Category Archives: Music Blog

Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love

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It was a rather large Internet Café that was also a coffee shop and fast food restaurant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan that I visited quite often making arrangements to return to Korea on my way back to The USA after eighteen months abroad! I first heard Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love there.

Almost every time I was in this establishment, in the background I could hear this incredibly interesting song with what I thought was a Turkish beat in the middle. The soft gentle rhythms contrasted well with the hard-driven but clean beats. I was aching to know whom and what this song was but could not find anyone who spoke enough English to ask. I would hear Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love in stores and buses all over Tashkent and everywhere else I visited in Central Asia. I left that part of the world hoping someday I would find Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love.

 

A few months ago, a young woman whom I am a close friends with was writing me about some things going on in her life. After we completed the serious part of our emailing, she said she wanted to turn me onto some great new stuff she was listening to. It turned out she was sending me an mp3 of Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love – the song I was searching for with no avail! Since then Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love has become an American hit on radio and clubs one year later for professional DJs everywhere.

 

It seems as if Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love was an international hit in Europe and Asia last year before finally making its way to The States, in my case, better late than never. He is a Romanian singer, writer and professional DJ. Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love comes from an Azerbaijan modern classic, not a pop or dance song at all.

 

Last night I was walking home from the gym and heard Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love playing out of three different cars while passing by. It made me smile and remember my time in Central Asia and how the Internet has helped artists make their way around the globe in ways we never thought possible in twenty years ago. This professional DJ is happier for this growth in technology and being able to find and play Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love.

Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love:

When and where did you first hear Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina Stereo Love?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Third World Try Jah Love

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Third World Try Jah Love is a great, fun, feel-good song with awesome rhythm and melodies. It was partially written by Stevie Wonder and he arranged and produced it. For a short time, this song was popular in the club scene with many professional DJs and among open-minded rock listeners. Reggae had not really made its way like it is today in The States except for Bon Marley and Peter Tosh.

 

In case you are interested, “Jah”, from the title Third World Try Jah Love, is from the Hebrew word that is the unmentionable name of God translated into Rastafarian Culture although taken from Hebrew.

 

This version of Third World Try Jah Love is not as good as some others but at least you get to see the band jam and get a feel for Third World Try Jah Love. I invite you to search and listen to the longer studio version with the piano intro for professional DJs. Crank it up and rock!

Update, I was able to find the longer version!

Third World Try Jah Love:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds

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I was at a family wedding this weekend. The band played many great songs well but I was left remembering the Elvis songs the most. One of the singers had sideburns like Elvis and some similar style of representing himself. It was fun and the band was good, especially on Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds.

 

I remember when I was kid and the first 7-Elevin opened down the street from us with all their Slurpees and everything else that made being a kid fun. Next to the counter, there was a large album rack stuffed with really only two artists; The Beatles and Elvis Presley. I was still young and did not understand the full scope of the popularity of either of them. I guess no one did really. At the time, I did not know that Elvis made albums, since I knew him as an actor who sang in all his movies. Funny to look back now and realize how small-minded that was. Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds.

 

He was on the radio all the time and if not there, on the television. He was everywhere.

 

About 20 years ago I visited Graceland. It was an uncomfortable experience. I felt like I was spying on a man’s life and legacy without his permission. Seeing his stuff and bedroom before the age of papparazzi, felt intrusive. Truly sounds hysterically funny in a time when not only is seeing a celebrity’s house while they are not in it commonplace, today we can actually see them when they are in it! Even their bedroom and bathroom while present! If this is so out of hand as it is today with the celebrities we have now; what would it be like if Elvis was alive today? He was really the first artist that had cameras following him night and day and no one really since till this decade, not even Michael Jackson or Madonna had a following of media like Elvis Presley.

