The Return of Houston Part 1

Mike Jones, "Mr. Jones" (YSI link)

Paul Wall feat. Lil Keke, "Break 'Em Off" (YSI link)

Houston, Texas is starting to make its name known again, as the Swishahouse guys are starting to drop some singles and gear up for album releases. It's kinda funny how so many of these guys dropped albums at the same time, as Houston was the place for a minute. But, it's been kinda quiet for the last year as there wasn't any new music to drop.

As you'll see this week, it's all the heavyweights coming back - Slim Thug, Paul Wall and Mike Jones. Mike Jones hasn't done a Counting Crows cover here, just a kinda addictive, standard Mike Jones fare. Listen, you either love or hate dude, "Mr. Jones" ain't gonna change that, as he's still dropping lots of the sameish lines, still has the same flow. I like it, good to have Mike back. No clue who did the music, but it's some crazy shit. At times, you get this like hair band guitar sound coming in, there's a anthemic sound throughout, sappy pianos. Almost bizarre, to be honest, but it kinda grows on you.

The real heat is the Paul Wall jawn, "Break 'Em Off," as this has me wanting to fight someone, the first time I've had that feeling in a minute. Tell me that this one doesn't have you flashing your non-existent grill. It's got a great screwed refrain (mmm, need that sound back in my life). Really really like the instrumental, a nice, slow bass-heavy number, love the Casio sounds that drive the track. It's got some of Paul's best verses in awhile. Plus, you can never go wrong with having Keke drop some bars to give it that underground cred. Grab this one, kids, get excited for the new album. Cheah!

-It's rare that I feel jealousy at someone throwing a party. That some people can take an amazing idea and make it happen. I considered doing a Morrissey party last year, in spite of the fact that someone told me it was a bad idea. Huge props to Kyle M and Manny D for putting this night dedicated to Moz together, as it's the best thing I've ever heard. It goes down at Upstairs at Sal's and if you don't believe my raving about this, maybe you'll trust this writer for the Philadelphia Weekly and his preview.



-LA, one of the city's best parties, Le Disko, is moving to new digs next week. Get out to Safari Sam's (5214 Sunset Blvd.) tonight for the final edition of this weekly there. No guest DJs, just the residents tonight - Daniel, Paparazzi, Keith 2.0 and Mr. White. Shed some tears, dance, drink, check in here next week for news about the new venue.

Cupid Shuffle

Cupid feat. DJ Unk and Fabo, "Cupid Shuffle (remix)" (YSI link)

Omarion, "Ice Box" (YSI link)

A short and sweet one for Saturday, as there's so much party shit happening that I dont' want to take up too much space with my ramblings. I've heard this one is getting some love down South, this new song by Cupid called "Cupid Shuffle." When I saw snap-ers DJ Unk and Fabo on the remix, I knew I had to have it. But, this is a Cupid track, an r&b tune through and through, so don't expect a snap banger. It's an interesting instrumental that picks up during the refrain with some great horns.

I'm also throwing in a great r&b track from the past few months, Omarion's "Ice Box". It features typically sick Timbaland production. I was going to recommend this for making love to your lady or man, but can you make love to a Timbo beat? I'm not sure, but look forward to finding out.

-Late Update: The Misshapes are in Philly tonight. Totally missed any news about this until late, but they're doing a party tonight at Shampoo (417 N. 8th St.), the huge megaclub down by the Electric Factory. I don't have a whole lot of info, but it definitely seems like it's worth a look.

-The Philadelphyinz are back to do the damn thing at the Khyber, Skinny Friedman and Apt One are establishing this party as one of the best in the city. So, brave the hordes of Jersey's finest citizens, it's worth it.



-DJ Steven Bloodbath's Monster party moves to one of the best spots in Philly, the RUBA club tonight, the place where bearded guys go to get drunk and dance stupid late into the night. Opal Rock will handle the late-night, make sure to stop through at some point as this'll be good.



-It's 80s Night at Upstairs at Sal's and DJ Solobuns has brought in R5 Productions head and Philly legend Sean Agnew to spin some tunes. If that doesn't sell you, maybe the free Sparks from 9-10 will.



-Flier of the night comes from my bol DJ Tiny Pants for Hi-Tops and Hearts, Episode 3: Masters of the Boom Dance Party. Royal Oak (594 Union Ave.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn, essential stop for my real New Yorkers.



-Another huge night at Studio B (259 Banker St.) in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as superstars Ellen Allien and Miss Kittin spin sets along with our girl Lauren Flax, back behind the decks. Cut continues to bring the best parties to NYC, really impressed with the variety and quality of events they put together.



-Spring break at Home Sweet Home tonight for Project Matt's Saturdazed weekly. That means wet t-shirt contests, beer bongs, tan lines and giant plastic yard beer steins emblazoned with your frat's initials. Or maybe just the best Dirty Dirty bangers, reggae heaters, cool people and cheap drinks.

-OMFG! at Beauty Bar (231 E. 14th St.), Dimitry is spinning a special set. No flier, not a good night for those.

-Really great event in Lawrence, Kansas called Get Crunk! Nomathematics will be there, so I know it'll be good. They'll bring that electro-punk shit that makes this blog go, and they'll be joined by host DJ Iggy Baby, Ssion and Rotten Milk. It goes down at the Jackpot Saloon (943 Mass St.), no flier, but it's 18+ and $5 and you know it's the best thing dropping in Kansas.

-What y'all know about them Paris boys? San Fran gets the chance to find out, as the Ed Banger keeps on truckin' (Grateful Dead reference for a SF party, 5 points for me!) with another party, this time at Mezzanine (444 Jessie St.) Omar, Sleazemore and Shaun Slaughter will hold it down with early sets. I'm gonna quote Sleazemore (I think) for this one: "Fellas, bust out your girlfriend's jeans and ladies, tuck those pants in those boots, baby because the french are coming fo' dat azz." L'homme parle la verite.



-I'm always on the lookout for new parties and new cities, been kind of shocked at the lack of info outta Chicago. Clearly, I was not looking hard enough, as I came across Life During Wartime, an amazing monthly that's got a serious show tonight. The Presets, Crystal Castles, afterparty with Digitalism, cheah! DJs Bald Eagle and Mother Hubbard have Chicago on lock, more to come on their shit.

Confused Disco

Answering Machine, "Call Me Mr. Telephone (Lindstrom & Prins Thomas remix)" (YSI link)

Confusional Quartet, "Guerra In Africa (Scuola Furano remix)" (YSI link)

This seems like the perfect follow-up to our disco post, taking a look at the unique and wonderful take on disco music that happened in Italy in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

I wanted to take another look at the legendary Italian Records label, as you really need to get the retrospective 2 CD set ASAP. What I especially like about it is that they have many of today's artists who have been influenced by italodisco have a shot at remixing classics from the IR catalogue. Two of them are above,

-Not too hard to pick the event of the night, as the Fixed in Miami for Winter Music Conference is like Pound for Pound's Woodstock or something. Look at that line-up, make love to it: Justice, Digitalism, Boys Noize, Datarock, Medhi, Busy P, Dave P and JDH.



-The UK came damn close with this massive party in Brighton featuring one of the best of the Ed Banger stable, Kavinsky, along with Nightmoves on the Kitsune label. It goes til 4 AM,



-Or for my London people, get your dance party on with another of my favorite labels, as Modular starts up a new weekly in the city. Another stellar line-up, headlined by Phones (a.k.a. Paul Epworth). Get yourself to Anda de Bridge (42-44 Kingsland Rd.) and start the weekend off right.



-I mentioned the special night at Home Sweet Home tonight for Lauren Flax (open bar, silent auction), but there's also a fundraiser for her in Brooklyn as Finger On The Pulse does their thing at Savalas in Williamsburg.

-Blog legend Brooklyn Vegan Presents goes down at Sin-e (150 Attorney St.) tonight, as BV has invited some of his favorite bands to play for you. But the real reason to get there is for Mr. David Bruno's DJing between sets all night. He's promised me two things : Keytars and "Hearts On Fire" on repeat. I'm sold.


-Melody Nelson and Eamon Harkin have another Calling All Kids at Luke and Leroy's (21 7th Ave South) with guest turns by my bol Dimitry and Adam Neu! & Elliot T. This is one of the most consistent parties in NYC, every other week, you can't go wrong.



-DJ Morsy's weekly The Good Foot has special guest Choimatic at Royale (506 5th Ave.), so take the 9 hour trip to Park Slope and have fun.



-Lights Down Low does its thing again, love this flier, love the party, wish I lived in SF when I consider this night. This one's extra special as Foriegn Islands continue to take over the US, playing a live set tonight at 222 Cloub (222 Hyde @ Turk).



-This one almost got top billing on name alone, as The Booty goes down in LA with The Cocaine Kids. I mean, those are two of the best names ever! You have to go to show love to that. They're joined by Luv-tek, DJ Shakee and Wendy City, it all happens at The Redwood Bar (316 W. 2nd St.)



-The ever-grinding guys of Seclusiasis have their monthly Khyber (56 S. 2nd St.) jawn, The Straight Dope. Dev79, Stumble and Generic Man will provide all of the heavy bass tunes to hold you over for a month.



-A new monthly starts up tonight in Philly at Upstairs at Sal's (12th and Walnut) called Mu Ha Ha Ha (I think that's the correct name) with Juan Dolla, Benny Brows, Peter T and Tony Playstation. It's gonna have a nice mix of music, rap, dance , pop, so give it a chance and see what you think.



-Finally, the best weekly in Philly happens again tonight, as Hands and Knees takes over The M Room (Frankford & Girard Aves.) Best of all, they've finally put up a flier! Yeah! Do it, Philly, maybe you'll get your photo on the next flier.

Bloc Party - The Prayer Remixes

Bloc Party, "The Prayer (Phones Metal Jackin' remix)" (YSI link)

Bloc Party, "The Prayer (Break and Silent Witness remix)" (YSI link)

Bloc Party, "The Prayer (Does It Offend You Yeah remix)" (YSI link)

I've been meaning to do a review of the new Bloc Party CD, A Weekend In The City, but I haven't been able to give a good listen yet. In the meantime, I finally got my hands on a copy of the "The Prayer" 12" that came out late last year from Vice, featuring various remixes of the first single from the album.

More to come on these songs, heading out to a

-I've been hyping this party since it's inception and I'm not about to stop now. High Voltage! is quickly becoming one of the best weeklies in the city, great DJs, no cover, big crowds. I'm hearing that there's been a line the past few weeks, as the word has gotten out. Tonight, there's an open Zygo vodka bar from 11 til it's gone, special guest DJs Ultragrrl (fresh off the Village Voice cover) and Josh Madden. It all goes down at Sutra (1st and 1st), Pound for Pound will be there tonight, it's on.



-Not too far away, my bol David from Slap You In Public and Rezound + Workweek do their biweekly party at Happy Ending (302 Broome St.), Moonwalk + Neon Presents. Tons of guest DJs tonight, Popstatic from Chicago, Pocketknife from Brooklyn and Ed UFO from SF.

-On the opposite coast, my bol Daniel Le Disko (post foreshadowing!) headlines at Club Moscow tonight at Boardners (1652 N. Cherokee).



-More Cali happenings, as Sleazemore and Omar do their weekly Bounce party up north in SF. Special guests tonight are Kelley B and Seraphim, get to Gallery Rx (132 Eddy Street) for dirty, filthy music.



-Hurrah in Philly at Sal's goes off tonight, with DJs Stereo Faith, Chris Rogy and Shawn playing "post-punk-funk, dirty disco dub, & other rhythms." Sounds good to me, free vodka and vitamin water from 9-10, $2 PBRs from 11 on, if that's important to you.



-Finally, two of my absolutely favorites right now, Le Castle Vania and Lo-Fi-Fnk, are playing at the Drunken Unicorn tonight in Atlanta. No flier, but check out the Unicorn's myspace page and make sure to get there early to hear our boy Vania.

