What is this?
White Crate is a space for Bay Area music.
Through daily album reviews (IG / web), a weekly newsletter, a monthly show on Lower Grand Radio, and live events throughout the year, our mission is to connect musicians and music lovers across San Francisco, Oakland, and the rest of the Bay.
Sign up to hear about the best new music from local artists:
Why the name?
Years ago, I went to the Container Store in downtown San Francisco in search of a new storage solution for my growing record collection. I ultimately brought home five black crates and one white crate with a specific idea in mind: Most of the collection would reside in the black crates, while the white crate would fill up with recently played records. Once I started DJing, I lugged the white crate with me to dive bars, friends’ living rooms, and even deep into the Mojave Desert. In short, it represents a deep love of music—beautiful, life-saving music created by people across a multitude of identities, decades, nations, and genres.
Here are the records that were in the crate when I created this site:
Dettinger - Intershop
Ilaiyaraaja - Fire Star: Synth-Pop & Electro-Funk From Tamil Films 1984-1989
Klymaxx - Meeting in the Ladies Room
The Stooges - Fun House
Ravi Shankar - Raga Parameshwari
David Bowie - Young Americans
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin’
Prince - 1999
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
John Alldis Choir & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Aldo Ceccato - Verdi: La Traviata
LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge
Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails
Space - Carry On, Turn Me On
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Wilco - Being There
The Faint - Danse Macabre
Patrick Cowley - Some Funkettes
Snoop Dogg - Beautiful
Alfred Brendel and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields under Sir Neville Marriner - Mozart: Piano Concertos K.466 and K.491
Nino Rota - 8½
The Postal Service - Give Up
Night Sea - Still
Sufjan Stevens - America
George Benson - Give Me the Night
Machine - There But for the Grace of God Go I
Telex - Moskow Diskow
Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters
Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage
Willie Nelson - Sings Kristofferson
Nena - 99 Red Balloons
The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe
The Heart and Soul Orchestra - Love in ‘C’ Minor
Carlos Mejía Godoy / Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy / Los de Palacagüina – Guitarra Armada
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán - Great Musical Hits from the U.S.A.
ABBA - The Visitors
Various – Anthology of American Poetry to 1900
Various – Guide to Bird Sounds
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
Imagination - In the Heat of the Night
Thelma Houston - Any Way You Like It
Chic – Risqué
Willie Colon / Hector Lavoe – Cosa Nuestra
Beach House - Teen Dream
Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Was (Not Was) - Tell Me That I’m Dreaming
Knxwledge - 1988
2Pac - Me Against the World
Will Saul - Open Too Close EP1
Eluvium - Copia
Patrice Rushen - Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984
Don Muro - It’s Time
Lemelle - You Got Something Special
Qwestlife feat. Teni Tinks - Hit It Off
Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
Bill Withers - Just As I Am
Madonna - Like a Virgin
Holy Ghost - Dumb Disco Ideas
Various - Easy Rider
The Isley Brothers - Winner Takes All
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies
Remember
The San Francisco Bay Area is Ohlone land.
Pay your Shuumi Land Tax or local Indigenous land tax, grow native plants and pollinators, protect local creeks and watersheds, and be a good neighbor and guest.
