Category: Information Society

September 27, 2018

Information Society – What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” is a song by American synth-pop band Information Society that was released as a single in 1988. The “Pure Energy” subtitle derives from a sample of Leonard Nimoy’s voice from the Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy”. There is also a sample of DeForest Kelley’s voice from the episode “I, Mudd”. John Leland of Spin magazine called it a “pretty potent dance record”.

In 2009, VH1 ran a countdown of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’80s. Information Society’s “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” placed at number 74 on the countdown despite the fact that the group had two other top 40 hits: “Walking Away” (number 9) and “Think” (number 28).

The song was a big hit in the US, spending 25 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three in October 1988.

The song was featured in Loverboy and American Psycho. A remixed version was included in American Psycho’s soundtrack.

In 1989, Pittsburgh radio station WYDD-FM executed an early viral marketing plan by playing this song non-stop in a loop for 25.5 hours — focusing on a repeat of the “Pure Energy” sample from Leonard Nimoy as Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. The marketing stunt caused listeners to call emergency services, concerned that some calamity had befallen the DJs and other station employees. Bob Hank, general manager at the time, told reporters he was only trying to draw attention to the station’s switch in format and new call letters WNRJ (W-N-R-J = “energy”). “We were just trying to draw a little bit of attention,” Hank said. “We never dreamed it would go this far”. The song also samples Star Trek in the intro, with the character Dr. McCoy saying “it’s worked so far, but we’re not out yet.”

SIDE A:
What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (Club Mix) 8:00
What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (The 54 Mix) 5:12
What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (Percappella) 4:11

SIDE B:
What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (Pure Energy Mix) 4:35
Engineer [Mix] – Roey Shamir
Mixed By – Fred Maher, Roey Shamir

What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (What’s On Your Dub Mix) 6:26
Edited By – Chep Nunez*
Engineer [Mix] – Roey Shamir
Mixed By – Fred Maher, Roey Shamir

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988-89	What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3
1988-89	What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#10
1988-89	What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#1
1988-89	What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Maxi-Singles Sales	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Tommy Boy ‎– TB 911
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle, Electro, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By, Programmed By – Fred Maher, Paul Robb
Art Direction – The Grey Organisation*
Edited By – The Latin Rascals (tracks: A1 to A3)
Engineer [Mix] – Hugo Dwyer (tracks: A1 to A3)
Executive-Producer – Kevin Laffey
Keyboards [Overdubs] – Andy Marvel (tracks: A1 to A3)
Layout – Steven Miglio
Management – Bang Communications, Scott Mehno
Mastered By – Herb Powers Jr.
Mixed By – “Little” Louie Vega* (tracks: A1 to A3), Roman Ricardo (tracks: A1 to A3)
Photography By – Isabel Snyder
Producer – Fred Maher
Written-By – K. Valaquen*, P. Robb*

NOTES:
Recorded at Platinum Island, NYC.
Mastered at Frankford-Wayne, NYC.

Tracks A1 to A3:
Mixed for Small Wonder Productions Inc. and AM-PM Productions.
Edited for Latin Rascal Productions Inc.
Mixed at Soundtrack Studios, NYC.

Track B2:
Edited for S.O.S. Productions.
Mixed at Unique Recording, NYC.

Management at Bang Communications

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Mullard 12AX7 Preamp Vacuum Tube Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

September 26, 2018

Information Society – Running (Remix) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Running” is the debut single by American band Information Society. This 12″ is the third released by the band after they were signed to Tommy Boy Records. Producer Joey Gardner heard the song and brought it to Tommy Boy Records, a forward-thinking label that specialized in rap and freestyle. Gardner remixed the track for Tommy Boy, which released the song as a single in 1986. The song did well in dance clubs and on radio, earning the group an album deal with Tommy Boy. That self-titled album was released in 1988 and included the track.

Group founder Paul Robb wrote this song with Murat Konar, who was associated with Information Society for just a short time but was key in putting together Creatures Of Influence. Like most of the songs on the album, Konar handled the lead vocals. When Tommy Boy Records remixed the track they replaced Konar’s vocals with Kurt Harland’s, since Harland had emerged as the lead singer and Konar had moved on to other pursuits.

