The first time hearing this incredible remix of Billy Idol’s Flesh For Fantasy in 1984, I did not pay much attention to it for no reason at all. I’ve always loved the original LP version, but my brain failed to register Below The Belt Mix. It had all the elements which I craved in any given track in those times: drum machines, samples of stuttering vocals and guitar stabs, synthesizers, etc.  Tight programming and blending of electronic synth, pop and rock music, produced by Keith Forsey who had worked extensively with Giorgio Moroder (go figure Below The Belt Mix sounding electronic!) — the godfather of electric disco, also notoriously known for his mind-blasting The Chase theme soundtrack of Midnight Exress motion picture!

The day which Below The Belt Mix floored me and left me breathless was at an all-nude strip bar near LAX airport, early one Summer afternoon in 1993. The place wasn’t packed. I was having a few drinks and watching the dancer peel off all her clothes on stage while listening to the loud music. Below The Belt Mix came on next. And she cirque-du-soleil’ed nude to it deeply into the flesh, heart & spirit of the song, as if it was her last dance in the world.

Billy Idol – “Flesh For Fantasy” (Below The Belt Mix)…

Artist: Billy Idol
Title: Flesh For Fantasy (Below The Belt Mix)
Year: 1984
Label: Chrysalis Records.

Billy Idol – “Flesh For Fantasy” (Below The Belt Mix) (mp3)

Music Video: Billy Idol – “Flesh For Fantasy”…

I have nothing to say about this track other than it is great. Oh yeah, I did some little EQ adjustment, added a touch of reverb tweaked  with my own custom parameters, and slapping quick final mastering … making both tracks below to sound brighter, beefier and  clearer with more ambience & presence.

Spandau Ballet – “Lifeline” (Dub Version)…

Artist: Spandau Ballet
Title: Lifeline (Dub Version)
Year: 1983
Label: Chrysalis Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Spandau Ballet – “Lifeline” (Dub Version) (mp3)

Spandau Ballet – “Lifeline” (Acappella)…

Artist: Spandau Ballet
Title: Lifeline (Acappella)
Year: 1983
Label: Chrysalis Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Spandau Ballet – “Lifeline” (Acappella) (mp3)

The Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair is a great product. It is an enclosed plastic container with two rollers on the bottom. Rolling and sliding it side-by-side in any direction, the rollers pick up animal hair and dust off of most fabrics on furniture, blankets, pillows, clothes, etc. It works like a charm for me. However, the instructions on the back of sweeper’s box clearly states, “Simply throw the sweeper away when it is full. The sweeper is full when it picks up no more hair. …Do not try to empty or disassemble disposable sweeper.“

Now I have a problem with that. Since sweeper does get full rather quickly after few regular uses, Pledge company would then want me to buy more of its pet-hair sweepers rather than have me clean the sweeper instead. Throwing away sweepers contributes more trash and is NOT eco-friendly to the environment. Therefore the only solution (and option) available is “to empty” and by disassembling sweeper without disposing it. Using razors or screw-drivers and cutting open the plastic container from the top or the sides is NOT the way to go about it-!

Easiest way to clean & re-use Pledge Fabric Sweeper…

(1) This is what the Frabric Sweeper looks like when almost full of hair.

(2) It’s very easy to pop the two rollers out from the bottom.

(3) Dispose of all the hair taken out from the inside of the plastic container. Use a vacuum cleaner, if you must, to really suck every strand of hair and dust stuck in areas where fingers can’t reach.

(4) Take out all the hair from the other (hollow) sides of the two rollers.

(5) With your fingers/thumb, scrub off all hair from the fabric glued on the two rollers.

(6) Notice the different pin/ends on one end of the rollers. One bigger semi-circle, and one smaller semi-circle.

(7) Match the ends of the rollers to the pinholes of the plastic container when popping them back in.

(8) TA-DAAA.

(9) Like brand-new again. No need to throw away. Save money. No trashing, no polluting.

