Tag: US

August 4, 2023

Toni Basil – Mickey (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1982

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

AN 80s AUDITORY ICON

NEW 2023 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted November 15, 2011

“Mickey” (originally titled as “Kitty”) is a song recorded by American singer and choreographer Toni Basil for her debut studio album, Word of Mouth (1981). It was first recorded by the pop group Racey. Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn wrote the song, while production was helmed by Greg Mathieson and Trevor Veitch. Basil’s version is new wave, featuring guitar, synthesizers and cheerleading chants. It garnered a mixed response from music critics, with some critics praising the radio-friendly nature of the song, while others described some of the lyrics as obscene.

The song was originally performed by British pop group Racey, with the title “Kitty”, and was included on their debut studio album Smash and Grab in 1979. The original Racey song did not include the “Oh Mickey, you’re so fine” chant, which Basil added.

For years, it was rumored that the name was changed to Mickey because Basil developed a crush on the Monkees’ drummer and lead vocalist Micky Dolenz, after meeting him on the set of their movie, Head, for which she was the choreographer. However, that claim has been denied by Basil, who has said that she “didn’t really know Micky at all”. In January 2020, Basil released a re-recording of the song as “Hey Mickey” to digital and streaming platforms.

On August 31, 2017, Basil filed a multi-claim lawsuit against Razor & Tie Direct, Forever 21, Disney, Viacom, VH1, and South Park. Basil alleged that the defendants had commercially used the song “Mickey” without a license and damaged her right of publicity, claiming excess of $25,000 in damages. Basil also filed a lawsuit against AMC on May 12, 2020, for the unauthorized use of “Mickey” in a trailer for Preacher. On August 27, 2020, a California state of appeals court affirmed dismissal of Basil’s case.

The music video was directed, produced and choreographed by Basil herself. The cheerleaders featured in the video were members of a championship squad from Carson High School in Carson, California. The cheerleading uniform Basil wore in the music video was the one she actually wore in high school. According to Basil, “They didn’t put anything in the budget, I did everything myself. And this is the actual cheer sweater from Las Vegas High.”

“Mickey” was Basil’s only U.S. Billboard Top 40 single.

SIDE A:
Mickey (Special Club Mix) 5:57

SIDE B:
Mickey (Spanish Version) 5:13

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Excellent

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	Mickey	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1982	Mickey	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis – CDS-2666
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Pop Rock

CREDITS:

Photography By – Sherry Rayn Barnett
Producer – Greg Mathieson, Trevor Veitch
Written-By – Chapman*, Chinn*

NOTES:
Special version from the LP “WORD OF MOUTH”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

August 2, 2023

Madonna – Hanky Panky (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1990

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

“Hanky Panky” is a song by American singer Madonna from her soundtrack album I’m Breathless. It was released on June 12, 1990, by Sire Records as the album’s second and final single. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song was developed from a line in the parent film, Dick Tracy, talking about a woman who enjoys being spanked by her partner. Performed in a playful, “tongue-in-cheek” style, “Hanky Panky” is a jazz and swing song, keeping with the film’s general theme of the 1920s and 1930s, with a changing bassline and minor to major key-shift in the chorus. It caused some controversy in Ireland because of its innuendo and racy lyrics, with women’s groups deeming them as harmful; Madonna later clarified that the lyrics were intended as a joke.

The song garnered positive response from music critics, many of them highlighting its lyrical content. It was a commercial success, becoming a top-ten hit in many countries including Australia, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States while topping the chart in Finland. Madonna has performed the song on two of her concert tours: Blond Ambition (1990) and Re-Invention (2004). The song has been covered by several tribute acts and was also performed on the television series Ally McBeal (1997).

In 1990, Madonna starred in the film Dick Tracy as Breathless Mahoney—a new role introduced for her—with Warren Beatty, her boyfriend at the time, playing the titular character. After the shooting for Dick Tracy was over, Madonna started working on the soundtrack. She had begun recording three songs written by Stephen Sondheim for the film—”Sooner or Later”, “More” and “What Can You Lose”—which would be part of the album, but also had to write and develop new songs comparable in style to her previous releases. She produced the entire album, including the Sondheim songs. “I want people to think of me as a musical comedy actress. That’s what this album is about for me. It’s a stretch. Not just pop music, but songs that have a different feel to them, a theatrical feel”, she said at the time.

