Backcatalog - Dr. Octagon, Murder By Death, ETC!ETC!/Diplo/Brillz

Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Label: Dreamworks / Bulk Records
Released: 1996
Genre: Hip-Hop

Kool Kieth, DJ Q-Bert, and Dan The Automater were the two driving forces behind this album. It appeared quietly, went largely unnoticed by the mainstream, and almost faded into nothing. It was also hard to find for a while, I had to get by with a bootleg for years. Commercial lack of success didn't hamper its effect. Kool Kieth (as Dr. Octagon) set the stage for a whole new style of hip-hop.

It's influence rippled out for years, changing the face of the genre behind the scenes. Instrumentally it's low key, laid back beats, and subtly used scratches, are now classic hip-hop beats. Lyrically the freestyle of the rhyming and cadence of the flows is amazing, also a little mellow. Nothing on the album comes out as 'hard' or even 'heavy' - low key and even. Definitely an album I'm glad has been made into another print run and more easily found today. If you like hip-hop at any level you need to pick this up and give it a listen.

Murder By Death

Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing

Label: Eyeball Records
Released: 2002
Genre: Rock, Folk Rock

On a bit of a whim I contributed to Murder By Death's latest album, with that came a copy of their first album. Which is nice, since I'd heard of, but never heard, the group I like to start at the beginning when easily possible. Not entirely sure what to expect, I knew it was rock but not what flavor of rock.

Listening to this, I find it pleasant, but not great. It's a good rock album, bordering on folk rock, it sits well in the background. Nothing really stick out for me, it's just indie-rock music. Which isn't a bad thing, as I'm not really into 'alt' or 'indie' rock as a whole - or not enough to really pick out sounds and bands. It goes well in a big playlist. I'm looking forward to seeing what their new release is like to see how they've grown.

ETC!ETC! / Brillz / Diplo

Bueller

Label: Jeffree's
Released: August 2012
Genre: Electro

I picked this up rather randomly. Three DJs and Producers put together this three track single taking the theme from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (or Oh Yeah by Yello) and mixing it down as to be almost lost. You get the idea, and then it just veers off into generic electro-house with hip-hop vocals. Interesting, but not so much you need to go out and find it.

Backcatalog - M.I.A., New Years Day, Swagberg

M.I.A.

Boyz

Label: Interscope
Released: 2007
Genre: Hip-Hop

The song is M.I.A. making fun of (well, I hope so) all the music videos about girls, featuring girls dancing en masse and in synch. Here, it's all about the boys. The single includes the album version, the A Capella version, and the Instrumental version. Stripping the music and the vocals respectively - not creatively, just stripped, like they tracked the songs without the other component.

The enhanced portion of the single comes with the video, plus the making of video (part 1), photos, and remix parts encouraging fans to make their own bad-ass remix of the song. The song is mediocre, and the remix parts included are not studio/master quality. This is definitely fan-service to cleverly include the fans in the 'process'. It's interesting, but unless you're a huge M.I.A. fan, it's a single you don't need to track down (there's nothing interesting here).

New Years Day

My Dear

Label: TVT Recrods

Released: 2007

Genre: Pop-Punk, Hard Rock

The initial release from New Years Day... and it's horrible. When I first put it on I had to make sure I didn't accidentally start an Avril Lavigne album somehow. It's not just derivative, it's downright an attempt to copy her sound almost wholesale. The worst part is it's Avril Lavigne from 2004, by the time this hit the streets it sank into a sea of Avril/Evanescence copy cats.

I can't help but wonder if this was their 'sound' or if there was a directive that had come down the line to alter their style to fit a certain marketing mold. Doesn't matter. Technically, the music is pretty good, but it's so derivative that it loses itself to another sound. You forget who you're listening to.

Luckily, I had the good fortune to pick up their most recent EP, which is on a new label, and they had a sound that is their own. While I can't recommend this album, I suggest finding their EP from 2001 "The Mechanical Heart" instead. Hopefully that's the future direction of the band.

Swagberg

Pony Swag

Label: self-released (http://swagberg.bandcamp.com/)
Released: 2012
Genre: Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop, bordering on hardcore rap, about My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I'm not sure there's anything that can properly explain this if you aren't a fan of the show. If you are a fan of the show you will absolutely love this.

Musically, Swagberg has excellent flow, control, and rhymes well. A credit to the genre.

New Releases 8/28 - Flobots, Pandora Celtica, Shine

Flobots

The Circle In The Square

Label: Shanachie
Released: 8/28 2012
Genre: Hip Hop, Punk, Rap Rock

Flobots eschew traditional hip hop beats for punk, reggae, and rock rhythms. The lyrics are pure MC, with the exception of some chorus lines at least. And they make it work so much better than many acts that mix rapping and rock guitar.

The album is very politically and socially charged. The opening half is an unrelenting attack on the political condition, and what's been done about it, and socially conscious lyrics don't stop coming. In fact, there's very little else to this album beyond that. They manage to do it a little more tastefully than others, bringing up as much positive energy as negative insights. It's not just how bad things have gotten, it's how good we can make them. Which is a nice change, and brings the hip-hop back full circle to the socially aware lyrics that have been mostly missing for a long time now.

The one really non-political track, The Rose And The Thistle, is by far the best cut on the album. It's standard love song, without sounding creepy or stalkerish, with a chorus line that is superbly sung. While this is an album full of catchy lyrics, anthem shout outs and head bopping rhythms, it's that track that manages to ground it, pull it together and make it pop a little louder.

Pandora Celtica

Faerie Revel

Label: Self-Released (http://www.pandoraceltica.com)
Released: August 2012
Genre: A Cappella, Folk

Their fifth full length album, and they've come a long way. The production quality here is excellent. But the most striking part is that the group is growing in style, flair, and ability. The harmony here is the best I've heard them at on a recording.

The album is a combination of original songs and some rather good covers - Merle Travis' 16 Tons and Bob Dylan's Scarlet Town. Thus adding to my standing argument Bob Dylan is best done by other artists. The most unique song is either genius or proof they actually hate music (I'm still trying to decide) - an amazingly harmonic mash up of The Proclaimer's I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) and Chumbawumba's Tubthumping. An amazing trick, that, and very interesting to parse the lyrics together like that. Pretty much worth the price of entry for that alone, but there are 14 tracks total and none feel like a miss.

Shine

Broken Hours

Label: Self-Released (http://shinepop.bandcamp.com/)
Released: 6/21 2012
Genre: Synth-Pop, Electro

I'm not even honestly sure how I found this group, but it was hanging around my download folder waiting for me to notice it. Finally putting it on, I found a decent (not good, but decent), collection of harmless synth-pop. It occupies an emotional neutral zone.

The music is pretty simple, the lyrics not overly adventurous. But overall, it doesn't falter either. One of those albums that falls into the large middle ground of 'not bad'. The group formed in 2006, and have been performing since, but this is their first really effort at a release. It hints at some promising stuff in the future, as they're a technically competent duo with some good ideas. What they lack is a little bit of uniqueness, a punch that catapults them into something bigger, and more recognizable.

Week Of 7/3 - Symphonic Metal, A Capella, Hip-Hop, Clasical (Modern)

Late this week, due to a number of factors, partially just got overly busy and behind. Without any more fanfare:

New & Recent Releases:

Delain
We Are The Others
Label: Sesnory (Laser's Edge)
Released: 7/3 2012
Genre: Metal, Symphonic Metal

Symphonic Metal likes to the toe the line between the heavy thrash/death metal sounds and light classical sounds. Both Classical and Metal can be extremely hard sounding, between the crunch of guitars and the power of a good string section the blending is basically made for each other. Yet, most symphonic metal bands like to waffle back and forth, which is why I don't listen to much of it. Delain found a nice middle ground here, it doesn't swoop back and forth between the two, it blends them into a pretty cool middle ground - guitars and violins I'd guess (though the symphonic part is entirely electronic, organic sound though. Charlotte's voice is good, she doesn't soar into highs that usually make me roll my eyes - a rock voice instead of operatic one. And they very sparingly use male death-metal singing, another bonus. So, solid album, solid sounding band, good composition, and very listenable. I recommend it for rock and metal fans alike.

Murs w/ Foundation
Yumiko: Curse Of The Merch Girl
Label: self-released (http://www.devilsdue.net/yumiko/)
Released: July / Late June 2012
Genre: Hip-Hop

The album is a tag along to go with the 124 page graphic novel, and aren't available separately to my knowledge. Which isn't so bad, the graphic novel is decent enough, and helps explain the story in the songs in more detail. The concept is pretty simple: jilted love. The execution, musically, is pretty standard hip-hop fair, some of the language was a little more vulgar than I go in for, but not overly so.  It's a solid piece of production, and some pretty decent story telling through music.

Adding To The Archives:

The Bobs
I Brow Club
Label: Rounder Records
Released: 1997
Genre: A Capella, Pop

The Bobs have always been an interesting group to me. I think they're usually at their best doing A Cappella covers honestly, the I Brow Club confirms that a little bit. Not quite funny enough to get a chuckle, not quite serious enough for me to enjoy the harmonies. It's kind of musical humor gone wrong honestly. They certainly have some serious talent, always have. It just feels like they kind of ran out of ideas here. They have many better albums to choose from.

The Bobs
Plugged
Label: Rounder Records
Released: 1995
Genre: A Capella

Speaking of better albums, there's the previous release from them, Plugged. Which does include some accompaniment (in the form of toy drums) and voice effects (to get 'guitar' sounds). But the song selection is much better. This one sounds like a solid extension of the album before that, without retreading ground. This one is a genuinely fun album, and I definitely recommend finding it and picking it up if you like A Capella groups, or even if you don't this is a good place to start with on that front.

Hans Zimmer
Inception musical score
Label: Reprise Records
Released: 2010
Genre: modern classical, classical

Hans Zimmer knows soundscapes, and Inception is a movie built of big expansive ideas, and the music follows suit. I don't normally go in for musical scores to movies, if I want something ambient I know plenty of musicians who create ambient works not attached to specific imagery. But, we found this one on sale, and the sounds in the movie really are amazing. The soundtrack stands on its own quite nicely, everything here builds or works with tension of some kind. If you're a table top gamer (RPGs) then this is a great collection of sound to have on hand. It's good enough to put on and just listen through as well.

Next Week:
More classical (Beethoven), new music from Serj Tankian and Ego Likeness, and an old BT single I found in a bin looking for a home (ah, that old school rave music...)

Week Of 6/5 - Psychedelic Rock, Hip Hop, EBM, Industrial, Gothic Rock

Late post today... for no reason other than it's late. Lots of different records, I digitized a number of records because I had the time for it. A lot of recently added albums, and two albums from way back in the day...

New And Recent Releases:

Fear Factory
The Industrialist
Label: Candlelight USA
Released: 6/5 2012
Genre: Idustrial Rock

Fear Factory have been around for a long time and with this record they're down to two of the original core members - Bell and Cazares - and the sound is still pretty much the same. A little more refined, but just as hard, just as industrial with pounding drums and grinding guitars. I haven't bought a Fear Factory album in ten years to be honest, Digimortal being the last one I bought. But I have caught songs through the 2000s, and nothing really impressed me. This feels like a return to form, while never having really left the form to begin with. It's good, solid, hard, indusitral-rock and an excellent album.

Solillaquists Of Sound
The 4th Wall Part 1
Label: Self-Released ( http://solilla.bandcamp.com/ )
Released: 6/2 2012
Genre: Hip Hop

The long awaited third full album from this hip-hop outfit, and it's as excellent as the first two. Their sound is evolving, production is getting better. DiVinci is still creating some excellent beats, some very traditional some almost metal in sound. And the lyrics are both spot on culture statements, and flow really really well. It's just great music. If you manage to pick up one of the few hard copies from their website directly they send a link to the instrumental only version of the album, which makes for great ambient music.

The Black Angels
Watch Out / I'd Rather Be Lonely
Label: Blue Hoirzon
Released: 4/21 2012
Genre: Psychedelic Rock

A two track single put out on Record Store Day 2012, on orange vinyl no less. It comes with a 3 track download that includes a cover of The Zombies She's Not There. The first two tracks are pretty good, but it's their cover song that's really good. They really nail the original while not directly copying it. I really do like these guys, and can't wait to see what they do with their next album.

32Crash
Hyperreal
Label: Black Rain / Alfa Matrix
Released: Early 2012
Genre: EBM

A six track remix record for the Y2112Y album, there is a digital download version with 8-tracks. All the remixes don't deviate too far away from the originals, which were pretty decent dance tracks themselves. The members of 32Crash are amongst the original EBM scene and know the style down without going backwards. 32Crash is definitely forward style and the remixes are solid work. The vinyl is definitely for hard core collectors, and I believe a very low number were made. The digital album, with the two bonus tracks, is excellent.

Adding To The Collection:

KMFDM
More & Faster
Label: Wax Trax!
Released: 1989
Genre: Industrial

A three track 12" from KMFDM right before they broke through and started to help put industrial music on the map. This was really before they added guitars into the mix. The first track, Rip The System, is typical KMFDM chant against the system. More & Faster is now typical KMFDM personal defacement. And then the B-Side Naff Off is studio outtake gone almost too far. It's all classic KMFDM and the tracks are all still available in other places now, at the time, this was an awesome record.

The March Violets
Natural History
Label: Rebirth
Released: 1984
Genre: Gothic Rock

The first full album from this classic Goth Rock band from the UK. Part of the first wave of UK Gothic Rock, they lasted about 6 years before breaking up. But this album, is all classic club rock. I'm not sure if this was ever released on CD (sources say no). Technically, this is just the first 4 singles they put out and some tracks from an 83 John Peel session. But, in the US it's pretty much all you could get. Which means this little addition is a piece of history that really can't be shared unless you got it back in the day or search for it now (it's not too hard to find...).

Next Week:
The new Bouncing Souls, Pandora Celtica christmas album (when better than June!), both Kill Bill soundtracks, and a compilation of modern Torch songs.

Week Of 4/24 - Hip-Hop, Industrial, and some expostion

Late post today, this one contains more than music reviews - part of what I picked up was a 61-track compilation for backers of the CASH Music Kickstarter, since it's not an available-for-sale compilation I decided against a straight review of my thoughts on it, instead a little exposition on releasing music and why I backed the project... but first, some music:

New And Recent Releases:
Death Grips
The Money Store
Label: Epic
Released: 4/24 2012
Genre: Hip-Hop, Experimental, Synthpop

So, this is a strange little gem I picked up. Not quite at random, but it sounded interesting. Especially since the blurb I read had the words 'hardcore' in it and I found it under 'hip-hop' in the music store. I put it on and took a listen - it's difference. The lyrics are pure and straight hip-hop, a good at that. MC Stefan Burnett has a rhythm and delivery that reminds me a great deal of Del The Funky Homosapien without copying him. Sometimes hard, sometimes soft, sometimes smooth and occasionally staccato. But, behind that, what really sets this apart, is the music. Two musicians complete the outfit and they bring anything but standard hip-hop beats and rhythms to the party. In fact, at times it's down right industrial-ish, and on a few songs early 90s house, and many very synthpop-ish. It's really amazing how these elements work together, because it's not really in concert, it's kind of on top of each other. And, honestly, it's really good. Very different. They're releasing a second album in the fall that I will absolutely be getting.

P45K
Twist Your Blade EP
Released: 4/13 2012
Genre: Industrial

This was put out as a free EP on Friday the 13th, a quick little 4-track EP that's pretty good. Instrumental, and a kind of dark industrial sound to it. Not exactly dance-floor ready, but not overly harsh either. This is some pretty cool darker mood music. Even though I've said it's not dance-floor ready (mostly due to a lack of under riding heavy rhythmic bass) doesn't mean it couldn't slide itself into the middle of a set. Still, I like it better as background music, that seems a much better fit. If you need music that's a little harder, heavier and not thumpy-intrusive then check our P45K.

CASH Music 
http://cashmusic.org/

Alright so I contributed to a Kickstarter for a new open source musicisan and label resource website. Like places such as Bandcamp it's main purpose is to assist musicians and labels in presenting, distributing, and engaging the audience with their music. Only it's non-profit.

The Open source nature is that you aren't signing into a website and aren't beholden to another company that can be sold, exchanged, or disappear. If CASH Music ever goes under the underlying software they built will still exist (though without support). They claim that they will do for musicians what Wordpress did for Bloggers - which is decentralization of hosting, movement of the music to a Musician or Label owned site and not onto someone else's serves. (all this suddenly has me asking why I'm here on Blogger instead of using Wordpress....)

