So on my first vacay this year, I went to LA to visit the fam.  I only got to party twice (a club called rhonda and cat toy factory) kuz of forced r&r on the beach.  Despite the par-for-the-club music, I liked the energy and crowd both times.  Probably the best part - in contrast to NY - is that the kids dress a little crazier with half the attitude.  I don’t know, I just never get the vibe in NY that I can dress like an idiot and have fun.  (Aside from Rubulad and Club Vortex).  Anyways, congrats to Justice on throwing a fab first party for thecobrasnake.

While I’m still under this Olympics/Gymnastics spell, I just wanted to tell everyone (i know this is like shouting in outerspace) who’s hating on China - “oh the girls aren’t 16,” “they don’t ever see their family” or “they were selected when they were 3,” “they’re machines.”

It’s fucking China.  I really think it’s worthwhile to separate the gymnasts from their nation’s unethical practices for a second and just enjoy what they’ve worked so hard at perfecting.  And it makes me really happy to see the men’s and women’s teams perform breathtaking routines that no one else in the world can hold a candle to.  I mean, how can it not?

Sorry.  I thought I was over and done with gymnastics; I thought that stage of my life was through.  Well…I am, but I still love watching it!

Both the Chinese men’s and women’s teams totally owned prelims.  No competition at all.  Just watch the vids - they will blow your mind.

I recommend “Chinese women’s routines in prelims” and if you scroll down about 2/3’s of the way “Top routines from men’s gymnastics.” Finals not necessary, though I’m looking forward to those, too.

I haven’t been this excited for a party in a long time. Starting at PS1 for a DFA disco warm up - fittingly what it’s meant for - then heading over to Rubulad for the main event. This is what a summer Saturday in the city should be.

Maurice - This Is Acid (S&T Remix)

from a minimix by Mike’s old DJ partner Dan Selzer.

Kimmiz Hits 4 Milfs. Even if it is only for a laugh, this played a large part in me actually liking techno (a genre I thought was synonymous with annoying). But this mix has big bouncey basslines (Lucio Auilina’s Magic M, Donk Boys’ Zonky, Claude Vonstroke’s mix of Worthy’s I’rste, Red Robin & Hilden’s Lazy Jack…etc), but interspersed are random treats like Dolly Parton’s Jolene, some happy hardcore turned German trance song, followed by a kraut show tune, Minor Threat and Roy Orbison. Truly eccentric mixing – kind of reminds me of the Triptych, just done in a more techno heavy format.

Princess Julia – Milky Lunch 1994. The Dalston Oxfam Shopper calls this “progressive house,” which probably was the term for it in ‘94. I’ve been learning more and more about Princess Julia and her clubbing history, and this mix is another piece in the puzzle. It’s really fun house music on the less commercial side of the C+C Music Factory tip.

Mavs – And Did We Mention Our Disco? Live 2005.5.27. This has been a favorite of mine for quite a while. At first it was just for the beginning 30 minutes. Now it’s more for the last 40 or so. Funk mixed into rock/indie classics the way it was meant to be. It ends with Martina McBride’s I Never Promised You A Rose Garden – which is great because it’s just so wrong.

Duke Dumont – Europeans Do It Better Live Hamburg Dec 2007. There are too many mixes of its kind in this scene/genre, including ones by Matt Walsh, Casper Clark, Hannah Holland, Cormac, Warboy, Peter Pixzel, Brodinski - all who I would love to play out on a regular basis. This one was the least boring as a mixtape. The best part of Duke’s live mix is Len Faki’s My Black Sheep (Radioslave remix) - a total stomper - followed by Luciano’s Calypso remix.

Todd Hart Live at Durrr 7.4.08. Okay. For this one, let’s pretend it’s not Durrr and that it’s played at some dingy bar you’re not really expecting anything from. You aren’t paying attention to the music; you’re just there, chillin’, talking to friends. (Just for illustrative purposes, let’s say you’re at any bar in williamsburg). I think around 25 minutes into this mix, I’d start thinking, “wow wtf. this is a really great DJ – what a surprise!” and regardless of what I’d had or hadn’t been expecting of the night, I’d be dancing and having the time of my life.

Todd Hart – January 23^rd 2008. I liked this one a little less than the 7.4 mix, but it’s filled with a lot of really great tunes. I’d only heard the original version of Love Hangover before, so the remix really threw me! Love it. And of course, the Phil Collins track.

James de la Cruz 9.30.06. I stumbled across this mix because I was so bored of listening to his Beneath The Surface mix over and over and needed another James de la Cruz fix. This is just another example of his hip hop style of mixing from a library of world, funk, hip hop, classics…etc - I don’t know why I tried to describe it like that. Basically, the next record is always a surprise and always great.

elbartoliamb_-_niespodziewany_koniec_lata (The Unexpected End of Summer). I cannot pronounce any of that. There are interspersed avalanche-esque moments (guess where I got it from), but it’s enjoyable start to finish. It’s 100% Polish records.

In Flagranti – A Decade of Hero Worship. While myspacing Tomboy, I came across the Gomma.de site, which has a load of fantastic mixes for download. One of them was In Flagranti, who I knew very little about at the time. It comes in 30 some tracks (I don’t know why).

Zines/Blogs
The P.i.X
SuperSuper
Dalston Oxfam Shop
Zarcorp
KCTV
secondhandzine
Gutter Broadcast

Sources
Slsk
Blogs (zshare, mediafire, sendspace, ysi..etc)
Mininova
Beatport

Hatcham Social – Dance As If… I can’t remember the first Hatcham Social song I heard, but this is the one that I fell immediately in love with. It’s so innocent and happy and hippity hoppy. I was very sad for a couple months because I only had it at 96k. It didn’t stop me from playing the low quality mp3 over and over. It’s definitely the combination of the high pitched guitar part with a happy go-lucky bass guitar line and care-free “I could care less I suppose”-styled vocals. There was a forum thread with a wide range of favorite Hatcham Social songs. I think people were posting the most obscure ones they could find, though – because Dance As If… is clearly the best followed by Til The Dawn (also with a danceable, jangly guitar melody). Other topics of interest regarding the band were a) the drummer’s bowl cut b) the band’s attire: colorful button down shirts buttoned all the way, muted by a cardigan c) releases on cassette tape and 128k mp3 (particularly upsetting since I paid money for them) d) their online zine called secondhandzine e) nicola probert’s videos and artwork f) their influences.

Popof – The Chomper (LSD Version). So, unfortunately after hearing this I discovered a lot of Popof’s songs sound the same <shrug> oh well. This one still takes the cake. Skippy rhythms and ridiculous, over-the-top electronics are the hallmarks of this song. If ever there was an aural equivalent of a strobelight…

Tomski & Fredboy – Mos Eisley (Tartlet Edit). Genius. Cheeky. Tacky. Nonsense. I love Tomboy and Fredski.

Proxy – Dance In The Dark. I’m not a huge fan of his latest singles. I think I’ve already raved about this one enough.

Malente – Killer Applikation (Aston Shuffle Badonkadonk Remix). I was listening to a lot of nu-techno. Just day in and day out of downloading mixes and listening to bouncey basslines and swirling sonics. I thought I’d never hear any of its kind in a club in NYC. So it hit me from leftfield when - I was just following my friends and we ended up in a car driving around Brooklyn. I was actually expecting some proper funk music because $mall ¢hange was supposed to be Djing (or so they’d told me) - As we were walking up the stairs to the loft party, I could hear the bass, and some people were actually dressed up. I thought I was walking into a rave just then. I recognized the song and was like, I have to get in there NOW. It was bliss. Almost 2 hours of Durrr and Trailer Trash anthems. Thank you Dominic of The Glass. (And surprise, surprise when I walked outside: it was not even a half block from Dope Jams in Bed-Stuy).

The Violets – Lost Pages. I did have this in 07. But I slept on it. I really like it. It’s one of the albums I can listen to straight through and enjoy every minute.

The Alex Chess of AM Eyewear from Australia. Gimme gimme! I should just fork over the $250 AUS, shouldn’t I? Another option is mebbe the X-ray vision sunglasses from Karen Walker. *sigh* I really have turned to the dark side - I used to be so against shades.

While I’d still like to hear new material from “The Avalanches,” I’m just as easily contented/excited by ex-members James de la Cruz’s DJ mixes and Dexter’s audacious new GRRILLA STEP project. I never thought anything good would ever come from the clown dancing Krump scene, but take a look at these vids:

It just looks like so much fun. There’s more on MySpace.

I’ve written a first post on my company’s blog. It’s a step forward for us (the blog, not my post hehe).

My first* DJ gig went well I’m happy to say. I lost sleep over it, and it turned out alright. So, I guess I don’t feel bad for claiming to want to be a DJ now.

*sort of

Tune of the night was Crookers’ Love to Edit. It’s like 7-8 months stale, but I’m pretty sure nobody knew just judging on reaction. (And I’d never heard it played out, so it sounded fresh even though I’ve heard it 1000x on downloaded mixsets). I really did want to bang out some of the more minimal/techno tracks I’ve been into recently, but the system wouldn’t have done them any favors and they prolly would have cleared everyone out, unfortunately. Regardless, I had a good time, my friends had a good time and there was only one person complaining they wanted to hear Biggie.

I saved my tracklist. Obviously, I bit off of my favorite DJs - wasn’t trying to re-invent the wheel or anything - so a big “Thank You” to them. (I was going to hate on myself for playing all hits, but it was my first time - what was I going to do? play filler for posterity’s sake? Na, it’s just a party for my friend’s birthday). Pictures are here.

Update: My buddy Luis and I are doing lists for the first half of 2008 since we agreed our memories suck for our end of year lists. Watch this space.