Today's post is dedicated to everybody that "gets it". Friday is a good day but you gotta make everyday a positive day. Tuesdays can be beautiful. Today we talk about one of the greatest human beings alive today. DAN YEMIN. This man is pure truth in the shell of a mortal man. He is in my favorite band ever, my 6th favorite band ever and 2 of my favorite bands touring today. I have met him twice and have been a loser fanboy both times. Both those times though the guy treated me with the most class and respect i have ever encounteredwhile talking to semi big touring HC bands.
Ok let's do this in non chronological order. Go with his work in KID DYNAMITE one of the bands that rose out of the ashes of Lifetime and almost as amazing (which is still better than 99% of bands). My blog is named after this song CHEAP SHOT YOUTH ANTHEM. It's about the importance of all ages shows. So many kids turn 19 and 21 and turn their backs on AA which is fucking ridiculous. If it wasn't for all ages shows I honnestly think I might have never finished high school. This video was made by a random dude on youtube and it makes me think of my psycho scottish cousins that were in town this summer.
Next up we have LIFETIME. Already featured on the blog. Essentially my favorite group of all time. I would kill a man with a swiss army knife if they asked. No joke. Their songs speak so much to me and I have so many memories associated to their music. The perfect combination of aggression and melody. They were together from 1990 to 1997 but they are most remembered for their last 2 albums of this era (HELLO BASTARDS and JERSEYS BEST DANCERS). Both those albums are perfect and you should listen to them A.S.A.P. They reunited in 2005 (i had the opportunity to see them at this time) and came out with a new self titled album. Which believe it or not got a POSITIVE review in pitchfork. To me it's not as good as HB and JBD but it is growing on me like HPV in paris hilton's uterus. Some of the songs on it are on par with their classic shit. They are signed on Fueled by Ramen aka Fallout Boy's label and I think that's alright cause every single mainstream "emo" or pop punk band owes them half their profits. We have a double pack of songs. YOUNG LOUD AND SCOTTY live from a breakup show and AIRPORT MONDAY MORNING the video from their new album. Let it percolate.
Finally we have PAINT IT BLACK with Dan Yemin singing. I like them less than his other bands cause to me he's a genius guitar player. The song is called MEMORIAL DAY it's from a house show, the quality sucks but during the sing along you can really see what I'm talking about when I'm trying to communicate the feeling i get in my heart when I listen to these bands.
BONUS ALERT
Yemin is in another band ARMALITE which features Atom Goren of Atom and his Package and other dudes from bands. They pretty much only play philly but dear lord are they amazing.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
He might blow up and kill this man
The word ghetto gets thrown around a lot and I dislike that. White girls from the G.T.A. use it like they should use birth control. I'm not going to say I'm more familiar with ghettoness then anybody else but I think I have a pretty good definition. It's shit that is fucking crazy and would not make sense to anybody outside of ghetto area or mentality but is completely normal inside of said area and mentality. Now I had the opportunity to go to a "cosmopolitan" (see I didn't use the word ghetto!) high school where I got to meet an interesting cast of characters. Whenever we would have freestyle hip hop battles there was this obese kid who would come on the mic and just say so-so-so-somalia (like the no-no-no-notorious in the duran duran/biggie song) for like 2 minutes straight. Once during a math test I saw him out the window sprinting like an obese cheetah running away from the cops (who finally got him and beat him up), I proceeded to write the test. People wouldn't even crowd around the window for stuff like this. But what takes the cake was a time I was hanging out at the blair bus station and I met my Ethiopian friend who I think had been kicked out of school at this point with a vietnamese/cambodian thug. I was like "what's up?" and the south east asian dude starts mime-ing shit. Ethiopia goes "oh you don't understand?" and start translating the hood charades of this mute thug. No one knows sign language on the street so he would just act out what he wanted to say. He also tried to sell me pills. Anyways, just to say that a G-Unit video isn't ghetto, today you are going to see some third world shit.
Ok first up is the highest budget of the artists. MAVADO and BUSY SIGNAL 2 bigtime jamaican dancehall singers. I discovered them when I won an x rated dancehall compilation in a dice game (seriously, the pot was like 90$, cds and chocolate bars). I 4-5-6ed that shit. So all summer 2006 and 2007 I listened to the most vulgar music ever, dancehall. I was at a house party with a reggae theme and the dj was playing awesome dancehall and the hippie who was running it got mad and said "I hired you to play fucking reggae man what is this shit?"... In his mind I think reggae exclusively consisted of Bob Marley and Bedouin Soundcrap. I give you BADMAN PLACE. The song is about badmen and the places they reside at.
Next we have AFRIKAN BOY. You might know him from M.I.A.'s album Kala. He is a Nigerian now living in London and he raps almost unintelligibly about how 5 dollars is a fucking lot in Africa. His flow is amazing. I hate how white people are all about djembes and feeling at one with the rythm of the dark continent. Fuck that, this is the real shit. The song has no title, it's a random youtube freestyle from his room.
Finally we have a group I recently discovered, BARIKAD CREW from Haïti. This is the first Haitian hip hop not from NYC or Montréal I have ever heard. I am so happy they got over calypso and merengue. They sing in créole a language you can sort of understand if you speak French, key word being SORT OF. 3 members of the group recently died in a horrible car crash/electrocution and people mourned big time all over the country. These guys are the be all end all KINGS of créole hip hop. Some members were arrested and it nearly started a riot. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I truly believe that BARIKAD CREW could start a coup if they wanted to. If you were reading my reggaeton post you can see this song employs a modified dem bow beat. From what I gather the song is about pencils, it's called TAY KREYON. Check it out for real.
Colonized countries have more than old traditional music to offer us you orientalist bitches.
Ok first up is the highest budget of the artists. MAVADO and BUSY SIGNAL 2 bigtime jamaican dancehall singers. I discovered them when I won an x rated dancehall compilation in a dice game (seriously, the pot was like 90$, cds and chocolate bars). I 4-5-6ed that shit. So all summer 2006 and 2007 I listened to the most vulgar music ever, dancehall. I was at a house party with a reggae theme and the dj was playing awesome dancehall and the hippie who was running it got mad and said "I hired you to play fucking reggae man what is this shit?"... In his mind I think reggae exclusively consisted of Bob Marley and Bedouin Soundcrap. I give you BADMAN PLACE. The song is about badmen and the places they reside at.
Next we have AFRIKAN BOY. You might know him from M.I.A.'s album Kala. He is a Nigerian now living in London and he raps almost unintelligibly about how 5 dollars is a fucking lot in Africa. His flow is amazing. I hate how white people are all about djembes and feeling at one with the rythm of the dark continent. Fuck that, this is the real shit. The song has no title, it's a random youtube freestyle from his room.
Finally we have a group I recently discovered, BARIKAD CREW from Haïti. This is the first Haitian hip hop not from NYC or Montréal I have ever heard. I am so happy they got over calypso and merengue. They sing in créole a language you can sort of understand if you speak French, key word being SORT OF. 3 members of the group recently died in a horrible car crash/electrocution and people mourned big time all over the country. These guys are the be all end all KINGS of créole hip hop. Some members were arrested and it nearly started a riot. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I truly believe that BARIKAD CREW could start a coup if they wanted to. If you were reading my reggaeton post you can see this song employs a modified dem bow beat. From what I gather the song is about pencils, it's called TAY KREYON. Check it out for real.
Colonized countries have more than old traditional music to offer us you orientalist bitches.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Now I think I finally understand
My recent posts have been so feminine I have actually started menstruating. Not only have I spent 25$ on coffee crisp chocolate bars I have bloodied a perfectly good pair of business casual khakis. The doctor told me the only cure for pussyness is to man the fuck up, BLOG STYLE. So this is it I'm tooling up and ready to make the name Youth Anthems ring out in the Baltimore high rise projects. Our theme today is punch you in the motherfucking face hip hop from the late 90's and early 2000s. 3 of the 4 songs on today's post were featured on my championship run at the local Ottawa Ipod Battle. Shout out to Team Intifada DJs.
Let's start with the SUPERTHUG by NOREAGA. Came out in 1998 but I really got into it in 1999/2000 aka grade 10. An early track to be produced by The Neptunes. Back then I had no idea who The Neptunes were but I really loved all their singles without knowing the common thread of chad and pharrelian production. I used to listen to this on my DIAMOND RIO aka the first mp3 player ever released. It had like 25 megabytes of room and ate batteries like the Japanese eat hot dogs at Coney Island. The chorus of just yelling what is pure genius.
Another 1998 song is RUFF RYDERS ANTHEM by DMX. This was a song that I would watch muchmusic/musiqueplus every waking second just for a chance to hear it. It's dark and hell is hot was my favorite album in grade 9. My friends and I bootlegged copies in my highschool with photocopied covers printed on blue paper. Shit was my intro to crime. DMX might sort of suck these days but I can't see how you can't like this song. That whole album was soooo good at the time. My 13-14 year old brain could not imagine music getting any better than this. Which is pretty hilarious in retrospect. You about to get earl simmoned.
