90’s

Today’s Track: Garbage – “I Think I’m Paranoid” (1998)

September 18, 2020 — 2 Comments

The old Wisconsin rock band who really love to Trash Talk! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Version 2.0” (Released on May 11th, 1998) (via Mushroom Records/Almo)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! I hope this one’s not rubbish… Garbage are a classic 4-piece Alternative Rock band who formed together in Madison, Wisconsin in 1993, and went on to sell over 17 million records worldwide. All four of the members have been involved in the songwriting and production processes of their work together, and, in a rare case for a long-serving project such as this, the original line-up has never even changed a budge since they formed the group. Most recently, the band have released 2016’s “Strange Little Birds” following a three-year hiatus between 2017 and 2010. “I Think I’m Paranoid” was an international hit for the group in 1998, and it has since remained to be one of their most popular singles. It came from their sophomore LP effort, “Version 2.0”, which was released to universal critical acclaim and good commercial success in 1998. Following a year in production, the album made it to #1 of the UK Albums Chart and it earned two Grammy Award nominations. Garbage followed this by performing and co-producing the Bond theme for the nineteenth film of the Spy franchise, “The World Is Not Enough”, which was released in the year after. In 2007, “I Think I’m Paranoid” would see a remastered release and it was included on Garbage’s Greatest Hits compilation album, “Absolute Garbage”. Trash by name, but is it trash by nature? Let’s quickly find out, down below.

Blondie meets Hole meets Electronica always seems to be the vibes that I’m usually getting from Garbage whenever I hear the classic track, “I Think I’m Paranoid”. The lyrics feel pretty high and dry, as Shirley Manson struts good confidence when playing with the themes of mental paranoia and vengeful lust, with a tone that cohesively shifts between a slightly more light-hearted, melodic pop nature and a violent, aggressive Alt-Punk number between the key hooks on the vocals. Manson croons: “You can look but you can’t touch” and “Heaven knows, what a girl can do” in the involving opening, as a shiny Synth pattern envelops over the top of a gentle, acoustic guitar strum. As the vocals from Manson get thicker and a bit more hard-hitting, so does the melody. Manson exclaims: “I think I’m paranoid/complicated/manipulated” in the chorus to a sudden burst of feist, as quick elements of Post-Punk and Pop-Grunge begin to creep in, before a soft DJ vocal scratch reverts the beat back to it’s more simplistic formula. Of course, before long, we get a second Pop-Grunge chorus, along with a killer bridge that introduces an energetic backing guitar riff and a more character-driven lead vocal to the mix. “Bend me, break me/Anyway you need me/All I need is you” brings the single to a close, with a gleaming Synth riff and the repeated DJ scratching effects. It’s got a very layered structure, with different elements providing the jump-off points for tonal changes and musical key changes throughout the duration. Although it’s somewhat lacking in an element of surprise overall, the track has very comfortably demonstrated much tighter songwriting than what came before for Garbage. Manson found her strong voice for addictive, lustful Post-Grunge.

  • Pictured: Shirley Manson (Lead Vocals/Keyboard/Producer), Duke Erikson (Lead Guitar/Samples), Steve Marker (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Butch Vig (Drums/Percussion) (2016) (Photo via Getty Images)

Thank you for reading my latest post! As always, Scuzz Sundays, our weekly look back at an Emo-Rock/Pop-Punk relic from the years past, is coming up in just two days time! Before then, don’t forget to check back with me on the blog tomorrow for an in-depth listen to a recent Lockdown single from an Israeli singer, songwriter and producer who released her debut album to a very positive critical reception in 2017. Her single, “Dance While You Shoot”, was used by Apple in a global advertising campaign for it’s Apple Music streaming service. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

22nd Birthday Special Edition: Beck – “Hollywood Freaks”

September 2, 2020 — Leave a comment

It’s hard to think someone ever actually designed that…thing. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Midnite Vultures” (Released on November 23rd, 1999) (via DGC Records/Bang Bang)

But, that’s why… I LOVE it! Good Morning to you, I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to get typing up about a different piece of music every day! I’m 22 today, not that it really changes anybody’s lives or anything, so I thought it’d be cool to spotlight one of my all-time favourites, since this is similar to what I did last year, where I introduced you to the first track that I ever played on the radio. A consistent repeat of my streaming library is Beck’s “Midnite Vultures”, the seventh LP record that was released by the multi-BRIT and multi-Grammy winning producer, back in 1999. This is probably the biggest outlier in Beck’s shape-shifting discography, as it was the last album he produced before going into his more acoustic-driven, Folk sound that has since become popular with his fans. I present to you… An Experimental Funk album! The critical response was divisive, as it parodied and satirized the pastiche of late-70’s US R&B/Soul and 80’s Neo-Psychedelic Vegas aesthetics with Beck’s typically obscure hook-driven songwriting, the abrupt changes in instrumentation, and the sleek G-Funk influences it pays homage to. I can understand the common criticism that the novelty factor puffs out of steam and energy a little bit towards the end, but it’s still one of the most fun and engaging albums that you could ever possibly listen to and it was wholly different to 96’s “Odelay” and more tonally original than 98’s “Mutations”. Simply put, it stands out as a breath of fresh air in his discography, and the unique sound has never fully been revisited by Beck since. I prefer “Hollywood Freaks” to any of the other tracks you would find here – so give it a fair chance to grow on you below.

Had a few listens? Good. For me, “Hollywood Freaks” works perfectly as the White teen aged male’s pastiche to postmodern R&B, with a satirical jab to any R&B-based “booty call” track ever written, as Beck valiantly hangs out with: “The Hollywood freaks on the hollywood scene”, with distractedly low rate workings of sexual activity (“Hot milk, mmm tweak my nipple”) and a care-free mimicry of political correction, and elitism. Beck isn’t making fun of rap or even of people who shop at Old Navy, inherently doing so. Beck’s vocals sound upbeat and dynamic, twisting-and-turning between different textures and breaking stylistic conventions at each turn, before layering out a wailing rap background vocal of: “Jockin’ my mercedes/Probably have my baby/Shop at Old Navy/You wish you was an old lady”, following interludes of funk-laden breaks, as a Brass melody wraps itself around the hook: “Touch it real good if you want a peace/How do people know I’m that type of freak?”, before we go back to those fragmented, deep Synth rhythms and infectiously melodic rap verses. Explicit lyricism (“I wanna know what makes you scream/Be your twenty million dollar fantasy)” and mocking the upper-class (“My sales go triple/We drop lobotomy beats) makes for the icing on the cake, with nonsensical songwriting that shines with an affectionate grin. The entire vibe of the record is Prince goes doo-lally, and “Hollywood Freaks” asserts this, with it’s clever spoken-word delivery and a rebellious tinge of Punk melodicism that drives the humor forward. It ends with a child’s backing vocal, and a gentle stream of Synths that marks a key change, as we lean more heavily into dance-led territory. The erotic nature of the lyrics makes for a knowing nod to white postmodernists, with vocals and instrumentation that toys around with the R&B genre’s conventions of money, fame and power. Overall, I feel these themes still work brilliantly 20 years on, and it’s still difficult to find anything else that sounds entirely like this. Well – they do say that truly good music never ages!

  • Pictured: Beck Hansen in a promotional photoshoot for “Mellow Gold” (1994) (Photo via DGC/Bang Bang)

I have previously covered a brief selection of Beck’s other work on the blog. Last year, he released a new album, “Hyperspace”, and you can read up on my thoughts on the lead single “Uneventful Days” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/29/todays-track-beck-uneventful-days/ and the album track “See Through” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/11/28/todays-track-beck-see-through/. I have also previously looked at another classic track from his older discography, “Tropicalia”, which you can explore here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/08/20/todays-track-beck-tropicalia/

  • Pictured: Art Collage showing the many faces of Beck over the decades (2018) (Photo Credit: Sarita Schaffer)

Thank you for reading my new post! I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at an Irish Alternative Punk poet who is an emerging artist on the Chess Club Records indie label. She has often been likened to Mark E. Smith, Nick Cave and The Slits, and she has performed with John Cooper-Clarke and The Brian Jonestown Massacre at sold-out theater shows across the UK, as well as gaining traction from outlets like The Guardian, The Quietus and Stereogum. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays 1st Anniversary Special: The Bloodhound Gang – “The Bad Touch”

August 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

Honestly, I can’t actually believe that I’m doing this, but it’s a special Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: Jimmy Pop (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Jared Hasslehoff (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), DJ Q-Ball (Keyboards/Synths/Turntables/Producer), Daniel P. Carter (Lead Guitar) and The Yin (Drums (2015) (via WeGow.com)

