Ain't We Funkin' Now - Funky Beat

Ain't we funkin' now indeed. This is the 2nd part of a very long series of mixes that has the funky beat in common throughout.  Some 70s funk, some 80s mutant disco and some 90s post punk funk.


"Think I better dance now"





1.   The Brothers Johnson - Ain't We Funkin' Now (Blam!, 1978)
2.    Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove (One Nation Under A Groove, 1978)
3.    James Brown - Get up Offa That Thing (Release The Pressure) (Get Up Offa That Thing, 1976)
4.    The Isley Brothers - Live It Up (Live It Up, 1974)
5.    Eddie Kendrick - Keep On Truckin' (The Ultimate Collection, 1998)
6.    Diana Ross - Love Hangover (12" version) (Diana Ross, 1976)
7.    Tom Jones & The Art of Noise - Kiss (Reloaded: Greatest Hits, 2003)
8.    Prince - Erotic City (The Hits /The B-Sides, 1993)
9.    ESG - Moody (Come Away With ESG, 1983)
10.  James White & The Blacks - Contort Yourself (Off White, 1979)
11.  New Order - Blue Monday (Substance, 1987)
12.  Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (Violator, 1990)
13.  Bjork - Big Time Sensuality (Fluke Remix) (Greatest Hits, 2003)
14.  Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way (The Best of Thelma Houston, 1991)

All Aboard The Night Train - Decade 1

All aboard the Night Train... this is the fourth and final part of my First Decade series of mixes celebrating my early years of listening and collecting music.This collection gathers some stray songs that didn't flow well in the other mixes along with some others that just didn't fit. I may be a little old school here but all my mixes are structured to fit on a CD and run just a little over an hour. The series ends with the fantastic Sleep Walk.

Only three artists made an appearance on all four mixes in this series which I realized only after I completed the series. Elvis Presley, The Beatles and James Brown.


1.   James Brown - Night Train
2.   Dobie Gray - The "In" Crowd
3.   Booker T. & The MGs - Green Onions
4.   The Blendells - La La La La La
5.   Sam Cooke - Twistin' The Night Away
6.   The Orlons - Don't Hang Up
7.   The Bobbettes - Mr. Lee
8.   The Isley Brothers - Who's That Lady
9.   The Impressions - Gypsy Woman
10. The Clovers - Love Potion #9
11. The Fiestas - So Fine
12. The Marvelettes - Please Mister Postman
13. The Beatles - I Wanna Be Your Man
14. The Zombies - She's Not There
15. The Kinks - All Day And All Of The Night
16. Them - Gloria
17. The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
18. Marvin Gaye - Stubborn Kind Of Fellow
19. The Four Tops - Baby I Need Your Loving
20. Etta James - Don't Cry Baby
21. Roy Orbison - Crying
22. Gene Pitney - It Hurts To Be In Love
23. Elvis Presley - Little Sister
24. The Rooftop Singers - Walk Right In
25. The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight
26. The Chantay's - Pipeline
27. The Rebels - Wild Weekend
28. Santo & Johnny - Sleep Walk

Lived In Bars - Ladies Night

Lived In Bars - a Ladies Night mix. This is part of a series of mixes featuring women artists.






The image is from the first frame of the Cat Power video for Lived In Bars.


1.   Cat Power - Lived In Bars (The Greatest, 2006)
2.   Amy Rigby - The Summer Of My Wasted Youth (Middlescience, 1998)
3.   Fiona Apple - Criminal (Tidal, 1996)
4.   Michelle Shocked - Come A Long Way (Arkansas Traveler, 1991)
5.   The Bangles - Going Down To Liverpool (All Over The Place, 1984)
6.   Dar Williams - Party Generation (End Of The Summer, 1997)
7.   Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner (Solitude Standing, 1987)
8.   Laurie Anderson - Babydoll (Strange Angels, 1989)
9.   Kathleen Edwards - 12 Bellevue (Failer, 2003)
10. Lucinda Williams - Righteously (World Without Tears, 2003)
11. Joan Osborne - Let's Just Get Naked (Relish, 1995)
12. Sam Philips - Baby I Can't Please You (Martinis and Bikinis, 1994)
13. Mary Lou Lord - Some Jingle Jangle Morning (Got No Shadow, 1998)
14. Katrina & The Waves - She Loves To Groove (Original Recordings 1983-1984, 2003)
15. The Slits - Typical Girls (Cut, 1979)
16. The B-52's - 52 Girls (The B-52's, 1979)
17. Blondie - One Way Or Another (Parallel Lines, 1978)
18. Patti Smith - Dancing Barefoot (Wave, 1979)

I Only Have Eyes For You - Decade 1

I Only Have Eyes For You is part 3 of my First Decade series of mixes celebrating my early years of listening and collecting music. This is the slow side.











1.   The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You
2.   The Heartbeats - A Thousand Miles Away
3.   The Imperials - Tears On My Pillow
4.   Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home To Me
5.   Solomon Burke - Cry To Me
6.   Etta James - At Last
7.   The Marvelettes - Forever
8.   The Miracles - Ooo Baby Baby
9.   The Temptations - My Girl
10.  Mary Wells - My Guy
11. Patsy Cline - Crazy
12. Brenda Lee - I'm Sorry
13. Tommy Edwards - It's All In The Game
14. The Shirelles - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
15. The Platters - The Great Pretender
16. Gene Pitney - Town Without Pity
17. The Four Seasons - Rag Doll
18. The Tymes - Wonderful Wonderful
19. The Dells - Oh What A Night
20. James Brown - Please, Please, Please
21. Martha & The Vandallas - Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)
22. The Chantels - Look In My Eyes
23. The Shangri-Las - Remember (Walking In The Rain)
24. Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me
25. Mickey & Sylvia - Love Is Strange
26. The Beatles - This Boy
27. Elvis Presley - I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

Come On, Let's Go - Decade 1

Come On, Let's Go is a continuation of my First Decade series of mixes celebrating my early years of listening and collecting music. The First Decade is approximately 1956 to 1964.

Part 2










1.   Ritchie Valens - Come On, Let's Go
2.   Eddie Cochran - C'mon Everybody
3.   Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On
4.   Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
5.   Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working
6.   The Contours - Do You Love Me
7.   The Marvelettes - Too Many Fish In The Sea
8.   The Temptations - The Way You Do The Things You Do
9.   Bobby Freeman - Do You Want To Dance
10. Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs - Stay
11. Roy Orbison - Only The Lonely
12. Dion - Runaround Sue
13. Peggy Lee - Fever
14. The Drifters - Ruby Baby
15. James Brown - Out of Sight
16. Gene Chandler - Duke of Earl
17. The Supremes - Baby Love
18. The Exciters - Tell Him
19. Lesley Gore - She's A Fool
20. The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love
21. The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand
22. The Rolling Stones - Not Fade Away
23. Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy Diddy
24. The Dave Clark Five -Can't You See That She's Mine
25. Herman's Hermits - I'm Into Something Good
26. Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You
27. Little Peggy March - I Will Follow Him
28. Del Shannon - Runaway
29. The Earls - Remember Then
30. Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel

All Tomorrow's Parties - Late Night

All Tomorrow's Parties - An Andy Warhol themed mix that is part of my Late Night series. This mix actually has a long history and has evolved over time. I first put this mix to a cassette tape in the early 80s and then a slightly edited version in the late 90s on CD. A version very close to this one was posted in early 2007 to the Art of the Mix site and on my previous blog after a visit to the Warhol museum in Pittsburgh. Now here it is again but with a few more changes.

I took out the R.E.M. version of Femme Fatale and replaced it with the Big Star version of the same song. I now have R.E.M. doing a version of Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan. I changed the Nico song and now have the live version of Artist Only. There are also a different John Cale and Modern Lovers songs and I added something from the recent and wonderful Dean & Britta album 13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Test from a couple of years ago.

This is actually now an All Tomorrow's Parties Pt. 2 mix that I will post at some point that contains many of the songs from the original mix and many others that fit with the overall theme and mood.

The pic is from one of the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" shows.

1.   The Velvet Underground - All Tomorrow's Parties (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967)
2.   David Bowie - Andy Warhol (Hunky Dory, 1971)
3.   Talking Heads - Artist Only (Live) (The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads, 1982)
4.   Television - Venus (Marquee Moon, 1977)
5.   Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side (Transformer, 1972)
6.   Mott The Hoople - Sweet Jane (All The Young Dudes, 1972)
7.   Big Star - Femme Fatale (Keep An Eye On The Sky, 2009)
8.   Nico - The Last Mile (Classic Years, 1998)
9.   Marianne Faithful - Song For Nico (Kissin' Time, 2002)
10. Matthew Sweet & Suzanna Hoffs - Sunday Morning (Under The Covers Vol. 1, 2006)
11. Lou Reed - I'll Be Your Mirror (Live) (NYC Man: The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection, 2003)
12. Dean & Britta - Not A Young Man Anymore (13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, 2010)
13. The Stooges - No Fun (The Stooges, 1969)
14. John Cale - Pablo Picasso (The Island Years, 1996)
15. The Modern Lovers - Modern World (The Modern Lovers, 1976)
16. R.E.M. - First We Take Manhattan (In Time: Rarities & B-Sides, 2006)
17. David Bowie - Waiting For The Man (BBC Live) (BBC Sessions: Bowie At The Beeb, 2000)
18. Lou Reed & John Cale - Hello It's Me (Songs For Drella, 1990)
19. The Velvet Underground - Rock & Roll (Loaded, 1970)

All Shook Up - Decade 1

All Shook Up - The First Decade.  This is Part 1 of a very personal selection of music that either I was listening to as a youngster and early teen at the time or a little later came to take me back to my childhood music experience. This first decade of rock 'n roll for me began in 1956 and went on to about 1964. I was in grade school when Elvis Presley was shaking things up and I vividly remember all the fuss. Our babysitter at the time was also our teenaged aunt who lived down the street and she was a big early rock and roll fan who exposed me to music at an early age. We has another aunt who thought it was cute to buy rock 'n roll albums for us that had "twist" in the title. One of my earliest cherished possessions was a little portable record player that played both LPs and 45 singles.

Philadelphia was a rock and roll town in the early sixties and there was already a thriving oldies scene even back then. Fifties Doo Wop was very popular when I was a kid along with every other kind of r&b and soul music in Philly. As the decade progressed the Motown sound became much more important to me.

All the songs on this mix have had some personal influence on me and this is just the first part a four part romp through my memories and musical experiences. My teenaged aunt and uncle down the street were into the Fifties rock and roll and I liked the Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly records they played. Having an older sister exposed me to many of the girl groups of the time and the first wave of Beatlemania which all show up on these mixes. It's hard to imagine all the craziness that the Beatles caused back when I was in seventh grade. It was one of those things where you just had to be there. The girls were screaming about the Beatles but I remember the guys liking the Stones and the Kinks much more back then. The early Sixties British Invasion scene was amazing and it was also a little strange that they were really just sending back the early r&b songs that we were already listening too in Philly but with their cheeky British style and mop top cuteness. Looking back now it's interesting to see how many old r&b covers the British bands played on those early albums.

The whole twist craze had a very funny impact on us back then and for the first time it seemed that adults were also getting into some rock 'n roll. The Twist made it OK for the "mad men" to cut loose a little bit. There was another wave of music coming from California surf bands with their take on early r&b that was also very popular in Philly. In the sixties there were also radio stations that were already specializing in playing "oldies" which at that time meant Fifties rock 'n roll and there were many dances put on by DJs that played the oldies.  Later in high school I would spend a lot of time at Wagner's Ballroom for Jerry Blavat oldies dances where we would hear a lot of the music on these mixes. I also had a very substantial collection of "oldies" by the late sixties.

There are four mixes in this set from my first decade and there are several more decade based sets in the works.The second decade set will go from 1965 to about 1975 and include four mixes. The third decade runs from about 1976 to 1985 and the fourth decade from 1986 to the mid nineties. After that is just seems like recent music. These will be very personal mixes. These will not be collections of the best of the year or most popular. They will be what I had and what I listened to at the time. All of this is part of my 60@60 thing.


1.   Elvis Presley - All Shook Up
2.   Buddy Holly - Rave On
3.   Gene Vincent - Be-Bop-A-Lula
4.   Johnny Burnette Trio - The Train Kept A-Rollin'
5.   Howin' Wolf - Wang Dang Doodle
6.   Chuck Berry - Maybellene
7.   Little Richard - Tutti Frutti
8.   James Brown - Think
9.   The Routers - Let's Go (Pony)
10.  Ernie Maresca - Shout Shout (Knock Yourself Out)
11.  The Five Du-Tones - Shake A Tail Feather
12.  The Orlons - South Street
13.  Little Eva - The Loco-Motion
14. The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron
15. Martha & The Vandellas - Quicksand
16. Shirley and Lee - Let The Good Times Roll
17. The Marvelows - I Do
18. Hank Ballard - The Twist
19. Chubby Checker - Let's Twist Again
20. Joey Dee & The Starliters - Peppermint Twist
21. The Isley Brothers - Twist and Shout
22. The Beatles - She Loves You
23. The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There
24. The Beach Boys - I Get Around
25. The Beach Boys - Surfin USA
26. Jan and Dean - Surf City
27. The Surfaris - Wipe Out
28. The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird
29. The Ventures - Walk Don't Run
30. The Regents - Barbara-Ann

Love in Vain - Heartache

Love in Vain. The Heartache series keeps rolling on with the newest mix posted here. Starts off with some late sixties and early seventies classics before jumping around and then landing back where it started but with a country rock flavor. Mick in the pic.









