A Thought and A Song

Happy Hypocrisy Day!

2009-03-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

In Champaign-Urbana, there is really only thing on people's minds today -- Unofficial. For those of you that don't know what Unofficial is, it is basically a holiday sanctioned by both cities and the University of Illinois. And just what are we celebrating today? Binge drinking. And hypocrisy. The hypocrisy is the interesting part, but let's start with the uninteresting binge drinking.

Don't let anyone fool you into saying that Unofficial is about anything other than binge drinking. It's not about getting an early start for St. Patrick's Day, nor is it about academically minded students wanting to study on the actual St. Patrick's Day and still get in a night of drinking at some point. It is most certainly not about the most misused word in Champaign County: tradition.

No, the whole point of Unofficial is to drink as much as you possibly can while wearing a green t-shirt. Puking is highly encouraged, especially in public places. In years past that drinking started at 8 am -- at the bars. Now, bars aren't allowed to open until hours later, so drinking starts in apartments instead. But the point is that this holiday was invented by local campus bars to maximize binge drinking in bars. There are a lot of green shirts, long lines at the bars, and lots of people puking in the street.

And, according to an Inside Illinois article, "past years’ celebrations resulted in significant property damage in the Lincoln Hall theater and Foellinger Auditorium and led to the death of a UI alumna who fell from a motorcycle in 2006."

Let that sink in... someone died from an event that started as a bar promotion, but yet Champaign, Urbana and the University of Illinois still sanction and promote this event. They even let it get big enough to attract national media attention. I have two graduate degrees and work at a "University" that is best known for its offensive mascot and a holiday that celebrates binge drinking.

And the tradition continues. Already today, 55 citations have been issued and 125 cars have been towed.

Now don't get me wrong here. I am a huge fan of drinking, and having worked in bars for many years now. I love seeing people drunk and stumbling. It cracks me up. So actually, despite all of the problems that it causes, I don't think Unofficial should go away.

But what drives me crazy today is that on this absolutely gorgeous 70 degree day, if I go drink four cases of beer I am celebrating and Champaign, Urbana and the University of Illinois all pat me on the back for it (even if they are just tacitly going along with Binge Drinking Day).

If I went out to the Quad on this beautiful day, sat under a tree, and lit up a joint, I'd be committing a felony offense under Illinois and federal law. Nevermind that I would be causing no property damage, nor would I cause harm to anyone else around me. I'd still be going to jail.

And that is why I am officially calling Unofficial "Hypocrisy Day" from now on. It's one thing for our governments (city, state and federal) to turn a blind eye to the drinking problems facing our nation. It is another thing for Champaign-Urbana to promote Unofficial by building in the necessary infrastructure to support it (more cops on the streets for Unofficial, sending out emails from the Chancellor about the event, advertising in Illini Media publications, etc).

All the while, these institutions are trying to tell me that someone smoking a bowl in the privacy of their own home is a danger that requires incarceration, but 5,000 drunk college kids (most of them underage) all stumbling around on the most busy street on campus is something that just needs to be monitored closely.

Here are the simple facts about marijuana: Pot has never killed anyone. Ever. Marijuana is not a gateway drug (although one could argue that underage drinking is a gateway to other devious behavior). And while marijuana certainly impairs hand eye coordination, can cause diseases over the long term, and hurts memory and other functions of the brain, so does alcohol.

But who cares if alcohol is more deadly than marijuana. Let's all drink some more green beer.

There are some encouraging signs about America coming to grips with reality about marijuana. Eric Holder, the new Attorney General in the Obama administration, announced that the feds will no longer raid medical marijuana dispenseries in states that have medical marijuana laws. And the more you hop around the blogosphere, the more you see growing support for the idea of legalizing marijuana and taxing the hell out of it as one more means of raising revenue to get us out of this current economic crises.

I am optimistic that in my lifetime, someone is going to finally own up to the fact that not only is marijuana at worst only as harmful as alcohol, it in fact might be less harmful than binge drinking (which we're celebrating here in Champaign-Urbana).

But today, in 2009, there still remains the hypocrisy. And if you know me, you know that nothing drives me crazier than hypocrisy.

Alcohol kills tens of thousands of people every year. Marijuana has never killed anyone. All I'm arguing for is that the hypocrisy is eliminated. Either legalize marijuana or criminalize alcohol. And since this country has already gone through the failed experiment of prohibition at least once, it's probably best to try legalizing bud as opposed to taking away everyone's Budweisers.

Happy Hypocrisy Day everyone!!!!! Stay safe out there and don't trust anyone wearing green.

Mike Skinner is Better With Words Than Me

The Streets has always had vivid imagery and clever wordplay in his songs. This tune is called The Irony Of It All and it's from the very first Streets album, Original Pirate Material. It basically says everything I said above in a much more clever, poignant and precise way. Enjoy!

Arts and Cubecrafts

2008-08-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, that right there is Mr. Usagi Yojimbo. Only in paper format. I just finished up making him, based on a template from Cubecraft. For some strange reason I felt like doing something arts and crafty after a particularly crappy day at work (every day of work is crappy when it's move-in week at a major university).

Anyway, it turns out there is a whole paper toy culture out there on the interwebs. Then again, what culture isn't represented on the internets?

And I'm glad that there are a lot more to make because I found this strangely calming, satisfying and inspiring considering all I was doing was cutting and folding paper. So I'll post up more pics as I make more of these guys. Here is the next papertoy I'm going to tackle when I'm feeling like I need a pick me up.

Where's My Money?

On August 7, Fabio filled in for Gilles Peterson on Radio 1's Worldwide show. Those of you in the know understand that Gilles may have the biggest shoes on earth to fill when it comes to quality and innovative radio shows (especially now that John Peel has been gone a few years, RIP).

Worldwide is an institution for the obscure gem and Gilles is king of digging up those gems. But Fabio did an excellent job. So much so that I've been listening to a recording of the show pretty much on repeat this week.

I had a semi-difficult time finding a link to a recording of the show that would stay live. A lot of the links would die quickly, or not work at all. So I made my own. Feel free to download it and share it as much as you want since it's on zShare.

Fabio - Worldwide (2008.08.07) (zShare)

The show is full of old classics and new heaters. One heater that particularly stood out is this ace remix from dubstep kingpin, Caspa. The original by TC had some strength to it, but this remix is some next level thump. So peep the entire show, but feel free to hit repeat on this video as many times as needed. I'm at about 200 replays by now. This is from a radio rip, with vinyl due out in September.

TC - Where's My Money (Caspa Remix)

Awesome Things

2008-07-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Just to get the negative/anger post off the top of this blog, I'm going to quickly post some awesome things.

First, for any fans of Goodfellas, you'll love this. The Simpsons' re-edit of one of the best scenes in all mafia related movies or shows:

Next up, if you want to see a columnist that never fails, check out Frank Rich astutely articulating what needs to happen with this election, and needs to happen fast. His column "Wall-e for President" is right on the money.

Simply Awesome

Back on June 24th of this year, BET held their largely inconsequential award show. Shockingly, Aaron McGruder was not nominated for any awards.

However, one musical highlight did emerge, and that was a tribute to Al Green. And the best part of that tribute was the (surprising) performance of Maxwell, who has largely hid out of sight in recent years. But he tore up an amazing version of Al Green's "Simply Beautiful." BET, because they're part of the morons at Viacom, have taken down any YouTube clips that go directly to Maxwell's performance. Instead if you want to see it, you'll have to watch through Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton before you get to Maxwell.

Skip ahead to 3:11 left in the video to watch it.

Or just go ahead and download the mp3 I made for all of you so you can listen whenever you want:

Maxwell - Simply Beautiful (Live at the 2008 BET Awards)

Small Town Ignorance

2008-06-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

I usually don't use this blog to call out local people. I live in a town that is too small and too gossipy for me to say anything about anyone. But I heard some shit while setting up for my gig tonight and I feel the need to publicly call out someone I don't know. So if on the odd chance this person does read this posting, let me start by saying, "Fuck off. Don't come back to my bar."

Good. Now that I've got posted early, let me explain what happened. This woman, who looked in her late 30s/mid 40s, was sitting at a table at Boltini right near the DJ booth. She was talking to some of her friends, and it seemed like she was out of town because she started asking, "well where is the bar where gay people can go and comfortably hang out?" And one of her friends, who had obviously never heard of C Street, said "here." The woman then proceeds to freak out, saying how she hates bars that make a point to be outwardly friendly to gay people because "then the gays feel free to get on everyone in the bar."

Now the first thing I wanted to do was correct the whole table. Contrary to popular belief, Boltini isn't a "gay bar." Yes, we are friendly and welcoming to gays, lesbians, and even cross dressing Downtown Debbie. But we are also friendly and welcoming to douchebag townies in bright orange chief shirts, to young people (well at least 21s and up), old people, people on dates, people looking to dance, people that know nothing about music, and people that know everything about music. We have no dress code. We have no drink requirements. We never have a cover. We've hosted everything from jazz to fetish parties. I know heterosexual couples that met at Boltini and are getting married. Hell, I think even if Bin Laden walked into Boltini, we'd serve the guy.

In short, we're not a gay bar. We're a bar that is open to everyone.

But what really pisses me off is the insinuation that all gay people decide to prey on anything that moves. How fucking ignorant do you have to be to believe that? I have many people in my life that are homosexual, and yet I don't feel like they're trying to get on me. And in fact, if you ask most girls that go out to bars, especially Boltini, it is random guys trying to grope women, not random guys trying to grope the guys.

So bitch, if you're reading this, here's some knowledge for you: You are a small town hick, that knows nothing about the world at large. You have no culture. You have no style. Keep wearing that low cut shiny pink shirt, because in a few months I'm sure your tits will be sagging awfully and they'll match your old wrinkled face. By all means, come back to Boltini cause we don't turn people away. But if I hear you saying that shit again, I'm going off on you.

Fuck I'm pissed off right now. And I fucking hate that Champaign was all small town tonight. I want the fuck out of here.

Coming Together

If there is one thing that will calm me down, it is a good tune and Hercules and Love Affair are certainly purveyors of many good tunes. They're finally starting to get the respect they deserve, even getting an article in today's New York Times. Their first single, "Blind," was a killer, and I featured the b-side on my most Electric Undercurrents submission. They've also remixed one of my favorite songs from the 80s, which I will not name here because it is going to feature prominently in my new mix project (but even the most lazy of googler's could figure it out).

Anyway, if this disco revival really is for real, maybe there will be more tolerance for homosexuals, electronic music and people that enjoy being creative. Then again, this is America and I'm sure hicks will find a way to fuck that up too.

But in the meantime, there are songs like this one... It's H&LA's new single called "You Belong" and it will be out July 7. I'm just going to post the video for now, but when the remixes come out, I'll try to get one of those posted up here. Hope you enjoy it, because this song conjures up everything I loved about electronic music as a kid (I didn't know New Order was electronic music, I just knew I liked it). It's great to see this vibe making an extremely strong comeback:

Some new crack...

2008-06-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that first time you had chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream? I remember the first time and I was struck by this feeling of "my god, why haven't I been eating this stuff before today?"

I can imagine it's much the same feeling a crackhead has to have after his first rock. However, the important thing to learn from crackheads like Tyrone Biggums is that sometimes, too much of a good thing, even the best of things, can be a bad thing.

Well folks, I'm here to announce there is a new crack in town, and it is a Ben & Jerry's creation. Celebrating their 30th birthday, these Vermont tree-hugging hippies have created an ice cream so good that it would send more people to rehab than the crack addicted welfare mothers that they coddle up there in hippie land (i keed i keed.... mostly cause I like making fun of Vermont). Anyway, the ice cream is called Cake Batter and it basically tastes like yellow cake and goey chocolate frosting. Not only is the combination naturally delicious (you can already taste the really good yellow cake, right?) but being in ice cream format is one of those "why hasn't this been going on for ages?" moments at first bite.

Seriously, the stuff is crack. Beware. But if you really want to get addicted to this stuff, use Ben & Jerry's very cool Flavor Locator Tool to find a pint near you. Congrats on the 30 years Ben & Jerry's, and keep the good stuff comin!

... and some new Kraak (& Smaak)

Some things are just smooth and tasty, like Cake Batter ice cream, or a fresh crack rock, or an old school duet by Bobby and Whitney, or an old school duet by Bobby and Whitney about Cake Batter ice cream with crack rocks sprinkled on top. Equally smooth and tasty are the tunes from the Netherlands' very own, Kraak & Smaak.

In addition to having a fantastic name, this trio of producers churn out a wide variety of sounds, that always seem to retain a quality that makes it pretty easy to identify as a Kraak & Smaak track. Right now, they're riding high with a great tune called "Squeeze Me" that has Ben Westbeech on vocals and a super cool video. Their music has a great balance between funk, breaks and straight up house that makes Kraak & Smaak not only a lot of fun to listen to, but really useful to have in a crate of records at DJing gigs that span a lot of genres.

But enough about the serious music talk, we've got crack to discuss... and if we're discussing crack, and Kraak & Smaak, then the only thing to post up here is Kraak and Smaak's fantastically smooth, but still punchy cut, oh so appropriately titled Bobby and Whitney. Be careful with this one, cause dancing, addiction, and constant rewinding may soon follow.

Kraak & Smaak - Bobby and Whitney

Some Readers are Better Than Others

2008-05-16T13:18:00.001-07:00

Those of you that regularly check out my blog (or have just scanned through the archives) probably can pick up on the theme that I don't post as regularly as I have been this week. I think the major reason for my influx of posts is Google Reader.

I try to keep up with two things every day: the news and music. Before I used a desktop based RSS reader, and I was always falling behind, and always beholden to being at that particular computer. With Google Reader I can keep up from anywhere in the world.

Then Google Reader added this function of sharing articles or posts so that other people with Google accounts could see what you wanted to share. Then about a week ago Google made it possible to add notes to what you share, thereby allowing your comments on the piece to be seen by everyone. Right now it is more micro-blogging than these long-winded posts here, but it still helps show why I'm sharing a particular article or a particular song.

And just to show that they're the best in the world at everything, Google also automatically creates a web page that you can link people to. So here is my Google Reader page so you know what I'm reading and what I find interesting and insightful. Call it a backup plan in case I start lagging on the blogging in the future.... which will probably be next week.

And for the record, yes I know the ninjas on my Google Reader page are horrendous and the page layout is pretty blah, but it is a fairly new service and I'm sure Google will improve on it in a very short time.

And yes, the President's book is upside down in that picture.

Gorgeous Weather = Reggae

There are certain types of music that only works with certain types of weather. For example, if I was sitting on a beach and it was all sunny, the last thing I would want to hear is Burial. Or if I was alive and breathing and the earth wasn't being sucked into a blackhole, I'm pretty sure there's no way I could listen to Soulja Boy. In fact, even if the earth was being sucked into a black hole, I wouldn't listen to that guy.

But if there is one absolute in music, it is that warm sunny weather and reggae go hand in hand. It's just true. Don't try to argue with me, because it is an empirical fact. And considering it is a gorgeous Friday afternoon (71 degrees and sunny) I feel compelled to post up a reggae tune.

