2008 is now over, but here are last year Recommendations for The Nation … under a Groove !!!
1- - It was certainly worth the wait, and with his third album, Yoni Wolf, alias WHY?, has finally delivered the perfect album. Listening to his music will take you into the backyards of the United States, right to the back door of trailer park caravans, abandoned, rejected, forgotten, left over by the Bush presidency. The lyrics describe scenes of lo-life Americana, in a poetic style, with a large dose of dry humor, almost clownesque. The music has reminiscence of “MELLOW GOLD“ by BECK, with hard beats, electrified folk guitars, but with an addition of loopy and ghostly piano riffs, and choral choruses. Think of Dylan singing with a ghetto blaster at his feet, in the Bronx. If you can’t get enough of this album you can always enjoy the demos that are doing exactly what they say. If you are now addicted to WHY? then try his first and second album, respectively “OAKLANDAZULASYLUM” and “ELEPHANT EYELASHES“. Personally, i would also invite you to listen to “ALMOST LIVE FROM ANNA’S CABIN“.
2- CONNIE PRICE AND TKE KEYSTONES “TELL ME SOMETHING “
- Well … let me tell you something: “Don’t be fool by the name. What’s hiding behind this old seventies Jazz, or Funk band’s name is maybe after all not just a coincidence, but more like the King of Funk, Mister JAMES BROWN, Himself use to say: “What is it is what it is”, a perfectly oiled funk band, with remarkable featuring, from ALOE BLACC, BLOOD OF ABRAHAM, MYKAH 9, OHMEGA WATTS, PERCEE P, SOUP from JURASSIC 5, and WILDCHILD. If you digged the first “JAZZMATAZZ ” by GURU, this will take you one step closer to Hip-Hop and further down into the Funk. The instrumentals so effortlessly groovy, can also be appreciated on their own, like any good Reggae/Dub album. With or without vocals should not be the question you’re asking yourself, and instead you should let your body go with the Groove. If you want to listen to some more Hip-Hop blended with true oldie’s soundz, then i would highly recommend you G-LOVE AND THE SPECIAL SAUCE self titled album. It’s like listening to a vintage blues vinyl scratched with old skool hip-hop attitude. One of my favorite underrated album of all time.
3- TOBACCO “FUCKED UP FRIENDS “
- We all have some fucked up friends, but this one, TOM FEC, from BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW , will also fuck up your ideas on cheap eighties electronic music. It is hard to understand and believe that behind this wall synthesizers non-sense, with moog’s melodies in the background pierced by distorted blips, bloops and sonars, the all crushed by dirty beatz, sprinkled sometimes with fainted vocals or rap featuring AESOP ROCK, comes out some of the most simplest and catchiest tunes. Even thought some of you may find this album a bit repetitive or monotonous, I, at the contrary, personally think those tracks are the many stars of a milky way leading the way for our space odyssey. This album sounds like a ethereal version of JUSTICE “†”, and will appeal to all the fans of electro trash.
4- KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES “THE SUPREME GENIUS OF KING KHAN AND THE SHRINES“
- With a best of album named like that you know you are on for a joyous ride … so for all you, that took the cracked vintage sounds bus, last year, along with the BLACK LIPS , be sure to take a ticket for this show, best described as IGGY POP meets JAMES BROWN live at “Grease”Land. The edgy, distant, screaming voice of KING KHAN back up by his eight piece band, THE SHRINES, delivering some raw funk, soul psychedelia, juiced up with some groovy horns riffs, is sure to have you taking a trip down memory lane. If you enjoy this then you should try KING KHAN AND THE BBQ SHOW self titled album.
5- MADVILLAIN “MADVILLAINY 2: THE MADLIB REMIX“
- To you, all non MADLIB fans, listen to me as MADLIB fans, and you, MADLIB fans, listen to me with open mind. I have read reviews comparing the first “MADVILLAINY” to the second, or questioning if it was worth been the sequel, but they totally miss the point. MADLIB is like LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY , the best remixer, producer in his field and for his time, and people should be thankful for his productivity. The exact same persons that will later complain that his back catalogue is not being re-issued after his death, when they should have been appreciating what’s was there in the first place. As to my answers to the above questions … once passed the deception of having a “remix” rather than a “brand new” record for sequel, I think that MADLIB, The Bad Kid, delivers Another MADLIB Invasion, with beats as good as the first opus, that light up the awesome lyrics of MF DOOM, with a new aura. In conclusion, better off with a “Brand New Second Hand” than no record at all, and that’s exactly what you get. If you don’t know MADVILLAIN you must ABSOLUTELY listen to the CLASSIC and CULT HIP-HOP ALBUM “MADVILLAINY “.
To be continued …
But in the meantime remember all you funksters and space cadets that it is the law around here to wear your sunglasses.