The idea is simple, they want to add the ability to share tour dates, sell music, provide artist information, connect to social networking, and I'd imagine a host of other things musicians need. All in a End User installed package running under PHP - a pretty good idea. I backed it because in this day and age of music I believe the more options open to the artist, the labels, and the fans, the better things will get. The first, and dying, method of centralized everything with major labels is proving to be a bad format once you can engage fans directly.

Given the huge number of small, medium, and large bands that came on the Compilation I think they've got an idea that many will explore and hopefully start to flourish under.

Not just tiny unsigned bands you've never heard of signed their names onto this; Amanda Plamer, Xiu Xiu, Throwing Muses, Jonathan Coulton and a host of bands in the Indie Rock Scene (which I follow very little) along with some of the smaller labels like SubPop, ANTI-, Mom+Pop and others (a full list here: http://blog.cashmusic.org/2012/03/07/we-have-a-lot-of-people-to-thank-and-a-lot-of-rocks/ )

So, it's not starting out in the cold, it looks like it could add a whole new layer of tools to the small and starting artist, and doesn't require a third party. All of which enticed me to help them finish out the full product (you can download early versions of the web-package now). I hope this becomes another tool in the music-label-listener connection.

Next Week:
The new Norah Jones, debut from Skip The Foreplay, and a bunch of EPs I picked up - Sinsect, Primal Rock Rebellion, and The Adventures Of (a new band on Tori Amos' new label).

Week of 2/7 - Hard Rock, Hip-Hop, Soft Rock, Industrial, and various Zimbabwe musics

Trying to keep each week eclectic, always looking for new and different stuff... A release I took a look at last fall but didn't pick up until now, something different from South Africa, discovering just how much Rumba is in Zimbabwe's music, and a compilation I had sitting in my digital pile.

New Releases:
Die Antwoord - Ten$ion
Label: Zef Records
Released: 2/7 2011
Genre: Hip-Hop, Rap
A trio from South Africa, a DJ and alternating male and female MCs. It's styled as 'Zef' which is a South African street subculture I'm not even going to try and describe, I'd have no idea where to begin, but it has some definite parallels to American Hip-Hop culture. The music itself alternates between hip-hop and trance/rave beats. Lyrics alternate between English and Afrikaans, which makes for a very rapid fire delivery. It's definitely a little different, and I like it, though the lyrical content towards vulgar, almost purile, some of it is gangsta to an almost comedic effect. Hopefully, the musical style catches on, it doesn't rely on standard hip-hop beats, mixing in rave, dubstep, drum'n'bass and house styles throughout.

Adding To The Collection:
Icon For Hire - Scripted
Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Released: 2011
Genre: Hard Rock, Nu Metal
The debut full length album from the band almost looks like it will fall lock step into female-lead vocal hard rock of the last decade, made popular by Evanescence. Luckily, it does nothing of the sort. Ariel has a strong rock style, not the classical singing style others try to emulate. The music is solid rock, with a bit of industrial sensibility tossed in to keep it from being just heavy metal. Ariel can easily switch between a slower and faster sung styles, keeping up with tempo changes in the music so the vocals match up. The album has a theme behind it about fame, fortune, and identity. Well put together, catchy, I can only imagine they're getting some decent radio play - or I hope they are, they deserve the exposure and I'm looking forward to the future of this group.

Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing
Label: Arista Records
Released: 1997
Genre: Soft Rock, Folk Rock
Most of my exposure to Sarah is actually through a proliferation of house, ambient, and other remixes from the electronic music scene. It's a wonder that I never really went back to the source to give her a closer listen. So I do, finally, and... her voice is excellent, alluring, melodic, and easily adapted to trip-hop and related genres. I can hear how someone would listen and think she needed a heavier treatment to the music, even if most of her remixes and covers ended up on the ambient style. This album, itself, is a pretty standard sound of soft, or folk, rock. The music light, non-intrusive on her vocals, which are a light touch, no yelling and indignent sneering from her, even when the song content sounds like she should be a bit angry. I think I'll come back and check out more recent albums to see how she's evolved. As it, this album is a good light album to put on when you want an acoustic background. This is the album with Building A Mystery, that song that was on the radio every 14 seconds for a while there.

Matrix Downloaded 001
Label: Alfa Matrix
Released: 2011
Genre: Industrial, EBM, Electro
To celebrate ten years as a label, Alfa Matrix decided to offer up a 34-track free download, which has been sitting on my hard drive since the fall sometime. And now it is loaded into my library. And most of it I have already, not because I own a lot of these albums (honestly, I don't, the exchange rate to get music from Europe sucks), but because I ended up with a lot of compilations through 2010 and 2011 that contain tons of the same songs here. Which makes this slightly redundant in my library, but still cool. This is essentially a Double CD (they even conveniently meta-tag the tracks as 2 17-track discs) compilation spanning most of ten years, for free. You really can't argue with that. Most of this is EBM and Electro, from light to hard - and well mixed to flow evenly between the two, a DJ set this order up.  There are about a half dozen tracks you won't find anywhere else, and most of the rest are only available on various compilations anyway - making it a pretty good download unless you're overly obsessive...

Rough Guide To The Music Of Zimbabwe
Label: World Music Network
Released: 1995
Genre: Zimbabwe Tradtional, Rumba
This time around I went into research mode and learned something about traditional Zimbabwe musics, coming up with a few genres local to the area. And then listened to this compilation and found a whole bunch of it full of Rumba, a lot done with traditional instruments, but the beats are unmistakeably Rumba in a lot of this music. Even the local Shona and Chimurenga. It's also unclear if the Mbira (sometimes known as the thumb piano) is just an instrument, or a genre unto itself. Since the instrument appears all over the place, I personally think it's just an instrument used to create the local rhythms. This is all good, fun, upbeat, and danceable music - everything presented here says Move. Good enough I think i'll start looking for more of it.

