New video from one of the best albums of the year so far.
MP3 from Madlib's forthcoming King of the Wigflip album, the final installment in BBE's Beat Generation series. The album drops a month from now, September 30th. The record is set to feature Guilty Simpson, Oh No, Talib Kweli and J Rocc to name a couple.
photo by B+ of Stones Throw on May 08, 2007 when Madlib was in Chicago.
No stranger to even the most common of reggae listeners, Jimmy Cliff is the subject of the day. Jimmy Cliff released his best record in my opinion in Wonderful World, Beautiful People in 1970. The record was a precursor to his reggae classic and star movie appearance, The Harder They Come (one of the best Jamacian films ever) released two years later. Cliff was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, on April 1, 1948, as James Chambers. At 14 Cliff moved to Kingston were he recorded several unsuccessful songs before being spotted by Derrick Morgan who brought him to Leslie Kong. His first single under Kong, "Hurricane Hattie," was an hit. Cliff would go on to an unprecedented string of hit records in a short 4 year span and its still puzzles me that he is not as large and well known as his countryman Bob Marley.
Jimmy Cliff in 1969, Wonderful World, Beutiful People in 1970, The Harder They Come in 1972 and then Struggling Man in 1973 is one of the most impressive set of record releases in all of music and Cliff really deserves more respect than I believe he gets as a Reggae legend. Check out a track from Wonderful World, Beautiful People.
Mp3: Jimmy Cliff - "Vietnam"
Former mayor of 7,000, 1+ year as frontier state Governor, 1984 Mrs. Wasilla Alaska = 2nd more powerful person in the most powerful country in the world? Sorry just doesn't add up.
Seriously I had a WTF moment this morning as my wife and I discussed this pick. First it totally destroys McCain's argument that Obama is inexperienced. Second you place a person in the VP with less experience than Dan Quayle. Third you completely insult any woman that is a republican by bypassing more qualified women (Kay Hutchinson anyone?) along with thinking that a pro-life, ultra-conservative women with a University of Idaho education will take votes from a Yale Law grad with 2 terms of US Senate experience and 8 years in the White House.
An obvious political play for women/maverick votes yet so blatantly misguided it destroys the one wedge against Obama. This move just wreaks of Harriet Myers. The debates are going to be interesting if not very very embarassing for Republicans in this country. You think she will go head to head with Biden? Sorry no chance.
As one talking head on CNN said, "she will wither under the national spotlight."
45 years to the day that MLK Jr. gave his historic speech the United States will be making history and I am hoping everyone will be watching tonight. If you haven't checked it out my dude Caps at The Stencil has been all over the convention coverage. Be sure to check it out.
Also for those that were losing it over the polls a couple weeks ago Obama has opened up a 48% to 42% approval over McCain and currently has the lead in projected electoral votes 273 to 265, which I believe will only grow larger as November nears.
photo by Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times.
The talking heads are over the line. I can't stand CNN and MSNBC and I unprogrammed the Fox channel. Been watching everything on CSPAN. Hope you have been watching the whole convention as well. The Clinton's have shown me somethings and the speech by President Clinton last night was on point.
Looking forward to tonight were this nation makes history.
The long-awaited new solo album from GZA the Genius is out now. Hes still talented ever. Gets help from some of famous friends. Beats and guest verses from RZA, Black Milk, Roc Marciano and Masta Killa. I really have no idea if the software Pro Tools was actually used or if its more of a metaphor for his skill or he just couldn't think of an album title and there the software was sitting on his desk.
This track is produced by Wu-Tang's own Mathematics on production and Masta Killa and RZA on guest verses. Check it out:
Buy: Get Pro Tools here along with another review.
You might mistakedly think that Fujiya & Miyagi were a duo when in fact their is four members of this UK electro funk band. Steve Lewis (Fujiya) on synths, beats, programming and backing vocals, David Best (Miyagi) on vocals and guitar Matt Hainsby (Ampersand, yes thats what I said) is on bass guitar and backing vocals. They have also added Lee Adams on drums since their well recieved 2006 album Transparent Things.
