What's The Connection? The Real Thing

I must have listened to too many Coke commercials, since that is the first thing that pops up in my head whenever I hear the phrase The Real Thing and there is that song at the end, but this connection is not about Coca Cola (although I like Coke Zero). It's about a lot of things that are real, but mostly about songs with Real Thing in the title. As you listen to this, have a coke and a smile. Aaargh! It's become so commercialized and I mean my brain. Because no one paid me for all this advertising.

What's The Connection? The Real Thing

01 Tina Britt - The Real Thing
02 Pearl Jam & Cypress Hill - Real Thing
03 Bill Nelson - Real Thing This Time
04 Russel Morris - The Real Thing
05 Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
06 Rick Riso - Gotta Have The Real Thing
07 D.C. Larue - Do You Want The Real Thing
08 Dean Martin - (It Will Have to Do) Until the Real Thing Comes Along
09 Newsboys - Real Good Thing
10 Syl Johnson - I've Got the Real Thing
11 Jellybean & Steven Dante - The Real Thing
12 Troy Dodds - The Real Thing
13 Intrepids - After You've Had Your Fling (Get Down To The Real Thing)
14 Super Eagles - Love's A Real Thing
15 Chip Taylor - (I Want) The Real Thing
16 Brothers Johnson - The Real Thing
17 Tony Di Bart - The Real Thing (New 7 Dance)
18 U2 - Even Better Than the Real Thing
19 Electric Express - It's The Real Thing Pt.1
20 2 Unlimited - The Real Thing (Extended)
21 KMFDM - Real Thing
22 Coca Cola - It's the Real Thing

What's The Connection? Disco 8

This one came together more from sequencing than from any set rules, which suits this Disco connection just fine. The order did more of the work than the idea ever did. Some tracks stretch things out, some feel slightly wrong in a way I like, and some are here simply because they kept insisting. This one happens to be part eight of the series, but it doesn’t behave much differently than the others. Previous volumes live under disco if that matters to you, with more turning up whenever they feel ready, but probably not for awhile since I am exhausted of disco for now. I know, I can't believe it either.

What's The Connection? Disco 8

114 Omni - Disco Socks
115 Rhond Durand - Disco Fever (Part 3)
116 Moderations - Ride The Disco Train
117 50 Cent - Disco Inferno
118 Lady Gaga - Disco Heaven
119 Television Personalities - Sooty's Disco Party
120 Syd Dale - Disco Tek
121 Seaquence - Disco Thing
122 Carole King - Disco Tech
123 Circle - Disco Break (Woody Bianchi Edit)
124 Matduke - Disco Dancer
125 Paul Jabara - Disco Wedding-Honey Moon-Disco Divorce
126 The Great Disco Bouzouki Band - Disco Bouzuki
127 Glam Sam and His Combo - The Last Days of Disco (Lemongrass First Kiss Rmx)
128 North By Northeast - Disco Unusual
129 Lake Shore Drive - The Disco Scene (Rick Gianatos Remix)
130 Bloodhound Gang - Disco Pogo

What's The Connection? Disco 7

The rules are still intentionally loose on this Disco connection. Disco doesn’t have to describe the sound, it just has to genuinely appear in the title and not sneak in as a remix label. A few of these tracks had been floating around since earlier volumes and finally found a home here, while others simply made more sense once the pile shifted. This all landed as part seven of the ongoing run, with the numbering and cover style staying consistent. The earlier volumes are collected under disco and the boundaries remain deliberately blurry.

What's The Connection? Disco 7

100 Stringfield Family - The Sound Of Disco Rock
101 The Legal Defense - The Disco Stomp
102 Nasty City - Disco Baby
103 Aquasky Vx Masterblaster - Disco Biscuit
104 Yaad Aa Raha Hai - Disco Dancer
105 Pleze - Disco 2000
106 Sil Austin - Disco Music
107 Alex Gopher - Super Disco
108 Sir Ted Ford - Disco Music
109 Bill Avery And Love Co. - Disco Fever
110 The Live Experience - Disco Joint
111 Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco
112 Bonnie & Klein - Disco Size
113 Rozza & Wine - Disco Boogie Woman

What's The Connection? Disco 6

This is part six of the ongoing Disco connection. The word disco comes from discothèque, which is mildly interesting and completely irrelevant here, much like the organizing logic of this series. It functions mostly as a loose thread rather than an idea anyone needs to follow too closely. Numbering continues, the cover stays similar, and there are plenty more of these sitting around waiting their turn. Previous volumes can be found by clicking disco

