Friday, June 25, 2004
London Calling reissued | The one good thing about DJ Shadow's new DVD | Spiderman 2 loves bloggers | Trio uses the "N-Word"
The Clash, possibly the greatest rock band of the last 25 years
London Calling, maybe my second favorite album ever, is being reissued with previously unreleased demos, non-album cuts and a new DVD documentary. This is one reissue I will happily cop, paying for the same album twice be damned. (Billboard)
I don't really mess with this style of hip hop too much, but those who dig artists like El-p/Company Flow, High & Mighty and Murs would probably dig Vast Aire's new album Look Mom No Hands. I don't really have any specific tracks you need to check, but it features guest shots from MF Doom, Sadat X, Aesop Rock, Juggaknots and beats by Da Beatminerz, Madlib, Jake One, RJD2 and Ayatollah. Surely there's room in your backpack for his joint if you feel this steez?
And I don't know if there's a legit buzz on this show or not but Caroline, or Change has got to be one of the worst (of the few) Broadway shows I have ever seen. Literally setting conversation to music does not make for great songs or an engaging musical experience, some strong performances and a few decent sequences notwithstanding.
Watching DJ Shadow pretty much just play tracks from his albums and productions "live" on a mix of vinyl and CD turntables and an MPC drum machine with random video images playing behind him didn't make for that interesting a home viewing experience when I checked out his "live tour" DVD In Tune and On Time last night either, but there's one bonus feature that is a must-see on it. Click on "Pushin' Buttons" to watch an incredible live performance of the "MPC Routine" which is Shadow, Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark rockin' together live on three MPC samplers. This has to be seen to do it proper justice. Real hip hop for, er, real.
This also looks like it might be interesting: The N-Word.
While finally, respect to Sony for actively creating blog tools and using blogs as part of their marketing campaign for Spiderman 2, but would any self-respecting blogger actually use a Spiderman 2 template for their site?
