For those of you who don't know, this all started out as a private email list. If you were not on that list you may have missed out on some goodies. I feel like I should be moving forward and only posting new mixes, but since we are not asshole taskmasters I feel bad not offering the chance for people to do make-up work. It's not your fault, stop throwing a tantrum, get up off the floor, you have the chance to redeem yourself right now.
This is the original Beat Hooker mix, the beats are fiyaaah. *Pours champagne on a toddler* No idea who's toddler that is but they need to be taught to appreciate expensive champagne and stop crying. You'll never be a video ho son...you're useless.
Here's a couple of sample tracks. First up Freeway and Jake One off of, "The Stimulus Package." This Freeway and Jake One album is wearing the crown for one of the best hip hop albums of 2010. I know it's February, you shush. Just watch, this shit can last, Jake One and Freeway can do no wrong.
This is going to be on the next hip hop mix but this is just a another supporting argument for why this album is so good. It's tailor made for my ears to love it. The Roc, Rhymesayers, and The Chef reppin the Wu, all on the same track? Say no more I'm in, where do I sign up?
Freeway and Jake One- One Thing featuring Raekwon
Next is a track by Fashawn from Fresno. This is a dude that gives me hope for hip hop. Check out his track, "Samsonite Man," featuring Blu and produced by Exile. That's pretty much an all-star track in my world. Blu is another dude that doesn't make me cry and run through the streets shouting, "HIP HOP IS DEAAAD!!!" Then you add the fact that Exile is one of my favorite producers and it's musical magic. You will see Exile all over my mixes, that's one soulful dude. These three show that there are still real cats out there doing real hip hop, you just have to turn off the radio and scratch below the surface a little bit.
If that's your kind of shit, then come get some more below. Hip Hop Mix 12-05-09
I have been obsessed with records lately. Not records like, most jellybeans consumed while simultaneously knitting and riding a water buffalo. Although I did hold that record for two weeks. A special fuck you to Larry Bicklestein. I know he was doping, grace like that is just not natural. Anyway, I am talking about vinyl, the musical kind of record, the kind that is filled with wonderment and fabulousity. Although, I guess Larry's record contains both of those aspects as well. But, that's beside the point. So, I have a pretty wide range of musical tastes. My record collection ranges from Austrian electro clogging to four full records of just the sounds of a badger being tazered and an albino banging two pots together. I will make you a copy of the badger one, it's fucking fantastic.
Today we are going to look at two versions of the same song and decide who did it better. This is a totally subjective thing. Obviously tastes differ, moods differ, number of restraining orders differs. The music that sounds good to you depends on lots of things. What kind of hat you are wearing, whether or not you are in a skipping mood. Are you wearing any pants? That sort of thing. For me personally when I don't have pants on I always gravitate towards Polka. You might be more of a pantless samba kind of person. What I am trying to say is there is no right or wrong answer. These are just opinions.
Today's challenge is between Sam Cooke and the Platters. These are two of my favorites in the world of music.
The Platters are responsible for some of my favorite songs and they possess some of my favorite voices in music. Their song, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" makes my list for top five best songs ever. That is one of the only songs that I can definitively put on that list. I think of other artists to put on there but it becomes hard for me to pick a song. That might have to be another entry.
When listening to this song listen to the power of his voice, the control, the melody. He kills it, it's drenched in emotion, it soars when it needs to, to me it is just a perfect example of how to sing. I think the orchestration is done well, the backing is not overbearing, I like the fact that when he sings he sounds like a man. I feel that too much modern R&B sounds whiny. The dudes sound like whiny bitches, the runs sound more feminine, the music is more corny. Someone could argue that this sounds like old people music, and they could be right, that would be that opinion thing again. But I think this is just more pure, more timeless, it was a great song then and it will always be a great song.
Sam Cooke to me is vocal perfection. If I could marry a voice I would marry his, I have actually proposed to it several times. I think it's out of my league though, that bitch won't even return my calls. I don't even know what else to say about his voice. Sam is just...he is just the shit. My favorite. Oh yeah so a little warning, it is pretty fucking hard for me to pick a non-Sam version of a song as a winner if Sam has sung it. Listen to his version of "Love Me" when he sings the words "Love Me" I just swoon, am I wrong?
If you don't know about Sam you should. Buy his music, the guy was great. Basically invented soul, wrote a lot of his own music, had his own label. He was amazing, sorry, I am gushing. But look at this guy, he was one smooth bastard.
Alright, so on to the comparison part. First up The Platters.
This was the first version of this song I heard. I really liked it. It seems like the Platters approached it as the singer is pretending to be happy even when he is singing. The arrangement is lively the horns or trumpets portray the boastfulness of the singer. The bravado that he has to wrap himself in to sell the fact that he is not heartbroken. He tries to convince himself that by acting like he is fine he will be. You can catch glimpses of how he is really feeling in the way he sings but the song seems more upbeat to me. At least in comparison to Sam's. Sam's version is way toned down.
The arrangement is more minimal and subdued. Sam himself sings as if he knows he is not fooling anyone and you can feel the heartbreak in his lyrics and voice. I think it is far more effective in evoking the heartbreak of the song but it really depends on which way you want to take it. Should the Great Pretender be pretending while he sings, should the song be continuing to pretend? Or should it be an acknowledgement of the farce that the singer is perpetuating? Yeah you can go either way and I honestly have a hard time choosing which path I prefer. You would have a hard time agruing either song is a bad song or rendition.
In the end though I think that Sam's version is prettier, more emotional, and I like the arrangement more. With it's stripped down arrangement and softer vocals it makes the Platters arrangement seem overblown, like it has been turned up too loud. Sam's voice is allowed to be the star, his sadness more prominent over the more minimal arrangement. You focus more on his singing, the lyrics, and the emotions come through more without the blaring horns and backing vocals. But again, the Platters version is a totally legitimate approach to this song as well. That's what I like about these comparisons, the way that the artists can change the entire feel of the song, create a different view, feeling, emotion. The same Lyrics can be turned around and say something completley different with a different arrangement, vocal refrain, and style. I told you Sam would win. Weigh in below.
Sampling is like masturbating. Everyone does it and they don't like sharing their material. Lucky for you I've scoured the net (the net being an excellent source for "material".)
Originally recorded as the theme song for the TV show Taxi, I'm starting off this post with Bob James' Angela, which was sampled by the Souls of Mischief in the mid-90's for their song Cab Fare. I don't think James' people ever cleared this sample which would explain why it was never released commercially.
Bob James - Angela
Souls of Mischief - Cab Fare
The second cluster of musical incest originates with the Icemen; a soul group from the early 60's(?). A couple years ago, both Amy Winehouse and John Legend sampled their song My Girl, She's a Fox. Though the band sampled is the Icemen, the real daddy of these contemporary tracks is Jimmy Hendrix. The Icemen was one of the R&B bands he played in before he became experienced.
The Icemen - My Girl, She's a Fox
Amy Winehouse - He Can Only Hold Her
John Legend - Slow Dance
I really like this third grouping because who would of ever thought Talib Kweli would sample Ben Kweller?? It's not like Talib Kweli (or his producers) sampled an obscure soul song from the 60's. Rather, they sampled a song recorded in 2002, by some hipster kid, singing about butterflies. Though Ben Kweller almost broke through to the mainstream by joining the "super group" The Bens, Talib kweli's popularity probably eclipses his. That didn't stop Kweller from acting like a bitch when he found out it was sampled. Kweli's song itself is warm note to Ms. Lauryn Hill to please be normal again. We're actually still waiting for that moment to happen.
This is a new feature called coming soon. We post tracks off of upcoming mixes and gush over them. If you were walking by me in the mall and I was working at Panda Express, when I held out the toothpick and said, "Sampo." This song would be what you would receive, if you were to in fact take the toothpick from my rubber glove encased hand. It's a sample of what's to come. This song is off of Soul Mix 2.
"Big Chief part 2," by Professor Longhair is the fucking jam. From the jump it's got me interested. Then the raucous drums that come in after that piano are like whoa. Nitro, might flow, nice clothes like whoa!! You had me at piano. Add another layer on top of that with the horns and it's getting real funky. Then the Professor comes in and does a smooth ass delivery just riding all over that shit. The phrasing is what does it for me. When he stretches that last part of the word out it just fits right there, the delivery is so effortlessly smooth. It just hits right for me. Granted his delivery is racist as fuck but uhh if we think about it more of like a flow style maybe it takes away that stigma? Say a modern day emcee stepped to the mic and decided he was going to just phrase stuff differently. The verb first followed by the subject or think of his "me" as Juvenile's "Ha." Or like Zumbi in Zion-I's, "Soo Tall."
Make some lovin', keep it cookin Cookin keep it, come on peep it Love's the reason, we all need it Needed are we, Robert Marley Said one love now it's time to party Get on down like Gras de Mardi Love to each and everybody Everybody love to each Try to hear you with that speech Cause life is harder than a peach
When you view, Professor Longhair's phrasing on "Big Chief pat 2" as an awesomely smooth stylistic choice....what you do is....justify a horribly stereotypical racist representation of Native Americans. Haha sorry guys, that shit sounds good though right? The Professor just made a head nodder, I can't help it. It gets the Jay gas face, it's disgustingly heated.
