March 26th, 2008
10. In conjunction with The Knux’s performance, we will be serving fresh cappuccino’s with mocha twists.
9. Because Nico the Beast, 1/2 of Clean Guns nearly beat up the fake Spiderman on Hollywood Blvd today. While the details of the altercation remain murky, the phrase, “I will destroy you, you 38 pound bag of bones!” was heard.
8. Because Wallpaper cannot possibly be as boring as actual wallpaper. (Statement does not apply to habitual LSD users.)
7. For the sheer ironic pleasure of using the phrase, “Hell Ya,” at a night promoted by Hell Ya. You guys like irony, right. Please don’t answer that question.
6. Because The Knux’s video for “Cappuccino” reminds me of Class Act and lo and behold, today on Hollywood Blvd I saw none other than Christopher Reid, aka Kid o’ Kid N’ Play. Obviously, this is the sign (no Ace of Base.)
5. Because Wallpaper might be the hardest band in the entire country to locate via “Google Search.” However, thanks to this peculiar quirk of nomenclature, I can safely report that wallpaperbase.com is a fantastic source of military wallpaper.
4. Because I will be there. Probably drunk. Probably making all sorts of outlandish claims that may or may not include: inventing the javelin, transforming the world of traditional iron smelting, and pioneering, “the remix.”
3. Because I watched Nico the Beast and Zilla Rocca kick freestyles today that were better than 92 percent of “underground rapper’s” written material. On a side note, if any grainy footage ever surfaces of me participating in said freestyles, rest assured that it is not actually me and instead it is the work of my twin brother, Pierre, a man who moves in unsavory French circles.
2. Because the “Cappuccino Remix” that dropped yesterday might be better than the original and dare I say it, reminds me an awful lot of Southernplayalistic-era Outkast.
1. Because if you download the three songs below and don’t like at least one of them, you are probably cursed to a life of hate, pestilence and mirthlessness. On the bright side, that qualifies you for citizenship in at least four ex-Soviet republics.
Download:
MP3: The Knux-”Cappuccino Remix”
MP3: Clean Guns (as Fairmount Park Commission w/ Triple Nickels & 2ew Gun Ciz)-”The Grind”
MP3: Wallpaper-”Evrytm We Do It”
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January 2nd, 2008
Judging by most child stars, I’m willing to bet that if they re-made this commercial today, it’s tagline would be: “Zack, Zack, he’s a methamphetamine maniac.”
5. Dungen-Tio Bitar [Kemado]
Dungen did not tour this record in America. This is because the band’s mastermind, Gustav Estjes was rumored to be alone in the snowy Swedish hinterlands, ingesting enough hallucinogens to give Hunter S. Thompson pause, and trying to untangle the beautiful mess of sounds stampeding inside his head. On the band’s website, Estjes readily admits that his entire sonic leitmotif descends from the memory of being eight years old, hearing his mother’s copy of Are You Experienced? for the first time.
But Jimi Hendrix is merely the jumping off point for Estjes’ lysergic symphonies; aided by Swede postman by day/guitar god by night Reine Fiske, Dungen spit back an impossibly melodic synthesis of the ’60s and early ’70s, seamlessly blending orange sunshine-laced Hendrix solos, snaking Revolver sitars, and some weird willowy flutes a la Aqualung. This is dusty analog music, buzzing with a drugged red-eyed glow, all spray-paint and candy color. It’s not the sort of artistic statement that promises to change anyone’s life (unless you’re this fellow), but Tio Bitar is a great work of escapist art, the sort of essential record I’d pick for any hypothetical list of desert island necessities.
MP3: Dungen-”Gor Det Nu”
4. Ghostface Killah-The Big Dough Rehab [Def Jam]
The people who bitched about The Big Dough Rehab’s lack of originality are the types who would’ve complained that Rembrandt painted too many pictures of Dutchmen with bushy mustaches and black felt hats. They’re missing the point: like the famed 17th century portraitist, Ghost’s brilliance lies in his innate ability to humanize even the most stiff figures and breath life into the most tired of tropes. “Yolanda’s House” (explained at length here) should be merely another Wu heist, instead it thumps off the speakers with a novelist’s eye for detail, from Ghost’s meal of french fries and fish sticks, to Meth reprimanding Starks for laughing at his asthmatic girlfriend, to Raekwon’s description of a drug connect as wearing a lot of “loud shit, you know that Steve Rifkind-style shit.”
Superficially, this just another casually brilliant Ghostface album, but underneath its veneer a greater linearity and thematic consistency emerges (save for “White Linen Affair,” which is plain retarded). If heads were chagrined that The Big Dough Rehab lacked “weird” songs about seeing Sponge Bob underwater, their absence came in exchange for a focus on deeper themes: mortality, a desire to repent, the proverbial Devil on Ghost’s shoulder that that believes that life should be “Bentley’s and big bills, bottles, biscuits, bitches, blunts, [and] bad boys bodying pit bulls” (as declared on “Paisley Darts.”) Cinematically arranged, even seemingly head-scratching decisions like “The Prayer” have a warped logic to them, with Ox’s supplications serving as a second act turning point of sorts, with Ghost navigating treacherous femme fatales and mob shootouts in the third act, before ultimately recognizing life’s fragility and the need to “slow down” on the finale. Of course, it isn’t as consistently thrilling as Supreme Clientele, but it’s still a lot more fun than this guy.
MP3: Ghostface Killah ft. Method Man & Raekwon-”Yolanda’s House”
3. LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver [Capitol/DFA]
If you’re desperate, the de rigueur cricism of Sound of Silver is that there’s little else to it besides “Someone Great” and “All My Friends,” and that the latter is the kind of “Stairway To Heaven”/ “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for aging indie types to eventually beat their kids over the head with. But really- do you really want to hang out with people who can’t find anything here? “North American Scum” isn’t Ted Leo with a better sense of humor? The title track doesn’t knock? I realize it’s all hipster catnip, but you know what- sometimes “the blogs” are right.
I refuse to believe this won’t be a record that matters when all’s said and done. Because this seems to be the dovetailing of solutions to complaints about indie rock in general: dance music doesn’t have any emotional resonance and the power trio is too fucking boring. And while 2007 was certainly quite the banner year for club music to go rock, let’s face it: Simian Mobile Disco isn’t sucking any less any time soon. This might have been a record you degraded on your year-end just to be original, but see if it isn’t the one that you bring out in 2017 most often. –Ian Cohen
MP3: LCD Soundsystem-”North American Scum” (Left-Click)
2. Sunset Rubdown-Random Spirit Lover [Jagjaguwar]
Random Spirit Lover is a dense epic sprawl of a record. If you listen to it enough, I’m reasonably sure you’ll start to go a little crazy. For a long time, it seemed to only make sense, drunk, rambling, stoned in the ashy delirium of 3:00 a.m revelation. With a frozen winter nightmare vibe that hits at some raw intestinal level, the sort of thing that sounded fit for a long car ride to the funeral of a close friend, rain clouds cackling overhead, setting the sad soundtrack to the inherent smallness and fragility of life. In the reel that flickers inside my head, it plays like The Chronicles of Narnia re-written entirely from memory by Guillermo Del Toro, with a soundtrack composed by a super-group of David Bowie, Frog Eyes, and the ghost of Elliot Smith. It would do horrible at the box office.
Random Spirit Lover requires a willful suspension of disbelief. Each song in and of itself is a weird tesseract to warp through, passing into a vivid cosmology of courtesans, failed heroes, snakes, stallions, leopards, and various other animals that added together would probably account for 22 percent of the San Diego Zoo. You have to ignore this record’s excesses and pretensions, it’s herky-jerky pacing and its song titles including “Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days” and “Trumpet, Trumpet, Toot! Toot!” (the latter of which has a reasonable shot at being the title of the next big Southern ring-tone rap song). Spencer Krug is the rare songwriter capable of writing songs that can mean 1,000 things to a 1,000 people, an opacity that lends itself to a sort of timelessness that allows you to believe that if you play this in 50 years it’ll retain the mystery and magic it possesses today.
MP3: Sunset Rubdown-”Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days”
1. El-P- I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead [Def Jux]
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, is El-P’s masterpiece, a record both explicit and subtle, simultaneously political and apolitical, a record for a turbulent schizophrenic year where gruesome headlines from Iraq sat side-by-side with news of the Dow skyrocketing and Anna Nicole Smith corpse-raping. Heavily rooted in his NYC cityscape, El dipped jittery, a “Brooklyn baby / Waterlocked, walkin’ nervous” with a “gonzomatic fear turning [him] Hunter S. Thompson.”
Like many Def Jux records, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead is monolithic and impenetrable on first listen. But with patience and time, its lyrical complexities and Bomb Squad by way of My Bloody Valentine sound grows increasingly more vivid. Listen to “Poisenville Kids No Wins,” and try to ignore El-P’s sound-of-a-mind-bleeding beat, a thundering seven-minute soulfuck full of Star Wars synths, Orwellian alarms, and drums big as boulders. Try to ignore lyrics that paint a hazy drugged dispatch from that valley between dawn and night, the story of a lonely train car home, vomited out onto blocks of Brooklyn brownstones and bodegas, nasal drip tearing its way down our narrator’s throat. Slanting against a sleeping storefront, he pauses for one last cigarette, letting the wispy Newport drags dissolve into the weak maroon sun, contemplating that fragile membrane that links light and darkness, sanity and madness, the desire to fight versus the wisdom to flee. Not only is I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, the best hip-hop album made this year, it’s one of the best ever made.
MP3: El-P-”Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)”
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December 14th, 2007
This blog hasn’t given local acts nearly enough shine over the past 12 months, but here’s some records from Angeleno bands that I enjoyed. If you’re looking for other, probably more informed local lists, I highly recommend checking out You Set the Scene, Rock Insider, and Surfing on Steam’s.
10. Sea Wolf-Leaves in the River
At times, Leaves In the River reads a little predictably quirky, but Alex Church’s pop heart salvages this from being the effort of another accordian-toting, maritime metaphor-using copycat. The sound might not be the most original (I can’t wait for Colin Meloy’s “Shark N—s (Biters)” skit on the next Decemberists record), but when Church connects, as like on Starbucks-gypsy stomp of “Winter Windows” or Indie 103.1 staple, “You’re a Wolf,” it’s almost impossible to resist.
Sea Wolf on Myspace
Download:
MP3: Sea Wolf-”You’re a Wolf”
9. Le Switch-Hello Today
As Duke has repeatedly pointed out, Aaron Kyle’s brand of tipsy saloon-rock grows on you like a fungus. At first, you’re kind of like, ‘hey a fungus, maybe I should get rid of that.’ Then you realize that Aaron’s a pretty big dude and maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to go to the doctor. And the next thing you know, you’re including him on your “Best Of” lists and not even because you’re trying to avoid a brawl, (therein violating your personal rule about never feuding with bands named after weapons), but more importantly, because of the fact that Kyle is a deceptively proficient songwriter.
Le Switch On Myspace
MP3: Le Switch-”Living In Another World” (Left-Click)
8. The Prix-The Prix EP/St. Domino
There was a week in June when I played nothing but Dungen’s Tio Bitar and The Prix’s eponymous debut EP. Their psychedelic, Saturday escapism seemed to meld perfectly with the blue afternoons and hazy sunsets of the early summer. They aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel, they’re just trying to revive that familiar, insanely catchy strain of 60’s guitar pop native to Los Angeles. And they succeed.
The Prix on Myspace
MP3: The Prix- “It’s All in the Way That You Trip”
7. No Age-Weirdo Rippers
No Age has arguably as much potential as anyone on this list. Their debut LP/singles collection, Weirdo Rippers has moments where you believe the hype and think that these guys have a chance to evolve a hybrid of The Ramones and Guided By Voices. But too often, they let their lo-fi/punk roots become an excuse for sloppiness. Yet Weirdo Rippers no doubt leaves you with the impression that if No Age can find a way to mix their powerful, spastic, punk with a still-developing knack for songcraft, they can be great.
No Age on Myspace
MP3: No Age-”Everybody’s Down”
6. Minor Canon-No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Suffused with elegiac horns and Paul Larson’s impressive vocal capabilities, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished has a sonic depth and richness that makes it more than just the sad white guy schtick you’d expect to see on in a dorm room iTunes playlist labeled “Just Been Dumped.” Though this is technically their debut, the members of The Minor Canon are veterans of the Silverlake scene and it shows throughout, with Larson’s lyrical maturity and meticulous, layered arrangements.
Minor Canon on Myspace
MP3: The Minor Canon-”Bend Like Trees”
5. Earlimart-Mentor Tormentor
This probably didn’t receive as much attention as it deserved because these guys have made a half dozen records before and you kind of know what you’re getting at this point. (Fans of Grandaddy, Elliot Smith, you’ll probably enjoy this). All in all, it’s another very solid effort from one of the most solid bands to emerge from Los Angeles in the decade.
Earlimart on Myspace
MP3: Earlimart-”Answers and Questions”
4. Blu and Exile-Below the Heavens
It’s a shame how long its taken me to even mention this record, considering Blu’s one of the best non-Stones Throw rappers to emerge in the post-Jurassic 5 LA underground. Below the Heavens might not be on the level of J5’s self-titled debut, but it’s certainly a promising start. Blu’s flow is fierce, with a lyrical content more street-wise than the average subterranean rapper yet smarter than your average hustler-turned-rapper.
Blu on Myspace
MP3: Blu and Exile-”My World Is…”
3. The Broken West-I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On
I was pretty underwhelmed when caught the Broken West at their Spaceland residency earlier this year. I liked their Merge released debut, I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On, well-enough, but it never felt like much more than pleasant Big-Star/New Pornographers knockoff. The sort of a record you’d listen to for about a week and promptly discard when something better came along. But when I caught The Broken West a little while ago at the Echo, they were a completely different band, road-tested and infinitely tighter than in the spring. Live, the songs from I Can’t Go On sounded re-invented and when I went back to the record, it was much better than I remembered. If their next album can match the energy of their live sound, these guys are a lock to be the next big band to break out of LA.
The Broken West on Myspace
MP3: The Broken West-”So It Goes”
2. The Parson Redheads-King Giraffe
The Parson Redheads make no secret about trying to build upon Los Angeles’ laid-back legacy, relentlessly channeling the spirit of the Byrds, CSNY, and Gram Parsons. Their album chugs along so smoothly that its show-stopper, “Full Moon,” (a centerpiece of the band’s dynamic live show) creeps up on you with its graveyard lyrics, serpentine Zombies keyboards, and twisting miasma of psychedelic guitars. Dropping their optimism for a moment, Way and his sister Erin, the band’s keyboardist, conspire murderously and the band finally let loose, unleashing a primal squall of feedback that leads you to believe that a lot more great things are in store for these guys.
The Parson Redheads on Myspace
MP3: The Parson Redheads-”Full Moon”
1. The Deadly Syndrome-The Ortolan
The Ortolan is a very good record, maybe the best of the recent batch of bands that have broken out of Silverlake in the last few years. Most surprising is The Deadly Syndrome’s inherent knack for transmitting the wild-eyed schizophrenia of their notoriously frenetic stage show to the studio, a difficult task for veteran bands, let alone a bunch of former film school kids who came out of virtually nowhere to become one of the Eastside’s biggest bands in just months.
“I Hope I Become a Ghost” rides out on a flying dust cloud of mad monk piano keys and caveman drums. “The Ship that Shot Itself” is buoyed by an ethereal accordion line that breathes and swells, fleshing out the bare-bones folk guitar line. “Emily Paints” starts out like lukewarm Hot Hot Heat but resurrects itself mid-song like a forest full of dead trees struck by lightning, burning in an orange crush-colored haze of guitars. Ultimately, it’s these superficially benign instrumental patches that reveal exactly why Steve Aoki was wise to dangle a record deal in front of them approximately 16 minutes after they formed (proving once again that no one is capable of resisting the fried rice at Benihana).
The Deadly Syndrome on Myspace
MP3: The Deadly Syndrome-”Eucalyptus”
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December 13th, 2007
Animal Collective-Strawberry Jam
Sounds Like Bad Acid Trip
At arcade in New Jersey
Let Panda roam solo.
Arcade Fire-Neon Bible
Right now in heaven
Toole Composes Lengthy Indictment
Against Neon Bible.
Arctic Monkeys-Favourite Worst Nightmare
Least favourite nightmare
Listening to this on repeat
For Infinity.
Battles-Mirrored
Battles are Jam Band
For Smart Kids, Pass the Atlas
To the left hand side.
Blitzen Trapper-Wild Mountain Nation
Dead and Pavement Mix
Worse than tie dye and flannel.
Pick one. Weed or whine?
Bloc Party-A Weekend in the City
The Weekend Goes Bad
Cocaine Is Had Kele Gets Sad
Repeat thirteen times
Dan Deacon-Spiderman of the Rings
“My Generation”
As written by a neon elf
People try to put us down?
Lil Wayne-Da Drought 3
Stop the mad lib rhymes
Release Carter III already
Quit with the syrup.
M.I.A.-Kala
Rip off New Order
Combat Rock and Bollywood
Too much for hipsters.
Patrick Wolf-The Magic Position
Dandy carousel
But the magic position
is the off switch.
If you aren’t a fan of film title quizzes and you’d be more interested in finding a quiz that is more about the music you’d find in movies or other places then going online to find such a quiz isn’t a bad idea. You could even find some art quizzes if you’re not too into music or movies.
Posted in Lists, Best Of | 29 Comments »
December 12th, 2007
Even if you are a jewel thief, it is never wise to mess with a man whose name is Sgt. Larvell Jones.
5. Jay-Z ft. Nas-”Success”
These two. Thing is, this song shouldn’t be this high on my Best Of list. Say these guys hadn’t spent a decade trying to fuck each other’s baby mama’s, Sean Carter and Nasir Jones probably would’ve recorded at least a half-dozen songs better than “Success.” But at least they finally managed to get it right. Granted, neither Jay nor Nas turns in their best performance, but just hearing two of the best rappers of their generation go at it on the same track is something special in its own right–particularly when backed by seraphic church organs angling towards the sky and slow regal drums. It doesn’t matter that Jay-Z’s does a lazy flip of an old Eminem verse. It doesn’t matter that Nas tells people for the 34th time that he has the blood of a king (Hopefully, this one). It’s still a success.