Dance Dance Dance

Marta Acuna, "Dance Dance Dance (original 12" mix)" (YSI link)

Catherine Miller, "Hunchin' All Night (original 12" mix) (YSI link)

I really can't believe that it's cold again on the East Coast. I mean, really, this is ridiculous. That groundhog is full of shit, that's for sure. It's incredibly depressing to walk outside and be hit with that gust of wind despite the fact that March is almost over. In good news, I finally bought a iPod connector so I can once again transfer music to my device. I lost my original one in the divorce (what a kick in the nards knowing that some douchebag lawyer dude is not only playing with my daughter-cat but also putting Dave Matthews and Widespread Panic songs with my shit! krazee!) and haven't been able to listen to as much new music as normal. In a metaphor for my life, my iPod broke and plays no music now.

When things have you down like this, what do I turn to? Disco music! Yeah! Here's a few underground classics that you may not have heard yet, although sadly I feel like anything that wasn't a huge crossover hit probably isn't well-known. Well, Pound for Pound is slowly going to change that, ya hear me?

The real gem here is the first one, Marta Acuna's "Dance Dance Dance". I did some google research and couldn't come up with much info on her. In fact, this is her only release, according to her Discogs profile. Oh, but what a song it is! Honestly, this is one of my favorite disco songs ever, hell, one of my favorite songs period.

-Another massive Check Yo Ponytail tonight at Safari Sam's (5214 Sunset Blvd.) in LA. Pound for Pound favorites Boys Noize, Para One, Shout Out Out Out Out and Foreign Islands are all playing tonight, as Franki Chan really keeps outdoing himself. More on Mr. Chan this week, as he's got some massive WMC jawns too.



-A great night in Philly at Upstairs at Sal's with bands starting at 8 and the inmypants DJ crew going from 9:30-closing. I'm really excited at this increasing focus on bands at Sal's, as this really is the best, most interesting venue in the city right now.



-Finally, go out and cop LCD Soundsystem's new album, Sound of Silver, which is out today in the United States of America!

Klaxons Do Paris

Klaxons, "Golden Skans (Surkin remix)" (YSI link)

Klaxons, "Golden Skans (SebastiAn remix)" (YSI link)

I've been waiting for some of the Parisian heavyweights to take a crack at remixing the Klaxons tunes. It finally happened with a French-only vinyl edition of "Golden Skans," the most recent Klaxons tune to get love. You get two remixes from two of the lesser known talents making Paris the center of the Pound for Pound universe, SebastiAn and Surkin.

SebastiAn did a quite restrained remix, featuring a nice oscillating synth, warbly vocals and a molasses beat. Surkin, who should be such a huge name, brings my favorite of the two (although neither will be on the greatest hits list for either man) with an edgier take on the original. It starts off a little blah, but once he starts bringing in the chopped up and fucked up vocals, it gets nice.

-I'm writing this as the 4th Anniversary of the Iraq War comes to an end, not really sure what to say. It's a tragedy of epic proportions and it seems to have no end in sight. BarbinMD of Daily Kos takes a look at Bush's words these past four years and the escalating death toll. Eric Alterman has a great look at a piece by The Weekly Standard, one of the main cheerleaders of this disaster, mocking anti-war people for being wrong. He also destroys Christopher Hitchens and his latest embarassing apologia for Slate. Joan Walsh of Salon also has a great quote from Hitchens, a man wrong about everything.

-In other Bush White House disgraces, the US Attorney keeps growing. It looks like Alberto Gonzalez won't last much longer, thankfully. One amazing detail came to me in a discussion of the most recent document dump of email correspondences within the Justice Dept. The Attorney General of the United States does not use email. How is this possible? Does he use a telegraph for daily communication? Is D.C. a part of Narnia now?

-I want to finally call attention to this piece by Michael Kinsley, former Crossfire host, New Republic editor, blogger now at Time, on the US AG scandal. It's one of the most pathetic pieces of writing I've ever seen, contrarian for the sake of being "independent" and sums up the sad state of journalism today. The comments below the post are some of the most brilliant, funny shit I've ever read.

