Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A Few Re-Posts

By request, here are a few re-posts of songs that have disappeared in cyberspace on the internets.  Here is the alternate version of "Impregnated Tidbits of Dope Hits" from the "What's Going On" single as well as the import bonus tracks from Speech's cleverly-titled debut album Speech.

Live From New York.....

Live from New York....it's Arrested Development!  I'm always on the lookout for some AD tracks, even if they are just remixes or live cuts, so I was kind of happy when I stumbled upon this- especially since it was on sale for just a penny plus shipping- as it features a performance on Saturday Night Live from October 24, 1992.  This would've been shortly after I purchased their debut album and became a die-hard fan.  Anyway, it's a great live rendition with the original AD crew- check it out.  Tennessee Live on SNL. Oddly, to me, in the booklet they list the names of the artists who performed on a given show, and in this case they name every member of AD- except Speech aka Todd Thomas (the booklet lists given names so for example Headliner is listed as Tim Barnell).  Oops!  And for those curious, this episode was hosted by Christopher Walken, and if reader Christian's recollection is correct (and I am certain that it is), they also performed "People Everyday" on this episode.

For those interested, this disc also has performances from Nirvana, REM, the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, TLC, Green Day, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, and more.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Tennessee Single

"Climb the trees my forefathers hung from."
I'm sure most AD fans have this single already (I actually do not!) but in case you are like me, here are a few remixes and so forth from that single.  By the way, there are about a million different covers for this song, but I think the one on the left is by far the best and really sums up the song nicely.  "Climb the trees my forefathers hung from" is a line that still gives me the chills.  There are a couple of other remixes  (Back to Roots, Pirate Radio)  that popped up on the Extended Revolution project and I've heard there is an 8-minute mix as well.
 Tennessee (Remix)

For DJ's Only

Dubb Mix

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Tasha LaRae Live

Here are a couple of cool youtube videos of Arrested Development member Tasha LaRae. The first video is off of her first single "I Still Love You" and the second is a live performance of the amazing first song off of her The Tasha LaRae EP called "Love Yourself":



Saturday, November 27, 2010

Beats From Speech's Vault Redux

I should've been a photographer....
It looks like the links in my original post regarding this project have went all "Queen" on me and bit the dust- so here is a fresh upload of all the tracks, and you should be able to do them in one swoop instead of track by track. 

For those not aware, this is a project that Speech talked about briefly on his debut album and is extremely hard to find- Mike from Vagabond Records was nice enough to send this my way for the site.

Also, if you run across any broken links on songs you would like to have, please let me know and I'd be glad to re-upload them.  Thanks!

Tennessee Dred and Funk Remix

It's so cute!
On one of the import versions of 3 Years..., there is a little mini bonus disc included featuring three tracks.  I wasn't quite sure what I was getting when I ordered it, but it looked like there were a couple of remixes that I didn't have.  Truthfully I had never seen a little disc like this, so when I had the chance to pick it up for pretty cheap I couldn't resist.  The disc includes "Revolution", a remix of "Tennessee" and the Maroon Mix of "People Everyday" that was already featured here a while ago.  The remix of Tennessee is called the Dred and Funk remix.

Such beautiful carpet!

It's a pretty cool remix of the song, nothing too mind-blowing but well done with some added chant vocals to the mix.  As far as the extra disc goes, I wasn't quite sure if I'd be able to even get this song from the disc, but then I opened the disc tray and the little light bulb over my head went off over my head Looney Toons-style- there was a perfect groove in the tray that I had probably looked at 10,000 times but only now discovered the purpose of- to hold these little tiny 3-inch CDs.  Hey, it's a miracle I can even do what little I can do on this blog....  Anyway, I thought it was kind of cool find for a collector like me, even if it only netted me one remix that I didn't already have.  As you can see to the side, the discs come packaged in one of those double disc cases that makes 3 Years seem suitably epic. 

Friday, November 26, 2010

5 Questions With Speech

Here's a nice little interview I stumbled upon with Speech on a website called Fans Entertainment.  Have to agree with this question and answer too:
Best hangover cure?
Not getting drunk. I’ve never been drunk in my whole life, I doubt I will start now. 
And here's the video he discusses- I've had it up before I think.

AD's Black Friday Offer

OK, they really don't have a "Black Friday" offer in the AD store- but they are offering a few free downloads that you should check out if you haven't already purchased these recent online-only projects.  Right now, you can download two remixes to "Miracles" and a remix to "Caught Me" from the Life Music Remixes project in the AD store for FREE, right here.  This includes the SAM remix of Miracles which would finish up the Since the Last Time deluxe edition remixes disc 2 if you downloaded everything else from this blog.

Then, you can also download "The Kingdom of Illness" here, which is an outstanding Speech song from the Unreleased Jewels project.  Just wanted everyone to be aware of that!  Hat tip to AJ from www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com for sharing this information.  (BTW, if you are into Will Smith either as a rapper or an actor, that's a great site to check out and I wish someday I could make this blog into something comparable- but I would have a lot of work to do!  Now that I have a daughter, I've gotten a lot more into Will's music since I can play it guilt free in the car, just like AD and Speech's stuff.) 

As far as Unreleased Jewels, for a Speech fan it's a must-buy.  Great stuff on there, including a Christmas song for the season!  Life Music Remixes depends on how much you enjoy remixes but is worth the low price tag in my opinion.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving- Or Happy Thursday...

