Pimp Trick Gangsta Clique

Courtesy of Dixon Wong

Damn it’s the end of August already?

NorCal’s late-ass summer has been really screwin’ with my senses! I haven’t even posted up a good Summertington Playlist! Ah well. Even though it’s a little too late for the upbeat feel-good-cuz-I’m-FREE-ness of somethin’ like the Fresh Prince’s Summertime, so I’ll kick the tempo down a notch with some independent grooves.

H.I.S.D. (Hueston Independent Spit District) f/K.O. – Summer So Good

I gotta start it off with a summer jam. A beat based on steady slow drums with a touch of the high hat, Summer So Good is some high caliber cruisin’ music. When you’re drivin’ with the windows (or the top) down feelin’ the cool breeze & the hot sun, you need a track like this to give you those good vibrations; one with a hook that you can’t help but repeat: Summer SO GOOD.

Dylan Gilbert – Isabella

Remember those 90′s from-a-movie Alt-Rock singles? C’moooon… you know you were caught up in them too!(1). Maybe it’s just my pedigree, but this track sure sounds like I’m bout to be awash with some epic guitars & be "kissed by a rose" OR SOMETHING. Just wait. For Twilight 4 or something, this’ll be the track that plays during the trailer. And I will cry as yet another dope as song is used to pimp some crappy shit I don’t care about. Fucking Major Label soul suckers.

Little Boots – Stuck on Repeat

It’s like this.

I start gridin’ on some shit that just needs to get done. I put on a song.

It starts of with a beat that conjures up images of the "I Love Lucy" factory scenes: It keeps goin & don’t stop!

And just like the show, I can’t stop workin, and I can’t stop listening, even though the vocals don’t come in till bout 2 minutes in, if only for a few seconds — then it’s back to work. A few minutes later, back to those same distant, echoing vocals, trying to "break free" from the monotony.

Ironically, It’s only after repeating how many times she’s tried to break the monotony, does the song break the mold for a few moments, only to get stuck repeatin the same shit over again.

Okay – Compass

Pretty much an instrumental track that builds upon and breaks free from the repetition found in the previous track. The slurred & distorted vocals, along with the overall melancholy droll of the instrumental leads me to take a step back and review myself: my life, my goals, my last fuckin’ 30 minutes.

What can I say; Even though it’s not one of those tracks that will stay with me for the rest of my life— it speaks to my here and now. Take it or leave it; It works for me.

Obi Best – Swedish Boy

Swedish Boy has got that hauntingly beautiful vibe to it, but Obi’s Best seems even more manufactured than those of, say, Psapp’s Galia Durant.

Though the "toytronica" sound is there, there are no random off-key notes or misguided melodies, no vulnerabilty exposed that didn’t seem deliberate or planned. The feel good start of the bridge that appears around 1:30 kinda reinforces this lack of depth. Nonetheless, I really love the feel of the song, and find the vocalist’s distance oddly comforting.

Maybe it’s just “first listened” bias, but when it comes to the “existential overly orchestrated, passive-melancholy angst” genre of music, Obi is not the Best, but merely a runner-up.

Slum Village – Dope Man

From their Villa Manifesto, Dope Man‘s got that staple “Dilla head-nod” beat backing, with lyrics that put you in the mind of your friendly neighborhood drug dealer.

Damn. It’s kinda crazy how I gotta use the past tense when speaking about many of the musicians that I grew up with—Biggie & Tupac, Goodie Mobb, Gang Starr, Rage, Smashing Pumpkins, Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony… (2) I could go on and on. And sadly, Slum Village is another group to add to that list. It was good while it lasted though.

____

1. Goo Goo Dolls’ Iris, anyone?↑
2. Don’t bother correcting me. I listened to Un1ty or whatever & it’s 80% garbage, 15% “wtf who thought this was a good idea”, 5% “eh, it’s a Bone song”↑