Category Archives: Music

Song of the Day: “All Four” by Greensky Bluegrass

I was digging this one a bunch last night, and since then, I’ve listened to again probably about four or five more times.

The verse-chorus song portion is solid, but it’s really the improv section that gets me.

Around the six-minute mark, they end the core song structure and head into the more improvisational part of the tune. It just ebbs and flows perfectly from there on out. The mandolin leads us off, then that flows into the six-string acoustic guitar, followed by the dobro, and all capped off by one of the more beautiful, note-perfect banjo solos I’ve ever heard. Although it’s definitely a bluegrass tune, it almost works more like a jazz song with the band hitting on key themes, trading licks, crossing over on specific solo passages, and each band member trading and taking turns with beauty and precision.

Good stuff.

Fun with Hip Hop Samples: Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day”

I randomly came across Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” on YouTube today and remembered that it includes one of my favorite hip hop samples. Check it out:

That killer little guitar groove comes from The Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps in the Dark.”

Good stuff.

Everything comes from something.

Song of the Day: “Beast Crusher” by Skerik’s Bandalabra

When Music 101 students need a good sound clip for syncopation, they can just check this one out:

Those are some serious JBs-style grooves being laid down….just pure, unabashed funky-jazz improv at its best.

If you dig this sound, definitely check out their other teaser track which they released on Soundcloud:

While I am generally into the projects that Skerik gets involved in, this one is striking me as especially impressive. It seems like he’s really found his band.

Bandalabra’s album is due out on March 13th via Royal Potato Family.

Song of the Day: “Dive” by Tycho

I picked up Tycho’s latest album Dive at the end of 2011, but I’m still listening to it constantly in 2012. The title track is one of many standout tracks on the album. Check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IOhGQvdCBg

Tycho’s sound hits on this perfect mellow but moody vibe, and I love the way that the core electronic beats and blips are mixed with more traditional analog guitars and bass.

Support Tycho directly–>TychoMusic.com.

Fun with Hip-hop Samples: James Brown’s “Blind Man Can See It” vs. Das EFX’s “They Want EFX”

We were BBQ’ing with my bro-in-law a while back, and as we got started, he asked me what to search for on Pandora for good outdoor party tunes. I immediately spit out the word “funk.” The subsequent Pandora station that we got using that search team definitely queue’d up a few decent grooves, but nothing really caught my ear until this track from one of the funkiest (the?) backing bands ever:

James Brown – “Blind Man Can See It”

While the intro had a nice vamp, what really caught my ear was the groove that kicked in after a minute or two…a nice little jangly guitar riff combined with some soul-stirring keys. The sound literally brought my ears back to the early 90s to what was probably one of my 1st CDs…Das EFX’s Dead Serious. After a couple of measures, I was waiting for that unforgettable opening line to drop in….”bum skiggiddy bum skiggiddy bump!”

Check out the sample in use:

Das EFX – “They Want EFX”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UalV4ThhQQM

Ha, awesome. I liggidy love the lawless early 90s of hip-hop samples.