Frank

Despite differences in sound, I've found that all of the very best late night albums share one intrinsic quality, their ability to inspire an atmosphere of action around the listener(s).

This music I speak of is not meant for the sleepy, but for those who feel there is still too much to do…too much going on to even consider resting. These songs inspire exploration of the late night's possibilities…to stay up even beyond logic, even when work or school is right around the corner.

The genres I associate with late nights tend to fall under the categories of Hip Hop, Jazz, Blues, and Dance. The night, so tied together with mystery and danger seems perfect to be sound tracked by this music, all of which originated in poor African-American communities in the 20th Century.

First Hip Hop.

Whenever the sunsets, and all my responsibilities are taken care of, the music I almost always reach for first to set off a night of decadence has to be those primal beats, deep bass, and the ignorant yet wise rhymes from some old-school hip-hop albums. The straightforward and direct style of speaking truth and cutting through the day's bologna has to be my favorite aspect of this music. At it's best it is about the struggle to vent and be heard, and when shielded by the night, we all feel braver to say and act how we want.

Next up is Jazz music, specifically, the crazy-experimental jazz-funk fusion of groups like Funkadelic, Sly Stone, Outkast, and Miles Davis. This music is made for a little later in the evening, when the liquid courage has settled and you're feeling brave enough to start mingling with that pretty broad in the bar. The more complex nature of this music mirrors a night of meeting and communicating with a host of new people at a bar or house party.

Or if you're already in a relationship, blues music is perfect for a slow night with just you and your special friend. It's ability to serve as food for the soul makes it great music to play when you are with someone you are intimately attracted to.

The music you'll want to put on next is the dance cuts, tailor-made for pure release of the central-nervous energy that you've stored up all week. On a basic level, it's about connecting to your heartbeat, and is great at inspiring movement. It mirrors the sentiment that, late night music should inspire and move you to action.

Mix and match these genres when the vibe feels right, and you've got yourself an entire evening of smoky, sexy, dangerous late night music…just the way it should be.

Whatever you're playing, late night music is for everyone, because quite simply its music meant for the celebration of life.

Top 5 Late Night Albums Ever

1.) DJ Shadow – Entroducing… (1996)

2.) Miles Davis – Bitches Brew (1969)

3.) (2 way tie) Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
Beastie Boys – Paul's Boutique (1989)

4.) Joy Division – Closer (1980)

5.) (tie) Daft Punk – Discovery (2001)
James Brown – 50th Anniversary Collection (1960's)

On The music…

DJ Shadow's 1996 album Entroducing serves as an eerily fitting soundtrack for a late night drive through any pitch-black landscape, and can be a big late night party album as well. It's incredible chameleon atmosphere sets it apart as THE best late-night album. The spirit of this album is intrinsically tied to the night, and fittingly the standout track on the album is "Midnight In a Perfect World." For those that don't know, you know now.

Miles Davis' Bitches Brew received much criticism upon its original release in 1969. Many critics were saying Miles Davis had sold out to appeal to the rock crowd. Bitches Brew however stands as a sparse, frightening, sexual and almost violent portrayal of the night, and reflects the increasingly muddied and paranoid brain of the heroin-addicted trumpeter. The album's spirit seems to pave the way for brave late night pioneers to follow.

Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP serves as the best example that pop music has ever had of delving into madness, evil, and violence. Filled to the brim with angst, misogyny, homophobia, rape, and brutality, this album serves as an incredible foray into that dark part of our mind that we rarely explore. Eminem is courageous enough to explore this often-ignored side of the human for us all.

Beastie Boys – Paul's Boutique – This album was called "The Dark Side of The Moon of Rap" by Rolling Stone upon its release. Album sales were sluggish though. Paul's Boutique serves as the perfect companion for an adolescents quest for the finer things in life, like getting drunk, vandalizing things, and trying to get laid. Its psychedelic melding of strange sounds was unique in hip-hop and changed the way hip-hop has been created since.

Joy Division – Closer – Death. Decay. Darkness creeps in from all sides of this album until it swallows it whole. The subject matter and bleak and sparse arrangements cry out to be played in the dead of night. Late Nights can also be bleak, almost isolating affairs if you're by yourself (for such evenings see the Joy Division entry).

Daft Punk – Discovery and James Brown Best Of – Both of these albums are similar in that they are great companion pieces to a night of dancing and loving those around you. It compels you to gyrate your hips and get down and dirty. To use the vernacular of the day: to let loose and break it down G Style you should play these records.