THE TOFU HUT

A hundred bucks don't get you very far these days, do it?

=================================================================
Meeting the Neighbors Special: Hey DJ

I couldn't help but hear monju bosatsu, when in response to the big ol' audioblog list he cried out, "Yes, but which ones are the *good* ones?" Corralling a new audioblog is a difficult enough task; if the type of music is one that you're unfamiliar with, it can be downright impossible... without a guide.

Herein, th' Hut will take hold of your hand and show you the sights from a select few of my favorite audioblogs, each one chockfulla downloading goodness for those willing to take a few chances... and who knows? Jordi sez you just might learn something along the way.

Today's theme is ONLINE DJs: remixers, mashers and mixers who ply their quasi-legal music on the great big intarweb. Many professional DJs put a lot of their work online to try and attract offers to gig; there's also a whole buncha auters and amateurs who love to post their efforts for review, but separating the wheat from the chaff can be tedious work. Here's two of the very best of what the Tofu thresher has reaped, complete with some descriptive testimony and a list of suggested grabs available for DL!

DJ Dopplebanger
Dopplebanger's stock in trade is mashes: elegant portmanteaus of songs that generally share little DNA at all, engineered into great, lively Frankensteins. Dopplebanger's diversity of taste and genre produces some great ideas that function much better than they sound on paper; both Aaliyah and 50 Cent improbably benefit from accompaniment provided by Sonic Youth, to say nothing of what Prince's "Gett Off" does to accentuate Missy's "Work It".

Dopplebanger's work succeeds in two different ways; first, as in the aforementioned examples, he reinforces the thrust of a song by finding a brother in arms. These kind of mashes are to the ear what a double martini is to your sobriety: more simply means MORE. Other tracks subvert one, or sometimes BOTH, of the original meanings in favor of some sort of musical blackbird pie. The addition of DJ Villeneuve's house music to Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" turns the two together into a delicate and sweet pastry; Mobb Deep is defanged by The Rapture, but not before they imbue the latter's double-dutch electro-pop an edginess that it could never accomplish on its own; the strange offspring of Khia, M83 and Aphex Twin (unimaginatively, but evocatively, titled "Pussylicker") is neither fish nor fowl, lurching wildly across the dancefloor like a wild beast.

DJ Dopplebanger is a mad beat scientist with a diverse and fabulous menagerie available at the click of a mouse; go forth and get down with the experiments.

Recommended tracks to DL: Don't miss the deceptively simple mashes of White Stripes with Biggie on "Hypnotize the Army", Vangelis with Grandmaster Flash on "Flash Runner" and A-Ha with the Jungle Brothers on "Take On Me Brotha"; the Usher over music from Clint Mansell's 'Requiem for a Dream' is a favorite that I've already hyped on th' Hut; there's also a brand new mash of Snoop and Justin's 'Signs' that ups the disco quotient considerably, leaving a potent ass-shaker of a track even MORE bootylicious than could be deemed possible.
-
Pojmasta
A Poj remix is unmistakable; th' Masta likes to create "glitch" mixes, which is to say that everything is very finely chopped (and only lightly screwed). The final effect is that of an impossibly speedy and accurate digital dj, slashing songs into a thousand syncopated mini beats.

In theory, this sounds repetitive and unpleasant; but in practice, Poj's esoteric skills makes the spastic cuts amount to something more than just lost space. A listener familiar with the track will re-hear it again and be forced to reasses the music; a first time listener will discover an entirely different sonic landscape, filled with bumps and soundless valleys. This can be subtle, as on Poj's gentle doubletime beat mix of Massive Attack's "Teardrops", or revolutionary, as the violently jumpy reimagining of LL's "Mama Said Knock You Out" or the garage-meets-bebop remix Destiny's Child's "Jumpin', Jumpin'". Pojmasta mixes are often whimsical (the bouncing bass of the reimagined "Inspector Gadget"), hyperactive (the glitch-upon-glitch of the Madness' "Baggy Trousers") and imminently danceable (Kylie's extra slinky chopped-up "Slow"); the same holds true for his original electronic pieces ("D//E" and "Klapt" sound like early Richard D. James).

Poj's approach to DJing is downright zen: it's not what he adds to a track so much as what he takes away. By punching a thousand holes in a song, he has created a new readymade work of art. He also gets me up outta my seat; I think he'll do the same for you.

Recommended tracks to DL: The Poj take on "Toxic" long ago supplanted the original as my favorite, ditto for "Lucky Star" (the Basement Jaxx/Dizzee, not the Madonna). Even Diplo's 'Piracy' mix of M.I.A's "$10" pales beside Poj's. The long form "Scummer mix" provides thirty nonstop minutes of chopped and mashed excitement to liven up your run, party or bar mitzvah; I wouldn't want to live in a world without it.
-
Next time we'll take a peek at DJs Osymyso and FakeID.

=================================================================

Labels: meet the neighbors

TALES FROM THE RED-HEADED STRANGER

FORKSCLOVETOFU SEZ: The Red Headed Stranger is the nom de plume of the Hut's country music scholar.

On receipt of today's piece, the RHS made me swear a solemn vow not to cut loose with any introductory monkeyshines.

"None o' yer tomfoolery this time, Mister Tutti-Frutti! We's praisin' th' dead an' this sumbitch deserves a lil' goddamn dignity."

I agree. Here's the Stranger.

Jimmy Martin - "Sophronie"

Jimmy Martin - "Rock Hearts"

I'm riding in the back seat of a 1970s-era limo and the King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin, is behind the wheel. He's attempting to navigate this land shark – his daily mode of transportation – out of the cramped driveway at his home in Hermitage, TN; just outside Nashville. He backs up, backs up ... until THUNK! The limo slams into a tree. I expect Martin to get out and inspect the damage, but he doesn't even blink. He knows the car can take it -- and besides, for him, banging into a tree was how you knew you'd gone far enough. He calmly points the limo toward the highway and we're off to Shoney's for a long interview over a longer breakfast.

Jimmy Martin was a man who pushed things to extremes. If Bill Monroe put a 16-horsepower engine into mountain music and created bluegrass, Jimmy Martin drove that sonofabitch harder than anyone. When he rocked, he rocked hard; when he sang a sad song, you believed he was miserable; when he delivered a gospel song you could imagine Heaven was near. If there's such a thing as emo bluegrass, Martin was it.

Martin traveled from his hometown of Sneedville, TN, to Nashville in 1946. He found his way to Monroe, his idol; he auditioned, impressed the great man with his harmonies and propulsive guitar playing and was made a Blue Grass Boy straightaway. During his tenure, Martin's high harmony singing pushed Monroe's lead into the stratosphere, effectively creating the "high lonesome sound" we now know (as Martin himself would tell you). But when Martin went solo a few years later, he began to suspect (with some justification) that Monroe wanted to sabotage his career -- including keeping him from his oft-stated greatest ambition, to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. A half-century later, his eyes still welled with tears as he told me of both his affection for Monroe and his frustration at their estrangement.

The Opry didn't really need Monroe's disapproval to deny Martin entrée – he rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. He did not suffer fools gladly and if he thought you a fool, he just couldn't stop himself from telling you. His standards were just as high for himself; he complained to me that he couldn't find pickers good enough to play in his band and that he didn't like any recording he had ever made. He was wrong on that last point: his records, especially the early ones, crackle with the same energy that he brought to his famously roof-raising live shows. He named himself "The King of Bluegrass," but anyone else would have been a fool to try and challenge him for the title. If Monroe could be the "Father of Bluegrass," Martin might as well be the King.

