Here, footwork legend DJ Manny enters full Dance Mania mode, throwing down quite possibly the summer’s definitive jack track. If a lot of those nouns mean nothing to you, all you need to know is that these are the best banging basement beats Chicago has to offer. Music for the ages.
Birthday Girl “Something From Running”
Kim Gordon might not be making rock and roll right now, but Birthday Girl are, and on “Something From Running,” they write both a good pre-chorus and a good chorus, which doesn’t happen everyday. Can’t go wrong with a team spirit chant over damaged guitars.
Dee Play4Keeps X Bloodie “Playing Tag”
It’s not sample snitching if I say that you sampled the guitar from “Roxanne” by The Police. Producers EliWTF and AyyoLucas make good use of it, moving between double-time club drums and skanking, sliding half-time business. High-energy New York City styles—the perfect soundtrack to a never-ending barrage of fireworks.
It’s another smooth Luh Tyler song, and it couldn’t come at a better time. God knows I need to cool off. I’ve been in the sun all day watching people eat hot dogs, and Tyler’s Floridian vocal fry is like a cold bottle of limon pepino Gatorade.
RUMKICKS are a Korean power trio. One member has liberty spikes. Another has a mohawk and liberty spikes. The third’s hair is dyed blue. “Birthday Rock” starts off sounding almost like ska before blasting into poppy pogo punk. A lot of alliteration this week. I think all that sun has corroded my brain.
MIX OF THE WEEK: Cowgirl Clue “NTS 28th June 2024”
With “Trailblaze,” Cowgirl Clue made the best country rave track since “Cotton Eye Joe.” Her mix for NTS follows along similar conceptual lines. She plays a fast trance-ish remix of “Butterflies” by Kacey Musgraves, which in sequence is preceded by a Fleetwood Mac flip and “Playa Hataz” by Three 6 Mafia.
wow, the cowgirl clue mix goes