We've been receiving a ton of Christmas/Holiday recordings lately. It's really hard to pick and choose what I'll be writing about in the upcoming week. I might as well get on top of some of these recording. Today we have Kill It Kid (killitkid.com / myspace.com) If they sound familiar to you, that's because we've previously mentioned them before.
Their song, "Just Like Christmas" is a cover of Minnesota's own Low. Since we're from Minnesota, this is worth checking out. You can download your own copy in a variety of formats (including flac) over at www.killitkidchristmas.com.
The band is finishing up their 2009 tour:Low's ‘Just Like Christmas’ is a great tune, with an understated lyric and tender sentiment that we felt - with all our festive strength - we could break into a duet and still compliment the narrative. So we put it in front of the fire, filled it with cinnamon, brandy, and cranberry sauce and put some spurs on it!-- singer Chris Turpin
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12 Dec Play It By Ear @ The Monarch London
15 Dec The Glee Club* Cardiff
16 Dec The Duchess* York
17 Dec Jericho Tavern* Oxford
* with Foy Vance
As you know, it's the nature of the business, but I have to use myspace because of its deep roots in music. Anyway, by choice, I am using Firefox 2.0. I tried 3.5, I don't like the way it handles scripts ... and there are some themes and extensions that does not work in the latest version, so yes, I'm still clinging on 2.0.
About a few weeks ago, myspace made this boneheaded decision that it wouldn't let you in if you're using old browsers. It's okay, it's not like I actively use myspace, but as the weeks went on, I realized I had to stop ignoring this problem.
So here is the solution for those of you suffering from the same problem (such as all Mac firefox users, apparently): get User Agent Switcher 0.7.2.
This little extension tells myspace, "I'm Internet Explorer 8, let me in!!". If you want to fool it into thinking you're running Firefox 3.0, add the following in "new":
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Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; ; rv:1.9.0.14) Gecko/2009082707 Firefox/3.0.14
PS, User Agent Switch is also useful when you stumble upon a "members only" forum. You simply change your agent to "Googlebot 2.1".
12/10/2009 11:29:04 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
I was in my car. Sitting at a stoplight. Fake drumming to a $2 CD by a band called the Pooh Sticks. I looked over to my right and saw a young woman pumping gas. It was about 30 degrees out and she was obviously very cold. She was doing a little stay-warm-by-shuffling-back-and-forth-thing. You know, putting all her weight on her right leg and then switching over to her left. Back and forth over and over again. The interesting thing is this: she was moving in perfect time to the song I was playing. If she'd been listening to the exact same song at the exact same moment, she couldn't have possibly displayed superior rhythm. She couldn't have danced any better.
Please pardon the language, but I live for shit like that.
"...but American girls are pretty and charming - little oases of pretty unreasonableness in a vast desert of practical common-sense."
- Oscar Wilde
The England of Victoria was scattered with the bones of their disappointment. They foundered on society's unforgiving landscape and were held fast, like sparrows caught on barbed wire. They swooned, jeweled wraiths, across a countryside of regret.
These were the daughters of America, bred from the new, raw, ricih. Vanderbilt. Morgan. Whitney. Jerome. Thjeir fathers were the barons and the bankers, dirty from railroads, mines and Wall Street. Their mothers were coarse and pushy - seeing their future in the calling cards accumulating in the salverby the door.
They had the money. But the family name needed something beyond wealth, it needed dignity, it needed respectability. So it was the responsibility of their dainty - if doomed - daughters to wash their fathers' hands and smooth their mothers' silhouettes and manners.
These nouveau riche had made their names. But they also needed titles. So they groomed their daughters, pressing them like flowers between the intolerant walls of behavior and decorum. They were being prepred for adventures across the sea, and England was ripe for plunder.
Waiting to be claimed by these "dollar princesses" were the impoverished sons of the peerage, languishing in ballrooms like dying wolves. English girls, steeped in tradition and hooded eyes, had no chance against the audacious competitors which invaded their country. There was a type of charm in their impudence and fresh faces. They flirted and teased with a rapier-like modesty. Like pirates they ransacked the aristocracy until their accents rang in every large house in the country.
But the Victorian aristocracy had been growing tired and decadent. The husbands who had married American money bore hidden depravities and resentments like coiled diseases. Their country houses were dank and moldy, chilling their golden brides. The romantic wistfulness, the daring hand on an ungloved arm, were all for show at the Mayfair parties.
So many times after the marriage, the heiress would fade away, her fine dresses never unpacked, her jewels clouded and tangled. When Consuelo Vanderbilt wed the Early of Marlborough, her tears made a diamante pattern across her wedding veil.
Maud Cunard sacraificed her bohemian mentality for a cold, bitter life in her husband's Northern lands.
Jennie Jerome's husband was a brilliant parlimentarian, and would die of syphilis.
Mary Leiter worshiped her parents' visits: "I love the chairs you sat on, and try to see you there, and my eyes fill with tears."
This was the Gilded Age, society's golden veneer, the false, desirable beauty. It only took a false word, the image of a young bride in a locked bedroom, to scrape the paint away - to reveal the terrible depths of a dark heart, its cruel, hidden realities.
 SSLYBY at The Bell House ♥ photo by Dave
Tour Dates
12/12/09 Outland Ballroom Springfield, MO
Discography
01/13/10 Maxine’s Pub Hot Springs, AK 01/23/10 Gallery Sounds Springfield, MO 01/28/10 Schubas Chicago, IL 01/29/10 Courtyard Cafe Champaign, IL 01/30/10 Mojo’s Columbia, MO 01/31/10 Jackpot Lawrence, KS
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In terms of favorite bands with excessively long names, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yelstin is right up there with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. (Fun Fact: There’s a band called Meanwhile Back in Communist Russia that won BBC Radio’s title for worst band name ever. When you think about it, the Soviet Union is a rich source for potentially awful band names, IE: Lenin’s Mausoleum, Khrushchev’s Thaw, The Gulag, etc. etc. etc.)
Anyway.
 SSLYBY at The Bell House, Brooklyn (12/7/09) ♥ photo by Dave
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They opened with “Pangea,” the jangly first track from their debut album, Broom. However, the jangle did not seem as prevalent live as it does on the album. To borrow a word from Chuck Klosterman’s phrasebook, the songs sounded considerably more “trenchant” compared to their recorded counterparts. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it gave pop-centric tracks like “Oregon Girl” and “Gwyneth” a slight edge. It also allowed them to turn the bittersweet confection that is “Dead Right” into a slow-burning, thumping number.
Singing duties switched between guitarists, John Cardwell and Philip Dickey, and they invited friends on stage to sing and play the occasional tambourine. The audience was peppered with their fellow musicians/friends, such as Jason Anderson and Paul DeGeorge from Harry & the Potters. With such support, it was only natural that an impromptu audience rendition of Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” should happen. (It did. It was short-lived but sweet.)
They ended the show with “Modern Mystery” before returning for a much-welcomed encore. Say what you will about their clunky name or the curse of USSR-related monikers, but overall, it was a perfectly lovely show. Besides, how many Putin-inspired bands have you heard of lately?
Photos by Dave:
SSLYBY at The Bell House, Brooklyn (12/7/09) ♥ photo by Dave
SSLYBY at The Bell House, Brooklyn (12/7/09) ♥ photo by Dave
SSLYBY at The Bell House, Brooklyn (12/7/09) ♥ photo by Dave
12/09/2009 22:35:36 ♥ kateg (
)
♥ sslyby.com
♥ myspace.com/boris
The pine tree outside my window was in turmoil a moment ago. But now it is still. The storm has passed. A brief and unproductive storm. Sound of rain drops from eaves. The light is clear and golden.
The secret of power nap: podcast + alarm + bus (optional).
The fridge went dead the other day, but today when I was in the kitchen pondering about how to get rid of the food, I was suddenly aware of the noise. The fridge was back to life. So freakish.
All these months I've been shortening my writings, I realize. I don't quite understand this economy. It's not mine. But perhaps there is an art in making long story short. To make all the sleepless nights lose their flesh and see what remains.
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STATE OF EMERGENCY
billcosby.com
Most people will know Bill Cosby from The Cosby Show or Fat Albert, but did you know that early in his entertainment career, that he released a music album called Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings? He also plays drums and bass... so it shouldn't surprise anyone to know that he's the person behind State of Emergency.
Before we continue, let me be clear in one thing: Bill Cosby does not sing on this album. Most of the singing is done by Jace the Great, with some help from Cedric Miller and Brother Haz. It's not clear on the music writing credits, most of the songs are credited to W.H. Cosby Jr (Bill Cosby), William Patterson, Cedric Miller, Jamal Gary (Jace?) and Hassan McMillan (Brother Haz?).
My favorite song off the album is "Dads Behind the Glass", with its refrain "I wish my daddy was home/tired of sitting here all alone/Mommy's not here she's working two jobs". The song also features samples from Bill Cosby and Friends' performing "Ursalina".
Some of the song's message, I can see Cosby writing. Like the constant "Why?" question, or "In a Perfect World", or "Runnin'". But songs like "Where Did I Go Wrong?", about being a Blood gangster, with being the son of a Muslim, I can't see Cosby writing this... but I can feel it's Brother Haz's contribution to this song.
Even if Cosby have little to do with this album, he's involving and lending his name to the project - and for most people, that's good enough. He believes in the project enough to do talk about it and promote it, and I think that's awesome. Though, I would've pegged him as a Jazz guy, considering his love for jazz music, but it's refreshing to see him working in the hip-hop music industry.
State of Emergency is available now at BillCosby.com. There's a variety of packages, but I recommend getting the CD and book (New York times bestseller Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors by Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint) combo.
powerhousebooks.com
Having spent all of my holiday reading on and off KRS-One's The Gospel of Hip Hop, I came to the conclusion that, like the Holy Bible, understanding of its message does not come overnight... but through years of practice and study.
If you love hip hop and embrace all of its kulture and lifestyle, then I say this is a wonderful book for your library shelf. This 800+ page hardcover, gold embossed cover, words of wisdom, is well worth its price of $24.95. I have bought more expensive books for less content and value, so take it from me, this is a good deal. Plus, I noticed that your order of The Gospel of Hip Hop via Powerhouse Books will come autographed by KRS-One.
So, this book does not necessary require you to read front-to-back, but you can't just skip around either - considering that it makes sense to read "The First Understanding" vs "The Eighteenth Understanding". What KRS One, who, in the book, refers to himself as the teacha, tries and break down some of the components that makes hip hop - in particular: graffiti art, DJ, emcees, b-boy, and free styles.
The book isn't necessary all about the hip hop culture, but also faith, religion, and, most of all, love. Love to stop the violence, and love to help others in need. I'll give you evidence, this past Thanksgiving, KRS-One practiced his teaching by serving meals to thousands of New York's homeless at the Bowery Mission:
My favorite chapter from The Gospel of Hip Hop is the Fourth Understanding: The H-LAW. What the H-LAW is an acronym for Health, Love, Awareness and Wealth. For anyone, a healthy body & mind also translate to peace and positive attitude. There's an interesting bit in the section that describes that not all food is life-giving, that everything edible is not food. What follows Health, Love and Wealth, seems pretty obvious. Love is not lust, while Wealth doesn't always mean riches in the monetary sense. The Awareness part, that seems more like Knowledge. KRS-One gives you an example of a normal person and an electrician, who looks at a room with very different perspective. For instance, the electrician, with his knowledge of wiring knows a little more than the average person.I am participating in The Bowery Mission's Thanksgiving food drive and event because I myself was once homeless, walking these very streets, and spending time with these wonderful people at The Bowery Mission. I depended on them to survive. I am showing up for Thanksgiving this year to not only lend a hand, but hope that I am may inspire others in the Hip Hop community to consider their role towards helping the homeless, and join me by helping those in your community that need help during this holiday season.
I chose the Bowery Mission because it epitomizes the spirit of true human resources, love, care and compassion. I have stayed at many shelters were you are called "the client" and the administration made you feel like a prisoner in a system. At the Bowery Mission you feel at home. Homelessness is a pandemic, and most people do not realize the severity of the situation. You may be homeless one day yourself. I urge the Hip Hop nation to live up to the true nature of our culture and give.- KRS-One
Again, let me be clear: the understanding of all of The Gospel of Hip Hop's teaching and written words does not come overnight. In some ways, this book will require multiple reading. Below, I leave you with a small teaching from the book, which you can apply in any situation:
Disobedience, stubbornness, suspicion, criticism, fear, doubt and/or arrogance toward your teacher only hinder YOUR learning. We must not unnecessarily criticize each other; we must question and always acknowledge our collective development as a young nation.
THE PEACE
hipfolkinc.com ♥ myspace.com
The impossible to search for The Peace, a band out of Vermont, plays what they bill themselves as "hip hop folk" - a combination of their inspiration of music from Dave Matthews and KRS One. At least that's what they describe themselves, personally, in my opinion, I don't believe The Peace to be hip hop (or even folk). They seem like a jam band, their influence is closer to funk and improvisation progressive rock.
The most hip-hop/rappish song on the album is "Heaven", but based on Bobby Kendes' singing style (which actually sounds so much like Dave Matthews), it's not really a hardcore rap song. I did enjoy hearing Kurt Cobain's name drop in that song. And speaking of name-dropping, there's a ton of that on "Rookie And The Vets".
As their name suggest, this album is about zen, harmony, and peace. Songs like "This Is Life" and "Goin To Yoga" are great theme for the album - but some song like, "Racing The Devil", seems conflicting. The thing I remember about the Devil song is that the f-word is censored.
My favorite song on the album is "Seven", I think mostly because I enjoyed the Spanish and can pick out "siete", "por favor" and "callate". Not sure about the last word, I could've sworn he said 'shut up' in the song.
If you live in New York, The Peace is spending some time there. I know they played a few dates prior to this writing. Their next show is at Arlene's Grocery (which is famously not a grocery store) on December 13th. The Peace's self-titled debut can be bought via hipfolkinc.com. If you don't mind a milder Spin Doctors, you'll enjoy this. If you were looking to Notorious BIG-type, I would avoid.
12/08/2009 21:00:02 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
Whoa, doggies. So much snow here in Flagstaff. 26" last count. That means loads of shoveling and lots of toasty beverages.
I am considering entering the Mail Me Art competition (http://mailmeart.com/going-postal/submit-mail-art/), so I've been dabbling again in (EEK) acrylics. Been a long time since I've tried that medium. What's interesting is that my hand is applying watercolor techniques with acrylics... and I'm digging it. We'll see what happens. It's all school to me - all the foibles and weird experiments are so much fun, and since I can't be in college right now - THIS is my college. Or, maybe this is my built-in excuse for making a lot of tragic painting mistakes, the ones that I can't even stand to look at. Haha.
~C