Now I've always been a fan of Alicia Keys' voice, but not always of the beats she gets backing her. Like nearly every other review I've found online, her song "No One" may suffer the most from the "god what an awful beat" phenomenon. Thankfully though, people realized that lyrically and melodically, "No One" is made to be a reggae song.

In fact, it was so obvious that this should have been a reggae song that there are a ton of reggae versions floating around out there, including an official reggae remix featuring Damien Marley that Keys' own blog posted up. But skip right past that my friends.

The version that you want features Junior Reid and if it doesn't make you want go outside and enjoy nice sunny weather, then turn in your ears.

Alicia Keys - No One (Reggae Remix featuring Junior Reid)

Goodbye Cubs, I Miss You Already

2008-05-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Cubs signed former Cardinals centerfielder Jim Edmonds on Wednesday.

Today marks the beginning of my boycott of my favorite team in all of sports.

My boycott will end when Jim Edmonds is no longer on the Cubs.

You might wonder how simply picking up an awful, washed up center fielder (he was hitting .178 before the Padres let him go this season) is enough to make me give up on a team I have loyally followed since I was five years old. I mean, as a fan I have survived in recent years the Cubs putting an impatient guy that couldn't hit as their leadoff man, a catcher that caused gasps of shock whenever he managed to make contact with the ball, not one, not two, but three abhorrent closers who probably are the cause of my hair falling out, and a manager that relied on such an awful approach to baseball that after leaving the Cubs, he also ruined the Cincinnati Reds in less than half a season. And let's not even talk about how the Cubs poor management destroyed the arms of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.

I even put up with obvious off season crap that the Cubs organization was directly responsible for. Steve Stone, the best color analyst in baseball and as much a Chicago broadcasting legend as Harry Caray, was driven away by Cubs management for simply speaking the truth about a bad team that every Cubs fan knew was bad (and agreed with many of Stone's reasons). In a shameless grab for money, the Cubs put the word "Bud Light" on the famous bleachers even though Budweiser is the official beer of the Cubs's arch-rivals, the Cardinals.

And then there's that little fact that we haven't even been a part of the World Series since 1945.

But the level of patience that is required to put up with all of that is what it means to be a Cubs fan. I still love the Cubs players. There are few places on earth that make me happier than Wrigley Field. And I still love the Cubs. But Jim Hendry, the Cubs General Manager, has crossed the line with Edmonds.

Not only is Edmonds one of the Cardinals that Cubs fans hated the most, but he has no offensive pop left in his game, he flops and he cries like a little baby all the time. In short, he's the last thing the Cubs need on a team that this year has consistently shown the selfless team unity like the Red Sox have shown the past four years.

What probably is the toughest thing for me is that the signing of Fukudome has been so amazing. He, along with Theriot, Reed Johnson and (I can't believe I'm writing this) Ronny Cedeno have been patient and effective. It's made the Cubs everything I've hoped they'd one day be. This is a year where I would watch every single game if I could. Now I won't watch a single one until Edmonds is gone.

I understand that Felix Pie hasn't been performing the way Lou would like and Lou wants another left-handed bat in the lineup. But has Felix really been given the chance? The longest stretch of consecutive games that Pie has started this year is four. It's impossible to think that someone can get their batting average up if they're being yanked around that much.

Back to Edmonds, the level of hate for this guy is parallel to the Bulls signing John Starks (which they did and which made me stop watching the Bulls), or if J.J. Reddick had transferred to UNC, or if Derek Jeter was signed by the Red Sox or if the Democrats put Dick Cheney as their nominee for president in 2008.

Anyway, I could just keep trying to articulate why the signing of a single player has made me shun a team that I still love. But there's no way to say with words how much I hate this decision. If you're a real Cubs fan, you understand exactly what I'm talking about. And if not, sorry for making you read this much.

Someone wake me up when this asshat Edmonds is off the team.

Radiohead was gooooood.

Ironically, I was in that awful town of St. Louis yesterday to see the anything but awful Radiohead. This was my third time seeing what could, and rightly should, be called the most important band of my generation.

Their live show has always been something astounding. I don't know how they do it (or why other bands can't do it), but their sound, their dynamics and the balance is unlike anyone else. Even in an outdoor ampitheater the sound was better than most people's home systems. You could clearly hear every part, and when they rocked out it was studio quality.

But that was part of the interesting thing about the show. It really only had a few true rock out moments (Idiotheque, Paranoid Android, Airbag and Reckoner) and the rest was extremely mellow, mostly composed of tunes from their new album In Rainbows. But even some of the older tracks like You And Who's Army or The Gloaming were of the more subdued nature as well. For the world's biggest rock band playing in front of a sea of people, it felt like the setlist was originally designed a small venue or even a coffee shop. It was a weird dynamic I haven't fully wrapped my head around yet.

Two notes about the crowd: First, there were way too many frat types there. It's shocking how a band that has done so much to purposely try to alienate its fans seems to draw in people that don't listen to similar music with open minds. Second, people in St. Louis smell awful, including the guy standing next to me. He smelled like he had been out drinking Bud Light all day in the sun, but instead of hiding his stench with deodorant or heaven forbid a shower, this guy cleansed himself with a strange combination of vanilla beans and dead fish.

But I paid little attention to the crowd. The stage show was amazing, including a lighting setup that featured these long metal rods that were able to create a whole slew of awesome visuals including an ocean type setting for Weird Fishes, rain for a few songs, and a rainbow psychedelic visual feast during the closing Paranoid Android. Here's a picture that shows what the stage looks like.

Hopefully I'll be able to dig up some video and more pics in the near future. But if you'd like to see the setlist (and another shot of the stage) here is a link to the setlist in some shoddy St. Louis paper (they don't have quality things in St. Louis).

Obviously I'm going to post up a song that Radiohead played, but not the version you think. The studio recording (and subsequently the live version) of The Gloaming is pretty darn boring. It's a song that doesn't seem to do much.

However, in 2004 DJ Shadow remixed The Gloaming, and pressed it to a super cool looking shaped picture vinyl.

Yes, that's what the actual record looks like. DJ Shadow gave this record to anyone that ordered more than $22 from the DJ Shadow store. It was an unannounced give away and there are only 2,000 copies pressed.

The remix is phenomenal, with a hilarious George Bush loop at the start, and Shadow's trademark punchy drums rescuing the dull original.

I've tried six times to get a copy of the vinyl on eBay, but my $99 bids have never been enough. However, I was able to snag an mp3 of the remix, and now you can snag one too:

Radiohead - The Gloaming (DJ Shadow Remix)

How Are You Spending Your Work Day?

2008-05-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank had always cracked me up because he managed to find a multitude of actual details in American politics that when all brought together created stories that felt like they have to be fiction. At least that's what I thought was going on.

His May 6th piece, "It's All About Nothing" now has me thinking that I missed the bigger joke. That it was always just fiction.

That's what happens when Dana Milbank pays attention to the day to day happenings in the White House these days. There's no way to tell if all of it's true or it's all made up. It's Madness!!!

But do yourself a favor after you finish reading "It's All About Nothing" go back through Milbank's archive for more political insight that will make you laugh and make you furious simultaneously. Milbank is the strongest argument for reading The Washington Post every week.

Jim, meet Stevie. Now go on tour with him!

So I haven't gotten around to hearing all of his latest album, but I've heard enough from Jamie Lidell to know that he and Stevie Wonder absolutely, positively have to go on tour across the United States, and that tour needs to happen NOW!

Listen to one of Jamie Lidell's new singles called Little Bit of Feel Good.

If by the first minute your mind isn't awash with the possibilities of a Stevie and Jamie tour, then you need to go back an learn who Stevie Wonder is. Here, let's start with perhaps the best thing that ever happened on Sesame Street (and that is saying something):

Now if Stevie is able to rock that hard on the set of a children's television show, can you imagine him being in front of stadium crowds after Jamie Lidell torches as an opener. And then the jam sessions at the end.... Jamie comes out to sing on Higher Ground

Stevie joins in on Lidell's When I Come Back Around

Can you hear the full funk band with massive horn section behind them? Hell, get the Dap Kings to tour with them and then have Sharon Jones come out for even more jamming.

I'm just saying, this could be the massive funk revival for Stevie. He is dangerously close, or I hate to say it, hanging out in meek adult contemporary land. This could jump start him back to the funk that everyone loves about Stevie.

It could be the major funk revival for mainstream music, which I can feel in my bones is going to happen either this year or next. It could propel Lidell to the level of popularity that he deserves. And it would create a tour that would be immensely fun to attend and even follow from city to city. When's the last time anyone put together a mainstream tour like that?

Why is this not happening this very instant? Are American tour promoters this clueless?

Do it!

In reality, Lidell will be performing a little closer to a show like this over the next few months:

Which is more than enough reason for me to get up to Chicago for that. :D

Oh and heck... here's a tune you can take with you from Lidell's new album called Jim.

Jamie Lidell - Little Bit of Feel Good

I Heart The UK

2008-05-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I think the country with the best mainstream musical taste is England (or maybe the UK across the board). While US airwaves are filled with schlock by Yung Jucc, Yung Bucc, or Yung Crap featuring Soulja Boy, the UK airwaves proudly trumpet groups like The Streets, Portishead, Radiohead and more electronic acts than I can possibly list.

This week though, the UK truly proved itself to me, when Madonna's newest album lost the top spot on the UK charts to these guys:

So "these guys" may look like a middle-aged boy band, but really, they're German techno/hardcore/happy hardcore performers, Scooter. They are the group that is responsible for super cheese rave hits like "How Much Is The Fish?" and "I'm Raving." It represents everything that I can't stand about Candy Rave culture. In fact, if you want to see how bad things are, this is the title track from the number one album in the UK:

At this point, you might think I've lost my mind if I'm happy that album is number one anywhere, let alone the UK. Most would see this as an example of the decline of taste in one of the best musically educated countries in the world. But also on the top five is Madonna's actually solid new effort and the new Portishead. In fact, Portishead's album debuted at #2 last week.

So what does this all say about UK Mainstream music? To an outside observer like myself, it shows that the powers that help push mainstream music on the British masses, are far more open minded than their US counterparts. Most US mainstream music follows the style of the last "surprising" hit.

Why are we seeing so many UK female solo singers in the US right now? Because Amy Winehouse "came out of nowhere" to find a receptive American audience and now every major American label and every commercial radio station is falling over themselves to find the next Amy Winehouse.

After Lil Wayne or Lil Jon blew up, we saw 800,000,000 southern hip hop singles get released to major airplay, when really, only a handful were of high enough quality to earn that much exposure.

Think of every sub-genre fad, whether it was introspective Brit Pop (i.e. Coldplay, Travis), swing revival (Brian Setzer, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers) or even teeny bopper singers (Britney, X-tina, Hillary Duff, Mandy Moore) and the trend that emerges is pretty simple. One band that has a song that is going to appeal to a lot of people somehow sneaks up on major American labels (because they are so out of touch with American listeners). That song breaks huge, suddenly major labels think that particular genre or sound is what everyone wants, and before you know it, T-Pain is singing the hook on every other song on the radio.

In reality, American listeners and consumers are just like everyone else. They want good songs. Not bad carbon copies of the first good song.

The UK's charts and radio always seem to reflect quality of the individual act, as opposed to the act being part of the "herd of the moment." Now before someone brings up the Spice Girls, or Babyshambles or anything else that is the polar opposite of Radiohead when it comes to critical quality, keep in mind that when I say "quality" I don't mean intrinsic quality of the song, but instead it's ability to appeal to the masses on its own. "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba may be three of the most pointless minutes in the history of mankind, but anyone with an ear for a hook knew that was going to be a hit. US radio stations, MTV and marketing execs only knew that because it was going to be big because it was first a hit in England. For further examples of record labels being caught off guard, please see Coldplay's "Yellow", Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and Amy Winehouse's entire presence in America.

So to bring us back around to Scooter. I can't say that I really like happy hardcore (which is what I would call Jumping All Over the World's musical style). And I won't be buying that album. And I think Scooter has no chance of ever crossing over to the States. But you'd have to be pretty jaded to deny the catchiness of the chorus. I think it's a great world where a simple hook, even if its one you don't like, can still rise to the top of the pop charts. And still have a Portishead album in the top 5 of those same charts. Unfortunately, that part of the world is on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Oh well, there's always Radio 1.

God Bless Britannia!

Simple Masher

I don't have an mp3 to post up. So you're going to have to make due with a wonderful but very simple mashup that I only have a youtube video for right now. It's space disco maestros Metro Area mashed up with Michael Jackson. More specifically, it's the beats for Orange Alert with MJ's "Bad" vocals. Seems simple enough that if I can't find a copy of the remix, I'll just remake it on my own.

I'm not really sure what the visuals have to do with this mashup, but it seems to work.

Back soon with some actually downloadable music for you. And links to new mixes and such.

Exhaustion In My Head

2008-04-01T23:36:00.000-07:00

Quick post because I just got back from driving to and from Chicago. What was I doing there you ask? Well I went to go see Explosions In The Sky at the Congress Theater. While the boys from Austin put on a fantastic show musically, the venue was just way too big to enjoy them. What makes EITS great are the dynamic changes, and the intricacies found in the quiet parts of their songs. Yes, they know how to rock out, but so do a lot of people. No one gets to the emotionally sensitive spots in the soul like EITS.

They didn't exactly do that for me tonight because the venue was teeming with Chicago Hipsters, many of whom spent the entire show talking (loudly). I don't understand how EITS got so big, or how Chicago Hipsters got so stupid that they'd pay $18 to basically ignore what was going on in front of them.

Unfortunately, after tonight's experience, I won't go to an Explosions show unless the venue is under 300 people. They seem to have gotten a big burst of popularity within the last six months, so who knows when they'll be playing small venues again. And to think I skipped seeing them at a coffee shop in Champaign so I could play a craptacular gig at a bar I now hate. Awesome.

Anyway, if you've never heard EITS, here is a recording of them at another gig. This is the type of intimacy I was hoping for... don't know why I thought I'd get it at the Congress. Hope makes you do strange things.

Extra Special Treat

So the new Portishead album, creatively entitled Third, has already leaked. I intended to post up just one of the less strange tracks (and trust me, there are some WEIRD cuts on this album). But this just ended up on my computer. Not going to say how. But you can thank me for it later. "Machine Gun" is the first single off of Third, and Radio Slave was a very obvious choice to remix it. So here it is... in all its glory. This is gonna be a big club tune, so grab it now!

Portishead - Machine Gun (Radio Slave Remix)

I Can Haz Window

2008-03-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it... I try to post five days in a row and I fail on day two. To make up for it, I intend to do the unprecedented TWO posts in one day on A Thought and A Song. The one you're reading now is being furiously clickity-clacked over my lunch break. The second will come tonight before I head out to the always enjoyable UCDNB !party.

I tend not to write very much about my day job, just because I don't think it's a good habit to get into considering I need that job to put my roof over my head. Who knows how people interpret different things that get posted online. I'm just not even going to risk it.

However, I will write about one new development on the job. In the three years and one month I've been working for CITES, I have worked in five different offices, and today I'm moving into my sixth. However, instead of being bummed about being bounced around yet again, I am thrilled. Why you ask? Because I finally have a window that faces to the outside world!!! I've had an office with a window before, but the window looked out into a hallway (don't ask... it'd take a page to explain the building that I work in). Anyway, today I'm halfway moved into an office with an honest to goodness window. Here's a picture of the view:

Haha. I wish! The view basically looks out onto a street and some bike stands, but I really don't care. Having natural sunlight in my office is going to increase my day to day happiness about tenfold. I guarantee. Consider me a happy Mertz.

Now With Hooks!

Well if there is one promise I am going to be able to follow through on is the promise to post up more unreleased songs for you. This post I'm sharing something from the French group M83. Their new album Saturday = Youth is definitely a different direction from the uber good, but far more mellow and textured, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. There is far more of a pop feel to it, but pop as in songs getting stuck in your head, not pop like Lindsay Lohan or whatever schlock American Idol is peddling these days.

Saturday = Youth saw M83 enlist one of my favorite producers, Ewan Pearson. He has this psuedo-retro sound with his synths, but he knows how to make songs that get stuck in your head and you're happy to have them there. I listened to Saturday = Youth before realizing Pearson was involved. After learning that, the sonic similarities to his work on Tracey Thorn's Out of the Woods jumped out at me. And that is a good thing.

Anyway, I'm posting up one of the most hook laden, enjoyable tunes from the album. Clear some space in your head, because this song is going to get lodged there. You can thank me later for that. And you can thank M83 by pre-ordering Saturday = Youth, which is due out on April 15th.

M83 - Kim & Jessie

Quick like water

2008-03-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

Back from an absence of more than two months, I've got a new goal, and it is pretty simple. I want to post five days in a row. The posts are going to be shorter, just to get into the habit of writing every day. But on the last day, I think I will have a pretty good rant readied about my comparison between the lyrical content of soul and funk of the 1970s versus hip hop today, and what outward effects the differences have created. But that's getting ahead of myself...

For this first post, I'm just going to link you to a brilliant article by William Safire about the origin of the word waterboarding. After reading it, you will hopefully laugh when anyone puts forth the ludicrous assertion that waterboarding isn't torture.

Bobby!

So the goal of this week on the song side is to post up tunes from upcoming unreleased albums. Hopefully I can post up these exclusives and get them out to some people, but not get noticed by the copyright fascists. If an artist or an uptight representative from a label wants a song to come down, just contact me and it'll be done.

Anyhow, I'm starting things off from a new cut from Mr. Bobby Digital, the one better known as the RZA. Much like young white suburbanites go through Led Zeppelin and Beatles phases in high school, this grown white former suburbanite is going through a massive Wu Tang phase right now. In the last month, I've purchased the Afro Samurai double LP, the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx LP and the Liquid Swords instrumentals CD. I could spend a year studying the Wu Tang Clan, all of their members, and all of their affiliates and it would be a year well spent. But in the immediate, I am just going to savor what I enjoy the most about Wu Tang, and that is the RZA -- specifically his beats.

From what I've gathered from other blogs, RZA has another Bobby Digital project due out in the summer of 2008. This cut from it, "You Can't Stop Me" has been circulating through the blogosphere, so I'm not breaking any new ground here. The cut features Inspectah Deck (who is my favorite MC out of the 9 main members of Wu Tang). But more than any particular lyrical prowess in the song (RZA's first verse is enjoyable), what is making me play this track again and again is the beat structure, and that wonderful soul hook. Trust me, you're going to rewind this cut a few times too.

RZA ft. Inspectah Deck - You Can't Stop Me

Morning in America

2008-01-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

38% 30% 29%... If you haven't read the paper yet, or you weren't watching last night, or if you weren't in a 5 block radius of my apartment and didn't hear my screams of joy, those are the Iowa Democratic Caucus numbers for Barack Obama, John Edwards and Hillary "In it for myself" Clinton, respectively.

I probably should have blogged about this last night as it was happening, but that actually wasn't possible. Back when I was a kid (probably up to about the age of 10 or 11), whenever my parents would take the family to Disneyworld, I would race into the hotel room when we checked in, jump up and down on the bed and flap my arms like a bird in sheer excitement. The scene was pretty similar last night after seeing Barack not only win Iowa, but win it by a wide margin.

The picture above, jenkily ripped off and resized cause I'm not paying $50 for a digital photo of four people, is from the Obama Iowa headquarters as the results started rolling in. That same feeling of joy, mixed with shock (because the way politics has gone the last few years, any good win is a shock) is how I felt. I know exactly what they're feeling, and I love that picture.

So instead of writing about this last night, I'm writing about it this morning with a cup of Dunkin in my hand (a warmed up cup of Dunkin, but it's Dunkin nonetheless). The contrast between those awful mornings in 2000 and 2004 when Bush won (or had at least not lost in 2000) and this morning is stark. In fact, it's on the opposite end of the spectrum. I'm still floating in this happy daze and nothing can stop that. It's no secret that for the last 3+ years I've wanted Obama to become president, and for the first time in a long time, a meaningful election actually went for someone I am passionate about (the Dems retaking Congress in 2006 was exciting, but I can't really claim to be passionate about Harry Reid taking over the Senate).

The momentum is clearly in the Obama camp, and this bodes well for next week in New Hampshire. The huge turnout in the caucuses only reinforces the idea that Obama could be that candidate that ushers in renewed belief and optimism about government. That has always been what has drawn me to Obama. Not only do I agree with his Democratic policies, but I genuinely feel like he can utilize our system of government to make the entire world a better place.

A cynic could just dismiss this as another campaign speech. But if you're not a cynic, can you honestly watch Barack's victory speech in Iowa and not think that this guy has the "it" factor to actually bring this country and the world together?

I wonder if Bush watched that speech since taking an interest in the first step in replacing him is obviously too tedious or in a Fred Thompson-esque way, on too late for him to watch. And yes, I know that the White House now reports that he did watch it, but the dig at the end of that USA Today article about the Virginia Tech game is too funny not to post around the net. Anyway, whether Bush watched or not isn't important, because as they said in Dazed And Confused, "It doesn't matter, he's out of there this Fall anyway." (I think that may be my favorite thing about 2008... the year the worst leader in the history of mankind has to hand over the reins of power).

Anyway, I can't really say that I have any new thoughts or insight than the fact that I'm thrilled by last night. I'll just leave it at that, polish off my now lukewarm Dunkin and take myself to work.

Random Happy Song

This song has nothing at all to do with the election, Obama, or anything else going on in my life at the second. In fact, I just looked for an upbeat song. Because the election turned out so fantastically last night, and the weather is going to turn 55 degrees (!!!!!) this weekend, and my cold is finally dissipating, I am in an incredible mood with an extra spring in my step and nothing can stop that. I figure I'll be listening to lots of 2 Step this weekend, and Mr. MJ Cole is the king of that genre (if you ask me). So without further ado, some MJ Cole for everyone to bounce around to:

Dido - Hunter (MJ Cole Remix)

First of the year (on the second)

2008-01-02T13:57:00.000-08:00

2008 is here and let me tell you, it has been quite the suck thus far. I spent NYE laying in bed, coughing and wincing in pain whenever I tried to swallow because of a sore throat. The Illini got trounced (although that is of little concern to me) and work has returned far too quickly. I don't really have much to add in terms of thoughts right now, but I'm trying to get this blog off on the right foot in 2008.

And for the record, my MacBook is everything I hoped it would be. Fantastic machine.

End of the Year Album

If I had done a better job of keeping up with music from month to month, I could do a much better job of a year end wrap up. As it stands, my charts were sporadic at best. If I'm going to make a music-related resolution, it is going to be better prepared for the 2008 wrap up.

Anyway, the more I've thought about my musical journey in 2007, I've realized that the album that impacted me the most profoundly was an old one. Released in 1996, DJ Shadow's Endtroducing received heaps of critical praise, changed the way people thought about hip hop and downtempo albums, and has been included in best of lists from '96 until now. I will admit that I didn't discover this album until about 2000. However, to be fully honest, I didn't fully digest this album until this year.

Working on the Chilled Beats show this year made me take my downtempo collection far more seriously than just "songs that I think sound good." And the more I returned to it, the more I realized the masterful nature of Endtroducing. While it always gets hype about being created solely from samples, what really makes it special is Shadow's production skills. The way his drums hit, the way notes gently bend, the occasional vocal sample... all of it and more adds up
to a downtempo album that more than stands the test of time. It has, in my opinion, remained the bar that all downtempo albums must rise to.

I'm posting up the track that sits squarely in the middle of the album, "Stem/Long Stem" which not only shows off how hard and full Shadow's drums are, but his ability to find a morose melody, and includes small snippets of the two biggest tracks from the album, "Organ Donor" and "Midnight In A Perfect World." Enjoy it, and then go buy a copy of Endtroducing if you don't have one already.

DJ Shadow - Stem / Long Stem

26,000 Feet (Give Or Take)

2007-12-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

I'm flying high over some part of the Midwest, and I'm glowing in the realization that my life is more spectacular than it probably should be. This realization didn't come to me as I head back on a Tuesday night from San Francisco to a Chicago that is forecasted to be blanketed in snow. The realization came to me as I sat next to one of my closest friends, enjoying our the last spectacular meal of my much needed vacation to San Francisco. There were a lot of spectacular meals that trip, including Spinnerty's always on point tapas order and the tasty sangria at Cha Cha Cha. And there was also a lot of spectacular music both heard and performed (that you can read about in another of my writeups).

But as I sat yesterday eating this out of this world ravioli-type dish that I cannot remember the name of (mostly because I couldn't properly pronounce it the three times I tried), drinking champagne, wine and a tasty beer, snacking on cheese, I paused to wonder just how my life got like this. And I didn't have any clue. And I still don't.

I certainly haven't been doing anything in my life, or least I don't think I have, that has entitled me to take in the sheer bliss of a great meal with great friends. Sure, it helped that Jess's roommate was the bartender and hooking us up, but there was something at first unsettling about having a good life. But then just embracing that my life is what it is -- that I have a very nice roof over my head, that I am healthy, that I often get to share music with people, that I can travel across the globe to experience new things, that I have friends that care about me, that I have so many things in my life that make me smile and laugh on a daily basis, -- accepting, appreciating and not feeling guilty about this life, made me feel incredible.

Granted, floating through life oblivious to problems and areas for personal improvement is foolhardy and shallow. Talking constantly about one's own good fortune is downright annoying. But for a few days, I felt content to not worry about world problems, death, and the fact the free world is led by a moron.

I promise that this blog won't just turn into a bragging thing. But instead of trying to recreate what has happened in the month since I last posted, I felt like encapsulating in words the strange and unexpected euphoria I felt yesterday.

A few random notes before I end the thought portion of this post:

- I have a new MacBook coming to me that will have more than enough hard drive space for me to hold my massive music library, which means I will be posting a lot more. I'm never short on thoughts, but sometimes I can't get easily get to the music I want to post up.

- I discovered mead while I was in the Bay. Irish coffee is now a distant second for drinks I want to drink on cold winter nights. And yes, there will be plenty of mead at my upcoming Christmas Party.

- While only getting to hang with him one night (we did jager shots and decided what songs to play on the jukebox from 36 Chambers) I still have to conclude that Justin Martin is one of the coolest people on the planet.

- Insight of the trip comes from good ol Captain Mar Mar, "Champaign has the most opportunities per capita." Damn straight. And you all just watch out for my winter push for this town.

- The ocean is a beautiful thing.

- SFMOMA is awesome and Joseph Cornell is one of my new favorite artists.

- The last thing I did my last night in San Fran was to go to a bar that had a great setup, but terrible drinks and even worse music. It was advertised as a downtempo night, and when we came in, the DJ was playing a house set that wouldn't cut it at even the most lame of Champaign house parties. Which, after being surrounded by musicians way out of my league all weekend, made me realize that I can definitely get something going out there. I won't name the bar, because I specifically want to get things going there. Maybe a year from now I'll link back to this. ;-)

I will write the song portion of tonight's post once I get back from my potentially brutal drive from O'Hare to Champaign through the wintry snow.

Yeeesh what a snow storm! Not able to post this until Wednesday. Grrr.

Those Sappy Songs That Rock

I easily could have gone for the standard cliche declaration of loving being alive, such as Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" or some hook-laden rock singalong. And I guess in a way I am giving in by posting this version of "Over The Rainbow." But there was a bit of digging involved to find a clean recording of an a capella group called The Blanks. If you're a Scrubs watcher, you'll know them as Ted's Band, The Worthless Peons. But instead of hilariously jamming out the Chili's Baby Back Ribs song or some TV themes, their version of this classic is quite poignant and touching. I first heard it at the end of the Wizard Of Oz episode on Scrubs and here is the video of the song in the context of the show:

The Blanks are a real band, with real recordings under their belt, but every version of "Over The Rainbow" that I came across on the fileshare networks had the Scrubs dialogue over the top. So to go the extra mile for myself and for my loyal readers, I've stripped away the iTunes DRM crap and let the world enjoy this gem unfettered. If you like it as much as I do, you should head over to the iTunes store and pick up some other songs by The Blanks.

I've listened to this about 15 times in a row since I've gotten home and even though the weather sucks here, even though life in Champaign is tangibly more drab than San Francisco, even though I miss my friends, this song makes me feel as warm and floating as I did enjoying that Italian dish I still can't pronounce.

The Blanks - Over The Rainbow

Electric Blue

2007-10-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

It is about 35 minutes until Alfonso Soriano steps to the plate and takes a wild swing, trying to put the Cubs up in their first playoff game since 2003. I guess I was wrong about a lot of things this year, but one thing I know I will be right about is that every Cubs playoff game is going to be nerve wracking, exciting, joyous, and something special to me. When you have a stake in the MLB playoffs, there are few things more exciting to watch. I vividly remember hanging on every pitch in 2003 with the Cubs. In 2004, watching the Red Sox come back, I felt that as well, but not as intense.

I just watched Josh Beckett throw a shut out in the Red Sox's first game, and just seeing that game that has absolutely nothing to do with the Cubs, I feel on a joyous edge. Walking around campus, you can start to sense the electricity in the air, and that is only going to grow as the Cubs advance. And we will advance this year. This is it.

The Rain

Last night we had a beautiful storm here. The rain sounded so awesome against my window. Which made me think of this Ann Peebles classic (which Missy Elliot later flipped for "The Rain"). I share it now with you.

Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain

Tomorrow Isn't Monday

2007-09-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

The title of this post was at the end of an email from Turntable Lab, and it nicely encapsulates this posting. Most obviously, I'm not posting on a Sunday, which is a good sign. I feel like I need to leverage this blog more for my own sanity and write on days other than Sundays. Technically, tomorrow isn't Monday. Having not gone to sleep yet, tomorrow, to me, will be Tuesday and even if you look at a clock, tomorrow still won't be Monday.

But all of that jibber jabber aside, "tomorrow isn't Monday" accurately sums up my current outlook on life. If Monday is truly the worst part of the week, and I believe that to be true, then I know that tomorrow is going to have to be better than the worst possible day. I know this, because I experienced the worst seven days of 2007 last week.

