Tuesday: The Rub at Middlesex

Mistaker brings the Rub up to the Middlesex Lounge tonight -- always a good time. And if you happen to notice a bunch of sweaty bloggers with ping-pong paddles, just don't even bother asking.

Speaking of the Rub, those dudes are making history -- more to the point, they're 11 (eleven!) volumes into their "The Rub History of Hip-Hop" mp3-mix series, which is so good we can't believe they're giving it away for free. Consider it remedial homework for anyone who wasn't alive -- or who was otherwise engaged with Duran Duran -- during rap's first decade. Essential from front to back, but we have a special place in our heart for 1984-1986, for our money the best three years of rap music, or any music, between 1967 and 1991.

DOWNLOAD: The Rub Hip Hop History 1986 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: The Rub Hip Hop History 1985 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: The Rub Hip Hop History 1984 (mp3)

Get the whole series and tracklists here.