Up From Genre City

Liveblogging Late

This is me listening to the new Kanye West album, Late Registration, as it happens. Exciting, huh? Yeah, I didn't really think so either, but it's like five in the morning.

1. "Wake Up Mr. West" (f. Bernie Mac)

Bernie Mac? Does this mean he was on College Dropout too? That's supposed to be the same guy, right?

2. "Heard 'Em Say" (f. That Guy From Maroon 5)

Okay, I'm already full into this beat. And then these pianos come in and this is officially my favorite album ever. You can really hear the Jon Brion. Pianos over that fuzzed out Keyboard Bass, and then acoustic guitars? Yeah, absolutely Brion. And I hate Maroon 5 more than I love a whole lot of things but the guy sounds fucking great here. Aside from the samples and song construction, you can really hear Brion's influence in the chorus harmonies. This is just a fucking incredible song. YES! What's that xylophone thing that starts with "clavi" that Brion always uses? Anyway, I just heard one. And we finish with a nice instrumental flourish. This album has a lot to fucking live up to now.

3. "Touch The Sky" (f. Lupe Fiasco)

And it shows signs of delivering with the sample from, God I'm so ignorant. What the fuck sample is this? Anyway, it's instantly recognizable to anyone who knows anything about music, which I clearly don't. Anyway, he changes up the beat behind it in a really enjoyable way. Oh, it's a Curtis Mayfield sample. "Move On Up". Fucking, duh. That's liveblogging for you. I had to Google it. Anyway. The way he drops out the beat every now then is just as nice as the way he adds an extra fill every now and then. I love the way he writes beats, but I always think of that one part in his MTV Diary where he shows this painting he did of how he "sees" beats. That was hell of the lamest thing ever. Lupe's verse is okay, but realistically is anyone buying this album for lyrical prowess?

4. "Gold Digger" (f. Jamie Foxx)

YES. Give me "Gold Digger" right now and just make this officially the strongest opening sequence to an album ever. "Last Living Souls" into "Kids With Guns" MY ASS. First time I heard this song I just instantly loved it. And then I listened to it fifty more times. I still love it. You all know how fucking awesome this song is. What more can I say? I can say that if this was College Dropout, we would've had to sit through three skits by now. Good sign. I saw Ray a few weeks ago. It made me really want to listen to everything Ray Charles ever recorded and really want to never see the movie again. Success and failure at the same time. God damn I love the synth line in this song. And the Brion fade out. Fried gold.

5. "Skit #1"

Spoke too soon. Back to the college theme. Ha?

6. "Drive Slow" (f. Paul Wall & GLC)

Portisheadian sample and languid beat makes this the first song on the album that doesn't kick me in the nuts straight away, but I love the way the the horn sample harmonizes at the end. As usual, even in the more boring Kanye songs, there's something exceptional you can latch onto. Heh, the beat is getting all dissonant, Punch Drunk stizz. Kanye said somewhere that Brion was his secret weapon and he was not lying. At this point I'm editing the rest of this post, so take that as you will. At the end, Kanye does his Second Disc Of The Mike Jones Album thing, which I'm a big fan of anyway.

7. "My Way Home" (f. Common)

Is this a concept album? This sounds a lot like Be, and not just because Com Sense is rapping. When this beat comes in, it's most likely going to be sick. We get a sample...but no beat yet....come on...right, we get it, it's a sample...a few bars too many....oh, and then he just ends the song. Weaksauce.

8. "Crack Music" (f. The Game)

I'm not a fan of marching beats but the sample makes up for it in a big way. I hope reciting the chorus isn't all The Game is here to do. Because he sounds like every other guy doing the same thing on every other Dirty South song I see on Sucker Free Countdown every week. I like the way things spin out of control as the song progresses. It makes it less boring. Which the beginning of this song was, honestly. Man, you could put this on your Jon Brion mix tape between "Here We Go" and "Knock Yourself Out" and you wouldn't really be all too messed up.

9. "Roses"

Why would you call a song "Roses" this soon after Outkast released the same thing as a massive single like a year ago. I hope he releases this as a single just to confuse people. Wouldn't really work, as this is just Kanye rapping over a straight piece of Jon Brion Huckabees soundtrack until the beat comes in. Not that I'm complaining. Isn't that what everyone was hoping to hear the first time they heard he was co-producing? That or the bit in Magnolia when Donnie confesses his love to the bartender? You know you fucking did. Don't play. The choruses of this song actually do sound like the most indulgent and annoying parts of The Love Below, but thankfully less annoying and indulgent sounding. At this point I really just want to hear something as banging as the first three songs.

