M.J. Tribute - Trying To Be Like Mike

It's interesting that for an artist as monumental as MJ there were not that many imitators trying to rip his style or even cover his songs. I mean, you hear more Prince wanna-bes than you do M.J. clones, but just because they don't try to fuck with his musical style doesn't mean they don't try to cop his visual aesthetic. Props to Sterling for sending me this great link. That being said, I did track down two interesting covers of some classic MJ tunes. Enjoy. This now concludes my MJ Tribute.




Os Tarantulas - Saiba Ser Feliz (Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough)

Slingshot - Do It Again/Billie Jean

Disco Monster #7 & #1 redux

Cameo - I Just Want To Be
Most of you will recognize the opening guitar riff from its appropriation in the Beastie Boys' Paul Boutique album. I can't believe I didn't have this song before getting this 12" EP. I gotta catch up on my Cameo . . . Word Up!

Brenda & the Tabulations - Let's Go (All The Way Down) Danny Krivit re-edit
The very first Disco Monster was the album cut of this very song. I have to say finding this Casablanca 12" EP reaffirmed my love for this song as none other than the Mr. K gave it a tasty re-edit back in 1985. I remember thinking there should be a 12" version and my initial research didn't turn anything up, but a little dig in the junky-ass flea market on San Pablo Ave. in Oakland proved the internets wrong.

Happy Birthday Mr. K!

First off, heads up that I posted the Jackson Sisters re-edit of "Miracles" on the previous post "Disco Monster #3". I did some research and cannot definitively say that the re-edit was by today's featured artist/DJ, Danny Krivit. I ripped my 12" as part of this post, but I don't want to give credit where credit is not due, but either way, you should check out the re-edit as it improves on an already awesome song.

But we do have some excellent re-edits from Mr. K today in honor of his birthday, which I helped celebrate last Sunday at 718 Sessions. As my good friend Brigham astutely pointed out, the phenomenon that was Body & Soul (launched in 1996 with three of the seminal architects of dance music: Krivit, Francois K. and Joaquin 'Joe' Claussell. The party was known for its open-minded music policy, incredible vibe and soulful ethos. Having rinsed out New York, the club has since toured Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Japan and the UK) continues with the party's founding DJs, but each has taken that vibe into different directions. Francois K. does more of a world-music/tribal take on house music while Danny favors a more soulful approach to house music. I can't say I know what Claussell's thang is. Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of house music, but of the house music I've heard, Danny does it best. His mixes are seamless, the sound-system is phenomenal (loud, but not too loud) and everything he spins has lots of interesting changes and musical elements and a whole lot of soul.

While he is best known for spinning a variety of tunes that made him famous with Body & Soul, he's consistently turned out excellent re-edits of old-school and old-school-sounding tunes. This approach hints at his history beginning in the late 1970s and DJing at legendary clubs like Paradise Garage and his stint as the resident DJ at the Roxy for four years beginning with its launch. Check out his bio here.



A couple years back Strut Records put out a compilation of some of his re-edits which is a must-have for fans of funky dance music. This site also lists some of his re-edits and mixes that may or may not be available for purchase. Since I already posted the Sisters Love re-edit from the aforementioned CD, I have dug deeper and included a great re-edit of a classic Southern Funk scorcher from Betty Wright.

Betty Wright - Where Is the Love? (Danny Krivit re-edit)
This is such a great track to begin with and Danny nicely extends the intro and plays with the breakdown section. Another improvement over the original.




Orgone - Funky Nassau (Danny Krivit re-edit)
I included this one because it shows that Danny keeps very current with the music scene and went a re-edited this newish cover by the L.A. based Orgone. I also included this because during his Sunday night set he let the music completely go silent, which never happens, and then dropped a re-edit of the original Funky Nassau by Beginning of the End. My mind was nearly blown as were my knees and ankles as I danced harder than I remembered I could. Hearing an old-school track like that on a top-notch sound system is like hearing it for the first time and the re-edit he played really brought out the way that that classic tune is built on an amazing groove, a killer hook and some phenomenal playing. This is one of those songs that everyone at least recognizes, but is still underground enough that heads won't scoff when it moves the dance floor.

Another Disco Monster: Sisters Love

In preparation for a recent trip to the Bay Area I bumped "The Mack" to the top of my Netflix cue, seeing as it's an iconic look at early seventies Oakland. I didn't get around to watching it until after I got back, but I must say for a Blaxploitation flick it is one of the best I've seen, not to say that I'm an expert. The acting is extremely melodramatic but the lead parts by Max Julien and Richard Pryor are very memorable. There are lots of elements from this movie that have been cherry-picked by the Hip Hop scene (think Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and most of the West Coast scene) and even what most of popular culture imagines when they think of pimps, pimp style, mink coats and purple fedoras . . . you know the deal. This movie was probably the first to put that stuff on screen. Check out the video over at Soul Spectrum Videos for an iconic scene that features a musical performance from the Dr. Frankenstein that gave birth to this post's "Disco Monster." Also, if you're a fan of Dave Chappelle and remember his skit "Player Hater's Ball" you will no doubt catch some references.

As the story goes, The Sisters Love were given a cameo slot in the film and it was their manager or producer that suggested to the director to use Willie Hutch for the soundtrack and what a soundtrack it is! It features some great tunes, including the classic "Brother's Gonna Work It Out." But for me, the song that The Sisters Love perform in the movie is a revelation. Having only really heard their classic remake of Curtis Mayfield's "Give Me Your Love," and another song ((I Could Never Make) A Better Man Than You) that they lip-synch on a bootleg Soul Train tape, I was unaware of any other songs of theirs.

The Sisters Love - Now Is the Time
This song is a funk monster with the Sisters giving a rousing, gut-bucket performance over a slamming groove that is much more sinister and in-your-face than most other female vocal groups of the time. The Supremes or Honey Cone they were not. With the quality of their limited output (8 singles for a total of 16 songs) it's a wonder they never got a full length record deal. I mean, they opened for The Jackson 5 for crying out loud! That is a tour slot that you have to work for. Then you see the Soul Train videos (check 'em out over at SS Videos) and you start to get it. They may have been damn good performers with top-shelf songs but they were not the most attractive girl group around. Even before MTV, they were not getting their dues for their music. Hell, there might have been many other factors at play, but from my comfy office chair, it seems to me that the lead-singer's gap toothed vocal stylings might have been the nail in their commercially unsuccessful coffin.


The Sisters Love - Give Me Your Love (Danny Krivit re-edit)
From a "Funk Monster" to the real "Disco Monster." This is legendary New York Disco DJ, Danny Krivit's re-edit of The Sisters Love's biggest hit. Krivit, who regulaly DJs in NYC (check out his 718 Sessions if you're in NYC or passing through for one of the best sound systems you've ever heard and a crowd that has NO SHAME in shaking their collective groove-thangs) seemlessly extends the bass-heavy groove of this song and turns a 45-only masterpiece into an eight minute epic classic!