A series of Don Covay coincidences

Check this out. I listen to this record a lot - it's one of my favourites. And I listened to it just last week - so far, so unremarkable.

The second track on it is Grant Green's Sookie Sookie (at 11 minutes on record it's less a slice of funk and more a whole loaf of it). Here it is.



Then the other day, Dan from the EPPA (who've picked up the torch that the Young Offenders Institute lit), posted this track on Facebook...



I'd never heard of Don Covay, so did some digging prompted by Dan. Turns out he wrote the original Sookie Sookie, which I never knew. Here's that.



Also turns out he wrote it with Steve Cropper, the brilliant guitarist from Booker T & The MG's...



Also one of the MG's was one of the best bassists ever - Donald "Duck" Dunn. Here he is, with Steve Cropper and Ray Charles, amongst others, in The Blues Brothers.



Which all leads back to the very sad news that Duck done died yesterday. So I'm glad I was remembering him anyway, thanks to Dan's mention of Don Covay. Funny how these things come about. Now excuse me while I get back to choosing which Don Covay track to put on The Monthly. 

Young Offenders' Institute -93 Feet East , June

Bit of a belated setlist from Wednesday night's beer, music and ping pong night at 93 Feet East. It was a good night as ever but definitely on the quiet side, perhaps a hangover from the rain that day. I'd settled on an all funk and soul setlist and here's what it looked like...

Shuggie Otis - Sparkle City
Odetta Gordon - Hit Or Miss
Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacher Man
Candi Staton - I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart (Than A Young Man's Fool)
Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady
Bettye LaVette - Do Your Duty
Archie Bell & The Drells - I Can't Stop Dancing
Bar-Kays - Soul Finger
Professor Longhair - Big Chief
Otis Redding - Hard To Handle
Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Conga
Chris Woods - Mule Walk
James Brown - Stoned To The Bone
Golden Echoes - Packing A Grip
The Vibrettes - Humpty Dump
Isley Brothers - Love The One You're With
Isaac Hayes - Disco Connection
Byron Lee & The Dragonaires - Express Yourself
Freddie Love - Everybody's Doing It
Lightnin' Rod - Sport
Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street
Star Wars theme (mystery breaks version)
Buddy Rich - The Beat Goes On
Banbara - Shack Up (Parts I & II)
The Sons - Boomp Boomp Chomp
Ike & Tina Turner - Whole Lotta Love
Paul Nero - This Is Soul
Eddie Bo - If It's Good For You
Baby Huey Long - California Dreamin'
Michael Viner's Incredible Bong Band - Let There Be Drums

Young Offenders' Institute - The Fleapit, May

Funny night last at The Fleapit - it was really quiet (probably the result of people escaping the city for the bank holiday weekend), but the dedicated few who were there played on to the end.

I took the early slot on the decks so I could help out on refereeing duties as YOI staffers Will and Jo are on holiday (at the Sasquatch festival, the lucky buggers).

So here's what I played in my all 7" set...

Jamie Lidell - Compass
Foals - Cassius
White Denim - Let's Talk About It
Eli 'Paperboy' Reed - Come And Get It
The Very Best featuring Ezra Koenig - Warm Heart Of Africa
The Drums - Let's Go Surfing
Eels - Mr. E's Beautiful Blues
Frankie & The Heartstrings - Hunger
Ladyhawke - Dusk Till Dawn
Free Energy - Free Energy
The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations
Neon Neon - I Lust U (Heartbreak Remix)
The Charlatans - The Only One I Know
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
The Maccabees - Love You Better
*Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds
**Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity Of Huge
Noisettes - Don't Give Up
The Grates - 19-20-20
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Beck - E-Pro
The Big Pink - Tonight
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip featuring Pos Plug Won - Thou Shalt Always Kill (De La Edit)


* This was not the song I remembered it to be. So it got canned pretty quickly.

** This track cropped up three times in the evening - I played it, and it got such a good reception off one excited young lady that she asked Dave, our last DJ of the night, if he could play it again during his set. It felt weird asking him to play one of my songs, but it's hard to turn down such an enthusiastic request, and he was very gracious in interrupting his set to fit it in. And the third time was about 2am when we went to The Lexington for their excellent last Friday of the month indie disco thing. Good times.

