"yer me best fuckin' mate...no...yer are..."

crikey, it's been four days since i last posted. i took saturday easy and went shopping on sunday intending to put up some killers that i found. unfortunately i thought i'd have a quick one on sunday night and well...you know the rest. my local has this stuff (see above) on at the moment. i thought i'd fill my boots because when it's gone it's gone. i got back about 11.30 p.m. and next door's cat decided to come in. i eventually got rid of him at 1 a.m. and went to bed for 5 hours. monday morning i felt like shit (and needed one). i went to bed at 8 pm and here we are tonight, feeling much better...aaah.

i've been looking around the competition just to see what they're up to and i can say some people are doing a damn fine job. most of the guys on the right of this page are putting up some "boss shit la" (as avid merrion would say (or leigh francis to his mum). i met him once before he was famous, we have a mutual friend. very funny guy, not like frank skinner who saves all his best material for his TV shows apparently.). one fella (and i assume it's a fella, correct me if i'm wrong) is called "i am a thief". the genius idea of his is to trawl other blogs and steal dialogue and arrange it in random order so it sort of makes sense. i spotted some of my stuff on there, quite amusing. he puts up some top music too. check the link on the right hand side.

about two weeks ago i was raving about that imagination cd with the "night dubbing" tracks on it. well this weekend i couldn't help myself and bought the actual "night dubbing" cd as well. it's got a "megamix" on it too. it's not very good, but i didn't know that at the time. the other tracks are sublime, but i've already told you that. the one track that isn't remixed by the original producers is "changes". instead up steps mr l. levan to take care of dancefloor business, and how ! christ on a bike, i'd forgotten how good some of his remixes are. alright some were pretty shit (anyone heard his first, "c is for cookie" by cookie monster off sesame street ? it got re-released some time back with a b-side of the pointer sisters doing that "1,2,3,4,5,...6,7,8,9,10...11,12" song. you know where that real trippy animation of a pinball goes around all the numbers ? it's ace !), but i digress. oh here it is, how much ? i wish i'd bought two now. there's also an original from 1978 going for 68 euros !

http://www.discogs.com/release/185027

another bloody belter is that remix of david joseph "you can't hide (your love from me)". now the worst thing is i could have had that years ago when it got re-issued but i didn't have a clue at the time. my local record shop was in heswall (on the wirral) called "sounds good". it was run by two little old ladies who were never going to break hmv's (then) stranglehold on music retail. it was full of 12"s for 99p because the reps just wanted them in the charts. i'm not going to bore you with any larry stories because i think they've all been told. everyone says he was a lovely person but liked drugs a bit too much. shame.

did you miss me ?

sorry i wasn't here last night, please accept my apologies.

today was quite spooky because i've been keeping this track for today and up pops a thread on my favourite messageboard about the producer. it's taken from resident advisor and you can find it here

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature-read.aspx?id=850

something else which caught my eye recently was the new issue of "finger" magazine, it's up to issue 3 now and i urge you to track down a copy. all manner of interesting musicians who've actually got something to say are included. where else could you find john foxx, daddy-o, van she and prince language ? ....thought not. order it from rough trade, phonica, innersounds (see link on right) or the website. i think it's really important to support publications like this as they probably don't make a profit but they are trying to make a difference to our listening/reading pleasure.

http://www.fingermag.com/

anyway back to that little article on resident advisor. this cat has been all over the boards and blogs recently under different pseudonyms doing his thing. his thing being taking a record and re-editing it to suit his style of dj'ing. there are for and against arguements for re-editing but people have been doing it for years. kool herc would re-edit live and ron hardy would play reel to reel edits to keep his sets special. even our own greg wilson has a revox B77 on his business card (probably). this member of the scandisco mafia has done his own productions but he seems to be more famous for his edits, get back in the studio fella (that's what i say). the track in question was (urban myth alert !) made as an almost piss take by the producer because his mates challenged him to make a cheesy italo record. the results were that good it got released.

so many tracks, so little time

Thanks for looking in tonight but i won't be rambling on as usual (sorry).

someone who absolutely fascinated me a few years back was tiga. i go through phases of this. a certain producer or dj captures the zeitgeist and i have to buy everything they do. this fella from canada had it locked down in 94/95. the end of 2003 had him on that felix mix on radio 1 with "sunglasses at night", 2004 had "pleasure of the bass" and 2005 had "you're gonna want me". i first heard it again on tongy's show and later bought the 12". the remix almost made me piss myself.

balearik soul brothers meet the B52's uptown

those fabulous balearik soul brothers have done a cheeky little edit of "planet claire". this isn't my fave track by them (the B52's not the balearik brothers !). it's "song for a future generation" where each band member sings about the things they like. it's really daft but incredibly catchy. i suppose most people just know "rock lobster" but what the hell, next time you're in godawful hmv/virgin check the sale racks for a "best of the B52's". it's always cheap and you get a handful of some of the best pop songs ever written. forget about "love shack" and "roam", they were fuckin' awful. i should know because i was playing at my local disco when they came out and people asked for them all the time. along with tina turner "simply the best". aaaaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh !!!!

but that was then and this is now (as ABC once sang). talking of hmv/virgin i've been into both stores recently where i live (camberley and surrounding area) and i can honestly say neither inspired me to buy anything. i'm not surprised they're dying on their arses. apart from the bigger stores where staff seem to know what to get in for punters, the smaller stores might as well not exist. hmv in basingstoke and guildford are shit and don't get me started on the one in richmond (hmv or virgin ?). it just seems to be the same old 3 for £20 on cd's and dvd's, and no bloody vinyl !. i get more joy rooting around charity shops as i don't know what i'll come across. these chains have to realise the days of being everything to everyone are over. i love a good rant !

i put this up for someone the other day and i'd forgotten how mad it is. from 1985, i think they were french, and it's a b-side. available on the wonderful automan series of naughty 12"s or original copies can be purchased on discogs (showing about six for sale as i post and quite cheap too). two tracks in one day, "you lucky people" as tommy trinder might have said.

kazino - binary

http://www.zshare.net/audio/4376118f58a173/

"don't touch that dial..."

yesterday i was having trouble uploading a picture so i'm not sure what'll happen today. strange thing is i could see the picture when i looked on the computer at work, hope you could too. i've only had a computer for about a year and a half (i only learned to drive about two years ago !) and somethings are beyond me at the moment. when i get my shit together with vinyl to mp3 ripping you better watch out !

anyway on with the show. i was deliberating (with myself) whether it's worth doing a post every day. i've looked around and not everyone does. first off i thought they're lazy but now i'm thinking they're busy and have lives. you go to work, come home, eat, relax and go to bed. somewhere in there you've got to think of something to say, find a picture and decide on a track. once again it's all changed at the last moment. the problem is, there's so much i want to say but it's tying it in with a track and a picture. something did spring to mind eventually.

saturday mornings have got bugger all on telly. if it's not cartoons it's those bloody celebrity chef shows. thankfully i've started listening to "six million steps" on starpoint radio (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.). top stuff with Andrew@6ms or DC@6ms. crikey ! their names have lit up. so do yourself a favour and tune in this saturday. if you're a fan of "the scene with no name" (may the lord strike me down, i just said it) then this is the show for you. they had a wonderful "chic" special two weeks ago which is still available for streaming/download here

http://www.sixmillionsteps.com/drupal/node/383

on saturday's show i heard an awesome track. i thought it must be old, but it's only from 2004. i checked beatport and thought i must get that. looking through my hard-drive tonight i realised i already had it!

yesterday i answered a query on the djh messageboard from someone who asked "what is dad house". i gave an explanation and then checked the urban dictionary. i wasn't too far off the mark.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dad+house&defid=967651

kings of rock

searching through the shelves last night i was wondering about what to post today. i only decided on this a few minutes before posting. the picture above gives you a clue, but i'm sure the trainer detectives will put me right on that.

the first album of the "streetsounds electro" series i got was number 4. the tracks on it were a breath of fresh air, (for the younger viewers i must explain that in 1984) there was a lot of big-hair pop around then. just check this selection and think what was playing on the radio at that time ie. nothing like this.

http://www.discogs.com/release/25795

i had it on tape and would ride around on my bmx playing my little ghetto blaster (taped to the handle bars). i thought i was the shit ! pumpkin, the vhb, key-matic and cybotron (4), pop music back then (0). my team were always gonna win. there was a small gang of us into this sort of music and we got the tapes when ever they came out. it was only later on in my 20's-30's that i started getting them on vinyl. i still won't pay stupid money for them as there were tens of thousands sold in the u.k. i'm collecting upto and including number 13 (along with crucial 1 & 2, u.k., l.a. v n.y. beats), and i'm almost there.

b-side wins again

this month "record collector" has a superb joy division article about the new biopic "control", including interviews with the three surviving members.

http://www.recordcollectormag.com/site/sections/this_month/default.asp

joy division and new order are two of my fave bands ever, along with the smiths. so back in 1989 when there were rumours that bernard sumner was working with johnny marr on new material i (almost) shit myself. the first fruit of the collaboration was "getting away with it". the perfect pop song with a pet shop boy on it too !

the world had to wait until 1991 for the album and that didn't disappoint either. it was just incredible. i listened to it recently and it still sounds ace. the singles released off it weren't the best tracks on it (which i thought was strange). "get the message", however, had a b-side unlike anything i'd ever heard. it was like three tracks in one. breakbeats, lush synths, and electro all colliding. i was playing at a shirt and tie nightclub at the time and i knew i had to hear it LOUD. fucking hell, it rocked ! i couldn't play it when the punters were there because i'd get thrown off. it was all top 40 shite with me trying to slip in some of my own favourites. i succeeded in my own little way until i stood my ground...and left.

"say hello to my little friend..."

the other night out of nowhere i found out about "the london cokehead". this guy was ranting about dj's blowing the system in his venue (he's a sound engineer). very entertaining stuff. turns out he's the bloke behind zero b (remember "lock up" from the early 90's ?).

a long,long time back i came in late and my older brother and his mate were glued in front of the telly watching nazareth (metal/rock band) in concert. didn't think much of it because he had a copy of "no mean city" and that was crap. i'd been brought up on ac/dc and motorhead and anything compared to them was rubbish. but one track stood out in that concert, a cover version (i only found this out later). over the years i heard various versions of this track (the most famous being eric clapton) until i heard the original in 1997. i was working in a hifi shop and we all brought our fave cd's in to impress the lads (and the punters). one of the lads had excellent taste, he was a little older than me and was always playing great stuff. i was totally bowled over when he played the album containing this elusive track.

there were four or five other tracks that i had heard but never knew who the artist was. "hey baby", ""travelin' light", "let me do it to you" and "ride me high" (recently re-edited by joakim). the guy was j.j. cale and the album is troubadour,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Troubadour-J-J-Cale/dp/B000001F2M

as you can see this cd is priced between £3 - 5, and that's everywhere. so do yourself a favour, the next time hmv/virgin have a sale, just buy it. better still, get down your 2nd hand/charity shop and buy it for fuck all on vinyl.

take a walk

december 2001, it's a friday night and pete tong is playing mixes from his "heroes of 2001". i put a tape in and go the pub. saturday morning i play it back. felix da housecat played a half hour of what became tagged as "electroclash". tiga & zyntherius (cover of corey hart's "sunglasses at night", toktok vs sofo "missy queen's gonna die" and jamie starr scenario "welcome to thee lite" (a prince pseudonym but bastardised by felix, the track contained some stevie nicks (fleetwood mac) music - later used as "the match of the day" theme which was linus loves' version which he called "the terrace"). this tape was what i had been looking for. house music had become stagnent with defected and others releasing all manner of shit. nothing was exciting me. this new, but at the same time old, music was taking me back to early 80's synth stuff which i loved.

but they weren't making this stuff anymore. so i thought. that one tape led me to discover a whole host of like minded artists who were putting out old new music. soon after i came across italo disco. sounds daft (this stuff had been around more than 20 years) but it's true. this was the music i'd loved without knowing for years. the whole electroclash stuff became a dirty word within months but by that time i'd sorted the wheat from the chaff and realised that italo disco was even better. i'm not even going to try and give you any italo exclusives because kontrapunkt, the red room, i spy diamonds and american athlete cover that better than anyone (see links).

d.j. hell's label (international deejay gigolo's) was putting out this stuff i liked, along with the hacker's (goodlife) label. i lapped that stuff up. two release's (one from each label) were particular faves. vitalic's "poney ep" (gigolo) and the hacker "fadin' away (dima remix)" (goodlife). i didn't realise vitalic was dima (or pascal arbez-nicolas to his mum). they still get played at smackhead towers to this day, especially when i've had a few beers (real ales if any sponsors are reading...as if). there was another track on that tape, by bolz bolz called "take a walk". the version i'd heard was remixed by paul daley (of leftfield) and wasn't up my street (longhaul records - u.k.). the other version was something else, i suppose the name gave it away (neo-romantic dima remix).

sadly missed

back in 2001 janet jackson had a track out ("all for you") which i thought was catchy as hell. i've never been a big janet fan apart from the odd singles off "control". but here was something really special from her, with a hook to die for. i checked the credits and there were some names i didn't recognise. i soon forgot about it and moved on. in the virgin sale that year i found this (for £2) in the pile of shite they call the bargain bin (there's more to come from that pile by the way).

http://www.discogs.com/release/370281

most of the tracks are bloody awful and the better ones haven't aged well either. but the first track is a killer. in fact it doesn't fit in with any of the other tracks at all. the reason being it had that janet jackson hook in it (doh ! silly me). a few months later "the best of luther vandross" double lp turns up in the charity shop and what do you know ? you got it. ivan finally realises where that music originally came from. i'd heard "searchin" for many years and believed that to be change's only hit. i was into metal when i was a kid before electro took over and i seemed to miss out on a lot of soul/dance/funk (i'm now spending the rest of my life filling in the gaps).

luther's voice is truly outstanding and he sang on so many great records by other people (chic's first two lp's for instance). his own output wasn't too shabby either. to pass away at 54 is way too early. when i was a kid that seemed like a good innings but as you get older you realise it isn't (i'm almost 37). you realise there are so many things to still do and see, and loads of great music to still be discovered in the future or from the past.

"...so good they named it twice"

gerard kenney sang that (i think). anyway, digging in the crates the other night i pulled out a cd meaning to listen to one track and found another, if that makes sense. i wanted to listen to turntable orchestra "you're gonna miss me" but pressed the wrong button and it landed on something else. the version of arnold jarvis "take some time out" i'd always listened to on vinyl was the release on republic records (u.k. - dave lee/joey negro's label). it was the "rugged riddim mix" which used the bassline off backroom productions "definition of a track" (credited to precious). i thought it was a humdinger of a house tune and never listened to any other mixes. fast forward to a charity shop in newport pagnell 15 years later and i find this for a quid.

http://www.discogs.com/release/418130

blaze ? check, turntable orchestra ? check, £1 ?, check. took it home and never bothered listening to the other tracks. well the other night i felt a right idiot when the "club mix" of "take some time out" came on. simply stunning. i'd forgotten how good some of the early house tracks were. most compilations are full of chicago stuff (nothing wrong with that) but the early new york stuff seems to get a back seat.

it's a simple track and i don't think you could better it if you tried. killer bassline, simple percussion, one synth line and a vocal from a guy who later released "inspiration" and "the color of my skin" (with swing 52). originally released on fourth floor records (tommy musto's label) in 1987, it's hard to believe it's 20 years old. they just don't make 'em like this anymore.

"the pressure...the pressure...pressure of the world"

had a little joke with chris keyz (another night on earth) last night about the pressure of a blog. i know it's not real pressure like paying bills when you're skint, but i didn't think it would be any hassle at all. put up a picture and a track, write some bollocks and publish to web. job done.

well for most of today i've been thinking about which picture and what to say. loads of different permutations have been spinning around my head. just when i thought i had it...something else came along. it's not all it's cracked up to be you know, it's turning out to be a little frustrating (and it's only the 2nd post).

so i thought to myself "what do i really like, what are the tracks i keep coming back too ?". the picture at the top is a giveaway. the first lp i got by them was a remix album called "like it is - hot sensational remixes" (1989). about 10 years later i got "just an illusion" on 12" and started buying a few more tracks. then in 2002 i came across "nightdubbing". jeez, where had this been all my life. afrika bambaatta (hope i've spelled that right) had a track out around that time called "funky heroes" on an italian label and also later on "acetate" (chad jackson's label ?). i bought both because the track was a funky little electro number. to find out it sampled "so good, so right" was a revelation. these ace noises i was hearing were 20 years old ! there's a version on the "body talk" lp but the one on "nightdubbing" is better. then this week i found this

http://www.discogs.com/release/789744

for £3 ! sleevenotes by a certain ladyboygrimsby too. one of my fave albums on cd at last. i talked earlier about tracks i keep coming back too. earlier tonight i read a great piece by greg wilson about his dj'ing hero les spaine (from liverpool). you can check it out here

http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/interviews/les_spaine.html

i'm new around here

i've been trawling loads of blogs and decided to join the club. i'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to using computers so it'll take some time for me to customize my page, bare with me.

i don't really have a mission statement for what i'll blog. i suppose it'll just be what's rocking my little world at that moment. stuff i haven't listened to in ages, stuff i've just found for a bargain or stuff i think you might have missed and need to hear. when i work out how to i'll also give links to some of my favourite sites. there's a lot of people out there who've inspired me to purchase music i'd never heard before. if my little page can do the same for others i'll be "passing it on" as it were.