Posted on 10/26/2009
Raashan Ahmad has released one of those interim albums. You know, the ones that musicians record while they’re on tour promoting another album (in Raashan Ahmad’s case his debut album The Push) because they’re tired of performing the same old ish. This new album, Soul Power, is weirdly orchestral and weirdly Oakland; the beats are more like instrumentation, and Raa’s sporadic delivery just screams “Bay Area.” All this makes Soul Power a regional album, diggable for the Hip-Hop world at large, but only truly appreciated by the natives.

Posted on 10/26/2009
Let’s be clear: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are not overly complex. The group is not going to wow listeners with thought provoking lyrics or confuse them with intricate, ambiguous songwriting. Instead, what this band does is pound consistently with its brand of dance-heavy electronic drum and bass. Such is the case on the New York City trio’s latest recording, It’s Blitz!, the group’s third full-length album and sixth release overall. If you are looking to unwind by dancing the night away, then this album is tailor-made for you. However, if you’re looking for deep and brooding music with a message, look away because your search continues.

Posted on 10/26/2009
The group is called Vinyl Life, they are on a label called Tape Theory, and their track titles include “Hi Tops” and “Press Rewind.” The credits cite many of the big figures of 1980s urban electronic music as influences, from Larry Heard to Eric B. & Rakim but also including such antecedents as James Brown and King Tubby. Although these textual clues offer good insight into what Vinyl Life are aspiring after, the listening experience reveals that a few of those names are probably more significant than others, with Bambaataa and Kraftwerk standing out most clearly. One of the songs, “Like This,” surmises: “Betcha never heard it like this before.” It’s just not true, we’ve heard music like this many times ---first when electro was new, but then again here lately when serving as partial inspiration for the varying degrees of 1980s retro-futurism that have been in vogue for the past several years, that have found their way even into the work of mainstream artists like Kanye and Pharrell. Not that this particular lyric should be taken too seriously; it is the kind of phrase that sounds good over this brand of music, but even that observation forces a admission that the music may be based more in image than innovation.

Posted on 10/26/2009
In the movie High Fidelity, Jack Black’s spastic record store clerk raises the philosophical question of whether it’s best for a formerly great artist to flame out, or simply fade away. On Guru 8.0: Lost & Found, the former Gang Starr front man, and Jazzmatazz architect presents the possibility of achieving both simultaneously. If Lost & Found is the latest chapter in the former king of monotone’s slow descent into mediocrity that began on the final Gang Starr album, it also marks a sharp acceleration towards a terminal explosion.