A NYE quickie: check out the freshness of Paris-based Onra. This guy is great. It's not technically "new music," new to me, though. His last record, Chinoiseries (2007; Favorite), is a fun listen: instrumental hip-hop inspired by J Dilla, made from samples of obscure Vietnamese records. I know, sounds a bit lame! But it's actually a very interesting record, and it reminds me of the globalization heard on El Guincho's steller Alegranza (2008; Discoteca Océano). It follows conventional beat-tape tendencies of a high volume of short songs--most clock in at around 1 to 2 minutes--playing like a Madlib Beat Konducta release.
Onto, Animal Collective. "Daily Routine," from the anticipated January release of their ninth album, Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009; Domino), sounds like they have refined their sound. Lot's of Panda Bear singing on "Daily Routine," and more sincere lyrics: "Just a sec more in my bed / Hope my machine's working right / When it's just precisely tuned / That's how it comes out so nice." He continues: "Make sure my kid's got a jacket /Keys and coat and shoes and hat / Strap a stroller to my back / Bouncing along every crack." Wow, being in your 30s and married with kids has never sounded cooler! If you can get past the lyrics, there's some incredible ideas packed into the song. Panda Bear's penchant for sun-drenched melodies is distinct on "Daily Routine," and they stretch out during the song's second half in beautiful refrain. Happy New Year! Stay safe!
From Indianapolis, collaborated with legends like Coltrane, Monk, and Davis in New York, won a Grammy while recording for one of my favorite jazz labels, CTI. Passed away in LA, yesterday.
Little known fact: Every cool person you know secretly appreciates jazz.
Happy Holidays. Hope everyone enjoys the eggnog & rum (maybe too much), family functions, not having to work with all your co-workers whom you despise, wool-knit sweaters, good books and lounging in housecoats all day. Oh yeah, go to Church to talk with Jeebus & Co., and for god sake, hold the door for old ladies when you're out cruising for sales during these difficult economic times.
Here is some Paul McCartney magic. A couple years ago, when I was DJing more often, I found a great Baltimore breaks remix of this song...by Scottie B or...I dunno, anyways, if you know what I'm talking about please drop me a line.
Lastly, besides my absolute holiday favorite:
check out the Soul Santa mix podcast:
This is great to cleanse the palette after having to endure all the shitty Christmas music when you're out shopping. It was done by DJ JBX of Big City Records on 12th st, in NYC. Great record store, and a great holiday mix:
I've been getting up earlier and earlier since the semester finished; which is odd since I should be taking advantage of the open days and sleeping-in. Today I went to the newsstand down the street, bought the paper, came home, and made coffee with my French press--for that extra "umph." If you don't own a French press, do yourself a favour and pick one up. I recommend the Bodum variation, which I own myself:
It's hard to get good coffee living downtown--my old neighbourhood was a lot better on the coffee tip. Also, remember to get medium grind and not fine grind--fine grind will clog up the filter and shoot hot scalding coffee out of the spout--which would be a shitty start to anyone's day.
So I heard the new Royce The 5'9 song today, called "Shake This," produced by Preemo. That makes 2008 the second time a high-profile rapper has used a David Axelrod sample. (Okay, Royce isn't "high profile" per se, but he isn't really doing the indie circuit anymore--a middle ground rapper I guess.) This summer Lil' Wayne recorded an interesting concept/b-side curiosity, "Dr. Carter," off of The Carter III. Produced by Swizz Beatz, the song sampled Axelrod's "Holy Thursday," from his incredible 1968 Songs Of Innocence LP. That particular LP has been a favorite of mine since the late 90s, when vinyl re-issues of deep funk, soul, and rare b-movie soundtracks began filling record store bins; shedding light on once rare and sought-after sample sources.
The new Royce track has Preemo chopping Axelrod up in the MPC 60, keeping most of the triumphant strings intact while beefing-up the drums. And yeah, Royce's verses are a little cheese-ball at times, but it's still cool to hear David Axelrod getting burn in '08, and to have another collaboration between the Detroit emcee and seminal New York producer. Also, did you know that David Axelrod is a top advisor to President Obama? Only this Axelrod wasn't signed to Capital records in the late-60s.
Here is the new Royce video. It somehow manages to avoid the usual bent of contemporary rap videos, although it's still take-it-or-leave-it:
Here is the original sample:
These last two songs feature Axelrod's "Holy Thursday" sample, from the same Songs Of Innocence LP. I'm not going to post it. Go find it yourself, jerks.
Weezy rapping over Axelrod on "Dr. Carter," produced by Swizz Beatz. I like how he sheds some light on the craft of emceeing--to which 90% of Lil' Wayne fans don't give a fuck about:
Finally, my favorite rap song that uses Axelrod: Artifact's 1994 "C'mon Wit Da Git Down (Remix)" ft. Busta Ryhmes, produced by Buckwild. Can't deny the freshness. I love Buckwild, he's defintely in my top 5 NY producers. This shit makes me want to thrown on an old Jansport and go tagging! Check it:
A lot of trends (Crystal Castles, Crystal Antlers, Crystals Stilts = the "crystal effect"), a lot of festivals (SXSW, Coachella, etc.), outdoor shows (The Feelies opening for Sonic Youth at Central Park back in the summer!), tours, re-issues (Dennis Wilson's 1977 - Pacific Ocean Blue), and of course--new recorded albums.
Here are my top 10 records of 2008:
1. Portishead, Third (Island Records)
Portishead used to be every reason why your older sister was so cool when you were a young and impressionable adolescent. Then they disappeared off the map, your sister got engaged, replaced Portishead with something cheesy like The Verve, and life went on. But for most diehard fans, waiting 10 years for the seminal Bristol 3-piece gloomsters to release something was almost asking too much; until Third was announced in the press.
Watching Beth Gibbons shake her head, as if in disbelief at what she is singing, in between the opening lines of "Roads" from their 1998 Roseland NYC Live DVD, is how I feel about Third. It sums up what Third means as a music experience: decadence. Stanza after stanza of lyrical astuteness (“I can’t deny what I’ve become, I’m just emotionally undone”—Gibbons warbles on “Magic Doors”), was accompanied by a new musical backing—both scanty and ominous, like 1970s Krautrock marrying English post-punk despair.
Their catharsis was hard-boiled with a softness at its core, spread out over the 11 harrowing tracks. Third was entirely pragmatic and new—a withdrawal from their old sound—this time using synthesizer patches and esoteric grooves that lame Brooklyn bands like Gang Gang Dance would crap in their pants over. Third is the best album of 2008.
2. Shugo Tokumaru, Exit (Almost Gold)
The opening guitar plucks of Exit's first album cut, "Parachute," signal a dense musical offering from a staggeringly gifted little Japanese man. Unbelievably talented, he apparently plays over 100 instruments alone in his cramped Tokyo apartment. The complexities of his arrangements are smart yet accessible - this is incredible stuff.
3. Flying Lotus, Los Angeles (Warp)
When Warp records heard the music of Flying Lotus featured on Adult Swim, the label signed him immediately. Music runs in his family—he is the nephew of the legendary Alice Coltrane—and it's evident in his brain-melting futuristic instrumental hip-hop. With cues from J Dilla, Los Angeles is both unpredictable and refreshing.
4. TV On The Radio, Dear Science (4AD/Interscope)
Every critic was ogling over this record when it came out in October as a late edition to 2008. Some even went as far as calling it the new OK Computer. Nonetheless, Dear Science was magnificent from start-to-finish.
5. Paavoharju, Laulu Laakson Kukista (Fonal)
Finnish independent imprint Fonal is a label to watch in 2009, with many talented groups like Paavoharju. This album is filled with sparse, electro-folk soundscapes; evoking cold pastoral imagery(...of vodka!). A challenging listen, but one that can be rewarding. Plus the song titles are fun to try to pronounce!
6. James Pants, Welcome (Stones Throw)
Welcome is a strong argument for why contemporary electronic music remains interesting. This is like Cameo on acid, with way too many vintage synthesizers; retro-boogie-sounding electro-space funk from the future; originating, of all places in Spokane, WA. One hopes Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf further grooms the young artist to his full potential.
7. Koushik, Out My Window (Stones Throw)
Koushik is based out of Vermont, and I like to imagine him making Out My Window hunched over a sampler in some cabin, surrounded by thousands of obscure records from the 1960s, while looking out at the rolling green scenery. Signed to arguably the best indie hip-hop imprint, Stones Throw, his entire aesthetic of shoe-gaze vocals meshed with crispy boom-bap drums works wonders.
8. Department Of Eagles, In Ear Park (4AD)
Until Grizzly Bear releases their highly anticipated new LP, this will have to hold us over. And it does quite well. Grizzly Bear co-songwriter Daniel Rossen has unleashed 11 songs of alarming effectiveness that reveal more and more after each listen. At 26-years-old, he writes endearing lyrics beyond his years.
9. El Guincho, Alegranza (Discoteca Océano)
With comparisons to Panda Bear, Manu Chao and Os Mutantes!, it's hard to imagine Alegranza not being a fun listen. The loops he uses recall the melancholy of Portuguese fado, the immediacy of West African rhythms (move aside Vampire Weak-end!), and the overall appeal of World music. This record is relentless.
10. Cut Copy, In Ghost Colors (Modular)
Having free-reign at DFA headquarters in New York to use innumerable vintage synths, disco-era percussive implements, and choice samples, Cut Copy knocked-it out-of-the-park with In Ghost Colors. It reaffirms producer Tim Goldsworthy's genius, and that Australia is a hot-bed for catchy new-disco and effortless indie-pop.
I would say 90% of the music in my iTunes right now is by dudes. So I found some ladies who have been getting some burn lately:
1) Francoise Hardy, particularly Et Si Je M'en Vais Avant Toi (1972; Virgin France). Great record, but not her best. It was her French-stylized, Americana-inspired appropriation of 1960s/70s pastoral-rockabilly and folk-country. (Contextually, it kinda reminds me of a 'Cowboys & Indians'-themed restaurant I went to in France that was sooo not politically correct.) I do the dishes to this shit! (Plus it helps me practice my French.) Speaking of Frenchies, the Serge Gainsbourg bio-pic is supposedly being made now, as I read here on Tiny Mixtapes.
2) Aretha, damn. Even though Rolling Stone is for people who like Will Smith movies, they listed her as the #1 singer in their Greatest Singers Of All Time list; which is kinda arbitrary, but she still has a great set of pipes nonetheless. Pretty much exclusively playing "Baby I Love You," from Aretha Arrives (1967; Rhino) but also "Good To Me As I Am To You," from Lady Soul (1968; Atlantic). She looks like she does not fuck around at the buffet for one second.
3) The Breeders. Does this count? Overwhelming majority of women. Kim's voice is great. I was prompted to re-visit them (1990's Pod) recently after going through Kurt Cobain's top 50 records list that he documented in one of his 'tormented artist journals'. As much as I like Pod, I can never get tired of their 1993 follow-up, The Last Splash. Who would think that 15 years later, The Breeders would still be making new records? They were totally over-shadowed by the Pixies. Also, can anyone confirm if Dayton, Ohio (hometown of The Breeders) is in fact the anus of America? Or is it just the chode?
4) Alice. Consistently fucking blows me away. I know that Journey in Satchidananda (1970; Impulse! Records) isn't really that deep of a free-jazz record, but it's still quite incredible. It sort of expands and contracts, pushes and pulls, lulling you into a hypnosis. Hipsters beware: this record only got like a 3 or 4 on Pitchfork, so you know, it's not really that cool.
5) ESG. Even though this looks like a "surprise" moment, behind-the-scenes at a janitorial staff meeting for an all-girls prison, these girls (ESG: 1st woman on the left, and last 2 on the right) used to be cool. When I was younger I listened to them on really nerdy DJ mixtapes (actual cassette tapes!) from Minneapolis and New York, before I knew that they had been sampled in a ton of old hip-hop records. I really liked when Dilla flipped "UFO" on 2006's Donuts, even though that sample is undoubtedly played-out. ESG's energetic disco-punk is the epitome of why late 70s melting-pot NYC was such a perennial time for music/culture.
Tortoise's song "Monica" is a six-and-a-half minute long instrumental, chugging along at around 82 beats-per-minute. A dense piece, "Monica" features great use of vocoder, lush synths and lazy guitars. It's really laid back--the band rides the same groove for the first half, repeating the melody every 4 bars, before mutating into an abstract of itself on the second half. The percussive nuances are tasteful and interesting; with different snare-tunings and sampled drums staggered and stacked against one another. Not pop-y at all, Tortoise's recording is a great piece of post-rock.
The Kinks ; "Monica" [2:15] (The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society; 1968)
The Kinks' song "Monica" is totally different from the Tortoise song of the same name. No synthesizers or modern instruments obviously--it is organic and has a nice mix of acoustic guitars, electric guitar, hand-percussion and simple melodies. I was listening to Village Green Preservation Society quite a bit lately, and noticed Davies' pining lyrics sometimes juxtaposed against the outwardly sarcastic. "Monica" stood out as one of the more pop-sounding songs. It is simple in composition, and sounds very loose--like they laid it down in only a few takes. It's too bad that this record was not well-received upon initial release.
I can't decide which "Monica" I like better, since I like both apples and oranges (chortle!). All music nerdery aside, Monica is a terrible name for a girl. I don't think I even know a Monica, or have ever known one. And if you name your child Monica, she will undoubtedly grow up to be a whore.