Bonus Track:
Seki Yukio - My First Hardcore Song by 8yr Old Juliey (Dubstep mix)
Label: Soundcloud release
Genre: Dubstep
So... someone recorded what had to be their little sister singing to a pretty hardcore punk bit, the original is about a minute or two long.  The opening line "Get your 2-step on" is shouted loudly and with the kind of energy I wish more bands brought to the stage, the guitar is anything but 2-step... German producer Seki Yukio got ahold of it, and turned it into a pretty fun dubstep track. While the original could easily fit on an SOD album, the remix belongs in a club at top volume. Really, it's these kinds of random bits that make the modern digital age so cool... you'd never get this in a record store.

Next week - keeping it diverse; Industrial Rock (Neue Deutsche Harte, technically), Electroswing, Soft Rock, Blues Rock, and a Moombahton collection.

Week Of 9/13 - Thrash Metal, Industrial, Latin, Hip-Hop

After eight years the new Anthrax album hit the streets. I have to admit, the last half decade as an Anthrax fan has been frustrating. We've Com For You All seemed like the break they needed to push forward, and then apparently ditched to do a reunion tour with Joey and John on board. John left the band, and Joey left after the reunion bit. They got a new singer, that immediately upon recording music was gone again, and Joey came back and re-recorded everything. It's been a mess. While I'm a huge fan of the John Bush years, I have to say that Joey sounds awesome on this album. It's everything you want from Anthrax. The rest of my musical selections this week - while good - aren't quite top notch.

New Releases:
Anthrax - Worship Music
Label: Megaforce
Released: 9/13 2011
Genre: Thrash Metal
This is all the best of the early stuff with Joey and the heavy stuff with John rolled into one massive crushing work of pure thrash-metal awesome. Not quite as fast as some of the very early stuff, the group is still in top form and still crushes it out of the park. Joey lost some of the super-high pitched wailing from the 80s, but can still belt it out. This bit of work has launched itself into my top-album tier, nothing on here really misses the mark at all. Though the first couple tracks are a bit of a slow opener compared to the pure monsters on the back end. The Giant and Judas Priest make an awesome pair of songs, In The End I stuck on repeat for a little while, and the first single Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't is a pure thrash powerhouse. They definitely stand back up and demonstrate why Anthrax is one of the Big 4. I'm off to mosh some more.

Adding To the Collection:
16 Volt - American Porn Songs
Label: Metropolis
Released: 2009
Genre: Industrial (Industrial Rock)
I like 16 Volt, they make good music. Especially their early stuff. But this, honestly, is a giant album of filler material. It's not bad, but nothing stands out, another CD to put on the stack of Industrial just in case you need to play a whole bunch for a long time. The only piece that caught my attention was Somebody To Hate, probably because it parodies the classic Somebody To Love song. Other than that, they all sound pretty similar, guitar heavy industrial beats. If you're a 16 Volt fan, pick this up, if you're just a general Industrial fan there's other, better material out there.
 
MC 900 Ft Jesus (w/ DJ Zero) - Hell With The Lid Off
Label: Nettwerk / I.R.S. Records
Released: 1989
Genre: Hip-Hop MC 900 Ft. Jesus generally puts out heavily jazz-influenced eletronica, here his team up with DJ Zero puts out something much more hip-hop ariented. More beats that hit a little harder, lyrics that flow more instead of his normal story-style. It's good work, and different from a lot of the offerings out there. It's good, it's fun, it's not entirely catchy. This album managed to sadly show its age, and not well. It's not particularly complex, nor clever. It just is.  

The Rough Guide To Brazilian Cafe w/ Bonus Disc (Vicor Ramil & Marcos Suzano)
Label: World Music Network
Released: 2011
Genre: Latin
Ah, latin music. Fun stuff, this whole collection is light, and airy. It is, as the title implies, perfect for sitting around a cafe and drinking coffee (or tea) to, with friends. It just sits happily in the background keeping the good feelings flowing. I really enjoyed this one, more than I normally like the exploration of the Rough Guides series. The guitar work is excellent, the selection fits well together - more so than others in the series where the selection is more about breadth than a continuous listening experience. The bonus CD of Vitor & Marcos is also excellent. like most bonus discs it's a previously released or soon-to-be released album from the hi-lighted group, in this one the guitar of Vitor's playing stands out. It's just excellent. Of all the Rough Guides I've gotten and reviewed so far, this is one of my favorites.

That's the week in music. Coming up is Tori Amos' new album, some gothic-rock, more idustrial and African Guitar. After that I go on vacation so I may be taking a hiatus, or load up lots of new music and have an extra-large post early in October. Or write from the road... who knows! Listen Hard!

Week Ending 4/23 - Hip-Hop, Darkwave, Rock

I picked up two new releases this week, because I wandered into the local indie record store and saw 'Dengue Fever' and went, "I don't recall ever hearing of them, yet it is familiar" ... turns out they're on a compilation I have stashed around here. I also started to load in and listen to the I:Scintilla discography I picked up a couple weeks back. It may be a sign to slow down when I generate a backlog of music to load up and listen to . . . Nah.

New Releases:
Dengue Fever - Cannibal Cannibal Courtship
Label: Fantasy Records (Concord Music Group)
Released: 4/19 2011
Genre: Rock
Dengue Fever is a rock - psychedelic rock really - outfit, vocals are done in both English and Khmer (or Cambodian). While the lead vocals are female, this album has a pretty good split of male and female vocals. It's got a laid back rock feel to it, nothing heavy or fast about it. Very relaxing, bit fun, some songs have a bit of a smart ass vibe about them.

