I'll Hit The Ceiling On A Beam Of Light

Arabesque - Friday Night (242 kbps)
Arabesque - In The Heat Of A Disco Night (255 kbps)

Holy shit. Is Arabesque the hottest girl group ever? Look at that fucking choreography. Look at those satin jumpsuits and perfect disco bangs. Granted, the two pieces of bread to the German disco princess sandwich are totally disposable, but oh my god we want to be the one in the middle (Sandra Lauer). Anyway, Arabesque was a late 70's/early 80's German disco trio and was apparently kind of big in Japan for a while. They made campy, sexy Eurodisco in the golden age of campy, sexy Eurodisco, with song titles like 'Make Love Whenever You Can' and 'Parties In A Penthouse,' and looked good all the time.


EDIT: WAIT. We knew these bitches sounded familiar! One of the fist-pumpingest tracks of '09, Fake Blood's 'I Think I Like It,' samples 'In The Heat Of A Disco Night!' Check it.

Your Love Is So Important

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Don't Leave Me This Way (256 kbps)

One of the most beautiful voices in soul music. Scratch that, music.

- Teddy Pendergrass 1950-2010 -

Well, I'm Driving In A Black On Black In Black Porsche 924

When I first heard the wizard drop this track ['Future'], I thought the electrifying mofo just landed his mothership on my roof. My porch lights burned out. The very next day I headed for Buy-rite music on 7mi, I had to hook up on this track. I gave a big shout out to juan, who just happened to be chillin' in Buy-rite that day. Now, when I take this track for a ride on the 1200's, it still gives me chills. Those phased out synths and trade mark snares compliment the futuristic baseline, not to mention the piloting vocals.


The above is a comment from Model 500 discogs [left by author 'zorlac'] referencing their first hit, 'No UFO's/Future' 12" from '85. We are not exactly sure who zorlac is, but he sounds like a cool guy if he was on a first-name basis with Juan as in Atkins, co-creator of Detroit techno and just a straight up important figure in electronic music, who recorded under many names but most prominently as Model 500. 'Techno' has taken on somewhat lame connotations at present (well, it's just not our thing), but the Motor City OGs' electro funk style was totally another story– more Afrikaa Bambaataa/Kraftwerk meets soul meets hard Ford-factory robotism than much within the modern sphere of techno, or maybe we just don't know enough which is probable. 'No UFOs' is a dope song, but 'Night Drive (Thru Babylon),' also from '85, is their best– a track burning with late-night energy that paints a landscape of a gritty, but hyper-stylish, retrofuture dystopia that seems especially surreal in the context of Detroit 2010.

We came across the amazing clip above, featuring 'No UFO's' (among a bunch of others that are definitely worth watching if you're bored), from the The New Dance Show, a Detroit tv show from the late 80's/mid 90's that was basically Soul Train but in Detroit with dope music like Egyptian Lover and shit, and the most stylish people ever.

Model 500 - No UFO's (Vocal) (251 kbps)
Model 500 - Night Drive (Thru Babylon) (254 kbps)

And There You Will Always Long To Return

Oto Gelb - Air on a G-String (J.S. Bach) (320 kbps)

We literally just heard this song, played it four times, did the best we could to collect ourselves and ran to post it. Oto Gelb is one of the many aliases of brilliant, passionate disco/house purist Daniel Wang, who we consider one of the most underrated yet biggest innovators in modern dance music. 'Air on a G-String,' released in '07 on Wang's Balihu label, turns a motherfucking BACH piece ('Air on the G String,' from his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major) into a whimsically funky string-filled disco number that we just can't stop smiling about.

HOUSE CROSSWORD WEDNESDAY, VOL. IV

In case you didn't know, we live in Chicago. We fall in and out of love with it– the cold, the wind, the sometimes disappointing nightlife– but when it comes down to it, we love this city and its incredibly rich history (particularly music-wise). Thus this edition of the crossword is close to our hearts– the evolution of 'Your Love,' the track that started as a tape passed from dj to dj in Chicago's mid-80s underground clubs and became one of the most important tracks (and maybe the first important track) in house music history.

Electra ft. Tara Butler - Feels Good (Carrots & Beets) (320 kbps)
Jamie Principle - Your Love (192 kbps)
Frankie Knuckles & Jamie Principle - Your Love (243 kbps)
The Source ft. Candi Staton - You Got The Love (228 kbps)

To clear up any confusion about the birth of 'Your Love,' it was originally by Chicago producer and vocalist Jamie Principle. It started to blow up when Frankie Knuckles began to play it at his club, the Power Plant (which opened in '82, after Knuckles gained fame from djing at Chicago club the Warehouse– in which the music Knuckles played came to be known as 'house'). Then Knuckles produced a second version of the track (although not released on vinyl until '87), with Principle still doing the vocals. This version took off outside of the Chicago clubs, becoming the classic it is today.

Both versions of the track use the bassline of an AWESOME Italo track from '82 by Electra featuring Tara Butler, 'Feels Good (Carrots & Beets),' which talks about eating vegetables and working out. And in '91, Candi Staton's vocals were layered over the instrumental of Knuckles' version for The Source's dance hit 'You Got The Love' (the vocals, with their uber-Christian message, were from one of Staton's earlier songs, supposedly recorded for the soundtrack to a mid-80s documentary about an obese guy... yeah). And most recently, Animal Collective sampled it in their super fucking mind-blowing #1 song of '09 (as if– we don't even like it, to be honest, though it seems we're in the overwhelming minority) 'My Girls.' Whatever man... we'll just take 'My Girls'' success as a tribute to the greatness that is Frankie, Jamie, and CHICAGOOOO!

Don't You Feel It Getting Hot?

Jo Bisso - Play Me (Parts 1-4) (192 kbps)

16 minutes of super-erotic '78 disco from late 70s French producer Jo Bisso, divided into four continuous parts: 1. Desire, 2. I Wanna Love, 3. You Are Loving Me, and 4. Burning. These subtitles are pretty indicative of what to expect from the track– lots and lots of sex sounds over a funky, bass-and-string-heavy disco rollercoaster ride that remains constantly interesting despite its length. Besides, a 16 minute relationship that starts with desire and ends with burning– it's like Bisso read our high school diary! Wait, what...?

FISTPUMP FRIDAY: FILTHY HOUSE BEATS

OUTERGLOW RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH THE HOTTEST, FILTHIEST HOUSE BEATS* IN THE FIRST EDITION OF FISTPUMP FRIDAYS! Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TO DO: BEAT UP THE BEAT, THEN FIST PUMP THAT SHIT! HOUSE BATTLE MUTHA FUCKAZ!!!

*Well, okay. Our definition of filthy house beats possibly diverges from that of Snooki and company. Hey, we had our Deadmau5 phase but that's probably best left where it lays. Basically we're just gonna post various house jams that incline us to fist pump. We invite you to do the same (responsibly, please).

Puzique - Nice N Tight (320 kbps)
Chip E - Like This (248 kbps)