Adam Lambert Releases Music Video And Singles - Watch

All you Adam Lambert fans will be happy to know that the American Idol runner-up has released not only his first single, but also artwork for his album cover and a music video.

Lambert, who came in second place last year on American Idol, is scheduled to release "For Your Entertainment" on November 23. We listened to two tracks from Adam's official website and were actually impressed.

The first track, "For Your Entertainment" was somewhat traditional pop, and the second "Time For Miracles" was a well-written and smooth ballad similar to "Queen" style.

You can order the album directly from his official site for $24.99 - this includes a hard cover 16 page "Collectors Edition" book and additional bonus tracks.

You can click HERE to hear Adam Lambert's first two songs, and the following video is the official "Time For Miracles" music Video.

Watch Adam Lambert "Time For Miracles" Music Video


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Dennis Hopper Has Prostate Cancer

After briefly being hospitalized last month for dehydration, actor Dennis Hopper says he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Hopper has recently been seen on the series "Crash" on the Starz network, and several episodes are already in the can and will be seen through the end of the year.

His manager told reporters that the actor has cancelled all upcoming travel and entertainment projects to focus on his treatment.

Hopper, 73, will be treated through a special prostate cancer program at the University of Southern California (USC). His agent did not elaborate on his condition.

Hopper was forced to cancel his appearance at an exhibition of his artwork and photography at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. Called "Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood," the show celebrates "the work and life of an extraordinary filmmaker, artist and key figure in the evolution of America's cultural scene from the 1950s to today."

Dennis Hopper, who was born in Dodge City Kansas, is best known for his role as Billy in the film "Easy Rider" in 1969, about two counterculture bikers who travel from L.A. to New Orleans in search of America.

Hoppers latest project, "Alpha and Omega", is in post production and scheduled for release in 2010 and also stars Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci, Justin Long and Danny Glover. The animated adventure follows two mismatched young wolves thrown are together by circumstance.
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David Noller of Dynamix II

I recently got to speak with David Noller, aka Scratch D, founder of Dynamix II and responsible for much of the popularization of bass in electronic and dance music. Very cool guy, and that's not just because he made Just Give The DJ A Break! He was extremely friendly and happy to talk about what he's been up to as well as share stories from his career. Coming from Florida, he was very interested in hip-hop and dance music, but he visited family in the New York area during his summers and became a fan of the sounds coming off the radio. After graduating high school in 1985, he attended Full Sail where he got his degree in recording arts and proceeded to record Just Give The DJ A Break, a track that combined everything he loved about dance music and hip-hop.

Dynamix II didn't have a lot of press behind them, with most promotional work done by themselves and word-of-mouth. Their shows became legendary with attendance consistently growing and they're still rocking parties to this day. Next on the agenda will be a new mix-cd and some soon to be released remixes, including a retooling of Malcolm McLaren and The World Famous Supreme Team's Buffalo Girls. In the meantime, if you want to find out what Dave and his people are up to, you can always hit the official Dynamix II website or their very popular MySpace site. And, just in case you're not already terribly familiar with the legend of Dynamix II, Dave has given me permission to post a compilation of Dynamix II classics in the form of the vinyl-only version of From 1985 To Present, their 2001 compilation that came out on Rephlex only in the UK. The CD version was a mix of their classics while the vinyl was a four-disc set featuring unmixed versions of many of their greatest hits. Enjoy and pay Dave a visit!


Dynamix II - From 1985 To Present
Part One
Part Two

01 Just Give The DJ A Break (Remix)
02 Atomic Age
03 II Evolve
04 Feel The Bass
05 Techno Bass
06 1 Million Mhz
07 Bass Generator
08 Ignition
09 Technology
10 DJ's Go Berzerk
11 Don't Touch That Dial
12 Energy


PS - Massive thanks to Dave for allowing me to post the above compilation. I had initially asked him about posting a few tracks or an EP but, when I mentioned I had this, he said I could post the whole thing. Thanks again for being so gracious man!

Beck - Fresh Meat and Old Slabs

Sorry this post was delayed. I had a service outage yesterday and could not get online. Nonetheless, as promised, here is some more Beck. This one is a cassette of various demos that he compiled for his mother around 1993. She had opened a cafe and he gave this to her to play there. Personally, I hope she didn't play it, I'm not sure customers would have stuck around. As for fans of Beck, this pseudo greatest hits collections of early tracks should please with ease. Here you'll find early versions of later re-recordings like Cut 1/2 Blues, Tasergun and Steve Threw Up in significantly different states. The version of Tasergun is pretty awesome compared to the released recording in my humble opinion. There are also quite a few awesome but otherwise unreleased tracks like Beck's spin on the folk standard Ballad Of Mexico, the bizarre Big Stompin' Mama and the hilarious (at least in my opinion) Heartland Feeling, a parody of all things Springsteen or Mellencamp.

There will be a few more Beck posts in November, as there is quite a bit left to share, so keep your eyes open. Enjoy!


Beck - Fresh Meat and Old Slabs
NOTE: This post is separated into two sides like the original cassette, although side two is hella short compared to side one so I can't vouch for it's timing accuracy. That said, you can always run the sides together and just play it like a full album. That works better for me anyway.

Side One:

01 Let's Go Moon Some Cars
02 Goin' Nowhere Fast
03 Cut In Half Blues
04 Sucker Without A Brain
05 Tasergun
06 Grease
07 Ballad Of Mexico
08 Fume
09 Leave Me On The Moon
10 I Feel Low Down
11 Satan Gave Me A Taco
12 Heartland Feeling
13 Big Stompin' Mama
14 Steve Threw Up

Side Two:

01 Say Can You See
02 Piece Of Shit
03 Death Is Coming To Get Me (aka the Hip-Hop version of Death Is Coming To Get You)
04 Captain Brain
05 Go Where U Want (aka Hollow Log)
06 Totally Confused
07 Trouble All My Days


PS - Before anyone says it, I know some of the titles aren't 100% correct. I left them as I received them. There is an info sheet included with the files that gives some details about the origin of the cassette and the people who ripped it. The version posted here was created from a FLAC version of the album.

Beck - Feel The Bunny

If I'm gonna feel a bunny, that's the kind I wanna feel! Okay, I feel dirty now...

Consider this a preamble to tuesday's post which will feature a full length, unreleased tape that Beck created from his demos. I've been really busy working on something for some very KIND individuals, so I'm running a bit behind, but I said there would be a Beck post this month, and with tuesday's there will be two. So, in the meantime, enjoy this rather short, very weird, certifiably "BECKian" tape called Feel The Bunny. The title is taken from what sounds like an impromptu folk song named after an odd bit of dialogue sampled from Sigmund and The Sea Monsters. If you know what I'm talking about, you know the kind of weirdness to expect. For those unaware, a hunt for cheetoes, Blondie's Rapture, some disco pomp, more weird samples and additional impromptu folk freakiness. All in all, good early Beck!


Beck - Feel The Bunny


PS - Visit Whiskeyclone for a little more info on this weird-ass tape, which may have been used as the soundtrack to a video Steve Hanft made.

Top Ten Hollywood Celebrity Scientologists

Okay, so we have a few more than ten celebrities on our list, but there are so many nut jobs out there we were unable to pick just ten.

The following celebrities were selected for their influence and popularity, not solely because of their high-functioning and powerful connections with Xenu.

So put down your thetan meter, put your audit on hold, take a break from your gradient rehabilitation and your search for the way to happiness, and see how many of these celebrities you knew were Scientologists.

Let us know if we missed a big name and we'll add to our follow-up list.

Jason Lee:
Best known for the television karma comedy "My Name is Earl"

Leah Remini
Best known for starring with Kevin James in the sitcom "King of Queens"

Beck
Famous just for being Beck, along with being an uncombed and strange Musician

Greta Van Susteren
Best known for being a legal expert for CNN and FOX; covered the O.J. Simpson trial; host of "Burden of Proof" and "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren."

Danny Masterson
Best known for his stoner role of Hyde on "That '70s Show" with Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher. Danny is the older brother of Christopher Masterson who played the oldest brother on "Malcolm In The Middle"

Isaac Hayes
Hayes is 'the man' familiar to many for writing and performing the theme song to Shaft, and for providing the voice of "Chef" on South Park.

Sonny Bono
Best known for being Cher' ex-husband and being a Republican congressman, and father of Chastity Bono.

Jerry Seinfeld
Best known for his smash hit television comedy "Seinfeld", and making bad commercials with Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Tom Cruise
Best known for being Tom Cruise, the King of all Scientologists and father of Xenu babies. Appeared in Risky Business, Top Gun, War of the Worlds, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, Mission Impossible, Eyes Wide Shut, Jerry Maguire, Interview with the Vampire, The Firm, A few Good Men, Rain Man, Young Guns, Cocktail, and the list goes on.

John Travolta
A-list second in command behind Tom Cruise, and best known for his early role as Vinny Barbarino on "Welcome Back Kotter", and big budget films like Hairspray, Ladder 49, Austin Powers, Domestic Disturbance, The General's Daughter, Primary Colors, Michael, Phenomenon, and the list goes on.

Kirstie Alley
Best know for being fat, and her role on Cheers, Deconstructing Harry, Drop Dead Gorgeous and "Veronica's Closet".

Priscilla Presley
Best known for being the really young wife of rocker Elvis Presley, and appearing in almost 100 episodes of the prime time soap "Dallas".

Catherine Bell
Currently starring in the TV series "Army Wives", and appeared in 191 episodes of "JAG".

Corin Nemec
Not seen much since his days on "Stargate SG-1" and "Parker Lewis Can't Loose". Nemec's popularity is on the rise as he has three movies in the works, and one television project called "The Mars Shuttle Murders".

Jeffrey Tambor
Tambor played the head honcho of the Bluth Company in the hit TV show "Arrested Development". He will also appear in the movie version next year. Tambor has been involved in over 125 movie and television projects and is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood.


Jenna Elfman
Elfman is familiar to most for her role as Dharma on the long running TV sitcom "Dharma & Greg". She will also be seen as Ophelia in the comedy "The Six Wives of Henry Lefay" early next year.


Nancy Cartwright
Best known for being the voice of Bart Simpson on the animated "The Simpsons" television show, and creating voices for virtually every animated show created over the last ten years.


Suspected Runner Ups:

Will Smith
While Smith has never talked publicly about being a Xenu lover, he was spotted handing out Scientology pamphlets last year on a movie set. Smith and his wife also funded a private school where concepts of Scientology (among other topics) are taught.
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We will be posting links of the Nightline expose that ran on October 23 soon.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique Show Vinyl

So Demonoid hasn't returned yet, and the way they're taking their time who knows if they will, but for those waiting for me to repost the Paul's Boutique Companion torrent, I have some good news for you. No, it isn't online again yet, but when it is available it will be a revised edition featuring some upgrades. In particular, this post features one of those upgrades, a complete rip of the Paul's Boutique Show Vinyl!

Now, I can't say that this is a pure rip, as it is a transcode of a 320kbps set of MP3s. On top of that, the set had several very loud clicks and pops as well as a few skips. What I did was manually remove the most noticeable clicks and pops (I don't believe in using software based solutions for the removal of clicks and pops, as it usually lessens the quality of the recordings in other ways), normalize each track individually and correct the skips using the best source material I had. There are three skips throughout the set, and I'm sure those listening closely will notice at least two of the edits, as one is rather obvious and the other may be noticed upon repeated listens, but the third one will remain unmentioned as I think it's pretty well done. It's not a big secret where the skips were though, so if you notice the edits, kudos to you. It'd be nice if you could let me know what you think of the work I've done on those skips, for better or worse.

