The Top 10 For the Half Year

Q: Is anything lamer than a blogger doing a top 10 list halfway through the year?
A: No.

However, as of tomorrow, the calendar strikes June, the halfway month of the year and the time for bloggers to compile absolutely pointless half-year lists. Allow me to be the first. I apologize in advance for its LOL indie predictability, but hey sometimes the whiny white guys can bring it.

10. The Clientele-God Save the Clientele
God Save the Clientele is a quintessential Clientele record, slow, dreamy, jangled guitars and beautiful melodies. More upbeat than their past efforts, The Clientele have loosened up and created the ideal summer, beach record. 60s psych-poppers to the core, The Clientele haven’t moved much further than their original Love, The Zombies and The Kinks influences. And I for one am completely okay with that.

Download:
MP3: The Clientele-”Bookshop Casanova”

9. Panda Bear-Person Pitch
I find Animal Collective arguably the most overrated band of the decade, so I was expecting Person Pitch to be another weird, unlistenable record with few tunes, a whole lot of reverb and enough braying to wake up every wild animal collective in a 12 mile vicinity. And sure, this record has enough wankery to satisfy even the most experimental-leaning types , but at its core it’s pure pop, an album filled with enough moments of sonic genius to satisfy even the biggest Animal Collective naysayers. Namely me.

Download:
MP3: Panda Bear-”Bros”


8. Spoon-Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Ga Ga Ga Great. Or at least ga ga very good. Sorry, but someone needed to make that lame joke. Either way, this might be my fourth favorite Spoon record and yet still it’s gotten non-stop play since it leaked a few weeks back. There might not be a more consistent songwriter in rock than Britt Daniel.

Download:
MP3: “The Ghost of You Lingers”

7. The Shins-Wincing The Night Away
The best record that will probably be ignored come list-making time, mainly because a) it’s not cool to like the Shins anymore and b) this record leaked about 14 years ago in Internet time.
But it remains a great record from a great band and one that will only continue to get better the further away it gets from the stratospheric hype that accompanied its release.

Wincing the Night Away Review

Download:
MP3: The Shins-”Phantom Limb”

6. The National-Boxer
The hype is real. Just like Alligator, Boxer might not click till about the 7th listen. But when it does, watch out.

Boxer Review

Download: MP3: The National-”Fake Empire”

5. Souvenir-64
This year’s token pick for the record no one but me cares about but I’m going to put it on my list anyhow. Seriously, all you bloggers out there need to get on the Souvenir bandwagon. You might not be all that crazy about it but I can guarantee your girlfriend will love it. Read Dom Passantino’s outstanding Stylus Recommends Review. Picture Annie backed by Fujiya & Miyagi. Download these tracks. Put them on a mix CD. As long as they don’t get too popular and end up on a Zach Braff soundtrack, everyone wins.

Download:
MP3: Souvenir-”Accident a Londres”
MP3: Souvenir-”Les surfeurs”

4. Besnard Lakes-Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse
In a year where My Morning Jacket didn’t make a record, this is the next best thing, brooding stoned psychedelic guitars and flickering campfire harmonies sounding like the unholy mathematics of Jim James + Brightblack Morning Light/ Divided by Low. Blame Canada.

Review of the Besnard Lakes’ incredible live show

MP3: The Besnard Lakes-”And You Lied To Me”

3. LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver
Blah blah blah bloggers are sheep, blah blah, could this be any trendier of a pick? blah, blah, couldn’t you be any more creative? The answer of course is no. This album fucking rocks. It actually makes me want to dance. Okay, that’s a lie, but its the closest any electronic album has ever came.

Sound of Silver Review

Download:
MP3: LCD Soundsystem-”North American Scum” (left-click)

2. El-P I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
I wrote a really long review about this record and it’s pretty much impossible for me to summarize its magnitude in just a few words. However, I think Zilla pretty much aptly summarized it in the comments section when he declared: “El single handedly makes me care about Def Jux and indie hip hop again. I’ve listened to it all the way through about 8 times, driving to and from work. By the time it’s over, I wanna light shit on fire, make out with an 18 year old, cry inside a prison cell, and listen to BDP.”

I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead Review

Download:
MP3: El-P-”The Overly Dramatic Truth”

1. Dungen-Tio Bitar
I imagine, somewhere in Sweden, stoned 13 year olds tag “Gustav Estjes is God” on the Walls. If they don’t, they should. In its all its trippy psychedelic glory, Tio Bitar is catnip for stoners. Easily, the best artistic statement made by a man named Gustav since that Eiffel fellow decided to build himself a tower.

