#SynthPopSeptember

Another of my occasional engagements with Musk's Mad World, the theme this time being thirty days of synth pop throughout September.

No surprise that the likes of Visage, Depeche Mode, Chvrches, Duran Duran, AIR, New Order, LCD Soundsystem, Blancmange, O.M.D., Goldfrapp, Bronski Beat, Hot Chip, Pet Shop Boys and The Human League were generally well represented by their best-known songs.

 

It was a lot of fun and an opportunity to offer up some lesser tweeted songs by many of the above plus Fad Gadget, Les Rythmes Digitales, Ladytron, Alan Vega, Telex, Boytronic and La Roux, several of whom have featured in posts this month.

My 30 synth pop choices in full were

1) Lady Shave (Single Version): Fad Gadget (1981)

2) Sleep On The Left Side (Les Rythmes Digitales' Living By Numbers Mix): Cornershop (1998)

3) The Black Hit Of Space (Album Version): The Human League (1980)

4) The Sun And The Rainfall (Album Version) (Cover of Depeche Mode): Marsheaux (2015)

5) Cccan't You See... (Single Version): Vicious Pink (1984)

6) Almost (Album Version): O.M.D. (1980)

7) Leave In Silence (Single Version): Depeche Mode (1982)

8) (Hey You) What's That Sound? (Album Version): Les Rythmes Digitales (1999)

9) Clean Your House (The Emperor Machine Extended Remix): Blancmange (2020)

10) Pale Green Ghosts (Album Version): John Grant (2013)

11) Synthesize (Single Version): Autumn (1981)

12) Real Thoughts In Real Time (Vince Clarke Extended Version): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2023)

13) Frozen Faces (Single Mix): Propaganda (1985)

14) Let's All Make A Bomb (New Version): Heaven 17 (1983)

15) Gun (Album Version): Chvrches (2013)

16) Saturn Drive (Extended / Album Version): Alan Vega (1983)

17) Seventeen (Darren Emerson Radio Edit): Ladytron (2003)

18) Stand Up (Get Down) (7" Version): Kissing The Pink (1988)

19) You (Extended Version): Boytronic (1983)

20) The Walk (Album Version): Eurythmics (1982)

21) Mixed Bizness (Nu Wave Dreamix By Les Rythmes Digitales): Beck (2000)

22) Moskow Diskow (French 12" Version): Telex (1979)

23) Glam (Album Version): Icehouse (1982)

24) Let Me Down Gently (Prins Thomas Diskomiks): La Roux (2014)

25) Disenchanted (Album Version): The Communards (1986)

26) Mister Imperator (Album Version): Telefís (2022)

27) Lies (Bigger & Better) (12" Version): Thompson Twins (1983)

28) Jackson's Last Stand (Radio Edit): Où Est Le Swimming Pool (2009)

29) When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' (Album Version): Sparks (1994)

30) Pleasure Boys (Special Dance Mix): Visage (1982)

As my final contribution is being tweeted today, here's a random 10-song selection from the 30, spanning four decades and neatly squeezing onto an imaginary C90 cassette side. Click on the song title links for more YT goodies. Enjoy!

 

1) Pale Green Ghosts (Album Version): John Grant (2013)

2) Cccan't You See... (Single Version): Vicious Pink (1984)

3) Stand Up (Get Down) (7" Version): Kissing The Pink (1988)

4) Glam (Album Version): Icehouse (1982)

5) Frozen Faces (Single Mix): Propaganda (1985)

6) When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' (Album Version): Sparks (1994)

7) Real Thoughts In Real Time (Vince Clarke Extended Version): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2023)

8) Synthesize (Single Version): Autumn (1981)

9) Mister Imperator (Album Version): Telefís (2022)

10) Clean Your House (The Emperor Machine Extended Remix): Blancmange (2020)

 

1981: Synthesize EP: 8

1982: Primitive Man: 4

1984: Cccan't You See... EP: 2

1985: p: Machinery EP / A Secret Wish (CD bonus track): 5

1988: Stand Up EP: 3 

1994: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins: 6

2013: Pale Green Ghosts: 1

2020: Clean Your House EP: 10

2022: a hAon: 9

2023: Real Thoughts In Real Time EP: 7

 

#SynthPop September (46:02) (KF) (Mega)

I Still Know What You Did Last Sombre

Side 2 of a mix CD-R, originally compiled for my brother and burned on 4th December 2006.

