Yeah, so, I saw this great show...

Feist - The Water (live on KEXP 3/13/05) - unreleased

Feist - Honey (Tears) (live @ SXSW 3/17/05) - unreleased

It was Feist. It was almost sublime. She sold-out the Park West, in Chicago on 1/27/06, which is now one of my all-time favorite venues. I anticipate that these two tracks will be included on her next studio album, which I understand she is going to start recording really soon. I definitely remember "Honey" from the show, it's pretty mesmerizing, and if my memory serves me correctly, something it rarely does, she opened the show with this song. She looped her vocals to form her "backup singers", which was something I'd never seen or heard of anybody doing live in concert. "Honey" is just Feist, her looped vocals, and her guitar. I saw Joseph Arthur do something similar, but he was looping things he did with his acoustic guitar. "The Water" is a melancholic ballad-y tune. Yeah, I know, Happy Friday! But, there's something about her voice that is just entrancing. This song has acoustic guitar and piano, in addition to Feist's electric guitar. Maybe the best part of the show was enjoying Feist as a performer. She's kind of like a cuter, pixier version of Chrissie Hynde, from The Pretenders. It's obvious how much time Feist has spent touring during the past couple years. She kept the entire Chicago audience spellbound. It had some of the most quiet moments I've experienced at a big show like that. It takes an electric performer to keep a Chicago crowd of that size to remain silent and attentive during slower, quieter tunes. I think my girlfriend has a crush on her.

Psst, wanna know about my most recent "Typical Koopa" moment?: "Elle" and I were 45 minutes outside of town when she asked if I had the tickets. I did not. They were sitting in plain sight on my living room endtable, where I had put them so I would not forget them. Forgetfulness has to be one of my most regular humbling experiences. I can be such a pillowhead sometimes.

Hey, got any tips to help me to keep from forgetting important things like that? Leave them in the comments section. On my trip to Fiji, NZ, & AUS, one of my travelling buddies gave me "H.A.M.S.?" as in, "[Do I] Have All My Shit?", because I was driving him crazy with my absent mindedness. I need a new strategy, H.A.M.S. isn't cutting it.

Dear Muslimthai.com,

Above: Mr. Boy, offering a traditional Thai 'wai' to apologize during a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2006. He was responding to Muslims in Thailand who had complained about one of his songs that includes a verse from the Quran, claiming it insults the Islamic holy book.

Dear Muslimthai.com,

I can’t tell you how close I came to omitting the offending song in question, “Maya” from my seminal contemporary Thai rap cd, “Bangkok Boy”. The chick I was dating at the time really liked it and she used her devilish charms to convince me to include it on the album. She had a rocking body and she used it to affect the tracklist of "Bangkok Boy". If only I could go back and scald her with boiling liquids and tell her no, I’m not going to include “Maya” on the record. Maybe all of this could have been averted. You never know. I just wasn't thinking with the right "noodle". I never really liked that song anyway. Listening to it now, I hate it, too. Geez, what was I thinking letting her influence me like that? I’d incinerate my album, too if I was you. In fact, I'll help you. Just give me a 'when' and 'where' and I'll bring my own shovel. Shoot, I must have been smoking some seriously potent Thai-stick to have let that song get through onto the album. (I know smoking weed probably goes against Muslim law too but, hey, I’m just being honest here.) "Earth to Joey Boy!", you can’t lift raps from the Quran! I should’ve known better, plain and simple. All praises to Allah and Muslimthai.com for setting me back on the right path. The non-recorded-Quran-quoting path.

By the way, stay tuned for my new album, I’m going back into studio next week to start self-producing some new tracks. I’m feeling some anti-semitism coming on! Watch out world, here comes the new Joey Boy. Inflammatory anti-semitic style! Bam!

Sincerely,
Joey Boy

Dear Joey Boy,

The following is a letter from Muslimthai.com to Thai rapper, Joey Boy.

Dear Joey Boy,

I was listening to your totally awesome cd, “Bangkok Boy”, last week. Wow. I know you released it back in 1998, but it still sounds totally fresh and vital to me today. Ever since the Danish cartoon stuff started causing so much drama around here, it’s been nice to be able to pop “Bangkok Boy” in the stereo and just kinda let go for a second. I love your rapid-fire Thai raps about noodles and those Bangkok girls that you can’t seem to get enough of. It wasn’t until recently that I actually concentrated on the lyrics in your songs, and I must say that I was surprised. I don’t know if other people still listen to your music, but I sure do. “Bangkok Boy” was criminally underappreciated when it was originally released and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure as many people have heard about this album as possible, for reasons that will soon be crystal clear. I wrote this letter just to tell you what “Bangkok Boy” means to me. With the exception of one song, I found the album as a whole to be an enlightening and entertaining listen. It makes me want to get up and burn something! Wahoo! You’re a pimped-out, street-wise prophet, Joey Boy, don’t let anybody tell you different. However, there was one song, “Maya”, that has caused me to wish this entire work of art had never been contemplated, recorded, or mass-produced. In fact, I wish you were dead, Joey Boy. You remember that verse from “Maya” that contains lyrics taken from the Quran? Highly un-Quranical, Joey Boy. You can't do that. There’s a group of us that agrees that no one should be able to listen to this music anymore. You should’ve known better. Why would you ruin one of the greatest Thai rap albums of all time like “Bangkok Boy” by including such an offensive song like “Maya”? You could’ve recorded a song about destroying the American infidels or the bloodthirsty Zionists, you know. That would've been a real hoot. I could’ve given an album like that as a gift during Ramadan. Instead, the entire staff of Muslimthai.com has demanded that this album be recalled and destroyed. It’s offensive to us and probably many others. Offensive things belong in the Sony BMG Music Entertainment incinerator, not in my home and/or car stereo. I pray that you understand.

