Break out your Boom Box.

Fuck that June 21st shit, summer is right around the corner and the jump off is Memorial Day Weekend. Since the next mix won’t drop until the vacation is over I'm offering something to bump to while enjoying your freedom from the 9-5.

What’s Memorial Day all about? Well, Wikipedia tells me it commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. Memorial Day actually began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. While we here at First and Fifteenth have Infinite Respect for all those who serve the Stars and Stripes (Thank You!), that was a long time ago. Since then the holiday seems to have devolved into an opportunity for Americans to indulge themselves in a barbecue and some commercial shopping opportunities. Also significant: the GQ I thumbed through in Elliot's bathroom last week informed me that after Memorial Day I can start wearing white without pissing off Marc Jacobs.

So, while in deference to out brothers and sisters in the armed forces, I also want to take this opportunity to infuse all of your 3 day weekend shindigs with a little memorial to the 90's Hip Hop that we all grew up on. This mix will hopefully unearth some long lost memories that go along with the consumption of alcohol and pork products. Burn this and take it out to your social engagements, Uncle L. and all the other artists are guaranteed to help you get your party props kid.

Download Here and Enjoy!

Fakin’ the Funk - Main Source

Around the Way Girl - L.L. Cool J.

Round and Round - Tupac

Straighten it Out - Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth

C.R.E.A.M. - Wu Tang Clan

Get it Together - Beastie Boys feat. Q-Tip

Chief Rocka - Lords of the Underground

Flava of the Month - Black Sheep

Wickedest Man Alive - Naughty by Nature

I Like it - Grand Puba

I Got a Story to Tell - Notorious B.I.G.

Check the Rhyme - Tribe Called Quest

One Love - Nas

Sometime I Rhyme Slow - Nice and Smooth

Jingling Baby (Remix but Still Jingling) - Ladies Love Cool James

Brooklyn Girl Goes Global

So lately it feels like all my friends are taking these amazing trips around the world and I’m not gonna lie: I’m really jealous. I’m calling this mix “Traveling Around the Globe From an Office Chair in Midtown,” cause sadly that is where I’ve been spending most of my days. Fortunately my lack of mobility has allotted me ample time to track down a ton of inspiring music originating far from the shores of Williamsburg. All these tracks bring a smile to my face and some international beats to my feet. I hope they make you bop in your seat, no matter where that seat may be.
(I start off all ambitious with descriptions but lost steam and need to post this thing, so the last tracks are just there. Hope you enjoy.)
Download

Ernesto Djedje - Zadie Bobo
Ernesto was the dubbed the "The King of Ziglibithy" for pioneering the style and reigning musically in the 70s on the Ivory Coast. I love this song because it seems to fuse a more western funky dance party feel with traditional African rhythms. And the horns kick ass.

Alèmayèhu Eshèté & Hirut Bègèlè
It was really, really hard to make music and party after dark in Ethiopia after Selassie fell and the crazy communist military regime took over. Right before the red curtain tried to stifle all creativity, there was a burst of musical and artistic output, now recognized as the golden age of modern Ethiopian music. It sounds middle eastern and trippy and soulful. Good stuff.

Ali Farka Touré - Soya
I was in a record store and this Toure album was playing over the speakers. I stood in a trance because it’s amazing and bought it on the spot. It's sweet and bluesy, and the ringy guitar and weird Malian percussion still kind of hypnotize me. The cover photo of this album, released right after Toure died of cancer, shows him lounging out chill-style in black shiny boots and a fedora with a cig hanging from his lips. Makes me wish he was my godfather or something.

Gilberto Gil - Pega a Voga, Cebeludo
I think if you pick up any Tropicalia-related comps this song is on there, for good reason. The crazed yelps, insistent hand claps, catcall-esque background sounds and driving beat are totally addictive. This song is just the epitome of feel-good Brazilian pop.

Caetano Veloso - Outro
Had to follow up Gil with his partner in musical crime. This song, and the whole album it's on actually, is as in-your-face and rock and roll as Caetano gets. I LOVE the guitar solo a minute and a half in, and secretly picture Caetano himself wailing out whenever I hear it.

Lila Downs - Viborita
Flamenco, jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian - there is a little bit of everything in Downs' sound. Her voice is so smoky and sexy and passionate. Even though she's mostly known by American audiences as 'the Mexican chick on the Frida soundtrack,' she's so much more.

