(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
"We are more than the sum of our parts..."
Hello again, music fans!
It's election day and we thought it would be appropriate to do a write up on one of the most politically charged tracks to come out of the Twin Cities this year (which is really saying something). We put TCDroogsma back on the case and asked him to give us his thoughts on the first single from the new Guante & Big Cats! album You Better Weaponize.
TCDroogsma, what'd you think?
First things first, I'm not super familiar with the work of Guante & Big Cats! I know (and love) their single "The National Anthem" from a couple of years back. I'm also kind of familiar with Big Cats! production work. That track, "Get Gone" by Homeless, and "1" from his solo album For My Mother is pretty much the extent of my knowledge.
All that said, let's dig in to this new single.
The Twin Cities hip-hop scene has been wearing its politics on its sleeve all year long. "To Young Leaders" definitely has more in common with the anarchist vibe of We Don't Even Live Here than with the "we can fix this broken system" message of Mourning In America. Unlike the aforementioned "The National Anthem," which was more of a lamentation of a broken country, "To Young Leaders" is a cry to finish breaking what's already broken and start the rebuild.
Guante's MC style definitely has its roots in his career as a spoken word artists. It's not hard to imagine that this song would carry nearly as much weight even if it was presented a capella
"Remember, a poem is worth more than a prayer
A prayer is a quiet conversation
A poem is an incantation
A fireball from your fingertips
It's something out of nothing..."
To that end, the similarity between his rapping style and the style of
Sage Francis (another MC with roots in spoken word) is clear. It becomes evident when, rather than a hook, the chorus of the song finds Guante abandoning his flow to speak directly to the listener, capping it off with the rallying cry, "You better recognize, you better weaponize..."
If the goal of the lyrics is to inspire anger at not only the political system, but at the capitalist American system that feeds our culture, mission wholeheartedly accomplished.
Big Cats! does his part to soundtrack this anger by digging deep in the low end. I don't mean to compare this song to "The National Anthem" again, but it's hard not to notice that, production-wise, "To Young Leaders" picks up where "The National Anthem" left off. That track was built around some dusty piano samples and those same sounds open this track.
However, when the piano drops out and the keyboards and bass come in, it's the aural equivalent of the feeling many people have felt over the last couple of years. No longer concerned with the dusty concept of "fixing the system" from within, the focused, pointed keyboards and fuzzed out bass indicate that the time for talk has passed and the time for action is now.
If "To Young Leaders" is indicative of the what we can expect from the rest of You Better Weaponize then this is going to be a banner year for righteous anger in hip-hop. Who says the Minnesotans are passive-aggressive?
Final Score - 4/5
You Better Weaponize, the new album from Guante & Big Cats! is out today and available via Strange Famous Records. They'll be playing at record release show November 9th at Hell's Kitchen.
Thanks to TCDroogsma for stopping by and giving us his thoughts. For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter and/or Instagram (@TCDroogsma) or on his personal blog Flatbasset. Newest Industry also has a home on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) which you can follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. We also have a Facebook page here which you can stop by and "like" if you, umm... like us.
(THIS PODCAST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY. CLICK ON THAT LINK NOW. LIKE, RIGHT NOW.)
I don't wear rubbers and I don't wear sunscreen...
Well hello again, music fans! Welcome to the second episode of Flatbasset Radio!
For those who are unfamiliar, Flatbasset Radio is a podcast put together by our regular contributor TCDroogsma. Typically they're about and hour long and feature TCDroogsma playing songs and prattling on like a lunatic. True to form, he does not disappoint in Episode #2.
This week on Flatbasset Radio TCDroogsma gets all bro-mantic about one of his friends, puts Cat Power on blast, propositions a pop icon, and goes on a lo-fi bender.
As you can see, you can click the embedded player to give the podcast a listen or you can click the title below to download it for your very own.
01. Big Cats! 02. Why? 03. Handsome Boy Modeling School (w/Cat Power) 04. Taking Back Sunday 05. Sixo 06. Madonna 07. Meat Puppets 08. Buck 65 09. Husker Du 10. Sage Francis vs. Dashboard Confessional
If, somehow, this isn't enough TCDroogsma he can always be found on Twitter and Instagram (@TCDroogsma) or on his own blog Flatbasset.
