HOME FEATURES COLUMNS FILM LIT MUSIC CONTACT		Music The March of Ides: A Great Lost Age of Alcoholic Hip-Hop Village Voice Cynics decry big, bad, materialistic hip-hop nowadays for being indistinguishable from commercials, but all the haranguing overlooks the long-standing weakness rappers have shown for product placement, paid or otherwise. Also-rans Mr. X and Mr. Z's 1987 "We Drink Old Gold" predates Busta's "Pass the Courvoisier" by nearly as many years as distance "My Adidas" from Nelly's "Air Force Ones." Go to article Fabolous Street Dreams (Elektra) San Francisco Bay Guardian "Like Craig Mack said, here comes a brand-new flava in your ear!" Professor Todd Boyd is hyping his latest book, The New H.N.I.C.: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip-Hop (NYU Press), but it's not so much what he's saying as how he says it that captures the ear. His argument begins in a rich, methodical tone, elegantly scripting the fall of the previous generation alongside the rise of a new hip-hop ethos, occasionally punctuated with a line lifted from Jay-Z or Nas. Go to article Dead Prez Turn Off the Radio: The Mixtape (Holla Black/Full Clip) San Francisco Bay Guardian It can be hard to read the politics of Dead Prez. On one hand, the superserious New York City duo of Stic.man and M-1 shout the good shout at a time when others mumble with ambivalence. Their politics are pieced together from the choicest, most violent remains of glory-bound 1960s street protest, and what they lack in precise analyses or cogent suggestions, they make up for with revolutionary sex appeal. But the steely-eyed means to their admirable ends Ð as well as their us-versus-them moralizing Ð end up being pretty conservative, and you feel like you're getting bullied rather than educated. Go to article Various Artists Detroit Beatdown (Third Ear) Boston Phoenix In lesser hands, "beatdown"--a micro-genre built on easygoing down-tempo beats--would have dissolved into something benign and boring. For these Detroit techno and house producers, though, it's an affirming and exciting testament to the city's heritage of innovative dance music. Beatdown is neither house nor techno, but it assimilates traits of both. Go to article Vincent Gallo Recordings of Music for Film (Warp) Boston Phoenix One of the perks of celebrity is that you always get a second chance. And Vincent Gallo has followed up last year's meandering, well-intentioned When, which gave folks yet another reason to hate this self-absorbed model/actor/filmmaker/artist, with an appealing collection of scores and outtakes from four of his films. The nonchalance and disaffected cool of Gallo's film ¾sthetic notwithstanding, Recordings connects you with the frustrations, ideals, and occasional glimpses of optimism that run beneath the surface. Go to article Belle and Sebastian Storytelling (Matador) Boston Phoenix Scottish indie-pop classicists Belle and Sebastian have acquired an obsessive global fan base in their five-year career thanks to a timeless, folky sound that brings to mind everything from the fey melancholia of the Smiths to the dim beauty of cult folkie Nick Drake to the crisp, playful ease of the Peanuts themesong. Storytelling is actually packaged as soundtrack to the Todd Solondz film of the same name, even though barely six minutes of the music here was used in the final cut of the film, and much of the album is said to have been finished after the film was completed. Nevertheless, it makes for a fascinating match of two parties obsessed with repression and being bullied. Go to article Recloose Cardiology (Planet E) Boston Phoenix A lot of hopes rest on the unlikely shoulders of the nerdish young kid behind Recloose, Matthew Chicoine. As apprentice to Detroit visionary Carl Craig and the lauded tour DJ for Craig's Innerzone Orchestra project, the talented Chicoine is one of the most promising techno artists to emerge in a culture dominated by 12-inch singles and compilations, and his debut album is one of those rare electronic-music triumphs that works both at home and on the dance floor. Go to article Badly Drawn Boy About a Boy OST (XL/Artist Direct) Boston Phoenix Badly Drawn Boy's Damon Gough has often been compared with consummate Amer-indie singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and for good reason. Both write interesting songs that range from witty to lovelorn; both have an ear for catchy pop melodies; and both owe a huge debt to British cult folkie Nick Drake. So just as a soundtrack gig on Good Will Hunting catapulted the reclusive Smith into semi-semi-stardom, Gough now finds himself in the big leagues, scoring a Nick Hornby film that stars Hugh Grant. Go to article Live Review Antipop Consortium, May 2002 Boston Phoenix New York's Antipop Consortium have always left listeners scratching their heads, but those who showed up for their Friday-night show downstairs at the Middle East seemed especially confused, and with good reason. Opening for the edgy rap trio were the Holy Ghost, a sludgy rock band comprising former members of Skeleton Key. It may have been odd to see the Ghost romp through their emotive closer while a laptop, Moog, and MPC sat patiently directly behind them, but that didn't come anywhere close to out-weirding APC's brilliant, unpredictable set. Go to article Live Review Saul Williams and Michael Franti, April 2002 Boston Phoenix "This is a concert, not a rally," joked opening act Saul Williams as he surveyed the left-leaning crowd at the Spearhead show a week ago Wednesday at the Paradise. Ten minutes in and the politically conscious poet had already managed to allude to the Enron scandal, protest President Bush's maneuvers in the Middle East, and remind the audience of Crispus Attucks, the former slave who was the first casualty of the Boston Massacre. "Tonight has to be done," he intoned heavily. "It's a ritual that has to be done, here, in the land of Crispus Attucks." Looking more like the checkout line at Bread and Circus than your typical hip-hoppers, the sellout crowd hung on every righteous word from the night's two charismatic raptivists, first Williams and then headliner Michael Franti and his hip-hop jam band Spearhead. Go to article Boards of Canada Geogaddi (Warp) Boston Phoenix "There's no question that the UK-based Warp label has cornered the market on the obtuse, challenging, instrumental electronica that's earned the unfortunate label "intelligent dance music" or "IDM"--the style or subgenre pioneered by Warp mainstays like Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin. But very little of Warp's output has been engaging or fun to listen to. Boards of Canada's critically acclaimed 1998 debut, Music Has the Right to Children, was a perfect example: though its carefully constructed sonic sculptures of ticky-tack percussion, mathematically precise rhythms, and spare synths and samples were impressive, it didn't make much effort to draw in the casual listener. Yet the elusive duo returned in 2000 with the In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country EP, an astounding mix of hazy, psychedelic downtempo beats that helped make Geogaddi one of the more anticipated releases of 2002 in the realm of electronica. Go to article Ice Cube Greatest Hits Volume 1 (Priority) Boston Phoenix As the title says, this stopgap release collects Ice Cube's greatest hits, not his greatest songs. Fresh off an acrimonious split with seminal Los Angeles gangsta-rap quintet N.W.A, the fiery Cube re-emerged in the early '90s stronger than ever with three classic albums--AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, Death Certificate, and The Predator--that fused rough, hydraulic funk with bleak ghetto manifestos. His strongest work from this period read like a prophecy of the destruction that would hit South Central Los Angeles in April 1992 following the Rodney King verdict. Go to article Wu-Tang Clan Iron Flag (Loud) Boston Phoenix For all their notoriety, Staten Island's formidable Wu-Tang Clan still seem underappreciated, so Iron Flag, their fourth album as a collective, aims for the fertile mountaintop reserved for rap royalty. The Clan depart from the dark, jarring nihilism of previous efforts in favor of big-beat populism here, picking up some unfortunate R&B hooks and cleaning up their traditionally dirty sound along the way. Instead of The W's suffocating ¾sthetic of twitchy fingers and howls to an unforgiving Creator, Iron's crisp, cocksure anthems aim to drive home the point that it's a Wu World Order, on the streets and in the board room. Go to article Ursula Rucker Supa Sista (K7) Boston Phoenix Philly poetess Ursula Rucker first wowed the general public in the mid '90s with her spoken-word cameos with the Roots. Her shocking and often brutally frank tales of abuse and rape confirmed her status as a true hip-hop poet with a conscience. But her work as a solo artist has led her to places that lie beyond the boundaries of hip-hop, bringing her into contact with forward-thinking electronic artists like 4Hero, King Britt, and Jazzanova. Go to article DJ Hi-Tek Hi-teknology (Rawkus) Boston Phoenix Hi-Tek emerged in '97 with "2000 Seasons," a mature, piano-driven debut single that rekindled the jazzy production values of early-'90s hip-hop. The Cincinnati native cultivated his sonic signature over the next few years, punctuating minimalist tracks with wandering, liquid bass, refined strings, and shimmering ambient touches. After producing rapper Talib Kweli's acclaimed Reflection Eternal (Rawkus) last year, Hi-Tek finally finished work on his first full-length. The result suffers from the same problem that often plagues producers who go out on their own--the incoherence that comes with too many voices mingling amid the monotony of a single production style. Go to article Carl Craig Onsumothasheeat (Shadow) Boston Phoenix Although Carl Craig (Innerzone Orchestra, Paperclip People) spends most of his time these days producing, the Detroit legend is still a sought-after DJ, thanks to his timeless good taste and deep crates. His latest mix is a funky, non-threatening selection of electro, techno, drumÊ'n'Êbass and soul-drenched downtempo slabs culled from the Planet E (Craig's label) and Shadow back catalogues. It's not easy to discern Craig's true chops on the strength of this mix since his selections were limited by the two sponsoring labels — despite their diversity, the two imprints represent a mere sliver of his outer-limit tastes and personal archives. Still, the Motown genius picks only winners, like LB's herky-jerk, electro-tinged remake of James Brown's " Super Bad" and the aggressive drum pastiche of Swiss producer Goo's "The O.G." LB also delivers a spastic, almost laughable version of Prince's "The Future" that blends into R. Craig's frenetic, Cybotron-esque electro. The languid, dubby pace of Recloose's "Landscaping" breaks the set's continuity near the end, but its brushwork and lilting, jazzy instrumentation are far too lovely to pass on. Although some parts aren't really intended for dance-floor use, Onsumothasheeat is a potent reminder that Craig is a man of unimpeachable taste. Go to article Nigo Ape Sounds (Mo Wax) Boston Phoenix After successful gigs as a punk drummer for the Tokyo Sex Pistols and a fashion photographer, Tokyo native Nigo native authored a tastemaking column for Last Orgy 2 and launched the universally cool Bathing Ape clothing line. But on Ape Sounds, the career hipster's debut CD, he falls captive to his own coolness. Nigo's use of hip-hop as a bridge to other musical forms (reggae and 4AD-style dream pop, to name two) is as predictable as Ape Sounds' guest list, which includes Ben Lee, Cornelius, and the Scratch Perverts. The echoing expanse of "Too Much" makes good use of silence as tiny guitar lines modestly shadow a driving bass line and Karime Kendra's mournful singing. A bonus track expands on this æsthetic of subtlety, alluding to the murky, unformed minimalism of Major Force West's more experimental work. Slashing their way through thick sitars and undulating, watery bass, the Beatnuts show up for a severely stoned cameo, but even that can't make up for insipid fare like the over-the-top, Orientalist kitsch strings of "Kung Fu Fightin' " and the clean, harmless punk pose of "Jet Set" -- it's clear that the goal here is simply to be cool. And so Nigo dabbles in hip-hop, punk, dub, pop, and rock without ever managing to do the one thing that's been his true talent in the past -- creating style. Go to article		Shortlist A Great Lost Age of Alcoholic Hip-Hop Village Voice Fabolous: Street Dreams San Francisco Bay Guardian Dead Prez: Turn Off the Radio, The Mixtape San Francisco Bay Guardian Various Artists: Detroit Beatdown Boston Phoenix Vincent Gallo: Recordings of Music for Film Boston Phoenix Belle and Sebastian: Storytelling Boston Phoenix Recloose: Cardiology Boston Phoenix Badly Drawn Boy: About a Boy OST Boston Phoenix Antipop Consortium, May 2002 Boston Phoenix Saul Williams and Michael Franti, April 2002 Boston Phoenix Boards of Canada: Geogaddi Boston Phoenix Ice Cube: Greatest Hits Volume 1 Boston Phoenix Wu-Tang Clan: Iron Flag Boston Phoenix Ursula Rucker: Supa Sista Boston Phoenix DJ Hi-Tek: Hi-teknology Boston Phoenix Carl Craig: Onsumothasheeat Boston Phoenix Nigo: Ape Sounds Boston Phoenix