Monday, February 28, 2005
Hip hop source code
A massive collection of hip hop flyers, circa '79-'85. Warning: it's all on one giant page that takes forever to load.
Even today, one of the hallmarks of a truly great party is that it's got a halfway shitty flyer.
Even today, one of the hallmarks of a truly great party is that it's got a halfway shitty flyer.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Ottawanians stand up!
Props to the CBC for the best piece I've seen on what we do. Fringe benefit for me: I made it onto the national public broadcaster so Mom can finally be proud! And she may get the impression that Diso is the most exciting thing to happen here since 1951. . .
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Adidas "Perfection"
A tight ad from Adi Dassler's boys. Maybe this is all over, but I don't own a TV so I dunno. It plays in giant Quicktime (hi-speed only)
M.I.A.
Looks like a rambling treatise on M.I.A.'s politics has been making the desi rounds. The piece itself is a little incoherent, but it inspires curiousity (in me anyway) about the details of the Sri Lankan conflict.
And emphasizes how anything NWA or G-unit went through growing up pales in comparison to this shit. . .
And emphasizes how anything NWA or G-unit went through growing up pales in comparison to this shit. . .
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Dre Day in the everywhere
The power of the hip hop nation is felt through more than VH1 shows. Dudes are actually celebrating Dre's birthday. Annually. And the shit looks like it's jumping off: photos, more photos and the UK celebration.
Details on this year's event last night in MN (Dre hit 4-0) at Catchdubs.
NY
The Economist, the best print publication out there if you're curious about how the world works and how to make things happen, has a feature on New York this week. It's a broad perspective on what's made the city a global success and why Brooklynites are being made to ante up.
The sad truth is that any place with a real neighbourhood feel is going to get gentrified eventually. North Americans are gradually realizing that post-WWII suburban sprawl was a mistake and that life is that much better if you can subway to work and crawl home at night. There will still be something not quite right about Starbucks taking over East NY in five years, though. . .
The sad truth is that any place with a real neighbourhood feel is going to get gentrified eventually. North Americans are gradually realizing that post-WWII suburban sprawl was a mistake and that life is that much better if you can subway to work and crawl home at night. There will still be something not quite right about Starbucks taking over East NY in five years, though. . .
Friday, February 18, 2005
The Arab world's "Giant Robot"
It's about time someone did a progressive arts and culture mag for the (vast) Arab World. It's called Bidoun. I've never come across an issue on the newstand but this looks interesting:
"BIDOUN was created as a platform for ideas and an open forum for exchange, dialogue and opinions about arts and culture from the Middle East. BIDOUN’s primary goal is to bring together cultural expressions from a vast and nuanced region. BIDOUN also addresses some of the widespread misconceptions about the region and its Diaspora by inciting readers to take a fresh look at the Middle East and its peoples, too often presented as one-dimensional or stagnant."
"BIDOUN was created as a platform for ideas and an open forum for exchange, dialogue and opinions about arts and culture from the Middle East. BIDOUN’s primary goal is to bring together cultural expressions from a vast and nuanced region. BIDOUN also addresses some of the widespread misconceptions about the region and its Diaspora by inciting readers to take a fresh look at the Middle East and its peoples, too often presented as one-dimensional or stagnant."
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Where hooks come from
Pharell's process behind the piano line and hook in new joint "Midnight Hour". The spark when he comes across the "come get a piece of me" line is great.
Comes in large Quicktime, hi speed is a must.
Comes in large Quicktime, hi speed is a must.
Amerie "One Thing" video snippets
The tune speaks for itself and there's nothing groundbreaking about the video, but I think this is a good excuse to appreciate the beauty of Amerie for a few seconds: Real and Windows Media (both hi-speed).
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Beautiful
Crazy huh? An image that could only be created with the kind of collaborative tools that the Internet encourages. The full back story is here. . .
Interview with golden age Source writer Kris Ex
For hip hop people in my age group (mid-20s), Kris Ex is a name that should ring some bells. He wrote a lot of the best articles in the Source in the mid-90s. A French hip hop site has posted an in-depth (English) interview with him. Pieces like this are great for the behind-the-scenes look at the writing process and insider hip hop jewels. Kris has a blog too.
Hitchhiker's Guide trailer
Not sure how long it's up for, but the trailer for Mos Def's new movie is on the Amazon.com homepage right now. If this does well, I think we can kiss good-bye the chance of Dante Beze following up the New Danger with something more complete. . .
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Give a heart attack to those DJs who insist on mixing in every tune
Big big 2:30am tunes! Two of them just popped up at TTL:
The jazz vocal cut-up gone house that never fails to set it off is Irfane's Just A Little Lovin' (ra).
And the Daz-i-Cue faster faster kill kill Blood Sweat & Tears (ra) re-edit incited a fucking riot on the floor and got three (3!) rewinds when I was at Co-op last summer.
You know I'm stingy with this adjective: both crucial.
The jazz vocal cut-up gone house that never fails to set it off is Irfane's Just A Little Lovin' (ra).
And the Daz-i-Cue faster faster kill kill Blood Sweat & Tears (ra) re-edit incited a fucking riot on the floor and got three (3!) rewinds when I was at Co-op last summer.
You know I'm stingy with this adjective: both crucial.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
M.i.a. cover art is out (album due Feb 22 from what I hear)
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
iLib
A really impressive-looking. . .
Evil Vibrations for real
The lowdown on why Ubiquity's Rewind 4 comp (new school covers of classic heavy tunes) has been delayed.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
New ones
Al Green - I Want To Hold Your Hand (off Spinna's upcoming Beatles covers comp on Harmless)
Unforscene feat. Alice Russell - Don't You Worry (heavy new soul twelve on Wah Wah)
Gorillaz (produced by Danger Mouse) - Dirty Harry (big tune! much better than I would have expected, love the kids singing)
Common feat. Kanye West - Corners (at Toronto Cream Team) (BE continues to shape up as the return for Comm. Can't wait, I can't wait)
Unforscene feat. Alice Russell - Don't You Worry (heavy new soul twelve on Wah Wah)
Gorillaz (produced by Danger Mouse) - Dirty Harry (big tune! much better than I would have expected, love the kids singing)
Common feat. Kanye West - Corners (at Toronto Cream Team) (BE continues to shape up as the return for Comm. Can't wait, I can't wait)
Outkast movie news:
Outkast video director Bryan Barber with the lowdown: "It's more of a 1930s musical. I took some of the music from Outkast and set it in that time. That's one of the things I set out to do. I was trying to make a statement on how music from today could have been music from the 1930s. Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington, the pace of their music is about the same as rap. The things they talked about were the same, carrying guns and carrying knives or women cheating. There's a lot of similarities and I wanted to show how it could have been a part of that era." the rest. . .
Friday, February 04, 2005
M.i.a / Diplo show in T.O. this week
Rory Themfinest has the report. Beat royalty - even Kardi showed love! Club Fresh up in there. . .
"Early!"
No updates lately because of heavy studio work and lots of events. Shouts to Ryan: we had fun MAKING the shit dude! Will drop some updates on phorilla and return emails over the weekend.
Do like Freeway says and show early tonight. All signs point to a heavy turnout at Diso, and it's wrong being stuck on those stairs for so long. So take action and reach early! If you haven't heard, Moonstarr is at Disorganised. Details here.
Best. . .
Do like Freeway says and show early tonight. All signs point to a heavy turnout at Diso, and it's wrong being stuck on those stairs for so long. So take action and reach early! If you haven't heard, Moonstarr is at Disorganised. Details here.
Best. . .