 

It is sad seeing his photos before and after alcohol took its toll on him.  How many of our great talented performers are we going to lose due to not being able to properly handle fame and fortune? What responsibility do we have in their demise? Jimi, Janis, Keith, Marilyn, Lindsay, Brittany, Paris just to name a few. Of course, not all that are listed qualify as ‘great’ but fame and its trappings have had such a detrimental impact on their lives. When is enough, enough? Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds

I stil get to play Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds as professional Wedding DJ on a regular basis.

Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Daddy Yankee Descontrol

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“Uncontrollable”. Daddy Yankee has been the one to crossover Reggaeton to mainstream markets, long overdue but welcome. He has done for this genre what Bob Marley did on a much larger scale for Reggae through Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder and then again later with The Fugees. Daddy Yankee Descontrol is an example of this, Gasolina was more successful commercially in The USA.

 

The hard-driving beat and rhythm force people to dance and move even when they do not want to, Daddy Yankee Descontrol is another professional DJ’s dream. It is no wonder that his music has begun to bridge the gap between several genre. It can be mixed with really any faster beats and music with enough ‘umph’ to not wilt next to the powerful energy of this song. The video for Daddy Yankee Descontrol was shot in NYC while he was here performing in the area.

Daddy Yankee Descontrol:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Christina Aguilera Beautiful

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Christina Aguilera Beautiful, a number one hit that transcends race, age and culture. Somehow this song reaches and touches everybody. It is such a treat when a song with this kind of depth makes its way up the Top 40 charts, especially when the video touches on controversial subjects and acceptance of people that not everyone finds acceptable.

 

Christina Aguilera Beautiful was written and produced by Linda Perry and is the only song I can think of in recent years to be a cello-driven number 1 hit. It would be a better world if more songs were popular with such a loving and supportive message and vibe. All professional DJs must make Christina Aguilera Beautiful part of what we do to support Aguilara’s effort to produce music that encourages each of us to be who we are and accept each other.

Christina Aguilera Beautiful:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Panjabi MC Featuring Jay-Z Beware of the Boyz

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I find it both confusing and invigorating when a musical genre somehow steps into another market where others have tried unsuccessfully. The latest example of this isPanjabi MC Featuring Jay-Z Beware of the Boyz, a song rooted in Bhangara.

 

Bhangra is a form of dance and music that originated in the Punjabi Region.  Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves ofBhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This dance art further became synthesized after the partition of India, when refugees from different parts of the Punjab shared their folk dances with individuals who resided in the regions they settled in. This hybrid dance became Bhangra. The folk dance has been popularized in the Western World by South Asian communities and is seen in the West as an expression of Indian and Pakistani culture as a whole. Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe – including pop music, film soundtracks, collegiate competitions and even talent shows. And now Panjabi MC Featuring Jay-Z Beware of the Boyz.

 

Its is not surprising to me that Panjabi MC Featuring Jay-Z Beware of the Boyz has made its way into the Hip Hop and Dance club market, it is a fun song to dance to and easy to mix for a professional DJ. What does surprise me is that Jay-Z is involved in this song and how his name attached immediately makes it a hit. As if the thousands of Bhangara and Bhangara/Hip Hop songs before did not matter till an American pop star was featured. This is nothing new to the pop music market in America. Till The Beatles included Ravi Shankar in their recordings, the Sitar was not known very much in the West and certainly not in pop music. I think it is great that more folks are hearing different forms of musical styles globally, one of the positive uses of the internet. I have recently had the opportunity to professionally DJ a Punjabi event and most of the music was traditional and popular Bhangara. Panjabi MC has many great songs, check this out as well as other popular cross-over stuff like Bhangara Two Step!

I think it is great that more folks are hearing different forms of musical styles globally, one of the positive uses of the internet. I have recently had the opportunity to professionally DJ a Punjabi event and most of the music was traditional and popular Bhangara. Panjabi MC has many great songs, check-out Panjabi MC Featuring Jay-Z Beware of the Boyz, as well as other popular cross-over stuff like Bhangara Two Step!

