I really love Stompy Jones (Ellington 1934 200bpms), but only played it for the first time last Thursday. It went down well. But I was playing such a shitty set I miscombined it and it didn’t work as well as it should.
I love love love the song Jungle Nights in Harlem (Ellington again, 1930 202 bpms) but have only played the Charleston Chasers’ version, which swings less and is more ‘charlestony’ (and is 213bpm). I like the trumpet. Of course.
On a completely different tack, I really like Turn it Over by Bus Moten and his Men (1949, 148bpm). I’m sure it’s in a minor key (I’m sure JNIH is too, which is why I like it), it has a mellow, laid-back feel which makes it sit well with Slim and Slam, has a sparse instrumentation (on a quick listen – electric guitar, sax, piano, trumpet, drums, bass) and simple vocals. It’s probably a song about sex (though the words are about playing records – “flip it, flop it, don’t drop it, flip it flap, don’t you slap it – turn it over on the other side”) and has a nice hummy melody. I play it later at night when people are over their crazed energy but still have some juice in them – it starts mellow but gets more energetic. I like to sing along.
Four or Five Times – Woody Herman, Jimmie Lunceford, Lionel Hampton, McKinney’s Cotton Pickers – any version is good. I really like the lyrics and the feel of it. This is definitely a song about sex, and how if you can manage 4 or 5 times the ladies will looooove you. Or possibly the fellas – the McKCP are a little more ambiguous. Because they are naughtier. I like the Herman version for high-energy, crazy lindy, the Lunceford one for mellower dancing, the McKCP one for crazy loungeroom dancing. And the Hamp one is just plain neat dancing.
Jimmie Lunceford
Is whetting my whistle. Again. I especially love his versions of Blues in the Groove (1939 205bpm) (surely a song about sex – groove being a euphemism for vaginas after all – and it’s a fun, highenergy number that sounds like great, sweaty fun).
Stomp it Off (190bpm, 1934) – possibly another minor key, but great fun. Sounds lower energy so it gets people dancing, but is actually quite quick and energising. But ‘light’.
Hittin’ the Bottle (1935, 211bpm – the early-mid 30s were good to Lunceford) – great fun. I like the way they ‘call’ steps: “move it around, keep going to town, now make a break and wiggle like a snake” (the last two in ‘the break’). I’ve always thought it would make a fun jazz routine song.
Organ Grinder’s Swing (120bpm, 1936). A mellow, nice song that I love dancing to and singing as I ride home – it’s the perfect bike riding song. I like it because it reminds me of the Mills Brothers (who do a version) and their version of Walking Stick (1938, 158bpm), which I also like. Mostly because it has humming, a really nice bit of Louis Armstrong singing (and I’m not a fan of his vocals), and a sparse bit of instrumentation – maybe just guitar? – with novelty ‘instrumental’ vocals.
Category Archives: djing
DJing talk
The Thursday night before the easter weekend I did the second set at CBD, starting at 10pm and finishing at 12.30. I was rostered til 11.30, but the crowd were in partay mode. It was a great set, I was very pleased with it, and I had lots of happy dancers complimenting me on it (which is the absolute height of pleasure and satisfaction – nothing makes you feel better than dancers rushing up, all covered in sweat, with their hair in their eyes and their clothes disheveled, telling you that they loved your set. That’s happiness). A few people have asked me to post it on the swing talk board, but I’d rather do it here as it helps me keep track of when/what I played without cluttering up the discussion board with massive posts.
I can’t really remember many of the specifics of the set, other than that I came in swinging with a crowd-favourite, hardcore, hi-fi, big band wall-of-sound Basie, lindy hopping track. Blues in Hoss’s Flat is great stuff. Followed by another. And then a less common version of another. It was cheating, really.
I have to say that Dan set up the set perfectly. He played a mellow, groovier first half of the first set – very noob friendly – and then kicked it up a notch with a great combination of old school, nu skewl, hi-fi and lo-fi lindy hopping action. I just slid on in to a partyhardy room full of crazy dancing spastics. I also totally ripped off his idea for a stroll – he asked “do you think the shim sham would go down well now?” and he didn’t end up doing it. But I did steal the idea and play the Big Apple song. There were so many people doing the routine they had to form two lines opposite it each other, and it was GREAT. I was dying of jealousy up on the DJ stand.
I was very happy with the way I worked the energy in the room over 2 and a half hours. I called it at 12.30, even though we could have gone on longer and the crowd was still dancing, but I was buggered. And an hour unpaid while the bar makes money is kind of galling. It was nice to end with a bit of supergroove medium tempo stuff.
But out of 43 songs, only 10 were above 160, which isn’t good. Especially when 13 were under 140. We should be a bit more hardcore. But I didn’t feel I could push it much higher – people were kind of crazed as it was.
One weird thing that happened: when I played the Charleston Chasers track (which is more ‘charlestoney’ than the Ellington one), people danced lindy, and the floor was full. Every other time I’ve played this, it’s been solo 20s charleston city. But I think it was because I moved from a New Orleans/trad sound (which I had gotten to from some swinging stuff), and people were tricked into continuing with their lindy. It was unusual, but gratifying to see people trying such high tempos without resorting to bal or solo dancing. But the Giordano track really called ‘charleston’ to them, and they obliged.
Oh, and Disco Keith commented that Dan and I were playing the same songs a number of times – ie I played a song Dan had played, but a different version, and Dan (apparently) had played 2 versions of one song. After I heard that I went out of my way to find more repeats. Because I like to see Keith squirm (Keith is a wedding DJ with some strict Rules – one is no repeats. Another is ‘only one song by each artist – don’t play 2 or more in a row’. I like to break that second one a lot. Brian once played an entire set of Basie at the Funbags and no one noticed. That was ace).
I also have to mention that the George Gee stuf was a plug. A visiting dancer is giving out Gee’s earlier albums as promotion for the new one (which I’ve also scored), and playing this artist was a thankyou plug. But it wasn’t forced: that’s a great album, and the new one is equally great dancing music.
This set was pretty heavy on the late testament Basie. Because I am in love again. It was heavy on the hi-fi and later recordings of things (rather than the older orginals) and newer bands because CBD has shitful sound and I wanted the high energy of newer recordings. Plus that’s how I felt.
I’m actually having a ‘classic swing’ moment – I’m really into stuff from the late 30s, 40s and some 50s stuff (and 60s with Basie, really). I just like music that makes for great, swinging lindy hop. I still love that older stuff a whole LOT, but I’ve been hankering for the beautiful quality of some of the later stuff. And I really prefer Basie’s band in the later years – that’s some good shit.
But I still prefer Ellington’s earlier stuff.
I adore Hamp, and he’s a good indicator of my current tastes.
