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...