I don't even remember how I heard of them, to be honest. It was only a few weeks ago. Malignus Youth, a band with an inscrutable name from the middle of fucking nowhere in Arizona. Nothing really that jumps out--there are tons of unknown hardcore bands from the eighties, and most of them suck--and their discography is frustratingly evasive. I mean, Malignus Youth had fewer than 10,000 vinyl records pressed in their lifetime and their supposed CD re-releases have been out of print for god knows how long, even unavailable on the links the band itself provides. Still, those who saw the band live in its day still remain fans decades later. And wouldn't you know it, they're incredible, distinctive, and awesome.
Their songwriting, standard at first, soon became very complex and experimental. Their bass is also amazingly well-played, prominent, and melodically important for a hardcore band. But they have other qualities that make them not only a great hardcore band but a great, unique hardcore band.
To illustrate, let's take a little digression: perhaps you remember last year's indie fad Fleet Foxes. They made a lot of noise with their vocal harmonies: an underused musical tool that time and time again proves to be effective and quietly beautiful. Another digression: hardcore punk, glorious in its speed and power, frequently restricts itself with harsh, strained, indecipherable screaming as vocals. WHERE, O WHERE COULD I BE GOING WITH THIS
SHOCK AND HORROR WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED: Malignus Youth is, to my knowledge, the only hardcore band to regularly utilize melodic vocal harmonies. And dear Jeebus, it's such a perfect fit one wonders why every hardcore band doesn't do it. Lead vocalist Octavio Ojale also has one of hardcore's highest singing voices, in stark contrast to the hoarse bellowing so common to the genre. Honestly, this alone would make me love this band. It's all so simple! Why didn't everyone think of this?! Music as intrinsically aggressive as hardcore doesn't need its vocals striving for aggressiveness too. Tuneless screaming over hardcore punk, while effective, leaves one with a very limited palette. Why else was the hardcore scene so short lived? Why else did Minor Threat only record 26 songs? There's not much you can do with it. Why, then, is it so rare to find hardcore punk where the music's aggressive power finds a counterpoint in dulcet, melodic, harmonized vocals? I DON'T FUCKING KNOW BUT I KNOW WHERE YOU MOFOZE CAN GET SOME--RIGHT GODDAM HERE YOU MORONS
So after hours and hours of searching, I finally got what I believe to be Malignus Youth's entire discography. First, I downloaded their full length, More To It. I loved it, but the sound was appallingly bad--the guitar was almost inaudible, it was far softer than any other songs I own, nearly a deal breaker right there. I then got their self-titled EP from another sketchy blog, which had far better sound quality, I was all "whuh their early EP has better sound than their magnum opus LP that's cray-cray" (keep in mind this "far better sound" is not exactly hi-fi either). THEN I found a sketchy blog that had Malignus Youth's CD reissues: Vinyl CD and Missa Brevis/Ephemeral. Vinyl CD has their self titled EP, the EP Crisis, and More to It. The weird thing is that the EP and LP songs on this version not only had better sound, but were distinctly different takes--the tempos were noticeably different. I have no idea what the deal is with it.
Missa Brevis/Ephemeral is the last thing they ever recorded. Ephemeral is just random unreleased stuff. Missa Brevis was inspired by the tradition of music being composed for a mass (Missa Brevis means Brief Mass) so they made a hardcore album with lyrics for a Latin mass. For this, some have called them Christian punk, although others vehemently deny it, and I don't know. No official description of the band mentions it, all the dialogue was on sketchy blogs, and honestly, I don't even care. I can't decipher most of the lyrics because they're sung too fast, and there are tons of bands who sing about shit I don't agree with. If I'ma be OK with Vic Bondi and Jello Biafra's batshit crazy politics or Public Enemy's homophobia or Ras Kass's intense anti-white racism or Pharoahe Monch's ridiculous conspiracy theories or Ian MacKaye's retarded straight edge philosophy, why should I forsake a band of incredible skill because they might concieveably be "Christian?" Fuck if I know, and you shouldn't either. Missa Brevis has mad/hella/very great songwriting and I love it. Malignus Youth are crazy great.
Vinyl CD
http://www.mediafire.com/?mmej4vmmym5
Missa Brevis
http://www.mediafire.com/?mx13nddz5ji
1/29/09
1/7/09
Articles of Faith
Articles of Faith will make you ask "why did it take me so long to hear of these guys?" They are one of the best hardcore bands I've ever come across. They also came from Chicago (yay). Chicago's lack of a major hardcore scene is ostensibly why they aren't as well known as their DC brethren but whatever. All I know is that they are a very good band. Imagine the songwriting creativity of late Minor Threat, but better, and throughout all their songs. Imagine the power and fury of hardcore, but without the needless abrasiveness. Imagine a lead singer who was a history professor and an editor for Microsoft Encarta. That's Articles of Faith! Enjoy!
