Pair-Shaped - 40 Thieves & Hot Chocolate

San Fran DJ qzen (above) supplies vocals for noddy disco outfit 40 Thieves' cover of Hot Chocolate's 'Don't Turn It Off', which first appeared back in 2008 on Permanent Vacation. The track resurfaced on Chinatown Records last year, remixed by label owner Brennan Green (as heard here on December's Balearic Death Mix), and has sprung to life again thanks to a re-edit included on Greg Wilson's Credit To The Edit Vol 2 (Tirk).

While many have written off UK soul band Hot Chocolate as cod disco, 'Don't Turn It Off' was the band at its super slinky best and appeared on the b-side of their 1979 flop single 'Mindless Boogie'. Commercially it it appeared during a slump period for the band who had enjoyed a string of global hits from '73 to '78 ('Brother Louie', 'Emma', 'So You Win Again', 'I'll Put You Together Again'). Hot Chocolate's mainstream comeback, that made them household names, didn't happen until '82 with 'Girl Crazy', damning them to the casino circuit for eternity. Yeah, they could be schmaltzy ('It Started With A Kiss') and sound like they were cranking out jingles ('Every1's A Winner') but it's hard to deny they could sex it up with the best of them when they set their crotches to it ('Heaven's In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac').

NY team Rub'N'Tug recognised the sultry nature of 'Don't Turn It Off' and included it on their seminal '05 mix set Campfire. An early morning seduction anthem was born. And the song fit 40 Thieves like a condom. Comprising qzen (ex-The Invisibles), Corey Black (Imperial Dub label manager), Jay Williams (Jaswho?) and Layne Fox (engineer on Woolfy's The Warehouse), 40 Thieves followed up their 'Life Is Special' 12" (Rong) with 'Don't Turn It Off' and there's just no getting tired of what could well be a modern disco classic. And the track was the perfect lead-in to last year's 'Beats In Space' 12" (Rong) of edits that shows they can do flamboyant disco too on 'Love To Shake It Baby'.

'Don't Turn It Off (Greg Wilson Edit)' - 40 Thieves feat qzen:

'Heaven Is In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac' - Hot Chocolate:

Buy: Credit To The Edit 2 - Various/Greg Wilson; 'Don't Turn It Off' - 40 Thieves.

Requests - Pt.1

Pair Shaped - Roky And Kenny

Roky Erickson's new album 'True Love Cast Out All Evil' was released this week. It features Okkervil River on backing, and sounds great!



Butthole Surfers covering a track by Roky's legendary band 13th Floor Elevators. Lifted from a 1990 tribute compilation called 'Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye'.




Newish track from Kenny Bobien via France. As Melbourne DJ Ms Krystal would say, there's nothing like a bit of 'Jesus House'.



Classic Shelter sounds from 1997.

I Still Play Vinyl Because...

A few years back lots of people were talking about the death of vinyl, except now it's 2010 and black data discs are still not dead. In fact, it looks like vinyl might be making a comeback. Could it be true? People always bang on about how good vinyl sounds (and looks), but what's the real reason DJs still play records?


"I still play vinyl, because... "

- my Mum wont let me use her credit card on Beatport.

- it's a good opportunity to borrow the house needles and swap my old styli over.

- I can't get enough of trolly bags with telescopic handles.

- turntables make me feel nostalgic, plus they're a handy place for me to rest my drinks.

- when I'm famous, a framed gold USB stick wont look as good hanging in my toilet.

- I love the sound of oxidized SL1200 headshell inputs.

- the new CDJ 2000 still doesn't have a 'dust bunny' mode.

- I have half a crate of upfront white labels for sale.

- I don't read enough books to fill up the shelves of my Ikea Expedit.

Death Of A Disco Dancer – Malcolm McLaren R.I.P.

Malcolm McLaren died 8 April at age 64. The Guardian's obituary put it best, describing him as "a musical provocateur". The infamous Brit encouraged and made music that didn't just provoke a response, it demanded a response. Although best know for his punk shenanigans (the street fashion store he had with Vivienne Westwood, taking on the monarchy with Sex Pistols, briefly managing New York Dolls), McLaren always had an interest in dance music. The first sign was 'Black Arabs', the ironic disco medley of Sex Pistols songs on The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle soundtrack - it was 'Pistols On 45'. Always an early adapter, at the start of the '80s he stole Adam Ant's band to bring the Burundi drum rhythm to the new wave sound of Bow Wow Wow, a pirate-meets-cassette explosion of post-punk club music. Then in '83 came McLaren's first real solo musical project Duck Rock, a mesh of African music and hip hop (working with pop producer Trevor Horn and electropop pioneer Thomas Dolby), which featured global hit 'Buffalo Gals'. In '84, he followed with the electronica opera album Fans, which featured another global hit in 'Madame Butterfly'. In '89 McLaren mixed classical music with house for Waltz Darling - collaborating with Bootsy Collins and early UK house advocates Mark Moore and William Orbit - including another global hit 'Deep In Vogue'. He continued to make music but never again reached the apogee of this late '80s dance triptych.

'Black Arabs' - Black Arabs:

'C30 C60 C90 Go (Live)' - Bow Wow Wow:



'Something's Jumpin' In Your Shirt' - Malcolm McLaren & The Bootzilla Orchestra:

Pair-shaped Past: Neighbourhood Watch Edition

Two of the most exciting/unpredictable acts to take to the stage in Melbourne during the '80s were The Shower Scene From Psycho (above) and Tombstone Hands. Shower Scene were all shrill electropunkcabaret covers (they tackled The Monkees, The Seekers, Mental As Anything amongst a myriad of others from a variety of genres) while Tombstone Hands were a swampy garage precursor to the grunge scene. Nothing in common musically but they shared local cult hero guitar thrasher "Feedback Jack" Bloom (above centre). Psycho have since become the thing of myth: one member embroiled in tabloid scandal due to his family's political connections; singer Simon Grounds mutating into underground producer extraordinaire (God, Underground Lovers, Dave Graney, etc); and the band recently immortalised with a two-cd retrospective. However there is little to be found of the Hands outside of a good old rummage through you friendly neighbourhood vinyl shop. Here's a little reminder of why both bands deserve even more respect. Clips of both bands filmed live in the mid-'80s: the Hands covering The Standells' 'Good Guys Don't Wear White' (swoon at Jack's gravity-defying mohawk) at the Prince Of Wales (circa 1984) and Shower Scene covering The Strangeloves' 'Cara-lyn' at, what looks like, Melbourne's then uber-hip/midweek late niter Users Club (circa 1986):

You should order this: Exploding Hits - The Shower Scene From Psycho (Omni Recording Corporation).

You should look for this: Asleep At The Wheel - Various (a 1984 collection of garagesque Melbourne acts including Tombstone Hands, Crushed Buzzards and Olympic Sideburns that could be kicking around in record stores somewhere).

Recommended reading: Doug Wallen interviews Simon Ground (mess + noise, Dec '09)

Easter Fuzzday

"I wanna die like Jesus Christ

I wanna die on a bed of spikes

I wanna die come see paradise...

I wouldn't sell my soul

But I'd hang for this"

('Reverence', The Jesus & Mary Chain)