Yours truly,
Muslimthai.com

Mylo, Oh My!

Mylo and the Rocketman

Mylo - Drop the Pressure

Mylo - In My Arms

Damnitall, I love days like this! I go to the record store at lunch on new release day pretty often and when the employees of the store are already singing along to the new stuff that came out that morning, I know I’m gonna walk out happy. I didn’t even buy the new release to which they were singing along (Belle & Sebastian’s “The Life Pursuit”). Didn’t have to. There was such an embarrassment of riches released today, I could hardly go wrong. You have your doubts, you say? As you’ll soon hear, I’m right. My friends, please join me in welcoming Mylo, just your favorite new DJ saviour! And now, for the return of the long-forgotten Hackneyed-Comparison-of-the-Day: Mylo’s album “Destroy Rock & Roll” sounds like Daft Punk, The Avalanches, and Royksopp got together to DJ a party. The Hideaway was in need of a new party album; thanks a heap for finally releasing your album stateside, Mylo.

Don't sleep. For goodness sake.

Pictograph Day

Belle and Sebastian - We Are the Sleepyheads (from the forthcoming "The Life Pursuit")

The "Dude, Bonus!": Belle and Sebastian - I'm a Cuckoo (The Avalanches remix)

This album comes out next Tuesday, February 7. Should I buy the new Aceyalone & RJD2 or the new Belle and Sebastian? Let your voice be heard. Vote.

2/6 Update: Man, there are a couple other albums coming out February 7 that I want to buy. Add Mylo's "Destroy Rock n Roll" and Hem's "No Word From Tom" to the list which already includes Belle & Sebastian's "The Life Pursuit" and Aceyalone & RJD2's "Magnificent City". Could be an expensive Tuesday. Maybe I'll give Hem to my mom for her birthday and kill two birds w/ one stone. Is that sketchy? Dodgy? Half-ass-y? Fine, your guilt-trip has worn me down, I won't buy it for either of us. Happy? Geez...

In Case You Missed It: Bush's Chimera Agenda

This vision from one of President Bush's recent nightmares caused him to insert an extra line into his 2006 State of the Union address

President Bush gave his annual State of the Union address last night. I thought I had outsmarted Bushie when I started watching Terence Malick’s “Badlands” at 7 PM, thinking it would last just about until the end of the President’s speech. Turns out that GW is smarter than I gave him credit, he started at 9 PM, outflanking my flanking move. Nicely played, Mr. President. As I’m without cable, I had the choice of either watching Lester Summerall, UPN or watching the President’s Hype Hour. So, I watched. Then, “Elle” came over after her night class and we watched it together. It was mostly inconsequential, but there was one line that President Bush snuck into the usual political patter that piqued both of our interests. See if you can find it in this paragraph from the speech:

A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners, and that recognize the matchless value of every life. Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos. Human life is a gift from our Creator -- and that gift should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale. (Applause.)

Creating human-animal hybrids?!!! He snuck it right in there! Did an editor from Marvel Comics give him comments on this? That’s awesome. Really awesome. I'm proud of the President taking such a heroic stand on this potential global menace. I can’t wait until we have the national discussion on the ethics of creating an unstoppable army of mutant Pigmen (Seinfeld reference). I’ve never heard of this being a serious area of concern until this speech. I searched the Whitehouse.gov website, and this was the first mention of such a thing. Is Bush trying to beat everybody to the political punch? ("Ya heard it here first!") More fear-mongering? ("Pigmen are gonna take your jobs and steal your daughters!") Or, is there already research going on in this field that we just don’t know about yet? As recently as 2003, there have been reports from China of a half-man/half-ape. Maybe the Chinese are allowing human-animal hybrid research. We just don’t know, dude.

Personally, I look forward to the day when Half Man-Half Sharks can walk down the street hand in hand with Half Man-Half Alligators, without being persecuted for their interspecies-homosexual tendencies. Until then, enjoy Kool Keith at his zaniest as he predicts our human-animal hybrid future with his track, "Halfsharkalligatorhalfman" from the cult hip hop album, Dr. Octagonecologyst. It's pretty great. Then Deltron 3030 stole his vibe, f'n Del.

Dr. Octagon - Halfsharkalligatorhalfman

That's So Shaaban!

Bob Dylan - It Ain't Me Babe, [It's My Dead Twin Brother] (from "Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue")

Bob Dylan - [Shaaban], Tell Me That It Isn't True (from "Nashville Skyline")

Bob Dylan - [Shaaban], You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (from "Blood on the Tracks")

Today, I break my normal pattern of farcical, musical nonsense to bring you the strange tale of Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban, also known as Joe Brown, a truckdriver from Greenfield, Indiana. In the summer of 2005, he was indicted for crimes of espionage and conspiring on behalf of the Iraqi government. The information below was copied from a variety of news sources, including The Indy Star, WTHR Channel 13, and The Peru Tribune. This guy is either brilliant or completely retarded. Decide for yourself which you think he is. Either way, I'll miss seeing him on the local news, watching newscasters report these details with a straight face. Keep it surreal, Shaaban Shaaban.

6/9/05: Man accused of selling secrets to Iraq says he's U.S. agent - A Greenfield truck driver accused of trying to sell American secrets to Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq said in federal court that he was a U.S. secret agent. The man, who identified himself as Shaaban Shaaban Hafed, said in court Wednesday that he met at a military recruiting station in Indianapolis with someone he thought was an Army officer. Shaaban said he hoped to pass along information he thought would save the lives of U.S. troops in Iraq but was instead seen as trying to trade secrets…Investigators say Shaaban is a seasoned intelligence officer trained by the Soviet KGB and has at least 13 aliases. The indictment alleges he traveled to Baghdad in 2002 and offered to sell officials the names of U.S. intelligence operatives in Iraq for millions of dollars… If convicted, he could face deportation or decades in prison. Shaaban has claimed the U.S. government has him mixed up with his now-dead twin brother, whom he claims worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. Shaaban gave more than three hours of rambling testimony that touched on what he claimed was a phone call with Yasser Arafat while Shaaban worked at the Palestinian embassy in Moscow. He told how he and his twin brother were born to Palestinian parents in Jordan in 1952. He said his parents, displaced from their homes and impoverished when Israel was created, gave him up to a rich Lebanese woman. Shaaban pointed to two passports - one from Lebanon he maintains is his and another from Jordan he says belonged to his brother - as evidence that his brother existed. He said his brother died in Chechnya while working as an intelligence agent. Federal prosecutors say there is no twin brother and that Shaaban has maintained two identities, using multiple passports. Brooks demanded names of people who could testify to seeing the twin brothers together. Shaaban said his wife and his brother's wife could as could people from a barbershop and a Middle Eastern restaurant in Chicago near where the brothers once lived together. ''How many do you want?'' he said. Still, Shaaban said he and his brother were not seen in public often because of the stigma of their parents' decision to separate them. Shaaban said his indictment has put American secret agents ''including me'' at risk.

7/26/05: U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks and a team of investigators are preparing for a trial in federal court like no other in Indianapolis, according to legal observers. "The entire US is a battlefield in the war on terror. This is the front line. There is no place in America that is not a target," says Bill Bradford, an expert in national security law and an assistant professor at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis… Court records indicate his defense could rely in part on testimony from foreign nationals in Jordan and Russia.

1/12/06: Opening arguments begin for accused Iraqi spy - A Palestinian man accused of conspiring to sell U.S. intelligence secrets to Saddam Hussein's government told jurors Tuesday he was secretly working for the U.S. government and may be confused with his dead identical twin. "I have served this country with all my heart," Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban said during animated opening statements delivered through interpreters in U.S. District Court. "... I refuse to say I am one person with my brother. I refuse to answer for him on his behalf, and the evidence will show that." Prosecutors said they would prove that Shaaban, 53, maintained multiple identities, intimidated a witness and tried to broker a $5 million deal with the Iraqi intelligence service to sell the names of 60 U.S. agents who were working in Iraq or who were to enter the country before the 2002 invasion…Prosecutors say negotiations broke down before the U.S. coalition-led invasion toppled Hussein's regimen. The former Iraqi agent, who will not be named in court and will testify wearing a disguise, has since been captured and has received "financial assistance" from the U.S. government, Jackson said. [Shaaban] said he is one of 24 children - including five sets of twins - born to a Lebanese mother and an Azerbaijani father. Shaaban said he was sold as a child and did not know of his twin until the two were reunited years later in Moscow. The twins moved to the United States and both worked as truck drivers, he said. He said his twin died in Chechnya…A later charge of witness tampering was added after prosecutors said he threatened another brother who lives in California and had agreed to testify against him.

1/17/06: Inside federal court, Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban confronted his former wife, asking Svetlana Shaban, a witness for the prosecution, if the government paid for her testimony against him. She said, "no."…Shaaban called her a liar then complained he didn't have money to buy his own witnesses. "It is an unfair trial." Gathering up an arm load of notes, he continued. "I don't want this justice. This is not justice. "It is showtime. I agree to removal." US marshals removed Shaaban in shackles.

1/18/06: When confronted with photograph and fingerprint evidence, Shaaban Shaaban first denied that he was also a U.S. citizen under the name of Joe Brown, claiming Brown was really his cousin who looked a lot like him. Later in the interrogation, Shaaban admitted changing his name, with permission of the CIA, because he once worked for the KGB, saying, "I'm always fearing for my life." What about accusations that he is a terrorist? Asked point blank, should the United State fear you, Shaaban replied, "No, no, no, I have nothing against America. I would not bite the hand that helps me."

1/19/06: Shaaban Shaaban insists he's no criminal, claiming he's a victim of miscommunication, misinformation and mistaken identity. "It's a very big mistake, but it is a bad mistake," said Shaaban. Shaaban says the accusations are ridiculous. "We are a superpower. We are a superpower. It is shameful to say that an Indiana truck driver has secrets to sell Saddam Hussein. Where I bought it, a flea market in Washington DC[?]," asked Shaaban. Shaaban says he attempted to infiltrate Hussein's regime and save American lives. "I am part of this work. I am proud for that I have evidence that I did this for the USA. I hate Saddam, I hate Saddam," Shaaban went on. In Shaaban's Greenfield home, FBI agents found computer files praising Hussein, even an unsigned contract proposing Shaaban provide, at a price, human shields to protect Iraq from invading forces. "You can put on your computer what you want. We are in a free country. We have free speech, we have first amendment. I can print, I love Saddam Hussein. I can print, I hate Saddam Hussein or I love George Bush or I hate George Bush," he argued. U.S. district court Judge John Tinder is giving Shaaban great leeway. He also suggested that instead of doing interviews, Shaaban spend more time preparing his defense. "I flipped on the TV last night and was surprised to see you giving an interview," Tinder said, referring to comments Shaaban gave to WISH (Channel 8) on Wednesday. He said Shaaban's frequent claims of having too little time to review evidence and prepare for his trial each day were beginning to "ring hollow." "I would suggest you focus on this rather than any media campaign," he said. However, Shaaban ignored Tinder's advice, granting interviews Thursday at the federal courthouse to WTHR (Channel 13) and WXIN (Channel 59).

1/20/06: Shaaban grills self on witness stand - Shaaban, continuing to act as his own attorney, asked himself questions, which he responded to in Arabic. However, after an hour of struggling to overcome frequent objections from the lead prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon M. Jackson, he turned the questioning over to his standy-by lawyers, William H. Dazey Jr. and Michael J. Donahoe.

1/22/06: Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban said on the witness stand in U.S. District Court Friday that he first met his twin at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Moscow in 1979. He said he was working at the Palestinian Embassy and had gone to the Kuwaiti Embassy to pick up a letter…According to Thursday's court testimony, the government and Shaaban's boss arranged for Shaaban to travel to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., with his wife and son in October 2004. While they were away, FBI agents searched Shaaban's home in Greenfield, about 20 miles east of Indianapolis, where they took photographs, photocopied documents and copied his computer hard drive. A federal magistrate authorized an undisclosed search under the Patriot Act. Charles Mong, president of CLM Freight Lines, said Thursday that the FBI asked him to tell Shaaban the Florida vacation was a gift from him.

1/24/06: Shaaban shows video in spy trial - No CIA witnesses were called to testify, although the 53-year-old Palestinian asserts that his meetings with Iraqi intelligence officials were part of a covert operation directed by "Jim in the CIA." To show he was "not anti-American," Shaaban battled prosecutors to play a videotape of a neighborhood Fourth of July celebration in Greenfield, where he had lived until his arrest…Shaaban Hafiz Ahmad Ali Shaaban wanted to show jurors he's an average joe and not the Joe Brown prosecutors say met with former high-ranking officials of Iraq's now-disbanded intelligence service, the Mukhabarat. U.S. District Judge John D. Tinder allowed the airing of the tape over prosecution objections. The video depicts a neighborhood celebration in 2004 during which Shaaban comes out of his rental home onto the lawn while an American flag near the front door of the home flaps in the wind. "This is our flag," Shaaban said, in response to a question from one of his standby attorneys. During questioning, Shaaban, whom the evidence shows also goes by Shaaban S. Hafed and Joe Brown, refused to answer to "Mr. Shaaban." So Jackson began referring to Shaaban as "Mr. Defendant." In turn, Shaaban called her "the government lawyer."

1/25/06: Jurors in a federal conspiracy trial this afternoon convicted an Indiana truck driver accused of offering to sell U.S. secrets to the former Iraqi government on six of seven counts against him. No evidence was presented during his trial, however, that he had access to such information. In tape recordings played in his trial, Shaaban told an FBI undercover agent he never had a list of agents but that he had hoped to receive the information from a Russian contact. Shaaban Shaaban was found guilty, yet defiant and unrepentant. "I am innocent. I will be innocent and one day they will find I am innocent."…Shaaban insists he loves America and is a victim of racial profiling. "Two thousand years ago another Palestinian was crucified and he was innocent." Shaaban, who represented himself in court, will try to talk the judge out of giving him a lengthy prison sentence. US District Attorney Susan Brooks was pleased with the conviction of man she says threatened national security. "Yes, I do believe the country is safer now that the jury has spoken." Shaaban, who also goes by Shaaban S. Hafed and Joe Brown, could face up to 55 years in prison.

1/26/06: The jury's verdicts rejected Shaaban's unsupported claims that federal prosecutors had him confused with a deceased twin and that the CIA had sent him to Iraq as part of a "psychological war" preceding the U.S. invasion. Attorney Michael J. Donahoe: "It was hard to sit and watch him make errors in strategy," he said. "He really didn't know what he was doing... For a lay person, though, he did a pretty good job...I'm disappointed in the verdict," he said. "I don't think he represents a threat to our national security."

Koopa’s Moral of the Story: Sometimes fools can be the most dangerous of all. Sometimes they are just foolish.

The 2 Fresh Mix: Crossed Colours

Can you dig it?

I'm still putting the finishing touches on a "next level" mix, but in the meantime I've been compiling a mix of early 90's hip hop tracks. This era of hip hop is the my favorite for several reasons, listed in order of importance:

1) Rap groups didn't have to clear ( = pay for) the samples they used. What was bad for James Brown, George Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, and Rick James was good for the rest of us. The best funk makes the best breaks. These days you gotta travel half way across the world to find samples that you won't get sued for using without compensation. F'n lawyers, man.
2) Gangsta Rap hadn't taken over yet; popular rap hadn't devolved to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The gangsta's weren't the first generation of black musicians to experience deplorable living environments while growing up, but they were among the first to glorify the violence and other negative aspects, without anything to balance it out.
3) Super-Producers weren't running hip hop. (See Reason #1 for why Super Producers run hip hop these days.) The focus was still on the rhymes, the rhythm, and the beat. The rapper's voice was more of an instrument than it is in today's hip hop. The remixes were the producer's territory, and that's where your dance tracks came from.

Here's the mix:

1. Lord Finesse (feat. Percee P & AG) - Yes, You May
2. Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell (remix)
3. Biz Markie - I Hear Music
4. Original Flavor (feat. Jay Z) - Can I Get Open?
5. Constant Deviants - Catch a Speed Knot
6. Justin Warfield - Season of the Vic
7. Ahmad, Ras Kass, Saafir - Come Widdit
8. Lords of the Underground - Chief Rocka
9. Diamond D - I Went For Mine
10. Positive K - Nightshift
11. Jaz (feat. Jay Z) - It's Just That Simple
12. Dr. Dre - Express Yourself
13. Jeru the Damaja - Mental Stamina
14. Top Priority (feat. Percee P) - Let the Homicides Begin
15. Supreme Nyborn - Breathless
16. Jungle Bros (feat. Tribe Called Quest) - Promo No. 2
17. Main Source - Fakin' the Funk
18. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y. (Vibes Remix)

Grab Bag Monday: Here's the Next Album I'm Buying

In case you were curious, I'm really looking forward to these 2 dudes' album.

Aceyalone (w/ RJD2) - Fire

I'm liking the vibe of this song. It's not trying to bang you over the head with it's party sound, it just sounds good. Yet, it's definitely party-mix-worthy. Great production, no trickery, no gimmickry, just a dope bass line holding things down. It's two dudes at the top of their games. Aceyalone & RJD2's album "Magnificent City" comes out on February 7. Expect to see me at Luna at noon. Expect my head to be bobblin' by 12:01.

The Soul Man

If you can't feel Wilson Pickett, you've got no soul at all

Wilson Pickett - Hey Jude

Wilson Pickett - I'm in Love

UPDATE: Wilson Pickett - Man and a Half

We lost yet another great one this week. Man, two great singers in two weeks. Damn. On these two songs, Wilson brings it. "I'm in Love" is one of my favorite love songs, it ended up on a mix I made recently. "Hey Jude" is a burner, it starts kinda slow and then he explodes around the three minute mark. It's one of the best Beatles covers I've heard. It gives me goosebumps sometimes. UPDATE: I forgot about "Man and a Half". Lemme tell ya'll one thing: This song rocks so freakin hard you better be wearin sock-suspenders. Otherwise, it'll knock 'em right off. If you are a man and you're ever feeling down or whatever, just play this song. If you got ladies on your case or bustin your balls, just play this song for 'em and remind 'em you're the cock of the walk. This song is made for struttin and cock-walkin. I'm a man and a half, damn it. Recognize.

Wilson Pickett always sounded like he had something he had to tell you, no matter what he was singing about. He wasn't gonna scream unless he had to, but he was definitely going to get your attention. Lucky for us, he never felt like we were paying attention.

Once Again, Nice Guys Finish Last

Indianapolis Colts: Thanks for ruining the entire month of January for me, fellas. Bang up job.

Ben Lee - Float On

It's things like this that threaten to turn me into a sorry sadsack, an invective-spouting sore loser. Games like the Colts vs. the Steelers. Games where players who used to seem untouchable become all-too-mortal for about 3 hours.

Dr. K's Diagnosis: The Colts lack an emotional leader. They are a team of nice, respectable, level-headed football players. They need a guy who will get in people's faces and inspire them or scare them. The problem isn't Peyton, necessarily. The problem is that he's getting paid "leader" money, but he doesn't have the personality for it. Too many times when something goes wrong for the Colts, Peyton just hangs his head and gets that "Peyton-Face" that I hate. It's like he's baffled by what's going on, like he can't wrap his head around the problem or what to do to fix it. He mopes and I hate it. He's so caught up in his job as the technician that he ignores (or is unable to fulfill) his role as an emotional leader. Dan Marino wasn't either, if memory serves me correctly. The Colts need to focus their offseason on aquiring a tough-as-nails free agent linebacker, like Ray Lewis, who can provide an emotional boost when Peyton is too busy talking on the phone or looking at pictures of the defense. Even if it takes trading a draft pick or something, they need an emotional leader NOW. Between now and then, let Edgerrin go and draft a running back.

Until my Colts get to the Super Bowl, I'm gonna try to keep floating on. Enjoy this cover of Modest Mouse modern-day classic, "Float On", by Claire Dane's ex-boyfriend, Ben Lee.

New Installment: Birthday Present Ideas

Finally, an easy way to cook hot dogs: The "Deion Sanders' Hot Dog Express"

Hi, my name is Deion Sanders, professional football player and flamboyant media personality. I’d like you to think long and hard about a question I have for you. Don’t just go with the first thing you think of, think deeply and analyze your soul’s true desires: “What is the ideal way to cook and eat a hot dog?” Or, to put it another way, “How do I imagine I’ll cook and eat a hot dog when I get to heaven?”

If you answered, “Piping hot, straight off those metal rollers from the gas station down the street.”, you answered correctly. I had a conversation with God before I came out here and He told me that’s the way He likes His, too. Now, don't you wish there was a way to save yourself the time of driving to the gas station or convenience store to get your mouthwatering hot dog? Sure you do! There's got to be a better way! I’m an American, too, and I know that when I want a juicy hot dog, I don’t want to wait any longer than I absolutely have to. Believe it or not, there is a way to out-convenience a convenience store. You think I’m trying to sell you a doggone microwave, don’t you! Nope, and I’m not trying to sell you those individually wrapped Ball Park Singles, either. Those things are disgusting. No, I’m offering you a new and revolutionary way to serve gas station-quality hot dogs right there in your home, an entirely exciting, stand-alone machine that cooks hot dogs (and other tubular sausages, like knockwurst) with the flip of a button and the rotation of metal cylinders, the “Deion Sanders’ Hot Dog Express”, from Emson USA. Sure, you can cook hot dogs with virtually any available heat-source/microwave-emitter, I mean, you purchase them pre-cooked so all you gotta do is reheat them! They're so packed with hi-tech artificial preservatives that you could eat them right out of the refrigerator if you wanted...which would be disgusting, of course. But, what if I told you that you could have a separate, dishwasher-safe machine solely dedicated to warming and rotating your beloved dogs, a greaseless, space-age machine that has gas station owners shaking in their boots? They don’t like that I’m offering you the “Deion Sanders’ Hot Dog Express”, they like being the only guys in town with a hot dog cooker & rotator. I’ve even had a few people, including trusted friends and business associates, try and convince me not to bring this amazing offer to you. But, I didn’t give myself the names, “Prime Time” and "Neon Deion" for nothing: put it in neon lights, the "Deion Sanders' Hot Dog Express" is a prime-time deal! Seriously, all you need to do is plug this simple hot dog cooking & rotating machine into any standard electrical outlet and you can be eating 8-12 hot dogs within minutes! I call mine “Neon Dogs” and I serve them with mustard and ketchup. Your nights and evenings of grilling, boiling, flame-cooking, or microwaving hot dogs are over. For only one payment of $49.95, you can serve gas station-quality hot dogs out of the comfort of your own home, no more rushing to the nearest gas station only to find out that someone had just purchased the last delectable dog. You could even start a roadside business and sell hot dogs to passing motorists, if you had a long enough extension cord! This machine could pay for itself! Are you ready for this century’s biggest revolution in home hot dog cooking & rotating technology? Take the power out of the hands of the gas stations and call right now. The “Deion Sanders’ Hot Dog Express” is waiting.

