daftcrunk

rest in pieces

2005-02-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

Daft Crunk is officially deaded!

redo all you heard, we be at:

Laundromat United!

scrimmage is over. long live LU!
All the crap that was here is on the first post there.

Peace.

got it.

2005-02-13T18:57:00.000-08:00

yep, je suis getting my ass rocked by the real world. really can't complain though.
i didnt get to see adventure time at ucla 2 years ago. was bummed.
Daedelus and Frosty just seem like cool guys. I have the dublab and daedelus kozyndan prints overlooking my workstation.

Adventure Time-Age of Aquariums (Dreams of Water Themes, EFA (Caroline) 2003)

mind yr manners

2005-02-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

Squarepusher: Do You Know Squarepusher? (Do You Know Squarepusher?, Warp, 2002)

D-styles:

Like That Chall

Felonious Funk

Drag-On and Twista: Twisted Heat

The bounce in "Do you know squarepusher" is kinda facemelting. There is a way in which notes all just end up landing on a beat somewhere that makes sense. add the one time melodies...got yrself a good song to listen to while walking to class. makes you look like you are in deep thought...or something

So the whole Asisphonics/alias nonsense of a few years back was somewhat interesting because of the angle some of them came with. alias/ricci rucker/toadstyle dudes were always talking about f-ing people's minds up with their crazy sk/c/q/x/ratch billion click nonsense. turns out, it was all really actually boring as hell and the internet made them stars (peace to Mike Boo though)...came down to them just all wanting to be D-Styles. D's stuff is some of the only 'skratch music' i can listen to plus, the best track on Q-Bert's album was done by D...
D-style's album and most of the things he puts out are a bit heavy on the ultraviolent/fetish/snuff for my tastes, but his cuts are correct. Call me a prude, but that dude (and so many other DJs) are straight creepy...

"GET IGNORANT!"...can't say i am a fan of ignorance, but that line makes "twisted heat" pretty necessary for getting in homework mode. have decided that i like pointlessly fast raps.

note: this was posted from work. go back to sleep.

The traffic's really crazy

2005-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

totally unrelated

Dino-In The City (LP version) (4th and B'Way, 1989)

Will To Power-Dreamin (Epic, 1987)

Ice Palace in Hawaii was the indisputable jump-off for post-chuck e. cheese-age birthday parties. God knows how many i went to there, from the time i was 4 till I moved to Cali. Aside from those annoying figure skater girls that had to show off 24/7 (and really, who were they trying to impress? I dont think many olympic team recruiters think of hawaii as a figure skating hot spot), the music is what i remember most vividly.

Freestyle and miami bass type jawns were the sounds du jour and to this day whenever my brother and I talked about freestyle, there is some reference to Ice Palace. Take a look at some of those photos (the link) with the bboy stance in front of the graff wall. Impressive.
The damn is place is inextricably linked to the music for me (even though all kinds of gospel rock events now go down there).

Somewhat ironically, I picked these 12"s up from a Salvation Army not too far from Ice Palace this summer. I was working on a mixtape (which among these tracks, features a few too many Stevie B tracks for anyone's good, but what can you do?) and these tracks just stood out for me and i figured what the hell, record em and throw em up here.

I suppose these could be "guilty pleasures" but they bump. (The Dino track is pushing it with the house 4 on the floor breakdowns and perhaps the worst lyrics ever...but the intro is sick...and at least the pic sleeve has no shirtless Dino action).

Much respect to the mobile crews of the Bay who were killing this shit since day one. (and mega ups to Pone for knowing way too much about LMR)...unleash the bass!

wish i was single again

2005-01-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

Express Rising:
Keys To Be

Department of Eagles:

Forty Dollar Rug
Origin of Love

The Whitey on the Moon UK LP

Guilty realness in a second, but the Dept of Eagles album has pretty much been in constant rotation since i picked it up. It came out in 03 andi've known about it since then, but being the lazy ass that i am only recently picked up a used copy. (goddamn i want some ice cream right now). I stuck the Express Rising track on here cause it fits the mood and i like pianos (find another explanation for me listening to so much coldplay...please).

