covers, general

Halloween, Alaska

7 Comments


On Tuesday I stumbled across Halloween, Alaska, thanks to an NPR interview at its Web site. The four-piece from Minneapolis formed in 2002, and recently released the full-length Too Tall to Hide.

The music is a compelling marriage of acoustic instrumentation and electronic technology; a Powerbook is listed as an instrument on the bio. What sold me was a low-key — albeit truncated — cover of LL Cool J’s classic I Can’t Live Without My Radio. Granted, an indie act covering a hip-hop song isn’t all that novel these days, but I find this version absurdly endearing. That could be because I love Cool J’s album Radio or, more likely, it’s because singer James Diers somehow pulls off some of the lines with total sincerity: “Don’t mean to offend other citizens, but I kick my volume way past 10.” Great stuff. Even if you don’t like it, they get points for having the cajones to tackle it.

Buy the CD here, which includes enhanced content and instrumental mp3s.

Halloween, Alaska | Drowned
Halloween, Alaska | I Can’t Live Without My Radio
Halloween, Alaska | Call it Clear (from self-titled debut LP)

For comparison’s sake …
LL Cool J | I Can’t Live Without My Radio

hip-hop

El-P and Bomb the System soundtrack

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So I made my weekly visit to the Definitive Jux Web site on Monday and came across some intriguing news. The ubiquitous El-P has posted a new song for the Bomb the System soundtrack on his My Space page. (Relax, mp3 is below.)

From what I can tell, Bomb the System — an indie flick centering on a group of NYC graffitti artists — came out in 2003 but only recently was released on DVD, on Oct. 11. El-P wrote the score for the movie.

I don’t know if there will be a soundtrack to buy or what. I hope there will be because this track, Krazy Kings 3, is some insane shite. The thing I love about El-P is you always know what to expect and yet his style and production never get old or stale. Krazy Kings 3 has some bombin’ drums and that grimy, street styling that El-P has perfected.

El-P | Krazy Kings 3

BONUS BEATS
Murs (feat. El-P) | The Dance

hip-hop

Jewish hip-hop: Matisyahu and Hip Hop Hoodios

4 Comments

Because I work at a newspaper, I spend a lot of time reading wire stories from papers across the country. I came across one from the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union about the emergence of Jewish hip-hop in the mainstream. Being that I’m half-Jewish (the other half Irish-Catholic) and a fan of hip-hop, I was naturally intrigued.


Matisyahu — the self-proclaimed “Hasidic Reggae Superstar” (as if there are a lot of those) — has earned some blog time for his Live at Stubb’s album. The guy’s back story is very interesting. Among the highlights: He won’t perform on Jewish holidays or the Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) and he regularly consults with his rabbi before touring so as not to violate Jewish customs.

Then there’s Hip Hop Hoodios, a group its members call a “Latino-Jewish urban music collective.” And I gotta say: Havana Nagila is great. Opening line: “I’m a Jew for thugs / a Jew for hugs.” You can buy their full-length Agua Pa La Gente here.

Just upon first listen, I think the best part is that neither of these acts comes off as a novelty; their religion is the foundation, but the music is strong in itself.

Matisyahu | King Without a Crown

Hip Hop Hoodios | Havana Nagila
Hip Hop Hoodios | Raza Hoodia

In other news, I gotta give a shout-out to Chad at Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands. My brother e-mailed me the other day to let me know how much he liked Everybody Cares. So I messaged Chad to joke (or was it?) that my brother likes his blog better than mine.But that’s OK, because Chad has got us covered with Elliott Smith (including an excellent post on his old band Heatmiser) and some pretty sweet covers on Saturdays (for those at the computer on weekends). And I know his blog is money because he talked about his wife’s worry of his blog obsession, which sounds awfully familiar around these parts. Blog widows, unite! Anyway, check his site and all the others to the right.

general

Flashback Friday: Lucy’s Fur Coat

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It’s been a few weeks for a flashback post, and I’ve been meaning to pull out my Lucy’s Fur Coat for some time now.

In retrospect, I’m not really sure what drew me to this San Diego group. I suppose I was coming off an early 90s grunge high, trying to keep with those thick guitars and and strained vocals. But there was some melody hidden in there, I swear.

Anyway, the band’s debut, Jaundice, is one of those I owned on cassette and then — if only for nostalgia’s sake — had to track down on CD years later (OK, so it was like, um, last year). I even have a couple of the group’s indie releases on 45.

Regardless, I like Jaundice because, even if the music hasn’t stood up for the past 10 years, it always takes me back and puts me in a different place. It’s one of those albums that I’ll likely be able to recite some of the lyrics no matter how much time passes in between listens. I think we all have some albums like that.

Lucy’s Fur Coat | Treasure Hands
Lucy’s Fur Coat | Elementary

general, vinyl

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club vinyl B-side

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This is why I love Zia Records, a fantastic independent record-store chain in Arizona: I dropped by there last week, as I am wont to do (just ask my wife), and I ended up buying the new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club CD and an old Dios CD. As I’m leaving, the clerk asks if I have a record player. Uh, yes. Definitely. He then gives me a BRMC 7″ for Ain’t No Easy Way and a Death Cab 7″ for Soul Meets Body — both promo giveaways that Zia was probably just looking to rid themselves of.

The BRMC 7″ has a B-side Grind My Bones. As I’m fairly new to BRMC, I’m pretty sure this is an unreleased track, a mellow offering that’s heavy on the slide guitar.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club | Grind My Bones

general, radio rips

Rob Dickinson on KCRW

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Catherine Wheel was one of my favorite bands of the 90s (and early 2000s). The UK-based group was part of the “shoegazing” movement: big, sweeping songs that were moody and pensive yet strangely melodic.

It seemed Catherine Wheel never earned its due. In his interview with Nic Harcourt on KCRW, lead singer Rob Dickinson admits the band had, in essence, runs its course and done all it could do. That sort of admission was kind of sad to hear because Ferment, Chrome and Happy Days are some of the greatest CDs I own.

Alas, it’s good to see Dickinson going solo. Although I have yet to buy his solo debut, Fresh Wine for the Horses, his set on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic was inspiring enough to believe I could really get into it.

Both tracks are from his KCRW performance.

Rob Dickinson | My Name is Love
Rob Dickinson | Black Metallic (my all-time favorite CW song and in my all-time Top 10 for sure)

hip-hop, samples

Samples: before and after

6 Comments

This is the first in what I plan on making a recurring feature on this blog. It sort of marries my interests in hip-hop and vinyl. Basically, I’ll link a hip-hop song and — if I own it or can find it on vinyl — I’ll digitize the sample used in said song. Why? Because I can. And (not to sound too righteous) because I think it’s important that the original song is given its due in its original form.

That’s why I chose Kanye West’s Gold Digger as my first selection. I gotta say, I was at first excited to hear he used a great Ray Charles song I Got a Woman as the main loop. That is, until I heard Jamie Foxx alter the lyrics in the opening (sigh):

Jamie Foxx/Kanye West: “She takes my money when I’m in need / yeah she’s a trifling friend indeed”
Ray Charles: “She gives me money when I’m in need / yeah she’s a kind of friend indeed”

If you ask me, Ray’s vision of the song is totally lost here. He was writing an ode to his woman. Kanye’s is a knock on women. This is what happens when Jamie Foxx gets involved.

You be the judge:

Kanye West | Gold Digger
Ray Charles | I Got a Woman

vinyl

Sound test: need your input

8 Comments

Today I have a blind taste test for you. I’m trying to perfect (or at least improve) my vinyl-to-mp3 conversions. To do so, I have to use an external sound card because my Mac lacks a line-in port.

I have been using the Griffin iMic. But my boy Royce has turned me on to the M-Audio line, especially this bad boy. The price difference is extreme, but I think it probably parallels the sound difference, too.

This is where you, my loyal reader, comes in. I converted two tracks twice apiece — using the iMic for one and the M-Audio for the other. Would you be so kind as to sample both tracks and leave a reply as to which sounds better? You get something out of this. For starters, a pretty f-ing cool Jungle Bros. B-side from a 1989 45 for Beyond This World. And you’ll get high-quality vinyl tracks delivered to you in mp3 format in the future.

Just vote No. 1 or 2 for each test. Or perhaps you can’t tell the difference. Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks!

1.) Flaming Lips | She Don’t Use Jelly (from 45 single)
2.) Flaming Lips | She Don’t Use Jelly

1.) Jungle Bros. | Promo No. 2 (Mind Review ’89)
2.) Jungle Bros. | Promo No. 2 (Mind Review ’89)

hip-hop

Tajai and SupremeEx: Nuntype

3 Comments


You know what I love about the Hieroglyphics crew? They’re always doing something new, even if it is hard to keep up with it all the time.

That brings me to Nuntype, the collaborative full-length project between Tajai (of Souls of Mischief) and Philadelphia producer SupremeEx that will drop on Oct. 25 (Rumble Pack Records). The pair released an EP, Projecto: 2501, in 1999.

Nuntype seems to have a futuristic concept (perhaps in the vein of Deltron) that also focuses on artwork and visual storytelling. If you ask me, Tajai has become one of the Hiero’s most stellar and versatile emcees, so I’m looking forward to this release.

Tajai and SupremeEx | Formless
Tajai | Do It (from his solo record Power Movement)

general

Chris Walla’s Hall of Justice

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My wife and I just finished watching the Death Cab for Cutie DVD Drive Well, Sleep Carefully. It was good: lots of interviews and great live footage. We have yet to tackle the bonus material, which includes an acoustic set.

A small part of the doc showed Death Cab guitarist Chris Walla at his Hall of Justice recording studio in Seattle, where he recently recorded and produced Nada Surf’s The Weight is a Gift, among others.

Walla blogs on his Hall site and has a few mp3s stashed there as well, including two he just posted on Tuesday. One is The Rhone Occupation, a “superhereo theme song” in honor of Nada Surf. Pretty funny stuff.

He also keeps a MySpace page.

Chris Walla | The Rhone Occupation
Chris Walla | Note to Self