SOUNDSCRAPER SANCTUARY @ MADAME X
.the positive effects of operation one mo? ?gin.
Playlist for Tuesday, March 30, 2004 / 8pm-12:30am
*while tag teaming with Soundscraper, I added the following tracks to the mix?*

leroy and the drivers*the sad chicken*luv ?n? height
lunchbox*brown bag*the agriculture

ezekiel honig*hibernate*anticipate recordings
matthew dear*but for you*spectral sound

dj food*consciousness (cosmic conscious)*ninja tune (uk)
domu*groovesome*2000 black (uk)

nightcrawlers*push the feeling on (the dub of doom)*great jones
jamiroquai*you give me something (full intention club mix)*epic

moloko*sing it back (herbert?s tasteful dub)*ministry of sound (uk)
deee-lite*call me*elektra
the rapture*I need your love*dfa

somatik*diamondstone*2000 black (uk)
tosca*honey (bigga bush dub)*!k7
freakniks*kalimba*scenario (uk)
the avalanches*electricity*xl (uk)
karen ramirez*troubled girl*giant step
djinji brown*mojuba*seven heads

matthew dear*dog days (pantytec interpretation)*spectral sound
claro intelecto*peace of mind*ai (uk)
peel seamus*artemis (outbound mix)*delsin (the netherlands)

brothers and systems*half 4 me, half 4 u*nettwerk
willie bobo*fried neckbones and some home fries (dan the automator remix)*verve

suba*felicidade (buscemi remix)*guidance recordings
sade*by your side (ben watt lazy dog remix)*epic

cassius*cassius 99 remix (radio edit)*astralwerks
archie shepp*blues for brother george jackson (mondo grosso next wave extended remix)*verve

osbourne*daylight*spectral sound
metro area*we also not*tigersushi (france)

neap all stars*u r the one*surplus (uk)
p?taah*crossing (evacuation of form) (opaque remix)*ubiquity

towa tei*let me know (mighty bop remix)*elektra
cornelius*drop*matador

so what are the odds that the premiere of Soundscraper Sanctuary at its new location would land on the same day as a freak snowstorm? apparently, pretty good.

the work day at the job drove me nuts, the record bag was too heavy, and i totally didn't feel like going once i got out of work, but by the end of the night, i was so happy that i stuck it out. some friends actually braved the weather and came out. random strangers and bar regulars in and out. certainly not as traffic-heavy as the spot usually is, but under the strange and foul weather conditions, anybody that made their way out was to be commended. as far as i'm concerned, Enrique and i kicked Murphy's law square in the ass. we vibe so well in the mix. he's my favorite person to tag with. we always come away learning something from each other. we seem to be in a world beat state of mind at the moment. lots of Latin and Brazilian flavors in the cut. plus i tried my hand at more future soul joints (what most would call "broken beat" at the moment). that's definitely my flavor right now.

anyway, here's a rundown of what i played on our first night at the downtown location. please note: THIS LIST IS NOT IN ORDER. couldn't possibly remember the exact order in which songs were played (certainly not over 4.5 hours), but i did keep track of everything i played.

SOUNDSCRAPER SANCTUARY @ MADAME X
>.blowing raspberries in the face of mother nature and murphy's law.< Playlist for Tuesday, March 16, 2004 / 8pm-12:30am
*while tag teaming with Soundscraper, i contributed the following tracks to the mix...*

COMPACT DISC:
brothers and systems*trace element*nettwerk
soul II soul*keep on movin?*virgin
tipsy*space golf*asphodel
jimmy luxury and the tommy rome orchestra*sentimental guy*work/sony
p.m. dawn*amnesia*karmis
jazzanova*another new day*jcr (germany)
deee-lite*say ahhh?*elektra
antenna*going out*guidance recordings
the mighty bop*sans remission feat. la funk mob*quango
kruder & dorfmeister*high noon*g-stone (austria)
lacarno & burns*mahayana*ism
nuspirit helsinki*makoomba*guidance recordings
tranquility bass*cantamilla*ffrr/london

VINYL:
cosmo vitelli*we don?t need no smurf here*solid (france)
the avalanches*since I left you*elektra
zeb*swimming pool*codek
tony allen vs. kraked unit*the man with the drum*comet (france)
courtney pine*the in-sense song (raw deal remix)*talkin? loud (uk)
jimi tenor*wear my bikini*warp (uk)
secret frequency crew*deep blue (eli-173 remix)*counterflow
stereolab*miss modular (automator mix)*elektra
thievery corporation*illumination*esl
nina simone*see-line woman (masters at work remix)*verve
femi kuti*what will tomorrow bring (joe claussell mix)*mca
808 state feat. bjork*ooops*tommy boy
why sheep?*earthborn (recloose remix)*third ear (japan)
p?taah*crossing - evacuation of form (opaque remix)*ubiquity
beatless*the truth part two (mono uptempo mix)*ubiquity
bugz in the attic feat. wunmi*zombie*bitasweet (uk)
dj rels*diggin? in brownswood*stones throw/goya (uk)
dizzy gillespie*manteca (the funky lowlifes extended remix)*verve
betty carter*naima?s love song (dj spinna remix)*verve
kirk degiorgio presents as one*undefeated*ubiquity
donnie*masterplan*giant step

every Christian wants to be just like Jesus...

...until we actually have to. then most of us act as if we never met the brother...

i think it happened last wednesday. i was walking through union square park on my lunch break, thankful to enjoy some sunshine. i remember wearing a baseball cap and a pair of yellow-tinted sunglasses, and my facial hair had grown to a full beard by then. a brother walked past me and said...

"damn, fam, you almost look like Jayson Blair for a minute, son. word life..."

now, anybody that knows me knows how much i love to write. they also know that i take writing very seriously. so to be confused for an embellishment pimp whose name is known for leaving a permanent blemish on The New York Times and then had the nerve to write a book called Burning Down My Master's House...

well, let's just say it gave me the best reason i've had to shave in weeks. it all went the way of the clipper. facial hair, anyway. moustache, goatee, everything. when comments like that come your way, it's best to start over with a clean slate.

now that i think about it, there's a rant i wrote two years ago with a picture of me that's similar to how i looked on the day of mistaken identity - decide for yourself...

?Guide my feet?while I run this race
guide my feet?while I run this race
guide my feet?while I run this race
?cause I don?t want to run this race in vain.?

The guest preacher ended his sermon at our church on Tuesday night with that song and I?ve been singing it ever since. I need all the help I can get with this race that I have chosen (and been chosen) to run. Why lie?

I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior when I was 12 years old. I clearly had no idea what I was signing up for. I didn?t really know all that it would entail. All I knew was that I had a need to rely in something much greater than myself. So when I confessed with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believed in my heart that God had raised Him from the dead, I meant it. But I think there?s this period of naivety that young Christians in the faith go through. We think that because we have Jesus, we don?t have to go through anything. We think that the problems stop, that hard times cease to be. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is that the moment we accept Jesus into our lives, we?re put on satan?s hit list. The devil ain?t just out to make us have a bad day. He wants to straight up take us out. If he can?t take us out, he?ll make every dogged attempt to disqualify our lives from being a true witness for Christ. Faith is easy to come by when things are going well. The real test is believing He?s real when all hell is breaking loose in your life. Our existence is a series of tests. We all want the testimony without having to go through a test, but that?s not how it works. There?s no testimony without the test. And the higher you go in Christ Jesus, the more difficult the tests become. As my mother used to say, ?New level, new devil.?

Being a Christian in a fallen world means constantly having to ask yourself one question: is it possible to be in the world and not of the world? In other words, is it possible to live your life for God and not be swayed by the influence of worldly thinking? Will you choose God?s way over your own desires? I can?t lie: I have not always chosen God?s way. The struggle between spirit and flesh is quite real, and I have failed this test on countless occasions?even though I knew better.

We as Christians think we get it, but we don?t really get it. This life is a life of suffering. In order to be elevated, we have to get low. We have to deny our selves daily to follow Him. Not our will, but His be done. In a world where everyone wants to take care of themselves before others, is it any wonder why the Christian walk is a hard sell? It completely goes against the way the world operates. From what I hear, some preachers have taken the easy way out with messages of prosperity. I won?t be fooled. The blessings will come, but not without some bruising along the way. It?s going to cost me something. If Jesus was wounded for my trangressions, than I have to expect to catch a beatdown by the trials and tribulations of life. I?ve been through too much already to believe otherwise.

