Konichiwa, bitches! Today, House Music Friday is comin' to you down the Interweb tubes from straight outta Plastic City...
... by way of Hungary! Don't hear that too often, eh? But that's where Mr. Krisztian Dobrocsi, a.k.a. Forteba hails from. And I really don't know what they, you know... do... in Hungary, but apparently making crispy Tech House tunes is part of it...
I present to you today one stressed-out looking chick. What gives?
If you read the bio, you'd think that Texas-born Soul singer Gloria Scott should have been bigger than she was. Not in the hips, in the popularity. Discovered by Sly Stone, mentored by Ike & Tina and then given the full protege treatment by Barry White... she had all the right people in her corner, for sure. Under White's tutelage, she released this debut album, which people consider a forgotten classic... and then that was it. The music business, she's a cruel mistress... maybe that's why Gloria looks so sad on the album cover. She knew! Or maybe it's because this is an album of break-up songs, top to bottom. But they are some sweet Soul music break-up songs, which tend to be the best kind...
Good day and welcome to another episode of "Musicians Who Make American Gangsta Rappers Look Like The Gigantic Pussies They Truly Are"...
... because while, say, Fitty Cent slanged some rock and got shot a couple times, that's really nothing with being CONSCRIPTED AS A CHILD SOLDIER IN THE SUDANESE CIVIL WAR! Not even close, I'd venture. But that's what happened to Emmanuel Jal when he was a kid. Seriously, watch the Youtubes below before you move along from here to your favorite Japanese tentacle rape manga site. Emmanuel survived and somehow got out, determined to try to promote peace in Sudan through music. To that end, he recorded this record with Muslim Sudanaese oud player Abdel Gadir Salim (featured a while back here)... which is significant because while in the "child army" Emmanuel was charged with basically killing himself as many Muslims as possible. So nice turnaround. The music itself is, well... amazing. This is no haphazard ramming together of styles into some tepid world music mess. This shit organic, tough as nails and the real deal...
And you know, Rap in languages other than English can be pretty hard to get into, since so much of the point is what they're saying, ya dig? But I have no such problem with this record, 'cuz shit just sounds good. And here's another Fitty comparision... they made a movie about this Emmanuel Jal as well. And it, like the music, is far real-ier...
Gah, Monday. Rainy and cold and Monday-like. Let's try to make it slightly less shitty with a catchy Pop music ditty now, shall we?
So... another recurring feature around here that got pre-empted by Blog-achella was the occasional "Tone Heard A Good Song On KCRW, So Here It Is" post. Well, I heard a good song on KCRW a few days ago, Chris Douridas being the culprit this time... so here it is: Two Door Cinema Club are a new Electro-Pop act out of Northern Ireland and I don't know if they're any better or worse than any of the other three million such bands out there today... but damn, this remix of one of their tunes by Brazilian team The Twelves is gonna be one of my summer jawns of 2010 for sure... Pop songs don't get much more perfecter than this...
What if I told you that Acid House wasn't invented in Chicago or Manchester, but rather Bombay? What if I told you a dude in a turban was making acid tracks like 5 years before Phuture made "Acid Trax". You'd probably tell me I was out of my gourd, but get a load of this spicy tandoori...
Charanjit Singh was a Bollywood composer of not-exactly-much renown... but when them new-fangled synthamasizer things came out, he thought they were pretty cool so he got himself a couple. Namely a 303 and an 808. Then he thought it would be fun to record some Indian Classical music, the form known as the raga, on these new contraptions with this crazy new "disco" beat the kids were all going on about. He didn't really succeed as far as the Disco was concerned... you won't hear any string sections or horn stings here... but he did kind of, oh... accidentally invent Acid House and/or Techno while absolutely no one was noticing. To the point that upon this album's reissue, people thought it was some kind of joke being played on the public by that noted scallywag Aphex Twin or someone of that ilk. But nope. This is the real deal. 5 years before the first "Acid Track", this happened...
By the way those synths were PLAYED LIVE. Talk about fancy fingers... keep your ladies away from Charanjit, fellas, if you know what I mean. He would give "The Shocker" some whole new twists... literally! Anyhoo, 1982 PEOPLE! THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE MIDI YET! Throw some bigger drums and filter plug-ins and you're at freakin' Moontribe! To be honest, though, it's not quite an album built for end-to-end listening, as it's kind of "variations on a theme", but still... wow. Light some Nag Champa, get you some Naan and Tikka Masala and take a weekend to digest it... and we'll see ya Monday...
I'm going to start off today by welcoming Feed Me Good Tunes back to the blog-o-sphere. This was one of the first and best mp3 blogs I discovered when I was first discovering such things and their selection of tunes has always been nothing short of fantastic. They went away for a while but they're back like Zombie Jesus. Bookmark that shit... pronto. Then read on...
If you start getting into '70s Soul Jazz... which you should... you will find sprinkled into most albums of the era many, many cover versions of Pop songs. Which makes sense, because in those ancient days, before people had computers or horseless carriages or Jonas Brothers, people actually bought Jazz records. So it didn't hurt to throw in a couple Pop tunes along with the originals. And nowadays, well... there really aren't too many Pop songs worth covering. Don't really wanna hear a Jazz rendition of "Poker Face", oh... ever, no thank you. Anyhoo, um, what was my point? Oh! That done wrong, these covers often sounded like bad muzak, but done right... well, some cats just had the chops to really take a Pop tune to a whole different level (gah... I hate that phrase, but it's appropriate). Drummer and New Orleans institution Idris Muhammad was one of those cats. Here he takes a Classic Rock staple (one that has been covered by approximately 17,000 times, 16,997 of those awfully) back behind the woodshed a gives it a hot, sweaty funkin' like it's never had before. This is how you do a it, folks...
Mr. Muhammad is still active (although getting close to hanging up his sticks), playing mostly these days with pianist and fellow badass legend Ahmad Jamal. Dig it...
See ya tomorrow with something that might just blow your mind a little bit...
Sometimes things I write here make me think about other things, so then I have to write some things about those other things that the first thing made me think about. To wit...
So just last week in my Fat Jon post I compared the Ample Soul Physician to the great Japanese producer DJ Krush and then realized, "What the fa-heck, I've never done a post on DJ Krush!" That's a traveshamockery! Because Mr. Hideaki Ishi is one of the all-time greats of the Downtempo pantheon. Also, and I did not know this until today, he was gangsta as fuck. Sayeth Wikipedia...
"Ishi dropped out of school at an early age and joined a local gang, and a few years later, the yakuza. Early into his career as a yakuza underling, Ishi discovered a severed finger wrapped in paper on his desk. Later, after discovering that it had belonged to his best friend, he decided to leave the yakuza and cut ties with the criminal underworld."
That's right, DJ Krush was fucking yakuza. Suck on that, Fitty. Those motherfuckers will fuck you up quick two times. And then go drink some sake. But luckily Mr. Krush discovered Hip-Hop and the rest, as they say, is hisutori. Here he teams up with the mighty CL Smooth on one of my favorite Rap tracks of all time. I would totally have sex with this beat...
"I profess and I dont jest cause the words I manifest
They will take you, sedate you, and I will stress upon
You the need for, you all to feed your
Mind and soul, so you can lead your-self
To keep, I got a real objective here
I am effective here, cause I select a clear
Message to all, suckers I maul they fall from
Into the pit of purgatory
I go for glory, I take an inventory
Countin all the tough luck ducks while I narrate
Relate and equate, dictate and debate
My fate is to be, cold makin history
I use sincerity, but Im so very deep
Doubts are questions, of all the skeptics
Im kickin clout and, Ill leave you vexed
Its just true, theres nothing so-so cause I know
Right about to spin it Im in it admit it I did it
To you, cause this is what Im into
So chill while I instill that we all must fulfill
The proper mission for us and yo this is a must
Its usually lines of my rhymes I ingest
These are the words that I manifest, I manifest
I suggest you take a breath for the words I manifest
They will scold you and mold you, while I impress upon
You the fact that, I use my tact at
Rhymin for climbin, and chill while I attract that
Girl youre with, I got a sincere quality
I give her all of me, cause youre too small to be
Tryin to riff, so let me uplift and shift my gift
Lets go to the fullest capacity
I got tenacity, because I have to be
The brother who must live and give with much insight
Foresight to ignite, excite and delight
And you might gain from it, or feel pain from it
Because Im ultimate, and Im about to let off
Knowledge is wisdom, understanding
Truths the proof, so wont you throw a hand
In the air, put up a peace sign and be fine
If so were feeling good we should we could we would
Stop, think for a moment ok?
And then sway while I convey that we must do away
With all the stress and the strife, so God bless your life
Use kindness, and never blindness
And you will find that this perspective is best, check it out
These are the words that I manifest, I manifest
I convey that what I say will awaken you today
After jockin while Im talkin, but anyway
That you put it I give you, lyrics to live to
Righteousness rules, so I forgive you this time
For you are being very ignorant
Thats insignificant, I guess you figured and
Hoped to be, dope as me, Id you flee
Because the rest is too much for you
Im your professor, I got the touch to
Do more than the rest who fess and cant compete
Im elite Ill defeat delete and mistreat
Make mincemeat of other fools, cause Im the brother wholl
Snatch up the funds and, make lonely ones
I meant it really, cause Im clearly obsessed and i
These are the words that I manifest, I manifest"
... but just be careful if you use the computers. You don't know who was there last or what kind of German Shepherd bukkake movies they were watching, if you get my drift...
I think this very well be my first ever post of Library music. We're not talking about odes to the Dewey Decimal Code... we're talking '70s production Library music... tunes by the thousands made explicitly for anonymously dropping into TV or films because this car chase needs some pizazz! What someone eventually figured out is that there is a hell of a lot of this stuff out there and some of it is pretty damn good as these guys were making all sorts of funky instrumental tracks and were unafraid to get their freak on and experiment because why the hell not? It's just kicking it in the background while some dude with a cool moustache shoots some bad guys. Keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw is one of the guys who has become much more well known since the crate-diggers got their hands on him. Check out this funky organ groove, which I'm pretty sure has been sampled although I can't put my finger on it...
Tim "Love" Lee has been reissuing some of the more popular KPM titles on his Tummy Touch label, but be warned! This whole Library thing is yet one more musical rabbit hole to tumble down, so enter at your own risk...
This weeks House Music Friday shall be quick and dirty, like a handy J in a White Castle bathroom...
It's time for a nice bumpy low-fi chugger from German producer Henrik Schwarz, whom I don't know a heck of a lot about, but he did get his own edition in the legendary DJ Kicks series, which says something. He works with Ame and Dixon quite often, too. And I believe he is made of cheese, at least according to the internets. This one's a twelve-minute trip with a rather extended intro so just wait for it, yo...
You know what you don't get during Blog-achella when we're being all current and hip and whatnot? Them classic Funk jawns...
That picture you are looking at is one of the Holy Grails of crate-digging, the one and only record by East Coast funk group Skull Snaps... which by the way, awesome band name. This one goes for hundreds on original vinyl (if you can find it) but has been reissued recently by our good friends the Japanese. Why is this record such a big deal? Because it is awesome and it contains one of the most-sampled breaks of all time. This is one of those songs that you've never heard yet you've been listening to it your whole life. Dig it...
Right about now is the time when, traditionally, I'd do an epic Blog-achella post going through the set times and giving you the minute-by-minute guide for whom to see this weekend, but quite frankly I can't be arsed this year. I've given you the ingredients, it's up to you to make the pie, kids...
Also, I've got two words for the new LCD Soundsystem record. Holy Shitgood. Wow. James Murphy is working his way toward the pantheon. Unfortunately, I can't give you a track from it, as it's not out for a month and that shit would get yanked down quicker than an altar boy's pants at the Vatican. Damn straight I went there. Just know it's out there, it's real and it's spectacular...
There are, however, some new releases that dropped whilst we were amidst the whole Blog-achella kerfuffle, some that I would be remiss not to share with you. So here's the first of those...
Remember when Goldfrapp put out their last album and it was all quiet and folky and whatnot? Like this? And you were all like, "Where's the dance-y bits?! Where's the diva-tude?! Where's the gay?!" Well, I'm here to tell you that all of those things are back like crazy on the new one. Head First blasts you right onto the '80s dancefloor of the future. (Shit, that's not a bad line. I'll have to write that down.) And yes, it's gay as all git-out. Feel the power, bitches!
(DMCA'd. Bitches.)
Lemme tell you right now... the rocket is located in my pants.
Anyhoo, the full Goldfrapp Revue is set to hit the Hollywood Bowl this summer, and that will be some goodness. Don't miss it. Unless, you know, you live really far from L.A. I mean, it'll be a good show but they're probably also playing somewhere closer to you on a different day and who wants to take unnecessary trips in this economy? Not me, I tells ya! That's for rich folk like Puff Daddy and the Shamwow guy...