Panjabi MC Featuring Jay-Z Beware of the Boyz:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Art of Noise Featuring Tom Jones Kiss

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When music videos were first hitting the clubs, us professional DJs had to insert a large tape similar to VHS but bigger into a machine like a VCR for each video. It was cumbersome but we loved the idea of adding video to what people were dancing to. One club I was professional DJ during this period had a large video screen in front of the dance floor. It was fun watching peoples faces as each video played on the screen, it was still novelty then. Hard to imagine that there was a time a music video was considered novelty in a club!
One of the best at the time was Art of Noise Featuring Tom Jones Kiss. The fact that Tom Jones who was an old man by then, rockin’ out this Prince song and video made it that much fun and funnier. The graphics were more creative than most at the time and Art of Noise had created a unique sound that provided an opportunity for alternative and mainstream clubbers to share the dance floor, another rarity in those days. Professional DJs enjoyed the cross genre appeal of Art of Noise Featuring Tom Jones Kiss.

Art of Noise Featuring Tom Jones Kiss:

http://youtu.be/zdb0mfp6TQE

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Roxy Music Dance Away

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Roxy Music, an American enigma. They reached international acclaim for their string of singles from the late 70’s through the 80’s. They reached as high as number 1 in the UK several times including number 2 for this song, Roxy Music Dance Away.

 

Some attribute Roxy Music along with David Bowie for the shift in the music business to include electronic instruments and melodies with horns for making a new, danceable pop music for teens, adults and professional DJs. Their music was sexy and clean at the same time.  Many bands like The Police, Duran Duran, U2 and a host of others have paid tribute to their success following that of Roxy Music Dance Away.

 

I had the opportunity to see them at Carnegie Hall in the mid-80’s. A great show and with a real performer who understood the fine balance between showmanship and quality sound. There are many songs of theirs that I have appreciated over the years. Roxy Music Dance Away I still sneak into certain professional DJ gigs when it makes sense.

Roxy Music Dance Away:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Eminem Lose Yourself

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I remember riding in a 15-passenger van for the program I worked with at the time full of adolescent youth on juvenile probation in Bloomington, IN.  The kids were listening to somebody new who they were all excited about. Not the normal go-to-the-bathroom-come-out and the artist has come and gone already type of excitement. It was a fascination with him as someone who was about to build a legacy. He did and is still building it. Eminem Lose Yourself.

At the time I did not appreciate the music. Eminem Lose Yourself seemed like he was ‘acting’ like the other rap artists more than one who was actually one of them. Time has demonstrated that he is one of them and I think it is time he stops being labeled as a White rap artist and becomes a rap artist. It is sad that people choose to identify him as a White rap artist, as if skin color is what determines your ability to rhyme and make beats. I remember that Jimi Hendrix went through some of this at the time, he was the best Black guitarist in rock. Eventually time and acceptance changed it to one of the best, if not the best guitarist in rock for that period. For a minute or two, Tiger Woods experienced this as did some of the first NFL Black quarterbacks.

 

The movie that Eminem Lose Yourself was made from a documentary of life in a certain section of Detroit and his family experiences was a bold move for a struggling artist. It paid off and continues to do so today. Eminem Lose Yourself provides professional DJs an opportunity to expose a genre to people that would otherwise not be accepting of the music or culture.

Eminem Lose Yourself

http://youtu.be/1TADyXC2K0g

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

 

 

Don McLean American Pie

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Don McLean American Pie is Pop classic that has been covered by Madonna among others. This particular video demonstrates many of the lines in the song and where they were derived from. Don McLean American Pie is a deep song that is written in a fun and happy style, although not a fun or happy story.

 

Don McLean American Pie was one of my first cassette tapes and I loved it and played it again and again till the tape broke. I did not fully understand the story about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper till older and then the full meaning of the lyrics older yet.

 

I invite you to watch Don McLean American Pie video and the story behind the story, interesting, historical and a small window into an era that has been glorified and glamorized without true inspection.

Don McLean American Pie:

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