Dancehall Classics

Angela Lansbury is a hot gal

Chaka Demus & Pliers, "Murder She Wrote" (YSI link) 256 for DJs

Junior Reid, "One Blood" (YSI link)

Terror Fabulous feat. Nadine Sutherland, "Action" (YSI link) 256 for DJs

Let's stay in Jamaica and continue to look at some classics from dancehall years past. I've always felt that a dancehall classic is all the more impressive because of the sheer number of releases that come out every year. For a particular song or version to achieve the status of classic, it needs to shine that much brighter than the hundreds of other releases that come out of every month, many on the same exact riddim.

These three tracks come from the early 1990s, the period when dancehall became the dominant Jamaican sound. I believe that these are all good starting points for people looking to get into the history of the music, as it's a nice midway point. I specifically went with songs that I think you'll know even if you don't them. In other words, the classics that nearly everyone has in their crates, that you've heard so many times that they're almost embedded in your DNA.

The first track, Chaka Demus' "Murder She Wrote," is the first dancehall track I can remember hearing it. In fact, it's song that I would see often on MTV Jams, as the video runs pretty consistently on that station devoted to rap videos (I'm guessing that there just aren't that many reggae videos). As familiar as that refrain is, it's the bassline that immediately hits when I listen to it again. It dropped in 1993 on the Bam Bam riddim. You can cop the full-length album, although nothing comes close to this one song.

Any fan of hip-hop knows "One Blood" by Junior Reid. Hell, we just posted a song by Reid and he's sung on a few others, my favorite of which is the Wu Tang Clan's "One Blood Under W" off The W. Reid takes the show here, as his voice is hard to forget. There's a wailing quality when he sings "One blood," a marked contrast to the more rap-deejay style that we've come to expect from dancehall. It came out in 1990 and hasn't lost any of its charm yet. Cop the album here, although again this is by far the highlight.

Finally, one of my favorites, Terror Fabulous' "Action." I know that you've heard this one, it's been killing dancefloor for 10+ years (released in 1994). It's a classic male-female duet, with the great Action riddim providing a percussion-heavy track that features a great bass interludes throughout. Buy the LP, Yaga Yaga, which is the crowning achievement of the man's career.

-Le Disko vs. Royal Rumble. Celtics vs. Sixers. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Duke vs. UNC. Yeah, this is real serious, LA, so get to Safari Sam's (5214 Sunset Blvd.) and see a DJ throwdown.


-Boys Noize continues his US tour with a stop in Riverside, CA tonight. He's joining DJ S!N and Luv Tek at their Sunday night weekly, Era Disco. Again, I've caught Boys Noize a few times in the past few months and consider him one of the best. Get to the Ultra Lounge (3252 Mission Inn) and see if you agree.



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Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot

Mims, "This Is Why I'm Hot" (YSI link)

Mims feat. Junior Reid and Cham, "This Is Why I'm Hot (remix)" (YSI link) 320 DJs!

There's something kind of perverse about listening to reggae jawns on a spirit-crushing snowy, cold day, but whatever. It's the visions of Jamaican beaches and girls in bikinis that keeps us all going. Here's one of the hot new rap tracks that I'm sure everyone's heard, Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot." Mims came out of nowhere, dropping this ridiculously catchy song that references every region in the country over a nice, minimal track. It's funny to hear him rep NYC and talk about putting it back on top, when everything about this track screams Dirty South. Oh well, it's nice to see NYC acknowledge where the heat is coming from, it's long overdue.

The real treat is the remix, which features dancehall's superstars past and present. Junior Reid and Cham take over the beat

-Philly's the place to be for St. Patrick's Day tonight, as emynd & Bo Bliz of White Ts and White Belts are teaming up with fellow Philadelphians Caps & Jones for a massive bash. Get there early as it's going to be packed and you want to make sure that you can get in.



-Pound for Pound friends Tactic are doing it up in Austin tonight for SXSW, with a nice night headlined by Yo Majesty.




-Robot Rock in Kansas City. What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Nomathmatics will be spinning from 10-12 tonight at Record Bar (1020 W. Port Rd.), wear green leather.



