VHS or Beta @ MMS

"HELL YEAH!!!!", says the man in the red shirt in the front row

VHS or Beta - No Cabaret

This fella above is a good buddy of mine and he just so happens to be a big fan of VHS or Beta. In fact, I credit him with turning me on to one of the coolest new bands I've heard in awhile. (Think: Duran Duran mixed with The Cure mixed with Daft Punk.) Dude was my roommate for awhile and he goes by the nom de plum "Paloz" (a variation on his real last name, sort like King "Koopa".) Well, this picture was taken of him last Saturday night at The Patio when we saw VHS or Beta as part of the Midwest Music Summit. It was an awesome show that had me shakin my moneymaker and producing beads of sweat on my forehead the size of ping pong balls. There was some guy there who was taking pictures at each stop of their tour and posting the pictures on his site LastNightsParty. The photographer just happened to catch Paloz as he was exhorting the band with a couple "Hell yeah!!!"s or "Yeah bass!!!" or the relatively rare "Get nasty!!!". It was a really fun night of dancing around and screaming like kids hopped up on No Doz. If you go see VHS or Beta, an activity I highly recommend, make sure to dress appropriately (no sweaters or snowsuits) and wear proper shoes because you WILL 'get nasty'. I know I did.

Enjoy a little danceable goodness and Paloz's purportedly favorite VHS or Beta song, "No Cabaret". (Would you ever guess that the lead singer is a mulleted Asian from Louisville, KY? Didn't think so...)

Birthdays, Burritos, and Porch Music

the instigator

Yesterday was my buddy Casey’s birthday. The highlight of the night came at the end: Having the cops called on Casey over a disputed burrito with beans(that Casey's sister ordered specifically with "no beans"). The burrito in question was paid for, then after taking a few bites and the beans were discovered, the staff was alerted to the problem. At first Casey decided that he would take one for the team and eat the beany burrito. Then, realizing he had an opportunity for a free burrito since it was faulty to begin with, he requested a refund under the "customer is always right" statute. After the refund was requested and refused, colorful words were exchanged, which resulted in the disputed but already-purchased burrito being inexplicably thrown in a nearby trash can by the proprietors of the burrito establishment. This action produced the predictable reaction of more colorful words being bandied about by both parties. Within short order, it escalated to a threat of police involvement; a threat which Casey greeted with incredulity and then encouragement. Cops showed up and escorted him outside, but it all ended peacefully. It just goes to show you that sometimes birthdays and burritos don’t go together as well as you might think.

Anyway, I made a “porch music” mix for the dude's birthday. Check it.

1 - Paul Simon - Have a Good Time - Great 70's pop tune. Good riddance, Garfunkel
2 - Mose Allison – Seventh Son - Breezy, swinging jazz tune. Laid back, subtle vocals. Classic song.
3- Nick Drake – One of These Things First
4 - Bob Dylan – Tangled Up in Blue (bootleg version)
5 - Tony Rice & Friends – Scarborough Fair
6 - Iron & Wine – Woman King
7 - Sam Prekop – C+F
8 - Lemon Jelly – Soft
9 - Sam Cooke – A Change is Gonna Come
10 - Ray Charles – You Don’t Know Me
11 - Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto – Corcovado - The same pairing that produced "Girl From Ipanema", this song is just stunningly beautiful. Very early bossa nova.
12 - Nouvelle Vague – Love Will Tear Us Apart - A bossa nova version of the Joy Division classic. I've got a whole album of bossa nova versions of early 80's punk/new wave songs.
13 - Sam Prekop – Density
14 - Charlie Byrd – It’s Impossible
15 - Donovan – Colours
Van Morrison – Starting a New Life
16 - Tony Rice & Friends – Jerusalem Ridge - Tony Rice is one of the best guitar pickers in the world. He says it took him years to figure out how to play this song on his guitar and that it's the most physically demanding song that he plays. If you find better bluegrass than this, buy it.
17 - Gram Parsons – Do Right Woman
18 - Daniel Lanois – JJ Leaves LA - ADDED BY REQUEST 8/12! Super-producer Daniel Lanois brings his slide guitar stylings to the Hideaway. Delectable.

