All posts by Kevin

arizona, general, video

New Birdmonster video: The Iditarod

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Well, how’s that for timing? Right on the heels of an announcement of Birdmonster’s Oct. 13 show at Yucca Tap Room in Tempe comes a new video from the group. Check it out below. Keep Dramamine close at hand.

Also, about that Yucca show. I’m excited to say that local support will come from Kinch (on tour now) and two of my very favorite musicians from Phoenix – one happens to be my brother – performing an acoustic-type set together: Chad Sundin of the Via Maris and Brendan Murphy of Source Victoria. I’m told Brendan and Chad will perform each other’s songs and a couple covers. (Related: Source Victoria won the best rock category for the Phoenix New Times’ Summer of Sound series.)

And, now, on with the Birdmonster:

hip-hop, video

Meanest Man Contest: We Blame You EP

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I think if hip-hop is going anywhere – if it wants to think new, think different, think outside the bun – it would do well to take a few hints from Meanest Man Contest.

The Bay Area duo of Quarterbar and Eriksolo are constantly tweaking and redefining what we think hip-hop should be. I like that I’ve been challenged to think about hip-hop in a new way with how MMC fiddles with beats and rhymes in a very electro-pop sort of fashion. They craft beats; they don’t cop ’em.

On the new We Blame You EP – on the always-great Gold Robot Records – you can find a great example of that on You’re Right. It’s Ballin’, an instrumental track that layers beats and minimal sampled vocals over a mesmerizing synth line. (Also, love the title of the track.)

You can pick up We Blame You at eMusic. Dig into some more Meanest Man Contest at RCRD LBL.

We Blame You tracklist (and kudos to Hunter on the cover design):

1. We Wouldn’t Want it Any Other Way (Débruit remix)
2. Throwing Away Broken Electronics (Mochipet remix f/ DJ Lion)
3. You’re Right. It’s Ballin’.
4. They Do (Multi-Panel remix)
5. They Do (Roman Ruins version)

  • Meanest Man Contest | Throwing Away Broken Electronics (Mochipet Remix f/ DJ Lion)

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general

Incoming: Birdmonster, Oct. 13

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After helping put on a show with Birdmonster back in March, we’re doing it again as the foursome supports the excellent new album From the Mountain to the Sea.

The show, on Oct. 13, will be at Yucca Tap Room again, which means no cover. I’m excited about tentative plans for local support that I’ll announce soon.

The other night I actually started on a post about Birdmonster that devolved into long-winded rant. My intent was to discuss how good the new Birdmonster record is. Instead, I started tailing off into a pissing match about how blogs so easily turn their back on bands after propping them up (nothing new, I know). The irony here is that From the Mountain to the Sea is so deserving of that original adulation, but the finicky tastemakers have chosen instead to ignore it. Too bad for them.

I liked No Midnight, the band’s first album. But I’ve been helplessly pulled in by From the Mountain, especially with those inviting hand claps on Born To Be Your Man. Oh, how I love hand claps.

Promotional material that came with the record (out on the Fader Label) gets all deep, talking of the band’s “previous abrasive style” and something about a “landscape of honest sincerity.” If that’s a hoity-toity way of saying Birdmonster seamlessly scaled back but fleshed out its sound, then I’m in total agreement. One of my favorites on the album, the opening My Love For You, is a vintage-sounding ballad that sort of catches you off guard, with singer Peter Arcuni’s voice affecting an almost AM-era vibe over what sounds like … a banjo. I’ll have to confirm that.

Check out the band performing Born To Be Your Man outside, at a park, in the glorious embrace of nature’s wind at the Bay Bridged.

Oh, yeah: From the Mountain to the Sea is available digitally now. It will be released in physical form Sept. 2.

hip-hop

Del’s Leak Pack, Vol. 1

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If it hasn’t been made abundantly clear throughout Del’s career at how prolific the man is, he’s offering more proof in the form of free downloads.

The granddaddy of Hieroglyphics is releasing Del’s Leak Packs, a series of new and/or unreleased material.

Del had this to say about the Leak Packs to HipHopDX:

“We make so much music that sometimes waiting for album to be released for folks to peep is too long. We may be on to something completely different by then and those tracks may not get used. So it’s good to leak ’em out so they get heard and people can have something in between projects.”

Gotta love it when artists embrace the power of the Internets, and I have lots of respect for Del for using this forum to help less-heralded artists earn some exposure. Here’s the tracks included in the first Leak Pack:

Del, 30 30
Chip Fu, MC Squared
Tame One (formerly of the Artifacts), Anxiety Attacks
Bukue One, Final Clues

Download the pack here.

  • Del the Funky Homosapien | 30 30
hip-hop, Sundays with Tribe

Sundays with A Tribe Called Quest: Vol. 9

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I wish I had more to say about this remix. All I know is, this is one of my favorite flips of a remix. Ever. And after all these years, I don’t even know who Know Naim is. A Google search reveals little.

I know this comes off the Oh My God single (have it on tape, CD and vinyl) that featured a remix of the original. The Know Naim mix is then a reworking of the remix with new verses by Know Naim. It’s 2 minutes, 49 seconds of tight rhymes, with one hot one-liner after another: “I’ll cramp your fuckin’ style / like you ate before you swum.” “They got my back like a Jansport.” “Play like En Vogue because you’re never gonna get it.”

Someone tell me: Who is Know Naim? The credits on the single: “Know Naim is: Snag, Lo and Bay.”

arizona

Incoming: Reubens Accomplice, Sept. 13

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Well, “incoming” is a misnomer, considering Reubens Accomplice is from here (all except drummer John O’Reilly, that is).

However, Reubens has been holed up for quite some time now, recording the follow-up to the great 2004 album The Bull, the Balloon, and the Family. From what I hear, finishing touches are being applied. So my guess is, this Sept. 13 show at Modified is going to feature plenty of a new material.

Nothing new, really, on the MySpace page save for an outtake and an unreleased track. Not sure if either will show up on the new record. On an outdated Live Journal post, Reubens said in 2005 that the record would be called Mammal Music.

Until then, a taste of The Bull.

general, video, vinyl

Paul Mawhinney and The Archive

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Here’s a brief (seven minutes or so) but thoughtful look at Paul Mawhinney, who owns an astonishing record collection, allegedly the largest in the world. One million albums and 1.5 million singles? “Astonishing” doesn’t even do that justice.

This is inspiring and heartbreaking in its own way, a story that earned press earlier this year when a sale for the collection fell through. Mawhinney appears to break down a bit while listening to John Miles’ Music: “It’s my life’s song.”

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I love the vinyl popping sound near the end when the credits are rolling. Nice touch.


The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

hip-hop, remix

Flobots: Handlebars (DJ Shadow remix)

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I’ve been on a DJ Shadow kick of late since reading the 33 1/3 book on Endtroducing … . (In short: Informative but could have done without the Q-and-A format for the entire book; seemed to lack proper context for such an important record.)

So I spent some free time on Tuesday checking out solesides.com, always a favorite. That turned up a remix Shadow did for the Flobots song Handlebars.

To be honest, I haven’t spent enough time with Flobots – from Denver, home of one of my favorite bloggers – to really know what they’re about, but I heard their Tempe show earlier this summer was pretty packed. You can hear the original track at their MySpace. Is there much of a variation in the remix? I’m not hearing it.

A friend suggested that maybe Shadow phoned it in on this one. Thoughts?

  • Flobots | Handlebars (DJ Shadow remix)
covers, general, video

Travis: Something Anything (video)

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Well, I don’t think I can get in any sort of trouble for posting this Travis video.

The track, Something Anything, is from the forthcoming album Ode to J. Smith, due out Sept. 29 in the UK. Not sure what that means for a U.S. release.

In more Travis news, the band’s outstanding track, Sing, has been covered by Glen Campbell for his Meet Glen Campbell covers album.

Perhaps Campbell is returning the favor on a Wichita Lineman cover by Travis and Jason Falkner?

Here’s Campbell on AOL’s Sessions: