THE COMSAT ANGELS

........This one is pretty obvious. It's July 4th. Time to revisit the classic INDEPENDENCE DAY by the COMSAT ANGELS.

Plus......one of my all-time favourite songs EVER....from ANY decade is WILL YOU STAY TONIGHT. I'm not even sure if the song is even ABOUT our good 'ol American day of Hot Dogs, fireworks and hospital visits. Could mean something else entirely to these Brits, come to think of it......hey...what IS this song about anyway?

COMSAT ANGELS - INDEPENDENCE DAY

COMSAT ANGELS - WILL YOU STAY TONIGHT

LAURIE ANDERSON - O Superman (My Mix)

OK , posting that George Carlin remix I did years ago got me in the mood to bring out the old 4-track tapes. As you know I wrote and sang many original pieces, but I also entertained myself manipulating other's songs. It always bugged me that Laurie Anderson's hit O SUPERMAN didn't have a " Proper" beat....so I added one....and also some bass and string sounds. This was all done pre-computers so the drum sample goes in and out of time a little.( I actually to this day cannot record using Pro-Tools or MBOX or whatever other people use...I'm still a victim of the 4-track Cassette recording).....this may not be to every body's liking....but I think it's worth a listen......hey...it's free.

LAURIE ANDERSON - O SUPERMAN (Derek's Mix)

George Carlin SINGS!!!!

SO SAD that last week we lost a true genius, a voice of a generation. A comedy LEGEND!!! I've been listening non-stop to many of his recent and not-so recent material....and it also made me dig through my old 4-track tapes for this oddity I recorded in 1999. Truth is...George Carlin could do almost ANYTHING ...but he was NOT a great singer....but that's OK. Cause I took him just saying the word DRUGS. put it through a sampler, played his DRUGS routine from the classic album AM & FM, kinda faded it in and out....wrote some music behind it...and VOILA!!! he's SINGING!!!

I hope this puts a smile on your face

GEORGE CARLIN'S DRUGS MP3

HILARY - Drop Your Pants (Re-uploaded)

In 1983, Hilary Blake, a 33 year old from Los Angeles released a 4 track 12-inch single called KINETIC. That song got some airplay on WLIR, but it was the B-side that made fans long for more Hilary.

DROP YOUR PANTS has that catchy Yaz-like synthpop, but was SOO much sexier than anything Alison Moyet would ever sing about.

As far as I know, she never released anything else. She was once asked about promotional videos and she replied "Yes - there is a video for Kinetic. Actually, I wanted to do a cartoon video for Drop Your Pants, but the people at the label thought DYP would never get any airplay. So ...of course...DYP broke out as my single and I had no video for it."

AH...and those LYRICS....." Drop your pants around your ankles, you make me shiver when you deliver".....it's so beautiful, it should have become a wedding standard. Perhaps if a more recent Hilary ,(CLINTON), had used this song she might have possibly gotten the Democratic nomination.

DROP YOU PANTS (MP3)

KINETIC (MP3)

Classic 12-inch singles : B-MOVIE

Released on Sire Records in 1982:

"NOWHERE GIRL" is just one of those classic songs that just take you back to a more innocent time. Remember the beginning of the 80's...we had a President that would just say the darndest things ("We Begin Bombing in 5 minutes") and many people hated him and thought he was stupid. Turns out he was just senile.... NOTHING like the way it is today. Like I said...it was just a more innocent time. .....Anyway...Nowhere Girl made the Top 10 in many European countries and reached 68 in the United Kingdom, but there was no follow up and no sign of an album. The popular webcomic Nowhere Girl was named after this single.
Keyboard player Rick Holliday left in 1983 to form Six Sed Red with Soft Cell associate Cindy Ecstasy.The rest of the band re-surfaced in 1984 with the single "A letter From Afar" produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez but this failed to chart. Towards the end of 1985 they finally released an album with Sire Records called "Forever Running" containing re-recorded versions of the two hits but both it and the single 'Switch On Switch Off were flops despite a tour to promote them.
The band broke up soon after. Singer Steve Hovington formed a band called One in the late 80s ..Hey Steve...how's THAT going for you? Yeah...OK, so let's just sit back and listen the sounds of the early 80's. Then I'm going to play some Atari games, watch "Match Game PM" and go on the A.I.D.S. diet plan.

