hio

It's been a while since I have posted a three letter mixtape. As you know, I take a song or few and figure out how they work together. These are mostly all rock and roll songs and it started with Stevie and Common Ground both at about 107 bpm and in the key of 9A (camelot style). So every song on this pick is either 8B or 9A or 9B. Which means they all are key mixable. I sorted all the tracks by key and ascending BPM. All that means is that they should sound pretty good if you play it all in a row. I've listened now a few times and sure enough it does. Like usual the three letter title is random. Eyes closed and hit the keyboard.

hio

01 Paper Lace - The Night Chicago Died

02 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Down On The Corner

03 Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Takin' Care Of Business

04 Haim - Rock N Roll Rules

05 Scorpions - The Zoo

06 Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

07 Darkside - Guitar Voodoo

08 Aerosmith with Run DMC - Walk This Way

09 Def Leppard - Rock Of Ages

10 Common Ground - This Is America

11 Stevie Nicks With Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

12 Sweet - Ballroom Blitz

13 Eagles - One Of These Nights

14 Tubes - She's A Beauty

15 The Byrds - Eight Miles High

16 Guess Who - Undun

17 Foreigner - Feels Like the First Time

18 Oasis - Roll With It

19 Question Mark And The Mysterians - Can't Get Enough Of You Baby

Crimson Blaze

Today is Dog Mom's day, so be sure to celebrate! It's also my brother's birthday. In unrelated news, the wormhole covers keep coming, and so do the wormhole mixtapes - even if nobody out there has cracked what the titles mean yet. This one leans hard into the early 80s, which wasn't really a plan so much as where the tracks kept landing. There's some cold wave, some post-punk, a little industrial edge, and then some mutant disco sneaks in and it doesn't even feel wrong. The pick here is the mood more than the genre. It's that slightly dangerous, slightly danceable feeling that a certain era did really well. And yes, Grandpa got his groove in there too.

Crimson Blaze

01 Sole Patrol - Step On It

02 The Tardy Disconesians - Grandpa Got The Groove

03 Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam (Hithouse Mix)

04 Dominatrix - The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight

05 Mr Blackout Bean - Brewtal Awakening

06 Shriekback - My Spine (Is The Bass Line)

07 Voice Farm - Free Love

08 Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band - I'm An Indian, Too

09 Jaxine - Jack Me Free (Less Summer Mix)

10 The Cure - Hot Hot Hot!!!

11 Visage - Fade To Grey (12'' Version)

12 Depeche Mode - See You

13 Felix Da Housecat w-Miss Kittin - Silver Screen Shower Scene

14 Yello - The Race (Razormaid Remix)

15 ABC - Poison Arrow (US Jazz Mix)

Disco House

Some of this music I danced to when it was new and it hit just as hard then. There's a moment in every one of these tracks where the old disco source material punches through the production and reminds you why it never really went away. A pick that crosses decades and countries, some French, some not, all of it pointed at the same mirrorball. Somebody played Let's All Chant at a wedding in Belize once and I stood there thinking, is this disco? Is this House? Nobody knew. Nobody cared.

Disco House

01 Modjo - Chillin'

02 DJ Falcon - Honeymoon

03 Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro

04 Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (Extended Version)

05 Purple Disco Machine - Dished (Male Stripper Extended Mix)

06 The Supermen Lovers with Mani Hoffman - Starlight (Disco Edit)

07 Junior Jack - Thrill Me

08 Soldiers Of Twilight - Believe (Original Mix)

09 Armand Van Helden - My My My

10 Addy van der Zwan featuring The Michael Zager Band - Let's All Chant (Original Mix)

11 Together - So Much Love To Give

Crossover House

Somebody stitched this pick together in a lab and threw the switch. These tracks have house DNA running through them. You can hear it. But they got loose, crossed over, and ended up on mainstream radio and MTV before the purists could stop them. A good house DJ could drop any of these without losing the room, but none of them really belong in a tidy category bin. Too pop for the deep heads, too groove-driven to dismiss. The villagers didn't know what to make of it. The dancefloor doesn't care. And these knockers are subwoofers.

