Mix!

Fresh with summer jams for your earholes. Stream via the embed or download with the linkage.






DJ Educated Foot is back and he wants what is his

Top (20)10

Like all good music nerds, I had to make a list. Without further ado, my top 10 albums (non-reissue/non-DJ mix category):

10. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

A record I've gone back & forth on a little bit, and one that might have been #1 if it had been recorded by the current touring line-up (with dark synth maestro/weird bearded dude Gavin Russom). Still great though.

9. Hot Chip - One Life Stand

In which the ostensible bedroom poppers shoot for the arena seats and hit the mark with their most cohesive work since The Warning. Anthemic!

8. The Liminanas - The Liminanas

By far the most effortlessly effin' cool album of the year. Psychedelic french pop that gets both sides of that equation perfectly.

7. Matthew Dear - Black City

Way beyond what I expected following the excellent Asa Breed - a sprawling, hazy (insert your cliche here) masterpiece.

6. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty

Except for that godawful Vonnegutt chorus.

5. Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude / Sit Down, Man

Biggest surprise of 2k10 - the pizza hut/taco bell dudes are insanely good & entertaining rappers. Don't sleep.

4. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Superfuturisticastralcadillacmuzik.

3. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

The late climber on these charts. Same great melodies/songs but with a whole new dimension in the production.

2. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

I can't say a whole lot new about this. Except I really ride for "Hell Of A Life".

1. Sleigh Bells - Treats

The most of out-of-nowhere mind-blowing listening experience of the year. Perfect!


Honoreable mentions: Rick Ross, Free Energy, Janelle Monae, Robyn, Araabmuzik

Like Christmas, but for record nerds

Record Store Day is upon us. To commemorate all the nerds like myself leaving their hovels and exposing themselves to sunlight long enough to score some exclusive releases, I made a mix. Enjoy!

DJ Educated Foot - Record Store Hump

The Ghost of Hump Night Returns

Because there truly ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes...halloween jams for your enjoyment, below. Highlights include Scooby Doo samples, bloodthirsty raps over Ghostbusters, and many more ghoulish delights!

DJ Educated Foot - Hump Fright

Best of aught eight

10. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
9. V/A - Soul Messages From Dimona
8. Ratatat - LP3
7. Sebastien Tellier - Sexuality
6. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
5. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
4. Hercules & Love Affair - s/t
3. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
2. Portishead - Third
1. Flagrant Fowl (Cousin Cole & Pocketknife) - Tambourine Dream (CD OOP)

An oldie but goodie

Re-upped for new friends. Soon to come, my year-end list, and maybe even a holiday treat.

DJ Educated Foot - Strictly Liable

Congratulations America

You didn't screw this one up! Here's a weird little mix I made. No tracklists from now on, as somebody has been paying some attention to little ol' Starry Eyes. So we're keeping this off the record, on the QT, and very hush hush...

DJ Educated Foot - Election Hump Love Jam

Do The Marshmallow. Again.

DJ Educated Foot - Financial Crisis Hump

And now for something somewhat different...

Hump Night is back in the building. I could kind of feel myself getting in a rut with Hump Night, relying heavily on dance/electro/disco/etc. so this edition is made solely of tracks from outside that spectrum. Also, it shows that I do still listen to rap (something I had become less sure these days). Anyway, it should make a nice soundtrack for the end of your summer. Enjoy!


DJ Educated Foot - Labor Day/Hump Night

Dollar bin treasures

Like any good record nerd, one of my greater pleasures is the alchemical conversion of dollar bin records into digital gold. Here's the cream of my latest excursion:

Sheila Hylton - The Bed's Too Big Without You

Sly & Robbie (aka the greatest rhythm duo of all time) provide the foundation for this incredible cover. If all Police songs had this kind of groove, I would be a much, much bigger fan.

Eurhythmics - Paint A Rumour (Jellybean Mix)

From an import comp of mixes by dance pioneers Francois K & Jellybean, this song fits in perfectly with the space-italo-disco that's all the rage in certain circles. Like mine.

Bran Van 3000 feat. Curtis Mayfield - Astounded (Demon Remix)

In perhaps my most favorite bizarre dollar bin find, BV3K of "Drinking in LA" fame apparently put out a second album that never made it to the US, but which included a previously unreleased Curtis Mayfield vocal track; this filter-house mix from the 12" single edits the lyrics to create the perfectly devastating couplet: I just want to love you/I just want to cry.

Blog heat

I have a new favorite blog. I've been a big fan of SFJ's work in the New Yorker (dude pointed out the seismographical origins of the now ubiquitous Autotune) but his blog is extremely refreshing and entertaining. Plus, it put me up on this:

Every day is a new chance

Delayed by technical issues (damn you overheating laptop!) & maybe just a touch of apathy, here is a new Hump Night for all y'all. Not as much about the dance-y dance-y, this mix is made more for late night trekking or those hazy moments after the dance-y dance-y. In other words, lots of crazy synth sounds and wordless vocals, ya dig?

DJ Educated Foot - The World Through The Little Window Of My Humpcraft

More life songs

In preparation for this weekend's upcoming pitchfork festival, here's a track from my most-anticipated group - the fabulous !!! (for those new to the group it's generally pronounced chk chk chk, but feel free to substitute your own set of 3 onomatopoeic sounds).

!!! - Sweet Life

Jam of the moment

And it's Canadian! On a Canada-related note, my sister is currently in Montreal, and I've repeatedly warned her that if she isn't careful she's going end up in a formless art-collective/band/commune before she knows it. Look out Sis!

Born Ruffians - I Need A Life

Throw off your shirt and let's get hot, hot, hot

Just in time for your 4th festivities, it's a brand new Hump Night! Feel free to use this as the soundtrack to your cookout/bbq/etc., but just make sure there are no little ones around. And don't be surprised if things get weird. Like real weird. Like animatronic George Harrison video meets proto-emo electro weird. You've been warned.

DJ Educated Foot - Hump-b-q

The End of an Era...

...and a rather disappointing era at that, as the Pacers and J.O., the one-time heir-apparent, are parting ways a couple of years too late. Still, I am amazed at what they're getting back in the deal, as a starting-caliber point guard and a #17 pick are nothing to be ashamed of. Unfortunately, it likely means that my favorite prediction regarding the NBA draft won't come true in so many words, from freedarko.com:

"11. Pacers: D.J. Augustin
Augustin, who is the guy who Danny Granger thanks when Granger is 3rd Team all-NBA next season, heralding Granger's greatness like the Silver Surfer does for Galactus. In a CP3-crazed world, extra points for D.J.'s GPA and Gulf Coast cred. (DS)"

In unrelated news, these are the songs that get you through 12 hours of document review:

King Khan & The Shrines - Took My Lady To Dinner

Hideo

So with Jamie Lidell (featured with the awesome Señor Coconut Mix of "Little Bit Of Feel Good" on Summer Hump) and now Nomo under my belt, my live music-going days in Chicago are officially off to a pretty, pretty, pretty good start. For those not in the know, Nomo is a modern afro-funk ensemble whose new record Ghost Rock drops on Tuesday. Last night, they played the new record in its entirety for the lucky few (including me) bold enough to venture out on a Sunday night. To spread the good word about Nomo, here's their incredible take on one of supreme space commander Sun Ra's tunes.

Nomo - Rocket #9

Summertime...

...and the mixin' is (not) easy. One of my more labor-intensive mixes, but when I'm trying to provide you with THE soundtrack to your summer I will settle for nothing less than the best. Without further ado, the latest supersize Hump Fortnight:

DJ Educated Foot - Summer Hump

Still, where did the lighter fluid come from?

Time for a new feature on Starry Eyes wherein I send out tracks to friends, rivals, nemeses, etc. for a brief review; for lack of originality let's just call it Guest Shots.

The initial installment is courtesy of one JDM, an admittedly "pro-gunshot" medieval historian who is much, much better at Guitar Hero than you are. The track is a club remix of GOB's own theme music by NYC bass don Drop the Lime.

Drop the Lime - The Final Crackdown

Quoth the JDM:
"Like any good remix, The Final Crackdown does an effective job of lifting the the signature bits of the original song and blending them together with a new structure, some extra bells and whistles (or gunshot sounds) and producing something 50% new, 75% old, and 110% pure octane! Unfortunately for this reviewer, there was at least 50% too much octane - any good astronaut story needs some emotional grounding. They may be leaving together, but still it's farewell. Or something. Let's be honest, The Final Countdown wasn't the subtlest song to begin with. And while Crackdown distills and elaborates on the peaks of Countdown, turning a 2-note song into a 1- or 1.5-note song doesn't end up doing it for me. It needs something more. Is there a sound effect for big hair?"

Hello Chicago!

Escort - A Bright New Life

New Hump soonish.