You...you know who you are. I'll be in touch soon, I promise.
I don't ask forgiveness, I only ask understanding.
"They don't know nothin' about redemption, they don't know nothin' about recovery. Some people just aren't the type for marriage and family.."
R.I.P. Lotus.
This week I'm thoroughly enjoying --
Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Chamber Music vol. 1
I felt restricted and confined in that little blue box over there. I'm claustrophobic. My musical interests are as varied as you'll ever find. I don't listen to music, I experience it. I AM music, and music is me.
Just because I love Hip-Hop does not take away from the fact that I love trance. Just because I love trance does not take away from the fact that I love metal. Just because I habitually adorn myself with Otep tattoos doesn't mean I love classic soul music any less. The fact that Otis Redding is the greatest performer of soul music the world has ever seen has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Dieselboy is the most wicked drum & bass technician to stand behind the decks. Neither of these have anything to do with the fact that no emcee of the past, present, or future will ever top the legacy of Rakim Allah.
I'm not a backpacker. I'm not trendy. I am, however, an elitist prick. This means I get my rocks off by knowing more than you do. I also love meeting people who are able to put me in my place. I'll never deny liking something out of embarassment. I'll also never lie about something I dislike out of embarassment. If I like it, it must be pretty good, you just don't know it yet. As Common Sense stated, "If I don't like it, I don't like, that don't mean that I'm hatin'.." That being said, I probably hate what you listen to. If we share common interests in music, you're my friend. If we don't, you're still my friend, you just suck at appreciating quality art. John Cusack in High Fidelity put it best -- "it's not what you're like, it's who you like."
I could never list all of my favorite artists, but a few (ok, more than a few) simply must be mentioned. These are not artists I "like", these are artists I hold very near and dear to my heart.
Hip-Hop -- Rakim, Nas, Tech N9ne, Cunninlynguists. Those 4 must be mentioned first, the rest are in no particular order -- J Dilla, Z-Ro, Guerilla Maab and S.U.C. in general, Gangstarr, Common before Erykah gave him those 'shrooms, Das EFX, 2pac, Tonedeff, Warren G's first album, early to mid 90's G-Funk in general, The Chronic, Doggystyle, AZ, Big L, KRS-One/BDP, most of the Juice Crew, especially Roxanne Shante, Masta Ace for Disposable Arts & A Long Hot Summer more than anything else. B.I.G., Puffy's first couple, including almost anything he produced up until around 2000. Rappin' 4-Tay, The Roots (especially with Dice Raw), Lost Boyz, Goodie Mob, Outkast (first 3 albums, ATLiens is my favorite Hip-Hop record of all-time), Little Brother, 9th Wonder as part of the group or independently. Ayatollah, Domingo, QD3, Boot Camp Clik as a group, most members as solo artists as well, Sean Price being the most notable. Brother Ali, Atmosphere, Murs, Dynospectrum, Large Professor, Diamond D, the Fugees as a group, but not as solo artists, Joe Budden, David Banner, UGK, Devin The Dude, Jean Grae, DJ Babu, Wu-Tang as a group minus Cappadonna. Most of the first string of solo albums as well. Never been a big Raekwon fan, but I still like OB4CL. I'm just saying it's no Liquid Swords. Ghostface more now than 15 years ago. Jeezy, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony up to and including Art Of War, Ludacris 90% of the time, Mobb Deep up to and including Murda Muzik, Run DMC, K-OS, Jeru The Damaja, A+ for Latch-Key Child alone, Mos Def, Zion I, Del (plus the Deltron 3030 project), Cali Agents, Pharoahe Monch, Naughty By Nature for Treach more than anything, Kool Moe Dee. Likwuid Stylez, Dan Johns. Many, many more.
