Picture of the day - best Ice Cube appearance since Friday. I've got to thank C. for bringing this to my attention.
Picture of the Day
Picture of the day - best Ice Cube appearance since Friday. I've got to thank C. for bringing this to my attention.
Eternia
Why there aren't more female MCs will always be sort of mystery to me. Early on you had Roxanne Shante and Queen Latifah keeping it really real with the female perspective. That gave way to Lauryn Hill who begat Jean Grae, etc - point being that there is precedent for women to rap. Is it the misogyny that is ever present in hip hop - some times overtly and sometimes not - that keeps more ladies from grabbing the mic? I don't know, but maybe because they're such a rarity - when a female emcee comes who can really spit - it never fails to grab my attention. As is the case with Eternia. This lady is ferocious on the mic.She's got a mixtape floating around called Get Caught Up, and if you're just finding out about her, this joint will let you know what you've been missing, featuring cuts culled from nearly 10 years of paying dues. This song "Real Frequency" is from '03 and produced by Jake One - real cool.
Grab a copy of Get Caught Up here.
DJ Buddy's Mixtravaganza!
I found out about DJ Buddy after he put together the Diamond District mixtape a few months ago. If you aren't familiar with him, swing by his website and check out the laundry list of mixes he's done that he's offering up to you the listening public for free. Mix #63 was released today via his "Phat Tuesday" email list - a live set he did out in L.A. around his birthday featuring tracks from Major Lazer, Common, Chromeo and more. It should be up on the site pretty soon. While you're there, pick up mix #41 featuring Trek Life - it's really nice.
Merry Christmas from the Cool Kids
The holiday season continues with this free EP from the Cool Kids and Don Cannon. 4 new tracks. Nice. If you missed these guys mixing it up on the Gone Fishin' project earlier this year, go back check that too, because it was crazy.
A little holiday cheer
Vincent Guaraldi's the maestro.
Besides making me overwhelmingly nostalgic, this song also reminds of this old MF Doom cut with Scienz of Life
"Yikes" - It's chopped up, but right as the verse starts, there's a high note with qualities reminiscent of Guaraldi's holiday masterpiece.
Besides making me overwhelmingly nostalgic, this song also reminds of this old MF Doom cut with Scienz of Life
"Yikes" - It's chopped up, but right as the verse starts, there's a high note with qualities reminiscent of Guaraldi's holiday masterpiece.
Brooklynati Sample Mix
Grab a copy of the mix here.
Abandoned Shopping Malls
What happens when the ever sprawling Blob of surburbia globs off and forgets about it's other parts? It leaves a swath of abandoned shopping malls, like ghost towns in the old West. Brian Ulrich has gone around documenting abandoned malls and the results are pretty amazing.
Check out this awesome pictorial (plus an interview with the photographer).
I found this via Twitter and Sub-Studio.
Check out this awesome pictorial (plus an interview with the photographer).
I found this via Twitter and Sub-Studio.
Adriano Celentano
Here's a juicy bit of cultural nostalgia from Italy circa 1972. Celentano produced a proto-disco rock anthem that is his interpretation of the English language as heard by non-English speakers. The effect is somewhere around the intersection of Don Cavalli and Hamilton Bohannon.
Here's a little more background on the song, the title of which I can't even type out because it's so ridiculous. It is pretty impressive that he so effectively emulates English sounds.
Here's a little more background on the song, the title of which I can't even type out because it's so ridiculous. It is pretty impressive that he so effectively emulates English sounds.
Enoch Light "Misirlou"
Although it gained the most cultural clout after the stunning appearance of Dick Dale's version in Pulp Fiction, "Misirlou" is actually a Turkish folk song that probably made it's way into the western canon via the Greeks.
This version is from easy listening maestro Enoch Light, who produced some of the greatest thrift store treasures still floating around the $1 record bin.
Strong Arm Steady "Best of Times" ft. Phonte
Groove to the smoothness of "Best of Times".
The Strong Arm Steady album hits the streets in January, but you can grab the digital copy now straight from Stones Throw.
L.Ron Hubbard's Sci-Fi 80s Album?
Sometimes the internet is too weird - like a couple minutes ago, when I stumbled across this copy of Scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard's album (is this the first ever soundtrack to a book?) called Battlefield Earth. It's from the early 80s, and oddly enough features jazz-notables-cum-Scientologists like Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. There was some computer programming involved, and lots of sound effects. The end result is like listening to an old school Transformers cartoon, but slightly less epic.
Head over to Bongolong for more of the story, and to listen/download.
Nearly 20 years later, Battlefield Earth became a sci-fi film - thanks John Travolta - which was a complete and total failure among most critics, and nominated for a handful of Golden Razzies (like the Oscars of awfulness).
I hope Scientologists don't start stalking me for posting this.
Swingle Singers take on Bach
Here's a fun little gem from the crates - the musical brain child of Ward Swingle, started way back in the 1960s in France - the Swingle Singers did acappella renditions of tunes known and unknown - but more often than not, known and canonized.