NOWHERE GIRL 12" (MP3)

NOWHERE GIRL (EDIT) (MP3)

REMEMBERANCE DAY (MP3)

SKA - THE 3RD WAVE (Part 1 ): THE SCOFFLAWS

I am proud to have known, ate, hung out with, and made music with at least a few of the ever changing line up of THE SCOFFLAWS. They started out in the mid-1980's in Huntington, Long Island . They were first called the "New Bohemians" but then some sucky band in Texas bought the name from them ( DAMN YOU EDIE BRICKELL) and in 1989 they changed their name to the Scofflaws. In my opinion the 3rd wave SKA revival in the late 1990's could not have HAPPENED without their incredibly tight, fun, popular live shows. Their debut CD was released in 1991 and contains many of the staples of their live shows.

GOING BACK TO KINGSTON (MP3) and SKA-LA-CARTE (MP3) are just two of the many highlights from that CD. The live shows kept packing them in. I have many a great memory of seeing them playing to enthusiastic crowds in now long gone places like NEW YORK AVENUE in Huntington Village.

The second CD, SKA IN HI-FI was produced by my good friend, their Bass player (and a fellow class of 1985 Huntington High School Graduate) Victor Rice. They wanted this second album to sound like it was recorded in Jamaica in the late 60's and I think they succeeded in that experiment. Just listen to NUDE BEACH (MP3) and tell me it doesn't put you on the shores of the Caribbean.

So then........a young sax player by the name of Nick Martielli writes a song for our friends in the Scofflaws called "SPIDER ON MY BED" and wouldn't you know it, they record it and put it on SKA IN HI-FI. This then inspires Martielli to form his OWN band (and asks me to join in as their Keyboard player and singer) and we release VOYAGE TO THE PALACE OF KALI. There will be a lot more on all that later, but long story short, THAT CD becomes a success, and I think the way we produced that debut CD of OURS inspired the Scofflaws to make a REAL , nicely produced CD called RECORD OF CONVICTION. It had many of their most popular songs on it...just listen to the hooks galore in IN THE BASEMENT (MP3).

THE BRIANS - My Brother's Famous

Who ARE these people? As a child I used to frequent local record stores in and around Huntington Village, Long Island, where I grew up. Sometimes all it took for me to purchase a new 45 was an interesting picture sleeve. I think this cover qualifies...There's Frank Sinatra, John Travolta, Elvis Costello and Marlon Brando...IN THE SAME BAND? I don't care WHAT it sounds like...I'm buying it.

Lucky for me that the music was great as well.....a nice MADNESS style bit of English whimsy who's message is " Hey....My brother is famous and has a lot of money and I should have it.....". I'm sure we can all relate....actually....NO...I can't relate to that at ALL, but it doesn't matter really now does it?

The sleeve of THE BRIANS' single "My Brother's Famous" (DinDisc [UK] 7) lists the group members as Brian Sinatra, Brian Travolta, Brian Costello, Brian Brando, and Brian Stewart; producer credit on the B-side goes to Brian Spector. I wish I knew more about them....who they really are, what they all became, if they ever released anything else...I guess I'll never know.

THE BRIANS - MY BROTHER'S FAMOUS

Cartoon Themes That Time Forgot

Perhaps this was an EXTREMELY local thing, but sometime in the late 70's/early 80's in New York in the afternoon channel 5 used to show " Popeye And Friends". It was a nice little collection of cartoons made God knows how long ago. ( We used to watch ANYTHING back in the 70's...cause we didn't have more than 5 choices of channels at the time......ah those were the days).

The unique thing about this show was it's theme song.........It took me a couple of years to discover that the theme was, in fact PAUL McCARTNEY's " Hot As Sun"....but it sure sounded different...... I have a feeling WYNY Channel 5 in New York couldn't actually get the RIGHTS to a McCatney track, so they sped up the album version ( playing it at 45RPM instead 33RPM...man I LOVE records). I'm sure that Paul still has no idea they used this instrumental track from his debut solo album MCcCARTNEY, and because this was the first version I ever heard of this song THIS one sounds " right" to me, while the LP version sounds too slow.........

PAUL McCARTNEY - HOT AS SUN (wrong speed) (MP3)

KISSING THE PINK

Kissing the Pink were just another New Wave synth-pop goup from the United Kingdom. Members included Nick Whitecross, John Hall, George Stewart, Josephine Wells, Pete Barnett, Sylvia Griffin, Steve Cusack, and Simon Aldridge.
Their first single was "Don't Hide in the Shadows", made with Martin Hannett, but it wasn't until they dropped their first manager (celebrated in their song "Michael"), and signed with Magnet Records that they began to get any airplay. They recorded their first album in AIR studios with producer Colin Thurston, who had engineered David Bowie's Heroes and later worked with Duran Duran amongst others. Kissing the Pink had wanted Brian Eno to produce the album but Magnet thought Thurston would make a more commercial impact. After a series of near-misses with tracks off the upcoming album the single "Last Film" reached the top 20. The album, Naked, didn't sell a lot of copies but was a favourite with the college crowd who presumably appreciated its intelligence and wit. Most people when they talk of Naked marvel at the sheer variety of songs on the album, and while this may be its abiding strength, at the time it probably made the album too hard to classify, and thus it was largely ignored.
Their first Hot 100 entry was "Maybe This Day," which hit #87 in 1983. Also from that year they released "Love Lasts Forever" whioch got a LOT of airplay on WLIR in New York. This is where I most certainly heard it. In 1985 following the departure by some of the members they shortened their name to KTP and began having hits on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The most successful was "Certain Things Are Likely," which spent three weeks at #1 in 1987. That song also became their second Hot 100 entry when it peaked at #97 later that year. From the same album "One Step" was the biggest selling single in Italy that year when they were given an award on an Italian television show they mistook it for an ashtray.

But, hey.....let's celebrate 1985. What a year for music!!

KISSING THE PINK - LOVE LASTS FOREVER 12" (MP3)

KISSING THE PINK - LOVE LASTS FOREVER 7" (MP3)

THE KANE GANG - Gun Law

Vocalists Martin Brammer born in Seaham, County Durham and Paul Woods, plus multi-instrumentalist Dave Brewis formed the trio in 1982, after meeting in small local bands, and signed to a small record label, whiReleased in 1985. " Gun Law " was a minor hit both in the U.K. and here in the US. I don't know too much about these guys, and personally I have never heard anything else from them.

But that's OK....let's all enjoy this jem from 1985. That magical transitional period for music Just before the " Eighties " were about to become a decade of Mullets and Guns "N" Roses. YUK!!!

KANE GANG - GUN LAW

This'll Do Nicely

In the world of SKA, no band get's overlooked when speaking about the second wave more than BAD MANNERS. They kinda came too late to fully enjoy the 2-tone movement, and were too old to fully take advantage of the 3rd wave one. Too bad for them. They actually were one of the more lively bunch out there. being as they came to the party late, by the time they got a record deal in America, the Ska movement had died and New Wave was in full swing. They couldn't really DO New Wave well, but they gave it a shot.
" That'll Do Nicely" was one of the brighter spots of 1984. This is the 12-inch version, even WITH that little " Ooh....Ah....Ooh...Ah" breakdown that sounds a little too close to FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD the 12-inch remix is much superior to the 7-inch version although that one has it's charms .

DANSE-ING IN HEAVEN

THE DANSE SOCIETY are one of those overlooked bands. They had quite the " Goth" following, although they were more New Wave than Goth.
HEAVEN IS WAITING was released in December 1983 by Arista .I consider it one of the all-time greatest New Wave/Goth songs ever recorded. The album contained a cover of the Rolling Stones classic "2000 Light Years from Home", also edited in 1984 as 12" single and as a limited edition double single.
But I'm rather partial to " HOLD ON (TO WHAT YOU'VE GOT)".
It's not as immediate as Heaven Is Waiting and it suffers from a somewhat dated production, but I think they were on to something here.
In 1986, the other band members left to form Johnny In The Clouds, leaving Rawlings to carry on as Danse Society International for an album Looking Through, reappearing in 1987 simply as Society with a single, "Saturn Girl". After 1987, Rawlings continued to pursue his path in music with the electronic dance music act Meridian Dream.

Made For TV - So Afraid Of The Russians

Made For T.V.'s "SO AFRAID OF THE RUSSIANS" could ONLY come out of the early/mid 1980's. “They’ve got ships at sea/ Planes in the air/ Tanks on the border of Europe/ And spies everywhere.”

OK...well....first of all of COARSE we have SHIPS AT SEA. Where ELSE are we going to put them. This little ditty about paranoia was actually produced by John Cale!!! Stranger things have been linked to him, I'm sure.

This song holds a special place in my heart. WLIR used to play this track non-stop in 1984. I made a random quote of the lyrics On top of the Twin Towers during the summer of that year to my friend's girlfriend and she got the refference right away. At that moment I thought we were the two coolest people on the face of the Earth.I miss that crazy cold war. The Russians were a fun enemy. Whatever happened to them?

MADE FOR TV - SO AFRAID OF THE RUSSIANS

IN THE SILENCE.....

What happened to these guys? They started out as a nice little post-punk funky kinda band and somehow morphed into a stadium rock act. My favourite period for INXS is definitely before Michael Hutchence had his Jim Morrison complex. SHABOOH SHOOBAH has to be one of my favourite records of the era, but THE SWING was their masterpiece, and their best song on that LP is "I SEND A MESSAGE"(MP3). Listen to this rare 12-inch mix. It's a crime that they never released this version in the states. From the strange way they used a sax in the opening to that sped-up voice at the end (YEAH) you could tell they didn't take themselves too seriously. Then he went all I NEED YOU TONIGHT on us and the GIRLS started listening....THEN HE....uh....nevermind

THE QUICK - Bed Of Nails

Remember when POP wasn't such a dirty word? When something could be catchy and stupid and stick in your head , yet still remain cool and sorta underground. The 80's were just a different time. Here's a little mindless catchy ness from a U.K. band known as THE QUICK:
The Quick was a dance pop duo from England that consisted of vocalist Colin "Col" Campsie and bassist/keyboardist George McFarlane. Their greatest success in US came in 1981 when their song "Zulu" spent two weeks at #1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
McFarlane and Campsie originally met in California in 1978, and began working together when they returned to England, taking the name "The Quick". Their debut single, "Sharks Are Cool, Jets Are Hot," was released on Epic Records in 1979. In 1981, the duo's single, "Hip Shake Jerk," became a hit in Australia, reaching #12, and their first album, On the Uptake was quickly released there. Remixed and repackaged as "One Light in a Blackout" (in Canada) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (in Europe), the album was released to the rest of the world in 1982, spawning a U.S. dance hit, "Zulu". The single "Rhythm of the Jungle" was another Top 20 success in Australia, reaching #13, and also became a hit in Europe. A second album, International Thing, followed in 1984.
By that time, McFarlane and Campsie had started doing studio work for other musicians, producing an album for Endgames among others. Their last album, Wah Wah, came out in 1986 on A&M Records. New York underground radio station WLIR played the hell out of "BED OF NAILS" from this LP. This is the twelve inch version. A great staple of Long Island dance clubs 007, SPYZ, Paris New York and Malibu.

THE QUICK - BED OF NAILS (EXTENDED MIX)

General Public

They were never going to be as cool as THE BEAT (or THE ENGLISH BEAT as they were known here in the US) But General Public still had a little bit of that 2-tone reggae beat. Especially the final track from their debute LP ALL THE RAGE.

This is the special 12-inch mix of "GENERAL PUBLIC" 12-inch version (MP3). To me this kicks the ass of the LP version. From the opening organ riff to the dub breakdown in the middle. This is truely a lost classic that deserves another listen. It wasn't all Tenderness you know.

