J Dilla

This month marks the third anniversary of the death of James Yancey. Known as Jay Dee or J Dilla, Yancey was a prominent hip-hop producer from Detroit. Considered one of the greatest producers of all time, Yancey left behind an exceptional body of work. To me, Yancey represents the transcendence of listening to music. He was a great musician-- consistently inventive and all-around impressive.
Here is a nice essay about Yancey from last year.
Some of my favorite Dilla produced tracks:
1. "Runnin'" by the Pharcyde
This is an extended mix of a song from the Labcabincalifornia album and was one of Dilla's first big songs. The introduction of horns late in the song just really makes it.
2. "Can't You See" by J Dilla
Dilla's probably best known for flipping old samples to make amazing beats, and he strikes absolute gold on this song from the mini-album Jay Love Japan. Dilla breathes new life into an old soul song and it's just beautiful.
3. "Wild" by J Dilla
This song is a bonus track from the re-release of the EP Ruff Draft. Released shortly after Dilla was dropped by MCA and originally released on a small German label only on vinyl, this EP is probably one of the best things he ever released. Made to sound like it was recorded on cassette tape, the album has a wholey unique feeling that created an almost grimey atmosphere. The song wild itself is built on a sample of a kid singing the Slade song "Cum on Feel the Noise" and utilizes bizzare, off-tempo drums. Dilla was hardly as good an emcee as producer, but his music is so good that all a rapper really has to do is ride the beat to make the song enjoyable.
4. "Think Twice" by Jay Dee
This song comes from Dilla's first solo album, Welcome 2 Detroit which functioned as a showcase for his hometown talent. The album was released before he changed his name to J Dilla in order to avoid being confused with Jermaine Dupri, which is something no one wants. The song has a short vocal part before segueing into an extended intstrumental section that creates an exceptional groove. And then there's a shoot out. I guess that's just Detroit for you.
5. "Hold Tight (Featuring Q-Tip)" by Slum Village
Now here's the previously mentioned Slum Village. Dilla joined Slum Village while he was still in high school and functioned as their producer as well as an emcee. The production is warm and tight, but the rapping is sub-par, even my beloved Q-Tip isn't entirely on point. But like I've said, the rapping doesn't even matter that much when the beat's from J Dilla.
6. "Time: The Donut of the Heart" by J Dilla
This instrumental comes from my favorite Dilla release, Donuts. Released three days after his death, Donuts is Dilla's masterpiece. Every beat on the album is perfect and this is just one I like a whole bunch.
7. "The Red" by Jaylib
Jaylib's Champion Sound is a collaborative album between Dilla and producer/rapper Madlib. For the album, Dilla and Madlib rapped over each other's beats. "The Red" is one of the stand outs mostly due to Dilla's superb production.
8. "Whip You with a Strap" by Ghostface Killah
From Ghost's album Fishscale, "Whip You with a Strap" is based off of the Donuts track "One for Ghost." Ghost does a really good job on this track and whole thing just comes together perfectly with Ghost rapping about his childhood to a nostalgia-tinged beat that's textbook melancholy.
9. "Untitled Instrumental" by Jay Dee
This unreleased beat takes a sample from James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." Dilla characteristically takes this it and turns it into something that only he could: a completely independent and satisfying beat.
10. "Fall in Love" by Slum Village
"Fall in Love," from the the Fantastic, Vol. 2 album, is just an amazing song. The warm, crackling production sounds alot like being in love, the Village stays subdued and just rides Dilla's great, almost sentimental beat all the way to heaven.
11. "Lightworks (Featuring Q-Tip and Talib Kweli)" by Busta Rhymes
This song comes from the mixtape Dilligence on which Busta Rhymes raps over exclusively Dilla beat. "Lightworks" is a beat that comes, again, from Donuts. Tip is passable and Talib is pretty great, but Busta's verse is nuts, it's just hand's down great. This beat's great because it takes probably the most out of nowhere sample and makes it amazingly infectious. MF Doom (now known as DOOM) is using this same beat for a song on his new album, however it's just not as good as Busta's stream of consciousness riffing and his creepy, creepy laugh.

So these songs are just an introduction to the rewarding work of James Yancey, if you like them keep digging deeper.

My Favorite Song From 2008

Grouper- Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping

OMG! Christian Bale Freaks Out! Again!

So I guess you guys remember when Christian Bale was arrested for yelling at his mother and sister? Right? It was kind of a big deal because the Dark Knight was coming out. Remember how everyone was all like, "What? You can get arrested in the UK for yelling at someone? That's insane!"? Or was that just me? It might have been just me.
Anyway, this audio of Bale on the set of the new Terminator movie has been making the rounds and if he freaked on his mom and sister like this, then gosh, maybe he should have gone to jail.

So that's pretty crazy, right? I know! And what's up with that wacky "accent" when he speaks all angry like that?
Now that that's out of the way, I can get to what makes this the best thing ever (part 453):
The dance remix!

[via the Hater]
Genius! Pure, unadulterated genius! This is why Web 2.0 was a good idea. Yeah there are a lot of bad Sufjan Stevens covers, but this totally makes up for all that.
Also, there is an mp3.
Lucian Piane- Christian Bale Freaks Out (The Techno Jock Jamz Remix 4 Life!)

Casting a Pall Over the Last Few Weeks

The Silver Jews broke up. This is really sad. They are/were so great. I wil memorialize this the only way I know how:
:(<-that is as big as blogger lets me put the text. Otherwise, that frown emoticon would be fifty times bigger. This is a video of them playing "Smith and Jones Forever" from their last show ever at the Cumberland Caverns (that's right, in a cave) :
The Silver Jews are dead, long live the Silver Jews!

RPM 2009

This month is Record Production Month. During the month of February, people all over the world will be recording their own albums.
From the official site:

• Ten songs or 35 minutes of recorded material, on a CD, mailed or hand-delivered by noon on March 1 (since March 1 is a Sunday, items mailed on March 1 will receive a March 2 postmark, which is acceptable). Make at least two copies, one to send to RPM HQ here:

RPM HQ
10 Vaughan Mall, Suite 1
Portsmouth, NH 03801
USA

...and then the second copy is for your regional listening party, if you plan to attend one. Listening party details will be announced soon!

• Recording can only be done in the month of February – no prerecorded songs.

• All material must be previously unreleased, and we encourage you to write the material during February too.

So, if you're so inclined, you should probably do this. I may post mine at the end of the month, but it's up in the air. Remember, it's ten songs OR 35 minutes, so you could do a bunch of really short things. Or you could just record some stories and not even bother with music (this is called spoken word). Really, it's whatever you want to do. You can sign up at the site.