Peep This...Life and Death Tribute to Chicago B-boy Devin Perkins

Came across this vid when it popped up on my youtube subscription list week before last. I had never heard of Devin Perkin/Seas 1 or know anything more about him outside of this video, but the way it's put together is so elegantly poignant I can't stop watching it. Peep...

Peep This... Exile Gets Busy on The MPC for OKP

I just saw this on my lunch break and I had to come out of hiding and post these vids on on my oft ignored blog. My man Exile is a dope producer out of L.A. and is ridiculous on the M.P.C. . he is definitely carving his own niche in hip hop and doing things in a refreshingly classic fashion. Now most producers don't do live shows and the ones that do provide nothing more than a DJ set. Exile does not fall into either one of those categories. Those of you who have not seen Exile do his thing live are missing out... until now. Peep these vids of Exile getting busy for Okayplayer.com.

Exile - Bounce from Okayplayer on Vimeo.





Exile - Watermelon Man from Okayplayer on Vimeo.




Exile - Psych Rock from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

Don't be mad, UPS is hiring....

http://www.2010censusjobs.gov/

Well not UPS exactly, but the Census Bureau is getting ready for the 2010 census and is accepting applications. This is a pretty good option for those of you who are looking for work or are trying to get a little extra cash. Check it out.

Daily Dose Of Dope.... Kanye West - Heartless

I am a huge fan of Kanye as a person and his music. Yea he's a brat and he throws temper tantrums, but if you look past that and actually listen to what he is fussing about, 95% of the time he has a valid point. Now that said, I understand the new direction he is going with his music but I was not (and I'm still not) feeling his first single (from his upcoming album "808's and Heartbreak) "Love Lockdown".

I still do not like that song at all and when I first heard it I was a little disappointed to find out that he was going to be releasing an album full of similar material. But then his next single "Heartless"came out and I kind of wrote it off but the more I heard it, the more attention I payed to it when i listened to it again. It is a solid song from top to bottom. The production is on point, it's well written and I am digging the visual style of the video. The animation takes me back to when I was a kid and a ton of movies/cartoons were animated in this same style. Props to Kanye. He has won me over yet again!

Daily Dose Of Dilla ... Janet Jackson - "Got Till It's Gone"

Not many people know this outside of Janet Jackson and Jay Dee fans put this song was actually produced by Jay Dee contrary to what the liner notes say. The long and short explanation was that Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were given credit for the song via a "misprint" in the liner notes. But actually listening to the elements of the production, the sound is a lot more soulful than any of the synth based pop/funk that they have touched. And Dilla's signature drum sequencing plus Q Tip on the track let you know if you ain't knowing that this is Dilla all day. Not to mention, when was the last time Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis used a sampler?

Welcome Back!!!!!!

I know... I know.... I've been gone too long, you couldn't live without me, you thought about me every day, you never ever want me to leave your side again, the world is a much colder place without me, baby come back, please babybaby pleeeaaasse ... yadda, yadda, yadda, ENOUGH ALREADY!

BITCH I'M BACK! (c) Slimm Thugg

So stay tuned because the updates are going to be becoming in at a ridiculous rate!

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry... that I have a real life!

For those of you who have been wondering where the hell I've been let me just say that the the past two weeks have been plenty eventful for me. My doctor is telling me that I am doing to much much and I need to rest more before I do some permanent damage, I basically got my ass handed to me while spinning at a Halloween party ( which you will find out about later. Even though I know someone out there has got pics), I became a brand new uncle, days later my son celebrated his very first birthday and had his first trip to the zoo(Awesome!). All that and I didn't even mention that history was made as this country elected it's first black president. That in itself is a whole other can of worms that we will be talking about soon.

But not too soon because GEARS OF WAR 2 is being released at midnight tonight and the world as I know it will cease to exist outside of this game.

So I understand that you all have been waiting and that I have been slipping but I have my reasons. Real Life. I figured since you been waiting this long, it won't kill you to wait a couple more days!

Peep This... Black & Decker Lights Out

I definitely have to grab one of these for my bathrooms and kitchen. Peep...

"Let your presence control the lighting, not a light switch. When you enter a room, the lights can turn on for you– as well as turning off when they leave. The Lights Out AutoSwitch covers any standard light switch-no wiring required-and integrates a simple motion sensor that turns lights on when needed. Imagine if everyone decided to use one of these on every light switch at home. What a difference it would make. Not only would you be going green, but you would be saving some green as well. [$TBA at blackanddecker]'

For The Beat Heads... Vintage EQs mixing tips

From the mouth of Mau...

"I'll try to keep it simple

API is used for a more edgy sound (Mostly used on Rock, guitar heavy, drum forward mixes), APIs are known for their character, they can be smooth, but are mostly edgy (not in a bad way)
Neve is used for a more "warm" smooth sound - Think most popular music with digital drums,synths,recording, neve eqs are often used to "phatten up" or "smooth out" the edges of a digital recording - without making it dull.

SSL is known for its choice of harmonic generation, adding those "sparkling highs/deep lows/etc". When pushed hard, you can get a grungy sound, though distortion it is often pleasant and musical, when subtle gain/compression is applied, you get those harmonics that sweeten the sound. Often seen as a median between an API and a Neve.

See, simple. It helps to know why they were used and what they were used on. This isn't to say you can't use a API to sweeten up a vocal, but this will let you know why it may not get you there in some cases. And why a particular plugin sounds good on certain things.

For those who are wondering - the V-Series of plugins from waves are the Neve replicas :-) now you know...

Also, for those buying eqs (you don't need to get waves)
Waves API Collection Eqs = URS A Series Eqs (160.00)
Waves V-Series Eqs = URS N Series Eqs (160.00)
Waves SSL Eqs = URS S Series Eqs (160.00)

BIG MIX TIP AND MONEY SAVER!!!!

Remember, too much color for no reason leads to a muddy mix, and if you have a "saturation plugin" (Sonnox Inflator,VariSaturator, AC1) you can get the same if not better results by using a medium to wide Q when boosting on your stock EQ or transparent eq before the saturator, and drive the saturator to achieve the harmonics that warm up or sweeten the sound.

You can buy Inflator for 190, or Varisaturator for 70, (read the manuals) and use your stock eq or favorite (Digirack3 Eq,Nuendo/Cubase Eq/Logic Eq/Sonitus EQ/Ren EQ/Sonnox EQ) to achieve a similar yet different and often more "you personalized" eq (like making your own eq sound instead of conforming to others.)

