It went really well – slightly odd crowd though, one that wanted rock and responded well to metal (?) but everything had to be HITS! HITS! HITS! and nothing even slightly unknown – not even indie classics…they ended an hour early since a few people got way too shitfaced and had to be wheeled out – Pride?

Overall a much more pop set than I usually play – partly cos the crowd was schizoid, even the CAP fulltime DJs were saying that, I couldn’t risk anything too not really well known although I did once with the Jesus and Mary Chain which Kirk wanted, it bombed (although the people working there loved it!)…but they didn’t even like Bowie’s Rebel Rebel that much. Odd. Hence the more rocky/indie set, not my usual comfort zone but hey…and very glad that Kirk convinced me to take the Junior/Senior as it ended up the suprise best reaction track along with Song2, Holiday and 9 to 5 which I knew would go down well.

But we ended up with more people dancing than I started with, so overall a success!

Ended up a 30 mins set – rough order:

1. Kylie – Your Disco Needs You (Casino radio mix)*
2. Black Kids – I’m Not Going To Teach My Boyfriend To Dance With You
3. Blur – Song 2**
4. Breeders – Cannonball
5. Vampire Weekend – Holiday**
6. Jesus and Mary Chain – Far Gone and Out
7. MGMT – Time to Pretend**
8. Bowie – Rebel Rebel
9. Junior/Senior – Move Your Feet
10. Dolly Parton – 9 to 5**

* my one of two concessions to Pride, was going to go into I Am What I Am – Gloria Gaynor for pure DISCO GAYness but schizo crowd said no to this – in fact a rainbow-badged Parader came up and asked for something ‘happy’ after this song. Eh? Got requests for Erasure too as well as Bob Marley, Courteeners (!) and a Prof Green song – none of these I had – nor probably would play.

** They loved this, sang along or went mad. Was going to end on Marilyn Monroe’s I Want To Make Love To You – Kirk’s brilliant idea, I think that would go down a bomb at say Duckie or Marvellous – but decided the crowd would not have gotten it.

Was also going to play Kelis – Acapella but it got played before by a previous DJ, also didn’t play a mashup I was planning to nor De La Soul’s Roller Skating Jam. Was thinking about a De La Soul – Ring Ring A Hey Hey > Lady Gaga – Telephone but again the latter got played before.

Might do a podcast of the played and unplayed tracks…

GAY = SIN from Matthew Brown on Vimeo.

Beautiful and wonderfully moving video by Matthew Brown – some nudity. Made me tearful (yet proud) at work esp. past 3:00 mins.

Hate is indeed a sin; if you hate then you are not a good person, you will not go to heaven or whatever fairy story you believe. You cannot be holy, divine nor just through hate. Yes it’s an energy, yes you can hate those who extremely hate, but in the end it’s pointless unless you act with pride and love to resist and fight back like the woman responding to the fundamentalist in this video reminding her that she is not following her own beliefs even.

Whereas natural beauty and love, whatever framework you have is always good/cosmic/divine/returned threefold or just plain nice and makes the world better to live in for everyone. Call me a hippy if you want but I do believe that. (via martxx)

Just a quick one which I held back from playing in Saarbruecken, but it being Pride Month it seemed appropriate to release it, it being The Gossip’s expression of defiance about gay marriage and rights ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ vs The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ remixed in naughty bootleg form by Tim Deluxe. Oh and a little of Jack White berating hipsters not listening to the Greenhorns at a live show, on cue and amazingly perfectly in time with the music, preacher style. I was going for a very much club/DJ production on this, quite proud of how it sounds, and the little cutups and loops of the vocals. Would sound great from a Pride float *nudge nudge*

Standing in the Way of Jack White (The Gossip ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ vs ’7 Nation Army’ – White Stripes Tim Deluxe remix)

Special thanks to Ian Fondue on this one, because him dragging me to Kaleidoscope and hearing the bassline of 7 Nation Army on their fairly dodge PA inspired this bootleg.

