Too Much Language

Welcome to the Eclectic Method, Getting Shit Funky!

2010-03-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Eclectic Method - Rock & Remix 2 from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

WTF!?! Just watched the excellent Copyright Criminals PBS special and these guys were featured heavily. Jumped online and found their site along with this ridiculous video mix. Go to their blog for the mp3 file and peep the special if you are at all interested in the legality of sampling and the future of music creativity.

RIP J Dilla

2010-02-18T15:02:00.001-08:00

Cibelle in: 'Lightworks' from Crammed Discs on Vimeo.

The biggest thing I took from Dilla was to pay attention to all music, to always dig deeper. This is pretty fucking awesome. Too bad the song stops half way through for an interview, oh well. Rock out to this! Shouts out to Potholes in My Blog for hippin me.

RIP Big L

2010-02-15T17:48:00.001-08:00

Late night videos...

2010-02-13T05:27:00.000-08:00

Just some dope things to watch while intoxicated on a Friday night. Cheers.

This could go either way, but I think it has some potential. I'll be keeping my eye out for it.

WIZ KHALIFA - SWEAT BOX from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Wiz has been a little hit or miss for me these days but I like what Dame has going on over at DD172 and this sounds like a hit for the Khalifa man.

Watching young kids in the town become artists is great, it's awesome that Seattle can provide inspiration to people of all ages. I haven't seen these guys rock a show but they look like they know what they are doing, looking forward to catching them.

Jose James

2010-02-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was listening to Worldwide religiously in '06 I've always kept my ear out for Jose James. Caught him at Bumbershoot and it was fucking awesome. Hearing that he had a new album dropping and then seeing that Flying Lotus contributed THREE beats convinced me it's an album I need to get familiar with it now, you should to.

The Pursuit of Nappyness

2010-01-17T04:34:00.000-08:00

Nappy Roots - Ride from AVJ Records on Vimeo.

The Humdinger is one of a handful of CD's I've bought in the last few years. If you haven't heard it, I suggest you do the same. In Pursuit of Nappyness is coming on 4/20. Love seeing the them Nappy boys back at it!

New Joy Orbison!!

2010-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

If you spent much time perusing music websites last year chances are you probably heard the name Joy Orbison. Now maybe it pissed you off cause someone was disrespecting your holier than thou rock legend or maybe you don't fuck with dance music. But I'm not writing to y'all. For those that were digging cuts like "Hyph Mngo", "J. Doe" & "Brkln Clln" you better get over to the Simple Records site and check out the latest batch of jams from Joy! Yet another 12" from a man that seems to be doing everything right with his combination of soulful house meets dubstep beauty.

Stream "The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow" 12" availible February 10th!

A Message from DJ Shadow

2010-01-11T04:10:00.000-08:00

I didn't start this blog to write a bunch. You got the home base for that. But I did start it to spread the word on random things I found on the internet and this, while certainly different, is something any lover of music needs to take a moment out of their busy life and read. Without further adieu allow me to present to you...

Well, here we are again, another year, another decade. Optimism about the future is tempered with a nagging sense that underlying factors causing most of the misery in the world still exist. Lucky, then, that I’m a musician and not a politician.

Specifically, when it comes to the wallet, everyone’s suffering…of that there can be no doubt. And what of the financial prospects for musicians and recording artists in the years to come? Shaky, at best. Unless you’re one of the grotesque ‘Idol’-type pop disasters in the top 5, you’re looking at getting a day job or finding other sources of income. Conventional wisdom amongst my peers has been remarkably short-sided over the last decade: “Yeah, CD sales are down, but all the money is in licensing.” Not anymore. “Yeah, licensing money is down, but the video game industry is killing it.” Less so these days, according to recent data. “Well, the real money is in touring.” Really? When was the last time you saw a ‘new,’ post-record company artist headline a major music festival? At this rate, we’ll be stuck with Coldplay for decades (no offense intended).