Don Omar - Tirandole #2 A Daddy Yankee
Heard this song while flying down a dirt road in a taxi filled with friends and strangers in the Dominican Republic last year. Later discovered the Don is a huge reggaeton superstar. If you need to get a party started, I recommend calling on him for help.

Les Boots - Laissez Briller Le Soleil

Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing

Pedrito Ramirez y su Combo - Micaela

Satyajit Ray - Charu's Theme
Stole this from a certain Wes Anderson movie, but it was too pretty not to.

Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus - Int'l Year of the Child

Live and Direct

Happy tax day. I had one theme for this mix, live. This is a conglomeration of many genres and styles, but heavily skewed towards reggae. I collect live music and it comprises most of my listening on a daily basis. Live music has a raw quality not found on studio albums. Also reminds us that even the musicians are human and make mistakes and fuck up their own songs.

Here is a little glimpse into some of the music in my latest listening endeavors. Enjoy!

Download
1. AC/DC - Charlie Hunter Quartet – Vancouver, BC 5/23/2001
2. Too Experienced – Barrington Levy - Wanted Live in San Francisco
3. Cupid – Amy Winehouse – Berlin, Germany 10/15/2007
4. Next Movement – The Roots – Cologne, Germany 3/23/2003
5. Monkey Man – Toots & the Maytals – Live in London
6. Cocaine Blues – Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison
7. California Uber Alles – Disposable Heroes of Hipoprisy – NYC 8/12/1992
8. War – The Wailers – Steamboat Springs, CO 6/20/2007
9. Can’t Turn Me Loose – Janis Joplin – Amsterdam 4/1/1969
10. High Tide or Low Tide – Jack Johnson & Ben Harper – Honolulu, HI 4/26/2006
11. Malawi – Toubab Krewe – Charlotte, NC 2/3/2003
12. Liza (All the Clouds Roll Away) – Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea
13. Royal Oil – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Live at the Middle East
14. Hello Banjour – Michael Franti & Spearhead – Aspen, CO 9/2/2007
15. Natural – Arrested Development – Unplugged
16. Stir It Up – Bob Marley – San Francisco, CA 7/7/1975
17. Mama’s Got A Girlfriend – Ben Harper – Live from Mars
18. Spanish Key – Miles Davis – Live at the Fillmore East
19. Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You? – Billie Holiday – Jazz at the Philharmonic
20. Jah Is My Driver – Burning Spear – NYC 9/18/1996

Mix #11: Lupe Fiasco's Picks

When we conceived this blog ten mixes ago, the idea was to provide bi-weekly compilations for our extend network of friends. The site name seemed straightforward to our purpose, so we registered it with blogspot.

We didn't realize we shared the name with budding rap star Lupe Fiasco's vanity record label, 1st and 15th Entertainment.

Several misdirected emails (to firstandfifteenth@gmail.com) later, and we were swapping exchanges with the "kick push" emcee himself. Rather than go diva, and shut us down, he gracefully offered his own mixtape. Take that muxtape.com. Stop biting!

the Lupe-man himself had this to say after we pried his submission out (it was, believe us, an 11th-hour affair):

"yo! this represents a large part of my musical history, the roots in music i believe in. scarface, of course, dre, of course, gangstarr, you know this...you might not know i like other stuff too, the pillows, hot japanese stuff, steely dan, i'm gonna start the yacht rap rock genre outta that hook, devo, where my potatoheads? anyway, thanks to all my fans, buy the new record, it's hot! PEACE"

Thanks Lupe!

Download: Click Here

Tracklisting:

On My Block - Scarface
Contact High - Ike Turner and the Ikettes
Little Busters - The Pillows
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Bill Cosby
Hey Nineteen - Steely Dan
The Wacky World of Rapid Transit - Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Let Me Ride (Remix) f. Daz, Snoop - Dr. Dre
Dolly - Peter Visti
Similak Child (Remix) - Black Sheep
Me and Rock & Roll are Here to Stay - David Ruffin
Ex to Next Girl (Remix) - Gangstarr
Where My Homiez (Come Around My Way) - Ill Al Skratch
Snowball - Devo
Transformers - Leaders of the New School
Days Were Golden - Sunny Day Real Estate
Ghetto Red Hot - Supercat

I Don't Hate Guitars

My college friends say I hate guitars. Luis recently reminded that when I moved to New York 5 years ago I owned one non-rap album: Pearl Jam's Ten. Well, things have changed a bit. I rarely buy music and, maybe not so coincidentally, I no longer hate guitars. I guess embracing digital piracy encouraged risk taking; it's an awesome thing to take a chance and not have to worry about wasting my money. Anyways, here's a taste of what I've been listening to and, in keeping with current First and Fifteenth trend (yes, I'm hungover), I'll let the music speak for itself.