Oh, boy! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and we’ve reached the time of the week where we have a look back at an Emo-Rock or a Pop-Punk relic, one that would have been played on the defunct Scuzz TV channel, from the late 1990’s to the mid-2000’s, to see if it can live up to it’s stature! We’ve actually reached the point of an entire year since I began running the feature on the blog, so, therefore, to mark the milestone, we’re actually going there, with… THAT track. Of course, I’m talking about The Bloodhoung Gang’s “The Bad Touch”, a track that was on a VERY significantly heavy rotation on Scuzz TV, for all of the wrong reasons… I feel. It’s known for it’s very silly, memorable music video that made the track become a sizable hit commercially, peaking at #4 in the UK Singles Chart and #52 on the US Billboard Hot 100, alongside a #1 chart position in European countries including Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and a few others. This track came from the group’s third studio album, “Hooray For Boobies”… Yep, which was also released in October 1999 in the UK and the rest of Europe, with a US release early in the year thereafter. In case you were wondering, The Bloodhound Gang were a band who have done quite well for themselves, as they have sold more than 6 million copies of their albums worldwide. I guess, after “The Bad Touch”, they at least had a core fanbase to follow them. The 5-piece went on a hiatus in 2015. Let’s get this over with… with “The Bad Touch” below.

Referenced by Eminem in his hit – “The Real Slim Shady”, The Bloodhound Gang’s “The Bad Touch” is the exemplary track that bought Rap-Rock to the masses in a way that, for at least some merit, is still remembered to this day. The lyrics are sexual and vulgar, as Jimmy Pop (yeah, an apt name, for sure) recites: “Sweat baby, Sweat baby, Sex is a Texas drought” and “So, put your hands down my pants and I’ll be you’ll feel nuts” after a synth-led intro that introduces retro 80’s synth beats and a noticeable element of Space-Pop into the mix. The chorus trades nothing for no subtlety, as Pop unforgettably raps: “You and me/Baby me, Nothing but mammals/So, let’s do it like they do on the Discovery channel”, as he pairs up a very basic rhyme with a melodic Synth instrumental, with very little guitar-based instrumentation to be seen or heard. The rest of the track plods along with it’s established style, as Pop matches simplistic Hop-based hooks with repeating Synth instrumentals, with the odd “Gettin’ horny now” to remind us of the intentionally crass and deliberately oversexualised lyricism, with sexual references with every single turn, and a calming Synth bed undertone to complement the Innuendo-heavy vocals. To be fair, the music video is still rather funny and it elicits a decent chuckle out of me, and the refrains are slightly catchy, so I’m not going to take a No.2 all over this. The trouble is, however, you may notice how the sound never really progresses in any major ways. It never really gets to a point where it gets outright explicit, and, melodically, it’s just the same couple of hooks getting repeated over strikingly familiar Synth instrumental sections and the same old rap chorus. It gets tedious for the wrong reasons, and it simply just doesn’t quite go anywhere. But, where would we all be without this? Blissfully unaware… Perhaps?

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hooray For Boobies” (Album) (Released on October 4th, 1999) (via Geffen Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! Scuzz Sundays will return for the foreseeable future, and although I’ve just about covered all of the main tracks taken from the era, I’ve still got plenty of sources to gather memories from and some lesser-known tracks that could have something interesting to them. I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at the new single from an established Australian Psychedelic Rock act who recently collaborated with Mike Skinner on his latest mixtape as The Streets. He also won the “Best Song Of The Year 2016” trophy at the APRA Awards in 2016. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Terrorvision (feat. Mint Royale) – “Tequila (Mint Royale Shot)”

July 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

A caricature of the past? Or, does is it still sound in Mint condition? It’s Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Physical CD copy of “Regular Urban Survivors” (Released on 11th March, 1996) (via EMI/Total Vegas)

You know what day it is! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Sunday is Scuzz Sunday, where we revisit an emo-rock or pop-punk classic from the late-1990’s until the mid-2000’s to see if it can live up to modern standards, named in honor of the now-defunct Scuzz TV freeview channel. Terrorvision were a successful British Alternative Rock band from Yorkshire who disbanded in 2001, before they re-united in 2011, with mainstream chart hits including “Perseverance”, “Bad Actress” and “Alice, What’s The Matter” over the years. For their fourth album, “Shaving Peaches”, released in 1998, Terrorvision decided to go in a more pop-oriented and chart-friendly direction, or rather, their label did. “Tequila”, a single from the album, was Terrorvision’s rework of the 1958 instrumental “Tequila (The Champs Song)” by Danny Flores and The Champs, a track which is widely recognizable. The instrumental was heavily sampled by Terrorvision, who used the tune of the main melody, to create their “Tequila” track. The album featured co-production from Edwyn Collins, and “Tequila” reached #2 in the UK Singles Charts after it had been remixed by Mint Royale, the alias of EDM producer Neil Claxton, who had a famous hit with “Singin’ In The Rain” that was released in 2005, and it re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2008 at the #1 spot after Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson used it for his semi-final and final performances on the TV show. This one is a little different to our usual Scuzz Sundays fare. Let’s have a listen below.

