An Emasculating Truth

Here's a new documentary about the decline of manliness in the 21st Century. Pretty funny premise, and trailer is entertaining. Find out more from the film's website. Is masculinity going to die?

Pretty Things Peepshow

If you're in Savannah this Saturday, swing by the Wormhole and check out the Pretty Things Peepshow. It's a vintage style burlesque show that's been on the road with Warped Tour and Ozzfest among other notable appearances. $8-10 at the door.

Hard Rocking French Ladies from the 1960s

If you're a fan of obscure 1960s era garage rock made by French women, then you absolutely need to head over to the Paul Durango blog and grab this multi-disc series called Ultra Chicks. I've listened to a fair amount of rare of European garage rock and pop, but I only recognized 4 or 5 acts contained on the whole compilation - just enough to know that this set was worth a listen. It's amazing. I've only made it through disc 1 so far, so I don't know much about whether this is chronological (like the Stax boxset) or just randomly awesome (like the Nuggets series), but this is hands down the most comprehensive compilation I've seen, particularly if you've made it through Serge Gainsbourg, Frances Gall and others but aren't sure about other acts to investigate.

Song of India

Found this video thanks to Thrift Store DJ. Such a lovely piece of music.


One of the highlights, besides the organ playing, is about a minute in, when there's an extreme closeup on Pandit's eyes. It reminds of a line from The 40 Year Old Virgin: "I'm very discreet, but I'll haunt your dreams."

After the Goldrush

Billboard had this interesting tidbit last week: Music sales are up in Sweden after the Pirate Bay case.  I hope more analysis will be forthcoming, but it's an interesting development.

In February, during the trial, John Kennedy said that every track stolen via Pirate Bay would have been purchased if it hadn't been for torrents - a comment that actually had listeners erupt in laughter. But, the premise of the case has always been that sales were hurt by the torrents, and these sales numbers from Sweden seem to back up the record exec's point. Another study, which came on the heels of the Pirate Bay case said that people who downloaded free music were 10x more likely to purchase music online.

There's nothing in this post about Neil Young - sorry - that whole gold rush reference was really a metaphor.

Kid Syc's Advice

Aka the Spaz freestyle. Kid Syc always comes hard with it.  AWOL in the building. Check out a couple other tracks from his Mr. Gold Experience album from this previous post.





















Check out the freestyle he did over Major Lazer's Hold the Line too, which might be one of the hardest bits of hip hop ephemera floating across this ocean called the internet.

Roots "Star" (Ritchcraft Remix)

A couple months back, I posted some remixes from Ritchcraft, Jansport J and others off an internet collabo LP they released. Go back and find that stuff if you like this. RC is doing a remix per week, and so far, this is the best one he's done, taking "Star" and pairing it up with what sounds like a detuned harpsichord and a real smooth vocal sample.


The Roots - Star (Ritchcraft Remix) from Ritchcraft on Vimeo.

Check out the remixes from the previous two weeks here.

2000 Strong - Help Change Lives

Big up to AWOL, Paragon and everyone who helped bring this project together.

 The billboards are going live tonight on Hodgson Memorial near Spanky's. Check them out. Also check out the campaign launch party at Lulu's Chocolate Bar (42 MLK Jr. Blvd) on 12/6 from 6-9pm. Support a good cause and have some amazing homemade desserts.

Blakroc

So the Black Keys got together with a laundry list of established rappers and put together this Blakroc album. It's out this Friday (11/27), haven't had a chance to listen to much of it yet, but I'm just starting a review for Potholes. Here's a track that popped up on YouTube ft. RZA and Pharoah Monche. It's not the best track on the album, but representative of the project as a whole.

DeeJay TobyGee's Bill Crates Vol 1 Mix

DeeJay TobyGee hit me up a couple of days ago, and I'm really liking this Bill Crates mix. He does all the production and cuts - the results are tasteful: Laidback, dusty beats arranged well for your listening pleasure.

DeeJayTobyGee presents: "Bill Crates Vol. 1" by DeeJayTobyGee

Click on the down arrow button on the right to get a copy for yourself.

Also stop by his page to check out some nice re-edits and a dope Dilla mix.

Onur Engin

Onur Engin created this beautiful Turkish Jazz Mix featuring a diverse range of rarities. Go get a free copy from Monotape, or listen to some now.

Turkish Jazz Mix by Onur Engin

Here's the track list.

