Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?

Apr
08

Black Moth Super Rainbow-”Twin of Myself”

Few bands are more difficult to write about than Black Moth Super Rainbow. The inherent writerly impulse is to lapse into cliche, whilst invoking the words, “mellotron,” “psychedelic,” “Flaming Lips,” and “bubble-gum.” I’ve done it on multiple occasions, and like bubble gum itself, there’s something stupid about explaining why you like it–you just do. Pitchfork… Continue reading »

Apr
07

LA Times: Coachella Preview–The Bug ft. Warrior Queen

In my ongoing quest to latch onto trends two years too late, an entomological obsession with The Bug persists. What can I say? To paraphrase Lars Highmael from Party Fun Action Committee : it makes me want to speed on the highway. Accordingly, I have a Coachella preview of The Bug ft. Warrior Queen up… Continue reading »

Apr
07

Make It Stop: Eminem’s “We Made You”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2C1XzYMm4E I don’t have much to add that Dom and Zeus haven’t already articulated, and honestly, I feel bad heaping derision on Eminem. From 1999-2003, no one, save for Ghostface had a better run, but seeing as though this is a blog, and Eminem remains the last of the video stars, I’m obligated to toss… Continue reading »

Apr
06

Stax: The Soul of Hip-Hop Compilation

When you own one of the most heavily sampled catalogues in hip-hop history, it’s something of a no-brainer to streamline it into one easy-to-access anthology. Accordingly, Concord Music Group, who re-launched Stax in 2007, are attempting to cash-in with this very well-curated starter’s guide. If for some reason, you don’t know about Stax, Netflix Wattstax… Continue reading »

Apr
06

The Ragged Psychedelia of Crystal Antlers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vTY8KEKlmI Ignore the numerics that tend to overshadow all things Pitchfork, and Ian Cohen’s review of Tentacles, accurately illustrates why three out of four L.A. bloggers prefer Crystal Antlers. “Antlers are a heavy and especially loud psych-punk band, but they lack the outsider cachet of metal or noise; their psychedelia is more shaggy than dreamy… Continue reading »

Apr
03

WC and the Maad Circle-”The One”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fDw15WJ9zY Shooting hoops, while listening to The Fix on a Friday spring afternoon=one of life’s greatest pleasures. Accordingly, the WC-featured, “I Ain’t the One,” made me want to revisit, “The One,” from the Maad Circle’s Coolio-less, Curb Servin. It’s a great song, made greater by Crazy Toones’ accomplishment: the only DJ to ever successfully impersonate… Continue reading »

Apr
02

MF Doom-”Gazzillion Ear” (Thom Yorke Remix)

Image via Metal Faced Initially, the combination of the Radiohead frontman and the metal-faced villain, seems incongruous. Upon closer examination, it’s perfectly natural: two insular, brooding weirdos, whose music reflects a constant, centrifugal tension with the world around them. Consequently, Yorke’s “Gazzilion Ear” remix manages to make Doom sound even more warped and eccentric than… Continue reading »

Apr
02

Monomono are Ill

Despite a reputation as one of Nigeria’s most successful and best Afro-Beat boom bands, information about Monomono remains scarce on the Internet. Even the normally dependable, All Music Guide, lacks a bio on the three-piece outfit. I’ll presume it’s due to Google searches yielding results on “the kissing disease,” not Monomono’s definition in Yoruba: Dawn… Continue reading »

Apr
01

Kode9′s Dubstep Haze

To offer a strained analogy, consider Kode9 the Peanut Butter Wolf, to Burial’s Madlib. The mastermind behind Dub Step dons, Hyper Dub, the Scottish-born producer named Steve Goodman receives less acclaim than his Mercury Prize-nominated meal ticket, but remains one of the most vital players in the drum and bass and dub-descended, sub-genre centered in… Continue reading »

Mar
31

Flying Lotus-”Los Angeles” Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G25WKXj8Y1E Or its alternate title: What I did on my spring break with Blade Runner, 2001, Empire Strikes Back, and several canisters of Sour Diesel. [Via West Coast Sound] Download: MP3: Flying Lotus-”Beginner’s Falafel”