Psychotic Leisure Music

Wartime - Fast Food for Thought (1990)

2009-08-21T13:00:00.021-04:00

Following the release of the second Rollins Band album, Hard Volume, bassist Andrew Weiss and vocalist Henry Rollins collaborated on a one-off side project called Wartime. A former member of Greg Ginn's Gone, Weiss also worked as a producer and bassist on several Ween albums.

It's this sensibility that Weiss brings to the proceedings, as Wartime has a heady, yet simultaneously heavy, sound. The music consists primarily of Weiss' bass guitar fed through a series of effects that include at the very least distortion and wah-wah. While Andrew Weiss wrote and performed all of the music, Henry Rollins handles the vocal duties. These "vocals" are best described as landing somewhere between rap and spoken word. These two elements combine to create an EP that's totally unique and, actually, kinda catchy. It's worth noting that the fifth and final track is a cover of the Grateful Dead classic!

Check out the music video for "The Whole Truth":

This album was reissued in 1994 by Capitol and the cover was altered to also read "Featuring Henry Rollins" underneath the name Wartime. This rip and the cover above both come from the original 1990 Chrysalis release.

Wartime - Fast Food for Thought (1990)
1. Mindfield (1:30)
2. Wartime (5:42)
3. Right to Life (7:41)
4. The Whole Truth (5:54)
5. Franklin's Tower (7:59)

56.52MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (272.9kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.98.2 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Ambient 4: Isolationism (1994)

2009-05-01T13:41:00.004-04:00

In August of 1994, Virgin Records released the fourth and final volume in their definitive A Brief History of Ambient series. As things were starting to get a bit stale with the third volume, Virgin changed course, reaching beyond their own labels to widen the scope for this two-disc set. Focusing on the burgeoning Isolationism sub-genre, Virgin was able to license and compile a collection of exclusive tracks for this last blast. They also shortened the title this time around, omitting the A Brief History of part.

This compilation is the first major label release of this darker breed of ambient music. Most of the original indie electronic artists that pioneered this mid-90s musical variant are featured here. Stylistically, the ambient music that Brian Eno created in the 1970s was unique in that it was designed to work also as a passive experience; you could listen to it closely or let it play in the background as a non-distraction. Conversely, as this title's producer, musician Kevin Martin, put it when he coined the term, Isolationism is designed to "push away" the listener. This repulsive effect manifests itself in music that, surprisingly, covers a wide variety of attack approaches. Personally, the only similarity I find in these disparate pieces is the gloomy tone that sits at their core. Don't get me wrong, it's all quite enjoyable, but is maybe best enjoyed in smaller doses. Regardless, this is the perfect instrumental electronica to listen to on a dreary day. Particularly if your goal is not to cheer yourself up.

Check out the album mix of Scorn's "Silver Rain Fell" and Aphex Twin's "Aphex Airlines":

Ambient 4: Isolationism (1994)
1. KK Null / Jim Plotkin - Lost (Held Under) (7:45)
2. Jim O'Rourke - Flat Without a Back (4:47)
3. Ice - The Dredger (6:36)
4. Raoul Björkenheim - Strangers (4:42)
5. :Zoviet*France: - Daisy Gun (7:38)
6. Labradford - Air Lubricated Free Axis Trainer (3:22)
7. Techno Animal - Self Strangulation (6:04)
8. Paul Schütze - Hallucinations (In Memory of Reinaldo Arenas) (8:17)
9. Scorn - Silver Rain Fell (Deep Water Mix) (5:25)
10. Disco Inferno - Lost in Fog (5:02)
11. Total - Six (5:34)
12. Nijiumu - Once Again I Cast Myself into the Flames of Atonement (9:11)
13. Aphex Twin - Aphex Airlines (6:17)
14. AMM - Vandoevre (7:28)
15. Seefeel - Lief (6:07)
16. 'O'Rang - Little Sister (6:59)
17. E.A.R. - Hydroponic (6:18)
18. Sufi - Desert Flower (6:23)
19. David Toop / Max Eastley - Burial Rites (Phosphorescent Mix) (5:59)
20. Main - Crater Scar (Adrenochrome) (6:09)
21. Final - Hide (7:27)
22. Lull - Thoughts (8:02)
23. Thomas Köner - Kanon (Part One: Brohuk) (10:36)

279.02MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (256kbps) w/LAME 3.92

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Fallout 3 (2008)

2009-03-19T14:03:00.008-04:00

Fallout 3 is an addictive RPG situated in an unrelentingly bleak post-apocalyptic future. Created by the folks at Bethesda Game Studios, the gameplay mechanics are similar to their earlier hit, the fantasy-themed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Like 2007's BioShock, the soundtrack utilizes popular music from the early to middle twentieth century that effectively evokes a nostalgic sense of loss. Bethesda also contracted Inon Zur to create a more traditional score to extend the epic experience further.

This game's only official soundtrack was a five track promo given away to those who pre-ordered the game from select retailers. This promotional CD contains two themes by Inon Zur ("Main Title" and "Megaton") as well as three popular music tracks (The Ink Spots' "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", Roy Brown's "Butcher Pete (Part 1)" and Bob Crosby and the Bobcats' "Way Back Home"). The game itself features an additional seventeen popular music tracks. Fortunately, it's possible to actually rip these tracks directly from the PC version of the game, where they were originally encoded as 192kbps MP3 files! I've also included "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" by Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, which, although not in the game itself, was featured in the commercial for the game and fits in neatly with the other tracks. Unfortunately, the majority of Inon Zur's soundtrack music that could be ripped from the game are short cues that work better in-game as fill-in atmospheric music. I've included the only longer cues I could find, seven "Battle" themes.

I've maintained the running order of the five track promo by inserting the additional twenty-five tracks in what seems the most logical way. The songs follow the running order of the ending credits, which, aside from the first track by The Ink Spots, is strictly alphabetical by song. I slotted "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" where it would have been if it were actually listed in the end credits. I threw the seven "Battle" themes after the songs and just before the final track, "Megaton," which closes this compilation on the same note as the promo CD. Eight of the songs were licensed from music production firm APM Music, Inc. and I was unable to determine the year that these tracks were originally recorded.

Check out the teaser trailer that features The Ink Spots' "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire":

Check out the commercial that features Bob Crosby and the Bobcats' "Dear Hearts and Gentle People":

Check out these fan-made clips featuring Danny Kaye & The Andrews Sisters' "Civilization", Billie Holiday's "Easy Living" and Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots' "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall":

Update 03/30/2009: An anonymous poster below was kind enough to mention an additional track that I missed! "Into the Wasteland" is one of three Inon Zur tracks that you can preview on the official Fallout 3 page. For whatever reason, it's also the only track of the three that did not end up on the promo disc. I found a 320kbps encode of the track on Soulseek and placed it just before the final track on this compilation. Thanks, Anon!

Fallout 3 (2008)
1. Inon Zur - Main Title [2008] (2:06) *
2. The Ink Spots - I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire [1940] (3:06) *
3. Cole Porter - Anything Goes [1934] (3:08) #
4. Tex Beneke - A Wonderful Guy [1949] (1:52) #
5. Sid Phillips - Boogie Man (2:23) #
6. Roy Brown - Butcher Pete (Part 1) [1949] (2:28) *
7. Billie Holiday - Crazy He Calls Me [1949] (3:02) #
8. Danny Kaye / The Andrews Sisters - Civilization [1947] (3:00) #
9. Bob Crosby and the Bobcats - Dear Hearts and Gentle People [1950] (2:09) +
10. Billie Holiday - Easy Living [1937] (3:02) #
11. Gerhard Trede - Fox Boogie (3:15) #
12. Bob Crosby and the Bobcats - Happy Times [1949] (2:41) #
13. Jack Shaindlin - I'm Tickled Pink (1:48) #
14. Ella Fitzgerald / The Ink Spots - Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall [1944] (3:06) #
15. Billy Munn - Jazzy Interlude (2:49) #
16. Gerhard Trede - Jolly Days (1:40) #
17. Jack Shaindlin - Let's Go Sunning (1:41) #
18. The Ink Spots - Maybe [1935] (2:50) #
19. Roy Brown - Mighty, Mighty Man [1949] (2:33) #
20. Eddy Christiani / Frans Poptie - Rhythm for You (2:59) #
21. Allan Gray - Swing Doors (2:58) #
22. Bob Crosby and the Bobcats - Way Back Home [1935] (2:53) *
23. Inon Zur - Battle 01 [2008] (3:37) #
24. Inon Zur - Battle 02 [2008] (3:25) #
25. Inon Zur - Battle 03 [2008] (2:02) #
26. Inon Zur - Battle 04 [2008] (3:27) #
27. Inon Zur - Battle 05 [2008] (2:41) #
28. Inon Zur - Battle 06 [2008] (2:59) #
29. Inon Zur - Battle 07 [2008] (2:57) #
30. Inon Zur - Into the Wasteland [2008] (3:28) +
31. Inon Zur - Megaton [2008] (3:26) *

* = From Featured Selections from the Fallout 3 Soundtrack Promo CD
+ = Bonus Track
# = Game Rip Bonus Track

119.22MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant and Variable bitrate (194.1kbps average)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Dogs in Space (Expanded) (1986)

2009-01-29T15:07:00.008-05:00

Updated 07/20/2011: A generous visitor supplied me with a new rip of the Japanese CD, so the album tracks of this upload have been updated with much improved sound quality over the old vinyl rip. Enjoy!

Michael Hutchence of INXS fame stars as the lead singer of Dogs in Space, a band partying and gigging and trying to make it. Based on the story of local band The Ears, it captures the turbulent feel of what the 1979/1980 Australian Little Band Scene must have been like, just as punk was moving into new wave. A remarkable movie with an incredible soundtrack, full of alternately well-known and relatively unknown bands from that unique time and place.

Check out the first seven-and-a-half minutes of Dogs in Space, featuring Iggy Pop's "Dog Food" and Stamphyl Revega's "Frankie Teardrop." Nice widescreen source, I wonder where it comes from?:

Check out this movie clip that features The Marching Girls' "True Love":

Check out the very young Nick Cave in the music video for Boys Next Door's "Shivers":

Check out the music video for Michael Hutchence's "Rooms for the Memory":

The soundtrack for this film is a rarity. The CD version of the soundtrack was briefly issued in only two countries back in '86. The German release mixed in dialogue from the movie and the tracks segue into each other. This mix is much more common than the Japanese release, which I've posted here previously. I prefer the Japanese release version because it presents the songs individually without segue ways or dialogue. The downside of the Japanese CD is that two of the songs are presented in censored "Instrumental" versions, although it does feature a longer, more complete version of Michael Hutchence's "The Green Dragon" narrative.

As this is one of my favorite soundtracks, I thought it would be a cool to create a custom expanded compilation. I started with a clean Japanese vinyl rip of the soundtrack that I found on BitTorrent site mininova a year-and-a-half ago. While the rip is only 160kbps, it was Fraunhofer encoded, so it sounds surprisingly good, with no noticeable artifacts. It was posted along with a rip of the only DVD release this movie has seen, an awful cropped and hazy bootleg from England.

Looking at the ending credits, I found that there were five songs used in the movie, but not released on the soundtrack: Stamphyl Revega's "Frankie Teardrop," Too Fat to Fit Through the Door's "Skullbrains," Whirlywirld's "Window to the World" and The Birthday Party's "Mr. Clarinet" and "Happy Birthday." Additionally, I also recognized the original Whirlywirld version of "Win/Lose" playing over the end credits. I had The Birthday Party tracks on their Hee-Haw CD and the Whirlywirld tracks are on The Complete Studio Works CD, so they were no problem. As they were never issued, I was forced to rip the Stamphyl Revega and Too Fat to Fit Through the Door tracks direct from the movie.

While watching the film again, I also ran across two short bits of score that I thought would fit nicely in the compilation that I was building, so I ripped those as well. While not credited directly, I assume that Musical Director (and former Whirlywirld member) Ollie Olson created these short instrumental bits and, incidentally, I believe that Stamphyl Revenga is an Ollie Olson pseudonym. The movie rip is in PAL format and, because of that, runs slightly fast at 25 frames per second. This makes the sound slightly pitched. I used BeSweet to correct the speed back to the equivalent of the correct 23.976 framerate before encoding to MP3.

That left the two censored tracks. Fortunately, the uncensored version of Primitive Calculators' "Pumping Ugly Muscle" has been reissued on the 2006 compilation Tales from the Australian Underground Vol 2: 1977-1990. I was able to find this track and the uncensored version of Thrush & the Cunts' "Diseases" on Soulseek. "Diseases" was ripped from the German soundtrack CD and is mostly complete, with a fade-in that clips about the first 16s.

As the original soundtrack was roughly sequenced in the same order that the tracks appear in the film, it made sense to me to do the same with this compilation. I'm a big fan of this film and it's an absolute mystery to me why it hasn't been properly remastered and re-released on CD and DVD (or Blu-ray!). This custom expanded compilation adds ten bonus tracks to the original release. Thanks to an anonymous poster, you can read a scan of the original liner notes by clicking here.

Dogs in Space (1986)
1. Iggy Pop - Dog Food [1980] (1:42)
2. Stamphyl Revega - Frankie Teardrop [1986] (3:27) #
3. Michael Hutchence - Dogs in Space [1986] (2:58)
4. Ollie Olsen - Win/Lose [1986] (4:57)
5. Gang of Four - Anthrax [1979] (3:00)
6. The Marching Girls - True Love [1986] (3:05)
7. Brian Eno - Skysaw [1975] (3:24)
8. Too Fat to Fit Through the Door - Skullbrains [1986] (0:47) #
9. Boys Next Door - Shivers [1979] (4:25)
10. Thrush & the Cunts - Diseases [1986] (2:44)
11. Primitive Calculators - Pumping Ugly Muscle [1986] (5:07)
12. Michael Hutchence - Golf Course [1986] (2:59)
13. Marie Hoy & Friends - Shivers [1986] (4:05)
14. Michael Hutchence - The Green Dragon [1986] (2:19)
15. Whirlywirld - Window to the World [1979] (3:39) *
16. Ollie Olsen - Anna Betrayed [1986] (0:53) #
17. The Birthday Party - Mr. Clarinet [1980] (3:41) *
18. The Birthday Party - Happy Birthday [1980] (3:58) *
19. Ollie Olsen - Sam & Anna Reunited [1986] (0:51) #
20. Iggy Pop - Endless Sea [1979] (4:56)
21. Michael Hutchence - Rooms for the Memory [1986] (5:07)
22. Whirlywirld - Win/Lose [1980] (5:51) *
23. Thrush & the Cunts - Diseases (Instrumental) [1986] (2:58) *
24. Primitive Calculators - Pumping Ugly Muscle (Instrumental) [1986] (5:11) *

* = Bonus Track
# = Movie Rip Bonus Track

150MB RAR archive
MP3: (2x) Constant bitrate (320kbps) &
(22x) Variable bitrate (261kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.98.2 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Dump - That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice? (1998)

2008-11-12T11:20:00.004-05:00

James McNew formed Dump, a one-man four-track side project, in January of 1991. After a half-dozen releases, Dump was put aside to focus on his job as bass player for Yo La Tengo. McNew resurrected Dump in 1998 when he released a seven song cassette homage to Prince entitled That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice? Prince fans will recognize the title as a self-referential line from the bizarre song "Bob George" off the infamous Black Album. That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice? was released on CD in 2001 with five bonus tracks added to the end.

The only way I could describe Dump's sound would be "low-fi indie." One thing for sure, it's definitely a strange and somewhat downbeat experience. At the same time, it's also totally entertaining. But you have to wonder, how serious is this project? Prince is an easy target and while this is never jokey, it certainly isn't totally lacking in levity. I think an important clue can be discerned if you take a look at the song selection. While the majority of the covers are singles, there are three b-sides ("Erotic City," "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" and "Another Lonely Christmas") and one unreleased track ("An Honest Man"). On song selection alone, you have to figure that James McNew must be a serious Prince fan. As odd as it may seem, I think this is a heartfelt tribute that is expressed in an unexpected way.

But be warned, if you're the kind of Prince fan that is overly touchy about the 62" wunderkind, then you may have trouble enjoying this. Which is your loss, really.

Dump - That Skinny Motherfucker with the High Voice? (1998)
1. 1999 (6:59)
2. Raspberry Beret (3:31)
3. Erotic City (3:20)
4. The Beautiful Ones (5:19)
5. When U Were Mine (4:02)
6. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? (3:27)
7. Pop Life (3:48)
8. A Love Bizarre (6:52)
9. Girls + Boys (4:41)
10. Dirty Mind (4:16)
11. An Honest Man (2:55)
12. Another Lonely Christmas (5:08)

93.11MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (238.9kbps average)
LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - Latin-Esque (1962)

2008-10-17T12:03:00.005-04:00

Latin-Esque was Esquivel's third and final collaboration with producer Neely Plumb and engineer John Norman. This was Esquivel's first and only foray into RCA's Stereo Action series. It was through an incredibly innovative system that they achieved complete stereo separation. The original liner notes do an excellent job of explaining the methods used:

"This album represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first time in the history of stereo recording in which absolute separation of channels has been achieved. To accomplish this, the orchestra was separated into two parts - half in Studio 1 and the other half in Studio 2, almost a city block down the long corridor of the RCA building in Hollywood. Through an intricate system of inter-communication by headphones, the musicians were able to hear each other and play together just as if they were all in the same room. The effects are startling, the arrangements are daring, and when an instrument moves from side to side it can literally be said that the motion is almost a block long! Five experimental sessions were held prior to the actual recording dates. At these sessions Esquivel and his producer and engineer tried endless different approaches to various percussion instruments with electronic effects applied to them. A careful book of notes was kept with the best and most convincing effects clearly marked, later to be applied to the actual arrangements by Esquivel himself. Space does not allow the details of the effects themselves, but in LATIN-ESQUE by Esquivel you are sure to hear sounds you have never heard before - sounds your eyes can follow."

Check out this wild music video for "You Belong to My Heart (Solamente una Vez)" that uses drawings done by Sharon Rutledge:

Check out this clip that combines visuals from Animaniacs with the sounds of "Mucha Muchacha":

Esquivel signed to Reprise Records, the Warner Bros. label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra, for his next album, 1962's More of Other Worlds, Other Sounds. He then took a five year break from producing studio albums to focus on his live stage show for the Las Vegas/Lake Tahoe circuit. He would eventually return to the studio for two final albums, 1967's The Genius of Esquivel and 1968 Esquivel!!

Latin-Esque was released on CD by BMG Music Spain in 2000.

Esquivel - Latin-Esque (1962)
1. La Raspa (1:50)
2. Adios, Mariquita Linda (3:14)
3. Jesusita en Chihuahua (2:20)
4. Cachito (Pedacito) (2:26)
5. Latin-Esque (3:04)
6. La Paloma (2:03)
7. Estrellita (2:30)
8. (Oyeme) Cachita (2:23)
9. Jungle Drums (Canto Karabali) (3:55)
10. Mucha Muchacha (2:17)
11. You Belong to My Heart (Solamente una Vez) (2:42)
12. Carioca (1:41)

54.32MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (247.8kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.98.2 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

LAME 3.98.2 (MP3 Encoder)

2008-10-17T09:28:00.003-04:00

Just a quick note to let folks out there know that an update has been released for the LAME MP3 encoder, version 3.98.2.

Any regular visitors I have know that I prefer the LAME encoder for creating MP3 files. If you're like me and you use Audiograbber (Exact Audio Copy is a good alternative, but is less intuitive), then the LAME encoder is absolutely essential if you want the highest quality. You can check out my posting Tutorial: Create MP3s Using Audiograbber with the LAME Encoder for more info on ripping CDs to MP3.

This is basically a minor bugfix update, but for those curious, here's the changelog:

o Fix for Bugtracker item [ 2031704 ] --id3v1-only didnt work in 3.98-final
o Fix for Bugtracker item [ 2022035 ] encoder_padding value and resampling
o Fix for Bugtracker item [ 2029282 ] Frequency filtering API broken in 3.98
o Fix for Bugtracker item [ 2039648 ] potential memory leak in parse_args() function in parse.c
o Fix for some tagging issues:
+ Made search for ID3v1 genres more sloppy, abbrevations may match more often as some simple typos. Examples:
# --tg "Alt. Rock" matches genre "Alternate Rock"
# --tg "acapela" matches genre "A Cappella"
+ New switch --pad-id3v2-size "n": adds ID3v2 tag with n padding bytes.

As usual, the best place to grab the latest LAME compile is from RareWares. You can get the 3.98.2 build (compiled with Intel Compiler 10.1) by clicking here.

Things Go Better with Coke: Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials (1965-1969)

2008-09-20T17:51:00.002-04:00

It was in 1963 that Coca-Cola started using the slogan "Things Go Better with Coke." Advertising agency McCann-Erickson worked with popular acts to create musical jingles utilizing the slogan. The jingles became so popular that Coca-Cola eventually distributed 60,000 promotional "Let's Swing the Jingle for Coca-Cola" singles through their bottlers.

In these short radio spots, the original artists would rework their own popular songs to reflect the idea that "Things Go Better with Coke." What's amazing is that these short little reworkings are actually strangely compelling to listen to. In fact, even listening to several of them in a row is enjoyable, sometimes in a head-shaking kind of way. What's bizarre to me is that something that today would seem like such a crass sell-out was deemed not only acceptable, but was actually incredibly popular. What helps, I'm sure, is the earnestness that went into the production of these tracks. Clearly less cynical times, those.

I bought my buddy Bill the Splut the Things Go Better with Coke: Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials 1965-'69 bootleg CD for his birthday years ago. He was kind enough to loan it to me to rip. In doing research for this post, I discovered that there was another bootleg collection of Coca-Cola commercials from this same time period called, appropriately, Coca-Cola Commercials. While there was some overlap, both CDs had many different artists on them. I found a nice 192kbps rip of this on Soulseek. It runs 66 tracks, with 60 on the borrowed disc. The sound quality on the Things Go Better with Coke CD was slightly better, so I used those tracks as masters and eliminated 29 duplicates from the Coca-Cola Commercials CD. I also found 11 other tracks from various sources on Soulseek. These include single tracks from Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, The Shirelles & John W. Bubbles, Otis Redding and The Four Seasons, two tracks each from Little Milton and The Who and three additional tracks from Roy Orbison.

Check out this TV commercial featuring the jingle by The Seekers:

Check out these fan clips featuring jingles from Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Roy Orbison and Sandy Posey:

In assembling this collection I decided to put it in alphabetical order by artist, ignoring "The." The only exception to this is the final track, a "Pepsi Generation" track that also closed out the Things Go Better with Coke CD. The Coca-Cola Commercials CD listed years, but the Things Go Better with Coke CD did not, so not all of the tracks have a year listed. For some tracks there are two versions of the same song, :60 and :90 second spots. As these variants are actually edited differently with sometimes differing voiceovers, I decided to keep both, listing them as either "Short" or "Long". Also, while I scanned the cover of Things Go Better with Coke to use here, the original cover is yellow. I wanted to mark this compilation as different so I opened it up in Photoshop and converted the yellow to Coca-Cola red! The color filling was done very sloppily on the original, so I spent some time cleaning that up as well. While I don't presume that this collection of odd pop music curios is complete, I bet it's darn close!