To those of a certain age, the porcine NOW! compilations (aka Now That’s What I Call Music) were a fundamental part of their youth….I remember the first ones, my sister had NOW 8. Well to make me feel utterly old they have now reached 25 years of age, and the 25th anniversary edition is soon to be out.

So let’s see:

Disc: 1
1. Backstreet Boys I Want It That Way
2. Belinda Carlisle Heaven is A Place On Earth
3. Beyonce feat Jay-Z Crazy In Love
4. Billy Joel Uptown Girl
5. Black Eyed Peas feat Justin Timberlake Where Is The Love
6. Bon Jovi Livin’ On A Prayer
7. Boyzone No Matter What
8. Britney Spears Baby One More Time
9. Cher Believe
10. Coldplay Fix You
11. Crowded House Weather With You
12. Culture Club Karma Chameleon
13. David Bowie Modern Love
14. Diana Ross Chain Reaction
15. Duffy Mercy
16. Duran Duran The Reflex
17. Elton John Are You Ready For Love
18. Eurythmics There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
19. Fatboy Slim Praise You
20. Feargal Sharkey A Good Heart
21. Frankie Goes To Hollywood Two Tribes
22. Gnarls Barkley Crazy
23. James Sit Down
24. James Blunt You’re Beautiful
25. Jermaine Stewart We Don’t Have To
26. Kaiser Chiefs Ruby
27. Katy Perry I Kissed A Girl
Disc: 2
1. Kylie Minogue Can’t Get You Out Of My Head
2. Leona Lewis Bleeding Love
3. Mark Ronson feat Amy Winehouse Valerie
4. Mika Grace Kelly
5. Natalie Imbruglia Torn
6. Nelly Furtado Maneater
7. New Radicals You Get What You Give
8. No Doubt Don’t Speak
9. Oasis Wonderwall
10. Outkast Hey Ya!
11. Pet Shop Boys It’s A Sin
12. Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer
13. Phil Collins You Can’t Hurry Love
14. Phil Collins / Philip Bailey Easy Lover
15. Queen I Want To Break Free
16. R.E.M. Everybody Hurts
17. Ray Parker Jr Ghostbusters
18. Ricky Astley Never Gonna Give You Up
19. Rihanna feat Jay-Z Umbrella
20. Robbie Williams Angels
21. Roxette It Must Have Been Love
22. RUN DMC feat Aerosmith Walk This Way
23. S Club 7 Reach
24. Shaggy feat Ricardo ‘RikRok’ Ducent It Wasn’t Me
25. Shania Twain That Don’t Impress Me Much
Disc: 3
1. Simple Minds Don’t You (Forget About Me)
2. Sinead O’Connor Nothing Compares 2 U
3. Snow Patrol Chasing Cars
4. Spice Girls Wannabe
5. T’Pau China In Your Hand
6. Take That Patience
7. The Beautiful South A Little Time
8. The Killers Somebody Told Me
9. The Proclaimers I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
10. The Scissor Sisters I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
11. The Sugababes Push The Button
12. The Verve Bittersweet Symphony
13. Timbaland pts one Republic Apologise
14. Tina Turner The Best
15. Tony Christie (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
16. U2 Pride (In The Name Of Love)
17. UB40 Red Red Wine
18. Westlife You Raise Me Up
19. Wet Wet Wet Love Is All Around
20. Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
21. Whitesnake Here I Go Again (87 Remix)
22. Will Young Leave Right Now
23. Yazz The Only Way Is Up

Can you get a mostly blander set of hits than this? NOW used to be a mix of the shit and the good, cred and the crap…now sadly success is probably only measured in sales rather than whether it’s good or not.