Del The Funky Homosapien - Golden Era
Label: The Council (Council Partners Entertainment)
Released: 4/19 2011
Genre: Hip-Hop
Del is an old school MC from the early 90s, and has for the last 15 years or so put out a steady stream of music in a lot of places. This release actually has two extra albums with it that were only released digitally in 2009. This album is alright, I like it well enough. The first two songs have some refrains that repeat a little too much, but after that it's just solid walls of rhyme and rhythm. With the rhythm properly behind the MC, at least properly for Del. Minimal production - there are no liner notes with any serious credits, he may very well have done the entire thing himself.

Automatik Statik
Originally Released: 2009 on Bandcamp.
Of the three albums that came in the digipak, this one is the best. There's a little more humor, the rhyming is more fluid, the whole thing just grooves.

Funk Man
Originally Released: 2009 on Del's website
This one didn't click with me, I may have to put it down for a bit and come back to it. It feels like it might have been a little rushed, or unfinished.

Filling Out The Collection:
Collide - The Eyes Before
Label: Noisepluse Music
Released: 2009
Genre: Darkwave
This is a cover album, and finishes out my Collide Discography. They're all over the spectrum of music, covering The Beatles, Depeche Mode, Chris Isaak, Pink Floyd, David Essex, Radiohead, Fleetwood Mac, The Moody Blues, and David Bowie. All the takes are good, not just flat covers replaying the songs. Each one gets the synth-goth maker over and takes it well - saying as much about how classic these songs are as it does about how good Collide is. The David Essex cover (Rock On) could have used some more punch to it. I'm also not the biggest fan of Pink Floyd and there's two covers (opening and closing the album) here, I think I'd have preferred to see them showcase another band. Their cover of Knights In White Satin, however, is amazing, it really brings out a melancholy in the song.

I:Scintilla - Havestar
Label: Alfa Matrix
Released: 2006
Genre: Darkwave
Female vocal lead I:Scintilla skirts the line between the Darkwave synth sound and Industrial Rock with heavy guitars. They bounce between the two freely. This is the initial release on Alfa-Matrix, a CD Single with a bunch of remixes on it. Six of the tracks are remixes from fellow label mates of studio releases, three of the remixes are the title track. The other three tracks are off the Optics album. From a first release (though they had a self released album previously) it's a great sign of things to come from the band. The remixes are remixes, some more club-friendly than others.

I:Scintilla - Optics
Label: Alfa Matrix
Released: 2007
Genre: Darkwave
The first full album released after being signed, it easily and fluidly swings between harder guitar driven songs and more rhythm based club songs, with a few slower ethereal tracks thrown in to keep the pacing just right. A couple songs really stand out; Toy Soldier could easily have been a single on its own, and Ultraviolet definitely belongs on the dance floor.

Weel Ending 4/9 - Hip Hop & Rockabilly

Day late, I was busy. . . This week is a surprise addition! I unexpectedly ended up at a Wanda Jackson concert Monday night, so I had to buy some CDs from the merch table. I also, due to this, had to delay the purchase of a couple albums, next week will be Industrial centric.

Blueprint - Adventures In Counter Culture
Label: Weightless
Release: 4/5/11
Genre: Hip-Hop

This weeks new album showcase, an in depth review was posted earlier in the week. I'll just state here that after several more days listen Its an awesome album.

Weightless Radio - A Collection Of Blueprint Instrumentals
Label: Weightless
Release: 4/5/11
Genre: instrumental, ambient

The Blueprint album came with a free download card to get a completely instrumental track from him. The format of the album is a lot like listening to a radio station, complete with blips of actual advertisements, and some interviews with Blueprint himself. The beats themselves are nice, but short. If they'd been expanded into a full track and given a little more cohesive transition it would stand up next to a Future Sound Of London album in terms of richness. As is, I like it well enough. One day this week was particularly overcast and it managed to fit the mood of a rainy afternoon nicely.

Wanda Jackson - The Party Ain't Over
Label: Nonesuch Records
Release: 2011
Genre: Rockabilly, Rock And Roll

Wanda has been in the Rock business since it literally began in the 50s. She's old-school rockabilly fun. This album is a collection of covers, recorded with, and at the urging of (she explained in person at the concert) Jack White (White Stripes). Only a cover of Bob Dylan's "Thunder On The Mountain" goes over the five minute mark, making this one of those short-n-sweet albums to spin, most of the tracks are three minutes.

Dusty 45s - Devil Takes His Turn EP
Label: self released
Released: 2004
Genre: Rockabilly

The Dusty 45s were the backup and opening band for Wanda's concert, so I grabbed some of their stuff. This EP was released some time ago when they appear to be a five-piece band. Its only a 4 track single, but a good one. Their added trumpet gives the band an extra kick.

Dusty 45s - Fortunate Man
Label: self released
Released: 2010
Genre: Rockabilly

Their latest album, with a theme of poverty, giving to your fellow man, and similar. The album rocks right along. This is a good solid album to put into rotation for nights when you need nothing but good old rock and roll. Stick it in with classics like Buddy Holly and Elvis. Nothing here stands up as above and beyond, which doesn't bother me much, as a package the whole thing works, and works well.

For purchasing information on the self released Dusty 45s albums; they can be found as downloads from iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and probably ordered from any decent independent music store out there can figure out how to get a copy.

4/5 New Release: Blueprint "Adventures In Counter Culture"

This week a couple releases came out I wanted to pick up. The new Hollywood Undead and Blueprint being the top two. Blueprint won easily on that front, I like HU, but I like intelligent Hip Hop more.

I found a video for Blueprint's "Radio Inactive" a while back, and was captivated by it. Four minutes of rhyme, no hook, no chorus, stripped down production. I waited for the album release, each single he dropped kept upping the ante on style, on sound, on everything. Bonus: his label is truly independent.

