Boris - Pink (2005)

Nothing like sweet, sweet Japanese metal.

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

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.

Blackalicious - Make You Feel That Way (2002)

This song is so good I had to give it it’s own post.

Originally I planned on linking to this song in my last post, which is about the album this song is on, but I decided a song this special deserves an entire post of its own, if not only so it gets more attention—I know some people probably don’t care to read my rambles all the way through, so I’d hate for them to have missed me talking about this song.

Beautiful beat, deep and thoughtful lyrics…true music, true hip-hop.

“Make you feel that way

Up and early for the hope of a brand new day
See a homie you ain’t seen since back in the day
Fresh haircut fitted with a fat-ass fade
End of work, we chilling on a Saturday
How you felt when you first heard the Daddy Kane
Rakim, KRS - hey I had that day
Cooling out with ol’ girl on a fat-ass date
Find a hundred dollar bill wow man that’s great
Get promoted at your job up to management
Plot a long time finally a plan has made it
Time I feel I wanna shout, man its real that way
Wanna think of things that make you feel that way

Make you feel that way

Christmas Day when your mama got your first bike
Type of feeling when you went and won your first fight
How your team felt winning championship games
Celebrate in a huddle dancing in this rain
Have a thought see a shooting star cross your screen
Put in hard work finally you’re living your dream
Deaf man get his hearing, now in come vibes
Blind man get his sight see his first sunrise
Dumb man speaking out, now he’s loud and clear
Birth of your child, smile so proud you wear
Going in your 3rd eye for the styles you hear
Making music that’ll bump for a thousand years
Eating right feeling conscious like health is first
Said a prayer that’s sincere and you felt it worked
Times I feel I want to shout, man it’s real that way
When I’m thinking things that make you feel that way

All up in her vibe something coming over me
Summer days more likely that you notice breeze
Winter days more likely that you notice heat
When I’m warm, more likely that you notice me
In the dark it’s more likely that you notice light
In the light more likely that you notice night
Hungry? More appreciation for that meal
Dead broke? More appreciation for that skrill
A bad day’ll make you really notice ones that’s good
And that’ll make things a little better understood
Times I feel I wanna shout, man it’s real that way
When I think of things that make you feel that way”

Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (2002)

Listened to this album on the long drive down home today…and damn…did I forget how good it is.

I didn’t actually forget how great it is—I consistently list it as one of the best hip-hop albums of the 2000s—I just hadn’t listened to it in way too long until this afternoon, and was happy to hear how strong it still is.

Chief Xcel provides awesome production with crazy range, variety, and all different types of styles of beats: fast, slow, thoughtful, hyped, every song has an original and unique sound.  Many producers can be instantly recognized simply from their style, and through certain ways they construct their songs, but with the songs on this album there’s no defining style to give Chief Xcel’s production, making the album very versatile and deep.

On top of the beats are Gift of Gab’s complex, meaningful, tongue-twisting lyrics.  His rhymes match Chief Xcel’s beats in terms of range, as there are songs about passion, hardwork, and focus; reflections on the positive and beautiful things in life; and even a cyclonic, dizzying song about chemistry.

A couple of my favorite cuts from the record:

Blackalicious - First in Flight

“UH! I never hesitate about a reluctant mind
Just put the peddle to the metal see what ya find
You back there slouchin’ over, won’t you pick up your spine?
Let’s make it really really happen live up this time!
Cause you can choose to say “Good morning, God!” or “Good God, morning!”
With black clouds storming
I walk without umbrellas into these woods
Don’t need ‘em cause the mighty trees above will shelter me good…

RISE! Like the sun up at the crack of the dawn
Like a wakin’ giant in the morning stretchin’ and yawnin’
RISE! Like an infant being held in the light
Like the smoke from an incense when it’s ignited
RISE! If you’re sleepin’ won’t you open your eyes again?
The greatest high be that natural high within
No need to force the progression just ride the wind
You’ll know the answer to the where and why and when
If you keep workin’ for your search you will find the end
Though at the end you’ll find it only begins again
See at the end you’ll see it only begins again
And everything you learn you’re only rememberin’

It’s me
Let your mind and your soul be free
Work to shine meet your goal believe
Spread that kind of L-O-V-E
Take some time off the lonely”

Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise (2011)

Absolutely killer song by the Three Wise Men of hip-hop, one of their absolute best—plus the video is hilarious and awesome too (points for each cameo you correctly identify).

If you’ve not heard their latest album “Hot Sauce Committee Pt. II” yet, go buy it or stream it or do whatever you do ASAP.  It’s chock full of legit jams.

“Pass me the scalpel, I’ll make an incision,
I’ll cut off the part of your brain that does the bitchin’”

Queen - Radio Ga Ga (Live 1985)

Can’t even begin to describe this performance.  Not even going to try.  The strut.  The voice.  The jeans.  Gotta watch it to believe it.  Gotta hear it to believe it. 

I think I’ve been listening and watching on repeat for over 15 minutes now?

“Radio, sooooommmeooooone stiiiiillllll looooooovessss yoooooouuuuuuuuuu!”