SPOOKY SCARY

The weather turns cooler....the leaves change color...and all the stores have their Christmas decorations up. This can only mean one thing: HALLOWEEN is coming!!!
Time for a little Halloween mix:
First up is a great little ditty from 1983 (OOOH!!)
THE ELECTRIC GUITARS "Wolfman Tap" is one of those forgotten WLIR staples. Why would anyone combine Wolfmen and tap dancing?? I don't know, but the results are infectious.

Next up is this dancey gothy romp from the Screaming Tribesmen. 1985's "Date With A Vampire" is a must have for any self respecting Goth or over-40 New Waver.


The Bollock Brothers' "Horror Movies" has also been a New Wave favourite of mine for years. I love how it's a complete and total rip off of "Spooky". But I'll let that slide.

I'd like to end this with a not at all New Wave selection from the mid 70's
The 5 MAN ELECTRIC BAND's "Werewolf" has that right mix of camp and creep. I like how in the song the Werewolf's Dad has to kill his son that has been slaughtering sheep, and when they meet the Mom is actually rooting for the kid to eat his Dad.......Thanks honey, I Love You TOO!!!

That's it for now.....I'm sure I'll be posting more in the couple of weeks to come. Remember: Halloween is not over until the Simpson's Halloween Special airs.....which is always sometime in November

THE ELECTRIC GUITARS - WOLFMAN TAP (12-INCH EXTENDED MIX)

THE ELECTRIC GUITARS - WOLFMAN TAP
THE SCREAMING TRIBESMEN - DATE WITH A VAMPIRE
THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS - HORROR MOVIES

5 MAN ELECTRIC BAND - WEREWOLF

Forgive me for this shameless bit of self promotion

One of you faithful readers asked me to re-post "THE GAME OF LIES". and since I wrote it I know I can legally post it...I think......perhaps I should sue myself.

But since I already posted that particular song 'bout a year ago I'll post the Unedited version.....it goes on WAY too long, but it's got a good beat and you can dance to.

THE GAME OF LIES (EXTENDED VERSION)

While we're at it, a lot of you seemed to like my video for "LULLABY" so I will post the MP3 for anyone that wants it. This dreamy bit of Coldplay meets John Lennon meets Dead Can Dance is one of my proudest moments.

OK....how about a cover........one day I had an hour or so to kill, so I recorded a cover of PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS "LET ME ROLL IT".......as a reggae song....it kinda works........sorta...

OK, back to posting real music by real artists.

And here's my liitle stab at Techno. Recorded around 1993, this one's called INSECT DANCE.

Classic Underated Albums: ABC - "Beauty Stab"

Like almost everything I post on this blog, ABC's "Beauty Stab" album was released in November of 1983. It was never going to live up to their classic Trevor Horn produced album " The Lexicon Of Love" but no one could have predicted the cold reception this album received. I think time has been a bit kinder to this misunderstood classic. For one thing, it includes one of the greatest lyrics in a pop song I can think of:
"She's Vegetarian Except When It Comes To sex." I mean....how great is that line. It comes from the non-hit "Unzipped", a great little vicious slice of post-punk that would have been celebrated if it had come from any band of that time OTHER than the gold suit-wearing Martin Frey and Co.
I think this album deserves a reassessment. It didn't have the super production that Lexicon lovers were accustomed to but I think the raw-like edge gives these songs a kick that Trevor would never attempt.
The closest thing to a hit came from the single " That Was Then But This Is Now", but it too was rejected. Especially in the US. WLIR played a great deal of this record when it came out, but I think by 1983 the kiddies were already over ABC and starting to go ga-ga over Duran Duran, Adam Ant and.....uh...Huey Lewis & The News (Blechh!!!)

ABC - UNZIPPED
ABC - THAT WAS THEN BUT THIS IS NOW
ABC - HEY CITIZEN
ABC - BITE THE HAND

Of coarse by 1985 ABC would re-emerge as cartoon characters with HOW TO BE A MILLIONAIRE. Dig this UK 12-inch of the title track. "Pounds Dollar Milliona-a-a-a-a-a-a-ire.
They did a lot of that back in 1985. I don't care how annoying it is...I still love it.

