SummersRadio™ Debbie Harry & Kermit The Frog - 'Rainbow Connection'/ Debbie Harry - 'You're Too Hot'/ 'In Love With Love' (London Extended Mix)
Debbie Harry turns 70 today - SummersRadio™ wishes you a Happy Birthday Debbie! We're celebrating with a few selections from beyond the massive Blondie hits.
First up is this classic duet with Kermit The Frog - 'The Rainbow Connection' - from an episode of The Muppet Show in 1980... Enjoy!
'You're Too Hot' is one of the standout tracks from her 2007 solo album 'Necessary Evil'... Enjoy!
This is the 'London Extended Mix' of 'In Love With Love' - a single from her 1986 album 'Rockbird'... Enjoy!
Black Asteroid - 'Metal' (Original Mix)/ 2 Frenchmen - 'Black Planet' (Save The Planet Mix)/ Afrika Bambaata Featuring Gary Numan - 'Metal'
Black Asteroid have just released a new EP called 'Metal'! New York's Bryan Black is half of the duo Motor and aka Black Asteroid on his solo releases. His new EP features four tracks - the title song plus two remixes as well as a song called 'Turbine'. It's released on the Electric Deluxe label and it's currently available exclusively on Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/metal/1268825
'Metal' is a hypnotic industrial/ techno hybrid that has potential to become a classic track... Enjoy!
Classic Bonus Track! 'Metal' reminded me of this classic rave tune from 1991 - 2 Frenchman's 'Black Planet' - which samples another classic - The B-52's new wave single from 1979 'Planet Claire'. This is the 'Save The Planet Mix'... Enjoy!
More 'Metal'! Black Asteroid's 'Metal' track also reminded me of another new wave classic with the same name from Gary Numan - which was the b-side to his 1979 single 'Cars' in North America. This nicely produced version is from Afrika Bambaata's 2004 album 'Dark Matter: Moving At The Speed Of Light' that features Numan himself as well as MC Chatterbox - who nicks Blondie... Enjoy!
SummersRadio™ New Cover + Free Download! Sam Griffiths - 'Heart Of Glass'
Sam Griffiths has just released a new cover of Blondie's 'Heart Of Glass' online! Sam Griffiths is a singer/ songwriter from York, England who's also a member of the folk/ rock band Videotapes.
SummersRadio™ New Music! Blondie Featuring Beth Ditto - 'A Rose By Any Name'
Blondie have just released a new song online called 'A Rose By Any Name'! 'A Rose By Any Name' is the first single from the band's forthcoming new album (their tenth) called 'Ghosts Of Download' set for release later this year.
This new remix by Oliver & Thee Mike B is more subtle than the aforementioned mashups. On one hand it sounds slightly stripped down - but in the other ways it seems more layered. The bassline is brought to the forefront and the song becomes more spacious in the last few minutes. If this remix is to your liking you can download a copy for free on Soundcloud by clicking the arrow below.
SummersRadio™ Rare Mashup + Free Download! Blondie vs. Philip Glass - 'Heart Of Glass' (Daft Beatles Mashup)/ Blondie - '11:59'
First of all kudos to another music blog - The Omelette Chronicles http://theomelettechronicles.wordpress.com/ for exposing me to this wonder today! This mashup was created last fall but for the most part it's remained rather underground thus far.
Jonas C aka Daft Beatles is a mashup artist/ dj from London. He posted his first mashup online a year ago - of Daft Punk vs The Beatles 'Something About Us Comes Together' - hence his moniker. In just the last twelve months he's since posted 48 tracks on his Soundcloud page (all mashups) which you can check out here: http://soundcloud.com/daft-beatles
This version of 'Heart Of Glass' lifts the vocal from Blondie's 1979 hit of the same name - which floats in a most beautiful and haunting manner over Philip Glass's (instrumental) track 'Violin Concerto II' - and the results are quite stunning.
Blondie is one of my all time favourite bands - and I'm very happy to say that Debbie Harry is still alive and well - but it sounds like she's singing from the heavens here. Someday when she is no more I can picture myself listening to this powerful track and weeping. Despite being an upbeat worldwide disco smash, as Jonas C says himself 'I always thought they were bleak lyrics... "Soon found out I was losing my mind...'.
Tomorrow (July 1st) is actually Harry's 67th birthday and she still looks amazing (as always) - Happy Birthday Deborah! ♥♥♥
If this mashup is to your liking it's available as a free download simply by clicking on the icon below... Enjoy!