Things Go Better with Coke: Sixties Coca-Cola Commercials (1965-1969)
1. The American Breed - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
2. The American Breed - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
3. Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
4. Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:01)
5. Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (1:29)
6. B.J. Thomas - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:57)
7. B.J. Thomas - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:58)
8. The Bee Gees - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:55)
9. The Bee Gees - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
10. The Box Tops - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:58)
11. The Box Tops - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
12. The Box Tops - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (1:00)
13. Brooklyn Bridge - Things Go Better with Coke (0:59)
14. Carla Thomas - Things Go Better with Coke (0:59)
15. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Things Go Better with Coke (2:18)
16. The Drifters - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
17. The Easybeats - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:03)
18. The Easybeats - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:56)
19. The Easybeats - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (1:18)
20. The Everly Brothers - Things Go Better with Coke (1:25)
21. The 5th Dimension - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
22. The 5th Dimension - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
23. Fontella Bass - Things Go Better with Coke (0:58)
24. The Fortunes - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
25. The Four Seasons - Things Go Better with Coke (1:33)
26. Freddie and the Dreamers - Things Go Better with Coke (0:58)
27. Freddy Cannon - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:59)
28. Freddy Cannon - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
29. Gary Lewis and the Playboys - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:59)
30. Gary Lewis and the Playboys - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Short) (0:57)
31. Gary Lewis and the Playboys - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Long) (1:30)
32. Gladys Knight and the Pips - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
33. Gladys Knight and the Pips - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
34. Golden Earring - Things Go Better with Coke (1:49)
35. Jan and Dean - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
36. Jay and the Americans - Things Go Better with Coke (0:58)
37. Jay and the Techniques - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:59)
38. Jay and the Techniques - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
39. Jerry Butler - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
40. Jerry Butler / Carla Thomas - Things Go Better with Coke (0:59)
41. Joe Tex - Things Go Better with Coke (0:57)
42. Lee Dorsey - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
43. Lee Dorsey - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
44. The Left Banke - Things Go Better with Coke (1:02)
45. Lesley Gore - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:31)
46. Lesley Gore - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Short) (1:03)
47. Lesley Gore - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Long) (1:32)
48. Little Milton - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:02)
49. Little Milton - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:05)
50. Los Bravos - Things Go Better with Coke (1:30)
51. Lulu - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
52. Lulu - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:58)
53. Marvin Gaye - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
54. Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrell - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
55. Mary Hopkin - Things Go Better with Coke (1:00)
56. The Moody Blues - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Short) (1:01)
57. The Moody Blues - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Long) (1:35)
58. The Moody Blues - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
59. The Moody Blues - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (0:59)
60. Nancy Sinatra - Things Go Better with Coke (Short) (1:01)
61. Nancy Sinatra - Things Go Better with Coke (Long) (1:31)
62. Neil Diamond - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:52)
63. Neil Diamond - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
64. New Vaudeville Band - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:34)
65. New Vaudeville Band - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:31)
66. Otis Redding - Things Go Better with Coke (1:29)
67. Petula Clark - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Short) (0:58)
68. Petula Clark - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Long) (1:31)
69. Petula Clark - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:02)
70. Petula Clark - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (Short) (1:01)
71. Petula Clark - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (Long) (1:29)
72. Ray Charles - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:01)
73. Ray Charles - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:31)
74. Ray Charles / Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:28)
75. Ray Charles / Aretha Franklin - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:32)
76. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Short) (1:01)
77. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Long) (1:30)
78. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Short) (1:02)
79. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Long) (1:28)
80. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (Short) (0:59)
81. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (Long) (1:29)
82. Roy Orbison - Things Go Better with Coke #4 (1:01)
83. Sandy Posey - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:59)
84. Sandy Posey - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
85. Sandy Posey - Things Go Better with Coke #3 (1:00)
86. The Seekers - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:59)
87. The Seekers - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
88. The Shirelles / John W. Bubbles - Things Go Better with Coke (1:46)
89. The Supremes - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Short) (1:00)
90. The Supremes - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (Long) (1:30)
91. The Supremes - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (1:00)
92. Tom Jones - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:59)
93. Tom Jones - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:56)
94. Tommy Boyce / Bobby Hart - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
95. Tommy Boyce / Bobby Hart - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
96. The Tremeloes - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:00)
97. The Tremeloes - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:58)
98. The Troggs - Things Go Better with Coke (Short) (1:00)
99. The Troggs - Things Go Better with Coke (Long) (1:31)
100. Vanilla Fudge - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (0:58)
101. Vanilla Fudge - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:59)
102. The Vogues - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:30)
103. The Vogues - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Short) (1:00)
104. The Vogues - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (Long) (1:33)
105. Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - Things Go Better with Coke (0:59)
106. The Who - Things Go Better with Coke #1 (1:06)
107. The Who - Things Go Better with Coke #2 (0:29)
108. Come Alive - The Pepsi Generation (2:01)

184.98MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant and Variable bitrate (207.5kbps average)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Scott B. Morton & Michael Verrette - Titan Quest (2007)

2008-08-24T12:56:00.003-04:00

In 2006, Iron Lore Entertainment developed Titan Quest, one of the best of the various "Diablo-style" action RPGs. As the player in the game, you travel through three distinct eras, fighting the mythological monsters of Greece, Egypt and China. Composers Scott B. Morton & Michael Verrette were brought in and they created a rousing score that successfully envelops you in the fantastic elements of those three time periods. The skills of jazz vocalist Taunia Soderquist are effectively used for operatic effect on three of the tracks.

In 2007, Iron Lore released a Deluxe Edition of the game that included, among other extras, a soundtrack CD. As this package was limited and Iron Lore has since closed their doors, it seems fair game to post the soundtrack here. The version that I located was ripped by "Monkichi" and includes two bonus suites ripped direct from the game.

For a nice short excerpt of Titan Quest's exciting score, check out the original game trailer:

Scott B. Morton & Michael Verrette - Titan Quest (2007)
1. Main Title (2:45)
2. Helos (1:09)
3. Scorched Earth (0:58)
4. The Prophecy (1:46)
5. Arm of the Gods (2:25)
6. Heroes of the Past (0:53)
7. Athens (1:07)
8. Knossos Labyrinth (1:01)
9. Megalesios (1:55)
10. Rhakotis Library (0:59)
11. Abedju (0:49)
12. Memphis (1:19)
13. Giza Plateau (1:13)
14. The Sphinx (1:59)
15. The Great Pyramid (1:25)
16. Aktaios (1:52)
17. Sandswept Roads (2:20)
18. Temple of Hatshepsut (1:48)
19. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (1:09)
20. Temple of Marduk (1:35)
21. The Silk Road (1:06)
22. Ice Caverns (1:18)
23. Over the Great Wall to Chang'an (3:12)
24. Zhidan (1:01)
25. Binxan (1:29)
26. Praying Warrior (4:01)
27. Terra Cotta March (1:09)
28. Jade Palace (2:06)
29. Ormenos (1:40)
30. Road to Olympus (2:27)
31. Battling the Titan (2:26)
32. Finale (1:27)
33. When Gods Fall (Credits) (4:28)
34. Into the Orient (Suite) (3:17)
35. Sands of Egypt (Suite) (4:44)

81.92MB RAR archive
MP3: 33x Variable bitrate (168.6kbps average)
2x Constant Bitrate (192kbps)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

2 Years, 88 Albums, 323K+ Hits!

2008-08-21T19:16:00.002-04:00

Well, as of today, it's been two years since I started Psychotic Leisure Music! It's amazing how time flies when life is good! I decided to celebrate a couple weeks early this year and gave PLM a much needed makeover.

Last year I managed to upload just over an album per week. This year has been a lot busier for me and I've been unable to repeat that lofty goal. Still, at twice per month, at least I'm not too much of a slacker...

Although my posting frequency has slowed, my visitor rate hasn't; I'm typically getting 500 to 800 hits per day, sometimes more. It still strikes me as totally incredible that there are so many folks that take the time to regularly visit a blog that I've created. Pretty cool.

Once again I want to thank those visitors that leave comments. Even if it's just to say, "Thanks," the feedback makes a big difference to me and I definitely appreciate it. Things have been going great for me and the future looks bright! I'll make a sincere effort to prevent any further slow down here.

One quick final note: The Internet is a real boon to music lovers and getting music these days really couldn't be any easier. This site specializes in making available music that is no longer commercially accessible. I believe it's wrong to profit from out of print music and that's why I make it available here for free. That being said, it's as important as ever to pay for music you enjoy that's commercially available. It helps to support the artists you appreciate and it's the honest and morally correct thing to do! Anyway, I don't mean to preach, but sometimes a gentle reminder is good. If it's in print and you like it, well, then go buy it!

Anyway, thanks again for stopping in and keep enjoying the music! Here's to another year!

A Brief History of Ambient Volume 3: The Music of Changes (1976-1994)

2008-08-16T12:54:00.002-04:00

In May of 1994, Virgin Records took another trip to the ambient music well, releasing the third two-disc collection in their commercially and critically successful series A Brief History of Ambient. For the final time, Virgin Records mined exclusively from their back catalog to present this collection of tracks.

This third volume is as enjoyable to listen to as the first two, but, in all honesty, things are starting to get a bit repetitive. Take a look at the track list below and you'll find a selection of the usual suspects making yet another appearance. Some of the more interesting tracks are the quiet ones from the artists whose output is mostly outside the genre. This, certainly though, is the least essential volume of the four. That being said, don't let my grousing detract overly much; if you enjoyed the first two, it's an absolute guarantee that you'll dig this as well.

Check out these fan-made clips that feature the music of William Orbit's "Gringatcho Demento," Bark Psychosis' "Pendulum Man," Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble & Jaki Liebezeit's "Mystery RPS (No. 8)," Harold Budd & Brian Eno's "Wind in Lonely Fences," King Crimson's "Nuages (That Which Passes, Passes Like Clouds)" and Brian Eno's "2/2":

Virgin Records eventually released one final volume in the series, this time dedicated to the darker Isolationism sub-genre. This last volume was also the only to feature tracks licensed from other labels. Keep your eyes peeled, as I'll be completing the collection by posting it here (fairly) soon.

A Brief History of Ambient Volume 3: The Music of Changes (1976-1994)
1. Shu-De - Sygyt, Khoomei, Kargyraa [1994] (1:07)
2. Irmin Schmidt / Bruno Spoerri - When the Waters Came to Life [1990] (4:23)
3. David Sylvian / Robert Fripp - Darshana (Reconstructed by The Future Sound of London) [1993] (9:53)
4. William Orbit - Gringatcho Demento [1993] (6:20)
5. Rain Tree Crow - Red Earth (As Summertime Ends) [1991] (3:34)
6. Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Last Emperor - Theme Variation 1 [1987] (2:19)
7. Robert Fripp - 1988 [1981] (10:27)
8. David Sylvian - Epiphany [1991] (1:28)
9. Amorphous Androgynous - A Study of Six Guitars [1994] (3:08)
10. Trisan - May Yo I [1992] (5:48)
11. Bill Laswell - Kingdom Come [1988] (7:27)
12. Seigen Ono - You Will Be All Right [1989] (2:43)
13. Laraaji - Meditation No. 2 [1980] (7:34)
14. Bark Psychosis - Pendulum Man [1994] (9:52)
15. Michael Brook - Distant Village [1985] (3:55)
16. Holger Czukay / Jah Wobble / Jaki Liebezeit - Mystery RPS (No. 8) [1992] (8:23)
17. Prince Far I - Throw Away Your Gun [1980] (4:30)
18. Harold Budd / Brian Eno - Wind in Lonely Fences [1980] (3:40)
19. King Crimson - Nuages (That Which Passes, Passes Like Clouds) [1984] (4:44)
20. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Mustt Mustt (Remixed by Massive Attack) [1990] (5:29)
21. Stephan Micus - Concert for Gender, Shakuhachi and Zither (Edit) [1976] (1:21)
22. Robert Fripp / Brian Eno - Healthy Colours III [1994] (5:35)
23. The Future Sound of London - Cascade - Parts 2 & 3 [1993] (13:26)
24. Robert Quine / Fred Maher - Summer Storm [1984] (4:00)
25. John Hassell / Brian Eno - Rising Thermal [1980] (2:43)
26. David Sylvian / Holger Czukay - Mutability (A New Beginning Is in the Offing) (Edit) [1989] (8:43)
27. Brian Eno - 2/2 [1978] (9:25)

250.78MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (230.0kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.98 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Michel Legrand - Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)

2008-07-25T10:55:00.007-04:00

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a unique and, quite honestly, magical movie experience. Tough to describe, though. I mean, technically, it's a musical, but maybe it's a musical for folks who don't like musicals. I know I don't. I think I like this, though, because, in a way, the "songs" aren't really songs. Sure, the basic components of song are there, but the difference is that all of the "lyrics" are actually sung dialogue. There is no spoken dialogue and the movie never breaks out into song like traditional musicals tend to. So, this soundtrack is French chanson music sung in what it turns out is called a recitative style.

Directed by Jacques Demy with music composed by Michel Legrand, this emotional tale of love lost stars Catherine Deneuve (as Geneviève, voiced by Danielle Licari) and Nino Castelnuovo (as Guy, voiced by José Bartel). Deneuve is absolutely luminous here. She's never been more beautiful. The Wikipedia page for this film provides an excellent synopsis, so I won't even try here. It's certainly not for everyone, but, needless to say, if you love catchy French music, heavy on the melodrama, you're apt to dig this.

Check out this nice short clip from early in the film, followed by the original theatrical trailer:

Easily the best soundtrack release this film has seen is the 1996 double-disc release by Sony France. It is the complete film soundtrack and includes six non-film bonus tracks. The first is Tony Bennett's popular 1964 take on "Watch What Happens." This is followed by Michel Legrand's jazz trio take on "I Will Wait for You" from 1991. Next are what appear to be three early 1962 rehearsal tracks featuring Michel Legrand on piano, performing with his sister Christiane Legrand, who went on to provide the vocals for the character Madame Emery, played by Anne Vernon in the film. The final track is Michel Legrand Big Band's take on "I Will Wait for You" from 1995. This release has since been replaced by a shortened single disc version.

Michel Legrand - Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1964)
1. Générique (2:12)
2. Scène du Garage (2:50)
3. Devant le Magasin (1:42)
4. Chez Tante Elise (2:32)
5. Dans la Rue (0:35)
6. Au Dancing (1:57)
7. Sur le Quai (1:54)
8. Dans le Magasin de Parapluies (5:25)
9. Chez Dubourg, le Joaillier (4:11)
10. Dans le Magasin (3:19)
11. Devant le Garage (4:53)
12. Chez Elise (1:42)
13. A l'Appartement (2:49)
14. Adieux à Elise (1:51)
15. La Gare (Guy s'en Va) (2:24)
16. Dans le Magasin (4:51)
17. Le Dîner (4:33)
18. Récit de Cassard (3:41)
19. La Lettre de Guy (1:57)
20. Le Carnaval (7:58)
21. Le Mariage (1:01)
22. Retour de Guy (0:42)
23. Chez Elise (4:18)
24. Le Garage (Dispute) (1:56)
25. Guy au Café (1:46)
26. La Boîte à Matelots (3:14)
27. Duo Guy / Madeleine (2:06)
28. La Terrasse du Café (3:07)
29. La Station-Service (2:04)
30. Final (4:59)
31. Watch What Happens (2:55)
32. I Will Wait for You (Version Trio) (7:45)
33. Chez Dubourg, le Joaillier (1:41)
34. Chez Tante Elise (3:03)
35. Récit de Cassard (3:18)
36. I Will Wait for You (Version Big-Band) (9:08)

191.17MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (228.8kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.98 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

BioShock (2007)

2008-07-14T12:48:00.008-04:00

Released in 2007, BioShock is one of the true video game greats. More than just a game, really, BioShock is a unique experience in its own right. It exceeds expectations is almost every way. The graphics, gameplay and, especially, storytelling set a new benchmark in gaming. I've spent many hours wandering around the underwater city of Rapture, enveloped by its sights and sounds. But of course this is a music blog, so why in the world am I going on and on about how great this video game is? Because the soundtrack is an integral part of why this game is so great!

Garry Schyman was hired by 2K Games to compose an orchestral score for the game. Twelve of the cues were released for free online. There has been no other "soundtrack" release. Which is unfortunate, really, as the game does an excellent job of evoking the feel of the 1940s, not just because of its art deco aesthetic, but also through the use of well chosen popular period music. The game is incredibly immersive, due in part to this excellent song selection. The more I played, the more I wished there was an official soundtrack release.

I eventually discovered a thread on the 2K Forums full of like-minded individuals who were doing the grunt work involved in tracking down these songs to assemble their own unofficial custom soundtrack. It was around this time that a "Licensed Soundtrack" song collection made the rounds on some of the bittorrent sites. It was a nice collection, but I knew that some of the tracks were wrong. Meanwhile, over on the 2K Forums, some of the more clever users figured out a way to rip the music from the PC version of the game. This was available for a short time as an uncompressed WAV torrent. The only unfortunate problem with most of these tracks is that they have been artificially "aged" with a combination of sound compression, echo and the addition of clicks and pops. Still, I converted these WAV files to MP3 and used them as my "comparison masters" while looking for upgraded "clean" versions. Searching on Usenet and Soulseek, I downloaded countless versions of these songs, looking for exact matches. Its kind of amazing how many different versions there are of some songs. It's especially frustrating when none of the versions are an exact match! I refused to replace these rips with clean versions that were close, but not exactly the same. This wouldn't do. I eventually found five exact clean replacements. While digging around, I also located a group of eight short dialog segments that were ripped during Xbox 360 gameplay. I found these on a blog that is gone now. Also, one additional track, "Destined for Great Things" is a game rip edit that draws on the opening segment of the game to create an additional Garry Schyman cue and was put together by a user known only as procession_5@hotmail.com.

Sometime after all of the speculation about who did what track, Microsoft's Major Nelson released a BioShock Music list that he received from Creative Director Ken Levine. This list confirmed the artists for many of the songs used in the game. In addition, it also lists five songs that were licensed but don't seem to be used in the game anywhere. I was also able to locate these tracks.

There's a nice interview with Creative Director Ken Levine that appeared in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. Here's the part that discussed the soundtrack:

I called my dad, who was a young man in the '40s and '50s. It's not Elvis Presley and stuff I became familiar with in the early stages of rock--this is really pre-rock: Johnnie Ray, Rosemary Clooney, Patti Page, Django Reinhardt, Billie Holiday... We mixed some of the really classic stuff with the sort of crap pop of the time, what we consider pop music, like Patti Page, which holds up more for its nostalgic value than for being great music.

I did a bunch of my own research, and thank god for iTunes, that's all I'll say, because you can go listen to 30 seconds of pretty much any song ever made. Or I would research Wikipedia or talk to my dad, and then I would go and listen to little snippets, and I'd ask myself, "Does this feel like it belongs in Rapture?"

[Dealing with this era of] licensed music...is a very complicated process, because generally you're dealing with people who are dead and their lawyers are dead. The rights are often very complicated, and so a lot of times we'd want a song and we wouldn't get it. We'd have to find another person who performed it, or another version of the recording or something like that. We had to be fairly flexible.

I think it's important here to place additional emphasis on Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. While he's unfortunately not a household name, it's his unique sound that influences the sonic atmosphere of BioShock the most. Six of his song are featured, plus one additional sound-alike song by Faux Frenchmen.

Check out this clip of the first twelve minutes of gameplay:

To summarize, this custom soundtrack compilation consists of the twelve freebie Garry Schyman orchestral cues, the twelve "Licensed Tracks" that were exact matches, the five clean tracks I located that were exact matches, the five licensed but unused tracks I located, eight short dialogue segments and the one custom compiled cue. In addition, this collection has been supplemented with all of the game rip tracks that I (and several others!) couldn't find upgrades for, including eight songs and two Garry Schyman compositions. I have placed the tracks in the order that they appeared in the game as I played it. The list may not be perfect as there is really no way to create an exact playlist because the way the music is played in the game is a bit variable, so this changes game to game. I placed those five unused but licensed songs toward the end (tracks 47 - 51), capping the compilation off with two out of order, but fitting, tracks. In particular, closing with "Rise, Rapture, Rise" seems entirely appropriate to me.

BioShock (2007)
1. BioShock Dialogue - Great Things [2007] (0:50) *
2. Garry Schyman - Destined for Great Things [2007] (1:32) *
3. Garry Schyman - BioShock Main Theme (The Ocean on His Shoulders) [2007] (1:52)
4. Django Reinhardt - La Mer (Beyond the Sea) [1949] (4:14)
5. BioShock Dialogue - Impossible Anywhere Else [2007] (0:30) *
6. Garry Schyman - Welcome to Rapture [2007] (1:47)
7. The Ink Spots - If I Didn't Care [1939] (3:02)
8. Noël Coward - The Party's Over Now [19??] (0:30)
9. The Ink Spots - The Best Things in Life Are Free [1948] (2:32)
10. Django Reinhardt - It Had to Be You [19??] (4:16) *
11. BioShock Dialogue - Aphrodite Walking [2007] (0:24) *
12. Garry Schyman - Dr. Steinman [2007] (1:00)
13. Bing Crosby - Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams [1931] (3:23)
14. Johnnie Ray - Just Walking in the Rain [1956] (2:38)
15. Garry Schyman - The Docks [2007] (0:53)
16. Bing Crosby - Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? [1932] (3:09)
17. The Andrews Sisters - Bei Mir Bist du Schön [1938] (3:05)
18. BioShock Dialogue - Atlas [2007] (0:21) *
19. Garry Schyman - The Dash [2007] (0:35)
20. Garry Schyman - Empty Houses [2007] (1:43)
21. Garry Schyman - Step into My Gardens [2007] (1:10)
22. Django Reinhardt - Jitterbug Waltz [19??] (3:16) *
23. Billie Holiday - Night and Day [1939] (2:58)
24. Django Reinhardt - Liza (As the Clouds Roll Away) [19??] (3:33) *
25. Noël Coward - Twentieth Century Blues [19??] (3:32)
26. BioShock Dialogue - Hatred [2007] (0:42) *
27. Garry Schyman - Dancers on a String [2007] (1:27)
28. Django Reinhardt - Please Be Kind [19??] (4:23) *
29. Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea [1959] (2:49)
30. Garry Schyman - Cohenscherzo [2007] (1:41) *
31. BioShock Dialogue - Cohen's Requiem for Andrew [2007] (0:33) *
32. Garry Schyman - Cohen's Masterpiece [2007] (2:53)
33. Garry Schyman - This Is Where They Sleep [2007] (1:21)
34. Pytor Llyich Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker Suite: Waltz of the Flowers [1891] (1:01) *
35. Stanley Black - Academy Award [2007] (1:38) *
36. Rosemary Clooney - It's Bad for Me [1956] (2:55)
37. BioShock Dialogue - Would You Kindly? [2007] (0:20) *
38. Garry Schyman - The Engine City [2007] (1:04)
39. Perry Como - Papa Loves Mambo [1954] (2:40)
40. Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child [1941] (2:55)
41. Cole Porter - You're the Top [19??] (3:29) *
42. Mario Lanza - Danny Boy [1956] (2:57)
43. Patti Page - (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window? [1953] (2:39)
44. Garry Schyman - All Spliced Up [2007] (1:01)
45. BioShock Dialogue - Family [2007] (1:03) *
46. Noël Coward - World Weary [1955] (3:11)
47. Noël Coward - This Is a Changing World [19??] (3:07)
48. Bing Crosby - You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me [19??] (2:41)
49. Lee Wiley - Let's Fly Away [1940] (2:57)
50. Django Reinhardt - Avalon [19??] (2:51)
51. Lee Morgan - Just One of Those Things [1957] (7:14)
52. Faux Frenchmen - Wild Ride [2007] (3:39) *
53. Garry Schyman - Rise, Rapture, Rise [2007] (1:48) *

* = Game Rip Track

186.1MB RAR archive
MP3: Various bitrates (209.6kbps average)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

LAME 3.98 Final (MP3 Encoder)

2008-07-09T09:24:00.002-04:00

After nearly two years and eight beta builds, LAME 3.98 has gone final!

