not like you need a new reason to follow Tim Sweeney's always-amazing Beats In Space radio show, but right now you need to go hear some really choice selections from our friends, Linger & Quiet who run Portland's Nightclubbing party that MDY and i opened for a few weeks back.
part two of this installment of BIS is the work The Revenge from OOFT Music. my pal Flufftronix hipped me to him and his blog recently, and may have even given me this edit of his below.
i don't know if you're keeping up, but i sure am, and today is March 24th. that means In Flagranti is releasing their sophomore full-length, Brash & Vulgar. go check out all the little promo videos for it on their homebase at Codek. yowza.
just last week i received their contribution to the "RVNG of the NRDS" series - four jacked edits of discofied rock and rockified disco. unfortunately for you, its all sold out at the RVNG site, but you can probably dig it up somewhere... here's a cut from that:
and while i was ripping that, i had this Tussle 12" handy, and figured i'd let it out as well. its the A side to the release of the same name. they're touring with Ratatat in April, but not through Portland. maybe next time around we can change that?
and finally, while we're getting vulgar with In Flagranti: all last night and this morning i've been jamming this *super sleazy* mix by Lovely Jon on Sweden's Service Records "radio" page. dripping wet with phone sex ads and porno clips, its a romp through vintage exploitation film soundtracks. get it on here.
the first - Deputy of Love - i'm posting because i was reminded of Don Armando's 2nd Avenue Rhumba Band earlier in the week over lunch. this is by no means a rare track. it was a no.1 hit in 1979, and saw a reintroduction on Ze Records' first Mutant Disco comp - though there's hardly anything "mutant" about it, just straight-up disco. Fonda Rae's vocals on this are so clear and bright, and there's something about the whole track overall that can only be described as "relentless".
the second is the title track from Chas Jankel's 1981 Questionnaire LP. i picked this record up in Chicago, and its gorgeous from start to finish. i thought this would go well with the other track - maybe its just the big production - and had been looking for a reason to blog some Jankel anyhow. either way, enjoy.
video shot and edited by Aaron Garcia. i'm in it here and there, getting my sweat on just after my flight in. all three bands - Pan De Sal, Afghan Raiders and Yacht - were excellent that night.
i've got a lot of amazing tunes to post, just been too lazy to rip records, sorry. stay tuned, cadets.
so last night a couple tall cans of Steel Reserve led me to finish up the first in a series of mixes made with some of my favorite low quality vinyl rips. to keep it nice and NASTY! i've made sure to throw in a smattering of fuck-ups and horribly ridiculous voice overs. with that said get to the listening.
we're pleased to introduce our man, Dameian - known-in-the-night as Standing 8. i'm not gonna go on and on about how great a dj he is, or how he's a real down-ass-dude, or how, if i was having some babies right now, he'd be on my short list of godfathers... instead i'm gonna just copy/paste the encyclopedia entry he wrote about this track, and let you enjoy the aural delight that follows. expect more choice cuts from him from this point forward:
it’s pretty safe to say that the track listing for the sub-genre of "Dance Songs about Boxers" is pretty damn short, at best. so to lay claim as the band to hold the undisputed belt of best dancefloor burners about brawlers, should be an obtainable and realistic goal for any of the bands on said list, and with this, it looks like The Sunburst Band are standing with their arms raised with this cut, about then-world champion Larry Holmes, hoisted proudly on their shoulders. currently the only contenders for this title that come to mind are the UBB approved Experience Unlimited with their certifiable break, “Knock Him Out Sugar Ray”, “Mama Said Knock You Out” and maybe something from the Roy Jones Jr’s rap album (yeah, shelve that somewhere between K.O.B.E. and your DVD of Kazaam). Dillon’s “Hurricane” or Zevon’s “Boom Boom Mancini” really don’t count as “dance floor heat” so they get a gracious omit.
found this 12’ single (research has turned up a 7’ version too) in a box of records sitting on the front lawn of a garage sale on the north side of Indianapolis, near the Children’s Museum. at the time, the cover didn’t really pop at me but the fact that Larry Holmes’ autograph was front and center sparked curiosity and thus, was copped - along with the rest of the box that contained jazz treats from Pablo and various other nondescript local market proto-disco 12’s.
couldn’t really find much about the history of this band but i’ve often speculated that the song was financed by Larry Holmes himself in order to have some nice intro music to win the crowd over on his way to the ring. but what do i know? the guy was World Champ from ’78 to ’85 with a professional record of 69-6 (44 KO’s) and he forced the retirement of famed sport commentator Howard Cosell due to disgust after he beat the ever-loving shit out of actor Randal “Tex” Cobb (the bad guy from Raising Arizona and The Golden Child) for 12 rounds in what’s been widely called “The Most One-Sided Heavyweight Title Fight In History”.
this shit is pure heat. with a taste of DC Go-Go slap Bass and Congo breaks that go on for-fucking-ever, this track is certifiable just off the strength of the 6 minute instrumental b-side alone. but low and behold, the a-side kills it with the early disco rap style that you hear (complete with backup singers on the hook and a 2 minute instrumental intro for the nice-nice mix) and pays tribute to more widely known and slightly earlier artists of the same genre, ala Kurtis Blow, Love Bug Starski or The Treacherous Three. (Doe, you’re sleeping on the vocal).
i leave for Vegas tomorrow immediately after work, for one of those breakneck weekends that i seem to always organize for myself.
it includes this, which i'm pretty excited about:
come hang out and get awesome with me. i think i'll be opening and closing the night, with plenty of time for dancing, drinking and debauchery in between.
for a run-down of the rest of my weekend plans, indulge my ego here. i'm going to be blogging stuff there that doesn't belong here, so if you just can't get enough of my blather here, you know where else to be...
more news: we'll soon be welcoming a new guest contributor to the Monorail. you're gonna wanna stick around for this guy. he's got a lot of love to give, so keep your ears open and your heart free.
another mix of all current tracks, none older than 6 months as far as i know. i think i'm gonna make this a regular thing. its good practice...
last night, i played around with different versions of this mix for more than four hours. at the end of it, i was frustrated, my feet hurt, and what i had was unusable.
tonight, i set up and pulled this off one my first go. there's a few cringe worthy spots, but whatever.
i forgot to mention in the post with the first Currency Mixtape: these are recorded to cassette, then ripped to mp3. maybe it sounds like shit to you, but i appreciate what it does to the fidelity.... what do you think?
Amir & Kilian from Sweden's Dw just sent us over their newest creation, a collaboration with Daroc from France. hypnotic, and not just in name, and definitely hits with a bit of melancholy as well. if you know me, you know "i never heard a sad song that i didn't like"... enjoy:
in other news, i'm working on the follow-up to my last Currency Mixtape this week before i take off for Vegas on Thursday. i'm spinning Friday the 13th there, at ye olde Beauty Bar. then, MDY and i will be back at the Holocene spinning March 18th with the UK's Jack Beats. after that, i promise i'll dust off some more vintage italo and disco stuff, and put together something straight-up cosmic for you all. oh, and go see the Watchmen. its righteous.
i've had a burning desire to record a mix this whole week. finally had a chance today.
i've been listening to tons of 60s, 70s, and 80s music for the past month, but this mix is all current tracks. stuff from the end of 2008 through now, with maybe a track or two from the last couple of years. one's a cover of a classic track, so don't be fooled - its recent too.
this is about 50 minutes, live, one take, and straight off the cuff.
