Im with stupid - Static X (1999)

Today's compilation:

Hed Kandi: Disco Kandi 2000 House / Garage House / Nu-Disco

Good God, what a terrific pair of discs here from the ever-consistent dance comp label Hed Kandi. With this first ever installment in their Disco Kandi series, the UK outfit supplies a steady stream of ephemeral house bangers from the late 90s and 2000, with a lot of the selections sounding contemporary, but also managing to channel an invigorating old-school disco spirit too. And many of these glitz-glammy, high-quality productions also collectively continue to progress from the sonic tradition that first started in famed New York DJ Larry Levan's Paradise Garage nightclub in the late 70s, where he nurtured a more vocally soulful and R&B-rooted house sound into the late 80s that would come to be known simply as 'garage.' And after the Paradise Garage's closure, that garage sound would find popularity at a club in New Jersey called Zanzibar too, where Tony Humphries would continue to spin it.

Now, despite a few of these tracks having somewhat remarkably high YouTube play counts, all of them were and still are definitely underground; that is, except for one. And this particular tune that I'm referring to wasn't just mainstream, but it really managed to lace the hell out of a lot of US contemporary hit radio stations back in the late 90s, even though it only ended up peaking at #52 on the Billboard Hot 100, overall. Basically, if you tuned into your local pop or more dance-oriented station on anything close to a regular basis back then, there's almost no way that you could've avoided one-off supertrio Stars on 54's cover of Gordon Lightfoot's 1970 soft folk-rock classic, "If You Could Read My Mind," which saw Amber, Jocelyn Enriquez, and Ultra Naté teaming up to record a song for the soundtrack to the disco period flick, 54. Really classic radio gold right there that a lot of people probably haven't thought about in a long while.

And then just as you're finished reminiscing on whatever fond memories you might hold that are associated with that particular song, quite possibly the most impressive track of all within this two-disc set ends up directly following it: the Matthew Roberts and Richard Fite remix of Eclipse's "Makes Me Love You." This one has a big, sun-shining pool party vibe to it, as it combines lustrous disco strings, funkily plucked guitar, a fuzzy-thick corrugated bassline, and piano keys, all while employing a lovely filter technique, which is that really popular thing that house musicians got to doing around this time period, in which certain elements sound distant and submerged, and as they continuously loop, keep sounding closer and clearer, until they satisfyingly breach the surface and hit their glorious peak. And that's maybe my favorite type of house music in the whole world 😊.

So, a really enjoyable way to spend over two and a half hours here, with a hefty dose of  super sleek house tunes, a lot of which are on a nu-disco and garage tip. And it was collected by the always seemingly on point Hed Kandi label too, which has never steered me wrong before!

Highlights:

CD1:

Cunnie Williams - "A World Celebration (Mousse T's Party Lick)" Lovestation - "Teardrops (Joey Negro 12" mix)" Bini + Martini -" Happiness (B+M's new re-edit)" Paul Johnson - "Get Get Down (Dancefloor dub)" Fire Island - "There but for the Grace of God (Joey Negro mix)" Soulsearcher - "Can't Get Enough (vocal club mix)" Stars on 54 - "If You Could Read My Mind (original club mix)" Eclipse - "Makes Me Love You (Morning Star mix)" Darryl Pandy meets Nerio's Dubwork - "Sunshine & Happiness (Nerio's Dubwork mix)" Glaubitz & Roc - "Sunshine Day (extended mix)" Jaydee vs. Bo Horne - "Spank (Exit EEE's alternative mix)"

CD2:

The Lab Rats presents The Experiment feat. Lisa Millett - "Music Is My Way of Life (Lab Rats Main Experiment)" Choo Choo Project - "Hazin' & Phazin' (Lab Rat's Funkin' With Choo Choo)" Sun Kids feat. Chance - "Rescue Me (Bini + Martini 999 Funk mix)" Phunkie Souls - "The Music (Richard F "Defected" re-edit)" Z-Factor - "Make a Move on Me (extended 12" mix)" Michael Moog - "That Sound (Full Intention mix)" Novy vs. Eniac - "Superstar (Full Intention mix)" Duke - "So in Love With You (Full Intention mix)"

Tribal Disco Noise was an alternative/nu-metal band from Pleasanton, California. As was the case with many NorCal bands at the time, they drew from many different influences and always brought a high level of energy to their performances. This song, "Hold Your Own," came from their 1996 album, "Orange Sunshine." Footage is from February 7, 1997 in Berkeley, California. (Video credit here.)

tag people you'd like to know better!

favorite color(s): black, green. jewel tones.

favorite flavor(s): if i have to think this long... the world may never know.

favorite music: trip hop, hip hop, jazz, ambient, electronic, aggrotech, new wave, disco, nu-disco, white man 90s music, i could go on.

favorite movie(s): blade runner.

favorite series: severance was really well done. there are tons of shows i love but i'll always come back to the x-files.

favorite book(s): too many to list. i'll say my read of 2023 was Y/N by esther yi. absolutely brilliant. i almost wish i wrote it.

last song: rubber toy on combichrist's everybody hates you dark side album. i'm seeing them in April so i have the dark side mixes on rotation.

last series: ummmmmmm. so my tv is like wall art recently.

last movie: nimic, that Yorgos Lanthimos short. (i didn't think poor things was great, oops.)

currently reading: i just finished a poetry collection by li-young lee and i'll begin herbert read's the green child.

currently watching: sinking any time into a show would be a huge distraction rn tbh. will be watching that nosferatu later tho.

currently working on: i cannot think of a single thing i'm not attempting to work on :')

—🌓—

tagged by:// @madxwonderland

tagging:// @jundlcndwastes, @spokewar, @debelltio, @doyl1st, @thewindchild, @hotchocolatejedi, @valorums, @red-flight, @unwaivering who are still very new to me! hi hello! but everyone is invited.

