Of course when I promise the next track is so good it deserves its own post, it’s one of those tracks that isn’t already up on the web. This one was vinyl only, so I posted a low-quality excerpt on Soundcloud; we’ll see if it stays there. I think I did that once before for a different tune, but I haven’t gone back to check on that one, whatever it was. Anyway, DJ Day took a pretty great song and recast it with a backing beat from Gino Soccio’s “Try It Out” and in the process created a little magic. The original version of People Under the Stairs’ “Trippin’ at the Disco” is cool and all, but at No. 152, “Trippin’ at the Disco (DJ Day Does It Again)” is far superior. I even used it to title and kick off the last mixtape I made.
23 April 2016, No. 151, One Way, ‘Cutie Pie (Instrumental)’
I want to double up today because we had the vocal version of One Way’s “Cutie Pie (Instrumental)” on the list already. Why Serato thinks the instrumental is a tiny bit faster than the vocal version I barely even have a guess. No. 152 is too good to double-bill, though, so at No. 151 the instrumental version of “Cutie Pie” is about all you can ask for in a funky synth bassline. Doesn’t do that much else, but who needs it to? [Note that the featured video is not the actual instrumental B side of the single. Can’t find a video for that; too lazy to upload one.]
Edit: Having conducted further investigation, I don’t think there is an official instrumental version. The one I have that claims to be from a 12-inch single is the same as the loop in the video, I think; it’s missing a section or two from the legitimate backing track. The absence of an official instrumental explains why this edit floats around out there. And I guess Serato calculates the tempo to be a little faster with the vocal sections removed. Harumph. Careful what you download, hey?
22 April 2016, No. 150, Miami, ‘Chicken Yellow (Let Me Do It to You)’
I’d almost trade the free drums in “Chicken Yellow (Let Me Do It to You)” for a free snippet of that horn. Miami’s tune at No. 150 also features seriously heavily reverberating claps from time to time that are fun to listen to. I was reading a little bit about plate reverb units yesterday. I wonder if that’s what they’re using. Oh, and it seems production team Bomb the Bass already gaffled the horn lick for Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance,” along with the bassline and the drums. No wonder it caught my ear.
21 April 2016, No. 149, Le Pamplemousse, ‘Le Spank’
No. 149 marks the second appearance of Le Pamplemousse (French for “The Grapefruit”) on the list. “Le Spank” (French for “The Spank”) has a solid groove, decent horn licks, a dope synth-build kinda break, and some fun square-wave synth leads. Then there’s the clapping break with a cute(ish) portamento’d lead and a picture of a butt on the LP cover. This grapefruit don’t need no salt to make it sweeter. Spank it!
18 April 2016, No. 148, James Brown, ‘Funky President (People It’s Bad)’
I copied James Brown’s “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” from an Ultimate Breaks and Beats compilation LP, so my version is pitched up about a half step and sped up a beat or so per minute. This does nothing to diminish the funkiness of the cut. Get over before we go under at No. 148.
14 April 2016, No. 147, Intimate Strangers, ‘Love Sounds (TZ Intimate Strangers Edit)’
Almost too stringy, but Tim Zawada’s edit of Intimate Strangers’ “Love Sounds” is also too lovely to pass up at No. 147.
10 April 2016, No. 146, George McCrae, ‘Rock Your Baby’
What a pretty song is “Rock Your Baby” at No. 146 from George McCrae. This version I have in the list is a re-drum from a disco compilation, and it seems to be slowed down a little from the version in the featured video. Bringing it down to 103 bpm or so makes it that much cooler. Love that Fender Rhodes.