We interrupt our ongoing series on early 2013 Tribute albums to bring you this specially re-heated feature, originally posted April 1, 2008. As a culture vulture, I have a particular fondness for the iconography of Hip Hop and Hardcore Rap; as a fan of trope and politic, I've always admired the complex rhyme and rhythm they bring to the table. But I never really made a connection with hardcore rap as a cultural form. I'm an outsider on the streets; I can [...]
At some point in the Nineties, I became fascinated by “rock” covers of hip-hop songs. For example, there’s the Gourds’ cover of “Gin and Juice,” the Barenaked Ladies’ version of “Fight the Power” and Dynamite Hack's "Boyz-N-The Hood." It was around ’91 when rap music really took off nationally, and we started to see artists like MC 900 Ft. Jesus and Bloodhound Gang mix alternative music and hip-hop elements. What interested me was the recontextualization of lyrics. Let’s face it – almost all of hip-hop is rooted in a specific [...]
Look at that fucking nerd. Not Rivers Cuomo...I mean me. (DC, 2000) In the summer of 2000, as a fresh-faced seventeen-year-old, I took a job in New York City at a medical office. Four or five days a week for two months I was commuting to Chelsea, exploring Lower Manhattan on my lunch breaks, and generally feeling like a real adult. I was also a huge fucking nerd when I was in high school. My youthful Brit-Pop phase transitioned quite nicely into an American "geek rock" phase, where bands like Weezer, Nerf Herder, Nada [...]
Dynamite Hack - “Boyz-N-The-Hood” Despite my protests, Bill insisted this song did not meet last week’s 90s criteria. Dynamite Hack’s 2000 album, Superfast , includes arguably one of the best covers of all time. Boyz-N-The-Hood is everything a cover should be; pick a song with recognizable lyrics and completely change the sound. Don’t try to make it better, make it different. Dynamite Hack knew they were anything but “gangsta.” In fact, in my genre list, the song is listed under “white rap.” They took a song driven by [...]
There is a long history of ironic, white covers of popular hip-hop and R&B tracks - from Dynamite Hack singing " Boyz in the Hood " in golf sweaters and flip flops, to Little Boots' recent melancholic cover of Kid Cudi's " Day N Nite ." In general, these attempts range from the retarded to the horribly offensive - with the rare creative or interesting recreation emerging here and there. The new Fool's Gold-repped artist Telephoned has recently joined membership into this group and whether they are one of the rare, successful entries [...]
The hilarious juxtaposition of a stiff white person and—can it be?—rap music?! Happy 30th anniversary, awful joke that never ceases to make me cringe! Texas rock-radio blip Dynamite Hack decided to dip their tender toes in the “wacky cover song” sweepstakes in 2000, when they performed Eazy-E’s classic “Boyz-N-The-Hood.” To call it a one-note gag would be a disservice to both notes and gags. If it were a note, it would be the final note in the Price Is Right “sad trombone” tune . Also it would not [...]
This post was such a success last year, rather than try to top myself, I've decided to repost it for April Fools 2009. Enjoy the coverfolk! As a culture vulture, I have a particular fondness for the iconography of Hip Hop and Hardcore Rap; as a fan of trope and politic, I've always admired the complex rhyme and rhythm they bring to the table. But I never really made a connection with hardcore rap as a cultural form. [...]
I was recently turned on to a pretty decent electronic-pop duo from New York called The Ropes . The first song of theirs I checked out was I Don’t Like to Get Dirty from their Cry to the Beat EP . "You can all go fuck yourselves/You can all go burn in hell" Sharon Shy gently croons in the song’s opening lines and I am immediately taken aback and sucked in at the same time. [...]
As a culture vulture, I have a particular fondness for the iconography of Hip Hop and Hardcore Rap; as a fan of trope and politic, I've always admired the complex rhyme and rhythm they bring to the table. But I never really made a connection with hardcore rap as a cultural form. I'm an outsider on the streets; I can appreciate their gritty reality only as a sociologist can appreciate the poverty dynamic of his cityscape under the microscope. Though a six month stint in Boston's inner city as a member of [...]
another close almost 'weak tuneage wednesday'. also, there's gonna be less until i gets my laptop fixed. the pogues - squid out of water devastations - i don't want to lose you tonight the cyrkle - red rubber ball the smashing pumpkins - jennifer ever [...]
Cover Lay Down
The Pop View
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Tuneage
The Projects
Idolator
Subservient Experiment
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The Answer May Surprise You
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An artist you should hear: Marshall Lewis Baker
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