It's been about 20 years (give or take) since I fell in love with New Order courtesy of the fantastic Shep Pettibone remix of "Bizarre Love Triangle" as included on the Substance compilation.
Seeing as I heard the same track on a rerun of Cold Case today, it seems like a good time to revisit and celebrate a musical masterpiece.
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone Remix)
A true modern classic, I knew it had been covered by Frente! and Stabbing Westward with some success, and then discovered several other cover versions that run the gamut from industrial-techno to piano ballad, to whimsical acoustic readings. There have also been a slew of remixes, some by New Order themselves. Here are just a few:
Gravity Jones - Bizarre Love Triangle
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Crystal Method Remix)
Devine & Statton - Bizarre Love Triangle Charlotte Martin - Bizarre Love Triangle
Stabbing Westward - Bizarre Love Triangle
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle '94
I was researching some information on Youth Group's cover of the Alphaville classic "Forever Young" when I was reminded of how I discovered the original song in the first place. It led to some interesting musical developments for me personally so it seems appropriate to recognize this song in all the various versions.
Alphaville's one hit in the UK was "Big In Japan" in 1984 which was marginally before my time and the band did not feature on the 80's themed compilations I collected over the years. Although "Forever Young" is regarded as a prom-theme staple in the US, it also never charted and remained on the outskirts of '8o's musical history.
I'm not one to pay attention to commercials, but I caught a snippet of an ad for the Saturn Ion here in the US back in 2003 and was intrigued by the backing track. Here's the commercial:
I initially mistakenly thought the track was by The Walkmen, which led to a series of aborted downloads and confusion. After more research on some forums, I discovered that it was the Alphaville track. Here's the original music video (warning - extreme cheese alert!):
I was excited to discover that Alphaville was not only a prolific (though critically panned) outfit, but that I really liked the synthpop sound which was very polished, with slightly affected vocals. As I discovered, they had continued making music throughout the '90's and into the new millenium, in much the same style. I was mildly surprised, because synthpop had died in the UK in the late '80's and had never really flourished in the US.
What I discovered was that in Germany in particular, the synthpop sound had remained commercially viable, bucking the trends towards grunge, britpop and teen pop elsewhere, and that many German groups had built up an impressive catalogue completely unknown to me. Bands such as De/Vision, Camouflage, Sea of Sin and others became new favorites. I discovered that all this and more was available through the excellent website A Different Drum, which also acted as a US label for many acts.
While my passion for synthpop has ebbed and flowed over the following years, "Forever Young" will always remain a personal favorite. Another blogger has kindly put together the following short compilation, including the original version, the extended version, and a brilliant modern remix version. If that leaves you wanting more, then Jacyk's Music Memories has a more comprehensive compilation of remixes here.
If all this leaves you wanting more Alphaville, there's plenty around. Start here for a good rundown of various mixes of the better known songs.
And finally, let's not forget the cover version that started this whole stream of consciousness rambling:
Having gotten about half way through this very democratic and fair minded contest, I have decided that I am quite bored of it all by now, and choosing a list of candidates for about ten people to vote on is a little underwhelming. Therefore, in a crassly autocratic gesture, the self-appointed dictator of MFL has elected the following to complete the track listing. Any appeals from the gathered throng may be heard for one week - suggest an alternative and which one to drop and I may hear your pleas. Who-hoo!
9. The Killers - Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself 10. Love Spit Love - How Soon Is Now? 11. Gene Loves Jezebel - Ask 12. Carter USM - Panic 13. The Beautiful South - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now 14. Wojtek Godzisz - A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours 15. Cinerama - London 16. Stars - This Charming Man 17. Placebo - Bigmouth Strikes Again 18. Billy Bragg - Never Had No One Ever
Probably the most covered Smiths track. Many covers however are pale copies of the original and offer nothing new. Even though I don't think the original can be bettered, here are my selections:
Track 2 - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
As covered by:
Dream Academy Elefant Muse I also really like the version by The Scattered Pages. This version is available on a compilation produced to benefit the homeless and the MP3 is available to purchase at Amazon here. You can also stream the whole track here. Don't forget to vote for your favorite!
It seemed like a pretty straightforward idea at the time. I had just found a free sampler CD in a Record Store (remember those?) with Brit sop-smith Scott Matthews doing a cover of "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side". I thought I would post it, and realizing that I could come up with a few other decent Smiths covers, I elected to make a mixtape. Then I found out the truth.
There are hundreds of covers of Smiths and Morrissey songs out there. Hundreds. Every time I thought I'd discovered them all, another one came along, like a number two bus in a Doctor Who episode. What to do?
Here's the plan. I'm going to post a few at a time, along with a small poll where my beloved readers* can choose a favorite. If all goes well, I should end up with the definitive Smiths/Morrissey tribute CD, which I have already entitled "Nobody Loves Us" which seemed appropriate, ironic and, by the way, a nod to one of the Moz's better B-Sides.
As I'm not one of those Smiths obsessives (who, for example, might hang out all day at the hyperactive Smiths forums) I'm not planning to debate all the pros and cons of various versions. There's plenty of that elsewhere on the net. You could write a thesis if you want. But for me, either like/no-like is good enough. Oh, and if you heard a better one than I mention, feel free to let me know. Or not.
Track 1 - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Scott Matthews Bis JeJune Dinosaur Jr.
* This means you, Davy, Mikey and the gorgeous Miss Parker
It's been about 20 years (give or take) since I fell in love with New Order courtesy of the fantastic Shep Pettibone remix of "Bizarre Love Triangle" as included on the Substance compilation.
