john the third on your iPod

if you're as, um, not-tech-savvy as me, you've been wondering how a person could get mixes from the blog on to their iPod. me too. good news people, i figured it out!
here's how:
1. click on the subscribe link on the right side of this page
2. click "subscribe with iTunes" {make sure iTunes is running on your computer box}
3. obscure classics will start downloading, when its finished, you can find it in "podcasts"
4. drag it to your iPod aaaaaaand... your done.
5. new mixes will somehow magically appear in iTunes when i post them!

under the april skies

april's got me in a spring-feverish daydreamstate. my playlist looks something like this:

the jesus & mary chain – something’s wrong

new order – ceremony

lowlife – big fat funky whale

modern english - machines

the psychedelic furs – heartbreak beat

the the – uncertain smile

the cure – inbetween days

new order – dreams never end

clan of xymox – no words

crispy ambulance – concorde square [radio session]

wire – the 15^th

ultra vivid scene – lightning

the jesus & mary chain - april skies

listen here:

something to keep you busy

while i work on my next mix for you.
i'm not usually into music videos, i like to dream up my own visuals. but this one... i like this one. this is what i imagined they looked like before i ever saw them

Happy Hour set, Saturday, April 12th

Bartender Jamie hosts the Saturday happy hour at Heathers
2 for 1 drinks
Come out for a sip and a listen before dinner, or stay until 8 and we can hit the town!

Live Set at Heathers March 25th 2008

A recording of my first live set is available here.

Heathers is my fav bar in Manhattan. The scene is low key and no-nonsense, but still has genuine character, and the music is always excellent. So I'm psyched to be featured among the other DJs recorded there. Special thanks to everyone who came out for some music and a drink, and of course to Heather.

Here is the setlist, I played endurance style, no breaks!, from 9:30 - 1:30:

The Primitives – Spacehead
The B-52’s – 52 Girls
The Waitresses – No Guilt
The Police – Man in a Suitcase
Elvis Costello – [I Don’t Want to Go to] Chelsea
Robyn Hitchcock – Madonna of the Wasps
The Jam – Man in the Corner Shop
The Replacements – I Will Dare
The Smiths – Vicar in a Tutu
Josef K – Sorry for Laughing
Unrest – Makeout Club
The Primitives – Crash
The Hooters – And We Danced
The Plimsouls – Million Miles Away
The Smithereens – Behind the Wall of Sleep
The Cars – Nightspots
The Passions – Small Stones
The Feelies – The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness
Violent Femmes – Gone Daddy Gone
Echo & the Bunnymen – My White Devil [Alternate Version]
New Order – Age of Consent
Simple Minds – Speed Your Love to Me
The Sound – Acceleration Group
The Jesus & Mary Chain – Tumbledown
The Cure – The Exploding Boy
The Sound – Hothouse
The Chameleons – Up the Down Escalator
The Jesus & Mary Chain – Almost Gold
Ultra Vivid Scene – Kind of a Drag
Big Audio Dynamite II – Kool-Aid
Modern English – The Planet
Pretenders – Message of Love
Blondie – Denise
The Real Kids – Better Be Good
The Cars – Slipaway
Buzzcocks – Everybody’s Happy Nowadays
Ramones – Do You Wanna Dance?
Plastic Bertrand – Ca Plane Pour Moi
David Bowie – Hang on to Yourself
Marshall Crenshaw – Rockin’ Around in NYC
Richard Hell & the Voidoids – The Kid with the Replaceable Head
Romeo Void – Confrontation
Squeeze – Cool for Cats
Edwyn Collins/Orange Juice – Rip It Up
The The – Uncertain Smile
Wake – Favour
Echo & the Bunnymen – The Back of Love
Joy Division – Colony
Crispy Ambulance – Come On [Session]
New Order – Dreams Never End
Colin Newman – Don’t Bring Reminders
Magazine – Song from Under the Floorboards
R.E.M. – Radio Free Europe
Robyn Hitchcock – Meat
Huey Lewis & the News – Change of Heart
Hoodoo Gurus – Come Anytime
Bruce Springsteen – Out in the Street
John Mellencamp – Lonely Ol’ Night
Marshall Crenshaw – Not For Me
Apb – So Many Broken Hearts
The Jam – Town Called Malice
Dexys Midnight Runners – Show Me
Elvis Costello – Strict Time
Pretenders – Louie Louie
Joe Jackson – I’m the Man
The Police – Truth Hits Everybody
The Replacements – Alex Chilton
Pat Benatar – All Fired Up
Wang Chung – Fire in the Twilight
Simple Minds – Love Song
The Jesus & Mary Chain – Stardust Remedy
Apb – Kritik
Blondie – Scenery
The Nerves – Hanging on the Telephone
Elvis Costello – Pretty Words

photo: monica mikulak

darklands volume I

This is my first official recording. Darklands is a mix inspired by a romanticized vision of angst-ridden American youth boiled down from my own childhood and all of the movies I grew up with in the 80s. Several of the songs come from 80s movie soundtracks. [I like songs that are “soundtracky”] The cover is a screen capture from a movie called Dream a Little Dream. It's as corny as it sounds, it featured the two Cory's, Feldman and Haim. But in my opinion it's one of the most underrated films of the 1980s PG-13 variety. Out of context, the characters in the image seem to inhabit the same Darklands that The Jesus and Mary Chain describe in their song/album of the same name. That’s roughly the concept behind it, but its open for interpretation. I hope you enjoy it in your own context, your own soundtrack.

track listing:
the replacements - can't hardly wait
the sound - iron years
the psychedelic furs - flowers
the jesus & mary chain - rollercoaster
echo & the bunnymen - with a hip
sad lovers & giants - 50/50
romeo void - just too easy
elvis costello & the attractions - pump it up
the cars - maybe baby
eddie & the cruisers - on the dark side
inxs - don't change
modern english - i'll melt with you
the replacements - alex chilton
julian cope - world shut your mouth
hoodoo gurus - what's my scene
tom petty & the heartbreakers - american girl
elvis costello & the attractions - from a whisper to a scream
pretenders - don't get me wrong

introduction

i'm john the third. i'm a dj. this is my blog. i play primarily music from the 1980s; post punk, new wave, alt rock...obscure bands like wire, or suburban lawns, seminal bands like orange juice, talking heads, or the jesus & mary chain, and classics like the cars, or the b-52's, i've been collecting it for several years now and i'm just beginning to play at local bars in new york. i've always been drawn to the little known classics. that band that everyone refers to as a "one hit wonder" actually made quite a few decent songs, some arguably better than that "one hit". that's pretty much my starting point. from there, i'll explore some better known favorites, 70's punk and early 90's stuff, if it mixes well... here you will find some of my mixes, playlists, info about upcoming gigs, musings about past gigs, and other randomness... enjoy!