Reggie Watts is a musician and comedian who opened for most of Conan O'Brien's tour. The guy is pretty funny, but when he's doing his "serious" music thing, it's awesome. If you don't get what's going on, he's doing all the beats and vocals himself, recording and looping them, then layering on top of each other.
P.S. This only adds to Conan's cred to pick someone like this as his opening act.
Pay attention to what cartoon characters your kids love and then reference Behaviorism. Just look at me. My favorite ninja turtles were Michelangelo & Raphael. Michelangelo - lazyass stoner with the meanest munchies. Raphael - the sarcastic and angry asshole. My friend Jeff who liked Donatello graduated as an EE. At elementary school, a kid named Ariel liked RoadBlock from G.I. Joe. I heard he's a rapper. Go figure.
This might be the only thing in 15 or so years I've liked that had P.Diddy's voice on it. I could do without the 3 minute rant at the end though. Seriously?
Jay Electronica - The Ghost Of Christopher Wallace
I love M.I.A., and Arular is one of my favorite albums. That said, she kind of screwed with my head a bit with her new Born Free video. Pretty intense stuff. While I don't have any problem with political or social statements, I'm just in the mood for something a little less thought-provoking. And no, it's not Paper Planes.
I can't go without at least mentioning Guru today. His music was/is extremely appreciated. Most people know him from his Gang Starr days, but his Jazzmatazz series was one of the first times I heard live jazz and hip hop together (not in sample form) and really helped change what I listened for.
First, forgive me for the boring title. I couldn't think of anything else because, well, it's Monday, and I'm not all here right now - the "Case of the Mondays" so to speak as The Brain alluded to last week. Second, as much as I want to blog something meaningful and tie music or art to my life every time, the truth is my day-to-day isn't that interesting.
That said, I figure I might as well do some regular bit so this little project of ours gets updated. Introducing "Music Monday". I'll post a band or album I really like to kick off the work/school week. No rhyme or reason other than to share with you all something you may or may not have heard before (Now, that I think about it, this is actually no different than 90% of our posts). I like a lot of stuff on both ends of the spectrum, so don't expect this to always be some underground/indie thing. Trust me, I'm not that "cool". We all have guilty pleasures.
Ya, I know it's Friday, but I was catching up on some videos on TheBerrics.com, specifically skater Donovan Slain's "Buttery Ass Mondays." If you've never heard of The Berrics, go take a visit and peruse. If the "Buttery Ass Mondays" title doesn't cure your case of the Mondays, the images introducing each video will (see above) -- always the same background image (big ass black chick with not-so-buttery ass butt cheeks hanging out), but differentiated by a graphic such as the Ghostbusters logo, a ninja turtle, a screen shot from an old kung fu flick, or one of Donovan's own drawings. And if that image still doesn't cure your case, the videos will. I came across this one and felt like sharing. Peep.
On a possibly related note, I just learned that some people refer to 1/8 of herb as a "Henry" in reference to King Henry VIII. Way to go, educated potheads, for dropping historical references to disguise your purchase of illegals. My original purpose for researching the term "Henry" was because Etta James' "Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry)" piqued my curiosity. I figured the "Henry" Etta was referring to was something more general or obscure rather than a reference to a specific cat named Henry. Anyway, to cure your case of anything (Mondays, Tuesdays, hangovers, etc.), buy yourself a buttery ass henry and enjoy some Etta James.
I enjoy listening to soul music. Not necessarily anything newer like Alicia Keys and John Legend and these more recent singers. They're fine, but I like hearing really old, classic soul songs - songs made way before you needed to feature a rapper or intricate dance choreography.
For example, I was listening to some young Aretha Franklin from back in the early 60's - pre-RESPECT fame. I just think it's kind of underrated which is ironic since it's from the "Queen of Soul". Obviously, this was made long before I was born, but you just get the feeling it was a much simpler time. (Musically I mean. Not all the political and race relations issues going on.)
P.S. You'll probably recognize where it's been sampled pretty quickly.
I met this kid back in '92 - the year before Souls of Mischief's glorified year of '93. He was the first kid in my class that actually looked like me - black hair split in the middle, ethnic features, some sense of style. In fact, he may have been the first kid to have darker skin than me. Certainly enough reason for me to befriend this kid. Two decades later, this guy is getting married. Being a childhood friend of mine, my mom was naturally excited to hear the news, so today she came bearing old photographs from my 12th birthday party. And what can you observe in these photographs? Minorities showing white kids how to get down! In one picture, Jared (my boy getting married) is teaching the other kids how to do "the Butterfly." Add 18 years, a hundred pounds or so, Marlboros and Jack Daniels and you get the older, slightly more mature versions of these crazy kids. And so, appropriately, a track that represents my current sentiment and fits perfectly - reminiscent of easier days, reminiscent of the 90's, aged 20 years but retains the same swagger, a remix produced by Humble Egos' J-Squared:
We're definitely at that age. Everyone's settling down and getting ready to start their families. My brother will trade in his "I" for a "we" in 3 months time. Humble Egos' very own Richie Rich will be joining the ranks before the end of next year. And a few more of our near and dears will be doing the same just as soon. Congrats to all of you, and an important message from UGK and OutKast:
Mayer Hawthorne covers Tony Bennet and a pretty sweet video. I don't skate. Hell, I don't even get into the city often, but this makes me want to drive up on a Sunday afternoon.
I randomly came across this Dr. Bunsen Honeydew look-alike on YouTube and this guy cracks me up. I'd like to know what's going on in his head because he's crazier than a m'fucka. I may be a bit late on this, as it was posted a few years ago, but I'm only discovering this now.
Here he is, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew cooking up something in his lab:
Here's another one. I was smiling the whole time. It reminds me of Ratatat:
Am I the only one who thinks the Black Eyed Peas' production is equivalent to something you find on Jock Jams?
Exhibit A. (You don't need to listen to the whole thing.)
And Exhibit B.
Add some auto-tune, some over-crooning girl, and some clear HP product placement and you have yourself a hit! Surprisingly though, I actually used to really like them... when they were good - sometime in the mid 90's.
Before Fergie.
After Fergie.
"You got the cash... the Peas will show."
P.S. I HATE Bebot. I know I know... "Gasp! OMG! Pinoy blashphemy!!"
Before my memory deteriorates due to my extracurricular activities, I'm going to start jotting down my past experiences on Humble Egos. This is the first of a series of blogs I like to title, "The Fast Food Experience" which I'm sure we've all had our fair share of these. On a random college night during my Freshman year, my friends and I headed out to get some food after hours of drinking. Which Jack in the Box should we go to?
A.) Crenshaw - One inch bullet proof windows. The Homeless that asks if you have any spare change/food ("I said no cheese mthafcka"). Individuals with classic American cars wearing Fubu and Karl Kani. Please reference below around the 3:00 mark.
B.) Culver City - Next to Sony Studios. Beautiful Neighborhood. Porches, Beamers, and Benz at the drive-thru.
I guess none of us didn't feel like acting out like O-Dog, so we picked the Culver City location. As we drove up, a couple jumped out of their car and started to yell at the Camaro behind them. We were all laughing until the dude hopped on the hood and started kicking THROUGH the windshield. The Camaro went into reverse, having Pelé fall off. Then, the Camaro floored it and clipped Pelé's legs so hard that you see the car up front move. "hmmm. let's leave".
Driving out, we saw police men a block away outside of their ride eating donuts. Typical. As my friend was crying and telling the cops what just happened (i don't remember if he was crying, probably though), they just laughed it off. Moral of the story?
“Look out you rock n’ rollers... pretty soon now, you’re gonna get older…”
I've always liked getting older. I think I've had more fun as I've grown than when I was in my teens or in my early 20's. Obviously, there's a simplicity that you miss from when you were a little kid, but those middle years, those awkward, "soul-searching", young adult years kind of suck.
Once you get through that though, you can do a lot more. You know what you like and don't waste time on much else. A lot of the early insecurities of "What am I going to do with my life?" start to fade away. For better or worse, you're either neck deep in your career or know where you're headed by this point. You may not have everything figured out, but at least there's direction. If you like it, stay the course. If you don't, reevaluate. You've lived enough to know what you want, but still young enough to change it if you need to.
Today is my last day in Bangalore, India, and my time here has pretty much been a whirlwind. I had 23 one-hour meetings in 3 days, and my voice is fading from talking so much. The traffic is so bad that it takes over an hour to travel 6 miles from my office to my hotel. Luckily, I had a driver my entire stay, so all I had to do was sit back, take some photos, and listen to my iPhone. Soundtrack of choice: Madlib's Beat Konducta in India vols. 3 and 4. Fitting I guess.
One other thing I do want to mention about Bangalore though is that the people were some of the most gracious and welcoming I've ever met. There's an eagerness to share their culture, and I appreciated that. All in all, good experience.
P.S. The first video below is just a sample of beats you'll find on the album, but it cracks me up. The second video is my favorite beat off of it.
It's Saturday afternoon in Sydney. It's sunny but breezy, right between Summer and Fall. I was walking through the city to the harbor and planning to take a ferry around the opera house. Alphabetical was playing on the iPhone. Camera in hand. Good last day in Australia.
So here's one of my beats I made 4 years ago during the beginning of summer. This song has sentimental value because I made this the day before I moved back home from LA.
Instead of the typical soul sampled beats, I tried experiment with folk and "surfing" music. There's a different filtering technique I used in the background to give it multiple layers. Similar to my other work, I wanted to have a "funky" drumming style to it too. Just something you can listen to while relaxing.
I always imagined Ladybug Mecca or Slim Kid Tre singing/flowing to this. Know anyone who can execute that style? haha
I read a story for one of my classes this week by James Baldwin, a writer during the Harlem Renaissance, called "Sonny's Blues." It's about a blues artist trying to kick a heroin addiction, so homeboy knows about the blues. After reading the story, I felt like listening to some good blues just to try to catch a glimpse of the darkness behind "Sonny's Blues"-- the grimy shit you need to listen to in the absence of sharp objects. Louis Armstrong, often remembered for singing about skies of blue and clouds of white, also knew how to sang the blues. Here's a good song for a rainy day. It's also on Gaslamp Killer's mix-tape "It's a Rocky Road Vol. 1." I like these lyrics in particular: "...But she'll never find a sweet man like me (ha ha bragging) / When I die bury me in straight-laced shoes / I want a box back coat and a Stetson hat (John B., that is) / Put a 20-dollar gold piece on my watch chain / So the boys will know that I died standing pat"
Since we're on the topic, blues singer John Martyn covers the Portishead track "Glorybox." Ya, a blues cover of a Portishead song. Good luck listening to that, wrist-cutters of the world. I actually meant to blog this awhile ago, but I haven't been keeping up. Haha and I've been getting shit for not blogging: "You just want your name to be on the credits!"
Emo kids don't know shit, whining about not getting attention. Eat a dick. Hahaha.
First off, I'm generally not a big fan of mash-ups. I think a lot of them come out corny, forced, or just a half beat off. When I heard about this Wu-Tang vs. Beatles (why they always insist on putting "vs." I don't know) project though, I was cautiously intrigued even optimistic. Lord knows the Beatles have been sampled, covered, mashed up like no other, but two of my favorite and classic groups put together must be golden, right? The overall result... eh. It starts off well, then just feels a little long. The best 10 or so songs would've been great, but with 25+ there are just too many throw ins. Plus, it doesn't even directly sample the Beatles. It samples a lot of other artists that covered the Beatles. It isn't without it's moments though like this remix of C.R.E.A.M. sampling the Beatles' "And I Love Her".
Also, if you want to download the whole album and form your own opinion, you can find it here:
Surprisingly, this is my first post of 2010. I've been a busy (er... lazy) ass I know. I can tell JJ's upset with my lack of posting every time he says "Soo... I posted something new on our blog" to which I reply "Sweet." And who the hell knows where The Brain is? One and done for that guy. Haha.
Anyway, I was catching up on Hype Machine where I heard a new Damian Marley & Nas track, "As We Enter". It's a cool song, but not why I'm blogging. I was kicking myself for like 20 minutes trying to figure out the sample since I knew it from somewhere but just couldn't put my finger on it. Finally, I realized it was from an album I have called Ethiopiques by Ethiopian Jazz artist, Mulatu Astatke. The song is called Yegelle Tezeta which I actually heard first off the soundtrack for a Bill Murray movie called Broken Flowers. Long story short, it's a sick beat. Both versions below.
I remember heading over to a get-together after a night of debauchery. We played Portishead for background music. The overall response from everyone? "This is some really sad and psychotic sht". I guess we shouldve played Dashboard Confessional. This led to a uncomfortable conversation amongst strangers. The question of the night - In a scale 1-10, What would you rate your life? We heard a 2 =)
One of my favorite tracks from '09. Depressing yet Beautiful. I <3 Beth Gibbons & Phantogram.
One of my favorite originals. I've been playing this on repeat for the past few days in my cubicle to help my ass relax. I <3 being a Corporate Work Slave.
We don't objectify women. Shiet, We appreciate and love them! We just think Too $hort is a funny ass mthafcka. Offended by this posting? He has something to express to you in a in a poetic manner,
"Don't get mad when I fuck your cousin,Your two sisters, I even fuck your ex-bitch, Short dog in the house with some player shit..."
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