I am also on a Jimmie Lunceford kick. I just can’t get enough. I need more. More.
I’m also having a Kansas City jump blues moment. I don’t know if any of the Melbourne dancers will be able to handle many more hand-clapping, foot-stomping, shouting-about-food jump blues songs. I will certainly get punched if I play Cole Slaw again any time soon – even a noob dancer noticed that I’d played it in my last 4 sets (ie last night, last Thursday, the Friday before, and the Thursday before that). It’s time to let it rest.
I also did a really fun set at the Funpit last Friday. It’s mostly a new dancer crowd, and the numbers were up last week. We were also in the room with a better vibe. And I had a hankering to play hi-fi. So I played a solidly swinging mid-tempo set with lots of hi-fi stuff I don’t play very often as I associate it with my beginner days and feel it’s a bit un-complicated for more advanced dancers (it is – it’s musically and rhythmically pretty simple, but vocally quite nice). I may post that set list later if I can be bothered.
But it went down a treat. Once again, Keith and I were teamed up as DJs, and he followed me, muttering “I’m getting a reputation as an old school DJ and I want to be more flexible”, and then playing a whole bunch of hi-fi which I really enjoyed dancing to. It was really an example of how you can play hi-fi, good quality music which is still hard-driving, bad-ass swinging jazz. No freakin trip hop rhythm n blues bullshit here, thankyou very much.
The crowd went nuts. It’s so nice to see beginner dancers dancing like they’re on crack.
PLEASE NOTE: If you’re looking at this set with an eye to picking up the songs – get into it! But if you’re looking to do some torrenting or CD copying, please think twice, especially when it’s a song by a contemporary band. I’ve added links to these bands sites, or to their CDs on amazon – give them a click. Some are really, really, crazily cheap. And these guys are the guys we dancers hire for our dancing pleasure. If we steal their music they’ll go bust and we won’t get to dance like fools to them LIVE!
DJ Snoop Doggydogpossum’s set, CBD, Thursday 5th April 10pm-12:30am (second shift).
title – artist – bpm – date – album – length
Blues In Hoss’ Flat – Count Basie and His Orchestra – 142 – 1995 – Big Band Renaissance Disc 1 – 3:13
C-Jam Blues – Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – 143 – 1999 – Live In Swing City: Swingin’ With Duke – 3:33
For Dancers Only – Jimmie Lunceford and His Harlem Express – 178 – 1944 – 1944-Uncollected – 2:22
“Big Apple Contest”- The Solomon Douglas Swingtet – 211 – 2006 – Swingmatism – 2:57
Shoutin’ Blues – Count Basie and His Orchestra – 148 – 1949 – Kansas City Powerhouse- 2:38
Jive At Five – Count Basie and His Orchestra – 147 – 1960 – The Count Basie Story (Disc 1) – 3:02
Back Room Romp – Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – 155 – 2000 – Ken Burns Jazz: Duke Ellington – 2:49
Stomp It Off – Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra – 190 – 1934 – Swingsation – Jimmie Lunceford upenergy – 3:08
Foo A Little Bally-Hoo – Cab Calloway – 175 – 1994 – Are You Hep To The Jive? – 3:01
Four Or Five Times – Woody Herman Orchestra – 141 – The Great Swing Bands (Disc 2) – 3:09
Savoy Blues – Kid Ory – 134 – 2002 – Golden Greats: Greatest Dixieland Jazz Disc 3 – 3:00
Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho – Kid Ory And His Creole Jazz Band – 160 – 1946 – Kid Ory and his Creole Jazz Band 1944-46 – 3:12
Perdido Street Blues – Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra with Sidney Bechet – 148 – 1940 – Blues In Thirds 1940-41 – 3:00
East St. Louis Toodle-Oo – Michael McQuaid’s Red Hot Rhythmakers – 152 – 2006 – Rhythm Of The Day – 3:21
Jungle Nights In Harlem – Charlestown Chasers – 213 – 1995 – Pleasure Mad – 2:48
Yellow Dog Blues – Vince Giordano – 195 – 2004 – The Aviator – 2:29
Lavender Coffin – Hampton, Lionel and His Orchestra with Sonny Parker and Joe James – 134 – 1949 – Hamp: The Legendary Decca Recordings – 2:47
Cole Slaw – Jesse Stone and His Orchestra – 145 – Original Swingers: Hipsters, Zoots and Wingtips vol 2 – 2:57
Flying Home – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra – 159 – 1940 – Tempo And Swing – 2:58
Savoy – Lucky Millinder – 192 – Apollo Jump – 3:26
Le Jazz Hot – Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra – 144 – 1939 – Lunceford Special 1939-40 – 2:41
I Want The Waiter (with the water) – Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra – 151 – 1939 – Lunceford Special 1939-40 – 2:44
Apollo Jump – Lucky Millinder – 143 – Apollo Jump – 3:26
Sent For You Yesterday – Count Basie and His Orchestra with Joe Williams – 163 – 1960 – The Count Basie Story (Disc 2) – 3:09
Good Rockin’ Tonight – Jimmy Witherspoon – 155 – 1998 – Jazz Me Blues: the Best of Jimmy Witherspoon – 4:15
Blues For Stephanie – George Gee And His Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra – 140 – Swingin’ Live! – 4:55
Rock-A-Bye Basie – Count Basie and His Orchestra – 175 – 1960 – The Count Basie Story (Disc 1) – 3:37
Splanky – Count Basie – 125 – 1957 – Complete Atomic Basie, the – 3:36
Every Day I Have The Blues – Count Basie – 116 – 1959 – Breakfast Dance And Barbecue – 3:48
A Viper’s Moan – Mora’s Modern Rhythmists – 143 – 2000 – Call Of The Freaks – 3:30
Krum Elbow Blues – Mora’s Modern Swingtet – 162 – 2004 – 20th Century Closet – 2:45
Till Tom Special – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra – 158 – 1940 – Tempo And Swing – 3:23
Six Appeal – Jonathan Stout And His Campus Five – 141 – 2004 – Crazy Rhythm – 3:29
Effervescent Blues – Mora’s Modern Swingtet – 122 – 2004 – 20th Century Closet – 3:07
St. James Infirmary – Hot Lips Page and his Orchestra – 122 – 1949 – Jump For Joy! – 3:12
Black And Tan Fantasy – Jimmie Lunceford – 104 – 1997 – Rhythm Is Our Business – 2:44
Why Don’t You Right – Jonathan Stout And His Campus Five featuring Hillary Alexander – 118 – 2004 – Crazy Rhythm – 4:59
Down Hearted Blues – Ella Fitzgerald – 122 – 1963 – These Are The Blues – 3:11
My Chile Jay – McShann Trio – 145 – Hootie – 3:20
Blues In Hoss’ Flat – City Rhythm Orchestra – 130 – 2004 – Vibrant Tones – 5:23
Moten Swing – Count Basie – 125 – 1959 – Breakfast Dance And Barbecue – 5:17
Easy Does It – Big 18Smooth Sailing – Ella Fitzgerald – 118 – 2000 – Ken Burns Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald – 3:07
tech up
A revivial of the “Previewing. How do you DJ without it” thread on Swing DJs, coupled with a case of god-I’m-bored and the anniversary of my getting into DJing has prompted me to take an interest in DJing hardware. It probably doesn’t help that I’ve been reading that book by Justina Robson*.
