From the moment I started this blog I thought it would be cool to do a mixtape every month or two with interesting stuff that I wouldn't be doing full posts about. This is the first one and I feel pretty good about it. Please let me know what you think about it and, if you like it, I'll try to make sure I post one every month or two. Enjoy!
The Unheard Music - June 2009 Mixtape
01 Liz Phair - White Babies (Answering Machine Version)
Liz's twisted take on "My Bonny" was initially recorded for her Girly-Sound demo tapes. Those recordings are essential but this answering machine recording of the track is a fun alternative. As for the circumstances behind the recording, I've never heard an explanation, so if you know one please let me know.
02 Vanity 6 - Vibrator
We all know that Prince and Vanity were freaks, and this is the kind of track that would have furthered that reputation if it had seen release. Recorded during the early stages of the "Purple Rain"-era sessions that encompassed albums by Sheila E., The Time and Prince himself, Vanity was suppossed to be in the film and another Vanity 6 album was planned for release but Vanity made it clear she wanted more money from Warner Brothers or else she would leave. They didn't give her the money so she left and Prince got Apollonia to take her place in the film and the band, rechristening them Apollonia 6.
03 Beastie Boys - I'm Down
The Beasties and Rick Rubin recorded this tongue-in-cheek cover of the Fab 4's b-side of the "Help" single, but Michael Jackson, who owned a massive chunk of the Beatles' catalogue at the time, declined their request on the premise that he felt their version was a devaluation of the original. Eventually, a slightly different version ended up being leaked to a California radio station, but this was the version intended for "Licensed To Ill".
04 Ween - Where'd The Cheese Go? (Pizza Hut Demo 1)
Believe it or not, Pizza Hut came to Ween asking them to write a jingle for their cheese filled crust pizza. Despite making a rather catchy jingle, Pizza Hut turned it down flat. For a while this was available via the official Ween site.
05 Beck - Death Is Coming To Get You (Folk Version)
This is a funny Beck song in the vein of "Satan Gave Me A Taco". Two recordings of this exist, this being the folkier of the two. This appeared on the "Golden Leftovers" tape.
06 Pizzy Yelliot - Could You Be Loved (Mungolian Jet Set 303 Acid Mix)
It's rather unclear who Pizzy Yelliot is, although I've heard it may be another pseduonym for the Mungolian Jet Set. Regardless, this is a seriously freaky cover of the Bob Marley song. For those unfamiliar with the Mungolian Jet Set, their album is far jazzier than their remixes which are often rather long and trippy, but both sides of their styles are irresistible. If this is your first taste of MJS, you've got to get their remix of the Kreeps "I Just Wanna Break Some Hearts" and their debut album, "Beauty Came To Us In Stone".
07 Autolux - Future Perfect
Title cut for Autolux's first album that doesn't actually appear on the album. This song appeared on their "Demonstration" cd in slightly rougher form, but this version was included as the b-side of their "Here Comes Everybody" single. Great song!
08 J*Davey - Let It Bleed
It's pretty unclear what is up with J*Davey these days. Their two EPs, the first of which was described as a very rough demo despite being lush, dreamy and as sonically deep as anyone could hope for, are the only documents of their studio work as of right now. They signed to Warner Brothers records but nothing has come of that deal yet, so I guess we'll just have to keep waiting, but there are a few great songs they've recorded which don't appear on either of their releases and this is one of them. Let this groove hit you and get next to someone special.
09 Blackalicious - Cheezit Terrorist
This was featured on the original pressings of Blackalicious' "Melodica" EP but was dropped from later pressings due to sample clearance issues. The fidelity of the track is due to it having been taped from a live radio freestyle just as it sounds like it was, not from the track being copied from a bad source.
10 Ween - Where'd The Cheese Go? (Pizza Hut Demo 2)
After being turned down by Pizza Hut with their initial version of this jingle, Ween turned in this significantly more sarcastic version. I don't think I need to tell you what didn't happen next.
11 Steely Dan - The Second Arrangement
Recorded during the "Gaucho" sessions, the majority of the masters of the original version of this song were accidentally erased by an engineer. Becker and Fagen were devestated and initially decided to forget the song, but they were pressed to try to re-record it. They buckled and recorded this fabulous version, but they didn't feel it lived up to the quality of the original and decided not to release it. A sad decision, as this is a heluva song!
12 Cibo Matto - Know Your Chicken (El Diablo Version)
This version of "Know Your Chicken" was most likely a great part of the impetus for the creation of Butter 08, a Cibo side project with Russell Simins, drummer for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and their friends. Simins plays drums on this great version recorded for El Diablo Records. It was initially released on a 7" and eventually reissued as part of a cd featuring both of Cibo Matto's El Diablo singles and their then-unreleased improv "Crumbs".
13 Wordsound I Powa - Bury Dem
I'm a fan of my pal Skiz's label, Wordsound Records. This is from a Wordsound super-group, Wordsound I Powa. This did receive an official release and is still available at least digitally as part of their "Transmitting Live From Planet Crooklyn" album. This track is a little crazier than some of the other stuff on the album, but if you like spacey electro-dub stuff, you should definitely check Wordsound I Powa out. I can't seem to find this on iTunes but it is available via Amazon's excellent MP3 site.
14 DJ Brokenwindow - Shit On My Side
DJ Brokenwindow does manual mash-ups, rarely using computers to assist him in assembling his tracks. This is from his "Parallel Universe #1" compilation, of which a sequel is also available via kid606's Violent Turn label. I don't know if this is still in print, but the first volume is tons of crazy fun. This track is a meeting of the Thompson Twins and Eminem's crew, D-12.
15 The Pharcyde - Ya Mama (Matt Dike Remix)
I don't know for certain that this ever received an official release, but if it did I don't know how they got away with it! This is a Matt Dike remix very much in the spirit of "Paul's Boutique" and it tons of fun.
16 Nirvana - Onward Into Countless Battles (aka Dave's Meat Song)
This is basically a Dave Grohl solo track that he recorded during a Nirvana session in Januaryof 1993 while in Rio. Everyone always paints Kurt Cobain to have been rather gloomy, which is confusing since there was a lot of evidence to the contrary, but it's clear that Dave and Krist were always pretty up-beat guys. This is a funny and goody track that I wish had been released on the "With The Lights Out" box-set, but as it's pretty much just Dave, I can see why it would have been ignored.
17 Beck - Death Is Coming To Get You (Hip-Hop Version)
This is the second version of "Death..." and appeared on Beck's "Fresh Meat and Old Slabs" tape which he made for his mother. I don't know that anyone would call this proper hip-hop, what with walls of guitar feedback and pounding percussion, but there is a funky drum loop running under the track and Beck's flow is far more rhythmic than it normally is.
18 Ween - Where'd The Cheese Go? (All Request Live Version)
Ween recorded this nutty version of "Cheese..." during an online performance that was comprised completely of requests. This is easily the funniest and goofiest version of the song and should be enjoyed by all. The "All Request Live" show received an official release and is available via iTunes.
19 Marilyn Chambers - Benihana
This is the late Marilyn Chambers' attempt to enter the disco market alongside Andrea True and her classic "More, More, More". This track didn't really go anywhere and is kind of rare, but it's been mentioned quite a bit since her death earlier this year. I like this one and it should get more props for being what it is, a fun and catchy dance song with a good dose of sexuality. In fact, it might be too sexual, but it's still a great tune.
20 The Clovers - The Rotten Cocksuckers Ball
I learned of this song through a compilation of R&B singles that influenced the young Frank Zappa. It's just as dirty as it's name should make you think it is, which is still pretty dirty these days and had to be insanely dirty when it was originally released. So, if you're easily offended, skip this track. If you can laugh at obscenities, please check this out!
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