Culture Bully

Archive for June, 2007

At Home With History: Jesca Hoop

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

Jesca Hoop’s voice sounds something reminiscent to that of a sweeter Neko Case on her track “Intelligentactile 101,” with one distinct tone exposing itself throughout the entire song. Growing up as one of five children in a traditional Mormon household Hoop’s tastes and interests were defined by the options given to her by her [...]

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Jay Smooth’s “Ill Doctrine”

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

HipHopMusic.com founder Jay Smooth recently started the world’s first official video blog and the site has hit deep this week with Jay’s most recent post “Truth, Poest and Money.” After familiarizing myself with the site last week I quickly became a fan. His latest commentary reconfirms my initial thoughts that Jay’s thoughts are [...]

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Fight For Your Right To Fight: Socalled

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

Montreal-based producer/MC Josh Dolgin (aka Socalled) approached his sophomore album, Ghettoblaster, as a sly satirical look at the world around him. Wielding his emotions without caution - the opening line to his “(These Are The) Good Old Days” blasts, “My God’s gonna kick your god’s ass.” He continues the track, likening modern Western [...]

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Kanye West “Stronger” Video

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

“Stronger” acts as Kanye West’s best attempt at a self-inclusive mashup and in the process he has once again created a relevant image for himself; despite past criticisms, who doesn’t want to hear Kanye rapping over Daft Punk?! At any rate the song stands up, and the video for the track was just released. [...]

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“Taking over/we’re taking over,” Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan sang during the final song of the evening. And the crowd believed him.
Harbingers of the inevitable 90’s alternative rock resurgence, the Pumpkins brought fresh songs and a new lineup Saturday to a tiny club in the mountains of North Carolina.

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Last week Conan O’Brien again found his show host to multiple performances from The White Stripes, this time around the band performed “Icky Thump” and “Effect & Cause.” While delivering the songs in a different fashion than 2005’s five night residency, the band did break away from the usual stage performance by playing “Effect [...]

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Praising, “this is the best crowd we’ve ever had,” before continuing the night’s set, White Light Riot lead singer Mike Schwandt and his band were faced with a unique set of circumstance this past Saturday at the Fine Line Music Café. The night’s event was in commemoration of the band’s first full length album, [...]

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Common “The People” Video

Monday, June 25th, 2007

It’s odd to think of Common as a socialist, but after taking some time to look closer at his lyrics for “The People” it’s hard not to think of him as such. Throughout the song his lyrics reflect that of a deeper unsettling feeling, describing his motive in life as one to uplift those [...]

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BoingBoing recently pointed out a refreshing interpretation of Gnarls Barkley’s long since stale (most people’s view, not mine) record breaking hit “Crazy.” Primarily performed using the Theremin, musician Randy George, performing under the pseudonym The Ether and The Aether Experiment, constructs a glowing rendition with a fascinating use of vibrato, one which replicates Cee-Lo’s vocals [...]

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New Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Is Is”

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

From what will appear on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ upcoming Is Is EP comes a sensational track, “Down Boy.” The band’s attempt to capture and sustain suspense throughout the live video is becoming one of the key reasons the band has grown on me as like it has. Ever since “Miles Away” I’ve [...]

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So Loud It’s Live: Leroy Smokes

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

The current makeup of Leroy Smokes would be hard to recognize if you had seen the group in its beginning. After a decade making music there are few original members remaining as a result of musical differences and label problems. With the release of 2006’s Love, Hustle, Heater on Smokesignyl Productions however the group [...]

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Feist: “1234″ VanShe Technologic Remix

Thursday, June 21st, 2007

While I played the role of a mere casual listener when it came to Feist’s 2004 record Let it Die I’ve come to greatly enjoy a variety of the releases included in this year’s The Reminder.  With my increased interest I figured it couldn’t hurt to learn a little more about the woman whose music [...]

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Les Claypool “Fancy” DVD Review

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007

It would be nice to think that Les Claypool is becoming more accessible, both personality-wise and musically, but fortunate for his fans he’s not. If anything the Fancy Band is a step in a completely opposite direction from a possible stab for mainstream attention that some may feel he should attempt; again, let’s be [...]

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The debut episode of HBO’s Flight of the Conchords will air this weekend - the show features a number of fantastic cameos including Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman and Arj Barker (who can also be seen on this season of Last Comic Standing). The satire follows the New Zealand folk duo Bret McKenzie and Jemaine [...]

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VBS Music World: Vice Kills Jamaica

Friday, June 15th, 2007

I’ve been more than impressed with VBS’s ongoing Music World series, especially so with one if it’s latest episodes revolving around Gaahl and the Norwegian black metal scene. This time around the crew heads down to Jamaica and examines first hand the dancehall scene. I’ve long since been a casual fan of the [...]

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