Articles of Faith: Complete Volume 1 (1981-1983)
http://www.mediafire.com/?2ymfygdmt4n
Articles of Faith: Complete Volume 2 (1983-1985)
http://www.mediafire.com/?nzzt5wmnrzu
Articles of Faith: Complete Volume 1 (1981-1983)
http://www.mediafire.com/?2ymfygdmt4n
Articles of Faith: Complete Volume 2 (1983-1985)
http://www.mediafire.com/?nzzt5wmnrzu
12/2/08
Stop being a bitch already, be a visionary
Another themed playlist! So it all began when I was listening to The Holy Bible by the Manic Street Preachers a while back and I was like "Wow, these guys are so, so, so angry about everything. They just hate everything in the world." Then I was listening to The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox and I got to Scream Phoenix and I was like "Wow, these guys are saying how every person, no matter their squalid circumstances, has the power to do something incredible and overcome their obstacles (much like a phoenix). This is like the absolute opposite of the Manic Street Preachers. Oh shit, that's a good idea, I should write that down." AND GUESS WHAT? I DID WRITE IT DOWN.
The result was this playlist. Think of it like a vinyl album with a side A and side B and the concept gets a lot cooler.
Side A: Bitch, Moan, and Complain
http://www.mediafire.com/?dzjgaizw4oy
The result was this playlist. Think of it like a vinyl album with a side A and side B and the concept gets a lot cooler.
Side A: Bitch, Moan, and Complain
- Of Walking Abortion- Manic Street Preachers
- Kerosene- Big Black
- I Found That Essence Rare- Gang of Four
- Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)- Jello Biafra and the Melvins
- Radio Radio- Elvis Costello
- Life's a Bitch- Nas
- Sabotage- John Cale
- Rise Above- Black Flag
- The Artistic Integrity- Wale
- Ghetto Thang- De La Soul
- Scream Phoenix- Cannibal Ox
- Spectra Sonic Sound- The Nation of Ulysses
- Alternative Ulster- Stiff Little Fingers
- Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen
http://www.mediafire.com/?dzjgaizw4oy
11/10/08
We got the EN-ER-GEE! CRISIS BLUES!
Stephen Malkmus once satirized the image-obsessed world of popular music in the classic "Cut Your Hair." Cool people will immediately recall the lyrics
The Residents' first album, Meet the Residents is described by the band (if you even call the Residents a band) as their "worst foot forward." They couldn't play anything and had little budget, and still came up with a piece of demented genius. The masterwork of the album is the terrifying "N-Er-Gee (Crisis Blues)," opening with crazed banging on a piano and singing not unlike that of a murderous idiot man-child. The voice begins singing along with "The Land of 1,000 Dances," only for the song to loop the line "BOOG-ALOO!" again and again, turning it into some kind of strange ritual chant, slowly building noise and chaos over it. HOLY FUCK! IT IS SO COOL! Following a strange instrumental passage, the music turns to short rhythmic blasts and back comes the murderous idiot man-child! He begins chanting, softly at first, that immortal montra "WE GOT THE EN-ER-GEE! CRISIS BLUES!" It gets louder and louder, more and more fucked and disturbing, until OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THIS IS FUCKING INSANE FFFFFUFUFUFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK and then there's some stuff and it ends.
Good song.
Then there's Duck Stab and Buster and Glen, The Residents albums most resembling normal rock. There's some of their best stuff there, with lots of contributions from Snakefinger, the actual skilled musician the Residents roped in to help make their ideas musical reality. Upon recieving LIMITED COMMERCIAL ACCEPTANCE the horrified Residents made a sharp about-face and made Eskimo, perhaps the only readily available album completely without African musical roots. There is no rhythm, no discernable melody, weird non-words (all spoken while inhaling to make them sound more fucked up), and yet somehow it is their most compelling album. Ostensibly a musical "movie" of Eskimo culture, (which the Residents admit they fabricated most of when the real stuff got "too boring") it is an album of music completely unknown to the modern ear. When H.P. Lovecraft uses his cop-out descriptions and says that a sound was so alien that earthly language lacked the ability to describe it, he was talking about Eskimo. It is a great idea executed perfectly. It sounds too strange to be enjoyable, I know, but my god is it a revelation. It is also the first appearance of the tuxedo/eyeball-head look, possibly the coolest visual image of a band ever. It was a mixed blessing, though--nothing could top it, so they stuck with it, and the faceless band got a face. It would take time for them to totally get boring but still, sad.
Other fucking awesome records include The Third Reich and Roll, possibly the birth of the mashup, which is a pastiche of dumb 60s pop hit run through the meat grinder of the Resident's minds and coming out all weird and fascinating. The Commercial Album is 40 "pop" songs, each one minute long. The idea is that a pop song is just a verse and chorus repeated 3 times to make 3 minutes, so why not cut the bullshit and play the verse and chorus once each in one minute? Whatever, guys, but still there's some good songs here. A lot of filler, too, and it's best not to sit through the whole thing at once. God in Three Persons was the genesis of their "storytelling" mode, one which they have been stuck in for the past few years (and it's become rather annoying), but none of their story stuff comes close to topping this. Set to surprisingly well-composed music, it's a first-person story about a weird guy who meets weird Siamese twins who are weird (but cooler). And it rhymes, and it's cool. Way better than the annoying shit they have out today (although I liked The Bunny Boy tour). Not Available is pretty badass too.
Well enough talk. You came here to get music. If you want some other stuff (I have some rare shit like Smell My Picture and Postcards from Patmos, some bad recent storytelling albums, and also Animal Lover which has the song "My Window" which is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL) just lemme know.
