Been a busy week, which is why this is a full day late. The first track on here though - that would be the Biggie remix - should make it all forgiven.
That revelation leads into a big week with tracks from two bands on Paper and Plastick (that's two awesome labels that Vinnie from Less Than Jake is responsible for), lots of moody goodness and it all ends up with a banger from Royce and Busta. You'll probably hear raves over the Tom Waits album before you hear Royce on the radio - which kind of makes sense and kind of doesn't.
Notorious B.I.G. - "Party and Bullshit (In The USA mix)"
These songs were made for each other. I don't know if Biggie and Miley are talking about the same party, but in my head I see Miley with her hat turned sideways nodding to Biggie's rhymes and the two of them swaying in unison on a park bench during the chorus. All we need now is a plot and this is a ready-made summer Disney movie.
It could be all the Fugazi I've been listening to lately, and my continued love of Against Me! - a comparison the label itself made - but this track off the
free acoustic EP on from The Riot Before grabbed my attention. I would suggest grabbing the acoustic EP and checking out the electric versions on their
MySpace because they're both worth it.
Heavy and atmospheric, Dead Leaf Echo reminds me of My Bloody Valentine (the obvious reference) and Prosaics (who disappeared after one EP and are probably remembered by nobody). There's four more songs on their Web site that remind me of the same thing and are just as thick, heavy and epic. I'm out of metaphors so hopefully everybody gets the whole Wall of Sound meets 80s feedback filled pseudo-goth rock references.
Gainesville-based punk rock leaning toward Face to Face-style melody and speed. Nothing challenging here - just sit back and enjoy. I'm willing to bet they really rev up a live crowd too, though I've got nothing but, um, my headphones to base that on. This comes from the
free two-song EP available at Paper + Plastick.
I have no excuse for not getting into Charlotte Gainsbourg before now, but with Beck producing her new album, I'm interested now. "IRM" is the title track from the album, inspired, she says, by MRIs she had after a brain hemorrhage two years ago. She has been telling the media the buzzing of the machine made her feel like she was tripping, especially the rhythmic noise of this mesmerizing song which she has compared to the noise of the MRI machine in interviews.
Tom Waits needs no introduction. He is one of America's greatest and most distinctive singers AND songwriters. If you've never heard him before, you're in for something way, way out there. He has an 18-track live album, Glitter & Doom, out November 24 on Anti- records. A seven-track preview is available at his
Web site. This, obviously, is one of those tracks.
I think Royce is chronically underrated, and I wish he'd get half the spins that 50 Cent gets. Granted, I think 50 Cent is probably the most overrated rapper aside from Ja Rule, so I might be offering a biased opinion here. Everything about this track is perfect, from Busta as hype man to Royce's literally nonstop flow to the dripping funk of a sample. If anyone knows what it is, let me know. Hopefully the rest of Street Hop, due out October 20, will live up to this.
Posted via email from Stephen Feller
