Yeah I like Sex and I'm Good At It

If it wasn't enough that Joaquin Phoenix decided to become a rapper, John Mayer has taken the leap. The self proclaimed master of sex, Mayer published a Youtube video showing off his MPC skills. The beats decent, and I'm impressed with his finger dexterity. He really is able to push the MPC buttons! WOW.

Well, hopefully Mayer is not heartbroken creating an off putting album like some other transitional musicians. Take a look at Mr. Mayer, master of sex, MPC jamming guru at the video below.

Youboob

Sometimes Youtube can provide bands with the opportunity to succeed, eg. Ok Go!. Other times, well--they can just provide a good laugh.

Take These Broken Wings

The SFCritic had a hard day, and so I'm learning to FFLLLLYY WAAAYY. I hope my bad streak today will last as long as Mr. Mister's career. Famous for his song "Broken Wings," this is one of many, wonderful one hit wonders from the 80s. Enjoy.

Sorry Mr. Wobbles

Here is the SOTD that I posted thanks to Betterpropaganda.com


Kid606
"Mr. Wobbles Nightmare"


“I’m sorry Mr. Wobble, your son is dead.” With a ridiculous opening like that, the song better follow with a ridiculously hard hitting beat. Thankfully, Kid 606 chops “Mr. Wobbles Nightmare,” into a rhythmic murder on the dance floor. Like a confusing tale of thoughts and sounds, samples break rhythmic patterns leading to new disconnected sounds. “I’m sorry Mr. Wobble you better come down to the station,” and hear how Kid 606 entranced your son with his altered keyboarding, sliced him up with sharp high hats, and mashed his muscles with a deep sonic baseline. The song begins with a bare drum patterns, but builds with passion, and then you’re trapped, in a dark basement rave-- until the party is over and you’re dead from dehydration and exhaustion. This song has got me addicted, tripping on something Satanist, and ready to dance for a house biscuit.

Here other SOTD suggestions:
Charles Tree: "It's The"
Peter King : "Shango"
St. Vincent: "Actor Out of Work"

Come Test Me, I Bring Justice!

Today's blog will be a smattering (love this word) of new music and videos to check out. This is just some good ole stuff I've heard/seen that you should check out.


This is Justice's new video for "Stress": directed by Romain-Gavras. Be warned, this is a bit violent and in many instances looks quite real.

justice stress (official video)
Uploaded by elnino. - See the latest featured music videos.

As promised, here is a song from Medicine for Melancholy. The song is performed by Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, and is entitled "New Years Kiss." A side note, this is Barry Jenkins directing debut, but he is better known as the drummer for the 1960s band, The Animals.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
"New Years Kiss"



Karin Dreijer, the female half of Knife, solo project under the name Fever Ray, brings an equally haunting and icy tone. D Lissvik remix of her song "When I Grow Up," melds her aching and reminiscent lyrics with playful flute and island guitar strumming.

Fever Ray (Remixed by D Lissvik)
"When I Grow Up

Thru You, From Me

Thru You is as my friend Dave told me, "The future of music mixology." Created by Kutiman, an Israeli funk and hip hop producer, Thru You is the first mixing and remixing of both Youtube videos and audio, to create a new musical product. The results, unique, intriguing, and all around--just fresh.

As I have noted before about remixes and cover songs, they provide a valuable tool to become publicized. Kutiman's Thru You is an ushering to a new voice in music; thereby, establishing a new method of publicizing.


Click here to see Kutiman's original Thru You homepage, or look at some of the videos below. I will also attached one of my favorite music videos by Kutiman which is separate from the Thru You project, but is also exceptional. Enjoy.








AND JUST A LITTLE SOMETHING ELSE FOR GOOD MEASURE:



If you liked this check out:

El Michels Affair: Enter the 37th Chamber

Quite Nyce & Raydar Ellis: "Love Is"

Dizzie Rascal ft. Arman Van Helden: "Bonkers"

Medicine for the Melancholy

And Music for the soul. This movie was good. The soundtrack was great. I will be posting directly some of the songs from this movie later this week, with a little preface and detailing of the artist. If you can't wait that long, take a look at the soundtrack, and follow the links. Seriously, some really good new music.


MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY

Thank you Andy Forrest

People ask me, "How do you know so much music?" It's because I listen to others suggestion. After a dinner a while back, Andy Forrest suggested I take a listen to Brian Eno and The Residents. Upon overhearing our conversation, Andy's son, my friend, sighed and stated something like, "He's not going to enjoy it."

Some weeks have passed and I've finally followed up on Andy's suggestions. Brian Eno's "By This River," instantly reminded me of a hip hop song I knew. So I investigated, and sure enough--Living Legends sampled this song. Take a look below.


Then I looked at The Residents, and talk about tripped out shit. Just watch.

Both are good in their own ways. It goes to show, you learn from listening (like the pun?). Thanks Andy.

Check It Check It What What

I was most recently published in Novo Magazine, based in San Francisco. The magazine can be found in print locally, and online. The online website is highly interactive: you can cut pages, email particular articles to friends, and flip pages like a real magazine. Take a look: Novo Magazine.

I wrote the article previewing The Tokyo Police Club and reviewing Yoshi's Restaurant in San Francisco.

Drugs and Music

As seen on Spin.com

Ten Songs You Shouldn't Put on Your Friend's Good-bye Mix CD If He's Going Off to Rehab

* "Cigarettes & Alcohol" Oasis
* "Gin & Juice" Snoop Dogg
* "Sorted for E's & Wizz" Pulp
* "Who's Got the Crack" the Moldy Peaches
* "Heroin" the Velvet Underground
* "Purple Pills" D12
* "I'm Your Pusher" Ice-T
* "Drug Drug Druggy" Manic Street Preachers
* "My Drug Buddy" the Lemonheads
* "Let's Go Get Stoned" Ray Charles

The Five Most Coked-Up Songs Ever

1. "Cocaine," Eric Clapton
2. "White Horse," Laid Back
3. "Lit Up," Buckcherry
4. Every track on The Eagles' Hotel California
5. Every track on Fleetwood Mac's Tusk

Ten Things Believed Only by Stoners

1. The Black Crowes' Amorica is just an all-around stellar album.
2. Kyuss was the most important band of the '90s.
3. Valerie Bertinelli is so hot--and also so lucky.
4. The Clash should have made even more reggae songs.
5. Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9" is not only awesome, but also so true.
6. Quadrophenia is completely biblical.
7. The guitars on My Bloody Valentine's Loveless sound like whales having sex--and those whales are totally high.
8. That kid from the Streets is like Dylan or Lennon or something.
9. "The Man" is out to stomp on not only our buzz but also our right to download loosely executed songs featuring hand drums.
10. The Chronic is the best hip-hop album of 2002.

Top Five Alcoholic Beverages You'll Find in a Rapper's Dressing Room

1. Alizé
2. Hennessy
3. Cristal
4. Grey Goose
5. Courvoisier

Top Five Alcoholic Beverages You'll Find in a Rocker's Dressing Room

1. Smirnoff
2. Jack Daniel's
3. Budweiser
4. Wild Turkey
5. What the club gives you drink tickets for

Top Ten Reggae Songs About Kind Bud

1. "Legalize It," Peter Tosh
2. "One Draw," Rita Marley
3. "Macka Splaff," Steel Pulse
4. "Free Up the Weed," Lee Perry
5. "African Herbsman," Bob Marley
6. "Just a Little Herb," Aswad
7. "Let Me Blow My Smoke," the Ethiopians
8. "Ganja Smuggling," Eek-A-Mouse
9. "Good Load of Herb," Sizzla
10. "Legalize the Herb," Ninjaman

Things Ravers Do on Drugs

1. Rave
2. Explore K-holes, fall down, grab head in pain
3. Blow through Vicks inhaler tubes into one another's eyeballs (don't ask)
4. Wear big pants, grind teeth
5. Liquid dance
6. Exchange back rubs, go into cardiac arrest

Things Ravers Say on Drugs

1. "I'm mad old-school."
2. "I love you so much--Can I have another bump?"
3. "Do you have a pen cap or a key I can borrow?"
4. "Wow, Digweed doesn't sound like shit anymore!"
5. "And I mean, it's like we're all linked together on the inside. Like we're bound together by this beat, and--oh shit--I gotta puke!"

