Healing power of disco

LCD Soundsystem
Sound of Silver
Capitol, 2007

There was an argument during the rave heydays of the early 90s that somehow getting sorted for e’s and whiz and dancing like a git until 5am was a revolutionary act, that by partying and having a good time ravers could fight the system and promote world peace. I think that’s a questionable philosophy, but there is something to be said for the power of feeling good, and I can’t help but think that the world might be a better place if people would spend more time dancing their asses off and less time sitting in front of computers or doing any of the other mundane and unhealthy tasks our lives are consumed with.
Until we all came down and ended up depressed and cranky on Sunday morning, I guess.

Rave politics aside, LCD Soundsystems “Sound of Silver” is a vivid reminder of how refreshing and healing feeling good can be. As with the first disc, Sound of Silver sees maestro James Murphy mixing 70s dance punk, 80s new wave, and 90s house into a funky, slightly ironic, totally exhilarating concoction.

The disc starts off with “Get Innocuous!”, a cowbell, house infused number that is what we have come to expect from Mr. Murphy. There are a number of other dance punk songs on the disc, like “Us. V. Them” and “The sound of Silver”. It’s all fun without being stupid, head-bobbing without being inane, and for that, I am very grateful. Fuck morning coffee, just put this on. It’s like being alive.

Dancy tracks aside, my favorite tracks on this disc were the mellower, prettier ones. “Someone Great” pulses along like a Jan Hammer-IDM remake, with lyrics that fit the pretty, introspective mood of the music. On “All of My friends” he channels Brian Eno. The highlight for me was “New York I love You, but You’re Bringing Me Down”, which is not unlike Bowie’s “Rock n’ Roll Suicide, a piano ballad that leads to an epic climax. It’s both a love letter and breakup letter with NYC, laying out how much it has changed, and how disappointed mr. Murphy is:

New York, you're perfect
Don't please don't change a thing
Your mild billionaire mayor's
Now convinced he's a king
So the boring collect
I mean all disrespect
In the neighborhood bars
I'd once dreamt I would drink

At the end, he admits “you’re still the one pool where I’d happily drown”. As someone who has a conflicted romance with my own city of residence, i could totally relate.

I don’t know if listening to Sound of Silver will do anything to help stop the killings in Iraq, ease tensions with Iran, slow global warming, or help provide food, shelter, and healthcare to everyone. I do know that it will make you feel a hell of a lot better about being alive and human, and that’s a step, right? In short, this disc is totally fucking awesome and you should go buy it. Believe that.
-pst

Smash your head on the punk rock

The EPs of RP

I got this used at a heavy metal record store in Pavia, Italy. What I got is actually a burnt CD, with all the liner notes loving photocopied.

Rudimentary Peni were contemporaries of Crass and the Subhumans, and share the sound and aesthetic of those other early 80s anarcho punk bands.This ep is a reissue of their self titled and Farce eps, both from 1981.

The 12 songs from “Rudimentary Peni” are all rapid fire, with only one of them clocking in at over a minute. Most are thirty second blasts of goodness, and like the best short songs, they cram all the melody, rhythm, and angst into thirty seconds that most bands need three minutes to accomplish.

The songs reflect singer Nick Blinko’s psychiatric issues, and both vocally and lyrically he sounds on the edge. He wails out of tune about black presidents, seagulls, and wild dogs. As with his insane artwork, Blinko brings a lot more to punk than the standard “fuk the system” bluntnesst of contemporaries like Discharge.

He also has some lyric gems. My favorites are “A vicious circle of passive acceptance/passive acceptance of a vicious circle” and “we all play the same old chords/we all tread the same old boards.”

The songs from Farce are a little longer, more directly political, and toned down from the first ep. The songs are more issue-oriented, commenting on the so-called generation gap, the blble (criticizing it as a tool for slavery in one track, and comparing it to a ball of bile in another), etc.

The stand out tracks include the droning, flipper-esque “Rat Race” where blinko shouts “are you really justified in having nothing to say?are you not aware of a feeling of humiliation?” My personal favorite is bloody jellies, a frantic, hysterical rant on impending nuclear doom where there will be “angels with burnt wings” and “no coffins, just bloody jellies.” Few tracks encapsulate the 80s nuclear dread as well as that one.

RP are actually still around, and they have put out several classic albums since their first EPs, but for my money, the EPs of RP is not only their finest work, it is an essential punk album.

Don't Miss Rush

I bought tickets for the Arcade Fire a few weeks ago on Ticketmaster, and now I get spammed by them all the time. Today in my inbox was an email titled "Don't Miss Rush". If there is one thing I dislike more than spam, it's spam that is totally misdirected. I bought tickets to see the ARCADE FIRE. What the hell makes ticketmaster think that I'd be into Rush? Is the connection that they are both from Canada and both are amazing musicians? Does the drummer of the Arcade Fire have a degree in Musicology like Neal Pert?

One exciting thing is that they are playing Shoreline Ampitheater (rush, that is). That means that there are still a hell of a lot of Rush fans out there. Now, I don't actually like Rush, and I choose not to listen to their music, but I know that they make a lot of (geeky) people happy, so more power to them. They should totally coincide the concert with a D and D convention. That would rule.

Is hip hop dead?

A colleague of mine asked me yesterday if I though hip-hop was in a slump. He referenced the Mims single as an example of the depths the genre has sunk to.

True, there is no shortage of shit rap out there. A lot of heavy unit shifters are utter garbage, and when I listen to some of the stuff on the radio, I am amazed at how little talent these bastards have. What happened to being able to rhyme? To having flow? To having something to say? To having interesting beats?

The truth is, rap is now at the point rock is at where the majority of shit out there is, well, shit. In the 60s, there was no shortage of amazing, popular rock bands. Some of the biggest names in rock from that time are also among the best: The Who, the beatles, the stones, the kinks...

Nowadays, the biggest names in rock are people like nickleback who are generic bullshit. True, there are still decent bands selling buttloads of albums, but there is so much mediocre filler out there cluttering the airwaves.

So don't let the Good Charlottes or Rick Ross's of the world get you down. If you dig a little, you will always be able to find people making real music, no matter what genre.

Ruff Draft

J Dilla
Ruff Draft
Stones Throw, 2007


The Ruff Draft EP was originally released by an obscure German label in 2003, between Dilla’s production work on Common’s Electric Circus and his Jaylib project with Madlib. Dilla had been fucked around by MCA, was estranged from his wife and kid, and on a really experimental tip. The result was ten tracks that showed both his brilliance as a producer and his abilities as an MC.

Stones Throw has re-released the EP as a two-disc set, complete with extra tracks and an entire cd of instrumentals. I have to admit that I was a little upset when I realized that my 13 bucks got me only 50 minutes of music (each cd is about 25 minutes long), and at first I thought it was a total waste to not just put it all on one disc. The logic, I’m sure, is to preserve the integrity of the original product, and adding on 10 instrumentals to the end would fuck up the flow. It’s not the greatest solution, but I appreciate where they are coming from, even though I may just burn both sides onto one cd.

Musically, this is solid work. Dilla is both out there but solid, so all of the tracks are head-bobbing but unique. My favorite track is a reworking of Slade’s “Cum On Feel The Noize”, which features Dilla rapping over an acoustic rendition of the song with a little boy singing the chorus. The fact that Dilla came across the track and decided it would make a good beat shows how good he was at producing.

While his skills as a producer are beyond reproach, his abilities as an MC are not quite immortal. He is good but not great, but all of the tracks work, and there aren’t any lines I’ve come across that have made me cringe, which is saying something these days. This may not be mindblowing lyricism, but it does the job.

