In Praise of: B.E.F. "Music For Listening To..." (ex Human League/pre-Heaven 17)

and it sure is awesome

go to amazon. that;s where i got it

now, the copy of this BEF album I've got is marked at 33 1/2 rpm, but it's always seemed to me that "groove thang," when played at that speed seemed slow and muddled sounding, but when played at 45 rpm, it sounds pretty close to "(we don't need this) fascist groove thang" minus vocals. I mean, it sometimes really sounds like Heaven 17 just recorded vocals over a sped up version of the earlier track.

Unless the rpm is a misprint.

1990: grimly, a 15-year-old human league obsessive, buys a 7" of "fascist groove thang" at a record fair and is blown away by the B-side, "decline of the west". he discovers this is from "music for stowaways".

"hey," he thinks. "i should try to get hold of that." he looks everywhere. he asks around. nobody can help him. bugger.

2008: grimly, a 33-year-old, can't sleep. for some reason, the existence of "music for stowaways" pops back into his head.

isn't the internet wonderful? tomorrow (actually: in a few minutes' time, but fuck that -- i really should try to sleep again) i shall be able to hear this.

"a baby called billy" rings bells with me; i'm pretty sure i know what it's going to sound like (urgent, rhythmic scraping -- although i could be wrong). where the fuck else will i have heard that, then?

I really love this CD. I still pull it out from time to time.

ha! no, the internet is shit. i finally get round to listening to the tracks i, umm, acquired last night ...

... and they all skip like fuck.

really: what kind of utter twat bothers to share broken MP3s? fucking prick.

then again: this is, i guess, the same kind of thing as buying that mis-pressed copy of "crushed by the wheels of industry" all those years ago :)

hey ho. second time lucky. shame, because what i heard was bloody great.

honestly. there ought to be some kind of law against it.

ok, this is godlike. every second of it.

*blink* Okay this ended up in my inbox today.

On June 11, 2013, The End Records will release the British Electric Foundation’s – Dark. The third album in a cult favorite series- Music of Quality and Distinction, Dark is an indulgent collaboration of renowned artists reworking some of the world’s most popular songs. The compilation showcases performances by Kim Wilde, Boy George, Kate Jackson, and Andy Bell amongst others, covering your favorite songs from Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, Iggy Pop, Blondie, ABBA and many more.

Following the critically acclaimed debut live performance by B.E.F. at London's Roundhouse last October, Martyn has finished "Music of Quality & Distinction Vol. 3 - Dark". This time the concept of the album is dark interpretations of originally upbeat songs. Recording has now been completed featuring contributions from Boy George, Sandie Shaw, Kim Wild, Green Gartside (Scritti Politti), Andy Bell (Erasure), Shingai Shinowa (The Noisettes), Sarah Jane Morris, together with Glenn Gregory from Heaven 17 and contemporary artists Kate Jackson, Polly Scattergood, David J Roch, Billie Godfrey, Max Pokrovsky and Kelly Barnes.

The Boy George track (redoing the Stooges) is streaming:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/boy-george-covers-the-stooges-in-i-wanna-be-your-dog-song-premiere-20130415

My copy of "Music to listen to" had labels with the tracks 'wrong' on one side (same three titles on both sides, with an extra track 'correctly, added on one)

.. And yeah, I remember hearing 'Fascist groove thing' and realising the speed was wrong.

Basically, they messed up big time, Virgin or whoever..

Also, I thought these were the same tracks as on "Music for Stowaways"

ah, it seems the cassette has more tracks than the "l.p."