I've Been Walking in the Rain


3265. ABC: "Say It" 12-inch 3266. Adonis and the Endless Poker: "The Poke" 12-inch 3267. Goldie Alexander: "I Want Your Body (On the Dance Floor)" 12-inch 3268. Alisha: "All Night Passion" 12-inch 3269. Donna Allen: "Joy and Pain" 12-inch 3270. Darcy Alonso: "Love Grows Stronger" 12-inch 3271. Annabella: "War Boys" 12-inch 3272. Anquette: "I Will Always Be There for You" 12-inch 3273. Anthony and the Camp: "What I Like" 12-inch 3274. Mike Anthony: "What's Goin' On" 12-inch 3275. Steve Arrington: "The Jammin' National Anthem" 12-inch 3276. Bar-Kays: "Sexomatic" 12-inch 3277. Black Box: "Ride on Time" 12-inch 3278. Black Box: "Open Your Eyes" 12-inch 3279. Boogie Boys: "A Fly Girl" 12-inch 3280. Boys from Brazil: "Hot Stuff" 12-inch 3281. Dhar Braxton: "Jump Back" 12-inch 3282. Bronski Beat: "Smalltown Boy" 12-inch 3283. Bros: "When Will I Be Famous?" 12-inch Mixworthy: "Smalltown Boy," Bronski Beat, #3282. And now, my personal stash of block rockin' beats. I'll list 12-inches 20 or so at a time, unless I have to extend that to find something mixworthy (it took until the 18th record in this group). I've already had to fix two misfilings, so this could get messy...Like 97.2% of all white rock and roll fans, the first 12-inch I ever bought was "The Message," right around the time it came out in 1982. I probably didn't buy another for three or four years after that, stepped it up a bit through the late '80s when I was doing the CIUT show, and, after vinyl went under, added a bunch more bought for a quarter each from the Vinyl Museum in the mid-90s. I wasn't especially picky at that point; if it was in good shape and looked housey or moody, or if it was a hip-hop record that I thought might have some lively swear words, or if it appeared to have begun life as a pricey import (import 12-inches come in a different style of sleeve), I bought it. At least 90% of what I'm about to list got filed after a single listen, and I haven't a clue what any of it sounds like now. I can't even remember how the Boogie Boys' "A Fly Girl" goes, and that's something I would have played a few times..."Smalltown Boy" and Zen Arcade appeared almost simultaneously in the summer of '84: checking around, it looks as if "Smalltown Boy" had already charted in Britain when Zen Arcade was released, although the Bronski Beat wouldn't make it into Billboard's Top 100 until later that year. I've made it clear how much I love Hüsker Dü, but you'd get no argument from me that "Smalltown Boy" (song and video) is the better coming-out and coming-of-age story. Or at least it's a lot more focussed, getting everything into four minutes that Hüsker Dü takes four very erratic sides to document. At the time, of course, I was completely obliv- ious to any connection between the two...Speaking of thoughtful coming-out stories, I'm sure there's a lifetime of sadness and hurt found in Adonis and the Endless Pok- er's "The Poke." The hurting part, anyway. ________________________________________________________________________________ 3284. Carlton: "Love and Pain" 12-inch 3285. Centric House: "Alright Alright" 12-inch 3286. Sue Chaloner: "Answer My Prayer" 12-inch 3287. Chimes: "1-2-3" 12-inch 3288. Chip E. Inc. featuring K. Joy: "Like This" 12-inch 3289. Club House: "I'm Alone" 12-inch 3290. Clubland featuring Zemya Hamilton: "Hypnotized" 12-inch 3291. Colonel Abrams: "Over and Over" 12-inch 3292. Cook da Books: "You Hurt Me Deep Inside" 12-inch 3293. Culture Beat: "No Deeper Meaning" 12-inch 3294. T.C. Curtis: "You Should Have Known Better" 12-inch 3295. T.C. Curtis: "Let's Make Love" 12-inch 3296. Cut Master D.C.: "The Night Before Christmas" 12-inch 3297. "D" Train: "You're the One for Me" 12-inch 3298. Etienne Daho: "Epaule Tattoo" 12-inch 3299. D'Bora: "Love Desire" 12-inch 3300. Diana: "Flashbacks" 12-inch 3301. Dirty Water featuring Rags 'n' Riches: "Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee)" 12-inch 3302. DNA: "Rebel Woman" 12-inch 3303. Dolby's Cube: "May the Cube Be