Depending on where you live, I'd like to either wish you a Happy Thanksgiving- or a Happy Thursday....  Anyway, here is a live video of AD covering Sly and The Family Stone that I think is very appropriate for today.  This is a well shot video so enjoy!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I Know I'm Bad - Ritual Remix (Since Day Nine, Part Two)

Here is the third remix (the Ritual Remix) of "I Know I'm Bad" from Since the Last Time.  Not one of my favorite remixes from the deluxe version, but that might just be me.  This closes the book on the deluxe Since the Last Time that I currently have files to- however, I have two different deluxe versions on the way.  One of them lists the "SAM Remix" of "Miracles" as the 12th song on disc 2, so there might actually be 4 versions of this album.  That Sam Remix can be found on the Life Music Remixes online album available here.  Anyway, we'll have more on the deluxe versions later.

I Know I'm Bad - Mason Remix (Since Day Nine, Part One)

Here is the second remix of "I Know I'm Bad" from the deluxe Since the Last Time- the Mason Remix.  I described it previously:
"The album closes with two more remixes of "I Know I'm Bad." This first one is pretty cool. Kind of adds a 70s soul vibe to the track. I really like this one, it's a lot of fun."  
 AD better be careufl about calling something a Mason remix with all of the crazy and ridiculous rumors that fly around about Jay-Z!

I will have the second remix up later today.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Speech Interview with "Women In Music"

Once you get past the fact that this interview was done for a site about women in music- huh?- this is a really good interview with Speech.  This was done around the time that The Vagabond dropped.  Here's a choice qustion-and-answer: 


Shelia: What do you want the listener to walk away with after listening to your album?
Speech:
I want them to see a whole other side of life. You hear about so much negative things. I hope people get from my record: marriage…love…. commitment…struggle…spirituality…those are some of the things in my life--a black reality that’s not talked about a lot.
 Here's a link to the rest.    

Heaven Fiasko Mix (Since Day Eight)

Here is the Fiasko Remix of "Heaven," the Los Lonely Boys cover that AD was able to ride to victory on the reality show Hit Me Baby One More Time.  We're getting to the end of this project, which means I better figure out what's coming next!  Also, I didn't spell fiasco that way- for the record :)

Also, I somehow forgot to include a link to track two which was a remix of "Miracles", so if you missed that one, I have updated that post.  Sorry about that!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Corrections on The Tasha LaRae EP Review

Hello everyone- I wanted to take a second and make a couple of corrections regarding my review of The Tasha LaRae EP.  First, "Let's Stay Together" is not an Al Green cover and is an original Tasha composition, so my musical ignorance shines through!  I apologize for that mistake as I should have known better!  (Note to Al Green's lawyers- call it off, you have no case!) :)

Secondly, I presumed that the album had been produced by Tasha and DJ Freez as they were the executive producers.  I should not have presumed- according to Tasha a number of producers were used!

So thanks for bearing with me on these mistakes!

I Agree With This Guy...

OK, I know he's talking about the TV show- but deep down, he's just wondering what happened to AD!

Caught Me Futuredogs Remix (Since Day Seven)

Here is the Futuredogs Remix of "Caught Me," the eighth remix on the deluxe Since the Last Time.  I really like this one, it has a good vibe I think.  Couldn't decide what "Future Dog" picture to go with so let's squeeze this between both!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

I Know I'm Bad (Jamie Munton Remix) - Since Day Six

As I first described this remix, this one has kind of an industrial feel to it. It's a little jarring, not really my cup of tea but kind of interesting.  So here is the Jamie Munton remix of "I Know I'm Bad"  Now that I think about it, Muhammad Ali is referenced twice on Since the Last Time- on the title track Speech says "Jabs a little slower like Muhammad Ali but still we able to last" and of course on "I Know I'm Bad" he says "I'm bad, like James and Ali."
 There's two other remixes of this song on the special edition, which will be up soon enough. Also, it should be pointed out that this particular remix is on both "deluxe versions" of Since the Last Time.

Note:  I listened to this song again after posting this and I like the remix a lot more then I thought I did.  When I sit down and review things, I typically don't use the best system to listen to them and I think that caused me to underrate this particular remix as it's really pretty good.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Tasha LaRae EP Review

The Tasha LaRae EP (2010) Tasha LaRae, self-released
As one can tell from the quality of my writing here, I am not a critic- professional, amateur, or otherwise.  Basically, my reviews boil down to either I like it, I kind of like it, or I don't like it.  Nothing too fancy.  But I recently purchased the debut solo project, The Tasha LaRae EP, from the latest member of Arrested Development, Tasha LaRae, and I'd really like to review it.  Quite simply, I like it!  The EP consists of seven songs and was executive produced by Tasha and DJ Freez, and I presume they produced the actual songs as well (Note:  I should not have presumed- according to Tasha a number of producers were used!).  So let's break it down track-by-track.
1. Love Yourself-  This is a great song- very positive (obviously, judging by the title!) and the band is outstanding.  This song kind of has a Strong vibe to it without any other AD members present, if that makes sense.
2. Secrets featuring Dain Harris-  Another great song, more mellow then the rousing opener.  Dain Harris is a really good signer so this makes a great duet. 
3. Let Go-  Cool song with a nice twist on a classic hard rock song.  I won't spoil which classic, just in case you buy it.  It took me about 5 seconds to catch on and have the little light bulb go off over my head.   
4. I Still Love You (Radio Edit) - This is the one that you can hear online, and I'll post it down below again as a refresher.  Really nice song although I like the first three songs even better.
5. Let's Stay Together- The classic Al Green song covered.  Tasha can sing, period!  (Note:  This is not an Al Green cover and is an original Tasha composition, so my musical ignorance shines through!  I apologize for that mistake as I should have known better!)
6. I Still Love You (extended version)- Exactly what it says it is. 
7. Whatcha Got- Good closer, another positive song and a very fitting way to close the EP.
In a nutshell, I will definitely be checking for a possible Tasha LaRae LP if and when it drops.  In the meantime, this really is a worthwhile album, especially for those who are into R&B/Soul or if you enjoyed what Tasha brought to the table on Strong.  Other than Speech, there really aren't many solo efforts from AD members- former member Nadirah has released a couple albums after leaving the group and Eshe appears to have one in the works- so it's nice to see other members get a turn in the solo spotlight, and I look forward to seeing other endeavors from AD members.


