Chromeo and Questlove

A couple weeks ago we had a 5 day mini-vacation and it kicked off with a bang. Began with a taping of The Roots (plus John Legend) at the Austin City Limits studios. Always been a fan of the Roots, especially now that I see them on a regular basis as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Never been to an ACL taping before, so I was surprised that a) they give out free beer before the taping starts, b) they allow photography during the taping (as long as it's not flash). I just had my iPhone, but you can catch a glimpse of what it was like. I happened to be getting some water just before the Roots showed up in the freight elevator. A cop got in my way and told me not to move, so I whipped out my iPhone camera only in time to catch their backs walking in.



After the Roots, we rushed back downtown to have a quick jello shot and to recharge my phone before going to Stubbs BBQ for Chromeo, Holy Ghost!, and Telephoned. I had been really looking forward to this show, but by the time we got there (early, like 10 pm), Chromeo were already half way through their set! WTF! Then I looked at the ticket and it all made sense. 7 am start time. All ages. The place was packed with like 2,000 college undergrads. Anyway, we caught a couple of Chromeo's hits - Night by Night, and Don't Turn the Lights On - and then got out of there right when they began their encore. (I have always hated encores, except in those extremely rare circumstances when they occur organically, but that's for another post.)



After Chromeo we went to Red 7 to catch Questlove of the Roots spinning a DJ set. Must say, the guy is an amazing DJ. He was playing a wide range of hip hop and funk and disco, and he would do these really fucking amazing transitions. Definitely an educational experience, not just from a DJ technique perspective but also from a music history perspective. He would take you on a journey and make these really fascinating connections between songs, like mixing Notorious B.I.G.'s Big Poppa seamlessly into the Isley Brothers' Between the Sheets, which was the sample in the Notorious song. Except it was like on and on like that all night. Here's a crappy video that doesn't come anywhere near to capturing his skills or the energy of the set. We danced for three hours and then I was done.

The System - You Are In My System [VIDEO]

This electro funk duo's song has been stuck in my head since I found the video on 4 Hours of Funk a couple weeks ago. If you were partying at the clubs in 1983, this would be old news, but it was a new discovery for me. Just an awesome dance party song.



(Download the mp3)

Shit is 80s as fuck! I love how the white dude in The System, David Frank, is jamming on an old computer keyboard with a monochrome monitor displaying a waveform. I have no idea if that machine is actually doing anything, but it looks cool/nerdy enough that I don't care. The retro futuristic music technology fits with the lyrics, which I presume are using the metaphor of a computer system to explain a love obsession.

You are in my system
I just want you to know that, oh
You're in my system
Got me burnin', burnin', baby, oh
You're in my system

I guess The System are a pretty important electro funk band. They composed the title track on the Coming to America soundtrack for one thing. Singer Mic Murphy went on to write a bunch of hits, like Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle". And they were once covered by fucking Robert Palmer.

Henry's daydream

Henry's daydreams usually involve smooth jazz.

Grum - Through The Night [VIDEO]

Happy fucking Friday friends!

I gotta hand it to Grum. He releases entertaining music videos, even if they are sometimes mildly disturbing. He played a couple blocks from our home in May, but we had to miss it because it was super late on a Sunday night and we had to get up early the next day to like, you know, work?

Anyway, here's a touching cop buddy themed video for his song Through The Night. Not exactly what I pictured when I first heard the song, but it totally works. (I've already got cop buddies on the mind in anticipation of Will Ferrell's new movie.) [UPDATE: Will Farrell's movie sucked.]

Check it out!



Here's a mashup I made in May of Grum + Durrough I called Wired To This Feeling.

Marz - Move It Groove It

Holy shit there are a lot of artists called Marz. These guys must be the best. Stumbled across this awesome funky disco track last night on YouTube.



I'll admit I know very little about Marz, except that this LP is rare enough to be fetching upwards of $75 on Discogs. Of course, that made me want it even more!

I couldn't find this album for sale anywhere in digital form, but luckily I stumbled across a friendly blog that zipped up the whole album and offered it for download. But I'll be honest, this is the best song on the album.

Here's the mp3: Marz - Move it Groove It

"Move it... awl night!"

Adulture & OCD Automatic - Paper Cat (Bit Funk Remix) [VIDEO]

This music video features two things close to my heart: new disco and cats. It's also the first music video I've seen that was shot entirely on an iPhone 4.  



I have been enjoy Bit Funk a lot lately. And not just because he's a Canadian in America.

Here's another one of his remixes. He takes a fairly busy electro house song by this dude Joman and slims it down to a funky disco track perfect for listening to when you're speeding low over Earth at night in your love-fueled flying saucer.

Joman - Another Late Night (Bit Funk remix)
(You can buy the full quality mp3 on Beatport.)