I’ve been looking into some sort of software/hardware option to expand my DJing from a laptop for a while now. I want to be able to preview songs on headphones while I’m playing music that goes out to the mixer at the same time. With a pc laptop that’s as simple as opening two versions of winamp and telling it each where they should send the sound. But with a mac, there are far fewer DJing/music media player options.
I use itunes as my default music library/searcher/player. Problem is, macs won’t let you open more than one version of an application at a time – great when you’re working with word documents, but not so great if you’re looking to DJ. It wouldn’t be a problem if itunes would let me send music to two different outs. But it’s not a DJing tool, despite its popularity with swing DJs – it has a sweet search, nice layout, reassuring colour scheme, etc etc, but simply can’t handle the sheer volume of music and complexities of DJing. Winamp doesn’t work on macs. I have tried windows media player (gag), but it won’t let me click and drag songs from itunes to the media player (which is pretty important if I’m keeping itunes as my library – which I’d like). Plus it sucks. And Cuephase, one of the few plug ins for itunes isn’t terribly sexy or useful. The Squeeze was going to experiment with a bit of applescript, but I don’t see that happening any time soon (sorry love, but you know it’s true).
There are a whole heap of DJing software packages, but very few specifically for macs, and even fewer in a sensible price range. The problem is to do with the fact that there are so few mac users out here in the wilderness, especially not in comparison with winblows stooges. The PC doods often use PCDJ if they’re getting fancy (though the itunes/winamp option is a lasting favourite), but there really isn’t much for the mac DJ beyond DJ1800, which isn’t a great product. It has little ‘blank out’ moments when it pauses or simply drops out for a second or two. Recovering from these can lead to crashage. It’s also a bit resource-hungry. It costs ($US60 or $AUD77), it’s ugly as sin, but you can do nice things like click and drag songs across from itunes, shrink or minimise the various ‘cd players’ in the set up and tell it where you want it to send the sound – to the mixer, to the headphones, wherever. You can download a test version (which is worth playing with if you’re interested) which closes after 20 minutes, but I’ve had trouble convincing it to recognise my USB headphones. I’ll have another bash, but I don’t think it’s playing.
Anyhow, today I bought it (which means that it gave me the password so it won’t close after 20minutes), and I’ll have a play before letting you know how it goes.
To make playing through two sources at once possible (ie through headphones and through the mixing desk), you need to use a USB/headphone jack combination, or get jiggy with an external soundcard. I’ve been looking at a few, including the ever-popular-with-DJs turtle beach thingy and extravagant items like the numark mixers with 2 USB ports (look under products then mixers) which is complete overkill, ridiculously heavy for carrying with me on my bike, but too darn tempting for a DJ nerd. I haven’t exactly figured out whether or not I need the external sound card in combination with DJ1800 and itunes to be able to preview on headphones and play through the mixer at the same time, but there are other reasons for using an external sound card. Better sound quality is the most important (I’ve had one on my christmas list for a while). I’ll have a fiddle and see what’s what.
What I want:
– to be able to play music through two media players at once, previewing on headphones and playing through a mixer
– decent sound quality
Wish me luck.
It’s probably worth noting that I’m the only girl in my town who talks about this stuff. Meggers and I have become DJing buddies, though, and while we have very different tastes in music, we have similar philosophies of DJing (ie get the energy up and kick their arses, fill the floor and Keep It Street) and are equally interested in figuring out how all the equipment works. She uses a pc laptop, though, so we have different technical issues. It’s really nice to have someone with similar interests and experiences to play with. We take the desk out and figure out what’s connected where, trade tips as we learn new things and give each other feedback on the sound in the room when one of us is DJing. It’s nice and encouraging but also a great chance to explore technical stuff which is so male-dominated. We’ve also been charmed by the willingness of young Cameron to help us learn about this stuff. I guess he likes the fact that we’re more than happy to let him come up there and twiddle our knobs (wo-ho!) to demonstrate how to get a better sound from a particular song – I know there are a few DJs (both male and female) who are too defensive to ask for help or give help unstintingly. There is a degree of competitiveness between DJs in our town (because there are so many of us, and because Melbourne swing is all about competition – in ethos as well as practice), so it’s nice to have an amigo bandido.
Having said that, the SwingDJs discussion board is full of lovely, helpful people, and there are other DJs in other cities who’ll happily help out or share their experiences!
*It’s not a fabulous book, but it’s kind of addictive. As my dad describes it, it’s a combination of science fantasy elves and fairies stuff (literally) and cyber punk (literally – the female protagonist is a cyborg body guard for a rock star – what is it with books that like female cyborg assassin types? Or rather, what is it with the idea of a cyborg woman capable of violence?). And if something so silly can keep my hardcore-Sci-Fict dad interested…
Hullabaloo 2007
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it or not, but we’re going to Hullabaloo soon. Next month, I think it is.
This is the forth annual Hullabaloo – and Hullabaloo is kind of the Perth equivalent to MLX. It’s not an all-social exchange (there are only two of those in this country – MLX and Canberrang), mostly because it’s very difficult to make an all-social event sustainable, unless you live in a giant local scene (like us here in Melbourne), have quite a few years of successful events under your belt to serve as promotion (like us here in Melbourne), live in a very tourist-attracting city (like us here in Melbourne) or just couldn’t give a shit, and want to have a party (like the kids in Canberra).
So we go and just don’t do any workshops – we pretend it’s an all social event, and sleep in late every day, go to cafes, wander around like the cheery holidaying tourists we are. The very best bit of going to someone else’s exchange isn’t that you don’t have to run anything or work on anything (you always end up doing something at some point to help out – it’s an instinct you can’t fight when you’re used to running events), it’s that you’re on holiday with a hundred or so other people. And they all want to wander around like tourists, visit cafes and breweries, eat nice meals, talk a whole lot of shit and then dance like crazy fools all night.
