A couple of weeks ago, I was MC & DJ for a Wedding in Westchester County, NY. The Bride and Groom had chosen Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home as a Bridal Party Dance Song after their First Dance. It was so much fun! Everybody of all ages ended up dancing, whistling and singing on the dance floor! It was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had as a professional Wedding DJ in quite a while. I will recommend this song for future events now that I know even folks that are not interested in this particular musical style will be able to join in and have fun.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home Music Video
How Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home Came To Be
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, who is also a vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first show as a full band was played July 18, 2007 at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released digitally on July 7, 2009 and physically on July 14, 2009 on Community Records. Their second full-length album, Here, was released on May 29, 2012.
Ebert began work on a book about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe after breaking up with his girlfriend, joining a 12-step program for addiction, and moving into a house with his lifelong friend Nicholas Raymond Kellen. According to Ebert, Sharpe “was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind…but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.” Ebert later met singerJade Castrinos outside a downtown Los Angeles cafe.
What do you like best about Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home?
Disco Music continues to gain popularity among those who enjoyed and danced to it when it was at its peak in the 70’s and 80’s, and also gaining popularity with younger audiences who just like to dance to the clean beats and simple rhythms. Since I get asked for Disco Music more and more, it seemed time to create a DJ Classic Disco Mix. Like some of the other genre that involve older music formats, there is so much to choose from, I had trouble deciding what songs to include in the DJ Classic Disco Mix and know I left out some favorites.
DJ Classic Disco Mix
Classic Disco Mix - DJ Mystical Michael
Disco is a genre of music which was popular from the mid to late 1970s. Its initial audiences were club-goers from the African American, Latino, gay, and psychedelic communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco also was a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Women embraced disco as well, and the music eventually expanded to several other popular groups of the time.
Musical influences include funk, Latin and soul music. The disco sound has soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady“four-on-the-floor” beat, an eighth note (quaver) or 16th note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a prominent, syncopatedelectric bass line sometimes consisting of octaves. The Fender Jazz Bass is often associated with disco bass lines, because the instrument itself has a very prominent “voice” in the musical mix. In most disco tracks, strings, horns, electric pianos, and electric guitars create a lush background sound. Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and lead guitar is less frequently in disco than in rock. Many disco songs employ the use of electronic instruments such as synthesizers.
I remember when I heard Jessie J Price Tag for the first time last year around this time. I was prepping for a professional DJ gig in Philly that was a benefit for kids. I try to do at least one gig a month that supports organizations working to make this a better place for all of us. It is hard for me to say no, since I was a counselor and social worker for almost twenty years, especially if it has to do with children. Besides, what is more fun than being a DJ for a kids event? I made sure I listened to all my tracks to be certain I would know what mixes well with what. Kids can be supportive but when it comes to music, they are very specific in their wants and needs and they are not shy about asking or demanding.
As soon as I arrived at the event with my professional DJ equipment still in my hands, the event organizer came over to greet me with a a pack of young girls trailing behind her. She inrtoduced the girls to me and they could not be quiet long enough for me to hear what they were trying to ask me. When they calmed down so I could hear them, these two adorable girls kept begging me and made me promise to play Jessie J Price Tag for them. I was very surprised because Jessie J Price Tag had not made it to mainstream popularity yet and they were only about ten years old.
Jessie J Price Tag Music Video
I promised them I would play Jessie J Price Tag and I did. Of course twenty minutes after I played the song, they asked for me to play again and then thirty minutes later for a third time. The thing about being a professional DJ at an event or party for kids, is you have to break the once an event rule for songs. They will not leave you alone till they break you down and get you to agree. How can you say no to them if they keep comig over with such excitement and enthusiasm?
Besides, it is getting harder and harder to find songs to play for young kids that have lyrics that are not made for teens or adults. In this case, Jessie J Price Tag is about not worrying about money and to dance to forget and not be so serious. A message we all need to hear every ow and then.
Jessie J Price Tag Lyrics
[Jessie J]
Okay, Coconut man, Moon Heads and pea
You ready
Seems like everybody’s got a price,
I wonder how they sleep at night.
When the sale comes first,
And the truth comes second,
Just stop for a minute and
Smile
Why is everybody so serious?
Acting so damn mysterious?
Got your shades on your eyes
And your heels so high
That you can’t even have a good time
[Pre-chorus:]
Everybody look to their left (yeah)
Everybody look to their right (uh)
Can you feel that (yeah)
We’re paying with love tonight
[Chorus:]
It’s not about the money, money, money
We don’t need your money, money, money
We just wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag
Ain’t about the (uh) Cha-Ching Cha-Ching
Ain’t about the (yeah) Ba-Bling Ba-Bling
Wanna make the world dance,
Forget about the price tag.
[Jessie J]
We need to take it back in time,
When music made us all unite!
And it wasn’t low blows and video hoes,
Am I the only one getting tired?
Why is everybody so obsessed?
Money can’t buy us happiness
Can we all slow down and enjoy right now
Guarantee we’ll be feeling alright
[Pre-chorus]
[Chorus]
[B.o.B]
Yeah yeah
Well, keep the price tag
And take the cash back
Just give me six strings and a half stack
And you can, can keep the cars
Leave me the garage
And all I, yes all I need
Are keys and guitars
And guess what, in 30 seconds
I’m leaving to Mars
Yeah we leaving across
These undefeatable odds
It’s like this man
You can’t put a price on a life
We do this for the love
So we fight and sacrifice
Every night
So we ain’t gonna stumble and fall
Never
Waiting to see a sign of defeat
Uh uh
So we gonna keep everyone
Moving their feet
So bring back the beat
And then everyone sing
It’s not about the money
[Chorus 2x]
[Jessie J ‒ Outro]
Yeah yeah
Oh-oh
Forget about the price tag
Avicii Levels is a great song to dance to and the video is hysterical! Tim Bergling known as Avicii or Tim Berg is a a Swedish producer, remixer and professional DJ. He was nominated for a Grammy for “Sunshine” collaborating with David Guetta. He has been a force in helping House music receive recognition here in The USA.
The official music video for the song Avicii Levels was uploaded to YouTube on November 29, 2011. The clip starts with a man in an office environment, talking to a fellow co-worker, when he suddenly starts to dance. He scribbles the word “Avicii” on various surfaces, and dances on tables, while co-workers disapprovingly observe. Later, he gets immobilised by a taser and falls into a coma, where he has a vision of himself pushing a boulder up a mountain while singing the chorus lines. At the hospital, just before he wakes up, a flower sprouts from his mouth, which infects the male nurses looking after him, making them collapse to the ground. At the end of the clip, all the doctors and nurses end up dancing, also presumably infected.
Avicii Levels Music Video
Avicii Levels (stylized as “LE7ELS“) is a song by Avicii, containing the vocal sample from the 1962 gospel-inspired “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” by Etta James, as written by Leroy Kirkland, Pearl Woods and James. A preview of the first version was uploaded on December 18, 2010 on YouTube, and it was called originally ID. Then on March 23, 2011 the definitive version called Levelswith Etta James’s vocal was shot on YouTube. It was officially released on October 28, 2011, and peaked at number one in Sweden and on the Dance music charts in United States, and became a top ten hit in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Flo Rida‘s single “Good Feeling“, which became a worldwide hit in late 2011, was primarily influenced by Avicii Levels.
Avicii Levels and Gotye Somebody That I Used To Know Mash-Up
It is hard to imagine that these three much celebrated artists could somehow all record together on the same song, will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez T.H.E. The Hardest Ever.
Apparently Mick Jagger is ending the year strong between the Maroon 5 hit, “Moves Like Jagger” and his performance on will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez T.H.E. The Hardest Ever, somehow he is back in the limelight again. What may be more amazing is that he is sixty-eight years old! How has he lasted this long with the lifestyle he has chosen? Is it true that last year he was quoted saying that he has a daily meditation and Buddhist practice? Is that the source of his youthful existence? His short piece on will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez T.H.E. The Hardest Ever even sounds good.
will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez T.H.E. The Hardest Ever Ever Music Video
willl.i.am continues to find creative means for producing pop hits without following the typical prescriptions. He does things his own way and makes music that is completely will.i.am-ish, like will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez T.H.E. The Hardest Ever.
“You can go hard or you can go home.”
Critical Response to will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez T.H.E. The Hardest Ever
The song has received mixed reviews from music critics. Simon Vozick-Levinson wrote a mixed review for Rolling Stone, stating that on the single will.i.am “strews dodgy rhymes (“I woke up in the morning/Hard like morning wood in the morning”) over diamond-bright synths, while J. Lo handles the efficient hook. It all feels a bit perfunctory – except for Mick’s guest verse, a kitschy delight delivered in a “Midnight Rambler” snarl.
