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So, I caught the news about how 90s dance diva/pop singer, Cathy Dennis, is still making a living in the music business - not as a performer, but as a music writer. She's responsible for huge hits for Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, S Club Juniors, and Janet Jackson, just to name a few. I'm happy to see her doing so well!
Anyway, this news caused me to flashback of my high school youth. I had seen her beautiful 60s haircut and neon green album cover and fell in love with her. I got her debut album, Move to This through my primary way of purchasing semi-cheap CDs: BMG Music Club (which I'm still currently a member).
I think at the time, she had "Just Another Dream" as a hit single, a dancey number with that catchy line "is it for real or is it just another dream (just a dream)", followed by "Touch Me (All Night Long)" which shows off her dancing skills on MTV.
Once I had the album, I was drawn to her sweet lullaby love song, "Too Many Walls". This song, complete with the violin parts, did really well on the Billboard charts.... and I believe it was the last time we heard from her in the States.
I don't know what happened really, she disappeared as quickly as she appeared on pop radio.
Looking at her discography, I can tell you that she did release two other albums, and a greatest hits, but as far as I know, they were only a blimp on the radar in the US. I'm sure she fared far better in her home country.
As luck would have it, Discopop reported a brand new Cathy Dennis album called Sexcassettes should be out in 2008:
Her manager, Spice Girls svengali Simon Fuller, adds that the album has “a real contemporary guitar feeling” - which is less encouraging.
I don't know about 'less encouraging', but it should be interesting to hear her new original songs.
Dennis, from the recent Yahoo article, adds more details:
Actually, yes. I've been working for the last year-and-a-half with a band I put together called Sexcassettes. We're shooting a video for the first single, "Killer Love," this month, and I hope to have it out by the end of the year. It's more of a band sound than produced pop. As usual, I have no idea what to expect.
As a pretty big DC Comics geek, so I went to see The Dark Knight on opening day. I've been eagerly awaiting the film since Batman Begins and it just felt forever for the film to finally make it to the movie theaters. What made it worst, was I picked up the Batman Bluray and saw the first six minutes of the film, which made waiting for the movie even more unbearable!
So after watching it, I definitely wasn't disappointed. I thought maybe at the end, there was an over usage of sweeping orchestral music that seems to overpower the dialogues spoken. Maybe even Christian Bale's Batman voice is sometime over dramatic and the Gotham mafia is a joke, the movie is still pretty awesome.
By the way, I'm actually kind of surprise that with all the violence in the film, it was still Rated PG-13. I guess the rating board have laxed over the years, but if this movie was released in the 80s, it would've been slap with an R.
I'm sure all the critics will tell you what a wonderful villain Heath Ledger's Joker was. He was pretty frightening in the role, and I'm kind of sad that this will be his last role. In some ways, I hope they don't bring back the Joker in future films, especially if future actors won't be able to carry on the craziness of what Ledger brought.
Anyway, before I let spoilers slip, I'll just keep this short and sweet. Here are some Batman music.
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A couple of comments: I've previously mentioned Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman before, so check those out. The "Batman TV Theme" was redone, possibly in the late 60s by an outfit called The Dynamic Batmen. I've always loved this surf theme song, but it doesn't seem to suit the seriousness of what Batman should be. It is a fun song and I guess reflect the feel-good theme of the Adam West show.
Prince's "Batdance (Vicki Vale remix)" and had heavy sampling from the 1989 Batman movie. It is, as they say, funky, I didn't think belong in the "grim" and "gothic" Tim Burton film. However, Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Face to Face" fit quite well in the sequel Batman Returns. What a great single! Rounding out is R Kelly's "Gotham City", from the disaster that is known as Batman & Robin.
Links: thedarkknight.warnerbros.com
hans-zimmer.com
oingoboingo.com
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I was pretty thrilled when I received Connected: 90's 12" Mix to review, as I was already well familiar with all the songs and artists on the two promo discs. In fact, I had the review written weeks ago, but waited until it got closer to the release date of July 7th to post the review. I'm glad I waited because by the last hour, they decided to upped the anti and added a third disc and changing the cover artwork (and not to mention that they reshuffled the track listing). As you can see with the links to artists we've previously covered on W♥M, that we really like the first disc.
