | 3 Comments »

Happy Decemeber

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Happy holidaze everyone.

I’ll (sadly) be out of town all week, which makes recording and posting music hard. My plan is to have two most posts this week though. One will be without music, focusing on my favorite (and least favorite) albums of the year. The other will have awesome dance tracks. Let’s hope that all pans out.

Tonight: 80s pop! What’s a better way to celebrate whatever holiday you pretend to care about in order to get gifts?

Art Of Noise
Moments In Love (Long Version)
Moments In Love (Short Version)
Beat Box
Love Beat
These are from a weird single. First of all, the artist is credited as “Trevor Horn, Paul Morley, With The Art Of Noise.”

That’s weird because Trevor Horn and Paul Morley were in The Art of Noise, not only that, they were kind of the driving forces behind the group. That would be like crediting Dark Side of The Moon to “David Gilmour and Roger Waters with Pink Floyd,” or crediting a Wham! song to “George Michael and Wham!” Oh wait, that actually happened.

Secondly, the year on the single is “1983,” however, it’s also credited as being in the soundtrack to Pumping Iron II, which did not come out until 1985. If this single did actually come out in 1983, that would make it The Art Of Noise’s first release, but I’m more willing to believe that the actual release date was closer to 1985.

The versions of the songs are not labeled either. I added the “Short Version” and “Long Version” qualifiers, both tracks are simply labeled “Moments In love” on the single. I do not know which versions of these tracks these mixes are. If you do, please inform me.

Regardless of all that confusion, all these songs are great 80s electro and worth your time and then some. The Art Of Noise kicks ass.

Tina Turner
What’s Love Got To Do With It? (Extended Mix)
When I was eight-years-old I thought Tina Turner was the shit. Okay, maybe I was a weird kid. But I was still right, Tina Turner is the shit. Did you know she covered Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy?” She knocked it out of the park too. Tina can knock any track out of the park though. I bet she could cover a Radiohead track and turn that shit into a diva anthem. She’s that awesome. I wish this mix was just two more minutes of her going “Woah Oh Oh!” but it’s still good.

Ultravox
Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (Special remix)
When did I buy this single? I have no idea. But it was sitting in the back of my crate full of albums, languishing between some stupid soundtracks for who knows how long. I am so sorry that withheld this great mix from you all for so long. Word to the wise though, if you’re going to crydance, do it to a ballad. Sobmoshing looks dumber than shit.

Peter Gabriel
Soft Dog
This is a b-side to to the 12″ single of “Shock The Monkey.” I bought it months ago, recorded it, filed the record away, then discovered that my recording skipped. Once records reach my shelf (a feat in itself) I hate pulling them out, hence the massive delay in actually re-recording this right.

This is a quiet, but beautiful song, full of late-70s Peter Gabriel art-rock goodness. Most of it is instrumental, Peter only chimes in at the end with a brief chant of the title. Has this ever been issued on CD? I can’t believe it hasn’t. It’s quite good.

Siouxsie & The Banshees
Peek-A-Boo (Stockhausen & Waterphone Mix Instrumental)
I own two different “Peek-A-Boo” singles, one on CD and one on vinyl. The CD version tracks are on Amazon, and I suggest you pick them up. The “Silver Dollar Mix” is incredible. This instrumental is basically a modified version of that mix, and I believe it was exclusive to the vinyl version. Still a great track, even without Siouxsie’s voice.

Sometime this week, my best of/worst of lists! It’ll piss everyone off!

Posted in Peter Gabriel, remixes, Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Art Of Noise, Tina Turner, Ultravox | 5 Comments »

Orchestral Manoeuvres in Toledo

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

I hate it when a band I like does something that I consider moderately evil. Thankfully I don’t like U2 or it would happen a lot. I am a fan of Wolfmother though, I think their debut is one of the best “rawk” albums in years, totally cribbing the best of AC/DC, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. I’ve been looking forward to their sophomore album, Cosmic Egg, for months and bought it the day it came out, even though I had a review copy! I’m fucking loyal!

However, there are two versions of the album (excluding the iTunes BS), a standard and a deluxe. The deluxe version has four more songs and costs about six bucks more. That’s annoying. There’s no reason why the “standard” album can’t have those four extra tracks, it’s just a marketing ploy. That’s fucked up. What’s more fucked up is that the deluxe version is two CDs, even though it would all fit on one CD. I’m assuming the official line is that it makes it more like the vinyl copy, which is split across two LPs (because it has to be). The actual reason? Because every two-CD edition sold counts as TWO copies sold, artificially inflating the numbers.