Crossover House

01 Quando Quango - Love Tempo (Remix)

02 Inner City - Big Fun (Remix)

03 Adamski - Killer (extended version)

04 Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam (extended Version)

05 Eric Prydz - Call On Me

06 Swedish House Mafia featuring Pharrell Williams - One (Your Name)

07 New Order - Blue Monday (Original 1983 12 Single Version)

08 MARRS - Pump Up the Volume (Original 1987 UK 12 Single Version)

09 Black Box - Ride On Time (extended version)

10 Everything But The Girl - Missing (Todd Terry Remix)

11 Felix - Don't You Want Me (12'' Version)

12 Daft Punk - One More Time

Fun House

Put this one together because novelty and fun records are a no-brainer for me. Why is it that don't-play lists for DJs almost always have the same songs as must-play lists? Just depends on the person. I like to think that I'm the fun guy making the picks in the house and that's why it's no surprise that I love the don't-play as much as, if not better than the do-play. This is kinda both. The pick is one that proves the point. More than any of the others, this requires people telling other people what's fun to use and what's crap. So tell me some of yours. I'll look out.

Fun House

01 Mr Lee - Pump Up London

02 Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand

03 Modjo - Lady (Hear Me Tonight)

04 Junior Jack - Stupidisco

05 Ron Carroll & Superfunk - Lucky Star

06 Sole Patrol - Step On It

07 Shakedown - At Night

08 Armand van Helden featuring Mita - Entra Mi Casa

09 Pat & Mick - Use It Up & Wear It Out (12'' Mix)

10 Room 5 - Make Luv 2005 (Milk & Sugar Club Mix)

11 S-Express - Theme from S-Express

12 Spiller - Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)

13 Redfoo - Juicy Wiggle (Ralphi's Housed Dub)

14 Phats & Small - Turn Around

15 Cassius - Feeling For You

Ése 4

Yesterday I primed you for this pick, go back a day and get all the links for the earlier volumes. I always rail against Cinco De Mayo being a non-Mexican, Mexican holiday. It does exist, but it's not as big as it is in the United States. I am not going off today, today I will just join in and have a Modello Negra and some Pozole (one of my favorite soups). I can never make it quite right. My neighbor (Eva) from years back used to make the best Pozole ever! She tried to teach me. She lived across the street from us. Her kids played with mine and I just always got invited when she cooked Mexican food. Great family! Anyway more Dude Rock with a latin base.

Ése 4

56 Malo - Cafe

57 Mandrill - Mango Meat

58 Sapo - Can't Make It

59 Brownout - Con El Cuete

60 Seguida - Mambo Rock

61 Azteca - Can't Take The Funk Out Of Me

62 El Chicano - Brown-Eyed Girl

63 Macondo - Get It On Girl

64 Jungle Fire - Culebro

65 Ray Camacho & The Teardrops - Si Si Puede

66 Tierra - Sun God

67 Coke - Go Away

68 Santana - Give and Take

69 Ghetto Brothers - Girl From The Mountain

70 War - Me And Baby Brother

71 Chango - Chango

72 Massada - Arumbai

Ése 3

Well, to get ready for tomorrow, this is volume 3 of my latin dude pick Ése. It may have veered a little, but tomorrow I veer back. The idea is latin or chicano rock, songs a dude would like. You tell me do you think some dude (Chicano or not) would dig these songs? I think so. BTW, notice that I use the tilde over the "e" in some places and not the others, it's because it is a pain to alphabetize. No other reason. So, ese, enjoy the tracks.

Ése 3

38 Chicano Batman - Black Lipstick

39 Brownout - African Battle

40 Los Lonely Boys - Onda

41 Jungle Fire - Tropicoso

42 Ralph Robles - Come And Get It

43 Texas Tornados - Una Mas Cerveza

44 Azteca - Red Onions

45 Grupo Fantasma - Cumbia De Los Pajaritos

46 Boogaloo Assassins - No No No

47 Ozomatli - (Who Discovered) America

48 Luis Santi Y Su Conjunto - Los Feligreses

49 Mestizo Beat - Featherbed Lane

50 El Chicano - Viva Tirado

51 Thee Midniters - Chicano Power

52 Chango - Sacapa-Chango'

53 Sapo - Been Had

55 Joe Bataan - Subway Joe