Now for this last song I want you to stop reading if you are pregnant, suffering from heart problems or if you're a bitch. This is some LIVE shit. Probably the best "punch you in the face" song in the history of hip hop. Especially the version with the Funkmaster Flex intro. M.O.P.'s ANTE UP. The be all end all of getting riled the fuck up. I remember reading a rolling stone review of the song and they said it "wasn't scary like a fight it was scary like war." the year 2000 version of Iain was like "whoa, rolling stone just read my mind". M.O.P. stands for MASH OUT POSSE which was the same name of the gang that Lil Fame and Bill Danze were part of. They are from Brownsville, Brooklyn which is where John Gotti was a streetgang member as a teenager. Nothing gets more real than this. Also there's a line in the song that goes "hats, food, booze, essentials, credentials" Shout out to Dan Hooligan who I went to visit in T.O. to buy a hat, eat burritos and drink at an open bar. MOP speaks the truth!
BONUS SHIT.
A 2003 one hit wonder, but what a hit. BONECRUSER's NEVA SCARED. Amazing video, amazing song. Bonecrusher was my favorite character on the Def Jam Fight For New York video game.
Now go out and start a fight with bitch that don't deserve the chain he wearin.
ONE.
Let's start with the SUPERTHUG by NOREAGA. Came out in 1998 but I really got into it in 1999/2000 aka grade 10. An early track to be produced by The Neptunes. Back then I had no idea who The Neptunes were but I really loved all their singles without knowing the common thread of chad and pharrelian production. I used to listen to this on my DIAMOND RIO aka the first mp3 player ever released. It had like 25 megabytes of room and ate batteries like the Japanese eat hot dogs at Coney Island. The chorus of just yelling what is pure genius.
Another 1998 song is RUFF RYDERS ANTHEM by DMX. This was a song that I would watch muchmusic/musiqueplus every waking second just for a chance to hear it. It's dark and hell is hot was my favorite album in grade 9. My friends and I bootlegged copies in my highschool with photocopied covers printed on blue paper. Shit was my intro to crime. DMX might sort of suck these days but I can't see how you can't like this song. That whole album was soooo good at the time. My 13-14 year old brain could not imagine music getting any better than this. Which is pretty hilarious in retrospect. You about to get earl simmoned.
Now for this last song I want you to stop reading if you are pregnant, suffering from heart problems or if you're a bitch. This is some LIVE shit. Probably the best "punch you in the face" song in the history of hip hop. Especially the version with the Funkmaster Flex intro. M.O.P.'s ANTE UP. The be all end all of getting riled the fuck up. I remember reading a rolling stone review of the song and they said it "wasn't scary like a fight it was scary like war." the year 2000 version of Iain was like "whoa, rolling stone just read my mind". M.O.P. stands for MASH OUT POSSE which was the same name of the gang that Lil Fame and Bill Danze were part of. They are from Brownsville, Brooklyn which is where John Gotti was a streetgang member as a teenager. Nothing gets more real than this. Also there's a line in the song that goes "hats, food, booze, essentials, credentials" Shout out to Dan Hooligan who I went to visit in T.O. to buy a hat, eat burritos and drink at an open bar. MOP speaks the truth!
BONUS SHIT.
A 2003 one hit wonder, but what a hit. BONECRUSER's NEVA SCARED. Amazing video, amazing song. Bonecrusher was my favorite character on the Def Jam Fight For New York video game.
Now go out and start a fight with bitch that don't deserve the chain he wearin.
ONE.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
you won't have to ask if i still care
It's time for some NEW MUSIC (sort of)! Since we are chained to the video format really new stuff is hard to come by. A lot of my posts are about older stuff so I decided to get hip to what young hepcats are jiving and bepopping to at the local jazz clubs and army legion. So we will be featuring videos that came out since at least June.
Ok first up is a group I recently got wise to, the MYSTERY JETS, from London. Their second album 21 came out in march but the most recent single (which I am really liking) HALF IN LOVE WITH ELIZABETH came out yesterday. The song is about dude seeing another girl on the side but they found a way to make the video pretty funny. Cool new band with a cool video means you get BIG BABIED.
Next up is one of my favorite new bands that I really tried to hate. That's how cool I am. I am on that next level hatred shit. VAMPIRE WEEKEND. They are so borderline whiteboy-worldbeat-ripoff-douchebags it's not funny. But it's like they barely stay inbounds of my love. Anyways they have been making a lot of noise and are music journalist darlings that will probably be SEVERELY backlashed on their second album (see teenage fanclub post). Anyways they are really catchy and easy to listen to (oh crap I made a reference to easy listening, kill me if I start listening to magic 100). The song is OXFORD COMMA, the single came out in May but the video premiered in late June. The vid seems to be influenced by the WES ANDERSON directed Mastercard commercial. It's a really beautiful video.
Next up is ESTELLE's most recent video. Apparently her album differs from the wicked first single American Boy feat Kanye. The video came out on the 18th. I post it because a small town welsh girl Duffy and the fat English girl Adele are getting a lot of love for their soul revival shit and Estelle called them out on appropriating her culture. Now being a white boy who constantly appropriates black culture I feel that if you're gonna do that you have to step the fuck up because you are gonna get much deserved scrutiny. Cuizinier is GOOD, Paul Wall is GOOD whereas Adele and Duffy are getting pushed like hell and Estelle is getting buried. Estelle is way better than those two. The track is called PRETTY PLEASE feat CEE-LO. Bow down to a soul singer that's greater than you.
BONUS
Final video of the day is a bit older (came out in may) it is called STRESS by French house band JUSTICE. It got banned by a lot of stations but in my opinion it's the VIDEO OF THE YEAR. It is the least dancy song on their great album Cross and the video goes in complete opposition of their previous squeaky clean efforts. It's inspired by the great French film La Haine. A MUST WATCH VIDEO.
Ok first up is a group I recently got wise to, the MYSTERY JETS, from London. Their second album 21 came out in march but the most recent single (which I am really liking) HALF IN LOVE WITH ELIZABETH came out yesterday. The song is about dude seeing another girl on the side but they found a way to make the video pretty funny. Cool new band with a cool video means you get BIG BABIED.
Next up is one of my favorite new bands that I really tried to hate. That's how cool I am. I am on that next level hatred shit. VAMPIRE WEEKEND. They are so borderline whiteboy-worldbeat-ripoff-douchebags it's not funny. But it's like they barely stay inbounds of my love. Anyways they have been making a lot of noise and are music journalist darlings that will probably be SEVERELY backlashed on their second album (see teenage fanclub post). Anyways they are really catchy and easy to listen to (oh crap I made a reference to easy listening, kill me if I start listening to magic 100). The song is OXFORD COMMA, the single came out in May but the video premiered in late June. The vid seems to be influenced by the WES ANDERSON directed Mastercard commercial. It's a really beautiful video.
Next up is ESTELLE's most recent video. Apparently her album differs from the wicked first single American Boy feat Kanye. The video came out on the 18th. I post it because a small town welsh girl Duffy and the fat English girl Adele are getting a lot of love for their soul revival shit and Estelle called them out on appropriating her culture. Now being a white boy who constantly appropriates black culture I feel that if you're gonna do that you have to step the fuck up because you are gonna get much deserved scrutiny. Cuizinier is GOOD, Paul Wall is GOOD whereas Adele and Duffy are getting pushed like hell and Estelle is getting buried. Estelle is way better than those two. The track is called PRETTY PLEASE feat CEE-LO. Bow down to a soul singer that's greater than you.
BONUS
Final video of the day is a bit older (came out in may) it is called STRESS by French house band JUSTICE. It got banned by a lot of stations but in my opinion it's the VIDEO OF THE YEAR. It is the least dancy song on their great album Cross and the video goes in complete opposition of their previous squeaky clean efforts. It's inspired by the great French film La Haine. A MUST WATCH VIDEO.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Stranger it feels, yeah
Here we go again with another stupid England post. We're going to talk about Britpop today. I will also use the term Britpop as broadly as possible. I will do this because I hate overeager loser asshole music journalists, ESPECIALLY in England. Always trying to invent some new stupid movement. I'm including Madchester (idiotic name) Britpop (anything with the meaningless word Brit in it is idiotic) NWONW which stands for fucking NEW WAVE OF NEW WAVE. How fucking STUPID is that name? These kids are lucky their music is good because these names are almost as bad as pre Nelson Mandela South Africa, real talk. So yeah whatever the theme is 1989-1997 guitarpop from england or how bout I create a new dumbass name. COUNTER-GRUNGE. (grunge being another stupid as fuck genre name.)
Up first is BLUR the song GIRL & BOYS off the album Parklife the shit really blew up that scene. Dj Orgasmic samples this song on Cuizinier's Pour les filles vol.3. Shit has longevity. This is one of my favorite videos ever.
ELASTICA. I like them more than Blur. The lead singer Justine Frischmann was the girl Damon Albarn was sticking at the time. I think they would have been bigger than Blur but they had trouble coming up with a follow up album because they were a bunch of druggies. If only they had listened to Project X to show them the way... The song is STUTTER and i listen to it like once a day. Justine was also M.I.A.'s roommate. I dream of the lesbo roommate munch downs they might have had.
Aaaaaand we have OASIS. DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER. A track that a lot of people including my moms and the band themselves thought was sort of a Beatles rip(inspired by). My favorite song of there's. I love Oasis cause they are like the hugest assholes in the world. Beefing with everybody, fitty is totally biting their style. They had a battle of Britpop with Blur. Overall I'm pretty sure Blur takes it but Oasis has their moments fer sure (especially in their Man U hate).
BONUS CACA:
STONE ROSES, FOOL'S GOLD. Technically proto-brit pop but WHATEVER you already know what I think of all that. As you can hear it is a heavily sampled track.
Up first is BLUR the song GIRL & BOYS off the album Parklife the shit really blew up that scene. Dj Orgasmic samples this song on Cuizinier's Pour les filles vol.3. Shit has longevity. This is one of my favorite videos ever.
ELASTICA. I like them more than Blur. The lead singer Justine Frischmann was the girl Damon Albarn was sticking at the time. I think they would have been bigger than Blur but they had trouble coming up with a follow up album because they were a bunch of druggies. If only they had listened to Project X to show them the way... The song is STUTTER and i listen to it like once a day. Justine was also M.I.A.'s roommate. I dream of the lesbo roommate munch downs they might have had.
Aaaaaand we have OASIS. DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER. A track that a lot of people including my moms and the band themselves thought was sort of a Beatles rip(inspired by). My favorite song of there's. I love Oasis cause they are like the hugest assholes in the world. Beefing with everybody, fitty is totally biting their style. They had a battle of Britpop with Blur. Overall I'm pretty sure Blur takes it but Oasis has their moments fer sure (especially in their Man U hate).
BONUS CACA:
STONE ROSES, FOOL'S GOLD. Technically proto-brit pop but WHATEVER you already know what I think of all that. As you can hear it is a heavily sampled track.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I'm just gonna concentrate on you
I went to a good house party last night. You know I'm not gonna lie I started drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon just to look cool but god damn does it go down easy. It's like drinking spring water that gets you nice and toasty. Granpa likes his juice. You know I'm like a scrap booking maniac but instead of scrap booking I love drinking. Ooh la la. Today being the lord's day I wanted to take it easy and not think of a theme. As I got into grabbing songs I got sucked into theme-ery. Today we look at the video work of legendary director SPIKE JONEZ. I'd love to have his job, too bad the video medium is dying. No more videos on MTV, MusiquePlus or Much just reality tv shows about hulk hogan's son fucking up kids with his car.
Alright, let's attack this in chronological order. 1992, Spike's 2nd major video. 100% by SONIC YOUTH. To me, this video more resembles his film work than the rest of his music video oeuvre. This is Sonic Youth at the beginning of their major label career at the time they were getting Nirvana some attention as well Spike Jones himself. This wave is a bit more accessible than their older stuff. The song is supposedly about the murder of Joe Cole who was Henry Rollins' BFF. Current big time actor Jason Lee is in the video as well as Kim Gordon's bass was borrowed from Keanu Reeves! there's some trivia for you.
1993, Scottish band TEENAGE FANCLUB. The video is probably one of Spike's least cool. No weird concept or nothing. The band is pretty sweet but the album this song is off of got destroyed by critics. This was probably due to the fact that they got way too much critical love earlier in their career. Like bukake levels of critical jizzing. Their previous album "bandwagonesque" beat out Nirvana's Nevermind in Spin's year end record of the year poll. Whatever, this song (HANG ON) is good. I also gotta rep my Glasgow set.
1995, now we move into the big budget shit. Sweet french house groupe DAFT PUNK. DA FUNK is the song. And the video is a fucking MAN DOG chilling in NYC. Nuff fuckin said.
1997. Another NOTORIOUS B.I.G. song, SKY'S THE LIMIT. Probably one of the best video's ever. A posthumous Biggie track. Little kids fill in for lil cease and co. Just seeing children having fun in the hip hop high life kinda evokes the childhood dreams a young Christopher Wallace had of leaving his world of squalor. This shit is inspirational, get inspired.
bonus shit:
A colin theriault quote: "THREE JEWISH BOYS FROM NEW YORK RE WRITING THE RULES OF RAP"
Weezer have always been WAY overrated in my eyes, like Lil Wayne overrated. This video is still a mental concept and the song is nice, maybe half chubb worthy.
Spike Jonze = best video director of all time.
Alright, let's attack this in chronological order. 1992, Spike's 2nd major video. 100% by SONIC YOUTH. To me, this video more resembles his film work than the rest of his music video oeuvre. This is Sonic Youth at the beginning of their major label career at the time they were getting Nirvana some attention as well Spike Jones himself. This wave is a bit more accessible than their older stuff. The song is supposedly about the murder of Joe Cole who was Henry Rollins' BFF. Current big time actor Jason Lee is in the video as well as Kim Gordon's bass was borrowed from Keanu Reeves! there's some trivia for you.
1993, Scottish band TEENAGE FANCLUB. The video is probably one of Spike's least cool. No weird concept or nothing. The band is pretty sweet but the album this song is off of got destroyed by critics. This was probably due to the fact that they got way too much critical love earlier in their career. Like bukake levels of critical jizzing. Their previous album "bandwagonesque" beat out Nirvana's Nevermind in Spin's year end record of the year poll. Whatever, this song (HANG ON) is good. I also gotta rep my Glasgow set.
1995, now we move into the big budget shit. Sweet french house groupe DAFT PUNK. DA FUNK is the song. And the video is a fucking MAN DOG chilling in NYC. Nuff fuckin said.
1997. Another NOTORIOUS B.I.G. song, SKY'S THE LIMIT. Probably one of the best video's ever. A posthumous Biggie track. Little kids fill in for lil cease and co. Just seeing children having fun in the hip hop high life kinda evokes the childhood dreams a young Christopher Wallace had of leaving his world of squalor. This shit is inspirational, get inspired.
bonus shit:
A colin theriault quote: "THREE JEWISH BOYS FROM NEW YORK RE WRITING THE RULES OF RAP"
Weezer have always been WAY overrated in my eyes, like Lil Wayne overrated. This video is still a mental concept and the song is nice, maybe half chubb worthy.
Spike Jonze = best video director of all time.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
He drinks a lager drink
Grade 6 official transition between sweatpants and jeans. Grade 7 burgeoning teenager. This is a tale of the year 1997. I was in a new school due to rezoning. The student Machiavellian politics were thrown into chaos. Lost, I started to really get into music as well as having my first real introduction to hip hop due to being in a class with a bunch of Haitians who knew what was up. It was a new world for my earz. My music was still limited to what radio and television showed me but looking back on my tastes I think you can see the seeds of coolness.
Grade 7-8 Iain still had a weird feeling of loyalty to guitar driven music. One song that I shat my pants for in 97 was BLINK 182's DAMMIT. It was also the anthem at Camp Air-Eau-Bois during the summer of 98. But it was pop punk which led me to punk to hardcore and back to pop punk. That's why I say for 100 fucking dumbasses that like my chemical romance there will be 1 really cool guy who will become a music nerd and 1 ugly duckling girl that will blossom into a hot scene chick. Be nice to uggos cause they can get right over the summer! First day of school jaw drops ftw. I still really love this song. Straight pleasure with no guilt.
Staying inside punk shit I discovered PENNYWISE off a shitty compilation album, think big shiny tunes). These comps is was what kids did pre-mp3s to get the one off songs they wanted cause you didn't want to risk spending 15 bucks on a full album that had one song you liked and a bunch that sucked. (ie: i mother earth). The song was SOCIETY. I never saw the video on tv because it was banned. Later on in high school I felt bad for so call "punk kids" who told me Pennywise was the "real shit" when I was trying to tell them about local hardcore shows. This song did a lot to get me interested in politics though. I just found out this year that they were a legit HC act in Cali during the 80's. Kinda ironic.
The next song changed my life the most. HYPNOTIZE by THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. who to this day still is one of my absolute favorite artists. Hypnotize even more so than Wu Tang made me see why Hip Hop was superior to the top 40 rock I was digging at the time. I had to give it up. Biggie was also obese like my obese childhood self. Kind of dorky to say that he gave me confidence in being cool and a fatass, he helped me have swagger. Shit my school picture that year my lips looked really big and I wasn't smiling and said Haitians started calling me white biggie or biggie blanc. I had zero problem with being called that. Today I am much less fat but I still dig the big. As time went on I went beyond liking the pop aspects of biggies career and got into the pristine beautifully constructed coke raps that are very introspective. I give you the video that made hip hop THE mainstream music.
Bonus:
For English class that year we had to make a commercial for something. We did ours for Adidas basketball sneakers. I was a fat Russian exchange student who sucked at basketball. I strap on the sneaks and BLOCK ROCKIN BEATS by THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS comes on in the backround and I dunk on a bunch of kids. We had pretty nifty special effect tricks to make it look like I was for real dunkin and got a dude's dad to layer the music on top of the images. I wish I had that tape.
97 was a great year.
Grade 7-8 Iain still had a weird feeling of loyalty to guitar driven music. One song that I shat my pants for in 97 was BLINK 182's DAMMIT. It was also the anthem at Camp Air-Eau-Bois during the summer of 98. But it was pop punk which led me to punk to hardcore and back to pop punk. That's why I say for 100 fucking dumbasses that like my chemical romance there will be 1 really cool guy who will become a music nerd and 1 ugly duckling girl that will blossom into a hot scene chick. Be nice to uggos cause they can get right over the summer! First day of school jaw drops ftw. I still really love this song. Straight pleasure with no guilt.
Staying inside punk shit I discovered PENNYWISE off a shitty compilation album, think big shiny tunes). These comps is was what kids did pre-mp3s to get the one off songs they wanted cause you didn't want to risk spending 15 bucks on a full album that had one song you liked and a bunch that sucked. (ie: i mother earth). The song was SOCIETY. I never saw the video on tv because it was banned. Later on in high school I felt bad for so call "punk kids" who told me Pennywise was the "real shit" when I was trying to tell them about local hardcore shows. This song did a lot to get me interested in politics though. I just found out this year that they were a legit HC act in Cali during the 80's. Kinda ironic.
The next song changed my life the most. HYPNOTIZE by THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. who to this day still is one of my absolute favorite artists. Hypnotize even more so than Wu Tang made me see why Hip Hop was superior to the top 40 rock I was digging at the time. I had to give it up. Biggie was also obese like my obese childhood self. Kind of dorky to say that he gave me confidence in being cool and a fatass, he helped me have swagger. Shit my school picture that year my lips looked really big and I wasn't smiling and said Haitians started calling me white biggie or biggie blanc. I had zero problem with being called that. Today I am much less fat but I still dig the big. As time went on I went beyond liking the pop aspects of biggies career and got into the pristine beautifully constructed coke raps that are very introspective. I give you the video that made hip hop THE mainstream music.
Bonus:
For English class that year we had to make a commercial for something. We did ours for Adidas basketball sneakers. I was a fat Russian exchange student who sucked at basketball. I strap on the sneaks and BLOCK ROCKIN BEATS by THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS comes on in the backround and I dunk on a bunch of kids. We had pretty nifty special effect tricks to make it look like I was for real dunkin and got a dude's dad to layer the music on top of the images. I wish I had that tape.
97 was a great year.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
not even on crutches
Sup bitches and bitchettes, big baby campbell getting back on his bloggin grizzy right about now, let's make this happen. Today's theme will be related to one of the things I hate the most in the entire world. England. I fucking hate England. My dad is Scottish(f.o.b.) my mom is Québécoise it's in my genetic make up to hate the vile country. There is one thing I do like about them that isn't Kiera Knightley related though, their pussy ass 80's music. Whenever I want to listen to sappy depressing shit I turn to 1980's England.
First off on our broken anglo heart hitlist is NEW ORDER. Out of the ashes of the arguably better and more depressing Joy Divison rises New Order. Both names had to do with Nazi Germany.... ughh I guess they didn't have shaved heads and suspenders so it's cool to like them? Anyways after Ian Curtis killed himself the surviving members wanted to be more Dave Grohl than Kris Novoselic and carry on making music and capitalize on a suicide. New Order being much more synthesizer infused and I guess happier due to the dancier vibez. Anyways the song is BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE which is a kinda weird video and you can tell the director wanted to use all the video special effects he could. The song is one of my all time favorites in terms of lyrics and it was my improv team's intro song for my last game ever... the memories...
Our next song is actually pre 80's coming out in 1979. THE CURE. Back in the day when I was first starting to watch musiqueplus the lead singer Robert Smith use to scare the shit out of me. The hair and the paleness... The song is BOYS DONT CRY and this is one of my loser sappy songs that I feel immense personal attachment to. It's fuckin called BOYS DONT CRY, christ i'm pathetic. Robert Smith really bashed this period of his career because it was too superficial. I, however, am super superficial and postpunk/new wave appeals to me way more than his "goth"rock phase. The video is really cool but it's a remixed version of the song that was disliked by fans compared to the O.G. . I agree with this but the differences really aren't that huge. EN-FUCKIN-JOY!
Oh baby and now for the emperor of all pussies. The only celibate that gets artsy girls' vags to get crazy moist. The sad kids' bands of today have nothing on the angst that Morissey and THE SMITHS brought to the emotional table. A band that I would consider universally loved amongst punk/hc/indie kids. I being the black sheep (but sheep none the less) also fall in line for having a diamond hard erection for this band. Easily one of the most influential bands of all time. I was going to link my favorite song by them "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" but I found the video to be too abstract especially considering the NEW ORDER one was already abstract enough. So I picked a live performance from the legendary BBC show The Old Grey Whistle Test. Get those dvds to see the hugest bands ever before they broke (an unsigned bob marley!). The song is BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN followed by Vicar in a Tutu. Greeeeat song. Extra points if you check out the Slapshot cover of that track. NOOF!
BONUS SHIT:
Yeah yeah you saw the Joy Division movie and this song clearly shows who Interpol's favorite band is... Not hating just being real.
First off on our broken anglo heart hitlist is NEW ORDER. Out of the ashes of the arguably better and more depressing Joy Divison rises New Order. Both names had to do with Nazi Germany.... ughh I guess they didn't have shaved heads and suspenders so it's cool to like them? Anyways after Ian Curtis killed himself the surviving members wanted to be more Dave Grohl than Kris Novoselic and carry on making music and capitalize on a suicide. New Order being much more synthesizer infused and I guess happier due to the dancier vibez. Anyways the song is BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE which is a kinda weird video and you can tell the director wanted to use all the video special effects he could. The song is one of my all time favorites in terms of lyrics and it was my improv team's intro song for my last game ever... the memories...
Our next song is actually pre 80's coming out in 1979. THE CURE. Back in the day when I was first starting to watch musiqueplus the lead singer Robert Smith use to scare the shit out of me. The hair and the paleness... The song is BOYS DONT CRY and this is one of my loser sappy songs that I feel immense personal attachment to. It's fuckin called BOYS DONT CRY, christ i'm pathetic. Robert Smith really bashed this period of his career because it was too superficial. I, however, am super superficial and postpunk/new wave appeals to me way more than his "goth"rock phase. The video is really cool but it's a remixed version of the song that was disliked by fans compared to the O.G. . I agree with this but the differences really aren't that huge. EN-FUCKIN-JOY!
Oh baby and now for the emperor of all pussies. The only celibate that gets artsy girls' vags to get crazy moist. The sad kids' bands of today have nothing on the angst that Morissey and THE SMITHS brought to the emotional table. A band that I would consider universally loved amongst punk/hc/indie kids. I being the black sheep (but sheep none the less) also fall in line for having a diamond hard erection for this band. Easily one of the most influential bands of all time. I was going to link my favorite song by them "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" but I found the video to be too abstract especially considering the NEW ORDER one was already abstract enough. So I picked a live performance from the legendary BBC show The Old Grey Whistle Test. Get those dvds to see the hugest bands ever before they broke (an unsigned bob marley!). The song is BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN followed by Vicar in a Tutu. Greeeeat song. Extra points if you check out the Slapshot cover of that track. NOOF!
BONUS SHIT:
Yeah yeah you saw the Joy Division movie and this song clearly shows who Interpol's favorite band is... Not hating just being real.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
then delay my system when you are near.
I love hip hop in most of it's forms. And I do like "conscious hip hop" the whole children of KRS ONE type of thing. HOWEVER, the genre always makes the claim that it is the only "real hip hop"and everything else is fake unless you've got a guy in an Adidas tracksuit breaking while an Asian is painting graffiti. They are like a god damned religion. Well let me tell you something, hip hop was not started by whiteboys and rich blacks with the goal of educating others about shit. It was started at parties based out of dance music (disco). Hip hop is not just about becoming conscious it's also there to make you unconscious by way of partying. AH HA! you're thinking i'm gonna do a post about beach cruisers and 2 live crew, hell no. This post is about subgenres of hiphop/dance music that have emerged around the world. It's time to get your passport of awesomeness stamped were going for a ride!
Starting our trip is diplo discovered BONDE DO ROLE the coolest Brazilians this side of Renzo Gracie. Bonde Do Role have been popular amongst hipster circles for awhile now and have recently lost their lead singer (m.c.?) Marina (the girl) apparently they have replaced her by a girl who got part of her vag removed to win an mtv brasil contest... That kind of describes their overall feel. Technically the genre is called Funk Crarioca (meaning funk from Rio) but outside of Brazil it is known as Baile Funk. Baile apparently means prom. So it's all about partying. Generally simple beats with a lot of samples with sung/shouted lyrics. Bonde Do Role being my only live Baile Funk experience and I gotta they say that it's pretty mental. The song is OFFICE BOY because I like the video the most that being said you should all download/buy their album WITH LASERS.
Moving from Portuguese to Spanish we are going to explore the world of Reggaeton. Another misleading name. Where Baile Funk doesn't sound like Funk Reggaeton doesn't really sound like reggae. This type of music started by afro-panamanians translating their favorite reggae hit. It's modern form though comes from the "Dem Bow" beat which was popularized by dancehall reggae artist Shabba Ranks. It's a beat that goes sorta goes like "boom-ch-boom-chick". This beat is like on every single Reggaeton song and it's the main thing that differentiates it from hispaniphone hiphop. Most of the genre's artists come from Puerto Rico (where american hip hop had an earlier influence.). You probably heard of the featured artist DADDY YANKEE who really broke reggaeton into mainstream music. The song is called GANGSTA ZONE chosen due to it's toughness. It also features Snoop.
Finally we have an as of yet unnamed genre. Electro hip-hop, synthpop etc. I call it electro hip-hop. It's biggest point of origin would be in France and has spread in the francophone world. Montréal now spawning the more artists. Essentially hip-hop on dance influenced or sometimes straight electro dance beats. The lyrics also are devoid of any politics or tough guy stuff. It's generally about clothing and fucking. Needless to say I eat this shit up. It is NOT to be confused with traditional French hip hop which has existed for a long time. France is the second country to have adopted hip hop and the sound is very very east coast. TTC is the biggest group out of this new genre and the group I will feature. TTC is not the toronto transit commission, it stands for Teki Latex, Tido Berman and Cuizinier, the three MCs of the group. Yelle also falls into this genre although a bit less hip-hop. The video I chose is TRAVAILLER. Spankrock (who have worked with Cuizinier) are similar but to my knowledge have evolved independently of the French influence. Enjoy this sweet video.
Our bonus track is a TEKI LATEX solo song featuring franco-belgian popstar Lio, it's called LES MATINS DE PARIS. People in France have been criticizing that TTC are becoming too pop I don't really have a problem though. Apparently their next album is going back to the roots. This video is really beautiful, get psyched.
Starting our trip is diplo discovered BONDE DO ROLE the coolest Brazilians this side of Renzo Gracie. Bonde Do Role have been popular amongst hipster circles for awhile now and have recently lost their lead singer (m.c.?) Marina (the girl) apparently they have replaced her by a girl who got part of her vag removed to win an mtv brasil contest... That kind of describes their overall feel. Technically the genre is called Funk Crarioca (meaning funk from Rio) but outside of Brazil it is known as Baile Funk. Baile apparently means prom. So it's all about partying. Generally simple beats with a lot of samples with sung/shouted lyrics. Bonde Do Role being my only live Baile Funk experience and I gotta they say that it's pretty mental. The song is OFFICE BOY because I like the video the most that being said you should all download/buy their album WITH LASERS.
Moving from Portuguese to Spanish we are going to explore the world of Reggaeton. Another misleading name. Where Baile Funk doesn't sound like Funk Reggaeton doesn't really sound like reggae. This type of music started by afro-panamanians translating their favorite reggae hit. It's modern form though comes from the "Dem Bow" beat which was popularized by dancehall reggae artist Shabba Ranks. It's a beat that goes sorta goes like "boom-ch-boom-chick". This beat is like on every single Reggaeton song and it's the main thing that differentiates it from hispaniphone hiphop. Most of the genre's artists come from Puerto Rico (where american hip hop had an earlier influence.). You probably heard of the featured artist DADDY YANKEE who really broke reggaeton into mainstream music. The song is called GANGSTA ZONE chosen due to it's toughness. It also features Snoop.
Finally we have an as of yet unnamed genre. Electro hip-hop, synthpop etc. I call it electro hip-hop. It's biggest point of origin would be in France and has spread in the francophone world. Montréal now spawning the more artists. Essentially hip-hop on dance influenced or sometimes straight electro dance beats. The lyrics also are devoid of any politics or tough guy stuff. It's generally about clothing and fucking. Needless to say I eat this shit up. It is NOT to be confused with traditional French hip hop which has existed for a long time. France is the second country to have adopted hip hop and the sound is very very east coast. TTC is the biggest group out of this new genre and the group I will feature. TTC is not the toronto transit commission, it stands for Teki Latex, Tido Berman and Cuizinier, the three MCs of the group. Yelle also falls into this genre although a bit less hip-hop. The video I chose is TRAVAILLER. Spankrock (who have worked with Cuizinier) are similar but to my knowledge have evolved independently of the French influence. Enjoy this sweet video.
Our bonus track is a TEKI LATEX solo song featuring franco-belgian popstar Lio, it's called LES MATINS DE PARIS. People in France have been criticizing that TTC are becoming too pop I don't really have a problem though. Apparently their next album is going back to the roots. This video is really beautiful, get psyched.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
life as (looking for) a shorty shouldn't be so rough
Today's theme is love. My love. My love for celebrity musician ladies. Simple hotness is not enough to make the list. It's a conjuncture of beauty, STYLE and my love of their music. The women you will see today are all celebrities that, if I met them, the situation would become ultra awkward due to me actually being in love with them. I would abandon my own children for a simple afternoon of hand holding with these mamasitas.
First up is a young woman who has gotten a lot of attention these past years. You might already know her story about her Sri Lankan origin so I'm not going to bore you with that. M.I.A.'s music is straight up awesome arular and kala are easily in my most listened albums on my ipod. She is also a great visual artist and her badassness is unmatched (she was on a terrorism watch list in the u.s.). She also talks about the world wide ghetto which appeals to my white man's guilt. seriously though her videos reminds of the last city bus to leave my high school aka united nations of hood. My chances of getting with her: medium. due to the fact I have U.K. citizenship and could relocate just for her if need be. The song is her first single GALANG I chose this because its the video that showcases her beautiful face the most. When I saw her live I felt like what I imagine first time heroine use to be like.
In a similar vein we have french electrop pop/rap superstar YELLE. Now she's a special case for me. Her biggest hit and the video I am showcasing JE VEUX TE VOIR is a straight up diss track against a previously featured artist Cuizinier. I think she realizes that her fame is based off of his name though. It's like a hot girl that you will temporarily sacrifice key guy friendships for. But I dunno she's so hot she might just be "the girl who ruined iain"for my friends. Sigh... My chances of getting with her: high she's pretty much my age, we have the same native tongue and we have similar interests and backgrounds. Her style is out of this world and she's so hot that she almost makes me feel ugly :( When I saw her live it was like having little cherubs playing music in my heart.
Finally we have CAT POWER aka Chan Marshall. The odd one out. Not poppy or fun but folky and sad. Her voice is super haunting. At first I didn't like her music that much cause it sort of depressed me too much but as I have grown older and the weight of modern life crushes my soul I have started listening to this on a daily basis. Earlier in the blog's life I said that depressed girls suck me in, well she falls into this category. The song is called LIVED IN BARS which I find to be more upbeat than a lot of her stuff. Like for the other videos today it was chosen for hotness showcase more than me loving the song. chances of me and Chan being together: very low. She's a lot older than me and has other shit to deal with. If it would work out her bummed out state would be a black hole consuming and destroying all my love. THAT BEING SAID when I saw her in concert I swear to fucking god we made eye contact and it was magical. (i totally sounded like BSB fan there.).
BONUS: not françoise hardy because she will be back later BUT some MINOR THREAT! wait what? Check the clip at around 35 seconds a girl comes up and starts singing along. I love you mystery girl, wherever you are! The song is called FILLER and it's amazing.
First up is a young woman who has gotten a lot of attention these past years. You might already know her story about her Sri Lankan origin so I'm not going to bore you with that. M.I.A.'s music is straight up awesome arular and kala are easily in my most listened albums on my ipod. She is also a great visual artist and her badassness is unmatched (she was on a terrorism watch list in the u.s.). She also talks about the world wide ghetto which appeals to my white man's guilt. seriously though her videos reminds of the last city bus to leave my high school aka united nations of hood. My chances of getting with her: medium. due to the fact I have U.K. citizenship and could relocate just for her if need be. The song is her first single GALANG I chose this because its the video that showcases her beautiful face the most. When I saw her live I felt like what I imagine first time heroine use to be like.
In a similar vein we have french electrop pop/rap superstar YELLE. Now she's a special case for me. Her biggest hit and the video I am showcasing JE VEUX TE VOIR is a straight up diss track against a previously featured artist Cuizinier. I think she realizes that her fame is based off of his name though. It's like a hot girl that you will temporarily sacrifice key guy friendships for. But I dunno she's so hot she might just be "the girl who ruined iain"for my friends. Sigh... My chances of getting with her: high she's pretty much my age, we have the same native tongue and we have similar interests and backgrounds. Her style is out of this world and she's so hot that she almost makes me feel ugly :( When I saw her live it was like having little cherubs playing music in my heart.
Finally we have CAT POWER aka Chan Marshall. The odd one out. Not poppy or fun but folky and sad. Her voice is super haunting. At first I didn't like her music that much cause it sort of depressed me too much but as I have grown older and the weight of modern life crushes my soul I have started listening to this on a daily basis. Earlier in the blog's life I said that depressed girls suck me in, well she falls into this category. The song is called LIVED IN BARS which I find to be more upbeat than a lot of her stuff. Like for the other videos today it was chosen for hotness showcase more than me loving the song. chances of me and Chan being together: very low. She's a lot older than me and has other shit to deal with. If it would work out her bummed out state would be a black hole consuming and destroying all my love. THAT BEING SAID when I saw her in concert I swear to fucking god we made eye contact and it was magical. (i totally sounded like BSB fan there.).
BONUS: not françoise hardy because she will be back later BUT some MINOR THREAT! wait what? Check the clip at around 35 seconds a girl comes up and starts singing along. I love you mystery girl, wherever you are! The song is called FILLER and it's amazing.
Monday, August 11, 2008
yo yo dye them walabees fuchsia son. hmmmmmm.
WU TANG WEEKEND WRAP UP!
Did not post this weekend cause I was in Toronto visiting Ottawa ex-pats. Open bar hipster parties are pretty sweet.
WU TANG WEEKEND WRAP UP! This post will be dedicated to members of the Wu Tang Clan. This one of my favorite groups ever. I really don't need to go into detail because you should already know what is. The first selection is probably their biggest single in terms of popularity when it came out. TRIUMPH is a really sweet song because almost every member has a verse on it. The video is not only wicked but it also introduces you to each member. I was 13 when this came out and it did a lot to get me into hip-hop. Music history also sees this a unique single as it is around 6 minutes (which is fuckin long single wise) and it has NO CHORUS. To me it embodies Wu Tang, it's just just crashes in to your house, makes out with your sister and steals a lamp. 13 year olds today have soldier boy...
We now venture into the Wu solo projects. RAEKWON ranks up high on my list of favorite MCs. His album Only Built For Cuban Linx is pretty much one of the best albums of the 90's and considered to be very influential in gangsta rap. But to me it's not really the mafia imagery on this that I like but the feeling of constantly looking over your shoulder and trying to make a living all the whilst going through a shitty life that it evokes. It's less yo I'm the shit but more the I'm trying to get out of the shit. In grade 7 this kid Gardy in my class looked exactly like him and it was hilarious, he had a love/hate relationship with that nickname. Anyways this song makes me think of being 15 in minus 30 weather trying to not get robbed at Elmvale and trying (and probably failing) to look tough while selling fake rolexes to 19 year old Rwandans. INCARCERATED SCARFACES BY RAEKWON THE CHEF.
We now arrive to the zenith of rawness. OL' DIRTY BASTARD, possibly one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time. One of those straight up mentally ill artists that is just light years beyond us normal kids, he's on that real Van Gogh shit. The song is BROOKLYN ZOO PROPER. This is just so punch you in the face. No one will ever be like Ason Unique. His entire first album (Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version) was entirely freestyled. Big Baby Jesus is Big Baby Campbell approved. If you don't like this, not only are you not my friend but I hope you never reproduce and raise hater kids. ENJOY.
BONUS CACA:
Don't worry there will be many more Wu Tang Weekend Wrap Ups where we will cover other members. In the meantime we will stick to ODB. He's called the bastard because there is no father to his style. I leave you with an AMAZING interview and drunken freestlye/poem/something. ODB RIP.
Did not post this weekend cause I was in Toronto visiting Ottawa ex-pats. Open bar hipster parties are pretty sweet.
WU TANG WEEKEND WRAP UP! This post will be dedicated to members of the Wu Tang Clan. This one of my favorite groups ever. I really don't need to go into detail because you should already know what is. The first selection is probably their biggest single in terms of popularity when it came out. TRIUMPH is a really sweet song because almost every member has a verse on it. The video is not only wicked but it also introduces you to each member. I was 13 when this came out and it did a lot to get me into hip-hop. Music history also sees this a unique single as it is around 6 minutes (which is fuckin long single wise) and it has NO CHORUS. To me it embodies Wu Tang, it's just just crashes in to your house, makes out with your sister and steals a lamp. 13 year olds today have soldier boy...
We now venture into the Wu solo projects. RAEKWON ranks up high on my list of favorite MCs. His album Only Built For Cuban Linx is pretty much one of the best albums of the 90's and considered to be very influential in gangsta rap. But to me it's not really the mafia imagery on this that I like but the feeling of constantly looking over your shoulder and trying to make a living all the whilst going through a shitty life that it evokes. It's less yo I'm the shit but more the I'm trying to get out of the shit. In grade 7 this kid Gardy in my class looked exactly like him and it was hilarious, he had a love/hate relationship with that nickname. Anyways this song makes me think of being 15 in minus 30 weather trying to not get robbed at Elmvale and trying (and probably failing) to look tough while selling fake rolexes to 19 year old Rwandans. INCARCERATED SCARFACES BY RAEKWON THE CHEF.
We now arrive to the zenith of rawness. OL' DIRTY BASTARD, possibly one of the greatest musical geniuses of our time. One of those straight up mentally ill artists that is just light years beyond us normal kids, he's on that real Van Gogh shit. The song is BROOKLYN ZOO PROPER. This is just so punch you in the face. No one will ever be like Ason Unique. His entire first album (Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version) was entirely freestyled. Big Baby Jesus is Big Baby Campbell approved. If you don't like this, not only are you not my friend but I hope you never reproduce and raise hater kids. ENJOY.
BONUS CACA:
Don't worry there will be many more Wu Tang Weekend Wrap Ups where we will cover other members. In the meantime we will stick to ODB. He's called the bastard because there is no father to his style. I leave you with an AMAZING interview and drunken freestlye/poem/something. ODB RIP.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
good ol' boyz n tha hood drinkin whisky an' rye
It's back to theme time. Boy, I know you love dem themez.
Whenever I ask some girl that looks uninteresting what music she's into, 7 times out of 10 she will give a vague answer like "I'm into every type of music apart from country". Well folks, that's one of the shittiest things a person can say. Country and related genres offer us sweet tracks. The theme today isn't necessarily country but songs that make me want to move to North Carolina and live on a farm with other artists and fucking enjoy the Appalachian mountains and sit around a campfire every night. So it's more like country-swamp-acoustic rockish folk themed.
To begin we have one of the only English Canadians I truly love. The list is small, it includes Terry Fox, some but not all close friends and NEIL YOUNG. Good lord this man is a genius. I once obliged an ex girlfriend to listen to all of Harvest while getting drunk instead of going to a club. And it's shit like that that makes me love the face I see in the mirror every morning. The song is Old Man a pure bone chilling classic. Deal with it.
The next band on our journey is probably my favorite 70's band, (including early punk and anything else that would seem cooler) CCMFR. What you don't know who CCMFR are? well it's an acronym for CREEDENCE CLEARWATER MOTHER FUCKING REVIVAL. Most of you will know them by their later name of CCR (The label made them take out the mother fucking). The song is Lookin'out My Back Door. I picked it cause it seemed more rural than other options. People thought it was about drugs when it first came out but apparently it was written for John Fogerty's 3 year old kid. Kinda fucked up that in our modern society if you like to dream you're either a 3 year old or on acid... (wow that sounded lame). The video also contains leather pants!
In closing we have one of my favorite straight up human beings of all time, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON. This guy has to be the coolest and most badass dude of all time. He made the cover of sports illustrated when he was in university cause he excelled at rugby, football and track and field. He also was a fucking RHODES SCHOLAR in English literature. After that he did a stint in the Army, rising up to the rank of captain. He was writing songs during that time and once he got out started an amazing music career after which he became a celebrated actor appearing in a lot of Sam Peckinpah's films. He wrote Me and Bobby McGee which is the song that Janis Joplin is most remembered by. The clip I chose is of Sunday Mornin Comin Down off his first album and that was made ultra-popular by Johnny Cash. In this video he breaks into laughter a couple of times, probably due to the fact he is surrounded by like 30 cowboys. My dream is to be like him. I am doing a Master's, I am in the process of recording shitty electro-rap songs and I am appearing in a shitty movie. I have nick named myself K.K. Junes (aka Kris Kristofferson junior). Enjoy the amazing song.
Whenever I ask some girl that looks uninteresting what music she's into, 7 times out of 10 she will give a vague answer like "I'm into every type of music apart from country". Well folks, that's one of the shittiest things a person can say. Country and related genres offer us sweet tracks. The theme today isn't necessarily country but songs that make me want to move to North Carolina and live on a farm with other artists and fucking enjoy the Appalachian mountains and sit around a campfire every night. So it's more like country-swamp-acoustic rockish folk themed.
To begin we have one of the only English Canadians I truly love. The list is small, it includes Terry Fox, some but not all close friends and NEIL YOUNG. Good lord this man is a genius. I once obliged an ex girlfriend to listen to all of Harvest while getting drunk instead of going to a club. And it's shit like that that makes me love the face I see in the mirror every morning. The song is Old Man a pure bone chilling classic. Deal with it.
The next band on our journey is probably my favorite 70's band, (including early punk and anything else that would seem cooler) CCMFR. What you don't know who CCMFR are? well it's an acronym for CREEDENCE CLEARWATER MOTHER FUCKING REVIVAL. Most of you will know them by their later name of CCR (The label made them take out the mother fucking). The song is Lookin'out My Back Door. I picked it cause it seemed more rural than other options. People thought it was about drugs when it first came out but apparently it was written for John Fogerty's 3 year old kid. Kinda fucked up that in our modern society if you like to dream you're either a 3 year old or on acid... (wow that sounded lame). The video also contains leather pants!
In closing we have one of my favorite straight up human beings of all time, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON. This guy has to be the coolest and most badass dude of all time. He made the cover of sports illustrated when he was in university cause he excelled at rugby, football and track and field. He also was a fucking RHODES SCHOLAR in English literature. After that he did a stint in the Army, rising up to the rank of captain. He was writing songs during that time and once he got out started an amazing music career after which he became a celebrated actor appearing in a lot of Sam Peckinpah's films. He wrote Me and Bobby McGee which is the song that Janis Joplin is most remembered by. The clip I chose is of Sunday Mornin Comin Down off his first album and that was made ultra-popular by Johnny Cash. In this video he breaks into laughter a couple of times, probably due to the fact he is surrounded by like 30 cowboys. My dream is to be like him. I am doing a Master's, I am in the process of recording shitty electro-rap songs and I am appearing in a shitty movie. I have nick named myself K.K. Junes (aka Kris Kristofferson junior). Enjoy the amazing song.
A dreaded sunny day
No theme today. That's fine though cause there's always the overlying theme of awesomeness that is omnipresent.
First up at bat is one of my favorite hardcore bands of all time, YOUTH OF TODAY. I've been hearing a lot of music snobs hate on either : hardcore in general or specifically anything that isn't part of the first wave of hardcore or the almost unlistenable screamo-ish subgenres (note that I said almost because I listen to some of that as well). These kids used to listen to this but now listen to garage rock influenced punk and drink way too much. I also drink way too much but I don't forget my ROOTS. Ok, so this song is called NO MORE off We're Not in This Alone which came out in the super important hardcore year of 1988. I picked this song because it has a music video for it and that is really rare for HC bands of that era. The song did a lot to get vegan/vegetarian ideals inside of hardcore which is pretty cool. Now mind you, the video is hilariously low budget but the parts with Ray Cappo in the varsity jacket are pretty cool. You can feel the youthful energy and honesty which is rare in a lot of bands we like. Also, HC pioneering fashion styles once again. There are designer varsity jackets that go for ridiculous cash these days when HC bands have been making their own for years. Too much talk not enough rock. do it.
Deuxièmement is MALAJUBE. A Québécois indie group with French lyrics that has actually gotten attention in the English Canadian (and American) media which is very rare. They have also said they won't ever sing in English. Not enough French kids get this. Like in punk or indie the chances of making millions is pretty rare so why bend over backwards to sing in English when doing it French will give you cool kind of niche appeal to the losers over at pitchfork. (ironically coming from a French guy writing his obscure blog in English!) You might recognize this song as it was featured on a rogers wireless commercial... Whatever I'm not going to hate on a brother stacking his paper high. The video is beautifully animated as well. Anyways I love this band and you should to.
In conclusion we have the best rappers alive THE CLIPSE. Every single music critic in the world has the veiniest of bones for these guys and with good reason. These guys are the living incarnation of The Notorious B.I.G. in terms of never ever dropping a line, toughness and pure style. The song I chose is off the upcoming Re-Up Gang album (their larger group featuring Sandman and Ab-liva). Now what's interesting about this song is that it is on a Scott Storch beat as opposed to the constant collaboration with The Neptunes. In their past mixtape there's been a feeling of friction between the longtime buddies. Having a non Neptune beat makes me feel like they might have a broader Top 40 appeal. I say this because they always got the best and therefore weirdest Neptune beats. So I give you the low budget video (by rap standards) for the song FAST LIFE. Take some time to listen to these great lyrics.
No bonus features when there is no theme of the day. Stay gold!
First up at bat is one of my favorite hardcore bands of all time, YOUTH OF TODAY. I've been hearing a lot of music snobs hate on either : hardcore in general or specifically anything that isn't part of the first wave of hardcore or the almost unlistenable screamo-ish subgenres (note that I said almost because I listen to some of that as well). These kids used to listen to this but now listen to garage rock influenced punk and drink way too much. I also drink way too much but I don't forget my ROOTS. Ok, so this song is called NO MORE off We're Not in This Alone which came out in the super important hardcore year of 1988. I picked this song because it has a music video for it and that is really rare for HC bands of that era. The song did a lot to get vegan/vegetarian ideals inside of hardcore which is pretty cool. Now mind you, the video is hilariously low budget but the parts with Ray Cappo in the varsity jacket are pretty cool. You can feel the youthful energy and honesty which is rare in a lot of bands we like. Also, HC pioneering fashion styles once again. There are designer varsity jackets that go for ridiculous cash these days when HC bands have been making their own for years. Too much talk not enough rock. do it.
Deuxièmement is MALAJUBE. A Québécois indie group with French lyrics that has actually gotten attention in the English Canadian (and American) media which is very rare. They have also said they won't ever sing in English. Not enough French kids get this. Like in punk or indie the chances of making millions is pretty rare so why bend over backwards to sing in English when doing it French will give you cool kind of niche appeal to the losers over at pitchfork. (ironically coming from a French guy writing his obscure blog in English!) You might recognize this song as it was featured on a rogers wireless commercial... Whatever I'm not going to hate on a brother stacking his paper high. The video is beautifully animated as well. Anyways I love this band and you should to.
In conclusion we have the best rappers alive THE CLIPSE. Every single music critic in the world has the veiniest of bones for these guys and with good reason. These guys are the living incarnation of The Notorious B.I.G. in terms of never ever dropping a line, toughness and pure style. The song I chose is off the upcoming Re-Up Gang album (their larger group featuring Sandman and Ab-liva). Now what's interesting about this song is that it is on a Scott Storch beat as opposed to the constant collaboration with The Neptunes. In their past mixtape there's been a feeling of friction between the longtime buddies. Having a non Neptune beat makes me feel like they might have a broader Top 40 appeal. I say this because they always got the best and therefore weirdest Neptune beats. So I give you the low budget video (by rap standards) for the song FAST LIFE. Take some time to listen to these great lyrics.
No bonus features when there is no theme of the day. Stay gold!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
hail hail the celts are here.
My father is a Scottish immigrant. Most of my relatives live in Scotland. I have been there many times. I think I feel another theme coming along! AWESOME SCOTTISH MUSIC!!!!! I find it very ironic that for a country (and more specifically the city of Glasgow) that is known for toughness, shitty weather and religiously affiliated gang violence has very very very soft sounding musical stand outs. I guess that's what a lifetime of rain will do to you, sad songs and fighting.
Starting with a more recent group, Belle & Sebastian. Kinda obvious if you are into music but whatever I'm not that guy, the music douche. I'm more of a jack of all trades douche who is lovable and pragmatic. That being said they are pretty legit, 2 of their founding members were named Stuart which makes them pretty Scottish. They also pulled an upset when they won best new group at the Brit awards. The front runners were 5ive. So props to fucking up 5ive's dreams. The video is Lazy Line Painter Jane a nice 5 minute jam. I really like the female vocalist.
My second pick is rapidly becoming my favorite Scottish band the legendary THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN. Stoners and pussies in way too tight jeans that I hate really fucking love them which would normally make me hate them but they are so good that they rise above that! They might be skinny weirdos but they have huge Glaswegian mouthes on them, they talk a gang of shit and it rules. I saw an old episode of The New Music from the mid 80's and they had random kids breaking in to their dressing room from a small window and they were completely apathetic like the shit was supposed to happen all the while the interviewer is like WTFFFF. The song I chose is JUST LIKE HONEY. This shit literally moves me. I'm so bonered for this tune that I'm paying my friend to paint a visual representation of the song. I wish I was kidding.
Now for the last selection I could have went for something more obvious like Mogwai or something but I decided to keep it 80's. I picked ALTERED IMAGES (a group that Jesus and Mary Chain dissed a lot). A new wave group that went from John Peel's and NME's darlings to big time sellouts. The song is called HAPPY BIRTHDAY and it was one of their biggest hits and the beginning of their transition from punky new wave to all out commercial pop. I would say it's a fun song but I really hate it when people say a song or a band is fun. It's like you don't want to say it's good cause you're an asshole. So I'm gonna say that the song is good, damn good.
BONUS TIME:
As you might know Scotland is not an independent state and it's something a lot of people want to see. The Corries are a really old folk group that wrote a song (FLOWER OF SCOTLAND) that became the national anthem. All Scots got sick of Scotland The Brave because it was tacky and it's the song everybody always plays on the bagpipes. Flower of Scotland is so much better. It's soft but it really gets you riled up. When will we be a nation again?
Starting with a more recent group, Belle & Sebastian. Kinda obvious if you are into music but whatever I'm not that guy, the music douche. I'm more of a jack of all trades douche who is lovable and pragmatic. That being said they are pretty legit, 2 of their founding members were named Stuart which makes them pretty Scottish. They also pulled an upset when they won best new group at the Brit awards. The front runners were 5ive. So props to fucking up 5ive's dreams. The video is Lazy Line Painter Jane a nice 5 minute jam. I really like the female vocalist.
My second pick is rapidly becoming my favorite Scottish band the legendary THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN. Stoners and pussies in way too tight jeans that I hate really fucking love them which would normally make me hate them but they are so good that they rise above that! They might be skinny weirdos but they have huge Glaswegian mouthes on them, they talk a gang of shit and it rules. I saw an old episode of The New Music from the mid 80's and they had random kids breaking in to their dressing room from a small window and they were completely apathetic like the shit was supposed to happen all the while the interviewer is like WTFFFF. The song I chose is JUST LIKE HONEY. This shit literally moves me. I'm so bonered for this tune that I'm paying my friend to paint a visual representation of the song. I wish I was kidding.
Now for the last selection I could have went for something more obvious like Mogwai or something but I decided to keep it 80's. I picked ALTERED IMAGES (a group that Jesus and Mary Chain dissed a lot). A new wave group that went from John Peel's and NME's darlings to big time sellouts. The song is called HAPPY BIRTHDAY and it was one of their biggest hits and the beginning of their transition from punky new wave to all out commercial pop. I would say it's a fun song but I really hate it when people say a song or a band is fun. It's like you don't want to say it's good cause you're an asshole. So I'm gonna say that the song is good, damn good.
BONUS TIME:
As you might know Scotland is not an independent state and it's something a lot of people want to see. The Corries are a really old folk group that wrote a song (FLOWER OF SCOTLAND) that became the national anthem. All Scots got sick of Scotland The Brave because it was tacky and it's the song everybody always plays on the bagpipes. Flower of Scotland is so much better. It's soft but it really gets you riled up. When will we be a nation again?
i: there's fuckin beauty in life zach, never forget that. z: word, god.
This post is influenced by some douchebag on a message board bashing my birthplace. The city (or former city) of Vanier a working class/poor and predominately French neighborhood. People bash it a lot and it pisses me off. These asshole kids are far removed from the areas they bash and forget or don't care that people live there, people with stories! My point is that a very significant portion of the world's best art comes from areas like Vanier. Shit, another place that gets a similar bad a rap is the state of NEW JERSEY. We've all heard the jokes. One thing though is that the state of New Jersey alone probably produced more awesome/important music than all of English Canada. Woops.
Now let's start with the most obvious of Jersey's glorious sons. Everybody loves him too no question about it. The beautiful stories he conveys could have very well taken place in Vanier. This is the type of inspiration you just can't get in the Glebe yo! Giving you one of his most popular songs which is ironically about yearning to leave Asbury Park.
Next up we have another one of the most critically acclaimed and universally loved artists of recent times in Lauryn Hill. Although I'm going to put up a Fugees song cause I feel like it. Praz and Wyclef were Haitian immigrants (HAÏTI!) and hooked up with jersey native Hill to create one of the most important hip hop groups of the 90's. One thing I love about this era was that every hip hop video had the artists in a secret agent mission type scenario. Vanier 2 - Westboro 0.
Finally we have what can be considered as my favorite band of all time, Lifetime. A seminal melodic hardcore band who's influence can be heard across a lot today's mainstream music. Not really working class and more crappy suburb influenced but 10000% jersey. This song is called Theme Song for a New Brunswick Basement Show. Much like Springsteen, Lifetime makes an ordinary event happening to ordinary people into an epic story. In this case just sitting down next to a girl at a shitty punk show. I saw them live at a reunion show in 2005 and I wish I had a clip from that show but this is pretty close they are playing the Stone Pony (a legendary Jersey venue). K.O. Vanier wins.
BONUS FEATURE!
And we have a bonus! The dark lords of suburban jersey the danzig era MISFITS! Unfortunately like so many awesome groups they inspired a lot of shit (any band that wears makeup that is not them). Whatever. This is a video from what I believe to be is a Detroit area public access show. Quality sucks but the interview is awesome.
Now let's start with the most obvious of Jersey's glorious sons. Everybody loves him too no question about it. The beautiful stories he conveys could have very well taken place in Vanier. This is the type of inspiration you just can't get in the Glebe yo! Giving you one of his most popular songs which is ironically about yearning to leave Asbury Park.
Next up we have another one of the most critically acclaimed and universally loved artists of recent times in Lauryn Hill. Although I'm going to put up a Fugees song cause I feel like it. Praz and Wyclef were Haitian immigrants (HAÏTI!) and hooked up with jersey native Hill to create one of the most important hip hop groups of the 90's. One thing I love about this era was that every hip hop video had the artists in a secret agent mission type scenario. Vanier 2 - Westboro 0.
Finally we have what can be considered as my favorite band of all time, Lifetime. A seminal melodic hardcore band who's influence can be heard across a lot today's mainstream music. Not really working class and more crappy suburb influenced but 10000% jersey. This song is called Theme Song for a New Brunswick Basement Show. Much like Springsteen, Lifetime makes an ordinary event happening to ordinary people into an epic story. In this case just sitting down next to a girl at a shitty punk show. I saw them live at a reunion show in 2005 and I wish I had a clip from that show but this is pretty close they are playing the Stone Pony (a legendary Jersey venue). K.O. Vanier wins.
BONUS FEATURE!
And we have a bonus! The dark lords of suburban jersey the danzig era MISFITS! Unfortunately like so many awesome groups they inspired a lot of shit (any band that wears makeup that is not them). Whatever. This is a video from what I believe to be is a Detroit area public access show. Quality sucks but the interview is awesome.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Yet theres still this appeal
Ok, so the second pillar of the blog is my love of the seventh motherfucking art aka cinema!
In 1988 my mother took to me to go see Bambi. I wasn't really paying attention cause I was talking to the little girl in front of me. When I got back to paying attention I turned to my mom and asked her where Bambi's mom (who had died earlier in the film) had gone. Awkward situation for my mom fer sure. My second movie (and the one that really blew my 5 year old mind) was GHOSTBUSTERS 2. 1989, I went with my dad. I was already a huge fan of the first one but seeing the busters at the cinema put me in awe of the big screen and the big sound. From then on I was hooked. That being said the blog will allow me to talk about my all time favorites and shit I just saw. WOO.
It's taste imposing time!
One if not my favorite movies of all time is Wes Anderson's Rushmore. I still remember the first time I saw this. My mom rented it when it first came out on VHS and we watched it on the crappier T.V. in her room. Definitely a flick that grew on me over time. As I watched it more and more I realized it was like one of those huge multi-tiered sandwiches that Garfield eats. Mmmmmmmm. Basically i love it because the music is perfect (one of the best end sequences in history), the use of color gives me boners, the fact that I was a lot like max fischer in high school ( I was in every club and had shit grades) aaaand Bill Murray is my favorite actor. To put it in a really corny and pathetic way, this movie makes me feel warm inside and I wish I could live inside of it. I leave you with one of my favorite speeches of all time (up there with M.L.K's "I have a dream".)
In 1988 my mother took to me to go see Bambi. I wasn't really paying attention cause I was talking to the little girl in front of me. When I got back to paying attention I turned to my mom and asked her where Bambi's mom (who had died earlier in the film) had gone. Awkward situation for my mom fer sure. My second movie (and the one that really blew my 5 year old mind) was GHOSTBUSTERS 2. 1989, I went with my dad. I was already a huge fan of the first one but seeing the busters at the cinema put me in awe of the big screen and the big sound. From then on I was hooked. That being said the blog will allow me to talk about my all time favorites and shit I just saw. WOO.
It's taste imposing time!
One if not my favorite movies of all time is Wes Anderson's Rushmore. I still remember the first time I saw this. My mom rented it when it first came out on VHS and we watched it on the crappier T.V. in her room. Definitely a flick that grew on me over time. As I watched it more and more I realized it was like one of those huge multi-tiered sandwiches that Garfield eats. Mmmmmmmm. Basically i love it because the music is perfect (one of the best end sequences in history), the use of color gives me boners, the fact that I was a lot like max fischer in high school ( I was in every club and had shit grades) aaaand Bill Murray is my favorite actor. To put it in a really corny and pathetic way, this movie makes me feel warm inside and I wish I could live inside of it. I leave you with one of my favorite speeches of all time (up there with M.L.K's "I have a dream".)
thug motherfuckers with our microphones out
One thing that I want to use this blog for is to talk about music that I really love and some people might not know about yet. Cutting and pasting youtube links will be a huge part of this blog. So let's get this started.
First off we have Françoise Hardy if you don't like her you're fucking stupid. She is one of the most beautiful people to have graced our earth. On top of that she WROTE HER OWN MUSIC which was pretty rare back in 60's pop music. She was signed to a major label before she graduated high school. Most of her lyrics had to do with being sad and I being a guy that likes girls who are depressed makes me dig her times a million. I give you "Mon ami la rose" a song about the fleetingness of beauty and friendship... sigh.
Then we have a low budget video from Cuizinier (the C in the french electro-hiphop juggernauts T.T.C.). It's called "Message perso" it's about getting over girls. Extra points for including expensive street wear, Mario Kart and a PINK KITCHEN. I love Young Cueezy, if you didn't now you do.
And finally EARLY 90'S HAWDCORE. Hardcore is like a mix between everything you loved about fascism (cleanliness, toughness and discipline) and punk (rebellion, partying hard and fucking shit up). Judge might not be my favorite HC group but I thought this video looked good and had a good quantity of stage dives. Stage diving is the funnest thing ever. More exhilarating than having a 100% clean slate on an uncertain S.T.I. test!
First off we have Françoise Hardy if you don't like her you're fucking stupid. She is one of the most beautiful people to have graced our earth. On top of that she WROTE HER OWN MUSIC which was pretty rare back in 60's pop music. She was signed to a major label before she graduated high school. Most of her lyrics had to do with being sad and I being a guy that likes girls who are depressed makes me dig her times a million. I give you "Mon ami la rose" a song about the fleetingness of beauty and friendship... sigh.
Then we have a low budget video from Cuizinier (the C in the french electro-hiphop juggernauts T.T.C.). It's called "Message perso" it's about getting over girls. Extra points for including expensive street wear, Mario Kart and a PINK KITCHEN. I love Young Cueezy, if you didn't now you do.
And finally EARLY 90'S HAWDCORE. Hardcore is like a mix between everything you loved about fascism (cleanliness, toughness and discipline) and punk (rebellion, partying hard and fucking shit up). Judge might not be my favorite HC group but I thought this video looked good and had a good quantity of stage dives. Stage diving is the funnest thing ever. More exhilarating than having a 100% clean slate on an uncertain S.T.I. test!
i want to touch people
So I decided to start a web log, specifically to share things with others. This video describes my motivations exactly. Buckle up.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/WcYk16W7WHQ">Click here to view video</a>
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