Fake Beatles.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
I was pretty upset that I missed my chance to choose and talk about one or the other of these songs at Tim Young’s Contrast Podcast this past week, so I figured I’d take this opportunity to do the Beatles thing here (um, again) without actually having to choose between the two finalists.
The Residents “Beyond the Valley of A Day in the Life” (mp3). The aural equivalent of strolling through an abandoned house containing everything relating to the Beatles, ever. Or up to 1977 at least, when it was released as a single from the San Francisco headquarters of the group’s “Cryptic Corporation.” Anyone familiar with the Residents by 1977 wasn’t surprised in the slightest; after all, their 1973 debut was called Meet the Residents. “Valley” is one of their best works, and certainly one of their most memorable, as much an ode (it’s a Rev.9-style collage work) to the group as a brilliantly direct comment on their (dubious?) legacy. The first seconds of the piece tell you all you need to know about the rest—the group takes the monumental ending orchestral swoop/sustained piano chord from “A Day in the Life,” one of the most recognizable endings in the annals of popular music, and tear into it as their introduction. This dissolves into the looped drums from “Golden Slumbers,” over which the line “Tell Me What You See” is transsubstantiated from Paul’s loving ode to innocence to pretty much the opposite, while John’s voice from Plastic Ono Band echoes deep in the background, “I don’t believe in Beatles.” And that’s just the first minute or so. The B-Side of the original single? A cover of “Flying.” Thanks to Prof. Drew LeDrew (from here and here) for the file.
Stars on 45 “Beatles Medley” (mp3).Before those of you who already know this one comment on it as the prime example of cash-in disco shit, let me give some context for those who aren’t familiar. The song, the studio concoction of a group of Dutch DJs in the late 70s, starts off sounding like some sort of game, with the vocalists asking the listener to “beat the clock.” Which, if the point of the game is guessing the songs, isn’t really that hard, because they only use snippets, and the snippets tend to be the choruses. And for some reason, they start with a snippet of Shocking Blue’s “Venus,” and then the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar.” Why, I don’t know. And yeah, although these dudes weren’t exactly Larry Levan, their concept itself wasn’t too far from what had been going on in cheesy discos all over the world for at least 4 or 5 years at the time, and what was the inevitable soundtrack for countless white-people wedding receptions went to #1 in 1981. And then an ABBA version came out. And then a Motown. And a Stevie Wonder. And a fucking Star Wars. Actually, if you look at this one and “Valley” on paper, they have at least one similarity: both are collage work. It’s just that the Residents were brilliantly subversive and avant-garde, while the Stars on 45 were Dutch DJs who could beat-match the Fab Four with four-on-the-floor. And, oh yeah: don’t even think for a second that Youtube’s not all over this.
Hi Eric,
I was sorely disappointed too that I didn’t have room for you on the last CP. I thought you were away on holiday, otherwise I would have saved you a spot, but when I got you email we were already heavily over subscribed! It would have been a difficult choice for you by the looks of things though. That stars on 45 video is something special … what has nowhere man got to do with a magician?
Tim
You’re probably aware of this but one of the people behind the Stars on 45 project was Jaap Eggermont who was previously the drummer in Golden Earring.
The Stars on 45 Beatles medley was, in a way, a sort of cover version of another record. John Lennon’s death renewed interest in the Beatles and a record came out (from Canada I think) called Bits and Pieces which was a bunch of Beatles songs lifted from the original records and put over a disco beat. The words ’sampling’ and ‘mash-up’ hadn’t been invented then. Anyway, the Bits and Pieces record was banned because it used the original Beatles material but Eggermont realised that he could remake it by using new vocalists,
I have the Canadian version of the Stars on 45 on 12″ ninyl.
I bought it mail order here in UK in the late 70’s or early 80’s and the guys who I got it from also had the Abba and other ones that Star Sound copied.
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