Honey Badger in Spaaaaace!

When DJ Honey Badger said her playlist had a future robot outerspace nerd theme, I got excited.  A honeybadger in space!  What would that look like?  Maybe a little like this?

That looks a little like a honey badger in space, doesn’t it?  Work with me here, I tried.

Then I got REALLY excited when I heard this song:

I shouted out:  PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED!!! with a fist pump.  This is the first appearance of Public Image Limited at DDPP Chicago!  The singer is John Lydon; you may know him as Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.  I know the Sex Pistols have been heard at DDPP, cuz I played them!  Anyway I was thrilled to hear this song!  And John Lydon sometimes does behave like he’s from another planet.

 And it just kept going!  It was like we were shot into space, a million miles away!

We all felt like we were on another planet dancing with Godzilla!

Thank you, DJ Honey Badger, for the Intergalactic Space Travel playlist!

Shut The F*** Up And Dance!!!

How, HOW can I put into words what happened on Wednesday night? It’s just too hard. Maybe a picture will help…they’re worth a thousand words…nope. Still not good enough. A video. Yes. That will begin to approximate the situation.

That’s it. That kitten is MC Escher, me, all of us that were crammed into the studio that night. We were all just a mass of gangsta kittens gettin’ our swaggas back with the help of a remix and a DJ Hero turntable.

Now, I like to think of myself of as something of a DDPP aficionado. I mean, I’m a den mother, I’ve been getting down regularly for years now, and my playlist count is into the double digits. But MC Escher. She’s an OG. Present at the very first Chicago session almost 5 years ago, mother of the lava projector (RIP as of a couple weeks ago…), oh, and did I mention she made one long mp3 mashup of an eargasm for all of us to download??!! See why there are no words? Read the track list here:

And then download it (and listen to it until you smile so much that your face gets stuck that way) here. My lack of technological skill is in awe.

With this mix, MC Escher took us to places that I didn’t previously know existed. The 30 plus (!) ladies in the room all hopped on the last train to awesometown, shut the f*** up, and danced our way to a girls-only combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell with Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. What can I say? Later is now, people.

But I can’t give all the credit for our wild ride to MC Escher. I need to recognize the UNBELIEVABLE GOOD VIBES that were going on that night, and I have every single dancer there, newbies and veterans, to thank for making us den mothers scream with joy (as we are often guilty of) until we almost lost our voices. Oh, and for possibly setting the world record for most women doing the robot at once. Maybe all 30 of us will never have a group date together again, but I can tell you for certain that we had some serious chemistry.

And in the words of the immortal Weird Al Yankovic: “MC Escher, that’s my favorite MC.”  (Don’t get jealous, the rest of us go by DJ!)

Growing up with FunkyButt

When asked if there was anything we should know about her very first playlist DJ FunkyButt said, “It’s starts off pretty innocently, but by the end it gets pretty dirty. I hope no one is offended.”

And it certainly did start out innocently enough. Some fun disco and the most innocent songster of them all, Justin Beiber. We were like 80′s Punky Brewster, happy and ready to have a good time.

“Who has two thumbs and likes Justin Beiber?”

Then things started to heat up a bit in a nostalgic way as we lived La Vida Loca with Ricky Martin (though he does get candle wax dripped on him in the video, remember? Shocking for the 90′s!) and shook it to some Britney.

“I’m not a girl, not yet a woman.”

But then, holy wow, did we grow right up with Lil’ Kim. Thankfully our faces were already pretty red from dancing so hard, cause those lyrics could make a grown woman blush and the beats can make a roomful of grown women get on down! By the time Enrique told us in no uncertain terms what he was gonna do to us that night, we could handle it cause we are grown ass women.

“Punky who?”

Thanks for taking us on such a journey, FunkyButt! No offense taken, none at all.

Wherein we discover the hidden link between disco and Downton Abbey.

We’ll admit, it got hairy there for a minute last week. What with the SOPA protests and Wikipedia going blank for a whole day on January 18th, thousands of high school and college students were forced to consult primary sources. Worse, your den mothers were at risk of not having a reliable reference point from which to begin every single one of their blog posts. The horror, the horror! Thankfully, it appears now that plans to move the bill along in Congress have stalled and once again, we can count on the Hive Mind to explain the world to us. To wit:

Gorgonzola is a veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow’s and/or goat’s milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a “bite” from its blue veining. It looks a little something like this:

Morganzola, on the other hand, is a DDPP regular who finally treated us to her very first mix last Wednesday night. It looked a little something like this:

Like her namesake, Morganzola’s playlist ranged from buttery smooth (Erykah Badu’s voice on “Tyrone,” the evening’s cool-down song) to, well, quite salty (Kelis gettin’ all capital B-Bossy at us). And the assemblage of women present that evening displayed some of their, well, cheesiest dance moves for the occasion. By “the assemblage of women” I am, of course, primarily referring to your den mothers, whose minds landed somewhere in the gutter at the beginning of “Ring My Bell” (because, I mean, really…) and couldn’t be rescued until several songs later.

We’re quite certain some of those moves would have incurred the ire of one Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham. Who is she, you ask? Only the most hilarious character to pop up on British television in ages. If for some reason the words “Upstairs/Downstairs-style BBC soap opera” aren’t enough and you STILL need convincing, we highly recommend the whole “Shit the Dowager Countess Says” video. Suffice it to say, she’s the type of woman who gets what she wants and isn’t afraid to, ahem, ring a little bell to make it happen:

Thanks, DJ Morganzola, for making us laugh long and hard and, even better, work up a great sweat while doing so. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for your next mix!

Turn It Up To 11!

I am sure we all know that scene in Spinal Tap where the not very bright musician explains how his amps “go to 11.”  I know, that’s so last year.  Well, last year was 2011, and this den mother and DJ had an amazing 2011.  And I got to relive it all at DDPP last Sunday!  My playlist was all songs that stirred memories of 2011 for me.

2011 was a pivotal year for me.  I started the year recovering from knee surgery and in a (not really great) relationship.  I ended the year as a Single Lady, out Dancing With Myself.  It was a Once In A Lifetime year for me.  More than once, I said to myself, “My God, what have I done?”

At times it was tough but it was also exhilarating.  I did things I hadn’t done in years:  going out to concerts and clubs, meeting people, staying out past my bedtime.  This playlist commemorates my 2011.

I chose songs that fit in one of two categories.  I chose some songs about breaking up a relationship and rebuilding my life.  I also chose songs by performers I saw in concert or heard in clubs.  No, I didn’t get a mullet (“I Miss My Mullet”) or have a one night stand (“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”), or, thank heavens, get in a car accident (“Warm Leatherette”).  I did see some amazing shows with performers like Peter Murphy, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music, Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople, and Blondie.

I included one song in particular because of a show I attended, Southern Culture on the Skids.  The show was on a Friday, not quite a week after I ended my relationship.  I went with none other than Kelley Clink, Den Mother Emeritus Extraordinaire, of Chicago’s DDPP.  I was still rattled over my breakup but I was excited about the show.  I had never heard Southern Culture on the Skids before.  Not once.  The show was great.  I was on my feet dancing, first in the aisle and then on stage with the band, to this song, “Camel Walk.”

Suddenly I was having fun again!  By the time the show was over, I felt like I could do anything.  I went on after that night, doing things on my own, rediscovering myself.

There is another reason I included “Camel Walk” on this playlist. If I hadn’t gone to DDPP and met Kelley, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the show and found out about this great band.  This brings me to another major high point of 2011, becoming a DDPP denmother.  During every class, I am privileged to share songs and memories, from myself and from all the other women.  We dance, we sing, we sweat, we get through whatever is going on in our lives.  Whether I was celebrating or dancing off frustration, DDPP has been there for me.  This includes, not just the experience of dancing and letting loose, but the friendship and support I’ve gotten from the women of DDPP.  I’m so grateful you all were there for me!

If my 2012 is half as much fun as my 2011, then DJ Haus O’Whax will be happy.  Whatever happens, I know I have the amazing women of DDPP to share it with!

Ghetto Superstar

It’s not too often that the DJ gives out one of these right off the bat:

But DJ Stop Looking At Me Swan let us know that she was going balls to the *@!$&ing wall Wednesday night! And boy, did she ever %#$!ing deliver!  Our youngest dancer in the room could even be seen donning some Old-School style earmuffs at certain points… (Skip to 0:45 to see what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t already seen the movie, I just made your weekend plans for you.)

DJ Stop Looking At Me Swan went hardcore with her debut, and we all got down and dirty right there with her! I know I can’t speak for everyone, but…I’m pretty sure we were all Big Pimpin’ for the entire hour.

I have to say, though, my very favorite part of the night was that our gangsta DJ was droppin’ it like was hot in a Minnie Mouse t-shirt. I mean, I only could have loved it more if the shirt had looked like this:

Those are official DISNEY-APPROVED ‘”hood threads”, people!

DJ Stop Looking At Me Swan, you left my quads feeling like %#$@ing jelly from all the booty poppin’ that night! So I in turn shall leave you with this:

We can’t wait to look at your playlists again and again!

WE PARTY!!!

