Michaelangelo Matos
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Recent collections of the musicians' outtakes enhance our understanding of transitional portions of monumental careers. That doesn't make them essential, though.
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Dance music tends to be a groove medium, not a song medium, but there's been a growing trend in covering dance tracks — and as the EDM juggernaut continues rolling forward, it begins to make more and more sense.
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Tom Moulton made the first beat-matched DJ mix. He spoke to NPR about James Brown, Kenny Gamble, Clement Dodd and his long life in dance music.
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In the Internet era, single-artist albums are suffering, but despite the make-your-own playlist options provided by mp3s and streaming services, compilations are thriving.
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The compiler of a boxset that resurrects early Chicago house music traces the scene's prehistory to the relationship between a father and son who were ahead of the curve.
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"Inspector Norse" starts with a cosmic whoosh before settling into a hopping little disco groove.
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"Tamidit In Aicha" is raw and scrawny-sounding, but it also pulses with life and good cheer.
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Danny Tenaglia and Justin Berkmann tell stories about Levan, widely fêted as the greatest DJ of all.
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Kid Creole and his band The Coconuts are an unlikely source for one of the year's kindest songs: "Stony and Cory."
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In the 1990s, American record labels pushed European dance music. But the party didn't last forever.