Hullabaloo is The Squeeze’s favourite exchange. We get hosted by dear friends (who we host when they come to us), with dear friends (who we see regularly when we host an exchange – it’s a real exchange and it’s wonderful), we don’t do anything particularly difficult, The Squeeze is very popular with the Perth ladies (not just because he’s cute – also because he’s naughty and inclined to pranks, drinking games and stunts) and I like to dance like a fool. Unfortunately I haven’t been to an exchange yet where I haven’t gotten really ill. I think it’s because my body tends to think ‘ok, we’re on holiday, let’s relax’. So I have to spend far too much time sitting about being tired and pathetic. Which sucks arse because I love de late night dancing.
I love Hullabaloo because you can feel every step a Perth lead takes, they bounce and they play good music. They are a bit anal and weird about vintage costume, but The Squeeze sets a good example and just completely ignores any dress standards rubbish. He simply doesn’t bother reading that part of the events guide and doesn’t bother his pretty little head about it. And he never gets in trouble for it.
So yeah, we’re going there next month.
They’re also planning a lindy battle thing as well. Trev will no doubt chime in with a comment on that, seeing as how he’s organising it (Trev is a Perth person). My buddy Dan (who has a blog, but I can’t remember the url) has decided we’re goint to enter the battle. And I think it’s a good idea. So we’ve started hassling all our friends to put together a team, including people like Kara. I’m not going to read any rules, because these sorts of things are always much more fun if you don’t plan anything too seriously.
There’s been a flurry of emails this morning afternoon (I got up LATE – DJed the second set at CBD last night and didn’t get home til 1am. Now I’m really tired) with all sorts of exciting ideas for the team. Mostly involving tshirts and how cool we are. Not much talk of actual dancing. Trev, I hope you’re not reading this, because I want to talk about it… ok, well, this is the internet, so I won’t talk about it til later.
Anyway, I’ve also put my name in for DJing at Hullabaloo, which will be way fun, but also way pressure – I’ve DJed interstate before (SLX), but no DJing for a hardcore lindy hopping crowd out of my home town. I DJed at MLX, and I’ve DJed local big events, but it’s different when you travel to a new town. There’s new equipment to learn. The fear of forgetting essential cords. Not knowing what a local crowd will like/not like. And so on. I’m excited, but a bit scared. I don’t doubt I’ll do a decent job, but I will need to work on learning my music a bit better and do some serious practicing. But I have faith.
[all photos are by The Squeeze from Hullabaloo 2005]
last night’s set
Last night I did the second set at CBD (as I mentioned), the first time I’ve done a second set in aaaages (since SEPTEMBER last year, and MLX last year in November), and I was a bit worried about it. I like going first because it’s like starting with a blank palette – you start at 0bpm and work the room to your comfort zone. I’ve been pretty successful getting the room really pumping – working from that 0 point (actually starting at about 130bpm and working the average tempo up to about 160bpm) – which can be tricky with a room that’s largely beginner dancers. But you know. Performance anxiety. But last night went well.
We are expecting a large event of our own next weekend, so the locals are getting a bit excited. Last night there were more experienced dancers in the room, and I heard a lot of “oh god, I HAVE to get fitter” and “shit, my charleston sucks” talk.
Basically, I went at it the way I would for a first set – get the tempos up high, regularly, and really pump the energy up. It was a bit tricky because it was pretty bloody hot and humid in that nasty skankpit of a venue, but people proved amenable to a little persuasion.
There’s a new mixer thingy, which proved a pain. Once again there were lines that didn’t work. Fiddling with the cords, I noticed that someone had plugged the CD players into the wrong lines (despite we lindy hoppers being lectured by some wanker sound guy about only using X plugs, etc – this time it wasn’t us), and then that the line I’d chosen was screwed. So I had to do some emergency unplugging/replugging mid-set. As per usual. Every single set, I’m lifting the fucker out of the desk (this new one is way heavier than the old one), pulling out plugs, inserting plugs and hunting down loose connections. The hairs on my arms stand on end.
So I start with a bit of hi-fi groove action to segue from Megger’s* set, and that goes ok. The second song? Long, hi-fi, supergroove – good for testing levels and shifting stylistic gears. There were some major technical issues, though (fucked if I know what was wrong – I didn’t touch the fucker!), so I had to change cords and plugs and so on. By that point the sound had cut out a couple of times and I was heartily sick of that bloody song. So I just thought ‘fuck it’, stopped the song mid-way, changed the cords over, and started again with something I actually liked.
It was very liberating to break all the rules like that – you’re not supposed to stop a song mid-way through, and you should make gentler transitions. But it was hot, the song had already been screwed by the tech issues and I just HATE that groover shit right now.
It was so nice to hear Buddy Johnson kicking on in. No bullshit organ crap. No fancy wank flourishes – just a kicking rhythm, some punchy brass and a nice clear melody. Bread and cheese action. A potato chip song that lets the dancers know what your action is all about. Once I had their attention I went to a crowd pleasing favourite – C-Jam Blues (that, even though it’s overplayed up the wazoo, is still a bitching song – buy that album if you’re interested in learning about lindy hop music). And we were off.
A third of the songs I played were over 160bpm, which is a bit of a shift for Melbournians – they like it slow. And the 120s were at the very beginning when I was still thinking about new dancers, or at the very end when people were starting to pass out from dehydration. But otherwise, we had quite a few more upper tempo songs than usual. I just kept dropping them in there, working up and down the tempos. And they kept dancing. It was really nice to work a crowd of more experienced dancers who were determined to dance like fools to decent tempos – I haven’t seen the experienced kids from different cliques so unified by dancing and enthusiasm in ages. I did, however, neglect the newer dancers a bit. But shit, just that one time, I wanted to play what I liked, and to really cater to more experienced dancers who often spend most of the night going through the motions rather than pushing themselves a bit.
I was still a bit clunky til about Four or Five Times (I didn’t really practice yesterday), but there were a couple of guys standing behind me talking shit and distracting me – I knew I’d hit my groove when they both said “ok, the music’s gotten good – I’m going to dance”, headed off in different directions to hit the floor. And I laughed at them. Man, my friends are big fat nerdy music snob nerds.
From there, though, things went really well.
I was actually happy with the songs preceding that point – I might have been a bit quick to get the Mora’s Modern Swingtet stuff in there, and did follow a combination of 3 or so songs I’d played with that afternoon rather than working the room thoroughly, but I was still finding my groove and beating off a case of weird nerves. When I’m nervy I just throw random songs on – sort of like the way I talk when I’m nervy. Lots of random comments rather than a coherent discussion.
I love Shout ’em Aunt Tillie (Ellington, of course, to follow on from the MMS verson of an Ellington track), but I should have left it til later in the night when the doods were ready for that sort of less familiar music. It was also a bit poor quality, which the crowd often can’t take so early in a set. Especially after a set of super hi-fi music. But I freakin’ love that song.
From Effervescent Blues, though, we were really cooking. Old Skool rules! Yee-haw!
I love Back Room Romp a great deal, and hope I don’t get sick of it soon. The dancers really like it too – it’s one of those songs where the floor starts off empty because it’s kind of lo-fi and a bit scratchy. But the beat is so insistent, the brass really rolls around and then gets up there with some nice spikey bits… the floor always ends up full and kicking. It’s almost painful to have to stand there watching people enjoying the music on the floor while I just have to be satisfied with a bit of bouncing on the spot.
Who Stole the Lock (On the Hen House Door?) was a bit of a punt. I wanted a high energy, old school lindy song. But people did charleston, which surprised me as it’s the song Todd and Naomi used in this routine (which I’ve talked about before). I’d thought the old school fans would think ‘Yee-haw! Lindy hop MUTHAFUCKAHS!’ but they thought ‘Yee-haw! Charleston MUTHAFUCKAHS!’ instead. Which was kind of a shame as I had some sweet Charleston Chasers and Vince Giordano lined up for later on. There’s only so much superfast music you can play on a hot night. And very few people actually dance 20s solo charleston, so it’ve been a bit exclusive to pound that theme to hard.
Because the quality of that recording is quite poor, I went for the Mora’s Modern Rhythmists version of A Viper’s Moan, because I wanted to stay old school, but needed to lift the sound quality a bit to change the mood and get the un-charleston people onto the floor again. It was a success. I’m almost really sick of that song (especially the MMR version), but it’s a useful potato chip song.
I’m also a bit over Savoy Blues. But I was going somewhere particular. And, weirdly, that New Orleans sound is really popular with Melbourne kiddies at the moment. It defies comprehension. But it’s very pleasing – I love that action, so it’s nice to play stuff for the kids that I really dig. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised: it has stompy rhythms everyone can hear, it has a kind of uproarious, controlled-chaos approach to solos and parts. It’s not the sort of carefully unified and controlled stuff that Benny Goodman and Glen Miller are into. Nor is it the sort of wilder, yet still managed big band sound of Basie. It feels a bit crazy, but is still quite clear and easy to dance to.
But then I wanted to up the tempos a bit and change the mood. So I went with Stomp it Off by Lunceford, which is quite quick, but has a lovely light, energetic, fun feeling – it feels light hearted and fun. Which is quite a nice contrast to the New Orleans stuff which can be a bit heavy and lower and church-influenced (you can really hear the jesus gospel stuff and martial themes). I’m always delighted when people jump on the floor for uptempo stuff, people who don’t usually dance to quick stuff. I always figure it as a win if I’ve tricked them into dancing faster. But that version of Stomp it off is so fun and nice – it could almost be an Ellington recording, but it has that Lunceford naughtiness chugging along in there as well. And of course, it’s some nice Sy Oliver goodness (he wrote it).
Then I followed up with some mellower uptempo stuff. I’m almost over Good Queen Bess as well, but it’s a very effective tool for transitioning. At this point I was totally in the groove and thought I’d finally please the girl who wanted old school but really meant male vocal stuff. So I played a big fat bracket of chunky male vocal stuff. I say male vocal, but I’m actually thinking ‘silly songs with men talking about food, sex or both, accompanied by guitars’.
These songs always stump me, in terms of the sound quality, but Cammy was really nice and helpful and gave me some tips mid-way through to sort them out. They’re tricky because they’re not walls of sound like big band stuff – they’re really just a couple (or few) blokes singing along with a guitar, bass and possibly percussionist. Cam said they’re mostly sitting on about 220 somethings (I can’t remember the word), so we dumped the bass way down, upped the mids (or was it the opposite? I forget), and then fiddled with the highs. It was interesting to play with this stuff. And Cam encouraged me to get serious with my equalizer, which scares me. But heck, I’m all cowboy these days, so I might as well. It does bring home the drawbacks of itunes, though.
So I played a bunch of Slim and Slam, Cats and the Fiddle and Mills Brothers and peopel went NUTS. They really really dug it. Apparently the teachers at the Lismore camp in February played a lot of this action. It’s weird, because I learnt to dance on these guys, the Hot Shots use them a lot at Herrang for teaching and they really feel very familiar and kind of ‘overplayed’ in my mind – I love them, but I wouldn’t pack a set with them. But I had avoided playing them for a while as they’d not gone down well last year with CBD people, and I do actually adore Slim Gaillard in particular.
I almost added some Fats Waller in there, but I figured I needed to change the vibe a bit, so I went with a potato chip song (after the Potato Chips song), because I wanted to get to a request for the birthday boy – when someone requests For Dancers Only you hop to it. Particularly when they specifically request the higher tempo version I adore.
By this point people were looking really trashed. They were kind of euphoric and having a good time, but they were obviously not drinking enough water (arsehole venue manager won’t let people bring their own water and won’t turn on the air-con. Arsehole), so I figured I’d finish off this chunk then let it settle a bit. Savoy, one of my favourite songs, went down really well, and I thought I Want The Waiter (with the water) was a funny choice, a bit lower energy and a bit slower. And it also went down well. Jive at Five is such a nice song, and that version is slower again and kind of mellow, so people had a chance to chill.
It’s kind of a risk at that point in the evening (I started at 10.00 and it was about 11 by then), so this was a bit of a punt. But they were still nuts for dancing. So I built them up again. And played Minor Goes a’Muggin’ in honour of Trev. There was a protracted discussion about the meaning of the word ‘muggin’ at the DJ desk at this point, with some speculation that it could have something to do with smiling or a big face (kind of a British thing), or perhaps more to do with:
muggins |ˈməginz|
noun ( pl. same or mugginses ) Brit., informal a foolish and gullible person.
• humorous used to refer to oneself in order to suggest that one has been stupid, esp. in allowing oneself to be exploited : muggins has volunteered to do the catering.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: perhaps a use of the surname Muggins, with allusion to mug 1 .
(to use the dictionary on my computer).
People dug the song, though. By this point it was about 11.20 and I was getting tired. The last few songs were closers and I danced the last two (because it was after 11.30 and I wasn’t being paid any more and I WANTED TO). I should have ended at St James Infirmary rather than letting it peter out. Don’t Come Too Soon is a fairly lackluster attempt to construct a euphemism for the obvious. I like it.
It was a good set, I enjoyed it, and things went well.
Here’s the set list:
CBD set 2 1st March 2007
(title, artist, bpm, date, album, time)
Mumbles Oscar Peterson 188 1964 Ultimate Oscar Peterson As Selected By Ray Brown 2:02
Blues In Hoss’ Flat City Rhythm Orchestra 130 2004 Vibrant Tones 5:23
Shufflin’ And Rollin’ Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra 153 1952 Walk ‘Em 3:12
C-Jam Blues Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis 143 1999 Live In Swing City: Swingin’ With Duke 3:33
Krum Elbow Blues Mora’s Modern Swingtet 162 2004 20th Century Closet 2:45
Shout ‘Em Aunt Tillie Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 158 1930 Jazz Caravan 2:56
Effervescent Blues Mora’s Modern Swingtet 122 2004 20th Century Closet 3:07
B-Sharp Boston Duke Ellington and His Orchestra 126 1949 Duke Ellington and his Orchestra: 1949-1950 2:54
Four Or Five Times Woody Herman Orchestra 141 The Great Swing Bands (Disc 2) 3:09
Back Room Romp Duke Ellington and his Orchestra 155 2000 Ken Burns Jazz: Duke Ellington 2:49
Flying Home Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra 159 1940 Tempo And Swing 2:58
Who Stole the Lock (On the Hen House Door?) Jack Bland 245 2002 Golden Greats: Greatest Dixieland Jazz Disc 2 2:37
A Viper’s Moan Mora’s Modern Rhythmists 143 2000 Call Of The Freaks 3:30
Savoy Blues Kid Ory 134 2002 Golden Greats: Greatest Dixieland Jazz Disc 3 3:00
Perdido Street Blues Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra with Sidney Bechet 148 1940 Blues In Thirds 1940-41 3:00
Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho Kid Ory And His Creole Jazz Band 160 1946 Kid Ory and his Creole Jazz Band 1944-46 3:12
Stomp It Off Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra 190 1934 Swingsation – Jimmie Lunceford 3:08
Good Queen Bess Duke Ellington 160 1940 The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: Complete RCA Victor Recordings (disc 10) 3:00
Laughing In Rhythm Slim Gaillard 140 2:52
Groove Juice Special Slim Gaillard And His Flat Foot Floogie Boys 170 1942 Big Ben – Disc 2 – All Too Soon 2:43
Stomp, Stomp The Cats and The Fiddle 203 1941 We Cats Will Swing For You Volume 2 1940-41 2:55
My Walking Stick The Mills Brothers 158 1938 The Mills Brothers Featuring Louis Armstrong vol4 (1937-1940) 2:43
Potato Chips Slim Gaillard 143 2004 Jazz For Kids – Sing, Clap, Wiggle, and Shake 3:04
Apollo Jump Lucky Millinder 143 Apollo Jump 3:26
For Dancers Only Jimmie Lunceford and His Harlem Express 178 1944 1944-Uncollected 2:22
Savoy Lucky Millinder 166 1993 Anthology Of Big Band Swing (Disc 2) 3:04
I Want The Waiter (with the water) Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra 151 1939 Lunceford Special 1939-40 2:44
Jive At Five Count Basie and His Orchestra 147 1960 The Count Basie Story (Disc 1) 3:02
Shoutin’ Blues Count Basie and His Orchestra 148 1949 Kansas City Powerhouse 2:38
Till Tom Special Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra 158 1940 Tempo And Swing 3:23
The Minor Goes Muggin’ Duke Ellington 176 1946 The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: Complete RCA Victor Recordings (disc 15) 3:02
Cole Slaw Jesse Stone and His Orchestra 145 Original Swingers: Hipsters, Zoots and Wingtips vol 2 2:57
Yes, Indeed! Sy Oliver and Jo Stafford with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra 134 1941 Yes, Indeed! 3:30
St. James Infirmary Hot Lips Page and his Orchestra 122 1949 Jump For Joy! 3:12
Black And Tan Fantasy Jimmie Lunceford 104 1997 Rhythm Is Our Business 2:44
New Style Baby Walter Brown with Jay McShann and His Kycee Stompers 120 1949 Kansas City Blues 1944-1949 (Disc 3) 2:37
Don’t Come Too Soon Julia Lee And Her Boyfriends 123 1949 Kansas City Blues 1944-1949 (Disc 2) 2:59
*Megs and I have very different taste in music, but we like each other and enjoy DJing together – she’s an arse kicker and we make each other laugh a lot. So it’s always good when we’re paired up for sets.
Mora’s Modern Swingtet’s 20th Century Closet
Mora’s Modern Swinget‘s 20th Century Closet.
A contemporary band who specialise in the sort of music I like most (earlier swinging jazz and 20s hot jazz), the Swingtet are a smaller version of the Rhythmists (they could be a completely different band that Mora runs, I haven’t checked – I have Dumb Brain right now). I was happy with the Rhythmists’ Call of the Freaks and have my eye on their latest album 
This is fun stuff because the quality’s good, the songs are really neat (some of my favourites) and this sort of action is a great introduction to old school music for the more conservative/groover dancing crowd.
It’s nice to have a few songs by my favourite artists – I’ll list them below – my favourite small group artists:
The album contains 20 tracks of great swing of the 1930s and 1940s, originally performed by such bands as the John Kirby Orchestra, Artie Shaw’s Gramercy Five, Tommy Dorsey’s Clambake Seven, and the Duke Ellington small groups
And you know how I feel about Ellington. But I’m also a keen fan of John Kirby. I like that smaller, ‘chamber jazz’ sound. Maybe I need to explore Tommy Dorsey’s smaller groups?
Song highlights:
Hop, Skip and Jump – 191bpm – 2004 – 2:44
It’s interesting to compare this with the Campus Five version (which I talked about here). I might prefer the Campus 5 version, but I haven’t listened to them back to back yet, so I can’t be sure.
Krum Elbow Blues – 162bpm – 2004 – 2:45
I love the Ellington version of this song that I have (‘Krum Elbow Blues’ – Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra – 153bpm – 1938 – The Duke’s Men: The Small Groups, vol. 2 – 2:35), and I don’t have Mora’s liner notes in front of me, but he could have used that arrangement (that’s actually a big fat guess). It’s still a great song, and this is a decent version.
Effervescent Blues – 122bpm – 2004 – 3:07
Another ‘cover’ of one of my favourite songs (‘Effervescent Blues’ – John Kirby Sextet – 119bpm – 1939 – John Kirby Sextet: Complete Columbia and RCA Victor Recordings (disc 01) – 2:50), I do prefer Kirby’s version, but the quality of that version that I have is a bit dodgy. Not really up to places like CBD at all.
Jump Steady – 172bpm – 2004 – 2:39
I don’t have the liner notes in front of me, nor do I have another version of this in my itunes, so I’m not sure who the original’s by. But this is fun.
There are many other great tracks, but these are the ones at the front of my brain right now.