Time for a little straight talk, from one reasonably intelligent human being to YOU, the reasonably intelligent reader. As distasteful as it may sound, the fact is that so many of our heroes: Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, The Beatles, whoever you care to name; generated much of their best art in return for financial compensation. If you take away the compensation, guess what…the art stops. For example, how many young rap artists are grinding away these days in New York, trying to get a deal? Not too many, certainly compared to the ‘80s and ‘90s. There’s no allure, no pot at the end of the rainbow. People have been asking for years now, “Where’s the next Nas, the next Jay-Z?” Be prepared to keep waiting…and for music, overall, to keep sucking. Why? Because only bottom-of-the-barrel, embarrassing pop tripe generates enough income to feed the machine. Anything unproven or risky? Nobody’s going to bankroll that kind of ‘experiment.’

Let me be clear: I love music. I love the culture of music, making music, playing music, geeking out over music from the past and present. I love old record company stories, and the characters that inhabited it. In other words, I have learned to appreciate the merchants of commerce as well as the art. If you love movies or cars, chances are you can relate to what I’m describing. What would Hollywood be without the larger-than-life, audacious personalities behind the scenes? What would cars be like if there had never been Detroit?

Gone are the recording studios (including the historically important Plant down the road from me in Sausalito), the record shops, and the music magazines. Replaced by the oh-so-cynical, oh-so-corrosive AM talk radio of the new millennium, the Internet. But I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Chances are, you may have even been one of those majority who danced on the grave of the falling record companies, pointed to Radiohead giving their album away for free and said, “See, look, if they can do it, why can’t everyone else?” Slowly, I turn…

Every artist is entitled to their own price point, just as every consumer has a choice in what they purchase. Nobody puts a gun to someone’s head and says, “Hey, buy this Picasso for 20 million.” Likewise, if $9.99 is too much to spend for one of my albums, so be it, your choice. But if you’re holding your breath, waiting for me to boost my cool-quotient by giving my music away for free, it’s not going to happen. The fact is that I feel my music has value. You may disagree, and that’s fine. But I know how much energy I put into what I do, and how long it takes me to make something I’m satisfied with. Giving that away just feels wrong to me. It’s not about money per se; I can donate a large sum of money to charity and not think twice, but I won’t give my art away. I’d rather sell it to 100 people who value it as I do than give it away to 1000 who could care less. That’s MY choice.

I realize these are all unpopular subjects. Artists are never supposed to address their flock about such icky subjects as business and commerce. (By the way, and I hope it doesn’t sound disingenuous, but now would be a REALLY good time to express my undying THANKS for your support, which matters IMMENSELY in my ability to retain music as my primary endeavor. As a fan of others, I always used to wonder, “does this artist or group really care about whether I buy their stuff or not? Do they care that I go to their show?” YES, WE CARE!!!!! Now, more than ever). Most think that I should stop whining, grow up and embrace the Internet, become more active, tweet more, hype more, give more stuff away, etc, etc. Honestly, I’ve tried…and will keep trying. But the bottom line is that not every paradigm or system is right for everyone. We’ve all been told for years that the Internet is our Savior; it’s cool, youthful, hip, the solution to every problem, and if you aren’t joining a new networking site on a weekly basis, you’re a social pariah. Sorry…I just don’t feel that way. I’m old enough to know that when 99% of the population is marching lockstep in one direction, sometimes it’s wise to break rank and go the other way. Plus, I simply don’t like sitting in front of a computer screen all day.

I’m not saying that I don’t use the Internet on a regular basis; I do. And obviously I’m very proud of this site and its ability to support itself through the store. Honestly, I just think a large portion of the dialogue and content available online is an utter shit fest: a Pandora’s box of violence, neurosis, bad impulses, and bad intentions. It has become the “Super Horror Show” the Last Poets could never have dreamed of, like bad television on steroids and angel dust simultaneously. CL Smooth memorably called television “a schism…negative realism.” And much like the TV of the ‘60s and ‘70s, you will NEVER hear or read anything negative about the Internet ON the Internet. There’s too much money to be made, by someone somewhere (and hey, why ruffle the feathers of the goose that’s laying the golden egg, right?). 20 years from now, it will be interesting to see what hindsight reveals. I predict a flag on the time-line: when we moved closer to becoming a passionless, listless, hollowed-out society, one in which art and nature could no longer provide the psychological shock to the system required to endure another harrowing day of terror alerts and super-bugs. Music can only suggest sex and violence…the Internet provides both, full frontal and full strength, 24/7. Maximum dose.

Whatever…what will be will be. As long as I breathe, I’ll make music, love music, support music. I used to get in fights at school to defend my right to listen to rap, and I’ll fight on against any institution or prevailing thinking that seeks to dictate to me how and when the music I make is to be disseminated. If there’s 50 of you, or 100, or more out there willing to accept my right to choose, as I accept yours, then welcome aboard…you are my fan base. The rest of you that don’t, and want me to play someone else’s game…I wish you well. Let’s just leave the subject at that and call it what it is: a mutual misunderstanding.

Regardless, it’s going to be a hell of a year. I am working hard on new music, and hope to share some of it with you in the coming months (really!). I’m fully aware that there are many former fans that insist my best work is behind me. Well, respectfully, I disagree. It’s not easy walking the tightrope between artistic validity and financial solvency, but I stand behind all of the decisions I have made to date. What matters to me is that EVERYONE reading this knows that I take my career, my music, and my fans EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY. When I started in music 25 years ago, my mission was to provide an alternative, to expand the scope of choice available to music lovers like myself; and above all to demonstrate a willingness to go the extra mile and put the MAXIMUM EFFORT in EVERYTHING I DO, so that the bar continues to be raised, not lowered. Whether that manifests itself on stage, on record, or as a character in a video game, I honestly feel that I have given it my best, win or lose, and I’m proud of that. I have to believe that your continued support is a vote of confidence, which I take great comfort in as I strive to create some of my best work to date.

I may not be the best looking dude out there…I may not be the most linked-in, the most prolific, the most successful…but I’ll be god-damned if I’m not up there with the most passionate. If you agree with what I’m saying, that so much music we’re fed is utter GARBAGE that insults the intelligence, then no matter where you’re at…the States, the UK, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, wherever…we’re ALL outsiders, and we owe it to each other to band together and fight for something better. Personally, I’m loving the challenge, and when the time is right, I look forward to reconnecting with all of you.

Until then…

DJ Shadow

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

If you were like me this year you spent your musical finding hours on the internet. Not that record stores are non existent or anything but the internet is the place to be if you want to find HOT, NEW music. And while 2008 was the year of the Dope Boyz, 2009 was the year of Fact Magazine - for me at least. The Dope Boyz held their own but lost me on quality control. Fact on the other hand delivers stellar news, editorials, and their long running podcast series is the best you will find out.

With that said, I took the time to compile the songs I had in my iTunes from Fact's best of the year list and create a play list. This play list happened to play quite well and was the soundtrack to much of my holiday traveling. In conjunction with my top 10 albums of the year running over at the HQ I figured I might as well drop something off here to. Check out this folder and let me know what tunes I'm missing from Fact's list that I should have.

Also let me know what sites I should be checking for? I'm sure I'm missing one or two.

In NY? Get to A-1

2009-12-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Belly of the Beat from Gasface on Vimeo.

Great film about an LES staple. Catch the story about John Frusciante from RHCP, classic!

Congrats to the Foreign Exchange Team!

2009-12-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

The Foreign Exchange's Grammy nomination video from The Foreign Exchange on Vimeo.

Phonte & Nicolay released one of the best albums of this decade (that is somehow absent from all these lists popping up) and then flipped the script dropping Leave It All Behind late last year featuring no rhymes, just Tay singing that sweet soul.

While the Grammy voters are not known for their love of talented musicians or good music, somehow the FE guys got nominated this year and if ever there were some guys that deserve this kind of honor they are it. Catch up on the history thanks to this video they just dropped and then grab some of their music!

Guess I Got My Swagga Back

2009-12-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

Words don't even capture this jam. Gnarly. Grimey. Heavy. That's a start. Many thanks to Astronomar for hipping me to this! I advise turning it up.

Fresh Espresso "Big or Small" Video!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

I was in Seattle for the show the night before this. Actually I did my interview with Smoov that night too. Whatever... this video has already made the rounds on the SEA Hop blogs but it's too fresh not to get a post here too!

OFS Bitches.

Fela Kuti Sees Vinyl Availibe in US!