Read this fantastic article If You Only Knew (Chip E.) and interview of Chip E. (Irwin Larry Eberhart II, 43) posted by Jacob Arnold from the Gridface blog.  Chip E. (also known as The Godfather of House) was the first artist to release a dance track which contained the words “house” and “jack,” and therefore spawning so many House tracks to be released by other House artists, also contained such words (either in the title and/or hook):  7 Ways To Make You Jack (Hercules),  Jack Your Body (Steve Silk Hurley), Jack To The Sound Of The Underground (Fast Eddie), House Nation (House Master Boyz), etc.

Another great Tears For Fears 12″ single. This track was recorded and released in the UK charts in 1984, well before the release  of their 1985 LP/album release Songs From The Big Chair. It showcased the group’s edgier sound, intricate production and, most importantly, the creative use of sampling. Beat Of The Drum Mix was clearly one of the earliest remix tracks with sampled vocals, loops and snippets as well as loops, that were sequenced and arranged together on top of all other synths and multi-tracked layers of instrument/vocal performances recorded by the band. For example, the string-hits at the beginning Beat Of The Drum Mix were sampled from a Barry Manilow track; James Brown vocal snippets near the end; and the other samples were real ambient noises, drum shots/rolls, orchestral and horn stabs, ambient and weird noises, guitar strums/chords, and Tears For Fears’ own vocals.

All the sampling were done with the Fairlight CMi-2 which was, at that time, the most sophisticated and highly advanced sampling/sequencing/digital-editing workstation.  It featured a mainframe computer, large keyboard-instrument controller, computer monitor and a light-pen.  Watch this video demonstration of the Fairlight. Also watch this other video of the Fairlight being demonstrated by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran.

The meaning of Mothers Talk stems from two ideas:

1. Something that mothers say to their children about pulling faces; they say the child will stay like that when the wind changes; and
2. The inspiration by the anti-nuclear cartoon book When The Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs.

Tears For Fears – “Mothers Talk” (Beat Of The Drum Mix)…

Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: Mothers Talk (Beat Of The Drum Mix)
Year: 1984, 1985, 1986
Label: Mercury Records; Polygram; Phonogram; Vertigo
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Tears For Fears – “Mothers Talk” (Beat Of The Drum Mix) (mp3)

Tears For Fears – “Mothers Talk” (US Remix)…

Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: Mothers Talk (US Remix)
Year: 1984, 1985, 1986
Label: Mercury Records; Polygram; Phonogram; Vertigo

Tears For Fears – “Mothers Talk” (US Remix) (mp3)

Fairlight CMi demonstration by Greg Sneddon…

Fairlight Cmi demonstration by Nick Rhodes & other artists…

When The Wind Blows…

I love this version of Head Over Heels (Preacher Mix) by Tears For Fears. It’s nice and long with outstanding edits and arrangements that takes you on a long journey. Layers and layers of real music instruments and electronic synthesizers. Intricate production. A work of art!  I wish that I wrote this song. I recorded this track off of an imported 12-inch record (pressed in Germany) which I’ve had in my collection since the mid 80’s. The Preacher Mix is comprised of three parts: (1) intro Broken, (2) the main song Head Over Heels, and (3) outro Broken —- with all three playing in consecutive order. The intro and outro versions of Broken sound different from each other. However, the Broken-outro part in the album version of Head Over Heels is completely a different version/mix than the one in Preacher Mix; it sounds like a live performance than a studio-production (although I am not sure if it is really “live” or just made to sound that way).

The Preacher Mix was available only on 12-inch record for a long time.  It wasn’t even available on Tears For Fears’ 1985 album Songs From The Big Chair, nor was it available on their 1999 remastered release of Songs From The Big Chair which included all the original tracks from the album plus several bonus B-sides tracks/remixes. But in 2006, The Preacher Mix was included in yet another remastered, 2-disc deluxe edition release of Songs From The Big Chair on CD

Tears For Fears – “Broken / Head Over Heels / Broken” (Preacher Mix)…

Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: Broken / Head Over Heels / Broken (Preacher Mix)
Year: 1985
Label: Mercury Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Tears For Fears – “Broken / Head Over Heels / Broken” (Preacher Mix) (mp3)

Tears For Fears – “Head Over Heels/Broken” (Album Version)…

Artist: Tears For Fears
Title: Head Over Heels/Broken (Album Version)
Year: 1985
Label: Mercury Records

Tears For Fears – “Head Over Heels/Broken” (Album Version) (mp3)

In 1983, Malcolm McLaren released two singles, Buffalo Gals and Double Dutch, both of which becoming worldwide top-10 smash-hits. Those two tracks hit the international music charts before his LP Dutch Rock was released. Dutch Rock album proved to be highly influential, bringing hip-hop to a wider audience, especially in the UK.