Young Offenders' Institute - The Black Heart, May

Last night was busy. It was absolutely packed at the Black Heart last night, and all the better for it. We got through a ton of games, so the Rocky theme (which signals the start of every game, for the uninitiated) punctuated the setlist below many times. I went for a straight up funky old rock set, and although on the day (I'd had to pack my records a couple of days before), I was hankering for a more modern LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip/Gorillaz type set, I enjoyed playing this lot loads. Next one's Friday 28th at the Fleapit - check the YOI website for info. See you there!

The Standells - Dirty Water
George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag
The Beat - Tears Of A Clown
The Jezebelles - Tainted Love
The Who - Substitute
The Jam - Start!
The Ramones - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Kiss - Rock And Roll Nite
Eagles - Heartache Tonight
John Kongos - He's Gonna Step On You Again
The Byrds - So You Wanna Be A Rock And Roll Star
James Gang - Funk #49
The Guess Who - American Woman
Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
The Leaves - Get Out My Life Woman
The Creation - Making Time
The Music Machine - Talk Talk
The Animals - River Deep, Mountain High
Aerosmith - Back In The Saddle
The Rolling Stones - Hip Shake
The Beatles - Got To Get You Into My Life
The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
Stephen Stills - Love The One You're With
Bob Dylan - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson remix)
Frankie Valli & The Seasons - Beggin' (Pilooski Re-edit)
The Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running
Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle
T.Rex - Get It On
The Rolling Stones - Let's Spend The Night Together
The Troggs - Wild Thing
The Clash - I Fought The Law
Incredible Bongo Band - Apache
Led Zeppelin - Good Times, Bad Times
Babe Ruth - The Mexican
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Older Guys
Muddy Waters - I Just Want To Make Love To You
Link Wray - Juke Box Mama
Ozdemir Erdogan - Karaoglan Almanya'da
The Band - The Weight

Young Offenders' Institute - The Fleapit, April

Went for a pure hip hop set on Friday night, and I think it went down pretty well, with some mild outbursts of dancing in between ping pong games.

Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Pharoahe Monch - Fuck You
Busta Rhymes - I Love My Chick
Q-Tip - Breathe And Stop
Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard
Dilated Peoples - Work The Angles
Dr. Dre - Still D.R.E.
Ice Cube - Check Yo Self (Remix)
Beastie Boys - She's Crafty
Eve Feat Gwen Stefani - Let Me Blow Your Mind
The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It
Ghostface Killah - Be Easy
Dead Prez - Hip Hop
TS - Lean Back
Public Enemy - Bring The Noise
Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Do It)
LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
Method Man - Bring The Pain
Ja Rule - Livin' It Up
Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)
The Roots - Long Time
LL Cool J - I Need Love

See you at the next Young Offenders' Institute.

Young Offenders' Institute - The Black Heart, April

Dammit, I always forget to take a photo to put at the top of these posts. Sorry! But rest assured, it was another very fun night in Camden's Black Heart last night. It's always a super-chilled night there, and the combination of £4 pizzas and Modelo Especial beer never fails to please. Lots of good games were played, and here's what I played in my slot, which was between 10pm - midnight. Check The YOI website for the upcoming dates - next is The Fleapit on Friday April 30th.

The Star Wars theme - a funky, break beaty version by some crazy 70s band who aren't listed on the LP
Sly and the Family Stone - You Can Make It If You Try
Paul Nero - This Is Soul
Banbara - Shack Up Pt 1 & 2
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London
The Feelies - Let's Go
Love - A House Is Not A Motel
Jamie T - Chaka Demus
Tone Loc - On Fire (Remix)
Dion - Runaround Sue
The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop
The Jam - Town Called Malice
Blondie - Hanging On The Telephone
The Grassroots - You And Love Are The Same
Echo And The Bunnymen - The Cutter
Roots Manuva - Witness
Ty - Ha Ha
Blackstreet - No Diggity
Damian Marley - Welcome To Jamrock
El Guincho - Antillas
Annie - Chewing Gum
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Shame And Fortune
Billy Squire - The Stroke
Mark Ronson - Apply Some Pressure
Free Energy - Free Energy
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Frida - Tell Me That It's Over
Sex Pistols - Holidays In The Sun
Hot Chip - Thieves In The Night
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Nature Boy
Monsters Of Folk - Say Please
Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To My Lovely

Young Offenders' Institute - 93 Feet East Easter Special

A fantastic night yesterday at 93 Feet East, in what was probably the busiest ever YOI. Word is undoubtedly spreading, though I'm sure the impending bank holiday played a part. A whole load of us DJ'd in a kind of soundclash type thing, so we all only had about 45 minutes, which put the emphasis very much on solid gold bangers. I was on last but one (till about 10.20pm) and here's how my set went...

