Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Alright, so I'll be out of town, and away from my hard drive for two weeks. I know, your sad, it's OK. Fetch yourself some cocoa, or better yet: some bourbon, and cozy up with a good book. I highly recommend "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. If you haven't read it yet, then I hope it's because you are illiterate. There's just no other viable excuse. It takes a while to get into the groove, and the first few chapters are just endless descriptions of what people are wearing, but it truly is one of the best novels ever written. Look up the word Psycopath, and that is exactly what you get with the character of Patrick Bateman. And don't think you know it, just because you watched the movie. There will be a test. Other books of note: "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men", by David Foster Wallace; "Guns, Germs, and Steel", by Jared Diamond; or anything by David Sedaris. I know those aren't exactly new releases, but I've got library fines, and I don't pay much attention to the new and hip.

Now, I know most of you are going to be busy during the holidays, so I'm not too worried about abandoning my post for a bit. But just in case your overwhelmed with free time, I am going to leave you with THREE albums to masticate while I am gone. Yup, I'm awesome like that. Well, not that awesome: Two of these are Rap albums (RZA got a decent response, so, why not?), and the other is an album you should have bought years ago.

First up I've got the "Blue Eyes Meets Bed Stuy" Mix tape, by DJ Cappel & Smitty. Hit em up, and buy a real copy. Who knew that Frank would get along so well w/ Biggie. I heard from a close friend, whom I'll refer to as "Nick", that these guys perform together every Friday night at a cabaret in Hell. Of course, you've got to be on pretty good terms with the owner if you're ever going to catch that show. I didn't even like Biggie until long after his demise. Now a days, I consider his work to be some of the only pure gangster shit ever created. This is a billion times better than any of those other B.I.G. tapes floating around, trust.


Next: Method Man's first solo foray, "Tical". The first of the solo Clan efforts after the "36 Chambers" album. This shit is so damn ill. Meth's voice cannot be topped, in my opinion. Even though he doesn't enunciate as clearly as a lot of cats out there, his flow is ridiculous. Nobody can touch this shit, for real. "Tical" will make even the most suburbanest, white kid feel like a god of underground funk. Sick.


Ah, the Denim Demons. The Apocalypse Dudes. The Saints of Semen. "Ass Cobra", by Turbonegro. Fucking, classic. This is the album where these boys really found themselves. No more blackface. Just Levi's and ass rockets. So many good songs on this. Like I said, you should have this already. This album and "Apocalypse Dudes" are the apex of Death Punk sensibility. Yeah, they reformed (I got to see them play, on the reunion tour), and yeah, they've put out some new albums. But this is the good shit, the china white of punk rock n'roll. Need I say more? Just get it already. Best wishes for the holidays, and I hope you all get what you want from the people you love and pretend to love, and that your greed is satisfied. Oh, yeah, all three of these are ripped at 320kbs.

Biggie and Frank
Methodtical
Turboneger

The Hip-Hop Jimi Hendrix.

I'm 'onna hop over the fence and give you a taste of something different from the usual white boy rock. RZA, Tha Rzarector, Bob Digi, The Razor, etc. These days everyone seems to have forgotten that it was Wu Tang forever, not Wu Tang until the new shit comes around. One has to respect what Robert Diggs accomplished in the world of music. He built the Wu from the dirty ghetto ground up, and created an empire. Okay, I'll admit they fell off. "8 Diagrams" and "The W" were both pretty shit, but I think it was due to egos gone out of control, not a miss on RZA's part. Like any group of creative, talented individuals, the Wu simply grew apart. However, during their heyday, the individuals that made up the Wu Tang Clan released a slew of highly impressive solo albums, usually produced by the RZA, himself. His technique of slowing down/speeding up samples did for hip-hop, what the airbrush did for custom car culture. Stubbornly keeping his hand in almost all elements of production and recording, even playing the instruments, RZA carved a new path for hip-hop. My favorite of the RZA solo projects is here, "The RZA as Bobby Digital: In Stereo". It's more of an airing of demons, than it is the usual swagger and braggadoccio you find on most rap albums. On track two, he literally spells it out for the doubters, "B.O.B.B.Y.", and "Domestic Violence" is probably the best song to listen to after a break up since I don't know when. Wu Tang is forever, motherfucker!



DoDooooDoDaDoo

[I've got family in town right now, and I'll be out of town for the next couple of days. After that, posts will be daily again.]