Fee/Mail

On 23rd February 1997, I recorded a Björk cassette compilation called Debutante, "a selection of mixes and alternate versions" of her Debut album. Two sides of music found on the accompanying singles (and a few other sources) and squished on a C60 tape.

I didn't do the same for Björk's second album, Post, although I'd toyed with the idea, and even come up with a title, Fee/Mail. The release of the remix companion Telegram in 1996 effectively rendered the idea redundant.

A decade later, I discovered a Björk fan site online, containing a dizzying number of bootleg mixes spanning her entire career. It's not there anymore, although many of the mixes subsequently resurfaced on YouTube.

I posted the Debutante selection in December 2022 and was listening to it again this week. The thought of the Fee/Mail selection had never really gone away and I'd always found Telegram a patchy collection at best.

Last week, I finally succumbed and started trawling through my Björk collection to finally realise the Fee/Mail C60 compilation.

In 1997, alternative versions and remixes existed for some bit not all of Debut, so I filled the gap with non-album B-sides. No such problem with Post.

Fee/Mail replicates Post's track listing, providing alternative versions for each song. Seven of the eleven tracks are remixes lifted from the contemporary singles, Army Of Me, Enjoy (albeit 12" only), Hyperballad, Possibly Maybe and I Miss You. The list of artists is diverse:  Mike D (Beastie Boys), Fluke, Dom T., Talvin Singh, RH Factor, Plaid and a mighty death metal version by Carcass.

There's one demo - The Modern Things - which was belated released on the Family Tree/Greatest Hits box set in 2002.

The remaining three are all 21st century reworks by DarkJedi (Rouen, France), Ridu (Montreal, Canada) and Keith Kenniff (Portland, USA). All add something different to the music - radically so, in the case of It's Oh So Quiet - but all fit with the aesthetic of the original C60 concept.

I guess I should consider Homogenic next...?

Side One

1) Army Of Me (ABA All-Stars Mix By Michael Diamond & Mario Caldato Jr.) (1995)

2) Hyperballad (The Hyperballad Fluke Mix By Jon Fugler, Mike Bryant & Mike Tournier) (1996)

3) The Modern Things (Original Demo) (1994)

4) It's Oh So Quiet (DarkJedi Mix By Gregory Recher) (Cover of Betty Hutton) (2007)

5) Enjoy (The Beats Mix By Dom T. aka Dominic Thrupp) (1996)

6) You've Been Flirting Again (Ridu Mix By Mathieu Bégin) (2009)

Side Two

1) Isobel (The Carcass Remix By Jeff Walker, Bill Steer, Carlo Regadas & Ken Owen) (1996)

2) Possibly Maybe (Calcutta Cyber Cafe Mix By Talvin Singh) (1996)

3) I Miss You (R.H. Factor Lovely Mix By Michael Rosenman & Michael Hacker) (1997)

4) Cover Me (Plaid Mix By Andy Turner & Ed Handley) (1996)

5) Headphones (Glow Mix By Keith Kenniff) (2001)

1995: Army Of Me EP: A1

1996: Enjoy EP: A5

1996: Hyperballad EP: A2, B1, B4

1996: Possibly Maybe EP: B2

1997: I Miss You EP: B3

2001: Headphones EP: B5

2002: Family Tree (6x CD): A3

2007: It's Oh So Quiet (bootleg MP3): A4

2009: You've Been Flirting Again (bootleg MP3): A6

Side One (29:08) (GD) (M)

Side Two (28:32) (GD) (M)

For your further Björk listening pleasure:

The Original Debutante (4th December 2022)

Bjangin' Bjeats (16th August 2025)

Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon

A little Friday fun and not to be taken too seriously...

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)

 

Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon (28:20) (KF) (Mega)