The Human League - Hysteria

And while we're at it...

This is much, much better than I remember it being. I think it suffered from being the album after "Dare".

I might get something else up here later on.

Happy Christmas.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Limited Availability

Christmas treat for you all. The Cerrone mix is awesome.

Be quick.

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The Egg - Wall 12"

I have no idea why I haven't posted this brilliant record before now, but it is truly a classic slab of spacey house pop. There's the original version and remixes from Mylo and Atomic Hooligan. The Mylo mix is the one that will get your Christmas party bouncing, but all three tracks on this are great.

The Discogs bio tells us that "The Egg were formed in the UK from a conglomeration of various Oxford-based dub-influenced dance music acts...hey have developed a unique sound combining hip-hop, psychedelia, ambient and house, resulting in what has been described as a "fluid trance groove".

I'm not sure if they are still active, but the band still have a live website here.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps

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Camp As Christmas Part Two

Apologies for the slight lag, but work commitments, Christmas preparations and a nasty bout of Manflu have conspired to prevent me from getting this mix up here. Response to the first one was pretty good, so many thanks to all those who took the trouble to download and listen. If anything, I think this second part is slightly better.

I had an interesting discussion with a friend about what "camp" actually was. It's kind of hard to pin down isn't it. I'm convinced it's not just about the gay thing and that there's a weird, slightly indefinable quality about it. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it all, but I'm not sure I agree with some of that. Perhaps that's an American interpretation. Initial selections for this mix were rejected at the last minute for not being at all camp. I've also steered clear of tracks that were simply by gay artists. As I've said before, this isn't intended to be reductive in any way - it's a celebration.

As with the last part, I've uploaded an enhanced podcast with full artwork in AAC format and a standard MP3 file. Both are ripped at 320 Kbps. Interestingly, downloads for the MP3 beat the AAC by about 2 - 1 for the first part. I'd go for the AAC myself. It has scans of all the single sleeves and chapter markers.

AAC
MP3

Brilliantly, Castles In Space Reader Graeme took it upon himself to create artwork for the podcasts. Part Two already features the above image, but for those who wish to update the first part with the matching cover, here is the art for Part One.

Man 2 Man Meet Man Parrish - Male Stripper 12"

The 7" mix of this was included on the first Camp As Christmas mix. Here's the full glory of the 12".

http://www.manparrish.com/biography/

My gay posts have only received one complaint so far. Next up is the Camp as Christmas Part Two Mix. Sure to make your Christmas party go with a swing. Honourable mention should also go to Seedy for posting Jon Savage's brilliant compilation of Queer Noises.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Pet Shop Boys - Disco

Perhaps their finest album, what self respecting gay themed blog series would be complete with a sprinkling of the genius that is Pet Shop Boys?

This album accompanied my move from the North West to London and soundtracked many a pre-club dressing up ritual for me and my friends. Still sounding brilliant after all these years. Pet Shop Boys have contributed so much to British pop and dance culture. The cliche was that they were like The Smiths with synthesizers, but that's pretty much true. Lyrically rich, musically inventive, and what tunes. Their 12" single remixes are like a an ever-evolving history of British dance music.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Camp As Christmas - Part One

Christmas. It's quite gay isn't it.

All the sparkle and emotion. Seeing family. Love. Bitchiness.

I fucking love it. I love it so much I've spent more time than you would believe doing a big old camp podcast/mixtape.

I'm not doing a tracklist as I think this one might be enjoyed more as a beautiful surprise. Like finding out that your bezzie is bi-curious.

There are two versions. An enhanced AAC file with full artwork and an MP3 with a lovely picture of your host, Mr Kenneth Williams.

The plan is that there will be another one of these before Christmas, but as this one has almost killed me, it might take a few days.

There were a few rules:
1. It had to be ripped from a record in my singles box
2. It had to be camp
3. I had to love the song without irony.

Happy Christmas to all the beautiful people (that means you). x

AAC/iTunes
MP3