Thier sophmore album is called Lightbulbs and is due out on Deaf, Dumb and Blind records. Check out a track:
Mp3: Fujiya & Miyagi - "Uh"
Buy: Get the record here.
Talk about a chance of fate. Kind of like a Westcoast 5th Beatle (4th on the left in the picture). Arabian Prince aka Professor X was an original member of N.W.A. Prince joined N.W.A. three years after graduating Inglewood High School. He wanted to be an artist in N.W.A. but when fellow member Ice Cube came back from Arizona University in 1988 he found himself without a place. Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren were the main performers, DJ Yella was the turntablist and Dr. Dre was the producer.
Over the course of his career Prince transitioned from an electro DJ into one of the West Coast's first hip-hop stars. Shifting from electro-rap to the gangsta-rap. Many of his tracks were burried until now. Stones Throw is giving him his proper respect with Innovative Life: The Anthology. Its a release of his electro-rap material from the 1980s. Check out a track:
Buy: Get this piece of hip hop history here.
Was happy that my wife encouraged me to head down to Springfield this weekend. Packed up the dogs and head down for a great weekend to see Obama pick his Vice President, Joe Biden. Senator Biden delivered a fiery and on point acceptance speech. Let keep the momentum rolling into next weekend. Its time for change.
These are exciting times my friends. Lets turn the page on a very ugly chapter in US history and start correcting the wrongs of the past administrations. Lets do things the right way. Lets treat people with respect and decency. Treat people as you would like to be treated. Kindness goes a long way. Things are looking up. Lets get behind these dudes shall we?
"Ask yourself do you engage in the politics of cynicism or the politics of hope?" - Obama 7/27/04
Hopeton Lewis had a huge hit in 1966's "Take it Easy" off the record of the same name. Take it Easy features backing by Lynn Taitt and the Jets. Lewis continued to make rocksteady reggae records through the 1970s and according to source wrote the first "herb" song with his track "Cool Collie." Arguably his last big reggae track was the 1970 Festival Song Competition winner, "Boom Shacka Lacka," which he recorded for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label. Lewis would then increasingly turn to gospel in the 1980s and continues to record gospel music to this day. Take a listen:
The UK pop/house group The Ting Tings who launched into the mainstream when their "Shut Up and Let Me Go" track surfaced in a iTunes commerical. Certainly one of the most catchy singles of 2008. Check out a remix of the Shut Up and Let Me Go single. The remix is done by house DJ Chris Lake.
Mp3: Ting Ting Tings - "Shut Up and Let Me Go" (Chris Lake Vocal Remix Radio Edit)
Buy: Get We Started Nothing here.
McCain is saying Obama is out of touch? Well thats real rich (lets say $5 million dollars rich). While Obama made around 4 million last year he does only own one home versus the seven that McCain has. McCain couldn't even remember how many homes he had when asked. Best part about this whole thing was that when McCain was telling homeowners struggling with their mortgages were doing the right thing by skipping their vacations he purchased his $2.7 million dollar condo in Coronado.
Great stuff coming out of the McCain campaign today. McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis said, "the Senator (McCain) wanted the list of speakers to showcase the "diversity" of the Republican Party."
What better way to celebrate this said "diversity" than with a bunch of old rich white dudes. The lineup is a certifiable list of the intolerable. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will give the keynote address, Sen. Joe Lieberman will bring his "Joementum", the President-Select George W. Bush Jr. will be there and Vice President Dick "Don't Shoot!" Cheney will come out from his underground lair. I really don't think you can get a more diverse group. Hey its the good ole boy crew everybody!
Its one hell of a lineup. I'll step out on a limb right now and make a prediction there will be a massive dose of fear mongering and probably just one or two mentions of 9/11. Its has to be exciting to be a Republican in this day and age. You don't stand up for being fiscally conservative, you aren't pro-business, you can't stand hard work, you love big government and you just can't get enough ineptitude.
Viva St. Paul!
PS Sorry California the Governator will also be there.
