Social Media Air Assassination.

-  Quick Warren Ellis brain dump on the current state of social media, and where it might be heading in the immediate future.  The recent Instagram ordeal (probably a mostly imagined ordeal) and the applied changes to Facebook seem to be the first steps in a new paradigm for social networking.  One that Uncle Warren describes as the entire network “calcifying into Big Media”.  Which is kind of a problem and counter-intuitive.  It feels good to read that the interest in blogs continues to grow, even if the active number continues to decline.  Blogging is the constant, it has always been there and always will.  Even after the major news media outlets (print, online, and everything in between) declared it dead more than a couple years ago.  Less blogs, more blog interest, good for me.  Even if I suck at it.

-  I’m hearing really bad things about The Hobbit.  Often times I get more of an idea of whether I’ll like or not like a movie based on its BAD reviews.  Rotten, if we’re talking RT lingo.  The Rotten reviews of The Hobbit could be easily summed up as: “long, overstuffed, and tedious”.  Which really makes sense when you think about the fact that it’s a relatively short children’s/young adult novel stretched into a 3 motion picture trilogy, the first of which clocks in at nearly 3 hours.  And everyone that enjoyed it keeps saying “it isn’t fair to expect another Lord of the Rings”, while a bunch of critics who think it’s terrible keep saying “it seems Jackson is less interested in telling the story of The Hobbit and more interested in making another Lord of the Rings”.

-  Speaking of Smaug the Dragon, I’M ADDICTED TO SKYRIM.  Alduin’s way cooler anyways.  World eater.

-  When it comes to movies, Ethan Anderton of SlashFilm posted his 5 biggest disappointments of the year.  I can’t say I agree or disagree because I have not seen literally any of those movies.

-  And now this:

 

-Sonny

2012 Tunage.

[DISCLAIMER:  This is not a "Best Albums of 2012" list.  Rather a list of my favorite albums of the year.  And it was a lot longer but I've whittled it down substantially.  It was a good year for me.]

Baroness -  Yellow & Green

Baroness became one of my favorite Metal bands when they validated their debut with the beautiful “Blue Album”.  “Yellow & Green” takes the litany of influences to another level, stirring all sorts of ingredients together to make a pretty, if haunting, “metal” album.

Local H -  Hallelujah! I’m a Bum 

Lyrically, musically, and thematically, this is the record Scott Lucas has been itching to make for possibly the entirety of his career.  Hopeful, pessimistic, and very Chicagoan, “I’m A Bum” reaches down into its guts and heart to rip out an outburst of understated political criticism.

Brother Ali -  Mourning In America, Dreaming In Colour

Similar to Local H’s album in many, many ways, Ali returns to the full-length after the all too happy “Us” with a scathing critique of the American political process with one finger always on the button of hope.  Probably the most apt title of the year.

JJ DOOM – Keys To The Kuffs

MF Doom – or whatever he’s calling himself now – collabs with one Jnerio Jarel to present a sound that hearkens back to his Madvillain days with a slight tinge of Electronica to boot.  The bizarre and compelling backstory behind the making of this album, and the themes, is as interesting as the sound it inspired.

El-P – Cancer For Cure 

After yet another five year break between solo records, El-P’s newest album is definitely his most accessible: heavy, catchy, conceptual without being taking it too far.  His production and lyrics are both the stars, with the former tackling complex synth based beats and the latter walking further down the tracks of 21^st Century alienation and paranoia.

P.O.S. – We Don’t Even Live Here

This is the most non-political political album of the last five years.  Though you wouldn’t know it from the reviews, the message is simple: free yourself from a system that doesn’t work for you, doesn’t accept you, or both.  Production and appearances from German techno dudes to Justin Vernon to Ryan Olson keep things very, very interesting.

Aesop Rock – Skelethon 

It took Aesop Rock over a decade to finally trust his chops enough to make an album with all his own beats; the result is the most personalized and soulful record of his career.  His trademark high-concept lyricism is in full effect, but it feels like the imagery and metaphors are pulled straight from the last 5 years of his life.

Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes

Steven Ellison continues his acclaimed, multi-genre discography with a wonderful, mysterious 15 track album grounded in where it came from but still forging ahead without inhibitions of any kind.  The features are spot on with the likes of Thom Yorke and Erykah Badu lending vocals.

Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city

Mainstream Rap music takes a huge step forward this year with Kendrick’s proper debut LP, a concept album about growing up in Compton under the shadow of previous West Coast Hip-Hop and the underbelly that comes with it, both metaphorically and literally.  The final step in Rap music entering the 21^st Century, and growing up.

Swans – The Seer

There’s a reason why this punk/hardcore/??? band’s 2 hour-ish magnum opus has been making list after list of late… it is one bold, massive, go for the throat piece of work that rewards listeners for repeated listens and just simply getting to the end.  This is what happens when rules and limitations go out the window: the results are often stunning and powerful.

Death Grips – The Money Store/No Love Deep Web

A tie for the most anti-corporate band’s two albums of 2012 because, really, they work in conjunction.  Together, “The Money Store” and “No Love Deep Web” form an admirable and poignant story about the limits of control, capitalism, and the record business in the second decade of the 21^st Century.

Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music

I don’t know about everyone else, but for me there was a fear that El-P’s beats would overshadow the veteran Atlanta rapper’s rhymes on the Adult Swim sponsored “R.A.P. Music”.  That didn’t happen.  As it turns out Killer Mike keeps pace with the heavy, heavy production and maybe even surpasses it.  The best album of his career by far.

Grimes – Visions

Clair Boucher – better known as Grimes – is a one woman wrecking crew of ethereal, primal, yet futuristic witch house that will bite at your soul while making you want to dance.  “Visions” takes her looping and overlaying style to a whole new degree: at times there are 4 or 5 Clairs singing in conjunction to form 13 fresh and undistinguishable Electro tracks.

Dan Deacon – America

Nowhere else is it more clear that Dan Deacon studied electo-acoustic and computer music composition than on “America”, an album that encompasses everything Dan Deacon does to its absolute best form.  The hearty, thick analog sounds are here, as are the intricately laced runs of synth scales.  Awesome record.

Purity Ring – Shrines

Another Canadian outfit, this time from the East (Montreal), presents to the world a very, very good debut that sparkles and shimmers even amongst a whole lot of good 2012 Electro albums from seasoned veterans of the genre.  Really hope this 21 and 24 year old stay together and keep making music for years to come.

Black Moth Super Rainbow – Cobra Juicy 

I’ve introduced Black Moth Super Rainbow to as many people as I can.  And for good reason, there’s really nothing out there like them… even in a year so influenced by the sound they’ve pioneered.  “Cobra Juicy” sees the band getting a little less dreamy and trippy and a little more dancey.

The Bad Plus – Made Possible      

Why I still haven’t seen the Twin Cities best modern Jazz trio I do not know; but The Bad Plus are players to be reckoned with, each of these guys get a 10 on skill alone.  Which can often overshadow soul, but “Made Possible” serves up both.  And in spirit of democracy ([laughter]) each member gets a chance to write multiple tracks.

Gary Clark, Jr. – Blak and Blu 

This guy keeps getting anointed as some iteration of “best new artist”, which is a little deceptive: he’s been recording officially since 2004.  And there’s lots of bluesmen out there, few invigorate their brand of tunes with such energy and variety.  At least not lately.  But even calling this album “blues” paints it into a corner it doesn’t sit it for too long at a time.

Robert Glasper Experiement – Black Radio   

“Black Radio” is my biggest surprise of the year.  Previously to it I only had briefly heard Glasper’s name barely in passing.  The ringleader and his amazing band though make modern Jazz as cool as any other type of music the kids may or may not be listening to.  It doesn’t hurt that the album features one of the best (and strangest) Nirvana covers I’ve ever heard.

Polica – Give You The Ghost    

Hype can be a bit of a problem sometimes.  This Minneapolis band began garnering hype for their debut long before its release.  Deserved or not… it’s hard to deny the uniqueness of Polica’s sound.  Ryan Olson’s synths and Chaney’s processed vocals over one hell of a rhythm section is, if anything, just damn entertaining to listen to.

How To Destroy Angels -  An omen_EP

As hard as it is for me to include this album due to it feeling like a short and sweet prelude to some other great piece of work further down the line, it’s still the best thing Reznor and co. have done yet.  And I know this might be hard to read, it’s certainly hard to write… I think I like How To Destroy Angels’ sound better than NIN.  Gods forgive me.

A Place To Bury Strangers – Worship

A Place Bury Strangers suffers from that all too often affliction of lavish praise upon debut, only to have those heaping on the praise forget about you and move onto the next hot new band.  It’s a shame because “Worship” takes everything them made them so dangerous before and adds all kinds of new dynamics and layers.

Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself  

I’ve only gotten into Andrew Bird lately and boy is it overwhelming trying to catch up.  His discography, like his arrangements, is fairly daunting.  But with Andrew Bird – and the band he’s assembled for “Break It Yourself”, including a couple of my favorite MN instrumentalists – the amount of work you put in is far surpassed by what you get out of it.

Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…    

Fiona Apple remains to this day a curious case of semi-successful independent musicianship.  Not many late 90’s chart toppers are willing to name their newest album using 23 words, or craft the types of songs that appear on “Idler Wheel”.  These are bizarre and quirky tracks, but would you expect or want anything less from her?

Guided By Voices – Let’s Go Eat The Factory

So Guided By Voices released a boatload of music this year: 3 LPs, all featuring 20-ish tracks.  It was a little difficult picking which one.  The other two are good, and GBV is one of those bands whose quality remains very, very consistent.  But “Let’s Go Eat the Factory” saw their return from an almost 10 year hiatus.  And Robert Pollard and co. came back with the hunger of a band in their 20’s.

Matthew Dear – Beams          

Matthew Dear has been making Electronic music for over 10 years, and a lot of it is really good.  But it feels like on “Beams” he finally found his creative sweet spot.  The music is comfortable in its own skin: confident but perhaps a bit shy at the same time.  And this album perhaps has some of the best lyrics of the year.

Blut Aus Nord – 777: Cosmosophy      

This French black metal band (with a German name) ends its “777” trilogy in stunning fashion with an almost ambient take on the genre.  While so many other metal bands, particularly this brand of metal, limit themselves within the confines of what “metal” is, Blut Aus Nord branches out beyond the borders and the results are awe-inspiring, majestic, and very beautiful.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill

It’s hard not to applaud the aspirations – or maybe balls – of a record that opens with a half-hour track of 70’s jam band psychedelica about those very days some 40 years ago.  Normally I’m weary of nostalgia in almost all its forms, but “Psychedelic Pill” brings it in droves and you will find yourself thinking, “Damn I wish it was 1972 right now”.

-SonnyW.

Gravity Loop.

-  Rian Johnson posted his original script for his film “Looper” on the official website of the science fiction flick.  He stresses that it’s only the “shooting script”, therefor it is different in some ways from the final product.  I found it interesting that he noted writing the first half years ago, and starting the script back up again years later.  It’s obvious where this happens when you watch the movie.  And at first it’s a little jarring but in the end the 3rd act is what gives the movie all of its heart.

-  I’m compiling a list of my favorite albums of the year and holy shit I have a ton of them.  Probably more than I’ve ever had before.  Last night I was writing up little 3 or 4 sentence justifications for my picking them.  I still have quite a few do to.  So hopefully that’ll be posted soonish.  While I was digging I ran across a review for P.O.S.’ latest album “We Don’t Even Live Here” and was kinda blown away by it.  Apparently though, I am not the first to find frustration with a review from this guy at Pitchfork, a one Ian Cohan.  This led me to the site RipFork, in which select music critic reviews (mostly from Pitchfork) are torn apart in pretty hilarious fashion.

Actually I’d like to, when I have time, dig into that POS review line by line, because a lot of it just doesn’t make much sense.

-  London designers have created an LED lamp that runs off of gravity.

The lamp is as simple as it is inexpensive. A cable hangs from a gear mechanism holding onto a plastic bag filled with dirt or rocks. The energy created by gravity pulling the bag downwards is enough to power an LED bulb for up to half an hour. Riddiford and Reeves have posted their creation on the fund sourcing site indiegogo and thus far pledges have doubled the $55,000 goal.

