there's a documentary we really need to see called Brazilintime, which is, as you can guess, about Brazilian music, (tropicalia, beat culture, et al). apparently, Madlib features heavily in it. and this album, Jackson Conti's Sujinho (which we now own on wax, btw), is recorded around the time of the movie. story goes: Madlib and the filmmaker went to Brazil to dig for records and to see if this guy, Ivan Conti, from a group called Azymuth, would be interested in doing some tracks with Madlib (aka: Otis Jackson Jr. hence: Jackson Conti).
i guess what happened is they went into a studio (either in Brazil or perhaps back in LA, i don't remember) and Conti just played for a day straight and they recorded everything. then Madlib took those recordings and made Sujinho, which features mostly 'covers' of Brazilian classics along with new Madlib compositions.
here's the trailer to the movie (unfortunately not available thru Netflix). you'll notice much of the Stones Throw Crew in there; Egon, J-Rocc, Madlib...
hope you're able to get in to see Deerhoof tonite!
LRV, b
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
50. Madlib Invasion, part 1
hard to believe it's been this long and no Madlib has come up yet. not even during LA week. but fear not, there's plenty to go around and for the next week, nothing but the Beat Konducta for you. first is a favorite from the Yesterday's New Quintet family tree, Early Dawn by percussionist Malik Flavors (aka: Madlib).
i love when the drums finally lock in and the song enters. the restlessness becomes a cascading rhythm, and various synths play loosely around a simple structure. it's a sublime chaos, and i often have a difficult time following it when i put it on a mixtape because it stands out so much. but this is Madlib week, so it shouldn't be too tough to find a successor.
so glad you didn't have to deal with your least favorite patient today. it's like the weekend starts early (but you still have to work)! do you know what your Saturday Adventure is going to be yet? may i suggest something involving animals, a zoo perhaps? maybe find a couple beagles, put on a lab coat, punch 'em in the face? the world is your oyster, and you're its pearl.
LRV, b
i love when the drums finally lock in and the song enters. the restlessness becomes a cascading rhythm, and various synths play loosely around a simple structure. it's a sublime chaos, and i often have a difficult time following it when i put it on a mixtape because it stands out so much. but this is Madlib week, so it shouldn't be too tough to find a successor.
so glad you didn't have to deal with your least favorite patient today. it's like the weekend starts early (but you still have to work)! do you know what your Saturday Adventure is going to be yet? may i suggest something involving animals, a zoo perhaps? maybe find a couple beagles, put on a lab coat, punch 'em in the face? the world is your oyster, and you're its pearl.
LRV, b
Thursday, January 27, 2011
49) I Know You Want To
quick shot today, music writing's going well. this came up in a shuffle earlier, and i had a new dawn with it. i dig why it wasn't on Return of the Ankh. that album's slow jammy. this wouldn't've fit. killer track tho, and great video.
shit. i just noticed the video wouldn't load without an advertisement, and it took forever. it was Jump Up In the Air and Stay There from Badu/Li'l Wayne... the Wayne cover article on Rolling Stone right now is a good read, btw.
anyway you can watch it here if you so desire. tomorrow, the Madlib Invasion begins....
LRV, b
shit. i just noticed the video wouldn't load without an advertisement, and it took forever. it was Jump Up In the Air and Stay There from Badu/Li'l Wayne... the Wayne cover article on Rolling Stone right now is a good read, btw.
anyway you can watch it here if you so desire. tomorrow, the Madlib Invasion begins....
LRV, b
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
48) Sweet & Dandy
not the greatest transfer, but still nice to watch. i honestly think that if a person can't get into Toots & The Maytals then they're made of stone. at least the three classics -Pressure Drop, Sweet & Dandy, Monkey Man- should be in every good-time playlist, everywhere and forever. if it doesn't brighten your spirits instantly, then you're just a miserable sod. i'd wager your resistant patient would explode if you played this music for her. she couldn't handle such an honest and infectious display of joy.
it is you, babygirl. oh yeah....
LRV, b
it is you, babygirl. oh yeah....
LRV, b
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
46) Off to a Great Start
you: you are magnificent. you are gracious and gorgeous. you are. you are ambitious and your accomplishments are already beginning to shape your Future You. congratulations on making your dreams come to life.
we have new neighbors. the handyman came by today to fix a couple things and as i saw him out i met the couple who would be/are moving in upstairs. a very quick hello. a little later on, after arriving back home from running errands, i noticed a congregation of punk rockers on our porch, all of them smoking, and a moving truck. i was caught up in a phone conversation for a while, sitting in the car. i noticed they were fond of your mailbox magnet (the clown, "hey kids, wanna see my butt puppet?). i still haven't gotten nor approached a formal hello.... and now i'm in the office, in headphones for a while... so if they do come a'knockin' then i probably won't notice and they'll probably think i'm a dick. i can hear them laughing right now, actually, on a pause between songs. yawns.
but there is good news. great news, actually. 2011 has been really surprising so far, in terms of music releases. there are three excellent stand-outs already. Deerhoof vs. Evil is one. this group i just found out about Æthenor, featuring a member of my beloved Sunn O))), dropped an album called En Form For Blå, (no idea how to pronounce any of it) which is EPIC drone ambient doom metal experimental meditations. it's fucking awesome. the album art is rad too. check it out
and there's also a new Sonic Youth album, a soundtrack to a movie called Simon Werner au Disparu. it's all instrumental, dark, moody, and it absolutely ROCKS like only the Youth do.
i like that they've released it on their SYR label. both Thurston and Lee have their own indie labels but this one is strictly for the band to release their experimental works. Simon Werner au Disparu is easily the most straight-forward of any of the SYR records so far, but it retains a heavy dose of their exploratory side. rather than simply release only the material that was used as cues in the film, the band returned to the studio to cut and mix all of the elements together, creating an album that's as much sound collage as it is soundtrack as it is instrumental rock. and it works just as well in small doses, like one track at a time rather than It Must Be An Album Experience. the song above is the longest jam on the record, and it's the final track. it's also refreshing to know that this isn't some archival release like it's been on a shelf for a few years (like we waited a while for the last soundtrack they did for SYR, and it sucked). the music was recorded in February 2010 and edited in September. it feels fresh, it really does.
just like your purple t-shirt. FRESH industries!
LRV, b
we have new neighbors. the handyman came by today to fix a couple things and as i saw him out i met the couple who would be/are moving in upstairs. a very quick hello. a little later on, after arriving back home from running errands, i noticed a congregation of punk rockers on our porch, all of them smoking, and a moving truck. i was caught up in a phone conversation for a while, sitting in the car. i noticed they were fond of your mailbox magnet (the clown, "hey kids, wanna see my butt puppet?). i still haven't gotten nor approached a formal hello.... and now i'm in the office, in headphones for a while... so if they do come a'knockin' then i probably won't notice and they'll probably think i'm a dick. i can hear them laughing right now, actually, on a pause between songs. yawns.
but there is good news. great news, actually. 2011 has been really surprising so far, in terms of music releases. there are three excellent stand-outs already. Deerhoof vs. Evil is one. this group i just found out about Æthenor, featuring a member of my beloved Sunn O))), dropped an album called En Form For Blå, (no idea how to pronounce any of it) which is EPIC drone ambient doom metal experimental meditations. it's fucking awesome. the album art is rad too. check it out
and there's also a new Sonic Youth album, a soundtrack to a movie called Simon Werner au Disparu. it's all instrumental, dark, moody, and it absolutely ROCKS like only the Youth do.
i like that they've released it on their SYR label. both Thurston and Lee have their own indie labels but this one is strictly for the band to release their experimental works. Simon Werner au Disparu is easily the most straight-forward of any of the SYR records so far, but it retains a heavy dose of their exploratory side. rather than simply release only the material that was used as cues in the film, the band returned to the studio to cut and mix all of the elements together, creating an album that's as much sound collage as it is soundtrack as it is instrumental rock. and it works just as well in small doses, like one track at a time rather than It Must Be An Album Experience. the song above is the longest jam on the record, and it's the final track. it's also refreshing to know that this isn't some archival release like it's been on a shelf for a few years (like we waited a while for the last soundtrack they did for SYR, and it sucked). the music was recorded in February 2010 and edited in September. it feels fresh, it really does.
just like your purple t-shirt. FRESH industries!
LRV, b
Sunday, January 23, 2011
45) Halfway Home!
according to my calculations (and we all know how good i am at math) somewhere between today and tomorrow is your Halfway Mark! you're on the home stretch! i am incredibly proud of your progress and how well you're taking care of yourself. soon i'll give you the biggest hug and squeeze you've ever gotten. i fully expect to wear my fingers to the bone from all the head scratching, etc....
today's song is the only "half" song i can think of; it's a little somber, but it's real pretty. Jim O'Rourke is one of the most underrated musicians of the 20th and 21 centuries. he's shaped albums for Stereolab, Wilco, Melt-Banana, Sonic Youth; worked with damn near everybody who matters. this comes from Ronnie's favorite JOR record, "Halfway to a Threeway".
but my favorite O'Rourke album is "I'm Happy, and I'm Singing, and a 1 2 3 4" which we have on vinyl, but it's in a frame hanging on the wall over my laptop in the office. it means THAT much to me (kinda like that Broadcast LP which i may never open). don't tell Ikue Mori (whom Jim has worked with through Zorn several times), but it's my fave 'electronica' album of all time, with Mori's "Garden" a close second. here's the second track (the second of three, making it the halfway mark and therefore appropriate) called "And I'm Singing".
(why the photo is a bloody Mel, i have no clue)
here's what it should look like
anyways, congratulations on all the fine work you're doing, and all the great things still to come!
LRV, b
today's song is the only "half" song i can think of; it's a little somber, but it's real pretty. Jim O'Rourke is one of the most underrated musicians of the 20th and 21 centuries. he's shaped albums for Stereolab, Wilco, Melt-Banana, Sonic Youth; worked with damn near everybody who matters. this comes from Ronnie's favorite JOR record, "Halfway to a Threeway".
but my favorite O'Rourke album is "I'm Happy, and I'm Singing, and a 1 2 3 4" which we have on vinyl, but it's in a frame hanging on the wall over my laptop in the office. it means THAT much to me (kinda like that Broadcast LP which i may never open). don't tell Ikue Mori (whom Jim has worked with through Zorn several times), but it's my fave 'electronica' album of all time, with Mori's "Garden" a close second. here's the second track (the second of three, making it the halfway mark and therefore appropriate) called "And I'm Singing".
(why the photo is a bloody Mel, i have no clue)
here's what it should look like
.jpg)
anyways, congratulations on all the fine work you're doing, and all the great things still to come!
LRV, b
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