Solve street art

Solve street art
Chicago, 2006

Friday, September 24, 2010

dj qbert 1992

And some footage from 1992 proving Q-Bert is an alien. He's an alien magician.

DJ Qbert Livestyle Showcase 1989 - Part 2

Part 2

DJ Qbert Livestyle Showcase 1989 - Part 1

Q Bert is a magician. The best magician on two turntables. Here is part 1 of a set of his from almost 22 years ago.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Black Cab Sessions. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Benjamin Zephaniah


Benjamin Zephaniah has been listening to the wrong radio station. I've tuned into that same station and I will tell you it is a terrible station that unfortunately has a lot of dedicated listeners. If you like this stream of consciousness there are more clips of him on youtube, an interview at democracynow.org, and a few albums he has released over the years you should check out. Benjamin Zephaniah describes himself as a poet, reggae artist, activist and revolutionary. I discovered him by digging in dusty crates and finding his first album called "Rasta" from 1983 at a thrift store a few years ago. I was impressed to say the least. I couldn't find much info on him at first but now it seems plenty has surfaced online.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Madvillain - All Caps



Madvillain's track "All Caps" with a slick comic music video for your viewing pleasure.

Graffiti Rock (Pilot)

Old school breaking to the sick ass electro funk track "Play At Your Own Risk" by Planet Patrol. Mr. Wave is the illest of all of them!

Friday, September 10, 2010

J Dilla - Think Twice


J Dilla is the best beat producer. If you think I am wrong I will gladly play you in a game of slapjack for it.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Nina Simone: Four Women


I've never listened to/watched this back to back with Talib Kweli's "Expansion Outro" until now. Listen to Nina Simone's "Four Women" first and then you can pick up on which lyrics are his and which are hers in his version. I knew that he used her lyrics in his version but to see her perform Four Women live and then to listen to his version makes it all the more clear.

Talib Kweli & Hi Tek - Expansion Outro

Rose Royce - Sunrise



As fresh as 1976 gets. Most people know "Car Wash" by Rose Royce but this instrumental gem is the real banger from the Car Wash soundtrack. I have used this quite a bit in my sets in order to have time to chat with friends (specifically Mary) as it clocks in at over ten minutes. Dig that groovy guitar and those powerful trumpets over the never ending drum rhythm. One if the keys for me is that they don't overuse the strings like so, so many disco songs of the era did, instead they come and go nicely throughout.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

MILES DAVIS & JEANNE MOREAU share this scene from "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" by Louis Malle



One night I rented "Elevator To The Gallows" from the liberry and was pleasantly surprised with it. It's a French film called "Ascenseur pour l'échafaud" by Louis Malle that he made when he was 23. He had the genius balls to ask Miles to come to Paris and record with a band he had picked out. Miles and the band was asked to improvise to certain scenes and i think i remember reading he and the band watched the movie once through and then recorded all the music you hear in the film on the second watch through. Pretty all around amazing film and soundtrack/Miles Davis album. This is a classic cinema scene in the film when Jeanne Moreau walks Paris streets to Miles Davis worried that her lover has stood her up/left her. He is really stuck in an elevator at the time and in some deep shit with more than just her.

The Temptations "Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind"

This is the 8 min of mad funk that follows "Hum Along And Dance".

The Temptations - Hum Along And Dance




For a time the Temptations were an amazing funk band. This is a track that was cut on the album Psychedelic Shack. The record was cut so that "Hum Along and Dance" (this track) would flow right into "Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind" (next track I'll post) even though they were listed as separate tracks on the album. Could you imagine hearing this 12 min of madness back in 1970 when this first came out? The Jackson 5 covered this but don't hold a candle to the audio perfection in the Temptation's version. I specifically remember the first time I heard this album on vinyl, I simultaneously became a fan of a side of the Temptations I had never known. I was only familiar with their radio hits but hearing this album led me to their album Psychedelic Soul which definitely blew my mind. They were crazy funky psychedelic for a period of time (68-73) and their Psychedelic Soul album contains remastered and uncut jams (some over 12 min long) from only that era. Funk it's great stuff.