DJ Gnosis

Retired MJQ resident Gnosis remembers when Atlanta was a great place for architects and dilettantes. Recently he’s been mashing up Arabic pop, reggaeton and crunk at sweaty house parties while patiently awaiting Williamsburg’s word that mixing is again fashionable and dancing to the same dozen songs each week is no longer in style.

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1) Congotronics LP — Konono No.1: “Old guys along the Angola Border equipping thumb pianos with mics built from salvaged car parts and cranking their megaphones to 11? Sign me up!”

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2) “Random (Brucker And Sinden Remix)” — Lady Sovereign: “A breathtakingly epic rework of the soon-to-be-classic from the ‘ragga midget’ queen of grime. Cheeky is the new Thug.”

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3) “Rock el Casbah” — Rachid Taha: “Yes, it’s a Raï cover of the Clash song. Yes, in Arabic. No, it’s not just simply ironic.”

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4) “Tribulations” — LCD Soundsystem: “The long-player is more complex emotionally and musically than I imagined it would be: Strains of Eno and Syd Barrett are interspersed with the expected post-hipster wit. Still, Cheeky is the new ’80s.”

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5) “It’s the Time to Disco!” — from the Bollywood film Kal Ho Naa Ho soundtrack: “Hindi cheese-garage for the acutely jaded. The summer anthem that will never be.”