Category Archives: music

Sorry, no September Mix this month.  Been too busy living.  Regular programming will resume next month.

To make it up to you, check out the best of Gil Scott-Heron mix below.

It’s been about four months since we lost one of the world’s greatest musicians.  As much as I loved his music, I’m no Gil Scott-Heron expert.  I’m not trying to pretend that the songs below are necessarily his most important songs.  But they’re my favorite of his songs.

For those of you who’ve never gotten into Gil Scott-Heron, jump on in.  For those who are already familiar, hopefully there’s a song or two below that you’ve overlooked.  Enjoy.

1) Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
2) A Legend In His Own Mind
3) Home Is Where The Hatred Is
4) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
5) Pieces Of A Man
6) The Klan
7) Lady Day and John Coltrane
8) Your Daddy Loves You (for Gia Louise)
9) Did You Hear What They Said?
10) The Bottle
11) We Almost Lost Detroit
12) Comment #1
13) Winter in America
14) The Needle’s Eye
15) Whitey On The Moon
16) New York is Killing Me (ft. Mos Def)
17) I’ll Take Care Of You
18) Me And The Devil

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE MIX HERE

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE AUGUST 2011 MIX HERE

August.  It was hot.  I didn’t go to any shows for the first time in forever.  Saving my energy for the Hopscotch Festival this weekend!

Good albums this month:

• Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo: Was pleasantly surprised by his show at Pitchfork.  Was subsequently pleasantly surprised by his album.
• Gangrene – Greneberg EP: I initially underrated last year’s Gangrene album, but it’s been something I’ve found myself returning to frequently.  Add some Roc Marciano to an already winning formula, and you have an extra-winning formula?

Honorable mentions to Watch the Throne and Ghostfunk.  On to the mix:

1) Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
File under: guys who’ve got sort of a Dylan thing going on, even though I’ve never gotten into Dylan.

2) Booker T. Jones (Featuring Yim Yames) – Progress
I have officially forgiven Jim James for Evil Urges.

3) Theophilus London – No Particular One
Maybe Theophilus should give up rapping and just make retro Caribbean-sounding shit like this?

4) Ghostfunk – Danger 500
From the same dude who brought you Mos Dub. Ghostface over some West African funk/pop songs from the 70s. I’m in.

5) Kendrick Lamar – Rigamortus
Talented up and comer who I hope avoids the pitfalls of somewhat-same-lane-type rappers such as Wale, B.O.B., or Lupe.

6) Kanye West & Jay-Z – Gotta Have It

7) Leo’s Sunshipp – Back for More
A song that sounds like August 1979.

8) Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band – Stay Away
I never would have realized this was a Nirvana cover if I hadn’t read it on the internets.

9) The Cool Kids – Summer Jam (ft. Maxine Ashley)
A song that sounds like August 1996.

10) Gangrene – Papercuts
Best described as “understandable smooth shit that murderers move with.”

11) Blu – Lucky
Speaking of smooth shit.

12) Generationals – Green Leaf Black Heart
Something I came across while doing my Hopscotch homework. Cool song, even though it’s probably not enough to get me to their show (i.e., not enough to get me to miss Vivian Girls or Disappears).

13) DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – A Touch Of Jazz
I love “T Plays it Cool” and I might even love it more with some big drums underneath it.

14) Boss Hogg Outlawz – Get High (feat. Slim Thug, J-Dawg & Le$)
J-Dawg is one of my favorite rappers nobody talks about, even if he commits the sin of going with the “higher than giraffe pussy” line in this song (I think we’ve all heard that one from about 852 different rappers by now).

15) Pusha T – Trouble On My Mind feat. Tyler The Creator
Your soundtrack to rollin’ in a Rascal and causing mayhem.

16) Pimp C – Gorillaz (feat. Bun B & Da Underdawgz)
The new Pimp C album is so half-assed, they couldn’t even find a half-finished Pimp C verse to paste into this song.

17) Gucci Mane – Brrrr (Supa Cold)
I find it impossible to believe that Gucci Mane didn’t already have a song called “Brrrr.”

18) Kreayshawn - Gucci Gucci
The most divisive song of 2011! I’m thinking I’m pro-”Gucci Gucci” but mostly anti-Kreayshawn.

19) Lil B – Unchain Me
The Based God makes his first appearance on a Monthly Mix, thanks almost entirely to a ridiculous Clams Casino beat.

20) Mavado – Delilah (Diplo Remix)
I can’t think of anything more fun than being Diplo and travelling around the Caribbean.

21) Paul Devro – Cair A Ficha – Original Mix
A song that’s helping me get back into jogging after a slow July.

22) South Rakkas Crew, Gangsta Kid F, D-rakkas – Gangsta Revival – Original Mix
I’ve said it a thousand times, if you like Major Lazer, do yourself a favor and go out and get everything that South Rakkas Crew have ever done.

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE JULY 2011 MIX HERE

Busy month, mostly spent hot and not working. I guess music-wise, the highlight was going to the Pitchfork Music Festival. But then I realized there weren’t many bands there that had me really excited. G-Side was cool. Tune-yards sounded great. Kurt Vile provided a nice soundtrack for laying down in the afternoon shade. And TV on the Radio were probably extremely good, but my old ass was mostly too exhausted to really care by then. I think the main takeaway is that A) I’m getting too old for outdoor summer festivals, and B) I’m way more excited for Raleigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival coming up here in September.

Meanwhile, there were some good albums

• Cults – Cults: I’d put “Abducted”, “Go Outside” and “You Know What I Mean” against the first three songs of just about any album I’ve ever heard.  Great way to open an album.
• WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain:  Every song on here is an epic, fist-pumping anthem.
• Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania:  Every time I hear a new Thee Oh Sees album (which is often…they’re prolific fuckers), it takes me a few listens for me to move from “this is annoying” to “this is awesome.”  If they ain’t your cup of tea, I understand.

Honorable mention to the Black Lips’ Arabia Mountain, Shabazz Palaces Black Up, Bon Iver’s Bon Iver, Random Axe’s Random Axe, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

On to the mix:
1) Guided by Voices – I Am a Tree
Indie legends (who mostly don’t do much for me). But I tried to get familiar before seeing them at Pitchfork. They’ll also be appearing at Hopscotch in their last ever performance.

2) Black Lips – Mad Dog
I’m glad Mark Ronson didn’t try to make these guys sound like something they’re not. Black Lips will also be appearing at Hopscotch as part of a killer Thursday night at Lincoln Theatre.

3) Thee Oh Sees – If I Stay Too Long
Forgot to mention that Thee Oh Sees are also front-runners for my favorite album cover of the year:

4) Shabazz Palaces – Are You… Can You… Were You? (Felt)
The warmest song on a very cold (but interesting) album. An album (and a live performance) that I more appreciate than enjoy.

5) Jim-E Stack – Lemme
Unfortunately, not an ode to this guy:

6) CyHi Da Prynce (feat. Yelawolf & La Roux) - Bulletproof
I don’t care much for CyHi, but anybody can sound good over this beat. Yelawolf ain’t just anybody. He sounds incredible over this beat. Also, Yelawolf will be at Hopscotch.

7) Cocaine 80s – Anywhere But Here
At first, I thought the Common song would be the representative from the Cocaine 80s EP to make it to this month’s mix. But over the course of the month, this James Fauntleroy song really grew on me. And I don’t normally dig on R&B.

8) Cults – You Know What I Mean
This will be the score to some dramatic movie or TV show by the end of the year. That chorus can’t be denied.

9) Bon Iver – Calgary
Great article about Bon Iver in the Indyweek by Grayson Currin.

10) Cults – Abducted
Speaking of abducted, anyone seen Barack Obama’s spine anywhere? Am I right? (you’re welcome to have that one, Mr. Leno)

11) Don Julian & The Larks – The Jerk
Don Julian’s falsetto is giving Justin Vernon a run for his money this month.

