I'm done writing for a while. I'm gonna move on to other things. I had another blog that was more like a personal journal to me, if you are interested in checking it out. In that one I talk about my 40 night adventure of going out to party 40 nights in a row. I also talk about crazy shit I have encountered in the nightlife, as well as certain rants about the music industry in general.
I made 2 new mixes on the chill side. One is an all 90's slow jam mix, the other one is more up to date with my style. It's called Scrolls of Prayer and Divine Wisdom. I thought of the name because I was inspired by a documentary I saw about these rock climbers that went to Tibet to explore the abandoned cliff caves. I thought of the name because they found these mysterious scrolls in one of the caves, and the documentary ended without them translating the ancient (maybe forgotten) language. I think they were scrolls of prayer and divine wisdom. The title isn't that fitting with the style of the mix, but whatever. Just enjoy it.
DJ Imani-Scrolls of Prayer and Divine Wisdom
(THIS LINK IS NO LONGER VALID)
1-Brown Sugar (Destrements Mix)-D'Angelo
2-Bath Music-Greyboy
3-Painted Picture-The Commodores
4-Work It-Teena Marie
5-Licorice-MF Doom
6-Passin' Me By (Fly As Pie Remix)-The Pharcyde
7-One More Chance-Michael Jackson Feat. Sean Paul
8-Take It Back (Original)-12th Floor
9-Storm King-Bob James
10-Ope (Space)-Madlib the Beat Konducta
11-Bad Times-Gerard McManon
12-Counting Stars-Nujabes
13-Worldwide-Muneshine
14-Jojo-Boz Scaggs
15-City Girl-Main Attraction
16-Bingo-The Whispers
17-Dreaming Of You-The Blackbyrds
18-Inner City Life (Baby Boys Remix)-Goldie
19-Xtasy 4 Ladies-DJ Cam
20-Laughs, Drinks, Jokes, Tricks-Arts The Beatdoctor
21-Cherry Pie-Sade
22-The Out Of Towner-Ben Human
23-Love To Love You Baby (Tom Novy & The Gran' Flow Mix)-Tom Tom Club
24-I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down-Ann Peebles
25-Sun Dancer-Mass Production
26-So Long-Mr. Scruff
I took 18 of my Mashups and made a mix. Here ya go!
1)Elevators/Siempre Hay Esperanza/Jazzy Belle - Outkast/Sade/Outkast
2)The Way We Were (Try To Remember)/La La - Gladys Knight & The Pips/Slum Village Feat DJ Dez
3)I Love Your Girl/Suzuki - The Dream/Tosca
4)Shimmy Shimmy Ya/Modus Operandi - Ol Dirty Bastard/Photek
5)Juicy/ATLiens/If I Ruled The World/You're A Customer/Mass Appeal/Rebirth Of Slick/Friends - Notorious B.I.G./Outkast/Nas Feat. Lauryn Hill/EPMD/Gangstarr/Digable Planets/Whodini
6)Just A Lil Bit/Stepped Into My Life - 50 Cent/Bee Gees
7)Swing Brother Swing/Gibby Music - Billie Holiday/Apollo Grooves/Wynton Marsalis
8)Lollipop/Moments In Love/Crank That - Lil Wayne/Art Of Noise/Soulja Boy
9)Bang Bang/Nintendo Track - Nancy Sinatra/Nintendo
10)In Bloom/93 Til Infinity - Nirvana/Souls Of Mischief
11)Joints and Jam Bossa/Quo Vadis Samba (Butti 49 Remix)/La Vida Es Un Carnaval - Black Eyed Peas/Dusko Gojkovic/Celia Cruz
12)Don't Turn Back/Never as Good as The First Time/Give It Up - Colby O Donis/Sade/Sade
13)Heatwave/Maniac/Make It Hot - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas/Michael Sembello/Nicole
14)Jam On It/Universal Mind Control/Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Newleus/Common/Daft Punk
15)Lose Control/Play Dat Beat/Numbers/Clear - Missy Eliot/G.L.O.B.E & Whiz Kid/Kraftwerk/Cybotron
16)Enough/Mirror Dance - Gil Scott-Heron/Afefe Iku
17)Get It Shawty/Funk Me/Sensual Seduction - Lloyd/Marvin Gaye/Snoop Dogg
18)Buy You A Drank/Cheers Theme/Lets Get Drunk And Screw - T-Pain/TV Theme/Snoop Dogg/Jimmy Buffet
Its been almost a month since Michael Jackson passed and I finally started to listen to some other music. This past month, all I listened to, was his music. Hell, he had a catalogue big enough to do so. It will be a long time before we have another person that will so deeply impact the world. He was a God like King, such as Xerxes, and probably equally flamboyant. He was the Mozart of our time.
I pulled out the Jacksons album "Triumph" the other day, (the one that had the singles "Can You Feel It" and "Heartbreak Hotel"), the back cover has a statement about peacocks, written by Michael Jackson: "Through the ages, the peacock has been honored and praised for its attractive, illustrious beauty. In all the bird family, the peacock is the only species that integrates all colors into one, and displays this radiance of fire only when in love. We, like the peacock, try to integrate all races into one, through the love and power of music"
If he viewed himself (well, the Jackson Five actually), as a peacock, then the rest of the world surely viewed MJ as a phoenix. A phoenix is a mythical bird with a colourful plumage and a purple and gold tail. Near the end of its life, it builds itself a nest of myrrh twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again.
He is still alive today in our hearts, minds, spirits, iPods, CD players, and record players. In his rebirth, he will live forever.
I recorded this mix with Mike on my mind. It's not really a dedication to him, and it only has one song of his on it, which is a remix, but it does pay my respects to the man. I used samples of the poem Queen Latifah read at MJ's memorial, written by Maya Angelou entitled "We Had Him".
Here it is in its entirety.
"Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind. Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon. In the instant we learn that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell our time and no oceans can rush our tides."
"With the abrupt absence of our treasure, though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone. Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him. He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance. Despite the anguish of life, he was sheathed in mother love, and family love, and survived, and did not more than that, he thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style."
"We had him whether we knew who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his. We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes. He raked his hat, slant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us, and we laughed and stomped our feet, for him. We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given. Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Black Star Square. In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England We are missing Michael Jackson."
"But we do know we had him, and we are the world."
1 - My Love Is On Fire (DJ Spinna Remix) - Stevie Wonder
2 - Precious - Spencer Gray
3 - My Joy (Quentin Harris Vocal Mix) - Leela James
4 - Am I Crazy - Marc Evans
5 - Sonando Contigo (Original Mix) - Kiko Navarro
6 - Hay Craneo (Urban Magic Mix) - Soneros Del Barrio Feat. Frankie Vasquez
7 - Hunter (Fk-Ek Vocal Mix) - Dido
8 - Kissing Strangers Feat. Monique Bingham (DJ Le Roi & Ray Jones Dub Mix) - Ralf Gum
9 - Outta Love featuring Omar (Alix Alvarez Sole Channel Remix) - Reel People Feat. Omar
10 - Music Sounds So Good With You (Anto Vitale Remix/DJ Rork Club Edit) - Steven Stone Feat. David B. Whitley
11 - Keep Rising (Main Mix) - The Temple Dynasty
12 - Blood On My Hands (Whatever Happens) Quentin Harris Remix - Michael Jackson
THIS IS WHAT AIRED WHEN NBC CAME TO MY TRIBUTE TO DO A SEGMENT ON MICHAEL JACKSON'S DEATH AND HOW IT AFFECTED THE BAY AREA AND TWITTER CRASHING. IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY TO THE BACKGROUND, I AM PLAYING MICHAEL'S SONG "TABLOID JUNKIE" AS MY WAY OF SAYING FUCK THE MEDIA FOR HOW THEY PORTRAYED THE KING! YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THIS MIX FREE, JUST FIND THE LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.
On Thursday June 25th, 2009 the King left us. Right now, it's June 29th and I still can't stop getting teary eyed. I know it seems ridiculous to be so upset by the death of a celebrity, but a piece of my life died with the King. He was more than just a pop star to me, he is like family. I spent more time with MJ than anyone else in my life, figuratively of course. He (his music) was always there when I needed it.
