Mr. Field's Cookies

Lee Field's Problems (Soul Fire- 2002) has got pretty much all the elements of a solid 70's funk/soul album. It's got the heavy rhythms, rattling drum kicks, bubbling basslines and a James Brown-like undercurrent that works to perfection. From the uptempo funk blast of the title track to the slow burning groove of "Honey Dove", this albums got some sure fire hotness for your summer listening enjoyment.

Lee Fields: "Problems"

Lee Fields: "Honey Dove"

Check out this Deep Funk interview. AND if you're interested, he's got releases scattered through Daptone Records, Truth & Soul and Soul Fire Records.

Mental Fitness

"It's too perverted, you heard it, so now you get murdered
Test the sound system, it throws off your equilibrium
Deep concentration can't fracture the meditation
Competition is flipped on at random
Deviant monks attack the mic is mental pandemonium
And then some, you go for your hand gun
Psychokinetic forces proceed to smash in your cerebellum
Phonetian with more stamina than a Christian
My mind, C3 H5 N3 O9 like Nitroglycerine
I bust as Afu Ra crush
Clash with us and meet Cerebus"

Jeru The Damaja: "Mental Stamina"

Take Me Back

Summer's fast approaching and folks are putting together their seasonal songs of summer posts. I'll spare you and refrain from posting a mix of my own. I will throw one classic out there though on principle.

The J. Geils Band's Freeze Frame (1981) will always hold a special place on my imaginary favorite rock albums list. It's not one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded but it had some memorable songs on it. Although the title track was probably a bigger hit, "Centerfold" will forever be an all time summer classic. I was only 10 when this song dropped and I remember it fondly only because I wasn't suppose be listening to it. I don't even remember how I got my hands on the cassette tape. Seriously, what kind of soulless robot can deny this fuckin' song? Good times, good times...

The J. Geils Band: "Centerfold"

All The J-Live

Whenever I hear J-Live, I have to check myself for always forgetting to include him in my mental list of upper-eschelon MC's.

I first heard "The Lyricist" on Ritchy Pitch's Live At Home EP (2002). The production isn't mind blowing by any means but catchy nonetheless. I feel like I should go on and on about J-Live's lyrical virtuosity on this track but all I can really say is that his flow is flawless. Style, content, delivery...it's all there.

J-Live: "The Lyricist"

Then there's "The Epilogue", the closing track from his excellent 2001 debut The Best Part. The solemn, echoeing guitar loop is nice but, again, J-Live shines all the way through.

"When it's all said and done it should be heard and seen

'Til this cold-hearted game forces us to change teams

While the lust for the loot spreads out like gangrene

So the haves chase their tails while the nots chase their dreams

As the years chase the days, past the futures, meet fate

Like your firstborn, waiting for pop's release date

Postpone, meanwhile, I accumulate means

To revise and renew what was just heard and seen"

J-Live: "Epilogue"

No Game

Nah Right's got some unreleased tracks from The Game that didn't make The Doctor's Advocate's final cut. "Beautiful Life" is the only song I'd keep, the rest just sound like throwaway tracks. Is it me or has Dr. Dre's production turned progressively bland and dry? With the tracks he gave Jay-Z for Kingdom Come and the snoozers I've heard since, including 50 Cent's song about money in the bank, I'm beginning to think the good Doctor is beginning to fall the fuck off. I always thought he's been overrated post-The Chronic-Doggystyle era. Nothing he's done has been mind blowing save The Chronic 2000. His new shit just makes me want to sleep.

Obscurity Knocks

Obscurity Knocks

(A McCrank's Juke collabo.)

Trashcan Sinatras - Live at The Casbah in San Diego May 14, 2005

I prefer live music, the kind you can't find in Sam Goody or any other large retail chain. This post showcases another rare music performance from the Trashcan Sinatras, a favorite of mine from back in the early nineties (Obscurity Knocks is one of their better tracks). I blame a college roommate, who sold me on these guys. It goes to show you that the record industry and labels are screwed-up for not promoting and selling live material, including bootlegs. Download the soundboard recording and take a listen... (Disc 1 / Disc 2)

In The Re-Mix

It's seldom you find exceptional remixes these days. If you're diligent and have enough patience and luck, you'll stumble upon jewels like these:

Eric B. & Rakim: "Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em (Beirut Remix)"

You can check out his work here. I don't know much about him other than the fact that he's got a Myspace page. The remixes I've heard aren't bad and you can probably still download a bunch from his page. The above remix is perfect. Rakim never sounded better.

Snoop Dogg: "Signs (Siik Remix)"

Personally, I think it's better than the original. I never really liked Pharrell's track for this anyway. Siik is adept at transforming some of your favorites into something very worthwhile:

Bonus:

Amerie: "1 Thing (Siik Remix)"

Big Illinois

You can check the tracklisting for Common's seventh album Finding Forever here. Kanye West handles the majority of the production with Will.I.Am, Devo Springstein and the late J-Dilla contributing a track each. Nothing is really final until it's released, tentatively, on July 10.

In the meantime, here's the supposed first single produced by the "new Premo", Kanye West. Let it marinate cause it's pretty damned good.