What are they listening to: 12 orders edition

Barodius: screams of the damned

Kazarina: divorced mom music (ie: pink, Kelly clarkson, lady Gaga)

Airzel: linkin park (it’s his only personality trait)

Gill: 90’s grunge and nu metal

Stoica: one of those weird people who “doesn’t listen to music”

Nurzak: gregorian chants

Mason: Green Day and only pre hiatus fall out boy, doesn’t like anything after futct

Lena: Norwegian black metal

Zenet: blink 182, Green Day, fall out boy (but doesn’t want anyone to know she also loves Britney Spears)

Jesse: IDKHOW, early Panic! At the disco, and showtunes (obviously). Tries to get Mason to see the light on Folie a Deux

Sid: divorced dad music (Pearl Jam, chili peppers, soundgarden)

Ren: scene/emo shit like ptv, bvb and sws

Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time

(Dance-Pop, Contemporary R&B, Synthpop)

Carly Rae Jepsen’s companion album to last year’s The Loneliest Time ends up her most experimental, putting down her usual synthpop for songs that fizz with IDM beats and French house grooves and funk basslines. The Loveliest Time may not be her most consistent, but it’s by far her most surprising.

☆☆☆☆

Right from the start, The Loveliest Time places itself as Carly Rae Jepsen’s strangest album. Far from the anthemic synthpop she usually kicks her albums off with, Anything to Be With You is a dry, playful sunshine pop cut, a honking baritone saxophone and bouncy drum groove opening the album with a lighter atmosphere than ever before. It’s a strange but wonderful way to be introduced to her latest collection of outtakes and B-sides that are much stranger than her offerings from EMOTION or Dedicated, more like the excitement of a fresh start rather than simply more of a good thing. It’s hard to imagine these songs being slotted somewhere on last year’s The Loneliest Time, but all these songs are great regardless, making up her most diverse project yet where synth leads and dance grooves don’t always reign supreme, drifting into the worlds of IDM and funk-pop and expanding her sound without letting go of the bubblegum melodies her voice works best with. It’s more scattered in feeling than her other albums, lacking the thematic cohesion or onslaught of hooks her 2010’s releases prided themselves on, but The Loveliest Time’s slower pace and matured palette plays a different game entirely, seeking to contemplate and fantasize about romance more than it dives head first into it.

The album’s best moments are its most sensitive ones, where the softer beats and lighter instrumentation make way for a new kind of storytelling in her starry-eyed pop. After Last Night’s icy synth leads and scattered drum programming splits the difference between glittery IDM and Jepsen’s moody R&B cuts, Rostam Batmanglij’s sugar-coated production exactly what she needs for this romantic dreaming, while the glossy nu-disco of Shy Boy and Come Over replace her usual yearning with direct calls to action usually reserved for her most intense tracks, the fluttering guitar leads in the latter track the most intense part of the song as she makes her intimate moments as meaningful as the biggest gestures within her songs. It does make the heavier songs on offer feel unusually overpowering - Kamikaze’s fiery synthwave feels especially out of place situated between the breezy opener and After Last Night, and Stadium Love’s throaty belts and noisy synths clash too harshly with the warmth of all eleven tracks that precede it - but The Loveliest Time uses these contrasts to its advantage, expanding on the bits of soft rock and organic ‘90s R&B responsible for some of her last album’s strongest moments with the funk-pop jam Aeroplane or Kollage’s reflective downtempo, working her usual lyrical themes of breakups and hopeless romanticism into instrumentals who don’t require nearly as much intensity to get the same feelings across more effectively than ever before. It won’t knock you off your feet like Cut to the Feeling or sink you into a vibe like Too Much, but The Loveliest Time fully owns its brand of relaxed dance-pop where being a little left-of-center supports her new musical goals.

It does bring to the surface some of the strongest songs in her discography, particularly in the album’s magnificent second half. Psychedelic Switch’s blissed-out French house finds itself right at the heart of a new love Jepsen can’t get enough of, four-on-the-floor kicks and disco strings and flickering guitar loops pushing her music to a hypnotic, full-body high worn beautifully by her lively voice. Put It to Rest makes fantastic use of its darker atmosphere and snaggletoothed breakbeats as Jepsen lets go of situations and people she hadn’t handled with the most grace, taking ownership of what she’d lost and letting grief hang over her music more than ever before, putting the sentimentality of Shadow and After Last Night’s into context as part of Jepsen’s effort to let go of past hangups and push herself back into the light. The Loveliest Time is extroverted and willing to get a little weird with things, handling the artificiality of So Right and Come Over’s shuffling nu-disco with a commitment to her heart that overcomes just how gummy and bright the beats are, never so sweet to where it becomes a purely joyous experience as Jepsen contemplates how always seeking out romance puts her in precarious but wonderful positions, putting solid pop songcraft underneath songs foremost about Jepsen’s honest emotions. Her foundation hasn’t changed, and that’s inarguably a good thing.

While the wide range of feelings and production styles make it a little too clear it’s a collection of outtakes at times, the strength of The Loveliest Time’s songs nonetheless prevails. She scales every feeling here from sheer ecstasy to romantic defeat with the same confidence as usual, the flexibility of this being an outtakes album allowing her to add in new ideas and sounds without bending them to whatever the feel of her latest album is, The Loveliest Time going from careful and introspective to maddeningly euphoric in the blink of an eye and all the better for it. It’s easily her best B-side collection yet, matching the highs of EMOTION: SIDE B and the surprise left turns of Dedicated Side B and adding some new flavors of bubbly dance pop along the way. The Loveliest Time may be the strangest album she’s put out to date, and just through that it becomes one of her most thrilling and dynamic listens, promising even more electrifying anthems and oddball electropop with the same level of ingenuity and sincerity she’s always had. It may surprise more than usual, but Carly Rae Jepsen is as lovely to listen to as ever.

