Archive for the ‘B-52s’ Category

10 Years Of Being Lost: Ill Trax

Tuesday, April 5th, 2016

This past month or so I’ve written about songs that meant a lot to me personally, songs whose stories I found interesting, and songs I feel that have been unjustly lost to time, just to name a few.

But tonight, I’m going to close out this 10th anniversary celebration by sharing and writing about some of the illest tracks I’ve ever shared on Lost Turntable (that are still out-of-print).

I want everyone reading this to know that I appreciate all of you. I don’t have a ton of readers, but I’m always happy when I get a nice comment about something I’ve shared, or when someone tells me they’ve found my writing entertaining, illuminating or funny. These days I keep this blog going mostly to keep me sane when I’m feeling a bit down, and knowing that even a few people out there still enjoy it really means a lot to me. Thanks, and mark my words, I’ll keep this thing going for as long as I can listen to music and type.

Edgar Winter
Frankenstein 1984 (Monster Version)
Frankenstein 1984 (Human Version)
Frankenstein 1984 (Monster Rap)
AN ELECTRO VERSION OF FRANKENSTEIN. This shouldn’t exist. No wait, scratch that, I meant the opposite. Out of everything that has ever existed on Earth, in the solar system and throughout our vast cosmos, this needs to exist the most.

I don’t know what that means either, but I’m right.

Edgar Winter should’ve remade “Frankenstein” every 10 years. In my ideal world there’s a version of “Frankenstein 1994” that features hella hard acid house samples. And “Frankenstein 2004” would include one of the best examples of auto-tune in the history of pop music. “Frankenstein 2014” would be dubstep, obviously.

Someone get on this already.

The B-52s
Good Stuff (12″ Remix)
Good Stuff (Remix Edit)
I’ve honestly tried not to do too much overlap with these “best of” anniversary posts and the best of posts I did a few years back when I moved to Japan. But if I’m going to put up a post dedicated to the grooviest, illest and raddest shit ever put on Lost Turntable, then I’d be a fucking monster if I didn’t share these mixes again. Best. Remix. Ever. There, I said it. I wanna go where the good stuff flows, and I don’t care how gross and/or how much of a drug reference that sounds. Fred, please take my hand and lead me to the love honey. Down right.

I wanna wear go-go boots and dance to this until my heels bleed.

Eddy Grant
Electric Avenue (12″ version)
In Pittsburgh there is an actual Electric Avenue and if I ever steal anything in my life it will be that street sign I swear to God.

Foxy Shazam
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
In the distant future, when a new civilization digs through the disastrous ruins of our failed society, eventually they’ll find a Foxy Shazam record and play it. And the sheer power of that recording might destroy their civilization and start the cycle anew once more.

Foxy Shazam is the greatest band of all time. Yes, I know they’re on indefinite hiatus, but as I said in a write-up I did about them some time ago, I refuse to talk about them in the past tense. Foxy Shazam are now and forever, they have always been and always will be. Their power unequaled in all of popular music. In the list of travesties of the 21st century, Foxy Shazam failing to capture a hit single is right up there with Donald Trump’s presidential run, climate change denialism, and the Patriots’ win over the Raiders in the 2002 AFC Championship game.

Buy a Foxy Shazam album today, do God’s work. And then listen to this dope B-side.

Syntech
Byt&e
Reaction
This stuff is timeless. If you told me it was a light-years ahead of its time late-70s/early-80s electro track I’d be likely to believe you. If you said it came back last week and it was a retro throwback to 80s synthpop and dance ala Kavinsky I’d probably buy that too. It’s acid house meets electro meets ambient meets oh my god.

As it is, these two tracks actually came out in the late-80s, by a dude whose real name is Edwin Van Der Laag. Unfortunately the album in which is came from is woefully out of print and goes for a mint online. You can buy some of his newer stuff on iTunes and Amazon though, so maybe check it out.

Stefano Pulga
Love Taker
Italo Disco is the best disco.

Thanks again for sticking around for 10 years!

Posted in B-52s, Eddy Grant, Edgar Winter, Foxy Shazam is the motherfucking real deal, remixes, Stefano Pulga, Syntech | 7 Comments »

The Very Best Of Lost Turntable*

Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

This has been an INSANE year. I started it in China acting as the best man in my best friend’s wedding! From there, I went to Tokyo, which set upon a series of events that now have me moving to Japan in just a few short days! This Thursday I leave Pittsburgh to visit my family in Ohio, and then on Saturday I board a plane for Japan, where I begin my career as an English teacher/professional giant.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I am beyond stoked for this move. I can’t believe it took me just a little over a year (369 days, to be exact) to manage a way to not only return to the country, but get a job, apartment, and a whole new life over there! That’s not a lot of time to plan and orchestrate something that big. But waffling is for suckers, go big or go home. Jump in head first or don’t bother, that’s always been how I handle the big changes. It’s funny, when I remodeled my kitchen a few years back I spent two damn weeks going over color combinations. But I think I made the decision to sell my house, quit my job and uproot my entire existence to Japan in about two days. It’s amazing what a combination of personal malaise and disillusionment with the direction of one’s country can do for one’s drive and ability to commit.

This will definitely be the last post at Lost Turntable this year, and probably the last post for at least a week or two. I assume that adjusting to my move and starting my new job will probably keep me occupied for a bit. Don’t worry though, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never be too busy to stop writing this blog.

I will, however, be too busy to record new music for a while. That, and my turntable won’t be with me in Tokyo for at least a month. Which is why I’m temporarily taking Lost Turntable into “greatest hits” mode, re-posting favorite tracks from the years gone by, both chosen by me and some readers who made requests (although to be honest, it’s mostly me).

Some of the tracks I’ll be posting in the coming month or so will be re-recordings. So keep an eye out, I’ll typically mention it if they are. As always, my re-recordings always sound better than my original rips, I’m always improving with this stuff after all.

A lot of these “best of” posts will be artist or genre based, but I thought I’d start things off with a showstopper, my most favorite tracks out of everything I’ve ever posted*

*Two caveats. Like I said, I’m planning a lot of genre/artist-specific posts, so some of my all-time favorite songs have been reserved for those posts. Secondly, a few of my favorite songs are now available legally (mostly Depeche Mode stuff) and since I never post stuff you can buy legally, I won’t be reposting those.

The B-52’s
Good Stuff (12″ Remix)
Good Stuff (Remix Edit)
This is straight up the best remix I’ve ever heard. And if you know how many remixes I have, that’s really saying something.

Fine Young Cannibals
Ever Fallen In Love (Extended Version)
I want to make one thing very clear. I fucking HATE Fine Young Cannibals. I hated them when I was 11. I hate them now. It’s nice to know that some things in life remain constant no matter what. And since I fucking HATE Fine Young Cannibals, I should really fucking hate this cover, as The Buzzcocks are one of my favorite bands of all time, and their original version of this song may very well be my favorite song of all time (although I could honestly never pick ONE song as a favorite. My songs are my children, except I really don’t have a favorite, unlike most parents who lie and say that don’t when they really do).

So I should fucking hate this cover. It’s a band I abhor covering a song I adore, but…I have to admit that they totally nail it. Roland Gift’s voice, which usually drives me to Geddy Lee levels of annoyance, is perfect for the track, and the fast-paced-yet-somber production fits the urgent-yet-depressed tone of the lyrics. What I probably like most about this version though is the very end, when Roland echoes “Did you ever” over and over again. To me, that delivery makes it sound like he’s no longer asking if you ever fell in love with someone you shouldn’t have, he’s telling you that you in fact have fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have (like if someone asked you if they fucked up and you responded with “did you ever!”). It’s an interesting take on the song that I never heard anyone else attempt, and I have, like, 80 versions of this track on my computer, so I say that with at least some authority. This is a re-recording, and vastly superior to my original rip.

Joe Strummer
Love Kills (12″ Version)
If there is a more romantic and powerful song about how love (and heroin) can lead to a murder/suicide pact, then I don’t know what it is. Seriously though, this song is incredible, one of those songs that despite being about a horribly negative topic, leaves me with nothing but overpowering feelings of elation and happiness. I don’t even know why this is the case, but whenever I listen to this song I get goosebumps of happiness and forget about my real world problems for at least six minutes and forty seconds. Awesome stuff.

Bell & James
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (12″ Remix)
Make no mistake, while displeasure over my personal life/grand American problems drove me to flee my country, I will NEVER hate Pittsburgh. This city is the bomb. I love it. I’ve been to hundreds of big cities all across America, and Pittsburgh makes them all look like dogshit. Seriously. This place is dope.

I feel that more and more people are catching onto this fact as well. Well, at least Hollywood is. It seems that more and more movies are being filmed in this city every year. And while the chaos and madness that surrounds a movie shoot can be annoying at times, I’m always happy to see the city I love get the attention I feel it deserves.

But if you ask me, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh will always be the greatest movie ever filmed in the Steel City. And it’s theme song will ALWAYS be the greatest track of all time to feature the city’s name. Go Pisces!

RJD2
Through The Walls (Ric Ocasek Vocal Version)
There used to be an mp3 blog called Po77. Although I guess calling it an “MP3 blog” would be a bit of a misnomer. Because unlike blogs like mine, Pop77 posted complete mixes, amazing thematic mixes that sometimes incorporated audio bits from movies and other sources as well as complete songs. It was a fantastic site and I miss it.

I bring it up because I know that is where I first discovered this excellent track. At the time I had no idea who RJD2 was (which is funny considering that I ended up interviewing him just a few years later) but I sure as fuck knew who Ric Ocasek was – since he was the lead singer of The Cars, one of my favorite new wave bands of all time. I ended up finding this version of the track on a Def Jux sampler later that year, a sampler a stoner later stole from me. Yay for digital backups.

Crowded House
World Where You Live (Extended Version)
I think, although I’m not certain, that I discovered this song via an Eddie Vedder bootleg where he performed the track with Neil Finn of Crowded House. I’ll have to post that bootleg someday, it also has a great version of “History Never Repeats.”

Anyways, I was aware of Crowded House before hearing that bootleg, but my knowledge of them began and ended with their one US hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a track that I only really grew to appreciate after hearing it in the opening of the second episode of the Stephen King mini-series The Stand (my musical memory can be oddly photographic at times).  While my first takeaway from that bootleg was that version of “History Never Repeats,” after buying some Crowded House records I found that this song really grew on me. Its lyrics are oddly..evocative? I don’t know. I can’t entirely figure the song out, but they make me think of very specific moments in my life for some reason. To me, the song is about friends/significant others who live in some form of denial about the world (where they live), and I’ve sadly dealt with too many people like that, so I guess that’s why I identify with the track so much.

This extended remix isn’t as good as the album version, to be honest. It tries too hard to extend the track with meaningless instrumental sections, none of which really add anything to the song aside from length. But it was the only way I could justifiably share the track here. And besides, it’s a great song regardless. This is a re-recording.

George Clinton
Atomic Dog (Extended Version)
I once read Roger Ebert say that a terrible movie is always too long, and a great movie is never long enough. That theory, of course, has some holes in it. I love me some Shoot ‘Em Up, for example, but that flick couldn’t hold a four hour running time. However, as I’m writing this I just got done watching Jackie Brown for the second time in a week. That movie is two hours and thirty-four minutes long, and I honestly feel like there’s enough greatness buried within that running time that the movie could be twice as long and be just as good.

So, what I guess I’m saying is that “Atomic Dog” is the Jackie Brown of 80s synth-funk jams. (Why do I feel like Quentin Tarantino would approve of that comparison?) The standard single version is a fucking masterpiece, but the 10-minute extended remix is DOUBLE the masterpiece, even though it is literally the exact same song with just an extended breakdown and some added “bow wow wow yippie yo yippie yay.” I don’t care. I could listen to this track all day and all of the night. It brings all the funk. Woof.

As this was one of the first songs I ever recorded, this is a new re-recording that sounds hella better than my original one.

Andrew W.K.
Party Hard (Live)
THIS IS NOT A SONG THIS IS A MISSION STATEMENT.

And I mean that. Don’t live life, party it. Find out what’s “party” for you and fucking party as much as you fucking can until you can’t do it anymore. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Freur
Runaway (Dun Difrunt)
This song has the secret best 80s saxophone solo. It’s pretty great. It’s also one of the best songs about not wanting to be in love (or not wanting to not want to be in love).

Gekirin
Fish Story
Fish Story (Silence Version)
I have written about this movie before, and I will write about it again. That is because FISH STORY IS THE GREATEST MOVIE ABOUT MUSIC EVER FUCKING MADE. I say that realizing that it’s a rather odd description. “Movie about music”? How many movies about music are there? Sure, there are tons of musicals, and movies about performers, but how many are really about music? Off the top of my head, the only movies about music that I can really think of are Fish Story, Footloose, Almost Famous, School of Rock and Purple Rain.

I just now realize that most of those movies would easily place on my list of my top 100 movies of all time, so I guess that says a lot about me. And Prince.

Fish Story sits atop that list easily. Mountains above the other movies, and considering how much I fucking love Purple Rain, trust me, that’s saying something.

Fish Story is a Japanese movie about how a little known punk rock song saves the world. Literally. A comet is going to smash into the Earth. Fish Story stops that from happening. The story of HOW is the story of the movie. It’s also the story of the power of music. How music moves us (often in ways that we do not understand or are even consciously aware of). How music is the guiding force of our lives, how it shapes us and makes us the people we are. And it’s about how comets can’t compare with power chords.

Seriously though, Fish Story. Top 10 movie of all time. One day the world will realize this.

Alien Ant Farm
Movies (Live Acoustic Version)
Ask me why I love this song. Go ahead. I dare you.

“Why do you like th-”

I HAVE NO IDEA. I JUST DO, OKAY?!?!

Sigh. I do not like Alien Ant Farm. I hate their cover of “Smooth Criminal,” and I pretty much despise every other song of their’s I’ve had the misfortune of hearing. But I…really love this song. I think it has to do with the whole “Movies as a metaphor for broken hearts” thing, as I’ve long established that my feelings for movies go beyond typical film buff bullshit and reach a realm of rose-tinted childhood nostalgia that cannot be easily explained nor justified – just like my love for this song (minus the stupid fart noise the singer does at the end).

Japan
Life In Tokyo (Extended Disco Mix)
I am taking one record with me to Japan, and it’s the 12″ single to this song. Sure, it’s a little nail on the head, but whatever, it’s Moroder-produced synthpop and there’s never anything wrong with that.

I hope you all enjoy the reposts and discover some music that’s new to you. That’s why I started this blog eight (holy crap!) years ago, to share little-known music with others, and as an excuse for me to seek out and discover little-known music for myself as well. In good times and bad, hectic and happy, bored and crazed, this blog has always served as a rock for me. I’ve used it as an medium to ramble about shit that pisses me off; rant about the music industry; and on multiple occasions just be a goofy idiot. But if no one read it, then I wouldn’t feel the need to keep going. So thanks to everyone who has kept with this dinky little site over the years. Y’all help me out more than you know.

See you in 2014 FROM MOTHERFUCKING JAPAN!!

And remember, Party Hard.

 

Posted in Andrew W.K., B-52s, Bell & James, Crowded House, Fine Young Cannibals, Freur, Gekirin, George Clinton, Japan, Joe Fucking Strummer, RJD2 | 8 Comments »

The extra “E” still annoys me.

Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013

As I start planning out my move to Japan, it’s becoming apparent to me that I won’t be able to update the blog consistently with new music for probably at least a month. This is partly due to the fact that I just won’t have time when I first get to Japan, between my job, finding a place to live and all the other stuff that comes with a major move. But honestly, a much bigger reason for the impending lack of updates will be because I’ll be without a turntable for at least a month – I’m not having mine shipped out to me until I get firmly settled.

(And before any of you ask, I’m not just going to buy another turntable in Japan because my turntable is a rare custom-modded black Technics SL-1210Mk2 and it is DOPE.)

I do, however, want to keep some sort of regular content going on this site in the meantime, so I think the best solution will be for me to temporarily take this blog into a “greatest hits” mode – highlighting some of the best tracks that I’ve posted over the years.

I already got a good line-up of tunes planned for this, but if you want to browse my archives (all seven years worth, holy shit) for some tracks you may have missed over the years, now is the time. Leave a comment in this post with your requests, and if I also enjoy the track in question/have the MP3 still/want to re-record it because the old file sounds like dogshit, I’ll be sure to include it in the month long Lost Turntable retrospective. And don’t bother mentioning Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys or Madonna. I’m already planning on reposting any still hard-to-find cuts by all of them. You might as well throw in Big Country and Big Audio Dynamite into that mix as well.

Until then, here are some tunes by two bands who I thought were the same band when I was 10 years old. Because 10-year-old me was kind of dumb.

The B-52’s
Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland (Extended Mix)
Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland (12″ Mix)
Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland (Dub)
Seems like an odd vacation choice.

This is…not a very good song. I love the beat and the vocal hook would be fine too if it wasn’t, k’now, half of the damn song. This is definitely one that works better as a brief single. However, since I’ve posted every rare B-52’s remix I own, it would be silly to stop now.

Deee-Lite
Groove Is In The Heart (Meeting Of The Minds Mix)
Groove Is In The Heart (Peanut Butter Radio Mix)
Groove Is In The Heart (Jelly Jam Beats)
What Is Love (Holographic Goatee Mix)
What Is Love (Frenchappella)
What Is Love (Rainbow Beard Mix)
I used to hate “Groove Is In The Heart.” In fact, I think the only song young me hated more than that was probably R.E.M.’s “Shiny Happy People” (which featured Kate Pierson from The B-52’s). And while I continue to hate “Shiny Happy People” with a fiery hatred of a thousand suns, “Groove Is In The Heart” has finally started to grow on me. I think it took me discovering good disco and 80s house for me to finally appreciate the song and what it’s trying to do. I still hate that slide whistle though.