Bonus Track! Here's a Blondie original that's always had an eerie feel to it for me - especially if you're listening to it at the right time of the night. Like 'Heart Of Glass', '11:59' is a track from Blondie's third album 'Parallel Lines' - in fact it was the b-side of 'Heart Of Glass' in North America. The lyrics have quite an urgency to them - you're left wondering if she'll survive until the next day... Enjoy!
SummersRadio™ New Video! Trailer Trash Tracys - 'Los Angered'/ 'I Love How You Love Me In The Flesh'
London's Trailer Trash Tracys have just released a new video online for their latest single 'Los Angered'! 'Los Angered' is from their debut album called 'Ester' which was released in January on the Double Six Records label, and it's available as a download as well as on cd and vinyl.
The band aptly describes their influences on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/trailertrashtracys?ref=ts as melodic reverberation. Singer Susanne Aztoria provides dreamy vocals reminiscent of Debbie Harry over drifting guitar effects. This is their new video for 'Los Angered' which also features lots of brightly coloured goo... Enjoy!
Bonus Track! Trailer Trash Tracys debut album 'Ester' has also been released with a limited edition bonus disc called the 'Satar Rah EP' which features five new and previously unreleased tracks. It's currently available exclusively from Rough Trade Shops here: http://www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_detail.lasso?search_type=sku&sku=345097#
One of these bonus tracks is a magical medley of two classic songs - a cover of Blondie's 'In The Flesh' that also incorporates a portion of the Paris Sisters 'I Love How You Love Me' - which was produced by Phil Spector and later covered by Beth Orton. The result is an ethereal soundscape that could have easily been featured in a David Lynch film... Enjoy!
SummersRadio™ It's 2012! Rare Remix! Chic - 'Good Times' (2004 Remix) So it's 2012. Some people think that the world is going to end this year - on Dec. 21st to be precise. (so if even if 'they' are right there's still lots of time!) Personally I don't buy into it - you see there have been several notable times over the years when the world was scheduled to end - and countless less notable ones. (see May 21st of last year: http://summersradio.blogspot.com/2011/05/summersradio-end-of-world.html) And the one thing that each prediction has in common is that none of them came true - if we don't remember the past we're bound to repeat the same mistakes.
In the 70's the world was supposed to be taken over by robots. Sure 'they took our jobs' (some of them) but four decades later they've yet to overpower us humans. In the 80's there was the whole 'Brave New World' thing - and when nothing happened in 1984, the fear was rescheduled for 85 - but nothing happened then either. And of course there was the ongoing fear of nuclear war, and then in 1999 there was that nasty Y2K bug - but no planes fell from the sky and the world didn't end then either.
So now it's 2012 - and I'm willing to wager that we'll pretty much all still be here this time in 2013. I would like to share a quote that a wise person once said outside of my tent at the Soundwave Music Festival on Vancouver Island - 'If you're going to perpare for the worst, then you might as well prepare for the best as well'. Sound advice I'd say.
By the time Chic's 'Good Times' was released from their album called 'Risque' in the summer of 1979, the fear of robots had pretty much subsided. The song was a massive number one hit - it's been a huge influence on both dance and rap music - and it has gone on to become one of the most sampled songs of all time. 'Good Times' has famously been used as the backing track for the Sugarhill Gang's classic 'Rapper's Delight' and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's '...On The Wheels Of Steel'. It also inspired two other massive hits - Blondie's 'Rapture' and Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust' - and even Daft Punk's club anthem 'Around The World'!
This disco house remix was released as a limited white label 12" single (actually the label was more of a light blue!) in the U.S. in 2004. This is the peppy '2004 Remix' of 'Good Times' - aside from the aforementioned quote, my advice for 2012 would simply be 'Party On'... Enjoy!
p.s. when I've fully recovered from last night's shenanigans I shall begin Part Two of the Best Of 2011 Countown - the Top 25 Electronic & Club tunes of the year - so keep your dancing shoes near! Stay tuned.
SummersRadio™ New Music! Summer Camp - 'Better Off Without You' Summer Camp are a new duo - Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey - from London. Last fall they released their debut six song EP called 'Young' on the Moshi Moshi Records label. They're currently working on their full length debut album - in fact they're actually seeking pledges to help finish it! That may sound a bit desperate at first, but it's actually a pretty cool idea.