This version of the Show Vinyl will replace the instrumentals and the previous version of the show vinyl contained in the first version of the Companion, as this contains almost the complete album (To All The Girls, 5-Piece Chicken Dinner and Get On The Mic are not included for obvious reasons) in far superior quality to the previous versions I posted, but it also contains the instrumentals for Time To Get Ill, Hold It Now, Hit It, Some Dumb Cop Gave Me Two Tickets Already (!!!) and the complete version of the previously unknown instrumental, which has been identified as the instrumental version of Making Cash Money by Busy Bee. Also, I don't believe these are merely the album versions of the tracks with the vocals removed, as several of the cuts seem to continue a little longer or have slight differences. This leads me to believe that the mixes used for Paul's Boutique may not have been completely reproducible as they appear on the album, so some alternate mixes or edits were created, making this an interesting listen for more reasons than just hearing the album sans-vocals.

I'll make sure to keep everyone aware of when the new version of the Companion torrent goes online. There will be a few other changes in that version, but some things are staying the same, and I'll let everyone know what has or hasn't changed so you don't have to re-download the complete set again if you don't want to. Also, once I get this torrent back online, I'm planning to share a few other larger collections in lossless quality via torrents, and I think you'll all be very pleased with them! Until then though, enjoy this and have a good weekend!

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique Show Vinyl
NOTE: Links removed due to a DMCA complaint. Again, they didn't complain about the previous stuff so I'm assuming this is strictly Def Jam or Sugar Hill related. Sorry guys, but this stuff is still available elsewhere. At least they were nice enough NOT to completely remove the post!

01 Shake Your Rump
02 Johnny Ryall
03 Eggman
04 High Plains Drifter
05 Time To Get Ill
06 The Sounds Of Science
07 3-Minute Rule
08 Hey Ladies
09 Hold It Now, Hit It
10 Busy Bee - Making Cash Money
11 Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun
12 Car Thief
13 What Comes Around
14 Shadrach
15 59 Chrystie Street
16 Stop That Train
17 A Year and A Day
18 Hello Brooklyn
19 Dropping Names
20 Lay It On Me
21 Mike On The Mic
22 A.W.O.L.
23 Some Dumb Cop Gave Me Two Tickets Already


PS - You can get the original versions of these MP3s and a bunch of other Beastie show vinyl at BeastieMixes.com. Big thanks to them for sharing these recordings! By the way, if you guys are reading this, if you have lossless copies of these recordings, I'd be more than happy to clean those up for you.

Nine Inch Nails - Happiness In Slavery

In the world of oddball releases and fascinating stuff that never really came out, Trent Reznor deserves some kind of award. He's been involved in so many projects, both actual and rumored, that have never come out, are unconfirmed, were never finished or mutated into something else that the air of mystery surrounding him is nearly impenetrable. He was involved in Tapeworm, which will likely never see an official release despite being finished in one form or another (label conflicts, mostly with Maynard James Keenan's label's then-involvement), he helped produce a weird Robert Smith album that didn't involve The Cure in any way and never came out, he's covered, or rumored to have covered, songs by Kiss and Soft Cell that may never see the light of day (Love Gun and Sex Dwarf, just in case you're wondering), and that's just the tip of the iceberg. So, this find is a very small chip in that mass of frozen water, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Apparently, during the Broken campaign in 1992, Trent's then-new label, Interscope, decided to release Happiness In Slavery as a single. In retrospect, I'm sure everyone involved can see why this was bound to fail, but if you're not aware, I'll give you the run down.

Exhibit A: Incredible music video featuring cystic fibrosis spokesperson and performance artist Bob Flanagan being tortured, destroyed and eventually consumed and excreted by a machine, all in very gory detail. He also appears completely nude in the video with his genitals being clearly visible.

Exhibit B: Normal rock, pop or alternative stations generally wouldn't play anything so incredibly loud or discordant, especially with lyrics about slavery with a love/hate undercurrent running throughout.

Exhibit C: Listen to the song. I love it, but it should be obvious why many people might have hated it. Maybe you could slip this in on the dance floor with some similarly hard stuff, but that club would clear out quickly if it wasn't heavy into the goth or S&M scene.

Exhibit D: Not as big a deal, but non-stereo FM radio stations apparently received complaints and had problems playing songs from the Broken EP as they were never intended for mono playback and could damage some speakers. I can't confirm this, but I've heard reports.

I feel exhibits B and C kind of cross over each other, but I'm sure you get the point. Anyway, Interscope released a promo-only CD single featuring a version of the song labeled the Flaccid Edit (it's just a shorter edit if I remember correctly), as well as a rather odd promo 12". The 12" featured both the Fixed version of the track, which was a more club friendly version of the song, as well as the original Broken version, but it also contained two otherwise unreleased remixes, the Sherwood Slave Mix, created by Adrian Sherwood, and the PK Slavery Remix, created by Paul Kendall. The Sherwood version is pretty short, coming in just over two minutes, and featuring some odd spoken word vocals, most likely performed by Sherwood himself, and some dub effects. It's pretty cool, but not terribly essential. The PK version is another somewhat club-friendly version, being mostly instrumental but featuring a healthy dose of synths, some screams from Trent and some sirens to alert you of something, probably that you're listening to a Nine Inch Nails record.

As cool as this record is, the unreleased remixes simply aren't the greatest, making it pretty clear why they didn't come out, but they are nice to have nonetheless. The strangest thing about the record is probably the label, which denotes it's a VIP Advance Copy, with the I in VIP having been created from the old Interscope Records logo. Since it never came out officially, one is left to wonder if the label came to their senses late in the game for this single. Interscope was distributed through Atlantic at this time, so the powers that be may have decided they were pouring too much money into a niche artist. After all, at least circa 1992, there wasn't much money behind industrial-labeled acts, at least not directly from major labels. Interscope started as a really peculiar label, offering it's signings a lot more freedom than most majors would ever consider. Remember, Interscope brought us Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Marilyn Manson and other rather cutting-edge artists for the time in it's early days. After all, who can forget Gerardo? Perhaps he was a sign of the awful things to come when Interscope got too big and started to believe that will.i.am and Timbaland were the solutions to the music industry's problems.