The Jezebelles - Tainted Love
Edwin Starr - Twenty Five Miles
Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man
The Carnival - Son Of A Preacher Man
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
Ghostface Killah - Be Easy
Dangerdoom - Old School Rules
Thee Headcoatees - I Want Candy
The Knack - My Sharona
Kiss - Rock And Roll All Nite
The Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby
Missy Elliott - We Run This

Young Offenders' Institute - The Fleapit, March

Friday night saw another successful YOI at the Fleapit, and I filled the early slot between 7 and 8pm ish. I was coming from somewhere else so decided to travel light, so just took a bag of 7"s - it's the bag I got for Christmas and when it was given to me it even included a couple of the 7s I played. I have to say it (the bag) performed pretty darn well. So here's what went out...

Primal Scream - I Want You
The Very Best feat Ezra Koenig - Warm Heart Of Africa
Soledad Brothers - Good Feeling
Jimi Hendrix - Valleys Of Neptune
The Cars - My Best Friend's Girl
The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
The Shadows - Apache
Spencer Davis Group - I Am A Man
The Beat - Tears Of A Clown
Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop
Cokane In My Brain - Pressure Drop
Bob Dylan - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
Jamie T - If You Got The Money
Carly Simon - Why
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
Beck - Cellphone's Dead
M.I.A. - Jimmy
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
Ladyhawke - Dusk Till Dawn
Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
Mariachi El Bronx - I Would Die 4 U
Prince - Little Red Corvette

And then the other DJs took over and the ping pong playing crowd were treated to a cracking few hours of funk, soul and quality disco. And the night was ended with a Metallica track. Class.

Next YOI is on Thursday 1st April, at 93 Feet East, and as it's the night before the bank holiday, it should be a good one. Hope to see you there.

Young Offenders' Institute - The Black Heart, March

A great night at the Black Heart last night, and I think we're all agreed at the YOI that the two Camden nights so far have both been some of the best of the YOI's career. I went down the rock route after last month's requests (read here for more on that). It wasn't a particularly rock crowd in the end but the bag was packed so rock was what they got, and I think it went down pretty well...

The Doors - LA Woman
Muddy Waters - I Just Want To Make Love To You
Bob Dylan - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine) (Mark Ronson Re-Version)
The Troggs - With A Girl Like You (had to abort this one pronto 'cos of an apparently horribly warped 7")
The Jezebelles - Tainted Love
Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop
Deep Purple - Hush
The Guess Who - American Woman
T.Rex - Get It On
The Standells - Dirty Water
The Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations
Queens Of The Stone Age - Feelgood Hit Of The Summer
Weezer - Pork And Beans
ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin'
Kiss - Rock And Roll All Nite
Poison - Talk Dirty To Me
Lenny Kravitz - Always On The Run
Living Colour - Cult Of Personality
Van Halen - Jump
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away
Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator
Guns N' Roses - Nightrain
Rage Against The Machine - Bullet In The Head
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
Queen - Killer Queen
Barry Louis Polisar - All I Want Is You

The Young Offenders' Institute - 93 Feet East, March

I took the early slot at last night's YOI and took advantage of this to play a set of much better known stuff than normal. So there was no obscure 70s rock, or funk that no one's ever heard before. This was just straight ahead good guitar tracks, the vast majority of which I would assume most people know. Here's what I played...

The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
Primal Scream - Movin' On Up
Gorillaz - 19/2000
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Suck My Kiss
Manic Street Preachers - La Tristesse Durera
Blur - There's No Other Way
Nirvana - Come As You Are
The Charlatans - The Only One I Know
The Smiths - How Soon Is Now
Lightning Seeds - Pure
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
Pearl Jam - Even Flow
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
Breeders - Cannonball
Foo Fighters - No Way Back
Franz Ferdinand - Dark Of The Matinee
R.E.M. - Orange Crush
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
The Rapture - Get Myself Into It
LCD Soundsystem North American Scum
MGMT - Electric Feel
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
CSS - Let's Make Love
Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire
Killers - Bones
The Maccabees - Love You Better
Friendly Fires - Paris
Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
The Knack - My Sharona

DJing of late pt. 1

Apologies for the scarcity of recent posts, but sometimes that's the way it goes I guess. But I'm back in place now so will be getting back to something like normal service.

I've been DJing a lot more recently, and this week did two spots. One was for the ever-fun Young Offenders' Institute at their new venue, the Black Heart in Camden. None of us were really sure how busy it'd be, but it turned out to be jumping. Here's a shot of the typical enthusiasm for the night, courtesy of Team Global Cool...


I'd had a few drinks so was very much up for it, and it was a really fun night. I especially enjoyed (not in that way) the slightly effeminate rocker who kept coming up to me asking for things that I didn't have with me. Annoying, not because he was asking (I love it when listeners care about what they're hearing), but because most of what he was asking for is often in my bag, but happened not to be on that night. He started off with requests for Kiss or AC/DC. I offered him Aerosmith instead. Then he came up asking for Motley Crue. I said, sorry, not tonight. So he slightly flumoxed me by asking for Bloc Party. Nope. Then came requests for The Killers or Queen. Darn it. And all of this was in the context of me seeing him getting the most enjoyment out of the two electro tracks that I played - Justice and LCD Soundsystem. Go figure. So here's what I played - you can be the judge of what I apparently should have put on...

The Band - Theme From The Last Waltz (With Orchestra*)
Justice - Genesis
Aerosmith - Back In The Saddle
Jimi Hendrix - Day Tripper (BBC Radio One Session)
The Modern Lovers - Roadrunner
John Kongos - He's Gonna Step On You Again
Born Ruffians - Badonkadonkey
Television - See No Evil
R.E.M. - Stand
The Jezebelles - Tainted Love
Okkervil River - Unless It's Kicks**
Queens Of The Stone Age - No One Knows
Mariachi El Bronx - I Would Die 4 U
LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
The Breeders - Cannonball
Thee Headcoatees - I Want Candy
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son
Joe Jackson - Is He Really Going Out With Him?
Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop
Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
The Drums - Let's Go Surfing
Muddy Waters - I Just Want To Make Love To You
Eric Burdon & The Animals - River Deep, Mountain High
The Guess Who - American Woman
Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
Warren Zevon - Werewolves Of London
George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag
Weezer - Keep Fishin'
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
Todd Rundgren - It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference

And here are the next couple of YOI dates if you fancy coming down. Not sure if I'll be DJing at all/any of them, but you're sure to enjoy whoever is. Oh, and the ping pong's fun to, course.

FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY 7pm - Midnight @ The Fleapit
WEDNESDAY 10 MARCH 7pm - 11pm @ 93 Feet East

*not live in Camden, on the record.

**A guy came up to me to ask what this record was, so as the music was loud I showed him the sleeve and mouthed the words 'Okkervil River' and he made a nod of approval, so I turned the sleeve over and showed him the track title, to which he said "yeah I know, I've got the record".

Young Offenders' Institute - 93 Feet East January

Woohoo! It was the first YOI of the year last night at 93 Feet East and I played for over two hours. It started off pretty quiet but definitely picked up and the games were in full flow by the time I relinquished the decks (coincidence I'm sure!).

Went for the mixed bag approach and I think it worked okay - nothing to mental, just a load of good tunes, quite a few of which are new to me since the last time I did a YOI. So here it is...

The Black Keys feat ODB & Ludacris - Coochie
Babe Ruth - The Mexican
Beach Boys - Feel Flows
Lambchop - Your Fucking Sunny Day
Mos Def - Quiet Dog
Jacques Dutronc - Le Responsable
Graham Bond Organisation - Little Girl
Devendra Banhart - I Feel Just Like A Child
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
Simon & Garfunkel - Sound Of Silence
Blitz The Ambassador - Something To Believe
Gang Of Four - Cheeseburger
Joe Goddard - Apple Bobbing
Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve - Get Ready To Fly
Jeru The Damaja - Come Clean
Axelle Red & Sylvie Vartan - Son Of A Preacher Man
Dusty Springfield - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
Os Mutantes - A Minha Menina
Santana - Jin-Go-Lo-Ba
White Rabbits - Percussion Gun
Friendly Fires - Kiss Of Life
Weezer - Buddy Holly
Chiddy Bang - Kids
The Jazz Crusaders - Jackson!
Jurassic 5 - Jayou
Ghostface Killah - Be Easy
The Hot Dogs - Let Me Look At The Sun
Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers
Frankie & The Heartstrings - Possibilities
Big Star - O My Soul
Professor Longhair - Big Chief
Free Energy - Free Energy
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Older Guys
Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Festive Fun at the YOI

