For sentimental reasons...

Seeing Jerry's list inspired me to pull together a list of my own cliche, overplayed jams and songs that remind me of old times. Everyone knows that music can carry really strong sentimental value, but I think its something that DJs sometimes overlook (myself included). Also, no matter how into the latest trends you are, you've got to admit that our taste wasn't uniformly 100% all bad back in the day. Some of the stuff that got played was really quality music, and deserves a fresh listen, especially since dancers who aren't ancient (and crotchety old) bastards may never have heard them. So, here's my own selection of songs that bring back strong memories and tracks that will never get old in my book:

1. Swing Lover - Indigo Swing - Indigo Swing - 3:11 - 115 (You are not allowed to call yourself old school unless you can recite the introduction to this song verbatim, right now.)
2. It's Only A Paper Moon - Oscar Peterson - With Respect To Nat - 2:32 - 124 (This was the song playing week in and week out as everyone learned the lindy hop at Its All Swing Studio in Boston. It still makes me roll my eyes but I love it anyways.)
3. Oh! Babe - Lucky Millinder - Apollo Jump - 2:56 - 170 (The Love Dogs, Boston's favorite jump blues band at one time, used to do a rollicking version of this tune. Back when I was but a young pup, I remember being at a dance when Ed Scheer, the lead singer, stopped everyone in their tracks with his extended scat solo on this number.)
4. I Love Being Here With You - Ernestine Anderson - Ernestine Anderson - The Concord Jazz Heritage Series - 3:39 - 130 (Birthday jam song of choice at Monday Night Practice in Boston.)
5. St. James Infirmary - Lou Rawls - Lou Rawls Live! - 4:34 - 115 (Slick Mike, the MNP DJ for years, ended every dance with Lou Rawls. In the past year or two they have a new DJ crew there, so I'm not sure if that tradition continues.)
6. You Don't Know What Love Is - Rachelle Ferrell - First Instrument - 5:14 - 120 (This was my absolute favorite song back in the days of groove. I have a really vivid memory of dancing with my teacher, Marilee, to this song.)
7. Plenty (Feat. Erykah Badu) - Guru's Jazzmatazz - Streetsoul - 4:38 - 165 (If you started dancing in the last 6 or 7 years, you may not know this song. It may just blow your mind.)
8. Evil Gal Blues - Aretha Franklin - Aretha Sings The Blues - 2:43 - 118 (Blues Brian played this album all the time at the Wednesday night dance at MIT.)
9. Fever - Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith - Blue Bash! - 5:36 - 116 (Years ago, when Johnny & Becky came to Boston--you probably have no idea who they are...just picture Johnny as like the Peter Strom of the day, only he was about 5 foot 2, a very talented contact juggler, a little bit balding, and prone to wearing wife beaters. Anyways, Johnny & Becky taught a workshop and played this song over and over again, but Johnny refused to tell me who it was. It took me about 3 years to figure it out.)
10. Happy-Go-lucky Local (Night Train) - Oscar Peterson - Night Train - 5:00 - 110 (I still love the Ray Brown bass solo in this song.)
11. In the Mood - Glenn Miller - Best of the Lost Recordings & The Secret Broadcasts - 3:15 - 180 (Just to be crotchety, I enjoy pointing out that this version of In the Mood, recorded when Glenn Miller had his military band, is actually a pretty respectable piece of music.)
12. Meet Me in Uptown - The Mighty Blue Kings - Meet Me In Uptown - 2:59 - 145 (These guys were kings of Chicago at one time.)
13. Minor Swing - Django Reinhardt - Django Reinhardt 3: Minor Swing - 3:16 - 200 (Periodically I get it into my head that Stuff Smith was a better fiddler than Stephane Grappelli. And then I hear this track again and change my mind.)
14. Carioca - Artie Shaw - Self Portrait - 4:06 - 215 (People will still be dancing balboa to this tune 100 years from now.)
15. Bei Mir Bist Du Schane - Janis Siegel - Swing Kids - 4:11 - 150 (The crowning achievement of the Boston College Swing Kids was the routine we put together to this song. I think I had a Swango solo during the slow bit. Supposedly there's a video that exists to document this...)
16. Tutti Frutti - Slim Gaillard - 1938-46 - 2:38 - 170 (As you read this, there is a swing dance happening somewhere in the world, and this song is playing.)
17. Let Me Off Uptown - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz - 3:24 - 130 (This song is a DJ's best friend, because it starts out chill, has an appealing vocal, and goes out with a lot of energy.)
18. I Want a Tall Skinny Papa - Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Gospel of the Blues - 2:52 - 140 (I played this song last Monday and my wife pointed out to me that it will soon be her jam, in a very literal sense.)

I do actually listen to non-swing music...

...in case you were wondering. Just for kicks, I'd thought I'd give you an idea of the other sorts of music I listen to. I created the list below by sorting my iTunes library by "Last Played" and then going genre by genre, grabbing some of the most recent tracks I've played. Admittedly, I cherry-picked a bit, mostly to give a more representative collection of artists, rather than listing five tracks by the same band. Some of the genres are in heavier rotation than others too (I think the last time I listened to most of the tracks under Hip-Hop/Rap was some time in 2007). Right now I'm into country music.

I hate having a messy iTunes library, so I always categorize tracks into one of the nine categories below, or into jazz. I also like to arrange things so that all tracks by a given artist fall within one genre. Outside of jazz though, I don't really think too hard about how an artist gets classified, so what you think of as Country, I might call Rock/Pop, what you call Blues, I call Folk, etc. Labels are arbitrary, we get the point. Here goes:

Blues

• You Do Me Any Old Way - Big Bill Broonzy - In Chicago 1932/1937
• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Josh White - Josh White Vol. 5 (1944)
• Cornbread, Peas And Black Molasses - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - An Introduction To Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
• Whiskey Makes Me Mean - Gerry Hundt - Since Way Back (We're friends with Gerry and his wife, who's a swing dancer. Gerry's an awesome musician in the Chicago area. Here's his MySpace page.)
• Sweet Mama Tree Top Tall - The Deep River Boys - London Harmony
• The Blues Ain't Nothin' But - Georgia White - Georgia White Vol. 3 1937-1939 (Great vocal, GREAT lyrics.)
  
• Your Average Kind of Guy - Dr. John - Dr John Plays Mac Rebennack, The Legendary Sessions

Classical

• Suite for viola and orchestra - Yuri Gandelsman, Slovak Radio Orchestra - Bloch: Israel Symphony; Suite For Viola and Orchestra
• Symphony No. 9 in E minor From The New World, Op. 95 - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak: Symphonies Nos 7-9
  
• Symphony No. 2 in D major op.43 - Philadelphia Orchestra - Sibelius: Symphonies No. 2 & No.7
• Beethoven: Cello Sonata #3 In A, Op. 69 - Lynn Harrell, Vladimir Ashkenazy - Beethoven: Cello Sonatas
  
• IV. Allegro - Pablo Casals - Brahms: Sextet No. 1, Piano Trio No. 1

Country

• My Window Faces the South - The Time Jumpers - Jumpin' Time (I heard this band in Nashville, at the Station Inn. They play classic western swing.)
• Struck It Rich - Town Mountain - Heroes And Heretics (Heard these guys in Nashville too. They play bluegrass, including many original songs.)
• Move It On Over - Hank Williams - Lovesick Blues
• San Antonio Girl - Lyle Lovett - Anthology Volume One
• Miss Molly - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - The Essential Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
• Let's Chase Each Other Around The Room - Merle Haggard - The Essential Merle Haggard
• Maybe Sparrow - Neko Case - Live from Austin, Texas
• Just A Closer Walk With Thee - Patsy Cline - Golden Hits

Folk

• The Littlest Birds - Be Good Tanyas - Blue Horse
• That'll Be A Better Day - The Old Crow Medicine Show - Eutaw
• Blue Moon Of Kentucky - Bill Monroe - Smithsonian Folkways American Roots Collection
• Wagon Wheel - The Old Crow Medicine Show - O.C.M.S. (We love singing along to Old Crow Medicine Show on car rides.)

Gospel (I like listening/singing along to Gospel music. Not for swing dancing though.)

• When The Saints Go Marching In - Wycliffe Gordon - In The Cross
• Didn't It Rain - Lavern Baker - Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith
• Jesus Hits Like The Atom Bomb - The Soul Stirrers - Shine On Me
• Move Somewhere - The Swan Silvertones - Singin' In My Soul / Blessed Assurance
• Come To Jesus - Mahalia Jackson - Oh, My Lord

Hip-Hop/Rap

• No Diggity - Blackstreet & Dr. Dre - Another Level
• You Don't See Us - The Roots - Things Fall Apart (Yes, I was in college, and bought a Roots album once.)
• Bowtie (Featuring Sleepy Brown & Jazze Pha) - Outkast - Speakerboxxx

R&B/Soul

• Who's Making Love - Johnnie Taylor - Stax Gold
• Here I Am (Come and Take Me) - Al Green - Greatest Hits
• You Beat Me To The Punch - Mary Wells - Motown: The Classic Years
• Good Good Loving - The Simms Twins - Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story: 1959 - 1965 (Disc 2)
• (Mama)-He Treats Your Daughter Mean - Ruth Brown - Rockin' In Rhythm - Best Of
• How Do I Let a Good Man Down - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Naturally
  

Rock/Pop

• Youth Culture Killed My Dog - They Might Be Giants - They Might Be Giants
• Before You Accuse Me - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Country
• Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
• Nothing Matters When We're Dancing - The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
• Rain King - Counting Crows - August & Everything After
• Peggy Day - Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline
• Hotel Yorba - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
• Hold On - Tom Waits - Mule Variations
  

World/Latin

• Tristeza, Separacion - Astor Piazzolla - Astor Piazzolla Key Works 1984-1989
• Mami Me Gusto - Ibrahim Ferrer - Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer
• Miyaabele - Baaba Maal - Missing You (Mi Yeewnii)
• Jigi Jigi Isapa - King Sunny Ade - Odu (My uncle gave me a KSA tape back in the '80's, and I've been a fan since.)
  
