THE ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 6/13/07: No Catchy Titles This Month, Just Random Tunes and Notes...

BABY PLEASE DON'T GO [VIDEO]
Lightnin' Hopkins, available on various compilations, most music services

What men like Mozart were to Austria, performers like Hopkins are to the United States. The guy turns a single acoustic guitar into a veritable symphony of sound and hand movement.

While the guitar has been around for centuries, it was not the Old World that mastered it but the New. A large, mostly barren continent was tamed by its legendary musicians, many of whom younger generations tend to forget about, despite being able to download music in mere nanoseconds.

Performers like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, The Carter Family, Ralph Stanley, Waylon Jennings, Fats Domino, Marty Robbins, Dizzy Gillespie, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, Ellis Marsalis, Billie Holiday, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton...

It's all blues in the end, baby. All blues. And you either get it, or you don't. God have mercy on those who don't.


LOUIE LOUIE
Black Flag, 7" Single, (Posh Boy, 1981)

This is one of the last studio recordings featuring early BF vocalist Dez Cadena, the precursor to that other guy, that angry bodybuilder dude with the tats...

You know, what's his name? The guy who does the spoken word albums? The dude from the Independent Film Channel who kinda dresses like me?

Mr. Rollins, please don't kill me. Your neck veins scare me.

Seriously, dude. I worshiped The Boxed Life in high school. Changed my life and helped make me the nonconformist, impractical bastard that I am today. And you alone may share my grief, the dreaded fountains - for - armpits curse, that is the bane of the tee-shirt wearin' thinker's existence.


A COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE [VIDEO]
Hank Williams, Jr.,
That's How They Do It Down in Dixie- The Essential Collection (Curb, 2006)

When I got home from work this afternoon, I just had to play this song, a protest of sorts.

While running some work-related errands after lunch the other day, I heard a group of kids making fun of this older guy, a gentleman who wore his decades as a farmer on his face, for, well, just being an old guy who speaks slow and country.

I've had conversations with the guy before, a cool cat with lots of stories about his time in the Army, growing up in rural Kentucky, and his giving up on a college scholarship to be a farmer. When he was younger, the man was a fighter. He fought for his country, fought the banks, and fought the goddamn State of Indiana to keep funding for the public school his kids and grandkids attended.

He deserves his own song on the Playlist. And a lot more respect.


THE HUNGER
Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, avail. via Artist MySpace Page

Yup. This track, from that former Republican speechwriter and Eagles of Death Metal vocalist, is completely amazing, a New Wave-ish cover of a great Distillers song, probably one of the best Brody Dalle and Co. every recorded.

I first discovered this unreleased gem through a blog lurker, actually. Who knew there were so many Distillers fans out there?


MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT [VIDEO]
LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out (Def Jam, 1990)

You know, I'm just now starting to get well enough to resume my morning chin-up routine. Five sets of eight reps each.

NPR? I don't do that shit. Frankly, Morning Edition puts me to sleep - almost as pointless as commercial radio. I'd still listen occasionally, if Bob Edwards hadn't been booted to make the suits happy. His voice, at least, had rhythm and inflection, much like Mr. Cool J.

And who the hell wants to shadow box in a lonely apartment at five in the morning, listening to a newscast? Seriously.

And while I'm ranting... I miss Around The Way Girls. Maybe I'm just getting old, but Around The Country Club Girls just don't cut it.

Around The Way Girls are generally more independent, make ratty flannel boxers look sexy, and can just keep it real 24-7. Around The Country Club Girls are high maintenance, shallow, and just about as interesting and intelligent as a dead ferret.


BUMP BUMP
Raekwon and Prince Po, The Vatican Mixtape, Vol. 1 (2006/2007)

Wow. There are still emcees in the Rap Game who know how to turn a simple loop and a catchy flow into dance floor perfection.


BLANK GENERATION
Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Blank Generation (Sire, 1977)

There's something ominous about this song turning 30 years old this year. It's hard to believe that the Sex Pistols' only true studio album turns the big 3-0 this year, too.


UNITED FORCES
Raza De Odio, La Nueva Alarma (Scarlet, 2004)

I'm not afraid to admit that I still dig Heavy Metal. And there are only two places on earth that still seem to appreciate the musical genre - Europe and, of course, Central America.

The Razas, based in Italy, are known for their blend of that old-school crunch, with just enough flamenco-influenced leads to make things interesting. And this song, originally by New York thrash pioneers S.O.D., proves that the world can be united through the art of headbanging.


DICKS HATE THE POLICE [MP3]
The Dicks, 1980-1986 (Comp., Alternative Tentacles, 1997)

When I was still big into actually living like a Punker (Christ, even the memories stink of cheap beer and ratty jeans worn for weeks straight), this song was one of my favorites by one of the Greatest Punk Bands in the history of the Great State of Texas. The AT compilation covers their best stuff.

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THE ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 5/2/07: Remixes, Covers and Other Random Hip Sounds To Help You Find Your Bad Monkey Lovin' Self...

SURVIVALISM_TARDUSTED (REMIX) [HEAR IT HERE]
Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero, feat. Thavius Beck and Saul Williams, 2007

Saul Williams? A legend in spoken word. And Trent Reznor? Homeboy gets better with age, really. Thavius? The man is one of my favorite underground hip-hop producers.

A friend of mine turned me onto Thavius Beck a long time ago, but not before Thavius turned her on. She claims to have had the some of the best orgasms of her life while leaning her wooden stool against a nightclub wall in Los Angeles, listening to the cat's stuff blaring through speakers and vibrating her barstool just... oh gawd ... right.

I have a feeling, given the fact that the woman in question is also a huge NIN fan, there are a lot of violated barstools in the Greater Los Angeles area. I don't think I'd touch her washing machine, either...


DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE A GANGSTA [VIDEO]
Geto Boys, Uncut Dope: The Geto Boys' Best (Rap-a-Lot, 1992)

How is it that I'm one of only a handful of people left who fucking remembers this song before it appeared in Office Space?


STRIPPED (HEAVY MENTAL REMIX)
Rammstein, Stripped single (Motor Music, 1998)

Remixed by Charlie Clouser, this cover of a Depeche Mode classic has been scaring the living out of the ZenFo Pro student neighbors for weeks now.


HEY JOE [VIDEO]
Body Count, Born Dead, (Virgin/Rhyme Syndicate, 1994)

You know, this is probably one of my all-time favorite covers of a Jimi Hendrix recording ("Hey Joe," itself, was actually a cover, mastered by the legendary guitarist).

Here's a piece of random trivia: Body Count vocalist Ice-T remains the only artist to ever perform guest vocals on a Black Sabbath studio album, their last studio recording, 1995's lackluster Forbidden. That album was, coincidentally, produced by BC guitarist Ernie C.


PARANOID [LISTEN TO THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL VINYL!]
The Dickies, 7" release (1978)

Speaking of Black Sabbath... how 'bout a Sabbath cover?


REIGN IN BLOOD [MP3]
Terrorfakt, via artist web site.

