Fall Is Jam Season

Hi Everybody! MC Escher here! What better way to enjoy apple picking season with some preserves?  I made you this jam, a free hour long  for Wednesday’s class (10/24). You can download or stream it on Soundcloud. Some of the songs that I always wanted to play at DDPP but were too long, so I just took the parts of songs I liked (would calling it a money shot mix be gross? OK, forget I brought it up). Other songs are things I couldn’t find on Spotify in the version I like. And others were just, er songs I liked. Enjoy!

This is my jam (tracklisting):
1 Priestess by Pumarosa
2 I Got You by Split Enz
3 Freakshow On The Dance Floor by The Bar-Kays
4 I’m Waiting For The Man by The Velvet Underground
5 Twin Peaks Theme (Dance version) by Dj Dado
6 People Who Died by The Jim Carroll Band
7 Call Your Girlfriend (Sultan & Ned Dub) by Robyn
8 The Visitors by ABBA
9 Genius Of Love by Tom Tom Club
10 Transmission by Joy Division
11 Nobody Knows Me by Madonna
12 Make A Scene by Shamir
13 Voice Mail (Sugar Hill Suite) by Steinski
14 Strutter by Kiss
15 Come Together (A.Skillz Remix) by The Beatles – A.Skillz
16 The Feeling Of Being Alive / Party Mindset by Andrew W.K.

Party Like It’s 2011

MC Escher here. I almost melted today, and that was before I even got to DDPP. It was so hot, and today’s date being 7/11 means that it was Free Slurpee Day! But the line was too long, so I didn’t get my delicious beverage. I did, however, decide to honor today being the 11th by digging out a mix I made from 2011. Get it, as in, 2011? (Because we all know the joke is extra hilarious when you have to explain it, I know, I know. Also: insert joke about Eleven from Stranger Things here.) The playlist was full of mash-ups and Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (remember how that was like, THE JAM???) and other things that I didn’t realize I was nostalgic for.

And oh yeah, sorry about the ridiculous 5 minute jam of a British guy detailing the history of hip hop with a banjolele. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

In 2011, that is.

The playlist from tonight is below, and underneath that is a Spotify playlist I’m calling “7/11/18 MC Escher – A Partial Playlist” on account of the fact that a mess o’ that stuff I played tonight wasn’t on Spotify.

xoxo, MC Escher

Spring-Loaded for Replay Wednesday!

MC Escher here. Wednesday (4/25/18) I thought, my birthday is in February and it’s always snowed out! Why not celebrate it in the spring? So I did. I got in my time machine and brought out the jams I played back then just for yucks. And you know what? Favorite songs are favorite songs. What works in the winter works in the spring!

MC Escher STAIRing at You and Your Awesome Moves

MC Escher here! I had a great time going up and down metaphorical stairs with everybody on Wednesday at the DDPP mansion! Thanks for coming out for a slightly insane playlist that covered an array of such topics as tacos, dirty boots and heavy metal cantinas. xoxo

Thanks a Latte, From MC Escher!

MC Escher here! I had a grand ol’ time gettin’ jacked up on coffee and then jumping around in a room with you fine ladies, celebrating my birthday on Sun, 2/4. Ain’t no better feelin’ than celebrating my special day dancing withchoo. I had this drink made for us to enjoy together while we revisit my playlist! xoxoxoxo, MC Escher

Dance Dance EVERYBODY: 10 Years of DDPP

We couldn’t have been more thrilled by the turnout at our end-of-the-year spectacular!

Dozens of fancy dancers, DJs and Den Mamas past and present, 90 minutes of great jams and tons of cheer could hardly fit into the walls of the First Free Church in Andersonville (Chicago.)

But squeezed into that space like it was a pair of skinny jeans right outta the wash, and we. effing. DANCED.

Thanks to all who made it out, and even if you couldn’t be there, we don’t want you to miss out on the opportunity to retroactively be a part of the festivities! You can still buy a 10 Year commemorative Dance Dance Party Party Zine Zine (lovingly curated by Den Mama MC Escher)!

While you’re reading it, you can even treat yourself to a solo boogie with the Best of DDPP Playlist created by Den Mama DJ Disco Biscuit (linked below.)

Thanks for a great 10 years! Let’s do another decade!!!!

 

MC Escher danced us Upside Down!

Now, we’ve seen Stranger Things, and we had no idea that The Upside Down was where the partayyyyyy has been hiding all this time!

We spent our evening dancing on the ceiling and the underside of multiple flights of stairs tonight when MC Escher unveiled a new masterpiece playlist.

Obviously she hit it hard with some sonic comfort food: we got our daily doses of Britney, Katy and Kesha.

AND the Talking Heads made their first DDPP appearance in FAR too long!

But then, in true MC Escher style, we got an earful of gravity-defiant songs that were totally new to us. We had no idea what we were missing!

I mean, besides Barb. 🙂

Anyway, here’s the proof. Enjoy the excellent sounds of MC Escher and the land of the Upside Down!

 

 

We’re Just a Group of Ladies Gettin’ Down to Ginuwine

DJ Salsacat announced that her playlist last Wednesday (June 7th) was a disco cowboy spacejam, and she wasn’t kidding. Hilariously, DJ Disco Biscuit shared after class that when she told her co-worker about DDPP, that he said, “For some reason, I picture a group of ladies just gettin’ down with Ginuwine,” and um, that’s ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED that very night: a group of ladies got down to Ginuwine.

So in tribute to DJ SalsaCat, I performed a dance to Ginuwine for you all right here now. You’re welcome.  -MC Escher

Here’s the playlist!

MC Escher Throwing It Down

MC Escher here. Each of the songs on tonight’s playlist (4/12/17) went through a rigorous screening process. First, I put on each track to see how it sounded while I rolled up and down on the stairs at my summer villa. Then I shouted, “OW THE PAIN IT HURTS” and the neighbors told me to keep it down. Then I yelled back at them and they threw tin cans at me. Then I rolled down the stairs some more and noticed that sometimes I landed on the roof and sometimes on the mezzanine. This provided some degree of confusion for my Fitbit. Next, I hired an intern and entombed them in my lab, while forcing them to wear ridiculous clothes. That didn’t do much for figuring out which songs to include on the playlist but it did entertain me immensely. Then I entombed myself in the lab and dressed up in ridiculous clothes. Then I threw the interns down the stairs. Then I threw the neighbors down the stairs. It was settled! The playlist was complete! Enjoy the fruits of my labor!

Embracing Winter Like a Pro

I dread every winter that comes here in Chicago. I say to myself, “I don’t know how many more winters I can do this. It’s cold, it’s dry, it hurts my paws, and I hate dealing with ice and snow.” But then I keep my head down, grind my teeth, and get on with it. I convince myself that if I can just get from point A to point B, then it will be OK to take off all the gear and curl up in a ball.

This year though, instead of going into hibernation about the whole thing, I decided to embrace some serious winter animal energy. I bought fun earmuffs! I bought a new winter jacket! I stocked up on lotion. I was determined not to let winter get me down. And part of avoiding the winter blues is nurturing myself. My version of nurturing myself? Buying fun new work out clothes (wow, legging technology has advanced to new levels!) and creating one hour dance parties, which is essentially what one does when one DJs for DDPP. So the following playlists are the fruits of my labor, concocted in my dance lab, with the aid of many scientific instruments, hardware, software, equations and an intern. Enjoy the fruits of my labor! -MC Escher

Wed, Dec 28th

Wed, Dec 14th