The first 3 orders get a free slushee machine. Why spend hours and hours shaving your own ice when you can have a machine do it for you?

Legal Notice from The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council: "Hot dogs" are pre-cooked, but should be thoroughly reheated until steaming hot. Be sure to separate "hot dogs" from other uncooked meats and poultry.

On a totally different note, here's today's song, a party staple with a sick synth sample from the Tom Tom Club song, "Genius of Love":
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5 - It's Nasty

The Dynamic, The Soulful, Mr. Lou Rawls

We lost another great one today.

Lou Rawls - Scotch and Soda

Lou Rawls - Willow Weep For Me

Lou Rawls passed away today from lung cancer, he was in his early 70's (it seems his exact age is subject to debate). He was one of my favorite vocalists, I often described him to friends who hadn't heard of him as "The Black Sinatra". I meant this in with the utmost respect, because he was every bit the singer and entertainer that Frank Sinatra ever was. He could convincingly express a variety of moods and themes in the songs he chose. Rawls spent much of his career working with producer David Axelrod, whose material has been extensively sampled by Dr. Dre and DJ Shadow. Everything they did together just sounds timeless. 'Scotch and Soda' is one of my favorite Rawls tunes, it's a loungy masterpiece about how "high" Mr. Rawls gets around a particular ladyfriend of his. 'Willow Weep For Me' is another masterpiece of piano-bar/lounge music. He displays his vocal chops on this tune, and there's some killer piano work, too. It's cool jazz at it's most sublime.

Rest in peace, Lou.

May This Be Love

Curtis Mayfield - Stone Junkie (live at "Newport in New York '72")

Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman (live at "Newport in New York '72")

Koopa’s Hideaway is finally attracting some heat, thanks to Soul-Sides.com, my favorite mp3 blog. Dude added me to his blog roll (hmmm, maybe it’s time I did one of those). Now I gotta earn my keep, prove I belong, and I owe it to the funky souls who frequent Soul Sides to post something I KNOW they’ll be interested in. How about a live 2 song set from Curtis Mayfield from the available-on-vinyl-only-“Newport in New York ‘72” album? Mayfield only released one live album, Curtis Live (recorded January '71), and these recordings were not included (An earlier version of Stone Junkie was on there, but Pusherman wasn't included at all.) The movie Superfly was released after the Newport in New York concert, and I’m fairly certain this recording of Pusherman is one of the first times he played it live. When he introduces "Pusherman", he has to describe the film and that he wants to "see how you feel about [the song]". I ask the same. If you like it, let me know. The band he's playing with sounds really, really tight and it's a great recording. Enjoy.

So What's the Time?

It's about 10 past disco. It’s time to meet some Puerto Rican girls that's just dying to meet you.

The Rolling Stones - Miss You (extended disco mix)

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear...Did I hear you say you like the Rolling Stones? Crazy! And, you like to dance, too, huh? What a mind-blowing coincidence! This proves a theory I've been developing for several years now: It's a small world after all. I can't tell you how nice it is to meet people with common interests. Today is our day, friend! May I introduce you to the song o' the day and the first of this glorious new year: An 8 minute 38 second mix of The Rolling Stones' foray into disco, "Miss You". You loved it when it was just 3 minutes 35 seconds long; fall in love all over again with 241% more of everything you loved the first time around. 241% more funky bass lines, 241% more "Hooo Hooo!"s, 241% more Travolta finger pointing and white-folk disco dancing.

(Let me know if you have any problems downloading this track or any others on the site.)

When I Was 26, It Was a Very Good Year

This guy with the tambourine is how excited I get when I compile 'Best Of' lists

King Koopa’s Best of 2005 List:

Best First Date: November 10 at BW3, with the figuratively bowlegged "Elle". Keep your, “yeah, because it was Koopa’s ONLY first date for the year” comments to yourself, thank you very much. As I kicked her ass in NTN Trivia and told her all the reasons she shouldn’t get involved with a shady character like me, this is the song that would’ve been playing if we were characters in a movie: Acid House King’s “Tonight is Forever”.

Best previously-unreleased Bob Dylan song from the year’s best soundtrack: Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues (alternate take #5), from the soundtrack to Dylan’s Scorsese-directed documentary “No Direction Home”. Sorry, “Visions of Johanna (Take #8)”, maybe next year. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if I was forced to choose one musician’s catalog to listen to for the rest of my life it would be Dylan. Dylan’s my favorite American and the embodiment of what made this country great.

Best remix featuring beats derived from a GameBoy: Beck’s “Girl” (8-Bit Remix). People say Beck’s lost his sense of humor, but by releasing a four song Gameboy-beat remix album before the official album release, I’d say he’s at least retained a sense of playfulness. I guess Scientology still allows playfulness. Stay tuned to Koopa’s Hideaway for any change on Scientology’s rules regarding playfulness.

Best cover song by someone with English as their second language: PJ Pooterhoots, covering Hall & Oates, “I Can’t Go For That”. (PJ Pooterhoots also won this year's award for Best Solo Artist Name.) This song has always been a floor-filler, never more so than with Ms. Pooterhoots’ version. It’s irresistible. If you can hate on this track then you are hopeless and I feel sorry for your miserable soul. The singer sounds vaguely Asian, but I can’t really place the accent. She sounds pretty sexy though, in that Yoko Ono pre-Beatles-breakup sort of way.