Dept of Eagles aint lazy, but their stuff has that (for lack of better comparison) Madlibby/DOOM off handedness that gets translated to some kind of sincerity that is absent in basically everything right now. Yeah, "forty dollar rug" isnt exactly an heartfelt ode to nana, but it is fun and fun is powerful. example? the line: "i live in a flat with three blokes." that kind of stuff speaks to me. Why? Cause i live in a house with 2 blokes (up until two months ago it was three, but one quit). Regardless of my home's population, the track is legit. The 'rap' part sounds like a P.U.T.S. concoction, then they take it into the garage/basement/attik/cave and turn it out.
Origin of Love might suffer from cliche titleitis, but the beat is so sick that can be forgiven. Things in reverse are kinda played, but switching drums to double time and throwing in a random bass blast? 50 euros. Some of the singy-songs are a bit to folkemomallpunkO.C. in their delivery (example: 'family romance'...save for the sesame street->fantasy bridge) but they work in the album

Express Rising is Dante, right? His book on 45s will undoubtedly be not a little frightening in its detail and breadth. The Express Rising album kinda soured a lot of other down tempo releases for me cause it, more often than not, actually sounded organic...or at least good dusty. Sure, RJD2 knows his tonics and if shit is in key or not or if beyonce's 7ths are flat (honestly, who cares?): some of it sounds too on. "Keys to Be" is my ultimate pissed off piano song with perfect drum programming (by the way, i received 8 emails while writing this shit...goddamn editorial positions). It starts moody, then ends hopeless. kinda. When i was all on the low part of the bipolar swing (DMX, holla!) I would go walk around the theological union and listen to this and brood. I'd come back freezing my ass off and my roommate would laugh.

fixemup

2005-01-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

the last entries' links have been fixed so the songs are downloadable. but now the links are idiotic and fell to the bottom of the page. or not. oh well.

over it.

2005-01-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

DJ Dara: Smoke from Nu York Nu Skool (Smile Communication, 1997)

The Prince

did

ice country

the magic of a few notes

2005-01-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

T.S.O.L.: It's Gray

Change Today?

Devo: Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Soundtrack

Alright, so I heard "It's Gray" on Little Devil's Criminal Mischief video (before i got beaten outta BMX idiocy by the white trash retards in santa clarita. i should probably thank those retards now, but i wont, cause i actually wish them a lot of ill will). Soooo...along with Van Homan doing all kinds of nutty stuff and Matt Behringer (i think) riding to KISS, "It's Gray" was in there. I got the album and pretty much didnt like it except for that track, but whatever. beside the point.

Change Today? is when TSOL switched singers to Jon Wood from Jack Grisham, who ran for gov of california on an interesting platform, peep:

I will be a strong supporter of immigrant rights in our state. I would fight to ease the stigma and raise the standard of living of the immigrant and their families here in California. I am now working on a wider plan, and with the help of the federal government will make it easier for immigrants to contribute to make this state better.

Grisham placed 37th in the recall election (losing to Gary Coleman, Larry Flynt, and Angelyne).

Despite their former frontman's political endeavors, I hadn't listen to True Sounds Of Liberty for awhile, but then I saw The Life Aquatic, which has "Gut Feeling," and more than anything, it made me think of "It's Gray."