Duck Stab/Buster and Glen
http://www.mediafire.com/?zzmjd1yzjm0
Eskimo
http://www.mediafire.com/?5wdiyyzj4wg
God in Three Persons
http://www.mediafire.com/?kzng3tgmtzn
Not Available
http://www.mediafire.com/?yhmzc3drwtz
The Commercial Album
http://www.mediafire.com/?zm4yktezjmt
Meet the Residents
http://www.mediafire.com/?tyyjmljjo3o
The Third Reich and Roll
http://www.mediafire.com/?ttlgmmljmnm
"I don't remember a line,
I don't remember a word
But I don't care, I don't care
I really don't care
Did you see the drummer's hair?"
I don't remember a word
But I don't care, I don't care
I really don't care
Did you see the drummer's hair?"
It's a basic fact of pop music--appearance matters. Sure, you have a few Shane McGowans, but they're exceptions. How often have you heard someone mention how attractive a musician is? Does it matter? No, but often attractiveness can play a major part in a band's success. And also, pop music has entirely too little Dada! Funnily enough, the Residents fix both problems.
Not only do the Residents bypass the problem of appearance by never revealing their faces, they buck pretty much every other "rule" of pop music. The Residents Mythos is one of the most interesting and famous in modern music history, and comes close to overshadowing the skewered brilliance of the music itself, so I'm not going to dwell on it very much. If you want to know more google them or something. They remain anonymous after four decades, always changing their approach to creating unique, strange, avant-garde music. A lot of their stuff is bad. This is to be expected from a constantly experimenting band that put out 60 records in fewer than 40 years. Other records, however, are perverted genius nonpareil in modern art.
The Residents, it should be warned, are notoriously difficult to listen to for a first timer familiar with normal pop song structures and non-extremely nasally singing. Often described (by me) as "a trip into the mind of a crazy person," a great Residents song will simultaneously thrill and terrify. Although they have slid into predictability and irrelevance in recent years (SO SAD SO SAD FOR REAL) The Residents are the most groundbreaking group of the 20th century bar none I SHALL NOT BE MOVED
The Residents shit in the face of popular music. When they formed they had little to no musical talent, but yo, fuck that, criminology rap, speakers stay jet black. That ain't stopping the motherfucking RESIDENTS. They were one of the first group to embrace electronic instruments, a case can be made that they invented mashups (YOU'RE WELCOME GIRL TALK) Here is a cover that they did of Hank Williams' Kaw-Liga with the bassline to Billie Jean in the background. THEIR CATCHIEST SONG!!!!
Not only do the Residents bypass the problem of appearance by never revealing their faces, they buck pretty much every other "rule" of pop music. The Residents Mythos is one of the most interesting and famous in modern music history, and comes close to overshadowing the skewered brilliance of the music itself, so I'm not going to dwell on it very much. If you want to know more google them or something. They remain anonymous after four decades, always changing their approach to creating unique, strange, avant-garde music. A lot of their stuff is bad. This is to be expected from a constantly experimenting band that put out 60 records in fewer than 40 years. Other records, however, are perverted genius nonpareil in modern art.
The Residents, it should be warned, are notoriously difficult to listen to for a first timer familiar with normal pop song structures and non-extremely nasally singing. Often described (by me) as "a trip into the mind of a crazy person," a great Residents song will simultaneously thrill and terrify. Although they have slid into predictability and irrelevance in recent years (SO SAD SO SAD FOR REAL) The Residents are the most groundbreaking group of the 20th century bar none I SHALL NOT BE MOVED
The Residents shit in the face of popular music. When they formed they had little to no musical talent, but yo, fuck that, criminology rap, speakers stay jet black. That ain't stopping the motherfucking RESIDENTS. They were one of the first group to embrace electronic instruments, a case can be made that they invented mashups (YOU'RE WELCOME GIRL TALK) Here is a cover that they did of Hank Williams' Kaw-Liga with the bassline to Billie Jean in the background. THEIR CATCHIEST SONG!!!!
The Residents' first album, Meet the Residents is described by the band (if you even call the Residents a band) as their "worst foot forward." They couldn't play anything and had little budget, and still came up with a piece of demented genius. The masterwork of the album is the terrifying "N-Er-Gee (Crisis Blues)," opening with crazed banging on a piano and singing not unlike that of a murderous idiot man-child. The voice begins singing along with "The Land of 1,000 Dances," only for the song to loop the line "BOOG-ALOO!" again and again, turning it into some kind of strange ritual chant, slowly building noise and chaos over it. HOLY FUCK! IT IS SO COOL! Following a strange instrumental passage, the music turns to short rhythmic blasts and back comes the murderous idiot man-child! He begins chanting, softly at first, that immortal montra "WE GOT THE EN-ER-GEE! CRISIS BLUES!" It gets louder and louder, more and more fucked and disturbing, until OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THIS IS FUCKING INSANE FFFFFUFUFUFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK and then there's some stuff and it ends.
Good song.
Then there's Duck Stab and Buster and Glen, The Residents albums most resembling normal rock. There's some of their best stuff there, with lots of contributions from Snakefinger, the actual skilled musician the Residents roped in to help make their ideas musical reality. Upon recieving LIMITED COMMERCIAL ACCEPTANCE the horrified Residents made a sharp about-face and made Eskimo, perhaps the only readily available album completely without African musical roots. There is no rhythm, no discernable melody, weird non-words (all spoken while inhaling to make them sound more fucked up), and yet somehow it is their most compelling album. Ostensibly a musical "movie" of Eskimo culture, (which the Residents admit they fabricated most of when the real stuff got "too boring") it is an album of music completely unknown to the modern ear. When H.P. Lovecraft uses his cop-out descriptions and says that a sound was so alien that earthly language lacked the ability to describe it, he was talking about Eskimo. It is a great idea executed perfectly. It sounds too strange to be enjoyable, I know, but my god is it a revelation. It is also the first appearance of the tuxedo/eyeball-head look, possibly the coolest visual image of a band ever. It was a mixed blessing, though--nothing could top it, so they stuck with it, and the faceless band got a face. It would take time for them to totally get boring but still, sad.
