Sunday is going to have my most difficult decisions. I don't think I have the stomach to make these decisions just yet. My initial impression:
12:15: Going to be another early day. Either MODOC or The Districts. Both are solidly fun rock and roll. Not sure which one I want to see more - I would have leaned towards MODOC before, but after listening to The Districts again, they are pretty dang good.
1:00: Likely do Reuben and the Dark. They just added a new artist in this slot (Vic Mensa) who might be fun to go see, but I think I'll likely go with Reuben.
2:00: Nikki Lane. I may just stick around for half of her show so that I can go see part of Jamestown Revival (another new addition). I have a feeling my buddy Jason is going to want to go see Kongos instead.
3:00: Cults. I have liked their albums even more after listening over time. I hope that music translates well to the big stage. High Road and I Can Hardly Make You Mine are both jams.
4:00: Uggggghhh. (That is not a band name, well, it probably is, but they are not playing this slot at ACL). Fitz & the Tantrums vs. The Gaslight Anthem. Uggghhhh. I've never seen either before. I like both of them quite a bit. I can see myself doing sweaty and very constricted 80's dances to Fitz and enjoying myself immensely. I can see myself pumping my fist in the air and screaming along to Gaslight with a couple thousand other bad ass people. I am leaning towards Gaslight, but I just don't know here.
As a quick aside, have you ever played with Flickchart? I forget who sent it to me a couple of years ago, I played with it a lot then and have not messed with it again for years, but it is a fantastic way to rank movies because it makes you choose between two films, over and over until it figures out their hierarchy. I wish they would do that for music, then I could scientifically determine the answer to my conundrum.
5:00: Real Estate. No hesitation. So great.
6:00: Uggghhhhh again. Why is Lettuce playing during this time slot? Can't they play during an early afternoon slot against Bernhoft and Steve Songs? I think they would be an amazing funkified party. And even more than that, I really want to see Spoon play. But I bet I need to just go see The Replacements at the Samsung Stage so that I can be reasonably close to Pearl Jam for the headliner slot. Dammit. if only Spoon was at that stage... Oh well. My guess is that I see Paul Westerberg and his buddies tear through their set and like it anyway. I'll just have to see Spoon another time.
7:00: Which leads me to the depressing conclusion that I will not get to see the Turnpike Troubadours. Such a bummer. I have come to like them quite a bit, but if I am going to squeeze my way up to the 98th row to see Pearl Jam, then there is just no way I'm going to get to hustle over to the Austin Ventures stage and then get anywhere near the Pearl Jam show.
8:00: Pearl Jam. I am really excited about this show. Saw them three times back in the 90's, but haven't seen them since. I expect greatness.
The Official ACL Blog for like Eight People!
Thursday, July 31, 2014
The Hunts
Promising single song from these folks. From their album cover, it looks like a set of twin girls infiltrated a tween boy band, and the whole pack of them decided to break out their violin and mandolin and make a lovely little ditty. Listen to this and, unless you suck, I bet you'll still be hearing that lilting little tune in your head.
It is in the Head and the Heart/ Lumineers vein, and all we get is the one song for now, but this is a great start. However, they are up against Spanish Gold, so their crowd will not exist. I feel bad for them, they are young, and might tear up when they see that their patch of grass in front of the BMI stage is completely empty. But then they'll see the puddles from melted faces, flowing like a river of pale lava, from the Samsung stage, and they'll understand. Hope all the best for them - this song is good.
It is in the Head and the Heart/ Lumineers vein, and all we get is the one song for now, but this is a great start. However, they are up against Spanish Gold, so their crowd will not exist. I feel bad for them, they are young, and might tear up when they see that their patch of grass in front of the BMI stage is completely empty. But then they'll see the puddles from melted faces, flowing like a river of pale lava, from the Samsung stage, and they'll understand. Hope all the best for them - this song is good.
Imelda May
Torchy, jazzy rockabilly with a strong voice. Her most popular track on Spotify is called Johnny Got a Boom Boom, which is a kind of awesome title regardless of anything else.
She is apparently Irish, which is surprising since her voice doesn't seem to have any accent that I can hear. Her most recent album on Spotify is Mayhem, from 2010, although the internet seems to believe that she put out another (Tribal) in 2014. Mayhem is more of the same as the above - good rockabilly groove with her powerful voice cranking over the top.
She might be kind of fun to go see play, but luckily for me, she easily comes in third behind Gaslight Anthem or Fitz & the Tantrums on Sunday afternoon, so I'll just have to appreciate her groove from afar.
Haerts
This band only has four songs, but they are pretty dang good tuneful pop. Although I have to get over the lameness of that name. Am I supposed to say "harts," "hay-erts," "ha-erts," or what? Get offa my LAWN! Both of their most popular songs sound really familiar to me. They must be on the radio or something, especially All the Days.
Their first single is called Wings. Almost 2 million listens on Spotify and over 600k spins on YouTube, so they must be doing something right. Most of the other bands at this area of the schedule (11:30 am on Sunday) don't have six figures.
That is a good tune. Their next single is called All the Days, and I think it is even stronger than that first song. Kind of a brooding little groove of a bass line, with some atmospheric synths over the top.
I don't think I'll even be at the Park by this time in the morning. But if I am, I'll likely drop by to see how these guys sound in person.
Their first single is called Wings. Almost 2 million listens on Spotify and over 600k spins on YouTube, so they must be doing something right. Most of the other bands at this area of the schedule (11:30 am on Sunday) don't have six figures.
That is a good tune. Their next single is called All the Days, and I think it is even stronger than that first song. Kind of a brooding little groove of a bass line, with some atmospheric synths over the top.
Nostalghia
A kind of Nine Inch Nails meets Siouxie and the Banshees/Kate Bush thing? Thankfully, the name of the band is the lead singer's last name, so I don't need to feel disappointed in the youth of today right now. None of these songs have more than 10,000 listens on Spotify, which is not a large surprise to me because this stuff is extremely different.
Her song with the most listens is called Homeostasis:
This next one is a little more Bjork doing baby voices over a very simple piano riff that turns into a screaming, brooding techno beat. Amy, do not click on this link or you will likely hurt your brain. Or you might hurt me. Whatever, don't listen to this song. It sounds nothing like old Indigo Girls or Tracy Lawrence.
Yep. So, lucky for me, this guys will be jamming at 11:30 on Sunday morning, so I'll let their 150 biggest fans handle that show for them.
Her song with the most listens is called Homeostasis:
This next one is a little more Bjork doing baby voices over a very simple piano riff that turns into a screaming, brooding techno beat. Amy, do not click on this link or you will likely hurt your brain. Or you might hurt me. Whatever, don't listen to this song. It sounds nothing like old Indigo Girls or Tracy Lawrence.
Yep. So, lucky for me, this guys will be jamming at 11:30 on Sunday morning, so I'll let their 150 biggest fans handle that show for them.
James Bay
Pleasant piano rock. Is that damning praise? Two EPs, one from 2013 and one from 2014, so his stuff is relatively recent. Hopefully one of his album covers later down the line does not involve the same drawing of his Smokey the Bear hat with stringy hair and his nose poking out underneath. I bet he'll come up with something by 2015. This one is an acoustic only version of his most popular tune - Let It Go (thankfully, not a Disney cover):
Soulful stuff, right? His second most popular song is from the earlier EP, called When We Were On Fire:
Still wearing the Arby's sign on his head, but again it is pretty soulful and simple. I like it. Weird part is that these videos don't sound quite like the studio versions, so it makes my comment that he plays pleasant piano rock sound insane. Just believe me, his most recent EP is full of piano. Or go listen for yourself. After making it through all of his music, I like him. I wish the dude would go find a kick ass band to front - his voice is strong and expressive. His stuff is good, but I think he could be fantastic in front of a good band. I'm going to put him in touch with Guns n Roses.
Soulful stuff, right? His second most popular song is from the earlier EP, called When We Were On Fire:
Vic Mensa
Er, not sure when they added him to the lineup. And Spotify has zero for me to go on. I did manage to find videos on YouTube of the guy, and it sounds like he's got some of the intelligent rap stuff going on here. According to the Internets, he is part of the Chance the Rapper posse in Chicago, which totally sounds right on the second video down there. This first one, with over a million views, sounds like a b-side from the Disclosure/Sam Smith sessions. My first impression was that this was weak, but after a second listen, its actually pretty snappy.
The start of this next one is weird, some pre-teen show on Nickelodeon or something. Tune is called Orange Soda. I need to find re-runs of You Can't Do That On Television to show to my kids. I can guarantee you my son would dig that stuff in a major way when people got the green slime poured on them.
One more, called Feel That, which feels a little bit like when Lil Wayne wanted to clown by doing Lollipop:
(is that Mandy Moore in the video at about 2:28?)
From these three videos, I have no clue what to think of this guy. First, he hooked up some EDM/disco music to rap and sign along with. Second, he goes backpack rapper with a simple little beat and verbose rap. Third, he goes mainstream rap where the beat takes the reins because the rap is so repetitive and generic. Whatever, if I am at the park by 1 on Sunday, I'd like to go see Reuben and the Dark anyway.
The start of this next one is weird, some pre-teen show on Nickelodeon or something. Tune is called Orange Soda. I need to find re-runs of You Can't Do That On Television to show to my kids. I can guarantee you my son would dig that stuff in a major way when people got the green slime poured on them.
From these three videos, I have no clue what to think of this guy. First, he hooked up some EDM/disco music to rap and sign along with. Second, he goes backpack rapper with a simple little beat and verbose rap. Third, he goes mainstream rap where the beat takes the reins because the rap is so repetitive and generic. Whatever, if I am at the park by 1 on Sunday, I'd like to go see Reuben and the Dark anyway.
Jamestown Revival
Fine alt-country, roots-folk stuff. A little more funky than some of the others in that vein, but still rocking all-acoustic with a banjo sprinkling and solid harmonies. These songs feel like I have heard them before - I wonder if KUTX ever plays them, or if they are just so good that they feel right on first listen.
California (Cast Iron Soul) is the first single off of their only album, which came out this year. I like it. The rest of the album isn't quite so polished, which I also like. Loose and relaxed, makes you feel like you are hanging out with them while they jam in a living room.
This is good stuff.
Jhene Aiko
Good hook singer for top rappers, with her own soft R&B stuff. If you listened to Drake's Nothing Was the Same, you'll recognize her from "From Time," which sounds pretty dang close to her most popular track on Spotify, "The Worst."
31 million damn views on YouTube? Damn! Either people like looking at her bra, like the way she steps over her dead man's body while she makes some peanut butter toast, or this song is good. I think it might be the first, but the song is likeable. Her rap in the middle is interesting because it is kind of quiet, not as low as a whisper, but there is something cool about the delivery she uses.
Her second most popular track from her album is Bed Peace, with Childish Gambino.
Which I find myself wanting to dislike, because in general I'd say that R&B is not my thing, but as I listen to the song and watch that video a second time, I find that I like this quite a bit. The softness in her voice is really nice. The message, of taking time in bed, sounds wonderful. I'm going to send my kids to her stylish all-white flat next weekend and see how much bed peace she gets.
Her second most popular track from her album is Bed Peace, with Childish Gambino.
Rey Pila
Some of their songs are in spanish, but they sound like an 80's synth band. They get rocking here and there, but in general, I'm hearing a good time, seeing legwarmers, tasting Jolt Cola, and wishing that Ally Sheedy would just dance with me! Most popular song, No Longer Fun, is from their 2010 album, Rey Pila.
It has a TV on the Radio vibe, except that they want you to shout along to the chorus and dance and stuff. I don't get that feeling when I usually listen to TVOTR. But it also feels like something Demi Moore's band would have played in Better Off Dead. Either way, this is their most popular song, with about 30k listens. Second most popular tune is a 2013 single (with Lady in Red on the B-Side! What?! Literally, a cover of that terribly awesome song), called Alexander.
They definitely stick with the 80's new wave sound. And it works - this is a pretty catchy, bouncing pop song. I may just wander by and check these cats out on my way to Kodaline.
It has a TV on the Radio vibe, except that they want you to shout along to the chorus and dance and stuff. I don't get that feeling when I usually listen to TVOTR. But it also feels like something Demi Moore's band would have played in Better Off Dead. Either way, this is their most popular song, with about 30k listens. Second most popular tune is a 2013 single (with Lady in Red on the B-Side! What?! Literally, a cover of that terribly awesome song), called Alexander.
Nightbox
According to Wikipedia, this is a "dance-punk" band from Ireland. Falsetto-filled dance pop, yes. But I hear nothing that could even remotely be called punk in the four songs they have on their EP. They apparently have a second EP out as of April 2014, but Spotify doesn't have it.
Nice groovy dance song. Their rhythm section in the background is locked in and really good at hitting a nice disco pop groove. Here is their most listened to one from YouTube with just over 30k spins. Called Relocate You:
Weird video about a dude saving a space alien against his buddies' wishes, where shotguns apparently shoot regular bullets. Another pretty good dance-pop song though. I don't see anything wrong with putting on your pop groove shoes here and there - maybe I'll stop by this stage on the way between Spanish Gold and Falls.
Nice groovy dance song. Their rhythm section in the background is locked in and really good at hitting a nice disco pop groove. Here is their most listened to one from YouTube with just over 30k spins. Called Relocate You:
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
The Schedule! Saturday Thoughts.
Saturday is going to be a fantastic day. It is going to be long, and I'll have to gird my loins, but I think it is going to be awesome to see some of these new bands for the first time.
12:30: I'm going to go see Spanish Gold. I don't care if it destroys me for the rest of the weekend to get there at lunchtime. I'm kind of bummed to not get to experience Benjamin Booker, but I'm going to survive. Spanish Gold are already making an individualized plan to rock my face off and make sweet sweet to my ears. Unbelievable that they are in the early slots - they should be headlining the whole damn thing.
2:00: Falls. I can imagine how this scene will look, because it is exactly how I watched Dawes last year. Sitting back from the stage, enjoying this band's beautiful harmony while sipping on a cold and extremely overpriced tallboy.
3:30: Kodaline. I plan on taking some kleenex, for all the grown men standing around me who will be bawling and thinking about their long lost loves and favorite pets and stuff.
4:30: Head & the Heart. Although I might be talked into seeing Interpol, who have grown on me more and more as I have listened to their last two albums over the past month.
5:30: Lucius. Speaking of growing on me, these guys are like my beer gut. Sneaking up on me until I hardly notice they are always with me. I started off unimpressed, but I have listened to their album a few more times recently and it is a damn fine thing. I know I should probably go watch the train wreck that is Iggy Azalea, but I just can't get over the thought that she is Vanilla Ice for a new generation. #Vanilliggy
6:30: Avett Brothers! Damn right. I hope they come strong like a few years ago when their set was the perfect pre-show party before the Chili Peppers. Loving their new album. Also, a very easy decision, to not go see Lana Del Rey, Johnnyswim, or Beats Antique. Easiest decision of the entire weekend.
8:30: Eminem. I am very hopeful that he sticks to his old school music and not his newer Rihanna ballads. I fear that, because they are touring together this summer, she will be there and we will have to hold hands and sway through Love the Way You Lie and Monster for 20 minutes instead of hearing about drug-addled murders and other happy things. His most recent set in London (http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eminem/2014/wembley-stadium-london-england-5bc1db18.html) looks promising, but he only has an hour and a half in Austin, so there is no way he'll be able to do all 35 of those songs here. I know I'll go for Em in this slot, but I am definitely bummed about missing out on Skrillex. Even though I don't know much about Skrillex. But that one Bangarang song, man, if I ever make a jillion dollars somehow and throw myself a huge birthday party on a private yacht in my private ocean, I'm definitely going to have him come and play that song on repeat for 2 hours while I kick people overboard.
12:30: I'm going to go see Spanish Gold. I don't care if it destroys me for the rest of the weekend to get there at lunchtime. I'm kind of bummed to not get to experience Benjamin Booker, but I'm going to survive. Spanish Gold are already making an individualized plan to rock my face off and make sweet sweet to my ears. Unbelievable that they are in the early slots - they should be headlining the whole damn thing.
2:00: Falls. I can imagine how this scene will look, because it is exactly how I watched Dawes last year. Sitting back from the stage, enjoying this band's beautiful harmony while sipping on a cold and extremely overpriced tallboy.
3:30: Kodaline. I plan on taking some kleenex, for all the grown men standing around me who will be bawling and thinking about their long lost loves and favorite pets and stuff.
4:30: Head & the Heart. Although I might be talked into seeing Interpol, who have grown on me more and more as I have listened to their last two albums over the past month.
5:30: Lucius. Speaking of growing on me, these guys are like my beer gut. Sneaking up on me until I hardly notice they are always with me. I started off unimpressed, but I have listened to their album a few more times recently and it is a damn fine thing. I know I should probably go watch the train wreck that is Iggy Azalea, but I just can't get over the thought that she is Vanilla Ice for a new generation. #Vanilliggy
6:30: Avett Brothers! Damn right. I hope they come strong like a few years ago when their set was the perfect pre-show party before the Chili Peppers. Loving their new album. Also, a very easy decision, to not go see Lana Del Rey, Johnnyswim, or Beats Antique. Easiest decision of the entire weekend.
8:30: Eminem. I am very hopeful that he sticks to his old school music and not his newer Rihanna ballads. I fear that, because they are touring together this summer, she will be there and we will have to hold hands and sway through Love the Way You Lie and Monster for 20 minutes instead of hearing about drug-addled murders and other happy things. His most recent set in London (http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/eminem/2014/wembley-stadium-london-england-5bc1db18.html) looks promising, but he only has an hour and a half in Austin, so there is no way he'll be able to do all 35 of those songs here. I know I'll go for Em in this slot, but I am definitely bummed about missing out on Skrillex. Even though I don't know much about Skrillex. But that one Bangarang song, man, if I ever make a jillion dollars somehow and throw myself a huge birthday party on a private yacht in my private ocean, I'm definitely going to have him come and play that song on repeat for 2 hours while I kick people overboard.
The Schedule! Friday thoughts.
It is going to take me some time to digest all of this, but the schedule for each day was just issued and I wanted to weigh in on my path through the weekend.
Friday:
Noon - Not sure if I will go out first thing on Friday, but if I'm there by noon, then I'd like to see Sphynx. I think their live show will be fun and big energy. If you haven't gone to my post about them and watched that grandma get crunk in their video, I think you are missing out.
1:15, I'd really like to see Temples. Going to the park that early will likely lead to a brutal weekend, but Temples is freaking awesome. I really hope I can take the time to go see them jam.
3:15 - Lake Street Dive. I may go for Hozier instead, but I feel like LSD is the one I'd rather see.
4:15 - Chvrches are the first band that I feel like I must see. Thankfully, I don't much care about the bands they are up against at this time.
5:15 - St. Vincent. Looks like I'll be deep in the Lilith Fair experience of lady bands by now. Maybe go see J. Roddy Walston & the Business instead, but I doubt it.
6:15 - I think I'll take a break to eat something here. I could go see Foster the People, but I think I'd rather go get some grub or go see Childish Gambino just to get into position for Outkast.
7:15 - either Blackberry Smoke or get into position for Outkast.
8:15 - Outkast. I truly hate skipping out on Beck. I have dug Beck's chili ever since Odelay, but I have also seen him play live before and expect that I'll get to see him again someday. His show at ACL Fest a few years ago was fantastic - great retrospective of classic songs, new stuff, and a few fun covers. On the other hand, Outkast was one of my favorite rap groups in college and I've never seen them play. I also expect that they will not tour again after this final money grab of 40 festivals this year.
Friday:
Noon - Not sure if I will go out first thing on Friday, but if I'm there by noon, then I'd like to see Sphynx. I think their live show will be fun and big energy. If you haven't gone to my post about them and watched that grandma get crunk in their video, I think you are missing out.
1:15, I'd really like to see Temples. Going to the park that early will likely lead to a brutal weekend, but Temples is freaking awesome. I really hope I can take the time to go see them jam.
