| Song | Artist | Year | Pick | Genre(s) | Willis Notes | Gregg Notes |
| Venom | Glass Spells | 2024 | Willis | Synthpop, Darkwave | Came across on Instagram, intrigued by their big retro synth sound. Anthony Ramirez and Tania Costello had a short time together from 2019-2026, but took a break at the beginning of this year. maybe they just couldn’t get a big enough fan base to continue (26k monthly on Spotify Driving synth captures The Human League, or Visage,”Fade To Grey”. | I’ve flirted with this artist a few times, but never really took the dive. HFD played a song called “night hour” a while back, but then somehow lost track. Upon first listen, I’m immediately reminded of Ladytron & Goldfrapp, but there’s also a touch of Kylie Minogue’s pop sensibility. It’s right in the HFD pocket, and checks most DABEST boxes. |
| Planet Earth | Duran Duran | 1981 | Gregg | New Wave /Post Punk | I never really noticed the subtle intro that becomes an underlying synth line throughout the entire song. I thought I was familiar with this song and vibe – but now I notice there is so much punch and rock loudness in the bass, drums and guitar. Like rock, but actually not rock. My intro to Duran was that my sister became a “Duranie” seemingly overnight, and it felt like “baby brother copying” for me to enjoy her music that basically became her identity. So as a teen I only observed their success peripherally, as a novelty (a juggernaut that consumed girls worldwide). | As i look back at my youth, for some reason this song (the video) was the first time I realized I might be drawn towards the “left of center”. MTV opened so many gateways in 1981. Duran hadn’t blown up yet, but they were on our radar. The band was almost glammy looking but also very confusing to my young eyes; presenting as masculine men but also being attractive in a feminine way. But this song was like crack for me. I wanted to hear it, and i also wanted to watch them. It was bizarre. But from that point on, I always had an affinity for Duran that still exists today. |
| notice | YellowStraps | 2023 | Willis | Neo-Soul, Indie R&B | Two brothers from Belgium. Yvan and Alban embrace the autotune and sometimes sing in French. A bit of the hazy vocals and tight synth production kinda like Mindchatter. Funny that this song had the opposite affect on me than you – where I really liked the combination of familiarity (vocal style) and subtlety (the hammond organ) and predictable structure at first, but thru subsequent listens, it felt more like everyday pop and repetition without really trying too hard. | This took a couple listens before i could get comfortable with it. It does sound like Mindchatter in the vocal delivery, but also resembles a lot of the mainstream sound. I can even notice a touch of Daft Punk’s more funky moments (ie: “Doin it Right”). The vocal effect in this has grown tiresome and formulaic to my ears, but once I got past that, I was able to enjoy it. |
| Say that | Toro y Moi | 2013 | Gregg | Neo Soul /Garage /Funk | This must be a classic, because I feel like I’ve heard that subtle refrain before “I’m allright… we’re allright…” Love the deep bass dance breaks – thick groove accomplished with minimal layers, strategically placed. Curious what his sound would be like today. July 29 @ Bottom of The Hill | A masterpiece of a soulful dance song. It has lots of jazzy & psychedelic elements, but it’s also a laid back house kinda vibe. I wish Toro would’ve spent more time in this phase of his sound evolution. I’m not sure he was ever more experimental or expansive than this song. His knack for melody is obvious here, but it’s his breathy approach that keeps him from oversinging and thus making it feel more loungey and dreamy. This song made me a fan of his, and I still drop everything to listen closely each time I hear it. |
| Nothingness | Living Colour | 1993 | Willis | Symphonic rock, Funk Metal, Alternative Metal | Still touring small venues across the country. When these guys hit the scene, I was listening to metal, and loved that there was a blend of funk/soul and hard rock/metal instrumental power. Corey Glover’s articulate soulful vocals and wild showmanship plus Vernon Reid shredding guitar was a paradigm shift. However today, aside from the idea of the fusion, it’s just too harsh for me to actually enjoy. This song from their 3rd album though, is one of the few that stands up today, and I wish they had more of this in their catalog. What do we think about the crickets? | Firstly, I never listened to anything from them after the debut album (which I loved and owned on CD when it came out). I was also into Metal & Hard Rock when they arrived, so it was a no brainer with their funk/punk/hip hop influences splattered into their brand of hard rock. Still, when I saw their name, I was almost shocked and maybe a bit confused. But after 1 min, I completely understood the inclusion. This could be a Seal song, with a mid-uptempo groove and a grainy soulful vocal. But it’s the groove for me. I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I like this song, and feel silly for missing their releases after “Cult of Personality”. |