Yes, this is a grindcore/sludge remix of classic Slayer sounds. Terrorfakt's remixes are generally dark, brooding - a lot of that is tied to the act's history. According to the artist's web site, the project first formed on Sept. 11, 2001, as a sort of club tribute to those who lost their lives in NYC, Washington, and Pennsylvania that bloody day.


GOT UP THIS MORNING [VIDEO]
Sage Francis, Human the Death Dance (Epitaph, May 8, 2007)

This WILL be the be one of the most important hip-hop songs of 2007.

This track, leaked via YouTube, well, yesterday, was produced by Canada's hip-hop version of Tom Waits, Buck 65. The video features super-hot alt-folk contributor Jolie Holland and just about every major white underground emcee of the past five years.

Holland's voice gave me an erection. I'm not going to lie. June Carter and Bonnie Raitt's voices do the same thing.

Sorry.

Glad I'm not wearing sweatpants.


PROBLEM CHILD (AC/DC VS. THE SCAR REMIX) [MP3]
The Scar, via artist MySpace, 2006

This London-based (via Sidney and New York) remix artist has been a favorite of mine for some time now. I don't remember who first turned me on to the guy, really.

But trust me... He's very good at turning on women who find his work buried in your computer's music directory.

For Wombat and Shayna.

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THE ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 3/1/07: I (Still) Want To Be a Cowboy, Hardcore Tidbits, and a Very Punk Start to Women's History Month

Believe it or not, this is actually a work-related post. As my library's resident punk music expert, I often get the most random questions about the history of the genre, beyond what's offered in our collections. Blogwise, I've recently seen a spike in IMs dealing with the genre, thanks in part, I think, to these guys rocking the goddamned house. (I've seen them live a grand total of eight times in the last few months. Loud and proud, true disciples of the Hardcore Old School, I tell ya.)

- Jason

WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY? [MP3]
Code of Honor, Seven-Inch release (Subterranean, 1982)
You know, I remember a time when it was okay for an American hardcore act to not whine about high school crushes, being socially acceptable outcasts, etc... when a bunch of punker kids could scream down with sexism, racism, and down with global warmongering without worrying about iTunes sales or looking pretty on Rolling Stone covers.

That's punk music, my friends.


MEDIA BLITZ [MP3 ]
The Germs, (GI) (Slash, 1979)
Joan Jett produced this classic album. And yes, that Pat Smear, that other guitarist from that MTV Unplugged set (look for the red, white, and blue guitar in this clip), that former Foo Fighters guitarist, holds a bigger place in the history of punk music than either Dave Grohl or Kurt Cobain.


JEAN IS DEAD
The Descendents, Milo Goes to College (New Alliance, 1982)
If you hold an advanced degree in anything and grew up listening to punk music, well, there's no explanation needed. Milo really did, as the album title suggests, go to college. He earned a doctorate. And he's still a punker.


THESE GIRLS FUCKED YOUR GIRLFRIEND
The Raging Rags, release status unknown
An opening act I caught at a punk show once or a dozen times when I was younger, one of the first all-female punk bands I ever saw live, in fact. I've had this song stuck in my head for some reason, off and on, for the past three months.

Let's put it this way: any guy who would dare say something as stupid as women can't rock obviously isn't a punk or hardcore aficionado. Guys like that tend to be, well, chaches. And, trust me, chaches don't get laid at punk shows. They tend to be way too fragile for punker women.


LIVING IN MADRID [MP3]
The Crowd, Beach Blvd., (split-artist LP, Posh Boy, 1979)
Ironically, I recently rekindled my love affair with this band, the original SoCal surf punks, while back in California for Christmas.


URBAN STRUGGLE
The Vandals, Peace Thru Vandalism (Epitaph, 1982)
One of my all-time favorite songs. My dad even likes it. C'mon...who doesn't want to be a cowboy?


POLITICAL SONG FOR MICHAEL JACKSON TO SING
The Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime (SST, 1984)
I may be the youngest person alive today who thinks that this is probably the single-most important punk concept album of all time. The Minutemen were the first band to turn a scene into a true art form, the guys who put refused to put punk back into the garage and instead took the garage to the masses. D. Boon died way too young, one of the greatest guitarists of 1980s.

For those who remember the listening to the song "Corona," way before those dudes from Jackass conscripted the opening riff for a silly TV show theme, check this awesome live acoustic version that some saint of a human being added to YouTube.


DOWN IN FLAMES [MP3]
The Dead Boys, Young, Loud, and Snotty (Sire, 1977)

For those of you who've never read her site, Kendra's one of the coolest chicks in librarianship. She has everything it takes to one day make a badass degree-certified librarian - she's a rabid Athletics fan, she has a pet Diva Piggy, and I'm actually jealous of her playlists.

Recently, she announced on her blog that she has breast cancer. But rather than accept defeat, to let the psychological effects of her diagnosis drag her down to the place where the human spirit is easily corrupted, she's taking the bull by the horns, ready to rassle the sucker to the ground. She's even planning on live blogging her chemo and doing her Library School homework, too.

Rather than post some sappy "oh, you poor dear" post, rather than simply include the sometimes overused cliches that, yes, tend to go along with breast cancer awareness posts during Women's History Month, I wanted to do something for Kendra that only a fellow (though retired) college radio god would understand.

I'm dedicating a song to her. And not just any song, either.

When I was overcoming my various narcotic addictions, when I was recovering from my PTSD, my first instinct was to let my woes run my life. But, each time, some song would come back into my life to remind me that, well, I'm in charge of my life.

"Shot Down in Flames" is one of those arrogant, snotty, downright balls-to-the-wall songs, the kind that just reminds people that attitude means something. One can be their own Alpha and Omega, can build their own manifest destiny out of nothing more than dedication, fortitude, and willpower.

I don't want Kendra to mope. I don't want anybody who may swing by to leave some silly comment with Bible verses or sympathy quotations or anything like that.

I don't just wish Kendra a quick recovery; I want her to stomp the livin' shit out of breast cancer. And I hope you do, too.

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THE ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 11/27/06: Swiss Black Metal for a Swedish Epic, Rapper/Actors As Law Enforcement, and Random Tofurky-Lovin' Sounds...

THE TREES
Pulp, We Love Life (Polygram, 2001)
When the hell is Pulp going to come out with another studio album? Who knows? Not their best album (nope, that honor falls to 1998's This is Hardcore, a runner-up for that year's Mercury Prize), but sometimes one must be grateful for small miracles.

A DYING GOD COMING INTO HUMAN FLESH [VIDEO HERE]
Celtic Frost, Monotheist (Century Media, 2006)
You know...if there's one genre I've often overlooked in these playlists, it's the growling - while- dressed - as - a- zombie - Jesus/Pope stylings of Swiss black metal legends Celtic Frost. CF is probably one of the world's biggest metal bands and they seem to be getting better with age - these guys even scare Slayer fans. Probably the creepiest - and most surreal - music video I've seen in a while. Sorta like watching Bergman's The Seventh Seal with the Trent Reznor.