“What Is Love” still kind of annoys me though, but the Rainbow Beard Mix is pretty great.

Posted in B-52s, Deee-Lite, remixes | 9 Comments »

Yabba Dabba Dumb

Monday, October 15th, 2012

I’m on cold meds right now and I feel like that whenever I’m on anything for my sinuses my copyediting skills vanish. So apologies for any drastic typos or poor sentence structure.

And now with that out of the way, here is the latest in my continuing efforts to provide you with the dumbest and most pointless remixes to ever grace the Earth.

The B-52s
(Meet) The Flintstones (Quarry Mix)
(Meet) The Flintstones (Bam Bam Tribal Beat)
(Meet) The Flintstones (Bedrock Dub)
(Meet) The Flintstones (Rock Charleston Dub)
Tell It Like It T-I-Is (MK Respect Mix)
Tell It Like It T-I-Is (Instrumental Respect Mix)
Tell It Like It T-I-Is (MK Underground Mix)
Tell It Like It T-I-Is (MK Mix)
Tell It Like It T-I-Is (MK Dub)
When The Flintstones movie came out in 1994, they of course had to include some version of the classic theme song on the soundtrack, and for this monumental task they turned to The B-52s, because when I think family friendly party music, I think The B-52s. However, in keeping with the original TV show’s “hilarious” tradition of taking popular bands and stars from the modern era and giving them stone age puns, The B-52s were credited as The BC-52s.

GET IT?!?! B.C.!??! Like the designated term B.C. (Before Christ) that is commonly associated with the prehistoric era? Isn’t that just so damn clever!?!

Sigh.

This is another case though where I wonder what came first; did someone get The B-52s and then figure out that their name could be so easily modified to fit the Stone Age theme? Or did someone think up “The BC-52s” all on their own and then ask The B-52s if they would do it (and by “ask” I mean throw a truckload of money at them). Maybe The B-52s agreed to do it because they heard that some people thought that “Shiny Happy People” was the worst song of all time and they wanted to give it a go at topping it.

Whoever thought of it was probably the same creative genius who decided to put “Walk The Dinosaur” by Was (Not Was) on the soundtrack as well. That’s not exactly deep digging for prehistoric cuts. I would have gone for “Caveman” by The Cramps, but whatever. You know that if they made the movie today some neanderthal would probably insist that “Dinosaur” by Kesha (I refuse to stylize her name) be put in there.

Needless to say, these “Flintstones” remixes are stupendously stupid, but since I’m a completionist who wants everything B-52s, I had to grab it. Now you get to hear it. I hope you’re happy.

After you listen to all four versions of “(Meet) The Flinstones” (and you have to listen to all four of them, I did), then cleanse your pallet with the non-Flinstones related track “Tell It Like It T-I-Is,” a far better tune from the underrated Good Stuff album.

Posted in B-52s, remixes | 3 Comments »

Mirror Mirror

Friday, May 25th, 2012

Now that I finished the mannoth undertaking that was The Lost Turntable Guide To Recording Vinyl, I’m starting to wonder what I should try next. Is there anything in the guide that I left out? Any topics that any of you thought I should have covered but didn’t? I’m thinking about writing something about what to look for when buying vinyl, because if there’s one thing I’m really good at, it’s spending money on records. Would anyone be interested in that?

 

Anyways, this is the last post for the week, and I probably won’t post until the second half of next week, thanks to some work commitments (which are good) and family commitments (which are more of a mixed bag).

One good thing, if all goes well this weekend I should be coming back to Pittsburgh with a new turntable! It’s not going to replace my Technics, but it’s certainly an interesting deck. If I get it I’ll be sure to do a full write-up, most of you have probably never seen anything like it.

Love And Rockets
Mirror People (88 Version Re-Recorded)
Mirror People (88 Version Edited)
What a weird song, and not just because of the lyrics, but because there are so many damn versions of it. The original version of “Mirror People” leads off the band’s 1987 tour-de-force Earth Sun Moon, and if you have the CD or digital editions of the album, a “slow version” of the song serves as the record’s coda.

However,  a year after the album came out the band re-recorded the song, as a more fast-paced and polished work that was no doubt intended to capitalize off of the band’s success with the single “No New Tale To Tell.” This new version is a lot less shoe-gazey than the original, and has much more of a “punchier” sound over all. I’m sure it was all a tactic to turn the song into a hit single, although I don’t think it worked. I have to say though that I prefer this version, I’m always a sucker for some more anthemic sounding drums. I do love the wall-of-sound production of the original too though.

The B-52’s
Channel Z (Rock Mix)
Channel Z (Remix Edit)
Channel Z (Rock Dub)
I just like saying “Channel Z” like  Fred Schneider does in the beginning of this song.

“Channel ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

ZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Okay, yeah so maybe I wrote so much stuff this week that I’ve ran out of constructive or interesting things to say, what’s your point?

Posted in B-52s, Love & Rockets, remixes | 6 Comments »

Here’s to Six More Years of Obscurity

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Okay, let’s try this again.

I wrote a thing for Nerve. You should read it.

After you do that, come back here. I have music for you. And if you’re visiting here for the first time because of Nerve, well then welcome! Want to listen to the soundtrack to Urgh!? If so, you might find this post of some interest.

David Bowie
When The Wind Blows (Extended Mix)
When The Wind Blows (Instrumental)
I posted those mixes to “When The Wind Blows” before, but if you say you remember that then you’re damn liar. That’s because they were on my very first post ever, which I am nearly 100% certain no one ever read until about six months after I took the files down.

That post was six years ago this month! That’s crazy. I can’t believe I’ve kept this blog going that long, but I’m so glad I did.

A lot of people ask me why I do this. I make no money on this blog (in fact, I lose money on it) and it’s a lot of work. Well, as much as I would like to say that I do it for you, the people who are looking for rare and hard to find music, the truth is that I really do it just as much for me as for anyone else.

By keeping up this blog, I kind of force myself to make adventurous musical purchases, and seek out rare and hard-to-find records with the hopes that I might find something interesting to write about it. During the times when the fun freelance writing work dries up (which is more often than I would like ) this blog literally keeps me sane, especially when it’s my only outlet for writing about music. And getting comments and tweets about how awesome I am certainly has done wonders for my self-esteem when things have gotten rough.

Basically, what I’m saying is that I’d like to thank everyone for sticking with me on what is essentially an entirely selfish endeavor that benefits my own ego. I’m glad you enjoy it, and I hope to keep doing it as long as I can type sarcastic bullshit with a healthy side of snark.

But enough of my humblebragging, I have David Bowie songs for you!

As I mentioned in my original post about these songs back in 2006, “When The Wind Blows” is the title song to a 1986 animated film about an elderly British couple struggling, and failing, to survive the horrors of a world in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It’s not a cheery flick. In fact, that’s an understatement, When The Wind Blows is a soul-sucking succubus of a film that will leave you depressed and without hope.

But the theme song is great! And six years later this extended version and the instrumental version (which is an entirely different recording, not just a studio cut with the vocals removed) remain out of print digitally! So enjoy them, and try to think happy thoughts. If you can’t then the next songs will probably help out with that.

The B-52’s
Roam (Extended Mix)
Roam (Instrumental)
Roam (12″ Mix)
“Roam” was released as a single in 1990, a year after R.E.M. released “Stand” as a single. Because of this I will forever assume that “Roam” is a diss track to R.E.M., in which The B-52’s shred R.E.M.’s promotion of a sedentary lifestyle in favor of a more exploratory state of being. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.

Stan Ridgway
Salesman (Extended Mix)
Stan Ridgway was the lead singer of the epic Wall of Voodoo before he left the group in the mid-80s to embark on a solo career that most people probably don’t know about, and that’s a damn shame. While I can’t make any claims about his output from the 90s and beyond, his solo records from the 80s were amazing. If you have not, I highly suggest you pick up his debut The Big Heat and his excellent sophomore follow-up Mosquitos.

The best song on The Big Heat is “Camouflage” an excellent yarn about a marine in Vietnam who may or may not have been saved by the ghost of a super-solider. Since The Big Heat is in print and easily available on Amazon (where you should buy it), I can’t post that track. However, I can post this extended remix of “Salesman” which is the B-side to the “Camouflage” single. It’s not as great a track as “Camouflage,” but it’s incredibly catchy and still a solid tune.

Posted in B-52s, David Bowie, remixes, soundtrack, Stan Ridgway | 7 Comments »

Lets Dance to Songs about Shacks and Fish

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Thought I’d take a break from arguing with game developers on Twitter and pounding my head against my desk trying to overcome a case of writer’s block with some happy tunes.

And I totally promise to have that guide to ripping vinyl up…sometime. I started that when I had almost no writing work going on and now I seem to have a ton. I’m not complaining about getting paid to write, but it does make this blog  kind of a secondary concern. And I’m sure most of you would rather me ramble for a bit and post some awesome remixes than go on and on about ripping vinyl.

Right now it looks like the guide will be split into several parts: Hardware, set-up, software, and editing. I think I should be able to get the hardware and set-up parts done fairly soon. Going into detail about software and editing is a bit more complicated though. Still, I really am planning on getting the whole thing done sometime this month. I appreciate your patience.

Now let’s head on down to the Love Shack.

The B-52’s
Love Shack (12″ Remix)
Love Shack (12″ Instrumental)
Love Shack (12″ Mix)
Love Shack (Big Radio Mix)
Channel Z (12″ Rock Mix)
I can’t believe that I’ve had this single for years and have never posted it! What the hell is wrong with me? Maybe it was because my original recording of it sounded like dogshit. It’s amazing what a stellar stylus and a high-quality record washing machine did for improving the quality of my rips (another tease from my recording guide?).

Since I pretty much everything ever put out by The B-52’s, it goes without saying that I think these remixes are sweet. I will always be confused by the “12” Remix” and “12” Mix” titles though. You think they would have called one of them something a little more unique. What makes something a remix and something else a mix anyways? Anyone know?

Bell & James
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (12″ Remix)
The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (Instrumental) 
I posted this film’s amazing soundtrack a few months ago, and I’m still bummed that more people didn’t seem to dig it. If you like brilliantly dumb disco then my god do you need to download that record. It will change your life. You will believe that a fish can save Pittsburgh.

If that doesn’t do it for you, then these two added bonus mixes of the soundtrack’s so-good-it’s-life-changing title track should do the job. This song is a masterpiece of everything awesome. Ever. In the history of stuff. Bell &  James should not only get a lifetime achivement award Oscar for their work on this song, they should also get every best song Oscar from 1979 to 2011 as an apology (okay, I’ll let the people who wrote “Fame” keep theirs, but they’re it)!

So yeah, I kind of dig this song, you should download it.

Posted in B-52s, Bell & James, remixes | 8 Comments »

The Best Stuff

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

I was planning on posting one more Star Wars LP, an audio story called Rebel Mission To Ord Mantell. However, it turns out you can get that right here. Why don’t you just do that instead if you’re interested in Star Wars? I’m more interested in posting some bloody music tonight.

Winter. It sucks doesn’t it? If you live in the Midwest (which is reason enough to be depressed), tonight you’re probably bracing for your first big winter storm. That’s never fun.

And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been reading a lot of super-depressive news stories as of late. Probably has something to do with the fact that the Republicans are in the news. They usually take away the fun for everyone.

But fuck that weak shit! Let’s get back into happy fun times! If you download all the music in tonight’s post and don’t smile at least once, call a crisis center, you probably need serious medical help. Or maybe drink some whiskey. That usually helps me.

The B-52s
Good Stuff (12″ Remix)
Good Stuff (Remix Edit)
I listen to a lot of remixes. Seriously. A lot.  As of right now, I have exactly 53,361 songs in my iTunes library. Of them, 2,357 are remixes. That means that nearly one out of every 20 songs in my library is a remix of some sort.

Now, with that in mind, the 12″ remix of Good Stuff might be my favorite remix of all time. And if it’s not the best, it’s certainly the most fun.

It’s amazing what a few layers of synthesizers and a pumped up beat can do. While the original version of “Good Stuff” is beyond great, I think it’s held back as a dance song because it’s still trying to be a bit of a rock song. This version says fuck that, and rips out nearly all the guitars and replaces them with synthesizers, horns and synthesizers that sound like horns. Then it takes the beat and bass and makes them about twice as loud. It may not seem like much, but the end result is a brilliant explosion of feel good vibes and happy times for all. It’s so upbeat and full of energy that scientists should take samples of it and study it for use as a possible fuel source.

You need this song in your life. Today.

Oh, and the edited version is good too, if you need a concentrated blast of awesome instead of an extended mix version.

Cyndi Lauper
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Extended Version)
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Instrumental Version)
I’m shocked that this extended version isn’t in print somewhere. Doesn’t everyone in the world love this song? Who wouldn’t want more of it? I’ll tell you who! Republicans! They don’t want anyone to have fun, especially women. Let’s dance party them to death. I’ll bring this song. You bring the Red Bull. It’ll be a long dance party, I think we’ll need the energy drinks until those scientists figure out a way to turn “Good Stuff” into a snortable drug that’ll make cocaine seem like rock candy.

Haysi Fantayzee
John Wayne Is Big Leggy (Groovy Long Version) 
I never heard of Haysi Fantayzee or this song until I bought this 12″ single. I don’t even know what motivated me to make the purchase, probably the song title, because what the fuck does that even mean?

I don’t purport this song to be…well…good, but I bet you’ve never heard anything remotely like it. And its certainly energetic and fun, and sometimes those are more important qualities for a song to have than being well-constructed or full of artistic merit. I’ll certainly listen to this song more than I will the latest Bon Iver album, that’s for sure.

As for what the song is actually about? Well, on YouTube, there’s a video of Haysi Fantaysee performing poorly lip-syncing on Top of The Pops. At one point a trivia track scrolls across the bottom of the screen and simply says “Don’t Ask. It’s bound to upset the John Wayne Estate.”

I’m going to defer to that. It’s probably best if we don’t know.

Posted in B-52s, Cyndi Lauper, Haysi Fantayzee, remixes | 15 Comments »

This Blog Goes to 12. Spinal Tap can Suck it.

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Tonight’s post is brought to you by eight month old Jagermeister. You see, that’s when that shit gets SMOOTH. Wow my eyeballs feel warm…

Also, to the people asking for the soundtrack to Get Crazy, email me. The addy is on this page, you can find it. I don’t post complete soundtracks anymore. They always get shut down by The Man. Fuck The Man. He’s a tool.

Tonight’s post is epic. Enjoy.

Big Country
In A Big Country (Pure Mix)
Wonderland (Extended Mix)
These are both reposts As in I posted this track before. But demand for the In A Big Country remix was overwhelming! Well, not overwhelming, two people asked. But I giving that whole “karma” thingy a try. For future reference to all y’all, if you want a track I posted before you should email me. It’s easier and you are FAR more likely to get it that way then posting in the comments. It shows to me that you actually read my blog. That makes me happy. You know what else makes me happy. This song. I’ve never took the smile away from anybody’s face either man. Damn, my face is all warm and stuff. I’m also reposting that amazing remix of “Wonderland” because I felt like it.

The B-52s
Hallucinating Pluto (Jason’s Ride On Mix)
Hallucinating Pluto (Jason’s Beats)
Roam (Miami Phunky Break Mix)
Love Shack (DJ Tonka Remix)
Planet Claire (Francois Kevorkian Mix)
Summer Of Love (Summer Party Mix)
Good Stuff (Schottische Mix)
Debbie (Edge Factor Mix)
So some of these are available to download at Amazon’s MP3 store. But I don’t care! Besides, my vinyl ripped versions sound neater. These mixes kick ass. Although Jason Mevin’s mix of “Hallucinating Pluto” make it sound like the track is an invitation from Fred Schneider for you to mount him. But hey, it probably is. So go nuts. Also, the” Summer of Love” mix is by Shep Pettibone, and the “Good Stuff” mix is by Moby. Also, the “Good Stuff” mix is rock your balls off amazing. I got these from a promotional 2×12” pack that was encased in red vinyl. It’s cool.

Jamiroquai
Supersonic (Pete Heller – The Love Mix)
Supersonic (Restless Soul Main Vocal Mix)
Supersonic (Restless Soul Digi-Beats)
Supersonic (Pete Heller – The Love Dub)
Supersonic (Sharp Razor Remix)
Jamiroquai is very hard to spell. Much more so when drunk.

N.W.A.
Gangsta Gangsta (Aphrodite Mix/Club)
Dopeman (Aphrodite Mix/Club)
That’s right biatch! I’m gangsta. Not really. These are remixes by Aphrodite. I never knew this 12” existed before stumbling across it last week. If I had I probably would’ve gone out of my way to buy it because these tracks appear in mix form on Aphrodite’s epic mix CD Urban Jungle. I think I’ve mention this before, but that mix CD is unbefuckinglievable. You will never hear a better 73 minutes of jungle music than you will on that CD. I just discovered it’s out of print too! What the fuck? How did that happen? That’s fucked up. Shit. If I ever dig mine out of storage I’ll try to post it. The version I have on my computer is one long MP3, because back when I ripped it iTunes couldn’t play mixes without pauses between tracks. It was annoying. Seriously though, however much you see that CD worth it’s totally worth it. It’s hand in hand with Fatboy Slim’s On The Floor At the Boutique as the best mix CD of the 90s.

Posted in Alcohol, Aphrodite, B-52s, Big Country, Jamiroquai, N.W.A., remixes | 9 Comments »