Once Again, Back is the Incredible

2 Mex is 2 dope 4 life.

2 MEX - Once Again

Songodsuns - Minors Into Fire

Hey, I’m supposed to be running an audioblog, huh? Well, fret not, hideawayheads, I haven’t forgot ya. It’s just that the jobby-job has been beatin me down. I won’t bore you with details, but I’ve been rode hard and put away wet. Lucky for you, I’ve found the next underground rap star in the mean time. That’s right, I’ve found the next #1 stunna. See, I realize that if I’ve got a definitive knack or a niche in this crazy musical world in which I orbit, it’s in finding the next dope rapper who sounds just different enough to make it. If the rap game was like the stock market, I’d be a googlionaire by now. It started back in college with two unknown rap collectives who had released EPs that year: a little group named “Jurassic 5” and a duo named “Blackalicious”. The last nugget I unearthed from the rap garden was ‘EDAN’. Now it’s time to reinvest, to start from scratch and find that next underground chart-climber. Mission Accomplished: I’ve found my diamond in the rough and he goes by the name “2 Mex”. His vocal style reminds me of Lyrics Born, and the production on these two tracks is definitely bangin, thanks to producer Squeak E Clean. Borrowing a page from Madlib’s playbook, he also has several aliases, one of which is “Songodsuns”. Gimme a hollar if you’re feelin this, blogosphere.

'The Bees Knees' or 'Attack of the Imported Bees'

A young hipster in training for his first beard of real bees. 'Good form; keep that chin up!'

A Band of Bees - These Are The Ghosts

A Band of Bees - Wash In The Rain

A Band of Bees - Horsemen

A Band of Bees - This Is The Land

In case you needed further proof of the fact that I’m about 24 times hipper than the average hip-cat, here’s some tracks to download from The Bees (or A Band of Bees, if you’re like me and you're not into the whole brevity thing). I had my grubby paws on this album about a year ago when it was released only in the UK. Finally, they got around to releasing this album in the US a few weeks ago. However, it really steams my veggies that they added 2 new bonus tracks on the American version. Quite the cruel joke on all The Bees completists out there, of which there must certainly be several. But, that’s what record companies are for, right?

I posted the song, "Chicken Payback" from this album awhile ago during my blogular tribute to the animal kingdom. Not surprisingly, it was universally ignored. If you want that song, you'll just have to buy the album and wish forever that you'd listened to me the first time around.

A Guilty Pleasure

Schnikies, I'm speechless

Amerie - One Thing (Siik Remix)

Yeah, so, I heard the best song of the summer the other day. It's a remix and I haven't even heard the original, but I just have that feelin in the bottom of my stomach that this is my guilty pleasure of the summer. It's kinda R&B, which is not normally my cup of tea (at least, not new R&B). See, I'm pretty far removed from Top 40 or radio, so it's totally possible that this song has already blown up and I'm arriving late to the party. But, I've played this song about 10 or 15 times since downloading it and I haven't gotten tired of hearing it yet. Subtle subliminal summer sublimity.

Keep holding on for a story or two from my trip. (I know, I've lost interest already, too)

Americans = Fat

I'm just stating fact here, c'mon

Good Rockin' Charles - Goin Home

Chico Chism - 480 Pounds

During my last few days of being over in Europe, I began to dread coming home. There's a lot of reasons why I wasn't looking forward to coming home, but one of the more light-hearted ones was going home to be among my fat fellow Americans. Before any of my huskier readers becomes offended, please realize that I'm just stating fact: we are a culture of overweight people.

This was my third trip to Europe and when I get back, without fail, I get asked about how many hotties I met/hooked up with. Without going against my stance on kissing and telling, I will say that the the ratio of hotties to notties is clearly in favor of the Europeans. So many hotties that I was getting whiplash on an hourly basis from all the double-takes. I'm no statistician, but my mathematical brain pointed me to one simple conclusion: The number of fatties in a given country is inversely proportional to the number of hotties. For those people who are confused by the terms "inversely" and "proportional", I'll put it in lay terms: The more skinny people in a given population, the more hotties you're gonna meet. Sounds obvious enough, right? Well, the difference is striking. Not profound, but striking. In fact, it struck me as yet another reason why I love to travel. The easiest way to spot Americans abroad: look for a group of portly people. With fanny packs. And baseball caps.

But, I digress. One song that kept bouncing around in my head during my last few days over there, while I was ogling all the beautiful women around me, was Good Rockin' Charles "Goin Home". Ol Good Rockin' Charles makes no bones about the fact that he likes women with some meat on their bones. And, to that end, he makes it clear that he's going home to get him some. Good Rockin' Charles has only one eponymously named album listed on Amazon.com and this song isn't on it. So, I'd like to think this song is pretty rare. It's from a vinyl compilation album I have called "American Blues '79". It's one of the first records I ever bought and I got it mainly for the cover. It turned out to be a fantastic find. Interestingly, Good Rockin' isn't the only musician on the album to extol the virtues of fatness. A few songs earlier on the same side of the record, Chico Chism tells all about his "biggy fatty mama" who tips the scales at 480 lbs while still managing to rock him all night long. I'll leave it up to the blogosphere to discuss the stereotype of black guys and overweight women. I think these songs, and Mr. Chism in particular, speak for themselves.

--keep holding and maybe tomorrow I'll tell you all about the "typical koopa" moment that occurred early on in my trip. It requires all my mental faculties to tell it in complete detail. You'll be glad I waited...

Cynics Need Not Apply

van the man

Van Morrison - Starting a New Life

Why Van Morrison’s “Starting a New Life” (from the album Tupelo Honey) hasn’t been on a million and a half movie soundtracks, I’ll never know. You know the storyline: The protagonist/anti-hero beats his head against a figurative wall for the first half of the movie, continually denies the calling of his soul; eventually has his moment of clarity; achieves redemption; now enlightened, he walks into a beautiful sunset while this song plays and the credits start to roll and, we are left to assume, begins to live a life markedly different from the one he’d previously been living. We all know the story and it’s easy to be cynical whenever we hear a story that follows the same arc. So, excuse me if I spare you mine because I’m a little wary about telling it only to have a bunch of cynical citizens of the blogosphere throwing rocks at my glass house (the torrent of mixed metaphors have returned! Yes!). I’m a sort of optimistic realist and I realize I’m already setting myself up for failure, but I haven’t done enough of that lately (the setting-up, I mean), so I figure I’m due…

But, lucky for you, what I do feel like telling you all about are my moments of folly, ineptitude, humiliation, embarrassment, and easily my worst ever day in a foreign country. Those stories are more interesting anyway. Stay tuned for a knee-slapper of a story that some who are in-the-know enough would describe as a “typical koopa” moment (which it most definitely is) and others less familiar with those moments have described as a minor miracle (which I won’t rule out). It’s all about perspective.

So, if you can imagine this whole trip of mine as a movie and this is the song playing while the credits roll, please wait patiently while I do the behind-the-scenes featurette on the scenes of interest. My brain feels pretty mushy from jetlag after spending 24hrs yesterday in a bunch of planes, trains, and automobiles trying to get home…so it could be a day or two…

Dude, bonus!!: Because I love Van Morrison (If you don’t have Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” album, shame on thee) and it might be awhile before I post more from him, here is another song that would have played in a montage during the movie of my last two weeks…mmm mmm mmm!

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

Simply sublime, no?

Guess Who's Back in the Mutha Funkin House

I'm laggin, but give me a minute and I'll be back to postin'.

Does it feel good to be home? No, not exactly, but I'm still glad to be home. I've got a couple soon-to-be-legendary "typical koopa" stories to relate involving lost passports and international incidents with uninsured Hungarian automobiles, but you'll have to be patient. All in good time, my friends...

