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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Random 80's Wednesday


Engine Room - Wild Times (12" Single, 1985)
Vector - Surrender (from Please Stand By, 1984)
Deborah Harry - I Want That Man (from Def, Dumb & Blonde, 1989)
Art of Noise featuring Max Headroom - Paranoimia (7" Single, 1986)
The Light - Contrasting Strangers (7" Single, 1986)
Cloud Nine - Waterland (from Waterland, 1985)

Chris Rea - I Can Hear Your Heart Beat (1983)




















Both the original single and the re-recorded 1988 version have been favorites of mine for many years. It wasn't until recently that I discovered the existence of a Club Mix by Kevin Unger. This may have been a promotional only item. [UPDATE: I have re-upped the track, apparently it was released only in Canada]

Chris Rea - I Can Hear Your Heart Beat (Club Mix)

I have also fixed the skip that was mentioned in the comments.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Ask And You Shall Receive

Typical! I put out a list of obscure new wave albums, and which one gets the highest number of votes? Why, Russ Abbott of course! And why not, in these recession hit times why not put on a party album, pour a large one and dance around with a big grin.

Russ Abbott - I Love A Party (1985)

Side One
  1. Atmosphere
  2. Runaround Sue
  3. Let's Go To The Disco
  4. Y.M.C.A.
  5. Let's Dance
  6. Una Paloma Blanca
  7. Multiplication
  8. Happy Birthday

Side Two
  1. All Night Holiday
  2. Monster Mash
  3. Give It Up
  4. At The Hop
  5. Uptown Girl
  6. I'm In The Mood For Dancing
  7. When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman
  8. Beach Boys Medley
Vinyl rip at 320k, digitally restored.

Download Side One
Download Side Two

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Democracy In Action

First off, apologies for being quiet these last few days. I've had several different posts in mind, but mainly I have been busy tracking down various vinyl albums on eBay.

I was planning to buy my new turntable last Sunday - I had settled on a Stanton T90 from Best Buy, but when I got to the store (about 40 miles away) they told me they had sold out. Bummer. So after quite a lot of indecision, I decided to go back to my first plan, which was to buy a turntable and software online from DAK industries. Now, it is on it's way via UPS and I will get it on Friday.

So, I was thinking about what I was going to do with it once it arrived. I now have 70+ albums and a clutch of singles, and I am ordering and hunting for things all the time. It occurred to me that we are now talking about at least 60 plus hours just recording the things, without taking into account the tweaking and cataloging involved. I've read it can take several hours to properly digitize a single LP.

So hey, I thought, might be an opportunity to let my loyal readers decide what I should tackle first - given that most of the new stuff I have is currently unavailable on the internet, which I can confirm from literally years of searching. So, vote for your favorite.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Link-O-Rama

Just thought I'd take a second to acknowledge a "fab" new blog find Fabrica 80. Proving that Brazil is home to much more than great footballers, Fabrica has recently posted on relatively obscure goth/rock/post punk bands such as President Reagan Is Clever, Pink Industry, Modern Eon and an unbelievable amount of Cure material. Well done!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Lazy Sunday

Well folks, after spending many years going nuts at this time of year (public tax practice, March 15 deadline) I realized today that I'm glad to be out of that particular rat race. So, I thought I'd celebrate with a track I've been meaning to post for ages and a general longwinded ramble about whats being going on chez MFL lately.

My vinyl adventures continue apace. I'll be the first to admit I'm much more familiar with the British music scene back in the '80's, so it was probably inevitable that combing through dusty US vinyl racks would lead me to want to discover more about what was going on and which American-based bands were worth checking out and discovering for the first time.

I've mentioned the New Wave Outpost before, but this is an area where the research is really outstanding. I've been using this as my first reference point. I've also been thumbing voraciously through my copy of The New Music Record And Tape Guide. This was the UK edition of the famed Trouser Press publications. In fact, I have a neat story about this. The book was published in 1987, and I must have borrowed it from the local library at least a dozen times, even though most of the names meant nothing to me, but I did enjoy reading the often scathing (and always pithy) reviews. (Oh, and don't forget you can read all of them at www.trouserpress.com - Ira Robbins, a toast to you, sir!)

I didn't think about the book again until I was based in the US, and returning home for a brief visit. For no real reason at all, I went back to the library, just to see if some of the old books I remembered leafing through were still there. I was sad to see that TNMRATG had been withdrawn from the library shelves. Then just as I was leaving, I happened to glance at the little shelf by the checkout desk where they kept a handful of old books they sold to the public, and there it was! I honestly believe that particular book and I were destined for each other. I think I paid a pound for it.

If all goes to plan, I'll be buying my turntable next Sunday. Good thing too. At the latest count, I now have 64 LP's and 12" Singles and about 20 7" Singles, most of which are rare, obscure and ready for rediscovery!!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a dramatic prediction. I've watched the CD aisles at Best Buy and Borders shrinking like crazy. The death of the packaged CD release is, I believe, inevitable. As a long time CD lover myself, I've seen my own passion eroded over time - chiefly due to the convenience and availability of digital downloads and due also to the cheapening of the CD as a medium. Or is my desk the only one that has stacks of CD-Rs, DVD-R's and other shiny discs displayed with all the reverence of a beer coaster?

Vinyl offers a viable, and exciting, alternative. I'm not the only one that thinks so. Check out this news report. There's something so tangible about holding these pieces of wax in your hands. Right now, vinyl prices are ridiculously low. But, in the future? Hey, I went into Best Buy yesterday and beamed at the sight of 180 gram record packages on the shelves. When music is free, or at least intangible, what is there left to own? And, a lesson that hopefully some of our email/ipod/wireless/mp3 youngsters will one day understand is this: it is in our own nature as human beings to feel ownership of the things that come to define the fabric of our lives. Or, to quote King Lear - "grant no more than nature needs, man's life is as cheap as beasts".

The Tempest - Lazy Sunday

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Random 80's Wednesday


Foreign Press - Set Your Love In Motion (7" Single, 1984) Legal Download
Nik Kershaw - Wide Boy (from The Riddle, 1984) Legal Download
Secret Sounds - State of Sound (7" Single, 1984)
David + David - Welcome To The Boomtown (from Boomtown, 1986)
Tanh Chi - Rhythm (7" Single, 1986)

Sunday, March 1, 2009

A Drop In The Gray - Certain Demos

I have had a LOT of requests to repost this. So here it is.



  1. All The Same (Demo)
  2. Wide Eyed One (Demo)
  3. Fall And Cry (Demo)
  4. Heartache Feeds Heartache (Demo)
  5. A Place For You (Demo)
  6. Past Your Frame (Demo)
  7. No Light (Demo)
  8. Only Love (Demo)
  9. Turn Me 'Round (Demo)
  10. Be There (Demo)
  11. Whispers Again (Demo)
  12. Four On Four (Demo)
  13. And You Smile (Demo)
  14. My World (Demo)
  15. Every Day (Demo)
Download

[Link updated August 2016]