Any regular visitors I have know that I prefer the LAME encoder for creating MP3 files. If you're like me and you use Audiograbber (Exact Audio Copy is a good alternative, but is less intuitive), then the LAME encoder is absolutely essential if you want the highest quality. You can check out my posting Tutorial: Create MP3s Using Audiograbber with the LAME Encoder for more info on ripping CDs to MP3.

There is a thread over on the HydrogenAudio forums that discusses the changes in this new version. Basically, LAME now uses its own psychoacoustic model and has an improved variable bitrate routine. My preferred setting is --preset fast extreme (also shortened to -V0) and initial testing shows that bitrates with this setting have increased by an acceptable average of 4%. A few quick tests on my part show this to be true, with increases ranging from less than 1% to just under 9%.

As usual, the best place to grab the latest LAME compile is from RareWares. You can get the final 3.98 build (compiled with Intel Compiler 10.1) by clicking here.

Viper Mad Blues: 25 Songs of Dope and Depravity (1924-1943)

2008-07-03T14:14:00.010-04:00

My November '07 posting of Reefer Songs was quite popular, so I figured I really should follow it up with something similar. Like 1989's Reefer Songs, 1991's Viper Mad Blues was also compiled and released by Jass Records and then later reissued by Mojo Records. The material here is quite similar, as the time period is roughly the same. In fact, two of the tracks (Lil Green's "Knockin' Myself Out" and Fats Waller's "The Reefer Man") appear on both of these compilations. In comparing the two, Reefer Songs contains mostly blues material, while Viper Mad Blues relies a bit more on the traditional jazz of the era. 'Course, take a look at those song titles! "Traditional" this ain't! Either way, like the gateway compilation that preceded it, this disc invariably finds its way to the harder stuff.

Hah!

Check out Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra performing "Kickin' the Gong Around" in this clip from 1932's The Big Broadcast:

Check out this vintage soundie of The Cats and the Fiddle's "Killin' Jive":

Check out these three fan-made clips that feature the music of Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys' "You'se a Viper," Gene Krupa and His Orchestra's "I'm Feelin' High and Happy" and Dick Justice's "Cocaine":

Big thanks go out to my buddy Bill the Splut for once again supplying me with the original CD to rip. The cover scan is from the original Jass Records CD. The liner notes included recording dates for all of the tracks except Hazel Meyers' "Pipe Dream Blues" and Dick Justice's "Cocaine," which I found after digging a little with Google.

Viper Mad Blues: 25 Songs of Dope and Depravity (1924-1943)
1. Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra - Kickin' the Gong Around [1933] (3:24)
2. Victoria Spivey / Lonnie Johnson - Dope Head Blues [1927] (3:13)
3. The Memphis Jug Band - Cocaine Habit Blues [1930] (2:47)
4. Hazel Meyers - Pipe Dream Blues [1924] (3:09)
5. Larry Adler - Smoking Reefers [1938] (3:05)
6. Leadbelly - Take a Whiff on Me [1934] (2:57)
7. The Cats and the Fiddle - Killin' Jive [1939] (2:50)
8. Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys - You'se a Viper [1936] (3:13)
9. Cleo Brown - The Stuff Is Here and It's Mellow [1935] (2:42)
10. Baron Lee and the Blue Rhythm Band - Reefer Man [1932] (2:50)
11. Frankie Newton and His Uptown Serenaders - The Onyx Hop [1937] (2:45)
12. Lil Green - Knockin' Myself Out [1941] (3:00)
13. Champion Jack Dupree - Junker's Blues [1940] (2:40)
14. Curtis Jones - Reefer Hound Blues [1938] (2:43)
15. Fats Waller - The Reefer Song [1943] (2:51)
16. Gene Krupa and His Orchestra - I'm Feelin' High and Happy [1938] (2:41)
17. Ella Fitzgerald / Chick Webb and His Orchestra - When I Get Low, I Get High [1936] (2:29)
18. Cootie Williams and His Rug Cutters - Ol' Man River (Smoke a Little Tea) [1938] (2:47)
19. Richard M. Jones and His Jazz Wizards - Blue Reefer Blues [1935] (2:57)
20. Dick Justice - Cocaine [1929] (3:05)
21. Jazz Gillum and His Jazz Boys - Reefer Head Woman [1938] (3:02)
22. Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon - Willie the Weeper [1927] (2:21)
23. Luke Jordan - Cocaine Blues [1927] (3:14)
24. Freddy Taylor and His Swing Men from Harlem - Blue Drag [1935] (2:59)
25. Willie Bryant and His Orchestra - A Viper's Moan [1935] (3:22)

109.79MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (208.7kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

More Music from Until the End of the World (1991)

2008-06-30T17:55:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up here for regular visitors. Steve Engler and I worked together to put together a complete compilation of all of the music featured in the incredible Wim Wenders film Until the End of the World. I contributed by locating some of the tracks on Soulseek and by ripping audio direct from the 3DVD Director's Cut. As the original soundtrack is still in print, Steve thought it would be a good idea to package together just the additional music into a "More Music from" type of compilation. Which, of course, is a fine idea. So, head on over to Steve's excellent blog Eclectic Synthetic and check out the post!

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Lovelyville (1991)

2008-06-27T10:18:00.002-04:00

I recently received a request to post Thinking Fellers Union Local 282's 1991 album Lovelyville. Most of the requests I receive are for either stuff I don't have or stuff that's still in print. In researching the Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 catalog, I discovered that the three albums released by Matador Records are out of print. This sounds like a job for PLM!

Following the self-release of their 1988 debut album, the originally cassette-only Wormed by Leonard, and 1989's Tangle, interest in the San Francisco-based band increased to the level that they signed to respected indie label Matador Records. Lovelyville was released in 1991 and was immediately a college radio hit. TFUL282's sound is tough to describe if you've never heard them before. Their music is wildly imaginative and falls somewhere in that vague area between Butthole Surfers (but less abrasive and more experimental) and Ween (but less jokey and more odd). While there are memorable hooks and catchy melodies, these moments are interrupted by fits of overt strangeness. But there's a kind of weird humor at work here as well. Their cover of Sugarloaf's "Green-Eyed Lady" is an ample example. All of the members of the band contribute to the vocals, which range from druggie narration to smirky singing to outright yelling. Some of the tracks are less "songs" and more like bizarre audio scenarios. This is heady indie rock at its best and well worth checking out for the adventurous listener!

The CD release of Lovelyville contains as a bonus a seven-track mini-album called The Crowded Diaper. I've also included one bonus track, "Horrible Hour," the b-side to the 2 x 4's 7" single, which I pulled off the bootleg Duck, Duck Chimp 3CD rarities box.

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Lovelyville (1991)
1. Four O'Clocker (3:21)
2. Not This World (1:09)
3. Nail in the Head (5:59)
4. Green Eyed Lady (3:40)
5. Mother Uncle Delicious Tasty (0:54)
6. The Streets Vibrated with Traffic and Power Tools (0:16)
7. Mark My Words (0:40)
8. Push (0:30)
9. More Glee (6:12)
10. Big Hands (2:41)
11. The Marshall (1:28)
12. Sinking Boats (4:47)
13. Motorin' Flarey Jenkins (2:30)
14. 2x4s (4:25)
15. Nothing Solid (7:15)
The Crowded Diaper [Lovelyville CD Bonus Tracks]:
16. Maverick (1:33)
17. Wonderbread Display (0:32)
18. The Meat Display (1:30)
19. Strife Is Good (2:04)
20. The Marshall's Boonts (0:29)
21. The World Is Changing for Good (0:49)
22. The Demise of Craig (3:35)
From 2 x 4's 7":
23. Horrible Hour (4:16)

92.61MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (212.4kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Tom Waits Tribute Album Double Shot!: Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits (1995) & New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits (2000)

2008-06-03T14:03:00.005-04:00

Scarlett Johansson recently released her first solo album, a collection of Tom Waits covers entitled Anywhere I Lay My Head. Like any self-respecting Tom Waits fan, I was eager to check it out. I can't say I love the album, but I won't say any more as my mother always taught me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, then I shouldn't say anything at all.

One good thing that did come out of it was that I remembered the two Tom Waits tribute albums featured here! In 1995, Manifesto Records released Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits. The concept was to have a bunch of alt-rockers show their appreciation for Tom Waits by applying their touch to his crumpled brand of American music. What results is an enjoyable collection of inspired covers. Most of the tracks are exclusive to this compilation, except for two licensed tracks: Tim Buckley's 1973 take on "Martha" and 10,000 Maniacs' version of "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" from 1992.

When something works once, why not do it again? The folks at Manifesto Records must have felt this way, because they released another Tom Waits tribute in 2000 called New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits. New Coat of Paint has even more indie cred than the last tribute and it's somewhat darker sound leads to a similarly inspired, but different, experience.

Fans of this blog that appreciate The Geraldine Fibbers as much as I do will love singer Carla Bozulich's "On the Nickel" and guitarist Nels Cline's "Heartattack and Vine" with Lydia Lunch. Members of another PLM favorite, Congo Norvell, make appearances here as well: Wonderfully throaty vocalist Sally Norvell contributes "Please Call Me, Baby" and Kid Congo Powers is in Knoxville Girls for "Virginia Ave." Former Stray Cat Lee Rocker provides "New Coat of Paint." Once again, nearly all of the tracks here are exclusives, save Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard" from 1994.

Check out a couple of fan made clips for Pale Saints' "Jersey Girl" and 10,000 Maniacs' "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You":

It made the most sense to me to present these two similar tribute albums together. For those of you out there who have one but not the other, I apologize in advance for the wasted bandwidth.

Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits (1995)
1. Drugstore - Old Shoes (6:28)
2. Tindersticks - Mockin' Bird (4:24)
3. Pete Shelley - Better Off Without a Wife (3:32)
4. The Wedding Present - Red Shoes by the Drugstore (2:30)
5. Violent Femmes - Step Right Up (6:29)
6. Alex Chilton - Downtown (4:52)
7. Archers of Loaf - Big Joe and Phantom 309 (4:11)
8. These Immortal Souls - You Can't Unring a Bell (5:50)
9. Jeffrey Lee Pierce - Pasties and a G-String (4:36)
10. Magnapop - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (4:25)
11. Dave Alvin - Ol' 55 (3:35)
12. Pale Saints - Jersey Girl (7:23)
13. Tim Buckley - Martha (3:15)
14. Frente! - Ruby's Arms (4:19)
15. 10,000 Maniacs - I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You (3:34)

New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits (2000)
1. Screamin' Jay Hawkins - Whistlin' Past the Graveyard (3:32)
2. Andre Williams - Pasties and a G-String (2:19)
3. Lydia Lunch / Nels Cline - Heartattack and Vine (5:03)
4. Knoxville Girls - Virginia Avenue (3:20)
5. Dexter Romweber's Infernal Racket - Romeo Is Bleeding (3:30)
6. Lee Rocker - New Coat of Paint (3:40)
7. Botanica - Broken Bicycles (3:45)
8. Preacher Boy - Old Boyfriends (4:42)
9. Sally Norvell - Please Call Me, Baby (5:06)
10. Carla Bozulich - On the Nickel (5:42)
11. Eleni Mandell - Muriel (3:55)
12. The Blacks - Poncho's Lament (4:27)
13. Neko Case - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (3:38)
14. Floyd Dixon - Blue Skies (3:06)

201.01MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (223.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Les Baxter - The Dunwich Horror (1970)

2008-05-19T09:40:00.010-04:00

Update 09/24/2009: It has come to my attention that La-La Land Records has officially remastered and reissued this soundtrack, including nearly 22m of additional music! It's been released as a limited edition of 1200 units. The sound quality is noticeably improved and they have less than 50 left, so go over there and support this effort by buying it! Due to its official availability, I've removed my share!

I first discovered the wonderful world of full album music blogs a couple of years ago while visiting one of my favorite "weird and wild cinema" review sites Mondo Digital. There was a new link there to a full album music blog that they had started called 7 Black Notes (a clever reference to Lucio Fulci). That site linked to other sites, causing a chain reaction that has resulted in the continual discovery of much interesting out-of-print music from many genres. It was there that I discovered ScoreBaby's blog ScoreBaby Annex. Unfortunately, like many great music blogs, ScoreBaby Annex is gone and 7 Black Notes is inactive. For what it's worth, 7 Black Notes provided the initial inspiration to start Psychotic Leisure Music.

One of my first obscure soundtrack discoveries is still my favorite. ScoreBaby Annex posted a clean LP rip of the psychedelic mood masterpiece that is Les Baxter's score to The Dunwich Horror. The film stars Sandra Dee and Dean Stockwell and, like most H.P. Lovecraft adaptations for the screen, is a loose take on the original story, but is still creepy cheesy fun. The score, however, is absolutely sublime. Exotica aficionados undoubtedly recognize Les Baxter, but may not realize that throughout the 50s and into the 70s, Baxter also composed numerous soundtrack scores. If you're a fan of Lovecraft or are interested in learning more, the complete text of The Dunwich Horror and several other Lovecraft stories can be found online at DagonBytes.com's The Works of H.P. Lovecraft.

Check out the theatrical trailer for The Dunwich Horror:

About a year ago, Nightchillers Rare Music posted a rip of a bootleg soundtrack for The Dunwich Horror. While the original LP soundtrack contains tracks that are suites of several cues edited together, the bootleg release is a straight collection of individual cues. The sound quality is not as good and not every cue from the original LP soundtrack is there, but, excitingly, there are several unreleased cues included! I went through the collection, painstakingly comparing the bootleg cues to the original LP soundtrack suites. I removed the duplicates and ended up with 13 additional unreleased cues. I've sequenced this soundtrack compilation with the original LP soundtrack first (11 tracks, 30:53) followed by the additional unreleased cues (13 tracks, 15:59). The blogmaster at Nightchillers Rare Music has given me his blessing to use his rip and has also promised to reupload the full version of the original bootleg for those interested.

Les Baxter - The Dunwich Horror (1970)
Original LP Soundtrack:
1. Dunwich (2:33)
2. Sacrifice of the Virgin (1:53)
3. Black Mass (2:48)
4. Sensual Hallucination (2:21)
5. Strange Sleep (1) (2:25)
6. Cult Party (3:48)
7. Necronomicon (1:58)
8. Reincarnation (5:13)
9. Devil Cult (1:32)
10. Strange Sleep (2) (4:35)
11. Devil's Witchcraft (1:47)
Additional Unreleased Cues from Bootleg Soundtrack:
12. Making Tea / Disabling the Car (1:18)
13. The Crystal (1:54)
14. Car Won't Start / Guest Room (2:04)
15. Nightmare Orgy (0:42)
16. Wilbur and the Dream (1:28)
17. Doc and Liz (0:33)
18. Feeling Dizzy / To Bed (1:49)
19. Up the Hill (1:21)
20. The Devil's Hopyard (1:14)
21. The Ritual Begins (1:28)
22. Wilbur Returns (0:47)
23. Nurse Cora's Death (0:47)
24. Alternate End Title (0:34)

A Brief History of Ambient Volume 2: Imaginary Landscapes (1974-1993)

2008-05-08T16:00:00.005-04:00

In December of 1993, Virgin Records released a second two-disc collection of ambient music as a follow-up to the commercially and critically successful first volume in the series A Brief History of Ambient. Interestingly, the liner notes state that the series title is "an affectionate nod in the direction of Stephen Hawking."

Once again culled exclusively from the Virgin vaults, this second collection is a bit more narrowly focused than its predecessor. On some level, though, it is mostly "more of the same," with many of the same artists (Brian Eno, Amorphous Androgynous, Tangerine Dream, David Sylvian, The Grid, Robert Fripp, Gong, Edgar Froese and Holger Czukay) making another appearance. 'Course, "more of the same" with artists of this caliber isn't really a bad thing. While Volume 1 did feature a track by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, it is Volume 2 that sports a more international roster, with tracks by Baaba Maal [Senegal], Ryuichi Sakamoto [Japan], The Guo Brothers [China], Prince Far I [Jamaica], The Dmitri Pokrovski Ensemble [Russia] and The Tsinandali Choir [Georgia]. Fans of the bands Gong and Soft Cell will be interested to note the solo track by founding member Daevid Allen. Also of probable interest to some is a track by U2's guitarist The Edge from the soundtrack to the obscure Euro thriller Captive.

Check out some fan-made clips featuring Tangerine Dream's "Rubycon Part 2," Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Nuages," Penguin Cafe Orchestra's "Wildlife" and The Verve's "Endless Life":

If you enjoyed my posting of the first volume, you're bound to enjoy this as well. Stay tuned for Volumes 3 and 4...

A Brief History of Ambient Volume 2: Imaginary Landscapes (1974-1993)
1. Baaba Maal - Call to Prayer [1989] (3:50)
2. Brian Eno - Tal Coat [1982] (5:05)
3. Amorphous Androgynous - In Mind [1993] (5:26)
4. Tangerine Dream - Rubycon Part 2 (Edit) [1975] (6:28)
5. David Sylvian - The Healing Place [1986] (5:12)
6. The Grid - Crystal Clear (The Orb Remix; Clear, Like an Unmuddied Lake) [1993] (6:08)
7. Ryuichi Sakamoto - Nuages [1991] (2:07)
8. Robert Fripp / Brian Eno - Wind on Water [1975] (5:17)
9. Penquin Cafe Orchestra - Wildlife [1987] (8:11)
10. Steve Jansen / Richard Barbieri - When Things Dream [1991] (2:40)
11. Gong - Magick Mother Invocation [1974] (1:31)
12. David Sylvian / Robert Fripp - Bringing Down the Light [1993] (8:16)
13. Jah Wobble - Not Another [1980] (3:11)
14. The Guo Brothers - One Flower [1990] (1:31)
15. God - Black Jesus [1992] (6:34)
16. Brian Eno / David Byrne - Mountain of Needles [1981] (2:28)
17. Phil Manzanera - You Are Here [1978] (1:44)
18. Prince Far I - Bendel Dub [1979] (3:03)
19. The Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble - Slow Kaliuki (Edit) [1991] (0:31)
20. Daevid Allen - Euterpe Gratitude Piece [1976] (9:22)
21. Robert Fripp - Water Music [1979] (1:13)
22. Rain Tree Crow - New Moon at Red Deer Wallow [1991] (5:04)
23. Bass-O-Matic - Attack of the 50 Foot Drum Demon [1991] (4:14)
24. Jam Nation - Mekong [1993] (5:09)
25. The Verve - Endless Life [1992] (5:14)
26. Klaus Schulze - Nachtmusik Schattenhaft [1993] (6:31)
27. Voyager - Arrival (Edit) [1993] (7:13)
28. Edgar Froese - Specific Gravity of Smile [1983] (9:26)
29. The Tsinandali Choir - Orovela [1993] (4:52)
30. Laraaji - The Dance No. 3 [1980] (3:03)
31. David Sylvian / Holger Czukay - Premonition [1988] (6:45)
32. The Edge - Island [1986] (1:46)

244.43MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (228.3kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Graeme Revell - Until the End of the World (1991) Unreleased Score

2008-04-24T14:33:00.013-04:00

If you haven't already seen Wim Wender's futuristic globe-trotting road movie Until the End of the World, you really should. I'm having trouble coming up with a good way to summarize this unique experience, so I'll go with quoting this film's Wikipedia entry: "The film takes place in late 1999; there is an out of control nuclear satellite in orbit that is apt to reenter the atmosphere at any time, contaminating large areas of the earth. This has caused an increasing degree of disorder, with large numbers fleeing the likely impact sites. Amidst a traffic jam, the impatient and disconnected Claire Tourneur (Solveig Dommartin) escapes the congestion by driving off the highway...and subsequently has a couple of odd encounters: first with a pair of bank robbers (which leaves her privy to a large amount of cash and a promised cut of it) and then with a hitchhiker [William Hurt] who is apparently being pursued by at least one armed party. Claire eventually discovers, after falling in love with the enigmatic fugitive, that he is the son of a scientist (played by Max von Sydow) and he has absconded with the working prototype from a secret research project. Multiple government agencies and some freelance bounty hunters are attempting to recover it." Sam Neill also stars. The movie goes on to travel quite a path from this point. It's an ambitious movie with big ideas that runs in three movements, each distinctly different. Released at 158m, the longer 280m Director's Cut requires more patience, but is more rewarding. Either are well worth searching out.

Check out the original theatrical trailer for Until the End of the World (released in Germany as Bis ans Ende der Welt), which, unfortunately, doesn't feature any of the score:

Check out this clip of the opening ten minutes of Until the End of the World. This at least features a little of the score and it does an excellent job of giving an idea of what the rest of this amazing film is like:

Wim Wenders picked his favorite bands and then asked the various musicians (in 1991) to try to imagine what music will sound like in 1999. While the movie itself did not achieve much success at the box office, the soundtrack release was quite popular. It stands as an absolute classic of the 1990s, with an incredible collection of pop songs by a superlative group of artists. I've always believed it was the act of looking forward that lent the music its timeless quality. As great as the album is, though, it has always disappointed me that only four tracks, running a total of 4:24, were included from Graeme Revell's evocative ambient score. I've always wished that a second CD of just the score was included, or released separately, but it never came to be.

About nine months ago, while searching for subtitles on eMule, I noticed a file called "Graeme Revell - Until the End of the World.rar". At about 71MB, I figured that it could easily be the normal soundtrack release encoded at 128kbps, but still, I was excited and tried to grab it. I've been trying on and off for nine months to get that file. It would occasionally show up with one user, but was often unavailable entirely. Even when it did pop up, I just never could get it. It finally occurred to me that through eMule I could start a chat session. Once that one user showed up again, I did so and the nice woman from Spain eventually emailed the tracks to me direct.

With nervous anticipation, I extracted the archives and opened the tracks in Winamp. Bingo! Seventeen years later and my wish came true! Finally, an unedited collection of cues created by Graeme Revell for use in the movie! Revell, formerly of experimental industrial outfit SPK, has created a score that, while electronic in nature, has a symphonic sensibility and manages a wistful poignancy that is quite touching. Revell is ably assisted by the haunting strains of cellist David Darling, with some of the tracks featuring the utterly alien sounds of the Aka Pygmies.

The bitrate of these tracks did end up being 128kbps, with no song title or tag information whatsoever. Listening to this collection of tracks and thinking of the movie, it seems to me that these unnamed tracks are sequenced mostly in the order that they appear in the movie. Although the bitrate is low, the sound quality is quite good. My new Spanish connection couldn't tell me anything about the tracks or even provide a cover. As far as Google's search engine is concerned, this bootleg doesn't even exist. I decided I wanted to make my own cover. Initially, I looked at using the movie poster as a start, but I wanted the cover to recall the original soundtrack release, while being a bit different. Using my three-disc Director's Cut DVD, I located and captured the exact same frame used for the original soundtrack cover. In Photoshop I cropped the image and used the channel mixer option to match the color and then added text that mimics the look of the original cover. I'm proud of the result. At first look, it's still instantly recognizable as Until the End of the World, but closer examination reveals a frame opened up a bit with a sharper, more colorful and deeply saturated image.

Minor Update (June 9, 2008): I was able to add track titles for eleven of the tracks, four from the official soundtrack, which I should have done in the first place, and seven from a bootleg of the proposed two disc soundtrack, eventually whittled down to a single disc. Steve Engler, blogmaster of the excellent Eclectic Synthetic music blog, located an archive of these extra tracks on eMule. I matched the tracks to the untitled cues here. Thanks for the heads up, Steve!

