September 2nd, 2010
Is it me, or is 2010 completely flying by? Summer came and went so quickly that I only vaguely remember wishing that autumn were here, and that was only before I scared myself with the horrific mental image of rappers wearing peacoats. Though it’s technically still summer, September is here and– at least here in Seattle, where even the cops wear flannel under their Teflon– it’s about fifteen degrees cooler than it was last week. Skatterbrain, (run by Matthew Edwards, your favorite indie-pop blogger’s favorite indie-pop blogger), has stepped up to help assuage your Seasonal Affective Disorder with their September mix. Full of twee-leaning staples like Felt, The Spinanes, and The Lucksmiths, this mix is more-than-competent musical accompaniment for the changing of the leaves and if you want something more digestible than all the psych stuff I regularly post about. Dust off that American Apparel hoodie! Haphazardly tie that scarf! Break out those tweed walking caps! Fall is almost here!
Tracklist below the jump.
ZIP: Skatterbrain’s Monthly Mix - September 2010 (left-click)
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Posted in Douglas Martin's Dirty Shoes | No Comments »
September 1st, 2010
R&B and rap mixed correctly. The secret is a surplus of that freeway funk and the absence of sallow sad-sack caterwauling that typically accompanies the new Cudli style. Overdoz are yet another example of the salutary effect of a dispensary on every LA corner and pot in every chicken. There are plenty of reasons why they may go wrong, but they’re already getting beats from Kahlil, have hijacked the Misfits logo for themselves, and have an endearing goofiness worthy of the Pharcyde. More evidence why Los Angeles has the weirdest teenagers in the country.
Download:
MP3: Overdoz-”Crumbling Therapy”
MP3: Overdoz prod. by Kahlil-”theShaw”
ZIP: Overdoz-Nova (Left-Click)
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September 1st, 2010
Gibbs and GZA played the Echoplex last Tuesday, and though Liquid Swords is officially my second favorite rap album of all-time (ATliens will always own the top spot), I think Freddie may have won the duel of the iron mic. Granted, I only caught the latter half of his set thanks to a fracas with security goons concerning an ill-advised attempt to bring in some prescribed medicine. Such is life. But I will say that proscribing weed from Gibbs shows is like banning Faygo root beer at a ICP concert. I digress.
There are a dozen new relatively anonymous groups who could use the attention, and hopefully I will write about them sooner than later. But Gibbs continues to massacre every track he raps on, so I feel compelled to share. I hear no one else this consistently excellent. Plus, Labor Day bonus — a Curren$y and Killa Kyleon track that proves that more producers should sample the tuba. At least, I believe that’s a tuba. Band was not my thing.
Download:
MP3: Freddie Gibbs ft. YP-”Something New”
MP3: Push Montana ft. Freddie Gibbs & Killa Kyleon-”Fa Sho”
MP3: Curren$y ft. Killa Kyleon-”4 Hours & 20 Minutes (Ride to H-Town)”
Posted in Freddie Gibbs | 4 Comments »
September 1st, 2010
Douglas Martin is committed to his Latvian Orthodox faith.
Kurt Vile is generally known for two things: big, sweeping classic-rock stompers or quiet acoustic numbers peppered with chintzy synthesizers and drum machines. Maybe I’m in the minority, but my favorite Kurt Vile tunes are the ones that show his prowess as an old-school folk-troubadour, the ones that highlight the grizzled voice that belies his scant twenty-nine years on Earth (I use the word “scant” with a grain of salt, since older people tell me that I’m “just a baby” for being in my late-ish twenties).
I’m talking about songs like Constant Hitmaker’s “Slow Talkers” or “My Sympathy” and “Songs for John in D” from God is Saying This to You. “I Know I Got Religion” from Vile’s recent, vinyl-and-digital only Square Shells EP (via Matador Records), is in the same strummy vein, with Vile spilling vodka/cranberry all over the carpet, being drafted by Jesus, and sending his Cadillac to heaven. Although I’m more of a Malibu and Pepsi guy when it comes to mixed drinks, this track is picturesque accompaniment to driving my Caprice against the grain of the slight autumn breeze.
Download:
MP3: Kurt Vile-”I Know I Got Religion”
Posted in Kurt Vile, Douglas Martin's Dirty Shoes | 2 Comments »
August 31st, 2010
I imagine there is a limited market for Gonjasufi screeching his skinned cat yelps over Gaslamp Killer’s Ethiopian psych samples. Luckily, that limited market is me. Brainfeeder presumably gave the EXCLUSIVE (for 16 seconds) to Pitchfork to spread the wealth around. Thus, I will defer to their sparkling prose: “Los Angeles-based producer the Gaslamp Killer has a new EP, Death Gate, that’s set to drop October 12 on Flying Lotus‘ Brainfeeder imprint. The EP features a collaboration with Gonjasufi that you can check out below. In case your memory’s short, the pair also worked together on this year’s BNM’d solo LP from Gonjasufi, A Sufi and a Killer.”