Blueprint - Adventures In Counter Culture
Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment
Release: April 06, 2011
Genre: Hip Hop

The album has ups and downs like your average record, songs I skip, songs I skip to, bounce and mellow, ballads and club cuts. Blueprint has some true range to his talent, from singing to a more traditional rap, fast and slow.

1. Five Years Ago - not a song, an intro track of some guy trying to interview Blueprint right after he walks off stage at one point. But of praise for Blueprint from some half-drunk sounding guy.

2. Go Hard Or Go Home (Printnificence) - Honestly, bit of a standard issue slow beat on how good he is at being an MC. It does show off his talent, solid wall of rhyming with no break and no repetition. Still, its a weak song compared to the rest of the album. Which does make it a good opener - album just goes up from here.

3. Automatic - Music is work, even when it looks easy. I like the synth bit behind this track.

4. Keep Bouncing - one of the singles released as a video. It's a fun little song about partying a wee bit too hard. Crunchy beat, good song to toss into a dance list, towards the end of the night as its a slow crawling beat. (just remember to cut off the tail which is a montage of television bits.)

5. Wanna Be Like You - If the first four tracks were the taxi and tack off, this is the album gaining altitude. Breaking from straight rhymes Blueprint shows he can carry a tune and not just a staccato rap. The song about celebrity worship, and bouncy.

6. My Culture - Disparaging the 'rap culture' that has pervaded for the last fifteen or more years, and how it really isn't worth fighting for. Blueprint aspires to rise above it and bring it back to the kind of culture one could be proud of.

7. Mind, Body, & Soul - Angelica Lee lends her voice to the chorus, unfortunately she sounds autotuned, which knocks the sound from great to good. Slow beat, talking on the importance of music. I can picture this one with a blues guitar behind it.

8. So Alive - Released as an actual single off the album, it is one of my favorite tracks. Two stories, two people, both of them end with the happiness of 'Feeling So Alive' ... funky upbeat sound, good message.

9. Stole Our Yesterday - I like this track, a lot. Nostalgia type thoughts, less about the 'good old days' and more about wondering if we really need to force people to change in every aspect, some people like what they have. "They sold us all tomorrow, then they stole our yesterdays."

10. Radio-Inactive - The track that caught my attention, it has an intensity, an anger behind it. The kind of anger that moves men to positive action, not just impotent rage. From the simple piano intro to the rising beat, all around intensity.

11. Welcome Home - A light guitar riff playing over sounds of a family outing, eventually a drum line joins in. Another singing track, a ballad melody on the good things that life will always come back to.

12. Fly Away - This beat reminds me of a Jan Hammer track, it's so extremely 80s you can't help but smile. Very blues attitude here, though its hard to tell if the guys leaving or got kicked out, either way a good move for him to move on.

13. The Clouds - Keep your head in the clouds, feet on the ground, and keep working for the dream you have. Another solid wall of rhyming, Blueprint has a knack for carrying a song without needing a hook or chorus.

14. The Rise & Fall - Bouncing club track, good to dance to, the rhyme even bounces along, rolls right over the beat. It does have a chorus, which brings a nice break in the song, then it keeps bouncing along.

15. The Other Side - This last track is a slow song, it also feels so personal I almost wonder if I shouldn't turn it down and let the man have a private moment. It's beautiful listen to though.

The range of tracks here moves from expected songs about the artists ability, to broken relationships, ups and downs of life, and lost and found opportunities. This is not the crap you're going to hear on the radio, this is real music.

N.A.S.A. - The Spirit Of Apollo

Released: Early 2009
Availability: stores, online, easily found.
Label: Spectrophonic Sound/Anti- (independent labels)

N.A.S.A. - North America South America - is two DJs (Squeak E. Clean ad DJ Zegon) and an idea. The idea was to collect as many different people as possible, and start recording music. Certainly not a new idea, I have a number of collaboration albums in my collection. This one is only slightly different - the collaboration in question wasn't primarily the DJs and Another Artist. It was Two Different Artists, that the DJs mixed together. The genre is primarily Hip Hop - as are the majority of the artists (Kanye West, KRS-One, Kool Keith, RZA, and others) but a few aren't (Tom Waits, George Clinton, Lykke Li). The albums swerves through Hip Hop, Funk, Samba, and Drum & Bass like a slalom course. For the most part it stays pretty on target with Hip Hop as the MC is the primary song style here - almost no traditional vocal singing is done, mostly rap.

But the genius is sometimes in the pairings, the way various parts of put together. And that a few new artists popped up onto my radar as they didn't stick exclusively with the Popular/Known Ones.

They didn't stop at the artists, they even commissioned five different artists for five (six if you count the booklet with lyrics) album covers. And thankfully did not commit the grievous sin of five different releases - all five pieces of art work are included on cards so you could switch the one you like best to the top of the jewel case (I scanned my favorite into iTunes and left them in order when putting it on the CDs shelves to look pretty). Each card - on the back - covers the artists who contributed to each song - which is the kind of thing I really look for in a booklet and why I avoid digital downloads if possible that don't include one.

Intro - This is not a song, it's not even really an introduction. It's a mission statement. I can imagine that they asked each artist to read the statement, and then hacked it apart and put it back together so it sounds like everyone said a word or two in sequence. Onto the music.

The People Tree - David Byrne (Talking Heads), Chali 2na (Jurassic Five, Ozomatli), Gift Of Gab (Blackalicious), DJ Z-Trip (Turntablist). The track is a mix between a smooth beat and a Top-40/Pop-Rock track. Chali and Gift Of Gab trade verses while David provides the chorus.