10. "Bring Me Down" (f. Brandy)

Well, I can't tell from this straight Jon Brion orchestral bit whether I'm in for something good or just the most cliched thing Kanye's produced since, I don't even know what. It's somewhere in between. But certainly not what I wanted to hear at this point. A fairly pedestrian song, but if I heard this music beatless on a Jon Brion score, I'd be into it, so I can't front on it too hard. It's just on a hip hop song it's pretty played at this point. And it's being played really straight, standard beat, barely any fuzz synth lines.

11. "Addiction"

Can't say I'm too broken up over that last song just ending abruptly. This one is a bit more interesting, but still not reaching those halcyon heights of twenty minutes ago. Conceptually, the musical progression is interesting, but I've always found Kanye's more restrained beats to be kind of boring, especially because his more ridiculously funked out stuff is SO fucking good. But this isn't bad to play behind your next discussion of the films of Inarritu. It won't get in the way too badly.

12. "Skit #2"

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I really wasn't this bored by the skits on Dropout.

13. "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" (f. Jay Z)

I still can't tell whether or not I like this song. The most melodramatic video ever made by someone who isn't/wasn't in Guns N' Roses doesn't really help. Not the kids in mines, really, more the two pianos being played at the same time. As much as I'm sort of bored by the sample and melody, that keyboard line is so good that it causes most of my trepidation to just call this a straight up bad song. After listening to WMAs of this and "Gold Digger" for weeks, I'm really appreciating all the texture on this album. It's certainly bolstering my appreciation of this song. I wonder if Jay-Z and Jon Brion were ever in the same room together. Do I dare to dream?

14. "We Major" (f. Nas & Really Doe)

MAN, I would really like to hear something as good as the first three songs at this point. Like, I'm sure after a few hundred listens to this album (which I already know are in the pipeline) I'll grow to appreciate this song more, but at this point I just really want to be floored again. Was this beat really built to support everything that's going on in this song? Hey, is Nas allowed to be on a Roc-A-Fella CD? It strikes me at this point that this is what I really would have liked from The Love Below. A lot of bizarre musicality, but more focused, which Love rarely was. The second half of this song illustrates exactly what I mean. Okay, I meant the middle. Because we go back to the standard song for, oh there's still like a minute and a half left. At this point I'm actually really enjoying this song because it's just so strangely constructed. "And Jon Brion on the keys right now." Shit, yes.

15. "Skit #3"

ZzzzzzzzZzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzz.

16. "Hey Mama"

This is SO more like it. "Family Business II" in pretty much every way, from subject matter to beat, which I have no problem with. I wouldn't mind it popping out just a slight bit more. That fucked up keyboard part buzzing around in my left headphone does the trick nicely. Ah! And that xylophone in my right that just showed up does too. Certainly quickly erases the Forrest Gump reset he just dropped. As opposed to "We Major" which got more interesting as it progressed, this is sort of becoming more boring as it goes on, even though Brion is trying his hardest to make it interesting. Which he does. Ah, it's almost over anyway.

17. "Celebration"

I can't say I hate that synth melody, but you know the second you read that title he'd start off with a Chappelle reset. But that's quickly forgotten as this song gives off the same vibe that the other "Celebration" has without sounding like it in any way. Does that make any sense? I remember hearing some band play "Celebration" at one of those upstate resorts when I was like seven. Maybe even younger. Anyway, it makes me think of that. This horn part sounds like a song I "wrote" on Garage Band. Alex, you know the one I mean. Keep it mind when you hear this song and you will laugh and laugh. Not that that's a bad thing. I'm an exceptional songwriter.

18. "Skit #4"

ZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz. Oh, okay, I'm getting it. Basically Kanye's calling out the people who've been calling him out on not being broke. I suppose. I like that at the end of this skit even Kanye's bored with them.

19. "Gone" (f. Consequence & Cam'ron)

"School Spirit II" and you don't hear me complaining. With the most Jon Briony orchestra piece under it. That is just so bizarre and awesome. As much as this song doesn't rock me the way "Spirit" did I just have stand back and look at what Kanye's done with this collaboration. Because Brion has always been a pop musician. Even his scores have just been really beautifully made standard-type scores. And Kanye's beats have always been really well made standard beats. Not like a Neptunes beat, trying to stretch things too much, or an Andre melody that might hit so well once ("Hey Ya") and then completely falter a hundred more times (everything else). Just really well done convention. So this team up is really the Superman/Batman of pop music and this song is the best example of that so far.

Oh, shit. That's a hell of a way to end an album. That's some fucking Monsters, Inc, just drop the movie out from under you kind of finish.

20. "Diamonds Of Sierra Leone" (Bonus Track)

I guess this is like the video version of the song? I don't think that having Hov in it or out of it makes it that much more enjoyable. I mean, obviously he's a great rapper and all, but I don't think it makes "Diamonds" any more or less of a good song. It's still just an okay song with really fantastic stuff going on along the fringes. Which, I suppose I could say at this point is a pretty fair way to describe the album as a whole. An okay album with some really fantastic stuff going on along the fringes. The best songs ("Gold Digger" "Gold Digger" and "Gold Digger") are better than the best songs on Dropout, but there are less of them. The less then great songs are probably not as bad as the less than great ones on Dropout, by default. Because Jon Brion's doing something on them. Duh.

21. "Late" (Hidden Track)

To continue, I guess this makes it just as good as Dropout technically but less enjoyable. This song, by the way, isn't bad. Better than "Diamonds" I guess. Kind of hypnotic. I can see myself listening to this album more and more and a few months down the line thinking it's the best thing ever. I suppose I just wanted that feeling right out the gate. Much like Missy's The Cookbook which hasn't gotten enough straight through listens to really appreaciate it because I'm always going straight to "Can't Stop", I'll be doing the same thing to "Gold Digger" for a good few weeks at least.

So, that was Late Registration. I'm going to sleep now. Wait, I'm listening to "Gold Digger" again. Then I'm going to sleep. No, wait. I'm listening to the first three songs again. Then I'm going to sleep.

Yeah Thanks, Nick

So I just started reading The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby and even though I buy The Believer every month and see the column the book is based on when I flip through the latest issue before burying it under a pile of comics and/or clothes, having them all in one clump (and actually reading them) has naturally inspired me to do something similar in this space.  Long time readers will no doubt remember similar attempts to focus this blog into something more than it really is, but I think it really could work this time.  After all, everything in this blog that's not directly related to production of my comic could be framed as something I bought and my reaction to it.  My only regret is that I didn't start this a few weeks earlier, when I was reading Lemony Snicket's The Grim Grotto and Import Tuner magazine.

Bought
Following Cerebus #2, Various
Astonishing X-Men #7, Joss Whedon, John Cassaday, Et Al
Green Lantern: Rebirth #3, Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Et Al
Sleeper: Season Two #7, Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Et Al
The Goon #10, Eric Powell
JLA Classified #2, Grant Morrison, Ed McGuinness, Et Al
The Shaolin Cowboy #1, Geofrey Darrow
Wolverine #23, Mark Millar, John Romita Jr., Et Al
The Authority: Revolution, Ed Brubaker, Dustin Nguyen, Et Al
X-Men #165, Chris Claremont, Salvador Larroca, Et Al
The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season, (DVD) Various
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, (DVD) Various
Kingdom Hearts, (GBA) Various
The Believer, Issue 20, Various
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Et Al
The Days Are Just Packed, Bill Watterson
There's Treasure Everywhere, Bill Watterson
It's A Magical World, Bill Watterson

Actually SRIW (Seen, Read, Interacted With)
Astonishing X-Men #7, Joss Whedon, John Cassaday, Et Al
Green Lantern: Rebirth #3, Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Et Al
Sleeper: Season Two #7, Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Et Al
JLA Classified #2, Grant Morrison, Ed McGuinness, Et Al
The Shaolin Cowboy #1, Geofrey Darrow
Wolverine #23, Mark Millar, John Romita Jr., Et Al
The Authority: Revolution, Ed Brubaker, Dustin Nguyen, Et Al
X-Men #165, Chris Claremont, Salvador Larroca, Et Al
Some Of The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season, (DVD) Various
Some Of Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, (DVD) Various
Some Of Kingdom Hearts, Various
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Et Al
Some Of Chrono Cross, (PS1) Various
Some Of Final Fantasy X-2, (PS2) Various
Some Of Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories, (GBA) Various
Another Dose Of Arrested Development: Season One, (DVD) Mitchell Hurwitz, Michael Cera, Et Al
Some Of The Polysyllabic Spree, Nick Hornby
Shaun Of The Dead, (DVD) Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Et Al
Return Of The King: Extended Edition, (DVD) Peter Jackson, Et Al
Some Of The Lord Of The RIngs, JRR Tolkien

(I don't know how far back this goes, but hopefully future installments will be a bit less unweildy.  These were the things that popped into my head.)

One of things I'm enjoying most about TPS is the paper trail Hornby follows in cataloguing the things he reads.  It was the thing I was most looking forward to here.  For example, you can see that I bought Kingdom Hearts but played KH: Chain Of Memories, FF X-2, and Chrono Cross.  What happened was this.  Some of you might remember my recent attempts at improving my video game driving acumen.  This was continuing on apace until, for some reason still a bit mysterious to me, I recaught my always-at-least-dormant zeal for Square RPGs.  I started back in on FF X-2 at first and returned immediately to getting into random battles and increasing my AP levels in order to learn new abilities.  I will freely admit that this is the main reason I play RPGs and probably why I stick to Square.  I honestly have no idea how most other RPGs are set up in terms of levelling (the only non-Square RPG I can think of that I've played was Knights Of The Old Republic and I didn't really enjoy it), but Square is set up, as far as my inclinations go, perfectly.  Every one of their games that I've actually finished, I've finished resoundingly, trouncing the final boss, because I've spent upwards of twenty hours in one dungeon picking fights and getting new Spheres/Materia/Jobs.  Most of the time I don't even use the stuff I've unlocked.  I'm just as bad a collector in the virtual one as I am in the physical.  Anyway, this led to me to a brief fling with Chrono Cross, a massive trade in of old and unused GBA games to fund the purchase of Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories and after getting halway through that, a necessary purchase of its progenitor, because there was shit going on that I just knew I was missing.  You can expect at least one Disney DVD purchase in the next installment of this "column" because Kingdom Hearts is great at both reminding you of what's so appealing about DIsney Animated Films and completely erasing any memory of their more annoying charateristics.  (How could I have any desire to buy Aladdin, when "Whole New World" is in the film?)

Speaking of collecting, there were some great fucking books out this week.  It might be fun in this and future installments to compare the list of comics I bought with the list of comics I read.  (For those unwilling/able, I bought but didn't read Goon and Following Cerebus this week.)  FC isn't really a comic, it's a magazine about Cerebus, but that's hardly an excuse.  The Goon is probably the best book I'm buying but slow to read.  Maybe it's because I have an inherent wariness to read a book about a weird city with stories that bend genre conventions.  For some strange reason.  Astonishing was the book I read while walking from the store back to work.  I was just dying to read it.  And it was out of control great.  There was a sense that, at a few more crowded moments over the past couple of issues, Cassaday wasn't really doing his best work.  A few scenes, like that bunch of people crashing through that wall last issue, seemed sketchier than usual. There are no such moments in the latest issue.  Tight as a drum and thank God, because this is Joss' best written issue so far.  Sure that S.W.O.R.D. exposition scene doesn't feel at all relevent (yet) but everything else was goddamned fabulous.  And that page with Wolverine (you know the one I mean) was his funniest moment since What Th--?!? #2 brought us "Grepppps!"  On the other hand, X-Men was just embarassing.  The kind of book that, even though only you are reading it and thus only you can see how cheesy and cloying it is, you are embarassed to be seen with in public.  Authority was a fine read, but its the kind of book I probably won't have much to say about it until it's finished (same goes for Sleeper).  Wolverine is a book I'm pretty wild about these days.  The art is fantastic and Millar is successfully recreating the stories behind every doodle I ever drew in High School.  ("In this one, Daredevil is fighting Wolverine!")  The Green Lantern book is only the latest Geoff Johns jernt I've picked up.  I've become quite enamored with with the way he writes superhero stories.  Don't ask me how or why.  Superhero books have always been one of my more unexplainable pleasures.  When they work for me, they work for me.  There was a scary moment while reading Shaolin where I thought I might have outgrown my affinity for Geoff Darrow's work.  Does this mean that my internal battle over whether or not to plunk down fifty bucks for the Matrix Boxset might be over?  (Pros: Conceptual Artwork by Darrow/Skroce, West Commentary, new Matrix transfer.  Cons: Nearly every second of Matrix Revolutions)  I don't know for sure that I'm all the way over him.  There were just a few moments in the book where it seemed he wasn't really working for me anymore.  We'll have to see how this ends up after a few more issues.  Morrison back on JLA was just incredibly fun to read, offering very little to discuss.

