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White Stripes Remix Project - Stars&Stripes

Whoah. This is pretty much the coolest project of the year so far. Adrian Champion takes 12 White Stripes tracks and chops them up into classic hip hop remixes. You can knock hip hop production for being a derivative art form, or you can recognize that there is an art to sampling and it imparts new life into things we thought we knew.

The Bombs Over Orchids track isn't a great lead off, because the beat doesn't do justice to Big Boi and 3Stacks delivery. But the MOP track "Ante Up" is pitch perfect. as is most of the rest of the album.


Adrian Champion Presents: Stars & Stripes - The White Stripes Reimagined from Adrian Champion on Vimeo.

I found this thanks to URB's blog.

Download the whole project here.

Kid 606 Returns with "Shout at the Doner"



If you've followed electronic music for the last few years, then you probably are familiar with Tigerbeat6 head honcho Kid 606. But if you're not, then what you need to know is his mind-bending sonic freakouts really helped shape IDM (intelligent dance music) at the turn of the 21st century...

Apparently, Kid 606 has been spending a lot of time in Berlin, and the "Shout at the Doner" (note - the 'o' should have an umlaut over it) is a bizarre cross of "Shout at the Devil" and the doner, a popular street food in German brought over by their large Turkish minority. (Berlin as a city has the second largest population of Turks in the world after Istanbul).

Here's a cut off the new album, which drops April 28th.


mr. wobbles nightmare - Kid606

SUAF Announces Lineup for Benefit Concert May 9th



The Savannah Urban Arts Festival has announced the lineup for it's big benefit concert that will be the culmination of 6 days of events. 8PM, May 9th @ the Morris Center, SUAF will present two Savannah natives who have gone out and done big things with music - Grammy winner Anthony David, and electro-soul diva Brittany Bosco (they both went to the same high school too, although at different times).

The fact that the show consists of two locals who had to leave the city to make career moves just demonstrates how much the city itself needs to improve its creative infrastructure. Second-tier cities across the country suffer from a massive talent-drain where every artist with a chance to do big things has to move to ATL, NYC, LA or wherever else talented folks go, and it means that their hometowns suffer by an ongoing inability to support their own artists.

This will be a great event, and probably one of the best shows in Savannah all year. For more info, check out www.savannahurbanartsfestival.com - and by the way, big up to Paragon Design for all their help with the website.

Becky? Is that you?



On Sunday I was at Vinnie's and someone ordered a pizza to go under the name Becky. When Sparks called out for Becky to come pick up her food, I was immediately teleported 17 years back in time, to my grandmother's living room, the first time I saw the video for Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back."

If you don't know, check the intro:



That's when I realized that every time I hear the name Becky, I immediately think, "Oh my God, Becky, look at her butt."

For some reason, the name Becky is inextricably linked with middle school, maybe because that video hit when I was 12 and it made me pay more attention. I seem to remember more Beckys in 5-8th grades. By high school, they had all become Becca, for the most part, or Rebecca, if they weren't into the whole brevity thing. By college, there was not a Becky to be found.

Maybe the drastic reduction of Beckys has something to do with the wild popularity of the "Baby Got Back" video. Maybe there was too much torment — too many tired jabs of valley-snob-toned-astonishment whispering "She must be one of those rapper guy's girlfriends." Maybe it's just that with age comes an inclination to drop the cutesy long 'e' sounds at the ends of nicknames. Either way, Sir Mix-A-Lot has permanently altered my reality, which is almost as weird to think about as the fact that I first saw that video at my grandmother's house.

'Sweded'

The good people over at TotalFilm put together a list of the best 'sweded' (ala Be Kind Rewind) films on YouTube. There are some pretty funny ones.

Here is Terminator 2:

This Saturday - Get Some Local Flavor

Don't forget this Saturday (4/4) at the M.E.A.T. space on Louisville Road, The Taste Art Event is going down in a very major way - 30 regional artists exhibiting work across numerous mediums, live music from Dope Sandwich and MK2 among others...refreshments...what else could you want?



It runs from 3PM - 3AM, and if you get there before 7PM it's free (afterwards it's $10).

Get some culture...Have a good time.

For more info: Click Here.

Wavves @ The Fader Fort SXSW

If you've been sitting anywhere but in Austin rocking out, then this will give you a taste of what you've been missing, or further drive home the anguish of not having enough vacation days or money to catch your favorite bands mingling with your favorites of next year and beyond...

Here's a clip of Wavves, a catchy San Diego-based outfit, a group that's been making lots of _________ (you know you want to), playing at the Levi's/Fader Fort. Fader will also be releasing a 7" with these guys pretty soon.

Songs of the Week

It's been an interesting week, begun with the turmoil of St. Patrick's Day tourists lining the streets, and then settling back into some semblance of normalcy, so that served as the inspiration for the first song of the week. I found this track "Peace" off of Womb's 1969 Dot album after a recommendation from ATL producer extraordinaire Alex Goose, and I'm really feeling this groove.




Peace - Womb


The second track is an obscure Paul McCartney side project with one of the best rock pseudonyms of all time "Percy Thrillington." Found via Aquarium Drunkard, there's also some more info here.




Monkberry Moon Delight - Paul McCartney (Percy Thrillington)

Light My Fire



If at any point in your life you went through a brooding, poet/rocker, adolescent rebellion-connoisseur phase then chances are you spent several years blasting The Doors, drinking beer, and pining for the 'tortured-genius' of Jim Morrison. Depending on how old you were during the 1990s, you probably also watched Oliver Stone's bio-pic, and if you were me, then you watched it with another Door's fanatic who screamed about how Jim Morrison never really whipped it out on stage in Miami, but that it was his finger instead, and that the subsequent criminal charges and bad publicity rattled the Doors and Morrison in a way they would never recover from. It was, according to him, the beginning of their downward spiral, and a great loss for American music.

In hindsight, I have no clue how true a statement that is. It's been nearly 10 years since I've seen the film, and while that moment is ingrained in my memory, the other part that I can still clearly recall is the scene after Jim dies when one of the band members sells the licensing rights to "Light My Fire." It was the end of that to-hell-in-a-bucket ride from anti-corporate rock-juggernauts into what the other angry band members deemed 'Selling Out,' shilling for the businessmen and not for the music...

The song went on to be covered alot after it hit the market.

Shirley Bassey does one of my favorite versions:


In regard to that scene in the movie, I don't know how this song being licensed really affects the legacy of the Doors in the least, and I'm sure that the remaining band members (unless they got screwed) were probably able to live comfortably for years off the royalties.

Jose Feliciano's take, which he also performed at the Grammy's in '68 or '69, and which probably made the band a lot of money:


There's something funny about the music of the Doors that makes it a perfect soundtrack for teenage rebellion (and/or experimenting with psychedelics), but their catalog has little of the lasting power of other artists from that era. While I will gladly put on a Jimi Hendrix or Beatles record and get reminiscent about the old days, I don't have nearly the same taste for the Doors that I used to. Not to say that if I'm out, have had a drink and hear something like "Alabama Song" on a jukebox then I have to run for the door. Just the opposite. I'll probably hoist a glass and sing the first verse if the mood is right. But for some reason I know a lot of people, myself included, who claim the Doors as a staple of their adolescence, and yet who haven't listened to them in years, probably since the first or second year of college at the latest.

This is probably my favorite of all the covers (mostly because of the bitchin' sitar):

Light my fire - Ananda Shankar

In fact, if I met someone between the age of 25-35 who said that he or she is currently a huge Doors' fan, and listens to them regularly, I'd probably judge that person in a pretty harsh light, partly for ignoring all the amazing things that have happened in the last 40 years of music, but also for probably never really escaping the period of life where Jim Morrison seems more like a tortured poet-genius than an entertaining rock icon channeling unresolved family issues and serious case of narcissism (although how many rock legends don't have a touch of that?) into some kick ass blues-based rock and/or intentionally obscure poetry about birds.

But besides the vivid memory of that scene in the Doors movie (which might have been one of the first times I was exposed to the concept of artists 'selling out' now that I really think abou tit), what is so interesting about the cover versions is that they do still appeal to me, now more than the original. I was playing that Ananda Shankar version in regular rotation (he's Ravi's cousin btw) for awhile, and while I get the same sense of familiar nostalgia from the covers that I would get from replaying originals of some Hendrix (Electric LadyLand is such a good album) or other artists who led my teenage self from classic rock to heavy metal to punk and beyond, I don't feel any more than mild aversion for the Doors' version now.

So, whichever Doors' member it was that thought it was a bad idea to license those songs, I hope the money helped you get over it, because honestly, these covers aided your longevity a lot more than artistic integrity, at least in my book. Except for the disco covers, which were actually pretty bad...I'd be upset about those too:

This is the only one I could find online, but I have two other disco versions on 45 that are much worse:


Possibly the worst cover though comes from UB40, you might remember their hit song "Red, Red Wine."

Light My Fire - UB40

The music business can be a dangerous game.

Taste Art - 4/4/09 @ the M.E.A.T. Gallery



This should be one of the better art-related events Savannah has seen in a minute. 40+ artists, live music, DJs, breakdancers and refreshments all in the M.E.A.T. gallery/space on Louisville Rd. It's a 12-hour affair, from 3PM-3AM, on Saturday April 4th and if you get there before 7PM, there's no cover.

Get more info here.

Phays - The Excellent Adventure Vol. 1



A nice blend of breaks, jazz, garage, psych and a dash of reggae I just finished. No fancy DJ work, just a taste of some nicely selected music. There's 60+ cuts broken up into 4 tracks. I'd rather not take the time and space to post the contents here, but feel free to email me if you want the full tracklist.

This is the advance release prior to a new EP of original stuff in the works called Listening Habit that should be done in late spring.

Download.

Or listen first:


Here You Are - Phays


Lets Go to the Road House - Phays


Can You Feel It? - Phays


A Few Too Many Drinks With Friends - Phays

U.S. Royalty

Recently discovered this group U.S. Royalty after a heads up from @donetodeath via Twitter.



Based in DC, this tight quartet is laying down some serious pop, not in the Jonas Bros connotation, but in the classic, "popular music" sense that drove everyone from the Beach Boys to Oasis...

Like their pop predecessors, they realize that the key to greatness is balancing peaceful, introspective moments with a build to straight-forward driving rock. That and a sweet-voiced lead singer who can probably dampen panties with a well-crooned line.

U.S. Royalty - "Rats"


Download the track here.

Catch more about them from this interview with DCist.

U.S. Royalty - "Summer (Remix)"


Download the track here.

If you like what you hear, check out their Myspace, I think there's a link to download the full promo EP.

High School Animation shorts

I guess SavannahNow.com is hosting short animated films made by local high school students. Some of them are pretty entertaining, but this one was my favorite.

J.Davey and Brittany Bosco Live in ATL 3/14

If you're in Atlanta this weekend, you'll definitely want to check out this show.



J.Davey has got a lot of that buzz right now, and Brittany has been killing it at shows all over the country lately. They are both building on some electro-soul/jazz vibe that I'm definitely feeling lately.

Here is a track off of Brittany's recent Spectrum EP that dropped last Fall, and got all sorts of attention for both the amazing music, and it's package design, which was gold bubble wrap (Google it to find some pics).


Glitch - Brittany Bosco

Song of the Week

I can't even lie, this has been a rough week, so we're going with a different feel for song of the week this week, something a little restorative:


DUNN (NOT DONE) - BREAKFAST MOUNTAIN

I don't know anything about these guys other than I heard about them through Dave Allen's blog Pampelmoose, and they remind me a little of Four Tet.

Kutiman - ThruYou

Unfortunately, this video couldn't be embedded, but it is worth the trip away from here to watch.

It's a collage of samples made from YouTube instrument tutorials done by Israeli funk maestro Kutiman.



It's amazing. A full, hard-rocking, electric blues/funk jam made out of painstakingly sequenced YouTube clips. Take 3 minutes and appreciate some serious creativity.

Brainstorm of Dyme Def

This guy Brainstorm reps Seattle, and while earlier today I was thinking about putting together a post talking about how Detroit is really holding down hip hop right now (Listen to Elzhi's The Preface and Black Milk's Tronic, and that's just scratching the surface), but you can't sleep on Seattle either. Common Market, The Saturday Knights, Blue Scholars - there's a lot of good stuff happening. I've never even heard of this guy Brainstorm, but saw a link to this video on Twitter (ups to @earcandyblog) and was pretty blown away (PS - it has nothing to do with a Kanye leak).

Public Records Continued...

Here is an amazing piece written by David Simon for the Washington Post. He's a former B-More crime reporter and mastermind behind HBO's The Wire.



In the article, Simon discusses how the police in Baltimore were constantly trying to find ways to suppress information from the public on incidents reports, which are by law public record. He goes on to talk about how they've recently changed policy to keep the names of officers involved in shootings confidential, and how that not only breaks the longstanding laws, but also thwarts the system of checks and balances of power ensured by keeping such information available to the public.

It's very much relevant to what's going on with the SCMPD's attempts to obscure public access to their incident reports.

N.A.S.A "Way Down" ft. RZA, Barbie and John Frusciante

This is a most excellent song and video:



Buy N.A.S.A.'s new album "Spirit of Apollo."

From the Crates - Dennis Coffey

Do you need to feel the funk? Guard your face, cuz here it comes!



Bam!

Dennis Coffey's "Some Like It Hot," off his 1975 record Finger Lickin' Good, which gets my vote for any list of great album covers:



Mr. Coffey was pretty heavily sampled during the Golden Era, particularly his earlier records. This is only a partial list:

Evolution: (Sussex 1971)
“Scorpio” (Drums)
Busy Bee’s “Old School”
Double D & Steinski’s “Lesson 3”
Geto Boys’s “Do it Like a G.O.”
LL Cool J’s “Jinglin' Baby”
Lord Finesse’s “Keep it Flowing”
Mos Def’s “Universal Magnetic”
Professor Griff’s “Bro Kemit Splitting Atoms in the Corporate War Zone”
Public Enemy’s “Night of the Living Baseheads”
Queen Latifah’s “Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children”
Roni Size’s “Share the Fall”
Rage Against the Machine's "Renegades of Funk"
Young MC's "Bust a Move”

“Getting it On”
Beastie Boys’s “What Comes Around”
Ed OG’s “Dat Ain't Right”
Public Enemy’s “You're Gonna Get Yours”

“Whole Lot of Love”
Diamond D’s “No Wonduh (The Projects)”

Goin for Myself: (Sussex 1972)
“Ride Sally Ride”
LL Cool J’s “Big Ole Butt”
Ultramagnetic MCs’s “Feelin' It”
Ultramagnetic MCs’s “Kool Keith Housing Things”

Electric Coffey: (Sussex 1972)
“Son of Scorpio”
Busy Bee’s “Old School”

Black Belt Jones soundtrack: (Warner Bros 1974)
“Theme from Black Belt Jones”
Lakim Shabazz’s “Sample the Dope Noise”
LL Cool J’s “Jinglin' Baby”

Kid Syc Gets Ready to Release "The Mr. Gold Experience"

If you're not familiar with Savannah MC/Producer Kid Syc, then take a minute and get familiar with him because he's bringing something seriously fresh. His flow is crazy and doesn't mince words. There's not a slanted rhyme or wasted line to be found.

This is a track called "Don't Speak" off his upcoming album, The Mr. Gold Experience, which should be available later this spring.



Put in on your mp3 listening device of choice and learn all the words.

Morris Corp Gets an Extension

The owners of the Savannah Morning News just got an extension on an interest payment due on their $9.7 million loan from JP Morgan Chase. If it's not paid soon, they will default on it, which could mean that Savannah no longer has a daily paper.

