All nite (don't stop) - Janet Jackson

'All nite (Don't stop)' was released as the third single from Janet Jackson's 2004 album 'Damita Jo'. The song contains a sample of Herbie Hancock's 1975 track 'Hang up your hang ups'. This 12" features two remixes of the track.

After what has become known as the 'Superbowl incident' in which Jackson flashed a boob during prime time on American television, MTV refused to air the video, leading to a failure of the single. However, in 2008 the single still reached number 40 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

My collection: 12" single no. 583
Found: Discogs.com, received August 5, 2011
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'All nite (Don't stop) (Sander Kleinenberg Club Mix)' / 'All nite (Don't stop) (Low End Specialists Main Mix)'

Hey Presto - Black

Back in 1984, music videos were an integral part of my daily routine. Watching television for a few hours a day just to catch my favourite videos (and songs) was a bit crazy in retrospect, but it did huge favours for developing my own taste in music.

One of the videos I saw back then was Black's 'Hey Presto'. It's one of very few videos I never saw again - and I'm still searching for it now. I bought the 7" single years later and I only found the 12" single now. It was never a hit for Black, although he would be more successful in 1987 with his eternal classic 'Wonderful life'. To hear what the man is up to these days read my entry on Any colour you like.

My collection: 12" single no. 587
Found: Discogs.com, received October 5, 2011
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Hey Presto' / 'Stephen', 'Liquid dream'

Kids in America - Euphrasia

Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America' has been covered by numerous singers, punk rock bands, death metal bands and even the occasional dance acts.

Euphrasia was a Belgian outfit, apparently consisting of Peter Neefs and Jan Voermans. Their version of 'Kids in America', released in 1992, is quite dynamic. It has a few nice sound effects, and although the track never becomes better than 'average', it's still an interesting take on a classic track. This 12" single features a 12" version that wasn't available on the cd-single at the time.

My collection: 12" single no. 588
Found: Discogs.com, received October 5, 2011
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Kids in America (12" version)' / 'Kids in the house (12" version)'

Worlds apart - The Sinceros

Mark Kjeldsen, Bobby Irwin and Ron François first played together in a London R&B band called The Strutters. The Sinceros were primarily a vehicle for Kjeldsen's composing talents. He sang lead vocals on most of the band's material although François contributed more songs on their later albums.

Their first album, The Sound of Sunbathing, was produced by Joe Wissert and recorded at Wessex Studios in London. The band achieved considerable radio play with its first single, 'Take me to your leader'. The single 'Worlds apart' was released in September 1979 and although it didn't chart in the UK, it managed to reach number 33 in the Dutch Top 40 a month later. I totally forgot about this song, but I remembered the sleeve. And so I finally decided to buy the single today - and memories slowly came back to me. This is a great new wave track.

My collection: 7" single no. 5193
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, September 17, 2011
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Worlds apart' / 'Girl I realise (live)'

State of the world - Janet Jackson

'Rhythm nation' was perhaps Janet Jackson's most serious album, with lyrics about themes like racism, social injustice and more things like that. 'State of the world' was one of the essential tracks on the album, although it wasn't released as a single in most territories.

This promotional double 12" single features no less than 10 versions of the track, including a 'State of the world Suite' that lasts an impressive 14 minutes. Listening to all the remixes in one go is not recommended: a collection like this needs to be ingested with care.

My collection: 12" single no. 584
Found: Discogs.com, received August 31, 2011
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'State of the world (United Nations 12")', 'State of the world (United Nations Dub)', 'State of the world (United Nations instrumental)' / 'State of the world (Third world 7"), 'State of the world (Third world dub)', 'State of the world (Third world instrumental)' // 'State of the world (Suite)' / 'State of the world (State of the house 12")', 'State of the world (Make a change dub)', 'State of the world (World dance mix)'

Easier said than done - Shakatak

Although 'Easier said than done' by Shakatak is hardly the best song ever, it was interesting enough to want to try out this 'special mix long version' when I found this 12" single. It's a mostly instrumental track after all, and I've nothing against a longer version of an instrumental track.

No wonder that this 12" single does exactly as promised: a longer version that keeps you listening. Nothing shocking, but pleasant easy listening.

My collection: 12" single no. 320
Found: [unknown], 1995
Cost: [unknown]
Tracks: 'Easier said than done (special mix long version)' / 'Late night flight'

Doesn't really matter - Janet Jackson

'Doesn't really matter' was the lead single from the Universal Pictures film soundtrack 'Nutty Professor II: The Klumps', in which Jackson co-starred with actor Eddie Murphy. It was used as the official theme song for the movie. It became Jackson's ninth number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and her first in the 2000s, staying at the top for three weeks, and also making Jackson the first artist in history to score number-one singles in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

An alternate mix of the song was later included on Jackson's seventh studio album, 2001's 'All for You'. This 12" single features three remixes of the track, one of which didn't appear on the cd-single at the time. The three remixes on the B-side are basically instrumental versions of these remixes and thus less interesting.

My collection: 12" single no. 586
Found: Discogs.com, received August 31, 2011
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Doesn't really matter (Rockwilder mix)', 'Doesn't really matter (Jonathan Peters club mix)', 'Doesn't really matter (SpenSane Get Up extended mix)' / 'Doesn't really matter (Rockwilder instrumental)', 'Doesn't really matter (Jonathan peters Soundfactory dub mix)', 'Doesn't really matter (SpenSane Get Up dub mix)'