MP3: Jay-Z ft. Nas-”Success”
4. Ghostface Killah ft. Method Man and Raekwon-”Yolanda’s House”
It’s probably cliche by now to point out how much of Ghost’s brilliance stems from his attention to detail. In theory, “Yolanda’s House” has no right to be this great. Starks has written dozens of heist stories over the years, but somehow he’s able to make each one unique, letting it breathe in its own distinct world of blood, smoke and banana nutraments.
On “Yolanda’s House,” Ironman’s on the run from the cops again. His watch is cracked, his Nikes are scuffed, his body is scratched from fleeing through bushes and backyards . He’s tired, out of breath, stoned. The sirens wail behind him. His heart bulges out of his chest, paranoid thoughts dart through his dazed mind. He thinks about quitting slanging, but knows he can’t. He needs the money. Out of options, he yells to God to strike him if he doesn’t like him. But of course, God likes him. It’s Ghostface after all. He’s the honest man living outside the law.
Miraculously, he ducks into a safe house, explains his situation, and convinces a sympathetic woman to cook him fries, fish sticks and biscuits, all while still applying her lipstick. Satiated, belly fat, he slices open a blunt and stuffs it full of weed. They smoke. One thing leads to another, Ghost is about get some “head wop” and more, when suddenly, the hiss and static of walkie talkies bleeds through the thin project walls. The cops are rumbling up the stairwell. Frantically, Ghost ducks into the next room, hiding behind a wall, spying Method Man, about to fuck the fish-stick cooker’s sister. Raw. And all this happens in just one minute.
MP3: Ghostface ft. Method Man & Raekwon-”Yolanda’s House”
3. UGK ft. Outkast-”Int’l Players Anthem”
This video has everything. Jokes about Rowdy Roddy Piper. Appearances from Bishop Magic Don Juan in a lime green hat. A wedding reception that looks even more fun than the Gimme-A-Keg-Of-Beer party in Teen Wolf. And of course, a great song behind it. But more than just being a pimped-out wedding fantasia, “Int’l Players Anthem” manages to capture the different sides of the male psyche. At one end, Andre plays the hopeless romantic, walking down the alter in a kilt, convinced that his bliss won’t be ephemeral. At the other extreme, an ice-draped Bun B and Pimp call other guys fairies and brag about driving Bentleys and wearing Russian Sable. The concept of settling down with one woman is unthinkable.
Big Boi plays the centrist, the pragmatic voice of reason. He’s not necessarily opposed to marriage, he’s just picky and wants to make sure he isn’t being played. Andre would call him jaded. Big Boi laughs and tells Andre to ask Paul McCartney about true love. Usually, posse cuts are just exercises for rappers to spit their most ferocious battle raps, but on this one, UGK and Outkast take it the next level, creating an an instant classic, complete in both its concept and execution.
MP3: UGK ft. Outkast-”Int’l Players Anthem”
2. El-P-”Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)
In Poisenville, the kids walk on floors made of broken glass and sawdust. They wear silver-colored rags and eat tomatoes the size of human heads. The sun never shines and they only serve cold brackish coffee. In school, the machines drone on with all the right answers and when they return home the children watch only reality shows and ultra-violent cartoons. Garbage lines the streets. Bombs explode on the front pages of poorly reported newspapers. The entire congress consists of aging actors, and bad ones at that. It’s the last chapter in El-P’s tar-black dystopia, the world’s gone awry and all anyone can do is laugh.
MP3: El-P -”Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)
1. Outkast-”Da Art of Storytellin’ Pt. 4″
“Da’ Art of Storytellin’” is a challenge to all-comers, a dare to the rap world to see if anyone stronger has emerged since Andre got bored with hip-hop sometime around the millennium. It’s that all-too-rare, adrenaline-racing, boombox monstrosity that whip-saws you to attention and makes you remember why you loved hip-hop so much in the first place. In an ideal rap world, this song would get at the very least as much burn on car stereos as “Soulja Girl” (notice, Andre’s bumping 100 Miles And Running). The sort of thing you’d hope would shift some teenage rapper’s paradigm from the obscene commercialism of the newest school, to the line of storytellers descended from Slick Rick and Kool G Rap, This should be required rewind listening for all aspiring rappers. Fuck being a motivational speaker, an actor, or a “brand,” rappers should want to tell stories, not be them.
MP3: Outkast-”Da Art of Storytelling Pt. 4″
While this list might not contain any kids songs you can rest assured that plenty of kids music, along with arts and crafts, can be found easily on the Internet. Besides the variety of arts and crafts projects you might be able to find, designed for any kind of art you might be interested in, there are plenty of other kids activities to be discovered.
Posted in Lists, Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?, Best Of | 12 Comments »
December 11th, 2007
The film that ended the Cold War.
9. Hi-Tek Ft. Talib Kweli & Dion-”Time”
“People get caught up in a time and what that song represents to them at the time they hear it. Nothing I’m gonna do after that is going to match up to that time period, because they can’t get that back. So I have to realize that when I make music, that time is never gonna be back to them-Talib Kweli
In 2001, I saw Talib Kweli five times and each performance he seemed to grow closer and closer to greatness. There was a fierce hunger in his eyes then, he was young and eager, rapping in breathless machine-gun bursts as though he was trying to break out of the underground one syllable at a time. Kweli had a restless quality, moving with intensity and focus, like if he stopped paying attention for a single moment, one of his thoughts would escape and never return.
But then something happened. Quality came out and it was solid but uninspiring. A step back not forward. Time lunged on. By the time Beautiful Struggle came out, listening to it felt like how I imagine hipsters will feel in five years when they have the did-I-used-to-wear-that realization that they spent two wears in the late 00’s rocking mustaches and stove-pipe hats. Every track came with a corny, and massive R&B hook, not to mention the uneasy similarity Beautiful Struggle single “I Try” had with Quality single, “Get By.” Kweli was played out like keg stands and gravity bong rips, things things that I used to fuck with regularly in the past, but never planned to include in my post-collegiate life.
