Monday Special: San-Ho-Zay - Freddie King

I think it's appropriate to keep this review short like the song itself. The hi-hat provides the rythm, the bass gives it the swing, and Freddie does the rest. It's uptempo, kinetic, and played with just the right amounts of conviction, technical ability, and space.

Song: Here

Song of the Week: Here Comes Sickness

Here Comes Sickness - Mudhoney - Mudhoney

While it's hard for me to deem this a great "grunge" song because I'm hardly familiar with the genre, its harder for me to deny that this encompasses everything I associate with grunge (right or wrong). Its tone is freewheeling, out of control, fun, and dirty. It's lyrical content is perfectly in sync with its tone, it's funny, angry and definitely a little bit angsty (Shaking her hips//Like she's some kind of treat) As far as musicianship the band has excellent drumming, but is best suited to do what they do, craft simple dirty hooks with frank lyrics. The vocals themselves are pretty rough on the edges and verging on screaming, but is nothing that annoys my ears. I think that like the lyrics and the tone it all works together and is very much aligned, nothing sticks out as different, and I love that it can be so simply "grunge" for me.

Song: Here

Live Performance Special: To the Grain - Junip

Till today I had never heard of this band, and it was purely by chance (accidentally clicking on a related video) that I did stumble on them. The guitarist is definitely an apt folk player, and the overall sound immediately made me think of Pentangle except, of course, with a male vocalist. The reason I chose the live entry of this over the album version was that it captures the strongest part of Junip's music, the vocals, and puts them even more into the forefront of the music. It makes a very powerful ethereal voice very real. It always amazes me to watch someone sing beautifully, and to do it live, with what looks like little effort. The tone is minimalist in its instrumentation and orchestration (reminiscent of The XX and Crystallized, which the Gorillaz did a fantastic live cover of) but I view this as a strength as all the focus can be put on the beautiful guitar and voice.

Performance: Here

Album Of Note: Jake One - White Van Music

I was going to do a song review of Jake One's "God Like" but i decided to stop messing around with tracks (Trap Door, and The Truth were both on White Van Music) and just recommend the whole album. His production work is usually compared to MF DOOM's but I would say there's a big difference between the two, with Jake Ones being more rooted in instrumentation funk and soul and DOOM's being much much weirder and varied in sampling and sound (Compare these two DOOM Beats. Here and Here.) In an age where most pop is a mash of overproduced electronic synthesized noise (which can be done well: Dan the Automator, and the Gorillaz) it's really refreshing to hear a full live sound with a compliment of horns, woodwinds and bass. It reminded me a little bit of the "Suite For Ma Dukes" Orchestra playing J-Dilla beats. Its a full well realized and very dramatic sound.

Live Performace Special: Night Goat - The Melvins

In trying to pick out a song for this segment, I wasn't just looking for a song that was good live, but was better than the studio version, and I think Night Goat achieves that. On the album Houdini it was a thundering heavy track, and live (with the addition of Joe Preston on bass and an extra drummer) it's dynamics are much more enunciated as it begins with sequels of feed back before a throbbing bass line enters. Add on almost operetic vocals that did not quite come out on the original and you have a song that went from good n' gritty to Pure, Rumbling, Four-Horsemen-Are-Coming, Rock and Roll. Lyrically speaking the line "I can make your teeth grind" sums up perfectly the live performance of this song.

Performance: Here

Friday Special: Tallahassee

Tallahassee - Earth - Pentastar in the Style of Demons

This song is all American. This song is Huge. It drives, bucks, and rides, without ever changing its main riff. Sit down turn up the volume and immerse yourself in what I would call a classic. I sincerely believe that this is a dirtier, rawer, incarnation of born to be wild. It is an American driving song. Enjoy the weekend.

Song Here

Song of the Week: I am I be

I am I be - De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate

This song for me is pretty representative of De La Soul as a whole, it's smooth, interesting, and intelligent, simple while having lots of layers to listen to and understand. There's not a whole lot more to say about the song, the music can just stand on its own.

Song: Here

Retrospective: Om

Om, Jazz, and Alice Coltrane

After looking around at some reviews of Om's album God is Good I heard one person compare it to Alice Coltrane of all people. Some further research took me to her album Journey to Satchidananda, and more importantly the albums eponymous track. As much as i enjoyed the God is Good album and its main song Thebes, Alice Coltrane's track is simply fantastic. Cecil McBee's bass is less hypnotic and droning than Om's, it has a fuller and to no ones surprise jazzier sound, that perfectly complements the lightness and quickness of Alice's harp. With Pharoah Sanders improvising on the soprano saxophone Journey to Satchidananda is melodically complex and interesting; qualities that Om simply does not posses due to the Bass/Drum composition of the group. I do not mean this so much as a knock on Om, they are very good at what they do and I do love what they do, but Coltranes group can simply do more with the muscicianship that they have. I don't really intend to try to rate the two against each other but instead look at a common bass line that is taken in two different direction by two bands separated by almost 40 years and many genre lines.

Song: Here

Album Of Note: Rock Formations - Yawning Man

I've had this one since about October/November and it really has to be one of my favorite records of all time. It really is the album to lay down and listen to, one where you let the music find you as opposed to seeking out and looking for melodies. The drumming is solid enough give the songs a structure and tight rhythm, but creative enough to allow the separate tracks to have distinct personalities. The guitar is nothing spectacular or inventive, but its tone is warm and almost a more updated distorted shadows song, less poppy and more mellow. In the end however what really does it for me is not the skill or ability of the musicians (and i do happen to think that the drummer and bassist are very talented) it's more the sound and texture of the album as a whole. Rock Formations is an album that I consistently listen the whole way through. Letting the songs inform each other and give each other context is a great way to experience an album that keeps it overall sound the same while tweaking the tone melodies and rhythms. Its a smooth but interesting listen the whole way through. Below are the first two songs of the album Rock Formations and Perpetual Oyster both have sweeping arrangements and lush sounds, enjoy!

Rock Formations
Perpetual Oyster