Just When I Thought I Couldn't Love Rachel Maddow Any More...

She goes and makes a Wu-Tang reference!

It was during a segment where an Iraqi judge called someone an "Old Dirty Ba'athist." She followed up by saying something along the lines of, "not to be confused with the Ghostface Killah Ba'athist." The joke didn't really land, but she did giggle at it herself and trailed off saying something about the Clan, showing probably at least a passing familiarity with the Wu. Fantastic.

Then, just when it seems like she couldn't be any greater, I scour the internet for a picture of her to put in this post, and I find out that she hates coldplay. So do I! Awesome!

Hear for yourself on her podcast

I'm a Mac, I'm a PC, and sweetie call me Toney Starks, Ghost if ya like ta

Some new Ghostface id making its way around the internet. The thing is, it's consistently linked within posts about Ghost's upcoming compilation album The Great Ghostdeini, yet it's never included within the tracklist. So where did this song come from? If I ever get an answer, I'll be sure to pass it along.

"Computer Love" by Ghostface Killah

The song is definitely better than anything off of Big Doe Rehab. That being said though, the Zapp sample, while enjoyable, is hardly original. Ghost is strong on the track, but not particularly strong enough to make this one a classic. Is it worth downloading? Absolutely. Are you going to remember you downloaded it a couple months from now? Probably not.

The Ghost, plus Art of the Mix

So... new Ghostface with a titty-delicious album cover. It must be good, right? Maybe. I avoided putting my commentary out right when I first heard the album, as to not jump the gun on hasty opinions, but more than a week or so later, I'm still not sure how I feel. It bears definite similarities to fishscale, but while fishscale branched out with the far out sounds on tracks like Just Blaze's "The Champ", Pete Rock's "Dogs of War", and DOOM's "Underwater", The Big Doe Rehab is relatively narrow in the scope of its sound and lacking in big gun producers.

The production is heavily dipped in a classic R&B sound. Two appearances from the Rhythm Roots All-Stars take things in the direction of latin funk and afrobeat, but both appearances are saved for skits, not songs. I'm not entirely sure what to think of Ghost's flow on the album either. Previously, he's used a slow calm voice for smoother R&B tracks. Here we see him spitting in the hype shouted style he normally reserves for more bombastic cuts. It provides an interesting dynamic between the vocals and the beat, but it also leaves the listener wondering how much time and thought went into the album as a whole. Final verdict, Ghostface on a bad day is still Ghostface. This is an album I'll definitely keep in rotation, but it's not destined to become one of the Wu Tang classics.

One of the tracks that stands out for me is "Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" feat. Raekwon. The track is a sequel of sorts to "Shakey Dog" off of Fishscale and is one of the few times on the album where it seems like Ghost's flow was well matched to the track. He goes a bit off the deep end towards the end of the track, though.

"Shakey Dog Starring Lolita" feat. the Chef by Ghostface Killah

In Other News,

I've recently gotten into the website Art of the Mix. Users post up the tracklists of their own mixes (mp3, CD, minidisc, or mix tape) and share feedback with each other. There are a TON of wack mixes on here, but I've also come across some interesting stuff, like A Danceable Solution to Teenage Revolution and Babylon's Burning Vol. 1. My first contribution to the site went up today (you can see it here) and I decided I'd share it here with you folks. The zip file contains all the tracks from side A and side B, albeit out of order. Here's the tracklisting for those of you too lazy to click over to AOTM.

Download, Cigarbox Guitars Volume 3, Riot Riot Fight
(megaupload)

Side A

1. "Start the Riot" by Atari Teenage Riot
2. "I Feel Like Dying" by Lil' Wayne
3. "Silver Rocket" by Sonic Youth
4. "Indecision Time" by Hüsker Dü
5. "Atmosphere" by Joy Division
6. "What's the Latest?" by Riff-Raff
7. "Lighters" by Plow United
8. "Never as Tired as When I'm Waking Up" by LCD Soundsystem
9. "Lightworks" by J Dilla Jay Dee
10. "Ain't the Devil Happy" by Jeru tha Damaja
11. "Dead Flowers" by the Rolling Stones
12. "Remainder" by Rites of Spring
13. "Purgatory" by Indecision
14. "Natural's Not In It" (from the Peel Sessions) by Gang of Four

