So that oft promised entry-of-real-substance is still proving quite elusive. However until that mythical beast materializes I've put together, for your listening enjoyment/torture my very own Best of 2009 compilation. It differs dramatically from the Top 20 Songs I posted on Facebook, mostly because quite a few of those songs were super obvious and/or songs everyone's heard fifty quadrillion times (I'm pretty sure most people are sick of "1901" by now) and also because they were really freaking hard to make work as a compilation. I mean some are still here, but after I came up with that list on Le Livre De Visage, I thought of a few more that were more indicative of what I listened to most throughout 2009.

So...lacking any further unnecessary ado (I maintain a staunch anti-ado stance,) here ya go;

Orko's Creatively Titled "Best Of 2009"!

Here's the tracklist as I arranged it, but feel free to arrange them to your liking.


1. Morrissey - Something Is Squeezing My Skull
2. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - A Teenager In Love
3. Phoenix - Lisztomania
4. The Raveonettes - Breaking Into Cars
5. Muse - Undisclosed Desires
6. Lily Allen - The Fear
7. Bat For Lashes - Pearl's Dream
8. jj - Ecstasy
9. Washed Out - Feel It All Around
10. Lady GaGa - So Happy I Could Die
11. Sally Shapiro - Moonlight Dance
12. Zoot Woman - More Than Ever
13. Pet Shop Boys - Pandemonium
14. IAMX - You Can Be Happy
15. Junior Boys - Hazel
16. Tiesto (with Tegan & Sara) - Feel It In My Bones
17. Royksopp (with Robyn) - The Girl & The Robot
18. The Big Pink - At War With The Sun
19. The Sound Of Arrows - Into The Clouds
20. Metric - Stadium Love

It should just fit onto a standard 80 minute CD, should you choose to burn it. If not, well, I guess just leave the Lady GaGa song off since it seems like 50% of the population has arbitrarily chosen to hate her without listening to her music anyway lol.

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Why spend inflated prices to get into some crowded bar on New Year's Eve?
Why risk life and limb with so many drunk drivers on the road?
New Year's DAY is where it's at.

Friday, January 1st, Strangelove celebrates NEW YEAR'S DAY.

In the back room, DJs Tomas Diablo (Strangelove) and Bryan Hawk (Asylum - Sacramento) ring in the new decade with a look back at the best music from the 2000's. That's right - it's all new, all night!

In the front room, DJs Orko (Dancing Ghosts) and Daniel Skellington (Compulsion) revisit the golden age of goth, new wave, and industrial with the best of the 80's and 90's!

Strangelove is every first Friday at the CAT CLUB (Folsom and 8th), with different themes and guests every month. There's lots of room to dance and socialize, and if you keep dancing, we keep the party going until 3AM!

Drink Special: the Broken Resolution



details...

STRANGELOVE
Friday, January 1st: NEW YEAR'S DAY
In the Back Room: The Best of the 2000's
with DJs TOMAS DIABLO (Strangelove)
and BRYAN HAWK (Asylum - Sacramento)

In the Front Room: The Best of the 80's and 90's
with DJs DANIEL SKELLINGTON (Compulsion)
and ORKO (Dancing Ghosts)

at THE CAT CLUB (Folsom and 8th)
21+. 9PM-3AM . $6. Free before 10
www.strangelovesf.com

Really-real, honest-to-god substantial, non-DJ-related update coming soon, I swear.

This Friday I've been added to the lineup of DJs for Strangelove for a multitude of reasons that would probably be completely uninteresting to anyone not involved in the club. Well, except for the possibility that Tomas' wife will give go into labor, which is pretty exciting. But the other reasons are boring, mostly involving hand injuries and a Devo concert.

Also, it's a Nine Inch Nails tribute which is fucking AWESOME since I'm a total Trent fanboy. It's really because of Pretty Hate Machine that I got into industrial at all (NIN->Pigface->Ministry, RevCo & WaxTrax->Skinny Puppy and so on...) so needless to say I'm very, very excited. I have so much stuff to play (I know I always say that, but this time it's even truer than before!) I think I might bust out "Maybe Just Once" and "Purest Feeling" for laughs. And it's definitely going to be "Twist" over "Ringfinger." Expect to hear "Eraser (Polite)" and "Closer (Further Away)" too, since I've always wanted to hear them in a club. YAYAYAYAYAY I can't wait! Here's the flier;

( Strangelove's Tribute To Nine Inch Nails )

