Halloween: Rockabill-o-ween edition (twang!)

With Halloween coming, c'mon, you gotta listen to The Cramps.
(listen to darn near all of it, if you wanna)


Grab that DL on the DL

It might hurt, burn, sting, a little-- yet "when the devil drives, you needs must go".

If that song brings you to a dark place, friend, try this version instead: Roy Orbison's more upbeat and swinging version. This is closer to Casper the Friendly Ghost (in the best possible way).

Download Domino by Roy Orbison




And to finish, an earlier Roy Orbison version, that sort of splits the difference between Casper and Lux:

See, everybody loves sunglasses. "Sunglasses: Not just for Albinos Anymore!"

Together Soon: Teddy & Sharon ( & Harold ?! )

This one's a duet.
From the random selection on my IPhone which I brought to Portland- and will shortly bring to Houston.



Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
AKA "Teddy Pendergrass Feat. Sharon Paige: "Hope That...."
Teddy and Harold had a little spat, see- Harold founded the group, but by the time they were successful, well see, Teddy was doing all the lead singing.
(And How!)
Teddy wanted his name added to the existing group-name, which would have produced the titular monstrosity of
"Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Featuring Teddy Pendergrass".

"No dice", says Harold; Teddy says "I quit".
But not before recording this song with Sharon Paige (and the rest of the Blue Notes); she too was a Blue Note at the time, so this track really only needs the title "HM & BN: 'HWCBTS'",
not "TP FT SP (AKA HM & BN FT TP & FT SP): 'HTWCBTS'".

Clarifying, I'm sure.
I think we all learned a lot today.

The WRapper

I was The Wrapper Xmas gifts today, and it reminded me of this song.
"The Rapper" by Jaggerz.
The name (of the song) is misleading, and
the name (of the group) don't make no sense at all.



The name: because it is not about hip-hop- the song is from 1970, before hip-hop-rapping. They mean a guy who spits game at girls. He tries to pick up on all the ladies ... with sexy results ... Which makes for some funny lines in the song.
The group: because they didn't want to be confused with another band called The Jaggers, and Jaggerz really sets you apart from The Jaggers.
("s" and "z" are even right next to each other on the keyboard, making it easy to type them wrong. And while they didn't have personal computers in 1970, they did have typewriters: likewise QWERTY.
Lest you forget that bit of our technological past, for we are still haunted by the ghosts of technology past.)
Now, if they pronounced it "Yaygers", like Jaegermeister, maybe I can see a difference. I have a tie with the Jaegermeister symbol on it; oddly it is the symbol for patron saints of hunting. Jaeger means hunter auf Deutsch. Why anyone would put either a saintly symbol on a tie or a liquor brand symbol on a tie is beyond me.
(for formal deer hunts?) (for Rapping at 'classy broads'?)

Wikipedia 'clarifies' thus: "The Jaggerz had completed their evolution into how they are most known." Ah yes, I see, of course. The article also helpfully distinguishes between their Golden Age and their Waning Years, despite the fact that the article affirms their status as One Hit Wonders. Of course, I see, yes.


Please note that the chorus of this song is truly a delight.
Please note also that I do not know why the background video is something from the ABC Family channel. And, no, I can't tell who is dating who in the video either.


I won't say what I wrapped, even though the people I am giving to don't read my blog. They can use computers; these family members are not that old. But, I think they may not have been told of the giant excursion into S O U N D that is this blog yet.

RAPPER!

I'm the DJ.... REFIX

REFIX

I said Refix, not Remix. We call it Refix cos' we remixed the word "remix" (hereafter "RMX"). Heady stuff, I know.
AKA "I'm the DJ, He's the Rapper".
What's the mix sound like? Big drums. Disco sirens. Ass-on-Fire-Tracks. Is this the Future of Hip-Hop ??? ...



REFIX - I'm the DJ, He's the Rapper.zip (all tracks)
Flashing Lights (Benzi Refix) ^ Kanye West & the Clipse
Raw Shit ft. Talib Kweli ^ Jaylib
What's Your Fantasy ^ Ludacris Ft. Shawna
Take It to da Floor ^ DJ Killa Naz ft. Young Jeezy & Bone Crusher
Rump Shaker ^ Wrex 'N' Effect
Whistle Song (There it Go) ^ Juelz Santana
Ass on Fire (Busta Rhymes & Pharell) ^ Ghislain Poirier RMX
Turf Drop ^ E-40 ft. Lil' Jon
What We Do [Explicit] ^ Freeway, Beanie Sigel, JayZ
Stop Snitchin' (Milkcrate Mix) ^ mixed by Aaron Lacrate (from "Bmore Gutter Music")
Are U Ready [Hollertronix Mix] ^ mixed by Low Budget (from "Bmore Gutter Music")
It Takes 2 ^ Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
Top Billing ^ Audio Two

-------------------------------------------

"Flashing Lights (Benzi Refix)"

This is not the version you have - didn't I already tell you?: it's the REFIX version - This track is just the Clipse rapping, no Kanye. We need those Brothers Clipse to add some more grimm coldness to the track : Icy. Dey know, yayo...
This comes first, because it's a song you all know, but not the version you all know, so it double-catches your ear. IS HE OR ISN"T HE???
Watch the video, reminds me of 'karma police' by Radiohead (oh, back when I still cared). Slower-than-life + cars + the meeting of a violent end. Kanye's so arrogant (fair enough, not complaining) that he probably thinks that Radiohead are biting his style.










But the Clipse are key right now. Check some mixtapes: THEY GOT IT FOR CHEAP. Two of them, but they're brothers, so who can tell who is rapping? (hint: NOT ME) They need to be more like Dre and Snoop, who told you "It's Dre/ It's Snoop" mostly every third rhyme.

Jaylib - Raw Shit ft. Talib Kweli

Jaylib (J Dilla and Madlib) bringing some niceness. If you don't know about Stones Throw records, well, you could. The best rap label I know of right now; better than Def Jux even. Jux can get its head a little too far up its own ass sometimes. Plus, there are more rappers/producers on Stones Throw.
Listen here (there is even a dope podcast you can get) . Plus, this one has Talib Kweli rapping on it. Best living rapper: hands down (but, like, 'hands in the air' too).

Luda- off Diplo's Fabric mix. But was it a remix?- no.

Take it to the Floor - DJ Killa Naz Feat Lil' Jon & Bone Crusher is more or less a rave choon! Hip-hop is stealing from techno forever these days. Like how what flyers call 'electro' bites techno, and 'disco-punk' got white kids to dance by toning that shit (both disco AND punk) down. Timbaland, years ago, claimed to never had heard drum and bass, obv lying. But we'll let him lie, because in a field where you have to claim innovation, and no predecessors (which is weird ,since you have to 'know your history' and 'keep it real'), and where even British rappers

couldn't learn to rhyme until a white guy came around in 2002,
you cannot really claim you are inspired by the click and booooom beats from across the pond. That would not be real: it would really be not real.


Rump Shaker- Oregon Nathan told me the Neptunes produced this track. I was thinking, wow, how misinformed! I love Nathan, and Nathan loves hip-hop, but that song is as old as we are, and so are the Neptunes so, it's impossible!
NATHAN 1 CHRIS 0
Nathan was right, oh so right. Nathan should create a diss-track where he freestyles about what a know-it-all know-nothing I am. I could help produce it....
Plus, between this song and the gunshots coming up later, you basically have listened to M.I.A.'s Paper Planes (which, by the by, the best RMX of is the DFA discofied version, and there are many hott RMXs of
that song). So this song is like Neptunes/ N.E.R.D. in training....
Also, in terms of the mix itself, this song will get people back on the floor. Some people are scared of the RaveRap whistles from the previous jam. But, see, "Rump Shaker" won't lose the people who nuh afeared of RaveRap, because the horns on "Rump Shaker" are flute/whistle-like. Fun for EveryOne, riiiiigh?

Whistle Song- this rides the "rave synth TO horns TO whistle" train. CONTINUTITY IS KEY- CONSISTENCY IS KEY- KEEP IT SIMPLE (and/or) STOOPID

And so we keep it minimal and BOOM with Ghislain Poirer - Ass On Fire, a Canadian DJ and produceer and RMXer- I put up something off his Myspace on my Myspace the other day- yeah, you remember, huh? That one hott jam. Both Pharrell and Busta are funny on this one. AFTER convincing these girls to 'party' with him and Busta ("take off your jacket"), then Pharrell asks "What's your name? Word?" (probably says 'word?' because it's a stripper name, right?, and so it's something like Phantazia or Bunny) Every line in this song is a crack up. (get it CRACK up - because the song is about ASSES and EVERY ASS has a CRACK - like the Liberty Bell). Busta Rhymes is not exactly slept on, but he's also a better rapper than people give him credit for. Put it this way- what was the last time you heard anyone discussing his skills? Yeah, me either.
So this one is Neptunes/NERD full blown, even though it is a Ghislain Poirer refix.

E-40's "Turf Drop" has some similar big drums. This is how you keep the mix smooth moving from one songs to the next. Especially important when the tracks are not Dj-mixed together, but just laid side by side on your ITunes etc. THe drums work so well one after the other that I was vaccuuming (while listening to this mix, and Of Course, thinking, mang, what a sick mix) and thought it was still the same song. Both songs have such GoodLowBass that you can can hear the bass over power tools like a vaccuum. PROOF OF THE GREATNESS OF THESE SONGS, YES?

Freeway - What We Do
Freeway not only has a Muslim beard, but is also from Philly- these two things win him big points. (Beards Is A Must, ya heard?) This song makes poeple go nuts when it's LOUD. You could totally play it at a wedding reception. Why? Because it is old and new: Old means that they would have played it at 700 Club back in the day (before they started busing in people from wherever), and new means that New Silk City AND arts garage both put it on B L A S T. Warning you though: Free will snatch the dishes out your kitchen if his kids are hungry. Between this song and "Stop Snitchin'", another warning:
I'm just sayin that girls, your guy is feelin pretty tough right now, and he will probably want to do it when you get home.

Speaking of Arts Garage......
whiite-ite-iiiite-ite-tttt-iiiitt-ttt-ite
ttt-ttt-eeeee-te-te-teeeeeee-tetete-eeessssssssss
Stop Snitchin' (Milkcrate Mix) - mixed by Aaron Lacrate

and

Are U Ready [Hollertronix Mix] - mixed by Low Budget

We on the Philly to B'more X-press now! Free to Gutter, etcet etcet. Two tracks quick back-to-back.
So very white tees: songs with gunshots-as-percussion!
So very white tees: tracks with a sirens on them!
Drugs are 'wrong', but still , his drugs do not mean that you can snitch.

The Baltimore tracks are from Bmore getting repped hard by Philly.



Didn't like this at first, was way let down. It is just too much all at once, even though it is really two separate mixes. Now I like it a lot more, but mixed in a bit it really kills.
Over an hour straight can be a bit much. Bmore all day e'ery day is too much...

Then some older bidness here. I have never understood this line from "It takes Two": "I don't smoke buddha, can't stand sess YES". Is he being sarcastic? Before, I thought, definitely sarcastic, because I thought he was saying he can't stand SEX. It's one thing to say you don't puff in a rap tune, but another to (non-sarcastically) say that you hate doing it. One is statistically anomalous, the other, simply unacceptable, unthinkable even.... But now I see that he is just saying 'weed' twice, in two different ways (buddha and sess).

So are we clear?:
CRYSTAL