A-Side: Chavy Boys of London - Friday Night Flu

B-Side: Chic - Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)

Let me see if I understand this fully, take a classic dance track which repeats a refrain about getting loose on the dancefloor, chop, apply drums in much greater measure than the original, include breakdowns and drum builds, and press to wax?  Well, I’m not mad at that.  This track is straight up effective.  Scottie B, King Tutt, & Shawn Caesar don’t do much to this classic gem of disco swirl, but they do enough.  And when the breakdowns themselves breakdown further, well, my face tends to crease with a long and abiding smile.

As for those of you who think all Baltimore Club music is repetitive and annoying, well this song isn’t going to help much.  So as a public service i have included the original here as a means of comparison.  With its forward leaning strings and clean production it really represents the more accessible disco style Chic helped bumrush to the top of the charts.  And yes, it is less repetitive than The Chavy Boys’ version but it is by no means a stalwart of Stockhausian theory.  This is dance music people, repetition is key. So dance, dance, and dance again, neither of these tracks is gonna loose the groove.  I think it’s rather obvious that one has more energy than the other, but I’m not gonna labor that point.

Needless to say, this post is quite obviously pointed at the argument of merit in Baltimore Club music, with some very clear allusions as to my personal preference.  So what if its repetitive, or crude, or offensive?  Bmore has been standing up proud about this music, warts and all.  And as the message boards and boutique labels have brought it into the fold we’ve seen some very good and some absurdly bad music claiming its heritage in the Baltimore Club genre.  Whether you blame that on the producers, club DJs or just the simplicity of music that is almost always derived from the “Sing Sing” and “Think” breaks, really, is your own prerogative.  Just don’t miss out on some really great opportunities to dance to some rough simple songs which do the job.

Digi-12” Tuesdays are Back!

A-Side: Charles Mingus - II B.S.

B-Side: Gangstarr - I’m The Man

To start things back up right on this blog, i think it is fitting that we visit some past masters.  Mingus, the bass genius behind some of the world’s finest jazz music, never sat contentedly in the rhythm section.  His vision of what the low end means to a song was revolutionary to his time and opened up contemporary music to explore the lower sonics as a place for complexity and pride, not merely to hold the beat and give some swing.  His solo work really shows his chops off and gives an idea of just how powerful a force a bassline can really be.  Not only did Ming Mingus Mingus expand my own personal idea of what a jazz album could sound like, I have consistently returned to it as source of music inspiration and tool to focus myself.  And that bassline; it will follow you around for days.

And while you are happily letting the bassline fill your soul and make you think about strutting on your way back to the train today after work, imagine that with Jeru The Damaja on top.  That’s what DJ Premier had to have been doing on his way to and from the studio while working on Daily Operation.  It’s only natural.  So for the B-Side today, the posse-cut of posse-cuts, I’m The Man with the majority of Preemo’s crew at the time on the same song with their own beats.  Coming up third on the mic, Jeru and the whole reason to pay attention to this track.  The rest of it has, in my opinion, not withstood the test of time; but Jeru came strong, Premier came through even stronger with that simple loop, rough drums, and horn stab.  What can one say but, “I’m the muthafuckin’ man.”

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A-Side = The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose To Give It

Simon Lord and Theo Keating have only just recently met, but that hasn’t stopped them from releasing a whole heap of good music together; ah the power and humor of the interwebs.  The Black Ghosts are two British fellas with a lot to say, and following their prior successes with other notable groups, they got together via the internet to make some amazing psychedelic electropop.  Ex-Simian frontman Simon Lord proves he’s got more to say these days than “I used to in a band with these guys” by providing some stellar, swirling vocals all over the track, while former Wiseguy Theo Keating produces in line with his current handle.  Anyway you cut it, these guys rip out a good jam with decent wordplay and a bassline to be jealous of.

B-Side = MGMT - Metanoia

In the same vein of psychedelic electropop, we have the sub-genre’s heroes, MGMT.  These boys (and they are young) got together their Freshman year at Wesleyan and have put out surprisingly good music ever since.  Now exploding all over the cultural landscape; opening for Of Montreal and Beck, and getting play in movies and CW programs, MGMT are the it boys of the moment.  And as the remixes roll in, Justice and Soulwax being the real heavyweights to chime in, we see that everyone seems to love these guys.  This track is a departure, with multiple movements and an expanded intrumental scope as evidence.  Is this what we’ll see on the next album?  Considering this song has considerably less of the electro and more of the psyche, just like their transition from single to album earlier in their career, I think we can reasonably expect at least one opus like this one their next disc.  Whatever they do, lets hope they continue to take whatever drugs they have been so far.