street science: 2011 recap

December 13, 2011

WHAT A GLORIOUS YEAR OF MUSIC!

i was blessed this year to return to a passion of community, non-commercial radio on washington heights free radio. not only has it been a great way to share my favorite “super-under” music with the people i love (and random people on the internet), but i’ve also been able to share the music of some of my favorite local djs. of the 23 shows i did this year, i wanted to highlight these 6 for one reason or another, but i am incredibly happy to share the whole archive. click on the linked titles to see the playlists.

4/13 – a very based show w/raythedestroyer ゲット [download]

this was me rediscovering a passion for rap music that i hadn’t felt since the early 2000s. the continued dominance of ofwgkta, lil b, and the emergence clams casino, spaceghostpurrp, frank ocean, the weeknd, shabazz palaces, even kreayshawn (i gave her the college try) have reinvigorated hip hop and brought it to new, thoughtful, based, complex levels. i feel squeamish being self-congratulatory, but i remember many of these acts being unknown or barely known at this point, so its cool to listen back and remember the joy of discovery. this is also the first show that i felt comfortable on the mic with ray by my side. our rapport is the best. i wish we had a talk show.

4/27 – tijuana swag jamz ゲット [download]

this was a precursor for my article on los macuanos for cluster mag. i was, and still am, fascinated by ruidoson, crunk cumbia, and other sounds of “alt cumbia”. i find it frustrating when bands and djs find themselves clutching to traditionalism and sampling of folk sounds while also poo-pooing new, experimental, indie-leaning interpretations, especially when the music is really, really good. i had thought that street science was going to be much more latin-american oriented than it ended up being, so i am happy that i took this rare opportunity to express my love for new (mostly) mexican music.

5/11 – beachside oversaturation ゲット [download]

this is what 2011 felt like to me. it felt hazy, warped, filtered, and emotional. i think this is street science’s sound.

7/20 – radiation therapy w/venus x ゲット [download]

okay. in short, i started going to ghe20 g0th1k summer 2010 and was a fan from the start, but i didn’t meet venus until after the nonsense with diplo. i went up to her when she performed at que bajo in april to show her love and found her to be supportive, inspirational, but more than anything sweet. sometimes having a hero also be a friend can be amazing and that’s what i think our show together was. one of the criticisms of our show i’ve heard is that we giggled too much. that is too bad, because radio should be fun and pardon me for being overwhelmed by the delight of a young, half-dominican/half-ecuadorian woman and a young, half-black/half-ecuadorian woman having an open, unfiltered dialogue about music, culture and politics. DREAMS DO COME TRUE. also, her sets were dope as shit. totally worth a close listen.

8/17 – flatbush fiyah w/dj rainstick ゲット [download]

i had the most fun during this show. tony really brought a community/pirate radio vibe to his set which really elevated street science. his enthusiasm is infectious, as are his sets. i have to admit that the embedded track is 10mins shorter than the link on the whfr site, because there were some technical difficulties in the beginning, but this is way better for your ears.

12/7 – drizzly ゲット [download]

um. this is the mixtape i made for you. yes, you. hope you like it. sorry the playlist is a bit wonky, but imagine it as the back of a cassette tape and it’ll make more sense.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY GUESTS THIS YEAR. YOU WERE ALL SO SPECIAL AND REALLY BLESSED ME WITH YOUR VISITS: