Decked Out Boys, an emerging rap group from Mississippi, has put out a fun new jam called “Boppin'” The video features some pretty dank, old school automobiles intercut with scenes of the group dancing(boppin’ presumably)with fans and friends in a park. The video production quality is very good, and the song itself is quite catchy. Probably my favorite component of this video is the guy who is randomly rocking the “meow we’re talking!” t-shirt with the giant cat on it.
My particular notion of boppin is based more along the lines of 1950’s sock hop nostalgia, as articulated in Elton John’s, Crocodile Rock. According to Urban Dictionary though, the term has several possible meanings in modern society. Decked Out Boys are a talented and energetic young group. If this single catches on, their version of Boppin’ could become a popular thing. The song is available on their website.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released in 1988. A combination of live footage film and animation. Starring the talented Bob Hoskins, and directed byRobert Zemeckis, the end results were mixed. The lasting impression for me was not the movie itself, but the experience of seeing it at the drive-in.
My parents loaded up the family for a drive-in double feature of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the movie Vibes, starring Cyndi Lauper and Jeff Goldblum.
It began to rain as we drove, but my parents thought it would be fine to continue onward. We lived in Phoenix, and the drive-in was in south Scottsdale, so it wasn’t exactly nearby.
The rain kept up throughout Roger Rabbit, so the window wipers were left on, which lent itself to the pseudo noir setting of the movie.
The movie ended and it was still raining, so my parents decided not to stay for the second feature film. As we left the maze-like parking lot, my father got turned around, and ended up going the wrong direction through an exit, running over the ground spikes that avert traffic from going the opposite direction.
So the family was stuck at the drive-in exit, with blown tires, in the rain. My father walked in the rain to the nearest payphone and called my aunt Mary for a lift, and then called a tow truck.
Aunt Mary arrived to the scene, and we all packed into her VW bug, as father stayed behind waiting for the tow truck. We fell asleep on the ride back, only waling up as we arrived home. I haven’t a clue how late it was by the time father was dropped off home, but he was certainly there when I woke up the next day.
For a movie that was only mediocre, I never forget the rainy circumstances of which we saw it. The mishaps and shenanigans of trying to leave, and the eventual divorce it lead to.
Checked out a new single from a passionate young rapper from Fort Lauderdale, “Absoloot.”This latest jam is titled “Watch Your Words.” His “speed alternating” delivery style clearly reminds me of mid 90’s Bone Thugs, though not quite as fast(does anyone rap that fast?) Absoloot’s actual voice has a jovial clarity, which gives it a bit of an old school, 80’s MC quality(some of his other songs have more an R&B feel to them.) He uses some interesting layering and echo effects with the vocals, which seem to give his verses a unique sound. The chorus, “Be careful who you serve…Watch your words” feels like it gets repeated in the song about 50 times. I listened to this song only 2 or 3 times, and that phrase was stuck in my head for days. If there is a recurring theme in his songs, it’s that Absoloot is a fairly suspicious fellow, along with being a dreamer. He tends to promote progress and cautions against banksters as well as generalized greed(he actually has songs which are titled “banksters” and “greed.”) “Watch Your Words,” with it’s crisp piano backing, is clearly the best musically and the catchiest of his songs. I recommend you give this a listen. Regardless of the situation, watching one’s words is nearly always good advice.
When I first saw the following statement in the bio of the band, “Them Howling Bones,” I’ll admit I was highly skeptical:
Their blues rock approach to music will take you back to the glory days of rock ‘n roll, when groups like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Cream were the backbones of rock music.
That’s setting the bar pretty high. Make no mistake though, the music of “Them Howling Bones” is badass. Incredibly, they weren’t bluffing. They really do capture the mid to late 70’s classic rock sound. One of their best songs, “Luci,” would not have seemed out of place on the “Dazed and Confused” soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4zneBcffmE
The song is just very well put together, with dynamic vocals and radical guitar solos. The energy conveyed makes it clear that these guys live for music and enjoy what they’re doing. It’s kind of a shame that popular music of today is such garbage, because if this was 1977…any kid who thought disco sucked would be listening to this(I happen to enjoy disco actually, but I like classic rock as well.) The good news though is that people who truly love to play music care little about money and fame. The process of creating jams such as these is it’s own reward. Everything else is just a bonus. These guys deserve a bonus.