"Luci e suoni di Napoli" quattro giorni di eventi per il Capodanno

"Luci e suoni di Napoli" quattro giorni di eventi per il Capodanno Dopo il successo dello scorso anno, torna il Capodanno a Napoli con l'evento "Luci e suoni di Napoli...", una grande festa e tante iniziative dedicate ai napoletani e ai numerosi turisti presenti in città per un fine anno 2023 ed inizio anno 2024 all'insegna della musica, dell'arte e dello spettacolo. Sarà una quattro giorni ricca di eventi, dal 29 dicembre al 1° gennaio che, nel solco del progetto 'Napoli Città della Musica', strizza l'occhio alle nuove e meno giovani generazioni, con una programmazione tesa a valorizzare differenti generi di intrattenimento, in particolare musicale. Le iniziative che accompagneranno l'arrivo del nuovo anno confermano quella visione inclusiva e policentrica di città che l'Amministrazione comunale si è impegnata a realizzare, valorizzando in primo luogo i giovani ed esaltando le diverse espressioni d'arte. Gli Eventi Ad aprire il calendario degli appuntamenti, venerdì 29 dicembre, saranno due momenti di solidarietà: il primo con il maestro Carlo Morelli che porterà La musica in carcere con la band in concerto per i detenuti di Poggioreale, il secondo dedicato ai piccoli pazienti del Santobono che nel pomeriggio (ore 15,00) riceveranno la visita del sindaco Gaetano Manfredi accompagnato dagli artisti Lele Blade, Lda, Francesco Cicchella e Peppe Iodice. Sabato 30 dicembre Capodanno dei Bambini al Maschio Angioino: dalle 10 alle 20 il castello si trasformerà in un luogo fatato per i più piccoli con giochi, spettacoli ed intrattenimento. In Piazza Plebiscito, a partire dalle 20, protagonista sarà la musica urban e rap con diversi artisti della scena napoletana e non solo. La serata sarà aperta dai vincitori del contest "Giovani promesse di città della Musica" selezionati da una giuria d'eccezione composta da Geolier, Luchè e Chiummariello. Si esibiranno, poi, Plug, Lele Blade, MV Killa, Yung Snapp, Niko Beatz, Enzo Dong, NTO, Coco, LDA, Vale Lambo, Andrea Settembre e, in chiusura del concerto, la signora del rap italiano Rose Villain, tra i protagonisti del prossimo Sanremo. Domenica 31 dicembre, Grande spettacolo in Piazza Plebiscito in attesa del brindisi di mezzanotte con la partecipazione di tanti artisti, comici e cantanti. A partire dalle 21, sul palco, saliranno Enzo Avitabile e i Bottari, The Kolors, Francesco Cicchella, Arisa e Jimmy Sax, in una serata condotta da Peppe Iodice, Francesco Mastandrea, Francesco Procopio e Daniele Decibel Bellini. Insieme a loro scalderanno il pubblico anche altri grandi protagonisti del mondo dello spettacolo come Gabriele Esposito, Erminio Sinni e Ciro Giustiniani. Si esibiranno sul palco anche i vincitori di un contest per giovani comici emergenti. 31 dicembre 2023, dalle 23.30 alle 06:00 'Napoli cambia traccia': Alla Colonna Spezzata in Piazza Vittoria il nuovo anno sarà celebrato con HISTORY 90+, irresistibile format lanciato da Drop e dedicato ai favolosi 90's con l'inconfondibile radio style di DJ Cerchietto e con i dj set di Danilo De Santo e Irene Ferrara, seguiti in battuta dal vocalist Goldie Voice. Sul palco alla Rotonda Diaz il dancefloor sarà invece animato dalla new generation della club culture partenopea in collaborazione con i collettivi musicali Drop, Soul Express e Bang! e con i protagonisti della Nu Disco e del Nu Funk made in Naples tra i quali Marvin&Guy, Pellegrino, Fantasie Safari, Mario Bianco& Gabriele Del Prete, Vincenzo Curcio B2B Mugman e Valerio Viglione, tutti dj e produttori musicali del territorio metro-napoletano che si stanno facendo attori di una rivoluzione musicale che "suona" anche in molti club mondiali. Lunedì 1 gennaio Alla Colonna Spezzata dalle ore 16:00 alle 20,00 NAPOLI JAM SESSION Concerto/evento a cura di Max Jovine, bassista dei 99 Posse, che unisce circa trenta autori, artisti e musicisti della nuova scena musicale napoletana: a partire dalle 16.00 del 1° gennaio 2024, una originale e trasversale miscela musicale fonderà i ritmi, i sound e diversi linguaggi prodotti negli ultimi anni all'ombra del Vesuvio. Dalla band del collettivo N'Arte a quella del maestro Giuseppe Spinelli che accompagnerà le esibizioni live dei quindici special guest: 1. Andrea Tartaglia; 2. Balbusea; 3. Veronica Simioli; 4. Antonio Marino; 5. Collettivo N'Arte; 6. Dario Sansone; 7. Francesco Di Bella; 8. Greg Rega; 9. Helen Tesfazghi; 10. Jovine; 11. Peppoh; 12. Simona Boo; 13. Zulù; 14. Fabiana Martone; 15. Vesuviano. Basilica di San Domenico Maggiore, alle ore 18,00, il nuovo anno si aprirà con il tradizionale concerto di musica classica omaggio al Maestro Roberto De Simone 'Natale a Napoli alla Corte di Carlo di Borbone'. L'orchestra La Nuova Polifonia, diretta da Alessandro De Simone, ed il coro Ensemble Vocale di Napoli eseguiranno il Mottetto natalizio Quem vidistis pastores? riportato alla luce dal Maestro Roberto De Simone. Un momento musicale natalizio al quale Napoli, nella splendida cornice di San Domenico Maggiore, non ha mai rinunciato sin dal 1737 ed un evento importante non solo per la promozione delle tradizioni locali, ma soprattutto per la storia della musica e della cultura Europea. "La programmazione di eventi che accompagnerà cittadini e turisti all'arrivo del nuovo anno si annuncia vasta e variegata con concerti e spettacoli adatti al pubblico di ogni età - ha dichiarato il sindaco Gaetano Manfredi - L'esperimento dello scorso anno ha avuto successo e lo abbiamo confermato come format, Capodanno a Napoli sarà tanta buona musica, ma anche occasione per esprimere solidarietà e per valorizzare l'arte ed i talenti giovani del territorio. Come Amministrazione stiamo rilanciando una visione di città inclusiva e che sia all'altezza dello straordinario afflusso turistico che stiamo vivendo, in questa direzione continueremo con il progetto avviato da 'Napoli Città della Musica' affinchè l'arte attraverso la musica contribuisca allo sviluppo di una comunità consapevole che sappia custodire la tradizione guardando al futuro". "Dopo lo straordinario successo del 2022/23, una seconda edizione sempre nel segno della musica e del progetto "Napoli Città della Musica" – ha spiegato il delegato del Sindaco per l'industria musicale e l'audiovisivo Ferdinando Tozzi - Quest'anno abbiamo puntato, in tempi non sospetti, su Rose Villain e The Kolors... due big di Sanremo 2024 che si esibiranno a Napoli nella notte di Capodanno dedicata ai cittadini e ai tanti turisti, così come su Geolier, altro big di Sanremo inserito nella giuria del contest dei giovani musicisti. Ma il programma vuole rivolgere la massima attenzione a tutti, in modo trasversale, dai bimbi ai giovani ai meno giovani, ai meno fortunati, perché Capodanno è la festa di tutti. Poi c'è l'intenzione di valorizzare i nostri talenti, con ben 3 contest come "Napoli e' mille colori" e tante diverse espressioni di intrattenimento, di generi musicali (dalla urban al Maestro De Simone) e di comicità. Insomma una grande festa popolare e di tradizione, ma che guarda alle future generazioni e si apre alla contaminazione culturale".... #notizie #news #breakingnews #cronaca #politica #eventi #sport #moda Read the full article