The media destroyed him and it makes me think... since the media is fueled by the general public, and they are feeding us all the King's drama by the bowl full, is it because people want it? Yes, hell yeah they do, but I don't get how people can say they love him, and build him up to be the most famous musician of all time, yet get a kick out of watching his pain and suffering. The same people that laugh at his "wacky" lifestyle, and yearn for more degrading news on his life, are the same people that dance to the his music, and are now upset that he is dead. All of the hypocritical bastards that love to let it bleed can kiss my hairy ass crack! YOU KILLED MY KING!
I'm a little too upset right now to continue writing about the million things that I want to say about the man that inspired my love of music, which is the biggest inspiration in my life. All I can say is my King is free now! I needed to express my feelings the best way I could, so I dedicated a 5 hour set to the best thing that ever happened to music, Michael Jackson! On Friday June 26th I recorded my heart, soul and sorrows. Here is a copy of that live tribute. When I can concentrate better I will write more on this momentous and unbearable loss.Ok, today is July 1st, and I can write a little more now. NBC news came out to "support" me last Friday during my set. They did a live segment while I spun. The camera man pissed me off though! He had the nerve to say "When I turn the lights and cameras on, make sure you have a really popular track playing in the background that people will recognize". Fuck that punk bitch, this is my shit! I said "Naw man, I'll play what I want" He looked at me kind of puzzled, but I think he understood that I was actually upset by the loss, not just some asshole that only knows Thriller. I'm a true fan, not just some DJ pulling a publicity stunt, so to spite him, I played a track instead called "Tabloid Junkie" instead, which basically says FUCK THE MEDIA! I think Mike would have got kick out of that.
The media portrayed him as a total demon for their ratings, but just because he was different (or special) doesn't mean he needed to be ridiculed. He was a sensitive musical savant, and extremely eccentric, but that doesn't give anyone the right to gawk at him and eventually destroy him. Everyone has issues, so before you yell "Witch Craft!", and burn someone at the stake, go take a good look at yourself and see how fucked in the head you are.
Jesus Christ, I almost forgot about this shit... Later on in the night on Friday, some dumb ass bitch comes up to the DJ booth and says, "Hey, aren't you gonna play any Michael Jackson?" I almost cut her fuckin head off with one of the dozen MJ records I had propped up along the outside of the DJ booth on display. I had been playing nothing but MJ and J5 the whole damn night, but she only knew the major Billboard Hits. It's those bone-headed oblivious sheep that are destroying our music scene and are spoon fed whatever the media gives them. I'm so sick of these blind morons who can't look beyond the surface. Before MJ died, she was probably one of those people talking shit and laughing about how weird he is and how he like to molest kids! Now all of a sudden she loves him, but doesn't even know his music that is right in front of her face. Dumb cunt! I still have a bunch of stuff to say, but I'm getting all worked up again. I'll report back in a couple days or so...Its July 3rd now, and I think this will be my final entry on my feelings over the loss of the King. It has been over a week since the news spread like wild fire. I still get teary eyed every day, and I can not stop listening to Mike's music. He was my hero, and I never once gave it any thought that he was a monster. I was up til 6am last night, watching his videos on YouTube, and I started watching the interview with Martin Bashir called "Living With Michael Jackson" It's a good interview, but Martin is trying to subtly demonize, Michael.
Anyone with an ounce of a Soul can see that Mike was one of the most kind hearted, shy, mistreated, and caring human beings any society could ask for. (His death must finally be settling in my mind, cause I'm starting to refer to him in past tense more frequently) Everyone in the media that followed him around constantly, hounding him with pictures and never giving him a moment of peace or freedom, and treated him like an object rather than a human, turned him into a sheltered, scared, lonely man. The only people that did not judge him were his kids. You see footage of him with children and they all look up to him, and treat him as a friend. They respect him and treat him like an actual human being. They talk to him about normal stuff like he is just another person. They aren't fainting and crying, and begging for autographs and photos. How can anyone be sane when they can't even have normal human interactions, and form regular bonds with people. There was nowhere on this planet he could go alone, and no person he could talk to that wouldn't get all crazy and star struck over him. Who can live like that?
