it's the jay-z rmx of panjabi mc!
jay takes the enterprising-dj-middleman out of the bhangra/rap soundclash scene and drops a nice verse - worth a listen even if you are incredibly bored of "mundian to bach ke".
(while we're on the secret d/l tip, this is the neptunes blowing their 'we-rilly-rilly-like-criminal-minded' cover with the 'crazy' dude from the clipse album.)
26.3.03
sugababes - shape
sugababes have set themselves up in such a way that the only thing which could compromise their songs is if they changed those amazingly clear and and pretty voices. they sound unique to me, i don't think i hear other people on or off the radio singing with their precise and very english cadence, an actual viable alternative to the american soul template although it's not that different either, thank christ. heidi is more traditional than the other two but instead of weakening their uniqueness it has just made for a nice contrast - mutya and keisha will win the battle to be heard when all three are singing but heidi always makes her solo parts count.
anyway, i think this all means any kind of arrangement can go behind them without making me feel icky or like they have taken some horrible misstep, even a major sting acoustic guitar sample like the one on here is just patted down and made to sound beautiful! the only thing that bothers me is that this is like the hundred and second single off angels and the feeling that we should just shut up about them for a while in the hope that they record some new stuff!
sugababes have set themselves up in such a way that the only thing which could compromise their songs is if they changed those amazingly clear and and pretty voices. they sound unique to me, i don't think i hear other people on or off the radio singing with their precise and very english cadence, an actual viable alternative to the american soul template although it's not that different either, thank christ. heidi is more traditional than the other two but instead of weakening their uniqueness it has just made for a nice contrast - mutya and keisha will win the battle to be heard when all three are singing but heidi always makes her solo parts count.
anyway, i think this all means any kind of arrangement can go behind them without making me feel icky or like they have taken some horrible misstep, even a major sting acoustic guitar sample like the one on here is just patted down and made to sound beautiful! the only thing that bothers me is that this is like the hundred and second single off angels and the feeling that we should just shut up about them for a while in the hope that they record some new stuff!
more pop news
jay-z is once more tramp to beyonce's lady
conflicting spizzazzz versions! see i heard tonight on fox fm that bonnie and clyde ride together again: they were spotted in a restaurant eating off eachother's plates. which is nice.
the strokes
ryan from whizzkid management reports in his for-the-fans update email that most of the strokes (except julian strangely) are beginning to act like primadonnas! they have their management staff running their mundane and probably slightly malodorous errands for them:
"....you know, like running nick's laundry to the
cleaner....washing fab's dirty dishes that he leaves in our kitchen
sink, installing albert's stereo in his new apartment"
the new album will be out "SOMETIME IN LATE AUGUST or SEPTEMBER 2003......we'll see!". (poor ryan probly gets a lot of "WHEN?!" emails.) i have a feeling it's gonna be good.
australian murder inc. update
ja rule was um livin' it up this weekend on his tour here with ashanti and irv (but sadly no charli baltimore, but we forgive her for being busy finishing her album.) - he was on a massive roll at crown casino and was signing autographs on $50 notes and eventually extended his stay an extra 24hrs, possibly indicating he is addicted to gambling maybe. my friend's sister met him and she said he was very short and very cute like some kind of woodland creature. she didn't take her top off for him tho unlike ~40% of girls in melbourne. at that same 'tops off rule' after party ja's minders made the dj take 'in da club' off the turntable - i thought he wanted to end his beef with 50!
jay-z is once more tramp to beyonce's lady
conflicting spizzazzz versions! see i heard tonight on fox fm that bonnie and clyde ride together again: they were spotted in a restaurant eating off eachother's plates. which is nice.
the strokes
ryan from whizzkid management reports in his for-the-fans update email that most of the strokes (except julian strangely) are beginning to act like primadonnas! they have their management staff running their mundane and probably slightly malodorous errands for them:
"....you know, like running nick's laundry to the
cleaner....washing fab's dirty dishes that he leaves in our kitchen
sink, installing albert's stereo in his new apartment"
the new album will be out "SOMETIME IN LATE AUGUST or SEPTEMBER 2003......we'll see!". (poor ryan probly gets a lot of "WHEN?!" emails.) i have a feeling it's gonna be good.
australian murder inc. update
ja rule was um livin' it up this weekend on his tour here with ashanti and irv (but sadly no charli baltimore, but we forgive her for being busy finishing her album.) - he was on a massive roll at crown casino and was signing autographs on $50 notes and eventually extended his stay an extra 24hrs, possibly indicating he is addicted to gambling maybe. my friend's sister met him and she said he was very short and very cute like some kind of woodland creature. she didn't take her top off for him tho unlike ~40% of girls in melbourne. at that same 'tops off rule' after party ja's minders made the dj take 'in da club' off the turntable - i thought he wanted to end his beef with 50!
25.3.03
1xtra biggie tribute mix
(i am always slightly disappointed in 1xtra's hiphop shows - there's never any sense of freewheeling pirate-style broadcast or bedroom mixtape or "block party" or whatthefuckever injecting some humanity into brit-hop records or second-string commercial tunes with real live dj context - its all super-professional. but with this mix it doesn't matter, it's all biggie (plus acapella blends with other tunes) so it's an hour well spent!)
(i am always slightly disappointed in 1xtra's hiphop shows - there's never any sense of freewheeling pirate-style broadcast or bedroom mixtape or "block party" or whatthefuckever injecting some humanity into brit-hop records or second-string commercial tunes with real live dj context - its all super-professional. but with this mix it doesn't matter, it's all biggie (plus acapella blends with other tunes) so it's an hour well spent!)
24.3.03
nas - i can
i don't think this is nearly as bad as missy says, even if it is plagued by nas lamer disease, making dudes cringe since 1991 - but thats just the way he is, the bargain you have to accept to get something from his occasional top drawer performances. i like the way he gravelizes and ages his voice here, it gives a bit of character distance to his preaching, perhaps making it more playful and fun than it otherwise would have been for people who don't like to be relentlessly talked at. if you haven't sung along with the kids in the chorus you are missing out!
having said that, there was another, far superior record using the same classic drum break as "i can" on the radio today which put nas to shame: it was "heaven is a halfpipe" and it made my day.
i don't think this is nearly as bad as missy says, even if it is plagued by nas lamer disease, making dudes cringe since 1991 - but thats just the way he is, the bargain you have to accept to get something from his occasional top drawer performances. i like the way he gravelizes and ages his voice here, it gives a bit of character distance to his preaching, perhaps making it more playful and fun than it otherwise would have been for people who don't like to be relentlessly talked at. if you haven't sung along with the kids in the chorus you are missing out!
having said that, there was another, far superior record using the same classic drum break as "i can" on the radio today which put nas to shame: it was "heaven is a halfpipe" and it made my day.
23.3.03
christina aguilera - beautiful
ok so there are a lot of banging house remixes of xtina's beautiful as referred to earlier by e crunk but the one you want is the peter rauhofer mix (which is actually not very banging at all, it's kind of subdued and um proggy). he is some german dude who isn't paul van dyk... (oh wow i just read his entry in amg and he's austrian and he has a grammy!) i should probly admit at this point that i don't own any fluffy white bras but this mix almost makes me want to buy a set in different pastel colours! i think i decided to like this remix to make up for the fact that i never liked the original. but it is better! it gives xtina so much more space to be beautiful. there are dark dramatic strings and panicky echoing bass drums for the verses where xtina can't breathe and bright triumphant synths for the chorus (but there's still that sad undertow so you know she's only just got it together). so yeah, i don't know who linda perry is either (amg edit: omg she was in 4 non blondes!) but for this song rauhofer wins.
ok so there are a lot of banging house remixes of xtina's beautiful as referred to earlier by e crunk but the one you want is the peter rauhofer mix (which is actually not very banging at all, it's kind of subdued and um proggy). he is some german dude who isn't paul van dyk... (oh wow i just read his entry in amg and he's austrian and he has a grammy!) i should probly admit at this point that i don't own any fluffy white bras but this mix almost makes me want to buy a set in different pastel colours! i think i decided to like this remix to make up for the fact that i never liked the original. but it is better! it gives xtina so much more space to be beautiful. there are dark dramatic strings and panicky echoing bass drums for the verses where xtina can't breathe and bright triumphant synths for the chorus (but there's still that sad undertow so you know she's only just got it together). so yeah, i don't know who linda perry is either (amg edit: omg she was in 4 non blondes!) but for this song rauhofer wins.
19.3.03
some singles out this week
ja rule ft ashanti - "mesmerize"
eight million times better and sweeter than "always on time", probably not as good as the "i'm real" rmx but few things are - it's ja rule and he's back only this time slightly less successful! so lots of dickheads can crow in music magazines about how he was never any good and posit his downturn in sales as 'proof'. motherfucker still sells more than your fave band! anyway, up until six months ago i didn't much like his stuff apart from "holla" so i'm not ready to give up on the dude yet! the video is wicked.
richard x/liberty x - "being nobody"
this fits almost disturbingly well into the liberty x thing but i can't really decide what the thing is! like, is it as simple as "omg look i can open up my chest and there's wires and shit inside!" cyborg sex? whatever it is, judging from every performance ever (even injecting some cold-steel singing and implied harsh facial expressions into their ballads), lx take it fucking seriously! it's not... a fuckin... game!! there's a shit faux-dancehall rmx on the b side, but buy it anyway!
linkin park - "somewhere i belong"
if this week's singles were from march 01 or even 02 it would be the greatest week in the history of anything, but dude it's 03, you can't keep up this shit forever, one day even spizzazzz will tire of scratching over enormous, predictable chord progressions and shirts with lots of buttons. one day. not quite today, i mean i still bought the 7" of this! i like the way singing dude starts every line for rapping dude to finish; i like the way i went red (possibly embarrassed on behalf of everyone who ever liked nu-metal) hearing the chorus for the first time, such is it's self-parodic obviousness (as with everything lp do, they won't just open the door to self-parody, they will, like the dudes in whatever tv ad that was, sprint into multiple walls and jump over a huge ravine to grab it); i dislike the overall sound which is really frustrating because that indestructable formula is still there!
n*e*r*d - "provider"
yes of course, a zero 7 rmx will be far more successful than, hmm, a neptunes rmx! ok ok it's aight. also, decent twitchy electro mix of "lapdance" on the flip. "re-recorded with live instruments" is still the worst idea anyone has ever had and will not be forgotten anytime soon.
ja rule ft ashanti - "mesmerize"
eight million times better and sweeter than "always on time", probably not as good as the "i'm real" rmx but few things are - it's ja rule and he's back only this time slightly less successful! so lots of dickheads can crow in music magazines about how he was never any good and posit his downturn in sales as 'proof'. motherfucker still sells more than your fave band! anyway, up until six months ago i didn't much like his stuff apart from "holla" so i'm not ready to give up on the dude yet! the video is wicked.
richard x/liberty x - "being nobody"
this fits almost disturbingly well into the liberty x thing but i can't really decide what the thing is! like, is it as simple as "omg look i can open up my chest and there's wires and shit inside!" cyborg sex? whatever it is, judging from every performance ever (even injecting some cold-steel singing and implied harsh facial expressions into their ballads), lx take it fucking seriously! it's not... a fuckin... game!! there's a shit faux-dancehall rmx on the b side, but buy it anyway!
linkin park - "somewhere i belong"
if this week's singles were from march 01 or even 02 it would be the greatest week in the history of anything, but dude it's 03, you can't keep up this shit forever, one day even spizzazzz will tire of scratching over enormous, predictable chord progressions and shirts with lots of buttons. one day. not quite today, i mean i still bought the 7" of this! i like the way singing dude starts every line for rapping dude to finish; i like the way i went red (possibly embarrassed on behalf of everyone who ever liked nu-metal) hearing the chorus for the first time, such is it's self-parodic obviousness (as with everything lp do, they won't just open the door to self-parody, they will, like the dudes in whatever tv ad that was, sprint into multiple walls and jump over a huge ravine to grab it); i dislike the overall sound which is really frustrating because that indestructable formula is still there!
n*e*r*d - "provider"
yes of course, a zero 7 rmx will be far more successful than, hmm, a neptunes rmx! ok ok it's aight. also, decent twitchy electro mix of "lapdance" on the flip. "re-recorded with live instruments" is still the worst idea anyone has ever had and will not be forgotten anytime soon.
16.3.03
first the official uk chart tried to shut us down for being too real and for apparently publishing the full chart, then wes butters began raining on motherfuckers like a tragedy, inviting bands to perform live with proper shit drums when we're trying to listen to the top forty, bringing to mind terrifying thoughts of some kind of live lounge chart. jesus christ wes, linkin park were invented to put a stop to this kind of thing! (i wrote that down in my special notebook but then the day after radio one broadcast a linkin park live gig and ruined them for me as well!) then the hateful and tedious mark and lard came back from their holiday, returning daytime radio one to its status of playing hardly any records between 1pm and 6pm, what the fuck! (and before 1pm we still have to contend with jo wiley kat! what song was that, jo? i can't understand you because you can't fucking string two words together.)
also, i'm losing patience with totp saturday's neverending piss stream of gareth mini-documentaries and comic relief-related so called fun. (cd:uk is still pretty much unimpeachable, cat deeley is really good at interviews, and mis-teeq were clearly working harder than they did on totp saturday to destroy the crowd, possibly relieved at not having to play celebrity fastermind.) so, i haven't been keeping up as much: local station juice fm's playlist is all banging house remixes of "beautiful" and entirely random pop classics, which is cool (they read the news over "can i get a.." by jay z!?) but it's no good for knowing what's out or who's in the charts.
this morning it's been all about the dreem teem, they've already played a somewhat unnecessary "scandalous" / "in da club" mash-up and the new big brovaz single, a clunky, musical-inspired waltz time non-banger (good to see them bringing the alleged 'nu flow' on comic relief at two in the morning!). right this very second they're playing mario's "just a friend", the only thing in 02 to match "u remind me" for catch-your-heartless-ass-off-guard radio sweetness, and finally getting released in the uk! it's all good except they are threatening to interview mj cole.
15.3.03
6.3.03
six great mid-period hiphop lps
ain't gonna argue much with this, great commentary, great album art, black moon deservedly number one. the whole nervous wreck early-mid nineties catalog was surely one of the best things going on (even if it had gone stale by the time i was buying records): black moon and smif n wessun running parallel with that kenny dope party breaks/dancehall sound, plus some decent straight dance tracks, even funkmaster flex put out good 12s on nervous! plus, the labels on the records are wicked!
(i would have found space for in god we trust and the predator [one of a few ice cube albums which fit the time frame but the only one which sounds genuinely mid period! das efx are on it] and here come the lords, which is obviously secretly better than low end theory!)
ain't gonna argue much with this, great commentary, great album art, black moon deservedly number one. the whole nervous wreck early-mid nineties catalog was surely one of the best things going on (even if it had gone stale by the time i was buying records): black moon and smif n wessun running parallel with that kenny dope party breaks/dancehall sound, plus some decent straight dance tracks, even funkmaster flex put out good 12s on nervous! plus, the labels on the records are wicked!
(i would have found space for in god we trust and the predator [one of a few ice cube albums which fit the time frame but the only one which sounds genuinely mid period! das efx are on it] and here come the lords, which is obviously secretly better than low end theory!)
4.3.03
kardinal offishall - belly dancer
looking at beatstreet, it appears this song is already out as a reggae-special 7" and the neptunes are pushing it as a proper dancehall riddim with hopefully tons of versions to come (in a fair world they would have been able to do this with "southern hospitality"), which is absolutely as it should be because this beat deserves big-time exposure, it's all intangible sex-dread (the best kind!) and end-of-the-night, lights out intensity and, like, it doesn't have a snare!! also, it should become a hit because kardi will make a lot more sense being a massively famous mc instead of sticking out as a huge personality in undie circles which don't necessarily reward or encourage that kind of thing - much love to choclair etc, and i realize kardi isn't exactly obscure anyway, but he's bursting with good choruses so let's all go and buy this and make the dude ja rule-famous!
(i had to tape this off the radio, where are the mp3s?)
looking at beatstreet, it appears this song is already out as a reggae-special 7" and the neptunes are pushing it as a proper dancehall riddim with hopefully tons of versions to come (in a fair world they would have been able to do this with "southern hospitality"), which is absolutely as it should be because this beat deserves big-time exposure, it's all intangible sex-dread (the best kind!) and end-of-the-night, lights out intensity and, like, it doesn't have a snare!! also, it should become a hit because kardi will make a lot more sense being a massively famous mc instead of sticking out as a huge personality in undie circles which don't necessarily reward or encourage that kind of thing - much love to choclair etc, and i realize kardi isn't exactly obscure anyway, but he's bursting with good choruses so let's all go and buy this and make the dude ja rule-famous!
(i had to tape this off the radio, where are the mp3s?)