New Atmosphere EP

DOWNLOAD Atmosphere - Sunshine (MP3)


Atmosphere at work in Dallas (cred).
Unfortunately I didn't get to see Slug and Ant at Rock The Bells this weekend. They always put on a great show and have released the 9th installment of The "Sad Clown" series: Sad Clown Bad Summer Accompanied by Piano. The EP has a bunch of rare and limited tour only recordings, one of which can be downloaded above. Very pleasant little EP. It will only be sold at Paid Dues and Rock the Bells and online through Minneapolis' Fifth Element while they last. CMJ writes about the EP too.

Wu Tang Clan Documentary

DOWNLOAD Raekwon - Wu-Gambino's (Hidden Chamber Remix) ft Method Man (MP3) via MissingThumbs

With their Rock The Bells performance still fresh on my mind I watched this fantastic 21 minute behind-the-scenes video of the Wu Tang Clan in the studio speaking on the new album 8 Diagrams, Ol' Dirty Bastard, working together, and much more.


Via Nahright

Rock The Bells (Day 1) Pt Deux

The People
Where to start? The Wu Tang Clan were amazing, even with a missing GZA for the first part. RZA had to cover for him on 'Shadowboxing', but GZA made it to stage halfway through his set and showed the crowd where he may be the premier lyricist of the group.

Mos Def was somehow a little uninspiring and self-involved it seemed. Such a great talent, but I think we, the people, will always be rooting for him to come back to his Black Star/Black On Both Sides days. His focus was so much stronger. His partner in crime Talib Kweli has actually only been getting better. He used to awkwardly not be able to ride a beat during a live performance but he's really stepped his game up and outshone Mos for most of the set.

Seeing Cypress Hill was a childhood dream come through, ever since listening to my Cypress cassette tapes and learning all the words. And wow, they were amazing. My personal favorite performance of the day. The music still resonates so strongly and the DJ Muggs beats are still so good. Vintage yet relevant.

Rage Against The Machine was obviously amazing. I hadn't seen them since 1994 when during their performance at Pinkpop the crowd jumping up and down actually officially registered a small earthquake (1.1 Richter Scale).

The Roots were solid as always and put on an amazing JBs-like jam that grooved so hard. Who knew Black Thought could sing that well?

The New York Times wrote up Rock The Bells, and pointed out one of the more interesting moments.

...Public Enemy, which endures despite some evident personal friction. “I was in the middle of something, Chuck,” said Flavor Flav, when Chuck D tried to start a song too soon. Did Chuck D wince in response?

It definitely was a bit of a toe cringing moment as Flavor Flav refused to cut his standard self-congratulatory bit of the show short, which in all reasonableness really shouldn't have been a problem with the time constraints of a 45 minute set. I've seen him do the same exact bit before, and it's a little sad, a little touching, and a little bit long as he thanks the audience for watching his VH 1 Shows, introduces his kids (always different ones it seems), and gives us a 2 minute version of his trademark phrase "Yea Boyyyyyyyy". But Chuck took it in grace and saved the show.


Redman and Flavor Flav Embrace

For more go to BrooklynVegan.

R.I.P. Ingmar Bergman

One of my favorite film makers, and one of my favorite film makers' film makers (Woody Allen loves his work), passed away. To find out more about Ingmar Bergman consult the internet, and netflix his work if you haven't already seen it. There's 50 films to choose from.

Rock The Bells (Day 1)

Wow. More writing later. Still recovering.

Tons of pictures of Cypress Hill, The Roots, Wu Tang Clan, Redman, and more HERE.
A few quick samples below.

Double Feature Starring Chamillionaire

Wow, finally a current Hip Hop artist aside from Kanye West going outside the standard Hip Hop video format. I'm not a huge Chamillionaire fan, but these videos are pretty great. Cham plays several different characters, including a Bill O'Reilly clone and a police officer with a Sabotage-like moustache. And a Slick Rick guest spot! With a mini-fro!

Hip Hop Police (f/Slick Rick)




Evening News

Just Jack, No Mannequin

EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD Just Jack - No Time (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Cause - More Than Music (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Cause - Click Clack (MP3)


Just Jack
Hmmm the dilemma. Two great shows to attend on Tuesday. If it weren't for the fact that Cross-Pollination runs on every Tuesday at Pianos from 8-10pm (and I co-organize this with with my business partner Jay. And on top of that it weren't for the fact that I'm even more excited than usual for this particular Cross-Pollination, since it features the genre-spanning match up of my current favorite new rapper, Cause, and crazy electro-singer/songwriter Elijah B Torn.

Well then, if it weren't for all of that, then I'd just go to Hiro Ballroom for Just Jack's US debut show (free entrance by dropping a line to rsvp@giantstep.net). Doors are at 8pm, Chicken George opens at 9pm from what I understand, so my solution: first I go to Cross-Pollination and see genres destroyed, then I go to see Just Jack melt them back together again. I'm really digging the song above right now, but check his myspace for a few more songs that sound completely different.

Zach Galigianakis Redux

DOWNLOAD Fiona Apple - Not About Love (Jon Brion Version) (MP3) via IKnowMusic

I knew that guy in yesterday's Kanye West video looked familiar. The one that wasn't Will Oldham is Zach Galigianakis, who I knew from the great music video for Fiona Apple's 'Not About Love'. Nahright's comment refreshed my memory and pointed out that Zach pretty much does the exact same thing in both videos.

Will Oldham Hearts Kanye

DOWNLOAD Kanye West - Stronger (MP3) Via MIssingToof
DOWNLOAD Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing (remix) ft Young Jeezy (MP3) Via STGA


it's the one on the left...
Will Oldham did something mysterious and cool, which is nothing new really. After recording his cover of Mariah Carey's 'Can't Take That Away From Me' for the Guilt By Association compilation album (disclosure: a project coming out on Engine Room Recordings, where I'm Label Manager), he now appears in a fascinating video for Kanye West's 'Can't Tell Me Nothing'. It seems official even, of some sort, as it appears on Kanye's website. Check out the video HERE. Via the inimitable BoingBoing

Pelle Carlberg

DOWNLOAD Pelle Carlberg - I Love You, You Imbecile (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Pelle Carlberg - Go to Hell, Miss Rydell (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Pelle Carlberg - Oh, No! It's Happening Again (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Pelle Carlberg - Clever Girls Like Clever Boys Much More Than Clever Boys Like Clever Girls (MP3)


it's the one on the left...
I believe it was a Rachael's birthday party at the Delancey in New York, thrown for her by Pat, where I first saw this gentleman charm the room with his clever songwriting and his endearingly dry stage presence. Not to mention his bass player/drummer (yes, one person, at the same time). The top and bottom MP3s are from his new release In a Nutshell.

The Darjeeling Limited trailer (Wes on Wes)

So there's a not so secret frustration of mine: I don't enjoy Wes Anderson's movies very much. I really should. Pretty much everything about them is perfect. The dry humor, the actors involved, their aesthetic, the cinematography. But I don't enjoy them. I'm bored and my funny bone isn't tickled nearly as often as I think it will/should be.

Mr. Anderson has a new one coming out called The Darjeeling Limited. It stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Angelica Houston and is described as follows. An emotional comedy about three brothers re-forging family bonds. The eldest, played by Wilson, hopes to reconnect with his two younger siblings by taking them on a train trip across the vibrant and sensual landscape of India. [In Theatres: September 29th, 2007]



Once again I love the trailer, but I'm afraid I'll be disappointed by the actual film. It sure does look hilariously awesome for now though.

The Wrist Frost Bit Minus 2 Degrees...

An iPod shuffle dipped in 18 carat gold? Why not! Available at your local Jewelry dealer for a mere $10,000.

Discovered on my new favorite blog.

Don't Act Like You Don't Know

Skills has always been that MC that would come on the radar once a year as one of the hottest ones. But it was always his year end (w)rap up. This time he shows the world what he's capable of on this hot track with Freeway. Just Blaze-esque production, great flows, this is so my jam right now.



"Cl Smooth and Pete Rock-ing, Keep knocking "When The Reminisce Over You", keep rocking"

After The Jump Announcement

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

TWENTY-TWO MUSIC BLOGGERS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO PRESENT THE AFTER THE JUMP FEST ON AUGUST 25, 2007, IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

RIOT IN BELGIUM, SOULICO, THE VIRGINS, RA RA RIOT, LOCKSLEY GOES CUBE, APACHED BEAT AMONG THOSE CONFIRMED TO APPEAR. NUMEROUS ADDITIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

-----------------------------------------------------------------
[AFTER THE JUMP FEST]
AUGUST 25, 2007
STUDIO B (259 BANKER STREET)
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

CONFIRMED TO APPEAR:
RIOT IN BELGIUM * SOULICO * GOES CUBE * THE VIRGINS * APACHE BEAT * JUKEBOX THE GHOST * RA RA RIOT * LOCKSLEY * LES SANS CULOTTES * BLING KONG * FINGER ON THE PULSE (DJ SET) * DAVID BRUNO (SLAP YOU IN PUBLIC) (DJ SET)

DAY SHOW (OUTSIDE STUDIO B) - FREE
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