Root Down in the Shadow

Back in '93, like many of my suburban brethren, I was first exposed to the more vulgar side of rap with Snoop Doggy Dog.  There were some kids from my school that were listening to rap all the way back to the Dre & Ed Lover days on Yo MTV raps , but the closest I was exposed was more PG rated stuff with the Fresh Prince, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Snow, Vanilla Ice, House of Pain, and LL Cool J .  You could count 2 Live Crew , but I had only heard the tuned down 'Banned in the USA.  Unfortunately, I was totally oblivious to Public Enemy, Tribe Called Quest , or De La Soul . Thankfully, the top 40 based radio, just couldn't hold back the popularity of one Calvin Broadus a.k.a. Snoop Doggy Dogg! 'Gin & Juice' live by Snoop Doggy Dog EXPLICIT After college, I stumbled on what I believed (based on some irreverent or shrewd naming by the source) was an excellent cover by Ween. This superb country/blue grass version was actually the obscure band The Gourds. The G...

*** Part of an ongoing series of TOOLS TO ENJOY MORE MUSIC ***** I will attempt to profile great avenues of finding, listening to, and downloading new music, to help you , the music fan, get more out of your listening experience. I really have no idea how other devices work for ratings.  iTunes on the other hand, I am very familiar with.  I highly recommend it as it is a tremendous music warehouse/software, which as long as you can get past their previous DRM sins and their mass corporate practices does wonders as you really learn to use it.  Earlier today, I posted about a Smart Playlist consisting of any Dave Matthews format, and ***** songs.  This only works though if you rate your music.  I really feel that if you don't rate your music, you are better off listening to discs or tapes. You might as well listen to some format that doesn't have sorting or browsing.  If you get into a larger collection, it's a must for many reasons.  First, why kee...

*** Part of an ongoing series of TOOLS TO ENJOY MORE MUSIC ***** I will attempt to profile great avenues of finding, listening to, and downloading new music, to help you , the music fan, get more out of your listening experience. This week's entry further explores the Smart Playlist.  I started into this topic back at the beginning of the blog: Check out  the smart playlist - tools to enjoy more music.   Today, however I will go deeper and give a specific example that many of you can take advantage of. Let's start off with a refresher.  Playlists in iTunes are just like making an old school mix tape.  A SMART PLAYLIST is based on variables that you set.  They can be live updating, to allow it to change as you are using your device, but they are meant to be updated as your music collection updates.  So, for example."My Top Rated" will be any number of ***** songs, rather than what you added into the playlist on day one! Today's playlist is a two ...

Blog + 3 year old = no TV.   Well that's a stretch.  Truthfully, it's 3 year old and rabbit ears = no TV.   Anyway, I'm catching up on some Chuck episodes that I've been missing.  Tonight I just finished Season 4, Episode 20 - Chuck vs the Family Volkoff. And, now I'm in the middle right now of Episode 21 - Chuck vs the Wedding Planner. So, the music starts as the, whole "transform a bah mitzvah into a Hungarian wedding" montage takes place.  Who's playing you ask?  Why of course, it's Pigeon John 'The Bomb' from Dragon Slayer.  So Awesome! In other news, I checked my email today and noticed the Pigeon John news chirp.  This edition's big news is a new music video.  'So Gangster' has just been released. Be sure to check out the Pigeon John TV channel on YouTube.  In the meantime here it is: Pigeon John 'So Gangster' from Dragon Slayer Oh, and West Coast folk.. check out the new tour dates!! Enjoy

Part of the ongoing series of 'Molly Songs': A weekly look featuring songs that our children (including my Molly) will love, but more importantly parents can enjoy as well. This week's entry into Molly Songs is an example of the trend for those rock stars turned parents. Kelsey Friday, back in the day was Kelsey Barber, the hot lead of Pittsburgh's now defunct Brownie Mary. Brownie Mary was the premier female led band in Pittsburgh's late 90's Alternative Scene. Many tremendous bands existed with the Clarks, Brownie Mary, Buzz Poets, Rusted Root, and the Gathering Field leading the way. Over the years the scene changed due to new styles and personnel changes. For Kelsey and Brownie Mary it was both. For Kelsey herself was she 1st became Kelsey Friday, then became a mommy, and then traded in her late night gigs at bars for family friendly gigs at Elementary Schools. For Kelsey, now fronting Kelsey Friday and the Rest of the Week , she still gets to ...

Where to begin with, when discussing the talented Saul Williams?  He came into my world, over a decade ago, as a Beat Poet/Spoken Word extraordinaire!  I have this vague recollection that I saw him performing on PBS???   Whatever exposure it was, it stuck in my head.  When I did stumbled upon him again during the era of Napster, the flood gates opened and I had started to down load anything I could of his. If I had to simplify my discussion of Saul Williams, I would recommend two tracks: 'Ohm' from Lyricist Lounge and 'Om Ni American' from Amethyst RockStar. Both tracks to me were and still are fascinating to me. They always came through to me as poetry, and I was lucky enough back then to see him perform his work before the musical aspect became a force. Saul Williams 'Ohm' Fortunately, his work is well beyond two great pieces. Amethyst Rockstar is an incredible work, which makes me think every time I listen to it. Likewise, She is a great col...

***these take forever to load, so click now, read down and come back for the videos*** Nine Inch Nails - 'Down In It' from Pretty Hate Machine Nine Inch Nails - 'Down In It' live from the "final" concert @ at the Wiltern Theater, 9.10.09 Back in high school, I loved being exposed to new music. I can't really say finding new music; because I was usually so far behind that I would get into most bands when they were putting out their 2nd album. There were bands I loved, but for the most part it seemed natural that I would like them. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers were all new to me, but they were still all over MTV. The first band, which I really felt like I had found something awesome was Nine Inch Nails . You see, there was a classmate of mine Kevin S. He had his cool back pack with band logos sharpied onto it. But the thing was it wasn't to show off what he liked so he could to talk to you about them. Those were just ...

This week's Song of the Week was inspired by a browse through the City Paper - Philadelphia 's concert advertisements. I had just gone to the Electric Factory Thursday night, and was less than impressed by the upcoming shows. On the other hand, I had noticed via Facebook that the Decemberists were coming through Philly in June. The Decemberists are on my list of bands to see live, but not much has been working out for live music lately, so I was determined to find an upcoming show that would work out for my schedule. So, far it's quite a bummer,  the Decemberists only have obstructed view seats left. Also, I missed out on tickets for Ted Leo @ Kung Fu Necktie , Death Cab for Cutie @ the Trocader o and Eddie Vedder at Tower Theater.  Even worse I'll be out of town for Buke & Gass @ Johnny Brenda's . The next and best show that caught my eye is Balkan Beat Box playing with Uproot Andy & Joro Boro @ the Trocadero Theatre.  After seeing KT Tuns...

In anticipation of the upcoming Beastie Boys new album, The Hot Sauce Committee - Part 2 , I thought I would select a song that is not new, nor from any of their albums. 'Mullet Head' is a B side that was born in the Ill Communication era. Why it didn't make it to the album after Sabotage is beyond me? The closest it came was as a Bonus track on the Japanese Ill Communication . 'Mullet Head' made its domestic debut about a week after the album came out, as a B Side to the second album single 'Sure Shot'. It was also featured on the Clueless Soundtrack.    The punk ode to the Mullet and the tough guys that wear it is one of their best punk songs by the Beastie Boys .  It is certainly an improvement over very early Beastie Boys featured on Some Old Bullshit and better than anything put out on '95's Aglio e Olio EP.  Here's an instrumental version of 'Mullet Head' - Beastie Boys - Ill Communication era excerpt from 'M...

Back when I was in college, my mom and I didn't see eye to eye on music.  She was an Oldies turned Country fan.  I was a top 40 turned Alternative fan.  We had a little quid pro quo arrangement, whereas I could tell the difference between the famous Garth Brook s and the less than famous Radney Foster .  She in turn could tell me which fruit or vegetable I was listening to between, Smashing Pumpkins, Cranberries, Red Hot Chili Peppers , or Blind Melon ; she could even tell the difference between Reel Big Fish and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones !   If we road tripped we went back and forth between each other's c.d.'s.  However, we didn't necessarily like each other's music. For some reason my mother didn't trust that her young adult knew good music?  Ironically, when I was heavy into Eric Clapton' s Unplugged album, she just thought I was depressed as I listened to it over and over again.  I guess I did give her plenty of reason to doubt as I...

Part of the ongoing series of 'Molly Songs': a weekly look featuring songs that our children will love, but more importantly parents can enjoy as well. Last January, I downloaded the iTunes free video of the week: Anya Marina -'All the Same to Me'.  It was somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine to listen to in the beginning.  It has a catchy pop rhythm (piano) & beat (clapping and up-right bass), and it has great use of a seemingly 1 part horn section.  Best of all is the soft sensuous voice singing the tune.   If you watch the video it's even better as the attractive Anya Marina , leads a circus troupe turned band for rousing performance of her single 'All the Same to Me'. If I lost you in the description, head to her site http://www.anyamarina.com/videos.php to catch her as a temptress adult store employee covering T.I .'s 'Whatever You Like'. If you liked the description of the song so far, and want to hear how this could possibly p...