Le blog du Baron

12/07/2009: NOT ANOTHER TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON

2009-07-13T14:03:57+08:00

Untill now I restrained from posting about the death of Michael Jackson. Many people (too many) have talked at length about his career, his persona and the impact he had on music history with better words than mine. But last week I stumble upon on the MJ Memorial Concert (showing how difficult it is to avoid him on TV these days).

Obviously you can only respect the pain his death represents for his friends and family but what was that about ? And the idea of having a coffin right in front of the stage was pretty bad taste to say the least ...

As I watched the last 20 minutes of the show I kept asking myself "when did Michae Jackson stopped being relevant to me ?" Sure, the man had some amazing moves and like it or not THRILLER was one of the highlights of the 80s (quite largely down to Quincy Jones production imho) but did he come up with anything really significant after SMOOTH CRIMINAL ?

Anyway, I rummaged through the remix vault in search of some MJ remixes to post for the occasion. Here is how I prefer to remember him: as the coolest kid in the JACKSON 5 and the grooviest black man on earth at the time of OFF THE WALL. And as an extra, an incredible mashup of his (quite disappointing) duet with Janet by Team 9.

MICHAEL JACKSON Don't stop till you get enough (Josh Wildfire Remix) download buy
JACKSON 5 I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix) download buy
MICHAEL & JANET JACKSON vs BECK Screaming (Team9 remix) download buy

All the tracks featured in this blog are the sole property of their owner(s). If you like what you hear, please support the artists by buying their original work or going to see their concert. If you would like your songs removed from this site, email me directly and I will take them off as soon as possible.

24/06/2009: DOWNLOAD BARON ZERO NEW SONG "NEVERAFTER"

2009-06-24T09:23:01+08:00

Well technically speaking not a new song but a new edit of the "song-which-started-it-all", BARON ZERO's very first song NEVERAFTER. Having collected quite a lot of feedback on various songs through MUSIC XRAY, I have decided to build on these and review some of Baron Zero earlier material.

Which in the case of NEVERAFTER led me to get rid of half of the guitar intro, shortern the first 16 bars to move more quickly to the first verse and simplify the solo. I think the track has more punch and more urgency as a result although I'm still pondering whether I should ditch the intro alltogether.

Here is the revised version, all feedback and comments welcome !

BARON ZERO Neverafter (2009 re-edit) download

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20/06/2009: WOULD YOU AUCTION A BAND MEMBER ON E-BAY ?

2009-06-20T09:28:00+08:00

According to the message I received from TANTRUM RECORDS recently, this is exactty what the Welsh band SICKNOTE is planning to do. Here are the details:

Band sells one of it's members on Ebay: In a move not seen in the music industry before now, Welsh anarchic psychic-techno punksters, Sicknote have decided to auction off one of their band members on Ebay. "Tough times have forced us to sell our dancer on Ebay in order to sustain the band", said Sicknote mouse-fiddler, Johan.

Here is the Ebay post description:

'We are selling Dr Conker! that's right, Sicknote's infamous dancer is up for grabs.... The winning bidder will get to keep the doctor for 24 hours and he will be delivered FREE of charge to your doorstep in the Sickmobile, chauffered by the one and only Dickie Balboa....

The lucky winner can then 'use' the good doctor in anyway you see fit. eg. Cleaning, Sex, Spiritual Guidance, Councelling, Drug Partners or indeed he will dance.. for you, or maybe he could dance in your band or you could send him as a gift to a loved one... or indeed one of your enemies with instructions on what he should do upon arrival. Anyway the options are endless.... The dr will do ANYTHING for the 24 hours that you own him. NO RESERVE get bidding.

details of date and location an be sorted after the auction... bidders outside the
UK
must cover flight costs. Thanks...'

"If there are any drugs involved, I would like to make absolutely clear that YOU have to supply them. If it's sex your thinking, then being a gay man, i can only turn straight for you if the winning bid is over £1000.", said Dr Conker.

Now the email also includes a link to E-Bay but the auction has been disabled. Which is not a surprise since this would be a breach of E-Bay's rules and regulations. So Dr Conker did not have to lose sleep over it.

More importantly: is this a good PR idea ? If someboody at Tantrum reads, I would be interested to get their views. For me the headline certainly grabs your attention and althought the idea in itself is not entirely new, the tone of the message is certainly good for a laugh. But did I remember the name of the band afterwards ? Did I check their band site, Facebook, MySpace, google them, etc ...