Here is their rendition of Bach's "Fugue in D Minor"
Ernest Gonzales "Dancing in the Snow"
Here's a seasonally appropriate track for your enjoyment.
"Dancing in the Snow" by Ernest Gonzalez, a San Antonio-based electronic musician who also goes by Mexicans with Guns. I've been thoroughly enjoying his musical output lately.
His debut album on Friends of Friends "Been Meaning to Tell You" is out February 9.
Blockhead - "Which One of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer"
Blockhead is returning with a new album on January 12. Judging solely by this first offering, it should be an interesting project. Music By Cavelight was dope - far from a party record, but crafty instrumentals nonetheless, particularly if you were trying to keep it mellow on the backpack tip. The mood wasn't much different from the production he was doing for Aesop Rock circa Float or was it the album after that? Damn, I haven't heard either of those in a minute.
Blcokhead's last endeavor, Uncle Tony's Coloring Book was nice, a departure from the first, a little more colorful - as indicated by the title - although a little less consistent in my humble opinion. I played it pretty regularly for a while though. This first little taste of the new stuff seems to headed back in the direction of Music, but probably lands closer to right in between the two, which could be perfect. Glad to see Ninja Tunes putting this out. This is kind of return to where they were a few years ago. Real solid, jazz-drenched downtempo blending clever samples. I'm sold.
I also love the title of this track. For those that don't know (shame on you), an Arnold Palmer is half ice tea and half lemonade. Delicious. If you happen to be in Austin, go to the Crepe place just down the street from the Austin Motel on South Congress (the one in the airstream that's on the same side of the street as the hotel, not the one in the parking lot across the street), they make their Arnold Palmer with Thai tea, and it's out of this world. Damn near saved my life while recovering from a bachelor party once.
Grab a copy of the track here.
Malachai - Fading World
You need to take a minute or three and listen to this track. It is phenomenal. Imagine RZA's production circa the first Cuban Links record and then blend it with some classic Junior Reid, brush a little bit of the dirt off it, and you've pretty much got this first single "Fading World" from Malachai.
The record Ugly Side of Love is coming out in the first week of February on Domino, so be sure to stay tuned for that. If you listen, you can probably hear a bit of Portishead in there, which makes sense, because Geoff Barrow is kind of a mentor for Malachai according to his bio. The other bits and pieces I've heard of this record vary from spot-on psychedelia to dubby hip hop. This is definitely worth waiting for.
P.H. Polk
P.H. Polk was a photographer who career spanned what was without a doubt one of the most significant and turbulent periods of African American history. He was the first photography student at the Tuskegee Institute in 1917, and except for a year long stint in Atlanta in 1938, he remained the school's official photographer from 1939 until his death in 1984. During that time he documented the life and work of George Washington Carver, rural life in the South, the Civil Rights movement - including MLK Jr. and Malcolm X - and beyond. There's an exhibition of his work opening at the Beach Institute (502 E. Harris St. SAV) this week. His portrait work is phenomenal - he shot on an 8x10 Century. Here are two stunning examples of his portraits of farmers from the 1930s.
A Very Random Roundup
These tidbits are as unrelated as possible, except that they all are woven together by the common thread of Savannah, GA.
1) Big Boi (a Savannah native) told Billboard that his upcoming album Sir Lucius Leftfoot is going to finally drop at the beginning of next year. He's been leaking tracks for a while, including "Royal Flush" with Raekwon and Andre 3000 - which came out like 18 months ago, and features verses, the caliber of which haven't been seen from those three since that collabo on Aquemini.
2) If you need to get in the holiday spirit - swing over to Last Christmas - a blog dedicated to the frighteningly large number of covers of the George Michael/Wham! "Last Christmas" as interpreted by artists from all across the world. How's that Savannah-related? It's run by two former SCAD students...
3) Savannah Metal meisters Baroness are killing it. The Blue Record is incredible and Decibel just named it one of their albums of the year for 2009. Nicely done. Too bad the Grammys are a sham and nominated Metallica.
1) Big Boi (a Savannah native) told Billboard that his upcoming album Sir Lucius Leftfoot is going to finally drop at the beginning of next year. He's been leaking tracks for a while, including "Royal Flush" with Raekwon and Andre 3000 - which came out like 18 months ago, and features verses, the caliber of which haven't been seen from those three since that collabo on Aquemini.
2) If you need to get in the holiday spirit - swing over to Last Christmas - a blog dedicated to the frighteningly large number of covers of the George Michael/Wham! "Last Christmas" as interpreted by artists from all across the world. How's that Savannah-related? It's run by two former SCAD students...
3) Savannah Metal meisters Baroness are killing it. The Blue Record is incredible and Decibel just named it one of their albums of the year for 2009. Nicely done. Too bad the Grammys are a sham and nominated Metallica.
New RJD2
Check out this new track from RJD2 called "Games You Can Win".
