Late greats

Send out 2006 with my friend Dan's excellent podcast commemorating everyone who won't see 2007. Be sure to read the comments! Cool tribute.

First of January, here we go

Another year, another show. Thanks to everyone who stopped in, listened or commented in the past year ... all 85,000+ of you. I know some music sites get that much traffic in an afternoon but I didn't think that many people would be interested in my random mish-mash of space rock, funk and old disco records. Keep coming back!

"Darts" is really one of my favorites from 2005 but it's about to come back out in Feb. 2007 on Imagine the Shapes, a CD from NYC's What's Your Rupture? label combining four vinyl-only releases from bands that have made a lot of noise in 2006 -- the Long Blondes, cause co-Motion, Love Is All, and veterans Comet Gain.

Long Blondes - "Darts"

Comet Gain - "Mainlining Mystery"


p.s. RIP, Godfather. What more is there to say.

Quick Mix Vol. 5

Quick Mix Vol. 5

Brass Construction - Changin'
Ralph MacDonald - Jam on the Groove
Escort - Starlight
Freeez - Scratch Goes My Dub
Extra T's - E.T. Boogie (Inst.)
Barabbas - Wild Safari

Best of 2006 Pt. 3 - Mixes

Okay, last installment of the wrap-up .... the two mixes that I'm most excited about I just heard in the last couple weeks, so maybe it's just an issue of proximity and not quality .... but man, Serious Times has lodged nearly every one of its songs in my head for at least some portion of the past week ... really amazing stuff.



Federation Sound, Serious Times (XL)

What is it
Dancehall 2006, the roots re-invasion of digital continues after some great tracks last year like Richie Spice's "Youth So Cold." Mixed sound system style with air horns, rewinds and Federation dubplates.

What's on it
Turbulence - "Notorious"
Jah Mason and Simpleman - "Rolling"
Perfect - "Hand Cart Boy"



Rub-N-Tug, Fabric 30 (Fabric)

What is it
New York party DJs jump from their retro screwface 45's-on-33 style to mostly all new 12s.

What's on it
Gary Martin - "Turkish Tavern"
Dondolo - "Dragon (Shit Robot 'Fire Breathing' Remix)"
Lifelike & Chris Menace - "Discopolis"



Kiki, Boogybytes Vol. 1 (Bpitch Control)

Henrik Schwarz, DJ-Kicks (K7)

Optimo, Essential Mix (no label)

Best of 2006 Pt. 2 - Reissues & rediscoveries

Josef K, Entomology (Domino)

Dead Moon, Echoes of the Past (Sub Pop)
(They broke up! r.i.p.)

This Heat, Out of Cold Storage (ReR)


PLUS! Honorable mentions for the album list below


Parts & Labor, Stay Afraid (Jagjaguwar)

Boris, Pink (Southern Lord)

Ghostface Killah, Fishscale (Def Jam)

Liars, Drum's Not Dead (Mute)

Booka Shade, Movements (Get Physical)

Burial, Burial (Hyperdub)

The Emperor Machine, Vertical Tones and Horizontal Noise (DC Recordings)

Excepter, Alternation (5 Rue Christine)

Best of 2006 Pt. 1 - Albums

Destroyer, Destroyer's Rubies (Merge)

Sonic Youth, Rather Ripped (Geffen)

TK Webb, Phantom Parade (Social Registry)

T.I., King (Atlantic)

Brightblack Morning Light, Brightblack Morning Light (Matador)

LCD Soundsystem, 45:33 (DFA / iTunes)

Indian Jewelry, Invasive Exotics (Monitor)

Oneida, Happy New Year (Jagjaguwar)

The Knife, Silent Shout (Mute)

Psychic Ills, Dins (Social Registry)

Long long lonely taxi ride

Mark-Almond, Other People's Rooms (A&M 1978)
Jazzy soft-rockers go fusion and reach beardo heaven (somebody should loop up that intro). This must have been Mark-Almond's favorite song they ever wrote because I have three versions of it without really trying (self-titled debut, live on 73, and this one). Aggressively mellow.

Mark-Almond - "The City"

Here comes Shuggie Otis

Before he became the secluded soul genius behind Inspiration Information and "Strawberry Letter 23," Shuggie Otis was a 14-year-old blues prodigy who recorded with his father, Johnny Otis, and super session man Al Kooper.



Shuggie Otis, Kooper Session: Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis (Columbia 1970)
This track is a stormer worthy of Johnny Jenkins ...

Shuggie Otis - "One Room Country Shack"



Shuggie Otis, Here Comes Shuggie Otis (Epic 1970)
The flanged and phased drums on what would otherwise be a pretty ordinary funky blues workout point toward the psychedelic production style Shuggie would use on Inspiration and Freedom Flight.

Shuggie Otis - "Funky Thithee"

Hunt these down

• Been out for a while now but the Optimo Essential Mix is incredible, as usual. New Prinzhorn Dance School, Villalobos Depeche Mode remix, Prince into LCD's house piano, Trouble Funker secret bunker. (Also can be found here).
  
• In a year where you can count the good hip-hop albums on one hand (T.I., Ghostface, uh ... ), Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury is a welcome addition. Can't deny that some of the press it's been getting is a little overboard, but whatever, wall-to-wall coca over Neptunes futuristic space shit is sounding pretty good to me. A couple of the best tracks ("Keys Open Doors" and "Ride Around Shining") are streaming on their myspace.
  

Just want to warn you

Curtis Mayfield, Short Eyes (Curtom 1977)
On his soundtrack to the 1977 film Short Eyes, Mayfield turns from the streets to the prisons, finding empathy for both the victims and the dehumanized inmates. Like many of his albums the beauty of the music gives an edge of hope to the bleak lyrics. LP comes with the rather creepy illustrated lyric sheet seen below.

Curtis Mayfield - "Short Eyes / Freak Freak Free Free Free"

33/45 Radio

I haven't had the time or necessary inspiration to do more mixes lately but here's some tunes I've been liking, think of it as more of a mixtape or a radio show. Soul funk rock rap reggae fusion jams. Hopefully it flows together okay.

33/45 Radio

Weather Report - Mysterious Traveller
The New Birth - I Wash My Hands of the Whole Damn Deal
Charles Wright - Soul Train
Kenny Dope feat. Screechy Dan - Boomin' In Ya Jeep
Earth Wind & Fire - Power
Thin Lizzy - Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed
Bunny Wailer - Rootsman Skanking
Suzi Lane - Harmony
Ray Conniff - Theme From S.W.A.T.
Willie Tell & The Overtures - The Kick-Back
War feat. Eric Burdon - Magic Mountain
Caetano Veloso - Alegria, Alegria
I Roy - Free Style
Aphrodelics - Rollin' on Chrome (Wild Motherfucker Dub)
Roy Ayers - We Live in Brooklyn, Baby

There was a time ...

Leon Thomas, Facets: The Legend of Leon Thomas (Flying Dutchman 1973)

"So far the horns have been in the forefront in terms of exploring the new dimensions of sound and expression. But no one has been nearly adventurous enough -- for this time -- with the possibilities of the voice. I feel I'm into that."

-- Leon Thomas, as told to Nat Hentoff

Leon Thomas - "The Creator Has a Master Plan (Peace)"

Time for some disco

Dharma - "Plastic Doll"

Casco - "Cybernetic Love"

Digital Emotion - "Get Up (Special Remix)"

For the music lover who has everything

Just in case someone has an extra $50k and wants to surprise me on Xmas.

Item title: VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO 1966 Acetate LP ANDY WARHOL
Time left: 7 days, 22 hours 23 minutes 42 seconds

Update: Well that sure got out of hand fast.