Rant.

The Economist has an article in the latest issue asking why gun laws having come under closer scrutiny in the wake of the shooting in Arizona. Many commentators on the left have accused the right of stoking the flames of hate, using Sarah Palin's crosshairs map as exhibit A. The right has responded with a chorus of "that guy was crazy, he has nothing to do with us." Never mind that in July a right wing lunatic had a shootout with the cops en route to shoot up the Tides Foundation and the ACLU in San Francisco, two of Glenn Beck's favorite bad guys. And never mind that the right has stoked the fires of racist hatred and fear of the far right, using the mob mentality of groups like the Tea Party to get more republicans in office in 2010.

They are right, though, the Arizona shooter wasn't a right-winger, he was just crazy. But he was armed to the fucking teeth legally. And the response by many on the right is that we need MORE not LESS guns. There is a growing "Concealed Carry" movement in this country, which means giving people permits to carry concealed firearms. The logic goes like this: if bad guys know that normal citizens are armed, they'll be less likely to prey on them. Also, if more citizens are armed, they can respond to crimes. The first argument sounds like the argument against wearing a bike helmet: if you don't wear a helmet, cars will be more likely to steer clear of you so they don't hurt your unprotected head. Also, if you start an arms race, the bad guys will always win - they have better access to illegal shit. The second argument is madness. In one out of a million cases, some John Woo shit might go down with the good guys gunning down the bad guys. In the other 999,999 cases, innocent people are going to get shot. More people with guns means more gun violence. Instead of just being afraid of the thugs with guns, I'll have to be afraid that any jackass I bump into might pull out is their gat and start gunning. Not to mention that people might get shot for misdemeanors - a purse snatcher shot in the back by a hero with a cannon, dead for the 100 bucks he stole. I can't believe we as a nation are going to buy into this vigilante bullshit. It scares the hell out of me.

Especially since the police, who are law enforcement professionals, haven't proven themselves to be good at using their arms in many cases. They have a bad habit of gunning down unarmed black men. If we have a bunch of armed rednecks, we are going to have a lot more people of color gunned down for no reason. I'm a liberal who is for second amendment rights, but strongly, strongly against concealed carry. We are not the wild fucking west.

This is part of a larger trend that has been breaking my heart lately. America has been going through a tough time, and our reaction is to turn on one another. Politics have gotten more divisive. There is a growing libertarian movement, which is essentially "I got mine, fuck you!" (There's irony in Fox news painting George Soros as a liberal bogeyman, when they are owned by Rupert Murdoch, a foreigner who has taken control of the U.S. media and used it as a mouthpiece for his personal ideology, which happens to profit him nicely). As cities and counties and states struggle with deficits, we turn on one another, blaming each other for problems. If you can tell the character of a country by how it responds to crisis, we are failing. We are showing ourselves to be a bunch of whiney, selfish, hateful, spoiled little bitches.

This artificial red state/blue state conservative/liberal divide isn't helping. We fit our opponents into stereotypes, and then follow a knee-jerk party line based on our own hot button topics and talking points. If you look at the conservative view of liberals, it doesn't reflect what liberals actually believe, and I'm sure the same goes for how liberals view conservatives. Our political ideologies become like sports teams, things we identify with and get passionate about just so we can feel like we belong to something. Not that there are serious differences between the two ideologies. But we need to find common ground so that we can start to find solutions to the problems facing us, rather than the pissing contest that politics has become. One side takes power, enacts a bunch of laws that reflect their ideology, and the other side tries to undo them. How the hell is that helping anything?


Hopefully I'm wrong. Maybe I should just forget about it. After all, losing sleep over the state of the world isn't helping me any, and it isn't helping the state of the world much.

So I'll stop ranting, and stop ruining my beautiful saturday morning by being pissed off about things I have no control over. Gah.

WITCH and Silversmiths Reviews

I reviewed WITCH's Lazy Bones!! this week on RapReviews.com. Zambian acid rock from the seventies. I think it's awesome, my wife thinks it's terrible. This video for "Strange Dreams" gives you a taste of their charms. 

I also reviewed The Algol Paradox by the Silversmiths.  You can listen to it and download it on their website.

My Thirteen Favorite Songs of 2010

I've always been someone who loved albums more than songs, but this year I came to realize that with all the music out there, sometimes all you can spare an artist is a song. Plus, history is full of artists who had one powerful hit but not much else in their repertoire. Sometimes, one good song is enough.

13. "Dancing On My Own," Robyn. I'm biting this from other critics, namely Said the Gramaphone. I don't listen to dance pop, but everyone raved about this so much that I finally gave it a listen. This is dance music done right, without any braindead lyrics.

12. "I Learned the Hard Way," Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Sharon Jones proving retro soul ain't played out.

11. "Rill Rill," Sleigh Bells. This album was overblown, overhyped, and one idea run into the ground. It had it's moments, though, not the least this song, which tones down their sound and samples Funkadelic. As always with the Sleigh Bells, you have to see them live to really enjoy their, um, best asset.

