The current rotation
(An update on what I’ve been listening to recently, mostly for myself to look back on years later. Doesn’t look too embarrassing.)
Shad – The Old Prince
Shadrach Kabango is the new hotness in the hip-hop rotation. He’s a Canadian rapper with crazy amounts of technique and personality, and writes with meaning to his songs without coming off as preachy, but only a few of his tracks have heavy subject matter. A fun-loving spirit and energy permeate a lot of his less-serious tracks, a similar vibe that you’d get from things like old J5 or Del. It’s neat that he seems to be on the up-and-up lately in the American scene. Right now he and his crew are on the Warped Tour, so we plan on heading to the Vinoy here in St. Pete to check him out. They’re blogging the trip, too, with videos and random messin’ around. Favorites: I Don’t Like To, Out of Love Pt. 2, Old Prince Still Lives at Home. The Old Prince recently dropped in the States, so you should buy it.
The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
I’ve been hearing of the Dirty Projectors for a number of years now, but never bothered to check them out. The band is the brainchild of singer/bandleader Dave Longstreth, and apparently is more or less fixed around a set group of 4 or 5 (?) people for this record. The way the vocals are layered together with the complex instrumentation really makes for some beautiful pieces of music. The sort of afro-pop quality to some of the tracks sounds unique for a band with so much orchestration. I’ve heard that Bitte Orca is more musical and rhythmic than their previous works, which are qualities I’m generally more drawn to, but I plan on checking out some more of their stuff considering the quality of this record. Favorites: No Intention, Useful Chamber, Remade Horizon. Highly recommended.
Discovery – LP
Discovery is a side project of Ra Ra Riot singer Wes Miles and Vampire Weekend keys player Rostam Batmanglij. Comparitively, the closest thing to their sound is the Postal Service, even though the sound only has a vague resemblance (2 guys from other groups, electronic, emo-ish). Personally, I like Discovery better. This record is wistful, emotional, and short, but it’s abbreviated length is a good thing. Too much of this chiptune-ish emo music can get grating after a while, but I really dig in in short listens. They get fall pretty deep into the current auto-tune craze with a number of the songs, for some reason, but it doesn’t bother me that much to listen to. Maybe because I think auto-tune fits better with electronic music than it does with club music and hip-hop, and also works better when the singer can actually sing, instead of using it to fix your bad vocals. Highlights: Orange Shirt, Can You Discover (Ra Ra Riot cover), I Want You Back (Jackson 5 cover).
Classics back in the mix:
Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Picked this up during an Amazon deal recently. Such a classic. So many of today’s indie artists owe everything to the sound of this record, and it’s younger brother, Sgt. Peppers.
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
The 20th anniversary remastered version of the Beastie masterpiece was released back in January, with better audio, a commentary track, and also the final medley (The Bouillabaisse) has been tracked into its separate sections. With this record, the Dust Brothers defined how sampling should be done in hip-hop: keep them organized and stylistically similar, and dig the crates for obscurity. They dredged up and introduced me to some great forgotten sounds from the 70s that I’ve since become a fan of. This isn’t really “back in the mix” because it never really leaves the mix. It’s a staple on the iPod.
Some quick dopeness from Shad…
Shad rips a track in front of the garage.
More of the current tunes are tracked on Last.fm also.
