In the past year, you’ve most certainly heard the radio hit “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. made popular by the stoner comedy Pineapple Express. It’s hard to miss a hip-hop song where the chorus is comprised solely of gunshots and the sound of a cash register, but somehow the message is still delivered. What many people don’t know is that M.I.A. released two albums circa Pineapple Express. Her first from 2005, Arular, is personally one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all time. The uniqueness of the beats are only matched by the uniqueness in her vocal styling, and both go together better than chocolate milk and Count Chocula (if that’s even possible to improve upon.)
Her politically-themed tracks are meant to spark revolution and drill powerful messages to the listener through a medium most people can relate to. But the political themes aren’t just for show. M.I.A. grew up in Sri Lanka amidst Civil War and political turmoil. Her father was an activist and was forced to hide from the government, severely restricting the amount of time he could spend with his family. She later moved to London where she could live a normal life and pursue a passion for the arts. Arular is actually the name adopted by her father as a political activist and now the middle name of her first born son. The more you know.
Check out the video for “Bucky Done Gun”:
Some other notable tracks include “Sunshowers“, “Galang” and “10 Dollar”. Check out the entire album for something different in the world of hip-hop.
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I’m not here to talk about “Absolutely (Story of a Girl).” I promise. And I’m guessing that if we were to ever interview the guys from Nine Days, they’d probably shy away from talking about, too. After all, that song absolutely dominated the summer of 2000, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who was alive and listening to the radio during that era who doesn’t know damn near every lyric to that song. Thanks to Lady-Gaga-Level radio play, some of us haven’t been able to unstick that tune from our craws in a decade.
To be perfectly honest, it’s usually songs like “Absolutely” that inspire Fresh Scouts to do what we do. We don’t like top-40 radio stations telling us what we have to listen to, so we dig for good stuff in other avenues. Interestingly, considering it’s been ten years since Nine Days had a real hit, we find ourselves hopping into the Delorean and digging back their way.
And, like I said, it has absolutely nothing to do with “Absolutely.”
Today we’re throwing back to the group’s 2003 album, entitled “Flying the Corporate Jet”—the first record they were able to release following “Absolutely” and the album it rode in on (“The Madding Crowd,” remember?). The first track on the disc, called “29 Year Old Girls,” easily could have been another hit single had it gotten a sliver of the publicity they received for their previous work. Alas, Sony dropped them in 2002, so we never really got a public second-dose of the guys that rocked 2000 harder than granite. Or diamonds. I guess diamonds are higher on the Mohs Hardness scale, so we’ll say they rocked harder than diamonds. I feel better.
Since 2003, Nine Days has put out yet another EP, 2007’s “Slow Motion Life Part 1,” which is probably the best overall body of work they’ve ever done. There are only six tracks on the disc, but five of them are very, very good. Has enough time passed since 2007 for us to consider that disc a throwback, too? For now, we’ll say maybe. In two or three more years, we’ll say definitely.
However we classify them, just don’t call these guys a one-hit wonder, because they weren’t (aren’t?). Even when “Absolutely” was hot they released a second single called “If I Am” that remains my favorite Nine Days song of all time and probably a top-25 pop song, period. And I lived through the ‘90s, folks. That’s saying a lot. In a different world, these guys would still be on top of the charts, but even though they aren’t, they still tour (sixteen years strong!), so it’s relatively easy to get out there and support a great band still doing their thing. There are few things FS loves more than ‘90s bands that are still keeping it going. And Nine Days is keeping it going.
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The Pixies had a profound impact on my appreciation for music. I know I am not alone with that statement. The Pixies helped usher in the alternative rock scene that hit in the early 90’s. On many occasions Kurt Cobain acknowledged the influence the Pixies had over the creation of Nirvana. It goes without saying that my teenage angst was set to the soundtrack of the Pixies’ 1989 release of Doolittle.
The Pixies came together in Boston in the mid 1980’s. Black Francis not only had the task of having a killer stage name, he also had the job of lead vocalist and songwriter for the group. Kim Deal slapped the bass and added incredibly memorable melodic vocal tracking. With David Lovering on drums and Joey Santiago on guitar the foursome known as the Pixies took the music industry by storm. To try and follow an album like Doolittle is like trying to follow a hyperactive rabbit running through a field of land mines while being chased by snownado. What I am trying to say is that from a lyrical stand point it is out there and at times straight up crazy. If you try and follow along with a lyric sheet you will find yourself saying, “what the what?” I have listened to many interviews with Black Francis where he admitted that the song witting wasn’t always supposed to mean something profound. So I advise you not to look for the secret meanings of life in the words and just enjoy the incredible music of it all.
