Favorite Album 1992: The Chronic -- Dr. Dre

So before doing this list, I had no idea so much hip-hop would make the final cut. Guess I'm more of a fan of the genre than I thought I was, which makes sense -- I do love hip-hop, and I'm excited to have the next album in this trek be not only my favorite record from '92, but my favorite hip-hop album ever released: Dre's The Chronic.

The album became as synonymous with the idea of ‘Sunny California’ as The Beach Boys were in the 1960’s. Just think of the music videos Dre put out for this album: dance parties, getting wasted with your friends, cruising with the top down, playin’ dominos, going to see a P-Funk concert, BBQ’s with pretty girls and…is that…I think it could be…volleyball?!! That’s not too gangsta, is it? At least not compared with the video for “Fuck Tha Police”, and other videos of the era. I think the moment anyone would realize why The Chronic is special is to just put it on, press play, and turn the volume up. It’s loud as you want it to be, mixed to blow the speakers rolling down the boulevard. It’s that sound, a massive funk pastiche of whatever Funk records Dre had from the 70’s: a whole-heckuva lot of George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic collective, Ohio Players, Willie Hutch, Donny Hathaway, Isaac Hayes and so many others. The moment the “Intro” hits, you know -- the bass shook your soul, the squealing synthesizers challenged your eardrum: tt was a whole new world in Hip-Hop. Where there were once shouts and chants there are now choruses. Where there was once dissonance there is now melody. Where there were once thin drum machines there is now full-bodied, arranged music played on instruments. Where there was once brutal nihilism there is now breezy leisure. And of course, there was Calvin Broadus.

Dre’s gifts with hooks and choruses and melodies and arrangements made Hip-Hop real music; detractors could no longer complain that these weren’t songs, and Dre took the songs and dropped them on the charts, and everything was different from then on. The legacy of The Chronic is one with a very long shadow.

Key tracks: "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang", "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat"

Next week: 1993
Hint: "We spent like, $5,000 to make it."

Favorite Album 1991: The Low End Theory -- A Tribe Called Quest

I don't have the time to write something up myself, so here's a blurb from Wiki that sums up the album nicely. I will say, though, that it just BARELY beat out "Goat" by the Jesus Lizard. Just barely. Go Ducks!

"The Low End Theory became a watershed album in the history of hip hop music. The album established alternative hip hop as a definable genre, distinguished by aware, often abstract or political lyrics, and a light-hearted sense of humor, along with jazz and other unusual sampling sources. The Low End Theory transformed alternative hip hop, leading the way from the jazzy pioneers like De La Soul towards future artists like Common and The Roots. The song "Scenario" helped break future hip hop star Busta Rhymes into the mainstream, partially as a result of its popular music video on MTV. Some sources, such as Angus Crawford of mvremix.com, say that "Scenario" is the best posse cut ever.[2] Phife Dawg, who fans thought of as adequate but nothing special on the first album, greatly improved his style on this album. This amazing turn-around is highly respected in hip hop circles. Songs like "Buggin' out" and "Butter" showcased Phife's new confidence."

Next Week: 1992
Hint: Bernie Grundman

Favorite Album 1990: Repeater + 3 Songs -- Fugazi

There's so much to like about this album, I don't really know where to start. As a rock record it's as solid as you can get, but pertaining to the genre, it's an absolute staple -- a undeniable classic. It rarely left my rotation throughout high school, and it's an album I can return to at any time and still follow the motions with ease, and I love it for that. It's just an album I can't help but love. As a lyricist, and front man in general Ian MacKaye is one of a kind, and along with fellow guitarist and vocalist Guy Picciotto, the two made more many an endearing dynamic. Their guitar work on this album is reminiscent of bands like the Television Personalities and early Gang of Four, along with tastes of funk, reggae and other assorted styles. It's a cohesive record, richly layered and full of aggression. Definitely a classic.

Key tracks: "Brendan #1", "Greed" and title track.

