Mike on Beats In Space (again)

Totally forgot to mention this...I just djed on Beats
In Space to promote the little Sweden trip with Tim.
(see dates below)

There was an unfortunate dj 'incident' right after
Eddie Kendricks. Shit happens i guess. Its all
about song selection with this set!

Otherwise, it wasnt too bad. Feel free to criticize
me on my skills on the interactive vivaitalians
blog. Live drummers man... Its a love/hate thing
when it comes to mixing those fuckers sometimes.

I specifically played some blog tracks as well.
You can download the show or listen live at the
link below. Tim held it down though.

http://wnyu.org/
http://www.beatsinspace.net

KILLER KUTS #32

LTG Exchange were a criminally under-appreciated NYC
Latin group, with many many amazing songs. These
are just a few of them.
Corazon is yet another disco classic. Dimitri, Idjut
Boys, Jellybean Benitez, and a zillion more djs have
either comped it, cited it, or simply made it famous.
The song is the epitome of Latin disco funk. It simply
smokes. Its nearly perfect. BUT, if you want a real
killer track, Waterbed is insane. Not as Latin-
influenced as Corazon, Waterbed takes on a more
funky disco style, and at times can sound like a Latin
disco version of the funk band Makossa. The instrumental
is superior because the drums really stand out.

The 12" version of Corazon exists, but is pretty tough to
track down. I dont think there was a 12" of Waterbed.
But, like pretty much EVERY song these days, there was
an edit of these two songs on one handy 12"- but i havent
heard it. Just go on Ebay and get these 45s for cheap-
you wont regret it. Consider this my "bargain of the
month!"

KILLER KUTS #31

Buari's an African heavyweight with many Afrobeat/African
dance records under his belt. Not as prolific as say, Fela-
but prolific nonetheless. Pretty much every track on this
record is great, but "KoKoSi" and "I Am Ready" are the
standouts. "I Am Ready" is a Loft track , and I think it's been
re-edited as well. (But really, what HASN'T been turned
into an edit these days)... The song doesnt need an edit.
Its nearly perfect as it is. Thumping Philly bass line and a
killer synth solo mixed with African chant vocals. Serious
shit man- a straight disco record with African influences.
Not a clunker in the bunch. Also, the lp is easier to find than
the 12" version- which has fetched upwards of $300 in the past.
Anyone got a spare copy???? :(

KILLER KUTS #30

Philly was kilelr last night-- you people know how to throw
down!!! Anyway, I played this song and three people
wanted to know what it was. I just expected everyone
to knew what it was, since it's somewhat of a classic...
So instead of telling people about it, I said "check the
blog"... (Actually, I didnt say that).
Anyway, Rigor Mortis rules. For 1977 this sounds pretty
ahead of the game. Also, yet another track with the
super disco break I love so much these days. It's been
sampled enough to recognize when it's played out.
Fans of "Bounce Rock Skate Roll" should get this one
too.
Also check out "I Just Want To Be" by Cameo. Its another
awesome track you can get pretty easily. Rigor Mortis
is a little more elusive.

MIKE's November DJ GIGS of note

----Friday November 24- Lit in NYC (downstairs)-
Frat Party! You're all invited!

SWEDEN (mini-tour w/ Tim Sweeney)
----Nov 30 2006 *Caviar at Uppat Framat in Gothenburg
----Dec 1 2006 *Inkonst in Malmo
----Dec 2 2006 *Discobell at Spybar Stockholm

Milhouse will be holding it down while I'm gone.

KILLER KUTS #29

There are like 6 records that Jah Wobble released
that all look similar to this one, but this is the only
one you need. The key element is Holger Czukay, who
jammed on this record in his post- Can days for a totally
killer post punk/ disco/ dub/ kraut rock/ ambient
masterpiece. "How Much Are They?" has made the
rounds with djs since its inception, and has been copied
to this day with the newer dub-influenced disco stuff.
Czukay's keyboard hook drives the song behind Jah
Wobbles dubby bass line. The vocals are sorta harsh
and add a punky element to the track, topping it off
perfectly. There seemed to be a trend back then to
make experimental dance music with samples and
chanty chopped vocals with a rhythm box- Eno & Byrne
(My Life in the Bush of Ghosts), Arthur Russell
(5 Minutes), Malcolm McClaren (Buffalo Gals)... The
list goes on and on. But this particular record was
my favorite.

