Canned Thinking

Flaming Lips – “Embyronic” Review at Passion of the Weiss

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I reviewed the new Flaming Lips album for Passion of the Weiss. Embyronic hit me like no other album has hit me this year. The album is the sound of media overload, 2009 wrapped up in a hairy package floating in space. As usual, click the excerpt below to read the whole thing.

Embyronic’s genesis stemmed from casual jam sessions, later sculpted into more cohesive overdubbed. The result is an enigmatic collection of songs, one galactic in scope and sound, even on the shorter numbers. For a band so strongly focused on grand statements about life and death just an album ago, it’s startling to hear the Lips spinning out abstracted space jams. Imagine if your weedhead uncle sobered up and discovered Jesus. Embryonic is the sound of him jamming with his old band, a rusty vaporizer smoking in the corner. The album rescues the Lips from the Styxian path of the NPR-approved alt rock band, positioning them as psychedelic astronauts exploring the dimensions of their practice room.

Aaron Watches The Classics: Akira (1988)

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Aaron Watches The Classics is a new feature on the blog where I share my thoughts on revered film classics. It’s just for shits and giggles right now, hopefully this can become a little more focused over time.

Akira is an important film for a number of reasons. The technical reasons are the previously unseen fluidity of its animation and the quality of the voice acting (Akira is considered the first anime film to use lip-synched dialogue). It is also tremendously influential on the integration of American cyberpunk themes into Japanese animation, borrowed from influential texts like Blade Runner and William Gibson’s Neuromancer. Finally and arguably most significantly, it served as an introduction to the world of anime for an entire generation of Americans. Whether this is a good or bad thing may depend entirely on your appetite for Pocky and fat Midwesterners dressed as Sailor Moon.

The film is set in 2019 in the city of Neo-Tokyo, an artificial island built after the real Tokyo is destroyed in the 1988 World War III.The city has become overrun with teenaged bike gangs and anti-government terrorist groups. Shotaro Kaneda leads a motorcycle gang called the Capsules. One night he leads the Capsules in a fight against a rival gang and his friend Tetsuo crashes his bike into a little child who looks like a shriveled alien. The little weirdo makes Tetsuo’s bike explode and a group of armed soldiers take the kid and Tetsuo away for questioning. Tetsuo is brought to a government building where the requisite evil scientists conduct strange experiments. That’s all I can really say without ruining the plot for you. Suffice to say, I’m leaving out a lot of explosions, Japanese mysticism and creepy psychic children.

Akira’s plot is not the main attraction. It’s an anime which imagines the animated film as spectacle. The hallucinatory sequences are particularly exciting. They’re reminiscent of the dream sequences in Paprika, but considerably more frightening. The cel animation is gorgeous. The charaction animation is astonishingly fluid, but the settings are just as important; Neo-Tokyo is all gleaming skyscrapers and spotlights, enveloped in eye-catching textures and colours. The soundtrack is fantastic, a worthy companion to the striking visuals. Geinō Yamashirogumi’s music complements the onscreen action perfectly with an array of traditional Japanese instruments and inventive leitmotifs. As Tetsuo begins to develop psychic powers, his appearance onscreen signified by ritual chanting and clattering Asian percussion.

There's a lot of thematic significance in Akira between the atom bomb allusions and modern dystopia setting, but I was most touched by the relationship between Kaneda and Tetsuo. Akira makes most sense to me as an exploration of the difficulty of growing up and the nature of friendship. There’s a reason this stuff ended up being so big with preteens. I recommend watching Akira late at night. There’s something about its futuristic cities and psychic teenagers that just seems more sensible at 2am.

Gaslamp Killer, Live at The Drake

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Toronto, what what! Amazing live set. Where did he get the background visuals from?

Interview with director Punit Dhesi at Hip Hop Is Read.

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:29:00 +0000

I interviewed Fresno-based music video director Punit Dhesi for a two-part feature over at Hip Hop Is Read. Not only is Punit one of the most creative music video directors working right now, he also graciously agreed to let me interview for the site. Here’s an excerpt of Punit talking about his genius video for Gangrene’s “Under Siege.”

AM: How did you come up with the idea for Gangrene [Alchemist and Oh No]’s “Under Siege”?
PD: I had been talking to Alchemist a lot, we had been going back and forth. He really wanted to do something for the Gangrene [project], we talked about doing the “Therapy” video, just trying to make something happen. I went down there and stayed with him for two days. We were just sitting there and we came up with it together. We just started watching riot footage and it just came to us. I said, “Can we just put you guys in the riot footage?” I got this documentary done by ABC on the L.A. riots from the library on VHS and just ripped all the footage. Some of it is from YouTube too. I just studied it, trying to match the shots. We shot it all on green screen one day in downtown L.A.

Go to HHIR to read the whole piece in two parts.

Bonus: Punit sent me some pictures of the VHS tapes he made of the “Under Siege” video. They actually sent these cassettes out to media outlets. Check the fly shit:

Popscene at Passion of the Weiss: Supergrass - “In It For The Money”

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:12:00 +0000

My latest Popscene feature is up at Passion of the Weiss. This week I’m writing about Supergrass’s 1997 sophomore album, In It For The Money. If you’re not familiar with it, there’s never been a better time to discover the exuberant pop mastery of the three lads from Oxford. Click the excerpt below to read the whole piece.

Coombes and co. look backwards while moving forward, alchemizing the classics into sparkling modern pop with surprising sonic inventiveness; “Richard III” is pure Stooges until the chorus, where Gaz’s growl and Ron Asheton guitar compete with a Theremin. They burnish Who’s Next-style ballad, “It’s Not Me,” with wah-wah guitars, shakers and bubbling synths. In It… particularly showcases two underrated attributes in song writing: pacing and dynamics. Listen to how “Cheapskate” shifts from Hi Records groove on the verses to a joyous yelp of a chorus. Or the way Coombes’ vocals ably glide through the strummed verses of “You Can See Me” before barking out the chorus.

Convergences 1

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Chimney Sweeps Walking vs. Act A Fool

Inspired by Joseph’s Cover Comparison posts and Lawrence Weschler.

Bonus Blurbs @ Passion of the Weiss: Killer Mike - “I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II”

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:47:00 +0000

Motherfuckers/I just bought some new chukkas/the old ones bloodied up from stomping out all suckas

I was upset when I read that Mike changed his rap name to Mike Bigga; not only is it super-generic sounding, Killer Mike sums the man’s rap persona so well. Unfortunate emcee titles aside, I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II is one of my favourite albums of the decade. It demands your attention. I wrote a short piece on IPATTGII over at Passion of the Weiss. Click the excerpt below to read the whole thing.

Channeling Tony Robbins on the intro, Mike explains that the album is meant to soundtrack your success. He’s less interested in telling listeners how much money he has and more about talking about how to get that Yet hustling is only one facet of the grind and Mike wears many masks over the album’s 17 tracks: motivational speaker, preacher, and yes, hustler. But like his personal hero (early) Ice Cube (who appears on the polemic “Pressure”), Mike embodies all of these characters without being contradictory.

I also recently penned a Popscene feature on Blur’s self-titled 1997 album. Read it whenever you feel heavy metal.

Ottawa Folkfest Concert Review at Exclaim!

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Really had a good time at the three-day annual Folkfest in Ottawa. Joel Plaskett was the set I was most looking forward to, but I was really blown away by all of the shows I saw. Particular highlights: Here’s a snippet of my review, click on it for the whole thing:

Picturesque Britannia Park was flooded with folkies of all ages for the 15th annual Ottawa Folk Festival, which offered stellar performances and workshops by some of Canada's finest roots and folk performers. The Sadies started Friday with a bang, as the brothers Good and the band blazed through a lively set of their signature blend of country, folk rock, surf and psychedelia. The Toronto quartet got the crowd stomping through blistering performances of originals, as well as covers of Merle Haggard and Pink Floyd. Amy Millan of Stars and Broken Social Scene took the stage later that day. Backed by stand-up bass and a pair of trombones, the songstress sang lovely, delicate ballads in her honey-soaked wisp of a voice. Former Barenaked Lady Steven Page closed out the first night with an acoustic set of BNL classics and newer solo material. Self-effacingly cracking wise about his exit from BNL, Page led the crowd through energetic sing-alongs of "Brian Wilson" and "The Old Apartment," and given the crowd's rapturous response, Page may just have a future as a solo artist.

My favourite set would probably be one-man band That 1 Guy, whose set was weird and wonderful in so many ways. Strangely danceable too. Here’s him doing "Butt Machine”, playing his self-invented instrument, the Magic Pipe.

Bonus Blurbs at Passion of the Weiss: Devin the Dude – “Just Tryin’ Ta Live”

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:29:00 +0000

Over at Passion of the Weiss, I’ve contributed two writeups on albums that should have made the site’s Top 50 Hip Hop Albums of the Decade list. The first is Devin the Dude’s instant classic, Just Tryin’ Ta Live. Click the excerpt below to read the whole piece.

But while Just Tryin Ta Live extensively chronicles the day-to-day struggles of a man concerned with typical party material, wine, weed and women, it somehow it remains as far away from party music as you can get. That limited topical range might drag in another rapper’s hands, but Devin’s endearing weirdness keeps things fresh. On opener “Zeldar,” Devin is an alien who discovers a patch of strange green trees in a field and decides to smoke them. “Lacville ‘79” is an affectionate tribute to his busted-ass Cadillac, which he keeps despite his complaints because it fits his easygoing lifestyle. “Who’s That Man, Moma?” is a cautionary tale, warning parents not to bring their seeds to a Devin the Dude show, “…unless they want to see some grown niggas shakin’ they bone.”

Stay tuned for my take on Killer Mike’s I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II later this week.

Top 50 Rap Albums of the 00’s at Passion of the Weiss: #27 – Edan – Beauty and the Beat

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Still my favourite psychedelic rap album, and how ill is that album artwork? Click the blurb to read the our picks for rap albums of the decade, numbers 30-21 over at Passion of the Weiss.

The genius of Beauty and the Beat lies in its knack for framing psychedelic rock conventions in a hip-hop context. “Smile” spills over with feedback, as a backwards guitar loop accompanies Edan’s tale of a troubled musical visionary. “Making Planets” samples L.A. garage/psych band The Music Machine’s version of “Hey Joe”, which morphs into a forceful blues rock riff for Mr. Lif’s fierce guest verse. Beauty and the Beat’s quality transcends accusations of gimmickry; Edan’s fusion of 60s psychedelia and 80s hip hop is not only creative, it’s eminently listenable. Who knew rock and roll could hip hop like this?

Top 50 Rap Albums of the 00’s at Passion of the Weiss: #41 – De La Soul – The Grind Date

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:44:00 +0000

I was blessed with the opportunity to participate in this monumental Top 50 Albums of the 2000s list at Passion of the Weiss. Below is one of three writeups I contributed to the list, on De La’s The Grind Date. I won’t spoil the other two. In the meantime, click that blurb to read the whole spiel and the rest of the bottom 50.

Consider The Grind Date a guide to aging gracefully in hip-hop. It’s not that hard to do; let Pos and Dave show you how. Start with strong, sonically unified production. The Grind Date’s producer lineup is serious. De La are blessed with fantastic beats by Madlib, Dilla, Jake One and regular collaborator Supa Dave West, and a surprisingly dope 9th Wonder production on “The Future”. The tracks are filled with thick bass lines and hard drums. Dilla’s mix of turning signals, reverberating strings and pounding bass on “Verbal Clap” spurs Pos and Dave to spit their hardest verses since Stakes Is High. On “Shopping Bags”, Madlib slices and splices Just-Ice’s “Cold Getting Dumb” until it sounds like the beat was played on empty glass bottles. Jake One’s thunderous, piano-driven thump on “Rock. Co. Kane Flow”. Supa Dave West dependably provides soulful boom-bap backed by gorgeous vocal samples on “He Comes”, “The Future” and “The Grind Date”.

Popscene Feature at Passion of the Weiss: Pulp - “His N Hers”.

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:35:00 +0000

I keep forgetting to post this here. Back in May, I started a new regular feature at Passion of the Weiss, called Popscene (after the Blur classic). For each Popscene piece, I discuss an album of the Britpop era that has been overlooked by North America. I’ve already written about Super Furry Animals’ Fuzzy Logic (1996) and the Auteurs’ New Wave (1993). The latest is on Pulp’s 1993 breakthrough album, His ‘N’ Hers. Click the blurb to read the whole piece:

Their Island debut, His ‘N’ Hers, saw release the following year, and signaled Pulp’s coming-out-party. With Leonard Cohen the clear-cut inspiration for Cocker’s sex, love and class-obsessed narratives, and Scott Walker, David Bowie and Bryan Ferry, his obvious vocal progenitors, Cocker’s myriad influences finally coalesced into a cohesive sound and vision. Meanwhile, Pulp themselves settled into a definitive and seamless blend of glam-rock, post-punk and disco.

Strong shouts to Jeff for editing my rambles into something comprehensible and entertaining.

Also: I’m not an expert on the genre, I'm discovering a lot of stuff as I go. If anyone has any suggestions for future Popscene writeups, comment or send me an email.

Flying Lotus Concert Review at Exclaim!

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:01:00 +0000

You already know what it is. I didn’t get any photos from the show, so I used the very cool concert poster. Click the blurb for the whole review.

Rising Warp Records star Flying Lotus rocked Babylon for a hefty two hours, armed only with his laptop, a mixer and a mile-wide grin. Lotus’s set was accompanied by a pair of monitors displaying bizarre visuals ranging from clips from Atari games to Hulk Hogan performing suplexes. His enthusiasm was infectious, as the producer, born Steven Ellison, mixed highlights from last year’s year-end-list-topping Los Angeles with newer tracks and a even handful of stellar homemade remixes.

The Black Dog & Roc C/IMAKEMADBEATS Reviews at Exclaim!

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:03:00 +0000

Here’s two recent reviews I wrote for Exclaim! Magazine for the Black Dog’s Further Vexations and Roc C & IMAKEMADBEATS’ The Transcontinental. Click the blurbs to read the full reviews. I’m pretty happy with the Black Dog review; it’s my first time writing about electronica!

The Transcontinental:

When he was signed to Stones Throw, Roc 'C' stood out from his labelmates with his gruff bark and street-orientated rhymes. Divorced of that context, he's just another street rapper without a distinctive mic presence. Guest spots by the likes of Prince Po of Organized Konfusion, Rapper Big Pooh, Chino XL and the formerly-MIA Mic Geronimo only serve to highlight the lackluster quality of Roc's rhymes. Weak hooks don't help matters.

Further Vexations:

The album's centerpiece is the three-part "Northern Electronic Soul" suite, which slowly builds into a monumental shifting rhythm, shadowed by burbling synthesizers. "Stempel" is all ominous strings and foreboding tick-tock rhythms. The last five tracks take a turn toward even darker venues; "Skin Clock" throbs and pulsates like its title and "Tunnels Ov Set" is an unnerving creep through industrial terrain. Further Vexations is dense but rewards repeat listens to tease out its many intricacies. Spend some time with this one.

The Organized Noize Beat Drop at Metal Lungies

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:58:00 +0000

I’m two days late, but I think it’s appropriate I’m posting this today – I’ve been listening to Goodie Mob’s Soul Food continuously over the last two days.For lack of a decent pic of Organized Noize, here’s a picture of most of the Dungeon Family. ONP are best known for their production for Outkast, Goodie Mob and the rest of the Dungeon Family collective, but their output goes further than that.

For the uninitiated, the Beat Drop is a regular feature on Metal Lungies, where we choose a producer and each of the site's contributor picks about 5 of their favourite beats by said producer and writes about them. This time we didn’t have any extra special guests, just several writers we respect. I’m proud of this one. My picks were "Watch For The Hook” by Cool Breeze, Goodie Mob’s“The Coming” and “Thought Process”, Outkast’s “Return of the G” and Bubba Sparxxx’s “Wonderful”. Click my blurb on “Watch For The Hook” to read the whole thing.

ONP expertly chop Merry Clayton’s cover of “Southern Man” into pieces and string snatches of its ominous keyboards and a ringing guitar riff together with these fantastic stuttering, stumbling drums. What’s incredible about “Watch For The Hook” is that the instrumental fits each emcee’s voice and flow perfectly — Witchdoctor’s blunted mumble, Cee-Lo’s helium babbling, T-Mo’s fiery bark, Big Gipp’s plain-spoken twang, Big Boi’s slick double-time spitting, Breeze’s authoritative drawl, and so forth. Of course, the lyrics to “Southern Man” share common ground with the more righteous Goodie Mob songs, too.

Marco Polo & Torae Review and Interview at Exclaim!

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:42:00 +0000

I recently reviewed Marco Polo and Torae's album Double Barrel over at Exclaim! and did a short interview with the duo. Click the blurb for the full article.

Marco Polo and Torae are touting Double Barrel as a return to the gritty hip-hop coming from New York in the mid-'90s, embodied by groups like Gang Starr, Onyx and the Boot Camp Clik. It's fitting that Double Barrel is being released by Duck Down Records, home of Black Moon, Smif-n-Wessun and Heltah Skeltah. The duo work closely from the blueprint the aforementioned groups originated, with expertly scratched choruses, hard drums and forceful rhyming from MC Torae. NYC-by-way-of-T-Dot producer Marco Polo provides 14 perfectly dusty boom-bap instrumentals, which Torae rips to pieces. Those introduced to the Coney Island-bred rapper through his 2008 mixtape, Daily Conversation, will be surprised by his newly aggressive delivery. When Torae's rhymes equal the intensity of Polo's tracks, the results are hard to dispute. The swirling strings and clipped horns on "But Wait" are matched perfectly with a Sticky Fingaz vocal sample and Torae's potent rhyming. "Smoke" is a blistering posse cut with exemplary tough talk from Lil' Fame from M.O.P. and Rock from Heltah Skeltah, and "Hold Up" has an insistent spy movie theme groove with verses from Sean Price and Masta Ace. Torae delivers his best performance over the ominous, creeping thump of "Lifetime," backed by DJ Revolution's jaw-dropping scratches. Tougher than a pair of old Timbs, Double Barrel is '90s revivalism done right.

Jens Lekman's 2009 Summer Mix Tape: "The Summer Never Ends"

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Jens Lekman is one of my favourite singer/songwriters, and also probably the nicest guy ever. He graciously replied to a fan email I sent him a year ago, which grants him an eternal spot in my good book. If you're not familiar with Jen's work, he's a Swedish troubadour known for his sweet, hilarious lyrics who builds his songs out of samples. Jens put together a little mix for the warm weather, you can pick it up here (right click). You can also cop the other summer mix he put together a few years back here.

Here's the track listing:

1. “The Summer Never Ends” (excerpt)
2. “I Really Think That We Can Make It Girl”
3. Nicolette Larsson - “Lotta Love”
4. The Embassy - “State 08”
5. “New Directions” (excerpt)
6. Coke Escovedo - “I Wouldn't Change A Thing”
7. Filippo Trecca - “La Morte Dell'erminia”
8. “His name is Mikael Carlsson, her name is Alicia Keys”
9. Lamont Dozier - “Blue Sky and Silver Bird”
10. Cat Stevens - “If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out”
11. Jeff Perry - “Love Don't Come No Stronger”
12. Good News - “Australia”
13. Baby's Gang - “America”
14. American Breed - “Always You”

For good measure, here's the great video for "Sipping On The Sweet Nectar", off 2007's Night Falls Over Kortedala.

I'm working on my own summer mixtape at the moment; so far I've got a lot of Brazilian pop, some reggae and Trick Daddy (natch). Stay tuned, I'll post it when it's done.

"On The Show, You're A Dope": Letterman Deconstructs Reality TV.

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:03:00 +0000

I've been forced to watch The Hills exactly once. I think the show's success signals the decline of North American culture* but we are culturally compensated for it when the "stars" of the show appear on The Late Show. These appearances are a deep, plentiful vein of uncomfortable humour which, at its best, surpasses the greatest episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm or the U.K. version of The Office. Letterman refuses to simply give reality TV stars the privilege to be considered celebrities; he toys with them and forces them to justify their presence on his couch. In his interviews with Lauren Conrad, Dave balances a clear infatuation with Conrad with a bemused sense of wonder that these people are being paid money for what they do.

Even better is Dave's interview with Spencer Pratt, where he makes no attempt to hide his utter contempt for Pratt as a human being.

Dave: What do you do, exactly?

The lack of any self-awareness on the part of the show's cast members takes the comedy to a level of high absurdity. I hope The Hills lasts for another 5 seasons just so Dave can continue to interview members of the cast.

*replace this with any other statement calling popular culture stupid here.

R. L. Stine, Trailer.

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:14:00 +0000

My fellow late 80s and 90s babies, I trust you remember R.L. Stine? This is a trailer for a fake biopic of Stine, brilliantly skewing all the classic biopic cliches. The Gene Shalit quote kills me.

You're scaring the children!

They're scaring me!

Related: Troy Steele has been steadily reviewing every single Goosebumps book at Blogger Beware. His reviews are hilarious and awesome, and I can't do them justice. Start here.

Exclaim! Magazine: Krumbsnatcha - "Hidden Scriptures" Review

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:37:00 +0000

This review will be printed in the April issue of Exclaim! This will actually be my first piece of writing to get into print, exciting times! This album is actually not that bad. The best tracks are really good. Krumb's flow seems to have weakened a bit since the days of Moment of Truth.

It's been 11 years since Krumbsnatcha's career-making appearance on Gang Starr's "Make 'Em Pay" and five years since the Boston MC's last album. While Scriptures features no DJ Premier beats, the presence of Mr. Walt (of Da Beatminerz), Pete Rock, Large Professor and Statik Selektah behind the boards makes up for it. Unfortunately the rest of the album's production is handled by unpromising no-names. For his part, Krumb is blessed with a throaty voice and a steady flow, and spits consistent, straightforward lyrics in the vein of fellow Bostonians Akrobatik and Ed O.G. Scriptures is hurt by its excessive one-hour-plus runtime and weak hooks, but the hits make up for the misses. "L.O.V.E." is a sincere dedication to hip-hop that succeeds despite its familiar sample. "Feeling" features Krumb flowing nicely over a smooth Mr. Walt beat, accompanied by a catchy Kanye vocal sample. Pete Rock's two contributions," Begins" and "Yesterday," see Krumb promising a fresh start and acknowledging past mistakes over engaging Pete beats. While the album is uneven and overlong, Hidden Scriptures' highlights present a strong argument for Krumbsnatcha's relevance in 2009. Let's hope we don't have to wait another five years for the follow-up. (Str8 Up)

Here's the video for album highlight, "Feeling":

The Timbaland Beat Drop

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:50:00 +0000

You already know what it is. For the uninitiated, the Beat Drop is a regular feature on Metal Lungies, where we choose a producer and each of the site's contributor picks about 5 of their favourite beats by said producer and writes about them.

Special guests this time around include DJ Clinton Sparks, Donwill of Tanya Morgan, and dope Philly producer Small Professor. My picks were Missy Elliott's "Work It", Cee-Lo's "I'll Be Around", and the Game's "Put You On The Game". Click my writeup for "Work It" to read the whole thing:

I feel as if I’ve sacrificed my digger credentials by only picking singles, but fuck it, Timbaland’s singles are THAT good. Tim combines an undulating synth line, what sounds like a theremin and blippy bongo percussion into a seamless, rhythmic groove. “Work It” artfully evokes ’80s hip hop with simply aping it — the Rockmaster Scott sampling into, the scratching at 3:25, and rock the “Take Me To The Mardi Gras” break for the last 20 seconds. Reagan-era cribbing rappers would be wise to take notes. Like any Tim production, it’s the small details that really strike you after the first listen; he uses an elephant’s trumpet to censor Missy on the chorus! Genius.

Dilla Donuts Month @ No Trivia: "Workinonit"

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Brandon at No Trivia invited me to contribute to a fantastic month long tribute to J Dilla's Donuts that he's running on his site. Brandon is going to be posting tributes from an array of writers every day in February, each covering a single track off the 31 track album. The first installment went up yesterday, covering "Donuts (Outro)", "Light My Fire" and "Waves".

So far the tributes have encompassed everything from in-depth dissections of the beats to poetry. I wrote an brief autobiographical story for today's installment on "Workinonit." Take a gander here.

Here's the main sample for the track, 10cc's "The Worst Band In The World":

John Coltrane Quartet - Alabama

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:50:00 +0000

Featuring McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Beautiful.

The Most Exciting Woman In The World

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 05:05:00 +0000

For people who only know Eartha as Catwoman, watch these videos of her performing in Europe in 1962. Her phrasing and body language are incredible. I love the editing and framing for these performances; each one is beautifully shot and choreographed.

"I Want To Be Evil":

"Do It Again":

The New York Times obit is essential reading.

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2008 at Passion of the Weiss: Bishop Lamont - "Grow Up"

noreply@blogger.com (AaronM) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:03:00 +0000

I got a chance to write about the 20th best hip-hop song of the year at Passion of the Weiss. Click my writeup below to read the whole list!

Few rappers come more honest than Bishop Lamont. We learn this immediately, with “Grow Up’s” naked confession that “[Bishop]] used to think fucking up was cool until [he] didn’t pass high school.” Later, he calls out a grown-ass man with “a wife at home…wasting gas tryin’ to bust a bitch.” Sure, the entirety of his second verse kicks a typical rap-sucks-nowadays homily. But what isn’t run of the mill is how cleverly Bishop ties this to emotional immaturity. The shit talk entertains, but the way he articulates the genre’s callowness makes it stick.
Behind the boards, Dre displays what a weird head space he’s in right now, pairing a gentle guitar arpeggio to thumping claps, spacey, humming synths, and strings and harps. The result is a delicate balance between the underground and the mainstream that suits the self-proclaimed backpacker signed to Aftermath, an oxymoron if there ever was. But the real hero is Bishop, who writes his own “2nd Childhood”, a vivid portrait of how hip hop’s immaturity leads to poor lifestyle choices.. The candor is refreshing, especially in a genre where a rapper can make headlines by persistently denying his past

Shouts to Jeff for making it happen. Watch a nice live performance of "Grow Up" below: