Fragments of Time

dsco's Podcast

This started with “Memorabilia”—truly one of the creepiest songs ever, but we expect nothing less from Mr. Almond—that should have been on the Proustian disco podcast, but as Marc says, “I collect. I reject.” I think it sits well here with a set ultimately inspired by Daft Punk’s brilliant “Fragments of Time.” DP have called it splitsville, although I’m betting this will be like the Ziggy farewell or the Cher farewell or the Who farewell. Let’s check back in on this is five years.

Both of my songs en français are truly bizarre if your translation abilities are up to it. I slagged off Plastic Bertrand as a one-trick pony not long ago, but then I found his 1980 album L’Album, and it’s solid track-for-track. Pardonne-moi. And Les Rtia Mitsouka’s cover of Serge Gainsbourg’s “L’Hippopodame” has a title that puns on “hippopotamus” and “fat girl” and originally appeared on Serge’s album Vu De L'Extérieur, the one all about “le derrière” (which in true Gainsbourg perversity does not contain his reggae fart song).

The biggest jump between time fragments in this set comes between Les Rockets’ “Future Woman” from 1976 and Horse Meat Disco’s “Spacebound” that comes from the tail end of last year. It floors me to think that’s a 44-year span, a half century of disco….

I may like Charanga’s Cuban reworking of Chic’s “Good Times” as much as I do the original, and the more I live with The Sunshine Crew’s “Those Were the Days” (also one for the Proust disco outing), the more I love it. Paul Parker sings on Patrick Cowley’s “Tech-No-Logical World” (a song that seems more relevant today than ever) besides being one of two artists here to reimagine Giorgio Moroder’s classic “From Here to Eternity.” To continue the daisy chain, Man Parrish teamed with Parker on “Eternity,” and he’s the mad remixer behind the amazing and loving overhaul of Klaus Nomi’s “Total Eclipse.”

Now’s the Time—Solar Source ’81 ᵿ Stop ou Encore—Plastic Bertrand ’80 ᵿ Do Your Time on the Planet—Lime ’85 ᵿ Como Vamos a Gozar—Charanga 76 ’79 ᵿ Tech-No-Logical World—Patrick Cowley ’82 ᵿ Machines—Giorgio Moroder ’84 ᵿ L’Hippopodame—Les Rita Mitsouko ’01 ᵿ Dance Forever—Gaucho ’83 ᵿ Those Were the Days—The Sunshine Crew ’87 ᵿ From Here to Eternity—Amanda Lear ’00 ᵿ From Here to Eternity—Paul Parker ’91 ᵿ Total Eclipse (Remix)—Klaus Nomi ’05 ᵿ Future Woman—Les Rockets ’76 ᵿ Spacebound—Horse Meat Disco ’20 ᵿ Fragments of Time—Daft Punk ’13 ᵿ Robbots—Space ’81 ᵿ Memorabilia—Soft Cell ’81