The Soundr Hour: Yacht Rock

Behold the maiden voyage of the good ship Soundr, making our our way out with a freshly pressed mashup from Mark Vidler and closing with a timeless treat from Christian Phillips - we navigate our way through classic AOR, surprisingly yacht and Nu Yacht. Minimum chat, maximum tunes. Climb aboard below...




Grab California Maneater here....

Radio Podrophenia: Dave Woodcock debut album special and live session tonight

What a furiously busy few days for the Boy Woodcock: open mic night and album released Monday, starring on Steve Lamacq yesterday as the Favourite New Band (listen again here) - and to top off the week an album launch gig at the Bussey Building this Saturday...

But, between his tour from one end of the Thames to the other, Dave is stopping (or having a comfort break you could say) from whipping around like a whirling dervish to join Piley and the other one for live session of tunes, chat and natter for tonight's Podrophenia.

We've a run of songs fitted around variations on 'Woodcock' - and a few live renditions of album tracks and getting the back-story on the tracklist....

And as a bonus - we've also managed to nip in an exclusive pop up appearance from Mark Vidler of Go Home Productions to talk us through a selection from his Spliced Krispies ..

Set your dials for 8pm Southend Central time tonight on Ship Full of Bombs

Snap, Crackle & Bastard Pop: Spliced Krispies 2

When I first fired up this blog, almost seven years ago - one of the earliest entries was a Fabtastic bootleg remix Jet Lady Joe - leaked from the lab of DJ and remixer Mark Vidler - aka Go Home Productions...

A few months on, and we were lucky enough to bag a world exclusive on GHP's hat-popping, bastard pop compendium - Spliced Krispes, which bolted together The Supremes with TV themes, the Beach Boys with school boys

So huzzah and hats in the air - as the Willy Wonka of soundwaves, returns with booming new batch of disco biscuits, where scraps and shrapnel from R 'n' B, punk, 80s funk, new wave and new bands are whisked and whirled into newly minted mashups and sonic screen prints.

You can grab the entire collection for free here - but first load up on a triple whammy taste test with a few words from GHP HQ..

My Paperback Sharona 
The Beatles 'Paperback Writer' vs The Knack 'My Sharona'

I've always loved 'My Sharona' with a passion that borders on the ridiculous...seriously *cough.. and always wanted to pair it up with something decent. Along come them Beatles (again) and Paperback Writer (again) but what the hell, these two tracks were made for each other. Lot's of editing went into this one but I won't bore you with technical details....for long.

The Beatles 'guitar riff' was cut to match the Sharona riff and plays with it the majority of the time. Had to edit down the long version of Sharona to match the 'single' version...easy...and had lots of fun finding relevant dub delays & reverbs. There you go...that's as boringly techy as I can be bothered with.

 


Rude Peaches 
Rihanna 'Rude Boy' vs The Stranglers 'Peaches'

Had a Stranglers fixation for a month or so earlier this year. Was hoping to do something with 'Nuclear Device' but Peaches is much easier to plunder riffage and stuff from. Listening back to this it reminds me of early GHP bootlegs...in the way that I used to pair all those 'R 'n B female vocals with rock songs...mainly due to the fact that in those heady days of 2002-2004, those were the only readily available acapellas I suppose.

Anyway, Rihanna complements the bump & grind of Peaches pretty well. Check the video! I plundered lots of the footage from The Stranglers gig at Battersea Park '78 when they brought on 10 strippers for Nice 'n Sleazy.

 


Whatever My Tears
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 'Tracks Of My Tears' vs Oasis 'Whatever'

A cheeky little match. Was originally wanting to have Smokey's vocals with strings only from 'Whatever' but alas the strings in the verses aren't available, so had to make do with the full Oasis instrumental until the very end where the strings play out. An odd mix but the Oasis track is very 60's in structure and a handful of Motown tracks would probably work with it. Smokey got the short
straw

Tuesday Night is Music Night

As Piley and I kick off with chapter two of Radio Podrophenia - covers being the banner above last week's playlist (details here), but what's tonight's motif ? Come on over and find out - perhaps pitch in with a comm' or suggestion for any we may have missed and to vote for the Pick of the Pods closing track. Or let us know your favourite celebrity look-a-likes and slebs spotted in the unlikeliest of places...all this and a Paul Weller/S Club 7 duet (yes, really)..