Nine Inch Nails - Happiness In Slavery

01 Fixed Version
02 Sherwood Slave Mix
03 PK Slavery Remix
04 Broken Version


PS - In all seriousness, Gerardo wasn't that bad for his time. The hotties in his videos were insane! On top of that, he also became an A&R for Interscope, and is responsible for bringing Enrique Iglesias and Bubba Sparxxx to the label. Okay, maybe he really was that bad.

Grace Jones - Island Life

I wanted to write a really poetic post about Grace Jones and how great she is, but I think it's better if I just get to the point and tell you to listen to this compilation because she's awesome and this is a prime example of just how cool she really is.

Primarily focusing on sessions with Island Records' Compass Point Studios in-house band, a multi-ethnic group of incredibly talented musicians that featured Sly & Robbie among their ranks, Island Life follows Grace as she struts her way through disco, funk, reggae, and soul, all with the confidence of a heavyweight champion. It's a little short, especially when compared to the superior Private Life compilation, but it's a great starting point if you're not familiar with her work outside of film or modeling.

Grace is still around, just as strong and continuing to tour and record. Last year she released her first full-length album since 1989, Hurricane, and it's well worth your effort to find a copy. Also, if you're not familiar with the other aspects of her career, follow this link and you can see some shots of Grace from her modeling days. Enjoy!


Grace Jones - Island Life
UPDATE: Link is gone by DMCA request. I'll concede that I knew this one was still available for purchase, I'm just surprised that anyone cares after it's been up for so long. Whatever, I respect this and will gladly remove the link. If you like Grace than you should purchase this at iTunes or Amazon.

01 La Vie En Rose
02 I Need A Man
03 Do Or Die (7" Edit)
04 Private Life
05 Love Is The Drug (Thorngren Remix)
06 I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
07 Pull Up To The Bumper (7" Edit)
08 Walking In The Rain
09 My Jamaican Guy
10 Slave To The Rhythm (7" Edit)

Photek - Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu

My first obvious run-ins with drum'n'bass were Squarepusher and Hrvatski, both of whom whet my insatiable appetite for more. I'd read all about Goldie, the Metalheadz crew, Grooverider, Roni Size and everyone else involved, but it was all so different from my initial introductions and most of it didn't do too much for me. (Later, I learned the more hectic d'n'b stuff was being labeled drill'n'bass, even though there wasn't much bass to be found.) Roni Size and Goldie produced some of the best of that scene, but their records weren't nearly hyperkinetic enough for my tastes, and most of the Metalheadz seemed to use the same breaks over and over again. Drum'n'Bass sounded so much more interesting in writing. Hell, even Roni Size and Goldie were kind of disappointments for me initially, with Goldie only producing one good album (Timeless pretty much lives up to it's name.) and Roni and his crew making great tracks for years after (Krust is the unsung hero of the Reprazent crew!). I suppose if I'd heard this stuff before Squarepusher and Hrvatski that I wouldn't necessarily have been so disappointed, but who knows? The exception to all of this though was Photek.

Photek is the best known alias for Rupert Parkes, an English producer whose records dripped fear and espionage. His earliest works were revered throughout the UK indie scene, with the ridiculously limited copies having disappeared with the quickness. The difference between Photek and everyone else is his creativity when it came to programming. He didn't reuse the amen break till it was further broken, he made his own beats, and they skittered and scattered all over the place. Nowhere near as insane as the aforementioned Squarepusher and Hrvatski, Photek was just as creative and more about building a dark or subtle mood. The title track of his first full-length album, Modus Operandi, was a minimal jazz charmer that didn't concern itself with making the beats crazy, it merely wanted to sustain that mood for seven minutes. Incredible stuff!

After Modus Operandi, Photek released the incredible Form & Function compilation which collected some of those ridiculously rare early singles of his as well as new remixes by himself and other d'n'b producers. He followed that up with Solaris, a significant change in style with experiments in house and with vocalists, something he had never done before. Despite still being dark and moody, it was labeled a misstep by many in the press and Photek took some time off. He reappeared in 2007 with Form & Function 2, another excellent compilation of rare singles and new remixes, which showed he still has his incredible form, but not much has been heard since.

Most of Photek's stuff is still available for purchase digitally, but one of my favorite records of his was bundled with an earlier EP as Risc vs. Reward. That would be Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu, and I'm sharing it with you today. It's not his most intense or emotive record, but it's probably the best example of how much he did with so little. It's B-Side, The Fifth Column, is similarly deep and made the cut on the Modus Operandi album. Overall, it's a great introduction to Photek's dark world.

If you'd like to learn more about Mr. Rupert Parkes and his various aliases, starting primarily with Photek of course, you can visit his MySpace page or his wikipedia reference. Sadly, it appears that his website, Photek Productions, is no longer online. You can also purchase his tracks at Amazon and iTunes.

Please come back Photek! I need more of this stuff, and I know I'm not the only one!

Photek - Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu

01 Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (Two Swords Technique)
02 The Fifth Column


PS - There is an incredible remix 12" for Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu available at the excellent Teenage Riot. Follow this link and let it blow your mind!

Laika - Sounds Of The Satellites

Sorry I haven't been around over the last few days guys. I've been writing my post about David Noller of Dynamix II and I'm going to visit KIND in the studio real soon among other things. I've also got a Richard Devine post coming soon, so, if there is a shortage of posts over the next week, it's not because I'm being lazy, I'm just getting more information so I can spread the word better. That Dynamix II post is close to being done so you'll probably see it next week. As for KIND, there will be info on them here soon enough, but what I'm doing for them isn't necessarily for this site.

I'm not going to spend too much time telling you about Laika, the music should do the talking. Beautiful and filled with subtle but extremely deep rhythms, if you're suffering from the gloom like we here in Ohio are, this is a good record to play on a dark Sunday. Also, Guy Fixsen, one of the engineers on MBV's Loveless, is a member of the band, if that gets your attention. Hit their official site and wikipedia reference for more info. Also, these guys don't really record any longer partially due to the decline of record sales, so if you like this, you should hunt down a copy of it or one of their other albums. This one is still available digitally in the US, so I'm only going to share it for a few days. Enjoy!

Laika - Sounds Of The Satellites
Part One
Part Two

01 Prairie Dog
02 Breather
03 Out Of Sight and Snowblind
04 Almost Sleeping
05 Starry Night
06 Bedbugs
07 Martinis On The Moon
08 Poor Gal
09 Blood + Bones (Moody Mix)
10 Shut Off/Curl Up
11 Spooky Rhodes
12 Dirty Feet + Giggles

SLIM AARONS

Vou uns dias até Amsterdam ... vou interromper o blog ... deixo-vos umas imagens do famoso Slim Aarons ... famoso fotógrafo, que iniciou a sua carreira como fotógrafo de guerra e depois se tornou numa espécie de "Cecil Beaton americano"

Lucky Pierre - "Communiqué"

When you read the post on Prick a few weeks ago, did you follow the link to Kevin McMahon's new site and business venture, Lucky Pierre Music? If not, treat yourself and head over there to get the Lucky Pierre compilation featured there, as well as the other releases up for sale as MP3s, FLACs and CDs. Great stuff and very worthy of your time and attention.

That said, as wonderful a compilation as the Lucky Pierre release is, as it features almost every single released under that banner, all of which are practically impossible to obtain otherwise (at least in good quality), it somehow skips some of Kevin's best-known material. Specifically, the "Communiqué" EP and 7", both of which are completely different from each other and as essential as anything else in the Lucky Pierre or Prick catalogs. Apart from Man Against The Wall, the closing track from the "Communiqué" EP, the other four tracks were all re-recorded as Prick songs and have been left off the Lucky Pierre compilation. One could argue this was because the songs haven't changed that much and the Prick versions may be considered definitive, or that the original versions sound dated, but neither argument holds water. If we're talking about dated sounding recordings, why reissue any of the Lucky Pierre singles? They're mostly from the seventies and early eighties and sound like it. If we're talking about definitive versions, why bother releasing alternate or "inferior" versions in the first place? Kevin has re-recorded Lucky Pierre songs on more occasions that just the first Prick album. Regardless, Kevin should be commended for finally making these records available again, but he should have made them all available, not most of them.

I'm sure no one will be surprised that I have both the "Communiqué" EP and 7" here for you to download and examine for yourselves. As to how they're different from each other, the 7" was released in 1984 and I've copied the text from it's discogs reference for your viewing pleasure:

Limited to 100 copies & came in a plain white sleeve. Features a very early version of "Communiqué" on the A side, recorded in Tom Lash's living room to 4-track w/Kevin McMahon playing pots & pans as drums and singing into a $5 microphone run through a guitar amp. The B side has lyrics etched into it, and plays an approximately 12 second backwards segment of "Communiqué" before hitting a locked groove that plays a short loop over & over.

That description of the 7" is spot-on accurate! As for the EP, it was released in 1988 with the reformed group and sounds very much of it's age. Hell, Trent Reznor even makes an appearance on backing vocals and saxophone. YES! TRENT ON THE SAX!

Unfortunately, that's where the Lucky Pierre story ends until Kevin recorded some LP songs for the second Prick album, The Wreckard, in 2002 and then in 2004 when he released a new album, ThinKing, under the Lucky Pierre name. For me, I'm okay with him not putting new stuff out as Lucky Pierre, the real LP stuff ends in 1988 as far as I'm concerned, I just wish Kevin would release music under any other name more frequently. He's a true talent and, despite what he may fear, he's not remembered solely as a NIN-related project, he's remembered for being himself and writing great songs.

Enjoy the music and remember to visit Lucky Pierre Music for more great music from Kevin and company! Also, if you'd like to see more information on the "Communiqué" EP, follow this link to it's discogs reference.


Lucky Pierre - "Communiqué" 7"

01 "Communiqué"
02 Locked Groove


Lucky Pierre - "Communiqué" EP

01 "Communiqué"
02 Tough
03 Analyst Says
04 I Need To Get To Know
05 Man Against The Wall

October 2009 Mixtape: The Kitchen Sink

I put this together at one in the morning and thought it would be a good mix for the site despite being kinda discombobulated and suffering from the weirdness. As usual, it's mostly rare, unreleased or bizarre stuff that most people have never heard. The rule for my mixtapes has always been that they have to fit on an 80 minute CD, and this one barely makes the cut, coming in at 79:51 when I burnt a copy off this morning. Enjoy!


The Unheard Music - October 2009 Mixtape: The Kitchen Sink

01 Anal Cunt - Theme From Three's Company
Anal Cunt, yes you read that right, is the brainchild of Seth Putnam. I'm sure if you listen to their tracks that you'll find the word brain is used loosely in describing their music, but damn it if I don't find these guys entertaining as hell! Full of openly nasty and disgusting jokes, their tongues have been surgically implanted in their cheeks. Don't take much seriously about them, they're pretty fucked up. Check here for more info. That said, I'm not racist, prejudiced, homophobic or whatever nasty things these guys have been incorrectly labeled in the past, and I don't think they are either, so don't start looking at me sideways.

02 Jega - Fireball
If you didn't download the Variance: Roughs, this should give you an idea what you missed out on. Awesome shit! Also, anyone know what program I can use to create the Soundwave effect as sampled in this track? That's Soundwave from Transformers. Anybody? I wanna write a song with that vocal sound all over it!

03 Avenue D - My Dirty South
Avenue D are some kinky girls who write all about being sexy and doing sexy things. These girls are filthy and I love 'em for it! This is pretty good stuff, funky and funny at the same time. Don't play this at work or around the easily offended though, you'll be in deep shit. Actually, this whole mixtape is kinda like that. WARNING: PLAY IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR CAR, HOME, OR WITH HEADPHONES ON. ONLY PLAY IN PUBLIC WITH LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS WHO FIND SONGS LIKE THESE ENTERTAINING! Unfortunately Avenue D have split up, but you can still hit their website and buy some stuff! All of their releases are now available on iTunes.

04 Dink - Green Mind (Pure Organic Edit)
Kent, Ohio's very own! God bless Bob Serpentini!

05 Anal Cunt - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
There is going to be a post about these idiots at some point in their future. Their Howard Is Bald tape, which is less than ten minutes long, is hilarious. It's also almost completely devoid of noise, which is rather exceptional for them.

06 The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy (Pete Rock Remix)
Apparently this was the version of Juicy originally slated for Ready To Die, but it instead was released as a remix. Puffy supposedly had the album version created after hearing this so he wouldn't have to pay Pete as much cash. Would anyone be surprised if that's true? As good as the album version is though, Pete's version is the winner!

07 The Pharcyde - Soul Flower (2 Tha 3 Mix)
I'll have to dig out the interview about this remix. Fatlip was directly involved with it's production and the group, as much as they loved it, figured there was no way this mix could ever get a proper release. It was issued on a promo-only 12" and later appeared on the Sold My Soul compilation, an import-only collection of rarities, b-sides and unreleased tracks. Great sample-heavy remix!

08 Boris The Sprinkler - Kill The Ramones
These guys were great and totally weird. Rev. Nørb was their frontman if that means anything. Actually, if you know who he is you probably already know who Boris The Sprinkler are, but if you don't, enjoy their pop-punk craziness. Also, despite this song's title, they really do love the Ramones. More on Boris here.

09 Tigerboy - With Attitude?
Tigerboy is really kid606. He put this thrashing of the Misfits' Attitude out as the b-side of his remix of NWA's Straight Outta Compton. The single actually credits kid606 on the a-side and Tigerboy on the b-side, and your guess is as good as mine as to why the kid had to complicate matters so deeply.

10 69 - Desire
I was saddened to pull down the 69 stuff. It really is some of Carl Craig's best work and I wish it was easier for people to get a hold of. Carl's PR people hinted that a track or two shouldn't be an issue, so I figured I could post the amazing Desire in this month's mixtape. Remember, if you like this, you can still order the 69 boxset at the Planet E website. This track is also available on a few compilations and, if you can find it, The Sound Of Music CD which compiles the 69 EPs Lite Music and Sound On Sound.

11 Jega - The Girl Who Fell To Earth
This is from the finished Variance album and is a stunner! Go to Bleep and get a download of this NOW!!! Awesome album!

12 Violent Femmes - Breakin' Up (Demo)
Recorded in the early eighties, the 1994 version is almost identical. Just shows that you shouldn't mess with perfection!

13 Anal Cunt - Stayin' Alive (Oi Version)
Yep, more stupidity.

14 Mi Ami - Echononecho
SHIT! These guys are awesome! Prepare for spastic dub/rock noisiness! I don't know too much about Mi Ami but they have a sweet album named Watersports and are formed from the now-defunct Black Eyes. Check 'em out over at Quarterstick Records' website. You can also get Watersports on iTunes or Amazon.

15 Apotheosis - O Fortuna (Apocalypse Chorus Mix)
I knew a guy in college who went nuts for this track. He made a music video out of stuff he taped off the Discovery Channel that documented the evolution of the human race, all set to this track. It's kinda cheesy in the way that a lot of early nineties rave stuff is, but it's still a cool track.

16 Ol' Dirty Bastard - Give It To Ya Raw (SD50 Remix)
SD50 are/were Dante Ross, John Gamble and Geeby Dajani. They did a lot of hip-hop production and remixes in the nineties and pretty much everything they touched was blessed. This remix appeared on the O.D.B.E.P. which is, as far as I can tell, an import and promo-only collection of Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version remixes and b-sides. As is the standard with ODB, prepare for the weirdness! Oh, how wonderful the weirdness that ODB and Wu-Tang is!

17 Anal Cunt - Theme From The A-Team
Seriously! The A-Team Theme! That doesn't make it good, but it certainly is notable!

18 Pete Rock & Large Professor - The Rap World
Awesome collaboration between Pete and Extra P! This appeared on the High School High soundtrack with a number of rather good tracks from members of the Wu, ATCQ, D'Angelo & Eryakh Badu (!!!AWESOME!!!), The Roots and a bunch of other great artists. Great soundtrack for a shitty movie, and I'm a fan of Jon Lovitz! Check the Discogs reference to see the track list for yourself.

19 Wilco - The Good Part
Wonderful leftover from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Jeff Tweedy cut most of the overly poppy tracks, like this one, from the album as they didn't fit with his vision, which is understandable, but when the tracks are this good they really should be released in some manner eventually.

20 Beck - In A Cold Ass Fashion
Beck wanted to name Mellow Gold after this track, but the label didn't want the word Ass on the packaging. Their loss. Essential track! I will eventually do a few Beck posts as I have so much of his stuff lying around.

21 Jahmbi Joe and The Pimps - This Song Is Called Uh-Huh
Explanation pending.

22 Anal Cunt - American Woman
Probably their cover that's truest to the original. That's not saying much though.

CHEZ MOI "passarinhos"

No postigo da minha pseudo-cozinha instalei dois passarinhos (faisão e pardalito) que oscilam alegremente com as "brisas" e que me dão alegria.

CHEZ MOI "Atlantes"

Encontrei estes "atlantes" , que não são mais que uma versão masculina das "Kariatides", colunas pilares antropomórficas baseadas em arquétipos gregos, como os do "erechteion" na Acropolis ... big fun .... dei-lhes um carácter tectónico, ao pô-los a sustentarem umas bolas de Natal ...

