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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Birthday: Richard Wright::: "Echoes" - Richard Wright & David Gilmore of Pink Floyd

Today we celebrate the life and birthday of Richard Wright, the prolific keyboardist of Pink Floyd. Wright passed away too early, in 2008 due to cancer. Though often overshadowed by his band-mates, Wright contributed a great deal to the textured, full sound that characterized Pink Floyd's most epic pieces. Check out this absurdly awesome version of "Echoes" from a 2006 Gilmore show at the Royal Albert Hall. Wright guests on lead vocals and keyboard. What a great way to kill 22 minutes at work! Enjoy. David Gilmore on Richard Wright: "No one can replace Richard Wright. He was my musical partner and my friend. In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. I have never played with anyone quite like him."

Thursday, July 21, 2011

"You Oughta Know" & "Rainbow in the Dark" - Das Racist

My buddy E. Claudio is always good for music suggestions.  His latest recommendation has been stuck in my head all day.  I figured I should post it so as to at least make sure I'm not the only one going around Chicago singing strangely to themselves.

Das Racist is a hip hop group out of Brooklyn, NYC that own a wickedly strange style highlighting deep knowledge of 90's Americana, old-school hip hop, and New York culture, among a variety of other odd throw-back and comedic influences.  Consisting of Heems (Himanshu Suri), Kool A.D. (Victor Vazquez), and hype man Dap (Ashok Kondabulu), the cultural make-up of the group (including members of Indian, Italian, and Afro-Cuban descent) is as atypical to the hip hop world as their music.  While critics can't seem to decide if Das Racist deserves "kind-of-a-big deal" or "joke" status, the group seems to embrace the whacked out dorkiness of it all.

I liked this quote...

Himanshu Suri stated in an interview:
I think being minorities at a liberal arts college and that type of environment had an impact on both the way we view race and our sense of humor, which people often use as a tool to deal with race. I always felt like Wonder Showzen was a television show that captured that type of thing perfectly. When I saw the little kid yelling "THAT'S RACIST" it blew my mind. And then it became a game ... to take all the seriousness out of making legitimate commentary on race, because that can get very annoying. So when something veering on racially insensitive would pop off in a commercial on television or something it would be like, who could yell "That's Racist" first. And then we thought it would be a cool name. Das EFX may have been an inspiration.

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Friday, July 8, 2011

Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

In honor of the gorgeous and sunny day here in lovely Chicago I thought I would bring it back a bit for y'all with this classic. Adjust the bass, and let the Alpine blast.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

My Sweetie - Wale

If you ever need to get a dance party started, look no further.  Seriously.  I have played this on car trips, at house parties, while making dinner, while getting ready to go out, while brushing my teeth...In each case things got HYPED!!!  Wale does an amazing job of mixing Nigerian dance influences with D.C. style go-go rhythms in a way that brings out primal hip motion in even the most reserved wall flower.  Go forth.  Shake your money-maker.

Bizness- tUnE-yArDs

My buddy Erin suggested I check out this song last week.  Not only is the music awesome, but the video is mesmerizing (see below).  I promptly bought the whole album (WhoKill) and was not disappointed one bit.  The album is full of excellent songs that do an amazing job of mixing experimental folk elements, really strange percussion, and powerfully emotional vocals.