Record Industry Blues

a-ha reissue first two albums in blaze of glory

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:58:00 +0000

Having told the world that after 25 years they were going to go gentle into that good night, a-ha are chucking out a few gems to us just to remind us exactly who they were before they hang up their instruments for good.

First out the gate is expanded reissues of their first two albums 1984's Hunting High and Low and 1986's Scoundrel Days.

While I always viewed Scoundrel Days with indifference (although I loved singles "Manhattan Skyline" and "I've Been Losing You"), I was always a massive fan of Hunting High and Low. I really enjoyed a lot of the material on there, especially the forgotten single - "Train of Thought" - and some of the other album cuts like "The Blue Sky" and "Dream Myself Alive". It was competently produced and well written pop sung in very accent free English.

The reissue of Hunting takes the album's original 10 tracks and bolts on 31 bonus tracks. This spans the musical gamut of remixes, b-sides, demos, early versions, the works. While there's 5 versions of breakout hit "Take on Me" from original pre-album release to the 1982 demo when it was called "Lesson One", there's also an album's worth of unreleased material.

I have to say, a few of these bonus tracks really start to wear at the sheen of the original album. As with most demo material, the curtain is pulled back a bit on the magic of the final released product as you hear wrong chords, incomplete lyrics and other "not for public consumption" out bursts that really make a demo a demo.

Most of the material on the second disc is pretty forgettable and listening to it make me actually question what it was about the original album that I liked in the first place. Probably not the reaction you want as a band OR a record label putting this stuff out.

However, the remixes for the singles as well as the novelty of the original version of "Take On Me" are always worth a listen as is the demo for "The Blue Sky" (and not just because it's one of my favourite songs on the album).

The band have booked into Royal Albert Hall in October to play the album in its entirety as part of their farewell tour. Here's hoping for everyone's bums' sake they stick to the original album and not the 41 tracks that comprise this release... there may need to be a few intermissions otherwise.

Here's the track listing in full:

DISC 1: ALBUM + BONUS TRACKS
1. “Take On Me”
2. “Train Of Thought”
3. “Hunting High And Low”
4. “The Blue Sky”
5. “Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale”
6. “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.”
7. “And You Tell Me”
8. “Love Is Reason”
9. “I Dream Myself Alive”
10. “Here I Stand And Face The Rain”

Bonus Tracks
11. “Take On Me” (Original 7” Version 1984)
12. “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.” (Extended Mix)
13. “Train Of Thought” (U.S. Mix)
14. “Hunting High And Low” (Extended Remix)

DISC 2: DEMOS, B-SIDES & RARITIES
1. “Take On Me” (Demo)
2. “Train Of Thought” (Demo)*
3. “Hunting High And Low (Demo)*
4. “The Blue Sky” (Demo)
5. “Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale” (Early Version)*
6. “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” (Demo)*
7. “And You Tell Me” (Demo)
8. “Love Is Reason” (Demo)*
9. “I Dream Myself Alive” (Demo)*
10. “Here I Stand And Face The Rain” (Demo)*
11. “Stop And Make Your Mind Up”
12. “Driftwood”
13. “Dot The I”*
14. “The Love Goodbye”
15. “Nothing To It”*
16. “Go To Sleep”
17. “Monday Mourning”
18. “All The Planes That Come In On The Quiet” *
19. “Never Never”
20. “What’s That You’re Doing To Yourself”*
21. “You Have Grown Thoughtful Again”*
22. “Lesson One” (Autumn 1982 “Take On Me” Demo)*
23. “Presenting Lily Mars”

Here's the Scoundrel Days track listing:
DISC 1: ALBUM + BONUS TRACKS
1. “Scoundrel Days”
2. “The Swing Of Things”
3. “I’ve Been Losing You”
4. “October”
5. “Manhattan Skyline”
6. “Cry Wolf”
7. “We’re Looking For The Whales”
8. “The Weight Of The Wind”
9. “Maybe, Maybe”
10. “Soft Rains Of April”

Bonus Tracks
11. “I’ve Been Losing You” (Extended Version)
12. “Cry Wolf” (Extended Version)
13. “Manhattan Skyline” (Extended Version)

DISC 2: DEMOS, B-SIDES & RARITIES
1. “Scoundrel Days” (Demo)*
2. “The Swing Of Things” (Demo #3)*
3. “I’ve Been Losing You” (Octocon Studio Demo)*
4. “October” (Demo)*
5. “Manhattan Skyline” (Demo)*
6. “Cry Wolf” (Demo)*
7. “We’re Looking For The Whales” (Demo)*
8. “The Weight Of The Wind” (Demo)*
9. “Maybe, Maybe” (Demo)*
10. “Soft Rains Of April” (Guitar Version)*
11. “Scoundrel Days” (Octocon Studio Demo)*
12. “This Alone Is Love” (Original Version)
13. “Days On End” (Demo)
14. “Train of Thought” (Live In Croydon)*
15. “I’ve Been Losing You” (Live In Croydon)*
16. “The Blue Sky” (Live In Croydon)*
17. “Looking for The Whales” (Live In Croydon)
18. “Cry Wolf” (Live In Croydon)*

Tracks marked with * are previously unreleased.