Other fucking awesome records include The Third Reich and Roll, possibly the birth of the mashup, which is a pastiche of dumb 60s pop hit run through the meat grinder of the Resident's minds and coming out all weird and fascinating. The Commercial Album is 40 "pop" songs, each one minute long. The idea is that a pop song is just a verse and chorus repeated 3 times to make 3 minutes, so why not cut the bullshit and play the verse and chorus once each in one minute? Whatever, guys, but still there's some good songs here. A lot of filler, too, and it's best not to sit through the whole thing at once. God in Three Persons was the genesis of their "storytelling" mode, one which they have been stuck in for the past few years (and it's become rather annoying), but none of their story stuff comes close to topping this. Set to surprisingly well-composed music, it's a first-person story about a weird guy who meets weird Siamese twins who are weird (but cooler). And it rhymes, and it's cool. Way better than the annoying shit they have out today (although I liked The Bunny Boy tour). Not Available is pretty badass too.
Well enough talk. You came here to get music. If you want some other stuff (I have some rare shit like Smell My Picture and Postcards from Patmos, some bad recent storytelling albums, and also Animal Lover which has the song "My Window" which is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL) just lemme know.
Duck Stab/Buster and Glen
http://www.mediafire.com/?zzmjd1yzjm0
Eskimo
http://www.mediafire.com/?5wdiyyzj4wg
God in Three Persons
http://www.mediafire.com/?kzng3tgmtzn
Not Available
http://www.mediafire.com/?yhmzc3drwtz
The Commercial Album
http://www.mediafire.com/?zm4yktezjmt
Meet the Residents
http://www.mediafire.com/?tyyjmljjo3o
The Third Reich and Roll
http://www.mediafire.com/?ttlgmmljmnm
11/2/08
A Monarch only minus the A&R
Much like the unfathomable beast Cthulhu, I have been roused from my long slumber to unleash my unstoppable power upon the weak, inconsequential race that seems to view themselves as rulers of this world. Unlike Cthulhu, however, I spread blog posts and free music rather than untold destruction and the devouring of souls.
So I was thinking recently what I could do to make this blog stand out and be extra-cool. I mean, if I post a Fugazi album or something, it wouldn't do much to help robot cake to distinguish itself. Everyone listens to Fugazi. What am I to do (don't actually give suggestions, I already came up with an answer)? I'm going to post albums notorious for being difficult to find! Regular readers of robot cake (most of whom I can probably call by name) will remember I've done this with Scream, Dracula, Scream! and Music for a New Society. Today, I will be focusing on an ill-fated release by a rapper who is a serious contender for the greatest of all time, PHAROAHE MONCH.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS was Monch's solo debut after three critically-acclaimed but low-selling records with the group Organized Konfusion. Headlined by the catchy, undeniably badass, and wildly popular single "Simon Says," Internal Affairs shot up the charts, just missing the top 40, and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Monch's unparalleled flow, vivid imagery, and complex rhymes were finally being appreciated by the general public. Things were going great for the Pharoahe.
However, the four ascending synthesizer blasts that were the backbone of "Simon Says" were illegally sampled from the Godzilla theme song. Toho, the company that owns Godzilla, didn't take too kindly to this, and production of the album stopped and has not resumed to this day. And Pharoahe's career was fucked.
It took eight years for Pharoahe to release his next album (the pretty great Desire, which has yet to sell over 20,000 copies), once stooping so low as to *shudder* ghostwrite raps for (ugh!) P. Diddy. God damn you, Japan, why did you do this to one of the greatest rappers ever to hold the microphone (possibly like a grudge)?
Luckily for you, the album is here for all of you to enjoy. How is it? Well, despite Monch's impassioned declarations of "Y'all know the name/ Pharoahe fuckin' Monch, not a damn thing changed," it was evident (even in just the preceding line) that something had changed. Organized Konfusion was in many ways a typical "underground" group, usually eschewing profanity, thuggery and negativity. Pharoahe here is an angry, cursing, dangerous motherfucker. When he says "get the fuck up," you best get the fuck up. When he says "girls, rub on your titties," you ladies should act accordingly. And guys, too, just to be safe, Pharoahe sounds pissed.
Now I can almost hear you hipster douchebags saying "Why, I never! Negro music with violent and sexist content! Why, that offends my delicate sensibilities! I could never listen to such vulgarity!" Well, I actually kind of agree with you--there's a lot of themes that don't sit well coming from someone like Monch. The track "Rape" is classic Pharoahe in the sense that it uses a well-developed extended metaphor and masterful wordplay. But comparing his rapping skill with rape is just a bit over the line. Still, it's nothing horrible, just a little off-putting, nothing worse than a lot of hardcore rap. It's pretty obvious he jammed in these themes so the record would sell better (and it worked). I mean, Pharoahe Monch as a thug? I'm not really buying that.