Devo is obviously better than T.S.O.L. and Mark Mothersbaugh is the shit, but I just like listening to these tracks together.

by the way, i really thought TSOL was gonna be on some Southern Secession/States rights/lynching tip. But i guess they aren't. Come to find out, they are more into having sex with the dead and make-up than all that.

takin care of business

2005-01-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

back in a sec.

learn portuguese

2005-01-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

from DJ Nuts' Cultura Copia (2004, Mochilla):
Track 7
Track 14

Most DJ's are lazy. The majority of stuff that comes through B-Side is boring as hell. Occasionally, someone really comes correct. Recently, Goldenchyld's mix Ear Infections is pretty dope. (i need to start writing the reviews. move over, pone).
But damn, Cultura Copia is the kind of mix that blows everything away for a couple of months for the people that are listening. This isnt on some "40 years in the studio protools mash-up" trip, and it is all the better for it. Just ridiculously good music mixed with nearly impeccable timing. I suck ass at mixing soul/funk, so I really appreciate how clean this is. Forget what you heard about everyone getting their asses to brasil to raid the place, nuts has held it down there. keep it local!

I am not up on my Brasilian funk, so i cant i.d. any of the tracks. If anyone wants to break it down, please do. Track 7 has nuts juggling. (nuts juggling?) track 14 is just dope.

This reminds me of when i first heard brainfreeze and product placement which forced me to reconsider how i was mixing and kept me focused. No more laziness, a resolution, perhaps.

Peep the tracks and then buy the damn thing.

for bay heads, please please please come out and support the Organize Da Bay Youth Group Coalition and peep:

Go Stupid, Don't Be It

false crack = hawaii version of sucker punch

2005-01-06T23:27:00.000-08:00

Connie Price and the Keystones->The Shadows of Leaves and Sucker Punch, from Wildflowers (Now Again Records, 2004)

discool

2005-01-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

Mary Clark->Take Me I'm Yours (Dim's DJ Friendly Edit)
Cela->I'm In Love (Joey Negro Edit)

Two tracks from BBE's Kings Of Disco compiled by Dimitri from Paris and Joey Negro. Of course to be on a comp called kings of disco, the tracks have to be pretty special and obviously these guys know their shit (from before it was cool to look for disco rares, eh?). The liner notes mention how they were always trying to outbid eachother on eBay and this is partly a result of their force joining. Most mortals wont see most of the tracks in an original form, so just be happy it came out (i dont think Yaz's "situation" is THAT rare though, right?) So, these two tracks represent my favorite sounds of the comp. Mary Clarks' track is a bit slower soulful track with a ridic horn riff. "I'm in Love" is uptempo goodness with a shifty scale-y bassline. The strings come in at about 3:30 for a sec, then it drops into one of those dramatic breakdowns. Which gets mad dusted and dubby, all kind of echoes dropping left and right. The comp is pretty good all around. I'm not too into a couple of tracks on Dim's side, but hell the good stuff is way worth it.

happy news year.

2005-01-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

Junior Varisty km: You're Fabulous (minty cut remix) (off of the You're Fabulous EP, 1999, Darla Records)

Cornelius: Count Five or Six & Star Fruits Surf Rider (from Fantasma, 1998, Matador)

Takako Minekawa: Milk Rock (Cornelius Remix)and Black Forest (Junior Varsity km remix) ( from Ximer, 1999, Emperor Norton)

I used to think anything japanese was cool. This was in 7th grade. It wasnt dangerous anime otaku type stuff. no silky shirts with some girls on it, or whatever. (Who has seen Yellow Apparel?..classic!). I couldn't listen to suburban base or the suicide machines or (shudder) bonkers (purchased at virgin megastore at forum shops in las vegas. frightful times)...tangent...yes, i could not listen to those things all the time (and my attempts to trick mix with all of 4 or so records i owned at the time, including ha, hard knock life, can i get a..., and the cracklabcalifornia remix of passin me by (oscar da grouch too) was a bit tiresome to my aurals). so i turned in 9th grade to the sweet sounds of Junior Varsity km (who i just assumed to be japanese..why? cause he toured with takako minekawa). kenric mcdowell is not japanese, but a music major at SF State and was in urb's top 100 for 1999, which didn't much matter to me. All i cared about in Urb were features on A-trak, craze, kid koala, and any pictures of raves that R.A.W. Dj'ed at. (later, i was all about squarepusher and autechre interviews..then there were too many pictures of moby and i did not understand. oh, urb did give a good review to zion i's first single, which i bought and used in my 1999 LA Regional ITF routine. thank you urb.)
so...i initially liked junior varsity cause i thought he was japanese. now i like this track cause the beginning of it sounds towa tei-ish, and that is always good for me (hence photos). reviews of JVKM are always droning on about atmospherics and textures. sure. whatever. this mix sounds like deee-lite so sign me up. plus, the penguins on the cover are cute, which was refreshing after things like this found their way into my collection.

i was positive that cornelius was japanese. ten auto-points. but then i heard the album and this was before i knew i was supposed to worship pet sounds and so i realized that pet sounds is good because cornelius liked the beach boys and i liked cornelius. thank you cornelius. star fruits surfrider comes after magoo opening, a crazy song with all the planet of the apes nonsense and gnome jig beats or midget pirate b-boy breaks. that song is loud (midget pirates have blasted out ears from being at earlevel with cannons).
you can hear the last bang of it in starfruits.
the dynamic shift between the two songs and how starfruits actually gets loud but still doesnt feel overwhelming is why it appeals to me. it is like a reverse funk flex bomb. a quiet grenade. a golden torpedo. billy corgan would talk about making soft music loudly (?) or what is it soft loud music? whatever it is, cornelius gets to hang out with himself and play with all his guitars and keyboards and voices and make this stuff and play with levels. yeah...you don't talk too much about dynamics when you are skratching or banging on your mpc (well you do...but that is neither here nor there).
later, i thought cornelius kinda was like wacky beat-y stereolab, which also worked nicely for me. count five or six is rock that annoys me cause it is hard to mix: but it has glory guitar chords and harmonizing and drum machine ticks that tick with the best of em.

then takako minekawa got deximer by both these guys on Ximer and i like their songs the best so here. i really wanna have a family and our family movies will be accompanied by milk rock, i am sure of it...it'll be like those perfume commercials, except with more melanin and different eyes and noses and haircolor (unless my wife is white? whothinkit?). kids will be wearing baby visvims purchased at Alife jr. with lil opening ceremony hoodies. that is focus.

for real, kings of disco and malcolm catto next time...then highlights from cultural copia, yeah?

no sleep

2004-12-28T22:14:00.000-08:00

Your Body-P.E.A.C.E. feat St. Mark 9:23...(Buy Megabite)
Line Drop-Extended Famm...(Buy Happy Fuck You Songs)
Somethingness-Busdriver...(Buy Imaginary Places)

i'm sick, it is raining, i can't sleep, and i have friends on the mind, so all there is to do is post. three songs given to me by laundromat united compatriot babytooth. these are all of the kinda weirdo hip-hop variety that i generally don't listen to. what a lie.
Anyway, P.E.A.C.E. is just a natural weirdo, busdriver's dad was a producer on moesha or something, and who knows what is up with extended famm. i guess the main common thread is that all of these are on some lyrical dexterity trip. the extended famm beat is a joke, but the other two are pretty ok. nondescript d/b for p.e.a.c.e. and a jazzy daedelus concoction for busdriver.

ok, that sounded wack and condescending: much respect to these MCs for flipping shit so hard.

back with kings of disco and malcom catto's project next...

hatin on the bay? screw you bite me.

2004-12-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

BUMP

Where I'm At

True To Life

Cal Students For Hip-Hop

murdaration

2004-12-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

Damian Marley-Welcome to Jamrock

this is the only song to really matters to me right now. ok, not. but hearing it on a loud clear system is pretty tight. the rest of damian's work is pretty soft, but he comes aggro here. blowing up in JA right now? Good to hear something like this to kinda balance everything out (although i aint hating on most newer dancehall).

i am embattled

2004-12-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

you can dance to both of thems.

