April 13th, 2009
SACH O SACH O Sach O sach o IS IN EFFECT EFFECT Effect effect
The received wisdom is that Dub is first and foremost a technological and chemical achievement. Years before professional remixing and electronic music, Jamaican producers took crude equipment and created a revolution out of reverb, bass and collie weed, setting the stage for the idea of musical recordings as source material rather than final product. Roots music meanwhile, was the thinking man’s Reggae: ideological, idealistic and full of ideas. Black Uhuru and Burning Spear had something to say, Sly & Robbie were a studio rats experimenting with effects.
Granted, with so many versions being producer-only affairs and so many tracks concerned solely with satisfying the sound systems, it’s not unfair to think of dub as music for the body. What’s often forgotten though is that for millions of reggae fans, dub is Jamaica’s own psychedelia: mind expanding music in the vein of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. So it’s one of music’s great ironies that Jamaica’s psych revolution was often shepherded by England’s punks: a group little enthused by wandering hippie grooves.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Diggin' in the Digital Crates, Sach O | 2 Comments »
April 11th, 2009
Not trying to play revisionist critic–I’ll be the first to admit that the singles and the JD production, far outstrip any actual artistry. However, a YouTube hunt for LL Cool J’s “Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed By Buildings,” steered me to “Alright,” the lead single from Kriss Kross’ much-maligned sophomore effort, Da Bomb.
Presumably, my appreciation stems from latent nostalgia for the tape-buying frenzy that was the summer of ‘93,” and granted, I recall Da Bomb being pretty terrible even then. But I always loved this Super Cat-aided jam, one that still emanates excellence in the field of excellence, on a lazy April afternoon, 16 years later. Or maybe I’m just impressed by the visual evidence of Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith, shattering the Guinness Record for youngest victim of male pattern baldness.
Download:
MP3: Kriss Kross-”Alright”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 6 Comments »
April 10th, 2009
By default, even an underwhelming collabo between Tha Liks and Young Gotti has to be good. If the point is to “have fun,” this succeeds. Nice to see Tha Alkaholiks back in action, after a reported retirement had them on the shelf for the last three years. Local legends, Tash, J-Ro, and E-Swift have always been one of those crews that never get the attention they deserve–particularly CaTashTraphe, who is on my short-list of greatest LA rappers. Really. The songs below should help explain. You probably need the first four ‘Liks albums too–they’re better than any edition of MTV Party to Go, save for arguably Vol. 2.
Download:
MP3: Kurupt & Tha Liks-”Have Fun”
MP3: Keeley & Zaire ft. Tash-”I’m On Swerve”
MP3: Tash ft. Raekwon-”Rap Life”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | No Comments »
April 10th, 2009
We’ve already discussed Kode9, so I’ll spare the windy intro. An interview with the Hyperdub baron is up at Pop and Hiss. A few extra answers are below the jump. His show tonight with Flying Lotus might be my most anticipated of the year thus far. Between Black Moth Super Rainbow and Flying Lotus, I fully anticipate the Golden Cricket Trapeze All-Stars to be my next favorite group. Of course, this would violate the rule that any band with “All-Star,” in its name is invariably bad, but I’m willing to make an exception.
LA Times: Cracking the Kode: Kode9 on the future of dubstep, Hyperdub, Flying Lotus and new Burial
Download:
MP3: Flying Lotus Vs. Kode9–”Live on Rinsefm Nov. 20, 2007″ (Left-Click)
MP3: Kode9-”Babylon”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in LA Times | 3 Comments »
April 9th, 2009
Despite his avowed ardor for Phish, Scott Towler has never once had to “jibboo.”
How did I keep quiet for so long. I mean, Trey, Mike, Page. FISH. Phish! The first band I got high to. The band that fried my synapses during the infamous “Moby Dick” set at Deer Creek in 2000? The band whose, 7/11/91 Battery Park, VT show made me a lifelong devotee. The band whose Sessions at W. 54th, changed my life even more than the discovery that Arnold on Diff’rent Strokes was adopted: how I dressed, who I hung out with, the music I played, what drugs to split open and melt. And yet, despite providing the soundtrack to the first quarter of my life, things just don’t feel the same.
Granted, Phish is responsible for creating an underground movement only matched by the Dead, and sure, they’ve managed to put out over 25 studio records while still remaining relatively under the mainstream media radar. In fact, they’ve really only garnered widespread attention since their reunion announcement became one of the biggest rock stories of 2009. Ostensibly, I should be doing backflips and bong rips right now. Or am I doing them already and you just can’t see me (go to my YouTube channel for that).
