So I'm slated to DJ at the Short Stop in Echo Park on 15 May, 2012 (this coming Tuesday unless you're pulling this from the archives). I'll be splitting the music slanging chores with Joe Skyward (Sky Cries Mary, The Posies, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jean Jacket Shotgun), Jimmy James and Greene Candy Machine. 

My favorite time period for music will always be the late 80s and early 90s. This was the era in which my high school and college years took place. I know I am not alone in loving this period of music. And I know that most people are sentimental about their high school and college years. These are the years when you really start making up your own mind about what you like. When you start buying your own music and making up your own mind about what albums to listen to and what shows to go see. I was of course very influenced by my friends during this period. But I also made my own informed decisions about what music that I wanted to listen to. I wasn't going to get obsessed with just what was on the radio and MTV. That is what I did throughout most of the 80s. I was searching for stuff that was different. Stuff that made me feel different. Or stuff that somehow made me feel normal. I got really into both shoegaze and dance music in the 90s. And two of the bands that I got most obsessed with both have reissues out in the last couple of weeks. Both My Bloody Valentine and Aphex Twin became a big part of my 90s and have had a huge influence on my life then and now. They are two of those bands that I can't really imagine my life without.

Selected Ambient Works Vol. II by Aphex Twin has finally gotten officially reissued on LP this week. Moby Ambient was probably the first album that got me obsessed with ambient music. It came out in 1993. Selected Ambient Works Vol. II came out in 1994. Two years after Selected Ambient Works 85-92. I got into both these albums eventually. But it was really Vol. II that got me obsessed with Aphex Twin. I am not really sure that I could have handled these albums in high school. But I was full on ready for them in my early 20s. I really couldn't even believe that music like this existed. I remember being so excited at the time to hear these albums for the first time. They really did change my life. They sort of became my thinking music. I spent countless hours listening to them on my headphones or listening to them before I went to sleep. Every time I listen to these early Aphex Twin recordings they take me right back to that point in my life. I can't even really describe the feeling. But I cherish these albums. I seriously have some crazy obsession with them. They helped me through some tough emotional times. So I sort of feel grateful to them. Like I owe them something in return.  The label 1972 has just reissued Vol. II  as a gatefold triple LP. And I hope that Selected Ambient Works 85-92 will soon get an official reissue as well. It looks fantastic and sounds just as amazing as it did the first time I listened to it. I only ever had this album on CD. So it was exciting to hear it on vinyl for the first time. This album is tragic and heartbreaking and beautiful and dreamy all at the same time. I can't get enough of it. Aphex Twin went into some different directions throughout the rest of the 90s. Some of it I liked and some of it I did not like. But these albums will always be close to my heart and near the top of my list of my favorite albums of all time.

                   
Since President Barack Obama made his historic endorsement of gay marriage yesterday, everyone has been weighing in on the hot topic from all angles. In an article posted a couple of hours ago under the heading "President Obama's influence on gay marriage will be tested," the LA Times wrote how "Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington state are expected to vote in November on allowing same-sex marriage. Proponents hope he'll help change minds; opponents say he won't."  A little earlier today I ran into one of Obama's proponents, Juba Kalamka - the talented East Bay based homo-hop /queer rap artist who is a longtime friend of Amoeba Music.

A decade ago Juba and his pioneering, now-defunct homo-hop crew Deep Dickollective appeared on the Independent Sounds Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. III, and three years ago Juba was one of the artists to perform at the Amoeba Music San Francisco in-store Pride '09 Celebration, which was also a DVD release party for the seminal "homohop" documentary Pick Up The Mic. I interviewed the artist/activist for the Amoeblog at that time.

 

A Bay Area summer dance tradition returns! SOUL SLAM SF 7: Michael Jackson & Prince rocks the Mezzanine in San Francisco on Saturday, June, 9th with DJ SPINNA spinning the best of both Michael Jackson (and his Royal Clan: Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, Jermaine, Rebbie, MJ covers, and more) and Prince (and all his Disciples: Sheila E, The Time, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal, Vanity 6, Apolonia, Morris Day, and more).

While it's not a "battle," DJ Spinna plays MJ and Prince back to back to see who reigns supreme on the dance floor. Whether you're a Michael Jackson fanatic or a Prince afficionado, your feet will be begging for mercy on the dancefloor during SOUL SLAM!

Every Friday from 2pm - 3pm, the Amoeba Request Show plays exactly what YOU want to hear!

The Amoeba Music Request Show on Mutiny Radio is like NO other show on the air as it's programmed by YOU! Show your love for Amoeba Music AND independent radio by making your requests.

Just come into Amoeba Music San Francisco and drop your requests in our submission box. (Requests received by Wednesday morning will be on Friday's show!)

You can also make requests through Twitter directly to Mutiny @AmoebaRequests! And on Facebook at Amoeba Request Show!

And remember to listen to Mutiny Radio every Friday from 2pm - 3pm!