There are some Pop Classics™:

Kylie, Yazz, UB40, RUN DMC, Beyonce, Bon Jovi (I hate to say it, but yes) Ray parker Jr., Sinead O’Connor, Scissor Sisters, Britney Spears, Robbie Williams (ditto), R.E.M, Queen, Gnarls Barkley, FGTH, Outkast, PSB’s, Peter Gabriel, Spice Girls (double ditto), The Proclaimers, Diana Ross

but there are a lot even with the benefit of hindsight which should have been suffocated at birth:

Will Young, Fergal Sharkey, U2 (ooh controversy!), Tpau, Roxette, Cher, Phil Collins, The Verve, Westlife, Tony Christie, The Killers, S Club 7, Shania Twang, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys, Rihanna, Duffy, Wet Wet Wet, Belinda Carlisle, Mika, Natalie Imbrooglywoogly, Crowded House, James Blunt, Katy Perry

and others which are like ‘yes but not that song?!?!’

David Bowie, Take That, Tina Turner, Wham, Elton John, Coldplay, No Doubt, Timbaland, Eurythmics, Kaiser Chiefs

And talking of DJ Timmy Tim as he was known, why no Missy? Distinct lack of Eminem too. As we all know Madonna has never graced a NOW album either, having been kept off the No. 1 slot by one, but Prince has, so why the no show?). And no New Order – not even Blue Monday.

So what would be your NOW 25 years wonder playlist?

Over at the Spanish remix/community site Buffet Libre are 40 (!!!) covers and remixes of 80′s tunes, and mighty good they are too. As always it’s a mixed bag, but those of an electronic persuasion and those who love 80′s tunes (that’s most of my friends then) will love something in this.

There are even some more well known names in there such as Electric Soft Parade, Fil OK..and err…well that’s it from that regard but some of the names ring slight DX7 Bells.

Apparently there are more to come in September – may it roll on!

Usually I keep stuff like this solely for the podcast, not sure if and when I’ll do one next, so here are my choices in a new bloggy format:

Simply brilliant:
Electric Soft Parade – Jealousy – a simply astounding cover of a song that never ever gets old – slowing it down and stripping it down, adding distortion and piano at points adds a lot. Nice to hear from these guys again, where have they been?…

Mashup yet not:
Saint Bernadette – Owner of a Lonely Heart / Things Can Only Get Better – yes a band doing a ‘live’ cover mashup of Yes AND Howard Jones (!). And it works…almost a guilty pleasure hearing Howard Jones, but then again what is Yes then? I can’t decide which is more guiltier – It’s a guilt paradox!

Stick that Purple One:
Culture Prophet – Erotic City – yes sort but sleep glitchy electro version, which unlike a lot of Prince covers floating around in a sea of writs is actually good.

Kate Bush in good remix shockah!
Kate Bush – Under Ice (Fil Ok Remix) – And by a ex-happy hardcore person as well…wow. Great non-obvious-but-inspired choice of track, a ambient electro burbling remix of an album track off Hounds of Love.

Loud shouty rudeness award goes to:
Pomomofo – Ride The White Horse Yes that one, “if you wanna be a phony, ride the white pony!”

What I was listening on Pride:
!Trash Yourself – Fuck The Police – I wish someone had dared to play this at Pride. No fucking way they would though. Rude noisy angry glitchtronica.

I can’t believe it’s so gay*!
Madonna – Into the Groove (Sidechains mix) – yep Madge goes french house compression style. And I like it, unusually for 99.9999999% of any Madgephonia. Maybe cos it’s one of the few really good songs she has. Well like only one…pretty much. No strangely for some reasons the Kylie or Madonna gene passed me by…

Doubly gay* and double the guilty pleasure:
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven is a Place on Earth (Hidden Cat Remix) 0h. dear. This is SO GHEY I can imagine the bopping shirtless throngs now, but unusually for La Carlisle I actually like it – and I hate this song usually, even that Orbital remix. A banger as they say in teh biz.

* And if you don’t read this blog usually, that’s a very GOOD thing! Well I would say that…(waltzes out)