Blog: 510 to 514

This weekend was great. I did absolutely nothing on Friday night. On Saturday I went o a birthday party. And since the theme of this Blog is supposed to be QG's Lifemate, allow me to tell a little story. The same group of people who had this party had one two Chirstmases ago. I met a guy there. As luck would have it, we hit it off. BUT, we never went out. I called him twice. No call back. I follow the Rule of Two so I never called him again--unceremoniously erased him from my cell phone!! You [...]

Sunday gets it's own Post--just because there's so much background. Mr. Thomas and I went to dinner and a movie. Normal date--right? I think we're back "dating" again. He calls it dating, I call it NotDating™. This was all after our talk about us going outside of his/my apartment. In his Blue Team Mind, he thinks it's either/or--as in either we go out or we stay in all the time. My Pink Team Mind says we can do a mixture of both. We can stay in sometimes (Thursday night at my house) [...]

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"The insects had fallen to a low monotonous pitch, everywhere, nowhere, spent, as though the sound were the chemical agony of a world left stark and dying above the tide-edge of the fluid in which it lived and breathed." - William Faulkner

"The history of the world? Just voices echoing in the dark; images that burn for a few centuries and then fade; stories, old stories that sometimes seem to overlap; strange links, impretinent connections." - Julian Barnes [No more mp3s here anymore, just words/pictures. Apologies to anyone who actually came for the music. Take me off your bookmarks and link lists. Keep checking the 'Fuzz, though. Later.]

Hey, kids! Today at 510 to 514, we're rocking that alphabetical steez, follow along... A is for Aoki Takemasa (and Tujiko Noriko) - Fly-Variation Loyal readers (yeah, right) will remember my Earfuzz post on Japanese laptop genius Aoki. Now, he's teamed up with a beautiful (sounding) female vocalist to put out an album. While it's not really breaking any new ground, it still makes for great headphones-before-bed listening. Singing processed with glitchy digital effects almost always appeals to me, and [...]

AZ - Still Alive Yesterday I was discussing what the hell AZ has to do to get his shine. I mean, 10+ years on from "Life's a Bitch", he's still spitting absolutely ridiculous verses, and it seems like only my fellow rap nerds are listening. At this point, lines like "I'm just tryna ship G-Unit numbers" start to sound more like frustration than hope. Cop the album though, it's hot as hell. Cool Calm Pete - Cool Calm Science [...]

Stay fly, I'll be back in September.

Tuesdays for me seem to be perpetually rainy and lazy, feeling hungover regardless of any actual intoxication the night before. On that note, here are a handful of slow, soothing songs, filled with soft singing and acoustics - music to shuffle around the house by. Dani Siciliano - All Thee Above Dani Siciliano is the singer who worked with Herbert on his Bodily Functions LP, which pretty much single-handedly opened me up to experimental electronic (laptop.glitch.IDM.whatevs) music a few years ago. This is a duet between Siciliano and some guy I don't [...]

Noreaga - Cuts from NORE As NORE continues on his quest for the finest full steezies, he takes some time off to drop mixtape heat. He sounds great over this frantically banging beat, and while all those classic little namedrops are nice touch, Melvin Flynt keeps his gangsta quotables up-to-date: "I will go in the stands like Ron Artest!" Ol' Dirty Bastard feat. Chris from Young Gunz - Work For Me (snippet) Ol' Dirty Bastard feat. Ghostface - [...]

R. Kelly - Trapped in the Closet (full video) Boom.

Planet Asia - Medicine Man, this almost had me hyped, I was just waiting for the drums to drop... and waiting... and waiting. Asia comes correct, but what the hell was Evidence thinking on this one? A couple hihats and a limp-wristed rimshot aren't going to cut it, dude. Here's hoping for a remix. Juelz Santana - Santana's Town II Even though the Dipset faithful have probably had this for like 2 years, it's still fresh to me. "No beads unless / [...]

Notorious BIG and Frank Sinatra: Everyday Struggle + A Day in the Life of a Fool Nasty Boy + For Every Man There's a Woman (from DJ Cappel and Smitty's CD Blue Eyes Meets Bed Stuy ) GodDAMN. This is on some next Grey Album type shit, and unlike most "mashup" projects, it has skillful execution to match the clever concept. Radiohead The [...]

Question: Can anyone tell me what happened with the new ODB album? (I'm not talking about that "Definitive" best of that just came out.) Wasn't it scheduled to drop this month? CANADA DAY SPECTACULAR (YES!) Slug and Murs - Employees of the Year Something of a guilty pleasure, but damn, it's fun. Dudes are dropping golden age references like there's no tomorrow, all shit-eating grins and hot bars. 50 Cent - How to Rob Juelz Santana - My Clip [...]

50 Cent ft. Mobb Deep - Out of Control Not better than the recent Fiddy/M.O.P. joint, but not totally horrible either. Havoc on the beat, juxtaposing upbeat piano samples with that weird strung-out synth in the background. The hook is pretty laughable, though - this track couldn't rock an 8th grade dance, let alone "get the club out of control". Guru ft. Jean Grae & Talib Kweli - Power, Money and Influence Guru sets out on the hopeless mission of proving that people want [...]

Two of my mid-90's NY favorites dropped some new ish recently. Sean Price feat. Starang Wondah and Steele - Shake Down No "Cession at da Doghillee," but having three out of four of the BCC cornerstone groups (Heltah Skeltah, OGC, Smif'n'Wessun) represented ain't half bad. Seriously, what's up with some new Starang solo material though? I got killers that Just Blaze, and THEY DON'T MAKE BEATS. Holler. O.C. - 1nce Again Tight scratched hooks and blustery [...]

Today: protest songs (sorta) about America by Canadians. Weird, eh? A Silver Mount Zion - God Bless Our Dead Marines when the world is sick, can no one be well? The intial slow pizzacato bass pulse eventually boils into a raucous footstomping fiddle jam by the four-minute mark, with more and more instruments thrown into the mix. Over the surge of sound, someone wearily recites a list of lost friends, without being able to draw any moral or [...]

That's right, it's time for more of that indie (crack) rock. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! (CYHSY! aka the bastard child of CSNY and GY!BE, but not really) got heads talking, and the hype's not undeserved. The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth - Kicks off with tight discorock drums (those hihats!), adds some Modest Mouse-style twangy guitar, and whooooooooooaaaa. Longest track on the album, but a quick ride nonetheless. Gimme Some Salt - Slower and dirtier than the first joint, kinda [...]

For the past few weeks in the land of the 'treal, it's been like 80 degrees with 75% humidity, the kind of weather where you go to sleep with fan and clothes off but still wake up to sweat-soaked sheets. On that note, here are some songs for the summer. Celly Cell feat. Mack 10, E-40, B-Legit, and Rappin' 4-tay - It's Going Down Tonight (remix) Laid-back beat, slinking along on unhurried 808 drums and heavy bass hits. The production nuances are on-point as [...]

Mac Dre and Mac Mall - Willingly This hurrr comes courtesy of my boy Oliver. He's about to jump in the blog game, so I figure this will be my last chance to profit off the bangers he slides me before he goes for self and I'm reduced to posting whiny indie rock. Anyway, this is from the Mac Dre/Mac Mall collabo album Da U.S. Open , and it's pretty heatish, with a nasty slow-burn beat and Ronald Dregan holding it down for the first [...]