Elliott Smith Cover ala ragtime

Tale from North America

This is a great video a friend sent me. Thought it deserved to go up.

Norm, Busdriver

Conan had Norm Macdonald on last night. For some reason that dude really cracks me up. He has a way of telling a joke that is bad that makes you feel as if you are the only one in on his sarcasm, and how bad the jokes are. I feel sorry for him that he never really has had a huge break into the mainstream.
Here is my favorite appearance of him. The best part is at around 5:45 and after. Norm kills it.


Man, the Lakers are ticking me off. Kobe doesn't need another win. Arrrrg.

Busdriver just released a new album called Jehli Bean. To me as a rapper he is like cotton candy, really good for a short period of time. I can't usually make it through an entire album because its too much insanity. But if you want to talk about technical skill, Busdriver has got it.
But here is one of the new songs that I thought was pretty cool by the by.


And here is one of his older tunes that I used to like.


We'll see if I can ever get through the entire new album. The voice sometimes annoys.

bromitzva

I found this to be funny, but somebody older than him had to have written it.

Mos Def. Huge Battle in New Orleans

ha ha ha ha.

I hate to say it, but Mos Def was actually pretty awesome on Letterman last night. I am generally not a fan of the guy. Maybe its because of a few talk shows I have seen him on...he came across horribly. Also the most his albums seem lazy and without much real content. I enjoyed the Black Star thing he did with Talib, but not as much as its enthusiasts. But pretty much anybody that can do the drums and rhyme like this has got to get a bit of respect. Also, listen for some of the weird glitches in the arrangement that he works through. Its pretty dope.

The album he was promoting came out today. I will have to give it a listen here soon.

In other Mos Def news, the guy has been talking for the past year or so about organizing a huge battle in New Orleans with all of rap musics "greats". The idea is to have it be a huge charity event, combining dj battles, b-boys, and of course the ultimate MC throwdown.

He wants to do teams of five rappers each and has mentioned his team will consist of him, Black Thought, MF Doom, Nas, and Jay Electronica.

He also wants a team from Jay Z and one from Kanye, which I am sure would include the likes of Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, Eminem?

I would put my money on Mos Def's team if only because it contains Doom. Black Thought has thrown some great lines out in the past as well. This would be something I would love to see in general. The way the system is today, the supposed "best" rappers never have to face each other down like the small local guys do. I am a horrible battle rapper, but always have enjoyed watching it because of the pressure that is forced to produce something awesome. Early hip-hop had alot of that tension to be the quickest at coming through with the punchlines. I am sure that these guys are not the greatest free-style artists in the world, probably not even close. I bet they write half the stuff they will say in the battle. But it will still be awesome to watch them go at each others throats, pre-written or not. I am officially pumped for this. Its supposed to go down in December.

If I were to put together a team of 5 people based on who I think would be deadliest, it would include Sage Francis, MF Doom, Eyedea, Mac Lethal, and Ghostface Killah. I think they are more battle tested, although not as universally known. They would bring home the cup I think.

ah speculations...

More Heart than Brains....

This Album is great for running late at night. I got a copy on vinyl too.

I give it 5 gold stars.

A few words about it....

Buck 65 is a rapper from Halifax Canada that has been around for some time now and gone through a lot of evolution. In the early days he made some pretty generic raps over sampled funk riffs, and it was enjoyable, but it wasn't the best music of its kind. He went under the moniker "Stinkin' Rich" and had a beard that wouldn't quit.

He also participated in several collaborations, one with Dose One of Anticon fame, and also the famed Sebutones. Both interesting stuff to delve into on another day.

Something snapped in him and he started making long mixtape style series that he called "Language Arts". Among these are two albums that I consider classics as far as Hip hop goes, "Man Overboard" and "Vertex". They are pretty lo-fi and take a few listens to recognize the genius of what he was doing. Today, I can listen to them any day in any mood and enjoy it immensely.

Having gained a serious fan base with this work, he made a album that was heavily produced, and made another 180 in his career. It was called Talking Honky Blues. It was great in its own right, but it labled him as an "alt-country" rapper for years. People are most familiar with this as his representation.

He worked for a few years to get out from under this label, and I think that with More Heart Than Brains, he severes ties with the "country rap idea". It is a collection of love songs, and the music is all done by electronic artist "Greetings from Tuscan". These electronic songs are actually very pretty. The lyrics seem complimentary to the feel of the music. As mentioned before, its also killer to run to in the nighttime.

So far my favorite track is "The Lazarus Phenomenon."

There is also a cover of MC Shan's MC SPACE which strangely fits well.

Anyways, something to give a close listen to I think.
Calvin

Baaaby, Trash TV, Fishing, NBA, Butte Puking, Car Prank

Hey blogosphere.

I am a new uncle. I guess not a new uncle, but +1 neice. Her name is Elsie, and she was born on Friday morning. I don't have any pictures. sorry. But she is a cute baby.

As much as I am a sucker for the reality T.V. mess that America has forced upon us, I can't stomach any of that new one "I'm a celebrity get me out of here." I caught about 20 minutes of it the other day and it was just awful. They need to just call it the "Spencer is the King of the Jungle" show. It is so horrible. But I admit I did laugh a little bit when Stephen Baldwin was baptizing spencer in the river while everyone was looking on. It was possibly the weirdest thing I have seen on Prime Time television.



I went fishing with some of the family out to Whittier. I caught 2 halibut and we also trapped about 170 shrimp in our pots. It was alot of fun and we had great weather Friday and Saturday.

I have never been a huge sports fan, but hatred unites all. I will be devastated if the Lakers stomp Orlando to the ground like they did the other night. I really am not an LA fan. Sit down Jack Nicholsen. Quit threatening the other team with mob violence.

I have got some new rhymes in the incubator. Doin' their thing. Exciting projects ahead. Just wait and see.

Last week I attempted to climb the butte and upchucked about 3/4 the way up. Somebody is out of shape. And bad....! I mean, it is time to rethink your lifestyle if you can't hike the Butte without your body hitting the eject button. It was a bad day.

By the way, this is a prank worth doing to someone you know. The best part is ths slomo of the guys face.