Blackalicious - "Paragraph President" (In Memoriam)

I've fallen behind on posting, but I'll restart by acknowledging the passing of Timothy J. Parker, AKA Gift of Gab, best known as one-half of Blackalicious and part of the influential Quannum Projects collective.  I could tell you that Gab had a voice, flow, and diction that put him head and shoulders above most other MCs, but you should instead read the tributes from DJ Shadow, Chief Xcel, and the many others that recognized his unique talents. 

I thought about highlighting "Midnight in a Perfect World (Gab Mix)" by DJ Shadow, but I already used that EP to mark the passing of David Axelrod four years ago.  I also thought about using "Alphabet Aerobics" (studio, live 2016), which you might remember from Daniel Radcliffe turning in an impressive version of it on the Jimmy Fallon show many years ago.  It's a great song, but verges on novelty and fails to capture the seriousness of Gift of Gab.

Instead, I settled on "Paragraph President", a 2001 single from the 2002 Blackalicious LP "Blazing Arrow".  DJ Shadow featured the last half of this song (listed as "halfway home") on his 2004 LP "Live! In Tune and On Time".  DJ Shadow was a guest producer for "Paragraph President", and once you listen to the combo of Gift of Gab and DJ Shadow, it will only make you regret they did not work together more often. 

Blackalicious - "Paragraph President"

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - "Suzanne" (LP Review)

Time for another (belated) installment for Women's History Month.  I'm a huge fan of Mazzy Star, and while they had never officially broken up, their long hiatus between LPs (1996--2013) rivaled only My Bloody Valentine (1991-2013) in the alt-rock world.  So it only makes sense that in the interim Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) and Colm Ó Cíosóig (My Bloody Valentine) came together and created Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions.  And while technically it's a band, make no mistake this band is really about Hope Sandoval.  "Suzanne" is a four song EP released in 2002, it's also the third and final single from the 2001 LP "Bavarian Fruit Bread".  Although it came out after the 2001 LP, this EP was my first introduction to Hope's post-Mazzy Star work, so I'm writing about it first here.

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions sound a lot like Mazzy Star: if you like one, given Hope's distinctive voice, you'll like them both.  Even though both bands mine the dream-pop vein, David Roback (the other half of Mazzy Star), drawing from the Paisley Underground sound,  often writes material that borrows heavily from The Doors (e.g., "Mary of Silence", "She Hangs Brightly") or is very bluesy (e.g., "She's My Baby", "I'm Sailin'").  I won't say I dislike those songs... but I appreciate the more straight-forward dream-pop sound of HS&TWI.  I like David, and he's definitely one-half of Mazzy Star and its sound, but I like Hope more and she's 90% of the sound of HS&TWI.  Of course now you don't really need to choose, since Colm is now also the drummer for Mazzy Star, as well as Suki Ewers playing keyboards for both bands as well.

I should review their proper LPs, but until then enjoy this EP as your introduction to HS&TWI.

Standout songs: "Suzanne", "I Thought You'd Fall for Me", "Friends of a Smile"

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 8/10

Dr. Octagon / Handsome Boy Modeling School / Dan the Automator - "Bear Witness I, II, III" (forgotten song)

Is it really a "forgotten song" if very few people heard it to begin with? In this segment, I step away from obscure videos I recall from the early days of MTV to bring to your attention what is really three songs that are apparently by three different artists, span seven years yet share a single title: "Bear Witness", parts I, II and III.

"Bear Witness" is on the 1996 release "Dr. Octagonecologyst" by Dr. Octagon (aka Kool Keith). "Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)" is from the 1999 release "So... How's Your Girl?" by Handsome Boy Modeling School. "Bear Witness III" is (as far as I can determine) a 2002 12" only release by Dan the Automator.

The common thread is Dan the Automator. He's the producer on the Dr. Octagon LP and he's 1/2 of HBMS (on the left in the photo above; the other 1/2 is De La Soul affiliate Prince Paul). The Dr. Octagon LP is critically acclaimed. I don't have a copy, but in the few samples I've found online it appears to be an extended joke that I don't find very funny. Perhaps if I listened to it start to finish, but I doubt it. The HBMS LP is also critically acclaimed; it's on my list to get but I just haven't done it yet.

Since I have none of the associated LPs, I "discovered" this song because "Bear Witness II" is featured on DJ Shadow's "Live! In Tune and On Time" LP. Dan the Automator and DJ Shadow are frequent collaborators; in fact DJ Shadow guests on "Bear Witness II" (see also: "Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars, and Sitars").

Ok, so that was a confusing and possibly unnecessary explanation of the pedigree of this song cycle. They represent some of the best in largely instrumental hip hop: big beats, hooks, great samples, fun vocal fills ("create rap music cuz I never dug disco"), etc. I guess they're old enough to qualify as "forgotten", so give them a listen whether it is for the 1st time or not.

Links: All three songs nicely edited into a single track: YouTube.
Bear Witness I: YouTube.
Bear Witness II: YouTube.
Bear Wtiness III: YouTube.