Janelle Monae - Tightrope [ft. Big Boi] (2010)

Hopefully you’ve seen this video or heard the song by now, but if not…you’re in luck (and if you have then I know you’re already listening to it again because it’s great.)

She’s an excellent singer.  An amazing dancer.  Ultra-talented songwriter.  Great lyricist.  Is intelligent and well-spoken in interviews.  Based her album off Fritz Lang’s classic film “Metropolis” (!!!).  And she is unbelievably beautiful, and a treasure to look at.

Janelle Monae, will you marry me?

Blind Melon - No Rain (1991)

Ah, yes, the bumble bee girl.

One of the most memorable and iconic music videos ever (and a wonderful song too).

Boris - Pink (2005)

Nothing like sweet, sweet Japanese metal.

A chick drummer?  A double neck guitar?  A badass breakneck hook?  Yes, please.

Just a Velvet Underground type of mood this morning, and sharing good music is all I feel up to at the moment.

The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning (1967)

“Sunday morning, brings the dawn in
It’s just a restless feeling by my side
Early dawning, Sunday morning
It’s just the wasted years so close behind

Watch out, the world’s behind you
There’s always someone who will call, it’s nothing at all

Sunday morning, and I’m falling
I’ve got a feeling I don’t want to know
Early dawning, Sunday morning
It’s all the streets you crossed not so long ago…”

Life is tough, Lou, thanks for helping us get through.

Eminem - Just Don’t Give a Fuck (1999)

Few emcees come as raw and hard as early Eminem.

Off the top of my head only Biggie and Big L match the “Holy shit, what’d he just say?” scale.  ODB is up there too, but he’s a style of his own.

“So when you see me on your block with two glocks
Screaming, “Fuck the world!” like Tupac,
I just don’t give a fuck!!
Talking that shit behind my back, dirty mackin’
telling your boys that I’m on crack
I just don’t give a fuck!!
So put my tape back on the rack—
Go run and tell your friends my shit is whack—
I just don’t give a fuck!!
But see me on the street and duck
Cause you gon’ get stuck, stoned, and snuffed
Cause I just don’t give a fuck!!”

Madana Mohana Murari

Beautiful song. Absolutely gorgeous. No idea what language it’s in, but music speaks for itself.

The song’s translation is quite something too: “Because you are more seductive than cupid, you have stolen my heart.”

Relaxing song, nice and calming.

Peace be with you.

Om, santih, santih, santih!

(Source: umapessoazen)

Slum Village - Give this Nigga (1996)

Sampling Zapp & Roger’s - Heartbreaker Pts. I/II Dilla comes with it on this track.

Don’t fuck with him, just sit back, give him his respect, and bump his shit.

Baaaam!

“What’s pleasing to the eye
In the delusion of my sight
Is not what I find when I reach into the light
I have lost my mind
I’m walking through time
Deluded as the next guy
Pretending and hoping to find
That distant peace of mind

I don’t know
Who does know
There is no 
Where to go

It’s not so simple as I try to wish
But then again what is?
There is no other worthy quest
So on I go

I don’t know
Who does know
There is no 
Where to go”

‘Hello Nasty’ might be my personal favorite Beastie Boys album—probably because it holds so many memories and was the first record to really turn me on to hip-hop.

I grew up listening to 2Pac, Snoop, Dre and the like on the radio and MTV, but then rebelled and stuck to the roots of the region which my father raised me on: Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and rock in general.

Then one summer I was vacationing in Pennsylvania visiting family, and at my Uncle’s he put this record on and instantly the first song hooked and blew me away.  The beat was so simple, yet captivating and hypnotizing.  I already loved the single ‘Intergalactic’, so I borrowed the album (my Uncle just gave it to me eventually) , and I listened to it dozens of times in the hot humid central Pennsylvania heat, where it doesn’t relent whether it’s night or day.

What makes ‘Hello Nasty’ stand apart is the versatility and creativity compared to their previous albums.  From ‘Licensed to Ill’ to ‘Ill Communication’ the albums were pretty straight forward hip-hop, with elements of punk as well.  ’Ill Communication’ started the expansion, with a few instrumentals and beats using flutes and such, but ‘Hello Nasty’ took them into another world.

From the opener ‘Super Disco Breaking’, a classic Beastie Boys banger, to ‘Dr. Lee PhD’, a funky rambling song starring the wild icon Lee Scratch Perry, to the song I posted ‘I Don’t Know’, a slow thoughtful pensive song that’s actually sung, and not rapped, the variety makes ‘Hello Nasty’ a special album—one all Beastie Boys fans should give another listen to, and non-Beastie Boys fans should give a try.

Ol’ Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo (Live)

Now this is a performance.

Wild energy + raw chaos with an underlying tone of brilliance.

R.I.P. Big Baby Jesus.

Simon & Garfunkel - Slip Slidin’ Away (Live, 1981)

Beautiful performance, wonderful harmonies, etc., etc., etc.

It’s pointless trying to describe something so excellent.  Just watch/listen, whichever you prefer. 

Bruce Springsteen - Growin’ Up (Live, 1972)

Holy shit.

One of the best things I’ve seen on the internet.

An almost 40-year old performance of a 23-year old Bruce Springsteen doing a solo acoustic set while opening for some forgotten about band?  Wow.

Words cannot describe the passion and power Bruce commands, it can only be felt, heard, seen, and experienced.

Plus he is one goddamn handsome motherfucker.

Gives me goosebumps.  Chills.  Makes me tear up.

It’s a treat hearing him talking before the song, and then it begins…

“Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth, but I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car.”

Brrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccceee!!!!!

REO Speedwagon - Roll With the Changes (Live 1978)

Turns out I don’t despise REO Speedwagon like I thought I did, and this is actually a really legit song.  Wicked guitar, great singer, awesome pop-rock vibe, just a solid tune all-around.

Maybe I should listen to more REO Speedwagon?  Saying that feels so wrong…but there’s no denying this song is a good groove, so I’ll have to be more open-minded…I guess…

Kreayshawn - I Just Wanna Be Your Friend(KITTYS x CHOPPAS)

Not sure if I love this or hate it.

Part of me loves it.  The sample is awesome (Black Moth Super Rainbow - Boatfriend), and a good beat makes any hip-hop song worth listening to at least once, plus the effect on the chick’s voice is dope, and her lyrics are kinda goofy fun.

However, the dude who raps after her sucks, and even though her lyrics are goofy fun, they’re not very strong.  So part of me hates it, but loves it as a novelty.

Whatever, it’s late and I’m tired.  I hooped for a few hours in the hot hot sun yesterday, and now I’m sore as a motherfucker.  It was a solid day/night of basketball, Stanley Cup Finals, UFC fights, whiskey, Tiger Woods on Xbox, and staying up until 5:30 AM like a bunch of boys at a slumber party.  I meant to write about it, but was busy—I’ll get around to it soon though, we all know how much I enjoy writing about and analyzing my basketball games.

Until then, stay cool.