Next week: 1991
Hint: The greatest posse cut ever

Here's a quick recap of albums past:
1987 -- Erik B. and Rakim: Paid in Full
1988 -- Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation
1989 -- Beastie Boys -- Paul's Boutique
1990 -- Fugazi -- Repeater + 3 Songs

Favorite Album 1989: Beastie Boys -- Paul's Boutique

Reasons why Paul's Boutique is one of my favorite albums of all time:

Oriental girls, Italian women, Upper East Side nubiles, topless dancers, Southern belles, stewardesses flying around the world. House parties, aluminum bats, rocking mics, staring at radios, B-Boy limps, Mardi Gras floats, billy-goat beards, disco calls, the Funky Four + 1, onion rings, DJ Hurricane, lava lamps, Patty Duke, peg legs, “Full Clout”, bong rips, Sam the Butcher bringing Alice the meat, Fred Flintstone’s bald feet, whippets, dookie rope chains, ‘Clarence’, the bump. Johnny Ryall the rockabilly bum, Mayor Ed Koch, the Bowery, “Maggie’s Farm”, hand-me-down Pumas & tie-dye shirts, Memphis, gold teeth & gold records, Louis Vuitton & Gucci, Nighttrain & O.E., Donald Trump, Wonder Bread bag-shoes, “Helter Skelter” & “Blue Suede Shoes”, Elvis in the army. Superfly, Egg Man with his egg gun, Humpty Dumpty, a Rastaman, “You’re Gonna Get Yours” & “Bring The Noise”, the Easter Bunny, Dolemite & The Mack, Eric Haze, Green Eggs & Ham, Yosemite Sam, crack pipes, Jaws & Psycho. High Plains Drifter, Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas, 8-tracks, Kool cigarettes, cellular phones, Travis Bickle, plowing over mail boxes, Motel 6 porno flicks, black and tans in brandy snifters, K-Mart & 7-11, Jell-o & lemonade, Steve McQueen, Ballantine with the puzzle caps, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry & Dirty Harry, “Your Momma Don’t Dance”, Otis the drunk, Nix Check Cashing, Harry Houdini (as a verb), Off-Track Betting, “Suzy Is A Headbanger”. The Beatles, Range Rovers, Naugels, Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, the times-table, J.C., Shea Stadium, The Palladium, B.D.P., “waxing and milking all of your square heads”???, girls covered in honey, a Quarter Pounder deluxe, ‘jimmy protectors’, facials, cops cooking up the crack, Ponce De Leon & the Fountain of Youth, Robotron, Pro: Adidas & sinsemilla, Anti: Fila (?) & cocaine, Cheech Wizard, Galileo. Ping Pong, Dragnet, Mr. Roper, the N.Y. Yankees, Mrs. Crabtree & Spanky, “Proud Mary”, Ring Dings, hopping turnstyles, “Doo Wah Diddy”, chillin’ like Bob Dylan, sucking your mother’s dick, Mothership Connection, ‘sorry, Charlie’, On The Road by Jack Kerouac, coconut lotion, Are You Experienced, P.C.P. Sadaharu Oh, Tom Thumb, Tom Cushman, or Tom Foolery, Chuck Woolery, the Grand Canyon, moccasins & a bib, Welcome Back, Kotter, the gift of gab, the blue-plate crab special at Woodman’s in Essex, Mass., James at 15 or Chachi in charge, white Sassoons, a Coupe De Ville, “Ain’t It Funky”, Vincent Van Gogh’s ear, throwing trash cans through windows, the 6 train, a one ton ho, beatnik chicks just wearing their smocks, “Ballroom Blitz”. Jethro’s too close to the BBQ, Skin the cat. Chuck Chillout, stolen cars, “Mississippi Queen” & “Funky Cold Medina”, Rambo, Bruce Willis, Dave Scilken, the Son of Sam, A Clockwork Orange, curse words, headless chicken, free-base, racism. Pool hall brawls, bingo & lotto, townies & hash brownies, Mookie, ‘I’m a farmer’, Ecstasy, elephant tranquilizer, money-hungry miser…Rush not Rush, the ‘Bowie coke mirror’, Ricky Powell, The Godfather of Soul, St. Anthony’s feast, wife beaters & tax cheaters in the White House, cops with rope chains selling cheeba, space cake cookies, “Hurdy Gurdy Man”, more Five-O. Cherry red Lee press-on nails, Rapunzel, ‘the wet look’ vs. baldness, pasta primavera & Geraldo Rivera, brown-noses, Dolomite (again), “Beat On The Brat”, Phil Rizzuto, ‘Funky Pam’, Alabama, Penicillin, Doris the finkasaurus. “Loose Booty”, The Batman 60’s TV show, smokin’ and drinkin’ on a Tuesday night, “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You”, “Amazing Grace”, Al (from S.S. Decontrol), Shadrach, Mesach, Abednego, the Putney Swope sequel, Jacoby & Meyers, the Atlantic Antic, Adidas, Rambo (again), Robin Hood, J.D. Salinger, Charles Dickens, The Colonel’s chicken, Harry S. Truman, Alfred E. Newman, Jerry Lee Swaggart or Jerry Lee Falwell, Mario Andretti, Fleetwood Brougham D’elegance. ‘For the best in men’s clothing, call 718-498-1043 - ask for Janice’. DMC, The Fat Boys, Dick Butkus, Jelly Roll Morton, over in Fresno, Rolos, Hasenpfeffer Ale, taking the D train to Coney Island, transfer to the 1, the New York Post, Fulton Street, trench coats & wing tips, Captain Kirk, pick-pocket gangsters, Bernie Goetz, prostitutes in spandex, turtlenecks & creased Lee’s, Dunkin Donuts, Jamaica, Queens, El Diario, Orange Julius, George Dakoulias, skiing, lions with wings, more black & tans, ultimate destiny, Disco Dave, gold finger knuckles, buffalo soldiers with sawed off shotguns making bombs, “Broader Than Broadway”, M-O-N-E-Y, Annabelle & Slick Nick, “Folsom Prison Blues”, seeing ghosts, Shamrock – not Shamus, O’Houlihy, nor Brian, Bob Marley, Chinese suits, Hawthorne Wingo, Napoleon Bonaparte, Cezanne, Joe Blow the Lover Man, Fruit Stripe Gum, butter your muffin, bait & tackle, Red Lobster, Spinach D, Raymond Burr, “The Village”, trips, funky beats, & bugging out to it, good times & going A.W.O.L in Amsterdam…