AC Superblower Ford V8 engine Sport Car

AC Superblower Ford V8 engine Sport CarThe AC Superblower is a supercharged version of the famous AC Cobra, power comes from a 355 horsepower, 5 litre, Ford V8 engine.Along with the new engine package comes a re-designed retro-look interior for the Superblower. This features new circular Smiths instruments, mountedon a central binnacle, new leather seats and new carpeting. There is a warning

Updates and Stuff (I hope I didn't piss off Carl Craig)

I guess October is gonna be a rough month for me guys. Work is great but it's keeping me really busy, which means I haven't had as much time to update the site as I usually do. That said, I think next week will be more normal and I've got several posts almost ready to go.

Sadly, I think I pissed off Carl Craig. Now, I don't want to hear anything about people sending hate mail towards him or whatever, what happened is I contacted his PR people about an interview. Initially they were up for it but when they saw I had posted all the 69 EPs, despite being out of print in their original forms and edits apart from the vinyl box set, they said Carl would probably not do an interview with a site like mine. I quickly removed the files and confirmed this with them, and they said they'd let me know about the interview, but I haven't heard back from anyone so I guess it's not happening. I want to let you know though, Carl's people are VERY COOL! They did not pitch a fit or anything, they were extremely professional and made it clear in a very friendly way, so no one should complain about stuck-up artists and their people or anything like that. Carl is class and so are the people he works with. Anyway, who knows, maybe down the road that interview might happen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

A few interviews have happened that I'm going to be writing about really soon. David Noller of Dynamix II spoke to me recently and he's given me permission to post a really cool compilation of his stuff. Very cool guy! Sean Carlin from Dink/Kind took me to a rehearsal for Kind that rocked! I'd like to talk to him a little more before I write my post but there is nothing wrong with two posts about some kick ass people. Rom from Phoenecia/Schematic said he has some more exclusive stuff for me to post and that should be coming soon. I've also sent off some questions to Richard Devine and I was contacted by David Williams who engineered on the Jungle Brothers' Crazy Wisdom Masters album. Mr. Williams said he would try to contact me soon about my questions, but he's been very busy with family issues, so I hope everything is alright for him and his family and friends.

Finally, next week I will be re-uploading several files which I've been told have become broken over time, so Monday or Tuesday will be dedicated specifically to that. Let me know if anyone has had any problems with files that they haven't written about previously.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll see you all back here Monday!


Dave3


PS - Get the new Flaming Lips album, it's crazy!

PS 2 - I'm sincerely sorry if I upset you Carl.

Jega - Variance: Roughs

Jega is Dylan Nathan, an electronic musician who has released records on Skam and Planet Mu and is most often labeled a member of the drill'n'bass scene. It's a really unfair label, as his releases never focus solely on that subset of drum'n'bass, although when he did make tracks in that vein he did so rather well. If you haven't heard his works, I'd suggest you check out Spectrum and Geometry, his first two full length releases. You can check samples and purchase them at Bleep.

Prior to this year, Jega's last major release was 2000's Spectrum. Since then, he's left the UK for the US and has been working on his third full-length, Variance, ever since. It saw release earlier this year on Planet Mu, bringing a rather different style to his sound, with mellow, stoned vibes throughout and little of the hectic energy featured in his earlier works. This may not have been the original intention for Variance though, as evidenced by a leak sometime in 2003 or 2004 of early versions of songs recorded for the album.

Apart from the final song, Theme, none of the recordings from the leak, which I've labeled Variance: Roughs, have been released, at least not in the form they were originally presented. Aerodynamic, for instance, started as a hyper club workout with Kool Keith and LL Cool J samples littered throughout, whereas the final version may feature some of the samples but sounds more like an exercise in deconstruction, turn the rock hard breaks into bent, slow-motion holds. The original Aerodynamic, while exciting, went on a bit too long, making it's re-creation a far better edited track, but so many other great tracks didn't receive this opportunity. Acid, for instance, is a fast burner with odd-ball samples out of a sci-fi film. It would have sounded great on a 12" or compilation, but it seems that it and the rest of these early versions are set to gather dust on a hard-drive somewhere in obscurity. Luckily, these recordings are still circulating and able to be examined by fans.

If you want to learn more about Jega, you can always visit his official site, his wikipedia reference, Planet Mu, or hear samples at Bleep. Let's hope that he doesn't take another nine years to put another record out, although Variance was definitely worth the wait. Keep 'em comin' Mr. Nathan!


Jega - Variance: Roughs
Part One
Part Two

01 Aerodynamic
02 Bicubi
03 Haze
04 Whisperplane
05 Intron-X
06 Indica
07 Acid
08 Hydro
09 BMX
10 Caustic
11 Convolver
12 Fireball
13 Ghost
14 Mixdown Bass
15 Pass Arani
16 Pixel
17 Shaft
18 Theme

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

I know, I know, how could anyone truly enjoy this? A lot of people are going to say that without ever listening to it, but most of them are correct anyways. To my friends and family though, I am seen as insane for enjoying this blast of utter chaos, and that's the best way to describe Metal Machine Music. That said, I truly do love this album, and that's a capital LOVE in bold lettering! There is simply nothing like Metal Machine Music, painful yet beautiful, I can use it to force myself awake yet it can also lull me to sleep. There aren't any words or melodies, but there are plenty of sounds and things to grasp throughout. I can't help but imagine this is what contact with an alien race might sound like. Lights and sounds not in our spectrum, terrifying yet, if you move past the horror, fascinating if not beautiful.

Metal Machine Music is understandably viewed by many as a joke. There is art there, but the joke part is understandable. Think about it, Lou Reed records a new album that his label is contractually required to release and it's nothing but noise. No vocals, no songs, nothing resembling form, just waves of feedback caused primarily by Lou placing guitars against extremely loud amplifiers and letting the feedback vibrate the strings, essentially allowing the amps to play the guitars. It almost destroyed Lou's career, and if he hadn't released Coney Island Baby as the follow-up it may have succeeded.

