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Yesterday was Chris Whitley Tribute Day

Tampa-Sarasota By Eric Snider,Creative Loafing Atlanta November 21, 2008 | 4:29 AM Categories:

Dead Cowboy Song - Chris Whitley

chris whitley.jpg Chris Whitley died three years ago yesterday. He was 45. It was unexpected, even to his diehard fans, of which I am one. I remember hearing about it and thinking "OD" -- he was perilously gaunt and rumors of drug abuse swirled around him -- then I was strangely relieved to find out it was lung cancer. He was a heavy smoker.

Whitley was a nomadic, uncompromising singer, songwriter and guitarist who, in my view, was an unheralded genius.

Today is Chris Whitley Tribute Day on Tampa Calling and the new CL Music website. I'm hoping to make some Whitley converts. Check out CLTV for videos of the master on stage. His Dobro playing alone is bound to blow you away.

Whitley's first album, Living With the Law (1991) was his most successful. It had a desert blues feel, built around his acoustic slide work and haunting voice. The track "Kick the Stones" made a visceral imprint on the '91 blockbuster movie Thelma and Louise. "Big Sky Country," "Phone Call From Leavenworth" and other songs heralded a unique new voice that was poised for stardom.

Four years passed before Whitley released a follow-up, not exactly the best strategy for career momentum -- but, as it turns out, that was just Chris being Chris.

In '95, Whitley unleashed Din of Ecstasy, built around a thick sludge of electric guitars spraying feedback and noise. His droning voice was shoved back in the mix; the hooks were laconic, the lyrics bleak and abstract.

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Review: SMKA Productions' The 808 Experiment: Vol. 1

Atlanta By Rodney Carmichael, Creative Loafing Atlanta November 21, 2008 | 4:08 AM Categories:

Music is the World - Toussaint

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God bless the child that's got his own.

From the outset of SMKA Productions' newly released compilation, The 808 Experiment Vol. 1, it's clear that Atlanta has finally arrived.

Surely, you say, the hip-hop capital of the world is no newbie to rap's all-encompassing map. And you're right. But among Atlanta's emerging rap underworld -- filled with hipster-leaning hoppers, 2nd generation ATLiens, and otherwise unidentifiable but objectively fly MCs -- that original, Dirty South sound had been all but bleached out and forsaken. Until now.

With The 808 Experiment, SMKA accomplishes the seemingly impossible: It bridges Atlanta's slick, hipster-hop derivative with the indigenous, red clay swagger for which the A has always been known.

Beats simultaneously swim in bass-drunk, 808 kicks while dancing between melodic, pastel-colored keys. Even when SMKA dares to sample esoteric pop songs like Sting's "Englishman in New York," the resulting track ["Alien (When in Rome) feat. Jay West, Savage and Gilles] is certifiably stamped "ATL."

Their secret weapon? SMKA producers Blake "808 Blake" German and Kyle "7King" King, along with in-house "hustler" Mike Walberg, are all Atlanta natives. Damn near unheard of in this day and age, right? Meanwhile, the compilation features plenty among the city's rising crop of natives and transplants alike, including Gripplyaz, A. Leon Craft, and Young Trimm ("Caddy"), trio Supreeme ("I'm On Fire"), Wil May ("Sweet Confusion"), and o8o of T!Katz ("Fire in the Hole"). But some of the biggest surprises come from lesser known cats who turn in equally stellar performances, including Double R of Miami, Nuff Sed, J Beans, Dee Rail, Fat Tony, Niko Villamor, Jay West, Rome Fortune, J Young, Radcliff Hyphen, Crysis, Brandon Michael, Toussaint, Alexandria Lushington and Tom P of Decatur. El da Sensei of New Jersey-based Artifacts is also featured.

With only 48 hours since it's release it's impossible to say just yet, but here's hoping The 808 Experiment represents a truly formative moment in what's already proven to be a watershed year for Atlanta's slightly off-the-radar hip-hop movement.

Continue reading "Review: SMKA Productions' The 808 Experiment: Vol. 1"

Review: SMKA Productions' The 808 Experiment: Vol. 1

Atlanta By Rodney Carmichael, Creative Loafing Atlanta November 21, 2008 | 4:08 AM Categories:

Music is the World - Toussaint

Play

God bless the child that's got his own.

From the outset of SMKA Productions' newly released compilation, The 808 Experiment Vol. 1, it's clear that Atlanta has finally arrived.

Surely, you say, the hip-hop capital of the world is no newbie to rap's all-encompassing map. And you're right. But among Atlanta's emerging rap underworld -- filled with hipster-leaning hoppers, 2nd generation ATLiens, and otherwise unidentifiable but objectively fly MCs -- that original, Dirty South sound had been all but bleached out and forsaken. Until now.

With The 808 Experiment, SMKA accomplishes the seemingly impossible: It bridges Atlanta's slick, hipster-hop derivative with the indigenous, red clay swagger for which the A has always been known.

Beats simultaneously swim in bass-drunk, 808 kicks while dancing between melodic, pastel-colored keys. Even when SMKA dares to sample esoteric pop songs like Sting's "Englishman in New York," the resulting track ["Alien (When in Rome) feat. Jay West, Savage and Gilles] is certifiably stamped "ATL."

Their secret weapon? SMKA producers Blake "808 Blake" German and Kyle "7King" King, along with in-house "hustler" Mike Walberg, are all Atlanta natives. Damn near unheard of in this day and age, right? Meanwhile, the compilation features plenty among the city's rising crop of natives and transplants alike, including Gripplyaz, A. Leon Craft, and Young Trimm ("Caddy"), trio Supreeme ("I'm On Fire"), Wil May ("Sweet Confusion"), and o8o of T!Katz ("Fire in the Hole"). But some of the biggest surprises come from lesser known cats who turn in equally stellar performances, including Double R of Miami, Nuff Sed, J Beans, Dee Rail, Fat Tony, Niko Villamor, Jay West, Rome Fortune, J Young, Radcliff Hyphen, Crysis, Brandon Michael, Toussaint, Alexandria Lushington and Tom P of Decatur. El da Sensei of New Jersey-based Artifacts is also featured.

With only 48 hours since it's release it's impossible to say just yet, but here's hoping The 808 Experiment represents a truly formative moment in what's already proven to be a watershed year for Atlanta's slightly off-the-radar hip-hop movement.

Continue reading "Review: SMKA Productions' The 808 Experiment: Vol. 1"

Preview: Peter Beste's Black Metal @ Zune Bar

Los Angeles By Mark Willett November 20, 2008 | 1:35 PM Categories:

This is more about photographs than it is about music, but these are photographs of musicians so I think it counts. Anyway, on Friday night the Zune Bar on Beverly is hosting the opening of Peter Beste's True Norwegian Black Metal exhibit.

If you remember, Beste just put out a book of the same name featuring his photos, which document the black metal scene in Norway. Obviously Norway is home to some of the craziest metal the world has ever seen, and Beste's photos do a great job of capturing it without being exploitative or ironic.

Full details on the party after the jump...

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Preview: Rodriguez @ Great American Music Hall

San Francisco By Dan Strachota November 20, 2008 | 12:58 PM Categories:

This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues - Rodriguez

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I'm a sucker for "lost classics." There's just something great about discovering a record so out of touch with the times that it's quickly forgotten -- and then rediscovered sounding bizarrely prescient or beautifully archaic or naively lurid. Like Vashti Bunyan's Just Another Diamond Day or the Monks' Monk Time. Or Rodriguez's Cold Fact album.

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My NY by caUSE co-MOTION!

New York By Beta November 20, 2008 | 12:44 PM Categories:

Today's My NY entry comes courtesy of Brooklyn's winsome, Rough Trade-styled scruffy punk enthusiasts caUSE co-MOTION! The quartet's infectious and giddy "It's Time!" release on Slumberland Records compiles a handful of OOP seven inches in one tidy CD package. And tonight, they play at Ash's Place (234 Wythe Ave.) with Cheap Time, Jacques Detergent, and Ashley Epps. When they're not on-stage (or adding exclamation points to anything that moves), the boys might be found here:

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Preview: The Mighty Underdogs @ The Grand

San Francisco By Dan Strachota November 19, 2008 | 2:43 PM Categories:

ILL Vacation - The Mighty Underdogs

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It's kind of amazing that Lateef the Truth Speaker and Gift of Gab haven't collaborated on a full-length disc before. Both rappers were original members of the Soulsides/Quannum crew up in Davis, CA, and both have seen wide ranging success in the hip-hop world (Lateef with Lyrics Born as Latyrx and on Fatboy Slim's "Wonderful Night," Gab solo and with Blackalicious).

Sure, the Oakland duo had gotten together for the occasional track, most notably on Lateef and the Chief's 2004 number "Best of Me." But the Mighty Underdog's Droppin' Science Fiction (just out on Definitive Jux) is the first time that the pair has swapped lines for a full LP. And they're not alone either, as Headnodic of the SF's Crown City Rockers is along for the ride as producer.

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Review: Vivian Girls @ The Smell

Los Angeles By Mark Willett November 19, 2008 | 10:35 AM Categories:

Vivian Girls - Wild Eyes

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It was fun times at the sold out Vivian Girls show at the Smell last night. They battled through thick crowds, humid temps, and no backline to deliver a surprisingly tight set.

You have to respect The Smell. It's the archetypal ramshackle venue that you remember from high school. It's a shoebox with high ceilings, awkward stage placement, bad sightlines, no ventilation, a total bottleneck near the bathrooms, and some kind of stand selling something organic or vegan (in my day it would've been a food not bombs table). In this it is perfect. And as a youth you're willing to overlook these things and embrace them. They're the things they you learn to love about venues, and you can cherish their imperfections.

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Crowntown Showdown tonight!

Charlotte By Jeff Hahne, Creative Loafing Charlotte November 19, 2008 | 9:24 AM Categories:

Head out to Snug Harbor tonight to check out this month's Crowntown Showdown. It's a great way to see a variety of bands for a good price -- and you may get hooked up with the latest copy of Jeff Hahne's Homebrew CD, too!

While the event started out as a competition, it's now a local and regional showcase of talent.

Continue reading "Crowntown Showdown tonight!"

Crowntown Showdown tonight!

Charlotte By Jeff Hahne, Creative Loafing Charlotte November 19, 2008 | 9:24 AM Categories:

Head out to Snug Harbor tonight to check out this month's Crowntown Showdown. It's a great way to see a variety of bands for a good price -- and you may get hooked up with the latest copy of Jeff Hahne's Homebrew CD, too!

While the event started out as a competition, it's now a local and regional showcase of talent.

Continue reading "Crowntown Showdown tonight!"