A crossover hit for the band, “Tequila” was remixed by Mint Royale to a big success rate that Terrorvision were undoubtedly not very used to, but it’s a hit that their label wanted, with mainstream success and all the expectations that come with it being handled to the band on a silver plate, as the band was bound to a contract with EMI and had to release it, at their discretion, after Zoe Ball (the BBC Radio 1 breakfast presenter at the time) gave it significant airplay. “Just looking for a hit” is never something that sits well with me, but the quality of the remix alone is in reasonable shape. Claxton uses the modulated sample of a children’s choir to add a chaotic, witty upbeat effect to Tony Wright’s post-punk influenced vocals. The vocals are highly reminiscent of Gorillaz, with a low-tone Albarn-like croon that creates a cohesive “Chalk and Cheese” effect to the high-pitched gospel voices. The guitar riffs of the original track are still thrown in, but their tone is more cheerful and high-tempo due to the dance-heavy backing loops. Wright’s vocals repeat: “Con Tequila, when the doors are opened, and Con Tequila when they’re calling time”, layered above uptempo Vibraphone chords and Whistle sections, both of which have a spinning, Carousel effect. The arrangement still retains it’s post-punk elements by including the main rock instrumentation and keeping the original vocals intact, but the sound geers towards a Brit-Pop flavour that reminds me of Blur, with a short and sweet drum loop that sounds more akin to “Fly Life” by Basement Jaxx. The result is predominantly still a soft-rock record, but the presence of the Sun-soaked electronic beats and the sultry themes of having a cheeky alcoholic drink in the sun make the 50’s instrumental sound refreshed under a new guise. It’s just a matter of perspective!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Shaving Peaches” (Released on 5th October, 1998) (via EMI/Total Vegas)

Thank you very much for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be kicking off the new week by covering a fairly recent track that I sadly didn’t get around to covering beforehand. It comes from a very talented Black singer, producer and songwriter who was shortlisted for his very first album for the Mercury Prize in 2011. His third album, released in 2015, was also shortlisted for the Mercury Prize that year. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Enigma – “Sadeness (Part 1)”

July 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

This interesting German-Romanian electronic music producer managed to crack the “Enigma code” of the mainstream singles charts in the 1990’s. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Enigma (Michael Cretu) in a photoshoot to promote “The Fall Of A Rebel Angel” (2016) (via ParisMatch.com)

Remember this one? Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It’s a strange sight to behold – a composer managing to have a big chart hit with an ambient chillout track that was built upon Gregorian Chants and tribal Flute sounds, but somehow… before I was even born…. It happened! Enter Enigma, the alias of German-Romanian music composer Micheal Cretu. The inspiration for his experimental project was a product of his desire to make a kind of music that did not obey “the old rules and habits” of commercial pop music, and presented a new form of artistic expression with mystic and experimental components, according to his interview with Melvyn J. Willin. Thus, he produced atmospheric intercultural soundscapes which dabbled in elements of New-Age and Worldbeat. He became a very successful artist for doing so, selling a total of over 70 million records worldwide, and receiving three Grammy Award nominations. He’s still going, having released his eighth ambient LP – “The Fall Of A Rebel Angel” – in 2016. He burst onto the scene with his international hit “Sadeness (Part 1)” in 1990, a track that somehow reached the #1 spot of the singles charts in 24 countries, which includes the UK. Let’s have a listen back to his breakout track below!

