Diamonds in the Dollar Bin: Aloe Blacc’s “I Need a Dollar”
With the recession lingering as a semi-permanent hangover, Aloe Blacc’s sentiments remain fresh, though he probably wrote this back when people still believed that the mere election of Obama would yield millions of green jobs, glazed doughnut candy canes, and free cable for all. Since my apartment lacks Home Box Office, I was previously unaware that “I Need a Dollar” is the theme song for Kid Cudi’s How To Buy Limited Edition Japanese-Only Pumas in America, though its cover feels far more Danny Duberstein.
An industry vet dating back to his rap days in Emanon with Exile, Blacc recharges his mitzvah by channeling the dusty 60s soul that Mayer Hawthorne so artfully mined last year. Recruiting some of the best in reanimation, Brooklyn’s Truth and Soul (on production) and The Expressions and El Michels Affair (the backing band), “I Need a Dollar” strikes a rare balance of timeliness and timelessness. Many contemporary recession songs have felt like shallow attempts at empathy or savvy image rehabilitations, but Blacc’s is imbued with world-weary sadness and subtle desperation. The music supplies the hope — a celestial hail of horns and plangent pianos –a haunting line nicking “Still Dre” and/or “Two Weeks.” The result is something along the lines of “Circulate,” “Brother, Can You a Spare a Dime, ” or “Minimum Wage Nanny.” Repeated listening may also help mitigate the sufferings of Groat’s Disease.
Download:
MP3: Aloe Blacc - “I Need a Dollar”
Stumble It!
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:24 pm
I could get funky to this ALL day.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:12 am
I’ll white that shit up.. Tell them I’m an Ethiopian jew.
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Seriously addicted to this tune at the moment. The TV show isn’t bad either.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:06 pm
This is an incredible track! I’ve been caught sleeping once again.
March 4th, 2010 at 12:06 am
[…] is true, but I actually meant you should head over to Passion of the Weiss and check out the latest track from Stones Throw artist Aloe Blacc. It is incredible. Instant heavy […]