A Bitch Called Johanna - I'm A Bitch vinyl

I have just purchased a collection of 800 new beat, house, etc., records from my friend Chris Low, old school dj, and guy who loaned me a collection of amazing tapes.  This is one of the first ones I have recorded.

According to discogs vocals in this track from 1990 were from Wendy Wild who was a NY 80s downtown fixture and did work with John Sex, though it looks like the Bitch Named Johanna may have been Johanna Jimenez. 

Some great early 90s house sounds here, and I'm sure the acapella could be used for a lot of great remixing.  I actually like best the Bitch to Bitch on the clean side for the trigger looping of the phrase "I'm a Bitch".  Check out her in a vid below from 91 in the legendary Pyramid Club in NY.  Looks like there was also a related track done by Johanna Jimenez.  And I almost prefer this later 1994 version by Olga.




Also some hilarious Wendy Wild vid here with John Sex.



"Fellas?  I don't wanna know what you DO.  I wanna know who you ARE!!"

TRACKS

X Bitch

Bitch Moaning

X ' Capella

Bitch to Bitch

article on music and money for lookatme.ru

I have started writing a column of sorts for Russian website lookatme.ru.  More and more I have felt a growing concern and frustration from seeing so many friends struggling as they try to survive and make money while trying to be artists - particularly in the music industry - and especially as the industry is changing so much.  So I tried to summarize my thoughts:

– originally written for Lookatme.ru (link)

12 Jan. 2009 

Many of my friends are musicians, artists or fashion designers.  But most of them don’t make much money.   In this article I’m going to discuss various reasons why I think this is the case and what it may take to make money.  I’m not proposing to have done any real research on the topic and I may be wrong – I’m just giving an overview of the way I see it.

The way to  make money in the arts (music, fashion, art, etc.) is to provide something that people really want or need that they can only get from you or which they can't get cheaper or easier elsewhere.  A really good live show is an example.  People may be able to easily find someone's music on the Internet for free. But they can only experience a live show by going to the show.  A great art piece is the same way.  Making it may take the same time as a great album, but the experience can't be put onto a little disc and shared with everyone for free. . . . continue reading

Exsanguination Blues comedy record

This is a little odd treat from my dad.  It's a comedy record recorded by an actual medical doctor in the 50s and put out by Colonial Records, which had a lot of success with comedy records from that time (the most notable to me being from Andy Griffith).  This one is pretty obscure but I remember my dad playing it to me when I was a kid.  I think the singer Doug Harrell was an actual doctor and probably did this side project and then never recorded anything else.

My dad asked me to record it to mp3 for him when I was in California over Christmas.   The music has kind of a southern folky flavor to it, and it's kind of entertaining, but mostly it's about the story and the humor - the kind your dad would probably like.  Enjoy.

Exsanguination Blues - Doug Harrell


Hospitality Blues - Doug Harrell

Warm Leatherette (Matthew Stone mix)

My friend Matthew Stone sent me a random  mix of Warm Leatherette by The Normal that was so good I decided to post it. I made the artwork to go with it cause he's too busy of an artist to make it himself :)

Matthew is a very special person.  In the years I've known him we have often dj'd together and I can say without question that when I do it is usually for some party so underground that there are sound system problems and no license or bar, and no one there that would see me play to hire me for real money - yet still somehow the very most fun I have ever have djing.  I think part of the reason for this is that we have similar taste and I enjoy playing stuff to try to impress  him and vice versa.   Matthew is also a rising art star - you can check out his ventures here.

He told me these are 2 of his favorite tracks right now.

Trentemoller & Margeir Bootleg – Kasper Bjorke vs. Jimi Tenor

And Chris Flatline's re-edit of Yazoo - Situation.  Youtube below.





Coincidentally, Warm Leatherette was on the only release ever put out by Daniel Miller [Edit: as the Normal] who founded Mute Records, and it's still one of the most amazing tracks ever.  I've always been looking for similar stuff without much luck - maybe a little early Human League but that's about it.

Enjoy.

Warm Leatherette (Matthew Stone mix) - The Normal