Jesse Marco's 30 Favorite Albums

The hottest young DJ in the game breaks down the music that inspired him.

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Complex Original

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Jesse Marco is authentic. When he works, he doesn't just press play on his laptops and fist-pump the set away. He actually spins. He's been doing it longer than his age suggests, too. The 22-year-old New York-based DJ got his start at 16 by interning for Mark Ronson and opening for DJ AM. Now that Marco is old enough to legally hit the clubs, he's making even more of a name for himself. 

His taste in music is as eclectic as you'd expect. We talked to Jesse about his favorite albums—they date as far back as 1963, and range from The Rolling Stones to Jay-Z. He has a disclaimer for his list, however: “The music that I play is sometimes different than the music that I listen to. Sometimes the music that I listen to is different than the music that I make. Just because you might like the way that I DJ, doesn’t mean that you might like my taste in music." 

Read on to see what albums are on the Project X DJ's mind, whether he's playing a fictional party in a movie or curating a rave for thousands of real-life screaming fans.

As told to Justin Block (@JBlock49)

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James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963)

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Label: King, Solid Smoke, Polydor

Jesse Marco: "I think that was also, again, another one where you need to have that record as a DJ. A lot of James Brown records were, I remember as a DJ, you could essentially, at certain parts of the night, like late at night, when the party isn't really over but it could be over, like you stop playing music that people would want to dance to, you kind of just play this one record, and the party will keep going. That's what's essential about it. It's the funkiest, dude. The loudest, funkiest. All the drums on that album are classic break samples now.

"It's funny because if you look at hip-hop now, like the cultural state of it, and you look back at the characters in it, they're kind of like a souped up version, or a future version of what James Brown was. Fucker would not catch him looking fly as fuck with a crazy-ass suit and some gator boots on, on some like, 'I just came from my last show, these are my four girlfriends.' [Laughs/] Guy was a rockstar, bro. That's who they all learned it from. He's the king."

The Rollings Stones, Beggars Banquet (1968)

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Label: London, Decca

Jesse Marco: "This record, also one of the scenarios where I think my cousin or one of my good friends gave me this record and was like, 'Listen to this. It'll expand your taste.' It's my favorite Rolling Stones record is probably because of 'Sympathy for the Devil.'

"A lot of the songs from that record are dipping into different genres. A lot of people like to talk about that Muddy Waters created rock-and-roll, and the Rolling Stones kind of took their whole blues approach and formed more of it into rock.

"I'm not going to be that critical. I'm not going to be like Pitchfork.com and like give you all the facts as to why it's one of the greatest. It just is, and the songs are great, and 'Sympathy for the Devil' is my favorite song. It was one of my favorite albums-it had a lot of songs on it, like 'Street Fighting Man' I really like.

"It's also interesting, because when you're a DJ, you're also so accustomed to time signature, and beat every second. They really are kind of funky. They do things on the up-beat, and they make you listen. They're making you listen and they're making sure you're paying attention with your mind for the musicians. I think they did a good combination of all that stuff, and making music that is mesmerizing for women. As a musician, I listen to it, and I'm like, 'This shit is really smart.'"

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin (1969)

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The Beatles, Abbey Road (1969)

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Label: Apple, Capitol

Jesse Marco: "I think this is also, again, a no-brainer. I would say I guess it's my favorite Beatles record. It doesn't have the most singles on it, but it has 'Come Together,' on it-it's like a classic riff. John Lennon at his best I'd say, writing that song. A classic record. It's also one of those records where like as a DJ, if you don't have that record, you're slipping.

"I think a lot of older records like this were almost like rites of passage. Other DJs, and listening to the songs they were playing, albums they were off of, you kind of get a sense of pace from a lot of these guys.

"I think before more than ever in the early 2000s when I was really starting to DJ, things were at their peak I think taste-wise without radio. Things were still very separate. Like hip-hop and radio were still not one. These albums I think were still being appreciated as good taste and fresh, where now some of this stuff sounds a little more dated, which is okay. That's because music has gotten more advanced. Like I said, these are benchmarks for you, so Abbey Road for sure."

Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

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Label: Reprise

Jesse Marco: "That record to me is really special. When I was going through harder times, I would say I was listening to that record a lot. If someone had passed away or something wasn't going right, I don't know.

