So Stew posted the Blakroc preview below, and the album is pretty sick, particularly songs featuring the angriest rapper on earth, Billy Danze from MOP (see MOP Classic below)
But since I'm "the Wildcard" which is just totally sweet and exactly what I'm looking for as a description in life, here's a far stretch for ya. I bring you Diggy Simmons, the son of Rev Run (Joe Simmons) of Run DMC. Considering 'Tricky' is one of the greatest songs ever, and I mean ever, you figure the kid of Rev Run must have some talent right? Well, in my opinion, the little guy actually ain't all that bad. Why this is relevant to the music world I do not know, but enjoy, it's a Saturday and I'm still drunk from last night.
I had a couple of friends come over, LMFAO and Crystal Method. This is one of the jams they rocked and I figured I would share mid week since I missed this past Saturday's post. Steve Prochnow and I were too busy shooting guns, eating bbq and drinking beers. WOoo.
The Williams family changed music in the Music City forever starting with Hank Sr. in the late 1940's. Hank's tumultuous career was brief, but changed a budding country music genre.
Hank Jr., subject to more than his fair share of teasing from folks like me, also had a rather interesting career. He started out as somewhat of a Grand Ole Opry novelty at an early age. He eventually became a mainstream country act with classics about why he smokes, drinks, and what his goals are when doing so (to get laid!)
Hank III joined the family music biz back in the early 90's as a way to 'pay child support' and his career blossomed from there. He still carries on that country rebel tradition that is missing in today's typical country music scene. Check out Hank III's thoughts on pop country in 'Dick in Dixie'
You pick your favorite Hank ... I've got mine and I'm seeing him TONIGHT in Nashville. Look for a show report tonight, tomorrow or whenever I get around to it.
It has taken me far too long to delve into the back catalogue. Aquemini is some serious shit. Creative and articulate. Shootin' game in the form of story raps. Laid back. So chill. Never boring. I shed a tear that I wasn't more intimately acquainted with this album back in my Haight-Ashbury dayz. Sure, we've heard Rosa Parks, but damn, damn, damn, damn.
Intriguing Characters: Big Boi, 'Dre, Sasha Thumper, Hollywood Cole.
Note-worthy quotes: "Slashed-up!"
On a personal note, I recently touched down in MPLS for the bachelor party of the amigo Nasty Neil. Somewhere in the poetic debauchery of Spottieottiedopalicious lies an accurate description of the evening. Go'on and marinate on that for a minute.
I don't know how better to describe this video so I'm taking the youtube explanation of it:
This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the "Amen Break," a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip.
What's a good way to vent a little frustration while you wait out a flight delay in a random airport (other than alcohol)? How about blasting some Them Crooked Vultures?
In case you've been missing out, Them Crooked Vultures is a supergroup comprised of Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana, and John Paul Jones of Led Fucking Zeppelin. Their debut self-titled release is one of the most anticipated albums of the year. It lives up to the hype the internet has bestowed upon it.
I read a few articles that said it appeared that Homme had lucked into this gig. After listening to this album, I disagree. His fingerprints are all over this disc in the form of the druggy, heavy sound that Queens of the Stone Age is known for. But the beautiful thing about a trio is that you can hear everyone with glorious clarity. Grohl pounds the skins like it's 1992, and Jones kicks out some truly dirty bass riffs and adds some nice keyboard flourishes to boot. Check out the tracks below and pick up the album here if you dig.
This doesn't drop until Monday (digitally) and December 15th on CD, but it leaked yesterday and I have to share it with you guys. Animal Collective are like a fine wine and seem to be getting better with age.
This is composed of five songs that didn't make the cut on Merriweather Post Pavilion. That's not to imply the quality of them is worse, which can be disproven upon one listen. In my opinion these songs are just as good and even better. Take a listen:
EDIT: I forgot there are some Dead Heads on here. Track 2 ("What Would I Want? Sky") has the first licensed Dead sample from "Unchained Melody." The band collaborated with Phil Lesh and he dug what they were doing so gave it the go ahead:
I’ll step out of my normal realm this week and offer something for all you post-rockers out there…for all I know you’ve already heard of these guys, but what I’ve heard of them has been pretty good. The Antlers started as the solo project of singer and guitarist Peter Silberman. Silberman crafted the Antlers first album, “In the Attic of the Universe”, during a time when he isolated himself from family and friends (It seems that’s the thing to do these days in music). Fellow crew members Mike Lerner, Darby Cicci, and Justin Stivers joined the group shortly thereafter. The bands second album “Hospice” was released in March of 2009 and has been an overwhelming success. With that, you know just as much about them as I do….
Ferry Corsten is one of the trance originals, and he's still busting it out. I rock out just about daily to a live DJ set from the Winter Music Conference, which is held in Miami, FL in conjunction with the Ultra Music Festival each spring. Information on the UMF can be found here: http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/
I'll be in attendance in 2010, so expect a full review of the events. Hoping to see Ferry, as the lineup this year hasn't been announced yet.
From Wikipedia:
Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, (born December 4, 1973 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer.
1989–1999: Early years
Ferry Corsten produced and remixed under many aliases since the release of his first record at the age of sixteen,[1] but he officially started to work as a musician when he was 27 years old. As a teenager he would listen to his father's record player and he would save money to buy his first keyboard by washing cars, and selling mixed tapes to kids in his neighborhood. He later began to perform live performances with a friend and won his first award "De Grote Prijs van Nederland" at Holland in 1989.[2] He eventually released a record with a couple of friends when he was just sixteen years old and later began releasing self-made productions while he grew up in Rotterdam in the 1990s, producing underground hardcore gabber tracks, later expanding into club-house and trance music. His first single to reach a chart position was "Don't Be Afraid" under the alias Moonman, which was only the start for becoming a composer as well. In 1997 Corsten and his partner Robert Smit established a dance label named Tsunami with the Dutch based dance company Purple Eye Entertainment b.v., this junction made the creation of another label possible; Polar State.[3] Ferry Corsten was studying to become an Electrical Engineer, so he went to the Technical Training School and after that Higher Technical Education.[4] [edit] 1999–2002: Rise to fame Main article: Gouryella
In February 1999 Corsten's second solo project, System F, was released on the Tsunami imprint along with the album Out of the Blue, including the same-named melodic tune that became a hit on dance floors all over the world, achieving a top twenty position in the United Kingdom single chart. The follow up single was "Cry", produced together with Robert Smit which reached the UK Top 20.[5]
His growing popularity in the late 1990s led to cooperation with many famous trance DJs and musicians like DJ Tiësto (Gouryella, Vimana), Vincent de Moor (Veracocha), and Robert Smit (Starparty). The track "Gouryella" by the act Gouryella was released in May, the single entered the UK Singles Top 75 at number fifteen and achieved various hit positions throughout the world. The next single was entitled "Walhalla" which entered the UK single chart at number twenty-seven. In 1999 Ferry was elected as producer of the year at the Ericsson Muzik Award in London.[6] In September 2000 the third Gouryella single entitled "Tenshi" was released. In 2000, Corsten also remixed William Orbit's "Adagio for Strings" as well as "New Year's Day" for U2. His remix of Barber's "Adagio For Strings" was awarded at the Dancestar 2000 awards. The Ministry of Sound dance compilation series entitled Trance Nation became one of the best selling dance compilations in the UK and was awarded the platinum status.[7] In 2000 in his home country Corsten got awarded the Silver Harp award for his numerous outstanding contributions made to Dutch dance music.[citation needed]
In 2001 Ferry contributed to remix projects of tracks by Japanese superstar Ayumi Hamasaki. He went on to compose and arrange her heavily trance-based song "Connected," which was released in 2003, along with remixes, as a single in Germany which has sold 4 million copies to date, making this Ferry's most successful song to date.[8]
Ferry Corsten is the electronic dance music artist with the highest amount of dance singles in the UK charts[citation needed]. He currently[when?] has 10 gold singles, between those his 1999 remix of "Madagascar", "Out of the Blue" as his alias System F, both "Gouryella" and "Walhalla" in 2000, "Cry" and the "Dance Valley Theme" in 2001 with "Exhale" which is his latest as System F with Armin van Buuren; and his 2003-2004 singles "Punk" and "Rock Your Body Rock".[citation needed]
In 2004 he launched his first album as Ferry Corsten, Right of Way, in Heineken Musical Hall with 4,500 clubbers at his eight-hour set.[9] The music video of the song was nominated in the TMF Dutch MTV Awards in Netherlands. The album spawned three singles, "Punk" (UK #29), "Rock Your Body, Rock" (UK #11), and "It's Time" (UK #51).