In the end, this is a great EP and a fitting tribute to a J Dilla. I’m happy that Stone’s Throw took the time and effort to put out such a nice-looking package (go Helvetica!), and it is always wonderful when obscure records get more widely released. The whole “This is strictly for my real niggaz” language in the liner notes cuts down on the seriousness and somberness of the whole thing, but whatever. Dilla was who Dilla was, even if he did try to get his gangsta on sometimes.
-pst

Cover Me Badd

The lastest podcast from Stone’s Throw is entitled “Cover Me Badd”, and it is 45 minutes of soul and hip hop covers. Some are novelty tunes, like a remake of “Rumours” titled “Roaches”, several are female responses to macho tracks by LL, Rob Base, etc, and some are just fucking awesome, like the Japanese version of “Give Me One More Chance” by the Jackson 5, and the Spanish version of “Do You Think I’m Sexy”.

This is why Stones Throw and podcasts rule. They dig up all this random shit, and then present it to the public. It is pretty magical. They definitely made my morning, particularly as I’ve been on an 80s kick. I’ve been watching reruns of Miami vice, and that shit has been warping my mind, giving me fond memories of kicking around my neighborhood on my bike, playing GI Joes with my friend scott, breakdancing at recess…ah. Good times. Bad fashion, but good times.

Holy fuck I’m old.

http://www.stonesthrow.com/jukebox/
feed://www.stonesthrow.com/jukebox/podcast.xml

Podcasts I like

Pasion por el ruido.
http://www.radioruido.com/

This is a weekly-ish Spanish podcast that features hardcore punk, with an emphais on the crusty and anarcho. In other words, no bullshit straight-edge, macho victory records crap, no whiny emo kids, and no linkin park soundalikes. I’ve always believed that this kind of music was best presented in brief, easily digestible packages, and the podcast is perfect. Nothing makes my morning walk through the marina more bearable than to be listening to someone scream unintelligibly about how much the government sucks. I’m pretty sure they are all against vivisection too. rrrrrwaaaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhH!!!!!

Hip Hop Drought of 2007 aka Patrick’s Commitment to Fiscal Responsibility

I am very proud of the fact that I am able to support myself and pay off my extensive school loans while living in a really expensive city. However, my insistence on living in San Francisco and staying in the non-profit sector has significantly impacted my ability to be totally iced out and party with strippers The fact that I hate diamonds and gaudy jewelry, don’t party, and can’t deal with strip clubs has also played a role in limiting my playa status.

Hip hop has been playing a major roll in making sure I don’t break the bank in these lean times by not putting out a single record worth plopping down my hard-earned money. Part of this has to do with the fact that I am pretty much over southern and/or street hip hop for now, having invested all of the time and money I can into those genres. There is only so many rhymes about getting one’s lean on that a boy can deal with. I also hit a fucking wall with Rick Ross’s album, and the latest single by Mims, “This is why I’m hot” which features perhaps the worst rap in the history of the genre “this is why I’m hot, I’m hot cuz I’m fly, you aint’ cuz you not.”

My ability to listen to hip hop has been further impacted by positive developments in my life, namely an increased social life directly connected to seeing someone. Someone female. Someone who prefers acoustic guitars to 808s. I’m trying to convince her of the merits of hip hop, but even I know that there is no point trying to get her to like Death Certificate or the new Clipse album.

Sigh. So come on now, all you mcs. Prove me and nas wrong and give me a reason to spend my hard-earned bread. J dilla’s Rough Draft and Madlib’s album of Indian influenced beats may be effective contenders.
-pst

American Hardcore

American Hardcore
Directed by Paul Rachman
Based on the book by Stephen Blush
Sony Pictures Classics, 2006

American Hardcore documents the first wave of US Hardcore, from roughly 1981 – 1985. It combines archived footage with present-day interviews of people involved in the scene.

First the good – it is pretty thrilling seeing footage of Bad Brains, Black Flag, and Minor Threat from back in the day. I was especially excited about the Bad Brains stuff, as I had never had a chance to check them out, and goddamn, are they good. They are four Rastafarian jazz musicians who decided to apply their technical skills to hardcore punk, and they fucking rocked.

I also really enjoyed the interviews with my childhood idols Henry Rollins and Ian Mackaye. I’m not sure how much they enjoy being considered punk’s elder statesman, but they do a pretty good job of it.

Now for the not-so-good: At it’s best, the film is a documentation of the scene, but in a lot of ways, American Hardcore is just a bunch of old dudes reminiscing about how fucking hardcore they were back in the day. I’m seriously hoping that TSOL’s Jack Grishom was taken out of context when he was bragging about pissing in a drunk girl’s face or blowing shit up with homemade pipe bombs. I mean, I know he was one of the biggest, meanest assholes in punk, but I hate to think that he still believes that that is something to brag about.

Also, the message of the film, that hardcore punk was revolutionary, is belied by the footage of the film, which shows a bunch of 16-year-olds hammering out tuneless songs that all sound the same. The problem with hardcore is that for every amazing band like bad brains or minor threat, you had, well, you had pretty much the rest of the scene, which was kids with a lot of heart and very little talent. Don’t get me wrong, I love old hardcore, but it has a very limited scope, and most bands only produced a handful of good songs, one album tops.

I was seriously offended by how the only reference to the post-85 hardcore scene was to imply that they were all a bunch of sell-out, wimpy fucks. As the guitarist of gang green says, “they are riding a tour bus on the road we paved.” Worse, Zander Schloss, of the Circle Jerks, says “Punk is over! Go home, your cage is clean!”

Yes, hardcore got incredibly shitty and violent and metal in the late 80s, but it has had more than one renaissance since then. I was a big fan of the whole crust/extreme music scene in the late 90s with bands like Hiatus, Doom (who, admittedly, are foreign),Charles Bronson, What Happens Next, His Hero is Gone, Monster X, Orchid, etc, etc. There were tons of bands who were carrying on the DIY tradition of the originators, and creating music that was as good or better. They were also more sophisticated politically, and organizationally, creating viable alternatives to the mainstream music industry. Think Maximum Rocknroll, or prank records, or 625, or life is abuse, or profane existence, or Heartattack, all of which are still around. As hardcore has aged, it’s tackled a lot of issues that were not dealt with in the early days, like racism, sexism, and homophobia in the scene, and how to help punks practice what they preach more by providing outlets for activism etc. Activist collectives like food not bombs or crimethinc have spread up alongside punk, allowing hardcore to be much more effective in creating social change than just singing about how fukt the government is.

In the end, American Hardcore was a reminder for me to stop being such a jaded old man, and to try to resist sinking into icky, self-righteous nostalgia.

Bargain Basement Treasures

Drive Like Jehu
Yank Crime
Interscope, 1994

I came across Yank Crimes in a bargain rack for 4.95 around 1995. A friend of mine had told me that it was good, so i figured i could spare a five-spot to check it out. Little did i know that it is one of the classic post-punk albums, and one of the best albums to come out of the nineties.

For those who don't know, Drive Like Jehu was a band with Rick Froberg and John Reiss, the latter who would have fame with Rocket From the Crypt. Yank Crime was Jehu's second album, and it is a doozy from start to finish. The band was two guitars, bass and drums, but they sound a lot louder than that. Froberg voice contains the perfect managed hysteria of an insurance salesman about to have a nervous breakdown, equal parts nerdy and unsettled. Henry Rollins may do angry dude better, but no one can do angry everyman like Froberg.

The songs are long and intricate. Jehu truly are math rock, but in a good way. The disc starts off with the barrelling guitars of "Here Come the Rome Plows" with Froberg shouting "Sad to say/it's over now...here come the rome plows!!"