The fourth in Monster Sounds’ floor-shaking series of filter house-inspired sample libraries brings another 1.27GB of bouncing beats, fonky b-lines, Chic-esque guitars, vibey keys and much more to your dance music production arsenal. Daft Funk has always been about capturing the essence of France’s world-conquering ’90s house sound, with its defining funk and disco influences, and that evocative vinyl-sampled texture, and Daft Funk 4 kicks off with 89 ‘Combi and Filter Loops’. Designed to provide instant inspiration, whether used as-is or reshaped and layered into the mix, these consummately performed individual and ensemble instrument parts (drums, bass and guitar, for example) have been processed using a rack of top-tier outboard and run through the analogue filter of a Yamaha CS-5 synth for that authentic filter house styling. From pumping side chained grooves and ‘club next door’ basses to melodic risers and epic stabs, it’s a candy store of sonic treats! Beyond that, Daft Funk 4 is packed to the rafters with ready-to-go drums, from four-square to breaksy; evocatively processed basses, including a super fat ’74 Gibson Grabber; achingly funky guitar riffs and licks; richly animated synth pads and arps; and sublime electric piano lines, drawing on a 1978 Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I and a Waldorf Zarenbourg. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a filter house sample library without an ear-catching collection of vocoder and talkbox loops, and Daft Funk 4’s 39-strong arsenal epitomise the gallic sound of the genre. Adding up to a vibrant and diverse palette of dancefloor-friendly sounds, Daft Funk 4 is a must-have resource for house productions of all styles, as well as synthwave, nu-disco, breaks and even pop. In detail, the pack contains 1.27 GB of 24Bit 44.1KHZ wavs - 89 Instrument Combi Loops, 35 Synth Arp Loops, 31 Drum Loops, 30 Bass Loops, 27 Synth Loops, 25 Vocoder Synth Loops, 18 Guitar Loops, 17 Keys Loops, 16 Drum Part Loops, 10 Fx Loops, 6 Top Loops, 5 Perc Loops, 2 Vocal Loops, 5 Synth Hits and 4 Fx. Log in to download a free taster pack and check out the demos to hear more. This collection is also fully Loopcloud ready. More information can be found about Loopmasters award winning software here: loopcloud.com

New Jackin House - Nu Disco / Disco - Deep House 2023-09-11

  DATE CREATED: 2023-09-12 Tracklist : Aevion - Jealous (Extended Mix).mp3 Agus O - My Sheep (Gianni Firmaio Remix).mp3 Agus O - My Sheep (Original Mix).mp3 Alan C - In The 90's (Vanilla ACE Edit).mp3 Alberto Dimeo, José Fajardo - Sexy (Original Mix).mp3 Aldo Cadiz, Andre Butano - E.T. iPhone (Original Mix).mp3 Aldo Cadiz, Andre Butano - Fugazzeta (Original Mix).mp3 Aldo Cadiz, Andre Butano - No Entienden (Original Mix).mp3 Alems - Brunch (Original Mix).mp3 Alems - Ladys And Gentleman (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - 909 Lives (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - I Still Believe (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - I'm Your Ghost (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - Teachers (Original Mix).mp3 Amal Nemer - Elevate (Original Mix).mp3 Amal Nemer - Eraser (Original Mix).mp3 Amine Edge & DANCE - Kid Cudi (Daniel Orpi Remix).mp3 Amine Edge & DANCE - Kid Cudi (Original Mix).mp3 Andre Salmon, Nick Edwards - Horse Play (Fran Ares's Remix).mp3 Andre Salmon, Nick Edwards - Horse Play (Jaime Read the full article

