Questions to ponder about “Swang On ‘Em” 1. Isn’t this the beat for “Shut Up?” 2. What was the last song that Bun B didn’t crush? Conversely. Orange Crush> 22″ inch rims? 3. Why do I have the feeling II Trill is going to be twice as trill as Underground Kingz?. Why is impossible for… Continue reading »
North Philly-raised 2ew Gunn Ciz’s Myspace reads: “2ew Gunn Ciz is like Visa. Everywhere You Wanna Be.” It’s not hyperbole either. According to Zilla, Ciz spends less time in the city of Brotherly Love than any other Illadelphian MC, and might be the most successful of the bunch. Indeed, over the past few years Ciz… Continue reading »
Last year when Sasha-Frere Jones wrote his now-infamous piece on the whiteness of indie rock, he repeatedly included the phrase “miscenegation” to describe the cross-pollination of sound between black and white music. The diction seemed deliberate, a molotov cocktail designed to rile up the chattering classes and leave them more discombobulated than someone with melanin… Continue reading »
Sexuality sounds very much like what I’d expect to hear from American Apparel CEO Dov Charney were he ever to move to France and record a synth-pop album: sleazy, a little derivative yet surprisingly stylish. I’ve been enjoying this record for the past few months but haven’t been motivated to write about it, mainly because… Continue reading »
Goals for the remainder of the year: Stop writing articles for the LA Weekly involving the phrase, [Random Band] is the Best [Insert Hyperbolic Superlative Here]. That said, I get hopelessly stannish when talk turns to Arthur Lee and Love, in particular their masterpiece, Forever Changes, which was just re-issued by Rhino last month complete… Continue reading »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsYL6MGqDss When ex-Just Blaze proteges, Kidz in the Hall released their debut album, School Was My Hustle on the newly revived Rawkus Records, I didn’t listen to it for a variety of reasons. Chief among them was the “Ivy League Rap” label critics ascribed to the duo of Nawledge and Double-O. Still scarred from having… Continue reading »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl0kXbEa66I The other day, I received a phone call from official Passion of the Weiss, Secretary of Shadowboxin’, Barry “Disco Vietnam” Schwartz. In between Barry’s lectures on why the dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum and why I need to stop haranguing U-God, he asked me if I’d heard the new Busta Rhymes song.… Continue reading »
After Tuesday night’s Atmosphere show, I’m convinced that it’s high-time we retired the label, “underground hip-hop.” Like “indie rock,” before it, the term has ceased to have any real meaning. When the phrase first started to gain currency in the mid-to-late 90s, it actually referred to something specific: the Rawkus/Rhymesayers/Def Jux/Quannum/Fondle ‘Em stuff that outwardly… Continue reading »
According to Portishead producer Geoff Barrow, the group’s latest jaunt was purely influenced by old hip-hop: “Public Enemy, Marley Marl, EPMD, Flying Lotus and Madlib. So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Zilla Rocca decided to go in over III’s lead single, “Machine Gun.” The result is dazzling, a fast and furious stab… Continue reading »
You’ll have to forgive me this one. I know I’m late. Ian Cohen tossed a 7.8 to Crystal Castles’ in his Pitchfork review of their eponymous debut back in March and the blogosphere had been incessantly buzzing about the Toronto duo of Ethan Kath and Alice Glass for well over a year prior. But dance… Continue reading »
Excellent Adventures
Bogus Journeys
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Listening
Jeff Weiss
Sach O
Douglas Martin
Aaron Matthews
Abe Beame
Evan Nabavian
Tosten Burks
Matt Shea
Jonah Bromwich
Reading
Jeff Weiss
Sach O
Douglas Martin
Tosten Burks
Aaron Matthews
Abe Beame
Jonah Bromwich
Watching
Jeff Weiss
Sach O
Douglas Martin
Tosten Burks
Aaron Matthews
Evan Nabavian
Jonah Bromwich
Inner Sanctum
Miscellaneous Apostles
Local Natives
Understanding Media
The Sporting Life
2011
2010
2009
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2006
Miscellaneous
