Be Young (and Shut Up)

I've been having dreams in which a 90 year-old Robert Frost commits suicide by self-immolation because gay marriage is illegal but charity auctions are allowed to sell humans.
Other reoccurring dreams find me socially ostracized for some ill-defined and uncontrollable reason (everyone either leaves the party together, or are in a play for which I didn't try out, or a part of a cult, or become 12 year-old girls in a living room who ignore me). I wake up feeling nervous and tired.
I woke up this morning and realized the summer had finally started. No more summer classes. I felt like throwing up.

"Don't Talk"- Bullion (The Beach Boys vs. J Dilla)
"I Can't Talk About It"- El Perro Del Mar
"Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings"- Sunset Rubdown

Dilla Doc

Okayplayer posted this short documentary about J Dilla a few days ago. It includes interviews with J. Rocc, Peanut Butter Wolf, Mayer Hawthorne, and more.

Stussy - J Dilla Documentary Prt3 (of 3) from Stussy on Vimeo.

You know, I'd really like to hear that original version of Donuts. I truly believe that that album is a feat of amazing skill and beauty. It's not just a beat tape but a collage of ideas, all realized in an interesting way. I don't think it's that far off from classic era Guided By Voices or Sebadoh in creating lo-fi, collage-like music that packs a lot of good music in as short a time as possible. To hear it as Dilla intended (a condensed, even more collaged recording) would be amazing.

One thing I didn't know about Dilla before this video was that he sampled Stereolab for Busta. The production is really good, even if Busta is lackluster.

And here's the song Dilla sampled:
Stereolab-Come and Play In the Milky Night

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.

Common's "New Wave"

The song "New Wave" from Common's Electric Circus is really crazy and really great. Produced by ?uestlove of the Roots, J Dilla, and keyboardist James Poyser, it features the odd choice of Laetitia Sadier from the French Structuralist pop group Stereolab singing the hook. Common raps over a minor key piano, haunted house organs, and some sci-fi synths before Sadier comes in with pretty, sunny hook creating a strange disconnect between the two pieces, but upon repeat listens, they merge into a great piece of pop.
Common- New Wave

Bonus:
Common- Come Close
This is the first Common song I ever heard and instantly fell for it. The song features Mary J. Blidge on the hook.
Stereolab- Ping Pong
A great song that sarcastically deals with the cyclical view of war in history.