Party Like It's 1999 2/24/11

Wow, a lot of folks came out on a rainy Thursday. That's awesome. Our next edition should be in late March or early April at The Bell House. Here's what you heard and/or danced to:

Faith No More - "A Small Victory"
Temple of the Dog - "Hunger Strike"
Foo Fighters - "Learn to Fly"
Soundgarden - "My Wave"
Jane's Addiction - "Stop"
The Afghan Whigs - "Debonair"
Bad Religion - "21st Century Digital Boy"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Interstate Love Song"
Alice in Chains - "No Excuses"
Tom Petty - "You Wreck Me"
R.E.M. - "What's the Frequency Kenneth?"
Weezer - "My Name Is Jonas"
Extreme - "Hole Hearted"
Blind Melon - "No Rain"
New Order - "Regret"
Morrissey - "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get"
Oasis - "Live Forever"
Wax - "California"
The Presidents of the United States of America - "Peaches"
Soul Asylum - "Misery"
Soul Coughing - "Circles"
Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Hell"
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
Whale - "Hobo Humping Slobo Babe"
Folk Implosion - "Natural One"
Primitive Radio Gods - "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand"
Sneak Pimps - "6 Underground"
White Town - "Your Woman"
O.M.C. - "How Bizarre"
Sugar Ray - "Fly"
Sublime - "Doin' Time"
Sponge - "Molly"
Tracy Bonham - "Mother Mother"
Hole - "Doll Parts"
Meridith Brooks - "Bitch"
Macy Gray - "I Try"
Dionne Farris - "I Know"
Sophie B. Hawkins - "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover"
Jane Child - "Don't Wanna Fall in Love"
Notorious B.I.G with Puff Daddy & Mase - "Mo Money, Mo Problems"
En Vogue - "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"
Ace of Base - "Don't Turn Around"
Spice Girls - "Say You'll Be There"
Paula Abdul - "The Promise of a New Day"
T.L.C. - "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"
Prince & the New Power Generation - "Sexy MF"
Michael Jackson - "Black or White"
Janet Jackson - "Escapade"
Montell Jordan - "This Is How We Do It"
Snow - "Informer"
Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch - "Good Vibrations"
C+C Music Factory - "Gonna Make You sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"
Bell Biv Devoe - "Posion"
Bobby Brown - "Humpin' Around"
Culture Beat - "Mr. Vain"
Wreckx-N-Effect - "Rump Shaker"
Shaggy - "Boombastic"
Vengaboys - "Boom Boom Boom Boom"
Aqua - "Barbie Girl"
Backstreet Boys - "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
N' Sync - "Tearing Up My Heart"
Britney Spears - "...Baby One More Time"
Salt-N-Pepa - "Whatta Man"
TLC - "No Scrubs"
Janet Jackson - "If"
Mariah Carey - "Fantasy"
No Doubt - "Just a Girl"
House of Pain - "Jump Around"
Kris Kross - "Jump"
Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
Spin Doctors - "Two Princes"
Blink 182 - "All the Small Things"
Blur - "Song 2"
Rancid - "Time Bomb"
Hole - "Violet"
Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Dee-Lite - "Groove Is in the Heart"
Salt-N-Pepa - "Shoop"
Dr. Dre - "Nothing But a G Thing"
Coolio - "Gangsta's Paradise"
Warren G. & Nate Dogg - "Regulate"
Eminem - "My Name Is"
Skee-Lo - "I Wish"
Wilson Phillips - "Hold On"
La Bouche - "Be My Lover"
George Michael - "Freedom 90"
Chumbawamba - "Tubthumping"
New Kids on the Block - "Step By Step"
Tom Cochrane - "Life Is a Highway"
Duran Duran - "Ordinary World"
R. Kelly - "I Believe I Can Fly"

Song of the Week 2/25/11

Culture Beat - "Mr. Vain"



I can state this with 100% certainty: I had never heard this song until my partners in Party Like It's 1999 suggested it for the playlist. And I hadn't played it until their friend Gary suggested it last night. And it went over like gangbusters. Who knew?

Song of the Week 2/18/11

The Commodores - "Easy"

Fridays in the office we have a tradition of playing tracks from the 70s and 80s, songs that I could never crank up on the old iTunes if a certain person was on the floor. This past Friday I decided to play "Easy" and our brand new co-worker Michelle said, "Oh, I really like that song." Which was surprising, since she was born the year I graduated high school.

(Shudder.)

I heard "Easy" again Saturday night before going out, and listening to it all the way through almost made me miss my bus.

Gotta love Lionel Richie's 'do in this clip:



BONUS: Damn, I love this Faith No More cover perhaps even more than the original.


