The video I’ve chosen for you today is “The Reflex“, Duran Duran’s magnum opus from 1984 (technically, it starts in Part 6, but any excuse for a Duran Duran video!). However, instead of the normal single version video, I’ve dug out the version from 1984’s concert video and live album “Arena“. If you haven’t seen ‘Arena (AN ABSURD NOTION)’ and you’re a fan of the 80s, then shame on you: it’s the most perfectly eighties thing of any description, anywhere! It features Dr Durand Durand – the character from Barbarella from where the band took their name – making his way back from the psychadelic void (to where he’d been banished in the film) and attempting to take over the earth again. Only Duran Duran and their many fans can stop them. It’s all quite bonkers and utterly magnificent:
Shenanigans in the Eighties – Part 7:
Format: mp3
Size: 10.1Mb
Audio Player:
Tracklisting:
Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
Wham! – I’m Your Man
Man 2 Man featuring Man Parrish – Male Stripper
New Order – Blue Monday
The third and final part of the mix begins with probably the strangest track I’ve used in a mix so far – “Big Bad Wolf” by Bunny and the Wolf Sisters. You might know it better as the song that Teen Wolf dances to in the school gym:
I use two separate loops from this track to construct a new backing for the acapella for “Perfect” by Princess Superstar. In the UK everyone seems to think of her as some sort of novelty rapper because “Bad Babysitter” was the biggest single out over here, but actually she’s a very talented MC, DJ and producer, not to mention being probably the most filthy-minded person ever to put words to a song:
Shenanigans 09 – Cut & Paste Volume II – Part 3:
Format: mp3
Size: 38.3Mb
Time: 20:51
Tracklisting:
Bunny And The Wolf Sisters – Big Bad Wolf
Princess Superstar – Perfect (Acapella)
Jimmy Bo Horne – Gimme Some
The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name
Spankox – To The Club
Azzido Da Bass – Doom’s Night
Britney Spears – Toxic
Kylie Minogue – Love At First Sight
Depeche Mode – I Feel Loved
Infernal – Self Control
The Gossip – Listen Up!
Alcatraz – Giv Me Luv
The Rolling Stones – Under My Thumb
Beth Orton – Central Reservation
Goldfrapp – Ride A White Horse
Duran Duran – Burning The Ground
Well, that’s the final part of my most recent mix CD, I hope you like! The first two parts are available by scrolling down the blog; as are the first few parts of two other mixes (including my eighties mix CD), plus some standalone 5-minute mixes.
The most recent full-length mix that I completed was Shenanigans 09 – Cut & Paste Volume 2. With Volume 1, I’d set myself a new record with the number of tracks I’d managed to get into a 80-minute mix, and Volume II was an attempt to beat my own record. A lot of the tracks used, especially in this first part, only have a part of them used – a loop, a breakbeat, or a vocal to create a long mash-up.
Unfortunately, as I got towards the end of the mix, I was plagued by technical problems as the sheer number of samples in memory at any one time was causing my PC to run slowly and have various problems. In the end, I gave up and so the last part isn’t quite as long as I wanted it to be, and doesn’t end as I hoped it would.
Still, it’s a great mix, has a lot of terrific tracks on it, and for your ease and convenience comes in just three parts, cunningly named Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. I’ve selected one video from each part just because I can. The video I’ve selected to got with the first part is Electrovamp’s “I Don’t Like The Vibe In The VIP“.
Electrovamp - "I Don't Like The Vibe In The VIP"
Electrovamp are two sisters, Kally and Tammy, from Caerphilly in Wales and this is their first single. They’re signed to Island Records. “I Don’t Like The Vibe In The VIP” is party music to dance to, plain and simple, and it has some lyrical couplets that will make you wince, but you’ll still end up singing it after the song has finished.
The plan is to release all three parts of this 60-minute mix over the weekend, so please keep checking back! Each part is slightly longer than previous mixes, so they take longer to download.
