Merry T

Merry Christmas from Mr T

Christmas Rappin'

'Tis The Season to Boogie

Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'
Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin' Instrumental

Have a Happy Christmas

I'm sure Bing Crosby is doing 360's in his grave

Billy Jackson & the Citizen Band - Have a Happy Christmas

Pac Man Xmas

This has got to be one of the creepiest, psychedelic, hypnotizing Christmas albums of all time. How and why did this ever seem like a good idea? It's just sick enough to make it on ARAWA. Enjoy the ganja cookies Santa, you're gonna need 'em

Pac-Man - Snowflakes and Frozen Lakes
Pac-Man - The Magic Of Christmas

Hot Chocolate

Who knew Santa was this funky?!

Hot Chocolate - Brand New Christmas

Christmas Disco

So, I'm going through hundreds of Christmas songs this month for the always cheap mix cd stocking stuffer. The amount of shitty music made for this holiday is really unbelievable. I can just imagine some fancy recording studio with vocal artists practicing scales right before they record "Jingle BALLS" or "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer". Naturally, I'm always slightly pleased when a odd gem reveals itself in the plethora of feces that is Christmas music. I've never really made the connection between Disco and the birth of baby Jesus, but if you're drunk caroling at the office Christmas party, might as well be to something you can dance to. The Snowbelle track by Camille seems almost good enough to drop at the club, or maybe that's just the eggnog talking

Camille - Snowbelle
Camille - White Christmas
(it's a little painful, but what isn't about this song)

Lonely Christmas

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with this time of year. As much as I loathe the commercialization of the holidays, the sheer amount of banal-camp-kitsch that celebrates this season makes my heart fill with love. I think Charlie Brown sums up my feelings exactly:

Charlie Brown - Xmas Depression

I told myself not to post Xmas related junk to ARAWA, but I just couldn't resist the temptation. I apologize ahead of time for the next several posts. The season is upon us and I can't help myself.

and whats xmas without a little EBM

Absolute Body Control - Lonely This Christmas

Lone Ranger

Serving up a 2 for 1 today in homage to the original saddle sore masked crusader. This first track comes from Miserable Edits Vol. 2, one of the best edit ep's to come out in 2008. Really chill stretched out italo-dubbiness and just a damn fine edit. Like chicken noodle soup for ARAWA's soul

Chris Keane - (The Ballad Of) Lone Ranger [miserablist edit]

and then there's this insanely catchy disco ditty:



Quantum Jump - Lone Ranger

I originally heard this on a DJ Harvey mix and was immediately gobsmacked. It's one of those jams I keep coming back to over and over 'cause I can't get enough. I think I've already posted it everywhere but here, which is just a crying shame. At least it's finally home where it belongs.
Edit's aren't my skill, but I sure wish someone would give this the extended DJ treatment it truly deserves. Let us know if you make that happen ;)

Love is like Oxygen

Love is like oxygen
You get too much you get too high
Not enough and you're gonna die
Love gets you high

Sweet - Love is like Oxygen

Cheers

seem familiar?

Found a great disco edit of this Lipps Inc cover over at Dublin Bus Disco.
They got rid of the filler and kept the killer. So good!

Lipps Inc. - How Long (original)
Lipps Inc. - How Long (dublinbusdisco edit)

Eddie Wants to Know...

Can U Dance!!!

It'd be hard not to bounce to this Chi-town classic jack beat by Kenny 'Jammin' Jason & 'Fast' Eddie Smith. The Tyree Cooper '89 Acid mix and Fast Eddie reprise have been getting me really pumped causing involuntary body locking and arm popping. Little dangerous though, especially when brushing your teeth. It's not safe, trust me

Kenny 'Jammin' Jason & 'Fast' Eddie Smith - Can U Dance
'Fast' Eddie Smith - Can U Dance (Noise Boyz Remix)
'Fast' Eddie Smith - Can U Dance (Tyree Cooper 89 Acid Mix)
'Fast' Eddie Smith - I Can Dance

Vivien Vee

ALRIGHT!!!!

Probably my favorite jam from Ms Vee. I really have to thank JAZ for turning me onto this jam. It's been a standard in my sets for some time now and always gets a response. Finding the video is just the cherry on top.

Vivien Vee - Alright

Arcade Attack

This has ARAWA written all over it. One of my favoirte youtube finds this year!!!

Billy Boogie

The Rolling Stone's Bill Wyman goes astray in a good way with this lil' off disco diddy. Catchy, ain't it?!

Bill Wyman - (Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star

LOOK DE IBIZA

Who's going with me?

Glittering Prize

Been on A Simple Minds kick for a bit. Totally hypnotic music. Sure don't make 'em like this anymore.

Simple Minds - Glittering Prize
Simple Minds - Glittering Prize (Theme)

Glowing In The Dark

Love youtube for relics like this!!! A must have for any italo enthusiast! By the by, Sean and I just added our youtube accounts to post here, so expect more fun video features in the future.

Experimental Products - Glowing in the Dark

Money and Love

Money money money. Aargh. Sometimes its so hard see beyond it. I often need to remind myself whats really important and what really makes me happy. Love and money. I have one of these things. And I'm so grateful for it.

The Pinups- Money and Love

Emotional Disguise

Peter Godwin released this New Wave masterpiece in 1982. I first heard the instrumental of "Emotional Disguise" on a Tony Humphries compilation and was totally blown away. While not as well known as his other 80's hits like "Images of Heaven" and "Baby's in the Mountains", this single is equally compelling with it's slightly moody atmosphere, complete with epic synth stabs and latin influences. It also fits really well with other tracks by Endgames, Pete Shelley, and Human League if you were looking for new mix ideas.

Peter Godwin - Emotional Disguise
Peter Godwin - Emotional Disguise (Instrumental)
Peter Godwin - French Emotions

I wanted to post this video for Emotional Disguise, but the killjoys at Universal have blocked the embedding option. What's with that logic? So, how 'bout this neato Spanish cover by Maryta Capote instead.

Maryta Capote - Disfraz Emocional
(pretty compressed version. find me a better one please!!)

Crystal Light

In The River

Speaking of current obsessions, I've been total immersed in Ron Hardy playlists. I came across this dub version of an I-Level track I had never heard and it totally blew me away. It's been on repeat for awhile now. For those not familiar, I-Level was an amazing English R&B group in the early 80's who had some success with hits like Minefield and Give Me and was the predecessor for other successful british groups like Loose Ends, Five Star, and 52nd Street. Like gettting baptized by holy water, this song is a godsend. Thanks Ron for all the sermons, consider me a believer.

I-Level - In The River
I-Level - In The River (12" Remix)
I-Level - In The River (Dub)
I-Level - In The River (Acappella)

And here's a nice video for I-Level's other hit Minefield.



Ok, I felt bad holding out on you. As much as I love the single above, these other 2 hits by I-Level sort of blow the last one out of the water. It's not doing me any good holding on tight to them, so here they are. So groovy

I-Level - Give Me
I-Level - Give Me (UK Remix)
I-Level - Give Me (Extended Vocal)
I-Level - Give Me (3AM Dub)

I-Level - Minefield
I-Level - Minefield (UK 7" Version)

So Easy To Love

I've been fairly obsessed with these two tracks throughout October, a few sparkly gems peaking out from behind all the dark, dark matter we've been dealing in recently. Yes, Leo Sayer, he of one of the greatest moments in falsetto history, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing. I was first turned in this direction after hearing Easy to Love in Chromeo's recent DJ Kicks (rules!) and then stumbled across When I Need You on a late night Youtube binge. Add Muppets and what do ya got? Stuff that makes me real happy.

Leo Sayer- Easy To Love
Leo Sayer- When I Need You

And Leo on the Muppet Show. The raddest.

Zombie VS Shark

Agreed Tommy. For lovers of this season and its aesthetic, the movies, the images and the sounds, its kinda always Halloween. I'll leave you all here my costumed friends, with an update of a track I posted on ARAWA's first Halloween celebration two years ago.

Fabio Frizzi's monumental soundtrack to Zombi 2 is one the two only reasons to check out this snoozefest, the other being this incredible underwater zombie vs shark fight...


The song in that clip is Frizzi's incomparable piece, Sequence 8 and who has redone it? None other than Tensnake, one of my favorite people in the game right now. The children of the night... they make such beautiful music.

Tensnake- False Pretender

And one favor my pretties... send us your Halloween pics! I want to post up all of our readers in costume! Happy Halloween guys and ghouls. : )

Everyday is Halloween

Wishing everyday was.

This is it. I've reached the end. It's my last post for the month and I think this song pretty much sums it all up. Doesn't get much better than this!

Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween
Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween (Remix)
Ministry - Everyday Is Halloween (Edit By Mark Hot Rod Trollan)

As Seen Through Owl Eyes Pt.3

Now on all hallows eve, we check back in with our friend owleyes for the third and final time this season, starting off with the scariest of them all... Christian scare films!

In the words of the owl, "Programmed fire and brimstone! Dont they know God is LOVE? NOT FEAR? This is the REAL horror! FEAR & HATE!"

A Thief in the Night



Thou Shalt Not Kill



The Burning Hell by Estus Pirkle





Left Behind Trailer



Estus Pirkle is selling real estate in Heaven! Does this excite you?


Witchcraft!!














Four horror gods...
Vincent Price











Christopher Lee









Boris Karloff





Peter Cushing





Rockula!



Sucker for Your Love



Bath in a Casket with Morgan Freeman



Horror in Apartment 24



Thanks to the owl for all these amazing flicks! Grab owleyes' brand new print here. Ees super cool.

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

The BBC has reinvented television comedy yet again with Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a sci-fi/thriller/mockumentary set in the 1980's. The video below is the first episode in the series. Watch the intro to get a feel for it and if you have 20 minutes, sit back and get ready to laugh!



Everything about this show appeals to me, the premise, the actors, the direction and special effects, even the music for the show. Like this for example:



I had that song stuck in my head for days after first hearing it. The extended remix version is pretty sweet too, check it out. If this gets you excited about british comedy again, allow me to recommend Snuff Box as a nice companion series. It also features several members of the Darkplace cast and is equally disturbing and hilarious.

Nightmare

If only all nightmares sounded as good as they do from the Comateens.

Comateens- Nightmare

And live in 1982... Awesome!

Acid Hell

Here's a nice Hades-inspired Acid jam from the genius Dutch producer, Peter Slaghuis (R.I.P.), who crafted the house classic "Jack to The Sound of the Underground". Further investigation of his music bio reveals production credits for a wide variety of dance music royalty. It just goes to show those Dutch guys sure know how to make good dance music!

Hithouse - R.O.B.'s Acid Hell

The Wicker Man

1973's occult thriller The Wicker Man is a must see for any film buff. A gem of British cinema and a cult classic if there ever was one, the trailer above says it all. The ending is one of the most memorable moments in film history and a fitting analogy to this 1986 disco 'scorcher' by Willie Colon

Willie Colon - Set Fire To Me (Inferno Dub)

Jake The Ripper

Fellow Texan and Flexipop excavator Jake Schrock has assembled a spooktacular selection of tomb-raising, alter-burning, 6 feet undergound synthwave oddities for your listening (dis)pleasure and just in time for All Hallows Eve. Perfect for those late night grave diggin' sessions with your dearly departed.