Follow this, and I saved you 1200 from buying the Studio Classics from Waves :-)"

Daily Dose Of Dope...Bob Marley - Is This Love

I was going to make a Fugees song todays dose but my coworker was bumping this and I took it as a sign. Peep...

Daily Dose Of Dilla.. The Pharcyde - Drop

Dope vid from Pharcyde that was directed by the one and only Spike Jonze. I have yet to see another music video that executes this particular technque so well.

Daily Dose Of Dope... Q-Tip - Move

Dope vid but I think it's a bit courageous to make this vid for the second single of his upcoming release. The references made in this video are going to go over the pop crowds (the ones who know how to Crank Dat) head. As a Michael Jackson fan, I myself am loving this!

Daily Dose Of Dilla... D'angelo - Those Dreamin' Eyes (DILLA REMIX)

For those of you who are not knowing, Dilla hit off quite a few R&b artists with gems. Like my man Tae say... "Learn About It!"

For The Beat Heads...Mixing Tip! 24bit recording

From The Mouth Of Mau...

"MUST READ!

You do not need to track hot or loud when recording 24bit (all DAWs can record 24bit), as 24bit captures details at the lowest level. You don't need to get the level of the vocals going in close to 0 at all! Don't believe me, read Bob Katz "Mastering Audio", chapter 5 page 72 - it reads "A 24bit recording would have to be lowered in level by 48db in order to reduce it to the signal to noise ratio of a 16bit recording" Therefore, you should never, ever, ever, ever, distort or clip, and your recordings will be cleaner with more dynamics, with lower levels.

People say, damn, "when I record, my waveforms look little, and it looks low", well, you can adjust the waveform zoom, not just the track zoom. As illustrated in the attachments (Regular vs Track Zoom). This is a low level track I mixed (and it sounds clean using -20RMS=0VU) <- if you didn't understand that, then you have a lot to learn, call me and I'll explain it to you :-) Regular Zoom is what you all usually have, you can adjust this using the top right hand corner slider in cubase/nuendo, or the waveform slider in Logic grey at the bottom, it is also in ProTools. DO NOT USE YOUR DIGITAL METERS TO TELL YOU HOW LOUD YOU ARE RECORDING IT ONLY TELLS YOU ABOUT PEAKS, NOT HOW LOUD IT REALLY IS. So use a plugin on your "input channel" like PSP vintage warmer and use these levels (USE THE RMS not PEAK) to tell you how loud your vocals/beats/instruments are. Calibrate your input using this instead, and if you want to check for peaks - make sure that your max peak level is between -10 and -6 Peak. And you will be recording like the pros, and never have to check if you have overs/peaks.

If it sounds low to you - then turn up the output of your mixing desk or audio interface. Your print to CD will be lower, but clearer, more separated, and any mastering engineer you work with will take you more seriously.

In a nutshell, - record, mix at lower levels, all the time, there should be no variation in this, just make it a practice. "

Fresh Flicks...

So quite a few of you guys ask me about movies or I find myself explaining A LOT of jokes that make references to movies. I have come to the conclusion that most peoples taste in films is very restricted or just sucks... (I'm pretty sure 90% of the time it's the latter). So I'm going to start feeding you films/DVDs that need to go (as in own) in your film/DVD collections (or see at least see twice, in there entirety and have a complete comprehension). In no particular order, here we go...

• When We Were Kings - This is a documentary about the "Rumble In The Jungle" fight in 1974 between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Now whats great about this film is that it not only covers the fight, but also the political and social climate at the time. A slew of substantial black figures make appearances and James Brown has a very interesting segment in which he talks about the role of the music industry versus his responsibility as a black man that has a pedestal to speak about racial injustice. The movie had been shelved for 20 years because of legal issues but I'm glad I got to see this film as an adult because I don;t think I would have been able to appreciate as much as a kid.



• The Usual Suspects - This is a brilliant movie. I will not say much about it other than... YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE AT SOME POINT YOUR LIFE!!!!



• Fight Club - This movie and the one listed before it are the types of films that get to the end and your whole understanding of the film has been so screwed up that you have to watch it again. Of course, it's so completely obvious the second time around your kicking yourself for not figuring it out the first time.



• Bamboozled - Me and Mau went to see this at a free screening at UCLA and it was such an uncomfortable experience to see this film in a room full of people who couldn't truly relate to it. On the other hand I'm glad I saw it in a room that was so racially diverse because very few people (including blacks) truly understand how deep the foundation of racisim in the United States truly is. There is also a line in the film that put in perspective the amount of time that has passed between slavery/Jim Crow and now and it all hit me within the span of this film. Damon Wayans, Jada Pinkett Smith, Savion Glover, Tommy Davidson, Mos Def, and quite a few hip hop artists all do their thing (even though Damons choice to portray Pierre that way still confuses me) and I think that even though they carry the film, it seems like Spike Lee just made the film to showcase this 3 minute montage of the portrayal of blacks in film and mass media. I had seen some of them before but I was scratching my head at quite a few. If you have never heard of Stepin Fetchit, Amos N' Andy, black face, Vaudeville, Buckwheat, Kujo, "mammy", Birth Of A Nation or Rodchester then you need to some research and THEN see this film.



• Birth Of A Nation - Now if you are not black but have black friends, you do not need to own this film. You don't want one of your black friends going through your DVD collection and finding this one. You only need to see it because of it's historical reference. This is one of the first films EVER and is considered to be the first "Hollywood Blockbuster". It's basically a propaganda film that was made by southern sympathizers around the time of The Civil War. It portrays the Ku Klux Klan in a sympathetic light and tells the "story" (emphasis on story) of what would happen to America if blacks were freed and given equal rights. It's completely bogus but it needs to be seen so that people are aware that there are people who believe these things to be true.

Sorry y'all, I think I'm going to stop right here because I'm starting to get pissed off. It could be that I have had "Fight The Power" on repeat while typing but I don't want this to turn into all black films post so I'm going to stop. However, you now the first film next week will be "X". See you then!

Ya Know... Scarlet Takes A Tumble

This clip has been up for about a week and I saw a condensed version of this on Attack Of The Show. I didn't get a chance to sit down and watch the complete version. The 2 minutes she is rolling around on the floor are comedy.

Daily Dose Of Dope... Paul Simon - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Today's daily dose of dope is a trip back to my childhood. You can thank my mother and aunt for this one because their shameless "singing in the car performances" was my first exposure to artists like Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Kenny Loggins, Queen, The Beatles, John Mellancamp and plenty other bands my dad was not going to eject his Public Enemy and Kurtis Blow tapes for. Because of this early exposure I understand and appreciate different types of music. Which is an appreciaation my younger coworkers do not share. I have annoyed quite a few of them by repeatedly playing this song and attempting to convince them, of the difficulty and significance of Steve Gadd's drum arrangement in the song. These young whipper snappers these days (at least the ones I work with) don't appreciate good musicianship. Hopefully you do!

Daily Dose Of Dilla... Jaylib - "The Red"

Back in 2003 Madlib and Dilla came together to create an album called "Champion Sound". The idea behind this is project is that one of them would produce the track and he other would rhyme over this. This particular song called "The Red" is the first single from "Champion Sound" and features Dilla on the boards and Madlib on the mic. Peep...

Peep This... Ryan Leslie's "Just Right"

I'm not really digging how he is intentionally acting a certain way because he knows that he is filming this for youtube, but I still enjoy being able to see his creative process.

"After many of my songs began to leak into the blogosphere, I decided to go back into the studio and add a few elements to make the album versions of the records special. This clip opens with me playing back an extended instrumental arrangement of I-R-I-N-A with some overdubs by my man Jermaine on drums and Al on bass. Inspired, I decided to re-visit one of my favorite songs called 'Just Right'. Here's a look at that session. I had to rebuild it from scratch as one of my hard drives had crashed and many sessions had been lost. I love the new elements, and here's to you loving them too... "

Peep This... Gay Robot (Pilot)

"Gay Robot. Like the men of ATK, Gay Robot is just looking for love. When his fraternity brothers Tito, Rick, and Marty attempt to set him up with a compatible suitor and fail miserably, Gay Robot is left to his own devices to find a date for the formal dance"

Sometimes I stumble on videos and I'm not sure how I get blessed with such forgotten comedic nuggets. But this particular clip is a testament to the greatness of the internet.

What I'm Bumpin...

Music from The Color Purple - Black Milk

Black Milk is a producer out of Detroit who studied under hip hop producer extraordinaire Dilla (Jay Dee) and seems to be one of the few producers capable of keeping his legacy alive through their music. This album kind of takes that philosophy and pays homage to another pioneer/musical genius out of Detroit - Prince.

Now when it comes to sampling for the purpose of making hip hop beats, there are certain people we know to stay away from. Either because they refuse to clear samples because they feel it damages the integrity of the original composition and will sue (Herb Alpert), or they charge ridiculous amounts of mount for samples to be cleared (James Brown & Barry White). I believe Prince falls in both those categories.

So under those circumstances what does a producer do when they want to pay homage to a big influence on their work? Black Milks solution was to sample an entire album (Purple Rain), release it as a free instrumental mixtape download and as an added bonus, give you a little insight as to how he actually flipped (altered) the original sample at the end of every song! Dope

concept and definitely gives you a deeper appreciation for his music.

Below The Heavens - Blu & Exile

This... album...is...bananas!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who have not heard this album from front to back, back to front and front to back again have missed out on an enormous piece of hip hop history. If hip hop was ever dead (which is going to be forever debated) this album would be the defibrillator shock to bring it back. Blu is definitely one of the brightest lyricist to show up on the scene as of late and Exile is a phenomenally underrated producer. Both have been putting in work over the past couple of years and the two of them come together to form a sound that is rich with substance and effortlessly seams together the art that hip hop has the potential to be with the power that music possess to jump start thought into progress. If you can appreciate good hip hop music then you need to stop reading this and

go get this album.

Closed Doors, Open Windows - Fly Union

These kids are out of Ohio and it seems like they are headed in the right direction. As long as they continue on the path that they are on I can see big things for them. Even though they are not breaking new ground lyrically, they are definitely a throwback to when songs were about having fun as opposed to proving how tough you are. This mixtape also serves as a great introduction for the group as it provides some background about how the group came to get signed.

Papers & Oils - Johnson & Jonson

I am really trying my best to give this album a chance. Blu (1/2 of the group) is such an amazing lyricist that I really want this album to work. Now don't get me wrong, the album is dope. But it has an enormous amount of potential to be so... much...better... . Still, the album is a dope listen and definitely worth having if your a fan of Blu.

Metropolis: The Chase Suite - Janelle Monae

This album is only about 5 tracks long, but the intent of quality over quantity is very evident here. Janelle is one of those artists who produces an entire environment for their music to exist in. Thus making for a distinctive sound that blurs the lines of genre. The influences are all there and placed on display without fear, as if she wants you to know where the foundation of her sound comes from. Yet everything sounds unique.

Ya know... The Shamrock Shake Report - By Deidrababe

This was posted back in March and it somehow slipped my mind. For some reason it popped back up in my head and I don't know why. But this is sad. Being comfortable with your self is one thing. But deliberately flaunting your attempts to eat your self into a diabetic coma in your undies and posting them on youtube is another. She can barely get the straw to her mouth. That shamrock is screwing up her hand eye coordination. Pretty soon she 'll just be knocking the cup over and snorting the shake off the table. Uugch (c) Pusha T

I wonder how the cashier felt when she handed her those 3 big ass milkshakes through the drive thru window (you know she didn't get out the car and get them at the counter).

NEW ADDITION!!!!!!!!!!! "What I'm Bumpin"/"Timeless"

I figured since I'm hitting you off with movie suggestions I might as well upgrade your music collection. So every now & then I'll hit you off with complete ALBUMS that are a must have for any serious music listeners collection. These updates will come in two sections "What I'm Bumpin" & "Timeless". "What I'm Bumpin" will be albums that are currently in my rotation and will probaby change infrequently as I have a tendency to wear an album out. "Timeless"on the other hand will put you on to albums that will never get old and will probalbly be updated and on the regular basis. Keep an eye out!!!!

Daily Dose Of Dope... Johnson & Jonson - Bout It Bout It

I think this was the first single from Johnson & Jonson's "Powders & Oils" album that was released back in September. this is probably he best track on the album, which is a little disappointing since it clocks in at 2 minutes. Not enough Blu if you ask me.

As far as the album goes... I think I should give it a little while longer before I start blabbering about it but I will say this. It definitely does not compare to Blu & Exile's below the heavens. Peep...

Daily Dose Of Dilla ... Slum Village - Raise It Up

Peep This,,, New Pruane2Forever - Father John Life Stories 2

Hopefully this trend of taping your drunken parents and posting the vid on youtube leads to a future decline in alcoholism. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the trend in action.

For The Beat Heads... MIX TIP QUICK LIST!!!!

From the mouth of Mau,..

"A few have asked - "how about tips in a nutshell" funny, a nutshell can hold my 2 cents....

1) 24bit recording / Record low to allow for peaks, as there is lots of detail being captured / aim to have your loudest parts peaking between -10 & -6db when tracking (-10 is more like it).

