DJ Douggpound - Pound It

Before we go any further, as far as I'm aware this album is only available for purchase on the Tim and Eric tour. If it's available elsewhere please let me know because I will remove the link for download immediately. That said, Douggpound's own site doesn't have it for sale so I figured it was safe to put this up so people could check it out. Regardless, Douggpound, if you're reading this and want it taken down, just say the word and it's done.

Doug Lussenhop, better known as DJ Douggpound, is a writer and editor for Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! but also a musician. Okay, kinda a musician. A DJ maybe? Uh, all I know is he's funny as hell. He's got a recurring role on Awesome Show in a segment called the Poundcast which follows his misadventures and includes very odd attempts at hip-hop and remixes. You could say he's a mash-up artist though his stuff sounds nothing like Girl Talk or anyone else for that matter. If you didn't know his tracks were meant to be funny you'd probably assume he was talentless, but you've gotta be real good to be this bad! All the cliches of bad hip-hop mixtapes like annoying catchphrases, overused samples and things that get in the way of the tracks are present, as well as lots of old rave and house music beats and the cheesiest samples you've ever heard. Ever thought about taking the chorus from The Who's Who Are You, speeding it up and having a program beat-match it to a house beat? Douggpound did and the results are embarrassing, hilarious and strangely captivating. Most of these tracks also start as bad jokes before being molded into bad remixes. It's really brilliant in a demented way, leaving you oddly entertained and coming back for more.

If you go see Tim and Eric live you should pick this up. It'd be great if Douggpound would put out more discs because I'd make sure to pick them up. Mash-ups are supposed to be fun and artists like Girl Talk understand that, but there is a weird amount of hipster angst surrounding people who try to make it a bigger deal than it is. Douggpound rips those hipsters a new one and makes it okay to laugh while doing so. Check out his official website and twitter page and buy this if you get a chance. This is some seriously silly shit!


DJ Douggpound - Pound It

Prince - Computer Blue Versions

So I was listening to of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping this morning and was really enjoying all it's Princely vibes, although I was surprised to find that some people were really disappointed by that album. Apparently it has to do with the synthetic nature of that album's sound, whereas folks are much more into their new record, False Priest, which actually comes out tomorrow. I started listening to that and found it really difficult to get into. It just seems like Barnes is trying way too hard to be weird and Princey, whereas Skeletal Lamping was funky, fun and weird in a way that was really inviting. The guy has talent, that's for sure, and I'm really looking forward to hearing the new Solange Knowles album whenever it drops as he's produced it, but I guess I don't know what to make of False Priest. Maybe it's my whole thing about hating Elf Power. That though is another story for another post.

Listening to Skeletal Lamping really got me thinking about how great Prince is and how I have such a love/hate relationship with him. I love pretty much everything he did from Dirty Mind through The Black Album, I have some serious favorites on Lovesexy through 1992's symbol album and I always found gems throughout his later output up until his last few albums, but I hate who he has become and how he treats his fans. Chuck Klosterman wrote an article about why Billy Joel feels he needs to be cool, but I've always thought it was Prince who thinks he has to be cool. The man is so talented but he's got such issues with just being himself. He also seems to think he's still a tastemaker and that his opinions are taken seriously. Recently he made comments about how the internet is dead, but he's still singing songs about e-mails and online activity. He had a pay website setup for the Lotusflower debacle where he promised all kinds of exclusive content but made very little available. People canceled their accounts only to find they were re-billed regardless. What kind of way is that to treat your fans? And that's not even discussing the quality of the music. All three CDs were retreads of old ideas that still sound fresh in their original forms but are boring as by-the-numbers workouts. The man is crazy! Yet, I still love his old music. There are artists who I can turn away from and ignore easily, but Prince's best works still shine through. I suppose it's as easy as saying that his bad attitude doesn't make his music bad, but it's easy to tie those things together when you feel emotionally battered by such heartless treatments.

Whenever I listen to Prince, I always find myself eventually putting on Computer Blue. I can't stand to watch Purple Rain ever again for any reason other than seeing Appolonia topless or listening to how funny Morris Day is, although the workprint in circulation is interesting for different reasons, but Computer Blue is an example of how good Prince can be. I know I'll be looked at as blasphemous but I can't stand Take Me With U, The Beautiful Ones (it's okay, it's just not great) or Purple Rain the song, for me it's all about the first three songs on side two, Darling Nikki, the long version of Let's Go Crazy, all the b-sides that should have been on the album (Erotic City baby!) and, of course, Computer Blue. Not the album version of Computer Blue though, that edit doesn't begin to show the brilliance at work.

Bootleg tapes of rough and alternate mixes have been in circulation for years and they all show how much time and energy Prince put into this wonderful song that got chopped to death when it was released. Wendy and Lisa continue to talk in their bizarre monotones that freak everyone out, Prince talks about wandering through a hallway named after emotions, a guitar driven interpolation of Father's Song from the movie shows up in the middle, there are solos all over the place, tons of extra lyrics, and Prince creates a feedback masterpiece all over the end of the song that goes on for well over a minute with screams and alien calls. HOLY SHIT IS IT AWESOME! Yet it never came out remotely near how cool it could have been. GODDAMNIT THAT SUCKS! If there was ever a song that should have been issued as an extended version on the a-side of some cooler than cool 12" single, THIS IS IT! But as I mentioned earlier, there are bootlegs around, and that's what I'm gonna give you to sample today, four bootleg versions of Computer Blue. I've attempted to pitch correct them as much as possible so they're all about the correct speed and now you can have your own little 1983 synth/guitar epic overdose too! ARGH! OVERDOSE!


Prince - Computer Blue Versions

01 Computer Blue (Scratch Vocal)
The backing track here is mostly complete but Prince, for whatever reason, felt possessed to record a ridiculously rough vocal where he yells, curses and loses track of everything. Not essential, but fascinating nonetheless.

02 Computer Blue (Rough Mix #1)
This is where things get interesting! Someone found this tape in their collection a few years ago and started circulating it to the joy of Prince fans all over the world. This mix doesn't feature all the elements of the final song and is missing a lot of vocals, but the quality of the recording is amazingly clear and should give all interested a glimpse at the layers in this track. This mix also contains the longest version of the feedback outro with lots of additional noise. Really impressive.

03 Computer Blue (Rough Mix #2)
This one is the holy grail! While the quality of the recording is lacking, this version features just about everything that was made for the song. This is most likely a rough mix, but it's far more complete than the above version and could have been issued as is. This version has the hallway vocals, all kinds of Wendy and Lisa weirdness, the Father's Song, extra lyrics and all kinds of wonderment. I'd have put this first but I wanted this collection to be as close to chronological as possible.

04 Computer Blue (Extended Version)
While this is extended, that's only compared to the album version. This version was apparently considered for release in an alternate master of the Purple Rain album. It contains some extra vocals but is still rather incomplete. This version ends abruptly where the feedback would crossfade into Darling Nikki, which it does, but I wasn't going to bother including a version of that song which bares no noticeable difference from it's album version.


PS - Stole the image from the Beach Life Blog. Thanks!

Shudder To Think - Hit Liquor EP

Prior to the release of Pony Express Record, Epic Records decided to unleash a little nugget of joy to grab the attention of the alt-rock consumers of the world. That nugget, the Hit Liquor EP, contained the same version of it's title cut that appeared on Pony Express Record as well as four exclusive recordings. Those tracks weren't new songs, but rather demos and re-recordings, giving an unpolished perspective on the soon to be released album. Fortunately, as is the case with Pony Express Record, no one will hold it against you if you missed the Hit Liquor EP. Luckily, Sony was in the habit of sending out oodles of promos back in 1994 and now you're more likely to find one of those than an actual retail copy of the EP.

For the sake of details, the demo of Kissi Penny was produced by Ted Nicely and recorded by Steve Palmieri at Oz Studios in Baltimore, MD. The Full Body Anchor demo was recorded at Craig's apartment with Nathan. As for the re-recordings, they were both produced by Nick Pellicciotto and recorded live to 2-track at Sorcerer Sound in New York on January 10th and 11th, 1994. Red House, which was re-recorded again for Shudder's next album, 50,000 BC, originally appeared on 1991's Funeral At The Movies while Heaven Here was originally featured on 1990's Ten Spot. Hit Liquor's credits are the same as the Kissi Penny demo although it was mixed by Andy Wallace.

Regarding the demos that were later shared on PonyExpressRecord.com, I've been trying to find them but all I've been able to get my hands on so far was an instrumental for an unreleased tune named Circus Metal. Pretty sweet stuff so I've included it as a separate file for download. When I find the rest of those demos I'll make sure to share them too. Enjoy!


Shudder To Think - Hit Liquor EP

01 Hit Liquor
02 Kissi Penny (Demo)
03 Red House (1994 Re-Recording)
04 Heaven Here (1994 Re-Recording)
05 Full Body Anchor (Demo)

Shudder To Think - Circus Metal (Instrumental Demo)

SERIOUSLY??? Paula Abdul - Vibeology

In digging around my CD collection the other day to do the Deee-Lite post, I happened upon a promo CD I remember hunting long and hard for back in the day. I had to be in my early teens while hunting for this relic and, if my memory serves me correctly, I found it via a mail-order record collecting service, although it might have been via that pre-Internet dial-up dinosaur, Prodigy. The medium for it's discovery doesn't matter much, although it does awaken memories of how hard it was to find rare recordings before the advent of Napster and other P2P services.

