Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (Rico's several minutes of madness uptown in hobbitan re-work)

Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full (Rico's several minutes of madness uptown in hobbitan re-work) by The Hobbit

The Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 6

The Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 6 by The Hobbit

The Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 6

The Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 6 by The Hobbit

Rico's Reachin' re-edit - Phase2

Rico's Reachin' re-edit - Phase2 by The Hobbit

JEM on BBC Radio London

JEM on BBC Radio London by The Hobbit

GIRLS: ‘FATHER, SON, HOLY GHOST’ (Fantasytrashcan / Turnstile). A review by 7's.

CAN. OF. WORMS. See, my buddy said, sounds like The Thrills on the blob and he’s not wrong, but let me tell you; this thing almost didn’t make it past the opener (no sir, not on my watch) because it made me think of The Vaccines, and c’mon; nobody wants to have to think about The Vaccines. Girls open shop pushing the kind of chirpy Surf Rock that only true West Coast soleil-drunk bums can muster. And hey, it’s authentic, and still I hate it. Why? Already told you, buster, but there’s more to it than that; Authentic vintage sounds? Dear Jim, please can you fix it for me to be Paul Weller? So here’s that CAN (slight return) lumbering back into view, and it’s started to be a grey trunky thing in the room for me. So what’s my problem? No rhetoric here, I’m seriously asking. How come I’m getting all uptight about this album? Well because it makes me question myself and where this is all going. Ultimately, if pop continues to eat itself, and it will, then what happens to this modern vintage? If we’re constantly looking backwards, will every new band be the new originals? Well, I guess as long as they’re not the New Radicals, it don’t really matter.

When they stop trying to display just how well they know the great American Pop Songbook, when they shoot truly from the hip they really hit the target. When they take the vintage influences of their choice and use them as a jumping off point, rather than just plain aping what’s gone before, then O Lordy it works. But this carbon copy shtick just ain’t gonna fly. And listen up, the boys in Girls, you don’t gotta do it.

They know their stuff, and if you’ve liked anything between Pet Sounds and The Besnard Lakes Are on Fire then you’ll get this, but I’m still torn, kinda. Playing spot the influence gets old pretty quick, and it gets in the way. Let’s be clear though; this is the 3rd record these San Fran fellows have released, and they’d still be telling tales of sun-kissed unrequited love regardless of whatever the cool kids are listening to. But sure jumps around stylistically; during Die you can actually hear them growing beards and turning into Black Mountain (not a bad thing, but why the full-moon were-bear-bunch response amongst these here songs), but who do you wanna be? My point is this – they’re within reaching distance of The Soft Bulletin, Deserter’s Songs and the like – pieces of work that embodied what Gram Parsons called ‘Cosmic American Music’; a style, a vocabulary that embraces the musical folk art of the USA, and attempted to take it forward. But you‘ve got to follow through – it’s not enough to just show us your workings in the margins. Fleet Foxes do the same damn thing, steering up into the stars before inevitably collapsing into a pile of Crosby Stills & Mash (sic). Stop being fans. Stop showboatin’. Be yer own heroes.

So how come I’m still listening? Because ‘Alex’, ‘Die’, and ‘Vomit’ are modern classics. Yeah, I said it; rub on yer modern. Because ‘Father, Son, Holy Ghost’ is often pretty as hell, and when they give from their heart, it goes straight to yours.

7’s

The Coup’s Party Music: Originally released on September 11th 2001. A reflective review by Richard Bamford

Back in the hazy days of summer, 2001, The Coup planned a symbolic attack against the World Trade Center. Their target wasn’t the actual towers themselves though; their target was capitalism. The representational attack was being made as a protest against a culture that celebrated mindless consumption, gratuitous greed, and an insurmountable gulf between the classes.




As we all now know, Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress weren’t the only people planning a similarly symbolic attack. The latter, though would go far beyond a controversial photo and an album filled with incendiary lyrics.



The attack on the twin towers, 9/11, occurred before Warner Music and The Coup released Party Music; the original cover was, however, finished in June 2001. Though they were investigated by the FBI, they were quickly cleared of any wrongdoing. They did, though, have to redesign the cover. The newer cover was far more subtle: while it appears to be a celebration of Courvoisier and lust, it’s actually a symbolic call to arms. Did anyone spot the gas’ can sitting next to the martini glass?

While tracks like "5 Million Ways to Kill a CEO" and "Lazymuthafucka" pack a powerful punch even ten years on, I wonder: how many people heard their messages after all the controversy, shock and horror of the attack, and their new found fame, based purely on the hullabaloo surrounding the artwork of the original album cover?

The Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 5

The Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 5 by The Hobbit