 

The previous post was described as the 'downtempo side'. Side 2 is definitely more upbeat, musically at least, even if the lyrics poke at the festering sore of humanity on occasion.

Adding to Side 1's sole album release from 2006 (Scritti Politti), there are three more on this side. I don't listen Writer's Block by Peter, Björn & John that often and I probably should as, hype at the time around Young Folks aside, I remember it being a pretty good album. Sparks are in constant rotation so and I have a lot but not all of their albums, so Hello Young Lovers (and Lil' Beethoven, also represented here) get regular airings at Casa K.  

 

Charlotte Gainsbourg's 2006 album 5:55 (her belated second) was already in the bargain bin when I bought it on CD later that year but it was a revelation. The album seemed to have a bit of a Marmite reaction from reviewers at the time as I recall but it was an immediate winner for me. When you've got AIR, Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon working with you on your songs and Nigel Godrich, can you go wrong? I didn't think so. The Swede posted about ten go-to albums on his blog Unthought Of, Though, Somehow last week. Deliberately avoiding the big hitters, it threw up some interesting choices. 5:55 by Charlotte Gainsbourg is one of my go-to album, a "musical comfort blanket", as The Swede so brilliantly describes it.

 

I'd been trying and failing to get hold of Kevin Shields' wonderful remix of Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo for a while, when it became one of my very first internet downloads (dial-up on a custom-made PC, so you can imagine that it took a fair while just to get a nine-minute track. It was a fairly ropy rip as I recall. Thankfully, both Yo La Tengo and their label Matador agreed as it finally got a re-release in 2005 as part of the superb Prisoners Of Love collection...well, the limited edition 3CD set, at least. This is a perfect marriage of artists that makes me wish they had done more together.

The opening pair of songs came from cover mounted cassettes with Select magazine, so will come with some quality limitations given the source. Positive I.D. originally appeared on Renegade Soundwave's second album and was released in multiple remixes as a single. This is my favourite mix of them all, making the most of the Bryan Ferry sample.

Don't Fight It Feel It by Primal Scream is good in any version that I've heard, but this version amply demonstrates their ability to inject the funk and ratchet up the guitar for a live audience. Denise Johnson takes it all in her stride and delivers a powerful vocal. I wish I'd been able to experience her magnificence in person.

Fosbury by Tahiti 80 was another chance bargain bin discovery - I think I paid 50p for this one in the Virgin Megastore in Bristol. The 'special edition' with two bonus songs, no less. It's a great album, and introduction to the band, not least with Big Day. As good a statement of intent as you could wish for. I'm not kept pace with Tahiti 80, to be honest, though I see that they're still a going concern. One for the next Bandcamp Friday shopping list.

I closed things off with Chris Morris, with a one-off release for Warp Records in 2003 and following up their collaboration on the Blue Jam album (2000) and My Wrongs 8245–8249 & 117 short film (2002). Bushwhacked 2 as you might guess, featured chopped up snippets of speech from then-incumbent White House cretin George 'Dubya' Bush. This compilation featured the original 'Raw Feed' version but I've opted to swap it for Adrian Sutton's orchestral rework, which I think works a little better in context. Sadly, with the Orange Baby previously in post and threatening to do so again, no editing and rearranging needed as he says similar stuff of his own volition. What times we live in!

