2009 September » Passion of the Weiss

Sep
30

The temptation is to rattle off a litany of $5 adjectives and complex scenarios involving myself, rural Sweden in the spring, several forest nymphs and the words “frolic,” “carefree,” and “jaunty.” But c’mon. Like all Dungen-related projects, The Amazing, coaxes new ideas of a worn-out premise. Gustav Estjes is absent from the proceedings but his… Continue reading »

Sep
30

Gemmy and the Holograms

Photo via RA Gemmy’s Myspace features a YouTube clip of the introduction to the Back to the Future II Nintendo game. For this, he is the darkhorse of the bass brigade. While gawky geeky American twenty-somethings re-construct childhood via cassette noise tapes and Dan Deacon’s artery-clogging electronic twaddle, Gemmy, straight out of Bristol, takes two-step,… Continue reading »

Sep
29

Sach O: Ghostface Killah – In the Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhnwZ_ZyPeM Possibly my favorite Ghostface track of all time. “In the Rain (Wise)” first appeared on the Canadian edition of Supreme Clientele and I’ve always thought of it as part of that classic. The is the joint where Ghost perfected that “rhyme all over a soul song” idea that’s become a signature part of his… Continue reading »

Sep
29

Cooking With Pill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5somtePRLQM Continuing the recurring gastrointestinal sub-plot started with his “Trap Goin’ Ham” video, Pill debuts “Cooking with Pill.” The 4th Ward’s finest is one of the only rappers on earth that can get away with making a “Big Boy” with honey buns. Funny stuff and seemingly delicious, but I wish that rappers expanded the spectrum… Continue reading »

Sep
29

Joker- The “Kapsize EP”

For those interested in the burgeoning Bristol Purple scene, Richard Carnes’ Resident Adviser piece provides the most in-depth look at Joker, Guido, and Gemmy yet. I wish that the crew didn’t have names that read straight out of a never-aired “Batman Goes to Italy” episode (60s camp-edition), but I’ll manage. The piece confirms that a… Continue reading »

Sep
28

My Name is Darryl, But You Can Call Me “D”: The Strawsomeness of “Chocolate Strawberry”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol75BB7ly4k The instant MOST PRIZED POSSESSION of my vinyl collection, acquired this weekend at the Lower Haight’s outstanding record shop, Groove Merchant (thanks to a heads-up from the always on-point O-Dub). You can have your random rap full of arcane regional signifiers, I’ll take mine with Darryl Strawberry 16s, and guest-spots from UTFO, Whistle, and… Continue reading »

Sep
28

Ghostface Killah: “Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City”

Sach O’s R&B dick is on Thursdays (II). If you think about it, Raekwon The Chef and Ghostface Killah just dropped a bizarro-world Speakerboxxx/Love Below on us highlighting the extremes of their respective personalities. While Rae spent the past few years crafting the thuggish if reflective narratives of Cuban Linx II, Ghost has been working… Continue reading »

Sep
26

Raekwon & Beanie Sigel-”Have Mercy” Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8knGajYBAM A great song from a great album. As Gotty points out, “Raekwon forced his co-stars to “rise to the occasion.” Low-budget as low-budget can be, but judging from the ample waistlines of these Siegel and Shallah, the catering truck must’ve been something fierce. The question remains: where is Blue Raspberry?

Sep
25

In Memorium: Jim Carroll

Were I to finally succumb to the quasi-cosmic entropy that envelops soft California skulls, I’d blame the melodramatically named “Summer of Death” on a psychic shift between old and new blood, some paroxysm of pestilence, some inauspicious wormhole of time. But I don’t buy it. This is nothing more than a litany of “So It… Continue reading »

Sep
24

Hits from the Bong, Y’all. Can I Get a Hit?

I have a new column at LA Weekly. It is called Hits from the Blog. It is about what you think it is about. The first installment is a woolly manifesto about what to expect in ensuing weeks, plus an interview with City Councilman, Ed Reyes, about the current state of medical marijuana in Los… Continue reading »