This Funk Is One in a Million

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Pete Rock & CL Smooth - One In a Million

Sometimes when I'm feeling blue, it helps to remind myself that I'm one in a million. Before you think I got a big head (Disclosure: Actually, my melon is pretty f'n big), you guys are one in a million, too. Much love. Have a great weekend.

Hello, Again

hey, what's up tom?

Lyrics Born - Hello (remix) - production by Jumbo from Lifesavas

Lyrics Born - I Changed My Mind (remix) - production by Stereo MC's (hey, remember them?!)

Goodness gracious hideawayheads, I’m getting old. If my birthday wasn’t sufficient enough to hammer that fact home, my subsequent illness confirmed it. I’ve got a weak constitution that’s all there is to it, and I’m coming to grips with that fact. I’m gonna get sick every time I neglect my body and overextend myself. I drunkenly put a beat-down my immune system like it slept w/ my girlfriend or something. Then my friends got in the act and got in a "shot" or two. But, as happens all too often, my immune system got the last laugh by deserting me in my hour of need.

Last Saturday night was my birthday and I went out with my friends and got twisted like a twizzler. Yes sir, I’m sure I was a sight to behold that night. All you gotta know is that I didn’t drag my ass outta bed until about 4 pm Sunday. That should tell you all you need to know. My joints ached, my lungs were filled to the brim with blackness, and I decided to back out of going to see Yonder Mountain String Band (sorry Seth). Did I mention that I lost my cell phone? (Yeah, so give me a call if you still want me to have your number, mine is still the same.) But, I digress. I’m back. A couple dozen bowls of chicken soup and a gallon of orange juice later, I've mended my relationship with my immune system. We're back on speaking terms at least. And to my hideawayheads, I think Neil Diamond put it best, “Hello my friends, hello. Just called to say hello.” I didn't mean to leave you for so long. And, to give you a flavor of my boogie-down, fun-filled Saturday night, here’s the brandspankingnew lead-off track from the new Lyrics Born remix album. This song would’ve been the soundtrack to my Saturday night. Ain’t nuthin but a party. And, “I Changed My Mind” as remixed by the Stereo MC’s is one of my alltime favorite hip hop tunes given the remix treatment. German funksters The Poets of Rhythm are LB’s backing band on the original version, and it’s a dopeass remix. Actually, it’s the hotness. Quannum Crew representin! I’m highly recommending this album, but beware, it’s not all party tracks and that’s why I like it. The downbeat stuff gives a more complete picture of the artist, something I’m always in favor of. That’s part of the reason why I love Quannum, all their artists aren’t afraid to make an album that’s varied and complex. LB’s got a sense of humor without being jokey and he gets serious without being pretentious. Get hip wit it.

ps - Anybody hear the new Saturn commercial w/ Gift of Gab on it? It’s “The Writz” (it samples “Putting on the Ritz”), which I posted up here a few weeks ago. Watch out, it's a Quannum takeover! (Don't be a hater, these dudes gotta pay bills too. )

Cash Monet

I'm cash monet, baby

Paul McCartney - Vanilla Sky

As primary brain functions return tomorrow, I'll mention something about the crunkadocious birthday weekend I had. My body is still pissed at me.

Happy Birthday to Me (Tomorrow)!

Why are all my birthdays like this?

The George Garabedian Players - Hooray for Hollywood/Spanish Flea

If you had a birthday party and someone asked you what song you wanted playing while you blew out your candles, what would you say? I know what song I would have playing, it’s “Hooray for Hollywood”. “Happy Birthday” is played out man, it’s worn, it’s tired. It’d be even awesomer if a live band played “Hooray for Hollywood”. And, ideally, the brass section would be comprised entirely of middle-school second-chair trumpet players. It’d be more fun that way. Think Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, but just not as good; yet somehow better.

Dolly's Llama's Have White Stripes

still foxy after all these years (and with enhanced hooters)

Dolly Parton - Jolene

The White Stripes - Jolene

The White Stripes - Jolene (live) - from the Blackpool dvd

This song “Jolene” by Dolly Parton is another cover that’s near and dear to my heart as much because of the way I encountered it as the song itself. Let’s go back, way back, back into time, back to the fall of 2001. The previous six months had been a heady period for King Koopa: I graduated from college; I backpacked around Europe for a month; I came back and dated my high school crush and after the dream became a not-as-perfect-as-I-thought reality I dumped my high school crush; I became gainfully employed at the same company I still work for; I bought a convertible; I experienced 9/11; and, I saw the White Stripes at a tiny second-floor club in Bloomington on a hot Indian summer night. But, before I can tell you about seeing the White Stripes, let’s go back about another 2 weeks when I went and visited the american mastodon at his college. I'd just arrived and we were sitting around, talking about music and what we’d been listening to lately, and he pulls out this Dolly Parton record and was like, “Dude, you gotta hear this song.” Music prick that I am, I was skeptical at best. After some knob turning and button pushing on the second-hand stereo, this stunningly beautiful acoustic guitar lick and drum beat comes lilting out of the hi-fi. It was “Jolene” and it was a great song, and I was really curious how he’d found it. Did he wade through piles of bargain bin Dolly records full of Conway Twitty duets and Glen Campbell covers to find this? I think he said his brother turned him on to it. Now let’s fast forward 2 weeks, back to the White Stripes show. The American Mastodon organized a trip to see them and we met the anonymous “Laura A” down in Bloomington. (I give credit where it’s due: The AM declared the White Stripes the next Nirvana; I said no way, they’re good, but it takes a whole scene to create another Nirvana. -- Enter The Strokes and the garage band scene -- He was obviously a lot more right than I was.) By now, you’re probably wondering what’s the point of all this backstory and these boring details? Well, to the astonishment of the AM and myself, The White Stripes played “Jolene” that night in front of a sweaty, raucous crowd that had packed in and probably broken fire codes to see them. It was a surreal scene to say the least. How could they be playing this song? The AM was more excited than I’ve ever witnessed him, I thought he was gonna start speaking in tongues. What are the odds that the White Stripes are gonna cover a Dolly Parton song that I’d heard for the first time ever just a few weeks before? My mind was sufficiently blown. Then, I started wondering whether the AM knew all along that the White Stripes regularly covered this song in concert. How devious?! His brother had turned him on to both "Jolene" and The White Stripes, it couldn't be a coincidence. I asked him about it and he professed to having no idea. American Mastodon, I give you one more chance to own up and wipe the slate clean: Did you know that the White Stripes had played this song in concert before? Don't let this little fib hang over you like a black cloud for the rest of your days.

Until the truth comes out and the AM is set free, enjoy three very different versions of this song, 1) The pastoral, catfight-ish original, 2) The studio b-side version by the White Stripes, and 3) The live version from their somewhat newly released dvd which I haven’t seen yet, but I’m sure is kickass. The live version is so raw (but sound quality-wise it's great) it takes me back to that night. Goose-bump-inducing raw talent, raw emotion, the whole shootin match…It was really neat.

A Plan Comes Together

Now that I have my green tambourine, all I need to start my one-man-band is a mouth harp and a washboard. Giddy-up!

Mrs. Miller - Green Tambourine

The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine

Anybody down for a double dose of Mrs. Miller? No?, well, who asked you anyway? I love it when things tie together in a nice, neat bundle. Ya know, when things come full circle and you’re like, “Whoa”. With today being the unofficial holiday that it is, I was tempted to post up a song for the space cowboys out there. But, why go with the obvious? With Mrs. Miller’s operatic cover of the groovy “Green Tambourine”, I cover all my bases and hit ya with something you ain’t neva heard befo. And, if I’m not mistaken, Buster Larkins’ college roommate’s father was in the band The Lemon Pipers, who wrote and performed the original. And, being in a psychedelic band in the 60’s, I’m quite sure the dude was intimately familiar with all things green. Like whoa. Man, I love it when plan comes together.

These Boots

Undeniable, unfadeable and unbelievable

Mrs. Miller - These Boots Were Made For Walkin

Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Were Made For Walkin

I continue my covers series today with one of my favorites. To say Mrs. Miller made this song her own would be an understatement. But, this cover is among my favorites not because of musical merit or a unique artistic interpretation; it’s a cover that’s guaranteed to bring a wide, toothy smile to ol’ King Koopa’s mug, that's why. The Bible says to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, and it’s Mrs. Miller’s complete obedience to that axiom that makes this song so dad-gum enjoyable. (Speaking of “dad”, I bogarted this Mrs. Miller album from my dad until a couple years ago when he went through my records and stole it back.) Oblivious to the concept of irony, Mrs. Miller belts out this tune with a sincerity that erases all doubt that her boots are indeed made for walking. Think Mrs. Miller would stick around while Mr. Miller was playin around behind her back? Fat chance.

Here’s part of the bio from her unofficial website:

The eventual question was always- "Is Mrs. Miller in on the joke?" After all, this was a joke wasn’t it? The answer was illusive, intangible in an Andy Kaufman sort of way. Elva later revealed, "I don’t sing off-key and I don’t sing off-rhythm. They got me to do so by waiting until I was tired and then making the record. Or they would cut the record before I could become familiar with the songs. At first I didn’t understand what was going on. But later I did, and I resented it." Capitol told her that it was an "experiment" and Elva played innocent. Eventually she began to truly embrace the "so bad, its good" gag. A remarkable aspect of Mrs. Miller’s music, was her famous "ice-whistling" technique. She would hold a piece of ice in her mouth for 20 minutes before performing, in order to achieve a "good tight pucker" for her legendary whistle solos.

But the appeal of Mrs. Miller goes beyond a mere novelty act. Although she was aware of the joke, she was also still the genuine article. It was her honesty and sincerity that attracted her most devote fans, many which admit that they were drawn to Mrs. Miller because they found someone that they could relate to. Skip Heller author of the biographical article "Plan 9 from Claremont" explains, "As does the work of Plan 9 director Ed Wood Jr., Mrs. Miller gives us something in which there is so much human charm that we are disarmed by it. We laugh at first, because the ineptitude is so striking- but the enthusiasm, heart, and above all, frailty, touches the heart. Ed Wood and Elva Miller make us happy, and in ways that neither could ever have foreseen."

Have you ever heard a musician compared to Ed Wood? Neither have I, check out the song.

Give Back My TV (And, While You're At It, The Key To My Heart.)

Give back the key to my heart and I'll give ya a beer

Sir Doug & the Texas Tornadoes - Give Back the Key to My Heart

Uncle Tupelo - Give Back the Key to My Heart

Today I start my "covers" series, where 1) I post up a cover that I love, or 2) Post up an original I love that was covered by a band that I love, or 3) Post both versions.

You are in luck because today I am able to do #3. The song in question is "Give Back the Key to My Heart", by Sir Doug and the Texas Tornadoes. The first time I heard it, I was in high school, back on the family farm, washing dishes with my dad and playing Uncle Tupelo's album, "Anodyne". My older brother had gotten me into Wilco and I picked up on Tupelo's scent after hearing them on the No Alternative compilation. When this song came on, my dad's ears perked up and he was delighted to hear a cover version of this song that he'd heard so many years ago when we lived in Texas. He tried to tell me about how cool Doug Sahm was, but I didn't have respect for my elders back then and I just figured Doug Sahm was just some guy who wrote some song that "my" band was making into something great. How could an old sounding original version be better than what Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar can do? (I was a kid, cmon, I still liked the Eagles and Steve Miller, for goodness sakes!) Sahm pops up on the U.T. version to sing the last verse, his voice a little scragglier than 20 years earlier.

Well, I recently found the album for $0.99 and was excited to find out that, yes, the original is better than the Uncle Tupelo version. It's in the same vein as Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, etc. Feel free to cast a vote for your version in the comments section.

In Da Garden a' Edan

Edan – Making Planets (featuring Mr. Lif)

Edan - I See Colours

Edan - Funky Voltron

Edan - Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme

Edan - Beauty

Edan - Torture Chamber (featuring Percee P) - just added 4/20/05

I’m having a hard time describing the new Edan album that I just picked up so I’ll let Nathan Rabin at The Onion A.V. Club (Hideaway Secret: this is my never-fail spot to get reviews. Anything The Onion, and specifically Nathan Rabin, hypes, I buy. He’s got a great perspective, and he’s not a hater.)

Just as America and the Soviet Union divided Europe into the Warsaw Pact and NATO following World War II, hip-hop's forward-looking retro enthusiasts have been divvying up the genre's past among themselves. Feel-good nostalgists Jurassic 5 and Ugly Duckling both rep the old school, Madlib and 9th Wonder resurrected the Native Tongues vibe, and a skinny white rapper, producer, and DJ named Edan pledges allegiance to the golden age when lightning-fast flows were all the rage, and the dopest MCs boasted personalities as big and flashy as their gold chains. Edan could easily have spent the rest of his career mastering his little rap niche, but like a true child of Afrika Bambaataa, he's made a cosmic artistic leap and fused together decades, styles, genres, and races with his remarkable sophomore effort, Beauty And The Beat.

The album cover says it all. A riot of paisley and homemade graphic design, it depicts the faces of some of Edan's heroes (Ice Cube, KRS-One, LL Cool J and the like) crudely outfitted with groovy hairstyles straight out of the age of Aquarius. Yes, with Beauty And The Beat, Edan has tuned in, turned on, and dropped out. On tracks like "I See Colours," "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme," and "Beauty," Edan combines the elaborate, super-scientific rhyme style of the late '80s with psychedelic rock production and vivid surrealistic imagery. In the process, he's created the grooviest fusion to hit hip-hop since Danger Mouse introduced Jay-Z to the Beatles and Bubba Sparxxx combined bluegrass with Timbaland's future funk on Deliverance.

The album is short but concise and solid throughout. I recommend. My favorite track is “Making Planets” w/ Mr. Lif. If I had a white 72 cadillac to go for a cruise on a lunar highway, this is the song that would be playing on the stereo. "I See Colours" is tripped-out brilliance. The other day, I called Gab's album psychadelic hip hop, but it' s nothing compared to this one. And, it's fresh fresh fresh!

Edan was just included in The Onion’s “The New What’s Next Music Issue”. Dig it.

Just Gabbing Away

dude's equipped with the gift 

Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) – The Writz

Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) – Rhyme Like a Nut

Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) – Rhymes for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind

Alright, I’m back after an extended blogging vacation. The novelty of this thing has really worn off at this point, and this is normally where I quit and look for something else to tickle my fancy . But, I’m not ready to pack it in yet, I’ve still got more musical gems to unearth for you, my people, my constituents…my hideawayheads. I’ll start off by posting what I had promised last week, a day of Gift of Gab posts. Now, what’s the difference between Gift of Gab and Blackalicious?, you might ask yourself. Well, when Chief Xcel is behind the boards and producing the beats, that is when it magically becomes Blackalicious. The two were high school buddies as I just found out in this article which gives a pretty complete history of the Quannum/SoleSides phenomenon.

Back to today’s songs, The Writz is a fantastic number off Gab’s solo album from last summer, 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. It samples “Puttin’ on the Ritz” that every high school’s color guard/winter guard has performed to. The album is sorta psychedelic hip hop, I love the production on it (but what else is new for a Quannum album). Rhyme like a Nut and Rhymes for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind are off the outstanding “SoleSides Greatest Bumps” double disc set. It’s just Gab over a dope beat and he’s bustin’ out a brilliant flow. Rhymes for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind was on my mix cd “Koopsta”funkinchillin Vol 3.

Man, I just had one of those rare weekends where everything comes together and there was just a great vibe among the people I was with. On Friday I saw the Gift of Gab and Lateef at The Patio, and it was glorious. Gab didn’t do Alphabet Aerobics (A-Z), which I was looking forward to and there was no encore, but it was 2 solid hours of body-rockin hip hop from two great performers. I went up to Lateef after the show and just thanked him for the great set and for coming to the Patio. It's rare to have two performers like them at this tiny little venue. They really got into it and were working the crowd. I thought Gab looked a little under the weather during part of the show, but it didn’t seem to affect his performace (but, it might have been the reason for no encore). Then, Saturday, I took some friends out to my grandparent's lodge for some chillin time on the lake. If you missed it, you're a Buster! (pun intended)

Sorry if the links haven't been working (and thanks for telling me, oh wait, no one did). Youshareit.com is permanently out, and until further notice Rapidshare.de is in. If you have problems figuring out how to download, let me know.