There should be some more soul on here. Uh Huh that's my shit, No Stefani. Sometimes I just spend the whole day rollerskating around the park with my latest soul mix. I don't even listen to it I just hold the cd and spin in circles, arms extended while someone in a crane shoots an overhead shot of my unbridled joy. How could I deny other people that same feeling?
This mix starts out with old school soul. Some Sam and Dave, Otis, James, Aretha is heavily featured. A little sub theme is songs that have been sampled in hip hop. Miss Fat Booty, that Jay Electronica joint produced by Just Blaze, "Exhibit C," you know that one right? It's like the new "A Milli" beat, the current hotness everyone has to spit over. My favorite is the Gloria Allred version that won her the Perkins vs. Louis case.
Gloria: And now your honor I would like to present Exhibit C, bailiff if you could turn on the smoke machine, and hit the lights please, mic check one two one two, *points to Just Blaze* We's good, drop that shit Megatron Don. OHHHH!!!
Judge: Based on this new evidence I am dropping all charges as if they were hot. *Harlem Shakes*
*Crowd rejoices, except for the murdered girl's family, but they were always buzzkills*
That's how the legal system works right? Unrelated question, what's a goon to a goblin? The mix takes a small detour into reggae, the track that Kanye sampled for "Lucifer" and a Bitty Mclean cover of a David Ruffin track and then it goes into some modern soulful stuff, before ending on the Donny Hathaway cover of Lennon's, "Jealous Guy." Keep in mind the track is live and the dude sounds perfect. Check it out below.
*old school email listers probably already have this mix, soul mix 2 is ready to go but I thought I would throw this out there for anyone who missed it on the first go round.
One of the main reasons I like the idea of posting my mixes on this blog is that I've completely given up making mixes for my friends. Screw them. They all know what they like, and they see my mix as more of an annoyance than a gift. Granted, I'm exactly the same: yeah, thanks for the mix, but I'm still sifting through the 10 GB of pirated music I downloaded last week. Music I know I'm at least curious about, unlike your "Summer Jams" mix of dub step, twee pop, and crunk bangers. It seems that all this unlimited access to music has super-saturated our hard drives – and our attention spans – to the point where the prospect of adding anything we haven’t personally selected amounts to, well, a hassle.
I, however, still believe in the mix. Precisely because there is so much music to choose from, I love reaping the rewards of someone else filtering through it for me. And DJ Greybush is one of those trustworthy audiophiles. Hopefully some of you will feel the same way about me. My tastes are eclectic, but most of what I'll be posting here will be rock and pop stuff, usually with an indie twist and more often than not including some foreign languages. (I'm an unabashed francophile, so if you aren't down with the cheese-eating surrender monkeys, then I am not your DJ).
For my first mix, however, I'm going (mostly) retro with a 60s Pop Mix (mostly French, but not all actually from the 60s). Enjoy!
Yeah I said it. You know all those homophobic rappers that say something they think has homosexual undertones and then retract it with a no homo? I think they say simple stuff, like "I love my man Damon, no homo." I guess it's a preemptive strike to anyone saying "Oooooh he loves Damon!! Why don't you marry him??!!" It must be some type of school ground mentality. Sometimes I wonder how far it can be taken.
"Yeah he came back to my place and we did it...no homo?" "Hmm yeaaah that's actually the definition of homo." "Damn it!! Will someone please explain the rules to me!! Can we do take backs double stampsies no around the worlds?" *stomps feet emphatically* *Friend walks away shaking his head*
So I am here to proclaim yes homo with this mix, with a caveat of no offense!! The club queens probably have much better taste than this. That might be my stand in for No homo, No offense. "Yo face look busted, these ho's can't be trusted, No offense!!" Hmm doubt that catches on or that I go down as one of the top emcees in the game. Anyway this mix is aimed more at the ladies or men who don't feel ashamed accentuating their midriff with a well tied side knot on their favorite shirt.
This mix is on a Gilmore girls' level. This is the type of music heard during the closing credits on a CW show, that kind of shit. Stuff straight dudes don't admit to bumping. One time I was at an art show and this dude was playing music, super loud from his motorcycle and a Mariah Carey slowjam came on, he had to go run and change it. Yep, these are the songs that come on your shuffle and you get embarrassed and heteronormativity makes you justify them by muttering stuff like, "Oh man, my sister must have downloaded that." These are pretty pop vocalizations over some folky non-threatening acoustics. Pop princess is not exactly appropriate, but these girls are the closest I come to pop princesses. Think Norah Jones, think lazy sunday lounging around bundled up in a sweater with a good book, your cat and a cup of tea, not that, that's how I spend my sundays....ah fuck it yes homo!!
If you downloaded the indie mix or the Thao albums, be forewarned she makes appearances on this as well, just delete them or appreciate her again.
Features include- Sophie Madeline, Norah Jones, Thao Nguyen, and Priscilla Ahn. Lots of pretty songs by pretty ladies to listen to while I play with my pretty ponies.
Sometimes, I'll force myself to sit through an entire album of complete bullshit, hoping to find a track or two that deserve second treatment. Other times, I'll listen to an album for the first time and already know it's going to to be a staple of my music collection.Pink Floyd'sDark Side of the Moon, The Shin's Wincing the Night Away andMGMT's Oracular Spectacular are a few that come to mind.
Lucky for me a co-worker introduced me to the Local Natives new album Gorilla Manor. It probably falls under the indie rock genre, so make sure you've got tight pants on and an obnoxious plaid shirt if you're going to bump it loudly. The first song, Camera Talk sounds like the Shins playing over a sample of Manfred Mann's Blinded By the Light. The second song, Sun Hands, gives me what most indie rock albums lack; an ear-lobe-bleeding-melt-your-face-guitar-break that says "yes, we wear tight pants, but we're not pussies".
Btw, if you haven't figured it out, you can download the songs on this players by clicking the "divShare" logo.....
My latest hip hop mixes have been all about the beats and the hooks. They have been hooker beat or beat hooker mixes if you want to phrase it in a weird unnerving way. The way to get me connected to a hip hop song is to use a soul sample. Kanye and I see to eye to eye on that front...and very little else. A soul sample or Preemo scractches are about the only hooks I approve of. I approve of Jake One, Ant, Exile, Just Blaze, Kno, 9th, Statik Selectah, Amp Live, 6th Sense, those are my type of producers, some soulful muthafuckas.
Choruses lose me, long winded modern R&B dudes make me tune out. I accept Nate Dogg, based on our history, but Akon and T-Pain can join the likes of Mario, or whoever else is the hot hook singer at the present moment and vamoose, they whack to me. Listen to Jay, "I don't need no hook for this biiiitch!!" Those are just the bare minimum requirements for me listening all the way through. I don't even like old west coast choruses, however blasphemous it may be, that shit just makes my ears seal themselves off and makes me want to hit skip on a track. Even some of the old Wu-Tang choruses bug me. I just feel they detract from the emcee and the beat. I just need a beat and a emcee, I don't need a R&B cat doing some Jodeci shit in between verses. Can't stand that whole genre or era of R&B.
Anyway these tracks all made the cut. I think once you listen you will get a feeling for what I dig. Sometimes the mixes all sound like they were produced by the same dude. It's usually a soul sample, scratches or a short sample that is looped over and over. Features on this include: B.O.B., Asher Roth, Blu, Talib Kweli, Truck North, oh and check the Wu-Tang vs. Beatles mash-ups. I ignored that shit for a couple months or more, because seriously, enough with the mash-ups. It refused to go away though so I checked it out and it was actually really well done. So now it's your turn.
DJ Greybush in the hooooooouse!!!*kicks over lamp* Why hello there, allow me to RE-introduce myself! My name is HO...well it's, DJ Greybush, the silver curly q's on your ones and twos. You know me guuurl.*cat swipes in your general direction*
Some of you may know me as that guy in the creepy van...A lucky few of you may know me as that guy in the creepy van who tried to grab them at the park. Since most of you have managed to evade my grasp, I have brought the battle to you: A care package of creepy, tied up with ribbons of titillation, that will transform into remorse and sawdust when unwrapped.
Although an overweight geriatric custom van owner was chasing you, if you had just taken the time to stop screaming, you would have realized that I was just trying to get you to hear my latest mix. What did you think the van was for? It's all about the sound system m'lady. *weird regal flourish of the arms* That and the ability to store vast amounts of candy and toys...for my grandchildren.
Since trolling the local parks in my van while trying to chase people down with headphones has not really been the best way to get my mixes heard, I have joined the team here at Stereophonic Fattenings. They must have heard me spinning at one of my gigs at The Final Frontier Senior Center (it gets cray cray every third lunar eclipse or the 7th Saturday of the month, which ever comes first) Or they have a deal with the federal prison system and this is part of my work release program. Either way, here I am, in all my glory for your listening pleasure. I just wanted to introduce myself in a non-creepy jumping out of a van sort of way. *puts hand on your thigh* Just sit back and relax to the soothing sounds of DJ Greybush.
This is all chilled out jazzy smokey room type of joints. Lots of horns, pianos, sultry singers. Chilling with a bourbon style songs. Features include: Louis Armstrong, Ella, Nat, Louis Prima, Dinah Shore, Billie, stuff like that. Enjoy.
