Disco/Rock Re-ups

Billy Thorpe - Stimulation










Clout - Under Fire

Hott City!

This album is spectacular! From start to finish.


And I can do no better review of it that Disco Delivery did in May of 2006.

So please go there and read up on the ins and outs of this disco masterpiece.

Every. Single. Track. here is killer. So get them all!

My personal faves are "If All We're Gonna Do Is Dance", which I play out nearly every week, and "I Took His Money", a paean to disco era sexual excess! Best Line:

I got to know this man the hard way,
I'm sure you know just what i mean!

I gave him all the love he needed,
and in return he gave me "green".

Freaking brilliant!

Hott City - Feelin' Love


Hott City - If All We're Gonna Do Is Dance


Hott City - Ain't Love Grand


Hott City - I Took His Money


Hott City - Peaks And Valleys

Random Re-ups

La Bionda - High Energy


















Hot Posse - An American Dream

Andrea True Connection - White Witch

Sonny Okosun - Highlife

Sonny Okosun, who passed away this May, was one of the most recognizable names in African music.

Largely unknown in the U.S. he was a constant favorite in Nigeria and South Africa because of the style of music he helped create called Highlife, a mix of reggae and African pop.

Okosun was also a thorn in the side of the apartheid government in South Africa, releasing many songs used in protest of the way native Africans were treated by the white-rule government in the formerly segregated country. He is credited with being a huge part of the "Free Nelson Mandela" movement of the 80's and 90's that eventually worked to increase pressure on the South African government and ease pressure on South African blacks, and effectively released Nelson Mandela and ended apartheid.

In 1984 a movie about Highlife music came out and Sonny, of course, was picked to write the theme song. It's a little late for the disco era, but I find that songs like this tend to open up the dance floor on a hot and steamy night. The openness and the space and rhythm really tend to act like a refreshing splash of cool water on dancers who have been sweating it out to the more hectic sounds of pure disco.

So in honor of Sonny, enjoy the "Highlife"!

Sonny Okosun - Highlife (Dance Remix)


Sonny Okosun - Highlife (Dub Version)


PS. The Dub Version is killer! I can hear Baldelli playing that shit out!

Gloria Gaynor - Substitute

In 1978 Gloria Gaynor released the first single from her Love Tracks album. It was a cover of a cover. Early in the year she had heard the South African female rock group Clout perform their version of an old Righteous Brothers track called "Substitute".

The Righteous Brothers version is nye impossible to find. But the Clout version can still be found every once in awhile in the odd used records shop, and on many a Guilty Pleasures comp.

Needless to say, the Gloria Gaynor version of the song was a commercial flop. It was a mid tempo track that used a tambourine shake in place of the constant drone of high hats as the main ingredient of the drums. How un-disco!

So why is this song so important to lovers of disco and muso-geeks into pop music history?

It's all about the b-side. DJ's in New York decided to skip the single track and started playing the flip side, "I Will Survive".

From Turn The Beat Around: The Secret History Of Disco by Peter Shapiro:

Studio 54 will always be remembered for cocaine in the back room with Liza, Andy, and Halston, but it wasn't merely about excess and decadence. On occasion, it was actually about the music, and none more important than the night in 1978 when Ritchie Kaczor decided to play (with a little encouragement from Polydor A&R man Rick Stevens) the B side of Gloria Gaynor's most recent single, a cover of Clout's "Substitute". When he played it nearly everyone left the dance floor, but Kaczor persisted and within a few more spins "I Will Survive" was the beggest record at Studio 54. The buzz was such that soon every disco in New York was playing it, and the record company released teh single with "I Will Survive" as the A side. It eventually went to #1 in just about every country in the world.

I believe Clout's rock version of the song is the superior version all around, but there's no denying the impact this misplaced Gaynor single had on the history of disco, and social movement like feminism and Gay Rights (especially in the hey day of the AIDS crises).

So here in a nod to history is the rarely heard, original 12" single version of Substitute in all its eight and a half minute glory.