"First of all, that record, my favorite song is 'Down By the River,' and that song-to just give you some insight-you know that movie that came out... Wasn't there just a movie about a country songwriter? Jeff Bridges plays him. I forget the name of the movie [Crazy Heart]. So they took a lot of ideas from I think-this is not fact, but this is what I think-it seems like they took a lot of ideas from Neil Young's life, and apparently Neil Young got strung out on heroin in the desert, and was suffering and wrote that song for that album. That in itself, with that one song, for me transcends everything. You can play that song for anyone and anyone will tell you that it's a great song.

"People criticize him for his really whiny voice and stuff like that. I just think that his guitar playing, and his fingering of the guitar-he has a very intricate way of playing the guitar. To me it's very rock-and-roll. It's not the cleanest, but he almost makes the guitar sing. The melodies that he's playing and the solos-he'll just go.

"That one song ['Down By the River'] is 9 minutes long. His songs are super long and weird and crazy, because that dude was high on heroin writing that shit. He was zoning the fuck out, and it's terrible to say, but those songs are fucking legendary. Who gives a shit? That record for me, I can listen to at any time, and it's a great record."

Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (1973)

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Label: Tamla

Jesse Marco: "There used to be this party-I might have been 16-at Beatrice, at the Beatrice Inn. It might have been when I was a little bit older. It was funny, because I would go upstairs, and they would play hip-hop, and Jay-Z, and shit like that, but downstairs they would play oldies only. Now it's normal, I guess. People were fucking playing Marvin Gaye, and Otis Redding, and oldies and swing music, and dancing, and twirling girls around. It was fun as shit. At the end of the night, they would always play the Stevie Wonder 'Living for the City' song, and everyone would sing it together.

"Obviously, I was 16, and I was already buying records. I had the single for Stevie's-I had the vinyl version of 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered.' I had that single. I was already a Stevie fan, and I had some other songs downloaded on the computer. I was really interested, because I really liked that song 'Living for the City,' so I bought the album, and it's become one of my favorite albums, and it's a classic. It's just timeless lyrics, melody, and piano work.

"I'm fascinated and in awe of him as an artist. I've never met him or anything, but I would love just to get an idea of who he is. You get an idea through his music, but it just amazes me when someone is so talented. It's almost like God had to like take away something from him, because he's so talented. It's crazy. I can barely get around the piano with my eyes."

David Bowie, Changesonebowie (1976)

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Label: RCA

Jesse Marco: "Like I said with Morrissey [of The Smiths], I won't be buying tickets to see David Bowie, like I wouldn't be the first on-line or anything. I have every David Bowie record on vinyl, and I only did it because I think a lot of songs of his, and also being a record collector, a lot of the songs that I like are spread out across the gamut.

"I definitely listen to a wide variety of albums from him, but the Changes album is probably the one that sticks out the most. Definitely in the same phase as The Smiths and The Cure in listening to Changes.

"I'm going and remembering, because I'm going in my iTunes, and I have all the David Bowie shit, and I'm forgetting what songs are on what albums and stuff. It [Changes] has the more classic David Bowie stuff, like the more rock-and-roll. It has 'Rebel, Rebel,' which is one of my favorite David Bowie songs, and it just doesn't get a lot of love. It's also quintessential, and a benchblock for a DJ. His album covers are also really crazy."

The Clash, London Calling (1979)

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Talking Heads, Remain in Light (1980)

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Label: Sire

Jesse Marco: "Definitely quintessential DJ-related sort of disco, punk-rock kind of sounds. 'Once in a Lifetime,' that's the big record. Actually, I heard Mark Ronson play that record once when I was watching him DJ, and I think that I just sort of immediately thought, 'This sounds amazing.'

It's sort of like the precursor to what we know now as disco, classic, or half-The Doors. Like a mish-mash. It had a little David Bowie in it, it was dance-rock you could say. A classic record. That was more of one of the ones that I bought the singles to the record, like vinyls, but the album I bought on iTunes. Had to admit that one! [Laughs.]"

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Uprising (1980)

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Label: Tuff Gong, Island

Jesse Marco: "I love Bob and everything he's done, and this is another Smiths scenario where like I'll pick out certain things from certain albums. Uprising is actually not his first album, and not the most critically acclaimed. Just like, it has some more, like more mellow-ey, deeper meaning kind of stuff on it. It has 'Redemption Song' on it which is my favorite Bob Marley song. That's why I sort of picked that one. I could've put a bunch of others.

"As a listener, he always makes me feel inclined to slow things down, and think about things, and that's important. That's what made him so special, that he made you question shit. For an artist to be able to do that in a way where he's connecting everyone, and not separating by their differences and stuff like that-it sounds corny as fuck, but it's just the truth, and that's why he's one of the greats.

