Welcome to the singles club. At least that’s what I think I’ll be posting all week. This one is a 12 inch of “Stop This Crazy Thing” (1988) by Coldcut. It’s probably the best dance single ever recorded. If you disagree with that I’d love to hear what you think is better.
Junior Reid (Black Uhuru) provides the perfect vocal complement to this jungle music which is replete with all sorts of hoots and hollers, including Tarzan’s signature wail. The sounds and samples are themselves what’s crazy here and I definitely do not want to stop them.
This is one of the most played records in our collection. Long live Coldcut!
(I found this video of “Stop This Crazy Thing.” The record cover appears to be for a 12 inch (different edition than mine), but the record itself looks like a 7 inch, and the music is shorter. The original 12 inch is seven and a half minutes of jumping.)
I like Beck’s thinking on this project more than the outcome. As you can see from the track listing there are some big names involved, but overall Guerolito is less enjoyable than Guero. I suppose that’s what you should expect with remixes.
Radiohead fans raise your hands. I guess I’m a fan, but it’s an intermittent relationship at best. Maybe you hard core folks can comment on what makes Radiohead so great. I bought their first album, Pablo Honey when it first came out, and let’s be honest, it was pretty inconsistent. Unfortunately, that stuck with me and I missed out for a while when they started making great music.
Kid A actually won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. This version is an appropriately arty package for an increasingly experimental band. It’s a gatefold double LP, on vinyl of course, but records are 10 inchers, not 12. All sides of the gatefold and liners are covered with art by Stanley Donwood and singer Thom Yorke.
I like Kid A, but it’s not something I’ll play often. The overall vibe is like a Pink Floyd album, not really my thing. I thought maybe I was crazy, or maybe just old, for thinking that, but I’ve read the comparison elsewhere.
All right, I’m going to have to pull back to a low rating of 9 on this one. Change is Coming by Money Mark is still awesome, just not quite so much as the earlier records. Still, I’ve probably played in its entirety at least 100 times. Overall it’s more instrumental and jazzy than his masterpiece, Push the Button. The packaging is almost as interesting as the music. I didn’t include all the artwork, but it revolves around origami swans made from different paper currencies and then set on fire. Check out the folding, and burning, directions printed on the disk itself.
The sad thing about Change is Coming is it’s the last Money Mark record I got. There have been two more full length releases and it’s ridiculous that I don’t have them, yet. Somebody help me out!
As an added bonus today, I’ve included a video with Mr. Mark from an interview that was on the Sundance Channel where he explains his relationship with the Beastie Boys and his creative process.
Genius! Genius I tell you! More Money Mark greatness today. This record is deep! Somehow this disk is even better than the first. I don’t know where or how I got this advance copy of Push the Button but it’s good to have friends that know what’s going on. This record has a lot more vocals and that’s just more to love. Mark’s lyrics are brilliant and at times poignant. His voice is perfect for his unique style of music. Noise, techno, electronic, gospel, soul, funk, rock and jazz are all in the mix.
I have played Push the Button for countless people over the years and I have never met anyone who didn’t love it. And if there are people out there who don’t dig it I doubt I want to meet them.
Push the button
Push the button
Open the door and let me come innnnnn…
Money Mark is the greatest. He’s played with everyone from Beck to the Beastie Boys, but the truth is, even though I love those artists, I play his music much more often. Mark’s Keyboard Repair has 30 tracks. You’re probably thinking “that’s too much” but I assure after one listen you’ll start thinking “I want more.” Some folks describe this recording as demo quality, but I disagree. It’s free and loose but the sound is perfect. Many of the songs are only about a minute long. In some ways it feels less like a typical album and more like the cue track to your favorite unmade movie. Give it a spin and pretend you’re the star.
We seem to have an endless supply of 12 inches. Almost all of them are Mary’s; she’s quite the completist collector. Here is another piece of pop art from New Order. This version of “Shellshock” is almost 10 minutes long. “Original version appears on the original picture soundtrack Pretty in Pink” is printed on the typically minimalist back cover. The flip side has an instrumental version of “Thieves Like Us.” Why do we keep these things? Is my wife leading a secret second life as a DJ for ’80s dance parties?
Title: Musik for Insomniaks (Limited edition Japanese boxed cassette with deck of cards)
Year: 1985
Format: Cassette
Rating (1-10): 6
Owner: Tracy
Acquired: 1985? – I must’ve been working at a record store…
Keeper: Yes
All the nerds in the house say, “Hey!” This one is for you. I know I promised something for the nerds the other day, but I’ve been planning on posting Mark Mothersbaugh’s Musik for Insomniaks since I saw him playing “guest programmer” on TCM a couple weeks ago.
Mark had some interesting movie choices. I didn’t see his entire shift. I wonder if Robert Osborne asked him about Devo. Anyhow… Of course, Mark has made many soundtracks and that’s pretty much what Musik for Insomniaks sounds like. It’s a little too staccato to be considered truly soporific (false advertising!) but it does get boring at times. And those times really depend on the listener because all of the “songs” sound similar. I thought I was playing the same side of the tape by mistake for a minute, but it turned to be side 2 after all. Even the names of the songs are similar: “XP25”, “XP31”, etc. To be fair, the collection is really more like a film score where the pieces are variations of the core theme. It’s all instrumental, with no drums or guitar, that I could tell.
What makes this piece interesting enough to keep is the total package. This version was a Japanese import produced as limited edition boxed cassette with a deck of cards. Mothersbaugh completely covered this thing with art and quirkiness. The text on the cover is in gold leaf box, the cassette itself is metallic gold, there is a comic inside the box top, and included is a letter in kanji signed by Mark. I saved the best for last, there is also a full deck of playing cards, to play some sleep-inducing Solitaire I assume. All the cards have a different picture of Mark. For each suit he is wearing a different suit of his own. I don’t know who the woman is with him on one of the Joker cards.
If I have any attachment to this record, New Order’s Technique, it’s that I got it when my brother and I had a record store in Norfolk, VA. And that’s about it because this is not an album I played a lot. I’m not a huge New Order fan, but I love some of their stuff. Technique is a little bland and maybe too pop for me. My favorite song by far is the last one, “Dream attack.” And the lower case “a” is how they spell it.
The second pic is from the liner. The back of the jacket is the usual NO minimalism with just a bar code in the center.
“Confusion” has always been my favorite New Order song. I first it heard it when my friend Jeff Arthur played it for me. Anyhow, the truth is out: I’m a natural-born metallist that likes to dance. And this is a great dance song. There are a number of “Confusion” 12 inches out there. This version has four tracks:
It was published by Streetwise and according to the very thorough New Order Discography site it’s pretty rare:
Q: What’s the deal with the Streetwise testpressing from the New Music Seminar? A: The Streetwise testpressing (SWRL 2213) with blank, handwritten and/or stamped labels was made for the “New Music Seminar” in New York. As a part of the new Music Seminar New Order played at the Garage on July 7, 1983. Approximately 400 of these 12 inchers were made.
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