• Youth And Pleasure Polka - Vrazel - Golden Sounds (This is from my polka-dancing grandma.)
  

Bio-blurb for Madison invasion

I'm djing at the Madison Invasion this coming November, featuring instructors Todd & Ronni from Denver. All the details and registration here. Come dance with me and Mary and our buddies from Madtown.

The Invasion folks requested a biographic blurb, and I ended up out-nerding myself by writing two. They used the first one, but I like the second one too. Here's both:


Bio 1:

James sometimes wonders what would have happened if his dad hadn't showed him that Count Basie album in fifth grade, or if he hadn't played it for his friends. Maybe his schoolmates would have thought he was cool, coach would have put him in the game for more than the last six minutes, that girl Megan would have agreed to go to the Homecoming dance with him, and he would have spent far less time in the library during college. But such is life. James began building up his DJ instincts as early as high school, becoming adept at calling shotgun so as to have total control over the stereo on every car trip. Since then, he has amassed an extensive collection of high-, medium-, and low-fidelity jazz, which he enjoys playing for dancers. He is thrilled when they complement him on his good taste, instead of complaining and insisting on listening to the same Dave Matthews bootleg for the fourth time. He lives in Chicago, IL with his wife Mary, deejays regularly at Fizz, Big City Swing, and other venues, and has no regrets.


Bio 2:

Though he prefers the more traditional if somewhat anachronistic term "disc jockey," James does not mind being called an MP3 monkey, for he knows in his heart of hearts who the real monkeys are. From his solitary perch in the DJ booth, he looks out at a floor full of dancers and thinks to himself, "Hahaha! Dance, my pretties! Yes! Swing out for ME!" before turning back to his music collection to pick out another song that will drive them into further gyrations and syncopations. He treats his pets well, exercising them regularly and feeding them a carefully selected, varied diet of smooth and bluesy vocals, janky uptempo tunes, and solid, swingin' big band music. He lives in Chicago, IL and enjoys feeding the animals at Fizz, Big City Swing, and other venues around town.

Who am I?

My name is James. I'm newly married and am about to be a graduate student again. I've been swing dancing for about 9 years (see the long version of that below). My wife (Mary) and I used to live and dance in Boston. We moved to Chicago two years ago. I have been teaching off and on for about the past four years, I perform occasionally with a troupe from Big City Swing, and I have been DJing for about two years.

I deejay at two dances in Chicago. I'm in the rotation at the regular Monday night dance at Fizz Bar & Grill. This dance attracts a lot of the core of the Chicago scene, plus lots of casual dancers. I also occasionally deejay for the Balboa Nights at Big City Swing. This monthly dance is meant to promote balboa, and caters to a mix of folks--we try to play music that is good for beginners who want to east coast, and for lindy hoppers too, so the average tempo ends up being slower than you might expect for a balboa dance.

Here's a little timeline of my life as far as swing dancing goes:

• 1991 (5th grade) - Discover my dad's Best of the Big Bands cd and decide that I like jazz.
  
• 1997 (High School) - Take some very basic ballroom dancing lessons with a friend. Our teacher is 80+ years old and walks with a cane. First see the movie Strictly Ballroom.
  
• 1998 - Learn east coast swing as part of a bad community theater production that featured several "period" dance numbers. I think there was a number that was supposed to be a cakewalk too.
• 1999 (College) - Discover the newly founded Boston College Swing Kids, and start going to on-campus lessons and getting hooked. First see the movie Swing Kids.
  
• 2000 - Still taking lessons on campus. I think during the Spring of this year, I decided to venture off campus to take lessons from someone who actually knew what they were doing. First performance with the Swing Kids troupe, to the song "Leap Frog" by Les Brown.
  
• 2001 - Assume the presidency of the Swing Kids club, along with my friend Nick. We are taking basic lindy lessons in Boston on Tuesdays, then running back and teaching what we learned to the club on Wednesdays. First workshops with Steven & Virginie.
  
• 2003 - Still running the college club, taking lessons in town. Getting serious about getting better. First learn the balboa.
  
• 2004 - Living and dancing in Boston. Taking lots of lessons & workshops.
  
• 2005 - Start teaching the free lesson before the Wednesday night dance at MIT. Occasionally filling in as a DJ there too. This is when I started to learn how to actually teach.
• 2006 - Teaching for a while with ItsAllSwing studios in Boston, and Providence Swings in Providence. Practicing a lot with a troupe of friends from Boston and Providence.
  
• September 2006 - Move to Chicago, start dancing, teaching, and deejaying.