"Obviously as a kid and as a teenager, that was... I smoked a lot of weed with Bob. [Laughs.]"

Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982)

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Label: Epic

Jesse Marco: "Just a quintessential MJ record. I think that this influence from where I was really young. I was like, I had my walkman in my stroller and shit. Like had the tape and everything, loved Michael Jackson. Danced to him during Christmas time, and then my mom has the record.

"That was also if you're a DJ, you have to have that record. Just on the fact that it has that iconic cover and everything. You have to have that in your collection if you're a record collector. If you're a DJ and you don't have that on Halloween, if you don't have the 'Thriller' single, c'mon."

Prince, Purple Rain (1984)

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Label: Warner Bros. Records

Jesse Marco: "When I discovered Prince through that song 'Kiss,' and hearing that song at weddings and shit like that, you discover it and you live with it. For a song like that, if you go to the club now or a party, and you're not really drunk or grinding, and that song comes on you're to be like, 'Aw man, where the fuck am I? Am I at a wedding?'

"That album is probably the quintessential Prince album. That dude is an enigma. The crazy thing is, you hear stories about dudes like that, like you can't look them in the eye, or can't touch him, and it's funny because I've DJ'd a bunch of times when he's been there. He's never, ever gotten up to dance except this one time. He came to the club, and I'm thinking to myself, 'Man, this motherfucker just stays in the corner.' He's surrounded by girls feeding him grapes and dancing.

"To Prince, I'm a baby, so he doesn't give a shit. He's also a G. People think Prince is soft. He is not-he's the absolute opposite. He's not to be fucked around with.

"So I was like, 'Man, I'm going to get this motherfucker to dance.' Like straight up and down. I'm like going through what I think he would like to hear, thinking, 'This is a funky ass dude, I'm going to play some real funk, all of this really funky stuff.' Dude is just still sitting down, and then it sort of clicks to me, 'This dude doesn't give a shit. He wants to hear what everyone wants to hear right now.' Like a really good version of that.

"If he wants to hear some thug shit, I'm going to give him some 2Pac. I played 'How Do You Want It,' which is obviously the smoothest 2Pac song, and it was like he acknowledged the fact that I played that record, got up, brought his gang of hoes to the floor, and broke it down. It was the illest thing I've ever scene. He was dancing like not normally. He was like he was doing a choreographed routine. It was crazy. [Laughs.]

"The cover is mad flamboyant and crazy. 'Purple Rain' is also a great song. There are tons of just phenomenal songs on that record, front-to-back. He is a symbol for that sound, I mean literally a symbol."

The Smiths, Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)

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Label: Rough Trade, Sire

Jesse Marco: "I put that there because a lot of my favorite Smiths songs are not on albums. Their first album, I think it's Strangeways or something like that. I have the vinyl record, but I have like, a lot of my favorite songs were released as singles. But if I were to pick and album, it'd be that.

"I love The Smiths, but I'm not like buying advanced tickets to a Marcy concert. I do like The Smiths a lot. I think Johnny Marr on guitar and Morrissey sound really trendsetting. I don't know-they have a crazy sound. Real punk, like it's rebellious, but it's like there's so much melody in it. Really English, what they call 'smart' music. I don't want to embarrass myself and come up with a bunch of words for how good The Smiths are. If I were to pick a Smiths album, I guess it would be, I think it's Strangeways. I have the actual record. I think 'Stop Me''s on that record.

"But my favorite Smiths song is not on any album. It's 'How Soon Is Now?'-I don't know why that's my favorite Smiths song. I think one night-this was 5 years ago maybe. 6, 7 years ago maybe. I was in high school or something, and I was wasted. I passed out on a couch in someone's loft in SoHo, and everyone was passed out, and this was running on a repeat on the speakers as everyone slept. It was really crazy. When I woke up, I was like, 'Damn, this song is stuck in my fucking head.' It's really one of the greatest songs of all time."

The Cure, Disintegration (1989)

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Label: Fiction

Jesse Marco: "I put all these really emo bands in one part of the list. [Laughs.] Probably my favorite Cure album. I love Cure, and my favorite song off that record is 'Spiderman,' and if you've ever seen the video for 'Spiderman,' it's so trippy. It's set in like the 1800s, and it sort of had a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of thing going on. I don't know-it's definitely weird and out there. The song is one of those classic, timeless songs.