Madonna recruited producer Patrick Leonard and engineer Bill Bottrell to help her with the project. She and Leonard toiled to create music that would fit the style and production of the film, set in the days of the Untouchables law enforcement. “Hanky Panky” was written and produced by Madonna and Leonard and was released as the second and final single from I’m Breathless on June 12, 1990. The cassette and the 7-inch versions had “More”, another song from the album as its B-side, while the 12-inch releases had two remixes of the song by Kevin Gilbert. Cover photograph for the single was done by Patrick Demarchelier with Jeri Heiden designing the sleeves.

As a BONUS TRACK, I have included the Razormaid Remix Service …Maid! How Slow Can You Go? #2 Digital Mix of “Now I’m Following You” a song that was also part of the I’m Breathless Soundtrack album. The song was not released as a single but an acetate promo 12″ single does exist.

SIDE A:
Hanky Panky (Bare Bottom 12″ Mix) 6:27

SIDE B:
Hanky Panky (Bare Bones Single Mix) 3:50

More (Album Version) 4:57
Producer – Bill Bottrell, Madonna
Written-By – Stephen Sondheim

BONUS TRACK:
Now I’m Following You (Digital Mix) 6:58
Remix –Joseph Watt

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	Hanky Panky	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – 9 21577-0, Warner Bros. Records – 0-21577
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1990
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Pop
Style: Swing, Big Band, Jazzdance

CREDITS:

Design – Jeri Heiden
Photography By – Patrick Demarchelier
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Kevin M. Gilbert*
Written-By, Producer – Madonna (tracks: A, B1), Patrick Leonard (tracks: A, B1)

NOTES:
Original versions available on the Sire/Warner Bros. album I’M BREATHLESS.
“More” from the film Dick Tracy

Made in U.S.A.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

August 1, 2023

Aqua – Barbie Girl (US 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1997

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

“Barbie Girl” is a song by Danish dance-pop group Aqua. It was released in April 1997 as the third single from the group’s debut studio album, Aquarium (1997). The song was written by band members Søren Rasted, Claus Norreen, René Dif, and Lene Nystrøm, and was produced by the former two alongside Johnny Jam and Delgado. It was written after Rasted saw an exhibit on kitsch culture in Denmark that featured Barbie dolls.

The song topped the charts worldwide, particularly in European countries such as the United Kingdom, where it was a number-one hit for four weeks and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time. It also reached number two in the group’s homeland and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it became Aqua’s only top-ten hit until “Barbie World” (2023). It is Aqua’s most popular work and was also performed as the interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. It also became the subject of the controversial lawsuit Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.

The lyrics of the song are about Barbie and Ken, the dolls made by Mattel. Both the song and its music video feature Lene Nystrøm as Barbie and René Dif as Ken. As such, the lyrics drew the ire of Barbie’s corporate owners, and a lawsuit was filed by Mattel.

A footnote on the back of the Aquarium CD case precisely stated that “The song ‘Barbie Girl’ is a social comment and was not created or approved by the makers of the doll.”

“Barbie Girl” has sold more than eight million copies worldwide. It went on becoming a huge hit on several continents, remaining the most successful song by the band. It reached number one in more than 10 countries. In Europe, the single peaked at the top position in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. In the band’s native Denmark, the song debuted and peaked at number two. In the United Kingdom, it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number two and reached number one the next week, on 26 October 1997. It stayed at that position for four weeks and has sold 1.84 million copies in the United Kingdom as of April 2017, making it the thirteenth best-selling single in the UK. Outside Europe, “Barbie Girl” peaked at number-one in Australia and New Zealand, number four in Canada and number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100. On the latter, it debuted at that position. It sold 82,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.

In September 1997, six months after the release of the song by Aqua, Mattel, the manufacturer of the Barbie doll, sued MCA Records, Aqua’s North American record label. Mattel claimed that “Barbie Girl” violated their trademark and turned her into a sex object, referring to her as a “blonde bimbo”. It alleged that the song infringed its copyrights and trademarks on the Barbie doll and that the song’s lyrics had ruined the longtime popularity and reputation of their trademark and impinged on their marketing plan. Aqua and MCA Records claimed that Mattel injected their own meanings into the song’s lyrics. They contested Mattel’s claims and countersued for defamation after Mattel had likened MCA to a bank robber. The lawsuit filed by Mattel was dismissed by the lower courts, and this dismissal was upheld, though Mattel took their case up to the Supreme Court of the United States, but that appeal was later rejected.

In 2009, Mattel released a series of advertisements and a promotional music video of the song, with modified lyrics, as part of a new marketing strategy brought in to revive sales. Despite this, the Mattel-produced film Barbie released in 2023 does not feature the original song, as stated by Ulrich Møller-Jørgensen, who manages lead singer Lene Nystrøm. “Barbie World”, a remake of the song by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua, was later announced to be featured in the film and on the film’s soundtrack.

SIDE A:
Barbie Girl (Spike’s Plastic Mix) 8:45
Remix – Spike (33)

Barbie Girl (Radio Edit) 3:15

SIDE B:
Barbie Girl (Spike’s Anatomically Correct Dub) 7:57
Remix – Spike (33)

Barbie Girl (Extended Version) 5:14

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1997	Barbie Girl	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#7
1997	BBarbie Girl	U.S. Billboard Music Club/Play	#21

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA8P-4040
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1997
Genre: Electronic
Style: Euro House

CREDITS:

Mastered By – BAJ*

NOTES:
PROMOTIONAL ONLY – NOT FOR SALE
The song “Barbie Girl” is a social comment and was not created nor approved by the makers of the doll.

“LIFE IN PLASTIC, IT’S FANTASTIC!

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

July 14, 2023

Wham! – Bad Boys (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983

NEW 2023 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Originally posted March 18, 2014

“Bad Boys” is a song by English pop duo Wham! which was a hit in 1983. It was written and co-produced by George Michael, one half of the duo, and released on Innervision Records.

The song was an energetic but endearing tale of a rebellious teenage lad’s struggle against his parents who are concerned about his late-night activities. Although Michael wrote and sang it from the teenager’s perspective (he was himself only 19 when he composed it and the character refers to being that age in the song), he also penned a middle eight in which the “parents” (Michael putting on more “adult” voices) aired their concerns, which included late nights and cigarettes and ultimately asking, “Why do you have to be so cruel?”. Michael’s father was played by Anthony Souter who was 18 and made up to look older.

It was the third single to be taken from Wham!’s debut album, Fantastic, and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, going on to become the 26th best selling single of 1983. At the time, Wham! was projecting a hard, politically motivated image, with “Bad Boys” one of a number of songs projecting a stance of mood and youthful independence, a “soul boy – dole boy” theme. The single was also released in the United States, peaking at number 60. It was the duo’s first time on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, although they were listed as Wham!-UK.

“Bad Boys” became the biggest hit from the debut album, although it would be usurped by “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” from the album Make It Big in 1984, which became the first of four UK number-one singles the duo would enjoy. Michael quickly denounced “Bad Boys” as a song he hated, stating it was “like an albatross round my neck”. The song was famously omitted from the 1997 compilation album The Best of Wham!: If You Were There…, despite the album including tracks that were not released as singles.

Also of note the 12″ Mix was omitted from the 2023 The Singles (Echoes From The Edge Of Heaven) CD single box set.

SIDE A:
Bad Boys (12″ Mix) 4:58

SIDE B:
Bad Boys (Instrumental) 3:25

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Bad Boys	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#60
1983	Bad Boys	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#28

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 44-03933, Innervision Records (2) – 44-03933
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Pop/Rock
Style: Pop/Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Arranged By, Co-producer – George Michael
Engineer – Tony Taverner
Mastered By – Greg Calbi
Photography By – Chris Craymer
Producer – Steve Brown
Written-By – G. Michael*

NOTES:
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Mastered At – Customatrix

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.