Okay Temiz - Mus (Sun/1979)
Erdogan Capli - Uskudara (Time S/1961)
Nukhet Ruacan - Golge (Birnumara/1979)
Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay & Sevda - Tamzara (Caprice/1972)
Durul Gence - Concerto de Aranjuez (EMI-Regal/1968)
Erol Pekcan - Aliyi Gordum Aliyi (Nova/1968)
Burhan Tonguc Ritm Grubu ve ?smet Siral, Fundacik - Du-Bi-Ba (White/1972)
Ilhan Mimaroglu & Freddie Hubbard - Threnody for Sharon Tate (Atlantic/1971)
Arif Mardin - Forms (Wounded Bird/1975)

Amplifya screws disco

Amplifya sent a copy of his Disco Screw EP, and it's pretty awesome. Download a copy here.

From the artist:

i've been sitting on these for a while without doing more so i wanted to put out my favorite ones...theyre not quite "songs" but more than "beats"...i just like it too much to continue to let it sit around without anyone hearing it.

The album is consistent, featuring, as advertised cut up disco laced via sampler (or FL Studio) into some nice beats. It's no stretch to imagine a good emcee ripping over most of these. The screwed part of the title is a little misleading, since none of these cuts are technically run threw the DJ Screw method, but they are definitely chopped up into some hot beats.

This is one of my favorite tracks off the EP, "This is Something New"

Robot Koch

I posted a video called "Hard to Find" by Robot Koch a couple weeks ago, and I got a little wise, because the video itself was hard to find on Youtube. The reason it was so hard to find was because I thought dude's name was Robert. Robot is a much more fitting name though because in the realm of futuristic beats, this man is on point.

Check out "Away from Me"

On a side note, I really like how some dubstep early adopters are starting to move in a more experimental direction that sits at the center of a triangle between hip hop, electro and house. (Listen to "Away from Me", then go find some of Koch's other stuff, and it will make more sense.)

As further evidence, I submit the artist formerly known as MK2 - he has to change his name because a french company holds a trademark on the name MK2 - who is now known as MNUVR. I hope to be getting my hands on some his new stuff pretty soon. His performance at Geekend was awesome.

Windmill "Big Boom" Gentleman Losers Rmx

Wow, here's some sweet fall music for you. This is for driving around contemplating the human condition as a gentle rain falls pushing the last of the leaves from the trees.

Windmill has an album Epcot Starfield that is out now. This remix of "Big Boom" by the Finnish group Gentleman Losers is pretty amazing.

You can check out some more stuff from them on RCRDLBL.

Meet Toro Y Moi

Damn. Don't sleep on Columbia South Carolina. Seriously. It spawned the talents of Danny Swain, who has infinite hustle, I think American Gun is from around there, if you're into the foot stompin' bar rock, and now a new addition - Toro Y Moi. Despite the seemingly plural name, it's one dude, and he makes crazy electronic bedroom indie that - sigh - will probably garner comparison to Animal Collective before the day is over - but who more rightfully belong to the traditions of Atlas Sound, or maybe a less thrashy No Age with a heavy dose of Beach Boys. Expect waves of well-textured samples building on top of each other to provide a podium that the atmospheric vocal tracks peek out from behind.

Check out "Blessa" (right click to download). His LP drops in Feb 2010.

If you're down south, check him out this week in Athens or Chucktown.

11/20 - Athens, GA 40 Watt
11/25 - Charleston, SC Andolini's Pizza

Nite Jewel "Weak For Me"

So I guess the story goes that Dam-Funk found a couple copies of an out of print LP from Nite Jewel, it's amazing, and now Peanut Butter Wolf is rereleasing a 45 with "Weak For Me" b/w "Suburbia". It is semi-spastic 80s spacey lounge funk at its finest. Think Gary Newman singing falsetto.

Listen to "Nite Jewel" (right click to download)

And get more of the story on the record, and hear a streaming version of the b-side.

Video: Knife "Pariah"

I caught some of The Union of Sacred Monsters' show (Dope Sandwich) at Tantra on Saturday, and talked with Knife for a minute about all the stuff they've got coming up in the near future - including a single out Dec. 1, a couple of videos and an LP in February 2010. Our conversation reminded me how much I love this video, which was off Knife's 2000 Yard Stare back around '07. This could be one of the most hip hop videos that came out in this decade - Graffiti covered vans, breaking, DJs, low-budget visual effects and raw verses.

Video: Baroness "A Horse Called Golgotha"

Baroness, one of several great successes for the Savannah music scene, dropped a new album, the Blue Record, on Relapse last month, and it's been critically acclaimed. They just put out this new video for the song "A Horse Called Golgotha" and it's so metal. Check out the awesome solo around 2:20 and the killer breakdown at 3:25. Amazing.