Graeme Revell - Until the End of the World (1991)
1. Until the End of the World Cue 1 (2:32)
2. Until the End of the World Cue 2 (2:33)
3. Until the End of the World Cue 3 (0:36)
4. Until the End of the World Cue 4 (1:44)
5. Until the End of the World Cue 5 (1:43)
6. Driving the Stranger (2:46)
7. Until the End of the World Cue 7 (0:47)
8. Until the End of the World Cue 8 (1:33)
9. Until the End of the World Cue 9 (1:34)
10. Until the End of the World Cue 10 (0:32)
11. Until the End of the World Cue 11 (3:22)
12. Until the End of the World Cue 12 (3:21)
13. Until the End of the World Cue 13 (3:21)
14. Until the End of the World Cue 14 (0:29)
15. Until the End of the World Cue 15 (0:54)
16. Until the End of the World Cue 16 (1:16)
17. Until the End of the World Cue 17 (2:26)
18. Cat and Mouse Chase in Tokyo 1 (1:47)
19. Cat and Mouse Chase in Tokyo 2 (0:49)
20. Cat and Mouse Chase in Tokyo 3 (0:21)
21. The Mountain Inn (1:33)
22. Japanese Herb Garden (2:04)
23. Until the End of the World Cue 23 (0:50)
24. Until the End of the World Cue 24 (0:49)
25. Until the End of the World Cue 25 (0:48)
26. Until the End of the World Cue 26 (2:11)
27. Until the End of the World Cue 27 (2:03)
28. Until the End of the World Cue 28 (0:38)
29. Until the End of the World Cue 29 (0:41)
30. Until the End of the World Cue 30 (0:38)
31. Until the End of the World Cue 31 (0:48)
32. Until the End of the World Cue 32 (1:53)
33. Until the End of the World Cue 33 (1:54)
34. Until the End of the World Cue 34 (1:55)
35. Until the End of the World Cue 35 (1:59)
36. Until the End of the World Cue 36 (7:11)
37. Until the End of the World Cue 37 (0:59)
38. Distorted Dreams (6:54)
39. Until the End of the World Cue 39 (1:29)
40. Opening Titles (1:59)
41. Claire's Theme (0:51)
42. Love Theme (0:44)
43. Finale (0:58)
44. Until the End of the World Cue 44 (2:35)

72.7MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (128kbps)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - Double Shot!: Infinity in Sound Volume 1 & 2 (1960-1961)

2008-04-09T16:33:00.007-04:00

Update 05/26/2009: I've just gotten word that Wounded Bird Records is going to be reissuing both volumes of Infinity in Sound as another twofer CD on 06/09/2009, so I'm removing this share. They've promised it's going to "correct the flaws of the previous CD reissue." I'm not sure what flaws the 1997 CD had, but I can't wait to find out! So if you're a fan, go buy it!

Following his brief stint living in NYC, Esquivel returned to Los Angeles to work for Universal Television creating musical cues for various television shows. He also created the score for TV western The Tall Man. It was in Hollywood that Esquivel teamed up with producer Neely Plumb and engineer John Norman. It was this trio that collaborated to create 1960's Infinity in Sound, 1961's Infinity in Sound Volume 2 and 1962's Latin-Esque. Esquivel signed to Reprise Records, the Warner Bros. label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra, for his next album, 1962's More of Other Worlds, Other Sounds. He then took a five year break from producing studio albums to focus on his live stage show for the Las Vegas/Lake Tahoe circuit. He would eventually return to the studio for two final albums, 1967's The Genius of Esquivel and 1968 Esquivel!!

Released in August, 1960, the first volume of Infinity in Sound earned two Grammy nominations, citing Esquivel for Best Orchestra and John Norman for Best Engineering.

Infinity in Sound was popular enough that a second volume was released in April 1961. This period from 1960-1962 is Esquivel at his most creative. The arrangements are quirky and the trademark vocalese is funny and snappy, but this time there is no overt strangeness or weird instrumentation. The music is still "experimental," but not overly so. When the first Esquivel compilations were released in the mid-nineties, they mined most of the material from this period. In many ways, this is quintessential Esquivel.

Innovative comedian Ernie Kovacs was a huge fan of Esquivel and utilized songs from Infinity in Sound Volume 2 for two musical shorts created for his series of monthly half-hour specials for ABC. Here's a short that uses the song "Cherokee":

Here's a short that uses "Jalousie" and "Sentimental Journey":

Infinity in Sound and Infinity in Sound Volume 2 were released on CD as a two-fer by Bar/None Records in 1997.

Esquivel - Infinity in Sound (1960)
1. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise ("Quedo") (2:23)
2. Music Makers (2:29)
3. My Reverie (3:14)
4. Johnson Rag (2:10)
5. Harlem Nocturne (2:27)
6. Take the "A" Train (2:25)
7. Macarena (La Virgen de la Macarena) (3:11)
8. Autumn Leaves (3:33)
9. Frenesi (2:21)
10. Marie (2:29)
11. Let's Dance (2:39)
12. So Rare (3:16)

Esquivel - Infinity in Sound Volume 2 (1961)
1. Jalousie (Jealousy) (2:33)
2. Time on My Hands (2:26)
3. Bye Bye Blues (2:11)
4. Baía (2:49)
5. Who's Sorry Now? (2:34)
6. Anna (El Negro Zumbon) (2:41)
7. España Cañi (2:11)
8. Sentimental Journey (2:37)
9. Cherokee (3:07)
10. Lullaby of Birdland (2:07)
11. La Bamba (2:07)
12. Limehouse Blues (2:16)

Red Expendables - Red Expendables (1997)

2008-03-19T17:45:00.004-04:00

In 1995, Cop Shoot Cop were in the midst of recording their fifth album when frontman Tod A. left to explore different musical territory in the form of Firewater. Having already recorded half an album's worth of material in October 1995, the rest of the band forged on without him, dubbing themselves Red Expendables. The name is a reference to the original Star Trek TV series, as it was always that extra unknown red-shirted crew member in the landing party that didn't make it back...

In December 1995, Natz ("low-end bass"), Jim Coleman (sampler, piano), Phil Puleo (drums, sample percussion) and newcomer Michael Kaminski (guitar, percussion) entered the studio to finish up the album. While they retained Tod A.'s "high-end bass" playing for tracks 4, 5, 7-10 and 13, they understandably removed his distinctive vocals. Previously occasional vocalist Natz stepped up to write and provide full-time vocals. Phil Puleo's grandfather, Paul Puleo, Sr., provides odd narration for the two short tracks 1 and 12. Interscope passed on releasing the album, which was eventually released by GrimmWerks in 1997. The new outfit only produced the one album before dissolving. Jim Coleman and Phil Puleo are currently members of The Children. Micheal Kaminski is unfortunately having a tough time and recently attempted to rob a video store with a concealed cologne bottle, catching a beating in the process. Funny, but sad.

I stumbled across this rare album on Soulseek. It's a nice sounding 160kbps rip made using iTunes v6.0.1.3.

Red Expendables - Red Expendables (1997)
1. (Paul Pauli...) (0:23)
2. Fascinated (4:12)
3. So Sincere (4:37)
4. Bellevue Girls (3:10)
5. Room (3:37)
6. Zagreb (2:37)
7. Downtime (4:11)
8. Palookaville (3:32)
9. Tightrope (3:33)
10. One Regret (2:45)
11. Only Asking (3:42)
12. (...Paul Pauli) (0:33)
13. Pushing Overload (3:54)

46.87MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (160kbps) w/FhG

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Kelly Bailey - Half-Life 2 (2004)

2008-03-09T11:07:00.004-04:00

Kelly Bailey, the Senior Game Designer of Sound and Music for Valve, returns to provide a soundtrack that in many ways expands and trumps the score he created for the original Half-Life. The music is bold, with creepy atmospheric moments giving way to weird electronica and intense beat-driven high energy assaults. Kelly Bailey is, for my money, the best in the video game business. So it's a shame, in a way, that he works for Valve and only produces music for their, honestly, infrequent releases.

The only official release this soundtrack has seen was as an extra in the limited Gold Edition of Half-Life 2. As a bonus, some tracks from the original Half-Life were mixed in toward the end, but with different track names. The Wikipedia page for Half-Life 2 fills in all the details for this soundtrack release. Specifically, tracks 1, 29-33, 35-40 and 43 appear on the original PC CD-ROM of Half-Life. The only error I've found is that it states that "Black Mesa Inbound" is a remixed version of "Vague Voices," but a careful comparison of the two tracks to my ears shows that they are identical. The Wikipedia page also lists bonus tracks not on the CD. In my search to put together a complete soundtrack compilation, I eventually found those eight tracks (plus eight more!) on Soulseek.

In putting this together, I assumed that most people interested in this soundtrack already have the first. If not, you can grab it by checking out my post for it here. Because of this, I've deleted the thirteen duplicate tracks from the original Half-Life. I've retained the three remixed tracks and added sixteen bonus tracks ripped direct from the game. I love that the soundtrack starts with "Hazardous Environments," a distinctive track that fans of the game instantly recognize as the theme that plays when the main character Dr. Gordon Freeman puts on the power suit. One of the extra game rip tracks is a "Short Version" of this track, so I've placed this first so that this compilation opens on the same note. The CD ripped tracks are 256kbps. The game ripped bonus tracks are 128kbps. Based on the sound quality, my guess would be that these were ripped direct, having been originally encoded this way for the game and were not transcoded. Many of these extra tracks are short ambient bits, but any material by Kelly Bailey, no matter the length, is worthwhile and deserves inclusion.

Check out the original trailer for Half-Life 2, which doesn't show off the range of the score, but does a nice job showcasing the incredible gameplay:

Kelly Bailey - Half-Life 2 (2004)
1. Hazardous Environments (Short Version) (0:34)
2. CP Violation (1:43)
3. The Innsbruck Experiment (1:05)
4. Brane Scan (1:38)
5. Dark Energy (1:30)
6. Requiem for Ravenholm (0:31)
7. Pulse Phase (1:07)
8. Ravenholm Reprise (0:50)
9. Probably Not a Problem (1:24)
10. Calabi-Yau Model (1:44)
11. Slow Light (0:42)
12. Apprehension and Evasion (2:14)
13. Hunter Down (0:13)
14. Our Resurrected Teleport (1:09)
15. Miscount Detected (0:46)
16. Headhumper (0:06)
17. Triage at Dawn (0:43)
18. Combine Harvester (1:23)
19. Lab Practicum (2:52)
20. Nova Prospekt (1:55)
21. Broken Symmetry (1:01)
22. LG Orbifold (2:50)
23. Kaon (1:09)
24. You're Not Supposed to Be Here (2:39)
25. Suppression Field (0:53)
26. Hard Fought (1:13)
27. Particle Ghost (1:38)
28. Shadows Fore and Aft (1:23)
29. Tracking Device (1:01)
30. Triple Entanglement (1:30)
31. Biozeminade Fragment (0:29)
32. Entanglement (0:39)
33. Highway 17 (0:59)
34. A Red Letter Day (0:29)
35. Sand Traps (0:34)
36. CP Violation (Remix) (2:19)
37. Trainstation (Part 1) (1:30)
38. Trainstation (Part 2) (1:11)
39. Radio (0:39)
40. Pulse Phase (Alternative Version) (0:45)
41. Hard Fought (Short Version 1) (0:44)
42. Suspense Loop (0:11)
43. Stinger (0:23)
44. Hard Fought (Short Version 2) (0:44)
45. Intro Stinger (0:12)
46. Combat Stinger (0:10)

83.68MB RAR archive
MP3: 30x Constant bitrate (256kbps) w/LAME 3.93
16x Constant bitrate (128kbps)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

A Brief History of Ambient Volume 1: 152 Minutes 33 Seconds (1973-1993)

2008-02-22T11:25:00.004-05:00

In August of 1993, Virgin Records dug into their vaults to compile and release this two-disc collection of ambient music. This compilation helped kick off a more widespread appreciation for this type of mellow electronic mood music. Considered the father of ambient music, it was Brian Eno that first coined the phrase in the mid-70s, describing it as music to be "actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener."

Limited to music originally released by Virgin Records, the historical importance of each track varies, but it is still an essential and important primer for fans of music in general and electronic music in particular. From this point forward, electronica would begin to diversify to such an extent that the descriptive use of ambient music as a genre would become irrelevant.

I found four fan-made clips on YouTube that utilize music from Amorphous Androgynous' "Mountain Goat," Brian Eno's "An Ending (Ascent)," Tangerine Dream's "Phaedra" and Sheila Chandra's "Sacred Stones":

Virgin Records released a second two-disc compilation by the end of 1994 that covered much of the same ground. A third volume followed in 1995. In 1997, Virgin Records released the fourth and final volume in the series. It was the first to feature licensed tracks from other labels and focused solely on the darker Isolationist sub-genre.

A Brief History of Ambient Volume 1: 152 Minutes 33 Seconds (1973-1993)
1. Harold Budd - Flowered Knife Shadows [1986] (7:00)
2. Tangerine Dream - Thru Metamorphic Rock (Edit) [1978] (9:43)
3. Robert Fripp / Brian Eno - Evening Star [1975] (7:29)
4. Amorphous Androgynous - Mountain Goat [1993] (4:28)
5. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Sea of Vapours [1990] (3:49)
6. Hawkwind - The Forge of Vulcan [1977] (3:01)
7. Killing Joke - Requiem (A Floating Leaf Always Reaches the Sea Dub Mix) [1992] (10:35)
8. Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent) [1983] (4:11)
9. Richard Horowitz - Marnia's Tent [1990] (2:58)
10. Irmin Schmidt / Bruno Spoerri - Rapido de Noir [1990] (6:32)
11. Ashra - Kazoo [1980] (5:36)
12. Harold Budd / Brian Eno - Their Memories [1984] (2:38)
13. The Grid - Leave Your Body [1993] (4:46)
14. Christopher Franke - Electric Becomes Eclectic [1991] (3:36)
15. Tangerine Dream - Phaedra (Edit) [1974] (10:21)
16. Brian Eno / Jon Hassell - Delta Rain Dream [1980] (3:19)
17. William Orbit - The Monkey King [1993] (4:49)
18. Gong - Castle in the Clouds [1973] (1:02)
19. Hawkwind - Life Form [1979] (1:40)
20. Laraaji - The Dance #2 [1980] (9:04)
21. Sheila Chandra - Sacred Stones [1992] (5:26)
22. Michael Brook - Earth Floor [1985] (4:44)
23. Faust - Läuft...Heisst das es Läuft Oder es Kommt Bald...Läuft [1973] (3:19)
24. Jon Hassell - Gift of Fire [1981] (4:41)
25. Material - The End of Words [1989] (3:44)
26. Edgar Froese - Panorphelia [1974] (9:31)
27. Roger Eno - Voices [1985] (2:14)
28. Holger Czukay - Träum Mal Wieder [1984] (7:21)
29. David Sylvian - Home [1986] (4:10)

247.52MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (227.1kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Xmas (1977-1996)

2007-12-21T15:22:00.002-05:00

In 1994 through 1995, Rhino Records compiled and released fifteen volumes in their exhaustive series Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80s. In 1996, they released an additional Christmas themed volume. A final Halloween themed volume capped off the series in 1998.

Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Xmas is a fun compilation of mostly irreverent Christmas tunes. It's not all strictly "New Wave," but, honestly, why pick nits? After all, it is music from a bygone era and does contain the greatest Christmas song of all time, The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York."

Check out the music videos for Squeeze's "Christmas Day," The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York," The Pretenders' "2000 Miles" and David Bowie & Bing Crosby's "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy":

Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Xmas (1977-1996)
1. XTC - Thanks for Christmas [1983] (3:47)
2. Squeeze - Christmas Day [1979] (3:48)
3. The Pogues / Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York [1988] (4:29)
4. Los Lobos - Rudolph the Manic Reindeer [1988] (1:56)
5. The Pretenders - 2000 Miles [1983] (3:33)
6. Throwing Muses - Santa Claus [1989] (3:45)
7. Miracle Legion - Little Drummer Boy [1985] (3:32)
8. Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band - Xmas at K-Mart [1978] (2:38)
9. David Bowie / Bing Crosby - Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy [1982] (2:36)
10. Captain Sensible - One Christmas Catalogue [1984] (3:57)
11. Timbuk 3 - All I Want for Christmas [1987] (3:21)
12. Wall of Voodoo - Shouldn't Have Given Him a Gun for Christmas [1987] (4:02)
13. They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard [1988] (1:51)
14. The Buzz of Delight - Christmas [1983] (3:19)
15. Chris Stamey Group - Christmas Time [1985] (3:43)
16. Sun 60 - Mary Xmess [1993] (4:15)
17. Mono Puff - Careless Santa [1996] (2:15)

97.12MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (237.8kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - Merry Xmas from the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (1996)

2007-12-11T11:17:00.003-05:00

In 1959, RCA Victor released The Merriest of Christmas Pops album. This was a split release of sorts, with half of the tracks produced by Ray Martin and half by our man Esquivel. In 1996, Brother Cleve produced an Esquivel Christmas album for Bar/None Records by combining these six tracks with four others and supplementing the package with two new recordings.

The two new tracks, the new album's opener and closer, were produced by Cleve's band Combustible Edison and feature newly recorded narration by Esquivel. With his passing on January 3rd, 2002, these two tracks stand as Juan Garcia Esquivel's last recorded material.

Breaking down the album's contents, tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 10 are taken from The Merriest of Christmas Pops LP. Tracks 2 & 3 ("The Christmas Song" and "Here Comes Santa Claus") feature The Skip-Jacks, which included actress/nude model Stella Stevens. Track 11 "I Feel Merely Marvelous" (from the Broadway musical Redhead) was originally the b-side to the "Whatchamacallit" single. It's not really a holiday tune, but is a great rarity that fits in nicely here. Three previously released holiday-themed tracks help fill out this short album, two from 1959's Strings Aflame ("Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" and "Sun Valley Ski Run") and one from 1962's More of Other Worlds, Other Sounds ("Snowfall").

Esquivel - Merry Xmas from the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (1996)
1. Jingle Bells (Greetings from Esquivel!) (2:19)
2. White Christmas (1:45)
3. Here Comes Santa Claus (2:31)
4. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (2:31)
5. The Christmas Song (2:32)
6. Frosty the Snowman (2:20)
7. Snowfall (3:39)
8. Sun Valley Ski Run (2:14)
9. Blue Christmas (2:24)
10. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (2:07)
11. I Feel Merely Marvelous (2:28)
12. Auld Lang Syne (Adios from Esquivel!) (0:48)

46.88MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (235.8kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

A Lump of Coal (1991)

2007-12-08T10:09:00.003-05:00

I originally posted this album about this time last year. The share was deleted by Megaupload in July. Foolishly, I forgot to back up the archive, but I didn't re-rip it then; it made more sense to hold off 'til the holiday season rolled 'round again.

Released just after First Warning joined BMG Distribution, this Christmas compilation draws on artists from the First Warning stable (Drunken Boat, Divine Weeks and Clockhammer) plus others from various BMG distributed labels. It's a mish-mash alternative rock collection that remains a Christmas favorite. The standout tracks here are by Hoodoo Gurus, Drunken Boat, Carnival Art, Clockhammer and Henry Rollins. In fact, it's this album that introduced me to the criminally obscure Clockhammer, still one of my favorite bands.

Check out the music videos for Hoodoo Gurus' "Little Drummer Boy (Up the Khyber)," Crash Test Dummies' "The First Noel" and The Wedding Present's "Stepping into Christmas":

Henry Rollins' cut here is probably the best. It's a bizarre spoken word piece, in which he is joined by legendary Rollins pal Joe Cole, who provides a musical backdrop consisting of an ominous bass line and various sound effects (including gunshots and helicopters). It's an incredible bit of twisted Christmas cheer.

And on that note, Merry Christmas, y'all!

A Lump of Coal (1991)
1. Hoodoo Gurus - Little Drummer Boy (Up the Khyber) (2:19)
2. Crash Test Dummies - The First Noel (3:38)
3. The Wedding Present - Stepping into Christmas (4:44)
4. Drunken Boat - Blue X-mas (To Whom It May Concern) (4:15)
5. Divine Weeks - O Holy Night (4:48)
6. Carnival Art - Bring a Torch Jeannette Isabella (3:56)
7. The Primitives - Silent Night (2:09)
8. Young Fresh Fellows - O Little Town of Bethlehem (2:51)
9. The Odds - Kings of Orient (4:25)
10. Clockhammer - Here Comes Santa Claus (2:30)
11. Henry Rollins - Twas the Night Before Christmas (4:05)

65.24MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (228.6kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

The Family - The Family (1985)

2007-11-27T12:37:00.004-05:00

Minneapolis R&B band The Family was one of the first acts signed to Prince's nascent Paisley Park Records label. Here's how lead singer Paul Peterson tells the story of the formation of The Family: "When Morris Day decided to leave the group The Time, Prince held a meeting with the remaining band members. We were all sitting in a circle, Jesse Johnson, Jerry Hubbard, Mark Cardinas, Jerome Benton, Jellybean Johnson. He looked at us all, and said that he wanted to start a new band. He knew that Jesse was anxious to do his own solo career, so he asked those not into a new band to leave. Then off went Jesse (then later Mark, and Jerry). Prince then said "I have a concept, and I want to base it around you" (then he spun around in his chair and landed at me) I was totally off guard. I guess he heard me sing when we were filming Purple Rain - while Morris and I were in the dressing room at First Avenue, which was adjacent to his -- by a bed sheet!"

Singer Paul Peterson was renamed St. Paul. Along with drummer Jellybean Johnson and hype man Jerome Benton, The Family was complete with the addition of background singer/keyboard player Susannah Melvoin and saxophonist Eric Leeds. Their first and only single, "The Screams of Passion," managed to crack the R&B Top 15 in America. A video was produced, check it out:

I've always found this album to be immensely listenable and it is definitely a Prince fan favorite. I just never seem to get tired of it. As usual, Prince wrote and produced all of the music, but in this case gave the official writing credits to the band members, except for "Nothing Compares 2 U," which later became a famous hit for Sinéad O'Connor. Musically, The Family predicts the direction that Prince was to take on Parade and Sign 'o' the Times. It is here that you can hear the first distinct usage of funk, jazz and orchestral strings in the Prince oeuvre. Heck, even the video looks like Prince and the Revolution's "Mountains"!

The group didn't last. During recording, St. Paul was subjected to take after take until his vocals exactly matched the guide vocals Prince provided. There was no room for St. Paul's own vocal phrasing. Without the ability to pursue his own creativity, St. Paul felt stifled. They only played one show before he left to pursue a solo career. Some of the members were drafted into Prince's expanded Revolution. Eighteen years later, on December 13, 2003, The Family reunited for the Sheila E. organized charity concert Family Jamm. In January of 2007, the band announced on MySpace that they had newly reformed and have begun work on new material! They've since played ?uestlove's pre-Grammy Roots Jam party, where Susannah's twin sister Wendy Melvoin sat in on guitar. All very exciting and, hopefully, we'll see new material soon. Prince isn't involved this time around, so it'll be interesting to hear what they produce. In the meantime, check out their MySpace page for live audio and video clips and breaking news.

This album was only released on CD in Japan. This rip is taken from a lossless version I downloaded years ago on Usenet. It was labeled at the time as T's Remaster, which seems to suggest it was ripped from vinyl. The sound quality is excellent, though, and doesn't sound like a vinyl rip to me. I've never been able to locate the rare Japanese disc, so I haven't been able to compare it. It could simply be a tweaked version of the Japanese release. I've also included the Extended Version of "The Screams of Passion" from the 12" single. This was also from a lossless version on Usenet. Between the two, I put "Miss Understood," an honestly mediocre unreleased outtake in which Susannah takes lead vocals. This track is taken from the Fantasia 4CD Prince bootleg, a 256kbps version of which I located on Soulseek.

