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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

Mixtape Friday: Leaky faucet plagues industry
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

There's nothing more distracting than a leaky faucet. I don't know why record companies can't hire some beefy security guard to protect albums from leaking before they come out, but once they hit the Internet, these songs spread faster than nude pictures of Paris Hilton.

The unfortunate consequence is that the rest of the album often disappoints after a great lead single. 50 Cent's "Disco Inferno" leaked months ago, but it's infinitely better than the rest of his new album, The Massacre. After Dr. Dre's beat from "Disco Inferno" whetted our appetite, all we get for a main course is a truly atrocious album with a homoerotic picture of 50 Cent on the cover.

But we keep our hopes up - here are two upcoming albums with leaked tracks that point towards greatness, but don't get your hopes up too high, or else the let down will hurt.

A-Side

Beck "Go It Alone"
Following the heartwrenching breakup that inspired his last album, the dreary but beautiful Sea Change, Beck is ready to strut his way back into bachelordom on "Got It Alone." An unfinished version of Beck's new album, erroneously titled Ubiquitous, recently found its way onto the Internet. The real album, Guero(which is Mexican slang for a blonde, fair-skinned white boy), was produced by Odelay and Midnite Vultures collaborators the Dust Brothers and will be released on March 29.

Beck "Girl"
The new album returns to the goofy hip-hop funk of Beck's previous albums, but you can't undo his musical maturation since "Loser." This song is a similar up-tempo jam, but every sound seems to be in the right place, rather than the sloppy fun of his older albums. The breezy "Oohs" and "Aahs" in the background make a soft bed for Beck's dilly falsetto and bluesy guitar riffs.

B-Side

Common "Corners"
At last year's Mod parking lot concert, Common told me that his new album, BE, would be released within a few months. Almost a year later and there's no album, but at least we got two leaked singles.

Fellow Chi-town native Kanye West produced "Corners," which features one of the most impressive guest appearances in years from The Last Poets, a collective of revolutionary black poets from the Civil Rights era.

Common "Food"
Ever since Common and Kanye appeared together to perform "Food" on Chappelle's Show, hip-hop heads have been hungry for this album. Common promises that it will represent a return to his old-school style, which will be appreciated after his last album, The Electric Circus.

According to Common, his new album will be his "best work ever." Though I know better, I can't help but get my hopes up.

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.

Police shut down BU porn magazine release party
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

"I expected more nudity," complained one Boston University student at the release party for BU's new porn magazine Boink.

Compared to the full-frontal male and female nudity inside the new magazine, the release party at the Roxy on Thursday was quite tame. Large ice luges in the shape of male and female genitalia were the only open demonstration of private parts at the club, other than the pictures featured in the 96 page inaugural issue.

The party at the Roxy was billed as an adult-themed night and the invitations specifically stated that all attendees must be over 18 years of age. Unfortunately, that's not adult enough to legally drink in the state of Massachusetts, and as a result of underage drinking, the whole club was shut down at 12:30 a.m. by police and officials from Alcohol Beverage Control.

Until that point, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves on the dance floor and it took the police quite some time to get everyone to actually leave. Most people stuck around to get a free copy of Boink before they left.

Boink is similar to the new sex-themed Harvard magazine H-Bomb, except Boink is unabashed porn, featuring BU students as models, writers, and photographers. The undergraduate models featured nude in the magazine, both male and female, were all in attendance at the release party.

During out interview, Alecia Oleyourryk, a BU senior from upstate New York and the creator of Boink, said that the magazine is an accurate reflection of the interests of normal college students and reminded everyone that the magazine also includes articles concerning college sex life.

Subscriptions to the magazine are available from its Web site (www.get-boinked.com) and single issues will be sold at Newbury Comics. According to Boink's Web site, "the title was selected because it's dynamic and fun, like the sex act to which it refers."

Boink will be sponsoring sex-themed discussions at BU beginning on March 3, when the magazine will host a talk at BU with Jen Sincero, author of The Straight Girl's Guide to Sleeping with Chicks.

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.

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.

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.

Kill Bill soundtracks remixed
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

The soundtracks to Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 were mixtape masterpieces put together by Quentin Tarantino and Wu-Tang Clan leader The Rza. The Rza was chosen to score the kung-fu epics as a result of his ethnic credibility after being officially drafted by the Asian Delegation during the Racial Draft on Chappelle's Show.

Most of the songs on the soundtracks are either covers of long forgotten originals or cult movie theme songs. Only a few of the tracks are individually remarkable, but the combination of hipster songs from every era and corner of the globe makes a fine mix.

Taking Tarantino's theme of juxtaposition a step further, a group of DJ's have released a remix mashup album called Hanzo Steel, one of the most innovative mash-ups since Danger Mouse's Grey Album.

A-Side

Billions McMillions - "Ironside Jumpoff"
When Uma Thurman, aka "The Bride" aka "Black Mamba," gets angry, whether in a knife fight in a suburban kitchen or at the hospital with a necrophiliac trucker, dizzying horns foreshadow the impending rampage. The sound effect comes from the theme song from the old TV show Ironside, composed by Quincy Jones (who, incidentally, is an alumnus of Boston's Berklee School of Music).

Tomoyasu Hotei - "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" (Nas Remix)
Nineteen seconds into this song, the beat drops so hard, it'll break your big toe. Unfortunately the cheesy 80s electric guitar solo ruins the song. Blackstone and Atari, who apparently also sensed the hair band vibe in this Japanese pop-rock song, put the vocals from "Shout" by Tears for Fears over the beat. An uncredited remix floating around the Internet featuring Nas' gritty lyrics from "Made Your Look" is a better match.

B-Side
Nancy Sinatra - "Bang Bang" (Remix)
Frank's better half sings a quiet tale of revenge that perfectly fits the Kill Bill story, with lyrics originally penned by Sonny Bono: "Bang bang, my baby shot me down." This remix pairs Sinatra's sultry voice with the hard drums and squeaky London accent of Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up, Look Sharp" [aka "The Big Beat"].

Billions McMillions - "Missted Nerve"
Nurse Daryl Hannah whistles an eerie, gleeful tune as she heads down the hallway in the hospital towards an unconscious Uma Thurman. The whistle appears on the soundtrack to Vol. 1 as Bernard Herrmann's "Twisted Nerve," but DJ Billions McMillions throws some meat on the simple tune to make a funky treat. Instead of just mashing two songs together, Billions McMillions bakes a three-layer cake with the original whistle, the syncopated Lain hand claps from the flamenco disco track "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda (also from Vol. 1), and the bouncy beat from Missy Elliot's "Pass the Dutch."

Timbo does it for the nookie
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

What are you gonna produce today, Timbaland? "Whatever I feel like doing! Gosh!"

Super-duper beat producer Tim Mosley makes hits for anyone with $275,000 to spare, which means he's worked with everyone from Britney to Snoop. Timbaland is responsible for some of the bounciest beats in hip-hop history, including Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin," Jadakiss' "They Ain't Ready," and Cee-lo's "I'll Be Around."

Though Timbaland could work with any rapper he wants, he tends to prefer to work with R&B singers. If it wasn't for his sexy production on Genuwine's "Pony," millions of horny junior high school kids would be left without a beat for their awkward, freaky dancing. Despite his six-figure price tag, Timbaland really does it for the nookie. His best beats were made for a slew of sexy, svelte black girls with beautiful voices. And then there's Missy Elliot, too.

A-Side

Aaliyah - "If Your Girl Only Knew"
Aaliyah was Timbaland's first muse. Here Aaliyah relishes her role as home-wrecker, taunting the unsuspecting girlfriend of her most recent sexual conquest. When listening to any of Timbaland's beats, wait for the breakdown near the end, when he cuts away the fat and leaves nothing but the phat.

Missy Elliot - "4 My People" (ft. Eve)
Timbaland and Missy go together like Ella and Louis. Over the years Timbaland has bequeathed more hit beats to Missy Elliot than anyone else. Though popular culture tends to prefer skinny girls, Timbaland always knew Missy had soul to spare, regardless of whether she has to shop at Lane Bryant. "4 My People" is an uncharacteristically rapid club beat for the dynamic duo with a spitfire verse from Eve.

B-Side
Tweet - "Oops (Oh My)"
Accidents happen. Oops, I slipped in the snow. Oops, I spilled my milk. Oops, my skirt fell down and my shirt came off too. Enough with the excuses, Tweet. You hardly seem to mind your "accidental" nudity: "I was looking so good, I couldn't reject myself. I was feeling so good I had to touch myself." Missy Elliot jumps into the masturbation fantasy: "I was eyein' my thighs, butter pecan brown." That's Missy Elliot for you, always thinking about food.

Aaliyah - "Are You That Somebody?"
Is that a frickin' baby wailing in the background? Is Timbaland making random clickity sounds with his mouth? Back when this song came out, it was a strange concoction, but in retrospect, it's just classic Tim.

Alicia Keys - "Heartburn"
Timbaland's beats are generally instantly recognizable, with stuttering synths and a heavy bounce, but this one's different, sounding more like a theme song to a 1970s blaxpoitation film.

With Dre & Co. on the beats, let The Game Begin
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

The hype surrounding The Game made him seem more like a marketing gimmick than a rapper. Dr. Dre signed him to Aftermath because he was from Compton, home of gangsta rap pioneers NWA. 50 Cent made him a member of G-Unit because he also got shot during a botched drug deal.

No one knew whether he could actually rap, but The Game could definitely star as a video game character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

His debut album, The Documentary, proves The Game is more than a cheap publicity stunt and might re-establish the otherwise lifeless West Coast hip-hop scene.

The Game's lyrical content won't send listeners reaching for the rewind button with astonishment, but the album's superb production and The Game's decent flow guarantees listeners won't need to skip any tracks either.

The production roster on The Documentary is absolutely preposterous for a debut album. Jay-Z had to release ten albums before he got this sort of all-star line-up to produce The Black Album.

Timbaland, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Eminem, and Hi-Tek each bless The Game's grimy growl with fresh beats. But lest we forget the lessons of the 2004 Yankees, a superstar line-up doesn't automatically guarantee a championship.

Fortunately, Dr. Dre serves as sonic director, lending a cohesiveness to The Documentary that's rare on albums with so many producers. Dre put more effort into The Game than he has with any of his Aftermath projects since 50 Cent's debut. Surprisingly, the five tracks Dre produced, including the old-school g-funk in "How We Do," aren't the best beats on the album.

Just Blaze produced the hottest track on The Black Album ("Public Service Announcement") and now brings his infamous horns to two of the best beats on The Documentary, "Church for Thugs" and "No More Fun and Games."

Apparantly, Kanye West has recently discovered the 33 RPM button on his turntable and his offering, "Dreams," is a nice departure from his typical violin solos and sped-up samples.

The Game is outshined by both 50 Cent and Dungeon Family producers Cool and Dre on the album's best track, "Hate It or Love It." 50 Cent's mellifluous flow glides effortlessly, whether it's from verse to hook or from rapping to singing.

Here and throughout the album, The Game raps barely well enough to justify the beat. Every once in a while he will utter a mildly clever line, but he mainly spends his verses reminiscing about NWA, 2Pac, and the good ol' days of West Coast hip-hop. Just in case anyone was not aware of his affiliation with Dre, The Game references the doctor 35 times in 70 minutes.

There's really nothing mentionable about The Game as a rapper, but The Documentary bangs from beginning to the end, perfect for driving fast with the speakers blasting.

2004's worth remembering
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

There were a lot of rap songs I liked in 2004 that I would prefer to never hear again. The shelf life of radio-friendly hip-hop is extremely brief, after which the initially catchy beat gets stale and goes bad.

Music shouldn't be reviewed immediately after it's released, as first impressions can be deceiving. The funky synth on J-Kwon's "Tipsy" was delicious upon its first taste, but six months later the beat sounds like a cheap, silly version of Queen's "We Will Rock You."

Now that we have some distance between us and 2004, it's time to look back at what is worth remembering from the year passed. There were plenty of pleasant songs on the radio this year, but only a few had anything more going for them than a novelty of newness. The following songs are the ones that will last:

A-Side

Nas "Bridging the Gap" [ft. Olu Dara]
Nas and his pops collaborate to bridge the unnecessary gap between hip-hop and music. Jazz legend Olu Dara struts and swaggers his way through a thumping beat, telling stories about his music career and raising the young Nasir Jones.

Jay-Z "99 Problems"
Rick Rubin emerged from his hip-hop hibernation to craft the heaviest rock/rap beat since "Fight for Your Right." The wee Beastie Boys could never handle a beat this thick, but Jay-Z does justice to the bearded guru's offering. Hopefully, we won't be forced to wait another ten years for the next Rubin beat like we did for this one.

Cee-lo "I'll Be Around"
How could Cee-lo possibly be inconspicuous when his flow is so doggone ridiculous? He might be the soul machine, but Timbaland's bouncing, twittering trumpets provide Cee-lo with his fuel.

B-Side

Franz Ferdinand "Take Me Out"
There's beauty in the breakdown. Somewhere between 54 and 55 seconds into the song, the whole track falls apart and reemerges anew with a different beat. The transition begs for listeners' accompaniment on the air drums, with full headbanging action.

Eminem "Rain Man"
On an otherwise mediocre album, "Rain Man" was a hilarious throwback to what made Eminem great in the first place. You might think Eminem must have been tripping on mushrooms to write such a strange, abstract song. Eminem is famous for his irreverence for authority and celebrity, but never before has he been so indifferent to the rules of song structure. After a few minutes of ambiguously gay miniature golf and accidentally killing Christopher Reeve, Eminem brags, "I ain't even gotta make any goddamn sense, I just did a whole song and didn't say shit."

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."

Street's Disciple
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

On Street's Disciple, Nas proves again that he has perfected the balance between popular and underground hip-hop. His lyrics are meaningful, but not overweight. His production is catchy, but not jiggy. His guest appearances are entertaining, but not relied upon. Nas sarcastically raps, 'it's trendy to be the conscious emcee," but for him it comes naturally.

Except for 2Pac and Outkast, rappers never actually have enough material to justify a double album. Nas' newest is filled with great tracks, but suffers from too much filler and sounds like a great watered down album.

John Legend at BC tonight
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Neo-soul singer John Legend is currently enjoying a hit single, "Used to Love U," on MTV and critical acclaim for his debut album Get Lifted.

On the cusp of super-stardom, Legend will be performing tonight at 9:30 p.m. at Boston College in the Rat, sponsored by the Black Student Forum. Tickets are $15.

Legend's album features stellar classic R&B piano ballads with a contemporary hip-hop edge. He has collaborated heavily with Kanye West, who co-produced much of Get Lifted.

Legend is also the first musician signed to Kanye's new label, GOOD Music. At this odd transitional phase of his career, Legend finds himself performing in a venue much smaller and less prestigious than he is used to when touring alongside Kanye, but Legend is now breaking into his own solo career.

Legend has worked alongside the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, and Alicia Keyes, to whom he is often compared because of his amazing talent as a pianist. His style of sultry love songs are a wonderful blend of the best qualities of down-tempo hip-hop production and sultry old-school R&B (think Donny Hathaway, not R. Kelly).

Legend's most famous collaboration occurred with Lauryn Hill on "Everything is Everything" from her Grammy-gobbling solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Though Legend might be a bit disappointed to find out where he's going to be performing, he will definitely be the only person disappointed at the show.

Will Noah take over Boston?
By Canyon Cody
Published in The Heights

Boston hip-hop has no king. Since 1991, when Ed O.G. released his hometown classic Life of a Kid in the Ghetto, no Boston rapper has put up a convincing fight for the title. On the verge of releasing his solo debut, Noah Dixon, CSOM '06, is very aware of the vacancy on the local throne.

Part of the reason for the strange, fragmented hip-hop scene in Boston is the city's college scene. Hip-hop has always had an uneasy relationship with institutions of higher learning - who can forget pastor Mase back in the day rapping about some guy flaunting his Ph.D. - his "player hatin' degree." Boston College certainly isn't the most likely place to find the next big thing in rap, but Noah is no native of Chestnut Hill. Long before I ever knew about Newton or Brighton, I heard stories about Noah's hometown from fellow Roxbury-native Ed O.G. Will Roxbury repeat?

Noah "Wait a Minute"
Be very careful not to get this song stuck in your head, or else you'll end up walking around all day humming "dut-dut-duhdut, dutdut-duh-dut." This track samples Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner," the simple, repetitive acapella pop song from 1987 that oddly resembles the I Dream of Genie theme song. Noah had to wait for the sample to clear before he was sure it could ever make it on the album.

In The Sopranos, Tony's daughter Meadow returns from her first year at Columbia as an intellectual-snob, obnoxiously over-using complicated words when not needed. Part of the problem with many college-educated rappers is that they write rhymes like research papers. Mr. Lif and Akrobtik are great Boston emcees, but their political themes and complicated vocabulary make them come off as nerd-rap to most. Noah is very clear about his style: "I make party music." This isn't to say his flow hasn't benefited from his education, but only to say school hasn't ruined his cool.

Noah "Get Back Yo"
The bonus track to the single features a short guitar lick over a fast, radio-friendly beat with a bit of Neptunes flavor - think of NERD's "She Moves" or Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You." The speedy beat forces Noah to play catch-up and gives him the chance to show off his spitfire double-time rapping. Until Twista's recent commercial success, conventional wisdom said that lightning-fast raps should be limited to rare B-side occasions like Jay-Z's phenomenal verse on "Is That Your Chick?" As these two tracks show, Noah shares with newly-hired Def Jam CEO Jay-Z a flexible, dynamic rhyme style that can adapt to a wide array of beats.

Like most lead singles, "Get Back Yo" is more catchy than quality, but Noah promises that this is just the bait to lure fans into the more personal and introspective tracks on the album. Look out for The Conflict in late February as part of an on-going trinity to eventually include Revolutionand Change.