 

1) Positive I.D. (Security Analysis Remix): Renegade Soundwave (1994)

2) Don't Fight It Feel It (Alive In Tokyo): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson (1994) 

3) Big Day: Tahiti 80 (2004)

4) Suburban Homeboy: Sparks (2002)

5) AF607105 (Album Version By Nigel Godrich): Charlotte Gainsbourg (2006)

6) Autumn Sweater (Remixed By Kevin Shields): Yo La Tengo (1997)

7) Metaphor: Sparks (2006)

8) Amsterdam: Peter, Björn & John (2006)

9) Bushwhacked 2 (Adrian Sutton Mounting - Orchestral Mix): Chris Morris (2003)

 

1994: Secret Tracks (Select magazine promo cassette): 1

1994: Secret Tracks 2 (Select magazine promo cassette): 2

1997: Autumn Sweater EP: 6

2002: Lil' Beethoven: 4 

2003: Bushwhacked EP: 9

2004: Fosbury: 3 

2006: 5:55: 5

2006: Hello Young Lovers: 7

2006: Writer's Block: 8

 

Side Two (40:07) (KF) (Mega)

Side One here

#45sUnder3

I wouldn't say I put 100% into maintaining a presence on Twitter (or X or whatever Ego Musk is calling it these days, but I have participated in a couple of themed series, inviting people to share music. 

The first was a month-long celebration of 12" mixes from the 1980s and it was a lot of fun, sharing some old favourites and criminally forgotten or underrated tunes. This month (July), the theme has been singles that come in at 3 minutes or less. I didn't have a particular plan and was pretty much selecting a song at random on a daily basis. This in turn frequently informed many of my posts this month, more often than not leading me to get carried away with my "research" and deviating significantly from the song that prompted it.

Again, it's been good fun to see what other people would come up with each day. Needless to say, some stone cold classics have been well represented through the month: Boys Don't Cry by The Cure, Destroy The Heart by The House Of Love, Outdoor Miner by Wire, Monkey Gone To Heaven by Pixies, Reward by The Teardrop Explodes, Town Called Malice by The Jam, pretty much everything by Buzzcocks. Most genres have also been served well: reggae, soul, pop, punk, dance; not much prog, but to be fair 3 mins would be barely enough for the intro.

So, the series ends today and I chopped and changed my mind about what to include, mindful that I'd not yet included anything by Pixies, Julian Cope and dozens of other favourites. In the end, the choice was obvious: a band that has informed my love of music ever since I was a toddler, was a highlight of this year's Glastonbury (on TV) experience and who have released yet another brilliant album, up there in my 2023 'best of'. Oh, and with a great video to boot. Yes, of course, it's Sparks.

Despite being a daunting 31 song selection, the #45sUnder3 theme means that the entire thing comes in at under an hour and a half. The opening track is a bit of a red herring, but then where else would you heard Nine Inch Nails followed by Sub Sub featuring Melanie Williams?! The remaining selection is eclectic, jumping decades and genres with gleeful abandon and yet... I quite it. I hope you do too.

1) March Of The Pigs (Album Version): Nine Inch Nails (1994)

2) Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use) (Original Edit): Sub Sub ft. Melanie Williams (1993)

3) Sign Of The Times (Album Version): The Belle Stars (1983)

4) Nothing To Worry About (Album Version): Peter, Björn & John (2009)

5) Bizarre Love Triangle (Cover of New Order): Devine & Statton (1989)

6) The Pictures On My Wall (Single Version): Echo & The Bunnymen (1979)

7) Hyper Lust (Album Version): MOTOR ft. Billie Ray Martin (2012)

8) You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It!): The Undertones (1979)

9) Dusk Till Dawn (Album Version): Ladyhawke (2008)

10) Souleater: Clouds (1991)

11) Simply Thrilled Honey (Single Version): Orange Juice (1980)

12) D-Days (Single Mix): Hazel O'Connor (1981)

13) The Ugly Bug Ball: Burl Ives (1963)

14) Heart It Races (Album Version): Architecture In Helsinki (2007)

15) Action Time Vision: Alternative TV (1978)

