Karmadrome/Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me, Kill Me CD

One of the many CD versions of the 12" posted originally here.

Think this was the first outing for PWEI-Zation since it first hit the turntables in 1989 on the release of Very Metal Noise Pollution.

One for the completists amongst us.

1. Karmadrome (7")
2. Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me, Kill Me
3. Karmadrome
4. PWEI-Zation

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92º... The Incredible P.W.E.I. Vs. Dirty Harry

Another fine slab of musicality from Stourbridge's finest, and like other posts here, taken from the excellent Cure For Sanity.

All three tracks stand up to scrutiny, with The Incredible P.W.E.I. Vs. Dirty Harry particularly liable to induce dubbed-out foot-tapping.

Flood is credited with original production for tracks 1 and 2, and the remix for both these tracks are down to the prolific Boilerhouse.

1. 92º Boilerhouse (The Birth Mix)
2. 92º Boilerhouse (The Birth, The Death Mix)
3. The Incredible P.W.E.I. Vs. Dirty Harry

Go on, make your day. You know you want to...

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Bulletproof!

If you're something of a completist (like myself), then this will be of interest. However, if quality is in your heart, then this may come up somewhat short.

As I noted in my earlier post, the title track was going to need some radical work to move it into silk purse territory. Adrian fails on this front again, and Boilerhouse fare no better.

The final shame of it all is that the last track (which I believe appears nowhere else) proves to be a sadly accurate assessment of the whole sorry mess.

There we go, that'll be no downloads then...

1. Bulletproof! (Adrian Sherwood Remix)
2. Bulletproof! (Original Boilerhouse Mix)
3. Bulletproof! (Extended Adrian Sherwood Mix)
4. Good From Far, Far From Good

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Oxfordshire Market Town Defies Expectations...

I wouldn't normally look to bore anyone with the minutiae of my life, but today was such a surprise I'm willing to break my self-imposed rule on this.

Picture the scene: a sleepy Oxfordshire market town; I'm there to complete some tedious shopping (personal hygiene products etc.); the weather is unseasonably warm.

On the off-chance, I venture into a well known charity shop. I've been here before, and the audio items on offer have been the normal uninspiring candidates: Westlife, S Club 7, Kylie etc. etc.

On this occasion, however, things are different. At the front of the normally piss-poor collection of CD's is Lionrock's Carnival - I've been looking for this for ages, both on-line and in the real world. Next I discover Tripwire by the same esteemed artists. My pulse quickens (such is the banality of my life).

It becomes clear that someone's collection of early 90's CD singles has somehow ended up here. They are either a music lover who has lost the faith, or whose other half has chosen to punish them for unknown misdemeanours.

No one gives this stuff away, at least not if they are in their right mind. Here's my haul in full:

Gary Clail & On-U Sound System:

Escape
These Things Are Worth Fighting For
These Things Are Worth Fighting For (Justin Robertson Remix)

Leftfield:

The Afro Left E.P.

Lionrock:

Tripwire
Carnival

Pop Will Eat Itself:

Karmadrome
Bulletproof!

Sheep On Drugs:

TV USA
Track X E.P.
Motorbike/Mary Jane

System 7:

Habibi

Once I've burned them, and worked out what's not been posted before (or is available to purchase) I'll share my good fortune.

Charity's never been so good...

Due To Unforeseen Circumstances...

...currently unable to post vinyl at present, due to the fact that an unknown individual in my household has separated my Numark TTUSB turntable's tone arm from its stylus. With extreme prejudice.

Anyway, conscious that I have been a bit quiet of late, and that recent posts have been more driven by squaring the Live At The Brain circle than by quality, thought I would share a discovery.

As you can see from earlier posts, I am more than a little keen on Pop Will Eat Itself. Whilst searching for the same, came across Castles In Space, which is a real blast from the past. Very keen on Nolan Micron's musical tastes, in particular The Orb, The KLF, Orbital and System 7.

Strongly suggest you check out Nolan's musings. If Nolan keeps up the prodigious posting rate, we should all be in for a treat...

Pop Will Eat Itself: Post Script...

Well, the last six posts cover all the non-album vinyl I have by P.W.E.I.

Thought I would round off these posts by thanking a few bloggers who have provided me with other P.W.E.I. odds and sods:

Madchester Rave On:
92°
Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!
X Y & Zee

Moody Places:
Karmadrome

Musical Coco Box
There Is No Love Between Us Anymore (Specially Extended Dance Mix)

Retro In The Perfect Sence Of The Sentence:
Def. Con. One

Bulletproof Mixes!

When P.W.E.I. first posed the question "Is Everybody Happy?" my answer was an unconditional yes.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven - my two most favourite things in the musical firmament, namely P.W.E.I. and On-U Sound (in the god-like incarnation of Sir Adrian of Sherwood) coming together in what could only be an immaculate union.

Sadly the truth, and my expectation, were somewhat at odds with each other. By quite some distance. My disappointment was palpable. How could they do this to me, after such unstinting support on my part?

In fairness, I already knew that the version from The Looks Or The Lifestyle? hadn't exactly set the world alight, but surely Adrian's musical Midas-touch would save the day?

It appears not:

A1 Bulletproof! (The Mile High Mix)

B1 Bulletproof! (No Half Measures Mix)

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X Y & Zee

Another quality tune from Cure For Sanity. Actually one of the most 'poppy' tunes they've done, but still very good.

For the sample-centric this one contains the great "no pop, no style" line from Althea & Donna's classic Up Town Top Ranking.

If there's any criticism due, it's that there's not a lot of difference in the three mixes, and I'm pretty sure (despite a slight track length difference) that B1 is in fact the album version, which is a bit cheap.

Judge for yourself:

A1 X Y & Zee (The Intergalactic Mix)
A2 X Y & Zee (The Electric Sunshine Mix)

B1 X Y & Zee (Sensory Amplification Mix)

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Karmadrome/Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me, Kill Me 12"

Title track (and the other three variations on a theme) on this one taken from The Looks Or The Lifestyle? album, which does not quite measure up to its predecessors, but does score serious brownie points by having a song called Harry Dean Stanton (aah, Alien, Escape From New York, Repo Man etc.).

Thank goodness I have to go to bed or I would end up tying myself up in knots by muttering about the links between P.W.E.I. and Colourbox (e.g. P.W.E.I. recorded a song called Harry Dean Stanton; H.D.S. appeared in Escape From New York, Colourbox's Baby I Love You So features an Ernest Borgnine sample: "Nobody gets to meet the Duke, you meet him once then you're dead" from Escape From New York and so forth).

Oh, why do I have to work when this is so much more fun?

Hey ho:

A1 Karmadrome
A2 Dread Alert In The Karmadrome

B1 Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me, Kill Me
B2 Eat Me, Drink Me, Dub Me, Kill Me

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Dance Of The Mad

Right, now we're cooking on gas...

For me, P.W.E.I. were at the height of their powers with the This Is The Day...This Is The Hour...This Is This! (from which the Preaching To The Perverted track is taken) and the subsequent Cure For Sanity (from which the title track mixes are taken) albums.

This is also around the time they hit the jackpot with their affiliation with The Designers Republic, about which much has been written (made more money from merchandise than the music blah, blah, blah) and upon which I won't dwell. That said, despite being old enough to know better, still think the artwork is pretty cool... if George at Asda started selling Poppies t-shirts I would be sorely tempted.

Enough of my sad musings, here's the tunes:

A1 Dance Of The Mad ... Feet On Heat

B1 Dance Of The Mad ... Seven
B2 Preaching To The Perverted Remixed

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Love Missile F1-11 (The Covers E.P.)

Although this was released before There Is No Love Between Us Anymore, I purchased this later (another Record & Tape Exchange acquisition I think). At the time I was quite excited - I liked the title track by Sigue Sigue Sputnik (whose picture appears in the illustrated dictionary above the phrase "style over substance"), but now realise the error of my ways.

In truth it's a pretty shabby piece of vinyl (and only posted for completeness really), the only track worth a mention is Orgone Accumulator, but the quality has more to do with Hawkwind than P.W.E.I. sadly.

A1 Love Missile F1-11 (covers Sigue Sigue Sputnik)

B1 Orgone Accumulator (covers Hawkwind)
B2 Everything That Rises (covers Shriekback)
B3 Like An Angel (covers The Mighty Lemon Drops)

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There Is No Love Between Us Anymore

As promised, the first of a few P.W.E.I. posts.

This one's taken from the Box Frenzy album, and if I'm honest it's not the best of their output, but at the time it blew me away.

There wasn't anything else that sounded like them back then (even now, I guess), and they grabbed all the best bits of the genres I liked (metal, rock, hip hop, dance etc.). I'm not going to try and describe why they are so great, plenty of others have done so, and have done a better job than me. They just are.

A1 There Is No Love Between Us Anymore
A2 Picnic In The Sky

B1 "...On The Razor's Edge..."
B2 Kiss That Girl

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Pop Will Eat Itself

As I alluded to in my first post, I have a long standing relationship with P.W.E.I.

I remember very clearly how this began - I saw the video for Sweet Sweet Pie on T.V. (Old Grey Whistle Test I think, but not sure). Went out very shortly afterwards and purchased the 7", and never looked back.

Over the course of the next few days will post all the 12"'s I have. Not going to post albums as these are pretty much all still available.

As they themselves say, The Poppies Are Crap...

Finally...

... got myself together and posted, although sadly not a lot to say. First question I asked myself is should I reveal what I am really like, or try to give a false impression? Decided that the latter was the way to go, at least for the time being...

Anyway, first something truthful: my tastes are eclectic, although tending towards reggae, rap, ambient dub and a near-obsession with On-U Sound.

Oops, forgot to mention that for my (all too limited) money Pop Will Eat Itself are going to be hard to improve upon; shame that Clint Mansell has moved onwards and upwards and does not want to revel in his grebo-ness any longer.

I hope to return the kindness shown by others by posting some stuff that, as far as I know, is only available to those that own it - in other words tunes that the record labels have chosen not to re-release (e.g. Live At The Brain Volumes 1 & 2). Once I get my turntable fixed that is; it's only been 10 years since I last used it...