Atlanta’s Short Bus Alumni dropped “Mr. T’s Revenge” in July oh-eight, a rollicking CD of what is best called nostalgic new jack. It’s chock full of references to old school, but never uses a simple 808. The beats will definitely move modern butts, but should also appeal to Hip-Hop purists and older listeners.
Although the group hails from Atlanta, SBA don’t get bogged down with that Southern sound. It’s six members are intelligent, versatile rappers, who can be witty without being profane, gritty without being foul, and can make party music without speaking down to their audience or relying on the lowest common denominator. On Brick Records, mostly produced by Raydar Ellis.
Short Bus Alumni “Dope Sh!t” – Brick Records (Clean)
The Rural Alberta Advantage are a Canadian indie-rock/Americana trio with a sound not unlike Centro-Matic. I found them thanks to a reader submission, but I’ve been unable to learn much about them. Far as I can tell, they’re unsigned. Which is a damn shame, because their debut record, “Hometowns,” is adventurous, full of hooks, and a pleasure from start to finish.
The opening track, “Ballad of the RAA,” is electronica-meets-country, a refreshingly different take on what has become the pretty standard indie genre of Americana. Lots of folks discuss the huge influence of Brian Wilson on indie rock, but one can make the argument that Van Morrison and his successors (Counting Crows, e.g.), have been an equally important force, and Rural Alberta Advantage clearly borrow heavily from the latter. But other cuts, like “Drain the Blood,” dump the electronica and instead go for earnest, overwrought vocals. Then “Luciano” comes on with fuzzy punk and blurry drums. Yet every song is instantly familiar, and completely accessible, as all great pop should be.
This album will keep you guessing, but will never leave you behind.
Recorded with a single mic and a computer, the Morning Benders are releasing a full album of cover songs, free to you! You’ll find covers of tunes by The Crystals, Randy Newman, The Cardigans, the ubiquitous “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, and many, many more. It’s to help promote their official release, “Talking Through Tin Cans,” a wonderful little record you can score on iTunes and elsewhere.
Get the album, as a zip, just by clicking here!
Taste it:
A Backyard Tire Fire review practically writes itself. Take everything you love about Patterson Hood’s emotional grit, The Old 97s classic barnburner footstompers, and the spirit Whiskeytown had when Ryan still had something to prove, and you’ve already got a good sense of what the band is about: Rockin’, drinkin’, raisin’ hell and kicking ass through the use of well-placed power chords.
The band’s new record, “The Places We Lived,†is no exception. It’s Midwestern Americana at it’s slice-of-hard-life best. This album is a little more folk-y than their last one–a little less gritty in many places, and it has much cleaner production. But it’s still a real solid record. I particularly enjoyed “Everybody’s Down” and “How the Hell Did You Get Back Here?” the latter of which is played live at the show posted below. Because the really great thing about BTF is their live skills. Check ‘em out on tour, and download a groovy show below, after the tour dates!
August 1 / Dunegrass Festival / Empire, MI
August 3 / Brown Baer / Elkhart Lake, WI
August 22 & 23 / Paulie’s / Bloomington, IL
September 5 / Metro / Chicago, IL
September 10 / Picador / Iowa City, IA
September 11 / The Rave Bar / Milwaukee, WI
September 12 / The Annex / Madison, WI
September 13 / 7th St. Entry / Minneapolis, MN
September 17 / TBD / Columbia, MO
September 18 / Record Bar / Kansas City, MO
September 19 / Josie’s / Emporia, KS
September 20 / Lucas School House / St. Louis, MO
September 24 / Grog Shop / Cleveland, OH
September 25 / The Basement / Columbus, OH
September 26 / Spin Nightclub / Indianapolis, IN (Sponsored by My Old Kentucky Blog)
September 27 / Southgate House / Newport, KY
December 3 / Mercy Lounge / Nashville, TN (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 6 / Majestic Theater / Detroit, MI (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 7 / Intersection / Grand Rapids, MI (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 8 / Oneida Casino / Green Bay, WI (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 10 / Ottos / Dekalb, IL (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 11 / Peoples Court / Des Moines, IA (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 12 / Cotillion Ballroom / Wichita, KS (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
December 13 / Cains Ballroom / Tulsa, OK (w/ Reverend Horton Heat)
LIVE SHOW: 5/25/08 Performing most of their new record, some old faves, and some covers. A few tastes and a zip, as always.
Set list:
01 Lines
02 Thick Skin
03 Everybody’s Trying to be my baby (Carl Perkins)
04 Knockin on the Doghouse Door
05 Jimmy and Bob and Jack
06 Tom Petty
07 King of the Road (Roger Miller)
08 No Sense at All
09 Trying to Get Paid
10 Lawyers, Guns, and Money (Warren Zevon)
11 One Wrong Turn
12 This Morning’s Blues
13 A Thousand Gigs Ago
14 How the Hell Did You Get Back Here
ANNOUNCING A NEW FEATURE: MODERN CLASSICS!
Not that there isn’t enough great music out there—this year is proving to be a banner year both for major label artists like Nas and Lil’ Wayne and for little indie folks like Grand Archives and The Features—but I’ve been noticing lately how many recent albums fell through the cracks, and failed to get the attention they deserved from either me, the blogosphere, or both. So what will constitute a “modern classic� Well, for one thing it’ll have to be a fairly recent release—within a decade or so. For another, it will have to be one of those records where you never skip a track. And having an effect on the industry is gravy, but not required. And a great example of a record that meets these requirements is Berkeley Place’s first featured certified modern classic:
HAIKU D’ETAT-“Self Titled.â€
Haiku D’Etat, on the remarkably diverse and always surprising Project Blowed underground rap label, released their self-titled debut in 1999. The band consisted of underground duo (and friend-and-foe to Joe Budden) The A-Team (Aceyalone and Abstract Rude), and Mikah 9 from The Freestyle Fellowship. (You may also know Abstract from Abstract Tribe Unique, another underground rap band.) The band called itself Haiku d’Etat to signify the “poetry takeover” they hoped would occur.
The album contained a dramatic array of sounds—the dancehall/boom bap pioneered by KRS-One (“Los Dangerousâ€); spacey rhythms punctuated by odd harmonies (“Non Compos Mentisâ€); grime (“Westside Slip N Slideâ€) . . . There’s even a Bob Marley cover (“Kayaâ€). It was also marked by the different style of each of its members. Wu Tang Clan was arguably the best collective to combine gangstas, hippies, thinkers, and ballers, but Haiku didn’t use its diversity to keep the listener off balance. Instead, each of its members used their skills to create a unique, seamless whole. Acey brought his intricate and detailed lyrical skills, which can be off-putting to those who prefer flow; as a counterbalance, Mikah brought his smoother, more improvised jazzy style; and backing them up, Abstract Rude used his rich voice to provide bottom and soul. Most of the production was by “The Elephant†(a.k.a. Fat Jack), who combined samples, live horns and flutes, and random crowd sounds and crying babies to form the intricate tapestry necessary to back a band with such range.
If you’re bored by commercial rap, or curious to hear how deep it can get as an art form, check out this modern classic.
Tags: Hip Hop
All together now: Aaaaawwwww!
Actually, 8 reasons and two reasons to love Elvis remixers. And before you start commenting about what an ignoramus I am, I do know that Elvis wasn’t much of a songwriter. But I submit that these songs are Elvis covers because the songs wouldn’t be famous but for The King’s involvement.
1. Little Sister-Pearl Jam. Is there any song Eddie can’t sing well?
2. Stairway to Led Zeppelin-Neil Pepper. The only better Stairway parody is “Stairway to Gilligan’s Island,” which, if you’re lucky, I’ll post some day.
3. Suspicious Minds-Bush (unreleased studio outtake)
4. Crying in the Chapel Elvish mashed up against the Wailers
5. Suspicious Minds-My Morning Jacket
6. A Little Less Conversation (dance remix)-Elvis himself
7. Play House-Pee Wee Moore. I love this version.
8. Elvis Presley Stole My Car-Drive By Truckers. Not a cover, a tribute, but hilarious.
9. Go here to find a bunch of remixes of The Pet Shop Boys doing “Always On My Mind.” Yeah, they’re about as major lable/un-indie as possible, but I always enjoyed this cover.
Sometimes, I wonder if the only regular reader of Berkeley Place who digs the hippity hop is me. I wonder that.
But in the event that there are some headz out there, I’m letting you know that 9th Wonder (producer extraordinaire, best known for his work with Little Brother) and Murs (reknowned underground rapper) have teamed up for a third project (if you don’t have 3:16, you don’t love underground hip hop). There were a few leaks of it, but this is the official version. You can download it, free and legal, and you can give a donation. Looks like the duo are taking a cue from Saul Williams, who distributed Niggytardust the same way about 6 months ago.
And while I’m on the subject of rap music, I recently read that Game is going after the white king of hip hop because Eminem allegedly told Dr. Dre not to make music with Game anymore. I haven’t heard if the track has actually been released, and apparently The Game denies the whole story, saying he’s focusing on acting right now. Huh? Focusing on acting? Doesn’t L.A.X. drop soon? I got to say that I’m really looking forward to L.A.X., ’cause I think Game drops some of the most consistently good gangsta rap on a major label, but his recent mixtapes are showing age. Like so many giants before him, he may be suffering burnout. We’ll see, I guess, when the album finally comes out.
Today, a double feature.
First, the D. Sticker Ensemble band. When I saw the cover of the new album, “Seasons of Sticker,” I thought this was a joke band. First of all, the font made it look like “Seasons of Sucker.” Second, the track names included “Born With 3 Eyes,” “That’s My Bah!,” and “Space Noodles.” Then I played the first two tracks, and still thought it was a joke band. But as I continued to listen, I realized there’s some real talent here. The music is incredibly varied (“Space Noodles” turned out to be a very interesting instrumental jam), the lyrics are as bizarre as they come, and the album overall is quite good. Theh band’s press release puts them out as a kind of Gnarls Barkley thing, creating a fictional “reclusive Sticker” person, so it’s hard to tell what’s really the deal wtih this group. But from what I can tell, they’re a California group. You can stream a few songs here, which I recommend doing before you buy. This album isn’t for everyone, but those who will like it should really enjoy it.
For fans of: Morphine, Dresden Dolls, Neutral Milk Hotel. And Adam Ant.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Beatles cover)
The other band I’m featuring today is War Tapes, who are releasing their eponymous EP on Sarathan Records. I’m featuring it along side D. Sticker because it’s got a similar sound, although War Tapes is a far more traditional, 1980s Joy Division/New Order/gloom sound kind of band. I know, there are lots of bands with this sound. But this one is a cut above the rest. In particular, “My Mind is Ugly” is a great tune.
https://sites.google.com/a/mogmusicnetwork.com/mmn-quantcast-tag/