2009-11-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

All I got to say is it's about time! While it's likely most people are vaguely familiar with at least the name, Fela Kuti is far from the widely known musician he should be.

Luckily I had a teacher who took this to heart and dedicated a couple weeks to Nigeria and Fela - the last class I took in college too! This gave me a much deeper interest in and desire for the music he made and put anything by the man at the top of my vinyl buying wish list. Little did I know his albums in the US were imports only.

That is until now. Knitting Factory Records will be reissuing all of his albums in the coming years as deluxe digipak's on CD and on vinyl as well. This is great news and will hopefully, along with the current broadway production about his life, help generate a revived interest in the man and his music.

Read the full story here. Via Fact Magazine.

New Dam Funk Mixtape

2009-11-02T18:12:00.001-08:00

I had the pleasure to sit down with this man back in September. He is making some truly awesome music for the new generation to get funky with! If you haven't been peeping his Toeachizown EP series or the full length that just dropped you might want to get on it. In case you need some convincing here is a new mixtape he just released for free with Clae - apparently a super fresh shoe company!

Peep the tracklist and then check out the mix!

Download it here.

Album Covers in Action

2009-09-24T11:23:00.001-07:00

I never did post this when it first premiered on the net, but it's so fresh that it still deserves some play. Jay-Z teams with Rhapsody to recreate his album covers in honor of the release of his latest effort, Blueprint 3 which you can catch my thoughts on over at the home base!

Wax Poetics: If You Don't Know, Now You Do!

2009-09-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

If you love music get this magazine! The next issue will be a tribute to the King of Pop himself. Now you may be thinking, can there really be anymore said about the man? If Wax Po's past tribute issues (James Brown, J Dilla) are any indication, this should be something unlike that which has ever been seen.

Mayer Hawthorne! He's coming to town...

2009-09-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

Could there really be a better place for Mayer Hawthorne to stand in front of? I think not! Delivering his own modern brand of Northern Soul and burning down stages across the country, if you are in PDX this Friday be sure to catch him at Jimmy Maks! And cop that album, A Strange Arrangement in stores now on Stones Throw records.

A great slow burner, sounds crisp and crackly on wax - LOVE IT!

The lead single, I regret not getting that heart shaped 12" now! Enjoy the tune and peep the Dam Funk cameo at 2:09 stealing Mr. Hawthorne's girl.

Macklemore is Back!

2009-09-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to OFS for hipping me to this! Macklemore was one of the first Seattle artists I ever heard and The Language of My World still gets play to this day. Glad to see he is making new music again! Enjoy the above video and peep out this other leak all about The Town.

Funny Guys...

2009-08-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

To go along with my review over at the home base I had to bring these videos back to the spotlight. If you ain't with these guys you fail.

How Fly Promo Video #1

How Fly Promo Video #2

Dam Funk/Animal Collective

2009-08-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

While I continue to be consumed by the music coming from LA these days Dam Funk has struck an especially sensitive chord with the digger and lover of all thinks sytnthed to the funkiest in me! Not sure about Animal Collective, need to hear some more, but this remix is positivley great, even if Summer is coming to an end bang this for the final weeks we got!

And for all my PDX heads, be sure to check out The Fix (at the Someday Lounge) September 10th where he'll be playing!

Oh... did I mention the rumors of an interview over at the other TML... Stay tuned!

Blackface!!!!

2009-08-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

I get sent many a promo email and rarely do I check em out but this one I did and so now I'm presenting to you Blackface. Something new and different for ya. Give a listen to their cut "Perfect Girl" and let me know what your thoughts are!

Blackface "Perfect Girl"

Free Music Seattle

2009-08-20T03:32:00.000-07:00

If you are in Seattle this weekend (too bad I'm only there for a night) get down to the Pacific Industrial Center all weekend long for some free music and new cars! Santigold will be performing FREE Sunday night, can't go wrong with that. Plus local DJ's like Supreme LaRock, DV One, Sean Cee, Four Color Zack & Soul One will be holding it down. Don't miss it!

It's times like these that I miss the 2-0-6. But after Meeting of the Minds tonight I think big things are in store for the PDX Hip Hop!!

