Photo by Nicole Palko

Major Lazer’s North Carolina tour stop this past Tuesday at Cat’s Cradle proved to be one sweaty, non-stop dance party.

Sleigh Bells opened the show with a mix of loud, distorted guitar, blasted beats, and the yelping, chanting vocals of singer Alexis Krauss. The duo did a fine job warming up the crowd for what was to be a night of non-stop dancing and mayhem. They played a mix of blog favorites including as “A/B Machines” and “Crown on the Ground” and new tracks likely to appear on their debut album due out later this year.

Immediately after Sleigh Bells closed out their set, British dubstep artist Rusko took the stage to the sounds of a bass-maxed-out version of Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up”. From there, he cruised through crowd-pleasing remixes of Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘n’ Nite” and Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”, in addition to original tracks such as “Woo Boost” and the Tupac-sampling “Da Cali Anthem”.

Photo by Nicole Palko

Following a brief intermission at the end of Rusko‘s set, Major Lazer main men Diplo and Switch took to a table of CDJ’s and laptops at the back of the stage. The lazer lights came on and the party wouldn’t let up for another hour-plus. With hype-man/MC Skerrit Bwoy bouncing around the stage in his colorful mohawk and a bikini-clad dancer pulling moves that looked like something a gymnast might do in a strip club, the crowd went absolutely insane. People were bouncing. People were dancing. The whole crowd was swaying. Foam lazer-guns were thrown into the crowd. As the duo mixed their way effortlessly from Major Lazer hits “Pon De Floor” and “Keep It Goin’ Louder” into tracks they’ve produced individually, Skerrit Bwoy and the dancer took to pulling off moves straight out of the “Pon De Floor” video (warning: NSFW). The chemistry between the two was obvious, both wearing ear-to-ear grins the entire time.

I had heard that the show was supposed to run until 2 a.m., but was cut short after a guy fell and busted his head open , which was evident due to the pool of blood near the back of the room. Regardless of whether or not the show was supposed to go on for another two hours or not, Major Lazer brought what is likely to be one of the best-remembered dance parties the Cradle has ever seen.

I’ll admit I don’t really know much about the Internet, other than it’s a great place to find videos of walruses playing saxophone. So, I really didn’t really know too much about WKNC blog until very recently. I guess I was just so enthralled watching those walruses. But, when a series of skateboarding injuries plagued me over the past few weeks, I decided that now would be the time to start contributing to this thing.

As I just alluded, I skateboard. I skate just about every day and it is truly my first love in life, as sappy as that sounds. I even got my DJ name because my girlfriend suggested using some trick terminology for my on air moniker – “DJ Inward Heelflip” never quite caught on. But, getting back to skating, I figured my first post could be a playlist to skate to. You see, I usually listen to music while I skate, and in the eight or so years I’ve been riding, I’ve amassed quite a collection of tunes that complement some shred sledding.

You’re going to see a lot of different types of music in these mixes. When people think skateboarding, they generally think punk rock, and that’s true to a certain extent. Punk rock has definitely played a role in skateboarding’s history and it will continue to do so in the years to come. But other forms of music, such as heavy metal, hip-hop, and alternative rock, are just as much a part of skateboarding culture. Who could think of anything better to blast than gangsta rap while sliding some ledges? What complements hitting huge handrails quite like Slayer? Variety is the spice of skate life, and so are these mixes.

So without further ado, here’s Switch’s first skate mix. I’ll try to put one of these up every few months or so (along with a photo of yours truly), in addition to blogs about grunge, punk, and whatever else. I know it’s not walruses playing saxophone, but hopefully this mix will put some gnar back in your bloodstream.

1.) Valient Thorr- “I Hope the Ghosts of the Dead Haunt Your Soul Forever”- What a way to kick off a playlist! These guys are Triangle locals, even though they claim to hail from the planet Venus. With how hard they play, I believe they really do come another planet, because few Earthlings can step to Thorr’s brand of full speed ahead rock n’ roll. They got their start playing skateparks in rural North Carolina and one of their songs made it into the soundtrack of the world famous Skate videogame. You can’t get much more cred than that.

2.) Zebrahead- “Check”- This one I remember hearing on a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game when I was younger. Ever since then, I’ve associated it with getting gnar- either in the real world or the pretend one. “Check” also shows how that 90’s rock/rap thing could have worked out pretty well, given the right circumstances.

3.) GOB- “Can I Resist”- I first heard GOB when I was watching this skateboarding show on T.V. when I was like twelve. Ever since then, I’ve been stoked on these Canadians. Yes, I like pop punk. I don’t care what you think about it.

4.) Pearl Jam- “God’s Dice”- Vedder and company hit the jackpot with this post-90’s return to hard rocking. Hey, I couldn’t help but throw in some grunge love in here.

5.) Beastie Boys- “Triple Trouble”- Quick straight rhymes and some British accents over a beat sampled from the Sugarhill Gang’s legendary “Rapper’s Delight”? Only New York’s favorite sons could pull that off. Perfect for some skateboard break-dancing, B-boy.

6.) Aerosmith- “Back in the Saddle”- This was probably the first band I ever listened to while skating. Back in those days, I would strap a CD player around my hand when I went out in the streets. Needless to say I broke about five of those things. Thankfully we have iPods now, so I can get my classic rock outlaw vibe from Aerosmith worry free.

7.) Flogging Molly- “The Kilburn High Road”- I don’t condone skating while under the influence, but if you’re going to do it, this is you song, laddie.

8.) The Pixies- “Alec Eiffel”- Trippy, but with all the melodic power that made this group the godfathers of modern rock music.

9.) Queens of the Stone Age- “Go With the Flow”- Alternative rock, whatever that means anymore, with lots of muscle behind it. I recommend you take the title literally.

10.) Bad Brains- “Don’t Bother Me”- A classic hardcore punk anthem. Seriously raw skating needs seriously raw music, and Bad Brains never fails to deliver the latter.

11.) Children of Bodom- “Triple Corpse Hammerblow”- I’m not a huge metal head, but when I heard one of my favorite skaters, Chris Cole, going on and on about this band in interviews I had to check them out. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed. Put this song on before laying waste to some big stair sets and handrails, Viking style.

12.) Bad Religion- “Requiem for Dissent”- This track from the Los Angeles old guard is another solid tune meant for fast skating. Activism never sounded better.

13.) The Ramones- “I Wanted Everything”- A skateboarder’s staple band since the 70′s. Somewhat heavier than the typical hits you hear by the Ramones, but this one’s still just as catchy.

14.) Anti Flag- “Got the Numbers”- Probably one of the most positive players in punk rock music today. Great music loaded with the proactive messages we seem to be lacking these days. And with skateboarders well outnumbering all the branches of the United States military combined, we’ve got the numbers as well.

15.) The Heartaches- “Rock n Roll UFO”- There’s just no better song with which to end this list. Clocking in at only two minutes, this is complete skate-inspired rock n’ roll chaos. If dropping in to the deep end of a backyard pool has a sound, it’s “Rock n’ Roll UFO.”

Hope you enjoyed the first of Switch’s skate mix. Now stop blogging and start shredding!