Most of the songs feature long intros - the delecate notes of "New Math", the forty seconds of squealing feedback on "Super Unison", and my personal favorite, the staccato algorythms of "Sinews". Lyrically, the disc is vague but menacing. On "Sinews", Froberg screams "yeah, you been had!" and you don't necessarily know what he's talking about but it creeps you out the same.

Emo and post punk has devolved to a point where it is largely just a bunch of lame fucks whining over bad rock. They should all take a lesson from Jehu, who bring the pain, bring the rock, and make it all sound good and interesting. Viva la Jehu!
-pst

Laugh Now, Cry later

Ice Cube
Laugh Now, Cry Later
Universal, 2006
Another homie got murdered on a shakedown
His mother is in the corner having a nervous breakdown
Two shots hit him in the face from the blast
Framed picture
Closed casket

That, my friends, is genius, pure and simple. On those lines from Ice Cubes 1991 "Dead Homiez", Cube sums up the horror and tragedy of South Central violence succinctly and powerfully. Compare that to the chorus of "Stop Snitchin'", on his 2006 release "Laugh Now, Cry Later".

You can have whatever you want
In the hood, it's do's and don'ts
So when it get hot in this kitchen
Stop snitchin, n*gga stop snitchin

Why even fucking bother? That’s what kept running through my head listening to this track and this album. For most of the album he sounds merely half-assed, but on some of it he sounds downright shitty. Why is cube rapping about not snitching?

The album opens up with the generic but decent Scott-Storch-produced “Why We Thugs”. Its sparse synth and claps beat is very familiar, but works well and is sufficiently head-bobbing. There are other decent tracks on the album, like “The N*gga Trap”, in which Cube returns to the angry social commentary that all us old farts love him for:

The ghetto is a n*gga trap, take the cheese
Soon as you do it here come the police
Invented and designed for us to fail
Where you gon' end up, dead or in jail

In the face of all of the bullshit going on in the world today, and all of the bullshit coming out of hip-hop, Çube’s anger is cathartic and much-needed. It is not, however, enough to justify all of crap on this bloated dis, or forgive clumsy, amateur lines like

I love all my fans cause they know I'm a man
And not a little boy or some fuckin play toy

Shit, cube, should we just be cool, not act the fool and stay in school? You’ve been rhyming for twenty years and you come up with THAT??

I read an interview with cube and he said he didn’t give a fuck about album sales and this was all for his fans. Well, if only that were true. Instead he follows the same tired lil jon/ scott storch production, the same half-assed features, and treads the same played-out subject matter. He also wastes a lot of breath an wack rhymes and in trying to defend himself as the OG. Guess what, cube, you never WERE a gangsta, and that’s exactly why we loved you – because you were angry as fuck at both the racist white system and the suicidal elements in the black community that were killing off the people that the police and prison system let pass. Stop being hard and just be real.

Gah.

-pst

Neon Bible

Two caveats before you read this review:

1 – I just got this album yesterday, and have only listened to it twice (notice, it gets released on the sixth, and I got it the fourth. Cuz I’m COOL).

2 – while I like the arcade fire’s previous release, Funeral, I’m not like their #1 fan, and I’ve not really sat down and obsessed over that record.

That out of the way, I must say that I was all set to hate this record. I like the arcade fire, but their melodramatic, multi-instrumental schtick teeters on the edge of lameness, and I was sort of looking for a reason to finally declare I hated them. But damnit if this album isn’t pretty good. In fact, it contains the same, epic, melodic, joyously sad music that made Funeral so great. Say what you will about the arcade fire, but they got some fire and passion.

A lot of it has to do with lead singer Wll Butler’s beautifully sad voice. And with Chassagne gorgeous alto, which is featured on a track or two, and supports butler’s beautifully on the rest. Also, like Bloc Party, Arcade Fire do a lot to make their music sound vibrant, layered, and alive. They stray from the standard “drum, bass, guitar, keys” formula, including some more esoteric and archaic sounds, but it doesn’t come off as gimmicky.

Whereas “Funeral” was dedicated to the crews’ dead homies and relatives, “neon bible” is a more explicit critique of the west, and is thus more political and less introspective than Funeral. You may or may not be down with this, but they pull it off pretty well, even lines like “Been eating in the ghetto on a hundred dollar plate.”
And then there are lines like the following from Antichrist television blues:
“I don’t wanna work in a building downtown….cause the planes keep crashing always two by two.”
That pretty much sums up the 21st century blues.

So basically, Neon Bible is seventies glam meets eighties new wave meets bruce springsteen. And it is pretty fucking good. Next time someone whines about how lame music is today, put this on and tell him to shut the hell up.

-pst

New York Bans the N-Word

(From Reuters) " The City Council unanimously declared a moratorium that carries no penalty but aims to stop youth from casually using the word, considered by most Americans to be the most offensive in the English language.

The New York City measure follows similar resolutions this month by the New York state assembly and state senate, and supporters of the ban are taking their campaign to The Recording Academy, asking it not to nominate musicians for Grammy awards if they use the word in their lyrics.

Councilman Leroy Comrie, a sponsor of the moratorium, said the campaign against the word has gained strength since comedian Michael Richards spewed it in a racially charged tirade in Los Angeles."


Some thoughts...


#1. Did they ban "nigger" or "nigga?" Because there is a difference. Also, if one says the word in reference to someone else saying the word, is that still outlawed?

#2. There is also a big difference between it being used by black people and it being used by white people. A big difference. Michael Richards saying "nigger" at the Comedy Club is bad news. Damon Wayans saying it is another story.

#3. People aren't racist because they use racist language. Racist langauge can help, uh, enable their racism, but outlawing a word won't kill the sentiment. People can be just as prejudice and stupid using "African-american" as they can using "colored" or whatever else. Focus less on the language, and more on the feelings surrounding the language.

#4. The idea of the grammy's rejecting people because they use nigga is totally stupid and I hope they don't do it. Does that mean when it is exposing the word, as in Mos Def's "Mr. Nigga?" or when it is flipping the phrase on its head as in Madlib's "Pyramids (Change)"? Or when it is used to be synonymous with"friend" as in too many hip hop songs to name? Or is it only when it is used by a white person to address a black person? And would it still be ok for them to degrade women and gays?

#5. Is nigger the worst word in the English language? Paradoxically, it is much, much more taboo for people to use Nigger today than 100 years ago, when it was a fairly common term for a black person. Blacks took to using nigger to take the sting out of it. They reclaimed the term as their own, and ironically, took it away from the racists.

I applaud the idea of trying to tackle some of the negativity and nihilism that is all too prominent in many aspects of hip-hop. However, this is a misguided, wrongheaded way of doing it. Plus, the hip-hop community is not gonna give a FUCK. In fact, I guarantee GUARANTEE that the word nigger will be used by MCs to obscene extents in the coming weeks and months.

That said, I think after this post I am going to try to not actually spell out the n word when quoting lyrics. I figure, if it aint right for me to say it out loud, I probably shouldn't be typing it.

-pst

Clamor Magazine Reviews

As I may have written previously, I used to write for clamor magazine, which went out of biznass in 2006. The following are reviews that yours truly wrote that were published on their website (www.clamormagazine.org) I figgered I’d post them here, so’s I gots a record of them as well.

-PT


Pattern Is Movement

Stowaway

Noreaster Failed Industries, 2005

www.nfilabel.com, www.patternismovement.com
I think all art students should be forced to start bands, and all musicians should be forced to study art. Good things often come of it: Wire’s herkey-jerky punk, Crass’s sound collages and entire aesthetic, the White Stripes garage-rock-meets-Godard minimalism. Particularly if you are going to work within the constraints of bass/guitar/drums, you either need to be a 19-year-old fuck-up going balls out, or have some sort of grounding philosophy. Otherwise you end up being Nickelback — and no one wants that.
I don’t know if Pattern Is Movement are art school kids, but they certainly sound like it. On the surface, they are your typical indie band — bass/guitar/drums, well-versed in both Belle and Sebastian and Built to Spill. However, they defy the limitations of indie rock and create something much more interesting and unique.
Their name tells you what they are going for — their music is all about patterns, repeating patterns, particularly. “Maple,” the opening song, starts out with a simple melody and the line “I love you when you come near/ Standing naked in the door.” Then it repeats the line over and over and over, until it goes from being a cute little melody into being something kind of disturbing.
The resulting album is something that is sweet, whimsical, and a little unsettling. The songs can be enjoyed on both a purely aesthetic level as a fun little indie tunes, or they can be appreciated for their experiments in song structures and sound. Like a Truffaut film, there is a depth to Pattern Is Movement, but they are also entertaining, and you don’t need an MFA to appreciate them. I’m glad bands like Pattern Is Movement are keeping indie music interesting, and I highly recommend this disc to anyone bored with the ordinary.
-Patrick Sean Taylor

Stereo Total
My Melody
Kill Rock Stars, 2006
www.killrockstars.com
One of my favorite genres of music is sixties female Euro pop, and Stereo Total serve it up in spades. My Melody offers up19 tracks of sweet, goofy, non-English goodness, with lyrics in German and French. I was in a horrible, horrible mood the first time I put this disc on, and it immediately put me in a good mood. How can you be bummed out listening to a girl sing about the issues of make-up in German over a quirky synth beat? You just can’t.
Stereo Total could easily be the younger sibling of Stereolab, only while Stereolab’s songs are overtly political, Stereo Total keep things much lighter. I don’t speak French or German, but from what I can understand, they aren’t exactly criticizing the current socio-economic system and fomenting socialist revolution. Most of the songs are about love, I think, except for the songs dedicated to Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr, and the one about being a badass disc jockey.
Besides their own stuff, they also cover Serge Gainsbourg, and do a rowdy version of “Drive My Car” titled “Tu Peux Conduire Ma Bagnole”. It all sounds very sixties and yet contemporary. The disc brought me back to the heyday of the Britpop revival in the mid-nineties, and the nights I spent at Bardot-a-Go Go celebrating Mr. Gainsbourg’s birthday with the rest of the San Francisco francophiles. Maybe that’s because My Melody was originally released in 1999, that kinder, simpler time, before the economy crashed and we decided to go to war with the world. My Melody is a charming and enjoyable record, and is guaranteed to do more to lift your mood than all of the antidepressants on the earth. 
-Patrick Sean Taylor

Various Artists
States of Abuse
Entartete Kunst 2006
www.entartedkunst.info
Entartete Kunst are a San Francisco-based label who specialize in avant-garde electronica and radical politics. On States of Abuse, they’ve lined up 19 tracks of politically charged hip-hop from both North America and Europe. Hip-hop has replaced punk as the global music of rebellion, and this disc is the proof. It’s striking to see that people from so many different places sharing a similar musical language and political ideology. There are MCs rapping in French, Italian, and Spanish, along with British and American artists.
There are a lot of gems on this disc. Among them are BC400’s pissed-off rant on Bush and Chirac, which comes through even if you don’t understand French; Filastine’s “Judas Goat” which incorporates Middle Eastern instruments; and Giddee Limit’s blippy, grimey “Revolution Soldier.” These tracks combine banging beats with righteous anger, which is both cathartic and inspirational, just like a good punk song. 
As with all comps, not everything here is solid gold. A couple of the songs are too preachy and simplistic; I appreciated that their hearts were in the right place, but wished they had more finesse in turning political arguments into good songs. This comp is definitely about the message first and music second, and sometimes it showed.
However, the majority of this disc is good, and it does a great job of presenting a unified, global assault against the Bush Regime, the War on Terrorism, and corporate greed. I’ve heard a million rappers yell “fuck the police”, but this was the first time I heard one quote Proudhon. This is sure to be the soundtrack of the next WTO protest, and worth checking out.
-Patrick Sean Taylor

Found #2

Davy Rothbart

Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 2006
This is the second collection from Found magazine. Found has a very simple premise - it features photographs of notes and other detritus found by people across the country. Everything from grocery lists to greeting cards to lost pet ads to love letters to post-its are presented here with a brief explanation of when and where they were found. The book is divided thematically, with a whole section of letters to Santa, a whole section of love letters, etc.
The result is much more profound that it might sound. It is a combination of art, humor, psychology, and archeology. Seeing these everyday notes taken outside of their context puts them in a whole new light, and gives us insight into the private lives and thoughts of the people around us. Some are just bizarre (like the note that says "Today is my grandmother's 100 birthday AND there is a raccoon in my bathroom. Open at 3pm"), others are hilarious. One of my favorite pieces was an excerpt from a very serious legal contract that breaks into the absurd, including clauses about feeding mythical beasts, and quoting Jay-Z lyrics.
Then there are the disturbing ones. The suicide notes are especially heart breaking, as are the letters from jilted lovers to their ex's. One piece is a police report from a riot cop assigned to a protest in San Francisco in 2003. The officer writes lines like 'I skillfully parried [the protester's] move and struck him twice in zone one. The coward then ran into the crowd." So, who's supposed to protect us from you, Mr. Officer?
What I like most about Found is it doesn't take an ironic or mocking attitude. For the most part it treats the found items for what they are - a voyeuristic glimpse into the life and thoughts of a total stranger. A thousand years from now, when whoever is left on this planet is trying to figure out what the hell happened to us, Found is as good a guide as any into the experiences, desires, and psychosis of Americans in the 21st century. For those of us still in 2006, it is a wonderful way to better understand ourselves and our neighbors, and is a hell of a lot of fun, too.
-Patrick Sean Taylor

More from Clamor archives....

The Stills

Without Feathers

Vice/Atlantic, 2006
The Stills' sophomore record sees them moving away from the '80s influence that made their debut such a hit with the tight pants crowd. Instead, they are channeling the spirit of the super sounds of the seventies. Without Feathers contains 12 tracks of mellow, melancholy rock. It opens with "In the Beginning," which combines chugging guitars, an organ, and lyrics like "It's just never what it was in the beginning." They retain their British mope-rock influence, but it is tempered with a generous dose of sunshine and bellbottoms.
This album reminded me a little of the Arcade Fire, with its epic, ambitious songs, and intricate orchestration. However, Without Feathers is less theatrical than the Arcade Fire, less David Bowie and more Big Star. The disc is equal parts Kinks, early electric Dylan, Pink Floyd, and '90s Brit rock. The lyrics are solid throughout, capturing a sense of regret, sadness, and nostalgia, and even when they drop dubious lines like "helicopters are chasing our spirits into the sea," it's sung with such passion and sincerity that it works.
If you feel like being cheered up and bummed out at the same time, or you want indulge in some '70s worship without having to dig into your mom's Carpenters albums, give Without Feathers a spin. So does this mean Interpol's next album is going to have a lot of sitars?
-Patrick Sean Taylor
Volumen