One of the major differences I've noticed right away was that they had replaced Electronic's "Getting Away With It" with New Order's "World in Motion", which is fine as they are more or less Bernard Sumner. If there were other artists and songs that were dropped, it's probably due to licensing issues.
I have to say that I did agree that "World in Motion" is better fitted for this compilation, because this song is so closely associated with the 1990 World Cup. It just feels good to hear the competitive "it's one on one", a song that's sure to be played at every World Cup.... although whenever I hear that rap from Jamaican-born football player John Barnes, it just drowns the songs in late 80s/early 90s.
In 80s and going to the 90s, the three major releases for singles were: 7", 12" and cassingle. The 90s introduced us to the CD single (and eventually the double CD singles, parts one and two), but this compilation collects all the 12" mixes. Usually the 12" mix were special because they're often exclusive to the 12" and were catered to underground DJs who needed them in this format to scratch and live mix.
Even if you know all these songs from hearing them on the radio, these dance remixes always adds something new to something already familiar.
These tracks demonstrate England's evolution of dance music. You see, in the early 90s, there was a breaking point in the music timeline. One group became what you might know as Britpop, while the other group focused more on dance (raves and techno). You hear the second group's diverse music on these tracks.
From early Madchester (Stone Roses, Happy Mondays) to funk (Deee Lite) to house (M People, Nuyorican Soul) to big stadium dance rock (U2, Primal Scream) to even trip hop (Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead), it's all here: all the big hits!
There are a few outstanding tracks from the two discs: the remix of Deee Lite's funky "Groove Is In The Heart", the Bottom Won Mix of Stone Roses's amazing baseline of a dance classic "Fool's Gold", Stereo MCs' "Connected" (of course!), Snap's extended mix of "Rhythm is a Dance", and Soup Dragons' trippy "I'm Free" the 12" mix.
The new tracks that were added to the album, included two that I already know and love: Moloko's "Fun for Me" and Beats International's "Dub Be Good to Me". Since I've already mentioned Moloko's song in a previous article, I should tell you about Beats International.
The guy behind Beats International is really Norman Cook - aka Fatboy Slim. As you can hear from his remix of "Be Good to Me", he really knows how to manipulate the song. Check out that bass and the mixing of a DJ introducing the song "Tank fly boss walk jam nitty gritty, you're listening to the boy from the big bad city. This is jam hot" and also the outro.
There is one song that kind of bothered me, not that it isn't good (because I love "Jump Around"), but because it seems to me that House of Pain shouldn't belong here. You see, looking at all these artists, they all seem to be based in the UK and they're mostly dance, and House of Pain is from the US and leans towards rap. If you listen to this album, this song should definitely "jump" out at you.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable collection that made me a feel a little nostalgic of yesteryear.
Below are the final track listing.
Disc 1 |
Disc 2
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Disc 3
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Connected: 90's 12" Mix will be released July 7th in the UK by Universal Records. Fans of 90s dance music will want to check this out.
Links:
www.umtv.co.uk
I have some time-sensitive announcements and notes, so here are just some quick updates:
Los Angeles-based experimental/noise artist Meho Plaza (mehoplaza.com / myspace ) have been around since 2003. Based on what I've heard from them, I would say that they are probably better appreciated as a live band.
They already have two EPs and some of those songs appeared on their debut self-titled album (I think this was just released). I have a review copy, but the album is current with a writer. I'm looking to get a review from another writer (Soup, I'm looking at you).
The press material suggest if you like Liars, Deerhunter, or Health, Meho Plaza will be right up your alley.
