BLOOD!!!

I dig this article, if only because the last quote so highlights the difference between European and American culture. Obvious, yes, but that last sentence is just so...Italian. Or something. Anyway, it made me chuckle. Yeah, chuckle.
By the way, where is Anita Ekberg from? Come on, now.

Because of the fact that this is a (test)...we will now take the time...to (re-fix) it

Shout out to Steady B, Blastmaster KRS-ONE, TaT Money on the cut, and Doc, breaking it down like this! The combination of black & white cartoons and 1920's-sounding samples makes this song really memorable for me. I've never heard the original to this song, but I've never needed to, this song is a classic.

I just wanted to update the Hamlet Safety project. I have taken the suggestions and questions I received from people to update and hopefully improve the project. Please let me know if you have any other comments or suggestions. Much appreciated.

I am also including another test project i did. I added a visual component to the excellent musical language lessons provided by earwormsMBT. This is a demo of a German lesson for the video iPod. I was planning to make a trip over to the father-land (why is it called this?) when I was waylaid by a bit of bacteria in the system. Long story short, I never got to test my supposed German language learning.



On another note, big up Kerry Washington for directing an amazing video for Common's "I Want You". There is not alot of talk of female directors out there, let alone black female directors. This is not one of the top five songs on the excellent "Finding Forever" album, but this video goes a long way in making the song work for me. The video is really well thought out with a story line that adds to the song rather than just represents it. I haven't enjoyed a video from Common this much since the MK12 designed "Go".

o:{Big up OnSmash for the link. Apologies for the logos in the way. (like I did that!)}

I'm not sure, any more more.

At some point last month, I thought it would be a good idea to try and flip a quick drum and bass remix of this Kanye track. But due to my one hour rule/excuse when making stuff on the computer, it kind of ended up sounding like Aphex Twin or Squarepusher or something. Actually, the photoshop here took about as long as the track, which speaks to: a) my photoshop skills (nil) b) my skills with music software (questionable) or c) my lack of commitment to getting things closer to how I want them to sound.

Goodnight (Ragga Loud)

I made a "ragga louder" version, which is sonically a little more consistent, but you can't here the vocals for all the bass. Delicious.

Sob Story.

I made a trek back to my old stomping grounds in the suburbs the other night to spin at a friend's party. Proper club, big sound system, so on. I was worried I'd be asked to DJ first - groggy from the train ride and not many people in the spot doesn't make for an energetic or enjoyable set. Instead, I was told my slot was late/last - around 3, "so people will stay until the end." This, however, was presuming that lots of kids wanted to hear me spin. Versus get home on the last train and make it to work the next day. No problem; I was happier to talk to old friends who were able to come through early on.
But, of course, 3 turns to 3:30 and the crowd starts to thin. The organizer is gone somewhere, and the rest of my DJ friends are congregating outside somewhere. I'm recovering from a cold, so I give up and lay down on a sofa in the back "VIP" room. Get woken up at 4, "Do you want to DJ? Everyone's pretty much gone." I make a go of it for about twenty minutes, but shut down when I realize that we can all leave whenever. Anyway, here's what I was thinking of spinning. Have a listen. By the way, it starts at about twenty seconds in, so hang in there. It'll give you time to close all of the pop-ups.

RAVage

It’s coming up on a year from the time when some reckless driver plowed into my parked car on rain-soaked Brooklyn streets in the middle of the night. And I miss my car.

The day I drove it off the lot in Minneapolis I had a homemade mixtape in my pocket ready to try out the speakers. Side One, Track One? Sob (Saab?) Story by the Leaders of the New School. From that day forward there was always music playing in my Toyota Rav4. I made mixtapes for the car first and then for my friends. Better yet, if I had my friends in the car, then it was a win/win! The dashboard stayed packed with cassettes and then later CDs.

Nothing got more run in the car than J.Rocc’s promo mix for the Jaylib album. Stones Throw Records really should have included it on the re-release. The Champion Sound promo CD is a seamless blend of the combined history of two of the best musicians that hip-hop has produced as well as a sample of their collaborative work. The best bit is that it included the unreleased Stereolab-sampling track that started the conversation between these two artists. Apparently, Madlib would record rhymes over Jay Dee’s beat tapes. He took a shine to one particular song, but the beat was already sold. I believe that above mentioned song is what became Busta Rhymes’ “Show Me What You Got For Me”.

The above picture is the last time I saw my car, hobbled at the impound lot, totaled and heading for scrap and spare parts. The link will show you some of the people who spent a lot of time in my car listening to music or just enjoying the ride. Whattup, AnR, SHZA, Gee, Me, Toriano, and Marlon (in order of appearance). Whattup, Kemba for trips to Boston and Jones Beach. Thanks Sean for the Autobot sticker that I stuck on the back window imagining the heat sensitive holograms of the first generation Transformer toys. Whattup, Kemp for trying to buy the “blue lady” for a dollar to keep her all in the family! And whattup Roxane, who told me that my car (the Rava she called it, misunderstanding the logo) was like riding around in a movie, with our own personal soundtrack. I’m missing you all.

Tamborine, if you will.

I'm adding this one to my "Stevie had his eye on the mothership" (or is it the "George had his eye on Stevie"?) file. This one is '73 - great version. Maybe it's just me, but wailing co-ed choruses + minor sevenths = UFO soon come down from the rafters. Anyway, here you are.

Conflicted:

Black Snake Moan (Nice site, too!)

I was always interested in this movie. Maybe it was Sam Jackson’s “year of the snake” or maybe it was the old-fashioned “pulp fiction” postering. But the images of Christina Ricci in chains made this seem like a porno and I didn’t want to tell anyone that I wanted to see it, so I waited for video.

But lo, this is a great movie!

The characters are well rounded and you get a real sense of the community they are in. Sam’s character’s explanation of why he didn’t just take the girl to the sheriff is simple and (mostly) believable. I have family in the south, so I really liked these characters and the preacher character reminded me of one of my older cousins (complete in look and mannerisms, thus making me homesick). The south is presented truthfully and not as a stereotype.

And the music is nicely done! Not being a major fan of the blues, I found myself tapping my foot to the soundtrack. And the title song scene, where Sam plays guitar and Christina is wrapped around his leg and a storm’s brewing outside, is amazing!

The writer/director, Craig Brewer, considers his movies musicals of his hometown of Memphis. His first was Hip-Hop and this was the Blues. He says he has Country and Soul in the works.

Now I might have to see “Hustle & Flow”. I avoided it because of the “pimp” plot. Which is sad, because I have been a Terrence Howard fan since “The Best Man”.

Milton!

I'm not even gonna bother getting into all the crazy here. It's too easy. But it's just one thing. Forget the hair - isn't Kels wearing man-size doll clothes?



I do appreciate being informed as to what "the profanity represents," though.

Sample Cleared Conscience

http://www.themegatrondon2.com/2007/09/13/cradle-to-the-grave-vol-3/

"You know …I didn’t know Mr. Byrd, or ever meet him. However I felt a little bit of a connection with him. It turns out that he was having a very hard time financially around 2001, and he and his wife were about to lose their house. As fate would have it, before the bill collectors could take the house away, the royalties from "U Don’t Know" (which sampled his record "I’m Not To Blame") allowed him to handle his financial issues and save his home.

I remember being heated beyond words when I found out that whoever owned the publishing for "I’m Not To Blame" was taking a super-high percentage of the record. When I found this {o: the above} out, it was yet another example of God working in those mysterious ways. Had he not recieved that money, who knows what would have happened, and obviously none of us would have even known about his plight. I rested a little easier that night, knowing that something I did was able to directly benefit one of our heroes during a time of need.

I’ve got a similar story about another record I did.. but I’ll save that for another time.

R.I.P."

Taken from the incredible Just Blaze blog "The Megatron Don" (click to hear the sampled original, Just 'n Jay's song and the fully formed remix with M.O.P.!), which is also the home of the above bit of Photoshop magic. Nice one!

I was sitting in the "100% Design" event in London recently and they were playing some of the classic James Brown and Bobby Byrd songs and it really hit me that we lost these two legends so close in time to each other. I've heard Chuck D (or was it Hank Shocklee) say that one of the reasons that they pulled Flavor Flav into Public Enemy was to get the vocal Barritone vs. Tenor effect of Bobby Byrd and James Brown. Once again, Hip-Hop owes a great debt to these two men. Rest in Peace, Mr. Brown and Mr. Byrd.

o:{all over the place!}