Science Faction

Wantage USA, 2006
Volumen hail from Missoula, Montana, and are doing their best to put their hometown on the map. Science Faction was recorded over a period of several years, and it shows in the radically varying styles on the album. The disc is all over the place, from the Blues Explosiony "Side of a Box" to the Britpop "Lush & Co." to the punk of "Orson Welles Was Right" to the heavy metal instrumentals of "Descolada" and "Dune."
With most bands, this schizophrenic lack of focus might render them listenable. Fortunately, Volumen are good enough to overcome their stylistic experimentations. The only real missteps were the instrumentals - I'm sure they were tons of fun when they were all rocking out in the studio, but for the listeners at home, not so much. Musically and lyrically the band members add a touch of humor and weirdness, but are serious enough that they don't come off as frivolous. They drop some brilliant lines like "I woke up today in my clothes/ Rips in my shoes exposing toes/ In an empty room," and, "I dunno what kind of guys you like, but maybe tonight I can be what you like?" Science Faction is a very good album by a band doing their best to keep indie rock interesting. With a little more editing and self-control, these guys could be brilliant. Go Montana!
-Patrick Sean Taylor

Covington

Devised Without a Pla
n
Tiberius / Phratry Records, 2005
Covington are a Cleveland threesome who play melodic, emotive punk. Their previous band, Ampline, was all instrumental, which explains the tight musicianship and interesting song structures, as well as the instrumental track “Form and Divide.” Thankfully, they avoid the overplayed quiet/loud sing/scream song structure of so many similar bands out there. The songs are all competently written and ably played, and the production does a fine job of getting everything to sound clear. Maybe that’s why it took them a year to release these songs after recording them.
I liked this disc best when the boys strayed away from the standard emo-punk sound and moved into something more interesting, as on “Flight 326” and “Black-Eyed.” Most of the album, however, is pretty standard impassioned vocals over tight guitars. The lyrics are vague, with lack of clarity sometimes standing in for poetics. It seems like they have something interesting to say, and I’m glad they didn’t drop any clunkly rhymed couplets, but I do wish they had been a little less cryptic. 
While this isn’t destined to be the stand-out album of the year, fans of the genre will certainly dig it. Hello, Cincinnati!
-Patrick Sean Taylor

J-Lew

So i think i have a crush on jenny lewis. i think her music is really neat, and plus i read this spin interview where she talked about all the hip hop records she liked. That pretty much makes her perfrect for me. only i don't know if i'd want to date a musician.

Um, i mean i think her music is neat. And she is pretty, but not as pretty as my girlfriend. Plus, i'd never date anyone who was in the goonies. no way.

seriously though, her solo album, rabbit fur coat, is damn good despite what those bitchass snobs at pitchfork said. it's pretty, and catchy, and has lyrics like "it wasn't pretty, but she was (not your wife)". and that gimmicky super-indie rendition of the traveling wilbury's "handle with care" is pretty fucking awesome.

Jenny lewis. hot stuff.

I Got a Legit Gig, yo!

I’m proud to announce that I was accepted as a reviewer for RapReviews.com. This was on the strength of my DJ Shadow and Spank Rock reviews posted on this blog, and a review of Madlib’s BeatKonducta below. I’m excited about the opportunity, although they said it may be months before I actually get anything to review. Whatevs. Ever since Clamor magazine closed down, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to get free cd’s to review, and now I gots it. Incidentally, if you go on RapReviews.com, you can see Matt Jost’s review of the Bet Konducta.



Madlib the Beatkonducta
The Beat Konducta Vol. 1-2: Movie Scenes
Stones Throw, 2006

Otis Jackson, Jr., aka Madlib, is one the most creative, innovative, and prolific musicians in hip-hop. The son of 60s R & B singer Otis Jackson, Sr., and the brother of rapper Oh No, Madlib has been keeping underground hip-hop interesting since he first came on the scene with the now-defunct Lootpack in the early nineties. When he isn't producing albums, or acting as one-half of Jaylib or Madvillain, he's making jazz records as Yesterday's New Quintet and Sound Directions, making dub reggae mixes, and rapping as his foul-mouthed, helium-voiced alter ego Quasimoto. In between doing all that, he found time to release this 35-track disc of hip-hop instrumentals.

All the tracks on The Beat Konducta are labeled with a title and parenthetical description, ie. "The Payback (Gotta)", or "Snake Charmer (Heads Up)". The titles provide an apt description of the songs, or at least of where Madlib's head was at when he was creating them. Every track on this album is evidence of Madlib's creativity, knowledge of and reverence for music, his crate-digging skills, and his ability to make beats that are soulful, funky, and provoking all at the same time. There are no vocals per se, but Madlib does build in chopped up soul songs, snippets of rappers doing their thing, and bizarre found sounds that provide a voice for the music.

While there are some tracks on here like "Chopstyle (Suey Blast)" that are fairly banging, the overall vibe of the disc is understated, chilled out, jazzy, and funky. Madlib isn't really known for bringing the boom-bap or creating club anthems. He's more about creating a musical soundscape that pays homage to African-american musical history while updating it for this century. His beats are seamless and deceptively simple, full of nuances that make them ideal for headphones.

Despite the retro, smoked-out vibe of this disc, Madlib is not just some blunted-out sixties throwback. There is some serious anger burning underneath his bloodshot eyes, and it comes out in the samples on The Beat Konducta amidst all the chilled-out beats. "The Payback (Gotta)" has James Brown singing "I'm mad!", "Gold Jungle (Tribe) repeats a sample of someone saying "Fuck y'all!", and "Pyramids (Change) flips the line "funny how things can change, nigga" until its just the word "nigga" repeating until it becomes "a gun". Samples like these add another layer to the album, making it much more than just a collection of fat beats.

I don't know if any of these tracks were leftover from Madlib’s other projects, but some of the tracks seem to reference his previous work. "Open (Space)" and "Sir Bang (Bounce)", for example, both share the sleazy, strip-club funk of Jaylib's Champion Sound, and a lot of The Beat Konducta would have been at home on the last Quasimoto disc.

In fact, The Beat Konducta has the same flaws I found in The Further Adventures of Lord Quas. For one thing, the tracks are too short. Most of them are under two minutes, and they often don't get the chance to fully develop their groove. Just when I would start getting into a song, it would end. The upside of this is that I was never bored, but I would have like to have more time with tracks like "Toe Fat (Ghettozone)".

The other issue I had with The Beat Konducta was that sometimes Madlib got a little too out there for his own good, which resulted in songs that were interesting from a creative standpoint, but not a lot of fun to listen to. "Electric Company (Voltage-Watts)" and "Offbeat (Groove)" both had long, bizarre samples that had me racing for the fast forward button on my stereo every time they came on. Luckily there were only a couple tracks like this on the record, and they didn't detract very much from the overall experience.

Madlib's The Beat Kondukta is a must-have for fans, and definitely worth the price of admission for anyone into underground hip-hop, old soul and jazz, and good music in general. Hip-hop is lucky to have someone with his skills contributing to the game, and this disc will definitely tide you over until the new Madvillain record comes out.

Music Vibes: 8.0 Lyric Vibes: n/a Total Vibes: 8.0

Deerhoof Are Weird

I first saw Deerhoof in 2002 or 2003. They were playing in a tiny cafe in the mission. Some friends invited me, and expected that i would know who deerhoof were. I didn't. We got there to late to actually get in, so we heard a few of their songs from out on the street were all the hipsters were making me feel self-concious by being cooler than i was.

I saw them again in 2004, this time at the 12 galaxies. I was mesmerized (alcohol may have been involved). It was three guys and this little japanese woman with a high voice. Their songs had bizarre structures, but bitchen guitar riffs. i picked up their then-new album milk man, and listened to it over and over.

The problem with deerhoof, and the thing that prevents me from being a huge fan of theirs, is that they are kinda annoying. Sometimes you are in the mood for their kookiness, and sometimes it just gives you a headache, ya know?

I just picked up The Runners Four at the library (hey, i'm broke. whaddya want me to do, shoplift?). It's good, but suffers from the same issue as reveille, milk man, adn no doubt their new disc: It's frigging out there. sometimes a good thing, sometimes a shart anvil at your temples.

still, i'm glad that they are around making interesting music, and i'm proud that SF can claim them, if only so i can tell my story of seeing them in a cafe and thus sound cooler than i really am.
-pst

the boss needs us but we don't need the boss

I haven't updated in a while: I've been busy writing submissions for a hip-hop website.

I did recently discover the Notus podcast at http://notuspsp.podomatic.com/ They play a lot of current big name stuff...mostly Nas, Jay-z, Lupe Fiasco, etc.

The highlight for me so far is Mos Def's Katrina Clap, a play on Juvinile's Noilin's clap, but all about the fuckt up response by the govment to katrina. "One dollar for every human being" raps the might mos. He's pissed. Incidently, I listened to "True Magic" at a listening station and damn if it isn't pretty decent. I don't know if it's decent enough for me to want to spend my hard earned money on, but still, not too shabby.

Finally, I listened to a podcast about bush's proposed budget, which is not a good idea for 8 in the morning. The fucker wants to cut 80 billion from medicare.

Billions have been wasted on graft and corruption in iraq, he's granted billions in tax breaks to the wealthy, and now he wants to cut funds to the sick and disabled? People like him make me hope that there is a hell so that they can suffer eternally.

Also, you can bet that after blowing bajillions on the fiasco that is iraq, he's going to fuck all of the maimed veterans out of benefits and medical care once they get back.

Worst.President.EVER.

Oldie but a baddie

I haven't had the time or gumption to write a new review as of late, so here is an old review i submitted for clamor magazine last year that didnt get published.

I've been listening to a lot of modest mouse, reflections eternal, and ghostface killah's Supreme Clientle. I realize that i tend to acquire more music than i really have time to listen to, so it's kind of a treat to go back to stuff i had put on the side and rediscover it. Still i could go to amoeba tomorrow and easily pick up thirty albums, and still have stuff i'd want to buy. I'm not sure what the psychology is behind obsessive record-acquiring. AM i trying to fill up some void in my life with music? I hope that isnt it. I like to think that there is just so much music in the world, all of which represents someones voice, ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., that i am on a neverending mission to listen to all of it that i can. A good song reaffirms my faith in humanity.

Anyways, here is a review of the horrendous and rightfully obscure chubbie baby.
check it out in a bargain bin near you.
pt


Chubbie Baby
Volume One
Dipset, 2006
www.dipsetmixtapes.com



On one of the skits on this album, Chubbie Baby announces that his jewelry costs almost as much as the Eiffel Tower, and if he sold it all, along with a few of his cars, he could buy said Tower and go chill in Paris. I'm not sure how he amassed this fortune, whether it was through rapping, producing, being a radio announcer, a club owner, or his past dealing cocaine and "her'on". I do know that pretty much all you need to know about Chubbie Baby you can tell from looking at his medallion on the cover of the album. It's a jewel-encrusted, platinum and gold bald eagle like the one on the back of a dollar bill, only instead of holding an olive branch and quiver of arrows in its talons, it's holding two .45's.

The aspiring mogul and member of the Dipset/Headbangaz/Diplomats crews comes at you straight outta Columbus, Ohio, with 19 tracks of laid-back gangsta rap, with introductions by both Chubbie himself and Cam'ron. When he's not bragging about his outrageous wealth, Chubbie is expounding upon his many skills - rapping skills, lovemaking skills, drug-dealing skills, and producing skills. He may be a legitimate businessman, but don't think he won't fuck you up if you dis him, because he can totally bring the pain.

Chubbie's role model is the Notorious B.I.G. Besides girth, he shares Biggie's likable personality, gruff voice, and dreams of creating a rap empire and making mounds of paper in the process. Unfortunately he has neither the production values or rhyming skills of the late Bad Boy. The production cuts this record off at the knees. The rhymes are all shouted, blown out, and mixed way too high over the generic lazy keyboards and occasional sped-up soul sample. In the hands of a Timbaland, Dre, or Kanye, Chubbie might be able to generate some real excitement. This disc, however, doesn't do his rapping any favors.

Fans of mixtapes and regional hip-hop, along with Cam'ron fans and Diplomats completists, might want to check this out. Or they may want to check out the thousand other self-released mixtapes that came out in the last fifteen minutes, all of which have a decent chance of being better than this disc.
-Patrick Sean Taylor

Hip-hop Podcast Roundup

I recently found an ipod and got a new work computer, and through this discovered the joys of podcasts. There are three hip-hop podcasts that I’m particularly enamored with.

My favorite is iconocastics hip-hop podcast.
http://www.iconocastic.com/


This is a regular, 16 – 20 minute mix of underground hip-hop. It seems like it is updated somewhat sporadically, but I don’t quite get podcasts yet, so maybe I’m wrong. My favorite mixes include their February 06 mix of Tanya Morgan, One.Be.Lo., etc. and their 8?06 mix which has stuff by Too Short, Mr. Lif, and ded prez. The shows are all divided into segments, so you can easily skip over songs you aren’t into. It’s bascically like someone with good music taste sending you a mix. Good stuff. Although it’s free, it could get expensive for me, because now there are all these albums I want to buy….

The there is the all hip hop review (http://www.allhiphopreview.typepad.com/). This is an hour-long podcast updated every 2-4 weeks. It features three dudes sitting around talking about hip-hop. It’s hosted by Trask, Phraze, and Chaos, and has been up for about six months. The episode I listened to had them talking about Birdman and Lil’ Wayne kissing each other on the mouth, Jay-Z,, LL Cool J vs. Jay Z, and how Chaos clowned the Notorious B.I.G. at a show back in the day. It’s kind of like the View – basically a big dish session that is equal parts catty gossip and insight. My favorite moment came when Chaos was saying how wrong it is for Jay Z to use the nickname “Jay Hova”, because it’s comparing him to Jehova, aka God. In the middle of this very serous discussion of how wrong it is to equate oneself with God, Chaos says “and if he was god, he’d have put more bass in his album!”

Their website is also way better than mine is.

Finally there is Stonesthrow, which is one of the better podcasts on the net, in that it gives you free mixes from Stones Throw artists. Want an hour of madlib mixing forty-fives? It’s on there? A J Dilla Tribute? It’s on there. High school funk band mix? Check out the site. Good times. Check ‘em out at feed://www.stonesthrow.com/jukebox/podcast.xml

-pst

Mixtape Martyrs

War on music

Pitchfork media had a news item on their site yesterday about DJ Drama and DJ Cannon’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape operation getting busted by the po-po.
Here’s an excerpt from Pitchfork’s article, as reported by Dave Maher:

"A SWAT team raided the popular mixtape DJs' Walker Street studio and confiscated at least 50,000 CDs, computers, recording equipment, money, bank statements,and cars. 17 people were detained, but Drama and Cannon were both arrested.Saying the RIAA had investigated the business for a while before the raid,RIAA representative Matthew Kilgo expressed eyebrow-raised amazement at the two's Gangsta Grillz franchise: "These guys are actively advertising online.They've got a website that they're advertising from. That's where you place your order, and that's how the orders are shipped out."
….
Adding insult to injury, Fulton County police officer Major E. A. Platt said, "In this case, we didn't find drugs or weapons, but it's not uncommon for us to find other contraband when we execute a search warrant."
The TV reporter concluded her segment saying, "Authorities tells us this is a big problem in Atlanta,because Atlanta is known as the hub for the Southeast. They say anytime anybody wants a CD, they know they can find it in Atlanta."

Let me start by saying that I’m not sure who originally raised the beef with the GangstaGrillz, or if they were doing some shady, bootlegging bullshit on the side. What I do know is that there is a difference between a mixtape and a bootleg. A big difference.

