A good mixed CD will make you feel like you are at the party of the year, even if you are living out a mundane existence of sitting in traffic or typing away at a computer. Go Commando with James F!@#$%^Friedman (Defend Music) is one of those cds.
It starts simply with a series of handclaps giving way to the disco guitar that opens the Rapture/Hushhush remix of Annie's "Me Plus One," an ode to clubbing that, in remixed form, sounds like a chirpier rendition of Madonna's "Music." From there, the disc twists and turns through sixteen-tracks of stobelight-pulsing electro-house madness.
Friedman knows dance music. This is evidenced through his work as a writer for such periodicals as XLR8R, Fader, Vice and Urb and his knack for pulling off successful parties in New York City (Refuse! and All Wrong). Friedman also seems to know a thing or too about portions and pacing. He seems to know that too much Annie might induce Slurpee-style brainfreeze while too little of Franz & Shape's grinding disco rhythms on "This is the Way" (featuring GD Luxxe) might leave listeners completely unsatisfied. He knows that the seductive croon on Who Made Who's "Space for Rent" is the perfect way to ease out of a frenzied Franz & Shape track, that the Cure-on-E vocals of Bloc Party as remixed by Black Strobe provides a welcome respite after a series of instrumental numbers and that Tom Vek's indietronic pop is the best way to end an evening.