Then, a week later dj_domg and I will be putting on a special one-off event called Howl. Daniel and I work really well DJing together, so the music is guaranteed to kick ass. In the words of Daniel, the theme for the event is "a night for geeks, cubs, twinks, ftms, bears, and everyone else." I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Here's the flier for that;

( HOWL! )

And last, but nowhere near the least, on Saturday, November 28th, Dancing Ghosts will be paying tribute to goth/punk legend and icon Siouxsie Sioux. I, admittedly, came to Siouxsie late. I'd always liked her hits of course, but never really delved too much into her back catalogue. Over the past five or so years, I've come to realize just how much I missed out. She has so, so many incredible songs between her with the Banshees, The Creatures and solo. Thankfully, Alex, Margo and Sage have been fans for ages so any of the gaps in my knowledge will be readily filled in by them. It's going to be a great night. Yes, I'm aware that Gossip is doing a Siouxsie tribute the week before (sigh) but we'd had ours planned ahead for months. And for all of Gossip's strengths (it is definitely one of the most consistently fun clubs in SF,) they don't really do tributes the same way that Dancing Ghosts does. Whereas the majority of music we play will be Siouxsie or Siouxsie-related all night, with Gossip, you'll probably get between 1-3 Siouxsie songs an hour tops. Granted, the rest of the music that they play will be great, it just won't be as Siouxsie-centric an event as ours, I suspect. Plus, we think Siouxsie is enough of an icon to stand up to two tributes in a month. Anyway, here's the flier;

( Dancing Ghosts Presents a Tribute To Siouxsie )

In other news...

The new Annie album Don't Stop is 100% better than her debut. I'm really enjoying it. The new Assemblage 23 is remarkably okay. I'd say if you like his other stuff, you'll hear this one and think "yep, that sure is A23" and forget about it. The new Editors album is...odd. I'm not sure synthpop is the right sound for them, but I certainly don't hate it. RevCo's (the industrial Menudo!) most recent album is surprisingly not horrible. I may even play "Touchscreen" at Strangelove. She Wants Revenge are now a Morris Day & The Time tribute band, judging from the sound of their recent EP. Mesh's latest is very...Mesh-y (but I haven't given it a thorough listen) and half of the new Weezer isn't embarrassingly awful which is a marked improvement over their last three albums. Finally, the new album from Rotersand is actually kind of good, which shocks me since I'd always considered them to be a relentlessly boring sub-Covenant generic EBM band.

Also, for those that may be interested, here's what we played at the Zoth Ommog night;

( Dancing Ghosts Tribute To Zoth Ommog Setlists )

That is all.

Jesus. I have a new found respect for the Death Guild DJs. I have no idea how they could do that every single week. I don't know if it's a function of getting older or what, but being out until 3 in the morning on a weeknight just isn't something my body readily handle. I'm sure I could get used to it again, but right now, my body hates me.

Still, it was a LOT of fun. Definitely one of my favorite DJ experiences. I had a pretty decent crowd upstairs and they danced straight through to the end once I switched to electro. When I went outside to thank David for letting me spin he said he'd heard that my set was great. Anyway, here's what I played;

Death Guild Upstairs Playlist 10-05-09

Legendary Pink Dots - Disturbance
Death In June - But What Ends When The Symbols Shatter?
Sigur Rós - Svefn-g-englar
Dead Can Dance - Saffron
Hearts of Black Science - Serene
HEALTH - Die Slow
Siouxsie - Monitor
Bowery Electric - Fear of Flying
Andrea Parker - Breaking The Code
Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea
The Raveonettes - Sad Transmission
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - According To Plan
Cut City - Damaged
The Horrors - Sea Within a Sea
Rome - Wir Götter Der Stadt
Lycia - Pray
The Legends - You Won
The Cure - Cold
Glasvegas - Lonesome Swan
Dragons - Trust
Punx Soundcheck - Euro-Trash Boy
Pow[d]er Pussy - Breathe + Transmit
Dave Clarke - Addendum
Azzido Da Bass (w/Johnny Blake) - Lonely By Your Side
Skinny Puppy - Pro-Test
Prodigy - Girls
Imperative Reaction - Product
Daft Punk - Technologic (Digitalism Rmx)
Presets - A New Sky
Zoot Woman - More Than Ever
Chemical Bros. - Hey Boy, Hey Girl (Soulwax Remix)
Justice - Stress
Meat Beat Manifesto - Genocide

This is the first time I've been nervous to DJ in a long, long time. I'm probably going to go overboard with the swirly, ethereal and deathrock stuff early in the night and then transition to electro/industrial around 11 or so. Omg, I have so much stuff I want to play I'm actually kind of overwhelmed.



Also, slagkick, you were right, Cut City is really, really good. Not sure why I wasn't into it before.

It's weird. It's like there's some sort of deathrock revival going on. All these new bands are making music that sounds like it could have been played at any goth club in the 80's and not sound out of place and that actually sounds authentic, not like your average Joy Division imitation; Dragons, Veil Veil Vanish, Blacklist, Cut City, Hearts of Black Science and so on. It's actually pretty cool.

I just found out I will be DJing upstairs at Death Guild next Monday, October 5th, filling in for Sage who will be out of town! I'm MEGA excited about this. Death Guild, in a sense, is one of the reasons I began DJing. I loved how they were ostensibly a goth club, but were relatively unafraid and unpretentious enough to bust out some Prince or Madonna (and not JUST "Frozen") or even DMX. When Daniel, Starr and I started Compulsion, we were going after a Death Guild-y vibe, minus most of the hardcore swirly goth or stompy industrial. Sort of taking the darker pop or synthpop type of stuff that DG played and making an entire event out of it.

Anyway, if you're inclined to DG-ness, I better see you there on Monday!

Please join us Saturday, September 19th for our tribute to BAUHAUS! This night will highlight tunes from the legendary band who pioneered gothic music, and feature tracks from affiliated acts including Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, Peter Murphy, Daniel Ash, and other darkwave classics.

DJs:
Miz Margo (Death Guild, Dark Sparkle)
Sage (Death Guild, Dark Sparkle)
Orko (Dancing Ghosts)
Xander (Dancing Ghosts)

$3.50 well drinks until Midnight!
Free Cookies!
Beggars Banquet CD giveaways courtesy of Beggars Group!

Saturday, September 19th, 2009
9:30 PM to 2 AM
The Stud Bar
399 9th St. at Harrison
San Francisco
Free before 10 PM, $5 after
myspace.com/dancingghosts

And also ( The Return of BlackOut! )

SUPER excited omg.

Real update coming soon, I swear.

I've been a hermit lately. Anti-social and generally unfun. This might be changing. I'm feeling less hermit-y today for some reason. Maybe the meds are kicking in lol.

This will be the last Shark Attack for a long, long time. We will be honored to have you on the dance floor with us for one last bang!

Residents Starr, Braceface & J.Zero will be throwin' down hot tracks all night. As always, full bar, pool & $3 photobooth.

Karaoke madness in the back rooms.


Obviously, I won't be spinning, but I will be there. You should be there too!

On Friday, May 1st, Strangelove pays tribute to industrial pioneers SKINNY PUPPY. In the back room, DJs Tomas Diablo and Joe Radio (Death Guild) play the best of Skinny Puppy and their side-projects, as well as like-minded Dark Electro, Industrial, New Wave, and Goth. In the front room DJs Unit77 (Attackhaus) and Orko (Dancing Ghosts) assault your senses with classic goth and industrial. All the best music to feed your Addiction - we know you'll Dig It.


Drink Special: the Worlock

Details below...

STRANGELOVE: tribute to Skinny Puppy
Dark Electro - Industrial - New Wave - Goth
Friday, May 1st
with DJs TOMAS DIABLO
JOE RADIO (Death Guild)
UNIT77 (Attackhaus)
and ORKO (Dancing Ghosts)

at THE CAT CLUB (Folsom and 8th)
21+. 9PM-3AM . $6.
Free before 10
http://www.strangelovesf.com

And then on Saturday, Radio Clash!!!

Today and tonight have been awesome. For many reasons.

I am smiling and I am happy. This is rare.

I haven't clicked with two albums like I have with Metric's Fantasies and Pet Shop Boys' Yes in a very, very long time. They're kind of restoring my faith in pop music.

What's everyone else listening to?

It's going to be, in the parlance of the youth of today, quite an enjoyable get together which you will most certainly not want to miss (those kids today with their crazy newfangled slang!)

There will be awesome music expertly mixed by licensed DJ's (we don't really have licenses.) There will be a pool table for you to indulge your sex-on-a-pool-table fantasies (this will not actually be permitted.) There will be karaoke so you can dazzle the crowd with your stirring rendition of Cannibal Corpse's classic "Fucked With a Knife" (but you will have to do it a capella.)