Common feat. Dwele: "The People"

That's The Way To California

Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions album was released by Atlantic Records in 1997. It features some studio sessions and a live performance recorded for the British Broadcasting Corporation. The album was packaged as a double CD with disc 1 containing material recorded during three different BBC sessions in 1969 and disc 2 containing a concert performance at the Paris Theatre in London on April 1, 1971 (18 days prior to birth of yours truly, coincidentally).

Disc 2 has got the winners. These Led Zeppelin acoustic performances are magic AND they're played back to back.

"Going To California"
"That's The Way"

Street Records 2007

Known for breaking in and introducing some of Hip-Hop's most amazing acts through his Loud Records imprint in the early 90's, Steve Rifkind's got some good things happening in 2007.

The most reassuring point of the interview is that Ghostface's absence from Wu-Tang's next album 8 Diagrams is unlikely. We'll have to see about that.

The Gulliest

"...self appointed judge with power vested,
to hand down sentences from bus stop benches.
He's relentless with his it's just in his spirit
You don't want to read about it fool,
You want to feel it!"

-Brother Ali: "Pedigree"

"...move, pop, shake, drop, go, dumb, get drunk..."

-Prodigy: "Raining Guns and Shanks"

"...it's because of me she's walkin' crooked and her throat hurts"

-Big L: "Who You Slidin' Wit?"

Poetry For The Ages

No, I'm very happy. One of the funniest things I've seen all year, courtesy of the good folks at Oh Word!.

Cam's shots at 50 Cent were pretty amusing at first but things have gotten excessive and annoying. He's gone overboard which is why I enjoyed this so much. At this point, I need things like this more than petty shit like this.

Current Affairs

Who's gonna win?

Encore: "Love & Hate (The Mellow Drama) [The Nextmen Remix]"

Brand Nubian: "Love vs Hate"

Bummer

Some of the best Hip-Hop production I have ever heard was on Cannibal Ox's Cold Vein, with equally compelling narratives from the duo of Vast Aire and Vordul. That's why (although El-P's production is fantastic but still an acquired taste) most of his post-Cold Vein material hasn't quite measured up. Even El-P's solo debut Fantastic Damage was subpar in comparison. It was really disappointing to read the tail end of this interview I picked up at Can I Bring My Gat? where El-P dismisses a possible, long-awaited return from the Cannibal Ox. Truthfully, I haven't heard an album as thorough as Cannibal Ox's debut in, I don't know how long.

Cannibal Ox: "Vein" (The Cold Vein - Def Jux, 2001)
El-P: "Deep Space 9mm" (Fantastic Damage - Def Jux, 2002)

I Did...Sort of

...and so can you. Wah-tahh!!!

(Credit, again: AngryAsianMan)

The Legendary Mr. Chuck

It's from last year but Chuck D. never gives bad interviews. And he's never uninteresting.

Cosmic Slop

J-Dilla's Rough Draft dropped today. Before (or after) you cop it, check out these interviews, courtesy of Stones Throw.

Speaking of interviews, J. Sands of the Lone Catalysts continues to stay on the grind. (Coincidentally, he dropped a freebie Dilla tribute album Mrs. Sands: A Love Story on the internet this year. 10 songs deep. J. Sands freaking it over Dilla's work = Ill.)

O-Dub chimes in on the Amy Winehouse phenomenon. Interesting stuff.

Yes, yes, yes...Red Gone Wild drops on March 27. I've read a few Redman interviews the last couple of months but this one's got all the nooks and crannies...

The Magic Number

- Gene Harris on piano, Andrew Simpkins on bass and Bill Dowdy* on drums.

You can get a good run down on the group's history here if you're interested. Live At The Lighthouse is probably one of my favorites from the trio. This album wasn't recorded during one performance but represents a mix of several performances at the famed Lighthouse venue in Los Angeles recorded in a stretch of one summer.

"Sunny" is self-explanatory. If this tune doesn't make you feel good, you probably can't feel at all.

The 3 Sounds: "Sunny" (Live At The Lighthouse - Blue Note, 1967)

*By 1967, Bill Dowdy had left the trio and was replaced by Donald Bailey who played with the group throughout the Lighthouse performances.

Random:

I'm a big fan this Beirut - and now - this Beirut.

3 Ft. High & Rising

Nostalgia overload! Indeed.

After taking a look at MTV's list of the top 10 Hip-Hop groups of all time you have to wonder. They've got Outkast ranked #4 but I can't really even see them in the top 10. What's worse is the fact that they've got Salt 'n' Pepa at #8, The Fugees (who've only released two official albums in their short-lived career as a group) at #9 and UGK(????) at #10. And no De La Soul or The Roots. (Both groups, by the way, haven't disbanded and continue to record great music.)

That shit is baffling...

A New York State Of Mind

(A McCrank's Juke collabo.)

Listening to this on Sunday, the day they filled the brackets for the NCAAs. Syracuse got their bubble popped, but it really doesn't even seem to matter. Davis and Coltrane breezing lazy, waxing Blackbird and Walking. Creeping into summer, these songs on the box remind me of 15th street, riding bikes, and warm beerfest. Are you feeling it?

Miles Davis and John Coltrane - Live in New York
01. Bye, Bye, Blackbird
02. Four
03. It Never Entered My Mind
04. Walkin
05. Milestones
06. So What