The longing lyric finds the singer in real pain and feeling very alone. In an interview with Paul Robb, he explained: “It’s basically someone who is in a relationship where it’s not working, and you have a sense of things falling apart. You’re doing your best to keep it together, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

There’s also a certain level of nostalgia in that song, too – that’s what really hooked a lot of people. It does have that monstrously huge dance beat, the electro feel, but the song that’s laid over the top is very romantic and nostalgic sounding.”

After being remixed the re-issue of “Running” peaked at #10 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart on July 21, 1986, after spending nine weeks on the survey.

**The 12″ was housed in the same picture sleeve as the previous 1985 release except with an orange Tommy Boy Records hype sticker added.

SIDE A:
Running (Vocal Remix) 7:42
Running (Percappella) 3:56

SIDE B:
Running (Instrumental) 5:27
Running (“The Nest” Remix) 7:44

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Running	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Tommy Boy ‎– TB 877, Wide Angle ‎– TTW 8547
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle, Electro

CREDITS:
Edited By – Albert Cabrera, The Latin Rascals, Tony Moran
Engineer [Mix Engineer] – Eric Calvi, Jon Smith
Engineer [Recording Engineer] – “Chopper” Black*
Mastered By – Herb Powers, Jr.*
Producer, Arranged By – Paul Schwitters
Remix – Joey Gardner, “Little Louie” Vega*
Written-By – P. Schwitters*
Vocals – Kurt Harland

NOTES:
Housed inside Wide Angle jacket for TTW 8547 release “Running”, with an orange Tommy Boy sticker promoting the Gardner and Vega remix.

Jacket Made in Canada
Jacket contains different track and credit information. The information shown is taken from labels.

Produced and Arranged for Wide Angle Productions
Mixed at Tommy Boy, NYC
Mastered at Frankford-Wayne, NYC

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

September 25, 2018

Information Society – Running (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Issued in 1985 this is the second 12″ for “Running” by American band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Information Society, it was released by the Minneapolis label Wide Angle Records and included on their 1985 debut album Creatures Of Influence, distributed by Wide Angle’s parent company, Twin Tone. Wide Angle was part of a “record pool,” which was a service that distributed new tracks to club DJs around America. Some DJs ran with it, and the song became a freestyle favorite in New York clubs.

This 12″ includes a vocal and instrumental both based on the previous “Swamp Mix” release.

SIDE A:
Running 8:05

SIDE B:
Running (Instrumental) 7:47

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Wide Angle ‎– TTW 8547
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Electro

CREDITS:
Engineer – John “Chopper” Black*
Mixed By [A Clean Mix By] – Walter McLean
Producer, Arranged By, Mixed By [A Clean Mix By] – Paul Schwitters
Vocals – Murat Konar (tracks: AA)
Vocals, Written-By – Murat Konar

NOTES:
“DISCO WILL NEVER DIE” – Paul Schwitters 1985

Jacket made in Canada

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

September 24, 2018

Insoc – Running (Swamp Mix) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Running” is a single by the band InSoc (Information Society) originally released on the Creatures of Influence album in 1985. The single for Running was distributed to club DJs, and became a favorite all over clubs, particularly in the Latin clubs of New York City. The original 12″ was released on Wide Angle Records in 1984 this 12″ was released before the song was remixed in 1986 when the band signed to Tommy Boy Records.

Unlike other singles in their catalogue, “Running” does not feature Kurt Harland on lead vocals, as the song was written and recorded by short-lived band member Murat Konar, who left the band in 1985 and would later be an integral part of the development of both SoundEdit (a Mac hosted sound editing application) and Adobe Flash applications.

This original 12″ has become quite rare and pretty expensive.

SIDE A:
Running (Swamp Mix) 6:55
Running (Video Mix) 3:09

SIDE B:
Running 8:11

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (Generic)

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Wide Angle ‎– WAR 317
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Electro

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi