Dan the Automator – Wanna Buy a Monkey?

Spin the Record, Dodge the Poop

Dan the Automator’s busy fingers, which can be found in such pies as Loveage, The Handsome Boy Modeling School, and the Gorillaz, took a break to caress the turntables on their own, a labor of love yielding his mixtape sessions, Wanna Buy a Monkey, released on Sequence Records for 2002. A motley collection of his favorite tracks and personal remixes, Wanna Buy a Monkey is more than just a masturbation of an established west coast indie/rap DJ’s ego. The record is half résumé, half homage, covering the various corners of rock and hiphop that define the Automator as epitome mixtape genius.The sixteen tracks flow seamlessly together juxtaposing near opposites like Deltron 3030 and Air as if they were written together. Samples of Dan Nakamura’s own projects (see: the brilliant original version of Gorillaz’ Latin Simone) give us a wink of what the Automator can do as a collaborator.
This album easily crowns the collection of anyone who’s enjoyed anything Dan the Automator has helped create or even remixed. The poop throwing not withstanding, spin this record even a few times and you will want to buy a monkey, you’ll want to buy anything the Automator is selling