| No Hopper | Al Chem | 2017 | Gregg | Psych /Dub /Electronic | The rhythm is uniquely created from a handful of samples that really would never seem to go together. The most subtle one being the millisecond clip of the start of a recording or switch turning on. This has an interesting vibe of anticipation – I keep waiting for something to happen, and only once I realized that nothing was going to happen, I could enjoy it for the dub-state it was meant to stay in and either enjoy the individual components that make it up, or the smooth amalgamation of it all together. | This song is so damn cool. I have a great driving story about it. I’ll share when we record, but it was at that moment I added it to my master deep dive list. In my ongoing/endless quest to discover gems that time left behind without any notice – I found this block of gold. When you listen in good headphones, your brain is going to explode. It’s almost as if a marble is bouncing around the canals of your brain, ears and nasal passages, but in a certain rhythm that almost bounces around the song’s groove to create another sound of its own. |
| Hip Hop Creature | Mellow Man Ace | 1989 | Willis | Hip Hop, Latin Rap | Brother of Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Cuban-American Rapper Ulpiano Sergio Reyes went solo with this album Escape from Havana, and is known for bilingual delivery and novelty rhymes, like the hit “Mentirosa”. Produced by The Dust Brothers and DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill Funny you mentioned LL, on this same album is a song called “B-Boy in Love” that sounds a lot like LL’s “I Need Love”. | Couldn’t believe this song samples Tom Sawyer by Rush, and I never knew about it until today. Having only heard Mentirosa and Welcome To My Groove, I definitely didn’t expect this more aggressive approach. Reminds me a bit of LL Cool J, even Chuck D and Ice Cube at times. Knowing that Muggs/Sen Dog are producing it makes sense, as it’s edgy in the same way Cypress Hill was. I dig this. |
| Down With The King | Run DMC, Pete Rock & CL Smooth | 1993 | Gregg | Hip Hop | I didn’t know about this collab – first time hearing it! On the surface I actually have to read along with these lyrics to follow. | In my top tier of Hip Hop songs. I could make a documentary about this single song, simply because of when it came out and what was happening in my life. The lyrics are as intelligent and prophetic as Hip Hop gets. If you weren’t alive in the 80’s you could never understand the magnitude of RDMC and their cultural impact. They were style, they were street, they were respected, they were smart, they were thought leaders, and they made music in a way nobody had ever heard before. They were “the kings”. I still reference this song regularly, whether it’s a lyric or a story. 90’s RDMC were even MORE badass.. But now they had something deeper to say. CL Smooth’s verse is the stuff of legends. “Look ma, no shoe laces”. |
| Looking Glass Girl | The Glove | 1983 | Willis | Post-Punk, Neo-Psychedelia | I didn’t know about this side project of Robert Smith and Steven Sverin of Siouxsie and the Banshees. (If you were in that band, would you call yourself a Banshee?) Guest vocalist Jeanette Landray adds just the right euro-angst. I might even think it was Siouxsie. | Great choice! Another band I didn’t know until I met (mynus)Kris. When he asked if I knew about The Glove, I was almost embarrassed to say “No”. I was avoidant and danced around the subject until he finally just explained who they were. Then realizing the moment, he made a big scene – “I CANT BELIEVE you don’t know about this! Here are 2 cd’s.. We need to go listen NOW”. It might’ve felt slightly humiliating in the moment, but time made me realize he was just so excited to share something that cool with me. Just as we do with each other on the Deep Dive. Needless to say, I became very familiar with this whole album in short order lol. You chose my favorite track by them. I’ll admit, I’ve not listened much at all over the past 20 years or more. |
| Profane Break | Chanel Beads | 2026 | Gregg | Psych Pop /Indie | The first thing I noticed is the instruments, seem like they are right in my head, literally this band is standing tall, guitars in hand, between my ears and behind my eyeballs. There’s a shoegaze quality to the way they’re playing, yet without the reverb and chorus effects on. The big church bells are a nice surprise. I would hit repeat on this also because the song stops so abruptly, but I agree there’s something about it that makes you want it to continue. | I wasn’t sure what to think about this band. Their first album just slipped by me, and what I’d heard wasn’t stirring anything in me. I noticed a lot of hype bubbling under, so I wanted to see if I was missing something. This song came out last week – and I was in the perfect frame of mind to listen intently. It finally caught me. It was like two fragments put together, without any real chorus or ‘payoff’, but that’s also what makes it so psychedelic and dreamy and good. The guitar + groove that starts the song and then returns at 1:30 serves as the songs hook – but the androgynous vocals are super raw and catchy. Somehow in such a short simple song, there’s such a pretty melody here and it’s addictive. Each time I play, I hit “repeat”. |
Follow these links to listen to these songs (without us talking) on the following platforms: