Dam-Funk - 17 Days

I've got a lot of questions about the above photo, but I'm infatuated by it.  My favorite part is that Jen is completely disturbed by it.

Now I bring your attention to Dam-Funk, and my association, Prince.  I distinctly remember growing up in the 1990s and thinking Prince was a joke.  The symbol seemed more vain than eccentric, his dress and demeanor were a general turnoff to a rap-obsessed Catholic school kid.  How fucking wrong I was.      I now recognize that the dude was packing serious heat.  The only thing I resent is how tightly he controls his music.  It is next to impossible to find so much as a youtube clip of his music, which makes trying to find the deep cuts a major challenge.  You're rich as shit, Prince, let people hear your gospel.

Now, back to Dam-Funk.  I first heard 17 Days on a Dam-Funk Prince mix released sometime last year (that was almost immediately pulled off soundcloud because, you know, Prince is a dick).  17 Days was the leadoff track and it rocked my shit.  It's the B side of When Doves Cry which was put me on a mad hunt through the record stores of Columbus to find it.  My man Dam-Funk did the right thing and did a cover of it that sounds almost exactly like the original.  Thanks Dam-Funk

DJ Sprinkles - Grand Central, Pt. I

Man, what I wouldn't do to have a pet owl. I'd pay damn good money for a pet owl. Someday.



Just trying to get back into the groove. It's been a minute.

DJ Sprinkles. I really enjoy her stuff. I was reading an interview with her today and I learned a couple of things. One, he doesn't subscribe to either gender but we are going to use the feminine here to avoid confusion. Second, he rarely does any mixing when he plays live, which I appreciate.

I re-listened to his album Midtown 120 Blues several times today and I was struck by how amazing the last third of the album is. I always really enjoyed the album but today I found myself being most interested in the last 4-5 tracks.

There is this amazing feeling of space in that part of the album. Thin snare pops and deep bass rumbles create these sound textures that open and close as if you leave one room and enter into another all within one track. Streams grow and grow and then collapse in on themselves but in a beautiful way that is just pleasing to the ears.

There is nothing rushed or forced about these tracks which makes them so enjoyable.

I'm not going to pretend to know what sort of comment this album or track is making about House music or Deep House but I know what I like.

Willie Burns - Windows Down

I don't know why this didn't catch on.



Willie Burns. What a great name. Not enough guys named Willie anymore. And this track? Man, its pretty wild. It teases at first with this really minimal set up with these fluttering beeps but about 60 seconds in the piece just grows into something entirely different. Laid back and subtle throughout but these drums kick in at different intervals that are going double time and they really help to liven up the track and give it this feeling of occupying two places at once. Basically, its from the future so check it out and let it blow your mind.

R.I.P. Mudd Up

R.I.P.

One of my favorite music programs went off the air. In fact, it happened a couple of weeks ago but I just figured it out this week. Mudd Up was an endless supply of interesting music from all over the world. It was my home for finding new and exciting experimental, ambient, drone, hip-hop, anything that sounded cool. Everything was played on the show and it was amazing.

So, in classic Mudd Up fashion we got a little bit of everything for you today and all things I caught from DJ Rupture the charm of a human that ran Mudd Up.....



Start off with some of the finest in float.



Follow it up with that Moroccan sound. This one is all about that bass bumbling in the background.



Top it off with some of the gnarliest cold, hard beats.

Gonna miss it.

Edit Service 8 - by It's A Fine Line

Remember guys, a band-saw has no friends. None.



A nice little diddy for a Monday evening. Nothing too offensive, I would say. You want to start the week off on the proper foot or else it just messes everything else up down the line.

I don't know what to say about his one, really. I like it. I especially like how it starts off on a really jaded and contorted fashion but then turns its self around into a very straight forward pop-ish song. It's a great tune and it is still free to download, so, there you go.

I heard there are rumors that baseball is on tonight. It might be the Dominican Republic national team against some other Latin American team and it may also only be broadcast in Spanish. So now you know what yours truly intends on doing with his evening. Watching baseball and listening to some weird music.

Delroy Edwards - Heart and Soul

Punk is dead, kid. Give it up already.



Another gem from L.I.E.S. They are really batting around .400 these days. A lot of you might dislike it but listen to the whole thing. It will stick. I promise.

Delroy Edwards is the quintessential L.I.E.S. artist for me right now. He is a music making man. I predict many a fingernail will tap anxiously while waiting for something to happen in this track. Maybe waiting for that break to, you know, break. I can say with certainty that their hearts and dirty minds will only be disappointed.  Delroy Edwards ain't interested in you your wants from this noise making machine. He's only interested in painting the world full of muted grays and industrial brown sounds that make you want to purge your mind of the memory that a place like Detroit actually exists. He carries a heavy cross.

Sound Stream - Julie's Theme

You've broken my will, winter. You win.



It starts off slow but you gotta give it a bit. It's a slow burn. Druggy, disjointed disco loops and synths put on top of a beat that slowly finds its way out of the muck. But then, it turns into something else entirely. The disjointed synths are lost is these waves of sounds as if there is something on the needle. All very interesting and perfect for BULL SHIT TUESDAYS WHEN BLIZZARDS ERUPT OUT OF NO WHERE. What sort of weather hell do we live in?

Fun fact - did you know we still technically are in an ice age? True story. Look it up.

Pharoah Sanders - Harvest Time

Purveyors of the finest float.



No disco, no techno, not even any minimal techno. Nope. Not today. Today we bring you a 20 minute long track by Pharoh Sanders from 1977. Free jazz meats float. Wandering, subtle, chords of soft colors and textures for your Monday evening before the next snow storm.

Some clown writing for All Music who hates the weekends, BBQ'ing, and ice cream, panned this track. Said it meandered and didn't go anywhere. You know what I say? He's got blood on his hands. Literal blood on his hands. I hope he's happy.

It pairs nicely with a good beer and day dreaming about spring when you got the windows open and you can smell the night air. Can't. Wait.

Edit: Looks like someone took it down. Here is a YouTube link. Sorry dudes. I guess the same guy who wrote the All Music review must of posted it to Soundcloud. Or, this guy also hates the weekends. 

Ptaki - Krystyna

And now for the eastern-European portion of tonight's program....



This is from Poland. I believe it is an edit of an older Polish disco track from the 1980's and it is awesome. First the bass line gets you by your rascal-basket and then vocal line comes in hits you right on the kisser. The old one-two Polish disco trick. Gets them every time.

Rachel Row - Follow The Step (KiNK Beat Mix)

They called him the Old Stink-eye.



Something set in today about how summer is not that far away right now and because of that I need to start adjusting my weather expectations to unreasonably high levels. So, that's what I'm doing now. I'm assuming that every day is going to be warmer and sunnier than the day before.  Full proof plan.

On an unrelated note, there is something I'm looking forward to now that I'm 30. I'm looking forward to the day that I drag my poor wife down to some car dealership to haggle over a new car. What I'm especially looking forward to is negotiating with the car salesman only to have my final offer denied and then starring at him for an extra long moment and slowly, calmly mouthing the words, "Honey, collect your things. We are leaving."

Yea! That'll show 'em!

Matthew Herbert - It's Only (DJ Koze Remix)

Stop killing the vibe, man.



I'm not even going to pretend to come up with an excuse for my most recent absence. Just know it was dark, cold, and barren. Just like this god-forsaken mid-western town. A place that the sun has forgotten.

Old Man Matthew Herbert. Crazy like a fox.

Yep, that's what the call him - Foxy. Matthew 'Foxy' Herbert.

 He smokes french cigarettes and drinks only the finest wines. And. he is the best trivia partner ever - basically he is better than you at everything.

Andy Stott - Luxury Problems

Got a bad case of that Gangnam style. Got it bad.



Second Andy Stott post in a fortnight. What has gotten into me, I tell ya. I know I said something about how the other one was really dark and heart-of-darkness sounding but, seriously, this one makes the other one sound like the soundtrack to a world full of rainbows and unicorns.

Do yourself a favor. Whatever speakers you are listening to this track through go put your ears right up next to it. You gotta get real close like. Don't be shy - just put your ears right on the speaker. That sound you hear on the low end. That's the sound of man who is firmly in possession of his skills. It's the sound of man who measures twice and cuts once. Its he sound of a man who knows a good place to drink in every town and hamlet in Europe. It's the sound of man who loves his job.

Oliver S. - Doin' Ya Thang

Two categories around here: We have that good shit and that other shit.



How do I get to this party? Could someone please get me directions to this party I need to be there now. I'm writing this post in advance so whenever this gets posted I assume it will be another exhilarating day on this mortal coil so I will most likely need a stiff drink while at this party.

In an unrelated notice, here is a sampling of some of the better names from the 1899 Cleveland Baseball Spiders who went 20-134 that year:

Crazy Schimdt
Highball Wilson
Chief Sockalexis
Harry Colliflower
Ossee Schrecongost
Harry Lockhead

Moodymann - Why Do U Feel

I don't have a pithy comment for this photo.



Not nearly enough Moodymann on this here plot of land I've cultivated on the outskirts of the inter-webs. Cut A from Moodymann's release last year and I love it. Soulful, jazzy, but at the same time totally modern because it sounds like it could fall apart at any point, broken, but somehow still groove oriented.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFF! Really? It's only Tuesday? What the F? This can't be right. There must be something broken with this thing. Shit. Just, smack it on its side and see if that doesn't fix it.

Did it work?

F. It's still Tuesday.

Andy Stott - Sleepless

That's Bruno on the left, Dumptruck next to him, Jimmy Sandwich behind him, and Hotdog to the right.



I've been listening to the new Andy Stott album with alarming frequency lately. At least once a day. It's just hypnotic and for the life of me I can't remember any of the tracks except for this one. People seem to really like the first track, Numb, which I agree is excellent but this is the true bell of the ball.

When the federal government fails to lift the debt ceiling and the world economy collapses and we resort back to an agricultural society this is will be the number one jam. It's like a techno death rattle. Those drums, oh those drums - sounds like a million machines of war burning across the country side to take on some unseen force. Dark and dystopian will probably be used a lot to describe this song. I think that is selling it short. Is it dark? Oh my, yes. But it's dark in the way the night sky has a million different shades of black when their isn't a star in the sky. Also, it's January in central Ohio, so what else do you expect me to be listening to right now.

Finally - the Andy Stott album wins best cover art in 2012 in my book. I want that picture blown up and framed on my wall.

Hot Chip - How Do You Do (Todd Terje remix)

My wife's future wedding dress.



Sunday night!!!! Wooooohooooo boy! Is it possible for things to get more exciting than cold Sunday nights in January? Probably not. I mean, I ate a bunch of stew and I see a lot of lounging around in my immediate future. Damn, I hate Sunday nights.

Nine minutes of Hot Chip remixed by crazy-eyed Todd Terje. Crazy as a fox. A little house-y with a little bit of a techno-y kick that sort of hits late but if you focus you can sort of feel it on the back of you tongue around the eight minute mark.

Jessie Ware - 110%

Space Cat and the Kittens? Space Cat and the Kittens.



Don't event try it. It's too late. I already bought the URL for Spacecatandthekittens.com because it is my new all girl pop/punk I'm gonna start.

Anyways, lets focus on the issue at hand - why isn't this song on repeat here in America? Why do I have to sit through thousands of plays of Miley Cyrus or Gangnam Style or Taylor Swift and this isn't at the very least getting a couple of spins. I mean, Jesus, how many times can we listen to Nicki Minaj pretend to be an artist.

Listen, its been 2013 for several days now and I haven't had an old man rant yet so I was due.

Also, Julio Bashmore produced this. Well done sir, well done.

2013 - the year of Denim on Denim. I can feel it. Pick things coming for sure. Stay tuned.