I didn’t take pics at Underground last night, so here’s one of Ora the Molecule at El Cid back in May. (Pic: Liz O.)
Someone asked about a song I played at Club Underground last night and I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, but it was probably “Nobody Cares” by Ora the Molecule, since it was the only new song in that chunk of time. Also, people have asked about it elsewhere recently. It’s my favorite song on, Dance Therapy, the latest album from Ora the Molecule (who, for those reading in L.A. on Saturday, is playing at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s costume ball tonight) and it’s been doing really well on the dance floor. I’m guessing it’s because the song is true— “Oh, you’re feeling weird?/ Well, guess what/Nobody cares.”
Anyhow, I played the second half of the night and the set list is below. The 2025 releases are in bold and link back to other mentions on this lil’ blog. Don’t forget to snag yourself a ticket or two or more for Club Underground’s Halloween Party.
The last song at Underground last night was “Favourite” by Fontaines D.C. and, when I saw people singing along, I thought finally. Romance has been out for over a year now. It was my favorite album of 2024. It was a lot of people’s favorite album of last year. Both Larry and I have been playing multiple tracks off the album since it came out, and we were both playing Fontaines D.C. before Romance, but it wasn’t until this past summer that I really started to see the band hit with the indie club crowd here in L.A. Back in the pre-algorithm days, that would have been really unusual, but now it’s kind of normal. A band can meet all the metrics by which it would be considered successful, like award nominations and sold-out shows, and people still don’t know who they are because their “personalized” feeds are really just regurgitating nostalgia content based on basic demographic info and passive likes, served with a dollop of hot takes on Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter to make you feel like you know what’s happening in the world.
What I’m saying is that the internet is making us sad and uncool, so go out to a real club and dance to the music that real people put together into sets that would baffle Spotify. Dance to the new stuff. If you don’t know it this week, you’ll know it next week.
Anyhow, here’s last night’s set list, which includes new music The New Eves, Gorillaz (with Sparks), Alice Glass and more, plus a few oldies that I haven’t played in a really long time, like “Cupid Boy” from Kylie Minogue’s best album, the Scissor Sisters/Mylo mashup and probably some other tunes. All 2025 releases are in bold and link back to other references here on the blog.
Oh, before we get to the set list, be sure to pick up tickets for Halloween at Club Underground. Both floors of Grand Star Jazz Club will be open on Friday, October 31, and there will be a costume contest.
The 110 freeway in L.A. as seen from a Metro J Line stop (Pic: Liz O.)
It’s time for another Beatique Mix. The April 2025 edition of this mix series includes new music from Mark Lane, Night Ritualz, Marie Davidson, Model/Actriz, The Horrors, French Police and more. It also includes a few classic cuts from the likes of Kittin and the Hacker, Joy Division and others.
One thing that I want to stress is that these aren’t club mixes, even if they partially sound very clubby. The Beatique Mix series is a reflection of the music that’s been in my head for the past month, regardless of genre or vibe or whatever. For the April mix, specifically, I had transportation in mind, which explains the first three songs, as well as the last one. The photo for this mix is of the 110 freeway as seen from an L.A. Metro J Line stop.
If you want to hear my club sets, then you have to go to the gigs. Click this link to see where I’m playing next.
