Select Five

We made it through another challenging year and we couldn't be happier! From forced career changes to grieving the death of a pet, 2023 was a real struggle. But now that it's mostly in the rear view mirror, we can look back fondly at some of the musical highlights that kept us afloat.

Brian's Selections:

5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Nadja"

4. El Michaels Affair + Black Thought - "The Weather"

3. The Beatles - "For No One"

2. Muddy Waters - "She’s Alright"

1. De La Soul - "Trying People"

Kate's Selections:

5. Electric Light Orchestra - "Mr. Blue Sky"

4. Sylvan Esso - "Ferris Wheel"

3. Olivia Rodrigo - "bad idea right?"

2. L’Imperatrice - "Fou"

1. Kate & GAHR (aka, Daniel Gahr) - "Untitled07"

Pam's Selections:

5. De La Soul - "Simply"

4. Buscrates - Control Center (album)

3. Sessa - "Sereia Sentimental"

2. Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan (book) by Alex Pappademas & Joan Lemay + "My Old School" (song)

1. Antonio Carlos Jobim - "Aguas de Março (Waters of March)"

Listen to our 2023 Year Ender companion playlist, including all of the songs we discussed + others we loved this year Subscribe to The Creative Commonwealth Substack

How do you turn a song into a scent? And what does music teach us about scent-making and its history? We take a deep dive into these questions with Saskia Wilson-Brown, whose mission is to disrupt, decolonize, and democratize perfumery. Saskia, who is Bay Area-bred, is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles, a nonprofit art studio that makes perfumery accessible to all. Listen as she takes us on an aromatic journey through five songs that relate to fragrance-making and its global origins, modern scent practies, and the complex world of naturals versus synthetics.

Saskia's Selections:

1.) Omar Souleyman- "Warni Warni"

2.) Charles Trenet - "La Mer"

3.) MC Solaar - "Nouveau Western"

4.) Otis Redding - "Cigarettes and Coffee"

5.) Mort Garson - “Symphony for a Spider Plant"/Mother Earth's Plantasia

For further listening, check out Saskia's playlist.

Check out Saskia's podcast, Perfume On The Radio

It's time to deepen your disco knowledge with Patrick Lotilla, aka DJ Patrick. As a resident DJ at Bar Part Time in San Francisco, a key team member of Bar Shiru, where he curates records a couple of nights a week, and a co-founder of the Brouhaha party series that brought world class DJ talent to the Bay Area, Patrick is a big presence in the local nightlife scene. And his taste in dance music is vast and eclectic. In this episode we focus on five of his favorite rare grooves from the late 70s to early 80s. Hear Patrick talk about some of his producer/DJ heros, the threads between Philly Soul, disco & house music, and the importance of weaving humor and fun into his sets.

Editor’s Note: In the episode introduction, Pam states that Brouhaha has been around “for the past 10 years.” It actually ran from 2013 - 2018. Apologies for this error!

DJ Patrick's Selections:

1.) The Boyfriends – Sumayaw Sumonod (1978)

2.) Bumblebee Unlimited – Everybody Dance (1977)

3.) Nightlife Unlimited – Peaches & Prunes (Ron Hardy Edit) (1980)

4.) Melita – I Love Music (1984)

5.) Bad Banana – Dancing In San Francisco (1982)

Listen to those selections & more, curated by Patrick here

Subscribe to Patrick's Bop 40 YouTube channel where he shares rips of rare dance music from his collection

Stream Patrick's DJ sets on Soundcloud

Follow him on Instagram @pqtrjk

OPM, an acronym for Original Pilipino Music or Original Pinoy Music, is a term once used to describe pop ballads and other popular music styles originating from the Philippines starting in the late '70s. Since then, OPM has become a catchall phrase for music of any genre produced by Filipinos from around the world. And it's a subject Eduardo Daza Taylor IV (aka, ET IV) knows a lot about, as a Fil-Am DJ and visual artist whose creativity is often fueled by the sights and sounds from the Philippines and the diasporas. Eduardo is the founder of ASTIG Sound, an independent label and collective that hosts events and releases celebrating vintage and current OPM. He also DJs for Ruby Ibarra and the Balikbayans, and he's a key crew member of The Stacks record shop in Hayward. Listen to Eduardo take us through the past, present and future of OPM in five songs that hold special meaning for him.

ET IV's Selections:

1. My Sweet Lord - The Grandells

2. Unforgettable Love - Pilita Corrales

3. Balikbayan - Dale Adriatico

4. Minamahal Kita - Ngaw

5. Manila - Jason Dhakal

Dig these some custom OPM mixtapes from ET IV & ASTIG Sound:

ISIP by ET IV

A Tribute to OPM

You asked, we answered -- so in honor of Valentine's Day we've got nothing but silly love songs for all your love problems! Inspired by the call-in radio shows of her youth in Barbados, Chef Sarah Kirnon serves up an eclectic stew of R&B and Brit new wave pop classics from the '70s and '80s as dedications to the listeners who submitted questions about their love lives. And since we got more than five questions, this episode contains some BONUS tracks!

Sarah's Selections:

1. One Hundred Ways - James Ingram/Quincy Jones (1981)

2. How Deep Is Your Love - The Bee Gees (1977)

3. Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club (1982)

4. Love Plus One - Haircut 100 (1982)

5. It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones (1965)

BONUS TRACKS:

6. Simply Beautiful - Al Green (1972)

7. Here We Go - Minnie Riperton (1980)

8. Found A Cure - Ashford & Simpson (1979)

Listen to Sarah's complete Valentine's Day playlist [links forthcoming]

Photo by: Fhay Arceo

Put on your coziest pajamas and kick back with this episode featuring Wired Magazine Senior Editor Michael Calore, who shares five optimum snoozytime songs from his vast library of sleep music. From gentle jazz and folk tunes, to album-length single track compositions for deep relaxation, these songs are not only mellow enough to bring on easy sleep, but also enhance the sleep you get because they offer some unique and imaginative stimulation.

Michael's Selections:

1. Reflection - Brian Eno (2017)

2. Dream 11 (Whisper Music) - Max Richter's Sleep (2015)

3. Bamboo Rainsticks - Billy Martin (2004)

4. Into the Light - Marisa Anderson (2016)

5. Ruby, My Dear - Thelonius Monk (1959)

Follow Michael on Twitter or Instagram @snackfight

Follow North American Scum on Instagram to find out when they're playing next: @northamericanscumsf Check out his musical projects on Bandcamp: Twin Dimensions, Solar Keys

Oakland-based, Brooklyn-bred Fresh Daily (Mike Richardson) hunkers down with Pam at "Select Five Studios"—AKA, Bar Shiru—to talk about coming up as a young rapper in New York City, finding community in Oakland, and the complicated work of crafting clever rhyme schemes. Listen to Fresh get nerdy about the rap songs that informed his writing process, and the rap songs he makes!

Photo courtesy of Robert Cohen

Fresh's Selections:

1. Eminem feat. Royce da 5'9 - Bad Meets Evil (1999)

2. Jay-Z - Squeeze First (2000)

3. Madvillain - Meatgrinder (2004)

4. Headwear Discount - Fresh Daily (2022)

5. Team Natural - Fresh Daily (2021)

Need to hear more Fresh Daily? Check out his Bandcamp

Need some Fresh duds? Shop his Very Relaxed art & clothing brand

Wanna vibe with beatmakers? Follow the Beathaus IG to find out about the next event

Sarah Mujahid⁠—aka DJ Mujie⁠—has been gigging at clubs and day parties across the Bay for eight years, and is currently a resident DJ in the Afrobeats Oakland crew. Though she calls Oakland home, Mujie is an Ann Arbor, Michigan native who has a deep reverence for the music of her home state⁠—a wellspring of world-shaping sounds, from Motown to techno. Find out which influential artists from the Mitten spurred Mujie's passion for DJing, production, and a life of musical expression.

Mujie's Selections:

1. Stevie Wonder - As (1976)

2. What's Goin' On? - Marvin Gaye (1971)

3. Thelonius - Slum Village (2000)

4. More Than A Woman - Aaliyah (2001)

5. Godzilla Beat - DJ Godfather

Listen to a full playlist of Mujie's Michigan selects: https://tinyurl.com/25v4bdmu

Follow @djmujie on Instagram to find out when she's playing next

Check out her mixes on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/djmujie/tracks