What's The Connection? Cherokee

There are a lot of ways to land on Cherokee, and this one covers more ground than most. It opens stretched all the way out, then snaps back into something more familiar and keeps shifting from there, bouncing between styles that don’t usually line up but manage to hold together anyway. The Indian connection is easy, but the approaches are all over the place, sometimes straight, sometimes barely related at all. Even Cher makes sense once you get there, which is kind of the whole point.

What's The Connection? Cherokee

01 Billy Ray Cyrus - Trail Of Tears
02 Gordon Lightfoot - Cherokee Bend
03 Jimi Hendrix - Cherokee Jam
04 Chet Baker - Cherokee
05 Manowar - Spirit Horse Of The Cherokee
06 Jerry Harrison - Cherokee Chief
07 Merle Haggard - Cherokee Maiden
08 Robbie Robertson - Cherokee Morning Song
09 Europe - Cherokee
10 Canned Heat - Cherokee Dance
11 kd Lang - Sweet Little Cherokee
12 Steve Howe & Martin Taylor - Cherokee Ridge
13 Paul Revere & the Raiders - Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian)
14 Hot Club Of Cowtown - Cherokee Shuffle
15 Beau Brummels - Cherokee Girl
16 Michael Martin Murphey - Cherokee Fiddle
17 Joni Mitchell - Cherokee Louise
18 Onie Wheeler - White Lightning Cherokee
19 John Denver - Trail Of Tears
20 Moon Mullican - Cherokee Boogie (Eh-Oh-Aleena)
21 Cher - Half Breed

What's The Connection? Get Up 2

Same idea, just with a little less discipline this time. It starts in a groove you recognize, then gradually pulls in sounds that don’t usually sit next to each other but manage to make sense anyway. The Connection is still obvious, but the ways artists get there are all over the place, from tight funk to looser swings and a few moments that feel like they might fall apart if you look at them too closely. Some tracks push, some resist, and a few seem to be negotiating the whole Get Up thing in real time, which is exactly what keeps it interesting.

What's The Connection? Get Up 2

20 Brass Construction - Get Up To Get Down
21 The Esquires - Get On Up
22 James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing
23 Suzy Q - Get On Up And Do It Again
24 Parliament - P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
25 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Get Up Stand Up
26 Tata Vega - Get it Up for Love
27 Jodeci - Get Up On It (Instant Flava Mix)
28 Lil Brian & the Zydeco Travelers - Get Up On That Zydeco
29 Desmond Dekker - Get Up Edina
30 The Cramps - Let's Get Fcked Up
31 Ministry - Git Up Get Out 'N Vote
32 Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl) (12' Remix)
33 Ringo Starr - Gotta Get Up To Get Down
34 Yes - I Get Up I Get Down (Remix)
35 Anna Kendrick - Get Back Up Again
36 TobyMac - Get Back Up
37 Yoso - Time To Get Up

qBk

Every so often I end up with songs that did not make it into other picks, not because they were not good enough but because they just did not fit what I was building at the time. Rather than let them disappear I started throwing them into the three letter series, and the name is exactly what it looks like. I just randomly hit keys. This pick has no real theme and I am not going to pretend it does. What it has is twelve songs I genuinely like that needed a home. They should not go together and yet somehow they sort of do. Have a listen and see if you agree. That is what this is.

qBk

01 Transglobal Underground - Temple Head (Burundi Mix)
02 Ozomatli - Cut Chemist Suite
03 Cage The Elephant - Shake Me Down
04 Not Bnot Avraham - Rai (instrumental)
05 Black Ivory - Mainline
06 Material & Nona Hendryx - Bustin'out
07 North End - Kind of Life (Kind of Love) (12 inch Vocal)
08 Santana - Oye Como Va (Remix)
09 Maximum Joy - Stretch
10 Emilie-Claire Barlow - These Boots Were Made for Walkin'
11 Shriekback - Nemesis (Extended Mix)
12 Michael Bennett - I Regret It All

Rock Relics 3

This pick closes out this chapter of the series and I will be honest, putting it together felt a little like saying goodbye to an old friend. Not because the music is going anywhere but because narrowing it down is genuinely hard when every song on the list deserves to be there. There is one track in particular that I think stands above everything else here and if you know it you already know which one I mean. There will probably be a Volume 4 at some point, just not right away. I need to live with these three for a while first. This pick has range, it has weight, and it has that thing that all the best Rock Relics volumes have where it sounds better end to end than it has any right to.

Rock Relics 3

37 Led Zeppelin - Rock And Roll
38 ZZ Top - Cheap Sunglasses
39 Steely Dan - Bodhisattva
40 Eagles - Heartache Tonight
41 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen the Rain
42 Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women
43 Kinks - (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
44 Bob Seger - Old Time Rock & Roll
45 Stealers Wheel - Stuck In the Middle with You
46 Grand Funk - The Locomotion
47 Brownsville Station - Smokin' In The Boys Room
48 Kiss - I Was Made For Lovin' You (Original 12'' Single)
49 Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog
50 Shocking Blue - Venus
51 Van Halen - Dance The Night Away
52 Van Morrison - Domino
53 Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
54 Doobie Brothers - China Grove
55 The Knack - My Sharona
56 Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town

Rock Relics 2

I had a fire engine red 1964 Mustang once. Purists would say I ruined it as a classic and they are probably right. I stuffed the largest engine I could fit under the hood, which made it look like it could outrun anything on the road. It could not. But the sound system was something else entirely. Separates, subwoofers in the trunk, sound paneling throughout the whole car. Inside that thing this music was a physical experience. Outside the car you could barely hear it because of all the dampening I put in the panels. So it just sat there looking menacing and fast, quietly shaking itself apart from the inside. This pick is the soundtrack to that car. The kind of rock that was built for exactly that situation, big, loud, unapologetic, and best experienced at a volume that makes the rearview mirror vibrate. That is what Rock Relics is. My old Mustang in playlist form.

Rock Relics 2

19 Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary
20 Toto - Hold The Line
21 Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
22 Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
23 Foghat - Slow Ride
24 Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down
25 AC-DC - Highway To Hell
26 Grateful Dead - Truckin'
27 Ram Jam - Black Betty
28 Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
29 Free - All Right Now
30 Cars - Just What I Needed
31 Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)
32 Three Dog Night - Joy to the World
33 Eddie Money - Two Tickets To Paradise
34 Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
35 Van Halen - You Really Got Me
36 Cheap Trick - I Want You To Want Me

Rock Relics 1

This pick is where the series begins and honestly it might be my favorite of the three just because of what it represents. These are the songs that were everywhere when I was growing up. On the radio, at a party, blasting out of somebody's car in a parking lot at the wrong volume for the neighborhood. You did not choose to love this music, it just happened to you whether you were ready or not. I have been collecting and playing music my whole life and I still cannot fully explain why certain songs just lodge themselves permanently into your brain, but every track on this volume did exactly that to me at some point. That is what Rock Relics is really about. Not nostalgia exactly, more like evidence that some music just refuses to age no matter how many times you have heard it.

Rock Relics 1

01 Elvis Presley - Always On My Mind
02 Guess Who - American Woman
03 Aerosmith with Run DMC - Walk This Way
04 Foreigner - Feels Like The First Time
05 Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
06 Boston - More Than a Feeling
07 Rolling Stones - Miss You (12 Special Disco Version)
08 Foreigner - Hot Blooded
09 Grand Funk - Some Kind of Wonderful
10 AC-DC - You Shook Me All Night Long (Ultimix Remix)
11 T. Rex - Bang a Gong (Get It On)
12 Alice Cooper - School's Out
13 Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
14 Heart - Barracuda
15 Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
16 Elton John - Crocodile Rock
17 Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
18 Kinks - Lola

What's The Connection? Groovy 1

This Groovy connection runs from sunshine pop to punk to dub to Texas boogie, and the word shows up in every single title whether it earned it or not. Some of these tracks ARE in the groove and many might be groovy, too. Some of them are just using the word the way everyone did for about a decade, like a verbal tic nobody could shake. I always wished I was groovy. I drove a VW bus for a while, which should have qualified me, but I'm not sure I ever really pulled it off. The racing Bug definitely didn't count. What does count is how totally groovy the cover is!

What's The Connection? Groovy 1

01 The Love Generation - Groovy Summertime
02 P.P. Arnold - (If You Think You're) Groovy
03 Classic Example - That's Groovy
04 Harpers Bizarre - The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
05 Young Fresh Fellows - Where is Groovy Town
06 Winston Groovy - Please Don't Make Me Cry
07 Pillbugs - Neo Mega Quasi Ultra Super Groovy
08 Militant - Hot & Groovy
09 Nancy Sinatra - Your Groovy Self
10 The Farm - Groovy Train
11 Jakie Mitoo - Groovy Spirit
12 Fabulous Caprices - Groovy World
13 Paraffin Jack Flash Ltd. - Blue 'n' Groovy
14 Harmony Grass - What a Groovy Day
15 New Colony Six - Treat Her Groovy
16 Capt. Groovy and his Bubblegum Army - Capt. Groovy and his Bubblegum Army
17 Larry Harlow - That Groovy Shingaling
18 Lollipop Fantasy - It's A Groovy World
19 Ray Johnson - Kinda Groovy
20 Mad Professor With The Robotiks & Lee Scratch Perry - Groovy Dub
21 Phil Collins - A Groovy Kind Of Love
22 The Clash - Groovy Times
23 The Mike Flowers Pops - A Groovy Place
24 ZZ Top - Groovy Little Hippie Pad

What's The Connection? Groove 2

Sixteen more, and the word still isn't tired. This batch runs the full map — rock, funk, reggae, zydeco, soul, and a little something from the bayou — and every single one of them has groove right there in the title where you can see it. Some of these are obvious. Some of them you might not have heard in years, or maybe ever. That's kind of the point. The Salsoul Orchestra will tell you it doesn't have to be funky to be a groove, and honestly, this whole volume proves it. There will be a third connection, eventually. The word has more left in it than I think.

What's The Connection? Groove 2

17 Ace Frehley - New York Groove
18 Talking Heads - Double Groove (Unfinished Outtake)
19 Rodney Franklin - The Groove
20 Skyy - Groove Me
21 Tower Of Power - So I Got to Groove
22 Teena Marie - Behind The Groove
23 Heatwave - The Groove Line
24 Lil Brian And The Zydeco Travelers - It's A Zydeco Groove
25 Paul Carrack - I Live By The Groove
26 Prince - Get Yo Groove On
27 Tiki Tokkers - Global Groove (Hana Hou)
28 Salsoul Orchestra - It Don't Have To Be Funky (To Be A Groove)
29 Bunny Wailer - Rock N Groove
30 Chocolate Milk - Groove City
31 Lee Scratch Perry - (I Got The) Groove
32 System - Don't Disturb This Groove

What's The Connection? Groove 1

Not "groovy." Not "groovin'." Not even "grooves." Just groove — singular, present tense, like it's happening right now, because it is. They aren't all funky. Not all of them are even dancefloor. But every single one of them has that thing — that locked-in, can't-explain-it feeling that makes you close your eyes and nod your head whether you're in a club or your kitchen. That's the groove (at least the word) and it doesn't care what genre you filed it under. I had to start somewhere, and groove felt like the right word to open with. There's a reason it became its own language — musicians talk about being in it, losing it, finding it again. There will be more of these connections, the word is big enough to go a few rounds. But this is where it starts. 

