Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
February 11, 2008
Powderhouse Birthday Jam
Here´s a peak into the Gnawledge kitchen: a mini-jam at Afro DZ ak's recent 27th birthday party in Somerville, MA. Backed by Gnotes on the MPC and Frank on the guitar, Afro DZ freestyles with his trumpet inside a cypher of multi-instrumentalist MC´s.
Enjoy the hors d'œuvres, a little something we whipped up to whet your appetite for Afro DZ ak´s upcoming solo debut Elevation. Now get out the kitchen, because we got a trumpet feast to cook.
Peace to Afro´s brother Mooks behind the camara, Benny Blanco, Jimi P, and the other partygoers who stopped by Powderhouse Studios to hear some Gnawledge music.
November 20, 2007
Luz Aire y La Calle
As part of the XXVIII Festival de Jazz, there's been live music in the streets of Granada every Saturday. The festival's organizers gave Gnawledge permission to record this week's performance, but while we set up in Plaza Nueva, the capricious ensemble rerouted themselves to Plaza Bib-Rambla instead.
Disappointed about a missed opportunity, me and my pair of Rode NT2-A mics caught the attention of a trio of musicians (below) who asked us if we'd be interested in recording their performance.
But Granada overprovides. Not 5 minutes later we met another group of musicians who were also performing in the street that afternoon. Stuck between a sofa and soft place, we decided to leave the didgeridoo and violin behind and record instead with Luzaire, who played a fusion of flamenco, arab, brasilian and afrocuban music.
The mp3s below were recorded live on the street on November 17, 2007.
Luzaire - "Guajirilla Ruborosa" (mp3)
Luzaire - "Mano Franca" (mp3)
The video has no sound, so play it with the audio clip below.
Luzaire - "Breve y Sincero" (mp3)
Luzaire - "Muy Triste El Mar" (mp3)
Luzaire - "Conventos Vacios" (mp3)
Again, the video has no sound, but check my brief appearance at the very end.
Luzaire - "La Palmera Airosa" (mp3)
Luzaire - "Mírame Madre" (mp3)
que bien rollo!: A sunny Saturday afternoon in the public domain, listening to borderfree music by the Rio Darro.
rightclik + download all 11 mp3s (zip = 53mb)
Also, check out Una Vuelta en Granada for more pictures.
October 8, 2007
Gnotes - "Throw Your Nickels Up" from Rhymes and Beats.
Buy the album at Amazon, CDBaby or iTunes
Check Gnotes on MySpace for additional info.
March 15, 2007
Video of gNotes and Afro DZ ak freestyling at Tufts University, moving from the mic to the trumpet, from live drums and to organic rhymes
Check out more at Gnawledge.com
Check out more at Gnawledge.com
January 28, 2007
January 5, 2007
Edutainment from Afro DZ ak, dropping gnawledge on the mic and through his trumpet.
"Action is what gives words traction
And true service to others is its own satisfaction" Afro DZ ak
"The youth need a little inspiration
Beyond the mass media infiltration" Afro DZ ak
Much repect to Speakerheart for producing these films.
Check Speakerheart.com for more.
"Action is what gives words traction
And true service to others is its own satisfaction" Afro DZ ak
"The youth need a little inspiration
Beyond the mass media infiltration" Afro DZ ak
Much repect to Speakerheart for producing these films.
Check Speakerheart.com for more.
November 10, 2005
Interview with Gift of Gab
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights
Never take advice from a rapper. If you don't see me back on campus next semester, blame Gift of Gab from Blackalicious.
While interviewing him over the phone, Gab's advice to me was, "Take the cash from your student loans and start a record company. That's what we did." I explained to him that Boston College doesn't have much of a hip-hop scene and he laughed.
"Neither did UC Davis," he said, "but that's where we all met. Me, DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Lateef, Xcel - we all met at the college radio station."
With misappropriated tuition money, the crew started SoleSides Records in 1992, later to become Quannum Projects. The independent label released Blackalicious' first two EPs, Melodica and A2G, and its full-length debut Nia. The duo finally signed to a major label in 2000 and unleashed Blazing Arrow, one of the most sublime hip-hop albums ever released.
A-Side
Blackalicious - "Powers"
The new Blackalicious album, The Craft, sounds surprisingly little like its predecessor. Instead of chopping up samples, Blackalicious producer Chief Xcel put together an all-star band featuring Spearhead bassist Carl Young and Beastie Boys percussionist Alfredo Ortiz to create the lush instrumental sound heard on tracks like the lead single "Powers," "Supreme People," and "Lotus Flower," featuring George Clinton.
"What I love about this album is that you can't tell what's a sample and what's a live performance," said Gab. "Xcel originally made the beats on the MPC, but then stripped them down.
"Then we went into the studio with the band and they just jammed on top of his beats for like eight hours a day, three days in a row. It was like a Miles Davis session. Then we took the best parts of the jam session and Xcel's original beats and put them together."
B-Side
Blackalicious - "Rhythm Sticks"
While Xcel drives the beat, Gab rides the groove with his signature lyrical gymnastics. Keep your finger near the rewind button because Gab's got the sort of ridiculous flow that demands a double take. Gab is probably too hooked on phonetics, rehashing his infamous exercise in extended alliteration reminiscent of "Alphabet Aerobics."
Blackalicious - "The Fall & Rise Elliot Brown"
"I've been rapping since I was 12, just battling kids in the neighborhood, so for this album I wanted to do something more. I wanted to tell stories that created visuals for the listener," he said. The album is a cinematic experience that reinforces Gab's reputation as a socially conscious emcee who manages to avoid the temptation of hippie-dippy proselytizing.
"I don't consider myself a political person. I just use common sense. I'm an observer. If I see something happening over and over again in my community, then I make the connection and I comment on it."
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights
Never take advice from a rapper. If you don't see me back on campus next semester, blame Gift of Gab from Blackalicious.
While interviewing him over the phone, Gab's advice to me was, "Take the cash from your student loans and start a record company. That's what we did." I explained to him that Boston College doesn't have much of a hip-hop scene and he laughed.
"Neither did UC Davis," he said, "but that's where we all met. Me, DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Lateef, Xcel - we all met at the college radio station."
With misappropriated tuition money, the crew started SoleSides Records in 1992, later to become Quannum Projects. The independent label released Blackalicious' first two EPs, Melodica and A2G, and its full-length debut Nia. The duo finally signed to a major label in 2000 and unleashed Blazing Arrow, one of the most sublime hip-hop albums ever released.
A-Side
Blackalicious - "Powers"
The new Blackalicious album, The Craft, sounds surprisingly little like its predecessor. Instead of chopping up samples, Blackalicious producer Chief Xcel put together an all-star band featuring Spearhead bassist Carl Young and Beastie Boys percussionist Alfredo Ortiz to create the lush instrumental sound heard on tracks like the lead single "Powers," "Supreme People," and "Lotus Flower," featuring George Clinton.
"What I love about this album is that you can't tell what's a sample and what's a live performance," said Gab. "Xcel originally made the beats on the MPC, but then stripped them down.
"Then we went into the studio with the band and they just jammed on top of his beats for like eight hours a day, three days in a row. It was like a Miles Davis session. Then we took the best parts of the jam session and Xcel's original beats and put them together."
B-Side
Blackalicious - "Rhythm Sticks"
While Xcel drives the beat, Gab rides the groove with his signature lyrical gymnastics. Keep your finger near the rewind button because Gab's got the sort of ridiculous flow that demands a double take. Gab is probably too hooked on phonetics, rehashing his infamous exercise in extended alliteration reminiscent of "Alphabet Aerobics."
Blackalicious - "The Fall & Rise Elliot Brown"
"I've been rapping since I was 12, just battling kids in the neighborhood, so for this album I wanted to do something more. I wanted to tell stories that created visuals for the listener," he said. The album is a cinematic experience that reinforces Gab's reputation as a socially conscious emcee who manages to avoid the temptation of hippie-dippy proselytizing.
"I don't consider myself a political person. I just use common sense. I'm an observer. If I see something happening over and over again in my community, then I make the connection and I comment on it."
April 21, 2005
Mixtape Friday: Is there hip-hop in heaven?
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
"Pope," an old Prince song, features The Artist singing, "You can be the president, I'd rather be the pope."
He was prioritizing his post-game perks, because St. Peter definitely made sure Pope John Paul II skipped to the head of the line to the pearly gates. Because of the foreign policies of our recent presidents, Clinton, Reagan, and Bush will "have some 'splaining to do," as Ricky Ricardo used to say, on their judgment day. Hip-hop will probably not pay much attention to John Paul II's death. Hip-hop's interest in religion, embodied by Kanye West, is more concerned with diamond-encrusted Jesus pendants.