Then I heard, “Time,” easily the best track off of Hi-Tek’s recently released Hi-Teknology 3 album. Instantly, I fell back a half-dozen years, the requisite flood of memories: old mix tapes made, stoned nocturnal car rides through the lazy hills of northeast LA, Reflection Eternal as the soundtrack at some drunken party spilling into a sad gray dawn. Hi-Tek’s beat is godlike, a celestial burst of stoned soul with Kweli’s raps melding perfectly to it. These two need each other, like Pete Rock and CL Smooth or Premier and Guru. Apparently, they’re going to do another Reflection Eternal album. That’s good news. In the meantime, sure Kweli still may never mean as much to me as he did six years ago, but you know what, I’m okay with liking him again. It’s time.
MP3: Hi-Tek ft. Talib Kweli & Dion-”Time”
8. Bishop Lamont ft. Phat Kat and Elzhi-”Goat It”
As discussed last week.
MP3: Bishop Lamont ft. Phat and Elzhi of Slum Village-”Goatit”
7. Devin the Dude ft. Snoop Dogg, Andre 3000-”What a Job”
Yup, it would really suck to get to be a professional rapper. Take Snoop. I mean that quarter pound of weed isn’t going to smoke itself all day every day Or Andre 30,000,000, (as in sold), who is pretty much worshiped as a God on at least six continents and yet still, he’s kept up nights with worries about file-sharing (maybe he hangs out with Lars Ulrich?). Or Devin the Dude, who must be doing fine because his nickname is the Dude. He abides. (But seriously Dude, if you’re worried that your baby mama is thinking you’re “on some other shit,” might I recommend not writing a song about how girls should sleep with you because your dick goes well with broccoli & cheese.) The thing is, this is my 7th favorite rap song of the 2007. This is the job these guys were meant to be doing.
MP3: Devin the Dude ft. Andre 3000 and Snoop Dogg-”What a Job”
6. Aesop Rock-”No City”
It’s always sort of irritated me that people who consider themselves “hip-hop heads” invariably don’t like Aesop Rock. I understand why. He’s white. He uses a lot of big words. He rocks Che hats. I get it. But still, his career doesn’t get nearly as much respect as it should. Though I imagine if Aesop rapped over beats like this more often, the question would be moot. 8 Diagrams is good and all, but on “No City” Blockhead makes the kind of beat you hoped the RZA would be making in ‘07, a voodoo cauldron of dive-bombing violins, levitating guitar lines, and New Orleans jazz pianos. Aesop kills it, letting off an surrealist jag of images of 6 billion gorillas for whom the graves yawn, waiting gates to Hades, and yachts and mansions dropping from canyons.
MP3: Aesop Rock-”No City”
Posted in Lists, Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?, Best Of | 5 Comments »
December 7th, 2007
Mental Note: Avoid guys with the nickname “Mad Dog.”
14. Redman-”Blow Treez”
Why did we have to wait until 2007 for Redman, the man who taught a generation of impressionable youths how to roll a blunt, to sample Bob Marley, the greatest blunt roller of them all? Flipping the halcyon palm-tree sway of “Sun is Shining” from 1978’s Kaya, Reggie Noble enlists Method Man and whoever the fuck Ready Roc is to create the stoner anthem of the year. It’s a bit reductive to tell you to bump this from a booming system stoned on an impossibly sunny spring day, but hey, sometimes that’s just the way things were intended.
Download:
MP3: Redman ft. Method Man and Ready Roc-”Blow Treez”
Bonus:
MP3: Bob Marley: “Sun is Shining”
13. Kanye West-”Everything I Am”
Let’s talk, Common. I can live with the Gap ads. I can even handle the weirdness of the B.F.F. relationship with Ari Gold, but something’s gone terribly awry when you pass up a beat like this It’s simple but soulful, twinkling piano keys, somber Southern Baptist wails, and soft trembling drums. Stir some Premier scratches directly into its heart and you get arguably the best beat on Graduation. Kanye does it justice too, rattling off a litany of his flaws, spazzing out at Awards shows, not being as black as one of the dudes in Blackstreet (?). It reads a little calculating but plays as one of the few humanizing touches that manage to make Graduation endearing in spite of its arena-sized ego.
MP3: Kanye West-”Everything I Am”
12. Marco Polo ft. Masta Ace-”Nostalgia”
Video of the year. Not for any sort of technical complexity or originality, but for its ruthless ability to achieve its goals. With his Premier/Pete Rock homage, Polo’s beat sounds like it was made while drinking a Yoohoo and smoking a Philly at D&D. If you listen hard enough, there’s even a snippet of “Mass Appeal.” The video sketches out the idea in faded colors, a throwback to the Yo MTV Raps! days of grainy low-budget video after low-budget video, full of hooded scowls, dim Brooklyn afternoons and Bodega runs. The song’s called “Nostalgia.” It succeeds.
11. Prodigy-”Stuck on You”
I’m sure that the “Return of the Mac” will wind up pretty high on a lot of Year End Lists, but it just had too many dud tracks for me. Prodigy sounds prematurely old these days, huffing and puffing to catch up to the beat, fumbling with new ways of saying the same old things. And let’s never speak of “Blood Money” again. Yet with “Stuck On You,” Alchemist slows things down, tossing heavy sedated drums over a sample of “I’m Hooked on You.” Rapping like a clumsy, ursine, past his-prime George Foreman, Prodigy throws a haymaker and connects soundly.
MP3: Prodigy-”Stuck On You”
10. Klashnekoff-”The Revolution Will Not Be Televised On Channel U”
You’re probably wondering who Klashenekoff is. This is because you’re probably American and Americans don’t like British rap. Unless of course, its done by Dizzee Rascal, and then that’s really just Americans attempting to like British rap because it seems strangely exotic even though it’s not very good. But you’ll probably like Klashnekoff. He released one great album, The Sagas of Klashnekoff, and waited three years to finally release a record called Lionheart: Tussle With the Beast. Needless to say, tussling with beasts wasn’t about to get any American distribution. Nor were songs about “Channel U.” I didn’t even know what “Channel U” was until Dom Passantino’s reviewed the record for Stylus. It kind of doesn’t matter. The song sounds like early Mobb Deep, stabbing strings, warehouse-big drums and rhymes simultaneously hard-core and darkly poetic. Download it, go to his Myspace, try remember this guy’s name (Admittedly, not an easy task.)
MP3: Klashnekoff- “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised On Channel U”
If the kind of songs you’re looking for are kids songs then this site might not be right for you. Thankfully you can find songs and more, like arts and crafts projects, all over the Internet. If your child is interested in art and you’re looking for supplies like some coloring pages, then searching online for kids crafts may be the way to go.