Rupture/Shadetek

Solar Life Raft came out this week, the collab from Rupture and Shadetek. I enjoy it. Read my review from a couple weeks ago, and check out this nice album medley video.

Savannah is a good place to film your french rap video

To paraphrase C&C Music Factory - add this to the list of things that make you go huh?

Here is a link to a video from a french rap group that was filmed in Savannah.

It's well shot. Excellent production value, just sort of surreal to see some french MC jogging through various neighborhoods and rapping.

One thing I learned is that apparently, in french, 'Wii Fit' and 'wi-fi' rhyme - unless I misunderstood.

Favorite part: Sitting on the bench rapping at the random older woman who seems unaware of what is going on next to her.

Music for the weekend

In case you need some new jams for the weekend mix.

Black Sheep "Forever Luvlee" - Yeah, it's that Black Sheep - and DReS is back with something special. His flow is recognizable instantly, but he's moving in a more jazz-influenced sound. Check it out.

Shy "Ernest Gonzalez Remix" (via Pitchfork) - If you're not in the mood for hip hop, then check out this incredible remix from Ernest Gonzalez, whose EP on Friends of Friends I reviewed a couple weeks ago. It starts out all atmospheric and then the bottom drops out on some ridiculous low end dub steppy electro.

Diamond District "Make it Clear" (GetchaBreakon Remix) - I'm loving their new album In The Ruff. This is a choice remix for the early set.

Reggie Watts

Looping and layering live beatboxing, then singing on top of it. This is an excellent way to start the day. Reggie Watts is a smooth operator.



If you like where multi-track beat boxing is going - google Beardyman.

Secondhand Sureshots

Nice. Dublab has the bright idea to send Daedelus, Ras G, J.Rocc and Nobody out to thrift stores to dig for records and then record the musical results. Maybe you only really get into this if you love vinyl and beatmaking - but it's practically porn if you do - and have a little knowledge about the west coast scene.

It's out in Feb as a CD/DVD/12". Here's the trailer.

dublab presents...SECONDHAND SURESHOTS (preview) from dublab on Vimeo.

For more info, click here - you can also grab an mp3 of the J.Rocc beat that's playing at the end of the trailer.

Some live Dare Dukes

If you aren't familiar with Dare Dukes and you live in Savannah, then shame on you - because he is really and truly the most gifted songwriter currently living in our fair city. If you don't live in Savannah, than you have an excuse, but its validity is shrinking, because he's been getting love from critics all over the world - including Canada, NYC, Belgium, Italy and others. So, not only is he coming to your town, he's coming to your country. You want to talk about painting an image with lyrics? There's few, if any, that do it better than Mr. Dukes. (And yeah, that's his real name too).

In his most recent newsletter, he offered up this little gem, a live version of "Old West Broad" (click to listen, right click to download) - the first song he wrote upon moving to Savannah - which he performed on Knoxville's WDVX with John Caselli accompanying.

His album Prettiest Transmitter of All is out now, so you should go buy it.

Crying Shames

One of the bands Joe Meek worked with toward the end of his career. They had a pretty interesting range, going from the highly Dylan-esque (circa Highway 61) to mod-soul.

Here is a link to a video (the user disabled the embed function) for "Please Stay", which is a truly incredible song.

And a video, for this more rambunctious, but still awesome tune:



I just found this lengthy post on Meek, which is, if you have a little free time, a comprehensive look at him and the bands he worked with.

Joe Meek Documentary

If you've been following along, we're on a Joe Meek kick recently, and after talking about Telstar, the new Meek bio-pic, MelissaXtra2 mentioned the existence of this documentary, A Life in the Death of Joe Meek, which I was able to find thanks to the internet. I emailed the filmmakers to see if it was possible to get a copy, because it looks awesome:

Mr. Chop "Straighten It Out"

Wow. Mr. Chop is ill. He helped Doom replaying samples for Born Like This and now he's got a Pete Rock tribute album out now on Stones Throw subsidiary Now-Again.

Check out his version of "Straighten It Out" (click to listen, right click to save) - which he turns into a moody, psychedelic groove. I'll say it again, wow.

Go and buy a copy of the album here.

Giddyup!

There's lots of odds and ends that have caught my attention this week, so I thought, like the cattle men of old, I would get up on my trusty steed and herd them over to you.

The Bravery (Drop the Lime remix) - Drop the Lime was at Bard at the same time I was, and I remember seeing him spin crazy jungle sets in the Old Gym. It was awesome. Since then, he's opened up his style and become kind of a big deal. Nice. On this one, he captures some indie power and turns it into an electro-house banger.

Karniege "Hard Times" - Karniege (pr. Carnage) is one of the more recent additions to the Def Jux camp, and he just dropped a mixtape, Can I Kick It? Vol 2 in honor of Camu Tao, and this track off the latter half is pretty fresh. Camu Tao produced it, and K's verses are on point - doing what good rappers do best, talking 'bout the hard times. The mixtape (get a copy here) has a couple really hot tracks, a couple quotables, but there's about half of it I'm just not feeling, but I'm also a lot pickier about my rap than most.

Beardo "John Lennon" - Beardo is a west coast entity, part of the Mickey Avalon camp - and a quick listen to the album makes that abundantly clear. Beardo is a little more stylistically diverse, ranging from thrashing party rock to anthemic power jams, but the idea remains the same - lots of partying, pills, groupies, and a lot 'yeah, I just went there, and you love it.' The album is available soon.

Oddisee "Pulp Fiction" - This man Oddisee stays so busy. A few weeks back he dropped a lovely instrumental compilation called Odd Autumn, which is nice and seasonal. These are beats you could rake the leaves to, or maybe enjoy a nice cup of tea on a brisk afternoon. Find a copy of the whole thing here.

High and Mighty "Hands On Experience" (Falside Remix) - I don't remember where I found this collection of remixes by Falside, but there were some nice tracks on there. Among my favorites were this High and Mighty track, partly because I had kinda forgotten about High and Mighty, who put out some really nice albums earlier in the decade, and partly because dude borrows a sample Madlib chopped for Madvilliany and puts a different spin on it. There's a small slip in the first 20 seconds, but it's a nice little remix.

Album Review - Diamond District "In the Ruff"

Check out the review I wrote for what could be one of the strongest hip hop albums of the year, Diamond District's In the Ruff. No joke. The DMV isn't just where you get your driver's license: This year it's the home of true school hip hop.

Telstar - The Joe Meek Story

We went and saw Telstar last night, a bio pic of Joe Meek written and directed by Nick Moran, a nice young Brit, who was at the screening - he said that although the film has done well in the UK, it has yet to be distributed across the pond, and that last night was it's North American premier. However, he must have just been trying to make us feel special, because it screened at the Seattle Film Festival 6 months ago.

Here's a link to the trailer.

It's an interesting film. Great opening credit sequence, for example. There were some great performances, and of course, an amazing soundtrack. My complaint with the film, is that it shared its arc with Requiem for a Dream, starting out riding the highest of highs, and then crashing down and staying way down. I'm not saying I would have preferred a happy ending - Meek's end was tragic to the say the least - although I won't give it away. But, the point was made with the trajectory, the feeling, and the journey, long before the audience was allowed to get off the ride. Some of the choices were a bit heavy-handed, but the dialogue and performances were excellent.

The film also does an excellent job of placing Meek in his proper historical context, particularly for Americans, most of whom are unfamiliar with him. He revolutionized recording techniques, was the first Brit with a #1 hit in America, had Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple) playing in the Tornadoes, pointed a gun at Mitch Mitchell (Hendrix Experience), and told Brian Epstein that the Beatles were nice, but would never amount to more than a fad. He also made some truly incredible music as a tortured outsider who lived and worked in a rented flat above a handbag store.

One thing we discovered was a British cult act - Screaming Lord Sutch - who, if you've never heard of him, you should read more about. He did shock rock years before Ozzy or Alice Cooper, dressed all in black with crazy makeup, lots of sinister props, and known for over the top antics.

Trinity's Roc Raida Tribute

Trinity is a new group - with three members, or could you guess that? - Actually, this group has some serious Golden Era clout - featuring Sadat X (Brand Nubian) and AG (Showbiz and AG) backed by DJ Jab. The album drops early 2010. My guess is that they will be big in Europe and Japan - where heads appreciate originators more than audiences in the US, which is depressing but true. I would be willing to bet that only about 10% of young people (18 and under, who listen to hip hop) could tell you anything about Brand Nubian. Now, in defense of young people, the history book of hip hop keeps getting longer, and there aren't a lot of good resources out there for them to learn from, especially if they don't have a guide of some sort - not making excuses for 'em, because it's a fact. All I'm saying is, Trinity isn't going to end up on BET or MTV - for whatever that's worth. (Not much).

Before I was sidetracked, the point of this was that Trinity has dropped this Roc Raida Tribute track (You know he died right? You should.). It's not the hottest track I've ever heard, both MCs show signs of aging, but joints like this are important - paying tribute to artists no longer with us demonstrates the lineage between hip hop and the oral tradition of West African Griots. Songs like these document the culture. Those who are part of hip hop need to write and preserve its history because no one else should be trusted to do it. That's why I'm not surprised that the first Roc Raida tribute track (at least that I've heard) came from two real true school artists like X and AG - and not some of the youngsters you see on TV.

