| Song | Artist | Year | Pick | Genre(s) | Willis Notes | Gregg Notes |
| That’s Entertainment (Remastered) | The Jam | 1980 | Willis | Post-Punk | I heard the Morrissey cover first, and like his take on it (compliments his voice), but this original feels more raw and I especially like how the guitar and bass carry the rhythm and the drum takes a back seat. The production is seemingly minimalist, almost cheap – yet still with and subtle refinements of stereo separation and just kinda missing the low end that we hear so much of these days. The cooing “ahh-ahh’s” really temper the melancholic grey lyrics and add a touch of heart and soul. | In the words of Tears for Fears in their classic song Sowing the Seeds of Love, “Kick out the Style, bring back the Jam!”. I always liked Style Council, but I don’t think Paul Weller ever came close to the heights he reached with The Jam. This band was pure Post Punk bliss, and basically helped draw the road map for all alternative music of the 80’s & 90’s. They were bratty, they were smart, and they had something to say. However, unlike most “punks”, they had a penchant for melody and structure, which separated them from the Pistols and others. |
| Sodajerk | Buffalo Tom | 1993 | Gregg | Post Grunge Power PopIndie | Totally recognized this song from one of Katrina’s old mix cd’s (with the Pogues, The Smiths, XTC, REM, Radiohead, Violent Femmes, Dido). Catchy, powerful (hitting those drums and guitars hard!), I like their vocals though never read them – so this will be interesting and informative to read along. | Decided to stay in that same era for a band that I’ve tried to include for so many months now. Another “regional” band that was pretty big in the Northeast for 6 or so years, but had minimal radio support. This song was their only “hit”, thanks to inclusion in My So Called Life tv show & soundtrack. This song is poppy and catchy, while still authentically “alternative” (All while wearing the love for The Replacements’ proudly on their sleeves). Every song on this album was good, but this song captures innocent love between shy indie kids so perfectly: “Watch an eyeball, take a freefall, with the mention of a name. In its socket, like a rocket, it rises just the same.” |
| Stars All Seem to Weep | Beth Orton | 1999 | Willis | Folktronica, Trip-Hop | Realizing we have not featured any of her solo work on DD, I chose this song , and I think I might have heard it on HFD the very next day. – so it was fate. Her new album just released, and reveals a lower, raspier voice that she will be touring North America with this fall. I had to double take, and then longed for her higher notes now gone. Side note: Although not exactly the same vocally, we saw Kelly Clarkson’s show in Vegas this past weekend. Although ten years younger than Beth Orton, at her vocal range and power at 44 is better than ever. | I nearly got choked up when I saw this choice. Not only do i adore Beth and her early records – but this might very well be my favorite song of hers. Stellar choice brother. As i’ve stated in the past, she bounces between subtle, heartsick folk ballads and experimental electronic/trip hop soundscapes with relative ease. Hearing this simple, thick beat is euphoric to me. It’s almost clearing a path with brut strength for the delicate vocals that follow it. Then the simple tremolo’d strings and dubby samples provide a base along with the very distant acoustic picking, to keep this song very bare-bones, while also being trippy as hell. Her voice tears me apartt in this one. “I think about you in the moonlit night, and the stars all seem to weep”. Oh my goodness. I wish I wrote that line. |
| Essex_Honey.mp3 | Blood Orange | 2026 | Gregg | Drum & BassPsych Soul /Atmospheric | Although I didn’t recognize the sample, I remember a different line from that same verse. I can totally get how a certain line triggers a solid connection. I like how the use of DnB beats in an almost ambient way to contrast the ballad/downtempo soul feel of this song. Hard to classify! Performing 3 nights in a row at the Warfield Sept. 9,10,11 | When I first heard this, I almost lost my mind. It starts so spacey and hypnotic, and then comes this juggernaut of a Jungle beat, followed by a 4 on the floor thump that could shake concrete foundations. But nothing prepared me for the sample of IceT’s “Colors”, which was my first favorite hip hop song! “I am a nightmare walking” then becomes the refrain that follows the song everywhere it goes, and it goes A LOT of places. The vocals are so earnest and delicate, and mostly left for the song’s quieter moments, but overall this is one of the most adventurous songs I’ve heard in years. It’s damn near impossible to classify Blood Orange, but I’d certainly say he’s amongst the most interesting artists in the world today. This song proves it. |
| Collide | Joe Goddard & Findia | 2026 | Willis | Electronic, Indietronica | Joe Goddard consistently pulls a groovy vibe that resonates with me. This new release, although not credited, is a collaboration with TEED, which always intrigues. Findia’s vocal style sounds like London Grammar or Kaleida. He’s worked with or remixed them both. What a player! It’s a real harp! | I listened to this briefly when it came out, but never added it. I must’ve failed to give it enough time, because it’s very suitable for HFD. I’ll always love Goddard (and anything the Hot Chip guys do separately). I can see he’s opening up his horizons a bit, straying into some new sonic territories. The vox are urgent and restrained at the same time. Kept waiting for the beat to kick into another gear, but it didn’t happen until ¾ into the track, but only for a measure or 2. Very spacey choice! This will be fun to follow. |
| The Glamorous Life | Sheila E. | 1984 | Gregg | Electro /Funk /Latin Soul | This song has been one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures (because I couldn’t classify it into anything in my collection except top 40) for the cowbell rhythm combined with that catchy syncopated melody with sax. And the music video playing one-handed, kicking the cymbal, she was all that! I never knew it was written by Prince, but it makes sense, and as I’m listening to his recording now – it’s a great recording, However, hers took it to another level. She is selling all of her outfits and drum kits on reverb.com | Not sure when it happened, but I became obsessed w/ this song over the years. It was always good, but listening with new ears you’ll find one of the best rhythm tracks you’ll ever hear. Prince didn’t always save his best songs for himself, he knew when to find the appropriate vehicles for his songs that could only make them better. He does so here, giving Sheila a song that only she could deliver with her percussive, rhythmic sensibilities. The vocals are precise & sung with conviction, but she never flips into “lead singer” mode, resisting the urge for “soul”, and treating the melody as if an ensemble might sing it. The song needed just that, as the instrumentation is very busy and drum-centric. An essential 80’s banger. |
| Running (feat. Sísý Ey) | Hercules And Love Affair | 2017 | Willis | Dance / Electronic, House | Names are either 1 of 3 types: Someone’s name (boring), The (somethings), and then all the rest that force you to think. Sisy Ey are three sisters from Iceland who sing House music. Hercules And Love Affair are a Belgium-based DJ/producer group led by American Andy Butler. An algorithm suggestion that caught my attention immediately with a tribal energy right out of the gate and energetic touch of soul R&B. DABEST boxes checked, with such a simple song. | So interesting you chose H&LA this wk, as they dropped a new song that I featured on New Mx Disc this past Thurs. That song, much like this one gives more than just danceability. I appreciate how they write lyrics that tell a story, esp for LGBTQ community. I’ll say, I’m not too familiar with this song, so I’m stoked you introduced it to us here. Love the wet electronic sounds all over it. This is gonna sound amazing in rotation! The chorus is phenomenal. “I’m running, im running.. My feet wont touch the ground”. |
| Hot Music | Soho (feat. Pal Joey) | 1990 | Gregg | Breakbeat /Jazz House /Footwork | Haha “Footwork” is so right for this song. Never heard it before, but I can see this track bringing the house down. Without knowing that, it feels very avant garde and jazz-inspired. It could also be a very good intro to any other song since it’s vocally minimal. Seemingly not the same group that made “Hippichick”. | Released in ‘90, this song went on to become a central force in my HS/College years. Any time this song came on at a party or club, the place would explode! A circle broke out, where people would enter and go OFF for about :20 seconds before ceding way to another eager dancer. People would lose their minds, and it only made me love the song more. Unsure if it was regional to NYC/NJ, but I know it was also big in Chicago. An anthem for sure. These days, I know it’s considered an early house classic and has gained extra exposure thx to the internet, but at that time it was like the greatest DJ weapon in the crates (including for myself)! I still blast it every single time it comes along on HFD. |
| Summertime, Summertime | Nocera | 1986 | Willis | Freestyle | Thinking back to my teens working the ice cream sundae booth at Great America in the summer of 87. It was a job melting pot for kids’ from all over the area, including the tougher parts of San Jose and Milpitas. Working 8 hour shifts in groups of 4-8 of us in a 15×15 space, you get to know people. This opened up my narrow west-side demographic bubble, hearing about house parties and gang fights, driving to freestyle music.. It was a transformative summer, with the perfect soundtrack. Bass is fairly mid-range vs. low in this track,I prefer that as it is exactly how my car used to sound from the 6×9” Kenwood speakers in a 69 VW Beetle. It was all about the vocals and hi-hats! Notice the “tape stretch” in the second measure as the song starts up. Whether intentional in production or a mistake during digitizing, it is a true indicator (or reminder) of the analog tape era. | This song reminds me so much of my older sister Vicki. She was my gateway into Freestyle music, and I’m grateful that she would introduce me to so many cool club songs that I might’ve otherwise missed or avoided. At first, this wasn’t a fave of mine, cus I couldn’t understand her voice lol. It sounded like a child or something. But eventually I fell for the beat, and then the song itself. Even listening now in good headphones it sounds bombastic. It also sounds like the summer of 1987 for me, just before Middle School started. There was a certain sonic quality to pop music that I still love to this day. |
| Right On Track | Breakfast Club | 1987 | Gregg | New Wave /Pop /Dance | I had no idea (or forgot) about Madonna’s roots in this band! Great choice because I always liked this song when I heard it on the radio or saw the music video, and never really thought about why. It makes perfect sense though listening now that it was the electronics, the groove, and also his mildly soulful vocal style fits the dance beat perfectly – this song probably paved the way for later boy bands to sing danceable pop. | We spoke about Madonna recently, and I brought up how she played percussion in this band before being signed to a label, which still shocks me. She’s not on this, their only hit record, but this is another example of that ‘sonic quality’ i referenced with Nocera. It’s clearly electronic based, but extremely musical and played by musicians. All the synth sounds, the funk bass-groove, and percussive elements – it just sounded so damn large on the radio. Which was another reason I was drawn to radio; the processing that made the music sound like it was being played off a mountain top, broadcasted out to the whole world. I also couldn’t determine, as a kid, if this was New Wave, Pop, Dance, or R&B. It was basically all of those things, and I love it. |
Follow these links to listen to these songs (without us talking) on the following platforms: