Hiphopnerd

Not a b-boy stance...
K-os has a new album out...in Canada. I have no idea why his record label refuses to release his albums concurrently in the US...that would seem to encourage bootlegging & torrenting & the like. It's worth noting that you can buy it via itunes, but as one of the dozen remaining consumers of physical CD's, that's not something I'm willing to do. I need discs, man!

Anyway, whenever EMI decides the US is worthy of a physical release of Yes!, I will purchase it. In the meantime, I downloaded a copy and have been listening to it all week. It's good. Damn good.

I don't really understand K-os. I feel like I enjoy his music far more than I should. Last.fm says he's my 13th most-listened to artist since I started tracking such things in January 2006. That puts him ahead of Nas, DJ Shadow, Gang Starr, and Tribe (who sit at 31st!). That seems odd, but the numbers don't lie. A track of his makes it onto just about every mixtape I make. If I can't think of anything in particular that I want to listen to, there's a good chance I'll click on one of his albums. They're musical comfort food for my ears, apparently.

Continue reading "K-os Theory" »

The interlude between parts 1 & 2 of "It's Your World" on Common's Be has a chorus of kids naming their future professions. Most are standard answers like 'astronaut' and 'doctor'...but one little boy very specifically answers 'obstetrician'...

S1W's - full fatigues, Chuck D - mesh jersey & shorts
It's the time of the year again in Chicago- massive outdoor music festival season. This past weekend was Pitchfork, and next weekend is Lollapalooza. Basically, you get just enough time to recover from one before having to go out and do the whole grueling festival thing again.

Continue reading "Lalapitchaloozafork" »

Put some D's on it... (photo attribution)
It all started with a hot dog. There generally aren't too many life developments where you can point to a single, specific incident and say 'yeah...that’s when it all began.' And I’m sure the vast majority of those life developments aren’t triggered by encased meat products. But in this case, it's completely true…well, OK, it was probably 2 hot dogs & an order of fries…

Continue reading "The Hunt For Red Hots" »

Yes, that's my cat.
Anupa at Not Nerdy Enough called me out to respond to a meme...and I'm actually going to play along. I know, I'm shocked too. But don't think this is a motivational tactic that's going to work with any regularity...

Anyway, the task is to list 7 songs you're feeling right now. That doesn't really mesh with the way I listen to music. I don't listen to the radio & I'm not searching for new shit online, so I'm essentially clueless as to what the new & fresh singles, leaks, and trends are. Seriously, check my last.fm charts...it's entire albums with random tracks that were or are contestants for mix CD inclusion. So my 7 track list is simply a handful of songs from recent album purchases that stood out in a positive way and made me listen to them more than other tracks from that same album.

In no particular order:

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul
Wasn't sure where they were going to go with the second Gnarls album, but I think I like it better than the first. This song is a pretty big reason...love the string loop coupled with Cee-Lo's plaintive vocals.

Blu & Exile - The World Is (Below The Heavens)
Wasn't easy picking out one track from this album...but this song just wouldn't be denied. It's catchy as all hell...infectiously positive and uplifting without being preachy. Absolutely beautiful.

Erykah Badu – The Healer
Musically & lyrically hypnotic, I can listen to this over and over and over. Love the sentiment- hip-hop at it's best really is a healing force. You're not going to lose points with a Dilla dedication either. Got to see Erykah in concert for the first time last month, and this was one of the tracks she started out with- very powerful performed live.

Nicolay & Kay - The Gunshot (ft Chip Fu)
I haven't found Nicolay's post-Foreign Exchange output anywhere nearly as impressive as that album. But the Nicolay & Kay collab is pretty solid, and this is definitely the standout track in my eyes. The beat demands head nodding, the layer of hums and chants works perfectly, and the hook's great too. And hell, it's fucking Chip Fu making his second random guest appearance of 2008. I was inspired enough to search out used copies of the two Fu-Schnickens albums...

Pete Rock - The Best Secret (ft Lords of the Underground)
Pete Rock's NY's Finest album has the other Chip Fu guest appearance. For this one though, I'll go with another early 90's throwback, LOTUG. They sound quite a bit different from their heyday, but the snide comments about current day rappers are actually kinda humorous. The real star is the delicious throwback beat.

The Roots – Singing Man (ft Porn, Truck North & Dice Raw)
I like Rising Down quite a bit, but a lot of it blends together. "Singing Man"definitely stands apart, though. Between the eerie loops and vibes, the chorus you just don't know what to do with, & the faded vocals and echos of the third verse, it's very sonically unsettling and challenging.

Kidz In The Hall - Drivin' Down The Block (Low End Theory) (ft Masta Ace)
My car was in the shop for the past three weeks due to mishaps getting the parts it needed. I finally got it back this past Friday, and my Amazon order containing this album arrived that same day. So this weekend I had some time to drive around and check out my batch of new music. When this track came on, it just commanded my attention. It reminds me of a Clipse song, and I really like the constant mention of "Low End Theory tape". Of course, the fact that I was actually drivin' down the block for the first time in weeks probably contributed something to it leaving a mark on me.

You know what though? I'm not done. I've got another 7 for you...I thought it'd be fun to share a bit more of my tastes that fall outside of hip-hop. So here are 7 not necessarily recent, not really hip-hop tracks that I listen to fairly often...

Continue reading "Not Meme-y Enough" »