10. "Baby (El-P Death Mix)," Justin Bieber. I don't have a young daughter, so I don't know anything about Justin Bieber except he seems nice enough and has some great lesbian hair (and I mean that with all respect to both Mr. Bieber and lesbians). El-P's mix of "Baby" manages to incorporate Lil Jon, Wings, and Sam Kinison. So good.

9. "I'm New Here," Gil Scott-Heron. Gil Scott-Heron's voice and career have been ravaged by his addiction to crack cocaine, and his album this year was too short and to sporadic. It's high points made it all worth while, like on this haunting track. Jaime from the xx is remixing the album, which I'm really looking forward to.


8. "Islands," Shakira. Speaking of the xx, Shakira's cover of their brilliant "Islands" was one of my favorite songs. While I respect Shakira, I'm not a fan, but her dance pop take on this song is wonderful (and more fun than the xx's own version).


7.  "I Don't Belong," OFF! I'm on the wrong side of thirty now, and I don't listen to much hardcore anymore. "I Don't Belong" is the perfect answer to the ridiculous political climate we are living in, a minute-long blast telling politicians, and Republicans specifically, to fuck off.

6. "U Don't Like Me,"Lil John with Diplo. Mean spirited, annoying, and brilliant.



5. "I Was Denied," Thee Oh Sees. While I liked the album this was on, Warm Slime, Thee Oh See's sound doesn't change too much: muddy guitars, reverbed vocals, nightmarish surf music. "I Was Denied" captures everything they do great into one blast.

4. "Idiot," Wavves. While the Wavves frontman is an obnoxious, whiney little druggie, I dig his music. Idiot was my favorite song on the strong King of the Beach.


3. "How I Got Over," The Roots. Try as I might, I can't get into the Roots. I want to like them, but they bore me. However, they always have one or two great tracks on each album, and the title track for their latest was excellent. It captured the heartbreak and struggle of life in the streets. "Out on the streets where I grew up, first thing they teach you is not to give a fuck, that kind of thinking will get you nowhere, someone has to care." Word.


2. "Crazy For You," Best Coast. I liked this album mostly because of perfect pop songs like this one.
 
1. "Coroner's Music," Guilty Simpson. I've already written about this, but it is hands-down my favorite song of the year. Guilty is at his grimey best and Madlib provides some sinister zombie funk for him to lay down his homicidal rhymes. Hip hop at its finest.

Top Ten Hip Hop Albums of 2010: 4-1

4. Gonjasufi, “A Sufi and A Killer.” Gaslamp Killer produced this trippy, sprawling album that is middle eastern mysticism mixed with a bagfull of psychedelics. It’s sloppy, it’s weird, but I can’t stop listening to it. Key track: “Duets.”

3. Madlib, “Madlib Medicine Show #4: 420 Chalice All-Stars.” I bought half of Madlib’s monthly Medicine Show series. Even months were mixes, and odd months were original music. The mixes explored Brazilian music, jazz, psychedelic rock, and soul, but this reggae mix was by far my favorite. It was also an expensive purchase: this one album caused me to buy ten more albums, catching up with all the amazing dancehall reggae that I missed. Key track: All of ‘em.

2. Madlib, “Madlib Medicine Show #3: Beatkonducta in Africa.” Besides reggae, my new passion this year was African music, and Madlib’s third entry in his Medicine Show series fit the bill. It’s eighty minutes of beats mined from African music, ranging from Zam Rock to highlife to Afrobeat.
Key track: “The Frontline (Liberation)”

1. Danny Brown, “The Hybrid.” This was the funniest, rawest, most insightful release I heard this year, and all by a dude who uses his given name and gave away his music for free. Brown reminds me of Biggie or Ice Cube in their prime: totally offensive and yet deeply intelligent, dropping knowledge with their f-bombs. Key track: “Drinks On Me”

Best Hip Hop Albums of 2010 10-5

My best-of list is up at RapReviews.

Here they are in video form.

10. Guilty Simpson and Madlib, “O.J. Simpson.” Madlib’s beats are on point and Guilty proves that Dilla was right about him. Key track: “Coroner Music”

9. Z-Man, “Show Up, Shut up, and Rap.” Bay Area label Machete Vox bring the goods, putting out hip hop the way it is meant to be. Key track: “Cupcakin’”

8. yU,“Before Taxes.” The Diamond District rapper released this for free in 2009 and for pay in 2010, proving that if your product is good, people will shell out for it. Key Track: “Corners”

7. Von Pea, “Pea’s Gotta Have It.” This is a low-key album by my favorite low-key rapper. Key track: “Outro”

6. Power Struggle “Remittances.” Led by MC Nomi, this is protest rap at its finest. Key track: “Artofficialfreedom”

5. Flying Lotus, “Cosmogramma.” Cosmic funk, equal parts hip hop, avant-garde jazz, dubstep, and alien music. Key track: “Zodiac Shit”

Best of 2010

Here are my favorite albums of 2010, a year that saw a lot of changes (marriage, going back to school) that impacted how much time I had to devote to music. Which is a fine thing, since getting married and having a Masters will probably be better for me in the long run than hearing every hot album of 2010.

10. Superchunk, Majesty Shredding. This isn’t a brilliant album, but it’s a good album. I saw them play at the Treasure Island Music fest this year, and it was one of the better shows I’ve seen in a while. They were energized, fun, and made guitar rock seem relevant.