A couple of tracks that may get a run-out from my grab-bag are...

The Upsetters - Double Wheel






Kick off's at 9pm we'd love to hear from you here

http://www.s6radio.co.uk/

Fey Rays

I've found salvation. Embraced in the arms of soft wafty pop and the soothing moonage daydreams of FC Kahuna, Jon Hopkins and Ulrich Schnauss. Waddya mean Ulrich who?

Although it's Memory Cassette who have been the real spoonful of sugar. Something like a cosmic Cocteaus glitzed with a downbeat disco shimmer. Lend an ear and melt into the magic.

Memory Cassette - Listen to the Vacuum





How can anyone feel glum after a blast of this bubblegum booty from the Grand Master of mash ups. Released yesterday (as part of a three way whammy)and grabbable here

Hello,Goodbye?

Borrowing an opening line from a cult classic..

What's it going to be then, eh?

Good Day Sunshine and on to the quarter-finals or a Long and Winding Road home?

We'll know by 4:30.

Go Home Productions - Goodbye Rocky

Beatlebum

Have you got a light Mac?

I've got a feeling, there could be something of Britpop micro-buzz on the blog this week. What with The Charlatans (possibly the most underrated of all B-pop bands) and Black Grape in the last post, and now Blur teaming up with The Beatles in this little gem of Beatleg remix from Mark 'Go Home Productions' Vidler.

Rich Girls And Boys - Go Home Productions



And as a booty bonus variations on the component parts of this mashup

Blur - Boys and Girls (demo)



The Beatles - Baby You're A Rich Man (German Stereo Mix)

"How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people"

Funky Friday - Pop Art and Kinky Boots

Following on from Mick's bit of bubblegum blogging I've been inspired to post a pair of sweet-tooth booties, built around two Velvet Underground numbers.

Lou and Andy's band (not those two from Little Britain) may seem like the last lot on earth to ever make a Funky Friday appearance, but when the Willy Wonka of pick 'n' mix pop Mark Vidler sets to work, pure gold is often spun from the unlikeliest of ingredients...

You may have swift shrift for Christina Ag's warblings, or perhaps minimal interest in the Velvet's catalogue - but whisk them together, add sprinkles, sparkles and a dash of The Communards to the closing coda - and it's almost impossible to resist the lip-smacking sugar rush of this pure pop cocktail - something that sounds like a long lost summer single from the seventies..

Go Home Productions - Girl Wants To Say Goodbye



And what's this - Waiting For The Man, Sugar Sugar and a splash of Basement Jaxx shaken and spun into something sweeter than candyfloss - well I never!

Go Home Productions - Velvet Sugar

Funky Friday - Spliced Krispies

For as long as DJs and remixers have been recycling rock, rap and pop scraps into home made hybrids and patchwork tracks - I've been collecting them.

The King of cut and paste pop is Mark Vidler/Go Home Productions (the legendary 'Ray Of Gob' and 'Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head' are both GHP creations ) whose brand new booties 'Spliced Krispies' have been rocking my noggin for the past two weeks. And as if he's not busy enough making mashups and a full set accompanying videos, Radio One appearances, magazine features, podcasts guest spots and a new album - the Grand Master of Mashups himself Mr Mark Vidler is here, right here to give us some exclusive snap, crackle and pop on a selection from his latest tasty treats 'Spliced Krispies' -

"Wouldn't It Be Nice To Have A Finger Of Fudge"

OK, I was born in the original Summer Of Love (not the attempted ecstacy-fuelled 80's version), pre-Pepper by a month yet the smell of Strawberry Fields was still strong, if you get my drift. So...that means I grew up in the Seventies:

Space Dust, Planet Of The Apes, The Double Deckers, Krazy Comic, Horror Bags crisps, Top Deck, Space Invaders, Glam Rock, Punk Rock, New Wave, Mod Revival, Texan Bar, Curly Wurly, Finger of Fudge (got there in the end).

The Cadbury's Fudge jingle / TV ad appeared at the tail end of the 70's and well into the 80's, so if you're of a certain age you'll either remember it fondly or dismiss it for being a mild irritant. I guess I'm somewhere between the two camps but back in April when I started creating the "Spliced Krispies" album, I always knew I was going to 'doctor' it in some way. It's light and breezy feel (mostly a capella) and school boy charm was just crying out to be bastardised with something from another universe (in musical terms).

Fact 1: Mike D'Arbo (formerly of Manfred Mann) wrote the jingle.
Fact 2: I originally matched it up with Nirvana's "Teen Spirit".

Thank God I didn't stick with that idea though. It's one of those 'For every 5 gems, there's 50 shit ones' scenarios. So I continued trying to find Fudge a partner well into the wee small hours, fuelled by a bottle of Columbian Gallo and roast chicken (Hong Kong style), until Pet Sounds came calling from the corner of the room. It was purely accidental If I'm brutally honest. I was listening to 'Let's Go Away For A While' earlier in the week, so the CD was close to hand. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" seemed to good to be true. One of those 'goosebump' moments when I could hear that Fudge worked effortlessly with it...

I guess it's the one track that's getting the most attention since releasing "Spliced Krispies" to an unexpectant public in May. Chris Moyles (Radio 1 DJ) picked and played it 3 times on his breakfast show. Fair play, he gave 'The Vidler' and 'Go Home Productions' website a very massive plug, questioning my sanity for even contemplating the 2 songs together yet describing it as genius. The phone was hardly on it's hook that morning.
Funny what a 'finger of fudge' can actually do for you...

GHP - "Wouldn't It Be Nice To Have A Finger Of Fudge"





"Grandstand Supreme"

Throughout March this year I was aquiring and listening to a hell of a lot of KPM Library Music, probably fuelled by my sudden 'trying to reclaim my youth' mood that was taking me back to the Seventies, so I was consuming a lot of Alan Hawkshaw, Keith Mansfield, Brian Bennett etc and dragging out my Blow Up compilation CD's, DeWolfe comps and TV Themes albums. I felt like I was living out an episode of every BBC / ITV production between 1973-1979. Very weird but very enjoyable at the same time, so it was hardly suprising that something would filter through and end up on the album. The full Grandstand theme is quite simply a work of art. It's probably Keith Mansfields' most well known. The addition of the Supremes is probably not too much of a surprise really. I think the surprise lies in how well the vocal fits
with the backing track at certain changes. It took a bit of editing and shuffling around but I think that my decision to leave the song length the same as the opening titles was right. In the end it was probably more a case of making the music to fit the video that I was creating at the same time. Funnily enough Moyles played this track on his Breakfast show as well...

GHP - "Grandstand Supreme"





"Finally, Did You No Wrong'"

I can't leave the Sex Pistols alone.They are my regular fix of energy and attitude, reference point and inspiration. See, I was too young to be a punk in 1976/1977. I was only nine years old and more into supporting my beloved Arsenal and playing with my Six Million Dollar Man doll than following bands or pop stars. I watched Top Of The Pops from a very early age (apparently) but never went out and bought records until I was 12. I can remember Gary Glitter, Slade, The Sweet, Suzy Quatro, The Bay City Rollers, Osmonds and T.Rex but I never indulged in the sacred plastic. Those bands seemed a bit cabaret to me at the time if I'm honest. Anyway, I witnessed the Pistols on the Grundy show and that definitely left an impression. Janet Street Porter's 'Punk' documentary for the London Weekend Show was another slice of legendary TV that I caught as well, but it wasn't until 1979 that I jumped right in and started buying the stuff.

By then the Pistols had run their course and the new wave was settling in but I bought 'Never Mind The Bollocks' and am still amazed to this day by it's awesome production and energy. It's the best album to put on when the sun is out and the windows are open. It's pretty well known that "Ray Of Gob" (Pistols vs Madonna) gave me the foot-up into the Music biz back in 2003, so I just felt like doing another one for a laugh and see what turned up. This one came about pretty quickly. In fact the video took longer to make because I spent so much time watching all my Pistols DVD's for source material...I mentioned elsewhere that I had to bolster the bottom end by playing the bass part and mixing it back in but I think the track works well enough now and it's quite strange how nicely female vox fit with a Pistols song.

GHP - 'Finally, Did You No Wrong'



All the best

Mark.

I'm sending out extra special soul salute to Mark for finding the time rustle up with a great bowlful of goodies of for my blog - so please speed on over to Go Home Productions and fill your boots with his boots..