The two note on their page that over a billion and a half people in the world today have no access to a reliable electricity source. When it gets dark, their only light source comes through burning wood, peat, or other biomass materials – the most popular by far, is kerosene. They also note that the World Bank has recently estimated that up to three quarters of a billion women and children regularly inhale smoke from kerosene lanterns, which is they say, equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day – a situation that leads quite naturally to very high lung cancer rates.

-  Cover for Jonathan Hickman’s next “Avengers” issue:

-Sonny

Abundance of Monks.

-  I feel really bad for bands/musicians that put out records in December: chances are they’ll be left off any year end “Best Of” lists simply for when their record was released.  And, as we know, this is not always their choice.  It really is getting absurd how quickly everyone releases their year end lists.  It’s like December 1st hits, and all of a sudden it’s legit.  Have at it.  When really, if you think about a “Best of the Year” list, they shouldn’t even really be coming out until January of the following year.

-  I missed this one.  In March IO9 posted about a magazine called Laphem’s Quarterly, wherein an article delves into the complaints and funny things Medieval monks would write in the margins of their work.  Some of my favorites:

• St. Patrick of Armagh, deliver me from writing.
• Now I’ve written the whole thing: for Christ’s sake give me a drink.
• Thank God, it will soon be dark.
• New parchment; bad ink.  I say nothing more.

-  Periodic Table based on relative abundance:

-  Due Process, Imminent Threat.

“One of the great challenges we face as a nation is how we preserve the realm of privacy from government intrusion in the modern age, when so much of what we do in private is recorded by virtue of the phones we carry, the emails we send, the credit card transactions we engage in, the computers we use. How do you preserve this value that is absolutely critical to a liberal democracy when technology has made it easier and cheaper for the government to monitor our every move?“

-Sonny

Black Widow Quiet Comes.

-  Gimme Noise has just posted a list of 50 “fun things to do” in Minnesota, my home state.  I’m sure your state is neat and unique, but mine is pretty cool.

-  New Com Truise is streaming at Stereogum.  Beautiful, ambient, dancey stuff.  The album came out yesterday, it is called “In Decay”.

-  Exhibit A of why Image Comics can compete with the “big 2″ year-in/year-out: people who don’t normally read comics don’t give a shit about the big new “event” crossover comic, but they are interested in things like Saga and Fatale.  Things that are familiar in a way, and relatable, yet wholly foreign and bizarre at the same time.

“Part of what we do is make good comics, and we want to be the best version of Image Comics. But part of what we do is create a sustainable market. It has to be a part of what we do. Things like Saga and Walking Dead and Fatale, these are things that people want to return to. People can recommend these things to their friends, even people that don’t read comics. As opposed to tailchasing events, these yearly spike makers, but who’s going to be talking about AvX ten years from now.”

-  Jon Morris re-imagining classic pulp novel covers with Marvel characters (speaking of Marvel).

-  New Flying Lotus has been announced.  The album is called “Until The Quiet Comes” and will be out via Warp Records October 2nd.  Damn, this is a good year for me in terms of music releases.  This is the cover:

Track listing:
1. All In
2. Getting There feat. Niki Randa
3. Until the Colours Come
4. Heave(n)
5. Tiny Tortures
6. All the Secrets
7. Sultan’s Request
8. Putty Boy Strut
9. See Thru to U feat. Erykah Badu
10. Until the Quiet Comes
11. DMT Song feat. Thundercat
12. The Nightcaller
13. Only if You Wanna
14. Electric Candyman feat. Thom Yorke
15. Hunger feat. Niki Randa
16. Phantasm feat. Laura Darlington
17. me Yesterday//Corded
18. Dream to Me

-Sonny

Skelethon.

2012 is turning out to be quote the year for me in terms of music.  Not only are some of my more anticipated albums of the last few years getting released, they’re all living up to and/or outdoing expectations I’ve put on their shoulders.  I got really into Aesop Rock during high school, and I’m turning into an old bastard now, so that feels like ages ago.  But in terms of all his albums over the years, it feels like this one in particular is all-out Aesop: in all its fractured-thought glory.