Side B

1. "Bonjour Jeune Fille" by The Blow
2. "A Dream" (Blockhead Remix) by Donny Hathaway
3. "Patience" by Rites of Spring
4. "Me and You" by Egg Hunt
5. "USA" by Reagan Youth
6. "Work, Part II" feat. Big L by Gang Starr
7. "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" by Billy Bragg
8. "House of Cards" by Radiohead
9. "Pass This On" by the Knife
10. "Be Good" by Tokyo Police Club
11. "Las Cruces Jail" by Two Gallants
12. "Banned in D.C." by Bad Brains
13. "Donuts (outro)" by J Dilla Jay Dee
14. "Workonit" by J Dilla Jay Dee
15. "Minor Threat" by Minor Threat

I know it might not seem like it, but Atari Teenage Riot into Lil' Wayne sounds SO GOOD.

Tang-sgiving

I was going to post a happy thanksgiving post, but how can I be happy when there's sadness in Shaolin? I'm pretty out of touch with the blog world lately, so I'm a little late on this, but I came across Miss Info's interview with Raekwon today.

Dude's pretty anti-guitar and anti-Rza. Plus, stay tuned for a wu-tang album WITHOUT THE RZA. Why would they think that's a good idea? I know Ghostface has been vocal about his displeasure, and Method Man has voiced his concerns in the past, but I'm curious to hear where the others stand on this. I'm guessing U-God will go with whomever wants to put him on. I can't imagine a split between the Rza and the Gza, but even if these guys are angry at the Rza, how could they leave the Gza? He's the genius. This just doesn't sit well with me.

Rocking Bells

Since Druglas got his shit together and posted his two cents on Rock the Bells, I figured I should do the same. First off, I have to ask, what is wrong with white people? I like to get into a performance, and maybe I don't get as physically into rock and roll as I used to, but in my mind it just seems unnecessary to mosh your face off to Cypress Hill. If it's during "Rock Superstar" that's one thing, but during "I wanna get high"? Could you pick a mellower song to start the moshing during? Never mind that the mooks behind me decided to start moshing after they ingested a fist sized bag of coke. Cuz that's not a recipe for disaster. Anyway, other than some inappropriate moshing, way too much rain, and the perils of mass transit, it was a good day. I got there a while before Druglas, so the Breetard and I were able to catch the Grouch and Eligh's set.

I had dismissed them in the past after a few listens, but they rocked the shit out of their set on Sunday. Eligh is definitely the shining star of the duo, but that's not to say the Grouch wasn't holding his own. Since the theme of the day seemed to be everyone getting backed out of their skulls, it was appropriate that "No More Greener Grass" was the highlight of their set. After that, MURS came out to rally the crowd for Mr. Lif, who was joined by Akrobatik for most of his set. I enjoyed their performance, but I was more excited to skeedaddle to the main stage and catch Blackstar.

Talib went through his solo material first and ripped it. I've missed out on seeing him live so many times that it was really great just to be finally seeing him and it helped that he fucking killed it. Mos Def's solo set was a little bit more lackluster, with too much meandering singing. It was really cool, however, when his DJ spun Aretha Franklin's "One Step Ahead" before dropping the beat for "Ms. Fat Booty", the crowd went ape, and rightly so. That moment aside, the high point in Mos's performance was when he went into "Definition" and was joined onstage by Talib. Then Rakim was up.

To me, it felt like he was standing in front of a largely unappreciative crowd. His set was fantastic, however, despite the tepid crowd response.

Cypress Hill was kind of ruined for me by the jackoffs sniffing blow and punching people right behind me. Before those guys really got into it though, the set was really enjoyable. Especially the gigantic inflatable Buddha onstage. Public Enemy was really good too, but I didn't stick around for a complete rocking, instead making my way over to catch Doom.

As Drug already informed you, Doom was sick, even if it was a much shorter set than it should've been. It was pretty cool that once most of the crowd ran away to catch the Wu, Talib came out to rock "Old School".

Maybe I'm a little spoiled when it comes to the Wu Tang. Around this time last year when I saw them, I met Ghostface, and I spent the show within arms reach of the stage. Needless to say, it was a little different watching them perform from about a football field's length away. I was a little disappointed with the absence of Ghostface, and the apparent substitution of a portly Ghost look a like. Either way though, it's the Wu Tang, and my ever-present hip hop chubb for them was in full effect.