Inner City Semper Fi Remix (Since Day Five)

All right, here is the Semper Fi remix of "Inner City" and the sixth remix from the Since the Last Time deluxe version.  According to google images, that is an Inner City snail, and I don't think you can get any more inner city then that.  This is a pretty good remix overall. 

Friday, November 19, 2010

Since the Last Time Deluxe - Day Four

All right, we've got another "Tight on Tape" remix, this time it's the title track "Since the Last Time" again.  I really like this one as well, as mentioned before it kind of gives me an Enya vibe.  This is presumably from the same crew that brought us the epic "Sao Paulo" remix that was posted yesterday.  Check it out!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Since the Last Time Deluxe - Day Three (Part Two)

"Sao Paulo" is one of my favorite songs on Since the Last Time, and the remix does not disappoint.  I love it!  So check it out and see what you think.  This is the Tight on Tape remix -it's pretty good on CD and mp3 as well.....  And this site has actually had a lot of hits from Brazil, so obviously that country has made a big impression on AD, and vice versa!  So hello to everyone from Brazil.

Since the Last Time Deluxe - Day Three (Part One)

All right, here is the Salty Sea Dog remix of "Miracles".  Great name, but not the best remix.  I'll post up my favorite remix on the project a little later today to make up for it.  And, if nothing else, I was able to use some awesome pirate art to showcase this one!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Stuff in the Works

Sorry for the somewhat sparse posts, just haven't had much time lately!  But here are some of the things I have in the works:

-Obviously we will continue to post up the Since the Last Time remixes.  My favorite one will be up tomorrow!
-A review of the excellent Tasha LaRae EP
-I received my copy of Indigo Blume with the bonus Speech song- and it is awesome!  The book is really cute and perfect for my daughter, and Speech's song "I'm Different" is incredible to me.
-Some coverage on Arrested Development Unplugged, both the DVD and the CD
-Christian and I are in the process of getting the cassette bonus tracks converted from Unplugged as well
-The live bonus tracks from Since the Last Time
-The bonus version of 3 Years...  Yes, there is one!
-The "Tennessee" single as well as the live performance from SNL back in the day
-The debut solo album of former AD member Nadirah, produced almost entirely by Speech back in 1998.

And of course, much much more....

Since the Last Time Deluxe - Day Two

Here's a good "club" mix of "Miracles," which is one of my favorite cuts on Since the Last Time.  This is the Will Styles Club Mix, so the same guy that did yesterday's track.  I mentioned before that I don't normally care for "club" mixes yet I always seem to like AD's club mixes.  Can't explain it, but there you go!  

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Since the Last Time Deluxe - Day One

As promised, I'm going to start delivering the remixes from the deluxe version of Since the Last Time.  As a side note, I do have two different deluxe versions on the way via ebay (one is apparently a "Singapore" edition which is very similiar to the Australian version, only it appears to have the three live tracks from the Korean edition.  Yes, I am serious, and no, I have not located an Antarctican version yet), so I will know a lot more about these releases shortly.  And yep, I am nuts.  Anyway, here is the Will Styles Remix of "Since the Last Time."  This is a good remix so enjoy!   

Monday, November 15, 2010

Inner City Live

Here's a great video that's been making the rounds from Vagabond Records and Tapes- a performance of "Inner City" live.  This is a fantastic live version!

Natural by Arrested Development

"Natural" is a fantastic song from 3 Years (something you can basically say for any song on that record, but oh well).  However, it's single is pretty hard to find- and the copy I have says it was made in Germany.  But there are a couple of treats on it.  Number one, there is a remixed version of the song called "The Natural Way" that basically presents a more organic sound for the song.  There is then the album version, and then the Instrumental version aka "The Natural Way Before I Put Vocals On It."  And then there's the remix to "Fishin' 4 Religion."

So here are the rare versions:

The Natural Way  

The Natural Way Before I Put Vocals On It

The "Fishin 4 Religion" remix is the same one found on Extended Revolution, and it was posted here a month or so ago.  It's one of my favorite AD remixes, period.  Unlike the CD shown above, my copy does not have track 5 "For Turntable Instrumentalists Only."  If it's like the "Tennessee" single, this would be a hodge-podge of memorable lines from the song, set to the beat.     

And hey, might as well post up the video while we're at it!  I never even knew this existed until youtube arrived.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

3 Years... Live

Over the last few years, there's been a trend in music to have artists perform complete albums live to help drum up ticket sales and fan interest. And since I have a tendency to think of off-the-wall stuff when I mow my lawn, the other day I got to thinking that it would be pretty cool if AD did 3 Years... live in it's entirety. And it would be pretty cool.

But then I got to thinking some more, and while AD is doing quite well as far as I can tell, many people tend to still think of them as a group that dropped a couple of albums, split up, and never returned. So perhaps rehashing their old material in it's entirety would not be the best route to take.