You know, that whole Blog-achella thing really got in the way of my occasional blatant self-promotion... so now allow me to introduce you to my Soundcloud page. Original tunes by me (meh.) and a downloadable DJ mix you may have missed the first time around (woot.). Go check it out if you're on the Soundcloud... I'll mix it up a bit and post new things to download from time to time, exclusive-style. 'Cuz that's how I roll.
We've got a headnod-ical vibe today, courtesy of the prolific Fat Jon, the Ample Soul Physician, which is a nickname worth bonus points if ever there was one. Fat (that's what his friends call him) is a truly international dude... from Cincinnati, lives in Germany, big in Japan... is part of the group Five Deez which you also need to peep. And, um... I think he's fat, too. If you compared the sound to DJ Krush, I don't believe anyone would punch you in the face for it...
Well, that Blog-achella thing sure was fun. Hope you all dug it, especially all of you from the Coachella message boards. Just a fantastic group of really open-minded folks there. And by that I mean a bunch of humorless douchebags whose music taste begins and ends on the "popular" page on Hype Machine. Sucks to be them. BUT HEY! Such negativity... that's not what Tonegents is about, is it? Nope, it's about nothin' but the good-good, the happy warm fuzzies and bunnies and kittens and unicorns and whatnot. And HOUSE MUSIC FRIDAY!
Well, except for the fact that this isn't quite a House tune. But he other three on the record are, though... SO CLOSE ENOUGH! Plus this is my favorite one. Actually there's been a lot of these "slow House" records popping up lately (think Floating Points, et. al...) and while the sound may not burn the dance floor up (unless you're doing Ambien with Tiger Woods), it's real nice to my ears. Peep Mr. Ali Gibbs, aka Nebraska...
That vocal drop kills me. I'm thinking it sounds a bit like Johnny Mathis, but I'm probably not even in the ballpark. Googled that shit and came up with nada, once again proving that the Interwebs are good for exactly... fuck all.
First off, I'm gonna invite the Coachella Message Board hate by saying that I never gave a shit about Pavement and do not to this day... although I'll certainly give them credit for being the prototype for a million generic Indie bands to follow. I'm possibly more befuddled by the unjustified and continuous knob-slobbing of Pavement than I am by... well, just about anything. For reals, that shit is befuddling as fuck. And I was HUGE into the College Rock when Pavement came up. HUGE! Pavement are weak sauce smothered in fail gravy. AND THOSE ARE BOTH CONDIMENTS!
Anyhoo, this finally brings us to the last post of Blog-achella X (except for the Set Times & Recommendations/Conflict-fest/Teeth-gnash-apalooza next week, stay tuned!), and your Sunday headliner is going to indeed be freaking EPIC! Allow me to explain...
Who they are: We all know who they are... but the even more exciting possibility is who will join them... Gorillaz gigs are a big deal, and they have been known to get everyone on the albums to join them for these things (check the vid below... Dennis Freakin' Hopper even showed up!). Just looking at the rest of the weekend's lineup shows us that De La Soul, Little Dragon & Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are already there. Bobby Womack has nothing better to do. Snoop, Mos Def, Del? Betcha a dollar. Lou Reed? Wouldn't rule it out. Oh, and Mick Jones & Paul Simenon of The Clash are in the band, playing together for the first time SINCE THEY WERE STILL IN THE FREAKING CLASH! See what I mean about epic?
What they sound like: We all know what they sound like and the new record is a real grower. But it's also been blogged by every blog in the blog-o-sphere. Blogblogblog. So, like the last post, I reached back for a dope-ass remix you may not have, also by another Coachella act. Dig it...
What I think: Probably won't suck. Probably will have ridiculously cool video component. Probably it will be EPIC! And here's a treat from the YouTubes... the entire Demon Days concert! WHATWHAT?
Yep, that's gonna be an amazing end to the weekend, but God help me... if this conflicts with Orbital, MY RAGE AND BLOODLUST WILL BE UNPARALLED! THE STREETS WILL RUN RED WITH THE BLOOD OF THE INFIDELS! For reals. So, time for the Sunday picks...
Yes, I realize there are 7 in my Top 5. My blog, bitches. My blog. Of course, as we mentioned, all of this prognosticating will most likely be at least somewhat shot to shit when the Set Times come out... and I will see you then with the last post of Blog-achella X. I hope you've enjoyed this year's version, but if you haven't...
And now, I present reason number two why Sunday, Sunday, Sunday is the day to go to Coachella. You'll buy the whole seat, BUT YOU'LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE!
Who he is: The dude with the kooky eye from that band I can't quite remember the name of. Something about unicorns, I think...
What he sounds like: Well, Thom's album The Eraser is a very sparse electronic affair which also happens to be a couple years old. You've heard it plenty and already own it most likely so there's nothing for me to hip you to there... so here's a remix of the song that this current band is named after. Maybe you have this one, too, maybe you don't...
What I think: So that's what that sounds like. But from what I've read (like for instance here), the band... which consists of Thom, Flea, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and a couple of other less interesting dudes... spices things up a bit. Now, I'm as dubious about Flea as the next guy, but seemingly once freed from the vortex of douchebaggery that is Anthony Kiedis and/or Perry Ferrell, he's still pretty good at music sometimes... check it out...
Lookit little Thommy get his groove on! Next thing you know, he's gonna be on Soul Train. Anyhoo, I rate this one a don't dare miss it... but you knew that. Tomorrow... the last post! Oh snap!
Okay, so apparently no one other than myself thought my April Fools post was funny enough to... you know, comment that they thought it was funny. Not suprised, because hey... it wasn't awesome... but at the same time, fuck all y'all.
Just kidding! I love you all very deeply yet in no way inappropriately, I assure you. And speaking of love, I'm gonna give some blog-love to a new Interwebs musical destination called 365 Days of Music. It is run by the mysterious and nefarious Marsupervisor, who is someone not to be trifled with in matters of musical knowledge. Plus maybe you prefer your mp3 bloggings with less f-bombs and dick jokes. I imagine it's possible. So bookmark, RSS, Twitter-fy and otherwise Web 2.0 your shit up to 365 Days of Music today, people! Do it!
Who they are: The band with that song from the car commercial. You know, the catchy one. Well, that's how most people in the U.S. at least know them, and I say there's nothing wrong with that. Cuz guess what, America. You're gonna like this band long after the cars have been recalled/stolen/abandoned on the highway with a dead hooker in the trunk....
What they sound like: There's nothing terribly exotic about Phoenix. It's just real catchy, toe-tappin' guitar Pop done right... and even I can appreciate that when I hear it. Man cannot live on import Dubstep twelves alone! And today, I get to give you a real taste of what you're in for, as the boys have just released a short live set onto the Interweb Tubes... so here's that song from the car commmerical... LIVE!
Almost every year, there have been big additions to the Coachella lineup well after the initial announcement... hell, right up to the week of the show. Daft Punk was a late add, as was Massive Attack. And a couple of little known acts named Madonna and Kanye West. So you always have to expect something wacky to happen... and this year is wackier than most, because now playing on Saturday night are...
Who they are: You wanted the best and you got the best! The hottest band in the world... KISS!
What they sound like: For all the makeup and the fireworks, the blood spitting and through-the-air-flying, KISS really just plays basic, catchy Rock & Roll that sticks in your head like a big, um... head sticking thing. You know way more of their songs than you're willing to admit, so DON'T FRONT, POSER! Also, they went Disco once because fuck that "Funkytown" shit...
What I think: It's certainly causing some Indie kids' heads to explode over on the Coachella boards, but I support this 100%. Because fuck it, Coachella is about fun and say what you will about KISS... I've seen them in concert and they're kinda really fun. There. I said it. AND IT FEELS GOOD! CATHARSIS, BITCH! I mean, look at this...
Are you telling me you don't want to see that? You telling me you'd rather sit there stroking your beard to some beard-strokey shit? YOU LIE! YOU LIE OR YOU'RE IN DENIAL! Kiss is comin' to Coachella, bitches. Which makes the current scoreboard:
The music posted on this blog is for evaluation purposes only and will be removed after a short time... so if you like it... support the artists, dammit! Buy the records, go to the shows, give them a ride to the airport if they need it! Don't be a schmuck! If you are an artist or scary lawyer type and want something removed from here, just holla and it's gone! I'm easy like that!