The Grouch and Eligh- Everafter (basement)

Gang of Four- Damaged Goods(buy)

dont get set up

2004-12-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

Tha Outsidaz-The Rah Rah

i was watching that show "my coolest years" on vh1, and rah digga was some huge geek. so dope. rah digga makes me think of pacewon and tha outsidaz. then i think of the rah rah. j-rocc messed with it when i was in fat beats (on los feliz) as a wee kid. yeah yeah, brainless hiphop. available here.

rollerskate style

2004-12-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

Datach'i-"We Are Always Well Thank You"

I have inexplicably fallen into a squarepusher void and he is all i have been listening to. (the felix da housecat stuff was supposed to be on the dl..shit...). Datach'i is dope, but on the squarepusher-lite tip. The term "drill and bass" is retarded, but it's all i got. That bass sound is what keeps me listening to this song. Fierce? sure. But if you listen to this real loud on a 5.1 system, it's kinda overpowering. For the DJs out there, mixer feedback can basically emulate that bass (either from your headphone out or the master...more fun at home). Off of this.

for less nerdy stuff, check out Trilogy Sound Crew. I despise the whole rudebwoy/quasi rasta posturing, but jesus, i pick trilogy over most other crews. listen to the "dead you a go dead" dubplate. hell, listen to everything. Champions from birth! We need a real clash...

it's a really good cause. So click, you ass!

i'll be back with the unrealness later. finals approach, so im dead to the world.

Rollerskate Styles

2004-12-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Datach'i-"We Are Always Well Thank You"

I have inexplicably fallen into a squarepusher void and he is all i have been listening to. (the felix da housecat stuff was supposed to be on the dl..shit...). Datach'i is dope, but on the squarepusher-lite tip. The term "drill and bass" is retarded, but it's all i got. That bass sound is what keeps me listening to this song. Fierce? sure. But if you listen to this real loud on a 5.1 system, it's kinda overpowering. For the DJs out there, mixer feedback can basically emulate that bass (either from your headphone out or the master...more fun at home). Off of this.
for less nerdy stuff, check out Trilogy Sound Crew. I despise the whole rudebwoy/quasi rasta posturing, but jesus, i pick trilogy over most other crews. listen to the "dead you a go dead" dubplate. hell, listen to everything. Champions for birth! We need a real clash...
it's a really good cause. So click, you ass!
i'll be back with the unrealness later.

i'll f--- your face up/turn the bass up

2004-11-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

Diamonique-Boom Bap

Power 106

these DJs

Purchasimo

Steel Pulse-Sound System

Buy Em All!

2 Songs, 20 Minutes and 36 Seconds

2004-11-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

Freddie Hubbard-"Red Clay [Live in Holland]"
The Best of Freddie Hubbard Live and In Studio (Pablo 1983)

I wasn't expecting too much from this...Recorded in 1980 at the Northsea Jazz festival in The Hague, I was just thinking, shit, another Red Clay to put into sets (can't have too many..try scratching along with the solos and making your own. fun, yo!) when I picked it up. This one has some knocking moments though, f'real. The bass hits a little bit harder than the og and stickman sinclair lott kills it. Paging my MPC for a coupla kicks and snares. What makes it doper to me though is the fact that I can listen to the whole thing the whole way through and enjoy it.

Norman Whitfield-Sunrise
Car Wash OST (MCA 1976)

Chocolate City

Valencia

Hart High

Mix Plate

2004-11-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Because I am in a Hawaii mood after eating at hukilau in SF and because a check will soon be in my bank account, i decided to go all bananas and make one any kine entry. So here it is, one MP3 mix plate: hawaiian, black album reject, classics, and an instance of sample mastery...let's go:

Track 7 (my bad for not knowing the name) off of the Black Album Rejects 'Bootleg' (courtesy of Lambo)...I didnt put this on here because I really like it. Sure, the chop is effective and the sample is well chosen...but 9th...GIVE US A BREAK! Give fruity loops a rest and beat up an MPC for fun, I promise you'll like it. Ok, "Church" is tight, and you have killed it on occasion. just give us the good shit. NOW! oh, yeah..the main reason i posted is cause when i first heard it, all i could think was "MF DOOM-lite"...which brings me to:

"Coffin Nails" by Sir MF DOOM (all caps) from Special Herbs 4, 5, & 6 (dude has his own page at the lab). I played this beat at a party with a bunch of Asian American/Pilipino American/Pacific Islander Progressives and they all wanted to jump into an Iroc Z and go knock some skulls. Add your own vocals, whatever, I can listen to this nonstop. The breakdown with just that bassline and the tweaking beat? straight shaky. MPCs rule, Acid/Fruity Loops drool.

