Songs of Summer, Vol. II

Chuck Berry.

Psychedelic Pucho
Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers
Heat!
Prestige : 1968
[Listen] [Buy]

Didn't I Do It To You?
Skull Snaps
Skull Snaps
GSF Records : 1973
[Listen] [Buy]

You Two
Chuck Berry
St. Louis to Liverpool
Chess : 1964
[Listen] [Buy]

Good Music
The Roots
Organix
Remedy Recordings : 1996
[Listen] [Buy]

More songs of summer today, which is as good as anything really. All of them bring the warmest months to life, and have brought me much happiness in summers past. Again, they'll make me smile again.

---
Henry "Pucho" Brown has been an instrumental figure in the Latin boogaloo sound since the mid-50s, releasing several excellent albums with several excellent bands. He suffered through constant lineup changes, thanks to other artists poaching his best band members [Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo [to name but two] took a few, including Chick Corea] while searching for that Latin-jazz sound. His blend of Brazilian music, boogaloo, jazz and funk ensured a strong following, and this track, taken from his earliest efforts with the Latin Soul Brothers, is a perfect summertime tune.

The Pazant Brothers, Eddie and Alvin, feature prominently on sax and trumpet respectively throughout the album, each getting long solos, but it's Eddie here who commands most attention in the first half of the song, a laid-back, straight-ahead Latin groove underscored by the jittery, quick-fingered piano lines of Neal Creque [who left the band shortly thereafter to play with Mongo Santamaria on his '71 release Mongo's Way].

Around 4 minutes in, a brief percussion interlude segues smoothly into a much higher tempo, driven on to the end by Pucho on the timbales [and a sweet little syncopated solo to boot].

It's great for the summer because of that irresistible beat. Who could possibly remain stationary once the groove settles in?

---
Skull Snaps is, in essence, something more for the ladies and the summer, or at least, that lazy slow-dance in the heat. You lock eyes with yr special someone, share a smile, do whatever comes naturally, you know.

Skull Snaps, for the most part, were a complete mystery, living on only in the myriad of hip-hop beats poached from their one and only album, the self-titled LP from 1973. The opening drum break from "It's a New Day" found its way into a massive number of tracks [all of which I won't bother listing, but a very, very brief sample includes: Camp Lo - "Cooley High", DJ Shadow - "What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt 3", Eric B and Rakim - "Step Back", Kruder & Dorfmeister - "Deep Shit pt. 1 & pt. 2", Lords of the Underground - "Keepers of the Funk", Pharcyde - "Passin' Me By", Prodigy - "Poison"], and helped to keep them in the general music consciousness.

On the whole, Skull Snaps is an incredibly smooth, groovy album, the product of a soul vocal group that found themselves fighting through the overwhelming deluge of British Invasion and into funk on the other side.

This track screams summertime, thanks to the gorgeous 3- or 4-part vocal harmony that kicks off the song and the sunny, bright arrangement underneath it. A steady R&B drum beat, augmented by waves of rich, lush orchestral strings and periodic accents of harp and horns to fill the space between your ears. The breakdowns are pure soul, and there's little to bring you down [besides the slightly melancholic lyrics].

Throw it on as the sun sets, and you make that final charge to win back the girl of yr dreams. She'll find it tough to resist once you snag her for a slow dance.

---
Chuck Berry requires little to no preamble or explanation. Sure, he's had his darker moments [ladies' bathrooms and underage girls, sadly, were his biggest vice], but his sphere of influence is undeniable, as is his colossal contribution to the rock n' roll landscape as we know it today.

This breezy, upbeat track is from my favourite CB album, St. Louis to Liverpool, mainly due to the amount of quality tracks. "You Two" is a little softer than the Berry we're used to, but it shows a little versatility for the gentler side of R&B [instead of the pyrotechnics we love him for], and it's ideal for the summertime thanks to the rumbling, jazzy bassline and Berry's little guitar flashes. Makes me wish I had 3 people to go camping and grilling with right now. Any takers?

