WEEKLY MOMENT OF ZEN: MICHAEL JACKSON PERFORMS "BILLIE JEAN" @ MOTOWN’s 25th

Imagine an era in music in which there was no internet, the was no cable TV, and there was only terrestrial radio. Now imagine that in that era, the ability to reach stardom was literally based upon press buzz, and the hope of all hopes that you could finagle the ability to be featured on celebrity variety shows, or the Ed Sullivan show, Hollwood Palace, American Bandstand, Don Kirschener’s Rock Concert, or later Soul Train or the late night vehicles, namely Jack Paar and Mike Douglass, then later, Johnny Carson. It’s amazing to think just how quickly the merging of technology and mass media have completely altered the ascension of musicians from mere bit players to international celebrities in minutes and seconds instead of years and lifetimes. Thus and so provides a background and placement for my moment of zen for today, Michael Jackson performing Billie Jean at the Motown 25th Anniversary show in 1983 on NBC.

If you ask anybody over the age of 30 about this performance, they can likely tell you where they were, and everything about it. Michael Jackson, at the time of the performance, may have been the most beloved man in all of the burgeoning new scene of urban pop. Fresh from the success of the Quincy Jones produced “Off the Wall” album, the world was aware that Michael Jackson was a solo act with promise, but not a mega celebrity. As a member of the Jackson 5, and later, The Jacksons, upon leaving Motown, Michael was always pushed as special, the precocious voiced youngster with incredible dance moves who was impossible to hate. But, Q had matured his sound by introducing elements of the moody disco he had become known for in the late 70s, but, with Thriller, Quincy Jones and Michael himself had really taken things to the next level, with synths, rock guitars, and a bold, new, exciting sound, the likes of which we’d never heard before from anyone, black, white, red, brown, yellow, the entire spectrum.

The performance in itself is amazing, and set the album, and Michael himself on an unbelievable trajectory towards being the artist of note of that era in music, as possibly of all time. It was an evening special, 8 PM start, prime time, when all the eyes are watching. The reunited Jacksons started things off, as I remember, my mother excitedly singing along, as five year old Marcus, staying up long past my bedtime, had no idea what was going on, but, I knew who Michael was, and wondered why he had four dudes with him. Then, the music stopped, and the other four brothers walked away, and the spotlight fell on Michael, you saw the silver sequined glove, and he did this:

http://media.imeem.com/pl/ClOshSBasY/aus=false/pv=2/

Now that’s an amazing performance. In our present culture, folks have amazing performances nearly every day, and they’re pretty much spread out all over the terrestrial, digital and televised atmospehere. But, that performance, at a time where there were three TV networks being received by the nation, with cable television in it’s infancy, and print media not have instantaneous access to all corners of the universe in a few keystrokes of a computer, is the greatest performance of all time. It WAS news. It was a perfect storm of man, look, song, production and literally having the ability to have every single eye in the enitre known media following universe on you at the exact same time.

In reporting, editorializing and commenting on music, I really wonder about the concept of if certain artists I know and love in this era were given the same ability and, relatedly, if the digital universe and terrestrial universe didn’t move at completely different speeds, how different music would be. We’d certainly have longevity and an adherence to the creative process and creative development, we’d have A & R folks still in jobs and able to have a necessary place in the sonic universe, and stardom would have meaning and depth, instead of being a fleeting remembrance of a moment in time. I feel like now we’re creating pop idols instead of architechts for the future of music in the mainstream. Michael had a beginning, and was allowed to have another point of development. I feel like we expect so much in so little time from musicians and that with the world moving so fast, we forget to allow time for development, and artists become disposable, cashing in instantaneous fame, instead of developing careers.

Something to think about.

Shit I’m Digging This Week

1. Washington, DC Hipster Nightlife Story of 2009: The sudden closure of U Street’s Red Lounge – Not that it was the most impressive venue. It wasn’t. Not that it had the best sound. It didn’t. Not that it had the highest profile. It didn’t have that either. But, for the burgeoning stable of young electro DJs that are not at the forefront of the media’s eyes, it was possibly the most perfect, out of the way place to get gigs, stay busy, cut teeth, learn, and improve. Attendance was perpetually low, and, in many cases, the non electro loving club denziens seemed less than okay with the whizzing and pulsating musical selections of the DJs, but, the place, with it’s sparse decor and unpretentiousness was key to the development of DCs next generation of Tittsworths, Nadas and Eastmans and so on and so forth. I’d venture to say that playing Red Lounge developed character, and would make anybody question if this was the correct avocational choice, much like playing as an opening act at CBGBs would do the same for punk acts in the late 1970s in New York City, or playing The Comedy Store in LA for young comics during the comedy boom of the early 1980s.

The one positive which evolved from Red Lounge’s closure is that DJs have now begun scouring the city for new and interesting performance spaces, African restaurants Selam and Almaz being recent recipients of the overflow “homeless,” and upcoming in the next few weeks, one of my favorite haunts, the 9:30 Club Backstage will be the home of Jackie O and Trevor Martin’s $weat$hop party, and, given how hard both selector’s work at their craft, by name attachment alone should increase their profile and shine a much deserved light on their abilities.

Lesson here, as hackneyed as it is, every cloud has a silver lining.

