Jon Martin and I have been friends for nearly 20 years. We met working as counselors at a wilderness camp in northern Minnesota, and my earliest musical memory of him is sitting in the camp van while he blasted Daft Punk's "Around the World" for me. Since then, he has introduced me to a lot of electronic and dance music I might not otherwise have heard. He was the first to turn me on to Ween (o-ocean man), Calexico, and lots of other great bands. He is a ridiculous and lovely man with an incredibly idiosyncratic method of verbal/written expression. He is from Arizona, and now lives in California with my very good friend Kenley (who also happens to be his wife) and his two awesome kids.

Jon’s 2013 Domestication Ass-Kick Mix Domestication is kicking my ass. I don’t think I have much coherent time left in me. With what remaining threads of wit I have I will dedicate one playlist a year to my slow demise.

Prince – The Future I had originally started a playlist titled Saxophones and Synth Pads from Superior Soundtracks, and it had sweet tunes from the Lost Boys, Ghostbusters, Flash Gordon . . . this track and a later Vangelis track are all that remain. I’ve kept both because I like them out of the context of campy 80s movies. I think Prince’s Batman soundtrack was brilliant, "The Future" being one of my favorite songs to gyrate to as a 12-year-old boy alone in my room. Let the rising uncertainty and gloom of Gotham in this song represent the psychological turmoil of domestication.

Kindness – Gee Up I’m done whining. This 1:57 track makes me gyrate as a 35-year-old man and penetrates my ass with a ray of optimism.

M, A, S, R – Pump Up The Volume (UK 12" Remix) There was a lot of music that saturated my core in the dead of winter, 1989, in Bemidji Minnesota. The Batman soundtrack, INXS Kick, De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, and then once (just once!) I heard this track on the bus to school. It was ear crack and remains so to this day. Mixing has evolved greatly and I’m a big fan of Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow and the like, but it’s hard shaking the first love.

Kid Creole – Stony And Cory Kenley introduced me to this fantastic song and now I have a man-crush on Kid Creole. Uplifting danceable melody with an unfortunate story.

Solange – I Decided - Pt. 1 I clap my ass to this song. (editor's note - Jon's actual string of texts to me: "Solange - I Decided, Pt. 1" "It makes my tits bounce!" "Seriously!")

Isaac Delusion – Midnight Sun This is the point in my playlist where I would like to shift the emotional tone from ass-clapping to introspective daydreaming. This track serves well for both purposes, and for this is a great transition. Disagreeing is futile.

Chris Whitley – Living With The Law I heard Chris Whitley’s cover of Dylan’s Spanish Harlem Incident years ago and thought it was amazing, but that was all I’d heard . . . until Spotify (thanks Champagne!). I believe this album came out in 1993? Great guitar and vocals.

The Matthew Herbert Big Band – The Story My friend Josh B. Fox introduced me to an album of experimental sounds from Matthew Herbert that I really really wanted to love, but was never able to fully wrap my brain around. It turns out he has a big band! It’s easier for me to wrap my brain around esoteric genius when it’s got horns and sexy vocals set to a 4/4 beat.

Vangelis – Blade Runner Blues I got my hands on this used copy of a Blade Runner role-playing game for the PC when I was in college. Whenever I got stumped I would have the character go stand on his porch overlooking the street way up and watch the cars fly by and see the big billboards off in the distance dance around, and this song would come on every time. Then, later, Ray Ringle made a mix with some Vangelis on it and this track was on it. It’s imprinted in my soul 4ever. It’s very unfair for me to put it in here at 9 minutes, I’m sorry. Use this time to close your eyes and try to sense what each toe is feeling individually.

Laura Mvula – She Most of the new music I find comes from Josh or this 24-hour NPR sponsored radio station in LA called Eclectic 24. This one has been on their rotation lately and I find it pretty relevant to the domesticated woman AND man. So, I feel her.

Omar Sosa – Alma I heard an interview with one of the two on this album and it made me smile. I guess these guys met at one of Omar Sosa’s outdoor performance when Paolo decided he wanted to accompany Omar’s piano playing with his trumpet. Paolo climbed a tree nearby, and while hidden by the branches started playing the trumpet. Friends ever since. It’s a suiting ending to this domestication dedication. If I lose all my shit, I’d like to think I’ll also lose many inhibitions that prevent me from climbing trees with trumpets in hand.

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