For your WTF moment this holiday. Have a safe one!
Album Review: El-P- Cancer For Cure
El-P is a hero to me. There I said it. I am not too cool to display some fan boy traits from time to time. But that puts me in an odd place to write a fair, unbiased review of this album. As a producer, I have dissected, analyzed and blatantly stolen from the man. As a fledgling beat maker, I probably smoked more blunts and spent more time listening to the Little Johnny From The Hospital album in 1999 than any other album. I still regard his beats on Cannibal Ox's Cold Vein and his Fantastic Damage album as some of the most experimental and unique that has or ever will be made in the genre. With all that hoopla, his I'll Sleep When You're Dead album did not disappoint one bit. El developed an immersive world on that album; a world full of paranoia, conspiracy, technology and menace. It's reasonable to say at some point an artist will plateau once creating a landmark. And I, for one, definitely feel that El hit that plateau with ISWYD and has been sliding downhill. His recently released instrumental "Megamixxx" albums failed to hold my interest like his earlier stuff and I am going to dare to say the same for Cancer For Cure.There are some songs that directly pick up where I'll Sleep When You're Dead left off (especially the song I posted here). Songs like Tougher Colder Killer and Works Everytime expand both sonically and lyrically on the sci-fi mythology that he created in the previous album. This I like. But then there is another grouping of songs on this album that sound like El was bored recording one night and we are left with his musical doodles (Sign Here for example). There are other songs that make an attempt at grandness but I honestly just don't like. I mean For My Upstairs Neighbor just seems a little out of place on a potential cinematic opus. The implied violence on this song sounds like El's dissatisfaction with his living situation, which is something you may wanna save for your landlord and not your highly anticipated album.
I will say that I want to listen to this album more thoroughly to decipher what El is saying. But why? At a glance, his lyrics convey deep depression. Assuredly, El has dabbled with psychedelics for some time, which probably helped his genius creations in the past. But, I will say from personal experience, if you dwell in the ultra colorful world of psychedelics too long, everything else will begin to look gray. And this album is bleak. Shit, there is even a song that sounds like a suicide note. Now I'm not opposed to El going Goth rap. That may be an interesting direction. But on the song $Vic/FTL (me and you), his immensely dark lyrics are counteracted by cartoonish atari-like synth sounds. If he is gonna dwell in the dark I would prefer that he would have gotten even darker with the beats. I mean this is a visionary musician in my mind. I want to hear him really test himself musically because I feel like I have heard a lot of this stuff from him before. I mean is that a Prodigy (think Firestarter not Mobb Deep) beat in the opening? Seriously, music has come a long way since then homeboy. That isn't impressing anyone. On his next release, rather than work with more annoying rappers (ie Danny Brown, Killer Mike- and no I don't give a fuck about Killer Mike's album either) I would prefer him to work with some true electronic acts so he can learn to coax more darkness out of his samplers, boxes and synths.
I know I am biased, I was expecting another macabre post apocalyptic soundtrack but I feel that this album wallows in depression and personal epithets and the music just doesn't resonate with me. It's probably just me. I admit that I am no longer the blunt smoking backpacker I was as a youngster and maybe this type of thing has lost it's appeal. Although I doubt that, because I will gladly bang his other albums any day of the week (shit even Collecting the Kid). And partly because of that I refuse to give El a failing grade. Hopefully he will scream Phoneix on his next album and arise from the ashes of his recent missteps. I just hope there is some sort of creative arc where either El-P transcends the darkness or finds a way to channel his black energy more powerfully.
$6.5 of $10 because honestly since I like less than half of it, I can't really say it's a priority buy.
Minimal Wave
Check out the new Innergaze- Mutual Dreaming album. It's rad! And if you like that check out http://minimalwave.com/ for more stuff like it. Dig it!
Free Reggae Acapellas For Producers
For producers, this is a sick free production tool! The downloads contain clean acapellas of dance hall and reggae artists like Capleton, Fanton Mojah, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Spragga Benz, Buju Banton etc.Granted it takes a crazy long time to download them but it's worth it.
Click on the links below
Reggae Acapella Pack 1
Reggae Acapella Pack 2
Reggae Acapella Pack 3
Free Blawan mix!!!
Album review: Traxman- Da Mind Of Traxman
Some people ride Harleys. Some people drive kitted out imports. Some people obey the speed limit and listen to NPR. I bump tunes like I am still 17. I don't give a shit. That's just the way it is, and the way it's gonna be. And honestly an album can easily win me over if it is something I can bang in my car.
