Strictly 4 My R.A.I.N.Y. D.A.Y.Z.
2/22/2010 5:38 pm
This is a follow-up to last year’s rainy day podcast. There are no explicit lyrics that I know of and 2pac did not posthumously contribute to this play list. If he did, he might still be my hero.
Strictly 4 My R.A.I.N.Y. D.A.Y.Z. (mp3)
The American Analog Set - Weather Report
The Apples in Stereo - High Tide
The Clientele - Reflections of Jane
JayMay - Gray or Blue
Matt Pond PA - This is Montreal
The Books- The Lemon of Pink
Message to Bears - At Top of the Hill
M. Ward - Beautiful Car
Elliott Smith - Rose Parade
The Real People - Untitled
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Toby, Take a Bow
The Notwist - One With the Freaks
Lali Puna - Faking the Books
Atlas Sound - Criminals
Radiohead - House of Cards
K.C. Accidental - Residential Love Song
Study Music Vol. 3 - Winter Work/Global Grind
2/10/2010 10:02 am
Kyiv. Courtesy of David Sasaki.
As I’ve listened to Volumes 1 and 2 several times, there has been a personal realization that the cerebral nature and introspective quality of this series causes these compilations to be a bit distracting for reading purposes. It depends on the person and context of course, but these instrumental mixes might be better titled as, “Work Music.”
Volume 3 is a multi-genre, multi-cultural escape, from some of winter’s most picturesque places: Germany, Sweden, and Oregon to warmer sounds coming from Ethiopia, England, Los Angeles, and finally, India. Study/Work music, coffee/tea, this chilly season, and “the grind” all go hand in hand.
From Snowpocalypse 2010. Courtesy of Laura Heaton.
Study Music Vol. 3 - Winter Work/Global Grind (mp3)
Tracklist:
Max Richter - Horizon Variations/Vladimir’s Blues/Sofa Chess
Eluvium - Radio Ballet
Peter Broderick - A Snowflake
Mogwai - Stanley Kubrick
Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Did They Ever Tell Cousteau?
Mulatu Astatke - Tezeta (Nostalgia)
DJ Cam - Gangsta Shit
Eligh - Bird Race
B. Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
Ustad Zakir Hussain - Teentaal - Vilambit Matta Taal
Best Pop Music of the Decade [00s]
2/5/2010 8:33 pm
The National. Courtesy of Matt Benton
When the folks at All Songs Considered congregated to discuss the defining music of the 00s (also known as “The Noughties,” “The Aughts,” or other unspeakable titles), a couple of trends stuck out in my mind that are worth highlighting. First, in the digital age of i-pods and downloading mp3s, there has been an “end of nostalgia” in music because we no longer have to yearn for music that we once knew or owned. These days, everything is available in the palm of our hand or the click of a mouse. Second, the “blurring of sounds” between genres is an incredible progression in music that has allowed for fascinating developments. The music created during this past decade by Outkast, M.I.A., and Radiohead are incredibly complex and impossible to explain in one word.
The 00s were a transformative decade, politically, technologically, and personally. For me, our nation’s political development definitely shares a commonality with music. Both have helped me realize that I dig this country and I’m happy to have experienced more of its offerings. In 2001-02, I would not have said the same. But as I’ve grown older, discovered more jazz, Americana, and hip-hop, as well as traveled to Oregon, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Colorado, I can wholeheartedly say that I appreciate American culture. That being said, there is an immense wealth of music that was churned out of other countries, but only Norway and U.K. are represented on this compilation. Next weeks podcast shall be more global, I promise.
But anyway, here it is. This is what I conjured up. Enjoy.
Best Pop Music of the Decade [00s] (mp3)
Kings of Convenience - I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From (remix)
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
Stars - Elevator Love Letter
The National - Secret Meeting
Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
The Strokes - Is this It
Modest Mouse - Float On
M. Ward - Chinese Translation
Eels - Fresh Feeling
Coldplay - Clocks
Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body
Broken Social Scene - Pacific Theme
Pinback - Fortress
The Shins - New Slang
The Clientele - Since K Got Over Me
Band of Horses - The Funeral
Radiohead - Morning Bell
Beirut - Postcards for Italy
Sun Kil Moon - Trucker’s Atlas
Hip-Hop is Dead? The Best Hip-Hop of the Decade [00s]
1/31/2010 5:52 pm
Madlib (left) and J Dilla (right). Photo Courtesy of Stones Throw Records
For most hip-hop listeners in their late twenties and thirties, it’s quite hard to know what exceptional albums emerged over the past ten years. We recall the glory decade of the 90s, from the gritty east coast to the gangsta west, but what about the 2000s?
Without a doubt, hip-hop continues to run “through my veins like blood, and love.” It’s a genre that I play as much as anything else, it’s a motivating force, it makes my body bounce, and it influences my swagger. It’s funny, because I wonder if I’ll still cherish this music as dearly in 2020 and I wonder how my children will feel about it.
For me and many others, this was the decade of J Dilla and Madlib, two innovative producers whose resumes really exploded in recent years. In early 2006, a rare blood disease ended the life of Dilla, but not before he created a lasting impression on hip-hop and the music industry as a whole. A podcast dedicated to J Dilla (though redundant by now) should be in the cards in coming months, but for now check out the two Dilla tracks (Common and Slum Village) on this mix and Madlib’s two gems (Madvillain and Quasimoto) as well. The rest of the playlist is pretty self-explanatory: The first half are classic underground cuts that personally hit me in a profound way and the second half gets into more mainstream and culturally significant tracks. Let me know what I missed.
The Best Hip-Hop of the Decade [00s] (mp3)
Atmosphere - Guns and Cigarettes
Talib Kweli & DJ Hi Tek (Reflection Eternal) - The Blast
Common - The Light
Slum Village - 2u4u
Madvillain - Accordion
Quasimoto - Basic Instinct
Zion I - Critical (Feat. Planet Asia)
Blackalicious - Make You Feel that Way
Deltron 3030 - Mastermind
Lupe Fiasco - Kick, Push
Kanye West - Flashing Lights
Dead Prez - Hip-Hop
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Snoop Dogg & Pharell Williams - Drop it Like it’s Hot
Eminem - Drug Ballad
E-40 - Tell Me When To Go
The Roots - Seed 2.0 (Feat. Cody Chestnutt)
Sedatives for 2009
12/29/2009 9:03 pm
Photo courtesy of Alex De La Cruz.
Sedatives for 2009 (mp3)
Playlist
Peter Broderick - With the Notes in my Ears
Kings of Convenience - Mrs Cold
The National - So Far Around the Bend
Metric - Blindness
Phantogram - Mouthful of Diamonds
The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
Discovery - Orange Shirt
Jay-Z - Young Forever (feat. Mr. Hudson)
Kid Cudi - Up Up & Away
Dela - The City (feat. J-Live & Surreal)
Au Revoir Simone - All or Nothing
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Passionate Introverts
Black Whales - Origins
Yo La Tengo - More Stars Than There Are in Heaven
Wedding Season 2009 Mix
8/10/2009 7:24 am
Wedding Season is over. These are some of the best tracks this year, so far.
Passion Pit - Moth’s Wings
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream
Pete and the Pirates - Ill Love
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Young Adult Friction
Zion I - Radio
Beirut - No Dice
Discovery - Can you Discover?
The Clientele - I Wonder Who We Are
The National (feat. St. Vincent) - Sleep All Summer
Wilco (feat. Feist) - You and I
(to download into itunes, right click and save as here)
The Lo-fi Aesthetic: How the 90s Recording Rebellion Created a Genre
7/16/2009 9:34 amSome people believe that vinyl is the only and truest manner to listen to particular music. This loyalty is understandable because the sound and speed of a record, the listening experience, and tradition can be very important to people.
Similarly, some artists and bands like the raw and gritty sound produced by recording devices like the 4-track. This year, I’ve rediscovered bands like The Magnetic Fields, Grandaddy, and Pavement. These groups are quite different, but they all share similar aesthetic qualities. In this circumstance, I came to realize something a little deeper about their sound and what I was loving about them - these are bands of the 90s that were rebelling against the digitized, enhanced way of recording music and the big label studios. Their albums sound as if they are recorded in a basement or garage, their distorted guitars radiate, they include feedback and background noise to songs, and their quirky voices and lyrics are poignant, yet esoteric. As Jonathan Mair says in his essay, “this music falls within the umbrella of “lo-fi,” a reaction to the excessively “hi-fi” music of the 1980’s and 90’s, a reaction to the dishonest aesthetic of big budget recording artists, controlled by marketers and increasingly narrow niches of popular music.”
I decided to hit up fellow music enthusiasts, Gabe McNatt and Gregory Ryan, about other 90s lo-fi artists that helped influence the style and sound of the independent rock movement. I hadn’t heard much Sebadoh or The Apples in Stereo, but I really like what I am hearing.
I’m still unclear on whether all these bands recorded in lo-fi out of economic necessity or for purely aesthetic purposes. Of course, more current bands, like Broken Social Scene and Grizzly Bear, certainly have funds to produce higher quality recordings, but they CHOOSE to make their records in lo-fi and it sounds dynamite because of this decision. I suppose this is analogous to their choice of not producing radio hits. I hope Gabe or Greg can make a follow up to this which includes influential lo-fi bands line Dinosaur Jr., Smog, Guided By Voices, Daniel Johnston, and others. For now, dig on this.
Playlist (To download into Itunes, right click and save as here)
The Microphones - I Want Wind to Blow
Neutral Milk Hotel - King of Carrot Flowers Part 1
The Olivia Tremor Control - Jumping Fences
Grandaddy - A.M. 180
Yo Tengo - Double Dare
Sebadoh - The Freed Pig
The Apples in Stereo - Innerspace
Modest Mouse - Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset
The Mountain Goats - The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton
Pavement - Cut Your Hair
My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
The Magnetic Fields - I Don’t Want to Get Over You
Wilco - Red-Eyed and Blue
The Flaming Lips - She Don’t Use Jelly
Built to Spill - Carry the Zero
Song of the Week: The Grouch & Eligh - Say G&E!
7/8/2009 5:36 amI’ve been hearing The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots all over the place this summer. It really is a classic album now and every time I hear, “I don’t know where the sunbeams end and the starlight begins, it’s all a mystery,” I sing along.
When I first heard The Grouch & Eligh’s G&E Music Vol. 1&2 it was unlike any hip-hop I had previously heard. Their production was so fresh and self-made, their rhyme pattern so distinct and introspective. I haven’t even heard their latest and third album, Say G&E!, all the through yet (I know it won’t be 1/10 of their first effort), but I was curious what people thought of this Flaming Lips sample on the Eligh production of this title track. Diggin’ or hatin’?
Guest DJ LAW: Summer Means Feelin’ Good - Rollin’ Spokes
6/24/2009 10:15 amWhen 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)
The 3rd Annual G5 Summit: Mexico/El Mundo Entero
6/4/2009 12:10 pm
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.)
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 | DownloadFalcon Street Memories II/Love of My Life
5/28/2009 7:46 amIn 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/A Rainy Day Podcast
5/13/2009 7:54 am
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
Study Music Vol. 2: Post-rock/Electronica/Ambient
4/7/2009 5:24 am
(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)
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 | DownloadStudy Music Vol. 1: Instrumental Hip-Hop
3/30/2009 9:04 am
(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
Headphones & Headnods - 90s East Coast Hip-hop Podcast
3/26/2009 6:50 am
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)
Song of the week: Gui Boratto - No Turning Back
3/16/2009 8:37 am
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…
Best of Living Legends podcast
3/11/2009 8:51 am
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)
Song of the Week: Zion I - Antenna
2/24/2009 1:41 pm
