From yesterday's sorrow to today's joy, celebrating 64 years of musical genius. It's not proven that Weller was composing music in the crib but I'm sure he was thinking about it.
I've had an on-off relationship with Weller's music, particularly his solo career, and sporadically purchase his albums, usually on the recommendation of friends and fellow bloggers.
What has always piqued my curiosity, however, has been Weller's openness to the art of the remix. From his earliest solo forays with the stunning Brendan Lynch remixes of Kosmos and Sunflower to last year's Fat Pop (Volume 1) reworkings by Pet Shop Boys, Jagz Kooner & Andrew Innes and Stone Foundation, they've always been of interest to me. At best, the songs are taken on a new, equally rewarding aural journey; at worst, they'll lift a song that I originally found less appealing.
So, to celebrate Weller's constant search for new sonic environments for his song ideas, here are 12 selections across the last three decades, coming in at a smidge under 64 minutes, one for each of Weller’s birthdays to date.
I have to give a credit to the superb Thirty Minute Paul Weller Remix Mix posted at Bagging Area in April, which planted the seed of inspiration for today's selection. I've managed to avoid duplicating any of Swiss Adam's selections, so I'd strongly recommend getting over there after listening to this for an extended Weller Remixed aural experience.
Tenuous link time: absolutely no apologies for today's punning post title; it came to me part way through the mix in a flash of inspiration (if you can indeed call it inspiration). The last time I featured Paul Weller (albeit as The Style Council) here was on 15th May 2022, which apparently was also the 7th National Pun Day in the USA (the UK seems to have plumped for 8th February instead). Either way, that's good enough for me.
1) Aim High (Aim Higher) (The Amorphous Androgynous Remix By Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain) (2010)
2) Phoenix (White Label Remix By Steve Aungle, Anth Brown & Tom Doyle) (2017)
3) That Pleasure (Get Involved) (Remixed By Stone Foundation) (2021)
4) Wishing On A Star (Steve Mason Remix For The Beta Band) (Cover of Rose Royce) (2006)
5) Brushed (Unreleased Brendan Lynch Remix #1) (1997)
6) Rockets (Jane Weaver / Mind Control Remix By Jane Weaver & Andy Votel) (2020)
7) Starlite (D-Pulse Remix) (2011)
8) Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (Remix By Brendan Lynch) (1994)
9) Fast Car, Slow Traffic (The Primal Scream Remix) (7" Version) (2010)
10) Rip Up The Pages (Lynchmob Mix By Brendan Lynch) (2008)
11) There's No Drinking After You're Dead (Noonday Underground Remix By Simon Dine) (2000)
12) Kosmos SX Dub 2000 (Remix By David Harry) (1993)
