My Old Kentucky Second Home

LEXINGTON, KY -- Spring has sprung down South which means one thing, horse racing season is upon on us in Bluegrass country. As an adopted son of the South, one of my goals for this music blog is to 'learn y'all non-Southerners a thing or two about the South.' Fortunately, I was able to travel north on I-65 this weekend to Keeneland opening weekend in Lexington to participate in the long-standing traditions of chugging Makers Mark, losing some money on the 4-6-8 trifecta in race 9, and dirtying up my nice track clothes in the mud. Kentucky is known for a few key things: pretty horses and fast women, with bluegrass music and bourbon fighting it out for third.

For the travel north, I packed my Bill Monnroe 'Blue ... Blue ... Bluegrass' CD fresh from the packaging after purchasing it at the Nashville Flea Market last Sunday afternoon. As I drove north through hill country Saturday morning, I had a chance to listen to the album a couple times and really think about the beauty of it. The best way to describe it like a hot dog at the ballgame ... the hot dog in itself is decent enough, but when you throw in the perfect setting, like Wrigley for example, it just makes the hot dog that much better. The setting and the context make it that much better. In this case, the Bluegrass Parkway connecting Bardstown to Lexington on race morning was that perfect setting.

Bill Monroe (1911-1996) was considered by many to be the 'Father of Bluegrass Music. Hailing from Kentucky, he grew up traveled around the area and eventually made a more permanent home on the stage of the 'Grand Old Opry' at the Ryman in Nashville. Monroe became a star in 1945 and stayed in the spotlight through the folk revival of the 1960's and through until his death.

Monroe's most famous song was titled 'Blue Moon of Kentucky.' This is a later version from around 1980. Monroe has the quintessential bluegrass voice that he showcases here



He also could play a faster tune as exhibited here in 'Bluegrass Breakdown'



Bluegrass still prospers down south in a places. Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and of course Kentucky still have an active appreciation for the genre.


Here's to Kentucky with the pretty horses (hope for more luck at my next race), bluegrass music, bourbon, and of course those pretty Kentucky ladies...

Company Flow

"YOUR FAVORITE BAND SUCKS." ~ The Onion t-shirt collection



Welcome to the elitist, wise-ass, overcritical music blog. Just kidding. We here at TSAD take quality music very seriously. We also understand that it's just music. Entertainment. This shit is supposed to be fun. That's why you'll read overwhelmingly positive posts about music that we actually like. No firebreathing criticism of mediocre bands we were paid to review. No pretense. Just tunes for your chillin' enjoyment. Chillin' and the occasional bitchin' party. No doubt.




My issue this Sunday is the Company Flow. Lets go back to 1997. This year saw the passing of both Mother Theresa, and Christopher Wallace. Despite these losses, t'was still a good year. Slick-Willy-C was elected to his second term as POTUS, the Dow closed above 7000 for the first time, and Company Flow released Funcrusher Plus.

Founded in Queens in 1992, Company Flow's sound oozes urbanity. The music is dense and industrial. Odd sound effects populate the production. Scratches and samples give it a dark, futuristic ambiance. True to it's origins, Funcrusher Plus is far more appropriate for a solitary trek on an NYC subway (alongside 500 faceless strangers) than it is for a road-trip from Madison to Minneapolis. That being said, good music holds it's own wherever, and whenever you listen.

It's sad that Company Flow only released this single album. The silver lining here is the manner in which underground and alternative hip-hop in this vein has flourished in recent years. The staying power of this classic abum owes a lot to the considerable skills of El-P. As far as producers go, this cat can carry an entire label (that label is called Def Jux, and yeah, you should check them out). As far as lyricism goes, El-P , Mr. Len, and Bigg Jus consistantly bring original styles to the table. All this boils down to hours worth of audio dopeness. Welcome the the dense, dark underground. Here's to catching a new rhyme every time you listen.

goran bregovic

the best of east europe



enjoy



try to find a song called 'Czardasz'
or you can probably pull from simplify media

Foals - Antidotes

Foals is an indie rock/math rock band from Oxford, England. The group got together in 2006, but didn't release their first full length album, Antidotes, until about a year ago. It was worth the wait.

Their music is catchy but definitely has a spacy experimental feel. They are comparable to Minus the Bear or maybe the third Bloc Party album ("Intimacy") with a little less electronic influence. Antidotes is better than either of those examples though.

