Money Mark (Mark Ramos- Nashita) played keys for the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2012. His introduction to them came via some carpentry work he was doing for them when producer Mario Caldato got him in to fix the gate of the property the Beasties were recording Paul's Boutique in. He then helped them build their own studio (G- Son in Los Angeles) and began playing keys and organ for them. He put out two solo albums on Mo'Wax in the 1990s, Mark's Keyboard Repair in 1995 (a slew of demos and sketches, lo fi and quirky stuff) and then Push The Button in 1998, a much more fully realised album, eighteen songs on piano, keys and guitar. I'd forgotten until recently how good Push The Button is and - this is Mo'Wax remember- how beautifully packaged he album was.
All The People is cocktail hour, singer songwriter, jazzy pop that opens with the memorable line, 'Everybody's got their own kinda hope/ Some people got dope...'. Laid back, hippyish, supper club vibes.
Maybe I'm Dead is a fuzz bass groove, somewhere between mid- 90s Beck with John Lennon-esque lyrical surrealism.
Hand In Your Head is even better, late 90s leftfield pop, the sort of song that Squeeze might have written had they come from LA rahter than Deptford.
Fantastic album, my favourite song being the title track - Push The Button.
ReplyDeleteI remember the sleeve artwork and CD protector bag each album would have with the Mo’Wax releases.
Mo’Wax had a terrific run from ‘96 releasing the DJ Shadow debut, through the Headz compilations up until the ‘98 debut's of UNKLE and Money Mark.
Fantastic album, my favourite song being the title track - Push The Button.
ReplyDeleteI remember the sleeve artwork and CD protector bag each album would have with the Mo’Wax releases.
Mo’Wax had a terrific run from ‘96 releasing the DJ Shadow debut, through the Headz compilations up until the ‘98 debut's of UNKLE and Money Mark.
I'm a big fan of Push The Button too, though it was the first - and - last Money Mark album that I bought. The breadth and ambition of the songs was what really struck me, straying into Elton John territory at time before it became fashionable to do so.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the picks, adding a couple more: I Don't Play Piano, which always tugs at my heart-strings, and Trust, which I probably (over) used on many bespoke CDR mixtapes for mates around this time.
And the packaging was gorgeous, as you say. I have the CD in the card sleeve with the cut-out on the back sleeve, revealing each individual track title as you spin the inner card disc. Beautiful attention to detail, and lots of fun.
A great album, one which pops into mu head now & again and i then have to listen to it. Which I'll be doing this evening.
ReplyDeleteThought about not bothering with the 2nd and 3rd after the 1st, but they are the bifters
ReplyDeleteBoth the album and the songs clearly passed me by. But it’s never too late to be made aware of treasures like these. Thanks for that, Adam
ReplyDeleteIs that the album with "Tomorrow Will Be Like Today" on it? Because if it is I used to have a copy but then stupidly sold it a few years later. Don't think it's on any streaming platform either. I'd love to hear it again because it was packed full of gems.
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