Diamonds in the Back, Sunroof Top/Diggin the Scene with a Gangsta Lean

Sopron, Hungary

William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You've Got

Tomorrow morning I leave for Hungary to volunteer at the European Leadership Forum, which I’ve talked about on here several times before. More than anything, I know that these two weeks are going to be another life-changing travel experience. Every big trip I’ve taken has been. They’ve been life-changing in that they’ve adjusted and reordered my priorities and broadened my perspective on life in general. This one is going to be different in that it’s for a greater good: the Lord’s work. It’s not just for my own personal enjoyment this time. I’m going to be working my tail off the week of the conference and the days leading up to it. My hope is that it puts in check some of the self-centered, selfish attitudes that have seeped into my daily life and routine. But, right now, I’m simply thankful for this opportunity to go over there and be a servant for something else besides my own desires. As Bob Dylan said, “You gotta serve somebody” and lately it’s been myself and anybody I thought would reciprocate and therefore benefit me somehow. I’ve learned since my last trip that never worrying about anything else but serving yourself is a never-ending cycle that simply breeds more earthly desires to be fulfilled. Ultimately, this cycle leads to destruction. This conference is all about trying to help out Christian leaders (scientists, bioethicists, professors, writers, pastors, counselors, etc) in Europe who will turn around after this conference and impact the spiritual lives of Europeans in a way that I never could. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be around such people and learn something from them. I’m thankful that I’m financially even able to attend. I’m thankful for a boss that respects me enough to grant me 2 weeks vacation during a busy summer. I’m thankful for an extended family that enjoys being around one another and looks forward to spending two weeks working and traveling together. Last, and most definitely least, I’m thankful to William DeVaughn for writing one of the finest soul songs ever recorded in, “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” (Massive Attack recorded a version of this song on their debut album “Blue Lines” but it sounds cheap and cheesy next to the original). See ya when I get back in late June, hideawayheads.

Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta

did I mention one of the Geto Boys is a midget? Well, he is. I dare say he's the best rapping midget ever, I don't care what Kid Rock says.

Geto Boys - Damn, It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta

Video: Geto Boys vs. Star Wars - Mind Playin Tricks On Me

Isaac Hayes - Hung Up On My Baby (Tough Guys theme) - sampled for Mind Playin Tricks On Me

How do you know if you’re ghetto? Answer: When you start a rap group and misspell the word “ghetto” in your name. Well, that, and having a couches on your porch. That’s right, the Geto Boys are in the neighborhood! Head for the suburbs whiteys! The Geto Boys are behind two of my favorite rap songs, one of which appears in the opening sequence of everyone’s favorite work movie, “Office Space”. “Damn it Feels Good to Be a Gangsta” simply bleeds laidback, Cali beats, perfect for summer days and driving around causing trouble. Geto Boys made their name in the early nineties when the amount of swear words in a rap song was just as important as the beats. There’s just something undeniably enjoyable about excessive swearing just for the f*ck of it. Not to say that today’s rap songs have fewer swear words, but the old stuff just sounds gratuitous, in a totally awesome way. My favorite Geto Boys song has to be “Mind Playin Tricks on Me”. I love it’s narrative structure, the Isaac Hayes beat, and the sickness of it all. It’s a twisted song, but twisted in a way that everybody can sorta identify with. Damn homey, my mind’s playin tricks on me. Unfortunately, I don’t have this song on mp3 yet, I just have a link to a video using Star Wars figures as the actors. It’s awesome. What I do have though, is the Isaac Hayes (Chef!) original that the song is based around. Not surprisingly, that’s awesome too. The riff from this song just gets stuck in your head (Buster, this one has mix potential). Oooh, the sickness…“Now I got the world swingin from my nuts/damn, it feels good to be a gangsta”…

Mix-Making by King Koopa: An Indulgent Exercise of Relative Insignificance

Mix together only under direct supervision by qualified personnel.

Ever wondered how I compile a mix cd? Well, sit back and take a lesson, you’re about to get a peak at the over-thought, time-wasting method behind my cd-mixing madness. The next mix on my mixing horizon is going to be with Hideaway regular Buster Larkins as we put one together to be played during set-breaks at Gold Room’s July 4th weekend reunion extravaganza. Oh, ‘Who’s Gold Room?’, you ask? Well, they’re a group of four dudes from my hometown that came together back in high school and managed to craft themselves into a respectable jamfunk band. Three of them have since exported themselves down to Nashville, but not before doing a legendary gig at my family’s farm and playing in my barn for about 150 underage kids out in the lawn (I was 18 at the time, about to head to college, parents were out of town all week). It’s not my intent to retell that story today, but I’ll say this about it: that party is still talked about in awed, hushed tones and is often referred to as “the town’s best damn party ever thrown by an 18-yr old”. Alright, so nobody else but me says that, but I think you get the idea. Great party band. Rumor has it that Gold Room’s bassist, Greg Gsell, has been getting music lessons from one of Victor Wooten’s brothers. If you don’t know Victor or his brothers, shame on you, but Victor’s the best bassist I’ve ever seen or heard and his brothers are just as talented. On to the mix. Step 1: When I’m doing a mix cd for some party or for a friend or something, I usually try and start with a single song that captures the vibe that I’m going for. Step 2: Build your mix around your "core" songs. It would be all too easy to crank out a mix of straight dance party songs, I’ve made my fair share of those mixes. This one is a bit different, it’s gotta accentuate, yet not over-hype the band’s vibe. It’s gotta be lively and entertaining, but I can’t come in here with DeeLite, Grandmaster Flash, and a bunch of crazy dance remixes and expect to continue the same vibe created by the band. Disclaimer: It’s an outside, campout-style party in a country field in the middle of nowhere. I want people to be movin and groovin between sets, but I don’t want a “sonic shift” between the band and the stuff on the mix. So, with all that over-analysis out of the way, here are some of the songs I’m starting this mix with:

Bobby Womack - Communication - my step 1, really sums up the vibe I'm going for...

The Jackson 5 - Hum Along and Dance - A classic old school dj cut, undeniable. You've probably heard samples from this song without realizing it.

Rufus Thomas - Sophisticated Sissy - featured in DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist's "Brainfreeze"

Maze - Time Is On My Side - Franky Beverly. Do better vocalists exist? No.

The Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock '73 - What I imagine as the soundtrack to coked-out California in the 70's

and now, for a couple covers...

Nostalgia 77 - Seven Nation Army - A nasty, funky, virtually unknown cover version of this modern classic. I'm hearing Sharon Jones on the vocals but I could be wrong.

Senor Coconut - Smoke on the Water - A lively, bongo & xylophone-heavy version about the burning of a Swiss rock club. The vocalist sounds like "Fes" from That 70's Show to me.

"Songs of Yesteryear That You Couldn't Get Away With Recording Today. Part 2"

The lovely Miss Wright, still putting up with all those Mr. Wrongs.

Betty Wright - Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do

Betty Wright has been around for a long time, kinda funky, kinda soul, all awesome. She was a great singer and had a couple controversial tunes in her heyday. “Tonight is the Night (You Make Me A Woman)”, besides being the kickass sample behind Candyman’s classic makeout tune “Knockin’ Boots”, is Betty’s story about losing her virginity. I highly recommend picking up Betty Wright “Live” if you come across it, she’s in top form.

Today’s song of yesteryear that would never be recorded today is “Girls Can’t Do What the Guys Do” in which Betty instructs her female listeners that in order to be a lady, you can’t be trollin’ the streets for hot tail like guys can do. It doesn't matter if your guy has been knockin boots with all your girlfriends, that's what guys do. Guys are guys and they’re gonna go out and find their outside woman, their backdoor beauty, but ladies, there’s really not much you can do about it. If you try and get revenge by gettin it on with the handyman down the block, you’re gonna find yourself in the gutter. And, you'll lose your self-respect. Girls simply can’t match a guy’s independence. Moral of the story: Boys will be boys and will probably cheat on you. Women: Deal with it.

“Songs of Yesteryear That You Couldn’t Get Away With Recording Today”

why doesn't anybody name their kid "Garland" anymore?

Garland Green - Don't Think I'm a Violent Guy

The theme for today’s post, admittedly, is kind of a weird one. What if I told you that I was in possession of a song that's sympathetic to domestic violence where the pro(/an-?)tagonist begins the song threatening to “tear up this place” unless his girl opens up the door. He’s just got done beating her up and now he’s outside trying to get back in. He knows she’s angry at him because he “lightly smacked [her] pretty little face”, but he didn’t mean to do it and, besides, she pushed him to it. He spends the rest of the song justifying why he smacked up his girl, saying he’s sorry and imploring his girl/the listener to not think of him as a violent guy. At the climax of the song, he tells his girl through the door that “a little smack like, it couldn’t make a baby cry. So, LET ME IN”. Won over by his empty apologies, his minimizing of her pain, and his general incorrigibility, she lets him back in.

What the hell?

My dad used to tell me that he could beat up on mom if he'd wanted to, it just meant he couldn't sleep at home. Hopefully that comes off as humorous as it was intended.

Not even Dave Chappelle, R. Kelly, or Dave Chappelle-acting-like-R.Kelly (ala “Piss on You…the Remix”) could record a song like this anymore. Spousal abuse and domestic violence aren’t crimes that inspire much sympathy these days. Where there is no sympathy, surely there is no humor. Chris Rock will at least touch the subject, admitting that he wouldn’t hit a woman, but he’d shake the sh!t outta one. Uh, let’s not dwell too long on that one. (As this post shows, it's REALLY hard to create humor out of beatin on your wife.) Sorry Garland, when you’re a woman-beater, you’re a violent guy, and everybody is thinking it.

Pass the Jelly

a taste of jelly

Lemon Jelly - Soft (1st post on the Hideaway, feat. Peter Cetera, sort of)

Lemon Jelly - The Staunton Lick

Lemon Jelly - Ramblin Man (feat. Charlton Heston, sort of)

Lemon Jelly - Homage to Patagonia

Yesterday, the Hideaway experienced it’s first “outside” link from the mp3 blogging community, which means citizens of the global village have been perusing the Hideaway for the past day or so, or at least more than the usual 5 who check this site (I think I need to work on my blog-roll). Welcome, I hope ya like it! What’s even cooler is that it appears that Dodge, the blogger in question, hangs his hat in the same city as myself (I don’t live in the Hideaway year-round). I’ve decided to revive my inaugural post on Koopa’s Hideaway and maybe even pimp it out with some additional songs.

“Soft” was roundly ignored when it first came up, but the Hideaway was pretty empty back then. Every person that I’ve played this for falls in love with it, without fail. Don't be the first person to make the other list. “The Staunton Lick” is just a blissful builder of a tune, great for summer days and feeling the wind in your hair. “Rambin Man” was the theme-song of my round-the-world trip a few years ago. If you’re a ramblin man like myself, this’ll make it onto any trip mix you make from this point forward. “Homage to Patagonia” is a song that ends of on a lot of my mixes because it fits so many different moods. I could play this song at a dinner party, beach party, or cocktail party and it’ll be catchin ears everywhere I go. Beautiful piano loop and bongo samples.

I think Lemon Jelly sorta sum up the vibe and attitude of this site. Think RJD2 or The Avalanches except with more cheeky & fun-loving British humor tossed in for good measure. Lemon Jelly are just two guys with really deep record collections and a love of music. When I started producing beats with a friend of mine awhile back, I wanted our stuff to sound like Lemon Jelly could’ve produced it. One of the guys, Nick Franglin, produced William Shatner’s stellar solo album that came out this year. And, a Lemon Jelly song off their newest album (which isn’t quite as memorable as their earlier stuff) is featured in the trailers for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Pass the Jelly, please!

Keep Ya Head Up, Midwest!

the middies

Atmosphere - Say Shhh

Welcome back D! My boy D Friendly is back up in continental mix, so to speak. Dude’s been over in Ghana or somewhere doing who knows what. But, he’s back for a visit to middle America to hang out, watch some MTV, and eat fast food.

I’ve been trying to find a reason to post this Atmosphere song for awhile, now I’m glad I waited. It celebrates everything that’s good about the Midwest, and it’s damn fresh. "[The Midwest] is dope if only simply for not what we have, but what we don't". Ya gotta download to find what what those things are.

shhhh

M.I.A. - The Miss Singh in Action Band

Sorry, this totally has nothing to do with the "M.I.A." that I'm posting today. Looks like an ad for a German nitrous party, no?

M.I.A. - Bucky Done Gone

M.I.A. - Amazon

Like every other mp3 blog out there, I've posted some M.I.A. in the past. I caught the wave in February (sorry, couldn't help myself), and I've been keeping an eye on her ever since. Then, this morning, a friend told me she was going to M.I.A.'s Chicago show next Thursday. Besides having that buzz of freshness about her, M.I.A.'s got some crazy tight beats. Check it. For some reason, the horns on "Bucky Done Gone" remind me of the theme song from "Rocky". You can playerhate if ya wanna, but you gotta admit, she's pretty good. And, she's pretty smokin' hot.

Life's a Beach, Enjoy It While You Can

Just the 2 of them

Jorge Ben - Comanche

Cool Benny - Wobble Cha

I haven't posted in awhile and the deafening calls for my return have become too much to ignore. It's time for some new songs up here. My public is demanding and I gotta give 'em what they want: Free songs to download.

I've been busy using all my music/thinking time at work compiling a mix cd for my buddy's trip to Miami and the Keys with his girlfriend. Entirely too much time actually. But, dude gave me a free ticket to a VHS or Beta concert, so I'm obliged to bring my A-game. Plus, I've been talking this thing up to him like it's gonna be the best travelling-with-girlfriend-mix ever. I dare say I've succeeded in my task. I did color front and back covers and everything. But, I enjoy it. Here's the track listing:

1 - Rough House Survivors - Take a Trip updated 5-11-05
2 - The Avalanches - Since I Left You updated 5-11-05
3 - Jamiroquai - Feel So Good
4 - J Live - Give It Up
5 - Jackie Mittoo & the Soul Bros. - James Bond Theme updated 5-11-05
6 - Toots & the Maytals - Funky Kingston updated 5-11-05
7 - Lifesavas - L.I.F.E.
8 - Cool Benny - Wobble Cha
9 - Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Back on da Block updated 5-11-05
10 - Stevie Wonder - I Love Every Little Thing About You
11 - Visible Man (David Byrne) - Fuzzy Freaky
12 - Jorge Ben - Comanche
13 - Ralfi Pagan - Make It With You
14 - Bob Marley - Mellow Mood
15 - RJD2 - To All of You
16 - Mos Def - The Panties
17 - Philadelphia Experiment - Just the Two Of Us (instr.)

As usual, the Bens of the mix steal the show. Jorge Ben is pretty much the preeminent Brazillian musician and he finds his rhythm on this one. If you wanna get a taste of Brazillian music, he's the first place to start. "Comanche" is off the this compilation called "Black Rio" that I picked up a couple years ago. Cool Benny I know absolutely nothing about except that he turned up on a Ubiquity Records sampler called California Soul. Get set to Wobble Cha! Pretty soon you'll be lookin like a wobble cha champ!

What a Wonderful World

What a Wonderful World

Stevie Wonder - Love's in Need Of Love Today - more true today than ever...

Stevie Wonder - I Love You So - to be played at my wedding someday.

There’s something about people with disabilities. Either because of the effect of their infirmity or because of their heightened abilities in other areas, those with disabilities often produce profound and interesting works of art. Wanna know the best description for how something looks like?, ask a deaf man. Wanna know how something sounds?, ask a blind guy. One of my favorite blind guys, Stevie Wonder, has made a career of turning the feelings and sounds of his mind into beautiful and often profound music. I want to focus today’s post on Stevie’s love songs. No, I’m not in love at the moment, but I got into a really interesting discussion over on The American Mastodon on love and what it means for humanity. More specifically, I theorized that since love is a uniquely human experience and is not present in the animal world from which we descended that it provides evidence of supernatural influence on humanity. I would argue that love is what truly separates us from animals and I would propose that Jesus Christ’s influence and effect on humanity is the perfect example of what love truly is. I didn’t come close to proof or a complete argument but, check it out, it became a pretty thought-provoking exchange. Maybe I’m a romantic, but I believe in love and I think my theory has some legs. At least my romanticism puts me in the same company with my dawg, Stevie. Being in the company of Stevie is cool w/ me any day.

Survival of the Fittest

what could I possibly add to this to make it funnier?

VHS or Beta - Night on Fire

VHS or Beta - You Got Me

He gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He said, “Burn me a copy of the new Lyrics Born remix album and make me a summer beach mix for my upcoming vacation to Florida and I’ll go you a free ticket to see VHS or Beta tonight.” I said, “That’s the best deal I’ve heard all week. Count me in.” “He” is my old roommate Palozzy Osbourne and it’s a win-win for everybody. If only everything in life dovetailed together so conveniently for both parties. I’m big on the barter system, too.

Want a personalized mix by King Koopa? Just tell me what kind of theme/feel you want for it and give me a free ticket to a concert and we got a deal. Mix-making is a favorite hobby of mine.

VHS or Beta is a deliriously fun mix of Duran Duran guitars & vocals with Daft Punk dance beats. They hail from Louisville, KY so they come around here pretty often. This is my first time seeing them though. Ain’t nuttin but a party! Better dust off my dancin shoes.

Some Loosely Connected Ruminations On Europeans

Though you don't know me well/With every little thing only time will tell/If you believe the things I do/Then we'll see it through/Life can be short or long/Love can be right or wrong/And if I chose the one I'd like to help me through/I'd like to make it with you

Ralfi Pagan - Make It With You

Greetings and salutations, hideawayheads, I hope all 5 of you had relaxing weekends. In the area of relaxation, my weekend showed marked improvement over the one preceding it. I had an orientation meeting for the trip to Hungary that I mentioned a while ago. Much to my chagrin, but a surprise to everyone there who knew me, I was an hour early for the Saturday morning meeting. The break from my normal unpunctuality was due to another undesirable trait of mine: failure to print off important emails. I knew the meeting was early on Saturday morning, I just thought my uncle (who scheduled it) was more of an early bird. We covered a lot of different topics and schedule-related items but, interestingly, we spent an inordinate amount of time covering the fact that Europeans hold increasingly anti-American attitudes. We were instructed against engaging in political discussions with anybody while we were participating in the conference, since we are going over there to serve as Christians, not as Americans. During my travels I’ve had my fair share of enjoyable, political arguments with people from around the world, so I made a mental note to try and obey this. I'm not usually one to withold my opinion when it is asked of me, especially when I hold strong views on the subject. I genuinely enjoy an informed political discussion and understanding the point of view of people from another culture. It presses all kinds of intellectual curiosity buttons inside me. But, this has come up on previous trips and I respect that it might be distracting to the purpose of our trip. I wasn’t the only one who had questions about this request. Since I lean towards defending President Bush on many issues, including the always popular regime change in Iraq, it’s probably going to be tougher for me than it would be for some of my more left-leaning compadres, several of whom frequent this site. “What does this have to do with me downloading an awesome song today?”, you might ask. Well, I came across something funny today from last week’s Onion. Here it is.

Pardon my coarse jocularity in the face of something I sincerely believe is important, but please understand that it’s not my intention to go to Hungary on a Christian missionary trip just to get myself into the missionary position with some nubile Hungarian beauty. To all the fine young women of Europe: Yes, I would like to “make it” with you, but we can’t talk politics and we gotta get married first. But, let's not worry about that, just check out this incredibly seductive Latino-soul cover of the softly rocking Bread tune "Make It With You" while I find some wine glasses. Because, even if you don’t like my nationality or my politics or my religion, I can’t think of a reason why we shouldn’t enjoy a glass of wine together, no?