Dive into the archives.
- Let’s have a toast for the douche bags…
I know most people would put Kanye squarely in the DB category, but raw, sometimes misguided emotion is never something I fault an artist for and I’ll always have love for him. (For reasons I articulated once upon time here). Here’s his new song + a cool performance from last week’s Saturday Night Live…
Kanye West w/ Pusha T - Runaway
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- 7 Things my friend Josh showed me
Just back from US where I had a lot of fun. Many highlights, some of which I will hopefully be somehow documenting on here in the coming days. For now though I want to show some love and gratitude to my dear friend Josh who put me up for several nights and supplied me with a constant supply of awesome media things. In the interest of karma, I’m gonna tell you like he told me:
1. Louie
Louie is the new show by the comedian Louis CK and it is very good. Sort of like a dirtier, less Jewish Seinfeld. In the US you can watch it on Hulu, otherwise you can probably download it legally or otherwise. Here’s a preview:
And as a bonus, here’s a rant from Louis CK that I totally forgot about but was one of my favorite things ever a couple years ago:
2. http://beatelectric.blogspot.com
So much amazing shit on here it’s crazy. Check it out for yourself. Here’s one classic that I downloaded and then rinsed out at my friend’s wedding to mixed reactions.
Gwen Guthrie - Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent (Larry Levan Club Mix)
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right-click + save target as (windows) / save link as (mac)3. Fact: Dr Dre is currently working on an instrumental album dedicated to outer space.
According to Spinner.com:
Dr Dre has revealed one reason for the delay on long awaited album ‘Detox’ — he’s working on an instrumental album.
In an idea somewhat reminiscent of Holst’s orchestral suite ‘The Planets’ (it even shares the title), each song will be based around the nine planets of the solar system.
Speaking to Vibe magazine (via Gigwise), Dre said, “Oh yeah, that’s in the works. An instrumental album is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I have the ideas for it. I want to call it ‘The Planets.’
“I don’t even know if I should be saying this, but f— it. It’s just my interpretation of what each planet sounds like. I’m gonna go off on that. Just all instrumental. I’ve been studying the planets and learning the personalities of each planet. I’ve been doing this for about two years now just in my spare time so to speak. I wanna do it in surround-sound. It’ll have to be in surround-sound for Saturn to work.”
4. Kanye Kartoons
The musical comedy team Paul and Storm had a very bright idea to combine Kanye West’s weird/boring-ass Twitter feed with cartoons from the New Yorker. Some of them are great. Example:
5. Kanye A kapella
This I guess has been going around for a few days, but in case you missed it, Kanye performing a song off his new album, a capella, in very clean suit, while standing on a table in the Facebook headquarters. Sounds corny but it’s not.
6. How to make your own pirate vinyl
It’s not simple, but it is doable and not that expensive. Full lowdown here.
7 (but definitely not least). NEW ANDRE!
Andre 3000 - I do
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- The Ghost of Christmas Future
A few years ago I saw a little feature on something called “Age me“, an online application that will digitally age your photo to show how would look after, say, 40 years of smoking or eating fast food, anorexia, excessive exposure to sun, things of that nature. The show presented it as a kind of scared straight program for reckless twenty-somethings, and as I was twenty-something at the time, I sat up and took notice. Since that day, I’ve always been curious to give Age Me a whirl, probably because I am currently maintaining several long-term bad habits for which I expect to pay dearly in my later years. Never did though, and today I realized that I don’t have to, because I’m pretty sure this is what it’s gonna look like:
Real shit. Plus that David Guetta and Kudi song was my guilty pleasure jam of 2009. No joke. Uncanny likeness…
DOWNLOADPopularity: 4% [?]
- Big Boi is no stranger to that internet, baby. (So you already know what time it is.)
Outkast is my favorite group ever and it’s been too long since they made an album together. Also been too long since either of its members, Big Boi and Andre, has released a solo album. BUT that situation is due to change soon enough when Big Boi AKA Daddy Fat Stacks AKA Sir Luscious Leftfoot AKA Billy Ocean Cuervo AKA Hot Tub Tony AKA Francis the Savannah Chitlin’ Pimp releases his much-delayed, no-longer-so-new album ‘The Son of Chico Dusty’. A few tracks have been floating around the internets for a while, but I only felt compelled to post after reading this interview by Will Welch for GQ. It provides your daily dose of rapper quotables and explains, among other things, the tragic absence of Andre from the album:
This morning, the tracklist for the final version of Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty hit the internet, and none of the songs you’ve recorded with Dré are on there. No “Royal Flush,” and no “Lookin For Ya.” What gives?
Well, basically it boils down to Jive Records. That’s how they do it. Jive Records told me my album is a piece of art, and they didn’t know what to do with it. So I moved it over to Def Jam. And now Jive is trying to block Dré from being on my record. We can’t be on songs together now.
So because OutKast as a group is signed to Jive, they’re able to legally block the two of you from working together?
Au contraire! They cannot block it. Au contraire. Either they’re going to do it the right way, or they’re going to do it my way. How you wanna do it? The fans thirst will be quenched. You know, I’m no stranger to that internet, baby. So you already know what time it is. The thirst of the fans will be quenched.
“Royal Flush” with Dré and Raekwon has been out since 2008, but you’re saying we will be hearing “Lookin For Ya” [with André] even though it’s not on the album?
I guarantee it.
Can you speak a little bit about your frustration here? What you’re saying is that you and your friend from high school can’t rap on the same song and have it get an official release.
It’s plain stupidity. It’s stupid business and it’s stupid politics. I mean, Jive Records had [Big Boi's current Def Jam single] “Shutterbug” for three years. And [new Sir Luscious leak] “General Patton” for three years. You see what I’m saying? They told me to go in and make my version of Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop”! I love that song. That was my favorite song when it came out. But how you gonna tell me to go bite another MCs style? How are you even going to open your mouth up to tell me to go and do that? That’s the highest form of disrespect ever. So that’s when I wanted to get off Jive. And the only honorable thing they’ve done is allow me to do that. So I’ve had nothing to do with them. Dré tried to have a talk with Jive and they said, “No, we can’t. That’s gonna make us look bad.”
Let’s talk about how the records you made with André for Sir Luscious came together.
We’re gonna keep one of them for the next OutKast record. “Royal Flush” was supposed to be on the album. That was a leak that got nominated for a Grammy. The other track we did, “Lookin For Ya” was produced by Boi Wonda and it’s me, Dré, and Sleepy Brown—the Dream Team going back to “Playa’s Ball” and “I Can’t Wait.” They want to keep that from the fans, man, and I can’t have it. I won’t stand for that shit.
How’d “Lookin For Ya” happen?
I was outside the studio just chillin’ and Erik Sermon from EPMD rolled by the studio and said, “Yo, I got some music for ya.” I was like, “Word.” So he came in and played a beat, and then he played the Boi Wonda beat. I was like, “What’s that?!” So he was like, “We’ll let you get that one, then.”
The whole time I was working, Dré would come in and out of the studio. Like, he heard “Royal Flush” and said, “I wanna get on that.” And he heard, “Lookin For Ya” and said, “I wanna get on that.” The following day, he jumped on it. Two verses apiece, just raw lyricism. OutKast to the fullest. It was slated for the album. We tried to get everything solidified but Jive said, “Naw. Y’all can’t rap together.” Then I was going to take Dré off and make my own version, but then I thought, “No. Fuck that. If he can’t be on it, then I’m not using it.”
Did Dré do his verses at Stankonia or at a home studio?
Stankonia. Came right back the very next day and killed that shit. Matter fact, he put both his verses on there before I even had a chance to put anything on there.
Last time I interviewed Dré, he made it clear that sometimes he feels like he’s got something to say, and sometimes he doesn’t.
Right.How does that affect you?
When he says he wants to get on something, you better go ‘head and let him get on it. That’s how we do it. Whenever he says, “Hey man, I wanna get on that,” he can do it. That’s my partner. He can get on whatever the fuck he wants to get on. He could’ve got on every song on the album if he wanted to. So they can’t stop us, man. I been knowing Dré half my life. And for these people that we don’t even know—that haven’t even had a hand in our career at all—that’s fucking blasphemy. So stay tuned.
OK, so here are the songs that Big Boi mentions. All I can say is that they’re good and I’m proud to play a small part in making sure that ‘the thirst of the fans will be quenched.’
Outkast w/ Raekwon - Royal Flush
DOWNLOADOutkast w/ Sleepy Brown - Lookin 4 Ya
DOWNLOADBUY the album. June 6 2010!
Popularity: 3% [?]
- Listen up: Romen Rok
My friend Ollie AKA Romen Rok just released his new album. It’s called Absolutely! and you should absolutely get it. Here’s the lead single:
Romen Rok w/ Gavin Castleton - Laughter (Produced by Joe Beats and Romen Rok)
Laughter by romenrokHe also has a bunch of cool videos making beats live on the MPC2000XL. Here is one of my favorites, sort of sounds like the Ren & Stimpy theme song if it would’ve been done by the Incredible Bongo Band.
Ren and Stimpy XL-erated from Romen Rok on Vimeo.
Check him out and BUY HIS ALBUM here.
Popularity: 4% [?]
- In Memory Of…
I’ve been crazy busy for the past month and have missed lots of appointments, correspondence, and sleep. Also been neglecting VERY FEEL, which is a shame because there’s a bunch of things that I wanted to pass on. First and foremost, this, DJ Premier’s 2 hour tribute to his partner in Gang Starr and one of my favorite MCs ever, Guru, who passed away a few weeks ago.
Gang Starr was my favorite group in junior high school. Their album Step in the Arena was the first cassette that I ever played so much that the tape broke. If circumstances were different I’d love to make a tribute of my own. But obviously Premier’s is even better:
Popularity: 3% [?]
- NY Attacks
http://www.dailymotion.com/videoxcv6dv
Audio visual treats inspired by the city that never sleeps. Above by Patrick Jean. Below by Gil Scott-Heron.
Gil Scott Heron w/ Nas - New York is killing me (remix)
DOWNLOADThanks JHE & JDS!
Popularity: 4% [?]
- De La Nas in ‘96
Check out this rare historical artifact I found at okayplayer. It’s a rip from Westwood’s Radio 1 show that features De La Soul and Nas freestyling for about 10 minutes straight. Maseo is on the cuts and the freestyles are really free, which makes this an even more amazing and rare treat. It’s from ‘96 around the time ‘Stakes is high’ and ‘It was written’ came out. That was the summer before my first year in college and I played the hell out of both those albums.
This probably won’t be very interesting to you if you don’t already love the artists featured. But I do so…….
De La Soul & Nas - Live on Westwood, 1996
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right-click + ’save target as’ (windows) / ’save link as’ (mac)And as a bonus…
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox1iqlp
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox6fx8q
I’m old!
Popularity: 4% [?]
- More musikids: PS 22 Chorus
Image: Gillian LaubA couple weeks ago, my friend Josh instructed me to educate myself on something called the PS 22 Chorus. He sent me the link to their blog and said, ‘It’s a worth a blog post, at the very least, if not a drastic career change.’ Last night, I finally did and, man alive, he was not wrong.
First a little background:
PS 22 is an elementary school in Staten Island NY. The chorus is made up of 5th graders between 10 and 11 years old. It meets twice a week during school hours to practice, and performs throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. (FYI: my birthday = January 7)
The project is overseen by a teacher called Gregg Breinberg who, I think you will agree, is doing a good job. Here is some more info on him from a feature NPR ran a while ago:
“He is not like any other music teacher,” Maimouna Faye says. “He really works with us. He helps us get it right. He doesn’t yell at us. He is really nice. I am going to miss it.”
Breinberg describes himself as “nontraditional and intense.” He says he’s extremely passionate about the music.
“[If] I don’t feel that they are giving 100 percent, yes, I will get intense with them, and I will say, ‘This isn’t fair. I am working so hard for you, I am trying to do my best for you — you have to come through for me,’ ” Breinberg says.
But Breinberg is also a goofball. He’s eccentric and emotional. He’s been known to weep at performances and show the boys in the chorus that it’s fine to cry and show emotion and be themselves.
“What is so wonderful about these kids,” Breinberg says, “they are in this environment that we have created together, that allows them to express themselves and totally be wacky and silly and not worry that they will be made fun of — to be able to sing a solo, make a mistake, and know that it is a safe place and a place they can go to and express themselves.”
Gabriel Vasquez says being in the chorus has allowed him to do something that he often doesn’t have a place for: “letting out your emotions and everything, showing your feelings and letting it all out.”
Now, remember that last line when you watch these clips. In my experience you need to view these at least 20 times to fully grasp the emotions unleashed in these kids. Also their dance moves.
Here we go:
Lisztomania by Pheonix
Just dance by Ladi Ga Ga
Don’t stop believing by Journey
For a sense of how the performances come together, Here’s a short feature from NPR’s All Things Considered:
OK, so I hope that makes your day the way it made mine. I believe that children are the future. Teach them well, record them, and put it on Youtube.
PS 22 Chorus’s Blog
PS 22 Chorus’s Youtube ChannelPopularity: 4% [?]
- Mix: Don’t get aggravated
Don’t get aggravated: a mix, a message. Cool out music for the cold weather featuring The Art of Noise, Al Green, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Marcia Griffiths, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, The Shins, Bon Iver, Bootsy Collins, Janet Jackson, New Birth, Bonobo, Sade, D’Angelo, Maxwell, Aaliyah, The Isley Brothers, Roberta Flack, Donnie Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder.
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right-click + save link as (mac) / save target as (windows)Popularity: 4% [?]
- More Keys
In the last couple days some beautiful people have sent me some beautiful music, none of which I’d heard before, all of which should’ve been on my piano mix… To quote Shakespeare, what’s done is done, and there’s no unmixing what’s already mixed, but I want to pass these jams on as a sort of encore.
Jelly Roll Morton - Dead man blues (Courtesy of Giulio AKA the Italian stallion)
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right-click + save link as (mac) / save target as (windows)Chilly Gonzales & 50 Cent - Many men (Courtesy of Niek AKA Dutch Schultz)
DOWNLOADGonzales (again) - Oregano (Courtesy of Aura AKA the Venezuelan Sarah Palin)
DOWNLOADPopularity: 4% [?]
- New Mix: Keys
Just made a new mix for the new year. It’s called Keys Open Doors - music from across time and space tied together by a common thread of piano. Lots of good stuff on here… soul, some hip hop, r&b, salsa, some Lilith Fair type of songs, minimalist classical, old school house, UK hardcore, all sorts… It’s the second in the Instrumentalist series. First horns, now piano. Hope you enjoy…
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right-click + ’save target as’ (windows) / ’save link as’ (mac)Tracks
Donnie Hathaway - A song for you
Bruce Springsteen - New York city serenade
Mobb Deep w/ Lil Kim - Quite storm
Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane - The symphony
El Gran Combo - Yo soy la muerte
Willie Colón - Calle luna calle sol
Alicia Keys - No one
Mary J Blige - For the record (I love you)
Eddie Henderson - Inside you
Reuben Wilson - We’re in love
Joni Mitchell - River
Fiona Apple - Love ridden
Philip Glass - Metamorphosis 2
Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos - Trois Morceaux aprés des hymnes byzantins II
Bill Withers - Liza
Prince Phillip Mitchell - If we can’t be lovers
Humberto Santacruz - Me has robado el corazón
Humberto Santacruz - Ay no se puede
Thom Yorke - The eraser
Atlas Sound - Walkabout
Ce Ce Rogers - Someday
Sterling Void - It’s allright
Liquid - Sweet harmony
Liquid - LiquidPopularity: 4% [?]
- The champ is gone.
Willie Mitchell, one of the greatest music producers of all time, died yesterday. I hate to start to the new year on a somber note, but considering how much pleasure I’ve taken from this man’s music, it would be borderline sociopathic for me to let this slide. I wish I had the time to get all the way into it, but for now (I hope) it suffices to say that I would not be the man I am today had I not come into contact with the comforting challenge of Willie’s music. Since I first heard it as a young music nerd growing up, the sound that he generated as producer/arranger for Hi Records, has been (and will always be) a path to growth - emotional and sensual (+ spiritual, even visual). It is, in my opinion, the greatest soul music ever made.
Willie Mitchell - Groovin
For a few details on his passing and what he was getting up to recently, check this article. Better though is this interview from a very years ago. Best, is just to enjoy his amazing body of work, so let’s do it. Rest in peace Willie. Can’t thank you enough…
OV Wright - Motherless child
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right-click + ’save target as’ (windows) / ’save link as’ (mac)OV Wright - Let’s straighten it out
DOWNLOADAnn Peebles - I can’t stand the rain
DOWNLOADAnn Peebles - I’m gonna tear your playhouse down
DOWNLOADSyl Johnson - That’s just my luck
DOWNLOADSyl Johnson - I hate I walked away
DOWNLOADAl Green - Love and happiness
DOWNLOADAl Green - Simply Beautiful
DOWNLOADLast, here’s a nice little playlist put together by a Dutch music lover called spruitenpraat
Popularity: 4% [?]
- Listen up: DJ Haas - Bring the Rain
The newest/latest from my friend Jeroen AKA DJ Haas. I guess being a DJ is sort of like being a writer and for best results you should ‘mix what you know’. Haas is a native of water logged Holland, where it has apparently been raining for the past two weeks. Bring the Rain is his response and it is awesome. Check the tracklist to see what I mean…
DJ Haas - Bring the Rain
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right-click + save target as (windows) / save link as (mac)Tracks
1 - SWV - Rain
2 - Alexander O’Neil - Can you stand the rain
3 - Ashanti - Rain on me
4 - B.I.G. - Somebody’s gotta die
5 - Raekwon - Rainy Dayz
6 - Mary J Blige - Everyday it Rains
7 - Soul 4 Real - Candy Rain
8 - Orange Juice Jones - Walking in the rain
9 - Janis Joplin - I can’t stand the rain
10 - Ann Peebles - I can’t stand the rain
11 - Tina Turner - I can’t stand the rain
12 - Missy Elliot - I can’t stand the rain
13 - U Brown - The big licking stick
14 - Lee Scratch Perry - Rainy night dub
15 - The Dramatics - In the Rain
16 - 21st Century - Remember the rain
17 - Joe Chambers - Mind rain
18 - Freddie Hubbard - Here’s that rainy dayPopularity: 5% [?]
- VERY FEEL feel good clip of the week: Screamin’
This week’s installment features the legendary performative stylings of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Screamin’ Jay is one of those artists who was simply too freaky for his era. He never experienced much commercial success but his darkside flair and general don’t give a fuckness paved the way for Kiss and Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson and all that stuff. This song is probably his most famous. The version in the clip above is different from the studio single, which is famously sampled and fucking classic. So I’ll put that up too…
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins - I put a spell on you
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right-click + save target as (windows) / save link as (mac)Popularity: 4% [?]
