Well it looks like Mediafire, the free hosting service I was using, took it upon themselves to delete some of my files. I do not know if this is their system hiccuping, or if they are cracking down on copyright material (labels, cut that shit out... I'm trying to get your music to people as is every other audio blogger out there). Anyway, I guess I am going to have to start looking at more options. I will repost everything (including the Autumn Driving Mix) after I find a new, more stable hosting service.

There are only about 7 hours until February is here, and I for one could not possibly be more excited. February 07 has the makings of one of the best months ever in my life. Not only is Switch playing on my actual birthday at Smartbar, but I suspect I will be surrounded by many many many friends that night. My second favorite house producer right now, friends and drinks basically adds up to one of the best birthdays ever.

But also we've got on tap Barack Obama announcing his presidential bid on February 10. The Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job debuts on February 11. I've got a gig in Milwaukee on Feb 23 with Chris Grant that I am so freakin stoked about (I'll be bringing out all the big guns for that gig). Hell, the Bears are playing in the Superbowl on February 4! On top of all this, there will be some DOPE music releases that I'll cover below. For one of the few times in my life, I'm optimistic that there will be more great things to come in the next few weeks.

The one thing I am split on is the smoking ban taking effect in Champaign tonight. This past Sunday, Boltini threw a Black Party that I spun at (picture above comes from this more expansive photo set... not all are sfw) to let everyone get in one last smoke and act like freaks. On the one hand I am overjoyed that I won't come home smelling like smoke anymore thanks to this smoking ban. On the other hand, my DJing and Music Director jobs require good turnout at the bars. It is completely unknown if in the middle of a witch's tit cold winter, if smokers will come out to the bars if they can't smoke inside. It's a huge question mark that could lead to some stress this month (I always tend to stress over low turnout gigs).

But I'm going to excitedly jump into this new month, smoking ban or no smoking ban. It should be fantastic. Expect happy posts in February.

February Releases, FTW

There's this whole theory that January/February releases in the electronic world tail off because of the upcoming WMC Conference in March. February 07 makes me say hogwash to that theory.

Most importantly to me, the new Tracey Thorn single, "It's All True" will see a release across two 12" singles. Not only will the sublime Martin Buttrich remix be on there, but contrary to previous information I had, the Escort remix I posted earlier will make it onto vinyl (along with what sounds like a good Kris Menace mix and of course the original). The Escort remix has been doing great for me, so I highly recommend picking up the wax (promo copies are floating around, but it definitely will be released in February).

Also, out in February, Ben Watt will launch a new indie rock label called Strange Feeling. The first single is from the Figurines called "Silver Ponds" and features Ben's first remix in two years. You can hear that remix on Mr. Watt's myspace page. It also looks like Om FINALLY will be dropping Rithma's super fantastic "Wish I Could Be Beautiful" (head straight to the original mix for the dopeness, although Luke Solomon's remix could turn out to be the winner based on his past efforts.) Might also get the new Counterfeet release since they've already made their way into several online mixes.

And we'll absolutely get the full vinyl treatment from Freerange for their new single, "Untitled" by Black Joy. Took me dropping this a few times in my sets to really appreciate the slow simmering heat that this song brings to the table. The original 12" has a remix from Kerri Chandler that is only so-so in my book. A remix EP will feature remixes from Stefan Goldman and Solid Groove. Promo 12"s are available at Freerange's web site and in mp3 format the original and Kerri Chandler remixes are available at Beatport. Go support one of the top two house labels in the world!

Yet despite all these new tunes coming out, it is an old one that seems pretty relevant to post up. Maybe one day I'll share the full story:

Frankie Knuckles - The Whistle Song

I just finished watching a very cool Japanese movie called Onibaba. Made in 1964, it has a Kurosawa type feel, but I prefered the pace of Onibaba as compared to other Japanese films (including all of the Kurosawa films I've seen). What was most striking to me is how every major character in this film was absolutely repulsive in some way. That could be part of the reason why the ending was somewhat unsatisfying (or it could be how abruptly it ends). It doesn't matter much to me how any of the characters continue to live their lives, but their disgusting existence does make the film highly engrossing in a strange way. Anyhow, I definitely recommend checking out the film. It clocks in at only 103 minutes, so you can do it in under two hours.