Posted in Lists, Best Of | 15 Comments »
December 5th, 2007
This list has very little to do with Back to the Future II. However, I am writing it from the inside of a Delorean.
19. Pete Rock ft. Styles P & Sheek Louch-”914″
Released by Nature Sounds in January as the single from Pete Rock’ s still shelved New York’s Finest record, “914″ has inevitably become a hit among rich kids in Westchester County, stoked that Yonkers and Scarsdale share an area code. Despite capable verses from Styles P and Sheek Louch (or as they’re commonly known in Black Hebrew Circles: A Side of Lox), Rock owns the track without saying a word, with a beat full of filthy drums, muffled horns, and the grimy New York subway rattle that he made his name on.
Download:
MP3: Pete Rock ft. Styles P and Sheek Louch-”914″
18. Rich Boy-”Throw Some D’s Out On It Remix”
How about we just start by listing the bad things about this song. First, of all it has Rich Boy on it. And I know people are really into the whole, “let’s pretend that Rich Boy isn’t completely garbage” thing, but I’m not hearing it. He’s pretty awful. I even listened to his eponymous NAMBLA-enticing debut twice and both times Rich Boy’s entreaties to be a “Hustla Boy Gangsta Mack” barely lured me in. Barely. Also, the “Throw Some D’s Remix” has a verse from Murphy Lee talking about how my girl has a picture of him on her wall. This is not true. I don’t date girls with pictures of St. Lunatics on my wall. In fact, I’m willing to bet that Murphy Lee’s sister doesn’t even have a picture of Murphy Lee on her wall. On the plus side, Andre 3000 kicks off his string of awesome ‘07 guest appearances, The Game rambles about Cadillacs and Jim Jones ad-libs the word, “Innocent,” while talking about his “kosher lawyers.” And sadly, this never fails to amuse me.
MP3: Rich Boy (ft. Andre 3000, Jim Jones, Murphy Lee, The Game)-”Throw Some D’s On It Remix”
17. Lil Wayne-”Dipset”
Yes, I still think Lil Wayne is easily the most overrated rapper of our time and still believe that calling him the greatest rapper alive immediately discounts your opinion. However, overrated and bad aren’t necessarily synonymous. In fact, on occasion Wayne almost lives up to the hyperbole. Think of him as hip-hop’s Rob Deer. He strikes out way too much to be rightfully considered a superstar, but when he makes contact it goes a long way. [Insert Baby joke here]. Over the instrumental for “Reppin’ Time,” Wayne’s sneering stream of consciousness rant perfectly matches the beats swagger and bombast. Lyrically, it’s so knowingly absurd you can’t help but laugh. Although, I wouldn’t recommend using Wayne’s patented, “Bitch, I have a great idea…we should sex” theory, nor would I advocate only using “Cristal to pour over white bitches heads.” That’s just superfluous.
MP3: Lil Wayne-”Dipset”
16. Brother Ali-”Truth Is”
If Slug had written a single half this catchy, he’d probably have made some in-roads in the much-coveted Soulja Boy 13-year old white girl demographic. But Brother Ali has absolutely no commercial appeal. He’s a strident, fire-breathing, Albino from Minneapolis who looks like a cross between Powder and a B-boy from Wild Style. He’s also steadily improved since he broke in with Rhymesayers in 2002 to the point where he deservedly earned an opening slot supporting Ghost and Rakim on this year’s Hip Hop Live! tour. With its huge hook, Ali’s fierce preacher’s cadence and Ant’s umbrella-in-drink tropical funk, “Truth Is” is as effortless and catchy as indie rap gets.
MP3: Brother Ali-”Truth Is”
15. Percee P ft. Diamond D-”2 Brothers From The Gutter”
Had Madlib handed these brilliant blunted beats over to Doom, you’d already be long sick of hearing about Madvillain II’s excellence. Instead, that project exists only in a rap-nerd fantasy world (excelsior) and we get Perseverance, a surprisingly strong record in spite of Percee’s one-note lyrics about how great his lyrics are. There’s a good half dozen songs that really stand out, but this might be the best. Percee and Diamond D try to impose the gravity of their anachronistic flows against Madlib’s stoned MegaMan 2 beat, full of fuzzy cheap synths, bright Mario Brothers coin clicks and after-school Nintendo nostalgia. Instead it just soars away into its own universe.
Download:
MP3: Percee P ft. Diamond D.-”Two Brothers From the Gutter”
Posted in Lists, Best Of | 9 Comments »
December 5th, 2007
25. Chamillionaire ft. Slick Rick: “Hip Hop Police”
Chamillionaire’s a good rapper. His flow kind of reminds me of Krayzie Bone had he grown up chugging syrup through humid Houston summers. And unlike a lot of Southern rappers, Chamillionaire has interesting ideas, even if he doesn’t always know the best way to implement them. “Hip Hop Police” is one of those moments where he connects, with Paul Wall’s former better half in storytelling mode, venting about the hip-hop police playing the role of both suspect and cop. But Slick Rick owns the track, rocking his eye patch, with an effortless ‘88 swagger down to the fat gold ropes still clanging around his neck. It’s the sort of verse that reminds you how he got the nickname “the ruler.”
Download:
MP3: Chamillionaire ft. Slick Rick-”Hip Hop Police”
24. Consequence ft. Kanye West-”The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”
If you found Graduation a little too “Euro” for your tastes, you’d probably prefer this song off of Consequence’s debut album, Don’t Quit Your Day Job. Kanye chipmunk souls a dusty Smokey Robinson sample and steps away from the boards to show Consequence how he himself must’ve felt after “Diamonds of Sierra Leone.” You also have to like the fact that Kanye manages to spit a verse without a Luis Vuitton reference. Huzzah.
MP3: Consequence-”The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”
23. Clean Guns-”We Just Run Things” .
Zilla Rocca and Nico the Beast definitely had some very good songs on their debut, Sometimes There is Trouble, and on their Living in Harmony mixtape, but with “We Just Run Things” they deliver their first great song. On this cut, the first on their mixtape with World Domination Headquarters, they master songcraft, paring catchy hooks with complex lyricism, and a sharp, subtle sense of humor. It’s the difference between rappers who can put out a good album versus those who can have a career.
Download:
MP3: Clean Guns-”We Just Run Things”
Download the entire mixtape for free here (left-click)
22. Freeway-”Roc-A-Fella Billionaires”
I’ve made my thoughts on the Freeway album well-known, but however mediocre it is, I do really like a couple tracks. This is probably my favorite. Dame Grease supplies a beat full of shrill whistles and marching band horns that sounds right at home on Hard Knock Life Vol. 2, as does Jay, who pretty much lays Freeway to waste. Leaked way back in June, this was probably the first time that everyone should’ve realized that Jay-Z had decided to attempt being a good rapper again.
MP3: Freeway-”Roc-A-Fella Billionaires”
21. Little Brother-”Can’t Win For Losing”
Track 2 on Little Brother’s first 9th Wonder-less album, “Can’t Win For Losing” is a sort of state of the union for the group. But if it weren’t more than just that, it probably wouldn’t be very notable, considering only 14 people really cared that 9th Wonder left the group in the first place (eight of of which were probably in Phonte’s family). Tacitly answering the doubters, not only does Illmind provide a better beat than anything 9th ever gave them (”The Listening” excluded), but Phonte manages to intelligently articulate the difficulties and struggles inherent in being an independent-minded artist without sounding whiny. Which is much harder than it seems.
MP3: Little Brother-”Can’t Win For Losing”
20. Phat Kat-”Nasty Ain’t It”
As the well of posthumously released Dilla beats grows dry, this should be remembered as one of the last great ones. A metallic, dystopian slice of ice-cold futuristic-funk, “Nasty Ain’t It” leaves one wondering if Dilla was only really beginning to enter his prime. Meanwhile Phat Kat dashes Blade Runner-like past the screeching whistles and ringing alarms of the track, roaring with a spectacularly surly lung-scorched growl and a barely contained rage.
MP3: Phat Kat-”Nasty Ain’t It”
You aren’t going to find many kids songs on this list, but thankfully you can find music and arts on the Web for your children. One of the most simple arts and crafts supplies, that being a healthy supply of different coloring sheets to choose from, can be found on plenty of kids arts and crafts websites.
Posted in Lists, Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?, Best Of | 12 Comments »
June 5th, 2007
Contrary to popular belief, I’m of the mind-set that 2007 has actually been a very solid year for hip-hop. Granted, it’s not at 93-97 levels where at least one classic seemed to fall out of the sky monthly. But I’d argue that in just half a year, 2007 has already yielded nearly as many strong hip-hop records as 05/06 combined. Then again, I’d also argue that Small Wonder is one of the greatest bad sitcoms of all-time, illustrating the on-going clash between machines and humanity that characterizes modernity. So really, what do I know?
10. Phat Kat-Carte Blanche
Carte Blanche, the debut from Motown MC, Phat Kat continues to get better the more I hear it, despite the fact that I continue to believe that he is MC Skat Kat’s brother. With half the beats supplied by the late J Dilla and the other half provided by his sonic heir, Black Milk, Carte Blanche’s production is a hard-hitting collision of off-kilter drums, slashing synths and rumbling bass lines. Phat Kat’s subject content is mostly limited to mostly battle-rap boasts, but his gravelly flow, reminiscent of Xzibit, more than makes up for his minor lyrical shortcomings.
Download:
MP3: Phat Kat-”Nasty Ain’t It?”
9. Royce Da‘ 5′9 & DJ Premier-The Bar Exam Mixtape
Forget the bloated Da Drought 3, this is the mixtape of the year. The Bar Exam is 53 lean minutes of Detroit veteran Royce Da‘ 5′9 bodying tracks with the brunt force of Jerome Bettis. You can almost see the flecks of saliva dripping on the mic, with Royce’s venom-soaked voice hinting of rage at the industry shakedowns and beefs that derailed his once-promising career. Stomping everything from classic Primo beats like “Nas is Like,” to “A Million and One Questions” to Young Jeezy’s “Go Getta” and “This is Why I’m Hot,” Royce sounds surly and focused, delivering on the promise he’s long flashed.
Download:
MP3: Royce Da‘ 5′9-”Hit Em”
8. Brother Ali-The Undisputed Truth
An arrogant trash-talker, a loving father, a struggling worker, a grieving son, and an aggrieved activist, Ali is often strident, but at his best, he displays a level of depth rare in most of hip-hop. Behind the boards, Ant turns in his most consistent slate of beats since God Loves Ugly. Ultimately, the gale force of Ali’s convictions and talent leave you willing to believe most of his truth.
Download:
MP3: Brother Ali-”Truth is”
MP3: Brother Ali-”Whatcha‘ Got”
7. Devin the Dude-Waitin’ to Inhale
The truth is, every time I listen to Waitin’ to Inhale, I get bored sometime around the mid-way point. So consider it a testament to the perverted stoned brilliance of the first half that I consider Devin’s record one of the best of 07. “Almighty Dollar” is a gonzo meditation on creeping inflation. “What a Job” might be my favorite song I’ve heard this year and “Broccoli & Cheese” has 07’s best and funniest hook. And yeah, surprise, surprise, this record’s better….on weed.
Download:
MP3: Devin the Dude ft. Andre 3000 & Snoop Dogg-”What a Job” (left-click)
6. Marco Polo-Port Authority
A full length review will be up at some point this week, so I’ll hold off on a description here. In short, Marco Polo is probably the best new producer to enter the underground rap world in the last few years.
Download:
MP3: Marco Polo ft. Masta Ace-”Nostalgia”
MP3: Marco Polo ft. Large Professor-”The Radar”
5. Black Milk-Popular Demand
One of the best rhyming producer/rappers to emerge in recent memory. Milk’s lyrics are fairly pedestrian, hewing strictly to battle rap braggadocio. boasts. But his flow darts and zig zags across tangled canvas of odd rhythms. Not even the most byzantine of his beats fazes him for a second, as he agilely rides wobbling basslines that would leave lesser MC’s gasping for breath. It might not be a classic, but it’s tantalizingly close. Enough to leave one hoping that Milk evolves lyrically and streches the boundaries of his sonics further. With Dilla’s untimely demise halting his opportunity to press the Detroit sound to its most unruly perimeters, Milk seems the best bet to carry on that tradition.
