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Cut of the Week 02.21.11 - President's Day

Today is President's Day and with the U.S. celebrating one of its most venerated historical figures (George Washington), I decided to take things in a different direction. I though to myself, is there a song about one of the most villified Presidents in our history? The answer is an emphatic, "Yes!"

In keeping with a presidential theme, here is the 1973 funk classic, "Impeach The President" by The Honey Drippers which is obviously a reference to Richard Nixon's fleeting days in office before resigning as a result of one the biggest political scandals of all time. If you think you've heard the snare, kick and hi-hat of the initial drum break before, there's a good reason for that. The first 20-25 seconds is the basis of one the most frequently used samples in popular music, predominantly featured in countless hip hop songs from Audio Two's "Top Billin" to Biggie's "Unbelievable"(In fact, whosampled.com lists 152 different songs that have sampled "Impeach The President".)

Take a listen and enjoy your day off.



The Honey Drippers - "Impeach The President"

Interview with Grieves

Please check out my interview with Grieves that was just published on Neon Musical Insight (Click here for the direct link to the article). Grieves is a thoughtful and skilled MC in the independent hip hop scene who is a fast rising star. Go and check him out if you can as he teams up with his partner Budo, and joins Atmosphere, Blueprint, DJ Abilities and Sab The Artist on the Rhymesayers' Family Tour. Attention NYC heads: They have a show at Terminal 5 on April 26th.

I am proud and looking forward to working with such a tirelessly diligent and comprehensive site dedicated to music. Big thank you to Neon Musical Insight founder/senior editor Chris Brancato for putting the shine on me. I plan on collaborating with them more in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled...

Hope you enjoy.

Cut of the Week 02/11/11

I'm currently working on an overhaul of Music Hound in the hope that I can make it bigger and even better. With that said, I may have to take a short break with respect to crafting new mixtapes/episodes. However, this is a great opportunity to take a step back and check out some of the older mixtapes I have labored over in the last year. Simply peruse through the archives and enjoy the mixtapes you may have missed or forgotten about.

In the meantime, I will continue to post Cuts of The Week and other fun odds and ends dealing with the music world. So, in the spirit of unearthing undiscovered treasures, here is the title track from Two Steps From The Blues by blues/soul legend, Bobby Bland. Despite being unknown by many (including myself until very recently), over the last 60 years Bland's signature voice has enabled him to carve out a deserved place for himself in the canon of superstar classic blues/soul artists in the likes of B.B. King, Solomon Burke, and Otis Redding.

He continues to perform live at the age of 81.

Give it a listen. Enjoy.


Bobby Bland - "Two Steps From The Blues"

Episode #30: California Dreamin'

With most of the U.S. experiencing a prolonged deep freeze this winter, I once again turn to music to keep me from suffering seasonal depression. For this mixtape, I decided to select songs that conjure up images of sun, surf, and simply riding around with the top down. What better place to capture this ideal than our very own West Coast?

I believe the tracks here offer a nice smattering of genres yet still retain something undeniably sunny and westward-looking. The originators of beach-flavored tunes, The Beach Boys and the oft-overlooked King of the Surf Guitar, Dick Dale, are represented along with the best present-day incarnations of “beach pop,” Best Coast, Tennis, and Beach House. To offset the softer pop tunes I also chose to include a couple of uptempo hip hop tracks from some of my personal favorites from the West Coast scene, such as People Under The Stairs and Ugly Duckling, and a real rocker from the experts of loud, jarring beats, Sleigh Bells.

And for good measure, I just had to have Ice Cube’s classic ode to a perfect day in L.A.

I am going to take solace in knowing that soon enough summer will be here in New York. Soon. Real soon. Any day now…

Give it a listen and enjoy.

Track List:
1) Wouldn’t It Be Nice (2:24) – The Beach Boys
2) West Coast (3:32) – Coconut Records
3) Summer Mood (2:26) – Best Coast
4) The L.A. Song (4:27) – People Under the Stairs
5) Beach Girls (3:23) – Sleigh Bells
6) Cape Dory (2:29) (live at Daytrotter) – Tennis
7) Everything’s Alright (3:44) – Ugly Duckling
8) It Was A Good Day (4:20) – Ice Cube
9) California (3:50) – Joni Micthell
10) Walk In The Park (5:26) – Beach House
11) Shake N’ Stomp (2:12) – Dick Dale & His Del-Tones
12) California Sun (3:04) – The Dictators