I’ve always wanted to join the Gregorian monks, but I never got the chants! There is no denying that Engima’s “Sadeness (Part 1)” is probably the most profoundly odd track to reach #1 in the UK, but I feel there is a nice amount of artistic merit to it, as opposed to it being a ‘fad’, and just a novelty. Starting off with an ominous line of Gregorian monk chants, Cretu gradually adds the layers up to combine the Gothic themes with ambient dance beats that were in the contemporary boom period of the time. Cretu repurposes a sample of the drums in Soul II Soul’s “Keep On Movin'” to create a gentle hip-hop beat, and Cretu combines them with a shimmering Pan-Pipe hook to get a downtempo, sultry groove going. It creates a very multicultural and strange ambient texture, and Cretu expands the idea out with the sound of a woman panting after a breathy line of odd foreign language vocals, paired up with the unexpected, short burst of a guitar solo in the middle. The climax (No pun intended) matches the ongoing Flute melodies with the sequence of more beat-driven synthesizer riffs, and the bizzare Gregorian monk chants bring a full-circle effect to the cerebral, trance-inducing 4-minute duration of ethereal, rich sound effects and dense, world-based instrumentation. The Peruvian flute melodies are the highlight for me, and the combination of strange sounds are quite appealing in a surprising number of ways, such as the seductive vibe of the light female backing vocals and the chemistry the different sections have in creating the visionary style that amounts up to an ambient fantasia. I’m probably just reading a bit too much into it, but it does still sound imaginative, and deeply sensual. The layering is quite solid. Sadly, I have a feeling that – much like the ancient customs of an old Gregorian tribe – it will sadly be forgotten as time wares on, and ‘Chart Pop’ gets more meme-oriented by the second!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “MCMXC a.D.” (Released on 10th December, 1990) (via Virgin/Charisma Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as always, with an in-depth listen to the (Pssssst… it’s really bad) brand new single from a Scottish folk-rock band who originally performed the track, “When We Collide”, that The X-Factor winner Matt Cardle had the UK’s Christmas #1 Single with in late 2010. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Scuzz Sundays: Hole – “Celebrity Skin”

July 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

With her new film career, Love spotted the “Hole” in the world of Fame for this record!

  • Pictured: Courtney Love (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Eric Erlandson (Lead Guitar/Unclean Vocals), Melissa Auf De Maur (Bass Guitar/Co-Producer) and Samantha Maloney (Drums/Percussion) (in 2012) (Photo Credit: Luke Letourneau)

Good Morning, it’s time for another weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and this is the time of the week where we take a look back at an emo-rock or pop-punk classic from between the late-1990’s to the mid-2000’s, to see if it can live up to modern standards! On the chopping block this week is Hole’s “Celebrity Skin”, which became a popular chart hit back in September 1998. The title track from the group’s third studio album, the Californian rock band being famously fronted by Courtney Love, is still Hole’s most commercially successful single to date, and it reached #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and it was placed at #126 of NME’s “150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years” list in late 2011. The style of “Celebrity Skin” is a departure from Hole’s work on their previous two albums, “Pretty On The Inside” (1991) and “Live Through This” (1994), with less emphasis on the Punk and Noise-Grunge of the band’s early work and a higher emphasis on hiring Michael Beinhorn, a new producer, to create a definitive, desert rock-alike “Californian Rock” sound that was more viable for commercial success, particularly in the mainstream rock circuit. The album was very successful, gaining positive reviews and selling over 1.4bn copies in the US alone, as of 2013. Let’s take a listen back to the track “Celebrity Skin” below!

Using a bold range of literary influences including poets T.S. Eliot and Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s for songwriting purposes, as well as using a main guitar riff recorded by Billy Corgan, of The Smashing Pumpkins, at a live session, Love released the track in the middle of her uprising film career to convey the track’s lyrical themes of maintaining a public image in the eyes of the media, and the wider observations of an idealized Hollywood. Love opens: “Oh, make me over/I’m all I wanna be/A walking study, in demonology”, in a seamless harmony with the pop-oriented sequences of groove-metal riffs. It transpires to slightly heavier material in the chorus, as Love exclaims: “Hey, I’m so glad you could make it/Yeah, now you’ve really made it/Hey, so glad you could make it now” over the top of an explosive drum part, noisy guitar riffs and dissolved bass guitar hooks. The bridge explores idyllic fashion: “When I wake up in my make-up/It’s too early for that dress/Writed and faded in Hollywood” and the clean post-bridge mocks sexualised modelling: “You better watch out/Oh, what you wish for/It better be worth it/So much to die for” with a polished, fiery emo-punk touch. The track feels slickened by the obvious Smashing Pumpkins-esque guitar framework, and the wider contextual themes of pretty poison, dirty glam and reassured self-loathing feel effective under the very Vegas-like, Desert Rock-inflicted punk sheen. It feels a little overstuffed with backtalk, quotation and the well-documented messiness on the part of Hole’s key collaborators in some parts to work more naturally, but Love’s vocal performance is very strong and I don’t mind the cheesy feel of the angsty guitar riffs too much, as the style meshes with the album’s exploration of themes suitably. It’s a very radio-friendly track that I’m sure you recognize, but it at least has some thought-provoking themes soaked into there. Although I feel the instrumentation choices let it down a little, feeling stiff in places, the songwriting is stronger and it feels polished in the approach of it’s denser context.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Celebrity Skin” (Album) (Released on September 8th, 1998) (via Geffen/DGC Records)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back to business as usual tomorrow, with an in-depth look at an emerging post-punk dance Synths/Drums duo from the UK indie rock circuit who have been active since 2008, and they recently earned a spot on John Kennedy’s X-Posure weekend evening show playlist on Radio X. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Man 2 Man (feat. George Parish) – “Male Stripper”

