For Mirth Only

First Half of the Year (was OK)

Events In Chronological Order (some with more notes than others)

Harvey @ Market Hotel. This must have been pretty good because I left at 7:30 with the sun shining through cracks of the boarded up windows. Unfortunately, all I can remember is how terrible the system was.

Turandot @ The Met Opera. Lavish, immaculate, over-the-top ornate set design. What a super amazeballs experience. Note: buy family section, sit in the orchestra/grand tier.

Gonzales w/ Princess Superstar @ Joe’s Pub. He was even better than last year! For the finale, Gonzo stood on top of the piano, singing and stomping blocks of keys with his right foot.

Omara Portuondo @ Town Hall. It’s always a pleasure watching proper musicians do their thing. Even at her age, Omara was gettin down on stage (scary?). Boy, what a virtuoso.

Sal P @ Rose Bar. My 2nd favorite night of dancing this year so far. Sal wasn’t mixing per se, just catching the previous song with the next, allowing for the night to breathe a little more relaxed and stray in different directions. I didn’t know any of the records, but they were all deep jams.

Gilberto Gil @ Nokia Theatre Times Square. d00d has one of those voices. The theater was done up super tacky like, “okay, hmm, let’s hang a giant chandelier from these metal rafters.”

Erykah Badu @ Good Units. Sick new venue in midtown (did I just say that?). Bass was knocking.

Bok Bok + Kingdom @ The Cove. I came for Kingdom but stayed for Bok Bok. It’s been a looooong time since I last heard new electronic dance music played with so much force. Alex was cutting bassline into bassline, slamming tracks down, and it actually felt like club music in a club (gasp! in Williamsburg!). After listening to his mixtapes and not really getting his sound, it was kind of revelatory on a big system. Like, wow, this is what young kids like me should be into (not rediscovered records from the 70s). Earth-shattering epiphany aside, it was a fun night that, for the most part, eschewed the standard 100-125 bpm range. Big up Bok Bok for doing what he does in NYC, and for dropping his signature Drank In My Cup mix (keymatched, no less).

The-Dream @ Highline Ballroom. Literally the first mainstream pop R&B show of my life. Pretty great. I only wish he’d done Put It Down, but that’s probably best kept for the bedroom.

Kingdom @ White Rabbit. Roger That.

Jill’s Wedding @ Bodega Bay. Review of this coming soon.

Yuji’s party @ Yuji’s. Got super drunk and there was this kid who would not stop humping the couch and dropping it REAL low to Ciara’s Ride.

Nadia & Dave’s BBQ @ Nadia & Dave’s. I don’t hang out in the sunlight very much, but it was nice to get out and enjoy a lovely afternoon/evening on a brooklyn rooftop. First great party of the summer!

Harvey @ 119 Ingraham St. Harvey only did 3 hours this time, but I would have paid twice the cover – yeah, it was that good. I went by myself (whatever!) and danced in front of the loudest speakers. Venue was outdoors, situated in the backyard of a bar between two loft buildings (tons of them in the area). PA was slightly better than last time, and that made a significant difference. I’d hoped that Harvey would DJ til sunrise. But by 2:30 he was already fading songs into silence and shoo-ing everyone away with quirky records (although they had no effect). He closed with Benny Golson’s I’m Always Dancin To The Music.

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Mixes (nothing mindblowingly different here)
Optimodeggon. hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit, hit…hit
Kingdom – Fabric mix. smoothest, most cohesive mix he’s done. For diversity, check the second half of his Triple J set.
Luke Howard – Falling In Love With Love. what’s your tolerance for love songs? :)
Kon & Amir Live at Sweater Funk 6/20. recently discovered boogie is by FAR the best running music

Movies (seen for the first time!)
Heathers
The Doom Generation
The Graduate
Orlando

Things I’m Still Waiting For (desperately)
A new monitor/computer
Enter The Void
The Avalanches’ 2nd album (WHAT. THE. FUCK. ALREADY.)
A new mixtape from The Avalanches (ANY will do)
2nd house party
To be able to lay out on the beach

Last thing – PS1 Warmup is lookin killer this summer.