Last night was the final Young Offender's Institute at 93 Feet East of 2009, and I played records for a couple of hours, which was great because it was the busiest its been. And to prove we went all festive, here's a load of santas playing round-the-table ping pong...



My theme for the night was covers, and the original artist is in brackets below. I also played a couple of Christmas numbers in my set, which went something like this...

Star Wars theme (this is on a random breaks album that doesn't even list the artists, but it's a funky take on the theme and a good way to kick off the set)
M.B.P. Mix - Light My Fire (The Doors)
Cold Grits - It's Your Thing (The Isley Brothers)
Aretha Franklin - The Weight (The Band)
Booker T & The MG's - Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix)
Ike & Tine Turner - Come Together (The Beatles)
Idris Muhammad - Express Yourself (Charles Watts & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band)
Booker T & The MG's - Jingle Bells
Allen Toussaint - Tequila (The Champs)
The Carnival - Son Of A Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
Archie Bell & The Drells - Knock On Wood (Eddie Floyd)
Stevie Wonder - We Can Work It Out (The Beatles)
Aretha Franklin - Jumpin' Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones)
The Isley Brothers - Love The One You're With (Stephen Stills)
Cher - Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)
The Springfields - We Wish You A Merry Christmas
The Red Hot Chili Peppers - If You Want Me To Stay (Sly & The Family Stone)
Shinehead - Billy Jean (Michael Jackson - and yes, Shinehead spells 'Billie' differently from the original)
The Jezebelles - Tainted Love (Gloria Jones)
The Rolling Stones - Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly)
Eric Burdon & The Animals - River Deep, Mountain High (Ike & Tina Turner)
Muddy Waters - I Just Want To Make Love To You (Muddy Waters - this was the 1968 re-record of his own 1954 version)
Incredible Bongo Band - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
Bo Diddley - The Shape I'm In (The Band)
Freedom - Dirty Water (The Standells)
Thee Headcoatees - I Want Candy (The Strangeloves)
Santana - She's Not There (The Zombies)
Aerosmith - I'm Down (The Beatles)
The Beat - Tears Of A Clown (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)
The Jam - David Watts (The Kinks)
The Specials - A Message To You Rudy (Dandy Livingstone)
The Clash - I Fought The Law (Sonny Curtis & The Crickets)
Fine Young Cannibals - Ever Fallen In Love (Buzzcocks)
Lissy Trullie - Ready For The Floor (Hot Chip)
Beastie Boys - Bennie & The Jets (Elton John)
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Greensleeves

Young Offenders' Institute - 93 Feet East November

It was The YOI's most successful night at 93 Feet East last week and I got lucky and happened to be behind the decks for some of it. I'd chosen to go down the indie/rock route and it seemed to go down well, suiting the kind of club that 93 Feet East is. Here's what I played, in a slightly random order (and it was a two and a half hour set so it's quite a big list)...

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
The Virgins - Teen Lovers
Beck - Sexx Laws (Malibu Remix)
Friendly Fires - In The Hospital
Born Ruffians - Badonkadonkey
The Big Pink - Dominos
The Drums - Let's Go Surfing
Free Energy - Free Energy
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Falling Over
Annie - I Don't Like Your Band
Weezer - Beverly Hills
Queens Of The Stone Age - The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Magick
Dinosaur Jr - I Want You To Know
Cage The Elephant Ain't No Rest For The Wicked (Wicked Devil's Remix)
Jamie-T - If You Got The Money
Arctic Monkeys - Bigger Boys And Stolen Sweethearts
Blur - She's So High
The Stone Roses - Elephant Stone
Manic Street Preachers - La Tristesse Durera
Lemonheads - Mrs Robinson
Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running
The Maccabees - Love You Better
Empire Of The Sun - We Are The People
MGMT - Electric Feel
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today
The Muslims - Beside Myself
CSS - Left Behind
The Strokes - Juicebox
The Bronx - Lab Rats
The Black Keys - Strange Times
The Dead Weather - Treat Me Like Your Mother
Jack White - Fly Farm Blues
Thee Headcoatees - Have Love Will Travel
The Feelies - Let's Go
Television - See No Evil
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
David Bowie - Young Americans
T.Rex - Get It On
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
Florence & The Machine - You've Got The Love (The xx remix)
Skye - Call Me