?Hold my hand?while I run this race
hold my hand?while I run this race
hold my hand?while I run this race
?cause I don?t want to run this race in vain.?

A band of women from various school districts all over the world descended upon Rosen Publishing in an attempt to shoot the messenger?namely customer service. We barricaded ourselves behind our cubicles and prepared to fight to the death, but it was no use. We launched textbooks with crudely made catapults, but they sideswiped our every strike and counterattacked with guns that shot poison-tipped bar codes. One by one we fell, casualties of a war we didn?t start and clearly couldn?t finish. They paraded through PTA meetings nationwide with our heads on sticks, terrifying the children in their classrooms enough to work harder. Nobody had to bribe the kids to do extra credit work anymore. Such a warning tends to bring the message home without any room for confusion. Never mind the No Child Left Behind Act?this was real incentive.

The entire network at my job was down all day yesterday. No database, no email, no web browser, no nothing. As a result, the customer service staff was severely crippled, but I gladly dealt with the circumstances. They were nothing compared to last week?s non-stop blitzkrieg of calls.

One of our staff members took a well-deserved vacation last week. It was as if his subconscious knew that the bottom was going to fall out. Every single thing that could go wrong with an order went wrong. The phones would not stop ringing. Not only that, but there were only two of us handling the calls. Issues began to backlog almost immediately. How I made it through that week without randomly killing people on the street amazes me. Truth be told, even if that vacationing member was here last week, we?d still be backlogged. That?s how much work we had.

The processing center that we work with didn?t help matters either. More often than not, books need to be sent to them for bar codes, spine labels, and other stuff that librarians need. Last week, a sorting error caused three different orders to get screwed up?a mess that is still in the process of being corrected. I?ve only been working here about six months, but I?ve never heard of orders being botched up this badly. Things were tough all over last week. Absolutely horrendous.

Thankfully, I?ve actually been clearing stuff off of my desk this week. Progress is a good thing. Of course, in the midst of making progress, the network went down. So you improvise and try to make things work, but there?s only so much you can do when your life source is a dead fish. Could be worse?this could?ve happened last week?

In between my responsibilities at work and church, I barely have time for my wife or myself. It?s a fact of life that can make me rather resentful if I dote on it too long. Oftentimes, all I want to do is immerse myself in music or a good book, kick back and watch a movie or rock the PlayStation for a while. But my travels on the subway from work and back take up at least 90 minutes of my day and I?m usually exhausted after work. I constantly fall asleep on the train ride both to and from work. Once the day is done, I usually don?t have time to do much other than a few quick chores and get ready for the next day.

This is ?rat race? living, and I?m not cut out for it. I?m not sure how many of us truly are. Life wasn?t meant to be lived like this, and I think you know that.

i love this cat. doesn't matter what name he's recording under, it's all good. sometimes it's acid-drenched tunes under his own name. other times he's Wagon Christ. he's done off-kilter drum and bass under the names Plug and Amen Andrews. just for the record, Luke Vibert is responsible for my favorite drum and bass album of all time: Drum and Bass for Papa by Plug. the junglists wanna hang me right now for saying so, but screw 'em. you know why? because in the midst of all the dark dubplates and overtly serious steppers, here comes Luke getting all whimsical and silly. he sucked the seriousness right out of the genre and reminded us to have fun again. on the first track of that album, "me and mr. jones," he starts off with a very telling sample from a comedian's act:

"give me my applause now, cause when i'm finished, you'll wish to hell i'd never been up here..."

and from there, it's on. brilliant.

last year was quite the prolific one for him. he released an album called YosepH on the Warp label, then turned around and revisited his Plug period through a string of singles under the name Amen Andrews for Rephlex. on top of all that, he flipped the script on us again...

he recently put out an album under the name Kerrier District. it's all disco tracks. nobody's gonna believe it's him. i also think that Kerrier District is kind of a word play on Metro Area, since they have that retro soulful disco sound, too. only heard one track so far ("disclix"), but it's gorgeous. still in awe. definitely on my want list. he's a total prankster, at heart. he doesn't take himself so seriously that he can't have fun with his music. so yeah, Luke rocks. check his recordings for the Planet Mu label, too.

Big Sur is a quiet conundrum of a location. No, not the one in California, but the bar/restaurant/lounge/gallery that I spin at sometimes on the upper east side of Manhattan. It?s a place that should be downtown: Greenwich Village dwellers would love it. Instead, it?s located on the corner of East 80th Street and 3rd Avenue, which may as well be another state to people downtown.

Spinning is fantastic when I tag team with my man Enrique alias Soundscraper. We connect quite well in the mix. However, he didn?t show last night. I was not expecting that. I decided to save my back and bring only CDs down to the venue (besides, I didn?t feel like bringing all my records to a venue which isn?t even busy half the damn time). I just barely made four hours with the CDs that I had.

I can never get a good read on the owner, but he seemed to really enjoy what I played last night, mainly because it was all uptempo and energetic. Most of the set was, anyway. I think he has an allergic reaction to anything under 120 beats per minute. Anyway, he was even jumping around a bit behind the bar last night. Whatever he was drinking put him in a good mood, I guess. Some nights when I?m there, he completely ignores me. Any and all conversation is held for Enrique and who ever the owner?s hanging out with. Seeing as how I was the only one supplying the music, it?s not as if the silent treatment would work last night.

This set doesn?t entirely represent me in the mix. The set I did at Squeeshee ? that?s all me. Not only that, but it?s me having fun giving the younger heads some bangin? tunes while throwing in older joints and being diverse and making it all work. The set below is part me, part Big Sur sound. So there are some techno bordering on trance cuts that I wouldn?t play normally, but it?s stuff within my personal collection that I listen to from time to time that would work at this place. More importantly, I know they?ll keep the manager from saying, ?I don?t like this record, change it.? So you pull a mind game in the mix and meet people halfway. Also, I would let most of the songs play in their entirety before others in. Big Sur?s on the quiet side and the people need to hear themselves talk, so the music is strictly background fodder. Any other place where the vibe is more conducive to dancing, I?d be switching things up every 3-5 minutes.

Anyway, Enrique and I may move to a spot downtown in March. I really need to find out what happened to him last night?

SOUNDSCRAPER SANCTUARY @ BIG SUR
Playlist for Tuesday, February 24, 2004
*solo flight: a strictly CD set / 7pm-11pm*

ryuichi sakamoto*borom gal*virgin
cornelius*drop*matador
ezekiel honig*i like sitting*anticipate recordings
stardust*music sounds better with you (bob sinclar remix)*virgin (france)
sextravaganza*hey you!*tribal america
antenna*going out*guidance recordings
soul II soul*holdin? on*virgin
daft punk*voyager*virgin
matthew dear*but for you*spectral sound
phoenix*if i ever feel better*source/astralwerks
ski*ain?t gonna justify (short trip to space mix)*wall of sound (uk)
brothers and systems*opium dentine*nettwerk
dj vadim*london mindstate*ninja tune (uk)
cassius*hey babe*astralwerks
d.o.p.*non stop*guerilla
daisy glow*theme from daisy glow*ffrr/london
towa tei*let me know (mighty bop remix)*elektra
opus III*it?s a fine day*eastwest
deee-lite*runaway (acapella ? beat)*elektra
deee-lite*call me*elektra
m.j. cole*strung out*island
ultramarine*skyclad*rough trade (uk)
takuya*jaaz airport (charlie dark remix)*ism
underground resistance*jupiter jazz*tresor
various artists*transitions (tracks 6-8)*ism
3 phase*open your mind*tresor
sl2*dj?s take control (dj seduction remix)*xl
meat beat manifesto*it?s the music*nothing
cassius*nulife*astralwerks
playgroup*make it happen*astralwerks
daft punk*digital love*virgin
com.munikation*controle*red antenna
mindgear*don?t panic (the whole story mix)*tresor
m.j. cole*free my mind*island
various artists*transitions (tracks 3-5)*ism
kicks like a mule*the bouncer (housequake mix)*xl
kenneth graham*carrier wave*spectral sound
nuspirit helsinki*makoomba*guidance recordings
3mb feat. juan atkins*die kosmischen kuriere*tresor
hawke*3 nudes (having sex on acid)*ffrr/london