So I have had the Traxman album in my car for a couple weeks giving it the car test and I will tell you, when I first played it, I was so excited I had to call my partner in crime, Count Jakula. It is pretty rare that music will illicit such a strong response from me but there is such a newness and energy on this set, I couldn't help it. I don't want to be overly dramatic and say the "juke" genre is the next big thing but the thought came to mind. I promise i won't make this extra long or get all hyperbolic with the analogies like I usually do in reviews. I will just get right to the chase. This collection of songs is fun, it is new, the sound is great and it is catchy as hell.
Traxman has deep history in the Chicago dance scene releasing ghetto house songs on infamous labels like Dancemania and Ghettophiles and you can see the ghetto house influence all over this thing. Much of the tracks have the same chants about booty and crack and other ghetto shit. But these tracks have more polish to them. More depth. Ghetto house is known for its lewd choruses but it is also famous for how simple the production is. The generation that Traxman is aiming at is an audience weened on electronic music. Think about it. People of my generation, our parents listened to Fleetwood Mac and Led Zepplin and what not (not mine but you get the idea). The kids that are dancing to this, their parents listened to Timbaland and Paul Johnson. With that as your foundation, beats as simple as what DJ Milton was putting out won't cut it. Now I'm not going to sit here and say Traxman's stutter stop beats are super complicated and he is a technical genius. But he does make the simple interesting, in a new way. Which, trust me, is very hard to do. There is elements of Miami bass in here (think DJ Magic Mike), R&B (Prince and Stevie Wonder samples make an appearance) there is even a track that has an acid-y 303 line. Oh by the way did I mention, this album is also on a label I have been clamoring about a lot lately; Planet Mu.
All in all, this site is about what i enjoy and i truly enjoy this album. I have yet to truly give the whole album my usual thorough analysis since I cant get past the first 3 songs because I like them so much. Listen to this album and watch some Walla Cam videos, you may even get the feeling you are witnessing the infancy of a scene that has yet to hit the mainstream. Whatever. It's awesome. Bang it in your ride. I will say now this is in the running for "best of" list for me.
Traxman- Da Mind Of Traxman- for it's originality and replay factor gets $9.5 out of $10. It's worth the skrilla don't bootleg it.
Is it a bird, is it a plane, it's...
Crazy man, Jeb Corliss. He could easily be mistaken for friggin Batman or a UFO as he speeds through the air in this video. Daring stuff, and a worthwhile watch if you aren't one of the millions who has already seen it. Here's a link for a documentary about him too if you are interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vSxehUmv3M&feature=relmfu
Drugs Inc. Psychedelics
Good documentary...see a Narc Officer recount the story of accidentally taking 1000 (!) hits of acid and an old ass man taking magic mushrooms to beat mind destroying headaches. I strongly recommend this series btw
BBC Summer of Rave documentary from 1989
BBC is known for their decent documentaries. I haven't even watched this yet, but should be better than any sitcom on basic cable.
Hey Mom Free Music
http://freemusicarchive.org/
Hey maybe this is old news or totally uninteresting but I just found this site where you can legally download free music. There was some notable names (Neon Indian, Wavves, Atlas Sound, Scuba etc etc) on the main page so this site may be worth researching if you are totally broke and trying to bootleg music honestly. Don't expect much though you cheap bastards.
Hey maybe this is old news or totally uninteresting but I just found this site where you can legally download free music. There was some notable names (Neon Indian, Wavves, Atlas Sound, Scuba etc etc) on the main page so this site may be worth researching if you are totally broke and trying to bootleg music honestly. Don't expect much though you cheap bastards.
The Host- The Host
Maybe it's just me, but lately I have been feeling that we are going through an electronic music revival. Like we are reliving the glory days of IDM from the mid 90's. One label that was important then and is quickly becoming my favorite label now is Planet Mu. Label owner Mike Paradinas aka Mu-Ziq has massive history in the game (even doing an album with the legendary Aphex Twin in '96). Personally, I never thought Paradinas' output was THAT good (there are some exceptions), but let me tell you, he knows how to choose good artists.One of his signees, Barry Lynn aka Boxcutter has been making music for the label for some time. I'm a fan, but i wouldn't say I am blown away by the Boxcutter stuff. It always struck me as a little plastic-y and synthetic. That being said, Lynn has introduced a new project under the name The Host that puts the soul into the machine.
The Host's debut is dynamic enough to work as a score for a Blade Runner remake. Manic drum patterns abound as if Lynn set his Sequential Circuits Drum machine on fast forward. The heavy use of gated reverb, gorgeous ethereal synth sweeps and flanged guitar conjures 80's electronic act Tangerine Dream and begs the question "what would it sound like if Tangerine Dream tried to make Juke music?" There are songs on this collection that are real stunners. When "Second Life" first drops, I stopped mid jog and literally said "wow" when it first came out of my earbuds. The better part of the album sounds like this. Kinda like another Mu Records release, Bang And Works (peep that too), but on a lot more psychedelic drugs.
Now that is the majority of the record. There is a second side to this one though in which Lynn lets his inner Pink Floyd out. These simpler ambient moments sound fit for a nature walk in Hawaii or a chill out room on mushrooms. If the name Future Sound of London means anything to you, you may get the idea. Now i know that moments like this are staples in purist electronic music but I would rather rock out to the juke style joints than practice my yoga poses to the more "transcendental" tunes. They are relaxing though and walking though a forest preserve with this on did accent the beauty if even for a brief moment.
To be honest, I'm not sure if this album will have any staying power (how will this sound years from now) but you know what...I'm digging this right now. It's pretty solid.
The Host- The Host gets $7.00 out of $10. Not necessarily the absolute priority album to buy, but there are some tracks on here that shouldn't be missed.
Dave Chappelle Theory
http://davechappelletheory.com/index.html
This site allegedly explains the reason for Chappelle's "nervous breakdown" and the demise of his hilarious show. Although the article is crazy long, it is a worthwhile rainy day reading. The author of this article doesn't include any support to the outlined theory, but it is interesting. And if it is true, it clearly points out that some very important and powerful people have no sense of humor.
Beastie Boys- Paul Revere
Damn hearing this is so sad. I can remember being 7 or 8 in Virginia playing football singing this shit thinking i was cool. What a loss...
The Beastie Boys- Flute Loop
Having many different groups of friends, not everyone appreciated my musical tastes. I always kept a Beastie album in my car. It was like a middle ground that everyone could agree upon...
MCA Dies Of Cancer
We are going to take a break from our standard shenanigans for a moment of sobriety. Adam Yauch aka MCA (of the Beastie Boys) lost his ongoing fight against cancer today. Yauch was 47. As part of the legendary Beasties, Yauch has been part of all of us. For people of my generation, his music grew with us. Personally, License To Ill, was one of my earliest experiences with hip hop music period. I can make a roadmap of my life using their albums as landmarks. But their impact extends beyond me or even my generation. It is almost unheard of for any musical act to have the longevity or success that the Beasties have had, let alone maintain their high quality of output. MCA's music has opened the minds of literally millions. His positive philosophy and recordings will survive him. His early passing is absolutely tragic and shouldn't be treated with anything but the utmost respect and reverence. He and his music will be greatly missed. My condolences go out to his family.
Rest In Peace MCA Adam Yauch
Rest In Peace MCA Adam Yauch
Movie review- 1990:The Bronx Warriors
I know I have a weird sense of humor. I didn't laugh when I saw Knocked Up and I thought the funniest thing about The Hangover was that people were calling it the funniest movie ever. I know I am alone on this, and I am OK with that. To me, a movie like 1990: The Bronx Warriors, is a comedy masterpiece. So what if it is unintentionally funny? If I am tearing up from belly laughs, it's a comedy.
The movie is set in the distant future of 1990 (which looks a lot like the 70's south Bronx). It's a rough time. So rough, gangs of roller skating thugs band together in outfits that look to be tailor made by Rainbow Brite. The movie is about a gangland rivalry which starts when the heir to a weapons manufacturer, the Manhattan Corporation....eh you know what, who gives a shit what it's about. It is jaw droppingly awful, so you aren't watching this for a Charlie Kaufman par script. Instead this movie is kind of like watching the socially awkward guy at work who says the most embarrassing things and is basically a train wreck at life. If you don't let him bother you and just kick back, you are in for a show. Otherwise, if you don't let go, the insanity may piss you off. Maybe that's a dick move laughing at this tragedy in motion, but I find it hilarious.
