Phat Tommy: where did all the haters go? I guess this posting is a w"rap". He he. :) |
Andrew
Love Dr. Dog. In 2008, I can't tell you the amount of times I heard that album as a sonic backdrop to coffee shops and hip clothing botiques. Underground but great. |
I love Hip Hop. I find most other Audiogon persons posting on this subject are very negatively slanted toward this genre (and it appears rarely have been exposed to the music if at all), given the sophmoric answers I see all the time.
Hip Hop was the best selling genre in the last 20 years. Rock and Jazz are a mere fraction of its sales. Beyond its commercial success, it has also developed a sophisticated market that constantly pushes it to mutate. I think the most intelligent music magazine OF ANY GENRE is Wax Poetics, which over 38 editions has showcased Afro-centric rap music and hip hop (as well as R & B, Soul, Reggae and Jazz). It is the best written magazine we have.
As with any genre, there will always be "artists" that are so derivative and mainstream that they become an afterthought down the road. Rap and Hip Hop have had a high percentage of "one hit wonders." However, it has also produced artists of great depth. I believe that these selected artists and titles will give you a rich and tempered view of sonically arresting music that will stay fresh to your ears:
From England, I can highly recommend The Streets (A grand don't come for free) and Roots Manuva (Awfully Deep).
From New York, the Beatie Boys (Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head), Eric B. and Rakim (Paid in Full), KRS-One (A Retrospective), Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Blow), LL Cool J (Radio),Lauren Hill (The Miseducation), the Notorious B.I.G.(Life After Death), Run DMC (Run DMC) defined the essential East Coast Hip Hop Sound. Public Enemy had the best album of 1989 with "It Takes a Million" which married potical and social commentary. Other artists I can recommend are the Wu Tang Clan and Jay-Z from the outer neighborhoods of NYC.
The Roots are one of the best live instrument bands from Philly.
From the South, I can highly recommend the production of Timbaland, especially with Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliot (So addictive; Under Construction). I can also recommend Spank Rock and OutKast from Atlanta.
Chicago has produced Kanye West (808 and the Heartbreak) and Common. Detroit produced Eminem, who was the best selling artist last decade.
Los Angeles has spawned the Black Eye Peas, A Tribe Called Quest (The Love Movement), Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube.
Try these and tell me what you think. Be open to new sounds and you will be rewarded. |
If you believe that rock is king, look at hair metal. Foreigner. Stix. Maroon 5. Creed. Rock has produced a huge amount of suckage. I can think of 10,000 crappy bands that never held up. I find all your "rock is where it at--rap is crap" and "skull rattling" to be childish and ignorant. Sales success. Check. Fan acceptance. Check. Live Touring and Merchandise Sales. Check. Sometimes I feel this site is populated by gnomes who have not updated their record collections since 1976. The good old days are OLD. Stay fresh and be rewarded. Or as Bob Dylan said, "he who is not being born is busy dying." |
DMob Who wants a little snack, when baby's got back. |
Macdad
My present clients are U2, AC/DC and the Black Eye Peas, plus three unsigned acts. I own three clubs. I have two touring properties being planned for the summer and have a television series involving 30 Blue Chip Artists in production for the Japanese, US and European market. I find your response to me as unworthy. None of this is being shoved down anyone's throats. It Shadorne's point, personal taste is your personal business. But for people of my ilk, you look stupid. |
PS: Dark Moebius is right. Led Zep denied millions in royalties to the blues artists mentioned. Peter Grant, their manager, was well known in the biz, for being ruthless. It was only when the press and the lawsuits came forward, did they bend. |
Macdad
Free lapdances on me. :) Loser |
Thomastrouble
Amen to that. I have worked with over 1,000 bands per year in a live concert setting and LOVE all music. It would be a sad day when people dictate personal taste. My 25 and 28 year old children and I are constantly exchanging fresh music. My daughter loves house and techno and married to renowned Bay Area artist Dave Kim, who has fused classic violin over DJ music. I love young bands. On heavy rotation at the moment is The XX, Mos Def, the Throwdowns, Sticky, and the Union Line. |
Thomastrouble
Based in LA. Love the Bay Area Club scene, including Slide, Ruby Skye, Folsom, Apartment, etc.... |
Shadorne
My feelings exactly. |
Thomas
My wife just read this string and wanted to know about the three strip clubs I own in the San Fernando Valley. I now have an embedded ATC speaker in my crotch. I am okay. Everytime I cough when it hurts, it plays Public Enemy. |
Thomas
CLASSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May be the funniest post in this string. Unless you count the ones from the morons who actually think that hip hop can be wished away because they don't like it. |
I am now playing rap music in my car at 100 dbs, just to intimidate other rock-loving Audiogoners. It appears to be working. I already see eight posts complaining of my ways. |
Voodoo, now that record is the bomb. Sad that D'Angelo has retired from the scene, but that one holds up. As for Calexico, one of the best groups ever. Have liked everything they have done, including the Black Light and Feast of Wire. |
Tpreaves
If I am not mistaken, Gregg Allman is known in music circles as 1) a cokehead 2) a wife beater 3) a person who had a abusive relationship with an underage porn star that later committed suicide. Next. |
Pops: awesome song, wrong genre, creative answer. |
Tpreaves
We hip hop and electronica fans be simpletons. I just bypass the whole thing by simply adjusting the volume on my car stereo to 10. At home, I simply plug and unplug my headphones into my iPod. Everything else seems a waste of time between the enjoyment of music and gear. :0 |
Thanks Nick, you have now joined the united front of Thomas, Shadorne, Dark Mob and myself. Remember, always outnumbered but never outgunned. Thomas is suggesting we meet for beers. I am down with it. |
DJ TT
Those Brazialian girls are fly, and baby likes back! |
TT
Dwizzzle deezle, those rims sizzle |
There is a lot of really good music recorded on analogue recording equipment. Out of England, I can recommend James Hunter (sings like Sam Cooke) and Richard Hawley ("Coles Corner"). In the US, I can highly recommend Birdmonster (who records in the studio where REM made their first two records), Eli "Paperboy" Reed and Raphael Saadiq. For rap, I highly recommend the Roots, De La Soul, Arrested Development and the Beastie Boys (especially the "In sound from way out"). |
Wow, another two line response. Don Jr., please reread the string. This is not even your best shot? |
D Mob
I used to see Ted play down at the Venice boardwalk busking. Incredible talent. Thanks for rekindling a distant memory. |
Andrew
I like quite a few things at the moment:
Cold War Kids, Santa Ana Winds--one of the better bands from So Cal slip in a nice EP for the new year
Vampire Weekend: Contra--nice sophmore effort. Especially like the song and video for "Cousins."
