Congrats!

If you don't recognize this picture, it's the album cover to MGMT's upcoming release, Congratulations. It's like a psychedelic surf version of Tom and Jerry, with Tom having a bad acid trip. Anyway, I pre-ordered the album impulsively. I felt a little off after buying it, actually, because although I like Oracular Spectacular a good deal, I'm not a huge fan. However, after reading their description of the work they put into it, it seems like it should be one of the best albums this year, and there have been/will be plenty of great releases.

My New Guitar or: Look at Me, I Can Play a G Chord

See? I told you.

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of blues and watched a documentary called It Might Get Loud, which is an interesting take on rock music through the eyes (or ears) of three amazing guitarists: The Edge from U2, Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, and Jack White from The White Stripes. The concept alone drew me in since they each represent different generations of rock music. Indeed it was interesting. It was really something to see and hear how these guys grew as musicians, and then watch them improvise The Band's "The Weight" over the ending credits. Jack White especially made an impression on me. He emphasized that learning and playing the guitar should be a struggle, as evidenced, among other things, by his desire to play old and/or crappy instruments. Plus, he introduced me to blues musician Son House.

Jack White's favorite song. It's astoundingly simple and ironically features no guitar.

All of that led me to my renewed interest in playing the guitar. I say "renewed" because my background as a "guitarist" began when I was 8 (?) years old. My parents took me to Alamo Music, and I ended up with a 3/4 size classical guitar. Briefly, I took lessons. I honestly don't know what led to this. Aside from the car radio, I didn't listen to music. I don't think my parents pushed me to play since music really isn't much a part of their lives as it is now in mine. Example: they probably have about 15-20 CDs between them, most of which were gifts from me; I own over 200, and my computer tells me that I have over 11,000 songs. Anyway, that stint didn't last long.

Fast forward to when I was 14. By this time, I was mostly listening to classic rock, which, in case you don't know, heavily employs the electric guitar. I thought it would be fun to learn, so my parents bought a Fender Starcaster & amp for me from Costco. I didn't take any lessons this time around, but probably should have. I needed guidance. I needed someone to tell me what Jack White told me, but I wasn't really serious about it and thought it would be a breeze. The guitar eventually became just another toy collecting dust.

Back to the present. Music continues to have an increasing influence on my life, and I can't say what that means for the future. Nevertheless, I decided about a week ago that I wanted to return to the guitar, and this time it would be a full sized metal-stringed acoustic. I began searching on craigslist and ebay without much success at first. I had no responses from craigslist ads, and people would outbid me on ebay since I had decided not to pay more than $65. However, I eventually got an email response on craigslist from a guy named Joe whom I assumed had already sold his guitar. He said he didn't want to lower his price, but wasn't lucky with his responses, and my price was the best offer he had gotten. So, here I am with my Takamine S35 Jasmine. It had no nicks or scratches to speak of until I bumped it on a rock walking back into my apartment. WHY?? I don't even know why I was carrying it that low. The rock was large, but not like a boulder. Anyway, one small nick aside, it really is a nice guitar and was a steal for $65. I love the damn thing. I think she needs a name, but I think the dirty bitch needs to earn it.

Jimmy Page said I could caress my guitar like a woman. Um, how am I doing?

Tim Duncan: Keeping the Enemy Closer

Daedelus - "Righteous Fists of Harmony" Promo

This dreamy, stunningly beautiful music video is promoting the release of Daedelus' The Righteous Fists of Harmony album with his song "Fin de Siècle." It's amazing and reminds me of Fantasia. It's being released on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label, FlyLo being one of my favorite artists and having his much awaited album, Cosmogramma, out this year as well (May 4th can't come soon enough!), but I digress. I highly recommend watching this in HD and full screen. Enjoy!

Remembering James Dewitt Yancey (aka J Dilla, Jay Dee)

James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974-February 10, 2006)

It has been four years since rapper/producer/musician J Dilla released his album Donuts on his birthday, and nearly fours years since he passed away due to complications of the diseases TTP and lupus. But what does this matter? Well, if you're a fan of hip-hop, you're a fan of J Dilla, whether you know it or not. An innovative producer of the highest caliber described as "the producer's producer," he ranks amongst the greatest hip-hop has yet to offer, including Pete Rock, DJ Premier, The Bomb Squad, RZA, Dr. Dre, and Rick Rubin. He produced songs for rappers and r&b singers including: Janet Jackson, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Raphael Saadiq, The Pharcyde, Eryka Badu, and Common, to name a few, and often was left uncredited for his work for reasons unknown to me. He was also a member of the Detroit based rap group Slum Village, both rapping and producing with them, before parting ways to work on his own projects.

If you're someone like me; however, you don't needed to be reminded of Dilla's greatness. You most likely experience a bit of it every day or week as you listen to your music collection. People that normally don't listen to hip-hop have certainly heard bits of his tunes as well since some were used in bumps in Adult Swim. Here's a bump paying tribute to him with snippets from Donuts tracks:

Now, I'd like to explain how I was introduced to Dilla. I started off like most, not knowing of him, but certainly knowing his work. Most likely the first songs I've heard from him were for Busta Rhymes. I've always loved Busta and his emphatic rhymes. From there, I think that Dilla-wise, I listened to some Common tracks from his Electric Circus album.

This album was Common's most experimental release, in part due to Dilla's contributions. They were so unique that I began to wonder, ever so slightly, who created them. I looked at the credits of the CD's liner notes, and saw "Jay Dee" included for many of the tracks. In my ignorance, I thought this was the JD known as Jermaine Dupri, who's an incredibly less skilled rapper/producer (this is why Yancey changed his moniker to J Dilla). I managed to know of Dupri's lack of skill since the guy was pretty mainstream, so I was shocked to "learn" this, but eventually forgot about it. As time went by, I discovered him online and was blown away by how much he was involved in. To say the least, he's one of my favorite music artists out there. He has even had a few posthumous albums released, including last year's Jay Stay Paid, which was pretty amazing. Here are a couple of my favorite tracks off it with fan-made videos:

I'm not sure where to go from here, so I'll end this entry with my favorite song by Dilla, "Nothing Like This" (such a fitting title), from Ruff Draft that has another awesomely creative video:

He's just so "astronomicalnomicalnomical"

P.S. - Here's an article that describes Dilla's life and legacy much better than I have:
http://j-dilla.com/biography/

Axe Cop (Webcomic)

One of my friends posted this on his facebook, and now I'm hooked. This is a hilarious comic that, as described, is written by a 5 year old and illustrated by his 29 year old brother named Malachai and Ethan Nicholle, respectively. It's actually pretty well written, which makes me wonder if the kid had any help writing it. I'm not going to attempt to describe it, because that will take away from zaniness of it all. Enjoy the first entry below!

Axe Cop

The Whole World Is Punxsutawney's Bitch

You are now staring into the unflinching gaze of a global tyrant.

Who ever thought the fate of the world would fall into the claws of a dastardly little varmint named Phil on a yearly basis? Almost every year, he's professed an undying love for winter. The statistics don't lie; this fat little rodent has plagued us annually with wintry gloom. It must be stopped.