Sometimes, I buy a record because it contains a mystery that may or may not ever be solved. Like, who is Bobby Velvet and how did he end up doing “The Martian” in a North Hollywood recording studio for a 12” single released on a label based out of a Pasadena building that’s now a law office?
Continue reading Who Is Bobby Velvet and How Did He End Up Doing “The Martian”?
On a Sunday afternoon, I flipped through a bin of new wave records at Sonido del Valle in Boyle Heights. At this point in the dig, I had already found a 12” of Bananarama’s cover of “He Was Really Saying Something” for 99 cents that was dusty, but definitely playable. I was starting to feel lucky. Not lottery ticket lucky, but lucky enough to take a chance on a Toto Coelo 12” single called “Milk from the Coconut.”
Continue reading The Extended Mix of Toto Coelo “Milk from the Coconut” Is New Wave Heat
Something that happens when I play all-vinyl sets is that I decide on a personal theme that should, theoretically, make it easier for me to narrow down what I pull from my stacks. Take, for example, Saturday night’s Razorcake party at Footsies. My theme for the night was dubby ‘80s, a mishmash of the dub mixes found on 12” singles during that decade and post-punk tunes that are clearly influenced by dub.
But, now matter how often I say to myself, “Liz, stick to theme,” I just can’t do it. In this case, I started out pulling essentials like The Flying Lizards, Tom Tom Club, The League Unlimited Orchestra, Bauhaus and The Clash. Then I came across a copy of Outkast’s album Speakerboxx/The Love Below and was like, ‘when was the last time I listened to this?’ And then I find my copy of “Sally That Girl” and start thinking about how there will totally be people in the bar who haven’t heard that song since a middle school dance in 1990. But, if I’m going to play that, then I really need to bring Cybotron because that might be the only way I can mix out of Gucci Crew, and then I should probably bring Patrick Cowley too, just because I forgot to bring it to Disco Matinee last week.
Long story short, that’s how you end up with set lists like the ones listed below. If this is your jam, you should probably pick up tickets for Disco Matinee: Punk ’n’ Funk Edition on April 7 because it will also be all-vinyl and I know a few of these tracks will end up in my crate for that party as well.
Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Razorcake Hearts… on March 9, 2024
I think I’ve encountered nearly every album Candi Staton released on vinyl while sifting through L.A. record store bins these past few years. Sometimes, I’ll find multiple copies of the same album in one dig. There’s one, though, that has eluded me. It’s called Chance and it was high up on my wish list since the pandemic. I wanted this album for one reason, a song called “Me and My Music,” which became a welcome earworm back when Los Angeles’ nightclubs were closed.
Candi Staton is best known in the U.S. for the 1976 disco jam “Young Hearts Run Free.” People in the U.K., and househeads here, are probably also quite familiar with “You Got the Love,” an early ‘90s dance hit that was famously covered by Florence and the Machine in the late ‘00s. But, Staton has been singing since the 1950s and is still active (she played Glastonbury last year), so there’s a significant amount of her music out in the world. Some releases are harder to track down than others, which is the case with Chance. Not only did it take me far-too-long to find the actual vinyl, but, from what I’ve seen, it’s not available to download and streaming options are limited to Deezer and a few YouTube clips.
Continue reading “Me and My Music”: The Candi Staton Song That Reminds Me Why I DJ
My first quandary of 2024 occurred late in the afternoon on January 1 inside Going Underground Records as I quickly flipped through a crate of indie releases alphabetized by the letter F. There, I found Kate Fagan I Don’t Want to Be Too Cool and Future Islands As Long As You Are on vinyl, both of which I could use in my collection. But, when it comes to new vinyl, I need to exhibit some restraint. Which should I choose?
In the end, I chose neither.
Continue reading New Year, New Vinyl
The 12” appeared in the midst of a deep dig through crates set up inside a Pasadena City College parking garage during the monthly PCC flea market. I had already excavated records by Harry Nilsson, Tangerine Dream and Patrice Rushen when a friend, whose visit to Los Angeles was the catalyst for this adventure, called me over to a booth filled with soundtrack albums and soul records. I flipped through As the Record Turns ‘ vinyl selection and paused when I noticed “(Mamacita) ¿Donde Esta Santa Claus?” the 1978 disco Christmas single from Charo, “A Tom Moulton Mix” released as an extended 12” single on Salsoul with a stamped note on the backside of the cover that read:
“In all my life, the most happy time of the year is Christmas and I want to share it with you. When you play this record I’ll be with you. Merry Christmas. Love and cuchi cuchi, Charo.”
Continue reading It’s Time for a Christmas Disco Classic From Charo
On Saturday morning, I finally finished watching the entire original Dark Shadows series. After IDK how many months of binging through storylines about vampires, witches (RIP Lara Parker, who played the best daytime villain ever), werewolves, portals into parallel universes, a creepy kid who keeps getting possessed by ghosts, a doctor who prescribes sleeping pills and seances, etc., I’m not really sure what to do with myself. Or, at least I wasn’t until last night’s gig at Vidéothèque, when I spotted a Groovie Goolies box set in the Halloween section. Now I have a week to power through this early 1970s cartoon series in between work and Halloween DJ gigs.
Continue reading Here’s What I Played at Vidéothèque on October 21, 2023
The marimba from Señor Coconut’s cover of “Trans Europe Express” reverberates down Elmyra Street, about half a block away from Homage Brewing. I recognize the song instantly because there’s a copy of the 12” single that’s been in my collection for more than 20 years. It was something that I loved on a conceptual level— German producer moves to Chile and releases Kraftwerk covers in various Latin American music styles— but also turned out to be a useful record to own if you like people asking “What is this?” when playing all-vinyl bar DJ gigs.
Continue reading Digging for Vinyl at In Sheep’s Clothing x Japonesia x Homage Record Fair
The best way to experience King Richard’s Antique Center is when you have a lot of time on hand and, probably, a good amount of money to spend. However, on my most recent trip to the 57,000 square foot vintage and antique market in Whittier, I had neither and it was still a very good time.
Continue reading Lost in Time at King Richard’s Antique Center
In July, I wrote a story for LAist about how there are loads of cheap or free concerts happening in L.A., but finding out about them has become increasingly difficult because social media sucks and local music coverage is virtually nonexistent. It was a popular story. I ended up talking about it on LAist radio twice, including a spot that ran on Morning Edition. Loads of people told me they were having the same issue finding out about shows. Someone even came up to me while I was DJing at Underground and mentioned reading it.
Continue reading The Record Fair I Almost Missed Because Social Media Sucks