"when you're ready, come into the light"

La Roux - Reflections are Protection
This album is growing on me. At first I thought it wasn't very interesting. The voice can be shrill and the production is cheap, two things that ordinarily don't put me off. So I kept coming back. And now, I have to admit, I like it. My big question is, what's up with the singer Eleanor Jackson? She comes across like such a bitch, but I have no valid reason why I feel that way other than a couple news blips I've read (she was mean to Little Boots).

Yaz - Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)

The comparison is too obvious. La Roux are so clearly influenced by early Depeche Mode and Yaz that it's not even funny. Ms. Jackson's voice doesn't compare with Alison Moyet's, but then not every girl can have a smoky alto. Right?

BUY IT! La Roux

BUY IT! The Best Of Yaz

"bow wow - you're a dirty dog"

Fans of beyourblog are no doubt aware of my adoration for all things Ze. So there's a new compilation of re-edits called Zevolution, re-edits of disco being all the rage these days. Here's a couple whistle wetters.

Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm Corrupt (Idjut Boys Edit)
Obviously there's some August Darnell brilliance going on here. This track is impossibly cheerful. It certainly brightens my winter. The vocals are mostly stripped out, with the exception of some Coconuts. But the original groove is retained, extended and echoed. You can even hear some vinyl artifacts.

Gichy Dan's Beachwood No 9 - On A Day Like Today (Todd Terje Friendly Children Edit)
Has there ever been a more preposterous name for a band? Don't answer that. Just listen to the children sing. And get into the percussion. They are letting you have it.

I encourage everyone to seek out this comp. It'll be worth your while.

BUY IT! Zevolution

"we will be free one day"

Nina Hagen - Born in Xixax
Crazy shit from bat shit crazy Nina's Nunsexmunkrock album. I love the guitar part and her possessed-by-the-devil vocals. Terribly danceable, in my opinion.

Nina Hagen - Iki Maska
To me, this has always felt like part two of the song above because
(a) it comes right after it in the album sequence (duh)
(b) because it's the same tempo and
(c) it feels like a perverted inversion of everything you hear in Xixax. Truly mad. Some might say unlistenable.

"my heart is full of love and desire for you"

As you probably know, beloved R&B and disco star Teddy Pendergrass died a couple weeks ago. He was certainly a trailblazer, and one of the great macho men of disco. He was sexy, he knew it - and he knew how to use it! An old school panty melter if there ever was one.

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes - Don't Leave Me This Way

You may be more familiar with the Thelma Houston version, but this one is mighty fine. Somewhat understated. Maybe even better? It's certainly sexier with that deep manly voice belting it out.

Teddy Pendergrass - Life Is A Circle (Lee Douglas "Do Right")

A frenzied, virtually instrumental, contemporary re-edit of a solo track from 1979. I think it's better than the original, as it reduces the song to it's base elements and repeats them til you can't take it anymore.

Teddy Pendergrass - Close The Door

Teddy Bear was the ultimate crooner of his generation. And this is one of his most famous ballads. It's soft and slow, perhaps indicative of his lovemaking technique as described in the lyrics.

Oh, and ps... this weekend is Double Headed Disco's Fifth Anniversary.

DOUBLE HEADED DISCO

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

Saturday, January 30

Tag team DJing all nite from Jeff Jackson, Pete Money, Pete Madden and Disco Connie

Nowhere

322 East 14th Street

New York City

10pm

no cover

Join the Double Headed Disco page on Facebook!

"I remember the first time I laid eyes on you"

Amanda Lepore - Cotton Candy
It's been a while since we had a new song from plastic goddess Amanda Lepore. Her latest is a synth-pop freak out, perfect for testing the bouncability of your new breasts.

Brigitte Bardot - Moi Je Joue
And speaking of large breasts, here's a jumpy little chanson by Bardot which you might recognize from a recent television ad for perfume directed by Sofia Coppola

"can I confess these things to you?"

Night and day...

The XX - Night Time
The trendy band of the moment. Their whole album is a moody sedative and I must admit, sounds very good at night. Especially in winter. This song has a gentle build up from intro to verse to chorus until a light disco beat kicks in about 3/4 of the way through, which disappears almost as quickly as it showed up. With different instrumentation, say a bank of keyboards and samplers, this could be a Depeche Mode song.

(I feel like I always compare new acts to old ones, which I kind of wish I didn't do. But I suppose I should embrace it and get over it. Everyone's influenced by what came before them, right? So, the XX sound at times like... Chris Isaak, Mazzy Star and Young Marble Giants. Not in that order. They do not sound like Depeche Mode.)

Camera Obscura - Honey in the Sun

Ever been embarrassed by your emotions? Wish you could stop thinking about a certain someone all the fucking time? Wish your heart was cold like morning dew instead of warm like honey in the sun? Nope? Me either. This literally does what it says on the tin. Sweet and sun drenched Glaswegian pop, full of echo and horns. It's remarkably cheerful for a song about being irritated with oneself. From Camera Obscura's lovely latest album My Maudlin Career.

BUY IT!

The XX - XX

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

"girl, it's a mess!"

It's an original versus a sample on MLK day.

Sylvester - Was It Something That I Said
In which the legendary drag queen Sylvester discusses his latest break-up with his good Judys. (From 1978's Step II)

Lil' Kim - Big Momma Thang
In which the legendary drag queen Lil' Kim discusses her technique to keep a man. Perhaps yours. (From 1996's Hard Core)