Mixtape Riot Menu

mp3s

Permalink:

The N.A.S.A. Alliance

posted by • January 14, 2009 • Leave a comment

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/2555969[/vimeo]

Where did these dudes come from?? It’s not like on first listen, these tracks sound so radically different from some other electro hip-pop out there right now. But the duo Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) and Ze Gonzales (DJ Zegon) that make N.A.S.A. (North America/South America), have constructed what at least has potential to be a really great project. With a full-length release due next month and a complimenting documentary (?) in the works, they are at least worth keeping an eye on. You can’t really listen to their tracks without thinking ‘mashup,’ but leaving it at that seems somewhat dismissive of the incredible collaborative work that went into this endeavor. These aren’t mere remixes, but original tracks with a choir of featured artists that don’t make up your everyday trip down to the recording studio: David Byrne, Chuck D, Seu Jorge, Santogold, M.I.A., Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Kanye, Lykke Li… WTF?? So again, I ask – where did these dudes come from? Check their MySpace page for more. Continue reading…

  • wc • January 14, 2009

    That’s the same question I’ve been asking. I started getting these SqueakeClean newsletters (probably via Scion or Antics), and dismissed them as post-Hollertronix wannabes. But when I first heard of the music video involving Chuck D, Obey, and the director duo.. and then numerous other projects involving Santogold, Kanye, and seeing them perform on the same bill as Justice, its like I HAD to notice.

    And the song ‘Money’ has more to it than just its musical qualities.

    The album’s contributor list absolutely nuts. It has to come from their combined networking right? Speigel being Spike Jonze’s brother and former producer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

  • prince of ballard • January 19, 2009

    did sam spiegel, of spiegel catalog fame buy these artists??? everyone has a price. so maybe he used daddys money to gett these artists to work with a no-name?????? i’m not trying to hate, i’m just trying to make sense of somthing that doesnt add up.

  • Thanks for leaving a comment, please keep it clean. HTML allowed is strong, code and a href.

Permalink:

Slow & Haunting

posted by • January 14, 2009 • Leave a comment

Blood Bank coverEngineers coversaturdays__youth_m83

Bon Iver is dropping their new EP Blood Bank in less than a week and if they don’t hit a sophomore slump, hopefully it signals another strong full length to come later this year. Those not familiar with their hauntingly beautiful debut album For Emma, Forever Ago should make a point to check it out. I’ve always had somewhat of a taste for more downtempo & mellow grooves, but over the last year this has been taking me in more of a shoe-gazer / indie-rock direction. So in the spirit of sort of slow and haunting tunes on these cold and dark days, I wanted to share a couple tracks by the Engineers, M83, and Air (Virgin Suicides anyone?). And just to add a little quirkiness too, Bon Iver mixes things up a little with a live cover they did of the Outfield‘s (one?) hit Your Love. Continue reading…

  • Thanks for leaving a comment, please keep it clean. HTML allowed is strong, code and a href.

Permalink:

So High You Can’t Get Over It

posted by • January 6, 2009 • Leave a comment

georgeclinton1

I wish I could say that I grew up listening to hip-hop, but I didn’t. Back in San Francisco, I went to a small school where you had to listen to Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead to fit in (don’t hate!). But when the spacey, meandering jam sessions and 11 minute guitar solos got, well, boring, it wasn’t long before my friends and I ventured into the universe of George Clinton. I can almost imagine myself hearing Atomic Dog for the first time in middle school and going, So THAT’s what a beat sounds like!

Fast forward a few years, during which I’m sleeping on every great hip-hop artist to come up in the Bay, and a Deadhead friend introduces me to George Clinton’s Greatest Funkin’ Hits. I remember very clearly listening to Flashlight and wondering who the hell that dude was with the crazy smoove and yet nasal voice. Did he have a cold or was that, like, his thing? Either way, I shamelessly began asking people my age if they knew who A Tribe Called Quest was and if they were any good. Hooked.

George Clinton was undoubtedly my bridge to hip-hop. I used to get so geeked every time I’d hear a sample, whether it was on The Chronic or Del’s more brazenly titled I Wish My Brother George Was Here (produced by none other than his cousin, Ice Cube). Might I even propose that the G in G-Funk doesn’t stand for Gangsta? Wow, I kill me. With that, I present to you a couple of George’s collaborations with four rap giants of the day. Continue reading…

  • Thanks for leaving a comment, please keep it clean. HTML allowed is strong, code and a href.