Summertime video: "Any Fun" by Coconut Records

If you're wondering who the lovely lady is, it's actress Chloe Sevigny who many may recall from the cult classic Kids.

2nd half of the week preview

THURSDAY

Hip-Hop Thursdays at Spring Street Tavern: I'll be DJ'ing with Big Trey at the Spring Street Tavern from 10 to close. Holler at me for some free stuff!

Last of the Record Buyers presents Content Under Pressure: a very dope concept where randomly selected producers and emcees will be thrown together in a studio and have a few hours to create something. They then perform the song mere hours later. This all goes down at IPR. For an in-depth run-down peep the video:

FRIDAY

High Energy option:

BOMP V: Already in it's very successful fifth iteration, the BOMP! party keeps the formula simple. They bring in DJs that get people dancing no matter their style. It all ends up working because the young, hipster crowd is open-minded and just wants to shake their ass. Come through for partying without any pretenses.

Low Key option:

Treehouse Records Night at King & I Thai: I've been meaning to get to this music night at King & I. The music nerds at Treehouse Records will be taking over the sound at King & I all night and will be playing records from their personal collection. Deep crates are guaranteed.

SATURDAY

Twin Cities Battle League MC Battle Round 2: I've been meaning to get to one of these, but I haven't. I can't vouch yet for the quality of the contestants, but the fact that it's lasted 2 and a half seasons means that it can't be bad. Will there ever be anything like the Loring Pasta Bar battles? No. But at least people are keeping the freestyling art form alive and well. Come through to catch emcees cut their teeth and maybe even catch the next big Minneap rapper. I know that Sean Anon came up through this and caught the attention of Big Zach. It goes down at the Blue Nile off Cedar.

I almost forgot and this is what I'm looking forward to the most this weekend. Digitata is a Minneapolis electronic band with melodic instrumentation almost as sexy as the absolutely sultry and smokey vocals of Maggie Morrison. Their sound is hard to describe, but the experience is like being shrunken down to the size of a flea inside a cotton ball laced with LCD and fiber optics running through each magical cotton strand.

They will be performing and releasing an EP after being on hiatus for over a year and a half. The show is free and, even better, there will be awesome art from Eric Lee, David Jensen, and Chance Orth at the First Amendment gallery. For more details check out the City Pages article. It starts at 7:00 with Digitata performing around 9:00.

Digitata, "What's Cookin'"

Hip-Hop Father's Day!

Here are the songs that first came to mind when trying to find songs about fathers. They're all hip-hop tracks, but they cover a wide spectrum. They range from dedications ("Faheem"), to open letters ("Little Man"), to tragedy ("Meet the Parents"). Enjoy!

Atmosphere, "Good Daddy"

Jay-Z, "Meet the Parents"

El-P, "Stepfather Factory"

Cecil Otter, "A Hundred Fathers"

Atmosphere, "Little Man"

Brother Ali, "Faheem" (if you haven't been fortunate enough to witness Ali perform this track acapella in concert, it's truly chilling - much better than the album version)

MTV2 Twin Cities Week

Friggin' A! I can't believe I missed this! Mike Mictlan of Doomtree even reminded everybody about it at the Recession Music Release Party at the Fine Line last week. MTV2 focused on the Twin Cities' burgeoning music scene throughout last week. They had a heavy focus on P.O.S as Steph and Mike Mictlan showed MTV around the cities. If you missed it, you can catch up on MTV2's site here.

P.O.S. - New Music - More Music Videos

Useful instrumentals from different mothers

I picked up both of these singles today on my weekly record binge solely for the instrumentals that should routinely come in handy. I hope you too can use these gems.