The Family - The Family (1985)
1. High Fashion (5:05)
2. Mutiny (3:54)
3. The Screams of Passion (5:23)
4. Yes (4:25)
5. River Run Dry (3:28)
6. Nothing Compares 2 U (4:30)
7. Susannah's Pajamas (3:55)
8. Desire (5:01)
Unreleased Outtake:
9. Miss Understood (5:20)
From The Screams of Passion 12":
10. The Screams of Passion (Extended Version) (6:46)

82.8MB RAR archive
MP3: 1x Constant bitrate (256kbps)
9x Variable bitrate (239.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.96.1 (--preset extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - See It in Sound (1960)

2007-11-15T11:33:00.002-05:00

It seems that after producing his fifth American album, Strings Aflame, Esquivel set out to create a unique musical journey. Recorded in 1960, See It in Sound is fascinating because it integrates off-kilter music with real-world ambient sounds. It really expands the concept of what an "album" could be at the time. In this way, it's very modern; it's reminiscent of current soundtrack albums that mix dialogue and sound effects into the music. In fact, in many ways it's like a soundtrack to an imaginary movie.

Esquivel's take on "Brazil," in particular, is an amazing experiment. Calling the album Esquivel's Pet Sounds, Bill Barol's description of this wild track from his excellent 2002 retrospective article in Slate is worth quoting directly: "...the band leader paints a meticulous sound picture of a night on the town gone wrong. An unidentified clubgoer makes his way down rainy streets, the sound of an orchestra muffled but growing stronger, until he opens a door and the music bursts gloriously into the foreground. He eventually returns to the street, the music continuing as background until he arrives at another club; he leaves there, hails a taxi, and makes his way to a third club, the arrangement more incendiary now as a very convincing brawl breaks out to the sounds of breaking glass and running footsteps—a six-minute playlet in music and sound effects, richly detailed and powerfully weird."

This is arguably Esquivel at his most ambitious and certainly his strangest. The brass at RCA felt the same way and refused to release it at the time! This remained for years a legendary "lost" album until it was rescued from the vaults and finally released in 1999, 39 years after it was recorded. I found a rip of this disc on Soulseek, encoded at variable bit rate with LAME 3.93.

Esquivel - See It in Sound (1960)
1. The Peanut Vendor (El Manisero) (3:26)
2. Amazon Paddle Boat (3:58)
3. Honky Tonky Cha Cha (3:03)
4. Cumana (2:47)
5. Brazil (6:03)
6. Chubasco (3:54)
7. Walk to the Bull Ring (2:17)
8. Aurora (2:11)
9. Similau (3:53)
10. Inca's Dream (2:34)
11. Latingo (4:16)

56.8MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (205.9kbps average) w/LAME 3.93

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

REDO: Reefer Songs (1927-1947)

2007-11-12T09:16:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: My buddy Bill the Splut noticed this posting and supplied me with the original CD to rip. There is a noticeable sound quality improvement over the 128kbps version I previously posted.

Here's a wild collection of risqué jazz and blues tunes. While all drug related in one way or another, most of these songs center around the usage of that great menace, Marijuana! Incredibly enough, songs with this subject matter actually enjoyed a certain level of popularity at the time. Until the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, that is. That piece of legislation led to the eventual criminalization of cannabis. Because of federal pressure, many of the artists that continued to sing about its virtues suffered industry blacklisting.

The tracks were mastered a bit low on this compilation, so I used WaveGain to group normalize the WAV files by +2.3dB before converting to MP3. I originally discovered this album on Usenet six years ago. That version included a bonus 24th track, Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra's "Reefer Song." I like that track and it's a good one to close out the comp with, so I included a 256kbps version I found on SoulSeek. This is a rip of the 1996 Mojo Records release, but the cover is from the better-looking original 1989 Jass Records release. I made some minor song title and artist corrections and researched the tracks online to find the original year of release.

I found some nice clips online. These first two are basically photo montages set to music. First up is Trixie Smith's "Jack, I'm Mellow":

Chick Webb and His Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald "Wacky Dust":

Public domain footage is used to nice effect here with Sidney Bechet & Noble Sissle's Swingsters' "Viper Mad ":

Any finally, two vintage soundies from Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, "Minnie the Moocher" and "Reefer Man":

Makes you wonder, though. Could your Great-Grandma or Great-Grandpa have been a "viper"?

Reefer Songs (1927-1947)
1. Don Redman and His Orchestra - Reefer Man [1940] (3:32)
2. Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra - The Man from Harlem [1932] (3:07)
3. Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club - Here Comes the Man with the Jive [1936] (3:00)
4. Bob Howard and His Boys - If You're a Viper [1938] (2:24)
5. Benny Goodman and His Orchestra / Jack Teagarden - Texas Tea Party [1938] (3:21)
6. Buster Bailey's Rhythm Busters - Light Up [1938] (2:44)
7. Trixie Smith - Jack, I'm Mellow [1938] (2:44)
8. Barney Bigard Sextet - Sweet Marijuana Brown [1945] (2:57)
9. Sidney Bechet / Noble Sissle's Swingsters - Viper Mad [1938] (3:01)
10. The Harlem Hamfats - The Weed Smoker's Dream [1936] (3:18)
11. Cee Pee Johnson - The "G" Man Got the "T" Man [1945] (3:06)
12. Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy - All the Jive Is Gone [1936] (2:36)
13. Georgia White - The Stuff Is Here [1937] (2:53)
14. Chick Webb and His Orchestra / Ella Fitzgerald - Wackey Dust [1938] (3:02)
15. Harry "The Hipster" Gibson - Who Put the Benzedrine in Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine? [1944] (3:03)
16. Clarence Williams and His Washboard Band - Jerry the Junker [1934] (3:06)
17. Fats Waller - Reefer Song [1943] (2:50)
18. Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends - Lotus Blossom (Sweet Marijuana) [1947] (3:16)
19. Ernest Rodgers - Willie the Chimney Sweeper [1927] (2:50)
20. Bea Foote - Weed [1938] (2:58)
21. Buck Washington - Save the Roach for Me [1944] (1:34)
22. Lil Green - Knockin' Myself Out [1941] (2:59)
23. Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra - Minnie the Moocher [1931] (3:32)
24. Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra - Reefer Man [1932] (2:57)

100.21MB RAR archive
MP3: 1x Constant bitrate (256kbps)
23x Variable bitrate (194kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Mind / Body (1992)

2007-11-06T08:49:00.002-05:00

In its earliest days, the Internet consisted of bulletin boards and email. The Internet was text-based back then. Monitoring Usenet newsgroups and participating in bulletin board discussions felt like being part of a community. While there is still some discussion today, Usenet has mostly become a dumping ground for binary files. The rec.music.industrial newsgroup was teeming with engaging dialogue about the many forms of "industrial" music. Almost anything fit in: electronic, ambient, prog/krautrock, harsher industrial music, gothic rock and various forms of alternative dance music. It was exciting to be online in the early to mid-1990s; I was exposed to so much new and old music. I think in many ways, the various full album music blogs provide a similar function today.

Nowhere is this early spirit of community more evident than in the DIY indie release Mind /Body. Ben Cox had the idea to compile a collection of music created by members of the RMI (rec.music.industrial) community. This eventually became the two-disc compilation released as Mind / Body. Released in 1992 under the imprint Atomic Novelties, almost all of the tracks are copyright 1991. The concept here is that disc one (tracks 1-14) contains music that feeds the mind, with disc two (tracks 15-31) providing music to fuel the body. Consequently, the first half of this compilation tends toward ambient music, with cut-up dialogue and samples. Early "isolationism," I suppose. The second half is more "industrial dance" sounding. More beat-oriented and generally more aggressive, with distorted vocals. There's a lot of music here covering a wide range of electronica from a very specific time period by a collection of mostly obscure artists. How about that for a run-on sentence!

If you're interested in reading some of the posts from way back when, check out the Google Groups rec.music.industrial archive. If I remember correctly, this set was limited to 1000 numbered copies. For what it's worth, mine is #0674.

Mind / Body (1992)
1. Grae.Com - New Age Love Song (4:07)
2. Urban Ambience - Drug Dilemma (4:12)
3. Killed by a Blöw in the Heäd - Mysteries of Pakistan (For Phil) (5:36)
4. D.A.C. Crowell - The Fall of Shartoa (9:58)
5. Macronympha - Masturbation Mantra (8:11)
6. Trance - Vicious Circle (4:51)
7. Crazy Ivan - My Ass Is Ivory (2:31)
8. John Grigsby - Sequence (3:53)
9. John Eichenseer - Down at the Blue Café (11:13)
10. Total Harmonic Distortion - The Messiah (4:31)
11. The Unit Circle - Constant Bit Select of a Vector Net (4:59)
12. Thad Donovan - Dogma (4:29)
13. Corpses Last Contact Half-Served - The Whales and Dolphins (5:18)
14. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers - The Star-Spangled Banner (2:52)
15. Insult - Gee (2:17)
16. Speakeasy - One of Woody's Women (4:29)
17. Dresden - Detraction (4:32)
18. Scott A. Lukas - Revolution in My Mind (10:00)
19. Soma Holiday - Burning Chrome (2:34)
20. Surgery Tomorrow - Shit All over You (6:20)
21. Users of the Wicked Gravity - You Shall All Decay (Heroin in a Dress) (4:34)
22. Slur - Singular (4:02)
23. Snog - Born to Be Mild (3:21)
24. Smothered Hope - Bloodletting (4:25)
25. Mary on Trial - Success (3:58)
26. BlackMan - Solace (4:08)
27. Six Sigma - Killer Bees (3:27)
28. Naram Sin - Nighthammer (6:02)
29. Who Mournes - Holiday (3:55)
30. Acme Disco Machines - Piss Christ (3:54)
31. The Evolution Control Committee - The Industrial Polka (3:04)

258.59MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (237.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Reefer Songs (1927-1947)

2007-11-03T14:00:00.000-04:00

Disregard this post and check out the redo post here.

Damn That Orange Box!

2007-10-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates here, but you can blame Valve Software's mega value The Orange Box for sucking up all of my free time lately. I sit in front of my TV with my 360 controller in hand, thinking "I really should upload an album and update PLM. Well, maybe after I finish this one part..."

While I've been excited about getting The Orange Box and playing it's various components, my expectations honestly were fairly low for Portal, but it's ended up being the most enjoyable part of the whole deal. It's not very long, but it's unlike anything else I've ever played. It demands a new kind of spatial thinking. The innovative gameplay and pitch black humor combine to make a game that is truly unique.

Best of all, when I finished Portal, I was treated to something unexpected but wonderful: a catchy, funny and even touching little pop song running during the end credits. It's a clever little gem that's bound to become a gamer geek anthem. I can't get it out of my head! While the soundtrack for the Half-Life games are created by Kelly Bailey, the song "Still Alive" is written and performed by Jonathan Coulton. Ellen McLain, the voice of Portal's antagonist GLaDOS, provides vocals that sound a bit like what Daft Punk might if they had a sensitive female lead.

There are already a bunch of clips of "Still Alive" on YouTube, but this one is my favorite. Snpbond created a nice little gameplay video, with excellent sound quality. Check it out:

By the way, I also want to apologize for the crazy look of the page lately. I rely on Comcast's personal web space for hosting and they're undergoing some upgrade that makes the background and pictures occasionally unavailable. Nothing I can do about it except wait for things to settle out. Still, it's annoying and ugly. Wait, let me rephrase that. It's...wait for it...Comcastic!

Esquivel - Strings Aflame (1959)

2007-10-04T11:53:00.002-04:00

Esquivel produced his fifth American album while still living in New York City's Upper East Side. He produced this and the earlier Exploring New Sounds in Stereo before relocating to Beverly Hills. It is the first to showcase his orchestral arranging talents. He honed these skills during his years in Mexico producing the weekly radio show "Musica y Fantasia."

There are some nice tracks here, including Cole Porter's classic "I Love Paris" and the Esquivel-penned "Foolin' Around." Also showing up is an excellent version of Greek standard "Misirlou," later made famous by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones. In the original liner notes, Esquivel describes "Fantasy": "The moods of both Brahms' Fifth Hungarian Dance and the song Two Guitars fit each other so naturally that they just seemed right together. It's hard to tell where one theme stops and the others starts."

Released in August of 1959, this album went on the receive three Grammy nominations in the Orchestra, Arrangements and Engineering categories. Strings Aflame was released on CD by Bar/None Records in 1997 as a two-fer with Exploring New Sounds in Stereo.

Esquivel - Strings Aflame (1959)
1. Guadalajara (2:36)
2. Scheherazade (3:52)
3. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (2:31)
4. Andalusian Sky (2:41)
5. Misirlou (3:09)
6. Sun Valley Ski Run (2:13)
7. Malagueña (3:11)
8. Fantasy (3:09)
9. Foolin' Around (2:45)
10. Gypsy Lament (3:28)
11. I Love Paris (3:08)
12. Turkish March (2:56)

59.72MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (233.1kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Rock 'n' Roll Guitar Classics (1958-1963)

2007-09-21T09:52:00.003-04:00

Wait, I know what you're thinking: "Kevin, are you seriously posting a K-tel compilation on your blog?" Well...yeah! I was turned on to this 1990 comp by my buddy Bill the Splut about 12 years ago. Bill is the blogmaster deluxe for the infamous ThoughtViper.com. It's sorta like, I dunno, Bukowski meets Hello Kitty. Well, not really, but he'll hate that description, so I'll let it stand.

Anyway, for those of you too young to remember, throughout the 70s and 80s, K-tel was the original "as seen on TV" music label and were all over the airwaves hawking themed various artist albums in a fast-talking hard-sell style. Whether you have no idea what I'm talking about or have successfully blocked out the memory, this commercial is a perfect example of the K-tel style. Check out this obnoxious walk down memory lane:

The title here says it all. While some of the tracks have more historical importance than others, every single track is most definitely a bona fide guitar classic. Dick Dale's "Let's Go Trippin'" is considered to be the first surf record. Looking at just the first three tracks, it's impossible to overstate the importance of The Ventures' "Walk Don't Run," Duane Eddy's "Rebel Rouser" and Link Wray's "Rumble" to the history and evolution of rock and roll. At under 26 minutes, it's a short trip, but it does an excellent job of capturing an important moment in time. Besides that, these songs are just freakin' cool.

But don't just take my word for it, check out some clips I dug up on YouTube. First up, an unfortunately edited and non-synched 1960 appearance by The Ventures with "Walk Don't Run" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand:

Next, Duane Eddy with "Rebel Rouser" from 1958:

Santo & Johnny with "Sleep Walk" from 1959:

And finally, The Chantays with "Pipeline" from a May 18, 1963 appearance on The Lawrence Welk Show:

While ripping, I noticed that the tracks were mastered a bit low, so I used WaveGain to group normalize the WAV files by +2.39dB before converting to MP3. While double-checking the tags, I corrected a couple of minor song title errors and added the original year of release.

Rock 'n' Roll Guitar Classics (1958-1963)
1. The Ventures - Walk Don't Run [1960] (2:05)
2. Duane Eddy - Rebel Rouser [1958] (2:21)
3. Link Wray & His Raymen - Rumble [1958] (2:24)
4. Lonnie Mack - Memphis [1963] (2:26)
5. The Virtues - Guitar Boogie Shuffle [1959] (2:26)
6. Santo & Johnny - Sleep Walk [1959] (2:23)
7. Dick Dale & His Del-Tones - Let's Go Trippin' [1961] (2:34)
8. The Duals - Stick Shift [1961] (2:31)
9. The Chantays - Pipeline [1963] (2:19)
10. The Frantics - Straight Flush [1959] (2:06)
11. Lonnie Mack - Wham! [1963] (2:09)

41.77MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (225.1kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Kenji Kawai - Chaos (1999)

2007-09-15T17:33:00.002-04:00

Kenji Kawai is one of my favorite soundtrack composers. He's done the music for films of many styles: anime, action, sci-fi, horror and more. His compositions are always varied, interesting and complementary; the music is "there" but it never overtakes a scene.

The score that Kenji Kawai composed for Hideo Nakata's Chaos is electronic, heavily percussive and eerie. Eventually, it even becomes uplifting. Considering how much I enjoy the score, I'm disappointed at myself for not having taken the time to actually see the movie!

I found a link to a streaming theatrical trailer online. There are Korean subtitles, so the trailer must have originally come from a Korean distributor. I downloaded the trailer with Orbit Downloader and then uploaded it to YouTube. You can hear a bit of the score in the background. Check it out:

I downloaded this out-of-print soundtrack about nine months ago at membership bittorrent site Asian DVD Club. EncSpot Pro identifies this as having been encoded at 224kbps with LAME 3.92.

Kenji Kawai - Chaos (1999)
1. Threat (1:58)
2. Message #8501 (2:47)
3. Dress (6:26)
4. Corpse (4:50)
5. Recognition (2:33)
6. Murder (1:24)
7. Monochrome (0:49)
8. Model (1:35)
9. Tag (1:17)
10. Metamorphosis (2:30)
11. Rouge (2:36)
12. Raindrops (3:21)
13. Chaos (2:17)

54.31MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (224kbps)
LAME 3.92

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - Exploring New Sounds in Stereo (1959)

2007-09-11T10:08:00.002-04:00

Esquivel is back to crazy form with his fourth American LP. The title Exploring New Sounds in Stereo is wonderfully direct, as it declares plainly what goals Esquivel set out to achieve with this recording. The new sounds of many exotic instruments are explored here, including theremin, ondioline, glockenspiel, Jew's harp, buzzimba and harpsichord, along with an assortment of global percussive instruments.

The early Esquivel compilations of the 1990s made heavy use of this album's material. "Whatchamacallit" (released as a single at the time) and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" are popular stand-outs. "Spellbound" features Esquivel's only use of the theremin.

There aren't a whole lot of Esquivel video clips online, but I managed to find this short that utilizes "The 3rd Man Theme." Shot recently at Coney Island, it evokes a nice late-50s/early-60s feel. Check it out:

This album and its follow-up, Strings Aflame, were recorded during the brief period that Esquivel had relocated to New York City's Upper East Side. A mono version of this LP, featuring slightly different arrangements, was also recorded and released simultaneously in May 1959 under the title Exploring New Sounds in Hi-Fi. Exploring New Sounds in Stereo was released on CD by Bar/None Records in 1997 as a two-fer with Strings Aflame.

Esquivel - Exploring New Sounds in Stereo (1959)
1. My Blue Heaven (2:51)
2. Bella Morra (2:22)
3. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (3:00)
4. Lazy Bones (2:42)
5. Spellbound (3:27)
6. All of Me (2:14)
7. Whatchamacallit (2:30)
8. La Ronde (2:24)
9. My Number One Love (2:52)
10. The 3rd Man Theme (2:23)

44.76MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (232.1kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

The Vanity Set - The Vanity Set (2000)

2007-08-30T08:55:00.002-04:00

What with Grinderman becoming popular (well, as "popular" as good music gets these days) I thought it would be nice to post the self-titled debut from Jim Sclavunos' band, The Vanity Set. Jim Sclavunos is a NYC drummer and producer with a long varied career. In the early to mid-eighties, he was a member of 8-Eyed Spy with Lydia Lunch, who he's also worked with on her solo material. He's also worked with Sonic Youth and Tav Falco's Panther Burns. In the early nineties he was briefly a member of The Cramps. By the mid-nineties he was a member of Alice Texas' band and started working with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. His membership in The Bad Seeds continues to this day and led directly to his current collaboration with Nick Cave in Grinderman.

While The Vanity Set seemed to settle into a proper band with fixed membership for their second (and only other) album, 2003's Little Stabs at Happiness, their first self-titled album is truly an ensemble project that features many different players on each of the different tracks. If you're a fan of Congo Norvell, you'll appreciate Sally Norvell's vocal appearances on "I'm in You" and "Jump in the Grave" and Kid Congo Powers' guitar work on "Don't Be Afraid" and "Flame." Bad Seeds cohort Thomas Wydler shows up for tambourine on "I'm in You" and vocals on "Slim the Cook." Alice Texas sings on "End of the Line." There many other collaborators here whose name (and fame) I don't recognize. This collection of players is interesting in that it makes this album sound more like a compilation than an album from a "band." Some of the songs are dark and melancholy, some are a bit funny and some are just plain weird, but overall the album is quite intriguing and enjoyable. But it's hard to beat how the band describe themselves on their official web page: "...The Vanity Set blend low art, high sass and raw bluster. No other band leaps from the sublime to depraved, filth to elegance, camp to heartfelt urgency like these black-fisted Post-Romanticists. Sclavunos is the exquisitely tailored, six-foot-seven, howling/crooning front man with a vocal style somewhere between Adam West, Jarvis Cocker and Kermit." You just gotta love it. And, yes, that final hidden bonus track is indeed a cover of the Burt Bacharach classic!

The Vanity Set - The Vanity Set (2000)
1. I'm in You (4:54)
2. Nightstick (3:13)
3. Tomorrow's Another Day (4:58)
4. Personal Hell (4:24)
5. Jump in the Grave (4:00)
6. Don't Be Afraid (2:28)
7. The World Keeps Turning (2:42)
8. Slim the Cook (3:43)
9. End of the Line (3:19)
10. The Heavenly Host Are Gathered (6:02)
11. Flame (3:47)
12. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (2:58)

74.64MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (223.2kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

1 Year, 62 Shares, 129K+ Hits!

2007-08-21T12:10:00.000-04:00

Hey, I just noticed that today is the One Year Anniversary for Psychotic Leisure Music! Wow, that was quick! I started PLM with the desire to share music I love that has gone out of print. I set myself a goal to try to upload at least one album per week. There are currently 62 shares available here. Mission accomplished!

It's had its ups and downs, but posting music here has always been a lot of fun. I currently get four to five hundred hits a day and there have been thousands of downloads. Totally amazing!

In addition to providing entertainment, my hope is that this blog has been infomative as well. I appreciate all of the visits and all of the support. The great comments really help, folks. Stay tuned, because I'll be doing my best to make next year as good as the last!

Elysian Fields - Bleed Your Cedar (1996)

2007-08-21T09:55:00.003-04:00

Elysian Fields are a New York City dream pop outfit. The two core members are singer Jennifer Charles and guitarist Oren Bloedow. Jennifer Charles' vocals lend a fragile and ethereal quality to their pensive and dark sound. Most music journalists compare them to Mazzy Star, but Elysian Fields are much more dynamic, musical, and are, frankly, a lot better. I became aware of this fascinating band when Jennifer Charles appeared for two duets with Tod A. on Firewater's 1996 debut Get Off the Cross, We Need the Wood for the Fire.

Universal Music Group imprint Radioactive Records issued their first release, a self-titled EP, in early 1996, followed by their first full-length, Bleed Your Cedar, nine months later. Their second album was recorded by Steve Albini. Reportedly, the label wanted a more commercial follow up and, in the ensuing dispute, Elysian Fields refused to allow them to meddle with the recordings. Released from their contract at their request, the album remains unreleased to this day. Elysian Fields has gone on to release three more albums. Check out excellent fan site Black Acres for more info.

As a bonus, I've included their self-titled debut. The EP opens with "Star," which I've omitted because the track is also included on Bleed Your Cedar. There are some interesting guest appearances on this EP: Mark Ribot provides guitar and Chris Wood (of Medeski Martin and Wood fame) provides bass for "Diamonds All Day" and John Lurie provides harmonica for "Move Me." Check out the music videos for "Star" and "Jack in the Box":

Elysian Fields - Bleed Your Cedar (1996)
1. Lady in the Lake (3:53)
2. Jack in the Box (3:58)
3. Off or Out (3:25)
4. Fountains on Fire (7:00)
5. Star (3:42)
6. Anything You Like (5:11)
7. Sugarplum Arches (2:58)
8. Parachute (5:39)
9. Gracie Lyons (2:51)
10. Rolling (5:14)
11. Mermaid (4:21)
From Elysian Fields CD5 (1996):
12. Diamonds All Day (4:43)
13. Move Me (5:02)
14. Get Rich (4:51)

103.06MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (228.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - Four Corners of the World (1958)

2007-08-07T16:50:00.002-04:00

RCA booked and paid for five hours of studio time for Esquivel to record his American debut Other Worlds, Other Sounds. With the album in the can and ninety minutes of studio time left over, Esquivel quickly assembled a small combo and used the time to record his second LP, Four Corners of the World.

What resulted from this short production schedule is a fairly straightforward album lacking in the "out there" sensibilities of his previous (or future, for that matter) efforts. Still, it's a pleasant enough album to listen to, so it's kind of hard for me to knock or completely write off. I mean, heck, it's like complaining about candy...

Check out this cool clip that cleverly combines Esquivel's take on "Blue Danube" with imagery from 2001: A Space Odyssey:

Four Corners of the World was released on CD by Bar/None Records in 1997 as a two-fer with Other Worlds, Other Sounds.

Esquivel - Four Corners of the World (1958)
1. Dark Eyes (2:43)
2. Blue Danube (2:21)
3. Domino (2:12)
4. Oye Negra (2:00)
5. My Silent Love (2:41)
6. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (3:31)
7. Tico Tico (2:12)
8. April in Portugal (2:14)
9. In a Persian Market (2:48)
10. Torna a Sorrento (2:36)
11. El Carro del Sol (2:44)
12. Cielito Lindo (2:41)

50.96MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (230.6kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Steve Fisk - 448 Deathless Days (1987)

2007-07-31T12:25:00.005-04:00

Steve Fisk is known mostly for being a talented producer, having manned the knobs for such varied acts as Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Beat Happening, The Posies, Soul Coughing and Low. I grabbed this CD because I recognized his name as the producer for both of the Geraldine Fibbers albums. Aside from releasing three solo albums, Fisk's work has included membership in the bands Pell Mell and Pigeonhed.

448 Deathless Days is a cut-up pastiche that runs in and out and all over. For his first solo effort, Steve Fisk composes, arranges and assembles the proceedings, while contributing "grand piano, optigan, sampler, synth, drum box, & tape manipulation." Utilized at various points during the production of this album are several SST label cohorts that include eight guitarists, three bassists, a couple of keyboardists and a violinist. Electronics, found narrative samples and indie rock collide in a way that is rather unique and enjoyable. I bought this album years ago not knowing what to expect, but have found it to be a journey that is strangely compelling and oddly fulfilling every time I give it a spin.

Check out the music video for "No 2nd Chance," the visual style of which does a nice job of matching the album's editing ethic:

Steve Fisk - 448 Deathless Days (1987)
1. Invocation (0:48)
2. No 2nd Chance (6:39)
3. Ragged Old Flag (1:52)
4. Weekend Review (2:41)
5. Diamond Club (2:18)
6. Oh Little Seeds (2:22)
7. Johnny Smoke (Swamp Thing) (4:19)
8. Emerging Nation (4:15)
9. Trasheap (4:15)
10. Further Demo of an Assist (4:48)
11. Break on Thru (4:18)
12. Tongues (3:19)
13. Soul of Spain (4:16)
14. Tragedy at Sea (3:28)
15. This Vacuum (4:18)
16. Chakiri Bushi (2:39)
17. She Walks (5:16)
18. Barretta (2:42)
19. To Abide in the Flesh (1:08)
20. Priorities (5:19)

121.56MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (238.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - Other Worlds, Other Sounds (1958)

2007-07-20T09:21:00.002-04:00

For his second American LP, released October 1958, Esquivel plays piano and provides arrangements not just for the 26-piece orchestra, but for the six-member Randy Van Horne Singers as well. The majority of the "singing" consists of various "zu," "ooh" and "ah" sounds, but that's all part of the charm. This three-day session was Esquivel's first opportunity to experiment with stereo recording. His dynamic use of the two-channel recording process is exciting and inventive. It's here that Esquivel's trademark sound starts to emerge. 'Course, most people probably bought the album because of the cosmic hottie on the cover and, I imagine, were amazed by Esquivel's quirky sound on first listen.

Other Worlds, Other Sounds was released on CD by Bar/None Records in 1997 as a two-fer with Four Corners of the World.

Esquivel - Other Worlds, Other Sounds (1958)
1. Granada (4:04)
2. Begin the Beguine (3:07)
3. Night and Day (2:36)
4. Poinciana (2:58)
5. Playfully (2:55)
6. Adiós (3:03)
7. That Old Black Magic (2:30)
8. Nature Boy (2:42)
9. Magic Is the Moonlight (Te Quiero Dijeste) (2:33)
10. Speak Low (2:38)
11. Ballerina (3:02)
12. It Had to Be You (3:14)

58.66MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (230.6kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

bôa - The Race of a Thousand Camels (1998)

2007-07-10T10:43:00.002-04:00

bôa is an alternative rock band that formed in England in 1993. Singer Jasmine Rogers and guitarist Steve Rogers are the children of rock veteran Paul Rogers, who they opened for at their first live gig in January 1994. After playing out to critical acclaim, but no label interest, they finally received their big break in 1996 when they signed to Japanese label Polystar Records. With a title inspired by a dream of Jasmine and a computer game written by Paul, The Race of a Thousand Camels was released in 1998.

They might have remained obscure had it not been for Polystar Records' licensing of the song "Duvet" for use in the opening titles to the anime series Serial Experiments: Lain. Check out the Serial Experiments: Lain opening title sequence, scored with the abbreviated "Duvet (TV Sized)":

An actual music video for the full-length version of "Duvet" was also produced. Check it out:

The (TV Sized) version of "Duvet" appeared in 1998 on a Serial Experiments Lain: Cyberia Mix soundtrack CD. A dance remix version of "Duvet" also appears there, with remix duties handled by Chikada "J.J" Wasei (aka DJ Wasei). Based on the huge crossover popularity Serial Experiments: Lain experienced in the U.S., the American arm of Pioneer reissued The Race of a Thousand Camels in 2001. Released under the title Twilight, it includes new cover art and three additional tracks: two Japanese b-sides ("Duvet (Acoustic)" and "Little Miss") and one additional unreleased track ("Drinking"). The first and third tracks were also swapped to make "Duvet" the opening track. The Cyberia Mix CD was also reissued in the States, but minus the two versions of "Duvet"! This complete compilation also includes the one track I didn't have access to on actual CD, "Two Steps," which I located as a nice 192kbps rip on eMule. "Two Steps" is an interesting anomoly, as it is the only bôa song in this set to feature lead vocals by guitarist Steve Rogers. After a series of label delays, bôa opted to self-release their long-awaited followed up album, Get There, in 2005.

bôa - The Race of a Thousand Camels (1998)
1. Fool (5:04)
2. Twilight (3:46)
3. Duvet (3:20)
4. Rain (3:53)
5. Elephant (3:50)
6. Scoring (3:46)
7. Deeply (4:32)
8. One Day (2:37)
9. Welcome (5:00)
10. For Jasmine (5:13)
11. Anna Maria (4:01)
From Serial Experiments Lain: Cyberia Mix CD (1998):
12. Duvet (TV Sized) (1:39)
13. Duvet (Cyberia reMIX) (feat. Chikada "J.J" Wasei) (5:19)
From Tall Snake EP CD5 (1999):
14. Duvet (Acoustic) (5:11)
15. Two Steps (4:15)
16. Little Miss (3:48)
From Twilight CD (2001):
17. Drinking (4:11)

114.52MB RAR archive
MP3: (1x) Constant Bitrate (192kbps) w/LAME 3.80
(16x) Variable bitrate (232.2kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Esquivel - To Love Again (1957)

2007-07-09T16:57:00.002-04:00

Update (June 10, 2008): It has just come to my attention that UK label él Records recently reissued this album on CD. Released under the title Mexico Days, this CD couples To Love Again with the first ever digital release of Esquivel's super-rare Mexican-only first LP, Las Tandas de Juan Garcia Esquivel. This is very exciting news! Consequently, I'm removing this share. If you're an Esquivel fan, then you really should buy this new release. I know I can't wait to get mine!

By the time RCA Victor issued pianist/arranger Juan García Esquivel's first American LP in 1957, he was already a popular star at home in Mexico with several releases. It was the rediscovery of Esquivel that helped kick off the full-blown renaissance that this peculiar brand of easy listening music received in the mid-90s. This music is most frequently labeled variously as Space Age Pop, Exotica or Lounge Music, depending on how expansive the artist umbrella for that category is.

Most critics dismiss this musical revival as being strictly for jaded hipsters looking for ironic music. Don't get me wrong, I think that often times the music is ironic. It takes the expectations of what popular easy listening music is supposed to be and gives them a twist. I enjoy it because it's immensely listenable: the compositions are classic, the instrumentation is lush, the arrangements are exciting and the stereo separation is wild. So do I like it just because it's "cool"? No. In fact, at its very foundation, could anything be more "uncool" than actively listening to easy listening music from the late-50s/early 60s? Well, maybe running a blog to that tries to spread the word on cool music you might have missed...

For his first American LP, RCA Victor compiled a collection of Mexican released tracks recorded during the period 1954 to 1956. In 1998, this was reissued on CD by RCA Spain under the dubious title Exploring New Sounds in Sonorama, sporting an equally fake retro 50s cover. I grabbed this 192kbps rip off Usenet a few months ago. This fun album is best enjoyed with the occasional glance at the original cover above.

Esquivel - To Love Again (1957)
1. To Love Again (2:50)
2. Port-Au-Prince (2:32)
3. Amor (3:12)
4. Moonlight Enchantment (2:49)
5. Nightingale (2:52)
6. Nocturnal (3:08)
7. Jungle Drums (Canto Karabali) (3:09)
8. Vereda Tropical (2:57)
9. Hornblowers Serenade (3:02)
10. Besame Mucho (2:56)
11. Siboney (3:03)
12. Nothing Ever Changes My Love for You (2:52)

The Three Suns - Triple Shot!: On a Magic Carpet (1960), Warm and Tender (1962) & A Swingin' Thing (1964)

2007-07-02T09:36:00.007-04:00

Update 04/04/2010: Google received a notice of copyright infringement for this posting from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). I find it frustrating that they would bother to go after a posting of music that is out-of-print and unavailable for purchase, but to avoid any legal troubles, I've removed the links to the shares.

All three of the following albums by The Three Suns were originally posted over at the ROCKOVERGRACELAND blog. The original download links there expired a while ago. I've received many requests to make these three albums available here. ROCKOVERGRACELAND is very sporadically updated now and I've directly emailed the owner of the blog about a repost here. I hope I'm not stepping on any shoes here, but I haven't received a reply either way, so I'll assume he doesn't mind if I make these three albums available to The Three Suns fans that frequent PLM.

The Three Suns -
On a Magic Carpet (1960)

This is a set of songs with an international flair that were originally popularized by other artists during the 1950s. The Three Suns place their unmistakable mark on these great tunes with an able assist by arranger Charles Albertine. For more info on this release, including the original liner notes, check out its page over at Michael David Toth's The Three Suns Universe.

While not terribly exciting to watch, YouTube member Orthophone uploaded this clip of a turntable spinning "The 3rd Man Theme":

One of the very few albums in The Three Suns catalogue to see an official reissue, this was remastered and released on CD in Japan. Excellent sound quality at a high bitrate!

The Three Suns - On a Magic Carpet (1960)
1. Canadian Sunset (2:57)
2. Lisbon Antigua (2:44)
3. Terry Theme (3:16)
4. High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me) (3:35)
5. Moritat (3:15)
6. The Poor People of Paris (Jean's Song) (2:47)
7. Blue Tango (2:37)
8. Meet Mr. Callaghan (2:20)
9. The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart) (2:17)
10. Ruby (2:44)
11. The 3rd Man Theme (2:28)
12. Fleur de Paree (2:07)

The Three Suns -
Warm and Tender (1962)

Arranged and conducted by Charles Albertine, this album focuses on creating a soft romantic mood. The Three Suns are joined by a complement of twelve violins and four cellos for a mellow, almost symphonic vibe. For more info on this release, including the original liner notes, check out its page over at Michael David Toth's The Three Suns Universe.

The Three Suns - Warm and Tender (1962)
1. There Goes My Heart (2:56)
2. Fly Me to the Moon (3:19)
3. Unchained Melody (3:04)
4. Love Is Like a Violin (3:06)
5. Just Say I Love Her (2:57)
6. Warm and Tender (2:55)
7. Poor Butterfly (2:58)
8. Portofino Amour (3:15)
9. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (3:12)
10. C'est Si Bon (2:56)
11. The Lamp Is Low (2:37)
12. A Touch of Tenderness (2:32)

The Three Suns -
A Swingin' Thing (1964)

Founding member Al Nevins assumes production duties on this LP. Roy Glover provides the creative arrangements and also composed two of the songs ("Nite Trix" and "Painted Desert"). As a big fan of Fats Waller, it's a real pleasure to hear The Three Suns tackle that old classic "Ain't Misbehavin'." For more info on this release, including the original liner notes, check out its page over at Michael David Toth's The Three Suns Universe.

The Three Suns - A Swingin' Thing (1964)
1. Sweet Georgia Brown (3:15)
2. Mean to Me (2:33)
3. African Waltz (2:13)
4. Georgia on My Mind (2:43)
5. Honeysuckle Rose (3:11)
6. A Taste of Honey (3:14)
7. Ain't Misbehavin' (3:03)
8. Sleepy Time Gal (3:03)
9. Nite Trix (2:49)
10. Ja-Da (Jada, Jada, Jing, Jing, Jing) (2:44)
11. Painted Desert (2:11)
12. Lazy River (2:15)

Shellac - Extraneous Material (1993-2000)

2007-06-22T10:29:00.002-04:00

Singer/guitarist/recording engineer (he hates the term "Producer") Steve Albini (of Big Black and Rapeman infamy) formed Shellac with drummer Todd Trainer (Rifle Sport and Brick Layer Cake) and bassist/engineer Bob Weston (Volcano Suns) in 1992. Shellac has an angular minimalist rock sound that, while vaguely reminiscent of Big Black, is totally unique. Albini's incisive lyrics are delivered in a vocal style that ranges between deadpan narrative and temper-tantrum hysteria. Steve Albini is an industry saavy analogue technician that owns his own studio (Electrical Audio) and works only on his terms. Check out his eye-opening critical essay on the music biz, "The Problem with Music" here.

Shellac are the type of band to release exclusive tracks on vinyl 45s that never appear (or appear in different form) on later album releases. There are also numerous exclusive compilation appearances. For all the members of Shellac, the band is a permanent side-project that only releases material when they see fit. On the occasion of their new album Excellent Italian Greyhound, their first official release in seven years, I thought it would be cool to compile all of these rare out-of-print non-album tracks together. The title Extranous Material just sort of popped into my head while I was trying to think of a title that wasn't totally lame.

While I have their early 7" singles, I never ripped them while I still had a turntable. This complete collection has literally taken me years to put together, pulling tracks that I've gathered from eMule, Soulseek, bittorrent bulletin boards and other full-album music blogs. I've downloaded several different encodes of every track, compared them and kept the versions with the best sound quality. Sometimes the best sounding version isn't the highest bitrate version, but so be it. For the BBC Radio One Peel Sessions and "Copper Song," I lucked out and found lossless versions that I encoded myself with LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme). The sound quality varies; most of it sounds very good to excellent and nothing really sounds bad. I added record label info to the Copyright tags and release info to the Comment tags. I also manually corrected the volume of each track using MP3Gain so that the songs play at roughly the same volume. As a final step, I also double-checked the actual record labels for exact song title information using the various scans over at Discogs.com.

Which reminds me, I'm especially proud of the cover I created for this compilation. Starting with a scan of the Uranus single, I used my "mad Photoshop skillz" to clean up the borders, remove specks, recenter the band's name, remove the stamped-on Uranus lettering and add the compilation title, matching the look of the original typeface. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. For more infomation on each of the original releases, including the fascinating story behind the Futurist single, take a peek at the excellent Action Park Shellac Discography.

Check out an unofficial fan-made music video for the album version of "Copper Song":

Shellac - Extraneous Material (1993-2000)
From The Rude Gesture (A Pictorial History) 7" [Shellac Record #1] (1993):
1. The Guy Who Invented Fire (1:37)
2. Rambler Song (2:39)
3. Billiard Player Song (3:42)
From Uranus 7" [Shellac Record #2] (1993):
4. Doris (3:10)
5. Wingwalker (5:00)
From The Bird Is the Most Popular Finger 7" [Shellac Record #3] (1994):
6. The Admiral (2:34)
7. XVI (3:41)
BBC Radio One Peel Session (Maide Vale Studios, London) (July 22, 1994):
8. Spoke (2:04)
9. Canada (2:27)
10. Crow (4:43)
11. Disgrace (2:20)
From Billiardspielerlied 7" [Shellac Record #6] (1995):
12. Billiardspielerlied (5:32)
13. Mantel (1:17)
From Ground Rule Double 2xLP Compilation (1995):
14. Copper Song (1:54)
From Sides 1-4 2x7" AC/DC Tribute Compilation [Shellac Record #7] (1996):
15. '95 Jailbreak (4:25)
From The Lounge Ax Defense & Relocation CD Compilation (1996):
16. Killers (1:25)
From Soul Sound 7" Split Release w/Mule [Shellac Record #8] (1997):
17. The Rambler Song (2:55)
From Futurist 12" (Originally Recorded for La La La Human Steps, Montreal - Recorded in Chicago & Angers, 1995) [Shellac Record #9] (1997):
18. Futurist Side 1 (14:12)
19. Futurist Side 2 (13:20)
From Agostino/The Safeword 7" Split Single w/Caesar from Barbara Stock's Sex, Drugs & Strips Comic Book [Shellac Record #12] (2000):
20. Agostino (2:26)

124.44MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant & Variable bitrate (213.2kbps average)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

The Three Suns - Twilight Memories (1960)

2007-06-22T06:47:00.004-04:00

This 1960 LP was arranged by Charles Albertine. In celebration of their 20th anniversary, The Three Suns re-recorded their most popular songs, including their first big hit "Twilight Time," but this time in Living Stereo! If you check out the cover, you'll see that this was billed by RCA Victor as the "Suns' Greatest." I'm not so sure about greatest, but it sure is great! For more info on this release, including the original liner notes, check out its page over at Michael David Toth's The Three Suns Universe.

Check out a clip of "Delicado" set to a static image:

I had originally posted a vinyl rip version of this album that was released on bootleg CD by Astro Age. It turns out that this was officially released on CD by RCA in the States in 1995 and in Germany by BMG International in 1999. As you can imagine, the official release sounds much better than the bootleg. Squeezo originally posted this excellent quality 192kbps rip of the German CD. His blog is long gone now and I've received a few requests to repost it, so here it is!

The Three Suns - Twilight Memories (1960)
1. Twilight Time (3:12)
2. Don't Take Your Love from Me (2:27)
3. Jalousie (2:36)
4. Under Paris Skies (3:05)
5. The Petite Waltz (2:38)
6. Delicado (2:51)
7. Peg o' My Heart (2:27)
8. Moonlight and Roses (2:38)
9. Arrivederci Roma (3:10)
10. Anna (3:01)
11. Jet (3:08)
12. Twilight Memories (2:42)

46.74MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (192kbps)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Johnboy - Pistolswing (1993)

2007-06-14T16:03:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot I can say about math rock outfit Johnboy, as there isn't much info about them online. I saw them open for Zeni Geva at The Boiler Room in scenic New Britain, CT way back in 1993. That was one hell of a show. It's a good thing I brought ear plugs with me...

Based out of Austin, Texas, Johnboy were signed to Trance Syndicate, a local label co-founded by Butthole Surfers' drummer King Coffey. Johnboy are a heavy trio with a sound that reminds me most of Steve Albini's Shellac. They only released one more album, 1994's Claim Dedications, before splitting. They're well worth checking out if you enjoy complex noise rock.

Johnboy - Pistolswing (1993)
1. Admiration (3:40)
2. Sourmouth (4:47)
3. Sunday Two (3:29)
4. Pistol Swing (2:38)
5. Hold (2:25)
6. Freestanding (3:31)
7. New Jersey Roadbase (3:41)
8. Yellow (5:26)
9. I (3:47)

64.55MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (269.3kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Chris Haskett - Language (1995)

2007-06-06T13:51:00.002-04:00

Guitarist (and photographer) Chris Haskett started his professional music career in 1977 as a member of The Enzymes. After leaving DC to relocate to Leeds, England in 1982, he formed Surfin Dave and the Absent Legends with Surfin Dave, Dave Coleman, Jez Willis and Mick Green. Mick Green and Chris Haskett hooked up with Henry Rollins to record Rollins' Hot Animal Machine LP and Drive By Shooting EP in 1987. Mick Green split, but they picked up the rhythm section from Greg Ginn's instrumental group Gone. With Andrew Weiss on bass and Sim Cain on drums, Chris Haskett and Henry Rollins formed Rollins Band, one of the greatest live rock bands of all time.

After releasing several incredible albums, including the seminal Life Time in 1987, the sonic assault Hard Volume in 1987 and the crossover success The End of Silence in 1992, Haskett released his first solo album, Language, in 1995. I could describe the sound of the album, but Haskett does a better job describing it himself at his web site:

"It was recorded all over the place at different times and mixed on the fly. It's deliberately what I might call "unfriendly-psychedelic" and its overall sound is shaped by a lack of audio fidelity and consistency. It's mostly acoustic and very, very angular-warpy. It's what the inside of my head sounds like. Overall it's a kind of a collision between John Fahey and John McLaughlin sprinkled liberally with my lack of the technique of either of these giants of my universe. (Hence the meant-as-tribute-track "J.F.'s cat sits in the sunshine")."

Underground guitar hero Rowland S. Howard (of The Birthday Party, These Immortal Souls and solo releases) sits in for some "enhanced duets" on tracks 2 through 5. There is also viola work by John Benskin and cello work by Adrienne Gifford. This wild album also features the voices (not vocals) of Tom Berard, Joe Cole, J.M. Conroy, Carla Petschek, Henry Rollins, Kate Samworth, Nicky Thomas, Tina Van Der Stratten "and a lot of strangers than fiction."

Chris Haskett went on to release two other solo albums in 1997 and 2002. He's also worked on and off with rolling collective Pigface and also with David Bowie on his Hours album. Most recently, he's released another solo album The Return of the Geary Act! under the name DJ Linux in 2004. If you enjoy his more conventional rock guitar work in Rollins Band or if you enjoyed my Guitarrorists posting, then you'll probably find this interesting. This album was released in 1995 on Rollins' 2.13.61 label and re-released by Thirsty Ear in 1996. This is a rip of the original 1995 release. Also, be sure to check out Chris Haskett's MySpace page.

Chris Haskett - Language (1995)
1. Rumour (4:55)
2. Spider Mother (2:15)
3. Mr. Twisty Wants His Car Wreck (3:05)
4. Days in a Lifeboat (2:55)
5. Invisible Western (3:24)
6. Angular Piece (2:34)
7. Lost Dog (2:11)
8. Railroad Piece (3:07)
9. Samael (1:03)
10. John's Cat Sits in the Sunshine (1:39)
11. Berlin Alley Soundtrack (4:08)
12. Tina's Penguin Fiancé (2:33)
13. Retail (2:56)
14. Language (4:35)
15. The Unanswered Question (6:22)
16. Be Thankful (1:09)
17. Translation (2:01)

80.84MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (221.2kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Cornelius - 69/96 (1995)

2007-05-25T10:03:00.002-04:00

Okay, here's where things start to get crazy. Cornelius moves even further away from his more pop-oriented roots with this second album 69/96. I've always felt that the Japanese perspective is unique. It's particularly fascinating when this lens is focused on Western music. To lack the baggage of being born and living in Western society can lead to a creativity that is free of a reference point. I see this in the crazy 70s metal take of "Heavy Metal Thunder," to the warped psychedelia of "How Do You Feel?" to the breakbeat electronica sound of "Volunteer Ape Man (Disco)." I suppose it's the style jumping and collage mentality that inspires most critics to compare Cornelius to Beck. I've never been very comfortable with this, though; for my money, Cornelius' work is much more interesting and consistent, heck, it's simply better.

Check out the music video for "Moon Walk":

Cornelius cohort Kahimi Karie lends her syrupy sweet vocals to the opening intro track and to "69/96 Girl Meets Cassette." Check out this clip from a variety show on Japanese channel NHK where they appear together to lip-sync "Moon Walk" and "69/96 Girl Meets Cassette." Love that theremin:

This is another album I grabbed from the excellent bittorrent tracker JPOPSUKI. Most rips of this Trattoria rarity stop at track 15. Tracks 16 through 68 are an ocean soundscape replete with cawing seagulls. Track 69 is a short track called "World's End Humming." Tracks 70 through 95 are digital silence and, finally, track 96 is another short track called "Welcome to the Jungle." All of this track finagling was done presumably to create music tracks 69 and 96 to fit the concept of the album title. Although I haven't mentioned it before, I always use mpTrim Pro to strip the digital silence from the beginning and end of all my MP3 tracks, whether I encode them myself or download it elsewhere. So, after stripping the silence, I used MP3 Splitter & Joiner to merge tracks 16 through 68 into one 4:08 track. For lack of a better title, I called this new joined track "16-68."

If you enjoy this album, be sure to check out Cornelius' in-print third and fourth albums, 1998's Fantasma and 2002's Point. Both are absolutely incredible. Fantasma is generally considered the apex, but I personally prefer Point for its razor-sharp production values and completely unique sound. Speaking of which, if you get a chance to watch Cornelius' DVD video collection for Point (called Five Point One), do it. The album is aggressively remixed into full 5.1 surround sound and the imagery is completely mind-blowing. 2006's Sensuous is, unfortunately, a fairly mediocre album. But still, even mediocre Cornelius sits at a fairly high quality level and is worth checking out.

Cornelius - 69/96 (1995)
1. 69/96 A Space Odyssey ~Prelude (In Atami) (1:19)
2. Moon Walk (5:31)
3. Brand New Season (5:18)
4. Volunteer Ape Man (Disco) (5:26)
5. 1969 (Case of Monsieur Kamayatsu) (0:21)
6. How Do You Feel? (5:47)
7. 1969 (4:25)
8. Last Night in Africa (5:10)
9. 1996 (1:03)
10. Blow My Mind (3:19)
11. 69/96 Girl Meets Cassette (4:17)
12. Concerto No. 3 From the Four Seasons (Pink Bloody Sabbath) (1:03)
13. Heavy Metal Thunder (5:54)
14. Rock/96 (7:16)
15. World's End Humming ~Reprise (In Hawaii) (2:27)
16. 16-68 (4:08)
69. World's End Humming (0:33)
96. Welcome to the Jungle (1:18)

111.09MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (239.6kbps average)
Exact Audio Copy w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Cornelius - The First Question Award (1994)

2007-05-21T15:41:00.002-04:00

Following the dissolution of Japanese pop duo sensation Flipper's Guitar in 1993, Keigo Oyamada decided to go solo. A virtual one man band, Keigo decided to release records under the moniker Cornelius as an homage to the memorable character from Planet of the Apes.

This first full-length is a breezy and melodic album, self-released on the now-defunct Trattoria label. It runs all over the place sound-wise, but is still enjoyably cohesive. It serves as a good transition from the shibuya-kei sound of Flipper's Guitar to the crazy genre mish-mash material that followed. It's that later material that turned Cornelius into a Japanese superstar. On top of that, Cornelius is a highly sought after remix artist, the results of which often turn a tune inside out, while branding it with a sound that is distinctly recognizable.

As a bonus, I've included three extra tracks from Cornelius' first release, 1993's Holidays in the Sun E.P. I found both of these a while back at bittorrent tracker JPOPSUKI. Two of the five tracks from the Holidays in the Sun E.P. also appear on The First Question Award. I replaced the first track with the higher bitrate encode, but didn't do so with "Raise Your Hand Together" because the E.P. version actually fades out 15 seconds sooner than the LP version!

Check out the music video for Cornelius' "Theme from First Question Award." This live clip with his touring band unfortunately doesn't give the best sense of what the album sounds like, but is still pretty cool:

Cornelius - The First Question Award (1994)
1. The Sun Is My Enemy (5:49)
2. (You Can't Always Get) What You Want (4:00)
3. Silent Snow Stream (6:32)
4. Perfect Rainbow (4:20)
5. Bad Moon Rising (5:28)
6. Cannabis (4:36)
7. Raise Your Hand Together (6:01)
8. The Back Door to Heaven (6:27)
9. Theme from First Question Award (1:11)
10. The Love Parade (3:33)
11. Moon Light Story (4:08)
From Holidays in the Sun E.P. CD5 (1993):
12. Raise Your Hand Together (320 Light Years Mix) (6:43)
13. Diamond Bossa (Featuring The Cornelius Swindle Sisters) (3:20)
14. The Sun Is My Enemy (Sunset Boo-goo-loo Mix) (5:28)

103.41MB RAR archive
MP3: (10x) Constant bitrate (192kbps)
iTunes 4.9 w/FhG &
(4x) Variable bitrate (259.6kbps average)
Exact Audio Copy w/LAME 3.96 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Duke Ellington - Orchestral Works (1970)

2007-05-17T13:30:00.003-04:00

Erich Kunzel conducts The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in this 1970 recording. This album stands as one of the more successful attempts to merge jazz and orchestral music. This kind of thing has the potential to go horribly wrong. It manages to mostly avoid the "cheese" trap, due in part to Duke Ellington's direct involvement. He contributes beautiful piano work throughout and the rhythm section, brought forward a bit more than you'd expect, is very strong.

When this album was released on CD in 1989, five bonus tracks of "Poetic Commentary" by Duke Ellington himself were added. They fit in nicely and do a lot to explain the context of the pieces, without pulling you out of the mood that the original album tracks create.

While not directly related, check out this cool TV commercial for Zenith's Dual Dimension Circle of Sound, from 1970, the same year this album was released, that stars the man himself, Duke Ellington:

Duke Ellington - Orchestral Works (1970)
1. Poetic Commentary A (1:38)
2. New World A'Coming (11:16)
3. Poetic Commentary B (2:32)
4. Harlem (14:14)
5. Poetic Commentary C (1:27)
6. Stanza 1: The Golden Broom (10:15)
7. Poetic Commentary D (1:16)
8. Stanza 2: The Green Apple (4:26)
9. Poetic Commentary E (1:29)
10. Stanza 3: The Handsome Traffic Policeman (5:56)

91.42MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (233.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

The Geraldine Fibbers - Butch (1997)

2007-05-15T09:47:00.002-04:00

Between the release of their first album Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home and Butch, their second and final album, guitarist Daniel Keenan left The Geraldine Fibbers. This left a hole in the band that was ably filled by improv guitar god Nels Cline. The difference this makes in the band's sound is evident almost immediately. Some of the songs have a harder and more aggressive sound than anything we'd heard previously. Other songs show the band stretching musically. Their condensing of Can's epic "You Doo Right" is incredible. Check out the music video for "California Tuffy," which in a sane world would have been a hit, but wasn't:

Label problems caused tensions that contributed to their break-up. There has been talk for years that this is merely a hiatus and that the band may eventually reform, but so far this hasn't happened and at this point seems unlikely. In 1998, Carla Bozulich and Nels Cline formed Scarnella, a two-piece improvisational noise outfit that toured and managed one release. Carla has also appeared in numerous other side projects, including an album with Ches Smith (still unreleased) and The Night Porter, along with releasing a few solo albums. Nels has released several solo and collaborative albums and is now a member of Wilco. Drummer Kevin Fitzgerald plays with singer/songwriter Eleni Mandell and is also a member of The Circle Jerks.

The Geraldine Fibbers - Butch (1997)
1. California Tuffy (3:16)
2. Toybox (3:11)
3. I Killed the Cuckoo (2:09)
4. Trashman in Furs (3:40)
5. Swim Back to Me (3:23)
6. Seven or in 10 (2:23)
7. Claudine (2:17)
8. Folks Like Me (3:28)
9. Pet Angel (3:36)
10. Butch (6:07)
11. Arrow to My Drunken Eye (2:28)
12. You Doo Right (5:19)
13. The Dwarf Song (5:08)
14. Heliotrope (6:07)

86.69MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (229.8kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Video Is Go!

2007-05-05T13:07:00.002-04:00

I've been wanting to add video clips to Psychotic Leisure Music for some time now. As I'm sure most of you are aware, there is a nearly endless variety of clips available online these days. YouTube and Google Video seem to have the largest selection available, with an easy option to embed their clips wherever you like. So I've gone through my old posts and spent a bit of time searching, viewing and searching some more, adding relevant clips here as I found them (twenty-four of them, in fact!).

A bit of technical information for those interested. No matter what the original resolution of a video file is, once uploaded to YouTube or Google Video, it is automatically re-encoded into FLV format with a resolution of 320x240. If you view a video clip directly on YouTube or Google Video's home page, there are controls which allow you to adjust the video size, the smallest and sharpest of which is the native resolution of 320x240. I hate the fact that when you look at embedded YouTube or Google Video clips offsite, they're always "blown up" and fuzzy looking. These embedded video clips don't have any sizing controls, so you can't "fix" it. Looking at the html code that they provide for you to use to embed a video clip, I discovered that, by default, the size of the player control increases the resolution of the clips on YouTube by 33% and on Google Video by 25%. This just takes the same amount of infomation and spreads it over a larger space. I wanted the video clips to be displayed here in their native resolution of 320x240. The player window will take up less space this way and the video clips will look better. I couldn't just change the numbers in the html code to make the player control have a width of 320 pixels and height of 240 pixels, though. The trick here in correcting the size was that I had to compensate for the control bar placed at the bottom of the video player window. After a bit of messing around capturing screens and counting pixel dimensions, I figured out that I needed to pad the height of YouTube clips by 28 pixels (320x268) and Google Video clips by 27 pixels (320x267) to make them display the video clips themselves in their native resolution of 320x240. DailyMotion clips need to be padded by 24 pixels (320x264). The Yahoo! Music player needs to be padded by 30 pixels (320x270).

Whew! Anyhow, enjoy the improved Psychotic Leisure Music! Comments, as always, are encouraged!

The Geraldine Fibbers - Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home (1995)

2007-05-03T08:34:00.002-04:00

Carla Bozulich formed The Geraldine Fibbers after the demise of alt-dancefloor outfit Ethyl Meatplow. Generally termed an "alt-country" band, this label has always seemed limiting to me, considering the broad range of their sound. Ah, Carla. Can you fall in love with a voice? Is that possible? Carla's voice has a throaty fragility. There's a quality and allure there that's difficult to convey. The music is tight and the songs tell stories: the dream narrative of "Lillybelle," the nostalgic wistfulness of "Marmalade," the junkie redemption of "A Song About Walls." Brilliant. I've listened to this CD countless times over the years. If it's unfamiliar, you really owe it to yourself to check it out; they're possibly the greatest band you've never heard.

Check out the music video for "Dragon Lady":

The album was produced by Steve Fisk. Carla also has a MySpace page. As a bonus, I've included the two b-sides from the Dragon Lady CD5 issued in England.

The Geraldine Fibbers - Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home (1995)
1. Lilybelle (4:52)
2. The Small Song (3:29)
3. Marmalade (5:08)
4. Dragon Lady (4:48)
5. A Song About Walls (4:17)
6. House Is Falling (4:22)
7. Outside of Town (4:56)
8. The French Song (6:03)
9. Dusted (2:40)
10. Richard (5:22)
11. Blast Off Baby (4:08)
12. Get Thee Gone (6:33)
From Dragon Lady CD5 (1995):
13. Bitter Honey (2:01)
14. Birthday Boy (3:06)

111.11MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (250.4kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Chris Jensen - Half-Life: Opposing Force (1999)

2007-04-24T07:54:00.002-04:00

In 1999, Gearbox Software released an add-on for the original Half-Life called Half-Life: Opposing Force. While Kelly Bailey created the music for the first Half-Life and, eventually, later entries in the series, Chris Jensen created the music for this "mission pack." The soundtrack was reused when Gearbox Software released Half-Life: Blue Shift, a complete stand-alone adventure that didn't require the original Half-Life CD-ROM to play.

While the music is not as dynamic or varied as Kelly Bailey's original soundtrack, this is an atmospheric and spooky bit of work, with some tracks featuring an interesting military dance vibe. When Half-Life: Blue Shift was released in 2001, it also included Half-Life: Opposing Force as a bonus. Unfortunately, possibly due to a mastering error, the audio track "Fright" was inadvertently not included. The tracklist order on Half-Life: Blue Shift was also changed. Half-Life: Opposing Force has more recently been ported to Steam as part of the Valve Complete Pack, but for some reason Chris Jensen's original soundtrack has been dropped. This is the original tracklist order from the first release of Half-Life: Opposing Force and includes that missing track. The music was formatted on the PC CD-ROM as CD-Audio.

Chris Jensen - Half-Life: Opposing Force (1999)
1. Scientific Proof (0:15)
2. Orbit (0:46)
3. Name (1:50)
4. Listen (0:15)
5. Fright (0:58)
6. Storm (1:36)
7. Trample (1:16)
8. Bust (1:46)
9. The Beginning (2:05)
10. Lost in Thought (1:19)
11. Danger Rises (1:14)
12. Soothing Antagonist (1:25)
13. Run (0:51)
14. Open the Valve (1:22)
15. Tunnel (1:24)
16. Chamber (1:31)
17. Maze (0:57)
18. Alien Forces (1:14)
19. Planet (1:30)

38.00MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (228.8kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Jazz-Club: Vocal (1952-1965)

2007-04-19T11:21:00.003-04:00

Back when I was 19 years old and just out of high school, I had a fun job in downtown Hartford with a great boss named Joe Bascetta. I worked at The Pelican, which had two locations. The upscale store on Main Street carried clothes and accessories for punks, ravers, freaky conservatives and alternative-types in general. The location on Park Street, on the other hand, did carry clothing, but did most of its business in "tobacco" paraphernalia, sex toys and martial arts weapons. I worked three days a week at Main Street and two on Park Street. Park Street was rough back then. I used to take the city bus into work each day. On the job, I was constantly surrounded by a fascinating group of people: insurance types, drag queens, clubbers, artists, junkies, you name it. The Main Street location is closed now and the Park Street location is now a tattoo shop.

Joe Bascetta is a cool cat. In the seventies, he lived in New York City, where he and his wife made and sold platform shoes. In fact, David Bowie is wearing a pair of his in the "Ashes to Ashes" video. New York Dolls member David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter) was the best man at his wedding. He's the kind of guy to wear a $1000 suit over a worn-out $20 Izod shirt. Anyway, working there was a blast.

We used to loosely rotate among the employees what music was played. Almost nothing was off-limits. Joe loved to play Fine Young Cannibals (I was already a big fan) and the Jazz-Club: Vocal compilation that Verve had released that year in 1989. I had a passing familiarity with jazz from the 20s and 30s; I had bought a comp or two and knew enough to know that I loved Fats Waller. This, however, was my first exposure to vocal jazz from the 50s and 60s. And what an introduction it was! Nearly every track is an absolute gem! In the 18 years since, I've listened to this literally hundreds of times.

This type of jazz is probably under the radar for many of my regular visitors here. Many of my favorite jazz vocalists are here, all performing absolute standards. In the 30s and 40s, jazz was mainstream and was the current "popular music." When rock 'n' roll came along in the 50s, pop music changed. But all of those great singers and players from that earlier era kept working and kept performing. There was a resurgence in popularity of this type of traditional vocal jazz during the mid-50s and into the mid-60s, most notably from the likes of Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack and Louis Prima. Some would argue (like me), that, within the context of its somewhat more modernized setting, the form reached it peak during this period.

If the names here are unknown to you or you only vaguely recognize some, then you really need to give this a shot! There is something wonderful to be found here. If you already love this type of music and don't already have this compilation, then you definitely need this! It's essential. A word of warning, though: the first track can be a bit off-putting if you're unfamiliar with Ella Fitzgerald's unique, almost stream of consciousness vocalese. Don't let that throw you. You may eventually learn to appreciate it and, down the road, maybe even love it. In the meantime, if it bugs you, just click past it. I've placed what recording details were available in the comment field.

Check out this live clip of Ella Fitzgerald from 1957 performing "Air Mail Special":

Check out this live clip of Joe Williams with Count Basie & His Orchestra performing "Alright, O.K. You Win":

Jazz-Club: Vocal (1952-1965)
1. Ella Fitzgerald - Air Mail Special [1956] (4:07)
2. Billie Holiday - Stormy Weather [1952] (3:41)
3. Sarah Vaughan - He's My Guy [1954] (4:09)
4. Anita O'Day - S'Wonderful / They Can't Take That Away from Me [1957] (2:55)
5. Dinah Washington - Back Water Blues [1958] (5:00)
6. Astrud Gilberto - One Note Samba [1964] (3:15)
7. Nina Simone - The Other Woman [1964] (3:00)
8. Carmen McRae - The Very Thought of You [1960] (2:31)
9. Louis Armstrong - On the Sunny Side of the Street [1956] (3:28)
10. Jack Teagarden - Mis'ry and the Blues [1961] (5:19)
11. Jimmy Rushing - Evenin' [1957] (3:35)
12. Mel Tormé - Take the "A" Train [1960] (2:50)
13. Joe Williams - Alright, O.K. You Win [1955] (2:48)
14. Billy Eckstine - St. Louis Blues Part 1 & 2 [1953] (6:20)
15. Jon Hendricks - Stockholm Sweetnin' [1965] (3:45)
16. Dave Lambert - Donna Lee [1965] (2:49)

83.87MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (195.9kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

REDO #2: Sonic Mayhem - Quake II (1997)

2007-04-17T11:02:00.003-04:00

Okay, maybe the third time will be a charm. Because of a nagging suspicion that the Rob Zombie theme music must be somewhere on the disc, I discovered a way to extract the audio from the cut scenes. This led to the addition of three tracks to the compilation. I promise, no more redos!

The story goes that when id Software brought in Trent Reznor to do the music for Quake, they were hoping for something that sounded more like industrial rock, something more like, well, Nine Inch Nails. Whether this story is apocryphal or not is immaterial, as Sonic Mayhem delivered the goods for Quake II. The driving hard rock/metal guitars perfectly complement the adrenaline rush gameplay of Quake II.

A note from Sonic Mayhem's official webpage: "We produced all the level music for this release...Eight were put on the original Quake II game. Some of the other tracks were used for the mission packs...The only actual new track we wrote was an all new "Orchestral/Industrial" style theme track for Rogue Entertainment's Quake II mission pack." In putting this compilation together, I used the PC CD-ROM discs for Quake II (1997), Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning (1998) and Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero (1998).

In this time period, the most convenient way to add music to a PC game was to sequence the music as normal CD-Audio. If you pop one of these older PC games into your CD player, the background music plays. That makes it very simple to rip the audio. Games today have the music embedded in more advanced ways so that it is not as easily accessible.

All well and good, but who created the music for the last two tracks on Quake II? Sonic Mayhem don't claim credit for them and they don't sound like anything else on the discs. After some online research, it turns out that the industrial dance "Climb" is by musician/sound designer Jer Sypult (aka Jeremiah Sypult). A post on a German Unreal forum pointed to composer Bill Brown's web page. Sure enough, he has two downloadable tracks for Quake II available. One is "Showdown," which is labeled generically as "Ambient," plus, as a nice bonus, an unreleased track called "Intro," a 1:03 orchestral cue from the game's opening intro movie!

There has been a bit of talk online about Rob Zombie contributing music to this soundtrack. This has bugged me because his music doesn't appear on the PC CD-ROM as CD-Audio. In scanning through the directory structure of the CD-ROM, I discovered a bunch of .cin files. It turns out that this is a specialized audio/video file format container created by id Software. I found a program online called Total Video Converter that, among other things, allows audio and/or video conversion of these .cin files. There are eleven .cin files on the CD-ROM. Eight of them are short computer dialogue bits with no music. One is the id Software opening logo sound. The final two are "ntro.cin" and "end.cin". "ntro" runs 3:30 and is the opening movie, which features quite a bit of panicked dialogue. Underneath the dialogue I can hear Bill Brown's "Showdown," which segues into that "Intro" track from his web page. Running for the last 1:15, however, is a bit of cinematic-sounding guitar music I don't recognize. As it sounds different than the music of Sonic Mayhem or Bill Brown, I have to conclude that this is Rob Zombie's theme music contribution. The music in "end.cin" runs :52 and sounds to me like an additional Bill Brown music cue. The audio in these .cin files was stored as uncompressed PCM audio with a 22,050Hz sample rate (half that of normal CD-Audio). I used Total Video Converter to losslessly extract the audio to .wav and then used Audiograbber to convert to .mp3. I sequenced the various audio tracks in what seemed the most logical way. I've made the assumption that Sonic Mayhem created the id Software logo music.

Check out the intro cut scene for Quake II:

Each of the two Quake II Mission Packs contains ten CD-Audio tracks, five of which are new. "One Bloodbath" on Ground Zero is identical to "Crashed Up Again" from The Reckoning, so it's not included. I apologize to the folks that took the time to download this previously, but, hopefully, with this third revision, I've finally created the ultimate Quake II soundtrack compilation!

Quake II (1997)
Extracted from "idlog.cin" on Quake II PC CD-ROM (1997):
1. Sonic Mayhem - id Logo (0:05)
Unreleased from Bill Brown's web site (1997):
2. Bill Brown - Intro (1:03)
Extracted from "ntro.cin" on Quake II PC CD-ROM (1997):
3. Bill Brown / Rob Zombie - Ntro (3:30)
CD-Audio from Quake II PC CD-ROM (1997):
4. Sonic Mayhem - Operation Overlord (3:28)
5. Sonic Mayhem - Rage (2:17)
6. Sonic Mayhem - Kill Ratio (2:32)
7. Sonic Mayhem - March of the Stroggs (2:51)
8. Sonic Mayhem - The Underworld (2:34)
9. Sonic Mayhem - Quad Machine (3:34)
10. Sonic Mayhem - Big Gun (3:03)
11. Sonic Mayhem - Descent into Cerberon (2:35)
12. Jer Sypult - Climb (1:59)
13. Bill Brown - Showdown (2:00)
Extracted from "end.cin" on Quake II PC CD-ROM (1997):
14. Bill Brown - End (0:52)
CD-Audio from Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning PC CD-ROM (1998):
15. Sonic Mayhem - Gravity Well (2:33)
16. Sonic Mayhem - Counter Attack (3:10)
17. Sonic Mayhem - Stealth Frag (2:57)
18. Sonic Mayhem - Crashed Up Again (2:54)
19. Sonic Mayhem - Adrenaline Junkie (2:50)
CD-Audio from Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero PC CD-ROM (1998):
20. Sonic Mayhem - ETF (2:53)
21. Sonic Mayhem - Complex 13 (2:56)
22. Sonic Mayhem - Pressure Point 1 (3:01)
23. Sonic Mayhem - Pressure Point 2 (2:26)
24. Sonic Mayhem - Ground Zero (4:33)

93.84MB RAR archive
MP3: (1x) Constant bitrate (160kbps) &
(23x) Variable bitrate (209.5kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

René Halkett & David J - Nothing . Armour (1981)

2007-04-07T14:22:00.002-04:00

While still a member of the pre-eminent gothic rock band Bauhaus, David J had the brilliant idea to collaborate with René Halkett, artist/poet of the Weimar Bauhaus art school in the 1920s.

