30: I'm a real beach boy // come ride my wave
“If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper...”
-Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited
It's September, and today is the third day the kids have attended in-person school since March 12, 2020. We dropped them off first on Friday morning, happy for their independence and joyful reunions with classmates, but anxious about what the school year portends. I'm currently on a deep Leaves Turn Inside You vibe filled with alternating terror and glimmers of a future where I have some time without my kids in the house.
This tweet sums up where I'm at:
Leo season was good to me though. This summer, I witnessed the girls go all-out at boogie boarding; I got surfed at Short Sands, Indian Beach, and the Cove at Seaside; listened to tons of GREAT music; and spent serious time reconnecting with family and friends. It felt Incredible to DJ again with EL MUNTZ as the HELLFISH, and good lord we made use of that swim pass as a family this summer. I'm just hoping I soaked up enough sunshine and relaxation to get through the coming year.
I'm glad I'm not the only sensitive summer babe in the house though--Jos took the end of summer hard, staring abjectly into the imaginary sunset and lamenting "WHY???? WHY ME?????" when I told her school was starting in a few days. The transition back to school has been a little rougher for her than her younger, more extroverted sister who FINALLY gets to attend public school in person.
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CHARTS
In order to maintain my charter membership in the LEAGUE OF NO REQUESTS (LONR) DJs, I submit a monthly chart. It's based on spins in bars and DJ gigs, how much I listen while at home, late night smoke sessions, bribery, payola, and my interest in passing along music that I enjoy. It's a tedious, thankless task, but I do it for the listeners, looking for insights into the newest sounds that move me the most, as well as artists, who appreciate the nod. But mostly, it's all about my own ego.
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DJ MIXES
STRICTLY REGGAE MUSIC
While Muntz was here in August, he & I recorded some of our own respective favorite reggae tracks to make a series of mixes we are calling STRICTLY REGGAE MUSIC. If you know how highly I value Muntz's opinion on music in general and roots & dub reggae specifically, then you probably know how excited I was for the challenge. THE MAN IS A TITAN. I am humbled by the chance to share some reggae music on a collaborative project with him, so DEFINITELY don't miss out on his dope sides.
SIDE A // MIXED BY EL MUNTZ // STREAM // DOWNLOAD
SIDE B // MIXED BY MR. MOM // STREAM // DOWNLOAD
SIDE C // MIXED BY EL MUNTZ // STREAM // DOWNLOAD
The final side will be released next weak on our mixcloud account.
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MY BUNKMATE HAS MALARIA
Sixteen years ago, I made a mix called My Bunkmate Has Malaria for a mix club that formed out of a group of college radio friends. This particular mix was about summer camp, specifically the particular strain of accelerated romance that bewildered me at the camps of my youth. It leans heavily on samples from Meatballs, the Simpsons, and especially Wet Hot American Summer.
This was definitely one of my best received mixes, but the original had a terrible high-pitched whine on anything that was sampled, making it nearly unlistenable when I put it on recently. So, I tracked down copies of the sample sources, ripped all the music that I'd collected on vinyl over the years, and redid the whole thing in a modern DAW (Logic). It's wild that I used to make DJ mixes without multitracking, just by pasting the sounds into a single layer.
This is still one of my favorites, for sure.
LEO SZN
STREAM // DOWNLOAD
I was feeling myself in July, sending the girls to summer camp and hitting the pool with them almost every day. Made a mix of new songs in the Hip-Hop, R&B, and beat worlds, interspersed with samples from an old National Geographic doc on a bootleg DVD my cousin brought me back from China. A mix of PDX & national Hip-Hop, beats, and R&B.
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GIGS
@KENTON CLUB
@ TOUGH LUCK
@SPECKS RECORDS
Here's a flier for a set I did at Speck's Records last weekend.
Last but not least, I have a brunch DJ set lined up at Either/Or on Williams in Portland this coming Saturday morning. Great coffee, cocktails, and food, tunes provided by this guy.
(HELL)FISH?
If you care about my opinions on rock music, I dare you to ask me (next time you seen me) who my favorite big nineties rock band is these days. I have a fun story for you.
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BANDCAMP RECOMMENDATIONS
Last week was Bandcamp Friday, and I meant to get this out before then, but you know what? EVERY DAY IS A GREAT GODDAMNED DAY TO BUY STUFF ON BANDCAMP. Gonna highlight five artists I'm in love with and as per usual, I would encourage you to support local artists to the maximum extent allowed by law. Next Bandcamp Friday is October 1st, so this will give you a lil' headstart on your shopping cart/wishlist/to-listen queue.
FOUNTAINE // South of Nowhere
My favorite Portland MC/producer/singer released his latest album South of Nowhere in June, and it is as good as promised. "Finessin'" has been my favorite summer song since he started playing it for me in the summer of 2019, so I'm delighted to hear its official release. My other favorite cut is "Hold the Phone" ft. King Wess, an ode to family ties and lost love ones. Fountaine continues to build on his solid catalog and show lots of different facets of himself as an artist.
MIC CAPES // In Spite of... EP
In my humble opinion, Mic Capes is the King of MCs in Portland, and his new EP In Spite of... delivers on lots of whole new angles for the accomplished writer. He collaborates with local artists Farnell Newton & Brass Clouds to ride more of a jazz vibe than I've previously heard from him, and his beat selection is impeccable. The release made waves, shooting up to #2 on the Apple Music Hip-Hop sales chart and getting more attention and accolades than any other release I can remember in the ~ 5 years I've been paying attention to Portland Hip-Hop.
It's certainly a more personal tape, with Capes leaning on his faith and family to push himself forward. There is an excellent hourlong episode of Klyph Notes, hosted by Rose City legend DJ Klyph, interviewing Capes about the project and how he has processed the death of his father. It was shot at Speck's Records and I highly recommend it.
MILC // Wolf Side EP and "Coastin'" single
I know I've gone on at length about how much I like Milc's output over the last year+, but sheesh. Since my last newsletter where I mentioned that he placed on the Willy Week's Best New Band list, he's released an EP in collaboration with L.A. producer Chase Moore called Wolf Side, and his poppiest single "Coastin'" with production by Andy Savoie and features from Blu and C'est La. He's worth mentioning because he's on a streak that is not stopping anytime soon, considering his current work ethic and how many projects he's finished/currently working on.
PINK SIIFU // Gumbo'!
One of my favorite things in music is when a favorite writer gets to profile a personally beloved artist on a big platform. Such serendipity came together for me when Marcus J. Moore wrote about Pink Siifu for the New York Times. I prize his latest record, Gumbo'!, for its unhurried eclecticism, taking its influence from the dish in its name. I love artists that blur, erase, dissolve, or push against genre lines, and Siifu is absolutely building his own cosmos of sound.
PATRICE RUSHEN // Straight From The Heart
For an album that came out almost forty years ago, Patrice Rushen's Straight From the Heart still THUMPS. Ms. Rushen has been on my mind and in my ears over the last five years, as I've collected the four records she released on Elektra from 1978-1982. She so cooly distills disco, jazz, funk, pop, and R&B into a sophisticated, lovely style of music. Straight From the Heart is joyful and effervescent, like a cool summer breeze after a hot day. Read about it here.
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Music Writing
You should consider reading this piece on Bradley Nowell & Sublime by Jeff Weiss.
The new quickly, quickly album got great reviews from Allmusic & Pitchfork.
Dashiell Lewis writes for POW about Bo Jackson.
Until we meet again,
DJ MR. MOM
North Portland, Oregon
Septmeber 8, 2021