Friday, July 12, 2013

Vol. 4 Episode 28



No updates at the moment. I will keep my eyes open for news when it happens though.

Here we go...


This is the third single released from Amok. It was released early in July of 2013. This was released as a 12” single and as a download. The 12” was pressed at 45 RPMs, if that is something that you care about. There was no special version of this single that I have heard about, so there will be no ridiculous third party market markups like with the last single.

The A side is Before Your Very Eyes. The song has a fast beat and an interesting rhythm guitar part. The bass comes off as very simple but enjoyable. The drums are all over the map but somehow seem to make sense in the context of the song. Thom’s vocals are hauntingly beautiful floating over it all. I especially like the keyboards that float in between the vocals and the rest of the band at about half way through the song. This song is all about the music. The lyrics don’t make much sense but the music keeps the listener interested.

The B side is called Magic Beanz. This song also has a faster beat with that same style of interesting rhythm. I don’t really like the spooky sound of the key board. The drums are similar to the A side track. Yorke’s vocals are put through a processor this time to give them an echo and, it seems, to give them an under tone. It is an interesting sound but very spooky. His lyrics seem to have more direction with this track as well. It comes off as if those who owe money to the big banks are being oppressed because they are not able to pay. That is my take on it anyway. I may have added some to the idea simply from my own experience.

It is interesting stuff but not necessarily a need to own unless you’re a super fan.


This is the groups first release. Some call it an EP come call it an album. Either way it is good music. It was originally released in May of 2011. Mail order copies were released on, what Slumberland Records calls, creamy white vinyl. It was also released on CD and download. The order of the tracks are different on the vinyl version. The CD and DL order are the same. There are eight tracks included on this album.

Every one of these eight songs are drenched in echo and reverb. The reason for this is that Mario Hernandez fell in love with the wall of sound that was created by Phil Spector. He loved the sound so much that he decided to write music following that style. He went so far as to record this album with analog tapes and equipment as much as possible. He brought in friends Becky Barron on drums and Bill Evans on guitar.

I don’t think that there was an official single released from the album but there are certainly a couple of stand out tracks. The first stand out track for me is called To Mess With Dynamite. The song is a fast paced surf/punk song with an added crunch to the guitar. The vocals are very mellow and the song overall is not in your face as you would assume with the average punk song.

The other track that I really like is called Sweet Tooth. This track is very surf influenced. With the leading hand claps and the drums following suit in the verse. It is a very simple track that would be very easy to dance to. It also kind of reminds me of the late 50s music I guess. It is fun and I would recommend it to anyone.


This is the eleventh album from Hall & Oates. It was released in December of 1982. The title of the album is a play on the chemical formula for water. The H is for Daryl Hall and the O is for John Oates. The H and the O for the first initial of each of their last names. This album contained their best charting single ever, Maneater.

There were three singles released from this album including Maneater. It was the first of the three singles to be released from the album. The song originally started as a reggae song. They changed it to a more R&B styled song. The lyrics also went through an evolution. The final version of the song that ended up on the album has become recognizable instantly for most people, especially the chorus. The lyrics for the chorus are: “oh, oh here she comes; watch out boy, she'll chew you up; oh, oh here she comes, she's a maneater.”

The second single from the album is called One On One. The song references a sports theme to relate to romantic activities. This is another song that is very easy to recognize once the chorus comes in. It is a slow song that I actually like. This is probably because of the nostalgic references but it is easy to get comfortable with too.

The third single from the album is called Family Man. This is actually a cover of a song that Mike Oldfield had originally written. With this version the lyrics are slightly altered from what Oldfield had originally written. It is also important to note that there are three different versions of the music video for this song. There is a standard version that is based on the album version of the song. There is a version that was recreated to go with the 12” single (Extended version) of the song. There was also a cut up version. This version cuts up the 12” version video to match the album version of the song. This version gives some odd cuts. This last version can be found only on laserdisc that I am aware of.


This is the first album released from Deee-Lite. It was released in August of 1990. I wasn’t really into dance music at this time. That was my sisters’ thing. She loved the first single and I think that she bought the cassette single for the song. Part of it for me was that my sister liked the song so much that I didn’t want to like it. The thing is, it is a good song and it was hard to not like it just because my sister liked it, especially since it was a number one hit for a time. There were a few guest artists that appeared on the album; Bootsy Collins and Q-Tip were the most famous though. The CD has two extra tracks on it, one, Deee-Lite Theme at the beginning of the CD and Two, Build The Bridge at the end of the CD. I recently picked up a vinyl repressing of the album and do not have those two extra tracks.

There were four singles released from the album. The first single released from the album was Groove Is In The Heart. The song lyricly compares the feelings of infatuation to that of a really good song. The song is basicly a techno house track but has elements of disco, funk and hip-hop music. The bass was played by Bootsy Collins and the rap in the song was done by Q-Tip. This song was the reason that I bought the record. I had recently bought the first De La Soul album and mentioned to my wife that I wanted this album too. She said that she was interested in owning it as well. I found that it was repressed by Rhino Records, so I found the cheapest way to get it and now we have a copy.

The song Power Of Love was the second single released from the album. The song is a fun 90s style house track. The lyrics convey that one should love everything in order to get love in return. This idea is supposed to make your life better and happier. It is a good open idea. More importantly, the music is bouncy and happy.

The third single from the album is called E.S.P. It has a different opening than the first two singles. The song still uses samples but it is built on electronic music more than samples. Most of the vocalists’ lyrics are processed to sound like they are reversed. It is a cool effect but also makes it hard to understand what she is saying. This is an interesting song but comes off a bit dated after over 20 years.

The last single from the album is called Good Beat. The song is about just that, hearing a good beat to a song, something to dance to. It has a good beat by the way and the video is interesting too. I like the colored monochrome that the video was shot in. Even though nothing really happens it keeps my interest.

All in all it is a good album, maybe not necessary for everyone but I think that everyone should hear Groove Is In The Heart.

That is all I have for now...

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