Posted on 09/23/2005

 

The sub-genre is currently a rock n' roll plague. Rock artists are swiftly brushed under one of many labels: metal, hardcore, indie, emo, progressive, or often muddled combination of several.

Posted on 09/23/2005

 

Rap Entertainment Television (RETV) was a hip-hop video showcase that aired on New Jersey cable from 1992-96, and now they're releasing DVD collections of videos and interviews that the program aired in each of those individual years.

Posted on 09/23/2005

 

ehh. If you are at all familiar with those at the forefront of the current Latin/Afro-Cuban/boogaloo vibe, it is nearly impossible to picture that forefront without Yerba Buena in the mix. For the cultural essence, Yerba Buena certainly comes authentic and picturesque (that is to say, they paint a clear picture) on their second release, Island Life. It becomes rather easy to picture sweaty, scantily-clad bodies, floating Spanish dialects, warm summer island nights, and getting down to these grooves while Island Life is explored. So where does this record go wrong (and, in this case, terribly wrong)?

Posted on 09/22/2005

 

It's a great cliché to be asked to sum up a piece of music or an artist in one word. Being the obsessive analyzer I am, I find that task to be nearly impossible, not to mention just flat out annoying. Not very often am I able to come up with one word sufficient enough to describe music that I feel is deserving of much more than one word. However, in the case of the Cranes, I would have absolutely no problem summing them up in one word.

Posted on 09/22/2005

 

After being paraded at random live shows for years by everyone from Jay-Z to Wyclef, 2004 was a breakout year for Miri Ben-Ari. The Israeli-born, classically-trained violinist with a penchant for hip hop was thrust into the spotlight for her production and arrangement work on Kanye West's The College Dropout, and her appearance in Twista's "Overnight Celebrity" video. This is when we found out her third album would be a hip-hop compilation. And we waited. And waited. And now, more than a year too late, The Hip-Hop Violinist finally drops, to little fanfare.

Posted on 09/21/2005

 

A mixtape compilation can be a funny thing. You're bound to get some really good tunes (albeit in—no doubt—an altered form) and some admirable showing-off on the turntables by the mixer. However, these same things that can be the good side to a mix can also be the cause of its downfall.