  
1.   The Rolling Stones - Love in Vain (Let It Bleed, 1969)
2.   Blood Sweat & Tears - I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know (Child Is Father To The Man, 1968)
3.   Chicago - Wishing You Were Here (Chicago VII, 1974)
4.   The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (Trafalgar, 1971)
5.   Cat Stevens - Hard Headed Woman (Hard Headed Woman, 1970)
6.   Three Dog Night - Try A Little Tenderness (Three Dog Night, 1969)
7.   Hall & Oates - She's Gone (Abandoned Luncheonette, 1973)
8.   Paul Young - Everytime You Go Away (The Secret of Association, 1985)
9.   Steve Earle - Hurtin' Me, Hurtin' You (I Feel Alright, 1996)
10. Lucinda Williams - Essence (Essence, 2001)
11. Elvis Costello - Tart (When I Was Cruel, 2002)
12. Morphine - Candy (Cure For Pain, 1993)
13. Spain - She Haunts My Dreams (She Haunts My Dreams, 1999)
14. Chuck Prophet - You've Got Me Where You Want Me (Age of Miracles, 2004)
15. Whiskeytown - 16 Days (Strangers Almanac, 1997)
16. Poco - Bad Weather (From The Inside, 1971)
17. The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito #2 (The Gilded Palace of Sin, 1969)
18. Eric Andersen - Faithful (Blue River, 1972)

Slippin' Into Darkness - Funky Beat

The Beat. The funky stuff. This is the first part of a very long series that includes a wide range of funky beat groove jams. Heavy funk, smooth disco, instrumentals, dance pop.

The opener song from War has that long sinister intro that breaks into one of the all time great funky beats. Lots of classic funk and some wonderful pop songs from Gnarls Barkley, Outkast, Prince, Deee-Lite and Fine Young Cannibals.

Donna Summer doing one of the greatest songs of all time. I Feel Love was an amazing creation back in 1977. Maybe you had to be there but hearing that song when it was fresh and new but it certainly got the parties going. It hasn't aged at all and still sounds great today.

And of course some James Brown and George Clinton.

"He loved to drink good whiskey while laughing at the moon"

1.   War - Slippin' Into Darkness (All Day Music, 1971)
2.   Kool & The Gang - Funky Stuff (Wild and Peaceful, 1973)
3.   James Brown - My Thang (Make It Funky - The Big Paypack: 1971-1975, 1996)
4.   Parliament - Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) (Mothership Connection, 1976)
5.   Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart (World Clique, 1990)
6.   Stereo MC's - Connected (Connected, 1992)
7.   Outkast - Hey Ya! (Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, 2003)
8.   Gnarls Barkley - Crazy (St. Elsewhere, 2006)
9.   Fine Young Cannibals - Good Thing (The Raw and the Cooked, 1988)
10.  Prince - Raspberry Beret (12" Version) (Ultimate, 2006, 1985)
11. Andrea True Connection - More, More, More (The Disco Box, 1999, 1976)
12. Donna Summer - I Feel Love (I Remember Yesterday, 1977)
13. Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up, Pt. 1 (Anthology, 1995, 1977)
14. The J.B.'s - Gimme Some More (Funky Good Time: The Anthology, 1999, 1972)
15. Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster (Honey, 1975)
16. Earth, Wind & Fire - Shinning Star (That's The Way Of The World, 1975)
17. The O'Jays - For The Love Of Money (Ship Ahoy, 1973)
18. Sly & The Family Stone - Thank You  (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Anthology, 1981, 1969)

Love and Affection - Ladies Night - a mix

Bittersweet romance. Love and loss. Amazing joy. It's all here on Ladies Night. This one starts with a lot of soul and then keeps the soul feel through a set of classic women singer songwriters. The mix continues through the decades and concludes with some wonderful covers.

The picture here is the late Etta James singing the blues. 


1.   Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection (Joan Armatrading, 1976)
2.   Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly With His Song (Killing Me Softly, 1973)
3.   Joan Baez - Diamonds & Rust (Diamonds & Rust, 1975)
4.   Laura Nyro - Wedding Bell Blues (More Than A New Discovery, 1967)
5.   Carole King - I Feel The Earth Move (Tapestry, 1971)
6.   Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee (Pearl, 1971)
7.   Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacher Man (Dusty In Memphis, 1969)
8.   Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Lady Soul, 1968)
9.   Tracy Nelson & Mother Earth - Down So Low (Living With The Animals, 1968)
10. Linda Rondstadt - Your're No Good (Heart Like A Wheel, 1974)
11. Bonnie Raitt - Thing Called Love (Nick Of Time, 1989)
12. Lucinda Williams - Right In Time (Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, 1998)
13. The Detroit Cobras - Weak Spot (Baby, 2005)
14. Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own (Back To Black, 2006)
15. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights (100 Days, 100 Nights, 2007)
16. Etta James - The Sky Is Crying (Heart & Soul: A Retrospective, 2011)
17. Bettye LaVette - Maybe I'm Amazed (Interpretations: The British Songbook, 2010)
18. Adele - Make You Feel My Love (19, 2008)
19. Joss Stone - Chokin' Kind (The Soul Sessions, 2003)
20. Joan Osbourne - Ain't No Sunshine (Breakfast In Bed, 2007)
21. Patti Smith - Words of Love (Rave On Buddy Holly, 2011)
22. Cat Power - Sea of Love (The Covers Record, 2000)