What I remember most about this oddball song is listening to Open House Party on Saturday nights, hearing the remix open the show, and constantly replaying this song on a tape of Paula Abdul's Spellbound while walking around the insides of the empty LCCC campus during the summer while my sister took violin lessons. The song I'm going on about is Vibeology, which I'm sure I gave away with the title of this post.

If you haven't heard the song, you've either missed an incredible pop gem or an enormous train wreck on multiple levels, all depending on who you ask. Vibeology was easily the oddest song on Abdul's second album, Spellbound, what with the full-on club bass, brass from the "horny horns", a strange chorus of operatic singers and a seemingly orgasmic Abdul as an occasionally confused golden-age radio performer. For all it's bi-polar fluxuations, it was probably the bravest song she could have put on an album she wrote little of and was considered a sophomoric follow-up by many. That said, it's also an example of the end of her career as an immensely popular star, as it was the least successful single from the album, had a generic video and is often best remembered for a miserable performance at the MTV Video Music Awards where she appeared in a leotard with a giant microphone pack strapped to her back, all the while looking like she might fall over at any given moment.

Regardless of the masses opinions of Vibeology, I was in love with the song and still find it pretty wonderful. Yeah, it's totally unpopular to admit something like that, but I've never tried to seem hip or cool so why would I hide details like these? That said, I was really taken by a pretty basic remix I was hearing regularly on the Open House Party radio show that had a bouncier beat and some new keyboards. I picked up the 12" only to be immensely disappointed upon discovering it contained different remixes in a darker vein by Steve "Silk" Hurley. While those mixes eventually grew on me, my search continued until I found a US promo CD with the remix I had been searching for. It was attributed to Keith "KC" Cohen, a regular studio hired gun of the early nineties and late eighties who worked primarily in the dance community (and also sometimes as the uncredited force for saving Prince's pop sensibilities), and I was in heaven.

Upon listening to the CD for the first time in years the other day, I found that my tastes toward remixes have changed significantly as Cohen's remix is no longer terribly appealing to me. It's rather pedestrian, although I'm sure it would sound great on a dance floor. What's interesting though is that Cohen also mixed the album version of Vibeology, and while he may not be the producer for that version, his touch can be felt and that original version hasn't lost any of it's charm for me as it still sounds oddly fresh today, at least to these ears.

I've seen reports that Cohen's remixes as well as the other tracks on that US promo CD are pretty rare and are no longer available commercially, if they ever were to begin with (there is some information pointing towards an Australian release). There is also evidence of additional remixes that were never made available commercially. I must admit enough of a fascination to hear more of those unreleased remixes, but I'm pretty happy with what I've got and would like to share that with all of you and anyone else interested. So, it is with great pleasure that I present the contents of the US promo CD single for Paula Abdul's Vibeology. And if anyone out there reading this has any of those other unreleased Vibeology remixes, drop me a line, I'd love to check them out!


Paula Abdul - Vibeology (US Promo CD)

01 Vibeology (Jeff & Pete 7" Edit)
Despite the name, this isn't an edit of a remix, but rather the single edit of the album version. Jeff and Pete are V. Jeffrey Smith and Peter Lord, the song's arrangers, producers and co-composers with Sandra St. Victor.

02 Vibeology (7" Keith Cohen Club Edit)
An edit of Cohen's remix, this version actually follows the pacing of the album version almost exactly, albeit with the remix's additional flourishes of course.

03 Vibeology (Humphrey's Hip-Hop Radio Edit)
Humphrey is Humphrey Riley who produced this remix with DJ Ron-Ski and Wiz.

04 Vibeology (Keith Cohen's House Mix)
The long version of Cohen's remix.

05 Vibeology (Humphrey's Hip-House Mix)
The long version of Humphrey's remix.

06 Vibeology (Keith Cohen's Penthouse Dub)
There was another Cohen dub of the song released on the US cassette single that was quite a bit goofier. That dub features someone doing a Ross Perot impersonation and talking about how Vibeology would truly help the people or something like that. This dub, unfortunately, is missing all of that inspired goofiness, but it's still a fun and mostly instrumental edit of the Cohen remixes.

BONUS: Vibeology (Hurley's House Mix)
After complaining about the disappointment but eventual pleasure found with Steve "Silk" Hurley's remixes, it would be ridiculous for me to not post at least one version for your listening or gawking pleasure. This is Hurley's main remix for Vibeology and is pretty damn great. If you like this, his Houstyle remix of Prince's Gett Off is essential listening!


