It's the first day of December and I feel that this is a good time to kick off some kind of "best of 2007" series. (We'll see how much of a series it'll actually be.)
Pictured above is Cosmo Baker of The Rub. He is single handedly responsible for many of my greatest musical discoveries this year. A good starting point to one side of Cosmo Baker would be the "Feeling Good" and "Still Good" mixes. Download them by following the links below.
"Feeling Good". "Often times I'll wake up in a certain mood and I'll want to make a mix that will accompany me during the day. This is how the first "Love Break" came about - just a mix for me to listen to in my car during a road trip. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I woke up and it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the temperature was just right. It made me think of a certain sound that just means "spring/summer" to me, so before I headed out I made this mix to listen to while I ran around New York. There's nothing like New York in the springtime."
"Still Good". "This mix is the sequel to my early summer mix "Feeling Good." In that mix I tried to capture, using songs that I love and that have a very special meaning to me, a certain feeling that I equate with the beginning of summer. There's a certain energy and electricity that is about during the first few weeks of the season, when everything seems alive and in it's right place.
For this mix I wanted to try and capture the stillness of summer, when the air is hot and the days are long, and time seems to be moving at a slower pace than normal. This is a companion piece to "Feeling Good" but it takes a different direction and deals with another type of - but no less intense - energy."
I got up on Shuggie Otis, Archie Whitewater, Odyssey and I heard that David Crosby record for the first time in a few years, in a totally different (and fresher) context. To bring up just a few of the insanely great songs in here.
This is his most recent mix, a Diamond D themed thing. Again top notch.
As you follow these links, it ought to be quite obvious that this is a human being that actually is making a living playing music because of the fact that he loves music. There is an overall positivity surrounding it all and most of all, there is a quality that is rarely mentioned when describing discjockeys; soul.
Visit http://www.cosmobaker.com/ for more information and mixes.
On top of all of this, Cosmo was along with DJ Ayres responsible for one of the best dance nights I've ever been to. I've been wanting to see The Rub for some time and to in October be able to take my friends to a spot in Brooklyn a few hours after having played a show at a sold out Webster Hall was amazing.
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