Milosh is the Montreal electro downtempo specialist in the vein of Postal Service or Tosca. While III doesn't really feature anything groundbreaking or massive progression from his 2006 record Meme its still a nice record. Milosh continues his solid discography of well writen southing electonic records. His voice seems to melt into his deep electronic grooves. Something that is great to just zone out too. Check out a track.
Mp3: Milosh - "Another Day"
Buy: Get III here.
From Think Progress:
Do not mess with morther nature my friends. Yes if you were wondering global warming has an influence on severity of hurricanes. Now if only a dinosaur will eat Carl Everett.This week, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) planned to have town hall meetings in Ft. Myers and West Palm Beach, FL. As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson notes, “AFP is a front group for the right-wing pollution company Koch Industries, with an agenda of attacking ‘global warming alarmism‘ and promoting increased offshore drilling.” In an ironic twist, AFP has canceled its meetings because of Tropical Storm Fay.
Mark Pritchard is Harmonic 313 and he has just released Word Problems on Warp Records. I've never heard anyone use Speak and Spell samples on a record. Brings back some great memories of being 5. Harmonic 313 is a solo effort of Prtichard's "Harmonic 33" project with Dave Brinkworth. His lo-slung blunted Detroit-style instrumental hip hop is well done well. Making a sound that the great Detroit hip hop instramentalist J-Dilla would be proud of. Take a listen.
Mp3: Harmonic 313 - "Flashback"
Check out his blog here. Buy this record here.
Nice leftfield disco by Men and Women. Their release South America is available now in Digital EP and 12" Vinyl on War and Moon Records.
Formed in 2006, Men and Women's Jamie Granato and Brad Frost, hailing from opposite ends of the US met in New York while working in a record store. This is their first effort. On the B-Side, Men and Women invited friends Eliot Lipp (Mush, Eastern Developments) and Cousin Cole (Flagrant Fowl) to remix the title track.
Mp3: Men and Women - "South America" (Cousin Cole Remix)
The self-released album is also available at major online retailers including iTunes, Beatport, eMusic, Turntable Lab, Rhapsody, Other Music and Amazon.
Time for a bit more of a contempory Reggae feature. Richie Spice aka Richell Bonner is from Rock Hall, Jamaica a suburb of St. Andrew. Spice has his roots in a musical family that includes his older brother Pliers (from the deejay/singer duo Chaka Demus and Pliers of "Murder She Wrote" fame) and singer Spanner Banner (best known for his mid 90s hit "Life Goes On"). I was first exposed to his music when I heard "Youths Dem Cold" on a mixtape by brooklyn based DJ Eleven. DJ A-Trak also coincidently does a Lil Wayne Spice mashup on his work with The Rub on Sunglasses is a Must Live as well.
Spice's most recognizable song is "Earth A Run Red" which was originally featured on Spice's debut album Universal in 2000. Here is a new Richie Spice track off the Greensleeves 2008 Spring Sampler check it out.
Get the 2008 Spring Sampler here.
Been doing the electronic/remix angle for awhile now. Its about time we do some hip hop. There is a new record out called Planet F.L.O. featuring westcoast underground emcee giant Planet Asia. Asia is 1/2 of the team responsible for one of the best underground westcoast hip hop record out (Cali Agent's How the West Was Won). Planet F.L.O. sees Asia teaming up with longtime friend and debut artist F.L.O. The first single sounds promising check it out.
Get more info here.
Was all over this game in 1991. Still remember how mind blowing I thought the Sega Genisis graphics were. This is a remix done by RAC (Remix Artists Collective) from the aptly titled Nintendo vs. Sega EP. The EP features a Mario Brothers, Link and another Sonic the Hedgehog related track.
Mp3: RAC - "Sonic Spring Yard Zone" (RAC Maury Mix)
Get the entire thing here.
Want some classic Chuck Taylor sneakers along with some free stuff from Downtown Records?Well now you have that opportunity. As part of the "Get Out of the Garage" contest I am offering up just that. FREE KICKS AND STUFF. Its pretty simple on your end. Just answer the question.
Name your favorite Downtown Records artist and why. First person to post my personal favorite (not telling) along with their shoe size AND email address will win. Simple stuff.
Contest ends as soon as somebody gets the right answer. Good luck.
Contest over. Mos Def is the best person on the record. But they do sport some great young talent as well.
Puppets eh? Kinda cool. Could have been better. Actually kind of like the puppets thought it could have worked the funny angle a bit more.
Not my favorite track on the record and certainly a departure from the sound of the rest of the record but still a great song. This track does certainly work as a great laid back summer track. Cool video. Check it out.
The Hollerboard summer mix champ comes just in time. Deep Sang from Washington DC drops his Beach Ball Boogaloo just in time as Summer is slowly coming to a close. This is highly recommended especially for those late season outdoor parties. Check it out.
Mp3: Deep Sang - "Beach Ball Boogaloo" (zshare)
First if you haven't heard Dam-Funk's mix for One Day Later radio go do that now. Now that you have done that you should check out Los Angeles' "Ambassador of Boogie Funk's" video for "Toeachizown".
Mr. Funk will be playing this Saturday at Sonoteque in Chicago with James Pants. I'll be there and so should you.
Having nothing to do with Air the French band or for that matter France in general or even planes the band Air France from Gothenburg might have put together the best record of this year with On the Way Down. Pitchfork compared the album to the Avalanches' Since I Left You and while thats a streach this record is certainly close. I've been playing it non stop for the last two days. Its import only at the moment but as soon as you can get it I recommend it. Or just go grab it in mp3 format.
Read more from my favorite Swedish bloggers Discobelle here. I am close to deeming this the best album of the year. Perhaps its too hasty. Certainly hasn't been a dance album like this for many years.
Pitchfork review here.
A dub reggae legend and one of my favorite artists Horace Swaby better known as Augustus Pablo. Pablo is known for his influence in roots reggae and as a dub record producer and keyboardist doing is best stuff in the 1970s. Many credit him as being the first popular artist to rock the melodica on a regular basis. East of the River Nile released in 1978 is probably my favorite dub record. Pablo died from a collapsed lung in 1999. He had been suffering for some time from the nerve disorder Myasthenia gravis. Check out one of his most recognizable tunes.photo thanks to Pogus Caesar / OOM Gallery archive.
One of my favorite producers teams up with Chicago's own MC Zulu on the "Go Ballistic" single due out on Ninjatune before the end of August. The single includes remixes by King Cannibal and Tony-O as well. Here is just one of those remixes. Check it out.
Mp3: Ghislain Poirier feat. MC Zulu - "Go Ballistic" (Toddla T & Duckbeats Remix) (zshare)
More info here.
Alfred Darlington aka Daedelus is THE nicest artist I have met he also has done a nice little video regarding his love of electronic sounds and follows it up with a performance on his famous futuristic toy, the Monome. Check it out here.
Sorry post was delayed, then never made it up because I was down at Lollapalooza. I'll do a post what I thought of Friday the only day I can make it to later probably. For now its Reggae Friday and we are focusing on Lloyd James aka King or Prince Jammy. King Jammy is one of the most famous dub mixers and record producers. You might never guessed as he began building amplifiers and repairing electrical equipment from his mother's house in Waterhouse. After a brief stint in Canada the builder of soundsystems returned to Jamaica and set up his own studio in his in laws home.
Jammy would develop his digital sound, recording and production techniques to go on and work with some of the largest people in dub, roots and dancehall. He produced albums for Black Uhuru, Johnny Osbourne, Dennis Brown, Sizzla, Horace Andy and many others.
Check out a track Jammy produced for Johnny Osbourne (who will certainly be a subject of Reggae Friday down the road).
Mp3: Johnny Osbourne - "Chain Grabber"
Links:
Interview part 1 April 9, 2007 on 1Xtr; 60 minutes. (RealPlayer)
Interview part 2 April 9, 2007 on 1Xtr; 27 minutes. (RealPlayer)