A bootleg is when someone buys a copy of an album,makes a million illegal copies, and then sells those copies, thus making money off of a knock off and depriving the artist of any royalties .

A mixtape is sort of a combination between a dj mix, a demo, a radio show,and a compilation. They are either scene-focused, DJ focused, or Artist focused. Mixtapes serve three major purposes: They help promote a local scene, they help promote a Dj, or they help promote an artist. Mixtapes are successful and popular not only with fans but with artists. They are an inexpensive way for artists to promote themselves and get their music out there, and they are often released a little bit before an album is released to build up excitement. Most mixtapes feature exclusive, remixed album tracks,and "freestyles", which are basically new rhymes over other artists' beats.

Example:

A few months ago I bought Lupe Fiascos ChiTown Guevera,a mixtape by DJ envy to build excitement for Lupes oft-delayed Food and Liquor album. It featured stuff lupe had done with other artists, remixes of his"Kick, Push" hit, new album tracks, and lupe rhyming over beats from the gorillaz. Most of the tracks were abbreviated, as they typically are for mixes. The mixtape worked – it showed me what lupe was capable, and made me hungry for more.

Here’s another example: Fifty Cent made his career on his mixtapes. He made several before he was picked up by interscope/aftermath.

The game has released a billion mixtapes in between albums. Chamillionaire isknown as the mixtape messaiah. Lil' Wayne has made major waves with his recent series of "Dedication" mixtapes with Gangsta Grillz.

These aren’t bootlegs – these are works to promote underground music, to promote artists, and to give fans the chance to hear the artists in between official releases. True, there is a ton of money in mixtapes, and a lot of the songs and samples on them haven’t been cleared by the original artists. It maybe that there are shady people releasing shady mixtapes that basically generate a ton of money off of other artists' hard work. However, the majority of mixtapes have at least tacit approval from the artists on them, and a lot of them are endorsed by rappers.

Gangsta Grillz are even affiliated with TI's Grand Hustle records, and beyond doing work with Grand Hustle Artists,they've been in TI's Front Back video and had a cameo on his movie "ATL". These are not pirates cranking out bootlegs for sale at your local swap meet.

The crack down on Gangsta Grillz is a sign of both how totally out of reality the record industry is, and how completely out of touch with hip-hop fans they are. I understand the concern about people bootlegging and downloading music without the artist seeing a penny of it. If a label spends millions of dollars producing and promoting an album, they deserve to see some return on their investment. If an musician spends time and effort creating a piece of work, they deserve to be compensated for it. I don't buy the idea that kids with 2000 dollar computers , 400 dollar x-box 360s, ipods, cell phones,exclusive nikes, etc don't have the cash to spend on music. That's bullshit. So fine, as we move forward in the digital age, we should find a way to make sure that labels and artists are able to support themselves with the music they make and release.

What the industry is doing, however,is trying to pretend that it is 1990, and grasping on to a business model that doesn't work anymore. Guess what guys? Your margins just got tighter,you can no longer expect to get whatever overhyped, overproduced crap you put out to go multiplatinum, and there is just too much music out there to expect consumers to buy all of it. Deal with it.

The other thing about the Gangsta Grillz arrest that bothers me is it is yet another example of the recording industry putting a stranglehold on creativity. Ever sincethe courts decided that biz markie had to pay big bucks for a seconds long sample, the ability of producers and djs to use samples in their work has been drastically restricted. While this may keep people like vanilla ice from making beacoup bucks off of a queen bassline, it also means that the sonic collages created by the bomb squad, prince paul, dr. dre, and a lot of other early producers are now illegal. As much as I'm behind people getting paid for their work, I also think that people ought to have some right to use the images and sounds we are constantly bombarded with and reinterpret them in their own way. The RIAA (and motion picture industry, and adversting industry, etc) want us to absorb every bit of media they put out, but they also want it to be in its own bubble, unchangable,forever a proper representation of whatever brand it is supposed to be.

The cops in Atlanta also didn't seem to be able to draw the distinction between DJs and drug dealers. True, there is well-publicized intersection between the hip-hop world and drug world, but that doesn't mean that everyone with two decks and some recording equipment also has a direct line to columbia.

I'm curious to see how DJ Drama and Canon fare, and see just what the law thinks they have on them. I'm hoping this doesn't mark the beginning of the end of mixtapes. If so, the record industry just hacked off its own foot with a rusty saw. Dumbasses.
-pst

Now ya see it, now ya don’t

The beginning of 007 has seen two magical disappearing acts from the artists formerly known as Black Star. First, Mos Def released True Magic at the end of December. It arrived in stores almost devoid of packaging, basically a CD in a plastic case with a web address for liner notes. Keeping in mind that the main reason why suckers fork out eighteen bucks for a cd these days is in fact the packaging, it seemed like kind of a dumb move. Basically released to finish his contract with Geffen, True Magic evidently sounded as half-assed as it looked. In fact, it was SO half-assed that Mos Def and Geffen decided to pull it, fix it up, and re release it later this year. So now there are a bunch of folks with copies of what isnow a rare, if sucky, disc.

Talib Kweli and Madlib released a 9 song album Liberation for download on the Stones Throw site (www.stonesthrow.com). I was quick enough to actually download it before the link went inactive. Now there is just a notice saying that one day they may release it again. I don’t quite understand the logic behind any of it – first of all, if two artists like madlib and kweli decide to work together, why the hell wouldn’t you charge folks for the output – Both are respected, popular musicians, but neither is exactly rolling in it. Also, while Liberation may not be the most amazing thirty minutes in music history, it’s certainly not a half-assed freebie. In fact, “Happy Home” has got to be one of the best tracks in a while – it’s a five minute geneology of Kweli’s family, including marriages, protests, births…yes, that’s right, it’s a hip-hop song about family that CELEBRATES family. That’s about as rare as punk songs about family that celebrate family. Production-wise it is mostly Madlib’s usual crate-diggin’, soul-centric beats, although he does break out some crazy synth riffs that could almost be drrty south.

I like Kweli, but usually in small doses, and this nine-song ep is the perfect amount. I hope that it gets re-released in an actual album form later this year. As much as I like the free downloads, it worries me to see artists themselves devalue their music. It’s one thing to have a friend burn a cd for you, but to have an artist burn their cd for you themselves? Probably not the best business plan.

-pst

Dirty Money

I keep meaning to write a review of the Clipse album Hell Hath No Fury, but it has fallen into the same wormhole as the write up of modest mouse i started three months ago and the write up of quasimoto i began a while back. All artists/albums i like so much, i can figure out a way to do them justice. so instead, i'm just gonna write about "Dirty Money", which is one of my favorite songs on Hell hath no fury, and seems to sum up what is so amazing about the record.

For one thing, while dirty money is about buying shit with drug money, it is a million miles away from all the bling bling flossin tracks by, um, well, everyone. Ok, so maybe the chorus isn't quite so many million miles away:

All my fly bitches like (dirty money, dirty money)
All my stripper bitches like (dirty money, dirty money)
All my college hoes like (dirty money, dirty money)
Dont it spend so right? (dirty money, dirty money)
Now lets go shopping, lets go chill
Lets go buy them new Louis Vuitton heels
Ass of La Perla, ears full of pearls
Damn dirty money know how to treat the girls



Ok, so it sounds like something that might come out of the Jigga's mouth, and i can sort of picture the video of them sippin' cristal in the club pointing at big booty broads in g-strings. However, what separates this from a lot of the materialistic club anthems out there is that this song is ultimately sort of sad and joyless. They are bragging about all the money they got, but you can tell from their voices that they had to pay a high price for their paper. The beat reinforces this - it's both banging and unsettling.

