Six Degrees Of Separation is the idea that a person can have six or less connections to any other person in the world. Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon jokingly took the idea further, positing that any actor could be linked to the Hollywood legend in six or fewer steps.
I thought I'd have a go at applying it to my music collection. How hard could it be? Surprisingly easy, it turned out (although purists may disagree). Here goes...
1) Neneh Cherry's debut solo single in 1988 was Buffalo Stance, produced by Tim Simenon aka Bomb The Bass.
2) Bomb The Bass released Bug Powder Dust in 1994 as the lead single for third album Clear, featuring Justin Warfield and a slew of remixes, including one from DJ Muggs.
3) DJ Muggs aka Lawrence Muggerud first came to prominence as a founder member of Cypress Hill. In 1992, he also formed The Soul Assassins collective. That same year, Muggs used the Soul Assassin alias to remix Beastie Boys, aka Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D.
4) Mike D. aka Michael Diamond has provided his unique vocals and raps to many other artists' songs over the years. In 2016, he teamed up with Cat Power to appear on Action, a single by French duo Cassius aka Philippe Zdar Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard.
5) Hubert Blanc-Francard's father is Dominique Blanc-Francard, who has also enjoyed a long and varied career in music production. In 1983, Dominique mixed Robert Palmer's cover version of You Are In My System and returned to remix it in 1992.
6) Robert Palmer was apparently a fan of The Comsat Angels and facilitated their signing to Island Records in the mid-80s, executive producing sixth album Chasing Shadows and providing vocals on the closing track of today's selection. And the bass player and founding member of The Comsat Angels is of course... Kevin Bacon.
This may be #1 in a series of one but it was fun to do.
Happy Friday, everyone!
1) Buffalo Stance (Extended Mix By Bomb The Bass aka Tim Simenon): Neneh Cherry (1988)
2) Bug Powder Dust (DJ Muggs Remix): Bomb The Bass ft. Justin Warfield (1994)
3) So What' Cha Want (Soul Assassin Remix Version By DJ Muggs): Beastie Boys (1992)
4) Action (Video Version): Cassius ft. Cat Power & Mike D. (2016)
5) You Are In My System (Addictions Mix By Dominique Blanc-Francard) (Cover of The System): Robert Palmer (1992)
6) You'll Never Know: The Comsat Angels ft. Robert Palmer (1986)
Very clever Khayem.It's got me thinking.Maybe others will take up the challenge
ReplyDeleteThanks, CC, I'd be interested in (and welcome) any suggestions!
DeleteI did have to double-check that it was a different KB. I mean, the Hollywood one does play in bands and stuff, so anything was possible (if highly unlikely).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rol. I almost revealed all at the end but I might as well put those artist links to work...! The Comsat Angels with the 'other' Kevin Bacon would have sounded very different indeed.
DeleteBrilliant (and funny!) You say it was surprisingly easy but it looks extremely hard to me... Is it best to start with a Kevin Bacon and work backwards?
ReplyDeleteAh, that would probably have been a much easier way to do it, C...! Sadly, my brain is wired in such a way that I retain lots of really useless (to most) info about music and songs. Remembering birthdays and other important dates? Forget it. Name the producer of an obscure B-side from 1983? I'm your man.
DeleteBuffalo Stance popped up on my playlist so I started with Neneh Cherry just to see if it would work. I nearly went with The The (she guested on Slow Train To Dawn) rather than Bomb The Bass for the second song but I think I would still have got there in six. The Comsat Angels were a dead cert and I knew about the Robert Palmer connection, so that was tracks 5 & 6 sorted. I just had to bridge the middle!
brilliant, can't wait for the next installment
ReplyDeleteThanks, middle aged man, I may have started something I can't finish! ;-)
DeleteThat was genius!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, JC, I definitely may have started something I can't finish so an additional thank you for your separate message, taking up the challenge! ;-)
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