Archive for the ‘Stefano Pulga’ 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 »

Disco > Hate

Wednesday, June 26th, 2013

Other website news:

Wrote up a review of David Yow’s insane solo debut.

Did a mini-rant on how I think limited editions are fucking it up.

And in case I didn’t mention it before: YO, THIS IS A SONG ABOUT DIG DUG BY THE MAN WHO SANG DREAM WEAVER. 

I’m moderately stoked about that one, sorry.

Also, since everyone else on the Internet seems to hate me for this one, a while ago I wrote a thing on Doug TenNapel’s Kickstarter, and why you shouldn’t support bigots. With his Kickstarter hitting the tail end of its fundraising, I would appreciate it if you read it, and if you agree, share it.

And now on a completely unrelated note: some fabulous motherfucking disco.

All of tonight’s songs are all taken from DiscoNet Volume 6, a 1979 DJ-only 2LP set meant for club play.

Afrika Bambaataa/Kraftwerk/Lipps. Inc
Planet Rock/Tour De France (Extended Edit)/Choir Practice
Like most DJ-only compilations I’ve managed to come across, the first side of DiscoNet 6 is a non-stop mix. However, unlike most every other DJ-0nly compilation, this one kicks ass. This set came out in 1983, which was really a great time for dance music. Disco was finally dying out, and being replaced by the Moroder-influenced electronic dance music that would go on to dominate the rest of the decade. Producers and engineers were discovering crazy new ways to use synthesizers and digital equipment, and DJs were taking the art of the mix to places it had never been before. Pretty rad stuff all around, and I think these tracks show that pretty well, starting with this mix that combines American rap, German electronic music and some good old-fashioned disco that still kicked ass.

The “Planet Rock” part of the mix is pretty minor, just the first few seconds honestly. Most of the track is dedicated to “Tour De France,” in an awesome extended edit form that really draws it out to awesome epic length. The closer by Lipps. Inc is also great, and shows that their categorization as a one-hit wonder may have been a bit unjust. Great stuff here.

Valerie Oliver
Get The Money (Extended Club Mix)
I have no idea who Valeria Oliver is. She apparently released just three singles, this being her first, before vanishing from the pop music scene in the mid-80s. This song is pretty silly, an ode to getting yo’ cash from yo’ man, but it’s fun. And I love the Blondiesque rap breakdown about halfway through.

Stefano Pulga
Love Taker
I LOVE THIS SONG.

I love disco sung through a crazy thick Italian accent. I have no idea why. Couple that with the awesome 808 (or possibly 303) squelching and goddamn I’m in love with this Italian man and his amazing hair. I also don’t know what the hell a “Love Taker” is aside from a wicked burn that rhymes well with “Heart Breaker,” but hey, I’m not a songwriter so I can’t judge.

Pamala Stanley
I Don’t Want To Talk About (Extended Edit)
Pamela Stanley has an unreasonably long Wikipedia entry that I highly suspect was created, edited and moderated by either Pamela Stanley or someone who knows her personal phone number. She put out one album in 1979 and had a handful of minor hit singles, but that was about it for her mainstream success. Glad to see she’s still going at it tho. The world is always in need of more disco divas, no matter the decade.

Posted in Pamela Stanley, remixes, Stefano Pulga, Valerie Oliver | 8 Comments »