World Domination 5

I’ve spent enough nights at SOB’s in NYC to know that "Sounds of Brazil" was always a convenient misnomer for a much wider, deeper kind of global friction. I’d sit there with those big bottles of Xingu black beer, bracing for the long taxi ride back and the inevitable late-night mess—usually involving me holding back some girl’s hair while she puked in my hotel bathroom. It was a gritty, high-fidelity education in how a relentless beat can occupy a space and the people in it. This latest pick for my ongoing quest for world domination is built on that same infectious, earth-shaking stomp. Just the kind of high-velocity rhythmic authority that doesn't need a translator to take over a room. Turn it up; the occupation has officially entered its next phase.

World Domination 5

75 Dengue Dengue Dengue - Simiolo (Dazed Dog Remix)

76 Konk - Your Life (Party Mix)

77 Talking Heads - I Zimbra (12" Version)

78 Basement Jaxx - Samba Magic

79 MC Fioti with Future, J Balvin, Stefflon Don & Juan Magan - Bum Bum Tam Tam

80 Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa featuring Ami Faku - Abalele

81 Art Of Noise - Yebo! (Mbaqanga)

82 Nicola Cruz - Colibria

83 Tejun Trouble - Bayou Boogie!

84 Chancha Via Circuito featuring Mateo Kingman - Ilalу

85 Bnot Avraham - We Build Together

86 Balkan Beat Box - Hermetico

87 Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Pupajim - Bike Rider

88 Ah Puch & Di Conch Fritters - San Pedro All Day

Swing Swing Swing 3

I'm on a Swing kick aren't I? Three in a row! But they're all good. A couple of big band versions of newer songs, but the bulk are not. But this pick is a combination of traditional swing bands and some of the new vanguard of swing. Get the last two days writeups for more. I'm tired and going to bed. Sorry, no long blurb today. And it's the same cover as before.

Swing Swing Swing 3

42 Benny Goodman - King Porter Stomp

43 Pink Turtle - Walk On the Wild Side

44 Duke Ellington - It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

45 The Flying Neutrinos - Mr. Zoot Suit

46 Squirrel Nut Zippers - Put A Lid On It

47 The Jive Aces - Bring Me Sunshine

48 Indigo Swing - Swing Lover

49 Louis Prima - Jump, Jive, An' Wail

50 Count Basie & His Orchestra - Jumpin' at the Woodside

51 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Go Daddy-O

52 Vanguard Aces - Rocco's Joint

53 Erskine Hawkins - Tuxedo Junction

54 Big Joe Turner - Boogie Woogie Country Girl

55 Steve Lucky & Rhumba Bums - Jump Back

56 Robin McKelle - Abracadabra

57 Brian Setzer Orchestra - This Cat's On A Hot Tin Roof

58 Louis Jordan - Caldonia

59 Royal Crown Revue - Barflies At The Beach

60 Lionel Hampton - Hamp's Boogie Woogie

61 Nat King Cole And His Trio - Get Your Kicks On Route 66

62 Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Brown Derby Jump

63 Ella Fitzgerald - Undecided

64 Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys - Jumping From 6 To 6

Swing, Swing, Swing 2

Volume two of this pick and the floor is still jumping — same mix of golden era heavyweights and neo-swing acts that proved the whole thing never really went anywhere, it just went underground for a while. I've said it before but there is nothing quite like a good swing tune for reminding your feet what they're supposed to be doing even when the rest of you hasn't had enough coffee. This volume gets a little wilder than the first, leans a little harder into the revival side, and somewhere in the middle there is a brand new track that is either about clean eating and healthy living or absolutely is not, depending on who's asking. Stripping away any pretense, this is just more of what the first one was — music built for a room full of people who want to move and aren't overthinking it. And I know, Happy St Patrick's Day. At least the cover is green...

Swing, Swing, Swing 2

19 Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot

20 Benny Goodman - Stompin' At The Savoy

21 Count Basie - One O'Clock Jump

22 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - Oo Poppa Do

23 Lionel Hampton - Flying Home

24 Atomic Fireballs - Spanish Fly

25 The New Morty Show - In The Groove

26 Tommy Dorsey - Opus One

27 Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra - Bill's Bounce

28 Gene Krupa - Bugle Call Rag

29 Duke Ellington - Cotton Tail

30 Anita Hardcok - I Need a Stiff Cocktail Tonight

31 Royal Crown Revue - Hey Pachuco!

32 Maha Mayhem - Whole Lotta Wellness

33 Artie Shaw - Frenesi

34 Harry James - Ciribiribin

35 Crescent City Maulers - Jump, Jive, an' Wail

36 Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra - Rhythm Is Our Business

37 Glenn Miller - Chattanooga Choo Choo

38 Cab Calloway - Minnie the Moocher

39 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Mr. Pinstripe Suit

40 Johnny Favourite Swing Orchestra - We Still Talk the Way Lovers Do

41 Woody Herman - Woodchopper's Ball

Swing Swing Swing

This pick starts with the big band era and doesn't apologize for a second — Goodman, Ellington, Basie, Miller, Sinatra, Prima, all the usual suspects doing what they did better than anyone has since, and then it opens up into some of the deeper cuts that don't get enough daylight. I've been an amateur ballroom dancer for years, emphasis on amateur, and there is nothing quite like a good swing tune for reminding your feet what they're supposed to be doing even when your brain disagrees. The playlist runs from the classic radio names through some of the neo-swing revival acts that proved the whole thing still had a pulse, and stripping away the nostalgia for a second, this music just moves — it's built for a room full of people who want to have a good time and aren't overthinking it.