I do have some complaints about this album, though. I’m not struck on the vocalist, Kayre Morrison. She’s a bit… hoity toity. This band, all over, is a bit… uptight. Unhep.
I prefer the Willie Bryant versions of Rigamarole and A Viper’s Moan, for example, because they sound rawer, wilder and more emotionally authentic. The problem with some of these recreationist guys, is that they spend so much energy and effort on doing really careful reproductions of other artists’ work, they forget to put themselves into the music. I’ve written about this before here, so I needn’t say more than to repeat the last line of that post: “I like a little grunt, a little grit in my …music”.
Roy Eldridge’s After You’ve Gone
Roy Eldridge’s After You’ve Gone.
I’m feeling a bit tired and bashed about my the anithistamines I’ve had to take to save my sanity (I could, quite possibly, scratch my nose off my face otherwise), so I can’t write much.
Song highlights:
All the Cats Join In – Buster Harding with Roy Eldridge and his Orchestra – 176bpm – 1946 – 2:45
Jump Through The Window – Roy Eldridge and his Orchestra – 154bpm – 1943 – 2:42
Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip – Roy Eldridge and his Orchestra – 224bpm – 1946 – 2:45
Sometimes a bit too much squawky brass, but also some greatly fun dancing action.
i just couldn’t get it together
Friday night I played a crappy craptastic set at Funbags.
It was pretty hot, I’d been feeling a bit crook during the day and I didn’t take time to go through my music.
I was also pretty uncomfortable with the set up for the DJ. The sound system was pretty good, but the whole thing was at the same counter where the punters pay to come in near the front door. We had to sit our laptops on the counter with our backs to the mixing desk so we could see the dancers, but this meant that our cables had to hang across the entry to the behind-the-counter. And people kept coming in and out of that space all night, climbing under the cords. In addition, I was ideally placed for people to come talk to me.
I need at least ten minutes of alone time at the beginning of a set to get settled – fix the sound a bit, sort my laptop, pick out a couple of good starter songs so I can go walk the room, de-jitter, etc etc etc. But I don’t mind being visited later in the set.
I just couldn’t get it together – I had to tell people to leave me alone a couple of times and to move out of my way so I could see the floor at least three times til I gave up.
As a result, I was a bit jittery and couldn’t relax and get into gear. There was too much talking and bustling around me and it kept me on edge.
So the set sucked.
It was also a bit of an odd crowd, mostly beginner dancers with a couple of more experienced people. It also felt more like an after-class gig than a ‘social dancing’ gig, so pumping, upenergy crowd-kicking songs fell a bit flat. Those sorts of hardcore songs really go down better with more experienced dancers. The Bechet track was a particularly heinous fizzer.
sigh.
I didn’t kill the floor, though. I just couldn’t make a coherent set that really worked the energy in the room. Because it was mostly newer dancers who just love dancing, it was ok. But it wouldn’t have worked on a more experienced crowd.
I’m a bit sick of my music as well – I feel like I’m just playing the same old stodge each week. The same old songs. I haven’t bought a lot of great music lately, just a lot of stuff I really like…. well, that’s probably not true, that’s just how it feels. I actually feel like I’m a bit limited in the music I can play. I feel like I can’t pull out the less crowd-pleasery stuff. There are some songs that are just like chips at a party – they go down well, you can just keep filling the bowl and the crowd’ll just keep chewing em down. But they’re nothing special.
I want to make hoors doovers. Not chips.
I dunno, guess I need to spend more time listening to my music I spose. I think I need to find another artist that really drives me wild so I can get inspired again.
I’m actually feeling like I’d like to play a supergroove set – really pull out all the really good supergroove stuff. But I don’t want to waste a big night on that rubbish. I’d like a more mellow late night perhaps for that. A really late night… but I can’t fight my ‘drive them crazy’ arse-kicker instincts.
anyway…
Just so’s you can compare, he’s the set list. All good songs, just combined in a really shitty order.
(first set, Funpit 16 Feb 2007) song – artist – bpm – album – song length
My Baby Just Cares For Me – Nina Simone – 118 – The Great Nina Simone – 3:38
Cow Cow Boogie – Jennie Löbel and Swing Kings – 120 – 2001 – He Ain’t Got Rhythm – 2:56
Jump Ditty! – Joe Carroll and The Ray Bryant Quintet – 134 – Red Kat Swing 1 – 2:53
Oomph Fa Fa – Jonathan Stout And His Campus Five – 129 – 2003 – Jammin’ the Blues – 3:35
B-Sharp Boston – Duke Ellington and His Orchestra – 126 – 1949 – Duke Ellington and his Orchestra: 1949-1950 – 2:54
Jive At Five – Count Basie and His Orchestra – 147 – 1960 – The Count Basie Story (Disc 1) – 3:02
Splanky – Count Basie – 157 – 1966 – Live at the Sands – 3:52
Hallelujah, I Love Her So – Count Basie – 145 – 1959 – Breakfast Dance And Barbecue – 2:36
Undecided Blues – Count Basie and His Orchestra with Jimmy Rushing – 120 – 1941 – Cutting Butter – The Complete Columbia Recordings 1939 – 1942 (disc 03) – 2:55
Hey Now, Hey Now – Cab Calloway – 121 – 1994 – Are You Hep To The Jive? – 2:56
Four Or Five Times – Woody Herman Orchestra – 141 – The Great Swing Bands (Disc 2) – 3:09
Back Room Romp – Duke Ellington and his Orchestra – 155 – 2000 – Ken Burns Jazz: Duke Ellington – 2:49
Flying Home – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra – 159 – 1940 – Tempo And Swing – 2:58
Cole Slaw – Jesse Stone and His Orchestra – 145 – Original Swingers: Hipsters, Zoots and Wingtips vol 2 – 2:57
Lavender Coffin – Lionel Hampton, etc – 138 – 1949 – Lionel Hampton Story 4: Midnight Sun – 2:47
Redskin Rhumba – Charlie Barnet – 186 – 1940 – Charlie Barnet : Skyliner – 2:41
Savoy Blues – Kid Ory – 134 – 2002 – Golden Greats: Greatest Dixieland Jazz Disc 3 – 3:00
Perdido Street Blues – Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra with Sidney Bechet – 148 – 1940 – Blues In Thirds – 1940-41 – 3:00
The Greatest There Is – Duke Ellington and His Orchestra – 133 – 1949 – Duke Ellington and his Orchestra: 1949-1950 – 2:43
Come On Over To My House – Julia Lee with Jay McShann’s Kansas City Stompers – 138 – 1944 – Jumpin’ The Blues (Disc 1) – 2:52
Six Appeal – Jonathan Stout And His Campus Five – 141 – 2004 – Crazy Rhythm – 3:29
As dangerous as a midnight coffee
Glen’s started a meme over here, and it’s one that actually caught my eye.
I meme when I’m trying to be cool, but I think this one is actually quite me.
I am starting up a meme. It is called the “As dangerous as a midnight coffee†meme.
Blurb: Five songs for going nuts when IT HAS TO BE DONE. This isn’t the Nike Just Do It song list of inspiration. It is a savage beast that attacks your weaknesses, and gives you the perspective of sickness, thus forcing you to be stronger. The songs have to currently be on a portable music playing device that you listen to at midnight brewing a coffee and getting ready to attack IT (or comparable scenario).
I do own an ipod (well, The Squeeze owns an ipod, and I see it as my Sistahly duty to appropriate it and use it for previewing old skewl jass for DJing on the bus… well I did, when I was catching the bus. I also used to use it for ‘read-a-long’ sessions with Gunther Schuller (I’ve just been humming and ahing over his books on abebooks, btw: I need them. I do. I really do)), but I think this meme really lends itself to the ‘hypothetical set list’.
Midnight Coffee – hm. I’m thinking of late night after parties, when the crowd are warmed up from the first gig, but you’ve just changed venues, so you have to get them really cooking again.
So, to rework the meme-theme, here are five songs that (I’d hope) would work together to GET IT DONE. In other words, five songs that would hopefully drive a crowd of dancers into a frenzy.
Now, five songs really isn’t very much for crowd frenzying, so let’s assume I’ve spent about five songs getting them warmed up.
…actually, I’m going to do two lists. One will be a chronological list of five songs, in the order I’d play to get the crowd nuts. The other list will be five seriously hardcore-kick your muthafucking arse hardcore YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! dancing songs that I would never play all in a row. Not if I wanted to have the floor even partly full.
1. ‘Blues In Hoss’ Flat’ Count Basie 142bpm 195? Big Band Renaissance Disc 1 3:13
Because Basie is the only way to kick a bunch of dancers into a frenzy… well, not really, but it’s a nice place to start.
I’m imagining I’m working with the Melbourne crowd at CBD rather than at MLX or another big exchange. Because exchanges are a different kettle of fish.
This song rocks because it’s hi-fi, it’s late Basie, it has some pretty major brass and people know it and love it. It’s also a very manageable 142bpm – a nice warm-up tempo.
2.
…look, this isn’t going to work. Five songs isn’t long enough for me to guarantee mass insanity. I ain’t that good, and I need to see the floor to judge my choices.
Instead, I’m just going to go list five arse kicker songs. The sorts of songs that make me crazy. That I’ve made dancers crazy with (with which I’ve made… whatever). And they’ll probably be my current favourites.
1. ‘Back Room Romp’ Duke Ellington and his Orchestra 155 2000 Ken Burns Jazz: Duke Ellington 2:49
Man, I can’t believe I only have one version of this song! It’s the best. This is a great warm-up track.
… wait, I’m doing it again! I just can’t list five big songs without working up to them!
Ok, now I’m just going to do hardcore, arse kicky songs that I might play at an afterparty. Maybe not all in a row, because the dancers would die. But definitely within one set. Between about 2 and 3 perhaps – when people have all arrived, had a slurpy or their second (or third) Red Bull and something to eat and have the energy to burn. Let’s also say that the room is pretty warm (but not hot – just not chilly), and it’s pretty crowded. But not so crowded you can’t really swing out like a fool.
I’ll try again.
1. ‘Jumpin’ At The Woodside’ Count Basie 237bpm 1938 Ken Burns Jazz Series: Count Basie
The 1930s versions are best. This is one kick your arse song. You can tell Basie got his start with a bit of stride piano with that stomping intro. The tempo is hot (but doable), there are lots of nice layers building up the energy.
Actually, I’m into this now. Now I’m just going to list hardcore songs that I love that would kick your arse if you danced to them all in a row.
2. ‘Lafayette’ Benny Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra with Count Basie 285bpm 1932 Kansas City Powerhouse 2:48
My comments for this one read “difficult but good fast dancing; ok quality”. It comes in shouting and then pounds away at 285bpm. I’ve never danced to it, I’m not sure you could, but it’s a cracking song. I like the stompy base. Basie of course began with Moten’s band – this is hot Kansas city action (those Kansas doods were wilder and rougher).
3. ‘Hotter Than Hell’ Fletcher Henderson 275bpm 1934 Tidal Wave 2:58
This is one frickin’ fast song. But it really rocks. Henderson is the king of hot, arse-kicking music for lindy hopping.
…I’m getting really excited listening to this stuff. It’s going to be impossible to settle down and work after this.
4.’Blues In The Groove’ Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra 205bpm 1939 Lunceford Special 1939-40 2:35
Not everyone’s pick of the Lunceford action (I know I was torn between this and ‘Lunceford Special’ or ‘Blue Blazes’), but this one, while it doesn’t have that pounding, driving structure is one of those songs that you can’t help but dance to – it makes you jump up and jiggle around. So it’s a ‘get it done song’ because it’ll get you dancing, despite yourself. And that’s a DJ’s job – getting people dancing despite themselves.
5. ‘Rigamarole’ Willie Bryant And His Orchestra 240bpm Willie Bryant 1935-1936 2:35
This one doesn’t actually sound all that fast, but it really builds you up and makes you crazy. It says DANCE MUTHAHFUCKAH! So people generally do. Mostly like crazy fools. It has shouting in it as well, which always helps. I often play the Mora’s Modern Rhythmists version for dancers because the quality is better, but the MMR version doesn’t have the same punch as Bryant’s.
That’s it, then.
There are about a million other songs I could have listed – we’re all about hard fast, getting-you-moving music here in the swinguverse – but these are five of my favourites.
I know some people’d be suprised to see no ‘Ride Red Ride’ in there, or ‘Man from Mars’ (or Chick Webb at all) or ‘Sugar Foot Stomp’ in some incarnation. I’m also a bit sorry not to have any really hot Ellington action there something like ‘Jubilee Stomp’, a 1928 Ellington track that clocks in at 265bpm (I have it on The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: Complete RCA Victor Recordings (disc 01)) would have been a sensible addition. But I could have gone on forever. I could have done a top 5 Basie arse kicking songs. Or a top 5 old skewl. And I didn’t even touch the dixie or ‘charleston’ music.
Anyone got 5 other good, arse kicking, ‘get it done’, ‘dangerous as midnight coffee’ music?
hanging my head in shame
I’ve just realised that I don’t actually own any Dorsey albums. Just a bunch of one-off songs from compilations.
I am ashamed.
Can anyone suggest any sure-fire winners?