"as if you knew exactly where I wanted to go"

Double Headed Disco
HOT SUMMER NITE

DJs Jeff Jackson and Disco Connie's annual sweaty salute to summer promises to be hotter than July. As if this July wasn't hot enough for you already. Braid your hair, throw on some shades and come on down. The beats and the A/C will be pumping, as will the frozen cocktails. Do you do?

Saturday, July 31st
Nowhere, No Cover, No Shade
322 East 14th Street
New York City
10pm

Stevie Wonder - As If You Read My Mind
Talk about hot! This amazing latin-disco-style piano part is a clear predecessor to house music, and it keeps this song pulsing.

Stevie Wonder - Do I Do
Stunning post-disco production gives this ten minute epic a sheen that has never been duplicated. Plus, it features a guest solo from Dizzy Gillespie. BLOW!

"after you've given all you can"

Missing Persons - Give
Perhaps a comment on the pressure to follow up on their tremendous first album? This single from 1984 was on their second album. It features great guitar work from Warren Cuccurullo and a relatively subtle vocal performance by lead singer Dale Bozzio, who will forever be an 80s icon, thanks to her outrageous looks. Despite their limited success, not every girl in Los Angeles got their portrait shot by Helmut Newton.

Eurythmics - Wrap it Up
A much bigger success from the same era, obviously. Also due largely to hair-shows, face-paint and MTV exposure. They rip this Stax classic from it's original comfort zone into a new wave frenzy, adding Green Gartside from Scritti Politti into the mix, as if the gender-fuck was strong enough already.

"why won't you give it to me, baby?"

Two recent record store finds...

Lio - Sage Comme Une Image (Bottin Sage Oil Remix)
The original, as seen in the video above, is simple French disco-pop confection. Bottin chops and twists it into a candy-sweet red licorice shoestring. I picked this up on cherry-red vinyl at Rebel Rebel in the village. Thanks David!

Cheri - Give It To Me Baby
My pursuit of all things Cheri continues with this 12" that I recently rescued. I risked a hunk-o-change on the unopened vinyl at a vintage shop in the E-Vill, and boy and I glad I took the chance. Give it to me, baby!

"I like you like you"

Kelis - Like You
Ridonkulous opera sample permeates the rhythm of this Kelis track from a few years ago. It's Mozart's Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute. You know Kelis is back now as a club diva, right? Miss honey wants to get paid this time.

Gudda Gudda feat. Nicki Minaj and Short Dawg - Always Love You
Speaking of divas, get into the samples on this one. I don't want to give it away, but then again, I did put that picture up there.

"olha que a cidade toda ficou vazia"

Hot days lead me to Brasilia... I just wish I understood the language.

LINKS TO TRACKS REMOVED.

Jorge Ben - Ponta De Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma)
A mid-70s rock-groove from one of the the originators of the tropicália movement. Perhaps you know this one?

Clara Nunes - A Deusa Dos Orixás
Romantic vocals float over a gentle samba rhythm. It'll get you moving, but move slow to keep cool.

Gilberto Gil - Quilombo, O El Dorado Negro
Lots of fun here, with sing-a-longs, whistles and that instrument that sounds like tiny jungle creatures getting squeezed.

All of these are available on the Brazil Classics series of compilations released by David Byrne's Luaka Bop label in the late 80s/early 90s. I encourage you to seek them out. I believe they are out of print.

"you're moving closer to the light"

I picked both of these up on vinyl this weekend. Amazing new disco.

Sare Havlicek - Dreams in Light
The vocals on this track are distinctly Roisin Murphy-esque, but they're actually singer Hannah Mancini who is a guest on Slovenian new-disco act Sare Havlicek's album. I love the groove, very early 80s.

Midnight Magic - Beam Me Up (Jacques Renault Remix)
This group is from Brooklyn, and they sure do wear their influences on their sleeve. I really enjoy the piano part, as it gives me an old school house effect that you don't hear too often anymore (outside of a DFA production).