I've got a lot going on right now, so I'm gonna take the easy route and send you to a different website that everyone who enjoys this blog should dig. Daytrotter is a website/music studio that records brief live sets from all sorts of up and coming artists and releases the results for free. You can stream the songs or download the mp3's.
The website produces a lot of content. How they get all these bands to play for them and more importantly how they get so many bands to visit Rock Island, Illinois (look it up) is beyond me. But we get to reap the benefits. The website also includes nice drawings of the performers and extremely pretentious (there's that word again) writeups about the music. Who could ask for more?
I highly recommend checking out the "top sessions" section featuring the likes of Fleet Foxes, Spoon, Andrew Bird and other well-known artists. But the best thing about the website is how many random bands you've never heard of get featured. Dig around a little and I'm sure you'll find some exciting new stuff. Check out Lucero below.
It's absolutely incredible I haven't blogged about this guy yet
Ok, so this is Mr. Guerrero, in my opinion, a younger version of the most interesting man in the world. Former professional skateboarder turned professional musician, and the best part? Now professional skateboarders skate to HIS music - talk about full circle.
But his music. Yes. That's why we're here. It's dope. A lotta drums. Stellar guitar riffs. A little latin spice in places. Check out a couple of his newer jams below, as well as a phenomenal album of his from 06 (be sure to listen to Tomorrow's Goodbye, The Underdog, and Dont Fake It):
NASHVILLE, TN -- A weekend trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame this past weekend rekindled my love of bluegrass. A little too much attention for the Elvises and the Dollys of the world, and too little attention for the pioneers in the hall in my opinion, but I did manage to locate some good old toe tappin' grass.
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs met as members of Bill Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys, in 1946. The two left that band early in 1948, and within a few months had formed their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys. Scruggs' banjo style and Flatt's rhythm guitar style as well as his vocals gave them a distinctive sound that won them many fans. In 1955 they became members of the Grand Ole Opry.
Scruggs, who had always shown progressive tendencies, experimented on duets with saxophonist King Curtis and added songs by the likes of Bob Dylan to the group's repertoire. Flatt, a traditionalist, did not like these changes, and the group broke up in 1969. Following the breakup, Lester Flatt founded the Nashville Grass and Scruggs lead the Earl Scruggs Revue. Flatt died in 1979 at the age of 64. Scruggs still performs occasionally, as his health permits. Flatt and Scruggs were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
In 2003, they ranked #24 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music, one of only four non-solo artists to make the list (Eagles, Alabama, and Brooks & Dunn are the others).
In the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the band formed by the heroes is called the "Soggy Bottom Boys" as a tribute to the band.
RJD2 is a good producer. Blueprint is a good emcee. Together they make a great duo known as Soul Position. Lush beats and thoughtful rhymes are the order of the day. At times, Blueprint can be rather dramatic (I agree with Allmusic on this point). It's all good though. There's more than enough here to keep me interested through two full length albums. Soul Position provide polished, modern hip-hop. That's all I ever wanted. So here's to rockin' out in the car, plane, or train on the way home from work. Til next time...closed circuit to (faithful TSAD follower) Dr. Dre: Where the fuck is Detox? Perhaps next week I'll do some research to determine the status of that release.
Allow me to keep the obscure but awesome music trend going on TSAD. Whether he's releasing tunes as Weird Tapes, Memory Cassette, or Memory Tapes, Davye Hawk of Philly (or is it south Jersey?) appears to be a pretty prolific guy. Perhaps that's because he doesn't play any shows and no one seems to be really sure who he is. In any case, it's working out for him.
I'm not gonna lie, this music feeds my electro-pop needs as well as anything going right now. The release that really stands out is Seek Magic, released by Mr. Hawk as Memory Tapes. This album grows on you big time. It's short, only eight tracks, but each cut is painstakingly crafted into a beautiful montage of different sounds and grooves. The songs tend to be more ambient than, say, Miike Snow or Passion Pit, with less words and more stretching out. Dig the vocal outro on Bicycle and the sneakers-on-hardwood beat on Green Knight (reminiscent of, but more subtle than the bed creaking beat on Some Cut by Trillville). This is some of my favorite stuff of the year.
Since Davye is such a generous guy, a lot of his work is available free online, which is why I'm able to share several songs with you below. If you like what you hear, be sure to check out his blog We're Tapes. Lots more downloads are available there, and you can buy stuff too.
It’s good to be back helping you over your musical hump. I’ve been saving up this week’s musician for the re-release of daily posting; he’s that good. I came across “The Tallest Man on Earth” a while back, and at the time I found next to no information on him. In recent searches it seems that his music has become increasingly available although information on him is by no means widespread.
“The Tallest Man on Earth” is the moniker belonging to Swedish folk musician Kristian Mattson. Mattson hails from Dalurna, Sweeden. I hate to use the Bob Dylan comparison as it is something that is certainly thrown around way too much these days (lets face it there is and only will be one Bob Dylan). With that, if anyone that I’ve heard deserves the compliment of the comparison, it’s Mattson. The combination of his high pitched unpolished voice, finger-picking prowess, and seemingly effortless storytelling certainly beg the comparison. That being said, Mattson’s music has a uniqueness and charm all its own.
Mattson’s first release was a five song EP back in 2007. His first full length album, Shallow Grave, was released last year with critical acclaim. The album is unpolished and absolutely wonderful; worth picking up. Mattson spent some time touring in the States last year (with the likes of John Vanderslice and Bon Iver ). In a world filled with guys with a guitar Mattson separates himself as one of the best and I’m confident we’ll be hearing from him for years to come.
Take Your Vitamins Aurally According to Wikipedia, vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is the timbral foundation of the Hammond B3 organ. I didn't know that before today and I'm too lazy to look up why that's true. All I know is that the members of this vitamin's musical namesake have chops that would make Hugo Weidel proud.
Before you read any further, and in the interest of full disclosure, I feel obliged to admit that Niacin's music is full on, prog rock wankery at its finest. I was raised from an early age on my dad's Emerson, Lake and Palmer collection and am still blown away by Keith Emerson's keyboard skills. This fact easily explains my recent fascination with the works of Niacin.
The similarities are there. They're a power trio consisting of a drummer (Dennis Chambers), bassist (Billy Sheehan) and lead (yes, lead) keyboard player (John Novello). That Emerson-esque Hammond sound is prevalent throughout and, most of all, the music critics' favorite prog rock descriptors like "pompous" and "bombastic" apply in full.
But that, folks, is why I like it. So have a listen.
Both of these are opening tracks for the albums "Organik" and "Time Crunch" respectively. Now if those song and album titles don't scream "progressive neo-fusion" then nothing ever will.
But seriously, the technique and instrumental proficiency are there in spades and that, at least for me, makes up for any lack of "soul" this music may have. For greatest effectiveness, shift your focus from the ridiculous keyboard playing to the background bass lines. Do you hear that? I know right?!