Money - David Byrne, Chuck D (Public Enemy), Ras Congo (I don't know - I need info!), Seu Jorge (Brazilian Samba artist), DJ Z-Trip. Combining David Byrne and Chuck D is an interesting mix here, especially when you pull in the Reggae (Ras Congo) and Samba (Seu Jorge) elements. It mixes well, the Reggae elements take over musically even as David brings a lighter elements and Chuck D a heavier one. The song it self is about the evils of money. . . I just like the beat.

N.A.S.A Music - Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan, among other acts), E-40 (rapper), DJ Swamp (turntablist). Pretty much straight up Hip Hop as Method Man and E-40 trade off while DJ Swamp provides a very danceable beat.

Way Down - RZA (Wu-Tang Clan, plus others), Barbie Hatch (unsigned singer), John Fruciante (Red Hot Chile Peppers). Now the collaborations are starting to flex some muscle. The ethereal lyrics of Barbie and RZA's rapping mix together with John's guitar bringing an extra layer to the backing electronica. The song is about a girl who falls in love with the devil. Musically it starts to show what the project is about - meshing wildly diverse elements.

Hip Hop - KRS-One (hip hop artist), Fatlip and Slim Kid Tre (The Pharcyde). Another purely hip-hop track, as the name says. KRS-One brings a lyrical smoothness rarely seen, but the song itself isn't very diverse. Almost a step backwards from the previous tracks raising of the bar.

Four Rooms, Earth View - Squeak E Clean & DJ Zegon, a short piece playing a recording from somewhere... nothing really interesting and I think maybe it could have been left out.

Strange Enough - Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Ol' Dirty Bastard (Wu-Tang Clan; posthumously), Fatlip. Ol' Dirty Bastard makes an appearance from old recordings opposite Fatlip as they switch back, Karen O provides a switch as she changes the tempo with the chorus considerably, and the whole attitude of the track. Another flexing of mixing muscles here.

Spacious Thoughts - Kool Keith (rapper), Tom Waits (singer). If there is a musical equivalent of a nuclear weapon this is it right here. None of the lyrics make much sense as Keith and Tom move back and forth, but there's an inevitable landscape created, something dark, urban, bright, and loud. Keith's very smooth style with Tom's very rough singing does exactly everything this album set out to do in my opinion - bring widely opposite styles into synch. These two need to be unleashed to record an entire album together, the song is gorgeous. I had the chorus stuck in my head for days.

Gifted - Kanye West (rapper), Santogold (rapper), Lykke Li (singer). While Kanye and Santogold are both rappers, their styles are both opposing and complimentary. His lyrics are nearly as smooth compared to her almost sung verse. Lykke provides one hell of a chorus and its too bad she didn't contribute a third verse to pull this song further apart and knit it closer together. The song is beautifully listenable, warm and upbeat.

A Volta - Sizzla (reggae artist), Amanda Blank (singer/rapper), Lovefoxxx (singer of Brazlian group Cansei de Ser Sexy). Again, the album finds the right groove of mixing styles, a smooth Reggae beat swings along while the versus move at a much faster pace than the beat would lead on. Again, I think they missed just off the mark by not giving Lovefoxxx a third verse, only a chorus appearance. Still, this track belongs on a dance floor.

There's A Party - George Clinton (funk), Chali 2na. George Clinton (everyone in his band really) leads a classic funk track here, Chali brings in a hip hop element that crosses and bridges the genres cleanly. It's a slower track, just the slow side of a dance floor track. A light hearted element on the album, complete with group clap along section.

Wachadoin? - Spank Rock (rapper), M.I.A. (rapper), Santogold, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs). This is a bit of foot-stomper track, M.I.A. leads with her typical staccato beat, while Spank Rock provides a more classic rap. Nick's minimal guitar in the background prevents the track from falling into only drums and beats.

O Pato - Kool Kojak (DJ, producer), DJ Babao (turntablist). A swinging little samba number, with a lot of samples. The whole thing sounds a bit silly, but it's a really smooth dance track behind it all. Even with the weird pornographic Donald Duck imitation on it. . .

Samba Soul - Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (MC), DJ QBert (turntablist). Two powerhouses in the hip hop world put together a pretty standard track here, not quite as samba as the previous track (despite the name), though Del by far has the most verbose style of rap on the record. Always a good listen, while not really opposing musical styles, it's good to put these two together and see what happens.

The Mayor - The Cool Kids (hip hop duo), Ghostface Killa (Wu-Tang Clan, among others), Scarface (rapper), DJ AM (DJ). The last mix on the album here is another pretty straight forward hip hop track, nothing spectacular here in all honestly. There's talent here for sure, it just isn't a mix of opposing styles like some of the songs preceding it.

N.A.S.A. Anthem - The album closes out with the same kind of mash up as the intro provided. Though instead of cutting up everyone's contributions the artists here (and it's not quite everyone) harmonize a single long verse on repeat. It's a very happy together type verse.

then there's a lot of minutes of silence where I curse the entire concept of hidden tracks where there's no real information provided and be thankful I live in the Internet Age where I can find this information out so I don't have to spend days wondering. . . .

Electric Flowers (hidden track!) - Nina Persson (The Cardigans), RZA. The only saving grace to this as a hidden track is that is saves the album from ending on the pap of the "NASA Anthem" thing (which, while nice, is a crap 'song'). It allows the album to go out with a mellow, upbeat, track that juxtaposes RZA's rapping against Nina's smoothly sung chorus.

All in all - the experiment of bringing together these artists (from mega-stars to nearly unheard-ofs) is a success. It doesn't come off as Artist + Guest like so many of these do, but a series of collaborations. Some of which would never have happened were it not for NASA. Overall - the album is more than worth adding to a collection.