His recordings became more infrequent as he grew older and he was semi-retired by 1980. He continued to perform at bluegrass festivals from April to October every year and never gave less than his best. As late as a month ago, he was looking forward to playing at the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival in June, but it wasn't to be. Just over a year ago, Martin was diagnosed with bladder cancer and it finally defeated him. He died on May 14, 2005 at Nashville's Alive Hospice and was buried four days later in Spring Hill Cemetery in Madison, TN; beneath a tall, elaborate tombstone extolling his accomplishments that, naturally, he designed himself. The King of Bluegrass was determined to have the last word.

Martin told me that his plot was close enough to that of Roy Acuff (whom he adored) that "I can reach out of my grave when I get buried and get me a flower or two." And if Jimmy Martin believed he could do that, then I do too.
-
Visit Martin's official website, and read his bio: "When he is at home, Jimmy enjoys taking care of his farm and watching boxing matches on television. He remembers listening to the great Joe Louis on the battery radio back in the hills of Sneedville as a young boy. Jimmy still thinks that Joe Louis is the best boxer in the world!" He loved his hunting dogs, too.
-
Buy the Country Music Hall of Fame's wonderful Martin compilationThe King of Bluegrass. Do NOT pay $50 for it, which is how much it's going for on Amazon.com.
-
Check out the critically acclaimed documentary on Martin, King of Bluegrass. It's okay to buy that from Amazon.
-
Visit the International Bluegrass Music Museum, which includes Martin in its Hall of Honor.
-
Learn about Hermitage's other most famous resident, President Andrew Jackson.

=================================================================
spiffy

Perhaps it was inevitable: combine spinnas with fronts and your get sponts.

Wouldn't these rip the inside of your lip all to hell?
-
LEEEEEEROOOOYYYYY JEEEENKINSSS!
-
Tuwa's Back!
-
These handpainted reproductions of old Indian horror movies are pretty awesome; I'm seriously considering getting a T-shirt with this on it.
-
New singles reviews from yours truly over at Stylus.
Spoilers: I like Amerie and Gwen, Coldplay and My Chemical Romance not so much.

As long as you're sniffing about Stylus, there's an excellent essay on the state of the US Billboard charts that bears a read. Were you aware that Mario (the Chris Rock lookin' one, not the Italian plumber) was at number one for nine whole weeks this year? Can you name the song?

Shit be floatin' HIGH, ya'll.
-
It's rare that I care to indulge my taste for schadenfreude, but watching a flock of fainting goats going all "Pass-the-Pig" is just the thing to satisfy my dark side.

Mowses Hum Pij
I'm a sucker for "Archy and Mehitabel" style animal diaries.

=================================================================

Labels: clicky, music, Red Headed Stranger

Dusty Grooves Give Good Music

=================================================================
glisten: skimming the surface noise

The Pitter Pats - "Bury Me Dead"

The Hueys - "You Ain't No Hippie"

In the spirit of Soul Sides' Black Label Collection, Th' Hut is both excited and proud to offer a new regular feature: skimming the surface noise. The skimming tracks are analog-to-digital transfers of 78 and 45 RPM cuts from a number of genres; you'll find gospel, bluegrass, jazz, quartet singing and folk music in the mix. All of this material has been provided by the good graces of Good Ol' Pops Tofu. Every track is either horrendously obscure or simply out of print; you're unlikely to see this music anywhere else. Beathunters and DJ's should keep an eye peeled for the surface noise imprint; you ain't gonna have THESE hooks, I promise.

As the title and the source suggests, skimming tracks are going to be clad in a bit of surface noise; this may sound a bit disarming to modern-day laser-eared listeners, but I find a reasonable (read: not obtrusive) amount of surface noise to be nostalgiac, warm and somewhat desirable. Rather than give you some sort of sterilized copy of the original, here's the real dirty dirty, just like it would sound on the shellac today. If you can't handle that, Jack, you can stick it up your filter.

Our first episode of surface noise focuses on a pair of pieces from New Orleans r+b piano maestro, Huey 'Piano' Smith. Huey's big smash back in the day was "Don't You Just Know it"; the singles he wrote that you probably still know include "Sea Cruise", "Lil' Liza Jane" and "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu". All of Smith's hits came on Ace Records; by the time of these two recordings, Huey's star had faded somewhat and he had been forced out to the much smaller and less-reliable Instant label.

Nonetheless, Huey STAYED recording and touring for well over twenty years, mostly with his primary backing band, The Clowns; but, by the 1960's, Smith chose to start hitting the road with a few smaller side projects, giving himself the liberty to cut loose and test out new material without jeopardizing the Clown's good name. These AKA bands including 'The Hueys' and 'The Pitter Pats' (presumably named after the popular card game that band members gambled over). Huey was joined on these trips with his fellow songwriter, collaborator and lead female soloist, Brenda Brandon. Brandon can be heard doing solo work on 1967's "Bury Me Dead," a cocky and joyous paean to bachelor(ette)hood.

Huey would eventually retire from the music industry and join the hallowed musical ranks (Prince, MJ) of the Jehovah's Witness, but not before he took a broad stab at posers and youth culture wanna-be's with his vicious, funky, bass-blasting "You Ain't No Hippie", circa '68.

Both of these cuts remain, to the best of my knowledge, currently unissued on CD; however, both HAVE been recently re-released on an import-only vinyl pressing of Smith rarities called Pitta' Pattin' that I would LOVE to get ahold of. Holla if ya holdin'!

How to make sure that they ONLY bury you dead.
-
Learn a bit more about hippies.

=================================================================
spiffy

$615 coulda got you an ivory monkey head with baseball cap.

Unfortunately I had all my money tied up in this cosplay fox head.

Decisions, decisions.
-
For those of you who have a PS2, you owe it to yourself to take on God of War, which held me rapt for three glorious days. It's a perfect rental.

on the other hand, I feel entirely safe in saying that I think I should be able to comfortably skip fiddy's entry to the ol' ultraviolent.

I mean, what the fuck, you're getting involved in real world gunplay and then making hyperrealistic looking supersamurai killmachine videogames starring yourself? This, for me, is off the rails. And yeah, I know it's not meant for kids, but they're releasing it on Christmas? Pfah.
-
Ugly animals yawning.
-
Sure, everybody heard about that great lion vs. midget battle royale, but were you aware about the outbreak of Cambodian zombies?

More news pranks, please.
-
Our old buddy D. Boyle is more than willing to ride the new Star Wars train to the dark side.

As long as it's organic, I guess...
-
FUCK FUCK FUCK DEVIN FUCK FUCK!!!

I am EXTEMELY hyped about this concert; Devin is a BIG Tofu Hut favorite and somebody I would totally go out of my way to see. Luckily, th' Dude is gonna be nearby and I will DEFINITELY be on hand; anybody who'd like to come with should drop me a line so we can get together and show this gentleman some serious New York love.

=================================================================
followup

First off, a big apology to all readers, new and old, for my enforced suspension from school. A severely wonky Firefox continued to bump me out of Blogger's homepage, iTunes erased my playlists, I couldn't get my files FTP'd over to my host, dogs ate my homework...

Suffice it to say, a dozen insolvable problems came to a head and had to be dealt with by sowing the earth with salt, invoking a few sacred names, sacrificing a cute lil' goat and finally reinstalling Windows (shudder). Tensions ran high and I'm not ashamed to say that some tears were shed, but I think we're back on solid ground again (though this post had to be re-written when my C drive got wiped on the OS reinstallation); keep those fingers crossed.

Obviously, this lag couldn't have happened at a worse time: I could hardly help but notice that the incomplete audioblog list seems to have stirred up a little attention to my humble abode and what better time to abandon a thriving project than when you have thirty five thousand hits a day? Oy. Anyway, welcome to those of you who found your way here in the aftermath of all the hubbub; I hope you'll find the general blither-blather and spucktacular music worth hangin' around. I've a completely full roster for the upcoming week (we've got underground Japanese hiphop and more surface noise rarities just to get started), so check back often... heck, I'll even quit buggin' ya for contributions for the next two weeks until we've done some genuine content providing; how's that?

COMMERCIAL FREE HUT, YA'LL!

You may notice that I said incomplete audioblog list; I've been turned on to and discovered some FIFTY MORE since the post in question. There will be an update on the sidebar within the week, so if you already breezed through the last six or seven hundred links, I'll have fresh meat for you soon.

Also worthy of note: the list in question has since been wiki-ized, so feel free to play along at home!

And let's not forget the fallout from the Bizzy radio interview; that shit went tempest in a teapot over at Allhiphop, culminating in this public apology from Matt.

As far as I can see, Matt did pretty right by Bizzy and Bizzy responded with how he felt. No harm, no foul all over; I still wish somebody would step up and do right by the brother.

Lastly, a big thank you to the boys over at The Morning News for throwing a few kudos my way. I'm much impressed to be hangin' with the company on this list and while I _haven't_ heard (or loved) "every song possible", I _am_ insane.

So, you know, I got that goin' for me.
=================================================================

Labels: clicky, music, personal silliness

sorry to be so silent out here; itunes and firefox have crashed AGAIN and I'm getting it back together. music is on the way; ah swears!

Labels: personal silliness

=================================================================
spiffy special: Mylène Farmer
A very special guest joins us today at th' Hut:
Elisabeth Vincentelli is a former music editor and current senior editor at Time Out NY. Elisabeth has written for the Stone, EW, the Voice and has penned liners for more than a few discs. This is, I hope, the first of several pieces that she will be doing for us on French pop music.
Make her feel welcome and leave some commentary, n'est-ce pas?

Mylène Farmer - 'L'amour N'est Rien'

Mylène Farmer - 'Porno Graphique'

There¹s only one person who matters in French pop, and it¹s not Benjamin Biolay or Keren Ann or Phoenix or Daft Punk; it¹s Mylène Farmer.

In her adopted home (for she was born in Canada), Mylène¹s often dubbed "the French Madonna," a comparison she¹s earned by dint of her longevity as a best-selling star (close to 20 years), her ambitious, super-slick pop sound, and the obsessive devotion she inspires in her fans (of which I¹ve been one since hearing her first big hit, 'Libertine,' in 1986. Unlike Madonna, though, Mylène isn¹t really embraced by her own country¹s intelligentsia, which is sadly incapable of seeing that she¹s the most idiosyncratic, eccentric, completely sui generis singer we French have. She sells millions of records and is treated with derision by tastemakers, the fools!

Like her frozen-in-amber appearance, Mylène¹s songs, which she writes with longtime producer Laurent Boutonnat, have changed very little over the years: a disco-Goth stomper here, a dramatic ballad there; frequent lyrical references to mysterious shadows, obsessive love, death and the joys of anal sex; echo-drenched vocals alternating between sexy whispers and asthmatic high notes. (The one time she tried to deviate from her formula, on the guitar-heavy, Los Angeles­recorded Anamorphosée [1995], the reception was frosty.) To accompany this delirium, the red-headed singer's made a string of demented videos boasting huge budgets, full credit rolls and nutty storylines.

Here are two excerpts from Mylène¹s brand-new CD, "Avant Que L'Ombre;" the first single is titled 'Fuck Them All' (in English) but the album is so good that it isn¹t even among the best songs.

'L'amour N'est Rien' is a straightforward, vaguely uptempo pop tune. The lyrics cover all the Mylène bases, referencing metaphysical something or other, the darkness, and love being boring when it¹s sexually correct.

In 'Porno Graphique,' a crow-like cackles introduce a typically catchy Mylène tune that, also typically, combines gloomy bells, a nursery-rhyme melody, a piano counter-melody, disco-inspired strings and treated vox provided by the multitracked singer. Lyrically, the song joins 1988¹s 'Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces' (available on Farmer's two disc best-of "Les Mots") in the pantheon of great Mylène songs praising sodomy. Oddly, the track concludes on the singer asking for a mojito before erupting into disquieting laughter. It doesn¹t make sense but then Mylène hardly ever does and still, it works; that¹s what makes her a pop star.

Import "Avant Que L'Ombre" (roughly, "Before the Darkness"), Farmer's new and long-awaited album, from Amazon.
-
Explore this extensive Farmer site.
It's in French but the monolingual among us can always rely on pidgin babelfish.
-
Download a score of Farmer tracks (and some wallpapers!) from this slick fansite.
-
Read this Farmer bio (in English!) from Radio France International.

=================================================================
spiffy

BUFFO IS THE WORLD'S STRONGEST CLOWN.
-
Want to live MOMA chic, but can't afford the toll?
Why blow your money on a 45 buck Carlo Contin Satellite Bowl when you can get the same effect from six pairs of chopsticks and a rubber band?
More economical DIY design available here.
-
Custom Pez dispensers.
I'm diggin' the Mister Natural, the Alien and the Badtz Maru.
-
Having just zipped through the first two seasons of The Wire in about a week-and-a-half flat, I can't recommend it enough.

Nobody's harder than Omar, so check out this great Tavis Smiley interview (transcription here) with the man himself, Michael K. Williams.

Dude is street fa real and fa sho.
-
"Dave Chappelle has checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa"
I'm a-hopin' and a-prayin' that this is some sort of Kaufman-esque stunt; otherwise, it's a damn shame.
-
Lord knows I monkeyed it up enough yesterday, but here's one more: An Ebay auction for a screaming monkey button.

Labels: clicky, Elizabeth Vincentelli, music

TALES FROM THE RED-HEADED STRANGER

FORKSCLOVETOFU SEZ: The Red Headed Stranger is the nom de plume of the Hut's country music scholar.
I had plans over the weekend to meet with the R.H.S. for a friendly game of horseshoes thrown over a few High Lifes. After waiting over an hour for his no-showing ass, I presumed the fellow had hit the booze early and chose to pack up my steel and hit the road. No sooner was I about to head home when here comes the Stranger, yowling like a half-skinned cat and beshitted from head to toe.
"What", I dryly intoned, "happened to YOUR redneck ass?"
"MONKEYS!" the Stranger screamed. "GODDAMN SPACE MONKEYS! THROWIN' THAR FECES LIKE IT WAS GOIN' OUTTA STYLE!"
"Space monkeys?"
"Y'HEARD ME, SMALL FRY! They flew on down in some sorta secret gubmint you eff oh right alongside next to my pickup! Soon as I saw em, they stuck they heads outta some kinda porthole and started yammerin' on about some sorta 'We-come-in-peace' nonsense. I seen plenty a sci-fi movies so I knows a loada alien hooey when I hears it; them space monkeys was here to take over the planet but I'll be damned if I'll see it happen on my watch! I reached back to m'gunrack and let off a quarter pound of rocksalt just about point blank into they damned chimpanzee hides! Soon's I pull that neat trick tho', they shows their true colors and commences to flinging primate waste till it just about fills my cab! I had to leave the car behind and take off running!"
I remained skeptical. "Have you been drinking again?"
"I been knockin' em back as quick as I can! Can you blame me? Iffin you was covered in space monkey shit, wouldn't YOU have a go at the bottle?"
"Where are these flying apes now, Oh Currently-Brown-Headed Stranger?"
"They done buzzed off, yeeping and ooking a terrible mess and trailin' doo-doo behind 'em. I must say that in retrospect, I shore do wish I hadn't been so hasty to use firearms. Coulda maybe learned somethin' from those space monkeys."
"Indeed," I replied; "If not for your hotheadedness, the human race might've been privy (no pun intended) to the key to interstellar travel, surpassing lightspeed and mayhaps the very secrets of the universe."
The Stranger commenced to blow a raspberry. "To hell with all that high-falutin' gibbertygee; I just wants to know how theys been treatin' Elvis."
With that, the Stranger tossed me a stained CD and some godforsaken shitsmeared notes, then hightailed it off to drop a dime to the Weekly World News, leaving yours truly to pass along the music and tell the tale.
Here's the Stranger.