READ ALL ABOUT IT: ALIENS LAND NEAR KOOPA'S HIDEAWAY AND DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT IS THE MOST AMAZING RAP SONG OF ALL TIME!!!

we come in peace 

Latyrx - Latyrx

Blackalicious - Alphabet Aerobics

Let’s imagine that some aliens land on earth and they come knocking on the door of the Hideaway. Let’s also imagine that they demand me to immediately name the most amazing rap song of all time. A weird request from aliens from another planet, yes, but I was a cub scout for a month and a half (just long enough for me to lose the pine derby and for my parents to find out our leader smoked cigarettes in front of us) and I believe in being prepared for just such an occasion. First, I would beg and plead to be allowed two choices instead of one. Once granted that request, I would politely drop the following knowledge the on them: Latyrx’s “Latyrx” and Blackalicious’ “Alphabet Aerobics” are without a doubt the most mind-blowingly amazing rap songs of all time. They’re not party rockers per se and they’re not incredibly profound from a social consciousness standpoint, but aliens wouldn’t care about those things, right? These two tracks are both brilliantly conceived ideas that are executed perfectly to a sublime outcome. “Latyrx” has “Lat”eef and L“yrics” Born bobbing and weaving around each others rhymes and fitting in lyrical jabs. They rap over top of each other, but in a good way. One could spend hours trying to dissect what they are saying in this song. I’ve heard a buttload of rap songs of all different shapes and sizes and I’ve never heard anything remotely like this. Hearing this song back in ’98, I thought that all underground rap was going to be this fresh. I would soon find out that it is not. Blackalicious' “Alphabet Aerobics” track is a trip through the alphabet rhyming with each letter and speeding up as he goes through them. The aliens would dig this song because they could learn our alphabet. A two birds, one stone type thing. Produced by my man Cut Chemist, I think this track is gonna be the encore of Friday night’s show at the Patio (according to the set list I saw).

Are you prepared to answer the question of the most amazing rap song of all time if aliens come to your door? These are the things I think about when I should be working...like right now...

Maroons = Lateef and Chief Xcel

The "Lat" of "Latyrx" 

Maroons - Best of Me

Maroons - Lester Hayes

Maroons - Beautiful You

In order to get the Hideawayheads ready for the Gift of Gab/Lateef show this Friday I’m gonna drop some more Quannum on ya. To recap, I’ll buy anything Quannum releases whether it’s Blackalicious, DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Lifesavas, Maroons or whatever. Quannum has a quality control like no other label I’ve heard. Their stable of artists slowly grows every year. Check out the website.

If you wanna get a feel for what kind of hip hop you’re could hear at the Patio this Friday night, check out “Best Of Me”. It’s got Gift of Gab on it, so it’ll give you a sample of both rappers. All three of these songs are from The Maroons – Ambush. As these songs show ya, it’s a varied, solid album with stellar production from my man Chief Xcel (producer from Blackalicious). “Lester Hayes” is a crunkalicious number with a nice guitar sample that will have you pumping your fist in tribute to Lester Hayes, the ol’ Oakland Raider. The final tune, “Beautiful You” (Gift of Gab is on this one too) has a beautiful beat, it’s more of a “thinker” and a love song, I suppose. This one’s for the ladies…

I’ll be back with a day o’ Gab tomorrow.

Callin Out To All Area Codes!

the mackadocious duo! 

Lyrics Born – Pack Up (remix) feat. Evidence(Dilated Peoples) & KRS-One - for press & promo purposes (translation: buy the album on Apr. 26!)