No.

And, come on guys, no mp3 attached ? You must be joking. What is the point of going all this way to grab my attention so that I would blog about it and not even give me a mp3 to post ? Do you expect that I would do all the work myself ...

technorati tags: Sicknote Tantrum Records E-Bay PR stunt
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18/06/2009: ZEROCAST "DOOMED" BY A THOM YORKE REMIX

2009-06-18T21:09:00+08:00

You cannot possibly run a decent mp3 blog without having to remove at least one track following the complaint of an artist or a record label. It took more than 3 years but finally here it is: I have been contacted by LEX RECORDS who have asked me to remove the link to Thom Yorke's remix of DOOM, featured in the last issue of ZEROCAST.

Fair enough. I'm more than happy for BARON ZERO music to be shared widely all over the internet but I do accept that other people may have a different view. And it was so nicely asked, it would have been difficult to say no:

Hi there,

I work at Lex Records Ltd. and we own the copyright for the MP3 tracks that you've put up on your blog:DOOM Gazillion Ear (Thom Yorke Remix).

Please don't post up links to illegal downloads. We're a totally independent record label putting out only a few really high-quality records each year and if people keep stealing the music, this won't last long...

Thanks for your support :)

technorati tags: Doom Thom Yorke Lex Records Zerocast
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15/06/2009: ZEROCAST #25

2009-06-15T11:55:28+08:00

It seems like the first half of the year has flown by and as we are getting closer to the half way mark, the question is: who is the best remixer of the year so far ? After careful consideration I would have to vote for LEHTMOJOE whose fantastic remix/mashup of MAJOR LASER kicked off ZEROCAST #24.

But it looks like FRED FALKE is back in top form as shown by his treatment of U2 Magnificent and with a few other remixes from PHOENIX, PASSION PIT, ROYKSOPP or THE PRESETS, the race is more open than ever.

Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

PHOENIX Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix) download buy
FRIENDLY FIRE Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke remix) download buy
U2 Magnificent (Fred Falke Remix) download buy
PASSION PIT The Reeling (Calvin Harris remix) download buy
DOOM Gazillion Ear (Thom Yorke Remix) ~~download~~ buy
ROYKSOPP The Girl and The Robot (Ocelot Remix) download buy
LYKKE LI Breaking It Up (Pocketknife's Loosefoot Remix) download buy
THE KILLS Cheap and Cheerful (SebastiAn Remix) download buy
THE PRESETS Kicking & Screaming (Sounditout Ghost remix) download buy
LADY GAGA Love Game (Chester French Remix ft. Ang P) download buy
HEADS WE DANCE When the sirens sound (Don Diablo Remix) download buy

technorati tags: Zerocast #25 podcasting killer remixes le podcast du Baron
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02/06/2009: INSPIRATION TAKES STRANGE TURNS "THE RETURN OF THE MONCHICHI"

2009-06-02T16:26:42+08:00

Some songs can litterally take years in the making. Here is a song which has now taken almost 7 years (!) to move from an idea to a bassline ... I remember when I first listened to LENNY KRAVITZ's album 5 (I think I was still living in London at the time); besides FLY AWAY, one of the tracks which really got me kicking was STRAIGHT COLD PLAYER. A simple riff, a hell of a groove and Lenny's voice singing one line over and over (you guessed right, "I'm a straight cold player").

So I decided to do a song with the same kind of spirit. Strangely enough, the first thing to come to me was the title "THE RETURN OF THE MONCHICHI" (see photo to the right - don't ask, it's a long story). But for a long time all I had in my head was a bassline which did not convince me completly.

And then last week-end, the breakthrough ! As I walked into the kitchen to fetch myself a glass of water, here it was: the perfect bassline. I kept humming to myself, hearing in my head the different instruments joining in one after the others. And then I forgot it ! But since I'm of the opinion that good ideas always come back in the end, I did not panic (well, maybe a bit) and surely enough it did after a few days. It will still take a few weeks to put things together, but I guess after such a long time we can all wait a bit ... Stay tune for more to come

technorati tags: Baron Zero the return of the Monchichi new song Lenny Kravitz
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11/05/2009: ONE MINUTE REVIEW "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" @ FORT CANNING

2009-05-11T13:44:07+08:00

Back to Fort Canning Park over the week-end but this time to watch a SHAKESPEARE play rather than jump around to the sound of the KAISER CHIEFS.

I have now seen quite a few plays from the Bard (in Paris, Vienna and London including a representation of Henry V at the Globe Theatre) and although Richard III is by far my favourite, none is really as light and entertaining as MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

Director Edward DICK is certainly no stranger to Shakespeare having directed Romeo & Julia, Midsummer Night's Dream for the Sidney Theatre Company and even Twelth Night for the Regent Park open air theatre. He had the great idea of setting the scene in a kind of early XXth century Art Deco hotel, with just enough colonial decadent flavour to fit Singapore perfectly.

But although his direction was inventive, he had a tendency to go for the easy, slapstick humour which certainly got the laughters but did not really highlight the subtleness and wittiness of the original text (check out Kenneth Brannagh film version to see what I mean).

Still, very good acting (Adrian Pang as Benedict), superb set and lots of rythm and pace makes it well worth the evening. And don't forget you can actually get in from 6:30 which gives you an hour for picknick and Pims.

technorati tags: Shakespeare Much ado about nothing Fort Canning Park
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08/05/2009: HELP YOURSELF, DOWNLOAD ALL BARON ZERO FOR FREE

2009-05-08T13:14:57+08:00

Welcome to the music vault where you can download every single track from BARON ZERO free ! If you like what you hear, buy the tracks, leave a tip, spread the word, share the music (every song is under Creative Common license), write a comment, etc ... and don't forget to come back as I will be adding more songs regularly. LE BARON

SIGNATURE TRACKS: you have only 8:43 to spare ? Not to worry ! All you need do is download the zip file hereafter to discover BARON ZERO signature tracks - No easy way, Neverafter and Eiffel Power - and get a flavour of what this is all about download

THE POSITIVE REMIXES (2008): courtesy of the gang at RemixFight here are a few remixes of AIDS anthem POSITIVE.

BARON ZERO Positive (Rinkydink Positive in Cambodia remix) download
BARON ZERO Positive (Fix-a-lot Magnetic Resonance mix) download
BARON ZERO Positive (UnDesirable Good Times remix) download
BARON ZERO Positive (Rewind Personal Armaggedon mix) download
BARON ZERO Positive (DFF Sound System remix) download
BARON ZERO Positive (Artemis Strong Waiting Room blues) download
BARON ZERO Positive (Artemis Strong Negative Discharge) download

FOLLOW THE EYE (2007):

BARON ZERO Is everything in place: the opening track for the brand new album. In short ? A punchy start ... download buy
BARON ZERO No easy way: a mean bassline which takes off like a rocket, sends you spinning like a sattellite to remind you that "without the bitter babe, the sweet ain't so sweet" download buy
BARON ZERO Eiffel Power (part 1): the soundtrack for a party right at the top of the Eiffel tower ... A funk/rock track with bags of groove and bags of attitude: just bag it ! download buy
BARON ZERO New day rising: an uplifting ballad about love and miracles. "She's got eyes like a new day rising, a smile like the sun floating through the sky" download buy
BARON ZERO Positive: a rock song about AIDS. Because every 10 seconds someone somewhere in the world dies from it. This track lasts 3:43 ... I let you do the maths download buy
BARON ZERO Neverafter: where it all began. The end of a love affair and le Baron's very first song download buy
BARON ZERO She shines: accoustic guitars and African drums for a story about magic, the moon and fairies: a tribal summernight's dream download buy
BARON ZERO New day rising (slight return): like a distant echo: when the words have dried and the paper has yellowed, only remain the faded colours and the melancholy download buy

REMIXES (2005-2008):

BARON ZERO Leave them all behind (London dance remix) download
BARON ZERO Leave them all behind (Vienna mellow mix) download

DEMOS (2005-2008):

BARON ZERO Firebird (original demo) download
BARON ZERO Black flies (original demo) download
BARON ZERO New day rising (original demo) download
BARON ZERO New day rising (reworked demo) download
BARON ZERO Silver Surfer (original demo) download
BARON ZERO Ashes (original demo) download
BARON ZERO Positive (original demo) download
BARON ZERO Leave them all behind (original demo) download
BARON ZERO Eiffel Power part 1 (original demo) download
BARON ZERO She shines (original demo) download
BARON ZERO She shines (reworked demo) download
BARON ZERO Neverafter (original demo) download
BARON ZERO New day rising slight return (original demo) download

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

technorati tags: Baron Zero Follow the Eye free download Creative Commons
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02/05/2009: THE TOP 10 COMMENTS ON ZEROCAST

2009-05-02T16:57:00+08:00

Looking back through the previous issues of ZEROCAST (you can do the same thing here), I was amazed to see how many comments these garnered over the last 3 years.