With two popular singles under their belts ("Hummer" and "Mathletics"), the band went on successful mini-tours in the UK and US and then released Antidotes. Apparently they weren't happy with the way their producer mixed the album and decided to release a version that they had mixed themselves. The result is a LP with a very clear sound, great hooks, and a cohesiveness that makes the album stand out compared to some other 2008 releases. It is also very British. The video for Red Socks Pugie is above. Check out the videos for Balloons and Hummer below. Also make sure to give Electric Bloom, Gold Gold Gold, and Cassius a listen on Foals' myspace page. Also, let me know if you feel like you're getting an irregular heartbeat watching all the hearts in the video above. Weird.





Thanks to Kevin for introducing me to Foals and telling me what math rock is.

Sims

“For every second of breath in it, there’s a piece of me left in it.”

Let me introduce you to the latest piece of the ‘how does Minnesota serve up such hot hip-hop?’ quandary – Sims – a member of the Doomtree crew.

It’s an excellent question really, in a rap game supposedly dominated by East Coast and West Coast, where did Minnesota come from? Atmosphere, the conglomerate that is Rhymesayers, Doomtree, and the DJ with the state as his moniker (known for this incredible beat - 05 What Beef Is.mp3), just to name a few. It's a little out of hand.

As a Chicago native, I’m jealous to say the least.

Sims’ first release was Lights Out Paris on Jan 1, 2005. It is, hands down, my favorite hip-hop disc in a while. The LOP disc combines quick, well-thought-out lyrics on top of a phenomenal display of beats. Now I must admit, LOP caters to my exact sweet spot of hip-hop, in which the beat plays as much of a part of the track as the lyrics and delivery – a style perhaps perfected by Black Star with DJ Hi-Tek. And fans of that beautiful disc back in 2002 would be proud of this Sims’ effort.

A few highlights:
1-03 15 Blocks.mp3
1-08 Key Grip (Fax).mp3

Last month Sims released another album: False Hopes 14. Another great disc, although it still plays second fiddle to Lights Out Paris in my mind. That said, it’s definitely worth a spin with some quality tracks like ‘Like You Mean It’ and ‘Pay No Mind.’

Lemme know what you think of this hip-hop from waaaay up nort derr, have a good weekend, and a big thanks to Ian Whitmore.

---

Photo by Bo Hakala

Also, I mentioned very briefly the Doomtree crew that Sims is a part of. Honestly, they are worth a long post themselves, so I’ll keep this brief and build the anticipation for a lil' sumpin' sumpin' later. Here’s some teaser:

07 Slow Burn.mp3

Check them out here.

peace.

Spoon: How'd they slip by me?

Every once in a while you find a band that has somehow slid under your radar. I ran into this phenomenon, which certainly is familiar to some of you, a few months ago. The band’s name is “Spoon”. And I’m sure that many of you out there right now are saying, “How had this dude never heard of Spoon before?” Well that is exactly what I am getting at.

Check out Spoon (if you haven't already)

How I never heard of Spoon until last fall is beyond me. They are a pretty well established indie-rock band. They started to pop-up on a Pandora station that I created, and I thought “hey, these guys sound pretty good”. So I went down to Strictly Discs, a local record store, and picked up “Gimme Fiction”, an album they put out in ’05 (which debuted @ #44 in the U.S. Billboard 200). What a fantastic album! The first two thirds of it in particular blew me away.





Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to go right back down to the store and grab “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”, their offering from 2007 (debuted @ # 10). This CD is equally, if not more impressive than the previous one. The more I looked into Spoon, the more surprised I was that I’d never heard of them. They have been around since the mid ‘90’s and have released a number of generally well received albums.

So I guess I am getting at two things here. Firstly, if somehow you are like me and have let Spoon slip by you, definitely check out their last couple albums, they will rock your socks off. And secondly, there is always more great music out there to be discovered, whether it be the no-name trio playing down @ your favorite bar this weekend or the band that has somehow been rocking for years without you knowing about them.




I find it interesting when I look through my music collection. I have CD’s from some bands that can fill up Alpine Valley in one minute, and I have others from some bands that probably wouldn’t fill up a local coffee shop. It just makes me wonder…how much wonderful music is out there that I’ve never been in earshot of?? Well, I think that the answer is “a lot”! And I guess that is the whole spirit of Top Shelf Audio Daily; to help provide answers to that question. So if Spoon turns out to be your next great discovery (which I’m certain they will be if you’ve never listened) excellent! And if not, maybe you’ll come across your Spoon tomorrow!

- ben

2+ Weeks, 1000 Hits

Thanks everyone. 1k worth of hits ain't chump change. Here's to new music.