What's The Connection? Disco 6

86 Lonnie Jordan - Discoland
87 Bjørn Torske - Disco Members
88 Mathematiques Modernes - Disco Rough (Long Version)
89 Lee Perry and the Full Experience - Disco Devil
90 Universal Energy - Disco Energy (I)
91 Transvolta - Disco Computer
92 Pulp - Disco 2000
93 Lyman Woodard Organization - Disco Tease
94 Orlando Julius - Disco Hi-Life
95 The J.B.'s - Rock Disco
96 Juan Formell Y Los Van Van - Disco Azucar
97 Terry Callier - Disco In The Sky
98 Sassy - Theme from Disco 77
99 Ladytron - Discotraxx

fnj

This three-letter pick, fnj, is made up of leftovers from the last week or two of compilation picks - tracks I didn’t end up using, but couldn’t bring myself to drop. They didn’t land where I first imagined them, but they still move, still groove, still do the job. No theme, no cleanup, just a stack of rhythm-forward records that earned a second life together. Thrown into camelot key order and nudged along by bpm, because that’s how my brain hears them anyway. Just a mixtape of things that refused to disappear. The title is just randomly chosen letters I hit on the keyboard with my eyes closed, so don't gain any meaning from that.

fnj

01 Kongas - Anikana O
02 Maceo & The Macks - Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back)
03 Imani Coppola - Legend Of A Cowgirl
04 Orgone featuring Fanny Franklin - Who Knows Who
05 Bunny Sigler - Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
06 Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait (Long Dutch Remix)
07 The Blendells - La La La La La
08 Jimmy Castor Bunch - It's Just Begun
08 Johnny Guitar Watson - Gangster Of Love
09 Mandrill - Fencewalk
10 2Nu - This Is Ponderous
11 Laid Back - White Horse
12 The World's Famous Supreme Team - Hey DJ (Extended Version)
13 James Brown - Get On The Good Foot
14 Lala Guerrero - Pancho Rock
15 The Premiers - Farmer John
16 Cannibal And The Headhunters - Land Of 1000 Dances

ExiCumbias 2

I know it's not Cinco De Mayo yet, but I was excited about this compilation. I think of it as the floorbangers of cumbia. You probably could play almost any one of these when someone asks for a cumbia and they would be happy. Now it does wander a tiny bit since Cumbia wanders a bit. I have a few variations of cumbia, not all just one part of the world. If you like cumbia, you'll love this pick. If you have no idea about cumbia, this is a good sampling. Check out volume one (ExiCumbias 1) which I did post last year on Cinco De Mayo, for more, but this one is the one with the bangers. That doesn't always mean the hits, just the ones that will get or keep someone on the dancefloor.

ExiCumbias 2

20 La Sonora Dinamita - Mi Cucu
21 Aniceto Molina - La Cumbia Sampuesana
22 Los Immortales - La Pollera Colora
23 Selena - Bidi Bidi Bom Bom
24 Los Angeles Azules - El Liston De Tu Pelo
25 Banda Blanca - Sopa De Caracol
26 Rafael Coides - Cumbia En Do Menor
27 AJ Harris and the Pink Tacos - Brisket Beats (Smokehouse Sonidero Mix)
28 Bareto - Carinito
29 Chico Trujillo - La Escoba
30 Los Mirlos - La Danza De Los Mirlos
31 Margarita La Diosa De La Cumbia - Que Bello
32 Joe Arroyo - La Rebelion
33 Fruko Y Sus Tesos - A La Memoria Del Muerto
34 Grupo Canaveral - Tiene Espinas el Rosal
35 Los Palmeras - El Bombon Asesino
36 Super Lamas - La Pelusa
37 Systema Solar - Yo Voy Ganao
38 Gilda - No Me Arrepiento de Este Amor
39 Los Tucanes de Tijuana - La Chona

In-Frelling-Fix 2

When I made the first In-Frelling-Fix, I wasn’t trying to define a genre so much as name a feeling. This Pick lives inside categories without sitting comfortably in any of them - jazz that isn’t really jazz, rock that doesn’t behave like rock, and fusion that never quite resolves. I sequenced it for tension and motion rather than groove or payoff, letting the tracks lean forward and rub against each other instead of settling in. The title doesn’t change the music, but it still fits — and if you want a slightly different view of this idea, try Commingled.

In-Frelling-Fix 2

11 U.K. - In The Dead Of Night
12 Billy Cobham - Quadrant 4
13 Frank Zappa - Eat That Question
14 Jean-Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean Part II
15 Colosseum II - Desperado
16 Egg - Enneagram
17 National Health - The Bryden 2-Step (For Amphibians) Part 1
18 Mahavishnu Orchestra - Vital Transformation
19 Santana - La Fuente del Ritmo
20 Soft Machine - Hazard Profile Part 1
21 Bill Bruford - Beelzebub
22 Dixie Dregs - Free Fall
23 Al di Meola - Race With Devil on Spanish Highway