With You" 12-inch 3304. Double D: "Autobotic Body Rock" 12-inch 3305. Double Dee: "Hey You" 12-inch 3306. DSK: "Work My Body Over" 12-inch Mixworthy: "No Deeper Meaning," Culture Beat, #3293; "You Should Have Known Better," T.C. Curtis, #3294. Was Centric House a band ("band") or a person? I know Tom House was/is a person--he was the Atlanta reliever who caught Hank Aaron's 715th home run out in the bullpen, and, until recently anyway, he bounced around as pitching coach for various teams. Under the assumption that no one would ever name a child "Centric," I've got them filed as a band. "Cedric House" would have been a much tougher call...The Cut Mas- ter D.C. and Diana are DJ promos on the Zakia label out of New York--there are a few more coming up. I think at the time I thought I was squirreling away obscure old- school (or almost old-school; they both date to the mid-80s) that would one day be as sought after as Blues Magoos or Thirteenth Floor Elevators records. That day may yet still come, but I don't know, 20 years later and I'm still not hearing the Cut Master name-checked very often...I can't tell if Double D and Double Dee are one and the same, or if either is the Double Dee who paired with Steinski for the 1985 EP that got an A+ from Christgau (never heard it). But I'm pretty sure that DNA isn't the No New York DNA, and also that Carlton isn't Carlton the doorman from Rhoda... I didn't care much for Culture Beat's "Mr. Vain," but "No Deeper Meaning" is my fa- vorite record in the Snap/C & C Music Factory/KLF club-you-over-the-head-senseless style that flourished for a year or two. The T.C. Curtis song is something I've liked for ages without ever coming across a single piece of information on the who, what, or where of its backstory. And although I don't remember Clubland's "Hypno- tized," there's another one of theirs from the same CD, "Come Rain Come Shine," that I'd be listing for sure if I had it on vinyl. OK: everybody dance now! ________________________________________________________________________________ 3307. Sheila E: "Sister Fate" 12-inch 3308. Edelweiss: "Bring Me Edelweiss!" 12-inch 3309. Electronic: "Getting Away With It" 12-inch 3310. Endgames: "First-Last-for Everything" 12-inch 3311. Exotic Don and Master Vic: "Cutt Loose" 12-inch 3312. Exposé: "Seasons Change" 12-inch 3313. Face to Face: "Tell Me Why" 12-inch 3314. B. Fats: "Woppit" 12-inch 3315. F.I.T.Z. Step One: "Raw Power" 12-inch 3316. Freestyle: "Party Has Begun" 12-inch 3317. Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew: "The Show" 12-inch 3318. F.X.: "Faith, Hope & Charity" 12-inch 3319. Taana Gardner: "Heartbeat" 12-inch 3320. Gipsy & Queen: "Gipsy Queen" 12-inch 3321. Ronnie Gee: "Raptivity" 12-inch 3322. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: "The Message" 12-inch 3323. Grandmaster Flash: "Behind Closed Doors" 12-inch 3324. Grooveline: "I Don't Need You Anymore" 12-inch 3325. Guy: "Teddy's Jam" 12-inch Mixworthy: "Getting Away With It," Electronic, #3309; "Heartbeat," Taana Gardner, #3319. I had to refresh my memory with "Heartbeat," one of the most famous dance hits (like Shannon's "Let the Music Play") from the immediate post-backlash period when disco had been driven underground again. I think it's somewhat overrated for the same rea- son as the Shannon record, the last-gang-in-town mystique that has attached to it (Barry Walters once placed it #1 on a greatest-ever list he compiled for the Voice), but it is good, and after playing both sides ("Party Mix" and "Club Mix," both the work of Larry Levan), it'll likely be buzzing around in my head for the rest of the evening...Electronic's "Getting Away With It" is almost as good as the greatest Pet Shop Boys songs, and I'd take it ahead of anything by New Order, the Smiths (well... I guess I like "Panic" just as much), or Beck, Bogart & Appice...I'll skip the sym- bolic Hall of Fame listing for "The Message" (one of the giveaways, for me, of how much the Blender 500 is a Rolling Stone list in disguise is how high