THE OUTLAW'S PRAYER
Johnny PayCheck, Armed and Crazy (Epic, 1978)
Hey...you try following up a death metal track with something... Actually, I think even the late, great country wildman would probably appreciate it...

'98 [MP3 HERE]
Thavius Beck f. Nocando, Thru (Mush, Oct. 3, 2006)
Thru marks the return of Minnesota-raised Thavius, one of the best electronic music producers out there. Nocando, one of L.A.'s most unique hip-hop voices, brought me to tears with some of the most emotionally-intense rapping I've ever heard.

BURNING BUKOWSKI IN LOS ANGELES [MP3 HERE]
The Cold Archives Experiment, via MySpace (2006)
Yep... cheap plug. I actually received an email from a listener! And it wasn't hate mail! Go me!

INDESTRUCTIBLE SAM [MP3 HERE]
HEATHER NIGHTS [ MP3 HERE]
Buck 65, Dirty Work EP (online self-release, Nov. 14, 2006)
I make no secret of the fact that I'm a huge fan of Canadian artist Buck 65. The guy's basically underground hip-hop's answer to Leonard Cohen. The dude spanks a banjo over a fucking drum machine, for chrissakes! If these tracks aren't enough, if you'd like to go back to the days when constructing a rap track was more of a primitive art form than ringtone packaging, check out Buck's digital "mixtape," Stong Arm. (Side 1 and Side 2)

HEART OF GOLD
Neil Young, Harvest (Reprise, 1972)
You know you grew up with cousins who smoked way too much pot were really laid back, especially if you remember hearing this album played over and over, via the an original vinyl pressing through Hi-Fi speakers.

ORIGINAL GANGSTER [VIDEO HERE]
Ice-T, OG: Original Gangster (Sire/Warner, 1991)
You know, I still love this song - in spite of the fact that, yeah, the OG now kicks it as the rapper/actor best known for playing an NYPD detective.

A LIFE OF CRIME
The Weirdos, Weird World, Vol. 1 (Frontier, 1993)
One of my all-time favorite punk songs by one of my all-time favorite bands. For some reason, their music still makes me want to corrupt the youth of America. Not sure why, really. They just do.

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THE ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 9/23/06: When Librarians Can Find Better Club Tunes Online Than in Your Local Clubs, Your Music Scene is in Trouble...

Last night, a relatively new reader dropped me a line. First-year student, extremely bored, stuck in a local dorm room with evil-ass sounding roommates, and extremely homesick.

I responded this morning, as follows:

Hey ________,

No worries about writing. Lol, I was a dorm rat once. Trust me, I am very aware that Oxford Fucking Ohio has probably the worst college music scene this side of Oral Roberts U.

When I found out Steve Fucking Miller - an act from my parents' generation - was scheduled to be the big music act on campus this year, I readily admit I threw up in my mouth, just a little bit. Not to knock Steve Miller, but college students deserve college music, from their era, not Mom and Dad's era. I've been to funerals that attract better bands than this town.

And yeah, the emo kids can kiss my ass, too. My advice is to ignore the scenesters, be yourself, and use your first year in college to find out who YOU are. Be yourself and figure out how to best play the Higher Ed game in a way that works for you.

I have no clue why the hell local undergrads haven't revolted against the overplaying of bad Crunk remixes in the local "dance" clubs. I'll see what I can do to help you find some good dance music. At least you'll have some tunes to listen to while ignoring your roomies' nyphomaniac tendencies.

~ Jason

Well, I guess this calls for another Zenformation Playlist...

* * * *

TURN THIS THING AROUND [MP3]
El Presidente, El Presidente (Red Ink, Sept. 12, 2006)
Who doesn't dig Scottish dance rock? This Glasgow-based band literally lit up Europe's underground last year, and they're making their way across the pond slowly. Feel free to download and shake the boo-tay.

IT GETS WORSE [MP3]
DJ C and Pamelia Kurstin, Mashit 002 12" (Mashit, Avail. Online)
Legendary Brooklyn Theremin artist Kurstin teams up with one of Boston's greatest beat artists. Sorta like dropping LSD while reading Albert Camus at a basement rave in high school. Er...not that I've ever done anything like that...

Dedicated to my late-night rock rambling buddy, Wombat.

IT'S ALL ABOUT [MP3]
Unit.R, Artist Website, 2006
Currently tearing up the MySpace Kingdom, this Cape Town, South Africa, quartet is, hands down, that country's Next Big Thing. This is "Fuck Your Significant Other Beneath a Disco Ball" music. A thousand times better than half the Electronica we're producing on this side of the Atlantic.

TOURA TOURA - THE MEDINA REMIX [MP3]
DJ Cheb i Sabbah, La Ghriba-La Kahena Remixed (Six Degrees, 2006)
Algerian-born Cheb, according to his web site, performs at Underground SF (420 Haight, San Francisco) on Wednesdays, during World Music Night.

SERIALS CRISIS [MP3]
The Cold Archives Experiment, Scholarly Work, (2006)
My latest. Chopping up a little DJ Food, a couple of stock drum loops, and some static from an old Modest Mouse recording. Lost the notes I had for the tail. Possibly Yo La Tengo in there somewhere. What is the Serials Crisis? Well, if you've ever wondered why your academic library doesn't have that copy of that journal you need, it's probably because they can't afford it. More at Wikipedia.

There. Professional development done for the year.

INSOMNIA [MP3 AVAILABLE HERE]
Pete Philly and Perquisite, Mindstate (Epitaph, 2005)
Need something to listen to after a night of clubbing? Not a hip-hop fan? Need something mellow and jazzy, rap music your parents will love? Try this track. Perfect soundtrack for that 3 a.m. post-club trip to the coffee shop for tiramisu.

I had a student from Columbia University, of all places, IM me last week, bored and stuck doing research in that institute's humanities library. She found my blog while conducting this search on Google. For some reason, this track reminds me of that conversation.

RIVERTON ROAD [MP3]
The Considerate Builder's Scheme, Exit to Riverside (Combination, 2006)
Unit.R has already made this list once, and now one of their best-known member is making the list a second time. The CBS is the hip-hop project of Justin de Nobrega - South Africa's answer to Timbaland.

RAZORBLADE SALVATION f. Shara Worden [MP3]
Jedi Mind Tricks, Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell (Babygrande, 2006)
What happens when Philly's legendary underground hip-hop act lifts its beats from Indie folk darling Sufjan Stevens, borrows one of Stevens' frequent collaborators for background vocals, and takes the sad-eyed songster to the mean streets? Some might call it the best damned hip-hop track of 2006.

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TECHNORATI TAGS:
Blog Readership Boredom Cheb i Sabbah Considerate Builder's Scheme Clubbing Cold Archives Experiment Dance Music DJ C Dorm Living El Presidente First-Year College Experience Homesickness Librarianship Jedi Mind Tricks Oxford, Ohio Pete Philly and Perquisite Serials Crisis Unit.R

THE ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 8/24/06: Civil Disobedience Through Hip-Hop, Long Black Veils, and CDs Ex-Girlfriends Seem to Steal

LONG BLACK VEIL
Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison (Columbia, 1968, 1999 reissue)
Oh, c'mon. I've never met anyone who doesn't appreciate the haunting tragedy of this song. A man, executed for a murder he didn't commit, sent to his grave for refusing to admit he'd slept with his best friend's wife, with his forbidden love visiting the narrator's grave when the "night wind wails."

THE WESTERN ASH [MP3]
Pinetop Seven, Beneath Confederate Lake (Empyrean Sky, 2006)

BLACK HEART
Calexico, Feast of Wire (cityslang/Quarterstick, 2003)
So...riddle me this... Why is it that nearly every woman I've been involved with since, well, 2004, has wanted to either steal this CD or to "borrow" an Mp3 version of this track?

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
Warrant, Cherry Pie (Epic/Sony, 1990)
I do indeed have my guilty pleasures when it comes to 80s hair bands. I've always dug this song - it's the Deliverance-esque narrative.

EXETER, RHODE ISLAND [MP3]
Jennifer O'Connor, Over The Mountain, Across The Valley, and Back To The Stars (Matador, Aug. 22, 2006)
A very talented NYC-based singer/songwriter. I've had a "leaked" version of this song for a few months now, but, wow! And I'm a sucker for songs about random-ass places in the middle of nowhere. The buzz surrounding O'Connor? She could very well be the next Elliot Smith. And, trust me, college campuses need another Elliot Smith, but without the pre-emo whining of a lot of Smith's work.

MOMENT OF CLARITY
Danger Mouse, The Grey Album, (Shaolin, 2004)
The Tim Berners-Lee of Hip-Hop, this album launched Danger Mouse into the musical stratosphere and struck a blow for intellectual and artistic freedom heard 'round the world. Gnarls Barkley? There would be no Gnarls without this album. BTW, I'm proud to admit that I was an active participant in 2004's Grey Tuesday protests.

WHERE THE WILD ROSES GROW
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, f. Kylie Minogue, Murder Ballads (Mute, 1995)

DROPOUT
Urge Overkill, Saturation (Geffen, 1993)
For some reason, this song always reminds me of a kid I tutored in California, back in my undergrad days. She'd been kicked out by her parents, was living on the streets of San Luis Obispo, and had dropped out of high school at 16. I burned a mix CD for her that included this song.

And, well, she passed her GED.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD TIMES GONE
The Kinks, The Kink Kontroversy (1965)
One of the best rock songs of all time.

MEMORIAL DAY [MP3]
The Perceptionists, Black Dialogue (Definitive Jux, 2005)
For the Iraq War vets out there, the ones back from the Clusterfuck in the Desert. Boston's two best known emcees - Akrobatik and Mr. Lif - team up with Fakts One to create an amazing hip-hop track, a story told from the perspective of soldiers frustrated by the lack of a coherent mission or, well, plan.

ANGIE
The Rolling Stones, Goats Head Soup (Atlantic/Virgin, 1973)
No reason. But this is one of my three favorite Stones songs. I think it may be impossible to have less than three favorite Stones songs, considering the band's age and, well, the abundance of music they've recorded. Carbon-dating may be required to determine the age of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

NADA CAMBIA
Jedi Mind Tricks, Visions of Gandhi (Babygrande, 2003)
Okay, so it's an extremely violent, brutal track. But, man, the sampling of Latin guitar and the bass! Damn. There are days I wish I still had a heavy bag, some boxing tape, and the bad attitude. I had (and probably still have) a rather brutal right hook and a nasty left jab...

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 7/13/06: Too Damned Beat to Post Anything Else...

THE PRICE OF OIL
Billy Bragg, (Online, 2002)
Written as a protest against the Iraq Invasion, I think Bragg's online release still has as much impact today as it did when it first hit the bandwidth in 2002. [ Free MP3 @ BB site]

CROSSEYED CAT
Muddy Waters, Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
Can't go wrong with this classic on a hot and humid night. Sipping on a PBR longneck, feet up on the coffee table, fan blowing and the keyboard's getting sticky...

If the Blues don't get ya hot 'n bothered every once and a while, then you're probably reading the wrong blog.

YOUNGER POINT OF VIEW
The Dogs, Fed Up (Baachus Archives, 2000 Reissue)
Months ago, Kendra, my esteemed West Coast L-colleague, floated the theory that Sweet's "Wig-Wam Bam" may be most perfect song ever recorded.

I would have to say that this track, a classic 1970s garage/punk/hard rock track, is pretty damned close.

A belated congrats to Ms. K. on her acceptance to LIS School.

STORY OF MY LIFE
Social Distortion, Social Distortion (Epic/Sony, 1990)
Jeezus! This song can't be 16 years old. It's old enough to legally drive? I remember singing along to this song with my Dad in high school.

Social D. was one of two punk bands my dad ever liked, actually. (The other being the Ramones.) He and I even jammed out to this once or twice, though he could never get the lead parts right.

I used to think Dad was the biggest dork on the face of the planet, but, you know, he's an awesome Old Man.

FALL IN A RIVER
Badly Drawn Boy, The Hour of Bewilderbeast (XL, 2000)
One of the best albums to come out of the U.K. in the last decade.

PLASTIC WORLD
Doujah Raze, (Single, 2005)
I first learned of this Alexandria, Va., emcee a year ago and I've been impressed by his development ever since.

His headlining gig at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin this year proves that I'm obviously not the only one impressed. [ FREE MP3 from Trilogy Records].

LATCH KEY KIDS
Bad Religion, 80-85 (Epitaph, 1991)
A lot of folks don't like the older Bad Religion tracks.

I tend to call these folks "Starbucks Punks." Well-meaning kids who think every punk song ever recorded has this, like OMG, deep meaning, because older punk bands like Bad Religion are, like, wise and shit.

Sometimes it's best to just call a song a song, kids. Don't look too deep into it.

BOP GUN (ONE NATION)
Ice Cube f. George Clinton, Lethal Injection (Priority, 1993)
You know, this is completely random...

But for some reason this song always reminds me of drinking a stolen gallon jug of White Lightning with this girl, H., and a friend of mine in her parent's mobile home in rural Virginia.

We smoked all of her mom's Newports. It was hot and humid. We had a fight with the garden hose and were covered in Virginia red clay.

And then she wanted to show my friend and I a trick she'd learned from her 23 year-old boyfriend (we were all 15.)

Her mom came home in the middle of the display, grounded H., made her go to her room and pray.

To this day, her trick remains one of the most interesting displays of vocal flexibility I've ever seen.

It's amazing what some women can do with a squash.

H., last I heard, was now a adult entertainer/pole dancer somewhere in the American Deep South. And I'm sure she's making good money off Vegan-friendly stage props.

Er.... I'll leave it at that.

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 5/30/2006: Glam Metal Fantasies, Defining Old School, Etc...

RED RIGHT HAND
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Let Love In (Mute/Elektra, 1994)
For some reason, this song always reminds me of driving through Russell, Kansas - the birthplace of former senator Bob Dole.

Hey...don't look at me. No clue, really.

YOUR MOTHER WAS THE LIGHTNING
The Court and Spark, Hearts (Absolutely Kosher, 2006)
Just received the promo for this. Awesome country-rock ditty, a la Uncle Tupelo. One of the most promising acts I've heard out of the AK bullpen. [MP3 Here]

IN LIEU
The Icarus Line, Mono (Buddyhead, 2001)
Lord, this song is really five years old?

I've probably heard this song at least four million times. Still dig the Goth-ish, grungy sound of this track.

Note to the mallrat emo kiddies I always seem to trip over down in Colerain...

You know that depressed-but-really-cool, skinny-red-ties and black-paramilitary-shirt thing My Chemical Romance has been selling you? Um... you know it's not, like, original, right?

People have been ripping off the Quasi-Nazi, White Duke era Bowie thing for years...

CONNECTED FOR LIFE
Mack 10, Bang or Ball (Cash Money, 2001)
Okay, so the album was a bit overhyped.

It's still a well-crafted song. Plus, Ice Cube's a guest vocalist. One can't go wrong with Da Cube.

I must admit, however, that the older I get and farther I'm removed from the community where I grew up, the more and more I feel like that guy from Office Space when I make the morning commute listening to gangsta rap...

THE ROAD TO ROCK & ROLL
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, Rock Art and the X-Ray Style (Hellcat, 1999)
There will never be another Joe Strummer.

I'll probably go to hell for writing this, but I've always preferred the stylings of the former Clash frontman to a certain overrated Beatle, the dude who married some chick named Yoko.

KISS ME DEADLY
Lita Ford, Lita (RCA, 1988)
For those reading this who weren't pubescent boys in the late 1980s or early 1990s, Lita Ford was the absolute hottest of the Heavy Metal Guitar Goddesses during that time.

The woman was also one of the best female rock guitarists of the 80s, arguably one of the best all time.

A former member of the pioneering Runaways (which also featured a young Joan Jett), Ford is directly responsible for the nocturnal staining of more He-Man bedsheets than perhaps any other leather-clad vixen of the Glam Era.

SUCKER M.C.s
Run-DMC, Run-DMC (Profile, 1984)
Don't tell me 50-fucking-Cent is Old School, or that Tupac invented rap.

I will dig out a pair of laceless Adidas and put them straight up your saggy-drawers ass.

2WICE
Mission of Burma, The Obliterati (Matador, 2006)
Wow. MoB has been kicking around almost as long as the Ol' ZenFo Pro.

This track is from their latest...love the hard, driving drum intro. You don't hear those enough anymore. [MP3 Here]

Zenformation Playlist 3/31/06: SXSW Datamining, Rare Punk Songs, and Grad School Research as Party Music

1. Black Cadillac [MP3] - Rosanne Cash, Black Cadillac (Capitol, 2006)
Off Cash's latest release - a fresh departure from her normal fare. She's lost her father, step-mother, and mother in the last few years, watched the family's life become a movie. On this disc, the woman made famous by covering her father's classic "Tennessee Flattop Box" finally breaks liberates herself from the shadows of her kinfolk and the run-of-the-mill country sound. Cash was a featured artist at this year's South By Southwest Music Festival.

2. Cherry Red [MP3] - Yuppie Pricks, Broker's Banquet (Alt. Tentacles, 2005)
Also featured at SXSW this year in Austin. Can ya tell where I'm datamining legal MP3s this morning? I just love the GNR Paradise City sample/skit at the beginning. And the line Baby, How about you blow me in the back of my corporate jet?

3. Service and Repair [MP3] - Calexico, The Hot Rail (Quarterstick, 2000)
Not to brag, but I burned this song to a mix CD for a guy recently who was looking for mood music for a surprise dinner he'd been planning for his girlfriend. Must've been a good choice, because the guy walked around with that "I Got Laid" grin for about a week and bought me lunch twice. My wine selection - a Castoro Cellars' 2004 Tempranillo - was also a hit as well. I don't even like wine.

I may not be able to read body language very well in my own life (I've had too many exes describe me as the most dense guy on the planet in this area), but I do know how to stack the deck in other people's favor.

4. Turning Japanese - The Vapors, The Best of... (EMI comp., 2003)
Songs about excessive masterbation are funny. Especially from the early Reagan Years.

5. Frenzy - Roach Motel, Barricaded Suspects (Toxic Shock comp., 1983)
I've spent portions of the last decade trying to track down the illusive CD re-issue of this classic 1980s punk compilation. I found it buried in - GASP! - the emo section of Aardvark Music in Paso Robles, Calif., last year.

6. Slow Down Gandhi [MP3] - Sage Francis/Cold Archives Experiment, (Remixed 2005)
Somebody e-mailed me this morning and told me they preferred my version to the original from A Healthy Distrust [Epitaph, 2005]. Part of my grad school research was apparently a hit at a party here in Oxford!

The "Cold Archives Experiment" started as, well, an actual graduate school experiment. The tracks are tied to a research project that tested Open Source audio software for archival sound-recording digitization use. I occassionally remix tunes to keep my digitization/production skills intact, but I'm no Danger Mouse.

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 03/16/06

1. Nothing - Anthrax, Stomp 442 (Elecktra, 1995)
There are two kinds of Anthrax fans. Some folks like Journey-esque vocalist Joey Belladonna; some folks prefer the band's 1990s vocalist, John Bush.

2. You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla) - The Dickies, Incredible Shrinking Dickies (A&M, 1979)
What the Ramones were to New York's punk scene, the Dickies were to the L.A. scene.

3. Sordid - Amon Tobin, Permutation (Ninja Tune, 1998)
Brazil-born Tobin is a master of trip-hop. Not strickly a downtempo artist, either. This song was almost ruined for me by Toyota, which featured the track in a car commercial.

4. Jackyard Backoff - The Cramps, Stay Sick! (Vengeance Remaster, 1990)
Bonus track from the remastered version of the Stay Sick disc. Can't get much more rockabilly than the Cramps.

5. Doublewhiskeycokenoice - The Dillinger Four, Midwestern Songs of the Americas (Hopeless, 1998) - [MP3]

6. My Favorite Mutiny - The Coup, Pick a Bigger Weapon (Epitaph, April 2006 Release) - [MP3]
A few weeks ago, some anonymous emo kid left a post that trashed my choice in music - I didn't have anything, like, new and stuff. Maybe I'm just bitter, but I thought I'd post a song that hasn't even been released in album form yet - just to piss the hell out of the Scenesters.

7. Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards) - Tom Waits, Closing Time (Asylum, 1973)
Can't go wrong with a little Waits on a slow Thursday.

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 2/15/06: Pimping Dad Flashbacks, More Queers, and the Impending German Invasion

1. Golden - A Girl Called Eddy, self-titled album (Anti, 2004)
The last track off this wonderfully soulful debut album from New Jersey-born Erin Moran. The album was produced by former Pulp guitarist Richard Hawley. Starting off this playlist with a song dedicated to a certain friend who just got out of rehab and I figure she needs somebody to send her a V-Day gift.

2. Magic 8 Ball - Cub, Heide Sez... Compilation (Lookout!, 1996)
[MP3]
Cub is one of those anomolies of punk music. An all-female trio from Vancouver, this band recorded a couple of albums for Mint and Lookout! Records in the 1990s, but I have no clue what happened to them. Just imagine a softer, less packaged sound than the likes of the Donnas. Formed in 1992 at the University of British Columbia's CITR 101.9 FM, one of the most important influential college radio stations in North America.

3. Punk Rock Girls - The Queers, Don't Back Down (Lookout!, 1996)
[Watch the Music Video ]
Lol...been playing a lot of the Queers lately. I think this is about the thousandth Queers track I've featured. What can I say? I'm a binge listener. Just wait until I get on my New York Dolls kick. Or Wu-Tang Clan. Or Slick Rick. Or...

4. All The Good Men - The Robocop Kraus, They Think They Are...(Epitaph, 2005)
[MP3]
Germany finally has a post-punk, past New Wave answer to the likes of Interpol. Actually, these Germans were so forward thinking that they invented the sound back when they formed in 1998. I heard some indie scenester bill this band as a "new" act. The Robocop Kraus actually have five albums under their belt, and are one of the biggest bands in Continental Europe. This album, which I think is the band's first official U.S. label release, hits stores Feb. 21.

Remember, if these guys blow up here in the States, you heard it here first...

5. Downtown Train - Tom Waits, Rain Dogs (Island, 1990)
One of my favorite Waits tunes, especially on a Wednesday morning. Reminds me of driving through St. Louis for some reason.

6. Little Wonder - David Bowie, Earthling (Arista, 1997)
Can't go wrong with a little Bowie on a hump day, either.

7. Superfly - Curtis Mayfield, motion picture soundtrack (Single 1972)
Curtis's falsetto is probably one of the most beautiful in the history of R&B. I grew up with this song and people who actually resembled the lead character of the film Superfly. This song always reminds me of some of the fathers of friends I grew up with. Black men with straightened hair, fly white suits and matching fedoras.

I must've heard this song a thousand times at one high school buddy's house. I remember listening to the whole soundtrack while droppin' bones (playing dominoes) and sippin' the gun (drinking 40s of Colt .45 malt liquor) with this same friend's dad on a hot Meherrin, Virginia, afternoon in their woodshed. He was one of the slickest players in the game - first guy in his family to be able to afford a Lincoln. He actually looked a lot like the title character from Superfly, minus the cocaine and the taste for prostitutes, of course.

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST, Feb. 7, 2006: Ghettopunkerlibrarian with a taste for Scenester-Killing Comic Nerd Speed Metal

1. I Want to Conquer the World - Bad Religion, No Control, Epitaph, 1989)
One of my favorite Bad Religion songs. Great driving song.

2. Send His Love to Me - PJ Harvey, To Bring You My Love, (Island, 1995)
You know, I would've killed to have sex with Ms. Polly Jean when this album came out. 11 years later, yup. Still feel the same way. Its the voice. And the eyes. Dammit. I'm a sucker for a great voice and eyes.

3. Cop Killer - Body Count, Body Count, (Sire, 1992 )
I used to love cruising around my hometown cranking this out of this old Chevy Celebrity (my first car.) For some reason, Ice-T's metal band scared the crap out of anybody over the age of 40, especially when a car full of guys of various ethnicities cruised through town slowly.

Damn, that's such a silly memory. Eminem, eat your heart out. I'm happy to say Ice-T is still one hardcore bastard of an actor. Who the hell remembers that Dan Quayle guy anyway?

4. March of the SOD - S.O.D. (Stormtroopers of Death), Speak English of Die(Megaforce 1995)
One of my idols growing up was Scotty Ian (at left, with Public Enemy's Chuck ), that lovable, goateed bald guy from the metal band Anthrax. S.O.D. was one of his side projects - a band so completely un-PC, talented, and brutal. (C'mon - one of their songs was titled Pre-Menstrual Princess Blues. A speed metal track.)

I used to worship the guy. Ian is a guitar god with a since of humor, a comic book collection, and probably a closet full of Chuck Taylors. Whenever I see one or more Emo kids moping together, I have to put on some speed metal.

5. Propaganda - Dead Prez, Let's Get Free (Relativity, 2000)
Dead Prez, quite frankly, is one of the most important political rappers in the history of hip-hop. A strong black voice in a world of bling and sell-outs. I prefer rappers who work to better their communities, not those who seek to move to the damned Hamptons to hob-knob with Martha Stewart.

6. See Ya Later Fuckface - The Queers, Pleasant Screams (Lookout!, 2002)
MP3 Available at Lookout! Site
This is one of my all-time favorite songs on one of my all-time favorite punk albums. I play it in the office, in the car, and I played it three times today alone. It was at a Queers concert that I got into my last mosh pit - punk shows, alas, have become more of a scenester-inspired fashion show than actually having fun. When the Queers started singing this one song, it brought a punker tear to my eye to see a group of high school aged punk kids (one girl had a real, honest-to-god mohawk as opposed to that trendy fauxhawk thing) turn around and start screaming this song into the face of these 20-something fratboy types. Why get into another pit? That's as pleasant a retirement gift as a veteran pitbull can get.

7. Drop the Attitude Fucker - The Queers, Beat Off Lookout!, 1993)
Two Queers songs in a row? Hey, its my blog and I'll post what I want, dammit.

8. Mushaboom - Feist (MC DJ Dirty Remix)
MP3 available here - MC DJ's Blog
This is just really neat. A blogger takes a hot Canadian underground act, remixes it, and throws the resulting beautiful mess online. Is that DJ Rob Base I hear in the loop? Damn...that's smooth.

9. Yesterday is Here - Tom Waits, Frank's Wild Years(Island, 1990)
I'm pretty sure it's illegal in the state of Ohio to listen to Tom Waits and speed metal in the same sitting. But hey...to each their own. I've melted down this CD so many times I had to finally rip this song to MP3.

10. Rifle Eyes - cLOUDDEAD, Ten (Mush, 2004)
MP3 available here
One of my favorite acts of the last few years, cLOUDDEAD (at left) is a hip-hop collective that offers an alternative to the worthless bling culture.

Mush Records has an awesomely ecclectic back catalog. Even if you hate hip hop, I'm sure there's something for everyone here.

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST 1/25/06: Playlists Return for the New Year

Getting my ass kicked from both sides this week, so deep, meaningful posts had to end up on the chopping block. Will return to regular posting sometime Friday. Until then, here's a sampling of the tunes that have been sustaining the ZenFo Pro Sanity during one hell of a week.

1. Girl from Oklahoma - Junior Brown, Guit With It, (Curb, 1993)
Junior Brown, master and inventor of the guit-steel, is perhaps one of the most underrated country musicians of the last few decades. An Austin staple, the guy channels Jimmie Rodgers and borrows a bit of the old Muleskinner Blues progression on this track.

2. Dear Ivan - Jimmy Dean, Greatest Hits, (Columbia/Legacy re-issue)
You know, for some reason this song always reminds me of eating pork brains and eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, and fried scrapple in Willis Family Resturant in Meherrin, Virginia after nearly drinking myself into a coma when I was 16. I guess I must've first heard this song on their old juke box while eating and trying to convince a friend of mine that this white waitress with the Confederate Flag tattoo was, yeah, probably not interested in his "sexual chocolate."

One of the greatest Cold War protest songs ever recorded, and, well, I can't even think of anything but eating a 30,000-calorie breakfast while trying to purge my system of about a half-gallon of hard liquor.

3. Everywhere - Billy Bragg, Don't Try This at Home, 1991
One of the most elegant ballads ever written about the true cost of war. I spent a part of my evening talking to a Defense contractor just back from Iraq, a woman who risked her life simply to make money and to provide for her 17-year old daughter. Regardless of my political views on the war in Iraq, and for that matter the nature of war itself, this song is a simple reminder that no issue is ever as simple when it comes to warfare. It is as complex and as diverse as the societies behind conflicts.

4. Seneca Falls - The Distillers, Sing Sing Death House
There aren't enough punk songs dedicated to the 1848 Women's Rights Convention. Note to Emo girl who told me this week that she only wanted to graduate from college, get married and make babies, and not worry about a career...I have no objection to women choosing to be homemakers, but if that's your only ambition, well, no wonder you're listening to crappy music and the guys you want to date don't take you seriously. Dressing like a punker doesn't cut it - you'll just end up a soccermom version of Sid and Nancy, a slave to the Establishment who trades independence for comfort.

5. Tired Out - Buck 65, Bootleg version
Dedicated to Canadians who had to endure perhaps the most annoyingly worthless government change in that country's history. The drum loop Buck (right) uses behind this track may offer some return to chill while yet another minority government primps and preens like a drunken rooster.

6. Black and Brown - P-Love
You know, there's nothing like a well-orchestrated electronica peice over a cup of coffee to get the day started properly.

7. Roses from my Friends - Ben Harper
This is dedicated to a friend who just ended a rather long and painful six-year relationship to her partner. Strength is measured, always, in the ability to make the tough decisions when they need to be made.

8. Love in Fear - The Constantines
For some reason, this band reminds me of a lo-fi version of the Police.

9. Born to Kill - The Damned (Live bootleg)
Now this gets the blood flowing. Who says there's anything wrong with stage diving off your couch in your underwear? Baby-boomers often complain that they're getting to old to do such things; Gen-Y often displays all the energy and excitement of C-SPAN at concerts, moping rather than moshing the night away.

Stagedive from your couch every once and a while. In your underwear. Trust me. You'll feel better.

"Oi to the Punks, Oi to The Skins...Oi to the World and Everybody Wins"

AN ITTY BITTY ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST

Oi To The World - The Vandals (MP3)

(It's Gonna Be A) Punk Rock Christmas - The Ravers

Merry Christmas - The Ramones

White Christmas - Patti Smith (MP3)

ZENFORMATION PLAYLIST DEC. 6, 2005:Patti Smith AND... the Wu-Tang Clan?!?

1. Bonzo Goes to Bitburg - The Ramones, Animal Boy 1985
Johnny Ramone may have been a diehard Conservative, and apparently always hated this Reagan-bashing tune, but for some reason its always been one of my favorite songs.

2. After Forever - Black Sabbath, Master of Reality, 1971
I can't believe it took the rock snob voters at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this frigging long to vote in Sabbath, Lynard Skynard, and the Sex Pistols. "After Forever" is hands-down, my all time favorite Sabbath song. I liked Zeppelin, but, well, my brief Sabbath fixation scared the crap out of my parents, clergy, and teachers.

3. Yesterday is Here - Tom Waits, Frank's Wild Years, 1990
I once made fun of a friend who got dumped because he was so obsessed with a Nirvana song "Lithium" that he stopped in the middle of sex to turn up the radio. (The girlfriend dumped him as he apparently did this often.) Pretty sure I'd exhibit the same level of insanity regarding this song.

4. Triumph - The Wu-Tang Clan, Wu-Tang Forever, 1997
I miss the Ol' Dirty Bastard. Seriously.

5. One More Hour - Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out, 1997
Wow. Following up the Wu-Tang with S-K. Riotgrrl and hardcore rap....hmm. I could possibly remix the two...create my own Wu-Kinney or Sleater-Tang remix...hmm...

Nah. That would be too creepy.

6. Set Me Free - The Kinks, Kinda Kinks, 1965
I'm a grungy, heavy distortion guitar player. I like power chords. I like the sound of old analog effects pedals and tube amps. Can't go wrong with the Kinks after jamming for a few hours after work.

7. Between the Bars - Elliott Smith, Either/Or, 1997
Wow. This is like the third song from 1997. Tragic loss to the music world when Smith died. What is it about Popular Culture that sucks everything from a guy, and leaves him in such a sorry state that he ceases to want to live?

8. Housemate Troubles - MC Paul Barman, 12", 2000
I talked with a college student this morning who's about three unwashed dishes away from commiting sororiticide.

9. Ask the Angels - Patti Smith Group, Radio Ethiopia, 1976
Critics love Horses. And its a great album, so great it was recently rereleased. But my favorite song comes off this follow-up release.

Zenformation Playlist November 8, 2005:Been a While Since I posted One of These Things...

1. Dust My Broom - Robert Johnson
You can't Beat Robert Johnson for a Monday evening. Right now, I'd sell my soul to the Devil to play delta blues guitar like that.

2. Don't Make Waves (LIVE) - The Gossip
Needed a little aggression and guitar-and-drums. And that lousy small club live recording sound.

3. Removed - Calexico
Not one of my favorite Calexico tracks, but, as they say, any port in a storm.

4. Rape the Day - Tomahawk (MP3)
Mike Patton is probably one of the hardest working musicians out there. Yeah, he was the Faith No More frontman. He's rocked out with bands Fantomas and Mr. Buggle. Tomahak is a musical project that includes members of the Melvins, Helmet, and the Jesus Lizard.

5. Change the World with My Hockey Stick - The Vandals (MP3)
Such a bizarre song to come out of...well, Southern California.

6. Rock Me Amadeus - Falco
Yes, I know, its frigging Falco. I think this song is banned in about 23 countries by now. But I'm having flashbacks, I think. I swear I actually saw a guy who looked like Falco this afternoon.

7. The Winds of War - Jedi Mind Tricks
Occassionally, I'm bump this song whilst watching footage from Iraq. A good portion of those fighting over there - dying over there - are hip-hop fans. Its a shame more rappers are worried about selling Pimp Juice and plastering diamonds in their grills than speaking out against the slaughter of their fan base. Oh yeah, I forgot! Hip-hop's not about speaking out anymore. Silly me.

8. What a Wonderful World - Joey Ramone
Shortly bfore he died, Joey recorded a solo album that included this opening track. Not as good as most of the Ramones catalog, but still an awesome Louis Armstrong cover.

9. Out of Control - Rocket From the Crypt
Another punk/ska band in the same vein as the previous track.

10. There's No Way I Can Talk Myself Out of This One Tonight - Texas is the Reason
Long song title. Interesting little ditty that I haven't heard in a while.

11. Come Back Jackie - The Toy Dolls
One of those damned catchy, classic Brit punk songs. Annoying vocals that are somehow melodic. Three chords. At three minutes, a regular frigging power ballad when compared to most punk songs of its era.

Zenformation Playlist 10/21/05:Aha! Its Happy Fridays, Happy Hour Coming!

1. Me and Mia - Ted Leo/Pharmicists
From the 2004 Lookout! Release, Shake the Sheets.

2. Ride the Nuclear Wave - The Oranges Band
Another Lookout! artist, from their 2005 release.

3. Mince Meat - DangerDoom (MF Doom and Danger Mouse)
What do you get when a emcee named for a Marvel Comics villian and a DJ who wears a mouse suit on stage record an album based on Cartoon Network cartoons?

4. Mission - The Phenomenauts
I've never really been able to figure out these guys. Are they rockabilly? Are they Devo disciples? Either way, still dig these guys from East Bay.

6. You Move - Blackalicious

I've always been a fan of the use of random heavy distortion guitar samples in hip-hop. And complex rhymes and that old school flow. This track actually reminds me of a song called "Suzie's World," by Professor Griff. I know, pretty random.

7. El Diablo en el Ojo - Tindersticks

When I was a radio DJ many moons ago, I remember I was never cool enough to play any Tindersticks, especially anything off this track off their 1995's Tindersticks Second Album. Now, every acoustic quasi-emo folk artist collaborative wants to do projects like this.

8. By the Time I Get to Arizona - Public Enemy

I remember vividly the controversy surrounding this song. Chuck D wanted to send a message to Arizona politicians, who cited the state's lack of an African-American population as reason enough for not honoring the memory of Martin Luther King. So Chuck and co. issued this track, with the help of Sista Soulja, with a line that was interpretted as a death threat against the then-Arizona governor.

9. Quarto - Calexico

10. Midnight in a Perfect World - DJ Shadow
From the 1996 release Entroducing...

Zenformation Playlist 10/12/05:...The Recently Discovered Old School Mix Tape

I'd rather have a hundred thousand or a million people saying I'm nuts and I'm crazy for my musical choices and what I've said lyrically, than a million people all raising their hand on the first day.
- Chuck D., Public Enemy

---

There's something missing lately from the mainstream hip-hop scene. Maybe its the lack of any hope, or the lack of creativity on the turntables, or the discarded sense of ghetto intellect. Its sad, really. Where once rap music served as a means for poor folks to escape the tragedies of American poverty, now the push is to market and repackage some of those same tragedies to kids in the suburbs. Instead of sreaming "Take from the Man What's Rightfully Yours," the majority in the mainstream scream "Become the Man and Sell Out Your Community."

I recently rediscovered an old mix tape, the label worn down to nothing. This was probably recorded for me by a buddy of mine on my high school track team, a guy named Eddie. Eddie was 340 lbs of pure black rage who would later go on to play college football at a traditionally black college in Virginia, and, as rumor has it, successfully court a Ms. Black Virginia Pageant contestant using only his mad, dope, fly...hiaku skills.

Those of us who lived in what was often referred to as the "Booshes" (rural po' folk pronunciation of bushes) often swapped mix tapes as way to . We shared tons of new music, old school jams, and beat-box beats as a way to liven up normally boring trips through rural central Virginia. Ahh...the mix tape. The original P2P file sharing software...

A sampling of the songs from that tape:

1. Left My Wallet in El Segundo - A Tribe Called Quest
One of the most bizarre, random hip-hop songs of all time. How many rap songs include slick lines like "And Ali had the fruit punch?" Almost forgot the lyrics to this one.

2. Burn Hollywood Burn - Public Enemy
What happens when you turn Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, and Public Enemy loose in a recording studio? You get a riveting three minute manifesto about the racial stereotypes prevelant in mainstream culture. I don't think much has changed, except now the majority of mainstream rap acts are more interested in selling Uncle Tom than fighting him.

3. Going Back to Cali - LL Cool J
The first time I went back to my hometown after moving to California, every guy I grew up with would always make some reference to this song when I explained why I had no desire to move back to Farmville, Virginia.

4. Sometimes I Ryhmn Slow - Nice N Smooth
Rather obscure early 90s hip-hop act. These guys took a Tracy Chapman guitar loop, a little bit of that old school drum machine, and some creative lyrics. No bitches or hos, no drinking Crystal. Just a very real narrative about a relationship with "Jane Doe" and coping with the issues of dating someone who thinks Emcees are just ghetto versions of ATM machines.

5. Brooklyn Lullaby - Lordz of Brooklyn
This song may hold the record for "Most Children Conceived to the Soundtrack from an Independent Hip-Hop Mafia Film." Smooth and gruff. Quiet acoustic instumental arrangements overlayed with lyrics about Gambinos, mob hits, comic book references, and cement shoes. I knew a lot of black guys who used this song as their "player" song - never realizing the song was recorded by a bunch of Italian American taggers from New York.

6. Papi Chulo - Funkdoobiest
Think, from the song title, most people can figure this one out. Sun Doobie, the leader of the group, went on to star in numerous adult films, curiously. There are two versions of this track, one in English and one en espanol.

7. I Know You Got Soul - Eric B. and Rakim

Eric B. is still regarded as one of the best emcees of all time, simply for the fact that he had this menacing flow that embarrassed a lot of other cats. There were two kinds of emcees I grew up with - those who wanted to sound like MC Hammer and those who wanted to be Eric B. The latter were often invited to perform with my band and other hardcore punk acts or vise versa. DJ Inc, the Bootcamp Chics, Angry Nigga Mob...angry kids with more passion and punk attitude than your average Green Day fan. How many rap acts have the guts to sample the Dead Kennedys or loop some Soundgarden? It was such a wierd mix. I even performed a live, punk version of the Gravediggaz' "1-800 SUICIDE" with Inc and ANM at a couple of house parties.

8. Walk This Way - RUN-DMC
Run DMC remain the kings of rock, there is none higher. Sucker emcees still call them sire. These guys from Hollis ressurected Aerosmith's career.

9. The Gun Tower - Ice T

10. Slam - ONYX and Biohazard
Why oh why did Limp Bizkit ever come into existence? Did the world really need Fred Durst to ruin the whole concept of rapping over live rock? Nobody's ever been scared of Fred Durst...well, maybe Justin Timberlake. But Evan Seinfeld and Sticky Fingaz? I'd cross the street.