Rekid - Next Stop Chicago

I have no idea where I got this song. It just magically showed up in my itunes as being added on 07/13/2008. Released in 2006 by Rekid/Radio Slave (Matt Edwards), I personally encourage you to vibe-the-fuck-out to this song. The back half is my favorite due to Fatboy Slim-esque tribally vocal loop. I’m fan of mood music, so, for me, this ranks very high. There’s also a Jesse Rose remix floating around the webz. Be proactive and go find it.

Rick Wilhite - What Do You See (MM Mix)

The other night was spent at a bar in Culver City filled with friends bouncing around listening to amazing disco, free style MC’d by Dam-Funk and accompanied by polysexual pop lock battles. A really excellent time, and highly recommended to anyone looking for something fun (AND DIFFERENT) on a Monday night, Funkmosphere hits the spot. This is something that I will play there if/when I get booked. I fucking love bongos.

Also, sorry to shamelessly self promote but EAST COAST, I WILL BE IN YOU OCT 12-25. Hit me up, I am looking to pick up more gigs in more places for more fun.

Annie - Happy Without You (SebastiAn Remix) + Annie - Happy Without You (Riton Vocal Mix)

In 2005, British producer Riton and Ed Banger’s SebastiAn served up a couple of remixes of Annie’s ‘Happy Without You’. Riton offered a vocal and instrumental mix, while SebastiAn did what he does best. The white label had a little something for everyone, but never really got much digital attention until earlier this year. SebastiAn’s effort takes the cake in my opinion, and not because of the obvious. It’s actually got a lot of low-end monotonous (in a REALLY good way) groove to it–the kind that can turn a crowd of humans into robots. The LP also credits Erol Alkan with remix co-ordination. A pretty sweet package if you ask me.

Agoria - Kofea

For Turntable Lab’s Secret Santa, I gave Doctor Jones a Corona tee shirt that I had modified so instead of beer, the ladies pictured were endorsing his taste in house music. He has yet to wear it (WTF, BEN?! IT RULES!). For my Secret Santa gift (which I received September 19th), I got my external hard drive filled with mastered, labeled vinyl rips from his insane collection. Totally worth the wait. The good Doctor is hands down the most talented DJ who works at Turntable Lab. He can spin any genre, has amazing scratching skills, juggles/live edits house tracks, basically kills the ‘nu jazz’ selection (leading us to coin the term “this is a Ben Jones record” whenever we get something in that is upbeat with organic rhythms and sensi female vocals) and knows deep house better than anyone I have ever met. I will share some of the magic with you.

We In Music - Grandlife

Having an external hard drive full of music that you’ve forgotten about it kinda like the toy chest at the dentist when you were a kid–it took a lot of time, annoyance, and often pain, but in the end you walked out with something pretty cool that you were stoked on for at least 3 days. After the brutal task of consolidating about 200GB of pure crap, I have emerged with just a handful of songs–all amazing, some having been in my possession without my even knowing. It’s heartbreaking in a way, but the only thing better than new music is new old music, so I’m very happy. First off is a track that I’m sure some of you have (and I hope share often). Filter disco house, though repetitive, is (in my opinion) the theme song of heaven. And of course heaven is a bonfire/roller rink where everyone cruises up on unicorn/pegasus hybrids. This particular song of the genre is by We In Music, who, if you you didn’t know, consists of Romain Séo, Benjamin Diamond, and Paul De Homem-Christo, among others on occasion. Any of those names sound familiar? The finished product is a lesson in making people lose their shit. Thank you hard drive.

DEATH MATCH: Something About You

As I scooped up a handful of songs from my itunes, I realized that eventually song titles will just have to get longer to accommodate the fact that sooner or later all the possible combinations of commonly used words will have been taken. Many combos have already been duplicated by artists with completely no shame. As many of these songs are amazing (and amazingly successful), I don’t think anyone cares too much for having been the first, but it does pose the question in my head as I over-analyze everything as it is. I propose we hold death matches between 3 candidates, after which we will crown the winner that must uphold the title as soon as there become 2 new challengers. As a challenger, you would be allowed to submit what you feel is the strongest version, mix, or remix or your song, though should you lose, ALL versions would be cast into the depths of hell, never to be heard again.

I propose the first battle be for the title of ‘Something About You’. I have taken the time to select what I feel are the 3 strongest versions for this open judging. Oh yes, we must talk about judging! For now, we will hold the death matches on this site. Once the world discovers our system, and begins to praise us for the ground work that we have laid down, I’m sure some international council of elders (most likely consisting of French and Swedish house producers) will pay us off and create some higher styles of determining who lives and who dies. This really is an amazing idea. If there’s some song out there that you just hate, all you need to do is make a song with the same name, get someone else to do the same, then submit some type of application or form to the council. Hopefully your song kicks ass and wins.

