7) Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame (2010)
Dr. Dog is a quintet from Philadelphia that has reinvigorated psychedelic rock for the indie music world. This is the fifth release from the band who continuously give off a mid 1960’s vibe. They continue to provide moving guitar riffs, fun, warm weather rhythms, and gorgeous harmonies. It has provided endless listening for me, and I certainly hope you get the same. “Jackie Wants a Black Eye,” “Mirror, Mirror,” and “Stranger” have so far been my favorites.
8) Zion I – Mind Over Matter (2000)
I first listened to Zion I, and more specifically this album, about ten years ago when I was a freshman in high school. You know what? Like a fine wine, this album has aged amazingly well. The beats are still incredibly smooth, and the rhymes, clever as ever. What’s funny is I was drawn back to it by the shuffle function on my iTunes, and I’ve since listened to it regularly, and probably more than ever. The Oakland based duo has since put out numerous singles and albums (try listening to “Doin’ My Thang” and “Breathing Slow”) but this album is the crème de la crème. “Trippin,” “Silly Puddy” and “Critical” best illustrate the combination of the futuristic yet old-school style beats created by DJ Amplive and the smooth, intelligent rhymes of Zumbi.
I’ll be honest, the first time I listened to this album was at about 3 am, in a friend’s dorm room, after a long night of partying. It doesn’t matter though, because with every listen, this album gets better and better. It’s Girl Talk before Girl Talk, and in my opinion better than Girl Talk. It combines original compositions (“Since I Left You”) with samples such as De La Soul’s “A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation,” and many others. Here though, the group lets the samples combine much more naturally and effectively than in Girl Talk’s abrupt and rapid switches between songs. I could give suggested tracks to listen to, but to be honest, this is one that you need to play start to finish in order to get the real effect of such an amazing album.
And cue the haters. Done? Not yet? Ok, now that we’ve all gotten that off our chests, I’m going to level with you: I too was originally a Wilco skeptic. I hated the lower east side, thou aren’t worthy, we-are-the-only-musically-educated-ones vibe this band gave off. Why does this indie band get all this credit? Their songs are weird! They can’t be this good! Yeah, I said all of those. The truth is though that Wilco is awesome. In a way they are very similar to one of my favorite bands, Phish. Noobs can’t just jump into the deep end and listen to anything, they need to know the right songs to get them started. Kicking Television provides the necessary starting point. Not only is it a sort of greatest hits compilation, but it also showcases the band’s live prowess. My favorites: every song. But for those who want just a taste check out “Handshake Drugs,” “Airline to Heaven,” “Hell is Chrome,” and “Hummingbird.”
1 comment:
At first I didn't like Wilco because I heard some slow dark songs but, like you said, it actually rocks........nice pick!
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