Yet another reason as to why I enjoy Erasure  - the group has provided a free download of A Little Respect for the Holiday season.

I just get the feeling Vince and Andy ‘get it’ when it comes to fans.

Thanks for this!

And here is the last of the digital promo tracks for Pop! Remixed.  This one is Sugar Hill from around the “Chorus” era…

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Just my take on this track – it’s a good thing it was never officially released.

Mute/EIS provided fans who purcahsed the last  Total Pop! early with a 4 digital track release, here is on track question.  It’s called Early Bird and lacks the vocals Cyndi Lauper would eventually provide.

Take a listen:

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Not to be negative, god bless them for trying new things – breaking new ground – but this version of the song is so much better without Cyndi Lauper. Anyway, Erasure, Erasure Information Services and Mute have always been kind to their fans.  Make sure you run out and get the upcomming The Innocence re-release!

It’s a nice spring day, I thought this would fit in with the mood of the day.

Much better than the studio version, if you ask me.

Back in the beginning of the year I had some negative comments about the Erasure remix album.  I didn’t see a point to it.  I thought the concept of doing remixes of the classics could have been amazing but the execution of this album was, well, crap, with the exception of Vince’s remix of Stop!

Now that several months have passed, I decided to take another look at the album.  I picked on track at random and it ended up being Drama! (Andy Bell and JC Remix) 

Yea, no… it’s still does nothing at all for me. I still cannot get into these remixes. 

What do you think?

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Just thought I would end the day with Erasure and their video for “Don’t Say You Love Me”.

Enjoy!

There is no secret, I am a HUGE fan of Erasure.  I have been for roughly 17 years now.  One thing the group has always managed to do is take care of their fans.  Be it with small, private concerts for fan club members to special issue CDs, Erasure has always managed to show fans how important they are.

In this live recording of Erasure’s Oh L’Amour I belive you can see that mentality. Make sure you listen to the entire track.

Erasure – Oh L’Amour Live

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Thanks for the years of music, guys!

This is a rare treat for all Erasure fans – Chains of Love (37B Mix)

It looks as if Chains of Love was remixed by Vince Clarke during the Other People’s Songs era and had intended on releasing the song with the album or on one of the singles.  For whatever reason, the track didn’t make it out.  Fast forward to today where Erasure Information Services offered this as a digital download/promo when one pre-ordered “Total Pop!”

This version is great, especially when you put it next to the mainly crap remixes that came out on Pop! Remixed…

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Update:

Reg requested the other tracks from the Digital EP and I forgot all about posting them for your listening pleasure. Let’s kick things off with Worlds on Fire (alt lyrics).  The other two will come over the next two days.

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Watching the Obama Presidential New Conference is just painful. It’s “I got my scrotum caught in my fly”painful. No, it’s “I had my spine pulled through my nose” painful. President Obama is an outstanding public speaker, when the speech was written and reviewed before given to an audience, but HOLY GOD he cannot – CANNOT – speak on the fly. Someone within the administration needs to coach the President on how to reply to questions during a press conference.

On another note – where did the President’s positive, “Yes We Can”, attitude disappear to? Only three short months ago the President was telling the nation that anything was possible, but today we face a national catastrophe due to the economic situation. Not much has change in that time…Yes, there have been accelerating job losses but not much else. Seriously, where did his positive attitude go?

GM, Chrysler facing margin calls

The February 17th government imposed “prove you are viable” deadline is quickly approaching and neither company seems to be in compliance with the loan requirements. Chance are this means more layoffs, job cuts and plant closings are on the way.

“It’s going to be a smaller company in the U.S…We may have to take a step back in General Motors to find the right-sizing that’s going to permit a profitable existence in a much smaller market.” (GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz)

Due to the political and economic climate – you know, this whole “we have to pass the next stimulus package thing” – there is virtually no way the government will allow GM or Chrysler to slide into bankruptcy at this point. I still believe both companies will face that reality at some point this year, just not yet.

Update: 02/10/09 – GM says they will cut 10K in salaried jobs this year.

Erasure’s Pop! Remixed

The new Erasure remix album hit the market today, and as expected, the album is pretty much dead on arrival.

I previously voiced my fear about this album after listening to the 2009 remix of Always. The new version did not change much of the song, and I ended up wondering what was the point… My theory was the new album would be filled with direction-less versions of classic Erasure, and it is. If you cannot provide a new take on the song why bother creating a new version?

