Hi-As you all know the real boombox trend started in the early 80's with the likes of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5.
Also & huge year for boomboxes was 1984' & 1985'!!
The group Break Machine with the song "BreakDance" was one of my favoites.
This song is what brought me to buy a brand new PC-55JW J.V.C.-I had to step up from the Sharp GF-8989II.I used to play alot of Grandmaster Flash on that one.
I just thought I'd let to some of the original boombox music that really started the boombox craze!!
I know that all of you like different music but I just thought I'd tell you some of my favorite Break Dance music!
Have a great day-Ghetttoboom777.

Thanks for sharing that, ghettoboom777. Check out these links...
then
and
now

quote:

Originally posted by Joe Cool:
Thanks for sharing that, ghettoboom777. Check out these links...
then
and
now

-Hi Joe Cool-Thanks for that!!
Ghettoboom777.

You're welcome!

Another band that sounds awesome on a bbx...Yello. A rather unique band, very creative, and quite entertaining...check out a few of their songs here

Riding High by Faze-O...Good bass line and transitional highs.

Davy DMX One for the Treble...Had a nice kick!

...come on Davy D let's rock this place!

I checked out the video for that Break Machine song--classic! The tunes on my current "Quintessential Boombox Jams" tape:


Afrika Bambaata - Planet Rock
Fearless Four - Rockin' It
West Street Mob - Break Dance Electric Boogie
Whodini - Magic's Wand
Cold Crush Brothers - Punk Rock Rap
Treacherous Three - Feel The Heartbeat

When I think of guys walkin' down the block with boxes on their shoulders, I imagine that this is the kind of stuff they listened too. I have no idea whether that reflects the reality.

quote:

Originally posted by nickz:
When I think of guys walkin' down the block with boxes on their shoulders, I imagine that this is the kind of stuff they listened too. I have no idea whether that reflects the reality.

I've NEVER seen a person carry a boombox on their shoulder... EVER!

A few songs I can think of right off the bat are...

MC Shan - The Bridge (1986)
Stetsasonic - Go Stetsa I (12-Inch Remix) (1986)
Art Of Noise - Beat Box (Diversion One) (1984)
Freeeze - I.O.U. (1983)
Whodini - Funky Beat (1986)
Trouble Funk - Pump Me Up (1982)
Public Enemy - Welcome To The Terrordome (1989)

My back in the day list is as follows:






Or I can post all the videos

quote:

Originally posted by GODSMACKED1068:
My back in the day list is as follows:






Or I can post all the videos

Hi Godsmacked1068-Excellent Taste!! I have over half of all these somgs!!
I was freaked out by Nucleus when they came out in 1984'-Man they were way ahead of their time!
I own all Kraftwerk-Whodini is also superb.
Nice collection of serious boombox music.

Now can anyone find Ollie & Jerry off of the soundtrack 'Breakin'-It's impossible to find this-it's really good!
Thanks-ghettoboom777.

Great songs GS. I have ALL but 1 of those on my iPod. I was a breaker back then, but never really carried my 492, 931 nor CFS500 on my shoulder either.

JC, you aren't kidding about Yello! Dieter Meier and Boris Blank are awesome! I've got quite a few Yello 12-inchers, including at least three copies of the OH YEAH dance mix. I dropped that track in the middle of a house set not too long ago and the crowd went nuts. (remember Ferris Bueller's Day Off & Secret of My Success?) The production quality of Yello's recordings is incredible and their music sounds awesome on just about anything with two speakers. That music was way ahead of its time... and remains completely timeless.

Great collection Godsmacked... I've got most of those tracks too...

Some of my favorite artists from back in my boombox years were the Bar-Kays, Con Funk Shun, Lakeside, Rick James, Run DMC, Kraftwerk, Prince's early stuff, G-master Flash, Kurtis Blow, Cameo and other funk and early hip hop/rap artists.

The last rapper generation that I thought was any good was when Sir Mix A Lot, LL Cool J and Tone Loc were still current. I kinda lost interest in that style when the genre entered its "pimps & ho's and bling-bling" era. The new stuff just doesn't seem to have any real substance IMHO.

In the late 80s to mid-90's it was Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Enigma and Sunscreem that really moved me and I eventually turned away from most mainstream and got into to the underground dance scene. Then I started DJing and for the past decade plus I have been a full fledged house-head. Basically, give me any kind of deep, funky house music that is properly beatmixed and I'm a happy camper. I don't need any turntable tricks, scratching or MC-ing... just give me the occasional sexy female vocal and put me between the speakers and access to beer.

To hear the style that I'm talking about, find some downloads check out www.beatport.com and listen to some of the samples from the House, Electro, Breaks, or Progressive House sections. Some artists I'm diggin' right now are Claude Von Stroke, Chus, Deadmau5, General Midi, Booka Shade and Onionz. This is all bass heavy, beat oriented music.

Also, if you do a label search, check out Grayhound Recordings, Poker Flat, Red Ant, Hope and Bedrock. Beatport.com downloads are not cheap ($1.49-$2.49 per track) but it is a great site to pull down 320kbps MP3s of new tracks immediately as they are released. Its basically a site that caters to the active club DJ.

Some DJs that are my favorites now include Sasha & John Digweed, Dave Seaman, Loco Dice, Deep Dish, Layo & Bushwacka, Nick Warren, Timo Maas. There are soooo many!

Here's a Dave Seaman utube video:

Dave Seaman snippet

Geez... This is turning into a novel! I'll shut up now...! I need to go to bed...

quote:

Originally posted by THAFUZZ:
Great songs GS. I have ALL but 1 of those on my iPod. I was a breaker back then, but never really carried my 492, 931 nor CFS500 on my shoulder either.

If you tried to carry the 492 like that you would have been just plain broken!

JT, ilike your taste in 80s funk bands they were my favs too, i still own their cassettes and lps, and also my favs. anything from zapp and roger

quote:

JT, ilike your taste in 80s funk bands they were my favs too, i still own their cassettes and lps, and also my favs. anything from zapp and roger

Right on! How could I forget about Zapp & Roger! That electric voice thing they had goin' on was cutting edge back then! Great stuff.

I've been on a massive nostalgia kick lately. I set up a directory with nothing but disco, 80's funk & R&B in it that has been on random shuffle in the house.

A classic I really loved back then that I've kinda rediscovered lately is the long version of PETER BROWN'S "DO YOU WANT TO GET FUNKY WITH ME" and the even longer version of DONNA SUMMER'S "LOVE TO LOVE YOU, BABY." Great blaster tracks for sure! (and you don't need massive bass to enjoy).

jt