Detroit and Milwaukee connect for a track that in a just world would be soundtracking every Midwest club and cookout for the rest of the summer. Danny G Beats—why haven’t I tried to interview this guy?—comes through with a freestyle flip legit enough to get all the juiceheads in Bay Ridge running to the floor. Lonni Monae makes Milwaukee proud with a hook about fucking the party up, and it's bound to do that.
More delirious party pop: It’s nice to see some of these new school electroclash kids referencing Basement Jaxx. “Homie Don’t Shake” reminds me a bit of “Where’s Your Head At,” or maybe “Brainwashing” by Armand Van Helden, or maybe “Devil’s Haircut.” It shmacks with a kind of kitchen sink hooligan energy. Fuzz bass; disco punk; gonzo rewinds. Tip!
Foghorn “Foggy Weather Friend”
I like hardcore songs that teeter on the edge of self-parody (many do). YouTubers in the comments section of this one by Frisco band Foghorn seem to feel similarly. One user: “Is this supposed to be satire I genuinely can't tell.” The band’s response: “Don’t trip.” Regardless of intention, “Foggy Weather Friend” is a classic poseur call-out. One for all the “knucklehead pit bosses” (or whatever).
Water From Your Eyes “The Good Ship Lifestyle”
Endearing indie rock duo Water From Your Eyes are good at covers. I recommend their versions of “Lose Yourself” by Eminem and “How Bizarre” by OMC. Here, they do MIDI Chumbawamba. There is a war going on inside of my head.
A second cover in a single week? WEBB is from Canada, so he is allowed to take on an Alanis Morissette classic. The result is a disaffected and breakbeat-driven nodder supreme that goes down smooth, like an Iced Capp at Horton’s.
With “Freaky Horns,” East Coast producer Jialing cooked up one of the best classicist Baltimore club tunes I’ve heard in a minute. That’s not to say there aren’t wrinkles—the ballroom crashes, the borderline big beat moments—that push it out of the pure Baltimore zone, but this is textbook business, and it sounds downright quaint next to more blown-out contemporary Jersey club experiments. My Washed Millennial ears love it!
Seven songs this week. New record? Sometimes it’s hard to even find five. Let’s end with a different brand of East Coast energy music—scalding concrete club pound with a Nicki Minaj sample.
MIX OF THE WEEK: Bootcamp Live at Smelly Pit, Hattiesburg
What more do you need to know: It’s an Iowa City punk band rocking a Mississippi punk house called the Smelly Pit. The televisions behind the band, which I believe are transmitting a feed of the show with the band’s logo superimposed on top, are a nice touch.
FOGHORN!!!
I just gotta acknowledge when my hometown Milwaukee is mentioned ❤️