Back up and running (though minus two iPods that the movers stole from us, it's a hella long story best saved for offline except DO NOT USE HERMAN MOVERS IN AMHERST, NEW YORK), new content to follow later this weekend.
Happy Labor Day Weekend for those USA'ers!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
temporary downtime
No post this weekend. Your humble blogger is moving residences and access to the Internets will be an iffy proposition for the time being. We are sorting out options and I hope to resume posting within a week or so.
In the meantime why not browse the blog's archives, discover some unheard music (to you), and feel free to use this post as a suggestion box for future topics!
In the meantime why not browse the blog's archives, discover some unheard music (to you), and feel free to use this post as a suggestion box for future topics!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
postpunk on the prairie: Rapeman
In 1987, Steve Albini had had enough.
Big Black had outlived its purpose - singer/guitarist Albini, guitarist Santiago Durango, bassist David Riley and drummer Roland all believed that they'd taken the Big Black concept as far as it could go within its constraints. And besides, Sant was entering law school that fall, so it was a convenient time to call it a day after a farewell tour and the obligatory final LP.
Then Albini got bored. Restless. Itchy to play out again - there was yet music to be played. And no band to do so!
Conveniently enough, Austin, Texas postpunk legends (in their own time) Scratch Acid had just broken up and had a phenomenal rhythm section just waiting to be taken. Rey Washam (drums) and David Wm. Sims (bass) hightailed it up to Chicago and joined Albini for his new project.
Calling themselves Rapeman after a very graphic Japanese serial comic (a name guaranteed to gain the hearts and minds of Albini's heretofore-underground female fan base), the trio gigged around Chicago and the American Midwest, played Europe, and recorded a few songs.
Then, they broke up. For the usual reasons, according to Albini - someone just didn't get along with someone else, the usual bullshit.
Certainly it didn't help matters that the name was keeping them off the radio (not that they were looking for that angle, mind you) and causing them endless frustration in touring Europe. So they too just called it a day - but in this case, listening to the music in retrospect you get the feeling that they were just getting started, that they'd just skimmed the surface of the power, the noise, the energy the trio was certainly capable of making. The sentence that was just beginning to write itself starting with the word "Rapeman" just didn't seem to have a period at the end of it.
Of course this wasn't the end for any of the members - Albini went on to sustain a prolific engineering career recording a gajillion (roughly) records for bands across the musical spectrum, and also performs indie-riffic music to this day with his latest project Shellac (with Todd Trainer and Bob Weston). David Wm. Sims rejoined Scratch Acid alum David Yow in the Jesus Lizard, and Rey Washam flitted about the underground scene with stints in Ministry, the Didjits, Tad, and quite a few other lesser-known acts.
Rapeman (Rx for short) did not leave much of a recorded legacy in its wake. With just two 7" singles, a 4-track EP and one full-length LP marking their existence, it's difficult to ascertain where they would have headed had the band continued. That being said, Rx finds Albini in true song-writing mode for the first time (as one wag put it, he actually learned to write songs!) and their recorded work showpieces the classic Albini guitar shards moreso than Big Black ever did.
The first Rapeman release was the 4-track EP Budd. "Budd" the song is about the sad sorrowful ending of one R. Budd Dwyer - just search the internets for the story. "Budd" and two other tracks were recorded live at Chicago's Exit on Bastille Day, 1988, while the last track "Dutch Courage" was "recorded dead at CRC, Chicago, Juneteenth, 1988".
Next came the "Hated Chinee" / "Marmoset" 7", a taster for the upcoming LP.
And then we have the LP Two Nuns and a Pack Mule, perhaps the best all-around album an Albini band has ever recorded. "Produced" by Fluss - Albini's cat, a clear indication of Albini's thoughts on what a producer should do, these ten bile and pile-driven tracks are about as good a showcase of the Albini songwriting style as you'll find. Abrasive, funny, sharp and cutting, these tracks address topics such as future Shellac drummer Todd Trainer's monobrow (err, the track "Monobrow") and a pair of female panties given to Albini, on Big Black's final tour, by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon (the track "Kim Gordon's Panties").
Lastly, in 1989 the band released one final effort as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club monthly series of limited 7" releases. The instrumental tracks "Inki's Butt Crack" and "Song Number One" are as good as anything on the album or EP and could be an indication of where Rx would have gone had they continued.
I'm including all the above bar the "Hated Chinee" 7" (since I don't have it, and AFAIK the tracks are identical to the album versions) in one file linked below.
Here goes - enjoy!
RAPEMAN
Up Beat: The Mostly Complete Discography 1988-1989
BUDD EP
(1988 Touch and Go Records T&GLP#34)
01 Budd
02 Superpussy
03 Log Bass
04 Dutch Courage
TWO NUNS AND A PACK MULE
(1988 Touch and Go Records T&GLP#36)
01 Steak And Black Onions
02 Monobrow
03 Up Beat
04 Coition Ignition Mission
05 Kim Gordon's Panties
06 Hated Chinee
07 Radar Love Lizard
08 Marmoset
09 Just Got Paid
10 Trouser Minnow
Rx's descriptions for each track:
"INKI'S BUTT CRACK" b/w "SONG NUMBER ONE"
(1989 Sub Pop Singles Club SP40, limited edition 1500 black vinyl, 1000 clear vinyl)
01 Inki's Butt Crack
02 Song Number One
edit: Removed link.
Big Black had outlived its purpose - singer/guitarist Albini, guitarist Santiago Durango, bassist David Riley and drummer Roland all believed that they'd taken the Big Black concept as far as it could go within its constraints. And besides, Sant was entering law school that fall, so it was a convenient time to call it a day after a farewell tour and the obligatory final LP.
Then Albini got bored. Restless. Itchy to play out again - there was yet music to be played. And no band to do so!
Conveniently enough, Austin, Texas postpunk legends (in their own time) Scratch Acid had just broken up and had a phenomenal rhythm section just waiting to be taken. Rey Washam (drums) and David Wm. Sims (bass) hightailed it up to Chicago and joined Albini for his new project.
Calling themselves Rapeman after a very graphic Japanese serial comic (a name guaranteed to gain the hearts and minds of Albini's heretofore-underground female fan base), the trio gigged around Chicago and the American Midwest, played Europe, and recorded a few songs.
Then, they broke up. For the usual reasons, according to Albini - someone just didn't get along with someone else, the usual bullshit.
Certainly it didn't help matters that the name was keeping them off the radio (not that they were looking for that angle, mind you) and causing them endless frustration in touring Europe. So they too just called it a day - but in this case, listening to the music in retrospect you get the feeling that they were just getting started, that they'd just skimmed the surface of the power, the noise, the energy the trio was certainly capable of making. The sentence that was just beginning to write itself starting with the word "Rapeman" just didn't seem to have a period at the end of it.
Of course this wasn't the end for any of the members - Albini went on to sustain a prolific engineering career recording a gajillion (roughly) records for bands across the musical spectrum, and also performs indie-riffic music to this day with his latest project Shellac (with Todd Trainer and Bob Weston). David Wm. Sims rejoined Scratch Acid alum David Yow in the Jesus Lizard, and Rey Washam flitted about the underground scene with stints in Ministry, the Didjits, Tad, and quite a few other lesser-known acts.
Rapeman (Rx for short) did not leave much of a recorded legacy in its wake. With just two 7" singles, a 4-track EP and one full-length LP marking their existence, it's difficult to ascertain where they would have headed had the band continued. That being said, Rx finds Albini in true song-writing mode for the first time (as one wag put it, he actually learned to write songs!) and their recorded work showpieces the classic Albini guitar shards moreso than Big Black ever did.
The first Rapeman release was the 4-track EP Budd. "Budd" the song is about the sad sorrowful ending of one R. Budd Dwyer - just search the internets for the story. "Budd" and two other tracks were recorded live at Chicago's Exit on Bastille Day, 1988, while the last track "Dutch Courage" was "recorded dead at CRC, Chicago, Juneteenth, 1988".
Next came the "Hated Chinee" / "Marmoset" 7", a taster for the upcoming LP.
And then we have the LP Two Nuns and a Pack Mule, perhaps the best all-around album an Albini band has ever recorded. "Produced" by Fluss - Albini's cat, a clear indication of Albini's thoughts on what a producer should do, these ten bile and pile-driven tracks are about as good a showcase of the Albini songwriting style as you'll find. Abrasive, funny, sharp and cutting, these tracks address topics such as future Shellac drummer Todd Trainer's monobrow (err, the track "Monobrow") and a pair of female panties given to Albini, on Big Black's final tour, by Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon (the track "Kim Gordon's Panties").
Lastly, in 1989 the band released one final effort as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club monthly series of limited 7" releases. The instrumental tracks "Inki's Butt Crack" and "Song Number One" are as good as anything on the album or EP and could be an indication of where Rx would have gone had they continued.
I'm including all the above bar the "Hated Chinee" 7" (since I don't have it, and AFAIK the tracks are identical to the album versions) in one file linked below.
Here goes - enjoy!
RAPEMAN
Up Beat: The Mostly Complete Discography 1988-1989
BUDD EP
(1988 Touch and Go Records T&GLP#34)
01 Budd
02 Superpussy
03 Log Bass
04 Dutch Courage
TWO NUNS AND A PACK MULE
(1988 Touch and Go Records T&GLP#36)
01 Steak And Black Onions
02 Monobrow
03 Up Beat
04 Coition Ignition Mission
05 Kim Gordon's Panties
06 Hated Chinee
07 Radar Love Lizard
08 Marmoset
09 Just Got Paid
10 Trouser Minnow
Rx's descriptions for each track:
1. We don't hate vegetarians, we just think they're funny
2. Singular eyebrow as a fashion statement / Drunkasexual
3. Puny but angry
4. Professed goal of space program: conception and birth in space
5. Blatant Coachmen ripoff
6. Lotten flucking ruck
7. Golden earring tribute / reptile tendencies
8. Lincoln Park Zoo Nocturnal Mammal Building / failed hummer
9. Bonus Edgar Blossom muchas gracias
10. Men suck
"INKI'S BUTT CRACK" b/w "SONG NUMBER ONE"
(1989 Sub Pop Singles Club SP40, limited edition 1500 black vinyl, 1000 clear vinyl)
01 Inki's Butt Crack
02 Song Number One
"Inki's Butt Crack" is credited on the label to (Spencer, Moore, Mascis) - as in Jon Spencer, Thurston Moore, and J Mascis - but this is a joke. The song is a variation on Mendelssohn's "Hebrides Overture (Fingal's Cave)".
edit: Removed link.
Friday, August 14, 2009
friday fizz: The Charlatans (UK) 89-91 rarities
Twenty years ago this year a small Northwich, UK band plied a 3-song demo tape in hopes of gathering a following in the UK North West. Riding the coattails of the big Manchester triumvirate Stone Roses / Happy Mondays / Inspiral Carpets, this band really sounded like none (well, perhaps the Roses a bit) and endeavored to separate itself from the pack.
Twenty years on and this band - despite hardship, ugliness and sad stories that would break up most other bands - carries on.
The Charlatans (UK), of course, is this band.
Well before the success, well before winning the Madchester Survivor game (hehe), they had some wilderness years and in fact looked set to not last much beyond the first quarter of the 1990's.
Starting in 1989 with a three-song demo, the band ended up doing a couple John Peel sessions (March 1990 and January 1991) and ultimately saw its guitarist leave due to - in essence - realizing he had pretty much exhausted his limited skill set.
I'm at this time leaving the albums and singles out of the discussion. Instead I'm using this spot to pass on some really unheralded rarities, performances, and classic tracks that haven't much been seen or discussed.
First off we have the aformentioned 3-song demo featuring (rather) polished takes on "Indian Rope", "You Can Talk To Me" and "White Shirt". "White Shirt" is the surprise here in that it's much more jaunty, bouncy than the take they'd do on the debut LP Some Friendly - and in fact I like this version much better.
Then we get the first Peel session, recorded in March 1990 and featuring the first of the "lost" Charlatans tracks, "Always In Mind", among three others.
Then, they returned to Peely's show with a session recorded in January 1991 featuring the next "lost" track "Between 10th And 11th" - a track as good as any released from this period - along with two others.
And finally we have an embryonic take on "(No One) Not Even The Rain" recorded for Mark Goodier in October 1991.
I used the best sources I could locate to make this post. I do apologize in advance for the relative lo-fi of "Then" / "Can't Even Be Bothered" / "Opportunity Three" as I do not have *any* other sources of these besides lo-fi transfers and/or original 128kbps MP3. I cleaned them up the best I could but I have to use this opportunity to ask my readers - do they have *any* of this material lossless and/or high quality?
Regardless.... it's all good.
THE CHARLATANS / Rarities 1989-1991
a Power of Independent Trucking special
01 Indian Rope
02 You Can Talk To Me
03 White Shirt
-- Demo cassette, 1989
04 Always In Mind
05 You Can Talk To Me
06 Polar Bear
07 Then
-- John Peel session 20 March 1990
08 Between 10th and 11th
09 Can't Even Be Bothered
10 Opportunity Three
-- John Peel session 22 January 1991
11 (No One) Not Even The Rain
-- Mark Goodier session 5 October 1991
- - - -
sources:
1-3 / 192kpbs MP3's I found on some blog, remastered by your humble blogger
4, 6, 8, 11 / officially-released "Forever" 2xCD compilation
5 / B-side on "Indian Rope" CD single
7 / VBR MP3 found on the intarwebs, cleaned up by your humble blogger
9, 10 / 128kbps MP3's found on the intarwebs, cleaned up by your humble blogger
The note that came with the 89 Demo tracks imply these exist as lossless SHN files somewhere in the world - help me locate them!
Also... what else was broadcast on that Goodier session? That's an interesting one to track down because the date implies it was just around the time the "Me. In Time" single was released - guitarist Mark Collins' first record with the band.
Are their any other radio sessions pre-1992?
- - - -
Part I / Part II (split RAR files, as usual, have to grab both!)
Twenty years on and this band - despite hardship, ugliness and sad stories that would break up most other bands - carries on.
The Charlatans (UK), of course, is this band.
Well before the success, well before winning the Madchester Survivor game (hehe), they had some wilderness years and in fact looked set to not last much beyond the first quarter of the 1990's.
Starting in 1989 with a three-song demo, the band ended up doing a couple John Peel sessions (March 1990 and January 1991) and ultimately saw its guitarist leave due to - in essence - realizing he had pretty much exhausted his limited skill set.
I'm at this time leaving the albums and singles out of the discussion. Instead I'm using this spot to pass on some really unheralded rarities, performances, and classic tracks that haven't much been seen or discussed.
First off we have the aformentioned 3-song demo featuring (rather) polished takes on "Indian Rope", "You Can Talk To Me" and "White Shirt". "White Shirt" is the surprise here in that it's much more jaunty, bouncy than the take they'd do on the debut LP Some Friendly - and in fact I like this version much better.
Then we get the first Peel session, recorded in March 1990 and featuring the first of the "lost" Charlatans tracks, "Always In Mind", among three others.
Then, they returned to Peely's show with a session recorded in January 1991 featuring the next "lost" track "Between 10th And 11th" - a track as good as any released from this period - along with two others.
And finally we have an embryonic take on "(No One) Not Even The Rain" recorded for Mark Goodier in October 1991.
I used the best sources I could locate to make this post. I do apologize in advance for the relative lo-fi of "Then" / "Can't Even Be Bothered" / "Opportunity Three" as I do not have *any* other sources of these besides lo-fi transfers and/or original 128kbps MP3. I cleaned them up the best I could but I have to use this opportunity to ask my readers - do they have *any* of this material lossless and/or high quality?
Regardless.... it's all good.
THE CHARLATANS / Rarities 1989-1991
a Power of Independent Trucking special
01 Indian Rope
02 You Can Talk To Me
03 White Shirt
-- Demo cassette, 1989
04 Always In Mind
05 You Can Talk To Me
06 Polar Bear
07 Then
-- John Peel session 20 March 1990
08 Between 10th and 11th
09 Can't Even Be Bothered
10 Opportunity Three
-- John Peel session 22 January 1991
11 (No One) Not Even The Rain
-- Mark Goodier session 5 October 1991
- - - -
sources:
1-3 / 192kpbs MP3's I found on some blog, remastered by your humble blogger
4, 6, 8, 11 / officially-released "Forever" 2xCD compilation
5 / B-side on "Indian Rope" CD single
7 / VBR MP3 found on the intarwebs, cleaned up by your humble blogger
9, 10 / 128kbps MP3's found on the intarwebs, cleaned up by your humble blogger
The note that came with the 89 Demo tracks imply these exist as lossless SHN files somewhere in the world - help me locate them!
Also... what else was broadcast on that Goodier session? That's an interesting one to track down because the date implies it was just around the time the "Me. In Time" single was released - guitarist Mark Collins' first record with the band.
Are their any other radio sessions pre-1992?
- - - -
Part I / Part II (split RAR files, as usual, have to grab both!)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
midweek musings: Dinosaur Jr's Farm LP
Just a quick blurt to note that the new Dinosaur Jr effort Farm is the best new material I've heard from any band in the past 5 years. Easily. Heir to the Neil Young/Crazy Horse throne? Yep.
Just goes to prove that the magical combo of J Mascis / Lou Barlow / Murph can't be beat. 2007's comeback LP Beyond clearly was no one-off magical smoke-in-the-bottle effort.
No links to the record this time. You all must buy this immediately, to get Dino Jr the market recognition they so sorely deserve. Farm even tops most of their classic 80s output, believe it or not.
Now back to our regularly-scheduled programming, scheduled for this coming weekend....
Just goes to prove that the magical combo of J Mascis / Lou Barlow / Murph can't be beat. 2007's comeback LP Beyond clearly was no one-off magical smoke-in-the-bottle effort.
No links to the record this time. You all must buy this immediately, to get Dino Jr the market recognition they so sorely deserve. Farm even tops most of their classic 80s output, believe it or not.
Now back to our regularly-scheduled programming, scheduled for this coming weekend....
Friday, August 7, 2009
friday fizz: Stone Roses Elephant Stone findings!
Where I work, there is a tradition where on Fridays, management rolls around pallet loads of soda for us peons to enjoy, for free. Believe me, if you knew where I worked, and the attitude about any employee getting ANYTHING from there besides a paycheck, benefits and stress, you'd understand this is a big thing. Anyway, this tradition is called Friday Fizz.
Today we have our own Friday Fizz here on the PoIT.
Your humble blogger made several discoveries today, having taken the day off work for various sundry reasons.
First: I have discovered what I believe to be the original, pre-John Leckie, mix of the Stone Roses "Elephant Stone", as mixed by Peter Hook (New Order/Joy Division bassist, and producer for the "Elephant Stone" sessions) before John Leckie came on board and remixed it for the Roses' debut release on Silvertone.
And anybody who has an original Elephant Stone 12" or CD single already has this ;)
How? That's for you to discover ;)
It's funny - this has been under the fans' noses for 21 years now and I've NEVER known anybody to mention, discuss or even think about it. But I do like this mix - it's far less busy than Leckie's mix, it's more organic-sounding, and I'm just pleased as punch I'm able to bring this out.
Second: Well, I had some other stuff to post here about the "Elephant Stone" CD single, but in the end it's just a bunch of technical bullshit that 99% of my readers won't understand. But if you've ever listened to a rip of your original Silvertone ORE CD 1 on your iPod or computer, and you wonder why it sounds so horribly shrill, rest assured it's not your box but it's Silvertone's horrible mastering of the 7" and 12" mixes (the other B-sides are not affected, oddly enough!).
So... I present:
THE STONE ROSES "Elephant Stone" mixes
-- a Power of Independent Trucking exclusive!
01 Elephant Stone (John Leckie 12" mix, fixed and remastered by The PoIT)
02 Elephant Stone (John Leckie 7" mix, fixed and remastered by The PoIT)
03 Elephant Stone (Peter Hook original mix)
Grab it here, lossless FLAC for everyone's pleasure.
Today we have our own Friday Fizz here on the PoIT.
Your humble blogger made several discoveries today, having taken the day off work for various sundry reasons.
First: I have discovered what I believe to be the original, pre-John Leckie, mix of the Stone Roses "Elephant Stone", as mixed by Peter Hook (New Order/Joy Division bassist, and producer for the "Elephant Stone" sessions) before John Leckie came on board and remixed it for the Roses' debut release on Silvertone.
And anybody who has an original Elephant Stone 12" or CD single already has this ;)
How? That's for you to discover ;)
It's funny - this has been under the fans' noses for 21 years now and I've NEVER known anybody to mention, discuss or even think about it. But I do like this mix - it's far less busy than Leckie's mix, it's more organic-sounding, and I'm just pleased as punch I'm able to bring this out.
Second: Well, I had some other stuff to post here about the "Elephant Stone" CD single, but in the end it's just a bunch of technical bullshit that 99% of my readers won't understand. But if you've ever listened to a rip of your original Silvertone ORE CD 1 on your iPod or computer, and you wonder why it sounds so horribly shrill, rest assured it's not your box but it's Silvertone's horrible mastering of the 7" and 12" mixes (the other B-sides are not affected, oddly enough!).
So... I present:
THE STONE ROSES "Elephant Stone" mixes
-- a Power of Independent Trucking exclusive!
01 Elephant Stone (John Leckie 12" mix, fixed and remastered by The PoIT)
02 Elephant Stone (John Leckie 7" mix, fixed and remastered by The PoIT)
03 Elephant Stone (Peter Hook original mix)
Grab it here, lossless FLAC for everyone's pleasure.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
New Order: Part 2 of a series, 1985-1989
Last week we gave ourselves a good hit of early New Order, finding the band transitioning from the shadows of Joy Division to electro-indie- rock trendsetters.
This week, Part II of the PoIT's New Order MegaSubstance MegaSpectacular, we become megastars.
Bernard Sumner realized he didn't have to be so dramatic and Peter Hook started getting even more creative and melodic on bass. Steve Morris became the human drum machine and Gillian Gilbert brought even more electro flourishes to the mix.
They also didn't forget their roots as a guitar band.
We start the proceedings with a song that probably should have gone in last week's batch (a stunning "Skullcrusher" live from Barcelona, Spain in July 1984) but for two reasons it's here in this batch: 1) I forgot to put it in last week, and 2) the song did end up seeing release as an instrumental track in 1987.
Many of the following have either never been released officially on CD or have found themselves bastardized in order to fit on existing compilations (hello "The Perfect Kiss" and shouts to "Shellshock"). Other tracks ("Let's Go") have NEVER been heard in this form except on bootleg, and yet others ("The Happy One") exist in snippet-form only.
So onward we proceed from 1985 through 1989, the last year New Order could safely call themselves a true indie band.
NEW ORDER "I'm not grown up and I'm not a boy..." 1985-1989, anthologized
01 Skullcrusher (with lyrics, 7 Jul 1984 Studio 54, Barcelona, Spain)
02 Let's Go (unreleased original 1985 vocal)
03 The Perfect Kiss (12 inch complete version)
04 Love Vigilantes
05 This Time Of Night
06 Sunrise
07 Elegia
08 Sooner Than You Think
09 Shellshock (12 inch complete version)
10 Weirdo
11 As It Is When It Was
12 Broken Promise
13 Way Of Life
14 Bizarre Love Triangle
15 All Day Long
16 Every Little Counts
17 True Faith (The Morning Sun extended remix)
18 1963
19 Paradise (remix) ***** see below!
19 Temptation '87
20 Salvation Theme
21 Touched By The Hand Of God (early version)
22 Sputnik
23 Don't Do It
24 Fine Time
25 All The Way
26 Love Less
27 Guilty Partner
28 Run
29 Vanishing Point
30 Dream Attack
31 Round & Round (7 inch mix)
32 Run² (unreleased instrumental mix)
33 MTO
34 MTO minus mix
35 The Happy One (full version re-assembly)
Four RAR files this time, as usual, you must download each one!
Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV
***** I forgot to include 19 Paradise (remix) in the fileset so please grab it here. It should still sort correctly but yes, there will be two Track 19's. I think everyone will be OK with this ;)
(note - if having trouble extracting "Temptation '87", download that track only here .... and if you're having problems with "Guilty Partner" that can be downloaded here.)
enjoy!
This week, Part II of the PoIT's New Order MegaSubstance MegaSpectacular, we become megastars.
Bernard Sumner realized he didn't have to be so dramatic and Peter Hook started getting even more creative and melodic on bass. Steve Morris became the human drum machine and Gillian Gilbert brought even more electro flourishes to the mix.
They also didn't forget their roots as a guitar band.
We start the proceedings with a song that probably should have gone in last week's batch (a stunning "Skullcrusher" live from Barcelona, Spain in July 1984) but for two reasons it's here in this batch: 1) I forgot to put it in last week, and 2) the song did end up seeing release as an instrumental track in 1987.
Many of the following have either never been released officially on CD or have found themselves bastardized in order to fit on existing compilations (hello "The Perfect Kiss" and shouts to "Shellshock"). Other tracks ("Let's Go") have NEVER been heard in this form except on bootleg, and yet others ("The Happy One") exist in snippet-form only.
So onward we proceed from 1985 through 1989, the last year New Order could safely call themselves a true indie band.
NEW ORDER "I'm not grown up and I'm not a boy..." 1985-1989, anthologized
01 Skullcrusher (with lyrics, 7 Jul 1984 Studio 54, Barcelona, Spain)
02 Let's Go (unreleased original 1985 vocal)
03 The Perfect Kiss (12 inch complete version)
04 Love Vigilantes
05 This Time Of Night
06 Sunrise
07 Elegia
08 Sooner Than You Think
09 Shellshock (12 inch complete version)
10 Weirdo
11 As It Is When It Was
12 Broken Promise
13 Way Of Life
14 Bizarre Love Triangle
15 All Day Long
16 Every Little Counts
17 True Faith (The Morning Sun extended remix)
18 1963
19 Paradise (remix) ***** see below!
19 Temptation '87
20 Salvation Theme
21 Touched By The Hand Of God (early version)
22 Sputnik
23 Don't Do It
24 Fine Time
25 All The Way
26 Love Less
27 Guilty Partner
28 Run
29 Vanishing Point
30 Dream Attack
31 Round & Round (7 inch mix)
32 Run² (unreleased instrumental mix)
33 MTO
34 MTO minus mix
35 The Happy One (full version re-assembly)
Four RAR files this time, as usual, you must download each one!
Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV
***** I forgot to include 19 Paradise (remix) in the fileset so please grab it here. It should still sort correctly but yes, there will be two Track 19's. I think everyone will be OK with this ;)
(note - if having trouble extracting "Temptation '87", download that track only here .... and if you're having problems with "Guilty Partner" that can be downloaded here.)
enjoy!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
New Order: Part 1 of a series, 1980-1984
New Order has - for over 20 years - been amongst my most favorite groups ever. For 15 or so years they made music that served as the soundtrack to my life, more often than not reaching perfection (or pretty damn close to it) with everything they did.