Vintage Sesame Street

Why does the Google homepage have Big Bird's legs on it this morning?

I don't know, but it lead me to find this video, which is pretty amazing - a testament to the grittiness of NYC in the late 70s and early 80s (even for kids it's shown a brown, crowded distopia), and to how awesome Sesame Street is (check the backing track and the puppetry).



If anyone knows why Sesame Street got the spotlight from Google today, let me know. I hope no one died or anything.

Robert Glasper Review

Check out my review of Robert Glasper's ambitious jazz/fusion record, Double Booked, over on Potholes. Deft on the keys, Glasper's project manages to straddle traditional jazz and more contemporary manifestations to offer up a little something for everybody.

Congorock x Crookers = Bananas

If you're looking for some ridiculously hard dance music, then swing by the Fool's Gold blog and check out the collab between Crookers and Congorock - 100% dance floor destruction - you might freakout.

Rap is dead...Hip Hop? Not so much

Last week, the New Yorker ran a piece by Sasha Frere-Jones proclaiming, yet again, that hip hop was probably dead. The piece seemed a little dated, considering the argument centered around Jay-Z's last album, Blueprint 3, which has been out for a little while - at least long enough that I suspect these thoughts were penned some weeks ago and then shelved while awaiting space in the editorial schedule.

In general, I like Frere-Jones' writing, I am not a fan of this piece for several reasons - mostly because I completely disagree with his thesis, and find most of his argument to stem from an out-dated mode of thinking about hip hop.

If I had to pick a year for hip-hop’s demise, though, I would choose 2009, not 2006. Jay-Z’s new album, “The Blueprint 3,” and some self-released mixtapes by Freddie Gibbs are demonstrating, in almost opposite ways, that hip-hop is no longer the avant-garde, or even the timekeeper, for pop music.

I would argue that hip hop music was adopted as a popular music, but that had little do to with hip hop itself (the culture as a whole, including the music), so much as it did the tastes of the listening audience - and that its status as 'popular' has nothing to do with the vitality of hip hop culture as a whole. Hip hop began as a form of expression for urban youth - it gained acceptance and became a multi-billion dollar a year industry, but it's intent was not as a popular music form. It's also an oxymoron to try and define something as avant-garde and popular at the same time. To be popular, something must be of its time, not ahead of it.

SFJ seems to bemoan the fact that the rappers everyone talks about - the popular rappers - from Hova to Gucci Mane - aren't as good as the rappers everyone used to talk about back in the day. This point, to him, means that hip hop is dead. What he fails to recognize is that he's mistaking hip hop and rap - as defined by KRS-One ("rap is something we do, hip hop is something we live.").

When hip hop became pop music in the early 90s - around the time Dre and Snoop were on MTV every 15 minutes - it's direction within the mainstream began to be dictated by giant corporations - Viacom, Sony, I'm looking at you - whose interest was in profits, and marketing a popular music for financial gain, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the vitality of hip hop as a culture or an art form.

However, there were a few years there, '92-'97 or thereabouts, when there was enough hip hop culture in power to base which artists were popular on the same meritocracy found in the streets that birthed the culture. Hence, the most talented artists were the most recognized, and folks like Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, Snoop and others established themselves at the top of the game.

Hip-hop has relinquished the controls and splintered into a variety of forms.

SFJ recognizes that it has changed, birthing numerous stylistic offspring, but what he fails to see is that hip hop as it's served through the mainstream media today is no longer decided by merit or skill, but by financial backing from international corporations. The industry has changed. It's not like it used to be, which is obvious if you've ever wondered why Soulja Boy is printing money while artists like Reks, Elzhi, Blu, Finale, Jake One - even Little Brother - and thousands of others named and unnamed - heard and unheard - hold down the underground.

From a true-to-hip-hop's-original-intent standpoint, I would argue there are more good artists coming out now than there have been in recent memory. The quality of the music has been pushed incredibly far by access to technology and the internet - a combination providing quality of production and a listening audience previously only achieved with label backing. The problem isn't that hip hop is dead - the problem is that rap music is no longer judged on merit. Hip hop is alive and well, it just doesn't get heard by anyone who doesn't know where to look for it - which is sort of how it used to be back when it started - only now, there's a lot more white dudes, and a lot less kids from poor urban areas, which is something that needs to be corrected, and which stems largely from the disparity of internet access, aka the Digital Divide.