What's The Connection? Groove 1

01 Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart
02 King Floyd - Groove Me
03 Heatwave - Gangsters Of The Groove
04 Madonna - Into The Groove
05 The Tardy Disco-nesians - Grandpa Got The Groove
06 One Way - Mr. Groove
07 MC Hammer - Addams Groove
08 T-Connection - Groove to Get Down
09 Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove
10 Peaches & Herb - Shake Your Groove Thing
11 Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
12 Maceo Parker - Maceo's Groove
13 Archie Bell & the Drells - Let's Groove
14 Led Zeppelin - We're Gonna Groove
15 Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove
16 Isley Brothers - Groove With You

Gee Whiz, You're Neat, Repeat

This one I just finished. The first two had been archived somewhere in my brain for years and this one felt like it had been waiting in line. Same idea, same no-real-genre situation. Some of this leans retro, some of it is newer artists doing what the old artists did, and some of it is just stuff that fits the mood. This pick brings the whole series to 105 tracks, which probably says more about me than I'd like to admit. I always think of it as doo-wop even though only part of it actually is. Gee Whiz, here we are anyway.

Gee Whiz, You're Neat, Repeat

78 Fabulous Poodles - When the Summer's Thru
79 The Capris - Morse Code Of Love
80 Liquorice John Death - High School Confidential
81 Curtis Lee - Gee How I Wish You Were Here
82 The Royal Jesters - Take Me For A Little While
83 Yvonne Caroll & The Roulettes - Gee What A Guy
84 Paris Sisters - I Love How You Love Me
85 Jakki O - Ooo...Aaah
86 Don & Juan - What's Your Name
87 The Ink Spots - If I Didn't Care
88 Dicky Doo And The Don'ts - Click-Clack
89 Capris - There's A Moon Out Tonight
90 The Ditty Bops - Sister Kate
91 Ariana Grande - Tattooed Heart
92 She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here
93 Mayer Hawthorne - When I Said Goodbye
94 Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know
95 Cyndi Lauper - He's So Unusual
96 Lil' Rob - Barely Getting By
97 Ray Barretto - A Deeper Shade Of Soul
98 The Five Satins - In the Still of the Night
99 Olly Murs - Dance With Me Tonight
100 Frank Zappa - You Didn't Try to Call Me
101 The Marcels - Blue Moon
102 Starlighters - Zoom
103 Question Mark And The Mysterians - Can't Get Enough Of You Baby
104 Ruben And The Jets - If I Could Only Be Your Love Again
105 Meghan Trainor - Dear Future Husband

Gee Whiz, You're Neat Too

I knew I was going to make a second volume almost immediately after finishing the first one. Then I thought about it for a while. By a while I mean years. This pick picks up where the first one left off, which is to say it doesn't really have a genre either. There's more variety this time. A little further forward in a few spots. Some of this was stuff I'd been sitting on, some of it showed up while I was looking for something else entirely. That's usually how it goes. Gee Whiz, where does the time go.

Gee Whiz, You're Neat Too

40 Billy Stewart - Sitting In The Park
41 Big Daddy - I Want Your Sex
42 Ruben And The Jets - Dedicated To The One I Love
43 The Platters - (You've Got) The Magic Touch
44 The Monotones - Book Of Love
45 Four Seasons - December 1963 (Oh What A Night)
46 Johnny Staton & The Feathers - Charlene
47 Candye Kane - Forgive Me
48 The Zombies - Goin' Out Of My Head
49 Fats Domino - I'm Walkin'
50 The Skyliners - Since I Don't Have You
51 Big Daddy - Like A Virgin
52 Skip And Flip - Cherry Pie
53 Clovers - Love Potion Number Nine
54 Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons - Big Girls Don't Cry
55 Big Sandy - Have Love Will Travel
56 The Chords - Sh-Boom
57 Chordettes - Lollipop
58 Big Daddy - Ice Ice Baby
59 Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers - Why Do Fools Fall In Love
60 Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me
61 Little Caesar & The Romans - Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me Of You)
62 Ritchie Valens - Donna
63 Anthony & The Sophomores - Play Those Oldies, Mr. Dee-Jay
64 The Stray Cats - I Won't Stand In Your Way
65 10cc - Donna
66 The Earls - Remember Then
67 Ginny Arnell - Dumb Head
68 Paul Anka - Put Your Head On My Shoulder
69 The Dubs - Could This Be Magic
70 Boyz II Men - In The Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember)
71 Ruben And The Jets - Charlena
72 Big Daddy - Stayin' Alive
73 Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
74 Frank Zappa - Deseri
75 Dicky Doo & The Don'ts - Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu
76 The Drifters - This Magic Moment
77 Coasters - Searchin'

Gee Whiz, You're Neat

It all started with a Rhino Records LP I got from Big Daddy. If you don't know Big Daddy, the short version is: they took current hits and recorded them as if they were made in the 50s. It was genius and hilarious and I played that record to death. And then I thought, well, what if I just put the real thing next to it? Old and new in one pick. Most people call this kind of music doo-wop, and some of it is. But some of it is rock and roll, and some of it is early soul, and some of it is just whatever teenagers were listening to when their parents weren't home. I still don't know what to call it. Gee Whiz, I just know it sounds right together.

Gee Whiz, You're Neat

01 Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz
02 The Crows - Gee
03 Big Daddy - Super Freak
04 Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
05 The Penguins - Earth Angel
06 Dion & The Belmonts - A Teenager In Love
07 Big Daddy - Just What I Needed
08 The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You
09 Big Daddy - Eye Of The Tiger
10 The Diamonds - Little Darlin'
11 Big Daddy - I Write The Songs
12 Chuck Berry - Almost Grown
13 Rap Reiplinger - Acafella Jive
14 The Platters - Only You (And You Alone)
15 Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
16 The Essex - Easier Said Than Done
17 Del Shannon - Runaway
18 Big Daddy - Bette Davis Eyes
19 Mark Dinning - Teen Angel
20 Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons - Candy Girl
21 The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace
22 Jerry Lee Lewis - Breathless
23 Bill Haley & The Comets - Rock Around The Clock
24 Big Daddy - Ebony And Ivory
25 Danny And The Juniors - At The Hop
26 Big Daddy - The Rose
27 The Cadillacs - Speedo
28 Little Richard - Send Me Some Lovin'
29 Everly Brothers - ('Til) I Kissed You
30 Big Daddy - Whip It
31 The Diamonds - The Stroll
32 Dion And The Belmonts - I Wonder Why
33 Gene Chandler - Duke Of Earl
34 Big Daddy - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
35 Big Daddy - You Don't Bring Me Flowers
36 Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons - Dawn (Go Away)
37 Big Daddy - Hotel California
38 Buddy Holly - Maybe, Baby
39 Jewel Akens - The Birds And The Bees

Funky Disco (Leopard) 6

Here we go with another round of that sweet spot where funk gets extra bouncy and disco gets extra nasty, and Volume 6 keeps the groove rolling with more 70s/early 80s heat — heavy on the bass lines, tight horns, and those irresistible dancefloor slaps, so Pick your favorites and crank it up because this one’s built for the party that refuses to quit. Funky Disco keeps growing. Got a track that belongs in the next one? Drop it in the comments — especially if it’s got that raw, sweaty, get-down energy we love.

Funky Disco 6

80 Commodores - Funky Situation
81 Skyy - First Time Around
82 The Tardy Disco-nesias - Grandpa Got The Groove
83 Parliament - Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)
84 Fred Wesley - Blow Your Head
85 Cameo - Keep It Hot
86 Ohio Players - Skin Tight
87 The Fatback Band - Backstrokin'
88 Mass Production - Welcome To Our World (Of Merry Music)
89 The Bar-Kays - Too Hot To Stop (Pt. 1)
90 Slave - The Party Song
91 Graham Central Station - The Jam
92 T-Connection - At Midnight

April Fools 4

Happy April Fools! Some birthdays you just never forget. My cousin's falls on April 1st, which means every year her birthday message doubles as a prank threat. She's a good sport about it. That's also why the April Fools series exists — a once-a-year excuse to dig deep into jokers, jokes, and jokey energy across genres, eras, and languages. Volume whatever-this-is keeps that tradition going with 24 tracks spanning reggae dub, hip-hop, psych rock, new wave, French ye-ye, German schlager, and a few left turns even I didn't see coming. The Pick this round is Faith No More's reading of "I Started A Joke" — a cover that somehow out-saddens the Bee Gees original, which is saying something. As always, the joke's on you if you sleep on this one.

April Fools 4

64 Scientist - Joker Dub
65 Billy Myles - The Joker (That's What They Call Me)
66 Duran Duran - 911 Is A Joke
67 MCM And The Monster - Serious Joke
68 Eric B & Rakim - I Ain't No Joke
69 Sharon Van Etten - Joke Or A Lie
70 Garden Odyssey - The Joker
71 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - Joker
72 Brian Jonestown Massacre - When Jokers Attack
73 Nina Hagen - Life Is A Joke
74 Conny Froboess - Jolly Joker  (Holl)
75 Robbie Williams & The Orb - I Started a Joke (I Started An Orb Mix)
76 The Ventures - Joker's Wild
77 Cherrie Vangelder-Smith - Jokers
78 Henriette Coulouvrat - Can't You Take A Joke Ha Ha Hi Hi!
79 Druids - Girl Can't Take a Joke
80 The Milestones - The Joker
81 kd Lang - The Joker
82 Faith No More - I Started A Joke
83 Lee Scratch Perry - The Joker
84 REM - The Worst Joke Ever
85 Wolfmother - Joker & The Thief
86 Queens Of The Stone Age - Running Joke
87 Pet Shop Boys - I Started A Joke

Deadbolt Picked

Since I have been looking at and listening to a variety of rockabilly, it only makes sense that I make this pick. Deadbolt says they are the scariest band ever. I don't know about that but they are fun. Horror pop, surf or surfabillypsychobilly and their own brand of voodoobilly, I think they are cool. These are my favorites and even include a couple of tracks from one of their side projects I also like. It does not contain every fan favorite, but it does have many of them. It's my pick, so I included all my favorites. Ilike that the name plays off the lock illusion I attribute to their band name. That's why there are bones in the locking mechanism. Even though you technically can't pick a bolt.

