Adam Hunter's top 100 party tracks
What:
Adam Hunter's top 100 party tracks
Who:
WolfGang DJs
Where:
FourThousand 100th issue party
MySpace:
Here
Image credit:
Danny Digby
Yes, as Adam pointed out, we are 100 and so his gift to us (and you) is a shrewdly selected list of his top 100 party tracks. We can almost guarantee you'll be busting out to at least ten of these at our party next Friday. Passionately.
The Adam Hunter detailed top ten:
1. EARLY DAYS | Cut Copy - Standing Up, Sitting Down
If you're unfamiliar with the title, this comes from a time when Cut Copy was soley the work of frontman Dan Whitford - off the debut EP I Thought Of Numbers released way back in 2001. It's a far cry from the Cut Copy we know now, and a time when their little label Modular could never have dreamed what lay ahead for them. The track effortlessly bounces along, a deadpan vocalisation of ‘sitting down, standing up again' - against a landscape of punchy kicks, filtered bleeps and strings. It's so hard not to nod your head to whilst nursing that first beer of the evening.
2. THE TRACK FOR GRRRRLS | ESG - Erase You
Three sisters from The Bronx learn to play instruments and in turn have an enormous influence on the genres of punk, disco and hip hop. 'Erase You' is impossibly catchy, yet a terrifying warning to any man who dares mess with them - ‘Erase You, just like a drawing - Erase You, flush you like my toilet!' It's danceable-punk at its best, with lyricism spat as fiercely as any hip hop artist I know. My pants recoil in fear and my heart grows fonder on each listen.
3. YOUR NEW FAVOURITE TRACK | The Residents - Kaw-Liga
It could only be a group both mysterious and genious enough as The Residents to concoct something as great as this. A cover of country artist Hank Williams' song about a wooden Indian unable to show his affection to an Indian maid in an antique store set behind raging guitars and a bassline lifted from Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'. The best part about playing this track out is bringing in ‘that' bassline and watching people's reactions as it switches and becomes the swirling behemoth that is ‘Kaw-Liga'.
4. THE PIONEERS | The Human League - Things Dreams Are Made Of (Remix)
Dare by The Human League still remains one of the most important albums of the last 30 years, never more true after the recent ‘Future Will Come' release from NY's The Juan Maclean, which seems to be a complete loving tribute to Philip Oakey & Co. I have to credit Jad Lee (Ladyboy/BMX) for how I first heard this version of 'Things Dreams Are Made Of' - and ever since then it has been a trusty weapon in the arsenal. Still unsure as to who this ‘remix' is by (perhaps The Human League themselves?), but its slow build to what unfolds tends to put smiles on most faces. Anyone who missed seeing these guys live at this years' V-Festival really did miss something truly special. Key-tar and Phil's chrome dome. Superb.
5. THE ‘IRONIC' TRACK | Yothu Yindi - Treaty
I say ‘ironic' track, but the thing is I don't really play this with a wry grin at all. That term applies to the guy sitting in the corner that ventures out to everything and rolls his eyes the entire time. ‘Have a good night mate? No? Didn't think so...' I took a tour on the Great Ocean Road to the Twelve Apostles earlier in the year, where the operator would split up stories of times gone by with ‘songs that reflect Australian culture'. 'Treaty' came over the speakers, the tourists smirked, and I quietly fought the urge to get wild.
6. THE AMAZING COVER | WhoMadeWho - Flat Beat
Who came first? The Oizo or the egg? Granted, the original by French star Mr Oizo is still a party favourite and it would be wrong of me to suggest that this cover is ‘better' than its predecessor. However, when you throw a couple of sweaty Danes into the mix, the result is a tasty alternative to have in the bag. This cover comes courtesy of the collaborative minds of WhoMadeWho, tweaking it into twisted guitar disco of the highest order. Their cover of Benny Benassi's ‘Satisfaction' is also a worth a listen or ten.
7. THE TIMELESS CLASSIC | Daft Punk - Da Funk
Has this track from 1997's Homework ever failed to save even the dullest of parties? Has this ever sounded dated, even 12 years on from its release? Does a little part of you wish you were one of those French Robots? Was only including 3 of Daft Punk's creations in this top 100 list mighty difficult? The answer to all these questions comes in at about 3:18 on 'Da Funk'...
8. THE HIP HOP TRACK THAT 98% OF PEOPLE KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO | Wu Tang Clan - Bring Da Ruckus
I'll keep this simple as I don't claim to know all there is to know about hip hop. 36 CHAMBERS.
9. THE OPUS | Television - Marquee Moon
In the right hands, at the right time, this can change everything. Use it wisely. If the party consists of your parents and their friends celebrating the beginning of the end, and they bug you to play something ‘epic' it might be wise to smile and put on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody' so they can sing along with a coupla bottles of Banrock Station safely tucked away. This doesn't really apply if your parents happen to be fans of Television though.
House parties are generally the best - around the 4am mark. There's something about this 10:40 journey that brings people together, and even the biggest douche/snob seems to pull out that fucking air guitar right on queue. Monumental.
10. SUNLIGHT CREEPS THROUGH | The Gun Club - Mother of Earth
So, now we're at the point where there are 5 of you left in the venue/house/wherever and dawn is breaking through. This one comes from The Gun Club's 1982 LP Miami and remains the most haunting piece of music I've ever heard. It's truly time to go home once this is over. No one has really quite perfected the blend of punk, blues and psychobilly the way The Gun Club did. You'll leave feeling content, you may also be weeping. Whilst the last hours of our final WolfGang party was a horrible blur, I did actually get it together in time to make sure this was the nail in our coffin. In saying this, (god forbid) if I happen to die in some freak accident in the not-too distant future, can someone please make sure my parents know to play this at my funeral? Need this in writing.
And now the remaining 90, in no particular order or ranking...
11. James White & The Blacks - Almost Black (Part 1)
12. TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
13. Evil Nine feat. Aesop Rock - Crooked
14. Herbert - Moving Like A Train (Smith N Hack Remix)
15. Fleetwood Mac - Big Love
16. Liquid Liquid - Optimo
17. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message
18. Delta 5 - Mind Your Own Business
19. Frankie Knuckles feat. Jamie Principle - Baby Wants To Ride
20. Talking Heads - Girlfriend Is Better
21. Jay Z - 99 Problems
22. Happy Mondays - Hallelujah
23. James Brown - Too Funky In Here
24. Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You
25. !!! - Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (A True Story)
26. Joy Division - She's Lost Control
27. In Flagranti - Where is Miss Palmer?
28. The Juan Maclean - Happy House
29. Bush Tetras - Too Many Creeps
30. Public Image Ltd. - This Is Not A Love Song
31. Telex - Moskow Diskow
32. Laid Back - White Horse
33. Devo - Through Being Cool
34. Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face?
35. Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood
36. Pop Dell Arte - No Way Back
37. New Order - Blue Monday
38. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (Padded Cell Remix)
39. Gary Numan - Metal
40. Playgroup - Front to Back (Switch Remix)
41. Daft Punk - Around The World
42. Yoko Ono - Walking On Thin Ice
43. The Cure - The Lovecats
44. The Pop Group - She Is Beyond Good & Evil
45. Dondolo - Dragon (Shit Robot Remix)
46. Prince - Erotic City
47. Soulwax - E Talking
48. Hercules & Love Affair - Shadows
49. Liquid Liquid - Cavern
50. The Rapture - Sister Saviour (DFA Remix)
51. Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights (Marczech Makuziak Remix)
52. Lovin' Spoonful - Summer In The City (Peter Visti Edit)
53. Prinzhorn Dance School - You Are The Space Invader (Optimo Remix)
54. Dead Kennedys - Too Drunk To Fuck
55. Traks - Long Train Running
56. Hot Chocolate - Heaven's In the Back Seat of My Cadillac (The Revenge Rework)
57. Blondie - Rapture
58. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Black Tongue
59. Skatt Brothers - Walk The Night
60. Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster Stronger
61. Electrelane - On Parade
62. Dr. D.R.E - Still D.R.E
63. Gang Of Four - To Hell With Poverty (Go Home Remix)
64. Suicide - Ghost Rider
65. Mystery Jets - The Boy Who Ran Away (Riton Re-rub)
66. A Certain Ratio - Shack Up
67. The Slits - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
68. Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock
69. David Bowie - Fashion
70. The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
71. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
72. The Glimmers - Esta Si, Esta No
73. Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle
74. Blur - Girls & Boys
75. The Presets -Steamworks
76. Ladytron - Seventeen
77. Boney M - Ma Baker
78. The Rapture - Out Of The Races & Onto The Tracks
79. Savage & Fred Falke - Wait For Love
80. Arpadys - Monkey Star
81. Battles - Atlas
82. CSS - Move (Metronomy Remix)
83. Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix)
84. The Jellies - Jive Baby On A Saturday Night
85. Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
86. Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short
87. The Juan Maclean - Give Me Every Little Thing (Cajmere Remix)
88. The Stranglers - No More Heroes
89. The Avalanches - Live At Dominoes
90. Peaches - Fuck The Pain Away
91. Datarock - Fa Fa Fa
92. Moby - I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost! Remix)
93. B-52's - Rock Lobster
94. Lifelike & Kris Menace - Discopolis (A Hundred Birds Remix)
95. Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love
96. M.I.A - Paper Planes
97. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic - Do Fries Go With That Shake?
98. INXS - Just Keep Walking
99. Cappuccino - Hell Dance With Me
100. Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
Genre: Other
Release: Compilation
Keywords: Party, Wolfgang DJs, Adam Hunter
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