I'm going to try and hammer out a few posts this week about the State of The Union, Obama (yes!!!!), DJ Drama (nooo!!!!) and a fortune cookie. That's all dependent on if I have time. I've got 4 gigs in 4 days starting Thursday, then one day off, then another gig, another day off, and another 2 gigs. Phew. If you can make it out on Friday, check out:

And also keep your eyes peeled for me posting up a new mix in the next few days. It's a good 'un.

Scrizzily Scruff

Bored at work, I cruised on over to Pandora and created a DJ Krush station. What it yielded was pretty insane. The music was an incredible blend of hip hop, downtempo, jazz and trip hop. A lot of it was from new artists, a lot of it was from artists I knew (but didn't neccesarily know the songs). It has me excited to play a downtempo set next Tuesday, and also has me excited enough to pursue a radio show on the local community radio station. More updates as that comes along. In the meantime, this is one of the absolute gems that Pandora yielded (and I somehow slept on):

Mr. Scruff - Jazz Potato

Martin Luther King day is one of the few holidays that I actually take some time to reflect on why we're celebrating the holiday. Forgive me for not thinking about what Casmir Pulaski has done for me or meditating about ferns on Arbor Day. After reading two very good books on Dr. King's life (Bearing The Cross and The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.) I found more personal reasons to admire his life.

Of course, the strides that he made for the civil rights movement are admirable enough. But King's devotion to a belief and his willingness to work towards the accomplishment of a goal despite very human personal doubts and fears is what draws me to him. His even temper in most public responses (despite anger and fear in private) is something I try, but often fail, to emulate. It's quite hard for me to exactly articulate why I view his way of living his life as one to follow. I think reading one of the two books, particularly Bearing The Cross, would help people understand the qualities he possessed that aren't brought out in grade school.

Anyhow, as an example of the even tempered nature that I so admire, and as a great reminder of the struggles he endured for the cause of civil rights, every year on Martin Luther King day I read his Letter From a Birmingham Jail. If you haven't read it yet, it is a little long (King says so himself), but it is a powerful letter. I can't even imagine how I would respond if I was imprisoned for a cause, the organization I was leading was in jeopardy, and my peers turned against me (the "fellow clergymen" he referred to were eight prominent spiritual leaders that publicly objected to the protest he joined in Birmingham).

I am sure though that my response would not be as eloquent and rational as Dr. King's was.

The Postal Disservice

In addition to many people having the day off, many government services aren't operating today. That, combined with the US Postal Service's general incompetence, probably has screwed me. Last week I submitted a 30 minute mix for BPM Magazine's Next On The Decks 2 competition. I was quite proud of the mix and thought it had a legitimate shot of winning (thereby getting me gigs in LA and Miami at the Winter Music Conference).

I paid an extra 50 cents to track the Postal Service's progress (which I normally never do). Last night I decided to double check just to make sure that my mix arrived on Friday (the deadline for arrival was today, January 15, so it needed to be there by Friday or Saturday since it could not be delivered on Monday). There should have been NO PROBLEM as I paid extra for delivery and mailed it early.

However, USPS's tracking system now says the package was "Missent" and that it was "misrouted" on Friday. Which therefore means, there is no way it will get to BPM in time for it to be considered.

I know my chances for winning this contest were statistically low. But I felt good about that mix, and after seeing Jessica win a different BPM contest, I thought it was possible. And while I'm furious that there is now no chance I'll be going to Miami, I'm ultimately disappointed that my mix won't even be considered. If I was going to lose this, I might as well lose it after they heard my mix.

Bottom line: Fuck the US Postal Service... there's a reason why the internet is putting it out of business.

