Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Jay Z on the MTV Awards
Dope performance. I love during the chorus when Jay is just yelling "Yes!" over and over. I guess Lil' Mama awkwardly getting on stage is old news, but I hadn't heard about it until today. I think she luckily got overshadowed by Kanye's imma let you finish rant. Read More......
If It Ain't Ruff
(to be published in the forthcoming book "The Strength of Street Knowledge: Deep Inside NWA's Straight Outta Compton")
Straight Outta Compton is like a car crash you pass on the road except instead of the curiosity and voyeurism of disaster drawing you in, MC Ren is screaming at you to pay attention to him but that if you pay the wrong kind of attention he’s going to shoot you. So you better just nod your head, wave your hands from side to side, and enjoy yourself. You don’t really have any other choice in the matter.
On “If It Ain’t Ruff” MC Ren is given his own shot at defining the image and aesthetics of the group. Rapping over alternating guitar samples from Average White Band’s “A Star in the Ghetto”, Ren asserts himself as a natural-born antagonist. He establishes an easy to loathe persona, that of a violent, fear-inducing, girlfriend-stealing hoodlum from Compton. The biographical truth behind this image is debatable, but it doesn’t really affect the appeal of the song. In fact, using authenticity as a criterion for enjoying despicably violent entertainment is arguably despicable in itself. Whether Ren is or isn’t a cold-hearted, shoot your mother for a dollar style killer, he’s in a position to report on that type of figure. If one isn’t blinded by the criminal nature of the content and chooses to accept N.W.A.’s lyrics as journalism and cultural commentary, the group’s underdog status and charismatic bravado in the face of dismal context makes their success worth rooting for.
The sample source for the song has surprisingly parallel themes to N.W.A.’s back-story. A collaboration between Ben E. King and Average White Band, the lyrics of “A Star in the Ghetto” dismiss the signifiers traditionally associated with success in the music industry. The song shows disdain for the Grammy awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as established institutions such as Hollywood, Broadway, and Carnegie Hall. Since the song’s creation Ben E. King and Average White Band have both been lauded with the very honors they refute in the song. Like N.W.A., these musicians step outside of their own personal experiences to convey sentiments that are easy to identify with. The message and attitude of the song applies more accurately to the then-ignored West Coast hip-hop scene that gave rise to N.W.A than the canonized blues musicians who wrote it.
Dr. Dre takes the introduction from “A Star in the Ghetto” and adds a few touches of his own. Average White Band’s opening guitar line stinks of G-funk, but in the original version it’s quickly overshadowed by string and horn countermelodies. Dre ditches everything but the hard-hitting drum line and picked guitar figure. He adds a shaker to create an ominous pulsing groove and pans reverbed scratches to give the beat a large sense of space. After a brief instrumental intro, Ren jumps on the track and delivers an opening two lines that are perhaps his strongest in the song.
Threatening assertions and their reciprocal depictions of fear are Ren’s lyrical bread and butter. In the song’s first line he declares himself a villain and the listener a hostage forcefully captivated but repulsed by Ren’s persona. His threatening nature is a source of control over the audience and they are unexpectedly hypnotized by his charisma. The hostage-taking scenario also explores the idea of surprise, one of N.W.A.’s primary themes. Nobody expected the west coast’s ascendant rise in popularity and the group takes every opportunity to remind listeners that they’re coming out of left field.
The second line extends the metaphor using the same cause and effect structure but integrates less traditionally antagonistic imagery. Ren continues the hostage-taking line of imagery by advising them to “cover their head” and hide on the ground like an ostrich. This is Ren at his sharpest lyrically, reappropriating otherwise tame images into extended metaphors declaring his powers of intimidation.
Other than frightening the listener, Ren’s secondary goal is to denounce critics that question his authenticity. This begins in the third and fourth lines of the song as he describes the dichotomy created by his personal history. He directly addresses commentators who question the reality behind his image. His success is jealousy inducing to people who came from the same upbringing and question why Ren and his crew take it upon themselves to speak out. These critics eventually realize that the reason N.W.A. rose up above their peers is simply because they were cool enough to pull it off.
It’s important that Ren establishes this idea of authenticity, despite the questionable foundation in fact, in order to give his message credibility. Part of the frustration that runs through the group’s lyrics is based on the lack of commentary regarding their cultural position, and if they don’t establish themselves as primary sources, the message loses its power because most listeners don’t want to identify with a blatantly fabricated image. Although most fans can’t relate to the Boyz in the Hood style violence that N.W.A. have famously become intertwined with, the listener can easily recognize the age-old theme of coming from nothing, a claim that the group defends throughout the album.
The song’s chorus is the most blatant argument for Ren’s authenticity, a simple reflexive boast that “if it ain’t ruff, it ain’t me.” His identity is intertwined with the idea of appearing tougher than rocks. He denounces even the idea of being soft, the possibility doesn’t exist. He isn’t refined, cultured, or sophisticated, he’s ruff. He takes the traditionally negative term and uses it as a stamp of pride, which is what N.W.A. is all about. Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good. Taking pride in this lack of refinement is another method by which listeners can relate to Ren’s image.
Not lyrically the strongest track on the album, Ren starts to sound like a bit of a broken record. He carries the same themes throughout, doing a passable job of depicting himself as someone you don’t want to mess with, but he doesn’t really break any new ground thematically. Several times throughout the song Ren awkwardly uses a reflexive lyrical conceit, essentially reusing the same phrase twice for no apparent reason but to complete a rhyme. It’s distracting and proof that at this point in his career Ren simply isn’t quite up to snuff lyrically with some of the other group members, but if you ignore the nonsensical repetition and occasionally disconnected statements, there are a few gems in the ruff.
The most interesting lyrics are Ren’s attempts to flip everyday imagery into signifiers of fear, intimidation, and charisma. “Get a cold rag and wipe your neck” is a simple line, but it’s a commanding way for Ren to once again illustrate a punchy cause and effect. He’s so in charge that he’s going to make you sweat then condescendingly tell you to go fix the problem. In the next line he says that you might as well clean your face while you’re at it to avoid acne, an awkwardly juvenile insult coming from a supposedly stone-cold killing machine and an indicator that he isn’t nearly as skilled at crafting longer more complicated chains of lyrics.
The third verse features another good example of flipping an ordinary image. Referencing the do not disturb sign often found hanging from the handles of hotel doors, Ren lets you know he doesn’t want to be bothered, and that usually when he doesn’t want to be bothered it’s because he’s deciding who he wants to fuck with next. His default state is that of the antagonist.
But despite all of MC Ren’s violent and aggressive tendencies, no one he directs his lyrics at can seem to deny his charisma. This love-hate relationship between Ren and his audience is representative of the whole idea behind gangsta rap and the reason an entire generation was genuinely dumbfounded by the genre’s appeal. As N.W.A. broke into the mainstream, the majority of their listeners weren’t urban youth who identified with the criminal personas created by the group, but rather suburban kids drawn in by familiar themes filtered through an inherently foreign cultural lens. Most fans may not be able to sympathize to the criminal elements of N.W.A., but they can no doubt relate to their greater myth of working towards one’s goals from a culturally, geographically, and economically disadvantaged position.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Live at Birds Mix
I DJ at Birds Barbershop on East 6th every Thursday evening for the nice people getting their hair cut. I recorded the session a few weeks ago, download the mix here or stream it:
Dan Gentile - Live at Birds Mix
(divshare)
Tracklist:
Peter Brown – Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me? / Burning Love Breakdown
6th Borough Project – Just a Memory
D Train – Tryin’ To Get Over
Dam Funk – Electrik Breeze
Timex Social Club – Rumors (12” Mix)
Grace Jones – Pull Up to the Bumper (Larry Levan Mix)
Harlequin 4’s – Set It Off
Hot Chocolate – Haven Is In The Backseat Of My Cadillac (The Revenge Mix)
Sir Joe Quarterman – (I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind (South City All Stars Remix)
NYC Peech Boys – Don’t Make Me Wait
Hall & Oates – Can’t Go For That (Beatconductor Remix)
Steely Dan - Peg
Amplified Orchestra – The Fighter
Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cutes #5
Jackson 5 – What You Don’t Know (Eli Escobar Edit)
Eddy Grant – My Turn to Love You
Oliver Cheatham – Get Down Saturday Night
A Flaming Lips review....
I saw this on their message board. is this record out yet or what? does it come out tomorrow?
"This album is far better than mystics in terms of being an ALBUM. Mystics has some great songs on it no doubt.
But this album has themes and sounds that run throughout the album. there is a feel to it that is organic and suprisingly flows nicely. The sound of the album has a unified feel to it.
The album is heavily influenced by german sounds. Faust, early kraftwerk and hawkwind are all over this album. at the same time I wouldnt say they just copied and pasted. It just feels like those band and it feels like it is from that time while simultaneously being something fresh and new. and certainly something that belongs to the flaming lips.
The pop fans will be dissapointed and unimpressed. the rest of us listening to captain beefheart, neu and can will be very very happy."
yesssssssssssssssss..........
Friday, October 9, 2009
Handmade music austin - realise your circuitry dreams
REPLACE THESE STARS WITH HOMEPAGE SUMMARY<-->
Wishing I was in Texas just a week or so sooner than I will be, cause there's a great series of electronics workshops starting on 18 October.
It's dubbed 'handmade music' and besides being able to just generally geek out with wires and circuit boards and DIY analog synthesis, the advanced workshop is building an analog drum module.
At first I was like....:]
...then I was like :O !!!
that video really jams on it's own accord.
The austin link is through 4ms pedals, who I was introduced to unfortunately right as I was leaving town. keep it up fellas.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Twice Life (Washed Demo)
Lately when I decide to sample a song I have a tough time choosing between making a hip-hop beat and something more experimental. I'm more experienced making beats, but it's fun to go in the other direction as well. Here's an example of something a little different.
Twice Life (Washed Demo)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Pukekos / Puttin on the Ritz
hey Ranchers,
This dude BJ (the singer) runs a website called Pukekos and also plays in a band called Puttin' on the Ritz. You can find a nice EMHU writeup there today replete with fresh drawings I did, and stuffed to the gills with 320 bit MP3s. Anyways here's some Youtube videos of his band, and also a bonus video of us in Boston our last day of tour.
Classic No Wave shenanigans:
Classic Spiked Punch Mellow Shenanigans:
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Eggs Schezwan style
In these tough, tough economic times, it becomes important to cut back, and if there is one thing that definitely means, its trying to score some meals at the rents. At some point since me and my brother went to college, my parents stopped shopping anywhere but Costco, meaning they have large tubs of certain items, and nothing in the way of standard grocery fair. They also now eat way healthier, meaning unless I want to dig into the gallon of non-fat yogurt (I dont) I am left with few options. Fortunately, one of those options is eggs, and their spice collection is pretty good.
I went to the dentist today at noon, and by the time I got back (i hadn't eaten breakfast) I had worked up quite an appetite. I wanted to try and take things to the next level with my eggs, and this is what I made (it was delicious).
4 eggs
a little bit of water
[[[1/2 a red bell pepper
3 mushrooms
a can of diced Hatch Chilis]]] - all cooked down first, with the hatch chilis thrown in towards the end
some Havarti Cheese
salt, pepper, curry, Schezwan seasoning (which is garlic, ginger, and red pepper base i think), red pepper, a little bit of cinnamon
Tabasco brand spicy Worcestershire sauce
cooked in oil. remember, pepper tastes best if you throw it in in the middle.
I think that was it. It was great. Basically I smelled the Schezwan seasoning side by side with some curry and figured I could get away with combining the two. I'd previously been making eggs with red pepper, yellow curry, and cinnamon as a spice base, so that recipe got thrown in, along with some chunkier stuff that I traditionally enjoy in eggs. I didn't have any onion, otherwise there would have been some of that in there too. First I tried to make it an omelet out of it, but there was too much shit and it ended up as scrambled eggs.
But yeah, pretty good shit, try it out sometime if you like. I recommend Schezwan seasoning, its a good combo and good flavor and you can mix it in with your regular spices. I'll tell you another thing, if there had been any Allspice, I probably would have thrown that in too, and I'll bet it would have been pretty good. When I was in Athens there was this can of whole Allspices and you can just crush them in your fingers and they taste real fresh, just like whole peppercorns.
-Chef Ethan, Over and Out
Monday, September 21, 2009
RIP Roc Raida
Fast forward to 4:45 if you don't have patience for the whole set. Totally sick.
BONUS:
If you haven't seen this A-Trak DMC set, it's truly inspiring. Definitely the most memorable DMC set I've seen. Say what you will about his label Fool's Gold, but the dude is an undeniably genius turntablist.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Giggggs
Holla. I've got some gigs coming up...
Friday 9-18 (tonight!) at Ranch 616 - from 8 to 11ish. Should be classy.
On Thursdays I usually play records at Bird's Barbershop on east 6th from 5-8. I'm pushing that gig an hour earlier, form 4-7, in order to make it over to the coffee shop formerly known as Clementine, now Thunderbird Manor. I'll be playing some funky stuff from 8 to 10. Bring your study materials.
Then next Saturday I'll be playing an art show at Bird's on east 6th. There'll be a bunch of great art and also a trunk show so you can buy some jewelry for your girl.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Love to Share
Hey, here's a new beat I'm pretty happy with. It's based on a sample from the disco group Unlimited Touch.
Diamond Mine - Love to Share
In other news, my hip-hop group might be playing a show in early October, watch out.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Happy 909!
In honor of my all time favorite drum machine the roland tr-909:
Build your own 909 - http://www.introspectiv.eclipse.co.uk/
Play a 909 (+ 303 + 808 + fx) right now in flash - http://www.hobnox.com/audiotool.1056.en.html (the 909 is not in there by default, you have to add it via bottom left corner...if you just want the 909 but not as good an emulation, an old one is at http://lab.andre-michelle.com/fl-909)
Jeff Mills - rockin the 909 into a dj set as he does (he really breaks it down in the middle)
Jeff Mills Raw 909
Youtube dudes show off their gear fetishism
Radiohead - Videotapes (Scotch Mist version) - Jonny rocks the 909 and great up close porno of the thing
Daft Punk - Revolution 909 acapella (Roger & Junior's Revolutionary War Mix)
Daft Punk - Revolution 909 (original)
This is the track, the video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R4h3Qsk1rg (disabled embeds be damned)
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
slow jamz boo oo ty
LINKS FIXEDbe careful with this playlist, that's all i'm saying.
featuring (not in this order)...
notorious big - big poppa
pm dawn - set adrift on memory bliss
d'angelo - brown sugar d'angelo - one mo'gin
faith evans - soon as I get home
jodeci - feenin' (c&s)
usher - nice & slow
swv - you're always on my mind
busta and janet - what's it gonna be (s&c)
tlc - red light special
isley brothers - between the sheet (c&s)
mariah carey w/ jigga - heartbreaker (c&s)
mint condition - breakin' my heart (pretty brown eyes)
aaliyah - one in a million
aaliyah - come over (c&s)
brandy - wanna be down (c&s)
r kelly - your body's callin' me
r kelly - feelin' on your booty (c&s)
r kelly - bump and grind (c&s)
keith sweat - nobody
keith sweat w/ kut klose - get up on it
bone thugs - tha crossroads
Thursday, September 3, 2009
a little gansta love
1- missy elliot (ft nicole wray and big boi) - all in my grill
2- guerilla maab - fondren and main
3- foxy brown - no one's
4- brandy - wanna be down
5- isley brothers - between the sheets
6- jodeci - feenin'
7- aaliyah - one in a million
8- crime boss - put em up
9- 112 (bad boy remix) (ft the notorious b.i.g. and mase) - only you
10- warren g - gansta love
11- 2pac - thug n me, thug n u (first ya'll do me, then i'll fuck y'all!)
12- pimp tyte and esg - thug love
13- little italy (ft silkk the shocker) - ghetto fame
14- too $hort, 2pac, mc breed - for my hustlers
15- 8ball and mjg - it's like candy
16- da brat and jd - just wanna party
17- 2pac - live and die in la
by dj screw
part one
part two
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