The Higsons - Run Me Down

The Higsons have never had luck with timing. They signed to the influential 2nd-wave SKA lable 2-TONE just as that scene was dying and a new one emerging. The Higsons were neither SKA nor New Wave but something in between. Their most commercial song " Run Me Down " was a medium success in their native U.K. and a local hit on influential Long Island radio station WLIR.

This here is the 12-inch version.

Marking The Higsons exit from 2 Tone, the band returned to official independent label status with their next single, "Got To Get This Heat Out" (WAAP 3), in July 1983. Their debut album 'Curse of The Higsons', finally materialised on Upright in October 1984. Terry Edwards fonts his own band these days and is a prolific session player, while Charlie Higson found fame with Paul Whitehouse on TV's The Fast Show.

THE HIGSONS - RUN ME DOWN (EXTENDED MIX)

THE HIGSONS - RUN ME DOWN (EDIT)

Derek Cornish and his various bands 1984-2004

Derek Cornish has been one of Long Island's best kept secrets for over 24 years. He started recording bedroom demos in 1984. One such should have been classic is " Hallway Of Memories " . Primitive as this recording is , it was a springboard for what would be a long , strange trip down the road to obscurity. Recording songs in your studio apartment at 18 can only get you so far , but it wasn't long before he joined his first working band in 1988......

DREAMWORLD would become a Long Island and New York City sensation with " EVERYBODY LOOKS LIKE YOU " , Which could have been a hit in 1989 if they were signed to a label. Then in 1990. The industrial band CINEBYTES. The song " IT'S THE LAW " was definitely of it's time....a Depeche Mode like political dance popper with a early 90's stomp. Definitely worth as listen. Also recorded in this session was The pseudo MINISTRY-sounding "THIS TIME IT'S REAL". This led to a derek going in a Industrial/ Techno / Ambient direction before turning his attention to DJ-ing. He was also part of an Ambient/techno project with friend and fellow DJ Slave for 1993's THE DEEP RED.
Then......nothing for 3 years.
In 1996 , at the ripe old age of 29, he joined SPIDER NICK & THE MADDOGS. This band became one of the most popular bands in the " 3rd wave " Ska revival of the late 1990's , releasing 2 CD's that received both critical acclaim and sales of over 10,000 CD's in New York alone. Not bad for a self produced and self released product. They played the hell out of Long Island, Toronto, Montreal, etc.






1997's " VOYAGE TO THE PALACE OF KALI " was the first and is considered a 3rd wave classic. Derek's songwriting and lead singing contributions were " CLUB GIRLS " , " IN OVER MY HEAD " and " MINIMUM WAGE " . Plus he co-wrote the title track and the instrumental AFRICA.

1999's second CD, FIREPIT, was not as well received, but did contain the groups biggest hit , the Martielli penned " Uncle Al " , which would actually get the band airplay on New York's legendary WLIR. Derek's "THE FOOL" , "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT" and "AS GOOD AS YOU" were also a step up in the songwriting department. This album deserves another listen.

The unreleased live track, 2000's " THE GAMBLING SONG ", shows what might have been had he stuck around for album #3. This Clash-like reggae-funk is one of Derek's best written songs. I can only hope that one day someone get's to hear this one.

The next lost SPIDER NICK & THE MADDOGS demo is a re-working of an old track actually written in a dream. Derek's first demo of this song back in 1989 sounds all JULEE CRUISE and dream-like. But a good song is a good song. Derek brought this track to the table in 2000 for SPIDER NICK & THE MADDOGS to re-work from dreamy 50's pop to Swing/ska romp."IT'S YOUR LOVE THAT MAKES ME STAY AWAY" could have become a ska classic. Perhaps someday it will.

Since he left the Maddogs in 2001, not much has been heard by him , although in 2004 he recorded another home-made song. The Depeche Mode sound-a-like " The Game Of Lies " . After a seven year break, Derek recently played 2 live shows with his old band in 2008. Then just like THAT....he was gone.... What does the future hold? I don't know......