You 'pledge' by choosing from about 60 band/ fan related offers! Each one has a corresponding price - from a download copy of the new album plus 10 pledger-only updates for £8 - to a signed t-shirt for £20 - to the band writing a song about you for £250! (Only 2 left!) Regardless of what you pledge you will be entitled to an advance download of the full album (and a copy of the cd when they're made) plus other upcoming exclusives - not to mention the fuzzy feeling you'd get inside for helping a new band make their first official album! If this song is any indication I doubt they'll be asking for funding when it comes time to make album number two - they could make it quite big in indie (and possibly even pop) circles!
This is the first single from the forthcoming album called 'Better Off Without You' - which tells the tale of a friend who you just can't handle anymore. I had one like this - who would call all the time to tell me about his problems in great detail - so I could comfort him - but he'd never ask anything about my life. I ended up just feeling like a psychiatrist - without the big pay cheque! The song reminds me a titch of some of Blondie's recordings - like a more pop/ less guitar version of 'Hanging On The Telephone'. This is 'Better Of Without You'... Enjoy!
And just for kicks here's Blondie's 'Hanging On The Telephone' from their 1978 release 'Parallel Lines'. The two songs aren't the same by any means - they just have a similar feel... Enjoy!
SummersRadio™ New Music! Blondie - 'Mother' Blondie have just released a limited edition 'Fan Pack' of their new album this week! Blondie's new album is called 'Panic Of Girls' - it's their ninth studio album - and their first since 'The Curse Of Blondie' which was released in 2003. The cd is set for release in the U.K. on July 4th (no confirmed date yet for North America) and will contain 11 tracks - and the Fan Pack released this week contains 2 bonus tracks and a 132 page magazine!
The magazine is 100% Blondie approved and it contains all new exclusive interviews with the band and is packed with a wealth of exclusive, never-before-seen pictures of Blondie – including rare treasures from Chris Stein’s own archive!
Here's the full tracklisting for 'Panic Of Girls':
1. D-Day 2. What I Heard 3. Mother 4. The End The End 5. Girlie Girlie 6. Love Doesn't Frighten Me 7. Words in My Mouth 8. Sunday Smile 9. Wipe Off My Sweat 10. Le Bleu 11. Horizontal Twist (BONUS TRACK) 12. Mirame (BONUS TRACK)
SummersRadio™ New Mashup + Free Download! Arcade Fire Vs Blondie - 'Sprawl Of Glass' (The Hood Internet Mashup) Finally!! As soon as I first heard Arcade Fire's 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' I immediately thought it would sound great mashed up with Blondie's 'Heart Of Glass'! I even mentioned it when I first posted the song on my Facebook group back on Aug. 3rd last year (scroll WAY down in the older posts to see http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=699880219#!/group.php?gid=366897324071) as well as on my Best Of 2010 posts on Dec. 14th - both on FB and here: http://summersradio.blogspot.com/2010/12/summersradio-best-of-2010-arcade-fire.html Anyway the good news is that someone's finally done it - yay!!
The Hood Internet are a Chicago based production duo consisting of Aaron Brink (aka ABX) and Steve Reidell (aka STV SLV or Steve Sleeve). They generally specialize in mashups of hip hop and indie rock - although there are exceptions like this one of course. They also tour performing their live dj sets and they have their own blog which you can check out here: http://www.thehoodinternet.com/ and if this ace mashup is to your liking you can get a free download copy of the song from their Soundcloud page here: http://soundcloud.com/hoodinternet/the-hood-internet-sprawl-of-glass-arcade-fire-x-blondie
I wish that they used the full album version of 'Heart Of Glass' so this was a bit longer and there were some more duels between some of the sounds distinct to each song (like how my remix of it sounds in my head!) but alas I don't know how to do it myself - and this still sounds awesome so... Enjoy!
SummersRadio™ Best Of 2010! Arcade Fire Remix + Free Download! Arcade Fire - 'Sprawl II' (Dirty McKenzie Remix) I doubt Arcade Fire will be hard to find on year lists in 2010 - however, this post is the full package! Hopefully someday 'Sprawl II' will be officially released as a proper single from their third studio album 'The Suburbs' - with remixes! In the meantime many unofficial remixes have been made since I first posted this track in the summer (via my FB group) - but I like this remix because it's subtle - they discofy it just a bit and take it closer into Blondie territory. I've mentioned this before but someone totally needs to do a full on 'Heart Of Glass' style remix and/ or mashup of this - make it so! (but credit me for the idea please) :) In addition to this cool remix the song is accompanied by a fan vacation video that shows Beirut in a way that you never see on tv - AND if this remix is to your liking you can also get a free download of it here courtesy of Dirty McKenzie: http://bass-united.com/ Enjoy!
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