Awesome.

Next week: 1990
Hint: One Two Three

RIP Jerry Finn

I'm late with this, as well, but I need to pay respects to a man who had a large hand in my musical upbringing. After suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in July 2008, Jerry Finn was taken off life support on August 9, 2008 after never regaining consciousness. Finn died August 21, 2008. At the time of his hemorrhage, he had just finished producing Morrissey's new record.

He helped open up many musical doors during my adolescence, and I remember reading the booklet of every CD I was buying and seeing his name somewhere. Whether it was producing, mixing, engineering, all of the above, or just being given a shout out from the band, Jerry's name was literally everywhere during my early teens. He had a helping hand in so many albums from my favorite bands, including Rancid, Smoking Popes, The Living End, Fenix*TX, Green Day, MxPx, Sum 41, Sparta, The Vandals, AFI, Bad Religion, The Offspring, Tiger Army, and of course, all of the amazing work he did with blink-182, (+44) and Boxcar Racer.

He will be missed. RIP.

Old Bastard of the Week: Lou Holtz

I'm pretty sure he just said Notre Dame will win 11 games this year. He truly is nuts.

This is late, but whateva: Tropic Thunder review

Posted over at The-Frat-Pack.com. Such a great film. Here's what I thought.



Before the credits even hit the screen, Tropic Thunder is already skewing mainstream Hollywood culture. As the faux-commercial for the energy drink Booty Sweat ended, my fellow audience members vocalized their bewilderment: “What was that? Was that a commercial?”, “That wasn’t real, was it?”, “No, I’m pretty sure I’ve had Booty Sweat before”, “No, that was fake. Wasn’t it?”, “I dunno, it looked pretty real”, “I’m confused…”

And with that, writer/producer/director/star Ben Stiller’s bitingly satirical romp was in full force. Straight out of the gate, Tropic Thunder is a pure comedic thrill ride. As helicopters cut through the sky and machine guns blast in surround sound, the film has the legitimate feel of a war epic-- a great achievement on the behalf of Stiller, who’s last directorial effort was the much simpler (yet innately classic) Zoolander. But as soon as you’ve braced yourself for a two-and-half-hour epic, there’s Jack Black, hanging from a helicopter; there’s Knocked Up’s Jay Baruchel, his insides helplessly and haphazardly falling out of him; and then there’s Stiller, playing fading action star Tugg Speedman, taking bullet after comedic bullet, as he gracefully falls to the ground in a sarcastic scene that truly sets the tone.