I should probably stop dropping advance notice about forthcoming features that I’m perpetually behind on, but I recently interviewed the relentlessly entertaining GLK for RA. Between the two of us, I am reasonably certain that we set the record for most “motherfuckers” uttered in one hour and obviously, club sandwiches and weed were consumed. I’m reasonably sure that these are prerequisites to enjoy Turkish psychedelia. Never underestimate the power of a club sandwich.
Download:
MP3: The Gaslamp Killer ft. Gonjasufi-”When I’m in Awe”
Posted in Gonjasufi, The Gaslamp Killer | 2 Comments »
August 31st, 2010
SPOEK MATHAMBO - WAR ON WORDS from spoek mathambo on Vimeo.
I am now reasonably certain that the only American video imported into South Africa during the 90s was Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See.” I have used the phase “is a monster,” twice in the last week, but Spoek Mathambo is the only one who took that cliche literally. This video supposedly tells “the story of a heartbroken widow performing pagan ceremonies to bring her dead husbands back to life…if only for a night. Her lovers are maggot ridden corpses, struggling through the dark passages of purgatory.” So basically, it’s like South African True Blood.
TropicalBass has the interview worth reading.
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August 31st, 2010
Urban blight, blunts, and braids. Interview coming sooner than later. Probably after the Labor Day break. No excuses, but punctuality is not a virtue of the perennially stoned. Brown is a hard man to track down. The hold up is there needs to be a part two of the interview. Part one was halted when his phone died and his number changed. In the aftermath, he has been shopping for new V-Necks, and I am shopping for new dispensaries. Fuck Steve Cooley and Ed Reyes.
Download:
MP3: Danny Brown-”Nowhere 2 Go”
Posted in Danny Brown | 1 Comment »
August 31st, 2010
You’d be forgiven for not realizing that J Cole’s “Who Dat” is one of the year’s biggest hits. Neither New York nor Los Angeles radio plays it with any regularity. On the main Chicago rap station, it sulks near the bottom of the top 40, and judging from a cursory glance through YouTube, NBA players would prefer to spread the gospel of post-jerkin’ boy band Cali Swag District. Lebron James, dig a hole.
Yet in odd ashy corners of the Internet, to people whose self-worth is predicated on how edgy they are to 178 Internerds, J Cole is often treated with derision or more damningly, he’s ignored. Granted, Internet think-piece hype has been obivated by his appearances on BET and in fish wrap rags like the NY Daily News. But to some, he’s just Jay-Z’s latest lab-tested harvest. He didn’t pay his dues. He wears a letterman’s jacket. He once accepted a ride to a subway stop from 9th Wonder. It doesn’t help that Details Drizzy compared him to Nas–the rap equivalent of being called the next Bob Dylan. The one analogy sure to doom you to failure — or worse, turn you into Bright Eyes.
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Posted in J. Cole, Odd Future | 9 Comments »
August 30th, 2010
While on the subject of Arthurian alcoholism and the avuncular, I’d be remiss not to post the new tape from Playboy Tre, everyone’s favorite hook man for hire and intoxication impresario. Dom Passantino declares it to be not “be as strong a piece of drinking rap as “Liquor Store Mascot” was, but still gets a passing grade.” On first listen, I would drink to that. It speaks to the problem of having to release mixtape after mixtape to build your rep, and being forced to repeat similar stories over and over again.
So while Last Call might feel less immediate than Goodbye America or LSM, Tre remains a corner store craftsman. Even on a song like the rowdy Lil Jon-aided, “Ready Go,” he’ll slip in weary meditation about his fallen friends and his frequent frustration. He’s an Irish storyteller or seanchai, but from Decatur (no House of Pain): full of anecdotes equal parts wise, witty, and violent. A condition always eased by strong drink. I’m also throwing in a relatively new Tre cameo from Homebwoi’s new and good Coming 2 America mixtape, which I meant to write about but neglected to do so in my preference to post videos of Danny Brown smoking weed in seedy motels.
Tracklist below the jump.
Download:
MP3: Playboy Tre-”I Don’t Care”
MP3: Playboy Tre-Last Call (Left-Click)
MP3: Homebwoi ft. Playboy Tre-”Buy It Anyway”
ZIP: Homebwoi-Coming 2 America
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Posted in Playboy Tre | 2 Comments »
August 30th, 2010
Thanks to hiring a one-legged, but highly capable Moldavian hacker to break into the Alpha Pup server, I was able to swipe the first leak from Teebs’ forthcoming Brainfeeder debut, Ardour. Those six of you who enjoy my use of mythological metaphors and beats to gems similes, should head over there. It is a Monday. All of you would be well-served to download “Arthur’s Bird’s” below. Despite my high hopes, it will not be the title song of the Russell Brand re-make of the Dudley Moore alcoholic epic. What can you do.
Between this record and the Dibiase, the extended Low End Theory clan is finishing up the year strong. For what it’s worth, Teebs gets my vote for the next breakout beat star from LA. I haven’t heard the full length yet, but the goon squad in Bucharest is working on it.
Download:
MP3: Teebs-”Arthur’s Birds”
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