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BE BACK TOMORROW WITH AN AWESOME POST!

The Normal - Warm Leatherette / T.V.O.D.

Daniel Miller is, above all, the founder of Mute Records. He has also produced a number of bands, most notably Depeche Mode, and recorded several of his own projects. The most notable of his recorded output is The Normal, who apart from a bizarre single-sided live EP with Robert Rental, released only one single, the ridiculously influential Warm Leatherette with T.V.O.D. on the flip side. Clearly influenced by J.G. Ballard's Crash, Warm Leatherette is a sick sexual trip about getting it on in a car crash. That might be over-simplifying things, but it's still fairly accurate. T.V.O.D., while not explicitly linked to any pre-existing content, is about plugging yourself directly into a television signal with your antenna/aerial. By today's standards, these songs aren't all that shocking, but they get Miller credit for being an early example of popular music being created with minimal electronic equipment.

Miller also recorded as Silicon Teens, labeling that moniker a band and even coming up with fake members. Next week I'll post their sole full-length, Music For Parties. It's very much in the same vein production-wise as The Normal, but instead focuses on synth-pop covers of early rock classics like Memphis, Tennessee and You Really Got Me.

This is transferred from a US promotional 12" with each song on an individual side. I don't know why they bothered to press a 12" for such short tracks when a 7" would have done just fine, but someone must have thought a DJ might cue these in a live set and would prefer a larger record. Really though, who knows? If you're curious, here are links to the discogs reference for this single and the pressing these files were made from. Enjoy!


The Normal - Warm Leatherette / T.V.O.D.


PS - Grace Jones recorded an excellent cover of Warm Leatherette in 1980 that's very funky. You can download it HERE. She's not the only one to cover it, either. Check the wikipedia reference for a list of additional artists who have covered it.

Talking Heads - 1975 CBS Records Demos

The original Talking Heads lineup consisted of David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Jerry Harrison didn't join until 1976, partly due to his experience in the original Modern Lovers with Jonathan Richman. They secured the opportunity to record some demos for CBS Records in 1975 but it didn't get them a contract. Just growing pains, because Seymour Stein signed them up to Sire Records shortly thereafter and the band released their first album, '77, in 1977 (what an inventive title for an album!).

These demos started circulating a few years ago, probably after having been dug out of the vaults while the TH catalog was being remastered. There are a few other interesting finds available, but most everything circulating has been released. Thirteen of these tracks are exceptions, never having been released officially in any form and showing a young but very developed band. There are some differences between these and the final versions, like the tempos of Psycho Killer and I Wish You Wouldn't Say That, but these are minor. The most notable differences are the less hearty arrangements which would come when the band's lineup was finalized and they went into the studio. It's also interesting to hear songs like Love --> Building On Fire without Toni Bongiovi's production excesses like horns or Psycho Killer without strings.

This isn't my favorite period of Talking Heads' work, but I still love these songs and it's great to study their early work closer. If you dig the Heads, give this a listen, I'm sure you'll find it interesting.


Talking Heads - 1975 CBS Records Demos

01 Psycho Killer
02 Sugar On My Tongue
03 Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
04 I Want To Live
05 I Wish You Wouldn't Say That
06 The Girls Want To Be With The Girls
07 Who Is It
08 With Our Love
09 Stay Hungry
10 Tentative Decisions
11 Warning Sign
12 I'm Not In Love
13 The Book I Read
14 Love --> Building On Fire
15 No Compassion


PS - The two tracks from these sessions which were released are Sugar On My Tongue and I Want To Live, both initially available on the two disc Sand In The Vaseline retrospective compilation. Also, for those wondering, yeah, Tony Bongiovi is Jon Bon Jovi's cousin. And yeah, while I said he brought some unnecessary elements to the '77 album, he's still a great producer and is also responsible for several of the Ramones early records. He's also responsible for getting Jon his first professional singing gig on R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas from the Star Wars Christmas album, Christmas In The Stars. There is also a Meco connection there for anyone so enamored with that man's weird-ass productions. Okay, none of that has anything to do with Talking Heads but I thought you'd find it interesting nonetheless.

Marilyn Manson - Pre-Reznor Portrait Mixes

I have a love/hate relationship with Marilyn Manson, mostly hate at this point. I loved the first three MM albums (that's including Smells Like Children since it's technically an EP, albeit an insanely long EP) but I think he started to believe his own hype way too strongly. Yeah, there are some cool things that came out of his post-Reznor period (recording with Dyanna Lauren and Kobe Tai, check! some disgusting footage of a fake autopsy and messing with real Siamese twins, check!), but most of it is forgettable, at least to American audiences.

Jump back a few years and we find a great day when Daisy Berkowitz (real name Scott Putesky) gave an interview and, when asked about the unused original mixes of Portrait Of An American Family, ones created by Roli Mosimann who produced the original sessions, gave a tape to the interviewer or these mixes. The interviewer proceeded to release them online in very high quality and we have been able to compare the mixes since.