So then I got to thinking even some more, and I thought, well, I could just put together a "live" version with the live recordings that I do own, just for the heck of it. So I thought it over, and by the time I was finished mowing, I realized that I didn't think "Washed Away" showed up on any of their live albums (it doesn't), and on further inspection, "U" can only be found on the Unplugged album, which stylistically wouldn't really fit. And obviously the musical interludes would be dropped. Besides, I wouldn't want to post it since I'd be dealing with material that can still be purchased win a way that AD could gain from it.

With those plans scrapped, I then thought, well, I could just post up the best live versions from youtube, and if one so desired they could have a mini-3 Years concert right there in their office, or home, or wherever. So with that in min, I tried to track down the best versions possible of the songs from 3 Year, 5 Months, and 2 Days In The Life Of... And this is what I came up with. Sadly, not only could I not find "U" or "Washed Away," but I could not locate "Natural" either. But I thought it was a decent idea. If you so desire, check it out.

Speech Remix Tracks Day Seven


Here is the last remix from the Freedom project, "Redemption Song". It's not bad, but the other version is so good that it's hard to top.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Clocks In Sync With Mine Video

For some reason this video is not on youtube, so I likely would not have found it if Christian hadn't pointed it out to me. It's a great video too, and since this is the unofficial official song of the blog, then that would make this the unofficial official video for Highway 85. Without further adieu, here is "Clocks In Sync With Mine" from Hoopla.

Speech Remix Tracks Day Six


Here is the Speech remix of "Spiritual People". Keep in mind this is different from the separate mixes that were done for the US and Japanese versions of the album. That mix can be found here.

Friday, November 12, 2010

People Everyday In Israel

If you want to make me laugh while at the same fill me with the need to bury my head in shame, then just show me old white people dancing. So on that note, here is some footage of AD performing "People Everyday" live in Israel in 2007. The performance is great; the hosts' dancing? Not so much!


Hey, it could be worse. I still have nightmares of this MC Hammer video, with him dancing with a bunch of congressman and congresswoman.... Oh Hammer, you hurt em this time. And to think I chose you over Vanilla Ice back in the schoolyard days when people would fight over who was better.

Speech Remix Tracks Day Five



Here
is my least favorite remix on the project- "Our Image". Which is too bad as it's a great song. Here is what I previously said about it:
Our Image (Soul Ninja Remix): This one is remixed by Tsubame Reworks. Obviously, this is my favorite remix title of all time- a soul ninja. Unfortunately, the ninja apparently swept in and removed Speech's lead vocals on this track, as you basically only hear him towards the end of it with a high level of distortion. This really doesn't do anything for me..... For some reason, the title reminds me of the infamous Ninja Rap song by Vanilla Ice.

Here is a link to the instrumental and a capella versions of the original tune; much better in my opinion. And in case you are not familiar with "Ninja Rap", I'd hate to see you go through your life ignorant. Here it is!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Since the Last Time Deluxe


So if you want to make my head explode, just tell me that there are two different versions of Since the Last Time beyond the standard release and that will likely do the trick. Well, in theory my head would explode, but somehow I was able to survive and make it through the day after I found out that there is a deluxe Korean and an Australian version of Since the Last Time. According to Amazon, the Korean version comes with 6 bonus songs- three of them being live versions of "Tennessee," "People Everyday," and "Mr. Wendal" and three remixes. I don't know anything about the live versions so they could be live versions we've seen elsewhere or completely new.

Fortunately, those three remixes can be found here on the two-disc deluxe Australian version. I did try to find this version to purchase, but haven't had any luck- but I did find the files through other ways. So let's take a look and see what those of us on the other 6 continents have been missing. I just hope we don't see an Antarctic version of Strong or my head really will explode....

1. Since the Last Time (Will Styles Remix) - This is pretty close to the original, only with "heavier" drums. This is good, I like having a little different spin on it.
2. Miracles (Will Styles Club Mix) - I'm not a huge fan of "club" remixes (for good reason- you do not want to see me dance), but for some reason when AD does them I typically like them. Go figure.
3. Miracles (Time Sea and Elroy's Salty Sea Dog Mix) - Another club remix really, with a very odd name. I was kind of hoping to see a pirate theme mixed in or something. I prefer the Will Styles remix to this one- I can live with club songs as long as the verses eventually get a chance to play, but this one just chops up some vocals and it's just not my thing. Your mileage may vary.
4. Sao Paulo (Tight on Tape Remix) - OK, this is one of my favorite AD songs, period, so I'm holding this one to a higher standard. It's a lot different then the original, but I really like it. More of a hard hip-hop sound on this one and it works very well. My favorite remix on the second disc.
5. Since the Last Time (Tight on Tape Remix) - We've got another look at Since with presumably the same crew that did the previous remix. This one is different but pretty cool- it pulls out some of the background harmonies and pulls them to the forefront- it almost gives the song an Enya sound, from what little I know of her work. Right now I would be fine with these guys remixing the entire album, but we are moving on.
6. Inner City (Semper Fi Remix) - Oddly, this does kind of have a "Marine" vibe to the beat (for those not familiar, Semper Fi means "Always Faithful" in Latin and is the slogan for the US Marines among many other groups). This isn't too bad, although some of the vocal samples used get a little repetitive.
7. I Know I'm Bad (Jamie Munton Remix) - This one has kind of an industrial feel to it. It's a little jarring, not really my cup of tea but kind of interesting.
8. Caught Me (Futuredogs Remix) - This is OK, really speeds up the track.
9. Heaven (Fiasko Remix) - I don't know why but this has never been one of my favorite AD songs, although I enjoyed seeing Eshe get the spotlight. The remix isn't bad though, I think I like it better then the actual song.
10. I Know I'm Bad (Mason Remix) - The album closes with two more remixes of "I Know I'm Bad." This first one is pretty cool. Kind of adds a 70s soul vibe to the track. I really like this one, it's a lot of fun.
11. I Know I'm Bad (Ritual Remix) - This is more in the vein of some of the other club remixes, again not really my cup of tea. I much prefer the other remix to this song.