Jeff Chang posted a Gabby Pahinui entry on Can't Stop Won't Stop, with an accompanying MP3 at Sticker Shock, and i was kinda bummed that somebody repped Gabby before me, but im more glad now cause there is goodly knowledge dropped there. I changed my mind and chose "Pu'uanahulu." It's about lofty cliffs and yellow birds...and of course, hawaii. For me, it is one of those songs that if i let it, could totally leave me bawling my brains out, cause im a sissy like that...actually, no it isn't that: It is a beautiful piece of music.

lastly, and because i heard an Omni Trio track on kalx this morning, i was reminded of the (what i might consider now) cheesy classic london jungle tunes that informed my listening in 4th grade....i forgot that i listened to this stuff along with the sub base madness. In any case "31 Seconds" from Origin Unknown is just cheesy enough. I would have posted Renegade Snares, but it is TOO classic. Both these tracks are on Speed Limit 140 Plus 4. man...Moonshine ran things.

baby's goin underground

2004-11-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

first, gotta say: WHAT THE FUCK:

Anyway, that song pretty much is what my brain is doing. Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez asking that question on the Boss Hog s/t. That album scared me as a youngin, my brother was obsessed. But now, i like. Plus, the album art is sick.

Gotta say, something sinister is in the air. November 2 was hecksa shadiness. i am trying to not think about it for 15 seconds. So i emerge myself in my shoes and haunted mansion obsession.

Anyway, overblown gothy analog shit? cobwebby attic rock? sign me up. hell, halloween was only a coupla days ago and we got much darkness ahead of us. i figure i'll be listening to lucky charm quite a bit as the bush's troopers are out doing extermination runs. i just hope i dont hear them before they blast. faire du shopping!

i guess since this music is linked to my 4th/5th grade years, it is linked to helplessness or something. i went to MOTHERFUCKING RENO to stop this bush shit, too little too late? fuckin a. i tried.
mega fuck you to lady who lives in the duplex on modoc street in reno. FUCKS UP, ASSFACE!!!!!!!!
(and caitlyn, it wasnt a kerry sticker)

B-Boy Edition!

2004-10-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

I was walking down telegraph today, feeling mad pissed off. I GOT A B ON AN ASIAN AM MIDTERM...WHAT THE FUCK?!??!?!!? Then this girl calls me a fucker, and i lose it. So I bought some shoes...without further complaint, I present my alternative B-Boy event songs:

For the B-Boy that ADORES the man upstairs, shouting out the big J whenever he can, may i present "Song Of Hope" by Glass Harp, off of the Synergy album. I really like a lot of this album, and i know shit is talked. WHATEVER...SO WHATEVER. God is great and all that stuff. Jesus is just alright, y'all. MCA Records, 1971. BUY

Spinning for acid laced vietnam vet headspinners? Can't go wrong with "Flying Teapot" by Gong..or something?. Uprocks will be nothing but fresh to that shit, yalll. Feel that bass. Virgin, 1973. I think I am too young to be listening to this album, so you should BUY it.

Robots? Forget electro, these new guys got ADHD something bad. Hit em with "Catstep/My Kitten/Catnap vatstep dsp remix" from mr kid606...short circuit, short circuit....(plus, i had to have my Amen fix for the post)...BUYBUYBUY! (watch the your loudness with this one...eeep)

slacker-ass spider plant.

