James Eldred
Game Music Revue: Pia-Com 1
- Credited Composer: Various
Released November 25, 2009
Label: Dog Ear Records/Sony Music Distribution
VGMdb Information Page
The Complete Guide to Madonna Remixes – Part 1
I’m a big fan of 12″ singles – the maxi-singles largely of a bygone era that include not only B-sides, but alternate mixes and edits of my favorite tracks. And when it comes to 12″ singles, there are a few artists I obsess over, but none more than Madonna.
Madonna is the greatest solo artist of my generation, and her amazing and substantial catalog of singles backs that up; “Vogue,” “Like A Virgin,” “Material Girl,” “Hung Up,” “Crazy For You,” the list of unforgettable classics is nearly endless. And nearly all of these legendary tunes have remixes and edits associated with them, mixes that sometimes radically alter a song or make it even better.
And they can be a real pain in the ass to find. While many artists who started in the 80s have embraced the retrospective box set and collection model, releasing all (or at least the best) versions of their singles in easy-to-buy formats, Madonna’s singles discography remains stubbornly scattered across countless records, CDs and cassette tapes. And since a lot of her songs have a shockingly large number of remixes (easily sometimes going into the double digits) this can be a real problem to those obsessive fans like myself, who want every version possible.
This list is an attempt to make it a little easier to track down these mixes, by cataloging every official mix and edit of every song Madonna has released as a single. It is a work in progress, and I am not immune to making mistakes, so if you feel I that I have made an error, please detail it in the comments and I will do my best to fix it. I’m also not going to detail exactly where you can find each mix, Discogs can be your guide for that, I’m just letting you know they exist.
I hope this list is helpful to my fellow obsessive Madonna collectors.
And I hope my friends don’t think I’m insane for putting this together.
“Everybody” (1982)
Album Version [4:57] – Available on any pressing of Madonna’s self-titled debut that was released before 2001. Since then it has been replaced by the 12″ remix.
Celebration Edit [4:12] – An edited version of the original 12″ remix. On Celebration.
Dub [9:23]– Available on many different 12″ singles.
Original 12″ Version [6:02] – Unlabeled as a remix. This is the version that is on all current editions of the self-titled album. It can also be found on US 12″ singles and the CD single.
Instrumental [6:17] – an edit of the nine-minute dub version, only available on the Italian 12″ single.
UK Remix [6:16] – Unlabeled remix only available on the UK 12″ single.
UK Remix Dub [5:59] – B-side to the UK 12″ single.
UK Remix Edit [3:20] – Unlabeled remix only available on the UK 7″ single.
UK Remix Dub Edit [4:40] – B-side to the UK 7″ single.
You Can Dance Remix [6:44] – For the remix album You Can Dance. Included on all versions of the album regardless of format, is mixed as part of a continuous mix.
You Can Dance Remix Edit [4:34] – Shortened edit created exclusively for the You Can Dance (Single Edits of Album Remixes) promotional 12″ . Continue reading
Something I Wrote On The Plane
This past month I went to America for the first time since leaving the country for Japan last January.
It was a strange thing, going back. Seeing people and places I haven’t seen in a while. Finding myself surrounded by things that were once familiar and common, now strange and out of place.
This was also my first time seeing most of my friends and family since I came out earlier in the year, and while I didn’t expect any outright hatred or bigotry from any of them, I still didn’t entirely know what I was in for. When you add that onto the usual feelings and emotions one gets from seeing loved ones for the first time in a long time…well, it certainly made for an emotional return home in a lot of ways. Continue reading
Record Store Review: Vatican City Vinyl
Florida.
I used to hate Florida. The voting public of Florida are primarily responsible for pretty much every horrible thing that’s happened to America since the turn of the millennium after all. It’s fair to say that they started it.
But I’ve mellowed on my opinion of the sunshine state a very slight bit, thanks in part to my recent visit there, where I discovered a wonderful little record store by the name of Vatican City Vinyl. Located on 404 South Washington Blvd. in the heart of Sarasota, the store opened in 2013 and, as of this writing, remains the only record store in the entire city.
So yeah, no pressure for it to be awesome or anything. Continue reading
An Outsider’s Take On Japanese Pro Wrestling
Recently a friend from the states came to visit me in Japan, and as she is a huge wrestling fanatic, she begged me to take her to some Japanese wrestling events.
Luckily for her, we were able to make it to not one, but two. One by New Japan Pro Wrestling, the major wrestling promotion here in Japan (and the second-biggest wrestling organization in the world behind the WWE), and a local, indie event by Fukumen Mania, a luchadore (Mexican wrestling) style organization.
It was probably the most fun I could have with men in skintight spandex that I’d be willing to talk about on a blog that my mom reads. Continue reading
Being Gay (and Fabulous) in Tokyo
I recently came out, and it was far less painful and emotional a process than I thought it would be – largely because I have awesome family and friends and I am in love with an absolutely wonderful man. I’m very lucky and grateful for all the luck I continue to have.
