Reply With QuoteOops! Sorry for misspelling Mel CHEREN's name throughout! Humbly, Jeff H
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I went to hear Mel Cherin (of West End Records and Paradise Garage fame) speak at the Warhol Museum Friday night (FYI: the Warhol is NOT in NYC but in Andy's hometown of Pittsburgh, believe it or not!), and he echoed a lot of the disgust over current remixers that many of us expressed in Marky's "Vindicated by Tom Moulton" forum.
Cherin/West End takes credit for being the first to offer extended singles (with vocals on Side A and instrumentals on B), so he's a proponent of the days when a 12-inch single gave you more of a good thing, not a completely DIFFERENT thing. He believes remixing today usually destoys songs and that remixers are arrogant for ignoring the artistic vision of performers/producers. He said he has heard MANY complaints from perfomers that their vocals sound off-key after remixing or, worse, that their vocals were GONE!
Not surprisingly, Cherin said the only person who still just remixes songs is our hero Mr. Moulton. (He also said Junior USED to not mess with a song too much, but....)
He said he speaks around the country when asked to because--again, like so many of us here (see the "gay generation gap" forum)--he's upset that kids today don't know "good" music, have never heard real instruments, etc.
Finally, Cherin said he has bought the rights to the old Carl Bean song "I Was Born This Way" and hopes to do an all-star "We Are the World" type project with gay and gay-friendly singers to benefit AIDS and anti-violence charities. He said Lea DeLaria has already expressed interest.
Thanks for reading!
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Oops! Sorry for misspelling Mel CHEREN's name throughout! Humbly, Jeff H
Acetate [Level 1]
Indie Release [Level 4]
I am VERY glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks most of these remixes are, well, crap!
Though it's not agreed upon by everyone, I think the greatest time for the 12" single and the remix was the early-to-mid 80's. Songs were simply extended and the choice was simple: either you like thed song or you didn't. Nobody was trying to please everyone by making multiple versions of the same song. Remember the late 80's when house mixes were slapped onto every possible song--pop, freestyle, Hi-NRG--often with disastrous results.
Soon after, we had to endure the dub fad of the early 90's? Remember that one, when one syllable was repeated ad nauseam until you were ready to scream? The remaining 99.99% of the song was discarded in favor of that ONE syllable.
So what so we have nowadays? Definitely not "remixes". I refer to these musical atrocities as "raze and rebuild". So often, these mixes sound NOTHING like the original. Sometimes I enjoy a song in its original form and wish I could simply find an extended version of it. Instead, I'm forced to pay almost $8 for a domestic CD single with 5-10 tracks that redundantly drone on without ever making their point.
If any remixers and record companies see this post, please PLEASE bring back the basic simple extended version. I'm just one consumer and I know I won't bring down the record industry if I stop buying music, but it would be nice to know my voice is heard.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I will never forget reading an interview with our one and only hero.... his majesty MAESTRO Tom Moulton, where, asked about remixing, he gorgeously stated.... "I don't know much about remixing, I did the mixing"!!!
............... DELICIOUS............. :D :D :D :D
Indie Release [Level 4]
One of those such monotonous repeating single line 'reworks' or 're-interpretations' is about to hit the UK dance floors - The Freemasons 'Love on my Mind'.
I knew I'd heard the repeated line somewhere before and lo and behold I've cracked it. They've only gone and taken Jackie Moore's 'This Time Baby' and well quite literally pulled it apart and hooked one line to make a reworked and brand new sound for today's discerning House audience - TOSH!
The original 12" version is still brilliant even today - I've just dusted it down and the 12" version has all the components you've just discussed above - original artist's song, original writer's interpretation, extended for those who like the song and want that little bit more before it finishes.
7 minutes vs 4 minutes - either way the song is still the original melody and beats this new reworking that should never have been allowed to happen (IMHO).
Underground Hit [Level 5]
I think Mel Cheren is starting to sound like what he is - an old fart.
Don't get me wrong - respect the guy and all he's done and stands for... but I've heard some remixes that have totally transformed average or terrible tracks into danceable masterpieces.
Some are good, some are bad... you can't just say that remixing on the whole has gone to ****!
Womb Prayer!
Chart Hit [Level 6]
As most of us that DJ'd since the early seventies would fall into the "old fart" categoryI would side in general with Mel's observation. Sure there were "some" good remixes in the 80's and 90's but I certainly recall countless songs that were butchered into " the concrete bunker mix,:o the slap your mother dub,:-? the bend over I'll shove it reprise":x etc. etc. etc. BITD you'd get a 7" or album cut of the original and brilliant DJ's would transform them into the identifiable masterpieces we've come to love and cherish without sacrificing the original content :)
Permissions
Bookmarks