Strictly - Erick Morillo

For the longest time I have been searching for a large volume of house music produced by Erick Morillo.  As a native of the NYC area, I have frequented Pacha and seen him a number of times.  Now that I am living an hour from Miami the DJ has often landed at nearby Live, Space and the notorious Winter Music Conference.  I know I am about a year late on this compilation but I figure Ill throw it up here anyway.

Snobs complain of Morillo's commercial club appeal, but I can't blame him for getting everyone on the dance floor.  If you look at the man's gigging schedule he is a full fledged workaholic traveling from country to country, sometimes two different in one weekend. Definitely give him a listen and if you are in the Miami area for Independence Day this weekend, catch him at Live on Sunday Night.

Enjoy!

Why Do I Hate Twilight So Much?

Last night marked the midnight release of the third installation of the Twilight Series: Eclipse.  Movie theaters were lined with preadolescent girls, a bunch of gay guys, and adults somehow attempting to become young again through the viewing of America’s most terrible movie.  As I ponder the cash cow that this movie has become, my superior brain begins to wonder at why I despise the series so much.

I’ll start at the root of the problem…the book’s author Stephenie Meyer.  The following is a quote from Stephen King, the greatest American horror writer of all time, he wrote this tiny book called The Stand…you should pick it up.

"[J.K.] Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good… writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual."

One of my favorite conversations of all time involves me making fun of a girl for liking twilight…she replies “have you ever read the books?  They are so good; Stephanie Meyer is a great writer I bet you don’t even read.”  Well actually I have already read about 20 books this year, and I am pretty sure that Stephen King just agreed with me so…I’m just going to go with that. 

The book rambles and attempts to capture the teenage angst of an annoyingly drab set of characters.  Please do not think that I am criticizing for no reason, I HAVE sat down and read a chapter in Barnes and Noble.  Regarding flow, the entirety of the book feels choppy and forced. 

Second, my problem is the mainstream appeal.   I am possibly biased, and admittedly, I am one of those music snobs who calls a band a “bunch of sellouts” when they receive a ton of radio attention, but twilight has taken it a step further, especially in connection with MTV.  In the 90’s when I was still watching the Ninja Turtles, MTV was a channel on the cutting edge which reflected the culture of teenagers and young adults across the country.  The channel actually played music and was a symbol of rebellion against the conformity of American Culture.  Now, it is filled with reality shows and gross retardation, capitalizing on America’s odd fetish with celebrity news and drama. 

After watching about 10 minutes of the MTV movie awards, Twilight had won three, THREE recognitions: Best Female Performance, Best Kiss, and Best Movie…you cannot be serious.  Has the whole thing just turned into a big advertisement effort?  I mean one award maybe but THREE?   Regardless, I am tired of Burger King jumping on the bandwagon too and this whole Team “Cro-Magnon Man Idiot Vampire” or “Retarded Eskimo Queer Wolf” play…I’m on team all of you “go kill yourselves”…how’s that?  I’m still waiting for Voldemort to just pop out and kill Robert Pattinson…any day now.

Finally, the movies aren’t good…the acting is terrible and no one actually says anything.  The entirety of the movie is a sequence of stares with that same goofy “Blue Steel” look from Zoolander.  Maybe it’s because I am bitter that anything I write will most likely never become as famous or successful as Meyer.  Either way I am not a fan of the series for justified reasons…all you 12 year old girls go enjoy your movie.  


Sorry if you are my friend and you like the books and/or movies.                                         

3OH!3 -TheSensoryFix Gives Streets of Gold Two Thumbs Down

30H!3’s new album Streets of Gold is mortifying to say the least.  Hailing from Boulder, Colorado the band got their name from the local area code, real original; it is not as if southern rappers haven’t been doing that for the past 10 years.   It is releases like this that make me wonder what can pass as music these days.  My difficulty lies in which aspect of the band’s music is worse.  Corny Lyric’s, whinny, annoyingly repetitive electrohop beats, attempted hardcore-ness, or the fact that the band’s last single was played excessively by local entertainment venues.  After becoming spoiled by the new Roots and Metaform albums, Streets of Gold is a sharp backhand to the face, a reminder of the current state of musical affairs.

