Nuclear Beef

We get letters! Boy, do we get letters.

It seems like underground artists know how to use Google. When they find The Beef, they let their fingers do the talking! Here's a pair of recent comments from artists, one bemused and one angry.

The angry, a comment from Sween on the post Sween Is.. Also A Robot. Do As He Says, Too..

Wow.... i punched my cd into google to see whats up and this is what i fuckin come up with huh... A strange BLOG about my cd that was unaware to myself and also unwanted... i dont make music for you son... i make music for me... and I AM an asshole... and i come from the iron section of jersey... so the way i write and act makes me a product of my environment... THAT IS ME... i am violent... i am rugged... AND.. i will let you know that... i can also rhyme and write about rose pedals and puppy dogs if i wish... but i dont... that shit is what i consider art fag shit... i am close minded and onesided... i dont argue with people... this is me... thanks for your semi good review of one of my songs and on the other hand FUCK YOU for stereotyping and dissing something you dont know... but i guess any promotion is good promotion... my cd is frustrating huh...lol... go listen to atmosphere then...

(emphasis mine)

Sween in the flesh sure does sound like Sween on record. While I can't personally vouch for his ruggedness (or, hopefully, how violent he is), I must admit he is certainly keeping it real. He may be a (self-described) asshole, but his comments display an unique passion for his art. Though his first CD has its flaws, it's clear no-one will ever mistake it for art fag shit.

Sween, if you're out there.. feel free to let me know when you release some new stuff. I promise I'll give you my honest opinion.

(The same post also contains comments from producer/MC Atypical which prompted this follow up post in February. His comments (excerpted) :

Most of modern society has lost sight of true artistic expression and let it fall victim to anything with pyrotechnics, muscles or T and A. Entertainment makes money, so entertainment trumps art.

Which is what makes many underground / indie / small label artists worth looking into. Many of us are not motivated by money. We are pushed to communicate self the best way we can in hopes to make it fun for the audience to witness.

This is where hip hop as a whole falls short. I find that in a "hip hop" setting, it is nearly impossible to consider spitting some sappy, woe is me tune for a bunch of drunken idiots that griped about the $3 cover. I'm sure many people in other genres feel similarly, but there are few genres as testosterone charged as hip hop.
...
Anyways, I kick ass. My music is okay. Heck, I like most of it anyways. You might too.

(emphasis mine)

I think Atypical makes a good point about the demands of the Hip-Hop world, and the role that male posturing plays in the scene. One thing I really like about the net is that it provides a venue for artists who might not necessarily be played on even college radio. Music can cover a variety of moods, but 90% of Hip-Hop is still about thugging, bitches and sucker MCs.

I appreciate the fact that Atypical is thinking about his art and communication instead of just trying to make the catchiest stuff around. As to whether his music is 'okay' ... I invite the reader to check out Atypical's Site, listen to his music and decide for yourself.)

The bemused response comes from Wix, in a comment titled "pretty funny and fair comment," on a post called With The Lights Out, It's More Rave-nous :

Thx for your pretty fair comment on that single.

Weird that the artist read what critics write about their songs ? nope, many do.

To explain what WIX and this single is, lemme write you it.

Wix (me) is a single person writing original songs since 20 years, I am 37 now. I am originally from Holland and living in Paris France since a couple of years and that is where i signed up for 3 albums with WEA/Warner.

As the record companys rule everything it was THEIR choice to realease this single.

We (my 2 partners and me) recorded this version in June 2004 so you can see how much time it takes international promo to bring a song in the market and believe me or not, it's not over.
A new 2005 version of our version + 2 other remixes will be out end June.

Yes, thats the way record companys rule all of us today. Play the record for about 1 year, then put the record in the stores.....

We have the new album ready for about 75% and it's gonna all original stuff, only this song is a cover.

Hope you'll like the new versions better ! At least the 2004 version is already a classic for lots of DJ's all over europe.

With Love

Wix

(emphasis mine)

Awww... "With Love"!

Wix seems like a nice guy, and with an attitude like that he certainly deserves all the success he has enjoyed so far. While I worry for his future as a small artist on a big big major label, I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Wix, if you're out there.. if you ever need a remix from a random internet music nerd, or feel like sending some promo copies my way, I sure wouldn't say no.

To Sween, Atypical and Wix : Welcome To The Beef.

UPDATE: Holy crumb, they're coming out of the wordwork! Moments after I posted this, I got a comment from Olli of External Hard Drive on the post Wake Up And Listen To Your Hard Drive. He left a link to their new site and a solemn promise that the members of External Hard Drive are not Nazis. Phew! Welcome To The Beef, Olli!

Posted by darwin at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chin-stroking Bleep Audio Beef Today. The Plastiq Phantom channels Elton John on March 31, 2004.

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'Tiny Dancer' and '033104' by Plastiq Phantom from his 2004 Album Plastiq Phantom on Imputor? records

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Because it's monday and my head is swimming from the work week, I'll make this brief. Plastiq Phantom came up in the shuffle over the weekend and proved to be just the right score for my frustration with the computer I was assembling. It starts out peaceful and mechanical but somewhere something goes wrong.

'Tiny Dancer' actually has nothing to do with Elton John or Almost Famous, but the toybox-style lead dances to a shuffle step. Add tasteful vocal snippets and some transient instruments and it develops just enough for its three minutes.

'033104' features some classical instruments which sure sound live. What I particularly like about this track is the way it builds to a crescendo. Sounds excellent on the car system, and it sure ain't designed as jeep music.

The rest of the Plastiq Phantom album is similarly experimental, with generally good results. There are a few bunk melodies ('Every Day Is The Same') and awkward rhythms ('Mama Take Me Home') but hits are more prevelant than misses. It's a super limited edition (oh boy!!!) of 1212, so the $9.99 that Imputor? wants for it is a bargain.

(Don't miss this excellent video of soldiers skating a mini-ramp on top of one of Saddam's Palaces! 'Skate And Destroy' indeed! Oh god, and this Redneck Neighbor.)

Posted by darwin at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Motown Sadness With A New-School Breaks Remix Audio Beef Today. Smokey Robinson gets some hot snax to comfort himself.

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'Tears of a Clown' by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1970
'Tracks of my Tears' by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965

(Both are available on The Ultimate Collection.)

'Tears Of A Clown (Hotsnax Remix)', remix by HotSnax from 2005's Motown Remixed

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I originally wrote this post about a year ago, but didn't post it because of interpersonal weblog drama! Hooray for semi-public life.

But today I saw this Motown Remixed album and oddly enough the best mix on it was of 'Tears of A Clown.' So I decided to resurrect this post, and let you hear the HotSnax remix. It's a remix by pop producer HotSnax (otherwise known as "Full Phatt") and it casts the original in a dancefloor friendly new-school breaks style.

When you're doing a remix of songs that everyone has heard a million times, I think it's wise to respect the source material. He more or less leaves the vocal alone, and updates the beat with that New Jack Swing. If I heard someone play this at a party in the park, I'd dance to it. I ain't ashamed.

What's really odd about these Smokey songs is that I had conflated them in my head. I thought that the chorus was :

Now take a good look at my face /
You'll see the smile looks out of place /
If you look closer it's easy to trace /
The tracks of my tears
The tears of a clown /
When there's no-one around

Weird. How'd that happen, brain? The songs are 5 years apart in time, but have the same subject matter, and a similar hook. I guess my brain just mashed them together.

Well there's some sad things known to man /
But ain't too much sadder than /
The tears of a clown /
When there's no-one around

Amen.

(For what it's worth, I agree with Chris Lemon-Red that the rest of Motown Remixed is pretty damn awful. Nowhere near the level of quality attained by the Verve remix series. When the best remixes (Easy Mo Be, Z-Trip) basically just get out of the way of the originals, you know you're in trouble.)

Posted by darwin at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

West Coast Funky Banger Hip-Hop Remix Audio Beef Today. Ice-T lets us know how's he's living.

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'That's How I'm Living (On The Rox Remix)' by Ice-T from the 1993 12" Vinyl 'That's How I'm Living'. Remixed by Ice-T with DJ Ace and Hen-Gee.

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Here's a nice bouncy jam for your Hump Day evening. Just yesterday I was in a local cafe and the staff was playing the first Body Count album. I figured this was a sign from the cosmos that I should get around to posting this track.

The original mix of 'That's How I'm Living' (from 1993's Home Invasion) is minimalistic and menacing. This mix is positively bouyant in comparison. A funky guitar loop and a drum loop that would sound natural under Rakim or Lord Finesse. I'm quite certain that this remix got the party live when it was dropped at house parties in 1993.

The vocal is classic Ice-T. Personal tales of the G-life, solid delivery and that Ice voice. You learn some interesting stuff about him in this track... did you know Ice-T was in the Army? Crazy! I have to say that I have a lot of respect for Ice-T. It certainly couldn't have been easy to start out on the streets and end up playing a cop on Law & Order!

(As far as Ice-The-Actor goes, I blame Mario Van Peebles. Recently saw his How To Get The Man's Foot Outta Your Ass and let me tell you, there's nothing creepier than a man playing his father in bed with his mother. Hoo lawd. All in all though, the movies was well done, worth a Netflix at least!)

Posted by darwin at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bleeping Bassline Techno Audio Beef Today. Jamie Lidell seeks safety in numbers and scares the bejeezus out of dancefloors everywhere.

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'Habits Live Short' by Jamie Lidell from the 1998 12" Vinyl Safety In Numbers EP on Sativae Records

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The cuechamp just posted a pair of Jamie Lidell tracks, which reminded me I've been meaning to post this. I picked up my second copy of this record a few months back at Spice Records in Shibuya, Tokyo.

I've been a fan of Jamie Lidell and the whole Edinburgh posse for a good long time now. I remember very clearly the first Subhead record I heard, Subhead #7. It contained an ambient track which sounded almost exactly the same when played backwards. It also contained some very weird sounding techno, which immediately stimulated my curiousity. I started checking out similar music by Cristian Vogel, Si Begg, Neil Landstrumm.. and Jamie Lidell.

I remember the very first time I heard a Jamie Lidell mix. It was his remix of Cristian Vogel's (Don't) Take More, on Tresor 12". The original track is somewhat subdued, with a vocal softly singing "Don't... Take... More!" Lidell's mix, on the other hand, is madness of the highest order.

Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take Don't Take MOOOOREEE

'Habits Live Short' is equally representative of the Jamie Lidell sound. While his records (with Cristian Vogel) as Super Collider show that he can be a bit more smooth robot, I've always preferred this kind of pounding, whirring destruction. I've played this at a variety of parties and it always destroys the soundsystem. The spooky, somewhat malevolent beat builds for a solid minute and a half before the bassline shows up to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

As far as I am concerned, this is what experimental techno is all about.

(This record, like most techno records that sound this good, was mastered by Nilz at the Exchange. Respect. In other news, I'd like to say that Nuclear Beef endorses new MP3 blog aggregator The Hype Machine. While some certainly have legitimate gripes with the site's current design, the ability to listen to music before deciding to download it is huge. I've tried it out and have already found a number of blogs I would never have clicked through based on an extract a-la the mp3blogs aggregator. I still believe that there is a market for many more aggregators, in particular there is a singular lack of an aggregator with editor-like quality control. But I applaud Anthony at the Hype Machine for taking a bold step, and for going out-of-pocket with the streaming part of things. Now if only he can clear up a variety of common misconceptions people have about his site!)

Posted by darwin at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Scouts can earn anti-piracy merit badge

The Hong Kong government has launched the "IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) Scout Badge" to promote respect of intellectual property among youngsters.

Scouts qualify for the badge by attending seminars and other activities on the topic, the government said in a statement seen Wednesday. The program will initially target scouts between 11 and 16 years old.

"It is a long-term process which involves continuous training of scout members throughout their formative years," Stephen Selby, director of the government's intellectual property department, said in the statement.

Giggle. Fortunately, this program should have zero impact. Somehow I doubt your typical Chinese Boy Scout is an obsessive media pirate nerd. Also, Piracy in Hong Kong is a business and the business people sure aren't in the Boy Scouts. For the record, Nuclear Beef wholeheartedly disapproves of commercial media piracy. If it ain't yours, don't be making money off it.

(Shouts to synec for the hooks.)

Posted by darwin at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Live Hip-Hop Revival Audio Beef Today. Digable Planets gets all the way live on an aural G ride.

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'Where I'm From (Aural G Ride Mix)' from the 1992 12" Vinyl 'Where I'm From'

'Where I'm From (Aural G Ride Mix - Live In LA 04 09 05)' and '9th Wonder' from the Screen bootleg Digable Planets Live At The El Rey, recorded April 09, 2005

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So a month or so back my man Screen mentions this Digable Planets show. He's the kind of fabulous feller who thinks nothing of flying to LA or San Francisco on a moments notice for one of his favorite groups. In fact, he's the reason I saw Living Colour on their re-union tour. Without him, I'm a terminal hermit and am certainly not flying down to LA for a show! But Screen loves Digable Planets more than any two other Digable Planets fans. So of course with the impending Digable Planets Reunion Album you knew he'd be on it.

Here it is! Back after 9 years (and some mediocre solo stuff), the Planets unit is still sounding crisp.

I remember the first time I heard the 'Aural G Ride' mix from the 'Where I'm From' 12", I was in my childhood friend Paul's living room. I think he had pilfered the 12" from his high-school radio station. He played it for me and I still remember it today, 10 years later. This is one case where the remix is so much better than the original that I can't even remember what the original sounds like. So when they play in 2005, they sure aren't playing the album mix!

That bassline, the horn. The bounce. Your head nodding.

The album mix on '9th Wonder.' on the other hand, could not be improved upon. A beat that would sound just as hot backwards as it does forwards. Palindromic sweetness.

I don't have much else to say in this post except this silly story about when I saw Digable Planets live in 1995 at Brown University. Morphine was also on the bill, which inspired me with a passionate fervor for their music. But anyway, I had paid to get in, but some kids from my school had hopped one of the fences with our encouragement. They got away into the crowd... and security caught me and my friend. We eventually snuck back in, but the security was hanging near the porta-potties so I was doing the pee-pee dance while the Planets played. It was sorta unpleasant, but they put on a quality show.

When they played '9th Wonder,' I remember very distinctly when Ladybug said "Well I'm 68 inches above sea level / 93 million miles above these devils" that I looked around at the assembled Brown students and smiled. My smug teenage self thought "Yes, she's talking about you."

Of course, she was talking about me too.

(Shouts out to Screen and Paul M. Also shouts out to Sam, who liked Digable Planets as much as Chris liked Run DMC.)

Posted by darwin at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)