"You listen to it today, and the production value and everything involved in it is just top-notch, and it's lasted through time. The lyrics are hauntingly good. Just a classic."

Nirvana, Nevermind (1991)

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Label: DGC

Jesse Marco: "Killer, just definitely in my favorite grunge rock. I'm really into rock and shit. It's just my favorite. They have a sound that people still praise. It's sad. I feel like you wonder like people like that [Kurt Cobain]. He and their music are totally timeless."

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)

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Label: Warner Bros. Records

Jesse Marco: "That was just one of my first-it wasn't the first-but it was my favorite Chili's. I would just play it all the time. I think the melodies in that, I think 'Under the Bridge' is legendary in of itself. There were some other records on there. 'Give It Away' was the hit record off that. The music video was always on TV.

"There's other great ones, but every single song is amazing. It's also funk, it's rock, he's rapping, he's singing. They did it the best, you know what I mean? They didn't sacrifice."

Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

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Label: Loud

Jesse Marco: "That was my first I think foray into obviously Wu-Tang. It was more of a thing where, that was a good example of where I got put on to by an older homie. Wu-Tang, I might have heard when I turned 11 or 12. I think that was one of the sort of things where I was looking to friends and people that were older than me.

"I think it's also, this doesn't happen in other places. I grew up in the same building as some of my friends. I grew up across the street from kids I used to play with. The way people grow up and are connected now and learn about music is just way different.

"I think first of all, hearing that record you're feeling the dirtiness of the sound. RZA samples basically everything. Every single track is sampled in a crazy way and is very hip. That record has all these crazy skits on it. You listen to that record front to back, it's like a movie. I think I heard that record, and Method Man was my favorite part of it."

A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders (1993)

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Label: Jive. BMG

Jesse Marco: "It's argued very often what the best Tribe record is. I like A Tribe Called Quest because I was really into skating and hip-hop, and Wu-Tang, and stuff like that, and I heard Tribe, and I felt like-like 'Award Tour'-that's how I discovered them.

"That was-I don't want to call it these corny names like 'backpacker' or whatever, but like I had my North Face, my CD player and shit. It's funny because I'm young, but I was so exposed to all this stuff so early on. I was listening to all this shit when I was 12 or 13 years old. I had to make sure I had to get a North Face in my size.

"I remember where I bought the Tribe album too. I bought it at Tower Records on Broadway, which is now closed. I bought that record actually on vinyl from that spot, and I was super young too. I was with a friend of mine, and I saw the cover, and immediately had the connection. Like, 'I know I need this. This is something that I need.'"

Notorious B.I.G., Ready To Die (1994)

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Label: Bad Boy

Jesse Marco: "Definitely just my favorite Biggie album. It's like dark and doesn't have as many singles on it, but it's that raw Biggie. I mean he's the best rapper ever. It's just very insightful, and G, and everything. He was just the greatest ever."

The Beastie Boys, Ill Communication (1994)

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Label: Capitol, Grand Royal

Jesse Marco: "I wrote-when MCA passed away-this thing about him on my blog, and it actually got a hits and stuff. Basically, the story goes, I discovered the Beastie Boys in backwards fashion, because I think that when I was kind of at that age when I was listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers and all these other bands, I saw the 'Sabotage' video on TV and I liked it a lot, and it was funny, and they were wearing costumes, and it was punk-rock, and I immediately liked it. That wasn't even off their first album, but that was off their favorite album of mine.

"I think that as a fan of the Beastie Boys discography, to not pick the album that I discovered them with, even though I kind of discovered them with Check Your Head, I kind of discovered them when they were in the mainstream spotlight with that 'Intergalactic' song, to fucking this shit, which isn't in my opinion the best. But it's raw, and it's really when you're 16, or you're 15, it's like your theme song. You're just tearing shit up."

Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt (1996)

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Label: Roc-A-Fella, Priority

Jesse Marco: "Just self-explanatory right there. I'm a very big Jay-Z fan. I think he's just a really good rapper, you know what I mean? It can be argued [that Jay-Z's the greatest rapper of all time], but I don't want to get into that 9 hour long discussion.

"Actually, this is really funny. My friend-he will remain anonymous-he got arrested during the storm, and they brought him to central booking. Being that he got arrested during Hurricane Sandy, he was there for a while I guess for judges to go and see him and whatnot. It seems like it's always the topic of anything when you're waiting in jail, like 'Who the best rapper alive?' They were just arguing about Jay-Z for 9 hours. Like, 'Who's the best rapper alive? Jay-Z, 2 Chainz or Meek Mill?'