2. I’m the Shit – Okay. Everybody likes DJ Class’ song. Hell. Kanye West, the self appointed “World’s Most Important Musician” flows over it. But, let’s take the song out of that context, and let’s look at it like this. When this song blows up enormously, there’s going to be the largest light shone upon Baltimore club of all time. The agrressive, break driven sound is going to be at the forefront of things, and it’s my most sincere hope that the producers of the source material here, the Unruly family, the Doo Dew Kidz (forgetting so so so many more), hell even those most directly and clearly influenced and directed by the sound, are the ones who cash checks after 20 years of hard work and unwavering dedication to the musical cause. I am of the most fervent of beliefs that there’s something earnest, positive and terrifically magical about Bmore club. It’s a type of music that’s inherently urban, clearly from the streets, and clearly made, produced and developed by those who really understand the pulse of Baltimore, and feel the need to find positivity out of somewhere that to the average outsider is filthy, unusual and unrepentantly itself, and consistently refuses change, even in the face of gentrification and various other urban issues. I fear that people, in an attempt to cash in on the sound, will just think that doing anything with a “Sing Sing” or “Think” break will suffice, but, there’s something about when someone who knows that Dru Hill isn’t just the name of a slickly produced, Gospel infused 90s R & B group makes a track. Just had to put that out there.

3. Pete Philly and Perquisite – Remember that brief era of hip hop, called 1993, when the boom bap got tired as slick pop production and MC Hammer rendered rap music heartless, and boho hop had to save the game? Remember the video for Digable Planets’ Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat), and how fresh that sounded? Remember being entranced by the Freestyle Fellowship’s “Innercity Boundaries?” Well, imagine my genuine shock and surprise when prior to Solange Knowles’ performance at SXSW, I was confronted with a modernized jazz quintet with a keyboard, flute, drummer, DJ and upright bass, and MCs effortlessly flowing like water on the Nile. The act in question, Pete Philly and Perquisite of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, a group that plays your favorite dark, smoky, jazz infused hip hop better than anybody you’ve heard in the last 15 years. I guess that makes them a throwback, I guess that makes them “not pop radio friendly,” but they are quite amazing. Easily one of Europe’s biggest acts, seeing them in front of 300 people in a dusty bar in Austin was a most proper introduction. The care and technique and adherence to old school values and substance is noble and quite amazing in these most unusual musical times.

4. Lil Jon’ – If any artist is more responsible for the necessity of mainstream record labels to have a fixation and affinity for Southern performers with outlandish personas that belie their incredible, yet underrated production chops, or the opposite, Southerners with merely outlandish personas, it’s Lil’ Jon. I’d argue that without him we’d have no T Pain, we’d have no Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em, we’d have no OJ da Juiceman, and so on and so forth. But a curious thing has happened on the way to the forum for the King of Crunk. He’s reimaged himself as possibly one of the most entertaining club and rock artists in recent memory. Let’s be serious here. Is there a hotter or more internationally renowned or culturally significant sample than Jon screaming YEEEEAH? Is that him rapping with DJ Class? YEEEEAH. Is that him rockin’ out with Whole Wheat Bread? YEEEEAH. Is that him DJing the Mad Decent party at Winter Music Conference in Miami? YEEEAH. Is that him on the way to being one of the artists that by 2010 will be most responsible for the destruction of genres and increased imagination and boundary breaking by producers and artists alike in my opinion? YEEEEAH. Amazing.

5. M.I.A.’s Paper Planes – This will likely be the last week I’ll ever dig this song so much. It’s time for the love affair to end, and to search out other lovely bits of perfection. In honor of this momentous event, I decided to go back and listen to the original, unremixed, unedited version. Paper Planes, straight, no chaser. There’s something about the mix of Diplo and Switch’s production and everything that makes M.I.A. cool going on that makes this song amazing and so paradigm shifting. In Diplo and Switch’s production you get all of the hallmarks of what should be driving music now. There’s a certain soundbwoy quality to things that makes it international, bass heavy, and sonically stark and totally different, there’s a repositioning of a sample to have an entirely different meaning, a piece of DJ imagination that speaks so clearly to the seeming millions of DJs running around now trying to create their own magic, most failing, some succeeding. And, most importantly, M.I.A., a new voice, a different sounding voice, lambasted by some in my same position as “not knowing how to rap,” really shines here, as the lyrics written by her and Diplo are so perfect, and paint such an interesting and odd picture of, to quote the Bar Kays performance of “Son of Shaft” featured on the page last week, “a side of life you’ve never seen before.” Isn’t that what pop music’s job is on some level? To introduce new modalities of thought, new opinions on society, hopes and answers for the future? In the end, it stands for so much of where we’re going, and a vast departure from where we are and where we’ve been.

MARCUS @ COUCH SESSIONS…Of Quintessential Q and The Mercurial Mr. West, historical reflections…

Quincy Jones, SXSW keynote address, photo attributed to Rob Fields, boldaslove.us

“Kick in the door, wavin the four-four” – Notorious B.I.G., Kick In the Door

I am a firm believer in the concept that in introducing any new, paradigm shifting manuever to any pre-existing artifice, it’s easier to open a door to walk through than bang one’s head against the door and hope that it opens up. Even if you open the door a crack, somebody else can do, as the great Biggie Smalls, the Frank White of hip hop would say, “kick in the door.” At SXSW, I saw some truly amazing things, including the man who opened so many doors in music, the Quintessential Quincy Jones, and the man who now is rudely assaulting, berating, and violently “kicking in the door, wavin the four-four,” the one, the only, the Mercurial Mr. Kanye West.


