THE REPORT: 10/27/23
THE WORLD KEEPS TURNING, JOHNNY KEEPS BLOGGING
DCG Shun x DCG Bsavv (Feat. 2Rare) “On The Ground”
The drum programming here is crazy! It manages to point to multiple regional dance styles without committing to any of them. It’s two rappers from Chicago (juke/footwork) and a rapper from Philly (club music) and a kick snare clap gambit tailor-made for tricky body movement. To further complicate things, the top comment on the song’s YouTube video, from user @yungmaniac7561: “We fucking with this down South, Louisiana, Mississippi & Alabama this our type of energy!" I think we can call it what it is: American Music Supreme.
Chafed, blurry punk, released last month by a grip of New Yorkers who have been in it for a minute. The guitar tones, nasty and ecstatic, are shmacking my psoriasis-scarred noggin just right. The sound of coughing up twilight smog while Dunkin’ lights flash in the distance.
Here is another New York City band with an impressive pedigree, this one from a different scene. It’s a big city, and a lot of people own guitars. The debut Voyeur single is moody autumnal damage and hits like later Sonic Youth, which is not something you hear so much these days. “I’m ugly in an ugly world.” Proper indie rock.
I’m a sucker for meta-jiggy pop rap. Flo Milli rides a nice little Carl Carlson-via-Foxy Brown sample; the result is a song that takes me back to watching Queen Pen (and Mr. Cheeks and Nutta Butta and Markell Riley) perform “Party Ain’t A Party” on Showtime at the Apollo in 1997. It’s always confusing what ends up sticking with you.
Speaking of ‘97… Look, I’ve been waiting for a big beat revival for years now. I even made a big beat remix for JEFF The Brotherhood over a decade ago. Good luck figuring that one out! Conceptually, Trans FX appear to be entering Fatboy Slim territory, though in practice this track reminds me more of a classic AV8 party break—I’m going to have to get to party breaks on the blog—than something Norman might’ve played back in the day. Either way, its Billy Squire flip takes me back to the days of the original Dust Brothers, and makes me want to rip obnoxious Ad-Rock pockets. Dear god, help us all!
MIX OF THE WEEK: Ben UFO “The Lot Radio 10/24/2023”
I mean, I don’t know. When I think about what a certain kind of “connoisseur dance music DJ” can or should do—be eclectic within parameters, move between different “rhythmic idioms” seamlessly—Ben UFO is as good as anyone. His sets keep me siked, and I’m easily bored.
pristine selections as always