Anyhow, for today's song, I'm posting up the mix. Check it out. Here's the tracklisting:

1. Pase Rock with Spank Rock and Santogold - Lindsay Lohan's Revenge (CDR)
2. Justin Martin - The Fugitive (BuzzinFly)
3. Edu K - Hot Mama (Sinden Remix) (Man Germany)
4. Missy Elliot - We Run This (X-Press 2 Rave 'n' Bleep Mix) (Atlantic)
5. Benedict X - A Bit Boxy (CDR)
6. Diplo - Shhake It Up (Uppercuts)
7. Jesse Rose & Sinden - Me Mobile (Duckbeats Ringtone Riddim) (Made To Play)
8. Mr. Zim & Pablo Ingles - Peanut Butter Jelly Time (Undefeated)
9. Round Table Knights - Baltimore Clock Rock (CDR)

Mertz - BPM Contest Mix

I'm right now in the midst of a lazy Sunday, sitting on the couch and basking in the glow of a very funny Demetri Martin special on Comedy Central. This was a long week with gigs on Wednesday (a fantastic chilled downtempo/jazz/hip hop set), Thursday (a banging 1.5 hrs set on the stage at Canopy Club with dancin crazies on the floor), Friday (my usual Friday night set at Boltini) and then Saturday (a grimey house party that I played at until 5:30 am). I'm exhausted and probably still hungover from all the Stella I consumed.

But instead of having to get up for work tomorrow and feel like I didn't accomplish anything this weekend (like so many weekends past), I've got an extra day because of MLK day. I'm going to get a ton done between now (10:30) and when I do have to go to work on Tuesday. Expect a post tomorrow about MLK.

It's the Remix

I posted up the original of Tracey Thorn's new single in my last posting. The super awesome blog, The Rich Girls Are Weeping, posted this remix which as far as I can tell, will not be on the single. So get it now while the gettin's good.

Tracey Thorn - It's All Good (Escort Extended Remix)

There were a few ideas I contemplated writing about today after the long holiday hiatus. But I'm not in the frame of mind to do anything but just nod my head in agreement. These events all relate to the fact that our country keeps making the same mistakes. Yahoo for our collective lack of historical perspective.

The first came from Lawrence Lessig's illuminating blog at www.lessig.org about the prospects of copyright changes from a Congress run by the Democrats. According to Lessig there is no chance, but let him explain it, since he does it so well.

The second was a piece in the Washington Post about a new Bush signing statement that, because of its vagueness, could potentially grant the federal government new authority to open your mail (snail, not email). It's pretty obvious how I feel about that (and how most Americans, no matter what their political affiliation should feel about that). So I will just point you at the article (Bush Warned About Mail-Opening Authority) and let you read for yourself.

I will inject though, that from a historical standpoint and the political science standpoint, Bush's ability to stretch the power of the executive branch through signing statements is mind-blowing. I hope that the practice dies with his administration (or even sooner with a good court challenge). If there is a more ruthless, sly and under-the-radar means of undermining the political process and American democracy, I'd like to know. King George indeed.

The last point has to do with climate control and global warming. A friend of mine at USC just told me it is 84 degrees where he is, and presently in Champaign it is 38 degrees. Which illustrates the point of this NY Times Op-Ed piece (The Ununited States, When It Comes to the Weather) quite nicely. That article is definitely worth the read for an obvious, but often ignored reason why our country is so slow to accept that global warming exists (I think rednecks could easily be added to the list of reasons). To help combat global warming, GM has made a hollow pledge to revive the electric car in the future, once the technology is developed. What I don't get is why the technology used in electric cars of the past, couldn't be used again. Oh wait, I do. GM is pulling another fast one on the American public that can't remember the success of the past electric car experiment.

Into the Future

Well, being too tired to write at the end of December/start of January means I missed my chance to pontificate on what the songs of the year were, what the remixes of the year were, what the mixtapes of the year were, etc. I think it would have been an awfully disjointed list unless I had devoted about 8 hours of time that I didn't have to gather my thoughts and my music.

Instead, in honor of our new year being upon us, I'm sharing with you a song that I have been listening to non-stop and will be probably be listening to non-stop after its official release. Tracey Thorn, of Everything But The Girl, has a new album coming out in March. Seeing as how she is my hands down favorite vocalist of all time, I'm more than a little excited about this. In fact, unless Portishead delivers on their promised album (another year passes, another promise for a December release... check back 12/31/07), I think Tracey's new album Out of The Woods, will be my most anticipated album in 2007.

Here is the first single off her new album. Head over to her MySpace page to hear the insanely epic, insanely well-produced, insanely awesome Martin Buttrich remix.

Tracey Thorn - It's All True