I know the whole "sleeping in the same bed as kids" thing is weird to us, but that is because WE are tainted as a society. We just assume that he is trying to fuck those kids, but that shit is absurd! MJ is like a little kid inside. There is a reason he was so obsessed with Peter Pan. It's because he is a real life Pete Pan who never got to grow up. No one ever worried about us kids sleeping in the same bed together during sleep overs. All I can say is that no one knows the truth, yet people were so quick to pass judgement without knowing a damn thing. Well I got news for you, this man is the most famous man in the world, besides Jesus, who may or may not be a fictional character. If we allowed a child molester to be the most popular person in the world, what does that say about our world? I'm not saying MJ was Jesus by any means, but there are so many parallels in their lives. They both died early, were hated, yet loved by many, had little, to no relationships with women, and will live on forever.
MJ was an inspiration to everyone, and we should be following his example instead of burning him at the stake. I slept in the same bed as my father til I was probably 10 because I loved him. There was no sexual foul play, and it wasn't weird. It's just some shit kids do. MJ was like a father to many of those kids. He slept on the floor mostly anyway, whenever he had sleep overs. The media just blew it out of context when they heard kids had slept in his bed. Just because our interpretation of love is so tainted and dirty, doesn't mean we should judge the man because his idea of love is pure. He loved these kids because they didn't judge him, and they were the only people he could be himself around and be comfortable.
In that interview with Martin Bashir, MJ starts climbing a tree and Martin acts like Mj lost his fucking mind, but what the hell is wrong with taking the time out in a day to just enjoy climbing a freakin tree? We are really screwed if we can't even do that anymore. On a side note, did you ever see that video of Mike in his 40's, where he went to the grocery store for the first time since he was like 8 years old, and it was like the most fun he had ever had. They had to shut the whole store down, because it is Michael Jackson after all, and he was having a blast just putting bread and shit in his shopping cart. Imagine if that was your life... to have everything in the world, but the most simple of things that many take for granted, can't even be experienced by a King. It's really sad.
MJ never had a chance to be young so he never had a chance to grow up either. There were many lessons in life that just passed him by because he was sheltered, yet no one wanted to correct him on faults because he is essentially a God of sorts. What kind of person would you be if you never had any conflicts?
There are many people like him, that are adults, who act really immature for their age, but he was just an extreme case. Then people ask why he never hooked up with girls. Well duh, if he's a kid inside, it's kind of self explanatory right? I know my dick wasn't getting hard when I was 10. He had women all over him since he was like 8 or 9. Don't boys think girls are gross at that age? You know, the whole cooties thing? Well if Mike never really grew up mentally, he probably grew up being asexual.
I can go on and on forever about MJ cause I've been a die hard fan of his for almost 20 years. Enough of a fan that I would treat him like a normal person if I ever had the chance to meet him. I'd say, "What's up Mike? How it going?" then wait and see if we could talk like normal people. He probably wouldn't give a fuck, but I'd shake his hand and move along. No autograph, no picture, no long speech about how much I idolize him, no crying, no fainting, no screaming, none of that shit.
I have many more things to say, but I think I've ranted enough. I guess I'll end by saying that throughout history, the people at the top, and the people that are the most loving, suffer terrible judgements by people whose hearts are filled with hate, and can not understand the concept of pure unconditional love. You will be missed for the rest of my life Mike, and I don't think I will ever be able to hear another song of yours without getting just a tad emotional. You took a piece of my soul with you to the afterlife and I am insanely grateful that your spirit was allowed to exist in this world.
You are at peace now my friend.
Alright, I thought I was finished writing, but today (June 7th, 2009) was Michael Jackson's final farewell. I watched the televised memorial at my Grandma's house with my cousin, her husband and 2 kids. We were soggy eyed the whole time, but one of my lil baby cousins, ironically named Michael, had me thinking...
I was bouncing this adorable 2 year old up and down on my knee, while fighting back a tsunami of grief, and I started thinking about how precious life is. Here I am with this amazing child named Michael that is so full of life and happiness, and making me cheer up with his curiosity and laughter, but deep inside I am crushed by the outcome of another Michael. I guess it is the unpredictable, inevitable cycle of life. With the tragedy of one loss, comes the wonder and splendor of a new life.
