Album of the Day: Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love

I can't even describe why this CD is so good, everything about it just makes me giddy. The first track, 'Freedom,' is just littered with funky riffs and solos. 'Drifting' is slower and more vocal heavy, with his laid-back-yet-forceful cadence dominating. 'Ezy Rider' is hectic, with each instrument fighting for dominance, yet it doesn't feel cluttered or mashed together. 'Night Bird Flying' features a solo that almost reminds me of 'Freebird' – I need not add anything else to this sentence. 'My Friend' has a distinct blues feel to it, down to the clink of glasses and bottles in the background. 'Straight Ahead' feels just the slightest bit disjointed, but I can't honestly say that this wasn't done on purpose, and I love the song either way. Then there's 'Astro Man'. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of music. It's a great example of Hendrix' trademark weirdness, penchant for narrative lyrics, and mesmerizing performance on the guitar, and, really, is representative of the album as a whole. The drums are perfectly executed, and both lead and bass guitar go completely wild. 'In From the Storm' features Hendrix' wailing guitar, crashing hi-hats, and his own vocals that just sound like they were fun to record. It reminds me a little of some of White Zombie's music, only much better. The final track, 'Belly Button Window,' goes back to a more traditional blues style, with the instruments queued down, focusing more on the vocals. It ends rather abruptly, with no final hurrah, no wind-down, just the end of the last verse before the song ends, leaving me wanting more. “Are You Experienced” is still my favorite Hendrix album, but this one is not far behind.

Album of the Day: The Kickdrums - Meet Your Ghost

I got this one mostly on a whim. It's got a catchy indie pop vibe to it, and it's only about a half hour long, so it was a good quick listen. 'Colors' changes it up a little bit with more of a trip-hop feel, which resurfaces again in 'Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,' and blends into 'Perfect World,' which has a much more upbeat tempo and an electronic beat. Throughout the album, there is an interesting infusion of live and synthesized instrumental back beats, that make for a dynamic listen. It ends with 'Travel Should Take You Places,' a stirring mostly-instrumental that acts as a memorable endpiece to the rest of the album. It's not exactly the greatest album I've ever heard, simply because of my lack of knowledge of the genre, but it was certainly an enjoyable experience, from start to finish.

Album of the Day: Miles Davis - The Complete Birth of the Cool

This CD had been on my list for weeks, and I just happened to spot it a couple days ago in a bargain bin. A compilation of Davis' (and his nonet's) contribution to the “cool jazz” movement, recorded mostly in 1948, it's full of slightly slower tempos and more laid back melodies than a lot of his other work, though it certainly doesn't lack his trademark unusualness. How many artists create entire genres and subgenres (multiple, at that)? Take a listen to “Red Clay” by Herbie Hancock. Throughout that album, there is a distinct melody and arrangement to each song, which is rarely deviated from, though that does little to keep it from being one of my favorite jazz albums of all time. Davis, by contrast, may start one way, drift to a different tempo, and switch up the arrangements and pitch, all within the same song. His unorthodox playing style and unwillingness to take the easy route, in my opinion, is what makes him great. That being said, the seemingly random changes in tempo as he wanders from one melody to the next that I've grown accustomed to, particularly in albums like “Sketches of Spain” are for the most part absent, due in no small part to the unusually short length of each track (all are under five minutes, and few top four). There are elements of traditional hard bop and even the occasional hint of big band swing ('Jeru', 'Venus de Milo', 'Budo'). 'Moon Dreams' feels like the soundtrack to an old '70s movie, with its long, wailing notes and abnormally slow tempo. 'Godchild,' though placed in the middle of the album, feels like the culmination of all of the styles that came before it. It feels fully complete, all the small details and intonations fleshed out, a true testament to the force that Miles Davis was, along with everyone he worked with. It feels, to me, like the strongest song here. 'Darn That Dream' features one of the only jazz pieces with vocals that I think I have in my collection (a testament to how much more there is for me to find), with Kenny Hagood taking center stage, while the rest of the group subdues their individual pieces. I can't remember the last time I sat down with a CD and actually read through the liner notes and flipped through the pictures as I listened, it must have been since I was 11 or 12. It's full of firsthand accounts of recording with Davis, each with a slightly different take on the experience. Sadly, it felt like it was nearly over before it began, with the studio recordings clocking in at under 36 minutes. Fortunately, this release also comes with a live performance of the album, along with a few bonus performances, adding nearly an hour to the total. While a bit roughly recorded, they retain that live element, that dusty, smoky jazz club feel, complete with an announcers introduction, that almost make it seem like an entirely different set of songs than the studio recordings. The occasional chatter of the audiences, the hisses and pops of the microphones, and the sporadic bursts of applause add to this. With most jazz albums, you can tell on the first or second listen roughly when they were recorded. “The Birth of Cool,” however, defies such an ability to be dated. It could have been recorded a year ago or 60, both reminiscent of the past and stunningly current. 

