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oh, The Crainium - nice. they can be a bit much - but they are nice people, and are interesting to see live. the singer is a total flake on stage.
About the Gold Chains song: good god, I'd be pimping that song if it wasn't being pimped already. That song is just so incredible, and it's a bit like a huge angry guy with a gun pointed at yr feet, forcing you to dance to a song you would have been dancing to anyway. Scream it out: "WHO ROCKS THE PARTY? WE ROCK THE PARTY! EVERYBODY ROCKS AT THE GOLD CHAINS PARTY!" I love it, the punk/dancehall/hip hop/kraut combo mixed with this feeling of intimidation and nervousness...
My recommendations for today:
"I Need A Freak" by Sexual Harrassment. Another sexy dance funk tune, very sparse and a bit on the slow groovy side. A man speak-sings a list of what he needs his 'freak' to be - lots of echo, lots of synth and back up vocals. If you liked the Crossover song I pimped last week, you'll love this one too.
The other song I shall pimp is The Slits cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine". To back it up, I'll quote my old pal DJ Twitch/Stirmonster, who places it in his
Top 7 Optimo Classics.:
quote: Surely everyone in the western world knows the Marvin Gaye version of this song. Originally co written by legendary songwriter / producer Norman Whitfield who went on to cover it on his own Undisputed Truth project (also played at Optimo), we are going to go out on a limb and say that The Slits version is thee one.
So, who were The Slits then? They were four girls who embraced the punk ideal that anyone could start a band, only all the bands seemed to be boys so...Viv Albertine, Tessa Pollit, Palmolive and precocious 14 year old singer Ari Up got together to do it their way. At first they were better known for causing a ruckus wherever they went and indeed, Derek Jarman cast them as car wrecking urchins in his punk film Jubilee. Their reputation made it hard to secure a record deal but finally Island records stepped in. At the same time, Palmolive left and drummer extraordinaire Budgie (later of The Banshees and Siouxsie Sioux's future husband) joined in her place. They proceeded to record their first album with reggae producer Dennis Bovell and the resulting 'Cut' took many people aback with its depth and proficiency. It also caused quite an outrage with its cover art depicting the naked Slits daubed in mud.
Listening to 'Cut' today, it has aged far better than most of its punk contemporaries and well deserves its classic status.
Island wanted to release a single from the LP and picked the song 'Typical Girls'. At very short notice, The Slits had to record a b-side and as Budgie was away, they went into the studio with a friend drumming and a couple of 'dubhead' mates to record a cover of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'. When Island heard the results they insisted it be the a-side but the band refused. It's a shame really as for once the record company was probably right and The Slits would almost certainly have had a hit with it. It is a gigantic bass driven groover of a version that sounds incredible to this day. The point where Ari changes the lyric to 'I heard it through the bassline' is epic. I must have heard this hundreds of times over the years and have never tired of it and it's a joy that people at Optimo seem to like it too.
The Slits are just brilliant all the way around, their original material is just as fabulous as this (significantly re-arranged) cover. Also consider looking for "Love Und Romance", "New Town", and "In the Beginning There Was Rhythm". The latter track is also the title track of a new compilation put out by Soul Jazz Records. which contains other post punk dance tracks, like "Coup" by 23 Skidoo, "Knife Slits Water" by A Certain Ratio, and "24 Track Loop" by This Heat. All brilliant. But definitely go for "Grapevine". It's stunning.
[ 18-02-2002: Message edited by: Flux = Rad ] |
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