Review of Tio Bitar

Download:
MP3: Dungen-”Gor Det Nu”
MP3: Dungen-”C Visar Vagen”

Honorable Mentions:
A Sunny Day in Glasgow-Scribble Mural Comic Journal; Andrew Bird-Armchair Apocrypha; Apostle of Hustle-National Anthem of Nowhere, Art Brut-It’s a Bit Complicated, Black Moth Super Rainbow-Dandelion Gum, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!-Some Loud Thunder, Dalek-Abandoned Language, Dr. Dog-We All Belong, Electrelane-No Shouts No Calls, Elvis Perkins-Ash Wednesday,Menomena-Friend and Foe, Of Montreal-Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, The Good, The Bad & The Queen-S/T, The Twilight Sad-Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters, The Field-From Here We Go Sublime, Wilco-Sky Blue Sky

Posted in Lists | 14 Comments »

Beards, Blazers & Bolsheviks: Pravda feat. Peanut Butter Wolf & J. Rocc, Cut Chemist & Amon Tobin

Inside the clean lines and warped angles of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown LA, Stones Throw kingpin Peanut Butter Wolf, Beat Junkie J. Rocc. and ex-J5′er Cut Chemist stood in a spot normally reserved for the LA Philharmonic. Strange territory for the the local legends, who along with trip-hopper Amon Tobin, were among the chosen few hand-picked to participate in the Phil’s “Shadow of Stalin” series. Sardonically called Pravda (”the truth” in Russian), the event promised a “re-interpretation of the music of Profokiev, Shostakovich and Mosolov,” set to visuals from classic Russian propaganda films. Weird.

Especially considering the bill’s subterranean leanings (or at least subterranean ten years past) that featured these underground linchpins out of the the small sweat-box club circuit, and into the rarefied air of the beautiful monstrosity that Gehry built, a venue that still feels brand-new even though its been operating for nearly half a decade. It’s the sort of place where people see no irony in describing themselves as “patrons of the arts,” and yet something felt inherently right with seeing the proles temporarily invade the $275 million home of the Philharmonic.

Wolf and J. Rocc subversively slipped Madvillain and Portishead into their mix, letting the slurring grooves melt against the projections of Soviet Propaganda flickering pornographically on a massive big-screen.Meanwhile, clips of legendary Eisenstein flick, Battleship Potemkin, Animal Farm and other deranged Soviet cartoons bulldozed your senses. 50 foot images of Joseph Stalin recycled endlessly, leading you to arrive at the conclusion that the dictator must’ve conquered Russia on good hair alone. The man had quite the coif. And I don’t use the word coif lightly. The whole thing made you agree with the late James Brown’s declaration: “Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he’s got it all.” Though I must admit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Stalin smile. Did he even have teeth?

Beards, Blazers, & Borscht: Stalin-The Hipster Prototype?

Normally, DJ shows are among the most boring things imaginable. I went to dozens of them as a teenager because it was the sort of one of thing that budding hip-hop heads do to prove they’re “down with hip-hop,” I imagine this is something akin to hipsters pretending to like Man Man. Most DJ shows consist of a whole lot of standing around and a whole lot of scratching, which is cool for about 4 minutes until you realize that you could’ve just played a Gangstarr record on loop and it would probably produce a better effect.

But the Shadows of Stalin show last Saturday was the exact opposite of your typical DJ show. From the moment, you walked into the Back to the Future 2 looking structure, the theme of the night was evident, from the ominous Hammer and Sickles flashing next to a performance from the Dublab Collective, to the totalitarian propaganda that accompanied the DJ’s tunes. As for the sets themselves, they were nothing short of spectacular. After Wolf and J. Rocc delivered a triumphant scorched-earth 40 minutes of funk , Cut Chemist came through with nothing short of one of the greatest DJ performances I’ve ever seen, ingeniously pairing Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” to John William’s score ffrom Star Wars, complete with visuals of R2D2 wandering through the desert.

Mixing the classical tracks with those from his current CD, The Audience is Listening, Chemist performed aided by Mumbles on piano, and rapper Hymnal and harp player Ricky Rasura of the Polyphonic Spree. Following the home-town boy Chemist, Brazilian born trip-hopper Amon Tobin delivered a violently forceful performance, creating sound so loud that the walls convulsed. Even more remarkable than the drug-addled beats were the visuals: as everything from psychedelic children’s propaganda to reels of black and white industrial filth were sliced and diced, battering your senses like herky-jerky punches with vicious accuracy. It was the sort of thing people that move to cities for in the first place. It was something all too-rare in Los Angeles. A brilliant display of art not for commercial purposes but art for its own sake. It was so good that Stalin himself would’ve had to smile. That is if he had teeth.

Download:
MP3: Cut Chemist-”The Garden”
MP3: Cut Chemist:”Storm”

MP3: J. Rocc-”Bubbha’s Dance”

MP3: Amon Tobin-”Bloodstone”

Posted in Beards, Blazers, & Glasses | 1 Comment »

Carlton Patterson & King Tubby-Black and White in Dub

As Mel Brooks once pointed out,, it’s good to be the King. Taxes are low. Seignorial rights seem like a cool deal for those on top. Not to mention the fact that having your own castle must be the ultimate bachelor pad (though inevitably the moment you’d get a comely wench out of her chastity belt, she’d start complaining about how drafty it is this time of year). Yet I suspect that out of all the benefits of being King, getting to wear a crown is probably the best.

As the Black and White in Dub album cover indicates, crown-wearing Jamaican producer extraordinaire, King Tubby, had things pretty figured out (at least, until he was murdered in 1989). Often cited as the inventor of the remix (sorry Puff), along with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Augustus Pablo, and Bunny Lee, Tubby was one of the Dub Reggae’s leading lights during its peak from 1973-1981.

Tubby got his start producing instrumental versions of songs for sound system MCs but soon opted to remove the vocal tracks (presumably, because he grew tired of hearing the words “jah” and “mon.”) Eventually, Tubby discovered what Puffy found out a good 20 years later, if you mess with a mixer and and shift the emphasis of the instrumentals, adding sounds, removing others and adding various special effects like echoes, reverb and phase effects, you can sell the same song over and over again in a completely new form (with Craig Mack on the hook!) Connecting a variety of sound effects to his mixer, Tubby was able to ‘play’ the mixing desk like an instrument, bringing instruments and vocals in and out of the mix (literally ‘dubbing’ them) to create an entirely new genre: dub music. (also known as Dub because it sounds infinitely better after having smoked one).

King Tubby: Surprisingly, Not All that Tubby

Black and White in Dub is the sound of Tubby in his prime, working with unsung but very talented producer Carlton Patterson, to create a uniformly funky record, full of melodica, outer space sound effects and lilting horns. Like all dub albums, the songs themselves are primarily wordless and sound rather similar. Then again, chances are if you’re reading this blog, you aren’t going to buy this CD and bemoan its lack of sonic diversity. You’re probably looking for the right CD to toss on after you’ve just twisted up a bleezy (or an “L” or a “duchie” what have you). And in that vein, this album more than succeeds. In all its woozy, staggering glory, Black and White in Dub is the perfect record for that lazy Sunday, cloudy mind, hamburgers on the grill, Red Stripe in hand.

With 15 of its 21 tracks never before released on CD, the recently re-issued Black and White features Patterson aided by Reggae legends Sly And Robbie, with all songs tweaked and remixed by Tubby, saved for “Disco Style” which was mixed by the awesomely named King Jammy. While most of the musicians that hung around Tubby’s Kingston Studios in the mid-70s went onto greater fame, sadly Patterson’s reputation is the least celebrated, as his work is barely represented in re-issue catalogues. Yet judging from Black and White in Dub’s excellence, it’s time that things changed. In fact, one might say high time.

Buy Black and White In Dub

Download:
MP3: Carlton Patterson & King Tubby-”Psalms of Dub”
MP3: Carlton Patterson & King Tubby-”Doctorman Skank” (thus fulfilling a life-long dream I’ve had of posting a song entitled “Doctorman Skank”

Bonus from King Tubby’s The Roots of Dub

MP3: King Tubby-”Natty Dub”
MP3: King Tubby-”Rude Boy Dub”

Posted in Album Reviews | 1 Comment »

Voxtrot-Voxtrot

If the Internet reinvented the idea of the overnight sensation, Voxtrot were some of its first guinea pigs—a bunch of kids in their late teens and early 20s who suddenly found themselves digital darlings off the strength of a couple self-produced, self-released EPs recorded in the sweltering heat of a Texas summer, home on break from college, high off the powerful fumes of first creation. Riding a Belle & Sebastian/Felt/Smiths fixation, baby-faced frontman Ramesh Srivastava synthesized his heroes well, flashing a precocious talent for pairing perfect jangle-pop melodies to strikingly poetic images that belied his youth (“I saw the years go by in triple lines of grey”).

A decade ago, the effort would’ve gotten Voxtrot signed to a small indie where they could’ve perfected their craft in relative anonymity until finally maturing into “a great band.” But it’s the Internet age. Drop a couple head-turning singles, get the right review or two, and the next thing you know you’re in a foreign world of large venues and bidding wars. If you don’t believe me, go ask Dan Deacon in a few weeks.

But with the instant sugar rush of Internet fame comes the inevitable hangover and the pressures of avoiding the all-too-predictable sophomore slump (or, if you prefer in this case, freshman slump). It’s a daunting task for any artist, let alone one in his early twenties suddenly forced to deal with coming of age in the public eye. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Voxtrot is a chronicle of Srivastava’s messy collision with adulthood, a record at times brilliant, at times uneven, and at all times a work of transition, showing Srivastava grappling with themes of innocence and experience, death and rebirth, nostalgia for the past versus excitement for the future.

But Can Voxtrot Do the Foxtrot?

For a group labeled a blog buzz band, Voxtrot’s debut is the opposite of what you’d expect. Devoid of a hit single, Voxtrot is a grower: dark, brooding, and much less instantly gratifying than anything the band has previously done. On first listen, the time changes sound frenetic to the point of being rushed, lacking the fluidity of the early EPs. But on repeat, the twitchy hyperactivity settles nicely, revealing the knack for melody and sing-a-long hooks that Voxtrot has always demonstrated.

The sound is rougher than the band’s twee beginnings would suggest, with Srivastava at times taking on a Ted Leo-esque bray, and lead guitarist Mitch Calvert rifling off guitar solos eerily reminiscent of Albert Hammond Jr. Yet with swooning strings courtesy of the Tosca Orchestra and the occasional melancholy piano ballad, Voxtrot still aren’t about to make anyone forget that Srivastava spent a good amount of time in the U.K. soaking up the Cherry Red and Creation discographies.

Most jarring are Srivastava’s lyrics. Whereas his earlier efforts felt like poems converted into songs, the new lyrics lack the same elegance—they’re blunter, more forceful, more self-loathing. On “Kid Gloves,” Srivastava pouts, “Cheer me up, cheer me up, I’m a miserable fuck / Cheer me up, cheer me up, I’m a tireless bore.” Nearly emo in his sense of melodrama, Srivastava articulates a quarter-life crisis with just enough affability to end up on the right side of self-indulgence. Barely.

And Yet, They Seemed So Happy In The Hot Tub

It might not be the type of thing to send the hype machine racing, but Voxtrot remains a compelling enough statement to justify the inordinate amounts of excitement thrown around the band, yet nowhere near a fulfillment of the enormous potential they’ve shown. An angry, sad, and intriguing work, Voxtrot might detail Srivastava’s period of feeling sinister, but he’s not
there just yet.

Originally Published at Stylus

Grade: B-

Download:
MP3: Voxtrot-”Kid Gloves”
MP3: Voxtrot-”Blood Red Blood”

Posted in Album Reviews | 3 Comments »

Wax Tailor-Hope and Sorrow

“Cinematic” is the operative cliche that will be thrown about to describe Wax Tailor’s sophomore effort, Hope and Sorrow, but sometimes cliches are cliches for good reason. The record feels tailor-made (pun unintended) to soundtrack a hip-hop tinged re-make of the drug-addled Jack the Ripper flick, From Hell. The kind of thing to throw on late at night, pipe in hand, exhaling and watching the smoke dissipate against the sound of the darting breaks, wispy flutes, funereal brass samples, and haunted-house strings.

Hope and Sorrow is the album that everyone wanted RJD2 to make, an album of brooding, stoned-slow trip-hop, replete with scratchy breakbeats, Poltergheist backing vocals and just enough rapped guest appearances to keep you from falling asleep into your laudanum.

As for Tailor himself, he is not actually a tailor who works in the medium of wax (shocking I know). In fact, he is a Frenchman named J.C. Le Saout, who wisely took on the haberdashery-related sobriquet, Wax Tailor, after realizing that being French and named J.C. is more likely to make people think you’re a member of N’ Sync and not one of the most prominent names in instrumental hip-hop. Hope and Sorrow is his second record following 2005’s acclaimed Tales of Forgotten Melodies, which was huge in France. Then again, the French also created the Maginot Line, forever casting doubt on their decision-making abilities.

Taxin’ It and Waxin’ It And Working It Around

But with their Wax worship, the French have got it correct, as the Parisian-based DJ/producer has created a smooth and narcotic audio-book of nods. The sound might not be the most original with Tailor heavily taking his cues from early Shadow, RJD2 and early 90s Bristol trip hop , but if you’re like me, you’re into that sort of stuff and find no problem with someone synthesizing some great influences into a new and eminently listenable collage of sound.

Perhaps album opener, “Once Upon a Past,” best epitomizes Tailor’s aesthetic. Starting with a Entroducing-esque bit of dialogue, it builds in layers, adding a sinister bassline, some smooth but hard-hitting drums, a few rising-from-the-graveyard vocal samples and rattling snares to punctuate a loop. Think “Overcome” from Tricky’s Maxinquaye meets “What does your Soul Look Like (Pt. 4) from Entroducing.

The only thing stopping this record from being a genre classic is the guest raps themselves. With nothing anywhere near the level of Copywrite’s “June” from Deadringer or Kool G. Rap’s “Guns Blazing” from Psyence Fiction, the vocals are mainly generic flows from a host of French MC’s I’ve never heard of (sadly, no MC Solaar). Yet the beats themselves are stunning grooves, the ideal soundtrack for that late night trip to the opium den. Indeed, Tailor’s exploration into the intersection of soul, jazz, electronic and hip-hop remains a consistently worthwhile listen and one certain to get more spins as the year progresses.

Download:
MP3: Wax Tailor-”Once Upon a Past”
MP3: Wax Tailor-”Sometimes”

Posted in Album Reviews | 4 Comments »

The National-Boxer

On the National’s first two records, lead singer Matt Berninger and the brothers Devendorf and Dessner were middle-weight pugilists trying to move up in the game, fighting on under-cards in undersized venues. Released on their own Brassland label, few people heard The National or Sad Songs for Dirty Lover, but those that did found a lot to like in the brother’s Leonard Cohen by way of Uncle Tupelo hybrid of alt-country and sad indie-leaning chamber pop

The National’s breakthrough came with 2005’s excellent Alligator. Of course, break-through is a relative word. Despite the band’s label switch to indie heavyweights, Beggar’s Banquet, the album was a slow burner, garnering critical raves but little notice outside of rock-crit circles, until later that spring when The National set off on a cross-country trek with blog wunderkinds Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! While half the crowds on that tour left after Clap Your Hands’ set, those that stuck around were treated to a star-making turn from a band on the verge. Jettisoning their alt-country influences, The National had finally crafted a sound of their own, a brooding, nourish brand of nimble but crushingly powerful drums, sparkling pianos and taut, anthemic guitars, flanked by Berninger’s sarcastic, drunken baritone.

Because Who Doesn’t Like a Boxer?

“Boxer” is arguably the band’s finest work yet. More piano-based (with Sufjan Stevens contributing on “Fake Empire”) and more somber than “Alligator,” the record might lack a hay-maker like its predecessor’s “Mr. November,” but over the course of 42 minutes, it lands a consistent flurry of jabs and body-blows to bowl over even the most reluctant listener.

As for the lyrics, Berninger has retained his penchant for non-sequiters, commencing stand-out track, “Guest Room” with “they’re going to send us to prison for jerks.” In general, “Boxer” finds Berninger turning inwards, with lyrics more personal than anything he’s previously done.

12 tracks of beautiful but somber meditations, “Boxer” is ideal late night/last call listening. It’s the kind of record that ushers you out into the street, head ringing, vision blurred, soul rambling. Call Don King, these guys are ready for pay-per-view.

Originally Published On MetroMix

Grade: A-

Download:
MP3: The National-”Fake Empire”
MP3: The National-”Mistaken For Strangers”

Buy The National-Boxer

Also See:

Ian Cohen’s Rave Review at Stylus

Aquarium Drunkard’s Rave of the Album

Posted in Album Reviews | 6 Comments »

A Pictorial Analysis of R. Kelly and Lil Wayne’s Verses on the Make It Rain (Remix)

In the days when the Native Americans ruled the Americas, they were known for the unique ceremonies they concocted to coax rain from the gods. Several hundred years later, a different type of rain dance has swept the continent. In an effort to illustrate the necessity of clean water supplies in Third World Countries, the brain trust of R. Kelly and L’il Wayne, (along with Wayne’s husband/father Birdman, T.I., Rick Ross and Fat Joe, have created the “Make it Rain (Remix,”) a song with an undeniably altruistic intent. Like Al Gore’s for the rap world, this kind-hearted collective understand the implications of global warming. Let me be the first to start the Nobel Nomination Process. These men need to go to Stockholm. If nothing else but to hear the first acceptance speech using the phrase “skeet skeet skeet.”

R. Kelly:

“I Be Drillin’ These Chicks Like Major Payne/When I Make it Rain, they be like ‘yo, do it again.’

What It Means: The plot of the 1995 Damon Wayans vehicle Major Payne (winner of four Oscars!) involved a man named Major Payne drilling a collection of under-aged students in the ways of the military. No one knows more about drilling underage children than R. Kelly. He’s so good, that when he makes it rain, “the chicks” ask him to keep drilling. He is very much like Exxon Mobil and equally worthy of Congressional scrutiny.
“From the club to my coupe, inside my gates, up in the bedroom screaming each other’s names.”

What it Means: A master of subtlety, Kelly is referring to the copy of Munch’s The Scream that hangs in his boudoir, not a threesome as commonly believed.


“They was purty purty and I was flirty flirty/l’il dro/l’il bub/now they gettin’ dirty dirty/Don’t ax me what my name is, stupid bitch, I’m famous/You Gon’ make me aim this/I’ll leave your ass brainless.”

What it Means: The girls that Kells had met at the club were purty purty. Spectacular! Even better is his “suave” flirty flirty demeanor. The only question: Can Kells ply the “purty purty girls” with enough illicit substances to allow for an orgy that may or may not involve Golden Showers.

However, there is trouble in Paradise. These sheisty females have enraged Kelly. How can they not know what his name is? Indeed, the “stupid bitches” need to understand who he is. He is famous! How can they not have heard “I Believe I can Fly,” and what about the “Ignition (Remix).” Sheer madness. Justifiably, Kelly threatens homicide. He will shoot this woman’s brains out. Sadly, without brains, the woman will inevitably look like this.

“I’m trying to stay R&B, but these streets is a part of me/so don’t get it twisted.”

What it Means: The streets and R&B are mutually exclusive. Just ask Sisqo.

“You see I order one bottle/than I fuck with one model/then I order more bottles/now I’ve got more models.

What it Means: Here, Kelly illustrates his take on the fabled children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Beneath Kelly’s smooth croon lies a complex, yet oh-so-simple equation. If you give a model a bottle, she’s probably going to want another bottle. But if you order another bottle, it’s going to attract more models, so you’re just going to have to order more bottles. This line might also be a reference to the long-canceled 1994 Fox nighttime soap, Models Inc.
“I’m from that city where the n—-z don’t play man/I take a chick to my room like Caveman.”

What it Means: Kelly is either referring to the Flintstone Kids or he might be referring to the new ABC sitcom, Caveman. Either way, it involves him using a club.

“So ask your girlfriend my name, I bet she go skeet, skeet, skeet, weatherman, ’bout to make it rain.”

What it Means: The line is an homage to two things. The first is noted pop culture guru, Skeet on Mischa. The second is to weatherman, Brick Tamland, a man with an equal amount of weather acumen.

Lil Wayne:
“Blat, Blat, Blat, Hey Joey, let me get him.”

What it Means: Wayne is requesting to get let out from the S&M dungeon where Fat Joe and Birdman normally keep him.

“It’s Young Money and we on like the television/The Weather Channel/But I do not Broadcast/I throw up more cash/and change the forecast.

What it Means: Actual evidence that George Bush’s trickle-down economic theory is working. For strippers. “Your boyfriend is lame, I make it rain on you”

What it Means: Guess whose boyfriend isn’t lame.

“He Never Make it Rain Like Southern California/Where’s your umbrella/now get your raincoat/baby, I make it flood/now you gon’ need a boat”

What it Means: An allusion to his favorite film, Titanic. Proving once and for all, the rumors that late at night during the peak of the Cash Money years, Wayne and the rest of the Hot Boys would have slumber parties once a week, where they would eat popcorn, sell crack and watch that “dreamy DiCaprio fellow.”
Download:
MP3: Fat Joe, L’il Wayne, R. Kelly, T.I. Birdman, T. Mac, Rick Ross-”Make it Rain (remix)

Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?, Best Of, It Got Weird, Didn't It? | 12 Comments »

Bloggers Say the Darndest Things: Links From Linkletter

It’s been a while since I threw up some links and who better to link than Linkletter, a man so god-body at linking that he named himself after it.

Joey drops some new Common songs, gives a typically trenchant analysis into Hansel, I mean male model, Lonnie Lynn’s future (on another note, what it does it say about me, that I actually like Electric Circus despite the fact that Common recorded it after tripping on Acid while repelling down Mt. Vesuvius.

Stylus senior writer Dom Passantino is a genius and you really need to check out his new blog. If you read The Passion you’ll probably like his site, considering his, I Hate You Too, Bitch is smarter, meaner, and more oozing with dry British wit. Read his 10 Most Fucked Up/Parent-Pop Star Relationships and call me in the morning.

Berkeley Place gets all hippie on us and drops some Grateful Dead covers A to Z

Crimenotes of Cole Slaw Blog writes a literary analysis of the Wrestlemania III Match between King Kong Bundy, Hillbilly Jim, The Haiti Kid, and Little Tokyo. Needless to say, it’s the best thing to have never ran on McSweeney’s.

Noz nails why Kanye West is not the new Primo.

Dave from The Rawking Refuses to Stop was at the Sea and Cake show this weekend and snapped some cool photos and posted an MP3. He’s also right that the band’s new record, Everybody keeps getting better the more you hear it.

The Bar Mitzvah Mixtape Courtesy of Skinny Slim of Just Sayin’ and the team at Can I Bring My Gat (left-click)

Fresh Cherries From Yakima takes a closer look at Nas’ “Second Childhood” from Stillmatic.

Posted in Links | 2 Comments »

Bonnaroo or (Get) Bust (ed): The 10 Bands I’m Most Looking Forward to Seeing at Bonnaroo

Hippies. You can’t live with them. You certainly can live without them. In fact, this is how I’ve lived the first 25 years of my life. That is all about to change. Because as of last Friday, I have officially confirmed my plans to thrust deep into the belly of the beast. No, not Congress. No, not EMI (someone needs to pay for Mims, damnit!). Instead, I am planning a trip to Bonnaroo, deep in the heart of Tennessee, suckered by the promise of perhaps the greatest festival line-up assembled in recent years. Throw My Morning Jacket onto this list and I’d say that this year’s Bonnaroo might even top Woodstock ‘99 (I mean, really is it possible to best Bush, Collective Soul, Creed & Limp Bizkit all on the same bill).

Having never been to Bonnaroo or any such festival so redolent with patchouli (does anyone still mess with patchouli?), I’d love to know any and all tips on what to expect. Do people still actually like the String Cheese Incident? (personally, I’m a fan of the Goat Cheese incident–way more underground and experimental). Do hippies still exist? And if so, how can I avoid throttling one,when he starts forest-dancing during the Roots’ set? Please do tell. The comments section is open. Call now.

In the meantime, partially as a way to assure myself that it is in fact a good idea to venture cross country to a state that actually voted for Bush on two separate occasions, I’m posting MP3’s from the 10 bands I’m most excited to see at Bonnaroo: (Also, if you’re heading to Manchester be sure to check out Hits from the Blog’s excellent other blog, Bonnawho’s Who devoted to all things Bonnaroo.)

1. The White Stripes
Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing the Stripes: I’m mainly hoping to find out what an “Icky Thump” actually means (No Ickey Woods)

Download:
MP3: The White Stripes-”Icky Thump”

2. Wilco-”Sky Blue Sky”

Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing Wilco: I’m just hoping Tweedy is going to go all Rocky Balboa again on some rowdy yahoo.

Download:
MP3: Wilco-”Side with the Seeds”

3. Ween
Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing Ween: Because its fucking Ween.

Download:
MP3: Ween-”Voodoo Lady”

4. The Hold Steady

Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing The Hold Steady: To hear “Chill Out Tent” in a chill-out tent.

Download:
MP3: The Hold Steady-”Chips Ahoy”

5. Aesop Rock

Why I’m Looking Forward to seeing Aesop Rock: To see if the new songs from None Shall Pass are as brilliant as its artwork.

Download:
MP3: Aesop Rock-”None Shall Pass” (left-click)

6. Spoon
Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing Spoon: Because on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga the song remains the same, and it happens to be really good.

Download:
MP3: Spoon-”Change My Life”

7. El-P
Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing El-P: As they say in French: Duh.

Download: El-P “EMG”

8. The National

Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing The National: I assume you’ve heard Boxer and know the answer to this. If not, go buy it immediately (a review will be forthcoming).

Download: The National-”Fake Empire”

9. Dr. Dog

Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing Dr. Dog: Because this band is much much better than you’ve heard.

Download:
MP3: Dr. Dog-”Old News”

10. Hot Chip
Why I’m Looking Forward to Seeing Hot Chip: A picture is worth a thousand words (particularly, when it’s 3 a.m. and you want to get to sleep).