Pinmonkey - Sweet Blossom

Pinmonkey - Fly

Rock and roll began with solo artists -- Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis -- but came of age with bands. The Beatles, the Stones, the Who, Zeppelin, on and on and on. Kids grow up dreaming of being in a rock and roll band. But while the country music business has come to look more and more like the rock music business over the years -- the shows have gotten bigger and more showbizzy, the production has gotten glossier and the fashions are even a little more up-to-date (well, not for everyone) -- country has never quite adapted to the idea of bands.

When Alabama found success in the early 1980s, the door opened a crack, and a series of groups like Diamond Rio, Shenandoah and Sawyer Brown slipped in -- and then the Garth Brooks cult-of-personality era shut the door tightly again. Duos do fine, trios are good to go, but real bands have an uphill climb. Currently, only Lonestar could be considered a major mainstream country group, and they follow the time-honored tradition of allowing Nashville session guys to play on their records; they also lack a permanent bass player, detracting from that intangible sense of bandhood.

Why the resistance? Country music's core appeal is the mainline emotional connection between singer and listener, and the presence of multiple personalities in one artistic entity tends to dilute that impact. It's easier to believe a solo artist is singing just for you. It all starts with a song, they say around here, and anything that distracts from that tends to fall away.

Perhaps all this explains why country radio took a pass on Pinmonkey. The foursome formed in 1998, debuted with an indie album (Speak No Evil) in 2002, and caught the attention of a Nashville major, which released their self-titled second album later that same year. Both albums showcase a sharp blend of radio-ready '70s-style country-rock, bluegrass, gospel, folk and R&B. (Defying all logic, their major-label album is superior to the indie.) Lead singer Michael Reynolds is possessed of one of the finest voices in the city, a sweet tenor that wouldn't have gotten him kicked out of the Gram Parsons-era Byrds, while multi-instrumentalist Chad Jeffers, his bass-playing brother Michael and drummer (and superb harmony singer) Rick Schell offered ample support.

But it just didn't happen. Their thumping single "Barbed Wire and Roses" rose to #25, but follow-ups floundered. Last May, the band lost its record deal and Schell walked out within weeks. The remaining trio have stuck together, although Chad Jeffers is now doing double duty as a member of Keith Urban's backing band. Nonetheless, Pinmonkey are currently putting the finishing touches on a new album and securing a new record deal. Maybe the mainstream will come around eventually, but it's likely that "Pinmonkey Junkies" (as their fans are known) will have the band to themselves for a while longer.

Speak No Evil's "Sweet Blossom" shows off Reynolds' voice and songwriting skills, while on Pinmonkey the group dips into its bag of bluegrass tricks to turn Sugar Ray's "Fly" inside out. (That one's for you, Miccio.)

Be a Pinmonkey Junkie! Find out how you can help Pinmonkey. (First suggestion: buy some merch.) Pinmonkey and Speak No Evil are also available at Amazon.
-
Check out former Pinmonkey drummer Rick Schell's solo album.
-
Pre-order your copy of the sixth season of The Simpsons on DVD, featuring "And Maggie Makes Three" -- the episode in which Homer fulfills his lifelong dream of becoming a "pinmonkey" at the Bowl-o-Rama. You'll have to wait 'til the seventh season comes around for "A Fish Called Selma," featuring that other simian-themed masterpiece, "Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off." Rest in peace, Troy McClure.
-
Learn about famous monkeys through history, including the "first non-human punk rocker," a rhesus monkey named "Crap."

=================================================================
spiffy

It's called travelling music, bustin'-ya-ass-style: Oliver Wang and Junichi Semitsu's 'Poplicks' blog offers some on-the-road mixtape tracklistings for you would-be Kerouacs.
-
Ephemera Now's enviable collection of pop-art advertising is a mouth-watering delight that should keep you busy switching your wallpaper for hours. This fine fellow has been adorning my screen for the past two weeks; ain't he purty?
-
The inevitable Darth Vader blog.
"He enjoys fixing things, listening to music, and crushing people's tracheas with his mind."
-
Ska for the Skeptical follows the same path as the equally admirable Bollywood for the Skeptical: both sites provide an MP3 mixtape of the genre in question along with copious annotation.
Get it while it's hot; who knows how long these excellent repositories will stay live?
-
Found on EBay: this unbelievably beautiful silk bat-fan, circa 1900 (sold for over $3,200!) and this shocking paper fan that shows a trio of naked, crying toddlers with the subtitle ALLIGATOR BAIT. YIKES!
There's a UGK album cover, eh?
-
Rosie O'Donnell Needs Toilet Seat Assistance, Finds Will Smith Attractive, Loves Marshmallows Too
-
Shadow Murder Force Androids
-
Purpology reviews music videos and, better yet, shows you where you can find them yourself.

Labels: clicky, music, Red Headed Stranger

Bob Digi, yeah you know who is he

=================================================================
glisten: RZA

Who, in their wildest dreams, would've imagined that the mind behind at least one (and, I'd argue, many more) of the great hip hop albums of all time would find his calling in scoring movies? That's where we find the RZA today, as one of the most sought after composers in Hollywood. There's good reason for that: a RZA soundtrack has the imprimatur of true hip hop and comes with a rabid built-in fan base. Besides all that, the work is likely to be great; RZA's previous recordings have been critically lauded and well-received by the record buying public.

RZA - "Ghost Dog"

For those very few of you unfamilar with RZA, also known as Bobby Digital AKA Prince Rakeem AKA th' RZArecta AKA Robert Diggs: Rizz is one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, one of the most successful and influential bands active in the last decade of the twentieth century. The Wu relies heavily on th' Rizz; he is their producer, de facto leader and the most creatively diverse and ambitious of the bunch.

RZA - "Opening Theme (Raise Your Sword)" [Instrumental]

RZA's first foray into the work of soundtracks was for Jim Jarmusch's 1999 movie 'Ghost Dog,' a moody, stylistic film about a bushido-obsessed hitman played by Forest Whitaker. A samurai flick was a natural fit for the Rizz; his work shows considerable influence from plenty of pop-culture touchstones, but none so prominently as his abundant love for 70's/80's chop-socky punch'em ups. RZA's finished score proved revelatory; given leeway to employ his production without the need to regulate a beat for one of the clan to rap over, the songs sounds disjointed and experimental, almost akin to noise or free jazz. Jarmusch himself called the soundtrack "dreamlike"; that seems pretty accurate to me.

Unfortunately, when it came time to release the soundtrack, Sony decided that heads would be unlikely to buy RZA's stream-of-consciousness melodies and opted instead to drop a collection of movie quotes and B-level material from friends of the Wu. The RZA soundtrack was ultimately released only in Japan; that rarity is where all the tracks on this post hail from.

RZA - "RZA's Theme"

RZA took the next four years to work on side projects and hone his craft but, since 2003, he has been obscenely busy in the studio. Besides a number of smaller Wu-related film projects and (betraying his comic geek leanings) an Alan Moore documentary, RZA has contributed incidental music to no less than five major films in the last two years: Blade: Trinity, Soul Plane, Barbershop 2 and, most notably, both episodes of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Rizz's is currently involved in producing a new album with Method Man, extending the muscle of the Wu imprint internationally by producing overseas artists and continuing to hype the new book.

Rizz is also about to drop a new track or two alongside Massive Attack for 'Unleashed' AKA 'Danny the Dog', the new Jet Li movie that opens stateside in a week, but don't be fooled by ads that seem to suggest otherwise: it's not really a RZA soundtrack.

No word on when he might settle down in the studio to do another score but, as a fan who is beginning to believe that's where he does some of his best work, I'm hoping that's next on the agenda.


I can't honestly recommend that you buy the import "Ghost Dog" soundtrack from Amazon. C'mon: fifty bucks? For one disc? Who's kidding who?

What I can recommend heartily is the album itself; there are several other great atmospheric cuts lurking around and a few more obscurities from the Wu, including some notable verses from ODB (though some of these, like 'Fast Shadow', are available on the US release). If money is no object or if you MUST, you can find it easy enough. Otherwise, keep an eye peeled and grab it on sale.
-
Every time RZA releases a new soundtrack, he's on the press junket talking about the experience. You can read interviews about the man's work on Kill Bill, Soul Plane and Blade: Trinity over at ign.
-
Listen to this recent Fresh Air with th' Rizz and listen to this older NPR piece on RZA's scoring ways.
-
Read this May '04 interview with Rizz in which he talks about how he met Jarmusch and read this December '04 interview where he talks about studying Danny Elfman.
-
Explore this article about auteur Jim Jarmusch and read any of dozens of reviews of 'Ghost Dog'.
-
Read the Hagakure, the eighteenth century manual of samurai ethics that figures prominently in 'Ghost Dog'.
-
Watch the trailer for 'Unleashed'.
-
Proving that EVERYBODY loves the Wu, witness the Fluxblog guide to the Clan, from '02. I don't agree with all his observations ('Nigga Please' and 'Bobby Digital' are both great to me), but Matt's generally pretty much on the ball.

=================================================================
bonus RZA glisten

Wu-Tang Clan - "Wu World Order" (version one)

"Wu World Order" has only been previously released in the US as a bonus track on the sadly mediocre Wu-Tang video game, Shaolin Style.
It's a nice cut and doesn't deserve to be buried as an unheard rarity.
=================================================================

Labels: music

=================================================================
glisten: The Kropotkins

The Kropotkins - "Crazy Hannah"

The Kropotkins - "Truckstop Girls"

The Kropotkins music is a wonderful mish-mash of classical, bluegrass, punk and downright WEIRD that sounds far better than it has any right to. These two tracks hail from the Kropotkins' second album "Five Points Crawl", released in '00 as the followup to their self-titled '96 disc.

"Crazy Hannah" is great party music, best accompanied with a cold PBR; "Truckstop Girls" is a bit darker and may cut you if you get too close or too far. Both are indicative of the quality of the whole album, which I wholeheartedly recommend you snag ASAP.

Buy "Five Points Crawl" direct from the band's label, Mulatta Records.
-
Listen to "Sissy Wa Wa", another ace track from the Kropotkins.
-
Read various bits of trivia about Kropotkins lead singer and guitarist, "legendary girl" Lorette Velvette.
-
Visit the website of Kropotkin's (and ex-Velvet Underground) drummer, Maureen Tucker.
-
Explore any of the dozens of side projects of the Kropotkin's lead violin/banjo/svengali, Dave Soldier.

Dave is a singular character; a neuroscientist who moonlights as a composer, producer and performer. Take a peek at one of his more recent projects, "Da Hip Hop Rascals":

"Elana Langer and I have been working with a group of six to nine year olds in East Harlem at the Amber Charter Grade School at East 106th St, teaching them to play and write hip-hop. They do it extremely well... We mix and coach, but they play and sing all the parts and write all the words.

You can hear some of their songs if you scroll down on the link given above; don't miss the spectacular "Chicken Wing"!

=================================================================
triumphant return of the long-lost spiffy

Swimming Jesus
-
"We feel that Scandinavian Noise is among the best in the world. With Noise we mean Harsh Noise, Power Electronics, Guitar-Noise, Free Jazz and any genre that use noise ('unpleasant sounds') as a part of its identity."
Several audio samples within.
-
Zachary Allen has only one question for you:
"What Kind of Candy Do You Want?"
(NB: autoloading movie file; The Tofu Hut is not responsible for any spontaneous regurgitation or imploding frontal lobes suffered by the viewer)
-
622 Music Videos
Unsurprisingly, more than a few are down; there's still lots of fun stuff to watch. Check out Spike Jonze's "Root Down", Gondry's "Army of Me", a live Marley performance, Shynola take on Blur... and that's just a few of the "B's"!
-
The Random Popeye Generator
-
The DubCNN Vault is an excellent source of production info and artist's credits for thousands of hip hop and rnb albums.
-
The Frog Watches Lobster Listen To Hall and Oates Show
This shouldn't amuse me so much.
-
Save ten bucks and read an ALL SPOILER REVIEW of the New Star Wars from (shudder) Kevin Smith.
The unpleasant Smith tells all; not as if there were really any surprises left.

You'll have to excuse me; I'm a bitter and scorned man when it comes to George Lucas; fatboy will get no more of my money.
-
An oldie, but a goodie: reconceptualizing 70's and 80's cartoon characters.
The work on He-Man and Inhumanoids alone is just stunning.
-
Moistworks is BACK and back STRONG; today's post of mostly unreleased Stax vocals, demos and promos is great stuff.
-
This HALF HOUR flash video entitled "Sega Fantasy" held me rapt and virtually weeping with nostalgia and nerdiness; skip it if you aren't a video-game geek in your late twenties/early thirties, but if you ARE... oh, we have such sights to show you...
-
Infoshare, the blog of the Reference and Public Services Committee of the Music Library Association, talks at length about the role of the newly burgeoning musicblog in the life of the music scholar in this heavily hypertext-laden essay before arriving at the conclusion that it's simply too soon in the revolution to see much more than the way the path is leading; I imagine the establishment will come around afore too long.

They also offer a brief (but very funny) note about the audioblogging explosion. I can certainly concur that the movement is in full bloom; I'll have another seventy or so audioblogs to add to the revision-in-progress sidebar. Sheer bulk (and, to be honest, a surprising degree of quality) aside, don't go thinkin' we've jumped the shark yet. Hell, we ain't even yet got a genre-specific musicblog for modern country, showtunes, spoken word, gospel...

The future's so bright, but first we're gonna have to deprogram kids from the retarded brainwashing they're being force-fed.

(Incidentally, as far as "Clicky" goes, what do you want to bet that they didn't pay for the rights to that interpolation of "Rapper's Delight" that they lift for this sickly and transparently pro-corporate propaganda?)
-
"MaP3 will give you the best driving route to take between any two addresses in the United States and Canada as spoken directions, delivered in MP3 format to your email inbox! Instead of reading your directions as you drive, you'll be listening to them on your MP3 player or, by burning them to a CD, in your car's stereo deck!"

I can only hope that they're performed by today's top artists. I, for one, would pay top dollar to hear Pitbull tell me how to get to the carwash or Modest Mouse's cover of the classic "Jimmy's Deli is On the Corner of Washington and Third".
-
Great Kyle Baker interview up over at the Comics Reporter:

"When you make Wonder Woman a book that appeals to grown men, what the hell are you doing? Supergirl, same thing. I keep looking up Supergirl's skirt. I shouldn't know about Supergirl's panties, I really shouldn't. But I do. And so do you. What's that about? I've seen Supergirl's ass. She's like fourteen."

Kyle's brilliant; I highly recommend his retelling of the King David story.
-
Clublife is an excellent counterpoint to the equally fascinating Waiterrant; the anonymous "Doorman" of Clublife details his experiences as a NYC bouncer. The resulting litany of obnoxious drunks and violent assholism provides a thinking man's portrait of an evening's roughhousing gone forever awry. Serves to remind me why I'm generally better off as a computer nerd than a barfly.
-
BBC put up a fairly lengthy interview with Autechre, providing some rare insight (the boys don't often talk much on the record) and more than a few tunes from their recently released new album. Cop that.
-
If you haven't yet, why don't you draw a pig already?
-
Cubee.
I wannit. Anybody seen these in stores?
Somewhat related: Needies Need YOU.
The Needy theme songs kill me.
-
My new UK Singles reviews are up over at Stylus magazine.
I really don't like Weezer.
-
Buffo is the World's Strongest Clown.

=================================================================

Labels: clicky, music, stylus

Not bone, not Bone, but Bone

=================================================================
glisten: bizzy

Matt Sonzala of the world-famous Houstonsoreal blog (specializing in Texas hip hop) and Damage Contol on KPFT had occasion to interview last Wednesday with Bizzy Bone.

The following is my annotated transcript of that interview and an MP3 of same so that you can follow along.

Bizzy Bone - "'05 KPFT Interview"

Matt Sonzala:
90.1, KPFT, The Damage Control Program, live and in full effect once again, um at uh twelve-twenty in the AM on a, a early early Thursday morning. Trying to get things together here in the studio, uh, and we did it in three songs flat: Cam'ron "Get 'Em Daddy", before that Missy uh, with Pharrell of course, "On and On" and Kanye West with "Diamonds"; now we got all that East Coast stuff out of the way, we can go over to the midwest and then maybe come down South a little bit, cause right about now we got an EXTREMELY special guest in the studio, mang. Extremely special...
Bizzy Bone:
LOVE!
Matt:
Bizzy Bone, what's up mang?
Bizzy:
Love, love, love, love, love! "Cross to be out"? it's only one true god, you know how we do it man; what's the dilly yo; how things going down here in the H-Town; glad to be down here man; just relaxin' and maxin', man; I ain't seen nobody bring me no money yet...
Matt:
Haven't seen anybody bringing any money in H-Town?
Bizzy:
Oh well, you already know how it is: when we look at money we don't look at that paper; render unto Caesar what's Caesar's; render unto God what's Gawddssss...
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
Yeah yeah yeah, most definitely; it's a spiritual thing; it's a spiritual movement. Most of my people at the mall, they know what's going on; most of my people over there at the Scottish Inns, they know what's going on; most of my people over there at the hotel over there by my family, you already know what's going on; you know how we rollin'; ain't no time to be playin'. That's what's up! One true god! And representative! Please believe it! Inthenameofourlordandsaviourjesuschrist, how you doooin'?

Read this interview with Bizzy where he details the breakup with his former group, Bone Thugs N Harmony.

Reporting on Bizzy's last show with Bone prior to the break-up, NYT writer Kelefa Sanneh wrote, "Bizzy Bone was dividing his time between a microphone and a flask, and as the concert progressed, he paid less and less attention to the microphone. He slumped over on the side of the stage and then, right before 'Notorious Thugs,' he staggered off."

Bizzy has five kids with four different mothers. He is twenty-eight years old and has been an internationally acclaimed recording artist from the age of eighteen, when Bone's first album Creepin On ah Come Up dropped.

Matt:
Man, what brings you down here, bro?
Bizzy:
Well, you know man; I've best been movin' and and y'knowwhatI'msayin' and I ain't got nowhere to live really, you understand what I mean, so you know: we lookin' for somewhere to live; we lookin' for something to eat; when I was sleepin' at the bus station, everybody was laughin' at me, y'knowwhatI'msayin': I had calluses up under my feet; everybody was laughin' at me, but I'm up in this motherfucker, OOO my girl, did I cuss; excuse me.
Matt:
Yeah, the station manager's here, "Greg"?
Bizzy:
My bad; tell the station manager that I love him. Oh my goodness, there go the phone. Ooo my goodness, oh my goodness; I ain't even gonna take it no further; pardon me, pardon me.
Matt:
Naw, that's alright mang.
Bizzy:
Okayokay.
Matt:
Now suh, from, uh from the sound of things, sounds like you're not just homeless; maybe you're a nomad?
Bizzy:
Well, you know some people w-was. Y'knowwhatI'msayin', that's a good word: no-mad. I ain't mad. Y'knowwhatImean, we just handlin'; we doin' what we need to do man and we livin' and we praisin' gawd every step of the way and some people may say that that gospel thing ain't what they really want to see and some people may say that ain't what they really tryin' to be on; but trust and believe and when we talkin' about the creator you ain't talkin' about that, y'knowwhatImean? You talkin' about some realness, you understand what I mean; and that shi- oooh, it's so real!
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
Oh my goodness! Praise God! Praise Gaaawd! Praise GAAAAAAWWWWWD!
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
YES!

In 2000, Bizzy levelled a number of lawsuits against his label. Bizzy also has a long standing dispute with Ruthless Records. Precisely how destitute Biz really is is open to dispute, but he has commented with increasing venom as to how he often performs without being paid.

Matt:
You goin' in the way of the gospel.
Bizzy:
Oh well you already know. You know, from, you know you got 'Heaven's Movie'; you got 'The Gift'; you got the 'Praise the Alpha and Omega'; you got the 'Praise the Beginning and the End' and you already know the little science behind stuff that's been going on already that's been set up the way it's supposed to be already, ya dig?
Matt:
Yeah...
Bizzy:
YESSSSSSS!
Matt:
I understand that; I always thought a lot of guh, uh, gospel sound influencing Bone, but uh, you kinda always went in both directions, I think.
Bizzy:
Well, you know a lot of people would say that, y'knowwhatI'mean-
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
But when you start speaking it, when you start talking a lot of people would LIKE for you to shift but it's hot or cold, baby! It's hot or cold, y'knowwhatI'msayin'; that's why I said: y'ain't gave me no money so what they talking 'bout.
Matt:
Who hasn't given you any money?
Bizzy:
Well, I mean, period, y'knowwhatI'msayin'; let's say somebody on some, like some evil levels; you know, the evil level, you know what I'm sayin': they's LAVISH, they y'knowwhatImean: they BENTLEY DRIVERS, you understand what I'm saying, if you, y'knowwhatImean, if you on that level, you of this world and you on that you know what I'm saying and the slobber goin' down your cheeks and y'knowwhatI'msayin' and the nectar goin' down your neck, and y'knowwhatImean; that's got a lot to do with that bread but when you rollin' around here and you feedin' your people down there on the streets, you understand what I'm saying, where the nectar at? That's what I'm talkin' about; HOLLA BAAAACK.
Matt:
The nectar? Yeah.
Bizzy:
Yeaaaaaah.