Prescription Drugs Rock Stars Enjoy (Or, Six Things Found in Elvis' Stomach When He Died)

* Codeine
* Demerol
* Nembutal
* Morphine
* Quaaludes
* Valium

Most Poignant Eulogy Ever for a Drug-Related Death:
"Somebody was jumping up and down on his fuckin' knob in a hotel room in Las Vegas, charlie'd off his tits! Fuckin' respect, man!" --Noel Gallagher on late Who bassist John Entwistle, who died of a cocaine-related heart attack in 2002

Artists Who Have Used Heroin....And Later OD'd

* Kurt Cobain
* Sid Vicious
* Dee Dee Ramone
* Layne Staley
* John Frusciante
* Scott Weiland
* Brad Nowell (Sublime)
* Marianne Faithfull

Songs You Want to Hear in Relation to How Many Beers You've Had
1 beer: "Get the Party Started," Pink
2 beers: "Last Nite," the Strokes
3 beers: "Gin & Juice," Snoop Dogg
4 beers: "24 Hour Party People," Happy Mondays
5 beers: "Electric Avenue," Eddy Grant
v 6 beers: "Baby Got Back," Sir Mix-A-Lot
7 beers: "Panama," Van Halen
8 beers: "Any Way You Want It," Journey
9 beers: "Piano Man," Billy Joel
10 beers: "Sweet Home Alabama," Lynyrd Skynyrd
11 beers: "Sweet Home Alabama," Lynyrd Skynyrd
12 beers: "Sweet Home Alabama," Lynyrd Skynyrd
13 beers: "Tuesday's Gone," Lynyrd Skynyrd
14 beers: "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," Hank Williams

Five Anti-Heroin Songs That Unintentionally Romanticize Heroin

* "Bad," U2
* "The Needle and the Damage Done," Neil Young
* "Cold Turkey," John Lennon
* "Three Days," Jane's Addiction
* "Sister Morphine," Marianne Faithfull

Five Examples of Inventive Drug Use

* "Sippin' on Some Syrup," Three 6 Mafia (cough medicine)
* "Strap on That Jammy Pac," Ween (Scotchgard)
* "Canned Heat Blues," Tommy Johnson (Sterno)
* "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue," Ramones
* "Carbona Not Glue," older and wiser Ramones (cleaning fluid)

Albums You're Most Likely to Hear at a Laser Show

1. II, Led Zeppelin
2. IV, Led Zeppelin
3. The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd
4. Yessongs, Yes
5. OK Computer, Radiohead
6. 2112, Rush
7. Quadrophenia, the Who
8. Aqualung, Jethro Tull
9. A Night at the Opera, Queen
10. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, Spiritualized

I'm the Chief Rocka

Throwback to the 90s tunes featuring Lords of the Underground. Comprised of MCs Mr. Funke, DoItAll Dupré and DJ Lord Jazz, Lords of the Underground hit the scene in '93. Most noted for their tracks "Funky Lord," and "Chief Rocka," I found this gem of theirs, featuring Redman. Take a listen:

Lord of the Underground: What I'm After

My Boom Box Ate My Baby

Hipsters over populate San Francisco. I thought when I left the Twin Cities, I'd escape the horrid scene, which has consumed so many. Whether 80s clothes or jams, the culture has consumed contemporary pop society as we continue to cycle through past decades' styles and trends.

The boom box or the ghetto blaster, a staple of 80s culture is sorrowfully missed by SFCritic as one of the few things that hasn't seen a comeback thanks to ipods. This blog is a dedication to the boom box of old.




NYOil - Hip Hop Ya Dont Stop
Watch Music Videos at www.blastro.com

You want to Party, Party with the Glitch

This is a copy of a video published on XLR8R, featuring the Glitch Mob in SF. The Glitch Mob. This is the definition of "glitch" music, found on wikipedia:

Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of experimental electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The origins of the glitch aesthetic can be traced back to Luigi Russolo's Futurist manifesto The Art of Noises, the basis of noise music. In a Computer Music Journal article published in 2000, composer and writer Kim Cascone used the term post-digital to describe various experimentations associated with the glitch aesthetic. Glitch is characterized by a preoccupation with the sonic artifacts that can result from malfunctioning digital technology, such as those produced by bugs, crashes, system errors, hardware noise, CD skipping, and digital distortion.[2] Cascone considers glitch to be a sub-genre of electronica. [3]

The Art of Noise had a CD entitled "The Seduction of Claude Debussy," which took the famed composer's work and remixed into electronic music.

Check out this Glitch Mob video, and how my SFCritic's town--FRISCO--gets down!
Make sure to check the guy at 5:08, dude is crazy in a way only SF people are.

Record Store Day

As seen on Brookyln Vegan


Record Store Day 2009: lots of bands releasing exclusive vinyl, a Bouncing Souls in-store & more...

by Andrew Frisicano

Record Store Day

Record Store Day - a nationwide event created to support independently owned record stores - will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009. A list of participating NYC stores is available online at the Record Store Day venue list.