Download:
MP3: Hot Chip-”And I Was a Boy From School”

Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 10 Comments »

The Old Testament: Inspectah Deck-Uncontrolled Substance

On the surface, it would seem tough to be Inspectah Deck. Sure, there’s that whole fame-and-fortune thing, but let’s be real, it has to hurt a bit that that most people consider him at best the fourth or fifth-best rapper in the Wu. Not nearly as emotionally resonant and vocally complex as Ghost, lacking the shimmering fluidity of Meth or the scientific intricacies of the Genius, it’s better to think of the man born Jason Hunter as you think of the man who he took his nickname from, Rollie Fingers: one of the greatest closers in history. The sort of guy you want facing the opposing team’s power hitter in the 9th with hard lights-out fastballs or 16 bars of controlled but forceful raps.

It was this fireman brilliance that made Deck stand out in the first place. Whether it was the 45-second Wu mission statement on the first single, “Proteck Ya’ Neck,” or the scene-stealing on “C.R.E.A.M,” Deck’s turns were the stuff of legend. Leading up to his 1999 solo debut, the erstwhile Rebel I.N.S. had already blazed the intro from “Guillotine (Swordz),” to the “chrome dipped lyrics known to split stone” of Big Pun’s “Tres Leches,” to the god-body 16 of “Above the Clouds,” where flanked by Premier’s ethereal bass lines and rattling dusty drums, he annihilates Guru. And of course, there was the jaw-dropping verse on “Triumph” often picked as the greatest Wu-Tang verse ever. Needless to say, expectations for Uncontrolled Substance were high. [Insert gong noise here]

There was only one problem. The album didn’t exist. It was supposed to. Hell, rumors claimed that the thing was finished in ’95. Finally, as the millennium neared, a deal with Priority was finally locked down and a release date set. Except late ’99 was a fitting release date for the man whom RZA described as: “the person you see that’s never there, that guy that lurks in the shadows.”

Inspectah Deck: Finger Licking Good

“Never there” being the operative phrase, as Uncontrolled Substance emerged following a wave of mediocre Wu-affiliate albums (Sunz of Man, Killah Priest, Cappadonna), and in the midst of a seven-month period that saw seven Wu solo albums released between June 1999 and January 2000. With Raekwon’s insanely anticipated, insanely disappointing Immobilarity dropping a mere two weeks after it, Uncontrolled Substance registered little critical or commercial reaction and was quickly overshadowed in Wu circles when Ghost dropped Supreme Clientele a mere two months later.

Looking back at Deck’s much-delayed debut, eight years after the fact, illustrates most of all, the RZA’s impact in shepherding the Wu’s projects. Unlike the first round of classic solo albums, Deck’s record dropped after the RZA had ended his five-year plan of master-minding all Wu-Tang projects. Letting Deck run things meant less guest verses from the other Clan-members, less RZA beats, and the absence of the cinematic narratives that made Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Liquid Swords, Tical, and Ironman indelible.

In that vein, Uncontrolled Substance is a second-tier album, hampered by the absence of any and all memorable guest appearances. No vivid “drinking rum out of Stanley Cups” imagery from Ghostface, no “Ice Cream” hook from Meth, no Scarface references from Rae. Just a few Masta Killa and U-God bars and Wu weed carrier appearances, including one from La the Darkman more boring than the Liam Neeson movie, Darkman. Despite Deck’s well-constructed verses and supreme technical mastery, the album possesses little balance and little flow, filled with lyrically empty gun talk and boasts, albeit brilliantly constructed, slang-heavy, well-rapped empty boasts.

But Have Inspectah Deck and Sir Smoke-A-Lot Ever Been Seen in the Place at the Same Time?

When removed from its album context and placed in shuffle, though, each song off Uncontrolled Substance is fairly solid, with a half-dozen great ones thrown into the mix. In three to four minute doses, Deck more than succeeds, penning hard-charging throwback joints like “R.E.C. Room,” the sex romp “Forget Me Not,” which oddly and wonderfully samples Half Baked’s Sir Smoke-A-Lot, the twinkling keys of “Elevation,” and the brassy swagger of the title track.

But stretched out over 17 tracks and an hour and six-minute run, Deck doesn’t have the steam to carry an album on his own, better off in the bullpen, throwing fewer pitches and cutting loose in the ninth. In spite of his solo shortcomings, Deck remains one of the finest rappers of the ‘90s. So what if his best work came in the context of the team game? After all, closers are only important on winning teams. Go ask Rollie Fingers.

Originally Published at Stylus

Download:
MP3: Inspectah Deck-”R.E.C. Room”
MP3: Inspectah Deck-”Show N’ Prove”
MP3: Inspectah Deck-”Forget Me Nots”

Posted in The Old Testament | 11 Comments »