Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
I’ve been loving Miami Horror for a couple of years, really excited to see this album finally come out.
Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Miami Horror – Sometimes (Shazam Remix)
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Friday, August 13th, 2010
I’m headed back for my senior year of college in just under two weeks. What’s that all about? I’m going to get all cliche and say that it feels like it was only yesterday I was graduating from high school. Time flies, and all that. It’s just unsettling.
Every once in a while I remember what it felt like to be an 8 year-old meeting someone in college. Those guys were so old! They were so awesome – they seemed grown up, mature, like they had their shit down. But now I’m that guy – I’m 20 – and I don’t feel like I have my shit handled at all. Actually, I feel less like I’ve got a handle on things than I did when I was 8. Maybe I’m totally wrong here, but I get the feeling that as you get older that feeling doesn’t necessarily go away. There are always new experiences that threaten to break apart your axis mundi and disrupt the center of your world.
Or maybe at some point we just settle into the people we think we’re supposed to be, anchoring ourselves to some weird static concept of settling. I sure hope not. But that’s not the point.
I think it started in middle school – as 8th graders we started looking at the 6th graders and said “Man, they get shorter and shorter every year.” And at some point, when I was in high school, I found myself wondering when 8th graders started getting shorter. “Were we that small? That young? That can’t be possible.”
I don’t want to get all Thorton Wilder and start saying “Carpe Diem,” all the time, but sometimes you just gotta ask yourself – when did the hell did I get older?
And with that, here’s a smattering of my favorite music that makes me feel like I’m that 8 year-old dreaming of how awesome being grown up will be.
And yes, all of these are terribly cheesy, but that’s what I grew up with. Deal, I’m having a moment.
Sixpence None The Richer – Kiss Me
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Eagle Eye Cherry – Save Tonight
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Blink 182 – What’s My Age Again?
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The Streets – Could Well Be In
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I spent about two minutes thinking about this list, leave yours in the comments and I’ll post ‘em up.
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
“There are moderate muslims, but there is no such thing as a moderate Islam.”
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Which is a shame, because it’s really what I enjoy playing out these days. I also haven’t really been posting, but I assure you it’s been quite a summer. I’m home in Boston interning with the start-up Performable, and I’m working as their content/social media/writing/etc intern. It’s a great chance to do a lot of different kinds of work, and the marketing I’m learning relates directly to the online outreach that political campaigns and nonprofits do every day. Look at that, a way to tie my internship into what I want to do with my life!
On the DJing front, I’ve been busy adapting to my 1200s and lining up a number of gigs for the fall. I already have 3 shows set for my first week back in Rochester (including a Sockhop at Dubland, stay tuned for those announcements).
Oh yeah, I said something about disco. Here are some recent highlights.
Flight Facilities – Crave You (feat. Giselle) (Cassian Remix) [mp3]
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This track is absolutely incredible. First and foremost, you really don’t get an appreciation for how punchy this snare drum is until you listen to it on a proper system. It’s thunderous. And the rest of this track is synthesized like butter – the whole thing flows so smoothly, there’s nothing to dislike. This is especially impressive considering how much I hate the other remixes. I thought it was the song, but then I heard this remix.
Capsule – I Wish You (Corporate Remix) [mp3]
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This song is interesting – it’s got all the tenants of a disco track (wonderful piano, delightfully filtered vocals), but it’s got the tempo of a Yacht Rock track. It’s the perfect for the late summer afternoon, either for a long drive through the country or a relaxing session at a city pool. Hey producers – would a few more tracks at this tempo kill you?
Breakbot – Baby I’m Yours [mp3]
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Another track a little slower than normal, though not quite to the extreme Corporate took it. I’ve been following Breakbot for a few years and he’s done some really great stuff, most notably his remix of Pnau’s “Baby” that’s to die for. Now he’s signed to Ed Banger Records, also the home of Justice and Uffie. Fortunately, Breakbot sounds nothing like them. This is funky, smooth, and would feel perfect sitting next to a Debby Gibson or Seidah Garrett track. The Aeroplane remix is ridiculous as well.
That’s all for this week, I’ll post up some more jams next week. Photo credit to my brother, the very talented Elias Mechaber.
Monday, July 19th, 2010
Every once in a while there’s a really great indie rock track that I can’t stop listening to. Usually it’s a garage-rock kinda deal, some vaguely derivative Strokes-sounding thing.
The Cribs, Pigeon Detectives, Havana Guns, Arctic Monkeys, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Wombats, and Weakerthans.
This time around, it’s Two Door Cinema Club, who are responsible for the ever-so-catchy “Something Good Can Work.” Makes me think of London at night, though I don’t have much to support that claim. Either way, I have been playing this on repeat for the past 24 hours.
And it gets better: The Teenagers did a very capable remix, probably the best since they remixed Black Kids’ “Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance” a couple of years ago. Infectious.
And yeah, I’m a year late on this. I’m cool with that.
Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work
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Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work (Teenagers Remix)
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Thursday, July 8th, 2010
It was hot. At least 80 degrees. But what a show. Sweat and vinyl is a terrible combination, but I had a lot of fun. It was amazing to see old friends, meet some new people, and listen to some great music.
