going to sleep

I don't fall asleep to music often but recently I had the urge so, I turned on a record that I don't listen to nearly enough and curled up in bed. Before I knew it I was off to dreamland (which is where former high school classmates meet on submarines to discuss the current state of cd manufacturing and make light hearted jokes about the fact that I'm not wearing any pants while I aimlessly wonder around the room trying to find some very important piece of paper on which I've scribbled the names of my unborn children). The record I'm talking about is called Thom's Night Out. It has nothing to do with Thom Yorke, at least as far as I know. No, it has much more to do with wailing strings and rumbling percussion and pulsing bassoons. The band that recorded this record is called Clogs.

Now, I'll tell you what drew me to this record in this moment, when I decided I would let guitars, violins and pianos lull me to sleep instead of sirens, buses and occasional yelling-into-cell-phone-passerby. Clogs is made up of four members. One of them happens to be Bryce Dessner. Don't know who he is? Well, perhaps you should. He and his twin brother, Aaron, play in another little band called The National. Since I have a not so subtle obsession with The National I was naturally interested in hearing what Clogs have to say. That turns out to be next to nothing because Clogs is an instrumental band, one that sounds very little like The National. It also turns out that Clogs pre-date The National in both real life and in my music catalog. I've had two of their albums for a couple of years now and have never really bothered to get to know them. This is a reoccurring problem for me. Does it bother me? No. I've got so much music just lying around it's become a treasure hunt. Sometimes I never know what I will stumble upon.

So, here's the deal with Thom's Night Out. It's all hand drums and violas and Middle Eastern rhythms. It's almost classical, but really more post rock, in the same vein as Rachel's. It's sweet and scary and dark and alluring all at once. Whoever Thom is, I imagine that his night out was in a place like Morocco or Damascus. When I think of Morocco I think of the Dave Eggers novel You Shall Know Our Velocity!, which is about two friends who decide they'd like to travel around the world and give away cash. I don't remember much about it except that I liked it and that they have some adventures in Morocco. When I think of Damascus I tend to think of the most excellent soft serve at Jimme Cone (check out the guy who complains about it melting too fast) in the heart of Damascus, Maryland...not Syria. (By the way is it jimmies or sprinkles??) In neither of those places do I imagine someone named Thom. But here's where things come together. While listening to this album I was lulled to sleep and encouraged to dream, and in the wonderful world of dreams I can order soft serve at Jimmie Cone in Morocco from a dude named Thom and it's totally normal.

If you can get your hands on this album, do it. Then listen to "Sadness & Obsession" and tell me that at around the three minute mark the growling bassoon doesn't sound like an Egyptian tiger purring while enjoying a chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles.

Clogs - Thom's Night Out (2001)

no sleep. just beats. pt 2

For one reason or another I haven't been getting much sleep lately. I'll get home from a late class close to 11pm and instead of turning in I crack open a beer and watch consecutive episodes of Entourage. What is wrong with me? No joke, that's a question I have been asking myself a lot lately. Self diagnosis is my new favorite past time. In fact, that may be one of the contributing factors to my sleepiness. I'm analyzing everything these days. So, why not continue that trend with music?

I want to share three more lesser known rap records. I'd venture to say these three are even more overlooked than the Pharcyde, Digable Planets and Gravediggaz albums mentioned previously. Those had commercial appeal on some level. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you see things), the three discussed in this post have never had a radio hit and are really in the "underground" sub genre. If you ask me, it is not easy to find decent rap music down there in the underground, but these three really shine.



Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain (2003)

You may know him better as MF Doom. Of three albums listed here, his name is likely most familiar. Doom has had some strong success over the past few years. It hasn't hurt that he's made friends with some rather famous artists like Danger Mouse, Madlib, Ghostface and the late-great J Dilla, but the truth is that Doom can get the job done without any of them. Vaudeville Villain is proof of that. One of his first titles not to be self produced, Doom enlists relative unknowns (except for the brilliant RJD2) to tweak the knobs on this first release under the Viktor Vaughn moniker. The result is one of the most cohesive and consistent albums of his career (to go along with Operation Doomsday and Madvillainy).

Don't let all the dark language fool you though. True to his style, the rhymes are all over the map, displaying a certain degree of attention deficit in the best possible way. It's really no wonder why he and Ghostface get along so well. Vaudeville Villain is sharp and witty with dense atmosphere and lacks the too frequent vocal sampling that often plague some of Doom's other work. Overall it's the tight production, the creative sense of humor and the non-stop flow that make this one such a winner.




Shape of Broad Minds - Craft of the Lost Art (2007)

On this one Jneiro Jarel, who is one interesting dude, actually splits himself into several parts to create a "group" of three alter egos: Dr. Who Dat, Panama Black and Rocque One. Did you get that? We're talking about one guy pretending to be three different people who compose the rap group Shape of Broad Minds. That fact alone was enough to peak my interest. As it turns out, it's not just the concept for the group that is a bit bizarre but the overall sound and format is kinda out there. I think you could easily say it sounds like no other rap album you've heard.

Jarel has done work with a myriad of artists whose sound ranges from zombie rock to southern funk and he somehow manages to sprinkle all of those influences into Craft of Lost Art to create a perfect blend. This is not an easy listen, however, which is probably one of it's strengths. Dr. Who Dat will challenge your perception of hip-hop. Contributing instrumentalist Jawwaad Taylor highlights rhythms and melodies in a bold, unique way. Panama Black spits a steady flow over dark basement tracks, sparse outer space jams and jazzy tunes. If Goodie Mob, J Dilla, and TV On The Radio birthed a schizophrenic baby it might come out sounding something like Shape of Broad Minds.




Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens (2007)

Blu most recently turned up on the excellent How I Got Over from the Roots and I was pleased to see our hometown heroes giving some love to this slept on LA rapper. Although he's been involved with several other projects since '07 none of them showcase his talent like Below the Heavens. Here, Exile (one half of the duo Emanon) takes care of the production allowing Blu to lay down some of the most insightful and entertaining rhymes of the past five years. Think of him as a more charming, more talented Lupe Fiasco (no offense to Lupe, I'm a fan). The album sounds as hopeful as Blu appears on the cover, regardless of the subject matter. Blu has a way of delivering lines that despite the containing the occasional poison still taste like candy. Take "Blu Collar Worker" for example. The sun is shining, Blu is putting in work, telling all the gold digging ladies he doesn't have time for them in rather stern words but you'll still find yourself bouncing along with a smile on your face. He's gifted and I'm still hoping the dude finds himself in a position to reach a larger audience.

Now, I'm planning to go home, turn on the Phillies game and fall asleep (certainly not due to lack of interest). We'll see how that goes.