Seeing Rage was like a flashback to '99, the last time I saw them. I was kind of surprised at de la Rocha's relative silence in between songs, until I heard there was some backlash over things he'd said the night before about assassinating George W. I kinda thought that things of that nature were standard fare for Rage - last time I saw them, they burned an American flag - but I guess he was asked to tone it down. To be honest, it was a little disappointing to see that he acquiesced and just did the show without the political ranting.

Rock Randalls in the Rain

Rock the Bells mo’fucker. Better late than never (seems to be the theme of all my posts) but last Sunday me and the Green Hornet were at Randalls Island getting soaked checkin’ out this festival. Speakin’ for myself I thought it was dope especially considering I got cheap tix and there were a lot of groups I’ve been listenin to for years that I finally got to see. When I first got in I was at the Paid Dues Stage and caught the tail end of Mr.Lif which wasn’t as dope as I would have imagined although he’s a really nice guy and I was lucky to meet him later in the day.

Next up was Cage and Yak Ballz two of my guilty pleasures in the underground hiphop scene. Along with Cage came the rain and everyone got drenched but luckily his performance was dope and they made up for it. I dunno if it woulda been as nice for someone who wasn’t as familiar with the songs but it hit the spot for me. Brother Ali was next and he’s always been impressive live. That albino gets the crowd goin' every time and his set showcased mostly his new album, a sick acapella and a couple older favorites . Felt was up next and Slug and Murs were in good spirits getting the crowd into it. Slug and Ant pulled out godlovesugly to please the Atmosphere fans but right bout then I left for the main stage.

Erikah Badu pulled a no show so Cypress Hill set got bumped up and I ran over there to join the crowd and pull a blunt break. Seemed like it was a greatest hits set for them and I was kinda out of it (go figure) but they played Hits from the Bong, Dr. Greenthumb and I wanna get High which sounded pretty tight. After that Public Enemy came on but I wandered back to catch Living Legends and get some grub ($8 Philly Cheese Steaks – fuck that). Living Legends were on for awhile and shit kinda lagged towards the end even being familiar with most of what they played. After they got off we waited again for DOOM to turn up and the DJ bullshit over the mic. I’ve seen DOOM a few times now and he always makes the crowd wait and this time was no different. When he came on he dropped a couple Dangerdoom tracks he’s never done live and Monkey Suite which was a treat but the rest was pretty standard and he only was on stage for 30 min even though he was scheduled for a full hour. My guess is he cut it short cause over half his crowd bounced when Wu Tang was came on stage in the middle of his set.

Wu was dope and Method Man took the front man roll and held the act together. I’m not a huge Wu fan so I’ll let Green Hornet chime in on this one for a better run down on their performance. Rage came after and it sounded liked 1996 all over again. Nice to finally see them live and they were tight as could be with a trimmed down set-list hittin all the favorites to fit their time slot. Great show overall and I’d do it again if I had the chance. Here’s a couple youtube clips from the show, enjoy.

DOOM Montage



Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill a Man


Rage - Know Your Enemy Clip


Hot 97 Interviews/ Run Down

Wu Tang Wu Tang

So I've finally got something new to add to my list of "things that wasted six dollars".

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that any rite-aid / walgreens will have a bin of Kung-Fu DVDs. Inevitably, there is always at least one Wu-Tang DVD mixed in, not counting the actual Kung Fu movies with Wu related bonus features. Usually I spot them, glance at the synopsis, then put em back thinking I should buy one sometime. For whatever reason, I decided to pick one up when I saw U-God's (not) smilin' face on the cover. I've always liked Baby U-ey and I thought it might be interesting to see him air out the rest of the Clan. I thought wrong. The whole DVD consists basically of U-God bigging himself up, talking smack on Ol' Dirty, the Rza, and the Gza, and talking about how he'll punch anybody else in the face if they talk smack on Ol' Dirty, the Rza, or the Gza. There's one segment where the interviewer asks him about the rumors of Capadonna being homeless. Since the interview takes place as U-God drives around Staten Island, it just so happens that he drives by Cappadonna talking on his cell phone as he drives in the opposite direction. There's also a lot of screen time devoted to U-God's former crew, the Hillside Scramblers. They're pretty terrible. There are some bonus features that make the disc almost worthwhile, but at the end of the day I think I might've been better served by walking out of walgreens and hitting up the dollar menu at the other end of the parking lot.

In happier Wu Tang news, there's a great countdown at Urb Magazine of the top 20 Wu videos. Personally, I would've thrown "Ain't Nuthin Ta Fuck Wit" somewhere into the mix. Even though there's a lot of clips tossed in from other videos on the countdown, you'd be hard pressed to find something more badass than the shots of the huge crowd freaking out to the song's hook. Plus that dude in the white ski-mask is fuckin' terrifying.

Up from the 36 chambers... it's the expanded... remastered... dvd...

So although I already own the movie on DVD, I'm pretty pysched to rent the re-release of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Not only has the movie been all remastered and touched up and whatnot, it's packaged with an audio commentary track from the Rza. YES!

"Ode to Oren Ishii" by the RZA

Also, I hate having a job for a lot of reasons, but lately I hate it because I'll be working this saturday, when I could be at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival seeing Ghostface, Large Professor, and a ton of other dudes for free. weak.

How I Spent my Summer (Jam) Vacation...

So it's a bit late, but here's my rundown of Hot 97's 2007 Summer Jam. We rolled into Giants Stadium around 1:30, thinking that the pre-show started at 2 and the main show started at 3. Turns out the main stage wasn't scheduled to kick off until 6:30, so we ended up skipping the pre-show altogether (Does part of me regret that I still haven't seen "Lip Gloss" performed live? Maybe.) and boozed in the parking lot until it was time to head inside.

The chronology of my synopsis might be a little out of wack, given the schaefer, pbr, and nutcrackers that flowed through my bloodstream, but I do know that Mims jumped out on stage to open the show almost immediately after we made our way to the floor. I have a theory about Mims. I'm convinced that his career is one big inside joke that he's playing on the public, an Andy Kaufman-esque joke.

For a while I just thought Mims was the worst rapper of all time and nothing more. Then I noticed the line "This is why I'm hot, I don't gotta rap, I can make a mil sayin' nothin on a track." So Mims is knowingly churning out garbage, laughing himself all the way to the bank as the public eats it up. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit as an evil genius, but I think I'm right. All that being said however, I still had no interest in sitting through a whole set of him, so I could not have been more happy with what happened. He came out to his hit "This is why I'm hot" and then immediately afterwards closed the set with "This is why I'm hot (reggae remix)". Baby Cham and Junior Reid came out for the remix, which I loved, plus Mims was on stage for probably under 10 minutes. It was perfect.

Then we had T-Pain, who can ACTUALLY SING. I always assumed that since he had all those heavy vocal effects on his songs, it meant he was completely devoid of talent. Not the case, however, since he performed completely sans effects.

Ciara was pretty awesome, dancing on big white letters that spelled out her name. It kind of reminded me of something that the wonders would have appeared on TV with.

Swizz Beatz was rocking a pretty ferocious set, but I'd be a liar if I said I didn't wig out like a 12 year old girl when Kanye West walked out so they could have a "songs I've produced that are awesome" battle. The DJ spun "Takeover" first for Kanye and I don't think I would've been able to count the number of dynasty signs that got thrown up on the floor alone. Plus Lil' Wayne came out later in the set for the first of several cameos before his own set.

wheelchair rocking, like murderball

Ne-Yo was awesome, although a bit disappointing. Maybe it's just me being a Ghostface fanboy, but when Fabolous turned out to be Ne-Yo's surprise guest I was kinda let down. Fab still rocked everything rightly though, so all's well that ends well. The Ne-Yo set gradually morphed into a Fab set, then a Young Jeezy set, then a Ludacris set. All of them were enjoyable, but Ludacris really out shined the rest. I had heard from people who'd seen him in the past that he was a lackluster performer, but none of that showed last Sunday. I've never seen someone have such a strong hold on a crowd that large and Luda literally had the crowd in the palm of his hand.

Then came Chris Brown. I've always grouped "Excuse Me Miss" and "Run It" as guilty pleasures, so I was looking forward to his set, but I definitely wasn't expecting him to put on half as good a show as he ended up giving. He performed with a full live band and sang and danced his fucking balls off. I read somewhere that Ne-Yo is supposedly working on the new Michael Jackson album, so there had been some jokes about Ne-Yo maybe bringing out Michael Jackson. Well when Brown threw on his red jacket and single rhinestone glove, then did "Rock with You" and some other Jackson tunes, it might have been better than the real thing. I mean, I'll take young Michael or black Michael any day, but an appearance from current Michael probably would've just been creepy.

Chris Brown's set ended with the emergence of my personal favorite dip, Juelz (A!), and the re-emergence of Lil' Wayne for the "poppin'" remix, then things went into Weezy's set. As much fun as the show was, there was a monsoon going on, and we were not prepared for the weather. It was starting to get to the point where the dance time/shivering time ratio was shifting in a negative direction, so we headed out right as "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" started. Apparently I missed seeing T.I., which is a bit of a bummer, but I'm really okay with not seeing Diddy, Akon, or Rich Boy. I actually assumed Rich Boy didn't show up, until someone told me yesterday that he closed the show. I really wouldn't have expected that Rich Boy was the headliner. I can't wait for next year.

"Buy You a Drank" remix feat. Kanye West & UGK by T-Pain

"Promise" by Ciara

"Get Down Like That" remix featuring Ghostface by Ne-Yo

"Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" by Chris Brown

"Black Republicans" Remix feat. Juelz Santana by Lil' Wayne

"Stuntin' Like My Daddy" by Birdman & Lil' Wayne

Slow Stupid and Hungry

Smoke Two Joints- Sublime

As High as wu tang get- Wu Tang Clan

Quest for Herb- Murphys Law

Just a Friendly Reminder

Winter's generally not really a time of year that I listen to much hip hop. It's not like a rule I have or anything, it just always seems to work out that way. So since I'm really listening to a lot of kinda dreary music lately, the site sort of follows the trend. Case in point,

"Red Right Ankle" by the Decemberists

I just want this to serve as a reminder, or maybe a reassurance, to all of our readers out there across the globe, that I still think Ghostface is cool as fuckin' hell.

"Freek'n You" feat. Ghostface Killah & Raekwon by Jodeci

"Saïan" feat. Saïan Supa Crew and Ghostface Killah by the Rza

"Pass the Mic" feat. Trife, Cappadonna & Wigs by Ghostface Killah

"Cuttin' It Up" Ratatat Remix feat. Ghostface Killah by Raekwon

I can't wait till Rock the Bells. I'm definitely gonna be getting weird Warped Tour flashbacks out there on Randall's Island, but I think I'll cope.

Bling'd

So a VH1 documentary just came out on the diamond trade in Sierra Leone, I was working during the initial airing, but I'm gonna try and remember to catch the next showing on sunday. Part of the show is going to document a trip to Freetown, Sierra Leone with Paul Wall, Tego Calderón, and our favorite, Raekwon the Chef. I think it's a great premise, but I'm wondering what effect it can really have. Apparently Tego has announced that he'll never wear any kind of rings, chains, or diamonds anymore, but I can't imagine that Paul Wall is going to just up and abandon his grillz business. I mean, it's kind of all he's got.

Although, if he's looking for cash after abandoning his lucrative grillz business, I have to say that I would definitely watch a reality show starring him, Tego, and Raekwon.

"Gracias" by Tego Calderón
"Glaciers of Ice" by Raekwon the Chef
"Still Tippin'" feat. Slim Thug and Paul Wall by Mike Jones

Hallelujah Holla Back

I really wish I didn't like the white rapper show so much. Serch is a jackass.

There's been a lot of folks writing about Dilla lately, with it being a year since his death and all. Of all the stuff I've read, the one that stands out the most was posted by Talib Kweli almost a year ago (stumbled on by way of ninoy brown). Check it out here, it's definitely worth a read.

Spine Magazine had a video up the other day with a young lookin Nas on stage with Biggie, as introduced by Movin' on Yo Left, Mr. Mef. That video was cool and all, but it's still not my favorite Biggie Internet moment. That would be this one. It's crazy how he sounds exactly the same, but looks like such a kid.

And while we're talking about sidewalk freestyles,

et en français

Something Nice to Say

Mitch Clem is cool and I love the fact that he's chronicaling his top 5 albums of 2006 in cartoons.

It makes sense, since he's a cartoonist, but I'm still getting a big kick out of them. I'm also getting a kick out of this tune from Ted Leo and his unruly gang of Pharmacists. It's got a really kick in the ass too it, even more so than most of his songs.

"Sons of Cain" by Ted Leo & those wily Pharmacists

This Raekwon / Mathematics collaboration is nice too. Although I might have my doubts about it ever coming out, I continue to get more and more pysched for the next Rae album.

"Trees" by Raekwon the Chef

Heroin Only

About two months ago, Stylus was looking for some new writers, so I sent them my review of Raekwon's "Heron Only" mixtape. They weren't interested, so I figured I might as well let this see the light of day. It's not really written as informally as I usually work, so re-reading it now, it comes off pretty awkward. Oh well.

Around a year ago, I was at a Ghostface show in New York where someone in Ghost's entourage held up a promotional poster reading "Cuban Linx II: Heron(sic) Only". Being a big fan of Raekwon the Chef's first Cuban Linx album, I was naturally excited. Fast forward to the present: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II: Strictly Bricks (the new alleged title) is still nowhere in sight, but a number of teaser mixtapes have dropped, one of the more exciting being Heroin Only released by Rae and his personal DJ, DJ Thoro.

Heroin Only doesn't go too far beyond your general mixtape fare. There are guest appearances (Wu Tang associates and outsiders alike), spoken interludes, and new takes on old beats. Among the guests, Busta Rhymes stands out from the crowd with his verses on "Address Me as Mister" and the remix to CL2's first announced single "State of Grace". Despite having two very different flows, Rae and Busta have always sounded great together, maybe because Raekwon likes to sound off about coke and Busta likes to sound like he's on coke. As for the spoken interludes, they serve as much of a purpose as any mixtape interlude, not much. There's a lot of the Chef reminding you that this is "heroin only", as if to tell you that he's moving on from the coke rap that so many have co-opted from the archetype he laid down on OB4CL. This is more extreme, grimier, and far less glamorous. This analysis would hold up a lot better if the tape was full of gutter beats, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The majority of the beats have a very funky and slick jazz feel (see: "Rising 2 Da Gwap"), so although it might debunk my metaphor theories, Rae's voice sounds completely at home on nearly every track. As for the older beats, there's a great re-working of Nas's "The World is Yours" (re-titled "Chef's World") and a listenable, albeit not as great, reworking of Paul Wall's "Sittin' Sideways" ("Sittin' sideways, boys in a daze" becomes "hit 'em sideways, going for the face").

Some classic tracks are included on the disc, including Wu Tang's "It's Yourz" and "Hollow Bones". Not only are these tracks great songs on their own, but they serve to show how Raekwon's new output can stand up against his past releases, and for the most part, it does. There's nothing that holds much of a candle to the original Cuban Linx, but if I don't have that expectation for the official album release, then it'd be silly to expect it from a pre-release mix tape. But while it may not become Raekwon's crowing achievement, I'll still look forward to "Cuban Linx II" and If the intention behind this release is to keep people tuned in until CL2 drops, then they've achieved it with at least one fan.

"Heroin Only" by Raekwon the Chef

"Chef's World" by Raekwon the Chef

"Rising 2 Da Gwap" by Raekwon the Chef

Giggity Giggity Ghost

There hasn't been much talk of More Fish here on the 'box. As much as I'm a big Ghost fanboy, I haven't been too confident about the release. It just seems rushed out for the sake of trying to get Ghostface some numbers for the year, after Fishscale disappointed. However, I think I'm starting to sway my opinion towards thinking that rushed Ghost is better than no Ghost. I mean, Theodore Unit was the product of some Pretty Toney throwaway tracks, and that made for jizzytime in my pants. All I know is, I can't wait for the big publicized beef between G-Unit and the T-Unit.

"Greedy Bitches" feat. Redman & Shawn Wigs by Ghostface Killah

Also:
A friend introduced me to this little gem of a song this morning. He's not doing anything ridiculous here, but it's an enjoyable cover.

"Hey Ya" by Matt Weedle

yo Rza pump the track

So I came across this Mos Def track on fluxblog where he rocks over the Liquid Swords beat. His verses are pretty solid, but I don't know if I'm sold on this song as a whole. The mushmouthed intro is annoying, since when is Mos getting stained? His choruses are just mumbled/sung reworkings of the Liquid Swords chorus, although I do really like when he starts whistling over the beat at the end. I feel like a schmuck trashing Mos' reworking of the song when I basically praised Jim Jones' freestyle over it, but come on Mos, I hold you up to a higher standard than the Capo.

(ballin)

"Crime & Medicine" by Mos Def

"Liquid Swords Freestyle" by Jim Jones

"Liquid Swords" by GZA/Genius

he doesn't want us back

With me taking so long between posts, my life is completely different with every post. Recently, I got evicted by my landlord whose name is Michael Jackson. His name is really Michael Jackson, and he basically said the opposite of this song:

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

But I don't even care. This house is cold, and I live in a basement with no doors and no windows. So maybe it's time to leave.

Top Songs to listen to when being evicted:

1.Everything's Just Wonderful - Lily Allen
2.Nobody Don't Dance No More - Kano
3.Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
4.Going to Georgia - Mountain Goats
5.Cold World - GZA

A few days ago I saw the Count Basie Orchestra live here at Seton Hall. Fantastic show, and the drummer, Butch Miles, is absolutely amazing.

So what else is new in my musical world? New Jay-Z song is trash. New Decemberists is great. Camera Obscura slowing taking over my world. In fact, let's put some songs up.

Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
Razzle Dazzle Rose - Camera Obscura

And while I'm posting songs, this is for all of the haters I live with who can't appreciate good stuff:

(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry - Darlene Love

Oh, and I am pretty broke. These days money is for cigerettes, intoxicating substances, and maybe food. Luxury items are just no on the bill these days. So I am starting the Fund To Get MC Abstract Douchipster Enough Money to Buy This:




He even has the wallabies on!

Also, I have been told that he is a jerk, but I really want this to happen to me.

Brief foray outside of music, then back.

So, I don't know how much of a splash this made in headlines outside of the Tri-State area, but a small airplane crashed into an apartment building yesterday and in the ensuing media frenzy I found myself once again full of contempt for the media at large, the country, and humanity as a whole. As far as I know now, the only casualties were the two folks in the plane, yet radio news felt the need to inflate and deflate that number over the course of the day, sometimes it was two, sometimes there were four, I heard six at one point. As the reporting progressed, it became an opportunity to talk about all the things we've learned since September 11 and how much more prepared we are now for a terrorist attack on the city. Everyone was so quick to jump up and pat NORAD on the back for their quick response to the situation, after they sent fighter jets out over several American cities. If NORAD is so on top of their game, why was an aircraft allowed to get that close to the Manhattan skyline in the first place? It doesn't matter that it was a small personal aircraft, the incident still shows that the city is completely vulnerable. Does anyone realize how easy it is to get ahold of a Cesna? A lot easier than sneaking more than a dozen hijackers onto commercial flights, I'll tell you that. So just because one of the Yankees was flying the plane, we get to pat NORAD on the back. That plane could've just as easily been packed full to the motherfucking brim with explosives. But it wasn't, so pats on the back all around. You didn't do SHIT NORAD, you were just lucky.

whatever.

On a much more positive note, I was watching the King of Queens today and Patton Oswalt went to a shoe store with Jerry Stiller. Stiller went for some docksiders, Oswalt asked the attendant for a pair of Clarks Wallabees.

Also, I heard a fairly new Pipettes track, the B-side to the "Judy" single. For the record, I like Judy a lot better than this song. I mean, it's a fine song, but sometimes Lovey songs just make me sad and they say the word love in this song more often than I say the word "wack". And man, that's a lot.

"The Burning Ambition of Early Diuretics" by the Pipettes

I guess if anyone pays attention to that download link they're gonna notice that it's to Pitchfork. After two years of not going there, I caved again once I set myself up with a google reader.

Speaking of mp3 links stolen from other websites, I really really like the camera obscura song that was posted on stereogum today.

"If Looks Could Kill" by Camera Obscura

And if my contempt for Lady Sovereign hasn't grown enough lately, I saw today that she's covered a Sex Pistols song. I hate the Sex Pistols so much. She did cover "Pretty Vacant", which isn't the worst song in the world (that would be "Anarchy in the UK"), but it's still not going to win her any points with this guy.

Josephiend

This Ghostface/Hi-Tek track is sonic crack.

"Josephine" feat. Ghostface by DJ Hi-Tek

New Beck is also cool. I've seen it slammed a couple places, but what's the one thing we've learned from reading Cigar Box Guitars? That many out there are stricken with what we call, "wrong opinions".

"New Round" by Beck