Previously, I was mostly aware of Van She from their remix work - specifically, their wonderful overhaul of Dragonette's 'I Get Around'.
Well, they've an album entitled "V" coming out in a few weeks, and the single is called 'Changes'. It is similarly wonderful - in a way that rarely happens when you investigate a remixer. Usually, you find out their original work isn't quite up to snuff. [Hello Timo Maas, for example, or Chicken Lips as Dingo tells me and I'm taking his word for.]
I'd post the video, but there's no audio for some reason. So go to their myspace to listen to it. It's worth the click, I promise.
So on the way home from work this afternoon, I decided to do a little record shopping...
...OK, so I totally went to track down a used copy of Technotronic's "Pump Up The Jam - The Album" after the whole Binghamton incident...
...But anyways, especially after the dream I had I figured today was as good as any to go track a copy down. No, I didn't run into Fred Schneider [though how fucking cool would that have been], but I did run into my friend Steve whom I used to live with many years ago and haven't seen since I kinda abruptly moved out on him back in the Spring of 2004. Whoops.
Obviously, the dream was a sign. He's in town from NYC for a few days because his mother - who is awesome and was my date to see "Velvet Goldmine" back in the day because Steve didn't want to go see it a second time and she did - had surgery on her shoulder and he came back to help her out - and we're having dinner tomorrow before he flies back home on Saturday. The end.
I had a dream I was record shopping and Fred Schneider was my clerk. I was trying to explain to him why "Wild Planet" is my favorite B-52's album. [I'm not entirely sure that it is.] 'Pump' from this year's sort of excellent, sort of disappointing "Funplex" was playing in the background.
I know this is totally the uncool answer, but I think "Cosmic Thing" is my favorite. At the very least, I find it to be the most consistent. Though you can't argue with 'Give Me Back My Man'.
If there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's inconsistency in single formatting. Even moreso than that, it's breaking a theme for a campaign part-way through...though in this case, I think it's safe to say they jumped ship for last release.
Anyways...
Both the 'Crocodile' and 'Beautiful Burnout' 12" packages had lovely leaf imprint themes that looked stunning on the format. So for the third UK 12" release, we get these ugly abstract boxes. Grr.
On the bright side, they put all 4 mixes on one 12" this time instead of spreading them out over 2, so bonus points for that. Speaking of, I should probably get around to listening to them at some point.
Speaking of artwork themes, I love the art for the Hercules & Love Affair releases - 'You Belong' arrived with 'Ring Road' and the bright, garish neon colors look wonderful in gigantic sleeves...and neon blue vinyl for the 7"! LOVE IT!
Let's take a minute to talk about one of my favorite bands of all time - the gone but by no means forgotten [by some of us, anyways] Geneva.
One of the many, many quality bands signed to the Nude label in the UK in its lifetime - I say the best band they had, but there are many Suede fans who would argue with that - Geneva only put out two albums in its short time with us. But what albums they are!
1997 debut "Further" is very of it's time, but also has that certain something that makes it stand out from the pack. On one hand, it's your standard indie guitar album. On the other hand, there's something that ebbs and flows with it that gives it a feel all it's own, that makes it very, very special. The four singles pulled from it - oh, how I miss the '90's single culture - were all incredible, of course, and I'd never be able to pick a favorite. 'No One Speaks' is heartbreaking, 'Into the Blue' is life-affirming [it has a slight edge in being the one that introduced me to them], 'Tranquillizer' has a killer hook, and 'Best Regrets' just soars. The album's other 8 tracks all equal the singles - not all are single material, but all stand tall next to their fellow album tracks.
And the packaging! The cover image of the tree in the middle of the field is striking. The singles are even better - all in die-cut double card sleeves, the packagings of the 2 double CD singles ['Tranquillizer' and its chess pieces and 'Best Regrets' with its flower] add up to make one image. Just gorgeous - they truly speak to the special music contained within. The album had a whopping 15 b-sides to go with it's 12 album tracks - again, miss the '90's single culture - and all of them once again equal the a-side they appeared with.
I saw them in 1997 open for Catherine Wheel on their "Adam and Eve" tour. One of the best double bills I've ever seen. At the time, I was only just getting familiar with "Further", but the show is what made me explore it more. I wish they had come over to the US for their second album.
[On a side note, I've often thought of how I saw the two bands that I miss the most - Geneva and Catherine Wheel - on one bill. They were also touring with Feline, who I don't really miss all that much. In fact, outside of that night I don't think I've ever heard or heard of Feline.]
Speaking of, "Weather Underground" still stands as one of the 00's greatest albums...even though no one paid any attention. We sadly only got 2 singles from it - the rockin' [for them, at least] 'Dollars in the Heavens' and the gorgeous 'If You Have To Go' - before Nude ran into financial problems, which I believe led to the beginning of the end for Geneva. I distinctly remember having a dream that 'Killing Stars' was released as the third single and I had gotten my Action Records package in the mail containing them. Anyways...
The album is their masterpiece, and for my money the greatest album released on the Nude label. An album entirely concerned with technology and its effects on humanity, yet one with a heart beating beneath it making it very human. The first time I heard it, I swore I would never need to buy another album as nothing was going to match it. Obviously that didn't stick, but I do still feel that this is a very, very special album and it is criminal that it is so overlooked. Seriously - hunt down 'Have You Seen The Horizon Lately?' and tell me it's not light years ahead of it's time and one of the greatest songs of the decade. A-m-a-z-i-n-g.
Andrew went on to Amityville for a short period of time and is now focused on St Famous - who apparently now have a record deal and will be putting out their debut in the Fall. Both projects are great - really, they are - but there's still a special place in my heart for Geneva.
I get sad thinking about them not being with us anymore.
Previously, I was mostly aware of Van She from their remix work - specifically, their wonderful overhaul of Dragonette's 'I Get Around'.
