August 31st, 2009
Thanks to Nate Patrin, I recently discovered “Midnite Vultures,” the would-be title track turned “Nicotine & Gravy” B-side from 1999. Sez Nate: “some days, this would be my favorite Beck track.” Sez I: throughout of the duration of the weekend, it was mine.
In hindsight, Beck channeling Serge Gainsbourg while smoking Gauloises and sipping Pernod, may have been the right angle, instead of spending the majority of the aughts channeling Beck and/or spending Sundays recording cover albums with Wolfmother and Devendra Banhart. The least they can do is cut Histoire De Melody Nelson.
Download:
MP3: Beck-”Midnite Vultures”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 4 Comments »
August 30th, 2009
As seen earlier, Rah Al Milio of the Knux has begun a blogging and recording side-project under the Joey Lestrat (Le Pop Killer) alias. He bills it as “The Knux, Vampires, Guitars and stars.” I can’t help but view this as a wise move. In these True Blood and Twilight times, the real money is in vampires. Consequently, Passion of the Weiss is switching to an all vampire-all-the-time-aesthetic. Nothing but Lestrat, Manson, and Bauhaus. Bela Lugosi is not dead.
About “Touch.” It’s not rap, so don’t download looking for typical Knux garage-hop. According to Al, it’s “not on an album, not on a mixtape, no purpose but to spread the virus.” If anything, it sounds closest to late 90s Brit Pop–as though the younger Lindsey brother has been listening to nothing but White Town’s “Your Woman” and Blur’s 13. I also can’t help but view this as a wise move. If nothing else, it sons Japanese Cartoon.
Download:
MP3: Joey Lestrat (Rah Al Milio)-”Touch”
Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 3 Comments »
August 29th, 2009
My bad. Three months ago, Smoking Section don, John Gotty sent out an e-mail requesting that I listen to Freddie Gibbs, a Gary, Indiana-raised, Interscope Records refugee with co-signs from Devin the Dude and Just Blaze. For reasons best blamed on scatterbrains and Internet fatigue, I never got around to The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, an excellent collection of jettisoned major label tracks, freestyles, and stone-cold street raps.
Last week, Gibbs released his follow-up, Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik, an album that takes its title from Outkast, but its inspiration from the asphalt. Beyond prodigious rapping ability, a penchant for writing catchy hooks, and a great ear for beats, Gibbs’ lyrical acumen distinguishes himself from the crack-packing masses. No recycled cliches, no paper-thin narratives, just Gibbs navigating the gauntlet of Gary to craft tracks with tape-popping re-playability. Think of him as the missing link between Midwestern speed rap and trunk-rattling Houston ride music–if you like Bone Thugs, UGK, Z-Ro, and Trae, Gibbs will probably be your new favorite rapper.
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Posted in Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 7 Comments »
August 29th, 2009
A few months ago, the estimable Oliver Wang invited me to make a mix for the excellent Soul Summer blog that he curates. Since my knack for procrastination is only matched for my gift for talking loudly in public places, it didn’t run until now. Part Sint Maarten travelogue, part ode to Jamaican music and marijuana, though the days of Summer are dwindling, hopefully you’ll find the post worthwhile. There are tales of purchasing dirt weed from guys named Slick, bad DJ’s from upstate New York, and Black Uhuru. Everything but the spliff itself.
Soul Summer: Summer Smoke
Posted in Summer Jamz | No Comments »
August 28th, 2009
Photo By Jeff Cowan
I stopped having a “favorite band” when I started to take this whole writing about music thing seriously. It seemed a relic of childhood absolutism, where there is A FAVORITE BASEBALL PLAYER (Eric Davis), FOOD (McDonald’s hamburgers), LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST (Tom Snyder, be thy name).
But for this week–at least until Akron/Family comes to town on Saturday–Dungen is my favorite band. As you might infer from the title, my Times review of Wednesday’s Troubadour performance analyzes the band through the narrow prism of psychedelic music. However, they’re much more than the sum of guitar solos and Swedish chef crooning. While you don’t necessarily need drugs to enjoy their music, Dungen is the best advertisement for narcotics since The Never Ending Story.
LA Times: Dungen’s Redefinition of Psychedelia
Below the jump: music from both Dungen and their excellent Swedish psychedelic forebears, plus a link to the entire photo gallery.
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Posted in LA Times | 6 Comments »
August 27th, 2009
According to the esteemed Drunkard:
“WEIRD SUMMER” was created exclusively to get you through those last few incredibly sticky days of the hottest god damn summer you can remember. Fuel for the fire. Grab that boom box, hit the beach, and turn up the volume. Best served before 9.21.2009. Mucho take it easy. - MB
This is one of the finest mixes I’ve heard all season. Otis Redding, Love, Javelin, Akron/Family, Os Mutantes, et. al. Do I need to really say anymore? Get weird, turn pro.
Tracklist below the jump.
Download:
MP3: Mondo Boys :: Weird Summer (58 minutes, 79.3 MB, 192 kbps)
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Posted in News | 1 Comment »
August 27th, 2009
How to get over the sudden death of a 5 year old iPod: 1 bowl of particularly potent Jackberry Haze (saved for just such an occasion), 1 newly purchased 120 Gig iPod paid for with rent money, 1 high powered Stax-released jam from legendary bluesman Albert King. Some people posit than in 50 years time Emo will be regarded as the blues of our era, an authentic expression of contemporary malaise. Not if I can help it. Download:
Mp3: Albert King - Everybody wants to go to Heaven
Posted in Sach O | 1 Comment »
August 27th, 2009
Aiyo, my wiz play the flute, I stroll through the forest like
Peace, pussies, trees, hello, how was your day?
Remember how I said that we weren’t going to talk about The Wizard of Poetry? Well, that was just an elaborate ruse.
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
August 27th, 2009
The Next Spot is a recurring series dedicated to the albums that could’ve, would’ve, should’ve made the Decade Top 50.
None of y’all will admit it, but Madlib went and dropped the Y2K Paul’s Boutique on us. The innumerable samples, the LA stoned immaculate vibe, and the back-and-forth interplay reminiscent of the Beasties’ classic. Of course, back-and-forth rapping is a lot weirder when you’re trading bars with your helium-voiced alter-ego and a Melvin Van Peebles record. Deliriously fun, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas might be Madlib’s most uncompromised and best produced, a litmus test to see people’s tolerance for that lo-fi experimental rap shit.
Trading The Unseen’s jazzy vibes for Technicolor psychedelia, the album is a sample spotter’s wet dream, and a sample clearer’s nightmare with each track featuring multiple beats and extended outros. On the rapping side, Quas talks weed, hoes and scandalous homies with Madlib playing the back, warning you of things to come. Plenty of rappers today try to balance out being cool, being creative and being accessible and fail miserably. Madlib? He just does what he wants and doesn’t care how strange it sounds. Throw this on, light a bowl and enjoy the ride.–Sach O
Download:
MP3: Quasimoto ft. Madvillain-”Closer”
MP3: Quasimoto ft. Med-”The Exclusive”
Posted in The Next Spot, Top 50 Rap Albums of the '00s, Sach O | 4 Comments »
August 26th, 2009
While moronic major label meddling remains an inexorable part of blog culture, it’s comforting to know that my Feburary LA Weekly article about Blogger deleting posts made a minor impact. The details can be found here, but any way you look at it, it’s a small victory for the powers of complaint. Blogger, I was only joking when I said I wanted to smash every tooth in your head.
[Thanks to Rawking Refuses to Stop for the heads-up.]
Download:
MP3: The Smiths-”Bigmouth Strikes Again”
Posted in LA Weekly | No Comments »
