Tuesday, February 28, 2012
RING RING
Some calls you just answer. While driving in your car, arguing with your spouse, or during band practice.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
LOCK THE DOORS
The doors are locked from the outside. Today the set goes under the microscope to work out the kinks and refine the edges... But not too much. We still like it rough.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
RECORD COLLECTION / COLIN
The Roots - Things Fall Apart . 1999
I grew up in a small town, and unsurprisingly, my exposure to hip hop was extremely limited. Granted, I did have a cherished cassette of MC Hammer's 'Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em', and the second CD I bought was Kris Kross' debut. Needless to say, I was pretty cool as a kid.
However, the next ten years were virtually devoid of any hip hop in my musical upbringing. I was a grunge kid (my favourite artists? Nirvana and Soundgarden), and access to my brother's CDs rounded out my rock education with bands like Rancid and Nine Inch Nails. It was probably no coincidence that at that time I was learning to play the guitar, so for me, the organic aspect of music was magical. I didn't want to hear some guy on a computer make music - I wanted it to be 'real'. Of course, now I realize the arrogance of my ignorance.
The only hip hop I ever really heard during my early high school days had been Eminem, who I have never been impressed with. But when I finally heard 'You Got Me', the major single off The Roots' fourth album 'Things Fall Apart', I was surprised. Was this a real band making this music? And a really great band at that? The lyrical content of the song, so powerful and heartwrenching, reached me in a way I wasn't expecting. I bought the album and was hooked. Jazz chord progressions, political lyrics, percussive vocal phrasings; this was new and this was good.
What became increasingly clear was the importance of the rhythm section. I always thought of the bass as largely irrelevent. Wasn't it the guitar that really set the mood of the song? From the various counter rhythms in 'The Next Movement', to the incredible tagteam duet with Mos Def in 'Double Trouble', to the gliding bassline in 'Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New', I was consistently amazed with the interaction between their drummer ?uestlove and their bassist Hub. It had a patience to it that seemed to be foreign to rock. This album is solely responsible for getting me to appreciate and love hip hop. I felt like a kid who claimed to be great at mathematics, but had never even heard of multiplication.
Hub remains one of my favourite bass players. And while I would certainly not claim to sound similar, I did learn a valuable lesson in subtley and space from his style, and I try to add these traits to Rikers' songs.
Standout Tracks: 'Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New', '100% Dundee' & 'Dynamite!'
Sunday, February 12, 2012
DEMOCRATIC OATH
Decision making based on a democratic process can be painful. It's easy to embrace the process when it runs smoothly, and just as easy to doubt it when it does not. Either way, the result is always a bit sweeter knowing that everyone gets a chance to voice their opinion. The vote isn't always unanimous, and the debates aren't always pretty, but the goal remains one and the same.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Paint a Vulgar Picture
Lots of people don't know that I paint. I've recently started taking it more seriously. Now it's two forms of abstract jobs to try and make a living. Sound + Vision.
-RD
-RD
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)