Here are the top 10 Zerocast comments:

LOVER "Marry me and play this zerocast in church" [on Zerocast #22] - no surprise since I already mentioned this in a previous post. Lover definitely gets the prize for best Zerocast comment so far !
THOM "FUCK MAN your music taste is orgasmic! I love you!" [on Zerocast #21] - Thom's short, to the point comment came (!) as close second.
JAPSER "my hard drive is going to be full very soon!" [onZerocast #21] - know the feeling, sometimes it is hard to keep up with all the great music you can find on the net.
MICHAEL "Ah, thank you so much. I always look forward to these. Metronomy is amazing" -[on Zerocast #20] - Michael is a regular on the blog, commenting quite frequently and I can't begin to thank him enough for that.
NATHAN "Man, great post, some brilliant songs there! Especially liked the Franz Fedinand 'The Fallen' acoustic, made me smile" [on Zerocast Special Acoustic Classics] - agree with Nathan here, what is better than a Franz Ferdinand track ? A great acoustic Franz Ferdinand track.
REED "everything is tight here, thanks for the remixes and the links!" [on Zerocast Special Radiohead] - working hard to keep everything tight here, so it is nice for people to take notice.
MATT & DAN SHOW "This is a really nice selection of remixes! In a remix mood at the moment and this post more than suffices..." [on Zerocast #7] - from the guys at the Radio Caley show in Glasgow. Check the Matt & Dan Show on MySpace
JENNIE "wow. i have always been really drawn to acoustic versions of songs, and i have to say that these are great!" [on Zerocast Acoustic Special] - the Acoustic Special issue last summer was definitely a success, judging by the number of posts. Working on the follow up.
BRETT "Awesome track list right here. I was searching for a mix or two that I heard at the club, Zouk, Saturday night, and ended up seeing this post. I think they played half these songs" [on Zerocast #18] - nice to see that people at Zouk have some good tastes.
AMBROSE "wow, i never thought i'd ever want to dance to street spirit... thanks for the links" [on Zerocast Special Radiohead] - so unlike Hater, it seems that at least some people enjoyed the Radiohead Special issue of Zerocast.
HATER "posts like these are the reason why blogging is getting a terrible rep" [on Zerocast Special Radiohead] - I tried to contact but apparently he/she is not very keen to explain exactly what the point was. Well, never mind.

Do I need to say "feel free to comment" ?

technorati tags: Zerocast Le Podcast du Baron top 10 comments Baron Zero
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01/05/2009: ZEROCAST #24

2009-05-01T02:10:00+08:00

Labour day. Always a perfect day to do ... absolutely nothing. But whether you intend to lie down under the palmtrees (my plan) or get more physical (no chance as far as I'm concerned), make sure you grab the latest issue of ZEROCAST first. With new remixes from EMPIRE OF THE SUN, MAJOR LAZER or the YEAH YEAH YEAHS, it is the perfect soundtrack for a perfect day.

Here is the detailed track listing (and if you like what you see, check this out):

MAJOR LAZER (feat. SANTIGOLD Mr. LEXX) Hold the Line (LehtMoJoe Remix) download
DIGITALISM Taken Away (Disco Trash Music RMX) download buy
EMPIRE OF THE SUN Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers remix) download buy
YEAH YEAH YEAHS Zero (N.A.S.A. Bloody Lobo Remix) download buy
FEVER RAY When I Grow Up (Lissvik Remix) download buy
ANNIE Anthonio (Fred Falke Remix) download buy
U2 Get On Your Boots (Justice Remix) download buy
DEERHUNTER Octet (Simian Mobile Disco Remix) download buy
KATY PERRY feat. YELLE Hot 'N' Cold (Yelle Remix) download buy
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor (Schwarz remix) download buy
TV ON THE RADIO Shout Me Out (Willie Isz Remix) download buy

PS: more U2 remixes to come in the next issue of ZEROCAST, stay tuned.

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