3:15 - Lake Street Dive. I may go for Hozier instead, but I feel like LSD is the one I'd rather see.
4:15 - Chvrches are the first band that I feel like I must see. Thankfully, I don't much care about the bands they are up against at this time.
5:15 - St. Vincent. Looks like I'll be deep in the Lilith Fair experience of lady bands by now. Maybe go see J. Roddy Walston & the Business instead, but I doubt it.
6:15 - I think I'll take a break to eat something here. I could go see Foster the People, but I think I'd rather go get some grub or go see Childish Gambino just to get into position for Outkast.
7:15 - either Blackberry Smoke or get into position for Outkast.
8:15 - Outkast. I truly hate skipping out on Beck. I have dug Beck's chili ever since Odelay, but I have also seen him play live before and expect that I'll get to see him again someday. His show at ACL Fest a few years ago was fantastic - great retrospective of classic songs, new stuff, and a few fun covers. On the other hand, Outkast was one of my favorite rap groups in college and I've never seen them play. I also expect that they will not tour again after this final money grab of 40 festivals this year.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
George Strait
After the Country post the other day, I've been e-mailing with a friend about some bad country that is nonetheless good because of nostalgia. As part of that exchange, Joseph threatened to "punch me in the D" if I insulted 80's and early 90's George Strait.
My experience with George Strait started right at the end of that period, when I left camp on a day off and bought the four disc box set called Strait Out of the Box. It came out in 1995, so that was probably summer of 1995. The Hastings in Kerrville received a lot of money from me that summer. I was still just trying to figure out what I liked in country, but enough people had proselytized about King George to me that I figured I should give it a shot. This box is a ridiculous treasure trove of absolute classic country from Strait's earliest songs through 1995. And it is truly ridiculous. The guy has more than 60 No. 1 charting songs, apparently the most of any artist in any genre. And the vast majority of these songs are on this box set and are tunes you have heard before.
After discussing it with Joseph some, I realized that I think Amarillo by Morning might be one of my favorite country songs of all time. Such a classic combination of story-telling, western-city-name dropping, and the cowboy spirit. Chris LeDoux spent like 10 albums trying to tell us all that was already packed into that one tune. I know Strait didn't write it, I don't think he wrote many of his songs at all, but this one is just the right blend. Here is a slightly inferior live version:
Now don't get me wrong. Strait had a few missteps with covers or terrible Music Row songwriting. Key example is Hollywood Squares. "I got so many X's and O so much, I oughtta be on Hollywood Squares." Ugh. Come on, man. The Love Bug is also pretty painful. "Aww, that, teenie little itty bitty thing they call the love bug!" Whoowee! Let's dance! The other ones that were hits, but still don't work so well for me, are where he goes for maximum schmaltz - strings or synth with cringe-inducing lyrics. Marina Del Rey is the one that comes to mind, but there are others.
But I took yesterday and most of today to go back and listen to all of his original albums. 1981's Strait Country, 1982's Strait from the Heart, 1983's Right of Wrong, 1984's Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind, 1985's Something Special, 1986's #7, and 1987's Ocean Front Property. I mean, good Lord, man. He put out an album a year (not including multiple greatest hits collections) since 1981 and each one has a handful of hits that most other musicians would kill to have under their belt. It is pretty damn amazing. Even the non-hits from these albums are good - he took a lot of classic cues from Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams to make the gold standard for country music for the next four decades. Pretty amazing.
Take a couple hours on Spotify and fire up the Strait Out of the Box set. Regardless of your thoughts about country music, I think you'll be surprised at how enjoyable it all is.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Origins: Country
Yeehaw!
I mean, I live in Texas, so I'm required by law to enjoy country music. Right? No? Well, I have to say that I was late to the party, and I am not a faithful follower of the genre, but there are certain segments of country music that I love. So, how did I get there?
My first memories of country are from my dad. I can remember, to the limited extent that he ever listened to music, my dad chose country in the truck or in his woodworking shop. I can also recall times that he would pick me up from some activity - scouts or sports or youth group - and he would be listening to the bluegrass specials they played on the NPR station sometimes at night. But the old man never really listened to music, so there was never a hard push or draw to go along with that genre.
By junior high/high school, I would not have been caught dead listening to country music. We are talking about the days of Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Reba, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Alabama. There are people in the world who love those artists, but when I was 12 to 16, they were about the worst kind of music to ever exist on the planet. I'd choose my mom's nap-inducing classical sonatas over having to listen to Alan Jackson drawl about rocking the jukebox or Garth Brooks warble on about how God answered his prayers by helping him hook up with the right lady friend while self-important strings swell behind him.
Oh, dear Lord. Look at that hair feathering out from beneath that hat. Oh my.
I was edgy! I was jamming R.E.M. and learning the dance steps to Stand! I was rocking Midnight Oil and thinking about the raw deal the aborigines got! I was singing along with U2 and feeling alone and very important. No way in the world was I going to associate myself with the "kickers" who listened to country music. Not going to happen. Maybe, just maybe, I was a massive nerd and the kickers wanted nothing to do with me, but I'm going to assume for the purposes of this story that they would have accepted me with open arms if I had just bought Red Wings and a copy of Song of the South.
But, the tentacles of down-home musicianship worked their way into my brain anyway. The first and main culprit for that transition was summer camp. I started going to Laity Lodge Youth Camp when I was 7 or 8, and continued going and working there into college. It was the greatest place on the earth - still love it and am excited to be sending the boy there for the first time this summer. Every session, they have a legitimate rodeo, by summer camp standards, with horse riding and calf wrestling and pie eating. Good fun, followed by the rodeo dance. The rodeo dance was a blast, but it was also fraught with terror. You got IBC root beer in a bottle, the work crew strung lights up and set hay bales around the edges of the dance floor, and everyone had a pretty good sweaty time under the bright stars of the Texas hill country. BUT, you also had to dance with a girl if you wanted to dance - none of that grooving in a crowd, trying to impress with your hip thrusts and thumb throws. And asking a girl to dance was terror incarnate for years. But I digress, this is about country music.
At the rodeo, one guy was in charge of the mike for years, Doug Cooper. He was a HUGE lover of Bob Wills, and would brainwash all of the kids into professing their love for Bob Wills in order to win spirit points, and he would make some young camper girl sing Faded Love in front of the whole rodeo crowd at each rodeo. From my well-faded recollection, he would push that way beyond the point where it went from fun to ridiculous, but my memory of it is good, so must not have been too bad. After the rodeo, all of the music at the rodeo dance was, of course, country music, so I was then exposed to all of the popular country of the day. I recall the dudes performing sit-ins in the center of the dance floor during Shania Twain's Any Man of Mine, and people doing extremely complicated twisting dance moves to John Michael Montgemery's Sold.