12) Kanye West & Jay-Z – Otis
My second favorite rap song about elevators?

13) Hitman Shawty (ft. Rittz & Slick) – I Cried
Kanye ain’t the only guy who can make a dope song out of a soul loop. Props to Cory Mo. For some reason, this one reminds me of Kanye’s “Spaceship“.

14) Apathy – Check to Check
The Lesser Depression (© Paul Krugman, 2011) is hitting Honkey Kong hard.

15) Freddie Gibbs (ft. Smoke DZA & Chace Infinite) – Keep It Warm For Ya
Recession ain’t bothering these guys…they’re too balls deep inside your chick to be worried about money.

16) Random Axe – Random Call
Sean P lays down the mission statement: “Yo, you can’t mess with the bomb shit / Me Guilty and Black is aggressive content / Don’t loveletter-rhymes in raps about chicks / Just the whole lot of drugging and thugging that’s it”

17) Nas – Nasty
Nas is bringing back that Nasty Nas! Or so we’ve been told via just about every one of his post-Illmatic’s albums “street singles.” Not getting my hopes up, even though this is undeniably dope.

18) Beastie Boys (ft. Santigold) – Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win (Major Lazer Remix)
Diplo & Switch give this song the bump that it deserves.

19) Dick Khoza – Chapita (Nordy Edit)
Yep, my first foray into production. You like how I made the executive order to cut 2 1/2 minutes off the end and added in a fade-out? Look out, Kanye!

20) Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Thought Ballune
Unknown Mortal Orchestra is what would happen if Tame Impala geeked-out on Ultimate Breaks & Beats.

21) WU LYF – Spitting Blood

RIP Amy Winehouse and Eugene McDaniels

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE JUNE 2011 MIX HERE

This shit is late enough (work…travel…blah blah blah), so I’ll keep it short. Albums I liked:

• My Morning Jacket – Circuital:  I hated Evil Urges.  Glad they’ve returned to form.
• James Pants - James Pants:  I like every new James Pants release better than the last one. Either he’s getting better, or I’m just growing used to his weirdness.
• Bosco Delrey – Everybody Wah:  Not at all what you’d expect from a Mad Decent release.  If Beck were a little more normal and from Memphis, this is what he’d sound like.
• Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread:  Dude is one of my absolute favorites.  He’s starting to channel some Jack White with his Jay Reatard, and I like it.
• Killer Mike – Pl3dge:  Speaking of favorites, can’t complain about the latest album from my favorite rapper.

The mix:

1) WIN WIN – Interleave (Kingdom Remix)
If the Avalanches were still making music, I’d hope it would sound something like this.

2) Thundercat – For Love I Come
Some say Thundercat is a bassist who hangs out with Flying Lotus. I say he’s the bastard love-child of Wayne Coyne and Meshell Ndegeocello.

3) James Pants - Incantation
Decidedly not pants.

4) Bosco Delrey – Don Haps
Bends-era Radiohead with a Memphis twist.

5) Cloud Control – Meditation Song #2 (Why, Oh Why)
WHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHYOH

6) Ty Segall – The Floor
Ty Segall’s a great soundtrack for nights when you might end up passing out on the floor.

7) My Morning Jacket – Holdin On To Black Metal
Too much falsetto on Evil Urges. Just enough on Circuital.

8) Beastie Boys – Here’s a Little Something for Ya
Rappers should start turning to these guys for beats.

9) Donwill, Che Grand, Von Pea, King Mez & Skyzoo – Without Hands
Raleigh’s King Mez for the win.

10) Fabolous – Really Tho
“I love my real bitches, fuck them fake hoes, I be askin’ God, ‘why you even make those?’” — the idea of Fabolous kneeling next to his bed at night and asking God why he makes fake hoes never ceases to crack me up.

11) SL Jones – Swervin’ Feat. Trae Tha Truth
With Grind Time Rap Gang member Pill making so much noise, I was just starting to wonder what fellow gang member SL Jones was up to. His 2008 C.O.L.O.R.S. was a pretty decent album. Glad he’s still around.

12) Killer Mike – Ric Flair

13) Bob and Gene – It’s Not What You Know
I love a good, pessimistic soul song about economic injustice.

14) Mayer Hawthorne – A Long Time
“Berry had a record store, started up a studio”

15) The Sea And Cake – Up On The North Shore
New Sea and Cake, just in time for “sitting on the porch at night and drinking wine” season.

16) Seu Jorge & Almaz – Everybody Loves The Sunshine
Speaking of seasonally appropriate songs. A darker take on the Roy Ayers classic.

17) Mayer Hawthorne – Don’t Turn The Lights On
I love how Mayer turns the Chromeo classic into a slow-burning ballad.

18) My Morning Jacket – Slow Slow Tune
Keeping it slow. Reminds me of Smith Westerns’ “Still New” in how the guitar is really the chorus…and how the guitar really slays you.

19) Bosco Delrey – Get Outta Dodge
I’m taking Bosco’s advice and getting outta Dodge a lot this month.

20) Ty Segall – My Head Explodes

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE MAY 2011 MIX HERE

Despite catching 3 nights of the Love Language’s residency at Slim’s, and a very good Ted Leo solo show, May didn’t do much to inspire me from a new music standpoint. Somehow I need to teach myself that I don’t need to download every new release that I think might potentially be interesting and start focusing on those albums that I’m damn sure I’ll enjoy. Of course, looking at all the new stuff I have in my downloaded music folder, that resolution might have to wait til next month.

Still, there were a couple of good albums:

• KD – G Fluid: KD keeps growing into becoming a better and better rapper, and DJ Burn One stays on his winning streak, staking his claim as producer of the year.
• Quintron & Miss Pussycat – Sucre du Sauvage: Was deeply disappointed that Quintron — one of the best live acts you’ll ever see — had to cancel his tour before his stop in Raleigh.  Hopefully the “family emergency” that caused the cancellation was nothing too terrible.

On to the mix…

1) Thao & Mirah – Eleven
The Thao & Mirah collaboration was just lacking a little life for me. The exception being this one, where the tUnE-yArDs’ Merrill Garbus adds some much-needed energy.

2) tUnE-yArDs – Bizness
Speaking of the annoyingly-named BNM winners, um, they just aren’t for me. Nearly every song has some moment (lyrical or musical) that kills an otherwise promising song for me.

3) TV On The Radio – New Cannonball Run
Really, a pretty mediocre TVOTR song in the grand scheme of things, but easily the best track on Nine Types of Light. If I’m going to give a shit about their next album, they need to fire Dave Sitek.

4) Fat Joe (Feat. Vado) - Massacre On Madison 
Who would ever have predicted a Fat Joe winning streak?

5) KD – Running Away
Who says southern rappers can’t be political: “Barack sold us a dream in the form of hope / But he the main one supplyin’ the hood with all the dope / Send 40,000 troops, over to Afghanistan / That’s where they makin’ all the dope, you ni99a’s undersand?”

6) Curren$y – Full Metal

7) Smoke DZA – Fuck Is You Talkin Bout
RIIIIIIGGGHHHT

8) KD – My Dawgs
Would love to hear Houston’s underrated J-Dawg over this beat.

9) Del tha Funkee Homosapien – Makes No Sense
Del’s a weirdo, and his beat selection can be spotty, but dude can still rap his ass off.

10) Curren$y (feat. Fiend) - Blood Sweat And Gears 
As great as Curren$y has become, Fiend absolutely steals the show with the way he morphs his gravel-voiced singing into a hard as nails verse.

11) Willie Evans Jr. – The Fool Pt. II
Good enough to make you forget that Jay Electronica still can’t pull his shit together long enough to drop an album.

12) Gardens – Maze Time
Detroit’s answer to Whatever Brains? Some good old snotty-nosed garage rock.

13) The Love Language – Untitled No. 2
New Love Language from their Daytrotter set sounds like they’re getting even better.

14) Shannon and the Clams – Done With You
You know you’ve gotta at least give this one a listen on the strength of band name alone.

15) Sonny and the Sunsets – I Wanna Do It
Sonny and the Sunsets with a cover of the Earth Girl Helen Brown classic.

16) Quintron – All Night Right Of Way
Amazing that one man can make such a wall of noise.

17) J Rocc – Track03
Can anyone decipher the message?

18) Yung Tee (ft. H.Nic, Memphis Red) – Wanna Choose
A Pimp C sample and a syrupy-smooth sumertime track are great ways for anonymous southern rappers to catch my attention.

19) Codie G & CP – This Aint No Muthafucking Game
Speaking of syrupy-smooth summer songs. Holy hell, R. Dot knocked that Donald Byrd sample out of the park with this one.

20) Gucci Mane (ft. Waka Flocka Flame) – Stoned
There’s no way to rap over this beat and not call your song “Stoned.”

21) Main Attrakionz – Zoned Out Mackin
Bay Area stoner-rap that’s been getting a lot of internets love, but the attrakion (sorry, had to) has mostly escaped me. But this one grew on me after my iPod kept bringing it up on shuffle all month.

22) Mobroder – Rush (Nile Delta Remix)
Creepy electro-funk, that would fit in well with the first three songs from the February 2011 Mix.

In the meantime, enjoy this video from a song that came thisclose to making the April Mix.

KING MEZ – FROM THE SOUTH FT. THEE TOM HARDY & SEAN BOOG from fisdj.foto on Vimeo.

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE APRIL 2011 MIX HERE

I guess April 2011 will always be the month that Raleigh got hit with tornadoes…and I was out of town and missed the whole thing.  And while it was bad for the unlucky folks who were hurt or had their houses damaged, it paled in comparison to what was to come in Alabama.  Sad, crazy shit.  Tornadoes continue to scare the shit out of me.

It was also a month for disappointing shows.  Smith Westerns are not a good live band.  The only guy who looked like he wanted to be there was the lead singer, and the live show revealed that he’s a much better singer in the studio.  The next night, Killer Mike did about 4 songs, and Young Dro didn’t stay on much longer.  The old man in me was glad to be out of a show by 11, but not when it started at 10.   I guess they can’t all be shows like the Jackie Chain/Freddie Gibbs/Big K.R.I.T. show.

Luckily, there were some albums that didn’t disappoint:

• Rittz – White Jesus:  Rittz might not be as interesting of a rapper as his buddy Yelawolf, but he’s just as good technically, and he’s got a better ear for beats.
• DJ Burn One – Joints:   One man whose beats made White Jesus such a treat was DJ Burn One (fka Mick Vegas).  If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I’ve been singing Burn One’s praises for quite some time.  This little compilation is just a sampling of some of his production and is a must download if you are at all a fan of country rap tunes.
• Yellowbirds – The Color:  I love when an album seemingly comes from out of nowhere to become a favorite. I think I downloaded this on the basis of one positive comment on the atease message boards. The Pitchfork review was positive, but not terribly compelling. Whatever it was, glad I gave it chance because it’s easily one of my favorites of the year.
• Various Artists – Cartagena!:  If you like the Latin music I occasionally post, but have been wondering where to find good Latin music on your own, you now have your answer.
• Action Bronson – Dr. Lecter:  Classic NY hip-hop that’s still fun to listen to since Bronsolini focuses on just making good songs with a classic sound, rather than falling into the common trap of rapping about how he’s making songs with a classic sound.

Honorable mention goes to Sir Michael Rocks and E-40.  On to the mix…

1) Alexander – Truth
The man who you might mistakingly think is named Edward Sharpe can write some great songs…too bad he can’t pull it together for a whole album.

2) Yellowbirds – The Rest of My Life
A song that’s very representative of the album. If you like this song, you will enjoy the album.

3) Mexicans With Guns (feat. Bun B & Freddie Gibbs) – Highway To Hell (Ridin’ Dirty Mix)
Just as a horn section can get me to like just about any rock song, organs are the key to me auto-liking a rap song.

4) Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears – I’m Gonna Leave You
Speaking of horns, imagine if the Black Keys had a horn section.

5) Big K.R.I.T. (feat. David Banner) – Sookie Now
I’ve always been lukewarm on Big K.R.I.T. Tom Briehan does a good job of describing K.R.I.T.’s limitations here. But there are a shitton of kids who absolutely love themselves some Big K.R.I.T. I was shocked by the love he got from the crowd at Cat’s Cradle. Made for a great show.

6) No Surrender [ft. Tunde Adebimpe] – Silver Hall
Sounds better than either of the two songs I’ve heard so far from Nine Types of Light.

7) The Morning Benders – Cold War (Star Slinger Remix)
The April winner for “song that got stuck in my head even if I’m not quite sure I like it all that much.”

8) E-40 (Ft. Turf Talk, Cousin Fik And Stresmatic) – Back And Forth
The April winner for “hardest slaps on two albums worth of new E-40 music.” Also, I’m officially on the Cousin Fik bandwagon.

9) Action Bronson – Moonstruck
Bonus points for referring to this song — the intro to his album — as an “amuse-bouche.” Amuse-bouche is just about my favorite thing to say in the world.

10) Chip Tha Ripper – Plural
Chip’s Gift Raps has some jams on it. This one isn’t the most immediately appealing, but it grew on me over the month.

11) Indeed (Ricky Fontaine & Walt Live) – Weed Money Music
Never heard of these dudes before. But anybody would sound good over this Burn One beat (not that these guys suck or anything).

12) Cousin Fik (ft. Cali T & Mac Juan) – Water in the Bo
Another grower. Check them seals!

13) KD (Ft. Freddie Gibbs) – Let Me Ride
Nothing needs to grow on you with this song. Soulful and syrupy.

14) Pusha T (feat. 50 Cent & Pharrell) – Raid
Pusha and 50 sound best when they sound a little menacing. One of the few highlights of the thoroughly disappointing Fear of God mixtape.

15) Sir Michael Rocks – Bahamas
Mikey Rocks’ Rocks Report fits right into the Curren$y/Wiz/DZA/Fiend aesthetic. Only problem is that at 25 tracks, it’s just too damn long.

16) Los Seven Del Swing – Silencio
Roughly translated: “shut your mouth, ho”

17) Perez Prado – Sexomania
This song makes me want to get in a time machine and go to Mexico City in 1976.

18) MellowHype (feat. Casey Veggies) – Less
Hey, evidently not all Odd Future songs sound like Gravediggaz outtakes!

19) Lykke Li – Silent My Song
If Apple still made iPod ads, Lykke Li would be running shit right now.

20) Yellowbirds – The Honest Ocean
If you like the Love Language (which I do…about to go seem them in half an hour), you’ll like this one.

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE MARCH 2011 MIX HERE

Let’s toss March 2011 in the garbage can.  The weather always sucks.  We’ll get some glorious weather, only to be followed an hour or two later hail and all sorts of other Biblical shit.  The NCAA Tourney is normally fun.  But this year’s tourney served as a sad reminder that my team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, re-defined terrible.  We’re still having to fuck around with our clocks every 6 months or so because farmers think cows give a fuck what time they wake up for work, or some other stupid bullshit.  And none of you assholes bought me a birthday present!

But let’s focus on the good. There were great shows from Ty Segall and Sharon Jones.  And there were these albums that helped carry me through the misery:

• Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside: Yeah, Pitchfork, we get it. Tapes ‘n Tapes were slightly over-hyped in 2005. And they aren’t going to blow your mind or jump on whatever pretentious boring bullshit trend Pitchfork is currently on.
• Money Making Jam Boys – The Prestige: Black Thought, Dice Raw, Sugar Tongue Slim, Truck North, P.O.R.N. You don’t need to know anything else.
• Mind Spiders – Mind Spiders: Yes, I probably overrate every half-decent garage rock album. This is the latest.
• Oblivians – Play 9 Songs With Mr. Quintron: I’ve been digging into Greg Cartwright’s (lead singer for the Reigning Sound) older stuff. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find out that his old band, Oblivians, hooked up with Quintron for an album! It’s as good as expected.

Honorable mention to Sonny Smith’s 100 Records Volume II: I Miss the Jams, and Stalley’s Lincoln Way Nights which were both good albums.

On to the mix.

1) Big K.R.I.T. – Dreamin’
A dope song, but Big K.R.I.T. is venturing a little close to The Game territory on this one. Let’s hope this is his last song focused entirely on name-dropping his influences, and his future songs go towards establishing his own voice and legacy.

2) Stranger Cole – Crying Every Night
You know you’re a hip-hop nerd if you think the first words to this song are going to be “the highest caliber make it a night to remember like Shalamar…”

3) Wayward Youth – Garbage Storm
Sonny Smith basically did a high-art version of Lil’ B’s hundreds of Myspace profiles. Smith made up names and song titles for 100 singles from 100 fake bands. Artists created cover art for the records and Smith wrote and recorded songs for all 100 singles. Swag.

4) Tapes ‘n Tapes – Nightfall
I like my Tapes ‘n Tapes all french-horned out.

5) Wavves – Horse Shoes

6) Mind Spiders – Neurotic Gold
If these dudes just dug the vocals a teensie little bit out of the fuzz, I think I’d like them a lot more than I do.

7) Cloud Nothings – You’re Not That Good At Anything
I never thought I’d like a song solely because the band sound like a bunch of raging dickheads, but here we are.

8) Oblivians – Feel All Right
This is what Robert Randolph should sound like, if he were willing to take risks that might get him booted from his safe spot in the (lucrative) jam-band circuit.

9) Raekwon – Molasses Ft. Rick Ross And Ghostface Killah
Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang was a bit disappointing, but that Ann Peebles sample always wins.

10) Action Bronson – Shiraz
Action Bronson is making a strong case for my favorite new rapper in 2011. He sounds a lot like Ghostface, but in 2011 he’s maybe doing Ghostface better than Ghostface does Ghostface.

11) Thirstin Howl III – Double Dosage (Chapter 2) Ft. Meyhem Lauren & J-Love
I’m glad there are still dudes out there making classic NYC boom bap.

12) The Money Making Jam Boys – We Not Playing
Speaking of classic sounds. The MMJB’s ripped a lot of classics on The Prestige, but none better than this.

13) Pusha T – My God
I’m quite nervous about Pusha spending all this time with Kanye, but judging from this song, he’s maintaining his style.

14) Lil’ Keke – Chunk Up The Deuce (Syko Bmore Remix)
Thank you, Houston, for giving us a phrase that sounds like it involves several bodily functions at once (but actually involves none).

15) Gucci Mane – Gucci Time (Feat. Swizz Beats) (Sinden Remix Feat Tinchy Stryder)
I know it’s been a while, but I still can’t get over his tattoo.

16) Blaqstarr – Set It Off
2012’s Justin Timberlake.

17) The-Dream – Yamaha
2010’s Justin Timberlake.

18) Ned III/Kenjo – Oprah Winfree ft PRGz
“Girl this ain’t no talk show / your name ain’t no Oprah” is the early favorite for my favorite chorus of 2011.

19) Stalley – Monkey Ish (R.I.P. Pimp C)
Note to aspiring rappers: if you’re going to get all self-righteous and preachy, make sure your song includes a dope Pimp C sample.

20) Pimp C – Hogg in the Game
Note to aspiring rappers: you’ll never be as cool as Pimp C.

21) Danny Brown – Lincoln Continental
Danny Brown takes an interesting approach to making a “conscious” song here…kicking some knowledge, but rapping like Waka.

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE FEB 2011 MIX HERE

The Budos Band

February blew by! I guess it helps when you spend the first half of the month on vacation (I should really do that more often). And then when I got back, I was so busy that I forgot to study my black history. Maybe next year.

So what was I listening to this month (other than waves lapping on the shore, and a chorus of jungle birds)?

• Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde: Remember when these guys sounded like any number of other fuzzed-out lo-fi garage rock bands? Now they sound like Girls. Part of me wants to dislike them for changing their sound so drastically. But part of me is a 32-year old adult who shouldn’t give a shit about such petty stuff and just enjoy the music for what it is.
• Charles Bradley – No Time For Dreaming: As I mentioned on Twitter, “If you love Lee Fields “My World” (and really, u’re an ahole if you don’t) get Charles Bradleys “No Time For Dreaming”
• Mark Sultan – $: Better known as the tastier half of the King Khan & BBQ Show, I wasn’t expecting to like this one so much. I’ve always enjoyed Sultan’s voice, but the KK&BS stuff always sounded so half-assed to me. This still sounds mostly half-assed (I still wish he’d play with a real drummer), but it comes together just enough for me.

Let’s do this!

1) Tony Cook – On The Floor (Rock-It) feat. The Party People
Stones Throw is re-releasing some of this early 80′s “White Pony”/”Planet Rock”-sounding old school club/hip-hop stuff. We win.

2) ESG – My Love For You
Speaking of early 80′s old school club stuff…I don’t know what I like more about this song: the bass line, or that ridiculous drum breakdown.

3) The Dirtbombs - Shari Vari
You wouldn’t expect a garage rock band to cover this song. But I like it.

4) James Pants – Alone
New shit from Stones Throw’s resident weirdo.

5) Bosco Delray – Evil Lives (Ad-Rock Remix)
I’m not sure whether I actually like this song, or if it was just that the shuffle feature on my iPod really liked this song. It seemed to come on every-other song in my “new music” playlist.

6) Salva – Wake Ups
Damn, did you know that the president of the world’s newest country looks like a badass extra from Mario Van Peeble’s Posse?

Salva Kiir Mayardit

7) Swick – Brocolli (MayaVanya Remix)
I’m assuming Swick just named his song “Brocolli” so George H.W. Bush wouldn’t like it.

8) Chris Brown (ft. Busta Rhymes & Lil’ Wayne) – Look At Me Now
You probably don’t want to hear Chris Brown rap. But it’s sooo worth getting through his verse to get to the Busta verse.

9) Mouse On Tha Track – Turn Da Beat Up
Best producer on the mic, Southern Division.

10) Rittz (ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Yelawolf) – Fulla Shit
Best country rap tune producer, White Division

11) S.L.A.S.H. Sullivan – Where Dem Dollaz?
Best southern producers…shit, maybe the best producers, period.

12) Mouse On Tha Track – Swagga Fresh Freddie
It’s been a while since a hook has buried itself so deep into my brain. Listen to this once, and you too will be walking around town singing “Swagga Fresh, Swagga Fresh Freddie” even though you’re a lame 30-something white dude.

13) Killer Mike – Burn
I like my Killer Mike angry and political.

14) LMD – Real Talk
LMNO, MED & Declaime with the standout track from Madlib’s Medicine Show No. 11.

15) Charles Bradley – I Believe In Your Love
Sounds like a lost Al Green classic.

16) Mark Sultan – Misery’s Upon Us
Underrated rock voice.

17) Bare Wires – Seeking Love
For those of you who miss old BRMC when they still sounded kinda badass.

18) Big Eyes – Why Can’t I

19) Mark Sultan – Nobody But You
My favorite song of the month. Let it build up and wash over you.

20) Smith Westerns – Still New
My favorite guitar lick of the month at 1:07 mark.