July 1, 2020 — 3 Comments

Novelty classic, or “Stripped” of it’s quality in the years since? It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Man 2 Man: Hits & Rarities 1985-1990” (Released in 1995) (via Retro Disco Hi-NRG)

Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog – just like always – because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! I’ve been looking at a lot of very serious, big new releases for the last week or so, and so I thought it would prove to be a nice palette cleanser to kick off the new month, of July 2020, with a look back at a novelty club classic that became a big hit in the golden age of 1980’s dance and disco music. “Male Stripper”, by Man 2 Man Meet George Parish, was originally released in late 1986, prior to it reaching #4 in the UK Singles Chart after a re-release in 1997. The project originally started as a New York Punk-Dance band called The Fast, it was part of the HI-NRG movement of uptempo and risky club music around the time, but two brothers who were part of the band – Miki Zone and Paul Zone – continued the act as a duo, teaming up with cult electro-pop producer George Parish to record “Male Stripper”, a song which gained big steam on the European club circuit, under the aliases of Man 2 Man. Sadly, Miki Zone became a victim of the AIDS Epidemic and died in 1986, shortly after it’s release. Since then, Paul continued as a solo producer under the name of Man To Man, and released a few tracks that had moderate success, but didn’t trouble the Top 40 singles charts very much. However, Paul Zone did even get to perform “Male Stripper” on Top Of The Pops with George Parish, so it’s not entirely awful. Let’s have a listen back to “Male Stripper” with the original music video below.

Magic Mike will be pleased. You can have that for free, Channing Tatum. A single that sounds almost like the quintessential European disco club classic from the late-1980’s because it more or less was, “Male Stripper” aimed to draw a crowd to the dancefloor, and it succeeded. Beginning with the funny, recognizable Horn sounds, the Zone brothers take the lead with an upbeat synth groove which they interweave with a robotic backing vocal which repeats “I was a male stripper in a go-go bar”, before Paul Zone recites lines such as “Ripples on my chest/I never got an address” and “A modern day jock, A jock with an act” over looped, bouncy drum machine sequences and echoing Vibraphone melodies, with a neat Conga Drum solo added in the bridgefor the good measure. The chorus is absurd: “Strip for me, babe, Strip for you/Strip for you cause’ I want you to”, completed with dueling female backing vocals and the odd “OOh” or “Ahh” from Miki Zone. More gloriously moronic lines: “Built like a truck/I’d bump for a buck” and “Tips in my G-string/I made my living” add humor, layered over the consistently repeating drum machine hooks and synthesized instrumentation sounds. Whilst it’s clearly not designed to be an emotionally challenging display of fine art, it’s entertaining to listen to, and it stands out as a relic because nobody would really write a club track about a gay Male Stripper in this present era, because it’s seen as risky in the sense of modern cultural representation. Conclusively, it sounds like the quintessential 1980’s club track. It is, but it’s good fun.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Male Stripper” (Single/UK Mix) (Released in late 1986) (via Recca Record)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow, continuing to kick off the month in style, with an in-depth look at a track from a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter and producer from California who is a huge fan of the Dragonball Japanese Manga/Anime series, and he uses it as a big part of his brand. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Scuzz Sunday: Reef – “Place Your Hands”

June 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

Happy Father’s Day to all of the good Dads around the world! It’s also Scuzz Sunday…

  • Pictured: Gary Stringer (Lead Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Tambourine), Jesse Wood (Rhythm Guitar), Jack Bessant (Bass Guitar/Keyboard/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Dominic Greensmith (Drums/Percussion) (2014) (via P.R.)