- 07/05/08 Echo Park, CA @ Cafe Mariposa
07/23/08 San Diego, CA @ Belly Up
08/01/08 Portland, OR @ Twilight
08/05/08 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Prince Fatty (myspace) is now holding a producer contest. They also want you to know that they'll provide the acapella track and all you have to do is mix the song and email it to Info[a]rasamusic.com.
I did download the track, it is for "Milk and Honey" and it sounds very naked without music :)
I don't think W♥M readers are into the DJ/Mix culture, but if you think you can do it, you could win yourself a "2 week iTunes Exclusive", 2 tickets to the upcoming LA (July 16 Los Angeles The Dub Club) or NY Show (July 18 New York Hudson Terrace) and a signed limited edition Prince Fatty 12" Vinyl.
Contest ends on July 3rd.
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I was also going to mention a Counting Crows (countingcrows.com / myspace) contest, but that ends July 1st (tomorrow), so you probably won't have time to prepare for it. I will mention that they are going on tour for 2008, and the contest is to design a tour poster.
Here are the dates that were provided (it looks like a ton of very big stadium-sized venues, so expect to pay a pretty penny for a ticket):
7/26 - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain - Scranton, PA*
7/28 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte - Charlotte, NC*
7/29 - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh, NC*
7/31 - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Wantagh, NY*
8/2 - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts - Boston, MA*
8/5 - Hersheypark Stadium & Star Pavilion - Hershey, PA*
8/7 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ*
8/9 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ*
8/12 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center - Saratoga Springs, NY*
8/13 - Bethel Woods Center for The Arts - Bethel, NY*
8/15 - New England Dodge Music Center - Hartford, CT*
8/16 - Nissan Pavilion - Washington, DC*
8/18 - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center - Buffalo, NY*
8/19 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON*
8/21 - Post-Gazette Pavilion - Pittsburgh, PA*
8/22 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Chicago, IL*
8/23 - Marcus Amphitheater - Milwaukee, WI*
8/28 - Verizon Wireless Music Center Indianapolis - Indianapolis, IN+
8/29 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Detroit, MI+
8/30 - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH+
9/5 - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - Houston, TX+
9/6 - Superpages.com Center - Dallas, TX+
9/9 - Journal Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM+
9/10 - Cricket Wireless Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ+
9/12 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Irvine, CA+
9/13 - Coors Amphitheatre - San Diego, CA+
9/17 - Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View - Mountain View, CA+
9/18 - Sleep Train Pavilion - Concord, CA+
9/20 - Amphitheater at Clark County - Ridgefield, WA+
9/21 - White River Amphitheatre - Seattle, WA+
9/24 - Coors Amphitheatre at Fiddler's Green - Denver, CO+
9/26 - Starlight Theatre - Kansas City, MO+
9/27 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis - St. Louis, MO+
9/30 - Verizon Wireless Music Center Birmingham - Birmingham, AL+
10/1 - Lakewood Amphitheatre - Atlanta, GA+
10/3 - Ford Amphitheatre - Tampa, FL+
10/4 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - W. Palm Beach, FL+
* lineup includes Sara Bareilles
+lineup includes Augustana
I downloaded a few tracks from their new album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Morning, but I honestly haven't really listened to it. I do have their 1993 debut album, August and Everything After which their big hit "Mr Jones" appeared on. I'm sure they'll play that song for the fans.
Links:
www.weheartmusic.com
Or, was. Or, might still be. Or, I don't know. Don't mention it. Very confusing.
Anyway, on this day, in the great state of New Jersey, the hyper-masculine, miniscule bibliophile known as Glenn Danzig was born... born to wear mesh shirts and violently hump air. Thank Cthulhu.
With less fanfare than last year's lack of fanfare, we salute Mr. Danzig and wish him 53 more years of howling with the wolves and humping with the hoes.
From 2007's The Lost Tracks of Danzig, the acoustic version of "Come to Silver", a song originally written for Johnny Cash, is a hell of a lot better than the one that appears on 1996's Blackacidevil. It's not about alchemy, in case that you wondered. Simple and melancholy, it reminds me of a typical, late-19th century novel chronicling the rise and bitter demise of some poor schmuck -- all in less than 4 minutes.
Miss Anzalone, If You're Nasty, Cristina
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Here's a band I know a lot about: Elastica. I have all their singles, EPs, albums, bootlegs and miscellaneous releases (booklets, playing cards, etc). I was a pretty massive fan, I guess.
I felt that I fortunate to have followed their career very early on, unlike bands, such as The Smiths, that I had discovered very late into the game had to track down records one at a time and uncover that mystery. For Elastica, at the time, the story unfolded in real time.
As I was getting into Sleeper, Echobelly, Lush, and here comes Elastica with their magnificent Stutter in 1993, followed by Line Up in 1994. All the weeklies (Melody Maker, NME) and monthlies (Q, Vox, the short-lived Raw) were talking about them, hyping them up as the best thing since sliced bread. The more they loved Justine Frischmann, the more I fell in love with Donna Matthews.
Sadly, you might probably know them as a "one-hit" wonder with Connection, which I never understood the logic behind why this song was ever that popular. I don't think it was the flashy video, I much preferred the one-take, all white background of Stutter, but this video never really did well (even after a second boost at trying to make the follow-up single in the US after "Connection".)
By the time their self-titled debut album came out, it was possibly the best thing I've ever heard at the time. Forty minutes of perfection. I knew all the songs, from start to finish. From the Wire-inspired "Line Up" to the fast and furious/one-take "Annie" to the bassy "Car Song" to the funky "Hold Me Now".
The song that my friend Jenny and I used to sing all the time was "All Nighter". We never figured out the lyrics, but I think we figured it out eventually: "Got to go to the garage/Got to get some fags and make some tea/Can you lend me enough wedge?/Do you want to walk up there with me?
I take it back, not all the forty minutes were perfect, I'd always managed to skip over "Indian Song". Don't know why, just never really liked the song.
Obviously with success, came the lawsuits. Several bands sued them for plagiarism, particularly Wire ("Connection" and "Line Up" bore huge similarities to Wire's "I Am The Fly" and "Three Girl Rhumba").
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They decided to lay low for a while, and after a very long break from the music business, they were reported working on the difficult sophomore album - five years too late, in my opinion. Prior to the album, a 6 Track EP came out with a collaboration with Mark E Smith, from the Fall.
When they asked Smith why they had asked him to appear on the single, he jokingly said something to the extent that if they were going to rip off the Fall, they might as well have the real thing. It was a good collaboration, although the five other tracks were either hit or miss for me.
Once The Menace came out, five years later, I think people were pretty much felt disinterested in Elastica. They tried to write all original material, but it felt more or less cut and paste for me. The only songs that I really liked off The Menace was a overproduced "Generator" (the demo version is more punchier), "How He Wrote Elastica Man" (a different mix), "Your Arse...My Place" (this is a fun song), and "Love Like Ours" (a rough and superior version appeared on Volume earlier).
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They broke up a year later, with their final single, appropriately titled The Bitch Don't Work in 2001. The Radio One Sessions was also released shortly, collecting all their BBC sessions. I believe most of these songs appeared in one or or another as B-Sides on various singles - but it is very nice to have them all on one CD.
I was fortunately enough to catch them on tour for The Menace and even bought an overpriced concert T-Shirt, which I've never regretted. It's one of my favorite shirt, a dark navy blue with the classic "Elastica" logo on the front.
After the breakup, I didn't really follow too closely to where everyone went to. Frischmann went to Colorado, of all places, schooling, after a (very public) breakup with Damon Albarn of Blur. Matthews went on to be the frontswoman for Klang (I have a few 7" releases). Bassist Annie Holland disappeared, she's no longer in the music business, while drummer Justin Welch eventually married later member Mew.
Below, you will find some classic singles from Elastica: Justine on Line Up (US version), Donna on Connection, Annie on Stutter, and Justin on Stutter (Australian version).
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Links:
www.elasticated.org