- Something new: Metric, Help I’m Alive I disovered this via Sirius radio. Metric = (Garbage – Butch Vig)/softer vocals. And they are from Canada, eh?
- Something classic: Propaganda, Jewel It seemed that in ’84-’86 Zang Zumb Zuum Records could do no wrong. Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Art of Noise were on ZTT and in the summer of ’85 I was already a fan. So one day at the record store a guy who knew I was into Synth Pop says “You’ve got to see this.” It was a beautiful double gatefold 7″ single of a Propaganda song, Jewel. He played it and I fell in love with it. Then he played the b-side: this evil sounding deconstruction of Jewel, called Duel. The other female vocalist sung it. Truly twisted. I got the single and then later the CD and to this day it’s one of my favorite albums. Sadly, like the rest of ZTT from that era, Propaganda fell apart. When they reformed later (with a new singer… an American, while the rest of the band is German) I discovered David Gilmour played on a track. Very odd.
- A mashup: Mash2Mix Shut Up Your Delight (The Ting Tings vs. Sugarhill Gang vs. N.E.R.D. vs. Chic)This is a pretty good example of a mashup for those who are not familiar with the genre. Most mashups (or bootleg or bastard pop) take the lyrics from one song and play it over the music of another. Usually there’s some remixing, edit, and other sampling going on. This one is just slightly over the top with all aspects of the genre. Enjoy.
- Live: Kate Bush with David Gilmour, Running Up That Hill The story of this track is that it was recorded live at the Secret Policeman’s Third Ball in March 1987. Kate Bush performing live (which is extremely rare in the first place) with David Gilmour riffing the keyboard part. There was an album/CD released from the show back in the day. I remember holding it in my hand several times. Apparently, these many many years later, it’s way out of print and I didn’t have any part of it all at all. The video of the performance is easily found on YouTube.
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