Sep
30

Gold, Jerry…Gold

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL_lgdoiL7I It’s appropriate that “Gold” premiered on Stereogum, a site whose taste triangulates Pitchfork and Paste for the pasty skin set. That’s not a knock. They offer competent white collar and flannel rock with the best, but you won’t find the latest Deep Medi 12″ or anything Hyperdub-related save for Burial, the token gesture for… Continue reading »

Sep
30

Question in the form of an Answer: Buck 65

Matt Shea invented hobo-hop.  DIY may now be the digital recipe for rap success, but Buck 65 was doing things himself a long time before mp3s and iTunes. Perhaps it was growing up in Mount Uniacke, Canada, a place that makes Yelawolf’s Gadsden look like New York City, or perhaps it’s just his supposedly shy… Continue reading »

Sep
29

The Shadiest One

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCfLjGDK9Sw Fast-forward to the 1:10 mark for 16 bars from W.C., who at 40, still immolates Cube’s new Lench Mob henchman and O’ Shea himself. As for his old Lench mob, maybe Doughboy discarded them because he read on the world’s most entertaining encyclopedia that they are “Black Supremacist racists.”Apparently, Glen Beck is putting in… Continue reading »

Sep
29

Sach O: Shed – The Traveler

Sach O101011101110011110111001010101001011 I recently asked the motley crew of musicians, writers and ne’er do wells that make up the PoW version of the Mind Squad if they felt their musical tastes had shifted in recent years. The responses were as diverse and insightful as anything else I’d read recently, but for the most part there… Continue reading »

Sep
28

Beats, Beaks, and Barrows

There are cliches that surround krautrock, but I only know a few. My knowledge of Teutonic culture is tragically limited to their ardor of Hasselhoff, Bavarian beverages, and the Neuschwanstein Castle.  Cliches wrapped inside an enigma, wrapped inside a hot dog, and sold at every stop alongside the autobahn. The predominant (and true) trope about… Continue reading »

Sep
28

Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: A Toast to Matador Records (Part Two: 1989 – 1999)

In the first part of this two-part celebration of Matador Records, I selected five essential albums from the label’s post-millennial releases. Today, it’s time to pluck from the label’s formative years, eschewing the embarrassing baby photos and going for the Little League baseball trophies. With all due respect to Bardo Pond, here are five of… Continue reading »

Sep
27

Heat Stroke and Sacre Cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZT0wlH4y8k The mercury was a mocking 113 this afternoon, making recovery from Off the Books impossible. Slurred recollections and crystalline images will come later. In brief, Mount Kimbie came through and crushed the buildings, holding 200 people-plus hostage until 1:00 a.m. on a Monday morning.  Shlohmo remixed “Pretty Boy Swag” until he looked like Jesus,… Continue reading »

Sep
27

Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: A Toast to Matador Records (Part One: 2000 – 2009)

Douglas Martin’s favorite Hemingway book is “The Sun Also Rises.”  Twenty-one years ago, Chris Lombardi had the same idea many young and enterprising music lovers have had: he would form his own record label. Whether he was deeply enthralled with Spanish culture or just stoned and eating Frosted Flakes while watching the episode of Looney… Continue reading »

Sep
25

Books and Beats

Off the Books transpires in less than 24 hours. The plan had been to devote separate posts to each artist, but I’m overambitious and need an intern to help me get that chicken. I’m loathe to do these link dump type posts, especially for artists worthy of well-chosen words, but time isn’t on my side… Continue reading »

Sep
24

Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: Gay is the New Black–Kele Okereke and Bigotry in Indie Rock

“Whenever people see a black man thinking outside of the box, they either think he’s switching it up for the white people or they think he’s gay.” — Andre 3000 Late one night, I was driving a stranger home, obviously because I’m sort of naïve and unaware that driving a random drunk home at 2:15am… Continue reading »

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