Fountain of Wu

Sitting around listening to the newest Raekwon release, "Only Built for Cuban Linx II", which dropped August of this year. It's the long awaited sequel ( I guess it's long awaited? ) to the absolute bomber that the Chef released in 1995, you guessed it, "Only Built for Cuban Linx".

Note: bomber = good, really really good

I hadn't really given the new sequel a good listen when I first picked it up, so today I finally gave it the attention it deserved. Overall, pretty good album. When you compare it to any other rap album that was released this year, it's not "pretty good", it's "a fuckin' relief". I can't believe how gross the hip hop releases are these days. Honestly, I don't even listen to a whole bunch-a rap. But I know what I like, and most of the shit today isn't it.

Aside from the Dre produced "Catalina" and a few other minor mishaps, the album delivers a breath of fresh air for any Wu fan. I really can't get over how boring some of Dre's beats are, but I'll let it stay at that. "Cold Outside" is a pretty neat tune, and "10 Bricks" is phenomenal. The album is like any other with its weak points, but some tracks will have you hitting repeat, a rarity in most rap albums today. The video for "House of Flying Daggers" is pretty insane (posted at the bottom) and it includes a GZA line similar to that from the classic "Clan in Da Front". The single "New Wu" is one of the best Wu Tang songs I've heard in 2 or 3 years, seriously. I don't know what it is, but I think Method Man could rap over the sound of my fingers pressing these keys right now and it would still sound fuckin' awesome. I don't think I've ever really heard him slip, ever.

One thing I keep noticing about the Wu Tang Clan is that they don't appear to be aging the same as the rest of us. If Enter the 36 Chambers was released in '93, that would put most Wu members around 39 or 40. I'm not quite 24 and most of my friends look as old as these guys. I couldn't tell if they were 20 or 30. Most of them look like they did 10 years ago, I don't get it. Ghostface's voice sounds like it did on 97's Forever. Do these guys have a fountain of youth that David Copperfield hasn't bought up yet? I don't know, but I hope for the sake of rap that they do.

For all you rock purists, don't worry, I won't post much about rap on this blog. For any of you rap purists, save your own time and make your visits scarce, sayyyy 4 times every 22.7 days.

I'm gonna go eat some PBJ, you should all (2 of you) do the same.



Brain Squashin!!




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Scattered tune: "10 Bricks" by Raekwon feat. Ghostface, "Slang Editorial" by Cappadonna, "Border Lord" by Kris Kristofferson

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Doherty in trouble.. but still awesome.

Recently, Babyshambles frontman and solo artist Pete Doherty created a buzz when he accidently sang a controversial verse from an old German anthem at a concert in Munich. The concert took place on November 28th, and Doherty has since apologized for the slip-up. The verse in question was connected to the Third Reich, and after WWII it wasn't supposed to be used I guess.

You can read all about the incident and subsequent apology from Doherty over at Rolling Stone, right HERE.


According to RS, Pete is from Jewish descent and was completely unaware of the controversy. Poor guy, always in the news for the wrong reasons.

People really hate this guy but fuck it, I think he's actually just a guy who does a lot of drugs (yeah, I'm sure you don't know ANYONE like that) and gets in to trouble with the law from time to time. You can't take away the music, and a lot of his music is excellent. His work with Libertines and Babyshambles have always been favorites of mine, and Arctic Monkeys, likely becoming one of the biggest bands of this decade, cite Pete's work as a direct influence.

What also really burns me is that people who rag on Doherty for drug-use and loony behavior are a lot of the time the same people who would praise Kurt Cobain for it. I'm not taking anything away from anyone. I'm just saying, if you like the music, fuckin' listen to it and if you don't, then listen to something else. Pretty simple isn't it?

Why people go out of their way to hate this guy is beyond me. Like anyone else, I like to hear about news regarding my favorite bands and whatnot, but usually it's something to do with a release or a collaboration or something. I could really care less if a guy like Doherty wants to get high here or there. The news we should pay more attention to is something that reflects the music or what's coming up next from a band/artist. Yeah it's fun to rag on someone for doing something stupid but don't let it stop you from hearing good music.


If you want an easy listen solo acoustic-ish album, throw on Grace/Wastelands from Doherty earlier this year. It's pretty solid top to bottom with very few skip-through moments and it's cool to play along with if you like to learn a few tunes on a Sunday afternoon.

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Couple tunes: "I Am the Rain" by Peter Doherty, "Fright Lined Dining Room" by Arctic Monkeys

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Arctic Monkeys BBC Radio2 Interview and Live Performance

Here's a little something from the Arctic Monkeys appearance on BBC Radio Two with an interview and live performance. Big thanks to the uploader. Pretty cool stuff.

I like how Dermot O'Leary gives them shit for not showing up as a full band at first. Hilarious.

Part 1





Part 2

Kings try to set it straight..

After snatching up four Grammy nominations this week, Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill spoke to SPIN  Magazine about all the success from their 2008 album "Only By The Night". Followill explained that the band became bigger than they actually wanted to, and eluded to the new fans (likely people who enjoy shit like Rascal FLATZZZZ) that they've acquired through their new sound.

Personally, I hated Only By The Night from the first time I heard it. Kings were actually a band I enjoyed up until 2008 when they dropped this raunchy set of tracks on all of us. After hearing the album the first time, I experienced what many do when they hear a terrible album by their fav band; at first you try your hardest to make yourself like the songs, but then within a day you absolutely hate it, it's impossible to enjoy. When I noticed how much my mom actually liked the Kings singles from the radio, I knew something was wrong. "Use Somebody" is actually one of my most hated songs of all time, coming from a band that I used to like? How stupid is that? Not to mention all of my friends who used to enjoy Kings experienced the same withdrawal, knowing they could never listen to another album from these guys again. How rotten is it to like the first three albums from a band over the course of a few years, and then actually HAVE to stop listening to them!? Gross.

I figured my Leon days were behind me. I thought from now on every album would be terrible like the last one. But the interview with SPIN kind of let me see a little light. If the members of Kings of Leon can realize how shitty that last album was, maybe they'll steer away from it and release a good record the next time around. Wishful thinking? Let me know.

By the way, if you've experienced this with another band (which you definitely have), throw along an email or comment. I'll post on some of the best examples of this type of debacle.

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- Followill informed SPIN that apparently Eddie Vedder told him how much success they'd get from Only By The Night, while also saying that he didn't really believe Vedder liked the album. Interesting stuff.


Few tunes for ya: "Summertime Clothes" by Animal Collective, "Party Crasher" by Method Man, "Separate and Ever Deadly" by Last Shadow Puppets



-razzler

What is it?.. Those Rockin' Crows?

On November 17th, "Them Crooked Vultures" dropped their first full length under Interscope Records. The trio of Zepp's John-Paul Jones, all-over-the-place drummer Dave Grohl, and Joshua Homme (QOTSA, Kyuss, etc) actually formed in 2005 but have finally decided to drop this bomb on us this year.

The album can be summed up with the title of it's second song "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)", as this album really gets to the point early and doesn't let up. It actually sort of gets stronger toward the end, though I'm hesitant to say that, considering the hard-as-nails songs in the early portion of the record (especially the opener "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I", and "New Fang"). You can blatently hear each of the members contribution to the songs, such as "Warsaw or...", where the verse is something out of a Queens tune, with a tasty Zeppelin lick in between. Homme is strong throughout, with vocals that rock the room but sometimes spook you out a bit, a pleasant mixture of what he's done before (I won't lie, I'm a pretty big Josh Homme fan). The bass and drum combination of Jones and Grohl is such a treat. It's really really... really... really rare to hear a bass/drum combo like this on records these days, so expect to blown the fuck away when you listen for it. The song "Gunman" at the end of the album will seriously make you want to drive your car right off a cliff, in a good way.

If you've ever enjoyed anything by Homme before, give this album a serious listen and you shouldn't be disappointed. It really is a hard-rock fan's dream come true for this year. I don't like to use genres too much, but if this isn't hard rock, then someone let me know and I'll shut this bitch down right now. A better genre fit might be "hard-as-f#CK!N NAILS".

Warning: Driving the street with this album in your speakers may result in "The Chase" with Charlie Sheen. If you're one of those people who walk down the street with your Ipod blasting, you may be forced to kick a few midgets.

Standout: "Scumbag Blues", "No One Loves Me and Neither Do I"

Something else I just listened to: "My Kind of Soldier" - Guided by Voices

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