Happy Father’s Day if you are a fella parent or guardian reading this! It’s still Scuzz Sunday, however, the time of the week where we look back at an emo-rock or pop-punk classic from between the late-90s to the mid-00s and we evaluate whether it holds up in the modern age, named in honour of the now-defunct Scuzz TV rock music video channel. I am Jacob Braybrooke and it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day. Worthy Farm is likely best associated with the Glastonbury music festival, but it’s also the birthplace of Reef, an English rock band who found mainstream success with hits like “Place Your Hands”, “Come Back Brighter” and “I’ve Got Something To Say” in the late 1990’s. Fronted by Gary Stringer, Reef made a name for themselves by supporting the likes of Feeder, Paul Weller and Soundgarden on tour, before getting their debut LP “Glow” to the #1 spot in the UK Albums Chart. Their best-known single is “Place Your Hands”, which got to #6 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming their most commercially successful single to-date and giving the album a boost. The track, written by Stringer, is an honest statement which explains the grief that he felt following the death of his grandfather, and the recovery in easing the pain. Let’s see the Director’s Cut for the “Place Your Hands” video below.

Good G-Reef! The music video was featured SO heavily on MTV and Scuzz that it’s impossible to forget about the weird zooming-in-singing thing that Stringer does, and how much it can disturb you. The irony is, the main hook is “Put Your Hands” and “Place Your Hands” is sparingly used in the lyrics. Stringer wails: “So Place Your Hands, on my hole, run your fingers through my Soul” over a Spin Doctors-inspired bass guitar riff that continues to get repeated throughout the entire song to create an immediate effect. A faster bridge: “You know you cannot hide/from what’s inside” ends in a soulful vibe with : “So I ask of you to help me through/I ask of you this thing to do”, while there is a Gospel feeling to the chorus: “Put your hands on/Put your hands on”, which permeated above the Pop-driven guitar groove and the two-note Drum structure. Stringer also leads a breakdown of piano notes and unintelligible vocals near the end. It sounds horrific – but it does manage to get an inkling of Gospel and Soul across, created by the Funky and Bluesy rhythm, although these elements sadly do not sound fleshed out enough to resonate much. The vocal performance has a slightly laddish glint, but a lot of the lead vocals sound absolutely indelible, filled with odd wails and a thick accent delivery which feels like an insipid cross between Irish, Welsh and Scottish, but settling on neither of those in particular. The songwriting is largely forgettable and completely generic – not capturing any of the pain or emotion that Stringer felt by the loss. It’s a fun novelty for a bit, but it’s insane with blandness otherwise. Obscenely crap, I don’t blame you if you want to smash your speakers in after hearing it, although the level of poor makes me feel uplifted. As chef Cherish Finden from Bake Off: The Professionals said this week – “it’s Cha-La-La”.

  • Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “Glow” (Released on 27th January 1997) (via Sony) (Available from http://www.Merchbar.com)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. Everything be back to normal on the blog tomorrow ahead of the new week, and I’ll be looking at a recent track from a female R&B/Neo-Soul solo artist who became a viral hit in 2017 when the single “Antidote” from her compilation LP “A Collection Of Fleeting Moments and Daydreams” amassed over 6.6 million streams on Spotify! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Bentley Rhythm Ace – “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out!”

June 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

If you got a problem with me – Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Mike Stokes (Turntables/Keyboard/Producer) and Richard March (Bass/Engineering) performing a live set at a reunion show at the 02 Academy in Bournemouth (in December 2016) (Photo Credit: Charlie Raven Photography)

A 90’s dance classic to give you that Friday Feeling! Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Bentley Rhythm Ace are an Electronic Dance duo formed in 1996 in Birmingham, consisting of engineer Richard Marsh and producer Mike Stokes. This name is, believed to have been, a reference to the Rhythm Ace line-up of analogue drum machines, which were manufactured by Ace Tone and distributed by Bentley Pianos. The duo built up an underground following, signed to Skint Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1997. The album received widespread critical acclaim and it spawned a few mainstream hits, particularly “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out”, which reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart. The duo switched to Parlophone for a follow-up album “For Your Ears Only” in 2000, but it was nowhere near as successful. Stokes and March disbanded shortly after, but they reunited the act in 2016, starting off with a few low-key shows, before headlining their own shows and playing at a lot of festivals across the UK circuit. The duo played a big role in the “British Big Beat” movement of the 1990’s, which is an era where club music became very popular, pioneered by famous dance artists like The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fat Boy Slim and Propellerheads. Let’s have a listen back to “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out” below!

