Happy One Year Anniversary...to me!!! AND Episode #26: Independent Hip Hop Vol. I

This day exactly one year ago Music Hound was born. It was (and remains) a labor of love. Although I have not been as prolific as I had hoped to be, I’m quite happy with the quality of the playlists I’ve crafted as well as the additional features such as The Cut of The Week. I hope I have introduced you to some new music/artists and perhaps reacquainted you with something that got lost along the way in the shuffle of life. Your positive feedback is what keeps me going, so PLEASE continue to check in often and offer your insights, questions, comments, and of course, requests. Thank you all for finding some sense of enjoyment here.

**Don’t forget to spread the word about this blog to friends and family and that all the podcasts are available for FREE on iTunes so you can take the mixes along with you.

With that said, what better place to commemorate where we’re going than to take a look back to see from where we have come. Since hip hop was the feature of the very first podcast, I thought it was appropriate to revisit that genre to mark Music Hound’s one year anniversary. Here is a mixtape that I made in 2003 that was in heavy rotation for quite some time and made its rounds to a good number of co-workers and friends. This music is commonly called “underground” hip hop, however I prefer to use the term independent given that it has a much more positive connotation and, since it has done wonders for rock n’ roll (“indie rock” has experienced an unprecedented explosion in popularity and sheer size the last 10 years) perhaps it can serve the hip hop community well, too.

Some of these artists continue to put out consistently solid material and remain favorites of mine to this day. Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, Brother Ali and MF Doom (AKA King Geedorah) have become stalwarts in the independent hip hop scene. In fact, Brother Ali is by far my favorite MC and you MUST see him live – he is flawless. J-Live, an NYC school teacher and Sage Francis, a former slam poet champion, are also perennial favorite wordsmiths of mine, although Sage’s recent foray into indie rock/hip hop fusion left me very disappointed. West Coasters Ugly Duckling have always been an extremely fun listen with incredible beats ever since I first heard them on the 1999 Funky Precedent compilation which had a huge impact on my musical wanderings. Portland natives Life Savas’ sampling of dancehall legend Tenor Saw’s “Fever” is so funky, it’s too bad they haven’t produced much since their 2003 debut. Gift of Gab from Blackalicious is probably one of the most talented rappers in the game and continues to release quality material as a solo artist, however nothing as special as his early work as Blackalicious with producer/DJ Chief Xcel.

Not a fan of hip hop? Give this a listen and then decide.

Track listing:
1) Daylight (4:25) – Aesop Rock
2) Blamegame (4:48) – Atmosphere
3) Shallow Days (4:21) – Blackalicious
4) Forest Whitaker (3:00) – Brother Ali
5) On This I Stand (4:59) – Eyedea & Abilities
6) Unlimited (3:27) – Soul Position
7) Don’t Get It Twisted (4:19) – Jigmastas feat Sadat X
8) Like This Anna (4:22) – J-Live
9) Anti-Matter (3:27) – King Geedorah feat Mr. Fantastic
10) Fever (5:24) – Life Savas
11) Dynomite (4:10) – Lone Catalysts feat J-Live
12) 360 Degrees (3:38) - Push Button Objects feat Del
13) Favorite Things (4:01) – Illogic feat Blueprint
14) La Revolucion (5:17) – Ugly Duckling
15) Runaways (6:08) – Sage Francis

Cut of the Week 09/29/10

The Budos Band are for real. I had the privilege to see them recently at Southpaw in Brooklyn for their record release party and I was not disappointed. The Budos Band is a ten-piece ensemble (it felt like a small village was on stage) that hails from Staten Island and specializes in a unique brand of Afro-soul, funk fusion. While the influences of Afro-beat legend Fela Kuti and Ethiopian jazzman Mulatu Astatke are undeniable, there is also a heavy dose of R&B and classic soul backed by thick grooves. Label-mates of soul revivalist extraordinaire, Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, The Budos Band are one of the most impressive live acts I've seen in a while. They play hard, they play loud, and they play funky. Oh yeah, they also were dropping F-bombs non-stop during their interactions with the crowd. Although that may seem somewhat incongruous with their music, to me it simply signified how much fun they were having up on that stage.

