I had the opportunity to see the ultra funky Shabazz Palaces live a couple weeks ago. I’ve been to a lot of hip hop shows, and this particular show (without going too into it) was one of the coolest, most unique ones I’ve seen. The opener was Philly rapper/producer Lushlife who I was just as excited to see as the Palaces. I remember being at the show thinking “Damn! I hope these guys work together! How cool would that be?” And, as of this morning I found out they did! Shabazz Palaces remixed Lushlife’s team up with Heems “Hale-Bopp Was The Bedouins.”  This is one of the most involved remixes I’ve ever heard. I mean that in a good way. In the world of hip hop, most remixes really are just an additional verse from a dude who wasn’t on the original. And, while that’s cool, Shabazz Palaces would never just settle for anything so simple. They’ve added all kinds of new sounds, an interview skit at the beginning, and chopped up Lushlife and Heems’ original vocals and making them into almost like cybernetic versions of the original raps.

But, there is also some traditional remix stuff at work here, too since Ishamael Butler aka Palaceer Lazaro (formerly known as Butterfly) contributed a verse. The Palaceer doesn’t collab with other artists much, so hearing his rap alongside Lushlife and Heems is dope. I love that he quotes Heems’ line “Do it for Lush…” Butler even says that over and over again, making it a kind of  mantra. Of all the Lushlife songs, “Hale-Bopp” seems the most deserving of a Shabazz Palaces remix. I think that mostly because of the title. The music of Shabazz Palaces is very cosmic, but also very earthly. Think about that title “Hale-Bopp Was The Bedouins.” I don’t know what that means, but I picture ancient tribes meeting aliens who arrived here via the Hale-Bopp comet and…Well, look at that. My imagination has run wild. Check this song out and let your imagination run wild, too. And, if you haven’t heard anything by Lushlife, his album Plateau Vision is out now and has some incredible stuff on it!

Let’s just get right down to business shall we? I mean, it says the word “Party” right there in the name. It’s only a two word name. That’s how you know that Party Supplies‘ show this Friday in our cozy little 350 Broadway store will be fantastic to say the least.

You usually don’t use a superlative in that sentence formulation, but that’s just how excited we are about this. After the much heralded Blue Chips, his collaborative mixtape with the rapping ginger chef Action Bronson, we know you all are too.

The young man is a maestro on his MPC, and his signature style of cutting up everything from deep cuts to bangers into even bigger, better bangers ie even more impressive when you see it live.

No smoke and mirrors here: it’s just Party Supplies and his mad skillz. So get there early, because these things fill up fast, and be ready to believe the party magic. It’s the best kind of magic there is.

Friday May 4th, 2012, 7PM
Мишка NYC
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY

People keep telling me about these weird things called auctions. They’re just like eBay except instead of on your computer, they have them in real life. People can be pretty weird sometimes. NYC based house Doyle New York is having one of these “auction” thingies, made up entirely of amazing work from some of the past generations most notable Young Artists.

If you want to see work from the likes of KAWS, Coop, Richard Pettibone, Alexander Calder (pretty loose on this whole “young” thing apparently) and more (read: really, really good stuff) but don’t have the tens of thousands of bones to hang with the big boys, then you should definitely stop by the Preview they’re having of all the works this Wednesday night. Maybe, if you ask nicely, they’ll give you one of those cool paddles to take home. Probably not though. RSVP Now!

Wednesday May 2nd, 2012, 5:30-7:30
Doyle New York
175 East 87th Street
New York, NY

In 1978, Steve Ignorant with his corrosive speech and sardonic lyrics proclaimed that, in fact, punk was dead. He believed that systems, movements, and all other organizations would invariably dig their meat hooks into the spirit of the music and use it as a means to exploit and market an ideology. In an ironic twist of fate, his band Crass (along with bands such as Subhumans, Conflict, Zounds, and Rudimentary Peni) would receive mainstream attention as pioneers of anarcho-punk, also regarded as peace punk, leaving many of their British contemporaries in the shadows of their subsequent success.

