Versions of this story have been told before, but what distinguishes Love Saves the Day are the more than 300 interviews Lawrence conducted with promoters, partiers, and legendary DJs such as Frankie Knuckles. It’s full of wisdom from the elders of American club culture: how to stagger straight and gay crowds on a Friday night, how to find the next great floor-filling single, how to build a DJ set like a furnace that can burn all night. Lawrence also folds in a number of select club “discographies” so you can reproduce Jimmy Stuard’s set from 12 West, circa 1976, at home (on nice speakers, perhaps, or an iPhone placed in a cereal bowl).
so I said "Why not?" I'm about halfway through and I'm not sure that I'll finish, I'm so bored by non-fiction that I haven't taken a history class since high school. And my main motivation to finish the book--compiling a playlist of all the mentioned songs--was obviated when I learned that someone already did it.
I am not, however, bored by podcasts about non-fiction and I recently stumbled across the One Song Podcast, a show where DJs Diallo Riddle and Luxxury break down the backstory to a song or album. This isn't just stories about the first time they heard the song or why it's one of their top ten songs, there's some serious music theory. Here's Luxxury explaining why the bass line to Nas's N.Y. State of Mind sounds so menacing:
The whole episode is great but many of you aren't into Nas and probably don't care who DJ Premier sampled and how he looped it. Here's an episode I suspect most of you will enjoy.
But the real reason I'm posting all this drivel is their interview with Fab 5 Freddy. It's two parts and only the first one is out yet, but they talk about some of the clubs and records from Love Saves the Day, so if you don't want to read 400-plus pages of non-fiction just listen to Fab 5 Freddy talk about the good old days of the NYC disco scene, how DJing was invented, the making of Wildstyle, and lots of other interesting stuff.
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Congratulations on the yellow card, Rob.
ReplyDeleteI went deep into my 30s before I got my first technical. Was always a point of pride that despite my competitiveness and quick temper I always mashed to toe the line just enough.
Z, this is super boss. First of all, that playlist is astonishing in its breadth. 30 hours of funky-ass shit... that's a pop it on at the house Saturday morning and let 'er ride for a smooth groovin weekend. Glad you didn't have to curate it yourself.
ReplyDeleteSecond, that podcast. As I mentioned to you recently, I am mostly monogamous with my personal podcast listening. I'm a loyal follower of We Defy Augury / Pig on the Wall / Dave Confesses His Age-Old Sins and Reaches Nirvana By Performing a Series of Atonement-Inducing Embarrassing Acts. (The third in the trilogy hasn't happened yet. Stay tuned.)
Although I occasionally listen to and like Song Exploder -- which One Song reminds me of, what with its singular focus. This is up my geeked-up music junkie alley. Thanks for the rec, I'm in.
Finally, what's with your disdain for (boredom with) history / nonfiction? To each his own, but it puzzles me.
the yellow card was a dumb ass administrative violation. in virginia high school soccer, if a player is wearing an earring on the field, the coach receives an automatic yellow. one of my kids had a silicon replacement stud protecting a recent piercing. she's worn it in every game this season with no issue. ran into an over-officious jerk who noticed it - at halftime. hence, i was cautioned.
ReplyDeleteSilicon replacement stud... that sounds like Dave's robot buddy
ReplyDeleteIt's less disdain and more ennui. I enjoy Klosterman, Gladwell, Quammen because they tell short factual stories and synthesize them together into an interesting conclusion. Guns Germs and Steel is another good example. But a recitation of who did what when just doesn't keep me engaged. Tim Lawrence keeps it pretty engaging in Love Saves the Day but it's hard to fully appreciate different DJ techniques if you aren't listening to them. Tom Wolfe and Michael Lewis are great non-fiction authors, probably because they write about stuff that interests me and Lewis typically keeps it brief.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes use the audio of Guns Germs and Steel as a sleep aid.
ReplyDeleteInteresting book, but the narrator's voice gets me there before a five minute timer turns it off.
This comment goes with the post before (sorry) -- hey Rob, did you get the yellow for "get out of plato's fucking cave, miguel, and call that obvious foul!"
ReplyDeleteapologies for the vibe shift, but could use some positive gheorghie energy. there's a high likelihood that my nephew's helo squadron was involved in yesterday's hostilities in the persian gulf. no idea if he himself was, but it's all a bit unnerving for our family. and since g:tb is a different sort of (weird-ass) family, thought i'd share and get some more folks sending up thoughts for max and his colleagues.
ReplyDeleteHere’s hoping he dodged the worst of it, my friend
ReplyDeletethink he’s okay, but doesn’t look like the dipshits calling the shots are bringing our men and women back home any time soon.
ReplyDeleteGood vibes emanating eastward.
ReplyDeletein much different news, i finished 'king of ashes', my first s.a. cosby book (thanks to obx dave) while in boulder. what a pulsating read, full of great action and a whole mess of moral dilemmas.
ReplyDeleteIn much different news, ORF Rock radio tonight at 7pm ET. Get some! WODU Studios app. If you're tuned in, text me and I'll give you a shout-out!
ReplyDeletehad no idea ted turner was still alive. until he wasn't. pour some out for the guy who gave us the 24-hour news cycle.
ReplyDeleteCan he take the 24 hour news cycle with him?
ReplyDeletelast out of region matchup of the season for the huskies this evening, on the road against a larger school. result doesn't matter in terms of our seeding, so it's a chance to practice the defense-first setup we'll need to employ to pull off a postseason upset. up the huskies!
ReplyDelete71 degrees in boulder when we left on monday. nine inches of snow today. colorado is wild.
ReplyDeleteRobbie took the heat
ReplyDeleteAnd left TR with nine inches.
ReplyDeleteUmm…
ReplyDeletehuskies won, 2-1. unfortunately, coach lost, 2-0. kids were at sixes and sevens playing an unfamiliar formation in the first 5 minutes, conceded twice. shifted back to our familiar 4-2-3-1 and outplayed and outscored our opponent the rest of the way. kids played their asses off in the second half. think we might have unlocked something for the stretch run.
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