Funky Friday - Triple Trouble

Shortly after their 1980s chart ram-raid and debut album, the Beastie Boys dropped off my musical radar (me being into long hair, leather jackets and all things R.O.C.K at the time). Until - via the digitally doomed channel UK Play's heavy rotation but limited library of approx' twelve music vids (Kylie, Beastie Boys and Fatboy Slim etc...), I eventually picked up on the Beasties brilliant promos for 'Body Movin''(Fatboy remix), 'Three MC's and One DJ' and ''Intergalatic''.

The Beastie Boys are one of a handful of bands almost fully formed for their own Hanna-Barbera style musical cartoon series ( see also - The Damned, the Spice Girls and Motorhead) with their fizzingly inventive vids, triple wallop wordplay and stealthy scrapbooking of obscure samples (dropping The Sweet's "She thinks she's the passionate one" into 'Hey Ladies' being a double rap whammy). And if that grab bag of goodies wasn't enough the Beastie Boys sneakily leak acappela tracks into the public domain almost endorsing the idea of mashups and bootleg remixes - you'll find three of my personal faves below.

Alan Hawkshaw's 'Beat Me'til I'm Blue' bolted on to 'Alive'..

Alive - (Alan Hawkshaw version)



'Word To The Mic' from DJ BC's The Beastles project

The Beastles - Word To The Mic



And a Blockheads/Beastie Boys Booty from Mark vidler

Go Home Productions - Triple Rhythm Stick



Beastie Boys - Triple Trouble


For more unlikely Rap reworks check out...

Eminem Vs Del Boy

Beastie Boys Vs The Ramones

"Meet the gang 'cos the boys are here, the boys to entertain you..."

Pogo At The Disco

More evidence that a Punk and Disco combo can work as well as sweet and sour.

Go Home Productions - You Make Me Feel Like XTC.



Yes - that really is Steve (Sex Pistol) Jones and Olivia (sex symbol) Newton John.

No - It hasn't been Photoshopped.

Pop Fact - XTC's name for this generic Disco cymbal sound was 'Pea Soup'

Funky Friday - New Wave Nuggets

This week on Funky Friday it's a couple of cheeky New Wave dance routines and two punky based booty remixes.First up ..

Hot Gossip - The Hardest Part

Hot Gossip were always cheeky, funky and futuristic but their romps and routines never quite captured the swish, sparkle or understated 'oomph' of Pan's People.'The Hardest Part' was a low level hit in the U.S for Blondie - the original vid' with Debbie Harry strutting like a dark haired dominatrix
is here


Hot Gossip - 'All stood still'

'All Stood Still' is probably the only Ultravox track that's not too jarring to these ears. The 'Goss's video is painfully 80's( but loaded with some spectacular leg actions) and seems to filmed in the sort of club that would fire up the 'dry ice' and 'laser display' at 10:30 of an evening.


Go Home Productions/Mark Vidler is the Big Boss of bootleg remixes', these two Punk/New Wave 'bastard pop' pieces are a couple of his obscure but outstanding tasty treats that really should have been huge international hits.

XTC - 'Making Plans For Nigel' and Tweet - 'Oops (Oh My)' get bunged in the blender for..
Making Plans For Vinyl.mp3


And the Sex Pistols 'No Feelings' and Cher's 'Believe' get refitted and recycled as ...
No Fun 4 Cher.mp3

Countdown to Christmas Pt 4 - Snowy Beatle Boots and a Brassy Bonus

As mentioned before I'm a terror for a bootleg remix and was lucky enough to grab these Go Home goodies a couple of years ago.

The Beatles bootlegging with Boston

GHP - Christmas in Boston. MP3




Macca mashes it up with Jennifer Lopez

GHP - Christmas on the Block.mp3



The Carpenters get the last sleigh to Skaville

GHP - Carpenters Christmas.mp3

Beatle Boots - Jet Lady Joe

Go Home Productions - Jet Lady Joe(2004).mp3




This track is one of those mashup moments where the Professor of Pop, Mark Vidler (Go Home Productions) is at the Golden Section of his intergeneric genius.

On paper, attempting to build a Frankenstein of funk from this role call of rockers;

The Beatles, Jet, Joe Walsh, The Jamms and Mud.

Should end up as a musical disaster movie, but the Mozart of mashups creates an action stacked masterpiece that packs more wallop than a bare knuckle ruck.

I've been tempted several times to drop this in to various mixes, comps and occasional DJ spots, but being such an explosive 'banger' it’s almost impossible to find anything to follow up with.

If you enjoyed this get on over to GHP and fill your boots.