Summer 2004

Four on the Floor!

The Outernational Sound
Thievery Corporation
This is the kind of CD that hasn't been heard out of Thievery Corporation in a number of years, and has been sorely missed, in my opinion. The Outernational Sound is a DJ mix, not an album of original music or a compilation. In fact, aside from 1999's outstanding "DJ Kicks" compilation, I can't think of another mix like this put together by Thievery Corporation. Thievery Corporation, through their Eighteenth Street Lounge Music label have produced many fine compilations of the work of their labelmates, as well as music they are fond of and might play in their DC club, The Eighteenth Street Lounge. Such excellent compilations have included both "Soundtrack" CD's, Easy Tempo,and Covert Operations, among others.

The Outernational Sound, though, is a straight up DJ mix. And after 5 years, it's nice hear that Thievery Corporation can still do it, and well. And it's fairly obvious that their stated eclectic tastes and influences have served them well. This mix, it must be said, has a more natural, organic sound than most of their original music, and even the raga/dub influnced DJ Kicks does. The Outernational Sound, I would suppose, is loosely based around a classic soul vibe. I find this an especially excellent feat considering that the track selection ranges wildly from a more traditional soul sound, like Crazy Penis' "3 Play It Cool" (complete with obscure Marvin Gaye sample) to Alan Moorehouse's somewhat campy faux asian "Expo in Tokyo". For the most part, the general sound of The Outernational Sound is that of old school soul and funk with an international, mostly south asian, edge. I think the track that exemplifies this the best is the incredibly funky flute and organ stomp fest, "My French Brother" by the Bobby Hughes Experience. I fell in love with this song 5 years ago and was very happy to see it included here, as was I to hear "Vai Vai" by Thunderball.

Oh, and there's a perfect dose of classic raggae at the end.

However, the best thing about this mix is that Thievery Corporation isn't taking themselves too seriously here. After all, The Outernational Sound is fun to listen to.

A Ghost is Born
Wilco
A Ghost is Born is somewhat of a departure from Wilco's previous album, the wildly acclaimed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. And after much listening (this CD didn't leave my car stereo for two solid weeks) I think I decided that I actually like the new one better. It took some careful consideration, but that's my verdict. Of course, it's important to note that it's more different than better, and if it's better, it's not that much better.

First of all, it's fairly clear that the music presented in A Ghost is Born is meant to be played live. While Yankee Hotel Foxtrot tended to integrate a lot of studio tricks to enhance the music, A Ghost is Born is more straight ahead rocking, maybe with somewhat less of an emphasis on a traditional pop sensibility.

This is still very much a Wilco album. There are certain instrumentations, melodies, ways things are sung, etc that are very similar to the last album. Most noticeably, some of the vocals in songs like "Wishful Thinking" and "Handshake Drugs". I don't think Jeff Tweedy could sing in another way, nor should he.

I should note, also, that the first track, "At Least That's What You Said" is a perfect introduction to this album. It starts with a light, delicate vocal-over-piano segment, then rocks out like a camp for two or three minutes.

But all in all, I like the sound of this album better than the last. It's, for the most part, simple and straight forward. I want to listen to this album on the open road, just passing my time drive down some long, flat, boring American highway. I don't know exactly what it is that makes me have this urge when listening to A Ghost is Born, but I think it has to do with the simple rock guitar, the use of rolling piano, and the vague country context. At any rate, A Ghost is Born is hella enjoyable, and mostly likely a bit too unpretentious for many uppity Wilco fans. I suppose that the fifteen minute snooze-fest of "Less Than You Think" is intended to placate those whiney jerks who aren't happy unless every album includes a good chunk of what sounds like riding inside a tire.

At any rate, go get A Ghost is Born and r-o-c-k across the u-s-a.

Red Hot + Riot
Various Artists
The Red Hot series is awesome. My first introduction to it was Red Hot + Rio many years ago. Red Hot is a series of compilations in which contemporary musicians examine a style of music or a particular musician of the past, then donate the proceeds to AIDS research. So it's pretty awesome, especially considering the quality of music involved. Red Hot + Rio is based on Brazilian music, some of the best music ever created. So there was a Stereolab/Herbie Mann cover of Jobim's Surfboard/One Note Samba. It's doesn't get much more awesome than that.

Except that Red Hot + Riot is totally fucking awesome. This disc is all reinterpretation of some of the other best music ever created- the work of Fela Kuti. Fela Kuti was a revolutionary figure in west African music starting in the 1970's. He created a style of music known as Afrobeat, combining American funk and jazz with the music indigenous to his native Nigeria. The results are fairly mind-blowing, as Afrobeat is almost pure rhythm. Even the melodies. I swear. It's repetitive but also maybe the most danceable sound ever. And, if should be mentioned, that the political content is usually fairly radical. Fela was arrested countless times due to his opposition to the oppressive regime he lived under.

So in Red Hot + Riot, you hear this energy and angst through the ears of an entirely different generation. Here you have Afrobeat melded with hip-hop and other newer musical sensibilities extremely effectively, with contributors including Mixmaster Mike, Lateef, The Gift of Gab, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Positive Force, D'Angello, Femi Kuti (Fela's son), Macy Gray, Roy Hargrove, Meshell Ndegeocello, Money Mark, Kelis, Sade, Les Nubians, Antibalas (see below) and a whole mess of others.

It's energetic music processed through more modern energetic minds. It's amazing fun to listen to, and so recognizable, yet so foreign at the same time. I just wouldn't advise putting this on while you have a headache, as your skull might split wide open.

Who Is This America
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Antibalas is afrobeat inspired directly from the source. This isn't music that's been bastardized by contemporary music tastes, like so many soulful musicians who cheezed the hell out of their music in the 80's with nasty synth-tones (see Stevie Wonder). And what's more impressive is that Antibalas sounds straight out of west Africa while being an American band. Antibalas is from Brooklyn.

Antibalas is totally legit afrobeat. Quite often you wouldn't even know it wasn't Fela himself except that you hear lyrics demanding change in America, not Nigeria. Keeping in the afrobeat tradition, the songs on this album tend to run fairly long. They are intricate rhythms and outraged lyrics. I don't know if the often tedious American left-wing fringe knows it, but they have a new soundtrack. This is protest music. It's powerful and loud and engrossing. This brings me to the one flaw in this album.

There is a brief clunky section that actually sounds somewhat like a protest, which griping about the Bush administration. While I am all for this, for some reason it embarrasses me here- maybe because it just doesn't match the music. Or it breaks from the usual vocals and sounds like the kind of yelling one would expect from the kind of idealistic, yet shrill and hyperbolic, young white men that tend to protest things merely for the sake of protest (see anarchists). However, this is a 30 second misstep in an otherwise thrilling album. And, I must add, Antibalas is not a bunch of posers. They know their music and they know what content should be delivered with this powerful sound. The title track, most effectively, deals with the treatment of immigrants in America.

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra's mix of powerful music and powerful content leads me to believe that the kind of people who would most enjoy Who Is America are the kind of people that prefer to listen to Pacifica Radio over NPR. And there's nothing wrong with that. Democracy now is excellent.