Blog It Doggystyle

So this popped up in the shuffle this morning and I have no problem with that...



... because seriously, who doesn't love Snoop? Well, Republicans probably don't, but they're a bunch of fucking assholes anyway. Too political? Too bad! I have freedoms! This is Amercia, dammit!

Snoop Dogg - Doggy Dogg World (ysi)

And I would definitely vote for Snoop over Mitt Romney for President. Here's another reason why...



Roll one, smoke one...

Funk Nobility

Since I'm not the type of DJ who feels the need to keep his secret weapons to himself (I'm looking in your direction, Dewey Chan), I'm gonna drop one of mine on you today...



Sir Joe Quarterman was a little known D.C. Funk man who put out only this one full-length album (and a few 45s) in his career and then went on to become an architect. Different. But I'll bet when he went to all his architect parties and put this song on for his new friends, they wondered why the hell he ever quit music... not because he was a shitty architect, but because DAMN this blast of Funk is amongst the finest ever laid to wax. You heard me. Dig it...

Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul - (I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind (ysi)

Oh shit is right. You're welcome...

Needless Hipster Baiting

Here's one for the hipsters...



Or not... as Buckshot LeFonque was a band put together by saxamaphonist Branford Marsalis which was basically an (cringing as he says it) Acid Jazz project. I mean, I'm sure Branford himself, being a serious musician who plays serious jazz music seriously might not use that term, but let's call it what it is. Acid MF'in Jazz. Yep, not gonna get a whole lotta love from the Animal Collective on this one, but then again... fuck the Animal Collective massive. (THAT'S SOME EDGY BLOGGING RIGHT THERE!) But actually, there is a bit of hipster steez to this one as the beats were done by none other than Primo himself. So suck on that, Pitchforkers. It ain't a classic, but it ain't half bad at all. See for yourself...

Buckshot LeFonque - Wonders & Signs (ysi)

I'd probably rather to listen to that song on repeat for 24 hours straight than listen to a single Animal Collective song. It might drive me mad, but that's a chance I'm willing to take...

Better Than An LPGA Tournament...

Here's some more proof that I know exactly jack shit...



For whatever reason, I was under the impression that DJ Nature was a new guy, but I haven't been more wrong about anything since I decided to spend my life savings of Facebook stock. Ouch. But yeah, turns out that this is just another alias of DJ Milo, one of the O.G. members of The Wild Bunch, the legendary Bristol crew that spawned Massive Attack, Tricky, Soul II Soul and basically the beast known as Trip-Hop in general. So yeah, homie's got steez, so it should be no surprise that he's still putting out good jawns. Here he's doing a super laid-back Deep House thang for Golf Channel Recordings. Which makes sense, because I heard Feherty is an old raver...

DJ Nature - Everyone (ysi)

Nice one, eh? The song, not the Golf Channel joke. But hey, at least I amuse myself...

Introducing The Cutler

It's always pretty exciting when one of the artists I post about actually drops by and leaves a comment on the site. Bassnectar was super-stoked that I posted his tune. Bigga Bush and Tim "Love" Lee were both chuffed that someone was still bangin' some of their old classics, etc... but here I have a first for you, as a couple of guys I have massive respect for actually hit me with some (relatively) exclusive, unreleased tunes! Big day, people. Big day...



The Cutler are Steve Cobby of Downtempo legends (and Tonegents faves) Fila Brazilia and the mystery man who revealed himself to me only as "Pork"... whose real name I shall not divulge, but you may have heard of Pork Recordings so we'll leave it at that. If you haven't... here. So yeah, not the usual "Hey dude, check out my crappy music" that I often get. I'm not saying everything I get sent is crap, I'm saying everything YOU send me is crap. See the subtle difference there? But I kid, dear readers. I kid. Anyhoo, this is most certainly not crap. It's about exactly what you'd expect knowing the steez of the folks involved... eclectic, funky, deep, atmospheric goodness of the first order. This shit will give you an ear-boner, I'm tellin' ya. And you know where you can put that. From the forthcoming The Best Things In Life Aren't Things on the excellently named Steel Tiger label, here's a couple from The Cutler...

The Cutler - That's What I Feel Inside (ysi)

The Cutler - Burn The Bankers (ysi)

You may also want to check out their Soundcloud which has some more downloadable goodness for ya, and their Facebook to make with the liking. AND BUY THE DAMN ALBUM WHEN IT COMES OUT! Cheers...

R.I.P. Donna Summer

Donna Summer - Bad Girls (ysi)

We're So Ghetto

Now what do you call that type of music again? You know, like this one here... whaddaya call that?



Rephrase is the nom-de-funke of Sydney-based producer Jamie Olsen and the music he makes falls into the same subgenre as recent post subject Pure P... a subgenre of sample-heavy, break-riddled, bass-driven funkiness that didn't really have a name for me until I came across this amazing website dedicated to it called Ghetto Funk. White people just love thinking they're ghetto, don't they...

Rephrase - Jellyjam (ysi)

But anyhoo, if you like the sound, you need to put Ghetto Funk up at the top of your bookmarks because that site is the absolute definitive, um, site. Absolutely. Don't sleep...

A Friday Blog Post Of Some Jazz Music

It's been a hot minute since I posted some straight-up Jazz. Let's remedy that, shall we?



Piano man Andrew Hill certainly isn't one of the most famous members of the Blue Note stable, but I've got about a half-dozen of his records now and they are all solid steez. This nice mellow jam, as an added bonus, features a healthy dose of Bobby Hutcherson... which 9 out of 10 doctors recommend as a part of your daily nutritional requirements...

Andrew Hill - Reconciliation (ysi)

Have a good weekend, folks...

Beat Mining

Sure it's not all gold, but you never know where you'll find a nugget...



Today I got a cut from the new solo album by Ray Lugo, the leader of NYC Afrobeat combo Kokolo. The album as a whole... I'm not gonna lie to ya, it's just okay. It's got your usual elements of Funk, Latin, Afro, etc... it's not going to be used as a drink coaster, but it's not gonna get worn out from use either. What I really do like is this remix right at the end of the record by Simbad of the GP Worldwide familia. Put this in your summer BBQ mix and smoke it...

Ray Lugo - Love Me Good (Simbad Remix) (ysi)

And speaking of nuggets, I think I hear Chuy calling me. Later...

Get Bent

That post title is pretty predictable, huh? That's just how I roll...



Back in the days before every song in the world ever was available instantly on the Interwebs, it could be really difficult and/or expensive to acquire releases by the best European acts. When Electronica was hitting in the '90s, most of the releases were available only on hard-to-find and stupidly expensive import CDs. So a lot of the amazing groups that kept popping up with dope songs on all the compilations, especially some of the best Downtempo acts like Fila Brazillia, Baby Mammoth and today's featured production duo, Bent... well, it was hard as hell to ever acquire any of their albums. That really sucked. But not anymore...

Bent - Duke Thing (ysi)

What, you were expecting that whole soliloquy to have a point or something? If you did, you must be new here...

Another Max Effort Post

With the passing of MCA, I'd be quite inclined to do an All-Beastie Boys week... but since every other blog in existence is also doing that, I'll just go with business as usual...



Short Story: Two Dub legends, Augustus Pablo and King Tubby, got together, smoked several pounds of weed and turned out a stone-cold Dub classic. Then they ate like a million Doritos. And watched a shitload of Family Guy, even though it didn't exist yet. It was really good weed...

Augustus Pablo & King Tubby - Corner Crew Dub (ysi)

Tonegents: the place for award-winning fiction writing since 2007... or not.

R.I.P. MCA

"That's right, my name's Yauch."

Beastie Boys - The Sounds Of Science (ysi)

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before...

Sometimes I want to equate the Nu Funk scene to the Acid Jazz scene (not necessarily a positive comparison)... is that fair, or am I just a Funk snob? Discuss...



So today here's a nice lil' slice of organ-driven Nu Funk courtesy of England's The Impellers, who, like most acts playing retro Black American-style funk, are a bunch of pasty white Brits... you know, I feel like I've made that joke before. Probably have. I'm a bit of a hack. Anyhoo, this probably isn't changing lives, but it is moving butts. And sometimes that's enough...

The Impellers - Tastes Like Chicken (ysi)

Besides, that's just an incredible name for a song. Bonus points aplenty! (Not reedemable anywhere)