SOUNDSCRAPER SANCTUARY @ BIG SUR
Playlist for Tuesday, February 19, 2004
*while not in exact order, this is everything that I played
while tag teaming with Soundscraper that night?*

ezekiel honig*cape cod getaway*CD-R
hugh masekela*mama (metro area birthday dub)*verve
mm black feat. roy ayers*2000 black*2000 black (uk)
isolee*it?s about*freundinnen (germany)
brothers and systems*trace element*nettwerk
soul II soul*happiness (dub)*virgin
roy ayers*running away*polydor
the nick straker band*a little bit of jazz*prelude
giant step*satsuki*eightball
johnny copeland orchestra*atmosphere strut*p&p
metro area*dance reaction*environ
tony allen vs. boozoo bajou*yoruba road*comet (france)
towa tei*let me know (mighty bop remix)*elektra
sarah vaughn*whatever lola wants (gotan project extended remix)*verve
innerzone orchestra*timing*planet e communications
claro intelecto*signifier*ai (uk)
aardvarck*b1*delsin (the netherlands)
delit-k*best before date see base*versatile (france)
takuya*jaaz airport*ism
massive attack*special cases (luomo?s casing)*virgin (uk)
the soft pink truth*promo funk*soundslike (uk)
milky boy*the ballad of terry ping*ill (uk)
matthew dear*but for you*spectral sound
ultramarine*lights in my brain (spooky remix)*dali
meitz*africa (restless soul remix)*guidance recordings
the rapture*sister saviour*dfa
ryuichi sakamoto*rap the world*virgin
lacarno & burns*mahayana*ism
the orb*cool harbour*shanachie
dj rels*diggin? in brownswood*stones throw/goya (uk)
donnie*masterplan*giant step
recloose*can?t take it*planet e communications
matthew dear*dog days (pantytec interpretation)*spectral sound
deee-lite*party happening people*elektra
the avalanches*a different feeling (ernest st. laurent remix)*xl (uk)
the other people place*sunrays*warp (uk)
psychedelic research lab*tarenah (chill mix)*gyroscopic
osbourne*daylight*spectral sound
jimmy edgar*re: city alley*warp (uk)
mr. oizo*flat beat*mute
geez ?n? gosh*oh, precious Lord (I?m thankful)*mille plateaux (germany)
akufen*skidoos*force inc. (germany)
i:cube*comme des espirits (maas mix)*versatile (france)
dj eric*we are love (eric?s muzik edit)*distinctive

I like to read, but I love to listen to music. So if reading is fundamental, listening is essential. If I ever get a chance to really get my read on this year, there are at least three books that I?ve started and need to finish:

Dude, Where?s My Country? ? Michael Moore
Native Son ? Richard Wright
Ruminations ? KRS-ONE

Also wanted to check out that Boondocks comic strip treasury A Right To Be Hostile (what a fantastic title) as well as Rip It Up: The Black Experience In Rock ?n? Roll. Rather excited about that last one. You always know when Black History Month starts around my way: I?ve got black rock CDs on crunk for the first two weeks.

I also have several albums teasing me in my apartment that I?d like to sit down with and listen to in their entirety. The list includes?

MATTHEW DEAR ? Leave Luck to Heaven [Spectral Sound] ? USA
LUNCHBOX ? Anyways [theAgriculture] - USA
EUGENE MCDANIELS ? Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse [Atlantic] - USA
PREFUSE 73 ? One Word Extinguisher [Warp] - UK
ARTHUR RUSSELL ? The World of Arthur Russell [Soul Jazz] - UK

Not enough hours in a day, man. Not enough left over to fully enjoy yourself. I can?t remember the last time I sat down with my books and just read.

Just exactly why am I in customer service again? Oh right, due to the fact that this was the only hook-up in sight after a 6.5 month period of unemployment. Thanks for reminding me. Either you?re out of work or you hate the job that you have, but should still be grateful. Is a contented medium really that much to ask for in this life?

This afternoon, I developed a habit of spurting a stream of obscenities toward the phone as it rang. Surely the Lord is not pleased. I suppose I ought not take things out on a customer even before I pick up the phone. I know I?m supposed to be a nice guy, but frankly, some days I get tired of being the nice guy. Today I wanna be the ?sever brain stem from spinal cord? guy. Somebody be a dear and wake me when it?s my turn.