Gloria Gaynor - Substitue (12" version)

New York Latin Hustle

From New York Latin Hustle, the Soul Jazz comp of early latin disco hits, this incomparable track of sexual ecstasy over the opening of a fire hydrant screams, chants and moans as it chugs along with its conga and shaker vibe.

This track by J Walter Negro And The Loose Jointz was a staple of STUDIO's hot and sweaty dance sessions. I didn't know anything about the orgin of this track until I found some info on this blog.

But hey, you need to acquaint yourself with this classic from the hot days of steaming NY disco.

Check it out below!

J Walter Negro And Loose Jointz - Shoot The Pump

Italo Re-Ups

Rondo Veneziano - La Serenissima



Easy Going - Baby I Love You

T. S. Monk - More Of The Good Life

What could be a better post title than that when talking about summer time jams, disco dancing and returning to my favorite club night?



T.S. Monk, the eponymously titled project fronted by Thelonius Monk Jr. (yep, the son of Thelonius Monk) and joined by his sister Boo Boo Monk and friend Yvonne Fletcher released three albums in the disco era. The first two were produced by none other than Sandy Linzer, producer extrodinaire for talents like Odyssey ("Native New Yorker") and Dr. Buzzard's... (you know I love those guys!) and Cory Daye's solo project ("Pow Wow" was a weekly hit for STUDIO).

I was blown away on first airing of More Of The Good Life by how wonderfully funky and positive the vibe is. Stand out tracks are the opener "Everybody Get Up And Dance", the brilliantly titled "Oh! Oh! Speedo" (most definitely to be played tonight!) and the slow and funky closer "You're Askin' Me, I'm Askin' You (Buggin' Me Out)".

The sad thing (yeah, there's always a sad story in disco) is within two years of the release of this album both Boo Boo and Yvonne were dead due to breast cancer, both dying in 1983.

Let's not dwell on the bad though, let's remember T.S. Monk for the awesome fun-loving vibe of their music!

T.S. Monk - Everybody Get Up And Dance



T.S. Monk - Oh! Oh! Speedo



T.S. Monk - You're Askin' Me, I'm Askin' You (Buggin' Me Out)

Disco CIrcus

This amazing OOP LP is fantastic for many reasons. This is Munich Machine without Moroder. All the names are there... Korduletsch, Koppers, Forsey, Mack, Bjoerklund, Evers. This album inlcudes a killer vocoded version of "In A Gadda Da Vida", though most will know this album for the brilliant disco track "Over And Over" (not the Sylvester song). This also includes a disco cover of Ennio Morricone's "The Mexican" with vocals(?!?). I really cleaned up this record before making these new rips, so enjoy!





Disco Circus - In A Gadda Da Vida / In The Garden Of Eden



Disco Circus - Over And Over


Disco Circus - The Mexican


P.S. This is the rare original airbrush album cover. There is another one out there that is way tacky, but both include the same music.

How Long?

I orginaly wrote this post after hearing Altair Nouveau DJ with us at STUDIO! in July of '08. Now with great pleasure I'm bringing Altair up for my new Friday night at Re-bar: TROUBLE DICSO.

I am really excited to see what Altair is going to bring to Seattle hot on the heels of his new DFA release, "Space Fortress".

Definitely check out his work!


Did I tell you I used to DJ this funky 70's AM/FM rock night here in Seattle? On of my favorite tracks to play was "How Long" by British one-hit wonders Ace. Written by Paul Carrack before he made a career of joining other bands for short stints, like Mike & The Mechanics, Roxy Music, Squeeze and The Smiths. OK, he also had some sort of solo career, but never anything quite as good as his first and biggest hit.

Don't ask me why/how Minneapolis' Lipps, Inc. decided to record the track in 1980 for their second album, Pucker Up. It's the lead-off, and probably the best track on the album.

Once again, I wouldn't have been drawn to this track with out the guidance of Altair Nouveau our erstwhile DJ now residing in the gentler confines of San Francisco.

Altair....Please come back! We miss you.

Or at least call or write. Didn't your mama teach you any manners?

Lipps, Inc. - How Long