Tag Archives: music

Album Reviews

1—->3—->5
Terrible—->Fantastic

5
Booka Shade – Sun and the Neon Light, The
Magik Markers – Boss

4
Black Keys, The – Attack and Release
Booker T and the MGs – And Now…Booker T. and the MGs
Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts
Dieselboy – East Coast Science, Volume 03
Kid Kameleon – Aim Low
Kusturica, Emir and No Smoking Orchestra – Black Cat White Cat
Kusturica, Emir and No Smoking Orchestra – La Vie Est Un Miracle
Kusturica, Emir and No Smoking Orchestra – Live in Buenos Aires
Miss Kittin – Batbox
Mamas and the Papas, The – Complete Anthology
Portishead – Third
Prefuse 73 – Preparations

3
Booker T & the MGs – Best Of, The
Booker T & the MGs – Uptight
Booker T & the MGs – Doin’ Our Thing
V/A – Can You Jack Chicago Acid And Experimental House, 1985-95
EC8OR and Moonraker – Irish Coffee EP
Empire, Alec – Alec Empire AKA Jaguar EP
Gotan Project – La Revancha del Tango
Jaga Jazzist – Magazine
Jaga Jazzist – Stix, The
Jaga Jazzist – What We Must
Jones, Sharon and the Dap-Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights
LC Soundsystem – 4533
Sodium Nightlife – Christmas 2007 Mix
Sodium Nightlife – Christmas 2008 Mix
Stig of the Dump – Homeless Microphonist EP
Trim – Sould Food, It’s Still My Playground
Wire – Read & Burn 03

2
Booker T & the MGs – Booker T. Set, The
Booker T & the MGs – Soul Dressing
V/A – Cafe Del Mar Chill House Mix 01
V/A – Cafe Del Mar Retrospective
Echo And The Bunnymen – Killing Moon (The Best Of)
Empire, Alec – Alec Empire Remixes Bjork
Empire, Alec vs Biochip C – Das Duell
Ghostface Killah – Wallabee Champ, The
Soulsavas – It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land
We Are Scientists – Brain Thrust Mastery

1
Booker T & the MGs – Soul Limbo
Booker T & the MGs – That’s the Way It Should Be
Del The Funky Homosapien – Eleventh Hour
DeVaughn, Raheem – Love Behind The Melody
DJ Drama and Aphilliate – Got that Purp

The Beeb on DnB

I listened to the most recent episode (20080504) of Radio 1’s Drum & Bass Show with Fabio and was struck by the heft of the self-reflective conversation and the sharpness of Fabio‘s and Pendulum‘s attacks on the dnb community.

Much of the conversation centered around the dnb’s reaction to Pendulum’s upcoming release In Silico, concentrating on fans’ criticisms (for the album being too rock ‘n’ roll). At first, the conversation came off as a little egocentric, but it quickly became apparent Fabio was fitting the discussion within the framework of what is probably the largest debate within electronic music: the state of dnb.

For the most part, I thought it was admirable for Fabio to so seriously question the state of dnb and whether it was “inspiring” or had “energy” anymore. Furthermore, he criticized the dnb community for being too narrow minded and not keen on pushing things forward. While these accusations are commonplace, especially from the dubsteppas, they are not usually heard within the dnb scene. Equally admirable was the semi-conclusion Fabio (and with which Pendulum tagged along) reached, which was that dnb’s health doesn’t really matter so long as there are still tracks that kill it.

Just as surprising, albeit in a negative way, were the sharp barbs Fabio and Pendulum had for dnb fans. The snide remarks included comments about fans inability or unwillingness to pay attention to the sound (and instead just ‘aving it up, thinking all drums/patterns are the same) and fans’ closed mindedness. Yes, I applauded the criticism of narrow mindedness , but narrow mindedness is the conscious rejection of alternatives, perhaps in the context of keeping dnb ‘pure’. Declaring that fans are close minded is not only entirely too simple, especially for someone who has been around as long as Fabio, but condescending. Does Fabio really think fans are unable to differentiate and appreciate the various types of dnb? Surely the exodus from dnb to dubstep demonstrates they care!

The entire conversation was even more condescending by drawing a distinction between DJs and fans. Fabio even claimed fans are unable to tell when there’s been a bad mix. Was he serious? Sure, DJs are more knowledgeable about (and invested in) dnb, but to create an us-versus-them divide is counterproductive and misses a major point: If dnb is not evolving, then it means producers and DJs aren’t pushing the sound in new directions. Blaming the fans is not just an easy way out of the debate, but also demonstrates how out of touch one is from the scene.

My opinion is that dnb has lost the majority of the energy it had “back in the day”. But that–as Pendulum hinted to at one point–it might be me changing and not an issue with the scene. For example, there is plenty of incredible dnb action out there (e.g., the ish on Hospital Records and Vampire Records), although there is an enormous amount of rubbish and pop-icized dnb, too. And when I do tune in, my mind is still blown when I hear tracks like Hazzard‘s Machette or Killers.

Me At My Music Snobbiest

This week, I saw two incredible shows: Preservation Hall Jazz Band at The Barns at Wolftrap and Gil Scott-Heron at 930 Club. The weird part of these shows is that I did not see any of you there (Note: HD was at PHJB and out of town for the second show). I think everything is possible, but it is as close to impossible as possible for me to respect someone’s thoughts on music if they did not attend these shows. So consider yourself dismissed.

So who was there? Aging baby boomers. It’s a sad state of affairs when the sell outs, people too busy driving their kids back and forth from college, and those who have been scared into regular blood-pressure checks have better music taste then your peers.