And we ended the dance with Shake Russell's Deep in the West. I have no clue who found this song or chose it to close out the dances, but it still makes me feel happy and wistful at the same time right now. Such a great song, and perfect to sing to a camp crush who you think is going to last forever.
Apart from the rodeo and dance, camp counselors also played good country and helped me wade through the Nashville garbage that was so heavily promoted out in the real world. I started learning about Willie, Jerry Jeff, Robert Earl, and Willis Alan Ramsey out at Laity, and started to realize that country itself wasn't bad, just the over-processed garbage playing on the radio.
Then I went away to college and joined a fraternity. Two things about that. First, in Sherman, Texas, there was one real bar in the entire town, called Calhouns, where they played top 40 country and the Electric Slide every single damn night. We went there at least once a week, and after the garbage country gets familiar, it stays terrible but at least feels better to sing along with a big pack of friends. Second, when you have nothing to do (like in Sherman), drinking beer and listening to beer drinking songs becomes a darn fine way to pass the time. So you end up listening to Viva Terlingua and The Road Goes on Forever about eight million times while sitting on a moldy couch in front of a rental house.
After college, I moved to Dallas right when KHYI started broadcasting with a great mix of classic country and newer Texas-centric artists who were picking up the torch from Jerry Jeff and Robert Earl. I immediately got in to Bruce Robison ("Wrapped" should have been my first dance at my wedding, but I wasn't thinking straight), Charlie Robison, Slaid Cleaves (Broke Down is a classic, with "Lydia" one of my favorites), and Chris Knight, and then started going back to some classics from Cash, LeDoux, Steve Earle, and Waylon Jennings. It was an eye-opening time for me to realize the depth of great song writing available in the country genre if you had a well-curated playlist provided to you.
In the years since then, I've grown less enamored by the "Texas Country" or "Outlaw Country" sound that has followed behind Pat Green and his progeny. I don't categorically dislike new country like I used to, but for the most part I feel like a lot of it is just trying too damn hard. What I'm left with enjoying:
I mean, I live in Texas, so I'm required by law to enjoy country music. Right? No? Well, I have to say that I was late to the party, and I am not a faithful follower of the genre, but there are certain segments of country music that I love. So, how did I get there?
My first memories of country are from my dad. I can remember, to the limited extent that he ever listened to music, my dad chose country in the truck or in his woodworking shop. I can also recall times that he would pick me up from some activity - scouts or sports or youth group - and he would be listening to the bluegrass specials they played on the NPR station sometimes at night. But the old man never really listened to music, so there was never a hard push or draw to go along with that genre.
By junior high/high school, I would not have been caught dead listening to country music. We are talking about the days of Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Reba, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Alabama. There are people in the world who love those artists, but when I was 12 to 16, they were about the worst kind of music to ever exist on the planet. I'd choose my mom's nap-inducing classical sonatas over having to listen to Alan Jackson drawl about rocking the jukebox or Garth Brooks warble on about how God answered his prayers by helping him hook up with the right lady friend while self-important strings swell behind him.
I was edgy! I was jamming R.E.M. and learning the dance steps to Stand! I was rocking Midnight Oil and thinking about the raw deal the aborigines got! I was singing along with U2 and feeling alone and very important. No way in the world was I going to associate myself with the "kickers" who listened to country music. Not going to happen. Maybe, just maybe, I was a massive nerd and the kickers wanted nothing to do with me, but I'm going to assume for the purposes of this story that they would have accepted me with open arms if I had just bought Red Wings and a copy of Song of the South.
But, the tentacles of down-home musicianship worked their way into my brain anyway. The first and main culprit for that transition was summer camp. I started going to Laity Lodge Youth Camp when I was 7 or 8, and continued going and working there into college. It was the greatest place on the earth - still love it and am excited to be sending the boy there for the first time this summer. Every session, they have a legitimate rodeo, by summer camp standards, with horse riding and calf wrestling and pie eating. Good fun, followed by the rodeo dance. The rodeo dance was a blast, but it was also fraught with terror. You got IBC root beer in a bottle, the work crew strung lights up and set hay bales around the edges of the dance floor, and everyone had a pretty good sweaty time under the bright stars of the Texas hill country. BUT, you also had to dance with a girl if you wanted to dance - none of that grooving in a crowd, trying to impress with your hip thrusts and thumb throws. And asking a girl to dance was terror incarnate for years. But I digress, this is about country music.
And we ended the dance with Shake Russell's Deep in the West. I have no clue who found this song or chose it to close out the dances, but it still makes me feel happy and wistful at the same time right now. Such a great song, and perfect to sing to a camp crush who you think is going to last forever.
Apart from the rodeo and dance, camp counselors also played good country and helped me wade through the Nashville garbage that was so heavily promoted out in the real world. I started learning about Willie, Jerry Jeff, Robert Earl, and Willis Alan Ramsey out at Laity, and started to realize that country itself wasn't bad, just the over-processed garbage playing on the radio.
Then I went away to college and joined a fraternity. Two things about that. First, in Sherman, Texas, there was one real bar in the entire town, called Calhouns, where they played top 40 country and the Electric Slide every single damn night. We went there at least once a week, and after the garbage country gets familiar, it stays terrible but at least feels better to sing along with a big pack of friends. Second, when you have nothing to do (like in Sherman), drinking beer and listening to beer drinking songs becomes a darn fine way to pass the time. So you end up listening to Viva Terlingua and The Road Goes on Forever about eight million times while sitting on a moldy couch in front of a rental house.
After college, I moved to Dallas right when KHYI started broadcasting with a great mix of classic country and newer Texas-centric artists who were picking up the torch from Jerry Jeff and Robert Earl. I immediately got in to Bruce Robison ("Wrapped" should have been my first dance at my wedding, but I wasn't thinking straight), Charlie Robison, Slaid Cleaves (Broke Down is a classic, with "Lydia" one of my favorites), and Chris Knight, and then started going back to some classics from Cash, LeDoux, Steve Earle, and Waylon Jennings. It was an eye-opening time for me to realize the depth of great song writing available in the country genre if you had a well-curated playlist provided to you.
In the years since then, I've grown less enamored by the "Texas Country" or "Outlaw Country" sound that has followed behind Pat Green and his progeny. I don't categorically dislike new country like I used to, but for the most part I feel like a lot of it is just trying too damn hard. What I'm left with enjoying:
- the classics like Jerry Jeff (give Viva Terlingua a shot if you need a suggestion), Willie, Robert Earl (go Gringo Honeymoon for my fav), Johnny Cash, Bob Wills, George Strait (but not all of King George, stick to the older classics), Steve Earle, Slaid Cleaves, Bruce Robison with Kelly Willis, etc.
- the new wave of bluegrass type tunes: Nickel Creek (still the best, hope they are really getting back together), Punch Brothers (Who's Feeling Young Now is amazing), Sarah Jarosz, and even Trampled by Turtles.