Out of all of the albums in the Pixies catalog, Doolittle has always seemed the most polished. One of the most universally highlighted tracks is “Debaser”. The uncharacteristic surfer pop “Here Comes Your Man” adds a softer sound to the mix. “Wave of Mutilation” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven” are pure gems. Oh, and let’s not forget about “Hey”. I just doesn’t get any better than that.
Since Doolittle the band broke up, released some albums, got back together, broke up, and then focused on side projects. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Doolittle the gang got back together for a small tour which instantly sold out. That touring was extended into late 2009 and again into early 2010. There are now rumors floating around of a new Pixies album on the horizon. Could it be? While we wait for the good news you can sit back and take in the uniqueness of one of my favorite albums.
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I’m not quite sure where Ingram Hill is or even it’s a real place. I like to think of it as the spot where all of the kids go sledding in the winter time. “Hey gang, let’s go thrash it over at Ingram Hill! Neat-o!” That’s probably how the conversation goes anyways. It also turns out that Ingram Hill is a band from Memphis and they also thrash it. Not really in a metal-y kind of way, but more in a singer-songwriter-y band sort of way.
I saw Ingram Hill back in my college days more than once and listened to their first album release June’s Picture Show figuratively over 1,000 times. They have this sort of Tonic, Sister Hazel, southern rock thing going on that is hard not to like. Unfortunately as the days went on (and my iPod erased years ago) I lost touch with their music. However, I recently re-discovered this album and am fondly reminiscing on the time that I listened to it while frolicking in the wind holding hands with my best friends and laughing about times past. Ah, the memories.
Their single “Will I Ever Make It Home” got some heavy radio play in 2004 and their other songs had been known to show up a time or two on Internet radio and local stations. But don’t let the lack of exposure fool you. These guys know how to rock (in a singer-songwriter-y sort of way) and put on a spotless live show that will leave you wondering if you are listening to the album or the live band. That’s when you know you’ve got something special.
Check out the video for “Will I Ever Make It Home”:
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“When I leave here tonight and I fall asleep and wake up, hopefully she’s got some teeth.”
So goes the poetry of rapper Obie Trice, which I always thought was an interesting stage name but recently discovered that it’s exactly what’s printed on his birth certificate. It’s a hilarious song, the first off of Trice’s debut album “Cheers,” that just so happens to have the bonus of being really, really catchy.
When this record came out back in 2003, Obie was one of the poster boys of Eminem’s Shady Records, which meant that his first album got the star treatment in terms of production and guest stars. Dr. Dre, Timbaland, Eminem, and a slew of other big-name producers added beats for the album, meaning the final result is something both lyrically experimental and commercially acceptable. This guy can rap, and he’s got the sort of energetic voice that absolutely demands your attention. He’s not slurring through phrases and trying too hard to be cool and gangster; he almost sings at you with the oomph in his voice. The dude projects.
As a Timbaland junkie, I can say that his track on the album, “Bad Bitch,” is far and away the most interesting and catchy track on the list (outside of “Teeth,” obviously), but “The Set Up” featuring Nate Dogg is a lot simpler yet equally effective. The record is, as they say in the rougher parts of my neighborhood, “dope.”
Since 2003, Trice has been shot in the head (and survived, obviously), seen his label-mate Proof shot (and not survived), and left Eminem’s record label. In December of last year he put out his first LP under his own label, Black Market Entertainment, as a pad for his unreleased album, “Bottom’s Up,” which he recorded while with Shady Records and is just now coming out of the yellow tape to make a reality. The 2009 album, “Special Reserve,” is much less commercial but the lyrics are still all Obie Trice (real name, no gimmicks).
Even if you don’t care about what Obie has done since ’03, you should still at least pick up “Cheers” because it’s a solid rap album all the way through. You can take your girlfriend with you. And when you leave the record store and fall asleep and wake up, hopefully she’s got some teeth.
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