---
The Roots have been around for donkey's years, and in selecting soulful hip-hop for the summer, there's perhaps a million tracks to choose from. At this very point in time, this is the one, and the first of many. It has that sound I equate to the time of year, as far as hip-hop goes; easy on the ears, easy on the mind. The band is already tight on this, their first album, and the sound is right. If you traveled back in time, you'd recognize their potential to go far. Makes me happy that they have delivered.

---
Time is getting tighter as 3 of the 4 of us get ready to move in together next week, but I have some posts queued up [including several more of these, and I'll finally start the Midnight Snacks series, I swear], so fear not. More tomorrow.

Night Notes: What's up your ears?

What's up our collected earses

What can we say? We've got some eclectastic tastebuds, eardrums and then some.

Right now, OTB's pretty hot on Wilco's 'Handshake Drugs,' Rage's 'Year of tha Boomerang,' and Neil Young's 'Down to the Wire.' You can click on the track names to listen and you can purchase those disks here, here and here.

JT's always got a healthy love affair going on while taking shots [of wheat grass!]. This week he's slowly giving it to [or perhaps receiving from] CSNY's 'Almost Cut My Hair,' the Beach Boys' track 'Sail on Sailor,' and 'Where is Love' by Eldridge Holmes. Buy 'em here, here and (yep, you guessed it) here.

Codec, always burning the midnight oil, is feasting on these goodies - so why don't you? Ricci Rucker's 'Hetytirelasitshiswalalamedmforecrosrdndartscahcgni (Nessun Regole)/We'll Miss You [purchased here], EL-P's 'Poisenville Kids No Wins / Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)' [found here] and a track that I also share on obsession with 'New York Rush' by Yoko Kanno & The Seatbelts (feat. New York Musicians) [which can be bought here, though a little steep - but surely worth it to 'Bebop fans like us].

I'm all about Adam Freeland's new Global Underground mix session - that on my newly purchased orange iPod shuffle had me really racking up the mileage in central park this weekend. There's some breakbeat brilliance on that double CD set that shouldn't be missed. Other than that I'm really digging 'Snakes and Ladders [Rug N Tug rmx]' by Sly Mongoose, a very cool Japanese group that blend Funk, Jazz and Electronic sensibilities yielding psychedelic results that'll make your head go pop and your fingers tap. Tap that mouse right here to buy it.

So, now that we've shown you ours, it's only right that you show us yours. And don't chicken out like your sister did last night.

Stay Tuned. (]^_^[)
-- Silent K

Remix the Beach: Absolute Hotness

Feed me Pet Tunes.

God Only Knows
Bullion
Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee
2007
[Listen]

Let's Go Away For a While
Bullion
Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee
2007
[Listen]

You Still Believe in Dee
Bullion
Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee
2007
[Listen]

Recently I was tipped off to Bullion ["Boo-lee-on"], a dude whose Hip-hop has reigned dominance in my playlist, beating on my eardrums exclusively for the last 72 hours straight while seriously rocking everything else out of my personal soundtrack - Hey, sometimes there can only be room for one [+ Jello].

Acton, England based Bullion Ness has been playing the tune game for almost 5 years. He produces tracks with classic sources and current beats. These are the fruits of his unique tune-taste and the latest tools in creative audio technology [you know, like, computers and stuff]. Bullion has taken, what's referred to by many as the pinnacle Beach Boys album from 1966: Pet Sounds, and reworked it into a 25 minute session of refreshing Hip-hop. It's a sound that's bouncy, dark, progressive, confident and extremely smooth.

Additional to to the B-Boys' [not the Beastie Boys!] Pet Sounds, there are elements of Pet Sounds cover songs by various artists, as well as snippets from established Hip-hop deities like Slum Village. Bullion's affinity for J Dilla shines intense-immense by the quality of his manifested beats.

When taking The Beach Boys and flexing it up with various backings, one might comment that "Oh, it's like what Danger Mouse did with The Grey Album" - But, that would be a bit off base. DM's work was a brilliant mash, but Bullion's isn't another entry in the mash trend - it's an intelligent remix album of cut-and-paste proficiency that head bouncing can't resist. Another important difference is that Bullion's Beach Boys remix project is a labor of love and not meant for sale. Whereas those repping John, Paul, George & Grumpy Ringo had some serious issues when The Grey Album saw actual sales [albeit limited] - Brian, Dennis, Carl, Mike & Al should be flattered beyond legality. I'm hearing quality here that's got the ability to overtake the interest that aficionados had with The Grey Album - just as Pet Sounds propelled The Beach Boys' popularity past that of the Beatles with it's release in the mid '60s - which then motivated the Beatles to produce Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Aside from the differences though - Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee has a lot in common with the work of the prolific RJD2 and the production genius Prefuse 73. It's a layered sound that's great for casual chillin' or astute listening. It screams "I'm the coolest kid on the bus and you know what? I'm not even taking the fucking bus." It truly is "Brian Wilson with an MPC."

'In the Key of Dee is equally impressive when taste-tested as individual tracks or consumed as a whole progressive mix. Offered above is the soul-full and supremely jazzy 'Let's Go Away For a While,' a track with relaxed beats and a sexy leading horn set; the head-nodding controller 'God Only Knows,' with it's organ-ic dense flow; and the swift party pleasing bouncer 'You Still Believe in Dee' [which battles 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times' for my selection of best-track-on-the-album].

If you're digging this thick sound - and I know you are - you can download Bullion's entire remix session right here. Make sure to burn that to a disk, blast it in your car and send him a few praising messages on Myspace. Bullion is proof that surprisingly fresh sound can be true to the art and not about the money - unless you're saying "this album is straight money" - because it is.

Stay Tuned.
-- Silent K

Songs of Summer, Vol. I

That Ol' Bus Smell
Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination and Brass
Wide Open
MPS : 1973
[Listen]

Mishaps Happening
Quantic
Mishaps Happening
Ubiquity : 2004
[Listen] [Buy]

Hole in my Life
The Police
Outlandos D'Amour
A&M Records : 1978
[Listen] [Buy]

Papa was a Rolling Stone
The Pioneers
[Listen]

Summer songs are well-worn blog fodder, especially when we get it right and actually post them while the sun is shining and the humidity is intolerable. I have a formula for summer music, which again, I don't think is unique, but hey, the beauty of having your own blog is that you generally get to talk a lot about yourself and the things you like. I reckon you'll like some of them too, and thus, hopefully we're all happy.

This will be a long series. Collect them all as you will be quizzed on the material. All of these tracks have something sunny about them, some combination of instruments, rhythms and chord progressions that beg them to be played when you're sitting on the deck knocking back more beer than was previously thought possible.

---
The first track brings to mind the essence of summer: being lazier than you are the rest of the year. Not necessarily lazy in the sense of sitting around doing nothing [although in the stifling heat, it's forgivable], but in the sense of being "unproductive" in the eyes of our square bosses and dreary workaday lives. Screw work, screw important stuff. Instead, run around and be a kid, do fun things, play outdoors, grill a whole lot of food, drink a lot, take the bike out for a spin, play wiffleball, whatever.

This song is like that for me. I drop whatever I'm doing and devote that 6 minutes of run time to shuffling around and dancing like an idiot.

Why?

Because there's just something to be said for those large, outrageous horn arrangements of the 70s, that swinger, Jaguar-driving, wear flared-pants-and-walk-suavely-down-Carnaby-Street sound.

Every funk and soul producer worth his or her salt was running around frantically, trying to figure out where to put more horns. They were the lifeblood of funk, and Peter Herbolzheimer [typical 70s producer] went no-holds barred on his second commercial release, flooding the mix with bright brass flurries as much as the ear could handle [read: three trumpets, three trombones, one saxophone, as best I can tell] and bringing the big band feel to some seriously dirty grooves.

The refrains, the head, the bridge, the solos; not a second of music is safe from the horn mania.

End result: fucking greatness. An orgy of overlapping timbres. It's hard to be productive or focused while this song is on, so relent, give up and surrender to some criminally-underrated jazz-funk.

---
This track brings out the second connotation of "summer laziness": I want to touch the stereo as little as possible. The sun is too hot, so give me an assortment of excellent sounds that run longer than you might think but keep the mood up, thus allowing me to remain where I am, drenched in sunshine, overcome with happiness, tranquility and various stages of intoxication.

Quantic, aka Will Holland, rarely fails on this count, because his musical influences and inspirations are perfect for the summertime. Every Quantic release has that bright sound, thanks to the boatloads of calypso, soul, salsa, bossa nova and jazz that he manically digests. This is good for the cooler-than-thou lounge idea you've been throwing around in yr head, or the back porch where conversation flows quickly and the vino flows even quicker.

Great beats, funky little breaks, the momentum changes are groovy and well-timed, and that jazz guitar is spot-on. Give me a 45-minute version of this track and I'll be in heaven.

---
Next up, the English ska crusties the Police. I am a little bitter that I couldn't get tickets for their gargantuan reunion tour, but it's no big deal. I'm sure their on-stage chemistry will be worth it. [Hating your bandmates is always a good recipe for cheap pyrotechnics as soon as the first flubbed note makes it through the earpiece monitors]

Do sad lyrics disqualify a song from being perfect for the summer? Definitely not, otherwise where would indie music lovers find their sunshine soundtracks?

This isn't entirely depressing; Copeland's shuffling, herky-jerky rhythm keeps you on notice, as does the gentle bass-guitar interplay of Sting and Summers. Infused with enough reggae soul to satisfy the summer contingent, it's solid lazy day singalong music [if you can manage to sing in Gordon's staggeringly high range].

---
The Pioneers also stick to the reggae/summer connection with their gorgeous rendition of the Temptations' classic soul hit. Known for their two big ska hits in the late-60s, "Longshot" and "Longshot [Kick De Bucket]", both about a racehorse, the Pioneers strip the song to its bare bones.

No elaborate arrangement, and no effort to emulate or outdo the epic sound of the original, instead we get something simpler, something more primal and wild. The beat shuffles along, backed with brief flashes of rhythm guitar [classic on-the-2s-and-4s strumming] and tambourine. The vocal harmonies are tight on the choruses and breaks, and the minimal use of keys is perfect.

This is perfect for the late evening, when the candles are almost burned out and the mood is right for this smoky, seductive, lusty interpretation.

---
A new batch of tunes tomorrow, but I feel like this should kick off the songs of summer just right. Stay tuned.

Feed me Good Links

The onset of summer's dogdays are wearing us all down a little, leading to a lull here and there with the tunes, and so now's as good a time as any to bring in a new/not really new feature of the twice-weekly links roundup, bringing you some of the best from around the music world. Everyone's doing it, so now we are too.

We all have embarrassing music hiding somewhere in our collections; maybe we should let it out every once in a while like Flood does. [Floodwatch Music]

Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star makes things better. FACT. [Hollywoodland]

Attempting a comprehensive list of top samples from through the decades is tough, but if anyone can step up, Souled On can. Start with the Icons, and work yr way back. [Souled On]

Never sleep on the brilliance of Marlena Shaw. This is the real deal. [OUTSIDE BROADCAST]

If Jeff's first guest poster is this good, it's going to be a good week. Get a load of impressive French rap, so you can be worldly too. [The Passion of the Weiss]

Man, I'd forgotten how much I love this album. Viva Mike Patton! [Blank Crisis]

Music is Context, part 5. An excellent series looking at songs that are important to people and why, including a little entry by yours truly. [Music is Art]

Little light the first time around, but heavy on quality. Email me at the address on the side with good links for me, and I'll look to them for future inspiration.

Good selection of tunes tomorrow.
JT

Goodbye, Tony.

Don't Stop Believin'
Journey
Escape
Columbia : 1981
[Listen] [Buy]

This weekend: What's up your ears?

This is what's up my ears.

Finally, two full days off - but we've still gots lots to do. Tonight is Korean Fried Chicken night with some cool kids I know [including Codec & JTizzy]. Tomorrow, I'll be headed to the Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens @ 2pm for some much needed partaying with my peoples. Sunday will be Sunday and I'm sure that I'll fit a few 6.1 mile runs in there ...always with my headphones in.

I'm very excited to digest a few advance copies that we've been so lucky to receive. Particularly, new albums from Unkle, the Beastie Boys and the Chemical Brothers - all set to drop real soon. Plus, I've always got my standby soundtrack of Jan Hammer's original theme set to the Miami Vice television show - I swear I can never get enough of that, especially since we've got the sun on our side.

That begs the question, what's up your ears?

An Eargasmic Triad

Hold it up high.

Nothin Fake / The Ultimate [Feat. Del the Funkee Homosapien & Pep Love]
A Plus
My Last Good Deed
Hieroglyphics : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Off the Grid
Beastie Boys
The Mix Up
Capitol : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Hello I Love You [Adam Freeland's Fabric mix]
The Doors
Hello I Love You: Adam Freeland Mix
Wea Int'l : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

The weekend is afoot and a little birdie told me you might need a tune up.

A Plus, also known as Adam Carter, one of the starting members of a little phenomenon known as the Souls of Mischief - you might have heard of them - is back with an excellent solo effort that dropped back in May. With guests like Del the Funkee Homosapien and more, I'd hardly call this a solo effort - I'd be more inclined to call it an incredibly solid hip-hop album. I'm riding very high on 'Nothin Fake / The Ultimate' at the moment. I only wish that (1) this two-tracks-in-one was separated into two tracks and (2) that they were both longer. They are so damn tasty that I've gotta have it on repeat about 4 times in a row just to get my morning fix walking to the subway. Excellent beat, and the piano is absolute hotness.

The Beastie Boys are back with another FINE instrumental album - if you didn't hear their first one, go pick up In Sound From The Way Out right now - this isn't the kind of Beastie Boys that ya'll are used to - there's ZERO lyrics here. The trio have a hidden talent of rockin it out, and very well I might add, on the instrumentals. And we're not talking samples here - I'd go as far as comparing this album to stuff by Medeski Martin & Wood. It's perfect for drinking whiskey and chillin'. The album drops June 26th. Very much worth your cash then, and worth your ears now. I'm going to call it right now and say that this is going to be one of the best chillin' albums of the summer.

If only all musicians could belt it out like Jim Morrison. But if you can't do the belting yourself then it's good at least to have a healthy obsession with that sound. Sure, we've all heard 'Hello I Love You' the Nth time - but not like this. Adam Freeland [of "Fear is the mind K-Killer" fame - something that Codec loves to bust my balls over...] has reworked this classic track into a true dance floor banger. Jim, nor Adam haven't sounded so good in a while. Adam has a forthcoming Global Underground mix that drops on June 19th - I'm actually very surprised that this track is not making an appearance on that mix. He's worth your ear time and hard earned cash.

And for the comic relief, well I just couldn't help posting this video of Jamiroquai's Virtual Insanity - the Toilet Version...all I have to say here is WOW and thanks to Gallo for popping this one up on my screen.


Have a great weekend & stay tuned...
-- Silent K

A Loose Review - Paul Pena "Paul Pena" [Capitol, 1972]

1. Woke Up This Morning
2. I'm Gonna Make It Alright
3. The River
4. One for the Lonely
5. Something to Make You Happy
6. My Adorable One
7. When I'm Gone
8. Lullaby

all songs by Paul Pena
Paul Pena
Capitol : 1972

[I grappled with this for a hot minute, but I'm going to post the entire album here. I think it's only right, considering it's been tied up and out of print for what seems like decades. Pena died in late-2005, leaving no significant estate, and out of respect to him and his memory, this music needs to be heard. It's that good, and I believe in it.]

Paul Pena could have been something. Paul Pena's music was captured briefly in precious few recordings, considering his legacy in music spans over three decades. And yet, his soul lives on in this, his first album, one that's been out of print for as long as I can remember.

Overall, it's a seamless, gorgeous, glorious blend of blues, classic rock, and soul, sung with the smokiest baritone and clearest electric guitar. Pena's playing and arrangements are sunny and bright, richly layered with chorus voices and slide guitar. His lyrics are full of hope and curiosity for the world around me, and read like a road map to understanding and maturity. Where are we going in the world? What is my place? What do I have to offer? What can I give back? Where should I go next?

As we enter the summer months, and an endless tangle of FmGT posts aiming to pin down the elusive summer sound, this album screams June, July and August. The airy arrangements and shimmering guitar riffs work tirelessly and breathlessly in the sunshine. This is true "larger than yr headphones" music; you'll sing along without really knowing the words, you'll hum the melodies, you'll pick at yr air guitar, you'll subconsciously break out the handclaps, the adoration, the adulation and the uncensored joy in Pena's music.

Choice cuts include the opening track, "Woke Up This Morning", a shimmering expression of Pena's determination to transcend his obstacles and get where he wants to be. "Gonna Make It Alright" is a breezy, bright song that grows out of a very Meters-esque riff into a nasty, deep groove. "Something to Make You Happy" is seven minutes of gritty, shuffle blues, anchored by a frenetic bassline and soulful B-3. "When I'm Gone" is another meditation on the meaning of his life and the value of his existence, presented in his unmistakable style.

Pena's music is as good as any coming out of this era in American music. The seamless blending of so many genres is a joy to listen to, especially when wrapped in Pena's virtuosic guitar-playing. If he was better-known, he'd surely stand in the pantheon of great blues players, but as it is, he's still relatively-unknown.

Download this, and enjoy it. Spread it around. This music is too good to keep under wraps.

Pena's life was defined by several layers of misfortune, sadness and tragedy, but in listening to his music, you'd never know it. I hope you get as much enjoyment out of Paul Pena as I do.

==================
I wrote about Paul Pena a few months ago, after randomly re-watching the superb documentary Genghis Blues and being reminded of his genius.

His second album, New Train, did make it to CD finally in 2000, and is widely available. This album is circulating around ebay and other online vinyl-hunting sites, but is out-of-print to the best of my knowledge. It's a damn shame, in my mind, considering the sizable pile of horseshit that does make the airwaves nowadays. Check out New Train on CD, and check out the documentary Genghis Blues for more about Paul Pena. Also, read a wonderful, respectful obituary to Pena here if you get the chance, one that helps to explain his mythology a little better than I've managed to.

On the web:

www.paulpena.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Pena
http://www.fotuva.org/friends/paul_pena.html

Quality

The Meters

Season Song
Blue States
Man Mountain
Eighteenth Street : 2002
[Listen] [Buy]

Sophisticated Cissy
The Meters
The Meters
Josie Records : 1969
[Listen] [Buy]

Proclamation
Gentle Giant
The Power and the Glory
Vertigo : 1974
[Listen] [Buy]

Agent Orange [UK Bonus Track - produced by Sa-Ra]
Pharaohe Monch
Desire
Street Records/Universal Motown : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Where are these weeks disappearing to? Now only four until FmGT moves in together, along with an absurd amount of musical equipment. We're making plans on what to do with it all, which may include some guests to the house for a few sessions here and there, along with some podcasting all summer long.

And so, after a week's absence, I dive back in with another weird assortment to keep the heart beating.

---

First up, Blue States, a band who were definitely among the first wave of downtempo acts stretching back to '98, along with the likes of Kruder & Dorfmeister, Thievery Corporation and Bonobo.

In five words: lush, textured, symphonic downtempo tunes. This track also functioned as the closing credits track from 28 Days Later, playing as the film fades into an uncertain end/beginning with the fatigued trio flagging down help on the green hills. Having now seen both movies a few times [Days was better, sorry, although Weeks wasn't shabby by a long shot], this song kept sticking.

There's nothing outwardly remarkable about it except for its larger-than-your-headphones feel. Main man Andy Dragazis's composing is sweet and evocative, the driving rhythm laced with a series of disparate instruments [electric guitars, Hammonds, trumpets, bouzoukis] and a chorus of voices that echo, dream-like in the mix. A good song for any lazy, chilled-out day.

---
Next up: The Meters. There are a bajillion web sites and bits about the Meters available, but the summer cannot, and will not pass, without at least a little Meters in one's life. Taking it right back to the beginning here, with one of their first big hits, a lazy, sexy R&B track full of attitude and gusto for a dying sunny day.

Leo Nocentelli's funky, concise guitar licks bring a smile to the face, but the real stars here are Porter and Neville [some things never change]. A thick, chunky bass line keeps things interesting, and I'll never say no to Neville's soulful, lingering marks on the organ in the background.

The Meters will almost certainly make an appearance during the soon-to-begin Midnight Snacks series, so stay tuned. [More details at the end of this post]

---
Up next: another Midnight Snacks candidate, Gentle Giant. Madlib sampled a couple of their tracks, including this one on the Lootpack cut "Likwit Fusion" [and "Playing the Game", a track I posted a long while ago, on his own track "Level Zero"], so naturally I was hooked. They're an acquired taste to say the least, but definitely worth a look. In my opinion, for British prog rock at its finest, look no further [sorry to Yes, ELP and King Crimson].

Their influences and inspirations are weird and bizarre -- many of the themes and lyrical ideas on this LP are directly inspired by the literature of Graham Greene -- but their music is funky and worthy of investigation.

It's hard to explain the sound of this track; just trust me and give it a listen. Good prog rock or bad?

---
To close today, a fucking excellent track from Pharaohe Monch's long-awaited album, due for release on June 27th. It's fire so far, on only a limited number of listens from front-to-back, but Monch is back, of that there is no doubt. His delivery is as sharp and densely-syllabic as ever, the rhymes whip-smart, and the beats [produced by a solid roster, ranging from of-the-moment Black Milk to The Alchemist from Dilated Peoples] are thick and nasty enough to give Monch a solid soapbox.

Goddamn.

It's good, peoples, and yes: it's ok to still have hope. This track, listed as a UK bonus track, has the sleek, synth-soaked signature of Sa-Ra and is a glossy compliment to Monch's delivery.

Stay tuned closer to release day for a full review.

---

As I mentioned before, my Midnight Snacks series will kick off soon. Still not really sure how to define it [sure, might well be more-of-the-same but with a catchy new name], but it promises to be good.

Included thus far will be:

- Kashmere Stage Band
- Sly & The Family Stone
- Gentle Giant
- George Duke
- Donald Byrd
- The Meters
- James Brown/The J.B.'s
- The Gap Band

If you have any others you absolutely want to see get the FmGT treatment [now that you see the sort of era/genres I'm working with], leave a comment and I'll see what I can do. Either way, it will be a fairly regular feature with no definite end, so if there are a lot of suggestions and bands/artists you always wanted to dig more about but were afraid/too busy to ask, now's the time. I have deep stacks; let's see what we can come up with.