The concept of the film is inherently clever: A band of prima donna Hollywood actors is making the Vietnam War saga "Tropic Thunder" (the movie within the movie) in Southeast Asia when the higher-ups becomes frustrated with the inflated budget and lack of footage. To remedy this issue, first-time director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) and writer John "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte) conceive a plan to place the actors in a guerrilla-like atmosphere, in order to capture real-time emotions. That's when they encounter the real guns of a heroin cartel, led by a sawed-off 12-year-old terrorist. And had that been the best thing about the film, it wouldn't be the treat it is. The real fun comes in the characterizations dreamt up by Stiller and his collaborators.



The casting in this film is, for the most part, pitch perfect (though Matthew McConaughey is no Owen Wilson). Matching Tugg in diva tantrums and insecurity is famed comic and dope fiend Jeff Portnoy, played deftly by Frat Pack member Jack Black. Portnoy is best known for "The Fatties," a movie series in which he portrays an entire family of prodigious farters. This is Black’s zaniest performance since School of Rock, truly letting go of any inhibitions. From start to finish he is loud, crude and hysterical. And large props must go to Danny McBride, who seems to just get funnier and funnier in each role. He’s consistently a scene-stealer as Cody, the special-effects techie with an itch to pull the kaboom trigger, despite having almost blinded Jamie Lee Curtis on Freaky Friday. And whoever played the foul-mouthed, egocentric, studio head Les Grossman has a big, big future ahead of him. Oh, wait, that was Tom Cruise -- and whether he's calling his hapless assistant (the invaluable Bill Hader) a "nutless monkey" or indulging in a happy dance that must be seen to believe, he's an absolute riot.

The award for best in show, however, has to go to Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, an Aussie actor who has already collected five Oscars prior to playing Sgt. Lincoln Osiris in "Tropic Thunder." A method actor known for losing himself in his roles, Kirk undergoes a skin pigmentation procedure and alters his voice to better suit the African American sergeant. This Chicken George routine pisses off Alpa Chino (a terrific Brandon T. Jackson), the hip-hop hitmaker hired to bring street cred to the movie. Alpa can't stop Kirk from talking black even when the camera stops rolling. "I don't break character ‘til the DVD commentary," says Kirk. Downey obviously had a ball with the role, and is so off-the-wall, side-splittingly hilarious that you’ll be quoting him for the rest of the night -- his explanation to Stiller about the dangers of going "full retard" if you want to win an Oscar belongs in a comedy time capsule.

Sure, it can be a bit much at points – it’s silly, shallow and way too inside in some respects. But the unflinching skewering of so many taboos, whether they be social, cinematic or otherwise, make Tropic Thunder worth the seven years it took to get Ben Stiller back in the director’s chair. There is a shrewd method to his madness. Every character in Tropic Thunder is delusional. Having given up on truth, they still do their damnedest to fake it. So obviously, Stiller knows firsthand that Hollywood is a microcosm for a world that has swallowed its own marketing strategy, and he has successfully managed to viciously bite the hand that consistently feeds him.

For better or worse, it’s a genius tactic.

5/5

Favorite Album 1988: Sonic Youth -- Daydream Nation

So I figured I better to these at least every other day, otherwise they'll take fucking forever to come out. So here's my next pick, for the year 1988: Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation.

I was barely two years old when this record came out, a fact that consistently perplexes me. Here, Sonic Youth really perfected their style. Their seemingly symphonic weaving of guitars and bass came to be the band's signature sound, making Daydream Nation a classic of the indie genre and a staple in '80s underground rock. The album itself is highly referential, with the band giving shout outs from everyone to Joni Mitchell, William Gibson, Dinosaur Jr., Saul Bellows, and Andy Warhol's film Chelsea Girls.

Although each track is a gem, the real centerpiece is "Providence": distancing itself from most of the album's rock sensibilities, the song displays some of the band's more experimental tendencies. The song consists of a piano solo by Thurston Moore recorded at his mother's house using a Walkman, the sound of an amp overheating and a pair of telephone messages left by Mike Watt, calling for Moore from a Providence, Rhode Island payphone, dubbed over one another.

Experimental, trendsetting, and altogether ahead of its time, Daydream Nation is an absolute staple for any music lover's catalog.

Key Tracks: "Teen Age Riot", "The Sprawl", "Providence", "Candle"

Next time: 1989
Hint: 105

T.I./Kanye West/Jay-Z/Lil Wayne

S.L.U. (Swagger Like Us)

Tip goes in pretty hard, but everyone else is real meh. Jay isn't impressive and Kanye is just as annoying as Wayne using that vocoder shit. I dunno why he keeps messing with it. I'm about to start a petition called "For The Love of God Kanye, STOP WITH THE T-PAIN BULLSHIT!"

People were flipping out about it last night, but it could have been so much better. Ah, well.

An album for each year

So there's a blog trend going around these days where people post their favorite albums from each year they've been alive. Seemed like a cool idea, so my fellow bloggers Jonathon and RJ decided to do a list as well. Here's my first post -- expect theirs sometime soon.

First off:

1987

Eric B. and Rakim -- Paid in Full



Rakim basically invents modern lyrical technique over the course of Paid in Full, setting the bar for every emcee to come after. Have some surpassed it? Sure. But he did it first, and this album stands as a staple in the genre -- it's an undeniable classic in every sense of the word. In 1987, hip-hop was undergoing a vast transformation: lyrics were in the forefront and the beats were becoming more intricate. Rakim and Eric B. are at the top of the list for the most important and fundamental artists to garner this change, and rightly so because of the impeccable and nearly flawless content and quality of the album. Hip-hop would sound much different today if it weren't for Paid in Full.

As an emcee, Rakim is perennial GOAT. He is referenced by countless other emcees and critics as being the driving force behind the turning point in hip-hop music, constantly associating him with the leader of the old school.

Key tracks: "I Know You Got Soul", "Erik B. For President", "Move the Crowd" and the title track.

Next week: 1988
Hint: Onasnas

Jerry Wexler (January 10, 1917 - August 15, 2008)

R.I.P. to the legend. From Wikipedia:

Gerald "Jerry" Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "Rhythm & Blues", and was integral in signing and/or producing many of the biggest acts of the last 50 years, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, and Bob Dylan. Wexler was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Does anyone else think this is the stupidest shit ever?

The Roc is...on the blog!

They've both done better, but this shit is still pretty dope. Off that Blueprint 3!

Jay-Z -- "Jockin Jay-Z" (produced by Kanye West)

Rumor has it that BP3 will be produced entirely by Kanye and No ID, which would be...Man, I really don't have any words.

Who was Hip-Hop's brother?
Who was No ID's friend
No ID, my mentor, now let the story begin

American Teen review

So the doc that got the biggest buzz at Sundance was a film called "American Teen", a film that follows four teenagers through their senior years of high school. What sounds like a glorified episode of MTV's True Life is mostly just that;the film is as poorly structured and, at certain points, obviously fabricated. The story jumps chronologically (April 1st rolls around, yet it's still basketball season?) and lacks any kind of authenticity.

The film's four principal subjects are complete "Break Club" cliches -- there's the nonconformist art girl who dreams of leaving the sleepy Midwestern town for San Francisco; The bitchy blond bombshell who is just might be more insecure then she lets on; the loner band-geek searching for the perfect girl; and the star of the basketball team, working to gain a full ride scholarship.

As the story progresses, we learn that the "problems" these kids have aren't really problems at all: they're just going through the same irrelevant, silly motions all kids go through. The narcissistic self-loathing, the grandiose tales of he said/she said -- all of it is petty and trivial in real life, and even more so onscreen. Each subject is hyper-aware of the fact that they're being filmed, and the "drama" is milked for all that it's worth. The situations instantly become intensified in an unrealistic sense (would she have really cried that hard if the cameras weren't there?)

If this is the "American Teen" of the 21st century, then teenagers have it pretty fucking easy, which leads me to believe that this film was simply cashing in on the Laguna Beach trend of over privileged white kids and their problems. Show me the real American Teen: the kid who lives on the Southside of Chicago who's afraid to go to school because kids are getting shot and killed on their way to class every morning; the closeted homosexual, petrified of coming out to his WASP, Red State-living parents; the kid who's picked on mercifully day in and day out, who is prone to violent outbursts and isn't afraid to "do something about it."

To me, that's the real American Teen. Those are real issues. The guy who dumped you won't mean shit in three years: the kid you used to call a "fag" every day in gym class who shows up with a semi-automatic one day will.

Sugarcoated and fake.

2/5

3 Ninjas?

Oh, I fucks wit 3 Ninjas. I fuck wit 3 Ninjas all day.

This kid is amazing! It's Sexman!

I don't know who this kid is, or where he's from, or anything like that -- all I know is he may be the greatest comedic-savant who has ever lived. Funniest shit ever. I'm telling you. Check these two diatribes of irreverence, courtesy of Sexman!

I Hate Jerry Seinfeld


Screw You, Porn Addicts!


Awesome.