Pulling Ponytails and Cheapshots in Woman's Soccer

Check out this video from a NCAA Woman's soccer match that pitted BYU vs. New Mexico. All I can say is, those New Mexico players are dirty bitches. Actually it's really just one girl that's doing most of the damage.

Honduras makes the World Cup

First, the USA 2-2 tie versus Costa Rica last night was fantastic. They went down 2 goals early and fought back to tie it in the 5th minute of injury time. It was quite a game, the US team didn't look as good as they should but didn't give up. Having already qualified for the World Cup in South Africa next summer, there wasn't alot to play for but an accident two nights previous that seriously injured an up-and-coming player, Charlie Davies, gave them something worth fighting for.
But my favorite moment from the game was the fact that a tie coupled with a win by Honduras meant that the Catrachos made the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. With all the political strife in that country of late, it was a moment that I had hoped would come true. They need something to celebrate, and now they have that. Check out the link to Soccer Insider with video of the Honduran people celebrating. What a great moment!

Happy Hondurans

As a side note, one of my early memories of attending a soccer game at RFK Stadium involved going to a game in which Honduras was playing and I will always remember the fans chanting "Hon-dur-as, Hon-dur-as, Hon-dur-as" the whole game.

Let's Make It Funk, Funk, Funk, Funk, Funk, Funk, Funk, Funk, Funky

Time: September 6, 2009, approx. 1am
Place: The Wonderland Ballroom
Who: DJ Itchy Mitch & a roomful of people tryin' to get down
Vibe: Funky

I present to you some "Funk @ the Ballroom," a mix I played at Wonderland last time dj'ing there. Starting off with a few funky edits and transitioning to some later 70's/ early 80's funk burners, the place was alive with people gettin' down to the funky vibe. Watch out for the one major train wreck but don't let it keep you from having a good time.

New Raekwon, produced by Dilla

Check out this new track by Raekwon featuring Inspectah Deck, GZA, Ghostface Killah, and Method Man, and is produced by the late great Dilla. While it's not one of my favorite Dilla beats, it captures the old Wu-Tang sound and the video itself is a hot animated one. Peep it:

Heads Ain't Ready

Woah!

Neurosonics Audiomedical Labs Inc. from Chris Cairns on Vimeo.

FTotD (4 hours and 20 minutes too late)

Check out this jam, it's "Why Did You Do It" by Stretch. This track is one that I've heard on a mix by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. They use the "1,2" vocals in the middle of the song during their "Hard Sell" mix. When I DJ with Big Nick, he plays it alot and everytime I ask what track it is and then forget. Tonight I remembered and Googled not long after I got home. Here's a great live version, the bass player is sick:

Soul Power

"Soul Power" is a documentary about a landmark concert that took place in Zaire in 1974. It took place before the Ali-Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" (the movie is made of unused footage from "When We Where Kings" and is directed by an editor on that film) The doc features musical greats like James Brown, Bill Withers, BB King, and more as well as some interviews with Muhammad Ali. I saw it at Silver Docs recently and really enjoyed it. Check out the trailer below:



I look forward to the DVD release as I will definitely be buying it for what should be a lot of bonus scenes. I really hope they include some full length performances. The film should be out tomorrow @ E St. Cinema or Bethesda Row. Check your local listings and get on the good foot.

The England Online Record Store Competition

So, here's the story behind the competition: It was not originally designed as a competition, more a frantic search for a couple of records I really wanted to get. For a while now alot of the records that I have been purchasing are 12"s that are imports from Europe, mainly the UK. They are in, what I like to call, the "funky breaks" style, also known as breakbeat, re-edits, new funk, or even mash-up, among others. Essentially what that means is that songs are generally heavily influenced by funk & soul with hip-hop beats and vocal samples at a faster tempo. Here's a mix from Wonderland in June that I did called "Funky Breakin' @ Wonderland" as an example:


http://www.divshare.com/download/8012118-70d

So to continue, I recently placed 3 orders from 2 differents stores all based in England and thus the EORS competition began. The reason I had placed the first order, from Picadilly Records was for 2 new release 12"s on Goodgroove and Bomb Strikes (2 of my favorite labels releasing stuff in this style) as well a Featurecast (dope artist) remix 7" of Aretha Franklin's "One Step." Well the 7" has been out of print and the store didn't really have it so that led me search some more. Two days later, I finally found the release in stock from Chemical Records so I ordered it immediately and the race was on. Then a couple of days later, I received an e-mail from Juno Records that a re-edit of Fred Wesley's jam "House Party" called "Trailer Party" was back in stock and I knew another order was needed. So I ordered a couple of records from them, they are a site that I have thought about ordering from many times before and we'll see how they do in this competition.
As of now, I received the Piccadilly order 1st as I should have. It took a total of 7 days. But the next day I got the 7" in the mail from Chemical Records, for a grand total of 6 days in transit which puts them in 1st place. Juno has until tomorrow to tie Chemical Records for the fastest transaction time. As far as price goes, Juno seems the most decent (and they also have the biggest selection) but the difference is not major so time may be the overall factor in determining the winner. We shall see who prevails...

Wu-Tang Lego

All I gotta say is:
Hells yea!

Wu-Tang Lego: Da Mystery of Chessboxin' from davo on Vimeo.

and for a point of reference, here's the original video:

Daniel Merriweather + Wale + the Roots = Hot!

Check out this performance from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon by Daniel Merriweather with help from Wale & the Roots. Its a song called "Change" and it's dopeness. I play it out alot and no one tends to feel it like I would like but maybe that will change. ;)

Mexican Team Head Coach Kicks Opposing Player

In Gold Cup action the other night, the head coach of Mexico, Javier Aguirre, kicked a player from Panama as the ball was being played along the sideline. Check out the video:



I don't know that he actually hits him but it's dangerously close. It seems like the coach got caught up in the play and just decided to kick as the ball got close. Or maybe he wanted it to seem that way. No matter, it was a messed up thing to do and really summed up a game:

Gold Cup: Mexico-Panama deadlock ends with confrontation, brawl
HOUSTON (AP) -- Panama's soccer team huddled on the field after playing Mexico to a 1-1 tie on Thursday night, waiting for the incited fans to leave Reliant Stadium.
The Gold Cup match ended in chaos after a confrontation between Mexican coach Javier Aguirre and a Panamanian player triggered fights between fans in the stands.
Tempers flared throughout the match and boiled over in the 80th minute.
Panama's Ricardo Phillips dribbled out of bounds in front of the Mexico bench and when the linesman stopped play, Phillips shoved Aguirre.
Panama coach Gary Stempel said Aguirre hit Phillips first, trying to trip him as he ran by. Aguirre said he was just trying to stop the ball and accidentally made contact with Phillips.
"It was an imprudent act on my part," Aguirre said. "I sincerely regret it. It was a product of passion. The Panamanian team deserves an apology as well."
Players converged in the area and several got into shoving matches. Referee Joel Aguilar ejected Aguirre and whipped out a red card to give to Phillips as fans littered the field with cups of beer and other objects.
Phillips was escorted off the field by a swarm of police -- and pelted with beer cups as he ran into a tunnel -- and after about 15 wild minutes, play resumed.
A fight then broke out between two fans in the front row across the field from the benches and Houston police officers moved in to separate them. Police handcuffed at least two fans in the area.
"It was a disgrace," Stempel said. "I don't have the words."
Miguel Sabah and Blas Perez scored the goals in the first half.
Even Sabah conceded that his coach made a bad mistake.
"Obviously, he's human like the rest of us," Sabah said. "As a coach, with his experience, it doesn't make much sense. But he's human, and he has our support and we are trying hard to win."
Perez was injured on the field in the 90th minute and medical staff brought out a stretcher. As Perez was carried off the field, Mexican fans unleashed another barrage of cups and beer bottles and Perez fell off the stretcher.
Perez didn't seem as upset as his coach was about how the game ended.
"That's soccer, it's normal," Perez said. "Those things happen."
The game ended about five minutes later and the Panamanian team lingered on the field to let stadium officials drive off the fans.
"The game had to end," Stempel said. "The security and physical integrity of the players was not guaranteed. No coach wants to be a part of this debacle. Mexico has to respond for their actions, not me."
Horace Reed, the head CONCACAF official at the game, refused to comment.
The event drew an announced crowd of 47,713, nearly all of them donned in green and cheering for Mexico.
Giovani Dos Santos took a loose ball and outran a Panama defender to set up Mexico's first goal in the 10th minute. Dos Santos dribbled into the penalty area, then passed to Sabah, who easily beat goalkeeper Jaime Penedo with a right-footed shot.
Perez tied it in the 29th minute, taking a pass from Felipe Baloy, outdueling three Mexican defenders and beating goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa with a sideways kick.
The players were mouthing off at each other from the start and Panama's Nelson Barahona earned a yellow card in the 39th minute when he collided with Sabah.
Barahona got the worst of the hit, writhing in pain as players from both teams gathered around him and jawed at one another. The referee and both linesmen rushed out to separate the teams and play continued.
In extra time just before the half, Dos Santos got tangled with Panama's Armando Gun, who was lying on the ground. The teams huddled again and exchanged words before Gun and Mexico's Miguel Luis Noriega were ejected.
Mexico kept pressure on Panama's defense for most of the second half before the ugly ending.
Mexican star forward Carlos Vela, also a member of English club Arsenal, missed the game with a lower right leg injury suffered in El Tri's 2-0 win over Nicaragua on Sunday.
The tie was a disappointing outcome for Mexico, which has won four Gold Cups, the last in 2003. El Tri is facing mounting pressure at home to return to international prominence after some embarrassing recent results. Mexico lost to the United States in the 2007 Gold Cup final and its under-23 team failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics last summer.
Mexico has a key World Cup qualifier Aug. 12 against the United States in Mexico City.

The coach has since apologized but has been suspended for 3 games. If Mexico does not make the final of the Gold Cup, then the coach misses the August 12th World Cup Qualifying match in Mexico vs. the US (that would be nice.)

DC Freshly Squeezed

Next weekend I make a return to Fight Club DC. Its a dope venue thats really a skatepark that holds other events. Its really pretty damn cool and will be a funky good time, come thruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Time to take a disco ride to the 80's

Here's a mix from Wonderland this past Saturday night, it's a fun little mix that rolls from disco to the 80's and was what I played to finish off the evening. Enjoy!



Here's the full tracklisting:

01. Marvin Gaye - Heard It To the Grapevine (Rob Tex disco vocal edit)
02. Jimmy Bo Horne - Spank (sixty nine edit)
03. Gaz - Sing Sing (old school disco edit)
04. Jackie Robinson - Pussy Footer (12" re-edit)
05. Cookie Monster & the Girls - C is for Cookie (Larry Levan disco mix)
06. Malente - Beastie Disco
07. Greg Wilson - Doobie In Your Funk
08. Doobie Brothers - Long Train Running (special maxi version)
09. David Bowie - Let's Dance (long version)
10. Men At Work - Down Under
11. Blondie - Rapture
12. Beatconductor - I Can't Go for That
13. Cosmic Force - Trinidad Bump

*as a side note, the noise you hear at the beginning is the other turntable spinning. As I was originally about to mix in some Marvin, some mo-ron decided to hop on stage and pick-up a girl and in the process bump the shit out of the turntables knocking the one needle off the groove and forcing me to throw on the 45 with a quickness. Oh the wonders of Wonderland.

New Mix! part 2

And here's part 2, when I upped the ante a bit. It's more upbeat classic hip-hop with some funk and soul to finish it out. I was just kinda throwing things on at the end (ie. being lazy) so be forewarned it may get choppy:

New Mix!

Here's part 1 of a mix I played last Friday, May 29th 2009 @ the Potomac Boat Club. It was in honor of my boy Jamie's 30th (or is it his 22nd?) birthday and is full of classic hip-hop tracks with some other stuff sprinkled in. I'm sure I made some stupid mistakes as I was socializing and dj'ing at the same time (they don't mix) but whatever, enjoy! Part 2 tomorrow...

FToTD

Here's a mash-up I did recently, I don't have much to say about it except that its not 100% perfect and I think you'll be able to figure out the artists and tracks involved. At some point I'll redo it on my computer when I get it back so I can multi-track it and make it a bit better in all respects. This version was recorded direct to disc using 2 Technics and a mixer. Enjoy!

"Rock With It Out (Itchy Mitch Mix)


Finally, come to the Wonderland Ballroom tomorrow night (May 2nd, 10pm) for "Party Vibes," a night of funk, soul, hip-hop, reggae, funky breaks, and much more with Big Nick and myself. We bring the crates, you bring the party vibe.

Slap Chop/ Rap Chop

Just watch this until the end, this ish is too funny:



and then repeat again and again...

Here's the original for a point of reference when you need a break:




Yes, that's Vince, also from Sham-Wow. As a side note, read this story about a recent incident he was involved in. Whoops, poor Vince.

FTotD (formerly known as Friday's Track of the Day)

Today's gem is from DJ Cleon, a DJ/ producer from France. I can't tell you much more about him cuz his bio is in French (Tiny, translation please?) It's the title track off the EP pictured above called "Jaylis & Family," and it's a burner. The whole EP is worth picking up as its hot with funk and latin influences. So if you're into those sounds then get out and grab it. Groove Distribution (a great online retail record spot) says this about the release "DJ CLEON drops this 8-track funky breaks bomb on us, ready for the b-boys to tear it up. Big bongos and plenty of groove." Here is the best track off the EP, give it a spin:



Stay tuned for next week's FTotD, it's something special I made and you'll definitely wanna ch-check it out (there's a hint for ya)...

A Trip Back in Time (to 2003)

Peep this video that I did with Tiny a few years back. He set up the ill shot with his lamp, I ruined it with my scratches :) Enjoy.

Happy 420

Here's a clip from last night's episode of "Family Guy" telling us how every thing is better with a bag of weed:



*Edit: The original clip from YouTube got taken down so this is the best I can get

New Lif Droppin' Tuesday!

So I heard it today, new Mr. Lif album is being released Tuesday, April 21st (Out now on iTunes). "I Heard It Today" (yea, thats why I started the post like I did) sounds like it'll be a treat for Lif fans and a return to a more cohesive album like "I Phantom" after "Mo' Mega" was a bit all over the place. You can tell he's on a similar kick as the "I Phantom" & "Emergency Rations EP" as the artwork for the single uses the same characters.



The beats are handled by Edan, J-Zone, Willie Evans Jr., Therapy, and more so they'll be alot more interesting than a few of the tracks on the last effort, no El-P production here as he is no longer on the Def Jux label. There's a nice interview here about the album, his Def Jux break-up, and his dreads. Make sure you peep the new track at the bottom of the page. And also, download this. Haven't listened to it yet but it's a 50+ minute megamix of Mr. Lif tracks, old & new.

Looks like he is on tour now so check him out in a city near you and support real hip-hop. No DC date but he was just hear a few months ago so you can't fault him for that.

Friday Track of the Day

So I feel the need to get this thing up and running again, so here's a start. Maybe I'll at least make an effort to get a FTofD up on the regs as without a computer some things I want to do aren't as straight-forward. I found this file as I was skimming thru DJ Hut's (man, I'm gonna miss this store) computer and thought I'd post it as its a beast funk monster:



Just remember, she's a bad mamma jamma...