This first death match will be between Live Element, Hatiras (Adam K & Soha Remix), and Jamelia (Mr. Oizo Remix).

Luckily, Daft Punk’s jam off Discovery is titled ‘Something About US’.

Let the judging begin! I am casting off my vote for Live Element.

*’Live Element - Something About You’ samples ‘Exile - I Wanna Kiss You All Over‘.

Moby - Dream About Me (Sebastian Ingrosso Remix)

I think by this point we all know how I feel about the Swedish House Mafia. What you might not have known is my affection for Moby, who, way back in the ’90s, may have been the first “dance artist” I really got into. Despite his irritatingly self-righteous personal politics (neutralized by the sheer deliciousness of Teany, his vegan restaurant in the L.E.S), he has made some incredible music in the past. I’m not a big fan of the new album (except for the Drop the Lime remix of “Alice”, which rules), but in 2006 he got a bunch of geniuses to remix ‘Dream About Me’. Here is the fucking ridiculously hard/excellent Ingrosso diamond. I will be throwing this magic on some sweaty, wilin’ mother fuckers sometime in the next couple of weeks for sure. If you happen to have the Booka Shade version of this track, I would endlessly appreciate it if you could hook me up as I can’t find it anywhere.

Garbage - You Look So Fine (Fun Lovin’ Criminals Remix)

Do you remember the first band you really loved? The one who taught you what it meant to be a fan, the one whose music articulated your feelings better than you ever could, whose sonic reverberations resonated perfectly with the frequency of your soul? For me, that band was Garbage. From about 6th grade, the quartet from Madison, WI (and Edinburgh, Scotland, cumulatively) made my ‘tween and teen years bearable. Having recently garnered a Demonoid account, I spent the majority of the weekend downloading the entire Garbage discography. I had forgotten about this ridiculously beautiful remix of ‘You Look So Fine’, one of the later singles from the seminal Version 2.0 album. While the original is a lush electronic landscape of heady synths and frigid, beautiful vocals, this collaboration with New York’s Fun Lovin’ Criminals is a a much more warm, organic piece, shifting the song from hi-tech electronic pop into a dark, jazzy downtempo diamond.

This shit breaks my heart.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - Number 3 (Live Recording)

So I have this stack of CDs that I haven’t touched in years. They are all discarded, scratched, and collecting dust, unappreciated and for the most part are complete shit. These are albums and blanks that have either been given to me or I was foolish enough to have bought at some previous time in my life. Once in awhile, just once in awhile, I pick up a CD without looking at who it is and bring it with me before a long drive, forcing myself to rediscover some type of beauty in these relics and bores. Sometimes listening to an album front to back can change your view of the content, looking at the entire message or story as a whole, as opposed to just listening to the tracks one by one, looking for instant gratification. 2 days ago, on my way out the door, I grabbed Live On Mars, which is a 2 disc live album by Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals circa 2001, an album that I really didn’t even appreciate back when I bought it. Ben is without a doubt, and amazingly talented musician and vocalist, but it just didn’t do it for me. However, in the spirit of respect (he took the time to make it, I can take the time to listen to it), I ran it full circle and was beyond amazed by one song specifically, titled ‘Number 3′. It’s an acoustic track with very minimal variation throughout, yet it is gorgeous and makes me want freestyle sing, which I did, and will continue to do every time I hear it. Originally the song was (take a guess) third into Harper’s 1997 album The Will To Live. Anyone familiar with the original will notice that this live version is nearly a minute longer. Ben is currently touring his most recent album Lifeline that was released last August.

Nitzer Ebb - Control I’m Here

Recently I’ve been into a lot of vintage electro (makes Gina so mad!) and Chicago house. All I want to see is a vogueing battle or some old school jacking a la New Dance Show. While the world has yet to fulfill my desires on this level, my appetite has been somewhat satiated by not to be shared (sawwy) tracks from perhaps my favorite person in the world, J2K (Josh Young from Flosstradamus, big ups). This little gem is along those lines, ripped from DJ Hell’s ‘Electronicbody 2002′ mix, it combines elements of Germany (even though Nitzer Ebb hails from the UK funnily enough), Awesomeness and the late ’80s ‘International Funk Aggression’. This here’s some tasty shiiiiiiiii. Enjoy!

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