Booth notebook

Session notes from the booth.

The lineup logic, the song notes, and the things I want you to hear, saved one session at a time.

Stored notes
120
Artists
18
Genres
18
Special turns
0
3 saved turns
Lineup logic first. Song notes right behind it.
Dusky slow burn lane / restless glowPlaylist noteAug 5, 20262:10 AMOpen set

Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...' is the thesis, and Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) is the answer waiting on deck.

Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in. Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) is already changing how the current record reads.

Record in focus
Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...'
Miles Davis
Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack · 2016 · Jazz
Programming
Open set

Mr Rassy is shaping the next turn from the records already on the deck.

09 - (Don't Go Back To) Rockville · full
Lineup note
Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...' into Stay up Late (2003 Remaster)

Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context
Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack · 2016

Hearing it against Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...' by Miles Davis off Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2016) works when the set needs collective motion and color instead of blunt force. Miles Davis makes the most sense here as an ensemble proposition: the interest is in how the parts talk to each other, not just one lead line. This one earns its space through moving parts: sections shifting roles, rhythm pushing from underneath, and an arrangement that keeps relocating the center.

Listen for
What to catch in the arrangement

Listen for how the lead line, horns or keys, and the rhythm section keep trading weight instead of sitting in fixed roles. Notice how it hands the weight to Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) instead of crowding the next move.

Miles DavisTalking HeadsNeil Young & Crazy HorseJazzPop, RockCountry/Folk/Rockdusky slow burn lane / restless glowafter-hoursrestless glowJazz
Session map
3 stored song notes
01now
Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...'
Miles Davis
Why it fits

Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context

Hearing it against Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...' by Miles Davis off Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2016) works when the set needs collective motion and color instead of blunt force. Miles Davis makes the most sense here as an ensemble proposition: the interest is in how the parts talk to each other, not just one lead line. This one earns its space through moving parts: sections shifting roles, rhythm pushing from underneath, and an arrangement that keeps relocating the center.

Listen for

Listen for how the lead line, horns or keys, and the rhythm section keep trading weight instead of sitting in fixed roles. Notice how it hands the weight to Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) instead of crowding the next move.

02next
Stay up Late (2003 Remaster)
Talking Heads
Why it fits

Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) lifts the pressure after Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...' by Miles Davis off Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2016) without snapping the thread. Reach for it when the turn needs shape, attack, and a record that can define the next move in just a few bars. It leaves Drive Back by Neil Young & Crazy Horse off Archives, Vol. II: 1972–1976 (8) (2021) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context

Hearing it against Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) carries the feel of a band in a room rather than a mood-board tag, and that physicality matters in a sequence. With Talking Heads, the attraction is often attack and arrangement economy: what the band can say quickly and physically. The record earns its place through how the arrangement opens and tightens rather than through sheer mass.

Listen for

Listen for where the arrangement opens wider than the first impression suggests, especially when the rhythm section changes the floor under the lead. Notice how it hands the weight to Drive Back by Neil Young & Crazy Horse off Archives, Vol. II: 1972–1976 (8) (2021) instead of crowding the next move.

03later
Drive Back
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Why it fits

Drive Back by Neil Young & Crazy Horse off Archives, Vol. II: 1972–1976 (8) (2021) stays related to Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) through country/folk/rock, but changes the pocket enough to matter. Reach for it when the hour needs the human voice or acoustic grain to reset the emotional scale.

Track context

II: 1972–1976 (8) matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. II: 1972–1976 (8) (2021) pulls the room inward and lets voice, phrasing, or acoustic grain do the heavy lifting. With Neil Young & Crazy Horse, phrasing and vocal or acoustic grain do most of the emotional work, which is why the record can reset the scale of the hour. The cut lives or dies on phrasing and vocal or acoustic grain, which is why it reads as a human choice instead of wallpaper.

Listen for

Listen for phrasing, breath, and the way tiny changes in delivery make the emotional pressure jump.

Open saved booth copy

Mr Rassy is lining up Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003). Hearing it against Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Stay up Late (2003 Remaster) by Talking Heads off Once in a Lifetime: The Talking Heads Box (2003) lifts the pressure after Dialogue: 'Sometimes you have these thoughts...' by Miles Davis off Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2016) without snapping the thread. The transition is earning its place instead of skating by on vibe. The request line is whispering "a warm 1980s synth-pop turn".