Read this entirely unbiased review of Bizzy's "The Gift" from The Violently Racist Music Page.
Since going solo in 1998 with his album "Heaven'z Movie", Bizzy's music has taken a more and more pronounced Christian tact.

Matt:
Well, man; now, tell me though, tell me: I, when I was growing up, player, I saw Bone on TV all the time; I saw ya'll blowin' up, man; what was that?
Bizzy:
Yeah, yeah, as, as, as well, as well, as well. As well, as well, as well. Well, you know when you look at blowing up and you look at the different things, once you get to the physical realm of it and once you start looking at it like that: that's why you stay in the streets; that's why you stay in the hood; that's why you stay around the people that ain't got NOTHIN', 'cause they ain't got nothin' to say but LOOOOOOOOOOOVE! ==gasp==
Matt:
Yeah? I think you have a lot more to say that what you lettin' on tonight, baby.
Bizzy:
Hey, well you already know how I feel about the situation; ain't nobody drop no money in front of the door so ain't no sense in even taking it too far.
Matt:
Feel about the situation.
Bizzy:
Do you feeeel meeee?
Matt:
We want to know more about, you said, "the situation".
Bizzy:
Well, the situation is mang, there's a lot of things going on, you know what I'm saying; we got a lot of things happening in the world; that's what's up; got a w- w- w- what 'Pac say: uh, "I said you can run the red lights, but peep the street signs; you can run the red lights, but peep the street signs; you can run the red lights, but peep the street signs." Please believe it.
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
Holla. HOLLA.

Bone memorably collaborated with Tupac Shakur on the 1997 "Art of War" album. Here's a clip from that track.

Bizzy Bone - "Thug Love" (clip)

Buy "Art of War" from Amazon.

I remember when this first dropped, a friend of mine told me that he rode with a cat who was popping shots out of his car into the tarmac while he was listening to this song. We at th' Hut don't approve of this sort of behavior... but we understand. That beat is vicious.

Matt:
So it sounds like it's a lot more than just about you not getting paid...
Bizzy:
Well, you know when you get to the "I" or get to the "me" and you start talking about the paper mang, as long as everybody representin' th' one; in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit amen in the name of our lord and saviour jesus christ, that's all that counts. I don't need your money. Keep your paper. We'll get the paper ourselves. I don't sit on my - "A"! YouknowwhatImean, we don't have to do that youknowwhatImean: I said, I do what I do and anybody that want to put something down, youknowwhatI'msaying, get to a little rapping: "comeinitwithadollywithamulletupinamuggettogetherprobably
gonnakilliteachotherbelovehitthefellowtothe--" c'mon now; you already know we do these things.
Matt:
I hear you.
Bizzy:
Holla back, c'mon now. Calm yourself down; this is how we get down. You know what's up. Please believe it. Oh, c'mon now. You know what's up.
Matt:
So now you're work, you're looking for work in Houston where garbled
Bizzy:
Well we really ain't, no we ain't looking for no work right now; we just movin' the way that we movin' and whoever ain't movin' the way that we ain't movin', hopefully they lives go good, youknowwhatI'msayin'; that's all we can do, you know: we can pray for the best, you understand what I'm saying? Ain't gonna be no waltzing in, holla.
Matt:
Right. Now that's where it's at.
Bizzy:
YES SIRRRRR.
Matt:
Man. You gonna stay here awhile or what's the next-
Bizzy:
Y'knowwhatImean?
Matt:
Uh, what's the next destination on your journey?
Bizzy:
Well, youknowwhatImean, we just being guided by the spirit; wherever we at is where we at, youknowhatImean: you might see me at the bus station; you might see me at the shelter; you might see me somewhere over here, somewhere over there; it really don't matter, you know, it ain't nobody-
Matt:
Why the bus station or the shelter? Why that?
Bizzy:
Well, you already know: 'cause that's where the real people at; that's where you ain't gonna get judged; that's where people ain't gonna, youknowwhatI'msaying, try to HAND you the death, youknowwhatI'msaying, and try to hurt you like that, youknowwhatImean, cause they goin' through they own thing; they doing what they gotta do and they been through the things, youknowwhatImean and th- then you know what I call me my, youknowwhatImean and it's uh, you, uh-huh, yeah, uh right and that's what be goin' down, youknowwhatI'msaying so they can't say nothin' but love and that's what it's supposed to be and if they say anything extra, you gotta show love because you understand the situation that they in; that's why them are the people that we need to be dealing with, hollaback.

Read this interview with Bizzy, in which he discusses the murder of his brother:

"I am looking at his picture right now, as I keep him with me everywhere I go. The whole thing that happened with (my brother) Adrian was...the industry and what we are doing, was not ready for (Adrian's album, produced by Bizzy). And not only were they not ready, they were not willing to give us a chance to be heard. And when you don’t give people a chance to be heard, who need to be heard, as this is their only outlet out, when you take that from them….When people say, "Please don't do business with him, don’t give him any deal, don’t let him put out this, don’t let him do this, he is untrustworthy, etc". When you hold him back like that, when you get that black ball on it, by him just always sticking with me, because he was [family]. So virtually, he was blackballed in the industry, like I was blackballed in the industry. During the course of that, we have kids we have to feed. He has three children he left behind. And in the course of that, things happen in when you have to take care of your children. From that, you step in the jungle, and you have to be an animal. Unfortunately, somebody came up into his home and he was murdered! That is the thick of it. I blame myself, because if I wasn't blackballed in the industry, I could have had him out there working. I could have had him out there singing his heart out, doing what he does best. But we are real people and what we rap about and sing about is not fake. So if we are not doing this, there is a good chance, and there is a good possibility that we may wind up dead."

Matt:
Yeah? Now, don't you have a new project out right now?
Bizzy:
Well, you know it's a few projects out, youknowwhatI'msaying: you got 'Heaven's Movies'; you got 'The Gift', youknowwhatI'msaying; you got the 'Praise the Alpha and the Omega'; you got the 'Praise the Beginning and the End' and youknowwhatI'msaying; I don't expect nobody to go out there, youknowwhatI'msaying and youknowwhatImean, be all on that; it's all good, youknowwhatImean; that's the way I like it; I just like it like that ain't no waltzin' in around here; I like it like that. I like it like that! I LIKE IT LIKE THAT!
Matt:
You don't expect them to go out and, like, pick up the record, man? I think they would; I think they-
Bizzy:
Well you already know, man: th- that comes from the heart; if I stand up in here, try to manipulate and try to play 'The Gift', youknowwhatI'msaying and try to maSSAGE it, youknowwhatImean; I gotta come from the heart man; if it don't come from the heart, I don't even want to HEAR IT, man; aw, man: bootleg it or something. I ain't tryin' to hear none of that man. Keep it real or don't even come NEAR me; don't come around me; don't buy nothing; it don't matter to me, that's how I get down. It's real; when I see you, you already know how I feel about you and I'm gonna see you regardless.
Matt:
... see who?
Bizzy:
EVERYBODY WE'RE TALKING TO.
Matt:
Everybody, man.
Bizzy:
Yeah, because you know we're not just talking to each other, we're talking to-
Matt:
Right.
Bizzy:
- a lot of people around the radiusssssssss.
Matt:
Yeah. A lot of people listening in on the internet at KPFT dot org, whassup ya'll, whassup?
Bizzy:
Alright, alright, alright: one, one love, one love, one love. You know what it is, you know what it is, one love, hold it down, hold it down, I know, I know, I know, quit trippin'.
Matt:
Yeah? What're we playing tonight; what did you bring for us?
Bizzy:
Oh well, youknowwhatI'msaying, we got the little 'Praise Alpha and Omega' album which is a beautiful thing-
Matt:
Right.
Bizzy:
YouknowwhatI'msaying, especially when you understand what it represents. That's right there; I'd much rather you play something from one of the other young homies out there that's doing they thing so we can promote what they doin', youknowwhatI'msaying, 'cause it ain't about me, youknowwhatImean, I just appreciate the time to be able to sit down and talk and now that I got the time to sit down and talk my people know what it is there's only one true god in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit amen in the name of our lord and saviour jesus christ and any blasphemy against that shall be met with SWIFTNESS.
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
YESSSSSSSSSSS.

Here's a cut from Bizzy's album 'The Gift'.

Bizzy Bone - "Still Thuggish Ruggish"

Buy 'The Gift' from Amazon.

Matt:
The church of Bizzy Bone-
Bizzy:
MAN.
Matt:
- here tonight at KPFT. Is that it? Is there another, is there a church of Bizzy Bone; is that comin'?
Bizzy:
Hey man, you already know what church is-
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
Now, we walkin' in our church.
Matt:
Yeah.
Bizzy:
These are our tabernacles. You walkin' in your church; you speakin' in your church; that's how we do it; we praise; we worship; we go from within; the jewels and the linaments and the diamonds and the rubies and the sapphires and the pearls that come from within, you understand what I'm saying? I already know YOU know what it is; you feel me? Huh? Holla! Holla! Holla! Holla! Ain't learned it for nothin'; what you think I ain't gonna say nothing-
Matt:
Man.
Bizzy:
But I'm supposed to come up in here and saturate it and not say nothing? What, I supposed to not do nothin'? What, I supposed to not say it? I'M GONNA SAY IT! I'M GONNA BE IT! I'M GONNA BE REAL WITH IT! THAT'S THE WAY WE GET DOWN! TO THE DEATH!
Matt:
That's what we need. You got to say it!
Bizzy:
PRAISE GAWD!
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
YESSSSSSSSSSS!
Matt:
What's this, uh, song we're gonna play right now, though? Is it, uh, are we playing?
Bizzy:
I don't know, brother; you know what, I think; oh, oh, you're gonna do number, uh, uh, fourteen.
Matt:
Okay. Fourteen, yes?
Bizzy:
It says, "You Better Run, You Better Hide".
Matt:
"You Better Run, You Better Hide"?
Bizzy:
Yeah, I think that's the title of the song; you have to excuse me, because as we put things down, we really don't, youknowwhatI'msaying? You know how it is: you drink a lot, you black out, holla.
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
Holla! HOLLA! Huh? Huh, huh, what?

Read this interview with Chronic magazine.

Bizzy has had a dramatically difficult life; at the age of four, he was kidnapped for months by a family member who attempted to sexually abuse him. Problems with alcohol and substance abuse are at the crux of his issues with Bone.

Matt:
Is, is "You Better Run, You Better Hide" a broad message as well; is that a message to, to everyone?
Bizzy:
Well, you know, the beginning of it is, for those who thought I signed with B2K; they must be outta they MINDS.
Matt:
Now, who thought you signed to B2K?
Bizzy:
Well you already know: it's one of them passing phases; see it went so fast, you forgot about it.
Matt:
Yeah? Now, that's true; that's true... So now, actually, so you, this is, uh, directed at B2K?
Bizzy:
Naw, naw, this is directed to the music that it IS, youknowwhatI'msaying-
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
I, if I wanted to direct it to them; man, don't try to single them out dude!
Matt:
Naw, I'm not trying to single them, man.
Bizzy:
Don't do me like that! Just like I ain't gonna come to you like that? And I ain't gonna play you like that? And I'm with your tabernacle? Don't play them like that; it's B! 2! K! It's just like if you sit down and you say a metaphor and this is a story that you actually know about and that you can actually kind of get something from it instead of it just being something you thought was plucked out of the air. Holla back; c'mon now.
Matt:
Does it have a broader message, maybe against, about the music business? And about the whole business?
Bizzy:
Well, you already know; for those who, tho', for those who thought I signed to B2K, youunderstandwhatI'msaying and I'm gonna take it spiritual there's only one true god, representative. And you thought it was my test! Huh? Holla! Holla! Holla! Holla! Holla! Holla! HOLLLLAAAAAAAAA!

Read where the B2K rumour started and read about the fallout and followup.

Matt:
Uh, everybody's saying, "Ask him this, ask him that"; do you wanna take questions from Chill and everybody else?
Bizzy:
Hey, you already know what it is-
Matt:
Yeah?
Bizzy:
I think you need to go ahead and play the music, youknowwhatI'msaying; we definitely been pumped; we definitely been hyped, youknowwhatI'msaying; we want to snatch a little bit away from that so we can grab the ego-
Matt:
Yeah.
Bizzy:
Tell the ego to sit down and do what needs to be done and the quicker you blink and the quicker you raise your head, you let me know what you was thinking about from jump. Hollaback.
Matt:
Hey, hey. You got it, man.
Interviewer:
Hey, can I ask you a question, yo?
Bizzy:
Tap that heart, tap that mind-
Interviewer:
Hey, can I ask you a question?
Bizzy:
Test that soul, test that heart, test that mind, test that soul-
Interviewer:
Hey is that, uh. Can you freestyle for us one time?
Bizzy:
Well, youknowwhatImean, just a freestyle, youknowwhatI'msaying: It's only one true god... unh... it's only one true god... you see, as I walk through valley of the shadow of death with flesh and blood I let evil question us and you know how we bust we lay back in the cut, I see the sinister minded you blinded look at him and he find that when I nibble that tree of science you thought you was laughing at Bryon hollaback that's enough!

Visit Bizzy's official page.

I have to say that part of my intention in posting all of this is in the hope that someone reads and hears this and gets Bizzy a little help. I really don't mean to get all up in the brother's business, but it seems undeniable that Bizzy is a young man with more problems than he can handle. Anybody else notice some serious OCD surfacing in his speech? There's a rule of threes that he follows with a lot of phrases and there's a definite compulsiveness to his outbursts.

There is an undeniable but definite nascent racism when it comes to out-of-control hip hop artists; the general attitude is that they're not real people in need of assistance; they're just cash cows. People are fast to think, "Oh that guy; he's just a wacky rapper." Uh, Bryon is talking about sleeping at bus stations. He needs a hand.

Everybody gets all maudlin when artists die; how about we help out the needy NOW, ya heard? We don't need another ODB.

I say all this with love; I think Bizzy is a strange but singular talent. For god's sake, the man is FREESTYLING EVERY TIME HE OPENS HIS MOUTH. Let's get him some money and a nanny and keep him alive so we can feast on his art for the next twenty years, eh?

Matt:
Man! Well dude, we really appreciate you coming down tonight...
Bizzy:
I appreciate you having me down here; it's much love; it's much respect; we got the fire engines out there-
Matt:
We do!
Bizzy:
We got the po-lice out there, youknowwhatI'msaying; you know how we rollin' up in this motherfucker-
Matt:
MAN!
Bizzy:
Oh my goodness, let me get on up outta here; I love you mang; god bless you. There's only one true god; praise god; in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit amen, in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit amen, in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit amen; in the name of our lord and saviour jesus christ, hollaback; THIS IS REAL!
=================================================================

Labels: favorites, interviews, music