Battle Flag

Lo-Fidelity All Stars’ “Battle Flag” is one of the few times when I’ve heard a group release a de-profanitized radio-friendly edit of a track that I actually prefer to the original uncensored version. Not that I have any problems with the uncensored version, but rather than simply mask out the profanity with silence, beeps, or word substitutions, they use a drawn-out stutter effect on the words immediately preceding or following the censored word. Not only is it a neat sounding effect on its own, but it’s an effect that they use elsewhere in the song as well, so it doesn’t stick out as much due to only appearing when they’re removing words.

Plus, it’s a pretty cool song, whichever version pops up. Good sound, heavy beats, some organ riffing, and a nice slow-ish tempo that works really well on a dance floor.

For comparison purposes…

Original:

Radio edit:

Normally I’d wait until a night out at the Mercury to debut this, but I don’t know when I’ll next be able to be all goth clubby, so here we are. Thanks to Mickey for posting a photo of someone else with this shirt, and Gracy for tracking down where to buy it. :D #goth #eldergoth #depechemode #joydivision #thecure #messingwithpeoplecanbefun

I’m sadly lacking in photos (that I haven’t already posted) worthy of #worldgothday, so in lieu of a photo, here’s a #throwbackthursday sketch given to me in 1998 by Jon Hannah, back when I was doing the alt/goth/industrial DJ thing at Gig’s (and/or the Lost Abbey). On the original, text underneath reads, “A DJ’s life is full of difficult choices.”

Quality’s not great, but it’s a crop of a scan of a photo taken in 1995. My first DJ gig, at City Lights in Anchorage. This was a top-40/hip-hop club that I talked into doing a weekly “alternative night”. Only ran for a few weeks before it fell apart, but it was enough to kick off an eight-year run DJing alt/goth/electronica clubs for me. #throwbackthursday

Sounds From the Lost Abbey 11

Back in February, I took up a challenge from one of my friends (prompted by the Gigs mix I posted) to create a mix based around songs that I’d have played at the Lost Abbey, during the mid- to late-1990s. To get a little help putting together the playlist, I put out a call for requests on Facebook, and ended up with something around 14 hours of possible songs, almost entirely pulled from requests by people who used to see me spin at the Lost Abbey.

Since 14 hours is far too long to do as a single mix, I’ve broken the requests up into multiple 80-ish-minute playlists. Here’s the eleventh (and, at this point, last) in the series!

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Sounds From the Lost Abbey 10

Back in February, I took up a challenge from one of my friends (prompted by the Gigs mix I posted) to create a mix based around songs that I’d have played at the Lost Abbey, during the mid- to late-1990s. To get a little help putting together the playlist, I put out a call for requests on Facebook, and ended up with something around 14 hours of possible songs, almost entirely pulled from requests by people who used to see me spin at the Lost Abbey.

Since 14 hours is far too long to do as a single mix, I’ve broken the requests up into multiple 80-ish-minute playlists. Here’s the tenth in the series!

Read more

Sounds From the Lost Abbey 09

Back in February, I took up a challenge from one of my friends (prompted by the Gigs mix I posted) to create a mix based around songs that I’d have played at the Lost Abbey, during the mid- to late-1990s. To get a little help putting together the playlist, I put out a call for requests on Facebook, and ended up with something around 14 hours of possible songs, almost entirely pulled from requests by people who used to see me spin at the Lost Abbey.

Since 14 hours is far too long to do as a single mix, I’ve broken the requests up into multiple 80-ish-minute playlists. Here’s the ninth in the series!

Read more

Sounds From the Lost Abbey 08

Back in February, I took up a challenge from one of my friends (prompted by the Gigs mix I posted) to create a mix based around songs that I’d have played at the Lost Abbey, during the mid- to late-1990s. To get a little help putting together the playlist, I put out a call for requests on Facebook, and ended up with something around 14 hours of possible songs, almost entirely pulled from requests by people who used to see me spin at the Lost Abbey.

Since 14 hours is far too long to do as a single mix, I’ve broken the requests up into multiple 80-ish-minute playlists. Here’s the eighth of quite a few to come!

Read more

Sounds From the Lost Abbey 07

Back in February, I took up a challenge from one of my friends (prompted by the Gigs mix I posted) to create a mix based around songs that I’d have played at the Lost Abbey, during the mid- to late-1990s. To get a little help putting together the playlist, I put out a call for requests on Facebook, and ended up with something around 14 hours of possible songs, almost entirely pulled from requests by people who used to see me spin at the Lost Abbey.

Since 14 hours is far too long to do as a single mix, I’ve broken the requests up into multiple 80-ish-minute playlists. Here’s the seventh of quite a few to come!

Read more