Jake Schrock - ARAWA Halloween Mix
(playlist in comment section)

Welcome to Santa Carla

For me, vampire movies don't get any better than this. Sorry Twilight fans but The Lost Boys is the ultimate. Straight up. I think I'm gonna get Santa Carla tattooed across my back in old english just to prove my immortal love for this movie. A coming of age/punk rock vampire/boardwalk/comedy/action movie with two Coreys, Kiefer, Bill S. Preston ESQ and Dianne Wiest?! Really?! And the soundtrack? Over the top montage rock, sexy saxes and church organs. So awesome. My mom had the tape when I was a kid and I loooooved it. Still do. Next year's costume, Michael and Star okay Vans?

Gerard McMann- Cry, Little Sister (Theme from The Lost Boys)
Mummy Calls- Beauty Has Her Way
Lou Gramm- Lost in the Shadows
and of course the fucking man, Tim Cappello...


Tim Cappello- I Still Believe

Skinned Alive

From the Box Jams compilation selected by Clone boss DJ Serge, comes this raw Chicago house dubbed-out electro disco number guaranteed to get your blood pumping. Which could get pretty messy if your missing an epidermis.

Unit 4 - Body Dub (No Skin Mix)

Haute Tense(ion)

//TENSE// returns to us again, digging deep in his bruised and bloody circuitry for more treats to tide over our appetites. When asked to commune with us a second time in celebration of the eve of all Hallows, Tense decided to (in true ARAWA spirit) wax nostalgic, bringing us a small taste of what frightened him growing up...

Starting off with a personal fave of his (and mine!) Creepshow 2 and its crown jewel, The Raft.







Everyone's favorite Good Guy, the one and only, Chucky.


Directed by Tom "Fright Night" Holland!

And more dollies with super cheapie, super cheesy Puppet Master. Oh Full Moon Entertainment.



The movie that scared the crap out of so many of us growing up, Pet Sematary.




Let me add this one here...


Not their best but still rad.

Dario Argento+Donald Pleasance+Jennifer Connelley=




And who am I to withhold this gratuitous shot? Nobody. Thats who.


A couple killer music videos...
Skinny Puppy side project Cyberaktif's Nothing Stays the Same



and Propaganda's 1984 classic, Dr. Mabuse



And lastly, an original track by the man himself, a chilling EBM ode to those things that reside in the shadows.

//TENSE//- Creatures of the Night

Beyond the Dark

Sometimes the dark is too much. All encompassing, all around. In this season of spirits and darkness there is always a light. Behind closed eyes there lies color. Just look beyond the dark.

Raiders of the Lost Arp- Beyond the Dark

Hellcat

Hazel Hill has become a close friend of ARAWA over the last year and is a consistent source of inspiration for me. Her Show Cave gallery in Los Angeles has been kind enough to host my video work as well as turning us onto the likes of Owleyes, Matt Furie, and Animal Charm. Her portfolio of work on MadeOfThis.com is truly awe inspiring and her output shows no sign of letting up anytime soon. In addition to helping Sean and I complete Nancy Fortune's website earlier this year, she recently finished working with Genesis P. Orridge on Psychic TV's THEE PSYCHICK BIBLE: A New Testament and in March will be doing moving image pieces for the Cosey Fanni Tutti event called COSEY COMPLEX at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London. Phhew, feel like I need to catch my breath after all that. Any of you readers getting jealous yet, 'cause I know I am. Not only does Hazel have her art life nailed down, she also snagged a total hottie in the BF department, dating Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy. I asked if it was ok to mention that and if we might share a bit of Nitzer's past and she gave the thumbs up! She also mentioned for all our European friends, Nitzer Ebb will be opening up for Depeche Mode in the coming months, so keep your eye out for that tour! I'm super excited to get to the Halloween stuff Hazel shared with us, so in no particular order I'm just gonna dump it on you! Thanks Hazel for all you do for us @ ARAWA. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Psychic TV's THEE PSYCHICK BIBLE: A New Testament




Nitzer Ebb - Join In The Chant
Nitzer Ebb - Join In The Chant (Gold!)
Nitzer Ebb - Join In The Chant (Burn!)
Nitzer Ebb - Join In The Chant (Lies!)

Hazel's Halloween Pics
























Hazel's Halloween Gifs