Hope to see you next time...

Young Offenders' Institute - October

Last night's YOI was a really busy one, which was great after a couple of quiet months. Also great was getting to do two hours, so I thought I'd put a little bit of dancing music on to finish the night, kicking off with some funky hip hop and then moving in to some more disco-y indie. I don't have my records in front of me right now and can't remember them all but here's a few that I can definitely remember playing...

EPMD - I'm Housin'
Public Enemy - Bring The Noise
Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina
Beastie Boys feat Nas - Too Many Rappers
Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot
N*E*R*D* - Things Are Getting Better
Justice - Genesis
Daft Punk - Rollin' And Scratchin'
Friendly Fires - Paris
LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve reanimation)
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
Jamie-T - Sticks 'n' Stones
The XX - VCR

Okay, now I'm home, so here's the rest of the records that filled up my two hour set...

Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y.
De La Soul Feat Queen Latifah, The Jungle Brothers, Monie Love & Q-Tip - Buddy
The Cool Kids - 88
The Knux - Cappuccino
Common Feat. Lily Allen - Drivin' Me Wild
Lupe Fiasco Feat Jill Scott - Daydreamin'
Kanye West Feat Dwele - Flashing Lights
Missy Elliott - We Run This
Jay-Z - Lucifer
Busta Rhymes Feat Kelis & Will.I.Am - I Love My Chick
N.A.S.A. - Money
Major Lazer - Hold The Line
M.I.A. - Boyz
Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
Vampire Weekend - A Punk

Young Offenders' Institute - KCLSU

I was hoping to be writing a post today about the mammoth 5 hour DJ set I was due to do yesterday afternoon at the Young Offenders' Institute event as part of Fresher's Week for King's College London. But unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.

The event was being held in a marquee on the South Bank of the Thames and, what became apparent pretty quickly was that marquee floors (especially the second floor) are pretty wobbly, and when you have several people running excitedly around a ping pong table, it makes the floor very wobbly. So the massive stack of vinyl (two full record bags and a big case of 7"s) were redundant, and the ipod (how did we ever cope before that???) came into its own.

I'd planned to use the five hours to run through a musical odyssey of student-friendly music, starting off with some great old rock stuff (Stones/Beatles/Who/Hendrix, garage & psych rock, Southern rock, that kind of thing), then move it forward via Bowie and the like into some punk, post-punk and New Wave, then go on to a couple of hours of bang up-to-date indie (Passion Pit, Friendly Fires, Grizzly Bear, Kings Of Leon, Hot Chip). Next stop would be some of the brilliant alt.electro that's coming out - MSTRKRFT, Major Lazer, Santogold, M.I.A., N.A.S.A and then finish off with some classic hip hop.

All of that though will have to wait for another day, and all that remains is for me to thank Girl Talk for keeping everyone amused when I was unable to. There's always next time...

Young Offenders' Institute - 93 Feet East

Last night was the inaugural Young Offenders' Institute at 93 Feet East, which was exciting for all concerned. The YOI will still be present at The Fleapit on the last friday of every month, but this was a chance to try their ping pong hand in a new venue - one that's pretty well known and in a busier part of town.

Very pleased to say that I was the first of the two DJs for the night, and I went for a set that had a lot in it - lots of different stuff, but all on the same lines of noisy fun cool shit (well, in my opinion anyway). Plus we had a raised booth - just like DJs who know what they're doing have! The glamour! Here's what I played...

