MSTRKRFT Essential Mix

The boys from the North come at us with a danceable upbeat BBC Essential Mix ready for your summer basement party!

Download HERE

Until next time....

CCR

CCR is no doubt one of the major staples of classic rock. These guys ooze that early blues inspired rock that always sounds good. Here are some tracks off one of their greatest hits albums I picked up off my buddy Matt.

CCR
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
I Heard it Through the Grapevine
Fortunate Son
I Put a Spell on You

Joy Division

I could only follow up the Talking Heads post with a monster Joy Division post. The epitome of depressing music, Joy Division started up a lot of post punk shit, blah blah blah. Heres the wiki entry to better summarize the group:

"Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences, to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. According to music critic Jon Savage, the band "were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy."^[2] Their self-released 1978 debut EP, An Ideal for Living, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson. Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures, was released in 1979 on Wilson's independent record label Factory Records, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band's growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis with epilepsy. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances"

New Order was good but didnt have the edgy, almost grimey sound that Joy Division incorporated. So therefore JD > NO.

Joy Division
Komakino
Atmosphere
She's Lost Control
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Shadowplay

Proxy, D.I.M. the Presets, more electro blah blah blah

Ive always seen groups like the Presets and Cut Copy as hipster electro gold, and therefore have been a little hesitant to delve into groups like these and get their shit off missingtoof, redthreat, etc. However, I downloaded a track by the presets called my people, which is incredibly catchy. Something about the intonation of the vocalist going along with those blaring synths catches my ear.

The Presets
My People
Are You the One

As for DIM and proxy these guys kill it. When I hear them i think immediately of killing the dance floors full of drugged out hipsters at any Williamsburg-esque venue. Just give a listen, theres not much else i can do to describe the intensity and craziness of these tracks.

D.I.M.
Is You
Danse en France (D.I.M. Remix) (repost)
More (D.I.M. pop em all dub remix)
Floating (D.I.M. Remix)

Proxy
Destroy
Dancing in the Dark

Bowie

Leona also admitted she loves all things "sci-fi". She said: “Labyrinth is one of my favourite films of all time. I think David Bowie was amazing in that film and he wrote an amazing soundtrack. It’s stuck with me ever since I was six years old. I also like Star Trek and The Dark Crystal.” -Leona Lewis (supposedly an up and coming pop star?)

David Bowie
Young American
Fame
Lets Dance
Changes
Rebel, Rebel
Under Pressure (with Queen)

Disco/Funk Revival- Gene Chandler, James Brown, and more...

Ive always thought of the funk and disco eras as some of my favorites. The spirits were always high and the basslines were always thumping uncontrollably. Disco is essentially the barest bones of the dance genre as a whole. Disco led to early chicago house which led to house today and many other electronic/dance genres which evolved out of early house (acid house, drum and bass later down the road, uk garage,...). I downloaded a ton of random disco stuff and kinda sifted through it to find some interesting tidbits and what not. First up we have gene chandler who was an absolute boss. Known as the "Duke of Earl", Chandler was known for his over the top outfits and great hearty vocals that should only come out of a black man who started out in a doo-wop group.

Gene Chandler
Get Down

Next up I had to add a little bit of James Brown. As much problems as hes had, his music is funk. James Brown is funk. Funk is James Brown. James Brown beats woman and makes funk.

James Brown
Get up off'a that thang nigga

For the rest of the tracks I wanted to put up, I couldnt really pull up much in terms of wiki and even for discogs. Ill just put these up and let you decide for yourselves what to think.

Assorted Disco
Massara- Margeritha
Peter Brown- Dance with me
Meco- Star Wars Theme (disco version LOL!)

The best 80's alt band: Talking Heads

One of the main bands I remember hearing as a young kid playing from my dad's vintage 80's audio equipment was the Talking Heads. Along with Billy Joel, Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Annie Lennox (lol!), these bands were the first stuff i ever really heard. After going through a lot of 80s alt tunes (bowie, joy division, the cure, new order,...) I still find this band to be above and beyond the best. Id put Joy Division at a distant second- the reason being Talking Head's use of elements from classic rock, blues, funk, even early hip hop in some respects put them far ahead at first. Here are some of the classics-

Talking Heads
Psycho Killer
Once In a Lifetime
Burning Down the House
Life During Wartime