Here's what I'm listening to lately:
Skull - Snaps - Output Recordings
31 minute five song cd. Very sample based, organic, not DSP-y or glitchy.
Dark, downtempo, heavy, sparse hip hop beats. Beatless, haunting, staticky
ambience. Lots of pitched-down-sounding samples. Feedbacky swells. The beats
kind of trip over themselves at times, and the 4/4 is lost. No catchy
melodic elements. Similar to some of DJ Shadow's Endtroducing or DJ Vadim,
but more pessimistic and unsettled in nature. I believe an alternate version
of one of the songs (Crash) was on the Headz 2 comp from a few years back.
L-Usine - s/t - Isophlux
71 min cd. This shit swangs and is an argument in favor of the "intelligent
dance" moniker. Distorted vocalish-type snippets. Fun squelchy synths. Nice
panning effects with headphones. Has a classic Artificial Intelligence-era
feel, but updated with more contemporary DSP type techniques. Constantly
evolving. Lots of little stabby melodies and sort of icey, shiny noises.
Someone (on this list I think) said this was like a cross of electronic
stuff and traditional instruments - I don't hear that. It's pretty much 100%
electronic to me. I think someone else said it was hip hoppy - it's not that
either.
Eminem - The Mashall Mathers lp
You can hate it for its popularity, its misogyny, its homophobia. But I
can't deny his cleverness and lyrical style and fuck-you-edness. Plus "Kim"
and "Stan" both literally gave me goosebumps the first couple times I heard
them.
Geto Boys - s/t - Rap A Lot Records
Just found this oldie from 1990 during a recent basement excavation of my
old college stuff. This is "Hardcore rap." Houston's answer to NWA. Very
explicit. Features a two-eyed Bushwick Bill. About a million samples from
the movie Scarface. Standouts include the classic Steve-Miller-sample-based
"Gangster of Love." Dated but lovable production style. Yes, I'm the white
guy singing along driving his car, going to his cubicle, just like the movie
"Office Space."
NWA - Efil4Zaggin
From the same excavation. This was the one after Straight Outta Compton.
Side One of this tape is one of my favorite tape sides ever. Energy.
Features a pre-HIV-symptom Eazy E. Production techniques and sensibilities
that, for the time, were quite evolved, and to me still stand up and don't
sound too dated. Side 2 rates 10 on the misogy-meter.
Soul Center 2
Aw yeah. I don't know what subcategory of dance music this would be, like
minimal soul house?, but it bangs and I'd love to get my move on to this in
a club with the strobes and fog going off. Machiney rhythms with old soul
samples, crowd claps and cheers. No synths or glitch/DSP type stuff, but
well crafted, energetic 4/4 groovy. Building repitition. Unpretentious and
comfortable, soothing. And whoa, is that a Flavor Flav "Boyee!" mixed in to
the with the "can I ask you something" crowd noise? No I'm hearing things,
never mind. But hey, that's a coincidence, that is the same "whew!" (sic) in
track 3 as was used in NWA's "Findum, Fuckum and Flee" on Efil4Zaggin.
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