"But anyway, Reasonable Doubt, favorite Jay album. A classic. You know, 'Can I Live,' I mean there's so many on that record. I think this is another one where it's self-explanatory, don't have to say too much or else I'm going to embarrass myself. [Laughs.]"

OutKast, ATLiens (1996)

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Label: LaFace, Arista

Jesse Marco: "My favorite OutKast record, I love OutKast so much. If I'm at home, and I'm chilling, I'm going to put on some OutKast. No matter what scenario you're in you can put on some OutKast and you'll be good. You can play-I mean obviously with some of the more well-known stuff, I could play 'Rosa Parks' at LIV in Miami, and a thousand people sing the words to that shit, and I could play it in a small-little [venue] and I could listen to it.

"That everything for OutKast is just amazing. 'ATLiens' and 'Jazzy Belle' on that record are like my favorite. I also think I bought this record-I think this was one of those things where like my friend was like, 'Man, you gotta hear OutKast.'

"The pairing between them obviously is way over-talked about now with like the melodies and egos and shit. I've actually met both of them, and they're both like total rapper-types. They definitely did some really special shit. It's crazy. It literally lasted throughout all their albums too. Even their more poppity, radio stuff is good too."

DJ Shadow, Entroducing... (1996)

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Label: Mo' Wax

Jesse Marco: "I think I got this record sort of pretty early on. Definitely around the same time as some of my early influences with hip-hop. 'Building Steam with a Grain of Salt' is my favorite song on that record. A very ethereal and heavenly vibe that makes you feel like not normal."

"The best, amazing combination of extreme knowledge of music. A lot of the records on here are samples, and they're just samples of really obscure stuff, and obviously put together and arranged in a timeless, classic fashion. A classic record.

"When someone finds a sample today and flips it like into 'A Milli'-that's one thing. This is not a great club record. This was one of the best albums of all-time. It's that good. It transcends a lot of things. DJing, club music, record collecting, it's a lot of things together. If you go see DJ Shadow now live, it's not for everyone, and I think some people might be like, 'What is this? I don't get this.' But it's dope. He's the precursor to the guys like Flying Lotus, and all those hip-hop instrumentalists."

Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire (1996)

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Label: Epic

Jesse Marco: “I think that was pre-Wu-Tang. That was after I was super into Black Sabbath. A little bit before that, I was super into heavy metal, and heavy rock. I slowly sort of got into the other stuff. I was 10. I don’t know, it’s weird now. 10 year olds are so readily exposed to the radio and music that it’s different. Back then, I was going off of my friends. I would be over at my friends house.

“I played the guitar when I was pretty young. Like when I was 10, I was going to guitar lessons, and I would take lessons with other kids—it wasn’t just a private lesson. We’d have like band time, where the drummer and the bass guy would come, and I would be there. I can’t even play anymore. I stopped playing when I was 14—I wish I hadn’t. We would play jams that we would all like. One of the guys would be like, ‘Play ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T. and the MG’s.’ Or like, ‘Let’s play Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man.’ I just got influenced by that, and I think that’s what led to the Rage Against the Machine thing.

“That was the one where it was like yellow, and it had the kid on the front of it. He’s wearing the super hero costume. That was for sure in the CD player all the time. My mom would be screaming at me like, ‘Do the dishes!’ and I’m like, ‘Fuck you mom!’ I love that record.”

Radiohead, OK Computer (1997)

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Label: Parlophone, Capitol

Jesse Marco: "What can I say about that record other than it's a classic? I have a love/hate relationship with Radiohead, and Thom Yorke. I think OK Computer was extremely listenable. You could listen to that whole record all the way through and sort of get the gist of what they were trying to get across.

"I think that was one of the records that I came on to straight, because it's another one where I heard it when I was young, and was like, 'This is boring.' As you're older, you come back to those things. Your taste grows. I think that was just a case of that. I'll listen to that whole record on the airplane.

"I bought the CD for OK Computer and listened to it in my walkman. I think the thing about it is I'll go see Radiohead live at Coachella, and they'll play like tons of new shit. Sometimes they won't play any old shit at all, but when they play songs on OK Computer I know what's going on, and I don't have to mouth the words. [Laughs.]

"I guess my favorite song off it is 'No Surprises.' In my iTunes it says that I've listened to it 371 times. At one point, people were trying to incorporate that record into their club DJing and stuff. It was funny. I remember hearing-this was obviously in 2007-hearing like Baltimore Club remixes of 'Everything Is In Its Right Place.' There were some really good ones."

