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Tag: Pulp

  • Best of 2025: Top 10 Bangers

    New wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno, Catch One Los Angeles Saturday March 8 (Photo: DJ Liz O.)
    You may have danced to some of these songs in the new wave vs. darkwave room at Klub Nocturno (Pic: Liz O.)

    After writing this list of the top 10 bangers for 2025, it’s clearer to me that the sound of the dance floor is changing. The songs that have been working well at the clubs are the ones that don’t follow the strict vibe code of Spotify playlists. Instead, we have “northern soul, but make it Britpop,” “post-punk by way of Piper at the Gates of Dawn” and “Irish grime for the moshpit.” None of those songs would make sense together on an algorithmically-generated playlist, but they all made it into the DJ sets I played at Underground just this past Friday. 

    At least amongst those who regularly leave the house, there are still people who want to dance to music that they don’t already know, that doesn’t hold nostalgic value and doesn’t quite fit into the narrow parameters of genre. That gives me a bit of hope in the midst of the new AI era of music that has been thrust upon us. 

    All of the songs here are ranked by how I’ve seen crowds respond to them at my own gigs, primarily at Underground, where I’m DJing on New Year’s Eve, and/or in the darkwave room at Nocturno, where I’ll be playing on December 20. The only “metrics” I’ve used here are eyeballing the size of the crowd and the enthusiasm of their dancing. TBH, enthusiasm is more important than size, so if there are fewer people dancing, but they’re screaming out every word of the song, that matters. Anyhow, what I’m getting at is that I trust my ears and eyes more than any music or social media platform that is designed to be gamed.

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  • Kneecap, Pulp, Confidence Man and More of What You Heard at Underground on 12/05/25

    Kneecap "H.O.O.D." (2025 Remix) cover
    Frankly, I’m impressed by how many of you know all the words to “H.O.O.D.”

    Thank you to everyone who made it out to Underground last night and for all the birthday wishes. I’ve always been pretty low maintenance about birthdays just because mine competes with Christmas parties (and competed with finals back when I was in school). So, I learned the best thing to do is book a DJ gig the weekend of my birthday and say, “I’m playing here, if you want to come by and say hi.” I’m always pleasantly surprised by who I see. Anyhow, outside of this playlist and one really short and shaky video for the ‘gram, I don’t have much documentation, so you’ll just have to trust me when I saw it was a vibe. 

    As usual, the set list is below. Songs released in 2025 are in bold and link back to other references to the band on Beatique. And, before I sign off, tickets for New Year’s Eve at Club Underground are already available on Dice and Eventbrite. Two floors of indie, Britpop, darkwave, post-punk dancing all night. Get your tickets asap. 

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  • New Saint Etienne and Everything Else You Heard at Underground on 11/14/25

    Saint Etienne International album cover
    Cover of International, the final album from Saint Etienne

    Had been meaning to get “Save It for a Rainy Day,” from the latest Saint Etienne album, into my club sets for a good minute. It was sort of appropriate that the first time I played it out was at Underground last night, on account of the rain and all. The whole album, International, is fantastic. It’s also Saint Etienne’s final album, so do pick it up when you have a chance. 

    I forgot to take pics. It’s okay, we can use our imagination. Shout out to the handful of people who were on the dance floor for nearly the entire night and to the Kneecap fans who know all the words to “H.O.O.D.” I was impressed. Set list is below. The new-ish stuff is in bold and links to other mentions of the artists on this site. 

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  • “Les Yeux de Laura” and More of What You Heard at Salt Box Sessions on 10/19/25

    Vinyl 45 single for "Les Yeux de Laura" by Gouts de Luxe
    The 45 for “Les Yeux de Laura” by Goûts de Luxe

    It was an ordinary Sunday in Los Angeles. I heard one driver blasting Zapp while walking from the Metro station to Salt Box Records, another blasting Debbie Deb as I walked back. Second Street was packed with teenagers dressed in goth garb and anime gear and indie sleaze vintage with Labubus hanging off their bags. 

    Salt Box Sessions was a blast. Did some digging through the vinyl bins. The Miracles 45 that I got made it into the set. I went more soul than disco in the set, but the song that got the biggest reaction was “Les Yeux de Laura” by Goût de Luxe. It really impressed a French guy, who took a photo of it. I don’t know anything about the band or the song and the only reason why I know the title means “The Eyes of Laura” is because I Googled it and the movie The Eyes of Laura Mars (which is amazing, see it, if you haven’t) was one of the results. It is, however, a 45 that I found in the bins at Salt Box not too long ago. 

    Anyhow, here’s the set list. 

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  • “My Favourite for a Long Time”: Fontaines D.C. and Everything Else You Heard at Underground 10/10/25

    Fontaines D.C. Romance Album cover

    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. 

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  • Beatique Mix, Sept. 2025 with Music from Gorillaz, Bob Vylan, Heaven 17 and more

    Heaven 17 "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" 45 RPM vinyl single (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    Heaven 17 “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”

    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. 

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  • Confidence Man and Jade “Gossip” + Everything Else You Heard at Club Underground on Friday, August 29

    Cover of "Gossip," single by Confidence Man with Jade

    IDK how much I should explain here, but I’m just going to assume that we don’t have the same timeline and don’t hear all the same music in our scrolls. Confidence Man is an Australian dance-pop group with a weirdo KLF sensibility. If you go to my DJ gigs, you’ve probably heard “Angry Girl” many, many times, often with The Rapture “House of Jealous Lovers.” Jade Thirlwall is a British singer who I don’t really know much about outside of the Wikipedia entry I read. Last month, they released a song called “Gossip” that’s fire. It’s very Basement Jaxx-meets-Princess Superstar. I finally got around to playing it last week at Underground and it did pretty well. This week, it did even better.

    Most of the new tunes turned up early in the set: Alison Goldfrapp “Find Xanadu,” Pulp “Got to Have Love,” Ora the Molecule “Nobody Cares,” etc. I don’t even know what really constitutes “new” anymore, but we’ll save that rant for another day. Thanks to Larry G. for having me play Underground last night and thanks to everyone who hit the dance floor, especially those of you who stuck it out until the end of “My Girls.” Set list is below.

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  • Classic Pulp and Northern Soul Meet on “Got to Have Love” + More. on New Album

    Pulp More. vinyl photo by Liz Ohanesian taken at Moldy Toes Records in San Clemente, CA
    Found Pulp’s new album, More., on vinyl at Moldy Toes Records in San Clemente

    Every time I hear “Got to Have Love,” I have to stop what I’m doing and dance. The second single from More., the first new full-length Pulp album in 24 years, is a northern soul-style stomper. Like the Four Seasons songs “The Night,” which Pulp covered many years ago, and “Beggin’” it has a beat that pushes you to dance harder and faster, to kick and spin and drop to the ground. And if the song itself doesn’t quite compel you to do all these things, the video, comprised of footage from the legendary U.K. club Wigan Casino, will. By the song’s end, you should feel some kind of relief. Maybe the weight of the world has lifted. Maybe you’re just overjoyed that you got through the song without pulling a muscle. 

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  • Pulp x Underground Nite is September 13 (Plus, My Set List from Last Night)

    Pulp x Underground Nite Grand Star Jazz Club Chinatown Los Angeles September 13, 2024

    Friday, September 13, is Pulp x Underground Nite at Grand Star Jazz Club in Chinatown. Both floors of the venue will be open with Larry G., Jesse B and me (Liz O.) on the controllers. Dance to all your favorite Pulp jams before they play the Palladium and Hollywood Forever, plus, the Underground mix of post-punk, new wave, indie, darkwave, synthpop and more. Tickets are available now via Dice or Eventbrite. The Grand Star is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown’s Central Plaza. Party starts at 9:30 p.m. and it’s 21+.

    I played a last minute set at Underground last night from open to close. It was a fun night in spite of the hideous heat wave that struck L.A. this week. Thanks to everyone who came out and hit the dance floor. Set list is below. 

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