Album of the Day: The Streets - Computers and Blues

I'm not going to lie: I knew next to nothing about this dude going into this one, so this album's place within the context of his career is totally lost on me. At first listen, though, it reminds me a little of Scroobius Pip, electronic beats and intelligent (though occasionally dense) narrative-based lyrics hidden behind the veneer of a British accent. Regardless of the topic, the whole thing just feels happy and upbeat, even when I know that isn't the feeling that I should be getting. The only song that I actually did not like was 'Roof of Your Car,' which featured computerized, annoyingly high pitched samples of female voices, and was overly repetitive while riding atop a truly generic beat, not good, not bad, just sort of there. Although each of these aspects present themselves elsewhere throughout the album (particularly the unremarkable beats), when they are all mashed up together in one song, I found myself counting down until it was over. I'm practically drooling at the thought of someone like DJ Shadow taking over the production here. Nothing over the top, just something more than a three layer loop and some voice samples. Despite all the negativity going on here, I did have a good time while listening. 'ABC' has him flipping the alphabet on its head, ending as quickly as it started and sending me whip-lashed into the next track. 'Trying to Kill M.E.' is a fun (albeit slightly depressing) look into the mind of the artist. The occasional sung verse breaks up the usual verse-chorus-verse flow of the album, and provides good variation without getting stale. It's been a decent listen, overall, and the lyrics and style more than make up for any other grievances I might have.

Album of the Day: Kool Keith - Black Elvis/Lost in Space

Imagine this: take Deltron 3030, get rid of the overarching story, and have several beers. That's what you get here. Kool Keith is weird as shit. Not as off-the-wall crazy as in Dr. Octagonecologist, but not far off. ('Metric bypass computes on overload retrace 'cause we're lost in space,' what does that even mean?) It seems to me that perhaps all of the lyrics mean something, but a lot of the time they're more complicated than I'm expecting, especially in comparison to other more straightforward rhymes placed immediately next to them, so they fly over my head (“I could throw a hundred thousand pound walrus right through the wall, that's right, mad like five gorillas in a vocal booth”). Half of the album is the “Lost in Space” section, full of space references, weird futuristic (for 1999) synth beats, and of course a plethora of overt sexual references, while the second half is the “Black Elvis” section, with (slightly) more traditional beats and verses based more around women and music. I listened to 'Dr. Octagonecologist' long before I heard this one, so a lot of my impressions are reinforced by what I heard there, and this album certainly doesn't disappoint in that regard. Despite all of the legitimate weirdness and eccentricity that is pervasive in every single song, I found the album as a whole to surprisingly, and disappointingly, average. It feels like there is something missing, that one element that would elevate it from relatively banal to vibrant and strange, as it attempts to be.

Album of the Day: Random Axe - Random Axe

A collaboration between Guilty Simpson, Sean Prince, and Black Milk, released by Stones Throw. This album is ridiculous. I love that the beats aren't overly complicated and convoluted (here's looking at you, Madlib over the last year or so). Beats don't have to be crazy and composed of a dozen different loops and layers to be good; if they get my head nodding and go well with the verses, mission accomplished. Case in point, listen to 'Jahphy Joe' without bobbing just a little. 

