Archive for December 2009
Pull Up To The Bumper
Posted: Thursday - Dec 31st, 2009
I get tunes stuck in my head all the time. Sometimes they’re brand new tracks that I’ve listened to twenty times that day, and sometimes they’re songs I haven’t heard aloud in months or years. Given that this site’s about a) music, and b) me, I figured I’d put up a post every time I have one of those Stuck In My Head (S.I.M.H. from now on) moments.
Here’s the first one, Grace Jones’ “Pull Up to the Bumper”.
Grace Jones kills it. Despite some weaker efforts here and there, she’s got a string of great releases. If you want to grab some of her strongest material, snag her LPs from the early 80’s, Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing and Living My Life.
If you’re just looking for singles, check these ones out for starters:
My Jamaican Guy (sampled for “Doin’ It” by LL Cool J)
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Private Life
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Given that Grace Jones has been involved with dance music ever since her first disco albums came out in the 70’s, there are tons of remixes of her material out there. (Apparently) Danny Tenaglia did one of “Hurricane”, a track she put together with Tricky in 1997.
Maybe the craziest thing about Grace Jones (other than the various fashion styles she’s been costumed in over the years) is that she’s still going… at 61. She put out the original Tricky collaboration along with other material last year on an album called “Hurricane”. The LP showcases a bunch of Jones’ different sounds from over the years, from dub and reggae to big ballads to Massive Attackish trip-hop.
The album’s a curious creature, but considering the artist… that can’t be much of a surprise.
Schematic Mix (Best of 2009)
Posted: Saturday - Dec 19th, 2009
Sweet, my first real post.
Given the way the world of drum & bass has evolved (I use that term as loosely as possible) over the last few years, I’ve been keeping up with the music a lot less than I used to since 2006 or so. I still follow certain artists (Marcus Intalex, Doc Scott, Flight, dBridge, Instra:mental and Calibre in particular) but some some material still slides through my fingers. That’s where best of year end lists from my friends come in; they fill in the gaps left behind by the big tastemakers and ensure I haven’t missed out on too much.
Once local boy Dan Schematic just put out our crew’s first “Best of” mix for this year, “Boh Ho Ho”. He hits a bunch of different parts of the drum & bass spectrum on this one and (with the exception of the mix title) keeps the cheese out.
It’s definitely worth a download and listen. You’ll find the link after the tracklist.
- Alix Perez – 1984 [Shogun]
- Rockwell – Underpass [Critical]
- Instra:Mental – Watching You [Nonplus]
- Sabre – Original Sin feat. Teure [Critical]
- Random Movement & Mixmaster D.O.C. – Rattled System [Integral]
- Alix Perez – I’m Free [Shogun]
- Schematic – The Gutter [Unsigned]
- SpectraSoul – Organizer [Critical]
- Kemo & Lynx – Deez Breaks feat. Henree [Soul:R]
- Logistics – Murderation [Hospital]
- State of Mind & Trei – Dirt [SOM]
- Noisia – Last Look [Metalheadz]
- Netsky – Midnight Express [Spearhead]
- Calibre – Life [Signature]
- Alix Perez – Forsaken feat. Peven Everett & SpectraSoul [Shogun]
- SpectraSoul – I Was 10 [Shogun]
- Noisia – Stigma [Vision]
- Schematic – Fiction [Unsigned]
- Noisia – Crank [Vision]
- Quadrant – Whisper [Fokuz]
- Ed Rush & Optical – Chubrub [Virus]
- Die – Clear Skyz (Break Remix) [Clear Skyz]
- Break – ReTech [Symmetry]
- State of Mind & PNC – City On Fire [SOM]
- S.P.Y. – Sunship [Spearhead]
- Brother – Deep Thread [Fokuz]
- Calibre – Half Full [Signature]
- Mutt – Over [Inside]
- Bcee – Out In The Cold [Influenza Media]
- Calibre – What To Do In These Times [Signature]
- Lisa Shaw – Cherry (Schematic DNB Remix) [Bootleg Dub]
- Spinlock – Do You Need Me [Stride]
- DJ Fresh – Heavyweight [Digital Soundboy]
- Dom & Roland – Jungle Beast [Dom & Roland]
- Nero – Do You Wanna [Viper]
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Hey kids.
Posted: Thursday - Dec 17th, 2009
Not too long ago, I wrote notes on Facebook about music. Usually it was about a mix I’d found online and figured was worth sharing, or it was a mix that I’d recorded and wanted to spread out to my friends. I’d tag people in the notes and they’d leave comments, most of ‘em positive. That was nice.
After a while I figured I should just start my own blog instead. I did this for a bunch of reasons.
- I’d have more control over the content
- I’d get the chance to learn how WordPress works
- I’d be able to design the blog from the bottom up, instead of being stuck in Facebook’s look
- I’d learn how to build themes and code for WordPress
Good benefits. So here I am. Welcome to my blog, 5up.
If you become a regular reader, you’ll find posts about music, design… and pretty much anything else that comes to my mind. You can subscribe to my RSS feed also, the link for it is located in the top-right hand corner of the screen. You can also add me on Facebook and Twitter too; you’ll find those links in the right sidebar.
If you have any comments, feel free to post ‘em in the comments section of this and all future posts. Also, if you notice any bugs be sure to let me know.
Thanks!
