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...