Swing Swing Swing

01 Les Brown - Leap Frog

02 Benny Goodman - Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing)

03 Glenn Miller Orchestra - In The Mood

04 Duke Ellington - Take The A Train

05 Dean Martin - Who's Got The Action

06 Andrews Sisters - Bei Mir Bist Du Schon (Means Your Grand)

07 Dinah Washington - Christopher Columbus

08 Count Basie Band - Shiny Stockings

09 Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)

10 Dean Martin - Who Was That Lady

11 Louis Jordan - Is You Is, Or Is You Ain't (Ma Baby)

12 Louis Prima - Just A Gigolo-Ain't Got Nobody

13 Joe Liggins - The Honeydripper

14 Blue Plate Special - Night Out

15 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - Blue Skies

16 Dem Brooklyn Bums - Baseball Bat Boogie

17 Fly-Rite Boys - Rosetta

18 Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums - Jumptown

Stripping

Yesterday and the day before were two volumes that were more about what was actually played at the strip club I worked at — this one is a different animal. This pick is more of a stripping playlist for home, the kind of tracks that have that slow-burn, take-it-off energy whether or not they ever saw the inside of a club, though a few of them did make it onto the rotation. The mix goes places you might not expect, from classic soul to new wave to pure 90s R&B, and it holds together better than it has any right to. I still have a soft spot for that whole world, even if I don't get out to those places much anymore — it was a job that taught you not to judge, and most of the people in it were a lot more interesting than you'd expect.

Stripping

01 Joe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat On

02 Adina Howard - Freak Like Me

03 2Pac featuring K-Ci & Jojo - How Do U Want It

04 George Michael - I Want Your Sex (Parts 1 And 2)

05 Samantha Fox - Touch Me (I Want Your Body)

06 Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

07 Bell Biv Devoe - Poison

08 Michael Buble - Feeling Good

09 Waze & Odyssey vs R. Kelly - Bump & Grind (2014 Radio edit)

10 Shandi - He's a Dream

11 Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

12 Frank Ocean - Thinkin Bout You

13 Sir Mix-A-Lot - Put 'Em On the Glass

14 R. Kelly - Bump And Grind

15 Silk - Freak Me

16 Ciara - Body Party

17 Ginuwine - Pony

18 Beyonce - Fever

19 Billy Idol - Cradle of Love

20 Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop

Stripper Songs 2

First, it's Pi day, so I have to acknowledge that — Happy Pi Day! And then this second volume of what I was spinning during my time as a strip club DJ and MC, and this one gets a little more eclectic — rock, R&B, pop, and a couple of genuine deep cuts that somehow all made sense at 11pm on a Saturday. This pick reflects how wide the range actually was; the girls picked their own songs and you learned a lot about a person from what they chose to perform to. The job had its own ecosystem — you got tipped by the dancers, you got to know people, and like any workplace there were the hardworking ones, the ones putting themselves through school, the drama queens, and everyone in between. Tomorrow I'll post the one that's a little more... personal.

Stripper Songs 2

20 Lil Wayne and T-Pain - Got Money

21 Gary Clark Jr - Bright Lights

22 Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

23 Alannah Myles - Black Velvet

24 Poison - Unskinny Bop

25 Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl

26 Destiny's Child - Bootylicious

27 Usher - Yeah (Pop Edit)

28 Britney Spears - I'm a Slave 4 U

29 Kelis - Milkshake

30 Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

31 Van Halen - Hot For Teacher

32 50 Cent with Olivia - Candyshop

33 Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

34 Rihanna - Pour It Up

35 Theory Of A Dead Man - Bad Girlfriend

36 Snoop Dogg - Wet

37 Traci Lords - Control

38 Nickelback - Shakin' Hands

Stripper Songs 1

I spent a few years behind the decks at a strip club and it was one of the more interesting gigs I've ever had — hard work, loud, competitive, and honestly a lot of fun once you figured out the rhythm of the room. This pick leans into the harder, rock-heavy side of what the girls actually performed to, and the range runs from classic rock warhorses to early 2000s hip hop and a few genuinely dark choices that you might not expect. Some of those dancers had serious taste. Stripping to the right song is its own art form, and these were the ones that tended to make the room pay attention. I had this awhile and hadn't posted it here, but Butterboy on his amazing site posted some burlesque strip songs and it reminded me of my own.

Strippers 1

01 Lenny Kravitz - American Woman

02 Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me

03 Warrant - Cherry Pie

04 Nine Inch Nails - Closer

05 Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch

06 Christina Aguilera - Dirrty

07 Type O Negative - Black no. 1

08 Guns N' Roses - Paradise City

09 Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg - Buttons

10 Nelly - Hot In Herre

11 Kid Rock - So Hott

12 Busta Rhymes, The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha

13 Kix - Girl Money

14 David Guetta & Taio Cruz - Little Bad Girl

15 Flo Rida featuring T-Pain - Low

16 AC-DC - You Shook Me All Night Long

17 Motley Crue - Girls, Girls, Girls

18 Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People

19 My Darkest Days - Porn Star Dancing