Track Reviews: September

Seat Change- Curren$y (feat. Snoop Dogg)
from Pilot Talk (Def Jam)
Learning from both Masta P and Lil Wayne, Curren$y shows his well-honed style on this slow jam from his debut "Pilot Talk". The track has an early 90's G-Funk vibe, and that's not just because Snoop Dogg rides shotgun. The beat slowly bounces and stutters with the only melody being provided by a psyched-out electric guitar. Producer Ski Beatz comes off like Rick Rubin on codeine syrup. Over this blunted beat, Curren$y paints the picture of how he rolls with the ladies. "I play the field with stiff arms and side steps." Snoop's verse variates between smooth and spastic, and it is easy to see that Snoop is an influence on Curren$y.

Final Thoughts:
It's basically a father/son car ride in a hot-boxed Benz.
Rappers hate finding seeds in their herb.
7 out of 10



Throwing Shade- Abe Vigoda
from Crush (Post Present Medium)

Abe Vigoda have stumbled upon a new sound with this debut single from their new album Crush. The opening guitar riff is immediate and becomes the glue that keeps the puzzle together. Fuzzy background synth textures give the song its large sound while the other synth adds stabbing micro-melodies. The song culminates in a guitar solo that manages to be both harsh and catchy. It seems as if Abe Vigoda watched how tourmates Vampire Weekend pushed their tropical, bedroom pop into the next dimension and followed suit. The catchiness is still there, but this sounds decidedly more modern. It does appear, however, that lead singer might have gotten tired of the tropics because the vocals are cold sounding and mostly obscured by noise or distortion. The tug-of-war between the frigid vocals and the warmth of the guitar line offers an aurally entertaining conflict.

Final Thoughts:
If Vampire Weekend and No Age got together to make a song, it would sound like this.
6 out of 10



TAOS- Menomena
from Mines (Barsuk)

If there ever was a song that was designed to appear in a car commercial, it is this song. Don't take that as a dig, though. This song locks in early and doesn't let up. From the opening bass riff, listeners can tell that Menomena's players were schooled in 60s/70s rock, but they took honors classes. TAOS is a song about looking to get laid, a classic theme of rock. Bravado explodes all over the track. The singer says "I'm not the most cocksure guy.", but that would be hard to tell from his vocals. Guitars cut in and out acting like pissed off background vocalists vying for equal attention. The most impressive aspect of this song is the way the song constantly surprises the listener. Just when you think the song will stick to its form, it moves to a different tone and feeling; it transfers from all out bombast to pensive pleading. It seems to represent the transition of a drunken night. It goes from revelry and confidence to loneliness and bedroom optimism.

Final Thoughts:
A great evolution from past power trios (Cream, ZZ Top) that provides tons of sound.
It's hard not to drum on the steering wheel or play air guitar while listening.
9 out of 10

Moments in Auto Tune

Auto-Tune has penetrated American culture. Dancers and drinkers hear it permeate through nightclub speakers. Political geeks turn press conferences and breaking news into makeshift rap parodies. It's so popular that Jay-Z famously called for its death with his single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". Jay-Z's sentiments, however, place him in the minority. Recording artists ranging from Miley Cyrus to Kid Rock have all embraced the technology and, later, cashed huge checks because of it. When listeners look back on music from the first decade of the 21st century, will Auto-Tune be seen as innovation or parlor trick?

Here is a look at some of the most important steps to Auto Tune's rise to prominence:

1997: Auto-Tune is developed by geophysicist Andy Hildebrand. The software was originally created to help find oil by interpreting seismic data, but Hildebrand discovered that it could detect and modify pitch. Being a trained flautist, Hilldebrand realized the usefulness of a program that could correct a bad voice or a cracking horn.

1998: Auto-Tune is used by producer Mark Taylor on Cher's hit single "Believe". Taylor put the effect on the demo version of the song and was afraid that Cher would hate it. Cher loved the effect on the song, but the record companies wanted it removed. Cher, however, fought for the effect, and it stayed. 10 million copies sold later, Auto-Tune becomes known as "The Cher Effect".

2001: Daft Punk uses Auto-Tune all over its genre-paving album Discovery. Songs like "One More Time" and "Harder,Better,Faster,Stronger" took "The Cher Effect" to a new level. It's only fitting that two French guys who dress like villains from an Ed Wood movie pushed Auto-Tune to outer space. Robots finally get their "Thriller".

2005: Rapper/Producer/Singer/Stripper-enthusiast T-Pain uses Auto-Tune to woo the ladies with his first single "I'm Sprung". Follow up single "Im N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" takes listeners through T-Pain's version of puppy love and his hatred of spelling rules. Strip club DJ's finally get their "Thriller".