And I'd totally forgotten this performance on The Tonight Show where they look about as displeased to be appearing as any musical guest ever:

Song of the Week 2/11/11

Janet Jackson - "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"

As you can see in the post below this one, I played this song at my DJ gig Friday night. The version I spun was the single version, which is the same one that is used in the Herb Ritts-directed video below. It was seeing that clip in the winter of 1990-1991 in the cold clutches of Ithaca, New York that I decided a) that beach looked awesome; b) Janet Jackson looked totally hot for the first time ever; and c) I really needed to get Rhythm Nation. I had heard enough great cuts from it by that point that I was finally able to overcome my anti-Top 40 mindset I had evolved into since my junior year of high school. And with this DJ gig (and the continuing Party Like It's 1999 series at the Bell House--come down Thursday!) I've been able to rediscover songs from that era.

Ooey Gooey After Party 2/11/11

This night of spinning at the Bell House was kind of a mixture: one part Party Like It's 1999 + one part the 80s stuff I used to spin at various Brooklyn haunts + one part 80s stuff I never thought I'd play in public = a decent night of fun. Thanks to the folks at The Skint for inviting me to entertain the post-comedy masses.

The Cult - "She Sells Sanctuary"
The Cure - "The Catch"
Nada Surf - "Popular"
Liz Phair - "Never Said"
Smash Mouth - "Walking on the Sun"
Spacehog - "In the Meantime"
Elvis Costello - "Veronica"
Michael Penn - "No Myth"
Foo Fighters - "Big Me"
Third Eye Blind - "Jumper"
Harvey Danger - "Flagpole Sitta"
Ugly Kid Joe - "Everything About You"
Green Day - "When I Come Around"
Letters to Cleo - "Here and Now"
No Doubt - "Spiderwebs"
Go-Go's - "Head Over Heels"
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - "I Love Rock n' Roll"
Madonna - "Like a Virgin"
Janet Jackson - "Nasty"
Sheila E. - "The Glamorous Life"
Olivia Newton-John & ELO - "Xanadu"
Dee-Lite - "Groove is in the Heart"
Digital Underground - "Humpty Dance"
Tone Loc - "Wild Thing"
Prince - "1999"
Tears For Fears - "Everyboday Wants to Rule the World"
Duran Duran - "Rio"
Chaka Khan - "I Feel For You"
Montell Jordan - "This Is How We Do It"
Heavy D & Da Boyz - "Now That We Found Love"
Naughty by Nature - "O.P.P."
Salt n Pepa & En Vogue - "Whatta Man"
Notorious B.I.G. with Puff Daddy and Mase - "Mo Money Mo Problems"
Outkast - "Ms. Jackson"
Janet Jackson - "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - "Head to Toe"
Run D.M.C. - "It's Tricky"
Boyz II Men - "Motownphilly"
Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison"
Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
Hanson - "MMMBop"
New Kids on the Block - "Step by Step"
Backstreet Boys - "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
George Michael - "Freedom '90"
Depeche Mode - "People Are People"
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "Relax"
Dexy's Midnight Runners - "Come On Eileen"
Chumbawamba - "Tubthumping"
Blink 182 - "What's My Age Again"
Rancid - "Roots Radicals"
Jesus Jones - "Right Here Right Now"
Ace of Base - "The Sign"
Destiny's Child - "Say My Name"
TLC - "No Scrubs"
Madonna - "Holiday"
Kris Kross - "Jump"
Bobby Brown - "My Prerogative"
Toni Tony Tone - "If I Had No Loot"
2Pac & Dr. Dre - "California Love"
Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic"
Biz Markie - "Just a Friend"
Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
Hall & Oates - "Private Eyes"
Bananarama - "Venus"
George Michael - "Faith"
A-Ha - "Take on Me"
Belinda Carlisle - "Heaven Is a Place on Earth"
Wilson Phillips - "Hold On"
The Cardigans - "Lovefool"
En Vogue - "Don't Let Go (Love)"
REO Speedwagon - "Keep on Loving You"

Song of the Week 2/4/11

Johnny Nash - "I Can See Clearly Now"

Dammit. I've had this song in my head at various points for 5 days now. Who knew that a sing-a-long at Jonah and Kathryn's would warp my mind so much.

Wow, Johnny's looking funky here:

Song of the 1/28/11

Don McLean - "American Pie"



With the anniversary of Buddy Holly's death today, and the lengthy Facebook discussion I had about the song feeling three times as long when you hear it when you're sick (and I've heard it three times during this cold), it seemed natural to make this the Song of the Week.

I really loved this song from when I was a kid up until I DJ'ed at a bar called American Pie my senior year of college. Then I started hating the song with a white hot passion. It was a combination of playing it every shift at midnight and watching idiotic people doing shot after shot during the entire song that turned me off. The cherry on top of the hatred pie was the dbag bar owner. Alas, he was not the first dbag bar owner I would ever meet.