Over the weekend, I realized that it’s been a few months since I made a mix, so this is a quick set with some dance tunes and some rock tunes. It’s mostly new music, but I threw in a couple oldies that fit my mood. There’s no real adherence to genre because that’s not how I listen to music at home. All of the artist names on the set list below link to where they’ve been previously mentioned on Beatique.
(more…)The right record will always find you at the right time. Take last Saturday afternoon as an example. I was in Little Tokyo, flipping through 45s at Salt Box and just happened to come across “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” the 1981 single from Heaven 17. Did I have this? Did it matter? Even if I did have a copy, I could use another one because this nearly 45-year-old song is the jam for right now. Or, rather, it should be the jam for right now.
I didn’t even have to listen to the song for the earworm to bury itself in my brain. “Have you heard it on the news?” it goes, “About this fascist groove thang.”
(more…)For the Cure fans reading this, The Show of the Lost World opens in multiple theaters in Los Angeles on Thursday, December 11. If news of this has escaped your timeline, The Show of the Lost World is the concert film based on the band’s 2024 performance in London, which is the only time they played their fantastic latest album, Songs of a Lost World, in full. It’s only in theaters for a few days, so get tickets while you can.
My other top recommendation for this weekend is the Depeche Mode Convention, which is happening at Avalon on Sunday, December 14. It’s really the most fun Depeche Mode fan party I’ve attended. There are two rooms with DJs, plus karaoke and giveaways throughout the night. This year Devotional: The Depeche Mode Experience and Faith and Devotion will be playing live and, of course, Richard Blade is the night’s host. A bonus: It’s an all ages event and runs from 6 p.m. until midnight. Tickets are available online, at various L.A.-area stores or at the box office on the day of the event.
As for the rest of the weekend and early next week, keep reading for more recommendations.
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Olya Sonica has a new single, “You Only Live Forever (YOLF)” out now and shows in the U.K. next week, so, to celebrate, she put together a special Britpop-themed show last night at Hotel Ziggy. Izzy Outerspace opened. Olya played a full set with her new single and then brought together a group of friends for a set of Britpop covers with various vocalists, including Blur “Song 2,” Pulp “Disco 2000,” The Verve “Bittersweet” and multiple Oasis songs. They finished with a singalong of “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” of course.
Oh, yeah, and I DJed too. Dug through my Britpop stash and managed to pull out some tunes that I haven’t played in a long time. Some I haven’t played in a really long time, like maybe not since the Bang! days. Check out the set list below and maybe I’ll see you tonight at Club Underground’s Pulp Party.
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If New Wave vs. Darkwave were a real battle, IDK who would have won. Last night, in the Loft at Catch One, where I DJed all night for Klub Nocturno’s fundraiser for those impacted by the recent wildfires, new wave was visibly the clear winner. Nothing packed the floor like the ‘80s jams last night. However, the requests were overwhelmingly for the darkwave bangers and the groups nearest to the DJ booth, some of whom were dancing virtually the entire night, definitely were into Boy Harsher, French Police, Molchat Doma, etc. , so darkwave was also a winner.
Anyhow, here’s the set list from the New Wave vs. Darkwave room at Klub Nocturno on January 17, 2025. The only new song— as in the first time I’ve played it out— in the set is “God Whispers” by Soft Vein, whose latest album, Through Blinds, came out on Friday. Check it out if you’re into dark, EBM-influenced synthpop, which you probably are if you’re reading this post.
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Maybe the best place to start talking about Kissing Luck Goodbye is at the end of the latest album from ADULT. Just when you think “Destroyers” is done, an electronic swoosh gives way to what sounds like traffic noise. Then, Nicola Kuperus’ voice reappears, singing, “We pay the price for those in power/Exploiting you, exploiting me/Consuming you, consuming me.”
I’ve had an advance copy of Kissing Luck Goodbye for a good minute and have now listened to it enough times to be somewhat haunted by the album’s finale. Listening to “Destroyers,” I think about how we’re literally paying the price for those in power every time we go to a store or restaurant and notice how things are ever-so-slightly more expensive than they were the week prior. We are being exploited, by politicians, by Big Tech, by virtually every corporate entity. We know this and, yet, it seems like there’s no way to stop it.
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“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 Thang,” “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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“Where do you get your news?” is a subject that comes a lot in IRL conversations with friends and I think it’s a very important, continuing chat we should all be having. For a lot of reasons that basically boil down to media monopolies, billionaires and private equity, we can’t simply rely on our local papers, TV channels and radio stations. While it seems like social media is the most convenient way to stay in the loop, we can’t trust the algorithm to send us the relevant, and truthful, news that we need.
So, I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of the news outlets I regularly read and watch. It’s broken down into categories. If you find this at all useful, please let me know and definitely feel free to share this with your pals.
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For the first of Beatique’s Best of 2025 lists, I wanted to highlight political songs for a very specific reason. Politics aren’t brand safe. You’ll risk alienating the people who disagree with you. You might scare off the companies who would otherwise want to work with you. Blah blah blah. But, at a certain point, if you’re someone with a platform, be it music, art, film or writing, you will need to ask yourself, “Am I a brand? Or am I a human being who actually gives a shit about what’s happening in the world?” Hopefully, the latter is the answer.
Particularly in this moment, we need artists who are willing to be outspoken. For every semi-anonymous person (or bot) chiding you to “stick to the music,” there will be many more motivated to say, I’m against this too. Some might go to a protest, or write their local representatives or get involved with activist group. Maybe music can’t change minds, but it can prompt the quieter people to raise their voice. And, maybe, years from now, kids listening to the 2025 throwbacks will hear that there were people against genocide and fascism and exploiting workers and everything else that’s coming to a head right now. That said, much respect to the eleven artists on this list. They are by no means the only people making political music in 2025, but they made the songs that have been in my personal rotation. In keeping with an egalitarian theme, this list is not ranked.
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I’ve had Cerrone’s new version of “Supernature,” with Christine and the Queens on vocals, on my laptop since it came out last summer, but I’ve only played it out once before tonight. IDK why as it’s a really good, fresh version of a disco classic. Anyhow, I played it for the second time tonight because it was Halloween and Underground was packed and it seemed like the best opportunity to give it another spin. It did really well.
Anyhow, I’m writing this at three in the morning because, even though I’m exhausted, I can’t get to sleep yet. Halloween was a vibe, even if I was too lazy to get together a costume and grabbed my husband’s old mask and army jacket and went as a human fly. The mask lasted about an hour before I started sweating and came to the realization that I do actually need to wear my glasses. None of that matters. What matters was that the crowd was good and there are more people dancing to “Highway Man” from The New Eves and Confidence Man’s collab with Jade, “Gossip,” is a legit dance floor hit now. Set list is below. All 2025 releases are in bold and link back to previous posts where they appear.
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