2008: In the wake of his mother's tragic death, rap superstar Kanye West releases "808s & Heartbreak", a lonely, electronic experiment in minimalism. The album received mixed reviews with most critics championing its stark presentation and emotional resonance. The contrast of the album to West's previous work left some fans wondering where West lost his hood pass. (It was at all those fashion shows in Europe)

2009: Railing against Auto-Tune becomes the coolest thing to do in the music industry since cocaine. Christina Aguilera is seen in public wearing a shirt that states "Auto-Tune is for Pussies". Jay-Z releases "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" as part of "The Blueprint 3".

2010: T-Pain creates an Auto-Tuned cartoon, "Freaknik: The Musical", for Cartoon Network and an iPhone app that allows users to manipulate their own voices. Christina Aguilera releases "Bionic" that features Auto-Tune on multiple songs. Jay-Z appears on Kanye West's superstar romp "Monster", which heavily features Auto-Tune.

Andrew W.K. Gives Me Advice

I approached Andrew W.K. after waiting in line for an hour and a half. He was dressed in his usual nasty off-white t-shirt and jeans combo. He looked just like he does in every video and in every picture. As I walked up to the counter, My friend was taking his turn, and thats basically what it is, a turn. There's a smile. There's a comment about your shoes, the band on your shirt, or just a common greeting if he can't pull off something interesting. My friend chose some sort of enlarged album art from a Japanese-only release, and it was signed.
My turn was very simple. I shot out a "what's up?". He obliged with something forgettable (I can say that because I honestly just forgot it), and then proceeded to sign my black and white copy of his new album art. I told him "I'm going to a party tonight, and its going to have an open bar. What are some tips for me, man?" It seemed like common sense and a little bit of indulgence to ask "Mr. Party Hard" that, but I guess I wanted to hear it from the best.(?)

He wrote on the paper:
BE SMART
BE STUPID
BE FREE

He explained to me as he wrote it. "So first, you are going to want to be smart. It's an open bar, and you don't want to get too wasted. You don't want to be too smart though and overthink everything, so be stupid. Make some mistakes and just do. Don't think. Of course, you got to be free. Now, I know it seems weird that I'm telling you to be free because if you listened to me then you wouldn't be free. It's a paradox, but you know what I mean."

Genius or Pop Vomit?

Tonight is a Lifechanger

I had a wreck tonight. A young guy on a motorcycle ran into my car as I was pulling out of a parking lot. I'll never forget that moment.

The 5 Wildest and Weirdest 3D Movies

3D films are becoming the rage in Hollywood. With films like Avatar and Toy Story 3D racking in millions at the box office, 3D is enjoying a strong comeback. Wildly popular in the 1950s and 1960s, 3D was featured in many genre films from Horror to Westerns. In the next decades, 3D lost its mainstream appeal and became utilized by the Porn industry and cult filmmakers. Avatar director James Cameron created new 3D technology in the mid-1990s while working on his documentary feature Ghosts of the Abyss. This new technology was slowly adopted by Hollywood until it finally exploded with Cameron's Avatar.


The Stewardesses (1969): Rated X
Until Avatar was released, this 3D softcore pornographic film was the most profitable ever made. The film follows a crew of stewardesses on a crazy night full of drugs and sex. Best use of 3-Double-D technology.



Flesh for Frankenstein(1974): Rated X
This film is a retelling of Mary Shelley's story with a twist that only Andy Warhol could imagine. In the film, Doctor Frankenstein wants to create an elite Aryan race, so he needs a male and a female monster. The film features all kinds of horrific violence and extreme sexuality. The film features not one but two disembowlments.





Robot Monster(1953)
An evil alien robot has killed everyone on Earth except 8 people. The survivors have an immunity to the robot's death ray by taking antibiotics. The robot later fails to kill the survivors because it falls in love with an Earth woman. Just to top it all off, the whole plot of the film is revealed to be a little boy's dream.




The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl
Robert Rodriguez made this film with the help of his children, particularly his son Racer. The film follows the imagination of a boy that creates Lava Girl and Shark Boy in the dream world of (get this) Planet Drool. The film's titular duo work to defeat Mr. Electridad, played by comedian George Lopez. The film wavers from one fantasy cliche to another. It even plays postmodern when the villainous George Lopez travels to real life to kill the boy who dreamed the whole film. A weird pattern is developing.




Piranha 3D(2010)
It's a glorified buffet of gore and gorgeous girls. The film takes place at a popular Spring Break setting where an earthquake has awoken an ancient race of piranha. The style of the film is overtly tongue in cheek. Every opportunity where nudity can appear, it will. The amount of blood in this film probably outweighs the amount from all the Saw films combined. The reappearance of Christopher Lloyd and Richard Dreyfuss adds to the camp of the film, as both of the actors chew the scenery like goats in a junkyard.