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What are you listening to?
You have to be groving to something - spring is almost here, what are you playing to celebrate? There is so much music that is being released anymore it’s hard to keep up and it’s easy for deserving work to get lost. Three CDs I’ve had on heavy rotation recently fall into this category. The first, “Droppin’; Science: Greatest Samples From the Blue Note Lab” is like a Cliff Notes for jazz samples from the Blue Note label used in beats by current and past hip-hop MCs. This title will appeal to jazz fans and any true hip-hop afficiandos who like to reflect on the roots of their favorite music. With a note from Ahmir ?uestlove Thompson, and a key to who sampled it and when, you can almost hear an evolution in sound getting ready to take place.
The second, Dengue Fever’s “Venus On Earth”, released at the beginning of the year, borrows inspiration from ’60s Cambodian pop music and for world music lovers, is a really funky, jazzy, psychedelic, lounge music treat sung in both Khmer and English. Both familiar and strange, old and new, retro and modern, textured and smooth, “Venus on Earth” is a delightful paradox. Here’s a YouTube video of their song “Seeing Hands” ….
The last listening treat worth recommending is Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago”. This sweet, quiet, reflective record has a naked hazy winter melancholy imbued with the warmth and hope of the coming spring that I find perfect listening for this time of year. Gorgeous and moving, this folk-rock must be taken in fully to truly appreciate its breadth and scope. Here’s Bon playing “Skinny Love” at this year’s SXSW festival in Austin …
This year, like any other, has plenty of great music to offer, the trick more often than not is finding it. Have any great new music finds worth sharing? Share here!
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