June 2010
30 posts
Beat Bop
Rammellzee vs. K-Rob
Rammellzee vs. K-Rob - Beat Bop (Beat Bop, 1983)
The secrets of "Psycho's" shower scene - Film Salon - Salon.com →
salon.com
I first asked Perkins if during the filming, anyone had a clue that “Psycho” would be viewed as the classic it later became. “I don’t think so,” he replied. “Hitchcock was very modest in his aspirations for the picture. He filmed it with the crew from his television show, and many people on the Universal lot didn’t even realize he was working on a feature at the time. They thought it was an extended TV show. So the very modesty of the enterprise discouraged us from feeling we were working on anything that would be remembered for more than a season.”
I could sit around all day and read interviews with the late, great Tony Perkins; such a fascinating individual and a truly great actor (both in film and on stage). Be sure to read the entire article for one hell of secret to cinema’s single most dissected scene as well as further evidence of Hitchcock’s methodical genius.
(via mental_floss)
Never Can Say Goodbye (Neptunes Remix)
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson - Never Can Say Goodbye (Neptunes Remix)
One year later and we still miss you, Mike. May his majesty rest in continued peace.
P.S. The ‘Tunes KILLED this remix (point blank) of an already legendary Jackson 5 track. It’s a low down dirty shame that P, Chad and MJ never worked together as I imagine that there would have been many more magical joints like this timeless gem. “OH!” (c) Pharrell (at which point the ill, bridge-like drum pattern kicks in; I simply adore that part)
Kentucky Cocktail - Bourbon Drink Recipe | Drink of the Week →
drinkoftheweek.com
Just finished a glass of this drink in honour of MJ’s death anniversary (while listening to some rare choice selections from the King’s discography). Except I replaced the pineapple juice with apple juice (leftover from one of my nephew’s juice boxes) in a happy accident akin to when Homer whimsically created the legendary Flaming Homer cocktail by throwing his kids’ cough syrup into the mix (I ain’t down with the sizzurp, though; that stuff is straight dangerous, yo). Thankfully, I still had some maraschino cherries in the fridge from LAST summer (which, due to their high preservation level, still taste exactly the same). And finally, I used a smoking shot of Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey for “the main ingredient” (c) Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth. So you can call this concoction the Kentucky Cocktail (Apple Remix) (feat. Your taste buds).
Nice to know that Donald Glover is also a fan of this upscale Kentucky straight brand; one of the only bourbons out there that’s perfectly suitable for sipping neat or on the rocks (FYI bourbons are usually rough as hell compared to say a fine scotch whisky like J-Dub Gold Label or Chivas 18). Plus it’s very economically priced (always a plus). I also prefer to use some BBFW in my favourite boilermaker combos. But really though, you can use ANY type of whisk(e)y in a boilermaker as the beer will gladly take care of anything that “tastes like burning” (c) Ralph Wiggum. Oh, and that old-timey bottle with raised lettering is supremo. *kissing fingertips*
Note: I copped another bottle of this lovely stuff on Thursday since my last bottle got polished off at a party last week (where I was gladly spreading the bourbon wealth around; peeps were surprised as to how smooth it was). Best part though was getting ID’d for the purchase (just got my new passport and put it to the test). I say this because I’m at an advanced age (well, advanced in comparison to many of you youthful Tumblrites out there) where I REALLY appreciate getting ID’d (you know you’re old when…), so it feels good, no doubt. And with that, Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey has become my official drink for Summer 2K10. If you’ll remember, Summer 2K9 = Patrón Silver and Summer 2K8 = Pernod Absinthe. Yes, another great summer is on the horizon (I can see and taste it).
Track 19
J Dilla
J Dilla - Track 19 (Beat CD ‘05 #3)
From the superb unreleased third beat tape/CD of 2005 (an unmixed compilation of chopped up Bill Withers/Motown beats that arguably rivals the polished excellence of Donuts and is actually the only one of the three ‘05 Dilla beat CDs that contains beats from 2005) comes another example of one late, great music legend sampling another late, great music legend. In this case, Jay Dee first slows down then meticulously chops up the Jackson 5’s Dancing Machine beyond all recognition (in particular, little MJ’s solo vocals that come nearly 2 minutes into both the original and alternate version of Dancing Machine). Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that this beat has never been rhymed over on wax. And I think it should stay that way. Edit: Time to correct myself. Q-Tip rhymed over this beat as part of the first half of the track Move from Tip’s superb and 4-year delayed 2008 album The Renaissance. Excellent joint it is (and there aren’t too many MCs more worthy than Tip to do the honours).
This effortless display is just another reason on a long list of reasons as to why I miss James Yancey so much. Kind of the same way that I miss Michael Jackson, although Dilla passed away in his prime (it can also be argued that the man was always on the verge of some next sh!t; constantly getting better) whereas MJ passed away on the verge of a potentially epic comeback (also tragic). But then again, if neither of those geniuses left this world so unexpectedly, we may never have heard any of the unreleased material that we’re listening to right now.
In the case of MJ (who’s one year death anniversary is today), I’m pleased to have a copy of the hallowed Thriller Demos, which leaked in full for the first time last November (I’ve posted a few complete versions under this tag), some of which sounded better than the final studio versions IMO. In the case of Dilla, the beat CDs that have been circulating online since 2K7 are apparently just scratching the surface as it’s believed that the man made thousands upon thousands of beats that have yet to be heard from outside of his musical inner circle (which includes: ?uestlove, DJ House Shoes, J-Rocc and T3, just to name a few). Bittersweet, it all is. But we’ll always have their legendary music to enjoy to our hearts content.
Stanley Kubrick's Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made - Forthcoming reprint by TASCHEN
This is GREAT news!
We’ve just officially confirmed with Taschen that a far more affordable “Trade” reprint edition of Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon is being prepared for release sometime next year. It’ll no doubt still be somewhat expensive as books go, but it’ll also still be a MUCH better chance for serious Kubrick fans to experience the lost riches of his legendary unfinished masterpiece. We’ll post more details as they become available.
(via The Digital Bits)
I had previously drooled over the sheer Kubrickian scope of this $1500 lost treasure trove (sculpted by the geniuses at TASCHEN, in particular Alison Castle, and limited to 1000 numbered copies which sold out last fall) in this enthusiastic post I made back in August 2K9. So to find out that Taschen will in fact be releasing an affordable reprint of the massive 10-books-in-1 package (representative of the 4 years that Stanley spent obsessively amassing and adapting countless details on the life of Napoleon), thereby giving all of us broke cinephiles a realistic opportunity to soak up and imagine what Kubrick’s unfilmed masterpiece truly could have been, was simply music to my ears (and film to my eyes).
Shook Ones Pt. 1
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Pt. 1
Yes, there was actually a Pt. 1 to the mammoth hip hop classic known as Shook Ones Pt. II. And here it is (from a 1995 Loud Records mixtape). I’m posting this in light of the 5.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Quebec and Southern Ontario at 1:41PM EST today. From my POV, it lasted about 10-12 seconds and apparently was felt as far as Ohio and New York. The epicenter was in Buckingham, Quebec and Ottawa was the closest major city (61km away) to the source and as a result, the capital region got the biggest shakes (compared to Toronto and Montreal).
I was at home at the time and at first it felt like there was some construction blasting going on nearby (something that hasn’t occurred in this area since the late-80s), but then the shaking continued to get stronger, things were falling off shelves and what not and I got rattled out of my seat (where I was doing some work). Confusion followed suit. My nephew would later describe the experience as a “Whoa, whoa, whoaaaa!” type thing, all while miming being off balance (now he’s going on an “earthquake hunt” with his Toy Story arrow gun). So, much like everyone else, I made calls and texts to family and friends to see how they were doing. And no doubt peeps were certainly shook all over Ottawa and the surrounding areas (hot news story!).
My parents have experienced more frequent as well as far stronger earthquakes while growing up in Manila (FYI, I was born in Quezon City, but left the Philippines with my family when I was about 15 months old) but this was my first time experiencing anything of this magnitude (pun intended). Very unusual and rare for these parts considering that the fault lines here only cause frequent and undetectable tremors, hence zero accumulation toward a huge plate movement (today’s moderate quake is a rarity). Certainly puts into perspective the massive devastation that occurs in other countries that experience quakes which do catastrophic damage (I actually just happen to be wearing my UNDR-CRWN “Assist Haiti” Charity Stripe t-shirt right now). In any event, take care out there everyone!
P.S. Due to Tumblr’s network switching problems (and perhaps the quake?), I attempted to publish this post almost 4 hours ago but the servers at the time weren’t trying to hear that (so I picked it up later…thank goodness for drafts). Well, now you, dear reader, can finally hear this prequel to the aforesaid east coast classic (but you didn’t have to read the entire post…appreciate it, though).
“Yo, it’s too much strain for nominal gain / I’m going through things / headaches, abdominal pain / tryin’ to numb it with that kettle like I’m from the Ukraine / check the blue flame / lighter runnin’ out of butane, wassup wit / my destructive urge that’s unproductive / choices I’m stuck with now, starting to fuck with / contaminating family and close friends / telling me to stop, burnin’ the candle at both ends / ain’t like I’m on a coke binge / hangin’ in dope dens / or like it’s just a pool / of Patron I’m soaked in / the dark of the covenant / slash train wreck for you to rubber neck / you ain’t felt the true pain yet / so you be lovin’ that / hit me up at black dot / gov like the government / banana republican / alien intelligence / kill-switch, real piss, thinking of some ill shit / the stone the builder refused / he need to build with / got immunized for both flus / I’m still sick / via satellite radio, the realness”
—The incomparable Tariq Trotter aka Black Thought from the HIGO track Radio Daze (posted below this quotable; press play and feel free to follow along), effortlessly dropping my favourite group of bars from the entire album. Riq Gees is still sick, indeed, not to mention underrated and under-appreciated as a super MC (and if you’ve ever attended a live Roots experience, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about). Lyrical transcription by yours truly. “It’s all for youuuuu.” (c) Miss Jackson
Radio Daze
The Roots
The Roots - Radio Daze (feat. Blu, P.O.R.N. & Dice Raw)
After four straight-through listens since late Friday afternoon (in addition to adding the freshly leaked album to a playlist that I was asked to construct for a buddy’s birthday kegger that same evening), this pleasant track, which in itself is a celebration of music and its stupefying effect on the listener, is currently in a three-way tie with Now Or Never and Right On for my personal fave joint from the new Roots LP.
?uesto’s drums have never sounded this raw and organic for the duration of an entire album before (think Panic!!!!! from Illadelph Halflife). Ill-tastic. And if you agree with me, then please cop How I Got Over on June 22nd and support great music. The anticipation of getting to see these unequaled masters of the live performance in Montreal on the 30th is greater than ever. The P-5-D is back!
“All forms of violence, especially war, are totally unacceptable as means to settle disputes between and among nations, groups and persons.”
—Dalai Lama