Instead, expect editing so bad you'd swear it was cut as a high school project. Super thick Bronx accents abound making dialogue that is already awful worse. Characters have names like Hot Dog, Ice and Hammer and the acting is so bad you will make a face like someone just smacked you with a fish. There are some genuinely cool aspects of this flick, though. To unravel some of this movies finer points, look in the background to see some of the most idiotic activities performed by extras ever captured on film. For beat makers, this movie has plenty of crappy dialogue to chop up and weird synth 80's beats that scream to be sampled. Although the New York terrain is absolutely unconvincing as any sort of future, it is a pretty remarkable snapshot of an often overlooked time and location in one of America's most important cities. I mean the Bronx truly looks like a war zone. And that aint special effects homie.
Anyhow, I am not going to make this review long because it is pretty obvious the filmmakers didn't spend much time making the movie. All I gotta say is grab some beers, some friends with warped senses of humor and strap in. Prepare for one of the best endings of all time.For fans of Ice Pirates
1990: The Bronx Warriors gets $5 out of $10. Although, it is an abomination of a movie, it's still worth a fimp for the grindhouse laughs.
Dr. Utopia's Izm
An interesting cartoon from 1948 called Make Mine Freedom: the Dangers of Communism and Benefits of Capitalism.
Death Grips- The Money Store
Preparing to go to the gym. Throw on the earbuds and press play on Death Grips new album, The Money Store. Immediately I am almost being commanded to punch out the barking dog outside. Clothesline the toddler running through the apartment hallway. Kick my landlady in the va-jay-jay. It may sound like something straight out of David Berkowitz aka the Zodiac Killer's playbook, but maybe in his schizo brain he just saw into the future and heard this album. I mean this thing is sick!
In the mid 90's, i was part of a hip-hop group that was young and hungry. We basically jumped at any opportunity to perform, regardless of how unfitting the venue seemed. Many of the shows we performed were with other DIY bands but mainly the constituents were of punk/hardcore background. Let's say you took a kid from that scene who was exposed to hip-hop and hardcore. Let's say he died in some tragic Rock and Roll overdose but he was brought back to life like the cyborg Cain from Robocop 2. If you fed that robot the history of Drum and Bass/Hip-hop and forced it to make beats, you may get something that sounds like this album. It is a splatterpunk onslaught of the senses. It is futuristic, it is unsettling and it is getting better with every listen. There are times when it sounds like pieces of Dieselboy's Soldier Story, DJ Scud, M.I.A or Techno Animal. But, honestly any comparison is a disservice because it really don't resemble much out there. Laser didgeridoo sounds rub shoulders with flanged bass lines. Drum patterns skitter insect like. It just sounds so badass! I mean as soon as the synth line from Blackjack starts, it's instant grimey face for me.
So what's up with the vocals? Honestly I have listened to it about 4 times now, and I still really have no clue what MC Ride is saying (yelling). Ride sounds like RZA with roid rage. He is so pissed, he is almost indecipherable. But I tried to picture the music without him and I think he really benefits the tracks. He may be saying the most profound shit for all I know but for me it's not about that. Ride adds viscera, blood and testosterone to the tracks just with his tone and rhythm. He is part of the music. That being said, Raid is really spittin' as well. Take this segment from Lost Boys:
other side of da tracks
scuzz outsiders
nothin ta lose
strike of midnighters
lost paradisers
true black and blues
no shoes, flat tires
broke out da pen
blood on barbed wire
safe in your home
gated zone terrorizers
nowhere ta go
far as i can get hitchhikers
(lost boys)
fuck a job might have ta rob
a dont know just ta get by word
on the road for lifers
bullets in the fire
check the chain link
swayze im slummin
let em know who da fuck we are
low and dirty lost boys
comin out the cuts
like your favorite scar
I would check out more of the lyrics at the Death Grips Soundcloud page (at the bottom of the post) if you are like me and bought the MP3 album and not the CD. For the most part, MC Ride takes what many deem as negative about rap and injects those stereotypes with adrenalin. His lyrics are nightmarish and gruesome. He reminds me of the character on the first Black Sheep album. On that song, Dres mocked gangsta culture by taking his violent stories to a hyperbolic level. If you take that character and put him in a post apocalyptic future, you get MC Ride. But I still feel that it is parody. This may be the level of intensity necessary for our media saturated culture.
I will say my only qualm, and i don't even know if its a qualm, is i had to crank the bass in my car because on the whole the album is very compressed and lacking real low end. But I really am not bitching. The low fi sound quality is definitely part of Death Grips' sound. And that brings me to my final point. For all the people that will blast this album and say it isn't hip hop or it is too noisy, AT LEAST THEY HAVE A SOUND. I find that most hip hop acts nowadays are so homogeneous. Most mainstream "rap" is at the pinnacle of it's formulaic trajectory (I said most not all, we can talk about that some other time). Even the hip-hop purists are beginning to all sound the same (you must sound like Pete Rock, Jay Dilla, Diamond D... name golden age producer here). Where is the originality in that? That is boring as fuck! I picked up De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising from the library when I was 10 and it changed my life. Not because it sounded like something I had heard before, but BECAUSE I HAD NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE IT. From then point on I was consumed by hip-hop. We here at Pirate Programming still abide by that philosophy. We still crave finding new and different things. We honor innovation. The Money Store is truly unique and it barely resembles what is considered "hip-hop". It is something totally else. Completely essential listening.
Death Grips- The Money Store gets $9.25 out of $10. A very, very solid and memorable album well worth your coin.
http://soundcloud.com/deathgrips
Emergency Broadcast Network
http://www.joshualpearson.com/
As I listened to Death Grips' new album, Money Store, I was reminded of Emergency Broadcast Networks' amazing hypermedia collages from the early 90's. I feel that it would be unjust to simply make a reference to EBN in the following review without also giving them a proper spotlight. EBN is in every shape and form what Pirate Programming is all about.
EBN is a "multimedia performance group" (to quote wikipedia). They specialize in video collages that are both musical and poignant. Through repetition, juxatopsition of imagery and sheer volume of clips, EBN's videos satirize the power of media. Clips of a public suicide are intercut with Mariah Carey's famous shriek which takes on a Bomb Squad type effect in EBN's hands. It is criminal that these guys are so often overlooked when discussing media. They are innovators in every sense. More or less, they pioneered the classic "rave" visual or, at the very least, expanded what those visuals could be. Their editing techniques were adopted much later by directors like Darren Arronofsky, David Fincher, Guy Ritchie, among others, in the early 2000's. And now, their kinetic style of editing can be seen everywhere from commercials to video games etc.
The site listed at the top of this post is admittedly unique to navigate, so i will help. After clicking on the link, click on Emergency Broadcast Network to go straight to the videos. Do yourself a favor and watch them all. They aren't available anywhere (to my knowledge) but here (not on Youtube or Hulu). Now keep in mind most of these videos were edited (before editing software) on analog equipment. If you don't realize what that means, it means it is friggin INSANE how good these videos are. It's almost hard to believe.
Besides basically mastering editing on analog quipment members of EBN have gone on to write video editing software (VJ software known as Vujack) and create institutions (Company of Science and Art CoSA and iFILM.com). Anyway, do your homework on these guys. They are mindblowing even by today's standards. Respect the architects.
peace
*here is an example of one of their videos. It isn't on the site but it's not as polished as the ones on the site. Still worth a watch though.
As I listened to Death Grips' new album, Money Store, I was reminded of Emergency Broadcast Networks' amazing hypermedia collages from the early 90's. I feel that it would be unjust to simply make a reference to EBN in the following review without also giving them a proper spotlight. EBN is in every shape and form what Pirate Programming is all about.
EBN is a "multimedia performance group" (to quote wikipedia). They specialize in video collages that are both musical and poignant. Through repetition, juxatopsition of imagery and sheer volume of clips, EBN's videos satirize the power of media. Clips of a public suicide are intercut with Mariah Carey's famous shriek which takes on a Bomb Squad type effect in EBN's hands. It is criminal that these guys are so often overlooked when discussing media. They are innovators in every sense. More or less, they pioneered the classic "rave" visual or, at the very least, expanded what those visuals could be. Their editing techniques were adopted much later by directors like Darren Arronofsky, David Fincher, Guy Ritchie, among others, in the early 2000's. And now, their kinetic style of editing can be seen everywhere from commercials to video games etc.
The site listed at the top of this post is admittedly unique to navigate, so i will help. After clicking on the link, click on Emergency Broadcast Network to go straight to the videos. Do yourself a favor and watch them all. They aren't available anywhere (to my knowledge) but here (not on Youtube or Hulu). Now keep in mind most of these videos were edited (before editing software) on analog equipment. If you don't realize what that means, it means it is friggin INSANE how good these videos are. It's almost hard to believe.
Besides basically mastering editing on analog quipment members of EBN have gone on to write video editing software (VJ software known as Vujack) and create institutions (Company of Science and Art CoSA and iFILM.com). Anyway, do your homework on these guys. They are mindblowing even by today's standards. Respect the architects.
peace
*here is an example of one of their videos. It isn't on the site but it's not as polished as the ones on the site. Still worth a watch though.
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