May You Live In Interesting Times

You know....whoever said "May You Live in Interesting Times" should have had the decency to at least be alive right now. I'd slap that idiot in the face......
I have no words really.....I mean....I don't think I can ever get my head around how screwed we are as a Country....as a nation.......as a people. The Economy......Perhaps I'm overreacting. I mean....I was a small child in the late 70's. I remember the gas lines.....the crime in NYC.....the panic in the cities....but that all seems so quaint now, doesn't it? all that cute looting. How adorable. What's going on now seems so......BIG!!! Like this is truly the beginning of something horrible for EVERYONE
Or perhaps this will all blow over in a week or two and everything will go back to normal and we'll all be cozy and snugly in our beds and our outgoing leader will fix all this mess before he heads out of office.........
HA!!!
So Now I see that Bush is going to come out of his Hidey-hole and actually speak to us in a few minutes.......double HA!!!!


THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS - President Gas
THE DAMNED - Help
Paul Haig - Heaven Help You Now 12-inch

Peter, Paul & Monkey

OK....in 2004 I visited Vegas as I had done every year since 2000. My best Friend Vince and his wife Tori and I decide to tackle Crosby Stills & Nash as just one of our many Karaoke selections.We decided this while driving around Las Vegas one night and Suite Judy Blue Eyes came on the radio....and we started singing (sorta) in 3 part harmony...or at least we tried.

At one point in this video I say "We're like the freakin' Bee-Gees". The Karaoke MC asks "Which One's Dead?" and both myself and vince point to us. Quite funny



That worked out well so then we did Fish Heads



I'm sorry..........really......

Summer's Over

It's dark now when I go to work.....it'll soon be dark as I drive home....The Long Hot Summer has passed us by and soon the leaves will start to turn all kinds of pretty colours and we'll start wearing jackets and then it will get cold and snowy and depressing and I HATE the cold and who cares about snow and DAMN!! It's November and John McCain just won the election and the banks are all bankrupt and the housing market has gone bust and unemployment is at it's highest since the great depression and WAIT...John McCain just had a heart attack and now Sarah Palin's been sworn in as President and she has just outlawed sex and made all Americans convert to Christianity and volcano's are erupting all over the world and we're at war with Canada because Sarah can see it from her home base in Alaska and she thinks Canadians are all Satanists and all the ice caps have meted but Mrs. President says everything is fine because Alaska is still in tact and the Palin family begin to repopulate the world because we've all died but those that survived turn to cannibalism and..........uh...........where was I?

Oh yeah.....Summer's ending, so here's a mix:

BEL CANTO - SUMMER

STYLE COUNCIL - LONG HOT SUMMER

THE DOORS - SUMMER'S ALMOST GONE

PLACEBO - SUMMER'S GONE

RIALTO - SUMMER'S OVER

Howard Jones

Howard Jones burst on to the Burgeoning New Wave scene in 1983. (Again...there's THAT YEAR....just how many records were released in 1983 I'd like to know)


His first single, "NEW SONG", was a catchy little ditty that caught both coasts by storm. Here's the 12-inch version. I loved that song but I think that the first B-side, "CHANGE THE MAN" was much better. The 12-inch single also included "CONDITIONING" . This version is quite different from the one that would be his lead off track off his debut LP " Human's Lib"


His next single would be the Brassy "PEARL IN THE SHELL". and here's the 12-inch extended version. This great 12-inch single also included a version of "CONDITIONING" with the title " TOTAL CONDITIONING" and it too was a different version that what would end up on Human's Lib. This version runs 8 minutes.....so THERE !!! The 3rd song off the 12-inch was a nice little ditty called "LAW OF THE JUNGLE".


Howard Jones later went on to massive success with his "Dream Into Action" LP and the inescapable " Things Can Only Get Better" , but as always his beginnings were a lot more interesting than where he would end up.

Which, Ironically, was on Long Island this summer playing a free concert at a nearby beach. I got to meet him. He signed a T-shirt of Human's Lib which I bought at the show and while he signed it I got to briefly speak with him. I told him he was the first concert I had ever seen. In 1983 he played with Martha & The Muffins and the Eurythmics at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens. After a long pause I added...."We're OLD !!"..............

silence

Pete Shelley

Lead singer of the Punk Pioneers THE BUZZCOCKS, Pete Shelley branched out on his own in the early 80's. Now, his solo work can never match the genius of the Buzzcocks, but taken on it's own you can see that underneath it all Pete was a fantastic songwriter.
Starting in 1981, HOMOSAPIEN was an album, a video, a single and...I guess.....a bit of a coming out party. Doesn't matter....the song was fantastic, as was the 12-INCH REMIX.
Another gem from this debut album is "YESTERDAY'S NOT HERE". This album deserves another listen.





His second LP , XL1, was released in 1983 (OOOOH...there's that magical year again....I should just rename this blog 1983).


I think this was a tremendous step up in terms of both mood and songwriting. How can you deny the super catchiness of "TELEPHONE OPERATOR" or "MILLIONS OF PEOPLE (BUT NO ONE LIKE YOU)".


Both are great songs, but I much prefer "IF YOU ASK ME I WON'T SAY NO". Not just because of the long title, but probably because WLIR used to play this one more than the others and it stuck in my adolescent brain.





Pete later went on to actually have a bonafide charting hit in the US. Believe me....I was shocked at the time too.........with "ON YOUR OWN" from 1986's HEAVEN AND THE SEA.
This is the New York Mix from the 12-inch.

Eventually the Buzzcocks reformed but never manage to catch the spark of what they created in the late 70's

DURAN DURAN - 1981

Love 'em or hate 'em...DURAN DURAN were a huge part of the 80's and an influence on many of today's bands from The Bravery to Hard-fi to even the latest American Idol winner....so you gotta give it up for them. I'm old enough to remember their humble beginnings. When they started out it wasn't all flashy videos and hungry wolves. They started out kinda cool. Of coarse I started to detest them when they released the God-awful WILD BOYS, but by that time I think we all kinda moved on.

But they were the coolest thing since slices brains in the early 80's.....so here's some selections from the first couple of 12-inch singles.

Released in 1981. "MY OWN WAY" burst on to the dance scene and didn't really represent where Duran Duran would eventually go. The track (and "Night Version") was a little too dance-y for me, but the B-side "LIKE AN ANGEL" was a great bit of Roxy Music mixed with Japan slice of acoustic dance-rock. I still love it to this day...they should have included it on their debut LP.

"PLANET EARTH" was released the same year, and this was truly the beginning of the phenomenon. Still love the song, but the B-side, "LATE BAR", was truly special. Another track they should have included on the first album. I mean...c'mon...they couldn't have left off TEL AVIV ?

GIRLS ON FILM was released after PLANET EARTH and now the Duran Duran we all grew to know had finally emerged. Another killer single, and another killer B-side in "FASTER THAN LIGHT".

And finally with the "CARELESS MEMORIES" single comes these fabulous B-sides. "KHANADA" and their cover of David Bowie's "FAME".

Things go downhill from here, I'm afraid. They would eventually become cartoon characters (and not in a good way) and over-produce the hell out of things, but for a while they were just cutting edge enough for the hip crowd and just accessible enough for the tween crowd. It didn't last....it never does.

Bands That History Forgot...

In 1982 EMI AMERICA released " DON'T RUN MY LIFE" b/w "ICE AGE" from the band Spys. That's all I know....honest....who were these guys? I mean...it's not that great a song when you get right down to it. It's SOOOO dated. But this is just another mystery and I love mysteries.

At least Spys didn't have that far to fall......ROMAN HOLIDAY actually had a fantastic hit on MTV with the Ska-tinged "STAND BY" And all things looked good for a follow-up. Instead they released this piece of over-produced crap called "ONE FOOT BACK IN YOUR DOOR" and promptly fell off the face of the earth.

Earth MIGHT have been where SPECIMEN were from.....or perhaps they were bread out of some dark bat-cave in England. But either way they seem to be the Goth band that all the Goths forgot about. Shame...because 1984's "RETURNING FROM A JOURNEY" has always been one of my favourites. Another great SPECIMEN song is "KISS KISS BANG BANG". I was SURE the recent Val Kilmer film took it's title from this song.....as impossible as that sounds.

Hilary - Kinetic (part 2)

OK, so I posted the 12-inch for Hilary's Kinetic a couple of months ago and someone asked me for I LIVE by Hilary. I only had the Kinetic 12-inch with the b-side Drop Your Pants. SOOO...Last weekend my fiance and I are shopping at our favourite local thrift store and I brows through the records as usual. The bin is always filled with 60's Andy Williams and Barbara Streisand and old disco records and other things no one could ever want....but.....what's THIS??? Is that a copy of Kinetic???.......the American 12-inch with the 4 songs????......what is THIS doing here???

How strange....a true treasure amongst the piles of Bee-gees and Robert Goulet records.....WOW.....so...here's the other two songs.

I was also sad to learn that Hilary has passed away recently

HILARY - I LIVE

HILARY - GOOSE STEP TWO STEP

Classic 12-inch: THE PUPPETS - WAY OF LIFE

Released on the independent label QUALITY Records, the Puppets " WAY OF LIFE" didn't quite fit into the mainstream. In fact, most of the country never heard their one and only " hit". Influential Long Island radio station WLIR played the hell out of it in 1983 (again.....there's THAT year) but it only manage to bubble under the Billboard Hot 100. Here's an interesting story. I owned both the 12-inch AND the 45RPM single. I didn't need both so I put up the 45 on EBAY to sell. A man e-mailed me that was bidding for, but did not win, the item and asked me if I had any more. I didn't and told him I only had the 12-inch. He owned that as well and did not need it. Turns out he was IN the Puppets. And he never got a copy of the 45 when he was actually IN the band. We E-mailed each other back and forth a couple of times. He told me there were plans to record an album, but after the single HIT in the New York market egos got in the way and the band disintegrated before an album deal could be worked out....kinda like what happens to the Oneders in THAT THING YOU DO. The man I spoke to (forgot his name....) is now writing and recording jingles and background music for television.

THE PUPPETS - WAY OF LIFE

THE PUPPETS - WAY OF LIFE (DANCE MIX)

THE PUPPETS - WAY OF LIFE (INSTRUMENTAL)

Classic 12-inch: Danielle Dax - Cat House

In 1989, Sire records released CAT HOUSE, a new single from Danielle Dax. Danielle was a recent signing to Sire and I'm sure her looks had most to do with that, but that pretty face was no indication of her sound. Danielle was a off-beat artist that had released some independent recordings on the small Cartel label and those recordings were as out there as anything Laurie Anderson or Lydia Lunch had ever done. She didn't sell a hill of beans in the US, but that's OK. I like my artists strange and difficult...here's what Wikipedia had to say about Danielle Dax:

After a short modelling career - she won the "Miss Evening Echo" competition in 1976 - Danielle Dax did brief but notable time in an avantgarde punk band called The Lemon Kittens, during which Dax was included on the League of Gentlemen's 1981 eponymous album, performing vocals (credited as "Hamsprachtmusic") on the song "Minor Man". Dax then left The Lemon Kittens and embarked on a solo career, recording and producing the albums Pop-Eyes (1982), Jesus Egg That Wept (1984), and Inky Bloaters (1987) on her own label, Awesome Records. In 1988 she signed with Sire Records, which released her double album Dark Adapted Eye, containing material from her previous recordings, such as the well-known song "Big Hollow Man", and included the new and un-released recordings "Cat-House", "White Knuckle Ride", "When I Was Young", "House Cat", "Whistling for His Love", and "Touch Piggy's Eyes".
In 1984 she made her sole film appearance as the Wolfgirl (a non-speaking film role) in The Company of Wolves (by Neil Jordan). In 1988, her film credits came to include writing music for the short avantgarde film Axel by Nigel Wingrove.
In 1989 Danielle appeared on the Channel 4 show Star Test, being interviewed for 30 minutes by computer, and being asked questions such as "If you met God, what would you ask her?", to which Danielle replied "Why are the nicer people not as successful as the shitty people?", a very apt response given her subsequent lack of real success in the music industry.
In 1990 she released her lone major-label studio album, Blast the Human Flower, produced by Stephen Street — except for the tracks "Bayou" and "Daisy", which they produced together. Her last two album releases were in 1995 and consisted of a career retrospective double-album entitled Comatose Non Reaction: The Thwarted Pop Career of Danielle Dax, and an EP of new avant-garde and almost completely instrumental material called Timber Tongue. Dax's career in the music business then went on indefinite hiatus, and was often referred to as a retirement.
From 1996 on, she has worked in interior design, and has appeared several times on the BBC interior design show Homefront.
According to her official MySpace page (maintained by long-time friend and former bandmate, Karl Blake), she has had several spoken word performances of her old material in the UK and on the continent, and there is some talk of new material being written. Her first three albums have been re-released on CD via her own label, Biter of Thorpe (with distribution through World Serpent).
Dax's visual art repertoire includes the original artwork for her album Pop-Eyes. The artwork was later pulled from the album after its first run, after some record stores cited it as "grotesque". The replacement cover art (which was later replaced by the original art, for the CD release) was done by Holly Warburton, who subsequently did the cover-art for Dax's albums The Jesus Egg That Wept, Inky Bloaters and Dark Adapted Eye.

