FLAMES.GIF 03.02.07
Murph Drag ('90s Instrumental)
3:26, 3.5mb
In 1989 Prince composed a number of songs intended for a new album 'by' The Time. The album was to have been called Corporate World, and it focused on a variety of themes, including the need for residents of low-income neighborhoods to operate their own businesses and spend their money closer to home. One of the tracks on this album was called Murph Drag, a slang phrase for having a roll of money in your pocket so large it makes your pants leg sag (and thus drags behind your leg). Prince turned the phrase into a 'new dance commercial' and set it to an up-tempo beat.
Most of the songs on Corporate World were never officially released. A few found their way onto The Time's 1990 album Pandemonium, which was released in conjunction with Prince's feature film Graffiti Bridge. Some of the tracks were dispersed across several maxi-singles. Others, like Murph Drag, never saw the light of day at all.
One evening as I stepped out of the shower inspiration struck me like a thunderbolt. On the spot I conceived of a three-part collaboration between my pals gvngeist, silenceinspades and myself, to be a cover rendition of Prince's neglected Corporate World track.
Gavin started the project and sent over two separate tracks: a great drum beat and a great vocal. I took my time performing various operations upon them and eventually butchered the whole thing to the point that the vocal no longer fit with the music. Along about this time I felt really very smart. I had no idea how to explain myself to my bandmates.
Well, so be it then! This FLAMES.GIF version of Murph Drag should be approached in a similar humor to the dubious ambient remixes which populated CD maxi-singles throughout the early 1990s. Whether or not this frame of reference flatters the work is left as an exercise for the listener.
Drum programming by gvngeist, everything else by stanleylieber
creative.commons.attribution-noncommercial.2.5
* license
(FLAMES.GIF website...)
