This has been a time of reflection for me. An up coming milestone birthday. An upcoming move. A recent trip to my hometown after years of being away. Staying in the house I grew up in while on that visit.
These songs are at the very essence of my childhood.
This is the music that helped to define my personal tastes in music. This is where I came to the fork in the road that was my parents music and the music of my generation. This is also the fork in the road where hip-hop and techno split. Where 80s pop bumps up against both briefly.
These are the songs of the skating rink in Detroit. They are the songs that I sat by the radio to record on my boombox. And because techno was born in Detroit, these are the songs that I struggled to stay up late and hear what the Electrifying Mojo was going to play on his radio show.
These are the songs that set me on the path to becoming a DJ and today, I give them their due. An offering.
Track listing after the jump.
1. Cosmic Rapp by James Pants
2. Sucker MCs by Run DMC
3. Too Much Posse by Public Enemy
4. Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk
5. Beat Box by Art of Noise
6. Speech by Cyrus
7. Hip Hop Be Bop by Man Parrish
8. Situation (U.S. 12" Mix) by Yaz
9. Big Fun by Inner City
10. When We Used To Play by Blake Baxter
11. I Need A Freak by Sexual Harrassment
12. Play It Cool by Model 500
13. Al-Naafyish by Hashim
14. Do Me (Frank Wiedeman Orchestra Mix) by Tiefschwarz
15. Clear by Cybotron
16. No UFOs by Model 500
17. I'm Ready by Kano
18. Look Out Weekend by Debbie Deb
19. Strings of Life by Derrick May
20. Technicolor (Long Mix) by Model 500