The Stokes, Is This It (2001)

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Label: RCA

Jesse Marco: "This is kind of a revered, classic album. 'Some Day' is probably my favorite song. I think this is also one that I would try and constantly mix into my DJ sets and what not. 'Last Night,' that was a huge record in the club or in a dance-rock party. That was popular seven years ago. But it's funny, because sometimes I'll play 'Last Night,' like right after a hip-hop record, and all the girls in the room start bopping around, and all the guys sit down. [Laughs.]"

Daft Punk, Discovery (2001)

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Label: Virgin

Jesse Marco: "Self-explanatory. Actually, the funny thing is actually my cousin gave me Daft Punk Homework. My cousin was a big, he was a really into music when we were kids. He passed stuff down to me. He used to make me mixtapes, you know on actual tapes and shit. He used to give me like Beastie Boys, Green Day. Then he gave me Daft Punk. He gave me their first record, Homework.

"At the time, because I was so into Big, and Wu-Tang, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, I didn't get it, you know what I mean? It was one of those records that stayed in my collection, and I would look at it every now and then, and like, 'I'm gonna just pop that in and listen to it.'

"As I started to get older, and I started to get into DJing and records, and realizing how experimental they were being. When they came out with Discovery, I was like, 'What the hell man?' I know a lot of people like to say that their first album is their favorite. The Discovery album just had songs on it. Like funky ass songs. 'Face to Face' is one of my favorite songs ever."

30. Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury (2006)

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Label: Re-Up, Star Trak, Jive

Jesse Marco: "That's a killer album. There's not too many hits on it, per se, but production-wise, that album was fucking amazing. Chad from The Neptunes, I actually had a session with him once. He had the most bare essentials in the session. It was me, him, and Samantha Ronson.

"To tell you the truth–I don't give a fuck-we had a session, he came over, and he had the bare essentials, and this guy was-it was crazy dude. He was just making The Neptunes' sound with nothing on a keyboard with the most minimalist sounds, and that's it. It was dope. I love their sound man. They're a huge influence.

"It was sort of around the time when the blogs weren't Crayola-driven. It was genuinely cool to have a music blog. Like you just did it as a hobby. If an album came out, you could get it off the internet. Whatever program you were fucking with. It was cool because the torrent websites, they'd give you like a review, and their opinion and shit. It was dope though.

"That was also some drug-dealer rap. You feel like you're really hustling. To me, the beats were like futuristic hip-hop beats. I dug that. I'm a huge Pusha-T fan. That album really reminds of like a futuristic Jay-Z record. It had the verbal types of rhymes. The double-entendres, the slick little one-liners. It had this mood about it that was furious."

LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (2007)

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Label: DFA, Capitol

Jesse Marco: "My favorite LCD CD. I think that my production has been influenced a lot by the gamut. As far as sort of incorporating dance elements into my music and sort of keeping things a little funkier with the lines that I write.

"LCD 100% has influence in that, and also the album is just a really close piece about New York, and I would agree with a lot of things that he's saying in the album. Whether it's a fusion of rock and disco, and whatever else is in there-funk, soul, house music, the record I think is timeless."

Burial, Untrue (2007)

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Label: Hyperdub

Jesse Marco: "I think this was a testament to me buying, and listening. The precursor to this is the DJ Shadow record. I don't know what the fuck they are calling it these days. They come up with so many genre names, I don't even know. I guess it's like down-tempo, or you could consider it drum and bass. This was my first foray into that.

"The Burial album is one of my favorite albums. I put it on when I heard about it, and this was sort of through the internet kind of thing, and obviously when I went over to the UK, I was looking, and asking questions about this kind of music, whether you want to call it drum and bass, down-tempo, chillwave, or whatever. The rhythms are two-step. It has a little UK-garage flavor with the swing of the drums. It's really rhythmic and sort of euphoric, but it in really chill way.

"I put on the record and listen to the whole record all the way through, and totally question everything in my life. It's one of those things-I'll listen to that record on the plane and like be in a different world. That record is amazing.

"I think he won some crazy award for that record, and actually no one even knows who he is. Nobody's even seen this dude's face. This dude Burial, nobody even knows who he is. Actually, people thought it was Fatboy Slim, and thought it was him, and he was just making another alias, but not. It's a record that's revered by people who were into UK scene and wanted to go over there and solidify that."

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