Today I'm putting up extended mixes of 3 of my favorite 12s...


Electronic - Getting Away With It
This is Johnny Marr's side project after the Smiths broke up. Now technically on paper this is like the ultimate emo wet dream, aside from getting a Morrissey-gram:

Johnny Marr + Bernard Sumner + Neil Tennant should = complete devastation.

However, the album's production is mega-90s and the songs all kind of suck. But on this lead single, Tennant's fake Moz lyrics ("I've been walking in the rain just to get wet on purpose," etc) are pretty amusing, and the orchestration is arranged by Anne Dudley (who did stuff with Trevor Horn/AoN and Frankie Goes To Hollywood). The extended mix here I think fuses all the things Electronic were good at -- jangly guitars and an Hacienda-y house feel. Also, how did the Psychedelic Furs not sue the shit out of them for that chorus?


Spandau Ballet - Gold
OMG this song is like the ultimate in why mid-period Spandau Ballet are so fucking good. These dudes went from fake Joy Division to chunky white disco epics in about 3 years... If you've heard the Kings of Disco comp then you already know that the US remix of "Chant" is like a cinematic march into Armageddon, with a circus band at your side (a title that only "Tusk" can compete with). If that's the case, then "Gold" is what the circus master plays in his private tent 5 minutes before he leads the charge, cowering in self-doubt but realizing he needs to get it together. I once read something about this Olympic runner who was like "the 2 songs that get me pumped to run a race are 50's If I Can't and Des'ree's You Gotta Be," and I was like "gaaaaa'aaaay." If I was running a race, or for that matter about to enter the witness protection program, I would listen to "Gold." Always believe in your soul!


OMD - Talking Loud and Clear
This song belongs in the "I only know about it because of my older sister" category. It's 1984-era OMD, right before "If You Leave" made them gigantic in the states. Everyone always goes on and on about how early OMD is the best ever (and of course they're right, the Peel Sessions CD is insano-vision), but their mid-period stuff is more polished, and in this case a lot weirder. The breakdown that comes in at around 3:00 is pretty magical. Like, unicorns magical. Also lyrically, "Talking Loud And Clear" expresses quite possibly the gayest and most sincere emotion I've ever heard in a pop song outside of Jonathan Richman. The lyrics are basically:

Let's go to the park and sit in the grass
Let's stare into each other eyes
Let's smile while doing so
Wheeeeeee!
Also, whimsy!

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