9. Mountain Man, Made the Harbour. A sleepy, mellow, beautiful album. Beach House’s Teen Dream filled a similar niche for me this year.

8. Flying Lotus, Cosmogramma. Answers the question, “What if Sun Ra dabbled in hip hop and dubstep?”

7. Best Coast, Crazy For You. Half of this album drives me nuts, but the other half contains some of my favorite songs this year.

6. Arcade Fire, Suburbs. I wasn’t feeling this when I bought it, but I’ve given it another chance recently and I’m getting into it. There Springsteen worship is troubling, but I like the audacity of this record.d

5. Deerhunter, Halcyon Digest. Another year, another amazing Deerhunter album.

4. Gonjasufi, A Sufi and a Killer. Answers the question, “What would happen if an L.A. hip hop musician retired to the desert to teach yoga and ingest psychedelics?” It is a weird, sloppy album, but I love it.

3. Danny Brown, The Hybrid. Equal parts crazy, offensive, and insightful. One of the most exciting hip hop albums of the year, and its free!

2.  Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Rock Record. I was introduced to them live and they blew me away. This album isn’t perfect, but its high points (“Texaco Bitches,” All In All”) more than compensate for any missteps.

1. Madlib, Madlib Medicine Show Vol. 3-4: The Beatkonducat in Africa and 420 Chalice All-Stars. Madlib released 10 albums this year (beyond his other projects). Odd numbered months were collections of original music, even numbered months were mixes of different kinds of music: Brazilian, jazz, disco, etc. My favorites were his beat record sampling African music, and his mix of 70s dancehall. Dude is crazy.

Girl Talk Review

I reviewed Girl Talk's All Day on RapReviews last week. I think what he does is interesting, but 12 tracks of it is about eleven too many.

Looks like he's fun live, tho.

The Aztext Review

I reviewed the Aztexts new EP this week on RapReviews. They are a Vermont hip hop group that is releasing their new album one EP at a time. They may not be from a hip hop mecca, but they do a pretty convincing take on new old school.

Here's a video of them performing live. Which seems to be the rarest of things: a good live hip hop show.


The Aztext (Live) from Paul Varricchione on Vimeo.

KingHellBastard Review

I reviewed KingHellBastard's Remember the Name last week on RapReviews.
They are a Milwaukee crew doing new old school, my new name for retro rap. Which I also coined.

Here's them doing "It's the Crew Again" with Sadat X.

GFX Review

I reviewed the album by Buffalo hip hop duo GFX this week on RapReviews. The group is producer Cufx and rapper G-wza, dropping moody beats and introspective rhymes.

I've been listening to Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey lately. I've had the album for a year, but I've been revisiting it. It's 70s African funk, which is a genre I love. It's funky, polyrhythmic, and wicked as hell. 

What I've Been Listening too

I downloaded Aloe Blacc's "Good Things" today. It's neo-soul on Stones Throw. I really like a couple songs, but some of it is a little cheesy for my tastes. We'll see if it grows on me. The first single is "I Need A Dollar."



I also downloaded Zion I's "Atomic Clock" last week. They are conscious hip hop from the Bay Area. Amp Live, the producer, has an electronica edge to him that I like. Sort of a combo of old school boom bap and electronica.

I've also been listening to Mikey Dread's "Dread at the Controls." He worked with the Clash in the early 80s, and I love his odd voice and the full sound he gets. It's prime studying music.



Finally, I've been listening to Gonjasufi a lot. It's stoney, tripped out psychedelic eletronica. I got the album early this year, but only really listened to it now. It's perfect late night listening.


I also got the new Sufjan Stevens, "Age of Adz," for the wife, but she hates it. Instead of doing mellow orchestral folk, he's doing arty electronic weirdness. It's interesting, but I'm not looking to marry it.

OFF!

I'm excited about OFF!, a new punk band featuring Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks and a bunch of dudes from other bands. They sound like 82-era Circle Jerks. It may be scthick, but I'm loving it. Raymond Pettibone, the guy who did most of the early SST artwork (Black Flag, Minutemen, etc), did their artwork. I think I'm gonna get it.



And here's Keith singing the same kind of song, thirty years earlier.

Alexipharmic Review

I reviewed Alexipharmic's "Good Side of Bad Vol. 3" EP a few weeks ago on Rapreviews.com. I wasn't sold on his delivery, but I liked his beats and his message. His label, Elephant Memories, donates half their profits to charity, and his one-sheet included information about the aid work he had done in Kenya. Where Obama was born, if you are a die-hard conspiracy theorist who thinks birth certificates are a load of rubbish.

Here's a video for "America."

Danny Brown Review

I reviewed Danny Brown's They Hybrid on RapReviews this week.  Brown is profane, offensive, and totally awesome. He's one of those rappers who gets away with saying some immoral shit because he says it in such a clever way. You can listen to it and download it for free, too. He just played in San Fran, evidently. Passion of the Weiss had a good interview about him with his collaborators, and also some more music to download.
He also has an entertaining Tumblr feed.

Blow Your Head Review

I reviewed Blow Your Head: Diplo Presents Dubstep this week on RapReviews. I was into it, although I don't listen to a ton of electronica these days. The best parts either reminded me of drum n' bass, crunk, or Flying Lotus. Like Zomby. Or Caspa's remix of Rusko's "Cockney Thug."

It's not on the comp, but Diplo's video for "Keep It Goin'" is fugging awesome. Like a bad drug trip.

Von Pea Review

I reviewed Von Pea's Gotta Have It on RapReviews last week. I'm a fan of Von Pea, and I liked the album. You should buy it.

Madlib Medicine Show #8: Advanced Jazz Review

I reviewed Madlib's Advanced Jazz this week on RapReviews. It is an 80 minute mix of classic jazz.  Esoteric as all of Madlib's stuff, but still a nice starting point for some great jazz. It made me realize I have to check out Eric Dolphy, and dig deeper into Coltrane's mid-to-late-sixties catalog on Impulse. He's put out a ton of records, most of which are more experimental and out there than his early-sixties stuff like Giant Steps or My Favorite Things. I'm not always a huge fan of avant-garde jazz, but when it's not too abstract or dissonant it can be interesting. It makes me realize how little I really know about music, though.

I really like A Love Supreme. It's adventurous but still conventional enough for me to grasp on to.

U Don't Like Me

I'm not a huge fan of Diplo. I like some of his work, (like "Pon The Floor") but in general he's too abrasive and annoying. Ditto for Lil Jon. Still, their collabo, "U Don't Like Me," is pretty awesome in a punch-you-in-the-face kind of way. I love the video game theme of the video, with poor Diplo getting his ass kicked in many different ways.



I'm six months late to the Danny Brown train, but have heard a few songs by him. He's got a street Kool Keith thing going. Raunchy and raw as hell, but pretty awesome.  His album "The Hybrid," was available for free, but I can't even figure out how to download it from his bandcamp site now.(update: I swear the download link wasn't there yesterday!)

Flying Lotus N' Thangs

Flying Lotus has a new video out, directed by Beeple, for a new song from his new EP. It's fuggin' weird, like a fever dream. Murderous robots and people holding signs that say things like "Kiss a dude."



Flying Lotus - Kill Your Co-Workers from Warp Records on Vimeo.


I also came across this, one of the best songs ever. Check out those clothes! It's 1990 all over again. And those computer graphics - you can tell by the fonts that Tribe was rocking Macs back before they were cool.

Treasure Island

I been busy. Mostly busy working and studying, but also busy doing stuff. I went to the Treasure Island music festival, which was pretty amazing despite the rain. It was worth it to see Superchunk and Broken Social Scene, who were incredible live.

When the going gets tough, the tough listen to emo, so I've broken my Drive Like Jehu's Yank Crime again. When you can't get enough 8 minute long math-rock songs. I heard an interview with the guys in the band, and they said they broke up mainly cuz they got bored playing such long songs. I guess I can understand that.

This is my favorite song from the album, "New Math." It has such a scary, frenetic energy, all jagged starts and stops, and the singer, Rick Froberg, sounds like an office drone losing his mind, screaming "Yeah you been had!!!!" like a madman. I think the fact that he sounds so square makes his outbursts that much more chilling.

I'd stoop to that. Sure I would. Yeah you been had.

Burnerz Review

I reviewed the new Burnerz album last week on RapReviews. It's a collab between Zion I MC Zumbi and producer The Are. 14 tracks of solid underground hip hop. Stupid name, good album.



On a similar theme, here's Dilla and Madlib doing "Fuck The Police" live, with an explanation of where the inspiration for the song came from.

Kane and Abel Review

I reviewed the newest Kane and Abel album on RapReviews last week. They were No Limit artists back in the day. I was not a fan of their music, but I'm not sure if that is because I don't like the genre, or they aren't that good. Probably a little of both.

This video for "Supa Clean" makes them seem like a parody act. What's with the little person dressed as black uncle sam?

Luciano and Duane Stephenson Review

Reggae artist Luciano has been releasing albums steadily since the early nineties, but his most recent, United States of Africa, is the first one I've had the opportunity to listen to. I've heard of him, of course, and his reputation as a deeply religious, deeply conscious artist who exists outside the trends of mainstream reggae and dancehall.

United States of Africa is an ambitious album, chronicling the struggles Africa has undergone and is still undergoing, but imagining it as a unified home for Africans and the African diaspora. The album deals with the Rastafarian dream of returning to the Motherland with an intensity, sensitivity, and understanding of current affairs that isn't present in most reggae odes to leaving Babylon and returning to Ethiopia. Luciano also ties in concerns with the economy ("In This Recession," "Invasion"). This is protest music done right.

The production combines earthy rasta dread with contemporary techniques and sheen. Luciano has a voice has a rough edge to it, which adds an element of depth to his music. The songs manage to balance a serious message with a sense of joy, which makes the album more uplifting than the subject matter might suggest. Highlights include "Moving On," which sounds like classic rocksteady; "Invasion," which is both weary and hopeful at the same time; the gorgeous "Unite Africa"; and the early reggae feel of "Hosanna." I personally didn't like the inclusion of alto sax and synthesizers on several songs, which added an unnecessary cheesiness. Still, United States of Africa is a powerful album, and places Luciano firmly in the tradition of Bob Marley.

Duane Stephenson is another reggae artists following in Bob Marley's footsteps. His sophomore ablum, Black Gold, was released last month, following up on 2007’s August Town. Before striking out on his own, Stephenson was the singer/songwriter in To-Isis, who had a hit with a reggae version of Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven.” Stephenson’s voice is reminiscent of Marley’s and he share’s the late legend’s heartfelt lyrics and social concerns. However, Stephenson’s music is polished with a layer of R&B sheen that veers close to schmaltz. The production is too cheesy and too middle of the road for my tastes, and as a result I wasn’t into this. Still, Stephenson has a great voice, and fans of smooth R&B should love Black Gold, even if I didn’t.

Originally posted on Blogcritics as Music Review: Luciano and Duane Stephenson - United States of Africa and Black Gold

What I'm Listening To

I've been really into the Mountain Man album lately. I downloaded their debut for my wife about a month ago, but only this week listened to it myself. They are a vocal trio of three women (who met at Bennington in Vermont, of course). It's not the kind of music I normally listen to, but there is something so beautiful and soothing about it that I can't stop listening to it.



I also have been listening to the new Superchunk album, Majesty Shredding. I was suspicious at first: is this just gonna be a bunch of old farts trying to recapture their rock out glory days? However, like Sonic Youth, Superchunk are good songwriters, don't stray to far from their sweet spot, and are still making interesting music. At least for an old fart like me. Sounds like 1994 all over again.



And them doing my favorite song, "Throwing Things," acoustic:


I also got a two-disc set of Big Youth, which is pretty amazing. Also, his "Goodness Gracious!" from "Can You Keep A Secret" (in the first five seconds of this clip) is in the Beastie Boys "Pass the Mic." A song which, while it still holds up, has some splaining to do for years of shitty rap-rock.

I've also been listening to Junior Byles, who is one of the most amazing, heartbreaking reggae artists ever. I love his version of "Curly Locks," a song about a rasta whose girlfriend's father doesn't want her going out with a dreadlock. Lee Perry did a version that was more whimsical, and Sinead O'Connor did a good version as well, but Byles' is number one. Byles was a gorgeous singer, with a sensitivity that made his music something very special. Unfortunately, the elements that made him an amazing singer also led to his mental instability, and he's spent most of the past three decades living on the streets and pretty much insane. There is footage of him playing live in the 2000s, but he is clearly a shell of his former self.

Ernie Smith - The Best Original Masters Review

Article first published as Music Review: Ernie Smith, The Best Original Masters on Blogcritics.

Ernie Smith was a Jamaican artist who had a string of hits in the early seventies, including “I Can’t Take It,itta Patta,” “Bend Down,” and “Life Is Just For Living.” He recorded for the Federal Records label, who is know for their polished take on reggae. The production on this best-of collection owes more to the countrypolitan sound coming out of Nashville in the same time period as reggae.

There is none of the deep bass or colly-fueled skank of contemporary reggae producers like Joe Gibbs, Niney the Observer, Bunny Lee, or Lee Perry. Instead, there is a pop sheen to the songs, from Smith’s restrained baritone to the inclusion of non-reggae elements like strings and piano. Many of the songs sound like country-western, but for the mild reggae lilt. “I Can’t Take It” even includes a spoken word interlude at the end of the song, in clear, American English, without any of the patois or slang that makes reggae so distinctive. He also experiments with pop on “Footprints on the Ceiling.”

Even the more “reggae” songs on this disc are produced in a way that make them sound country. In the hands of Joe Gibbs or Bunny Lee, “Bend Down” could be a mellow, post-rocksteady reggae song. Smith makes it sound like George Jones with some dreadlocks on bass and guitar. The same is true with “One Dream,” “Ride On Sammy,” and “Pitta Patta.” Smith tries out some patois on “Duppy Gun Man,” but it sounds staged and insincere. His patois on “Key Card” and “Nice Time” sound more natural.

I’m not trying to write him off as a posh, fake Rasta. His pop approach to reggae may not have jibed with what was going on in the dancehall at the time, but forty years later his material sounds like other pop artists of the time, including Johnny Nash and George Jones. Smith’s take on “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is on par with Johnny Cash’s version. The pop production techniques add novel elements to the reggae sound palette, and it’s old enough to sound cool and retro rather than cheesy and watered down. As non-traditional as Ernie Smith’s music is, I found myself really enjoying this album.

There is an upbeat vibe to the songs that acknowledges the hardships in the world without being overwhelmed by them. There’s a story in the liner notes about how Smith decided to return the Jamaica in the late '80s after years of living in Florida. There had been a hurricane, and on the U.S. news, Americans were complaining about how they lost everything. This was contrasted with the Jamaican news, where poor villagers who lost everything were happy to still be alive. Smith realized he was living in the wrong country, and moved back to Jamaica, where he continues to record today. The Best Original Masters is worth investigating for any fan of early seventies pop and country, and anyone who appreciates the pop songwriting from that era.

Madlib Medicine Show #7: High Jazz

Stones Throw, 2010

First published on RapReviews.com

There's an ice cream shop in San Francisco called Humphrey Slocombe that specializes in "unique" flavors. So unique that they got written up in the New York Times about a month ago. Their most famous flavor is Secret Breakfast, which is vanilla with bourbon and cornflakes. Some of their flavors, like Secret Breakfast, offer a unique take on old standards, and end up being really good. However, a lot of them are just weird. I've tried their Peanut Butter Curry, which was edible but wacky, their Salt and Pepper, which was kinda gross, and their Balsamic Caramel, which was fucking nasty. My problem with Humphrey Slocombe is that their ice cream is interesting, but not particularly enjoyable.



Which brings me to Madlib's latest installment of his monthly Medicine Show, "High Jazz." This disc contains thirteen songs of Madlib's various avant-jazz incarnations. It includes tracks by Generation Match, Jahara Massamba Unit, the Kenny Cook Octet, Yesterday's New Quintet, and R.M.C. What are these different incarnations? I don't know. Are there other actual people in the groups, or is Madlib playing all the instruments? I don't know, except that Karim Riggins played drums on some of the tracks.
Before I get too deep in my criticism, I should disclose that I don't know a lot about avant-garde jazz, seventies or eighties jazz, or music theory. I own a lot of 50s and 60s jazz, but not much beyond that, and my collection doesn't get much more far out than a few Sun Ra albums that I enjoy but don't totally understand. I like jazz on an aesthetic, not intellectual level, appreciating how it sounds versus the theory and thought behind the composition. In short, I'm a lay person, so my observations and criticisms should be taken with a grain of salt. I've also not delved too far into Madlib's jazz persona. The only album I own is his jazz-funk "Sound Directions," which I liked. I've stayed away from his Yesterday's New Quintet material, mostly because I was pretty sure I'd feel the same way I felt about it as I felt about "High Jazz."

That said, I like what I like, and I wasn't liking a lot of "High Jazz." Partially because I don't "get" what he's doing musically, and don't have a refined enough ear to appreciate it. Mostly, though, I didn't get into "High Jazz" because many of the songs sounded half-baked and half-finished. "Reality or Dream" by the Big Black Foot Band featuring Black Spirit sounded like someone reciting poetry while the band warmed up. Generation Match's "Electronic Dimensions" was a series of electronic blurbs and bloops that meandered around without any since of direction or purpose, like two stoned robots talking to each other.  Russel Jenkins Jazz Express's "Drunk Again" sounds like three different bands playing three different songs at once. Jahari Massamba Unit's "Pretty Eyes" and "Wanderin'/Nighttime" are pretty enough, but underwhelming, more background music than something that commands your attention.
I'm fully aware that as someone who is not a big avant-garde jazz fan, I could be missing the genius of these songs. To the extent that I'm not enjoying this album because I'm not smart enough to get what's going on, so be it. My real complaint, however, is how half-assed and tossed off the above songs feel. Madlib has been churning music out like a madman this year, and I'm noticing a disturbing lack of finish to some of his output. It's like he's so concentrated on getting shit out the door that he doesn't spend enough time editing what he's doing, and the result is a noticeable sacrifice in quality as he increases his quantity. Madlib is a talented dude, and he should let his prolificness get in the way of making quality music.

Not that "High Jazz" is terrible. Things get more interesting on the deep spaciness of "Space and Time" by R.M.C., with its tinkling piano and heavy acoustic bass. Yesterday's New Quintet's "Conquistador" and the Big Black Foot Band's "Tarzan's Theme" also pick up the pace, providing a groove you can hold on to and sounding more recognizably like songs. Poysner, Riggins, and Jackson's "Funky Butt, Part 1" offers up some funky latin jazz, and the disc closes with "Kimo," a song by the Joe McDuphrey Experience that sounds like a jazz version of house music.

If you are a jazzhead, you might appreciate "High Jazz" on a level that I am unable to. Maybe I'm totally missing the point of this album. To me, it sounds like a lot of half-finished ideas that were rushed out to meet a deadline rather than a well-constructed, well-thought out album. Too much of it is like vinegar ice cream: interesting, but not very enjoyable.

The Intelligence

Article first published as Music Review: The Intelligence - Males on Blogcritics.

Seattle’s The Intelligence started as a side project by A Frames’ drummer Lars Finberg. From humble beginnings as scrungy cassette tape recordings, The Intelligence has become a real band with real production values on their sixth full-length, Males. It’s a trajectory the band started on 2007’s Deuteronomy, but their latest could possibly be their best.

Like the A-Frames and Thee Oh Sees, The Intelligence mix post punk and art rock elements into their clattering garage soup. They aren’t faux mods in Beatle boots pretending that it’s 1966 all over again. Instead, they meld raw, primitive rock with more complex ideas and songwriting. The garage rock elements give the music vitality and danger, but the artier elements give it weight.

The weirdness factor has been toned down from previous releases to the point where every song here feels like a song. It’s not weird for weird’s sake, and the artiness doesn’t make the music unpalatable. Rather, like a good Sonic Youth song, The Intelligence have a je ne sais quoi that makes Males more than just another garage album. Speaking of Sonic Youth, Lars is a dead ringer, vocal-wise, for Youth pinch singer Lee Renaldo, and “Sailor Itch” sounds like Daydream Nation gone surf rock.

Let’s not oversell the art rock thing, though. This is rock n’ roll, not conceptual art. Song titles like “Bong Life,” “Tuned to Puke,” and “Mom or A Parking Lot” make it clear that The Intelligence leans more towards so-dumb-it’s-brilliant rather than book smart.  

Lead single “Like Like Like Like Like Like” is a short-but-sweet blast that is in and out before you have time to defend yourself. “Mom or A Parking Lot” is a nightmarish piece of psychedelia with chipper but creepy keyboard. My favorite song on the album was “White Corvette,” a punky new wave song that rides the same notes for most of it’s three minute running time until finally giving you relief in the chorus, “It’s no fun/No no fun!”

At eleven tracks in under 26 minutes, Males is over almost as quickly as it begins. Most of the songs clock in at around two minutes, ending before they wear out their welcome. The result is a joyride that maintains it's brainy energy without ever sagging or getting boring.

Gappy Ranks

Article first published as Music Review: Gappy Ranks, Put The Stereo On on Blogcritics.

This is the debut solo album by London reggae artist Gappy Ranks, who first made a name for himself as part of the dancehall group Suncycle. On his solo album, he veers away from the hip hop-influenced dancehall of Suncycle, looking instead to rocksteady and early reggae.

Retro is the name of the game: the cover of the album evokes mid-sixties British ska, Gappy covers songs by Bob Marley and Tenor Saw, and recycles Treasure Isle riddims on several tracks. Just as many contemporary R&B singers are referencing and reworking classic sixties soul, Gappy is referencing and reworking reggae and rocksteady from the late sixties and early seventies.

The key to the sound of Put The Stereo On are the producers, the Peckings. The Peckings are Chris, Duke and Trevor Price, sons of British reggae pioneer George Price, aka Peckings. The Peckings contemporary take on old school sounds shows that they share a love for the music that their father so tirelessly promoted.

The songs range from the mellow skank and cultural lyrics of “Mountain Top” and the serious dread of “So Lost” to the more modern sounds of “A Little Understanding.” The mix of classic reggae sounds and riddims with modern production techniques and lyrics works perfectly on “Pumpkin Belly” and the title track. The analog riddims are beefed up with modern bass and drums, and Gappy’s commanding voice reminds you that this is the 2010s, not the 1970s.

Unfortunately, the Peckings try to make Gappy sound too contemporary, often running his voice through Auto-Tune. The robotic effect clashes with the classic riddims, and killed a couple of the songs for me. “Happiest Day of My Life” would be a much, much stronger song if Gappy didn’t sound like an underwater Cylon over the bright rocksteady riddim. His voice sounds better when the Auto-Tune is either not used or used sparingly.

Even with the unfortunate overuse of vocal effects, Put The Stereo On is a strong album. I loved the mix of old and new sounds, and the way Gappy and the Peckings put a fresh spin on 60s and 70s reggae and rocksteady. Not all of the songs worked, but those that did were pretty brilliant.

1977

I reviewed Ana Tijoux's 1977 for RapReviews this week. She's a French/Chilean rapper who at her best moments sounds like a female mixture of Mos Def and Manu Chao. A little too mellow on the second half of the album for my tastes, but I still enjoyed it. It reminded me of parties in Italy when I was a student there. Ten years ago. Christ I'm old. I love the title track.



Also, I finally downloaded Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers L.A.M.F. on Emusic last week. It was a long lost album by the former New York Dolls guitarist. I heard about it back when I was obsessed with the Sex Pistols in the late 80s. Sid Vicious covers "Born to Lose" and "Chinese Rocks" on Sid Sings. L.A.M.F. was released on a label that went under in the seventies, and was really hard to find until it was rereleased in the 90s. Scrungy, dirty rock n' roll that makes me want to take a bath.

Loose Change Review

I did a review of Loose Change's album on RapReviews a coupla weeks back.

Dillinger Review

Originally published on RapReviews

Dillinger, CB200 + Bionic Dread 
Hip O Select/Island Def Jam 1977/2004

Jamaican music has always been dominated by the dancehall.  They were controlled by the soundmen with the biggest, most powerful systems, many of whom became successful producers. They were ruled by selectors with the rarest 45s and their chatty deejays keeping the crowd pumped up. The key to the success of any any Jamaican sound system in the sixties and seventies was having the newest, rarest tracks. That often involved working with labels to get a steady stream of unmarked 45 containing exclusive songs. Soon the Jamaican engineers were experimenting with versioning songs, which began as simple instrumentals, and eventually became the weird and wonderful world of dub. These exclusive versions were a must for any successful sound system.

The deejay was another key to a successful system. Early deejays like King Stitt and Dennis Alcapone would chatter over records, often commenting on the tracks, and keeping the party going. This would be adapted in the Bronx as rapping, with funk and disco 45s replacing reggae.

The instrumental versions gave the deejays plenty of space to do their thing, and the crowd ate it up. Pretty soon deejays were releasing records of their own. The spontaneous nature of deejaying meant that the lyrics could be much more conversational and current than the lyrics to song, and labels got to re-release the same backing track as an entirely new song.

For a hip hop fan looking to explore reggae, dancehall, as deejay music came to be called, is a good place to start. It's essentially Jamaican rapping, with deejays sing/talking over a riddim, ie bass and drums. As with early hip hop, there is a lot of crate digging going on, with producers unearthing forgotten riddims and giving them new life. Dillinger's "CB200 + BIonic Dread" is a great introduction to the genre. This 2004 re-issue presents remastered versions of two classic dancehall albums, complete with extensive liner notes.

Dillinger's "CB200" and "Bionic Dread" were released in January and March of 1977. All the songs were recorded in Studio One, with Sly Dunbar (of Sly and Robbie) and Ossie Hibbert overseeing production. Most of the backing tracks were newly recorded versions of popular Studio One songs, with Dillinger rapping over instrumentals of songs by Gregory Isaacs, Delroy Wilson, and the Mighty Diamonds among others.

The first ten songs are from "CB200" while the second ten are from "Bionic Dread." The album covers show the development that took place in Dillinger within the three months that they were released. "CB200' is a folk art painting of an unimpressive motorbike; "Bionic Dread" is a stylized painting of a bionic rasta on a futuristic motorcycle speeding past a country family with all their possessions piled on their Woody. It looks like a Journey or Boston cover from that era, showing how much more successful and sophisticated Dillinger had become. Musically, "Bionic Dread" is similar to "CB200," although arguably a little less impressive.

Part of the success of "CB200" is the fact that the music sounds amazing. Studio One had just updated their gear, so the sound is crisp and clean, but not tainted by the digital instruments or recording styles that would come into vogue in the 80s. The bass, drums, and horns all shine through, without any of the muddiness that is so prevalent on some deejay albums. The main reason why these albums have remained classics, of course, is Dillinger himself.

Born Lester Bullock, this Kingston native hung around sound systems with deejays like Dennis Alcapone as a kid, trying to make a name for himself. He cut some tracks with Lee Perry that didn't go anywhere, and released an underrated debut in 1975, "Ready Nattie Dreadie." "CB200" was his masterpiece, the success of which was largely due to the single "Cokane In My Brain," a big hit outside of Jamaica. The song was inspired by the drug use of white tourists to the island, and built upon a version of BT Express's "Do It (Till You're Satisfied)." Dillinger presents the song as a conversation between two guys named Jim and John. John asks Jim to spell New York, and after Jim spells "N-E-W-Y-O-R-K," John tells him he's wrong:

"A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork
That's the way we spell New York, Jim - yeah
You see I'm a dynamite
So all you got to do is hold me tight
Because I'm out a sight, you know
'Cause I'm a dynamite
But everytime I walk in the rain
Man, oh man, I feel a pain, I feel a burning pain
Keep on burning in my bloody brain
I've got cocaine running around my brain"

It's a funny, classic song, and it's not hard to see why it was such a hit with European and American stoners. For most of the album, however, Dillinger abandons the jokey, funky style of "Cokane" for something dreader and more melodic. The only drug he raps about is collie herb, and he's more interested in escaping Babylon than laughing at their drug choice. "Plantation Heights" is arguably the best song on the album, and a good indicator of the real Dillinger. Over a version of the Mighty Diamonds' gorgeous "I Need A Roof," Dillinger sing/raps about the "ital bud" and marijuana agriculture. American listeners might have a hard time decifering his accent, slang, and cultural references, but lines like "I smoke marijuana" ring through loud and clear.

While Dillinger's thick patois isn't the easiest thing for a gringo to decipher, it's not hard to get the jist of what he's talking about. "CB200" is an ode to his motor bike, and "Race Day" and "Natty Kick Like Lightening" also explore Dillinger's love of going fast. "No Chuck It," with it's references to motorslaughter and "Davey vs. Goliath" riots references the turbulent times that Jamaica was experiencing in the late 70s.

The nature of dancehall deejaying as a spontaneous act means that not everything Dillingeris saying makes sense or is supposed to. On "The General," he explains "Natty dread don't shiver because he don't eat liver" a few lines before advising listeners, "You've got to live the life you love/and love the life you live," and saying Ethiopians should get out of Babylon. Much of the lyrics are seemingly stream-of-conscious, and a lot of the songs fade out mid-verse. The profound mixes with the inane, social criticisms and religious affirmations are juxtaposed with bragging and talking about riding motorbikes.

The point, though, isn't WHAT he is saying, it's HOW he's saying it. For this reason, Dillinger is one of the best of the 70s deejays, and a good entry point for a novice to the genre. He sing/talks to the melody, riding the riddim, and inserting vocal tics and flourishes every so often. He melds with the track even more perfectly than a singer would, actually becoming part of the rhythm and melody. The barking, aggressive style that deejays took on in the 80s and 90s isn't apparent here.

The end result is an album that meshes the mellow riddims of reggae with the wordplay and syncopated rhyming of hip hop. In other words, its the best of both worlds. For newbies to reggae and dancehall, it's an excellent starting point. For fans of the genre, it is a must-own.