In 1984, Malcolm changed his tune to opera on his next maxi/EP single release of Madam Butterfly which was an electronic, synth-pop modern-classic track, based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1902 classic-opera Madam Butterfly’s - “Un Bel Di Vedremo” final aria (watch videos below). For those of you who are not familiar with Puccini, perhaps you might recognize his “Nessun Dorma” aria from his Turandot opera (which is still part of today’s popular culture). Nessun Dorma has achieved pop-status by Luciano Pavarotti’s recording of it, used as the theme song of BBC’s television’s coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup soccer in Italy; and it subsequently reached #2 on the UK singles music chart (the highest placing ever by a classical recording).

Malcolm McLaren’s Madam Butterfly is arranged with a drum-machine, atmospheric synthesizers and spoken/sung R&B verses (with opera backup vocals). The production on Malcom’s Madam Butterfly is stellar. The track was produced by Steven Hague who settled for nothing but the best in overall production. I know for a fact that a Fairlight CMI-2 was used, because Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo) starts with the Fairlight’s famous factory sound-preset ”aah” voices coming in slowly and rising gradually in volume, serving as a bed/pad sound layered in the background throughout the track. Watch music video below to hear that sound. I know all the Fairlight sounds inside-out, because I’ve heard them millions of times since 1980 when the Fairlight beast of a sampler/workstation instrument was used on countless of tracks by other famous artists and groups in that era (for it’s unique sound, powerful sample/sound processing engine and music sequencer). Watch this video of the Fairlight being demonstrated by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran. As for the chord melody in Madam Butterfly, it is a sound of an upright-harp with softer/slower attack transient; there’s no telling what synthesizer or sampler used for the track. It could’ve been a custom-sampled harp sound for the Fairlight, or a factory-sample bank coming from a then-popular E-mu Emulator-II, but my guess is that the harp and the bassline-sound were factory-preset patches from a Yamaha DX7 synth. Watch this YouTube demo of the DX7. Harp sounds from synths and samplers sound almost exactly the same and very difficult to distinguish them apart. Also, the drum-machine used in Madam Butterfly is an Oberheim DMX (which was just as popular as Roland TR-808, LinnDrum and E-mu Drumulator and SP-12 drum-machines at that time).

Attention new music producers: I have compiled and categorized .wav samples of almost every classic drum-machine and electronic drum-kits made by man.  Download drum_kits.zip

I used to own the 12″ vinyl of Madam Butterfly which I bought in 1984 from Our Price record store in Uxbridge town center (Hillingdon, Buckinghamshire, UK). But I gave it to my friend Mister P-Body (Arizona) in June 2001 (just before I moved back to West Vancouver, BC, Canada, on July 1, 2001), as I had already owned a copy of it on CD-single which I’d purchased in 1988. To this day, I’m still playing the track over and over again. I have never gotten (and still never get) sick of listening to Madam Butterfly — takes on me on long mind trips each time.

• Read my previous blog/article: Malcom McLaren – “Deep In Vogue”

Malcolm McLaren – “Madam Butterfly” (Un Bel Di Vedremo)…

Artist: Malcolm McLaren
Title: Madam Butterfly (Un Bel Di Vedremo)
Year: 1984
Label: Virgin Records; Charisma Records

Malcolm McLaren – “Madam Butterfly” (Un Bel Di Vedremo) (mp3)

Malcolm McLaren – “Madam Butterfly” (On The Fly Mix)…

Artist: Malcolm McLaren
Title: Madam Butterfly (On The Fly Mix)
Year: 1984
Label: Virgin Records; Charisma Records

Malcolm McLaren – “Madam Butterfly” (On The Fly Mix) (mp3)

Malcolm McLaren – “Death Of Butterfly” (Tu Tu Piccolo)…

Artist: Malcolm McLaren
Title: Death Of Butterfly (Tu Tu Piccolo)
Year: 1984
Label: Virgin Records; Charisma Records

Malcolm McLaren – “Death Of Butterfly” (Tu Tu Piccolo) (mp3)

Music Video: Macolm McLaren – “Madam Butterfly” (widescreen)…

Stage Performance: A preview of Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly” opera…

Opera Performance: Puccini – “Madam Butterfly” (Un Bel Di Vedremo)…

Stage Performance:
Pavarotti sings “Nessun Dorma” final aria of Puccini’s Turandot opera…

I love Thomas Dolby.  I have all his albums on vinyl, cassette tapes and CD’s.  However, I do not own all of Dolby’s maxi-singles on 12″ or CD’s.  But I am a proud to have in my collection a rare 12″ vinyl record of Dissidents, Part-1 and Part-2.  To this day, I have yet to find the full-length dub-version (Part-1) of  the track on any Thomas Dolby CD out there so far.

Thomas Dolby became one of the most recognizable figures of the synth-pop movement of early-’80s new wave.  Dolby successfully harnessed the power of synthesizers and samplers, to make catchy pop and light electro-funk.  Dissidents revisits Dolby’s love of cold-war espionage.  The track’s funky, cold-war theme shows Dolby’s take and collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto on a variety of intelligent subjects with ease.  Definitely a solid marriage of substance and style — a combination which often went unrecognized in the synth laden landscape of the 80s.

• Follow Thomas Dolby’s blog
• Watch “Dissidents” video on YouTube

Thomas Dolby – “Dissidents: The Search For Truth, Part-1″ (Dub, 12″ Mix)…

Artist: Thomas Dolby
Title: Dissidents: The Search For Truth, Part-1 (Dub, 12″ Mix)
Year: 1984
Label: Capital Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Thomas Dolby – “Dissidents: The Search For Truth, Part-1″ (Dub, 12″ Mix) (mp3)

Thomas Dolby – “Dissidents: The Search For Truth, Part-2″ (Vocal)…

Artist: Thomas Dolby
Title: Dissidents: The Search For Truth, Part-2 (Vocal)
Year: 1984
Label: Capital Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Thomas Dolby – “Dissidents: The Search For Truth, Part-2″ (Vocal) (mp3)

I have selected my favorite Simple Minds singles to post on here.  These particular tracks are very hard to find these days, as most of them were available only as maxi-singles on 12″ records and audio-CD (only one in particular: Don’t You Forget About Me which was re-issued on CD-single in the late 80’s) back in the days when they were originally released.  Almost all of the instrumental versions below were on the B-sides of the 12″ records.  I’ve added slight reverb to give them more ambience.  It is very hard to find any of them on current CD releases or from legit digital-download services (iTunes, etc.) today.  Now, the very last track on the bottom below is Open Your Mind by Usura (Euro dance genre) and NOT by Simple Minds.  The reason why I’ve made it available here is because it borrowed (and possibly sampled) heavily from Simple Minds’ New Gold Dream track (also posted below, second-bottom).

Simple Minds – “Seeing Out The Angel” (12″ Instrumental)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Seeing Out The Angel (12″ Instrumental)
Year: 1981
Label: Virgin Records; Polygram
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Minds – “Seeing Out The Angel” (12″ Instrumental) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “Promised You A Miracle” (12″)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Promised You A Miracle (12″)
Year: 1982
Label: Virgin Records; Polygram
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Minds – “Promised You A Miracle” (12″) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “Theme For Great Cities” (12″ Instrumental)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Theme For Great Cities (12″ Instrumental)
Year: 1982
Label: Virgin Records; Polygram
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Minds – “Theme For Great Cities” (12″ Instrumental) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “Every Heaven” (12″ Instrumental)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Every Heaven (12″ Instrumental)
Year: 1982
Label: Virgin Records; EMI Music
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Minds – “Every Heaven” (12″ Instrumental) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “Don’t You Forget About Me” (Extended Version)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Don’t You Forget About Me (Extended Version)
Year: 1984
Label: Virgin Records

Simple Minds – “Don’t You Forget About Me” (Extended Version) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “Ghostdancing” (Extended 12″ Remix)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Ghostdancing (Extended 12″Remix)
Year: 1986
Label: Virgin Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Minds – “Ghostdancing” (Extended 12″ Remix) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “Ghostdancing” (Instrumental)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: Ghost Dancing (Instrumental)
Year: 1986
Label: Virgin Records
Media Source: Recorded straight from 12-inch record to enhanced digital.

