January 28, 2008

mp3 monday: the "now how much would you pay" edition



payoff


I had the immense pleasure last night of seeing two old buddies of mine, Double Dee & Steinski, open up for DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist at Irving Plaza in NYC. IMHO, DD&S blew DJ&CC off the stage even though the later had some great visuals and were performing their entire set with vinyl 45s only (while DD&S used Apple laptops). The reason I think this (besides my subjectiveness): DD&S' mad (dark) beats and unbelievable soundbites (everything from Groucho Marx to the Chicago Riots). It's an odd concept to move and groove to a riot but there are precedents.

Unfortunately, Double Dee & Steinski's liberal use of unlicensed material has made their work unavailable for sale. But perhaps that's the way it should be. In this 1986 article in the Village Voice, Robert Christgau describe's the Steinski ethos:
"He's just a perpetually disillusioned optimist who still assumes that the sounds and images rippling through the American consciousness are, forget copyright, every American's birthright -- that we're all free to interpret and manipulate them as we choose."
The article also deftly explains the Double Dee & Steinski legend: How their entry for a contest by Tommy Boy Records to remix G.L.O.B.E. & Whiz Kid's "Play That Beat Mr. D.J." became an underground dance club sensation and went on to influence, among others, DJ Shadow, Fatboy Slim and Go Home Productions.

However, words can't describe DD&S' unbelievable cutting and pasting. For that you need to hear it. Like I said, you can't buy any of their stuff legitimately (however, you can plunk down as much as $247.27) but you can search the internets for streams and, sometimes, actual mp3s. That could be how you ended up here. To listen to/download the mix that started it all, click the record above and enjoy.

Oh, I almost forgot: Steinski has a blog.

UPDATE: On the aforementioned blog, SeƱor Steinski has an mp3 from Sunday night's performance (link).

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