Morrissey reissues on the way - Bona Drag up first

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:19:00 +0000

Cover of Bona Drag

We've known for a while that most of the EMI owned Morrissey back catalogue was to get the reissue treatment. However, firm news has finally been revealed about the 20th anniversary reissue of the a-side/b-side mop up album, Bona Drag.

Hitting shops 27th September, the album will be remastered AND feature 6 previously unreleased tracks:
1. "Happy Lovers At Last United" (Outtake from "Everyday is Like Sunday" sessions)
2. "Lifeguard On Duty" (Outtake from Viva Hate sessions)
3. "Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" (demo) (Outtake from Viva Hate)
4. "Oh Phoney" (Outtake from Bona Drag sessions)
5. "The Bed Took Fire" (early version of "At Amber")
6. "Let The Right One Slip In" (alternate long mix)

To appease fans as well, apparently the sleeve is finally going to be corrected. Taken as a still from the "November Spawned a Monster" video, Morrissey wore a black top in the video, but it was changed to red for the sleeve. The booklet is also to feature exclusive new photos. No word yet on what else the liner notes might hold.

The full track listing of the reissue is as follows:

1. Piccadilly Palare
2. Interesting Drug
3. November Spawned A Monster
4. Will Never Marry
5. Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference
6. The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
7. Ouija Board, Ouija Board
8. Hairdresser On Fire
9. Everyday Is Like Sunday
10. He Knows I'd Love To See Him
11. Yes, I Am Blind
12. Lucky Lisp
13. Suedehead
14. Disappointed
15. Happy Lovers At Last United (Previously unreleased)
16. Lifeguard On Duty (Previously unreleased)
17. Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness (Previously unreleased)
18. Oh Phoney (Previously unreleased)
19. The Bed Took Fire (Previously unreleased)
20. Let The Right One Slip In (Alternate long mix, previously unreleased)

To commemorate the reissue, EMI is resurrecting ANOTHER dead record label just for Morrissey. Fans will remember when he originally signed to the label in 1988 his debut album Viva Hate was issued on the resurrected HMV label. This time round, the label getting the Morrissey kiss of life is Minor Major Records, famed for their 1969 #1 record "Je t'aime... moi non plus" by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg.

It was 25 years ago today - Live Aid

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

what started out as the reaction by a fading rocker to a news report on famine in Africa culminated 25 years ago today with the greatest music event the world has ever seen - Live Aid.

Showcasing almost every major band in the western hemisphere, the concert was so large it had to take place in two venues in two timezones - RFK stadium in Philadelphia, PA and Wembley Stadium in London.

While the main thrust of Live Aid was to help the famine stricken in Ethiopia, a side benefit of the day was the turning of ordinary bands into superstars... which was bound to happen with a global audience in the HUNDREDS of millions.

Who can forget Freddie Mercury's amazing call and response during Queen's set or the career making U2 set where they actually ran out of time and couldn't play their current single "Pride" (but who can forget that rendition of "Bad"?). Then there was Phil Collins playing at both venues, thanks to Concorde, or the performance by Duran Duran creating a historic howler on the #1 single of the day "A View to a Kill".

It's hard to be cynical about an event that did so much for so many. Most egos were left at the door and it made for one of the most entertaining days of music ever. In some ways, Live8 tried to replicate the magic for the 20th anniversary.

Live Aid was not only a concert with a roster of chart toppers, it was an event of its era and of its day, the greed is good generation giving something back with no strings attached. That's something you can't replicate - not in 2005 and not in 2015. Just ask those who didn't buy Band Aid II or Band Aid 20.

Men at Work ordered to pay 5% royalties on "Down Under"

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:00:00 +0000

Men at Work via last.fm

Having been found guilty this past winter of plagiarism for one of their biggest hits "Down Under", it has been announced this week that Men at Work are to pay a mere 5% of song royalties accrued since 2002, as well as on future earnings.

The track, an unofficial Aussie national anthem, tells the story of a backpacker travelling the world and includes a number of iconic Aussie images - including the narrator being offered a Vegemite sandwich.

Featured throughout the song is a flute riff that has now been proved to be ripped off from the Aussie folk song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree."

The 5% awarded is a fraction of the 60% royalty claim Larrikin Music, owners of the copyright to "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" were seeking.

Lead man at work Scottish-born Colin Hay, who co-wrote the song with fellow bandmate Ron Strykert, has maintained that any reference to the Aussie folk song was "inadvertent, naive, unconscious".