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Great Scott | 1 Comment »
April 8th, 2009
South Park has been maddeningly inconsistent of late, but stuff like this reminds you why they’re the best. What really seals the deal is the animated inauguration crew. I still love 808s and Heartbreak–sometimes, I think it’s a personal failing.
I think comments are out of order. I’m working on it.
Via 2Dopeboyz
Download:
MP3: J Dilla-”Workinonit”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 2 Comments »
April 8th, 2009
Few bands are more difficult to write about than Black Moth Super Rainbow. The inherent writerly impulse is to lapse into cliche, whilst invoking the words, “mellotron,” “psychedelic,” “Flaming Lips,” and “bubble-gum.” I’ve done it on multiple occasions, and like bubble gum itself, there’s something stupid about explaining why you like it–you just do.
Pitchfork reviewed “Twin of Myself” today. Thus, I’m assuming it’s the first single from Black Moth’s wonderful Eating Us, and a C&D letter from Graveface isn’t imminent. I hope not, because this is tailor-made for the sun-scorched West Coast spring. Sorry East Coasters, you’ll un-thaw soon enough–this is the trade-off for our lack of mass transit.
Pre-Order: Black Moth Super Rainbow–Eating Us
Download:
MP3: Black Moth Super Rainbow-”Twin of Myself”
From Dandelion Gum
MP3: Black Moth Super Rainbow-”Forever Heavy”
MP3: Black Moth Super Rainbow-”Sun Lips”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | No Comments »
April 8th, 2009
Rivaling Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau, and a handful of others, Mulatu Astatke ranks among the most influential African musicians of all-time. The father of Ethio-Jazz, the Berklee-trained Mulatu, was the first of his countryman to fuse American jazz and funk, with native folk and Coptic Chuch melodies. The leading light of the “Swingin’ Addis-”era, Astatke is often acknowledged as the star of the epic Ethiopiques Series, At least, according to filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, who included songs from the Mulatu-arranged and composed, Vol. 4, in his ode to midlife melancholia, Broken Flowers.
His latest album, Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics-Inspiration Information 3, finds him collaborating with the titular UK-based jazz-funk eight-piece. Born out of a serendipitous turn that led to the band backing Mulatu’s first UK gig in 15 years, Mulatu and the Stones Throw-signed outfit decided to record a new album composed of originals and re-worked older compositions. Released yesterday on Strut, the finished product ranks among the year’s finest, and adds another succesful chapter to Mulatu’s unimpeachable legacy.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Interviews | 3 Comments »
April 7th, 2009
In my ongoing quest to latch onto trends two years too late, an entomological obsession with The Bug persists. What can I say? To paraphrase Lars Highmael from Party Fun Action Committee : it makes me want to speed on the highway. Accordingly, I have a Coachella preview of The Bug ft. Warrior Queen up at Pop and Hiss.
LA Times: Coachella Preview–The Bug ft. Warrior Queen
Download:
MP3: The Bug ft. Warrior Queen-”Poison Dart”
MP3: The Bug-”Skeng”
MP3: Techno Animal (Kevin Martin/The Bug) ft. El-P and Vast Aire-”We Can Build You”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 2 Comments »
April 7th, 2009
I don’t have much to add that Dom and Zeus haven’t already articulated, and honestly, I feel bad heaping derision on Eminem. From 1999-2003, no one, save for Ghostface had a better run, but seeing as though this is a blog, and Eminem remains the last of the video stars, I’m obligated to toss off some half-baked opinions on what will likely consume terrestrial radio from now until the 4th of July.
Simultaneously, technically impressive and terminally pathetic, “We Made You,” distills the worst excesses of Family Guy and attempts to turn it into comedy. Humor relies on freshness and novelty, not attacking stale starlets who’ve already been mocked to death in the Perez Hilton news cycle. The world of the Internet moves too fast for stuff like this. If they cared in the first place, people stopped finding Jessica Simpson-Romo jokes funny 12 months ago. Eminem has become my weird, out-of-touch uncle, who tries to have conversations with me about what young people are into, but can only talk about The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand.
What’s fresh about this? What’s the point? Kim Kardashian has a big ass? Lindsay Lohan is a lesbian? Amy Winehouse does drugs? Why doesn’t he just draw coke boogers? If the jokes aren’t related to the plot, that’s because it doesn’t have one.
Download:
MP3: Eminem-”We Made You” (Left-Click)
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 9 Comments »
