Category Archives: Music

Music

Samplé vu

grey albumAbout a year ago I downloaded the highly controversial Grey Album by DJ Dangermouse. It is a mix of The Beatle’s White Album and Jay-Z’s Black Album. I enjoyed the mix so much that I went out and bought Jay-Z’s album; see, illegal sampling promotes sales. I’ve heard a lot of Beatles, but not much of the White Album. I was listening to KRNU last week during “It’s the Beatles” and got this weird feeling. After a while I figured out that I was remembering samples that were pulled from the White Album. It was really interesting to hear them put back into context.

Right now I’m listening to The Kleptones, a band that samples so heavily it would be impossible to clear the rights. Right now it’s on a mash-up of Beastie Boys – Super Disco Breakin’ and Queen – I want to break free. Awesome.

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Music

Matisyahu

matisyahu albumA lot of noise has been generated recently about Matisyahu “the Hasidic reggae superstar”. This post is about someone else. Curly Oxide. I heard his story on This American Life last June. Here is the audio. Starts at 7 minutes. With the help of Vic Thrill Chaim went from being a Hasidic jew, to a full rock star, and back. It’s a really interesting story. Listen to it now or wait for the movie version that’s being written by Tina Fey.

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Music

Mindless Self Indulgence

msi
Mindless Self Indulgence will be playing at the Ranch Bowl on May 20th. Kick ass! I haven’t seen too many bands live, but MSI puts on a great show. They pretty much have to since their music will never see radio play. They’ve toured with Insane Clown Posse and System of a Down, pissing off most of the audience, but converting the rest (at least the ones who could get past the ambiguous sexuality). I saw them a couple years ago headlining a show with Deadsy (ugh) and Dog Fashion Disco (sweet) supporting. Their latest album sounds pretty good and includes a cover of Tom Sawyer which I think they just played on tour to annoy Deadsy. I don’t think they’ll ever be able to match their original album. I wasn’t sure if I’d see a show at the Ranch Bowl before it closes, but I guess this will be the last for me. I’m sure seeing Jimmy Urine diving out of the ceiling girders will lift my heart though.

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Movies, Music

How to Blow 30 Dollars

coop figureMy taxes are now done and because I’m exceedingly poor I got all of my withholdings back… all $30 dollars of them. Instead of spending my money on sexy vinyl figs (some other time Coop), I headed towards Amazon to check out tomorrow’s new releases.

  • Bad Education – I had seen Almodóvar’s previous two films so i wasn’t really caught off guard when this movie opened with two guys fellating each other, but I don’t think I need a hard copy of that; I’ll pass on this.
  • Harvey Birdman Vol. 1 – I really like this series. Old Hannah-Barbera characters are put into troubling legal situations and are then misrepresented by Birdman. I’ll probably pick this one up when I’ve got some free time this summer.
  • Mindless Self Indulgence – You’ll Rebel to Anything I played their first album for a friend once and he declared it “The future of music”. I’d be inclined to agree if it didn’t sound like Jimmy Urine was going to have heart attack at the end of each song. The tagline for that album was “30 songs in 60 minutes, one them has to be good!” If you ever get a chance to hear these guys, go for it, they will steal the show. I’m not sure if they will ever put out an album that lives up to the first one though.

Looking over my options I think I’ll hang on to my money a little longer. Maybe I’ll get it changed into 30 $1 bills and hide them in the 30 different pockets. Then everyday for a month I can find one and feel like a winner!

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Music, Torrents

Off to the Record Store

Death from above 1979While listening to the SXSW torrent I stumbled upon Death from above 1979. The Toronto two-piece consisting of Jesse Keeler (bass/synth) and Sebastien Grainger (vocals/drums) is a force to be reckoned with. In my quest to pick up every bit of info on the band I discovered the video from their March 11 appearance on Conan (torrent). Half-way through the song (during the bass solo) Grainger moves from the drum kit to the mic that is standing on stage. Max Weinberg comes running in and starts playing the drums while still struggling out of his jacket. I thought this was an awesome display of respect and was glad that Grainger got to perform untethered with one of the most capable drummers around. This clip was inspiration enough to get my ass to the record store.

Death from above 1979 albumDeath From Above 1979 – You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine This is the obvious choice. The record hits hard right out ouf the gate and keeps up the pace throughout. I like the heavily distorted bass which never overwhelms the finger work. Great buy.

Blood Brothers CrimesBlood Brothers – Crimes I always consider it a good sign when the clerk is excited about what your buying. I got clued into Blood Brothers while reading Nothing Nice to Say. Back in 2003 Mitch Clem was saying “Burn Piano Island, Burn album of the year” nearly every day. So, after doing a little research I decided to buy it, even though I don’t consider myself a punk fan. I’ve never been happier. Crimes doesn’t dissappoint either. It has been described as less bombastic than the previous album, but I’d argue that this album is a lot more dynamic and experimental than the first and should be celebrated in its own right. P.S. this is a great week to start reading Nothing Nice to Say; Mitch will have four mp3s available each day to make a 20 song compilation this week.

Mars VoltaThe Mars Volta – Frances the Mute Founded after At the Drive-in broke up The Mars Volta released this, their second album, this month. This thing is epic. I thought the album had ended way to quick before I realized that I wasn’t through the first track which is over thirteen minutes long. Side note:

FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: Unauthorized copying is punishable under federal law.

That statement appears SIX times on the album packaging in contrast the FIVE times the band’s name appears. This is just getting ridiculous.

DJ DBDJ DB – Breakbeat Science: Exercise 04 I decided I couldn’t leave without buying some electronica. I was wearing this shirt and I do own every other DJ DB album. This album is just a mix of tracks on the Break Beat Science label. It’s a good mix, but left me wishing I had done some research and picked up something original. Probably just being outshined by my other purchases.

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