Just in case that wasn't enough Paula Abdul or Vibeology weirdness for you, check out this strange commercial for the song's Japanese release as a single.




PS - If you thought this post seemed to tread into the territory of The Lost Turntable's universe, wait till you see my Trilogy post! A C&C Music Factory side-project that's gonna make you puke!

Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record

I can't remember exactly how old I was when I first heard this record, probably 15 or 16. I had a tough time during those years, as do most teenagers, and spent a lot of time on my own listening to records and reading about obscure releases that sounded interesting to me. It was the best way to deal with family, divorce, sexuality and insecurity, or at least it was for me, although it didn't solve any of my problems. That said, the loneliness of youth and not being popular is difficult for everyone, and doing something you like is a good way to establish your identity, but it certainly didn't help public opinion when directed to me, nor did it help that I didn't dabble in drugs or drinking, something everyone else in my podunk town did, and not because I was a goody two-shoes or anything, more because I hated not being in control of my faculties. So, the loneliness of my teenage years was supplemented by music like Prince Paul's Psychoanalysis, Foetus' Nail and Shudder To Think's Pony Express Record, easily one of the weirdest records to have been released on a major label in the nineties.

The easiest way to try and describe Pony Express Record is the sound of alien punk rockers channeling Freddie Mercury, seventies glam metal and avant-garde time signatures while trying to find words that sound good even though they don't understand exactly what they're saying. Another comparison would be The Monks' Black Monk Time, but only in concept. If you're not familiar with The Monks, they were American soldiers stationed in Germany that formed a rock band in their free time. They wanted to sound like The Beatles, but they had never heard their music so they made music they thought fit the descriptions they'd heard and read of The Beatles and their contemporaries. Basically, alien punk rockers channeling what they thought was hip but accidentally creating a new style of music.

The funny thing about Pony Express Record is if you compare Shudder To Think's music before and after it's release, it sounds practically nothing like anything else they ever did. Shudder To Think were members of the DC punk scene, a scene they didn't necessarily fit into from the start, but for their major label debut they did the unthinkable and took their sound even further away from their already unique style. Craig Wedren's vocals made even less sense, with his words chosen more for their sound than message, while Nathan Larson riffed on bizarre time-signatures. The whole band was intense, but Wedren and Larson were the dynamic duo as crazy freaks, creating two note songs like X-French Tee Shirt about god-knows-what and freaking people out.

I didn't like this album the first time I listened to it. It was a lot to swallow and not easy to determine where it was coming from. I bought it first in a used bin for a dollar, traded it back in, bought back the same copy for a dollar, traded it back in and did this at least three more times before I couldn't find a copy any longer. A few years passed before I purchased a digital copy and eventually I found an original US CD in mint condition that I've held onto since. I guess you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and that was the case time and time again with Pony Express Record. The album has made much more sense the older I've gotten, although I wouldn't say it's gotten easier to listen to. Like that friend you love but can't let get too close to you, I can't leave this album again, but that doesn't mean I can listen to it whenever.

If you haven't heard Pony Express Record, give it a chance. I've read a lot of things about it's mythical status but most of the time I think they're wrong. Pony Express Record is the sound of Shudder To Think trying to see how far they could go, prepared to destroy themselves in the process. It's remembered for it's brave experimentalism, but the songs, as strange as they may be, are pretty damn great. Just be prepared not to like it the first time you listen to it. It has to get under your skin before you realize how special it really is. Kind of like being a teenager in high school, it's that moment where you try to show your truest colors and a lot of people might write you off, but you do it because you want to be true to yourself. As long as you're not telling everyone that you have sexy thoughts about cadavers or something equally vulgar, someone will remember you as long as you're true to yourself. And just like that, people remember Shudder To Think positively now, something I wish they would have seen when Pony Express Record came out.


Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record

01 Hit Liquor
02 Gang Of $
03 9 Fingers On You
04 Sweet Year Old
05 Earthquakes Come Home
06 Kissi Penny
07 X-French Tee Shirt
08 No RM. 9 Kentucky
09 Chakka
10 Own Me
11 So Into You
12 Trackstar
13 Full Body Anchor


PS - I hope you made it through this ramble of a post. It's weird, I've been trying to write this one for two weeks and have felt aimless. I hope this one doesn't bore you to death. Also, I'm breaking my rule by sharing this album since it is available for purchase digitally. If you love the music and want to support the band, please purchase a download of the album at iTunes or Amazon, I know the band would appreciate it.

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.