Despite these reservations, it's still a fucking classic. Why? Because it's Pharoahe Monch, like I said, one of the greatest of all time. He's got the best flow I've ever heard (he makes Rakim sound like a child), and he can write rhymes like nobody's business. After all, Pharoahe only appears on five full length albums, each one is a fucking treasure to be loved for all time. Some might accuse Monch of compromising to sell better, but he sure as hell didn't sell out.
Here is Internal Affairs:
http://www.mediafire.com/?uegjz04c0yx
And just because I'm an awesome guy, here's his recent album, Desire, which is much less thuggy and more in line with the rest of Pharoahe's work, and Organized Konfusion's self titled debut (Releasing Hypnotical Gases would be mindblowingly ahead of its time even if it were released today):
http://www.mediafire.com/?dk2yrxqhazv (Desire)
http://www.mediafire.com/?tm3zimohly2 (Organized Konfusion)
So I was thinking recently what I could do to make this blog stand out and be extra-cool. I mean, if I post a Fugazi album or something, it wouldn't do much to help robot cake to distinguish itself. Everyone listens to Fugazi. What am I to do (don't actually give suggestions, I already came up with an answer)? I'm going to post albums notorious for being difficult to find! Regular readers of robot cake (most of whom I can probably call by name) will remember I've done this with Scream, Dracula, Scream! and Music for a New Society. Today, I will be focusing on an ill-fated release by a rapper who is a serious contender for the greatest of all time, PHAROAHE MONCH.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS was Monch's solo debut after three critically-acclaimed but low-selling records with the group Organized Konfusion. Headlined by the catchy, undeniably badass, and wildly popular single "Simon Says," Internal Affairs shot up the charts, just missing the top 40, and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Monch's unparalleled flow, vivid imagery, and complex rhymes were finally being appreciated by the general public. Things were going great for the Pharoahe.
However, the four ascending synthesizer blasts that were the backbone of "Simon Says" were illegally sampled from the Godzilla theme song. Toho, the company that owns Godzilla, didn't take too kindly to this, and production of the album stopped and has not resumed to this day. And Pharoahe's career was fucked.
It took eight years for Pharoahe to release his next album (the pretty great Desire, which has yet to sell over 20,000 copies), once stooping so low as to *shudder* ghostwrite raps for (ugh!) P. Diddy. God damn you, Japan, why did you do this to one of the greatest rappers ever to hold the microphone (possibly like a grudge)?
Luckily for you, the album is here for all of you to enjoy. How is it? Well, despite Monch's impassioned declarations of "Y'all know the name/ Pharoahe fuckin' Monch, not a damn thing changed," it was evident (even in just the preceding line) that something had changed. Organized Konfusion was in many ways a typical "underground" group, usually eschewing profanity, thuggery and negativity. Pharoahe here is an angry, cursing, dangerous motherfucker. When he says "get the fuck up," you best get the fuck up. When he says "girls, rub on your titties," you ladies should act accordingly. And guys, too, just to be safe, Pharoahe sounds pissed.
Now I can almost hear you hipster douchebags saying "Why, I never! Negro music with violent and sexist content! Why, that offends my delicate sensibilities! I could never listen to such vulgarity!" Well, I actually kind of agree with you--there's a lot of themes that don't sit well coming from someone like Monch. The track "Rape" is classic Pharoahe in the sense that it uses a well-developed extended metaphor and masterful wordplay. But comparing his rapping skill with rape is just a bit over the line. Still, it's nothing horrible, just a little off-putting, nothing worse than a lot of hardcore rap. It's pretty obvious he jammed in these themes so the record would sell better (and it worked). I mean, Pharoahe Monch as a thug? I'm not really buying that.
Despite these reservations, it's still a fucking classic. Why? Because it's Pharoahe Monch, like I said, one of the greatest of all time. He's got the best flow I've ever heard (he makes Rakim sound like a child), and he can write rhymes like nobody's business. After all, Pharoahe only appears on five full length albums, each one is a fucking treasure to be loved for all time. Some might accuse Monch of compromising to sell better, but he sure as hell didn't sell out.
Here is Internal Affairs:
http://www.mediafire.com/?uegjz04c0yx
And just because I'm an awesome guy, here's his recent album, Desire, which is much less thuggy and more in line with the rest of Pharoahe's work, and Organized Konfusion's self titled debut (Releasing Hypnotical Gases would be mindblowingly ahead of its time even if it were released today):
http://www.mediafire.com/?dk2yrxqhazv (Desire)
http://www.mediafire.com/?tm3zimohly2 (Organized Konfusion)
11/1/08
So you feel like shinin', and you feel like lettin' loose
It's Halloween! Well, it's technically past midnight but who's counting? I trust your costumes have frightened away daemons and ghouls come to steal you away to the shadow realm! But you might have been thinking, "what music is appropriately scary for such an occasion? Why, all of my music is twee pop and freak-folk! Surely Devendra Banhart can scare away demons, but he will also scare away all of my friends and make them not my friends anymore. Surely some demigods, some triumphs of men, have wrought with their glorious minds that which I seek!"
Oh, guess what, they have. FOR YOU PEOPLE I give a great album, an album filled with bloodcurlding tales of horror and the macabre. I give you an album of suicides, madmen, murder, constant elevation, and no fewer than two full cups of human blood. OH YES I SAID IT
That album, good folks, is the classic 6 Feet Deep by the Gravediggaz.