Plus it's dahlia_noir's birthday! Come celebrate it with us! (And we all know what a huge Cannibal Corpse fan she is, so make sure she's in the room when you start to sing!)

So here is a CD-length collection of songs I've been loving lately for you to download and listen to at your leisure. Enjoy!

Metric - Stadium Love
Fischerspooner - Door Train Home
Little Boots - Stuck On Repeat
Trentemoller - Gush
ABBA - The Visitors (Crackin' Up)
Flight of the Conchords - Fashion Is Danger
Pet Shop Boys - Vulnerable
Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls (Vince Clarke Remix)
Bat For Lashes - Pearl's Dream
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Dull Life
Peter Bjorn & John - It Don't Move Me
Lily Allen - The Fear
La Roux - Quicksand
Grafton Primary - She Knows It
Royksopp - This Must Be It
Lady GaGa - I Like It Rough
The Legends - Closer
Phoenix - 1901

(And here's the whole thing in a zip file)

Yes ABBA. Shut it. It's a good song. It's, like, about alien abduction or something. Anyway, the rest is almost all new stuff. If you only download one of these, I HIGHLY recommend the Metric song. I've been completely addicted to it over the past few days. Get it now before it's used in a commercial, because I guarantee you that it will be.


What is everyone else listening to?

Thanks to southernpm, leolz, nebulocity1976 and Scott (does he have an LJ?) for coming out last night! You guys made the night doubleplusawesome!

All in all SA was a lot of fun. I personally had more fun than last time and feel like I definitely spun more SA-appropriate stuff (only tech-house, minimal and electro.) I have no idea what I played since lack of pen caused me not to keep a set list, but I'm pretty sure there was no Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp or Ladytron.

Tragically, I subjected unwitting strangers and the above mentioned LJ users to my singing via karaoke. I'm hoping none of them experience any adverse effects, but it was my first time and I have no idea what kind of damage my singing might cause. We'll see.

Can't wait for next month!

Oh, also, thanks to everyone who voted for beeblezep's Threadless design!

So beeblezep submitted a t-shirt design to Threadless and I, for one, think it's awesome. True, I'm a bit biased (I ♥ cows...oh, and Craig's, like, my friend or something) but come on, ya gotta admit, it's pretty adorable.

Your mission? VOTE FOR IT!!! Thanks!

Also, please refer to this this entry by josh_zero for a primer on how Shark Attack can help you cope with the encroaching apocalypse.

First up, on Friday, 0tterboy and I will be guest DJing at Strangelove where we will be spinning an all-female vocalist set. I have a fuckton of stuff to play and am really excited. I can finally play stuff from the new Portishead album! and it will totally kill the dancefloor! AWESOME! I may play stuff from the solo album by Karin from The Knife if I can find something on it that's actually semi-danceable. Anyway, here's the flier for the event;

( Strangelove 03-06-09 )

Then on Saturday, Dancing Ghosts will celebrate its 2-year anniversary with a tribute to the legendary London nightclub, widely accepted as ground zero of Goth and deathrock, The Batcave.

( Dancing Ghosts Presents a Tribute to the Batcave )

FINALLY, the Friday following that event I will be DJing at the next Shark Attack!

( SHARK ATTACK! 03-13-09 )

Radio Clash was fun. Good people, good music. I hope there's another one.

Dollhouse was meh, but has potential. It needs more Whedon-ness. The dialogue was just kinda..dialogue and didn't have that trademark Whedon wit. But yay! Amy Acker's in it! Why was I not made aware of this?

TONIGHT!!! I will be DJing here;



YOU SHOULD COME!!!

First, this weekend join dahlia_noir, dj_domg and melting_girl as they put on the first ever Radio Clash!

( Click for flier! )

The combination of the three of them equals out to what will probably be the best, most diverse selection of music you will hear in a club for a long time.

And then, on Saturday, I will be DJing at the Bloodwire show, djron1n's event that is happening at the Retox Lounge...

( Captain, there be fliers here )

And then, on March 7th, Dancing Ghosts celebrates its 2-year anniversary (!) with a tribute to The Batcave!

( I'm sure you can guess what lies beneath the cut... )

(HUGE thanks to haphazzard for his awesome flier designing skillz!)

Your presence is requested at one, but preferably all of these events. Thank you for your time.