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  • A Gorillaz Earworm + More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 1/30/26

    Cover of Gorillaz The Mountain
    “The Happy Dictator” is the first single from The Mountain, by Gorillaz, out on February 27, 2026

    “The Happy Dictator” is an earworm. On the few occasions that I’ve been able to play the Gorillaz song at a club, I’ve woken up the following day with it stuck in my head. This morning is no different. I played it early at Underground last night and now it’s lodged in my brain, with Damon Albarn and Russell Mael trading off vocals on a loop. 

    I don’t plan sets at all. I just drop 24+ hours of music on my laptop, sort it by BPM and then figure it all out as the night goes on. So, it’s only in hindsight that I can say that last night’s set at Underground was probably influenced by being at the anti-ICE protest/march in downtown Los Angeles earlier in the day. “The Happy Dictator,” “Police on My Back,” (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thing,” “Shout to the Top,” “Tubthumping,” blah blah blah. Whatever is stuck in my head makes it into the set and then the set gets stuck in my head. That’s a DJ brain for you. 

    Anyhow, thanks to those of you who made it out to Underground last night. It was a blast as always. See you next Friday for Gorillaz x Daft Punk night! Set list is below. New-ish songs link back to previous mentions here. 

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  • Sextile, Pixel Grip + More of What You Heard at Synthwaves 1/23/26

    Synthwaves Grand Star Jazz Club January 23, 2026
    View from the DJ booth at Synthwaves, 1/23/26

    Last night was Club Underground x Synthwaves at the Grand Star. I played the second half of the night in the Synthwaves room, upstairs. Crowd was great, as always. I was happy to get to work in some Italo disco at the end of the night and to close with “Cherry” by Chromatics, which I don’t play out all that often. For those of you who were there, thanks for dancing! Set list is below. New-ish stuff, basically 2025 releases, link back to other mentions here on Beatique. 

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  • Robbie Williams on “Morrissey” and Britpop + More New Music

    Robbie Williams Britpop album cover

    I’m trying to catch up on new releases, so the following reviews are for music that came out in January, but not necessarily today and, not everything released on January 23, 2026 appears in this post. This week’s batch of reviews includes Robbie Williams Britpop, The Cribs Selling a Vibe, Maria Somerville Luster (Remixes) and Draag Miracle Drug. Keep reading for the details.

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  • Club Underground x Synthwaves + More Happening in L.A. 1/22-1/28/26

    View from the stage upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Club Underground's New Year's Eve Party 2025/26 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    I’ll be playing darkwave and modern post-punk upstairs at Grand Star Jazz Club for Underground x Synthwaves on Friday, January 23 (Pic: Liz O.)

    This Friday, January 23, Underground and Synthwaves are back with a two-room party at Grand Star Jazz Club. I’ll be in the Synthwaves room, which is upstairs, playing darkwave and post-punk, think along the lines of Boy Harsher, Molchat Doma, French Police, etc.  Tickets are available now and you should snap yours up because it’s basically two clubs for one very reasonable cover price. Head over to Dice or Eventbrite to do just that. We’re playing until 2 a.m., so if you already going to Austra at the Roxy or Dan Deacon at Teragram, stop by after the show to hit the dance floor. 

    Keep reading for my recommendations for the rest of this weekend and early next week. 

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  • How I Learned to Like Santa Monica Pier

    Santa Monica Pier (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    Santa Monica Pier, January 2026 (Pic: Liz O.)

    We’re walking back to the Metro station from the Santa Monica Pier and a news broadcast catches my ear. “A patent for AirPods that can read your brainwaves,” the voice says. I’m pretty sure that’s an old story, but it still prompts me to look to the side, where I see a cell phone strapped to a large speaker that’s propped up in a wheelchair. Standing next to the wheelchair is the person who I assume wants us all to know that Big Tech is out to read our minds. I think there’s a manifesto printed on the back of the person’s t-shirt, but I’m too far away to read it. 

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  • Chromatics, Chumbawamba + More of What You Heard at Club Underground 1/16/26

    club underground grand star jazz club january 16 2026 (photo: Liz O.)
    View from the DJ booth (Pic: Liz O.)

    Played the second half of the night in the Underground room for Club Underground x Synthwaves last night. Fantastic crowd, as always. Got in a nod to David Lynch with a remix of Chromatics’ song “Shadow.” Didn’t play anything extremely new, but did get in some of last year’s faves, like Sextile “Rearrange” and Confidence Man and Jade “Gossip.” Dropped in “Tubthumping” near the end for a reason. Heed the wisdom of Chumbawamba, friends. Set list is below. New-ish stuff links back to other mentions on this blog.

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  • Woo Reissues Cult Favorite Debut, ‘Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong’

    Woo Mark and Clive Ives (photo courtesy of Woo)
    Photo courtesy of Woo

    Around the junction of the 1970s and 1980s, brothers Clive and Mark Ives met up about three times a week to experiment with synthesizers. “We were having a real journey working with each other,” Clive recalls on a video call from his home in Brighton, England. “He had taken control of the tape recorders and I had the synthesizers and we would sit opposite each other and we were able to produce hundreds of little bits of music.”

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  • Xiu Xiu’s Creepy Covers Album + More New Releases

    Xiu Xiu Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 album cover
    Xiu Xiu Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1

    There aren’t enough hours in the day to listen to all of this week’s new releases, but I managed to sit down with a few of them, including Xiu Xiu’s new cover album, Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1, Sleaford Mods The Demise of Planet X, Sylvia Black Shadowtime and Tigra and SPNCR Black Rice. Scroll down for the reviews. 

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  • David Lynch Birthday Screenings + More Happening in L.A. 1/15-1/21/26

    Twin Peaks title card

    There are a lot of David Lynch happenings across Los Angeles this month, but the calendar for this weekend and early next week are particularly packed, given that Friday, January 16, marks the first anniversary of the beloved director’s death and Tuesday, January 20, would have been his 80th birthday. With that in mind, the first section of this week’s event recommendations is all David Lynch-related and includes everything I could find that still has tickets available. After that, you’ll find more movie screenings, concerts and club nights happening between Thursday, January 15 and Wednesday, January 21. Amongst them: Shannon Shaw live, Los Angeles Record Fair, a John Carpenter double feature and a Selena museum exhibition. Keep reading for the details.

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