Del the Funky Homosapien

Ah, Wednesday night. A time for relaxation; the hump day. If you're Charles Mingus, Wednesday night means a prayer meeting. If you were one of the many people showing their faces at Skully's Music Diner yesterday night, you were paying tribute to the pantheon of funk, with Del the Funky Homosapien as prometheus A venerable hip-hop menagerie went on stage from 10:30 until 2:30 last night, and Del was the main attraction but not necessarily the highlight of the show.

My compatriots and I left the apartment around 11:20. We figured that - because there was an enormous list of performers, and we had school the next day - we could show up about an hour late, miss the setup and some people, and still get to see Del. We had to park about a block away because of the sheer amount of people packed into Skully's; quite an enormous crowd. We arrived halfway through Bukue One's set, the second performer of the night.

Bukue One is a multifaceted performer, mixing the lyrical crucial poetics of Saul Williams and Sage Francis with the sex raps of Peaches. His flows were not necessarily the most skillful or the most fresh, but you could tell from his crowd interaction and the near-constant smile on his face that he enjoyed performing. Between songs, he interjected suggestions that hugs are just as - if not more important - than gettin' some after a concert, and that we should all appreciate our mothers' love and kindness. On top of that, he was extremely conscientious of smaller people potentially getting injured in crowds, giving a no-moshing speech near the end of his set.

Mike Relm took the stage after Bukue One, and he almost stole the show from Del. Relm is a mixed-media performer, mashing up videos and pop culture references in his samples with live (pad) drumming and turntablism. His is the only DJ set where I have seen Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name Of" follow Vince Guaraldi's 'Linus and Lucy.' Of course, he worked in crowd favorites like "Paper Planes" and "Thriller," but he also managed to VJ the famous orgasm scenes from "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Office Space." Phenomenal performance; if this guy had been on the mashup scene at the same time as Girl Talk, I posit that he would be the one with the notoriety and Greg Gillis would still be a research chemist.

Then Del. The man we came to see. The prince of funk, doctor of funk-ology, et cetera. Del's ostensible reason for touring would be to promote his new free release "Funk Man (The 13 Point Stimulus Package)," which he often referenced during his performance, playing a few tracks (the single "Get it Right Now" was quite groovin'). A-Plus, supporting act and Del's friend for life, did two songs in the middle of Del's set, which - though fairly good songs - managed to make the energy in the atmosphere level off a bit. Del worked in cuts from his entire career, from Deltron3030's Virus to the Monkees-sampling 'Mistadobalina' to Gorillaz' 'Clint Eastwood,' the closer for the night and most well-recieved by the crowd.

And the crowd itself! Everyone from fratboys and their girlfriends to biker chicks to hippies with dreads down to the middle of their back were all dancing in harmony to the beats and rhymes of Del. The night was a marvelous moment of pop-culture based transcendence that doesn't happen often enough in this city.

Highlights: Bukue One's advice about how to get laid (recite a poem to the ladies about your sexual prowess), Mike Relm's set closer ('Imagine' by John Lennon), Del's 'If You Must.'

Favorite Albums: Velvet Underground & Nico

Velvet Underground- Velvet Underground & Nico


I was listening to "Heroin" and when everything starts to fall apart near the end, my roommate gives me this look that says "dude....what the hell is this sh*t?" So I responded: "You've got to realize, that's the first time somebody thought: hey, let me just put my guitar right up to the amp and start shreddin'." The Velvet Underground have had such a profound influence on music... Brian Eno (who's the sh*t in case you didn't know) put it best when he said that while few people actually bought the velvets albums when they were released, all of them formed their own bands. So much has been said about them, that instead of repeating it, I'd rather you figured it our for yourself.

I'm Waiting for the Man
European Son

Favorite Albums: Psychocandy

The Jesus & Mary Chain- Psychocandy

What's that fuzzy stuff in the background? The future of alternative music. It's pop, but it's anti-pop, with no regard for production whatsoever. It's noisy as all hell, but the melodies are as pure and simple as the beach boys. And of course there's the vibrant reverb of drums, vocals, guitars, and any other piece of sonic chaos that gets thrown in, and then washed away by sweeping waves of feedback. JAMC, like Velvet Underground before them, and My Bloody Valentine after them, re-defined how noise could be used in music. And I think it's f*cking great.

Just Like Honey
Never Understand

Favorite Albums: Bee Thousand

Guided By Voices- Bee Thousand

Robert Pollard is a f*cking mastermind when it comes to songwriting. He can write a song about absolutely anything with a hook that will make your heart melt, and he'll be done in 5 minutes. My dad used to tell me “while you're takin' a sh*t, Bob Pollard can write 5 songs.” Bee Thousand is a wonderful album, full of short, sweet, lo-fi pop songs about hilariously obscure things. Take “Kicker of Elves,” where he croons “da da da da da da da, kicker of elves, da da da da da da da, kicker of elves.”
I'll warn you though, once you start listening to Guided By Voices, it's a very slippery slope. They've got loads of material, and you'll want to listen to it all.

Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory

Favorite Albums: Below The Heavens

Blu & Exile- Below The Heavens

This really is one of my favorite albums of all time, even though it's helped along by being part of my less than average short term memory. Blu is the best young rapper out there. The end. No competition. No one can combine the lyrical talent and uplifting message that Blu puts out there. When he wants to, like on this album, Blu can jump on a great soul sample, and inspire the f*ck out of anybody listening. And about the samples, Exile picks amazing ones, and usually there's some interplay between Blu's verses and the samples, which always makes for a good time. But really check this out. Blu has amazing talent, and he's still very young and has his career ahead of him.

No Greater Love
Show Me The Good Life

Cage The Elephant: UK Imposters

Both the name and the deliciously obnoxious artwork of Cage The Elephant's self-titled album suggests a journey to the center of experimental art rock. Unfortunately, your journey ends with the first riff of the first tune. Each song echoes the one before, and the album itself reeks of "heard-it-before."

Though Cage The Elephant is laced with a little American swagger, sometimes in the lead singer's delivery and sometimes in the crowing guitar licks, it holds more resemblance to foreign bands than to the American garage rock, indie fuzz, and post-punk that dwells here today. Specifically, this band would be most at home in the UK with its high-tempo, alternative rock fraternal twins, like very shouty The Cribs or the slightly more lyrical Dirty Pretty Things. They may even be more at home in a semi-hard rocker's Australia. Cage The Elephant plays like they were given the most predictable licks of Wolfmother, dipped in the collected brashness and sonic thickness of UK's indie rock scene, and then grabbed the lead singer from Jet and told him to sing...worse. Each song defaults to the same format: speedy tempo, bright, contrasting rythymic patterns spliced together a la Marnie Stern or a less musical Arctic Monkeys, some loud, UK rock wannabe singing, some clapping - essentially, providing consistent walls of similar noises over and over.

It is a sad day when liner notes can include a man with four heads reminscent of Mt. Rushmore vomiting blue paint and intestine-esque squiggles, but the first track of the album, "In One Ear," is barely worth a complete listen. Yes, the songs on this album are all basically the same, and all serve as decent imposter UK rock ditties, but "In One Ear" stands out as quite annoying with its self-righteous, unoriginal lyrics proclaiming the band's love for music itself. Another track worthy of a negative spotlight is "Tiny Little Robots," which dooms itself with its incessant clapping. Most pathetic is the sad, uninspired bassline that begins "Drones In The Valley." Just what the world needs - another bass player who's obviously not getting laid.

If anything redeems this album, it's the little moments. The catchy chorus of "Judas" is perhaps noteworthy (though not so clever that you'll want to hear the entire song). "Back Against The Wall" features the singer giving a less obnoxious performance than usual, if only for the brief introduction. "Lotus" is somewhat amusing as it stops abruptly before slipping into an atmospheric haze, only to shift uptempo again. The solo in "Lotus" is surprisingly acceptable as well, worthy of a mid-level Guitar Hero setlist.

Overall, the album is built of acceptable pieces that, when placed together, barrage and badger the listener. By the time Cage The Elephant finishes their album with the ultra repetitive, weakly built-up "Free Love," it's a little like a migraine sufferer getting shot in the head - it could have been a pretty day, but it was too long and he's just glad it's over.

Yes, I have said some very cruel things toward Cage The Elephant. However, if you are a huge fan of indie/alt rock from the UK or Australia, England especially, and you are in need of a new cd to live in your car and replace the radio, this would qualify as a wise purchase. Besides, the artwork is pretty spectacular, with its intestines, skull, eyeballs, and paint splatters galore.

Favorite Albums: Suicide

Suicide-Suicide

Holy Sh*t. Have you ever wondered what hell is like? Just listen to Alan Vega on Frankie Teardrop. Suicide is really less music than it is performance art. And what was the goal of their performances? To piss people the f*ck off. Martin Rev would lay down a droning keyboard track, and a cheap pounding drum machine would accompany it. Then Alan Vega would proceed to either scream bloody murder, sing in his elvis-like voice, or make crazy sex noises. All this when the audience was expecting guitar-driven punk. (This sh*t went down in the late 70's.) At their most infamous show, which only lasted 23 minutes before the crowd took the mic from Vega, they got booed and drowned out by soccer chants. The cool thing is, Suicide could still make sweet synth-pop songs if they wanted to do that instead of take the listener on a terrifying journey to hell. They were way ahead of their time, and Vega has a presence like no other. He just hovers over songs, and captures the listener's attention. Check this out.

Favorite Albums: Crooked Rain

Pavement- Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

It's really difficult for me to decide whether I like Slanted and Enchanted, or Crooked Rain more, because I love the rebellious feedback of Slanted and Enchanted, but at the same time, the fact that the subversive lyrics of Crooked Rain are hidden under incredibly catchy pop tunes also gets me off. Some people didn't like the more straightforward direction Pavement went with Crooked Rain, like Pavement for example. (See Wowee Zowee) But come on, the end of the first song is about wackin' it....that ain't very mainstream. What makes Crooked Rain possibly my favorite album of all time though, is the closer, Filmore Jive. Malkmus laments the fact that he doesn't fit anywhere in the musical/social landscape of the US, and then the song and album ends unexpectedly.

(Get it? The review ended unexpectedly)

I hate myself for making that joke.

Favorite Albums: Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement- Slanted & Enchanted

Pavement might be my favorite band of all time. I really dig music with pop melodies, but a “f*ck everything” attitude, and crafting pop hooks and not giving a f*ck were two of Stephen Malkmus' specialties. Pavement lyrics are like the bible for slackers, or anyone with contempt for mainstream society. I'm going to stop writing a whole lot about albums, I'm just gonna recommend them, and hope people listen to them.

Summer Babe

In the mouth a desert