Part of it is that the song is a defense of ill-gotten gangs. It's bling with a concsience:

"I dont mind keepin you up on them must-have's
Pito pumps, Gucci slouch bags
Now tell me, is that dirty money really that bad? "

He's asking because he knows it kinda is that bad. There is also a loneliness to the macking that is a lot deeper than our standard mysogynistic lyrics. In one line, malice says "You could tell me bout ya day, I pretend I listen
And you aint gotta love me, just be convincin' ". Later on he expounds "By no means, am I in love with a stripper
You understand that then you fittin the glass slipper." There is a sadness, an emptiness behind all the glitz and ice.

This song reminds me of coming home late from a club when you are starting to sober up and come down, all the magic of the evening is going away and the city just seems lonely and cold. It's like the final scene in La Dolce Vita where marcello ends up alone on the beach after the party. It's just sad, and cold, and fucking awesome.

Anyways, dirty money. believe that.
pst

Peanut Butter Wolf

There is an interview on the Onion AV Club webiste this week (www.avc.ub/content) with Peanut Butter Wolf, the founder of Stones Throw. Stones Throw is an independent hip-hop label best known for putting out various Madlib projects, including but not limited to the Madvillain record, Quasimoto’s albums, Yesterday’s New Quintet, and his own solo stuff.

PB Wolf was also responsible for getting me into independent hip hop. I had a girlfriend in 1995 who had an ex boyfriend who was friends with Peanut Butter Wolf. Through my ex, I got into some of the more seminal hip hop artists of the mid 90s, like Nas, Jehru the Damaja, She also got me into unwound at this time, so I have that to thank her for as well. She showed me a side of rap music that less commercial and more committed to the art form than what was going on in the mainstream (of course, mainstream in 1995 meant Nas, Biggie Smalls, the Wu…kind of a far cry from Chingy). She also made me less self-conscious about being a honkaloid who was into hip-hop.

I admire Stones Throw and PB Wolf because they put out good, interesting music that is both entertaining and artistic. Like the best indie labels, they are keeping music real, without having to dumb it down for the mainstream or be too ridiculously obscure and quirky. Now, if anyone has a copy of blunted in the bombshelter they want to send me….

pst

Port of Miami

Rick Ross
Port of Miami
Def Jam, 2006

For Fans of: cocaine, rhymes about cocaine, CSI Miami, Miami Vice, ironic hipster beards, rappers who keep it simple, stupid.

This year, the Onion voted Kevin Federline's debut as the Least Essential Album of 2006. I've heard snippets of it, and let me assure you, it sucks ass. The production is ok, but the rapping is just embarrassing.

K-Fed is not the only one dropping lead bombs though. Rick Ross is almost as horrendous on his debut "Port of Miami", and that fucker has sold a bajillion copies.

The basic premise of Mr. Ross is this: He is a major drug dealer, and he is very wealthy and sexy. He likes to have intercourse and become intoxicated on expensive alcohol and marijuana. Basically the same MO as 90% of rappers out there, right? The production is pretty standard, as well - vaguely 80's synths, soul crooners backing him up, intros in which he introduces himself and the production team.

Ok, so whatever. His subject matter is morally bankrupt and as uninspired as his production. That doesn't make him any different than a lot of people out there, and doesn't automatically make him bullshit. The problem with Rick Ross is that he doesn't follow hip-hop rule number 1 - it's not what you say but how you say it.

Ross also needs to get his ass a rhyming dictionary, and someone needs to explain to him that while it is true that every word is a perfect rhyme with itself, you can't really get away with that. He certainly tries, like in his smash "Husltin":

"It's time to spend my thrills, custom spinnin' wheels
I ain't drove in a week them bitches spinnin' still
Talk about me because these suckers scared to talk about me
Killers talkin' bout me, it ain't no talk about me
It ain't no walkin' 'round me, see all these killers 'round me
Lot of drug dealin' 'round me goin' down in Dade County
Don't tote no twenty-twos, Magnum cost me twenty-two
Sat it on them twenty-twos, birds go for twenty-two
Lil' mama super thick, she say she twenty-two
She seen them twenty-twos, we in room two twenty-two
I touch work like I'm convertible Burt
I got distribution so I'm convertin' the work
In the M-I-A-YO them niggaz rich off that YAYO
Steady slangin' YAYO, my Chevy bangin' Yayo"

So basically, he was like. "what rhymes with twenty-two…? Oh! I know! Twenty-two! Now, what else rhymes with twenty-two…? Hey! Twenty-two! Ok, so what rhymes with yayo? OH! Yayo! Sweet! Cut the track, lets go sip some crystal and smoke a blunt."

In his jiggy/play anthem Get Away, he raps :

"rick ross ima real nigga,u can feel the realness when i deal wit ya,baby i wont lie to ya,im to honest i promise i wont lie to ya,that otha bitch finished wit,
ur the 1 im having dinner wit, and its candlelit can u handle it,cuz i can handle it,so lets handle it"

This right before the chorus, which is:
"when can we get away and enjoy each other, get away and explore each other
all i wanna know is when can we get away and exchange our feelings, keep it poppin like a movie screening, i only wanna get away"

Exchange our feelings? Riiiight.

Anyways, before everyone starts snickering at bullshit like K-Fed, they best take a look at their own record collections. Rick Ross my ass. Jeezus.

Oh, and also he bragged that he needs to pull in ten million a year just to exist, and it aint coming from records, wink wink. If it's true that he's a big mac dealer, he's in for a world of hurt from the DEA. It's more likely that he is a broke ass livingbeyone his means. His bankcruptcy sale is gonna be hi-larious. Go get a savings account and start living within your means, mack daddy.
-pst

Busta Buss Gettin' Busted

What is it with aging hip-hoppers losing their fucking minds? KRS-One has gone from being a street philosopher to a mean, lean assaulting machine. Busta Rhymes seems anxious to join him. He's just been involved in a post-xxxmas assault, one in a series of scuffles he's been in in 2006. Oh Busta!

Speaking of, i went to the liberry last weekend and picked up a copy of his latest, "The Big Bang" (god bless the library!). This was his first venture on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, and Dre is all over the production. This is both good and bad - it's good in that dre's production makes busta sound downright contemporary, and there are some funky, catchy tracks. It also helps him move away from the goofy, cartoonish persona he's had for so long.

the bad is that now he's trying to be all gangsta, and has picked up dre's unfortunate overuse of "bitch", raps about cocaine, and in general buys in to all of the bullshit that is making hip-hop so fucking lame these days.

Check, for instance, his chains. Look at those ugly bastards. That shit is real. Real diamonds. He has a NY Apple made out of RED DIAMONDS!!!! Little kids lost arms and shit so that he could spend a small fortune on piece of utter tackocity. His other new chain is the Aftermath logo, again made from real diamonds. There oughta be a law. Whatever happened to dookie chains? The subtle diamond ear stud? oy.

I haven't really heard much of Busta's music, save for a few guest appearances. I gotta say i don't share the critics love of "The Big Bang". I mean, it's alright, but who needs to fuck with mediocrity these days when there are so many good songs and artists. To quote Sick Boy from trainspotting - you think it's alright, but it's really just shite. And to quote Renton - We all get old and cannae hack it anymore.

So busta, maybe your 2007 resolution should be to not get in fights anymore, yah? Maybe you and KRS could take anger management classes together. And then you could do ultimate NYC battle raps incorporating your new found sensitivity -"I feel that when you dis NYC, it disrespects my crew/Which makes me feel devalued/and like you don't respect my personhood BIATCH!!!""

pst