What I had been hinting at in other blog posts, fell miserably short. To come out with it, I had applied for a job as publicist for the Department of Music at Stanford. Even though the timing with my recently re-signed lease would have been terrible, there's no way I could sit back and not try to land a dream job like this. I currently write about music every day for free. When I wrote about it for the buzz as Music Editor, it led to some of my best writing. The thought of getting paid a great salary, at one of the top universities in the world, to write about music, in my favorite city in the United States, had my head spinning.

The largest let down was that I actually advanced in the interview process, and I was feeling quite optimistic. For reasons that I cannot understand and wholeheartedly disagree with, but will not go into on a publicly viewable blog, I was turned down. My hopes for being in San Francisco (you need to click on that link, btw), were put on hold for at least a year.

Instantly thoughts of yet another painfully cold winter here in the Midwest flooded into my brain. Another year of dealing with a populace here in Champaign that is musically shortsighted. Another year of not getting to meet that many more creative people here (you can basically meet most of the creative class in Champaign in under five years). Another year of my current job, which I do like a lot, but between writing about identity theft and antivirus solutions and writing about music, I think you can guess which would have had me jumping out of bed every morning. Another year that sees my friends scattered across the country, and my brother across an ocean at Oxford. It is going to be a tough year.

The same day that the Stanford news came down, I was told that a weekly residency that I was going to start that night on campus was ending before it even started in an effort to draw more greeks to the bar. Soon after that I had some major family issues to deal with, that I won't go into here. I was asked to play at one of the best house parties in town, and my set was abhorrent. Parking tickets piled up. Basically, if you can think of something to go wrong, it did. Easily the roughest seven days I've had all year.

But tomorrow is not Monday, and nor is it one of those awful days. I'm moving on, still trying to figure out how I'm getting out of this town and to the west coast where I belong.

What pulled me up
Obviously what got me through all of this was music and my close friends. That has been my formula for getting through the lowest points in my life for over 10 years now. The thing that really turned the corner for me was spinning a great downtempo set on Chilled Beats (my Sunday night downtempo radio show). I wish I had recorded the set to post it here. Instead, I am just going to post some music, all songs that made me smile, made me forget what had just happened, and made me realize that this is just a bad setback that I can get through. Without further ado, what pulled me up:

Just Jack - No Time

Pier Bucci - Hay Consuelo (Samim Remix)

Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure

DJ Krush ft. Esthero - Final Home

Sufjan Stevens - Jacksonville

Sonny J - Can't Stop Moving

Scatterbrain Sunday Vol 5

2007-09-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

It's the Labor Day edition of Scatterbrain Sunday... which means either shortly after finishing this post, I am going to get crunked up. Or more likely, I'm finishing this post tomorrow after getting crunked up tonight. Ha.

San Fran on my Mind
I rarely need a reason to post a beautiful picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the one above is particularly spectacular. But due to things I cannot publicly discuss yet (partially out of not wanting the world to know just yet, and more because I don't want to jinx anything), the Bay is definitely monopolizing my thoughts. Things seem to progressing well and hopefully I'll have good news to share shortly.

Week of Weak
Well that cold I spoke of last week took it's full toll on me, knocking me on my ass Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then leaving me a zombie on Thursday. I think I'm fully recovered, but who knows with this voodoo head cold.

Resignations
So unless you've been living under a rock, avoiding your progressive friends, or just not paying attention to politics, you've heard that Alberlito Gonzales and Tony Snow both resigned recently. Alberlito, who easily took the title of worst lawyer in history away from Lisa Madigan, left because his credibility was destroyed by constantly lying to or misleading Congress. I have absolutely no sympathy for this man leaving office. In fact, he should have left months ago.

Tony Snow resigned for a different reason, namely that he cannot afford to send his children to college and still retire on his White House salary of $168,000. As Daniel Gross astutely points out for Newsweek, things would be much worse for Snow and his family if he was battling cancer without federal health insurance. When I worked on the Hill, I heard about plenty of Congressmen and Senators deciding not to seek office because they weren't going to be able to maintain two residences (in their home state and in DC), and still take care of their family. I could write much more about Snow's resignation and its implications about how much we pay our public servants, our national health care crisis or the general stratification of wealth in this country. But I will save all of that for when a truly great public servant leaves office. Snow definitely isn't in that group.

Labor Day Update
Well after going to see Hit It Run at Cowboy Monkey late Sunday night, and then grilling all day on Monday, this edition of Scatterbrain Sunday looks like it's wrapping up on a Tuesday night.

The Big Kid Strikes Again
The Cubs seem determined to break my heart once again. After a terrible performance on Monday, losing 11-3 to the Dodgers, they are once again losing to the Dodgers (3-1 in the 6th). If all the games were to end with their current scores, the Cubs would only be .5 game up on Milwaukee and 1 game up on the Cardinals. Sure they are in first, but if you're a lifelong Cubs fan, you see a few tell-tale signs that we are doomed.

The first is thinking a moronic late season move is going to save the team from sliding. This year, that dumb move is bringing aged and uninspiring Steve Trachsel back to Chicago. If he hangs another "fastball" over home plate, the Cubs are doomed.

The second bad sign is the Cubs annual chronic problem finding a closer. Dempster makes me cringe whenever he takes the mound. Despite racking up a lot of saves, he still gives up too many runs for a one inning closer.

The third sign is the emergence of hitters in the bottom part of the lineup that either get outs at crunch time, or they only manage meaningless offense. Specificaly, I think DeRosa needs to go and have Fontenot come in at 2nd.

The last is the continuing presence of a Sammy Sosa-esque bad attitude, thanks to a guy who I said back in June needed to be traded because of his attitude. Instead we gave Carlos Zambrano a huge five year contract, and he has gone 0-5 since signing that bad deal for the Cubs. Last night he was rightly booed after giving up 8 runs to the Dodgers and blowing right by a sign to stop at third. Zambrano, instead of just sucking it up, lashed out at the fans saying "I don't accept it. I just pointed to my head because I will remember it." Well I hope he does remember being booed for pitching terribly for the fifth time in a row. If the Cubs fans were as ruthless as Red Sox or Yankees fans, Zambrano would have been booed two or three starts ago. As Brenley wisely said on the telecast tonight, this isn't Little League. The fans are there to support you, but they demand good performances. Zambrano is a catastrophe, one over-throw away from a Prior-esque injury, and now he's amplifying the negativity he brings to this team.

Bottom line, Cubs will implode once again. Hopefully this year Kerry Wood smashes Zambrano's head instead of just a boom box.

You Say Furtaydo, I Say Furtado
For the music portion of Scatterbrain Sundays I post up a mix (which I will be doing shortly), but I also feel like talking about a song right now.

Not surprisingly, I am physically attracted to the woman in the picture. Very surprising though is that I really like her newest single, called "Do It." I guess when a pop hook is done really well, it's hard to not to like the song. The Commodore 64 synth line is fantastic (albeit full of controversy). I've always been drawn to Furtado's voice, and in this song it really does something for me. Also, in my head, I'm hearing a micro house/melodic minimal/end of the night remix, so I'm adding this to my music idea list.

Anyway, if you'd like to hear "Do It" you can check out Mixtape Maestro, a very solid audio blog. Or you can just go straight to their zShare link. Or you can do the totally awesome, artist and label supporting thing and buy the wax from Turntable Lab.

The Accordion Guy
If you have had an open ear around any house, minimal or techno DJ worth their spit, or if you have been to a quality club, or if you have visited Beatport in the last month, you have heard Samim's "Heater." It is the track that has the crazy accordion sample (I can already hear some of you saying, "oooohhhh that one!").

But while other people might be doomed to be a one-hit pigeoned holed flash in the pan (I'm looking at you Fedde Le Grand), Samim seems destined to have a little more longevity. Sure, some of his basic drums and beats are similar, but it's his ability to find some really quality and unique samples that has everyone's attention on him right now. Toss in some great remixes (his remix of Pier Bucci's "Hay Consuelo most definitely will be on my next mix") and you've got a recipe for extended success. A lot of his output is from a few years back because he was forced to take a break due to battling cancer. But if "Heater" and his other recent tunes are any indication, he's just going to get better.

What really impressed me about him though is a mix I heard him do for Resident Advisor. Densely layered, perfectly mixed, drawing on a truly eclectic spectrum of music, but still an all out danceable mix, it is what I aspire to when creating mixes. So that's what I bring to you today. Check it out, cause it's definitely worth several listens:

Samim - Resident Advisor Mix

Scatterbrain Sunday Vol 4

2007-08-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Time for another cleansing of my brain...

We Want the Funk
My last posting talked about a street festival happening in downtown Champaign. I basically took the position that it was one of the dumbest ideas ever, seeing as how it blocked off a major traffic route while not really bringing anything useful to downtown Champaign (the lineup was absolutely useless).

Well this weekend, Urbana accomplished the exact opposite by throwing an amazing event, the 32nd Annual Sweet Corn Festival. Not only were there cooler games, tents, and vendors than all five of downtown Champaign's festivals combined, but the musical lineup was incredible on Saturday (yet as abhorrent as the Champaign festivals on Friday). There was a very good second stage that featured a lot of quality local bands, but best of all, PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC headlined on Saturday!

Sure, George and Bootsy (pictured above) weren't there, but a proper summer festival is being outside on a gorgeous night with friends, drinking some cheap beer paid for with tickets, and hearing P-Funk rip through "One Nation Under A Groove." From local talk, this will be the last time that Urbana will be able to line up someone of this caliber for their festivals. And we already know Champaign is just purely unwilling to spend money on real talent (so we get the shitty Boat Drunks every year). So I'm glad I went to the last big city-sponsored outdoor festival with good music that Champaign and Urbana will have for some time.

Pygmalion
Just because the cities I live in have no idea how to throw a festival doesn't mean someone in this town doesn't know how to put on a quality show. For as long as I have been in this town, Seth Fein has been making major contributions to this city as a promoter and a musician (drummer for the incredibly awesome band, but now unfortunately defunct Absinthe Blind). Anyhow, Seth continues to make major contributions to the music scene here by booking tons of shows, and by hosting the annual Pygmalion Festival. Get your passes now cause they're going fast and this is going to be one hell of an indie rocktacular lineup this year.

The "Last" Show
Well my final show in Champaign with J Phlip was a massive success. We filled up Champaign's largest dance club and had a line stretched outside by midnight. People danced, bodies sweated, ears were pummeled with bass, and all was good. I'd post some pictures up, but I don't have any back yet. I figured I was going to be far more depressed than I was at the end of the gig, and even on Saturday when Jess and I said our last goodbye before she moved to San Fran. But, due to some developments Friday afternoon that I cannot talk about yet, I am not at all worried about her moving to the Bay. There's a chance I'll see her sooner than I expected. :-)

Worn-Down
However, that show being in the bag has left me so run down. I must have put 25-30 hours of promoting into the event, and now that I have nothing to stress about, my immune system has dropped and I feel a bit of a cold coming on. Hopefully the Airborne I took will help.

New Night
I'm going to start spinning Thursday nights at a relatively new bar on campus called Fubar. I'll be playing swanky, upbeat downtempo and deep house. Good lounge music basically. While I do think some campus bar situations are quite awful, Fubar is a really nice space, I know the bar managers and I know they have great taste in music, and they want an upscale atmosphere. Plus, I'm looking for new challenges and new crowds, and I think this will be exactly that.

Dubstep 101
So I'm not going to pretend to know a whole ton of a lot about this subgenre/latest craze called dubstep other than the fact that I really like it. The tunes are a stripped down version of garage/grime/drum n bass, with heavy reggae/dub influence to them. It isn't the easiest style of music to put into words, but once you hear a dubstep song, you'll get the genre. A good place to start listening is the online streaming station dubstep.fm. But if you want a guaranteed great mix, check out this one from Hoodz. I can't find much online about Hoodz, but this mix is just incredible:

Hoodz - Poolside Presha Session (Live)

Council of Morons

2007-08-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

For the third year in a row, the Champaign City Council and the Champaign Park District foolishly have decided to throw a street festival in the middle of August. Normally, that sounds like a great idea, especially since this festival actually is about more than selling booze.

However, there's one slight problem with this annual event: it has coincided with the University of Illinois's move in day. The festival is held at the intersection of Main St. and Neil St. While Main St doesn't exactly live up to its name, Neil St. happens to be one of the busiest and most important streets in this town. However, starting at 8 am, one of the 3 main exits from the expressway and one of the busiest streets in Champaign will be absolutely useless and will stay that way until midnight.

And what exactly is the payoff for such a festival? Well here's footage from last year:

Yeah... Not that impressive at all.

I probably could start a whole separate blog about how the Champaign City council has no idea how to properly run downtown Champaign. This festival is a great example. Creating congestion not just downtown, but across all of Champaign, just goes to show a short-sided detachment from what else is going on in this town.

I don't want to live in this town long enough to run for a spot on the city council, but if I was going to live here for a considerable amount of time, I definitely would love to take a swing at fixing things here.

The Final Countdown

Well, I can't believe it's finally going to happen, but J Phlip is moving to San Fran, leaving me behind in a Midwest that sort of gets our style of house, but not exactly. We're performing one last time together in Champaign on Thursday August 23rd at Soma Ultralounge. Here's the truly awesome flyer that Jess designed:

If you're in Champaign, you owe it to yourself to come out and hear us play together one last time. I intend to be at my peak and to break out some goodies. I will be recording the set for those that might not be able to make it (shame on you).

I had intended to post our last set at Boltini as the song for this post, but I cannot find my jump drive that I recorded it on (not good). So instead, I am going to post up a solo set that I've been meaning to post for ages now. This is a set I recorded on Radioactivity (a radio show I used to host on WPGU now hosted by the Muffin Man, Lincoln Jones). Anyway, this set was recorded Mother's Day weekend (which explains the Jay West track near the end) and it was also graduation weekend, which explains the first song in the mix.

The set is all funky house music, mostly cause I hadn't recorded a funky house set for a while, and at the time, some of these cuts were extreme exclusives. By now, nearly all of the tunes should be released, except for Chris Grant's soon (hopefully) to be released "Slow Your Roll." If anything on there is not released and label owners want to throw a fit, well throw one. Pettiness in the funky house scene is a definite post for a later time.

The mix itself went pretty well (despite a mishap where I turned off one of the decks in the middle of a blend... you'll hear it fairly early in the mix, like the 3rd or 4th song). I had thought about re-recording it so it would be perfect, but there's something nice about throwing down live and unplanned.

Mertz - Live On Radioactivity (05.12.07)

They love the taste of blood...

2007-07-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Much like the Atmosphere song, I'm trying to find a balance these days. I honestly miss being in school where I'd learn during the day, and then at night let my creative side run loose, whether it was DJing, writing, or even just absorbing others creativity. As a kid, I often wondered why having a day job was such a crushing experience to so many people. People were giving you money for your work (as opposed to doing homework for no money). And if a day job was so awful, why was that the payoff for going to college? Day jobs had to be good.

That's not to say that my current job isn't good. In fact, I think it's quite great for a job. But I do sincerely miss that time during the day when I could be spending time reading, working on music, going to guest speeches and lectures on campus, etc. The obvious answer to that is to just do it all at night. But, if anything, if I want to keep making strides that I am with the DJing, thing I need to invest more time in music, not less.

Anyhow, I will keep pondering this and keep trying to balance everything out. Not surprisingly, putting some words down makes me feel a little less stressed.

