Other website news:

Wrote up a review of David Yow’s insane solo debut.

Did a mini-rant on how I think limited editions are fucking it up.

And in case I didn’t mention it before: YO, THIS IS A SONG ABOUT DIG DUG BY THE MAN WHO SANG DREAM WEAVER. 

I’m moderately stoked about that one, sorry.

Also, since everyone else on the Internet seems to hate me for this one, a while ago I wrote a thing on Doug TenNapel’s Kickstarter, and why you shouldn’t support bigots. With his Kickstarter hitting the tail end of its fundraising, I would appreciate it if you read it, and if you agree, share it.

And now on a completely unrelated note: some fabulous motherfucking disco.

All of tonight’s songs are all taken from DiscoNet Volume 6, a 1979 DJ-only 2LP set meant for club play.

Afrika Bambaataa/Kraftwerk/Lipps. Inc
Planet Rock/Tour De France (Extended Edit)/Choir Practice
Like most DJ-only compilations I’ve managed to come across, the first side of DiscoNet 6 is a non-stop mix. However, unlike most every other DJ-0nly compilation, this one kicks ass. This set came out in 1983, which was really a great time for dance music. Disco was finally dying out, and being replaced by the Moroder-influenced electronic dance music that would go on to dominate the rest of the decade. Producers and engineers were discovering crazy new ways to use synthesizers and digital equipment, and DJs were taking the art of the mix to places it had never been before. Pretty rad stuff all around, and I think these tracks show that pretty well, starting with this mix that combines American rap, German electronic music and some good old-fashioned disco that still kicked ass.

The “Planet Rock” part of the mix is pretty minor, just the first few seconds honestly. Most of the track is dedicated to “Tour De France,” in an awesome extended edit form that really draws it out to awesome epic length. The closer by Lipps. Inc is also great, and shows that their categorization as a one-hit wonder may have been a bit unjust. Great stuff here.

Valerie Oliver
Get The Money (Extended Club Mix)
I have no idea who Valeria Oliver is. She apparently released just three singles, this being her first, before vanishing from the pop music scene in the mid-80s. This song is pretty silly, an ode to getting yo’ cash from yo’ man, but it’s fun. And I love the Blondiesque rap breakdown about halfway through.

Stefano Pulga
Love Taker
I LOVE THIS SONG.

I love disco sung through a crazy thick Italian accent. I have no idea why. Couple that with the awesome 808 (or possibly 303) squelching and goddamn I’m in love with this Italian man and his amazing hair. I also don’t know what the hell a “Love Taker” is aside from a wicked burn that rhymes well with “Heart Breaker,” but hey, I’m not a songwriter so I can’t judge.

Pamala Stanley
I Don’t Want To Talk About (Extended Edit)
Pamela Stanley has an unreasonably long Wikipedia entry that I highly suspect was created, edited and moderated by either Pamela Stanley or someone who knows her personal phone number. She put out one album in 1979 and had a handful of minor hit singles, but that was about it for her mainstream success. Glad to see she’s still going at it tho. The world is always in need of more disco divas, no matter the decade.