The same could be said about the lyrics here. They aren't overly complicated, and not frustratingly simple (“I remember trying to get a deal, shopping for a listen/feeling like it honestly wasn't no competition/and my momma was the only one that listened/I guess she seen my struggle and followed her intuition”). They're enjoyable, which should be the whole point of making music in the first place (sending a message, too, but you get my point). You'll catch the usual “my ability to murder/rhyme better than you is so ridiculous that I'm about to spit a dozen metaphors to prove my point,” but at least they're usually clever. If I had to make a comparison, I would go with Slaughterhouse, which, despite my own better judgment, is a compliment. For example, in 'Everybody Nobody Somebody,' Black Milk starts with “Everybody,” Sean Prince takes “Nobody,” and Guilty Simpson takes “Somebody,” and each flows off from there. I had a blast with this one.

Album of the Day: Kimya Dawson - Thunder Thighs

I heard 'Walk Like Thunder' a month or so ago on 900bats and knew I had to get this CD eventually. Her half-singing-half-talking voice is really pleasant to listen to, and occasionally mask the somewhat dark themes that she explores. Depression, pregnancy, death, and other themes are all prominent throughout this album, portrayed through a mix of the occasional guitar and piano and some decent garage-style beats, along with a few guest spots, notably by Aesop Rock, who shows up on several songs to both rap and provide beats ('Miami Advice,' 'Zero or a Zillion,' 'The Library,' 'Walk Like Thunder,' 'Captain Lou,' 'Unrefined'). Aesthetically, it sounds at times like those pretentious indie albums that seem to only show up in movies whose title cards are made to look like they were drawn in someone's notebook, but the lyrics more than make up for that (see 'Same Shit/Complicated' and 'Walk Like Thunder'). Although a little left field from what I usually listen to (anti-folk, which brings up a whole issue of proper ID3 tagging that I'm not even going to bother getting into), the beautiful storytelling and poignant imagery make this a great album.

Notable songs: 'Zero or a Zillion,' 'Same Shit/Complicated,' 'You're In,' 'Walk Like Thunder'

Album of the Day: Push Button Objects - 360° Remixes

A set of remixes to '360°' by Push Button Objects. Starts with the original track (featuring Mr. Lif and Del the Funky Homosapien, among others), followed by several remixes by various artists and producers. It's interesting to see how many different ways you can take a set of verses and a beat and make them into something new. The original is relatively subdued, with straightforward lyrical progression, and the Breakers Delight remix is even more so, an instrumental with a heavy bass line and techno-style tempo. I had to actually go back and listen to the original again to see if there was any semblance of it left there. The DJ Spinna remix is a more traditional remix, altering the beat slightly and featuring haunting reverbs in the background of the verses. What I've noticed is that there's a different floating bass line in each remix, with different pitches, speeds, and tempos depending on the rest of the beat. This is prominent in the Prefuse 73 remix, where it is the main focus of the beat. In the Kut Masta Kurt remix, that floating bass line is replaced by strings and horns, which go off as Del and Mr. Lif trade verses. The Herbaliser remix, surprisingly, has a little more of an east coast feel to it, a contrast to their usual funk and soul songs on their own albums. The beat is a relatively simple loop, but is probably the best of the album. The El-P remix, for lack of a better description, sounds exactly like an El-P track: heavy industrial feel, cluttered yet somehow dystopian and almost depressing. The album ends with a “Beatapella,” a term which I've heard multiple times, with multiple meanings and interpretations, here simply meaning “instrumental.” Had the verses not been the same, I wouldn’t have even recognized that these were all remixes of the same song, though I'm not sure whether or not this reflects well on the album, or badly on my own ears.

Notable songs: '360° (Herbaliser Remix)', '360° (El-P Remix)', '360° (Beatapella)'

Album of the Day: MC Serch - Return of the Product

An album from back before white rappers were cool, for the most part (“dopes get sent to the pipe/'cause I'm the baddest white boy to ever fuckin' touch a mic”). It sounds like KMD ran into the Pharcyde and exploded, but in a good way. You can definitely tell the year it was released (1992) just by listening to a song or two, but hip hop from the 90s ages really well, at least for me. The beats are what beats should be: they sound great in their own right, but don't overshadow the lyrics, which should be the focal point in the first place (unless you're Madlib). I'd be hard pressed to find a single track here that wasn't solid in all three phases: beats, lyrics, and flow. This actually brings up a dynamic that I don't see very often: every song is of the same good quality, so none really stick out from the others. On most albums, there are one or two bad songs, several decent ones, and a few really good ones that stick with you long after you're done listening. Here, they are all equally good, so I end up taking away less than I would had some of the songs been bad. It's a great problem to have, but it's still weird.

Notable songs: All of them, I guess?

Album of the Day: KMD - Mr. Hood

I've been meaning to get my hands on this one for a while now. I've had the rest of KMD's albums for a while, but this one has been missing. From what I heard in an MF Doom interview, Mr. Hood came from one of those old Spanish phrase translation LPs from the 60s, and it comes off pretty hilariously. Even by DOOM standards, Zev Love X's flow is just weird as hell. Can you imagine MF Doom pulling off some b-boy moves? I sure as hell can't. I've been really into the old quasi-simplistic 90s beats lately, and they still hold up against newer stuff. I've heard several of the songs here on the 'Best of KMD' album, so it's not an entirely new experience, but the narrative as a whole is still relatively new. Through Mr. Hood, KMD explores various societal issues, from racism and injustice to not having enough facial hair. Serious themes (most notable in 'Bananapeel Blues'), funny interludes ('Mr. Hood Meets Onyx'), and good rhymes ('Figure of Speech') make this album as a whole a fun listen, even 20 years later. What really gets me is the album cover, which has a picture of Zev Love X tucked off in the bottom corner. I don't know why that's so fascinating to me, I guess years of not being able to see his face has made me curious, even though that's the very thing he wears the mask to prevent. 

Notable songs: 'Peachfuzz', 'Figure of Speech', 'Gasface Refill'

Album of the Day: Serj Tankian - Imperfect Harmonies

Continuing the trend of fiercely political and emotional lyrics blended with forceful melodies perfected in Elect the Dead, Imperfect Harmonies feels like the former album's little brother. The songs have a bit more of a pop feel rather than the weird eclecticism of the first album, which is definitely not a bad thing. The best way I can describe it is if you took 'Lie Lie Lie' and extrapolated it into a full album. The blend of eastern instruments (particularly the sitar) and computer generated sounds works well, but in the back of my mind I think I will always hold it up the lofty standards of Elect the Dead, which I know is unfair, because this album is fantastic in its own right.

Album of the Day: Kendrick Lamar - Section.80

This album is frustrating to me. Nothing here should work, but it somehow does. His voice, his flow, and the beats are all moving in different directions, but rather than sound dysfunctional, it all meshes together. I wish the excellent beats could be accompanied with better lyrics, though. They would be right at home on any Stones Throw or Rhymesayers album, but the lyrics seem to have taken a page from Bone Thugz N Harmony and never looked back. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave me thinking about what could have been. The beats themselves are sampled beautifully, blending laptop industrial styles with live instruments and R&B-esque chillout loops that sound amazing when combined. Unfortunately, there are only so many ways to sing repetitive hooks about whichever woman you happen to be infatuated with this week (an entire song about makeup, really?). It doesn't really pick up until around halfway through, with 'Ronald Reagan Era,' which combines a beautiful beat (including an awesome drum sample) with fantastic cityscape imagery in the lyrics, or the showcase of his storytelling ability in 'Keisha's Song (Her Pain)'. Once he stops laying out forgettable, generic rhymes, the album becomes wholly different. Unfortunately, this only happens in flashes: you get an idea of how good he can be, but it's almost like he would rather focus on the generic rather than go for something better. I suppose this is reasonable, depending on the standpoint: these types of songs are easier to listen to, but the potential for something else is there, and now I almost wonder if I would enjoy listening more if those really good songs weren't there, and I had a lower bar to compare itself to. I think he says it best himself in the outro: “I'm not the next pop star, I'm not the next socially aware rapper, I'm a human motherfucking being, over dope ass instrumentals.”

Notable songs: 'Ronald Reagan Era', 'Chapter Ten', 'Keisha's Song (Her Pain)'