On July 28th, 1980, David took a trip to René's cottage in Cornwall. Using a portable cassette recorder, he recorded an 80 year old René reciting his own poetry. In 1981, David added musical accompaniment to two of the poems and released them as a one-off single for 4AD.

I stumbled across this valuable single at a record convention when I was 19 or so. I think I paid four bucks. My buddy has his turntable set up for ripping vinyl to his computer. Before heading over there, I figured I'd look on Soulseek to see if someone had beat me to it. I found the two tracks, plus three extras!

It turns out that in 2001 this single was rereleased as a Silver Anniversary CD, signed and numbered, limited to only 1000 copies. The two original tracks, "Nothing" and "Armour," are remastered and then followed by a newer track, presumably circa 2001. "The New God" is a longer narrative piece that was also recorded that day in 1980. In a fitting touch, David created the music with the help of a lute that he inherited from René when he passed away in 1983. As a final bonus, the original spoken word cassette recordings of "Nothing" and "Armour" are included. Although David's surname appears here as Jay, for consistency's sake I've tagged his name as David J, the name he's used for all subsequent releases in his career.

René Halkett & David J - Nothing . Armour (1981)
1. René Halkett / David J - Nothing (2:22)
2. René Halkett / David J - Armour (2:50)
3. René Halkett / David J - The New God (13:23)
4. René Halkett - Nothing (2:26)
5. René Halkett - Armour (2:53)

43.93MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (256kbps w/LAME)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

2007-04-02T11:58:00.003-04:00

Update 06/21/2010: I've recently discovered that the folks behind the documentary Autopsy of the Dead have released They Won't Stay Dead: Music from the Soundtrack of Night of the Living Dead. This new soundtrack release features 40 tracks, remastered direct from the original library vinyl. If you're interested in owning the soundtrack to this seminal horror classic, than you should go buy it! Accordingly, I've removed the share I was presenting here.

When George A. Romero's zombie classic Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968, its straightforward documentary style and gruesome black-and-white imagery shocked audiences. It was perhaps the first time that such a fantastic concept was handled in such a realistic manner. It's a completely effective film that is a must-see for everyone, not just horror or genre fans.

Check out the theatrical trailer for Night of the Living Dead:

Shot on a shoe-string budget in Pittsburgh, PA, this production didn't have the luxury of hiring a composer to create a soundtrack. Instead they used library music. Library music generally consists of various soundtrack cues created by production houses to be used in movies, TV shows, commercials, whatever and pressed to vinyl. By purchasing the record itself, you are paying for the right to use any of the cues or background music in your production. Using pre-produced library music was a cost-effective way to add production value. These limited run library music LPs have become sought-after collectibles. There are several full-album music blogs online that offer rips of library music vinyl. They're well worth pursuing as the music is often quite eclectic, particularly as you enter the late-60s and early-70s.

The filmmakers for Night of the Living Dead went with cues from Capital Hi-Q 1950's Production Music Library. In 1982, Varèse Sarabande compiled the various cues used, added some dialogue bits and released it as an LP soundtrack. This has never seen an official CD release. I grabbed this excellent vinyl rip off Usenet years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of who did the rip (or they didn't say), but I did place the following info in the "Encoder" tag: Vinyl Rip - Sound Forge 5 w/Vinyl Restoration - Lame 3.88. The original poster went a little overboard encoding these single-channel mono MP3 files at 192kbps, but I appreciate the desire to keep the quality as high as possible.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
1. Spencer Moore - Driveway to the Cemetary (Main Title) (2:18)
2. William Loose / Loose-Seeley - At the Gravesite / Flight / Refuge (3:42)
3. George Hormel - Farmhouse / First Approach (1:17)
4. Ib Glindemann - Ghoulash (JR's Demise) (3:29)
5. George Hormel / Loose-Seeley / Ib Glindemann - Boarding Up (2:59)
6. Phil Green / George Hormel - First Radio Report / Torch on the Porch (2:26)
7. George Hormel - Boarding Up 2 / Discovery: Gun 'n Ammo (2:07)
8. Spencer Moore - Cleaning House (1:35)
9. Ib Glindemann - First Advance (2:41)
10. George Hormel / Jack Meakin - Discovery of TV / Preparing to Escape / Tom and Judy (4:19)
11. George Hormel - Attempted Escape (1:30)
12. George Hormel / Karl Hardman - Truck on Fire / Ben Attacks Harry / Leg of Leg (3:39)
13. George Hormel - Beat 'Em or Burn 'Em / Final Advance (2:51)
14. Karl Hardman / Spencer Moore - Helen's Death / Dawn / Posse in the Fields / Ben Awakes (3:05)
15. Spencer Moore - OK Vince / Funeral Pyre (End Title) (1:08)

REDO: Sonic Mayhem - Quake II (1997)

2007-04-02T10:45:00.000-04:00

Disregard this post and check out my third and final revision here.

Ween - Push th' Little Daisies (1992)

2007-03-29T16:54:00.002-04:00

I love Ween. It's music made by two wildly skilled and imaginative musicians looking to skewer, mock and pay tribute to "rock music" of every conceivable type. It's often hilarious, bewildering, yet earnest, all at the same time. If you're unfamiliar with Dean and Gene Ween's peculiar brand of music, it's definitely worth checking out. No, they're not really brothers and those aren't their real names. Their names are as fictional as the world they live in, worshipping the embodiment of good and evil, their god Boognish.

I've been wanting to post some Ween here at PLM for a while, but, alas, all of their albums are in-print. Wait, that's a good thing! Buy some, enjoy them and then buy some more! I discovered Ween when I was working at my University's radio station as a DJ (you'll never guess what my show was called). There was a promo only CD-single for "Push th' Little Daisies," a song off their incredible major label debut Pure Guava. It's still my favorite album of theirs, although they're all good if you approach each with the mindset that it's going to be different than the last. More bands should produce music this way.

Check out the music video for "Push th' Little Daisies":

There was a hilarious song on that promo-only single called "I Smoke Some Grass (Really Really High)." I don't know how many times I played that song on my show. In fact, all of the "b-sides" on this single are every bit as good as the tracks on the Pure Guava album itself. I never did find my own copy of that promo-only single, but most of the other tracks ended up on the CD-single issued in the UK, all except for my favorite! I managed to find that UK single used and, eventually, I located the track on an excellent four disc bootleg called B-Sides, Demos, & Rarities.

Speaking of which, since I decided to post this single, I thought I should post the additional non-album tracks that I have from this time period. This includes two tracks from the I'm Fat single, three tracks from the Sky Cruiser single, including one that only appeared on the promo version of that single and one track from the Christmas compilation A Merry Little Christmas. I pulled all of these additional tracks from that four disc bootleg, except for the Sky Cruiser promo-only track "Cover It with Gas and Set It on Fire," which I found using Soulseek.

Ween - Push th' Little Daisies (1992)
From Push th' Little Daisies CD5 (1992):
1. Push th' Little Daisies (2:48)
2. Mango Woman (2:22)
3. Puerto Rican Power (Pts. 1&2) (2:43)
4. Ode to René (2:20)
From Push th' Little Daisies Promo CD5 (1992):
5. I Smoke Some Grass (Really Really High) (7:45)
From I'm Fat 7" (1992):
6. I'm Fat (1:31)
7. I'm Fat (Remix) (2:08)
From Sky Cruiser 7" (1992):
8. Sky Cruiser (2:44)
9. Cruise Control (Sky Cruiser Remix) (4:18)
From Sky Cruiser Promo CD5 (1992):
10. Cover It with Gas and Set It on Fire (3:10)
From A Merry Little Christmas Compilation CD (1992):
11. Silent Night (1:38)

53.92MB RAR archive
MP3: (1x) Constant Bitrate (192kbps) &
(10x) Variable bitrate (227.1kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

DIME '93 "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Day (1993)

2007-03-17T09:58:00.006-04:00

Tom Waits recently released a thematic three-disc set of non-album tracks, rarities and new material called Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards. I figured his rare rendition of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was a lock for inclusion. No luck. Even without this track, it's still full of his best material in a decade-and-a-half. 2002's excellent Alice doesn't count because that material was originally written for Robert Wilson's 1992 play.

Remembering that track reminded me of the DIME '93 "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Day CD, on which its made its only appearance. Released exclusively as a promo to radio stations in 1993 to raise awareness (and funds) for The National Coalition for the Homeless, this is a fascinating compilation of renditions of the E. Yip Harburg/Jay Gorney depression-era classic "Brother, Can You Spare a Time?" The artists featured are a varied bunch that really run the gamut and cover nearly every time period since the track was composed: four tracks from the 30s, one from the 50s, four from the 60s, six from the 70s, two from the 80s and three from the 90s.

DJs were encouraged to play tracks from this CD all during the month of November, focusing on the 18th, to be known as Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Day. They were also asked to read an on-air public service announcement or, alternately, play the spoken word promo as read by either Phil Donahue or Sally Jessy Raphael.

An excerpt from the CD booklet, written by Deena Rosenberg Harburg, Chair, Music Theatre Program, New York University (8/93):

The National Coalition for the Homeless is a federation of individuals, local service agencies, and national organizations committed to the principle that homelessness must be ended and that decent, affordable housing, living wage, and basic health care are fundamental rights of all Americans. The NCH is a non-profit organization governed by a 75-member board of directors, representing 47 states and territories. Approximately 1/5 of the board members are homeless or formerly homeless persons.

BACKGROUND: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", with lyrics by Yip Harburg and music by Jay Gorney, was written in 1932 during the Great Depression for the Broadway musical revue Americana. The song immediately became "a ballad of the Depression," in Variety's words, and swept the nation, remaining on the top ten list through records by Bing Crosby and others. The song even helped elect Roosevelt. The song's poignant, minor melody and brilliantly crafted, timely lyrics, spoke deeply to millions about millions. It still does, throughout the world.

Gorney, the composer, a Russian immigrant, put universal feelings of pain into the music which cries out with Harburg's words, the "baffling plaint" of the oppressed. The Dime song was Harburg's first classic; he went on to write the lyrics to The Wizard of Oz (music by Harold Arlen) and Broadway's classic satiric fantasy, Finian's Rainbow (music by Burton Lane).

"I grew up when America had a dream," Harburg said. "In 1930, the dream collapsed. The system fell apart...What happened? We were baffled, bewildered," and the unemployed/homeless man sang:

They used to tell me
I was building a dream
And so I followed the mob
When there was earth to plow
Or guns to bear
I was always there
Right on the job

They used to tell me
I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing in line
Just waiting for bread?

Once I built a railroad,
Made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad
Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once I built a tower
To the sun
Brick and rivet and lime
Once I built a tower
Now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits
Gee, we looked swell
Full of that yankee doodle-de-dum
Half a million boots
Went sloggin' thru Hell
I was the kid with the drum

Say, don't you remember
They called me "Al"
It was "Al" all the time
Say, don't you remember
I'm your pal
Buddy, can you spare a dime?

"Harburg identified with the common man as passionately and persuasively as songwriters like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits do today," wrote Stephen Holden of the New York Times. Indeed, the 17 sung versions of the Dime song here, make it clear that the song speaks for all Americans—past, present, and future. Distinctive voices, from Crosby and Jolson to The Weavers and Judy Collins, to the contemporary Abbey Lincoln and Tom Waits (who recorded the song specially for this CD and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Day), now sing for the homeless of today.

Check out this clip, created by YouTube member RedCeltic, that effectively sets Tom Waits' take to a depression-era slideshow:

Check out this music video for Judy Collins' version compiled using various vintage video:

I picked this CD out of a box of promotional CDs that were being junked back when I worked at my university's radio station. Lucky find! Where possible, I've listed the original album that each particular track originally appeared on in the comment field. One change I've made was to track 20, which is credited to Bob Wilber, but was actually performed by Soprano Summit, the duo of Bob Wilber & Kenny Davern. They also missed the accent on Rudy Vallée's name.

DIME '93 "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" Day (1993)
1. Tom Waits [1992] (3:40)
2. Abbey Lincoln [1991] (6:42)
3. Bing Crosby & The Lenny Hayton Orchestra [1932] (3:11)
4. Judy Collins [1976] (3:14)
5. Al Jolson [1939] (3:12)
6. Mandy Patinkin [1988] (3:27)
7. Peter Yarrow [1976] (2:29)
8. Cathy Chamberlain [1976] (5:01)
9. Chad Mitchell [1966] (3:41)
10. Rudy Vallée [1932] (3:37)
11. Odetta & Dr. John [1992] (5:33)
12. The Weavers [1963] (2:38)
13. Pat Hervey and Orchestra [1962] (2:29)
14. Phil Harris and Orchestra [1933] (6:00)
15. Phil Alvin [1986] (4:10)
16. Barbra Streisand [1965] (1:07)
17. Yip Harburg [1970] (2:15)
18. Dave Brubeck [1954] (5:20)
19. Sonny Criss [1975] (2:58)
20. Soprano Summit [1976] (3:00)
21. Phil Donahue - Promo [1993] (0:39)
22. Sally Jessy Raphael - Promo [1993] (0:38)

111.49MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (206.7kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Las Vegas Grind Part Two (1957-1969)

2007-03-09T15:01:00.002-05:00

To my surprise, my posting of Las Vegas Grind Part One has been my most popular. According to Megaupload, it has been grabbed almost 600 times already! Unfortunately, I only own Part One on CD. Fortunately, I was able to find vinyl rips of the first five LP volumes using eMule. Ripped by "VinyLover" at 192kbps, these may not sound as good as a straight CD rip, but they sound very nice considering this series is sourced from not-always-mint low-fi 45s. Big thanks go out to "VinyLover" for taking the time and effort to create such nice clean vinyl rips!

As I mentioned in my earlier posting, the CD releases came after the vinyl LP releases. Part One CD was mostly compiled from vinyl Volumes One and Two (one track was pulled from Volume Three), with the CD of Part Two compiled from vinyl Volumes Three and Four. Now that I possessed rips of the first four vinyl volumes, I sorted them into two folders using track listings for the Part One and Part Two CDs. Once complete, I was surprised to discover that the last six tracks on the Part One CD are exclusive and aren't on any of the LP volumes. Fortunately, the Part Two CD doesn't contain any exclusive tracks. I was also left over with 23 vinyl-only tracks that never showed up on any CDs in the series. My plan is to compile these 23 tracks for a "Part Zero" posting soon.

Like Part One, this is another raucous, rowdy, raunchy and sometimes ridiculous collection of rockabilly, surf and straight up rock 'n' roll instrumentals. What an amazing group of party tunes Strip put together with this series! Like last time, I spent hours online researching the origins of these tracks. I wasn't able to find full track or release information for two of the original vinyl 45s or release year for five of the songs. On the other hand, I was able to correct nine mistakes in artist information and seven mistakes in song title information. I put what information I was able to gather about each original 45 vinyl release in the comment field, including a-side and b-side song titles, record company and catalogue number.

Las Vegas Grind Part Two (1957-1969)
1. Jack "Happy Jose" Ross - Mumbles [1962] (2:19)
2. Willie Wright & His Sparklers - Gibble Gobble [1962] (2:18)
3. Andre Williams & His Orchestra - Sweet Little Pussycat [1966] (2:05)
4. Edgar Alan and the Po' Boys - Panic Button [1963] (1:45)
5. The Gee Cees - Buzz Saw Twist [1961] (2:02)
6. The Jaguars - Exit 6 [1959] (2:01)
7. The Earthworms - Mo' Taters [1962] (2:05)
8. The Charts - For the Birds [1959] (2:00)
9. The Fabulous Raiders - Handclapping Time (2:50)
10. Roger & the Gypsies - Pass the Hatchet Part 1 [1969] (2:48)
11. The Egyptians - The Party Stomp [1960] (2:28)
12. The Escorts - Wiped Out [1961] (1:55)
13. The Crescendos - Hawk Walk (1:59)
14. The Playboys - Whatizit? [1958] (2:17)
15. The Charts - Ooba Gooba [1959] (2:02)
16. The Instrumentals - Are You Nervous? [1958] (2:19)
17. Bud Grippah - Hold It Part 1 [1960] (1:43)
18. The Noblemen - Dragon Walk [1959] (1:51)
19. Bob Kornegy - Wowsville Part 1 [1962] (2:09)
20. Earl Palmer's Party Rockers - Johnny's House Party Part 1 [1957] (2:44)
21. The Fabulous Continentals - Breakin' Up [1962] (1:53)
22. The Bikinis - Crazy Vibrations [1960] (2:22)
23. The Originals - Sleepless Hours [1958] (1:42)
24. Bobby Summers - Pad [1959] (1:57)
25. Jim Doval and the Gauchos - Good and Bad [1962] (2:37)
26. The Axcents - Hold It, Mary [1961] (2:14)
27. The Majestics - Riding By (1:53)
28. Jack Hammer - The Wiggling Fool [1962] (1:37)
29. The Jesters - The Jesters Jump (1:52)
30. Fabulous Tempoes - Nut Sundae (2:12)
31. Bobby Bunny and the Jackrabbits - Scatty Cat [1957] (2:18)
32. The Capers - Iced Tea [1965] (2:39)

95.23MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (192kbps w/FhG)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Jill Jones - Jill Jones (1987)

2007-03-07T07:24:00.003-05:00

Jill Jones' professional career started as a backup singer for Teena Marie, who opened for Prince on the Dirty Mind tour. It was there that the two crossed paths. Blown away by her extraordinary voice, Jones was invited to sing backup vocals on several tracks for the 1999 album, appearing in the videos for "1999" and "Automatic."

Of all Prince's various protégé acts, Jill Jones is the most singularly talented. Prince spent four years working with Jill creating her debut album. It contains some of the best "outtake" material from, arguably, Prince's most musically innovative and exciting period. Unlike the other acts under his control, Prince allowed Jill to phrase the vocals her own way and she was allowed to create her own persona. Even the cover of her album is very unPrince-like, completely lacking in that mid- to late-80s "romantic" look.

A true labor of love, Prince wrote and performed nearly all of the music on the album, with Jill contributing lyrically. Jill replaced Prince’s vocals on "All Day, All Night," a live performance with The Revolution during Prince’s 1984 birthday concert at First Avenue. In the summer of 1986, David Rivkin (aka David Z., drummer for The Revolution) helmed some sessions without Prince involvement at Electric Ladyland studios in New York. Billy Idol's fiery guitarist Steve Stevens, a friend of Jones, was brought in and three tracks were produced, Prince cover "For You" and b-sides "77 Bleeker St." and "Baby Cries (Ay Yah)."

While the album was critically acclaimed, it was unfortunately the victim of bad marketing. Released on Paisley Park Records, parent company Warner Bros. just never pushed it and MTV refused to play the promo video for "G-Spot" because it was considered to be too racy.

Check out the music video for "Mia Bocca":

Briefly released on CD, this has become a sought-after and expensive collectible which I, unfortunately, don't own. I found an excellent 256kbps rip of the album itself and a nice collection of high quality vinyl rips of the various single tracks using Soulseek. This compilation includes every 12" mix and b-side released during this period. I corrected the song titles of the non-album tracks by going over to Discogs and looking at their scans of the original singles. These extra tracks were mastered louder, so I used MP3Gain to manually correct the levels to match the volume of the album. For more information on Jill Jones check out her Unofficial Website, which includes an in-depth article from Uptown Magazine by Per Nilsen, author of the definitive Prince biography Dance Music Sex Romance.

Jill Jones - Jill Jones (1987)
1. Intro (Baby, You're a Trip) / Mia Bocca (7:20)
2. G-Spot (4:30)
3. Violet Blue (4:23)
4. With You (4:00)
5. All Day, All Night (5:40)
6. For Love (4:27)
7. My Man (3:15)
8. Baby, You're a Trip (5:22)
From Mia Bocca 12" (1987):
9. Mia Bocca (Extended Version) (6:04)
10. Mia Bocca (Dub Version) (5:52)
11. 77 Bleeker St. (Extended Version) (4:32)
From G-Spot 12" (1987):
12. G-Spot (Extended Version) (6:22)
13. Baby Cries (Ay Yah) (Extended Version) (6:44)
From For Love 12" (1987):
14. For Love (4-Play Remix) (7:29)
15. For Love (Bonus Beats) (4:54)

130.08MB RAR archive
MP3: (8x) Constant bitrate (256kbps w/FhG) &
(7x) Variable bitrate (194.2kbps w/LAME 3.93)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com

Stan Douglas - Suspiria (2002)

2007-03-02T09:16:00.002-05:00

Stan Douglas is an African Canadian video artist who grew up in Vancouver. As I've never experienced any of Douglas' work, I'm going to quote a description of this video installation by Nell McClister from ArtForum, June, 2003:

"Stan Douglas's latest work, the video installation Suspiria, 2002/2003, is as visually weird and conceptually sophisticated as anything he has ever produced. Titled after Dario Argento's classic horror film of 1977, the piece was created for Documenta 11 and made its debut there last summer. In Kassel, live surveillance footage of the empty, dungeonlike labyrinth beneath the Herkules monument (one of many follies in the area) was projected in the Fridericianum across town. Scenes from the Grimms' fairy tales, acted out by a contemporary-looking cast in the grotesque, translucent palette of a color television with bad reception, were superimposed at intervals on the black-and-white surveillance video; sporadic voice-over and fragments of music accompanied the actors' dialogue. The scenes themselves appeared in random rotation, and the number of possible permutations ensured that, over Documenta's one hundred days, the piece would never repeat itself. When Suspiria was presented in New York, the surveillance footage (now taped) and the fairy-tale scenes were also mixed so that, most likely, no two visitors saw the same sequence.

"One could say that Douglas's overall project involves modernism's promise and the nostalgia that results from its failure. With Suspiria the artist turns explicitly to a few historical moments of utopian aspiration. Referring to both Das Kapital (in which Marx repeatedly nods to a fairy-tale idiom of drama and transformation) and The Communist Manifesto (which famously opens with the "specter of communism" hanging over Europe), Douglas mines the Grimms' stories for economic and social allegory. The characters here--the innkeeper, the giant, the poor traveler, the long-suffering servant--act out cryptic vignettes centering on payment and debt while being confronted by alternately nightmarish or ecstatic visions. Each scene inexorably replaces the previous one in a roundelay that itself brings up ideas of exchange and entrapment. Douglas's ghosts are shadows of a future that never came to pass: the economic and social redemption promised by modernism; the end to alienation foretold by communism. The "ghosts" also point to the obsolescence of a medium, in this case Technicolor (Argento's Suspiria was one of the last films made in the West using this process)."

Douglas brought in John Medeski and Scott Harding (aka Scotty Hard) to interpret and expand Italian prog-rockers Goblin's ground-breaking original score for Dario Argento's masterpiece Suspira. Medeski is best known as the keyboard player in jam band jazz outfit Medeski Martin and Wood. Scott Harding is MMW's Producer/Engineer/Mixer and this is his first full-length collaboration. This soundtrack CD had a very limited release and, unfortunately, I don't own the original myself. I downloaded this rip from Usenet years ago and it is credited as ripped by Tim Buckley using LAME 3.87. So, if you enjoy the music of Goblin, Medeski Martin and Wood, the movie Suspiria, horror movie soundtracks in general or...aw, hell, just download it!

Stan Douglas - Suspiria (2002)
1. Suspiriorum (5:59)
2. Schlauraffen Land (3:55)
3. Old Gobseck (2:36)
4. Mephistopheles (4:30)
5. The Innkeeper's Knife (1:28)
6. Nexus Rerum (4:11)
7. The Girl Without Hands (4:16)
8. Lachrymarum (2:28)
9. Simeli Mountain (5:38)
10. Leviathan (3:11)
11. The Devil's Dirty Sister (3:43)
12. The Servant's Child (6:05)
13. Tenebrarum (3:18)

94.23MB RAR archive
MP3: Constant bitrate (256kbps)
Exact Audio Copy 0.96b (Secure mode) w/LAME 3.87

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com