Of course this blog also maintains a Twitter account (@NewestIndustry1) which you should follow to stay up on all the work being done by our contributors. More importantly, we also have a Facebook page here. If you have the time please stop by and give us a "like." We'd really appreciate it.
(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY. PLEASE GO VISIT NEWEST INDUSTRY.)
Jason Lytle, Black Moth Super
Rainbow, Pinback, Solid Gold, & Robust Worlds...
Hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome
to the 12th Edition of Songs Of The Week!
For those of you unfamiliar with
SOTW, it's a weekly column in which we ask two of our regular
contributors to give us their thoughts on the five songs given away
via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Be sure to follow this
link to download the podcasts yourself so you can play along at home.
Be sure to vote for your favorite of
the songs in the poll to the right of the page.
This week we asked MinneSarah &
TCDroogsma to review new songs from Jason Lytle, Black Moth Super
Rainbow, Pinback, Solid Gold, & Robust Worlds. They have not
read what the other has written about each track prior to posting.
Kids, what'd you think?
01.
Jason Lytle – Get Up And Go (from the album Dept.
Of Disappearance)
MinneSarah:
A lot of songs seem to be recorded on
the steps at the Science Museum. Either that, or I've been
making music by walking since I was 7. This song is not complex
- it sounds like a loop from a Semisonic outtake with inspirational
lyrics over the top. This song sounds like a Stuart Smalley
affirmation, BUT, I dare you to not feel better after listening to
this song. Two minutes of saying "you can do it," and
"everything is going to be all right" (and yes, that is
the extent of the lyrics) has got to leave you feeling a little bit
better.
TCDroogsma:
Admittedly, I was a pretty casual fan of Grandaddy, but I really dug
what I knew of them. I even saw them at First Ave. once and came
away pretty impressed. I don't know what the general consensus is
regarding Jason Lytle's solo work, but I know that the single, “Yours
Truly, The Commuter” from his first album was a gem. A perfect mix
of resilience, Casio keyboards, and hooks.
“Get Up And Go” seems to lack much of the subtlety that made his
earlier stuff so interesting. Honestly, it kind of sounds like the
soundtrack to a Samsung Mobile commercial. Evidently the sentiment,
“Get up and go, you can do it, everything's gonna be alright...”
doesn't apply to writing verses. It's catchy and beautifully
produced, but Christ, there's just not much here to work with.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma – 2.5/5
02. Black Moth
Super Rainbow – Gangs In The Garden (from the album Cobra
Juicy)
MinneSarah:
Yes, Daft Punk followers are now old
enough to make their own, um, fill in the blank...art? Everyone
knows that black is already a super rainbow, so add a moth, and this
is what you get. I like anything electronic and this is catchy.
It's got some interesting elements, some distorted strings,
very distorted vocals (don't try and be a Bob Dylan), panting, and
it's not too long. Score.
TCDroogsma:
What the fuck is this monster of a song? Never has a band's sound so
mirrored their name, as this sounds like what a Black Moth Super
Rainbow would be. All the distorted vocals give it a slight sense of
dread, but at least the backbeat indicates a hip-shaking type of
impending doom. I mean, if we're all going to be killed by some sort
of color-vortex insect we may as well go dancing.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
03. Pinback –
Proceed To Memory (from the album Information Retrieved)
MinneSarah:
Pinback is my favorite 90's band that
started in the 2000's, I think. The vocals are always present
and meaningful. This song is no different, but it lacks some of
the urgency of their other songs. This song is a good example
of what is good about Pinback, in a quiet way. It's a very
sweet song, but it isn't something I'd put on repeat. Pinback
is great though, seriously.
TCDroogsma:
If Duncan Sheik had sex with Motion City Soundtrack while members of
Constantines yelled at them from the next room to shut up it would be
this. Just process that for a second.
I actually really liked this song. Of all this week's songs it was
the one that I found kicking around in my head the most. Of course,
timing is everything in life and listening to a song that includes
lines like, “And then the seasons get you down...” and “Out the
window looks like all the colors, all of them melting down...”
during the last week of October may have given the song a bit of
extra weight.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma – 3.5/5
04. Solid Gold –
The Pendulum (from the album Eat Your Young)
MinneSarah:
Solid Gold is the chameleon of the Twin
Cities music scene. I wouldn't go as far as to call them a Mitt
Romney... but I did just type that. They seem to be talented
enough to jive into whatever is popular at the time. However, I
haven't forgiven them for that "More to explore in Minnesota"
travesty. Ugghgh. This song is very 80's - I always mean
that in the best possible way. I like the sweeping nature of
the vocals and the background synths. However, I would never be able
to hear a Solid Gold song on the radio and pick them out. This
is a good and a bad thing. In this case, this song is good.
Next time? Who knows. Work on your Liam impression,
dude.
TCDroogsma:
Land of 10,000 Lakes? More like Land of 10,000 Synth-Pop bands, am I
right? Wait, I already made that joke on this blog? Hmmm....
It's been a little while since we've had any new Solid Gold material.
Musically, the keyboards will kick around in your head for a while,
but even after half a dozen listens the lyrics haven't stuck at all.
Clearly they didn't spend the off time reinventing the wheel
(though they were great in that “Exploret Minnesota” commercial).
Here's the deal, Solid Gold, I'm giving this one a 3, but if you can
introduce me to that Asian woman doing the Mary Tyler Moore
impersonation I'll bump it up another point and a half.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -3/5
TCDroogsma – 3/5
05. Robust
Worlds – Best Wishes (from the album Emotional Planet)
There is nothing bad about this song,
however, it is not good either. It rides the beachy, acousticy
guitars that everyone has a hard on for these days and adds some
whispery vocals over the top. It is boring. This is
hipster waiting room music. Pass.
TCDroogsma:
I've never been much of a fan of echo-y, psychedelic pop and that was
pretty much what came to my mind each time this song started this
week. “Oh yeah, that echo-y one.” The hooks aren't sharp and the
vocals have a bit of a stoner haze to them, but the whole thing does
have a pleasant vibe to it.
I had to do a little bit of Google work to find out that Robust
Worlds is the new band from Chris Rose of Vampire Hands. Seeing as
how most of that band's output was definitely of the “grower”
variety I'm willing to give “Best Wishes” the benefit of the
doubt. Admittedly it did seem to get better as the week went on. If
I smoked pot I'll bet I would love this song.
Final Score:
MinneSarah -2/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
Boom! There
you have it everybody. Another week's worth of tracks downloaded,
reviewed, and filed away.
As always we'd
like to note that Newest Industry and its contributors are in no way
affiliated with the artists, The Current or MPR. We're just music
fans with keyboards.
For more of
MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram
(@MinneSarah). Hopefully she's not still mourning the cancellation
of the Morrissey concert.
For more
TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram
(@TCDroogsma). He can also be found ranting like a lunatic on his
own blog Flatbasset. He's clearly not over the cancellation of the
Morrissey concert.
This blog also
maintains a Twitter account (@NewestIndustry1) which you should
follow to stay up to date on all the work being done by our
contributors for this blog and their own sites. More importantly
Newest Industry also has a Facebook page here. Please stop by and
give us a “like” sometimes. Take the easy way and give in...
(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY. WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST CHECK THAT BLOG OUT ALREADY? I MEAN, C'MON!)
Hey everybody! Welcome to the first installment of "Singles Mixer," our new column in which we ask one of our regular contributors to review new singles from Minnesota artists.
This time around we asked TCDroogsma to give us his thoughts on the new single "Fine Print" by hip-hop group Mixed Blood Majority.
All things considered, I'm pretty psyched for this Mixed Blood Majority project. If you don't know it's a "new" group consisting of Joe Horton (of No Bird Sing), Crescent Moon (of Kill The Vultures) and Lazerbeak (Doomtree) on the beats.
"Fine Print" is the first song to be released by the group and I was left with two immediate thoughts:
1. This definitely lives up to my expectations.
2. This definitely doesn't surpass my expectations.
Let me explain what I mean by that second point. Both MC's have built their reputation as "serious" MC's who drop lines that are meant to be heard & thought about. Neither of them has the reputation for "Oh shit! This is my JAM!" type songs. To that end, both MC's bring exactly what they're known for.
The track is built around a subdued Lazerbeak beat (think more along the lines of "15 Blocks" off Lights Out Paris and less "Shux" or "Stand Up (Let's Get Murdered)." It's a great beat, though. I have no idea how Lazerbeak is able to shift from Lava-Banger-mode to introspective while still keeping a beat that knocks.
Getting back to Crescent Moon & Joe Horton though.
Crescent Moon is a legend in the Twin Cities hip-hop scene, with his Kill The Vultures making their mark on the scene well back in early 2000's. Unfortunately, it seems like they've been treading water for years. I remember seeing them at The Uptown Bar (my last show ever there) and, even in those romanticizing-The-Uptown days, the place was still only half-full. It was a great show, to be sure, it just seems like Crescent Moon needs to be seen in a new light. To that end, it seems like Mixed Blood Majority may finally bring some long overdue recognition.
Treading the same territory he covers with Kill The Vultures, Crescent Moon delivers lines about the struggle of everyday life as it relates to both financial trouble and interpersonal trouble. Since he's an indie rapper who just got through a divorce I'm going to go ahead and say he's an expert on these subjects.
The first time I heard Joe Horton's rapping with No Bird Sing my first thought was, "Well, he clearly grew up on Kill The Vultures records." Hearing the two rappers on the same track doesn't completely disprove that theory, but it does provide an interesting dynamic. Both rappers seem to be fighting the same fight, but it is still possible to hear the young-man-optimism in Horton's voice as opposed to the older-yet-still-determined growl in Crescent Moon's voice.
When Crescent drops the line, "Did you read the fine print?" it's answered by Horton with, "Nah, but I signed it." Clearly, these are two men standing at opposite ends of the same street.
As I mentioned, they're fighting the same fight. This becomes especially clear when the rappers come together in the middle with these lines:
"Silent, silent, I will be silent, speak when spoken to never be defiant... Focus, focus, I will be focused, only think positive, block out the hopeless... Patient, patient, I will be patient, take my medication, wonder where the day went... Famous, famous, one day I'll be famous, then all the pretty people will remember what my name is..."
Like I said at the beginning, this song doesn't surpass any expectations. However, context is everything, and since this is the first song to be released from the project it does answer the most basic question, "What would Crescent Moon & Joe Horton sound like over a Lazerbeak beat?" Now that we have an answer for that, let's hope the rest of the album pushes the boundaries and presents us with more questions rather than the same answer over and over.
Final Score - 3.5/5
Mixed Blood Majority will be unveiled to the world October 3rd at The Icehouse. Follow this link for more info.
For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter & Instagram (@TCDroogsma) or on his own blog Flatbasset.
This blog has a Twitter account as well (@NewestIndustry1) which you should follow to stay up on the activities of all our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Stop by and give us a "like" if you, er... like it.
(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY. PLEASE CLICK THAT LINK AND GIVE THAT BLOG A LOOK IF YOU HAVE THE TIME. WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD ON THAT ONE.)
"I guess this is my dissertation, homey, this shit is basic..."
Well hello, music fans, and welcome to the inaugural episode of Flatbasset Radio!
For those of you unfamiliar with Flatbasset, it's the work of our regular contributor TCDroogsma. For years now he's been posting mixes of songs online each month under the name Flatbasset. Evidently he's decided to change things up a little bit.
(Click play on the embedded player above to listen to the podcast. Click the link below to download the podcast.) Flatbasset Radio - Episode #1
In this episode TCDroogsma claims the British government is hoarding rappers, explains the best Halloween he ever had, recaps the "Get Out The Vote" show at First Avenue, steals an idea from Sound Opinions, and laments Morrissey's ill mother.
Still, we're all new to this so, TCDroogsma, what gives?
Boy, that's a concise question. Basically, I've been making those Flatbasset mixes for a few years now and I've found that they are not very successful. I decided to change it up a little bit by turning the mixes into a podcast where I break up the songs by talking a little bit.
That was your plan? To break up a bunch of great songs with your rabbling?
Well, when you frame it that way it doesn't make much sense. More accurately, it wasn't quite fair just labeling it a "mix" as that implied that it was some chopped up party starter, which it obviously wasn't.
Plus, I realized that people weren't really reading the bits I wrote about each song. Since people hate reading I thought they might rather listen to me explain why the songs are great.
So you don't think people like to read and yet you spend nearly all of your free time blogging?
(Sigh...)
Alright, let's get to this episode then. Anything we need to know about it?
Well, this was my first go at a podcast, so you just have to bear with me. I think it turned out pretty well though. Here's what the playlist looks like:
01. Kanye West 02. Nirvana 03. JJ Doom 04. PJ Harvey 05. Big Quarters (w/Sims) 06. Ryan Adams 07. Eyedea & Abilities 08. Air 09. Mark Mallman 10. MaLLy 11. I Self Devine 12. Brother Ali 13. The Smiths
Really, just give it a listen. Even if you find my voice grating and my stories insufferable, the songs fucking kill.
Well alright then. TCDroogsma, thanks for stopping by to explain yourself.
Thanks. I plan on doing this each week, so you'll be hearing from me a lot in the near future.
Great... great... For more TCDroogsma you can give him a follow on Twitter or Instagram (@TCDroogsma) or check out his own blog Flatbasset. This blog also has a Twitter home (@NewestIndustry1) that you should follow to stay up on all the work our contributors are doing. More importantly we have a Facebook page here. Be sure to stop by and give us a "like" if you have a minute. Enough "likes" and we can get TCDroogsma a real microphone to record these things.
It's a bit of a time crunch here at the Nobody Loves Us Countdown, but I promise I will get to all 20 songs before Monday's show down at The Orpheum. Be sure to stay tuned to the Twin Cities blog Newest Industry where I'll post a playlist of all 20 songs in order over the weekend.
Now, however, the countdown marches...er... downward? Sure, downward.
If you haven't been following along, here's how the list looks so far:
20. One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell 19. Driving Your Girlfriend Home 18. Munich Air Disaster 1958 17. Seasick, Yet Still Docked 16. I Don't Mind If You Forget Me 15. Sister I'm A Poet 14. On The Streets I Ran 13. There's A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends 12. Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself? 11. Come Back To Camden 10. Disappointed 09. I've Changed My Plea To Guilty 08. Break Up The Family 07. We'll Let You Know
And so here we are at #6: #6. Black-Eyed Susan (Morrissey/Whyte)
B-Side from the Sunny single
Key Lyrics: "Black-eyed Susan, please remember... We were the first. We were the first."
A true lost classic from Morrissey's wilderness years, "Black-Eyed Susan" finds Morrissey at his most charismatically loathing, drawing a sketch of a woman with "heavy rings on bitten fingers..."
Oddly, or maybe expectedly, Morrissey's concern with his own legacy was reaching a feverish pitch in 1995. With the success of Vauxhall & I well in the rearview and Southpaw Grammar failing to gain much traction, it's understandable that Mozzer would find himself simultaneously looking both to the sides and to the past.
Both "Black-Eyed Susan" and "Heir Apparent" (another b-side of the same era) ring as the distant echoes of the young man who was all-too-keenly aware of his fanbase in "Rubber Ring." While their was a certain romanticism to the Morrissey of the late '80's. "Don't forget the songs that made you cry and the songs that saved your life..." was all the the singer was asking of his fans. He knew they'd outgrow the emotions that he never could.
Well, the passing of times and all of its sickening crimes left middle-aged Morrissey in quite a different state. The titular character of "Black-Eyed Susan" (the "black-eyed referring to makeup rather than a punch up) seems to be a young Smiths fan grown up into her own stardom (and, according to Mozzer, took many cues from his own career to get there). What we really find with "Black-Eyed Susan" is the portrait of a man mired in his own persecution complex, a complex that would find it's logical, if cliched, end point with tracks like, "You Know I Couldn't Last" and "All You Need Is Me" a decade later.
Over a poppy, enjoyable Alain Whyte tune Mozzer lays bare the traits that he knows all too well. He sees his celibacy-controversy-baiting self ("What don't you believe in? 'No is always easier than yes!'"), the soapbox assuredness ("You must insist: You are a born again atheist..."), hell, even the blouse-and-flower sporting, fashion-eschewing spotlight monger ("Oh, heavy rings on bitten fingers...") before finally admonishing the starlet's talents entirely with the line, "Oh... Black-Eyed Susan, rest and do nothing, 'cause it's the only thing that you do quite well..."
However, taking into account the bizarre musical excursion of the third verse, it remains tough to tell if Morrissey is genuinely mocking the latest NME craze or if he's merely pointing out what seems obvious only to him. One last jealousy-laden knife makes his sincerity clear: "Black-Eyed Susan, please remember: We were the first, we were the first..."