So there you go, a look at the bonus disc of the deluxe Australian version of Since the Last Time. We will have more on this later!

As far as the remixes that appear on the Korean version, according to Amazon it's "Caught Me (Futuredogs Remix)", "I Know I'm Bad (Jamie Munton Remix)", and "Inner City (Semper Fi Remix)". If I am ever able to find out more about that particular version I will be certain to let everyone know!

Speech Remix Tracks Day Four


Here we are at day four with "Yeah, Yeah." Here is what I said about it previously:
Yeah, Yeah: Remixed by DJ Hasebe. Hasebe would go on to remix "The World is Changing" on the Japanese version of Strong. I'm a big fan of the original. This one is OK. Kind of slows things down. It's certainly listenable and kind of grows on you. I've always loved the hook.

So here it is; see what you think.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Mo'Nique Show

For everyone who missed it (me included!), here is a link to the Mo'Nique Show on Bet.com. This episode features Arrested Development as well as a performance from Dres from Black Sheep.

Oh America


At one point in time, if you saw that a song was featuring Arrested Development, you would probably expect a lot of Speech. And if he wasn't in it, you'd probably be a little ticked off- this isn't AD! But here we have a song that says it features Arrested Development yet doesn't feature Speech, just Rasa Don and One Love, and I would be hard pressed to say that this is not an Arrested Development tune. I think that says a lot about the way that the group has developed with Speech- it truly is a collaboration now and not just a showcase for primarily one artist (not to say others didn't contribute, but nothing like the way things are today).

Anyway, here is a song with the reggae group UB40 (of "Red Red Wine" fame) featuring... Arrested Development. Great work by both AD members on this one, and you really get to hear a lot on One Love's background with his great verses.

Speech Remix Tracks Day Three


Here is what I said about the third track of Freedom a week or so ago:
Poverty: Remixed by Steady & Co. This is a good remix. According to the bio of these guys in the liner notes, they have an "urban but earthy flavor" which is a good way to describe this remix. Almost has an Organized Noize vibe to it, which is a good thing in my book.

So here it is. Nice remix!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Story of Us


The Story of Us AKA How I Became An Arrested Development Fan

In the early 90s, I became a big fan of a hip hop group from Atlanta. They were known for their somewhat unorthodox fashion choices, had a bunch of hits on the radio, and they were all over MTV. Of course, I am referring to Kris Kross, the miggedy-miggedy macks who called people wiggedy-wiggedy wack.

Yes, Kris Kross. Hey, they were basically the same age as me and I loved those guys. Loved them. I can't even tell you how many times I played their tape Totally Krossed Out. So what does that have to with that other Atlanta-based group that was all over MTV, had a bunch of hits on the radio, and made unorthodox fashion decisions? Well....

Like I said, I was a nut for Kris Kross. So when "Jump" hit the radios, I had to have a copy of it, but the problem was the radio station in Omaha rarely played it despite "Jump" being a big radio hit. And this might shock you, but Omaha didn't have an "urban" radio station in the early 90s, so you basically had to bide your time on the top 40 station (where have you gone Sweet 98?) if you wanted to hear a rap song.

So this is what happened. I was listening to the radio, tape ready, and one of the DJ's said something like "coming up soon, "Jump" from Kris Kross." Problem was, it was getting close to my bedtime. So I came up with an ingenious solution- I stuck a tape in my tape player, waited as long as I could, and then hit record and let it roll while I laid in bed and dreamt about NES games, GI Joe's, and so forth....

So, I woke up the next morning, looking for my Kris Kross song. I played the tape through on my Walkman (or a cheaper version of one), fast forwarding every now and again, and much to my distress, there was no Kris Kross to be found. However, there was a rap song, which was guaranteed to catch my ear as it was rare to hear any rap on Omaha radio. And not only that, but it was a really good rap song that seemed to be called "Tennessee." So I played it, rewound, played it again, rinse, repeat. This was a really good song! But who is it?

So I then asked my friend about it, who was a little more in with rap at that time (I basically knew of MC Hammer, LL Cool J, Young MC, Kris Kross, Tone Loc, Fresh Prince, and that's about it.) He told me who he thought they were, but beyond that I didn't know much. So I had my dubbed tape, a possible name of the group, and that was about it.

Fast forward a bit to summer, a summer where I would stay up and watch Yo! MTV Raps with Dr. Dre and Ed Lover, which was basically hip hop 101 to a young kid like me who was just getting into things. To this day, people claim that 1987 was the greatest year in hip hop history, and they might be right, but 1992 wasn't a bad year to get into things either. You had newer acts like Black Sheep, Redman, DAS EFX, House of Pain, 2Pac, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and so forth emerging, and you had more established acts who all dropped classic singles around this time that were still in heavy rotation, such as EPMD, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, and Digital Underground. I would just lay there and soak it up like a sponge, although X-Clan used to kind of scare me as a young white kid!

