So, I found this post on Booooooom last week and I couldn’t stop thinking about it or singing it in my head. I took a look at the comments and a lot of people remarked that this whole vocal loop thing is old, old news – which is true. I’ve even experimented with a loop and drum machine once. It was in college. Whatever.
In case this isn’t old news to you, here are a bunch of really great contenders mainly from the Roland Loop Station festival (which is a big deal in most places outside of the US. Just like soccer. Or football). However, the artists below may be proud prize winners but I still think they pale in comparison to Kawehi’s brilliance in song choice and straight sweetly vocaled finesse. See, she made the song even better than the original.
Nina Mouritzen photographs the kinds of people you wish you knew and the kinds of places you wish you could find. You could assign any number of stories to any of the photos in Nina’s portfolio and that’s what I think is so great about looking at a collection like this; it’s so easy to dream up what the day the photo was taken might’ve been like. Because really, we all want to spend our time hanging out with artists and musicians and guys that do lip tricks on the edge of roof tops.
In honor of the spectacular news that there will someday soon be a Brian Wilson biopic from the writer/director of “The Messenger,” (also an excellent film) I thought we’d take a look back at some of the incredible album art created for The Beach Boys. I’ve always been pulled in by the music – the tingling harmonies, the innocent lyrics all wrapped up in gorgeous chords that seem to sort of say I’m sorry, I’m lost, I’m confused and I don’t know why. Even if upon first listen it sounds like these young california men are just talking about cars and girls. Besides the masterpiece of Pet Sounds and the relatively recent reworking and excavation of the infamous Smile, there are tons of songs and tons of albums to discover. There’s a lot of hope, curiosity, heartbreak and loneliness in the music all at the same time. That’s my favorite kind of song.
See some of the more “psychedelic” album covers after the jump…
Happy holidays from all of us here at OKG! Most of your are probably counting down the days til Christmas with anticipation and excitement. A few days off from work, some family, some boozy eggnog fueled evenings – good times. Personally, I’m counting down til the day after Christmas – my own personal Christmas (for a Jew like myself) – the day when Christmas music ends. No more rum-tum-tumming or jingle bells or Frosty the snowman for another 11 months or so (though it seems like it starts earlier every year).
Now before I get accused of being a Grinch, I’d like to say that it’s not Christmas music per se that I can’t stand. It’s the incessant playlist of the same songs in any commercial setting, on tv, on the radio, everywhere. So I’d like to offer an alternative. Sound Opinions, the fantastic WBEZ weekend radio show, enlisted the help of Andy Cirzan, their own personal Kris Kringle, to scour the musical obscura for the weirdest, most unappreciated (though often for decent reason) Christmas music you’ve ever heard. Now I’ll admit, some of this stuff probably should have never seen the light of day, but I’ll take it any day over jingle bells. Try it out!
For the record, the views expressed here are my own Grinchy views, and do not reflect those of my fellow OKGreatsters. Though deep down you all know I’m right.
OK, so Daytrotter isn’t anything new, I gathered that but I just discovered it today + I’m assuming there are at least a handful of you out there that haven’t stumbled on it just yet so for those few, this post is for you.
What is new is the video above. So, if you haven’t visited or downloaded from Daytrotter yet, watch + learn. If you’re a longtime fan, hell, the video is still great. Take a look behind the scenes.
Laurie is an awesome illustrator based out of Durham, NC. She’s done loads of apparel & illustration work for the music industry. She also happens to have the most badass freelance gig on the planet… designing custom drum kit wraps for SJC… drool. I always love to see such excellent local talent!
Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty (for reals) is the name of the new Big Boi album dropping July 6th (SO FAR AWAY!) on Def Jam. Shutterbug will be the first single off that album and it will also be the single that YOU WILL NEVER GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD. I am all about this track. That beat is so utterly infectious, I cannot deal with it. Plus, I am a huge fan of Big Boi. He is the guy that looks normal at first glance until you really start looking and listening and all of a sudden you’re like, daaaaaamn this dude is out of his mind brilliant. Kind of like this video. Just try to ignore the little oddities that throw off the typical rap video vibe.
When asked to describe it, Big Boi simply says it’s about capturing moments here and there, looking back at a polaroid of good times…”It’s a funky, get-down, slap-your-sister-in-the-mouth jam.”
Welcome to the song you put on repeat for the next month until that shit drops!
This short film, by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, with music by Massive Attack feat. Damon Alban, is a heavy and disturbing look into the use of music and sound as it was used at Guantanamo Bay on former detainee Ruhal Ahmed. Not only is Ahmed’s experience disturbing, but the film does a good job of making the viewer feel uncomfortable and have a small taste of what was doubtlessly a complete hell. The soundtrack is jarring, the storytelling enthralling, and the video is spellbinding in its depiction of sound as a tool. It was filmed in Cambridge University Anechoic Chamber, a space engineered to be completely silent – a radical and poignant departure from Ahmed’s 60-hour torture sessions in a space roughly the same size. The most salient moments of the film for me cleverly depict the effect of music on various substances – grains of sand and a corn starch slurry – and how the sound can literally torture these substances and make them writhe and contort until they break.
Sorry for the imminent rant that’s about to happen here, but this is not just some interesting story about something far away. This is the government of the United States subjecting someone to torture. It’s morally wrong, it’s backwards policy, and I’m embarrassed on behalf of my country that it happened. It’s truly sickening. Music may only be one small aspect to the program, and probably takes a backseat to things like waterboarding in the news, but it’s no less painful, no less morally abominable, and no more forgivable.
Zero dB is an organization who’s aim is to end music torture. They mentioned a petition on their site, but I couldn’t find it… Obama has made it a goal of his (though not yet a reality – thanks gutless Republicans!) to close Guantanamo Bay prison and end this terrible chapter of our history, which would be a great step. But there will still be CIA black sites, there is still Bagram, there is still Mosul, and until this and every other form of enhanced interrogation techniques, or whatever the fuck euphemism you want to use, are outlawed, we’ll still be complicit and responsible for stories like Ahmed’s.
The holidays + Monday? Super awesome combo. That was sarcasm by the way if you couldn’t tell or are new around here. So since it’s jingle bell time and all that, I thought I’d explore some of my pet peeves for the season. I have a feeling no one is with me on this one, but hey, more buzz for me! Read the list after the jump.