16) Blue Boot (Single Version): Eric Donaldson (1972)

17) Hot Fun In The Summertime (Single Version): Sly & The Family Stone (1969)

18) Cybele's Reverie (Single Version): Stereolab (1996)

19) White Knuckle Ride (Single Version): Danielle Dax (1988)

20) I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape (Album Version): The Times (1982)

21) (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman: Aretha Franklin (1967)

22) The Music (Single Version): Hifi Sean ft. Celeda (2018)

23) Mellow Doubt (Album Version): Teenage Fanclub (1995)

24) I Want Everything: The Godfathers (1986)

25) Thinking 'Bout You (Album Version): Dua Lipa (2017)

26) Lava (Album Version): Silver Sun (1996)

27) She’s A Fighter: Robert Forster (2023)

28) Triple Trouble (Album Version): Beastie Boys (2004)

29) Beak: HANN (2019)

30) Backwards Dog (Single Version): The Soup Dragons (1989)

31) The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte: Sparks (2023)

 

#45sUnder3 (1:23:12) (KF) (Mega)

Just One Fleeting Glance

I finally got to see Sparks' headline performance at Glastonbury at the weekend, an hour-long set that was just brilliant from start to finish.

The title track of their current album, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, is delivered two songs in with a special guest appearance from Cate Blanchett, recreating her moves from the video. The rest of the show includes some obvious/inevitable classics including The Number One Song In Heaven (with Ron's mid-song dance routine) and This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us. 

It was also great to hear When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' from Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (1994) and the title songs from Angst In My Pants (1982), Music That You Can Dance To (1986) and Balls (2000), a reminder of just how deep and rich their music catalogue is.

Hard to believe that this was Sparks first appearance at Glastonbury in their own right (they appeared with Franz Ferdinand as FFS in 2015) and they absolutely smashed it.

To celebrate, another single from the latest album was released a few days ago. Escalator wasn't performed at Glastonbury but the video brings back memories of Mrs. K and I navigating the madness of the Shibuya and Roppongi escalators during our stop in Tokyo in 2005. Seems like a lifetime ago now.

Sticking with Japan, CD releases there frequently feature bonus tracks and The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte is no exception. This Is Not The World I Signed Up For could be a single in it's own right, it's that good.

Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is

Sparks' 25th album, The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, is finally with us at the end of next week. Following the title song in March, a second single and video dropped on Friday.

Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is, track three on the album, is a glorious 4-minute romp that recalls their classic run of albums on Island in the mid-1970s. Which is fitting, as Sparks have returned to the label after four and a half decades for this release.

The video is comprised mainly of crying babies and on-screen lyrics which articulate a desire to return to the womb, mere hours after clocking the world that they've been born into. 

I'm biased of course, but this song is brilliant. Links to purchase the album are here.

 

 

Nothing is as good as they say it is
That's the way it is, I wish I'd known beforehand
I was born just 22 hours ago
But I want to go back to my former quarters

Mama mama, can you accommodate
Mama mama, tell me I'm not too late
Mama mama, can you co-operate
This will not work, I'm sure

Nothing is as good as they say it is
And I'd be remiss if I weren't honest with you
This is not a place that I can exist
Not ungratefulness, I just don't want this, want this

Mama mama, is there a remedy
Can I just go back to where I used to be
I was happy where I was previously
Just floating there, stood tall

Mama mama, please sympathise
This has been such a bad surprise
I won't ask any more from you
I can live with a lousy viеw

Nothing is as good as they say it is
That's the way it is, I wish I'd known beforеhand
I was born just 22 hours ago
But I've seen enough to make a wise decision

All your standards must be so very low
This is not a place that I'd want to go
How can you exist in a place like this
I surely can't, oh no!