To top 1992 off, you had Arrested Development debuting, with "Tennessee" and "People Everyday" in heavy rotation on MTV. I naturally loved those videos, so I saved up my lawn-mowing money and picked up their tape (some time after I picked up Kris Kross of course). I still remember the cashier at good ole K-Mart telling me this was a great album, to which I replied "I know" despite never hearing anything but the singles. (Social interactions have never been my strong point.) But I loved that tape, and of course I still do- I can even remember the liner notes of the tape having a unique smell, if that's not too weird.... If it is, pretend you never read it. Now I will admit that I wasn't immediately hooked- it did take a little while to soak in, which I find is pretty common with a lot of great art.

So in a nutshell, that is how I became an AD fan. If you are here, I'd love to hear how you became a huge AD fan, even if it's as simple as "heard it on the radio, loved it, boom." I don't know if I would've become such a huge fan without finding them by accident- my hunch is I would've since the video was in heavy rotation and obviously the music is classic- but it did add a bit of a sense of discovery in my mind.

(Note: In case you are not familiar, "The Story of Us" is the title of an AD song on Heroes of the Harvest, which I think makes perfect sense for this post!)

Speech Remix Tracks Day Two


Here is the second remix from Freedom. Admittedly, it's not one of my faves, although the remix isn't bad. But here is "Jungle Man", remixed by DJ Jin.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Live on Mo'Nique


Tomorrow night, Grammy winners meet an Oscar winner. From Speech's facebook: "Catch Arrested Devleopment 2morrow nite on The Mo'Nique Show - 11pm EST. BET"

I will definitely be watching, hopefully this will show up online as well so that everyone gets a chance to see it! It is sure to be precious.... ouch!

Behind the Notes With Speech

Here's another great interview with Speech discussing his feelings on performing live and writing music, and then he specifically describes working on Sao Paulo, one of my favorite songs of AD's, period. We also see some of a couple of cool acoustic versions of "Miracles" and "Tennessee."

Speech Remix Tracks Day One


As promised, here is the first remix from Freedom: Speech Remix Tracks. Here is what I said about it a week or so ago:
Y.O. (Bluesbreaker's Super Dry De Dope): This one is remixed by Tomoyasu Takeuchi (Super Butter Dog). Hey, that's what it says. Funny remix title and DJ name aside, this is a great remix. Adds a trumpet to the sounds, which kind of gives it a Pete Rock vibe since Pete likes his horns. I like this one better than the original song. Great start.
Anyway, here it is.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Thank You!


First, I have an update to our previous story on the children's book Indigo Blume and it's bonus CD featuring Speech, and now seems as good a time as any to do so. In the words of the author:
"Track 2 is Speech's song "I'm Different", track 3 is an instrumental entitled "Patricia" by a musical genius named Vinx (out of D.C.), and track 4 is Speech's "I'm Different" Instrumental version."
I believe the book and CD should begin shipping this week.

I'd also like to point out that if you are into Twitter, you can now follow this blog there! Truth be told I'm not very comfortable with the format (I'm barely competent at this one), but you can find the page here. I'm still not sure where I'm going with that page other than posting when there are updates on the blog. There is also a link on the left side of this page.

Don't forget that we do have a discussion board here (links on the left) so feel free to chime in with basically anything! Thanks to everyone who had checked that out as well as left comments on various posts. It's great to read all of those.

One of the things I like to do is keep track of visitors from various countries to this blog. I've mentioned it before, but the worldwide appeal of Arrested Development and Speech is truly remarkable. So at this time I'd like to welcome everyone who has visited from South Korea, Lithuania, Morocco, Slovenia, Ireland, Russia, Pakistan, Italy, Poland, France, and the Philippines! Thank you so much for checking this blog out, and we can add those countries to the list that already includes Barbados, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Jamaica, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, Denmark, the UK, Canada, and Germany, as well as the US of course.

I first "started" this blog two years ago. Yes, two years ago. I put a post up saying something like "under construction" and then waited two years to post again. Luckily, once I got that second post under my belt, the third one was a lot easier, and so on and so on.

Basically, I set one goal to start, and that was to have at least a post a day. I am happy to say that I have been able to do that- so far! I was pretty worried that I would run out of material in a month or so, but things still seems to be going strong.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their support so far! I've gotten a lot of good feedback on things and that is much appreciated and has made this a lot of fun. I'd particularly like to thank Christian for everything, Mike from Vagabond Records for his support, and Arrested Development themselves for posting links on Facebook, Twitter, and for making such great music!

Our Image


Time to wrap up some of the things that Christian sent me from the "Clocks In Sync With Mine" and "The Hey Song" singles, namely an instrumental and a capella of "Our Image." I really like this song so these are cool to have.

Instrumental

A Capella

And once again have to thank Christian for everything he has done getting these files to us!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Egg Beaters - Zingalamaduni Version


A while back, I posted the mixtape version of "Eggbeaters." But I finally received the album version that appears as a bonus track on the import version Zingalamaduni a couple weeks ago, so here it is, in case you don't have it. Really a great song and sounds even better in it's album format I think.

Supposedly there is an import version of this album that features remixes to "Ease My Mind" (the DJ Premier remix) and "United Front (Noise In My Attic Remix)" but luckily those songs are available elsewhere so we have already had them posted here.

Tasha Larae


As far as I know, Tasha Larae is the newest member of Arrested Development. She has all kinds of projects in the works, including an EP and an earring line. This video covers both entries, as it features her new song "I Still Love You" and her fashions. Check it out. Pretty cool to see both females in AD coming out with solo projects. You can find out more on her EP, as well as her earrings, here.



