There is a little something just out of reach

Bongo Fury
Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
Music & Rhythms
Ubiquity : 2004
[Listen] [Buy]

Funky Nassau pt. II
The Beginning of the End
[Listen]

Ahuvati
Kaki King
...Until We Felt Red
Velour : 2006
[Listen] [Buy]

Misery Loves Company [Madlib Remix]
Fat Joe feat. Noriega
Madlib Remixes
No Label Records & 8 Track Tapes : 2000
[Listen]

Cursed Sleep
Bonnie Prince Billy
The Letting Go
?? : 2006
[Listen] [Buy]

On Your Marks
Bonobo
Days to Come
Ninja Tune : 2006
[Listen] [Buy]

Another jumbled up bag! Some days, I can barely function, and all hope of organization is a complete wash. If I can't give the world order, is that such a bad thing? The result of course is another mish-mash collection of random shit that finds my eardrums. I read a story on ESPN.com the other day about a kid who woke up with a beetle chewing on his eardrum, and there were several graphic descriptions of that sensation.

To me, that is life. Life is always chewing on yr eardrum, trying to wake yr lazy ass up, get you out of bed, get you focused on finding that job that means something to you, the boy or girl with whom you can share obscure movie references and pitchers of beer at the local pub, the person with whom you can find a life, and save your own.

I woke up the other day with a beetle in my ear. It dragged me out onto the kerb, slapped me around a few times, bashed my head against the wet asphalt, bought me breakfast and a new pair of shoes. It told me I was wasting time, it told me I was worth something, it told me that I had something to give the world.

Then it jumped out after paying the check, and I watched him scuttle down the sidewalk, presumably on the hunt for another numb fuck who was daydreaming through the calendar like they were high on PCP, or too wrapped up in themselves to notice the universe.

I wish I could find that little beetle, and maybe shake one of his legs in gratitude.

Instead, I'll give a little run-down of today's roster of misfits, all of whom have the misfortune of being in my line of fire:

SHAWN LEE : good guy. Currently working his magic over on Ubiquity, his LP recording sessions read like a 70s movie library [if that makes any fucking sense whatsoever]: tons of two-and-a-half minute breaks, each capturing a solid moment in time, an emotion, a movie scene that if you close yr eyes hard enough, you can fit with the tunes.

This track gets me thinking of the big bust. It's all set up, the cops are about to roll in to the drug baron's lair and rough his shit up. They're loading their guns, straightening their sunglasses [maintaining the cool], prepping their hair and driving the car to the destination of doom, the very place where the bad guys are gonna go down in a hail of bullets, smoke, and screaming bystanders wearing neon makeup and jheri curls. They pull up outside, take one last check, and slowly move into position. The drug baron knows their coming, and you can see him rallying the troops indoors, getting in position, waiting for the moment when the door flies open, kicked in by a pair of size 12 boots, splinters and wood chunks flying through the air in slo-mo, and then the shit goes down.

FUNKY NASSAU Pt. II : more funky shit. Less questions, more ass-shaking!

KAKI KING : as moody as it gets. Last time I checked [aka: a long time ago], she was over on Velour Records [I think she's moved now], plying her considerable guitar finger-picking talents on two mellow, moody acoustic albums of her, front and center. This album switches it up a bit, bringing her more into the realm of bands like Tortoise: more drums, more atmosphere, low-fi shoegazing intensity. This track gets my neck hairs standing up on end, especially when the cellos kick in. Damn. It belongs in an indie film [sorry, no clue why all the film references today].

MADLIB : blah blah blah. I bow at the altar of Otis Jackson Jr about a hundred times daily. What's more to say? ALTHOUGH, I will ask this: if ANYONE knows what track is being sampled right at the beginning, for 9 glorious seconds of 70s funk heaven, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me in the comments. It's been racking my brain for months since I picked this up, and I play it on a loop because I am mesmerized. It's 9 seconds of glory. The remix that segues out of it ain't half bad too [but I'm mainly posting this for help with that break!!!]

BONNIE PRINCE BILLY : This guy is fantastic right now, in my book. Cannot stop listening to this song, and there's an awesome video for it too somewhere... [YouTube the song title, that should work... ahh what the heck I'll put it right here, right now]

He's definitely not what I would normally listen to, but it is really fitting the mood for me right now, especially as I write my manuscript. I work very intensely with music when I write, and I need that aural atmosphere to season my mind while I go through my writing process. The extra mood helps the words come out, and also helps me anchor the themes I'm looking for, and so normally, tunes like this [heavy on the acoustics, no hip-hop, sorry, it just doesn't fit, lots of alt-country and/or moodier instrumental electronic music that is heavy on a kinda down-beat mood or emotion] are just the tonic for my typewriter/keyboard sessions. Hence, its inclusion here. It's a killer song, I love this video, and I don't think I need to keep justifying it. It's my roof we're living under.

BONOBO : Yes, a lot of blogs "beat me" to the new LP from lo-fi masters Bonobo. But hey, who cares? The more voices, the merrier. Love this song, because I'm a drummer and it's so, so heavy on the ol' banging instrument I love. A real sick beat that would sound right at home on a DJ Shadow album [not the new one of course, ho ho bad joke], and just enough of the horns and other ingredients to give you a heavy dose of their obvious skills.

And with that, we reach the fork in the road. I know which direction I'm going. See you when the paths cross again.

Take a step back until you find the rhythm

Sound So Cool
Verb T
Backhand Slap Talk
Lowlife : 2004
[Listen] [Buy] [Original Post]

Radio Caca [FmGT Edit]
Jackson and his Computer Band
Smash
Warp : 2005
[Listen] [Buy] [Original Post]

The Final Comedown
Grant Green
The Final Comedown OST
EMI : 1971
[Listen] [Buy] [Original Post]

Ninja 5
Grimace Federation
[Listen] [Original Post]

Terrapin
The Quantic Soul Orchestra
Stampede
Tru Thoughts : 2003
[Listen] [Buy] [Original Post]

Well and Truly Done
Little Barrie
We Are Little Barrie
Artemis : 2005
[Listen] [Buy] [Original Post]

Weight Watching
Prefuse 73
Security Screenings
Warp : 2006
[Listen] [Buy] [Original Post]


Sometimes, to know where you stand now, you need to look backwards a little bit to see where you came from. It's hard to grow unless you know what the inches mean. It's tough to graduate unless you do your homework.

I guess FmGT is no different. Without being too hackneyed, we have come a considerable distance since March 1, 2005. Lots more readers, lots more suggestions, even some new writers in the pipeline. But more importantly, we've made a home.

And so, this is that post, that "look back" at some old tracks hosted and some old writing, mainly because I can't seem to upload from my current Pennsylvania location and I'm running a little low in the material department. When TV shows would do this, it always pissed me off. Like the Simpsons throwing a retrospective episode together, where they're all sitting around reminiscing about shit from eight seasons ago, or Seinfeld's "compilation" episodes. Yeah, they're annoying on TV. Hopefully you won't find this post too annoying, because after all, at least it's something, right?

Plus, I know Silent K has something on the stove, simmering gently. Also, when I get back to FmGT HQ [hopefully this week?], there is a bathtub full of new music, including some perfect recipes to calm the hunger of some shoutbox requests. New Beck on the up-and-up, and some new MF Doom [if I can find it].

And so begins the re-run. Enjoy.

[EDIT: And there's no real reason why most of the tracks I picked were posted by me. Just ones that were jumping out. Silent K, don't be mad at me, sucka!]

Hug me if you feel like it

My man Carlos "El Toro" Zambrano approves this message.

Are You Ready?
Cut Chemist meets Shortkut
Live at the Futureprimitive Sound Session Version 1.1
Luv n' Haight : 1998
[Listen] [Buy]

Take it Back [produced by J Dilla]
Madlib
Stones Throw : 2006
[Listen]

9 Ward Blues
DJ Logic
Zen of Logic
Ropeadope : 2006
[Listen] [Buy]

Ninety-Nine and a half [just won't do]
Wilson Pickett
The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Atlantic : 1966
[Listen] [Buy]

Um, not a whole lot to say today. Finally got back to music-hunting with some real direction, and these are some recent fruits. I've seen these bouncing around the blogs for a while, well, two of them at least.

I was pleasantly surprised by Cut Chemist's new solo LP, which was infinitely more listenable and well-made than I had expected. Maybe it's because of my huge bias against Jurassic 5, who I could never really get into fully, and I guess I prejudiced the individuals just because I hated the group. But still, this old cut from a weird [but good] live album with fellow turntablist Shortkut is good listening.

DJ Logic's been high in my book for a long time [saw him with MMW way back in the day, and have some good live recordings from that tour where his guest appearances were incendiary], and his new LP is pretty good too, this representing the best of it.

As for Madlib, well, I'm really looking forward to some of the tricks up his sleeve [and MF Doom's, for that matter] for the coming months ahead. What I've heard:
- New Madvillain LP [which I think this track is on, or am I drunk? Someone, please put me right.. I know this is on the upcoming Chrome Children release, but is it going to appear anywhere else besides that compilation?]
- A collaboration between Talib Kweli [can't get enough of him] and Madlib which should be phenomenal [and apparently free!]
- A collaboration between MF Doom and Ghostface for a full-length LP called Swift and Changeable
- Another Dangerdoom LP [not so sure about this one... thought the first one was a little too geeky and not really as complex as either he or Danger Mouse were/are capable of]
- A new MF Doom LP
- A new Viktor Vaughan LP
- A new KMD album
- A new solo Madlib album
- A planned Madlib/Melvin van Peebles LP
- Madlib production on Percee P's upcoming album for Stones Throw.
*deep breath*

That was exhausting. It goes without saying that they're two hard-working motherfuckers, and this track is just a tiny tiny tiny tiny morsel of what to expect in the next 12 months.

Finally, on a final sample tip, a Wilson Pickett classic track that eventually became the sample/backbone of "America's Most Blunted" from the first Madvillain LP. Nothing like a little soul to round out the day.

Perhaps more tomorrow? Need to keep this rain at bay somehow....

JT.

The hole's only natural enemy is the pile

Ahh, the calm before the storm [of shooting yr friend in the back of the head with a pellet gun].

Epitaph Movement
Epitaph
[Listen]

Charley
The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Spreadin' Love/Charley 7"
Keymen Records : 1967
[Listen]

Bad, Bad Simba
O'Donel Levy
Simba
Groove Merchant : 1973
[Listen]

The Same Beat, Pt. I
The JBs
The Same Beat, Pt. I/Pt. II
People Records : 1974
[Listen]

The Phantom
Bubbha Thomas and the Lightmen plus one
[Listen]

Crawshay
Cymande
Second Time Round
Janus Records : 1973
[Listen]

My brain is still a little scrambled. It doesn't help when yr computer isn't really fixed in the truest sense of the word, but rather, loosely and superficially band-aided to the point where I am more irritated than ever.

But I digress. Sometimes the world is so nice that it's hard to stay mad. Sometimes it's not, and you shut yr eyes real tight and bring yr hands hard against yr ears to block it out, spinning round in circles and screaming grade-school playground songs to push out the noise. But for those moments where everything seems to make sense, you can normally find a song that fits the moment.

Today, I'm feeling pretty good. My writing is better than it has ever been at any point in my life [and I'm not talking about any chicken-scratch scrawl I put here on FmGT, although I'd be lying if I didn't say that I am proud of some posts I've put around here], and my first full manuscript is taking good shape. My first book, ladies and gentlemen. For anyone who knows me better or best, they know what my life has contained in recent years [heck, I splashed it all over these pages too, right?], and I'm putting the good experiences and weird situations to good use.

Therefore, to celebrate, some of my all-time favourite tracks. Don't know why, don't know how, but they just get me out of whatever thing I'm sitting/lying/sleeping on and cause me to move erratically and excitedly around my immediate space. There's nothing especially ground-breaking or "underground" in here, just good tunes. No pretense.

Dancing isn't about looking good, it's about feeling the rhythm and feeling self-confidence. How do you think the guy who pulled the first robot must have felt? Hundreds of boozed-up pairs of eyes focusing in on him, alone in the musty smoke of the dancefloor, the walls thick with sweat and conversation barely taking place amid the heavy bass beats, and there he was, in the spotlight, articulating every movement with electronic regularity.

It soon took on, because he believed in it.

And I believe in these songs too.

Well shit

It's On You
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
The Main Ingredient
Elektra/WEA : 2002
[Listen] [Buy]

Raid [Koushik Remix]
Madvillain
Madvillain Remixes : Koushik
Stones Throw : 2005
[Listen] [Buy]

Pause
Jay Dee
Welcome 2 Detroit
BBE : 2001
[Listen] [Buy]

Rape Date
Peanut Butter Wolf
Peanut Butter Breaks
Stones Throw : 2001
[Listen] [Buy]

Insomnia
Pete Philly & Perquisite
Mind.State
Anti : 2005
[Listen] [Buy]

Well peoples, it's been emotional. Last week was my charity bike ride, and I spent 8 long hours in the saddle, cruising 100 miles through Philly and the 'burbs. I have no clue how I managed it, but I did, and I'll most certainly do it again.

Slowly but surely, I'm trying to close that chapter of my life, and the extreme physical exertion [bordering on dangerous] would serve as the ideal poetic bookend. I'm not turning my back on the cause, but in this event, I found catharsis. It will always be a part of who I am, and it's extremely comforting to know that I can turn to such a great reserve of strength and positivity if I, or anyone I know, needs it in a particular moment. I will be back there next year.

Lately I've been writing a lot, but not for this site. I'm working on my first full-length manuscript, having been published here and there in short story form, but now it's time to look full steam ahead into my first novel. It's going well, but admittedly it doesn't leave a lot of time for this place in the interim. What I hope to do is post music almost every day, but there might not be a lot of flesh to surround it. No more paragraph-long sentences [a favorite weapon of Vladimir Nabokov], no more compound phrasing, hopefully not too much over-adverbing or adjective overkiil, but we will see.

I love this little home on the web, and I have a lot of music to share and a lot of platonic band crushes to impart. But, I dare say my long-windedness will subside a little, for there are precious few sentences or similes to spare when yr trying to write a novel under tight-ass self-imposed deadlines. Watch this space. What I might do is start posting unedited, rough chapters here and there, intercut nicely with an arseload of music. Yeah, if you might be interested in taking that journey with me, let me know. I need pairs of eyes.

So obviously, this is NOT a goodbye. Just letting you know things might change a little bit, but the mountains of tunes will not. So don't worry. This half of FmGT [or the other half, for that matter] is not going anywhere.

But back to the business at hand. There are 5 songs I have been listening to ENDLESSLY on repeat lately. And here they are. I figure if they've infected my head and my heart to such a dangerous level, you could use them too. Again, nothing too revelatory here; we all know what we're dealing with. But sometimes, in-between waiting for the next Criterion Collection DVD or obscure-as-fuck European art house flick, it's sometimes good to revisit Caddyshack. Because they may be old or well-known, but they'll never stop being good or pleasure-inducing.

I really miss J-Dilla. I know I'm not alone when I say that.