The Throwdowns: Don't Slow Down. Maui's hottest band effortlessly mixes ska, punk, pop
The Union Line: winners of best live act in So Cal.
The XX: moody girl/boy songs from London trio.
Mos Def: Estatic: nice return to form for this Brooklyn based rapper
Excellent DVD: The Killers at Royal Albert Hall. Chock full of good songs, it makes the case that this band, along with Kings of Leon, are America's best live acts. |
Chashmal
Rap has no greatness in it. Just listen to it!
My two line response. Have you lived in a cave for the last three decades without access to popular culture?
Have you actually EVER contributed anything positive in a posting during your life on Audiogon? |
Steve Earle. Willie Nelson. Dave Alvin. Love those American artists. |
TT: welcome back. Zack is great. Worked with him in 2008. Really humble guy who is all about his fans. Holds a daily BBQ and grills up like 150 steaks.
PS: big B-Day bash this weekend in SF for DJ Donovan. 12 stars. Should be fun. |
Big Pappa likes bling. The herb makes me slightly stoopid. And to quote Sir Mix a Lot: LA faces with Oakland booty.I think that be those Brazilian ladies. |
Shandorne
Most of the early bands played at a club in NYC called Disco Fever. That dates it nicely. |
TT: classic. Sir Mix-art-ne-lo |
DMob: Been in Houston messing with Tejas. Just got back home in LA. Was your posting cosmic or what? |
Double Ts: next time I am up in the Bay! |
TT: my daughter has been into him for the last year. Diplo = talented guy. When you get your crate full of tunes, let me know. I can book you into So Cal clubs. BongoBaileFury. |
Orpheus: we just want to know if you are a "lover" or a "hater." :) |
You can find magic in almost any music genre. This year, I have been listening to two African acts from the country of Mali which are heavily rooted in rootsy blues guitar. The albums are by a blind couple, Amadou & Mariam, and a wonderful group called Tinariwen. You can see the direct relationship from Africa to the US Bluses tradition. I don't speak their native tongue but the music has real power and emotion. In the end, this should be the attraction of music.
America has produced five American music forms that are unique to these shores, Hawaiian, jazz, blue grass/country, gospel/Soul and hip-hop. All were "outsider" music and all have their succinct charms.
I love many of the newer alt country artists. These Americana groups include Calexico, Dave Alvin, the Felice Brothers,Hill Country Revue, Jenny Lewis, Lambchop, Lucinda Williams, Maria Taylor, Neko Case, Okkervil River, Shelby Lynne, Steve Earle and Wilco. Really nice recordings from an audiophile perspective. |
Macdad
You need to get your facts straight. As someone who has been in the music space for 30 years, you look foolish.
First, in terms of songwriting, Elvis did covers. Sorry. Very little was directly written or attributed by him. Many bands have ghost writers on their payroll in secret or the labels seek out hits for individual artists.
Second, as for instruments, very few Hip Hop artists sample anymore. Paul's Boutique, by the Beatie Boys, had $300,000 in "sampling" replay rights in 1989. After that album came out, few record companies were willing to front the bill on this. Most samples used are by the initation of the rock bands themselves, who are looking to cross-over into the younger demos. Sting was intimately involved in the P.Diddy song, as well as Steely Dan with Kanye West. You, as their core demo, are no longer buying records. Hip Hop still shifts tapes and CDs in volume.
Third, many Hip Hop albums use live in studio instruments to recreate piano, guitar, bass and drum parts. The bass heavy sound is usually added at post production and mixing. I have many studio musicians who play on these recordings. They are generously paid but do not receive playing credits due to royalty structures. I can also point you to The Roots, who have a weekly legendary club gig going in NYC, who probably have the best live drummer in the music space at the moment. |
TT: nachos and Two Buck Chuck and the exciting sounds of Seals and Croft, Bread, Al Stewart and the Osmonds. What really could be better? Finish it up with "Aretha Franklin and some fine Columbian" like Steely Dan.
Mjmch: thx. I like underground stuff, like the many side projects of Dan the Automator. |
