And if anyone thinks I'm posting this to mock the Darktown Strutter's Ball, I am not. It seems to be a parody, perhaps created by the Clovers themselves, and if I remember the story correctly, the Clovers showed up to a recording session and did this for their producer, to which he immediately responded with something along the lines of "That's great! Erase the tape and NEVER sing that again!" Guess someone didn't listen.
Born 2 B.R.E.E.D. is really good, though I remember hearing the hip-hop remix of this first, which I believe Marley Marl produced. Prince actually co-wrote 2 songs with Monie for her second album, this one and the title cut, In a Word or 2. This relates to some other peculiar collaborations as well, like Monie writing the rap for Carmen Electra's Prince-produced cover of The Esquires' Get On Up, uncreatively re-titled Everybody Get On Up. If you watched Beavis and Butthead back in the day, you probably caught them memorably ogling its video at least once. A notable Monie-ism in the middle of the song where Carmen states "My name is Carmen Electra and I ain't in the middle." I'm sure anyone familiar with Monie's earlier output will recognize that line's origin. Monie may have written other raps for Carmen as well, since Carmen could actually rap decently and at a fast pace, but was never known as writer herself, despite what the credits might state.
Most of Monie's In a Word or 2 album was produced by Marley Marl, and it's quite a boring affair compared to her previous full-length, Down 2 Earth. Marley's beats have none of the dynamics of her previous tracks, and while her raps are good, the hooks are practically non-existent, mostly appearing in the fashion of "find a way to mention the name of the song over and over again in the chorus!" Oddly enough, Marley Marl also had an experience with Prince around this time, as he did a remix of his hit, 7. That remix, a hip-hop rework of the track, sucked, and Prince never released it for good reason. I'd share it here for your listening, ahem, awareness?..., but it doesn't seem to be on YouTube. Again, that's probably a good thing.
Since someone thinks I'm hating on Tool, well..., yeah, I am. But in all seriousness, Lusk (and Replicants) have a number of ex-Tool members but they sound nothing like Tool, so it would be wrong to file them together. So... get over it? Yeah, move on. Focus on how great the Lusk, Failure and Autolux records are and don't worry about Tool. Last I checked, they were doing just fine, whereas Failure, Autolux, Lusk and all their assorted side-projects could always use some more hype. And anyway, talking shit about Tool has always been a perfectly acceptable pastime, especially here. Not like I said to go throw a sack of puppies in a river. I mean, if I did say that, please, go ahead and downvote me, I'd be asking for that at the very least. Instead, go love animals and, if you enjoy Tool, don't let my idiotics sway you. If my dumbass stabs at humor do sway you or excessively hurt you, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? It's not like I'm bloc, who even when he gets downvoted everyone loves anyway.
That Lusk album could really use a reappraisal. I remember people really liking it and their video actually getting some play on MTV, but it seemed like their label never gave it the push it deserved. I’ve thought it was great forever, but now it’s hard to find or it’s a budget bin diamond in the rough. And they’d been working on a second album before they essentially disappeared. Wish they’d get a push alongside their ex-bandmates in Tool, just don’t file them with Tool.
Good call. I love Failure and all their offshoots (Replicants, On, Year of the Rabbit, Lusk, Digital Noise Academy), but Autolux are really special. Their drummer, Carla Azar (also one of Jack White’s drummers), is a monster and they rock uncontrollably! All of their records are great, but Future Perfect is, uh… PERFECT! Seriously amazing album with lots of noise pop and shoegaze vibes. Worth a listen if you’re not familiar with them, and they’re great live too.
Tom, I understand your positive vibes towards this one, it is a jam, but as someone who was really learning to love music in the late 80s and early 90s, and also someone who loved Mariah’s music, something about this song always rubbed me the wrong way. It felt too easy, almost a bit thrown off. When I finally heard Best of My Love, it all made sense. Best of My Love is an all time 10 for me, whereas this is a 5. A competent number all around, but at it’s core a pale rip-off of a classic. These things happen, and I don’t hold it against Mariah, though I don’t love it either. On the other hand, Make It Happen was awesome and I was sold right there and then.
Side story, I won a copy of this album from participating in a contest on the radio show Open House Party. I was supposed to get this along with Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls, Boyz II Men’s Cooleyhighharmony, Rythm Syndicate’s first album and some other stuff I can’t remember. They didn’t have Diamonds and Pearls so they sent me Graffiti Bridge, which is not a great Prince album, but I still found a lot to love about it. They couldn’t get copies of the Boyz II Men album so they sent me DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s Homebase which stayed in rotation for a long time. That Rythm Syndicate album was okay, but it didn’t have staying power. Mariah’s Emotions though, the album and not the single, was rock solid. Lot of fond memories of that era of music. That said, would’ve happily taken the Boyz II Men record over the Rythm Syndicate one. Those were (some of) the days.
Say whatever you want about the Foo Fighters being overly obvious these days, this cover is a perfect example of why I love Dave Grohl. Just him and his friends having fun, doing something ridiculous. And contrary to the comments about the video being mean-spirited, I have to disagree. If Dave and co. put this much effort into a series of ridiculous covers for an album, I'd be sold, whereas the average Foo Fighters album is perfectly fine in a mostly forgettable way. So, more ridiculous Dave, please.
You know, it’s kind of incredible to think that the unreleased Wrens album was finished, mastered and delivered to Sub Pop in 2013 and still hasn’t leaked yet. As much as I love the Aeon Station album, who wouldn’t want to hear the actual “finished” Wrens album we should’ve gotten 8 years ago? I wouldn’t be shocked if it does leak eventually.
Serious answer: Yes.
Slightly longer serious answer: I think the above video demonstrates the man's ability. Furthermore, I've seen (and heard) many so-called "professional" accordion players who couldn't display the chops presented throughout Al's career, including in the aforementioned video, no matter how hard they tried, so even if Al isn't the best, I'd give him the title of "very good accordionist" at the very least.
I'd also like to acknowledge that Al's experience as a musician playing actual musical instruments may otherwise be less than stellar, most likely falling into the categories of good or above average, though he clearly possesses an excellent understanding of the language of music, which makes him a legitimately excellent musician.
And yes, accordionist is a legitimate word. :)
I first heard about this on a podcast (99% Invisible, I believe) and thought it was wonderful. Played some to my wife and she thought it was some of the most disturbing music she’d ever heard. Pretty cool.
Are you using a VPN? You might have to do something like that if you’re on a campus or whatnot. Nonetheless, I don’t think there is much to support their beliefs. Their whole method seems to be to look for something even when there is nothing. Some of their explanations for their beliefs are weirder than the crap that the supposed Q would post. I feel like there is a missing link somewhere, but that’s the kind of slime I don’t want to get too close to find out about.
Honestly, their explanation sounds less like actual reasoning and more in line with creating a pseudo-legitimate line of reason to remove his content without just saying “this guy sucks and we want nothing to do with him”. I wonder if they could be held liable if they came right out and said that, albeit in a far more professional manner than I did, though it is a private platform and if they can remove Trump they can remove Kelly.
Regarding your class, how deep have you looked for primary sources advocating anti-vaxing and Qanon? It makes sense that there is nothing primarily advocating for them, which goes back to why it’s ridiculous for so many people to support those concepts but also gives an assbackwards reason for people to support them. It’s all so toxic, which is hilarious since that’s what those movements claim they’re fighting despite just spreading toxicity.
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