On RSD, Generation Records (210 Thompson Street, NY, NY) will host an acoustic in-store by punk band The Bouncing Souls, free for customers who pick up a copy of the band's 20th Anniversary Volume 1 7-inch the day of the show.

Other events, such as in-stores at Williamsburg's Sound Fix, which announced its intent to celebrate the event with live music despite ending shows after losing its liquor license in February, are still being announced.

Many record labels are supporting the event with limited-edition records. Matador, for example, will be pressing 2500 copies each of Jay Reatard/Sonic Youth and Sonic Youth/Beck split 7-inches, plus a Pavement Live In Germany LP. Thrill Jockey is sending out 900 copies of Records Toreism, an LP that includes tracks from Mountains, Tortoise, White Hills, Trans Am featuring Tim Soete, and Baltimore's Double Dagger (who cover "Stagger Lee") and will be packaged with two zines (feat contributions from Ian MacKaye and more).

Record Store Day, which coincides with the 2009 Coachella Festival, will also be running a record shop at the fest. The press release, copied below, notes that the Coachella on-site store, "previously operated by Virgin, is noted for its high profile foot traffic and good vibe." Both events come in the same month that the Times Square Virgin Megastore will close - the NYC shop is notable for having the nation's highest sales volume. Its sister location in Union Square will be gone soon after.

Full list of Record Store Day exclusives, in the form of a press release, below...

REcord Store day

The organizers of Record Store Day have been happily overwhelmed by a steady flurry of support and activity from artists, record labels and retailers wishing to participate in the annual event in salutation of the independent music store. This year Record Store Day is set to feature a number of exciting new products made especially for the event from such well-known artists as Radiohead, Wilco, Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams and the Flight of the Conchords, just to name a few.

Wilco plan to release their upcoming DVD as an exclusive release to indie stores and on the band's website on Record Store Day. The group's Jeff Tweedy told Billboard Magazine in a recent interview, "Even if I wasn't in a band, I'd still support Record Store Day. It's a great thing and I'm glad we could do something special with them for our DVD."

The Decemberists will release a Record Store Day 7" as well. The band's Colin Meloy adds, "I don't know what I would do without indie record stores. Growing up in a town without them, I can tell you that it's no fun to shop for indie records at chain box stores."

You can also expect a slew of vinyl releases from Radiohead, My Morning Jacket who will release a CD as well as limited run double 10" vinyl recorded live in Louisville at record store Ear X-tacy.

Also expected are classic split 7" releases from Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams who will issue a double 7" of live tracks from Atlanta and Edinburgh, as well as Sonic Youth exclusive Record Store Day split singles with Beck and Jay Reatard.

Other indie rock elder statesmen the Jesus Lizard will release a special package to include nine 7" singles and Guided By Voices will re-release their Hold On Hope LP, with three bonus tracks.

And in the "legends" category, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen will all release RSD exclusive 7" singles. Def Jam also plans to release a 4 LP gatefold history of the label, the physical version of which will be for indies only.

Fans can expect more unique Record Store Day pieces from a diverse array of artists such as Metric, Slipknot, Jane's Addiction, The Smiths, the Stooges, MC5, Modest Mouse, Slayer, Rivers Cuomo, the Black Kids, Brandi Carlile, Taking Back Sunday, among many others.

In addition, Coachella, the world-renowned annual music festival set to take place on April 17-19 in Indio, California, has chosen Record Store Day to run the event's popular on-site record store, with management provided by popular Southwest-based indie retailer, Zia Record Exchange. The on-site Coachella store, previously operated by Virgin, is noted for its high profile foot traffic and good vibe.

Record Store Day, April 18, 2009, coincidentally falls smack in the middle of the dazzling desert-set festival. Promoted by GoldenVoice, Coachella 2009 boasts such an eclectic mix of big name headliners as Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, My Bloody Valentine, Public Enemy, TV On The Radio, The Cure, The Hold Steady, Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, Jenny Lewis, Franz Ferdinand as well as many others sure to be stopping by the Record Store Day site to peruse the shelves for records and memorabilia and hang with their fans between sets.

A number of artists performing at this year's Coachella will release product expressly for Record Store Day. Among them, Mastodon who will release "Crack The Skye" on 180 gram vinyl to include an extra 7" single and lyric sheet, Jenny Lewis will issue a split 7" with none other than Elvis Costello, and Black Keys will release a special RSD split 7" with the Flaming Lip

St. Vincent

Her new album, "Actor" is to be released on May 5th, but she has been leaking previews of the album for those eagerly anticipating its debut. Her first album, Marry Me was praised highly by the likes of the New York Times and Chicago Tribune.

Sadly, SFCritic missed a chance to see her at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival, but she is playing at Sasquatch and Bonnaroo. If you've never heard of St. Vincent, take a listen:

Music and Politics

The reason that title sounds so awkward, because for the most part--the two shouldn't go hand in hand. Take a look:

Be Scared of the Robots

Yoshimi, they don't believe me...

Check out this cool article on the robot take over in music:

Pop Justice: Rise of the Machines


-SFCritic

Uh? They Say 50 You Hot!

They like me like they like Pac!

NOT! nearly as great an actor, the man is lost, and is no longer a rap factor. Save the character, might as well gone home with malaria. Pac could act, and 50 shit is just wack. Either way, see them both in their hey, and fade away. Check it. WORD FROM DJ SFCritic! HOLLA!


50's Acting Skillz


Tupac in "Juice"

Here's Toasting To You

Ever heard of toasting? Not bread, or drugs--but the characteristic style in hip hop and reggae. As described on wikipedia:

Toasting is a style of chanting or talking over the record that was first used by 1960s Jamaican deejays such as U-Roy and Dennis Alcapone. This style greatly influenced Jamaican DJ Kool Herc, who used the style in New York City in the late 1970s to pioneer a new genre that became known as hip hop or rap. Mixing techniques employed in dub music have also influenced hip hop.

In the discussion of "where did hip hop originate," some scholars reference dancehall and toasting as a sign that hip hop originates from reggae (dancehall orginates out of reggae). Other scholars use this fact to argue the opposite point: contemporary dancehall spawned from hip hop.

Either way, as SFCritic was searching blogs I stumbled upon a good example of toasting, as well as a catchy and unique remix of Britney Spears. Take a look:

Nothing Ever Happened, Until Now

"Nothing Ever Happened"
Deerhunter
Microcastle

As seen on Betterpropaganda.com

“Nothing Ever Happened,” sounds like the pop emergence of an underground rock band. Deerhunter having changed labels and guitarists for their third album Microcastle, have produced a sound more radio friendly. The song begins with a 80s rock melody, and then breaks—soloing bass guitarist Josh Fauver. Then singer Bradford Cox chimes in harmony with the guitar, “Only when I dream but there's no way out / You learn to talk, you learn to shout /Focus on depth that was never there/ Eliminate what you can't repair.” The introspective lyrics reflect the depth of the group’s work, regardless of their more radio friendly sound. Then the hook kicks in “Nothing ever happened to me” which repeats three times, before Cox sings “Life just passing, flash right thru me.” As life continues to pass through Cox, so does the guitar riff, as it repeats, and repeats, passing us by, as the song closes to an end. “Nothing Ever Happened,” is a pop song, with a simple and catchy hook; yet, it is more than just pop, as it weighs with a heavy and dreary sense of self-defeat. Cox’s voice is soothing and also haunting as he finishes saying “I never saw it coming,” but for us critics, we can see Deerhunter coming—developing into one of best new indie rock bands.

SOTD: Charles Trees "It's The"

“It’s The”
Charles Trees
Accepted Truth

From Betterpropaganda.com

When writing the SOTD I scan through all the new music, until I hear a song that makes my head bob uncontrollably. This moment, like a seizure (how my dance moves are described), catches me off guard, and then consumes me in rhythms. “It’s the,” shit—is probably the full title. With an intro that builds into the sample, the song takes off quickly. Charles Trees' “It’s the” plays like an RJD2 beat, but the sample is chopped and used in a fashion similar to Madlib. Driven by a simple drum pattern, the sample anchors the song. For a man with strong political expression, “It’s the” is void of lyrics, but not of hip hop soul. After listening to Charles Trees' Myspace page, this track emphasizes a jazzy hip hop, whereas some of his other tracks experiment with electronic and scratching, sounding more like Prince Paul. Take a listen, try to rap over the beat and send me your lyrics, because I’ve been rapping over this track all morning, and my rhymes “are the.”

Want to listen to more SOTD?

Peter King : "Shango"

Kid 606: "Mr. Wobbles Nightmare"

Metric: "Sick Muse"

Lazer Bass

If you're a cool journalist--you coin terms. "Lazer Bass," coined by Sasha Frere-Jones of the New Yorker, describes a new genre of funky, heavy, crazed bass remixed music. Check out the article to learn some more.


Also check out this song that Frere-Jones highlights: http://downloads.newyorker.com/mp3/NoMoreBloodRemix.mp3