John Carpenter - Big Trouble In Little China Soundtrack

I'm going to be perfectly frank here and acknowledge that I have no idea where this came from. I was in a used record shop and this CD was in the dollar bin, and being the soundtrack to a movie I love and John Carpenter being all over it, how could I say no? It looks to be an officially produced CD as well with detailed liner notes explaining the musical cues and details surrounding the film and soundtrack productions, but it also notes that it is a promotional only release. Coming from a pre-MP3 world of bootleg CDs and vinyl, seeing the phrase "For Promotional Use Only" on a shady looking CD is usually code for a bootleg release, but how many bootlegs have extremely detailed notes regarding the packaging, mastering and compositions contained therein on an officially pressed disc? Even better question, why spend all that money to produce a CD that won't be sold for a cult classic that doesn't have a massive following? These are questions that soundtrack collectors can probably answer far better than I, and if you are a collector of rare soundtracks I'd love for you to chime in. It's a part of the world of rare music that I'm simply not very informed on. Regardless, I'm sure many will find this interesting for the music contained therein.

The first ten tracks on the CD cover the score from Big Trouble In Little China and include two versions of the theme song as performed by The Coupe de Villes, Carpenter's own band for which he played guitars and handled vocal duties alongside Nick Castle and Tommy Lee Wallace, both of which are also writers and directors in Hollywood, although the liner notes don't specify what instruments they play. Afterward, there are three tracks produced, composed and performed by Alan Howarth for the film Backstabbed and Carpenter and Howarth's unreleased score for the Atlanta Bank Robbery scene in Escape From New York, a scene which was cut from the final film.

Apparently Big Trouble In Little China was given a deluxe soundtrack treatment in 2009 via the label La-La Land Records, for which some information can be found here. There are also some details surrounding the issue of the soundtrack featured here which was released via a label named Supercollector. I think it's great that people are releasing this music, even if the fan base collecting it is minimal, but I'm confused as to why they're doing physical releases. Unless they've got significant pre-orders or are charging through the roof, I can't imagine them making much of a profit. Nonetheless, the Supercollector version as featured here is out of print, not that that makes much sense for a promotional only CD, though you may have more luck with the La-La Land version for which 3000 copies were pressed. You can visit their website here, and I've gotta tell ya, I'm drooling over that deluxe 89 Batman soundtrack!


John Carpenter - Big Trouble In Little China Soundtrack (Supercollector Version)

01 Big Trouble In Little China (performed by The Coupe de Villes)
02 Pork Chop Express
03 The Alley
04 Here Come The Storms
05 Lo Pan's Domain
06 Escape From Wing Kong
07 Into The Spirit Path
08 The Great Arcade/Final Escape Pt. 1
09 Final Escape Pt. 2
10 Big Trouble In Little China, Reprise (performed by The Coupe de Villes)
Tracks 11-13, Alan Howarth - Backstabbed
11 Opening
12 Alexandra
13 Blue Planet Interlude/Final Stab
Track 14, John Carpenter in association with Alan Howarth - Escape From New York
14 Atlanta Bank Robbery


PS - Just in case you're reading this and have never seen Big Trouble In Little China, go rent it this weekend. It is a ridiculously fun, stupid and bizarre eighties movie starring the cockiest version of Kurt Russell on film and a delicious Kim Cattrall.

Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever: Original Version

This is the original version of Pac-Man Fever, as opposed to the version you can purchase via your favorite digital retailer or from Buckner & Garcia's CD Baby page. The difference is quite significant as the currently available version is a complete re-recording which is missing a lot of the original sound effects. Pretty peculiar, but it gets a little more complicated when you hear the details. Sony, the corporate owners of Columbia Records and it's catalog, own the rights to the original version of the Pac-Man Fever album that was issued in 1982, but upon being petitioned for a reissue towards the end of the nineties, Sony issued a denial that Buckner & Garcia, despite their fifteen minutes of fame having expired long before, simply wouldn't accept. They got the remaining members of the band together and entered the studio with the supposed intention of making a perfect copy of the album, though the finished product was far from it. Samples were replaced with inferior effects, such as every sample in the song Mousetrap. The group claimed they couldn't locate an original arcade or home console version of Mousetrap but are we to believe they couldn't have requested the help of their supposed fan base that "demanded" the album's reissue? Other samples were replaced with instrumentation and fans noted a myriad of other differences. Again, Buckner & Garcia blamed technology or rather a lack of from the album's original recording, but it's easy to believe they weren't trying very hard and simply wanted to cash in on their brief resurgence of notoriety. Whatever the reasons behind the changes, the original album is more or less lost to the eighties and an official reissue unlikely.

I feel it's important that I note I am not a fan of Buckner & Garcia's music, though their stories are far more interesting. Listen to the Pac-Man Fever album, for which they claim Columbia required them to fill with videogame themed songs. If they had it their way, so they say, the album would have shown their musical diversity, but all it takes is a cursory examination of tunes like Do The Donkey Kong and Ode To A Centipede to recognize how little they had to offer. They sound like any number of generic studio groups you could hire for a low-budget radio commercial. You could argue that the source material doesn't offer many opportunities for creativity, but that argument holds no water when you look at "Weird Al" Yankovic's career. Nonetheless, Buckner & Garcia earned their record deal because of several novelty records, including the aforementioned Pac-Man Fever. They also had a career long after that record was forgotten by writing for other artists and contributing a series of songs to Waffle House jukeboxes throughout the US. Seriously, Waffle House jukeboxes throughout the US. That's not a joke.

If Buckner & Garcia had their way, Pac-Man Fever would not have been the end of their time in the spotlight. Follow-up singles were written and recorded including a tribute to Mr. T named, what else, Mr. T, as well as a Spielberg sanctioned tribute to his extra-terrestrial celebrity, E.T. I Love You. If Buckner & Garcia were ever dealt a bad card, this is it, as Columbia decided not to release their E.T. single in favor of Neil Diamond's Heartlight, a song which was not sanctioned by Spielberg or anyone else related to the film and resulted in a lawsuit being brought against Diamond. Oops, Columbia. Guess that diamond didn't cut, eh? Eh??? Okay, nevermind, that joke sucked.

This copy of Pac-Man Fever is taken from my own collection and was run through iZotope RX's automatic declicker. I do have a lossless copy of this in case anyone really wants it, as I understand there are people out there with fond memories of this record. Hell, it isn't that bad, it's just cheesy and hasn't aged well, like many pop culture artifacts from nearly thirty years ago. The sound effects are great and were recorded from original arcade machines and the cover art is wonderful. Too bad they didn't put this kind of energy into remaking the album in 1999. With that said, you can purchase the remake of the album digitally at Buckner & Garcia's CD Baby page as well as an EP with some of their other recordings and a single for which they are contributing some of the profits to the All American Soap Box Derby. I don't have to enjoy their music but I have to respect that.


Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever: Original Version

01 Pac-Man Fever
02 Froggy's Lament
03 Ode To A Centipede
04 Do The Donkey Kong
05 Hyperspace
06 The Defender
07 Mousetrap
08 Goin' Berzerk

for the hallibut

This is the other mixtape I said I'd be posting. I'd been meaning to make a mix from the 45s that I got as a child, and I finally got around to it. A little explanation is in order regarding this mix though...

When I was five, after repeatedly telling my parents that I wanted to play the piano like my hero, Billy Joel, my father, then a meat cutter, purchased me a brand new upright Baldwin piano! I started taking lessons shortly thereafter and my mother, as an incentive to my good performance and regular practice, agreed to buy me a 45, now regularly known as a 7" single, after every good lesson. Over several years I acquired quite the collection of singles, almost all of which are still in my possession. With that said, there is a lot of stuff in there which isn't terribly rare or hard to find, but if you didn't know it existed would be difficult to procure, so I figured this would be a great excuse for me to put together this mix.

All of the tracks here were transferred from original US pressings. Apart from normalizing the tracks and clipping silence from the deadwax, I did almost no declicking or additional work on the tracks. That means there are a lot of clicks, pops and noises throughout these songs. I didn't want to remove any of those because they really captured the mood of my memories, although that does mean some of these recordings sound wretched.

So, please prepare yourself for my little trip down memory lane, one I hope others will also find intriguing. I've included stories about some of the tracks and information about the pressings, just in case anyone would find that interesting. Hope you enjoy!


for the hallibut

01 Taco - Puttin' On The Ritz
RCA PB-13574 1982
This is an awful pressing! It seems like a lot of RCA singles were awful pressings that were really noisy. This is one my brother wanted, although I'm not sure he'd admit it all these years later. I still like it, I just wish the record, and by that I mean the actual record, didn't sound like shit.

02 Irene Cara - Breakdance (Single Edit)
Geffen 7-29328 BCA 2645S 1983
Short version of a long story... I was sick and my father wanted to cheer me up by getting me a single. When he asked me what I wanted I tried to tell him to get Madonna's Borderline, but I either could remember her name or pronounce it correctly. He ended up getting me Breakdance. I told him it was the wrong song, but I liked it enough that I asked him not to return it. He ended up getting me Borderline later that day, but Breakdance has stuck with me all these years. Giorgio Moroder produced it and it still sounds cool all these years later. It also helps that most of my Geffen singles seem to have been really good pressings.

