1. Redman feat. Method Man and R.E.A.D.Y. Roc - "Lookin' Fly" *These girls don't look like they are "going Rambo". Redman gets autotuned in this song, ew. Redman is wearing a Nucking Futs shirt.
2. De La Soul feat. The Spirit of Wu-Tang - "Get Away" 2013 *There is a Playstation controller on the floor next to the 2013 style Rubik's cube. I love that there is a new De La Soul album and that there will hopefully be a tour that includes Seattle.
3. 38 Special - "Caught Up In You" 1982 *YES! 80's Party!
4. Air - "Kelly Watch The Stars" 1998 *For a minute there, I thought she might die from a ping pong ball to the dome.
5. Redman - "Da Goodness" 1998 *I was pleased to find that there actually are Def Jam video games.
1. Oh No featuring J. Dilla and Roc C - "Move" 2005 *Low-budget tiger use, they parked in front of a tiger cage. I love this song.
2. Eve - "Who's That Girl?" 2001 *She's so hardcore, she's not even afraid of tigers.
3. LL Cool J - "Big Ole Butt" 1989 *"Tina got a big ole butt, so I'm leaving you". He went to a high school to pick up chicks, he was 21 when this video was made.
4. Scorpions - "Rock You Like A Hurricane" 1984 *I think this video has the most large felines.
5. Lana Del Rey - "Born To Die" 2011 *Lana's video babe looks like a Seattleite. I can't hate on Lana Del Rey, she's kicking ass.
6. En Vogue - "Free Your Mind" 1992 *When this song came out, I didn't like it that much. Now it serves as a reminder that En Vogue was fucking awesome.
7. Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean" 1982 *One of the best songs and videos ever made. Thank you Michael.
8. Outkast - "ATLiens" 1996 *Outkast goes for the Egyptian theme.
9. Main Source - "Just Hangin' Out" 1991 *This is a lion statue. Thank you again to the YouTube channel called VintageHipHopSeattle.
10. Kendrick Lamar - "HiiiPOWER" 2011 *This one is a stretch on the feline thing because it contains Black Panthers.
1. Slum Village feat. Dwele - "Tainted" 2002 *One of the non-Dilla produced Slum Village tracks that is awesome.
2. Tony Toni Toné - "Feels Good" 1990 *I remember seeing a kid in junior high who brought this cassette to school with him. Raphael Saadiq is still going strong.
3. First Serve - "Must B The Music" 2012 *The DJ's masks look a little too juggalo.
4. Norah Jones - "Sunrise" 2004 *I like Norah Jones, but, seriously this is the dorkiest she has ever looked.
5. Soft Cell - "Tainted Love" 1981 *If you can get past the poor quality, you may notice that video is really weird.
6. Ray Parker Jr. - "Ghostbusters" 1984 *Stellar use of neon lights.
7. Mary Jane Girls - "Candyman" 1983 *Mary Jane Girls is to Rick James what Vanity 6 is to Prince. It's really not that great though.
8. Devo - "Whip It" 1980 *Whip games! You just don't see people whipping hats off each others heads or cigarettes out of mouths anymore.
9. Diana Ross - "Missing You" 1984 *Sad and rad at the same time.
*You might find yourself wondering, why the hell would I want to watch ten music videos with instrument close-ups? Really these lists are just a way to put good music in a playlist (of sorts) without having to label them with a genre. It's all just good music, at least I think so.
1. Chromatics - "Cherry" 2012 *Chromatics are good, you should probably listen to them.
2. The Police - "Every Breath You Take" 1983 *I don't think I really appreciated The Police when my mom listened to them when I was a kid. I get it now.
3. Pretty Lights feat. Talib Kweli - "Around The Block" 2013 *I feel like a lot of people might really like this song. I think it's too in your face (or ear), like he wanted to try to create a big sound. I'm not sure what that really means, but, I do know that I'm not that into this song.
4. Gang Starr - "Jazz Thing" 1990 *From the Mo' Better Blues Soundtrack
5. Apollo Brown - "Time Passed Autumn" 2011 *For me this song/video is all about seeing the Phil Collins album in a frame. I prefer his "Tao Te Ching" song. This video is the weakest link of the ten, but, there is tough competition.
6. The Smiths - "This Charming Man" 1983 *The Smiths hang out in a dirty room and Morissey swings something around.
7. Player - "Baby Come Back" 1977 *Smoothed out jams on the classic rock tip.
8. New Order - "The Perfect Kiss" 1985 *It's always good to fit New Order videos in wherever possible. This video also has a cowbell.
9. Common - "Resurrection" 1995 *This is a great album.
10. Moby - "Porcelain" 2000 *There is a close-up of a piano keyboard, but, the video is one long close-up of someone's eye and presumably the stuff that they are seeing.
This is one of those albums that actually lives up to the hype. There is a ton of supplemental videos and info about the album on Daft Punk's website if that's what you're into. The music itself is excellent. I actually listened to the whole album 6 times just to make sure. Every time "Instant Crush" comes on, I found myself looking to see the name of the track because it surprised me how great it was. I hadn't bothered to listen to any Daft Punk albums for at least a decade, but, when certain people say an album is good, I listen.
I have a feeling my favorite song from the album will change later, for now "Instant Crush".
4. Kashmere as Galaktus - "BANG! SPLAT!" 2010 (UK HIP HOP) *This is a concept/alter-ego album from the UK rapper once known as Kashmere the Iguana Man (see previous blog posts about him on the right). I think this might be about Galaktus' pursuit of safe sex.
5. Apollo Brown - "Tao Te Ching" 2011 *This is one of my favorites from Mello Music Group.
6. Pick A Piper - "Cinders And Dust" 2013 *The singing is my least favorite part of this whole video/song presentation.
7. J Dilla - "Geek Down" (Song 2006 / Video 2011) *From the 2011 Stones Throw Video Contest.
8. Flying Lotus - "Zodiac Shit" 2010 *There packed in so much stuff in this amazing minute and a half video.
9. Modeselektor feat. Miss Platnum - "Berlin" 2012 *This video gets the award for best use of old cardboard boxes.
10. Air - "Sing Sang Sung" 2009 *This is one of those Air songs that is good without being amazing.
1. Kingdom Crumbs - "Red Cups" 2013 (SEATTLE) *This is a great band, I would have loved to see them play the Sasquatch Festival this weekend. Only one member of this band (Jarv Dee) made the questionable XXL list 15 Seattle Rappers You Should Know. I believe that not being on this list can be seen as a good thing. The list might be an indicator of perceived commercial viability, not artistic talent. Some of the rappers who did make the list are not that great. That said, congratulations to those who did make the list!
2. Warren G and Nate Dogg - "Regulate" 1994 *Nineties MTV heavy rotation Hip Hop.
3. Danny Brown - "Monopoly" 2011 *Warning! Danny Brown is not for everyone.
4. Funkdoobiest - "Dedicated" 1995 *I had never heard a Funkdoobiest song that wasn't "Bow Wow Wow", this one is pretty good, the beat anyway.
5. Cypress Hill - "Hand On The Pump" 1991 *An upbeat song about killing people?
6. Capital STEEZ - "Vibe Ratings" 2012 *This is one of my favorite Capital STEEZ songs.
7. The Notorious B.I.G. - "Warning" 1994 *Biggie eats Peanut Butter Crunch in this video, in case you were wondering.
8. Group Home (Produced by DJ Premier) - "Supa Star" 1995 *This is from a DJ Premier produced album, so it's worth a listen.
9. The Stepkids - "Suburban Dream" 2011 *This song is mostly good. This band is one of the not exactly Hip Hop artists on Stones Throw.
10. Ice Cube - "It Was A Good Day" 1993 *This is one of those songs that was on heavy rotation on MTV in my formative years. I love how in 2012 someone figured out which specific day he was talking about (January 20, 1992).
This flyer is awesome. This album called Champions Of Breakfast is being released with actual cereal. From Don't Talk To The Cops! twitter: "To be 100% clear...our new cd is packaged in a cereal box w/ actual cereal and a prize w/ a chance to win a free shirt! Get it at our show!" What a rad idea. These days interesting promos are what get people to pay attention and they are killin' it.
They even have their own burger at Lil' Woody's called the Champions Of Breakfast burger that comes with, well, maybe just watch and see:
1. En Vogue - "Adventure" 1998 En Vogue does Sesame Street. They are teaching the kids to make up crazy stories that could never be true (in the nineties anyway).
2. Level 42 - "Something About You" 1986 This is one of those great eighties songs that I didn't know the artist until now.
3. Danny Brown - "Radio Song" 2012 There are tons of Danny Browns in this video. Even though he says some offensive shit sometimes, I still like him.
4. Bonobo - "Cirrus" 2013 This video starts off with some old footage and then develops into so much more.
5. Divine Styler - "Ain't Sayin' Nothin'" 1988 This video would have been a star in the rotating heads category, damn.
6. Bambu - "Lean" 2013 Usually people do their costume changes off-camera. He is one of the most likable dudes ever.
7. MC Lyte - "Cappucino" 1989 This is from before cappuccinos got huge.
8. Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" 2009 Their eyes are not blinking at the same time and they are blinking in slow motion, it is kind of freaking me out a little bit.
9. Wyclef Jean - "PJ's" 2002 This beat sounds the best when heard through real speakers.
10. Soundgarden - "Black Hole Sun" 1994 This video is kind of scary and painful, yet, I still like it.
1. Thee Satisfaction - "Queens" 2012 *These women are amazing.
2. Quarterflash - "Harden My Heart" 1981 *For me this song is all about one line, lucky for me it is in the chorus. My favorite part is when she says "Darlin' in my/your wildest dreams......." the rest is pretty great too.
3. Lykke Li - "I'm Good, I'm Gone" 2009 *This video is wonderfully weird. It took me awhile to catch on, but, Lykke Li is great.
4. Donell Jones feat. Left Eye - "U Know What's Up" 1999 *The sign at the beginning says La Face Place, I bet they play great music at La Face Place. I love Left Eye as the guest artist. She was fierce.
5. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Mary Jane's Last Dance" 1993 *Tom Petty gets all freaky with Eminem's fake mom, Kim Basinger.
6. Massive Attack - "Karmacoma" 1995 *This video reminds me of that Four Rooms movie, but with more rooms. This is one of those bands that helped to form my infatuation with Bristol.
7. K-os - "Man I Used To Be" 2005 UPDATE: The video disappeared from YouTube so I included the other K-os sing that I like instead.
8. Janelle Monae feat. Big Boi - "Tightrope" 2010 *Janelle Monae is cool because when this song came out everyone was like, "damn, who is this lady? I've never seen anything like it". It takes balls to be an original and she's got em.
9. UB40 - "Cant Help Falling In Love" 1993 *A bunch of guys in a hallway singing a nineties jam.
10. Leaders Of The New School - "Case Of The P.T.A." 1991 *This video has a lot of animated accents.
Even though this was released 7 months ago, I just heard it. I was surprised and pleased that the mix had so much great music that I hadn't heard before. He has many more mixes on the mixcloud site and can be found Tuesdays at Lofi with many other talented artists with great taste. Introcut is part of why the Seattle music scene is so great.
3. Shabazz Palaces - Bop Hard
An Echo From The Hosts That Profess Infinitum
A Mess, The Booth Soaks In Palacian Musk...
Free Press And Curl
2011 (SEATTLE) http://www.shabazzpalaces.com/
1. Radiohead - "Fake Plastic Trees" 1995 *The combination of the 18 years that have passed and the fact that they are riding in shopping carts makes the guys in Radiohead look like babies. This is the King of the shopping cart videos.
2. Grieves and Budo - "On The Rocks" 2011 *I love videos with a storyline.
3. The Electric feat. Yarah Bravo - "Beautiful" 2010 *Yarah Bravo is definitely cool and the song doesn't suck.
4. Bishop Nehru feat. Que Hampton - "Misruled Order" 2013 *Great video but gets disturbing around the 3 minute mark.
5. Redman - "Pick It Up" 1997 *Redman is hilarious. If you need proof watch his movie with Method Man and Lisa Turtle, How High.
6. Earl Sweatshirt feat. Tyler, The Creator - "Whoa" 2013 *They've worked hard for our attention. You have to work as hard as them if you want to be on their level.
7. Tyler, The Creator - "French" 2011 *Tyler and his Odd Future friends dry hump a shopping cart and do many other (not)surprising things.
8. Grieves and Budo - "Against The Bottom" 2011 *This is the poppiest Grieves song ever.
9. The Roots - "How I Got Over" 2009 *This song is pretty good, but, I haven't had one of those moments when I decide I love it yet.
10. TH3RDZ - "Go For Broke" 2013 *JFK hangs out with a shopping cart, Candidt works out, and Xperience hangs out on a rooftop.
***CONCLUSION***
Naughty By Nature is to rapping behind fences as Grieves, Budo, and Odd Future are to shopping carts.
1. Tom Petty - "Don't Come Around Here No More" 1985 (Alice In Wonderland) *This is one of the best music videos ever.
2. De La Soul feat. Redman - "Oooh" 2000 (The Wizard of Oz) *Redman is the Wizard of Oooh.
3. Slick Rick - "Children's Story" 1988 (Alice in Wonderland statue) *Classic.
4. Peaches - "Billionaire" 2010 (The Wizard of Oz) *This one is a little dirty, so watch out for that.
5. OCnotes - "All I Really Had Was The Jazz" 2008 (The Three Little Pigs) *This guy makes incredible music.
6. Snap - "Mary Had A Little Boy" 1990 (Mary Had A Little Lamb) *I had this on cassette single. It looks like this video was just low-budget enough to not have a heater.
7. AlunaGeorge - "Attracting Flies" 2013 *Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, The Princess And The Pea, and Sleeping Beauty. This song is pretty great.
8. Jake Emlyn - "The Wonka Hath Landed" 2013 *This isn't really that cool, it is definitely an interesting oddity. Not only does it reference Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka character, it also referenced Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange through the makeup the artist is wearing. I found this on the Pigeons and Planes blog.
9. Gensu Dean feat. David Banner - "Alice In Wonderland" 2012 *This video is so crazy that I had to include it. They definitely went all out for the video. I would never just listen to this song, it needs the video.
10. OCnotes - "Jungle Book Remix" 2008 (The Jungle Book) *OCnotes is one of the Seattle music scene's greatest assets.
7. The Go-Go's - "Vacation" 1982 *I could never hate on The Go-Go's.
8. The Notorious B.I.G. - "One More Chance" 1995 *"Girls peepee when they see me" -Biggie That seems like an uncomfortable situation to me, but, it is a quadruple rhyme so that's probably why he said it.
9. Jean Grae - "Love Thirst" 2008 *This song doesn't really do it for me, but, I think she is bad ass. She wears many different outfits in the back of a taxi in this video.
10. Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five - "The Message" 1982 *A prime example of the infinite potential of Hip Hop.
Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. De La Soul and Starchild Excalibur "If It Wasn't For You" 2004
It really isn't surprising that this song is so great because of the amazing artists involved with the song. It's a feel-good perky jam. The introduction definitely makes you want to listen to the rest of the song, "because it's about you".
Prince Paul and Dan The Automator (Two of my favorite producers)
