At the risk of revealing myself as A) behind the times, and B) a complete tool, I’m going to share that I’ve recently gotten back into heavy exercise. At the gym, I usually listen to (here’s where the “complete tool†part comes in) This American Life or some other talky podcast where I don’t have to worry about (tool again) consistently high-energy beats. But praise be to Pittsburgh’s Greg Gillis, whose Night Ripper from 2006 is a (the behind the times part) mashup masterpiece that (tool) keeps my adrenaline PUMPED, man! For my money, Z-Trip is still the high-water mark of such guerrilla hip-hop-classic-rock-punk-pop-whatever mixing, but what Gillis does with the riffs from The Pixies, the Strokes and Weezer in “Hold Up†helps me burn 500 calories in two minutes. Girl Talk’s newest, Feed the Animals, is available here for whatever price you want to pay, which I’ve already done so that I can take my workout to anotha level of behind-the-times toolness. Join me and feel the burn!
Santogold
I know I’ve been taking the “summer hours” concept a little too seriously, but it’s hard to do anything but enjoy summer when you have something stuck in your iPod like Top Ranking, Diplo’s “mixtape” treatment of Santogold’s debut album. Diplo’s dub-bass-electro-hop concoction provides a textured playground for Santi White’s angelic and sassy brand of new wave. Unreleased mixes of Santi tracks bounce in and out between cuts from Three 6 Mafia, Benga, B-52s, Ratatat, and Sir Mix-a-Lot—there’s a smile around every corner. (If this sounds familiar, Diplo did the same for the last big indie “it” girl, M.I.A., on the eve of her debut album with the 2004 mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism.)
Now, if you’re picturing me just swaying away in a shady hammock you’re only partly right. Top Ranking also got me off my butt and running every morning (five weeks and counting!). And it’s been the soundtrack to some spontaneous summer grill action… I don’t mean to overpromise but I guarantee it will make your life better—even if that means you forget to update your blog for over a month.
These tracks are some tasty Santogold remixes featured on Diplo’s Mad Decent label, though they’re not even on Top Ranking. For that, you’ll want to head over to turntablelab.com and drop $12 for the 75-minute mix.
Cannonball Jane
Whenever I hear the name Jane I can’t help thinking about a high school friend of mine (spelled “Jayne”). She was one of maybe three people from my school I hung out with my senior year. When I attended a reunion recently my wife asked me, not facetiously, “Are you even going to know anyone here?” The only person I could think of was Jayne, but I knew she wouldn’t be there. Like me, Jayne was slightly anti-social. As I expected, no Jayne. But you know how high school reunions put you in that nostalgic mood/mode? Thus affected, I did some internet sleuthing and actually tracked Jayne down, an entire continent away, hoping to say hello and catch up. I left two awkward voice messages (it’s impossible to sound casual, as if I hadn’t talked to her for a week when in fact it had been years). Did Jayne call back? Nope. Made me feel even more awkward, like I was some creepy internet stalker!
I think if Jayne’s personality were more like Cannonball Jane’s music we would’ve had a nice conversation, shared a few good laughs, and traded our latest listens and reads. See, Cannonball Jane is playful, colourful (Jayne was from England—she made me use British spellings), and obviously up for some fun. By day Cannonball Jane teaches elementary school. By night Jane, aka Sharon Hagopian, fires up the beatbox, guitars, synths and gadgets and records a groovin’ pastiche of hip hop, new wave, and sixties pop. A mix of Soul Coughing and Luscious Jackson, Mary Tyler Moore and Solex. This is the kind of woman I’d trust to educate my children and school me in the ways of beats and breaks and dance party extravaganzas. Hey, sounds a lot like Alisa, the woman I married. Who, by the way, tracked down one of her old high school friends during a reunion year. And he called her back! Who wouldn’t? She’s fun like that.
Steinski
Someday, when every respectable university offers sampling/remix/mashup culture curricula and tweed jackets are replaced by hoodies, expect to find lectures devoted to a particular five minutes and 23 seconds of musical history: Double Dee and Steinski’s “The Payoff Mix.” The track, an entry by a couple of first-time bedroom producers to a remix contest put on by Tommy Boy Records in 1983, has shaped both underground and popular music for decades (two and a half to be exact) and still stands on its own two legs… The technique of audio juxtaposition and recontextualization (otherwise known as “rewind moments”) and even the specific samples the duo used on that pioneering track have become as common to hip-hop, remixes, and mash-ups as backspins and “yes y’alls” — if you can’t help but read, “And, say children, what does it all mean?” in the voice of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (even if you had no idea who you were imitating) you’ve been affected by Double Dee and Steinski.
Steinski’s musical “career” started much later than most; he was 32 years old when he created “The Payoff Mix” and didn’t make any money from the record because it was comprised entirely of illegal samples. This makes the thorough and long-overdue Steinski retrospective, What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006, all the more impressive as you take in the full range of his work — everything from “The Lessons” (the first three tracks he made with Double Dee) to his audio documentaries of the JFK assasination and 9/11 to an hour-long mashup bonanza he produced for Coldcut’s Solid Steel show on the BBC. Class is in session…
Honey Claws
As most of the music world heads to Austin, Texas this week for the annual South By South West music festival I’m stuck here in my front bedroom doing the virtual bar crawl hunting for something new to listen to and re-living past SXSWs. Honey Claws is just the sort of thing I’d hope to run into at 1 A.M. my feet weary from the walking, my head hurting from all the rocking, but these grooves would buoy me up for another couple hours. These two tracks sound a bit like Nine Inch Nails tempered and mellowed through Beck’s beatbox and microphone. The rest of the album will take you on a wild bounce deep into the heart of Austin’s freak-hop-tronic scene. Sure, that may just be the Honey Claws’ garage but bigger things have blossomed from humbler origins.
SXSW showcase: Wednesday night @ 115 Club.
Meanest Man Contest
Like the 3hive crew, Meanest Man Contest connected in college while involved with the student newspaper. Unlike Meanest Man Contest, we haven’t collectively produced any original work (save for a few exceptions). We’ve spent most of our collective efforts talking up (via the airwaves, a print magazine and CD store—ah, those were the days) our favorite new artists such as Oakland duo Meanest Man Contest. These mild-mannered beat makers and rhyme sayers are steadily building their arsenal releasing tracks with Plug Research, RCRDLBL, Sneak Move, and Gold Robot, as well as showcasing their remixing skills working with the likes of Thee More Shallows, a track that MMC is kindly debuting today at 3hive. Their sound knows no bounds, from the smooth and easy flowing “I Was Only Kidding” to the dark and apocalyptic “Throwing Away Broken Electronics,” to the outright bouncy “We Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way.” Don’t believe their moniker for a minute, Meanest Man Contest are nice boys making nice music.
Take
Take’s rich, melodic take on downtempo made his gorgeous 2007 debut LP Earthtones and Concrete more than a clever title, but the flag-planting of a new genre. Now Mr. Thomas Wilson has brought some remixes and collabos together for The Plus Ultra EP, where things get a bit electrospacey but no less warm and nuanced. Do yourself a favor and go straight to eMusic for the full album and EP.
Sneaky
Sneaky is the double-bassist from the UK pluckin’ and scratchin’ outfit Fingathing. His debut EP Feel Like a King is due sometime this spring and promises more pluckin’ than scratchin’…natch. The lead track, “Beduija,” has a nice curried flavor to it.
The Sugarman Three
We really dig what Daptone’s been up to this year. But they’ve been working at reviving soul for some years now; their comeuppance is due. One of their earliest releases is an album from The Sugarman Three, an outfit built around saxophonist Neal Sugarman and a Hammond B-3 organ. It’s a crying shame that tracks from their debut album, Sugar’s Boogaloo, aren’t available, and that your first taste of the band comes in the form of remixes, but you just shouldn’t take another breath until you get yourself a lil’ Sugarman action. These remixes are from a complete remix compilation that’s been freely available for a couple weeks courtesy of Daptone and friends. Dig deep from the Daptone well friends.
Dujeous
Nothing says Thanksgiving to me more than Dujeous. Full disclosure: I’ve know these guys since before I was of legal drinking age, they are old friends and I am 100% totally, completely biased in their favor. Back in the good old days, there was always a Dujeous show to look forward to. You would see the family, put on your cute clothes and head out to whatever downtown venue the Duj happened to be playing at. You would have crushes on various Dujeous members. You would think you were really cool when you could sing all the words to “Spilt Milk”. But mostly, you would bliss out all night to the sweet sounds of good old-fashioned hip-hop, the kind that involves a drummer, a bass player, a trumpet and all manner of wonderful instruments. You may have heard the sounds of Dave Guy (trumpet) before, as he is super busy sidelining as a Dap-King, playing with Sharon Jones, a member of the Budos Band, appearing as a cartoon in the New Yorker and showing up on my television in Lily Allen’s band. The six other bandmembers, die-hard New Yorkers all, have been doing it up — producing, providing music for soundtracks of oscar winning films (see: Half Nelson), being MCs, touring what seems like ALL of Asia, popping up as staffers at my place of work, and just being Dujeous in general. (I’m told the name may serve as a noun, a verb or an adjective, depending on your mood.) I love them. Dujeous makes me highly nostalgic. More people should know about Dujeous. Hip-hop, instruments, big love for what they do — enough said.