I am still having some trouble coping with the loss of my inspiration. I've been so uninspired to spin, buy music, go out, among other things. I'm sure in time, the grief will pass, and actually end up inspiring me in a totally different direction.
There were many touching moments in the memorial. Queen Latifah spoke eloquently, reading a poem by Maya Angelou, and it was really special to me that she was there, because the first concert I ever went to was a Queen Latifah concert. I am only 27 so my introduction to Michael Jackson was in the early 90's, but he still had a strong impact and influence on a 9 year old boy in 1991. I used to record his videos onto VHS from MTV, then play them back while dancing around my living room, trying to mimic his dance moves. I was so excited when I got my first CD Player, and the first two CD's I bought were Michael Jackson's "Dangerous", and Mariah Carey's first album. So it was a tear jerker to see her on stage re-united with Trey Lorenz as well. I could tell by the flutter in her voice that she was fighting back her emotions. (No Pun intended)
When my mom gave me her old record player, I ran out of the house and bought 3 used records. MJ's Thriller, Bad, and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I played those records like crazy for years.
Today at the memorial Al Sharpton made me straight up cry. I couldn't help it. What he said to his children was some real ass shit. He said "There was nothing strange about your Daddy. It was strange what he had to deal with". Magnificent! Nuff Said! Smokey was lookin fly and was real genuine in his speech, with true class. Magic Johnson was really down to earth. John Mayer did not even need to say a word. He just walked out, played "Human Nature" on the guitar, and walked out. He said it all with his talents. He spoke clearer than the deepest poet, with that move.
I used to hate the song "Will You be There" (aka the Free Willy song) growing up because it was over played, and the movie sucked ass, but Jennifer Hudson did a beautiful job of making me appreciate it. Of course Stevie Wonder was amazing. He played a couple of songs that I don't know, "I never dreamed you'd leave in summer" and "My destiny" Usher laid his hand on the casket (I'm sure MJ wasn't actually in there) and blessed Michael with "Gone Too Soon". Berry Gordy was great, and tried to keep the spirit of celebration, instead of sorrow. Lionel Richie had his beautiful gospel song, and my heart was so heavy when they brought Mike in, and the choir was singing at the beginning of the ceremony.
Jermaine was strong enough to sing what was apparently Mike's favorite song from a Charlie Chaplin movie called "Smile". It's a pretty deep tune. You should look up the lyrics. Brooke Shields was crumbling during her speech. Can't blame her for that. Dr. Martin Luther King's kids had a very touching speech, and Michael's daughter Paris spoke briefly, but Marlon Jackson touched me the most.
He was probably the closest in the family to Mike. They are similar in age, and he said that with his passing, Michael can now be left alone. I'm pretty sure that's what everyone was thinking, but didn't want to say it.
The press and media can no longer harass and torment him. MJ jokes are pretty much off limits at this point. It will be many many years before I can look back on this time with a smile. I know that it should be a celebration of life and all, but I miss him too much to be positive just yet. A large piece of me died on June 25th, 2009. I have been so deeply impacted by a man that never even knew I existed, but I do know that he would have treated me like a human being and a friend. With my undying respect and admiration, may my brother Michael finally be at peace.
