AUDIO ABSINTHE » Pharcyde

Dillanthology 1

Spencer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:21:35 +0000

A new compilation of songs produced by one of the greatest hip hop producers, J Dilla, is available in stores now. Released on March 31st, Dillanthology 1 is part 1 of what will be a tribute series celebrating the contemporary musical brilliance of the late producer. This first album in the series showcases “some of his classic productions” for artists like Pharcyde, Common, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, De La Soul, The Roots, and others. Check out a couple of my favorites* below. *De La Soul’s “Stakes Is High” is one of my favorite tracks on Dillanthology 1, but I didn’t find it on Imeem so I linked the MP3 at the bottom…

Buy it at Amazon

I was really happy to hear about this compilation coming out. Maybe some of the issues with his musical legacy have been resolved, not sure though. After J Dilla died in 2006 due to complications from lupus, there were some problems regarding the rights to Dilla’s music between lawyers, labels, and J Dilla’s family. There’s a great article about it all called “The Battle for his Legacy” by Kelley Louise Carter in Vibe magazine (read it here).

The compilation is great because the content is classic hip hop track after the next. The album does have some of the most popular Dilla tracks, but I’m hoping the next release in the series will showcase some of the amazing unreleased material that’s leaked onto the web over the years. There are some truly beautiful tracks that showcase Dilla’s genius that I would love to see included in the series. Beats like “Circus” and “Trashy” are two of my favorites, both from the Ruff Draft EP. What are some of your favorite Dilla productions? If listening to the music hasn’t completely taken over and you’ve read this far, comment below and let me know your favorites…

MP3: De La Soul – Stakes Is High (produced by J Dilla)

So many Covers, Remixes, and Mash Ups

Spencer — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:05:27 +0000

I’ve probably posted too many cover songs, remixes, and mash ups already… Pharcyde VS Led Zeppelin – Dyer Passin Me By (Fidelski) Pharcyde – Passin Me By (Hot Chip remix) Here are a two different artists’ remixes of Radiohead’s “Nude” and ” two remixes of “Reckoner”. Which do you like the most? Radiohead – Nude (SayCet remix) Radiohead – Nude (Three Leaves and a Head remix) Radiohead – Reckoner (You You’re Awesome remix) Radiohead – Reckoner (Three Leaves and a Head remix) Notorious BIG VS Peter Bjorn & John – Party & Bullshit with Nothing To Worry About (Dave Wrangler) Common VS Flying Lotus – Universal Mind Control with Parisian Goldfish (The Hood Internet) MGMT VS Kanye West – Testify with Electric Feel (Justice remix) (The Kickdrums) Beastie Boys VS M.O.P. – Intergalatic Planetary Ante Up (DJ BK) The last song on The Black Keys’ Attack & Release is a mash up of all the songs on the album- The Black Keys – Fight for Air (Mr. Dibbs) Elliot Smith – Blackbird (The Beatles) Elliot Smith – My Sweet Lord (George Harrison) Gareth Pearson - Time To Pretend (MGMT) James Eric – Time To Pretend (MGMT) Bryn Christopher – Sour Times (Portishead) William Barnes – Bombs Over Baghdad (Outkast) This one is great… Ben Folds – Bitches Ain’t Shit (Dr Dre / Snoop Dogg) Nina Gordon – Straight Out Of Compton (NWA) The Gourds- Gin & Juice (Dr Dre / Snoop Dogg) Dynamite Hack – Boyz in the Hood (Eazy E / NWA)

Recycling Absinthe (Pt 3) – Suadade Vem Correndo

Spencer — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:11:24 +0000

James Yancey a.k.a. Jay Dee a.k.a. J Dilla produced 3 of my favorite hip hop albums- De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, Slum Village’s Fantastic Volume II, and Pharcyde’s Labcabincalifornia. He passed away just a couple of years ago, but he was one of the best. Too many people hadn’t heard of him until after he died. Some of his music was sample-free, while some of it was masterfully crafted with samples. One of Dilla’s most recognized tracks is “Runnin’” on Labcab. Dilla built the track around samples he masterfully took from Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa’s “Suadade Vem Correndo” originally released in 1963. The original is classic Stan Getz and the way Dilla uses it is just genius. Stan Getz & Luiz Bonfa – Suadade Vem Correndo Pharcyde – Runnin’ Visionnaires – Runnin’ Pharcyde – Runnin’ (Philippians Remix)

Even More Covers, Remixes, and Mash Ups

Spencer — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:29:18 +0000

I’m going out of town for a few days. I wanted to post a little something to hold you all over. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the last ‘covers, remixes, and mash ups’ post so here’s another. Drink up.

Nina Simone - Rich Girl (Hall and Oates) Karima Francis - Use Somebody (Kings of Leon) Kay Pettigrew - Fresh Prince of Bel Air (Will Smith) Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Whip It (Devo) The Decembrists - Your Love (Outfield) Estelle - Superstition (Stevie Wonder) Duffy - Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney) The Bird and The Bee - How Deep Is Your Love (Beegees) Beck - Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat LIVE (Bob Dylan) Radiohead vs Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful Surprise Air and Rhymefest- Alpha Beta Gaga (Mark Ronson remix) Pharcyde / Ghostland Observatory - Passin Me By (Dave Wrangler remix)

NERD – Provider (Zero 7 remix)

Weekly Dose (7/5/08)

Spencer — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:21:32 +0000

First song is from a brand new EP of remixed Pharcyde songs just released this week. It’s the Philippians remix of The Pharcyde classic 90’s hit, “Runnin”… Pharcyde – Runnin’ (Philippians Remix) (Click here to play in Hype Machine) Second song is one that I’ve heard on the radio at least 10-15 times and I can’t get it out of my head. It’s a very catchy track from The Black Ghosts with Damon Albarn (lead singer from Blur, The Gorillaz, and The Good, The Bad, and The Queen). It’s almost annoying how catchy the song is but I really do think it’s a great track. It’s called, “Repetition Kills You”. The Black Ghosts Featuring Damon Albarn – Repetition Kills You Third track slows it all down. It’s “Summer Madness” by Kool & the Gang, originally released back in 1974. If I had a summer-theme soundtrack, this would probably be the first song. Kool & The Gang – Summer Madness (Click here to play in Hype Machine)