Saturday, January 31, 2009

Clap on Clap off.



So those who are in the know, know how much I love the mighty Mos Def. As I was listening to Quiet Dog from his new album Ecsatic I realized how much I love the hand clap.

So here a few of my favorite hand clapping songs. as always these songs are just to whet your appetite, if you enjoy them, go and buy them.

Mos Def - Quiet Dog
If this song doesn't instantly make you love Mos Def. Check out this

Beck Hansen - Clap hands
This originally surfaced on the Japanese release of Guero. However this little gem is from his performance on SNL (10-28-06). The original performance included a puppet show, but this gives you a few for the percussion instruments used.

Meters - Hand Clapping Song
a little funk and a little clap.

Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With the Arab Strap

Now I need to go concern myself with other things. But I might just revisit this topic later....

Wednesday, January 28, 2009



ok, so if you don't know Vince (the shamwow guy) then you might as well leave right now. I think Seth Stevenson, from slate magazine has done a fantastic job of describing him. here is a brief outtake

There's something captivating about Vince, the Shamwow pitchman. I always perk up when I hear those initial, outer-borough syllables: "Hi, it's Vince wit Shamwow....

The first thing I notice is the physical grace. Vince puts the Shamwow through its paces with the fluid dexterity of a three-card monte dealer. Cleaning up spills appears not just effortless, but fun.

There's a genius, too, in his hectoring tone. He makes us feel like idiots for even entertaining the notion of not buying a Shamwow. "You're gonna spend $20 every month on paper towels, anyway," he says, palms up and head tilted back. He seems truly dumbfounded that anyone might fail to see the wisdom of dropping 28 bucks (including shipping) on a set of rags.

Vince also conveys a street-smart persona—with his headset microphone, rat-a-tat phrasing and fuhgeddaboutit confidence—that's intended to get the viewer thinking, "Hey, this guy's sharp. He knows a good deal." (It may also get us thinking, "Hey, this guy's a douche. He needs a better haircut." But that's a secondary issue.)
Read the full article here

anyways Vince is now back selling the slapchop. (although i would really call it selling, as the thing practically sells itself) do yourself a favor and watch this:



well this video inspired me to put some music to vinces words. it's definitely not perfect, but here is my first pass at it. and don't worry if i find a good nuts song, i'll for sure add it.

0:02 “hi it's Vince” There's not to many songs entitled Vince, but Vincent Knows by Saul Kaye does a good job of conveying the swagger.

0:05 “Slapping your troubles away.” Two perfect songs for this. Troubles by The Beta Band and No More Trouble by Bob Marley

0:12 “Add a Mushroom” Nothing could even come close to adding a mushroom like The Dark Side of The Moon album. Here is my favorite track - Great Gig In the Sky.

0:18 “Salad!” Couldn't really come up with a good salad song... but i did find it interesting that a salad in this mans world consists of radish, a carrot, and stringy celery. (who in the hell calls it "stringy"??? I've never heard this is my life)

0:24 “Looks boring” Dry tuna in a can, yes. dry tuna on top of a slapchop salad, excitement city. but if you ask Sun Kil Moon, he will tell you that Space Travel is Boring. so i'm pretty sure he will continue to have a boring life, even if he does get the slapchop.

0:33 “Mix things together” you gotta be careful when you start to mix a bunch of random things together. You could get All Mixed Up like the Red House Painters.

0:35 “You’re going to have an exciting life now.” waitaminute!!! i'm going to have an exciting life now??? like johnny in Iggy Pop's Lust For Life

0:37 “You’re going to love my nuts.”

[rewind]

0:37 “You’re going to love my nuts.”

[rewind]

0:37 “You’re going to love my nuts.” I can honestly say that I have spent at least 3 hours searching the catacombs of music to find an appropriate song. nothing. I am soo sorry to let you down. but I will now make this one a life-long quest. to find the perfect song for this one statement.

0:40 “You can do everything in the cover.” I love covers. my personal favorite is Stereophonic's Nothing Compares To You.

0:50 “1.......2....” you knew this was coming. 1234 (Remix) by Feist

1:07 “Life’s hard enough as it is. You don’t want to cry anymore.” Vince telling me is one thing, but I'd much rather hear it from Axl. Don't Cry - Guns N' Roses

1:14 “The skin comes right off.” Wait, where? Oh, the arrow shows me. Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious

1:17 “We’re going to make America skinny again” I personally don't like it when people are too skinny. But Bon Iver does. Here's proof in his balad Skinny Love

1:27 “Fettuccini. Linguini. Martini. Bikini.” ummm. i'm just going to pass on this one.

1:34 “It comes with a cover.” Another one??? well okay. how about The Kooks covering Ace of Base. Here is All That She Wants

1:42: “You know we can’t do this all day.” Nope. because, as Jump, Little Children do so well in expressing. All Those Days are Gone.

1:46 “Call...” These ladies do a much better job of soliticiting. Blondie definitely makes me want to call in Call Me. And Leonna Ness tries without success in Calling.

Well that's it for now.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

who knew the violin could sound so good...



so when my little brother was around 6 years old, he came home one day with this tiny little violin. i mean the thing was only 12 inches long. it had been decided that the best way to learn how to play a tiny stringed instrument was through a Japanese technique called the suzuki method. i can't really tell you how it works, all i remember was a bunch of small dots strategically placed up and down the neck on his diminutive fiddle. i also remember the horrendous sounds he was able to produce each and every night for the first year... even though the screeches sometimes resembled the agonizing death of a small creature more than actual music, he played on. he eventually got pretty good at the violin. and i'm pretty sure he played it long enough to warrant the purchase of a full size model.

I don't know how Emily Wells learned to play her violin. if it was through the suzuki method, than more power to her. all i do know is that she can play. and it's not just the violin. she can do it all. but you almost have to when you try to make it without the help of the record industry. you can read all about it here . however she learned, it payed off and it shows on her latest album entitled "The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties. I highly recommend getting a copy of it. but here is a little something to get you started:

Emily Wells - Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well & the Requiem Mix

Friday, January 23, 2009

So, Mr Prime Minister and Mr President you better see.....


so even though this post is coming in on the 23rd, it has been floating in my brain since the 19th. I do have a valid excuse for not getting it in on time as I have been suffering from "walking pneumonia" for the past week. (As a side note, I am lobbying the American Medical Association to change the name of walking pneumonia to I can't get off the couch, let alone walk, cause it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest pneumonia.)

but on to the goods. There has been a lot, and I mean a lot of hullabaloo about President Obama. And and his main message to the people was one of change, i thought this little ditty would be a perfect kickoff for the new administration. In fact, since I am currently one of the masses who are facing unemployment, maybe I'll lobby that they change their current theme song to "we've got to do something". To help you fully highlight the great social and political message this song brings, check the lyrics here. So without further ado.

Infant Sorrow - We've Got To Do something

And as a bonus, I gonna give you a little afrojam about our 44th leader.

Cody Chestnut - Afrobama