"It's Time To Build" - Truer words have never been spoken.

Celebrate!

2009-08-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

Internet at the apartment has been really pathetic these days so I've been MIA for too long around here, but I figured on the 50th anniversary of maybe the greatest Jazz album of all time I had to put something up.

Ladies and gentlemen I present to you "So What" from the brillant Kind of Blue.

I don't want to get to in depth here but this album is the reason I'm a Jazz fan today - thanks Cedar for hipping me.

Oh So Fresh...

2009-07-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Fresh Espresso Rendevous Concert from Stephan Gray on Vimeo.

I know, I know I'm not in Seattle anymore. But damn these guys put on a live show and have delivered the first album of the year I can't take out of my CD player (seriously, it has followed me from my house to my car and right back inside since I got it). I've been telling anyone who will listen to check 'em out and above is a video that demonstrates better than I ever could what you are missing.

Fresh Espresso!!! Out for Stardom. Northwest stay rising in the '09.

Iame "Shows Over" X Show Tonight!

2009-07-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

As one part of the Sandpeople crew (who recently delivered a stellar EP Long Stroy, Short) Iame is celebrating the release of his sophomore solo project I Am My Enemy tonight at Rotture. If you are a fan of Hip Hop you gotta be there! Josh Martinez will be hosting and Awol One will also be in attendance in support of his new release along with the Seattle fam Onry Ozzborn.

Bangin' local Hip Hop - Can't go wrong with that!

Northwest rising in the '09.

Lily Allen "22"

2009-07-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Spotted this over at the Dopehouse and knew I had to get it up here for all your enjoyment. I'm not overly familiar with Ms. Allen but this right here is gonna make me listen to anything I can get my hands on. And you should too!

Oh Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!! Ev on RSE?!

2009-07-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

Had to toss this up! Evidence has been hard at work on the follow up to one of the dopest albums of the decade and now it has a home. Cats & Dogs is offically dropping on Rhymesayers. It's a gonna be a beautiful thing. Peep the above video for his typical webisode antics and watch for the Jake Uno shout out too! Congrats mayne.

Free Shit: Bean One & Game Soulo are DOPKWE

2009-07-15T23:24:00.001-07:00

Bean has been blessin' the followers of his blog with some great unreleased music and while Seattle week rolls along at the homebase I figured I'd hit ya'll with this fresh little project - give it some plays and take a puff for me!

Dubstep: Music of the Future

2009-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Burial was who I have to thank for my introduction to the stunning genre of Dubstep and while I've dabbled here and there with others, mainly the big names i.e. Skream, Benga, etc., my exploration kinda ceased as I got lost in something else but it's always been in the back of my mind. With the recent discovery of a strong Northwest Dubstep movement that curiosity has been revitalized! On that note I give you a cool and quick documentary on the Bristol scene where it has grown and developed.

Part 1

Part 2

Thanks to Sonic Router for the heads up!

A companion to Seattle Week

2009-07-12T18:03:00.001-07:00

I'm grinding out some things for the coming week over at the home base (read: Seattle Week - Watch for it) I figured I would toss up a couple vidoes from the OFS team. I'm finally hearing Mad Rad's album White Gold and am impressed - I was sleeping too long! Rock out to these tracks, turn them up LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!

"Super Dope!"

"My Product"

"Electric Sheep"

As long as I'm at it, here goes a short film by P Smoov of the crews time at Sasquatch this past year - great stuff. Glad to know the hate only fuels you to grind harder. Keep doing your thing guys!

Chali 2Na & Talib "Lock Shit Down

2009-07-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

I never really thought Chali was all that dope in J5 but this is hot! Fish Outta Water is out now... maybe a review will be in order over at the home base?

Weezy & The Roots?

2008-10-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is why I love the Roots! They just join up with anyone and make 'em sound dope! I like me some Weezy, but this beat (sure it knocks!) is so lame. Good to see Questo and Thought supporting young dude - he needs more elders in his life.

This Is Why I Love Hip Hop

2008-10-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Maybe this blog will last.

Maybe it won't.

Come on back and see!

UPDATE: Had to re up the video from good ol' you tube - enjoy and I hope that you will keep coming back, thanks for rocking with me!