525,600 minutes…how do you measure, measure a yearrrrrr? I’ll tell you how. On a Sunday afternoon in January, with a solid hour of 2011′s greatest hits courtesy of the one and only DJ Chelles Belles. When she said “best of,” she wasn’t messing around:

You know who else wasn’t messing around? The NEARLY 30 WOMEN that came to the studio to sweat their asses off!!! Whether we have good ol’ (semi) winter weather or New Year’s resolutions to thank, or DJ U.N.I.T.Y’s killer Facebook status updates…well, who’s to say? We all know it’s Unity anyway. But let me tell you- I have never been so happy to have so little space to dance in! The packed, energetic, sauna-like atmosphere was giving off some serious happiness vibes.

And DJ Chelles Belles didn’t even give us a moment to breathe! Every song was a belt-it-out, dance-until-you-hyperventilate hit. I personally recognized almost every single song on the playlist, except for one notable exception: I may be the last person on earth who hasn’t seen the new Muppet movie, so it was my first time being introduced to the song “Me Party.” And it was a revelation. First of all, hearing Miss Piggy’s voice out of context is like a mysterious gift, and also- could this song be more hilarious and perfect for DDPP? AND it gave one amazing man the inspiration to make this video:

Can’t you just imagine all the men in your lives that are jealous of DDPP doing this at home while you’re out dancing with us? I can and will, forever and ever.

Finally, while we’re on the subject of the best of 2011, I implore all of you to click on the link below and check out what could be the coolest dance video/movie of 2011, featuring not only the killer Girl Talk track that Chelles Belles rocked us with, but pretty much that entire album.

http://www.girlwalkallday.com/watch-the-film/trailer

I  want to invite every one of those people to DDPP…especially the Creep. Come on, he’s clearly everyone’s fave.

DJ Chelles Belles, thank you for throwing us a we party!!!

Guilty pleasures.

Guilty pleasures: we’ve all got ‘em.  Mine, for example, include reduced fat Wheat Thins, somewhat matronly polar fleece sweatshirts and CBS procedural dramas. (In fact, add those together and you’ve pretty much got my perfect Sunday evening!) But I toe a pretty hard line that I don’t have many guilty pleasures when it comes to music–I just love what I love and can usually craft an argument about the value of a proper pop song that will make even the most self-righteous hipster withdraw in retreat.

That, I would argue, is a lot of what DJ Badonk-a-Donk did for us last Wednesday night with her Guilty Pleasures-themed mix. She pretty much beat down the self-righteous hipster in all of us, bending us to her will: the will of almighty pop music. Sure, her playlist crossed genres and decades, but running throughout the 60 minutes was the vibe that it’s OKAY to like music that is silly, or even just nostalgic. We learned a lot from our DJ that night. The newbies learned that DDPP is TRULY a judgment-free zone, whereas the regulars learned, inter alia, that Mmm Bop! contains a STAGGERING amount of scratching in it. Please skip to 0:59, 1:45, 2:20, or like 3:08 ON if you don’t believe me:

So thanks, Badonk-a-Donk, for getting us out on the dance floor to appreciate some guilty pleasures 100% guilt-free!

 

New Year, New Attitude!

Happy New Year!  At DDPP, we don’t sit around with hangovers on New Years Day!  Not us!  We got up and GOT DOWN with DJ U.N.I.T.Y.!  What a way to start the year!

Didn’t like 2011?   Well, Shake It Out and get ready for 2012!

Maybe it’s time for a New Attitude!

We had 14 ladies shakin’ it off for the new year!  What an amazing turnout!  What a great way to start the year!  DJ U.N.I.T.Y., we will Stand By You in 2012!

An afternoon of firsts on the last Sunday of 2011

This blog entry may be late, but not forgotten! It would be impossible to EVER forget a DJ Lady KStud playlist! She made us come running as fast as we could to the last Sunday DDPP of 2011, where each and every den mother was in attendance! That was an amazing first to wrap up the end of the year! And as a belated Christmas present to all of you, I will now reveal what we all secretly do together on our lunch breaks:

It’s our own den mother version of team building. My mask is a cat. Don’t tell.

But I digress…let’s check out this beast of a playlist, shall we?

Now it’s nothing new to any of us that Lady KStud is an innovator, but she just never stops surprising us, even with her playlist count reaching into the double digits! Fiona Apple? Yes. You read that right. And I’m pretty sure that was yet another fantastic first at DDPP. Oh, you know what else is fantastic? The fact that this picture is what popped up when I Googled “Fiona Apple Dancing”:

…it actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Lady KStud, you’re an original. Even those creepy dolls agree.