Yazoo to reconnect with live album

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:58:00 +0000

For a band that only released two albums and a handful of singles during their very, very brief existence, Yazoo seem to continue to mine their catalogue to come up with new and interesting releases.

This week it was announced that the duo's short "Reconnected" tour in 2008 (which was to promote the 4 disc boxset "In Your Room") is being prepped for a CD release on the 27th September.

The set is scheduled to be released by Mute Records as a 2-CD set, a limited edition 2-CD set with 32 page hardcover book and digital download.

The tracklisting is as follows:

CD1

Nobody's Diary (04:53)
Bad Connection (04:02)
Mr Blue (04:03)
Good Times (03:32)
Tuesday (03:04)
Ode To Boy (04:18)
Goodbye '70s (02:53)
Too Pieces (03:35)
In My Room (03:31)
Anyone (03:32)
Walk Away From Love (03:10)

CD2

State Farm (04:02)
Sweet Thing (03:55)
Winter Kills (04:22)
Midnight (04:34)
Unmarked (03:31)
Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I) (03:34)
Don't Go (05:56)
Only You (03:06)
Situation (06:23)

Front Line Assembly chart success

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:44:00 +0000

Image by pellesten via Flickr

As a fan of Canadian industrial band Front Line Assembly, I resigned myself to being in the minority. Unlike breakout acts of the genre like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, FLA (as fans call them) never reached the heady heights of mass market success.

Indeed, they've had more success over the years with their side project Delerium, especially a track they did with Sarah McLachlan called "Silence" which seemed to ignite both acts' careers in the UK back in the early 2000s.

Having said that, it was with surprise, bewilderment and joy that I discovered Front Line Assembly not only have a new single out, but that it's charted in the US. Not one of the usual "scraped in at #198 on the Hot 200" that people mutter under their breath.

Oh no, ladies and gentlemen, the new single "Shifting Through The Lens" has reached the heady heights of #13 on the influential Billboard singles chart.

As lead Assembler Bill Lieb told website Side-Line, "We are really happy about the buzz and all the good feedback. This is the first time in many years that we have a release on the Billboard charts."

My hat is off the Bill Lieb and co. So much so that I spent a chunk of today revisiting my favourite FLA album, "Caustic Grip".

Spotify for Android finally updated

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:17:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

After what seems like an eon since the iPhone release of the latest Spotify client, news comes today that the app for Android phones has finally been updated.

This latest release, version 0.4.04 is HUGE! It includes all the social aspects of the revamped desktop client as well as the biggie request that's been clogging the internet since the mobile apps were released - Last.FM scrobbling enabled.

The Cure may finally disintegrate in May!

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:48:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

One of the greatest albums of all time was released in 1989.

Featuring murky, dark and painful material "Disintegration" was the pinnacle of the Cure's musical output of the 80s. Building on the difficult double album "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me", "Disintegration" continued "Kiss Me"'s dark sense of foreboding, and expanding it into one of moodiest, most perfectly claustrophobic soundscapes of recent times.

It's been a long time in coming - especially in the run of Cure reissues which have been coming out in dribs and drabs for over five years - but this masterpiece is finally going to see the light as part of the deluxe edition range in May. There were rumours that due to general declining CD sales and a fallout with their (ex) record label, the reissues of Cure material was ceasing.

A post on The Cure's official website, however, has proven the rumours to be just that.

As if almost re-booting the reissue phase, "Disintegration" is being unleashed in a deluxe THREE CD set in time for the album's 21st anniversary.

The collection will feature a bonus disc of 21 songs in mostly demo form, as well as an expanded version of the "Entreat" live album that originally came out in France. The original version only featured 8 tracks, the reissue now features the entire "Disintegration" album live.

Thankfully most of the online vendors aren't playing silly beggars with the price. You'll be able to grab this 3 discer for under £12 from the usual suspects.

Tracklisting

CD1 DISINTEGRATION

01. Plainsong
02. Pictures of You
03. Closedown
04. Lovesong
05. Last Dance
06. Lullaby
07. Fascination Street
08. Prayers for Rain
09. The Same Deep Water as You
10. Disintegration
11. Homesick
12. Untitled

CD2 RARITIES (1988 - 1989)

ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED VERSIONS (* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED SONG)

# PRAYERS FOR RAIN (instrumental demo)
# PICTURES OF YOU (instrumental demo)
# FASCINATION STREET (instrumental demo)
# HOMESICK (instrumental)
# FEAR OF GHOSTS (instrumental)
# NOHEART (instrumental) *
# ESTEN (instrumental demo) *
# CLOSEDOWN (instrumental demo)
# LOVESONG (instrumental demo)
# 2LATE (alt version - instrumental)
# THE SAME DEEP WATER AS YOU (instrumental demo)
# DISINTEGRATION (instrumental demo)
# UNTITLED (alt version - instrumental)
# BABBLE (alt version - instrumental)
# PLAINSONG (rough mix)
# LAST DANCE (rough mix)
# LULLABY (rough mix)
# OUT OF MIND (rough mix)
# DELIRIOUS NIGHT (rough mix) *
# PIRATE SHIPS (rough mix) *