As a added bonus, they dedicate this record to the
memory of Ian Curtis...

Dan Selzer can tell you more on this record. Dan,
feel free to add to this one, since you hipped me to it
3 years ago!

KILLER KUTS #28

Yet another killer find at WFMU. Getting in early
with a dealer badge really pays off! When it comes to
minimal synth stuff, this is considered a Holy Grail
by many, yet shunned by other collectors because
it has a dancey beat and too much melody.
Released in 1982, Pitch was a two piece NYC based
minimal synth group, and this self-released 12" on
their On/Off Records label is one of the more
mysterious NYC bands of the era. They existed within
the whole no wave scene, yet noone I spoke to knew
who they were. Upon further inspection I discovered
one of the principal songwriters, Marc Cantor, is an
internet and computer pioneer. His entire
bio is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_xCanter

But in a nutshell, he pretty much developed the
company known as Macromedia, and was also
responsible for programming the first ever licensed
music for a video game ("Peter Gunn" for Spyhunter).
And, he worked with the first Macintosh computers...
Today he is more known as a pioneer in the blog
world, believe it or nor- with his work in micro-
content publishing.

if you go to his blog:

http://marc.blogs.it/

you can find a link to a download of a track he wrote
in 1981. Totally rad!


This all makes sense when you think of it. He was
making computer music.. speaking of which, the A-side
"What Am I Gonna Do For Fun" is an amazing track.
Dry female vocals over what can only be described as
'cosmic minimal synth'. It can easily pass for something
that is popular today. The record cover is also awesome-
a multi color silkscreen job, which leads me to believe
this was a pretty limited run.
On another note, i am closer to getting this blog sorted
out and putting up music. SO keep an eye out.

KILLER KUTS #27

Part two of my killer scores at the FMU record
convention... When I saw this one i was also like
"what the fuck"?? I have only heard of this one
existing, but never actually seen one. The music
is soulful disco- almost Motown or Philly like.
But John Davis produced both sides, and added
his signature percussion to both sides, and the
result is a monster disco break. The break comes
out of the blue actually- towards the end. The
break sounds very similar to Apache or Scorpio,
so it's definitely a surprise considering the music
is straight soulful disco up until that point. The
a-side ("When Love Is New") is also awesome,
and similar- with a nice disco break. This is
definitely an oddly produced record, and a
nice one for me since i am on this disco breaks
kick these days...

I dj'ed EVR with Roy...

last night I dj'ed my man Roy Dank's radio show on East Village Radio.
Look for his new label featuring a release by Jacques, as well as other
shit. We are doing a "Mystery Mix" mix cd with Roy as well. Anyway,
Mike starts about half way into the show, and attempts to dj without
headphones (he forgot his), but Roy shows up with headphones and
saves the day. You can tell when this happens when the records actually
start to blend together in true "dj" form. Also, good friend Piotr throws
down a few recods as well. Roy is a maniac. Here's the link:

URL for show: http://eastvillageradio.com/modules.php?name=evrshow&ordinal=35
XML for podcast: http://www.eastvillageradio.com/podcasts/1277/35.xml

********************************************************************

KILLER KUTS #26

This will be part one of my FMU record convention scores.
This was on my want list for pretty much EVER. When I
found it for $5 buried between crappy freestyle records I
almost shat myself. For real, those who know this record
and how awesomely rare it is can understand why i freaked
out. Just look at Ebay and it's $200+ pricetag...
First of all, Little Scotty is a blues legend. Somehow Peter
Brown squeezed a 4-song disco 12" out of him. Of all the P&P
related records, this has to be the most fucked up, and
thats saying a lot. (anyone remember Sweet Naomi's
drugged-out off-time rap 12"?) The track everyone will
know is "Shout at the Disco", mainly because it has a
famous breakbeat that all the djs want... But let's
talk about the track "Acid Freak". The title says it all.
Its a total Love-inspired super psyched-out and just insane
song. Pretty heavy acid rock- but the song falls apart at
the end. The drummer suddenly starts to play off-time
right before the song ends. The guitarist tries to catch up
but it doesnt work. Its the most insane thing I have ever
heard. It just makes no sense! Why would Peter Brown
keep the take??? Any sane man would scrap the song
and try again. A total trainwreck, and a total AWESOME
song!