Take a look around and you'd understand
This is not a place I could ever stand
Ugliness, anxiety, phony tans
It ain't for me, that's all

Thank you both for this special chance
Were I born in the south of France
I would feel less resistant to
Somewhere that just deserves adieu

Nothing is as good as they say it is
That's the way it is, I wish I'd known beforehand
Nothing is as good as they say it is
That's the way it is, I wish I'd known beforehand

All your standards must be so very low
This is not a place that I'd want to go
How can you exist in a place like this
I surely can't, oh no!

Nothing is as good as they say it is
Nothing is as good as they say it is

Guess The World Is To Blame

After a really bad day at work, sometimes three minutes of Sparks is all it takes to turn things around. Especially when the video features Cate Blanchett doing some spectacular on-the-spot dancing in a yellow suit.

The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte is the title track of their forthcoming album - their 25th, I think - due in May. I'm so looking forward to it.

Think For Yourself And Question Authority

I'm a big fan of Richard Norris and Dave Ball's respective and prolific careers in music, so it's little surprise that I also love their work together as The Grid.

As well as hit singles and albums of their own, The Grid were ubiquitous remixers throughout the 1990s and I'd often buy a single by an artist that I wasn't all that fussed about because there was a remix by The Grid included.

Today's selection therefore focuses on The Grid as remix artists, drawing from 1990 to 1994, including a remix of themselves (featuring Dr. Timothy Leary) and Dave's former band, Soft Cell. Your Loving Arms by Billie Ray Martin initially scraped into the UK Top 40 in November 1994, but triumphantly returned to #6 when re-released in May 1995.

 

Some personal favourites from Sparks and Brian Eno, a couple of rarer tracks by Stex (featuring Johnny Marr) and Ragged Jack and single remixes of Sophie B. Hawkins and If? that I think improved on the original versions. 

 

And what better way to end than with World Of Twist? Their album Quality Street was produced by The Grid and deserved so much better than #50 in the UK album chart, as single Sweets (criminally peaked at #58) attests.

1) Still Feel The Rain (The Grid Mix): Stex ft. Johnny Marr (1990)

2) Your Loving Arms (Original Radio Edit By BRM & The Grid): Billie Ray Martin (1994)

3) Origins Of Dance (Electronic Future Mix By The Grid): Dr. Timothy Leary Meets The Grid (1990)

4) When Do I Get To Sing 'My Way' (The Grid's Frank And Nancy Mix): Sparks (1994)

5) Memorabilia '91 (Extended Remix By The Grid): Soft Cell (1991)

6) Saturday's Angels (Elevator Heaven Mix By The Grid): If? (1991)

7) Right Beside You (The Grid 7" Mix): Sophie B. Hawkins (1994)

8) Ali Click (Long Trance Mix By The Grid): Brian Eno (1992)

9) Grid Radical (Twilight Mix By The Grid): Ragged Jack (1992)

10) Sweets (Album Version By The Grid): World Of Twist (1991)

Think For Yourself And Question Authority (55:09) (KF) (Mega)

Can't You See The Existential Threat Is On It's Way?

One thousand, eight hundred and twenty seven seconds of Sparks to illuminate your Tuesday. The Mael brothers are much loved here and, having 30 minutes to kill the other evening when Mrs. K took a phone call part way through our evening TV, I found myself trawling YouTube for Sparks videos.

I love Sparks so much, in fact, that in my opinion I could take a random 30-minute selection from any of their 24 studio albums and it would be a great listen. Here's the test.

I haven't duplicated any songs that I've used in last year's Sparks post or as part of any other previous Dubhed selections. I also avoided the classic early 1970s trio of Kimono My House, Propaganda and Indiscreet, as well my other personal favourite, No. 1 In Heaven.

It's half-and-half 20th and 21st century, spanning the (currently) six decades of Sparks' recording career. Is it a keeper? You'll be the judge of that.