2004-10-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

on occasion, you just gotta listen to Aphex Twin's

"flim." probably not a new song to anyone who might stumble across here, but you maybe have forgotten it. just buy that ep. cause...you know...you gotta support creepy ass richard d. james.

+/- takes the place of the other softy rock that i could listen to...it really works out nicely too, because "crestfallen" has some chopped up Amens...so sick. Buy the whole album at the teenbeat website.

and uh, i dunno how many people have this record...i know kid koala used it on his album, doesn't seem rare, but this kind of shit is my favorite...smoothed out botanical exercise jawns. here are yourmorning exercises. (apologies for the abrupt end, but you get the point.

keeps it clean...ha...this shit was on letterman...

alright, i promise to pick up my act this weekend.

same old routine, but it never gets old.

2004-10-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

i have three midterms and two papers this week, but whatever, check this out:

Spanky & Our Gang's-"Lazy Days" which can be found on their greatest hits

then

Masta Ace's-"Take A Walk" off of Disposable Arts

i heart sampling and the focused masta ace.

back to the genius that is ronald takaki...

come easyyyyy...

2004-10-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

...my first shot at this mp3 blog stuff, I probably should not start with shit that none of my friends are into, but I thought I would shine on the music that 'opened the door' to all of the 'underground' music that i ever liked. if not directly related to a specific genre, the ethos that looking for good jungle placed in me has been instrumental in defining my tastes. the fact is, however, Jungle (or drum and bass or whatever) draws on so many damn influences, that it would be hard to find a genre that it didn't at one point borrow from. i am not in the business of tracing the musical genealogy of drum and bass, as it has been done to death, and sites like this do a pretty good job (albeit with a bit of tunnel vision). so i'm just gonna drop some tunes and break it down.
since i am all about ragga (jungle with more of a dancehall/roots/reggae edge as opposed to electronic or hiphop feel) that flips the Amen, brother break (mp3) eleven ways to sunday i thought i'd post a few kinda classic tracks in that vein.

i got this compilation for christmas in 1998 (three years after it's release). a couple of tracks on it remain in my top 50 played songs. put out by Breakdown Records, Drum and Bass Selections series basically put out all of the jungle anthems at the time. most of the tracks on this volume (5) pretty much define what that era in jungle was for me. for the record, i was 10 years old when this comp first came out and got it at 13, so my analysis and feelings toward the music are (i would assume) pretty different from those who heard it in a rave setting. all i know is that this shit bumps. rumbling ass bass with skittering drums that eventually get the fuck outta the way and allow the bazooka amen break to drop and crack some skulls.

I assume that most of this music was made on MPCs with 808s, 303s, 707s, and god knows what other keyboards. If you listen to the original drums of "Amen My brother" and see to what extent it has been chopped, i think it is pretty obvious that those couple of bars of the break are THE most fuctwith sample break ever. every individual millisecond has been rearranged at some point in beats nearing 200 bpm.
which kinda gets me to my Amen point...that shit is like the "AHHHH" scratch to turntablists. How far can you flip a single sound?

ok, just listen:

"Anything Test by Pure.
starts with those little snips of amen. bring in some 'soul pride' drums...let the mood fill out (and give the DJ some mixing room) all is a bit boring for about 1 minute 11 secs in...then wha? easy listening time? yessir. peep. wait a minute and a half! SHABOOOOOOWWWW..explode like krakatoa.

"Easy Vol. 6 by Droppin Science.
Not exactly an Amen stomper, but the bassline is undeniable.

"Rinse Out by DJ Daddy and MC Fats....just sit back and let this ride.

on the real, i would be nowhere without .

(tangent)
then came N20....jyeeeahhhhhhhhh...repping the left of the u.s. n8 masterminded the takeover of the jungle scene that is still in progress.

please visit n2o records and read about 'n8loc'...dude was cool enough to listen to a 9th graders jungle mixtape and give constructive criticism. how fucking dope is that? usc business school does let some respectable qualities remain, i guess...

next time:
gang of four or my favorite sample source->hip-hop song combinations..

lighta!