New Jackin House - Nu Disco / Disco - Deep House 2023-09-11

  DATE CREATED: 2023-09-12 Tracklist : Aevion - Jealous (Extended Mix).mp3 Agus O - My Sheep (Gianni Firmaio Remix).mp3 Agus O - My Sheep (Original Mix).mp3 Alan C - In The 90's (Vanilla ACE Edit).mp3 Alberto Dimeo, José Fajardo - Sexy (Original Mix).mp3 Aldo Cadiz, Andre Butano - E.T. iPhone (Original Mix).mp3 Aldo Cadiz, Andre Butano - Fugazzeta (Original Mix).mp3 Aldo Cadiz, Andre Butano - No Entienden (Original Mix).mp3 Alems - Brunch (Original Mix).mp3 Alems - Ladys And Gentleman (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - 909 Lives (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - I Still Believe (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - I'm Your Ghost (Original Mix).mp3 Alinka - Teachers (Original Mix).mp3 Amal Nemer - Elevate (Original Mix).mp3 Amal Nemer - Eraser (Original Mix).mp3 Amine Edge & DANCE - Kid Cudi (Daniel Orpi Remix).mp3 Amine Edge & DANCE - Kid Cudi (Original Mix).mp3 Andre Salmon, Nick Edwards - Horse Play (Fran Ares's Remix).mp3 Andre Salmon, Nick Edwards - Horse Play (Jaime Read the full article

Billboard USA Exclusion Zone Episode 18 (07/01/2023)

Honestly I was about to not make this post. Not because of the state of the world right which is what I could be describe as wrath. But it's just that I happened to get writers block out of nowhere making me unable to make even just one paragraph. But I'm back from that slump and thankfully because of yeehaw nation having their birthday, I can post it before the chart updated.

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77. "Attention" by Doja Cat

I'm glad that we have less busy week since Gunna's impact were barely presence here, so let's talk about Doja's new song. This song is quite interesting with the mid 2000's production that Lupe Fiasco would've used. I wonder how this song will do in this chart because it'll be interesting if this song became a hit.

88. "Broken Melodies" by NCT DREAM

Seems like K-pop in 2023 will be seen as a turning point with lots of new acts that became popular over the course of the decade so far. This is true for the girl group, but I didn't see it for the boy group. And with this new singles from NCT DREAM, they are trying to crack the west market and I think it's not happening. We'll see what happened next year but I'm worried for the boyband's prospect in mainstream.

137. "(It Goes Like) Nanana" by Peggy Gou

One of my favorite trends of 2020's in eletronic music so far is the rise of female DJs in the mainstream. Last year it was Eliza Rose and this year it's Peggy Gou. And just like B.O.T.A., this song incorporated retro tone like the 90's electro house sound and modernized it to create something that's instantly timeless. I hope this song crossed the state.

149. "Ram Sita Ram" by Karthik, Sachet Tandon & Parampara Tandon

Unlike the two songs from Indian film that I have discussed here, this song is what I would think of when it comes to songs from Bollywood movie. Not much to say really.

158. "Yankee 150" by Yandel, Feid & Daddy Yankee

...This is just Yandel 150 but with a Daddy Yankee verse and a bit of change in the melody during Daddy Yankee verse...and it counted for a fully new song?

177. "No_se_ve.mp3" by LUDMILLA & Emilia

I feel like Brazilians and Argentines are cooking something here but I don't think the whole world are ready for an EDM take of Funk Carioca sound.

199. "Substitution" by Purple Disco Machine x Kungs

Remember that guy who made that song that were used on Apple commercial? Well he teamed up wit Purple Disco Machine to make probably one of the grooviest nu disco song.

I highly recommend everyone to listen to these songs.

Album Review: 'That! Feels Good!' - Jessie Ware

What’s Your Pleasure? arrived at just the right time.  

Along with Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, Kylie’s Disco, Rina Sawayama’s debut album SAWAYAMA and Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Jessie Ware’s fourth album offered sweet disco pop escapism during the first few months of COVID lockdown, turning the kitchen floor into the dancefloor and evoking sweaty, lustful neon-soaked fantasies. It’s an almost immaculate record; a glossy, seductive cut of pure pop elegance.  

The British singer’s latest album, the beautifully titled That! Feels Good!, further doubles down on the sparkling kitsch and melodrama.  

‘I’ve put aside years of anxiety, imposter syndrome and all that fretting and feeling like I’m not good enough,’ says Ware (via Clash). ‘It’s not necessarily bigger or better than the last album, it’s more about turning the volume up and embodying that real, deep, sexy, bloody gorgeous groove.’ 

If What’s Your Pleasure? was plush and luxurious, then this is frothy and flirtatious fun, dropping the ‘nu’ from nu-disco almost completely with funkier basslines, huskier vocals and richer instrumentation as Ware reassembles the Pleasure dream team, including producer James Ford and singer/songwriter Shungudzo Kuyimba, and even recruits Madonna’s Confessions on a Dancefloor producer, Stuart Price.  

That! Feels Good! is also much hornier than its predecessor, delightfully so. To put it in late 90s pop terms, it’s less ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ by Stars on 54 and more ‘Horny’ by Mousse T. In fact, Ware has made her very own ‘Horny’ in the form of the album’s standout track, ‘Freak Me Now.’ 

It’s rapturous ecstasy bouncing on top of a filthy, limbre, positively vulgar bassline, recalling the sassy and colourful energy of the Spice Girls’ ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ as well as the bawdy fun of ‘Horny.’ ‘Freak Me Now’ is Ware at her most wild and untamed, with joyous yelps and commands to get your body over here and get that ass on the floor – just try to resist it. 

The singer makes for an incredible motivational speaker, compacting positive messages into catchy pop hooks. The ‘Funkytown’-esque ‘Beautiful People’ implores you to give her your love, driven by hypnotic cowbell and a side order of sass. On ‘Free Yourself,’ she encourages listeners to keep moving up that mountaintop, led by euphoric stabs of 90s pop piano in the same vein as Cece Penniston’s ‘Finally.’ 