CAT HOUSE (SINGLE MIX)
WHITE KNUCKLE RIDE (SINGLE MIX)
COLD SWEAT
CAT HOUSE (OVERNIGHT MIX)

THE FAR CORPORATION - Stairway To heaven

This has to be one of the strangest 12-inch singles of the 80's.....and one of the most forgotten. I bought this just out of curiosity in 1985.......at first listen I was thinking .."you GOT to be kidding". it kinda sucks for the first 4 minutes....but then the " Phil Collins "-like drums kick in.....and it then becomes laughably dated.....LOVE IT!!!
so who were the Far Corporation?

Far Corporation is a band created by music producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cover of the Paul Simon piece "Mother and Child Reunion" as a charity record and reached the top 10 in several European countries. That group's lineup included members of Barclay James Harvest, Trio, Boney M and Force Majeure (Band).
Far Corporation's primary claim to fame is their cover of "Stairway to Heaven". Contrary to public perception, Far Corporation was actually the first group to make the singles charts with this song as Led Zeppelin had never released it as a single. Some of the musicians Farian assembled include vocalist Robin McAuley, drummer Simon Phillips, ex-Saga drummer Curt Cress, and three members of Toto: vocalist Bobby Kimball, keyboardist David Paich, and guitarist Steve Lukather. Far Corporation released its first album Division One in 1985 on IMP/ATCO Records and their cover of "Stairway to Heaven" reached #8 on the UK singles chart. Also included on the album was a cover of Free's "Fire and Water" (the 2nd single).
A second album Advantage was completed for a 1987 release, heralded by the new single "One by One". Both his as well as the second single - a cover of Cockney Rebel's "Sebastian" - failed to reach the charts, and the album was eventually scrapped. Two of the lost recordings, "Make Believe" and "Big Brother", surfaced as Bobby Kimball duets on Farian artist Jayne's Ambush in the Night album (1989) and Milli Vanilli's second album The Moment of Truth (1991). The rest was recycled along a few new recordings on the group's second release, 1994's Solitude on MCI-BMG. This time they were joined by former Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham. Mostly assembled in honour of Farian's 25 years anniversary as a producer, the album failed to repeat the success of "Stairway to Heaven".
THE FAR CORPORATION - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Humpe Humpe