Aretha Franklin - The Weight
The Animals - River Deep Mountain High
MF Doom - Old School Rules
Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
Lil Kim - Lighters Up
Archie Bell & The Drells - Knock On Wood
David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
Rodriguez - Only Good For Conversation
CSS - Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above
Mariachi El Bronx - I Would Die 4 U
Beck - Tropicalia
The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like
Neon Neon - Dream Cars
The Knux - Cappuccino
Okkervil River - Unless It's Kicks
The Carnival - Son Of A Preacher Man
DJ Shadow - Six Days (Soulwax Remix)
Major Lazer - Can't Stop Now
Soledad Brothers - Lowdown Streamline
Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock
Led Zeppelin - Out On The Tiles
Jamie T - Sticks 'N' Stones
Jimi Hendrix - Day Tripper
Thee Headcoatees - I Want Candy
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Shame And Fortune
Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation)
Beck - Black Tambourine
Dilated Peoples - Work The Angles
Serge Gainsbourg - Requiem Pour Un Con (+ Bonus Beats)
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Older Guys
Justice Vs Simian - We Are Your Friends
The Cool Kids - 88
Justice - Genesis
Pharoahe Monch - Fuck You
Beastie Boys - Jimmy James
The Roots - Don't Feel Right
Major Lazer - Hold The Line

It seems you can fit a lot into two hours, which is just how I like it.

So the next YOI will be at The Fleapit on Friday 25th and then back to 93 Feet East Wednesday 14th October - hope to see you down there.

Young Offenders' Institute - June

Last night was my first YOI for some time so I was glad to have the chance to play the last slot. I'm stilled hopped up on Download so it seemed only natural to start off with some metal, but the YOI, like the rest of the world, was slightly sidetracked by the death of MJ, so we decided that a YOI tributary last half an hour was the least we could do. Here's what I played...

Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
AC/DC - Shoot To Thrill
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Guns N' Roses - Out Ta Get Me
Poison - I Want Action
Extreme - Get The Funk Out
Living Colour - Cult Of Personality
Love/Hate - Blackout In The Red Room
Faith No More - Everything's Ruined
Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Z Trip remix)
Will Smith Vs Michael Jackson - Freakin' It/Billie Jean
Michael Jackson - Rockin' Robin
The Jackson 5 - Doctor My Eyes
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Michael Jackson - Black Or White
The Jackson 5 - Mama's Pearl
The Jackson 5 - ABC
The Jackson 5 - Looking Through The Windows
Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror

Young Offenders' Institute - March

Bit of a quick in 'n' out for me last night at YOI, but as I'll be moving into the area soon then hopefully I'll be able to hang around a bit more in the future. Still, it was a good night and was getting better by the looks of it, when I was leaving (purely coincidence, I hope!).

I knew it'd be pretty empty when I started playing (I did the 8-9pm) slot, so figured I'd start off with something light-hearted in the hope of getting a rise out of the people that were there. They didn't seem to notice, or just thought it was par for the course when I'm playing. Anyway, that's some sort of an explanation for why I started off with Grace Jones disco-cum-musical number, Tomorrow. The rest was slightly less, err, 'eclectic', I hope.

Also used the CD decks last night for the first time - there are some great new tracks that I've found recently that I just haven't found on vinyl yet so I thought it was about time I put my stubborn principles to one side and just prioritised playing the best music I had, regardless of format. Have to say though, being completely objective about it, the sound out of the CD decks was nowhere near as clear, so it's nice to know my principles are based in some sort of logic, and not just there for the sake of it.

Grace Jones - Tomorrow
Frida - Tell Me That It's Over
Odmenn - Ord, Mord
Link Wray - Juke Box Mama
Soledad Brothers - Lowdown Streamline
Thee oh sees - Block Of Ice
Black Lips - Bad Kids
Black Lips - Short Fuse
The Soft Pack - Right And Wrong
The Virgins - Teen Lovers
Housse De Racket - Oh Yeah!
Dan Black - Alone
Thee Headcoatees - I Want Candy
Metric - Help I'm Alive
Miami Horror - Make You Mine
Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Reanimation)
Eagles Of Death Metal - Wannabe In LA

Michael Jackson's UK dates

The only thing I want to say about this is that the advertising for Michael Jackson's shows has presented those opportunistic buggers at the Young Offenders' Institute with an excellent new poster for the YOI at the end of this month. See...



I may spin some records there, if they'll have me, and if you're not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing then you can check out what I've played on previous nights here.

Hopefully see you on the 27th at the Fleapit.