When the summer hits, spring has suddenly transcended from full bloom to unbearable swelter - intensely dry or brutally sticky. It depends on your location, right? I wonder whether folks complain more about the weather in January or August.

The efflorescence of spring/early summer is marvelous and the aggregate happiness of people cannot be refuted. Limes are squeezed into summer beers, mint is crushed for refreshing mojitos, tender meat is slowly cooking on barbecues, and men are praying for summer flings in seersucker dresses. Summer is about little planning and just finding yourself sauntering into parks and bumping into friends. Endless people watching.

Over the past weekend I found myself at Dolores Park, on more than one occasion. I strolled amidst relaxing tourists, families, San Franciscans, and the ever-the-more recognizable hipsters. 3 years ago I could have counted the number of people there on a Saturday. But the delectable tastes of Tartine, Bi Rite Creamery, Del Fina, and plentiful taquerias have enticed gastro enthusiasts & scenic revelers far and wide, Prada to Aviatars, Marin to Martinez.

We can all recognize that particular American luxury of driving. Our modern infrastructure, suburban sprawl, and individual spirit create a sense of entitlement and a unique driving experience. There is a freedom that we enjoy in automobiles, consciously escaping something for anything an empty road (uhhh, we wish in the 21st century) can provide. When we can be accompanied by sunshine, companionship, a desirable destination, and a breeze, then summer is officially here.

Music is always essential in a car. This is a mix that my friend, Lauren, gave to me last summer. It captures the spirit of summer, roadtrips, and good ole’ Americana rock n’ roll. Play this with the windows down.

(To download into Itunes, right click and save here)

 

 Summer Means Feelin' Good - Rollin' Spokes: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Categories: Visine for the ears
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As David and Alex both noted earlier, the 3rd Annual G5 Summit was a dream trip. I really wish that everyone could have a group of tight friendships, shared interests, and fortunate vacation time. As a group of five gents, we thrive on our thirst for culture, our love for a cornucopia of beats, the necessity of sharing what we are reading, and how new technologies are expanding the manner in which we promote all of these interests. But as five dudes, we are also just that. We inhale six street tacos, talk about our current bowel movements incessantly, chat about ladies walking by, and talk a lot of smack to each other.

I want to thank Alex and Anna for their hospitality and allowing four guys to crash at their Condesa/D.F. pad for many days. This podcast is dedicated to them. In fact, it’s a mix that Alex gave to me three years ago. It’s titled “Citoyen Du Monde Inc. 2006: El Mundo Entero.” It’s very Manu-centric, which makes sense if you know Alex. But he combines it with some beats from all over the place. It’s an upbeat, worldly compilation that is perfect to play at a summer bbq. In fact, let this this be the first in a slew of summer bbq mixes. Alex, can you provide the playlist in the comments section? Rockin’.

(To download into Itunes, right click and save as here.)

 

 El Mundo Etero: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Categories: Cultura, Latin America, Visine for the ears
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I felt the energy of “Abel” surge through my body like the electrifying guitar chords that were lunging off the stage. The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend was my third time seeing The National and I was surely not disappointed. The stage presence of singer Matt Beringer is not only sweet, but romantically disturbing. One wonders if he really deals with the sordid stories and alcoholism in the songs he’s written. Regardless, the fact that he feels the spirit of the songs allows the audience to love their music even more. They have a bunch of new songs right now and here are two that I am digging. The first one with St. Vincent is really pretty and timely and the second is a live track. Enjoy.

 

 Sleep All Summer: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Runaway: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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In an earlier post, I spoke of my love for the 1999-2002ish era of underground hip-hop. So this is basically my second podcast dedicated to that time and this genre. I start it with The Roots because that chorus must speak for thousands of people - “Hip-hop, you love of my life.” I know Mario feels me on that one. The second track demonstrates the rhyme skills of three of the best Caucasian lyricists - Sage Francis, Eyedea, and Slug. Although the distinction should not matter, it is worth noting that underground hip-hop is a social integrator because it brings artists and fans, both white and black, together on stage, in audiences, and elsewhere. There is equal representation on this mix, but now we just need Asian and Latino folks to step it up. Anyway, just listen, because “the beats and rhymes are a team and the tracks is where they meet!” Bump this.

Tracklist:

The Roots - Act Too…The Love of My Life

Sage Francis feat. Eyedea and Slug - Embarrassed

Binary Star - Evolution of Man

Del tha Funkee Homosapien - Love is Worth

Black Star feat. Black Thought - Respiration (Flyin High remix)

Last Emperor - Let’s Ride

Mission - Disturbing Behavior

Styles of Beyond - Endangered/Winnetka Exit

Procussions - Move Yer Self

The CMA - Introspections

Atmosphere - God’s Bathroom Floor

Blackalicious - 40 oz. for Breakfast

(To download into Itunes, right click and save as here)

 

 Falcon Street Memories II/Love of My Life: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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From coast to coast right now, people are complaining of their misery towards the precipitous inclination of April. So with regards to music, do we contradict mother nature with festive sounds or do we embrace the gray storms with morbid tones? Probably, a little of both. For this podcast, I pulled out some old, scratched cds and reminisced on San Diego, circa 2003-2004. This was the greatest time, in the coolest neighborhood, with a serious handful of awesome individuals. Some of them I speak to regularly, others I’ve lost contact with. This is for them and the special time we shared together. This is also for everyone else, just trying to get through a rainy day.

Doves - Firesuite

Badly Drawn Boy - Fall in a River

Stars - The Vanishing

Broken Social Scene - Anthems of a Seventeen Year-Old Girl

Eels - Fresh Feeling

The Beta Band - Dry the Rain

The Sea and Cake - 2 Dolphins

Parsley Sound - Twilight Mushrooms

Air - Cherry Blossom Girl

Yo La Tengo - Damage

Pinback - Tripoli

Death Cab for Cutie - Title Track

Kings of Convenience - Gold in the Air of Summer

Elbow - Asleep in the Back

Nick Drake - Pink Moon

 

 Falcon Street Memories/A Rain Day Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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(Photo courtesy of Alejandro De La Cruz)

K.C. Accidental - Ruined in 84

Broken Social Scene - Guilty Cubicles

Ami Drive - So This Is It (Live Remix)

Broadcast - Chord Simple

Explosions in the Sky - Day One

Ulrich Schnauss - Blumenthal

The Album Leaf - See In You

Tim Hecker - Dungeoneering

Brian Eno - The Big Ship

Boards of Canada - Satellite Anthem Icarus

A Sunny Say in Glasgow - No. 6 Von Karman Street

Aphex Twin - Pulsewidth

Dntel - Last Songs

Four Tet - My Angel Rocks Back and Forth

Radiohead - Treefingers

(To download into Itunes, right click and save as here)

 

 Study Music Vol. 2: Post-rock/Electronica/Ambient: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Grizzly Bear is hot right now. Their sound is complex and beautiful, but a little poppy in just the right places. I’ve also had this pretty Magnetic Fields song stuck in my head this week and each time I sing it, I smile. Happy April.

 

 Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Magnetic Fields - I Don't Want to Get Over You: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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(This was originally posted on blip.tv a couple months ago. Volume 2 is in the works, so I thought it made sense to finally post Volume 1 here)

A DJ that produces his/her own beats has to know how to dig. They have to swim through miles of vinyl to find the best and most obscure samples to make their beats the awesome and original. DJ Shadow is the godfather of instrumental hip-hop and the king of digging. I heard his first record, “Endtroducing” in 2002 and was instantly mesmerized by the complex layers in his sound. His style of sampling and drumming has influenced some of the best producers in the business of instrumental hip-hop. Madlib, another digger, samples everything from reggae, to bollywood tunes, and blue note records. He recreates it and makes it something entirely his own. His album under the alias of Quasimoto is a phenomenal album with hundreds of beautiful jazz samples. This year a friend turned me on to Flying Lotus and DJ Nobody, both producers from Los Angeles who I’ve been listening to a lot this second half of 2008. They are the latest in a generation of Djs that are making cutting edge sounds.

This has become one of my favorite genres because I can listen and work simulaneously. Call it downtempo, trip hop, drum n’ bass, it doesn’t matter. Just give me the sweet guitar riff and piano melody over a knocking beat. I’m set.

“Sorry, honey… it’s time to off NPR. I have to put some beats on.”

This was originally meant to be a study mix and it might still be one depending on how you listen to music. The last song is certainly a dance track, and I apologize if you want to cut a rug at the workplace. Let’s get some work done in 2009.

Tracklist

Koushik - Welcome, Flying Lotus - Camel, Blockhead - Carnivores Delight, Eligh - Sandstone, Nobody - White Folding Slowly, DJ Shadow - Changeling, RJD2 - The Proxy, Zion I - Metropolis, Tommy Guerrero - Four Trk. Samba, A Tribe Called Quest - 4 Moms, Quasimoto - The Unseen, Urbs - Ununited, Bonobo - Recurring, Cut Chemist - The Garden

(Right click and save as to play in Itunes)

 

 Study Music Vol. 1 - Instrumental Hip-Hop: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Like most cats that engaged in their adolescence in the 90s, I still bump a lot of old hip-hop. In the manner that Indians still listen to 80s pop and classic rock like it were fresh, I love the 90s and early 00s hip-hop. Recently, Ta-Nehisi Coates and David Sasaki both dug through the archives and gave their favorites from this era, thus kicking me to finally finish something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. This podcast comprises some of my most favorite upbeat and grimy East Coast (with a splash of Southern) hip-hop tracks from the 90s. Funny enough, a handful of these songs were radio hits from artists I don’t really listen to (Keith Murray, Craig Mack, Lozt Boyz), but these classic singles captured a time and place so well for me when I was a teenager. (Unfortunately, I left out The Roots, Blackstar, Dead Prez, and more Wu-Tang for no specific reason, but they just didn’t work on this one).

As Coates says, getting into your favorites can spark a controversy. But I believe that’s the sort of discussion that is beautiful because people are so different. The greatest musical artists are ones that generate an argument over which of their works is the best. The Bends or Kid A? Illmatic or It Was Written? Atliens or Aquemini? Also, art is subjective and I’m not sure why I don’t like Common, but his flow lacks vitality to me. Gotta love opinions. Enjoy and feel free to comment.

Big L - Put It On

Gangstarr - Full Clip

Notorious B.I.G. - Unbelievable

Nas - Halftime

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Pt. II

Goodie Mob (feat. Outkast) - Black Ice

Outkast - Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1)

A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour

Lost Boyz - Music Makes Me High

Craig Mack - Flava in Ya Ear

GZA - Liquid Swords.

Keith Murray - The Most Beautifullest Thing in this World
(To listen in itunes, click and save as here)

 

 Headphones & Headnods - 90s East Coast Hip-hop: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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It happened six months ago with Alaska in Winter’s track “Berlin.” Then again with Air France’s “Collapsing at Your Doorstep.” Once more, I hear the first few chords of an electronic track and I’m instantly enamored. This is Gui Boratto, a Brazilian progressive house/techno minimalist DJ. Oh, the beauty and travel of a seven minute song can be awesome. Listen…

 

 No Turning Back: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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For over a decade plus, Living Legends have been producing their own beats, rhyming originally, and putting out independent hip-hop. Between the nine emcees, their total discography probably hits fifty full-length records. From The Grouch selling cassettes on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley to Sunspot Jonz jumping onto sold-out crowds at Broke Ass Summer Jam, they are true pioneers in the California underground scene. Recently, I went back to home to the Bay Area to catch up with family and friends. In the process, my buddy Oatey and I met up, and as per usual, we chatted about hip-hop. After some conversation at Peet’s Coffee, we scoured through our dusty cd collections and came to a consensus on our favorite Living Legends tracks. Here it is:

Nothing Less - Living Legends (feat. Slug)

18 w a Bullet - Murs

Mind Over Matter- The Grouch and Eligh (feat. Psc)

Depths of Survival - Mystik Journeymen

Nothing’s Changing - The Grouch

Not Here - Living Legends (feat. Pep Love and Jo Wilkinson)

The Next - Bicasso

Track 11 - Murs

Overall - The CMA

Bird Race - Eligh

Allstar - Living Legends (feat. The Grouch)

Araingus (Race the Moon) - Mystik Journeymen

L.I.F.E. (For What It’s Worth) - Scarub

(To download into Itunes, Right click and save as here)

 

 Best of Living Legends: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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 Zion I - Antenna: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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This year’s mixtape took longer than expected. I needed to stir it for a month, allow the ingredients to simmer and taste it for full flavor. I think the final recipe is delicious. This process enabled me to further realize that there are  a couple of things I seek to accomplish with each annual audio prescription. Firstly, I try to hit the right balance of accessibility and originality. There are some pop songs that do not grow stale, as my sister assured me when we were listening to “Dance Dance Dance” the other day. Secondly, some independent Bay Area hip-hop is quite necessary, as you will hear with unconventional rhymes from The Grouch. Thirdly, I want a mixtape I can listen to tirelessly and that friends and acquaintances will appreciate as well. Here it is:

Sedatives for 2008

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Deerhunter - Agoraphobia

The Helio Sequence - Hallelujah

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance

The Bird and the Bee - Polite Dance Song

David Byrne and Brian Eno - Strange Overtones

Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars

Alaska in Winter - Berlin

Air France - Collapsing at Your Doorstep

MGMT - Electric Feel

Q-Tip - Manwomanboggie (feat. Amanda Diva)

Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes

Blockhead - Carnivores Unite

Atmosphere - Wild Wild Horses

The Grouch - Breath

Little Joy - The Next Time Around

(To listen in Itunes, right click and save here)

 

 Sedatives for 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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International Economic Law and Policy Blog and Environmental Capital have both discussed the  recent paper by Jeffrey Frankel titled, “Environmental Effects of International Trade.” More on my thoughts regarding “carbon tariffs” later. In a similar vein, Bernard Finel links trade policy with climate change in a recent article. Although I disagree with a lot of what he says, he makes a couple of good points:

In addressing this issue, it is important to make the distinction between pollution and climate change. Ultimately, each country has the right to pursue its pollution targets independently. While there are complicated moral issues associated with this kind of trade, if one country places a lower value on clean air and water than another, then it makes sense for the latter to export pollution-causing industries to the former. The advantage of sending pollution abroad is that it does, indeed, help the exporter maintain cleaner air and water.

This kind of tradeoff does not work with climate change, however. When other countries have weaker controls on greenhouse gas emissions, they are making a choice not only for themselves, but for countries that choose to limit their emissions as well. And if we reduce our emissions while they maintain theirs, we still get global warming. So when the United States exports production — and the greenhouse gas emissions that go with it — abroad, Americans continue to pay the cost of those emissions in terms of climate change at home. Because we gain nothing, it is a false trade. In order for the free market to function effectively, the costs for Americans to buy goods from India must include the costs we place on the negative effect such trade has on our climate change goals.

Categories: Trade Issues
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From Davos to Washington, it’s at the tip of everyone’s tongues again. It’s that ugly word that bleeds negative connotation. Yes, of course you guessed it. Protectionism! Just in the last week there have been over a thousand articles containing the P word.  As President Obama reviews the  $825 billion stimulus plan, leaders at the World Economic Social Forum and Republicans in the U.S. are berating Democrats on the “Buy American” provision. In Davos, trade ministers from Brazil, India, Japan, Switzerland, and elsewhere expressed worry over countries barricading their economies amidst the global financial collapse. The concern is a return to the Smoot-Hawley days of 1930, but most people are not recognizing the current need to reanalyze existing trade policies. Luckily, even former free traders are being revived from the smelling salts of the past two decades, a.k.a. evidence that aggressive trade liberalization has hurt the U.S. economy. Robert Cassidy, chief U.S. negotiator on China’s 1999 market access agreement with the United States, spoke at EPI last week.  He talked poignantly about the urgency to holistically revamp U.S. trade policy, but most of his reasons focused on the bilateral relationship between the United States and China over the past six years. Cassidy said that:

…U.S. exports to China have increased and, as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) often emphasizes, have increased at a higher rate than U.S. exports to any other country. But such claims distort the real truth ‐‐ that exports to China grew faster because they grew from a very low level. In absolute terms, the increase in U.S. exports of goods to the EU was almost 70% greater than the increase in U.S. exports of goods to China.  The increase in absolute terms was 40% more to Canada than to China. Neither of those trading partners made any trade concessions to the United States during this period.

Cassidy contends that the Obama Administration can invoke anti-dumping laws to mitigate unfair competition that results from China’s currency policy. It’s fantastic that someone from the U.S.T.R. office has learned that financial and corporate interests should no longer be prioritized over U.S. national interests. Hopefully, Cassidy’s message will permeate through to more mainstream economists.

Categories: Trade Issues
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I’m really excited to see Zach and crew next weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, blowing brass, plucking strings, bellowing vibratos. I love the common sorts of questions that arise before a show: How much new material will they play? Will he try to pull off some of the electronica material live? A friend sent me Condon’s early electro-pop Real People project a while back and I must say it is truly awesome. But as far as new live stuff, I am definitely looking forward to “The Akara.”

Update: Beirut make you want to move in-concert. Condon tells the crowd to come closer after the first song and everyone in the orchestral seating moves to feel the music. The unison of three trumpets streaming through the air makes me feel vigor. One of the trumpeters also sings lead vocals with Condon, balancing the energy on-stage and giving the audience more to concentrate on. The electronica tracks were performed brilliantly with live instruments. “The Concubine” took on a jammy nature with the bassist’s riff instigating Condon’s dance. “My Night with the Prostitute from Marseilles” caught me thinking that Condon is a remarkable songwriter because his lyrics are so simple and beautiful:

Photos courtesy of Tammy Lo:

 

 Beirut - The Akara: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Categories: All Things NYC, Visine for the ears
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There has always been a debate over whether a cover song holds any weight against its origin. But some covers become more popular and over time we even forget that there was a previous existence for a particular melody. Hip-hop samples have also popularized a tune more than its creator ever could have hoped for. Some critics say that hip-hop merely steals melodies, thus making it less of a creative endeavor in music. I would argue that the beauty in the cover and the sample is that it makes the original version of a song relevant again. We might never have discovered the roots to a riff and lyrics if we had not been introduced to the modern and mainstream rendition.
So here’s the podcast and in itunes here:

1. I Think We’re Alone Now - Tommy James & The Shondells (covered by Tiffany)
2. Rock And Roll Music - Chuck Berry (covered by The Beatles)
3. Gloria - Them (covered by Shadows of Night, Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix, and others)
4. Express Yourself - Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (sampled by N.W.A.)
5. What a Man - Linda Lyndell (covered by En Vogue)
6. Hung Up On My Baby - Isaac Hayes (sampled by Geto Boys)
7. Blind Alley - The Emotions (sampled by Big Daddy Kane)
8. Respect - Otis Redding (covered by Aretha Franklin)
9. As Long As I’ve Got You - The Charmels (sampled by Wu-Tang Clan)
10. Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry (covered with new lyrics by The Beach Boys)
11. Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers (covered by The Beatles)
12. You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me - The Miracles (covered by The Beatles and Eddie Money)
13. Summertime - Sam Cooke (covered by Sublime. The original is actually a 1935 George Gershwin composition)

 

 Rendition as Relevance: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Categories: Thoughts as of late...
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Play this if it stills looks and/or feels cold to you. In Spring also.

And here in itunes.

Tracklist:
Sun Kil Moon - Blue Orchids - April

Jaymay - Sycamore Down - Autumn Fallin’

Fleet Foxes - English House - Sun Giant [EP]

The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground

The National - Keep it Upstairs - Abel [Single]

Bon Iver - Flume - For Emma, Forever Ago

Grizzly Bear - Central and Remote - Yellow House

M83 - Coloring the Void - Digital Shades Vol. 1

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Some of my favorite rhymes on tracks over the last 10 years.

 

 Enhanced Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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