Before we go any further, I want to make it clear that the original mixes don't contain any huge revelations apart from a few unreleased tracks and different takes. Trent Reznor has gone on record to say he didn't do too much to the album, he primarily recorded a few more sessions and mixed the final product more to the band's wishes. That definitely earns him a production credit, but Roli Mosimann deserves some credit too. In the album's liner notes he's listed as engineer, which is a little unfair but not completely inaccurate. Manson himself has said that Mosimann was a huge disappointment to work with. Despite his incredible resume (founding member of the Swans, member of Wiseblood, worked with The The, New Order, Celtic Frost and The Young Gods among others), he supposedly focused on making the album a slick and radio-friendly production, which I'm sure everyone who has listened to it knows.


Marilyn Manson - Pre-Reznor Portrait Mixes

01 Snake Eyes and Sissies
02 Lunchbox
03 Get Your Gunn
04 Cyclops
05 Citronella (Dogma)
06 Cake and Sodomy
07 Filth
08 Sweet Tooth
09 Organ Grinder
10 My Monkey
11 Misery Machine
12 Dope Hat
13 Snake Eyes and Sissies (Single Mix/Edit)


PS - The image attached to the files will show a slightly different track order than what I have printed above. This is the order I received the files in so I left them that way. Also, unlike most copies I see of this online, this is a fresh rip from a FLAC sourced rip of the actual cassette procured from Daisy. Big props to the interviewer whose name I wasn't able to find. When I locate his name I'll update the post with it.

Dr. Dre - 2 Pre-Chronic Demos

Life has been really messy lately, so my apologies for delays or a lack of posts. There has been sickness, family illness, and missing episodes of South Park and FlashForward. I'm sure you understand just how troublesome my life has been recently. Oh yeah, there is also my post of the Beastie's show vinyl for Paul's Boutique disappearing. Not the whole post, just the download, and since they never removed the Companion posts, I'm assuming it's the offending Def Jam related content or Busy Bee's Sugar Hill single, but who really knows. Anyway, later this week I'll be posting a further improved instrumental collection of Paul's Boutique tracks that will not feature the Def Jam or Busy Bee tracks from the show vinyl. This will be as close to an instrumental Paul's Boutique as we can get, at least from the Beasties themselves. Anyway, on with the show...

Dr. Dre is one of those truly special anomalies in the music industry. Loved and respected as an artist, he doesn't write his own raps, he very rarely releases material, he focuses his attention primarily on a label that it seems like he ignores, and there have also been questions regarding his productions. Yeah, Mel-Man co-produced The Chronic 2001, but isn't that a little odd considering Dre's supposed studio expertise? Over the years I've heard stories about much of the original Chronic owing more to it's engineers' studio skills than Dre's, but my general rule is that I will ignore such stories and stand by Dre's credit for his first album, at least until someone reveals some hard evidence.

Prior to Dre finding a home for The Chronic with Interscope, he had several other tracks recorded which never saw the light of day officially. Today I offer unto you The Ho Hopper and a demo of Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat. These may not even be mixed, judging by the lack of fidelity in these recordings, but they certainly are entertaining. I prefer the final version of Rat... over this completely different demo, but The Ho Hopper is a pretty catchy track and good for a laugh. Something tells me Snoop was responsible for it's lyrics, and his chorus definitely hints at that.

As a bonus, I'm including the original, unreleased version of Dre's Zoom for your downloading enjoyment. The released version of the track appeared on the Bulworth soundtrack as a duet between Dre and LL Cool J, but the original plan was for Zoom to be a reunion track for Dre and Snoop. Sadly, Death Row had it's way with it's non-release, as Snoop was still signed with them at the time, but the track did eventually show up bootleg-style online. Most of the time I see this track edited and included in mixtapes, and I HATE that. Why bother featuring an unreleased track if you're not going to play it in it's entirety? So, I found the full track and I'm posting it here.

Anyone else hoping Detox, or whatever it's called, shows up before Dre dies or something? I imagine myself at 70 or 80, Dre dying and someone releasing the album as a long-lost artifact. Something tells me it would suck by those standards. Something makes me fear it will suck by today's standards. I'd rather Dre just put it out and let it happen one way or another. Judging by the reference tapes that have leaked, it doesn't sound too bad, but I've also heard rumors that because those tracks leaked they may not end up on the album. Anyway, put it out already Dre, or leak it, or just give up and let everyone hear it already. People are sick of waiting, and it's not like it's going to be on the level of the original Chronic.


The Ho Hopper (feat. Snoop Dogg)

Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat (Demo)

Zoom (Original feat. Snoop Dogg)


PS - Who wants to place bets that this post gets removed because I pissed off Dre or someone at Interscope? Jimmy Iovine still believes will.i.am is the best thing to happen to modern music (modern music=bank account), so you better hurry up and prove his ignorant, Nicole Scherzinger loving, current-ability-to-judge-talent-in-question ass wrong Dre!

PS2 - Thanks to whomever I got these tracks from a long time ago. I can't remember who you are or what site you run, but I don't want to be accused of jacking. So, an anonymous credit is going out to you and yours.

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.