I'm posting this because most people haven't heard it and, if you're interested in it, you really shouldn't have to pay up front to possibly be tortured. That said, if you find yourself in love with the chaos, you should really purchase a copy. I love Lou's bizarre liner notes and packaging, which includes a completely fabricated list of equipment used to create the album. As I understand it, the list was meant to be a parody of "serious-musicians" and their want to share every bit of detail possible about the recording process.

Give this a whirl, but keep in mind it's not for everyone. It's not necessarily meant to be listened to in one full sitting. Hell, few people have even bothered to do that. I can attest that I haven't and probably couldn't, but that's not a bad thing, and it isn't that type of album. Things about it will stick in your mind. I went so far as to write a song around the locked groove at the end of Part IV, which is replicated at the end of the 2000 CD reissue which is the source of this upload. Experiment with this and you'll find yourself, at the least, intrigued. You can play the left or right channels alone, giving you, along with the stereo presentation three different ways of listening. You can also play it backwards. Play it soft, play it loud, just play it and make up your own mind. The majority may be right about Metal Machine Music, for the most part at least, but that doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's different. It really IS different!


Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music
UPDATE: Lou has just reissued Metal Machine Music via his website on vinyl, DVD and Blu-Ray. Because of that, I'm removing the album from download. If you enjoy it, please check out his website and the packages available for purchase. I got the vinyl/DVD combo which features the album's original quad mix on the DVD.

HEY YOU GUYS!!!!!

Hello all. I'll be back to my regular business on Wednesday with some goodies for all to enjoy. For now, I'm relaxing and nursing myself back to health with the aid of a good turntable and lots of techno. I'm in a very techno mood lately. Also, I got a copy of Carl Craig's 69 box set and it is AWESOME!!! I'm going to look into how hard it would be to get an interview with him.

On a non-music related topic, I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me with a personal issue. I'm looking for a fellow who used to live in the Cleveland area named Scott Ernest Henderson. He used to work at the Record Exchange in Middleburg Heights but disappeared a long time ago. His girlfriend at the time told he may have ended up in Virginia or somewhere else, but I never heard from him again. He was a great guy and a true friend and I've always wondered what happened to him and miss him to this day. So, while I know my request is vague, before you say "google search", yeah, I tried. Scott Ernest Henderson, or Ernest Scott Henderson, or Ernie Henderson or whatever is a pretty general name I didn't get anywhere with that. So, if anyone might have any information as to the whereabouts of this fine gentleman, if you could drop me a line as it would be much appreciated.

Anyway, back to the blog on Wednesday. See you guys then!

Where is the Kayser ?

Where is my little Black Knight ?

Where is my little roman centurion ?

Prince Week, Epilogue: Sheila E. - Fe

I hope you've found this week's Prince posts entertaining. To be honest, it kind of burnt me out as most of these posts are so long. Over the next week my posts will be a bit more sporadic as I'm going to relax and play around with my new turntable, but I'll be around, I'll be answering e-mails and comments, and I will still be writing posts. In particular, there will be some Prick/Lucky Pierre/Kevin McMahon posts that I'm sure fans of his and NIN will find very interesting. I'm also going to be talking about Sean Carlin from Dink and what he is up to and I just got a very kind e-mail from David Williams, so there may be more Jungle Brothers details in the near future. So, don't go anywhere, because there is a lot more to come and I promise, I'm not going anywhere, just taking a few days to relax.

Before I start my little break, I wanted to post one more Prince-related obscurity. Sheila E. was one of Prince's proteges, one of his drummers and sometimes his girlfriend. It's often glazed over how talented she is in favor of her Prince connection, which is really ridiculous when you see her credits. Visit her wikipedia page and prepare to be blown away if you doubt me! That said, Sheila had a rather tumultuous relationship with the purple one and, when it was over, she decided to continue recording as a solo artist for Warner Brothers. Her first Prince-free release was the dance/pop album Sex Cymbal, but apart from the title track, the album wasn't a big seller. It's common knowledge from there that Sheila disappeared as a pop-artist and returned to her Latin percussion roots, becoming a member of Gloria Estefan's band and performing with many others before eventually reappearing as a solo recording artist in the early 2000s, but what a lot of people don't know is that she recorded another album for Warner Brothers after Sex Cymbal.

Not much is known about Fe. People became aware of it when someone sold a Warners internal cassette of the album on ebay a few years ago. A very high quality rip of the album eventually surfaced online and has been quietly shared among fans of Sheila and Prince since. I've read criticisms that the album is far more subdued than her live shows and that some of the material was re-recorded for her early 2000s albums, but I still enjoyed Fe very much. Sheila even went so far as to re-record The Glamorous Life as a full-blown Latin percussion party jam, probably knowing that it would be her big chance at getting the album seen by the mainstream. Unfortunately, it must not have been enough for Warners, as the album was shelved and remains unreleased, but credit must be given to whomever purchased that cassette for transferring it and sharing it with the world, especially after paying the ridiculous fee of $461 in the auction!

I guess the lesson to be learned here is for proteges not to consider themselves has-beens just because their mentors don't need them anymore. Prince has a long and well documented history of being far less than kind to his proteges, attempting to control every move of their careers until they look like copycats of his style. Some people might see that as a savvy business plan on Prince's part, but very few of his artists ever benefitted from their connections to him so I have to believe it's proof of his raging ego. So, props to all of his supposed proteges who have gone on to do well for themselves in whatever fields they have chosen. And massive props to Sheila E. for being Sheila E.! Hell, even Prince asked to re-hire her eventually! Enjoy!


Sheila E. - Fe

01 Fe
02 Regalame
03 Distantes
04 Tu Para Mi
05 Rumera Mulata
06 Guantanamera
07 Soy Feliz
08 Te Nesesito
09 Amado
10 La Vida Glamarosa (The Glamorous Life)
11 Fuerza