The end of the year finds me reshuffling all the papers scattered around the office that have been piling up for the past few months, in search of overlooked treasures worthy of popular discourse. In my clearing away of clutter, I've found a few kernels of interest, a mixtape or two, a handful of outdated press releases, a stack of yellowing Chronicles, an SF Bay Guardian with something about PG & E on the cover and a few Vanity Fair issues that I meant to read had I not been too caught up in my own vanity affairs.
While I have this time to reflect I would like to thank those jokers behind last Tuesday’s Root Music Launch Party that got half of my entourage so ill with cheap complimentary libations that we had to jet and missed what I heard was a killer performance by Hiero-heavyweights Del, A Plus, and Opio. Before I get even more fired up over this matter I will digress and present to you an hors du oeuvres platter of various intrigues in no particular order.
I feel like I’m the last one in the know about this but here’s a download of the latest Lil B mixtape, Red Flame. Still digging his album Rain in England released earlier this year, but this mix has him claiming to have Bill Clinton level O.G. status, as he brags about his promiscuity (on the mixtape cut “Bitch I’m Bill Clinton”). There are also shout outs to Hugh Heffner and Miley Cyrus as B pokes fun at celebrity icons while simultaneously embracing the music press machine bastions of the Fader and P4k.
In other holiday related news, Deer Tick has put out a digital Christmas single called Holy S**t it’s Christmas on iTunes, and free on the Partisan Records site with purchase of anything related to Deer Tick. Take a listen to the track “Christmas All Summer Long” that has a garage roaring sound reminiscent of their summer release The Black Dirt Sessions that will melt the snow and/or sleet on your front porch that has been your recent excuse for hibernating indoors. On December 20 John McCauley of Deer Tick is also set to play a stripped down benefit show at the Troubadour in LA before returning to the east coast.
Deer Tick, “Christmas All Summer Long”
Aussie rockers Tame Impala recently put out an album called Innerspeaker and just released a music video this week for their single “Expectation.” The video has the wide angle lens-eternal camera pan thing happening with the band playing in a forest setting. I first heard of these blokes through a conversation I had with the Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn, who turned me onto their sound. I even enjoy that Pilooski remix of their song “Lucidity”. With any luck I hope to catch them December 13 at the Independent here in San Francisco.
Tame Impala, “Expectation”
As part of the new Wikileaks trend comes an interesting offering from the Diddy-Dirty Money yet-to-be-released album The Last Train to Paris. The two leaked tracks are “Strobe Lights” (Feat. Lil Wayne) and “Looking for Someone to Love Me”. Lil Wayne gives “Strobe Lights” a decent effort in his verse over a weird ominous sample before Dawn Richard and Kalenna’s vocals get completely obliterated in unnecessary, high trim autotune effects. But if you can look past the Kanye-level caliber of ego posturing hubris on Diddy’s performance on “Someone to Love Me”, you can hear shades of En Vogue styled talents through Dawn and Kalenna’s vocals. Other collaborators on the upcoming album are rumored to be Chris Brown, Drake, Swizz Beatz, T.I., Justin Timerlake and Usher.
Diddy-Dirty Money, “Strobe Lights” (Feat. Lil Wayne)
Diddy-Dirty Money, “Someone to Love Me”
Just in, I hear that Violens are going to play a New York show December 11 at Santos Party house with Light Asylum and Caveman. They are currently wrapping up a European tour alongside The Drums.
Violens, “Violent Sensation Descends”
And to keep the good Holiday feelings going, I will leave you with a video of California’s outgoing Governator dancing a hora with some members of the orthodox persuasion. Happy Chanukah folks!