Johnno Burgess’ Resident Advisor Mix

Johnno of BuggedOut!/DummyMag/Jockey Slut fame did this “yacht rock” mix for Resident Advisor at the end of ’08. Here’s an excerpt from the mini-interview that might entice you to give this wheel of cheese a spin:

Could you explain “yacht rock” for the uninitiated?

It’s a term for music made by a group of artists in the mid ’70s to mid ’80s. People like Don Henley from the Eagles, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and Kenny “Footloose” Loggins used to write for each other, play on each other’s records and, I guess, hang out on each other’s yachts a lot. It now encapsulates any music that has that era’s buffed synthetic production sound.

(download via down arrow)

Mike Post – Hill St Blues Theme
Klubb Kebabb – Africa
Phil Collins – I’m Not Moving (Idjut Boys edit)
Hall & Oates – Out Of Touch
Chris Rea – Josephine
Michael McDonald – Sweet Freedom
Steely Dan – Peg
Doobie Brothers – What A Fool Believes
Christopher Cross – Ride Like The Wind
Phoenix – Too Young
Robert Palmer – Looking For Clues
Donald Fagen – New Frontier (watch on Artistdirect)
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – In Love With You
Fleetwood Mac – The Chain
Toto – Georgie Porgie
KC & The Sunshine Band – Please Don’t Go

Burners by Luis

Luis is keeping up a semi-regular release schedule for his mixtapes.  That is, whenever I start thinking I could use another one, he’s already gathering tracks. Again, the selection on Burners is impeccable, save the cool kids’ jingling (really Luis?? lol).

There. That’s my review, three weeks late!

drake – successful
portishead – pedestal
t-pain – fire
cool kids – jingling
dj quik – 9x outta 10
t-boz – get it get it
slim – break u down
private – my secret lover (diplo rmx)
fat joe – slow down son
pitbull – i know you want me (a cappella)
dre skull – i want you (bok bok rmx)
photek – back to mine
tiesto – i will be there
bart b more – killing it
ada – each and everyone
azari & III – hungry for the power

Here it is

Rubulad NYE Twenty-Ten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES. Despite being ungoogleable, Rubulad New Year’s Eve 2010 is indeed happenening. It’s a masquerade themed affair and Mike Simonetti’s djing 4 hours from 1030 to 230 — which is EXTREMELY special in itself.  It’s 20 in costume and 30 without.

Over The Atlantic

I tried to wake my roommate up with this. She said it was nice to sleep to and then passed out again.  Anyways, it turns out I have 2 other songs by Over The Atlantic that I d/led at the end of last year (and really like too).  idk where I got them from.  Google Reader, your search function is useless.

Blow Presents Charlie Le Mindu SS10

Jay’s List For 2009 (so far)

Meant for this to be done a month ago…been busy apartment hunting.

Top Mixes:

I-F – Mixed Up In Rotterdam NYE 08-09
Not to say I didn’t have the best NYE of my life this year, but I do wish I’d heard a set like this from 2 till whenever; I probably would have stayed out later.  It sounds like Ferenc went through his collection, picked out hits, put them in his box and knocked’em out.  My favorite sequence of songs starts with Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, followed by Caress’s Love Spell with its trilling strings, a clever edit of Macho’s I’m a Man segued into Azoto’s Exalt, and finally Walk The Night. The other standout for me is I-F’s edit of duncan sisters’ boys will be boys.

I-F-.Mixed.Up.@.Misja’s. This is a shorter, more saccharine-filled set.  Replete with 3 Madonna tracks, it all sounds really good together and closes with the life of the party and ahzz’s new york’s moving.

Kon’s Disco Juice Mix
I wish I knew more about the songs in this mix as I’ve only come across one so far (not that I’ve actually tried).  Kon’s Disco Juice mix is great because I constantly lose myself in it. He seems to specialize in finding edits that loop and layer over and over, while never growing old.  Certainly not your typical disco tape. Check his new mix from july 4th  — Jesus christ I can’t believe I missed that night.

Filthy Luka – Jan ’09 DJ Mix.
Horse Meat Disco resident Filthy Luka shoots his load in the first 35 min.  The rest is fab too, not unlike cuddling.

SeverinoJimStantonmixfoResidentAdvisorTHEBONGMIX
HMD mixes have the best melancholy/dancing-in-an-empty-room-alone (and possibly just in my mind) songs. See the track 20 minutes in.  They’re also pros at playing out power-walking music.

Avalanches_-_02-11-30_-_Mix-Up__Triple_J
James De La Cruz is the DJ I aspire to be like the most, though I’m not sure this set is representative of why. lol.

ExclusiveMixForLowerEndSpasm + kingdom_FADER MAGAZINE RADIO SET 4.10.09
Kingdom’s my new favorite.  He’s my Mike Simonetti of 2009.  As fluent in London’s urban scene as he is in New York’s, he superbly melds the two for one kind of waist wining.

no time for boredom
This is my second favorite mix from Luis.

And one I just came across this week:
Afrobot – 2 dollar disco – the new Worck. Domu and a friend did a similar mix of charity shop breaks a few years ago.  I have no clue who Afrobot is, but this is more focused on disco and less bin-y.

Personal Update: I got a real DJ setup finally. But I’m still looking for an affordable room that’s over 100 sq ft. It’s going to happen soon…pray with me.

Top Apartments Seen (April – July)
Grand btwn Union+Lorimer – 500 sq ft. terrace, large rooms fitted exactly to each of our price ranges, great finishings in living room+kitchen.

Fort Greene – beautiful terrace, 2 floors, each room at least 12×13, 1.5 bath, 2 blocks from the brooklyn flea.  1 block from the Classon G.

S.11th st. - Can you believe it? The agent had us believe we were the first to put down a deposit! What a dick.  Perfect loft, fantastic view of manhattan and bridges from the roof.

S.1st & wythe. Absolutely insane loft spaces.  Like 4k for a 1 BR with 20 ft ceilings.  Loony.

S.5th & Keap. Massive duplex. Uh…sorry, not trying to raise a family atm.

(Alice by Pavla Kopecna)

Top Nights Out (no order):
hatcham social at don hills 6/19* – ever been to a bar really close to the holland tunnel on a friday? Hahahaha.  I still loved the show – they haven’t changed.

harvey at love 5/9* – complete aural workout. Proper night of dancing till 6am.

tim sweeney at cameo – best birthday party i’ve ever had. (People actually showed up).

rich medina @ diety – it is really hard to find a party sometimes, even in ny. Sometimes it’s like 1:30 and you’re still chilling at a bar, scratching your head.  Everyone’s getting antsy.  And at the last minute someone chimes in, “well, I heard so-and-so is playing at this place.” Gotta love surprises.

mike & mike’s bdays at savalas 1/31. I always have a good time going to mike’s gigs by myself, but I have an even better time when they’re packed and my friends come to party (duuuuh!).  the most surprising track was some version of venus.

Double Digitz Bouquat (Kingdom) 2/28. Already gushed all over this one.  The best thing about Kingdom is that he’ll go dance in the crowd like he’s just another kid getting down. Love that.

ESG w/JG Wilkes (Optimo), Sal Principato @ le poisson rouge 1/24*.  Excellently curated night. Sal went first, setting the mood, then ESG played and JG finished it off with party jams (not nearly as deep as I’d expected).

*denotes nights alone (for the most part)

All Of Luis’ Mixes To Date

Here are all of Luis’ mixes, except for the d’n'b one he did back in college.  They are in chronological order, so you’ll notice they get better over time.  Having said that, we both agree that the Mad Muggy one is his best.  According to him, it’s “the only one that’s not flat-out masturbatory.”

Pop Rox
Pop Rox 2
Mad Muggy
Love Notes
Whiffle & Snug
No Time For Boredom

Soudain Le Vide

They finally have pics of this movie out. Bangalter may or may not be doing the soundtrack. It’s going to show at Cannes this year, and websites are saying it’ll be available in the US by 2010.  Unfortunately, I have to wait that long for the next season of Skins too.

Soudain Le Vide

Club Vortex || Thursday || Glasslands

What can I say? I’m gonna be there.  I’m gonna dance.  I’m gonna love it.  It’s not summer yet, but I guarantee it’ll feel as good.

Township Funk (Kingdom’s 1 in a Million Remix)

edit: and here’s a live set – just posted on Patent Leather Daddy. seriously, the man can do no wrong.

More details on facebook.