Delta Spirit – History From Below

Delta Spirit’s new LP doesn’t add anything new to rock lore, but combines some of the best parts of it to craft a great album. Delta Spirit’s bag was never innovation, and this album is pretty solid support for that. Borrowing from the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and using vocal harmonies reminiscent of all bands that use vocal harmonies, Delta Spirit has made an album that is immediately likable and recognizable.

May 30th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in americana, bluegrass, folk-rock  |  2 comments

Madlib – Madlib Medicine Show No. 4: 420 Chalice All Stars

So what can you expect from a mix-tape with source material that is a little more familiar than obscure Brazilian psychedelic cuts? In short this is great introduction to dub for people who haven’t explored much farther than my holy trinity of reggae heroes: Marley (thanks Amy!), Toot’s and the Maytals (thanks Adam!), and Jimmy Cliff (thanks Brenden!)

April 29th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in reggae  |  9 comments

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

What I’ve discovered is this: Plastic Beach is just as much of a musical mess as their previous releases, while being less ambitious and more self indulgent. I just can’t get over the idea that the Gorrilaz project is solely for Damon Albarn’s amusement, which isn’t a bad thing, but did we really need Bobby Womack on two songs here? I don’t feel like I can take this seriously as a “concept” album because the narrative, with its environmental undertones, is so weak that it doesn’t really add anything to the album.

April 23rd, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in alternative, hip-hop  |  7 comments

Madlib – Madlib Medicine Show No. 3: Beat Konducta in Africa

The music is interesting enough, using samples from popular African songs and coming from regional genres such as juju, highlife, afrobeat, and African flavored jazz and funk. Madlib provides his usual woozy production style with lots of fade ins/outs. If you listen to this with headphones you will likely loose your sense of equilibrium.

April 20th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in hip-hop, world music  |  4 comments

Pants for Bears – A Relative Concern

So what is the difference between a progressive psychedelic band with indie cred and one without? Three or four synthesizers? A fabricated lo-hi aesthetic? A complete unwillingness to make music people can dance to? Well the truth is I don’t know, and don’t really care. This is the kind of band that is just going to get better and better on record, with each member pushing each other to get weirder, better, more exploratory, and willing to take risks.

April 3rd, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in funk, psychedelic, rock  |  2 comments

Lyrics Born

Lyrics Born is a silly, silly man. And that’s just how I like him. LB’s 2003 debut “Later That Day…” was not something wholly original, but something hip-hop hadn’t seen sincethe break-beat heyday of the 80’s: A hip-hop artist that is totally serious about his craft, but also uses humor and the absurd to compliment his rhyming style.

March 28th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in back to the basics, bay area, hip-hop  |  2 comments

Dr. Dog – Shame Shame

For “Shame, Shame” the drums are popping and crisp, the guitar tones are cleaner, and the background vocals and harmonies are clear and damned pretty. It’s the same soul Dr. Dog always had, just with some well-placed bells, and tasteful whistles added on.

March 26th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in folk-rock, psychedelic  |  3 comments

Madlib – Madlib Medicine Show No. 2: Flight to Brazil

This album really changed things for me in terms of appreciating and pursuing jazz music outside of Tribe Called Quest samples. He took sounds I was unfamiliar and uninterested in, and screwed them up in wonderful ways that made me want to listen over and over again (video for a track off this album will be included below). It’s safe to say that Madlib is NOT a one trick pony.

February 24th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in hip-hop, world music  |  5 comments

Madlib – Madlib Medicine Show No. 1: Before the Verdict

The greatest thing about this project for me is the chance to glimpse the inner workings and predilections of hip-hops greatest mind. This man has four tons of vinyl. Let me repeat for dramatic effect: Madlib owns four TONS of vinyl. That’s about a Ford F-150 worth of wax. These mix tapes will pull from all of it, bringing you the funkiest, most obscure cuts from South America, Africa, and other locales.

February 11th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in hip-hop  |  6 comments

J Meagher’s Most Played Songs of 2009: Part 2 of 2

Before I was utilizing several external hard drives, streaming websites, compact discs, and the radio (the radio sucks/blows) to get my music fix. Since I’ve upgraded one of the coolest things for me has been keeping track of my listening habits. So the result of this is my top ten listened-to songs of the last year, which actually turned out to really surprise me. These haven’t necessarily been released this year, or aren’t all the most critically acclaimed albums, but give them a shot, there are some true gems here.

January 9th, 2010  |  by J Meagher  |  published in playlists  |  1 comment