Lyrics Born – Pack Up album version

Lyrics Born – Callin Out album version

A friend of mine asked me last weekend if I’d heard the new track with KRS-One on it, said she heard it on the radio that morning. I said no, no way KRS has new stuff out, the Lyrics Born remix album he’s guesting on doesn’t drop until April 26. Well, I don’t know what she heard, but if it was this “Pack Up” remix, then I have a new respect for my local rap station. I just found this track on my second favorite mp3 blog, Music For Robots. It was exclusive to Music For Robots, and now it’s exclusively yours until the 26th. It’s a remix of LB’s “Pack Up” featuring Evidence from Dilated Peoples and KRS-One. This remix album is gonna be so sick, I’m popping Vitamin C and zinc pills right now just to get myself ready. Lyrics Born came to The Patio awhile back, and as I was walking up to the show with my friend Jojo, I encounter LB himself kicking it solo, outside by his trailer looking freshly blunted. I tried to impress him by greeting with a “What’s up, Tom?!”, showing him that I knew his real name. He looked surprised, hopefully pleasantly, and we chatted for a minute. In the club, he was hanging out in the back with his wife/back-up singer Joyo Velarde and I indulged my superfan tendencies and interrogated him about some impending Quannum releases, inclucing his and Lifesavas’ (who were also playing that night), trying to act like I knew what I was talking about, “So, when’s the album dropping, yo?”. I’m not an autograph or picture guy, I just wanna say Hi and maybe shake their hand. To his credit, he was nice and engaging, even though looking back on it, he probably just wanted to kick it with his girl and get ready for the show. And, to your credit, Hideawayheads, thank you for listening to my superfan moment.

Besides the “Pack Up” remix, I’ve included the original version (which is completely different). Also, if you’ve heard the Diet Coke commercial with Adrian Brody, you’ve heard snippets of LB’s song “Callin Out”, which is the dopest song on the album and the third song of the day. (Back in February I posted LB’s “Do That There” remix with Young Einstein.) If you like both underground and mainstream hip hop, Lyrics Born is the perfect combination of both sensibilities. This could end up being a week full of Quannum posts as I’m going to see Gift of Gab (from Blackalicious) and Lateef (from Latyrx w/ LB) this Friday. Ah shibbies! It’s got the makings of a great weekend.

I Don't Mind Stealin Bread, I'm Goin' Hungary

Sopron, Hungary: Part 1, to the left of the big flag 


Hallstatt, Austria: Part 2 of the trip 

Zalatnay Sarolta - Come Alone

Skorpio Group - The King With Shred Legs

I've already told a lot of people, but I haven't spilled the beans into the blogosphere yet: I'm going to Hungary and Austria for two weeks this summer! Will I be cavorting around with a railpass, backpack, and a bottle of red wine like last time? Unfortunately, no, I won't be. This time will be more work than play as my uncle, Duke Koopa, does a Christian leadership conference in Sopron, Hungary every year. Basically, people like my uncle have figured out that missionaries aren't nearly as effective as the native Christians, especially in Europe. So, this conference gathers together Christian leaders (scientists, bioethicists, pastors, professors, etc) into separate networks so they can pool their resources together and share. I'm just going to help out and listen in on some lectures. Check out the website at www.euroleadership.org

But, I always manage to squeeze fun out of any situation and I'll be tacking on about 3-4 days on the end to travel to the Austrian Alps, to Salzburg and a little town called Halstatt. It'Hallstatt is THE oldest town in Austria and one of the oldest in Europe, dating back to about 5000 BC. Awesome. Nuff said.

On to today's songs, I'll bet you thought I didn't have any Hungarian music, didn't you? Shame on you. Alright, so I downloaded both songs from soul-sides.com (my favorite mp3 blog), you guys don't care do you? I didn't think so. Zalatnay Sarolta created this song for some Hungarian movie called "A Kengeru (The Kangaroo)". It's sort of a psychedelic pop thing. Both these songs are from the late 60's/early 70's, my favorite musical period. The Skorpio Group was her backing band, and the tune is funkier, but in a Hungarian garage band sort of way. If you don't have any Hungarian stuff rockin your ipod, maybe now's the time, huh?