True Fact. I have seen Busta Rhymes two times in person while living in NYC. Once standing outside a record shop on Chambers Street. The other escorting a female to a cab with his security guard in the morning, then going to a bank. Also on Chambers street. Not that it matters. Anyways I think Busta Rhymes is only rivaled by Andre 3000 when it comes to fashion sense. Very few words can describe the video, so just let it wash over you like a sprinkler on a summer day.
Very rarely can a song actually describe how it sounds in the chorus and still be funky enough to turn the stuffiest bar mitzvah into a toe tappin’ fiesta. Enjoy that thumpin’ bass and horrible sense of fashion that can only be dated as the 1980′s. Pack your bags and jam.
With all the hype surrounding the release of Watch the Throne, I wanted to take a look back at some old school rap. A couple of turn tables, DJ, and an MC. Compared to rap production today most of of these cuts are simpler, which I think puts more emphasis on the lyrics. The words are the main focus not the sample or the layers upon layers of strings and auto-tune. I love how hard Rakim’s words hit despite the fact he never curses. He really is a master wordsmith and “Casualties Of War” resonates strongly 11 years after its recording. After the most deadly day in the Afghan war, I thought this song is a particularly fitting for these times.
One of the most interesting living conditions I’ve stayed in was an apartment with 5 other guys at Purchase College. Living with these guys I was also exposed to many different bands that I probably wouldn’t ever know about. One of my roommates was all about The Replacements, Paul Westerberg and PBR. The PBR especially contributed to some fantastic scenes with my aforementioned roomie walking on furniture and yelling “THIS IS THE BEST GUITAR SOLO EVARRRRRRR!!” Great times. Anyways this song is what stuck with me from that year in particular. Great hook, funky video. enjoy.
I feel like for some reason during the 1980s time capsules were really, really popular. Don’t ask me why I do, it just feels right. I won’t even use google to confirm this. Either way you can count on the fact that there are hundreds of tape cassettes with “Head Over Heels” buried around the United States, just waiting to be dug up and rediscovered. Wait don’t squirrels do this? Everything about this song screams “I was produced during the 1980s”. Excessive reverb on the snare, edgy synth break downs, and of course that throaty falsetto. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Easily the best known bossa nova song ever “Girl From Ipanema” brought Brasil’s music style to an international audience. I’m sure this song is played at least several thousand times a day by people all over the world. The cascading chords and melody are just amazing and you can feel the singers anguish as he watches this girl walk right by. So make some capirinha and pretend your on the beach. The song starts @ 1:00.