-San Fran, say goodbye to the Frisco Disco tonight, as it comes to an end after a 5 year run. Jefrodisiac and Richie Panic are bring their party to an end tonight, make sure to make it out to The Arrow Bar (10 6th @ Market) as there ain't no next week.



-Berlin, oben stehen! My girl DJ Almost Tropical is spinning at Dr. Pong (21 Eberswalder St.) and will be wearing this jacket. Es tun.



-Finally, Project Matt at Home Sweet Home, I'll be in the house, hopefully avoiding the drunken masses in Manhattan.

Pound for Pound Loves the '80s Part 1

A Pound for Pound family portrait

The Human League, "The Sound of the Crowd (12" mix)" (YSI link)

Visage, "Night Train (12"mix)" (YSI link)

I don't want people to think that taking a look back to the past means looking all the way back to the ancient 90s. No, there was also stuff going on in the 1980s! You know, that decade that everyone loves because they were too young to actually remember it. I've tended to focus on the electro, freestyle and Miami bass that happened during that period, but it's time to start expanding the sonic pallette. It's time to take a look at the more pop side of things, the stuff that was getting radio play.

Here's a couple of tracks off of the first disc of 12"/80s/2, one

-A pretty amazing Calling All DJs in LA tonight, as lots of Pound for Pound favorites will be in the house. Freeform Five are the special guests



-Downtown is the place to be tonight, as there's lot of dance-y goodness below 14th. The late addition of Para One and Boys Noize to Ruff Club make it the party to beat tonight. I got to catch those two last night at Hiro Ballroom and highly recommened checking them out at The Annex (152 Orchard St.). Phenomenal electro madness, huge basslines, synths. Live the good life.



-People Don't Dance More returns to Element (Houston & Essex Sts.) tonight to get the downtown kids dancing again. Guest DJs My Cousin Roy and Jacques Reneault join my bol David Bruno of Slap You In Public and Robot Blair from Music for Robots for Edition Discodrome.



-Dimitry from High Voltage and Nick Hook of Men, Women and Children are at Trash tonight, special guests at the Rififi weekly. Go for the music, stay for the hipster porn.



-Night two of the Project Matt weekend, The Anchor. Go to the spot where Mischa Barton, Jamie-Lyn Sigler and Kirsten Dunst partied until they threw up.

-Don't forget about White Lightning! at Home Sweet Home, Lauren Flax's weekly with special guest Fitforuse and Mo Probs from London.

-If you don't want to leave Brooklyn, head to Studio B for Spring Break '92. Forget the spirit-sapping sleet outside by doing jello shots and participating in the hot body contest. Make sure to check out the Side Room with Jeffrey Ssfire of Ghostly International and Mike T of Paradise in Philly.



-Hands and Knees in Philly

-Finally, if you're tired of hanging out with lame indie music writers, check out UGK, OG Ron C, Rapid Ric and

A Project Matt Weekend

One of my favorite DJs is starting to heat up with the warmer weather, so I wanted to give y'all a heads up on a Funtime Party Team/Project Matt weekend itinerary. First up, head to the East Village tonight for Three Amigos at Plan B (339 E. 10th St.) where Matt, King Solomon and Resting General will hold it down all night. I'm counting on lots of dancehall heat, with those names, plus lots of cheap beers ($4 drafts! In NYC!).


Friday night, things move down to Soho. No, seriously. I've never been to The Anchor, but it seems to be home to the Ronsons and celebrity DJs. Check out the photos of previous nights at the bar, which make me think that this isn't your Mom's Soho. This one is hosted by Matt and JensRocker with DJ Doug Grayson.



Finally, avoid the masses of douchebag St. Patrick's revellers in Manhattan by heading to the Lower East Side for one of the best weeklies in the city, Saturdazed. This version features special guest Moe Choi, along with Matt and the usual bartenders and degenerates.



Okay, there's your weekend, that's your weekend. Seriously, stop in as these are all guaranteed good times. Pound for Pound will be there, so you'll even have a celebrity sighting. For those non-NYC party people, get at Project Matt and bring him to your city. I don't support wack DJs, only the best. You have my word this man will rock the party. Now, if I can get him to do a Pound for Pound mix...