J Dilla ft. Guilty Simpson & Madlib - “Baby”
“Turn it up,” says James Yancey, smooth and calm over his chopped-up strings and horns, before Guilty Simpson’s bass-rap comes in on top of the pitched-up samples.
Part of J Dilla’s genius was his ability to not only flip the emotion of whatever track he was sampling, but flip the very words the original artists used to create sounds and juxtapositions that pushed his music upwards into something completely new (see: Slum Village, “Players,” the chorus of which actually samples The Singers Unlimited’s “Claire.”)
In this case, it’s The Stylistics’ 1980 track “Maybe It’s Love This Time”. The original track is a traditional soul ballad of yearning and want (“Darling, maybe it’s love this time”) but Dilla flips the sounds and the word “maybe” so that each rapper finds himself spitting game to the fairer sex in the traditional way: calling her “baby.” It’s a boastful, up-front song with bravado and confidence, with not an ounce of weeping oh-girl-I-need-you-so to be found.
Originally featured on J Dilla’s The Shining, posthumously released in 2006, “Baby” can be found on Dillanthology 3: Dilla’s Production. This collection samples the producer’s solo albums as well has his noted noted work with Madlib under their Jaylib title. Dillanthology 3 is the final installment of the series and drops on October 13.
Headlights - “Get Going”
On October 6th, Headlights will release their third album, Wildlife. Recording this release proved to be a lot harder then their previous two albums. With two new members added to fill out the sound, a change in band dynamics almost forced them to split. After regrouping and restarting the album they created a highly personal, yet wonderful album for your listening pleasure.
You can pre-order Wildlife from Polyvinyl Records or check them out when they come to your town.
Blondie - “Sunday Girl”
I try to listen to as much of the music in my iTunes library as I can, but there’s always something excellent I neglect for whatever the flavor of the week may be. This morning, as I quickly scrolled through my library, I realized that the classic, new-wave/pop of Blondie’s Parallel Lines would be the perfect counter to the dreary day outside.
Everyone already knows the break-out hits from the album (“Heart of Glass”, “One Way or Another”, and even “Hanging on a Telephone”), so I think one of the lesser known (and aptly titled to be today’s post) tracks is in order. “Sunday Girl” is a simple song that hangs almost entirely on the straightforward bass line and light-hearted lyrics, and that’s precisely the thing I was looking for.
Free Energy - “Dream City”
My name is Mitchell London, and I’m new to the Tuneage gang (Tunegange?). First, a little about me: I have two solo dance moves. Exactly two - the “Reach Up at the Sky and Pull Down Fiercely” and the “Very Excited Stationary Jogger.” When I try to push the boundaries, incorporate a new move - something, say, lateral instead of vertical - I abandon it in less than four bars and retire to the corner of the party, head hung in shame.
Fortunately, there are a few songs out there that accommodate - nay, are meant for - my hyperkinetic prancing. “Dream City” is one. The opening power chords are a statement of purpose; they let the listener know exactly where Free Energy is coming from. 1974. If the forces of punk, rap, dance, or irony have ever registered on the Free Energy radar, they certainly don’t show it here. Instead, they dabble in the simplest expressions of joy - handclaps, “Wooooo woooo woooooo” bridge harmonies, lyrics about stars, Rhodes Piano chorus breakdowns. If you’re not jogging in place after that post-chorus snare hit or clutching at the empty sky during the sax solo, you’ve clicked the wrong play button.
Richie Havens - “Going Back to My Roots”
After conducting a little research, what is most surprising about this classic 80s club track is the fact that Richie Havens is better known as a folk musician. In fact, he opened Woodstock
One of the noticeable, and perhaps embarassing, trends of the late 70s and early 80s was the influx of rock musicians crossing over to the disco realm. The popularity of the genre seemed ubiquitous and neverending, and so it came as no surprise that many musicians attempted to transform at least one of their songs into something that would translate to the dancefloor.
What makes “Going Back to My Roots” (from Havens’ 1980 LP Connections) so fun and classic is the instrumentation and Havens’ voice. That repetitive piano chord that serves as the foundation of the song is fundamental to many contemporary house and post-punk musicians’ aesthetic. Immediately, tracks by LCD Soundsystem and The Juan MacLean, especially, have roots instead of just an overarching idea of “re-appropriation.” And Havens’ voice, surprisingly lush and warm, makes the track powerful and uplifting.
Here We Go Magic - “Tunnelvision”
Finding information about the make-up of Here We Go Magic has been difficult. What I do know is that Luke Temple is the heart of the band, and by the time the self-titled debut was released earlier this year, there was a total of five people in the band. On the album, the quintet displays a trip-folk-cum-Paul-Simon vibe that’s as hard to place as it is to ignore. You’ll find lots of low-fi elements, musical repetition, and dreamy Simon-esque vocals throughout, and that’s exactly why we like them.
WWTB
Not much to buy this week…in fact, there’s only one:
- The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You (buy the CD/buy the MP3s)
Washed Out - “Get Up”
With Fall officially here and the daily highs down into the 70s for the first time in months, it’s about time for me to start transitioning away my summer jams in favor of slower, folkier, more autumnal tunes.
Although musically similar to Neon Indian or Cut/Copy, Washed Out’s first EP, Life of Leisure, has a good nighttime vibe that both recalls Summer while hinting at Fall, making it a perfect transitional album. “Get Up” is the lead off track and feels more like summer than most of the album. The song’s funky, shifting, out-of-sync synths may be trippy or off-putting at first, but I quickly found they kept me coming back to the song just so I could hear them again.
Take - “Fall in Love Again”
Take, aka Thomas 2000, aka Thomas Wilson can be found on the lefty spectrum of hip-hop. If the likes of Kanye and Jay-Z can be considered the center (it is sad that those are the two names that came to mind), and the conservative right is anything from the bass-heavy southern rap to the Bay Area’s hyphy movement, Take dabbles with instrumental and experimental beats. On a related note: conservative rap is shaping out to be pretty shite!
While his usual stuff is akin to Flying Lotus, Daedelus, and Dabyre, this song — from his album The Dirty Decibels Of Thomas Two Thousand — is definitely leaner and toned down. It’s easy on the electro-synth and generous with traditional acoustics. The brevity of the song seems to underscore the talent - you will definitely be using the repeat function.
This guest post was written by Avi Jaisinghani. Thanks, Avi! If you want to submit your own guest post, head on over to our submission page and get writing!
The Raveonettes - “Last Dance”
Fuzzy pop. I can’t get enough of it, and few bands deliver it with the consistent quality this Danish duo does. The Velvet Underground/Jesus and Mary Chain/Wall of Sound influence was felt as far back as the band’s first album, the fuzzy, noisy rocker that was Whip It On, but as the band has matured, The Raveonettes have more clearly brandished their love for 50s rock and roll/pop melodies and rhythms (including a great cover of “My Boyfriend’s Back”). In short, this band is all about juxtaposition, and I dare say the Raveonettes are making some of the best pop music out there these days.
This track, off their 5th studio album In and Out of Control (out on October 6), is almost indescribably awesome. The music feels like a dead-ringer for a prom-night anthem, while the lyrics are all about love and drug addiction. Juxtaposition indeed.
