retroBlog

well, it appears that Tropical Storm Hanna is heading straight for the Carolinas tonight. I don’t live right on the coast but we are still going to get lots of rain and heavy winds as the storm moves inland. argh. I always worry about these gigantic trees that stand adjacent to my house whenever a strong storm blows through the area. I really don’t want to find a huge tree in my living room tomorrow morning.

So, enjoy today’s Retro-mix: storm’s a-comin’. ..and I’ll see ya on the other side…

Gnarls Barkley - Storm Coming
Run towards the hills to avoid the high flood
I can do a dance that will make the sky cry blood

Robert Cray - Forecast (Calls for Pain)
I can feel the thunder, I can see the lightning
I can feel the pain, Oh it’s gonna rain

Billy Joel - Storm Front
There’s a storm front coming
White water running and the pressure is low
Storm front coming, small craft warning on the radio

Asia - Who will Stop the Rain?
Who tells the wind which way to blow?
I wonder who will stop the rain
The rocks that hold the secrets, they don’t know
So who can stop the rain?

Big Country - The Storm
Through forest and moor as the clouds filled the sky
The storm broke upon us with fury and flame
Both hunters and hunted washed out in the rain

the Alarm - Eye of the Hurricane
Oh eye of the hurricane
I walk away in the wind and the rain
Into the eye of the hurricane of my life
(more…)

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There’s no denying that Paul McCartney is a rock legend. He has written countless of songs that will continue to be played and enjoyed for generations to come. Having said that, I also have to point out that he has released some utter crap as well. No one can really say if it’s because of some sort of lack of motivation on his part or sheer vanity in thinking he could shit gold, but the fact remains that he has written just as many duds as there are classics in his catalog. so, for today’s RetroBlog mix tape, I thought I’d highlight some of Sir Macca’s lowlights. enjoy.

1) Rockestra Theme - OK, this is actually Duane Eddy’s remake of the Wings song from 1979 with Paul McCartney producing as well as playing on the track. The original song really didn’t merit a remake. It’s a mind-numbingly simple instrumental with the inexplicable vocal line - “Why didn’t I have any dinner?” huh?

2) Press (the Hugh Padgham mix) - McCartney’s 1986 album Press to Play holds a special place in my heart but really, did he actually think this song would be a successful single? come on - “Oklahoma was never like this? oh it was never like this!” groan. Is this really the man that wrote “Yesterday”?

3) Vanilla Sky - this is Macca just being lazy. He ripped off his own minor chord progression from his 1993 single “Biker Like an Icon”. Biker was just plain horrid. and so is this song. I guess Cameron Crowe didn’t have the balls to tell Macca that this song was shit.

4) Spies like Us (the Art of Noise Mix) - ouch. The record label commissioned numerous remixes for this song. obviously they were hoping one of the remixers would know what to do with this song. I think the Art of Noise did a pretty good job considering the source material.

5) Freedom - It was great seeing Macca being so supportive with the rebuilding/healing efforts after 9/11 but he should have spent more time on this song before releasing it. He probably spent less than five minutes writing this lil’ ditty. it’s painful to listen to now.

6) P.S. Love Me Do - yeah, you know dance music and Macca go so well together. not. So recording a dance version of “P.S. I Love You” and “Love Me Do” was an obvious choice, right? right? Bueller? Bueller?

as always, all tracks are hosted on savefile.com. they will only be available for a limited time. so, grab ‘em while you can.
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get your Paul McCartney fix at amazon.com -

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I’ve got some fun oldies but goodies for today’s edition of the RetroBlog Mix Tape. I picked some favorite dance remixes from the 80’s. Hey, I didn’t call this site “RETROblog” for nothin’.

enjoy.

New Order - Bizzare Love Triangle (extended Dance mix)
Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I’m waiting for that final moment
You say the words that I can’t say

Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon (original club mix)
Smile for the while and let’s be jolly
We shouldn’t be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

Simple Minds - All the Things She Said (original extended 12 inch)
If freedom comes and goes, you know I’ll still be waiting
All the things she said, she said
You’ve fought the fight so long, no surrender to temptation
Of all the things she said, she said

ABC - Look of Love remix
And all my friends just might ask me
They say, “Martin, maybe one day you’ll find true love”
And I say, “Maybe there must be a solution to
The one thing, the one thing we can’t find”

Hall and Oates - Out of Touch (Dub version)
Reaching out for something to hold
Looking for a love where thw climate is cold
Manic moves and drowsy dreams
Or living in the middle between the two extremes

IceHouse - Crazy (extended)
I’ve got a pocket full of holes
head in the clouds the king of fools
you’ve got a ribbon of rainbows
the sun in your eyes burning through
could be I’m happy and sad
could be I’m losing my head over you

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note: links expire after 30 days of inactivity

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here are some of my all time favorite mashups. when NOT done quite right, mashups can sound terribly grating but every once in a while you do encounter some that are fun, inventive and tuneful. check ‘em out! yeah, I know most of these are a few years old but that was when I was heavily “into” mashups. Now, not so much. anyway, enjoy.

Beach Boys/Depeche Mode - I Feel Loved Be Still Mix
It’s the dark night of my soul and temptation’s taking hold
But through the pain and the suffering, through the heartache and trembling

Huey Lewis/Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It’s Huey by CompactRisk
When the pimp’s in the crib ma, Drop it like it’s hot
When the pigs try to get at ya, Park it like it’s hot
And if a — get a attitude, Pop it like it’s hot
I got the rolly on my arm and I’m pouring CHANDON
And I roll the best — cause I got it going on

Annie Lennox/Rush - Annie Rush by Go Home Productions
I look up to the little bird that glides across the sky
He sings the clearest melody it makes me want to cry
It makes me want to sit right down and cry, cry, cry

GWen Stefani/Cameo - Hollaback Girl (ZAX Word Up Radio Edit) by DJ ZAX
A few times I’ve been around that track
So it’s not just gonna happen like that
‘Cause I ain’t no hollaback girl, I ain’t no hollaback girl

Spice Girls/Usher - Who? Yeah! by DJ Matt Hamer
She’s all up in my head now
got me thinking that it might be a good idea to take her with me
cause she’s ready to leave now I gotta keep it real now
Cause on a 1-to-10, she’s a certified twenty and that just ain’t me

Kanye West/Cake - Kanye Mahna by Lenlow
Cutie the bomb, met her at a beauty salon
With a baby Louis Vuitton under her underarm
She said, I can tell you rock, I can tell by your charm
Far as girls you got a flock, I can tell by your charm

*note: all files hosted on savefile.com

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Happy 4th of July everyone! It’s that time once again for… the friday free for all. Hope you all have a great weekend. It’s time to spend some time with friends and family. enjoy!!

for today I’ve got a special kids edition of the friday free for all!

I Like to Move it Move It
Woman ya cute and you don’t need no make-Up
Original cute body you a mek a man mud up

Ease on Down the Road
Just you keep on keepin on the road that you choose
Don’t you give up walkin cause you gave up shoes

Whoop de Dooper Bounce
Now, half this bounce is 90 percent mental
If ya calculate the specific Tiggerjectory of year
Stripecelleration Diviferous by the Square Boot of yer Rebounce,
yer Vertical situituation Indicator and yer Striperconic Springertia
should Rica-tic-chet yer hydraulific Fu-silly-age into
an Accelerometric De-orbit! Any questions?

Can We Fix It
Scoot, muck and Dizzy and Roly too
Lofty and Wendy join the crew
Bob and the gang have so much fun
Working together they get the job done

Silly Hat
this goofy lid sure filled my heart with glee
I had to share my fun with mon ami
Mr. Salt, Mr. Salt, have you seen the new trend
There’s a crazy new style which I must recommend

C is for Cookie
Cookie Cookie Cookie Starts with “C”
Cookie Cookie Cookie Starts with “C”!!!

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This song titled “Get On with It” is stuck in my head today. I love the urgency of the music and the writer’s sense of humor. plus it’s got that retro-80’s sound that I love so much. the song sounds like a mashup of Icehouse, the Cars and Utopia. check it out. It’s the song of the day.