There is one worthwhile remix on the release: Stop! (Vince Clarke Sync 82 Remix)

Stop! is no reason to run out and buy the album but having this song – only this song – in the mix will put a smile on your face.

Update: There are edited mixes of Always (MHC) and Cold Summers Day (Soundfactory) that are worthwhile – if you can find them, pick them up. They are not run on, bloated, mixes.

All I can say is “WOW!”

The inauguration was highly impressive on a number of levels.  On a very basic level, watching the ceremony unfold, with barely a glitch, in such perfect manner was very impressive.  Take into account the history that was unfolding, add in the sea of humanity, and you have the perfect recipe for a modern day drama. 

I was quite impressed with the class President Obama showed during todays events.  While our nation faces a number of uphill battles, he did not place blame with any one specific person or political party.  He did move away from the political attacks in hopes of bringing the country together and, I believe, in a number of ways he did.  While I found his overall message to be less positive – and more realistic – than I had expected, he provided a message that resonated with the masses in general.

I do have a major problem; however, with something that took place today.  The crowd was booing when VP Cheney and President Bush were introduced (and, yes, they were still the VP and President at the time).  If you have a problem with the former VP and President I fully support you and your views, but you simply do not boo.  This isn’t a free speech issue, it’s a respect issue – respect for the Office of the President – not necessarily the person.  You respect the position. When you disrespect the Office, you are disrespecting the nation, and it only shows the ignorance that still is within our society today.  

Again, best of luck President Obama.  You have a huge task in front of you.  

Stock Market

At the beginning of the year, all of Twenty days ago, I was concerned about how quickly the stock market was rising .  The DOW almost reached 9100, and it was acting as if no recession was gripping our economy. Bad news would come out, the DOW would go up.  Good news would come out, the DOW would go up even faster.  The market was enthusiastic for no real reason, and now it has a huge hangover.  Today the DOW dropped 332 points, closing below 8000 for the first time in 2009.  

Yes, the news looks scary once again.  The survival of US banks are in question. Will Bank of America survive?  How long will it be before The Royal Bank of Scotland will be fully nationalized? What company will go bankrupt next?  Look past the obvious bad news and you can see good news.  REALLY good news, actually.

Take a look…

IBM posted a profit of $3.28 for the quarter – .$25 higher than expected.  Not only that, IBM expects to make $9.20 per share for the 2009 fiscal year, up $.45 from what was previously forecast.  Johnson and Johnson posted quarterly profits 14% higher, though they expect 2009 figures to be flat.  CSX – the rail transportation company – posted a profit of $.90 per share, a whole penny less than expected. 

The earning are there and better than expected from some of the economic bellwethers.  I’m not saying the economy isn’t in the crapper, nor am I saying everything will be fine tomorrow, but I do believe that the market has swung to low too fast.  

Essentially, I think the stock market is way oversold and is trading on emotion, not on the reality of the current situation.

Pilates, I have a new found respect for you

Today was the first day of my workout routine and Pilates was on the docket.  I doubted the effectiveness of a Pilates workout… until today.  For a 17 minute workout I felt the “burn”, as it were, and I was sweating up a storm.  

Seriously, I was very surprised and I cannot wait for the next workout… oh, and I’m down to 162.5 pounds, down 6 pounds in about two weeks.  There is no target weight I have in mind, I simply am taking better care of myself and it seems to be working.

Erasure Pop Remixed!

I had the chance to listen to a promo copy of Erasure’s “Pop Remixed!” and I can officially say that I am disappointed.  Really, not trying to sound negative or unsupportive, but the remixes are really…   thin… weak… uninspiring.  

Here is a quick breakdown.

Always – The Manhattan Clique remix doesn’t embody any of the original – outside of the vocals, nor does it do the song justice.  I’ve never understood the fascination Erasure has with Manhattan Clique as their work never seems impressive.

Drama!  - Really, you would think that Andy Bell would honor his own song in little better than this.

A Little Respect – Hello bad late 90’s Euro Trance music

Fingers and Thumbs – The full remix is long and, at times, seemingly pointless. Worse yet, the remix uses a vocoder on Andy’s voice…  The edit version is OK, but nothing impressive.

There was such potential here but my fears, I believe, have been realized…. 

Until next time, stay (fill in the blank).