New Years Eve Playlist, January 1, 2010

Playlist, New Years Eve, San Francisco, CA - 12/31/09 to 1/1/10

It's 2010, and I haven't blogged in a while. To make a long story short, I'm back in school, as a graduate. I'm at the University of Michigan (in lovely Ann Arbor); for the geographically challenged, that's a few miles from Detroit. That's why all you folks in California haven't seen me around in the past year and a half. I'm still DJing as much as school will allow me to; and yes, I've still been teaching DJing - I just gave a lecture to a University of Michigan music class.

That being said, let's get to the setlist. I don't know what it is about the University of Michigan, but it seems that all that a lot of my classmates want to hear is "Party in the U.S.A." No disrepect to my classmates, but that's why it was a pleasure to spin in San Francisco again.

Here's a short section of my playlist from that night:

1. Wayne Smith "Under Mi Sleng Teng" (1985) - You may not recognize the song, but anyone down with dancehall reggae will definitely recognize the "riddim." This anthem basically extols the virtues of marijuana relative to other drugs: "Way in my brain, no cocaine, I don't wanna, I don't wanna go insane…"

2. mashup: Sleng Teng riddim/Kid Rock "Cowboy" (Atlantic 1999) - I guess this is the Detroit influence. Although sometimes I preplan mashups, most of the time, I'll just try to mash up something live with no preplanning. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I figured the first verse of "Cowboy," which is essentially acapella, needed a little embellishment. Luckily, this crowd was open to the idea.

3. Master P "Make 'Em Say Uhh!" (No Limit 1996) - I needed a transition song out of "Cowboy" that was equally loud and obnoxious, but rap instead of rock.

4. Eminem "Lose Yourself" (Interscope 2002): Yeah, I think it's the Detroit influence.

5. Jamie Foxx "Blame It (On the Alcohol) (feat. T-Pain)" (J Records 2009): It's nice to get people in the mood to drink. And play the requisite T-Pain. And kill two birds with one stone. (School has forced the idea of economic efficiency into my head.)

6. Eazy E "Boyz-n-the-Hood" (Ruthless 1987): This song always works well. Listen to the choruses on the 12" mix, they are first-rate cut-and-paste sample collages. I needed the 808 drum base of this song as a transition into the next songs….

7. mashup: Dorrough "Ice Cream Paint Job" (Ngenius 2009)/Shirley Bassey "Light My Fire" (MOR 1970): Another spur-of-the-moment mashup. "Ice Cream Paint Job" is pretty minimalist, so it complements the lush strings-and-brass-big-band instrumentation of Shirley Bassey's loungy cover of the Doors. It just occurred to me that the Doors/Dorrough pun could be played up in some sort of pre-produced mashup; but I'll leave the execution of that idea to some other person.

8. mashup: Notorious B.I.G. "One More Chance (Hip-Hop Remix)" (Bad Boy 1995)/Cake "The Distance" (Capricorn 1996)/Snoop Doggy Dogg "Gz and Hustlas" (Death Row 1993): Those of you who've heard me over the past decade know I like to put "The Distance" in the mix; the verses are almost acapella, so they just invite the use of an instrumental; in this case it was Notorious B.I.G. to begin with, and Snoop Dogg to transition out of.

9. Snoop Dogg "Drop It Like It's Hot" (Geffen 2004): From one Snoop Dogg to the other.

10. mashup: Snoop Dogg "Drop It Like It's Hot" (Geffen 2004)/Radiohead "Creep" (EMI 1992)/2Pac "All Eyez On Me" (Death Row 1996): Ok, here's a case where I have used the mashup before. Nevertheless, this was executed live and not pre-recorded. I tried this back in November at a Michigan party, but alas, I don't think anyone appreciated or cared. Thought I'd try it again, since I already was playing "Drop It Like It's Hot." I guess the San Francisco crowd was more open to it. The transition out with the 2Pac instrumental was new, though.

11. Britney Spears "…Baby One More Time" (Jive 1999): Like a boxer setting up for the knockout blow… (see next song)

12. mashup: Britney Spears "…Baby One More Time" (Jive 1999)/Mac Dre "Gift 2 Gab" (Strictly Business 1993): I never get to play Mac Dre in Michigan. I never get to play Mac Dre mixed with Britney Spears. Those who know me well enough know that I sometimes can't deal with a blissfully complacent crowd. So I need to shock their senses once in a while. Or more.

Happy 2010. I'll be back with more.