Let’s face it, job interviews are no place for honest people. Answer questions candidly in good faith, and you’re toast. Tell them the diplomatic lies they want to hear, and you’re in like Flynn(“My passion is to help people! I loved my old job, and the only reason I left was that I felt I had reached a point where the position wasn’t conducive to helping me achieve my future goals, etc.”)Well, actually you may not get the job anyway if you don’t look the part or if you give off any kind of off putting vibe at any point in the process.
In any event here are some honest interview answers we’d like to see:
“What makes you want to work for us?”
A: I need a job or I will run out of money. I applied to 20 places, and you were one of the ones who called me back
“I see that you only worked at this place for 4 months. What happened there?”
A: I hated it. The place was like a prison, and you needed to clock out just to take a piss. They also gave me more accounts than anyone could possibly handle.”
“What are you looking for in your next job?”
A:Something that pays all right and where I’m not constantly in fear of being fired for violating some trivial technicality.
“Were you able to consistently hit your quota?”
A: Yes, but only for a while. Then I got burnt out. Then again the quotas were so unrealistic that no one on the entire team was hitting them, except maybe like 1 or 2 people.
“Tell me about a time when “XYZ” happened and how did you handle it?
A: I can’t really think of a specific example, so let me just pull something out of my ass real quick and hope that it sounds like something that could have actually happened.
“What would your colleagues say about you”
A: That I’m sort of creepy cause I tend to hit on girls through the office communicator and on Linkedin, but that I know what the fuck I’m doing, and that’s why everyone still asks me for help.
The thing that stands out the most to me in “Sammattick The Rebel’s” album, “Rebelution” is the beautiful piano music that serves as a backdrop for some of the songs. It’s as though he could have released a separate album with just instrumentals, and it could have been used as a soundtrack for some kind of sentimental film. As for the rap in general, the style has a very early 90’s feel(a good thing.) Being a fan of the original 60’s show, my favorite jam is probably the second song “Holy Batmans,” which happens to feature a sample from the hit folk tune, “Reach Out In The Darkness” by Friend and Lover. It’s impossible to come up on the 12th track “Man In The Mirror” without thinking it might be some new rap version of the Michael Jackson classic jam of the same name. The two songs are nothing alike though.
Overall, this is a pretty decent collection of hip hop songs with enough variance in style that anyone should be able to find something they like. Sammattick definitely has some speed skills as a rapper, and some of the retro themes he incorporates seem to work with his style. Despite the album’s cover photo and the title, “Rebelution,” I didn’t really pick up on any heavy political sentiments that would turn people off to listening to it.
As much fun as it is to explore things outside my element, I love when I get the chance to review something that is in the realm of what I would actually listen to, which is why it was refreshing to hear the jams of “Rory’s Insomnia,” a New York based rock group led by female Israeli singer, Rony Corcos. Her voice and music have a kind of mid 90’s alternative/Indie film soundtrack kind of vibe. Her vocals remind me of Sarah McLachlan, but the backing instrumentation is more modern, and he songs softly energetic like The Cranberries. My favorite track on their newly released album, “Count To 10,” is the 7th track, “Emerald City.” It just seems to be the catchiest one with the most potential. All 10 of these songs are good though. They are meticulously put together, elegantly performed, and themed nicely. Take the time to check them out.
As a prelude to the upcoming album, “Inside out,” here is an excellent new video/single from Tigers Craving Stars called “Missouri Loves Company.” The song features light hip hop that flows smoothly and is accentuated by some beautiful backup vocals from a talented young singer, Daniela Andrade. Both the production quality and the acting in the video are superb, even though I can’t say I have any idea what the theme is, but I prefer the abstract nature of it over other videos that leave nothing to curiosity and imagination. It features a seemingly unhappy child dancer/ballerina/ beauty pageant type girl in some dysfunctional family situations, presumably dealing with the pressures adults put on the girl to be beautiful and talented, and then later there is a scene with some young women eating froyo.
These artists have some real potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more from them. They have a serious yet light and unassuming style that let’s the story do the talking.
When I got a hold of solo artist “Bernie Journey’s” new single, “Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?” I thought perhaps it might be something of a cover of the 60’s Dino Desi and Billy classic “If You’re Thinking What I’m Thinking.” It isn’t. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a psychedelic charm though(the video promo does especially,) but it’s more of an 80’s dance pop style. It kind of reminds me of the stuff I used to hear on the radio on the way to grade school basketball games in 1987(a good thing.) The lyrics are sexually charged but not explicit:
if you’re thinking, what I’m thinking…
let’s get to unzipping
The production quality is top notch. The artist describes the song as “an upbeat, energetic Indie-Rock/Electronica offering,” and I would say that sums it up rather nicely. I could see this jam being a hit at indie dance clubs and raves.
The single “Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?” is to be released along with remixes by Ros Garcia and El Brujo. It will be made available on iTunes, Beatport, and all relevant music outlets with an official releases date of December 30th 2014
I generally hate “listicles” as I associate them with millennials, but I was feeling nostalgic and reflecting on some repressed childhood memories… so here are some common frustrations experienced by children of that fantastic decade, the 1980’s:
– Taping the Super Bowl on Betamax only to discover after the game that it didn’t record because the VCR was set to the wrong channel.
– Getting really far in a Nintendo game, but when you try to continue you can’t get the passcode you wrote down to work because you can’t tell the difference between 0 and O and Q on the pixelated screen.
– Getting in big trouble in school for acting out “Karate Kid” moves at recess.
– Trying to find the last few Garbage Pail Kid cards you need on the checklist when all the stores have already started carrying the next series.
– When one of the sides of your M.U.S.C.L.E. Hard Rockin’ Knockin’ wrestling ring breaks.
– Your parents yelling at you through the home intercom system
– After seeing films like “Red Dawn,” “Wargames,” and “Nostradamus: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow,” the feeling that nuclear war between the US and The Soviet Union was inevitable and only a few years away.
– You get in trouble for repeatedly making a pay phone call itself.
– One of the first female TV characters you’re sexually attracted to turns out to be an alien lizard.
– Agonizing over the stuff you want from the toy section of the new Sears catalog
– The lever on your viewmaster gets busted.
– You turn on the TV and find out your favorite Saturday morning cartoon has been canceled
– Your mother won’t take you to Hardee’s so you can get a California Raisins figurine with your meal.
– When you push play on your walkman and find out the volume is set to “insanely loud.”
– One of your favorite read-along records breaks or goes missing from its case.
(technically this one came out in 1979, but seriously EVERY kid from 1980-1985 had a copy of this or “The Hobbit” or “The Empire Strikes Back.”)
– Getting made fun of for greasing your hair after seeing “The Outsiders” and thus actually becoming an outsider yourself.
– You guessed wrong in the “Where’s The Cap’n” $1,000,000 Cap’n Crunch Sweepstakes
– Having your brand new shiny, Husky 683 destroyed by a tomahawk chop from a carpenter pencil in an epic game of popping pencils.
– Your mom yells at you when you come home with grass stains all over your clothes after playing “Smear The Queer” at recess.
– A member of your party getting dysentery in “The Oregon Trail.”
– Being terrified that your creepy talking Pee Wee Herman doll will say something in the middle of the night by itself.
– Being punched by all your friends at a sleepover for not saying “safety” or putting your thumb on your forehead fast enough after you farted.
– One of the buttons stops working on your video game watch
– The Los Angeles Rams trading Eric Dickerson to the Colts.