03. ENTREAT PLUS Live At Wembley 1989
1. Plainsong
2. Pictures of You
3. Closedown
4. Lovesong
5. Last Dance
6. Lullaby
7. Fascination Street
8. Prayers for Rain
9. The Same Deep Water as You
10. Disintegration
11. Homesick
12. Untitled

6 Music's demise makes me sad

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:43:00 +0000

I missed out on the pirate radio revolution of the 60s and the whole radio licence expansion fight led by Xfm and Virgin Radio back in the 90s.

However, I will always remember my first taste of 6 Music, the BBC's digital only bridge between radios 1 and 2. There was just something intangibly cool about the station. It wasn't the way they wore their indie cred on their sleeve, leaving the rubbish one hit wonders of modern pap for radio 1 and the safe somewhat twee pop for radio 2.

I always found 6 Music to be that cool older brother who always had the best records and the cool friends - someone to aspire to. Unlike Radio 1 who was this far away from an ASBO and radio 2 who'd nodded off before dinner with slippers on and pipe in hand.

6 Music would never get the listeners it's siblings got, for the main reason that DAB is still an exclusive club. Sure it's available on the net and through various television systems, but there's a LOT of entertainment competition when you're at your PC or plonked in front of your telly.

The Beeb have always been able to forge in new directions that more commercial ventures wouldn't be able to dare, and in some avenues (iPlayer) they've hit paydirt.

I still believe there's life left in 6 Music, and I tune in from time to time on my PC, as I never did get dabbed up.

If it does die, I will be saddened, as if I had my way Radio 1 would have been for the guillotine around the time of John Peel's (the last surviving reason to tune in) passing.

Men at Work lose plagiarism case

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:05:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Men at Work may need to get back to work to pay their legal bills.

The big news today is that Scottish Aussie pop combo Men At Work have been found guilty of plagiarism and a federal court in Sydney ordered compensation to be paid. The old school-exam style crime pertains to their 1981 pop anthem "Down Under" which depicts a backpacker's travels around the world.

The song, seen in some countries as the only hit of a one hit wonder is synonymous with Aussie pride and is played at any event mildly connected to Australia - the closing of the Syndney Olympics, the unofficial anthem of the Australian team that won the Americas Cup in 1983, an iconic Qantas ad and Australia Day celebrations on any given year.

The passage in despute is the famous flute line that runs throughout the song. It has been deemed this is a direct lift of the children's song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree," written by Marion Sinclair in 1934.

Music copyright lawyer Stephen Digby told ABC Online he was surprised by the court's decision. "I think it could have gone either way but my initial reaction was always that this was going to be a very hard case for (publisher) Larrikin to win," he said.

With a win in the bag for Larrikin, a court hearing is to take place later this month to determine exactly how much of the royalties for the song Men At Work songwriters Colin Hay and Ron Strykert will have to pay back, as well as and record companies Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Songs Australia. The figure bandied about at the moment is 40-60%.

Let's hope Vegemite don't come calling for unlicenced use of a brand name.

Spotify's related artists

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:08:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Spotify have been in the news a lot this week. From founder Daniel E's news that Twitter is their biggest traffic source, to the announcement today about a newly rolled out related artist feature.

According to an article on Tech Crunch, Spotify have been working on a recommendation engine to let you discover new music while listening to your favourite acts. This would act as a replacement for the short, rather static list of related artists that appeared on the artist page. According to Tech Crunch, the recommendation engine is "powered by an algorithm that cross-references data collected over millions of user listening hours, not dissimilar it seems to Last.fm’s ’scrobbling’ of tracks".

Whether the feature will spur you to on to discover any amazing new finds is still up for debate. A quick perusal of the new system finds me on the Pet Shop Boys page contemplating listening to their related artist Brummie metal Gods "Judas Priest" (maybe it's the gay connection they're going for).

Clearly, though, there's still quite a bit of work to do before I'm actually discovering new RELEVANT music using this feature.

Classic album cover stamps out today

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Royal Mail have released their latest themed postage-stamp sets today - Classic Album Covers. Ten record sleeves in all, this collection spans mainly rock and several decades.

With releases like this there's always going to be debate, and I'll start it off by asking why Pink Floyd's "Division Bell" was included over "Dark Side of the Moon" and why Coldplay is here at all. Also, where is Duran Duran's "Rio"? Patrick Nagel did some amazing popart in his time and the Rio cover is his most notable work.

The other covers are what you'd expect: Blur's "Parklife", New Order's "Power, Corruption and Lies", Rolling Stones' "Let it Bleed", The Clash's "London Calling", Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells", Led Zeppelin's "IV", Primal Scream's "Screamadelica" and David Bowie's seminal 1972 masterpiece "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders of Mars".

It's interesting seeing these classic covers this small. It echoes the argument of music artwork when CDs became popular and the 12" x 12" piece of art for a record was shrunk down to fit a 5" CD. Now they quite literally are postage-stamp size.

The cost varies for the set depending on how extravagent you want to be (Presentation Pack, Stamp Cards, Prestige Stamp Book, Souvenir Sheet or Cover), and you can find them all on the Royal Mail site. A collection featuring all the permutations can be had for a little over £12.

Seven and the ragged Duran Duran announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:13:00 +0000

Cover of Seven and the Ragged Tiger

Hot on the heels of the two disc reissue of Duran Duran's Rio, the band announced today that Seven and the Ragged Tiger is get a similar treatment. Coming March 2010, it may not be released in time for Christmas, but for fans this news is an awesome Christmas present.

Similar to the Rio reissue, Seven mops up loads of tracks released around the time of the original album release. In this case, it also includes the tracks around the "Is There Something I Should Know?" single campaign, that actually featured on the re-issue of the debut album.

The EXCELLENT news portion however is that the limited edition release with be three discs. The third disc is a DVD of "As The Lights Go Down". This has been requested from fans since Duran Duran product originally appeared on DVD back in the day. For the uninitiated, it's basically the band's concert movie "Arena" without the movie bit.

The DVD is fleshed out with era videos (including the 17 minute movie version of "New Moon on Monday" which was previously an Easter egg on the "Greatest" DVD) as well as clips of the band on top of the pops.

This is truly setting out to be an awesome release for fans, and with the Arcadia reissue booked, and a Mark Ronson produced album almost ready, 2010 is shaping up to an awesome year.

Seven and the Ragged Tiger limited edition 3 disc set tracklisting

CD 1:
Original album
1. The Reflex (5.28)
2. New Moon On Monday (4.18)
3. (I’m Looking For) Cracks In The Pavement (3.39)
4. I Take The Dice (3.15)
5. Of Crime And Passion (3.50)
6. Union Of The Snake (4.20)
7. Shadows On Your Side (4.03)
8. Tiger Tiger (3.20)
9. The Seventh Stranger (5.23)

CD 2:
Non album singles and B-sides
1. Is There Something I Should Know? (4.11)
2. Faith In This Colour (4.07)
3. Faith In This Colour (alternate slow mix) (4.06)
4. Secret Oktober (2.45)
5. Tiger Tiger (Ian Little remix) (3.25)
6. The Reflex (single version) (4.25)
7. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) (Live) (4.54)
8. New Religion (live at the LA Forum 9/2/84) (4.52) Tape no: 48375
9. The Reflex (live at the LA Forum 9/2/84) (5.52) Tape no: "

Mixes
10. Is There Something I Should Know? (Monster Mix) (6.40)
11. Union Of The Snake (Monkey Mix) (6.21)
12. New Moon On Monday (Dance Mix) (5.59)
13. The Reflex (Dance Mix) (6.35)

DVD:
As The Lights Go Down
Intro: Tiger Tiger (1.26)
Is There Something I Should Know? (4.41)
Hungry Like the Wolf (4.03)
Union of the Snake (4.12)
New Religion (5.34)
Save a Prayer 20.11
Rio
The Seventh Stranger (5.00)
The Chauffeur (5.19)
Planet Earth (4.35)
Careless Memories (4.23)
Girls On Film (6.16)

The videos
Is There Something I Should Know?
Union Of The Snake
New Moon On Monday (E.P Version)
The Reflex

Bonus video
New Moon On Monday (movie version) (17.27)

Top Of The Pops performances
Is There Something I Should Know? 23/3/83
The Reflex 26/4/84

Vinny Vero's Pet Shop Boys Christmas gift

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:44:00 +0000

NYC DJ and remixer Vinny Vero was recently commissioned by EMI to do some remixes for Pet Shop Boys' "Beautiful People." As he mentions on his blog, due to time constraints it was never going to happen.

With it looking less and less likely that EMI are going to release his efforts commercially, Mr Vero has decided to post the three mixes he's done on his blog, as a Christmas present for his fans.

These tracks are top quality. In his blog he discusses his idea of Pet Shop Boys remixes that stand the test of time, the ones that retain a majority of the song. The single and club mixes he's created thus stick to that ethos. The third mix is a mash up between "Beautiful people" and A Guy Called Gerald's "Voodoo Ray". Aptly titled "Beautiful voodoo" it works remarkably well.

On top of the Christmas present download, Vero's also written a passionate entry about Pet Shop Boys in general, touching on his work with them in the 90s, remixing the US only single "To Step Aside", and touching on the incredibly inept way EMI marketed the Boys' latest album "Yes," including the decision to not release "Did you see me coming?" as a summer single, and have third single "Beautiful people" be German only.