Electronica -- Armin van Buuren, as well as most of his side projects, the Motorcycle project, Dieselboy, most anyone associated with Human Imprint (Tech Itch, Stakka & Skynet, Kaos + Karl K, etc., etc.) DJ Dara, Bad Company as a group and DJ Fresh as a solo artist, Pendulum, Concord Dawn, Noisia, DJ Hype, LTJ Bukem, Gabriel & Dresden, Nalin & Kane, Miss Kittin, Jen Lasher, Baby Anne, Hospital Records as a label (Logistics, Cyantific, Syncopix, High Contrast, mainly), John Digweed solo, but not so much Sasha. ATB, Deepsky, Oceanlab, Above & Beyond, Andy Moor, Tiesto, Andain, anything Mavie Marcos, Justine Suissa, Jes Brieden or Kirsty Hawkshaw touches, Orkidea, 4 Strings, Alice Deejay, Underworld, a lot of downtempo -- Moloko, Portishead, Lali Puna, Flunk, Weekend Players, Metisse, Massive Attack more with Tricky than without, Everything But The Girl, Zero 7, Frou Frou, etc. Kosheen, Groove Armada, Iio, Noel Sanger, DJ Icey, Ed Rush & Optical, BT, Delerium, Markus Schulz, Roni Size sporadically, but Tali always, Kamaya Painters, Johan Gielen solo, Svenson & Gielen to a lesser degree. Many, many more.
Metal/Hardcore/Punk, etc. -- Otep, Against Me! (probably more than any other band over the past 2 years or so), Walls Of Jericho, Killswitch Engage, Blood Has Been Shed to a lesser degree, Full-Blown Chaos, All That Remains, As I Lay Dying, In This Moment, Trustkill Records as a whole, Bleeding Through, Throwdown, Alexisonfire, Atreyu if I pretend their last album doesn't exist. Shadows Fall, Stabbing Westward, Ignite, Strung Out, Anti-Flag, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Siouxsie & The Banshees (and The Creatures when I'm on a kick.) Snapcase, Sepultura, as well as almost any other project Max Cavalera has a hand in. Nine Inch Nails, Pantera, Chimaira, Ramones, Buzzcocks, Bad Religion, Bikini Kill, The Runaways, Joan Jett, The Birthday Massacre..getting close to blurring the edges between genres here. Between The Buried & Me, From Autumn To Ashes, Arch Enemy, Billy Talent, Avenged Sevenfold until they had the nerve to put out an album as fucking awful as City Of Evil. Jack Off Jill, Kittie. Many, many more.
Soul/R&B -- The Stylistics, Bobby Womack, The Dramatics, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Zapp & Roger, O'Jays, The Spinners, James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Temptations (mostly for the electric/funk-inspired work of the early 70's), Stevie Wonder up until about '77, Solomon Burke, Bettye LaVette, Rick James, Johnnie Taylor pre-disco. Ann Peebles, Mary Wells. Rarely any modern R&B, with the exception of the queen Aaliyah, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu & Anthony Hamilton. Parliament Funkadelic. Many, many more.
Pop/general unclassifiable -- Nico, not as a singer, but as a deity, The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith (Gloria = greatest song of all time, period). Joy Divison, New Order, Blondie, Alkaline Trio, Sublime, Ben Harper, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Anberlin, Skunk Anansie, Amy Winehouse, Evanesence, One True Thing, Sarah McLachlan, Incubus, Nouvelle Vague, Madonna, Eric Burdon (The Animals mostly, some War), Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Violent Femmes, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Prince, Billy Idol, Soul Coughing, Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, moe., Erasure, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Gin Blossoms, The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, Poe, Placebo in small doses, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Jim Croce, Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Everlast (solo, and to a lesser degree, House Of Pain), Ace Of Base, Dashboard Confessional until that garbage Dusk & Summer bullshit, Eve 6's first 2 albums, Brad Paisley, Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs, but not Natalie Merchant solo, Bon Jovi, early Bush, The Bastard Fairies, Nelly Furtado up to and including Folklore, Skid Row, Tracy Chapman. Many, many more.
Etc., etc., etc.