How's THIS for Obscure? In 1985, for some reason, Warner Brothers records released the debut album from 2 sisters from Germany that called themselves HUMPE HUMPE. I loved this little bit of strange Lena Lovich / Kate Bush / Frank chickens inspired pop and wave, but I'm sure the rest of the country was confused. Having song titles like "Yama-Ha" and "Gescrien Im Schlaf" sure didn't help them win over the hearts and ears of the states. I can strangely find no information on-line about this band, but IMDB did have this to say about member Annette Humpe:
"One of the most influential artists in the "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New German Wave) era with her projects "Ideal (1980-1983), "Palais Schaumburg" (1984) and "Humpe und Humpe" (1985-1986) together with her sister Inga Humpe."
Has been one half of the successful pop duo "Ich + Ich" since 2004.
Producer of several popular artists such as Rio Reiser, Luci Van Org and Die Prinzen.
Her son Anton was born in 1992"
So......while the rest of this country was eating up crap like Huey Lewis & The News, I was walking the streets of Huntington with my cassette boombox blasting the Art Of Noise, Laurie Anderson and THIS stuff. Somehow I think it all fits nicely together in one neat little package......
HUMPE HUMPE - THREE OF US
HUMPE HUMPE - CAN'T LEAVE THE POOL
HUMPE HUMPE - HAPPINESS IS HARD TO TAKE
HUMPE HUMPE - DON'T KNOW WHERE I BELONG
HUMPE HUMPE - THREE OF US (Fun Girl Three Mix)

Tim Scott - Swear

In that magical year of 1983, Sire Records released an EP by a young man by the name of Tim Scott. The title song was later covered (And BADLY, I Might add...)by Sheena Easton. But Tim's version had just the right amount of creepiness and camp to it. The rest of this 5 song EP doesn't hold a candle to Swear, but it's not terrible either......
FUN FACT: The Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin sings background vocals on "Swear"


On Tim Scott's own website he states the following:
"This was my young and confused record...I wrote the songs over a couple of weeks on a little Casio keyboard...Sire heard it and offered me a deal...no use apologizing for such a thing...my mistake... the good part of it was working with Richard Gottehrer ...really took me under his wing...shame we were working on the wrong kind of music....."
TIM SCOTT - SWEAR

TIM SCOTT - GOOD AS GOLD
TIM SCOTT - THE RULES I BROKE
TIM SCOTT - PLAY THE FOOL
TIM SCOTT - UNCOMMITTED

Dead Can Dance - Derek's Mixes

Ok, seems that by posting those remixes I did of George Carlin and Laurie Anderson recently I started thinking about what else I may have messed with in the not-so distant past. Then I came across a tape labled "DEAD CAN DANCE REMIXES" and threw it on. HA!! NOW I remember.

It always struck me how odd it was that DEAD CAN DANCE never really " did" the dance remix. Their crowd is as much Goth and New Wave as it is World music. By the way....seeing them at Radio City Music Hall a few years ago was the single greatest concert experience of my life....They are a phenominal live act...and if they ever come to your area they MUST BE SEEN!!!!!

Now, as I said in the Laurie Anderson post, these were done with a 4-track cassette recorder, a drum sample, and I added some bass.....it's very primitive by today's standards. Every idiot with Pro-Tools or Acid or whatever else they have out there can do mixes much more sophisticated than this.....but , hey....it's MY blog and I can post whatever I want......so THERE!!!

DEAD CAN DANCE - Anywhere Out Of The World (Derek's Mix)

DEAD CAN DANCE - Xavier (Derek's Mix)

THE COMATEENS

The Comateens were formed in New York in 1980 by Ramona Jan (guitar), Nik North (bass, vocals), and a drum machine. After Lyn Byrd (synthesizer, vocals) and Oliver North (guitar, vocals) joined the group, they recorded their self-titled debut LP in 1981. The album became a cult favorite among college hipsters, especially the band's remake of “The Munsters Theme". However, the Comateens actually gained a larger following in Europe, wherein the group's quirks – such as the necrophilia tale “Cool Chick" – were more easily digested. The band released two more LPs – 1983's Pictures on a String and 1984's Deal With It – and then split up in 1985. Byrd and Oliver North eventually reunited in North and Byrd, but North passed away soon thereafter. Here's some stuff from PICTURES ON A STRING. Released in 1983 (again......THAT YEAR...what is it about THAT YEAR ?) Also...as a side note...I don't own the First self titled Comateens album.....does anyone out there have it????

COMATEENS - THE LATE ESCAPE

COMATEENS - GET OFF MY CASE (12-inch mix)

COMATEENS - COMATEENS

COMATEENS - ICE MACHINE

a mid-summer's cool new Wave collection

It's 100 degrees outside....too hot for even the beach. Kinda makes me long for the cool icy mid-October Halloween weather. Hope these rare-ish New Wave tunes will take you there


MODERN ENGLIGH - Life In The Gladhouse
MEDIUM MEDIUM - So Hungry So Angry
GARY NUMAN - Are Friend's Electric (Renegade Soundwave mix)
Peter Murphy - Blind Sublime 12"
APB - When I Feel This Way 12"
BELOUIS SOME - Imagination 12"
MEN WITHOUT HATS - I Like

Shriekback

Shriekback is not an easy band to classify. They borrowed heavily from funk but had a very different agenda; their music was more suited for contemplation than for parties. They combined synthesizers and drum machines with throbbing bass lines and unorthodox vocals to evoke a primordial world where the line between human and animal was blurred. The title of their fourth album, Big Night Music, might be the most succinct summation of their work: Shriekback's music was always an appropriate soundtrack for life in the dark, but with the emphasis on the possibilities rather than the dangers. Though often haunting, it was not gothic and harbored strains of pop and dance that rose to the surface from time to time. Still, however accessible they became, Shriekback cultivated an air of mystery that made them hard to pin down. Further complicating any evaluation of their career is the fact that they never made an impact in the states. They came close with the classic "Big Night Music" but these guys were never really made for the MTV generation. When they TRIED to conform, with 1989's GO BANG...well....the less said about THAT album, the better.
One of my favourite songs is from the Arista 1984 album Jam Science. "Mercy Dash" sounds like it should belong on Ministry's "With Sympathy"...and I'm just wondering if that album was on Barry's turntable at the time......hmmmm

There's no shortage of Shriekback classics to choose from. "Nemesis", the 12" mix of coarse, begins with Marlin Brando's voice from Apocolypse Now. How many other songs start out like THAT?.....um....none...I think.

Finally....the BIG NIGHT MUSIC album is truely a unrecognized classic. Here's the first track, but I think all of them are worth a listen.

MERCY DASH

NEMESIS (12" MIX)

BLACK LIGHT TRAP

Hey! I found a new project

Guess I got caught by the "making videos for Youtube" bug.

First off I decided to make a video for a song I wrote and recorded in 2004 called " The Game Of Lies". I used Little Rascals footage cause....um....actually for no reason at all.....but it looks kinda cool so I used it.......


GAME OF LIES


Then I decided to do one for " Everybody Looks Like You ", which I recorded with my first working band "Dreamworld" back in 1988. So I guess 20 years isn't too long to wait for a video.....

EVERYBODY LOOKS LIKE YOU
But best of all I think is this video for a song I recorded and wrote in 1996 called " Lullabye"...using footage from an old Casper The Friendly Ghost cartoon.....
LULLABYE


If anyone's interested the MP3's are at the bottom of the page....in the first blog I posted

Coldplay's LOST!

I decided to record a cover of the new Coldplay song " LOST!" just for fun......for kicks....just for a larf.....and for added kicks, wanted to create a video for YOUTUBE, cause everybody on Earth and their mother seems to have recorded a version of this song.....the fricken albums only been out a month.....CRAZY.
The video is just clips recorded in Vegas in 2000, but the images were the least of my concerns....it's all for fun
Coldplay's Lost....covered by me

Classic 12-inch THE CURE - LET'S GO TO BED

Released on Sire records in 1983, This is where the Cure broke through the Gothic fog of their beginnings and into the bright light of sunny New Wave. At the time Robert Smith thought it would be frowned upon, but in reality these are the songs that broke through to the States courtesy of forward thinking radio stations like New York's WLIR. I was surprised that in the past couple of years while Rhino was re-issuing all their back catalogue, they somehow didn't think to include this classic on anything. So far there are very few of the classic 12-inch remixes available on CD. 1983 might just be the quintessential year for New Wave. The B-side, JUST ONE KISS was also a fantastic song. Very Doors-like in it's dreamy-ness.

THE CURE - LET'S GO TO BED (EXTENDED VERSION) MP3

THE CURE - JUST ONE KISS (EXTENDED VERSION) MP3

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