Saturday: In a surprising turn of events, Source Code is supposed to be good, and Your Highness a failure; I don’t want to live in a world where Danny McBride and James Franco can’t make medieval stoner comedy. At night: Nouveau Riche is for dancing and Ra Ra Rasputin is for rocking. The last Polaroid Retrospective got by on a quirky premise; hopefully the Lamont Bishop Gallery is less crowded than Sova.
Sunday:TV on the Radio plays Rams Head Live (all the way in Baltimore, I know) in support of Nine Types of Light. Expect a review of either or both on Monday, but tickets are still available.
The Soundtrack:
Blaqstarr drops a brief but exciting mix for Fact Magazine in advance of next week’s mixtape release. Apparently the tracklist he provided to Fact didn’t actually resemble the contents of the mix, but enjoy this journey through Blaqstarr’s universe, anyway.
As a bonus, here are two tracks off the mixtape; Blaqstarr, meet Black Star.
Nguzunguzu is a DJ/production duo comprised of LA locals Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda. While nguzu nguzus were traditional totems in the South Pacific, this Nguzunguzu is more concerned with dance floor ecstasy than spiritual protection.
Their self-titled (and free) EP is a hyperactive blend of house, club, juke and tropical influences. The only respite from the unrelenting chaos is the eerily moody “Moments in Sex.” There’s nothing ambient about the hyperactive tribal guarachero of “El Bebe Ambiente,” and “Got U” is a claustrophobic banger based on a sample from Drake’s “A Night Off.” On a recent remix, Canblaster and Berou focus the song into big room house.
[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/got_u_canblaster_berou.mp3″ text=”Nguzunguzu – Got U (Canblaster and Berou remix)” dl=0]
The duo’s Mirage EP is a more cohesive set of sounds, and although it was released by Silverback Recordings, it would fit in the Night Slugs catalog nicely. The entire EP teams with poly-rhythms – bits and pieces of overlapping percussion that fight for attention. “Rec Loose” features a bass melody right out of classic dubplates and breaks down into a warm mix of yawning synths. “Unfold” is a spooky drumline rave; Munchi’s remix is best described by its title: “Munchi likes excessive amounts of bass mambo juke remix.”
As Nguzunguzu shipped off to Europe for a series of dates, they dropped a brief promo mix that ranges from tropical house to rhythm and bass. This is global dance music at its finest – and weirdest.
I will admit: I haven’t watched a late night talk show in quite a while. Sure, I enjoy Conan O’Brien and Craig Ferguson when I watch them, but I’ve been without cable for two years and a talk show is too ephemeral to follow without it. Like most members of Team Coco, I didn’t even watch Conan’s stint on “The Tonight Show.” But as a fan of comedy, music, and conversation (can you be a fan of conversation?), talk shows are a natural fit for my tastes.
You, Me, Them, Everybody Live is a live talk show and podcast hosted by Brandon Wetherbee at Petworth’s Looking Glass. A recent transplant from Chicago, Wetherbee has hosted YMTE since 2008 and brought the show with him to DC late last year. As he admitted during a recent show, YMTE is basically extended practice (and an audition) for a show after Craig Ferguson, and his free-rolling style is similar.
I caught the most recent show at the Looking Glass. After Wetherbee’s monologue, guests included the Washington Post’s Chris Richards, comedian Chris Barylick and folk band Big Chimney. While I’m a fan of Richards’ writing (and his music with ex-band Q and Not U), Barylick’s set didn’t do it for me and Big Chimney isn’t my cup of tea. But like good talk shows, there’s usually something for everyone, and if not, there’s always next week.
From the sonic graveyard of crosses and triangles that is drag/witch house comes oOoOO. Pronounced “oh,” oOoOO is Christopher Dexter Greenspan, a San Francisco-based producer and pioneer of the nascent sound. Over two EPs, he has staked his claim as the most accessible artist in the intentionally-underground scene.
In January 2010, oOoOO released No Summer4U as a limited-run CD-R on Disaro Records. The disc spun familiar dance pop into macabre soundscapes. Formerly sugary tunes like Nocera’s “Summertime” and Space Cowboy’s “My Egyptian Lover” are transformed into the skittering, synth-heavy “No Summer4U” and “EGYPTYNLVR,” respectively. His remix of “Poker Face” chops and screws the Gaga hit into a detuned funhouse track.
His first proper EP, a self-titled 12″ on Tri Angle Records, built on the sounds he established on No Summer4U. Throughout the EP, oOoOO’s songs have faster tempos and more structure than those of his contemporaries, without betraying their gloomy nature. Even under waves of static and a fog of uneasiness, melody is still king. The juked percussion of “mumbai” (which also appears on the CD-R) is a highlight.
The drag/witch house scene has been percolating for a few years now, and the cream is rising to the top. oOoOO recently did a podcast for FACT Magazine, previewing a new track and moving into unusual but understandable territory (ie Cat Power). Similarly, don’t miss his remix of Marina and the Diamonds’ “Obsessions.” For fans of both pop music and the darkness of drag, oOoOO is the man for all seasons.
The first and final season of Lights Out reached its conclusion last night. In the nine episodes that have aired since I last wrote about the show, Lights Out answered my critiques, and then some.
Throughout the show, Patrick “Lights” Leary is torn between two families, pitting the needs of his wife and kids against the needs of his siblings and parents. It’s a complicated dynamic that doesn’t quite run parallel to the tension between Lights’ desire to do things the right way versus the necessary way. Stacey Keach was a constant bright spot in the cast, even if a late-season appearance by Lights’ mother played out predictably. As the season progressed, Johnny (Pablo Schreiber) became more sympathetic, more damaged than malicious, while their sister Margaret (Elizabeth Marvel) moved in the other direction. The only shortfall continued to be the weakly characterized children, but there is only so much you can do in 40 minutes chunks.
Lights fought his way back from the street to the ring to challenge “Death Row” Reynolds. Along the way, he helped train a loser, took out the vicious Javier ‘El Diablo’ Morales, and survived various underworld diversions. The shady world of boxing promotion was on full display. Neither the characters nor the audience could pin down Hal Brennan or Barry Word, thanks to nuanced performances from character actors Bill Corwin and Reg E. Cathey. The excellent David Morse showed up as a punch drunk boxer (and cautionary tale). Eamonn Walker was mesmerizing as headcase trainer Ed Romeo. Unfortunately, he played the role of Magical Negro, coming out of nowhere to offer a new perspective on life and boxing to our white hero, before returning to whence he came.
The central dramatic issue of the show was how far Lights would go for the championship belt. As far as morality, Lights was not without fault; he was a button man and a cage fighter; he’d get someone to intimidate a witness. Yet the physical cost of fighting, and the threat of Pugilistic Dementia, loomed larger than any prison time. By the end of the show, Lights got what he wanted, but at what cost?
After a season of declining ratings, the decision not to renew Lights Out was an easy one for FX. And unlike a show like Terriers, the end feels natural. Where else could the writers take this show and these characters? Lights’ narrative is complete, recasting the show as a 13-episode, 9-hour miniseries. In a backwards sort of way, FX is crafting shows in the British style: short runs that tell self-contained stories. Lights Out proves that not every show needs to go 12 rounds to be a knockout.
Forget what club music charlatans say: Baltimore club moving up I-95 to Philadelphia and Newark (and out to Chicago) is and was a beneficial development for the sound.
Exhibit A in the Brick Bandits dominance of club music is DJ Sega. Sega just wrapped up his Sixer Series Collection with its third volume of twenty minute workout plans.
Each volume has featured a mix of Sega’s originals and remixes. Touching on hip-hop (“Runaway”), R&B (Beyonce, R. Kelly), progressive house (Pryda’s “MIA to ATL”), and even dance classics (“Everybody Dance Now”), Sega’s steady hand supercharges the familiar into something much more fierce. As for originals, tracks like “Rock Dem Hornz” and “Bitch Right Now” are instant club classics.
Baltimore club has a knack for capturing the zeitgeist; Jonny Blaze’s “SpongeBob” remix is the chief example of this. DJ Sega continues the tradition by crafting “The Angry Birdz Theme” out of samples from the ubiquitous iPhone/iPad sensation.
[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/DJ_Sega-The_Angry_Birdz_Theme.mp3″ text=”DJ Sega – The Angry Birdz Theme” dl=1]
After a club slaying turn at last month’s Clockwork party, Sega returns to DC for this month’s edition. If you missed this last time (and even if you were there), see the future of club music first hand this Friday. To hold you over, grab all three volumes of the Sixer Series.
1. riot music – (donaeo + skream x dj sega remix)
2. mia to atl to phl – (pryda x dj sega remix)
3. music sounds better with you – (stardust x dj sega remix)
4. why don’t you love me – (beyonce x dj sega remix)
5. runaway – (kanye west x dj sega remix)
6. u don’t like me – (diplo + lil jon x dj sega remix)
7. rock dem hornz sega – (dj sega) – Bonus
1. rock dem hornz sega – (dj sega)
2. K-swift’s hold up 2011 – (dj sega)
3. Shiftee (onyx x dj sega remix)
4. Next To You (dj class + rose royce x dj sega)
5. everybody fuck now (sissy penis factory + c&c music factory xdj sega)
6. down low (r kelly x dj sega)
1. bitch right now – (dj sega)
2. body bag remix (johnny Nelson x dj sega)
3. look at me now part 2 (chris brown + busta rhymes + lil wayne x dj sega)
4. philly shit remix (young chris x dj sega)
5. wall-e 2012 (gimmie a wallie) (ybe x dj sega)
6. the angry birdz theme (dj sega)
After the success of The Tudors, it was only a matter of time before Showtime cracked open the history books for another sexy historical drama. Even more scandalous than the House of Tudor was the House of Borgia; the latter is the subject of Showtime’s latest offering.
The Borgias were an Italian noble family of Spanish ancestry that rose to power in the late 15th century. On their list of accused crimes: adultery, simony, theft, rape, bribery, incest, and murder. Not too shabby for a family whose patriarch gained the highest perch in all of Renaissance-era Europe: the Papacy.
The Borgias is the brainchild of Neil Jordan, the writer/director behind The Crying Game. It is a well-dressed historical drama, with lush costumes and sets befitting noble courts. Jeremy Irons brings considerable heft to a cast of (mostly unknowns) as Rodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI. It looks like François Arnaud, who plays Rodrigo’s son Cesare, will be a major focus, as he ruthlessly acts as Cardinal and consigliere for his father.
The two-hour premier of The Borgias focused on Rodrigo Borgia’s controversial transformation into Pope Alexander VI. The politics of the College of Cardinals, the Borgia clan’s complicated relationships, and Cesare Borgia’s behind-the-scenes machinations also provide grist for the program. It also features the sex and violence that have come to define premium cable dramas; in this case, it doesn’t feel forced.
However, the show is flawed by the Shakespearean reading given to the dialogue – a British accent the stand-in for Italian and Latin intonations. But if you can get beyond that, the show has promise. This period of history is particularly rich – so rich, in fact, that there is another show in development about the same figures. Tom Fontana, who created Oz, does the same for Borgia for France’s CanalPlus. Let’s hope that Fontana brings the same no-holds-barred approach to his version of the Borgia mythology. For now, The Borgias has the advantage of being the first horse out of the gate.
Last week saw the release of mixtapes from two rising rappers: Big K.R.I.T.’s Return of 4Eva and Fat Trel’s April Foolz. Both artists get to the heart of hip hop in 2011, albeit with divergent styles.
Big K.R.I.T. (an acronym for “King Remembered In Time”) is Justin Scott, a 24-year-old from down south in Meridian, Mississippi (about 100 miles from David Banner’s Jackson home).
Return of 4Eva is pure Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, very much in the Southern G-funk style mastered by Outkast, with hints of UGK and Curren$y. The beats gleam like polished chrome. Soul samples mingle with fresh keys, horns and bass in a refreshing return to a richer era of hip hop production. For his part, K.R.I.T. is crisp and clear, more Big Boi than Three Stacks.
“American Rapstar” is a head-nodder that succinctly pinpoints industry-rap issues: “And they don’t love you till you’re on the ground / Or when you’re maxing out your bank account / …And even if it means you don’t survive the night / But if even if you do you won’t survive the hype / Of an American rapstar.” “Dreamin'” is a down-tempo meditation on similar themes.
[wpaudio url=”/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/08%20American%20Rapstar.mp3″ text=”Big K.R.I.T. – American Rapstar” dl=1]
The song that burns grooves in your hard drive is “Highs & Lows,” with it’s music-nerd-approved “life ain’t nothing but an EQ of highs and lows” chorus and “I’d Rather Be With You” outro. Any track that references arguably Bootsy Collins’ best song is a winner.
Lyrically, K.R.I.T. plays in familiar territory, but with his own spin on things. Balancing the stripper tale “Shake It” is the Bamboozle-sampling “A Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Encouraging Racism” (K.R.I.T. is all about acronyms, apparently), a conscious-by-way-of-Pac tune.
Return of 4Eva is all killer, no filler. Guest spots by David Banner, Chamillionaire, Raheem DeVaughn, Ludacris, and Bun B are tasteful and not distracting: K.R.I.T. more than holds his own among heavyweights. The future looks bright for this 2011 XXL Freshman.
While Return of 4Eva plays out like a fully-developed album, Fat Trel’s April Foolz is a pure mixtape, for better or for worse. Incessant DJ drops and rewinds distract from the product: Trel’s DC-based trap rap. Like his last tape, the breakout No Secrets, Trel is unapologetic about drugs (dealing and using) and women (sexing and uh, using). Beats are provided by 808 wunderkind Lex Luger and DMV heads E Major and Bassheadz, among others.
“Respect Wit the Tech,” produced by Luger, fits right in with the hitmakers’ other tracks (“Hard in the Paint,” “B.M.F.,” “H.A.M.”) with ratatat rhythms, cinematic synths and gunshot samples. Trel keeps it simple, dropping a chorus built to ride: “I got money / I got power / Got respect with this tech / Got respect with this tech / bust a move and get wet.”
Fat Trel is basically a one-note rapper, but because he hits it so hard yet so effortlessly, he’s the most entertaining and promising rapper in the DMV. This is guilty pleasure rap suited for your next party (or award show riot). His association with Wale’s Board Administration may be over, but a partnership with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music (something he is more well-suited for than Wale) can’t be too far off.
Well, hopefully you’ve survived the day without embarrassing yourself too badly. Better late than never, here’s this weekend’s electronic-music heavy agenda (even more so than usual).
The Plan:
Friday: The first American party to feature dubstep – New York’s Dub War – comes to DC as part of the Forward Fest. Dub War residents Dave Q and Joe Nice throw down at Sweet Spot. If you’re on H Street tonight, the team behind the superb, Cuban-inspired El Floridano food truck takes over the kitchen at Rock and Roll. Plus, ramen-dumpling haven Toki Underground finally opens, as well.
Digital Boy + Shark make their online home at gangsterrave.com, which should give you some sense of their sound. Their Serious Businessmixtape for Karmaloop is an unrelenting mix of dubstep, grime, and UK ‘ardcore that will help you power through the end of your workweek (or the beginning of a killing spree).
Deathface’s excellent “Blood Rave” shows up about halfway through the mix. Check out the brand new, Blade-inspired video (directed by Patrick Rood aka The Captain) for the track, and keep an eye out for DC’s little ray of darkness: Denman.
For the last month, two of the most buzzed about artists have been Frank Ocean and The Weeknd. Both are previously-unknown musicians who released free mixtapes to quick critical praise: Nostalgia, Ultra and House of Balloons, respectively. Both are associated with fan favorites, as well: Frank Ocean with OFWGKTA and The Weeknd with Drake.
But in an unfortunate turn, both artists have been pigeonholed as “hipster R&B” or the more derisive “PBR&B.” The incessant need to tag nascent sounds with quirky genre names is nothing new (see: witch house, chillwave), but with this particular sound and name, it’s even more controversial than ever. Some have called it offensive, as Jozen Cummings did in The Awl, suggesting that:
Calling it “hipster R&B” is a nice way of saying it’s R&B that white people like (black hipsters notwithstanding), and here’s my problem with that: It’s myopic, lazy, and it sounds to me like a form of musical segregation that’s not entirely based on genre.
This is a similar issue to one I’ve thought about for some time (and wrote about when reviewing Janelle Monae): the inability or unwillingness of the music industry to classify and market black artists who don’t fit comfortably in the hip hop and R&B pigeonholes. For Cummings and others, the problem is calling Frank Ocean and The Weeknd R&B solely because they’re black, while white artists who mix the same influences are not.
In this case, I’m not totally sure that’s the problem. I hear R&B influences, however diffused, in the work of Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, in the same way I hear them in The XX and James Blake. However, I agree with Cummings’ conclusion, even if we are on different sides of the issue:
If we want to have a real discussion about R&B—where it’s at, where it’s going, who is doing it right, who is doing it weird, and who is really not doing it at all no matter what the critics say—let’s talk about all of these artists.
For some (I think Cummings included), the problem is that there is more traditional R&B being passed over in favor of these genre-defiers. My main problem with “hipster R&B” and “PBR&B” is that they denigrate the music without actually describing the sound. “Hipsters” and “PB&R” give a mise en scène separate from the music, and as limiting as genre classifications can be, shouldn’t they at least focus on the music?
Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra is brash and inventive, in an entirely different way than the rest of the Odd Future crew. Apart from the “Hotel California” and “Electric Feel” samples (“American Wedding,” “Nature Feel”), the compositions are original and run the gamut from sweeping ballads (“Strawberry Swing”) to soulful throwbacks (“Lovecrimes”).
From The Weeknd (the mysterious Abel Tesfaye) comes House of Balloons, which owes as much to xx as it does to So Far Gone. The downtempo mixtape finds Tesfaye crooning about hip hop trappings in a way that feels more natural than when done by emo rappers. The weeping guitar line and punchy drum and bass combo of “The Morning” are representative, but one hopes Tesfaye has another “What You Need” up his sleeve: whatever you call it, music needs songs that dark and sexy.
Postcultural 