My first all singles post. I am not sure that this will be regular feature but it was fun to write.
This is a single from Roxette. I have a copy that I found at
a cheap record store as a 45 RPM 7” record. This was the second single released
from the album Look Sharp. The song was released in 1989. The single was first
played in the US
on the radio. More spesificly KDWB was the first station in the US to play the
song. After this it spread from radio station to radio station. EMI, after
hearing of the song’s success released the song in the US as a single.
All this happened before the record was even released in the US. The A-side
is obviously The Look. It is a super cool song that I remember hearing on the
radio through the summer of 89’. The song was released in january but it
continued to be played through the summer. I remember this because my family
would listen to the top 40 countdown on KDWB as it was played on Sunday
mornings. We would listen to the show on our way home from camping every
weekend. I would read my DragonLance books in the back of our suburban and
listen to music. I was short enough at that time so I could lay across the back
bench with a pillow and read for an hour. It took about an hour to make the
trip. It is a very enjoyable time in my life. The B-side to this single is
called Silver Blue. This song is nothing spectacular. Supposedly this song is a
demo that did not go very far, although it is not labeled as a demo on the
sleeve that I can remember.
This is an amazing remix that started my light search into
the dubstep genre. I did not get very far in my search because my money is tied
up in other favorite genres. I did find a great duo through Propellerheads, the
company whose software, Reason 6, I use to record music. They are called
SubVibe. I will bring them up at a later date though. This Seven Nation Army
remix was used in the new trailers for G. I. Joe: Retaliation. The track makes
the trailer. What is really funny is that The Glitch Mob did not even know that
the track was being used in the trailer. I hope that they get credit for the
track at the very least. 
This is the only released that the group put out. This was
because of personality conflicts and recording style conflicts between the two
primary artists in the group. The name comes from the initials of each of the
members of the group. They are as follows: Martyn Young (from Colourbox), Alex
Ayuli and Rudy Tambala (from A.R. Kane), Russell Smith (an associate A.R. Kane
member and founder of Terminal Cheesecake), and Steve Young (from Colourbox).
It was a double A-side single. With Pump Up The Volume gaining more success
than the other track called Anitina. I did not even know that there was second
track on the disc when I searched it out. Actually, I had no idea that there
was not an album that this single came from. I loved this song when it was
released in the late 80s. I was getting into rap and a touch of electronic
music. There was no such thing as the internet at the time for civilians and it
made it hard to find information on music. It was not until I went through my
home recorded tapes from that time period that I remembered that I liked this
song so much. I then found a copy of the CD for this song still sealed for a
cheap price. Now that I have listened to the disc I find that I really like all
the versions of Pump Up The Volume but could leave the other track behind. It
is a great song with four different versions of the song. It is so awesome!
This is a single released from the re-release of Plastic Beach. This is another one of those
marketing gimmicks that I have complained about in the past where they release
an album and not six months later release the same album with one additional
track. I was not as smart about it this time. I did not fall completely for the
gimmick. I found a CD copy of the single and bought it separately. So, I did
not buy the album twice but instead bought the album and spent a couple of
extra dollars to get a separate CD with the extra song on it. The problem is
that the extra CD single was not released in the US. It was only released in the UK. So not only
did I get the extra single I also paid for the shipment from the UK to the US. They sort of got me coming and
going on that I guess. What is worse is that the single has only two tracks on
it and they are 1, the single track and 2 a remix of the same track. To me the
song is not even that great. It uses staccato 80s synth lead with 80s synth
violins swimming over the top. The drums are super simple too. I would not
recommend this song to fans as it is not that essential. On the other hand it
is a good beat and easy to dance to. Damon Albarn’s vocals are only used as
backing vocals too. Now the remix of the song is even more bouncy than the
actual single thanks to the revisions in the drum track. I think that the remix
of the song is actually more interesting than the original song.