In a time where it’s getting harder and harder for artists to convince people to actually go out and BUY music this shit doesn’t help.

Siouxsie And The Banshees
The Killing Jar (Lepidopteristic Mix)
Something Wicked (This Way Comes)
Are You Still Dying Darling?
For those playing at home, a Lepidopterist is someone who collects butterflies, which makes sense since a killing jar is the jar used to kill caught butterflies. It’s one of the best-named remixes I’ve seen in a while, although it pales in comparison to all the crazy-ass Erasure remix titles (example: Truly In Love With The Marx Bros. Mix).

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
(Forever) Live And Die (Extended Mix)
(Forever) Live and Die (7” Version)
We Love You (Extended)
We Love You (7” Version)
We Love You (Dub)
These are from two 12” singles that are both excellent, although if I had to pick a favorite I would have to go with “(Forever) Live And Die,” it’s such a catchy tune. I was originally going to call this post “Mo’ MD” but that’s just stupid. Speaking of stupid, I’m at my dad’s house right now and after being subjected to Fox News for an hour I am currently being forced to watch Survivor. It’s like a greatest hits of what’s wrong with American media all from the comfort of a couch. Sigh. The opening of the extended mix of “(Forever) Live And Die” is a bit scratchy, but it improves as the song goes. Sorry about that.

Posted in OMD, Siouxsie and The Banshees | 7 Comments »

Critically Critical Of Critical Critics

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Okay, time for another rant against Pitchfork.

So 21st Century Breakdown came out a few weeks ago. I bought it and while I’ve only listened to the whole thing all the way through once, I enjoy it. It’s no American Idiot to be sure but it has its high points and is still better than Nimrod and Warning.

Still, if you don’t like the album that’s fine, that’s your opinion and you are more than welcome to it. Jess Harvell at Pitchfork did not like it, and he wants you to know right off the bat that he didn’t like American Idiot either, starting his review with “I wanted to like American Idiot. Really.”

Okay, Jess didn’t like American Idiot, big deal, but as the review continues he acts like that was the popular opinion, adding, “Two listens in, though, and it was clear: American Idiot was musically dodgy and politically empty. Political pop has its place, at least when didacticism doesn’t drain the wit and life from a band’s songwriting. But American Idiot failed utterly as coherent propaganda and as rock invigorating enough to agitate the pleasure centers.”

If he wants to think that fine, but considering that nearly every other critic in the world said the exact opposite, including the critic who reviewed the album for Pitchfork back when it first came out, maybe Jess should’ve realized that he’s in the minority with that opinion and state as such. If your only information about American Idiot came from this review you’d think that the album was an undeniable critical bomb (when it was, y’know, the opposite of that).

Harvell has no business reviewing this album. Not because he didn’t like American Idiot, but because he is obviously not suited to give the readers the information they want to know about the album, i.e. is it as good as American Idiot.

Partially-hypothetical example: I really really really do not like The Joshua Tree. I think it’s a bloated, indulgent piece of shit and there are only two things I hate in this world more than “With Or Without You,” and those things are “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

My opinion of The Joshua Tree isn’t any more right or wrong as the next guy, however, I understand that I am in the minority viewpoint when it comes to that album. So, if I was a critic in 1991 tasked with writing a review to Achtung Baby (another album I’m not a fan of) I would not begin it with, “Joshua Tree was a failure of a record,” because that’s not really fair. In fact, me reviewing that album at all wouldn’t be fair, I would be ill-suited. Everyone reading a review of Achtung Baby would want to know if it sounded in comparison to The Joshua Tree, and me saying “it sucks less than that other album that I thought sucked” is not a valid answer to that question.

Can a critic review an album by a band he doesn’t like? Sure, but he has to be honest about it, say something like, “I’m not a fan of this band, but if you are and want more of the same by them then you should enjoy this record.” Instead of doing that Harvell retconned reality and turned American Idiot into a critical flop just because the truth didn’t fit his fucking lead.

And if anyone can tell me how a 4.8 album is worse than a 4.9 album I’ll give them a cookie.

They Might Be Giants
Cabbagetown
Siftin’
Larger Than Life (Joshua Fried’s remake of She’s Actual Size)
Holy shit TMBG b-sides! You have any idea how hard it is to find these? For a band as fan-friendly as TMBG it’s pretty amazing that they haven’t yet released a rarities compilation (that I’m aware of). Sure, there was Then: The Earlier Years but that only encompassed their first two LPs, we need more dammit! These b-sides are from the maxi-single of “I Palindrome I.”

The Sugarcubes
Vitamin (Babylon’s Burning)
Vitamin (E Mix)
Walkabout (Remix)
After buying that massive box set I was surprised to find out that there were singles by The Sugarcubes that I somehow didn’t own. “Vitamin” is not one of my favorite Sugarcubes tunes, so I’m not that into these remixes. I will say though that the “Vitamin (E Mix)” is one of the most cleverly named remixes I’ve seen that isn’t an Eraser remix, and the remix of “Walkabout” is pretty good.

Siouxsie And the Banshees
Fear (Of The Unknown) (Vertigo Mix)
Cities In Dust (Remix)
The Passenger (LLLLLoco-Motion Mix)
I’ve had that Vertigo Mix of “Fear (Of The Unknown)” for years, but it was a rip from a vinyl that looked like two cats had sex on it then died, so it sounded like shit. Thank god for random maxi-single finds are sub-par record shows! Strangely, the remix isn’t posted on the tracklisting of the single, but only on the CD itself, which makes me believe it was a last minute addition. It’s a hardcore house re-imagining of the track, and is pretty damned good, which is not that surprising since it was remixed by everyone’s favorite gay formerly meth-addicted DJ from PA, Junior Vasquez. The other two mixes are from 12” promo singles. I don’t know what makes the “Cities In Dust” mix that different than the LP version, but the remix of “The Passenger” is about 5 minutes longer than the album cut. Awesome cover.

Posted in B-sides, rant, remixes, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Sugarcubes, TMBG | 7 Comments »

The Final (Re)Post

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Well this is it…for reposts anyways. Don’t worry, it takes more than a fucking DMCA for me to go away. However, a shitload of work and an unforgiving deadline will cut down on my productivity, as was the case this week.

As for the DMCA notice, I still don’t know what exactly was the offender, so until I do find out I’m withholding comment. You can bet that once I do get the facts I’ll have something to fucking say about it though. For those of you who like my rants, stay tuned, this motherfucker is going to be epic.

Now, I know I didn’t get to everyone’s reposts. I tried to hit as many peopleas I could, but a lot of my old stuff really sounds like shit, in fact I was so unhappy with a lot of stuff that I deleted them and I haven’t gotten around to re-recording it. Some of the ones I’m puting up tonight don’t sound too hot either, but it’s better than nothing right? Sorry if you feel snubbed but to quote the best movie of all time “Life is pain, get used to it.” If you still really want something then email me and offer me something in return. Shit ain’t always free.

Wang Chung
Dance Hall Days (Extended Remix)
Kind of awesome.

Seal
Killer (William Orbit Remix)
Kind of stupid.

Grace Jones
She’s Lost Control (Long Version)
Kind of…no, scratch that….fucking terrifying.

Robert Plant
Tall Cool One (Extended Version)
Ditto.

Ministry
Work For Love (Extended Version)
Fake British accents are awesome.

Kate Bush
Sexual Healing
Ditto for Kate Bush

The Crystal Method
You Know It’s Hard (Koma & Bones Gaping Axe Wound Remix)
Hehe, they said “hard.”

Siouxsie & the Banshees
Cities In Dust (Extended Eruption Mix)
Insert inappropriate “hard” joke here.

Pixies
Born In Chicago
The rarest Pixies song in the world.

P.M. Dawn
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss (Extended Version)
A Watcher’s Point Of View (Don’t ‘Cha Think) (Youth Extended Mix)
Man…anyone got any weed?

See you next week. And if you like The Sugarcubes get ready to be so happy that you’ll shit…which now that I think about it sounds kind of fucked up.

Posted in B-sides, Grace Jones, Kate Bush, Ministry, P.M. Dawn, remixes, Robert Plant, Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Crystal Method, The PIxies, Wang Chung | 9 Comments »