 

1) Big Boy (1976)

2) Giddy Giddy (2017)

3) Occupation (1977)

4) The Ghost Of Liberace (1994)

5) Your Call's Very Important To Us. Please Hold. (2002)

6) Eaten By The Monster Of Love (1982)

7) (She Got Me) Pregnant (2008)

8) The Existential Threat (Album Version) (2020)

 

1976: Big Beat: 1

1977: Introducing Sparks: 3

1982: Angst In My Pants: 6

1994: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins: 4

2002: Lil' Beethoven: 5

2008: Exotic Creatures Of The Deep: 7

2017: Hippopotamus: 2

2020: A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip: 8

 

Can't You See The Existential Threat Is On It's Way? (30:27) (Box) (Mega)

What's The Prediction? I'll Betcha It's Friction!

Listening to the Ramones recently got me digging out more tunes from 1976 to 1978, leading to today's selection, spanning 19 songs and a smidge over 1 hour.

There are perhaps some obvious choices: Ready Steady Go by Generation X, Friction by Television, What Do I Get? by Buzzcocks, The Passenger by Iggy Pop. I've thrown in a few other singles, B-sides and live performances by Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Eater, Protex, Magazine and Joy Division (belated happy 65th birthday for yesterday, Stephen Morris!)

 

I've also included a few choice album tracks by Ramones, The Clash, David Johansen, Talking Heads and Wire. Add to that a handful oddities and 'lost' tunes by Big In Japan, The Scenics and Adam & The Ants (covering Perry Como!) and it's enough to stir this sedentary sequencer of songs.

 

1) Ready Steady Go (Album Version): Generation X (1978)

2) What's Your Game (Album Version): Ramones (1977)

3) Tiny Steps: Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1978)

4) Thinkin' Of The U.S.A.: Eater (1977)

5) Catch A Falling Star (Unreleased Version) (Cover of Perry Como): Adam & The Ants (1977)

6) Last Gang In Town: The Clash (1978)

7) Confusion: Sparks (1976)

8) Cindy And The Barbi Dolls: Big In Japan (1978)

9) Friction (Album Version): Television (1977)

10) Touch And Go (Live @ Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester): Magazine (1978)

11) At A Later Date (Live @ Electric Circus, Manchester): Joy Division (1977)

12) In The Sun (Album Version): Blondie (1976)

13) Not That Much: David Johansen (1978)

14) Don't Ring Me Up: Protex (1978)

15) What Do I Get?: Buzzcocks (1978)

16) Stay Hungry (Album Version): Talking Heads (1978)

17) Do The Wait: The Scenics (1977)

18) The Passenger (Album Version): Iggy Pop (1977)

19) Champs: Wire (1977)

1976: Big Beat: 7

1976: Blondie: 12

1977: Leave Home: 2

1977: Lust For Life: 18

1977: Marquee Moon: 9 

1977: Pink Flag: 19

1977: Thinkin' Of The U.S.A. EP: 4

1978: David Johansen: 13 

1978: Don't Ring Me Up EP: 14

1978: From Y To Z And Never Again EP: 8

1978: Generation X: 1

1978: Give 'Em Enough Rope: 6 

1978: More Songs About Buildings And Food: 16

1978: Radio Radio EP: 3

1978: Short Circuit: Live At The Electric Circus: 11 

1978: What Do I Get? EP: 15

2000: Ant Box: 5

2009: Play + (Expanded 2CD Edition): 10

2009: Sunshine World: Studio Recordings 1977-78: 17

What's The Prediction? I'll Betcha It's Friction! (1:01:30)

Hell For Leather On A Helter Skelter

Sometimes, only a poptastic playlist will do. Over 500 posts in and I'm surprised that this is the first appearance on this blog for a-ha, The Lover Speaks, Kool & The Gang, The Kane Gang, Split Enz and ABC (unless you count the latter's appearance in a mash-up mix by Go Home Productions last year).

 

I have a large sub-folder of music, which was my go-to when Lady K was very young. Very loosely labelled "Pop", it is better described as upbeat, uptempo songs without any sweary bits, although I came a cropper when this one popped up in the car. Fortunately, Mrs. K wasn't present and the F-word wasn't firmly embedded in Lady K's vocabulary from there on.

 

I'm a little bit more relaxed about the playlist these days, although you still won't find me playing either "Part 4" of this song by Alexei Sayle from the 12" vinyl or the current single by Julian Cope when Clan K are within earshot.

 

No parental advisory for this selection, 11 tunes for a (hopefully) sunny September Saturday, wherever you are.

 

1) Take On Me (Extended Version By Alan Tarney): a-ha (1985)

2) Every Lover's Sign (7" Remix By Andy Wallace & Bruce Forest): The Lover Speaks (1986)

3) Think Twice (Edit): Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band ft. Christine Sandtorv (2003)

4) Take It To The Top (Album Version By Eumir Deodato): Kool & The Gang (1980)

5) Funky Kingston: Toots & The Maytals (1973)

6) Beat The Clock (Short Version By Giorgio Moroder): Sparks (1979)

7) Six Months In A Leaky Boat (Album Version): Split Enz (1982)

8) Respect Yourself (R & B Mix) (Cover of The Staple Singers): The Kane Gang (1984)

9) Mystify (Album Version): INXS (1987)

10) I Want You To Know (Album Version): Charlotte Hatherley (2007)

11) Viva Love (Album Version): ABC (2016)

Hell For Leather On A Helter Skelter (45:06)

Just Walk Don't Talk

A companion of sorts to the Floorshow compilation I posted last summer, it's back to the alternative 1980s for a lucky 13 of 12" and extended versions.

I've stuck with most of the artists from Floorshow, but with different song selections, the majority of which haven't appeared on this blog previously. Again, whilst many of these songs didn't make it onto the decks at the alternative pubs and clubs I bothered as a pan-stick caked and hairpsrayed teen, they would get played to death at home, to my parents' frequent dismay.

I've managed to hold onto some of the original vinyl 12" singles: The Sisters Of Mercy, The Damned (transparent yellow vinyl 10"), Siouxsie & The Banshees, Psychic TV. Others have been replaced with shiny disc. A couple - The March Violets and the Razormaid mix of Vicious Pink - have been 21st century discoveries thanks to the power of the blogosphere. 

 

And yes, that misspelling of Ressurection Joe still bugs me, four decades on.

 

I think I'd need more than pan-stick and hairspray to look halfway decent this days, but the music takes me right back, even if there is a soundtrack of creaking bones and groans running in parallel...!

 

1) Stranger (Album Version By Clan Of Xymox, Ivo & John Fryer): Clan Of Xymox (1985)

2) This Corrosion (12" Version By Jim Steinman): The Sisters Of Mercy (1987)

3) Peppermint Pig (12" Version By Alan Rankine & John Fryer): Cocteau Twins (1983)

4) 506 (Full Length Version): The Leather Nun (1985)

5) Anything (And Yet Another Mix By Lance Phillips): The Damned (1986)

6) Sister Europe (Album Version By Steve Lillywhite): The Psychedelic Furs (1980)

7) Song From The Edge Of The World (Columbus Mix By Mike Thorne): Siouxsie & The Banshees (1987)

8) Walk Into The Sun (Extended): The March Violets (1984)

9) Modesty Plays (Long Version): Sparks (1983)

10) Take Me Now (Razormaid Mix By Joseph Watt): Vicious Pink (1986)

11) Swamp Thing (Full Length Album Version): The Chameleons (1986)

12) Roman P. (Fireball Mix By Mark Freegard): Psychic TV (1986)

13) Ressurection Joe (Long Version By Chris Kimsey): The Cult (1984)

Just Walk Don't Talk (1:20:16)

Eclectic Guitar

Side 2 of a mixtape, recorded 3rd October 1999. As the name suggests, an eclectic mix with lots of guitar and a slight pun on a song title by Talking Heads, who close proceedings with their debut single. 

This may be the only place (today, at least) where you'll find INXS sandwiched by His Name Is Alive and the Fatima Mansions and Beck followed by The Pastels, with some wry slice of life observations from Jarvis Cocker and Ed Ball, alongside stone cold Seventies classics by Wire, Sparks, Blondie and the aforementioned Talking Heads. 

1) 59 Lyndhurst Grove (Inside Susan: "A Story In Three Songs...", Part 3) (Single Version): Pulp (1993)

2) Wish I Had A Wishing Ring (Album Version): His Name Is Alive (1998)

3) Heaven Sent (Album Version): INXS (1992) 

4) Something Bad: The Fatima Mansions (1992)

5) Hasta Mañana, Monsieur: Sparks (1974)

6) Primrose 0882: The Times (1993)

7) Outdoor Miner (Long Version): Wire (1978)

8) One Way Or Another (Album Version): Blondie (1978)

9) Deadweight (Edit): Beck (1997)

10) Love, It's Getting Better (Cover of The Groove): The Pastels (1995)

11) Chemicrazy (Revitalized): That Petrol Emotion (1990)

12) Love → Building On Fire: Talking Heads (1977)

 

1974: Kimono My House: 5 

1977: Love → Building On Fire EP: 12

1978: Parallel Lines: 8

1989: On Returning (1977-1979): 7

1990: Sensitize EP: 11

1992: Valhalla Avenue: 4

1992: Welcome To Wherever You Are: 3 

1993: Baby Girl EP: 6

1993: Razzmatazz EP: 1 

1995: Worlds Of Possibility EP: 10

1997: Deadweight EP: 9

1998: Ft. Lake: 2

Side Two (46:08) (KF) (Mega)

W.O.R.K. Is A Four Letter Word

After what simultaneously seems like a long time and no time at all at home, Christmas and New Year is well and truly over and I'm back at work. I've mixed feelings, but today's selection will get me through the commute, at least.

Sadly, I couldn't find a place for this stone cold classic.

1) Welcome To The Working Week: Elvis Costello (1977)

2) Julie's Been Working For The Drug Squad: The Clash (1978) 

3) Don't Work That Hard: Scritti Politti (1985)

4) Women Around The World At Work (Album Version): Martha & The Muffins (1981)

5) From Bed To Work: Pony Club (2004)

6) Hard Work: Teitur (2013)

7) Finest Worksong (Album Version): R.E.M. (1987)

8) Model Worker (Live @ The Santa Monica Civic, Santa Monica): Magazine (1980)

9) Barnaby, Hardly Working (Version): Yo La Tengo (1989)

10) All Work And No Play (Extended Mix): Hüsker Dü (1986)

11) I Work In A Health Spa: The Go-Betweens (1986)

12) Right To Work: Chelsea (1977)

13) Birth, School, Work, Death (Extended Mix): The Godfathers (1989)

14) This Woman's Work (Director's Cut Version): Kate Bush (2011)

15) How To Hate The Working Classes: Luke Haines (2001)

16) I Can't Wait To Get Off Work (And See My Baby On Montgomery Avenue): Tom Waits (1976)

17) Fit And Working Again: The Fall (1981)

18) Let's Work Together: Canned Heat (1969)

19) At Home, At Work, At Play: Sparks (1974)

 

1969: Let's Work Together 7": 18

1974: Propaganda: 19 

1976: Small Change: 16

1977: My Aim Is True: 1

1978: Give 'Em Enough Rope: 2 

1978: The Outrageous Soundtrack From The Motion Picture "Jubilee": 12

1981: Slates: 17

1981: This Is The Ice Age: 4 

1981: Urgh! A Music War: 8

1985: Cupid & Psyche 85: 3

1986: Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely 12": 10

1987: Document: 7 

1989: Out On The Floor EP: 13

1989: President Yo La Tengo: 9

2001: Christie Malry's Own Double Entry. OST: 15

2004: Family Business: 5

2004: Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express (Expanded Edition): 11 

2011: Director's Cut: 14

2013: Story Music: 6

W.O.R.K. Is A Four Letter Word (1:14:19)