- and a few new acts:
- I've liked getting to know the Turnpike Troubadours through this blog. Good stuff.
- Kasey Musgraves is a bad ass country woman. "Merry Go Round" is fantastic (link below) with a line that has stuck in my head for months - "Just like dust we settle in this town." That is money. One of two CDs I have actually bought this whole year.
- Nikki Lane is another bad ass, who has a new album produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and has a classic meets new thing going on that is great.
As evidenced by the recent "Country" issue of Rolling Stone, this music is HUGE these days. I'm not buying in to the large majority of the popular country sound that they are talking about in there - rock and roll guitars, good times with your honey in the tight jeans down by the river on an old dirt road, or empowered ladies whippin' ass because their man's a cheatin' jerk - but I'm happy that innovators like the Punch Brothers and Kasey Musgraves are out there updating the sound and making country music exciting again. Give them a shot and let me know what you think.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Trampled by Turtles
Banjo-fueled Bluegrass action. My sister-in-law put me on these guys a few years ago, based on their ridiculously fast jam fest called Wait So Long:
I mean, that opening banjo twigging sounds like that banjo has been looped and is playing at 2x speed on a turntable. Holy smokes! How do fingers go that freaking fast? And then the rest of the band kicks in with a likewise frantic speed, blazing through a wicked hoedown battle with the devil. Fun stuff.
They just put a new album out recently, called Wild Animals. I only see one song available on YouTube so far, which is a good one (but not my favorite of the album):
This one has a few moments where that technical savvy and speed show up, but for the most part it is a harmonic album of chilled tunes that happen to have a bluegrass leaning. Brings to mind the Band of Horses albums from the mid-oughts. Makes me want to drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway with my windows rolled down. Give this one a shot.
They just put a new album out recently, called Wild Animals. I only see one song available on YouTube so far, which is a good one (but not my favorite of the album):
This one has a few moments where that technical savvy and speed show up, but for the most part it is a harmonic album of chilled tunes that happen to have a bluegrass leaning. Brings to mind the Band of Horses albums from the mid-oughts. Makes me want to drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway with my windows rolled down. Give this one a shot.
ACL Daily Band List Thoughts (and the powerful bummer of overlapping bands)
This morning was the much vaunted announcement of single day lineups for ACL Fest. Which I was excited about, until I realized that they don't actually mean that they are providing me with the scheduling grids so that I can obsess about the injustice of missing out on Beck in favor of Outkast. Instead, they have just released a more generic listing of all bands playing on each day so that a single-ticket-buying person can figure out which day to go enjoy.
http://www.aclfestival.com/2014-lineup-by-day-weekend-one/
So, I think I will prepare a more detailed schedule listing once they actually release the full schedule grid, but I have a few thoughts that bring me sadness.
On Friday, it looks like I will have to choose between Outkast and Beck. Which sucks big time. I have seen Beck before, so I'll likely choose Outkast, but I am sincerely bummed that I can't enjoy another Beck show, especially right now when his new album is so locked in on my head. Hopefully Chvrches will be playing the same stage as Outkast and I can just stay right there and enjoy both in a row. Which likely means I am going to miss out on St. Vincent, which also bums me out.
On Saturday, I bet that Skrillex and Eminem are up against each other, as well as the Avett Brothers vs. Head and the Heart. That sucks. I feel like I have to go see Eminem, although I'd love to experience a Skrillex show. Maybe one of these days I'm going to have to buy tickets for both weekends. (Just kidding darling wife! Just kidding!) And the Avetts will win out over Head and the Heart, but that is weak sauce.
Sunday night will be ruled by Pearl Jam. I have no issue with missing Calvin Harris or Zedd or the Replacements. But the bands just prior to that matchup are going to hurt me. I'd love to get to see Spoon, Fitz & the Tantrums, Gaslight Anthem, Turnpike Troubadours, and Real Estate. But those bands are all jumbled up in the upper middle of the lineup, meaning that I'll likely miss out on a bunch of them. it would be awesome if two of those led up to the Pearl Jam show so that I could just hang at that stage all evening. We'll see how that shakes out.
Who else is getting excited? I definitely am.
http://www.aclfestival.com/2014-lineup-by-day-weekend-one/
So, I think I will prepare a more detailed schedule listing once they actually release the full schedule grid, but I have a few thoughts that bring me sadness.
On Friday, it looks like I will have to choose between Outkast and Beck. Which sucks big time. I have seen Beck before, so I'll likely choose Outkast, but I am sincerely bummed that I can't enjoy another Beck show, especially right now when his new album is so locked in on my head. Hopefully Chvrches will be playing the same stage as Outkast and I can just stay right there and enjoy both in a row. Which likely means I am going to miss out on St. Vincent, which also bums me out.
On Saturday, I bet that Skrillex and Eminem are up against each other, as well as the Avett Brothers vs. Head and the Heart. That sucks. I feel like I have to go see Eminem, although I'd love to experience a Skrillex show. Maybe one of these days I'm going to have to buy tickets for both weekends. (Just kidding darling wife! Just kidding!) And the Avetts will win out over Head and the Heart, but that is weak sauce.
Sunday night will be ruled by Pearl Jam. I have no issue with missing Calvin Harris or Zedd or the Replacements. But the bands just prior to that matchup are going to hurt me. I'd love to get to see Spoon, Fitz & the Tantrums, Gaslight Anthem, Turnpike Troubadours, and Real Estate. But those bands are all jumbled up in the upper middle of the lineup, meaning that I'll likely miss out on a bunch of them. it would be awesome if two of those led up to the Pearl Jam show so that I could just hang at that stage all evening. We'll see how that shakes out.
Who else is getting excited? I definitely am.
Queens of the Stone Age ACL Taping
I have been lucky enough to go to three different Austin City Limits tapings over the years. One of them was the Queens of the Stone Age show last October. Amy was too frightened to go with me, but I took a good friend and his wife and rocked my way through a really fantastic show.
I don't know how long it will be available on here, but for right now you can jam the entire show for free through http://acltv.com/. (Go down to the bottom part about full episodes.
Close your door, crank the volume knob, revel in Josh Homme's fratty, winking, red-headed awesomeness, and enjoy. So rock solid and good. Don't say I never gave you nothing.
I don't know how long it will be available on here, but for right now you can jam the entire show for free through http://acltv.com/. (Go down to the bottom part about full episodes.
Close your door, crank the volume knob, revel in Josh Homme's fratty, winking, red-headed awesomeness, and enjoy. So rock solid and good. Don't say I never gave you nothing.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Origins: Rap/ Hip-Hop
If you have been looking through these posts or paying attention to my thoughts on music, you'll know that I am a musical omnivore. Bring it on. I probably enjoy rock more than anything else, but rap, pop, country, folk, metal, bluegrass, and EDM will generally also have a home in my playlist as well. This is why I think Girl Talk is genius - mixing Smashing Pumpkins with Salt n Pepa with Neil Diamond with Ice T? Come on. In thinking about other things to write about here, I thought it would be fun to dissect and recount exactly how it is that I swerved into each of the genres I enjoy.
So, rap. If you are old enough to recall the genesis of rap, you'll probably know that it was not normal for a white kid from Austin to be singing along with N.W.A. But by the time I hit junior high or so, one seminal event occurred that opened the door for me, you, and everyone who finds joy and pleasure in a good groove to get you in the right mood. On November 15, 1986, the Beastie Boys released Licensed to Ill, which became the best selling rap album of the 1980s and went platinum more than nine times. But for me, it took rap and merged it with rock to create a new style built on punk guitar, relatively simple beats, and terrifically silly lyrics. I was intimidated by, and could not relate to the darker side of hip hop that existed before then. Instead of Eazy E spraying people with bullets, you had these three goofy-looking white kids talking about their right to party and good times. Speaking of which, here is (You've Gotta) Fight for your Right (to Party).
Classic video. Great song (especially when you are all of 12 years old and have no clue what a sweet house party would even be about, although I fear I'd be the guy getting wedgies and beer spit in his face in this scenario).
I was first exposed to Licensed to Ill by my older sister, Sharon, who brought home a cassette tape from Sound Warehouse and invited me into her room to check it out with her. That was awesome. I recall that she was working on some sweet cheerleader moves to the beats, while I was honing my beat-boxing skillz. Brass Monkey was a major jam (even when I had no clue what it was about and had never once drank alcohol), Slow and Low, No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn, Girls, the whole album is full of classics you have heard of unless you are weird or old or both.
But the best song on the whole album is Paul Revere.
That beat - simple little shakers, blips, a little trumpet blast, and that backwards looped bass whump - is so deceptively simple, but instantly recognizable, groovy as hell, and just menacing enough to make their story of thieving bad asses meeting while on the run from the law seem legit.
The Beasties went on to make Paul's Boutique (the best collection and use of samples I think I've ever enjoyed), Check Your Head (a top all time album for me that still sounds amazingly fresh now), Ill Communication (another strong classic with Root Down, one of my favs), Hello Nasty, and then a few progressively weaker albums until Adam Yauch died a few years ago. Which was sad and meant that they cancelled their ACL appearance a few years back when I was super psyched to finally get to see them play live. Sorry to see him go.
So, Licensed to Ill is the first genesis of my rap love. The second event was my friend Aaron Smithers' Bronco 2 getting stolen. (BTW, how lame was the Bronco 2? Come on, Ford, you couldn't come up with another name? This hurt the fantastic Bronco brand almost as much as OJ). By now I was in high school, and the only rap I listened to was the Beasties or what was played on the radio (back then, we're talking about MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, etc. Not the finest hour for mainstream hip hop). I mainly listened to alternative rock - heavy on Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Primus, Fugazi, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, The Pixies, and the like.
Anyway, Aaron's Bronco 2 was stolen and recovered not too terribly long afterwards. However, the thievers took Aaron's little case logic box of alt-rock tapes (or tossed them out the window) and left behind three gangsta rap tapes in their stead. We treated those three tapes like a joke for about a week, jamming them (loud) while we drove around, acting like we were hard gangstas who dug hard-core rap while winking to each other and clowning the music. But after a little while, I realized how much I actually liked what I was hearing.
First, The Geto Boys' 'Til Death Do Us Part. Dude. Welcome to the harder side of hip hop in 1993. For the most part, they take everything to the absolute next level on shock value. When Eminem did not yet exist, it was the Geto Boys who were breaking down some terrifying tales of rape, murder, and general scariness. They are made up of Scarface, Big Mike, and Bushwick Bill (a little person who was on the cover of an earlier album with a bloody eye from an attempted suicide, I mean, you can't make that up). I was going to quote some of their lyrics, but they are just unpleasant and not appropriate for the most part. However, here is one (sampling Easy (Like Sunday Morning)!) that is more of a public service announcement about how gangstas should stop capping each other and stuff.
Second, NWA's EFIL4ZAGGIN. This one was less terrifying, but still way harder than my normal musical choices and full of the type of stuff that I had never heard in my life. One track is called "To Kill a Hooker," another is called "She Swallowed It." I mean, this is stuff I had never heard in my life. Words I'd never heard. Sexual act descriptions I'd never even imagined could happen. Wildly inappropriate for a 15 year old boy, but set over a great collection of old school samples and beats. You've still got Dr. Dre and Eazy E in the group at this point, but Ice Cube had already bailed by now. This was not NWA's most popular album by any means - none of their big hits were on here, but I think Appetite for Destruction is probably my favorite off of here because of the beat (uh, video is weird NSFW for the first minute or so).
Finally, one of my favorite rap albums of all time, Ice Cube's Death Certificate. This disc is chock full of inventive, fun, interesting samples crafted from old school funk and soul music. James Brown, Funkadelic, Parliament, George Clinton, Zapp - just a ton of well-picked bits and pieces woven together to create new and original music that absolutely jams. On top of the music, Cube crafts excellent story-telling raps that leave today's boring brag-fest rap in the dust. For example, My Summer Vacation, a song about moving his drug dealing enterprise from L.A. to St. Louis to escape the heat; A Bird in the Hand, about his failure to find a good job coming out of school and deciding to deal drugs instead; or Man's Best Friend, about the reasons how a gun is better protection than a dog. Not many videos from this album, but Steady Mobbin' is a good one.
Another top example - Alive on Arrival is a great story-telling rap about a dealer who gets shot on the corner and gets taken up to the hospital, but gets hassled by the cops the whole time instead of getting help. This is a great example of why I have become a crotchety old man when it comes to modern rap.
You can really see what is happening in your mind's eye - they run to the bushes to get away from the drive-by, and then he's running down the block and realizes the bottom of his sweatshirt is bloody. Just before passing out, he yells to his friends to help him. It is cinematic-level story-telling, while also providing a real commentary about the treatment of poor people at the County Hospital E.R. Classic storytellers like Cube or Notorious B.I.G. are sadly gone, who give you a great tune/beat that piques your interest and gets you moving, while they spin a yarn about something with such great detail that you can see it.
Meanwhile, listen to a current top rap song (Iggy Azelea's Fancy is the top rap song on Spotify right now), and you get synthesizers (no samples), generic flourishes (hey! hey! hey! hey!), with nonsensical boasts about money or cars or general fanciness. "First things first, I'm the realest," "I'm still in tha murder business," something about haters and staying on her grind, and spelling her name repeatedly, and wishing you could touch her hotness, and a hook about being fancy and how you should remember her name. Don't get me entirely wrong, that song is a serious earworm that makes me need to shake the booty, but its an idiotic song. No one will remember Fancy at all by next summer. Get offa my lawn!!!
So there you have it. A cheerleader sister and car thieves are the genesis. From there I found Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, LL Cool J, Notorious BIG, Public Enemy, Ice T, Dr. Dre, Guru (those Jazzmatazz albums!), Eminem, Kanye West, Outkast, Jay Z, 2Pac, Nas, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, and on into the future. I still love the storytellers (Kendrick Lamar) more than the braggers (A$AP) but both are free to invade my head and get me grooving.
So, rap. If you are old enough to recall the genesis of rap, you'll probably know that it was not normal for a white kid from Austin to be singing along with N.W.A. But by the time I hit junior high or so, one seminal event occurred that opened the door for me, you, and everyone who finds joy and pleasure in a good groove to get you in the right mood. On November 15, 1986, the Beastie Boys released Licensed to Ill, which became the best selling rap album of the 1980s and went platinum more than nine times. But for me, it took rap and merged it with rock to create a new style built on punk guitar, relatively simple beats, and terrifically silly lyrics. I was intimidated by, and could not relate to the darker side of hip hop that existed before then. Instead of Eazy E spraying people with bullets, you had these three goofy-looking white kids talking about their right to party and good times. Speaking of which, here is (You've Gotta) Fight for your Right (to Party).
Classic video. Great song (especially when you are all of 12 years old and have no clue what a sweet house party would even be about, although I fear I'd be the guy getting wedgies and beer spit in his face in this scenario).
I was first exposed to Licensed to Ill by my older sister, Sharon, who brought home a cassette tape from Sound Warehouse and invited me into her room to check it out with her. That was awesome. I recall that she was working on some sweet cheerleader moves to the beats, while I was honing my beat-boxing skillz. Brass Monkey was a major jam (even when I had no clue what it was about and had never once drank alcohol), Slow and Low, No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn, Girls, the whole album is full of classics you have heard of unless you are weird or old or both.
But the best song on the whole album is Paul Revere.
The Beasties went on to make Paul's Boutique (the best collection and use of samples I think I've ever enjoyed), Check Your Head (a top all time album for me that still sounds amazingly fresh now), Ill Communication (another strong classic with Root Down, one of my favs), Hello Nasty, and then a few progressively weaker albums until Adam Yauch died a few years ago. Which was sad and meant that they cancelled their ACL appearance a few years back when I was super psyched to finally get to see them play live. Sorry to see him go.
So, Licensed to Ill is the first genesis of my rap love. The second event was my friend Aaron Smithers' Bronco 2 getting stolen. (BTW, how lame was the Bronco 2? Come on, Ford, you couldn't come up with another name? This hurt the fantastic Bronco brand almost as much as OJ). By now I was in high school, and the only rap I listened to was the Beasties or what was played on the radio (back then, we're talking about MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, etc. Not the finest hour for mainstream hip hop). I mainly listened to alternative rock - heavy on Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Primus, Fugazi, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, The Pixies, and the like.
Anyway, Aaron's Bronco 2 was stolen and recovered not too terribly long afterwards. However, the thievers took Aaron's little case logic box of alt-rock tapes (or tossed them out the window) and left behind three gangsta rap tapes in their stead. We treated those three tapes like a joke for about a week, jamming them (loud) while we drove around, acting like we were hard gangstas who dug hard-core rap while winking to each other and clowning the music. But after a little while, I realized how much I actually liked what I was hearing.
First, The Geto Boys' 'Til Death Do Us Part. Dude. Welcome to the harder side of hip hop in 1993. For the most part, they take everything to the absolute next level on shock value. When Eminem did not yet exist, it was the Geto Boys who were breaking down some terrifying tales of rape, murder, and general scariness. They are made up of Scarface, Big Mike, and Bushwick Bill (a little person who was on the cover of an earlier album with a bloody eye from an attempted suicide, I mean, you can't make that up). I was going to quote some of their lyrics, but they are just unpleasant and not appropriate for the most part. However, here is one (sampling Easy (Like Sunday Morning)!) that is more of a public service announcement about how gangstas should stop capping each other and stuff.
Second, NWA's EFIL4ZAGGIN. This one was less terrifying, but still way harder than my normal musical choices and full of the type of stuff that I had never heard in my life. One track is called "To Kill a Hooker," another is called "She Swallowed It." I mean, this is stuff I had never heard in my life. Words I'd never heard. Sexual act descriptions I'd never even imagined could happen. Wildly inappropriate for a 15 year old boy, but set over a great collection of old school samples and beats. You've still got Dr. Dre and Eazy E in the group at this point, but Ice Cube had already bailed by now. This was not NWA's most popular album by any means - none of their big hits were on here, but I think Appetite for Destruction is probably my favorite off of here because of the beat (uh, video is weird NSFW for the first minute or so).
Finally, one of my favorite rap albums of all time, Ice Cube's Death Certificate. This disc is chock full of inventive, fun, interesting samples crafted from old school funk and soul music. James Brown, Funkadelic, Parliament, George Clinton, Zapp - just a ton of well-picked bits and pieces woven together to create new and original music that absolutely jams. On top of the music, Cube crafts excellent story-telling raps that leave today's boring brag-fest rap in the dust. For example, My Summer Vacation, a song about moving his drug dealing enterprise from L.A. to St. Louis to escape the heat; A Bird in the Hand, about his failure to find a good job coming out of school and deciding to deal drugs instead; or Man's Best Friend, about the reasons how a gun is better protection than a dog. Not many videos from this album, but Steady Mobbin' is a good one.
Another top example - Alive on Arrival is a great story-telling rap about a dealer who gets shot on the corner and gets taken up to the hospital, but gets hassled by the cops the whole time instead of getting help. This is a great example of why I have become a crotchety old man when it comes to modern rap.
Meanwhile, listen to a current top rap song (Iggy Azelea's Fancy is the top rap song on Spotify right now), and you get synthesizers (no samples), generic flourishes (hey! hey! hey! hey!), with nonsensical boasts about money or cars or general fanciness. "First things first, I'm the realest," "I'm still in tha murder business," something about haters and staying on her grind, and spelling her name repeatedly, and wishing you could touch her hotness, and a hook about being fancy and how you should remember her name. Don't get me entirely wrong, that song is a serious earworm that makes me need to shake the booty, but its an idiotic song. No one will remember Fancy at all by next summer. Get offa my lawn!!!
So there you have it. A cheerleader sister and car thieves are the genesis. From there I found Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, LL Cool J, Notorious BIG, Public Enemy, Ice T, Dr. Dre, Guru (those Jazzmatazz albums!), Eminem, Kanye West, Outkast, Jay Z, 2Pac, Nas, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, and on into the future. I still love the storytellers (Kendrick Lamar) more than the braggers (A$AP) but both are free to invade my head and get me grooving.
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