WAIT, YOU CAN RAP?!?!
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Music
It’s said that the best things in life are free. My fellow Northeastern brother proves that proverb to be right on the money. Jelani has just released his first full album, a free download, on his website. What does your $0.00 get you? A damn fine rap album, that’s what. Damn fine.
I’m not going to go into Jelani’s backstory of how he came up in Harlem, or about his dad, Dapper Dan, I’ll leave that to him. I wanna focus on what’s important here - a fucking fantastic rap record. Wait, You Can Rap?!?! is dripping with sincerity, and what I mean by sincerity is that you can tell that this record is really the culmination of a life’s effort devoted to making something wonderful. He says it better than I can, so instead of trying to paraphrase and losing the meaning, just take a look at the first lyrics of this record:
There’s nothing anyone can say or do to me to stop the music, the product that I’m gonna put out, and at the end of the day, the talent will overcome anything. To have the right to talk about what I want, to have the right to give my opinion, because I back everything up. You all thought I was talking !$#? when I first came out? Now y’all see I back everything up. Back to back to back to back to back. So, basically, shut the #$&! up. Stop talking to me. And I’m not coming on some ‘Do you want me to do music? Do you want me to not do music? ‘ I want to do music, because I know people need my music.
Speaking of music, let’s talk about that. This album has some decidedly tight beats, from the simple piano and drums of “The Proposal” to the sample of “Stand on the Word” by Celestial Choir playing in the background of “Pain.” I particularly like the “Stand on the Word” sample. Listen to what the song is about, and tell me that a chorus of “That’s how the good Lord works” isn’t perfect.
Now, I’ve got to be honest, Jelani’s style isn’t my usual thing. I’m more of an Aesop Rock/MF DOOM kind of hip-hop guy, but I’ll make an exception for this album. I’ve already recommended it to all of my friends, and really, it’s a great album, and it’s free! Go download it now! If you dig it, leave Jelani some love on his MySpace, and tell him Andy sent you.
Tags: Jelani, Northeastern, Rap, Wait You Can Rap?!?!
A BRIEF INTERLUDE
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Music
I’m working on a couple of major posts - album reviews for Jelani and Eroica - but I’m still working on them. These are good guys making good music, and I want to give them the best review I can put together (unbiased, of course).
Downside: No review now.
Upside: Random tracks!
These two tracks are a summery couple that I like to hear on a sunny afternoon. First, I’ve got a track from a new band from Seattle II, DANANANANAYKROYD. Is that name completely ridiculous? Yes. Is it fun to say? Even more yes. This track is from their super fun EP, Some Dresses.
DANANANANAYKROYD - Some Dresses
Secondly, this one is a classic At The Drive-In track from one of their earliest albums, Acrobatic Tenement.
At The Drive-In - Star Slight
Tags: At The Drive-In, DANANANANAYKROYD, Eroica, Jelani, Procrastinating
MIDLAKE: REMIXED
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Music
I’d heard the name Midlake thrown around a few times before, but I’d never checked out their stuff until last week when I heard an absolutely mindblowing remix from Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve over at Electrorash. I was listening to my Hype Machine feed at work and this song came on and I stopped. I was floored at my desk. Floored. When I get into “the zone,” the music I’m listening to takes a backseat as code flows from my fingertips, comme Moses at the rock, but this song made me stop and take notice. For seven minutes of pure beauty. BtWS have done with this track what I think all remixers try to do: take a track that’s already good and make it a masterpeice. Why are you still reading this? You should be listening by now!
Midlake - Roscoe (Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve Remix)
I have a second Midlake remix as a bonus! Here’s a remix of Young Bride done by Cassettes Won’t Listen. I wouldn’t say that I’m as impressed as I was with the BtWS remix, but this one is still really good. I’d think about including this track as part of a calm section in a set.
Midlake - Young Bride (Cassettes Won’t Listen Remix)
Tags: Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, Cassettes Won't Listen, Midlake, Roscoe, Young Bride
POP LEVI
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Music
ME SLEEPY NO MAKE WORDS GOOD
MUSIC MAKE EARS HAVE FUN
POP LEVI GOOD
Pop Levi - Dita Dimone
Pop Levi - Sugar Assault Me
Pop Levi - Never Never Love (Pink Enemy Mix)
NORTHEASTERN BROTHER LOVE
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Music
As some people might know, I’m a student at Northeastern University (Huskies represent!). As not only a Northeastern student, but also a member of WRBB, Northeastern’s radio station, one of the things that I hear fairly often is “Bands from Northeastern (usually) suck.” I’ve heard many of my friends say things like “If you think of where good bands come from, you don’t think Northeastern.”
I think that’s bullshit. And I have proof.
Exhibit A: Jelani Day.
I’ve been blown away by Jelani ever since I saw him perform at WRBB’s annual block party. He’s got a smooth flow that I can tell comes straight from the soul. The soul of a complex man with a lot to say. I’ve only heard the one track up on his myspace and the “leak” of the intro track to his new album (which is going to be released next Tuesday (the 24th). I’ve got the leaked track here for your listening pleasure. If you like it, head over to Jelani’s myspace and drop him a comment. Tell him Andy sent you.
Jelani Day - Wait, You Can Rap?!?! (Intro)
Exhibit B: Eroica
I’ll admit I’m a little biased towards Eroica. They’ve got what I like, and they’ve got it in spades. Fun with time? Check. Proggy solos? Check. Headbanging awesomeness? Check and check. I also went to high school and lived with with their bassist, Zivi, who is a pretty pretty good guy. Biases aside, Eroica reminds me of The Mars Volta, and I mean that in the best way possible. All the things that I liked about The Mars Volta’s first album (De-loused in the Comatorium, if you’re not savvy), Eroica seems to have taken, stripped off the drug-induced wankery, and infused a sort of 65daysofstatic post-rock-metal-epic-ness. They don’t have any tracks for download yet, but you can stream their new EP in its entirety over at their MySpace. Check ‘em out, I love it!
Eroica - Hisen the Architect @ MySpace
Tags: Awesome, Eroica, Huskies, Jelani, Northeaster, WRBB
TESTING ONE TWO
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Music
I’m testing out a new hosting site for the music files for this blog.
Q: What does that mean?
A: Some fresh new tracks, dammit!
I’ve got a trio of fucking excellent tracks with that hard hitting electro sound I so adore. First up, a track from my favorite frenchman, Danger. Second, a new one from Late of the Pier, who I hear have a new album coming soon.. Finally, a new one from my boys representing Boston, Hot Pink DeLorean. I also hear that Casey has something new going on with my man David. I hear they’re doing something real cool real soon.
Here’s the music:
We Are Scientists - Chick Lit (Danger TV Remix Edit)
Late of the Pier - Focker
Hot Pink DeLorean - Freak Night (Feat. Knowlton Walsh)
Tags: Casey, Danger, David Day, FTW, Hot Pink DeLorean, Late of the Pier, We Are Scientists
ZOMBIE POST
Posted by andyleclair | Filed under Uncategorized
We’re back from the dead!
Well, not really. I was never really dead, although at some points it really felt like it.
BUT ENOUGH OF THAT! THAT WAS THE PAST! THIS IS THE FUTURE!
I’ve been all kinds of busy doing things like building a MiniMT (pics coming) and working on restoring an old bike I’ve found (also, pics coming) and there’s been a dearth of updates around here because of it, and THAT IS OVER. I’ve got all of this motivation burning up inside and it’s coming out (not literally).
I’ve also been working on installing Leopard on my home server, and it’s been going… slowly. Hopefully I can get something working by the end of the day, otherwise, I’m leaving it Ubuntu (maybe a dual boot with XP). Hopefully the hassle of having a Hackintosh is worth it, outside of the obvious nerd factor. More to come on this front later.
Tags: DIY, MiniMT, Multitouch, Thriller, Zombies