Either way the album is terrible, but will more than likely get radio play.  The song featuring Katy Perry, Starstruck will most likely be the single.

Disgusting.  Although Katy Perry isn't bad.

MetaForm - "The Electric Mist"

MetaForm is a pure blooded west coaster, Justice Aaron was born in LA and graduated from San Fransisco State University.  He began playing music at a very young age, most notably the piano at 7.  Working as a free lance engineer, Aaron had the privilege of working with a few big names such as Jazzy Jeff and Africa Bambatta.  Before Electric Mist, MetaForm's major work was "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" a work composed entirely of samples.

Metaform is one of the most quality names in instrumental hip hop, delving into some trip hop and experimental genres in the new album.  Listening to him brings about a variety of related artists to mind like Tipper, the Gorillaz, RJD2, and Ratatat.  Some have compared his work to DJ Shadow.  This new work is a must listen.

Loving it as of late! More to follow

The Roots- "How I Got Over"

Get this album.  Not as good as "Rising Up", but nonetheless worth a listen.  More Journalism to follow, in the meantime enjoy a single from YouTube.

Remembering Rage

Combine the militant, radical poetry of Zach De La Rocha and the distortred musical stylings of Tom Morello, add some funky bass lines from Timm Comerford, and ice it with hip hop influenced drum grooves blasting from Brad Wilk's set. The sum of this musical equation is one of the most influential, politically driven, in your face bands of all time: Rage Against the Machine.

Drawing main stream success at lollapalooza in 1993, Rage Against the Machine has released three of the most angry, leftist ranting, corporate america hating, blow up washinton D.C. Albums of all time: Rage Against the Machine, Evil Empire, and the Battle of Los Angeles. Fueled by the matrix soundtrack the band is the closest thing to a counter culture inspiring lifestyle since the late 60's and early 70's.

The band's militant lyrics, were often backed by protest, ensuing in a usual press debacle. In the year 2000, the band shot their Sleep Now in the Fire music video across the street from the NY Stock Exchange inviting fans to join them. 300 people showed up in support and post video shoot, rushed the doors of the NYSE mid trading day, succesfully shutting it down. Later that year, bassist, Timm Cromerford climbed up a fake Palm Tree in the middle of the MTV Music awards in response to Limp Bizkits completely BS win of video of the year with the song “Break Stuff”. RATM then played a free show outside the Democratic National Convention in protest of the two party system, where riots ensued and many were arrested. Subsequently, the band played in Minnesota outside the Republican National Convention where they were, at first, barred from physically playing by the police on the grounds that they had no permit. Of course, there was a permit and the band ended up playing Bulls On Parade and Killing in the Name acapella through use of megaphones. See Video:

Rage Against the Machine said whatever they pleased, caused a plethora of trouble, and inspired the masses not to blindly accept U.S. Culture in its entirety. Although I do not agree with the totality of their political views, I do love them as a band. Breaking up was a shame after problems between the band and de la Rocha over decision making and political ideals were too much to overlook. The bands last album was a compliation of covers called Renegades which shortly thereafter reached platinum status.

Two key songs from the band, amid their plethora of hits are Wake Up off the matrix soundtrack on the their self titled album and Roll Right from Evil Empire.

As a side note, Tom, Timm and Brad added Vocalist Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and created the super group Audio Slave. Super groups are never that sucessful and Audioslave was no exception. Although they did have some success, the band was about 1/8^th as good as RATM. My hope is that the band can settle their differences, rejoining for World Tour in the near future. A free concert was promised for 2010 in the UK.

Flashing Lights and Sounds - Thrice

There are certain bands that bring on an odd level of nostalgia to mind when listened to. Attending grade school in a dead era in music, 2000 to 2006, these bands for me are: Mid to late Blink 182, Senses Fail, Brand New, Linkin Park, and particularly, Thrice. Of course, I was into some actual good music at the time, like Led Zepplin and further Classic Rock, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Chili Peppers, but I'd like to take this time to highight one of the first albums ever bought with my own money, the Aristist in the Ambulance by Thrice. Whenever I hear these guys, my mind drifts back to a simpler time; a time where I listened to my Sony CD player on blast while putting trucks on my new Alien Workshop Deck and when money was just something I had to worry about later.

