I’m coming back to Oakland, Friday 1/18 to spin at 45 Sessions.
Come see about me.
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By “rediscovery” I just mean “old records”…but I wanted it to sound classier. But yeah, I meant to do something just like this in 2011…and never ended up doing it and made sure I didn’t flake again this year. Or, er, for last year. (I also used this as a way to test out live-streaming audio via ustream.tv…I’m going to try that again for a live show next week, hopefully taking requests on the fly.) The defining sound in 2012 for me was definitely sweet soul. It’s always a favorite but I think more so than any other year I can remember, that really dominated what ended up in heavy rotation for me on a personal level. In hindsight, I probably could/should have diversified this list with some other tunes but I wanted this to be a “gut-level” list of songs that made the most impact on me in the previous year. Episode 32: 2012 Rewind Subscribe to this and future podcasts. Songs included (with links to original posts if applicable):
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Sometime next week, I’m going to try to host a live streaming “radio” show from the house, probably via ustream.tv or a similar site. And like an actual live show, I’ll pre-program some music but also leave things open to requests on the fly, via email or twitter. In the meantime, if you have requests for genres/artists/etc. leave them in the comments below. If I do this, I’ll try to do it for at least two hours so I’ll have plenty of room to work stuff in. CommentsIt’s probably not a coincidence that these four were the least easy to “categorize” and therefore, ended up by their lonesome…except to keep company with one another. Don’t call them afterthoughts though – all were heavy in the rotation this past year. Comments
Eilon Paz’s interview/photo shoot with me for his Dust & Grooves site is now up. It’s a real honor and privilege to have worked with him. As a special bonus, there’s also a 30 min mix I had just for the site. CommentsFor real…I thought I didn’t like this song much, (mostly) because A) it’s overplayed way too much at sporting events and B) much as I like “the hook = the song” this pushes things a bit too far. But that said, “Na Na Hey Hey” has a delicious backstory that I’m still not 100% clear on except to say that the group “Steam” never really existed outside of this song and supposedly, it was built from a drum track from a previous single by one of the core songwriters.1 The thing is though…I totally forgot that the song has a rather long drum break in the middle and I was reminded of this when, by coincidence, two of my “recent arrivals” came with covers of “Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye.” Here’s the first, from the orquesta Tejana band, Mexican Revolution: Mexican Revolution: Na Na Hey Hey Really dig the use of vibes on here and the vocals, while loyal to the original, have that Tex-Mex soul thing going. Their cover’s laidback-ness also translate to the drums, which do spark into more life during the break but despite a very insistent conga player, it’s pleasant but nothing to write home about. In contrast, this version from Brazil’s Wilson Das Neves is a bit shorter yet still sweeter: Wilson Das Neves: Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Given that he’s a percussionist, it’s no surprise that the drums knock on this cover (it also, depending on your perspective, mercifully spares you the rest of the song lyrics). Bonus tracks: Both of these albums have other worthwhile fare besides a cover of a one-hit wonder so I wanted to highlight some of those songs too. For example, Das Neves’s album has this great slice of Tropicalia soul: Meanwhile, Mexican Revolution drops a simply lovely ballad:
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I was asked if I thought 2012 was a “good year for hip-hop” though I’m not sure what that question means anymore. Commercially, hip-hop has become semi-marginal again relative to the heights of its commercial dominance but was that ever a meaningful metric? You could debate the merits of how “classic albums” came out during the year…except that classic-ness isn’t something you can decree in the present moment. For me, I’m simply happy if I can squeeze hours of enjoyment out of various songs and in that regard, 2012 was indeed, a good year for hip-hop. The following list wasn’t meant to be a top 10 in any formal sense. Just happened to net out that way. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music I could have pulled off almost any song off of this album. Killer Mike + El-P = a remarkable collaboration and they provided a 1-2 punch to the gut on their album. “Political hip-hop” has gotten a bad rap partially because some artists fall short on trade craft, assuming polemics alone will get the job done. Mike and El-P understand it differently: your message is only as good as the music empowers it to be. This is church, barbecue, amen, pulpit. Pac Div: Automatic With Kendrick Lamar soaking up so much of the attention this year, Pac Div’s quality GMB may have gotten overlooked but I enjoyed the hell out of it. The crew favors a timeless use on 808-powered beats to back their Cali-specific slang and sensibility. I’m not always a fan of hyper-minimalist tracks that deliberately withhold a heavier snare crack but this was one case where the stripped down sound works perfectly. DJ Khaled feat. Scarface, Nas and DJ Premier: Hip Hop A perfect collabo featuring Scarface and Nas murdering their respective bars plus DJ Premier doing his thing on the scratched chorus. I’m not a big fan of Khaled but I’m a huge fan of this specific song. Freeway feat. Jakk Frost, Mailk B and Tana Da Beast: Beards R Us This very well might have made my list on the strength of a single line by Jakk Frost: “leave ‘em like Pete Rock/over you/reminiscing.” Beard game, er’day. Meek Mill feat. Drake: Amen Honestly, I can’t ride for either Meek or Drake on this song, lyrically but take the chorus + the track and I can’t resist it. More gospel piano please. Flying Lotus feat. Earl Sweatshirt and Captain Murphy: Between Friends I love the thicket of sound happening here: the atmospheric electric piano, the impossibly deep-toned vocals by both MCs, the surprise “bonus” beat that tails the end. I still can’t tell if it’s all quite simple but sounds dense or quite dense but sounds simple. Even trying to untangle my thoughts of the song makes me appreciate it all the more. Amerigo Gazaway: Runnin’ I know including this song paints me as a hopeless ’90s romantic. Guilty as charged but I still think Gazaway does a sublime job of pairing the Pharcyde with his recreations of Tribe tracks. You knew this would probably sound pretty good but this good? Blu and Exile: O Heaven Each artist is talented on their own but their partnership produces something even greater. I love hearing how they work together and “O Heaven” is the latest in a line of songs where Exile’s knack for twisting up soul samples synchs up beautifully with Blu’s distinctive flow and voice. I could have picked any number of songs off their latest album but maybe I like the nod of this tune to their previous album, Below the Heavens. Mystikal: Hit Me What’s so great about this song is that it took a idea that might have subconsciously occurred to most of us – Mystikal as James Brown – and then makes it so apparent that it’s amazing we hadn’t been thinking it all along – MYSTIKAL AS JAMES BROWN. Kendrick Lamar: Sing About Me.mp3 What, you think I forgot Kendrick? This is another case of simply picking one from many potential options. Lamar was dumping out the roof (do do do do do) with tracks in 2012 but besides “His Pain II” (which I already wrote about), I don’t think any song by him will haunt me as much as “Sing About Me.” It’s a remarkable feat of literary lyricism backed by a track that literally hits the right notes of melancholy. May we all live forever in song. CommentsI always want Keys to be a better songwriter (or pick better songs written for her) than she typically does. This is a classic example of one of her “going big!” songs that has some of the wackiest lyrics ever: “she’s got her feet on the ground/and she’s burning it down”? Really? But the thing with Keys’s “going big!” songs is that The. Girl. Can. Go. Big. She makes it rain so hard that I’m even willing to overlook the laughably corny Citibank ad this song debuted on.
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