For your hip-hop sets and/or remixes:

Method Man & Redman, Da Rockwilder 12"

For your disco sets and/or edits (and all of the dirty old men out there):

Rick James bitch, 17 12"

Florence & The Machine

Meet Florence Welch, the most sincere vocalist this side of 30.  Backed by a rocking band, her voice is equally at home over handclaps and a tambourine as it is screaming out over hard drums and guitars.  Her catchy "Kiss With A Fist" got me hooked, but the soul that pours out of "Hospital Beds" made me a fan for life.  Her voice completely fills out the melody making the song infinitely interesting despite the constant tom drum and acoustic strumming.  The lyrics are amazingly intricate and visual despite the slow tempo and short length.

The album, Lungs, drops July 6th.  Pre-order the album and get a signed copy here.

Florence & The Machine, A Lot of Blood, A Lot of Love EP

Hip-Hop Thursday at the Spring Street Tavern

It's on again this Thursday at the Spring Street Tavern in Nord East Minneapolis.  DJ Big Trey and yours truly will be spinning hip-hop that keeps the good vibes going for both the fellas and the ladies.  Come through and holler at your boy.  I'll have my latest all-vinyl mix CD available.  And if you mention this blog, I may even throw you a limited edition Brox Tee.  Holla!

Basketball Jones

Now that basketball is officially done for the season and Big Zach is happy, my b-ball heads may start going into withdrawal.  To tide you over I ripped a 45 that I picked up last weekend.  It's Cheech and Chong's "Basketball Jones."  This is funny, wonderfully produced, and the lyrics actually were probably written by a basketball player or at least someone who knew their stuff.

For a song where the main focus is on the lyrics and the comedy it's amazing the type of talent that performed the instrumentals.  George Harrison is on guitar, Tom Scott is on sax, Carole King on electric piano and Billy Preston is on organ (there's others, but I'm not familiar with them.

To put a cherry on top of this, an animated short was created for the song and it's even more funky than the song!

Cheech & Chong, "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces"

This post wouldn't be complete without my favorite tee-shirt.  It's some Free Gold Watch dopeness that pays homage to the point guard that played his heart out every single game.  I was always a Knicks fan and boy did I hate MJ (and Reggie Miller for that matter).

If you're down with the streetwear  gear and are looking for some new threads for the summer, be sure to check out the new boutique in the Mall of America, Reign.  They're the sister company of Uptown sneaker and threads fresh-atorium, Status.

Hey Art!  If you're reading this, holler at your DJ!

Smile! It's Friday!

This is a beautiful song with an appropriate video. Alchemist's album, Chemical Warfare drops July 7th. On a side note, the style of the video reminds me of Evidence's "The Far Left" - just a little bit. Probably not surprising since they are essentially step brothers (they'll be dropping a project together under that moniker this summer).

Awesome picture on so many levels

I couldn't resist... how friggin' awesome is this pic?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Spinning hip-hop records at Spring Street Tavern Thursday night!

Help your boy make a good first impression so that maybe I can continue to spin at this beautiful place in Northeast Minneapolis.  My brothers and sisters, I'm not getting paid for this gig.  I'm just looking for an outlet to show my stuff and share real hip-hop with the rest of Minnehappiness.  Stop by, give me a pound or a hug (love ya, Slug), and I'll hook you up with some dopeness on wax and maybe even a free mix/tee-shirt.  Holla!

Info:

Spring Street Tavern

355 Monroe St NE

Minneapolis, MN 55413

10pm - 2am

Def Jux and Cage update

In preparation for Cage's upcoming album release (Depart From Me on July 7th), Cage and Def Jux have released an EP with tracks that won't be on the album that's available for free download here entitled I Never Knew You.  The title track of the EP has a video that's viewable on the Def Jux homepage or on a previous post a few weeks back.  It's definitely worth your hard drive space and time.  I took this as an excellent example of what the album will be like and went ahead and pre-ordered the "Vinyl Deluxe Package" of the album here.  This is worth the Alex Pardee artwork, alone!  C'mon now!

While perusing the Def Jux site, I stumbled across a free Cool Calm Pete download that won't come close to tiding me over before any follow up to Lost.  (BTW, I can't believe I made it this far into blogging without mentioning Cool Calm Pete - dude is so talented and so unique on so many so levels that it's got me so gaga he should be on SoSoDef).  Without further ado about nothing...

Cool Calm Pete, "Heart"

Street Hassle

I've picked up waaaay too many records recently considering I'll be heading to NY at the end of July. I have so many that I barely have time to listen to them all, let alone rip and share them with everybody. But gosh-darnit there's some that are just too good not to share. This gem from Lou Reed is one of them.

This record is unlike anything I've ever heard. It is a stripped-down indie/folk story song without any percussion, just some romantically loose strings and bass/cello. The vocals are reminiscent of Bob Dylan, but the subject matter is deliciously more dirty than anything Bob Dylan has touched (OK, maybe he has... I'm not a huge fan and haven't heard much of his catalog). At first glance/listen, it may seem like three separate tracks. But it's one full song broken up into 3 acts. The first one being more lighthearted describing good times at a house party and a surprisingly mutual interaction. The second has the narrator speaking coldly to a comrade who just had a girl(friend) die from an overdose. And the third act? I'll let you be the judge.

For fun, I've included two recordings of the track: one cleaned with my usual methods, and the other with some highly-recommended Groovy cleaner and cloth. Does the Groovy-cleaned track sound better? You be the judge.

Lou Reed, "Street Hassle"

Lou Reed, "Street Hassle" (Groovy cleaned)

Hov!

In case you missed it on nahright, this footage is bonkers!  I got chills watching hands from the crowd just trying to touch his pants (around 4:41).  How can you not call him "God-emcee"!?!

The weekend agenda (updated Friday, 6/5!)

It's the first Friday of the month which can only mean that it's Get Cryphy time!  The First Ave V.I.P room will yet again be a DJ short as Plain Ole Bill hopped back on tour with P.O.S for the summer after stopping home to throw down some slick vinyl mixing with JimmyJimmy last weekend.  I hope you didn't sleep on that special occasion because it was colder than a polar bears' toenails.  Bill will be missed, but Jimmy 2 Times, Fundo and So Gold are more than up for the task of taking Minneapolis' premier party-goers on a Cryphilicious dancing expedition.  And don't worry about the hypeman, either.  Yea, nobody really gets down like Prof after a few PBRs, but Felix of Heiruspecs is a monster on the mic and I am definitely looking forward to seeing him in a club atmosphere.  Prof is also currently on tour.

Before you hit the sack on Friday night/Saturday morning, be sure to prepare some coke lines right where you rest your head.  That way when the alarm goes off at 8:30, you'll be ready for a morning of record shopping.  The VFW is hosting another record show on Lyndale.  Bring cash!  It's 2 bucks to enter and everything else depends on your taste and haggling skills.

After hours hunched over crates, I'd recommend grabbing an awesome omelet at the Uptown Diner.  Then take a nap and put your learning cap on and get ready to be schooled.  For those fortunate enough to pick up the free tickets (sorry guys, all sold out now - my bad for not posting it earlier!), McNally Smith  is putting on their Hip-Hop Diploma Kickoff Event.  There will be many great performers like Toki Wright, Doomtree, and Big Quarters.  The headline of the show is Davey D who will be speaking on everything hip-hop.  This all goes down at the McNally Smith/History Theater in St. Paul.  If you don't have a ticket, swing by.  Who knows, if I end up blowing a load on records in the morning I might need to be scrimping for some cash.

Dang!  I almost forgot!  The man, the myth, the Ableton BEAST, Mux Mool is coming back home briefly and will be at the Uptown Bar Saturday night.  It wouldn't surprise me if some of the local emcees that he's collaborated with in the past show up and do a little ditty.  Don't miss this!

And another one!  I'm going to be torn this Saturday evening as both Mux Mool and my favorite Twin City band, Black Blondie, will be playing at the same time.  You can catch Black Blondie at the new 501 Bar off Washington.