That could be because Aesop made ALL the music on this album, which certainly helps.  And if a rapper is capable of it, that is something I strongly recommend.  Some of my favorite rappers make their own beats.  It brings a sense of unity you don’t really get unless you have an incredibly strong working and personal relationship with your producer/DJ (Eyedea & Abilities, for example).  Aesop’s beats are easily the best I’ve heard from him on this disc.  He starts by sampling a friend’s indie-rock band, rolls through a beautiful piano sequence on “Cycles to Gehenna” (under heavy snares), and brings the heavy synths on “Zero Dark Thirty”.  By the time the bells intertwine with the Electro-based beat on “Fryerstarter” you feel the musical cohesiveness.  Which is only the 5^th track.

It makes me feel like the guy should just make instrumental break beat records.  He’s good.

And how about those fractured, mind-fucking rhymes he’s known for anyhow?  Well, they are refined in a way that, if you try hard enough, makes sense on “Skelethon”.  A little background information and context helps: in several interviews Aesop has talk about how this album was made during a rough couple of years.  He got divorced, he’s dealt with the deaths of several people very close to him, and has gone through an existential questioning of his art.  When he says, “P.S. I wrote this on a self-destructing memo” I believe him.  And, in one of the few features, Kimya Dawson sings, “And they called to let you know your friend’s dead in a box”.  But the totality of “Skelethon”s lyrical content is not depressing.  If anything, it’s affirming.  At least it was for Aesop making it.  I think that’s the idea.  For those willing to hang onto the words, and make their own thoughts from the head-splitting runs of words, this album is as rewarding lyrically as any other Aesop Rock, perhaps even more so.

One of my other more anticipated releases of the year was “Cancer For Cure”, which I love.  But where CFC feels like a welcome addition to the unreal, albeit short, discography of El-P already in place, “Skelethon” feels like a redefinition of Aesop Rock.  Like he’s turning a new leaf artistically, finally feeling all-out comfort with who he is as an artist.  And I think a big part of that is the fact that he’s doing all the music.  Either way, it’s wonderful to hear.  I think this is the best record he’s ever made.

-Sonny

Ethics of The Master.

-  New teaser trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson‘s next movie, “The Master”.  It’s a bizarre looking film that looks to be chronicling the rise of L. Ron Hubbard and his church of Scientology in America.  A fictional version of that, of course.  But all I’ve got to say about this footage is HOLY SHIT JOAQUIN PHOENIX.  Why did you ever stop acting and do that weird modern-art I’m-a-rapper thingy??  You’re too good.

-  What Makes Countries Rich Or Poor?

Among the good economic institutions that motivate people to become productive are the protection of their private property rights, predictable enforcement of their contracts, opportunities to invest and retain control of their money, control of inflation, and open exchange of currency. For instance, people are motivated to work hard if they have opportunities to invest their earnings profitably, but not if they have few such opportunities or if their earnings or profits are likely to be confiscated.

-  THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:  If we look back at history, we see that previous versions of ourselves were ignorant on a whole plethora of topics.  Nobody would dispute that we were wrong about all sorts of shit in the Middle Ages.  So, why then does every single generation, decade, people think it knows everything?  Every single one thinks it’s got it all figured out, from Science to Economics.  Is it not extremely fucking naive to think we know anything?

-  Pynchon, Philosophy, Ethics

More important than any of these preceding aspects, though, is the fact that Pynchon is a politically engaged, ethical writer. Gravity’s Rainbow is not just a dense, postmodern sprawl, but instead makes one of its central observations on the fact that the evil of mankind, parallel to nature, “does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation”, a spatio-temporal transposition to a new setting, persisting Beyond the Zero of any Pavlovian deconditioning, and always collecting around centres of power, embodied by the novel’s final, America-bound, transatlantic V-2/ICBM. Through this impossible moment, Pynchon highlights that behind twentieth-century America’s technological and economic supremacy lies the dark negotiations of Operation Paperclip and a re-embodiment of the right-wing politics supposedly vanquished in the Second World War.

-Sonny

I’ll Never Rant Like This Again On Here.

-  I’m rolling through Guided By Voices’ nearly 10 year return for the second time now.  It is definitely low-fi.  Sounds like a 4 track alright; a non-digital 4 track.  It ebbs and flows nicely, from these mind-bending, trippy valleys to giant peaks of noise rock.  There are horns from time to time, which is nice.  The album is over 20 tracks and I have a feeling this was only the tip of the iceberg from the recording sessions, considering the band is already readying the release of Class Clown Spots A UFO.

-  One album I forgot to mention when listing hip-hop releases of 2012 is Cecil Otter’s Porcelain Revolver.  Which I believe will be disturbed by Strange Famous Records (Sage Francis‘ company) in addition to DTR.  His music has grown more sophisticated yet simple (re: No Kings) since his last solo release, so I’m interested to hear where he goes next.

Oh and POS, who’s gonna wreck shit with his next CD… this grimy, Industrial, percussive sound that’ll make you wanna dance and mosh at the same time.

-  I’m not one to rant — uncontrollably — but there’s something I need to get off my chest.

No… no I’m not interested in your Rap group.  Sorry.  I know you want to be supported and I do too and so does everyone who makes anything for nothing but I’m just not interested.  And I never will be, for a multitude of reasons.  First thing’s first: actual music.  You and your “DJ”, though the term here should be used loosely, need to spend time in the basement — just like I do, and everyone else does who takes their craft seriously does — practicing.  Don’t even master your individual crafts… first just get the gist of it for fuck’s sake.  Being an MC doesn’t mean shouting out obscenities and hardly rhyming this with that for the sake of praxis.  Get some flow, just a little tiny bit is all.  Once you do, think about what you’re writing before going to your friend’s house to drink 40′s (even though I know you can afford some IPA) and smoke terribly rolled “blunts” before hopping in the “booth” and laying it down.  Put some thought into it.  But then again… I’m not a rapper and I never have been so maybe I should shutup and move onto your tunes.  Where… to…. begin.  What a mess.  No, it isn’t even a mess.  A mess is when someone puts one too many ideas into a beat or lays down sloppy turntablism (which, I admit, I’ve done) or cannot find the identity of the sound.  These things are the least of your problems.  I’m standing up now, in defense of all the producers out there who put a ton of time and effort into making quality, unique beats who get a bad name because of you.  There’s people out there who take this shit very seriously… it’s an artform to them the way an artform to you is doing a beer-bong.  For the sake of them, and their reputations, please… please try to find your own voice.  Do something that comes from inside you, not plastic-made stock loops stacked one on top of the other until you get the musical equivalent of Barbie’s Dream House.  Cause maybe you don’t think people care, but inside, subconsciously, they do.  And they notice.  They can hear it a mile away, and if you want people to like you, you’re going to need to put more effort in.  You’re going to need a quarter of a teaspoon of originality otherwise the show’s over.  But beyond the music… the painfully assembly line beats and awful lyricism, it’s really the image you’re shooting for that disgusts me to no end.  Homicide?  You wanna talk about homicide??  I know where you grew up you fucking poser.  I’ve known who you were since before either of us laid down with a girl.  I’ve seen death, and I know other people who have, and they don’t behave the way you do.  So either you’re putting on a front or you just aren’t as mature at dealing with it as other people are.  Either way you need to grow up.  This perpetuation of what you think a “rapper” is, this image churned out by the machine… the man, is a stereotype of the worst kind.  See… hip-hop, or in your case rap music, started as a black artform.  And you ain’t black.  So when you present yourself in a way that is a caricature of what you think a “rapper” should be, you’re essentially perpetuating stereotypes, division, and passive racism.  And the very worst part about it is you don’t get any of this.  You think you’re just being a rapper.  A terrible… terrible rapper.  No man, I’m not interested.  Sorry.

[/RANT]

-Sonny

Rap Won’t Save You.

Ah the joys of social networking.  Late last night El-P wrote:

i have finished recording cancer for cure. now its getting mixed.

To many, this probably isn’t that big of a deal.  But for me — and if the reaction is any indication, lots of other people too — this is a huge deal, and probably one of my most anticipated albums of the past 5 years.  I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead opened my eyes, to a lot of things.  In my opinion, that album epitomizes the post-9/11 life in America theme we’ve seen in so many different forms of media and art since the early 2000s.  It is a perfect album.  The production itself is mind-blowing, with melodies weaving in and out and popping up here and there throughout the entire disc.  Plus it features samples ranging from Kill Bill to Anchorman and Twin Peaks; and performances from Trent Reznor to Mars Volta, with the omnipresent cuts of Mr. Dibbs.  If you haven’t heard it I suggest getting it ASAP and listening to it straight through when you have the time (it’s about an hour long).

[Speaking of Mr. Dibbs, he's going through some medical complications and his insurance isn't covering the necessary surgeries he needs.  He has a Facebook page setup: Pay It Forward 2 Mr. Dibbs.  And for people who don't use Paypal, anyone who wants to give to him can mail a check to (payable to Kristin Rose):

Brad Forste
4830 Poplar St
Cincinati, OH 45212

Dibbs, for those who don't know, essentially re-revolutionized turntablism.  He'll go down as a legend.]

El-P’s next album should be a treat.  Throughout last year, he’d been updating a blog for the making of the album, with some very eyebrow-raising pics and statuses popping up now and again.  In a good way.  Here’s to hoping he’ll be playing Soundset this year.

I found this list at HipHopSite.com (great name guys!) detailing 60 reasons “to live another year” in 2011.  It’s a list of albums that were slated for release that year.  Problem is, not all of them came out in 2011, like Cancer For Cure.  Which means we (or… I) have the pleasure of getting these hip-hop albums into our greedy hands in 2012:

• El-P – Cancer For Cure
• Slaughterhouse – Welcome To: OUR HOUSE
• Dr. Dre – Detox
• Madlib & DOOM – Madvillian 2
• Q-Tip – The Last Zulu
• Cage – ???
• Aesop Rock – ???
• Ghostface – Supreme Clientele 2
• Ghostface & DOOM – Swift and Changeable
• Talib Kweli & Mos Def – Blackstar 2
• Brother Ali & Jake One – Mourning In America, Dreaming In Color
• Freeway -  Diamond In The Ruff
• Busdriver – Beau$Eros
• Kristoff Krane – ???
• Kill The Vultures – ???
• I Self Devine – The Sounds of Low Class America
• J Dilla – Rebirth of Detroit
• Tyler, The Creator – Wolf
• Wu-Tang – ???
• Public Enemy – Most Of My Heroes Don’t Appear On No Stamp/The Evil Empire of Everything

Rap Won’t Save You:

-Sonny

2012 Here We Come.

-  I have just sent high(er) quality MP3s to the boss over at Black Lantern Music.  Still hoping I can find someone to do physicals with it.  The album is done.  It’s called “The Parallel”, for several reasons.  You know, for being knee deep in the Great Depression in the 1930′s, we certainly accomplished quite a bit.  Here’s a short list of things we invented in the 30s:  scotch tape, the frozen food process, the jet engine, the electron microscope, the drive-in movie, the tape recorder, radar, canned beer, the helicopter.  What else?  We built the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building.  New forms of artistic expression emerged like Expressionism, Surrealism, and Realism.  Now, the idea was that tough times actually result in massive increases of creativity.  Ask any CEO of a company, they’ll tell you the same thing.  So “The Parallel” not only refers to the idea that we’re going through the same things as we did in the 30s (so why can’t we go out and invent new things, build new buildings, express ourselves with new artforms?), it also refers to my creative process stemming out of tougher times.  Plus, when I was researching the 1930s for this project I read through a lot of Dos Passos, particularly The 42nd Parallel.  I sat with that book for hours upon hours.  So the title is also a reference to that 30s novel.  Suffice it to say I’m very excited about the whole thing.  I’ve also written a flash-fiction companion piece which embeds the song titles into the “story”.  More on that to come.

-  Holy shit 2012 sounds straight outta some science fiction.  It doesn’t feel right, does it?  The great Paul Sizer created quite the rallying cry for humanity with this poster he made for the New Year:

“2012: SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED”

-  There were several albums I thought were going to come out in 2011, so here’s to a better year in music than the last!  I suppose I should, like every other blogger on the planet, release my “2011 yearinmusicaaaaaggggh” list.  And I probably will, at some point soon.  Lots of critics are saying how boring of a year it was because nothing really dominated “Best” lists, I find that to be a lot more interesting than the other way round.  And what’s up with everyone and their brother putting that Bon Iver record in their top 5 or 3??  It was okay I guess, but then I saw Justin Vernon and his band on The Colbert Report and good God I would never pay money to see that.  I mean, I know it’s hard to sing that falsetto in key without multiple takes, but still.

-Sonny