Robert Taylor wrote:
Strange coming from me, but has anyone got anything sensible to say today? ;-)
I had the unfortunate experience of, while flipping through the TV channels
yesterday, coming upon the video for Stevie Wonder's "Just Called To Say
I Love You" from the absolutely horrid "Woman In Red" soundtrack (don't
drive drunk and calling to say you love someone are great sentiments, yes,
but accompanying them with clunky 1984 sounds don't work). Now, let
me state for the record that Stevie Wonder is a HUGE fave of mine, I just
don't have any *post*-1983 records from him! Anyway, that incident
from yesterday lead to my listening to nothing but Stevie records so far
today
and I just had a second unfortunate experience that leads to this rant:
STOP BASTARDIZING STEVIE RECORDS BY "interpolating" THEM!
Why the anger?: well, here am I enjoying side 2 of Songs In The Key Of Life
and track 1 is "I Wish"--bastardized by Will Smith for that bloody
movie Wild West (I forget the exact title), and then just 2 songs later
comes the most wonderful "Pastime Paradise"--bastardized by Coolio
for his horrible rework. Taken separately, I was able to suffer through
these bastardizations in the past when they came out, but having the
reminders rubbed in my
face within the space of 3 tracks this morning, damn, I almost feel Will
and Coolio
should be apologizing to anyone listening to Songs In The Key Of Life
from now on! :) Brings back another horrible memory: I had had a
house/tech-house residency at a local bar (313 relevance: Kenny
Larkin's rework of Sade that I got when Dan Bell was running the
Seventh City store in Detroit with Kristie Negro was a bit hit at this
residency) and Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" was a big hit at the time
(not that I ever played it--ever--but the other DJs at the bar certainly
did).
So I played Stevie's "Pasttime Paradise" when someone requested
Coolio during the house/tech-house night (guess he didn't clue in to
the theme of the night) thinking I could sorta satisfy the request and
perhaps educate a bit as well as keep the vibe I was trying to work
with. Well, I almost got beaten up! When I explained the Stevie--
Coolio connection, the guy did not give a sh*t--he just wanted
to hear his Coolio. Will Smith did the same horrible thing to a
Whispers record I used to love. Don't miss those days
at all. Thank goodness Kanye West chops up and plays around
a bit with the Chaka Khan sample when he uses it on "Through
The Wire" instead of going for a rap-over-the-original rework.
Whew! Not sure if it was sensible, but there's my rant for the
morning, Robert. :). Andrew Duke
--
Jason Trenholm was born 31 August 1969 and died 1 January 2004.
We met when we were 5 years old; he was my best friend for the next 29 years.*****
Andrew Duke releases out now:
Take Nothing For Granted http://cognitionaudioworks.com
Environmental Politics http://and-oar.org
Sprung http://bip-hop.com *Canadian electronica album of the year nominee*
http://warprecords.com/mart/music/release.php?cat=BLEEP12&fc_type=CD
More Destructive Than Organized http://staalplaat.com
Highest Common Denominator http://pieheadrecords.com
Physical and Mental Health http://dialrecords.com
74'02 (split with Hypo) http://tsunami-addiction.com
http://cognitionaudioworks.com