Gravediggaz was a supergroup featuring great rappers such as Too Poetic, Frukwan (of Stetsasonic) and the motherfucking RZA (if you need to be told what group RZA is a member of, you best get the fuck out and educate yourself). As if that weren't enough, the album is produced by none other than hip-hop superman Prince Paul, who you hipster douchebags might remember for producing your precious 3 Feet High and Rising.
Gravediggaz was one of the first horrorcore groups, "horrorcore" meaning it contained ridiculously unrealistic, cartoonish descriptions of violence. It's so over-the-top I'd almost venture to call it a comedy album, and it will likely make you laugh at least once. This is what separates Gravediggaz from shit like ICP. ICP is ridiculous and way too into itself and is terrible. Gravediggaz know how stupid and cartoonish their personas are and use that as a strong point.
Frukwan acts (aesthetically, at least) as the straight man of the record, with a fairly standard, smooth flow. Too Poetic recalls Ol' Dirty Bastard with his lilting, tremulous delivery and gives maybe the album's most memorable verse on the standout "1-800 Suicide"
Oh, guess what, they have. FOR YOU PEOPLE I give a great album, an album filled with bloodcurlding tales of horror and the macabre. I give you an album of suicides, madmen, murder, constant elevation, and no fewer than two full cups of human blood. OH YES I SAID IT
That album, good folks, is the classic 6 Feet Deep by the Gravediggaz.
Gravediggaz was a supergroup featuring great rappers such as Too Poetic, Frukwan (of Stetsasonic) and the motherfucking RZA (if you need to be told what group RZA is a member of, you best get the fuck out and educate yourself). As if that weren't enough, the album is produced by none other than hip-hop superman Prince Paul, who you hipster douchebags might remember for producing your precious 3 Feet High and Rising. Gravediggaz was one of the first horrorcore groups, "horrorcore" meaning it contained ridiculously unrealistic, cartoonish descriptions of violence. It's so over-the-top I'd almost venture to call it a comedy album, and it will likely make you laugh at least once. This is what separates Gravediggaz from shit like ICP. ICP is ridiculous and way too into itself and is terrible. Gravediggaz know how stupid and cartoonish their personas are and use that as a strong point.
Frukwan acts (aesthetically, at least) as the straight man of the record, with a fairly standard, smooth flow. Too Poetic recalls Ol' Dirty Bastard with his lilting, tremulous delivery and gives maybe the album's most memorable verse on the standout "1-800 Suicide"
"Hey ya little rich kid, what's your beef?
Come and tell the Grim Reaper all of your grief
You ask for a Benz and you only got a Jeep
Your pop's got ins, but yo, he's mad cheap
Maybe you're a bastard child, you think
Mom and Dad are white and you're dark as ink
Maybe you're Sicilian, with a tan
But you hate lasagna and the pizza man
Now you stand on the Gravedigga lot, and
you're singing the blues about the rough life you got (not)
You don't wanna live no more
I guess you're really ready for the graveyard tour
When you get home, just seal up your windows and your doors
put the oven on high for about 4 hours
Light up a blunt, kiss your ass goodbye,
you gassed yourself, cause, it's a suicide"
Come and tell the Grim Reaper all of your grief
You ask for a Benz and you only got a Jeep
Your pop's got ins, but yo, he's mad cheap
Maybe you're a bastard child, you think
Mom and Dad are white and you're dark as ink
Maybe you're Sicilian, with a tan
But you hate lasagna and the pizza man
Now you stand on the Gravedigga lot, and
you're singing the blues about the rough life you got (not)
You don't wanna live no more
I guess you're really ready for the graveyard tour
When you get home, just seal up your windows and your doors
put the oven on high for about 4 hours
Light up a blunt, kiss your ass goodbye,
you gassed yourself, cause, it's a suicide"
And the RZA is just the RZA. He raps the only way he knows how--in his raspy staccato that always seems like it's about to lose the beat, but it never does (not on this album, anyway).
It's an experience, to be sure, unlike any album out there. There's nothing out there so hilariously gory and macabre, and nothing better suited for a funky Halloween. Break it out next year and all the cool kids will think you're one bad motherfucker.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ymm2mnyxkeh
It's an experience, to be sure, unlike any album out there. There's nothing out there so hilariously gory and macabre, and nothing better suited for a funky Halloween. Break it out next year and all the cool kids will think you're one bad motherfucker.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ymm2mnyxkeh
10/27/08
Expectations exceeded by Tom's extremely exciting exhortations
Call me out on my laziness, will you? Fool! You know not with what degree of no-life-having you are messing with! Your feeble mind cannot conceive of the directionless energy I possess, energy which your misguided accusations have forced to be let loose upon the general populace, like so much molasses on Boston. ONLY MUCH MORE DELICIOUS THAT IS RIGHT MY THOUGHTS ARE MORE DELICIOUS THAN SWEET SWEET DEADLY MOLASSES.
So I couldn't be bothered to write up another page of hyperbolic praise towards a single band and I didn't want to write up a whole album review, and I sure as shit didn't want to just post an album for download with very little accompanying writing (no offense Jon just not my thing, I like to be verbose and dickish and write a lot of irrelevant bullshit that goes on and on with no real payoff that just ends up alienating the reader which makes them less likely to actually listen to the provided music but oh well what can I do. Like, for example, right here. This parenthetical comment is longer than the non-parenthetical part of the paragraph. What the hell, Tom? And why do I continue to do it? One can never know these things but I think it might have something to do with my predilection for writing in stream-of-consciousness mode with no editing afterwards. This is ending now, I swear). So I decided to do something else.