Most of my friends and family didn’t even have any questions for me, save for one: What’s it like to be gay in Japan?
And I guess that’s a good question! We don’t really hear a lot about gay rights in Japan in western news, so I assume it would be pretty much a mystery for anyone who doesn’t live here and experience it everyday.
So, what is it like to be openly gay in Japan?
It’s weird. But damn near everything in Japan is weird so I guess that shouldn’t be too much of a shock. Continue reading
Tangerine Dream Platinum SHM-CD Reviews
I own more albums by Tangerine Dream than I do any other artist, although that speaks more to their insane output than anything else. Excluding their numerous (and typically fantastic) soundtracks, the Tangerine Dream albums that I treasure the most are their first four for Virgin Records: Phaedra, Rubycon, Ricochet and Stratosfear. It was with these records that the band moved away from their ultra-experimental krautrock beginnings and into a much more electronic/ambient space that saw them through most of their career.
Now, these four albums have been re-released in Japan as “high resolution” formats; SHM-CD, Platinum SHM-CD and SHM-SACD.
And I realize that most of your eyes have probably just glossed over so I should probably go over those really quick.
- SHM-CD stands for “Super High Material CD,” and use a different polycarbonate material that supposedly results in higher sound quality with reading errors.
- Platinum SHM-CDs are the same, but instead of using a standard aluminium coating they use platinum. This also supposedly boosts audio quality.
- SHM-SACD are Super Audio CDs, an entirely different audio format that is not compatible with standard CD players. These discs can hold more information and playback surround sound audio. They also supposedly sound better than traditional CDs.
Notice that I’m saying “supposedly” a lot. That’s because most of this is audiophile snake oil bullshit. SHM-CDs have never been known to sound notably better than traditional discs, and while I don’t know much about their platinum variants, I can’t imagine the change in coating makes that much of a difference. SACDs have their own benefits of course, the added storage space and surround sound capabilities are nice bonuses, but I’ve never been able to hear the difference between an SACD and a regular disc, a view that science backs me up on.
But I still bought the platinum SHM-CDs for these four titles. Why? Because while the science behind “SHM” is mostly balderdash, SHM-CDs can often sound better than their regular CD or digital counterparts. This is because they frequently use different masters that place more of an emphasis on dynamic range and preserving the feel of the original recording, and not on mucking with the source material or making them as loud as possible.
I also wanted an excuse to write about Tangerine Dream. Continue reading
Scrunged: Bush’s Sixteen Stone
Scrunge (second-rate rip-off grunge) is a largely forgotten genre, and every few weeks I’m going to examine a scrunge act or two and see if they deserve a second chance. Today’s band: Bush
When I was 15, Bush were on tour with No Doubt and the Goo Goo Dolls. My school seemed to be split into three camps: people who were going to that show; people who desperately wanted to go to that show; and people who were livid and angry that such a show existed and that anyone would possibly find any of those bands worthwhile in the least.
All of these facts blow my mind, because Bush is a band that I cannot imagine anyone having any strong feelings about in any way whatsoever. Continue reading
Limited Editions Unlimited Bullshit: Twilight Time Edition
I have about 4,000 records. Give or take. It’s hard to keep track with a collection that spans two continents. A lot of time people ask me what the “most valuable” record in my collection is, and to be honest, I rarely know of the top of my head. That’s the kind of thing that changes on a regular basis. Skimming my Discogs page right now, it would appear that the most valuable record in my stacks is my copy of Velvet Underground & Nico, complete with in-tact banana and Verve sticker on the back. On a good day my copy can probably go for about $300 – $400. Most of the other very valuable records in my collection go for around $100 – $200, and include hard-to-find vintage soundtracks, a ton of rare Pearl Jam and Nirvana LPs, and a few old Krautrock first pressings.
Most of these have one thing in common: they weren’t designed to be collectibles, it just kind of worked out that way. The Nirvana and Pearl Jam LPs were pressed at a time when no one was buying vinyl, so they were made to fit a very low demand. Ditto for the soundtracks. The Krautrock records are valuable because demand for them has grown tremendously over the years, and mine happen to be in very good condition – which in itself is a rarity.
My point is that I have nothing against collectibles. I’m a collector after all. I get that people want rare shit. That the act of it being rare makes it a commodity. And that the “thrill of the hunt” is part of what makes collecting records, games, or anything for that matter, so fun.
But while I love rare items, genuine scarcities whose value has increased due to unforeseen circumstances, “collectible” materials, items made scarce on purpose for no other reason than to limit supply versus demand, piss me the fuck off.
Tokyo Street Art Gallery
I’ve been in Tokyo a little over a year now and during that time I’ve come across a fair share of amazing street art that I’ve been meaning to put up here for quite some time.
Now, before I get a snarky comment, I know that not all of this is “street art” in the traditional sense. Some are graffiti and some are storefront displays, but it’s all art and I saw it all on the street, so I don’t know what else to call it.
Regardless, I think it all showcases what a wonderful and artistic city Tokyo is. I hope you agree. Continue reading