MP3: Black Milk ft. Guilty Simpson-”Sound the Alarm”
MP3: Black Milk-”So Gone”
4. Redman-Red Gone Wild
Maybe the most fun hip-hop record released in 07, Red Gone Wild sounds remarkably untouched by anything that’s happened in hip-hop since 1998. Which I have absolutely no problem with. “Blow Treez,” my personal choice favorite for stoner hip-hop anthem of the year, features squealing melodicas, reggae drone and Red and Meth unleashing their best collabo since “Da Rockwilder” nearly a decade ago. “Pimp Nuts” overcomes the shortcoming of being named “Pimp Nuts” as Red’s wild but controlled flow overpowers the beat’s spry bouncing funk. Hell, Red even has a West Coast, G-Funk era sounding collabo with Snoop and Nate Dogg, called “Merry Jane.” Which to put it blunt (pun sadly intended), made me feel 14 again for at least two, maybe three bong rips.
Download:
MP3: Redman ft, Method Man-”Blow Treez“
MP3: Redman ft. Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg-”Merry Jane”
3. Dalek-Abandoned Language
So dark it sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, Abandoned Language features a production hybrid of My Bloody Valentine-esque swirls of dusty gray and ghostly white surrounded by gritty boom-bap drums. It feels like a combination of the albums I’ve been waiting on Cannibal Ox and DJ Shadow to do for the last half decade: a brilliant collage of eerie frigid instrumentals so cold you can practically feel the bone-rattling gusts of wind icing up your nose and ears; mixed with pure old school politically-bent lyricism.
Download:
MP3: Dalek-”Abandoned Language”
2. Pharoahe Monch-Desire
The best thing I can say about Monch’s long-awaited debut is that it isn’t a disappointment. That sounds underwhelming, but isn’t considering I’d expected something close to a classic. Leaning on 70s era-Stax soul, Desire’s beats feels light and often celebratory, a contrast to the fire and brimestone rumblings of its predecessor, Internal Affairs. At times, the production flirts with being dull, but Pharoah’s presence is strong enough to redeem it. Desire isn’t entirely perfect. The head-scratching cover of PE’s “Welcome to the Terrordome” feels unnecessary, as does the nine minute “Trilogy,” but ultimately, Pharoahe is too good of a rapper to produce anything that doesn’t stand out markedly from the rest of the pack. One of the greatest artists in hip-hop history, Desire is a solid addition to Monch’s catalogue.
Download:
MP3: Pharoahe Monch-”Let’s Go”
1. El-P: I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead 
To quote Jay: “What More Can I Say?”
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead Review
Download:
MP3: El-P-”The Overly Dramatic Truth”
Honorable Mentions:
Clean Guns-Living in Harmony: The Mixtape
This could very well go in the top 10, but since I’m friends with Zilla, I’m a bit biased and to err on the side of caution, I’m throwing it in in the honorable mention section. Sorry dude. However, Living in Harmony is a great mixtape from a pair of rock-solid underground MC’s who seem to be improving and evolving with each verse. At times, you get the feeling that the Beat Garden Squad could develop into a Philly version of Rhymesayers.
Review of Living in Harmony
Download:
MP3: Clean Guns ft. So-Say-”The Score”
MP3: Clean Guns-”Dead Presidents”
Evidence-The Weatherman LP
I’d always thought Evidence by far the more interesting half of Dilated Peoples, but not a compelling enough personality to carry a solo album. And while, he’ll never become a big Eminem type personality, Evidence is still the dude who came at Slim the hardest during Mathers‘ brief reign at the top, (with Ev’s scatching “Searching 4 Bobby Fischer).” Wisely, the album features stellar guest appearances, featuring underground linchpins like Defari, Phonte and Big Pooh of Little Brother, Planet Asia, and Slug. Coupled with grimy Alchemist beats, The Weatherman LP is Evidence’s strongest record since The Platform.
Download:
MP3: Evidence ft. Slug-”Line of Scrimmage”
Jamie Radford-The Freedom to Be Reckless
Freedom to Be Reckless uses hip-hop as a jumping off point for sonic experimentation, employing swirling synths,rain-washed twinkling keys, and mellow brooding drums to create a record that sounds like if Prefuse 73 and Hot Chip had a child and he decided to be a rapper. Like his recent collaborators, Clean Guns, Radford has grown by leaps and bounds with every release, particularly his knack for making catchy left-field beats, that manage to burrow a hole into your head and stick.
Review of the Freedom to be Reckless
Download:
MP3: Jamie Radford-”Patterns in my Saturn”
Prodigy-Return of the Mac
There’s a few too many dull tracks on this one to warrant the massive hype thrown its way. However, when this record hits, it hits hard. “Stuck on You” is one of the best rap songs of the year and the soulful production supplied by Alchemist should be enough to give Havoc pause before getting behind the boards for the next Mobb album. Easily Prodigy’s best record since Hell on Earth and a welcome comeback for a rapper everyone had left for dead.
Download:
MP3: Prodigy-”Stuck on You”
Joell Ortiz-The Brick:Bodega Chronicles
Like Return of the Mac, The Brick is a bit too inconsistent to warrant the lavish acclaim being bestowed on it. Ortiz has never met a cliche he didn’t like and the Big Pun dick-riding can get a bit grating at times. That said, his flow is ridiculous and The Brick gives me enough reason to think that Ortiz has a shot at developing into one of the better rappers in the game. Though, considering he’s signed to Aftermath, his official debut probably won’t drop until sometime in the next decade.
Download:
MP3: Joell Ortiz-”Hip-Hop”
Lifesavas: Gutterfly. The Original Soundtrack
Relentlessly funky and wildly creative, Lifesavas sophomore record, Gutterfly was imagined as a concept soundtrack record for a film about a pair of crooks living the hard knock life in fictional, Razorblade City. At times, the record strays a bit too far from its concept for its own good. And like most rap albums, it could’ve benefited from some judicious editing. But on the whole, this is a very good record from a pair of underground vets who deserve more love than they’ve received. Plus, their title track collaboration with their stylistic soul mates, Camp Lo, is flat-out fantastic.
Download:
MP3: Lifesavas ft. Camp Lo-”Gutterfly”
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