KILLER KUTS #25

If you know me, you know I have a warm spot in my heart
for Daft Punk, so when I found out Daniel Vangarde is the
father of Daft Punk's own Thomas Bangalter, I was pretty
stoked. Its great to know Bangalter has some legitimate
disco history behind him!

Both sides of this record are great. The a-side is "Intersidereal
Message", an uptempo spacey little number with a nice killer
break. But it's the b-side that particularly slays. Starbow was
the team of Kluger and Vangarde, who were part of the Paris
disco scene along with Cerrone, Don Ray, Claude Carrere, Alec
Costandinos, Ralph Benatar (who produced this track...) The
French were definitely down with the 'cosmic' sound early on,
and this track nails it straight on. Plus, it has a nice disco break
beat, something I love as well. Like most AVI releases, the
production is not bass heavy,and it tends to lend itself more
towards orchestration and songwriting instead of making a heavy
sounding record. On headphones, this sounds KILLER though.

Also, Kluger and Vangarde were the principle songwriters for
Ottawan, who had some big hits in Europe- but in America they
remained pretty obscure.

Mike's selling his records....

... at the WFMU Record Fair this weekend.

I'll only be selling on Friday (Nov 4), so if you want to buy my doubles and triples- now is the time to do it. Bring shit if you want to trade as well. Bring food (vegetarian). All they have is pizza and that gets old quick.

KILLER KUTS #24

If there was ever a "sure thing" - this is it. We all
know this is an all-time classic, and over time it has
even been considered a 'hit' by some DJs who refuse
to play it because it isnt obscure enough, or because
the "Bridge And Tunnel" crowd is totally 'getting down'
to it... Well, i say FUCK THAT SHIT! Seriously, how
many twelve minute songs out there are good enough
to play from beginning to end, or good enough to
play from any part of the record? How many records
out there do not warrant a god damn edit? Not many-
but this is one of them. The burning question is-- is
this a live song? It's on the live album? Do they think
they can fool us by beginning the song with some fake
crowd sounds?

This song always confused me. Why is a 12
minute studio disco song stuck on side D of a double
live record? AND it was a huge hit. I guess we'll never
know. Either way, it sounds perfect sandwiched
between Madonna and Michael Jackson...

KILLER KUTS #23

Georgie Auld is an old-tyme jazz legend who had an early
avant-garde jazz band in the 1940's. "Song Of India" is a jazz
standard as well. So, why the hell are these two elemeents
transformed into a super funky disco-break laden 12"? Super
obscure and mysterious record with a crappy B-side ("Disco
Boogie") that has that one seldom seen aspect of the late 1970's:
a killer disco breakbeat. Nice smooth sounds as well.
Unlike the raw funk of the early 70's, there is a refined and
produced quality that only the late 1970's could invented. Perhaps
one of you know more about this? The internet yeilded few
results. One of these days i will get ym ass in gear and get
samples up. :(

Mike's Halloween plans, for those who are interested...

...as Danny Glover said in Lethal Weapon, "I'm Getting too old for this shit..."

-----


Mike Simonetti is djing Halloween weekend twice in one night (god help me):

Friday Oct 27 Mike is djing LIT in NYC from 12-4am- downstairs, and its free---

---and then he will be leaving Lit, jumping in a car, and djing from 4:30- ??? at Rubulad in Brooklyn with Chris Catalyst. Last time we played Rubulad we set a record for the latest they ever stayed open- 10 am. if you want info on the party, check out Jim's website:
http://djsmallchange.com/news.shtml
- do a Google search to find out more about Rubulad.


-----he is then driving to DC on Saturday to DJ Mike and Maya from Double Leopards
wedding on Sunday.

KILLER KUTS #22

Who are these so-called "Occupants"? Apparently, the folks at
Danger Records appear to think these "Occupants" were a dancey
synth band with some other-wordly names as Tom Campbell and
Charlie Erickson. Oh well, at least the music is good. The track
everyone wants is "I Want To Function With You", which is your
synthy/dancey/ vocoder deal. But the track that gets to me is "Its
Time To Become Robots", which sounds like an outtake from
"Discovery" (but Daft Punk would have added more heavy guitars!).
But nonetheless, this needs to be recognized because of the fact this
existed in Minneapolis in 1982, not New York or Germany. Not too
shabby Charlie!

KILLER KUTS #21

***guest review by Patrick Billard

I picked this up for 59 cents at the Salvation Army 
on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg a few months ago. 
Who would have thought that you could find good, rare 
italo right in the bustling epicenter of  all things 
hipster?

This is produced by Giancarlo Meo of Capricorn/Goblin
/Easy Going fame, only this time without his partner 
Claudio Simonetti. Meo really shines here as both sides 
of this are top-shelf italo disco.

The a-side is a fantastic paranoid look to the future...
10 years into the future that is the wonderous world of 
1993!  The lyrics are all about being lost in technology...
a "maze" of "computer days". Then there's lots of "space" 
and "universe" terminology thrown in. It's not really clear 
what they are getting at but apparently in 1993 we will all 
be either living in outer space or inside computers.

The b-side is the real gem and probably of the most interest 
to italo collectors. It's a cover version of the Chaplin Band's 
"Il Veliero" entitled "Love On The Rocks". It's got gorgeous 
female vocals with more great lyrics like "Love is on the 
rocks,  love's a hurricane". It's pretty true to the original 
Chaplin  Band version, although a bit more polished and dreamy and
definitely less quirky. I like it. Thanks Salvation Army!

contact Patrick:
crazypoprock@hotmail.com

this weekend's festivities...

mike simonetti's dj schedule:

this Friday at Lit (downstairs) 12-4am
this Saturday at Rated X @ Luke & Leroy in NYC 11-4am. hosted by Michael T of Motherfucker fame.



--still working out the mp3 thing. to be honest, i am very busy and barely have time to do anything these days. anyone wanna help run a blog?? (no, i'm serious)

KILLER KUTS #20

*** guest review by Jacques Renault

This is something Mike and I can agree on. Disco LPs. 
Singles are great but they don't always have cheeky 
artwork and they don't let YOU decide what the hit is. 
This LP is a great example. Anytime or Place was the 
single on Modulation (so I have the Canadian version - 
don't judge me because I don't have it on Italy's Vedette 
Records and this is I.D.I.B.) and then there's the Rams 
Horn remix and everything - big hit whatever. ANYWAYS, the 
real winner for me is Soft Emotion. It kinda just hits where 
you want it to. It's a little more upbeat: a true party gem 
with great vocals. Not that Anytime or Place doesn't feel 
good too tho - don't let me lead you in the wrong direction. 
It's just nice to know that you can't be shy of LPs - you 
may never know what you'll bump into.

KILLER KUTS #19

*** guest review by Emily Ryan

QUESTION: when was the first time you heard this track? 
i heard it for the first time on KMEL jams in the east 
bay back in the day - the clean FUNK DAT mix - sometime 
in high school, and it wasn't until my friend darren gave 
me the 12 inch two years ago was i able to hear the RAW/
EXPLICIT mix, originally purchased new from a random bay 
area record store at the time of release...perhaps Streetlight
but more likely Rasputin? It's one of those tracks that is 
immediately memorable for his conversational delivery and the 
way he pronounced "reh-dee-OH." well i couldn't believe how 
scathing the REAL MIX IS! He sounds like someone you know's
relative blasting the following dinner topics: mainstream 
radio, rave flyers,relationships, and race relations, in the 
wake of rodney king. Each verse is followed by a recognizable 
horn sample in a 60's reject blue note vein. also - this
single is legendary for inspiring tons of record and club 
reviews that started with "why is it, that every ! time i turn 
on the radio, the dj is playing the SAME five songs fifteen 
times a day for three months...FUK DAT," each review thinking 
that it was the first one to reference it! another interesting 
note: the clean version takes out the references to whoopi, jay 
leno and crack.

contact Emily:
www.emily-ryan.nu