Groups like The System, Omega Tribe, Lost Cherrees, Lack of Knowledge, Blyth Power, and The Mob were amongst those that had fallen into darkness. Many others were even signed to Crass Records (see their A-Sides compilations) and/or had opened for them at their shows but just never caught on. They had moved away from the cacophony that typically defined the genre, gravitating toward melodic chants and stripped-down folk instrumentation. This distinct sound wasn’t nearly as abrasive or confrontational in form but lyrically and poetically there was much still in common including a strong political undercurrent.

Flash forward twenty plus years in the future to the Pacific northwest where a group of subversives have been resurrecting the once echoed calls of those unsung UK artists. PDX is both the revival and re-imagining of that forgotten sect. Based out of Portland, Oregon, the scene incorporates components of post-punk, crust, d-beat, goth, new-wave, and industrial to create an emotional outpouring while staking and laying claim to new ground.

Moral Hex at Dunes (Portland) by Johannah Jørgensen

One of the most interesting aspects of PDX is that it can’t be pinned to any particular formula. Having no parameters, the sound stretches out over a spectrum of vastly different styles. Arctic Flowers (check out the post we did on them), aptly named for a song by political punk veterans Rubella Ballet, and the now defunct Funeral Parade have a more modern depressive punk feel while others like Moral Hex and The Bellicose Minds capture the dance discordance of 70’s/80’s post-punk. Lebenden Toten and Bog People play noisier, raw, and more chaotic punk characterized by wailing vocals and crashing cymbals.

A good portion of these bands are really hitting the nail on the head, releasing their material exclusively on tape, as it embodies the cassette culture that had become so integral to the D.I.Y. aesthetic of the period. Although accessibility is limited, the output is there for you to find. If you’re into it, I recommend heading over to Blackwater Records for their newest releases or contacting the bands directly. And if that isn’t enough for you Sweating Tapes just dropped an essential compilation of another aspect of the current Portland scene. Goinghand in hand with the deathrock and anarcho crust tendencies of the bands mentioned above, A Compilation Vol. 1: Portland is a wonderful companion peice fueled more by pitchy synth-driven lamentations of post-punk. You’ll find everything from crusty deathrock to minimal synth all swirl together by a group of bands until that point had never heard of before.

PDX punk is a constant warzone. The dirty dirges demand anarchy and freedom in a complacent, desensitized world. It’s also proving to be a fertile breeding ground over the past few years for a fantastic new music scene deserving for larger national and worldwide attention.

Light Asylum – S/T (2012) [Mexican Summer] // Grade: B+

Shannon Funchess is somewhere in between a force of nature and cult leader. Her voice is difficult to describe, decidedly larger than any petty adjectives you try to throw at it. It would be booming if it weren’t so in control, husky if it didn’t frequently remain in a silky timbro, post-human if it didn’t ever so often break and reveal the very real person beneath. Nonetheless, it’s a voice so alien as to conjure images of the azure opera singer from The 5th Element, or perhaps the house band of Thunderdome. As is to be mentioned in any discussion about Light Asylum, they are a somewhat lopsided operation.

This isn’t necessarily the fault of the other members – though on some songs they get out of the way a little too much – but more the fact that coming up with a cohesive sound that fits the same, for lack of a better word, genre as Funchess’ vocals proves to be a task I would wish on no one. A majority of the songs fit under the goth umbrella, but there are industrial flourishes around as well, fuzzy marching drums intertwining with numerous synth zips and trills. But even on the best musical songs (“Hour Fortress,” “A Certain Person”) the sudden reappearance of Funchess is jarring, laying waste to everything else.

Lyrically, the album works best when it sticks to repeated phrases that Funchess can twist into increasingly larger proclamations, like the very good “nobody’s innocent” chorus of “IPC.” Some tracks lose the plot a little bit, like the too dancey “Heart of Dust,” but at the end of the day, this is just a really hard record to say no to. It’s like saying no to a tornado: what’s good would it do anyway?

• Hooligan Polo ($66.00)
• Drop Out Crewneck ($74.00)
• Fanatic Snapback ($30.00)
• Scout Workpants ($103.00)

Steady Peddlin’ to the 4th dimension! Because the 4th dimensino is GIFs right? I’m pretty sure Carl Sagan said that one time. Look it up. We wanted to show off some layering with this newest outfit, but we also didn’t want to obscure any of the awesome items. More specifically, we didn’t want to hide the crimson power of the Hooligan Polo. Red is a bold choice, but in this case it’s most definitely the right choice. Pair it up with the clean badassery of the Fanatic Snapback for a truly winning combo.

If you just want the red to be an accent, however, you can throw the Drop Out Crew over the polo, giving off a look that says collegiate until people start to notice all the skulls and bloody eyeballs and death talk. Actually, come to think of it, that’s a lot of the same stuff that’s in real fraternities. Frats are weird. If the entire collegiate Greek system all joined up and staged some sort of Illuminati based revolution they could probably succeed. The only thing holding them back is beer. Thanks, Anheuser-Busch, for protecting out future from the fraternal masses. Complete the look with the Scout Work Pants featuring leopard print lining at the cuffs.

Мишка
350 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY
718-388-1725
—
Мишка LA
1547 Echo Park Ave
Los Angeles, CA
213-536-4234

While the overwhelming theme of season 5 of Mad Men has been the way that time changes the things around you, transforming what used to be normalcy into a quite literal horror show (I’m still, to be honest, monumentally impressed by the way the she embraced an Edward Albee – who, by the way, was name checked last night – type suburban terror), the past two episodes – “Far Away Places” and “At The Codfish Ball” – have been about the way that you change without even noticing.

Both episodes carry an almost body snatchers feeling, with characters acting in ways they don’t recognize and don’t really have an answer for. Consider Peggy’s tryst with the weirdo flunkie in the movie theater, or more notably Don leaving Megan in the parking lot of Howard Johnson’s (“How could you do that to me?” “I don’t know… it was a fight”). Last week’s realizations came from looking inward. This was most plainly realized in Roger Sterling’s segment, as he uses LSD, a drug renowned for its (real or perceived) ability to incite deeply weird levels of introspection.

We see some more benefits (or fallout, depending on your perspective) of Roger’s trip in “Codfish.” He’s uncharacteristically chipper, unburdened by the occupational paranoia which has been haunting him. But at the same time, you wonder whether the whole thing is about to go off the rails. Sure, people can change their attitudes, but when personality shifts are so rapid (especially when aided by drugs) they are more often than not masking an increasingly cavernous disconnect from reality. Not to say that Roger is the only person experience this.

Consider Megan, who’s shaping up to be a really fantastic character, and who’s French-Canadian parents are in town for a visit (parental interaction being the other strong narrative thrust of “Codfish”). In a quietly terrifying conversation with her father at a American Cancer Society Ball honoring Don, she is prodded into realizing that she, in a way, has no idea what she’s doing, working with these people and taking care of these children and so on. Her whole life becomes instantaneously unfamiliar.

There were a lot of blindsides in “Codfish”, usually forced upon one character by another, whether it be Peggy and Abe’s will-he, wont-he, okay-he-kind-of-did situation (Peggy and Joan’s two scenes were some of the best of the episode, as Joan gently helps Peggy feel comfortable owning her feelings. Those two’s friendship may be the purest of the series), or the very grim way that Sally, all dolled up and high off her hysterical rapport with Roger, realizes she’s not ready (or willing) t0 enter the adult world – whatever that means.

If I were to have some quibbles with “Codfish”, the weaker of the two episodes, it would be the several moments where writer Jonathan Igla got too cute by a half with himself. I’m thinking specifically of Peggy’s “I do” at dinner, in reference to wanting to order (but she really meant about marriage you guys, did you get that???) and the closing line as well (“How’s the city?” “It’s dirty”) smacked of the smugness that can be Mad Men‘s very worst trait. Nonetheless, both episodes displayed a cast and crew that were firing on all cylinders, from Don & Megan’s impressive romancing of the Heinz people, to Ginsberg’s chilling origin story (first time I’ve enjoyed that character), and on and on. After a slow start, season 5 is shaping up to be a doozy.

I mentioned some time ago how excited I was about an impending collaboration between Detroit’s finest bizarro rapper Danny Brown and grime superstar (and Keep Watch mixer) Darq E Freaker, and this morning the Blueberry EP finally went live. You can peep the woozily hedonistic video for the absolutely massive “Blueberry (Pills and Cocaine)” above. I’m pretty sure that “we poppin’ these pills, sniffin’ cocaine” might be the quintessential Danny Brown chorus.

Darq E’s beat is predictably groovy, grinding, and grimy as fuck. The EP features that track, of course, as well as Star Slinger and Pelican Fly All Stars, as well as 5kinAndBone5 and Morri$, both of whom recently impressed the fuck out of me with their work on the Le1f tape. Basically, this EP is where you wanna be today, whether you’re throwed on uppers or not.

When I was little I would wake up at 4:00 AM often so I could watch Beast Wars before school. It was one of my favorite shows. Thus, Whenever people rap about “Beast Mode” (Lil Wayne probably has said it more than anyone) I think of Beast Wars even though it’s probably not exactly what they mean. I envision someone transforming into an actual animal.

There are no lyrics on this song  “Beast-Mode.” But, because of the title, I imagine it as the soundtrack to Beast Wars battle scenes. “Beast-Mode” Is a crazy, futuristic trap beat that’s the result of YS and DK All Day joining forces to create what DK All Day describes as “Beat Wizardry.” Rappers have always collaborated since the dawn of rap, but it’s always been rare to see producers collab. But, when they do, amazing stuff like this can happen. YS’ hard-hitting bass and drums combined with DK All Day’s computer synth lazer noises make something really impressive and unlike any other trap beat I’ve heard.

This isn’t the first production collab YS has done, though. He also worked with BK Beats on the very different, but equally awesome instrumental “The Talk.” What’s cool about these collabs is that all three producers (YS, Bk Beats and DK All Day) live in different places but know each other (most likely) because of their production work for members of Green Ova specifically Shady Blaze. If you look at Shady’s The Hustle, Grind And Talent album they all have beats on there. I think it’s very cool how Green Ova is fostering connections between dope producers.

Santigold – Master of My Make-Believe (2012) [Atlantic] // Grade: A-

Though she was frequently and somewhat confusingly compared to M.I.A. during her rapid emergence into the music scene some 4 years ago, Santi White AKA Santigold moves even further away from that agit-prop Diplo touched swaggering talk rap on her sophomore album, instead for the most part leaving behing the dancefloor in favor of a pleasing mix of slow burn ballads and indie-pop. Her choice of collaborators for the album bely what were presumably her more accurate influences this whole time, most notably Karen O and especially producer extraordinaire Dave Sitek.

Though the cover may depict multiple instantiations of Santi, Master of My Make-Believe is a more focused effort than Santogold, and though that may rob the record of some unpredictability, it makes up for it with songs that grow better the more you listen. Especially on the slower cuts (I’m thinking specifically of the middle of the album double up of “This Isn’t Our Parade” and “Riot’s Gone”) Santi achieves a wistful, lovely atmosphere that I think brings out her strongest vocal performances. Don’t get me wrong, she can deliver stone faced braggadocio well (see the slightly out of place but also weirdly fitting “Look At These Hoes”) but her penchant for wordless vocalizations, a heady mix of “ay’s”, “whoa’s”, and yips come alive in the moodier numbers.

Even new single “Disparate Youth”, which starts out as if primed to burst off into the stratosphere, instead settles into a admirably restrained cool, the machinedrum chug that backs it ripped through sporadically by jagged riffs from Nick Zinner’s guitar while Santi lords commandingly over it all. I think that particular notion – of pushing a song in an unexpected, almost counterintuitive direction – is the guiding theme that drives the aptly titled Master of My Make-Believe, as Santi (for the most part) pulls the considerable talents yet disparate ideas of herself and her collaborators into a surprisingly cohesive unit. It’s a subtle but impressive feat.