They had a few clunkers ("Sub-Culture" 12-inch mix, anyone?) but the true best of New Order is among the best music EVER from ANY artist ANY era. Not bad for a bunch of self-taught Salford/Macclesfield, UK misfits.
The history of the band can be found all over the internets so I shall not rehash it here. What I will be doing, however, over a series of posts, is compile my favorite tracks into the SuperFan's MegaSubstance MegaBest Of or what-have-you. The band has been anthologized over a ridiculous number of compilations and quite a few tracks are repeated across releases, while deep catalog tracks - as good as any single they released - are continuously ignored.
Our first selection features their best works from the 1980-1984 era - the era that served as the "hey, we used to be Joy Division" bridging to the "hey, I think we're onto something with this weird dance/rock/indie hybrid thing" timeframe, before they became megastars. This era saw the band creep ever so hesitantly out of the Joy Division shadow, suddenly becoming trendsetters in discos, and then rediscovering guitars again.
So onward.
NEW ORDER "Seems like I've been here before..."
1980-1984, anthologized
01 Ceremony (original 3-piece version, recorded Sept. 1980)
02 In A Lonely Place (7-inch edit, different from Substance version)
03 Ceremony (re-recorded late 1980 with Gillian Gilbert on board)
04 Procession
05 Everything's Gone Green (7-inch version)
06 Dreams Never End (Jan. 1981 Peel Session)
07 ICB (Jan. 1981 Peel Session)
08 Cries and Whispers
09 Mesh
10 Truth (mix candidate #1, Hannett)
11 Doubts Even Here
12 Denial
13 Temptation (7-inch version)
14 Hurt (7-inch version)
15 Temptation (12-inch version)
16 586 (June 1982 Peel Session)
17 Too Late
18 Blue Monday (rare 7-inch edit)
19 Age of Consent
20 The Village
21 Your Silent Face
22 Ultraviolence
23 Ecstasy
24 Leave Me Alone
25 Confusion (7-inch promo edit)
26 Thieves Like Us (7-inch promo edit)
27 Lonesome Tonight
28 Murder
Nothing whatsoever taken from the abysmally-mastered 2005 compilation Singles, and many taken from mint vinyl copies.
Three RAR's as usual, gotta grab 'em all of course...
Part I / Part II / Part III
enjoy!
They had a few clunkers ("Sub-Culture" 12-inch mix, anyone?) but the true best of New Order is among the best music EVER from ANY artist ANY era. Not bad for a bunch of self-taught Salford/Macclesfield, UK misfits.
The history of the band can be found all over the internets so I shall not rehash it here. What I will be doing, however, over a series of posts, is compile my favorite tracks into the SuperFan's MegaSubstance MegaBest Of or what-have-you. The band has been anthologized over a ridiculous number of compilations and quite a few tracks are repeated across releases, while deep catalog tracks - as good as any single they released - are continuously ignored.
Our first selection features their best works from the 1980-1984 era - the era that served as the "hey, we used to be Joy Division" bridging to the "hey, I think we're onto something with this weird dance/rock/indie hybrid thing" timeframe, before they became megastars. This era saw the band creep ever so hesitantly out of the Joy Division shadow, suddenly becoming trendsetters in discos, and then rediscovering guitars again.
So onward.
NEW ORDER "Seems like I've been here before..."
1980-1984, anthologized
01 Ceremony (original 3-piece version, recorded Sept. 1980)
02 In A Lonely Place (7-inch edit, different from Substance version)
03 Ceremony (re-recorded late 1980 with Gillian Gilbert on board)
04 Procession
05 Everything's Gone Green (7-inch version)
06 Dreams Never End (Jan. 1981 Peel Session)
07 ICB (Jan. 1981 Peel Session)
08 Cries and Whispers
09 Mesh
10 Truth (mix candidate #1, Hannett)
11 Doubts Even Here
12 Denial
13 Temptation (7-inch version)
14 Hurt (7-inch version)
15 Temptation (12-inch version)
16 586 (June 1982 Peel Session)
17 Too Late
18 Blue Monday (rare 7-inch edit)
19 Age of Consent
20 The Village
21 Your Silent Face
22 Ultraviolence
23 Ecstasy
24 Leave Me Alone
25 Confusion (7-inch promo edit)
26 Thieves Like Us (7-inch promo edit)
27 Lonesome Tonight
28 Murder
Nothing whatsoever taken from the abysmally-mastered 2005 compilation Singles, and many taken from mint vinyl copies.
Three RAR's as usual, gotta grab 'em all of course...
Part I / Part II / Part III
enjoy!
Monday, July 20, 2009
a blog without qualities II: New Fast Automatic Daffodils II
One of the most popular features on the blog so far was my original post about those mad Mancunians New Fast Automatic Daffodils. Drawing comments from not one, but TWO musicians whose bands supported the New FADS on tour at one point or another, it's obvious this band has been sadly ignored by history.
I can't fix that but what I can do is post more out-of-print material for everyone.
Oddly enough one of the most-hyped American releases by this combo was their Peel Sessions release on Dutch East India Trading - home of Homestead Records, Giant Records, Rockville Records, and numerous other tiny indies that fell off the map when the home label Dutch East ceased trading around 2000.
While various bands' American versions of their Peel Session releases, through Dutch East India Trading, often featured different cover art then the UK variants, the New FADS' American cover art for this record is about the worst I've ever seen on a commercial release. No wonder it didn't sell.
Original UK version:
Nothing terribly bad, it looks like Strange Fruit commissioned the Happy Mondays' designers Central Station Design to design it.
On the other hand.......... Original US version:
My eyes! they burn! Really bad design - did they have the front office receptionist do this in 2 minutes as the product was going to manufacture?
Anyhow - the large image at the beginning of the post is your humble blogger's reappraisal of the Peel Sessions design. At the very least it looks good and in line with the rest of the band's releases of this period.
So without further ado......
01 Purple Haze
02 A Man Without Qualities II
03 Jaggerbog
04 Big II (Instrumental)
05 Get Better
06 Part Four
07 A Man Without Qualities I
1-4 recorded 19 Dec. 1989, broadcast 9 Jan 1990
5-7 recorded 11 Nov. 1990, broadcast 24 Nov. 1990
One ZIP file for you -- CLICK HERE.
-----
Tracks 1 through 4 display clearly why the New FADS were once labeled "The Fastest Men In Pop" or some such nonsense - they are blistering! "Big II" is almost a new track entirely, albeit based on "Big" itself. I can't imagine how spectacular the musical bed of "Big II" would sound combined with Andy Spearpoint's vocals on "Big" itself.
-----------------------------
On another note, I must mention that the "Big" CD single tracks as included in the previous New FADS download here were incomplete and/or not sourced from the proper release ("Big" itself from a compilation, for example).
Here be the entirety of the actual UK Big CD single (Playtime Records, Amuse 7CD) for you - the full Instrumental variant (similar to "Big II" from Peely), Baka and of course the full-length "Big" in itself.
Get it! (one ZIP file)
01 Big
02 Big (Baka)
03 Big (instrumental)
I can't fix that but what I can do is post more out-of-print material for everyone.
Oddly enough one of the most-hyped American releases by this combo was their Peel Sessions release on Dutch East India Trading - home of Homestead Records, Giant Records, Rockville Records, and numerous other tiny indies that fell off the map when the home label Dutch East ceased trading around 2000.
While various bands' American versions of their Peel Session releases, through Dutch East India Trading, often featured different cover art then the UK variants, the New FADS' American cover art for this record is about the worst I've ever seen on a commercial release. No wonder it didn't sell.
Original UK version:
Nothing terribly bad, it looks like Strange Fruit commissioned the Happy Mondays' designers Central Station Design to design it.
On the other hand.......... Original US version:
My eyes! they burn! Really bad design - did they have the front office receptionist do this in 2 minutes as the product was going to manufacture?
Anyhow - the large image at the beginning of the post is your humble blogger's reappraisal of the Peel Sessions design. At the very least it looks good and in line with the rest of the band's releases of this period.
So without further ado......
01 Purple Haze
02 A Man Without Qualities II
03 Jaggerbog
04 Big II (Instrumental)
05 Get Better
06 Part Four
07 A Man Without Qualities I
1-4 recorded 19 Dec. 1989, broadcast 9 Jan 1990
5-7 recorded 11 Nov. 1990, broadcast 24 Nov. 1990
One ZIP file for you -- CLICK HERE.
-----
Tracks 1 through 4 display clearly why the New FADS were once labeled "The Fastest Men In Pop" or some such nonsense - they are blistering! "Big II" is almost a new track entirely, albeit based on "Big" itself. I can't imagine how spectacular the musical bed of "Big II" would sound combined with Andy Spearpoint's vocals on "Big" itself.
-----------------------------
On another note, I must mention that the "Big" CD single tracks as included in the previous New FADS download here were incomplete and/or not sourced from the proper release ("Big" itself from a compilation, for example).
Here be the entirety of the actual UK Big CD single (Playtime Records, Amuse 7CD) for you - the full Instrumental variant (similar to "Big II" from Peely), Baka and of course the full-length "Big" in itself.
Get it! (one ZIP file)
01 Big
02 Big (Baka)
03 Big (instrumental)
Friday, July 3, 2009
R.E.M. "Tourfilm 2.0: The Audio, enhanced"
I just can't help it. The alluring melodies of Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe have been refusing to leave my ears of late. I go through these periods where an artist captivates my entire attention for sometimes weeks on end. I might switch to a different artist for an album or two, just as a mid-session palate cleanser, but I end up coming back to the original artist. And not until the next one dislodges the original artist do I stop.
I happen to be amidst one of these R.E.M. periods - not a bad period to be stuck in, I admit - and keep coming back to their live stuff. Of late I've been watching a lot of their 1990 live video Tourfilm, an exercise in "guerrilla filmmaking" that is so far outside the typical "you saw the gig, now here's the live video" it's an artpiece in itself.
Not only is the video itself great, the performance is spectacular. Coming at the end of 1989's yearlong Green World Tour, the band was as tight as they've ever been, and the songs themselves are fantastic.
Some time back I made my own Enhanced version of the video's audio soundtrack. What was presented on the video aren't all the songs that were released from these same several gigs filmed, there are a couple live tracks that saw release elsewhere but for whatever reason not included on the video. Also, the tracks have been somewhat resequenced on the video - while this video was assembled from five different gigs, the set staples tended to be performed in the same order from night to night, and I was able to resequence the out-of-sequence tracks into what was performed on those particular nights.
Additionally I also tracked separately some of Stipe's intro musical snippets, at least where it made sense to do so. And I also detailed out the two new-at-the-time tracks "Belong" and "Low" - neither of which were listed or mentioned on the video itself, but were indeed filmed and snippets of each included in the video - which would ultimately be recorded the following year for the 1991 album Out Of Time.
