One of the first things I learned as a baby DJ was that genres aren’t all that useful. On a very basic level, they can refer to stylistic conventions (dub) or specific movements (punk) or both (hip-hop), but then the terms get overused (post-punk) and are totally watered down (psychedelic) until they become a meme (goth) and, ultimately, meaningless (indie).
Genres define music for marketing or search engine purposes, but they don’t mean much for human ears. Whether or not songs fit together has less to do with metadata and more to do with qualities that are objective, subjective and pretty hard to describe. That’s all just a long way of saying that I really like when there’s no genre tagged to a gig, which is the case for Splash at The Mermaid, where I played last night. Here’s the set list, which includes new music from Wet Leg, Marie Davidson, Model/Actriz and clipping., classics from Max Romeo (RIP), The Smiths and The Delfonics, a holiday tune from I-F and more.
Peter Schilling – Major Tom (Coming Home)
Sister Nancy – Bam Bam
Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood
MIA – Paper Planes
Eve, Gwen Stefani – Let Me Blow Your Mind
Mary J. Blige – Family Affair
CSS – Hits Me Like a Rock
Elia y Elizabeth – Alegria
Los Bitchos – Talkie Talkie, Charlie Charlie
Sam Redmore – Tears
Primal Scream – Loaded
George Michael – Freedom ’90
Style Council – Shout to the Top
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – The Night
Belle and Sebastian – Legal Man
Franz Ferdinand – Black Eyelashes
Shocking Blue – Send Me a Postcard
Los Bravos – Black is Black
Amyl and the Sniffers – Me and the Girls
Wet Leg – Catch These Fists
Elastica – Da Da Da
Smashing Pumpkins – 1979
Pride Month Barbie – Dreams
Chromatics – Shadow (Maceo Plex Remix)
The Weeknd – Gasoline
Prince – When Doves Cry
Missy Elliot – Lose Control
Egyptian Lover – Egypt Egypt
Boy Harsher – Machina
Vicious Pink – Cccan’t You See
Magneto – Vuela Vuela
Ken Laszlo – Hey Hey Guy
Madonna – Hung Up
Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get Blue Monday Out of My Head
Confidence Man – Angry Girl
Gravy Train – Hella Nervous
Sonic Youth – Youth Against Fascism
Creation -Making Time
Dum Dum Girls – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
The Smiths – Girl Afraid
Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
English Beat – Mirror in the Bathroom
Fitz and the Tantrums – Out of My League
Kneecap – H.O.O.D. (2025 Mix)
Friolento – Bichota
Berlin – The Metro
The Bangles – Hazy Shade of Winter
Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam
Max Romeo – Chase the Devil
Madness – One Step Beyond
The Clash – Hitsville U.K.
The Spinners – It’s a Shame
James and Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet
Thee Heart Tones – No Longer Mine
Jeanette – Por Que Te Vas
A Tribe Called Quest – Can I Kick It
Fontaines D.C. – Starburster
Chumbawamba – Tubthumper
Millie – My Boy Lollipop
Bananarama – Really Sayin’ Something
Righeira – Vamos a la Playa
Stacey Q – Two of Hearts
I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass
Kittin and the Hacker – Frank Sinatra
Mareux – The Perfect Girl
Model/Actriz – Cinderella
The Rapture – House of Jealous Lovers
The Dare – Perfume
Fcukers – Bon Bon
Channel Tres – 6 am
Crystal Castles, Health – Crimewave
Clipping. – Mirrorshades Pt. 2
Mr. Flagio – Take a Chance
Steve Monite – Only You
The Dynamics – Seven Nation Army
Tame Impala – Is It True?
Sacred Skin – Call It Off
FKA Twigs, Koreless – Drums of Death
Marie Davidson – Demolition
Raf – Self Control
Blondie – Rapture
Esther Williams – Last Night Changed It All
Brenton Wood – Baby You Got It
Gladys Knight – Just Walk in My Shoes
Style Council – My Ever Changing Moods
Stevie Wonder – Uptight
The Delfonics – Didn’t I Blow Your Mind?
Bee Gees – To Love Somebody
Beatles – Something
Walker Brothers – Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram or Bluesky for more updates.
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