Deadbolt Picked

01 Deadbolt - Blacktop Fever
02 Deadbolt - Voodoo Moonshine
03 Deadbolt - Hang Em High
04 Deadbolt - Hillbilly War
05 Deadbolt - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
06 Deadbolt - Orange Blossom Special
07 Deadbolt - One Day I Will Kill You
08 Deadbolt - Tiki Man
09 Deadbolt - Telephone The Dead
10 Deadbolt - Zulu Death Mask
11 Deadbolt - Down In The Lab
12 Deadbolt - James Bond Theme-You Only Live Twice
13 Deadbolt - Voodoobilly Man
14 Deadbolt - Scare Me
15 Deadbolt - El Paso
16 Deadbolt - Cockeye
17 Deadbolt - Truck Driving S.O.B.
18 Deadbolt - Billy's Dead
19 Deadbolt - Last Time I Saw Cole
20 Deadbolt - El Perversio
21 Strangers 1800 - Rawhide
22 Strangers 1800 - Hang 'Em High

Shuckin' And Jivin' 2

I still have no idea what "genre" of music this pick is. There are hints of country and hints of hillbilly hick and some that doesn't at all. I asked AI to look at it and it said: Eclectic. I guess so. A couple of these artists appeared on volume 1 of Shuckin' & Jivin' but most are new to this series. I only think of hunting Brer Rabbit in the middle of the country about to meet up with the boys of Deliverance and driving a Harley. The cover is part of the ride that used to be at Disneyland from Bear Country Jamboree. None of the songs have anything to do with that. A few about drinkin' and eatin', a couple of covers and a few what I believe they call novelty records. It just all sounds good together. To me.

Shuckin' And Jivin' 2

23 Delta Spirit - Trashcan
24 Kaleo - Way Down We Go
25 Chickasaw Mudd Puppies - Chickenbone
26 Slim Cessna's Auto Club - This Is How We Do Things In The Country
27 The Record Company - Off The Ground
28 JJ Grey & Mofro - Country Ghetto
29 Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human
30 Pokey LaFarge - Something In The Water
31 Slobberbone - Gimme Back My Dog
32 Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man
33 The Felice Brothers - Frankie's Gun!
34 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devil's Tattoo
35 Elle King - Ex's & Oh's
36 Shakey Graves - Dearly Departed
37 Gear Daddies - (I Wanna Drive The) Zamboni
38 Hayseed Dixie - Highway To Hell
39 Asylum Street Spankers - Beer
40 Caamp - By And By
41 The Gourds - Gin And Juice
42 Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
43 Reverend Horton Heat - Eat Steak

Auto-Mo-Billy

This one started on the stupid idea of the name. I wanted to get Rockabilly songs on this pick that all had something to do with cars. Automobiles. I am not really a car guy. My wife. She knows cars. People all around me know cars. My next door neighbor was a champion racer. Friends that love cars. I've actually had some cool cars in my life, but mostly it wasn't on purpose. I always wanted a VW Bus, so I had one of those. I've had English sport cars. An MG-B GT (which was fun just because of all the letters), a Spitfire (wouldn't mind getting another one of those.) I once had a car that had parts of five different model names on it (and five different shades of red paint - I called it my Hot Tamale). My fastest car ever was not my 1964 Mustang which I ruined by making it fast and loud and modern, but an old VW Bug that was also converted to be fast. Porsche engine. It was fun, but I got too many tickets in it. This comp is missing some big name car songs, but I don't care.

Auto-Mo-Billy

01 Psycho Devilles - Psycho Cadillac
02 Bob Cass - Corvette Baby
03 The Crew - Red Chevrolet
04 Wally Hughes - Convertible Car
05 Jack Kitchen - Hot Rod Boogie
06 Harry Hutchins - Rockin' Rollin' Cadilac
07 Rocky Davis - Hot Rod Baby
08 Flyin' Cats - Hot Rod Gang
09 Billy Burnette - Hot Rod Hillbilly
10 Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Race With the Devil
11 Sonny Wallace - Black Cadillac
12 Bobby Brown & The Backup Boosters - She Knows Cars
13 Brian Setzer Orchestra - Drive Like Lightning (Crash Like Thunder)
14 Tom Tall - Hot Rod Is Her Name
15 Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys - Hot Rod Race
16 Gene Simmons - Peroxide Blond And A Hopped Up Model Ford
17 Jimmy Carroll - Big Green Car
18 The Camtwisters - Hotrod Twist
19 Pat Davis - Spinner Hub Caps
20 Session '57 - Cool Cruisin' Car
21 Richie Deran - Girl And A Hot Rod
22 Bill Sherill - Cadillac Baby
23 Bobby Verne - Red Hot Car
24 Tommy Lam - Speed Limit
25 Joyce Green - Black Cadillac
26 Larry Dowd - Pink Cadillac
27 Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Hot Rod Lincoln
28 Bill Parsons - Hot Rod Volkswagen
29 Eddie Ringo - Full Racing Cam
30 Stray Cats - Look At That Cadillac

Bobby Orlando Big O

I'm very torn about this pick. I would never have said that I am a big fan Hi-NRG and yet without knowing the term, I am and always was a big fan. Everyone visiting this blog knows that I put on a lot of disco and frankly that's kind of what it is. I think of Giogio Morodor and Donna Summer I Feel Love. And one of the prolific purveyors of Hi-NRG productions was Bobby Orlando especially in the 80's. This pick is just a sampling of stuff he did. From writing to producing and everything in between Bobby O  had control of the dance floor for years. And a lot of it I had no idea he was a part of until later. Divine and the Flirts are a good example of my ignorance. I knew the tracks and played the songs, but I wouldn't have classified it as that genre and I had no idea that the Big O had anything to do with them. Enjoy revisiting this selection or hearing it with new ears.

Bobby Orlando Big O

01 Roni Griffith - Desire
02 The Flirts - Passion (Extended Mix)
03 Free Enterprise - Make It On My Own
04 Bobby O - She Has A Way
05 Girly - Working Girl (One Way Love Affair)
06 Divine - Native Love (12'' Version)
07 Oh Romeo - One More Shot
08 Hippies With Haircuts - Eye On You
09 Waterfront Home - Take A Chance On (On Me)
10 Bobby O & Claudja Barry - Whisper To A Scream
11 Beachfront - Once In A Lifetime
12 Gina Desire - Breathless
13 Banana Republic - Lonely Too Long
14 Wow - Bring On The Men

Swing Swing Swing 4

Four volumes in and I am clearly not over this. More is coming! The pick runs from the golden era heavyweights who invented the whole thing through the neo-swing revival acts that proved it never actually died. I think it just went underground for a while. As an amateur ballroom dancer for years, emphasis on amateur, there is nothing quite like a good swing tune for reminding your feet what they're supposed to be doing even when your brain has other ideas. This volume has a little more muscle and defiance to it than the previous three. Either way it swings. From sex to war to just drinking, it's all here this time. And every time. All through the ages.

Swing Swing Swing 4

65 Benny Goodman - Don't Be That Way
66 Duke Ellington - C Jam Blues
67 Gavin Povey & The Fabulous Oke She Moke She Pops - Hook Line & Sinker
68 The Indigo Kings - How Can It Be True
69 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - What's The Matter With You
70 Harry James & His Music Makers - Two O'Clock Jump
71 The Lazy Jumpers - Salt And Pepper Boogie
72 Robyn Adele Anderson - Immigrant Song
73 Count Basie - Shorty George
74 Keely Smith - Swing, Swing, Swing (Sing, Sing, Sing)
75 Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra - Wrappin' It Up
76 The Atomic Fireballs - Man With The Hex
77 Erskine Hawkins - Tippin' In
78 Woody Herman - Four Brothers
79 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - You & Me & Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)
80 Charlie Barnet - Skyliner
81 Jennifer Rocket - Stand Up Baby
82 Phantom Alley Swing - Pocket Full of Stars
83 Artie Shaw - Begin The Beguine
84 Maria Muldaur - It Ain't The Meat (It's The Motion)
85 Glenn Miller - Pennsylvania 6-5000
86 Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra - For Dancers Only
87 Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
88 The Mighty Blue Kings - Baby Drives Me Wild
89 Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra - Pull The Other One, Rob!

Salsoul Selection

This selection/pick sits right in the middle of a very specific corner of disco — the Salsoul Records world, which was its own thing even within the broader New York scene. Salsoul had its own DNA: Latin percussion, gospel-inflected vocals, lush orchestration, and a particular sense of drama that set it apart from the more stripped-down funk happening elsewhere. It's not the same universe as Patrick Adams, but there's definite overlap in spirit if not in sound — both were chasing something bigger and more emotional than the average dancefloor demanded. The label gave us some of the most beloved twelve-inch singles ever cut, and the remix culture around it — Gibbons, Pettibone — was as important as the records themselves. Thirteen tracks, no filler.

Salsoul Selection

01 Touch Of Class - I'm In Heaven
02 Loleatta Holloway - Hit And Run
03 Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up
04 Bebu Silvetti - Spring Rain
05 The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh I Love It (Love Break) (Moplen Radio Edit)
06 Charo & the Salsoul Orchestra - Dance A Little Bit Closer (Extended Version)
07 First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder
08 Skyy - Call Me
09 Candido - Jingo (Original Shep Pettibone 12 inch Remix)
10 Carol Williams - More
11 Double Exposure - Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons 12 inch Mix)
12 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
13 Joe Bataan - Latin Strut

PAP Smear (Patrick Adams Pick) 3

This is the final piece of the Patrick Adams pick. I've been relistening to this, over the last few days and it's just good. And several of these disco tracks are probably stuff you had no idea were even related to Adams. Unless maybe you were a DJ, then maybe. A couple of repeat bands in here from previous volumes, even one track that supposedly is higher rated than previous pick. But I know what I like. Last volume I linked to another record label and here is another reason why I picked that label: Herbie Mann covering Celi Bee in a jazzy dance-y way.

PAP Smear 3

23 Bumblebee Unlimited - Love Bug
24 Dazzle - Slipped Disco
25 Sine - Just Let Me Do My Thing
26 Four Below Zero - My Baby's Got E.S.P.
27 Patrick Adams Presents Phreek - I'm A Big Freak (R•U•1•2)
28 Logg - You've Got That Something
29 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
30 The Sparks - Woe Woe
31 Universal Robot Band - Dance And Shake Your Tambourine
32 Marta Acuna - Dance, Dance, Dance
33 Rainbow Brown - Let's Go Another Round (Tom Moulton Extended Mix)
34 Herbie Mann - Superman
35 Wish & La-Rita Gaskin - Nice And Soft

PAP Smear (Patrick Adams Pick) 2

Patrick Adams pick is continued on this second volume. Not sure why I added smear to this, since I definitely am not trying to smear him. In fact his legacy is unsmearable. But Patrick Adams Pick was too deliciously going to be PAP and that's what I thought of. Another non-New York disco outfit also came to mind and that was TK (Terry Kane) Records. Sunny and free Florida but also a healthy production team. Lots of different one off band names with Adams and lots of mentoring of young groups hoping to make it. And he gave them the best possible start. Lots of people like the boys from Chic credited Adams after he died and listening to some of these chord progressions you can hear why.

