RECORDS!4

I've actually managed to do four of these boners more or less on schedule. Unbelievable! I don't really know much about Unlimited Touch aside from they are Crown Heights Affair affiliated, and put out one LP on Prelude. They've got two other mother-falcon jams that I know of, the more known "Searching to Find the One" and the B side to this record, "In the Middle."
I've had that LP for a while, but was psyched to get this 12" because I rearry ruv it and play it all the time. A Francois Kevorkian mix.
\\WARNING: RADICAL DISCO BREAKDOWN BASSLINE WITHIN//

Unlimited Touch: I Hear Music in the Streets (Prelude Records; 1980)

RECORDS!3

Okiedickums! Looks like, it's Larry Levan time here at the Heights. The man in charge of the sound system at New York's Paradise Garage, the man who broke a now-classic 99-bpm-slow-mover and made it into a(n early evening) party starter, and as Ned showed: the man who mixed the hotness out of dozens of tracks. His "legend" seems to be a great starting point for any and all that realize that disco isn't just YMCA-style commercialized bullshit (although click that link because it's pretty much the opposite of bullshit)! Or, as "Woodman" from TurnTableLab deflty described one's discoveries along the journey into the roots of modern dance music:

At the time it was a big revelation for me to be like "wow disco music isn't corny and gay!" This was of course before I realized that most disco is the opposite of corny and that a song's gayness is in fact commensurate with its awesomeness.

Agreed. Anyhoots, I thought there was one banger omitted from the previous .zip pack that is a virtual wetdream for any retro-active fledgling disco nerd:

Class Action: Weekend (Larry Levan mix) (Sleeping Bag; 1981)

# ^ ~ - L I N K F I X X X E D - ~ ^ #
This song was written and originally recorded by my favorite boogie dude ever, writer/singer/producer/keyboardist Leroy Burgess, and issued by Patrick Adams. The above 1981 rework of it included a Levan mix and was released on Arthur Russell's kinda legendary label, Sleeping Bag. TONITE ITS PARTY TIME ITS PARTY TIME TONITE!

So, the depth of disco jams has been getting real deep in the Forest as of late. (I see you Ryan. Where are you Josh?) And, seeing as REW has been doing all the groundwork I though I would add to the pile. Those of us remotely familiar with Disco and the infectious groves associated with Disco are quick to site Larry Levan as one of the grove pioneers. I won't go into much detail here, but he was that dude. You know, the guy who started house(debatable), the guy who was a notorious asshole, the guy who "couldn't mix", the guy with a heroic appetite for boys and drugs and the guy who made disco edits of errr-tang. That guy. Anyway, I found this zip file of a bunch of 12" mixes on the world wide innernette online dot com:

Larry Levan unzipped my pants - 250mb look out.

This is, by no means, a complete collection. But its got some of them damn jams you need...

Highlights:
Walking Into Sunshine (Original Larry Levan 12' Mix)
Every way but loose (Larry Levan Remix)
C Is For Cookie[Special Disco Mic By Larry Levan]

RECORDS!2

In 1980 Alicia Myers left One Way ("Cutie Pie," "Push") but continued to work with the group's masterminds, Kevin McCord and Al Hudson (One Way used to be Al Hudson & the Partners!) on her solo records for MCA. One Way records had pretty poppin' production which explains the awesome crisp (early digital?) sound on this 12" "You Get the Best From Me (Say, Say, Say,)" and it's magically mechanical (LinnDrum?) beat break down towards the end. Josh has recently taken that beat out for dinner, talked it into bed, and slyly yet gracefully impregnated it with his digital finger fuck (somehow). But he can tell you about that--and that's not why we're here today: the B side has the real beauty. So much more immediate and sincere--although your initial impression might be "melodramatic R&B boogie ballad," give it a fucking chance you asshole!
This is one of my favorite songs of alls the times--deal with it.

Alicia Myers: I Want to Thank You (MCA Records; 1981)

RECORDS!

It was great being back in MPLS and spending hours slappin' through records and actually being able to listen to a stack before buying and obtaining the best of the bunch for a couple bucks, and rarely more. Of course Tokyo's got records (like a motherfucker) but shops like Cheapo or Hymie's aren't very common. Of course the shops here are pretty much all killer no filler, but you sometimes pay a pretty price (for condition and selection) and can't always preview shit before buying it.
Anyway, I got a stack of some good shit back home and have been meaning to mp3-a-tizzo some of the jams for some of you guys, and talking with Ned (then and today) about records and stuff got me going on finally putting up more songs.
I wanna do a 12" a week or so, hopefully all at 256kbs or better, unless I fuck up... here's a double-dose to get me started.

Spanish language cover version of McFadden & Whitehead's philly disco classic "Ain't No Stoppin Us Now." Cuban band recording in Miami.

Charanga 76: No Nos Pararan (TR records; 1979)


Biz Markie's work with the afore mentioned McFadden & Whitehead original as the NETA (Japanese for sample...let's learn some language too while we're at it).

Biz Markie: Let Me Turn You On (Cold Chillin' Records, 1993)

Can't be bothered to take pics so I'll just steal them for the time being.