Friday Funtime

Yup, this still makes me laugh.


Warren G feat Nate Dogg - Regulate

Bonus cover-ish track from French rapper Cuizinier, who's in a group called TTC with Ghostproof-bedroom dance party favorite Teki Latex.
Cuizinier and Saphir - Regulate
BuyCuizinier's "Pour Le Filles Vol. 2"

Feelin' Frost-y

TKA - Diamond Girl

When hip-hop goes emo

If the criticism most often leveled at mainstream rappers is that their constant "look at my rims/Timbs/hos/clothes" bragging is hollow and just plain tired out, I've always felt that the parallel problem with many indie ones (or dirty-backpack rappers, as Wendy Williams calls them) is that their rhymes often consist of similarly tired complaints about how they'll never be famous, since they're diametrically opposed to the top-40 gangsta game.
While he definitely falls into that trap on occasion, Slug — the rapper half of Atmosphere— is a pretty great writer. I've been in love/hate with him over the years; in addition to his many songs about Lucy the ex from hell, he's expressed some pretty fucked views on women in general. An ex put "The Ocean" on a mix for me after we broke up, and it was 1,000 times meaner and more imaginative than the songs I put on his (Elliot Smith's "Just Somebody That I Used To Know," Leonard Cohen, etc.). Seriously, check out the lyrics. Ow.
Slug's perpetually glowering stance has earned him an unfortunate biracial-Eminem label. He's been at it for longer, though, and I think Ant's production makes Atmosphere altogether more enjoyable. Three songs, two poison-pens and one love letter:
Atmosphere - Fuck You Lucy From God Loves Ugly
Atmosphere - Reflections From Seven's Travels
Felt (Slug and Murs) - Dirty Girl From Felt 2: A Tribute to Lisa Bonet

A Pixies sample!? (An open marriage-proposal to Diplo)

I'm doing an 'ode to my 1990s raver days' post really soon, and one of the reasons I love Diplo is that he's still coming with songs that I could have heard at Palladium back before it became an NYU dorm. Also, he looks just like the boys in Liquid Sky jeans that would line the hallways chanting "X, X, X, K, K, K" at you the second you got into the party; for this I find him very attractive (hangs head in shame). Hey, if he was good enough for M.I.A....

Diplo - Must Be a Devil - from an Itunes Exclusive live session
Diplo - Diplo Your Head
Spank Rock - Put That Pussy On Me (Diplo Tonite Remix)

He and Switch are playing a handful of tour dates this September, and New York is sadly left out.
Check out Bonde Do Role, a baile funk outfit signed to Diplo's Mad Decent label: (Myspace)

Friday Funtime

He's Shock G! He's Humpty! He's Shock G! He's Humpty! He's Shock G AND Humpty!
Tupac ft. Digital Underground - I Get Around

How long is a piece of string?

Some of our nation's finest minds attempt to untangle the most annoying rejoinder in the English language.
Alela Diane - Pieces of String
(myspace)

Speaking of idioms, I've used several of these great kids' drawings for mixtape covers and whatnot. Check 'em out — I bet you'll fall "in love" with them, just like this guy did:

Coupla weird dudes.

My first show was They Might Be Giants, at Toad's Place in 1992. While it has probably been a good ten years since I've listened to them, the Johns will always hold a special place in my heart. Partially for nostalgia's sake, but also because I really respect the fact that they've been together for decades and have parlayed their creativity into countless projects, never diluting their nerdtastic charm.
Don't Let's Start(from 1986's self-titled)
Whistling In the Dark (from 1990's Flood)
Space Suit (from 1992's Apollo 18)

By my junior year of high school, Dean and Gene were my new favorite two weird dudes. In the school of rock, if TMBG were Mathletes, Ween used to be Mathletes but they dropped out because it was cutting into their "smoking js and playing guitar in Tommy's dad's garage" time. They were just more my kind of people, you know?
From my favorite Weener, The Mollusk:
Mutilated Lips
The Blarney Stone
From Chocolate and Cheese:
Baby Bitch
Joppa Road

In the interest of doing a two-weird-dudes trifecta, I'm posting my favorite song by Sparks. A great deal of their very large body of work is so, so much more bizarre than this, but in a way that makes my pussy cringe. This song rulz though:
Angst In My Pants

I watched this five times in a row.

I honestly believe that Youtube is the greatest thing that has happened to our culture. One might argue that the Internet is more important. And they'd be right, only because the Internet is the conduit for Youtube.


The last fifteen seconds just might blow your myeeend(freak).

Let's Have a Pity Party!

(depressing songs that sound upbeat)
MC Honky - "What a Bringdown"
From the album "I am the Messiah," side project of Mark Oliver Everett/Eels
Of Montreal - "I Was Never Young"
Totally! I never even liked cartoons! Sniffle!
Har Mar Superstar - "Alone Again, Naturally"
A cover that makes me want to crawl under the covers.
Bruce McCullough - "When You're Fat"
Dave Foley is my favorite Kid in the Hall, but "Shame Based Man" makes Bruce McCullough a close second.
Spinto Band - "Brown Boxes"
There's never been a sadder kazoo chorus.

Can't leave out the man who invented the genre:
Morrisey - "Tomorrow"