http://www.brooklynbodega.com/2010/04/25/x-factor-monsta-x-mixtape-review/#comments

And the video for his debut single, “Goin’ In” :

Yes, that’s right–Lil’ Wayne is blogging and selling merch from prison.

In his Letter #1, Lil’ Wayne says:

“During my prison stint, I want my fans to know I love you. I want all of you to know that I appreciate all the mail I get, and this is my way of saying thank you. The F is for Family, Friends, and Fans.

“Love. Live. Life. Proceed. Progress. That’s who I am and who I’ll always be. You see, we’re all living on borrowed time, so I’m not worried about this situation. Life happens quick. The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done…you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do. Trying to tear down the past prohibits you from building up your future. So for my time here, my physical will be confined to the yard. My love and my spirit, however, know no boundaries.”

You can even get a ‘Weezy Thanx You’ desktop/Twitter background:

http://weezythanxyou.com/goodies/

Lil’ Wayne is currently serving a year long sentence at Riker’s for illegal weapon possession. Apparently he’s isolated from the general population, and can be eligible for parole in eight months for good behavior. Sigh…

Stay strong Weezy!

Some love for “A Milli” :

Check out the article:

http://www.brooklynbodega.com/2010/04/05/talk-shop-toro-y-moi-interview/

I’ve started writing articles for Brooklyn Bodega, a website devoted to exploring Hiphop, art, culture, politics, as well as curating the annual Brooklyn Hiphop Festival. There’s so many forces in the conversation.  I’d like to bring to the table the  influences different genres of indie music have on Hiphop, interviews with artists and thinkers and creators who can incite dialog and shifts in the status quo.

Whew. For now, here’s a start. Little Dragon performed at The Music Hall of Williamsburg and Mercury Lounge last week, and I wrote a performance review for Brooklyn Bodega:

http://www.brooklynbodega.com/2010/03/29/little-dragon-nyc/

And check out Little Dragon’s video for “Swimming” off their new album Machine Dreams. Yukimi Nagano’s father, Yusuke Nagano created the vid!

photo courtesy of Matthew Drazin, www.shotsofrock.com

It’s Toro y Moi.

Musician Chaz Bundick’s project, by way of South Carolina-

Toro y Moi’s chill wave grooves are all about atmosphere, good times, kickin’ it, Spring Awakening, and shedding layers for smoother skin.

He’ll grace the Brooklyn Bowl stage with New Zealand psychedelic indie rockers The Ruby Suns on March 26th, 2010. Tickets are $5! Pretty voices, cheap tickets.

The video for “Blessa”:

and the boys playing with rockets in the video for “Talamak”:

Alan Palomo of Neon Indian just released “Sleep Paralysist”…The track, co-produced with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, echoes the outerworldly video game tunes on his debut record Psychic Chasms.

“Sleep Paralysist”, by Neon Indian

Mobius Collective, every Thursday at Rose Live Music in Williamsburg, BK

Mobius Collective celebrates their 3rd anniversary at Rose Live Music this Thursday.

Saxophonist/director Troy Simms, along with staple cipher Omar Little (trumpet), Borahm Lee (keys), and David Bailis (guitar), the Collective features guest DJ’s and musicians each session. Last week amidst the snow storm, the house was packed full of folks ready to go on a trip. Guest DJ–brilliant selector–Deejay Obah–filled in the blanks between sets, seamlessly taking us from a recording of Fela’s “Yellow Fever” into the band’s supersonic rendition of it. Keyboardist Borahm Lee brings it full force, slapping at his keyboard, mapping out intricate solos,  infusing the tune with an echo here, a reverb there–he’s a vision to witness in action. Jazz to warm you up in the beginning, dub to settle the whiskey in your bones (it’s cold outside, y’all), flowing into Afrobeat and Hiphop to get the people dancing.

There’s something to the venue too. The abuela wallpaper and jazz club stage has an old-timers vibe, a subtly complementary addition to the listening experience.

Mobius Collective, courtesy of the band's Myspace

Note about their name, “Mobius Collective,” it’s a reference to the Mobius Strip, a one-sided, single edged surface that has no beginning or end. This metaphor comes alive during their performance–the musicians contribute to the soundscape by carefully listening, evoking the continuity between them, between the genres they journey across in a few hours’ time.

Check it @ Rose Live Music, every Thursday!