It's a great post if you're looking for top quality free music, and it's a great post if you're looking for a good read.

iTunes friendly download (30MB)
FLAC (110MB)

Royalties and the Unrecouped

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:21:00 +0000

Tim Quirk, ex of the 90s band Too Much Joy has recently posted a blog about the luaghable royalties his band recently were awarded for digital play back by their label Warner Music.

It makes for compelling reading, not only about the lackadaisical inner working of the recording industry, but also about life as a member of an "unrecouped" band (one that never earned enough to pay back their advance, thus aren't entitled to any payout from the label), $10,000 accountancy errors and fiscal irregularities and how an industry so rife with inner turmoil can actually take the public to task for piracy.

It may be a longish read, but it's a worthwhile read.

Again, the only reason Quirk actually got his royalty statement is because he now works for Rhapsody and knows what they pay the labels for digital streaming. I guess he was curious how much HE would actually get out of the deal.

In recent weeks Lady Gaga was in the press complaining about her Spotify royalty payments. The fact that Quirk released three albums and still hasn't made enough to be considered a recoupable artist, I imagine Gaga is lucky to get anything.

Lily Allen proves she has no clue

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Lily Allen via last.fm

The argument against P2P and file sharing of music is the people who need to get paid don't... or something akin to that (any further into this line of thinking and it's an artist vs record label discussion instead).

Lily Allen, the RIAA's poster girl for non-illegal downloading activities has done a complete howler. According to the NME, it's not piracy or illegal downloads she actually cares about - it's someone placing a value on her music.

In what has to be one of the biggest gaffs in recent history, Allen has gone on record saying, "If someone comes up with a burnt copy of my CD and offers it to you for £4 I haven't a problem with that as long as the person buying it places some kind of value on my music."

So don't pirate songs for free, charge your mates for the privilege and Lily will back you all the way. I wondered at the outset of her crusade whether she actually "got it" and this really just confirms she didn't.

Pet Shop Boys christmas ep coming

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Score one for Twitter. The synth pop duo announced details earlier today of their forthcoming Christmas EP, released December 14th through Parlophone.

Tracklisting as follows:

1. "It doesn't often snow at Christmas" - new version produced by Marius De Vries and PSB.
2. "My girl" - cover of the Madness song produced by PSB.
3. "All over the world" - new version produced by Marius de Vries/PSB.
4. "Viva la vida"/"Domino dancing" medley. Studio production by Stuart Price.
5. "My girl (our house mix)" - produced by PSB.

Should be a must buy on a few levels, including the first commercial release of "It doesn't often snow at Christmas" and possibly the first Coldplay song it's been okay to like!

The EP will be released on CD and download next month.

Frankie say... no more!

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:02:00 +0000

Frankie Goes to Hollywood via last.fm

Loading up Spotify tonight I was elated to find that some of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's material was finally available. However, I was horrified to find yet ANOTHER "best of" as one of the albums available (interestingly, the band's debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome is NOT available yet on Spotify).

Don't get me wrong, compilations - especially hits collections - from bands form a very necessary role - they can get new fans interested, they can provide material otherwise unavailable (the between album single or a 7" only remix) and they can provide bands a stop gap breather period between studio albums.

Frankie Say Greatest doesn't seem to fulfil many of these points. The band broke up 22 years ago and only released two studio albums.

At current count, there's 4 greatest hits album - 1994's Bang... The Greatest Hits, 2000's Maximum Joy, 2003's Rage Hard: The Sonic Collection and now in 2009, Frankie Say Greatest. That's a lot of greatest hits for a band that only released seven singles.

This release features a second disc with bonus remixes and rarities. Let's face it though, if you have any of the other compilations like Twelve Inches, The Club Mixes, Reload - The Whole 12 Inches or any of the plethora of reissued singles you will have all these remixes already. The non-remixes are quite intriguing, only for the track "Our Silver Turns To Gold," a previously unreleased song demoed at Mediterranean Studios in 1985.

Still, one track doesn't not warrant an album purchase. Especially in the era of iTunes.

As with the 1994 and 2000 hits collections, this time around "Relax" has been released AGAIN as a teaser single with 2009 remixes. A couple of these - by Lockout and Chicane - find their way onto the album as bonus material. Whether we'll get a full single re-issue like in 1994 and 2000 is anyone's guess.

Frankie aren't the only band to receive the business end of a label's greed. The Police have notoriously been reissued over the years. Their Every Breath You Take: The Singles was famously reissued a few years later as a completely new compilation called Every Breath You Take: The Classics. At least ZTT have chosen new names for each subsequent Frankie best of.

I'm excited Frankie are on Spotify and that I can finally listen to them. I'm happy Trevor Horn is clawing back some more of the money he lost on the Frankie experience. I'm not happy one of my favourite bands of the 80s is still being exploited 25 years later.

File sharers spend big

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Pet Shop Boys via last.fm

Does it come as a surprise to ANYONE the recent news that the most prolific music file sharers are also the most prolific spenders?

In a recent BBC news report on file sharing which discusses a recent survey conducted by MORI, it states that the average file sharer also spends an average of £77 a year on paid for music.

Is that it? In my music buying heyday, I used to trot off to Berwick Street and spend around £80 EVERY Saturday. I had some awesome stuff to show for it too - promos, bootlegs, rare deleted releases.

However, this really rings true for me. Most people who have a passing interest in anything maintain just a moderate level of interest. If you're not a diehard U2 fan, are you really going to take the time to find and visit file sharing sites, when iTunes is right there?

The problem with legit outlets like iTunes is they still don't have all the variations of a release that a fan might want. Take the Voxigen remix of "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing" by Pet Shop Boys. I scoured the shops for months searching for this. The CD this was on was only released in Holland, and to acquire it would cost me around £40 (if I could ever find it). Of this £40, neither the label nor the band would see a penny of this. This remix has yet to show up on any legit download site.

This new news about file sharer spending further muddies the water of the cut and dry scenario bodies like the RIAA are advertising, mainly file sharing is theft, thus must be punished. I believe that enough people who actually know what they're talking about (and I don't include the RIAA) will agree that the best way to discover new music is via services like file sharing, free downloads and - more and more - streaming services like Spotify.

With services like Spotify and We7 now replacing the need for ownership with access, the question of piracy and file sharing could soon be a thing of the past if only they could get their catalogues in order. With issues like international licensing still an issue, this won't be resolved any time soon.

More asinine demands from ASCAP - Ringtones!

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:32:00 +0000

Not content with trying to get royalty payments from the 30 second song samples that many of us use to decide if a song is worth buying, now ASCAP (or should that be "ass cap") is suing American phone provider AT&T over ringtone revenue, according to Ars Technica.

Note that it's not the RIAA donning the dunce cap in this case!

The reason for the ASCAP lawsuit? Apparently everytime a ringtone goes off and someone wants to kill the phone owner for having the worst song on earth as a ringtone, that ringtone is a public performance and requires a royalty payment.

Just when you thought the barrel couldn't be scraped any further.

Now I really don't understand why it's only AT&T who are "at fault" here, but that's not really the point. The annoying 10 second loop of whatever "song" some 15 year old downloaded is a) not a public performance of any merit and b) not controlled by a phone company. Not unless they start making our phones ring... which would answer the question Deacon Blue once posed.

EFF's Fred von Lohman expands the crazy demands from ASCAP to a more natural conclusion, "if a ringtone constitutes a public performance, then so does playing the car radio when the windows are down."

It does look like the American legal system is siding with common sense on this as Verizon were recently cleared of any royalty wrong doings as well.

I guess ASCAP are going to have to continue to put their faith in whatever brainless moron is driving their current "new income" initiative. Maybe suing people who whistle for royalty payments?

Three and Spotify sign deal

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:37:00 +0000

In what can only be considered a fantastic move on behalf of both parties, Spotify and mobile operator 3 have announced a deal for 3 to distribute the music upstart's service on their network.

In a short, but sweet article on New Media Age, the first phone to benefit from this deal will be the HTC Hero, set to launch on the network before Christmas.

A few other news agencies are catching this story and adding their own take, but it's still not clear whether 3 will roll the £9.99 Spotify Premium price into the monthly tariff or if users will have to pay that on top.

Whatever the outcome, this will be good news for 3 customers, and for people who don't want to jump on the cult-wagon that is iPhone.

Bernard Sumner attacked by shark, long after jumping it

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Bernard Sumner via last.fm

Looks like Bad Lieutenant's Bernard Sumner's not having a good time of it.

No sooner has he formed the third band to come from the ashes of Warsaw (the others being Joy Division and New Order) then he gets attacked while swimming on holiday... in Scotland.

According to Music-News.com, he "had a collision with a 30 ft shark. The boat nearly sank and there was a big imprint of a huge shark in the paint on its bottom."

All involved in the accident are said to be ok.

Sumner isn't the only musician to have had aquatic misadventures. Back in 1985 Duran Duran's Simon LeBon almost died while taking part in the round the world Whitbread race when his yacht capsized.

Satirical solution to deal with the music situation

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:33:00 +0000

With the current state of the music industry firmly divided into two camps - "free is good" and "free is bad" - CrunchGear has come up with a novel solution to the whole problem - ban music!

Spurred on by the music industry's increasingly asisine ideas (like charging royalties on 30 second samples), CrunchGear has said enough is enough and put their foot down.