So much fun. Started with some UK garage (a remix of TLC’s “No More,” anyone?), some of those classic-sounding house jams (Gyptian with the Major Lazer treatment), a little Chromeo, and then some heavy, heavy bass. The only regret of the night was losing the chance to play Tempa T’s “Next Hype” as a finale. No recording, unfortunately, my laptop was running so hot that I don’t think it could have survived recording at the same time.
You can check out the party pictures courtesy of Mike Hanlon here. Thank you everyone for coming out, updates about the next show soon.
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Just in time for what is shaping up to be a beautiful weekend in Boston, here’s a new disco tape. It’s another promo mix, no editing except for a track that wound up running a little hot.
Usually my disco has a tad more bass to it, but I was feeling funky and spacey. I really like the plinky, afternoon-y, sound it starts with and the bigger-room sound it ends with. That Russ Chimes remix is probably my favorite track of the whole mix, but how can you say no to Treasure Fingers? And that incredible remix of Dragonette? Defintiely a mix to enjoy while there is sun to be found.
Ezra Mechaber – Disco Afternoons (June Promo Mix) [mp3]
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Tracklist:
- Eddy Grant – California Style (Classixx style)
- Bumblebeez – Rio (Jimmy2sox & U-GO-B Remix)
- Royksopp – Happy Up Here (Breakbot remix)
- Groove Armada – Paper Romance (Classixx remix)
- Bag Raiders – Shooting Star (Shazam remix)
- Treasure Fingers – What Am I Supposed To Do?
- Au Revoir Simone – Only You Can Make You Happy (Punches remix)
- Mat Van Schie – Saturday Night (GLOVES remix)
- Priors – What You Need (Hey Champ remix)
- Helsiniki 78-82 – So Lifelike
- Dragonette – Pick Up The Phone (Arithmatix! edit)
- Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (Russ Chimes remix)
- Funk Fanatics – Love Is The Answer (Freemasons remix)
- Kele Okereke – Tenderoni (Punches remix)
- Music Talking – The Montanas & Roland Clark
Have a great 4th!
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Club music and bottle-service house. I was feeling summer-y and I needed to record a promo mix for some of the commercial-format clubs. Recorded in one take. It’s short – just 26 minutes – but I hope you enjoy it.
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Ezra Mechaber – Bottle Service All Night [MP3 Download]
Tracklist:
- Drake/Catchdubs – Drakeover!
- Estelle (feat. Kardinal Offishall) – Freak (Benzi Edit)
- Enur & Natasja – Face Down/Calabria (DJ Ayres Edit)
- Rihanna – Rudeboy (Them Jeans Remix)
- 3Oh!3 (feat. Kesha) – My First Kiss (Chuckie Remix)
- A-Trak – Loonies To Blow (Ezra Edit)
- Kesha – Blah Blah Blah (Skeet Skeet Ravey Remix) (Ezra Edit)
- Lady Gaga – Alejandro (Afrojack Remix)
- Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me (Gianni Marino Remix)
- Gyptian – Hold Yuh (Major Lazer Remix)
- Duck Sauce – aNYway
- Carte Blanche (feat. Kid Sister) – Do! Do! Do!
- Armand Van Helden – I Want Your Soul
- Swedish House Mafia – Nothing But Love For You
I’m doing another lounge tape next, stay tuned.
Saturday, June 26th, 2010
I don’t know if I say this often enough, but Paul Simon’s Graceland remains one of my favorite albums of all time. I know he jacked most of the songs from traditional South African folk songs, and I know that he ripped off Los Lobos with the song “All Around the World or The Myth of Fingerprints.” But all of that somehow hasn’t managed to spoil its position in my mind as the greatest driving music ever. The rhythms are both classically South African and classically American, but in both respects the songs are meant for the country-side.
Graceland is an album about, in many ways, South African culture. The vibes, the feelings, are everything I managed to feel when I was there. On the other hand, it is more closely a song about Americana, about America. The songs speak to South African themes, but they also speak to the classic idea of America, the idealized form of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road.
Listen to the title track, look me straight in the face, and try to tell me you don’t want to go on an epic roadtrip in the bed of a pickup truck. Trust me, you can’t. The lyrics help – “The Mississippi Delta was shining like a national guitar/I am following the river down the highway/through the cradle of the civil war” – but to ignore the earnest, upbeat, strumming of classic South African rhythms would be criminal. Throw in some backup singers and some ever-moving percussion and you have everything you could ever want. It doesn’t matter when you take this roadtrip – there is music for a sunny afternoon and a breezy highway, and there is music for a still night with millions of stars lighting the way.
All of this was in my mind when I traveled to Lesotho this spring. I spent six straight hours in a minibus taxi listening to five different languages. I had the biggest smile on my face as we passed through the South African countryside, watching mothers doing their laundry while their barefoot kids ran after us waving and laughing. We passed through great mountains and great pastures. Through all of this, I was thinking of Graceland. How perfect an album it was for a drive such as this! I yearned to hear the incredible saxophone from “Gumboots,” the chants from “Homeless,” and the thundering drums of “Boy In The Bubble.” Alas, I didn’t have my iPod. I won’t make that mistake again.
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PS: I promise I’ll stop writing about South Africa eventually. Stay tuned for a nice little piece on Francis and the Lights.