The Week of New Music

This has been a great week for me for new music. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten some new music, so I’ve been keeping my ears busy with CunninLynguists’ Dirty Acres and Wyclef Jean’s The Carnival II. This week I downloaded three really good albums from the iTunes music store.

Tonedeff – Deffinitions

deffinitions

This album is a compilation of instrumentals by the very talented Tonedeff. There’s really nothing this guy can’t do. He is an amazing emcee, a wonderful singer, and a very underrated producer. This compilation is a collection of some of his best production. I really don’t know how he narrowed it down to the tracks featured on this album. He could release 3 or 4 albums of his best production, which I guess this is why it’s Vol. 1. Some of the stand out tracks are Stomp, Don’t Do It, and Route of Evil. If you like to hear multi-layered hip hop production that are more orchestrations than beats, check out this album.

Del the Funky Homosapien – 11th Hour

11th hour

Del is back with a solo album after an 8 year absence. If you liked any of his previous work, you’ll love his Def Jux release. It’s more raw than his previous albums, showcasing more of his flow and lyrics than some of his previous albums. While I do miss the wonderful compositions by Dan the Automator that appeared on his group album Deltron 3030, it’s nice to hear something that focuses more on Del and his great voice and flow than the beats. Some of the stand out tracks on this are Raw Sewage and Naked Fonk.

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple

odd couple

True to the album title, Cee-lo Green and DJ DangerMouse certainly are an odd couple. They took the world by storm with the first joint album as Gnarls Barkley in St. Elsewhere. Well, the chemistry that made them a hit last year is back in The Odd Couple. This time there seems to be a bit more substance in the album. While it doesn’t have a stand out single like St. Elsewhere’s Crazy, there are plenty of great tracks on this album. Whereas Del’s album is more simple in production, we get the same great multi-layered production that we come to expect from DangerMouse. While this album is less of a dance album, you will still find yourself nodding your head to every track. It’s great to see so much creativity in music, especially after listening to carbon copy music on the radio time after time. Standout tracks include Neighbors and Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?”

All three of these albums can be found in the iTunes Music Store. I suggest you buy all three.

It’s 3 AM

This is Shep and I approve this message:

3am.jpgIt’s 3 AM and something terrible just happened. Somewhere, someone is trying to call me. Unfortunately, my battery has died. Instead of hearing my voice, the caller is redirected to a cold, almost robotic voice of the voice mail. Is this who you want answering the phone at 3 AM? This April, vote for quality. Vote for excellence. Vote for reliability. Please, donate now to ensure when that phone rings at 3 AM, I’m able to answer it.

My birthday is in April and I’d really like to buy an iPhone. Here’s the problem, I’m a poor teacher that can’t afford the hefty $500 price tag. I really would like the iPhone for all it’s great features and so it can help me stay more organized. So, my lovely, sexy, smart, funny, witty, beautiful readers, won’t you do your part? Help me get the best birthday present ever!

Find it in your heart this spring to click below and donate to a worthy cause!













(paid for by The Committee to Buy Shep an iPhone)

Flogging Molly-Requiem for a Dying Song

I really love the band Flogging Molly. I’ve been a fan of them for years, since I heard their album Drunken Lullabies. Ever since I picked up that album I’ve been following their music career as closely as possible. I’ve purchased all their albums and enjoy them. Their latest album Float is a superb album. Anyone who is a fan of good punk rock, especially Irish-American punk rock, needs to listen to this. From their website:

Flogging Molly’s latest album, Float, recorded in King’s native Ireland, delivers still another iteration of the band’s sonic evolution. More mature yet retaining the immediacy that marks all of their work, Float may find the widest audience acceptance of any Flogging Molly album. Hard charging tunes “Paddy’s Lament” and “You Won’t Make a Fool Out of Me” give way, as listeners have come to expect, to more sober ruminations on tracks like “Float.” The overall effect is a symphonic layering of sound that possesses a unique rhythmic flow from boisterous to bereaved and back again. Long time fans and new discoverers will be equally astounded.

My favorite track from the album right now is “Requiem for a Dying Song.” It’s the first track on the album and sets the pace for what is to come on the rest. Enjoy.

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Spring Break, Quit Taunting Me

I’m so looking forward to spring break. It begins on Friday. I need this break so much. I’m getting worn out by some of these kids. I look forward to staying up late, sleeping in, playing Super Smash Brothers on the Wii. I look forward to relaxing and catching up on some movies, friends, and sleep. Oh man, I’m looking forward to sleeping. They say you can’t play catch-up with sleep, but I’m sure going to try. After today, three more days this week until a week of pure bliss. I better enjoy it while it lasts though. MAP testing begins the Tuesday after we come back. Yay for standardized tests! (sarcasm)

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I’m a Rapper

I’m a rapper. Ok, not really. But I should be. It seems everyone is a rapper these days. I was watching a video of CunninLynguists that aired on television in Sweden. They are on tour in Europe right now and the interviewers asked what the difference between fans in Sweden and fans in the United States. Kno responded that the fans in Sweden are just that, fans. In the US everyone is a rapper. This is so true. Everyone is trying to make it big as a rapper these days, and who could blame them? With the music industry the way it is, they’ll accept anything and put it on the radio as long as it has a good beat. Lyrical content doesn’t mean anything. How else do you explain Solja Boy and Lil John. At least with other forms of music, there has to be some additional talent involved, usually involving singing or bands. With rap, you just need to find some beats or some samples and start rapping crappy rhymes. I found a site tonight that had some of the worst music I’ve ever heard. (Link Removed) Just because you have equipment to record your “music” doesn’t mean you should. People need to stop thinking that they have talent and they are going to be the next big thing and start being fans again. Maybe that’s what will save the music industry. Start focusing on talent and stop mass producing crap and raise the bar for future artists. Of course, this will never happen. They are always looking for a quick buck so they will waste money on a one-hit wonder just to get their royalties, meanwhile, great artists, like CunninLynguists, suffer because the industry is settled on a standard of mediocrity.