Out of all the pop-punk, angsty teen music that I named, Thrice is by far the most talented and deepest. While on shuffle, my iPod graced me with a flash from the past of Thrice's insightful lyrics, catchy riffs and exciting drums.

Late night, brakes lock, hear the tires squeal
Red light, can't stop so I spin the wheel
My world goes black before I feel an angel lift me up
And I open bloodshot eyes into fluorescent white
They flip the siren, hit the lights, close the doors and I am gone

Now I lay here owing my life to a stranger
And I realize that empty words are not enough
I'm left here with the question of just
What have I to show except the promises I never kept?
I lie here shaking on this bed, under the weight of my regrets

[Chorus:]
I hope that I will never let you down
I know that this can be more than just flashing lights and sound

Look around and you'll see that at times it feels like no one really cares
It gets me down but I'm still gonna try to do what's right, I know that there's
A difference between sleight of hand, and giving everything you have
There's a line drawn in the sand, I'm working up the will to cross it and

[Chorus]

Rhetoric can't raise the dead
I'm sick of always talking when there's no change
Rhetoric can't raise the dead
I'm sick of empty words, let's lead and not follow

Late night, brakes lock, hear the tires squeal
Red light, can't stop so I spin the wheel
My world goes black before I feel an angel steal me from the
Greedy jaws of death and chance, and pull me in with steady hands
They've given me a second chance, the artist in the ambulance

[Chorus]

Can we pick you off the ground, more than flashing lights and sound

Formed in Irvine, California in 1998 by singer/guitarist Dustin Kensrue and Teppei Teranishi, Thrice was first popular for hard riffs featuring tricky time signatures, but later was noted for a stark change in style when the album Vheissu was released. This album featured a more synth friendly sound featuring some electronic beat loops and odd distortions. Then out popped, the Alchemy index, featuring the 4 elements, Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Releasing two disk sets with six song Eps was by far the bands coolest concept and possible peak of existence. My personal favorites were Earth and Air featuring two key songs: Dedalus and Digging My Own Grave. Both are passionate, slower songs, especially digging my own grave. I imagine a guy hunched over in an old bar sipping bad whisky and playing a wooden piano when I hear it. Finally in 2009, Thrice released Beggars, which was good, but not intensley stand out in my opnion. Thrice has had a great career thus far and I have been throughly impressed with their work thus far. One of my favorite bands of all time and a definite re-listen if you have the time.

Enjoy!

As a side note, Dustin Kensrue has a folk rock side project called Please Come Home, which is worth listening to as well. 

Waves

Image Stolen from a favorite, Dark Roasted Blend.

G4 Streaming E3

Yes, yes, say what you want at my geek factor but here is the link to all my fellow followers of the gaming world!

E3 live on G4

Spreding the Dub

West Palm Beach is a small microcosm of old wealth residing on the beach somewhere in between Disney land and South Beach.  The demographic here is an odd mashing of college students, migrant workers and rich Jews from N.Y. escaping the cold.  As a transplant here myself from the great North East, I sometimes miss the piss infested, smoke filled, ultra small venues of the streets of New York.  More often than not, these longings for a street culture are outshined by the sun and sea.  One aspect that I have learned to love here are the real residents of Florida, my local peers and their music taste.  When I first arrived here three years ago I knew nothing of reggae, maybe some Sublime here, a little Bob Marley there…the genre of music never really had any application in my life, but now it’s thoroughly enjoyable. 

Artists such as Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Rebelution, Damien Marley, Collie Budz, and the Expendables, all frequent this area in response to a wide fan base and easy going lifestyle.   Most recently Damien Marley was here at Cruzan Ampitheater with Nas promoting his new album called Distant Relatives.  The album is decent, the instrumentals can kind of get sleepy but the vocals can slap you awake if need be.  (Sorry for the supreme lack of underground-ness in my choices)

Key Song: Na Mean

Slightly Stoopid is always great with their slow jams and unintelligible lyrics, leave it to this band to get a party in slow motion and head swaying. 

Key Song: Wiseman

Finally, the most recent favorite and yes I know that my discovery of these guys is about four years too late, Rebelution

Key song: Safe and Sound

All of these songs are a great listen for cooling it on the beach, sipping a corona, reminiscing about old times, and wishing you were at North Shore or New Port Beach.  Some of my best memories here are of seeing Pepper and the Expendables, who bless us with their punk/reggae at least once a year.  Either way this music has found its way into my ears and heart, and will always remind me of my time here in SoFlo…if I ever leave that is. 

Special thanks to a local artist, Spread the Dub, who plays every Thursday at Reef Road.  I watched these guys play at a friend, Reed’s house party.  Some definite skills, played some sublime covers to please the crowd and some original content as well.  My only gribe was that we had to turn off the tunes by midnight in order to not all be arrested. 

Check them out here. 

Great Art - Christopher Uminga

This guy is awesome.  Link to all his art

Some Releases to Get You Going For This Week

B.O.B. - B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

Bobby Ray Simmons known as Bobby Ray was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Decatur Georgia.  The album is kind of a mash up between some techno, rock and rap.  For a first album B.O.B. is a fairly skilled lyricist, although sometimes I feel he is yelling into the mic when he could be smoother…just my opinion.  The record release features Airplaines Part 2, featuring Haley Williams from Paramore and Eminem.  The song is very catchy, and I am sure you have been hearing it all over the radio.  I give it one more week before everyone gets tired of it. 

B.O.B. is signed to Grand Hustle, Atlantic and Rebel Rock record labels. 

In other Grand Hustle news, T.I., the king has a new album dropping at the end of the summer called King Uncaged.

Drake: Thank Me Later

The second album I want to highlight is Drake’s new Thank Me Later, which was leaked on the 10^th.  The official release date is set for the 15^th which shows you that this can happen to both veterans or new guys, the internet is no respecter of artists.  As you probably know Drake took the internet by storm with his mixtapes, So Far Gone and Seasonal Institution.

Drakes biggest claim to fame is in the song Forever: “Everyone got a deal, I did it without one.”

 Drake runs with young money, producing under the same roof as Lil Wayne.  A ton of buzz circled Drake when he first came out because of his acting career on the show Degrassi, where he played Jimmy Brooks.  Many criticized him over this career decision, but the truth is that the guy has skills, and his music isn’t about being a “gangster”, so not many are whining about this fact any more.  His style is a lighter, party music, reflecting on both the benefits and pitfalls of becoming famous. 

In other Young Money news, a good friend of mine turned my attention towards some content from Lil Wayne writing from prison.  Wayne is serving a year at Riker’s Island in Manhattan for unlawful gun possession (no surprise).  Here is the blog

Attack Attack!: Attack Attack!

Finally, in a terribly strange twist in music styles, I acquired the new self titled Attack Attack! album which much to my surprise is quite good.  Littered with odd house music and auto tuned mock “club music” Attack Attack! features their usual hardcore bangers along with music poking fun of current trends.  The 5-man band hails from Ohio and is categorized as Post-hardcore, Metalcore and electronic.  The album is the bands 2^nd studio album, the 1^st was called Someday Came Suddenly (2008) and has had decent success so far. 

One of my biggest problems with hardcore is my lack of understanding of lyrical content and annoyance with the constant guttural screaming.  Attack Attack! dispels some of pet peeves with songs such as “I Swear Ill Change” displaying clean vocal singer, Johnny Franck’s abilities.  The album is decent and worth a listen if you have any interest in the genre.  For me, I have to be in the mood to partake in this type of noise, but every now and then it does have it’s place in my musical smorgasbord. 

Where have the Rock Gods Gone?

During one of the most turbulent times in U.S. History, on August 15th 1969, 400,000 individuals traveled to Bethel, NY to decend upon White Lake.  What ensued over the next three days is fabled to have changed music history forever.  The Woodstock festival featured the likes of Santana, The Grateful Dead, CCR, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash & and Jimi Hendrix.  The Beatles couldn't get the band together, and Led Zepplin was playing a higher paying show in Asbury Park, or else they would have been there as well.  Those in attendance mark the pilgrimage to this festival as one of the defining moments in their lives. 

In these 10 short years, the U.S. experienced some of the most radical changes of all time.  The Vietnam War had escalated to new heights, and the draft was running on all cylinders.   JFK had been assassinated in 1963 and Martin Luther King Jr. explained his dreams to 250,000 listeners.

Music is what brought us together in what is argueably known as the golden age for rock music.  So what is wrong with with our generation?  Where is our larger than life rock band that everyone would die to go see, or follow around the U.S. for a year?  Every decade has had a major artist that set the tone for the musicians to follow.  For the 60's it was the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, for 70's it was Led Zepplin and the Ramones, for the 80's it was Guns N' Roses and Van Halen, and for the 90's it was Nirvana and Radio Head.

But who is it for the 2000's?  Who are our stand out artists?  Has our diversified taste diluted the quality of our music?  Pop acts like the BackStreet Boys, and Lady Gaga cannot be the best that the 2000's have to offer.  Perhaps it is the popularity of Hip-Hop artists like lil Wayne or Jay-Z who have turned our ears to alternative outlets, but whatever the case may be it is odd that I cannot think of any one terribly influecial band in the past ten years.

Current events have given the world plenty to forget about: the ongoing war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, growing tensions in North Korea and the BP oil spill.  Looking back, this decade is similarly filled with conflict and the planet is due for some great rock tunes.  Hopefully someone will come up with some, I know I'll be listening. 

Bonnaroo Festival

Hello everyone,

If you want to catch all the action at Bonnaroo today, the live stream is up which you can grab on Youtube here, I just finished watching a Nora Jones set.   Live Stream

The Lineup is very long, spreading many genres of music featuring the likes of many artists that I have never heard of.  Among them are DMB, Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, the Flaming Lips, Les Claypool, the Black Keyes, Temper Trap, The Manchester Orchestra and B.O.B....There are a ton more.
check out the full line up here  Full Line Up

Im Not Afraid - Relapse Leaks 6/9/2010

Over the past two weeks, Eminem has been playing over my speakers.  I Am Marshall was dropped, a mixtape featuring freestyles and some official releases by the once dormant Eminem.  Particularly the “Despicable-Freestyle” stuck out on the album with a beat switch at 1:26. Definitely a must listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq6-fVLcfFc

This morning when I awoke, I checked my usual sources of information, work and personal email, along with my new music source and was surprised to find that “The Recovery” had “leaked” since I had gone to bed.  Excitedly, I acquired the album and have been pleased all day to play it over and over.

My friends, Mr. Marshall Bruce Mathers is back with a vengeance.  No “accent” just sober, angry, driven Eminem, as you have known and loved him in the past.  The Track listing includes:

1.      Cold Wind Blows
Talking 2 Myself ft. KobeOn Fire
Won’t back down ft. Pink
W.T.P.Going Through Changes
  Not Afraid
Seduction
No, Love ft. Lil Wayne
Space Bound
Cinderella Man
 25 to life
So Bad
Almost Famous
  Love the Way You lie, Ft. Rihanna
You’re Never Over

Both Love the Way You Lie and Not Afraid are on Youtube and viewable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahq-EPM6WtU

 The most interesting aspect of this album is the state of Eminem’s psyche pre and post production.  In People Magazine Marshall confirmed that he was taking over 20 vicodin, ambien and valium a day, before finally checking into rehab, twice.  In Talking 2 Myself, Eminem his pain killer addiction during the release of Encore and coming off of them on the Relapse…resulting in less than stellar music.  Em also rhymes that he almost wrote songs to diss Wayne and Kanye because of the attention that they were getting during his detox period, admitting that they both would have crushed him in a response.   This album is his apology.  Go get it.  I forgive you, Eminem

Go buy this when it comes out for real, don’t be a criminal like me and eat up the leak.  Enjoy!

The Virgin Post

This is my attempt to create a hobby, keep me focused and sharpen my writing.  Hopefully I will be able to bring you new music, old music and some insightful information along the way. Enjoy!