These things always come to a head
over a glass of wine and a cigarette
And you look tipsy with your cheeks all red
I think the alcohol has gone to your head
I feel undressed in this beat up vest
I don’t know how to dance but I’ll try my best
Either you live your life or you sit witness
while a look alike comes and steals your bliss

These things always come to a head
over a glass of wine and a cigarette
You got a little dagger stuck inside my chest
I’m ’bout as ready now as I’ll ever get
- Get On with It by Val Emmich

Val Emmich on myspace
purchase Val Emmich’s new album Little Daggers on amazon.com

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I don’t do this often here on retroblog but I thought I’d post a friday free for all since I still have a bunch of leftover files on my old account on savefile.com. so happy friday everyone! feel free to download any of these that might interest you. and please leave me a comment or two if you end up enjoying some of these tracks.

Grass by XTC - an old favorite off of Skylarking
Just a Shadow by Big Country - a great acoustic version of this song
No World Order by Todd Rundgren - the special yokohama night version. yes, that’s Todd RAPPING on this track. heh.
Fields of Fire by Big Country - the live version off of Live without a Safety Net!
No Surrender by The Outfield - a classic song from their sophomore effort, Bangin’
Freedom by David Foster - no, not the crappy McCartney tune. It’s a great instrumental track by the master of sappy ballads, David Foster.
No World Order by Todd Rundgren - yup. Todd rapping again. but this time, it’s the Yokohama MORNING version
All of my Life by Phil Collins - uummm, I can’t really remember why I uploaded this track. well, here ya go anyway…
You are the Only One to Make Me Cry by Crowded House - a great track by Neil Finn and company
See Your Sunshine by Paul McCartney - one of my favorites off of the album Memory Almost Full
Cage by McCartney and Wings - a great unreleased track from the “Back to the Egg” era.
Aqua by Asia - a nice little instrumental track that features Steve Howe on acoustic guitar and Geoff Downes on synths.

Have a great weekend.

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deep from the depths of the retroblog music vault comes today’s featured song: video killed the radio star. it’s hard to believe the song is nearly 30 years old!! as a testament to the songwriting (Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley) and the performance (the Buggles), the song still gets a fair amount of airplay and is still beloved by fans worldwide. You really have to give Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes credit b/c the recording skillfully balances musicianship, humor and sci-fi without becoming overly campy which the song easily could have fallen into.

VKTRS by The Buggles - according to wikipedia, the Buggles’ version isn’t the original. co-writer Bruce Woolley released the very first version of VKTRS on his album English Garden by Woolley & the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards). the Horn/Downes version is still my all time favorite. classic!

VKTRS by Geoff Downes (instrumental version) - often performed by Geoff Downes as a solo piece in concert, here’s a studio version performed by Geoff Downes on piano. another favorite of mine.

VKTRS by Geoff Downes with Glenn Hughes - for some reason, Downes decided to add Glenn Hughes on top of his solo piano version. not the best of decisions in my opinion. the instrumental version is the better of the two.

VKTRS by Ben Folds Five - a faithful cover by Ben Folds. lots of energy and a bit sloppy. it’s a fun listen.

VKTRS by Asia (live) - here’s John Wetton, Geoff Downes, Steve Howe and Carl Palmer performing their version of this classic tune. surprisingly Asia’s version is pretty crappy IMO. Palmer plays it a bit too fast with absolutely no groove and Howe just noodles on top of everything. blah.

enjoy the mp3s. if you end up downloading any of these, please be sure to post something in the comment field. thanks!

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also watch : the Buggles’ music video on youtube

oh, and here’s the live footage of the re-united Buggles performing the song at the Trevor Horn tribute in 2004.

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the CDs are available via amazon.com

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how about some fun Beatles covers for today’s edition of the Retroblog mix tape.

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - And Your Bird can Sing : With the splendid guitar riff and wonderful harmonies, you simply can’t go wrong with covering this song.

the Smithereens - Hold Me Tight : from their 2007 Beatles cover album - Meet the Smithereens. the whole album is fun to listen to every now and then.

Sara Gazarek - Junk : sorta counts as a Beatles cover since Paul McCartney worked on an early version of this song during the filming of Let it Be. Garzarek performs a nice lounge version of it here.