Playful and tongue-in-cheek, That! Feels Good! showcases a more confident and self-assured Ware. On the title track, she demands, ‘If you’re gonna do it, do it well,’ led in by a chorus of breathless chanting that includes Benny Blanco, comedian Aisling Bea and actors Jamie Demetriou and Gemma Arterton, as well as fellow dance divas Kylie and Roisin Murphy.  

‘Begin Again,’ has her longing for sweaty human contact, strutting across the floor with a sexy samba-adjacent beat as she shrugs off the daily grind. ‘Shake the Bottle,’ meanwhile, is cutting and cool as ice, envisioned as a possible Lipsync for Your Life entry on RuPaul’s Drag Race as Ware amps up the camp, listing off a bunch of paramours who’ve done her wrong. It pushes the limits of innuendo more so than What’s Your Pleasure? as the singer provides instructions on how to make her bottle pop (‘(Ooh-ah!) Flip the switch and flick on the flame/(Ooh-ah!) Pour the love like strawberry rain/(Ooh-ah!) Shake it, shake it and put on the top/That's the way to make my bottle pop!’).  

The album’s true mission statement, though, can be summed up on the champagne-soaked decadence of ‘Pearls.’ Here, Ware proudly considers herself lover, freak and mother, the domestic colliding with the hedonistic in a glitzy cataclysm.  

The singer has spoken in the past about the identity crisis she suffered after the release of 2017’s Glasshouse, struggling at the time to balance motherhood and pop stardom. In an industry notorious for treating women as invisible by the time they’re 30, the track is a bold assertion of Ware’s artistry, sensuality and femininity, taking back her power and unashamed of her desires.  

That! Feels Good! also offers a couple of moments to catch your breath with ‘Hello Love,’ a jazzy summer montage with silky sax and an old-school soul groove courtesy of London Afrobeats collective Kokoroko, and ‘Lightning,’ recalling the sprawling cool of ‘Remember Where You Are’ and the moodiness of ‘Ware’s Devotion era, before ending the party with a bang on ‘These Lips.’  

Shimmering and sensual with its stylish beats and flourishing horns, the singer’s lips are apparently a dangerous weapon: They can turn milk to gold, take you places that you never thought you'd go and even wanted in a hundred countries, maybe more! It’s a perfect combination of the album’s overall sweetness and sexuality, offering a wink and a smile before sealing things with a kiss. 

That! Feels Good! proves once again that Jessie has the Midas touch. Everything she touches turns to gold, from the glistening production to the infectious joy that permeates throughout the record. It perfects the disco formula laid out by its predecessor and takes it to even greater heights with lashings of funk, jazz and French house, delivering banger after banger while never once feeling like it’s outstayed its welcome. 

The album is a gorgeous glitter bomb of camp that would implode in lesser hands, just oozing confidence and sophistication while not taking itself too seriously. Ware’s bawdy humour only adds to the charm, especially refreshing in a genre like dance where cool is everything, though rather stifling. 

Freedom is a sound, pleasure is a right, and That! Feels Good! shows Jessie Ware to be the perfect primadonna, just doing what she wants to do…  

- Bianca B. 

My Favorite Albums of 2020, 30-21

30. HEALTH, DISCO4 :: PART I

Favorite Tracks: POWER FANTASY | HATE YOU | DELICIOUS APE

HEALTH’s music is the definition of cyberpunk: a resumé that includes composing video game soundtracks and having a song called CYBERPUNK 2.0.2.0 seem like worthy criteria. However, the beauty of DISCO4 is its ability to show how extensive cyberpunk can get, with features ranging from Xiu Xiu to Soccer Mommy. The album’s moody glitched-out noise rock made my late night bike rides feel like a scene from Akira in the best way possible. I highly suggest the “POWER FANTASY” music video, where a bizarre heart-shaped monster runs through a Sonic the Hedgehog 2-inspired 3D half pipe, visits various deceased celebrities after getting a game over, and then takes a hit of DMT for an ultimate tripped out power-up. It’s just…the best.

29. Caribou, Suddenly

Favorite Tracks: Never Come Back | Ravi | Lime

It’s hard to define Suddenly, with its amalgam of pop, electronic, disco, techno, R&B, and experimental production serving as the basis for Daniel Snaith’s poignant songwriting. Having been released on February 28th, this swirl of emotional textures fittingly paralleled the surreal chaos of early March. After making the decision to return home to Oklahoma as it became clear that the virus was going to ravage NYC, I spent one last night with my best friends I had made in the city. It was a rainy night, and the bus I was supposed to take home never arrived (classic). I decided to walk home instead, listening to Suddenly as I passed the Harlem storefronts and streets I had become so familiar with. It was eerily quiet, like everyone had the sense that things were about to change: the calm before the storm. As I said a temporary goodbye to the life I had began just months ago so starry-eyed, Suddenly was evocative of an unpredictable rainstorm, washing away expectation and forewarning of the world’s caprice.

28. Rina Sawayama, SAWAYAMA

Favorite Tracks: XS | STFU! | Comme des Garçons

In November, I got really interested in the Y2K aesthetic for various reasons: nostalgia, for one, but mainly because of the interesting parallels it had to 2020. It seemed like the 20-year cultural cycle was in full force: the all-encompassing nature of technology that was present in the dot com boom of the late ‘90’s and the anxiety of the electrical grid shutdown at the turn of the millennium was an interesting parallel to the rapid rise of social media, the sudden shift of our entire lives onto Zoom, and their literal impacts on individual and societal mental health. The presence of catastrophe also played a factor, with the consequences of global and political crises changing culture permanently. Looking to music of the era was fascinating to me as I considered the rise of bubblegum pop like boy bands and Britney Spears and the simultaneous fall of rock into either weird nu-metal, pop-punk, or indie: what cultural lessons could be learned from such a transitionary period? This is where SAWAYAMA comes in: it’s like an audio scrapbook of everything I remember from my early 2000’s childhood, from the sumptuous aesthetics in fashion and media, the callow angst of pop-punk YouTube music videos, and even the Utada Hikaru-inspired J-pop that I was obsessed with from playing hours of Kingdom Hearts. Sawayama combines all of these ideas into a package undeniably contemporary and surprisingly refreshing, reviving the escapism and catharsis of the 2000’s that’s sorely needed in 2020.

27. Tennis, Swimmer

Favorite Tracks: Need Your Love | Runner | Swimmer

This album released at an interesting time of the year, as I mostly remember listening to it back in February pre-pandemic. Its schmaltzy, breezy, retro sound was great for mentally transporting away from the cold city and onto a yacht somewhere delightfully corny like Key West. The kitschy but sincere romance of the album was also fitting for the Valentine’s Day release, like a meaningful handwritten note in an overpriced Hallmark card. Perhaps it was this cheesiness that kept this album in rotation: the idealized romcom narrative of the band was like an alternate reality that I could cling to throughout the stresses of the year, reinforced by the fact that the dreamy pop production sounds so pleasant. Swimmer is an innocent daydream for better times, and it only serves to strengthen Tennis’ near decade-long indie pop legacy.

26. Dirty Projectors, 5EPs

Favorite Tracks: Lose Your Love | Overlord | Self Design

On 5EPs, Dirty Projectors has something for everyone: the collection is a compilation of EPs released throughout 2020, each representing different musical influences and featured vocalists of the current Dirty Projectors cast. With such a storied career and multiple changes in band lineup, 5EPs allowed me, as a relatively new fan, to get a taste of both the group’s previous sounds and hints at what their sound may be moving forward. Each new EP release was unexpected but welcome, and as a Time Crisis fan I was excited to see which Jake Longstreth painting would be featured on the new EP album cover. The project’s episodic release flowed along with my experiences in 2020, mostly soundtracking the crunchy eco-friendly ethos that got me through the year. Folksy-trippy songs like “Overlord” on EP1 Windows Open and “Lose Your Love” on EP2 Flight Tower were on constant repeat during my WFH backyard sunbathing sessions and summer camping trips. The chill bossa nova influence throughout EP3 Super João was perfect for camp sunrises and a damn fine cup of coffee. Listening to the modulated orchestral sounds throughout EP4 Earth Crisis while hiking through the Catskills forest instantly transported me to somewhere like Middle-earth, or an episode of Over the Garden Wall. The last EP, EP5 Ring Road, is where Dirty Projectors sound most at home, which is also where I spent the most time listening to this EP: the many autumn and winter nights spent in my room this year were warmer with Dirty Projectors’ signature art rock, and I can confidently say that this collection put a smile on my face all throughout the year.

25. Oneohtrix Point Never, Magic Oneohtrix Point Never

Favorite Tracks: Lost but Never Alone | Long Road Home | I Don’t Love Me Anymore

Magic Oneohtrix Point Never is an album we were never meant to hear; at least that’s how I felt when I first listened to this album. The distorted splices of old radio segments sound forbidden, like I was digging up the graves of these forgotten pieces of media and hearing their acoustic corpse. This album reminds me of the saying that you die twice, once when you stop breathing and the second when someone mentions your name for the last time. It’s evocative of abandoned event spaces or decrepit amusement park rides; places that used to bring people joy but are now simply spatial husks. In Magic OPN, Daniel Lopatin serves as the urban explorer capturing the dark beauty of these remnants, offering the voices of those sampled a temporary reanimation through his grungy classical electronica with eerie success.

24. The Avalanches, We Will Always Love You

Favorite Tracks: Interstellar Love | We Will Always Love You | Born to Lose

I listened to this for the first time as the snow fell outside my bedroom window, the December release date making it a late contender for this list. We Will Always Love You was already one of my favorite songs of the year and I had high expectations for these masters of sample notorious for taking their time with each release. Thankfully we only had to wait four years since The Avalanches’ last album, arriving a quarter of the time sooner than the 16-year gap between Wildflower and debut album Since I Left You. We Will Always Love You takes a noticeably different approach than the previous two, sounding much more personal: it’s in the quiet moments where the album really shines, evocative of deeply intimate conversations that only happen during late night drives. The samples are now more than just sonic ingredients; they serve as stories, vignettes of small moments of tenderness. The album is celestial; each song is as if an astronaut had the ability to pick a random spot on earth and hone in on exactly what one person was feeling in that moment: longing, joy, triumph, sorrow, nostalgia, pain, fear, and contentment are all here, and We Will Always Love You reassures us that allowing ourselves to feel it all is the purest act of humanity in an impossibly difficult year.

23. Empress Of, I’m Your Empress Of

Favorite Tracks: Bit of Rain | Maybe This Time | Give Me Another Chance

I’m Your Empress Of is strong because it focuses on identity: clips of Lorely Rodriguez’s chats with her mother about womanhood and her Honduran immigrant history reminded me so much of talks with my dad about what it means to be a man and anecdotes of his own experience coming to the United States from the Philippines. This context grounds Rodriguez’s own lived experience as a young American dealing with love and heartbreak to her storied heritage: it’s hard to explain, but any immigrant kid will know the difficulty of growing up and trying to live as a “normal” (aka: white) teenager/young adult while still honoring our family’s traditions, culture, and expectations. This incorporation of the first-generation American experience into relatable lyricism is Rodriguez’s form of radical reclamation: the songs are dancey and fun but never generic, with the electronic production serving as a vehicle for an American perspective often overlooked.

