1. Boss Drum - The Shamen
2. Obsession - Animotion
3. Hit & Run - Boxcar
4. Cheri Cheri Lady - Modern Talking
5. Always (Cappella Club Remix) - Erasure
6. World Without Love - Anything Box
7. American-Soviets (Cameron Paul Remix) - C.C.C.P.
8. Thundershowers (12" Remake) - Psyche
9. All Day - Ministry
10. Fun to be Had - Nitzer Ebb
11. CCCan't You See (Razormaid! Mix) - Vicious Pink
12. Goodbye Horses (Extended Version) - Q Lazzarus
13. Master and Servant (Slavery Whip Mix) - Depeche Mode
14. Insecure Me (12" Mix) - Soft Cell
15. Blue Monday (Razormaid! Mix) - New Order

Notes and other random things: All the world is a synth. Not exactly worthy of Shakespeare, but that's what this episode is all about. You can probably find a guitar sound or two in here somewhere if you keep your ears to the ground, but I felt like going all synthpop for this one.

As for the standout tracks, we'll start with Anything Box. "World Without Love" is far and away my favorite tune by these guys. Quite frankly, it is probably as well-crafted a pop song as you'll ever find. Claude's lilting vocals perfectly complement the string and bass line underpinnings. It has a catchy hook, brilliant melody, and it's another one of those songs that can give you the chills it's so gorgeous. It was taken from their second album, 1992's Worth, which was out of print for a long, long time, though I think it was finally re-issued as Worth v.2 back in 2000. It was produced by Gareth Jones, who did work with Depeche Mode on their Black Celebration album. So, the album as a whole was a bit more darker than its predecessor, but worth the added expenditure to find it.

"Cheri Cheri Lady" is another lovely slice of pop electronica. I came across this band by accident years ago while flipping channels on the television. I happened to catch the video to this song and I was hooked. It's another one of those male, androgynous-sounding vocal leads, compounded with testosteronally-challenged backing tracks that are almost too frou-frou for your own good, but I have a rather glaring soft spot for this kind of digital fluff. What can I say? I'm a sucker for beautiful melodies. You wouldn't guess it, but this duo of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen is the biggest selling German music act in history, selling some 120 million albums worldwide...way more than David Hasselhoff. Fox the Fox, who appeared in an earlier episode of CRC is credited with the inspiration behind the falsetto vocals.

American-Soviets by C.C.C.P. is one of the all-time classic club hits. This particular mix by Cameron Paul is probably the most well-known version, though the original did have vocals. The other dance classic here is a Razormaid! mix of New Order's Blue Monday, a track which is widely recognized as the top-selling 12" single of all time. It is also the longest track to chart in the UK, clocking in at seven-and-a-half minutes. 

I included a remade version of Psyche's "Thundershowers", which appeared originally on their 1986 album Unveiling the Secret. This particular version came from their Club Salvation album, which is a compilation of club mixes compiled from songs that span their entire career. Darrin Huss and Co. are still going strong today, some 25+ years after their inception and should be considered in the same breath as some of the other early electronic pioneers. They have recently released an album called Re-Membering Dwayne, sort of a tribute to the late Dwayne Goettel, who was an original member of the band and who was later in Skinny Puppy. Stop by Psyche's Facebook or MySpace page and check them out. Hell, send Darrin an email. If you're lucky, he may just reply in person as that's the kind of guy he is.   

Psyche also did an amazing cover of "Goodbye Horses", a song appearing here in its extended, but original form as done by Q Lazzarus. Released in 1988, the song gained notoriety in the film Silence of the Lambs as it was a tune sung by sadistic serial killer Buffalo Bill. Though it didn't appear on the soundtrack, it did show up in the soundtrack to Married to the Mob.

Speaking of sadism and possibly masochism, the episode wouldn't be complete without the exceptionally pleasurable brutality expressed in Depeche Mode's "Master and Servant". It's not only a great song with its homage to fetishist tendencies, but the looped Dave Gahan soundbite of "treat me like a dog" presents a nice interplay with the crossfade of "Goodbye Horses". Interestingly enough, horses are a reference to the five senses in Hindu philosophy, so you have the clash of dogs and horses coinciding with the scrum between spiritual transcendance and earthbound depravity. It works on so many levels!

I hope this episode works on many levels for you as well. I need to come up with something better than "Enjoy!" as a closer, but until I do...enjoy!   

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