Dusky slow burn lane / mirrorball shadowPlaylist noteAug 4, 20262:17 AMOpen set

Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab is the thesis, and Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) is the answer waiting on deck.

Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in. Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) is already changing how the current record reads.

Record in focus
Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab
Miles Davis & Gil Evans
Porgy And Bess · 1959 · Jazz
Programming
Open set

Mr Rassy is shaping the next turn from the records already on the deck.

Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) · full
Lineup note
Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab into Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three)

Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context
Porgy And Bess · 1959

Hearing it against Porgy And Bess matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab by Miles Davis & Gil Evans off Porgy And Bess (1959) works when the set needs collective motion and color instead of blunt force. Miles Davis & Gil Evans makes the most sense here as an ensemble proposition: the interest is in how the parts talk to each other, not just one lead line. This one earns its space through moving parts: sections shifting roles, rhythm pushing from underneath, and an arrangement that keeps relocating the center.

Listen for
What to catch in the arrangement

Listen for how the lead line, horns or keys, and the rhythm section keep trading weight instead of sitting in fixed roles. Notice how it hands the weight to Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) instead of crowding the next move.

Miles Davis & Gil EvansThelonious MonkGregory PorterJazzIndustrial RockRockdusky slow burn lane / mirrorball shadowafter-hoursmirrorball shadowJazz
Session map
3 stored song notes
01now
Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab
Miles Davis & Gil Evans
Why it fits

Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context

Hearing it against Porgy And Bess matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab by Miles Davis & Gil Evans off Porgy And Bess (1959) works when the set needs collective motion and color instead of blunt force. Miles Davis & Gil Evans makes the most sense here as an ensemble proposition: the interest is in how the parts talk to each other, not just one lead line. This one earns its space through moving parts: sections shifting roles, rhythm pushing from underneath, and an arrangement that keeps relocating the center.

Listen for

Listen for how the lead line, horns or keys, and the rhythm section keep trading weight instead of sitting in fixed roles. Notice how it hands the weight to Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) instead of crowding the next move.

02next
Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three)
Thelonious Monk
Full play
Why it fits

Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) stays related to Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab by Miles Davis & Gil Evans off Porgy And Bess (1959) through jazz, but changes the pocket enough to matter. Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt. It leaves Take Me To The Alley by Gregory Porter off Take Me To The Alley (2016) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context

Hearing it against The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) works when the set needs collective motion and color instead of blunt force. Thelonious Monk makes the most sense here as an ensemble proposition: the interest is in how the parts talk to each other, not just one lead line. This one earns its space through moving parts: sections shifting roles, rhythm pushing from underneath, and an arrangement that keeps relocating the center.

Listen for

Listen for how the lead line, horns or keys, and the rhythm section keep trading weight instead of sitting in fixed roles. Notice how it hands the weight to Take Me To The Alley by Gregory Porter off Take Me To The Alley (2016) instead of crowding the next move.

03later
Take Me To The Alley
Gregory Porter
Why it fits

Take Me To The Alley by Gregory Porter off Take Me To The Alley (2016) lifts the pressure after Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) without snapping the thread. Reach for it when the set needs lift, conversation between parts, and something that can move without turning blunt.

Track context

Hearing it against Take Me To The Alley matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Take Me To The Alley by Gregory Porter off Take Me To The Alley (2016) works when the set needs collective motion and color instead of blunt force. Gregory Porter makes the most sense here as an ensemble proposition: the interest is in how the parts talk to each other, not just one lead line. This one earns its space through moving parts: sections shifting roles, rhythm pushing from underneath, and an arrangement that keeps relocating the center.

Listen for

Listen for how the lead line, horns or keys, and the rhythm section keep trading weight instead of sitting in fixed roles.

Open saved booth copy

Mr Rassy is lining up Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964). Hearing it against The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Epistrophy (theme - Sunday set three) by Thelonious Monk off The Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (1964) stays related to Fishermen, Strawberry And Devil Crab by Miles Davis & Gil Evans off Porgy And Bess (1959) through jazz, but changes the pocket enough to matter. The transition is earning its place instead of skating by on vibe. The request line is whispering "I need a dusky slow-burn lane with warm low end tonight.".

Dusky slow burn lane / smoke and focusPlaylist noteAug 4, 20261:51 AMOpen set

Teenage Wildlife is the thesis, and China Grove is the answer waiting on deck.

Reach for it when the turn needs shape, attack, and a record that can define the next move in just a few bars. It leaves China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in. China Grove is already changing how the current record reads.

Record in focus
Teenage Wildlife
David Bowie
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps · 1980 · Art Rock
Programming
Open set

Mr Rassy is shaping the next turn from the records already on the deck.

China Grove · full
Lineup note
Teenage Wildlife into China Grove

Reach for it when the turn needs shape, attack, and a record that can define the next move in just a few bars. It leaves China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context
Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps · 1980

Hearing it against Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Teenage Wildlife by David Bowie off Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps (1980) carries the feel of a band in a room rather than a mood-board tag, and that physicality matters in a sequence. With David Bowie, the attraction is often attack and arrangement economy: what the band can say quickly and physically. The record earns its place through how the arrangement opens and tightens rather than through sheer mass.

Listen for
What to catch in the arrangement

Listen for where the arrangement opens wider than the first impression suggests, especially when the rhythm section changes the floor under the lead. Notice how it hands the weight to China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) instead of crowding the next move.

David BowieThe Doobie BrothersMarvin GayeArt RockRockR&Bdusky slow burn lane / smoke and focusafter-hourssmoke and focusArt Rock
Session map
3 stored song notes
01now
Teenage Wildlife
David Bowie
Why it fits

Reach for it when the turn needs shape, attack, and a record that can define the next move in just a few bars. It leaves China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context

Hearing it against Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Teenage Wildlife by David Bowie off Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps (1980) carries the feel of a band in a room rather than a mood-board tag, and that physicality matters in a sequence. With David Bowie, the attraction is often attack and arrangement economy: what the band can say quickly and physically. The record earns its place through how the arrangement opens and tightens rather than through sheer mass.

Listen for

Listen for where the arrangement opens wider than the first impression suggests, especially when the rhythm section changes the floor under the lead. Notice how it hands the weight to China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) instead of crowding the next move.

02next
China Grove
The Doobie Brothers
Full play
Why it fits

China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) stays related to Teenage Wildlife by David Bowie off Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps (1980) through rock, but changes the pocket enough to matter. Reach for it when the turn needs shape, attack, and a record that can define the next move in just a few bars. It leaves Pride And Joy by Marvin Gaye off Super Hits (1970) a clean lane instead of boxing the handoff in.

Track context

Hearing it against The Captain and Me matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) carries the feel of a band in a room rather than a mood-board tag, and that physicality matters in a sequence. With The Doobie Brothers, the attraction is often attack and arrangement economy: what the band can say quickly and physically. The record earns its place through how the arrangement opens and tightens rather than through sheer mass.

Listen for

Listen for where the arrangement opens wider than the first impression suggests, especially when the rhythm section changes the floor under the lead. Notice how it hands the weight to Pride And Joy by Marvin Gaye off Super Hits (1970) instead of crowding the next move.

03later
Pride And Joy
Marvin Gaye
Why it fits

Pride And Joy by Marvin Gaye off Super Hits (1970) stays related to China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) through r&b, but changes the pocket enough to matter. Pride And Joy by Marvin Gaye off Super Hits (1970) earns its place when the turn needs shape, contrast, and enough detail to keep the next move honest.

Track context

Hearing it against Super Hits matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. Pride And Joy by Marvin Gaye off Super Hits (1970) earns its place when the turn needs shape, contrast, and enough detail to keep the next move honest. On Super Hits (1970), it reads as part of a larger album world instead of a stray file in the crate. Hearing it against Super Hits matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single.

Listen for

Listen for the point where the record suddenly feels larger than the speakers and starts changing the shape of the room.

Open saved booth copy

Mr Rassy is lining up China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973). Hearing it against The Captain and Me matters because it reads like part of an album world, not a detached single. China Grove by The Doobie Brothers off The Captain and Me (1973) stays related to Teenage Wildlife by David Bowie off Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps (1980) through rock, but changes the pocket enough to matter. The transition is earning its place instead of skating by on vibe. The request line is whispering "I need a dusky slow-burn lane with warm low end tonight.".