What: 3rd Anniversary Party of Mobius Collective’s “Brooklyn Freestyle Sessions

Where: Rose Live Music, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on 345 Grand St. @ Marcy

When: 10 PM to 3AM

You can see how thinking about music moves into mysticism–Kwami Coleman

This Sunday, I talked to my friend, musician & musicologist, Kwami Coleman, who resides in San Francisco, about modality in music.  I was listening to Miles Davis’  ”Blue in Green”, a highly textured musical composition, from his record Kind of Blue, which is very modal. Now, I’ve studied music, namely violin, but still have lots of questions regarding the theories.  At first, Kwami broke down the basics of my questions, but then it soon delved into the relationship between music & tonality & its (unknowable) effects on human psyche.

When we hear a piece of music, it elicits a response from us. Whether we listen to Miles Davis, to get into a heady, reflective, sober condition or the energetic, multilayered, orchestrated spontaneity of Fela Kuti—there is an emotional response drawn out of us. We attribute emotions—longing, misery, whimsy, joy—to the melodies we hear. We all know this.  And we know that the reason for this will never be fully understood, there’s value in understanding what certain tones provoke in the listener.

To read the Dialog Box interview, click the title of this post.

Another thread to this series: The highlighted links will lead you along a random Wikipedia trail. Now, this may seem like a way to make something random boringly structured, but I hope it invites you to veer off the set track onto your own Wikipedia trails. Sort of like those Choose Your Adventure books. Anything to distract or inspire you.

I hope to continue this exchange with Kwami in future installments of Dialog Box.

me: what is modality?

kwamicoleman: instead of the chord built on “do” as the beginning & end of a piece (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do) a chord built on another note, let’s say “re” begins & ends the piece. So it reads: (re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do-re). ”do” still sounds relatively strong & stable, yet not as the beginning/ending/most important note/chord of the piece

me: hmmm i just sang that out loud it’s like you end in a “higher place”…it sounds very different to me

kwamicoleman: yes different, but it only sounds higher if you look at it in relation to “do”. ”do” is no longer the centerpiece that it used to be

me:i wonder if there’s a philosophical significance to utilizing a certain modeover another or does that just happen organically?

kwamicoleman: theorists/composers/musicians/philosophers pondered the significance of different modes for centuries now

me: since the greeks or some shit?

kwamicoleman: we don’t know what the Greek modes sounded likewe just appropriated their language gave our modern modes Greek names there’s a sound/color of each mode this has to do with the relationship between each of the notes

me: what is the “reason” for the system of modes? is it just coincidental? purposeful?

kwamicoleman: it’s hard to know whether the system of tonalitycreated these relationships, or if these relationships created the system. It might be a chicken-and-egg question. You can see how thinking about musiccan move into mysticism, very quickly. the idea of different modes having different flavorsby virtue of the array of semitones adds up to a collection of frequencies provoking emotional states in the listener. If the Dorian mode elicits sadness, somberness, etc. A connection between these notes these frequencies & a state of emotionis a purely human experience, is a connection between the natural world (sound), explained by acoustics (science) & human emotion becomes fused. If you follow this line of thinking as a composer, you say to yourself: ”i want this piece to express severe longing and despair in the face of a love that proves to be impossible,” you may consider the Dorian mode & not consider the Ionian mode (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do)

me: What are some examples of musicians utilizing the Dorian mode?

kwamicoleman: Erykah Badu’s “Didn’tcha Know” and Miles Davis’ “So What” both in Dorian mode

me: is this a choice sprung out of the artists’ mind? Spontaneously?

kwamicoleman: You know how most emcees rhyme coming out of someone like Rakim?  He’s an icon & stylistic revolutionary. There’s not an emcee today who hasn’t come away from him, even if it’s through someone else that, in turn, came from Rakim.

me: you’re brilz

kwamicoleman: haha. i’m like, “brilz?!”

And now, the glorious and glamorous Miz Badu in ‘Didn’tcha Know’:

Alexis Mabille Spring 2010 Couture. Metaphor for Saturday Night.

A note from the party: (they’re pretty giddy, no?)

“Two vinyl-addicted dj’s are going to bring a bunch of true skool hip hop party records and breaks circa “88-’92 to Trophy bar and play them..and YOU are gonna come out and dance, sing along, “Jump Around” “Pass the Mic” move “Back and Forth”..you get the Pic!!”

Details:

Trophy Bar, 351 Broadway (btwn Keap & Rodney), Saturday January 30, 2010

11 PM to 4 AM