Music
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Two Tuned Tablas And A Microphone – Part I
[ 4 Comments ]Posted on January 11, 2010 by admin in Music
Monday, January 11th, 2010I went looking for some desi music, and got more than I bargained for. Part one of a look at Bollywood, bhangra, urban desi, hindi hip hop, and punjabi pop.
The clip that started my search |
The Internet can be a very dangerous place. Any of you who suffer – as I do – from the probably incurable malady known as Wikiphilia will know what I mean. You find an interesting video, article, or some other piece of pop cultural flotsam & jetsam, and before you know it, several hours are gone, and you know a lot about something that probably matters very little. This happened to me recently when I ran across the video Horizons by the Bay Area desi act Karmacy. The clip itself is – like a lot of desi songs and videos – a peculiar mix of brilliant and cheesy, at least when viewed with a more western eye. Yes, the guys in the video look sort of like they took a long lunch hour from their ad agency or tech startup jobs to do the shoot, but they’re rapping in five languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi, and the song is actually is kind of hooky. In any case, the tune gave me flashbacks of 90′s club bhangra, and got me wondering if any kind of durable genre evolved out of it. The only artists I could remember by name from the era were Apache Indian, Diamond & Simon, and Bally Sagoo; a LOT of the music was remixes and mashups of traditional Indian music or Bollywood tunes, and kind of blurred together in the techno/rave haze of my memory. So my search was on, and… it was mind-numbingly frustrating! There’s an INCREDIBLE amount of desi pop music out there, but there are a few obstacles to finding the good stuff. First of all, there’s just SO MUCH to sift through. If you take all the style fusions that are possible with just the sources available on the Indian sub-continent, and combine that with the fact that the people from the area have moved all over the world, you begin to get the picture. There are two other obstacles to finding the best material; one is that the bulk of the Read the rest of this entry »
The Budapest Brothas Of Hungarian Hip Hop
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on January 5, 2010 by admin in Music
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010.Hu knew there was a thriving hip hop scene in Hungary in the 90′s? And does GEG mean gay? And is orange the new pink?
 Hungarian rapper, or redneck at Karaoke night? You decide. |
I’ve never been a big fan of most straight up American rap; I guess when I’ve got a Glock on me or I just got drunk or had sex, I just don’t think it’s something to build a song around. And then add insult to injury by not even bothering with a melody. Which is why I originally got into French rap, especially artists like Assassin
Trent Reznor Drives More Nine Inch Nails In The Coffin Of Old-School Music Business
[ Comments Off ]Posted on December 30, 2009 by admin in Music
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009What comes in 1080p high definition video with 5.1 surround sound, spans 3 continents, 4 languages, and takes a team of dozens – including 5 specialist teams and a network of thousands – a total of 12 months to complete? That would be The Gift, which is 3 DVD’s worth of NIN concert video assembled [...]
What comes in 1080p high definition video with 5.1 surround sound, spans 3 continents, 4 languages, and takes a team of dozens – including 5 specialist teams and a network of thousands – a total of 12 months to complete? That would be The Gift, which is 3 DVD’s worth of NIN concert video assembled from source material released by NIN, professionally edited, and color corrected and authored. To be clear about this, the amazing thing about the project is that it’s not an official NIN release; this was assembled primarily by rabid and obsessive fans. Back in January of this year, Trent Reznor joked (see original text here) that a “mysterious, shadowy group of subversives” had somehow gotten their hands on 400 GB’s of raw HD concert footage and that it may be out there on the internet somewhere. Well, the fans took the cue and worked with NIN crew to create what appears to be some mind-blowingly high-quality concert material. And the cost? Unbelievably, it’s free. They’re even soliciting people to provide free physical DVD’s to technophobes that are incapable of figuring out the download options! We mentioned last year how Trent Reznor had ingeniously brought us back into the fan fold with his gift of “Ghosts”, but this video material may really take the concept of “free” as a marketing tool to new heights. You be the judge. The YouTube clip below is promising; we’re downloading the torrent as this article is being posted, so will probably do a follow up next week. Read the rest of this entry »
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2009 – With Torrents?
[ 2 Comments ]Posted on December 20, 2009 by admin in Music
Sunday, December 20th, 2009Pitchfork’s annual list of the 50 best albums of the year is out, and we’ve summarized the list with torrent links, Amazon previews, and free downloads. Enjoy some of the best music you’ve never heard!
Christmas came a little early for me this year; I was just complaining recently that Pitchfork’s annual staff picks of the the 50 best albums of the year wouldn’t be out until almost 2010, and lo and behold, they posted the list last week! If you’re not familiar with Pitchfork’s list, check it out; their staff’s wide-ranging tastes and opinionated reviews will expose you to music you may never have heard of, or would have never thought of listening to if you had. As usual, they spread the list over five pages with no summary, so we’ve done the dirty work and summarized the list for you below. Last year we posted the 2008 list with both torrent and Amazon links, and we’ve done the same this year, but have a suggestion: We know some people torrent so they can preview music before buying, and last year that actually made some sense, because it was hard to track down a retail source for so many indy acts. Things are VERY DIFFERENT this year; bands and small labels are getting MUCH better at marketing and distribution, so EVERY act on the list is available on Amazon, and almost all of them with AUDIO PREVIEWS. Which pretty much negates the need to “borrow” the music via torrents. Several of them also have “Amazon Exclusive” releases, with material you won’t get anywhere else. At least legally. So in the interest of the bands making money, and in the interest of US making money (we get a small percentage if you buy through our links), we encourage you to do all the previewing through the handy Amazon links we’ve provided, rather than the torrents. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »
Generation Triple Xmas – Holiday Songs For Millennials
[ 3 Comments ]Posted on December 15, 2009 by admin in Music
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Yule probably be appalled by some of these XXXmas carols, but some are just good, dirty fun, and some are just plain…disturbing.
 I think Gunther has something a little different in mind for your yule log this year. |
I couldn’t help noticing this year that we seem to have killed Santa once and for all. As a generation raised by the miscreants we call baby boomers come of age, and millennials become the new target consumer demographic, the spirit of poor Santa is doing its final death dance in the brutal daylight of rationality and cynical realism. Always on the lookout for an audience to pander to, we’ve therefore rounded up the naughtiest, bitterest, and most disturbing Christmas music and videos we could find. First of all, to highlight the generational difference we’re referring to, check out the two clips below. The first is the sentimental and totally out-of-touch-with-reality 80′s song “Do They Know It’s Christmas”. To address two of the burning issues in the song: 1.) No, they don’t fucking know it’s Christmas, most of them aren’t Christian, and it’s Africa, for cryin’ out loud, and 2.) No, you’re right. There won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas, except of course in places like Mount Kilimanjaro. Duh. Anyway, enjoy the bad hair and slightly bloated rockers: Read the rest of this entry »