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Friday, 9 June 2006
BSOTS 021 - songs for a rainy day
Now Playing: the news on 1010wins (am radio)
Topic: my podcasts

just realized something...this is my 200th blog entry. cool.

this would've been up a day ago if my connection hadn't timed out while transferring the mp3 file. it's not like i wanna be on dial-up, but my options are limited seeing as how dsl service isn't offered in my neighborhood.

considering all the blasted rain we've received in the northeast portion of the states, figured that the episode title was as good as any. the women outnumber the men this time around. some r&b, some electronic selections (both downtempo and uptempo), and a little hip-hop to start things off.

i can already see the eyebrows raising when people hear the menoosha track, but whatever...i like it. it's easily the most mainstream-sounding song played on this podcast thus far, but it's still from an independent artist. it's a reminder that not everything underground is going to be gritty and grimy or rough around the edges. this is a song that could hold its own on the urban contemporary power radio stations of the world. i first heard menoosha a few months back on the hoodhype podcast and was struck by her right away. on a show that plays a lot of hip-hop (mostly party joints, southern crunk, pimp and floss type of material), her r&b stuff stood out. my wife was surprised that i'd include it - to her it sounds like a lot she already hears on the radio. she calls it a "freak me" track. "i don't like 'freak me' tracks unless prince does them," she says. "i've been spoiled."

this show marks the first cd giveaway for Radio BSOTS. oh yeah, for the record, the baby bounces in the belly to hip-hop. she seemed to take a liking to the havenots track. always a good sign...

download ||| subscribe

add to my PodNova

go here to stream shows

- intro: taylor hicks and "timbalands, baby..." -
the havenots*cause and effect {pmn}
menoosha*after work {pmn | myspace}
martha redbone*perfect life {buy it at CDBaby}
kristin mainhart*stranger things {buy it at CDBaby}
promo: best of the worst podcast
dykehouse*diet humpwafer {free download of ep available at planet mu records}
arthur loves plastic*you may think this is love {buy it at CDBaby}
mellow dramas*inside out {pmn}

background music:
qpe*aa
waajeed*track 27 (from the patty hearst beat tape)

other key info:
kristin mainhart live at the knitting factory nyc, 6/10/06
hip-hop commedia
epstein and hassan, a.k.a. the black and the jew

Posted by macedonia at 6:44 AM EDT
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Tuesday, 6 June 2006
Roundtable: Sexual Media Images of Black Women
Now Playing: music of our times w/the good doctor (wfmu.org)
Topic: articles

from NPR:

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, May 29, 2006 .

The alleged rape of an African-American exotic dancer by white Duke University lacrosse players has raised questions about how the news media is portraying the woman in the case. Guests: Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of African-American studies at Duke University; Karrine Steffans, a former video dancer and author of Confessions of A Video Vixen; and Shaheem Reed, hip-hop editor at MTV News.

Listen here.

Posted by macedonia at 11:53 AM EDT
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on the topic of today
Now Playing: music of our times with the good doctor (wfmu.org)
Topic: the Christian walk

if anything bad happens today, it will be because we live in a fallen world, not because the date is 6/6/06. if the world ends today, it will be because GOD wants it to, not because somebody predicted it would. a news reporter brought up a good point today: let's say you won a bet that the world would end today...

how would you collect?

and no, i'm not going to go see the remake of The Omen. the original was scary enough. forget the slasher flicks - the O.G. version of The Omen is the top-notch horror joint, for real.