Best song that I can’t understand a single word of: Dungen’s “Festival”. Technically, I purchased this Swedish import in mid-2004, but it wasn’t released in the US until this year. It just means I’m cooler than you, that’s all, and I shouldn't be penalized for my excessive coolness. Dude, you know I was into Swedish prog-rock like WAAAAY before you were. This album kicks Swedishmeatballass.

Best song about outer space: Edan feat. Mr. Lif, “Making Planets”. A swirling, psychedelic trip from the year’s most original hip hop album. This song makes me think of taking a midnight cruise on a summer night with a full-moon, nodding my head like a demented bobblehead, with cheesy grin plastered across my face.

Best album to tide me over until the next Flaming Lips album: The Earlies' "These Were". Sorry, Brian Wilson, SMILE just didn't do it for me as much as "These Were". Again, technically, I purchased this album in 2004, but it didn't get released in the US until 2005. Don't hate me because you wish you had my refined musical palette. Instead, enjoy this slice of Tex-Brit psychedelia: "Morning Wonder", by The Earlies.

Best song from the year’s best album: The album is My Morning Jacket's "Z" and the song is “Off the Record”. Yeah, I’ve got this song on 7” vinyl. That’s right. I know, it’s pretty awesome, huh. I’m like a cumulonimbus cloud of coolness and I’m raining all over you. Hope you brought an umbrella because the forecast is calling for continued coolness with a potential for extreme awesomeness.

Best record label to put out a totally crappy hip hop record: Quannum. And, the album is APSCI’s “Thanks For Asking”. I’m a Quannum ball-swinger, but this thing just didn’t cut it. It’s the first chink in Quannum’s armor. Don’t make me start swingin from Stones Throw’s balls, guys. Seriously. This album's sooo crappy, I won't subject you to any mp3s.

Best remix of a song featured in a Will Smith movie: Amerie, “One Thing” (Siik remix). Pure hotness. On so many levels. The remix isn’t as jittery as the original, it makes Amerie’s vocals the focus of the mix. Ah shibbies!

Best show I saw all year: Wilco in Kalamazoo. Jeff Tweedy just keeps getting better. He’s proved himself to be one of the best songwriters of his generation. This show rocked me six ways from Sunday. “Handshake Drugs” from Wilco’s new ‘Kicking Television’ live double album was one of my favorite songs from that show. The best part of the weekend was when I forgot to bring my ID and I wasn't able to drink at Bell's brewery. Tragicomical. In a typical Koopa-type way.

Best reminder that Michael Jackson used to be more than just a plastic-faced pederast: Team 9’s three way mashup of MJ’s “Scream”, Beck’s “E-Pro”, and AC/DC’s “TNT”. Me thinks he didn't write this song in that "dreaming tree" of his from the embarassing TV documentary he did.

Best new love song that sounds like a really, really old love song: The Band of Bees, “I Love You”. Break out the satin sheets and uncork a perfectly aged bottle of love tonight, hideawayheads. Pop this song in the boombox and get ready for romance, the likes of which you've never dreamed.

Best solo album by a member of Sea and Cake: Sam Prekop's "Who's Your New Professor". I'd say this is definitely one of the 5 best albums of the year. And, since this is my blog I'm going to go ahead and say that. While I'm saying things about Sam Prekop, I'd also like to say that the lead-off track, "Something" is my favorite song. There. I said it.

Best radio hit that never got played on the radio: Josh Rouse, “It’s the Nighttime”. This album got completely slept on. I really enjoyed it. You should too. Rouse may be a poor man’s Jeff Tweedy, but he’s well on his way to Tweedy-level consistency.

Best vacation of the year: My missions trip to Hungary. That ended up being my only vacation of the year, but it was worth every Forint. Here’s some totally sweet 70’s Hungarian garage rock: Skorpio Group, “The King With Shred Legs”. Don’t let the song title fool you, it’s all in Hungarian. And in case you had any intentions of learning Hungarian, be aware that the world’s top linguists still can’t decide what other languages Hungarian is related to. It's not Latin or Slavic-based. Their best guess is that it’s a descendant of some of the Scandinavian languages. Hungarian uses accents, weird letters and everything. Good luck.

Thanks to all the people who have checked out the site since I started this thing up last February. If it weren’t for all eight of my ravenous, insatiable fans, I wouldn’t be doing this. Thanks for stopping by and stay classy, Hideawayheads. King Koopa loves ya.

Frontin on Debra's Sister

DJ Reset - Frontin on Debra

I'm not going to win any DJ cred with this post, since this was technically last year's hot joint, but I've got a lot of time on my hands at work these days and I can't leave my Hideawayheads without this song for yet another year. Some music critic called this track the 'Song of the Year'...last year. Better late than never. It's a mashup/remix/blend of Beck's "Debra" & Pharrell Williams' "Frontin". To describe this track as "silky" would be coarse. Yeah, it's that smooth. I'd call it "dope", but it's much more intoxicating than the stickiest of the icky. Alright, fine, I'll call it "ill" and leave it at that.

Trading Spaces

Indie Folk:

• Kings of Convenience - Misread - Canadian folkies. These guys are part of a recent wave of good music coming out of the frigid hinterland known as Canada (along with Broken Social Scene, Feist). Ignore the fact that they're Canadian and that they don't exactly fit the theory described below. Canadians privately wish they were American anyway.
• Iron & Wine - Woman King - This dude is probably the best of the indie folksters out there. This song is from his latest solo EP.
• The Shins - New Slang (live) - The Shins could be the most popular of the indie-folksters. They're catchier than most. This live version is a little quiet, so just turn your speakers up all the way and it'll sound about right.

Electroclash:

• Midwest Product - When Doves Cry - Great song. Electro-stylee.
• Mahjongg - Hot Lava - A thumper of a tune. Great beat
• Tiger Tunes - Kirsten is a F'machine - F'n hilarious. This may be my favorite "electroclash" song.

