The Wu Tang clan is one of my favorite rap groups of all time. Rather than being artificial like most rap songs today Wu Tang's songs are not put through synthesisers and have more of an old school, classic, damaged sound to them. The Wu Tang Clan's members include The RZA, The GZA, Old dirty, Method man, Ghostface Killah, Inspecter Deck, U-GoD, Master Killah, and Reakwon.
Old Dirty aka Dirt McGert aka Ason aka Osirus aka ODB was one of the founding members of The Wu Tang Clan along with the RZA and the GZA. Old Dirty died from a drug overdose in 2004. Old Dirty was definitely different from all the other members and definitely more energetic.
Out of the nine members of the Wu Tang Clan the GZA is defiantly my favorite. Aside from listening to just The Wu Tang Clan, I frequently listen the GZA's solo music. The GZA is also called by his nickname,Genius,for directing most of the music videos.
Wu Tang Clan member RZA whose real name is Robert Fitzgerald Diggs is another great rapper that helps to make up The Wu Tang Clan. I recently downloaded the album "Digi Snacks" off of Itunes and I have to admit it was definitely not what I had expected it to be. It sounded alot less like Wu Tang and alot more like most of the rap today that goes through synthesisers and cumputers.
The first time I had ever heard of the Wu Tang Clan was about two years ago on a Chapelle Show skit called Wu Tang financial. In this skit The RZA and The GZA act as financial aids, and tell stereotypical white people how to buy stocks. After that I checked them out and found a liking to their music. One thing I find interesting about The Wu Tang Clan is how they blend in little clips of audio from old Corny martial arts films. The Wu Tang Clan's name came from a mountain from Japan called mt. Wu Tang.
Mos Def is another rapper that I listen to frequently. He has the same Hardcore Old school rap style as The Wu Tang Clan. I first heard of Mos Def two years ago on the Chepelle Show as an actor and performer. Mos Def's real name is Dante Terrel Smith. He performs both as a solo artist and he performs with Talib Quali to make up the rap group called Blackstar. Mos Def's album Black on Both sides seems to talk alot about Brooklyn which is Mos Def's hometown and talks alot about racism.
A Tribe called Quest is next on my list. They are another classic Hip Hop group that I listen to. They first started making music in the late eightys. A Tribe called Quest consists of three members named Q-tip, Jarobi White and Phife Dog. In my opinion A Tribe called Quest is one of the best clasic Hip Hop groups ever and I have yet to hear a better rap song than "Can I Kick it".
508 words
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Primus, Les Claypool, & bucket head
I would like to talk about a band called Primus, a band whose sound is like no other band that I have ever heard. With song names like "My Name is Mud" and "Professor Nutter-Butter's House of Treats" it is not surprising at all that Primus is known for having a unique and diverse sound. In my opinion, Primus is so enjoyable for me to listen to because of the bassist and singer Les Claypool. Primus's songs are centered around the bass guitar rather than a guitar.
I recently listened to Les Claypool's new album called "Of Fungi and Foe". All the songs on this album were great and just as strange as all Primus' other songs. Les Claypool recently went on a tour that was called Les Claypool's Oddity Faire tour, and when he was asked what was planned for the tour he replied "We're going to fill it full of freaks. I guarantee it's going to be a memorable event. Whether you love or hate the music or the performers, it's going to be very memorable".
I honestly would not know what genre of music Primus could be associated with. My Itunes library has some albums listed as rock, others alternative and others listed as metal. I would have to disagree. If I would categorize Primus with any one genre of music it would probably have to be a fusion of alternative, funk and metal.
To me, Les Claypool has an extremely unique sound that cannot be imitated by anyone. Primus has very diverse songs and especially diverse music videos. In the music video for the song called Mr.Krinkles, Les Claypool has a pig mask and a suit on and is playing an upright bass while people who could be stars of a freak show walk by him.
Now I would like to transition from talking about incredible and strange bass playing to incredible and strange guitar playing. Bucket head as he likes to be called is a guitar player who is known for wearing a K.F.C fried chicken bucket on top of his head and a Micheal Myers mask on his face, doing the robot break dance and swing around nunchucks. Despite these strange characteristics bucket head is actually a great guitar player known for being one of the fastest guitar players ever.
I watched a video from Ozzfest in 1999 on Youtube a while ago in which Primus played a few songs with Bucket head. It was great to say the least. Les Claypool and Bucket head have a very similar style to one another and are a perfect match. If I had to pick which one was better at what they do I would have to go with Les Claypool because even though Bucket Head is one of the fastest guitarists I think that he does not put enough rhythm and feeling into his guitar playing.
Many people think that Primus and Bucket Head are bad because of their diverse strange sounding music, but then again I am willing to bet that many of these people think that the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus's music is actually good.
525 words
I recently listened to Les Claypool's new album called "Of Fungi and Foe". All the songs on this album were great and just as strange as all Primus' other songs. Les Claypool recently went on a tour that was called Les Claypool's Oddity Faire tour, and when he was asked what was planned for the tour he replied "We're going to fill it full of freaks. I guarantee it's going to be a memorable event. Whether you love or hate the music or the performers, it's going to be very memorable".
I honestly would not know what genre of music Primus could be associated with. My Itunes library has some albums listed as rock, others alternative and others listed as metal. I would have to disagree. If I would categorize Primus with any one genre of music it would probably have to be a fusion of alternative, funk and metal.
To me, Les Claypool has an extremely unique sound that cannot be imitated by anyone. Primus has very diverse songs and especially diverse music videos. In the music video for the song called Mr.Krinkles, Les Claypool has a pig mask and a suit on and is playing an upright bass while people who could be stars of a freak show walk by him.
Now I would like to transition from talking about incredible and strange bass playing to incredible and strange guitar playing. Bucket head as he likes to be called is a guitar player who is known for wearing a K.F.C fried chicken bucket on top of his head and a Micheal Myers mask on his face, doing the robot break dance and swing around nunchucks. Despite these strange characteristics bucket head is actually a great guitar player known for being one of the fastest guitar players ever.
I watched a video from Ozzfest in 1999 on Youtube a while ago in which Primus played a few songs with Bucket head. It was great to say the least. Les Claypool and Bucket head have a very similar style to one another and are a perfect match. If I had to pick which one was better at what they do I would have to go with Les Claypool because even though Bucket Head is one of the fastest guitarists I think that he does not put enough rhythm and feeling into his guitar playing.
Many people think that Primus and Bucket Head are bad because of their diverse strange sounding music, but then again I am willing to bet that many of these people think that the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus's music is actually good.
525 words
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The White Stripes
The White Stripes are a band that have influenced many other musicians to play the same style of music as them. The White Stripes are composed of Jack White on guitar and vocals, and Meg White on drums. Many bands such as The Strokes, and The Hives share a very smiler sound as The White Stripes. I have been listening to The White Stripes for about three years now and every new song I hear is as good as the last.
Their album "De Stiji" is by far one of my favorites because it has the most raw sounding music of any White Stripes album. The songs on this album are mostly a blend of blues and punk with some rock songs thrown in hear and there. The White Stripes utilize a simple color scheme of red white and black on their clothing instruments and scenery to further expand the idea of simplicity.
Jack White has been in many other bands, some of my favorites of these are called The Upholsters and The Laughing Hyenas. Both of these groups are fairly unknown to most people but they are still excellent. They still have the same type of raw and simplistic sound as The White Stripes but are not limited to just having guitar, drums, and a vocalist. In my opinion Jack White is by far one of the best guitarists that i have ever heard, his solo's i think are a big part in what makes The White Stripes so great to hear and so entertaining to watch. Another thing that makes The White Stripes so good is how the developed guitar work by Jack White is mixed in with the simple drumming from Meg White.
The White Stripes have announced that they are releasing a film sometime next year. Also Jack White started a new band called The Dead Weather who i have yet to hear, but I am sure that there great.
324 Words
Their album "De Stiji" is by far one of my favorites because it has the most raw sounding music of any White Stripes album. The songs on this album are mostly a blend of blues and punk with some rock songs thrown in hear and there. The White Stripes utilize a simple color scheme of red white and black on their clothing instruments and scenery to further expand the idea of simplicity.
Jack White has been in many other bands, some of my favorites of these are called The Upholsters and The Laughing Hyenas. Both of these groups are fairly unknown to most people but they are still excellent. They still have the same type of raw and simplistic sound as The White Stripes but are not limited to just having guitar, drums, and a vocalist. In my opinion Jack White is by far one of the best guitarists that i have ever heard, his solo's i think are a big part in what makes The White Stripes so great to hear and so entertaining to watch. Another thing that makes The White Stripes so good is how the developed guitar work by Jack White is mixed in with the simple drumming from Meg White.
The White Stripes have announced that they are releasing a film sometime next year. Also Jack White started a new band called The Dead Weather who i have yet to hear, but I am sure that there great.
324 Words
Monday, April 6, 2009
Explosions in the Sky
Originally called Breaker Morant, Explosions in the Sky is an instrumental band that gained popularity from developed guitar and cinematic shows. The band was started 10 years ago, they have played allot of shows in allot of places, released four albums, and they recorded the soundtrack for the movie Friday Night Lights. they play usually with 3 electric guitars and a drum set.
Explosions in The Sky was formed in Austin, Texas in 1999 and quickly gained popularity and a reputation for great shows. Temporary Residence Limited (or TRL) signed the band after only listing to half of their demo C.D.
When they released their second album entitled "Those who tell the truth shall die, Those how tell the truth shall live forever" came out, they gained allot of media attention because of rumors that linked the album to the attacks on Sept. 11. The
rumrs were started because of the album cover showed a plain crashing with the caption the plain will crash tomorrow. The band denied any relation between them and the Sept. 11 attacks in an interview. Bassist Michael James was detained by airport security and questioned him about why his guitar case says "the plain will crash tomorrow".
I first heard the band when they opened for Smashing Pumpkins, in Boston, When they came on I was skeptical at first because most of their songs start out very slow, after things picked up the show absolutely blew my mind, it was incredible. The blend of great sounding guitars and drums in harmony was amazing.
Their music has been described as passionate, loud, melodic, powerful, and tragic. in an interview band member Chris Hrasky was asked if there was any influence from literature that goes into your song writing, he replied " We’re influenced by books, music and movies, anything artistic, but not anything directly. I think 'Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean' was written about the Russian Navy soldiers who perished on the Kursk submarine when it sank in 2000"
Word Count: 331
Explosions in The Sky was formed in Austin, Texas in 1999 and quickly gained popularity and a reputation for great shows. Temporary Residence Limited (or TRL) signed the band after only listing to half of their demo C.D.
When they released their second album entitled "Those who tell the truth shall die, Those how tell the truth shall live forever" came out, they gained allot of media attention because of rumors that linked the album to the attacks on Sept. 11. The
rumrs were started because of the album cover showed a plain crashing with the caption the plain will crash tomorrow. The band denied any relation between them and the Sept. 11 attacks in an interview. Bassist Michael James was detained by airport security and questioned him about why his guitar case says "the plain will crash tomorrow".
I first heard the band when they opened for Smashing Pumpkins, in Boston, When they came on I was skeptical at first because most of their songs start out very slow, after things picked up the show absolutely blew my mind, it was incredible. The blend of great sounding guitars and drums in harmony was amazing.
Their music has been described as passionate, loud, melodic, powerful, and tragic. in an interview band member Chris Hrasky was asked if there was any influence from literature that goes into your song writing, he replied " We’re influenced by books, music and movies, anything artistic, but not anything directly. I think 'Six Days at the Bottom of the Ocean' was written about the Russian Navy soldiers who perished on the Kursk submarine when it sank in 2000"
Word Count: 331
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