A piece for the current age:  Para One - “Every Little Thing Ft. Cam’ron”

James Murphy talks about how the Violent Femmes were a “rights of passage” band and much more care of @RMBA

I met James Murphy at Plant Bar in NY’s East Village around 2002. Tim Sweeny (Beats In Space) had spun at my birthday party a few months earlier, and he invited me by to his birthday celebration to hang out. I got there to find James Murphy DJing, and I was immediately blown away by his selection and mixing skills. I hadn’t heard any of the music before, but I was immediately sprung. I called it funk-punk, and I vowed to find some of it as soon as possible. I didn’t know if it was new music, old music, or future music. It all had a very late 70’s feel, but I really wasn’t sure.

That night, I had an interesting talk with James. I wasn’t familiar with him, but I was curious. He was happy to inform me, and explained that he had been a music studio professional in NYC, mic-ing drums for people like The Beastie Boys and others in the 80s and beyond. He basically told me that he just made a name for himself because he was such a nut. Basically, this is his m.o. to this day.

Fast-forward four years. James’ label DFA sparks a revolution in rock-oriented dance music, and James becomes the king of “The Hipsters”. Needless to say, I casually followed the progression of his movement, and always dabbled in the music. I still haven’t made a mix that reflects my interest in this, what I call, postpunk genre quite yet, but I have a lot of ammo for when I decide to.

I always loved much of the music that came out of this “scene”. The people, not so much. I see the world through music though, and DFA did more than just produce the music, they really spawned a movement in the culture of NYC and beyond. And through LCD Soundsystem, they really learned to have an at-will effect on media, which is rare.

Red Bull Music Academy just released this mini-documentary about DFA Records. 12 Years Of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be Classic.

I typed “Funkadelic Cartoon” into Youtube, and this is what turned up. Motor-Booty Affair promo.

“NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell” - This film originally aired on VH-1. It’s one of the best NYC docs I’ve ever seen. Definitely watch this in it’s entirety when you get a chance. Big spanks to Ego Trip for hipping me to the fact that this whole movie is on-line now.

I’m pretty obsessed with this time period in New York’s history. The madness of this one year gave birth to some of the most amazing artistic output the world has ever seen, and laid the groundwork for influencers like Basquiat, Blondie, Madonna, The Talking Heads, Afrika Bambaataa, Keith Haring and more. If you’re not aware of what went down in 1977 in NYC, prepare have your wig go splodey.

The film features interviews with Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Chris Stein (Blondie), KRS-One, Ed Koch, Mel Cheren, Frankie Knuckles and tons of other NY77 alumni.

Phonat - “Set me free” - This came out two years ago? Where have I been?

Founding Fathers the untold story of hip hop trailer 2011

Watch out for this dude Party Supplies ( @xpartysuppliesx ). There’s a FREE MIXTAPE DOWNLOAD via Fools Gold Records if you like what you hear. -http://goo.gl/EQKqO

(Source: youtube.com)

You love this dude…

(Source: youtube.com)

Azari & III - Manic (Official video) - GET FREAKY!

(Source: youtube.com)