This new track is interesting. For those hoping for something reminiscent of Deadringer's sample-blasted hip hop instrumentals, this is not that. With each album, he's kind of hinted at moving in this direction, more of a funky, mid-to-late 70s aesthetic blended with some electronic and pop all jumbled on top of his well-crafted drum tracks. "Games You Can Win" is the most successful attempt at achieving that to date.
If you were worried, after listening to "Games" that he might have gone soft and sentimental during his sabbatical, don't worry. The album's opening cut, "Let There Be Horns" is classic, booming RJD2. The third track "Giant Squid" is ridiculous. Proggy, funk fusion that will peel a layer of dirt off your brain. Pounding breaks, Gentle Giant interludes, and a Tubular Bells-esque feel to some of the instrumentation.
Wow. I'm not going to go through the whole album track by track, but let me tell you this much, this album is gonna be a pretty big deal. The further into the album it gets, the bigger it gets. There are some well-chosen cameos, and the whole thing goes in a direction similar to Mark Ronson's Version chock full of this chopped up feel-good soul vibe with tight arrangements and nice vocal collabos. Just wait until you hear "The Shining Path" and "Crumbs off the Table". You'll be excited.
The new album, Colossus will be out January 19 on his new label, RJ's Electrical Connection.
If you're interested, you should go read this message from him that I posted a while back where he explained his whereabouts, and starting his new label.
Outlet Launch Party
Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m. swing by Hangfire to check out the launch of a new quarterly art publication called Outlet documenting some of the awesome things going on in and around Savannah's art scene. I've only seen pieces of it so far, but it looks amazing, and it must be good because they had the good sense to include a piece of mine, a digital collage from my series called "Snapshots" in their inaugural issue. The first issue is limited edition and selling for $3.50 - a very reasonable price for the awesomeness that you will receive. Go be a fan of on Facebook.
El Michels vs. Diamond District "The PJs"
A couple months ago, the El Michels Affair released a live instrumental cover album of the Wu-Tang's classic 36 Chambers called "Enter the 37th Chamber" - well now FatBeats and URB are getting together to remix the El Michels joint with a nice selection of emcees.
Check out how Diamond District gets loose on this cover of Rae's "The PJs". (right click to download). This joint is so chill.
Fool's Gold "Nadine" Weird Tapes Remix
You may remember an early summer post about Fool's Gold, the L.A. collective who are part of the emerging world-music-hipster-dance genre. (There's a lot more of it than it's hyphenated name might imply). Their video for lead single "Surprise Hotel" is pretty great, and it served as reminder of how different the girls sitting poolside look when they are in an indie video versus a rap video (some might need more iron in their diets).
To help remind you that you might want to give someone their album as a gift this holiday season, they are disseminating remixes from the album, and one of my favorites is this one from Weird Tapes.
The close runner up though is the Mad Decent Toadally Krossed Out remix of "Surprise Hotel". Listen to how the toad sounds completely give way to a caliber of dance music that harkens back to the dance glory days of the early 90s.
To help remind you that you might want to give someone their album as a gift this holiday season, they are disseminating remixes from the album, and one of my favorites is this one from Weird Tapes.
The close runner up though is the Mad Decent Toadally Krossed Out remix of "Surprise Hotel". Listen to how the toad sounds completely give way to a caliber of dance music that harkens back to the dance glory days of the early 90s.
Christmas with Lee Perry
He just put out an album this year called Repetance, and it was his 54th record! Damn. That's a lot of records. He started making ska in the 50s. He never really stopped. Bravo.
The tour is limited, to say the least, but if you are in the area of one of these, get irie for the evening.
12/13/09 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
12/14/09 - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
12/16/09 - The Star Bar - Park City, UT
12/18/09 - Independent - San Francisco, CA
12/19/09 - The New Parish of Oakland - Oakland, CA
12/20/09 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
His Land is R.Land
I just had the pleasure of interviewing Atlanta-based artist R.Land today for a piece that'll be in next week's Connect. I only meant to ask a couple of questions, but we ended up talking about art, music, Southern-ness, gentrification and the intersection between corporate practices and counterculture endeavors - and the conversation lasted about 45 minutes.
He's made a name for himself with crazy public art endeavors like this, which was hanging in various parts of Atlanta and beyond circa 2001:
There's also the various manifestions of the Loss Cat series, which made it's way into Found Magazine a while back. Land says they were disappointed when he informed them it was his creation, and not an authentic lost cat flier.
He also did the cover art for one ATHF DVDs, and has been working with the Williams Street guys on some new stuff as well.
He's got a show opening at Gallery Espresso on Bull St. in Savannah this week. The opening reception is Thursday. It'll be hanging all month. Grab some coffee and check it out.
Savannah Streets
Last night at the Jinx, Dope Sandwich crew's Union of Sacred Monsters debuted the new track "Savannah Streets," and it's a beast. The beat's got this nervous tension that really sets the stage for Knife, Basik Lee, Righteous and Zone D's verses, whose subjects range from bragging rights to fear - all of which find a home in C-Port streets. DSP/USM are working on some short documentary type videos about the group and the new album should be done sometime in February.
"Savannah Streets"
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