Under their plan, anyone making music - even humming in the shower - will face punishment of death. Of course, this solution would free up loads of time, no more useless lawsuits, no more blogs like this espousing how much stupider the music industry can get, and no overpaid music stars being caught doing something that someone of their role model status shouldn't be doing.

It's a brazen suggestion to say the least, but I think the ideal solution is to get people into higher positions in the music industry who aren't retirement age and who's plan doesn't revolve around "make it how it used to be and we'll be fine".

As we know, it'll never be as it used to be again and that SHOULD be a good thing!

30 second royalties

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:59:00 +0000

The latest entry in the "most asinine way the music industry can prove it's not got a clue" was unveiled today.

Complaining that royalties from downloads aren't high enough the usual group of idiotic Americans are now pushing for a royalty payment on 30 second samples. Yeah, the same 30 second samples that might actually get you to want to part with money - i.e. the marketing tool musicians have to sway your interest from the sea of other music out there.

So, ASCAP, BMI, etc. want to charge royalties on these, and the likes of Amazon and iTunes are just going to close up the sample shop and go home. All of a sudden, the long tail buyers who aren't swayed are still going to stay unswayed and more music doesn't get purchased.... or a person turns to bittorrent or other p2p to be able to sample the wares before they buy.

Hell, in the old world model the buying of music was based around sampling the goods. All the old record shops had listening booths where you could listen before you buy. When CDs became the norm, you'd routinely find banks of CD players down your local HMV where you could skim through a disc before buying it.

Did royalties ever get paid on these? Of course not, as the purchase you made would negate that.

As Mashable rightly point out, this is nothing more than sheer greed!

As they point out, "since when did it become smart business to spend time and money actively preventing your potential customers from finding out if they want to give you money or not? It’s unfortunate that in the shift to a digital media ecosystem licensing agencies are getting squeezed, but some of these tactics reek of desperation."

At least it's not the record labels proving they're idiots this time, merely the royalty collecting agencies trying to justify their existence in a world of ever slimming royalty payments.

It's all a moot point anyway, as the smaller acts - the ones these agencies are there to protect - are usually the first to get shafted anyway. This way you sample some Madonna track before you buy and she gets a double payday. Nice for the small guy.

New Order's recycled labour of love

noreply@blogger.com (Richard John) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:51:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

New Order's manager Rob Gretton (RIP) had a wonderful idea a couple of years back - release all the Factory-era new order singles on CD in a whopping great boxset. Call it "Recycle" and it'll be awesome. The powers that be instead released a boxset called "Retro" and it was just ok (especially if you got the limited edition 5th disc!)

Fast forward a few years and Warner re-issue the New Order Factory-era albums on CD with bonus discs full of "great stuff". However, a few fans in the know, audio technology-wise, realised how badly Warner screwed up yet another batch of releases by their favourite band and decided to take action.

Thus, the fan-led Recycle project was born. Basically it's an mp3 blog featuring the original idea of Gretton's "Recycle" project - the 22 Factory released singles in all their glory. There's also a Flickr photostream of sleeves you can print off and fold correctly to give you the entire experience that Warner has denied you.

Popping over to the blog, you get a real understanding of how much blood, sweat, and tears can go into a project if you really really care - something no record label does much of these days any more. Reading the liner notes for each of the releases on the blog, you get an understanding that this isn't just a case of copying tracks from a 12" or CD, the guys putting this project together are METICULOUS to a fault. The latest "hiccup" related to not being able to find the correct mix of Bizarre Love Triangle. This put the whole project on hold while VINYL copies flung themselves around the world, ready to be ripped, cleaned up and edited by the guys putting the project together.

If you're a New Order fan, you owe it to yourself to check out what these guys are doing. It's awesome when you find people who know what they're doing and put it to good use.

My hat is off to them.

Record Industry Blues

a-ha reissue first two albums in blaze of glory

Related articles by Zemanta

Morrissey reissues on the way - Bona Drag up first

Related articles by Zemanta

It was 25 years ago today - Live Aid

Related articles by Zemanta

Men at Work ordered to pay 5% royalties on "Down Under"

Related articles by Zemanta

Yazoo to reconnect with live album

Related articles by Zemanta

Front Line Assembly chart success

Related articles by Zemanta

Spotify for Android finally updated

The Cure may finally disintegrate in May!

6 Music's demise makes me sad

Related articles by Zemanta

Men at Work lose plagiarism case

Spotify's related artists

Classic album cover stamps out today

Seven and the ragged Duran Duran announcement

Vinny Vero's Pet Shop Boys Christmas gift

Royalties and the Unrecouped

Lily Allen proves she has no clue

Pet Shop Boys christmas ep coming

Frankie say... no more!

File sharers spend big

More asinine demands from ASCAP - Ringtones!

Three and Spotify sign deal

Bernard Sumner attacked by shark, long after jumping it

Satirical solution to deal with the music situation

30 second royalties

New Order's recycled labour of love