Remember the time...

The first concert I ever could have gone to was Michael Jackson's Dangerous tour in Dubai. We bought our tickets 3 months in advance, I packed my suitcase 3 weeks prior to the show, and then 3 days before possibly the biggest night of my ten-year-old life, we got news that the gig had been cancelled. Michael had just been slapped with his first child molestation case. 

I felt like I had been cheated, we had all been cheated, Michael too. Despite years of being used and abused, Michael Jackson still gave us tremendous music - it was his outlet and we connected with him. 

8898 is a blog about music, energy, dance, celebration and these are the MJ albums that came out around that decade that we will always cherish:

In 1987, we got BAD. Songs like The Way You Make Me Feel, Liberian Girl, Man In The Mirror, Dirty Diana and Smooth Criminal filled my house as I would play them on stop and repeat, trying to write out the music on my Casio. 

Then in 1991 the DANGEROUS album greeted the world. Do you remember Michael Jordan in the Jam music video? Or Maculey Culkin in Black or White? Iman in Remember the Time and Naomi Campbell in In The Closet? I recently watched Heal the World in an MJ tribute and it did make me choke up a bit.

In 1995, a compilation of Michael's greatest hits and more came out - HIStory. It was a brilliant blast-from-the-past and look-into-the-future gift to the music world and his fans.

It's pretty surreal to write about Michael Jackson right now seeing the dates "August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009" following his name...In my mind it'll always be "August 29,1958 - forever" as his legend and his music will always live on.

R.I.P. EON

Legendary ‘rave’ producer Eon, a.k.a. Ian Loveday, passed away Wednesday, June 17, from complications with pneumonia. He was one of the first producers to gain popularity amongst the late-80s/early-90s rave scene with hits like “Spice” and “Fear the Mind Killer”, the sound being a link between early techno and modern breakbeat.

As Eon, his tracks made their way to early 90s pirate radio stations in London, and then out on vinyl through small labels like BAAD and Vinyl Solution. He would release his most well-known tracks on the seminal album, ‘Void Dweller’ in 1992 at the height of the spread of modern dance music in the US. ‘Void Dweller’, with the hit ‘Spice’ owing its recognizable hook to a sample from David Lynch’s movie “Dune”, was one of the first major label releases, on Columbia, for producers in the burgeoning rave scene.

His work saw release on numerous labels over the years, including Hooj Toons and XL Recordings. In ‘93 he teamed up with fellow British acid pioneer Peter ‘Baby’ Ford, producing many classic tracks including ‘Dead Eye’ which would eventually be released as a single on Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label. Loveday would go on to release under his Minimal Man moniker up until just before his death.

Eon performed live at Fabric and on Radio One over the years, and worked with producers like Mark Moore (S’Express) and Marcus J Knight. Most recently, he had been busy in the studio with long time collaborator Baby Ford on some new projects.

[Source: Todd Roberts]

Oh La La Bebe

Does the name Jordy Lemoine ring a bell?

At first, I didn't remember it...but I definitely remembered his song "Dur Dur D'etre Bebe" (It's Tough To Be A Baby).

Fact: Jordy is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest chart topper.


I just checked out his current Myspace page...And it's not only tough being a baby it seems...

No Government

Nicolette is a strange bird.
And I mean that in the most complimentary way.
Bjork is a strange bird. So is Nina Simone.

Born is Glasgow of Nigerian parents, she put out one of the defining albums of 1992 Now is Early on the brilliant English label Shut Up and Dance.

I was heavily and almost exclusively into hip hop at the time so I did not at all pay attention to it when it was originally released...I in fact had never even heard of Nicolette until Massive Attack's fantastic Sly...she did the vocals on it and her voice had SUCH a phenomenally ethereal quality to it that I felt compelled to investigate her a little further...which led me back to Now is Early...

Many artists strive hard to earn the term defies categorization but there could not be a more accurate qualification for that specific album : the juxtaposition of some of the HARDEST beats possible...I mean PJ/Smiley -- who made up Shut Up and Dance and produced the album -- programmed some of the absolute TUF-FEST drums and basslines you will ever hear in any genre...even to this day...

Nicolette's languid and almost child-like vocals dare i say...should not work in the musical context the Shut Up and Dance guys created but oh do they...they work fantastically well in fact...the tension within every track is seriously intense...I usually break out into a sweat as i listen to this album...

it's not drum & bass..its not jungle...its not hardcore...it's not jazz...it's just...rhythm...

The Dove Song in particular is one of the most frenetic and beautiful tracks on the record...from the first second your ears are utterly pummeled by a relentless cascade of drums...then the massive sub-bass comes in...and then the vocals and it's all over...a lethally funky tune...a bare knuckle brawl of a tune...

Sadly I have never found the appropriate time drop any of songs on that album in any DJ set -- they're mostly just too hard -- nor have I heard any of her songs played out on properly loud club system...perhaps that's for the better actually...I don't think most people today could handle this record. But it's one of my big faves.

Not the Golden Arches...The Golden Arcs

I like Eddie Murphy. I might be in the minority today. but I do.
I think when he's on. Really firing. I can't think of any other person alive who is funnier.
And there was never a funnier Eddie Murphy moment than in Coming To America.
There were a lot of movies that came out in 1988...many of them really fantastically good and some even so singular as to become part of the American cultural lore: Rain Man, Roger Rabbit, Big, Die Hard and The Naked Gun just to name a few...
But Coming to America was the absolute apotheosis.
Its that rare kind of movie that gets better and better every time you watch it.
Its the kind of movie that -- no matter when or where I am -- if I catch it on TV...I will stop whatever it is I'm doing and watch it until the end (and I'm notorious for rarely ever watching a movie twice)
I've seen this movie close to 100 times over the last 20 years and know every word. Literally.
I can from memory recite entire scenes while portraying the different characters.
Yeah Trading Places, 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop were comprehensively brilliant movies but Eddie Murphy's performance(s) in Coming to America was a tour-de-force...just colossal...
And that unbelievable ensemble cast?
The expert way director John Landis handled the stereotypical portrayal of Africans?
The millimeter perfect depiction of life in Queens?
Forget it...
Coming to America is easily...and I mean with the greatest of ease in my top ten all-time.
Sexual Chocolate!

Oh, holy sequin

So, after purchasing my first pair of sequined leggings (thank you to TopShop for opening an NYC flagship!), I decided to research from whence sequins originated. It's actually an interesting story. 

The word sequin originates from the Arabic "sikka" meaning coin, and then traveled up through Europe, where the Republic of Venice called their mint "La Zecca" and ultimately to France, where the French altered the word to sequin. According to the all-knowing Wiki, "coins were known as sequins for centuries throughout the Mediterranean," and in those cultures began the custom of stitching the coins to women's clothing as a way to display and store a family's wealth. My leggings are so money they don't even know it. 

That Subliminal Low-Fi

Before you continue reading, or do anything for that matter, if you have DJ Spooky's Song's of a Dead Dreamer, please, put on "The Terran Invasion Of Alpha Centauri Year 2794" and bump that shit. Yes, it does have a long and abstract intro, but if you have a decent pair of speakers with good low end response, you will be in a good place.

Anyways...going back in time 30 years, if Lee Scratch Perry were to have picked up his RE-201 Space Echo, but, instead of meeting with incredible Jamaican musicians and running all their instruments through the delay's tape goodness, imagine if he met with Prince Jammy and an eclectic record collection. The result would be damn similar to Song's of a Dead Dreamer (...maybe if they were to have also substituted their trees for some LCD on a few tracks).

Unlike most sample based records from the 90s, this album explores more broken down/fucked-up aspects of the sampling world...like slowing down the play back of a commercial airplane flying overhead and mixing that with a low-fi funk beat, all glued together with some heavy omnipresent vinyl pops. The record also takes elements from the techno world. Like in"Anansi Abstrakt"...Spooky takes a small snippet of a reverberated, multi-panned medolica (I thing that's the instrument) and milks the sample over three tempo changes for about eleven minutes. However, the most bewildering aspect of this record is how Spooky managed to mesh some of the most dark, disturbed and out of touch sounds with some of the most ball-clenching beats ever sampled (check out Grapheme), without losing focus or energy.

the FIRST coming

twenty years ago this month, a generation was woken up from it's slumber by a tsunami that washed over in the form of a debut album by a band called the stone roses. it was the moment everything came together: the soul, the style, the acid, the e, the indie world, the rave culture...all of it. of course it was all happening in manchester england, but the ripple effect reached all the way to south texas.

i don't exactly remember how my best friend and i heard of the band, maybe it WAS from from the waves that travelled the atlantic and into the gulf coast. however it happened, we knew we had to find this album. and we did (via his sister who was in college).

from the moment the steam engine of "i wanna be adored" began circling the djarum smoke filled bedroom, we felt something change. we felt connected to something larger than ourselves. we'd take turns thumbing through the package: a sublime homage to pollock. and in the photo panels of the book we could almost see them moving...performing "she bangs the drums" and "elephant stone". one song perfectly weaving into the other like some crazy ride at the fair. one minute you're riding a "waterfall" then the ride stops and reverses itself into "don't stop". drums and bass establishing a rhythm that allowed guitars to pick up where echoes of marr left off only a few years before.

and what did we know about the monarchy? what did we know about the 1968 riots in paris?...lemons? enough to understand that these were not just dismissible lyrics to dance to (though we still could). and at a point when i had realized the fraud of s-t-e-v-e-n and his ouija board, i welcomed the change.

it was the birth of the chicken rhythms, the pills, the thrills, the bellyaches, there was no other way, for it was the summer of madchester. they were the ones that opened our eyes and will always be adored.

End Of An Era

Soon I will have to tell my friends to meet me at another Union Square landmark.

As I walked into the Virgin Megastore for possibly the last time, the bright yellow and red "Everything Must Go" signs greeted me with a sad and sick feeling.

To combat this, I then indulged, and spent hours sifting through the racks of music - cherishing the Leonard Cohen- and Bob Dylan-dedicated sections, finding music for our 8898 playlist, and listening to new tunes playing in the overhead speakers. 

I finally snapped out of my bubble and looked around. Despite the supposed 'good deal'/liquidation posters, the feeling in the store was strangely calm. It wasn't Christmas in April. Shoppers weren't charging around and grabbing albums and DVDs... Instead they were taking the time to sift, sort and collect. To remember old albums they had heard while growing up, while falling in love, while dancing. 

And I was doing the same thing. A Tribe Called Quest, Bat For Lashes, The Whip, Glasvegas, De La Soul. 

The store closes at the end of May, so if you can, drop by. You won't regret it.

Clothing without Prejudice

You had to be there.
You had to be a teenager in 1989 when this label launched.
It was a big BIG deal. The first really 'fashionable' hip-hop brand.
Rocawear, Ecko, LRG, Sean John...every single one of those urban
contemporary brands stands on the shoulders of Cross-Colours.
EVERYbody was wearing this stuff back in the day.
You had the t-shirts, the hoodies, the hats, the sweats, the shirts,
the towels, the jean suits, the OVERALLS (!)...you name it...
Just watch any hip-hop or R&B video from 1989 and 1990. You'll see.
The brand is still available in Europe today.
Its even got a new fancier, more streamlined logo.
I'm partial to the old school one myself. It's so wildly underdesigned you
can't help but love it.
You had to be there. That's all i can say.

As she stands there singing for money

You hear these stories all the time. A young woman from Philly is minding her own business, living her life, studying computer science at Howard University.
She has simmering ambitions to write and perform music. But doesn't quite know which way to go. Soul? R&B? Hmm...she's not a really strong singer like that. Dance music?
Maybe...but that's not really getting a lot of people excited in the DC Area. She gets a job working for the extremely busy D.C. Parole Board. She shops her demo around. It's got a house music flavor to it but no one's interested. This is is the District after all. Land of Go-Go, concealed weapons and white Reeboks.
A couple guys from Baltimore -- they call themselves the Basement Boys -- eventually get a hold of her demo. They're the only people to call her back and demonstrate interest in doing their own mix of it and Yada Yada Yada. There you have it. "Gypsy Woman" by Crystal Waters.
This song absolutely OWNED the dance clubs in 1991.
Actually come to think of it. You don't really hear these stories all the time...

Don't wanna be on top of your list

Like a lot of people at the time I was terrified of Tricky.
He was harmless enough on Massive Attack's Blue Lines and a fairly competent rapper.
But lets face it. Tricky looks like a bat.
He still does.
If it turned out that he'd been sleeping upside down...hanging from a beam...in a barn...in the English countryside this whole time. I wouldn't even be surprised. Not even a little bit.
In fact it makes total sense.
Maxine Quaye is the name of Tricky's mom.
It is also the name of perhaps the very best record of 1995.
I was still listening to Portishead's monumental 'Dummy' record. A LOT.


Trip-Hop was really starting to take off in the US around then.
It was dark, it was moody, it was English. It reeked of stale pub air. And it was fantastic.
Tricky's maiden contribution to the genre was just utter brilliance.
The samples on that record alone was killer: Marvin Gaye...Isaac hayes and The Smashing Pumpkins?
The vocals, both his and Martina Topley-Bird's (and lady Goldfrapp as well) were just breathy enough...just scratchy enough...just dour enough to fit perfectly with the beats.
My favorite tune...and i'm in the crushing minority in this regard because almost all the songs on the album was amazing...is "You Don't". I can talk about this specific track for multiple hours.
A stone cold classic conflation of hip-hop, reggae, electronic, rock and soul.
Sadly I don't think a record like that can be made today.

Because not all techno needs a kick drum...

8898 Faves:

Carl Craig -- A Wonderful Life

I don't know about you, but listening to this makes me want to drive some super-sleek futuristic car at the speed of sound across a darkened, misty highway, while gleaming colors from the city's glare slowly play across the windshield.  Or something like that. 

Which I'm sure is exactly the vibe Carl Craig was going for when he produced it :)  Or maybe just that sensation of moving so fast that you're hardly moving... 

Highly recommended.  

feel every beat

soon, twilight will be upon us. the beat will close in, and all the frustrations, irritations, trials and tribulations of the day will dissipate. i feel the need for a truer cleansing; one that the weekend, now sprinkled with the drama that comes with breaking up with a jersey-ite, can no longer provide. yes, wednesday seems ideal. the perfect time to release and reload. the fill needed to get me through the rest of the week. and no matter what kinda fight i get into the following weekend (which i probably will), wednesday will linger like some sonic aphrodisiac. filtering the bullshit of tourism, hipsters, wannabes, and hipster wannabes. fuck your exlusivity, fuck the spoon fed imagery. i long for the lights and music on my mind, the night, transmitting cars across the room, where i can lose myself with someone else, someone like you boy, acid bear boy. again and again and again...till the beats emanating from the light bring us to a slow...slow...pulse.

Zebratime

So, in addition to the myriad musical moments that make 1988 and the ensuing decade amazing, let's not forget the fashion. I googled "1988 fashion" and was overjoyed to find this photo. There's not much I can add - who can argue with shoulder pads, pink zebra-print, a dude with an accordion, and a beret with the Eiffel Tower glued to the top? Easily the most sophisticated fashion moment of 1988, and I yearn for that time. This is why (for those who weren't there to witness it) I wore a zebra-print jumpsuit with Hammer-pants to the first 8898 party.  Sadly, it was not pink. On deck for 4/15/09? Sequined leggings. Eff yeah.

Happy birthday Q-Tip!

Do you wanna be in the business? (The Business)
The ups and downs with the hoes (The Business)
Always gettin' fronted on at shows (The Business)
People gotta stick their nose (In the Business)
- A Tribe Called Quest "Show Business"

On Friday night, we ended up at Q-Tip's birthday party at Santos Party House - So here's a happy birthday shout out to him!

MICHIGAN: TECHNO

Formerly known as "Motown" "Motor City" and "The Paris of the Midwest," Detroit had everything going for it at one point, but now, as my buddy from there puts it, it's a "dangerous shithole." However, even after the glory years of Motown, Detroit continues to be an epicenter in the music world, most notably in the hard-hitting techno department.

Underground Resistance has been around since the late 80s, started by Jeff Mills and Mad Mike, who's infamous for his militant outlook on the role of a techno musician. Early tracks from the label were much like Detroit: dirty and raw besides a minimal landscape. Young intercity musicians used 909s, samplers and 303s to escape the reality of urban violence and hardships. Consequently, the label's artists created, and still continue to create, a genre minimal techno that simultaneously provokes thoughts, emotions and long, long raves.

Check this video out:

[LINK: http://www.residentadvisor.net/feed-item.aspx?id=3026]

The video sums up what the artistic ethos of Underground Resistance and Detroit are all about...

3 Feet High and Surprising

I HATED De La Soul when they first came out.

Hated them with the fiery intensity of Zeus himself.

I was living in the Maryland suburbs of DC at the time and listening to a lot of hip-hop: BDP, Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane etc.

Proper hardcore street MANLY hip-hop music.

DC had 434 murders in 1989. Rayful Edmond was the undisputed crack kingpin in town and the Georgetown Hoyas were just about the most gangsta college team in the nation.

It paid to be a little tougher you know what I'm sayin'?

And here come these slovenly dudes from LONG ISLAND?? Talking about peace and love and vibrantly hued shirts and just general nonsense? No.

I still distinctly remember seeing the "Me, myself and I" video on the local late night rap video show. The aesthetic didn't sit well with me but the tune was kinda catchy.

I eventually bought the tape at the Kemp Mill record shop and reluctantly started listening to it.

Within a couple weeks I was hopelessly hooked.
De La Soul comprehensively changed my understanding of hip-hop.
I had no idea you could do so much with samples and imagination.
Much of hip-hop is indebted to Prince Paul for that.

There can never ever ever be enough praise for this album.

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

8898 Faves:

Massive Attack -- Lately

This is easily one of the best tracks on Blue Lines.  Everyone always talks about Unfinished Sympathy -- and that is a fantastic, seminal record, one for the ages -- but "Lately" has the craaaziest bassline and mood for days.   That bass is so tight and funky and hypnotic, like the flickering pulse of a neon sign on a hot, damp, summer night.  And I can never make out all the words that Shara Nelson is singing -- something to do with heartbreak, longing, and love gone wrong -- but I know she means every moment. 

Dark, mysterious and lovely.  

Respect.

WE ARE 8898

Welcome to 8898 - A throwback to the golden age of NYC club culture - where dance is a priority, fun is a guarantee, and music is king. Save the date - Wednesday, April 15th 2009.