That's right! A themed playlist! As the title of this post suggests, the theme is "Ex"! I think you will understand upon seeing the tracklist
I think it's pretty cool! Get it here.
hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?cgy1njonwgy
So I couldn't be bothered to write up another page of hyperbolic praise towards a single band and I didn't want to write up a whole album review, and I sure as shit didn't want to just post an album for download with very little accompanying writing (no offense Jon just not my thing, I like to be verbose and dickish and write a lot of irrelevant bullshit that goes on and on with no real payoff that just ends up alienating the reader which makes them less likely to actually listen to the provided music but oh well what can I do. Like, for example, right here. This parenthetical comment is longer than the non-parenthetical part of the paragraph. What the hell, Tom? And why do I continue to do it? One can never know these things but I think it might have something to do with my predilection for writing in stream-of-consciousness mode with no editing afterwards. This is ending now, I swear). So I decided to do something else.
That's right! A themed playlist! As the title of this post suggests, the theme is "Ex"! I think you will understand upon seeing the tracklist
- Ex-Girl Collection - The Wrens
- Ex Lion Tamer - Wire
- Ex-Supermodel - Guided by Voices
- Exhuming McCarthy - R.E.M.
- Explain it to Me - Liz Phair
- Experiment in Terror - Fantomas
- Ex-Spectator - Fugazi
- Excursions- A Tribe Called Quest
- Ex Girl to Next Girl - Gang Starr
- Express Yourself - N.W.A.
- Exploitation of Mistakes - GZA
- Let's Panic Later - The Ex (I think you'll forgive Ex not being in the title)
I think it's pretty cool! Get it here.
hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?cgy1njonwgy
10/25/08
TUMBLEWEEDSS
Because 1) the remainder of CakeBot are M.I.A. and 2) I'm feeling like a generous bastard right now.
Here's the new Growing, which was released early September. It's called "All the Way". It's in the same vein as their previous record, so if you're familiar with it then you know what to expect. For the uninitiated: trippy-ass guitar drones get reprocessed to the point of being unrecognizable through a boatload of filters and effects. Think of it as an intergalactic underwater disco. Get it here.
Next off, "Since I Left You" by the Avalanches. This needs no introduction - get it here. Your collection is bearing a gaping hole in its soul if you don't have this gem by now.
And lastly, this is probably the best basketball-related music video I have seen in a long time. Don't watch this video if you've got a low download quota, which I doubt, but anyway...
I'm off for a coffee now.
Here's the new Growing, which was released early September. It's called "All the Way". It's in the same vein as their previous record, so if you're familiar with it then you know what to expect. For the uninitiated: trippy-ass guitar drones get reprocessed to the point of being unrecognizable through a boatload of filters and effects. Think of it as an intergalactic underwater disco. Get it here.
Next off, "Since I Left You" by the Avalanches. This needs no introduction - get it here. Your collection is bearing a gaping hole in its soul if you don't have this gem by now.
And lastly, this is probably the best basketball-related music video I have seen in a long time. Don't watch this video if you've got a low download quota, which I doubt, but anyway...
I'm off for a coffee now.
9/5/08
8/19/08
You Can't Put A Price On Art
Recently, the RIAA's been stickin' its nose where it shouldn't be. It's one thing to sue file-share programs like Limewire and Kazza, but Muxtape? Where do the motherfuckers get off? Or rather, what do the motherfuckers get off on? Money? They're so worried about losing a little green or dipping into the red that they'll lash out at the audience, the ones who used to shell out money for quality (or shit) music, to make it exclusive again. There weren't Muxtapes or Limewires in 1967, or 1977, or 1987, and I don't think in 1997. Back then, you either bought the LP, the EP, the CD, or the single. NO. EXCEPTIONS.
But times have changed. The Internet has opened up the entire world and revolutionized how we (people) interact and exchange information. Pretty soon, two factions were at war. One faction (the lovely people who made programs like Napster, Limewire, and Muxtape) saw the Internet as an open highway, a way to spread information and what people wanted, such as good music for free. The second faction (RIAA, Lars Ulrich) saw the Internet as a marketing tool, a way to spread information and good music for a price. These two were natural enemies from the beginning. And who is right depends on who you ask. I say Faction One is right. Not (only) because I'm a cheap music nerd, but because you can't put a price on art.
Yes, art.
A general definition of art is a class of objects that can be aesthetically judged. But it goes deeper than that. Art is a reflection of the outer world, as well as a looking glass into the soul. Art conveys thoughts, feelings, the abstract and the known. Good art can amaze and astound you, but great art speaks to you. Reaches past all logic and reason to touch upon your very soul. That art defies all time, space, and age to reach immortality. And music does that. In fact, music does that best.
Think about it. A painting can defy time and age to become immortal, but it doesn't move. The words written in a novel can convey emotion, speak to the mind and soul, and become timeless enough to defy time, space, and age; but it doesn't move. But music moves. Music can shift, and chug, and pound, and groove, and spaz, and stomp, and erupt, and dance a pirouette upon the gossamer silk strings of a spider web. Music can scream, and whisper, and moan, and bemoan, and hum, and whistle, and croak, and wheeze, and weave a dense curtain of lush sound.
How can you price that?
How do you price that?
The business aspect of the music industry is one of the most perilous dangers an artist can face. To survive unscathed, you either need to be a shallow, conforming slave (a la the chump in "Pull My Strings" by The Dead Kennedys) or do the business aspect yourself (do I hear "In Rainbows"?). Anything in between those poles is cruising for a bruising. Artists have declared bankruptcy to escape contracts. Lou Reed went as far as recording Metal Music Machine (which isn't that bad actually. Just not...um..."authentic" enough to be a genuine foray into avant-garde noise).
The business aspect of the music industry is so ready to make a profit that it will do the cardinal sin of making music cold and distant; a hollowed out husk barely retaining its shape. Picture it. Muzak? Boy bands? Emo music? The Spice Girls? Please shudder where appropriate, or suggest any additions. So the RIAA is not only giving us a slap on the wrist, but they're trying to chain us to an archaic system and spitting in the face of art. Art was not meant to be sold. You can't expect to get rich selling art.
and So whenever you hear a story about the latest RIAA lawsuit, don't be surprised and ask yourself, "How could they?" It's just business as usual to them. And business was good until the Napsters and Muxtapes started showing up. Faction One vs. Faction Two. And its a war that won't be stopped until A) A worldwide police state is created or B) The RIAA is put six feet down.
That's not extreme. That's the truth. The RIAA won't stop until everything is set for a price. Today, it's 99 cent downloads; tomorrow, they'll have you buy the whole album for one song. Now it's pretty clear to see that greed and art do not go together well. They may gotten along during the fifties and sixties when some of the basic rules were being written, but it's clear now that a greed/art relationship can only be detrimental to a music nerd (or appreciator).
So don't be cynical enough to claim that people are just being cheap when they illegally download music or borrow it from a friend. That can be a motivation. But another motivation is that good music is an essential art form. And you can't put a price on art.
But times have changed. The Internet has opened up the entire world and revolutionized how we (people) interact and exchange information. Pretty soon, two factions were at war. One faction (the lovely people who made programs like Napster, Limewire, and Muxtape) saw the Internet as an open highway, a way to spread information and what people wanted, such as good music for free. The second faction (RIAA, Lars Ulrich) saw the Internet as a marketing tool, a way to spread information and good music for a price. These two were natural enemies from the beginning. And who is right depends on who you ask. I say Faction One is right. Not (only) because I'm a cheap music nerd, but because you can't put a price on art.
Yes, art.
A general definition of art is a class of objects that can be aesthetically judged. But it goes deeper than that. Art is a reflection of the outer world, as well as a looking glass into the soul. Art conveys thoughts, feelings, the abstract and the known. Good art can amaze and astound you, but great art speaks to you. Reaches past all logic and reason to touch upon your very soul. That art defies all time, space, and age to reach immortality. And music does that. In fact, music does that best.
Think about it. A painting can defy time and age to become immortal, but it doesn't move. The words written in a novel can convey emotion, speak to the mind and soul, and become timeless enough to defy time, space, and age; but it doesn't move. But music moves. Music can shift, and chug, and pound, and groove, and spaz, and stomp, and erupt, and dance a pirouette upon the gossamer silk strings of a spider web. Music can scream, and whisper, and moan, and bemoan, and hum, and whistle, and croak, and wheeze, and weave a dense curtain of lush sound.
How can you price that?
How do you price that?
The business aspect of the music industry is one of the most perilous dangers an artist can face. To survive unscathed, you either need to be a shallow, conforming slave (a la the chump in "Pull My Strings" by The Dead Kennedys) or do the business aspect yourself (do I hear "In Rainbows"?). Anything in between those poles is cruising for a bruising. Artists have declared bankruptcy to escape contracts. Lou Reed went as far as recording Metal Music Machine (which isn't that bad actually. Just not...um..."authentic" enough to be a genuine foray into avant-garde noise).
The business aspect of the music industry is so ready to make a profit that it will do the cardinal sin of making music cold and distant; a hollowed out husk barely retaining its shape. Picture it. Muzak? Boy bands? Emo music? The Spice Girls? Please shudder where appropriate, or suggest any additions. So the RIAA is not only giving us a slap on the wrist, but they're trying to chain us to an archaic system and spitting in the face of art. Art was not meant to be sold. You can't expect to get rich selling art.
and So whenever you hear a story about the latest RIAA lawsuit, don't be surprised and ask yourself, "How could they?" It's just business as usual to them. And business was good until the Napsters and Muxtapes started showing up. Faction One vs. Faction Two. And its a war that won't be stopped until A) A worldwide police state is created or B) The RIAA is put six feet down.
That's not extreme. That's the truth. The RIAA won't stop until everything is set for a price. Today, it's 99 cent downloads; tomorrow, they'll have you buy the whole album for one song. Now it's pretty clear to see that greed and art do not go together well. They may gotten along during the fifties and sixties when some of the basic rules were being written, but it's clear now that a greed/art relationship can only be detrimental to a music nerd (or appreciator).
So don't be cynical enough to claim that people are just being cheap when they illegally download music or borrow it from a friend. That can be a motivation. But another motivation is that good music is an essential art form. And you can't put a price on art.
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