I Don't Hate Guitars

1. Tulips: Bloc Party
2. Elevator Love Letter: Stars
3. Soldier: Erykah Badu
4. After 2Am: Deuce Maxwell
5. In Remembrance: Blu & Exile
6. Bitch I Don't Need Ya: Scientifik
7. If She Wants Me: Belle & Sebastian
8. Shoo-B-Doop And Cop Him: Betty Davis
9. Where Do I Begin: The Chemical Brothers
10. Dirty Acres: CunninLynguists
11. Ol' English: The Game
12. Your Arms Around Me: Jens Lekman
13. Star Witness: Neko Case
14. That's What I Am Talking About: Pete Rock featuring Rell
15. Ask: The Smiths
16. Make It Happen: The Teenagers
17. Maps: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
18. Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken: Camera Obscura
19. My Soul Ain't For Sale: DJ Jazzy Jeff featuring Raheem DeVaughn
20. Horney Joint: Elzhi
21. You Know Now (Buckwild Remix): D.I.T.C.
22. 1979: Smashing Pumpkins
24. Flux: Bloc Party
25. Hard Rain: Shout Out Louds

If the "Juno" soundtrack weren't dominated by shitty Kimya Dawson songs

I thought of many themes in the last few weeks: songs to listen to while sitting outside the terminal waiting for your family to get in, when you're wishing you could play video games, first thing Saturday morning. But I decided it made the most sense to collect my favorites, moody but ultimately uplifting, all released after 1993 (when I was making human-pyramid routines to Tina Turner songs, not Liz Phair tracks). I didn't cull these from the basement of a speakeasy-esque record store; they're not diamonds in the rough. But they're diamonds nonetheless. —Juno

1. A.M. 180/Grandaddy/Under the Western Freeway
2. Portions for Foxes/Rilo Kiley/More Adventurous
3. The Con/Tegan & Sara/The Con
4. 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)/Radiohead/Hail To The Thief
5. Fuck Forever/Babyshambles/Down in Albion
6. Strange/Built To Spill/Ancient Melodies of the Future
7. The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
8. Fortress/Pinback/Summer in Abaddon
9. Black Swan/Thom Yorke/The Eraser
10. Leeora/The Sea and Cake/The Biz
11. King's Crossing/Elliott Smith/From a Basement on the Hill
12. Fuck and Run/Liz Phair/Exile in Guyville
13. One More Hour/Sleater-Kinney/Dig Me Out
14. I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself/The White Stripes/Elephant
15. Family Tree/Loretta Lynn /Van Lear Rose
16. Rise Up With Fists!!!/Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins/Rabbit Fur Coat
17. You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will./Bright Eyes/Lifted, or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Ready to listen? Go here: http://www.zshare.net/download/828924686378f4/

forlorn and flushed

it's the day after valentine's day (or just slightly after), which means all the lonely rejects out there are allowed to valiantly wallow again. whether the aching words "never again" beat on repeat or you like songs with a twinge of bitterness and regret and longing and doubt, this is a list of tunes that remind you how awesomely bad it is to flush love down a toilet and want it back all over again.

i'm not one for a detailed description , so if you want more than the obvious feel free to contact me.

here it goes:

1.) anthem: born in the flood

2.) how it ends: devotchka

3.) last goodbye: jeff buckley

4.) way you walk: papas fritas

5.) still in love song: the stills

6.) glass conversation: the ponys

7.) hounds of love: the futureheads

8.) tenderness: general public

9.) boys don't cry: the cure

10.) tears of a clown: the english beat

11.) tears dry on their own: amy winehouse

12.) interstate love song: stone temple pilots

13.) black star: radiohead

14.) testimony: grant lee buffalo

15.) should've known better: the thrills

16.) sea anemone: jets to brazil

17.) goodbye to love: american music club

18.) tell me more and more and then some: nina simone

mucho,

rachel k.