Hello everybody out there in the interwebs, I hope you are enjoying/did enjoy Thanksgiving this year and that not too many fights broke out between family members. I’m in the dorms this year by myself feasting on pepperoni hot pockets and mountain dew, so I thought I’d drop by and say hello to all those faithful readers out there. Well…that’s all for now, there’s a nice mix below that you can fall asleep to (or dance to) after you stuff yourself full of Turkey.
HAPPY EAT DAY
Posted in Culture on Thursday, November 27, 2008 by Erik BurgVideo: Out Da Box Tv Episode 4 feat. Black Milk
Posted in Video with tags Black Milk, Detroit Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, J Dilla, Out Da Box TV, Tronic, Wajeed on Thursday, November 27, 2008 by Tim AlthausVodpod videos no longer available.
Here is a fine episode of Out Da Box TV featuring one of Detroit’s finest Black Milk. This is a great episode, Black talks about his new album Tronic as well as a lot of the comparisons he has been getting to J Dilla (note Wajeed‘s comment about the situation). There is even a live performance from Southpaw at the end of the video for you to enjoy.
Album Review: Enslaved, Vertebrae
Posted in Music Reviews with tags enslaved on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 by Ryan Buege
As we slowly transition into the bitter cold of winter in Minnesota, so coincides the release of the Enslaved‘s latest album. This long running group of progressive-black metal masters has been at the forefront of the genre for several years now, and Vertebrae continues their progression out of the frosts of Norway into the international spotlights. ..but don’t worry, these guys obviously haven’t forgotten the bleakness of the landscape they left behind.
Vertebrae is a nearly perfect release for Enslaved; a beautifully epic journey through a minefield of crushing, frostbitten guitar riffs, intricate song structures, and a balance of extreme violence and hopeful splendor. In addition, the soaring vocals of frontman Grutle Kjellson that lead the charge are constantly contrasted with his harsh, despairing growl, and it provides a sense of balance that even the best metal albums often lack. Dense atmospherics that complement the searing assault provide a sense of depth that even Enslaved hasn’t yet achieved on their illustrious back catalog. The whole package is an ambitious, boundary expanding experiment that still adheres to the defining aspects of what makes Enslaved so awesome. But while the tortured black metal furor is still very much at the heart Vertebrae, Enslaved has achieved a level confidence in their psychedelic experimentation that places this album a step up from its predecessors. This is an album that captures an evolutionary band at the pinnacle of modern extreme metal in their most focused, mindblowing display of power yet. Enslaved have crafted their most recent masterpiece, a release that will surely leave legions of unsuspecting victims shuddering in fear for years to come.
9/10
Album Review: Evidence, The LAyover EP
Posted in Music Reviews with tags Alchemist, Aloe Blacc, Best of 2008, Blu, DJ Babu, Elzhi, Evidence, Fashawn, Hip-Hop, Khrysis, Phonte, The LAyover EP on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by Tim Althaus
What can I say? You people that have been reading this blog, have been listening to me blabber about Evidence from day one. The LAyover EP drops today and suffice to say I already have my copy. I will also say that it’s only 10 tracks long and it might be the best money you will have spent all year on music. This EP is so sound that I can’t find one adjective to describe it (perfect is at the tip of my tongue). Evidence has been single-handedly taking over the Hip-Hop game (with the occasional nod from Alchemist) the last two years and this EP is a perfect example. I also want to say that in the last year we have been hearing a lot of Hip-Hop groups that we all love going towards a very electronic feel (not that it’s bad, but everyone is doing it), and EV sticks to the traditional Hip-Hop sound (samples and straight boom bap) for the most part on this EP (there are 2 tracks that are synth heavy).
The EP starts out with”The LAyover” which was produced by North Carolina beast Khrysis. The beat has a very mysterious and eerie loom to it, but it fits EV just fine as he describes what it’s like to experience a layover on a flight at LAX. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” to some may be one of the top highlights of the album, which features LA native Blu, and North Carolina native Phonte (of Little Brother) and produced by Khrysis. All 3 emcees spit 16 bars of inferno and Khrysis’s beat might actually make you think death himself is coming for you. “So Fresh” is in my opinion maybe one of the best beats on the album, the guitar loop is groovy as fuck and I also think this track serves as a great first track for Step Brothers. “The Far Left” has one of the most bangin’ beats on the album, the shit’s hard as hell (straight head nodder) and Alchemist, Fashawn & Evidence tear the beat apart. The thing that I find impressive about this EP is that I did hear a majority of the tracks before they came out, but there are three tracks of this album that serve to me as the definitive moments. “Rain or Shine” is a great track with a very soulful beat and Evidence rhyming by himself. DJ Babu‘s cuts are impeccable and the samples on this track are beautiful. To me “To Be Determined” is the EP’s shining gem. When I heard that Elzhi and EV were going to be on the same track I flipped my shit, and the result is pure magic. EV and Elzhi spit bars of fire and Aloe Blacc adds a great deal to this track as well with 16 bars of blackout material. If “To Be Determined” wasn’t on this EP “Cold Weather” would surely be the highlight of this album. Evidence takes on this track by himself and rolls smoothly over the beat and beautiful piano loop: “As of late these mics don’t reach too far/ so I kill each bar like it’s Flashing Lights“.
In conclusion this EP is as close to perfect as you can get. This is more than just an EP, it’s a testament that Evidence is going to be doing some huge things. If you slept on The Weatherman LP, you sure as hell don’t want to sleep on this shit, you will be making a huge mistake. Do yourself a favor and go pick up one of the top 3 releases of 2008 folks, you’ve got my word on that.
10/10
Video: Evidence “Solitary Confinement” (Featuring Krondon)
Posted in Video with tags Alteez, The LAyover EP on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by Tim AlthausWell here it is, the fifth and final video to premier off of the LAyover EP. The EP is insane and is better than I thought possible. You might be saying, but Alteez… you’ve already heard 5 of the tracks, so what else is there to expect? A whole grip load, and you will find out in the review.
And if you wanna peep the other 4 videos:
“Don’t Hate” (Featuring Defari)
“So Fresh (Step Brothers)” (Featuring Alchemist)
“The Far Left” (Featuring Alchemist and Fashawn) (Produced by ALC)
Drinking clean water that sat in cow shit?
Posted in Culture with tags Life Straw, Life Straw Family, Revolutionary, Vestergaard Frandsen on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by Tim Althaus
Can you imagine taking a refreshing sip of some water that was sitting in ole’ Heffer’s (pictured above) excrement? I’m guessing the word that you wouldn’t use would be refreshing, I would say your adjective would probably be vile, disgusting, repulsive or a combination of many other nasty words. The folks at Vestergaard Frandsen have made it possible for water that was sitting in cow dung, as well as any other vile material to taste good as well as be healthy. They created a device called the Life Straw as well as the Life Straw Family. These devices are made for countries who have a mass quantity of people that can’t get clean and safe water to drink. This product is absolutely amazing, I will let the video speak for itself.
Devastation is still a band, for now
Posted in Music News with tags bleed the sky, devastation, incite, soulfly on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 by Ryan Buege
Despite what recent Blabbermouth reports and the band’s website would lead you to believe, revitalized Texas thrashers Devastation are still touring together. In fact, they made a stop here in Maplewood at the Rock with Soulfly on Saturday, November 22nd, and they blasted out classics from their albums Violent Termination, Signs of Life, and Idolatry.
Apparently Richie Dunsmore and Alex Dominguez stranded the rest of the band without a van or trailer, but Henry Elizondo, Walter Trachsler, and and Fidel Tagle are continuing on as a trio until the tour is finished – Elizondo and Walter are trading off on vocals for the rest of the tour (with occasional help from Incite and inebriated members of Bleed The Sky). We’ll see if the three-piece lineup continues on for long, but I personally hope they do. Despite the fact that no one expected them to even play that night (and they were missing two key members), they immediately made the large venue feel small and alive with their lovable egos and mindbending shred of mid-80s thrash. The unsuspecting audience was headbanging and circle pitting from the word “GO”! I’ll cross my fingers to hopefully seeing them again in some incarnation..
Anyway, here’s a photo as proof of their existence!
Gas prices plummet to below $2 nationally?
Posted in Politics with tags Bent Over, CNN, Digg, OPEC, Ranting on Monday, November 24, 2008 by Tim Althaus
I found an article on Digg today (that was from Sunday) from CNN that talked about how the average gas price fell below two dollars for the first time since March of 2005. It really made me think, we as American’s have been getting bent over royally. But part of the reason is because we have been using so much gasoline that the demand is so high. It’s nice that as a country we have been able to cut back drastically on the use and dependency of gasoline.
A lot of people constantly bitch about how gasoline prices are so high and tend to blame the president and congress, but they must realize that we as American’s use more gasoline than any other country in the world. And if you think about the simple principles of supply and demand it all makes sense that gas is so fucking expensive at some points.
I have to tell you fellow American’s that I don’t feel as though I can trust OPEC to keep the price of oil down for too long, which means we will soon be bending over again. We need to keep it up as a country and start finding other means to get places that we need to go. Alternative fuels are going to play such a huge part in the future and it’s just a matter of time before our vehicles are running on something other than gasoline.
Video: Jake One “The Truth” feat. Freeway & Brother Ali
Posted in Video with tags Brother Ali, Freeway, Jake One, Rhymesayers Entertainment, White Van Music on Monday, November 24, 2008 by Tim AlthausVodpod videos no longer available.
This is the first video that has premiered off of Jake One‘s debut album White Van Music. As I’ve previously mentioned in earlier posts White Van Music is going to be a serious contender on a lot of top 10 lists this year, and “The Truth” is one of the best tracks on this album. Freeway and Brother Ali seem like they would be polar opposites and wouldn’t mesh together on the track, this however is clearly not the case. Watch the video and go out and get in the Van, you won’t be disappointed.
MIND INVERSION 