03 Bruce Springsteen - Pink Cadillac
Columbia 38-04463 ZSS 171722 1984
This is one my parents wanted. My parents have always been big fans of Bruce. The a-side is Dancing In The Dark, which is okay, but Pink Cadillac is the track. This got a lot of play on WMMS back in the day. Too bad the pressing is pretty mediocre. I apologise for the noise, but Bruce's Peter Gunn bassline overrides it nicely.

04 Lindsey Buckingham - Go Insane
Elektra 7-69714 1984
I bought this because I loved the early eighties Elektra Records logo and artwork on their singles. Years later, I discovered it's a weird but catchy track. This one, despite not getting played very often, had something stuck in it's grooves. I cleaned it up but it still skipped a little, so I corrected it digitally. No one should notice, but I thought I'd mention it.

05 R.E.M. - Maps and Legends (Live)
I.R.S. IS-53171 MC23884 1987
Loved The One I Love when I heard it, but having not listened to it closely as a child I thought it was a love song. I got this single when I helped the widow of a local DJ clean up his collection. In return, she gave me a healthy collection of whatever records of his I wanted and one of his turntables. This is the b-side and it's credits make it read like it's from a bootleg, although the sound is pretty good. It's weird to remember that there was a time when R.E.M. were really and truly IT. Not just when they signed to Warner Bros. or put out Out Of Time, but when they were on I.R.S. and really focused on their craft. I really love the original version of Radio Free Europe but I don't have that single, so...

06 Buckner & Garcia - Pac-Man Fever
Columbia 18-02673 ZSS 169907 1981
Boy do I hate this song, but I love what it reminds me of. In my youth I was certainly a mini-otaku, as I was obsessed with Pac-Man. My mother got me Pac-Man story records at holidays and I watched the cartoons faithfully on Saturday mornings. Of course I also begged my folks for quarters every time I saw a Pac-Man machine. I have the full album too which is cool because when Buckner & Garcia reissued it years later they had to remove most of the original samples and replace them with soundalike recordings which simply aren't close enough to the originals. This has the original Pac-Man samples but I'll have to post the album eventually too, just for nostalgia's sake.

07 New Edition - Mr. Telephone Man
MCA MCA-52484 MC 16064 1980
My mom convinced me to get this one because Ray Parker, Jr., the creator of the infamous Ghostbusters theme song, produced it and it had a glowing phone, a la Ghostbusters, on the back cover. I didn't listen to it much at the time but I remember my mother liking it a lot. Eventually I realized how great this song is, although that doesn't explain how messed up my copy of this single is. MCA made good pressings of their singles so that doesn't have anything to do with it, and I tried to clean it up but I guess I couldn't get it clean enough. Sorry, great song though!

08 Kip Addotta - Wet Dream
Laff 023 1984
My father convinced me to get this one. I thought it was cute but didn't understand the humor. Now it's kinda lame, but I still have fond memories of it. This song is the source of this mixtape's name if you didn't get it. I don't know much about Kip Addotta but he does have an official website which you can reach here.

09 Men At Work - Till The Money Runs Out
Columbia 28-03795 ZSS 169250 1983
I think I got this at Best or Gold Circle back in the day as I think it was pre-shrinkwrapped if I remember correctly. Overkill was the a-side and it's not one of their better known songs. The b-side, the strange instrumental Till The Money Runs Out, deserves it's b-side status, although it always makes me think of a montage of early eighties footage on VH1 whenever I hear it, making it far more memorable than it's a-side, and that's why it's here.

10 The Cars - Hello Again (Dub Version)
Elektra 7-69681 1984
If you need another reason to download this mixtape, this is it! This dub remix is credited to Arthur Baker with edits by The Latin Rascals and Andy Wallace! The remix was engineered by Chris and Tom Lord-Alge! What an incredible production line-up! On top of that, while this definitely doesn't sound like a reggae dub, it's certainly an early eighties disco or electro dub equivelant. Lots of weird, unconnected samples drift in and out with the mix torn apart and instruments coming in whenever Baker feels like it. Simply awesome!

11 The Monkees - Heart and Soul
Rhino RNOR 74408 1987
I'm pretty sure that's Mickey Dolenz on vocals. That said, damn, this is a lot better than I remember it being! It's pure eighties pop and sounds right out of 1987. This is from their reunion album, Pool It!, which did not feature Michael Nesmith. This is also a Rhino Records release from before the label was purchased by Warner Bros. Records. Pretty great stuff! The video is worth checking out too, and you can see it here.

12 Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days
Geffen 7-29310 BAA 2138S 1984
I became familiar with Wang Chung when my mom called in to WMMS to try and win a Bruce Springsteen album or tickets to a show but they gave her Wang Chung's debut album, Points On The Curve, instead. I had no idea who the hell they were but Dance Hall Days was a great song. When it became a hit on radio I felt like I'd known before anyone else. I bought the single for it's b-side, Ornamental Elephant, but I can't even remember listening to that song. Dance Hall Days though, what a great song! So much better than that everybody wang chung tonight song from a few years later.

13 Men Without Hats - Living In China
Backstreet BSR-52232 MC 14270 1983
Men Without Hats' debut album, Rhythm Of Youth, is really great. It's totally slept on and all they're remembered for, at least in the US, is The Safety Dance. That's really a shame. That said, I played the hell out of The Safety Dance when I heard it but I loved the b-side, Living In China, too. I was thoroughly fascinated with Asian culture, even at five years old, and wanted to go to China IMMEDIATELY! Now that I'm older, I'd love to visit China but I'd rather be Living In Japan if I had a choice. Clean water, you know? No offense China, just saying. Anyway, this song is amazingly great and totally eighties, not to mention it's quite the tribute to China.

14 Peter Gabriel - Don't Break This Rhythm
Geffen 7-18718-B 1986
The b-side to Sledgehammer, this song is probably too preachy to be on So, but it's still a really good track. By the way, if you've never seen the videos for Sledgehammer or Big Time, check them out here and here immediately! Stop motion animation for the win! Who woulda thought that Sledgehammer was a song about hard f#$%ing?

15 Rick Springfield - Bruce
Mercury 880 405-7 2-58067 1984
This is a pretty stupid song because, honestly, who would mistake Rick Springfield for Bruce Springsteen? But this song is also kinda controversial because Rick recorded the vocals in 1978 but Mercury recorded brand new backing tracks for this and album's worth of songs in 1984 without his participation. Clearly an attempt to latch onto the mania surrounding 1984's Hard To Hold, that awful movie meant to make Rick an even bigger star but instead successfully tanked his film career. This isn't a bad song though, but it's a s$#tty pressing. I wonder if they ever considered using this in a commercial for They Call Me Bruce?

16 Rod Stewart - Infatuation (Single Edit)
Warner Bros. 7-29256 BCA 2735V1S 1984
Rod's pseudo-rap is surprisingly catchy, if not a bit cheesy. It just sounds like someone convinced Rod that he had to modernize his style. My girl likes this song and lists it as one of only four or five tracks in the mix that she likes.

17 Olivia Newton-John - Livin' In Desperate Times
MCA MCA-52341 MC 15107RE 1984
From the soundtrack to the film that reunited Olivia and John Travolta, this David Foster produced cheese fest is begging to be a Moroder track. That said, while it may be cheesy as hell, it's kinda catchy in a stupid way and it won't leave my mind now that I've played it a few times. Anyway, it and the rest of the soundtrack are so much better than Two Of A Kind the movie. Wanna read about a disaster? Wanna see a nightmare?

18 Cyndi Lauper - Right Track Wrong Train
Portrait 37-04120 ZSS 171388 1983
The b-side to Girls Just Want To Have Fun, this bizarre techno-keyboard bouncer was left off the album for a good reason. Cyndi's vocals are especially grating throughout this one. Still though, I like it. The pressing is kinda crappy so there is some noise.

19 Pee-Wee Herman - Surfin' Bird
Columbia 38 07301 ZSS 174131 1987
Another song from another failed movie, this time the Frankie and Annette retro vehicle, Back To The Beach. Pee-Wee actually appeared in the movie solely to perform this song, which is probably the best part of the whole film. I think my father might have bought this for my brother as he thought Pee-Wee was hilarious. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure is a classic for understandable reasons, and I say that without an ounce of sarcasm. That movie made me hunt down a copy of The Champs' Tequila!

20 David Lee Roth - Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody (Medley)
Warner Bros. 7-29040 CNY 3416S 1985
Oh my god, what an incredible video! The song ain't bad either, although it doesn't hold a candle to the Louis Prima version. Prima actually attacked Roth on Space Ghost Coast To Coast for his not getting paid for Roth's cover of his arrangement. Still though, this is one of those Diamond Dave moments that is simply brilliant. If you've never seen the video, what are you waiting for? It parodies everything right and wrong about early eighties music videos. Go and see it now!

21 Huey Lewis and The News - Some Of My Lies Are True (Remix)
Chrysalis VS4 43065 BS 1986
This was the b-side to the wonderful Hip To Be Square from Huey's album, Fore, despite this song originally appearing on Huey's debut album. This is definitely a remix though, albeit more for the purpose of modernizing the song's sound just a little. The remix is credited to Robert Missbach with the original version produced by Bill Schnee. WHO THE HELL ARE THEY? Those are some names I have to admit I've NEVER heard of. I'm sure they've been around but let's face it, have you ever heard of them? Actually, how much you wanna bet someone is gonna write me and tell me these guys have done all kinds of incredible production work and I should be ashamed for not knowing their names?