2) Mix where -20dbRMS = 0VU or -14dbRMS = 0VU on the master bus, use Level in logic set to Peak/RMS, or free PSP Vintage Meter VST/RTAS on VU (download free here vmeter.html) to calibrate this. Digital meters lie to you about how loud something really is.

3) When using a limiter or (L1,2,3) you should only have quick spurts of gain reduction often less than -3 to -6db GR or Attenuation. If there is a constant gain reduction vs quick & short, then you get that "hollow boxy sound".

4) Group like sounds using busses or group channels. All harmonies together, all kick drums and bass together, all high hats and shakers together, all claps, snaps, snares, glitches together, etc. Use really light compression on these channels to "gel" them together (think -3db gain redction at most).

5) Put a high pass filter/low cut on everything. Bass build-up, muddies your mix. You do not need below 80hz in a vocal, so shave it. Remember, that when 10 vocals with 80hz removed are grouped on a bus, you will need to do another 80-100hz cut on the buss because of build up. Shave off below 30hz on drums etc, Shave off the lows as high as 500hz on a snare, or guitar, just play around with it (but never in solo).

6) Let the mastering engineer get it loud if you feel you need to get it loud to let your friends hear it, then the mix is not good enough, period.

7) For a novice producer/engineer - it will often take 2 weeks to get a mix "solid". There is nothing wrong with this. Do it for a year, and your mixes will get better quicker, quicker = 4 days.

8) Learn about EQ,Compression

9) EQ, sometimes moving the fader up is the wrong thing, adding a boost at a certain frequency, or cuting/dipping at a certain frequency yields better results, and sounds crisper.

10) Not everything needs to be loud. Loud on a vocal, or an instrument, is determined by how quiet other elements are.

11) Use automation, if your faders aren't moving, then neither is your song.

12) Reverb places something close to you (less reverb), or farther away (more reverb), do not think of it as space, think of it as a way to sit something behind something else.

13) Reverb is easier to maintain when it is used on a send channel of an audio track, not an insert.

14) If you are recording and mixing correctly in 24bit, you should never see overs or clips - if it sounds low on final mix, turn your speakers up, do not grab a limiter. Most mixes don't need a limiter at all, my last 25 mixes, had no limiter on the master bus,and if you have to use a limiter, read number 3.

15) Better plugins do not make a better mix, EVER.

16) Stock plugins do not suck, they just take a different level of work to get things where you want them.

17) Use Linear Phase EQ on busses or groups, or the master, not individual tracks - it is basically a perfect EQ, and is hard to hear if it is fixing things on individual channels as it is so subtle. Because its perfect it also is a CPU hog, so use it sparingly.

18) On background vocals, remove all breath during edit, the final master will bring all this to full scale in it will make your music harsh sounding and less spacious during a stacking or harmony build up.
19) Remove empty spaces in vocals from recording as you may have low level hum (due to your studio set up), or earphone bleed that is exaggerated when compressed during mastering.

20) Cheaper equipment performs at its best at low levels, just like a vocalist, or instrumentalist, the more work that has to be done, the less smooth the performance is. The same goes for the internal mixing of your DAW (logic,PT,Cubase,Live,FL Studio). Low levels with no clipping gives your mix room to breathe.

There is more. Let me know if you all need more TIPS..."

Peep This... Johnson&Johnson - Have You Seen The Red Baby?

"Blu & MainFrame ’s Johnson&Jonson Album has been widely noticed and talked about around the world as the CD w/ the “Red Baby” on it. Since the birth of the “Red Baby” a.k.a. “Johnny”, the Johnson’s have brought the iconic “Red Baby” everywhere w/ them including trips to the studio, multiple meetings w/ labels, a couple of liquor stores, and their parties to celebrate the release of their critically acclaimed album.

A couple weeks ago Blu & the Johnson’s performed at 111 Minna, a club in San Francisco, and brought “Johnny” along for additional support. There are several photos from that night that prove that the “Red Baby” truly was in attendance. He was spotted hanging out w/ the homies, a bunch of Filipino girls and 1 white chick dancing to early 90s hip hop. Towards the end of the show MainFrame noticed and screamed on the mic “Yo, Where’s the “Red Baby” Yo” … at 1:43 a.m. the “Red Baby” was announced as a missing person.

Was the “Red Baby” a victim of a kidnapping? Did a another MC or crazed J&J fan snag the baby off stage? Or was this a conspiracy plotted by a group of young Filipino girls to black mail Blu & MainFrame for some shit.

In hoping that the “Red Baby” gets home safe Blu & MainFrame have posted this unreleased MP3 entitled “Baby Don’t Leave Me Now” to help lure any information pertaining to the missing “Red Baby”. If you have any info email 1_800_JOHNSON@gmail.com.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/20545307dd858d8e/"

courtesy of nahright.com

Peep This... Footage from the new Guy Ritchie film "RockNRolla"

I am so AMPED for this film!

Fresh Flicks.... Step Your Game Up!

So quite a few of you guys ask me about movies or I find myself explaining A LOT of jokes that make references to movies. I have come to the conclusion that most peoples taste in films is very restricted or just sucks... (I'm pretty sure 90% of the time it's the latter). So I'm going to start feeding you films/DVD's that need to go (as in own) in your film/DVD collections (or see at least see twice, in there entirety and have a complete comprehension). I think we will start out with ten a week and I may come through with a theme or two. In no particular order, here we go...

• The Godfather Trilogy - I know this is a pretty courageous series to jump out the gate with but if you can get through the films and understand whats going on, you will be impressed by how well this story is written. I'm going to give you a little hint. The first film is actually the middle of the story, the second is the first part, and the third is the last. Now don't get smart and try to watch them out of order because you will be confused, plus you'll miss out on all the "Oh Shit!" moments. You need to see the characters names and personalities as adults in part 1 in order to understand their significance in part 2.


• The Big Lebowski - Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Philip Seymour Hoffman MAKE these characters. I could not imagine any other actors playing these parts after seeing this film. If you don't want to take my word for how dope this film is, visit this site " http://lebowskifest.com/ " and ask them. The cult following of this film is amazing.


• The Wiz - Yes "The Wiz"! I said it! "The Wiz"! You got a problem with that???? Look, this reinterpretation of "The Wizard Of Oz" is phenomenal. Outside of the characters story, the incorporation of 70's Black America/afrocentricity is genius in this film. The star power is there (Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Richard Pryor as the Wiz, Lena Horne as Glenda The Good Witch, Nipsey Russel as Tinman.). The set design is ridiculous and with Quincy Jones handling the music, how could you not enjoy this film?


• Monty Python & The Search For The Holy Grail - I saw this film for the first time in my drama (or classic literature) class back in high school and over 10 years later it still has not gotten old. you might want to brush up on your medieval history first to get all of the jokes but if you don;t just enjoy the silliness of the film.


• Love Jones - Man I love this film. And I'm not ashamed to admit that this is my number one favorite movie. All these successful "renaissance" black people in one movie. All of them intelligent, employed and no gangsters, pimps or crackheads in sight? Outside of all that positivity, the story is really, really good and ultimately gave my first eternal crush... Nia Long. Even With Lisa Nicole Carson's giant mammers, Nia Long is sexy as hell. Plus her character (Nina) knew who John Coltrane was AND identified his music in like .8 seconds. Damn...


• The Princess Bride - It would be "Inconceivable" to not have this film in your collection. Even if kid films is not your thing, this film has so much more to offer. Action, adventure, romance and above all other things humor. If you have not seen it enough times to make references to it in your everyday lifestyle, your slipping.


• Booty Call - Okay, okay. I'm guilty and aware that I am a music/film snob and the first one to voice my opinions and point my finger in angst when it comes to the portrayal of black people in films. Especially in so called "black films" aka "hood movies". But... this shit was funny. It was funny because it wasn't about black people but rather single people and dating. It's just that it was done with black actors, and the material is universal. So now that I have explained myself. Jaime Foxx steals this film and Tommy Davidson does his thing. Tamala Jones and pre surgery Vivica Fox (why did she do that to her face? She was Beyonce before their was a Beyonce) ain't too bad either.


• The Fifth Element - This film is perfect. Not only does Bruce Willis, Chris Rock and Mila do their thing, but visually the movie is stunning.

So go get a Netflix subscription and get your weight up!

For The Beat Heads...Save Money: Plugins plus TIPS

From the mouth of Mau...

"I had a conversation with a friend yesterday, and I want to share something with you all that I told him.
(the attachment (the pic posted below*), is a mix I am most proud of, that uses nothing but stock plugins, no Waves, no SSL, no API, just Sonitus FX in sonar 4)
I watched an engineer use nothing but the Digirack3 plugins, panning, and automation, to get a mix 90% there. He then slapped on a SSL G Master Bus Compressor on the master fader and finished it. And his mix, would kick the sh*t out of most peoples mixes.

TIPS, READ CAREFULLY

1) Often, the 'analog sound' can be had just by adding bus compressor on the master fader, and using stock plugins - PSP Vintage Warmer @ 149.00 is something that every engineer swears by - but you have to know how to use it, and when, you don't just slap it on and expect it to be better, same goes with any compressor.

2) If you think that stock plugins are crap, then you need to re-evaluate your skills as an engineer, most of them can get the sound you are working on 70 - 100% there.

3) Most people try to mix-master, where they compare their mix to a mastered CD, and think that expensive plugins will get them there, spending countless hours making things louder, when you want them leaner and cleaner pre-mastering, which is what these transparent stock plugs do very well. They are also light on CPU as they are tightly integrated with the DAW, meaning you can use more instances without bringing your computer to its knees.

4) Using compression on virtual instruments sometimes is not needed, especially when they are pre eq'ed and compressed, ride the fader and mix at lower levels instead". One of my best mixes IMO (Keys To My Door - you should have a copy, if you don't, just ask) uses compression only on the kickdrums and bass bus, and the rest is just eq'ed and panned. Sound selection was key, I used "light" sounds that I could layer, instead of "big" sounds that I would have to make thin later.

5) "Keys To My Door" uses only Sonitus FX plugins (eq, compression, reverb,delay, gate) that came with Sonar 4. Period, if you don't have a mix that sounds this good then why spend money and time on 3rd party plugins, they won't help at all.

6) If you want 3rd Party Plugins, thoroughly evaluate them. Every producer has their favorites, but 100% of the time, it is because they can dial in what they want (the end result) quicker with a particular plugin, not because it sounds "better" - which is the same reason, I have purchased RenComp,RenVox,Sonnox Eq, - I get the sound I want with minimal mouse movements, or key entry, they "sound" the same as other plugins to me - just more functional with less. "Low Cut" is a prime example of this in Logic, any engineer using Logic swears by this plugin, as they can dial in a 30hz or 80hz cut, or any cut for that matter using one slider, very efficient - shown in picture 1

7) If your song needs a heavy mix, maybe you used the wrong sounds, maybe they are too big, maybe the song is in the wrong Key, maybe the kick has a long bass tail and should be shorter to allow other sounds to occupy that space, maybe you need reverb to push element back, or for most producers - maybe your snare is just too loud, or maybe you didn't pan anything and everything is occupying the phantom center, or maybe your environment isn't set up correctly. Expensive plugins will not cure the above, only your ear can.

I am trying to instill a level of confidence with the friends that I know. It is ok to use stock plugins. Nobody is going to say, "man, that mix sure needs an SSL plugin on it", but you will often hear : "its too muddy", or "its too bright" - the key is knowing how to translate this into correct decisions in the mixing process.

If you need me to do a sit down, to prove this to you - I will be more than happy, as nobody did this for me :-) "

Daily Dose Of Dope... "Blu Collar Workers"

One of my very first posts was about this guy. This is just a little reminder if you didn't take my advice the first time. The pairing of Blu & Exile is one of the most perfect combinations when it comes to music. We so very rarely get to see in this hip hop these days. Peep...

Daily Dose Of Dilla... "Inside Dilla's Studio"

This is rare footage of Frank & Dank at Dilla's home studio out in Detroit. The "Like Water For Chocolate" era Common pops up in this video and as much as I miss that Common, I love thae fact that while Frank & Dank are running off at the mouth - Dilla is knocking out a banger in the background. Peep...

Peep This... EXCLUSIVE: McCain's Latest Attack Ad - Jay Smooth

Daily Dose Of Dilla... Dilla Stories

This is an excerpt from a documentary that Frank & Dank filmed called "Frank N Dank & J Dilla's European Vacation". This is the same trip where pics of Jay performing (at The Jazz Cafe) in a wheelchair popped up on the internet and let us know how sick Dilla really was. I don't want to ruin any of the stories being told so i won't make an in depth description. Peep...

For The Beat Heads... Set Up Your Mixing Enviornment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrrlrRj7piI&feature=related

From the mouth of Mau...

"If your room is treated properly, set up your room using the K-20, or K-14 as recommended in Bob Katz Mastering Book. You will get a more consistent level across all of your songs, and you should be able to match the loudness of other mixes but with more clarity as you will be mixing against RMS not Peak. You will "hear" that something is too loud, vs. looking at the meters (as peak meters do not measure loudness, but transients) ."

Daily Dose Of Dope ... Fonzworth Bentley - Everybody feat Andre 3000

Dope video for Mr. Bentley's long delayed G.O.O.D. Music debut. When he first got signed to Kanye's label I was on that "WTF????". After hearing him on the "Workout Plan" remix I figured it might work, but do I really want to listen to this for a whole album? But now that I hear this song, I would definitely enjoy a full albukm of this. I'll keep my finger crossed.

Daily Dose Of Dilla... Four Tet - As Serious As Your Life (Remix) feat Guilty Simpson

Dope song I came up on when I first discovered Limewire.

What I'm Watching....

A new section of the blog where I basically just list everything that I'm watching right now. I'll try to make the list no longer than ten shows but it will fluctuate and NEVER be in any particular order.

• The Wire : Season 1 - Even though I have seen this entire show, I 'm just going through this season because I originally caught them on BET and missed a ton of things.


• Entourage : Season 5 - This show is in rare form and the storyline is taking it back to the first season that made it a hit.


• Oz : Season 1 - I never got to see this series when it originally aired so once I realized a lot of the actors from The Wire and Lost were from this series I tracked it down. Now every time I see Jonah J Jameson in the new Spidey movies, I can't help but remember that he burned a swastika into someones butt. Ewww!


• Chowder - This "Cartoon Network" cartoon is hilarious.


• Bleach - Dope Anime based on the Manga.


• The Office : Season 5 - Even though we are only one episode in this season, Dwight & Kelly are kicking ass!


• Good Eats - Alton Brown is a genius!


• Attack Of The Show - Kevin & Olivia have an awesome sense of humor but Olivia is verrrrry easy on the eyes. .


• X Play - I was not as much of a video game junkie as I am now before I started watching this show. But now that I am, this show is how I get my fix when the wife is watching "The Hills" on my big screen.


• Making The Band 4 - I have pretty much been hooked since the days of "Da Band". his season is equally entertaining without all the fights.

As soon as I get some more I'll let you know!!!!!!!

Peep This... "Marvel vs. Hip Hop Secret Wars (Part 1& 2) - blog series by Dart Adams

If you are into comic books and hip hop then this will definitely be a dope read. Dart basically pits famous Marvel heroes and villains against some of the best emcees in the game to do battle. Some of them are a bit of a stretch but hey, we are talking about comic book characters here. Peep...


Part 1 - http://poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com/2008/09/dart-adams-presents-secret-wars-part.html


Part 2 - http://poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com/2008/09/dart-adams-presents-secret-wars-part_24.html

Peep This... Black Man In An Elevator

http://www.maniacworld.com/Black-Man-in-an-Elevator.html

"Every 45 seconds a black man enters an elevator. And some stupid white bitch clutches her purse for her dear life."

LOL...

Peep This... Punchout (Wii) Trailer

Looking Good!

Peep This..."Boy fed zoo reptiles to crocodile"

He needs a good ol fashion ass beating. Hopefully he does not grow up to be an ax murderer...



A seven-year-old boy has been filmed going on the rampage at a popular zoo in Australia, killing rare reptiles and feeding live ones to a crocodile.
Footage from the security cameras at Alice Springs Reptile Centre caught the child smiling as he killed a total of 13 animals.
During his 30-minute spree, he was seen hurling the animals over the security fence into the crocodile enclosure.
Zoo officials described the boy's actions as "unbelievable".
They are considering suing the parents as the boy is too young to be prosecuted.
'Difficult to replace'
The attack happened on Wednesday morning after the boy entered the zoo by jumping over the security fence and evading sensor alarms.
Over the next half hour, he bludgeoned some of the animals to death with stones and hurled others over the two fences surrounding the crocodile enclosure.
At one point, he tried scaling the outer enclosure himself to get to "Terry", the 11ft (3.3m) saltwater crocodile.
A turtle, four Western blue-tongued lizards, two bearded dragons, two thorny devil lizards and the zoo's 20-year-old goanna were among those killed.
Zoo director Rex Neindorf said many of the animals were rare or mature and would be difficult to replace.
"The fact a seven-year-old can wreak so much havoc in such a short time, it's unbelievable," he told Reuters news agency.
Mr Neindorf said the boy had "clammed up" when questioned by police.
As children under the age of 10 cannot be held accountable for their actions in the Northern Territory, the zoo would be seeking to take action against the parents.
"We'll be looking at suing the parents, who were supposedly in control of him at the time," he said.

Peep This... Little Bill O'Reilly Tells It Like It Is

I don't even know what to say...

Peep This... Youtube - alcoholharmony

The boy is definitely not a manly man but GAWT DAM can he sing. Very talented young cat (15 or 16 years old). Check out his covers. He goes in and gives them all new life. Subscribe to his Youtube channel and avoid all the prebuscent shenanigans.



That Hump (Erykah Badu Cover) - Durand Bernarr



"Who's Gonna Save My Soul?" (Gnarls Barkley Cover)



Me & Mr. Jones (Amy Winehouse Cover) by Durand Bernarr

For The Beat Heads ...Mastering - Yes you need it...

I was fortunate to sit in on a few mastering sessions recently, let me say this:

GET YOUR PRODUCT MASTERED!!!!!

I don't know about you all, but when I release my product it will be presented as best as it can - which means it will translate well to the overcompressed radio, the compressed mp3, mp4 and ipods, ringtones, tv, broadcast stream, DVD, and "smiley face" eq's built into the "loudness" button on the majority of car stereos and home stereos.

A mix is not the same as a master, they are two different things. I can run anyone's 2 track through a massive passive, a 2LA2 and an avalon, and make it louder, but louder does not = punch, or sparkle, or separation. Remember, "Louder sounds better", but will sound like sh*t when played at regular listening levels.

I sat for 4 hours and watched a mastering engineer turn a "perfect mix" into a "damn I guess it wasn't so perfect mix".

One of the first things was this, listening to the product in the mastering room instantly made the problems audible. THE MASTERING ROOM IS KEY.

The people I'm working with, master through Bob Katz DigitalDomain (2000+ per album, but worth it)

But I've heard great things about this guy as well
http://www.massivemastering.com/

His rates are about what they should be.... 125 per song - 855.00 for a whole album, or ITB for 120 per song, 550 per album
http://www.massivemastering.com/html/rate_sheet.html

Do your music justice, I have had too many people say - this is my album, and when I hear it it sounds muddy, or over compressed, or worse - distorting. Then they wonder why no one buys it. If your product is quality, then treat it as such....

Daily Dose Of Dope - Dead Prez - Hip Hop

Not only is this video dope, but the subject matter and issues addressed through imagery is something that we as a people need to be constantly reminded of.

Daily Dose Of Dilla... Illa J - We Here

Dilla's lil bro is attempting to carry Dilla's legacy on his shoulders. Got to admire him attempting to do so because he has got some big shoes to fill. Good luck on that. This song is from Illa J's upcoming release "Yancey's Boys", which is a collaborative effort from him and his late brother Jay Dee. It is most def a dope song and a good look for Illa J. Listen Up!

Peep This... Pruane2Forever -

apparently this kids's "crazy" is hereditary....

Peep This... You better hurry up and watch before they take it down!

Naughty By Nature Performance




Too $hort x Wyclef & Big Boi’s Naughty tribute

Peep This... Ironman or Ironing Man?

Saw this over at www.fusilly.com. Peep...

Peep This..."Dragonflies to Explore Mars, Titan, Spook Out Aliens"

This is awesome! I wonder what the martians reaction will be once they see this thing? Peep...

"A new robot called ExoFly could be exploring the surface of Mars, guiding rovers through the surface of the Red Planet. Developed by scientists at the Technical University Delft, Wageningen University, and TNO in Netherlands, the ExoFly is designed to imitate the flight patterns of dragonflies. Dragonflies from 300 million years ago, because these things are huge.

Wingspan: 350mm
Length: 400mm
Mass: 17g
Flying speed: 1.8 ms-1
Flapping frequency: 6 Hz
Flying Time: 12 min
Wing Material: Mylar foil
Structure: balsawood
Motor: 2g pager motor
Camera: 1.2g pinhole camera
Energy storage: 3g Li Polymer cell
Actuators: shape memory alloy wires
Base station: 3GHz PC
Sensors: pinhole camera

Based on the DelFly, an Earth-based robot capable of autonomous flight, with hovering, take-off and landing capabilities. Scientists say the ExoFly can be adapted to fly in the more dense atmosphere of Titan too, so expect a black monolith to appear on the Moon anytime now. [New Scientist]"

courtesy of gizmodo.com

Peep This... XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite: Xbox Controllers Go Fully Automatic

I hope this thing is affordable by the time Gears Of War 2 is out. This is going to make online multiplayer that much doper.

"With the upcoming XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite kit, Xbox 360 gamers will be able to add machine-gun style turbo buttons to their controllers. Working across multiple games and easily toggled with a top-mounted switch, the kit will also nearly double the controller's D-pad range of motion to 6 degrees in each direction. It will essentially take the stock 360 pad and juice it like [fill in your favorite baseball player here who you are absolutely SURE never used steroids].

The only catch is that the mod will require you to get your hands dirty; soldering is a must. But Extreme-Mods will be offering players the option to send in their controllers and have the magical modding elves do all the hard work. So you can cheat at Halo and COD4 without having any sort of technical knowledge whatsoever. Score!

Neither pricing for the standalone kit nor the install service has been announced. [XCM USA]"

courtesy of gixmodo.com

Full article from the XCM site...

"Latest news about the XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite for the Xbox 360 wireless controllers we've all been waiting for. Here goes:

1. The rapid fire feature will be easily programmable/reprogrammable to any button (fire buttons A,B,X,Y, Right Trigger, Left Trigger, Right Bumper, Left Bumper) by simply pressing and holding down the rapid fire button on top of the controller case and pressing and holding the button you want to have rapid fire until the LED blinks. Also disabling the rapid fire function will be done using the same technique. This allows for an infinate rapid fire configuration that will please EVERYONE! This is really the ultimate rapid fire mod people have been waiting for.

Comparision: Many rapid fire mods available on the net (Ebay, etc) will either do just one button or several buttons at once, but this does not allow you to use different configurations for different games. So if you have it modded for Halo 3 for example, it will not work so well in COD4, Gears of War, etc. This is a huge downfall of these types of mods and is why most people have stayed away from them until now. Not to mention these types of mods are really expensive and make the controller look wierd with a huge on/off button sticking out of the back of the controller. The XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite on the other hand uses a tiny button similar to the buttons that turn on the LED lights on the other XCM replacement Xbox 360 controller cases. This makes it look professional and keeps the button out of the way so you do not bump it during play.

2. The D-Pad has been redesigned and optimised. Simply put the current d-pad is inadequate for normal gameplay, however most of us have gotten use to it and have stopped complaining about it until now. The XCM Rapid Fire Gear Lite however uses a much larger d-pad with more room to allow the d-pad to move more when using it. This will make sure you do not accidentially hit another direction on the d-pad while trying to access something else. For example when switching weapons on most first person shooters.

3. Installation will not be dummy-proof. The installation process is not too difficult but it does require some soldering and the cutting of a couple of traces. This is not a problem to most people but obviously it will be to some. The overall process is pretty simple and painless but the ability to solder is a must, or at least the ability to learn how to solder. Extreme-Mods.com will be offering a service to send your controller into for the installation of this mod to your existing wireless controller for those that cannot perform this task on their own. You can also visit our discussion forum at http://www.XCM-USA.com/forums/ and there will be people present to assist you in the installation process and troubleshooting of this device or any product under the XCM brand.

So in conclusion this is a well designed and well executed modification that will soon be available to the general public shortly (mid-late next week). This will be the rapid fire mod people have been dreaming of, and once installed it will work exactly like everyone had always wished for. Pre-Orders will be taken within the next couple of days on www.Extreme-Mods.com so get in line as soon as possible to reserve your unit when they do finally ship."

courtesy of xcm.com

Peep This... MikeChav.Com V-LOG Intro

Peep the vid for an explanation. Apparently this guy is responsible for Jay Electronica's sound.

courtesy of grandgood.com

For The Beat Heads... Plugins, Save Money: Sonnox Inflator = Voxengo Varisaturator (210.00 vs 70.00)

From The mouth of Mau (08/03/08)...

"Some people say what Sonnox Inflator does is magic, and the technology is patented. Its not patented, but it sounds good almost magical. All it is doing is adding digital saturation to the signal to produce harmonics, which we know from the analog world, when used in moderation can sweeten a sound.

But it costs 210.00

Well you can get the same affect with even more control and value style harmonics, with voxengo's Varisaturator for 70.00

Save money! I have included screenshots to show you the frequency generated by these two plugins, they do the same thing, they sound the same when the valve saturation is bypassed. Anyone that disagrees - I've given you the proof.

Picture 1 is with Inflator on

Picture 2 is with Varisaturator on

http://www.voxengo.com/product/varisaturator/

Add this too vocals for that "air" or sheen, it can also make your mixes brighter and more pronounced when used correctly, warm as well if you need. Note, the effect is subtle, but worth it. Varisaturator is very good on bass with the valve saturation, and on a drum set, adding that analog feel (sonnox does the same).

Also, Voxengo plugs do not need dongles :-)

For those using protools, well, sonnox or analog channel would be the best bet. But for those using Sonar, Logic, Nuendo/Cubase, Reaper, EnergyXt2, Tracktion, DP6, varisaturator kicks ass and will save you money!"

Daily Dose Of Dope ... N.W.A. - Fuck The Police

Now how could I not post the original song that spawned so many different versions after I put up Jay Dee's for the "Daily Dose Of Dilla". The story goes that Dr. Dre and Easy E were riding around in a Suzuki Sidekick (snicker... remember how we all thought those were the dopest vehicles until they started flipping over?) shooting a paintball gun out the window and got pulled over by the police. After the stop they went and recorded the song. Who would have thought that the police stop would spawn a song with a message so resonant that the F.B.I. would take notice enough to make a public statement. Anyway peep...

Daily Dose Of Dilla - Jay Dee - Fuck The Police

I actually heard this song for the first time on the radio. Crazy, right? It was only the first verse but I could not get that flute from the beginning of the song out of my head. I actually got in trouble at work because I must have spent the first half hour trying to track down the name of the song and how I could get my hands on it. Listen to the way he flipped the samples.

Peep This... New Jay Smooth!!!! - Jumpoff Street Battle: Biden Vs. Palin

I'm pretty sure this was inspired by the World Series Of Hip Hop battle last week. Classic tongue in cheek humor from my boy! Peep...

"Imagining if Biden and Palin fought it out with a Jumpoff-style emcee battle.


Shoutout to http://www.jumpoff.tv and my old friend Mazzi from Soul Purpose

BTW I expect Palin to do a little better than this in the actual debate, I have a feeling this setting will work better for her than the interviews."

For The Beat Heads...Mixing Tip: Saturation & Harmonics

From the mouth of Mau...

"All,

I'll keep it short and simple...

A digital mix/track when done well is extremely clean & quiet, almost "thin" sounding. This is not a bad thing, but it is when you compare it to an analog mix.

Analog on the other hand, actually is dirty, but dirty with harmonics that often enhance the body of the sound. These harmonics are introduced due to the components used, noise reduction circuitry, valves, etc. Often handmade, analog units may have a different sound when comparing two of the same units by the same manufacturer. This also, is not a bad thing.

In my previous email I explained that you should experiment with saturation on the mix bus to get that analog sound, and no, you do not need an expensive plugin. Grab a saturator, and try mixing through it (put it on the master bus before you start mixing). I like the Voxengo VariSaturator, for its price point and functionality mostly. But I've included a picture of what saturation does to a sine wave for the visual people.

Remember, the effect is very subtle, but these are the things that separate great engineers, producers, from the beginners. Also, when enhancing audio, apply the enhancement in small doses, tweak it until it "feels good" not just "sounds right".

The plugin at the top right (inspector) shows the signal without saturation, below (bottom right) is the signal with saturation. Varisaturator is on the left. The sound is just a somewhat dull constant beep, but, with the saturation, that "extra something" is there.

Imagine it over the whole mix :-)

Good read as well (mix bus saturation is mentioned at bottom)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb07/articles/insidetrack_0207.htm "

Daily Dose Of Dope - Gang Starr feat Nice & Smooth - DWYCK

I took a big fat "L" last night while watching VH1's "100 Best Hip Hop Songs" with the wife. We were having a conversation about how late in Hip Hop's time line I got into it (in comparison to her much earlier involvement) and how this particular song I had heard dozens of time before but did not know the name of the song until a few months ago. "Boo!" (as my man's Mau would say) on my part. Me being a self proclaimed "Hip Hop Know It All" that I am, I continued to further embarras myself by not being able to recite NOT ONE DAG BLASTED LYRIC from the song (a la Da Band's failure to recite "Juicy" - http://www.helium.com/items/231595-tv-show-reviews-making-the-band-2 ). The only thing I could remember was the drums. So in an attempt to regain my dignity, I present to you "DWYCK"...

Daily Dose of Dilla... Slum Village - Climax

This song (well the video actually) was my official introduction to Slum Village. I somehow stumbled onto a video from their then label mate Spontaneous. I was impressed enough by his video that I started to seek out more of his music. I found his label site and started to look around and found this video. The song pretty much obliterated damn near everything I had ever heard before and changed the way I listened to music. This was all spurred on by the fact that I was learning how to be a DJ at the time that I saw this and 80% of my life's priorities at the time revolved around music. Any who, hope you enjoy the song and video (peep all the cameos!) as much as I did. Peep..

Daily Dose of Dope... Blackstar - Thieves In The Night

I figured I might as well since I'm doing a "Daily Dose of Dilla". Any how, this is most definitely my absolute favorite song. Mos Def and Talib Kweli give verses that have such a vast depth while maintaining a precise perspective that can apply to anyone. I plan on having these words posted up in my house at some point as art.

Peep This... TagScanner

http://www.xdlab.ru/en/index.htm

I will be using this very soon!!!!! Hope it works as well as they say!

"Windows only: Rename the thousands of MP3 files in your digital music library and add or edit tags, lyrics, and album art in one fell swoop with free utility TagScanner. Not only can TagScanner clean up the artist, album, song title, and track number information for your digital music files, it can rename your songs based on a pattern you define (like %artist% - %title%), it can make music playlists, and search online databases like freedb and Amazon to automatically tag music missing information. It includes a built-in player as well so you can listen to tracks while you edit. We've recommended Media Monkey to whip your music's metadata into shape, but TagScanner looks like a solid alternative. TagScanner is a free download for Windows only."

courtesy of lifehacker.com

Peep This - "Second Lives" @ The Museum Of Arts and Design

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/26/arts/0926-LIVE_index.html

http://madmuseum.org/SEE/upcoming%20exhibitions/Second%20Lives%20Remixing%20the%20Ordinary.aspx

Dope exhibit over at The Museum Of Arts & Design over in New York. The artists are using or reusing everyday "manufactured articles, most originally made for another functional purpose.".

My favorites are the pieces made from old albums (you had to know that already though, right?) by Paul Villinski and Jean Shin. Peep...

courtesy of nytimes.com