I would have included some Was (Not Was) stuff but I have to re-record those and I'm really tired. Wang Chung Let's Go! (Shep's Mix) Let's Go! (Dub Mix) Before I go any further, I think we need to discuss this video for this song. Go ahead and watch it. I'll wait. That was something huh? A while ago I said that Pretty Poison's "Catch Me I'm Falling" was the most 80s shit ever. [...]
I posted this soundtrack eons ago. Back when no one read my blog. Now that next to no one reads my blog, I thought I'd give it another go. The Andromeda Strain Original Electronic Soundtrack The Andromeda Strain is a movie that came out in 1971, based on the Michael Critchon book of the same name. It was directed by Robert Wise, who also directed such classics as West Side Story and The Day The Earth Stood Still . It's a good adaptation of [...]
This album is so weird and obscure that I don't even know what's on it. Do You Remember...? TV Animation Hero This is a Japanese LP from 1983 featuring 16 classic cartoon theme songs from shows like Astro Boy and Tetsujin-28 (AKA Gigantor). It's a pretty awesome record, and not just for the music, it also came with a bunch of sweet swag. There are these great stickers, which I bet [...]
Seriously, the musical landscape of the 90s didn't have shit on the randomness of the 80s. Kate Bush Alternative Hounds Of Love The Handsome Cabin Boy I'm going to level with you,I don't know what's so "alternative" about this mix of "Hounds Of Love' aside from the fact that it's about 50 seconds longer than the original album version. It has the "do-we-do-do do-we-da-da" and those awesome drums still, so it still kicks ass. The real star here is the B-side, "The Handsome Cabin [...]
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 [...]
The Story Of Star Wars Side 1 The Story of Star Wars Side 2 The Story of Return of the Jedi Side 1 The Story of Return of the Jedi Side 2 Ah, abridged movies on LPs, it's amazing how far we would go to relive our favorite movies before the age of VHS isn't it? Both of these albums are pretty impressive in that they manage to condense an entire theatrical film into a 50 [...]
I was going through my massive stacks of vinyl, pulling out anything that I either hadn't recorded before or wanted to re-record. Turns out I have a lot of Star Wars vinyl. It also turns out that almost all of it (maybe all of it, I still have to do some research on one) has never been issued on CD or digitally. If that's not an excuse for a series of themed posts, I don't know what is. So lets get Star Wars Week (I know it's starting on a Friday, shut up) off with a bang. [...]
And now for not long awaited/demanded second half of my Frank Sinatra covers album post. You can find part one here. Mind Over Matter - New York, New York Mind Over Matter was an NYC hardcore punk band that, if their Last.FM bio is anything to be believed, played a major factor in the development of screamo. If I was Mind Over Matter, that's not something I would be bragging about. I like this cover a lot, especially how it injects NYC crime statistics into [...]
The random mid-90s alt-rock compilation; is there any better source for oddball rarities and bizarro obscurities? It's thanks to this trend of "let's package as many bands who we think the kids who like Nirvana might like together and see what happens" we have albums like No Alternative , with Soul Aslyum's awesome take on "Sexual Healing" and that crazy Carpenters tribute record with Sonic Youth's cover of "Superstar." Chairman of the Board , a collection of alt-rock groups taking on standards made famous by Frank Sinatra, doesn't have any classic cuts like those records [...]
How was everyone's holidays? Did you spend them in Toledo? If not, then you did better than I. Actually, during my trip I went to a few good record stores in Columbus and Dayton (I know! Something good in Dayton! Goldfrapp Number 1 (Alan Braxe and Fred Falke Instrumental Remix) I totally thought that said "Fake Instrumental Remix" and I was like "what the fuck is a fake instrumental?" I think I need new glasses. This is an actual, non-fake, instrumental, and one of [...]
I planned on a best/worst of the year list tonight, but something irked me so bad that I had to push that post back a few days. Last week I bought Fac.Dance, a compilation by Strut Records that features many rare and hard-to-find dance tracks from Factory Records. Many of them are out-of-print and have never seen the light of day either digitally or on CD. I should have loved the record, but Strut had to go and fuck it all up. I bought the album on vinyl in a 2LP set, it is also available as [...]
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) [...]
If you've bought a super deluxe box set in the past two years and want to be interviewed about it for a magazine article, shoot me an email (addy is to the right). I'll have a post with actual music later tonight.
My 80s dance party continues. Seems like the best way to get in the holiday spirit if you ask me. Eurythmics Right By Your Side (Extended Mix) This song is adorable. I want to hug it. So cute, so lovey-dovey, I should hate it...but it's just so nice! What's not nice, however, is my recording of it. The distortion you hear on the track is caused by the record itself, not my recording equipment; my encoding equipment; your speakers; or an evil space monkey. Okay, maybe [...]
I think I'm starting to run out of barely-known acts from the 80s and 90s to write about. I've gone pretty deep down the new wave/dance/electronic rabbit holes, but are there any acts out there you all would recommend that I haven't yet featured on this blog? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm trying to get more into 90s dance music, but there's just so much of it! I love acid house and trance, if that's any help to anyone thinking of recommendations. Tonight's post is all "dub," a genre whose defining aural charactistics are as mysterious to [...]
It seems like forever that I've had a post of nothing but random 80s remixes! Sounds like a problem that I need to fix. The Dream Academy Life in a Northern Town (Extended Mix) Test Tape No. 3 Poised On The Edge of Forever Did you know that Pink Floyd's David Gilmour produced The Dream Academy's debut album from which "Life in a Northern Town" originally appeared? I didn't know that until I [...]
I've lived in Pittsburgh for almost eight years now, and it's a decision that I can honestly say I've never regretted. I love this city. I love its crazy roads, obscene colloquialisms (Jag Off!), awesome food and legendary record stores. I also love its cinematic history, mostly because it's so weird. Sure, we got George A. Romero's zombie flicks to lay claim too, but the greater Pittsburgh also played hosts to classics like The Deer Hunter and Flashdance , as well as "classics" such as Sudden Death, Striking Distance and Stigmata. [...]
I'm going to keep this rather brief, because while I like these new Deluxe Editions, I really don't have much to say about them. I also have other music I'd rather be writing about. I've already gone over the sound quality of these sets, but what about the content itself? Both of these Deluxe Editions are three-disc sets, each containing their own bonus CD of rare material and a live concert DVD. I'll start with the CDs. There are very few "new" tracks on these discs. If you're looking for previously unheards songs, you're [...]
So far, the important albums of my generation haven't fared too well when given the "deluxe" treatment. Pearl Jam's Ten was re-issued in an amazing deluxe package, but the record itself was compressed to hell. Nirvana's Nevermind had it even worse ( a fact I've documented here repeatedly ) thanks to a shameful box set that might go down in history as one of the worst re-issues of all time. Because of that, I was more than a little trepidatious when Billy Corgan announced that he would be remastering and re-releasing the entire Smashing Pumpkins catalog over the [...]
It's a big week for the Smashing Pumpkins, and I mean the actual Smashing Pumpkins, not that group that Billy Corgan has with him now. This Tuesday we get new Deluxe Editions of both Gish and Siamese Dream . For many children of the 90s (myself included) these records hold just as much weight, if not more, as Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten . While those albums showed that rock could work when it was stripped down and bare, the best stuff by The Smashing Pumpkins proved that sometimes bigger (and [...]
The Lost Turntable
the Weekender ::: New music from Catcall // the National // Summer Camp
KNIFE PARTY – RAGE VALLEY EP