Go catch them perform live, they are a must-see act.

Here is a track off their new album, Budos Band III.


The Budos Band - "River Serpentine"

Cut of the Week 09/20/10

On a rainy Tuesday afternoon in May I went out to Crown Heights to meet Ben Laub. In the music world, he is better known as Grieves, a 6-foot, 130-pound, baby-faced 26-year old who is making a name for himself in the independent hip hop scene as part of the Rhymesayers label/collective. I was recently introduced to his music courtesy of his gripping performance at The Knitting Factory as an opener for Brother Ali. However, to call him a mere hip hopper is to miss the point entirely.

Since 2007, Grieves has been putting out music that incorporates the precise lyricism of a rapper with the plaintive singing and sensibility more akin to a bluesman or folk singer. His unabashed heart-on-his-sleeve approach and intense live performances have earned him much acclaim while drawing the ire of some in the blogopshere for being too emotional. At his live shows and on his last album, 88 Keys & Counting, he has been joined by multi-instrumentalist and musical partner, Budo, who provides instrumentation and production atypical of most hip hop acts these days. In fact, 88 Keys & Counting contained not a single sample. Here is a song from that album, an introduction to an artist who boasts inspiration from Big Pun to Bon Iver, and is the best upcoming artist you may have never heard of. Yet.


Grieves - "Catapults" link

Episode #25: My Favorites of 2010 (thus far)...

I know what you’re thinking – best of 2010 at the end of August?!? Why not choose at least a more logical midway point in June and call it the best of the first half of 2010? Well, these are good questions to ask. However, I feel that September a very logical point to stop and reflect on the year so far, especially when considering music.

September marks the regrettable conclusion of summertime, which is a very busy season for new releases. Furthermore, summer vacations and barbecues provide us with more downtime than usual and thus enable us to enjoy and appreciate more music.

With that said, here is a selection of some of my favorite tracks released this year (so far). There are some obvious choices from eagerly anticipated and critically acclaimed albums from Arcade Fire, The National, LCD Soundsystem and Broken Social Scene. Despite all the hype, these albums delivered in a big way and certainly did not disappoint (Sorry, I can’t say the same for M.I.A.’s third release, MAYA). Janelle Monae’s concept album, ArchAndroid, was also met with universal praises and “Tightrope” is definitely the most infectious track on that record.

The tracks from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Hot Chip and The Black Keys came off of albums that I would characterize as “breakout” records. I’ve been a fan of all these artists for some time and yet I feel that these 2010 albums, coupled with successful tour dates, really catapulted them to the next level of musical stardom.

Finally, I included some lesser known artists such as husband-and-wife duo Tennis who have perfected the seemingly ubiquitous lo-fi beach-pop sound that is all the rage these days. Also included is “The Gaudy Side of Town” from Gayngs, a huge collective that features over 25 artists ranging from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon to Rhymesayers’ P.O.S., who succeed wildly in creating a haunting, downtempo aesthetic. Next, Caribou, AKA Dan Snaith and formerly known as Manitoba, crafts beautifully funky dance-pop on “Odessa,” somewhat reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem. And finally, not-so-newcomer, Ariel Pink’s “Round and Round” is a fun, slinky, 70s-infused psychedelic pop off a fantastic album, Before Today. You can hear Brian Eno and David Bowie’s fingerprints all over it, which is always a good thing.

May the rest of 2010 be as fruitful...

Give it a listen and I hope you enjoy.

Track listing:
1) Rome (3:50) – Yeasayer
2) I Learned The Hard Way (3:47) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
3) I Can Change (5:54) – LCD Soundsystem
4) I Feel Better (4:42) – Hot Chip
5) The Suburbs (5:15) – Arcade Fire
6) The Gaudy Side of Town (7:07) – Gayngs
7) Shutterbug (3:35) – Big Boi feat Cutty
8) Bloodbuzz Ohio (4:36) – The National
9) Round and Round (5:09) – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
10) Cape Dory (2:12) – Tennis
11) Radio Daze (4:16) – The Roots feat Blu, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw
12) Everlasting Light (3:24) – The Black Keys
13) Tightrope (4:23) – Janelle Monae
14) Odessa (5:16) – Caribou
15) World Sick (6:48) – Broken Social Scene
16) The Wild Hunt (3:22) – The Tallest Man on Earth

Cut of the Week 8/11/10

Poor Righteous Teachers was a hip hop trio from Trenton, NJ who came on the scene around 1990. They belonged to the burgeoning conscious contingent of rap acts such as X Clan and Public Enemy. This was long before conscious hip hop stalwarts Talib Kweli and Common were even out of high school. While their Afrocentric and at times heavy-handed messages may be tiresome with prolonged listening, PRT was nevertheless an important player in the Golden Era hip hop of the early 1990s.

While their more recognizable hits are "Rock This Funky Joint" and "Nobody Move," I chose a deeper cut off of their 1991 album, Pure Poverty. This track was instantly my favorite off the album when I borrowed the cassette from my neighbor nearly 20 years ago (Garrett Loring, if you see this, I still owe you the tape back!). The rapid-fire dancehall toasting of PRT member Wise Intelligent is simply fun and infectious and the funky reggae/hip hop vibe created here still stands up after all these years.

Enjoy.


Poor Righteous Teachers - "Easy Star" link

Episode #24: Loungin'

This episode is dedicated to all things that fall under the giant umbrella of downtempo electronic music, or what I like to simply call “lounge” music. However, as we all know, things are never that cut and dried, especially in the realm of music. This genre, frequently referred to as trip hop, is often used as a catch-all that covers micro-genres from ambient breakbeat to acid jazz. I prefer to use the term “lounge” to refer to this large (and admittedly) ambiguous swath of music that evokes a particular ambiance or mood.

Lounges, as they have grown in popularity in the last 20 years or so, seek to obtain that illusive yet oh-so-desirable “chill” vibe. Hence, the extremely dim lighting and music that, while it won’t necessary drive you to the non-existent dance floor, does in fact keep your head nodding.

While this list does not boast all the latest examples of what could be categorized as lounge music, I sought to capture minor variations in downtempo electronic or lounge music of some of my favorite artists. Some artists here, like Mr. Scruff, and the unfortunately lesser-known Joe Beats, Jel and Reanimator, employ more straight-ahead elements of hip hop while adding layers that feature psychedelic elements such as strings, pianos/organs, or vocal samples with reverb effects. Federico Aubele clearly comes from the Thievery Corporation school of things (he’s on their ESL Label) with breathy Spanish lyrics sung over a heavy bass line complemented by guitars and accordions sprinkled throughout. Blockhead and skateboarding legend Tommy Guerrero utilize a good dose of horns and guitar, respectively, to give their sound a little something different that makes you sit up and take notice.

And of course, I couldn’t leave out the Godfather of trip hop, DJ Shadow. His “Building Steam With a Grain Of Sand” exemplifies why this sound is so infectious. He paints a complex aural picture with piano loops, eerie vocal samples, drum machines and record scratches backed back a driving hip hop beat. It’s a haunting and dark atmospheric music, but gripping nonetheless. Not far from Shadow in style and musical leanings is RJD2. Before his recent shift to a more indie rock style where he now sings and plays guitar, his classic soul and funk samples were always on point and his 2002 Deadringer album still stands up as one of my favorites of all time.

Anyway, give it a listen and I hope you enjoy.

Track listing:
1) She’s My Lover (4:38) – Kid Loco
2) Tricky Turtle (4:42) – Blockhead
3) Building Steam With a Grain Of Sand (6:41) – DJ Shadow
4) La Esquina (3:08) – Federico Aubele
5) Bonce (5:00) – Mr. Scruff
6) Everything You Know Is Wrong (3:09) – Reanimator
7) Andy Kaufman (1:59) – The Joe Beats Conspiracy
8) The Good, The Bad and The Chutney (4:07) – Kalyanji & Anandji
9) Incorporate Anthem (4:02) – RJD2
10) Soul Miner (3:05) – Tommy Guerrero
11) John Brown’s Birthday Suite (3:30) – Jel
12) Rebirth (4:14) – A Forest Mighty Black
13) Sound of Everything (4:02) – Quantic
14) 24 Carat Blag (4:09) – Herbaliser