I'm kind of miffed that the people I know who I know have seen Shaun Of The Dead did not immediately ensure that I saw it immediately.  I can see why they didn't, though.  I hate, hate, hate scary movies.  This is because, when it comes to movies, I am a complete and total pussy.  I clench up in my seat, I cover my eyes and ears.  I am liquid.  So even I myself was pretty loathe to see this movie.  Wrong move.  It was so fantastic, so smartly clever (you know, clever but in a subtle way that doesn't annoy you), so perfectly attuned to my sensibilities that it went from unseen to instant personal classic in (according to the box) One Hour, 40 min.  There was only one big jump (shower scene) and I even got a little thrill out of it (this often happens with good scary movies like Alien and never happens with shitty scary movies like Aliens).  More importantly, though, it was just shit in my pants hilarious.  I won't waste time recounting line after line of comedy (I'll save that for when Anchorman/Wake Up Ron Burgundy comes out next week), but the record bit was a particular standout.

That's it for this installment.  If it's in the second list and I haven't talked about it, it was simply really excellent and I expected it to be really excellent so, really, what is there to talk about.

Ta ta for now.

It's Reality!

So you all remember me fawning over "Much More" when I heard it on Chappelle. Well, what would you do if I told you that I just picked up the new De La Soul album (The Grind Date) upon which it is featured and that "Much More" is actually only a moderately good track compared to the FUCKING AMAZING REST OF THE ALBUM?

You'd shit your pants and I wouldn't blame you for a second.

But it's true. "Church" and "He Comes" are at least three times as good as "Much More". Crazy, right? There are two tracks that haven't gotten their hooks into me yet ("Shopping Bags" is just a bit too jaggly and MF Doom's track is a bit ploddy.) but the rest of it is stellar. They've recruited Madlib and Jay-Dee to help out behind the boards and their presence has clearly helped out Dave, because his own production has evolved tremendously since Bionix. It's definitely his best work.

Ghostface drops an amazing guest turn on "He Comes", starting a string of jaw-dropping rhymes with "Uday and Qusay" and ending it at least 6 bars later with "OJ". There needs to be Rap Academy Awards just to properly give recognition to this verse.

Also? The liner notes are an impeccably designed calendar that will have an enorous influence on how bad ass the monthly calendars in the Interstate ! Calendar Club are going to look. Whoops. I just let that top secret info out didn't I. Well, thank goodness no one reads this blog!

Word. W-W-W-W-W-W-Word.

So my hot new CD of the moment is actually just a bonus from a DVD! How odd!

DJ Shadow has just recently released Live! In Tune And On Time, a chronicle of a 2002 show in London. Oh man, is it ever sweet. I saw Shadow back in the day, way back in the day, and I wasn't completely blown over, although I did get to hear "Unreal" and "Lonely Soul" (sans vocals, natch)before I knew what they were. Many a campus stroll had that poorly recorded bootleg as its sountrack, let me tell you. There was, however, a pang of disappointment at the actual show, as it seemed to be mostly spinning records, his own records. The encore was just him playing (like, spinning the actual 7") the "Cops & Robbers" version of "Stem". Being a diligent fanboy, I had already heard that version of the song, and was unblownaway. But, what did I expect, a live construction of all of his many layered soundscapes. Yeah right. The dude's only got two hands.

That experience could have hardly stopped me from picking up this new CD/DVD combo, especially when I saw "Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain" on the track list. That's probably the finest song ever recorded by anyone. Ever. Luckily, this set is phenomenal, both to watch and to listen to. The absolute highlight would have to be his blazing scratchwork on "In/Flux" and it's echoing "Word" sample (hence this post's title). It's the most brutally awesome thing I've heard this month, and it's fun to see what relatively simple looking moves result in such a staggering cut sequence on the DVD.

It's an incredible package and you get a see a little bit of Josh's sheepish Wunderkind personality at play. Ever the crowd pleaser, he frets over marking stickers on his vinyl and whether or not his audience wants the long version (Duh!). He also hands out posters and t-shirts by himself. It's quite sweet of you, Josh. Honestly.