A track which would bring back fond memories for fans of the 1990’s dance crossover mainstream era of “Big Beat”, “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out” is a showcase for the duo’s ability to re-purpose samples, to use instrumental splicing effects and digital sequencing pad FX technology to generate a new sound from an old record, although it does feel like a product of it’s time. It is a mostly ambient track, which March and Stokes revealed in an interview that it originally sprung up from a German album of Striptease Music by the Werner Muller Orchestra. The track begins with a glitched, spaced synth pad sequence created by a Roland JD-8000, a digital piece of old analogue synth software. The next section introduces a winding keyboard/synth riff which, quite literally, bloops along to the settled, mid-tempo groove established in the first third of the track. The final section consists of a light, psychedelic bass hook and a mild Strobe effect created by a Novation BassStation. The pacing is quite aired, with a female backing vocal which heavily breathes “I love you”, a sample which breaks up the three different parts of the track. It may come across as a bit too straight-forward for some, but there are some lovely and well-produced sampling effects in play. The duo seemed to be pulling in a lot of influences from the Sample-Delia and Plunderphonics genres. You will love this if you are a fan of The Avalanches.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Bentley Rhythm Ace” (Album) (Released on 12th May, 1997) (via Skint Records)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow for an in-depth review of the new track from a Brighton 4-piece “Indie” pop/rock band who are signed to Warner Group Records, have cited Weezer as their major influence and worked with U2 and Daughter’s producer, Joylon Thomas, for their self-titled debut LP released in 2017. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Scuzz Sundays: Weezer – “My Name Is Jonas”

May 17, 2020 — Leave a comment

His name is not Jonas, it’s actually Rivers Cuomo! It’s time for another Scuzz Sunday!

  • Pictured: Rivers Cuomo (Lead Vocals), Brian Bell (Lead Guitar), Mikey Welsh (Bass Guitar) and Patrick Wilson (Drums/Percussion) (in March 2016) (Photo Credit: Michael Czerwonka for The New York Times)

What’s in a name? I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! It seems we have slowly reached another Scuzz Sunday, the time of the week where we look back on an Emo-Rock or Pop-Punk classic from the mid-1990’s to late-2000’s time capsule which would have been played on the now-defunct TV channel, Scuzz! Weezer played a big role in the pre-teen phase of my life and my journey in music, although they are a band which are admittedly a hit-and-miss one. It all depends on the genre as Rivers Cuomo, the lead man, isn’t very good when it comes to trying new genres that he, to put it bluntly, can’t do. Such as that hideous “Magic” song with B.O.B.! However, when it comes down to classic teenager rock, Weezer are the best pop-punk band on the whole planet! MCR fans, get your pitchforks ready! “My Name Is Jonas” was released from their self-titled debut album, later to be known as “The Blue Album” in ancient Weezer mythology. The album went on to sell over 15 million copies worldwide, by 2019. “My Name Is Jonas” is a highlight from this classic pop-punk record about extroversion and familial upbringing. See Weezer perform “My Name Is Jonas” below!

A key track that’s opened up many of Weezer live sets throughout the years, “My Name Is Jonas” is one of the most diverse and embodying examples of Weezer’s punk-rock style of the mid-90’s. A light acoustic guitar strum opens the core melody, recurring throughout Rivers Cuomo’s vocals. A loud blast of theatrical, frantically-paced drumming chords and powerful guitar riffs provide a twisting turn to the lighter opening. Cuomo sings: “Things were better then, Once but never again” and “The choo-choo train left on time, a ticket costs only your mind” over the tonal transitions and progressive bass guitar riffs. Later on, Weezer chants: “The workers are going home” over an over-the-top and dynamic set of quick drum notes, leading to a melodic lead guitar solo that is delivered very harshly. There’s a very theatrical presence to the recurring hooks where Cuomo declares: “My name is Jonas”, with the dramatic pacing shifts and the chanted backing vocals from his band-mates. However, the track also ends on it’s light acoustic guitar riff and twinkling style of production, making the character of Jonas feel defiant and brave in the process. Weirdly, it’s the gentle opening hook that makes the lyrics seem so memorable and not the frantic chord progression of the track in it’s more anthemic stages. The track represents a lovely display of musical awareness and the theatrical style reveals the mood of the transitional acoustic guitar strums and the change towards the heavy chords. The track still sounds excellent and it more than holds up. It’s all in the name!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Weezer” (a.k.a. “The Blue Album”) (Released on May 10th, 1994) (via DGC)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope that you enjoyed it! Please stay safe, don’t do anything silly and keep on washing those hands! I’ll be kicking off the new week on the blog tomorrow with an in-depth look at another one of those recent-ish tracks that I never got around to writing about a bit earlier on. It’s a superb little track that comes out a solo release from the leading man of The Maccabees! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime