# The Waxonia Desk: In the Room Six records from the Chicago rooms themselves rather than from the documentary about them. Two of them are not house at all, which is the point: what a room plays and what a genre is later said to be are different lists. - **Picks:** 6 - **Genre:** Chicago House - **Years:** 1980–1987 - **Curator:** The Waxonia Desk - **Updated:** 2026-08-29 - **Curator's page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/ - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-chicago-in-the-room/ ## The picks Selected, not ranked — the order is the curator’s, and carries no claim about which is best. ### [Mr. Fingers](https://waxonia.com/artist/mr-fingers/) — [Can You Feel It](https://waxonia.com/track/mr-fingers--can-you-feel-it/) *1986 · Trax* The record most often used to explain house to people who were not there. What it did in a room and what it does in a documentary are two different things, and the room came first. Also on: [Chicago House](https://waxonia.com/genre/chicago-house/), [The Eighties](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/), [The Waxonia Desk — A Way In](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-a-way-in/), [The Waxonia Desk — Looped and Filtered](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-chicago-looped-and-filtered/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Mr.%20Fingers%20Can%20You%20Feel%20It) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=p2XxyBViBog) ### [Frankie Knuckles & Jamie Principle](https://waxonia.com/artist/frankie-knuckles-and-jamie-principle/) — [Your Love](https://waxonia.com/track/frankie-knuckles-and-jamie-principle--your-love/) *1987 · Trax* It circulated on tape for years before anybody pressed it. A city's music is a strange object when its most famous song exists first as a cassette somebody made you a copy of. Also on: [Chicago House](https://waxonia.com/genre/chicago-house/), [Sung to Someone](https://waxonia.com/theme/sung-to-someone/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Frankie%20Knuckles%20%26%20Jamie%20Principle%20Your%20Love) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=M6LAE5ejrjg) ### [Marshall Jefferson](https://waxonia.com/artist/marshall-jefferson/) — [Move Your Body](https://waxonia.com/track/marshall-jefferson--move-your-body/) *1986 · Trax* Subtitled the house music anthem, and it earned the definite article. The piano is the argument: it opened the music to people who needed a tune to hold, and began the long business of making house respectable. Also on: [Chicago House](https://waxonia.com/genre/chicago-house/), [The Waxonia Desk — Looped and Filtered](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-chicago-looped-and-filtered/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Marshall%20Jefferson%20Move%20Your%20Body) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=RhKMMh4qOL8) ### [Fingers Inc.](https://waxonia.com/artist/fingers-inc/) — [Bring Down the Walls](https://waxonia.com/track/fingers-inc--bring-down-the-walls/) *1986 · Alleviated* Robert Owens singing gospel phrasing over a drum machine, in rooms most churches would not have admitted the congregation to. That tension is the whole record and nobody has resolved it since. Also on: [Chicago House](https://waxonia.com/genre/chicago-house/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Fingers%20Inc.%20Bring%20Down%20the%20Walls) · [Search YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Fingers%20Inc.%20Bring%20Down%20the%20Walls) ### [Strafe](https://waxonia.com/artist/strafe/) — [Set It Off](https://waxonia.com/track/strafe--set-it-off/) *1984 · Jus Born* A New York electro record that Chicago played as house. The line people draw between the two genres was not visible from inside the booth, and this is the record that proves it. Also on: [Electro](https://waxonia.com/genre/electro/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Strafe%20Set%20It%20Off) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=z8wokfoyHf4) ### [Loose Joints](https://waxonia.com/artist/loose-joints/) — [Is It All Over My Face](https://waxonia.com/track/loose-joints--is-it-all-over-my-face/) *1980 · West End* Larry Levan's mix, and the disco record that sounds most like what came after it. Chicago inherited more from New York than the city's own mythology tends to admit. Also on: [Disco](https://waxonia.com/genre/disco/), [The Waxonia Desk — What the DJs Kept](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-what-the-djs-kept/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Loose%20Joints%20Is%20It%20All%20Over%20My%20Face) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hn27RiqRj7s) ## About the curator The people who write the rankings on this site. We keep the lists honest, we argue about the order, and we get asked the same question more than any other: where should someone actually start. These are our answers. Elsewhere: https://waxonia.com/ --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.