The Week of Ska Part 1: American Skathic

I'm going to kick off my week long look at what ska music means to me by posting something from the first ska compilation I ever bought. Plus, because it touches on a lot of other facets of my ska experience that I will be discussing later, it seemed like a great starting point.

While American Skathic was not the first ska CD I purchased (that will come later this week), this 21 track (plus bonus track) compilation of Midwest ska bands definitely had the biggest influence on me getting into ska. I can remember driving around in my friend Chris's van playing this album over and over and over and over. It was the soundtrack to my freshman and sophomore years of high school, and to this day, I continue to listen to it.

The album was compiled by Chuck Wren (who had a major impact on expanding my ska palette, and will be discussed more later this week). American Skathic was the first release on Jump Up! Records and featured songs from Johnny Socko, Mustard Plug, Mu330, The Blue Meanies, The Suicide Machines (back when they were Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines), The Parka Kings, SLK and Gangster Fun. For a lot of those bands, American Skathic was the first time they had a track released on CD.

The range of songs featured on this compilation (Blue Meanies punk ska "Blah Blah Blah", the 3rd wave sounds of Johny Socko, the classic sounds of Heavy Manners) made me ready to branch out into a wide range of ska subgenres, which was important in the Midwest. The Chicago area was very much a melting pot of ska sounds, and it was great to have ears open and accepting of any number of ska styles.

I can't help but post up a few tracks from this compilation, which you can still buy from JumpUp! (it'll be ten of the best dollars you ever spent).

Johnny Socko - Vasectomy

Tom Collins & The Cocktail Shakers - Chuck Taylors

Elevators - Vendetta
(an exclusive to the compilation, and one of my top five favorite ska songs ever)

Gangster Fun - Shook Me All Night Long

Scatterbrain Sunday Vol 3

2007-07-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

Life has been jam-packed as of late, so this blog has been getting the short shrift. But to make up for it, I'm going to churn out a Scatterbrain Sunday and intersperse a few extra songs amongst the entries, so make sure you click those links.

The Morons of the World
On July 7 I had a gig with my DJing partner J Phlip (which went quite well). In order to get promotions out around town (and out in a hurry), I relied on Kinko's. Time after time they have screwed up orders for me. The screw ups range from minute problems to utter disasters. For this gig they completely botched a set of posters (but made me pay for them), miscut flyers so that words were chopped, and the people behind the counter didn't know what a pdf was. I start to wonder if Dave Chappelle's classic spoof really isn't a spoof, but the actual training video (see video below). All I know is, unless it is absolutely necessary, I'm done with Kinko's.

Mr. Watt
On July 18, my musical hero, Ben Watt, returned to Chicago. Thanks to some interruptions in the set, which I will let Mr. Watt describe, the show wasn't as much of an emotional experience that past sets have been. However, as was said at the gig, "we're not in Chicago anymore." Damn straight. The drive up (and awful drive back) on a Wednesday night were totally worth it to hear music that no one in Chicago ever plays. And of course, getting to hear Ben drop his own productions in a live setting is always something to memorable. I remember the first time I saw him at Smartbar, and this song got dropped. Still one of my happiest memories of any DJ set ever.

Go Cubs Go!
Even though my Cubbies dropped their second game in a row today (first time in a month they've lost two in a row), they are still 7-3 in their last ten games, and are hot on the heels of the Brewers. What has me most excited about watching their games now is that Lou Pinella has them executing properly. The fundamentals, which were such an eyesore under Dusty Baker, no longer are costing the Cubs games. The other team has to have a really great pitcher on the mound (like today's loss) for the Cubs to lose games. And that's just great fun to watch. God bless Lou Pinella, and may Dusty Baker rot in hell.

Dirty Birds
Friday night, at Smartbar, I rocked out to the sounds of the daddy Dirty Bird, the one like Claude VonStroke. While one of the openers (Frankie Vega) was fantastic, the man immediately preceding VonStroke (a dude named Soultek) really stunk it up. Have no fear, CVS got on and rocked down the house. One of the most animated, and hyped up crowds I have ever seen at Smartbar. From what I hear, he'll be coming back, so don't miss it when he does. One of the best tunes of this past Friday was Samim's "Heater" which will be out on Get Physical records on August 1. I was able to hunt down a copy, but since I don't want my blog getting in trouble, I'll just link you to this youtube clip of Samim dropping it. Can't wait to play this myself in front of a crowd!

The Last Word on this... I swear
No more need to write about the Sopranos. I'm just going to say that Bob Harris has figured it out. Read it all. I'm the moron, not David Chase.

But more words on this...
After getting drawn into a series that in many ways is much better written than The Sopranos, I'm disappointed to hear that the two promised Deadwood movies only have a 50/50 chance of being made. That means that many plot lines will just remain open indefinitely. Not good at all. Cocksuckers!

Downloads downloads downloads
My latest mix, Walking At Night Volume 2, already has over 350 downloads, with very little marketing. I'm hoping to get it up to 500 downloads, so if you haven't picked it up already, make sure you download it right here!

It's almost fall, so time for more color themed events
Thus far in the last two years I've played a White Party, a Black Party, and this coming Thursday I'll be playing at The Blue Ball. What's next, the Green Gala? The Plaid Party? The Paisley Soiree? Oh well. If you're in Champaign on Thursday night, come out and check it out:

Going out on a limb
Well in an effort to get more writing done on the blog this week, and because the absolutely gorgeous weather is made for this type of music, I'm going to start my "Week of Ska" here on the blog. I won't pretend to give a full historical account of one of my favorite genres of music (and the first underground culture I ever really associated with). So because I didn't want to just include one song from Mu330, one of my favorite ska bands, I'll post "Bagelbird" right here tonight, and then another one later this week when I have the time to write more about the band themselves.

The Mix to Rule All Mixes

Keeping with the notion of putting up a mix instead of a song on Scatterbrain Sundays, I wanted to share with you one of the best Essential Mixes I have heard in years. If you are not familiar with the Essential Mix, it's a show that has been around for well over 10 years, hosted by Pete Tong. It's two uninterrupted hours of music, mixed by the world's best DJs. In the past it featured a very wide variety of artists and sounds. Basically, if someone was a top level DJ, they would get an Essential Mix. These days, the show feels overrun by trance and prog DJs. However, every once in a while, they'll feature someone that plays music outside of one of those two craptacular genres.

While searching for a particularly limited white label, I stumbled across a mix from Lindstrom & Prins Thomas. Without exaggeration, it is the best Essential Mix I've heard since the High Contrast Essential Mix or Ben Watt's (and Ben's is great in my book mostly cause I think Ben is great, the mix itself doesn't wow me too much). Anyway, the tracklisting for the mix can be found here. I've included someone else's link to the hosted mix. If that link goes down, let me know and I'll contemplate hosting it myself.

Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - Essential Mix (2007-05-06)

Choose Your Own Adventure

2007-06-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I've written so much about the Sopranos, I have to write about the ending just to wrap things up. You see, I'm not David Chase. I think that things should have some kind of clear cut closing. So here's my final take on the Sopranos: I'm done with it. I had intended to buy the full series box set. Now I want nothing to do it. Seriously. I'm not watching the show again for a long, long while.

The non-ending ending was absolutely terrible. David Chase insists that he didn't come up with this "ending" to mess with fans. And many a critic are giving Chase heaps of praise because he left it open for fans to interpret or choose their own ending.

First off, no one ever claimed that a Choose Your Own Adventure book was great literature. It may be fun, but it's not great. The Sopranos was supposed to be great television. In some people's minds (including mine for a while) it was the best television show ever made. If you truly want to be respected as a great writer, you have to know how to close out your series. So if the point of the hard cut to black and rolling the credits was to allow all of us to come to our own ending, then you, Mr. David Chase, are not a great writer. You might be a very good one, but you are not a great one. The stories we remember, have endings we remember. They have plot lines that are explained. If George Lucas cut to black right before Darth Vader said, "Luke I am your father" what kind of story would that be? If NBC cut to black after Michael Jordan shook Bryon Russell before we saw the shot go in, what kind of story would we have? David Chase's non-ending, if it was made to give us a means to decide on our own what happened to Tony, it should lead us all to the conclusion that David Chase is not the television god that we all thought for so many years. Critics should stop giving him praise for that.

Now the other option is that the ending is littered with clues and that the diehard, observant viewer can figure out what happened. I'm too angry at the show and go back and look myself. There are supposed clues like a talk between Tony and Bobby earlier in the series where Tony says when you get shot, everything just goes black. Supposedly the cub scouts in the diner in the last scene were also in the train store when Bobby got shot. Sure. That's fine. But an obtuse ending is not how any of major character story lines have wrapped up in this series. And certainly nothing this cryptic.

My thoughts can't even come together really when I think about this ending. It makes me so mad. So I'm going to wrap this uphere and maybe come back to it. But don't hold your breath on that.

There are times...

Sometimes, when you're feeling down, angry, or depressed, all it takes is one good song. To get over the Sopranos fiasco, I found a song that instantly made me happy. This one is a new take on an old classic.

I had always been a fan of Common's "The Light" off of his Like Water for Chocolate album. However, while digging for more records, I discovered that San Fran hip hop MC/producer Kero One had remixed "The Light." It is an absolutely fantastic remix. Kero's usual light jazz/funk instrumentation seems perfectly suited with Common's rhyme patterns. The original version of "The Light" still remains a hip hop classic (and absolutely deadly weapon for mix tapes, especially tapes for the ladies). But Kero's remix seems to go in just enough of a different direction to make you feel like it could be it's own song, without sacrificing the genius of the original. And that's exactly what a good remix should do.

I've ripped the audio from a YouTube video Kero made. Watch the video. Take the low quality mp3 with you. And go buy the 12" from Turntable Lab. The Badu and Outkast remixes are absolute quality as well. I cannot wait for that record to get here.

Common - The Light (Kero One Remix)

Scatterbrain Sunday Vol 2

2007-06-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

I'm very short on time. So it's time for Scatterbrain Sunday 2!!!

Day Off - I'm going to enjoy not going into work on a Monday. I'm gonna reclaim my life. Or something like that graffiti from my trip to Italy proclaimed.

I'm Back Bitches! - In what was easily the weirdest week in my five years of working at bars in Champaign, the jackass general manager was fired and the stellar, amazing, incredible Robb Tobias was hired back as GM. That also means that I'm back at Boltini, so come check me out on Friday nights.

Kill the bastard - Christopher and Silvio are dead. I really can't say I care much about the Sopranos after killing off two of my favorite characters (and leaving the door wide open to having my third, Paulie, end up being a traitor). My prediction that Tony kills himself is still very much in play, but who knows how this fiasco of a show will end. The old episodes are somewhat ruined already by Christopher's death. Yes, I'm biter. Who knows. 5.5 hrs from now, I might be a diehard fan again.

Trade Zambrano - I don't care what arguments you make now, after the fight between Michael Barrett and Zambrano, Carlos has to go. His ERA is 5.26. He's up for free agency after this season. He's a poison in the dugout, has terrible mechanics, and is going to have an injury sooner than later (especially with the way the Cubs organization's clueless way of taking care of pitchers). Trade him. Now.

Dirty dirty dirtybirds - I got to hang out with Justin Martin last weekend in Chicago. Him, and my pal J Phlip ripped Lava a new one. Lots of great memories from that night, including lots of laughs, and people getting injured at Smartbar and Phlip's place. It's always great to see incredibly talented people like Justin, being completely down to earth and a ton of fun to hang with.

Booosh! - I guess the new season of Frisky Dingo is coming this summer... if you haven't seen this show, go get caught up right away. Especially if you like Arrested Development.

Once again, Fuck the RIAA - This new lawsuit is freakin awesome. Anything to screw the RIAA is fine by me.

New Mix!!!!!

A few posts back I complained that my last mix felt uninspired and not my proudest moment. Well this new mix started to come together around the time of that post. I've been slowly assembling it ever since. After a false start recording last night, my mixes just started to hit last night (especially the mixes around "The Sun Can't Compare"). I'm incredibly happy with this mix and I really hope you enjoy it.

Download Walking At Night Volume 2

He's Homeless........

2007-05-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write this entry since Tuesday, but as will be shortly explained, there is some poetic justice that it took until 4:30 am on Friday night (techincally Saturday morning) to share this news on my blog.

Anyway, the news is that on Tuesday night I quit my Friday night residency at Boltini and resigned as music director. Also leaving that night was the Saturday night DJ, Chris O, the sound engineer and one of the bartenders that had been at Boltini longer than I had been (so that's like 3+ years). Over the course of the week, I guess a slew of servers, barbacks, doormen and others have quit as well. The problem stems from our new general manager running the lounge into the ground in a multitude of ways. The important thing for me, a few days after all the dust had settled, is not all the idiotic decisions the new manager made, and all the offensive (and potentially illegal) things he said.

What is important for me is that this is the first time I have quit a residency. I had been fired from my four previous residencies due to slowdowns in the nights. Over time, I've come to terms with the fact that nearly all weekly DJ nights slow down to the point where it is wise for the bar to make changes. However, I feel so much better about jumping off of the sinking ship that was Boltini under new management, than if I had stuck around until I got fired (which could have been another year ontop of the year and a half streak I had going with Fridays). I feel like I've learned a valuable lesson, and exhibited courage that I should have exhibited with at least one of my past residencies that I let haunt me for months longer than I should have.

If there is any sadness, it is that I won't get a chance to make Boltini bump like it bumped at the end of April. Also, this is the first time that I am without a DJ home in over two years. Ironically, hanging out at Smartbar tonight, I got to hear Jesse Rose play the Switch remix of Spankrock's "Bump." That was the tune that kickstarted the crowd at the awesome J Phlip & Mertz gig at Boltini. For half a second, it crossed my mind that I wasn't playing on a Friday night in Champaign. I was a little bummed. And then when the crazy synths kicked in, I really didn't care anymore. It was just a regular weekly night that had a beginning and an end.

Some weekly nights are something truly special. They create an environment and vibe that transcends just going out to a bar. There is a sense of family with all the regulars. There is anticipation of what new tricks and surprises will emerge this week. There is just something different that never really took root during my year and a half playing Fridays at Boltini. Sure, I had many a busy night, but there was never an extra special connection between me and Friday nights.

Many people have been asking where I am going to play next, and I can't say that I know just yet (I'm sure I'll write about it once I do). However, I do know that I am going to use this free time to reevaluate my strategy when it comes to DJing, and to try a few extra new things that might help my DJing career.

Jazzernover

Recent house releases, for the most part, have been painfully weak (and if you disagree with me on that, post 10 house records that have come out in the last month that are worth buying). Because of the dearth of quality house vinyl to purchase, I've been digging a lot harder for chilled vinyl, old funk, old jazz, etc. A week or so ago, digging through the shelves at Reckless Records, I came across a compilation compiled by Jazzanova. It is called Blue Note Trip, and instead of the usual Jazzanova re-edits and remixes, it is a simple double LP that provides classics from the Blue Note catalogue in their entirety. Jazzanova's contribution is that they selected the tunes for this compilation, but as far as I can tell, they haven't done any reworking.

I'm sure to people that dig hard, Blue Note Trip isn't anything groundbreaking. However, as a primer for people who are just getting into digging into the past, this is a great starting point (for example, it taught me to look for anything produced by the Mizell brothers). Anyway, I have been listening to the wax in my room whenver I'm home, and some of the songs are just mindblowingly good, and still manage to sound fresh and relevant today. The song I've decided to share is one of those tunes:

Donald Byrd - Think Twice

Speaker Junk

2007-05-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back I was playing a gig. I've been doing that almost every week for nearly three years straight now. For the most part it is a pretty routine thing for me.

So I was quite shocked when I couldn't hear anything out of my left ear while mixing a record. At first, I thought it was the mixer at the subpar bar I was playing at. But after looking down and seeing that everything on the mixer was fine, I turned and saw my left headphone cup dangling near my chest. Just to clarify, headphones are best used over your ears, not dangling around your chest.

I thought I should write something about these busted pieces of junk, the Sony MDRV700 DJ headphones. I hope that maybe a Google search would yield a link to this post. See, this is not my first pair of headphones that has broken at the left cup (as you can see above). This is my second pair. I have some DJ friends that have gone through up to five pairs of these things. They all have broken at the left cup. Almost every DJ that buys these headphones, has them break at the left swivel point.

For me, this second pair, just breaking on my head (not even turning the headphones or anything) was enough. I'm done buying the Sony MDRV700 headphones. Obviously, Sony has to be aware of this problem, but does nothing to fix these headphones. And why should they? If people keep buying the headphones, it makes sense to have them constantly breaking.

Instead of falling for Sony's corproate chicanery for a third time, I ordered a pair of Pioneer HDJ 1000 headphones. They feel great, they sound great, and it's already obvious that they are more sturdy than those piece of crap Sony's. My advice to everyone thinking of buying DJ headphones is to ask any DJ that has been DJing for a while and using Sony headphones what pair they're on. If it's more than 2, that should be a sign that it's not worth buying two pairs of headphones when you can get a better pair for the price of one.

Blowing Up The Crowds

This weekend I logged 14.5 hours playing music for people. On Friday I played 4 hours at my usual Friday night residency at Boltini. On Sunday I did a half hour bootleg set on the Sunday Night Sound System show and the usual two hours of deliciously laid back music on my radio show Chilled Beats on WRFU. And while all of those things were nice, none of them matched what went down Saturday. Actually, no gig in Champaign in my four years of playing out has matched this Saturday.

On the 28th of April, J Phlip and I reunited for three gigs. The first was providing the music for an art show that featured works from our good friend and our personal photographer, Elise McAuley. We played a ton of stuff, including Herbert, Bjork, The El Michaels Affair, Lily Allen, Coco Rosie, Mr. Scruff, DJ Krush, Mum, and Spankrock. I probably should have recorded it, but oh well. It was a good time, and a good way to ease into what would be one of the most memorable nights in Champaign.

Next up was a gig at Boltini on the full dancefloor. After a slow start on the floor (caused largely by people wanting to either enjoy the gorgeous weather outside, or oggle at the GoGo dancers up on the bar), and then after overcoming some sound difficulties, Jess and I ripped through one of the craziest sets we've ever played together. The crowd response (pictured above) was amazing, intense, inspirational, and an enormous shot of adrenaline. We ripped that dancefloor for over about an hour and a half. It seemed like it was over in a heartbeat. I can't remember exactly every tune that we played, but it was huge.

After that, we picked up at an afterhours where we left off at Boltini... decimating a grimey basement dancefloor for an hour. I haven't seen Champaign act like this ever. It was so inspirational, and the shot of happiness and hope that I really needed (things had been slow as of late).

And for the record, all 14.5 hours of DJing were done using my new Pioneer headphones. There were no problems. Take that Sony!

For the tune for this post, I'm going to post up something that has been on blogs a bunch already, but it was one of the huge tunes of our Boltini set. People freakin went crazy on every drop in this song:

P Diddy ft. Christina Aguilera - Tell Me (Switch Remix)

How It Will Go Down

2007-04-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

I swear this isn't going to turn into a Sopranos blog, but right now this show seems to be what's making me want to write. Anyhow, after watching the first three of the last nine episodes, I'm ready to make my final predictions on how things will break down (well most things). The big question mark before these episodes was how Tony was going to die. I'll get to that at the end. What I want to start with is the William Burroughs introduction that started Season 6. That run down seemed to be a list of who would die. But on second thought, I think it is more who would be dead to Tony (although knowing this show, everyone on the list could die).

Here we go... in italics will be the voiced over Burroughs piece (which is called Seven Souls, which you can read here). I'll stop at each character they show to correspond with the voiceover, and explain how they died, how they will die, or how they will end up dead to Tony.

The Ancient Egyptians postulated seven souls... top soul and first to leave...

Vito Spatafore - Not the first to leave. However, he's dead, killed by Phil Leotardo.

...at the moment of death is Ren, the secret name. This corresponds to my director. He directs the film of your life from conception...

Janice Soprano - I still stand by my contetion that Janice ends up flipping and rats Tony out to the FBI. Before the first episode of the new season I had no clear idea why (I suspected the Richie Apprielle murder would get dug up). But after the first episode where Bobby makes quite a sloppy hit (leaves behind a bloody shirt, a gun with fingerprints and a shell in the dryer), it's fairly clear that Bobby gets caught by the feds, Janice sells out Tony to save her kids.

The most recent episode, "Remember When," hinted that Paulie could be a rat because the feds dug up a decades old murder that Paulie and Tony did together. However, as Daddy's Little Girl, Janice herself admits to having inside knowledge of many of Johnny Soprano's moves. Most likely, Janice was the one that was able to reach this far back to point the feds at the bookie murder.

to death. The secret name is the title of your film. Where you die, that's where Ren came in.

Bobby Baccalieri - Until I went back and worked on this post, I never realized how well the lyrics tied in, but this becomes damn obvious here. Tony suspects Bobby and clips him. Janice squealing leads to Bobby's death.

Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power, Light The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons.
Gene Pontecorvo - Pretty easy reference here. Gene, despite being made, still works as a button for Tony. Gene kills himself in the first episode of Season 6.

Number three is Khu, the Guardian Angel. He, she, or it is third man out.

Meadow Soprano - This is a genius misdirection by David Chase. While most people that saw this clip contended that Meadow will somehow save Tony from ultimate doom (as his guardian angel), I still believe that Meadow gets killed. Thus far, she has been Tony's Guardian Angel, giving him reason to live, reason to keep earning, reason to fix things up with Carmella. With Phil Leotardo reclaiming power in New York, and obviously bent on exacting some kind of personal revenge against Tony for letting Tony B off the hook, my prediction of New York killing Meadow still holds.

Number four is Ba, the heart, often treacherous.

Raymond Curto - Straightforward once again. Ray had been snitching to the feds and dies while squealing early in Season 6.

Number five is Ka, the Double. The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead.

AJ Soprano - Yet another reason I'm glad I looked up the transcript of the Burroughs piece. Most internet boards had the transcription as "the devil" instead of "the double." As a devil, AJ would fit, due to his wild nature. But it makes even more sense that he is the double of Tony. Expect to see AJ following more in Tony's path, either by taking another shot at Junior, seeking revenge for Meadow's death, or something else. Either way, AJ will break Tony's heart by getting absorbed into the lifestyle.

Number six is Khaibit, the Shadow, Memory, your whole past conditioning from this and other lives.
Carmella Soprano and Adriana La Cerva - Fairly easy to jump to the conclusion that it is a reference to Adriana, especially the way this scene was shot (with Aid's ghost fading away). However, Carmella's presence also ties into this soul. Carmella will leave Tony for good by the end of Season 6 after learning about how Adriana was killed. Another person that becomes dead to Tony.

Number seven is Sekhu, the Remains.

Junior Soprano - After this third of the final episodes, Junior is at a cross roads. He will either fade away into senility and fraility in the mental institution, or he will somehow muster enough strength to somehow take another swipe at Tony for not apologizing for putting him in the institution in the first place. I'm betting on the first. And as much as Tony wants to claim Junior is dead to him, the slow decay or death of one of his old father figures will have an impact on Tony.

Which brings us to Tony, who is also in the voiceover section that mentions "the Remains." Which, if all my predictions hold, leaves us with a good starting point for examining how Tony dies.

He will have physically lost Meadow, Carmella will have left him, AJ will either disappoint him or die, he will have incorrectly killed Bobby, his uncle will die or become a vegetable. Not mentioned in this run down is Christopher. But after the second of the final episodes, it appears Tony has written off Christopher. Doing that in his mind has made Tony as depressed as he has ever been (the scene where he discusses Christopher with Dr. Melfi is one of Gandolfini's finer acting points).

So how will Tony die?

David Chase has said that he knew all along how Tony would die. Let's go all the way back to the start of the show. Tony is being treated for depression -- a depression brought on in part by the fear of losing his family. Chase has made mental and emotional stability as large, if not larger plot line than the mafia angle.

So who kills Tony Soprano?

Tony Soprano kills Tony Soprano.

That's my prediction. After he learns that Janice betrayed him, after he loses his entire family, after he feels all alone, Tony succumbs to his depression and kills himself. I could go back and check every season, but I'm fairly certain there has been a suicide at least once a season. While many might find such an ending unsatisfying (their lack of satisfaction would probably please Chase), I would eagerly atnicipate that final episode. Gandolfini has already shown himself a master actor in complete control of the character of Tony Soprano. The chance to watch Tony grappling with the notion of suicide and eventually giving in, makes me giddy with anticipation. That one scene will undoubtedly win Gandolfini an Emmy.

Anyhow, that's my prediction. It's still all holding up. But openly recognizing that David Chase is a far better storyteller than I am, I would be pleasantly surprised to find he has something else up his sleeve. Whatever it is, I'm ready for it. And ready for next Sunday's episode.

Happy songs about suicide

I guess the Smashing Pumpkins new album has leaked. Or at least a tracklisting and very unhelpful "news." I guess I'm cautiously excited about this album. Any project involving Jimmy Chamberlain is one I'll give a chance. But really, I think Billy's ego is going to once again overshadow his songwriting. There is just too much hype (much of it built up by Corgan himself), and too many unknowns (like who else is in the band besides Corgan and Chamberlain) for this thing to live up to its hype. It's not at the level of the mythical third Portishead album, but it's got enough heavy expectations to collapse under them.

Anyway, to get everyone half-heartedly excited about this new album, and to have something musically to tie in to my prediction on how Tony Soprano dies, here is the happiest, most rockin song about suicide that I know of:

The Smashing Pumpkins - Today

Show on the Road

2007-03-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

It is about time for the guy on the left in this picture (David Chase) to get the guy on the right (James Gandolfini) back on the air. Like this very second.

Personally, I am going out of my mind with predictions about what will happen in the final nine episodes of The Sopranos. I've been devouring old seasons trying to find clues. It's pretty obvious to me that Chase (the creator of the series), doesn't just throw things out haphazardly, even if he denies some of his reoccurring events.

Specific conversations happen for a reason, and often for reasons beyond the specific episode that they take place in. There always seems to be a level of continuity in characters' actions (at least more so than other television series). It feels like there was a well-planned arc for the show, and we are just about ready to see the end. Watching Season 6 again has been informative for the immediate lead up, but Seasons 1 and 2 have been the ones that shed the most light, in my opinion, on where Tony's life is headed.

Anyway, just to go on record, which undoubtedly will make none of these things occur, I am going to make the following predictions:

1) We find out that Janice has flipped and is ratting everyone out to the FBI. I'm guessing they either have her on some new crime we don't know about, or Chase, being the master of misdirection that he is, has made us forget about Richie Aprile's death and/or the fight with the Russians. But the FBI didn't forget about either.

2) Because Janice flips, and because of the hostility in the NY crew, Meadow gets clipped. New York is either looking for extreme payback without taking out a boss, or the grapevine starts saying that a female Soprano is a rat (and Meadow working as a lawyer would make her a prime suspect in the eyes of the dimwits that will run the Brooklyn crew after Phil dies). Or maybe Meadow goes for a reason unrelated to that altogether. But I'm fairly certain she dies.

3) Tony goes crazy after his sister betrays him and his daughter is gone. A killing spree begins. Bobby gets killed and maybe Junior (I could see Uncle Junior just dying on his own).

4) Despite what everyone thinks, Vallery, the Russian from the Pine Barrens episode, does not come back into play. Total red herring. Or if he does become something in the story, it might just be a lead up to a quick death of someone important (Paulie maybe). But that seems too abrupt for The Sopranos. And if it was Tony, Paulie or Christopher that quickly gets killed because of the Russian, I think you would see riots in the streets in real life. I don't think it happens at all. Russians? Forget about 'em.

That's all I've got. I still don't know what happens to Tony, but obviously something has to. I can't see him going to jail. It would be too unsatisfying an ending to have the FBI win. And as much as Chase loves his dream sequences, we won't get a Dallas-like ending, especially after the coma dreams. But Tony has to be somehow knocked out of his position in the family and in his personal life so that the viewing audience doesn't sit around and bitch and moan for more episodes (I will be one of the loudest shouting for more episodes if Chase leaves that door open even a crack). It has to have a M*A*S*H like ending where you know the show is done and everyone is okay with it.

See what I mean? I'm thinking about this way too much. Time for new episodes... NOW!

First of the final episodes premieres on Sunday, April 8. I will be up in Chicago enjoying Grizzled at Lava the night before. The day of, I'm gonna cook up a nice chicken cacciatore for everyone at Mikey's, settle in and get more frustrated that they don't air all nine final episodes all in a row that Sunday. But hopefully I will be placated with a good exchange between Paulie and Christopher.

Chilled Beats Premiere

This past Sunday I started a radio show with my good buddy Rory (who also happens to be one of the best local DJs I know). It's called Chilled Beats and if you're in the Champaign/Urbana area (more Urbana, the signal strength isn't the best), you can tune in from 10 pm to midnight every Sunday on 104.5 fm to hear us. You can also listen to the live stream on www.wrfu.net or wait until we post up the archived copy.

The first show went extremely well, especially considering that Rory and I did not discuss what exactly we each thought "Chilled Beats" meant. What it ended up being was a wide variety of sounds from downtempo, to laid back hip hop, to trip hop, to atmospheric drum and bass, to some undefinable stuff that all clicked together. We've got the technical kinks worked out now (i.e. how to properly operate the microphone), so the show should only get better from here on out.

This week we just let the station archive it, so the mp3s are only 96kpbs, but that should be good enough for basic listening purposes (don't try to play this over a stadium sound system). Also, no setlist this week, but we will endeavor to fix that so you know exactly what we're playing. Without further delay, here is the first show:

Chilled Beats (March 18, 2007 Part 1)

Chilled Beats (March 18, 2007 Part 2)

Scatterbrain Sunday Vol 1

2007-02-18T08:58:00.000-08:00

I gave this blog the name I did out of a hope for discipline. In my younger days, when I was a more passionate, and I think more accomplished writer, whenever I hit roadblocks or creative dry spells, I would put limits on my writing. I wouldn't allow myself to use adjectives, or limit the number of words I had, etc. etc. There is nothing revolutionary about that. Writers find freedom in limitations all the time. But until you sit down and try it, you never realize how effective that process is.

A Thought and A Song was supposed to mirror that discipline. After trying several blogs that died out like western ghost towns, I thought writing about only one idea and one song in each post would encouage me to post more frequently. It hasn't. Or at least not with the results I wanted.

So today I'm throwing out the general rule of one thought and one song for Sunday posts. Or maybe in a way, I'm creating a new rule. Sunday posts will be a time where I will empty my brain. Any topics I didn't get to earlier in the week I will cover and anything crawling around my skull will also find a home here. I'm not sure about the number of songs I'll post. Anyway, enough buildup. I've got a fresh cup of coffee and an hour before brunch, so here's the first Scatterbrain Sunday:

So long, farewell, you won't be missed
I never thought I would still be in Champaign when the University of Illinois finally retired the chief. I figured it would be another three or four years. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then I will not ruin your blissful ignorance. Seriously, I cannot think of a more idiotic thing to fight about that has actually been fought over with the intensity that it has. In fact, I wish I never had to experience five years of hands-on experience with the stupidity that is the Chief, pro-Chief students, anti-Chief activists, shirts, bumperstickers, billboards, protests, sit-ins, on and on and on.

All I know is that after a year of protests and legal challenges, the national media will hopefully stop writing about our racist mascot, and instead focus on all the innovation that goes on here (you know, things like inventing the web browser, creating faster transistors, finding cancer cures, YouTube, etc etc).

And before any rabid Chief lovers find this blog and start posting up negative comments or expousing their devotition to tradition, let me make something perfectly clear. Yes, I view the Chief as a racist mascot, but that's not why I thought it needed to be retired. The debate over the Chief resonated so loudly that our campus became defined by that debate. Without a doubt, that debate needed to take place, but when the noise from that debate drowns out all other discussions on campus and off campus about the University, the value of a mascot has wasted away, tradition or no tradition. The only thing the Chief stands for is loyalty to him or opposition to him. He doesn't represent the University, just the image the University has become stuck with. The only way the noise from this debate will go away is if the Chief goes away too. I'm sure that four years from now, when a new crop of white, suburbanite males come to campus as freshman, they won't feel compelled by "tradition" to keep the pro-chief groups on campus alive anymore.

Ugh, I can't believe I just wasted that many words on the Chief... moving on...

Snow Days... two of them!
When I was a kid, we never got snow days. And to hear the reports, UIUC hasn't shut it's doors because of snow in 30 years. That was shocking to me because the Champaign snow plows are terrible, even if there is an inch of snow on the ground. You think chaos would have errupted sooner. This week we got not one, but two snow days.

To show just how unprepared Champaign as a whole was, this past Tuesday they announced they were no longer going to plow for the day because it was futile. Here are a few pics my roommate snapped:

The front of our building.

A view of Neil St and University Ave, one of the busiest intersections in Champaign. Yes, there are streets there, and no I wasn't kidding about bad snow plowing.

Walnut Street. Another busy street in the heart of downtown. Way to go Champaign plows!

With snowfall and wind drifts, it really did get up to bench level, which was all the more fun to walk thru since the sidewalks were shoveled after the streets were "plowed."

Like Tony Soprano
I think I want a robe. Just feels like the thing to have for stomping around the apartment on Sundays.

DRM pre-insanity
There has been much talk about getting rid of DRM for online music from Steve Jobs and EMI in the past few weeks. Sometime this week I hope to join the cacophony of online voices weighing in on the issue (with links to some of the better and more relevant pieces). Obviously I'm for stripping away DRM, if for no other reason, it makes my DJing job so much eaiser using Serato.

In the short term though, if iTunes were DRM free I would have posted about the snow on the snow day because I wanted to post a song off of The Smashing Pumpkins Piceses Iscariot to go along with the wintery post. Instead I spent a few hours looking for my CD with no luck. Somewhere, there is a box of CDs hiding from me in my apartment. Too many have gone missing lately.

Daniel Larusso Is Going To Fight?!?!
I just came across a treatise on Pretentious Soup, another of the many blogs out there. Anyway, this piece is called Daniel LaRusso is a No Good, Lying, Worthless Piece of Shit and Other Things. It is so worth a read, it's not even funny (okay, the piece is funny). Make time to read it all and bookmark that blog for part two.

Radio radio
A group of my friends and I go to Radio Maria nearly ever Sunday for their amazing brunch. If you're in Champaign on a Sunday, you definitely need to go there. I'm about to get ready for it, but before I do, it is time for some more coherent thoughts about music and my personal creative output. Happily, I can report I have found some much needed focus. At least I think I have.

Ben Watt Strikes Again
I woke up early this morning for no apparent reason. Last night's gig was a good one. I had two women, one from NYC and one from California react in shock to me saying that I'm a Champaign DJ. They swore I had to be from a big city. That made me feel good. But the night was not anything bonkers, so maybe that's why I didn't feel tired this morning. In fact, it chilled out enough by the end that I was playing Charles Webster style smoothed out, adult deep house. I so desparately wanted to drop in Ben Watt's new remix of The Figurines' "Silver Ponds," but that record is en route from the UK as we speak and I won't get to play it out until this Friday.

That's probably the main reason that when I woke up this morning I headed over to Ben Watt's myspace page. I needed to hear that remix and that's the only place I can find it right now. But in addition to the Silver Ponds fix, I ended up reading some of Ben's blog postings. And if his musical genius didn't cause me enough envy, the man also happens to be an incredibly gifted writer. And once again, Mr. Watt hit something inside me that gave me creative focus.

He's been doing that for years. In the old days when I worked at a radio station in Bloomington, IL. I can vividly remember carting at least four cuts off of Everything But The Girl's Tempremental album. And I must have rewound "Tracey In My Room" about 10 times when the Lazy Dog compilation came in. In fact, that song is the reason why I started paying more attention to deep house over the progressive house I was enamored with at the time. You could chart every musical twist and turn I take, and most likely it was because I heard Ben Watt make that shift first.

It seems every time I hit a creative slump, every time I run out of gas and motivation to keep doing this DJing thing, Ben Watt does something that picks me up. Whether it is seeing him live, him putting out a new remix, or even reading his blog today, Ben just has a way of being the spark I need to keep going and push myself.

This couldn't have come at a better time. I've got one gig coming up in Milwaukee on Friday and past that, the future is a wide open hole for DJing. I've got no noteworthy gigs on the horizon. I feel lost on what my sound should be, and playing four hours a week at a lounge with a very particular audience isn't helping that. Furthermore, despite pushes from friends and very clearly understanding that I need to do it to move this DJing thing forward, I cannot find the energy/motivation to produce.

Well, today what Ben Watt did was two things. The first is that for some unknown reason (his blogs have nothing to do with this)... I am going to focus more on the musical side, and less on promotion side of DJing. I'm going to make myself work four hours every day on something directly related to music, either DJing or production. Promotion work will have to come elsewhere, particularly promotion in Champaign.

The second thing is that I am going to demand much higher quality output out of myself. No more half assing it, no more just putting something out to have it out. That goes for gigs, for mixes, for radio appearances, etc etc. And so, on that note, I am posting up a new mix which very well may be my last mix for several months. Anything that I share with the public from the point forward I am going to be 100% proud of.

This mix, while not bad, isn't the best that I could do. I'm actually admitting that in a post (in a very non-DJ egotistical way) as a reminder to myself to only put out what I'm absolutely happy with. So this will be the last mix I post that was "done just to get something done." Let's call it flushing out of my system the old way of doing things. Expect nothing but the best I can do from here on in:

Mertz - Future Purest

Tracklisting:

1. Recloose - Cardiology (Isolee Remix) (Playhouse)
2. Yapacc - Boutique Minimal (Neuton)
3. The Rapture - WAYUH (People Don't Dance No More) (Claude VonStroke Pantydropper Vocal Mix) (Mercury)
4. Chris Harris & Dominic Martin - Dig It (Dom's Mix) (Nordic Trax)
5. Mike Monday - What Day Is It? (Brique Rogue)
6. Claude VonStroke - Who's Afraid of Detroit? (3 Channels Remix) (Dirtybird)
7. Claude VonStroke - Who's Afraid of Detroit? (Tanner Ross Remix) (Dirtybird)
8. Herve - I Am Alright (Dubsided)
9. Dubble D ft. Flora Purim - Switch (Switch Remix) (2020 Vision)
10. Troydon - Drop It (Chuck Daniels Egg Drop Remix) (Spatula City)
11. The Martin Brothers - Stoopit (Christian Martin Remix) (Dirtybird)
12. Solid Groove & Sinden - Din Da Da (Counterfeet)
13. Justin Martin - The Water Song (Buzzin Fly)
14. Dublex Inc - Sound of the Ebu (Swag's Deep & Dark Dub) (Sugarcane)
15. Stereotyp ft. Joyce Muniz - Uepa (Man Recordings)
16. Bonde De Role - Melo Do Tabaco (Radioclit Remix) (Counterfeet)
17. The Grump - Tribal Communication (Stove Top Recordings)
18. J Phlip - Dunno (CDR)
19. Tracey Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix) (Virgin)

What a Sunday... and it's not even three o'clock yet.

Perfectly Imperfect

2007-02-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

While chugging along quite well, February isn't the absolute perfect month that I imagined. Which is fine by me. I think when everything is going perfectly, you don't take the time to savor how good things are. Slight disappointments (the Bears losing the Superbowl, Duke losing to UNC, the freakin snow, etc) make things that go really well seem even better. It's like having the bad point the way to the good, without the bad being truly awful and overshadowing everything. This past weekend was my birthday and that phenomenon sums up the whole experience.

I spent Friday and Saturday (and a little bit of Sunday) with two dirtybirds, Tanner and Jess (that's us in the pic above, a tech house trio in Chicago). Finally getting to meet Tanner in person was great. It's weird how in the information age you can become good friends with someone without meeting them face to face. Anyway, Friday night we had some freakin great sushi and then headed over to Smartbar to see Switch!

Mr. Dave Taylor (aka Switch, aka Solid Groove, aka Induceve, aka dubsided frontman, aka that's him in the picture working his Abelton controller) was just about everything I hoped he'd be. The slight imperfection at Smartbar came from the opener, Lee Foss. He opened with an uninspiring and truly unfocused set (where the hell did that Littlemen track come from and why did he play it on a night that should have been all tech house?), but as soon as Dave Taylor took the decks, everyone in a PACKED Smartbar was ready to go. The sound, of course, was breathtaking and the tunes (especially the new ones he unveiled, including Switch remixes of The Whistler, Golden Skans and something with a Decepticon noise) were obviously mindblowing.

But two other things got me about his set. The first was how much fun he was having playing his music. You'd think if you're recording tunes with the Neptunes and M.I.A., if you've remixed P Diddy, Faithless, Robbie Williams and Fatboy Slim, if you make basically the hottest fucking house music on the planet right now, you could be complacent, stand behind the decks, smoke a cig, and look bored. But not Dave Taylor. He got up there and was pumping his fists, singing along on breakdowns, jumping up and down (and almost falling over from being so un-sober). It was fantastic.

The other part that wowed me was the crowd reaction. I have never seen a crowd anticipate every new song that was about to come in. Hell, sometimes it felt like they were waiting for every weird noise or breakdown (especially with his Futureheads remix where I could hear people singing along to every chopped up word). I don't know if it is the Switch sound, or his songwriting, or his performance ability, but never ever have I seen someone hold a crowd like he did (except for maybe Fatboy Slim back in 2000... yes, Fatboy Slim). Truly awesome and one of the best sets I have ever seen in my seven years of clubbing at Smarbar.

Saturday I went with Matt, Jess and Tanner to go get some deep dish pizza. Tanner was doing a sort of culinary tour of Chicago. In a bizarre way I'm proud that the two foods he wanted were deep dish pizza and hotdogs. Ha! Jess was playing Smartbar that night and after hearing her set (which was exactly the kind of set that should have been played before Switch), I left with Mike and Meske and other Jess (Mike's girlfriend) to do some drinking... that ended with me passing out way before everyone else (as pictured above... awesome). Passing out early sucked, but what can you do?

Sunday, I went to go see Barack Obama speak at the UIC pavillion. That's what it looked like up from our balcony seats. The slight imperfection here was a group of hecklers that were chanting for an immediate end of funding for the war in Iraq. It threw Obama off his game just enough that there were no goosebump moments after that (he was making an amazing speech about health care at the time, and usually health care stump speeches bore the hell out of me). It was frustrating because of all the people to heckle over the war, Obama seemed like the worst target. Yes, I understand that these hecklers were specifically protesting for an immediate ending of funding, something Obama is opposed to. But what other candidate has been so anti-war from the beginning, has proposed a definite time to withdraw the troops, AND has an actual chance to win? Sorry Kucinich fans, Obama is the only one that fits that bill.

Anyhow, Obama still was quite moving to see (despite the heckles, and despite the awful music choices before and after speeches). I filled out a card to volunteer for his campaign, so we'll see where that leads. He's also got a pretty cool online community called My.BarackObama.com. I'm going to create an account and see what exactly is going on there, but it seems like the natural way to organize young people (who I would say made up about a third to a half of his audience in Chicago on Sunday).

All in all, this was a fantastic birthday weekend and if anyone involved with it is reading it (including Barack Obama), thanks for the memories.

I'll Play it Damn It

Neither Switch nor J Phlip played this tune this weekend, although they both had ample opportunity (shame on you both!). The original Black Joy track isn't too different than this Solid Groove remix, but Dave Taylor seems to give it a little bit of a helpful push to make it more of a early night thumper, as opposed to the slow, Moodymann-ish burner that the original was. You can find the Solid Groove remix, along with a Stefan Goldmann remix, at the world's best record store, Juno or on Freerange's site. I'm sure this will get plenty of plays from me in the next few weeks and maybe even into the summer... feels like a late night summer tune.

Black Joy - Untitled (Solid Groove Remix)

"I Feel Like My Hair is Pretty Perfect"

2007-02-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

It's not every day that you find new heroes. But today is one of those days (see, told you February would be awesome). In case you've been living under a rock, two guys (pictured left) were arrested for putting up what amounted to self-powered Lite Brites of Err from Aqua Teen Hungerforce all over Boston. Heaven help us all when batteries and lights are strung together in a way that could only be called... harmless.

The initial reporting is the most insightful to understand how out of proportion this has been blown. The subways were shut down and so was a bridge because there were wires and a circuit board. Amazingly ridiculous. But here's the interesting part, "devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia." These devices had been up for at least two weeks in Boston with no problems. They had been up all over the country with no problems. And suddenly, we're in such a state of fear that a whole city practically shuts down?

It is overreaction to the misunderstood that makes America so boring to live in sometimes. I'm not calling for performance art to be placed at every single step in a busy city, but the fact that two guys advertising a show (and a movie to be released March 23) were hauled off to prison because people didn't fully understand what was going on, is quite pathetic. It makes life duller to have only pre-approved forms of art and individual growth is stifled by only experiencing what you expect.

Anyway, the whole thing is too comical to get too hung up on. Clearly, as this fantastic video demonstrates, Peter and Sean aren't getting hung up.

Here are some great pics that exemplify how out of control this all got in a very short time:

So that's what a WMD looks like.