A paper in Colorado, The Rocky Mountain News, shut down Feb. 27th after owners were unable to find a buyer for the 150 year old publication.

Dark Dark Dark @ The Wormhole 3.4.09

I haven't heard a peep about this show from traditional media in town, but it should be worth checking out...

Dark Dark Dark reps NYC, NOLA and Minneapolis (do the twin cities have a catchy abbreviation?) and sounds like some crazy gypsy folk (mostly because of the accordian). There's a group this reminds me of, but I can't remember their names...I think it starts with an 'R'...damn...I think there was a song about rollerskates involved...

Anyway, 3xDark will be playing with Hurray for the Riff Raff tomorrow night as part of a Southeastern tour that will lead them out to SXSW. Is that why there have been more good shows than normal in the Hostess City lately?

Here's a taste of them live from a session at DayTrotter:



You can download the live stuff and read more about them here.

"Heart Strings" Amanda Diva x DJ Green Lantern



DJ Green Lantern just dropped this real smooth collab with Amanda Diva on Twitter...Follow him @dj_greenlantern

He stays busy too. A week or two ago he put out a mixtape with Jadakiss too.

You can download the track here.

Colbert Challenges Steele to Rap Battle

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while:

From the Crates - Dorothy Ashby

I've been working on a new mix of groovy ephemera that spans decade and continent, and in the process have stumbled across some stuff that I either forgot I had or got but never fully appreciated. Enjoy.



The first installment is Dorothy Ashby's "Come Live With Me" off the lost classic Afro-Harping. You'll have to search far and wide to find a clean version of this on vinyl, but I think Verve recently released it on CD/Digital, so go find the whole album. It is fluid, visual music from one of the finest jazz harpists to ever grace the studio or stage. She played with Stevie Wonder and a host of greats.

Come Live With Me - Dorothy Ashby

How about a shirt with your album?

An interesting press release just landed in my inbox: a new label called Friends of Friends releasing digital download albums with t-shirts...an interesting addendum to a previous post that musicians are in the t-shirt business.


This is FoF's first t-shirt.

Their philosophy is pretty interesting:
The concept in short for our inaugural release is FoF invites an artist to join the FoF family by signing on to do a split EP; they in turn invite another musician or group to complete the split release and commission a designer to create the EP's artwork on a limited edition T-Shirt which will include a download card(100% seed paper card; Included will be the release, exclusive remixes and special content: ie videos, mixes etc).


Their first release will come from electronic musician Daedelus and his friend Jogger:
For the first in the Friends of Friends series, FoF has invited a great friend and HERO of ours: Santa Monica based electronic genius Alfred "Daedelus" Darlington whom you may know from his solo work on labels such as Ninja Tune, Mush, Plug Research and more or even more recently with his wife as The Long Lost (also on Ninja Tune).
With the power to choose his cohorts, Daedelus has brought in homies Jogger; Amir Yaghmai and Jonathan Larroquette for their first EVER release! Not only did Alfred attend High School with Amir but the duo are the active live band members of Alfred's The Long Lost project with wife Laura as well as collaborators on his 'Exquisite Corpse" release. He's also managed to bless us with the INCREDIBLE husband and wife art duo Kozyndan for the cover art/t-shirt design. They all 5 are truly friends and we're happy to now call them ours!


Tracklisting for the album:
1. Daedelus - C'est Super
2. Daedelus - LA Nocturn
3. Daedelus - Off to the Races
4. Jogger - Nice Tights
5. Jogger - Litre o' Cola
6. Jogger - Nephicide

Then, if you buy it with the t-shirt, the download card also features:
Daedelus - C'est Super (Michna remix)
Daedelus - LA Nocturn (Eliot Lipp remix)
Daedelus - Off to the Races (Meanest Man Contest remix ft. Cuzzo)
Jogger - Nice Tights (Nosaj Thing remix)
Jogger - Nice Tights (Mexicans with Guns remix)
Jogger - Nice Tights (Grahm of Thunderheist remix)
Jogger - Nice Tights (Keenhouse remix)
and more to come...