Mar
03

Castro’s Minefield

It’s like Yelawolf said: don’t be so easily impressed, in ’93 you had to rap. So my endorsement of Curly Castro came with reservations. I’ve watched the Philly via Bucktown rhymer go berserk live, seen him match Scribble Jam champ Nocando in a cipher, and enjoyed both of his mixtapes — but to use an… Continue reading »

Feb
17

Up from the Shadows: Bad Weather and Boxing

It wasn’t Odd Future ransacking Fallon, but this week quietly marked another milestone first for another gifted rap crew, when Zilla Rocca and Curly Castro made their debut on Philly’s NPR outlet, XPN.  Re-working songs from 2009′s “Slow Twilight” for the Key Studio Sessions,  the pair brought live guitar, deft flourishes, and a pinpoint refinement… Continue reading »

Jan
10

I Can’t Go To Sleep: 5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers-”Broken Clocks EP”

Like a broken clock, Matt Shea is right at least twice a day. Not content with releasing one of the finest debuts of 2009, 5 O’Clock Shadowboxers followed it up last April with an arguably better EP. The brilliance of Broken Clocks is in the way it takes a panorama scope – with a greater… Continue reading »

Dec
10

When the Beat Drops: A Round-Table on the State of “The Album”

When it comes to the music industry, the wrong sales records are being set. Soundscan tabulates album receipts in steady decline since their peak in 2000 — a year when close to 800 million albums were sold. In 2009, the figure dropped to just under 400 million. This year, the week of August 8-14 witnessed… Continue reading »

Aug
24

Passion of the Weiss & Friends of Friends Present: Off the Books

While it may occasionally seem otherwise, self-promotion is my least favorite task, which makes the notion of promoting shows anathema to me. However, I continue to do it because like the Mothers of Invention, I am only in it for the money. Sometimes, when all things are factored in, I can make $7 an hour.… Continue reading »

Aug
12

5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers-”No Resolution 2″

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlTPlMYKweo Zilla Rocca doesn’t get angry very often.  He’s a peaceful bloke, who digs the Los Angeles Dodgers, Raymond Chandler, the collected verse of Dennis Coles, and the love a man has for a fine Cuban cigar.  But like most artists that matter, if you push him he wields a ferocious temper, which has manifested… Continue reading »

Mar
24

Passion of the Presents: The Knux, Nocando, 5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers, The Holloys

The polarization between rappers and rock groups has always bothered me. Granted, one can interpret it as a wise conclusion gleaned from the Durst era, but I suspect otherwise. The last few years have seen arbitrary barriers between genres collapse, with hip-hop producers swiping samples from MGMT, Vampire Weekend, and Radiohead, Dame Dash and The… Continue reading »

Dec
09

Before I Throw An Arrow At Your Face on…December 9th

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3EkJ1CPhOo Nepotism bedamned, Zilla Rocca is the rap Tracer Bullet. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler are proud too– mediums have been consulted.  The second and long-overdue video from The 5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers Slow Twilight is here. “High Noon” at 5:30 p.m. Download: ZIP: 5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers-Slow Twilight (Left-Click)