"Yeah, I mean we were going to go get some donuts and write traffic tickets, but we could go look at that."

Careful... those Duracell batteries might asplode!

"These mics have wires and lights. They also might be bombs."

Nothing says overblown like props. Where's the little vial of anthrax?

"Yeahhh...we might have fucked up on this one."

Feel free to add your own captions in the comments. I'm pretty tired today. The ol' wit isn't firing like it used to.

Danger! Doom! Aqua Teen Hunger Force!

I still haven't sorted out what I'm going to do with Mediafire. So I'm going to piggyback off of this music posting by Los Amigos De Durutti. From the album that used to be on nonstop play at work about a year ago, we have a perfect fit for the Beantown insanity:

Dangerdoom - Aqua Teen Hungerforce

A quick note about the music

2007-01-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

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.

Here it comes...

2007-01-31T14:23:00.000-08:00

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

Onibaba

2007-01-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

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

MLK

2007-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

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

All Hail Three Day Weekends!

2007-01-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

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)

Deja Vu... in a Bad Way

2007-01-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

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

Boy Genius

2006-11-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

Since I've got a lot of music to write about, today's thought will be a short one. Basically, all I have to say is, that's my brother and I couldn't be prouder. In fact, it's all I've talked about to people the last few days.

Rhodes Scholar Wants to Make Science Approachable

Autumn Driving Mix

Today I am driving back to my parents' place to visit my brother, my parents, my parents' new dog, Teddy (pictured left), my friends and also to visit a much needed three days off. As wonderful as all this sounds, there still is a lot of driving in store for me.

Music is linked to nearly all of my memories. My strongest memories of fall in the Chicago suburbs when I was growing up all involve driving somewhere listening to the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The drive from my parents' house to my high school parking lot was the exact length of the song "Here Is No Why." After I graduated high school, I still would come back to visit for fall breaks and drive around late at night, blaring the Pumpkins nonstop, sometimes just driving to nowhere in particular just to be driving and rocking to the music that felt like the soundtrack to living in the angst generating northwest burbs.

Anyway, I give that preface to this mix to help better outline the overall mood of this mix. There are going to be moody songs, there are going to be rock out jams, there are going to be fragile and beautiful songs. I'll be rocking these over the Thanksgiving holiday and hopefully you will too:

The Smashing Pumpkins - Set The Ray To Jerry
Yes, I know that I have started many a mix with this song. But it is my second favorite Pumpkins song (behind Mayonaise), and I played this to death driving around the fall. I couldn't make this mix without it.

??? - ???
I'd love to post what this song is and write about it. Unfortunately, a mid-sized indie label that I used to respect recently went insane with legal threats to blogs posting tracks off this album. Let's just say this album isn't out yet, but you'll want this. Get to downloading before the RIAA hauls me off.

DJ Krush & Toshinori Kondo - Mu-Getsu
Quality, moody trip hop with a very muddy horn line that will fit perfectly on a cold grey day. It's tracks like this that make me download everything that I can get from DJ Krush.

Kid Koala - Scratchcratchratchatch Pt.1
This is more a selection for this year. I'll be rocking out to Kid Koala at the Abbey Pub on Thanksigiving Eve. This is part one of Koala's first mix tape. Appreciate the genius.

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version)
Don't let the remix title scare you off. This is an amazing remix of an already amazing track. Sufjan has so much talent it makes me sick sometimes. I have aspirations of making a minimal/micro house remix of this song someday, but for now, this version will more than suffice.

Gary Jules - Mad World
One Thanksgiving break my grandfather passed away. One of the odd quirks was that the visitation on Thanksgiving day itself. Nothing was open, and so for dinner my dad and I had to go eat White Castle. A strange memory, but a vivid one. I don't think anything that bad will happen. But should something go wrong this holiday, playing this song 900 times in a row should get me through.

Prax Paris - Under the Shower (with Colette vocals)
Ripped out of Colette's Our Day mix. I know this doesn't fit with the more morose cuts in this mix, but who cares. I'm going to see Superjane (Colette, Heather, Lady D, Dayhota) at Smartbar tonight. It's a Thanksgiving tradition. And while I don't expect Colette to bust this oldie out on Wednesday night, let's just say I'll be grinning for a month if she does.

Oasis - Half The World Away
"I would like to leave this city." That sentiment couldn't better sum up what I'm feeling for Champaign these days. Being away for three days should only intensify that. Good autumn song too.

Lephtee - So Far Back
Most likely I'll be rocking a lof of Ben Watt/Buzzin Fly mixes this mini-vacation. So while this post is semi-selfish (I wanted an mp3 copy of this track since I have been wearing out my vinyl at home), it also fits with those slowly unfolding fall days that seem to just blend into one another.

Radiohead - Climbing Up The Walls (Zero 7 Remix)
Another one of my mixtape fallbacks. But this is too good for late night driving to not have it on here.

Ben Folds - Silver Street (Live)
A no brainer for going home.

Shy FX - Plastic Soul
This mix needs another upbeat song. I was going to put "Twilight's Last Gleaming" by High Contrast up, but my copy of High Society has gone missing. Therefore, not only will I be shopping for a new copy, but I am also forced to put up Shy FX's very good "Plastic Soul."

Download the entire Autumn Driving Mix

Too many options on Friday

2006-11-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Today is one of those days where I am on the verge of being sick so my mind isn't focusing very well on anything. Compounding the issue of writing about one thing is that for the second year in a row, my brother has made it to the final interview stage in the process to become a Rhodes Scholar. I've been hitting the RSS feeds a lot harder just to help him stay up on the what's happening in the world.

So for today's thought, I could write about the US Senate foolishly reaching an agreement that will put more nuclear weapons in the world. Or I could make some snide remarks about the Democrats already fumbling in the House (although Dana Milbank does a far better job that I ever could). Or hypothesize about just what the heck is going on in Tom DeLay's old congressional office. But I'm writing about politics enough on this blog as is.

For a non-political angle, there is always the PlayStation 3 fiasco. Everything from the massive losses Sony takes each time they sell one of those overpriced puppies, the fights that have broken out in line to get one or the money that can be made reselling these things are all ripe topics (especially since I am now in "buy and eBay" mode myself). But that has been covered enough on the internets.

No, what I do want to point out is an article in Slate about sampling. Take some time, read it over, come back here.

Back? Good. If you're reading this blog, there is a good chance that you know me, and ergo, you are fairly obsessive about music like me. I tend to socialize with musically obsessed folk. It won't be hard for anyone to guess that as a house DJ, what Bridgeport is doing is driving me up the wall. The entire genre of house survives in large part because of its ability to sample at will. However, the law school graduate side of me is also somewhat comforted by the publicity that this is receiving (and ergo, why I'm choosing to spotlight this topic... my way of adding to the publicity to Bridgeport's lunacy).

I went to law school with the hope that while I was there, copyright law would go through, or start to go through, dramatic changes. I (incorrectly) thought that the meeting of interconnected technologies and antiquated copyright law would have immediately fostered changes to the Copyright Act to reflect that 1,000 copies of a work can be made online in the blink of an eye. And that the technology wasn't going away, it was only going to expand. Little did I realize the immense push back from content holders to lock things down in their favor.

However, I still believe that within my lifetime there will be a radical shakeup of the current copyright law (not only in the US, but internationally as well). My generation will only tolerate for so long this current practice of suing YouTube, suing artists, suing consumers... basically suing everyone. Somewhere along the line, the power of rights holders and the power afforded to the users of those rights will fall into a better balance. Because as it stands now, the rights holders having so much power is stifling technological innovation, artistic creativity, and basic consumer and property rights.

People can argue back and forth about whether or not the US Constitution (where American copyright law is derived from) is a living and breathing document. But if history has taught us anything, it is that often times, societal change is born out of generational shifts in attitude and mindset, and those shifts are later reflected in new laws. I believe that is what will happen with Copyright as long as the general populace starts to feel the same widespread outrage for injustices as was present with other large social movements.

Keep suing Jay Z, keep taking down the Daily Show from YouTube, keep raising the prices on music and movies, keep making it harder to use our legally purchased content the way that we want on the devices we want, and a change will come.

For a take of how that all could and should happen, read something by Lawrence Lessig. He's a far greater mind than I'll ever be and can expound on all of these principles in a much stronger fashion. And hopefully, more people, including lawmakers, will start getting in line with his ideas.

The ultimate "fuck you" to copyright
Why just post one often sampled track when you can link to an entire mix that purposely flicks off copyright?

DJ Food - Raiding the 20th Century (external link, so if it dies and needs to be upped again, let me know)

Never Been So Happy To Be So Wrong

2006-11-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

I can vividly remember going to bed on election night 2000. The thought in my head was, "At least I can go to bed knowing that Dubyah hasn't won." Little did I know how bad that situation would end up and how long that election would draw out.

In 2004, I went to bed furious. I couldn't believe that America actually re-elected the worst President in the history of the United States. I was unemployed and living with my parents at the time. I figured nothing could be worse. Although my dad did find a way to make things worse by waking me up in the middle of the afternoon by blaring Kerry's concession speech to wake me up.

So how do I feel today? Let's just say that last night was one of the best nights sleep I have had in six years. I woke up, blared some Daft Punk on my iPod, practically skipped to my car on a day that was 60 degrees and sunny.

I could post a ton of links to how the Dems gave Bush "a thumpin" (the President's words, not mine). I could try to say that somehow we defeated The Devil (Karl) and his puppet (Georgie). But I'll just let that picture up top say everything for me. And maybe add the following: Speaker Pelosi. A 27 seat majority in the House. Control of the Senate in our grasp. Truly lame duck Bush. Rumsfeld Brushed Aside. Conrad Burns' Secret Plan. Macaca.

A Surprise
Not even going to tell you what this is. Just download it. Loop it. Celebrate.

Totally Awesome

Everything I Hoped It'd Be

2006-11-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

For about the past month I've had gigs or places to go every Saturday. My weekends never have been relaxing enough. Every week I seem to need more of a rechargning. Well, this weekend I have absolutely nothing to do. So I am going to nothing. Thus far today I've downloaded some music, watched Top Chef, and drank a cup of coffee. I'm already feeling more rested than I have in weeks. I should accomplish quite a bit this weekend in the end. Maybe even start to write a new track. Now that would be quite an accomplishment.

Woooo hoooo hoooooooo
To celebrate being in such a good mood, I'm posting a great piece of indie pop (is that a contradiction?) by a great band out of Milwaukee called New Sense. Definitely check them out if you can. They put on a great show and I instantly bought their CD at their show. This cut is fantastic (and New Sense, if you're reading, let's talk about a remix. :D )

New Sense - Caution Is Regret

Jimpster

2006-11-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

Last night I drove up to the "mighty" Chicago to hear Jimpster spin some tunes at Sonotheque. If you don't know Mr. Jamie Odell, he's the label owner of the best damn house label in the world, Freerange Records. He's also a world class producer and has turned out some of my favorite tracks and remixes recently. You can hear plenty of them on my latest mix, Squelch (mp3 file, right click to save). I had never seen him spin live, so I was quite excited. If nothing more, I knew he'd bring the heat in terms of new tunes. Ron Trent was also opening, so this should have been an insanely great night.

Now I don't know if it was because it was a Wendesday and the day after Halloween (which for many, was four days of Halloween parties), but the turnout in the Windy City was awful. Perhaps 30 people at most. I'm not going to go into a rant about Chicago as a whole, or start slagging on Sonotheque's lack of promotion for the event. It just unfortunately was not as good a night as it could have been. Jimpster looked a little bored. And even though some of his tunes were absolutely out of sight, it was obvious that more crowd energy really could have bumped his set up even more. Hopefully he'll end up at Grizzled or somewhere better next time he plays in Chicago.

Jimpster Part 2
I had posted the full version of Square Up (Jimpster's new tune on Buzzin Fly) on my Vox blog. But since that blogging software sucks, I can't get at it on this machine. So I am just going to post the track off of Ben Watt's supremely sublime Buzzin Fly Volume 3.

Jimpster - Square Up (Taken from Buzzin Fly Vol 3)

Apprehension

2006-10-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

Sure, we're a week away from what all polls are saying should be a good election day for a proud Democrat like me. But I can't rest lightly on polls. It's not that I think polls shouldn't be trusted. As a proud political science graduate, I believe quite strongly in the predictive power of polls. But ever since the Florida snafus, I don't believe in the ability for elections to be run fairly.

And even though we have morons like Dick Cheney running around saying (once again) that a vote for the Democrats is exactly what the terrorists want, there are still people in this country voting for Republicans. That is such a ridiculous, and unsupported assertion that it blows my mind that people still would consider that big a liar or that incompetent a thinker a suitable second in command for our nation.

Terrorist violence is probably due more to the fact that the terrorists are concerned about our perpetual occupation of their land or our support for an out of control military presence in the region. Terrorists are not using the internets and the Google to watch our every political move (and maybe even Georgie's ranch). They're too busy killing our troops in a country that barely has electricity.

I guess I write this not to change minds, but more as therapy for myself. I'm bracing for the disaster next Tuesday. The Democrats are already getting ahead of themselves thinking that they've won. I for one fear that if Karl Rove is not worried, it is all the more reason for supporters of fair and honest elections to be worried. I am going to try and get through Steal This Vote quickly this weekend just to build up a thicker skin for when Karl and the boys use their new toys to corrupt our election process.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Release

Here's a little bit of fist pumping, rock out indie goodness to help relieve some of the stress that some of you might also be feeling.

The Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)

This Soon?

2006-10-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't say that I jumped on the Obama bandwagon that much earlier than most people. But I have been a die hard passenger ever since. Seeing him speak twice in person only further reinforced the trust I was giving him just based on television appearances.

Even during the bleakest of conversations about the current state of politics and our country, there has always been the fallback answer of "Well, one day Barack Obama will be president." However, it always seemed like that day was extremely far away. I always guessed 2012 he'd make a run if a Dem wasn't elected in 2008. Or worst case, he'd run in 2016.

Perhaps it is just the media grasping at straws, but it looks like Barack is contemplating running in 2008. It's not much to go on. But let's just say that there is a giant Mertz smile on my face today. And this is definitely something that would be a tangible reason to get back into politics and advocacy like the undergrad days seemed to be pointing me towards.

Seconds Please
I went to go see Broken Social Scene with a crew of friends in Indianapolis. Never have I seen a band so quickly succumb to being on drugs (and if anyone wants to disagree with that assertion, go for it in the comments cause I'd love to see a different explanation for all the lunacy that happened on stage that night). Thankfully, the second song they played was the song I wanted to hear and it was fantastic. Second song of their set, second song posted for this blog. Seemed to fit:

Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)

The Thought

2006-10-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm starting a blog. This time though I am going to keep the format pretty simple. I'm going to post about one thought (politics, books I've read, local happenings, etc). And then I'm going to post a song. Perhaps the song will be related, perhaps not. We shall see. Anyway, so we've got an audio blog and a normal blog going here. I give this one at least a year of activity. :D

The Song

Someone posted this last week or so for John Lennon's birthday. It's been stuck in my head ever since. And it seemed like a very good starting point for any blog. Including this one.

John Lennon - Instant Karma