Brilliant. Somebody make some noise.
I'm not just saying this because I was at the video filming for the single "Inferno," but J-Boogie's Soul Vibrations album was, in my honest and humble opinion, one of the absolute best albums by a Bay Area artist in 2008. For that project, SF's hard-working DJ/producer assembled a truly impressive list of local talent--including Nicaraguan emcee Deuce Eclipse, true-skool rappers Lunar Heights and Crown City Rockers, Oakland soul diva Jennifer Johns, homo-hopper Tim'm West, versatile Asian-American artist Lyrics Born, and conscious rap star Zumbi--resulting in what's easily the freshest-sounding Dubtronic Science effort to date.
Om Records recently announced that the Boogie Man hath returneth--with a dub remix version of Soul Vibrations, which adds even more echo, reverb, and psychedelic trippiness to what was already a bangin' project. A great idea, and one that more artists should consider. An iTunes link is here, and the album is also available at retail, for those of you who still listen to CDs.
Vetiver
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Great American Music Hall
Better than: There's a fine line these days between jam bands and folk-leaning rock bands with guitar riffs that linger like the scent of patchouli. Vetiver loosens the reins without awakening the Dead too much.
There's a new lightness to Vetiver's material, a breezy happy-go-luckiness that adds a chipper pace and attitude to the local band's latest record, Tight Knit. So even as the group furthers its forays into soft rock, there's a kick to its songs, an infectious giddiness that's evident in singles like "Everyday" (the track with the hilarious video above), one of the many new tunes that lived up to the album title as Andy Cabic and company took them out for a spin from the Great American stage last night.
It's hard not to be a Denis Leary fan. The acerbic redheaded Irish-American comic is one of the best things about broadcast TV, and the return of his FX series "Rescue Me" for its fifth season--he plays a nervous, gregarious NYPD firefighter fighting both alcohol and sex addictions, not to mention a tendency to wisecrack at inopportune moments--is welcome news, amidst all the soppy sitcoms and tired-ass reality shows. The show's hipness cachet has been reinforced by their use of indie/underground bands on soundtracks (info about these bands is available on the show's official Website).
What's even cooler, though, is that the current season five promo, which features a supersized Leary and the cast walking around NYC--uses Michael Franti & Spearhead's "Yell Fire" as theme music. It's an awesome ad which offers a new interpretation of the lyric throw your hands up, take it to another level/ and you can never ever ever make a deal with the devil, as well as making the chorus (Yell Fire, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo) seem even more anthemic than it already was. Peep the clip here.