On a side note, in a "It's a Small World," moment, Tasha went to the same high school I did here in Omaha and graduated a year after me! She wouldn't know me from a can of paint, but still, pretty cool. What are the odds that a future member of AD, one of my favorite groups, would go to the same school as me? And when you consider we are both from good ole Omaha, I'd say the odds are even slimmer. Anyway, it's great to see a fellow "Bunny" taking the world by storm!

Friday, November 5, 2010

When 2Pac Sampled Arrested Development...


I've been a big Tupac fan for some time, and obviously I'm a big AD fan, but I often forget about the time the two world's somewhat collided- when Tupac sampled one of Speech's lines from "Tennessee" ("I am still thirsty"} as well as using the same sample ("We're Ready" by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells) from "Mama's Always on Stage." There isn't much to this- basically, it's Tupac's response to some of the things Dan Quayle said about him after Tupac's music was being accused of causing someone to murder a police officer as I recall. While I certainly don't agree with all of Tupac's content, that's certainly a leap, but that's long in the past now. Anyway, this is the closest we'll ever get to having a Pac and Speech collaboration.

Speaking of that sample, here's "We're Ready". Kind of crazy that they hued so closely to the original while completely converting it to a hip hop song.

More Hoopla Instrumentals B-Sides


Following up on Monday's post, here are some more b-sides from the Hoopla era.

"Movin' On (Instrumental)" - One of my favorite cuts from Hoopla so this was a cool find.

"Clocks N Sync With Mine (Urban Cricket mix)" - The unofficial official song for this blog, and this is a remix of the instrumental- strike that, reverse it.

Real Love (Instrumental) - Another one of my favorites, so this is nice. Just a chill song.

And again, all credit goes to Christian for converting these files. It is much appreciated!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Speech on MuchMusic

Here is Christian coming through again with an interview from 1999 on the Canadian music show MuchMusic. I'll let Christian's synopsis speak for itself:

Speech drops by MuchMusic to promote Hoopla! Speech talks to Master T on MuchMusic back in 1999 about what he's been up to since his first solo album, what happened to Arrested Development, etc. I think this was the Canadian premiere of the "Clocks In Sync With Mine" video, as well.


Great stuff here! And for some reason it makes me hate MTV even more, just because you know they were playing some Limp Bizkit video for the 975th time on TRL while this was going on up north.....

Among the Trees Bonus Tracks


All right, I previously mentioned that the Japanese version of Among the Trees had exclusive live versions of "Tennessee" and "People Everyday". I bought this version of the CD just for that reason, and they were worth it because they're really good. I'm not very good at picking out instruments, but it seems that they had a keyboard during these concerts which really amps up the sound in my opinion. Don't think I've noticed that on the other live recordings. So without further adieu:

Tennessee Live One cool thing on here is it goes into the chorus of "It Takes a Village" from the original Hoopla, which was posted here a while back. This was from the Sapporo Global Arena on 6-26-04.

People Everyday Live from Buffalo, New York on 7-29-04. Another great live song.

The Japanese package also contains a DVD with the video of "A Lotta Things to Do" and "Honeymoon Day" as well as live versions of "I Want to Thank You" (a Sly and the Family Stone cover) and "Ease My Mind" but unfortunately it's region 2 so I can't watch it. Oh well. I also finally noticed that Baba Oje is not present in the liner photos anywhere, which is odd since this album features "Baba Oje is the Oldest One." Just a little oddity to point out!

Other than the different cover, the bonus tracks, and the DVD, everything else is pretty much the same, including the liner inside, and it's still one of my favorite AD albums.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Freedom: Speech Remix Tracks


Speech must really have a following in Japan, because he has done a ton of projects over there. Most of them are standard releases, but you've got a few compilations and this, basically a remix EP of songs from Hoopla and Spiritual People called Freedom: Speech Remix Tracks.

Speech remixes:

Y.O. (Bluesbreaker's Super Dry De Dope): This one is remixed by Tomoyasu Takeuchi (Super Butter Dog). Hey, that's what it says. Funny remix title and DJ name aside, this is a great remix. Adds a trumpet to the sounds, which kind of gives it a Pete Rock vibe since Pete likes his horns. I like this one better than the original song. Great start.

Jungle Man: Remixed by DJ Jin (Rhymester): I've never really cared for this song, but the remix isn't too bad. Still has the original chorus that just doesn't do it for me. Hey, you can't like them all.

Poverty: Remixed by Steady & Co. This is a good remix. According to the bio of these guys in the liner notes, they have an "urban but earthy flavor" which is a good way to describe this remix. Almost has an Organized Noize vibe to it, which is a good thing in my book.

Yeah, Yeah: Remixed by DJ Hasebe. Hasebe would go on to remix "The World is Changing" on the Japanese version of Strong. I'm a big fan of the original. This one is OK. Kind of slows things down. It's certainly listenable and kind of grows on you. I've always loved the hook.

Our Image (Soul Ninja Remix): This one is remixed by Tsubame Reworks. Obviously, this is my favorite remix title of all time- a soul ninja. Unfortunately, the ninja apparently swept in and removed Speech's lead vocals on this track, as you basically only hear him towards the end of it with a high level of distortion. This really doesn't do anything for me..... For some reason, the title reminds me of the infamous Ninja Rap song by Vanilla Ice.

Spiritual People: Remixed by Speech himself. This is a remix and not the Japanese or US version of the song. Very bass heavy version of the song. Seems like something more for the clubs or even your car

Redemption Song: This one is remixed by Hirofumi Asamoto (Ram Jam World) & Kenichi Yoshimura. This group did the remix of "Hey Song" on the Disciples project and I prefer that remix to this one. This one works primarily because Speech is so great on it- the backing track that's been remixed doesn't add anything to me. But to each their own!

One thing I like about this album is that the liner notes give you some background on the remixers, and it kind of explains what they were going for with their remix. It's a nice touch. That said, it's pretty spotty even at 7 tracks- to me, there are two standouts, four OK songs, and 1 pretty bad one. Considering what it sales for right now, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend buying it unless you're a die-hard like me. Luckily, since it's out of print we'll get the remixes up here at some point!

Among the Trees- Part Four

All right, here are the last three instrumentals from Among the Trees. So if you weren't lucky enough to have the deluxe version, well, now you've got it!

Nighttime Demons

Tings Distracting


A Lotta Things To do (Remix)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Love Sick by Eshe



Check it out- long-time AD member Eshe has her first video, featuring cameos from many Arrested Development members. I'm not the target audience for this kind of soul, but this seems pretty catchy, positive, and the video is very well done. Pretty cool that she is debuting her solo material after nearly twenty years in the group.

On a side note, the CD store really reminds me of the former Leola's Records in Omaha, a great record store of which I'm about 95% sure I was about the only white person that went in there, besides my friend...

Also, here are some behind the scenes videos as well:



If U Think The System's Working....


Here's a great remix of "If U Think The System's Working (Ask Somebody Who Ain't)" from Speech's debut solo album. As far as I can tell this was only released on a promo single- I couldn't even find an image of it online and my camera is out of batteries right now. Anyway, it's not that different from the album version, but it has a "liver" feel if that makes sense and is better then the original in my opinion. Enjoy!

The Soundtracks


The other day I was checking out the wikipedia entry on Arrested Development and noticed a listing of the various movies that had featured songs form either AD or Speech. I was familiar with a few of them of course, but I realized that there were quite a few that I wasn't. So let's break each film down with the song used, with thanks to imdb.

Malcolm X - "Revolution" of course. We had some of the remixes featured here. Pops up on all of the greatest hits packages and as a bonus track to 3 Years and Unplugged in some markets.

Boomerang
- "Man's Final Frontier", the introduction to 3 Years... Seems like kind of an odd song to feature in a film, and I'm not really sure how it's used. I'd be interested to see where this pops up as I've only seen bits and pieces of this one.

Bebe's Kids - The song on this was "Oh No" which was featured here. Billed as an Arrested Development song, this was basically an instrumental piece. I assume it was used as background music or as part of the score, but I'm not really sure. This did not appear anywhere else that I am aware of.

Reality Bites - "Give a Man A Fish" was used here. My wife owns this movie but I've never seen it...

Definitely Maybe - "People Everyday" pops up in this one as well as "Everyday People," the song that AD sampled.

Warriors of Virtue - The very good Speech cover "Beautiful Morning." This did not appear on any Speech albums, but we had it here.

Whipped - "Real Love" by Speech. I will never be seeing this one, but I'm glad that Speech was able to pickup a paycheck from it!

Michael Jordan To the Max - "Redemption Song", Speech's classic Bob Marley cover was featured here. I'm a big fan of Jordan but I have never seen this film (which was released in Imax theaters only, and later on DVD), so I'm not sure how it was used. Redemption Song can be found on the US "Hoopla", the Japanese "Spiritual People," and "Speech's Best". To those who haven't heard it, the Japanese mix can be found here.

Oddly, I have not seen a single film listed here, although I've been intending to see Malcolm X for some time. Anyway, basically we have three new songs that popped up on soundtracks and a host of previously released songs used.

Monday, November 1, 2010

United Front Live on Letterman

Christian comes through again with a great live performance of "United Front" on David Letterman in 1993. This is in immaculate condition- what a great video. And they do have a live band by this point, which is great to see.



Thanks again for posting this!

Hoopla Instrumentals


Thanks to Christian and his work converting files from vinyl, we've got some great instrumentals from Speech from the Hoopla era. We'll start with three:

Clocks In Sync With Mine - 808 'Poppy' Mix (Instrumental)

The Hey Song (Another Perspective" Instrumental)

The Mountain of Lonely (Instrumental)

1 Giant Leap


Some of you may be familiar with the 1 Giant Leap project. Basically, it was an album that was put together by enlisting artists throughout the world who will "collaborate" by adding on to what others did before them. Speech appeared on the first project with the song "Braided Hair" which apparently did very well in Japan. It was a really good song and popped up on The Vagabond and Down South Produckshuns.

1 Giant Leap had a second project called What About Me that wasn't quite as well known- from what I can tell the album was released in Australia only. Speech actually appeared on two songs on this double album, as well as a remix. So courtesy of youtube, here are those songs. The first song, "Each Step Moves On" with Zap Mama is about the most mellow song we've heard from Speech. He doesn't pop up until about three minutes in.

Each Step Moves On


The second song is "What I Need is Something Different" with Boots Riley. This one is more in Speech's normal style and isn't a bad song overall, but long. The "Dub" version that closes out the album is the second track. I do want to warn some Speech fans that there is some cursing on this song (not from Speech) in case that is not your thing....

What I Need Is Something Different



"Dub" version


In my opinion, the songs run too long and have too little Speech to really hold my attention- they're not bad, but they run a minimum of six minutes. "Braided Hair" worked a lot better. Still, it's interesting to hear these songs and to hear the story of how it all came together.