(THIS DOWNLOAD LINK IS NO LONGER VALID)
1) Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
2) Heartbreaker Feat. FATS - Michael Jackson
3) Beat It (Michael Jackson Cover) - Jim McMillen
4) Ready Or Not (Here I Come) - The Jackson 5
5) Break Of Dawn - Michael Jackson
6) Got To Be There - Michael Jackson
7) All That I Got Is You (Sampled Jackson 5's "Maybe Tomorrow")
Ghostface Killah Feat. Mary J Blige
8) They Don't Care About Us - Michael Jackson
9) Come Together (Beatles Cover) - Michael Jackson
10) Don't Stop Till You Get Enough (Michael Jackson Cover) - Derrick Laro And Trinity
11) Keep On Keepin On Feat. Xscape (Sampled Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl) - MC Lyte
12) It's Your Thing ('95 Extended Remix) - The Jackson 5
13) Right Here (Remix) (Sampled Michael Jackson's "Human Nature") - SWV
14) Human Nature - Michael Jackson
15) You Rock My World - Michael Jackson
16) Heartbreak Hotel - The Jacksons
17) The Girl Is Mine (2008 Remix) - Michael Jackson Feat. Will.i.am
18) O.P.P. (Sampled Jackson 5's "ABC") - Naughty By Nature
19) I Want You Back (Z Trip Remix) - Jackson 5
20) Speed Demon - Michael Jackson
21) Billie Jean (2008 Kanye West Remix) - Michael Jackson
22) Get It Together - The Jackson 5
23) Who Is It - Michael Jackson
24) Whatzupwitu - Eddie Murphy Feat. Michael Jackson
25) Moving Violation - The Jackson 5
26) I Wanna Be Where You Are - Michael Jackson
27) 2 Bad (Refugee Camp Mix) - Michael Jackson
28) Rock With You (Michael Jackson Cover) - Brandy & Heavy D
29) Thriller (Michael Jackson Cover) - Ian Brown
30) Another Part Of Me - Michael Jackson
31) This Time Around Feat. Notorious B.I.G - Michael Jackson
32) Liberian Girl - Michael Jackson
33) Letter to My Unborn (Sampled Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl") - Tupac
34) Scream (Scream Louder-Flyte Tyme Remix) - Michael Jackson Feat. Janet Jackson
35) Show You The Way To Go - The Jacksons
36) P.Y.T. (2008 Remix) - Michael Jackson Feat. will.i.am
37) I Can't Help It (Tanhoterje Remix) - Michael Jackson
38) Baby Be Mine - Michael Jackson
39) Tabloid Junkie - Michael Jackson
40) In The Closet - Michael Jackson
41) The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
42) Body Language (Do The Love Dance) - The Jackson 5
43) The Love You Save - The Jackson 5
44) Blame It On The Boogie - The Jacksons
45) Dangerous - Michael Jackson
46) Money (Fire Island Remix) - Michael Jackson
47) Dancing Machine (Miami Mix) - The Jackson 5
48) Everybody - Jacksons
49) Say Say Say (12" Version) - Paul McCartney Feat. Michael Jackson
50) Burn This Disco Out - Michael Jackson
51) Centipede - Rebbie Jackson Feat. Michael Jackson
52) Get It - Stevie Wonder Feat. Michael Jackson
53) Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
54) Just Good Friends - Michael Jackson Feat. Stevie Wonder
55) Remember The Time (E-Smoove's Late Night Remix) - Michael Jackson
56) Whatever Happens (Quentin Harris Blood On My Hands Remix) - Michael Jackson
57) Rock With You (Reel Soul Remix) - Michael Jackson
58) Stranger In Moscow (Tee's In-House Club Mix) - Michael Jackson
59) Lady In My Life (Timmy Regisford & Quentin Harris-Shelter Remix) - Michael Jackson
60) Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (2008 Remix) - Michael Jackson Feat. Akon
61) What You Don't Know - The Jackson 5
62) Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) - The Jacksons
63) Honey Love - The Jackson 5
64) Bad (Michael Jackson Cover) - Jim McMillen
65) Ease On Down The Road (From The Movie "The Wiz") - Michael Jackson & Diana Ross
66) Music's Takin' Over - The Jacksons
67) Get On The Floor - Michael Jackson
68) Leave Me Alone - Michael Jackson
69) Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell Feat. Michael Jackson
70) Can You Feel It - Jacksons
71) P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) - Michael Jackson
72) Billie Jean/My Love (Mashup By Coma R) - Michael Jackson/Justin Timberlake
73) Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson
74) Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson Cover) - Alien Ant Farm
75) Can't Get Outta The Rain (B-Side) - Michael Jackson
76) The Life Of The Party - The Jackson 5
77) Working Day And Night - Michael Jackson
78) Beat It Feat. Eddie Van Halen - Michael Jackson
79) It's Too Late to Change the Time - The Jackson 5
80) One More Chance (Remix with Sean Paul) – Michael Jackson
81) I'll Be There (Jackson 5 Cover) - Mariah Carey Feat. Trey Lorenz
82) I'll Be There - The Jackson 5
83) Why - 3T Feat. Michael Jackson
84) Heaven Can Wait - Michael Jackson
85) Never Can Say Goodbye - The Jackson 5
Finally, my first mix of strictly Deep, Soulful House. No Brokenbeat or Latin House in this one, like most of my others. Well I take it back, there are 2 Latin tracks, but just a little taste. I couldn't help myself. Speaking of not being able to help myself, the model in this pic is the Bamboo Vixen at an event called Club For A Cure. It was a night where all the door money went to breast cancer research. I wouldn't mind researching the Bamboo Vixen's breasts a bit more, haha. Wait, did I say that out loud?
I think I'm starting to focus on more upbeat tracks when I spin, like the ones in this mix. The world of Downtempo is starting to fade. I know I've said it before, sorry for sounding like a broken record. Pun anyone???
I would love to keep spinning some Trip Hop at happy hours or lounges, but people want to dance. I am also noticing that it is getting harder and harder to find high quality tunes. Maybe I'm getting old, but so much music fuckin sucks right now, and that's in many genres. I go to Stompy.com or Traxsource.com and it is so saturated with bad music that it takes me forever to find the gems that I'm looking for. Maybe piracy has forced these great producers to get day jobs to make ends meet, therefore leaving them little time to produce. I think we really fucked ourselves here. There are so many record labels going out of business, and pretty soon the only record stores that will be open will be the massive ones like Amoeba that mainly sell used music, or these mega chains like Target or Best Buy that only sell new Pop/Radio hits, or $5 greatest hits CDs from Queen and Rod Stewart.
I went into Rasputins the other day, and they are selling porno now!?!? Is that what it has come to to survive?!?! When they started selling posters and T-shirts, then movies and video games, it made sense, but fucking porn??? (or butt fucking porn, hahaha)
Besides all that, I spent hours in the Electronic section and it was full of garbage. You probably won't see me in a record store anymore when I can go on amazon.com and download a song for a dollar. I'm done spending 4 hours of my time at a record store flipping through trash. I used to do all my research and purchasing at record stores, now it just wastes my time. I used to spend entire days in record stores and walk out with bags of music. Now I walk in and it takes me forever just to find a single CD I like.
These record stores fucked up, for me at least. Instead of focusing on making the music consumer happy, they just decided to start selling all these other mediums to bring more customers in. PORNO FOR FUCK SAKE!!!!! If they had better music buyers bringing in better quality, instead of just the billboard charters, they'd still have customers. They also need to improve on those old, broken down, shitty listening stations that barely have any content in them.
Oh well, times change I guess. I feel like a part of me died today, and I will miss those experiences, but now that I am a DJ, not merely a collector, I need to be more efficient and be able to hear the music before a purchase.
Well this blog entry sure took a turn huh? Back to my original intention... to give you this new mix. The title is taken from a new Deep House night that I just started with Rahiem and Rob in SF. All the details for that are on my facebook page
1 - Music in the Air (Will Reel Soul Rodriguez Vocal) - Tyrone Ellis
2 - Fallin' (Reel Soul Remix) - Tonya Renee
3 - First Love (Feliciano Classic Mix) - Syren
4 - Love and Happiness (Ray Jones Vocal Mix) - First Choice
5 - Hang Around (Karizma's Deepah 1ne Remix) - Ben Westbeech
6 - You’re All I Need - DJ Dealer
7 - De Color (Ferry B. Original Mix) - Ferry B
8 - Curiosity Killed The House Cat (Aaron Hall Remix) - Jazzmopper J
9 - Better Than Never (Main Mix) - Orlando Vaughan
10 - Losin' My Head [Peaktime Mix] - Monkey Brothers feat Shaun Escoffery
11 - Samba Consumo (CrisP mix) - Sumo
12 - Second Guess (Grant Nelson Remix) - Reel People
13 - Everything She Wants (White Label Remix) - Wham
14 - Black Man (Deep Soul Mix) - Gianluca Pighi feat Robert Owens
I saw a drawing of a phonograph today, and I thought about how times have changed technologically. We are still the same, musically, in many ways, but music is way more accessible these days, and goes almost unnoticed in many situations. We still sing about love, we still go out dancing, and enjoy a good song writer, but I feel like the passion for music 100+ years ago must have been so pure and intense.