So here it is, the Power of Independent Trucking's Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced - enjoy!
As usual, lossless requests will be considered.....
R.E.M.
Tourfilm
Recording dates/locations:
7 November 1989 - Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
8 November 1989 - VA Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
10 November 1989 - Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
11 November 1989 - Macon County Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
13 November 1989 - L.E.A.F. Benefit, Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
- - -
Original video tracklisting:
Stand / The One I Love / These Days / Turn You Inside-Out / World Leader Pretend / Feeling Gravitys Pull / I Believe / I Remember California / Get Up / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) / Pop Song 89 / Fall On Me / You Are The Everything / Begin The Begin / King Of Birds / Finest Worksong / Perfect Circle
Not listed on the packaging: Snippets of "Belong" and "Low", the mini intros "We Live As We Dream, Alone" / "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" / "With The People", and the closing track "Afterhours"
- - -
Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced
01 Stand
02 The One I Love
03 So. Central Rain (detail)
04 Turn You Inside-Out
05 Belong (full version from 10 Nov. 1989)
06 Orange Crush
07 Feeling Gravitys Pull
08 These Days
09 We Live As We Dream, Alone / World Leader Pretend
10 poem ("I'll Believe in Anything When I'm There...")
11 Future 40's (String Of Pearls)
12 I Believe
13 I Remember California
14 Get Up
15 It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
16 Pop Song 89
17 Fall On Me
18 You Are The Everything
19 Begin The Begin
20 With The People
21 King Of Birds
22 Low (detail)
23 Finest Worksong
24 Perfect Circle
25 Afterhours
sources:
Tracks 5 and 6 from the "Radio Song" Collector's Edition CD Single
All the rest from Tourfilm DVD
09 "We Live As We Dream, Alone" intro - Gang of Four
10 "poem" - unknown poet
11 "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" - Syd Straw and Michael Stipe
20 "With The People" - Kevn Kinney
Sequencing assistance: The R.E.M. Timeline
Oh, you want the music?
Part I
Part II
(two RAR files, as usual, you gotta grab 'em both!)
I happen to be amidst one of these R.E.M. periods - not a bad period to be stuck in, I admit - and keep coming back to their live stuff. Of late I've been watching a lot of their 1990 live video Tourfilm, an exercise in "guerrilla filmmaking" that is so far outside the typical "you saw the gig, now here's the live video" it's an artpiece in itself.
Not only is the video itself great, the performance is spectacular. Coming at the end of 1989's yearlong Green World Tour, the band was as tight as they've ever been, and the songs themselves are fantastic.
Some time back I made my own Enhanced version of the video's audio soundtrack. What was presented on the video aren't all the songs that were released from these same several gigs filmed, there are a couple live tracks that saw release elsewhere but for whatever reason not included on the video. Also, the tracks have been somewhat resequenced on the video - while this video was assembled from five different gigs, the set staples tended to be performed in the same order from night to night, and I was able to resequence the out-of-sequence tracks into what was performed on those particular nights.
Additionally I also tracked separately some of Stipe's intro musical snippets, at least where it made sense to do so. And I also detailed out the two new-at-the-time tracks "Belong" and "Low" - neither of which were listed or mentioned on the video itself, but were indeed filmed and snippets of each included in the video - which would ultimately be recorded the following year for the 1991 album Out Of Time.
So here it is, the Power of Independent Trucking's Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced - enjoy!
As usual, lossless requests will be considered.....
R.E.M.
Tourfilm
Recording dates/locations:
7 November 1989 - Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
8 November 1989 - VA Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
10 November 1989 - Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
11 November 1989 - Macon County Coliseum, Macon, Georgia
13 November 1989 - L.E.A.F. Benefit, Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
- - -
Original video tracklisting:
Stand / The One I Love / These Days / Turn You Inside-Out / World Leader Pretend / Feeling Gravitys Pull / I Believe / I Remember California / Get Up / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) / Pop Song 89 / Fall On Me / You Are The Everything / Begin The Begin / King Of Birds / Finest Worksong / Perfect Circle
Not listed on the packaging: Snippets of "Belong" and "Low", the mini intros "We Live As We Dream, Alone" / "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" / "With The People", and the closing track "Afterhours"
- - -
Tourfilm 2.0 - The Audio, enhanced
01 Stand
02 The One I Love
03 So. Central Rain (detail)
04 Turn You Inside-Out
05 Belong (full version from 10 Nov. 1989)
06 Orange Crush
07 Feeling Gravitys Pull
08 These Days
09 We Live As We Dream, Alone / World Leader Pretend
10 poem ("I'll Believe in Anything When I'm There...")
11 Future 40's (String Of Pearls)
12 I Believe
13 I Remember California
14 Get Up
15 It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
16 Pop Song 89
17 Fall On Me
18 You Are The Everything
19 Begin The Begin
20 With The People
21 King Of Birds
22 Low (detail)
23 Finest Worksong
24 Perfect Circle
25 Afterhours
sources:
Tracks 5 and 6 from the "Radio Song" Collector's Edition CD Single
All the rest from Tourfilm DVD
09 "We Live As We Dream, Alone" intro - Gang of Four
10 "poem" - unknown poet
11 "Future 40's (String Of Pearls)" - Syd Straw and Michael Stipe
20 "With The People" - Kevn Kinney
Sequencing assistance: The R.E.M. Timeline
Oh, you want the music?
Part I
Part II
(two RAR files, as usual, you gotta grab 'em both!)
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