Archive for November, 2011
November 26th, 2011 | 
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The Black Friday edition of Record Store Day has been steadily growing, just like its April counterpart. Sure, you could go to Wal-Mart and get a brand new refrigerator for something like two dollars, but how does that stack up when compared to a new 12” Black Keys single?
In order to help you with the personal calculus of this decision-making, here’s a look at the Black Friday Record Store Day by the numbers — and where you should spend your hard earned cash. Go ahead, treat yourself this season.
1: Number of solo releases from Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn, including his “Honolulu Blues” 7”
The first solo release from the frontman for a major act like the Hold Steady is exciting, and since Record Store Day tends to attract people who might actually wait to listen until they hold it in their hands – as opposed to the mp3-obsessed fans who’ll sleep late on Friday – this may be contain some old-school excitement. The “Honolulu Blues” single is split with a song called “Rented Room,” both of which suggest a neat sorta Rum Diary aspect to Finn’s solo work.
2: Number of songs Ryan Adams will release that the public hasn’t heard
The absurdly prolific Adams writes a ton of songs and two of the unreleased demos from his recent Ashes And Fire are getting the 7” treatment on Friday. While we’re stoked to hear “Do I Wait” and “Darkness,” we can only assume that there are at least a thousand other new songs from this year that he chose to hang onto for the time being. Seriously, dude writes so, so many songs.
3: Number of albums from Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos re-issued on Black Friday
Threatening to overwhelm the rest of the field, Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos — the ’60s-era novelty surf rock combo fronted by Rat Fink creator Ed “Big Daddy” Roth — have a whopping three album releases slated for Record Store Day. (Six, if you count the fact that they’re on both vinyl and CD!) The trio of Mr. Gasser hot rod-themed novelty albums have been out of print for over four decades, so if you’ve got a tattoo artist or a roller derby girl in your life who needs something to hang on the wall, here’s a unique opportunity.
3: Artists who chose to use the day’s proximity to Christmas as an excuse to release a Christmas song
Nothing is cooler than your favorite band dropping a Christmas tune for the holidays – and by “nothing,” okay, we mean “just about everything.” Still, the holiday song offerings this year come from artists ranging from the achingly sincere Nashville folk duo the Civil Wars, who offer two holiday tunes on their Tracks in the Snow 10”; the sneeringly ironic classic punkers Fear, with a 7” recording of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (b-sided with a Fear original holiday track, “Another Christmas Beer”); and the we-could-never-figure-out-if-he-was-kidding Matisyahu, who drops a 7” featuring two versions of his new holiday track “Miracle.”
5: Number of unreleased recordings on the “L.A. Woman” box set
Jim Morrison fans are the most obsessive there are, so the fact that they’ll get to hear five new things from the long-dead Doors frontman is probably going to give them things to quote and tattoo on their arms for decades to come. Granted, the “previously unreleased” pit has been pretty thoroughly excavated when it comes to Morrison, so what that entails on Friday are alternate takes of “Love Her Madly,” “Riders on the Storm” and “The Changeling” – as well as a whole seven inch of Morrison bantering in the studio about “Riders On The Storm” and “Crawling King Snake.” Just the fact that there’s anything new from a guy who died in 1971 is impressive, though.
8: Number of years since a vinyl pressing of Blood Sugar Sex Magik has been available
The snazzy red double-vinyl version due on Friday is the first domestic appearance of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ signature album since its release two decades ago, and its first anywhere since a European import was released in 2003. This should give fans of the band even more reasons to craft absurdly sincere odes to the album on its Amazon “reviews” section.
18: Number of must-haves for the aging, ultra-hip baby boomer in your family
So dad got rid of all of his vinyl as the CD reared its head in 1989, only to miss the satisfying needle-drop as he got older? Don’t worry – you can hook him up with a staggering number of classic rock era reissues. You’ve got two different box sets from Janis Joplin; a pair of Yardbirds 7” singles; singles boxes from the Beatles and Pink Floyd; stragglers in the form of the Lovin’ Spoonful, Miles Davis and the Byrds and more, for a total of 18 releases your dad or cool uncle or whoever will open with a nostalgic twinkle in his eye.
54.98: Amount that the Nirvana Hormoaning 12” from April is selling for now on eBay
Nirvana fans lost their shit when the ultra-rare Hormoaning EP saw a re-release during the April Record Store Day earlier this year. It may not be selling for the thousands that an original pressing goes for, but it’s still pricey. That bodes well for the appreciation level that might be expected for the Nevermind 10” single collection, which features four song versions of the “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “Lithium” and “In Bloom” singles. If you’ve been lusting after a vinyl rendition of “Even In His Youth” or “Endless, Nameless,” better get ‘em now before the eBay hordes jack up the price.
5.11: Value of the original pressings of the Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window 7” box set
The Bob Dylan Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? box set includes four different 7” singles, and if you tried to purchase original pressings of all four of them from record nerd marketplace Discogs.com, they’d run you 5.11 – before you paid shipping. Most of that cost would be accrued by the 7” of “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” (with a “Highway 61 Revisited” b-side), which is probably why the re-issue advertises the rare item first, but the artwork for all four of them is going to be nicer than the jukebox-ready white sleeves you’ll get for the early pressings.
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Action Bronson photo courtesy of MAC Media. Photo: Alexander Richter
“I was rocking Crocs and I busted three human beings’ assholes at the game 21!” Action Bronson says over drinks and mozzarella sticks, bragging about his prowess on the basketball court while sitting in a bar on 106th Street and Amsterdam in Manhattan. His fondness for the comfortable, spongy rubber footwear comes from his past life holding down duties as a chef; he appreciates the much-maligned, Mario Batali-adored footwear for its many uses, asshole-busting aside: “You can go from the kitchen to the street to the dance-floor in Crocs.”
With Bronson, the Croc mention is apt: It was only 2008 when the Flushing Queens-raised rapper seriously considered trading in his knife for a mic. To date, he’s likely the only rapper to have ever uploaded an instructional video to YouTube about how to sear an Ahi tuna steak. Now, after dropping his Dr. Lecter debut album earlier in the year, Bronson has released Well-Done. It’s a full-length project entirely produced by Statik Selektah and was largely written while Bronson was holed up at home with a broken ankle he suffered as he slipped while working in his father’s Mediterranean restaurant (no word on what shoes he was wearing at the time). Bronson has now taken himself from the kitchen to the street to the dancefloor.
Bronson’s continued love of grub is no gimmick. His raps might be peppered with references to Chesapeake Bay soft-shell crabs, heirloom tomatoes, Italian Grana Padano cheese and “slow roasted animals smothered in gravy,” but he also raps like a beast. The oft-quoted lazy comparison is that he sometimes sounds a little like Ghostface and spits in the lineage of Big Pun, but Bronson exudes a fresh personality of his own — not least when coining catchphrases about his feral facial hair. So as he picked over a plate of mozzarella sticks, we got Bronson to open up about the best music to play in the kitchen, illegal rap raves in Queens, and the intricacies of Rick Ross‘ bushy beard.
The first song on the new album is titled “Respect The Mustache.” Is facial hair something you feel strongly about?
Yeah, respect the mustache, because people have problems with their facial hair these days, like they grow Fu-Manchus and funny facial hair. I’m proud of my luxurious full length beard — you’ve got to respect that. I mean, I just let it go, I don’t even sculpt it. So I coined that phrase — respect the mustache — because facial hair is a sign of being a man; respect my man-hood.
Is your mustache like Samson’s hair when it comes to your rapping?
I’d think so. I’m actually keeping it as a goal so if I lose 50 pounds then I’ll shave it. But that’s not happening any time soon — I mean we’re eating mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers and drinking ginger ale right now!
Who else in hip-hop has decent facial hair?
Sean P has a pretty nice beard and Freeway obviously. I’d give Sean P’s beard about a seven.
What could Sean P do to improve his beard?
It’s the miscellaneous hairs he has some places. He needs to get the line sculpted right.
Is Freeway’s beard the gold standard?
Freeway’s is more Islamic. Rick Ross has a pretty impressive beard but he has mad berries and juices in his — you can tell ’cause it’s always shiny and shit. Everyone always asks me if I dye this shit. I’m like, ‘What, are you crazy?’ I tell ‘em I’m like an old fuckin’ Bangladeshi man with an orange beard!
You mentioned that you wrote most of the new album while you were at home with a broken ankle. Did being cooped up that way affect the lyrics you were writing?
It 100% changed my whole perspective on things. I mean, I’ve done all the loopy songs and just the straight hardcore rhyming and shit, and we wanted to try and make actual songs with this one. I had a lot of time to sit with it because I was off my feet for a time. I was laid up, then one night when it was pouring with rain I took the cane, took the car out and knocked a couple of songs out.
Which tracks on the album do you think show this progress?
I’d say songs like “The Rainmaker,” and even “Miss Fordham Road ’86, ’87, ’88.” I mean, the title of that one is just being from New York and knowing street stuff you know that when I say Miss Fordham Road you know that I’m talking about a fiend in the Bronx. She was the queen of the neighborhood but she’s ruined now. She was hot in the ’80s, but now she’s just out in front of Pathmark wiggin’ out. She had the back-to-back-to-back titles — she three-peated those years and then fell off.
Everywhere I go I get baked goods from girls. The night after in Montreal I got Snickerdoodle cookies; in California some girl made me weed baklava.
What does Miss Fordham Road look like now?
She’s beyond being saved. She looks like Tales From The Crypt. Actually, we just saw her [on the way to the bar]. She was in front of Pathmark on 125th Street, the craziest fiend ever, no teeth, doped out. I’m gonna offer her to do whatever for a video for the song. You know what would be funny? If we pampered her, paid for her to get made up and then like Trading Places take everything away from her at the end! Ah, man!
What’s Miss Fordham Road’s name?
Mercedes!
Before you switched to making music, how far did you go with your career as a chef?
I went deep into it. I worked at some upscale places; I worked for the Mets, cooking for them after they finished their games. I was working my way up to being an executive chef somewhere but I was always more comfortable working with my father in his restaurant. It was more convenient: I wore my shorts, listened to my music in the kitchen, it was all in my control. I had this entire kitchen at my disposal so I’d just create, create, create.
What sort of dishes did you come up with?
We’d experiment with all kinds of things. One of my favorite things in the world is a fried Camembert with a nicoise salad and grapes. You got the cheese with the Herbs de Provence and you slice it up and it spills out all over the salad … I know no rappers are usually talking about Herbs de Provence!
What sort of music did you play in the kitchen?
Salsa, Spanish music all the way in the kitchen — that or some good good jazz, that always gets the mind working right. Rap is too much to grasp while cooking. You want to hear music and elements and I don’t want to hear motherfuckers talking crazy.
So what prompted to switch from cooking to rapping?
It was just being in the studio with my buddies — they kinda forced me into it. I’d say I’ve been rapping since about 2008, when I really started. [The rapper] Meyhem Lauren is my best friend in the world and I grew up with him. and he’s been rapping since junior high school, so he’d inspired me. I remember going to the Fun Factory in Queens — it was a graffiti place and it’s called Five Pointz now — and they would hold raves and little shows and MC battle these. This was back in the day, like 2002 maybe.
Were these illegal raves?
Yeah, Fun Factory was definitely illegal at the time. It was raves, people doing drugs and shit. It was fun though. That was my first real exposure; I didn’t know about that sort of shit. It was hip-hop music but also ravey. Meyhem was rhyming at the rave. They’d stop the ravey shit and he’d just take the mic and start rapping, hype the crowd up.
What did the Fun Factory look like?
Very industrial, graffiti all over the world, with filthy, grimy people skating and riding bikes.
Can you remember the first song you recorded then?
The first rap I ever wrote was a down south rap over “Like A Boss” by Slim Thug. It was called “White Sauce” and I rapped with a southern accent and everything. I did it as a joke. I’m gonna release that one day.
Your songs are full of references to food. Do you worry that you might end up being typecast as something like “the rapping chef”?
People already ask me too much about food, but then it’s me so I can’t be cliched by that because that’s what I am. I embrace it, and I feel that I get further because of that. You know, I get a lot of girls at this point at my show — I think they gravitate towards this cooking thing. Everywhere I go I get baked goods from girls. In Toronto a girl ran out after the show while I was getting into a cab and gave me a bag of home-made honey almonds. She made candied almonds, with some spices in them, and gave me a big bag of them. They were amazing. She had written her number on the bag. When I got to the hotel room I fuckin’ ate the whole bag, called her and let her know this was the best shit ever! The night after in Montreal I got Snickerdoodle cookies; in California some girl made me weed baklava.
What would be the ultimate food a girl could give to you as a present after a show?
A steak. If a girl brought a steak for me, I would marry her right there. Bring the grill and just grill it for me right there!
When you first started releasing music, you were put in the category of being an underground New York rapper. But since then it seems you’re getting attention in different scenes, including working with Party Supplies, who produces stuff for the Fool’s Gold label.
Party Supplies is an extremely talented producer, an electronic producer and DJ, who’s signed to Fool’s Gold, A-Trak‘s label. He’s just one of a kind that kid, man. We just had instant chemistry — within the first five minutes of meeting him we made a song. Fool’s Gold are good people. A-Trak has showed me a lot of love in the past. They’ve been on me for a long time — I really appreciate those dudes. Everyone keeps their ears to the street at this point, and everyone’s on the Internet so things go around quickly, but I appreciate A-Trak’s support.
Are you surprised at the extra exposure you’re getting these days?
Yes and no. That’s what I expect from myself anyway. I belong in that type of realm — I don’t belong in the underground even though that’s my roots. I’m just me, not an underground artist. I make my music, I’m a chef, I can talk about anything. I lived all these things I talk about; it’s just me. When I rap, I take things from different parts of life. Like when I say [on "Imported Goods"], “Orlando Magic warm-up suits and black Shaqs,” that’s from ’93 and ’94 what I was wearing. I was going to Champs in Roosevelt Field Mall getting the full Orlando Magic warm-up suit and the black Shaq pumps.
So what’s been the worst fashion mistake you’ve made in the name of hip-hop?
Well it wasn’t a mistake, but I ended up getting paid ,000 for my first car when I crashed it and I bought 50 throwback jerseys! That was around the throwback era. That was the worst investment I made in my life! I gave a lot away. I remember I got some drugs and I messed them up ’cause I smoked them all and I had to pay a friend back in throwback jerseys.
Well-Done is out now via DCide Records.
www.youtube.com Click here to watch Dark Souls Review – Justin Fassino! Ten FTW – Top 10 Survival Tips for DARK SOULS (S03E68) Larson guides Steve through the dungeons of Namco Bandai’s latest, Dark Souls, and gives him his top ten survival tips. Want to get a tip from Larson? Then Like he and Steve on Facebook at www.facebook.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com This video will show you… HOW TO choose your class. HOW TO enjoy the Grind. HOW TO have patience. – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Like Machinima on Facebook! facebook.com Prove your gaming skills on the Respawn Army app therespawnarmy.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com Tags: Steve Larson “Ten FTW” TFTW “Ten For The Win” Machinima “Dark Souls” “Namco Bandai” “From Software” “Character classes” “Estus Flask” bonfires souls “Demon Souls” upgrade merchant leveling “attack patterns” exploration strategy undead burg “combat system” parry “counter attack” riposte “weak attack” “strong attack” “target lock” “short sword” “long sword” “gold resin” “firebomb” “Cleric” “Deprived” “dungeon crawling” “Humanity” “Hallowing” difficult “Frustration Index Meter”"Xbox 360″ “PlayStation 3″
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The Shrine / An Argument from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.
Of the songs on Fleet Foxes‘ Helplessness Blues, “The Shrine/An Argument” stands out as one of the more epic jams the band’s ever done. But what’s it all about? In this new video, director/co-animator Sean Pecknold — brother of lead singer Robin — loosely illustrates the song to the life cycle of an antelope-type creature: It licks things, it finds a rabbit and tears its limbs off, some tribe members dance around a fire, the antelope dies, falls into a water source and is devoured by a two-headed electric-tongue wielding dragon. Which is exactly what we’ve been picturing all along.
In Alli’s Step By Step you can get some tips from the pros on how to do the basic tricks and some advanced ones too. Today skater JChad Bartie takes you through all the steps to land your first feeble grind.
Video Rating: 5 / 5
Manhattan-based DJ Nick Hook can be a bit of a wild card when it comes to his DJ sets. But this isn’t a matter of inconsistency as it is versatility: He serves as a purveyor of techno, house, bass and club as part of Nextah, is a resident DJ at Dre Day (an annual celebration of the rapper’s birthday), and recently released an album on A-Trak and Nick Catchdub’s Fool’s Gold imprint as part of his experimental dance outfit Cubic Zirconia. The latter is likely the most reflective of his production style, as the group combines funk, soul, disco, house and pop for their new-wave dance fare. With his newest mix for the Good Peoples party collective, Hook shows just how eclectic his taste is, and what can happen if he’s stuck on a plane while wired on coffee. A looped, gun-shot-laden instrumental from one of Dr. Dre’s Chronic classics serves as a transition from Gravediggaz’ early nineties hip-hop into the dramatic melancholy of Björk’s “Hunter,” a playfully smooth edit of Slum Village’s “Fall In Love” segues into Dam Funk’s silky “Wanna Thank You,” and he sandwiches Danny Brown between Boards of Canada and Hudson Mohawke. Clever, subtle hooks are Hook’s angle this time, even when he’s flying high on caffeine.
NICK HOOK – HIGH ON COFFEE ON A PLANE MIX by GoodPeoples
Flying Lotus, “Camel”
Gravediggaz, “1-800 Suicide”
Dr. Dre, “N***a Witta Gun”
Björk, “Hunter”
Company Flow, “Vital Nerve (ft BMS)”
DJ Shadow, “Changeling – Transmission 1″
Slum Village, “Fall In Love” (Prince Klassen Fantastic Edit)
Dam Funk, “I Wanna Thank You”
Roots Manuva, “Witness Dub”
Notorious B.I.G., “Things Done Changed”
Boards of Canada, “Music If Math”
Danny Brown, “Pac Blood”
Hudson Mohawke, “All Your Love”
Wilson Sponge Bob Golf Balls 6 Pack
- 6-pack of SpongeBob SquarePants golf balls
- High-powered titanium cores for maximum distance
- Encourage optimum spin for increased control
- 2-piece construction with cut-proof Ionomer covers
- Ideal for kids or whimsical adults
Sponge Bob Square Pants. Six Pack. Color Is Yellow.Ideal for kids or adults with a whimsical side, each of these Wilson golf balls sports a cute SpongeBob SquarePants design that’s destined to stand out on the course. Fortunately for golfers, the balls aren’t just for kicks, however. The balls are equipped with high-powered titanium cores that produce maximum distance and optimum spin. The balls also feature a two-piece construction with cut-proof Ionomer covers, helping them hold up over time.
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List Price: $ 10.00
Price: $ 6.59
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