"Shitty Club" DJs Zak Frieling and Eric Allen share their favorite "post-punk, new wave, gothy, krautrock, etc." tracks

Zak Frieling and Eric Allen used to play together in punk band Kommie Kilpatrick (full disclosure: Allen has contributed to Metro Times now-defunct sports column, also I drink with these guys all the time). Years later, "after a few too many times getting bummed out to the Blade 3 soundtrack at City Club" the "'stupid name/OK idea'" formula struck again when they devised Shitty Club, a semi-regular night at Donovan's where they play "post-punk, new wave, gothy stuff, krautrock, early techno, some new weird punk bands, etc., etc., etc."

As Shitty Club, the two spin dancey tracks by bands like New Order, B-52's and Talking Heads along with cuts from key bands like The Fall, Wire, Bauhaus as well as new stuff like Protomartyr, Pampers, and Useless Eaters. We asked the guys to come up with a playlist of their current favorites: 

Ultravox —  "Mr. X": "Ultravox has a lot going on that we like, the first album (produced by Brian Eno) has some total glammy/punky classics, but lately I've been jamming this track, from their fourth album which was produced by Conny Plank. and its got plenty of early electronic/Kraftwerk vibes going on, while also sounding an awful lot like Cybotron."


Bush Tetras — "Too Many Creeps": "An ultimate anti-social / downer dance floor essential."


Buzzcocks — "I Don't Mind": "The Buzzcocks family tree is something we always end up pulling from several times throughout the night, whether its tracks from Howard Devoto's Magazine, Pete Shelley's Homosapien solo LP, or even the weird and wild Fine Young Cannibals cover of "Ever Fallen In Love." But this song from their first LP is an all-time favorite."


Graham Parker and The Rumour — “Local Girls”: "When we were conceptualizing Shitty Club, I don’t think Graham Parker’s “Local Girls” ever really was meant to enter the lexicon of what we played. I brought it once by accident when I was hungover picking records, pitched it up a ton and it became an anthem for Summer 2013. Go pick up one of the ten picture sleeve copies at Hello Records right now." 


Neu! — “Hallogallo”: "One time a mom asked me to play a Dead Kennedy’s song and grabbed my ass to “seal the deal.” So I played a 10 minute Neu! song instead because I’m awkward and didn’t know what to do. This song is always an awesome opener to get warmed up with or a good choice to close the night out when everyone is drunk."


David Bowie — “Sound And Vision”: "Through doing this DJ night, I actually learned to appreciate David Bowie. I always thought he was a rip off artist, but as soon as you see people freaking out on a dance floor to “Young Americans” or “Sound And Vision,” all of his pretentiousness is forgiven."


Shitty Club starts at 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 9 at Donovan's, 3003 W Vernor Hwy, Detroit, 48216. This week features special guest Ash Nowak from Haute 2 Death; view the Facebook event page for more information.