PAP Smear 2

11 Musique - Keep On Jumpin' (Remix)
12 Sine - Happy Is The Only Way
13 Dazzle - You Dazzle Me!!!
14 Sandy's Gang - Hungry (12' Extended Version)
15 Black Ivory - I Keep Asking You Questions
16 The Golden Flamingo Orchestra - The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us
17 Logg - I Know You Will (Larry Levan 12 inch Remix)
18 Rainbow Brown - Till You Surrender (Special Remix)
19 Louie Vega, Patrick Adams & Cloud Two featuring Anane - Rebel Nation
20 Patrick Adams - Jack In The Bush
21 Venus Dodson - Night Rider
22 The Shades Of Love - Come Inside (12'')

PAP Smear (Patrick Adams Pick) 1

If you have followed this site for awhile, you know that I love disco and also that I love following producers. This Patrick Adams pick does both. Going through his stuff was amazing and there was a deluge of songs, bands etc that I had not connected to Adams. This is going to be three volumes long. I was fascinated how even though they didn't work together there were some sonic parallels to Rinder & Lewis. One was East Coast, one was West. They didn't do the same stuff, but I kept hearing it underneath. Anyway this volume has the first song I ever owned by Patrick Adams (and I had no idea then it was him). In case you are wondering, it was Musique. But listen to these songs!

PAP Smear 1

01 Phreek featuring Christie Shire - Weekend (12'' Extended Version)
02 Wish & Fonda Rae - Touch Me (All Night Long)
03 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Make It Last Forever
04 Patrick Adams Initiative - Kings And Queens
05 Universal Robot Band - Barely Breaking Even (Club Version)
06 Musique - In The Bush
07 Caress - Opportunity
08 Bumblebee Unlimited - Lady Bug (12 inch Mix)
09 Cloud One - Atmosphere Strut
10 The Sparks - Cool It

Almost Made It

I am not going to go over every band in here on this pick. Just suffice it to say that many of these bands led to bigger bands later, or to play with much bigger bands, or to get hits with someone else. Look them up, all the info is available. Some Canadian bands that should have hit big, too. Check out my Not Hits for related stuff. I have seen some of these bands in little clubs before they turned into hit monsters. I've even been in the personal recording studio of at least one. Whoo, I'm important. No. They were not big at the time at all. Anyway, check them out, follow where they went.

Almost Made It

01 Uncle Rainbow - Anyway The Wind Blows
02 Shooting Star - Hang On For Your Life
03 Highway Robbery - Fifteen
04 Granicus - Bad Talk
05 Angel - Tower
06 Orion The Hunter - So You Ran
07 Legs Diamond - Stage Fright
08 Badlands - Dreams In The Dark
09 Harlequin - Innocence
10 Prism - Don't Let Him Know
11 Max Webster - Paradise Skies
12 Hush - Gotta Get Back To You
13 Zebra - Tell Me What You Want
14 Starz - Cherry Baby
15 Spys - Don't Run My Life
16 Trillion - Big Boy
17 Touch - Listen (Can You Feel It)
18 Michael Stanley Band - He Can't Love You
19 Shnazz - Bad Boys
20 Hanoi Rocks - Tragedy

Worst Songs Ever 2

You didn't think there were only 21 did you? Notice, that I telegraphed that there were 40 in the total list (look at the cover closely). Yesterday was just the warm up, today is the finale. Now this pick will give you the full top 40 of the worst songs ever. Not sure why anyone would purposely try to listen to these more than once, but beauty is in the ear of the beholder they say (Or something like that). I really though I had posted these two a long time ago and someone brought up that I never followed through, so here it is. The thing that's funny is that several of these songs have been on client's Must Play list. Most were years ago, though. 

Worst Songs Ever 2

22 Des'ree - Life
23 Limp Bizkit - Nookie
24 Newsong - The Christmas Shoes
25 Sisqo - Thong Song
26 Hampton The Hampster - The Hampster Dance Song
27 Cheeky Girls - Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum) Radio Edit
28 Counting Crows Ft Vanessa Carlton - Big Yellow Taxi
29 Black Eyed Peas - My Humps
30 James Blunt - You're Beautiful
31 Nickelback - Rockstar
32 Artists For Haiti - We Are The World 25 For Haiti
33 Insane Clown Posse - Miracles
34 Justin Bieber & Ludacris - Baby
35 Cher Lloyd - Swagger Jagger
36 Rebecca Black - Friday
37 Double Take - Hot Problems
38 Alison Gold - Chinese Food
39 Play N Skillz featuring Redfoo, Lil Jon, Enertia McFly - Literally I Can't
40 Jake Paul - It's Everyday Bro

Worst Songs Ever 1

The following songs in this pick have been named by critics, broadcasters, composers, and 
listeners as the "worst ever". Examples of sources include VH1's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever and Blender magazine's Run for Your Life! It's the 50 Worst Songs Ever!.  They are in release date order. From 1953 to 2017. Some of these songs were commercially successful, some highly catchy ear worms (see the Too Catchy series).  Most DJ's realize that the "Must Play" list and the "Do Not Play" list often overlaps. And yet at least a few of these songs will never make it to the must play list.

Worst Songs Ever 1

01 Harry Kari & His Six Saki Sippers - Yes Sir, That's My Baby
02 Napoleon XIV - !aaah-Ah, Yawa Em Ekat Ot Gnimoc Er'yeht
03 Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
04 Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Paralyzed
05 Richard Harris - Macarthur Park
06 Paul Anka with Odia Coates - (You're) Having My Baby
07 Paper Lace - Billy, Don't Be A Hero
08 Rick Dees - Disco Duck (Pt. 1)
09 Reginald Bosanquet - Dance With Me
10 The Tweets - Birdie Song
11 Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory
12 Spandau Ballet - True
13 Black Lace - Agadoo
14 Phil Collins - Sussudio
15 Starship - We Built This City
16 Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy
17 Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
18 4 Non Blondes - What's Up
19 Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart
20 Take That - Could It Be Magic
21 Mr. Blobby - Mr Blobby

World Domination 6

I've always built these the same way a good night out actually works — you don't open at full speed and you don't end there either. You find an entry point, let the room warm up, push it somewhere it didn't know it was going, then bring it back down so nobody feels mugged on the way out. This pick does exactly that, and if you listen straight through you'll feel it in your legs before you figure out what's happening. Fifteen tracks, half a dozen languages I can't speak, corners of the map I've never been to, and it all fits together like it was always supposed to. That's the whole point of this World Domination series. That has always been the whole point. One hundred and three tracks in and I'm still not done taking over.