Their methods couldn’t be any different. Quincy Jones, in his nearly three hour closed door keynote address for the conference, with great wisdom and depth, outlined and thoroughly discussed how a street hoodlum from Chicago evolved then de-evolved the standing myths of music at any and all times during his career. By contiuously shifting, and sinuously evolving as a musical tactician, the man can shift from the session musician and arranger for Frank Sinatra to the jazzy pioneer responsible for Soul Bossa Nova, to the funk pioneer of the smooth sounds of Rufus, the Brothers Johnson and masterfully with George Benson on the seminal “Give Me the Night,” to the man who redefined pop music with Michael Jackson, to a man whom, with “We are the World” proved that he, and only he, is the man responsible for the soundtrack of the entire universe. Q opened so many doors, forged so many relationships, and created music so accessible, that his sound, his vision arguably colors much of what we hear today.

The most amazing part of his keynote was that it was, to borrow from Stevie, delivered in “sounds in the key of we.” He never mentioned himself as the sole orchestrator of much of anything. In his humility, the brother opened up the answers to the historical universe of sound and life. Sound does not exist in itself, nor does anything else for that matter. We exist in union. Sounds comingle to create beautiful tracks. There’s something endemic in the makeup of this man that gives him, as we all found, ALL the right answers. He knows ALL of the people of the world because he is a citizen within in, and not without it. There’s a beauty there, that speaks to the history of black people, that speaks to the history of music, that speaks to the history of the universe. Quincy showed himself as an open door to the universe, a man who is quintessential because he recieves everything, forgets nothing, and is willing to share of himself, divesting himself in the music fully, sound without image.

However, the paradigm has shifted in full. The closest thing we have now to Q’s musical omnipresence is fellow Chicago native Kanye West. There’s something about Chicago in it’s perpetual history that makes it so elemental to music and ablie to shoulder these musical giants. Ever since the era of Robert Johnson’s devil blues, to Frankie Knuckles’ electrified and funky house, Chicago has always been a musical port of call, always open to fresh, new and vital sounding music. Furthermore, Mr. West, with his city of birth’s musical pedigree, also adds being a child of the media generation, a son of the “me” generation, the progeny of MTV, and the brother of Obama, a symbol that blacks don’t have to go along to get along, that we don’t have to be quiet, that we don’t have to fit into boxes, that we are free to just be, a scary power not available in the era of Q, where he opened doors through his excellence and quiet unpretentiousness.

When Kanye and his G.O.O.D. Music friends showed up in Austin, what had otherwise been a raucous gathering of musical outsiders and weird people at the forefront of popular culture became a party for those who were the moved and not the movers, an odd melange of real recognizing “real.” The man was here. Not so much his sound, or his songs, or his ability, but it was him. It. What. That. The. Those of us who feel ourselves to be setting trends were unmoved. He’s a fellow musician, and dammit, if Little Boots, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head or hell, Bun B can play the Fader Fort on time, no questions, then, well, so can Mr. West. To many, he wasn’t BIGGER than this, if he deigned to play where those without his multimillions of albums and international acclaim played, then, well, he should follow the same rules. But, he didn’t. He can’t. He’s important, he IS music. For better, for worse, richer, definitely poorer, whatever, he is at the height of the craft. And he knows this, revels in it, enjoys the comfort of the spotlight. No sharing, no caring.

Quincy came on time. Sure, he went long, but he invited us into the world of music. Sure, it was his view, but, you shared it as a fellow. He consistently cared that we cared, wanted us to appreciate what he had done for us. Kanye invites you in, but almost like he’s some sort of hellbent Emperor Zod, causing we mere peons who buy the music, and all other musical Supermen and women in his universe to kneel before his mastery. He challenges you to deny the greatness of himself and his music, constantly. I am enamored with this behavior because of it’s sheer audacity. Kanye, perplexed and perturbed it seems if he doesn’t acquire new sounds upon which to place his “magical” voice, HAD to be at SXSW. HIS artist had to hear Little Boots cover him. HE had to see what he was missing, and what could accentuate HIM. Not what could accentuate music beautifully, but what could make HIM bigger than IT.

And that’s ultimately the difference. Life, as we know it, the shared togetherness and beauty, what a man like Quincy Jones represented is gone. It’s all about the doors Q opened being kicked open rudely and widely, the individual as full celebrity, morphing “that” which you do into being “that” which you are into totally becoming “that.” In a megalomaniacal attempt to become the entire definition of the musical industry, he has polarized, yet, in the same attempt, become unquestioned greatness, 100% hubris, to quote Diddy, who tried as well, with not nearly the same angered hustle, Kanye “cant stop, won’t stop.”

I sit back now and remember that jam packed room, and Q, like the utter and definable genius auteur he has become, making us stand, hold hands, and pledge to do better, to live better, to achieve more, in tandem. It was beautiful because at that very moment, in that very room, we forged a together forever partnership based on a remembrance of things lost. We left that room, and entered a universe, mere days later, fighting a future that we cannot win against. Mr. West is a bemusing figure if you really think about it. Classic only child syndrome, now desperately in need of love and affection. And if we don’t give it to him, he’ll record music and canvass every corner of the world, until WE. ALL. LOVE. HIM. Imagine if he spread that love to everyone, and we all loved all music again. Not one, not some, but all. Like Quincy quintessentially did.

In music, war is effectively over. I hope HE at the forefront can attempt to bring peace. SXSW, Mr. West, by nature of who and what you attempt to be, it was not a good look. There’s a world of music that, by attempting to co-opt and corrupt, you are not allowing to shine. I find that highly problematic. Let others open doors, or help them ALL to do the same. I love Quincy. I like Kanye. There’s a lot at play in that difference, and a question that needs to be answered for the burgeoning future of music.

MIXTAPE MONDAY (THREE DAYS LATER) presents…BLAQSTARR

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3858102&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
DJ Blaqstarr Interview from Couch Sessions on Vimeo.

One of the more fascinating parts of the True Genius on the Couch SXSW experience occurred when I had the opportunity to sit with DJ Blaqstarr, or rather, the evolved Blaqstarr, who unleashed upon SXSW new solo R & B material, with a voice that emotes mood and depth. He is taking his foray into his newest dimension most seriously it seems, and has designs on providing the voice, as well as the tracks, to define the Charm City. On tracks like the Switch and Diplo produced Get Off, his most popular solo vocal piece to date, the man that Diplo refers to as “Issac Hayes” has started along this new sonic path, and seems to have the drive to make this a winning, mainstreamed proposition.

Blaqstarr returns to his native Baltimore on Easter Sunday, April 12th for an enormous party at Sonar, where he, along with DJ Akademics and a “Celebrity Guest Host” obviously plan on going in, and murking the city as it stands. (click this link for the most entertaining old school radio promo ever)

The interview itself runs about 13 minutes, and touches so many topics of note and interest, including some wild stories from Sweden, and advice for aspiring artists as well.

This is only the beginning of the interview project portion of the True Genius on the Couch partnership, which we plan to expand to fantastic dimensions.

Special thanks to Dana at Biz 3, and to Winston for the opportunity.

More to follow.

TEN TO BUMP THIS MONTH

So I’ve decided to expand upon the “Shit I’m Digging This Week” format. It’s great, but, I thought it’d be a lot more entertaining to give people an idea of what new or completely uncovered material your favorite madly insane musical maven is listening to every month. So, without further ado:

1. Ninjasonik – Somebody’s Gonna Git Pregnant: Imagine a rougher version of the Jungle Brothers’ “Girl I’ll House You,” as done by a power punk meets grimy Ol’ Dirty Bastard combination. Somehow, it works, and, if I had a crisp $100 bill for the first DJ to create a house remix of that jam, I’d give it to them, because I think that Ninjasonik really gets the mix of keeping things on an even keel where they’re not too punk for hip hop cats, not too hip hop for punk cats, and this track, along with their Death Set collabo “Negative Thinking About Tight Pants” are both winners. Ninjasonik plays DC at DC9 next TUesday night with Japanther. A must see event.

2. He Needs Me – Miz Metro: Miz Metro, a rising Manhattan based artist with FAME chops (she graduated from the NYC high school) blends a neo soul sensibility with a certain hipster sentimentality (read bitter but cute) on her poppier tracks, and this track which samples “Olive Oyl” from the “Popeye” movie soundtrack is a saccharine sweet delight with a rock solid core. More on Miz Metro in this space in the coming weeks.

3. Phantom – T-Pain: My favorite R & B track of the moment, T-Pain’s production on this track, a story rap in the tradition of Slick Rick of humorously and creepily stalking an ex fling is amazing as the marriage between Timbaland circa 1999 style production and T-Pain’s autotuned magic is quite incredible. If, as he promises, T-Pain’s going to bury the autotune once and for all on his next record, this bonus track on Thr33 Ringz is an absolute winner and the highest note that the instrument could ever ask to go out on.

4. Lark on My Go Cart – Asher Roth: The introductory track on his April 20th release Asleep in the Bread Aisle puts the entire industry on blast that Asher Roth is not another Eminem clone, but rather something we’ve never really seen on the mainstream hip hop stage. He’s everyone’s favorite lazy stoner roommate who kicks A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders on his iPOD all day and all night, then goes to a kegger, rocks the mic with your favorite local student band, climbs a few trees, then steals your girlfriend. It’s a level of swagger that’s not going to play very well in Harlem, NY, but at Haverford College, he’s a winner.

5. Sweet About Me – Gabriella Cilmi: If you don’t know the name Gabriella Cilmi, get on her level. The recipient of six Australian Grammys last year, the seventeen year old pop songstress with a voice so broad and so sonorous that it fills every crevice of the room had a blowaway performance at SXSW during an Australian themed barbecue, performing hits from her soon to be released in America, International hit album Lessons to be Learned, along with the twin showstoppers, a cover of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River,” and her heroes Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” Cilmi performed “Sweet About Me,” the lead single last night on Jimmy Fallon, and is certainly a pop star on the rise.

6. 22 – Lily Allen: OK. So the youthful and bratty Miss Allen brings the worst of thoughts out of people. She’s wealthy, she’s confrontational, and she’s the least bit shy. However, Lily Allen’s strongest suit so far in her two album career has been stellar songwriting, writing plainly and consciously about intense personal issues, and on It’s Not Me, It’s You‘s “22,” a thoughtful pop ballad of the woe of living each and every single day as a media darling, cuts to the core as a tale of woe in the face of fleeting celebrity.

7. Dreamworld – Robin Thicke: MTV’s song of the moment on bumpers between shows as of last few weeks, the sparse sonic background and Thicke’s assured handling of his lyrics of love make this, and not “Lost Without You,” or whatever you’d likely suspect as his tour de force performance. It harkens back to all of the great soul singers, and even a bit of Lennon and McCartney late era Beatles sounds, and is so startling and excitingly romantic that it’s a guaranteed hit.

8. Whole Wheat Bread – 206: So you’re wondering where the power pop punk of Blink 182 went? Miss seeing Travis Barker rocking away on drums and the days when Mark Hoppus was a singer songwriter idol to skate punks everywhere? Wish your little brother could share in the excitement of hearing what politely punk guitars with a definite pop influence sound like? Well, look no further than Jacksonville, FL’s Whole Wheat Bread. Punk hoodlums with hearts of gold, the African American quartet have one of the mour ambitious international tour schedules, which leads to them having a tight and dynamite sound that, when the right ears hear it, may make MTV want to play videos again. They tour Washington, DC in May, a definite must see event.

9. Paul Devro’s Invasion of the Loop Zombies Mix: Mad Decent supported, Devro, like so many others in the Mad Decent family, explores unusual and not often heard international sounds, and releases them upon the atmosphere with no seeming outright care as to whether the public will hear and appreciate them, but more for the aspect of having these sounds so well produced and preserved so as to advance music when the time is right. Mad Decent, upon a closer look at the label’s artists, all take a very motivating and forward thinking approach to sound, and how to best modify it for maximum impact. Mexican party anthems with a thumping and hip displacing bassline? It was the best present I received at SXSW. And now I share it with you. Music will be here one day. And you’ll know where you heard it first.

10. Nouveau Riche Mix: Are you in DC and have not heard about what Gavin Holland, Steve Starks and Nacey have been up to? Well, Nouveau Riche has evolved from hipster enclave esoteric party event to full scale booze, adrenaline, testosterone and estrogen filled riot. Between Gavin Holland’s adventurous treks through his personal musical catalogue and unusual and perpetual party tinged traits, to Steve and Nacey’s love affair with funk, bass and creating massive club hysteria. The mix, housed at their supporter, rising DC fashion trendsetter DURKL’s website, DURKL Mind Control Mix #3 is a killer for sure, and an audio primer for those wanting to check the party.

NEW ARTIST SHOWCASE: Montreal, Quebec’s EMPIRE ISIS

Providing voices for the voiceless has always been a bellwether issue in music. Numerous musicians, from Bob Dylan to Paul Simon to the recent Grammy award winner MIA have come along the musical pike in recent memory with a near obsession with entertaining the concept that music is power, and power can and should be granted to the powerless in a highly corporate, very conservative society, in some way to remind all of us, through the glory of music, that there is far more going on that exists in the world outside of the white collar, industrialized world’s view of supremacy and importance over all else.

In my travels at SXSW, I met an artist that continues to push the boundaries of expression in the name of social advancement. Montreal by way of Brooklyn by way of Venezuela by way of Brazil, by way of Jamaica, by way of Morocco Empire Isis is an artist to watch not only because of her talent, but more because of her understanding of underground social movements that advances along her tireless hustle. Isis, born Miriam Moufide, travels and plays with a bassist, drummer and DJ, the perfect accompaniment to her jungle bass, by way of favela, by way of international esoteric dancefloor electronic sound. It’s not a sound selected for mere difference, but rather a sound created by convenience and comfort, as it seems as though every track is an attempt to create a journey to the personal, a journey through what clearly is a most extraordinary life where authenticity and substance reigns over just creating another pop single. The statuesque Amazon beauty deserves a listen not just because she can rock a crowd, but because she believes she can likely rock the vote, rock your life and rock your world. Her music is not meant for the complacent, but is meant for the world, for kids from 8 to 88 who know that without struggle there is no progress.

Isis and band came to the conference touring her new album “Brand New Style,” a moving, revolution couched, unrepressed, heavily reggae tinged battle rap of a recording. With tracks like “Participate (featured on MTV’s “The Hills,” “False Friend,” and “Won’t Surrender,” you get the sense that Isis is not setting down the gun like so many internationally after the Obama victory, and the self-proclaimed “four-star general” can name ten more wars left to be fought. Israeli producer Payvon is a standout, as the virtual unknown on American shores does a masterful job of really creating a broad, funky, somewhat quirky and ultimately exciting musical landscape upon which Isis can paint with her words of world weary wisdom. As music tends to grow more international in flavor with record sales, internet influence and global recessions being what they are, causing artists to look near, far and wide for fresh sounds, it can’t hurt the chances for stardom for Empire Isis and crew that Ms. Moufide has such an intimate and intense knowledge of the source material for these interesting, funky and undulating foreign polyrhythms. Isis, given her background and talent stands as an artist at the forefront of the global music revolution.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:"TRUE GENIUS ON THE COUCH" PARTNERSHIP

from l to r. Winston, friend of both sites and dubFrequency’s own Victor Nguyen-Long, Marcus at the end of Mad Decent Party, SXSW ’09

This revolution will be televised. It will also be notated, discussed, torn asunder and reconstructed. The era of the True Genius on the Couch partnership has begun in earnest.

The particulars are as such:

Winston Ford of TheCouchSessions.com – Winston brings five years of next level hip hop coverage to the table. A noted reporter of up and coming urban movements in both the hip hop and afro punk categories, with a bit of everything in between added for good measure, he’s the big brother backbone of the deal, a man whose rising business acumen and tireless hustle to mogul level credibility makes his site a must see first stop for the discerning hip hop fan.

Marcus Dowling of True Genius Requires Insanity (tgrionline.com) – The Do It Yourself punk and socially conscious rebel of the partnership, the little brother site to The Couch Sessions brings a far more literary and scholastic style of writing to the table, to match Marcus’ near manic devotion to sonic omniscience. His near encyclopedic knowledge of all musical styles accentuates years of collegiate editorializing to create easily the most intellectually stimulating and constantly challenging musical site on the internet in recent history.

To gain the full True Genius on the Couch multimedia experience, please follow the following sites.

TheCouchSessions.com – The Couch Sessions
twitter.com/couchsessions – Winston’s Twitter
TGRIOnline.com – True Genius Requires Insanity
twitter.com/marcuskdowling – Marcus’ Twitter
youtube.com/truegeniusonthecouch – True Genius on the Couch Video Homepage
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecouchsessions/ – Winston’s Flickr photostream

Enjoy!

Rust never sleeps.

– True Genius on the Couch

Weekly Moment of Zen: Marvin Gaye sings the National Anthem @ the 1983 NBA All Star Game

So one of the saddest days of my entire life was the day that Marvin Gaye died. April 1, 1984. My mother was an enormous fan of the man. Owned every single album. Had a crush. When Marvin died, it was kind of the end of my mother’s love affair with music. I mean, it was like when Marvin died, MUSIC died for her. No more albums were bought, no more clubs were attended, she just stopped listening to anything past oldies at that point. She cried, she wailed, and when Melvin Lindsay played Marvin all day and all night on DC AM powerhouse 1450 AM, it was on all day. One of the most remarkable things mom did was keep me at home from school that day, and almost forced me to sit and listen to like 12 hours of Marvin Gaye. It was that big of a moment in her life, and she wanted me, at the tender age of five years old to share it with her.

As I get older, my relationship with my mother has faded from the point where we can sit and listen to music for 12 hours, but my love for Marvin hasn’t. Like so few after him, his issues always came through in his voice. His torture came through in his sound, and ultimately, his ability to connect with people not as an unapproachable superstar, but as a beautiful yet terrifically flawed loverman and soul brother from the corners of America is what made him his greatest. He ascended and descended, but ultimately stayed in the same place, truly in the hearts of those who loved his music.

I get asked a lot if there’s more pain when and artist is taken at the height of their talents like Jimi, Janis and Jim, or when they’re taken after living a long life, and you can genuflect with their catalogue. I argue neither, as in the shock of Marvin dying, at just 45, dead from his father’s gun, in the midst of a career resurgence, is the worst ever.

So, for this moment of zen, I choose arguably his last, great, live performance moment, his performance of the National Anthem at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game. There’s something in hearing this man who was so American, even in his flaws, singing the anthem almost as a hymn of praise, for it seems as if his salvation lay somewhere in the American creed, that I think it’s in need today.

Three Things You Probably Missed at SXSW That You Should NOT Have.

1. The Bar Kays: Yes, The Bar Kays. I told approximately 57 people at various times that I was going to see the Bar Kays at SXSW. I got answers ranging from “Who?!?” to a nonchalant “Cool,” to an ambivalent “Wow,” to DC DJ Dave Nada’s “where?” The Bar Kays have been playing a particular brand of soul wrenching, nut busting, STAX label, Memphis BBQ and fatback fueled power funk for the last 43 years, and due to the fine, fine, fine people at the Memphis Bureau of Tourism, were in Austin for SXSW at a Memphis showcase on Friday night. The Bar Kays, well past the age range where modern radio and say, 95% of the people in Austin would even stop and check for them, came down, just to remind people what the definition of live performance, gospel call and response, sweet soul, swagger, fashion, absurdity, and pride in the name of love are all about. In one hour, the Bar Kays played hits their 1967 initial hit “Soul Finger,” which, even though primarily an instrumental, still sounds like it could be the hottest sample on radio right now if used correctly.

They then slowed it down for a bit, and honored Otis Redding, on whose plane four of the original Bar Kays were on when it crashed and killed Redding and his manager. An entire new generation of musicians missed out on seeing what SANGING is all about. Not singing, but singing in such a way that the emotion rises from the toes through the mouth, the words inconsequential and the feeling all there. Nothing also more beautiful than lead singer Larry Dodson recreating the infamous staccado drum, horn stab breakdown called for by Otis Redding during his performance of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” at Monterrey Pop, a performance I’m going to have to link to for the betterment of society.

Needless to say, they were my personal highlight of the conference. A band that plays music for 43 years, and has fellowship, love, cohesion, and are well rehearsed and have played so many songs, so many times, for so many legendary people isn’t the true meaning of SXSW ultimately, but, instead a wonderful additive to the conference, as having the legends around (like Devo was as well) to provide resource for where music was, what it can sound like, and where it is ultimately headed, is a great boon to the conference itself.

In close, I link to the greatest live soul performance of all time, the Bar Kays doing Son of Shaft from the 1972 Wattstax concert. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/v/pMw6GaA1-Ug&hl=en&fs=1

2. Newmore Switchblades – The punk crew of The Death Set, Ninjasonik, Team Robespierre, Totally Michael and Cerebral Ballzy played the Beauty Bar on Wednesday Night at the IHeartComix showcase, and, well, it was easily the most dangerous performance of SXSW, and not something for the faint of heart. From Cerebral Ballzy’s lead singer kneeling onstage and wailing into a floor amp, to Ninjasonik’s instant Jungle Brothers hip hop by way of a stop at the Sex Pistols classic “Somebody’s Gonna Get Pregnant,” and their collabo with the equally beautiful and lyrically fierce Jasmine Solano, to Totally Michael, a kid from Bloomington, Indiana by way of Arkansas who songs maybe the most irreverent, soul baring and wildly pop punk songs I’ve heard in quite some time, as if The Plain White T’s got loaded on beers and pills, got desperately broke and forgot they were VH1 darlings. Include in that Team Robespierre’s incredibly polished radio friendly punk sound, and top it off with The Death Set, dudes who are probably as influenced by Minor Threat as they are Bmore DJ Jimmy Jones and DJ Booman, and you’ve got the recipe for some scary, scary, scary fun, including but not limited to Death Set lead singer, punk revolutionary, the waifilike yet frantic and powerful Johnny Siera WALKING ON THE CEILING WHILE CROWD SURFING. I totally understand why you wouldn’t show up, but, if you needed the answer to the question, where’s the beating, bloody, broken, bruised and agitated heart of music at these days? Well it was right there. Best thing, if you need to see any one of these bands anywhere soon, well, you’ll likely see ALL of them, as they travel and play together. Quoting Johnny Siera, “I get to go on tour and hear all my favorite bands, and they’re my friends.” How more fucking fun and real can you get.

3. Mad Decent Party – OK. So here’s the scoop. The “Woodstock” aspect of SXSW takes place between 2-5 AM at the afterparties. Red Bull’s Moon House, located what felt on many nights like three trillion miles away from downtown Austin, was literally a series of tents, free Red Bull booze, porta potties and an enormous stage, all surrounded by white lucite blocks of light that blinked in time with the equalizers. That was one type of party. On the last night of the conference, the Moon House, located in the middle of a seemingly abandoned industrial/residential compound, was shut down for noise violations, and if you didn’t leave there and go to Mad Decent’s party, you missed out on the most awesome and telling event of the week.

The Mad Decent label rented out what looked like the home of either a former supermarket or skate rink (loosely referred to in the Yellow Pages as the “Texas Niteclub”), loaded in a stage, two tables, a light stand and some curtains for the backstage, got everybody there fueled up on booze and drugs, and played music. It was the scariest Sadie Hawkins Day dance of all time. It looked like, at any point, the dance that will happen at the fall of the apocalypse. Toadally Krossed Out, a DJ duo in Frog shaped lucha libre masks, Maluca rapping about nudity, shaking her ass and banging a cowbell, DJ Nick Catchdubs crowdsurfing, Kid Cudi’s best performance of the weekend, Farnsworth Bentley sharing a stage with DJ Sega and the other seeming 3000 members of the incredible Brick Bandits collective out of Jersey and Philly, Diplo spinning, and flipping my head around and seeing the six thousand foot tall towers of Middle Eastern punk Po Po gettin’ down, it was surreal, amazing, and what the future of music is all about. Surrealism. Fun, absurd, without rules, and moving people into bliss in the face of recession and depression, with nary an intercession in sight.

– Marcus.

Shit I’m Digging This Week…South by Southwest Edition

1. Janelle Monae – Some artists come down to SXSW to just get noticed. Other artists come down as confirmation and coronation. Mizz Monae came to SXSW as the most eagerly anticipated Afro-American artist of 2009. At Thursday, March 19th’s Afro Punk Showcase featuring K’Naan, Whole Wheat Bread, The Smyrk, and a number of other artists you’ll hear about here in the coming weeks, in three songs played, lit the stage afire with her bizarre blend of fashion consciousness, 70s Parliament and Rufus, classic soul and Atlanta hip hop sensibilities. She also came down with arguably the tightest live band at the conference, four guys whose note perfect, boiling hot and razor sharp electrified soul caused everyone, from the nonbeliever to the hardened journalist to take note that there was a new direction and new pecking order in R & B, and the leader of this movement was none other than Janelle Monae.

2. Solange Knowles and the Hadley Street Dreams – I should’ve known three things going into this performance: a) any daughter of Matthew Knowles is going to have her dancing and performance chops down to a fine science, b) Austin is only a few hours from the Knowles’ hometown of Houston, and c) all movements are cyclical. Solange Knowles, between her vamping, manic, Cholly Atkins recalling choreographed dancing with her backup dancers, to her and her band’s matching banana print outfits, is what would happen if Martha and the Vandellas met a Sid and Marty Kroft cartoon. Like seriously. Imagine if you were watching H.R. Pufnstuf, and Motown artists made special guest appearances and tried to fit into the hallucinogenic universe of the episode’s auteurs. Really. Her band, four white guys lifted from a Stax appreciation concert, came out and tore down a partisan hometown crowd, who, even given their local love, couldn’t stop moving and grooving and dancing and shaking the upstairs area of Buffalo Billiards. Her debut album, lampooned early by many mainstream ears, deserves a second listen following this week, as it’s clear that the POP and SOUL is back in R & B, and we’re moving away from BET and toward American Bandstand with the fresh, funky, singing, dancing, loud and sweaty sounds we heard this week.

3. Little Boots – The Caligula inspired nomenclature of Britain’s latest, greatest female chanteuse should surprise nobody. She’s as bizarre and misunderstood of a musical act as there has been in the last few months. But her presence in Austin over the last week, just like Caligula did, will leave an entire country bowled over in her wake. At the Fader Fort on Wednesday evening, Boots played an amazing 30 minute set, chronicling her English hits that have led to tepid interest from America’s shores as of late. Her electro inspired performance was easily the most sonically polished sound of the conference, as, well, she’s already a star in her native country, and has had to have amazing performances in front of skeptical crowds when the money’s on the line, and she delivered in spades, enrapturing a crowd with her “aw geez” cuteness, and through her big hits “Stuck on Repeat” and “Meddle,” left people awed. But, most important of all for pop heads unsure of Boots, well, getting to play her tantalizing and amazing acoustic cover of Kid Cudi’s “Day n Nite” WITH KID CUDI at some point during the conference will absolutely turn a few heads that were apprehensive about giving yet another amazing Brit a hopeful and helpful ear.

4. Hollywood Holt – Not so much for his performing chops, but for looking like someone that, well, you really want to hear from. The first time I saw the Bad Brains to classic hip hop inspired Chicago native Holt, was as part of a showcase in downtown Baltimore last October with Kid Cudi promoting his Holt Goes to Hollywood mixtape. He was solid, but not to the point where I was really moved to write. Well, if you were in Austin and you didn’t see this jacked and yoked up, shirtless, sleeveless jean jacket and fedora wearing guy at least 12 times a day at any and every type of venue, well, you weren’t really doing it too big in Austin. He killed his set at the IHeartComix showcase, mixing a blend of DJing with his producer Million $ Maino, and rapping that left the hipsters at the Beauty Bar (my favorite place in Austin by far) gobsmacked. He also was the host of the showcase at the 50s inspired Club de Ville that featured the superpowerful lineup of Asher Roth, Thunderheist, Amanda Blank and Kid Sister, and had people up in arms as well. Sometimes it’s not what you do, but how you do it that makes the difference, and this is a guy who went big or went home in Austin, with going big definitely being the winner.

5. DJ Tittsworth – OK. There were a million DJs in Austin last week. If you were a fan of any sort of electronic type music, Austin was the right place for you. However, I cannot think of one single solitary DJ set that left people wildin’ out in the club like Tittsworth’s next level set the Do It to It 2 party at Silhouette on Wednesday evening. Tittsworth threw remix after remix of his own at these people, and his interpretations of classic and current hip hop material have a magic style to them that is his and his alone. In a world where samples and substance often matter more than style, it was Tittworth’s flawless style and swaggerific calm in the face of a maddening crowd of Austinites that made things really quite amazing. A DJ that knows andkills a crowd with a sweep of his plam, versus a DJ amazed at his talent in killing a crowd so hard is what is the key difference to me between good, great and legend. Tittworth’s a walking legend in the making. Magnificent.

6. Baltimore Love Thing Party – OK. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Anytime Baltimore native Puja Patel puts her imprimatur upon an event under the Senari banner, it’s going to be huge. Connections to Unruly Records aside, she has her ear to the groove that makes the streets move. So many club promoters are afraid of bringing the bass, funk and sweat into the club. They instead opt for the more esoteric and expected sound, with expected results. Anytime an event occurs under the Senari name, know that it’s going to be the perfect blend of madcap, frathouse insanity and old soul red light event. You might get a beer dumped on your head in joyful reaction, you may make out with the most beautful chick you’ve ever seen. The music those DJs play will make it a night to remember for sure.

DJ Class is a star. However, I won’t mention him alone, but I’ll mention him in conjunction with the Unruly Records family. I stand by my contention that Unruly is to club music what Motown was to soul music. Each artist on the label seems to know that they’re talented enough to at any point drop a track that will take them to the stratosphere. I am still a believer in Scottie B’s Paper Planes remix, and, hopefully with the ubiquitous SXSW soundtrack song “I’m the Shit” with full nationwide urban radio play, I really think Class hasn’t even scratched the surface yet, and on a larger level, Baltimore club is going to get it’s due, and, where wil people look first most likely, the Unruly label.

Special props as well to Dave Nada, Cousin Cole, and the Crossfaded Bacon duo of Emynd and Bo Bliz who killed as well. Given my geographic home of the DC/Baltimore area, watching Texas kids get crunk like kids at most any night at the Paradox, and parties like Taxlo, Nouveau Riche, et al, it really was a “love thing” moment, and one that will be regarded in retrospect with great excitement in the future.

– Marcus.