Everyone Goes Disco

Show two aired last night, and I decided it would be nice to take a look at some of the artists who weren't really part of the disco scene but who nevertheless were largely influenced by disco in some of their music (before we dive headfirst into all the best disco I know). So the show explored a lot of new wave/no wave artists who went disco for a bit but also had some surprises in the way of funk and jazz. You can listen to the episode on BSR's archiving system here.

And here's the playlist:

Debbie Harry- Military Rap- KooKoo
David Bowie- Fashion- Scary Monsters
The B-52's- Cake- Mesopotamia (EP)
Devo- It's Not Right- Freedom of Choice
The Waitresses- I Know What Boys Like- Best Of
XTC- Generals and Majors- Black Sea
Tom Tom Club- Lorelei- Tom Tom Club
Blondie- Do the Dark- Autoamerican
James Chance- Contort Yourself- Off White
Talking Heads- Pull up the Roots- Speaking in Tongues
Yoko Ono- Walking on Thin Ice- Season of Glass
Lizzy Mercier Descloux- Fire- Press Colour
Chaka Khan- Clouds- Naughty
Stevie Nicks- Sister Honey- Rock a Little
Dee Dee Bridgewater- Bad For Me (12")- Journey into Paradise
ABBA- The Day Before You Came- The Visitors

As far as news concerning these artists goes:
Debbie Harry just released a new solo album late last year called Necessary Evil, which was supported by a brief US tour. (Rumors abound that Blondie will be reuniting in the studio once more for an album sometime this year as well. We can only hope.)
The B-52's are coming out with a new album, Funplex, on March 25 on Astralwerks. The first single, "Funplex," is available to download on iTunes now, if you're so inclined. It finds the B's back in the groove of 1989's Cosmic Thing, though they've started to incorporate some cool electronic elements as well (they're working with New Order producer Steve Osbourne).
Tom Tom Club, while still together, hasn't really been all that active recently, though last Christmas they did release a limited edition holiday both on vinyl and CD, called Mistletunes, and it can still be purchased through their site.
As I mentioned during the show, Yoko Ono recently unveiled the Imagine Peace tower in Iceland (check out her website for more info on that), and also last year she released two remix projects: Yes, I'm a Witch, which teamed her up with some of indie music's biggest stars, and Open Your Box, which is a compilation of all her biggest dance singles from the past few years.
Chaka Khan and Stevie Nicks are also pretty busy nowadays. Chaka released her album Funk This last year, and it just recently received two grammy awards, including one for best R&B album. Stevie, meanwhile, is perpetually touring, so there's a good chance she'll swing by to a city near you sometime soon.

That's all for now, so stay tuned to Heaven is a Disco Sunday nights at 1AM on BSR.

Take care,
Brice