Posted by macedonia at 11:29 AM EDT
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Thursday, 25 May 2006
BSOTS 020 - blends session two: gems 4 your mind...
Now Playing: silence...anger...and defeat...just another work day...
Topic: my podcasts

just a little something for the memorial day weekend. hip-hop served up in a continuous mix. hope y'all feel this one...

download ||| subscribe

add to my PodNova

go here to stream shows

kmotiv*drop the lo-fi {pmn}
mista mayday*gems (feat. hired gun) {hired gun on pmn}
paranorml*the futuristic (feat. phoenix orion) {pmn}
dangerdoom*sofa king
dudley perkins*funky dudley
eric p*bigfoot {pmn}
dj olive*at least some knots get untangled
lunar drive*all eyes were stones {pmn}
realthings*el sobrante {pmn}
marc mac presents visioneers*ike's mood I {buy it at giant step}

other key info:
hip-hop commedia
podshow music rewind
Radio BSOTS Frappr Map

Posted by macedonia at 5:39 PM EDT
Updated: Friday, 26 May 2006 10:12 AM EDT
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Tuesday, 16 May 2006
Radio BSOTS featured in Podshow Music Rewind #32...
Now Playing: the latest playlist on the Giant Step jukebox (giantstep.net)
Topic: my podcasts

so...got some more Podshow Music Rewind love. there's an exclusive BSOTS clip included in show #32 of PMR. my section shines the spotlight on CocoRosie and appears about 25 minutes into the episode, right after my man Ed Ovett's piece from the Ed's Mixed Bag podcast.

Rewind love means Sirius Satellite Radio airplay as well. hopefully there are some heads listening to Starz channel 102 that will make their way over to camp lo-fi at some point...

click here to check out Podshow Music Rewind show #32

Posted by macedonia at 5:09 PM EDT
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Friday, 12 May 2006
BSOTS 019 - nightclothes, headphones, high spirits, and bananas...
Now Playing: dead kennedys - fresh fruit for rotting vegetables
Topic: my podcasts

the mic is as craptacular as ever...i really need to upgrade. this show should've been posted a day ago, but the connected timed out on me midway through an ftp upload. ah, the joys of being on dial-up. what'd you expect? i don't call it "the poor man's podcast" for nothing.

so i set up a Frappr Map for the podcast. really would like to know where my listeners are situated in the world, so please take a minute or two to stop by the site and stick a virtual pushpin in the map. as for the music this time around, a little bit of hip-hop, lots of electronic and downbeat material along with some alternative pop. well, when i say it like that, the show sounds really diverse, doesn't it?

ah yes, birthday shoutout to the wifey and mother-to-be...beth turns 36 today.

download ||| subscribe

add to my PodNova

go here to stream shows

buchanan & goodman*banana boat story {free mp3 download here}
dj enzo/louis*high spirits {buy it at solos records}
dj frodo and mr. fitz*the 3rd way
markus wormstorm*nicolai {pmn}
tricky*crazy claws {buy it at amazon.com}
shawn lee*peculiar times
promo: the chillcast with anji bee
jonny sonic*the dive
jason forrest*nightclothes and headphones (feat. laura cantrell) {buy it at bleep.com}

background music:
mista mayday*pre-calc

other key info:
hip-hop commedia
the black and the jew
dj dusk (r.i.p.)
dj center's tribute mix to dj dusk

preview shawn lee's monkey boy album via the bleep player below...


Posted by macedonia at 9:13 AM EDT
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Thursday, 4 May 2006
venetian snares - higgins ultra low track glue funk hits 1972-2006
Now Playing: bring that beat back w/billy jam (wfmu.org)
Topic: 2002 reviews (Jul.-Sep.)

[this review was originally posted to the BSOTS website in august of 2002. if there is someone releasing crazier compositions than Venetian Snares, i'm not sure i wanna know about it. make sure to check out the Bleep player below to listen to songs from this album...]

VENETIAN SNARES
Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972-2006
Record label: Planet Mu (UK)
Format: 2xLP/CD
Release date: 27 May 2002

Dr. Strangebreak recently made a house call. In other words, my need for extreme music has come back something fierce. It was about that time that I decided to take a return trip to Planet Mu, whereupon I learned of the recent antics of one Aaron Funk. Known to hundreds of noisecore-lovin' freaks as Venetian Snares, he has moved fast and furious through the mysterious realm of fringe element beats. Jungle and hardcore become hideously mutated and even the hardest of the hard find themselves running for the hills, or at least wishing for something more linear.

Higgins…is a wild romp that experiments mostly with various styles of jungle. The opener ("Dance Like You're Selling Nails") works in a bit of opera into the formula, even including a vocalist singing phrases like "rudeboy" and "junglist massive" in this really affected opera voice. From there, it throws in a bit of a surf motif as performed by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Some of the tracks are so fast it's as if they're whizzing by your head, but the complexities involved in creating them aren't lost on the ear. Examine the scattered jazz fusion of "Banana Seat Girl" or "Valmer Side," demented tech-step in 7/4 time. "Deadman DJ" is relentless ragga-splattered jungle on speed. You know the feeling you get when you ride the Gravitron, that amusement park ride that spins you round at speeds so fast you stick to the wall? That's what "Deadman DJ" is on wax: messy, bludgeoned beats flung across your brain. "Dismantling Five Years" offers the only chance to slow down, and even then it's rather unsettling. Quieter moments from Mr. Funk come few and far between, but he doesn't make it easy for you - this is a haunting tranquility.

Very few in the game are moving with the speed and the brashness of Venetian Snares. Every release is another chapter in rekindling the spirit of punk and challenging musical conventions - even those of his peers. Apparently, he's far from finished: two more albums are scheduled to be released on Planet Mu before the end of the year. Spastic times call for spastic tunes…thanks, Aaron.

{macedonia}


Posted by macedonia at 1:17 PM EDT
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john oswald ain't nothin' ta f**k wit...
Now Playing: bring that beat back w/billy jam (wfmu.org)
Topic: 2002 reviews (Jul.-Sep.)

[this review was originally posted to the BSOTS website...hmm, i wanna say mid-2002, somewhere around there. know this: as far as sound collages go, nothing tops this album. NOTHING. -jrs.]

PLUNDERPHONICS
69 Plunderphonics 96
Record label: Seeland
Format: 2xCD
Release date: August 2001

I first got interested in sound collages listening to pieces like “Revolution #9” by The Beatles and Frank Zappa’s Lumpy Gravy. Eventually, it was Negativland that I would compare all others to – Escape From Noise, Helter Stupid, and the U2 EP did my head in. But now, even Negativland pales in comparison to the figure I’ll be studying for the rest of my life. His name is John Oswald.

Plunderphonics was first released in 1989. One glance at the cover photo (a doctored image of Michael Jackson as a naked white woman) should’ve made Oswald’s intentions clear – this man was on a mission to completely rearrange pop music. The rearrangement is twofold: not only taking a familiar song and severely altering its order, but to redefine what pop music is in general. Of course, most people (when they didn’t call it sacrilege) considered Oswald’s work the complete and total antithesis of pop. It’s not repetitive, the hook has been plucked away and thrown into the fire, and any commercial potential has gone the way of the dodo. Yet it’s still “pop” in a way – the songs’ origins remain recognizable. Not only that, but it’s done that way ON PURPOSE.

What he did to Michael Jackson’s “Bad” alone made the disc one of the most infamous releases in recorded history. And regardless of the fact that he never sold copies of the CD, regardless of the fact that he encouraged others to dub his album, Brian Robertson, then president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (equal to the RIAA in the States), had the master tapes destroyed. I wouldn’t even be writing this review if Negativland hadn’t stepped in. Through “borrowing” the album from John Oswald, they’ve made it available to the public. GOD BLESS ‘EM.

The folks at Seeland went all out on the packaging. What started out as a single album is now a double-disc extravaganza, celebrating a quarter century of Oswald’s work. Disc One (Songs) features more voice-centered material while Disc Two (Tunes) is mostly instrumental work. The introduction to Plunderphonics, “btls,” is our gateway into an alternate universe. As the last resounding chord of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life” transforms into the opening guitar chord from “A Hard Day’s Night,” we leave the realm of the rhythmically conventional and step into a place where there are no limits. This is quickly followed up by “power,” featuring an energetic preacher strategically placed over the music of Led Zeppelin. (The use of irony is one of Oswald’s stronger qualities.) Recorded in 1975, some call “power” the first rap song, a claim that is certainly debatable, to say the very least. Further audio operations are performed on The Doors, Elvis Presley, Edie Brickell, Madonna, Prince, Sonic Youth, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Antonio Carlos Jobim, the themes to 2001 and Andy Griffith, and countless others.

One of the most engaging tracks is “vane,” where Oswald takes Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” and painstakingly splices in sections of a cover version by Faster Pussycat. The end result is a playful tradeoff, often in the middle of sentences. “black” and “brown” relish various characteristics of James Brown’s music. Strict attention is paid to the forceful punctuation of the horn section or James’s trademark grunts and squeals. On 1988’s “pretender,” Dolly Parton’s rendition of “The Great Pretender” is decelerated to the point of where it sounds as if the buxom country star has undergone a sex change.

A examination of Plunderphonics is incomplete without mentioning “dab.” This is Oswald at his most meticulous, reshaping Michael Jackson’s “Bad” into a seven-minute climax of noise. Listening to “dab” is like watching a solid object explode in a confined area and witnessing the fragments collide with each other, providing they aren’t already stuck to the walls. From the opening clicks of Jackson’s speech to the closing clicks of the same, “dab” is a masterful exercise in sound manipulation. Oswald had hoped that Jackson would be flattered by it, and it’s been rumored that Michael did find the cut amusing, but no one can say for sure. The only assumption that can be safely made is that Jackson’s lawyers weren’t laughing at all.

This retrospective contains over 60 tracks, each one bearing an anagram of the artist’s name it plunders. So Led Zeppelin becomes Deep Zen Pill, Jim Morrison is Sir Jim Moron, Pizzicato Five is Taco Pizza Five, Ludwig Van Beethoven is Devil Gun Won’t Behave, and so forth. The package also features a lengthy print interview with John Oswald discussing the creative process, the legal fiasco that ensued over “dab,” and his own philosophies on music. Photo collages and other pictures accompany the interview. Anyone interested in experimental works shouldn’t miss this release – 69 Plunderphonics 96 is the Holy Grail of sound collage projects. Seeing as how the entire project is comprised of 100% unauthorized samples, it would be wise to secure a copy before it disappears again.

{steve crognale}

*check out samples and purchase tracks through emusic.com.

Posted by macedonia at 1:15 PM EDT
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Wednesday, 3 May 2006
caught up in the drrtyhaze...
Now Playing: Mike Lupica's radio show on wfmu.org
Topic: music appreciation

from an email courtesy of dj drilla: "'Hey Mama' can now be purchased through Itunes. This release is entirely digital and is available for a limited time on the Dancing Galactic compilation presented by Munk (Gomma)."

Click here to purchase.

in addition, he linked to some dope mixes on their beats and words site. the first one's on the indie hip-hop tip while the second's on some soul/rock/funk steez.

Drilla - "Stealing Digital Milkcrates"
stream ||| download

Drrty - "DrrtyNewYork Vol 7"
stream ||| download

Posted by macedonia at 11:08 AM EDT
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never con an honest jon...
Now Playing: Mike Lupica's radio show on wfmu.org
Topic: music appreciation

i think i'm finally catching up to what Mike Skinner's been doing all this time. seems as if people either love or hate The Streets: heads either think his work's brilliant or they think it's bollocks. there's no in between with his stuff. been checking out the new album called The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living. some say it's his most personal. others say it's his most catchy. both claims are true. Skinner's take on hip-hop lyricism is dry, witty, and distinctly British, and i think it's the last factor that has had so many singing his praises. at any rate, i dig a number of the tunes here, particularly the ones that are more personal, like "Never Went To Church." he even tries his hand at political fare with "Two Nations." lately, i find myself singing the choruses to both "When You Wasn't Famous" and "Pranging Out."

the Giant Step site has the whole album available to stream. i don't know, but something tells me that this would be a great drinking album as well. just has that feel to it, i can't explain it...

click here to check out the album

Posted by macedonia at 11:07 AM EDT
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