To you and you and especially you...

Hey, all... I will be on holiday until 5 January. Maybe I'll post between now and then... maybe I won't. In the meantime, be sure to grab the Happy Holiday Hullabaloo Mix... and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May your 2009 be blessed and full of music...

Tonegent

Ninja Tuna

It's become a theme this week... artists I can't believe I haven't posted on yet...



In the chronicles of the mighty Ninja Tune label, Mr. Scruff has always been known as the "funny one". His songs, especially his sampling choices, always display a wacky sense of humor, and it doesn't hurt that he draws cute cartoons for all of his record covers. Cute cartoons work on me every time. But so does the music, and here's one from the new record... funky biznezz, as usual...

Mr. Scruff - Kalimba (ysi)

And for a little more demonstration of the visual element, here's a video for a different song from Ninja Tuna called "Music Takes Me Up" that features Alice Russell... yep, her again...



Singing fruit = funny... every time!

The Chairman of the Board

A good live album can take you back to the time and place where it was performed. Here's one that certainly delivers...



Frank Sinatra was undoubtedly one of the coolest motherfuckers ever to walk the face of the Earth. I don't think anyone in their right mind can possibly debate that. Crazy people can debate it all they like... with their imaginary friend or perhaps with a shoe... but we don't listen to crazy people around here. I mean... the music, the movies, the women, the mob, Vegas... oh, and did I mention he was apparently the first guy to sign Jimi Hendrix?!?! Can you think of any other guy that, as a guy, you'd like to trade places with for a few days? Just to see what it was like to be him? Clooney's got nothin' on the Chairman, sorry. That said, I'm not a massive Sinatra music head. But this live set, which a friend tipped me off about recently, might be the single best thing to have if you only need one Sinatra thing (wow, that sentence wasn't confusing at all...) It's got all the classics, backed by the Count Basie Orchestra with Quincy Jones on arrangements. Can anyone say Dream Team?

(MP3 REMOVED BY THE MAN)

But possibly the best thing about Sinatra At The Sands is the really hacky comedy bits he does between songs (not to mention one CLASSICLY hokey dramatic monologue). That stuff is the kicker, the thing that makes you feel like you were there... drinking a scotch and smoking a stogie indoors... with a broad you just picked up at the blackjack table sitting next to you... not worrying for the moment how you're going to slip out of town before Moe Greene finds out that you ripped him off and has your legs broken... Vegas, baby!

Pasty Brits or Smokin' Japanese Babes?

Today, another group that shockingly has never gotten love at Tonegents...



... which is really odd because Future Sound of London are definitely high-ranking deities of the Electronica pantheon. Well, except for the fact that nowadays all they make is dirty hippie music. But then again, despite their great tunes they've always been cocks. At least that's what I've been lead to believe. They couldn't even be arsed to leave their studios to play shows back in the day... they just sat in their studio in their underwear and beamed shit out to venues via ISDN lines. They probably just hit play and cruised the web for porn. I mean... that's what I would do...

Future Sound Of London - Smokin' Japanese Babe (ysi)

Rumor has it they might play actual real live shows next year, but I'll believe that when I see it. Now for the gratuitious girlie shot you knew was coming with a song title like that...


"Tonegents is SuperHappy Fun Blog Time!"

What, you'd rather see a picture of the band? I doubt that entirely...

That's my (peppermint) jam!

This edition of House Music Friday (now 15% Housier!) presents a record that I have been looking for in zeroes-and-ones form for quite some time...



And that record is pretty much the only one MKL vs. Soy Sos put out, although they did do an album together under the name 3 Generations Walking that is borderline amazing. But that one is not House, so this was their "House moniker". Because why would we want to know that anyone had an actual body of work to consider? But whatevs. This one is on German label Peppermint Jam, which is one you should write down, and the remix is courtesy of Matthias Heilbronn, who you can call Matty. This is one of those that, I don't know how big it was for everyone else, but this record was big in the circles I ran in when it came out... because it's gooooooooood...

MKL ft. Soy Sos - Her Song (Matty's Flower Mix) (ysi)

Buy it straight from the label.

Actually, if anyone has seen any other Peppermint Jam records out there in non-vinyl form, let me know where they're at... they're hard little fuckers to track down. Oh, and have a great weekend!

Joi and Pain

Sorry I wasn't around yesterday... I was, uh... busy helping Congress set the terms of the auto industry bailout... yeah, that's where I was...



You don't hear about a lot of musicians from sunny Bangladesh, but I have a couple for you today, the brothers with funny names that made up Joi. They were in the group of Ethnic/Electronic acts that brought the term Asian Underground to the world (along with folks like Talvin Singh and Karsh Kale), signed to Peter Gabriel's Real World label... and then unfortunately one of the brothers died out of nowhere from a sudden heart attack. And since there isn't much comedy in that, I'll go straight to the tune...

Joi - Asian Vibes (ysi)

So since that's kind of a downer, here's something ridiculously cute to make up for it...


"Come and get some, Chica!"

"Now why'd you have to go and type that for, Tone? That's not even his--" I know, I know. I'll just go now...

Mr. Good Vibes

Hey ho hiya! Wet day in Los Angeles... I almost expect to see an ark floating down the street. Only in L.A, instead of Noah saving two of each kind of animal, it would be Nacho stealing two of each kind of vehicle--

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--so then I says to the guy, "Hey, get your hand out of there! I'm not French!" Anyhoo, on to today's tune...



It's a bit odd that vibes player/cool dude Roy Ayers hasn't gotten his own post around here yet, since the ubiquitous one has appeared on 3 of my DJ mixes... so yeah, I dig his stuff quite a bit. And despite the title of this song, it isn't a slow jam, it's more of a smoky funker... whatever the hell that means...

(Would you believe this just got DMCA'd two years after it's original posting? It's not even up on my Mediafire account anymore. Gay.)

Full disclosure: I actually don't own this album... this track is from the Southport Weekender Vol. 3 compilation. That is a series what will melt your face, folks. But the thing is, I couldn't pass up the original cover art. What a stud...

Yeah, but they're huge in Europe

You may be inclined to scoff at today's band, but you keep your scoffin' to yourself, buddy. If I wanna hear anything outta you, I'll rattle yer cage!



Fun Lovin' Criminals are one of those bands that had only moderate success here at home in the U.S. but really blew up in Europe for some reason. Kings of Leon are a current example of that. Only difference is... Kings Of Leon suck chrome-plated tractor pipe. The Fun Lovins had a nice thing going on, though... a laid back Rock/Rap combo with humorous lyrics... that got buried under the much angstier, shoutier and shittier Rap/Rock that was popular with the kids at the time...

Fun Lovin' Criminals - All My Time Is Gone (ysi)

(Goear is fucked again today. But don't worry, it sounds like you think it sounds. Just grab it already.)

These guys did have one hit here in the states though, the Tarantino movie-sampling "Scooby Snacks". You might remember it...



I'm gonna go get all whacked on Scooby Snacks myself now... whatever the hell that means...

Ranking Tone, Big Up!

So, I'd have to say that the highlight of my weekend was the part where "the rangers have been notified and (my) picture taken for prosecution purposes". But that's all I'm gonna say about that...



Starting off the week with some heavy heavy dub ('cuz that's the best kind), courtesy of Reggae veteran Ranking Joe along with relative newcomer Twilight Sound System, whom I've posted on before, on the production. I like the term "ranking" in the Rasta slang. Means "highly respected". I would like to be called Ranking Tone from now on, if you don't mind. I think I've earned it. Okay, maybe not... I'm probably more of a "lagga head". I'm sure you can guess what that means...

Ranking Joe - Poor Man Version (ysi)

But more importantly... have you downloaded The Happy Holiday Hullabaloo yet? I think you should. It's quite festive. Toodles.

The Happy Holiday Hullabaloo

Ho ho ho, pimps and hoes!

Tonegent presents "The Happy Holiday Hullabaloo"

(Continuous Mix - 72:16 - 99.25Mb @ 192kps)

1) Mr. Mackey - Carol of the Bells
2) Dean Martin - Jingle Bells (Dan The Automator Remix)
3) Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - O Come All Ye Faithful
4) Count Sidney - Soul Christmas
5) Clarence Carter - Backdoor Santa
6) Rufus Thomas - I'll Be Your Santa, Baby
7) Run-DMC - Christmas In Hollis
8) Kurtis Blow - Christmas Rappin'
9) Mr. Garrison - Merry Fucking Christmas
10) A plus D - Give Da Jew Girl Toys (Sarah Silverman)
11) DJ John - The Christmas Massacre of Charlie Brown
12) Mojochronic - Yuletide Zeppelin
13) Freddie McGregor - Irie Christmas
14) Poncho Sanchez - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
15) Wham! - Last Christmas
16) Members Only - Christmas Eve
17) Stephanie Cooke - It's Xmas
18) Nathan Fake - Silent Night
19) Mel Torme - The Christmas Song (Sonny J Remix)


Enjoy!

Get your damn hands off of my record!

House Music Friday is rockin' the Back To The Future reference because...



... today's track comes courtesy of Crispin J Glover and his Rhythm Graffiti album from Paper Recordings. Get it? George McFly? Eh? Eh? I'm so clever it makes my sciatica act up sometimes. But other than that, I don't have a heck of a lot for you today... except for this funky piece of Disco House goodness...

Crispin J Glover - Loose Booty (ysi)

Nice to see O.J. Simpson headed to the big house for an extended stay. I have a feeling that some large men are about to turn The Juice into a Smoothie. Get it? ZANG! Have a great weekend...

Sexy bullfight?

You like remix albums? I like remix albums. Here's one now!



Today we have your usual two-pasty-Brit outfit, this one being Zero dB. I'd cite a couple of facts and talk 'em up a bit, but for some reason they decided to put the bio on their Myspace in a freakin' 56-point font which pretty much makes it like reading an eye chart... so they can suck it. Vocals by excellently named Aussie lass Phoebe Killdeer. Sounds like some kind of supervillian secret identity name, doesn't it? "By day, she was demure zoo employee Phoebe Killdeer... by night, she ruled the woodland and commanded it's animals as Mother Nature!"... or something. I dunno... I just like that name. On the remix is Raphael Sebbag, the not-Japanese guy in United Future Organization, and he gives the whole thing a sexy bullfight vibe...

Zero dB - Sunshine Lazy (Raphael Sebbag Remix) (ysi)

... okay, so naturally I had to do a Google image search for "sexy bullfight". But the results were kinda disappointing. Here's one of the top pictures that came up... and I just gotta say that anyone who finds this sexy, well I'm not sure I wanna hang out with 'em...



"So, you wanna poke me with a fuckin' stick, eh? ZANG!"


That is going to leave a mark... on my psyche. I'm gonna go now...

In which I bag on Esthero a bit...

Had a celebrity sighting the other day... saw none other than Esthero at the Trader Joe's in Studio City. Now, as much as I love the girl, I just wanted to smack her in the head and say "Dammit, make some new music, dumbass!" But I didn't, because she doesn't know me and may not have taken it as the tough love it was intended to be... and I would be writing this blog from jail while a large, tatted up Mexican gang-banger named Churro looked over my shoulder sharpening a shiv. Esthero's still cute as ever, though. What can I say? I got a thing for redheads...



But Esthero doesn't have anything to do with today's music. Today's group features vocals from another woman who actually, you know, makes music from time to time, Miss Alice Russell. See, I didn't even know she was the singer in Bah Samba. Nope, not a clue. Tells you how on top of shit I am, huh? (I think I do a pretty good job of pretending to know what I'm talking about, though) So yeah, Alice Russell, in addition to her own solo work (the new one just came out), and work with Quantic, and Mr. Scruff, and TM Juke and about a million other people, is the singer in Bah Samba. Suck on that, Esthero! (Love ya, mean it!)...

Bah Samba - Coming Home (ysi)

I must also highly recommend Bah Samba's House Remixes album while I'm here... and then I think I will go take a poop. Whoops! Did I just type that out loud?

It's kinda weird

Not every Soul artist out there is concerned with love in the club. Not all of them are shooting for radio plays. Not all of them are angling for the hook on the next Young Jeezy record. Nah, some of them just smoke a lot of weed and make tunes...



There are kinda three levels of R&B/Soul out there these days... your pop radio stuff which tends to be ass, your "Neo Soul" (Erykah, Jill Scott, Musiq) that is actually ironically quite retro, and your out-there shit that is on some next level that the general public ain't quite caught up to yet, probably because it's really, really freaking weird. I'm talking about stuff like Sa-Ra, Georgia Ann Muldrew and today's pick, Dudley Perkins. Strange, off-kilter beats, vocals that sound more improvised and just general oddness abounds. Dudley's record was produced in its entirety by Madlib, who's also kind of hit-or-miss for me, what with all the weirdness he has going on himself. But the stuff grows on you if you give it a chance... and don't think it's too weird...

Dudley Perkins - Me (ysi)

And hey, a YouTubes of a slightly less weird song...



This one is from Stone's Throw Records, purveyors of fine Hip-Hop and Soul of both the weird and not-weird varieties... whichever floats your boat. I wasn't paid to say that, but you know what... I should be! Ha! Not likely!

In which I recount my manly tales...

Hey, remember last Monday when I said I'd be back "tomorrow"? Well, apparently "tomorrow" meant "next week". It happens. Big holiday weekend at Tonegent headquarters, though. Cooked my first turkey... nailed it! Then on Saturday I got to go spelunking underneath my building to fix a broken water pipe. Very manly stuff... grew 3 new chest hairs and everything. I'll take a picture of 'em if you like... but now it's time to get back to tunes...



Watch TV & The Primetimes sounds like it would be a group, but it's actually just one guy. So maybe he has some imaginary friends. Maybe they play instruments, maybe they tell him to burn things... I can't be sure. He's from Spain, you see, and I don't speak Spanish... and as I learned from my trip to Spain years ago, no one there speaks English, which I found to be very rude. Just kidding, Spanish people. Love ya, mean it! Anyhoo, Spanish producer, tasty beats... this one's got an Afrobeat vibe yet again... the shuffle must be feelin' it lately... whaddaya want me to do?

Watch TV & The Primetimes - Wagadooga Shake (ysi)

So to recap the holiday... big up The Food Network's website, rubber gaskets & hose clamps, and the Syracuse University hoops team (for taking out Florida and Kansas back to back... get ready to suck it hard, Big East)... and no big up to Sailor Jerry's Navy Rum and Plaxico "Watch Yo Back At Dem Applebee's, Yo!" Burress. Rockin' hard from now 'til Christmas... stay tuned...

Fuck Shit Stack!

Super duper busy today, so no time for a real post... BUT I will give you a short assignment. Go familiarize yourself with the immensely talented Reggie Watts. Beat-boxing, live looping and comedy all wrapped up in one. This dude is my new hero, for real...



There's lots more where that came from on the YouTubes, so go crazy. Back to a full post tomorrow.

The Management

I'm kind of a big Biel

A quick programming note... This week at Tonegents, House Music Friday will fall on Friday. Adjust your calendars accordingly...



First off, awful cover on this 12", Ben Watt. Just horrible. A combination of extreme gayness and maddening illegibility. Makes me wanna punch you right in the cock. BUT, and no surprise here, it's a helluva nice song co-written by the vocalist, Julia Biel. Never heard of the gal but apparently she's more of a Jazz singer except when she teams up with Mr. Watt or his Buzzin' Fly mates. So my guess is... he's schtuppin' her. Good on ya, mate. A perfect track for 5 A.M....

Ben Watt - Guinea Pig (Vocal Variation ft. Julia Biel) (ysi)

Now, you might take a look at that singer's name and think that I'd use it as some sort of an excuse to segue into some kinda sexy picture of Jessica Biel... and you'd be exactly right...


I'm so predictable.

Have a great weekend, kids.

Lotsa Dick Jokes Today

As a matter of fact I'm going to apologize for this post and recommend you don't read it right off the top... just grab the music and skip to the bottom. Seriously, it's probably for the best...



Oh well, if you insist. So it turns out that Micko Westmoreland, who recorded as The Bowling Green did soundtracks for gay porn before he put this record out... which naturally led me to come up with gay porn names for current bands. Why, with just a glance at last year's Coachella poster, I was able to come up with such gems as Man-anal Collective, Tilly & My Balls and I'm From Barcelona And I Love Big Black Cock In The Ass... aaaaaaand I'll just stop there. You're welcome. Anyhoo, this one came out on Trent Reznor's Nothing label (Nine Inch (insert word of choice for "penis" here)), and kinda sounds like the Drum & Bass stylings of Squarepusher (never mind, I'll get in too much trouble) on this one...

The Bowling Green - Think What You're Doing (ysi)

For those of you wise enough to heed my opening warning, good work. Trust me, you didn't miss anything. For the others... hey, I warned you.

Gutbucket Fonk

Must the British do every kind of music better?



There are a lot of good bands popping up these days in what they're calling the Deep Funk scene (or as I like to call it in a ridiculous accent, Gutbucket Fonk), and the latest of these to get my attention are Brighton, UK's The Grits. They are brought to you by Freestyle Records, a label that is becoming a strong buy-on-sight candidate for those who like it funky. And yes, I said Brighton, UK, because I don't know about you, but when I think Gutbucket Fonk, I think of guys in cardigans who drink tea and watch footie. But nonetheless, The Grits certainly live up to their name in that their sound is, well... very gritty. Simple arrangements anchored by HUGE drums and some weird-ass Moog work for some extra originality... and lots of cowbell! Raw like sushi...

The Grits - Jan Jan (ysi)

... because when I think of funk, I also think of raw fish artfully arranged with a lovely garnish of ginger. Don't question it, that's just how I roll...

Smoove Operator

Why do I have a man-crush on Gilles Peterson? It's not his sexy legs, it's because he keeps turning me on to music like this...



Although I have already proclaimed Jazzanova's new record to be the undisputed album of the year, a guy who contributed some vocals to that effort has his own record that I would put up there as one of the serious challengers... and that guy is Brooklyn's Jose James. This guy is smoove, man. Smoove like butta... smoove like my bald dome... smoove like some other really smoove thing. He's a rare bird in this day and age, a bona fide Jazz singer. Sure, his sound has some modern trappings... today's tune dabbles with a Drum & Bass beat, sorta, but this guy is an old-school Jazz man trapped in a young dude's hoodie...

Jose James - Love (ysi)

Essential stuff. And through the magic of Fabchannel, I even get to share with you a full live concert today. Enjoy!

The Apocalypse is Nigh... plus Jazz!

After a weekend of non-stop face stuffing... I'm talking epic amounts of food, folks... it's a wonder I'm able to roll my ass to the computer to get this post up. Seriously, I'm good for like a month...



Classic Jazz is always a good way to start the week, and you don't get much more classic than pianist Red Garland. With John Coltrane. And Donald Byrd. On a standard written by Dizzy. So yeah, this is the good shit. But I think that's what you expect when you click your way to my little page here...

Red Garland Quintet - Two Bass Hit (ysi)

So, I was going to do a long and funny post today, but I've just read some news that makes me want to say....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go smash my head into the sharp corner of a formica counter three or four hundred times...

Award-winning writing contained herein

Hoo-hah House Music Friday Hey-hey Ho-HO!



I think you know where this is going... just a nice little in-the -pocket track by Onionz & Master D. on Bristol's NRK Records. Now, just to get this off my chest... "Master D", dude? That's the best you can do? Master Freakin' D? Man, it musta taken you months to come up with that one. But here's the fucked up part... dudes name doesn't even begin with "D". WTF?!? Just awful all around... the name, not the song. The song is fine... chunky and funky, you would definitely hear this jam in Frisco. Just don't call it Frisco when you're up there. They hate that...

Onionz & Master D - A Night In Frisco (ysi)

Buy link is for a lovely CD compilation that has this song, along with many others. Well, of course it would have others, or else it would just be a single. Can you tell I got nothin' today? I'll just go...

Hard Butt Music

No really, that's the literal translation of the name for this style...



If you're like me, the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word Angola is that time when a member of their Olympic Basketball team met the business end of Charles Barkley's elbow. But I'm here to tell you there's more to this proud African country than that... I mean, there's gotta be, right? It's a whole big country and stuff. Wait, I know one! They have music! Bet ya didn't see that one coming! Angolans have an interesting form of Hip-Hop called Kuduro, which is very similar to Brazilian Baile Funk or South African Kwaito or even Reggaeton. And as often happens with this kind of thing, it took a dirty furriner to introduce it to the rest of the world... in this case, that furriner was Frenchy Frederic Galliano. The record is called Kuduro Sound System and the system sounds kinda like this...

Kuduro Sound System - Isto E Kuduro (ysi)

Diggin' the beats a lot, but I have to say the shouty rapping (in Portuguese!) wears on you after you get a few songs into it. But here at Tonegents we are committed to presenting the worldwide music um... thing... in all it's many... things... or something...

Introducing... Monkey Thunder!

What's in a name? Not always a heck of a lot...



If you actually read this blog and just don't immediately grab the daily tune without paying heed to my pointless ramblings (and I'm guessing there may be two to three of you who do... nah, who am I kidding? I don't even read this shit), you know that I love me a good band name. That'll get ya in the door with me every time. But todays' act, Herrmann & Kleine... that sounds like a fine jeweler or perhaps an accounting firm. Seriously, if you're looking at two CDs and you don't know what they sound like, one by (let's make up a cool name) someone called Monkey Thunder and one by Herrmann & Kleine, which one are you gonna listen to first? Monkey Thunder every time. But it is my duty here to look past such superficialities and see that Our Noise is not in fact a Rock'n'Polka album, but rather was put out by Morr Music, a label with quite a nice track record in leftfield electronic goodness, and is in fact some very groovy chilled-out stuff... you're welcome...

Herrmann & Kleine - Headlights (ysi)

Simple but effective. Very pretty record. By the way, don't go trying to steal Monkey Thunder for a band name... that one is all mine, people!

In which I take an educated guess as to the cause of something you don't care about...

Tonegents: Keeping you uninformed since 2007...



Here's a track from a compilation so old it's on Moonshine Music, the L.A. label that put out pretty much every electronic music compilation ever produced in the late '90s, but isn't around any more for reasons I cannot be arsed to research for you. Maybe the rise of Astralwerks killed 'em, maybe when the European labels finally got domestic distribution so you could get the good stuff without having to shell out 30 bones for an import killed 'em, maybe the fact that seemingly every artist they tried to culivate ended up in Bad Record Contract Hell killed 'em, but whatevs. Anyhoo, this little bad boy here may actually be one of the best things they put out... at least it's one of the few that I would still bother to listen to. A fine collection of early Jungle biznezz, and although most of it is the Ragga-style stuff that was so popular in the beginning, heres a much more atmospheric track by T-Power (most recently seen heading Digital Soundboy records) that you could say pre-sages the chilled out sound soon to be made huge by people like LTJ Bukem. Yes, you could say that... I have no idea if that's actually the case, but you could say it all you like... I won't stop ya...

T-Power - The Elemental (ysi)

So those are my guesses about stuff about this track. Tonegents: Where information is king!

Time to wind down...

And along comes House Music Friday to put an end to a momentous week...



... with a track by Manchester's Mettle Music, two guys who more than fit the description. British? Check. Pasty? Check. That's it. That's the description. Anyhoo, this is one of those tracks that I can't figure out if it's Housey Breaks or Breaky House. Seriously. I lose sleep over this kind of stuff. Either way, a relaxing kinda track because you probably need that after all the excitement...

Mettle Music - The Lowdown (ysi)

Yeah, really no need to get long-winded today. I'm pooped. Have a great weekend, folks...

So this one time I met...

I get to be a name-dropper today, which you know I love...



Belgian group Hooverphonic rode an Isaac Hayes sample to Trip-Hop success back in the day when they came out with "2Wicky", which I'll remember from the movie Stealing Beauty, which I'll remember for getting to see Liv Tyler's boobies. And, um... I think it took place in Italy or something. Now you know what I look for in a movie. Anyhoo, they are still at it and unlike some of their former contemporaries who are still having a go, they still do not suck. (I'm looking in your direction, Morcheeba). Their sound has changed, of course... from the sample-heavy stuff to dreamy guitar pop, but the atmosphere and some electronics remain and the songwriting is still solid... like so...

Hooverphonic - Stranger (ysi)

I have a personal Hooverphonic story... way back when I went and saw these guys with a couple co-workers of mine who happened to be pretty young ladies. After the show we stepped to the bar, only to find that they had closed up. D'oh! It was then that one of the guys from Hooverphonic walked up next to us... he was pretty easy to recognize as he was wearing pink teddy bear footie pajamas (those wacky Belgians). Anyhoo, when we told him the bar was closed he invited us up to chill with the band and drink from their stash. So we did. It was pretty fun hanging out with them... or at least I think it was. I honestly couldn't understand one word any of them said. And we hung out for two hours. I had no idea what we were talking about at any point in that time. Of course, I was totally shit-faced, but that's neither here nor there. Moral of the story: Bring girls to the club, and you might just get to hang out with Belgian guys in pink teddy bear footy pajamas who barely speak English. I didn't say it was a good story...