22. Tame Impala, The Slow Rush

Favorite Tracks: Posthumous Forgiveness | On Track | Breathe Deeper

The Slow Rush was another album a long time in the making, having been released five years after seminal 2010’s album Currents. Originally set to be released in the spring of 2019, I was admittedly a little disappointed when the only new songs I got to hear Tame Impala perform live that summer were “Patience” and “Borderline” (in 2020 hindsight, I’m thankful I was fortunate enough to go to a musical festival at all). It was finally released One More Year later: the fully-formed album The Slow Rush takes a bit of a turn, moving away from the wavy stoner break-up vibes of Currents into something more mature, incorporating throwback R&B, acid house, and aspects of prog rock into Tame Impala’s signature modern psychedelia. While the shift certainly left some longtime Tame fans lamenting the old Kevin Parker, the prospect of hearing a Tame Impala song in a mix at a Bushwick club was definitely exciting for me: the sonic influences on this album are genres that I have been increasingly interested in over the past year, and it’s great to see a major band unafraid to change up their sound. Tame Impala joins the ranks of contemporary indie stalwarts (Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Vampire Weekend) that have completed an excellent four album cycle. Who knew my Spotify was going to look so similar seven years later?

21. Dua Lipa, Future Nostalgia

Favorite Tracks: Don’t Start Now | Hallucinate | Break My Heart

This summer, I always looked forward to driving around and listening to the radio because I knew I was guaranteed to hear “Don’t Start Now” at least once, probably twice. Later in the summer, it turned into a guaranteed “Don’t Start Now” or “Break My Heart.” Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, even later in the year it turned into a guaranteed “Don’t Start Now,” “Break My Heart,” or “Levitating,” probably all three. Hearing Dua Lipa dominate the charts brought me so much joy! I’ve been a fan of Dua Lipa since One Kiss, and her music always puts a dumb smile on my face and gets me vibing: anything that instantly invites a groove is a welcome respite from the absurdity of 2020. The retro revival that Dua Lipa embraces is tasteful and fun, and her voice sounds right at home surrounded by the driving basslines and disco strings throughout the album. This is Top 40 at its peak.

i never think about how chaotic my music taste is until i listen to my discover weekly

Today’s mix:

Club Mix 99 by St. Peter & Heaven 1999 House / Trance / Progressive Trance / Big Beat / Nu-Disco

This double-disc mix has a lot of pros and a lot of cons, so let's break them down, starting with the pros. First off, the selection on this thing is pretty great. When you have the backing of a major label like Universal to make a mix, you're not gonna run into much trouble getting access to the tracks that you want. And it's for mostly that reason that this mix is a good one. It has plenty of bangers: some bonafied, surface-level classics (I will never, ever tire of Alice Deejay's "Better Off Alone"), some sweet remixes, and a bunch of tunes that should definitely be revisited again. Disc 1 consists of mostly house tracks and Disc 2 has lots of trance and progressive trance jams, and a common theme that seems to unite them both is an overarching feeling of warm bliss, with the second disc especially encouraging you to engage in some fancy-free fist pumpery. So if you wanna try to re-experience some of the sublime feelings of what the house and trance worlds were bopping to in the clubs in 1999 (or maybe experience 1999 for the first time), then this thing'll do the trick.

Now for the cons. As far as the mixing goes, it's really not great. Universal got a couple randos, a brother and sister duo who call themselves St. Peter & Heaven, to put this thing together. Looking at their Discogs profile, they'd done plenty of mixes before this one, but only for major labels, which leads me to believe that they just knew the right people and had never been awarded a major label mix assignment based on their skill or popularity among dance music fans.  As a result, the transitions tend to be weak, often sounding like your most basic crossfades, and placements of certain tracks are questionable at best. Another thing that Universal appears to have skimped on was the audio quality. With tracks like these, especially the epic and euphoric trance ones, you want stuff that's at a premium sonic quality in order to get a full, immersive experience; the type of sound that makes you feel like you're actually sitting in the decked-out studio that produced it. And the tunes on here don't come close to that standard. But if you're not much of an audiophile, it probably won't bother you that much.

So, in conclusion, while this is a pretty ample mix for its selection and the fact that it reflects well upon 1999, there's still probably better mixes out there that contain tracks of a similar caliber and are both sonically superior and have more authenticity.

Listen to Disc 1 here (minus track 1 for some reason). Listen to Disc 2 here (minus tracks 3 and 16 for some reason).

Highlights:

Disc 1:

Moloko - "Sing It Back (Boris Musical Mix)" Eclipse - "Makes Me Love You (Morning Star Mix)" Groove Armada - "At The River (English Riviera Mix)" Supakings - "Back & Forth" Basement Jaxx - "Red Alert (Jaxx Club Mix)" MAW Presents India - "To Be In Love (MAW '99 Mix)" Supercar - "Computer Love (Olav Basoski Remix)" Pete Heller - "Big Love (Eat Me Edit)" Powerhouse Featuring Duane Harden - "What You Need (Full Intention Power Mix)" Blockster - "Grooveline (Blockster Club Mix)" The Wiseguys - "Ooh La La" The 3 Jays - "Feeling It Too (Blunt Radio Edit)" Phats & Small - "Turn Around (Norman Cook Remix)" The Three Amigos - "Louie Louie (The Wiseguys)" Yomanda - "Synth & Strings" Disc 2:

Sasha - "Xpander" Chicane Featuring Maire Brennan Of Clannad - "Saltwater (Original Mix)" ATB - "9pm (Til I Come) (Sequential One 1999 Remix)" Alice Deejay - "Better Off Alone (Vocal Club Mix)" Lost Tribe - "Gamemaster (Signum Remix)" The Morrighan - "Remember (To The Millenium) (Lange Remix)" Liquid Child - "Diving Faces (Tom Wax & Jakarta Remix)" DJ Sakin & Friends - "Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess) (Lange Remix)" Lustral - "Everytime (Mike Koglin Remix)" Gouryella - "Gouryella (Original Mix)" Blank & Jones - "Cream (Paul Van Dyk Mix)" The Space Brothers - "Legacy (Mash Up Matt Mix)" Veracocha - "Carte Blanche (Original Mix)" Binary Finary - "1998 (Matt Darey Mix)" Ayla - "Ayla (DJ Taucher Mix)" System F - "Out Of The Blue"