On his first posthumous album, released two months after his death in 1997, 2Pac sings, "Should we cry when the pope die? My request/ we should cry if they cried when we buried Malcolm X."
A-Side
Richie Rich - "Do Gs Get To Go To Heaven?"
Though hip-hop tends to focus on Earthly pleasures and rewards, every once in a while rappers consider the thereafter.
Dedicated to 2Pac, this track features Richie Rich praying that his friend made it to heaven, which then leads him to consider his own sins. He asks God, "And if I took a life or perhaps sold some dope/ would you discriminate upon my entry to the gate?" It's not quite repentance, but it is confession.
Ice Cube - "When I Get To Heaven"
On a smooth beat with a chorus of Marvin Gaye singing, "This ain't living" from "Inner City Blues," Ice Cube attacks racist Christians who held the Bible with one hand and whipped slaves with the other. He raps, "400 years of gettin' our ass kicked/ by so-called Christians and Catholics, but I'ma watch 'em burn in the fire." Ice Cube looks forward to an eternal life in heaven better than mortal life on Earth: "They won't call me a nigga, when I get to heaven."
B-Side
2Pac - "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto"
More than any other rapper, 2Pac reflected and obsessed over his own inevitable death, which naturally led him to consider if there was a place in heaven for him.
"Let the lord judge the criminals," he raps, expecting God to understand that his sins were the products of the sinful, racist world he grew up in. 2Pac wondered if his prayers were heard, worrying that he's probably already dead in hell, wasting his prayers with the other condemned.
Common "Geto-Heaven, Pt. 2" [ft. D'Angelo]
Common reflects on earthly temptation and eternal redemption: "Young girls is thick, righteousness is narrow." This track isn't really about the afterlife, but about finding heaven wherever you are right now. D'Angelo provides cherub-sweet vocals for Common's search for heaven on Earth. He raps, "Can't imagine goin' through it, without soul music"
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
"Pope," an old Prince song, features The Artist singing, "You can be the president, I'd rather be the pope."
He was prioritizing his post-game perks, because St. Peter definitely made sure Pope John Paul II skipped to the head of the line to the pearly gates. Because of the foreign policies of our recent presidents, Clinton, Reagan, and Bush will "have some 'splaining to do," as Ricky Ricardo used to say, on their judgment day. Hip-hop will probably not pay much attention to John Paul II's death. Hip-hop's interest in religion, embodied by Kanye West, is more concerned with diamond-encrusted Jesus pendants.
On his first posthumous album, released two months after his death in 1997, 2Pac sings, "Should we cry when the pope die? My request/ we should cry if they cried when we buried Malcolm X."
A-Side
Richie Rich - "Do Gs Get To Go To Heaven?"
Though hip-hop tends to focus on Earthly pleasures and rewards, every once in a while rappers consider the thereafter.
Dedicated to 2Pac, this track features Richie Rich praying that his friend made it to heaven, which then leads him to consider his own sins. He asks God, "And if I took a life or perhaps sold some dope/ would you discriminate upon my entry to the gate?" It's not quite repentance, but it is confession.
Ice Cube - "When I Get To Heaven"
On a smooth beat with a chorus of Marvin Gaye singing, "This ain't living" from "Inner City Blues," Ice Cube attacks racist Christians who held the Bible with one hand and whipped slaves with the other. He raps, "400 years of gettin' our ass kicked/ by so-called Christians and Catholics, but I'ma watch 'em burn in the fire." Ice Cube looks forward to an eternal life in heaven better than mortal life on Earth: "They won't call me a nigga, when I get to heaven."
B-Side
2Pac - "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto"
More than any other rapper, 2Pac reflected and obsessed over his own inevitable death, which naturally led him to consider if there was a place in heaven for him.
"Let the lord judge the criminals," he raps, expecting God to understand that his sins were the products of the sinful, racist world he grew up in. 2Pac wondered if his prayers were heard, worrying that he's probably already dead in hell, wasting his prayers with the other condemned.
Common "Geto-Heaven, Pt. 2" [ft. D'Angelo]
Common reflects on earthly temptation and eternal redemption: "Young girls is thick, righteousness is narrow." This track isn't really about the afterlife, but about finding heaven wherever you are right now. D'Angelo provides cherub-sweet vocals for Common's search for heaven on Earth. He raps, "Can't imagine goin' through it, without soul music"
April 14, 2005
Mixtape Friday: I'm too sexy for my shirt
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
I pray every night before I go to bed: "O Lord I pray to Thee, please bless us with another D'Angelo album. Amen." In an open letter to D'Angelo printed in Esquire, John Mayer wrote, "I'm writing to ask you to put out a follow-up to one of the few records to change my life forever, Voodoo." Our grandchildren probably won't know a thing about Jay-Z or Nas, but backseat lovers in 2083 will still be making nookie with D'Angelo playing in the background.
Unfortunately my prayers have gone unanswered, leaving me with nothing but music from his two albums, 1995's Brown Sugar and 2000's Voodoo, and a random assortment of guest appearances, remixes, b-sides, and rarities. With such a small selection, I cherish every D'Angelo appearance, especially on Method Man's "Break Ups 2 Make Ups" and Common's "Geto Heaven Part Two."
A-Side
D'Angelo - "Devil's Pie" (Mark Ronson Remix)
In my mixtape column from Jan. 20, 2004, I wrote "The eight second breakbeat at 1:41 into [The Strokes'] 'Someday' begs for a b-boy with two turntables and a mixer to loop the drum solo into a hip-hop beat."
Apparently, New York DJ Mark Ronson reads my column, because a year later we get this phenomenal remix mash-up featuring the vocals from D'Angelo's "Devil's Pie" and a funky beat that samples The Strokes' "Someday."
Lauryn Hill - "Nothing Even Matters" [ft. D'Angelo]
D'Angelo makes no secret of the fact that he's a big Star Wars dork. He once said, "The way I see it the radio stations and the media is like the Death Star, and I'm gonna be Luke Skywalker." This was the revolution that was going to save music and Lauryn Hill was his Princess Leia. This track from Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was the most soulful male/female duet since Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack.
B-Side
D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel)
The song's uber-sexual video featured D'Angelo completely naked, his body chiseled like Michaelanglo's David. It turned D'Angelo into a sex icon, a role he was never comfortable with.
The Roots' ?uestlove, who served as musical director for Voodoo, described D'Angelo as amazingly insecure about his body: "Some nights on tour he'd look in the mirror and say, 'I don't look like the video. It was totally in his mind, on some Kate Moss shit.' So, he'd say, 'Lemme do 200 more stomach crunches.' He'd literally hold the show up for half an hour just to do crunches."
During his concerts, women in the crowd would start chanting "Take it off!" He hated being objectified and felt unappreciated as a musician. D'Angelo was too sexy for his shirt, but so sexy it hurt. He ended up canceling most of the tour and hasn't released anything since. ?uestlove's explanation: "What he wants is to do is get fat."
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
I pray every night before I go to bed: "O Lord I pray to Thee, please bless us with another D'Angelo album. Amen." In an open letter to D'Angelo printed in Esquire, John Mayer wrote, "I'm writing to ask you to put out a follow-up to one of the few records to change my life forever, Voodoo." Our grandchildren probably won't know a thing about Jay-Z or Nas, but backseat lovers in 2083 will still be making nookie with D'Angelo playing in the background.
Unfortunately my prayers have gone unanswered, leaving me with nothing but music from his two albums, 1995's Brown Sugar and 2000's Voodoo, and a random assortment of guest appearances, remixes, b-sides, and rarities. With such a small selection, I cherish every D'Angelo appearance, especially on Method Man's "Break Ups 2 Make Ups" and Common's "Geto Heaven Part Two."
A-Side
D'Angelo - "Devil's Pie" (Mark Ronson Remix)
In my mixtape column from Jan. 20, 2004, I wrote "The eight second breakbeat at 1:41 into [The Strokes'] 'Someday' begs for a b-boy with two turntables and a mixer to loop the drum solo into a hip-hop beat."
Apparently, New York DJ Mark Ronson reads my column, because a year later we get this phenomenal remix mash-up featuring the vocals from D'Angelo's "Devil's Pie" and a funky beat that samples The Strokes' "Someday."
Lauryn Hill - "Nothing Even Matters" [ft. D'Angelo]
D'Angelo makes no secret of the fact that he's a big Star Wars dork. He once said, "The way I see it the radio stations and the media is like the Death Star, and I'm gonna be Luke Skywalker." This was the revolution that was going to save music and Lauryn Hill was his Princess Leia. This track from Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was the most soulful male/female duet since Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack.
B-Side
D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel)
The song's uber-sexual video featured D'Angelo completely naked, his body chiseled like Michaelanglo's David. It turned D'Angelo into a sex icon, a role he was never comfortable with.
The Roots' ?uestlove, who served as musical director for Voodoo, described D'Angelo as amazingly insecure about his body: "Some nights on tour he'd look in the mirror and say, 'I don't look like the video. It was totally in his mind, on some Kate Moss shit.' So, he'd say, 'Lemme do 200 more stomach crunches.' He'd literally hold the show up for half an hour just to do crunches."
During his concerts, women in the crowd would start chanting "Take it off!" He hated being objectified and felt unappreciated as a musician. D'Angelo was too sexy for his shirt, but so sexy it hurt. He ended up canceling most of the tour and hasn't released anything since. ?uestlove's explanation: "What he wants is to do is get fat."
April 7, 2005
Mixtape Friday: Kweli makes friends with Day
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
It gives me the giggles to think about how awkward it's going to be backstage at tomorrow night's spring concert at Boston College.
What will Talib Kweli, Howie Day, and Robert Randolph chat about before the show? Where will the UGBC put them? In the guys' locker room, sitting on the benches like it was halftime with the basketball team waiting for a pep talk from Al Skinner?
I don't know how this happens, but the UGBC consistently brings quality underground hip-hop to Boston College. There is definitely a supply and demand problem here, because I know not everyone at BC was as excited as I was to see The Roots, Common, and Nappy Roots.
We even had Vanilla Ice in the Rat, which was to this day, the most hilarious concert I've ever been to. "Go ninja, go ninja, go!"
A-Side
Talib Kweli - "Put It In The Air"
Kweli complains on this track that "half these motherfuckas can't pronounce my name." At BC, Kweli will likely find that more than half the students don't even know his name, but one can hope he'll earn new fans with a good live performance.
Kweli made his debut with Mos Def on Black Star, their classic collaboration from Ruckus Records in 1998. Every hip-hop fan has this album, and everyone else should at least download "Re: DEFinition" and "K.O.S. (Determination)."
From there Kweli collaborated with DJ Hi-Tek for 2000's Reflection Eternal, featuring "The Blast" and "Down for the Count." In 2002 Kweli finally released Quality, his aptly titled debut solo album, which features a hilarious introduction from Dave Chappele. With "Get By" Kweli enjoyed his first major mainstream hit single, with a little help from the production of Kanye West and a soulful sample from Nina Simone's "Sinnerman."
B-Side
Robert Randolph "Tears of Joy"
Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph and his Family Band know how to throw a party. It's easier to find recordings of his live shows than it is to find his studio albums, which tells you something about Randolph as a performer. Randolph plays the dirty blues like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, but there isn't a good word to describe his sound, so I'll invent one: funkbluesadelic.
Howie Day - "?"
Howie Day is ... umm? Honestly I don't know anything about Day beyond what I might guess from looking at his picture: Pretty boy with sweet, sometimes sad songs about sensitive issues. Rolling Stone describes him as "emotionally naked." I don't know how I feel about that, but I look forward to becoming a fan of his, because live shows are the best way to fall in love with a new musician. Hopefully BC students will come with an open mind and learn to like the performers they don't know yet.
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
It gives me the giggles to think about how awkward it's going to be backstage at tomorrow night's spring concert at Boston College.
What will Talib Kweli, Howie Day, and Robert Randolph chat about before the show? Where will the UGBC put them? In the guys' locker room, sitting on the benches like it was halftime with the basketball team waiting for a pep talk from Al Skinner?
I don't know how this happens, but the UGBC consistently brings quality underground hip-hop to Boston College. There is definitely a supply and demand problem here, because I know not everyone at BC was as excited as I was to see The Roots, Common, and Nappy Roots.
We even had Vanilla Ice in the Rat, which was to this day, the most hilarious concert I've ever been to. "Go ninja, go ninja, go!"
A-Side
Talib Kweli - "Put It In The Air"
Kweli complains on this track that "half these motherfuckas can't pronounce my name." At BC, Kweli will likely find that more than half the students don't even know his name, but one can hope he'll earn new fans with a good live performance.
Kweli made his debut with Mos Def on Black Star, their classic collaboration from Ruckus Records in 1998. Every hip-hop fan has this album, and everyone else should at least download "Re: DEFinition" and "K.O.S. (Determination)."
From there Kweli collaborated with DJ Hi-Tek for 2000's Reflection Eternal, featuring "The Blast" and "Down for the Count." In 2002 Kweli finally released Quality, his aptly titled debut solo album, which features a hilarious introduction from Dave Chappele. With "Get By" Kweli enjoyed his first major mainstream hit single, with a little help from the production of Kanye West and a soulful sample from Nina Simone's "Sinnerman."
B-Side
Robert Randolph "Tears of Joy"
Pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph and his Family Band know how to throw a party. It's easier to find recordings of his live shows than it is to find his studio albums, which tells you something about Randolph as a performer. Randolph plays the dirty blues like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, but there isn't a good word to describe his sound, so I'll invent one: funkbluesadelic.
Howie Day - "?"
Howie Day is ... umm? Honestly I don't know anything about Day beyond what I might guess from looking at his picture: Pretty boy with sweet, sometimes sad songs about sensitive issues. Rolling Stone describes him as "emotionally naked." I don't know how I feel about that, but I look forward to becoming a fan of his, because live shows are the best way to fall in love with a new musician. Hopefully BC students will come with an open mind and learn to like the performers they don't know yet.
Don't call it a comeback, Jeffreys' been in Europe for years
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
When Garland Jeffreys decided to take some time off from his epic music career during the '90s, it was for all the right reasons: He was staying at home to help raise his young daughter with his wife. Now he's ready for a comeback and the music world needs him more than ever.
In fact, maybe it's just America that needs him, because the rest of the world has been enjoying Jeffreys' eclectic mix of rock, reggae, and soul for decades. Though he remains popular in Europe, most in America don't know his name.
There are a few exceptions - Bruce Springstein and Lou Reed are fans, friends, and occasional collaborators of Jeffreys. His music began with a distinct New York classic rock sound in the '70s and incorporated more soul, reggae and Latin music in the middle of his career.
For Jeffreys, these styles didn't come from outside influences, but from incorporating his own history into his music. Jeffreys is as diverse as his sound, growing up in a multi-racial family, part black, part white, part Puerto Rican, and part Native American. His lyrical content, like his musical style, reflects his diverse background.
Maybe now, 33 years after his self-titled debut album and 13 years since his last American release, Jeffreys is finally about to get the exposure his music deserves since recently signing with Universal.
Jeffreys, a true Rock 'n' Roll Adult (to use the title of his 1982 album) is busier than ever. He's out on a celebratory tour, which brings him back to Boston for the first time in 15 years. Jeffreys will perform in Somerville tomorrow night at Johnny D's Uptown with his full eight-piece band, The Coney Island Playboys.
Unfortunately, none of Jeffreys music from the '70s and '80s has been reissued on CD, other than his Wild in the Streets: Best of 1977-1983. This compilation features his reggae groove on "I May Not Be Your Kind," his exploration of interracial relationships.
Now 61 years old, but well-rested from his recent sabbatical, Jeffreys is ready to make a splash in a music scene long after most of his peers - Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, and James Taylor - are getting ready for retirement.
Before it became a gimmick for Jay-Z and Linkin Park, mixing styles came naturally for Jeffreys. His body of work is diverse and expansive enough that any music fan will find something to fit their taste and his live show tomorrow promises to be a blast.
Don't miss Jeffreys tomorrow night or you might have to wait another 15 years for the next show.
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
When Garland Jeffreys decided to take some time off from his epic music career during the '90s, it was for all the right reasons: He was staying at home to help raise his young daughter with his wife. Now he's ready for a comeback and the music world needs him more than ever.
In fact, maybe it's just America that needs him, because the rest of the world has been enjoying Jeffreys' eclectic mix of rock, reggae, and soul for decades. Though he remains popular in Europe, most in America don't know his name.
There are a few exceptions - Bruce Springstein and Lou Reed are fans, friends, and occasional collaborators of Jeffreys. His music began with a distinct New York classic rock sound in the '70s and incorporated more soul, reggae and Latin music in the middle of his career.
For Jeffreys, these styles didn't come from outside influences, but from incorporating his own history into his music. Jeffreys is as diverse as his sound, growing up in a multi-racial family, part black, part white, part Puerto Rican, and part Native American. His lyrical content, like his musical style, reflects his diverse background.
Maybe now, 33 years after his self-titled debut album and 13 years since his last American release, Jeffreys is finally about to get the exposure his music deserves since recently signing with Universal.
Jeffreys, a true Rock 'n' Roll Adult (to use the title of his 1982 album) is busier than ever. He's out on a celebratory tour, which brings him back to Boston for the first time in 15 years. Jeffreys will perform in Somerville tomorrow night at Johnny D's Uptown with his full eight-piece band, The Coney Island Playboys.
Unfortunately, none of Jeffreys music from the '70s and '80s has been reissued on CD, other than his Wild in the Streets: Best of 1977-1983. This compilation features his reggae groove on "I May Not Be Your Kind," his exploration of interracial relationships.
Now 61 years old, but well-rested from his recent sabbatical, Jeffreys is ready to make a splash in a music scene long after most of his peers - Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, and James Taylor - are getting ready for retirement.
Before it became a gimmick for Jay-Z and Linkin Park, mixing styles came naturally for Jeffreys. His body of work is diverse and expansive enough that any music fan will find something to fit their taste and his live show tomorrow promises to be a blast.
Don't miss Jeffreys tomorrow night or you might have to wait another 15 years for the next show.
March 31, 2005
Mixtape Friday: P2P brings power to the people
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights
I am a copyright anarchist. I support willy-nilly downloading and refuse to be guilt-tripped by millionaire rock stars for stealing their $16. My momma taught me to share, so despite the RIAA, I proudly duplicate music and share it with my friends.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a copyright infringement case against Grokster, a file-sharing program similar to KaZaA. Lower courts have upheld Grokster's innocence based on the Supreme Court's 1984 decision that absolved Sony of copyright liability for illegal uses that consumers might make with their VCRs.
At bcheights.com you can legally download brief 15-second clips of the songs featured on the mixtape. If you want the full versions, you'll have to be sneaky - these songs were never released commercially because they are filled with uncleared samples and egregious copyright violations.
A-Side
Double Dee & Steinski - "Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)"
In 1983, Tommy Boy sponsored a DJ remix contest for Globe & Whiz Kid's "Play That Beat Mr. DJ." The winning entry came from DJ duo Double Dee & Steinksi, an impressive musical collage featuring 24 diverse vocal and musical "quotations" from disco, funk, rock, movies, television, and everywhere else. Unfortunately, it was a legal nightmare for Tommy Boy's lawyers, who advised against releasing it because it would be impossible to clear all the samples, leaving Double Dee and Steinski without a penny and banishing the song to bootlegdom.
For Double Dee & Steinski, the grass is always greener on the other side of the bridge. Instead of using just one musical bridge, they jump back and forth through a collage of 10 second rhythm samples from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," The Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love," and the Incredible Bongo Band's classic breakbeat "Apache."
B-Side
Double Dee & Steinski - "Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix)"
James Brown has been sampled in hundreds of rap songs, but never before has a track combined five different James Brown songs at the same time. I won't ruin the surprise about which songs they use - the most enjoyable part of listening to these songs is trying to figure out the samples, but here's a hint: Clint Eastwood and Bugs Bunny are in there too.
Double Dee & Steinski - "Lesson 3 (The History of Hip-Hop Mix)"
This became the most famous of the trilogy, based around Herman Kelly and Life's "Dance To The Drummer's Beat." It begins with a warning from Otis Redding, "We gonna do a song that you never heard before," leading into JFK announcing that "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans," and just for fun, they throw in a Groucho Marx joke. For more info about Double Dee & Steinski, check out 2001's phenomenal DJ documentary Scratch.
Steinski "The Motorcade Sped On"
After an amicable split from Double Dee, Steiski again grabbed attention with his mix featuring samples from media coverage, mostly Walter Cronkite, of the JFK assassination. But CBS, fearing "trivialization" of Cronkite's legacy, refused clearance on Cronkite words, leaving Steinski again with no way to capitalize on his creation.
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights
I am a copyright anarchist. I support willy-nilly downloading and refuse to be guilt-tripped by millionaire rock stars for stealing their $16. My momma taught me to share, so despite the RIAA, I proudly duplicate music and share it with my friends.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a copyright infringement case against Grokster, a file-sharing program similar to KaZaA. Lower courts have upheld Grokster's innocence based on the Supreme Court's 1984 decision that absolved Sony of copyright liability for illegal uses that consumers might make with their VCRs.
At bcheights.com you can legally download brief 15-second clips of the songs featured on the mixtape. If you want the full versions, you'll have to be sneaky - these songs were never released commercially because they are filled with uncleared samples and egregious copyright violations.
A-Side
Double Dee & Steinski - "Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)"
In 1983, Tommy Boy sponsored a DJ remix contest for Globe & Whiz Kid's "Play That Beat Mr. DJ." The winning entry came from DJ duo Double Dee & Steinksi, an impressive musical collage featuring 24 diverse vocal and musical "quotations" from disco, funk, rock, movies, television, and everywhere else. Unfortunately, it was a legal nightmare for Tommy Boy's lawyers, who advised against releasing it because it would be impossible to clear all the samples, leaving Double Dee and Steinski without a penny and banishing the song to bootlegdom.
For Double Dee & Steinski, the grass is always greener on the other side of the bridge. Instead of using just one musical bridge, they jump back and forth through a collage of 10 second rhythm samples from Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," The Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love," and the Incredible Bongo Band's classic breakbeat "Apache."
B-Side
Double Dee & Steinski - "Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix)"
James Brown has been sampled in hundreds of rap songs, but never before has a track combined five different James Brown songs at the same time. I won't ruin the surprise about which songs they use - the most enjoyable part of listening to these songs is trying to figure out the samples, but here's a hint: Clint Eastwood and Bugs Bunny are in there too.
Double Dee & Steinski - "Lesson 3 (The History of Hip-Hop Mix)"
This became the most famous of the trilogy, based around Herman Kelly and Life's "Dance To The Drummer's Beat." It begins with a warning from Otis Redding, "We gonna do a song that you never heard before," leading into JFK announcing that "the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans," and just for fun, they throw in a Groucho Marx joke. For more info about Double Dee & Steinski, check out 2001's phenomenal DJ documentary Scratch.
Steinski "The Motorcade Sped On"
After an amicable split from Double Dee, Steiski again grabbed attention with his mix featuring samples from media coverage, mostly Walter Cronkite, of the JFK assassination. But CBS, fearing "trivialization" of Cronkite's legacy, refused clearance on Cronkite words, leaving Steinski again with no way to capitalize on his creation.
March 17, 2005
Mixtape Friday: It's Rex Manning Day!
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
I get sick of songs pretty quickly, especially when my roommate plays his new favorite tune every five minutes. Imagine how sick you are of U2's "Vertigo" after watching the iPod commercial a million times. Now imagine how sick of it Bono must be, and yet he still has to perform it at every stop on tour.Musicians usually resort to playing covers for two reasons: Either they don't have enough original material or they're sick of playing their own songs. When Jack Johnson appeared in concert on March 3 at the Virgin Megastore, he played a number of covers for a different reason: he couldn't remember the lyrics or the chords to his own songs.
Bay Area DJs Sway and King Tech host a radio show where they put famous rappers on the spot and test their memory of the lyrics to their own songs. It's hilarious to listen to Ice Cube struggle to remember the words to his own classics from years ago.
A-Side
Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"
The first 250 fans who purchased Johnson's new album In Between Dreams were rewarded with a special yellow bracelet that allowed us to see Johnson perform. Instead of letting us wait inside, the sadists at Virgin forced us to wait outside in the bitter cold. At one point it appeared like Johnson had finally arrived, but to everyone's surprise, Paul Peirce from the Celtics emerged instead from a black Escalade to buy 50 Cent's new album, which was released on the same day. Finally at 12:30 p.m., an identical Escalade rolled up and Johnson popped out, smiling and tan.
He took requests from the crowd, but apologized when he couldn't remember the words to some of his older songs. Someone in the crowd jokingly suggested "Stairway to Heaven" and Johnson tried to humor him, but only managed to remember the first few chords. Johnson didn't seem bothered when he couldn't remember his own songs, but he was clearly frustrated that he forgot how to play the Zeppelin classic.
B-Side
Charles Wright "Express Yourself"
This funky track from 1969 by Charles Wright, was later made famous when sampled/covered by Dr. Dre as a member of N.W.A. The uplifting song doesn't really fit on Staight Outta Compton, an otherwise nihilist gangsta rap album, but fit perfectly as a transition between Johnson's happy-go-lucky songs.
Ernie Mars "Plastic Jesus"
One fan nonchalantly set up a microphone to record the concert, which Johnson not only tolerates but encourages. His Web site even offers a place for fans to trade bootlegs of his live shows. Over the years these have included covers of "Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer," Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," Jimmy Buffet's "Pirate Looks at Forty," Bob Marley's "Trenchtown Rock," and Sublime's "Garden Grove." The only true cover he sang at this show was Ernie Mars' "Plastic Jesus," with its famous lyrics, "I don't mind if it rains or freezes/ Long as I have my plastic Jesus/ Riding on the dashboard of my car."
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
I get sick of songs pretty quickly, especially when my roommate plays his new favorite tune every five minutes. Imagine how sick you are of U2's "Vertigo" after watching the iPod commercial a million times. Now imagine how sick of it Bono must be, and yet he still has to perform it at every stop on tour.Musicians usually resort to playing covers for two reasons: Either they don't have enough original material or they're sick of playing their own songs. When Jack Johnson appeared in concert on March 3 at the Virgin Megastore, he played a number of covers for a different reason: he couldn't remember the lyrics or the chords to his own songs.
Bay Area DJs Sway and King Tech host a radio show where they put famous rappers on the spot and test their memory of the lyrics to their own songs. It's hilarious to listen to Ice Cube struggle to remember the words to his own classics from years ago.
A-Side
Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"
The first 250 fans who purchased Johnson's new album In Between Dreams were rewarded with a special yellow bracelet that allowed us to see Johnson perform. Instead of letting us wait inside, the sadists at Virgin forced us to wait outside in the bitter cold. At one point it appeared like Johnson had finally arrived, but to everyone's surprise, Paul Peirce from the Celtics emerged instead from a black Escalade to buy 50 Cent's new album, which was released on the same day. Finally at 12:30 p.m., an identical Escalade rolled up and Johnson popped out, smiling and tan.
He took requests from the crowd, but apologized when he couldn't remember the words to some of his older songs. Someone in the crowd jokingly suggested "Stairway to Heaven" and Johnson tried to humor him, but only managed to remember the first few chords. Johnson didn't seem bothered when he couldn't remember his own songs, but he was clearly frustrated that he forgot how to play the Zeppelin classic.
B-Side
Charles Wright "Express Yourself"
This funky track from 1969 by Charles Wright, was later made famous when sampled/covered by Dr. Dre as a member of N.W.A. The uplifting song doesn't really fit on Staight Outta Compton, an otherwise nihilist gangsta rap album, but fit perfectly as a transition between Johnson's happy-go-lucky songs.
Ernie Mars "Plastic Jesus"
One fan nonchalantly set up a microphone to record the concert, which Johnson not only tolerates but encourages. His Web site even offers a place for fans to trade bootlegs of his live shows. Over the years these have included covers of "Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer," Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," Jimmy Buffet's "Pirate Looks at Forty," Bob Marley's "Trenchtown Rock," and Sublime's "Garden Grove." The only true cover he sang at this show was Ernie Mars' "Plastic Jesus," with its famous lyrics, "I don't mind if it rains or freezes/ Long as I have my plastic Jesus/ Riding on the dashboard of my car."
Dedicated Citizen Cope fans wait outside in the cold
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
Photo by Anna Schindelar
Singer-songwriter Citizen Cope passed through Boston during spring break at a moment of transition in his career. He is not yet popular enough to fill larger venues, but apparently too popular to fit all his fans into the small Paradise Lounge.
Many were unable to get tickets before they sold out and instead decided to stand outside in the freezing cold and enjoy the concert by peering through the bar's windows.
Citizen Cope deserves to be playing at major venues and will most likely never return to a stage in Boston as small as the Paradise Lounge, the small bar next to the Paradise Rock Club.
It was a special treat for his fans in the crowd who knew all the words and sang along, only to be tricked when Cope would slightly deviate from the lyrics on his album just to make sure everyone was still paying attention.
Cope performed songs from his phenomenal new album The Clarence Greenwood Recordings and his self-titled debut. He was backed by an exciting band that featured an organ player and a hyperactive drummer whose kinetic energy on tracks like "Son's Gonna Rise" contrasted Cope's mellow, almost sedate stage presence.
Citizen Cope's voice was full of passion and pathos, but his facial expressions hardly revealed a light in the attic. Cope's eyes remained thee-quarters closed through the entire show and he somehow managed to belt and wail without opening his mouth more than a sliver.
Cope did a great job of adapting his songs for the stage and avoided simply playing the songs as they sound on his album. For his encore, Cope returned with only his acoustic guitar, giving his band a well-deserved break.
His only cover of the night, Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate," came during the encore. He said he was never into singing covers, but Dylan's lyrics touched him, so he learned the words. "Now that I've learned the words, I might as well play the song," Cope joked in one of his brief interactions with the crowd.
His voice resonated in the small venue and his Bob Dylan-esque growl imbued his lyrics with genuine emotion. Cope's non-singing stage presence, however, was disappointing for he hardly engaged the crowd while onstage. The singer made up for it by hanging around after the show and signing autographs for his fans who had pillaged the Paradise for Citizen Cope promotional posters. As a musician, Cope is an impressive performer, but as an entertainer he lacks a certain showmanship that would distinguish his live shows.
March 3, 2005
Infectious joy from Jack Johnson
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
While the sun struggles to break through the blizzard in Boston, Jack Johnson's new album In Between Dreams brings much appreciated warmth to an otherwise dreary winter of bland, gray music. It's a bit more upbeat and multi-layered with various instruments than his previous albums, but it's still filled with Johnson's characteristic relaxed vibe and subtle, poignant lyrics.
Johnson's music will make you feel good on the inside. The timbre of his voice and the simple plucking of his acoustic guitar convey a contagious joy in life. Johnson seems so content with life that his melodic smile might seem exaggerated, until you remember this guy spends most of his time surfing and playing guitar on the North Shore of Oahu.
In fact, Johnson's life at the beach was so good that he was initially reluctant to pursue a music career at all. Johnson decided against signing to a major label and dealing with record companies and all those "mediocre bad guys" he sang about on his last album, On and On.
Instead Johnson started his own label, Brushfire Records, with his wife and friends, releasing his phenomenonal surf movies, September Sessions and Thicker Than Water, and their equally great soundtracks.
The only person happier than Johnson might be his wife. Many of the best songs on In Between Dreams are love songs dedicated to her, including "Do You Remember?" on which Johnson sings about first meeting his future wife: "I was crazy about you then and now/ but the craziest thing of all/ over 10 years have gone by/ and you're still mine."
On "Banana Pancakes" Johnson sings about staying inside and making banana pancakes with his wife and kids on a rainy day. While some might envy the lavish Cribs on MTV, Johnson paints a much more attractive picture of his domestic life: "We could close the curtains and pretend there's no world outside."
Johnson supports hiding from the outside world sometimes. On "Good People" he sings, "Where did all the good people go? I been changing channels/ I don't see them on the TV shows."
Since his first album Johnson has been an outspoken opponent of television and its effect on our culture. On iTunes Originals, an album he released last year, he explains the inspiration for his songs: "Sometimes I get embarrassed when I turn on the TV, you know? Cuz' we're all the same thing and when I see some other humans acting so silly on some reality TV show, just to sensationalize, it just kinda makes me feel stupid."
"Staple It Together," "Never Know," and single, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing," are Johnson's most upbeat songs to date, with funky reggae rhythms and occasional jazzy piano. Johnson adjusts his flow for these songs, nearly rapping his way through his verses. While most rappers brag about their bling, all that Johnson can do is "tell you that my metaphor is better than yours."
Some people like their musicians bigger than life, but I prefer mine full of life. Johnson overflows with soul, in a quiet sort of way.
In order to promotes his new album, Johnson signing autographs at Virgin Records on Newbury Street today at 1 p.m. He will also perform songs from In Between Dreams, but you will need to show your purchased copy of the album in order to get into the concert.
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
While the sun struggles to break through the blizzard in Boston, Jack Johnson's new album In Between Dreams brings much appreciated warmth to an otherwise dreary winter of bland, gray music. It's a bit more upbeat and multi-layered with various instruments than his previous albums, but it's still filled with Johnson's characteristic relaxed vibe and subtle, poignant lyrics.
Johnson's music will make you feel good on the inside. The timbre of his voice and the simple plucking of his acoustic guitar convey a contagious joy in life. Johnson seems so content with life that his melodic smile might seem exaggerated, until you remember this guy spends most of his time surfing and playing guitar on the North Shore of Oahu.
In fact, Johnson's life at the beach was so good that he was initially reluctant to pursue a music career at all. Johnson decided against signing to a major label and dealing with record companies and all those "mediocre bad guys" he sang about on his last album, On and On.
Instead Johnson started his own label, Brushfire Records, with his wife and friends, releasing his phenomenonal surf movies, September Sessions and Thicker Than Water, and their equally great soundtracks.
The only person happier than Johnson might be his wife. Many of the best songs on In Between Dreams are love songs dedicated to her, including "Do You Remember?" on which Johnson sings about first meeting his future wife: "I was crazy about you then and now/ but the craziest thing of all/ over 10 years have gone by/ and you're still mine."
On "Banana Pancakes" Johnson sings about staying inside and making banana pancakes with his wife and kids on a rainy day. While some might envy the lavish Cribs on MTV, Johnson paints a much more attractive picture of his domestic life: "We could close the curtains and pretend there's no world outside."
Johnson supports hiding from the outside world sometimes. On "Good People" he sings, "Where did all the good people go? I been changing channels/ I don't see them on the TV shows."
Since his first album Johnson has been an outspoken opponent of television and its effect on our culture. On iTunes Originals, an album he released last year, he explains the inspiration for his songs: "Sometimes I get embarrassed when I turn on the TV, you know? Cuz' we're all the same thing and when I see some other humans acting so silly on some reality TV show, just to sensationalize, it just kinda makes me feel stupid."
"Staple It Together," "Never Know," and single, "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing," are Johnson's most upbeat songs to date, with funky reggae rhythms and occasional jazzy piano. Johnson adjusts his flow for these songs, nearly rapping his way through his verses. While most rappers brag about their bling, all that Johnson can do is "tell you that my metaphor is better than yours."
Some people like their musicians bigger than life, but I prefer mine full of life. Johnson overflows with soul, in a quiet sort of way.
In order to promotes his new album, Johnson signing autographs at Virgin Records on Newbury Street today at 1 p.m. He will also perform songs from In Between Dreams, but you will need to show your purchased copy of the album in order to get into the concert.
Interview with Citizen Cope
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
Rarely will I do this, but I'm going to spare the reader a long-winded introduction and just come out and say it: You need to stop reading this and go buy Citizen Cope's new album, The Clarence Greenwood Recordings.
If you don't like it and later regret your purchase, I will personally refund your money. That's how good this album is.
There's nothing especially unique about what Citizen Cope does - he's a singer-songwriter in the tradition of Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, and Bob Dylan, but Cope incorporates subtle hip-hop rhythms to accompany his gritty, woeful wail and acoustic guitar. Beck is the closest thing around today to Citizen Cope's hybrid of folk, funk, and hip-hop.
But while Beck busies himself with experimental meanderings, Cope gives listeners what they want, proving that it's better to be good than unique. There's no need to reinvent the wheel, as long as you roll with style.
Nowadays, singer-songwriters tend to be pretty boys with pretty songs, but Citizen Cope sings about his reality, which hasn't always been pretty.
"I sing about the people around me, the people I've met in D.C. and all over the place, but they're not always normal, model citizens," said Citizen Cope during our recent interview.
Listening to Citizen Cope is like reading a Jack Kerouac story filled with lovers and lunatics. On "Pablo Picasso," Cope sings from the perspective of a deranged man in love with a woman painted on a wall mural. Even when he sings about someone estranged from reality, it is obvious that Cope sings with sympathy.
"I try to put myself into the reality of the character, no matter how crazy he is," he said.
Citizen Cope, aka Clarence Greenwood, released his self-titled debut in 2002, but soon after left his record label, Dreamworks, because they weren't sufficiently promoting his album. He bought himself out of his contract using the advance from his next album and then signed to Arista, recording The Clarence Greenwood Project in the interim time.
The album's lead single, "Bullet and a Target" features Citizen Cope at his best. Cope layers piano and strings over the best beat you'll ever hear on a singer-songwriter's album.
The rhythm and percussion stands out throughout the album, integrating hip-hop breakbeats and live drums.
"When I was growing up, I tried to learn the guitar and the trumpet, but I couldn't play at first, so I started making beats, messing with drum machines and samplers," said Cope.
Before he was Citizen Cope, Greenwood was the DJ for a funky, laid back Washington, D.C. hip-hop crew called Basehead.
"Hip-hop taught me a lot about song structure, about the idea of measures and choruses," said Cope.
Cope's previous dabbling with hip-hop shaped his cadence, rhyme scheme, and narrative structure, but in contrast to Everlast or Wyclef Jean, Cope's hip-hop influence is subtle and well integrated.
In Citizen Cope's music you can hear bits of Bob Marley, bits of Ben Harper, and bits of Al Green, but Citizen Cope is no carbon-copy imitator.
His music is deeply personal and there's an audible honesty in his words. Citizen Cope's songs reflect the natural genesis of his musical talent.
"I couldn't afford all these expensive drum machines and samplers, so I just picked up the guitar and started plucking at it one string at a time, getting to know each string with my heart, instead of trying to understand it with my head," said Cope.
The album features a guest appearance from Carlos Santana on "Son's Gonna Rise," a hectic tale about racing to the hospital with his pregnant wife going into labor in the backseat.
Me'shell Ndegeocello plays bass on "Sideways," a beautiful song full of pathos and regret about lost love, where Cope laments, "These feelings won't go away."
Soon everybody will know about Citizen Cope, but before then you can take advantage of his relative obscurity by seeing him perform at the intimate Paradise Lounge on Wednesday.
February 24, 2005
Mixtape Friday: RIP Hunter S. Thompson
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
If it wasn't for Hunter S. Thompson, "I" wouldn't be here. The father of gonzo journalism was the first to bring himself into the story, refusing or unable to remain inconspicuous and unobtrusive. After 67 years, Thompson recently took his own life, delivering a blow to counterculture at a time when crazy eccentrics are hard to find.
Thompson didn't just write, he ranted and raged. He broke all the old rules of journalism about objectivity and sobriety. His life of drugs, guns, and motorcycles produced the fantastic stories found in his semi-autobiographical books, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels.
I'm sure Thompson will continue to cause trouble wherever he ends up, especially now that he's reunited with his old friend and fellow merry prankster Ken Kesey, who died in 2001, and kindred spirit Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died in 2004.
A-Side
Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"
As a writer for Rolling Stone and later ESPN, Thompson could write about anything under the sun. For the counterculture movement, there ain't no sunshine with Thompson gone.
The original and still best version of "Ain't No Sunshine" appears on Bill Withers' first album, 1971's Just As I Am. At only two minutes, Withers' brief original has spawned hours of imitation, but nothing compares to the original heartwrenching breakup song.
D'Angelo "Ain't No Sunshine"
Even Withers himself would acknowledge D'Angelo as a legitimate disciple. D'Angelo knows, he knows, he knows (26 times he knows) that he should leave his lover, but a world without her is too dark to tolerate. This song is really the inverse of the chipper "You Are My Sunshine," sung instead from the dark side of the moon after a painful breakup.
B-Side
Michael Jackson "Ain't No Sunshine"
Only one year after the original, Michael Jackson covered "Ain't No Sunshine" as the first track on his first solo album, Got To Be There. With skin so white, there clearly ain't no sunshine in Jackson's life. He opens the song with a spoken intro: "You ever want something that you know you shouldn't have? The more you know you shouldn't have it, the more you want it." I'm not in the business of kicking a man while he's down, so you'll have to insert your own joke here about Jackson's forbidden desires.
DMX "Ain't No Sunshine"
Hip-hop has poor self-control. It doesn't know when to leave an old song alone. DMX turns a beautiful song about lost love into a gritty song about robbing someone for money. The song fits well on his debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, and features DMX at his best, but it lacks the vulnerable soul that made the original great. Recently, rapper Akon again turned the tune into another rap song, with better success.
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
If it wasn't for Hunter S. Thompson, "I" wouldn't be here. The father of gonzo journalism was the first to bring himself into the story, refusing or unable to remain inconspicuous and unobtrusive. After 67 years, Thompson recently took his own life, delivering a blow to counterculture at a time when crazy eccentrics are hard to find.
Thompson didn't just write, he ranted and raged. He broke all the old rules of journalism about objectivity and sobriety. His life of drugs, guns, and motorcycles produced the fantastic stories found in his semi-autobiographical books, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels.
I'm sure Thompson will continue to cause trouble wherever he ends up, especially now that he's reunited with his old friend and fellow merry prankster Ken Kesey, who died in 2001, and kindred spirit Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died in 2004.
A-Side
Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine"
As a writer for Rolling Stone and later ESPN, Thompson could write about anything under the sun. For the counterculture movement, there ain't no sunshine with Thompson gone.
The original and still best version of "Ain't No Sunshine" appears on Bill Withers' first album, 1971's Just As I Am. At only two minutes, Withers' brief original has spawned hours of imitation, but nothing compares to the original heartwrenching breakup song.
D'Angelo "Ain't No Sunshine"
Even Withers himself would acknowledge D'Angelo as a legitimate disciple. D'Angelo knows, he knows, he knows (26 times he knows) that he should leave his lover, but a world without her is too dark to tolerate. This song is really the inverse of the chipper "You Are My Sunshine," sung instead from the dark side of the moon after a painful breakup.
B-Side
Michael Jackson "Ain't No Sunshine"
Only one year after the original, Michael Jackson covered "Ain't No Sunshine" as the first track on his first solo album, Got To Be There. With skin so white, there clearly ain't no sunshine in Jackson's life. He opens the song with a spoken intro: "You ever want something that you know you shouldn't have? The more you know you shouldn't have it, the more you want it." I'm not in the business of kicking a man while he's down, so you'll have to insert your own joke here about Jackson's forbidden desires.
DMX "Ain't No Sunshine"
Hip-hop has poor self-control. It doesn't know when to leave an old song alone. DMX turns a beautiful song about lost love into a gritty song about robbing someone for money. The song fits well on his debut, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, and features DMX at his best, but it lacks the vulnerable soul that made the original great. Recently, rapper Akon again turned the tune into another rap song, with better success.
February 17, 2005
Mixtape Friday: A Stereo Held Above My Head
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
Ask Lloyd Dobler: When you're in love, it can be hard to find just the right words. John Cusack's character from Say Anything overcomes his stumbling tongue by simply holding his stereo above his head and letting Peter Gabriel sing what Dobler couldn't articulate himself.
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke had some advice for young lovers: Do not write love poems. "They are the most difficult," he writes, "for it takes a great, fully matured power to give something of your own where good and even excellent traditions come to mind in quantity."
The point is that very few of us are blessed with a gift for romantic words, and Lloyd Dobler and I are not two of them. For Valentine's Day we have to rely on "In Your Eyes" to whisper in her ear the words we couldn't find ourselves.
A-Side
Bob Marley "Is This Love" (Horns Mix)
Simple love is the most attractive. Marley can't offer her the world, but he can promise her, "We'll be together, with a roof right over our head." On-campus Boston College couples will relate to Marley's tale of tiny dorm beds: "We'll share the shelter of my single bed." Instead of the overplayed original on Legends, check out the version on Marley's four-disc boxed set. The remix is similar enough to remain familiar, but new enough to be exciting again, like hooking up with your girlfriend's sister.
Van Morrison "Crazy Love" [ft. Bob Dylan]
Better than the original, even though mumbly Bob Dylan clearly does not know all the words.
Citizen Cope "Sideways"
Breaking up with your girl is an inevitably regrettable decision. Freedom never tastes as good as she did, and eventually you find yourself feeling like Citizen Cope: "I keep thinking that time will take them away, but these feelings won't go away." Valentine's Day is perfect for reconciliation and there's nothing better than make-up sex.
B-Side
Jack Johnson "Tomorrow Morning"
50 Cent might consider himself quite the P.I.M.P., but Jack Johnson proves that he's the true Don Juan. On an amazing album released exclusively through iTunes, appropriately titled iTunes Originals, Johnson sits in the studio strumming his guitar, singing bits of tracks from On and On and explaining where the inspiration for his songs come from.
"Tomorrow Morning" began as a message he left for his wife while out on tour and unable to reach her. On the answering machine he sang, "What would you do if I wrote you a song? Would you give me some loving when I get home? Would you be mad at me if I had a hard time getting ahold of you, but baby I try all the time." Johnson explains, "That was the end of the message, and that was all I wrote it for, to try and get my wife to laugh instead of being mad at me for being so bad at getting a hold of her."
I still have a lot to learn about what women like, but I'm going to guess that she was pleased.
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
Ask Lloyd Dobler: When you're in love, it can be hard to find just the right words. John Cusack's character from Say Anything overcomes his stumbling tongue by simply holding his stereo above his head and letting Peter Gabriel sing what Dobler couldn't articulate himself.
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke had some advice for young lovers: Do not write love poems. "They are the most difficult," he writes, "for it takes a great, fully matured power to give something of your own where good and even excellent traditions come to mind in quantity."
The point is that very few of us are blessed with a gift for romantic words, and Lloyd Dobler and I are not two of them. For Valentine's Day we have to rely on "In Your Eyes" to whisper in her ear the words we couldn't find ourselves.
A-Side
Bob Marley "Is This Love" (Horns Mix)
Simple love is the most attractive. Marley can't offer her the world, but he can promise her, "We'll be together, with a roof right over our head." On-campus Boston College couples will relate to Marley's tale of tiny dorm beds: "We'll share the shelter of my single bed." Instead of the overplayed original on Legends, check out the version on Marley's four-disc boxed set. The remix is similar enough to remain familiar, but new enough to be exciting again, like hooking up with your girlfriend's sister.
Van Morrison "Crazy Love" [ft. Bob Dylan]
Better than the original, even though mumbly Bob Dylan clearly does not know all the words.
Citizen Cope "Sideways"
Breaking up with your girl is an inevitably regrettable decision. Freedom never tastes as good as she did, and eventually you find yourself feeling like Citizen Cope: "I keep thinking that time will take them away, but these feelings won't go away." Valentine's Day is perfect for reconciliation and there's nothing better than make-up sex.
B-Side
Jack Johnson "Tomorrow Morning"
50 Cent might consider himself quite the P.I.M.P., but Jack Johnson proves that he's the true Don Juan. On an amazing album released exclusively through iTunes, appropriately titled iTunes Originals, Johnson sits in the studio strumming his guitar, singing bits of tracks from On and On and explaining where the inspiration for his songs come from.
"Tomorrow Morning" began as a message he left for his wife while out on tour and unable to reach her. On the answering machine he sang, "What would you do if I wrote you a song? Would you give me some loving when I get home? Would you be mad at me if I had a hard time getting ahold of you, but baby I try all the time." Johnson explains, "That was the end of the message, and that was all I wrote it for, to try and get my wife to laugh instead of being mad at me for being so bad at getting a hold of her."
I still have a lot to learn about what women like, but I'm going to guess that she was pleased.
February 10, 2005
Birthday blues and booze
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
"Your 21st birthday is a night your friends will never let you remember," wailed Jose Ramos, lead singer of the blues band playing on Monday at Wally's, a small 50-person capacity jazz and blues bar in the South End.
After about 12:45 a.m. Ramos was right: I can't remember a thing, except for the music. I remember perfecting the rhythms coming from the slick, quiet bassist, the grinning, hyperactive drummer, the showboating guitarist, and the funky alto sax, pumping away in a packed bar where the members of the band flirted with the customers' girlfriends, drank like they didn't have to work in the morning, and played like they were throwing a party in their own living room.
Not even tequila can erase the memory of listening to live music, sitting so close to the drummer that you can feel the snare rattle your ribs.
A-Side
Nas "Half-time"
At 21, I can't help but reflect on what I've achieved in the last year. For me, 20 was not as productive as it could have been. Certainly not as productive as Nasir Jones, who at only 20 years of age released his classic debut Illmatic. Nas dropped out of school in the eighth grade, eventually making a show-stealing appearance on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque" when he was only 18. Then, instead of wasting his time in college like me, Nas spent the next two years working on his debut.
Lil' Romeo "My Baby"
But Nas certainly wasn't the youngest rapper, because 11-year-old Lil' Romeo made history when this No Limit mini-soldier became the youngest recording artist to top the Billboard singles chart, breaking Michael Jackson's record. Jackson's first No. 1 hit came when he was 14 with "Ben," a touching ballad sung by a young boy - and I'm not making this up - to his pet rat named Ben.
B-Side
Fabolous "I Can't Deny It" [ft. Nate Dogg]
But Lil' Romeo didn't have to earn it like medium-sized Fabolous did, because spelling-extraordinaire "ef ay be oh el oh you es" isn't the lucky son of No Limit CEO Master P. Instead he was the lucky friend of DJ Clue, who decided to build his Desert Storm franchise around a lazy-tongued Brooklynite. A catchy summer lead single with Nate Dogg led the 20-year-old Fabolous into his ill-timed debut Street Dreams, released on Sept. 11, 2001.
Dr. Dre "Nutin' but a G-Thang" [ft. Snoop Dogg]
When he was rapping on Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Doggy Dogg still couldn't legally enjoy gin with his juice. At only 20 years old, Snoop was already performing at the MTV Music Awards. Unfortunately he was also arrested that same night for suspected murder. His 21st birthday, only one month later, must have been somber, despite his Doggystyle, the first debut album ever to debut at No. 1, coming out only one more month later.
Kobe Bryant "K.O.B.E." [ft Tyra Banks]
It's a lot easier to be a great athlete at 20 than to be a great poet at the same age, but Kobe nonetheless declared himself "Thug Poet" on his lead single. His album was never released because it was apparently unsalvageable. To put in perspective how bad this album must have been, remember that big brother Shaq's rhyme skills were sufficient enough to release five rap albums. Instead of trying to partner Kobe up with a talented musician to help him along, the guys at Columbia decided to let Tyra Banks sing a duet with him. Interestingly, it was at the video shoot with Banks that Kobe met his future wife Vanessa.
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights
"Your 21st birthday is a night your friends will never let you remember," wailed Jose Ramos, lead singer of the blues band playing on Monday at Wally's, a small 50-person capacity jazz and blues bar in the South End.
After about 12:45 a.m. Ramos was right: I can't remember a thing, except for the music. I remember perfecting the rhythms coming from the slick, quiet bassist, the grinning, hyperactive drummer, the showboating guitarist, and the funky alto sax, pumping away in a packed bar where the members of the band flirted with the customers' girlfriends, drank like they didn't have to work in the morning, and played like they were throwing a party in their own living room.
Not even tequila can erase the memory of listening to live music, sitting so close to the drummer that you can feel the snare rattle your ribs.
A-Side
Nas "Half-time"
At 21, I can't help but reflect on what I've achieved in the last year. For me, 20 was not as productive as it could have been. Certainly not as productive as Nasir Jones, who at only 20 years of age released his classic debut Illmatic. Nas dropped out of school in the eighth grade, eventually making a show-stealing appearance on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque" when he was only 18. Then, instead of wasting his time in college like me, Nas spent the next two years working on his debut.
Lil' Romeo "My Baby"
But Nas certainly wasn't the youngest rapper, because 11-year-old Lil' Romeo made history when this No Limit mini-soldier became the youngest recording artist to top the Billboard singles chart, breaking Michael Jackson's record. Jackson's first No. 1 hit came when he was 14 with "Ben," a touching ballad sung by a young boy - and I'm not making this up - to his pet rat named Ben.
B-Side
Fabolous "I Can't Deny It" [ft. Nate Dogg]
But Lil' Romeo didn't have to earn it like medium-sized Fabolous did, because spelling-extraordinaire "ef ay be oh el oh you es" isn't the lucky son of No Limit CEO Master P. Instead he was the lucky friend of DJ Clue, who decided to build his Desert Storm franchise around a lazy-tongued Brooklynite. A catchy summer lead single with Nate Dogg led the 20-year-old Fabolous into his ill-timed debut Street Dreams, released on Sept. 11, 2001.
Dr. Dre "Nutin' but a G-Thang" [ft. Snoop Dogg]
When he was rapping on Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Doggy Dogg still couldn't legally enjoy gin with his juice. At only 20 years old, Snoop was already performing at the MTV Music Awards. Unfortunately he was also arrested that same night for suspected murder. His 21st birthday, only one month later, must have been somber, despite his Doggystyle, the first debut album ever to debut at No. 1, coming out only one more month later.
Kobe Bryant "K.O.B.E." [ft Tyra Banks]
It's a lot easier to be a great athlete at 20 than to be a great poet at the same age, but Kobe nonetheless declared himself "Thug Poet" on his lead single. His album was never released because it was apparently unsalvageable. To put in perspective how bad this album must have been, remember that big brother Shaq's rhyme skills were sufficient enough to release five rap albums. Instead of trying to partner Kobe up with a talented musician to help him along, the guys at Columbia decided to let Tyra Banks sing a duet with him. Interestingly, it was at the video shoot with Banks that Kobe met his future wife Vanessa.
December 17, 2004
How To Get Signed offers industry secrets
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights
Kurt Cobain sent at least 20 copies of his demo to record labels without a response before he was eventually discovered. If he had read George Howard's new book, How To Get Signed, he would have known that sending unsolicited demos does nothing but waste postage. If you really want to get signed, follow the advice in Howard's book, and call your mom to tell her that your video is going to be on MTV soon.
Unfortunately, Howard is the first to tell you that it won't be that easy. As the former president of Rykodisc Records, Howard witnessed first-hand the mistakes that artists repeatedly made. In fact, Howard's book goes into such detail about the difficulties and pitfalls of building a music career that many readers might realize they would rather just work at Tower Records.
"This isn't meant to discourage you," writes Howard. "I'm telling you this so that you don't get discouraged when some or all of these things happen to you along the way. It's just part of beginning a career in the business."
For those crazy souls who decide to pursue a music career nonetheless, Howard's book offers a simple but thorough guide to catching the attention of a record label. He says that getting to this point is the most important step: "You will find that most successful artists share the sense that their music must be heard."
Written in a conversational tone, Getting Signed is an easy-to-read guide to every step involved in catching an A&R's attention, including what exactly should be included in a demo package.
Howard explains that the definition of a "label" is ever-changing, but it essentially means anyone who is willing and capable to reproduce, advertise, and distribute your music.
Howard recognizes that new technology is fundamentally changing the infrastructure of the music industry, which could threaten turning his sadistic guidance into obsolete advice in the post-mp3 apocalypse.
"The music industry is changing around me," Howard admits. "The record industry as we know it appears to be going away." Nevertheless, in one form or another, Howard says labels will continue to exist because they serve a function that artists are unwilling or incapable to do themselves.
Howard also argues that the record industry's obsession with illegal downloading is more of a red herring than the actual cause of falling CD sales. In fact, Howard writes, "As a technologist, I believe fervently that the Internet and other technology can be actualized as wonderful tools to help a musician's career."
In an interview with The Heights, Howard said, "More and more, there are bands that [are] just saying, 'We're going to make all of our money from touring,' and the record label becomes the engine that drives those things. They don't ever expect to see a dime from the label. It doesn't mean the labels are obsolete but just that they are providing a different service."
As a result, artists are forced to interact with labels in order for their music to be heard by the masses. Howard's book goes into detail about the procedure for dealing with labels. "As with every aspect of this business, the more you understand, the less likely you are to get taken advantage of, and the more likely you are to succeed."
Musicians might feel frustrated by Howard's tendency to speak about music as though it was a business rather than artistic venture, yet he reminds his readers, "By the act of sending your demo to record labels, you are buying into the culture that defines your music as product."
By Canyon Cody
Originally published in The Heights
Kurt Cobain sent at least 20 copies of his demo to record labels without a response before he was eventually discovered. If he had read George Howard's new book, How To Get Signed, he would have known that sending unsolicited demos does nothing but waste postage. If you really want to get signed, follow the advice in Howard's book, and call your mom to tell her that your video is going to be on MTV soon.
Unfortunately, Howard is the first to tell you that it won't be that easy. As the former president of Rykodisc Records, Howard witnessed first-hand the mistakes that artists repeatedly made. In fact, Howard's book goes into such detail about the difficulties and pitfalls of building a music career that many readers might realize they would rather just work at Tower Records.
"This isn't meant to discourage you," writes Howard. "I'm telling you this so that you don't get discouraged when some or all of these things happen to you along the way. It's just part of beginning a career in the business."
For those crazy souls who decide to pursue a music career nonetheless, Howard's book offers a simple but thorough guide to catching the attention of a record label. He says that getting to this point is the most important step: "You will find that most successful artists share the sense that their music must be heard."
Written in a conversational tone, Getting Signed is an easy-to-read guide to every step involved in catching an A&R's attention, including what exactly should be included in a demo package.
Howard explains that the definition of a "label" is ever-changing, but it essentially means anyone who is willing and capable to reproduce, advertise, and distribute your music.
Howard recognizes that new technology is fundamentally changing the infrastructure of the music industry, which could threaten turning his sadistic guidance into obsolete advice in the post-mp3 apocalypse.
"The music industry is changing around me," Howard admits. "The record industry as we know it appears to be going away." Nevertheless, in one form or another, Howard says labels will continue to exist because they serve a function that artists are unwilling or incapable to do themselves.
Howard also argues that the record industry's obsession with illegal downloading is more of a red herring than the actual cause of falling CD sales. In fact, Howard writes, "As a technologist, I believe fervently that the Internet and other technology can be actualized as wonderful tools to help a musician's career."
In an interview with The Heights, Howard said, "More and more, there are bands that [are] just saying, 'We're going to make all of our money from touring,' and the record label becomes the engine that drives those things. They don't ever expect to see a dime from the label. It doesn't mean the labels are obsolete but just that they are providing a different service."
As a result, artists are forced to interact with labels in order for their music to be heard by the masses. Howard's book goes into detail about the procedure for dealing with labels. "As with every aspect of this business, the more you understand, the less likely you are to get taken advantage of, and the more likely you are to succeed."
Musicians might feel frustrated by Howard's tendency to speak about music as though it was a business rather than artistic venture, yet he reminds his readers, "By the act of sending your demo to record labels, you are buying into the culture that defines your music as product."
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