they've got "The Message"). I'm not saying it's not as important as everyone has been saying it is right from the moment it first appeared; in view of the utter stranglehold hip- hop has had on popular culture for the last few years, it's arguably rivalled only by the records of Elvis and the Beatles for long-term influence. But it's as mummi- fied as "Satisfaction" or the most overplayed Motown song you can name by this point, an over-familiarity accentuated by how many times it's been sampled or covered... Please don't bring me Edelweiss, and don't bring me an Army of Lovers or any Yaki- Da, either. But I like Right Said Fred, who will be sadly missing from this survey. ________________________________________________________________________________ 3326. Paul Hardcastle: "Eat Your Heart Out" 12-inch 3327. Paul Hardcastle: "19" 12-inch 3328. Dan Hartman: "Vertigo" 12-inch 3329. Haysi Fantayzee: "Shiny Shiny" 12-inch 3330. Ofra Haza: "Galbi" 12-inch 3331. Hey! Elastica: "Eat Your Heart Out" 12-inch 3332. Hi Tek 3: "Spin That Wheel" 12-inch 3333. Indeep: "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life" 12-inch 3334. Indeep: "When Boys Talk" 12-inch 3335. Indeep: "Girl's Got Soul" 12-inch 3336. Invasion featuring Maria Selah/Zeina: "Move Ya Body" 12-inch 3337. T.C. Islam: "Can You Play It" 12-inch 3338. Isley Jasper Isley: "Insatiable Woman" 12-inch 3339. Vanessa J: "Nasty Rhythm" 12-inch 3340. Icey Jaye: "It's Just a Girl Thing" 12-inch 3341. Jo Ann Jones: "I Don't Need Your Love" 12-inch 3342. Wally Jump Junior & the Criminal Element: "Jummp-Back" 12-inch 3343. Junior Gee & the A Team: "The Terminator" 12-inch 3344. Junkyard Band: "The Word" 12-inch 3345. Kev-Ski: "Hanky Panky" 12-inch 3346. King Rad/King Stevo: "Get Smart" 12-inch 3347. Kraze: "Let's Play House" 12-inch 3348. Krush Groove All Stars: "Krush Groovin'" 12-inch 3349. Frankie La Motte: "That's the Way It Goes" 12-inch 3350. Bettye LaVette: "Doin' the Best That I Can" 12-inch 3351. Lee Chubby King: "Yo' Pusface" 12-inch 3352. Loose Ends: "Emergency (Dial 999)" 12-inch 3353. Loose Ends: "Slow Down" 12-inch 3354. Loose Ends: "Stay a Little While, Child" 12-inch 3355. LW5: "Ripe for the Picking" 12-inch 3356. Mac Mac: "So Shy" 12-inch 3357. Magazine 60: "Don Quichotte" 12-inch 3358. Man Friday: "Jump" 12-inch 3359. Man Two Man: "Who Knows What Evil?" 12-inch 3360. Barbara Mason: "Don't I Ever Cross Your Mind Sometime" 12-inch Mixworthy: "Don't I Ever Cross Your Mind Sometime," Barbara Mason, #3360. Uma, Ofra; Ofra, Uma...That wasn't too difficult--only took me 35 records to find something I can live with in the mixworthy list. The original idea for this project was that I wouldn't spend time doing any relistening, that if something didn't jump out immediately as mixworthy then it wasn't, but I've got to cut myself some slack with 12-inches, the Bermuda Triangle of my collection. So I did a quick check of three things in this group before settling on Barbara Mason. Hi Tek 3's "Spin That Wheel" is one of only two pop hits I remember liking in 1990 (L.L. Cool J's "Around the Way Girl" the other), a year where, as I mentioned earlier in the Neil Young en- try, I just wasn't paying attention to music at all. No go--just one unexceptional Ninja turtle flat on its shell and gasping for air. I tried "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life," another early-80s club hit with a certain amount of cachet, and can't say that it sounded very life-saving at all. I used to like Loose Ends, but "Slow Down" makes me wonder why. I won't bother revisiting Lee Chubby King's "Yo' Pusface," an infantile enough Beastie Boys imitation that I remember it appealing to my inner Andrew Dice Clay at the time; I think it may have been produced by Chris Sheppard, when Chris was still out of control and residing in the place to be. Which leaves the Barbara Mason pick, and all I can think to say about that is that it's nice-- nothing more, nothing less, just nice.

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