And Boy Was They Fine, G

"Madvillainy is the Infinity Gauntlet of rap."

Thank you, Pitchfork, for making me believe again.

Live From Somewhere III: Panna Panna

Out Of 3076

1. "Let Me Fix My Weave" Missy Elliott
Let me just say, this is my official jam off of This Is Not A Test, solely for Missy's authoritative "PANNA PANNA."
2. "Acony Bell" Gillian Welch
3. "Allure" Jay-Z
"...Hovito's Way..." Hehe.
4. "Tooth Picks And Horses" Push Button Objects
5. "Blue Hawaiian (Live)" Pavement
6. "Life's Ill" Cannibal Ox
7. "Last Hit" High And Mighty

Lunch Intermission: I just saw Patrice O'Neal at the Pizza place by where I work. He's just as funny as you'd imagine he would be ordering lunch.

8. "90% Of My Mind Is With You" Prefuse 73
9. "At The Bar" Fat Jon
Note To Self: Hook-Up Playlist Featuring The Above
10. "Datablend" Mr. Lif
11. "A Day To God Is 1000 Years" RZA
How can people say he fell off? Have they heard this?
12. "Spiderman Vs. Batman Vs. Wonder Woman On The Rag" David Cross
13. "Drunk Game (Sweet Sugar Pie)" Ol' Dirty Bastard
14. "Strip Club" Jaylib
15. "Jugular Vein" Mr. Lif
Dr. Boskonavich Represent.
16. "2 Far" Dizzee Rascal
17. "Pass You By" Gillian Welch
18. "Dollars & Cents" Radiohead
19. "Meaningless" Jon Brion
Strangely enough, this song perfectly captures the essence of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, even though it was recorded quite a while, presumably, before Jon Brion was ever asked to score it.
20. "Shit Brown Eyes" Caustic Resin
Once again it seems that iPod has chosen to keep the Hip Hop away from everything else. Oh, dear iPod. J'accuse. J'accuse.
21. "Faceless (Prefuse 73 Remix)" Five Deez
22. "Crayon Sharpener" Them
23. "Waitin' For A Superman (WXPN Version)" The Flaming Lips
24. "Got Damned?" Murs
25. "Atom" Cannibal Ox
26. "Plug It In" Basement Jaxx
27. "Bugman" Blur
28. "Be My Lady Intro" Party Fun Action Committee
29. "Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell (Self Admiration With Blow-Up Mix)" The Flaming Lips
30. "Dirty & Stinkin'" Ol' Dirty Bastard
31. "Velvet Waltz" Built To Spill
32. "Glocko Pop" Bobby Digital
33. "Benjilude" Basement Jaxx
34. "Certified" Diverse
35. "Claire" Morphine
36. "Make 'Em Pray" Gang Starr
37. "Sao Paulo Arkansas" Prefuse 73
38. "Fulcrum (Insight Mix)" Mr. Lif
39. "Friend Vs. Friend" Company Flow
40. "Names" Cat Power

Another day, another extremely pleasant combination of songs. You can also get a nice look at the iPod's stranger tendencies. Not only does it have long stretches of musical intolerance, but it also once again tends to hover around the same artists or genres. Observe the omnipresent Mr. Lif and Wu-Related tracks.