BUY IT! Sare Havlicek - Toscana Nights

Visit Midnight Magic on MySpace

"hey girls, check that out!"

Mary Jane Girls - Boys
MJG were to Rick James as Vanity 6 were to Prince. A female group for the flamboyant performer to express his feminine side. It worked brilliantly. They already sound nasty, then comes that breakdown when they start talkin' shit about your Jheri Curl!

Madonna - Ain't No Big Deal
A track from the early days that didn't really surface 'til this sound had expired. It first appeared on a Sire Records compilation called Revenge of the Killer B's and later on as the actual b-side to True Blue. How cute would this have been in 1983? All praise to Reggie Lucas.

"I know you expected a one night stand"

One of my new guilty pleasures is going to the flea market and buying two dollar CDs. Funny that the medium that revolutionized the record industry is now essentially valueless. Yesterday I picked up a couple albums that I used to have in high school (on cassette, natch).

Bryan Ferry - The Right Stuff
From 1987, this was the follow up to his breakthrough album Boys and Girls. And for reasons I still do not comprehend, it was produced by Patrick Leonard, the studio whiz behind Madonna's True Blue era recordings. He brings an unadulterated pop sheen to the former glam star's sound. Also of note, this song's backing track was originally a Smiths instrumental b-side, and Johnny Marr plays guitar all over this album. His first post-Smiths work, I believe.

Robert Palmer - I Didn't Mean To Turn You On
From 1985, off the powerful Riptide album which was produced by former Chic bassist Bernard Edwards. This was essentially an extension of the Power Station lineup, minus one Duran. And for those of you who aren't familiar with his oeuvre, Robert Palmer was true blue-eyed soul and is known for his R&B covers. The original of this song was by Cherrelle, of course, and written by Jam and Lewis.

"my ghetto eyes on her ghetto ass"

Uffie featuring Pharrell - A.D.D. S.U.V. (Armand Van Helden Vocal Remix)
Although this is Uffie's single, her vocals are essentially incomprehensible cooing. Pharrell kind of steals the show. But for me, this track belongs to Armand van Helden. The original version is not nearly as booty shakin' as the remix. And the way he interplays his rhythm tracks with their vocal parts is masterful.

Colouring In - Intergalactic Romantic
I have no idea who these guys are, and they are essentially un-Google-able. Go ahead and try! I know I picked this up off a music blog quite a while ago, but it's been bubbling under for me for a long time. The singer has quite a range, no?

"it's a thing that I keep in the back of my head"

White people love Africa.

Vampire Weekend - White Sky
When this came out (six months-ish ago) I though immediately of Paul Simon's Graceland.

Paul Simon - I Know What I Know
See? Appropriating the horrors of colonialism makes for good pop music.

But no fooling, I love both of these songs. Graceland reminds me of a very specific time in my life when my dad bought the LP and we listened to it around the house and in the car all of '86/87.

"folks get brown in the sunshine"

I'm going to the beach to cool down and get a nice tan.

Sylvia Striplin - You Can't Turn Me Away
You may recognize this from the new Erykah Badu album. She turns it into "get munny" but Sylvia Striplin keeps it all about love, honey.

Seu Jorge and Almaz - Everybody Loves the Sunshine
Speaking of love, I love the sun. But mother nature is really giving us a dangerous dose this week. Global warming, yay!

"murder me with orgasms"

Mock & Toof - Farewell to Wendo
Plinky plonging as if in Nippon, but this is actually an avant-dance ensemble from London who are trendy wendy in a DFA kind of fashion. I love the non-sensical chanting.

Basement Jaxx (feat. Lightspeed Champion) - My Turn
Although they're no longer saving house music, they do continue to churn out respectable tracks on a most consistent schedule. In this number, impossibly pleasant guitar playing leads into a squelchy bouncing beat. In fact, the squelch seems to have a chorus of it's own during the instrumental breaks.

BUY IT
Basement Jaxx - Scars

Mock & Toof - Tuning Echoes



PS. The photo above is by the brilliant Stuart Sanford. I highly recommend spending some quality time alone with his website.