Shenanigans 09 – Cut & Paste Volume II – Part 1:
Format: mp3
Size: 28.9Mb
Time: 15:45
Tracklisting:
Spice Girls – Spice Up Your Life
Electrovamp – I Don’t Like The Vibe In The VIP
LL Cool J – Control Yourself
Madonna – Like A Virgin
Justin Timberlake – Sexyback
Michael Jackson vs Q-Tip – Breathe Don’t Stop
Texas – I Don’t Want A Lover
Depeche Mode – Behind The Wheel
Moby – Go
Faithless – Muhummad Ali
ABC – When Smokey Sings
The Special AKA – Free Nelson Mandella
Fergie – Fergalicious
The Clash – Rock The Kasbah
Dannymotion – Obsession
The Jungle Brothers vs. Hoxton Whores – I’ll House You
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Madonna – Vogue
Escrima – Train Of Thought
Simon Harris - Bass (How Low Can You Go)
Public Enemy – Bring The Noise (Acapella)
Jay-Z & Linkin Park – Numb/Encore
Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse – Valerie
Beastie Boys – Intergalactic
Gorillaz – 19-2000
Lumidee – I’ll Never Leave You
Eve – Tambourine
Stetsasonic – Talkin All That Jazz
The Clout – Substitute
Coolio – Fantastic Voyage
Chic – Good Times
Lumidee – Never Leave You (Acapella)
Ciara – 1, 2, Step
INXS – Need You Tonight
Hello and welcome to the third part of my eighties mixtape, “Shenanigans in the Eighties“.
Shenanigans in the Eighties
This part sees the appearance of three of my favourite tracks from the decade that fashion forgot: “Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin” by the wonderfully talented but underrated Scritti Politti, a top ten hit in 1985; the number #30 top-selling single of 1983, The Belle Stars‘ “Sign of the Times“; and the all-time classic “True Faith” by New Order, which reached #4 in 1987. I’ve used the Shep Pettibone mix from the second 12″ single rather than the Stephen Hague-produced original mix.
New Order - "True Faith" (Shep Pettibone Mix)
Shenanigans in the Eighties – Part 3:
Format: mp3
Size: 8.0Mb
Time:8:37
Audio Player:
Tracklisting
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam featuring Full Force – I Wonder If I Take You Home
Scritti Politti – Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)
Herbie Hancock – Rockit
The Belle Stars – Sign Of The Times
Bananarama – Only Your Love
New Order – True Faith
Remember, this is only part three of a seven part mix. Part four, which features Yazoo, Blue Mercedes, Rick Astley, Adamski, Krush, Adam Ant and Def Leppard will be available shortly, i.e. whenever I get round to it! The first two parts are still available on the blog.
Or, to give it its full title, DJ Doc Rok’s Scandalous Emporium of (un)Wholesome Goodness. Fellow WordPress blogger Doc Rok is an American DJ and producer who specialises in mash-ups, and whose work has been seen on MTV and VH1. There’s a great deal of his work available to download from hs site.
Dj Doc Rok's Scandalous Emporium of (un)Wholesome Goodness
I originally read about his 50 Cent mash-up album “50 Cent’s Goldies Oldies – 50 Cent vs. The Fifties“, which fuses 50 Cent’s mumbling with beats from famous songs from the 1950’s. It’s something you really need to hear to believe. Another standout for me is the “American Zeppelin” project, which does a similar thing with Led Zeppelin and Jay-Z.
But when really piqued my interest where his long-form “Epic Mixes“, which bring together dance, roc, pop and hip-hop in much the same way as my own “Shenanigans” series. I like that people are being experimental, trying to bring all these disparate types of music together to create something very different and unexpected. You should try “Epic Mix Volume 2” which is my favourite, and features tracks from (amongst others) Depeche Mode, Nirvana, The Ting Tings, Run DMC, Katie Perry, Rage Against The Machine, Blur, Outkast, Britney Spears, Fatboy Slim, The Dandy Warhols, and Frankie Valli!
All of these ‘favourite blogs’ have a link on the right side of this page so you don’t need to find the original post to look them up. Please check Doc Rok out very soon!
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