Live From Somewhere II: God In The Machine

Out Of 2936

1. "Double Trouble" The Roots
2. "Come One Come All" Visionaries
3. "My Name Is Jonas" Weezer
4. "Go With The Flow" M.F. Doom
5. "Showtime" Jon Brion
6. "Mr. Blue Sky" Electric Light Orchestra
Heh.
7. "I Know You, Part I" Morphine
8. "Car (Live)" Built To Spill
9. "Master Plan" My Morning Jacket
10. "99 Cent Garden" Caural
11. "Casiotone Nation" Soul Coughing
12. "Push Up Ya Lighter" The Roots
13. "Tical" Method Man
Wow. It's like one song performing a function for another.
14. "Let My Niggaz Live" Wu-Tang Clan
15. "Good Times Roll, Pt. 1" Rjd2
16. "A Change Is Gonna Come" Swervedriver
17. "Jus' A Rascal" Dizzee Rascal
18. "The Big Game Is Every Night" Songs: Ohia
19. "Atom (Instrumental)" Cannibal Ox
Note To Self: Remember That Segue
20. "Fin" Pavement
21. "Show U Love" Bobby Digital
22. "Worry Wort" Radiohead
23. "Problem Child" Squarepusher
Note To Self: Name Calling Playlist
24. "Talk III" Mike Doughty
25. "Why I Love You" Prefuse 73
26. "Intro" Ol' Dirty Bastard
27. "4th Chamber" GZA/Genius
28. "Pony Ride" De La Soul
29. "L.A. Fresh" Visionaries
30. "Death Of A Thespian" Them
31. "Buck 80" C-Rayz Walz
"I'm nice around the mic/Like the Wizard players." (Think about it.)
32. "Preview" Built To Spill
33. "Caught" Saturday Looks Good To Me
34. "Hey Ya!" Outkast
If it doesn't sound played out by now, it never will.
35. "The Violet Hour" The Clientele
This song, courtesy of Barbelith's Todd and his Wandering Notebook Mix, conjures up the strongest sensation of being at school. I've never really listened to it before now.
36. "I've Had It" Aimee Mann
37. "What Goes On Pt. 7" The Roots
38. "Squeegee Man Shooting" El-P
39. "Kicked It In The Sun (Acoustic)" Built To Spill
40. "Super Fluke" Aesop Rock
"It's like asking the cast of Watership Down to fuck slow."
41. "Act Too...The Love Of My Life" The Roots
42. "Rob-No-One" Visionaries

All in all, not a bad run.

Big Hookie & Bah-Bah

Appearing only in a shout out on Madvillain's new all start debut, Madvillainy, these are pretty much the two best names I've ever heard. They hang out at M.F. Doom's laundromat, by the way.

So, honestly, tell me how I am supposed to not feature a detective agency, led by Chareth Cutestory who is always trustily joined by his two trusty assistants: Big Hookie and Bah-Bah?

How?

Live From Somewhere

In an attempt to discern the foundations of the iPod's not-all-that-random-but-random-enough Random Play feature, our narrator will attempt to keep track of the music he's listening to today at work. Equipment: 20 Gig iPod, Sennheiser PX 200 Headphones.

Out Of 3803 Songs:

1. "Radio Llocs Espacials" Savath & Savalas
2. "Avengers" Mr. Lif
3. "Suzy Pulled A Pistol On Henry" Company Flow
Interestingly enough, these two tracks, by Def Jux luminaries did not both appear on a Def Jux label release. The iPod would not have been able to recognize the connection, except through the following (highly unlikely) logical connections: "Suzy..." is produced by El-P, El-P has songs that are in (according to my iTunes specifications) the "Def Jux" genre (used for any DJX___ release) and "Avengers" appears on an album with that noted genre. But how did the iPod know?
4. "All Over Again" Raekwon
5. "Sweet Song" Blur
6. "Unlimited" Soul Position
7. "Supra Genius" Soul Coughing
Interesting...
8. "Do You Know A Music" George
9. "Wait" The Beatles
10. "Ooooh" De La Soul
11. "Take Your Time" Soul Position
Very interesting... And also indicative of the iPod's tendency to hover around the same general area of your tracks, playing songs from the same artist and/or album over the span of ten or fifteen songs.
12. "If They Died And They Were Yours" Prefuse 73
13. "Hands" Four Tet

To Be Continued...

15 II

Out Of 18,210

1. "Detouring America With Horns" Yo La Tengo
2. "Somethin' Else" Led Zeppelin
3. "The National Anthem (Live)" Radiohead
4. "Soul Trance" Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
5. "Stickin' Chickens" Missy Elliott
6. "If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up" Betty Davis
7. "Sibhashian" Sixteen Deluxe
8. "Mark On The Bus" The Beastie Boys
9. "Amy Hit The Atmosphere" Counting Crows (I SWEAR TO CHRIST THIS IS NOT MINE IT IS MY ROOMMATE'S MY GOD IS THIS EMBARRASSING)
10. "I Froze Up (Live)" Radiohead
11. "Most Blunted" Madvillain
12. "Light Years (Live)" Pearl Jam
13. "Some Kind Of Wonderful" Ben E. King
14. "S.K.I.T. II" Nitro Microphone Underground
15. "Love You Alice/D" Apples In Stereo

Speaking of Madvillain, this is amazing.