Looking at the phonograph that probably played easily breakable 78's made of shellac, which could only fill one room with sound, and had no bass, with records that only had a couple of songs on them, I realized how unbelievably spoiled we are today. People had to work much harder to consume music back then. Hell, at one point, live and recorded music was only accessible to the wealthy. Music must have been much more meaningful to listen to, with even more thought put into the actual song's creation. Way more than the saturated, disposable top 40 sounds on our current air-waves, that's for sure. Going out to hear a live performance must have been one of the highlights of someone's whole year, if not entire life.
Even though the only pictures and videos we have of certain era's are in black and white, they were way more "colorful" than we give them credit for. Swing music is off the chain (no pun intended). I wish I had the chance to experience a culture where there was appreciation for ballads, and better instrumentation was standard, rather than the simple dribble, and one hit wonders that we pump out regularly in our society today.
A lot of the "Crooners" like Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra were hip cats, and would probably dig some of our current tunes, but I just don't feel like most popular music these days have actually evolved for the better. There is a reason those artists are considered timeless. Will we have any timeless musicians in our generation? Our technology has changed the world, but in many ways we have taken giant leaps backwards.
I want to pay respect to the path that they paved for us, so here is my new mix of soulful stuff I'd like to think they'd get down to today in a club.
1 - You're So Desirable (Sunday People Remix) - Billie Holiday
2 - Relevations - Von Mondo
3 - That Night (Vikter Duplaix Remix) - Jazzanova
4 - I Love You My Hope (Do Right Remix) - Hird
5 - Restless Times - Clara Hill
6 - Pressure (Universal Sun Remix) - Lady Alma
7 - Endless Dance (Karizma Remix) - Markus Enochson
8 - Lucy Said (Landslide Remix) - Fenomenon
9 - Lockdown (Remix) - Soulstice
10 - I Forgot You (feat. Clyde) - Atjazz
11 - Like A Star - Alister Johnson
12 - So Far - Lacarno & Burns
13 - Distractions (Bugz In The Attic Remix) - Zero 7
14 - Feeling Good - The Quantic Soul Orchestra
15 - Ordinary People (Broken Remix) - John Legend
You may or may not know this, but The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were not always so trendy and lovable characters. They started as a comic book series that was dark and bloody, with cuss words and sexual activity. There's no point to that tid bit, I just wanted to mention it cause I found my old TMNT comics the other day.
Anyhooooooo...
I made this 80's mix on a night that I got booked at recently. It was at this theme party and everyone was in 80's "costumes/attire" (looking like douche bags). I kinda hate 80's pop and new wave honestly, but a man's gotta eat I guess. If I was booked to play more 80's hip hop or rare soul, aka non-radio shit, then maybe it would have been ok, but these losers wanted New Wave and Hair Band Metal. I snuck in a little hip hop, but it's mostly the trendy pop crap. I guess it's a fun mix to have if you are throwing your own 80's party, so I'll hook you up with it. It's not as bad as I'm making it out to be honestly. It's just not my favorite music, and I was just a little kid in the 80's anyway, so I don't really know the music very well, or have memories attached to these songs.
You can download all of my mixes and Mashups for free, and read my rants. I spin Broken Beat/Nu Jazz, Trip Hop/Downtempo, World Beat, Rare Groove (Funk/Soul Jazz), Deep/Soul House, and so many others.-----------------------------At the bottom of each post is either a direct link to download, or you will need to copy and paste the link in your browser. You can either choose the Zip file, or download each track individually, since all of my mixes are cut into individual tracks. If you burn to a CD, I recommend burning at a slow speed, to avoid silence between tracks, and be sure to change your Burn settings to remove the 2 second gap between songs.----------------------------You will be directed to either MediaFire, Z Share or Megaupload. In Mediafire you will need to click on each song title (In Blue), to get a download link for each song. You have to download each track individually. In Megaupload there will be a zip file and you can download the entire folder at once. I use Zshare for Uncut mixes that are usually very long mixes. Usually recorded Live.--------------------------------------Also check out www.therapythroughmusic.blogspot.com, that's where I Talk Shit About The Music Industry
