I'm Heavy Duty!

“Tribulations” by LCD Soundsystem is a few years old. It’s been stuck in my head lately and I thought I would share something good from what is often a scary place. Fun video to boot!

Welcome to the singles club. At least that’s what I think I’ll be posting all week. This one is a 12 inch of “Stop This Crazy Thing” (1988) by Coldcut. It’s probably the best dance single ever recorded. If you disagree with that I’d love to hear what you think is better.

Junior Reid (Black Uhuru) provides the perfect vocal complement to this jungle music which is replete with all sorts of hoots and hollers, including Tarzan’s signature wail. The sounds and samples are themselves what’s crazy here and I definitely do not want to stop them.

This is one of the most played records in our collection. Long live Coldcut!

(I found this video of “Stop This Crazy Thing.” The record cover appears to be for a 12 inch (different edition than mine), but the record itself looks like a 7 inch, and the music is shorter. The original 12 inch is seven and a half minutes of jumping.)

Coldcut’s MySpace
Coldcut Wikipedia article

I like Beck’s thinking on this project more than the outcome. As you can see from the track listing there are some big names involved, but overall Guerolito is less enjoyable than Guero. I suppose that’s what you should expect with remixes.

Track listing from Wikipedia:

All songs were written by Beck Hansen and The Dust Brothers, except where noted.

1. “Ghost Range” (Hansen, Dust Brothers, Beastie Boys) – 4:24
   • “E-Pro” remix by Homelife
2. “Qué Onda Guero” – 2:29
   • Islands remix
3. “Girl” – 3:53
   • Octet remix
   • Originally released in the special edition CD/DVD package of Guero
4. “Heaven Hammer” (Hansen, Dust Brothers, Marcos Vinicius de Moraes, Carlos Eduardo Lyra) – 4:54
   • “Missing” remix by Air
5. “Shake Shake Tambourine” (Hansen, Dust Brothers, Eugene Blacknell) – 3:37
   • “Black Tambourine” remix by Ad-Rock
6. “Terremoto Tempo” (Hansen, Dust Brothers, Mark Adams, Steve Washington, Daniel Webster, Mark Hicks) – 3:47
   • “Earthquake Weather” remix by Mario C
7. “Ghettochip Malfunction” – 2:39
   • “Hell Yes” remix by 8-Bit
8. “Broken Drum” (Hansen) – 5:36
   • Boards of Canada remix
   • Originally released in the special edition CD/DVD package of Guero
9. “Scarecrow” – 4:37
   • El-P remix
10. “Wish Coin” (Hansen, Dust Brothers, Jack White) – 3:44
    • “Go It Alone” remix by Diplo
11. “Farewell Ride” (Hansen) – 4:51
    • Subtle remix
12. “Rental Car” – 2:59
    • John King remix
13. “Emergency Exit” – 3:18
    • Th’ Corn Gangg remix
14. “Clap Hands” – 3:19
    • Originally released in the special edition CD/DVD package of Guero

Radiohead fans raise your hands. I guess I’m a fan, but it’s an intermittent relationship at best. Maybe you hard core folks can comment on what makes Radiohead so great. I bought their first album, Pablo Honey when it first came out, and let’s be honest, it was pretty inconsistent. Unfortunately, that stuck with me and I missed out for a while when they started making great music.

Kid A actually won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album and was nominated for Album of the Year. This version is an appropriately arty package for an increasingly experimental band. It’s a gatefold double LP, on vinyl of course, but records are 10 inchers, not 12. All sides of the gatefold and liners are covered with art by Stanley Donwood and singer Thom Yorke.

I like Kid A, but it’s not something I’ll play often. The overall vibe is like a Pink Floyd album, not really my thing. I thought maybe I was crazy, or maybe just old, for thinking that, but I’ve read the comparison elsewhere.

• Artist: Money Mark
• Title: Change is Coming
• Year: 2001
• Format: CD
• Rating (1-10): 9
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: No idea

All right, I’m going to have to pull back to a low rating of 9 on this one. Change is Coming by Money Mark is still awesome, just not quite so much as the earlier records. Still, I’ve probably played in its entirety at least 100 times. Overall it’s more instrumental and jazzy than his masterpiece, Push the Button. The packaging is almost as interesting as the music. I didn’t include all the artwork, but it revolves around origami swans made from different paper currencies and then set on fire. Check out the folding, and burning, directions printed on the disk itself.

The sad thing about Change is Coming is it’s the last Money Mark record I got. There have been two more full length releases and it’s ridiculous that I don’t have them, yet. Somebody help me out!

Check out “Another Day to Love You” from Change is Coming at Jango.com.

As an added bonus today, I’ve included a video with Mr. Mark from an interview that was on the Sundance Channel where he explains his relationship with the Beastie Boys and his creative process.