World Domination 6

89 Waqal Studio - Dhaanto Cusub Dirgaax (Jigjiga Dhaanto Party)
90 King Sunny Ade - Ja Funmi (Mr West Remix)
91 Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)
92 Tiki Tokkers - Global Groove (Hana Hou)
93 Batuk featuring Lebon, Giovanni Kiyingi & Winnie - Forca Forca
94 Bajofondo Tango Club featuring Ryota Komatsu - Pa' Bailar
95 Shantel - Disko Partizani
96 Manu Dibango - New-Bell (Hard Pulsation)
97 Sergent Garcia - Acabar Mal
98 Sofi Tukker - Drinkee
99 DJ Arafat - Tapis Velo
100 Kinky - Oye Como Va (Extended Mix)
101 Coati Mundi - El Coco Loco (So So Bad)
102 Salome De Bahia - Outro Lugar (Club Mix)
103 Malcolm Mclaren - Soweto

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

World Domination 4

Another World Domination pick. The only rule has always been the same one — would it work on the dancefloor? This time I went looking at Western bands who heard African rhythms, Caribbean beats and Asian music and just couldn't help themselves. The result fits right alongside the previous World Domination picks. I have little idea what half of it means and I still don't care, as long as it moves your feet it's in. I still think this would make a great radio station (or maybe a club night). Tell me what you would add or leave off.

World Domination 4

61 Sonido Gallo Negro - Bocanegra
62 RDB with Snoop Dogg - Singh Is Kinng
63 Altin Gun - Goca Dunya
64 Achar On The Side - Desi At Heart (Tandoor 12 inch Drop Mix)
65 Shantel - Bucovina
66 Cheb Sabr - On Danse Quand Même (1996 Rai Version)
67 Mansa Agba Gamba Ase - Fox In The Henhouse (Save the Vote)
68 Tiki Tokkers - After Dark Aloha
69 Systema Solar - Yo Voy Ganao
70 KOKOKO! - Tokoliana
71 Acid Arab - Stil
72 Candido - Jingo (Original Shep Pettibone 12 inch Remix)
73 Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band - Deputy Of Love
74 Pigbag - Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag (Original 1982 12 inch Single Mix)

What's The Connection? Brothers 2

Not going to write mush, since it was just a few days ago when I did Brothers 1. This continues where I left off, so now you get more of the songs with Brother in the title. My brother is gone and maybe I should have waited until his birthday came around again, but I am impatient, so here is the next part. That's all you get until next year, though. And these aren't just leftovers, there are some killer tracks here!

What's The Connection? Brothers 2

19 The Winstons - Amen, Brother
20 Carole King - Brother, Brother
21 Louis Armstrong - Hello Brother
22 The Spinners - Brother To Brother
23 Herbie Hancock - Lil' Brother
24 Avicii - Hey Brother
25 The Solicitors - Music for the Brothers
26 Autry Inman - Ballad Of Two Brothers
27 Todd Rundgren - Soul Brother
28 Cymande - Brothers On The Slide
29 Ohio Players - Hard To Love Your Brother
30 The Andrews Sisters - Bounce Me Brothers With A Solid Four
31 Oh-Ok - Brother
32 Tabla Beat Science - Big Brother
34 Santana - Song for My Brother
34 The Fatback Band with Johnny King - Keep On Brother Keep On
35 The White Stripes - Baby Brother
36 Blessid Union Of Souls - Brother My Brother
37 REM - 7 Chinese Brothers
38 D.A.F. - Brothers (Gabi's Mix)
39 Kinks - Brother

Soca 4

More straight-from-the-islands energy to keep things moving. Soca’s that perfect mix of calypso’s storytelling soul + Trinidad’s unbeatable rhythm section + a splash of everything the Caribbean throws in — it’s born right there in the heart of the islands, and you can feel the sun, the jump-up crowds, and the pure joy in every beat. Soca is born to make you smile and sweat at the same time. Give the whole run a listen; you’ll feel why it’s still the soundtrack to good times. This pick captures that magic: big hooks, wine commands, road march drive, and grooves that make you move without thinking twice. 

Soca 4

52 Alison Hinds - Roll It Gal
53 Super Blue - Get Something and Wave
54 Lyrikal - Cloud 9
55 Marzville - Give It to Ya
56 Nadia Batson - Fattt
57 King Bubba - Calling in Sick
58 Krosfyah - Oil Pumping
59 Erphaan Alves - Intentions (Wine & Touch)
60 Island Strategy - Put Your Peppers On
61 Motto - Uber Everywhere
62 Shal Marshall - Splinters
63 Freezy - Split in De Middle
64 Fimba - Funky Business
65 Viking Ding Dong - Leave It Alone
66 Zoelah - Wine Up On Me
67 Speady - Hold Ya Bam Bam
68 United Sisters - Whoa Donkey
69 Linky First - Rock and Come In
70 Square One featuring Andy Armstrong - Turn It Around
71 Mac Fingal - Big Belly Man