Todd Rundgren - While My Guitar Gently Weeps : It simply isn’t a Retroblog mix tape without me trying to insert Rundgren somewhere. here he is performing a searing guitar solo at the end of the track. lovely.

Laurence Juber - Oh Darling : yup, an ex-Wings member doing a Beatles cover. it’s actually pretty good. Juber shows off his acoustic guitar chops here with an instrumental version of one of my all time favorite Beatles song.

Paul McCartney - P.S. Love Me Do : yes, even old sir Macca can’t help but do a Beatles cover. actually a re-recorded “mash-up” of P.S. I Love You/Love Me Do! It’s a rare late 80’s track that is absolutely CRINGE-Tastic!!

enjoy!

if you like the music, please consider purchasing the albums at amazon.com:

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to celebrate the upcoming release of Asia’s brand new studio album Phoenix (out April 15th), I thought I’d share some Asia-related tracks from the mid-80s. I consider the mid to late eighties as the “lost period” for the original members of Asia after the breakup of the band in 1985. Carl Palmer, John Wetton, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe (Howe left in 1983 after the Asia in Asia debacle) all went their separate ways trying desperately to somehow find their way back onto the billboard charts. Generally they were unsuccessful in duplicating the sales number they had for their debut album back in 1982 but Steve Howe got closer than the rest with his 1986 project…

Steve Howe
Howe left Asia after the disastrous Asia in Asia ‘83 concert (with Greg Lake in place of John Wetton) in japan and formed another “supergroup” with Steve Hackett. Geoff Downes came on board as producer which is interesting since the project was guitar-based and Downes is a keyboard player. The group made a dent on the charts with “When the Heart Rules the Mind” and “The Hunter” but soon disbanded due to Howe and Hackett’s inability to work with one another.
- Download When The Heart Rules the Mind [via mediafire]
- Purchase GTR on amazon.com

John Wetton
Matching the huge success of Asia’s debut album would be a tough feat for just about any band. and when Alpha and Astra didn’t meet the record label’s expectations, the band was dropped. I’m sure it was tough for Wetton during this time. and it showed on his next project. Wetton hooked up with an old friend of his Phil Manzanera. along for the ride was producer Keith Bessey and Yes drummer Alan White. sounding like a lesser-version of Asia, the Wetton/Manzanera album tanked in 1987. It was a good try though. and having a soft spot for all things Asia, I still pull out the CD every once in a while.
- Download It’s Just Love [via mediafire]
- Purchase Wetton/Manzanera on amazon.com

Geoff Downes
Downes released an instrumental/new age-type album in 1987 titled The Light Program. the album sounds a bit dated now but I still listen to it every now and then for Downes’ very melodic compositions. interestingly, the original CD indexed the various themes into 2 minute pieces. so I’m not able to share a complete “song” as intended. I suppose it’s a good way to deter file sharing…
- Download Majesty [via mediafire]
- Purchase The Light Program on Amazon.com

Carl Palmer
With management’s love for shuffling members around, Palmer got back together with Keith Emerson but instead of Greg Lake, songwriter/musician Robert Berry was brought in (Berry was involved with GTR’s aborted second album, Nerotrend). The group was named “3″. why they didn’t go with “Emerson, Berry & Palmer” is anybody’s guess. with an ever diminishing market for “pop-prog”, their album To the Power of Three sank like a stone upon release in 1988.
- Download Talkin’ Bout [via mediafire]
- Purchase To the Power of Three on Amazon.com

bonus: Greg Lake
Lake came into Asia back in ‘83 as a favor to Carl Palmer when the group decided to give John Wetton the boot. unfortunately, Lake didn’t have the same vocal range as Wetton and it was very apparent to the millions that watched the Asia in Asia telecast on cable. Lake as well as the band knew it wasn’t a good fit and Lake went back to fronting ELP. the problem was that Carl Palmer was still contractually obligated to Asia so Lake and Keith Emerson had to find a replacement drummer to fill the “P” in ELP. Luckily, Cozy Powell was available and they quickly released Emerson, Lake & Powell in 1986.
- Download Touch and Go [via mediafire]
- Purchase Emerson, Lake & Powell on amazon.com.

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