Groove is your heartbeat. It is feel, swing, and flow. You can notate rhythm, but you can’t notate groove. It cannot be conjured. It is a living, breathing, propulsive manifestation of rhythm. This blog is in its service.
The first single of their upcoming record Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 finds the Beastie Boys on firm Beastie ground. As far as hip hop traditionalism goes, it's not quite the return of the boom bap. The production is murky and heavy, making the mood of the tune slightly paranoid. The drums busily hack away at the beat while a distorted stream of bass, guitar, and sometimes turntables encircle the voices. Much like Erykah Badu's most recent record, the Beasties and Nas manage to sound simultaneously old school and futuristic.
"Too many rappers and there's still not enough MCs," Nas raps during the hook. MCA expounds on the wackness of said rappers in one of his verses: "Too many rappers to shake a stick at/I oughta charge a tax for every weak rap." No weak raps in this bunch. The mutual admiration society these veteran MCs belong to lash out at - what else - sucka RAPPERS and tell them who's boss.
[We wish MCA a swift recovery from his surgery due to a cancerous lymph node in his parotid gland.]
I was listening to Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim a few days ago and was thinking a lot about bossa nova and how it had inspired the most vapid elevator muzak. (Exhibit A: "The Girl From Ipanema.") It's unfortunate, because it is a rhythmically and melodically complex genre, paradoxically profound by being supremely breezy and easy to listen to. Also, most people in the U.S. know bossa nova only through saxophonist Stan Getz and his Getz/Gilberto record (which Jobim is featured on), so it is not difficult to see how the bossa nova cliche arose. Anyways, I woke up in the dead of night yesterday and thought, "Elis and Sade" and immediately fell back asleep. That's probably the craziest shit that has ever woken me.
After some reflection the next day, the main commonality I heard was the emotional restraint combined with the sexual longing. It must be terribly difficult to express vocally because the sentiments are at odds with each other. Elis and Sade are brilliant vocalists, but stealthily so. Here are two clips for you to decide. The first is "Pois E" by Elis and Jobim (whose nickname is Tom) from their album Elis & Tom, the second is by Sade, "Nothing Can Come Between Us." By the way, please focus on the voice, not the visuals, otherwise you'd call me crazy.
Well, it only took 22 years. Apple Corps and EMI have announced that the Beatles' albums will be remastered in individual stereo CDs and two box sets (one stereo, one mono) and released on September 9. The albums have been untouched since they were initially released on CD in 1987. Allan Kozinn writes that the remasters series "will include only the 12 albums the Beatles released in Britain from 1963 to 1970, from Please Please Me through Let It Be, along with Magical Mystery Tour — an American album that was originally released as a two-EP set in England — and the two-CD Past Masters compilation of the group’s nonalbum singles."
Looks like The Purple One digs the government's recovery plan.
Instead of releasing his upcoming albums through a big time label and packaging them individually in record shops, Prince will bundle his two new albums, LOtUSFLO3R and MPLSoUND, and his protege Bria Valente's Elixer, in one package for $11.98 starting March 29 exclusively at Target. That's a real bargain. Admit it, even though you don't really care about Valente's record, it's pretty sweet to pick up two new Prince records for about twelve bucks. And if Elixer turns out to be good - or even a'right - then that's just a lucky boon. Prince is another in a line of artists, including AC/DC, The Eagles, and Guns n' Roses who have exclusively released records via massive retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy. These retailers have been hit or miss with exclusive deals lately. AC/DC sold more than a million units while GNR has sold barely over 500,000.
1. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III 2. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges 3. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) 4. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night 5. Porter Batiste Stoltz - MOODOO 6. Metallica - Death Magnetic 7. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
And a few reissues... 8. Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue 9. Otis Redding - Otis Blue 10. Beck - Odelay
Pearl Jam is back in the studio with producer Brendan O'Brien for the first time in 11 years for their ninth studio album. They last collaborated on 1998's Yield. Bassist Jeff Ament says that vocalist Eddie Vedder just "keeps getting better." 2009 looks like it will be a busy year for Pearl Jam. On March 24, their debut album and grunge cornerstone Ten will be rereleased with brand new mastering and mixing, courtesy, of course, of one Mr. O'Brien. Here is a remixed Porch and fan fave B-side Brother.
I'm a journalist living in the U.S. by way of Venezuela, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. I received my B.A. from Bowdoin College and my master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University's Newhouse School. I worked as an editorial intern at Spin Magazine, publishing an album review in a recent issue. I've also written for RollingStone.com. Film and album reviews will be the focus of this blog, along with occasional musings on literature, politics, and life in exile. I enjoy go, flat fifths, double plays, and modal scales.
