Bits & Pieces
The Wild Pug is finally opening up, providing folks in Uptown with another night time option for drinking, dancing, merriment and fun. I was emailing recently with DJ Steve Henderson, the Friday night and Sunday Tea resident DJ at the Pug, and he tells me others being tapped for booth duties include DJs Oskar and Bobby Marley. One of my house-head friends recently turned me on to a new podcast that I'm really digging: CASAMENA Radio Hour. Each podcast delivers "deeeeeep" house music mixes with touches of soul, salsa, and afro-grooves. Just some deliciously good and sophisticated musical fare here. Check it out at http://podcast.casamena.com/ . Speaking of Casamena, it was on one of the podcasts that I was introduced to the Shelter Vocal Mix of "Joy in Repetition" by Prince. OMG! This track is so incredibly sexy. All you Prince fans need this track for your collections, and anyone who is in quest of an orgasm needs it for their "sex tape" (or do we call it the "sex playlist" now?). It may be hard to find from your usual sources for MP3s, so check out http://mp3shopcart.com . Interestingly, and perhaps strangely, I have never met DJ Laura B, one of the city's most popular DJs with residencies at Hydrate and Hunters. Well, I had reason to talk with her on the phone recently, and all I can say is "very cool!" We had such a fun, spirited conversation - about music, DJing, going to a nightclub called Coconuts back in the day - I didn't want to hang up. By the time you read this column I hope to have converted our new telephonic relationship to a face-to-face personal one.

Singles Life
Just a few issues ago I was telling you all about the dance remixes to "I Decided" by Solange (Beyoncé's sister). Well, her voice is back to entertaining the masses on dance floors with the next single from her sophomore album SoL-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams: remixes to "Sandcastle Disco." Versions rocking a variety of crowds include the big room DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Extended Mix, the tribalistic Gomi Club Mix, King Britt's tech house re-rub, and the electro-ish Lost Daze Mix. While I personally like the Gomi effort the best, Escape & Coluccio's effort is impressive and well-deserving of the accolades it's been getting by DJs and clubbers alike.

For those of you wanting a more traditional house music groove, the type you'll find at Cocktail or on Monday nights at "Boom Boom Room" @ Green Dolphin Street, then you'll want to get your hands on, and your ears wrapped around, the Andre Harris Innate Soul Mix of "Truth Hurts" by Bernard Badie. Featuring the vocals of the legendary Dajae, this bumpin' house track is #1 on my playlist at the moment and is sure to kick any party into high groove. There are several other versions of the song, including deep house and acid takes on the original Club Mix, but it's the Harris effort that truly elevates "Truth Hurts" to stellar status and to being one of the best house tracks of the year.

Fast Cars?
When I moved to Chicago back in the late 1980s, the very first concert I attended was at the outdoor Poplar Creek Music Theatre and it featured a then rising new star named Tracy Chapman singing her HUGE hit "Fast Car." Twenty years later certain truths abound: Poplar Creek has long since been gone, my hair has gotten significantly grayer, Chapman's patented dreded locks have gotten longer, and her music is just as good as it ever has been as evidenced by he brand new album Our Bright Future. This 11-track long-player is the eighth studio album for the Grammy Award winner and features a tight group of musicians who help Chapman deliver - as she invariably always does - songs that are "very much rooted in the present, addressing political and/or social conflicts in the world as well as private skirmishes of the heart." There is a reason why so many contemporary singer/songwriters name Chapman as an inspiration and hero; this album is testament to her enduring excellence as an artist.