Underground Hip-hop

No, it's not underground because it started in basements. Underground is the term developed for artists on small or non-existent record labels. The lyrics are based more on the "Foundations of Hip-Hop" like graffiti, MC'ing and turntablism (scratching) vs. the typical ass, tits, cock, bottle of alcohol, etc you hear in more mainstream Hip-hop. As a result many of the artists get mislabeled as nerdcore Hip-Hop. This is the genre that restored my faith in MC's (Master of Ceremonies) as someone who doesn't just scream over music (I've wanted to pull an MC's mic at almost every club I've gone to).

Taken Best: While doing manual labor or just hanging out (I can't really imagine dancing to it).

The album review I've already done for this genre is Aesop Rock's "None Shall Pass". Some other great artists from this genre are MF Doom (Doomsday), Del tha Funkee Homosapien (Rock the House); along with MC'ing the gorillaz, he has multiple acts including Deltron 3030 and Deltron Z. Jurassic 5 (What's Golden), and to wrap up: two artists I like to think are underground (halfway there) are Mos Def (Got) and common (Universal Mind Control).

Enjoy!
Sherwood

Trip-Hop

Tonight's genre introduction is something I've definitely thrown into my reviews before; so I'm taking the chance to officially define it.

Story time: Let's spin the clocks back to the mid-90's; Hip-Hop is starting to hit Britain and various Dj's are trying to work it into the music. What they come up with is a fusion of Hip-Hop beats, House, and dance music also known as Trip-Hop. My personal opinion is that it's more like a train (Hip-Hop) smashed a car stuck on the tracks (Jazz) which then got stuck on the train, slowing it down to create one of my favorite genres.

Taken Best: Lounging about enjoying drinks

If you'd like to avoid browsing through previous reviews, "bands" of this genre that I've already reviewed are Gorillaz(some of their stuff), Thievery Corporation, and Peace Orchestra. If you want to check out some new bands of this genre, I'd recommend; Massive Attack (Dissolved Girl), Nightmares on Wax (Les Nuits), and Supreme Beings of Leisure (Under the Gun)

Pic is the Dharma Lab logo; I saw them Dj'ing at a rave I went to in New York. Check them out here. While I don't recall them being trip-hop, they're worth checking out. (Still trying to get one of their shirts).

Enjoy!
Sherwood

Peace Orchestra

Album: Peace Orchestra
Artist: Peter Kruder
Genre: mixed
Label: G-Stone Recordings

If you've been looking for your next hit of "musical morphine"; I have some of the best Down-Tempo I've ever heard for you. A tangent of Kruder's; from Kruder and Dorfmeister, this is one of the various side projects that I pray will get more attention (I am fairly certain that day will not come to pass). Another Down-Tempo meets Trip-Hop sound leading to a somewhat dark futuristic feel.

Taken Best: If it's dark out while this album is playing... perfect. I personally like driving through the city to it.

If you're into any kind of anime you may have heard the Peace Orchestra track called "Who Am I?" in the Animatrix clip "Kid's Story". If you're not familiar with the Animatrix, it's soundtrack is actually where I found a couple great artists; the only problem is it seems like all the artists were trying this new sound that i can't get enough of for this one project (and then abandoned it).

If you're looking for a similar sound, check out the remix's of this album called "Reset". Other artists that may interest you are Adam Freeland, Kruder & Dormeister, and Layo & Bushwacka.

Cryptic & Lennox Live!

Special treat for you tonight; we're streaming Cryptic and Lennox live from the Egyptian.

You'll need winamp or itunes to check it out, Tune in here!

Mashup and Dzak

"Mashups" are a brand of music for those indecisive people who just can't settle on one song. If you've ever heard a live dj; you will hopefully know what song blending is, imagine that 30 seconds between tracks, and apply it to an entire song (which will be comprised of at least two tracks). A lot of people will create mashups by just putting a track on top of another one and pretending they go together well (usually it doesn't). Then we have people like todays "artist" who use programs like ableton and pour hours into creating their album.

Today's artist is Adam Dzak, a network engineer that I met at my college. While he has almost no musical background, he has managed to produce an album comprised of 27 mashups; a "mega mix" as it were. I'll admit a lot of these tracks are not pairs that I would have expected, but a lot of them work surprisingly well.

Taken Best: Driving to a club or party or playing Metal Slug 3 (as Adam is doing while we listen to the album)

Now before you hop on Itunes to try and find some samples, he hasn't hit it that big (i'll leave out a yet, he has no interest in a musical career). You can stream this album and others by Adam Dzak at adamdzak.com, it is also available for download on the same page. WARNING: Turn down your volume before you go to the page, 4 different streams start playing at once.

Hope you enjoy it, if you find any great mashups you want to share I'd love to hear them.

Sherwood

Dubstep for all!

I'm going to skew off my normal "band reviews" tonight and introduce an entire genre of music. I've decided to do this because unless you listen to "electronic music" fairly often you probably haven't heard of this genre.

Dub-step can be divided into two main sub genres;
1.) Happy Dub: Syncs up with your heart and puts you into a state of euphoria you've never tasted before. Imagine a pulsing bass, more bass layered over that, with some D&B poured in, and some sampled vocals every now and then.
Taken Best: In the cyberpunk future that awaites us, or snowboarding.

Listening instructions: turn up bass and volume. Careful on your landing, this track will make you fly. "Cockney Violin" by Rusko.

2.) Dark Dub: it slithers into your ears, melts your brain, mutes your heart, and teaches your soul the cosmic rhythms of being. It's like someone took the standing wave from a car with one of the back windows open, slowed it down, and then turned up the bass. Sprinkle melody for flavor.

Taken Best: At an oxygen bar with funky lights, or just when you've run out of acid.

Prepare to take a shower after this one cause it's some dank dub. "Sensi Samurai" by the Widdler.

To wrap up, I have a gift for you! "Dubstep.fm"... check out the archives for free dubstep (but please make a donation if you like what you hear). My personal favorites are usually the smoke sessions, so check it out and lemme know what you think.

Sincerely,
Sherwood

p.s. Going back to school so updates will be reduced to twice a week.

The graphic is a modified version of.... this

Vampire Weekend

Artist: Vampire Weekend
Album: Vampire Weekend
Genre: Indie pop
Label: XL recordings


I'll preface by saying that this band was poorly introduced to me. Contrary to unpopular belief, Vampire Weekend is not the new Audioslave nor a replacement for them (long story). That said, dispositions aside, this is a great band with a fresh sound; described as African Pop meets Western Classical. If you're writing a screenplay for a movie based in late summer on the Harvard campus, this is your soundtrack.

Taken Best: During the summer, like all other pop!

I picked probably the most upbeat track of the album, it's also the track that was recommended to me. So I hope you enjoy "A-Punk" (the music video reminds me of some of OK Go's videos).

Now, the reason I picked Vampire Weekend for tonight, is for two reasons.
1.) There's a side project going on between Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles from Ra Ra Riot. Check out some of those tracks here. Don't look for it in stores unless you own a turn-table.
2.) News of a new Vampire Weekend album has been circulating for some time now, but it's apparently supposed to come out next month (September)! I'll try and review it within a couple days of it coming out; let's just hope it's not pushed back.

The closest I've found to Vampire weekend is MGMT and Cold War Kids.

Enjoy,
Sherwood

Demon Days

Artist: Gorillaz
Album: Demon Days
Genre: Trip-Alt. Rock
Label: Parlophone

Gorillaz is definitely a noteworthy band and I have nothing but respect for the creators. All the sounds are original and an animated band was a whole new concept they pulled off very well (they even had live shows!). Needless to say when I hear Gorillaz come on the radio, my hand flies to the volume knob (Clarification: to turn it up). The sound is kind of hard to put in a genre, as I've never heard it duplicated. It's something like... Blur (Song 2) found a closet full of things that make sounds and a box full of "awesome". I'll leave awesome up to interpretation, but if you try and throw Alt. Rock and Trip-Hop into a blender, you'd get something very close to the Gorillaz.

Taken Best: Listen to them pretty much whenever, I'm typically driving when I hear them.

For my linked track, I'm once again hoping for the "OHHHH I've heard this before, I love them!" reflex, "Clint Eastwood" Also, if you're curious about what I meant by "animated band" watch through the music video accompanying the link.

Gorillaz is currently on what I'm almost positive is a permanent Hiatus. There was some stuff about Murdoc (bassist) going to hell to rescue Noodle (Guitarist, awesome voice) and now I think they're just considering other adventures. More recently, they did one of the intros to the olypmics which you can see here - "Journey to the west". This while an intro to the Olympics, is also a preview for their rendition of Journey to the West (based on the Chinese novel of the same name). In other news, you can also check out their film they just released (behind the scenes and what not) at Bananaz.

For a similar sound go as far as Gorillaz album G-sides or the self titled. For half of the sound check out more Blur.

Grow Up and Blow Away

Artist: Metric
Album: Grow Up and Blow Away
Genre: Indie Rock
Label: Last Gang Records

For some reason I'm feeling a "what could have been" is in order for this album. This is actually Metric's first recorded album, but for some reason was never released (recorded in 2001, released in 2007). As years passed the bands sound changed a lot so releasing it was out of the question (until it was bought from "Drowned in Sound" by "Last Gang Records").

If you listen to the band's other albums, you can definitely hear the difference. It's not that the newer stuff is bad, its just that this is the album that got me interested in Metric (Actually I like the direction the band is moving from what I've heard of the new album). From this music, you can expect a soft (indie) rock sound that you can relax to, catchy lyrics, and a voice you can fall in love with.

Taken Best: Being artsy or pining over someone who is such

I have no problem picking a track to link for Metric. When I heard this I went in search of more (and wound up finding their newer albums and being kind of confused). Check out "Soft Rock Star". Now if you want a glance at the bands new direction check out, "Help I'm Alive" from this years album "Fantasies".

If you like what you hear you might check out more of the Metric Discography, or check out "The Shins" for a similar instrumental

Black Holes & Revelations

Artist: Muse
Album: Black Holes and Revelations
Genre: Alt. Rock
Label: Helium 3

If you've never heard of Muse before it's OK; we still love you. But you need to know, there's two types of people in this world, those who have never heard of Muse, and those who are absolutely in love with Muse (and then there's this girl I know who has zero taste in music). Muse could not be a more accurate name for this band because somewhere in the cluster of amazing I'll call their instrumentals and lyrics was born the perfect track layout for Alt. Rock. It's really easy to get emotionally sucked into these tracks; they can take you anywhere from being exhaustively relaxed or so hopped up on adrenaline that driving 110 mph down a back country road still isn't fast enough. They use the same instruments as any other alt. rock band, they just have the right combo for the next level.

Taken Best: Whenever, they'd make a good soundtrack to a satirical "end of the world".

It's hard to pick out a single from the album, while some tracks do stand out more than others I decided to pick a track you may have heard before that may spark the "OHHHH I've heard this before, I love them!" reflex. "Supermassive Black Hole" . If this is your first exposure to Muse, let me be the first to welcome you to the second group of people previously mentioned.

Now, the main reason I chose Muse for tonight is because they're coming out with a new album next month (September 15th... I promise to review this album within 48 hours of it's release) The two tracks currently released are "United States of Eurasia" (oddly Queen reminiscent) and "Uprising" (the beginning sounds like the Doctor Who theme) off their new album "The Resistance".

I've decided to remove my rating system as you should assume all the albums I review are 4.5+ on a scale out of 5.0 unless I say otherwise.

Check out the Muse discography, you'll find something you're in love with on all of them. For a similar artist I'd recommend Radiohead.

Mirror Conspiracy

Artist: Thievery Corporation
Album: Mirror Conspiracy
Genre: Chill out
Label: ESL music

I've always had trouble grouping Thievery Corporation into a genre; it might have something to do with how their music spans 4 to 5 of them. Yes, I called it "Chill out", but that's what you should be doing when you listen to their music, not the name of their genre. What makes it so undefined is that on any given album you can hear a beautiful blend of Down-tempo, Dub, Lounge (Modern Lounge; not Frank Sinatra) as well as heavy influences from the Middle East, Latin America, and bits of Europe.

Each of their albums is original and while you can find a similar sound in other bands, nothing ever lives up to Thievery Corporation's sound. I spent a lot of time trying to pick an album to review and I finally decided on Mirror Conspiracy because it is one of their first (I plan to review more of their stuff in the future as they are def. top 5)

Taken Best: Relaxing by the water at sunset or sitting in a lounge like... Eighteenth Street Lounge in Washington DC for example...

I'd love to pick a flag ship track to post for you, but that would be like asking me to (something terrible, use your imagination) So I'll pick one at random... "Samba Tranquille"... If you know what a samba is, you probably agree that they're doing something very right.

On a rating system I will explain in the very near future, I will give "Mirror Conspiracy" by Thievery Corporation a top score of 5.0. My quest is not to warn you of bands that suck; it's to share and find music that I love and Thievery Corporation is definitely up there.

I recommend you look deeply into their discography, but I will be reviewing more of them in the future. If you want to sample more of the ESL Label and get some tracks for free, check this out!
Just sign into your amazon account (or make one) and you can download 8 ESL tracks for free!

Enjoy,
Sherwood

Thou Shalt Not Pass

Artist: Aesop Rock
Album: None Shall Pass
Genre: Underground Hip-hop
Label: Definitive Jux

Aesop Rock definitely holds a spot in my top 5 artists. Imagine "understandable" rapping where the artist's voice is essentially another instrument in some great hip-hop grooves. This album is not for sitting around and relaxing. It's easy to get into his music and you might even find yourself rapping through the chorus.

Taken Best: walking to class or thumping down the street in your vehicle (mode of transportation).

Before you jump the gun, do not just look up this album, you need to start with the track "None Shall Pass", then graduate to "Coffee (feat. John Darnielle)", then make your way through the rest of the album if you like what you hear. In fact why don't you take a moment to... "None Shall Pass". I'm not saying those are the only two good tracks on the album, but they're definitely your gateway to Aesop.

You may be thinking, "what is this lyrical nonsense?!" But give it a couple listens and I think that you'll be blown away by some of the things Aesop is saying. His rhymes are a fast flow of what would be a stream of consciousness you don't even notice in your head. Personally I have no idea how he comes up with some of his word associations.

All in all, I'd give "None Shall Pass" a 4.6 out of 5. With a good track flow, this album bleeds genius. Some of the tracks just require you be in a certain mood.

If you're looking for some similar Aesop Rock check out his album "Daylight".
I'd also recommend Jurassic 5, Mos Def, and RjD2 if you like this style of Underground.

Necessary for Music!

What I'm currently listening to music on:

Ear buds: Altec Lansing - BackBeat Noise-Isolating - 4.0 out of 5 - they're fairly new so I'm still breaking them in. More to come on these.

Headphones: Sony - Studio Monitor Series Headphones- 4.5 out of 5 - You get what you pay for on these, they're pretty sturdy (flown off my head while long boarding) fit around the neck well and have a pretty decent dB rating. Recommended by many of my DJ friends, but def. not for audiophiles.

System: Paradigm Monitor 7 + ADP 190 + CC 190 - 4.5 out of 5 - I'm extremely happy with this setup as it is my first. I am of course missing the .1 out of my 5.1 setup but I get along fine with 5.0. Fantastic sound quality, although I had to turn my rears up to +9 dB to get the sound I wanted out of them. If you're looking for a high end speaker, but don't want to drop the money on something like Bowers & Wilkins I'd recommend these.Also I'm not currently running 5.1 music files through them, but movies are SWEET.

Intro

Reader,

I thought I'd start my blog/review with a little about me, nothing personal like shoe size or favorite food, because that's none of your damn business! But what you should know about me is that I'm addicted to music (I say music as in... sounds that make me happy... i.e. not country or screamo) I could spend the better part of my day foraging about the internet for a new band or flipping through vinyl at some random hole in the wall shop; but I don't because that would make me feel like a complete waste of protein.

So my main purpose is to share what I find, and help people find new artists if not genres of music (maybe even get a lil somethin' somethin' back... like a new band). I may also recommend headphones or speaker equipment.... lets just say audio related things will be reviewed here.

I'll try and update at least once a week, more the first couple weeks so I can get a couple reviews for folks such as yourself to look through.

Here's how it will work, I'll listen through an album and tell you what I think. The things I plan to tell you about the "album of the week/day" as it were, are the artist and maybe a little about them, the genre if it's decipherable, the good and bad of the album (tracks and layout), as well as anything else I feel is noteworthy.

Tune in tomorrow for the first review!
Sherwood