At this point in the year, there generally aren’t too many notable new releases as everyone is still caught up in the holidays. That’s why in this week’s special Boxing Day edition of What’s Going On, we’re going to take a look at a couple of fun reissues that are totally worth picking up.
One of the coolest reissues of the year came from R.E.M. The college rock demigods from Athens, GA re-released their 1981 debut single “Radio Free Europe.” What makes it especially cool is that it is NOT the same version of the song that appeared on the band’s 1983 album Murmur. A hot commodity for diehard R.E.M. fans, the Hib-Tone version of “Radio Free Europe” had previously been sought after for four decades until now. Apparently, the version of “Radio Free Europe” that was dubbed the “Original Hib-Tone single” on the compilations Eponymous and And I Feel Fine…The Best of The I.R.S. Years 1982-1987 actually wasn’t the Hib-Tone version. This one sounds a little more raw and shows that at the end of the day, a great song is a great song. Fun fact: the 45-rpm 7″ single was pressed at Kindercore Vinyl in Athens GA, making it a hometown affair.
You can purchase “Radio Free Europe” (Original Hib-Tone Single) here.
“Radio Free Europe” (Original Hib-Tone Single) tracklisting:
Side A
Radio Free Europe
Side B
Sitting Still
It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty years since rapper Eve dropped her sophomore album Scorpion. To celebrate, the ‘pit bull in a skirt’ released a 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of her 2001 album on vinyl. The follow-up to her debut album Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, Scorpion proved that Eve was the real deal and turned out to be her landmark project. Scorpion contains “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”, Eve’s Grammy Award-winning collaboration with Gwen Stefani, as well as the effervescent and braggadocious “Who’s That Girl?” The reissue is available in a standard edition on black vinyl as well as a special deluxe edition on red vinyl with black splatters and bonus remixes. If you want to take a walk down memory lane and find yourself missing the sound of early-2000s hip-hop, you can’t go wrong with Eve’s Scorpion.
You can purchase Scorpion here.
Scorpion tracklisting:
No, No, No / Album Version
Let Me Blow Ya Mind / Album Version
3 Way / SkitBe Me / Album Version
Cowboy / Album Version
Frontin’ / Skit
Gangsta Bitches / Album Version
Got What You Need / Album Version
Intro With Swizz / Skit
Life Is So Hard / Album Version
Scream Double R / Album Version
That’s What It Is / Album Version
Thug In The Street / Album Version
Who’s That Girl? / Album Version With Horns
Bonus Tracks
Let Me Blow Ya Mind (Stargate Remix)
Who’s That Girl (CLAS Remix)
Who’s That Girl (Akhenaton Remix)
Who’s That Girl (Nonstop Mix)
