David Day works at Forced Exposure. He also has a Friday night gig at enormous.tv and an occasional solo gig at Middlesex Lounge.

Drumloops can drive like Andretti. A good beat defines some of our best music, and lyrics can be perfunctory. Here freestyle beats gird vocoders, Lanois’ cycling rhythm props Dylan’s waking words, respitory ragga makes ganjagossip unstoppable, and a harsh clubrock remix distracts from Dullian desperation. These are beats you can’t, well, beat.

Afghan Whigs– Rebirth of the Cool, [Uptown Avondale]

Sometime between “Fool’s Gold” and “Lemon”, Steve Fisk and Shawn Smith remixed the hidden track off Congregation, “Miles Iz Ded” and came up with this: all tightly panned reverb, acid bleeps and high-wire flanger stunts. Greg Dulli’s wicked comeon drowns in the echo chamber like an inebriated pirate in the Carribean and before Dulli’s over-the-top call to remember the liquor can overwhelm the mix, it soon fades again, replaced by devilishly hot licks and repeated, rattling grunge snares. (Fisk and Smith would late go on to form Pigeonhead, whose “Battleflag” is another 90s club-rock remnant that still holds up). Even so, this is some sexy shit.

Alozade, Hollow Point & Mr. Vegas– Under Mi Sensi, [600% Dynamite/Ragga Ragga Ragga 2003]

This is the only song I know of that (perfectly) incorporates a blunt-induced cough into the rhythm track, a clever twist that still draws smiles from Friday night party goers. It also lyrically contains the tenet widely held in reggae circles, namely (paraphrasing Mr. Vegas): “Cocaine use leads to insanity, and I’ll pass on your offer thank you very much.” (Something to remember as we plow headlong into another, more intense 80s-style economically clefting decade). Of course, Alozade and Hollow Point reference the Barrington Levy original as well. Worth noting also as producers South Rakkas Crew recently made an impact on their remix of M.I.A.’s “Galang.”

Freestyle– Don’t Stop The Rock, [Night at the Edit Block Vol. 1]

Ganked from a Freestyle mix compiled by Boston-area music guru Tim Haslett, where it was appropriately the first track, this is some serious party-on-fire nonsense. The swaying rhythm track keeps hips moving and amplified stabs mark the callout chorus—while synth congas, claps and a vocoder calling out party freaks wearing “see-through jeans” is like the ingredients for a broken coffee table. Just add Vodka and stir. By the time the beat drops out with one minute left, you’re already cueing it up again.

Bob Dylan– Series of Dreams, [Bootleg Series Vol. 3]

The final track off the best b-side set of all time, The Bootleg Series, comes this gem from Bob Dylan. Daniel Lanois produced it for the Oh, Mercy album. He also played on the driving, dramatic percussion track. For his part, Dylan emotes in a theatrical way we rarely see. (I can particularly remember the video to this song, a lucid editing of images and film outtakes). Lyrically the song is filled with clear dream images, but you can’t help but think that Dylan is looking back on his life, a Series of Dreams, and that each reference correlates to an actual event. Dylanology aside, it’s a hypnotic, poignant and sometimes forgotten contribution to electronic-enabled music from America’s bard.