Here’s a link to a fascinating article that makes a parallel between the record-low interests rates of the past 4-5 years and the decrease in the number of rock bands that use live drums. The author makes the case that the abandonment the suburbs and gentrification of urban areas has led to the rise of live-drum-less indie-folk and electroclash (which, honestly, sounds a lot like ol’ electronica with live vocals to me). I think it’s a really interesting theory, and it tweaks the part of me that needs to understand how and why things happen the way they do, the part of me that’s interested in the cause that produces a certain effect. I've been surmising for years that the suburbs are about 10 years away from being the new ghettos. We'll see. My high school economics class (taught by the brilliant, long-division master and singular personality, Mr. Dan Groff) really started me down this “cause and effect” path. From studying the stock market and economic theory, I learned that if you can sort through all the different variables, you can find a cause for everything that happens. Of course, that way of thinking usually works best when analyzing why something happened in the past, as opposed to predicting what will happen in the future. That’s why nobody has developed an accurate model for predicting what will happen with the stock market. There are too many ever-changing variables to develop an equation for prediction. So, the author of this article can’t tell you what’s going to happen to music in the future, but he has a pretty pessimistic view of the future of this country, so I would guess he’s not predicting another rise of boy bands in the near future. Probably socially-conscious music of some sort, eh? Who knows! That’s why this country needs music geeks like myself and this guy, because who else is going to argue about how the political/cultural landscape is going to affect music of the future? Somebody out there has to think about these things. But, that’s neither here nor there…read the article and appreciate the analytical genius behind the theory.

I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and that you got to spend some quality time with the ones you love. My holiday weekend was spent staying up late with friends from out of town and waking up early to the exhortations of my nieces and nephews. I need a vacation from my vacation. I also encountered a mix cd project from one of the American Mastodon’s friends that has really inspired me to take my mix-making to the next level. The AM got it all started with this mix. I highly recommend it, and he might still send you one if you ask nicely enough. Then again, I could probably burn you a copy too. I’ve already got some good ideas that I’m starting on. Stay tuned.

Winter: Welcome To The Darkness

Curtis Mayfield - Right on for the Darkness

Willie Wright - Right on for the Darkness

Josh Rouse - Come Back (Light Therapy)

The above picture is Justin Hawkins of the English joke-rock band, The Darkness. The Darkness rock out in ways that make you bust out…laughing. The problem is that the laughing often drowns out the rocking. Personally, if I’m going to rock out, I take my rock with a pinch less irony. But, regardless, this post is not really about The Darkness with a big D, but about “darkness” with a little d. I just thought this was a really funny picture. People just don’t rock pilgrim hats, leather pants, and those keyboard/guitar things anymore.

Today is the first official day of winter, which means it’s the winter solstice, which means it’s the shortest, darkest day of the year, which means insomniacs will have no excuse for not being able to go to bed at a decent hour. (Interestingly, the winter solstice is also the biggest holiday for Wicca, a goddess/witchy type religion. That's cool and all, but there's something fishy about a belief system that isn't even as old as my parents, as this article in Slate points out.) The sun goes down super early and if the Hideaway gets switched to the Central Time Zone, as is being discussed, next year it’ll go down even earlier. That would be super. All so we can be on the same time as Chicago. Big whoop. For me, it will remove some of the confusion of going to a concert in Chicago, but that’s about it. I’m not a big fan of winter and all the dark evenings. Between the cold and the darkness, it kills my drive to go out and do things outside of the house in the evenings. I pretty much hibernate through winter. Christmas, President’s Day, and the thoughts of up-coming spring, those are the only highlights. New Year’s just means a monster hangover, that’s about it, oh, and the likelihood that I’ll fail miserably in my attempt at any resolution. Except my resolution to not do heroin. I feel confident that I’ll be able to keep that one for another year. Wait, does that resolution imply that I used to do heroin? I’ll leave that juicy implication open-ended, just for the sake of King Koopa’s blogular mythmaking… on to today’s songs:

I’ve got Curtis Mayfield’s original “Right on for the Darkness” and a shorter yet almost-superior version by a guy named Willie Wright whom I’ve never heard of outside of this song. It’s a socially conscious funky soul workout about doing whatever it is you do and letting other people hate on you if they wanna. “Playin’ on the clothes you wear/Laughing down at me/But I swear I just don’t care”Awesome percussion in both versions, more blaxploitation soundtrack-style orchestration in Mayfield’s. The last song is Josh Rouse’s “Come Back (Light Therapy)”, which uses the metaphor of craving the sun during a dark, dreary winter to needing your lover. It’s a great song from Rouse’s 70’s-style singer-songwriter album, 1972. Me likey.

Knocked Out Loaded

Bobby Rush - Bowlegged Woman/Knock Kneed Man

So, where’s King Koopa been all these weeks since my rowboating-with-robots post? Busy at work? Nope. Uninspired? Hardly. So, what then? Well, I’ve been making mix cds like a madman, but no longer for my hard-time-having buddy from before. Nope, these mixes have been for someone else all-together. Someone whose musical passions mirror mine, someone who loves a good mix cd as much as myself. Someone who possesses a yin to match my yang, a zig to connect to the end of my zag…figurative bowleggedness to accommodate my figurative knocked-knees.

Have a Merry Christmas, Hideawayheads. If you missed my Christmas party this past weekend, then you might as well have missed Christmas. You definitely missed getting a taste of some African moonshine, straight from a bathtub in Ghana. Talk about getting a fire in your belly! Whoo! Special thanks to D Friendly, my party's honored guest and moonshine-supplier, and to Buster Larkins for making it happen and getting his mom to babysit. Props, homeslizzles.