All posts by Kevin

cassette, hip-hop

Atban Klann (aka Black Eyed Peas)

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We all know who the Black Eyed Peas are (I have to bite my tongue about how I really feel about them now). But did we all know before Black Eyed Peas there was Atban Klann?

Formed in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, Atban (A Tribe Beyond A Nation) brought current BEPs Apl.de.ap and Will.I.Am together to produce some cuts that might surprise you. It might surprise you also to know that Atban Klann was signed to Ruthless Records, run by none other than Eazy-E. Unfortunately, the album, Grass Roots, was shelved and never found its way to the public. Story has it that Ruthless was unsure how to market a group whose positive vibes ran contrary to Ruthless’ gangsta image.

Alas, all that exists are bootleg cassettes of the album, like the one that I own. I converted a few of the tracks to mp3 from the cassette. I tried to clean the sound as best I could; keep in mind, my copy is probably the copy of a copy of a copy. But if demand is high enough (hint: leave a comment), I’ll convert the rest of the album. These are the first three tracks.

Atban Klann | Open Your Mind
Atban Klann | Going for a Ride
Atban Klann | Adidas (Put on your adidas and step off!)

general

New Elbow tracks

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I know, I know. I’ve been pushing Elbow’s new album, Leaders of the Free World, for the past few weeks. But having listened to a stream of the record, I’m even more convinced now that it will make its way to my favorites of 2005. (I must make a correction: Release in the UK is Tuesday; release in the U.S. is Sept. 27. Sigh. Anyone in the UK wanna hook me up? Would also love Cast of Thousands on vinyl, too.)

I took the liberty of ripping the streams (using Audio Hijack) to make a couple of mp3s for you, my loyal readers. Station Approach already has nudged a permanent spot into my brain; you’ll understand once you feel the buildup near the three-minute mark of the song.

Elbow | Station Approach
Elbow | Picky Bastard

hip-hop, remix

Digable Planets fall tour

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According the unofficial home page of the Digable Planets, the recently reunited trio will be heading out this fall — dates here — to support the release of Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy Chronicles, a best of album due for release on Oct. 4.

Although there’s no Az. stop on this tour, I highly recommend going to see these cats. I caught ’em in Tempe in June, and I couldn’t be happier that they’re back together.

If you’re jonesing for new material, you can peep Ladybug Mecca’s solo offering Trip the Light Fantastic.

Digable Planets | Graffitti (Noise) (TV mix)
Digable Planets | Califlower (Spiddyocks Go West)

Uncategorized

Turning 28 is fun

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So, I turned 28 on Wednesday and my awesome wife put together a little throwdown last night at one of our favorite bars in town, Rosie McCaffrey’s. I’m paying for it today. Now, I know this is an mp3 blog, but we got some good pics and I thought I’d share. If you look hard enough, I’ve sprinkled a few tunes throughout.

And for any of my friends who are reading this, thanks for coming out! Jay and Carrie hooked me up with a gift certificate to Stinkweeds, and Angie and Chris got me a gift that, in Chris’ words, is tits. (You’ll see.) On with the pictures …

There’s my wife Annie in what we call the money shot.

That’s me. Rock ‘n’ roll forever.

Dave, Jay and Carrie smile pretty.
MP3: Pep Love (of Hieroglyphics) | Family and Friends

Jessica and Royce enjoy the drinkies.

My man Chris cops a feel on a total stranger.OK, no. That’s his girlfriend Angie.

Angie and Chris brought me back this beautiful mug from Florida.”It’s tits,” Chris said.
MP3: Living Legends | Fill My Drink

Monica gives her husband Angel the bird. Royce thinks that’s funny.

Dan smokes a stogie.

Darren moves in on my wife.

Chris bought me a jager bomb — a jager shot dropped into Red Bull.
MP3: Alejandro Escovedo | I Was Drunk

vinyl

Flashback Friday: Cameo

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Do I really need to say anything to preface this one? We all liked Word Up — yeah, I’m talking to you. The synthesizer overload reeks of the ’80s, and Larry Blackmon’s nasaly and somewhat over-the-top vocal style was more than slightly irritating. Yet here I am, posting on it. What the hell did the song mean anyway? “Word Up everybody say / when you hear the call you’ve got to get it on your way.” And apparently it was the “code word”; for what, I’m not exactly sure. If any Cameo fans would care to enlighten us …

What I really like about this 45 single is the B-side, Urban Warrior. It seemed like a grab at street cred with the old-school beat and lyrical stylings. Love the dramatic chorus: “He’s an urban warrior.”

Alas, All Music has everything you wanted to know about Cameo but were afraid to ask.


Cameo | Word Up
Cameo | Urban Warrior

general

More new Iron & Wine/Calexico

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First off, let me say thanks to Royce, whose debut post was a nice hint of things to come. And that picture absolutely disturbs me … in a good way.

Now, has this new Iron & Wine/Calexico project made the rounds everywhere except here? (Don’t answer that; it’s a rhetorical question.) Regardless, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and posting one of EP’s seven tracks, History of Lovers. It features a few of my favorite musical elements: a pedal steel guitar, a healthy 4/4 drum beat and lots o’ horns. It’s also strangely upbeat for these two usually somber acts.

Iron & Wine/Calexico | History of Lovers

hip-hop

Ugly Duckling — new tracks

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Underrated — or maybe just underexposed — group Ugly Duckling is one of the most refreshing acts to tackle a hip-hop genre that just takes itself too damn serious. The three-man group from Long Beach, Calif. — emcees Andy and Dizzy and deejay Young Einstein — create fun and (gasp!) lighthearted tracks that never pretend be more important than the culture they represent.

One of my favorite UD tracks — that epitomizes how they keep everything in perspective — is Opening Act, off their last LP Taste the Secret. Self-deprecating (not to mention brilliant, as well), the song details the woes of their first-on-the-bill concert status : “Maybe one day we’ll ride the tour bus and you’ll come out to see us.”

UD is preparing to drop a new LP, and the group has been generously offering tracks to preview on its MySpace page. (Thanks to Chris for the heads up.) I ripped a couple into mp3s using Audio Hijack Pro.


Ugly Duckling Lower the Boom
Ugly Duckling | Smack

BONUS BEATS:
Ugly Duckling | Opening Act

hip-hop

Brainfreeze auction

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Well, I had planned on offering a one-day special on a download of Brainfreeze, a 50-minute mix of funk 45s by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, as a Labor Day treat. However, the Solesides Web site is auctioning off an original pressing of the CD, with all benefits to be donated to the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The CD is for auction here at eBay.

Brainfreeze was recorded as practice session by Shadow and Cut Chemist before a 1999 Future Primitive gig in San Francisco. I was fortunate enough to find the CD last weekend in LA; I don’t know if it’s a first or second pressing, but I really don’t care. The music and mixing is absolutely fantastic. For a history and breakdown of the samples, visit this site.

I highly suggest placing a bid on this CD. It’s for a good cause and you get something out of it, too.

DJ Shadow (feat. Zack de la Rocha) | March of Death (via Solesides.com)
Cut Chemist | Lesson 4: The Radio

sports

Flashback Friday … to Thursday night

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Zach Miller (left) tells Derek Hagan he’s the man.

As predicted, my Arizona State Sun Devils rolled over Temple Thursday night 63-16. I guess that’s why you schedule Temple for your first game of the season.

What was supposed to be ASU’s weakness — the rushing game — turned into a major surprise. The Devils racked up 300 yards on the ground as a team. And found a star in the making: True freshman Keegan Herring, a local boy from Peoria, Ariz., carried 12 times for 134 yards, setting an ASU running back record for a debut. (Previously Woody Green with 117 yards vs. Houston in 1971.) Granted, it was Temple, but still …

Keegan Herring goes off for 134 yards on Thursday.
Next week gets absurdly tougher: No. 5 Louisiana State. The game is scheduled to be played in Baton Rouge, but it could be moved to Tempe because of the Katrina aftermath. Obviously, it’s hard to get pumped up for this game — or any game, for that matter — given what’s happening in the South. For everyone’s sake, this game should probably be moved. I can’t imagine LSU officials hosting a football game in the midst of victims seeking refuge in their city.

hip-hop, vinyl

Flashback Friday: Nobody beats the Biz

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Of all my music purchases last week in Los Angeles, this 12″ vinyl single of Just a Friend — in pristine condition — is perhaps the standout gem.

Whether or not you’re a hip-hop fan, everyone has heard this song, and it’s almost impossible to say you don’t like it. The piano loop is classic and Biz’s off-tune singing in the chorus is almost laughable, if the song weren’t so damn good.

Listening to it now (I was 12 in 1989 when it was released) I can appreciate the song for more than its nostalgic value. I really like Biz Markie’s story-telling ability; that just seems to be a really underrated style of rap. (Slick Rick was the ruler, of course.) But I think it’s safe to say Just a Friend made it OK — even cool? — to rap about relationships (see also, The Pharcyde’s Passin’ Me By).


Biz Markie | Just a Friend (LP version)
Biz Markie | Just a Friend (instrumental)