The website “DJ Booth” also gave to the song a mixed review, writing that “this tough-as-nails cut finds Will, “Audiobot” and Dallas Austin teaming up to craft a danceable synth-percussion beat to back the B.E.P.mastermind as he delivers his trademark blend of Auto-Tuned singing and guilty-pleasure punchline lyricism. After a tuneful guest verse from J-Lo (who also lends her vocals to the chorus), the Rolling Stones frontman grabs the mic to flaunt his considerable swagger (and his poor math skills: “Hard like geometry, trigonometry / This is crazy—psychology”) in a gruff closing 16.”
Amy Sciarretto of “Pop Crush” wrote that “This is not a pretty dance song. It’s harsh, rough around the edges and, well, hard.” Billboard‘s Chris Payne wrote that ” The concept sounds crazy, but Will.i.am is the perfect studio whiz to oversee the commotion. The master of ceremonies adds to the fun by referencing “Back to the Future” to the Wu-Tang Clan to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in his opening verse.
Tom Tom Club Genius of Love was originally planned as a side project from Talking Heads musicians, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, a husband and wife team. It charted high on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Dance Charts. Tom Tom Club Genius of Love was huge in the clubs for both Dance and early Hip Hop clubs as a professional DJ. Tom Tom Club Genius of Love was one of those songs that was just fun to listen and dance. Previous to the release of their self-titled album and song Tom Tom Club Genius of Love, it was not clear to many how much creative input other Talking Heads members had besides David Byrne.
The song’s musical bridge, which contains a repeated chant of “Bohannon”, was one of several theme songs used for many years by a syndicated US talk radio program hosted by Jim Bohannon. However, the chant was intended for record producer and disco pioneer Hamilton Bohannon.
Tom Tom Club Genius of Love is a great tune to turn-up and move!
Beyonce’s debut single as a solo artist, Beyonce and Jay-Z Crazy In Love, co-written by Beyonce, Richard Harrison and Jay-Z. The beats and horns are sampled from The Chilites Are You My Woman. After a successful career with Destiny’s Child Beyonce and Jay-Z Crazy In Love was the beginning of her solo recording career and hit the mark from the first beat.
Beyonce and Jay-Z Crazy In Love is a song that I get professional DJ requests almost regardless of genre of the rest of the music being played and works with all of them!
An interesting fact about Beyonce and Jay-Z Crazy In Love is that Jay-Z was called in last minute at 3:00a.m. to add his rap which he did without a pad or pencil in ten minutes! I guess they had the magic together and it just worked. Of course, they were married years later.
Beyonce and Jay-Z Crazy In Love Music Video
Beyonce and Jay-Z Crazy In Love Success
“Columbia Records released “Crazy in Love” on May 20, 2003, as the album’s lead single. The song was lauded by critics, who praised the horn sample, the guest appearance of Jay-Z, and the assertiveness with which Knowles sings the lyrics. “Crazy in Love” ranks 118th on Rolling Stone‘s 2010 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. VH1 placed the song at number one on its 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s list. At the 46th Grammy Awards, it won Grammys for Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. “Crazy in Love” was Knowles’ first number one single as a solo artist in the United States, peaking on the BillboardHot 100 chart for eight consecutive weeks. It also topped UK Singles Chart, and reached the top ten on the singles charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden as well as Switzerland and achieved multi-platinum certifications in most of these countries. “Crazy in Love” had sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time worldwide.” Wikipedia
After the snow storm this past weekend, I had been without ‘the power’, electricity, till Tuesday night. It feels good to have The Power again. As soon as the lights came back on, like any good professional DJ I thought of this song Snap The Power…
“Snap The Power is an electronic pop hit song by the German music group Snap! from their album World Power. It was released in January 1990 and reached number-one in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the US BillboardHot Dance Club Play and Hot Rap charts. It is particularly known for its hook “I’ve got the power!”.
The song opens with the somewhat enigmatic line in Russian: “Американская фирма Transceptor Technology приступила к производству компьютеров «Персональный спутник»” (meaning “The American company Transceptor Technology has started production of the ‘Personal Companion’ computer”). “Personal Companion” was a computer-like device for the blind and visually impaired. Released in 1990, it was controlled by voice and could, among other functions, automatically download articles fromUSA Today by a built-in modem. It was made by Transceptor Technologies of Ann Arbor, Michigan.” Wikipedia
On July 5, 2011, a 39-story shopping mall called the “Techno-Mart” in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, shook violently for 10 minutes and was evacuated for two days. After study, it was determined that about 20 people performing Tae Bo exercises to “The Power” caused the building to vibrate by creating a mechanical resonance. The tentative conclusion was the consensus among the six professors from an architectural institute and vibration measurement experts who participated in a recreation of the event. The Architectural Institute of Korea was scheduled to release the final results of the safety inspection later in 2011. This occurred after I left Korea. I think this is very interesting.
This past Saturday night I felt inspired to put together a Janet Jackson medley while mixing at a professional DJ gig that began with Janet Jackson If. I am surprised she is not played more these days. Her music is so well designed for dancing and creative movement. Her vocals are soft and somehow forceful and sensual simultaneously.
Janet Jackson is the first and only artist in history to produce seven top five hits from one album, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her records, choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV, she was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.
I remember driving kids in the van we used to pick them up from school to the program I was coordinating at the time. They played Janet Jackson If again and again, and the girls would practice all her dance steps every day while we were getting ready to begin. I got to know every beat of Janet Jackson If without ever choosing to play it or listen to it:) As a long-time fan of Diana Ross and The Supremes and a professional DJ, it inspired me to hear her sample beats from them along with the powerful guitar chords that introduces the Janet Jackson If.
Janet Jackson If Story
“Janet Jackson If deals with a female narrator’s fantasies of being someone’s girlfriend. The track contains a sample from Diana Ross & the Supremes‘ 1969 song “Someday We’ll Be Together“, and is built on a heavy metal guitar riff heard throughout the song. The combination of heavy hip hop/new jack swing beats with an electric guitar and a trip hop sound was a relative departure in sound for Jackson, and an extension of styles she developed on her previous album, Rhythm Nation 1814. A remix of “If” entitled Brothers in Rhythm House Mix appears on Jackson’s 1995 remix album janet. Remixed. The single contains a B-side called “One More Chance”, a cover of a song her brother Randy wrote, produced, and performed for The Jacksons‘ 1984 Victory album.” wikipedia
I realize that I am posting the video Pink Raise Your Glass, very late. It occurred to me as a professional DJ, that this is becoming a Rock Classic. Almost every party or wedding that I perform at as a Rhode Island Wedding DJ these days includes this song. It has even made it to 40th and 50th Birthday parties!
Pink Raise Your Glass is a great party song with some nice sarcasm mixed-in to the typical Pink high energy rhythms. It is starting to become rare for Rock songs of the current era to stand the test of time as the Classics of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s did. There are several reasons for this, one being the rise in popularity of Hip Hop, R&B and Country. Pink seems to be one of the artists that may be able to rise above and sustain popularity and her roots for an extended period, partially due to the fact that she appeals to teens, twenties and adults simultaneously. I hope she continues to produce edgy music like Pink Raise Your Glass, that also reaches widespread audiences.
According to Billboard, Pink was rated No.13 on the list of Artists of the Decade and No.1 Pop Song Artist of the Decade (2000–2009. Pink has named Madonna and Janis Joplin as two of her biggest musical influences. She stated that “I wanted to do it my way with my career, and I had this arrogant notion that people weren’t just interested in my music but me as a person. That was my bit of arrogance, I guess. That’s something I learned from Madonna. I was a fan right from the first time I heard ‘Holiday'” Of Joplin she expressed: “She was so inspiring by singing blues music when it wasn’t culturally acceptable for white women, and she wore her heart on her sleeve. She was so witty and charming and intelligent, but she also battled an ugly-duckling syndrome. I would love to play her in a movie.”
Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8, 1979), known by her stage name Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. In 2000, she released her first single “There You Go“, from her debut album Can’t Take Me Home. The song was a commercial success, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Having sold over 40 million albums and 70 million singles globally, being a critically acclaimed performer, Pink is often seen as the “underdog” in popular music, for not receiving as mainstream attention as her female pop stars peers. Her career accolades include three Grammy Awards, two Brit Awards and five MTV Video Music Awards, in addition to having eighteen Top 20 Hits on the Billboard charts and three #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009 Billboard magazine named Pink the #1 pop musician of the decade, and in 2012 VH1 named Pink #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music
British soul singer Adele considers Pink’s performance at Brixton Academy in London as one of “the most defining moments” in her life.
