30.1.07

Bounce to this

Going back to the rap/rock thing for a moment, this track, "Snoop Bounce", is perhaps my favorite of the genre. It's basically a rock remake of the Snoop Dogg track from his album, "Tha Doggfather". Snoop still handles the raps on this version, but the backing band happens to be Rage Against The Machine. To me, it's a glorious match made in heaven. The bass is big and funky and the guitars furiously tear their way through the song. Toss in Snoop's cool as ice vocals and you've got one fucking badass tune.

I wonder if they actually got together in the studio. If they did, that must have been an interesting meeting. What if Snoop had ended up fronting RATM after Zack left, sorta like Ice-T's Body Count, instead of the band recruiting Chris Cornell and changing the name to Audioslave? I think it would been better more interesting, I wasn't impressed at all with Audioslave, but hey, that's me. Anyways, I only thought of this because I'm going to Coachella this spring and RATM are headlining one of the three days.

Bounce to this:
Snoop Dogg & Rage Against The Machine > Snoop Bounce

29.1.07

By the unwinking red eye of Ra!

The other day, I watched Bubba Ho-Tep with some friends. The movie being a favorite of mine, I was slightly surprised that they would want to watch it, as I seem to have a reputation for liking films (and music) that they're not into. On the surface, it looks like some stupid horror flick played up for laughs. I know I thought the same the first time I read the synopsis. Underneath, it's really quite thoughtful, touching, and even a little bit sad. I really liked the story about how Elvis ended up in an old folks home, wasting his life away. The character who thinks he's JFK is really great, as is the Mummy that stirs them into action. It's not a film that will blow you away, but it's very entertaining and, I think, underrated.

(If you haven't seen it, you can buy it practically anywhere. Alternatively, you can put it in your Netflix queue or see if it's showing on your favorite movie channel.)


To me, this track from the scene depicted above, captures the essence of The King, as well as the film.

Listen:
The King (from the Bubba Ho-Tep OST)

24.1.07

Hey yo, kids! Remember when I used to be dope?

One of my favorite hip hop tracks comes from the soundtrack of the godawful movie, Judgment Night. The cool thing about the album was the marriage of popular hip hop and alt-rock bands of the time. When the album was released, 1993, I thought this would be the way forward for hip hop. I'm only a casual fan of the genre, but it seemed to me that this was the only way to go. In any case, it was an interesting avenue worth exploring, even if, in hindsight, it didn't pan out that well.

This track, "Fallin", is by De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub. I really dig the lazy beat and the amusing, and sometimes biting, lyrics. They name check Teenage Fanclub towards the end, and there's also a healthy dose of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin", sampled for the song's chorus. It still sounds good some 13 or 14 years later.

Check it:
De La Soul & Teenage Fanclub > Fallin'

22.1.07

Look! It's El Perro Del Mar!

The exchange started off as usual. I noticed that my buddy, Jen, had marked a date to go check a gig by El Perro Del Mar. Knowing what I know of Jen's musical inclinations, I was a bit surprised that she'd be into EPDM, and I mentioned it to her. She was more into the whole Swedish pop singer thing, really, than she was into EPDM. In fact, she hadn't really heard any of the songs at all, so I steered some her way. Jen quickly decided that, yes, EPDM was not her cup of tea. I thought the album was okay, but it didn't really grab me the way I thought it would. We talked a bit about the things we didn't like on the album, her whiny-ass voice, the dreary pace, the tunelessness. Jen said it best, the girl sang like she was about to have a nervous breakdown, and I agreed. That should have been the end of it, but it goes on slightly.

For some reason, I thought I'd give the album, "Look! It's El Perro Del Mar!", another listen and so I dropped it onto my iPod. This time, it completely hooked me. She does sound whiny and like she's about to have a breakdown, but her voice is very pretty if you can get past those pitfalls. Musically, it's kinda like the soundtrack to a dark, twisted fairy tale. The backing vocals lend this eerie quality to it, sometimes conjuring up an image of a choir of disembodied children in a horror movie musical. Also, she reminds me of Julee Cruise quite a bit. You may remember her as the singer of the Twin Peaks theme song, "Falling".

So the moral of the story is that I am now a fan of the album and Jen is gonna give me shit the next time she drives past this page. Which is fine on both counts. I've been known to change my mind when the mood strikes, and even though our tastes are frequently on opposite ends of the spectrum, they collide every once in a while.

This is one of the more upbeat tracks from the album, I love it long time. Maybe you will as well.

Listen:
El Perro Del Mar > It's All Good

*P.S. >> I'm trying this filesharing site called zSHARE.net. At zSHARE, the files are up for unlimited downloads, but the file gets deleted if it's not downloaded for ten days. Also, it says you're able to listen first before downloading, unlike yousendit.com. So yeah, I'm gonna try it too, but lemme know if it's cool or not.

20.1.07

I idolize you

How hot is Cristina Martinez? That girl is like sex on a stick. Formerly of Pussy Galore and Boss Hog, and married to Jon Spencer (from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, or JSBX for short) . Check out this cover of an old Ike Turner song, which you can find on their 1995 self-titled album. I like the groove and the vocals (I'm guessing that's Jon Spencer on lead vocals) and Cristina's background vocals.
Listen:
Boss Hog > I Idolize You

19.1.07

Adventure's waitin' just ahead!


This is sorta music related, I guess. At the risk of dating myself, Speed Racer was my favorite cartoon when I was a kid. Oh man, the hours I used to spend in front of the television watching it. The thrills! The chills! The spills! I fucking loved it. I still kinda get goosebumps watching the show now. I was in love with Trixie, too. Man, she was hOtt! The original episodes have slowly been released on DVD, the final one about a month or two ago. I'd been trying for a while to find an mp3 of the show's closing theme. I really like it, but I couldn't tell you why. It just has this sorta jazzy, loungey feel to it which I think is cool, quite different from the opening theme. In any case, I finally found one after scouring the net for a while. I should just learn how to make sound clips off my DVDs.

Listen:
Speed Racer - Opening Theme
Speed Racer - Closing Theme

17.1.07

Silencio

Rebekah Del Rio plays herself in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, lip-synching Llorando, a Spanish cover of Roy Orbison's Crying. I don't really know anything of her, but this song, from the Mulholland Drive soundtrack, is drop-dead gorgeous. The scene where she's singing it in Club Silencio is really strange, but I won't say anymore. You'll have to check it out for yourself, if you haven't already seen it. If you have seen it, perhaps you should see it again. I just did last night.

Listen:
Rebekah Del Rio > Llorando

15.1.07

This life has its victories, but its defeats tear so viciously


I've had a bad start to this year, things have been pretty fucked up lately. Part of it was foolishly brought on by myself, so now I just gotta deal with it. Anyway, this one line in this song, where she goes "this life has its victories but its defeats tear so viciously", never fails to break my heart when Margo Timmins sings it. Well, I haven't heard anyone else sing it except for me, but you know what I mean. Her voice is simply sweet and angelic and she's really charming in concert as well. This particular track is from their third album, "Black Eyed Man", which is good. If you like this track, tho, I strongly recommend their first album, "The Trinity Session". Seriously, it's one of the best 3am, party's-winding-down albums you can find.

Listen:
Cowboy Junkies > This Street, That Man, This Life