This is a follow up single to Mission Into Chaos. This
single was released in 1995. It has unique packaging. It is encased in a
manilla envelop with the string tie at the back. There were two different
versions depending on what record company pressed the record. The US version
reads Top Secret on the cover and the EU version reads State Secret. I have a
copy of the EU version. There was a limited number pressed on clear vinyl. The
inside of the sleeve was printed to look like a document that had been edited
with black marker like you would see in the movies FBI documents where you
can’t read most of the document. Not only is the sleeve of this record cool but
the last track on the record is the theme song for Gold Finger covered by the
group. I needed a copy of this song. It is a four track EP on a 7” record. The
A side of this record reads, “No. 2 Side”, the B side reads, “The New No. 2
Side”. All four songs are based on the spy theme from the 60s including a song
called Secret Agent Conrad Uno. This song has a little bit of a cover of the
Peter Gun Theme in the middle of the song. This is a really great set of spy
themed surf styled songs.
This is a remix of the Radiohead track Bloom done by Jamie
xx of the band XX. It is the third part of the song. I have never seen or heard
the second part of the song yet. This song was released originally as a
download only with the TKOL RMX 8. Some time after this a small record label in
Europe put this track out on a 12” single
sided record. There was an initial release of this single but it was so limited
in pressings I could not get a copy directly from the record company. I
recently did a search for the record on discogs and found it for a reasonable
price from a record store in Germany.
After I ordered it I found that Jamie xx has released all of his remixes
through this record company. If you are interested the company is called Young
Turks. In some releases Young Turks partnered up with XL Recordings too. Just
like the XX album the outer sleeve is die cut. Actually it resembles the other
releases that Jamie xx has put out. A single color outer sleeve with a small
rectangle cut out on both sides at the same spot and a different contrasting
color on the inner sleeve to show through. To me it looks like a part of the X
representing that he is still a part of the XX. He has used this same logo on
his other releases. The song itself is called a rework so it has strong
elements of the original song. I think that both part 1 and part 3 are very
cool. It makes me curious about part 2 though.
This is the second release from the fantastic group Veronica Falls. Although the single is included
in the self-titled album this version was recorded at a different time so it is
a different mix than the one on the album. I really like the original mix on
this single over the version on the album. But I like the album because it has
a sound that flows across the album. It is a hard choice but if I had to choose
which version I like better it would totally be the one on this single. The
same goes for the B-side on this 7” record. The B-side track is called Staying
here. I actually bought the record for the B-side track. I have a physical copy
of the track on the tour cassette but I wanted a better sounding copy of the
track. I was blown away with both of these tracks not knowing that they were
different mixes from the ones that I already had. I am also very excited to say
that the group is putting out a new 7” record for the song My Heart Beats. This
is a non-album single with an all new B-side track that I have not heard. There
are still a few other tracks that have not seen studio time yet. I have not
heard if they are saving these tracks for a second album or if there will be
new singles like this one. There has been light talk from other music reviewers
of a new album but the group are still touring so it would be a long shot for a
second album to be released so soon after the first.
I have finally found a copy of this rare first single from
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. They did have two split singles released
before this but this is the first single that was all theirs. This 7” record
exterior was a rich sky blue as was the vinyl it contained. The copy that I
bought has a crease in the top left corner. It is not a big deal to me as you
cant see it unless you are looking for it. Also, the guy that I got this single
from lives in Japan
so it is not a Slumberland release but instead a Fortuna Pop! release. This is
not a big deal but something different anyway. The record is totally clean and
sounds great. I love the sound of The Pains 7” singles from their first album.
They sound more open and punchy to me than the regular albums do. All of their
singles have this trait really. I still need their first EP and a Split single they did
with The Parallelagrams. The latter of which was super limited as they did not
get all of the supplies that were pressed. I think Kip, the lead singer of the
group, told me that they were lost in transit or something like that. So, that
split single has become very hard to find indeed let alone how much it would
cost if I found a copy.
That is all for now...
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