Simple Minds – “Ghostdancing” (Instrumental) (mp3)

Simple Minds – “New Gold Dream” (81-82-83-84)…

Artist: Simple Minds
Title: New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
Year: 1982
Label: Virgin Records

Simple Minds – “New Gold Dream” (81-82-83-84) (mp3)

Usura – “Open Your Mind” (Chart Mix)…

Artist: Usura
Title: Open Your Mind (Chart Mix)
Year: 1993
Label: Time S.p.A.

Usura – “Open Your Mind” (Chart Mix) (mp3)

Important note:
All the French Kiss versions below are the first and original mixes and remixes circa 1989.
It is amazing how French Kiss stood the test of time.  Exactly 21 years ago, around October/November, or let’s just say Fall of 1989, Lil’ Louis came out with this gem.  To my ears, French Kiss was really the first serious progressive/house track (through its rolling, hypnotic bassline) to come out at that time, thus making most other house tracks in the dance and mainstream charts to sound like kindergarten music.  French Kiss took the world by storm with its no-nonsense attitude.  Its incredible breakdown in the middle, as the track slowed down gradually to a complete pause (accompanied by a sustained high-note and a female’s erotic moans, groans and heavy breathing) …. with few seconds of no beats …. and then the beat started to pulse at the lowest BPM, increasing its speed slowly and gradually back to the track’s original fast-paced tempo.  All of that was ground-breaking musically and technologically (as it was really a-first-of-its-kind to be programmed/midi-sequenced at that time when it was hard to do so with midi gear).

• For those of you interested, the sound of that bassline was a preset called “Solid Bass” from a Yamaha DX-100 synth (pictured above).
• If you use Native Instruments FM8 software synth, then you can download and unzip the following sys-ex patches of the Yamaha DX-100/27/21.  These synths had identical engines, although each one was different in size. However, they also shared the same exact factory patch/program presets.
• Download a-z.zip —–and—– DX21.zip
• Upload the patches to FM8.
• Look for “Solid Bass” or “Solid Bass 2” patches for that French Kiss bassline sound.

When I first heard the track at Medusa’s club in Chicago, I stopped doing what I was doing ….. stood still in the middle of the dancefloor where the sweetspot was in the stereo-field …… and just listened.  The DJ played the entire 10-minute track.  The only words that came out of my mouth were, “HOLY SHIT!” I said those words three time …. once in the beginning of the track, once in middle/breakdown and then once three-quarters towards the end.

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Original Mix)…

Artist: Lil’ Louis
Title: French Kiss (Original Mix)
Year: 1989
Label: FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recording)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Original Mix) (mp3)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Hitting Virgin Territory Instrumental Mix)…

Artist: Lil’ Louis
Title: French Kiss (Hitting Virgin Territory Instrumental Mix)
Year: 1989
Label: FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recording)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Hitting Virgin Territory Instrumental Mix) (mp3)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Innocent Until Proven Guilty Vocal Remix)…

Artist: Lil’ Louis
Title: French Kiss (Innocent Until Proven Guilty Vocal Remix)
Year: 1989
Label: FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recording)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Innocent Until Proven Guilty Vocal Remix) (mp3)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Backup Your Conversation)…

Artist: Lil’ Louis
Title: French Kiss (Backup Your Conversation)
Year: 1989
Label: FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recording)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Backup Your Conversation) (mp3)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Passion Radio Mix)…

Artist: Lil’ Louis
Title: French Kiss (Passion Radio Mix)
Year: 1989
Label: FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recording)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Passion Radio Mix) (mp3)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Album Version)…

Artist: Lil’ Louis
Title: French Kiss (Album Version)
Year: 1989
Label: FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recording)

Lil’ Louis- “French Kiss” (Album Version) (mp3)