Ciara - "Gimmie Dat" video

This shit is amazing.

Let it all go

88. Basement Jaxx - "Romeo" (XL Recordings, 2001)

So I saw Basement Jaxx DJ at Santos Party House over the weekend and despite the fact that I was running around handing out flyers and not drinking most of the time they were quite amazing. It's been a long time since I've seen a crowd that excited to dance in New York, never mind found it that hard to move around at a dance venue. Most everything they dropped, from their hits to stuff I didn't recognize to that huge A-Trak remix of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to the odd dubstep tune came off (I'm trying to forget the few minutes of a Kings of Leon remix). They had a singer/MC with them that was super charismatic, and hands were in the air all night.

They didn't play "Romeo", at least not while I was around, but for some reason it's the one song of theirs that has stuck with me most in the last few weeks. The very special moment at the end of the 90s and the first part of this decade when the Jaxx and Daft Punk were both approaching pop-dance perfection from opposite sides of the English Channel links the two groups together in my head inextricably (at least it has so far), and while I've probably listened to more of the French robots in the past few years, the Jaxx remain very special to me, so much brilliant and varied silliness in their ever-changing style. This song's super stiff bass never sounds quite right to me at first, and then I still start moving. And the vocals are actually kind of restrained when faced with the madness going on around them. And the "let it all go" refrain ends up being so touching. Perfect pop-dance madness all over the place really.

I'm gonna dance the way I feel

128. The Tammys - "Egyptian Shumba" (United Artists, 1963)

For me (and plenty of other folks, obviously), this is easily one of the most exciting vocal performances on a pop song ever. There are the famous screams themselves, which are great, but currently I'm most interested in the exact moment it all goes crazy, from somewhat precocious to completely unhinged. It's the "our mummies took our haaaa-ee-aand" line at the end of the first verse. It's like you see the crazy train coming out of the corner of your eye at the vary last second and before you know it, bam, it's on you.

Also, the line "I'm gonna dance the way I feel" is wonderful, both for the immediate meaning of "I'm gonna dance the way [that] I feel [like dancing)" and my, perhaps willfully stretchy, way of reading it, in which the key word is "dance" (as opposed to "say" or "show"). As in, not only are they dancing the way they want, they're performing their feelings through dance. And what could make me happier than that?

Look at your watch now.

196. Gwen Stefani - "What You Waiting For (Jacques Lu Cont's TWD Mix)" (Interscope Records, 2004)

There was a time, kids, when your ancestors would dance to this, dance to it nonstop. They would sweat out its eight minutes, set their watches to its rhythm, and swoon to the synths that the great Jacques Lu Cont nee Stuart Price layered underneath Gwen's already dramatic song. It provokes a good amount of nostalgia now, but then again I think it did the moment I first heard it.

(of course, the youtube I found is a Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts fan video)

Yes More Spring!

Spring is on the way, oh yes. And in honor of rebirth I recorded a mix this morning, the first time I've mixed anything since last spring, pretty much. It's kind of all over the place and the rust might show in a few spots, but I think it's pretty fun. It's just over an hour. Download and enjoy on your iPods, computers, and car stereos. To be played loud with the bass up!

Yes More Spring! Mix (Mediafire link):
Rufus Wainright - "Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix)" (Polydor, 2007)
Gui Boratto - "Take My Breath Away" (Kompakt, 2009)
Salvatore Freda & Volta - "Bombolone" (liebe*detail, 2008)
The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince) - "Beautiful" (NPG, 1994)
Geeneus and DJ Zinc - "Emotions (ft. Nikki)" (Rinse, 2008)
Sis - "Nesrib" (Cécille Records, 2008)
The Juan Maclean - "One Day" (DFA, 2009)
Green Velvet - "Shake and Pop" (Relief Records, 2006)
the Mole - "Baby You're the One" (Wagon Repair, 2008)
Son of Raw - "A Black Man in Space" (Objektivity, 2007)
Henrik Schwarz / Âme / Dixon - "D.P.O.M.B. (Version 2)" (Innervisions, 2008)

Holler!