Recording of DJ Culture and Was It Worth It?

[Dog]

Maybe that's an unpopular opinion to share in this forum but it has been on their most recent tour that I thought the way they reinterpreted and programmed older material (i.e. the hits) sounded incredibly weak. It appeared to me that absolute bangers like Domino Dancing, Always on my mind et al. lost all their charme, character, energy. This particular set is the complete opposite: it's raw, full of energy, and quite possibly PSB at a creative peak. I've often thought that PSB during and around Behaviour were also the most open-minded throughout their career. Their live gig at the Hacienda supports the thesis, IMHO. Just look at that setlist. Oh boy.

Don't get me wrong: I'm looking foward to attending the Greatest Hits tour as we never had such a particular concept before. However, I wish they'd be more open, provocative and creative again if it comes the arrangements of the songs.

Of all the tours I've attended, which means every tour since Release, I have to admit that Release was the best in terms of the live versions performed.

m+

The live version of "I get excited" was scorching on the Electric tour and should have been recorded/released.

It’s basically the Bobby O demo:

https://youtu.be/2KYP1fgMxdM

They then reused the main riff in Beautiful laundrette:

https://youtu.be/Ob4az88P9gg

[Deschanel]

I wouldn't want to remove Nervously from Behaviour. I think it's sort of essential to the album as a concept and mood, to me which is strongly that of a gay man in 1990. Worried about things. In London, at that time. Which I was that wet autumn, gay men were scared and concerned. A positive diagnosis- lots of talk on the phone, a young man crying in my friend/host's kitchen- people talking about bad news on the telephone. It was a very heavy time in rainy Chiswick. The whole album seems to capture that mood, it was the soundtrack at that time for us.

DJ Culture is sort of a dog's breakfast that means nothing, made worse by the expensive-looking video (that had 3D computer animated seeds for Very). Oscar Wilde and the first Gulf War and .. what was the point again? (Remember, Oscar foolishly sued first in his notorious trial. I'm gay, very much a Wilde fan, but talk about looking for trouble.)

DJ Culture is not a bad track, I like it a lot actually. But, not their best. I loved it hard in 1991 though, the CD single with Neil prominent at the keys before a bank of electronics was a mightily cool image to me. Neil playing the synth, not Chris. Emphasizing Neil's direction, Chris stands back. With Futura Bold as a cool font. Yeah, that was cool then.

(ps benevolent hello to all.)

[TwizzleUK]

Neil prominent at the keys before a bank of electronics was a mightily cool image to me. Neil playing the synth, not Chris. Emphasizing Neil's direction, Chris stands back. With Futura Bold as a cool font. Yeah, that was cool then.

Hi! I'm pretty certain those are turntables in that picture rather than keyboards - mirroring the title of the song.

[Disco.]

Yes, they are turntables.
Most likely Technics THE DJ turntable

[Eleven]

The DJ Culture cover is one of my favs
Those are turntables but on the video you can see Neil on Keyboards as well

For another threat it would be cool to see top 3 single cover all time favs and see everyone perspectives, sure Dj Culture is controversial but its on the top for me

[Patrick Bateman]

The DJ Culture cover is one of my favs
Those are turntables but on the video you can see Neil on Keyboards as well

For another threat it would be cool to see top 3 single cover all time favs and see everyone perspectives, sure Dj Culture is controversial but its on the top for me

Great idea! You should start that thread. Don't forget to run it past Sage first though.

[It can be two things]

The Sage-tator decides.

[stopthecar]

The DJ Culture cover is one of my favs
Those are turntables but on the video you can see Neil on Keyboards as well

For another threat it would be cool to see top 3 single cover all time favs and see everyone perspectives, sure Dj Culture is controversial but its on the top for me

Great idee.

But why is the DJ Culture cover controversial?

[y3potential]

The DJ Culture cover is one of my favs
Those are turntables but on the video you can see Neil on Keyboards as well

For another threat it would be cool to see top 3 single cover all time favs and see everyone perspectives, sure Dj Culture is controversial but its on the top for me

Great idea! You should start that thread. Don't forget to run it past Sage first though.

Yeah, we must ask that barometer of taste first..

[Gabby]

The DJ Culture cover is one of my favs
Those are turntables but on the video you can see Neil on Keyboards as well

For another threat it would be cool to see top 3 single cover all time favs and see everyone perspectives, sure Dj Culture is controversial but its on the top for me

Great idee.

But why is the DJ Culture cover controversial?

I assume they meant it might be divisive among fans as a top pick for single sleeve.

[Synthrobot]

Forget DJ Culture and Was It Worth It, I was all about Music For Boys and Miserablism (that Moby electro mix ).

[StevePSB]

the CD single with Neil prominent at the keys before a bank of electronics was a mightily cool image to me. Neil playing the synth, not Chris. Emphasizing Neil's direction, Chris stands back. With Futura Bold as a cool font. Yeah, that was cool then.

Probably my favourite sleeve, for that reason. So looks amazingly cool and contemporary 30+ years later.


StevePSB

[Ramzy]

Was just playing the Grid remix of DJ Culture and wondered, not for the first time, how they achieved the effect of the words "DJ culture" sounding like they were being voiced by a scratching record. It's something you wouldn't think twice about today, but in 1991 it must have been quite difficult?

[canveyboy]

Was just playing the Grid remix of DJ Culture and wondered, not for the first time, how they achieved the effect of the words "DJ culture" sounding like they were being voiced by a scratching record. It's something you wouldn't think twice about today, but in 1991 it must have been quite difficult?

Why would it have been quite difficult? It wasn’t recorded in 1957!!!

[Ramzy]

Haha well go on then, enlighten me - how was it done? The vowel sounds seem somehow unpitched rather than sounding too high or too low which I'd expect if they had been sampled from an actual disc that was being spun by hand - I just don't know enough about music tech from that period to understand what they've done. In other words, how did they get the words to have the grain of a record scratch and yet still be identifiable as speech?