Ethan Law & a Big Wheel

I wish I was this good at anything. 

And that the people there didn't clap until the end.

I like that you can see the giant circular bag in the background.
Does he just tie it to the roof, you think?
Wonder how you might explain that if a cop pulled you over.

Yo-Yo Ma + Lil Buck = Spike Jonze?

Wow, man, apparently. That's one expectedly cool (yet totally unexpected) equation. 

Spike Jonze comments on capturing the otherwise more intimate moment:

The other day, I was lucky enough to be at an event to bring the arts back into schools and got to see an amazing collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma and a young dancer in LA, Lil Buck. Someone who knows Yo-Yo Ma had seen Lil Buck on YouTube and put them together. The dancing is Lil Buck’s own creation and unlike anything I’ve seen. Hope you enjoy.

Oklahoma Man Arrested for Dancing

Well, ok, dance-trespassing. Eddy Khaodevanpheng, a 22-year old Oklahoma City resident, was arrested today at an OKC convenience store for refusing to leave when management asked him to please quit getting down in their establishment. Obstinate, he claimed he was "fighting for his right to dance" and did so around the gas station and back and forth across the nearby intersection, presumably to ward off potential threats to this basic funky freedom.

Police told the man to leave after he informed them he was fighting for the right to dance, and he "danced across the parking lot to the McDonald's where he stood and watched us while dancing,” an officer wrote in the report. He then danced back across the parking lot to the Valero, where he was arrested.

When asked why he returned to the gas station, the man told police he was "following the leader,” the report states. He said the arresting officer was the leader because he had a radio, pepper spray and a gun, and police replied by saying he was going to jail because he "didn't listen to the leader. 

It doesn't seem like the cops or the management really got it: who he was fighting and what was at stake. But it doesn't really matter - clearly, his commitment to the fight should have been persuasive enough. What I can't seem to find is a description of the kind of dance: was he crunking? Voguing? Doing the Charleston? I imagine that this is the first case in a new type of neurological disorder where the sufferer constantly hears Daft Punk playing in their head and has no control over whether their ass follows suit, until they break down from dance-overkill. Fortunately, he didn't have to groove in lock-up for long; he's already been released to fight another day.

Related: Just four days ago, an Iowa-city teen booked for grinding with a giant angel statue in a local cemetery.

Legends of Benin [1969-1981]

Heavy horns, vocals with real flow, and some real down-home afro-beat hotness. Throw a gritty funk dance party and then all fly over to Benin to meet up with the rest of your friends, the Beninese. From the back:

A collection of super rare and highly danceable masterpieces recorded between 1969 -1981 by four legendary composers from Benin, Antoine Dougbé, El Rego, Honoré Avolonto and Gnonnas Pédro, each one of them with their own distinctive sound. This compilation comes with a 40 page full colour booklet with ultra rare pictures and biographies. Fasten your seat belt and enjoy the mind blowing sound of Benin.

1. Gnonnas Pedro Et Ses Dadjes  - Dadje Von O Von Non 3:53

2. El Rego Et Ses Commandos  - Feeling You Got 3:44

3. Antoine Dougbé  - Honton Soukpo Gnon 7:05

4. El Rego Et Ses Commandos  - E Nan Mian Nuku4:26

5. Honoré Avolonto Et L'Orchestre Poly-Rythmo  - Tin Lin Non 8:48

6. Gnonnas Pedro Et Ses Panchos  - Okpo Videa Bassoruo 3:30

7. Antoine Dougbé Et L'Orchestre Poly-Rythmo  - Ya Mi Ton Gbo 6:34

8. Antoine Dougbé  - Nou Akuenon Hwlin Me Sin Koussio 5:03

9. Honoré Avolonto  - Na Mi Do Gbé Hué Nu 6:44

10. El Rego Et Ses Commandos  - Vimado Wingnan 3:01

11. Honoré Avolonto Et L'Orchestre Black Santiago - Dou Dagbé Wé 4:26

12. El Rego Et Ses Commandos  - Djoblimé 2:31

13. Antoine Dougbé  - Kovito Gbe De Towe 6:39

14. Gnonnas Pedro Et Ses Dadjes  - La Musica En Verité 7:09 

Much love to all four of these legends. My personal favorite sound is Gnonnas Pedro for his driving intro track, Dadje Von O Von Non, and for his wandering, building closer, La Musica en Verité.

Try it out [via Little Vibrations] and then buy it direct from label Analog Africa. Also highly recommended from them: African Scream Contest

70s Thai Orchestra [Maybe Not from the 70s, Maybe Not from Thailand]

Psychedelic, country jam-band style molam (or mor lam; a traditional genre of Lao song, literally meaning "expert song" or "expert singer"). Nothing more is known for certain about the album: who recorded it, how many performers there were, whether it was for profit or private use. It's a bit of a mystery. It might actually be a record called Siamese Temple Ball, but there's debate and general confusion whether or not this is true. Personally I hope it is, because the liner notes of that record have this to say for itself: 

Flight comes to Thailand in the Year of the Rat. Siamese Temple Ball provide the lilting soundtrack for a chemical journey. Schoolgirls dance bashfully for the expectant throng. Life continues at a comparatively slow pace away from the rigours of fierce sun-light. 

[which was then followed by the label's description]

In the tradition of Sun City Girls, Ya Ho Wha 13, The Spacious Mind, Taj Mahal Travellers, Mu, Word of Life, Group 1850, and Ghost, Siamese Temple Ball give maximum pleasure for thirsty brains. [label source]

Yeah, that describes 70s Thai Orchestra pretty well. Get into the complex interchange of the phin pya, the electrified khene, and some wicked-ass thumping percussion (haha, hyphens). It's a big party that took place who knows how many years ago. I'd recommend cranking it and inviting a few friends over to groove the hell out.

70s Thai Orchestra