Run-DMC - Raising Hell

Run-DMC, "Peter Piper" (YSI link)

Run-DMC, "You Be Illin'" (YSI link)

Run-DMC, "Lord of Lyrics (demo)" (YSI link)

I'm feeling a little emotional today after some nice Rosh Hashanah moments. It's fitting today that I finally return to one of, if not the, most important LP of my life, Run-DMC's Raising Hell. It was the first tape I bought, my first foray out of the world of 45s and into the new technological edge. I was about 8 years old and really had no idea what I was getting into; a friend's older brother was listening to it all the time and talking about it and since I thought he was cool, I felt like it was the right call. Oh, was it ever! It put me on the path to a lifelong love of music and rap and everything. Thanks Brian Park, wherever you are!

Those opening lines of "Peter Piper" where Run and DMC trade rhymes brings tears to my eyes, takes me back to when I was 8 years old and forced my parents to take me to Sam Goody's to buy this tape. I have been listening to a lot recently and it has lot none of its power or excellence. What strikes me most is how much that early rap was creating its own world through words. Run and DMC spit so many words here and not in that awful Twista way, but in a literate way that just sounds like two guys who have so much to say. I miss that spirit today, that joy at rapping and being heard. Songs like "My Adidas" and "It's Tricky" are amazing, songs that are a part of my DNA now. There's such a swagger to each song, that King of Rock style, the adidas tracksuits, the gold chains, the poses. However, take note current rappers, these guys were as hard as fuck yet didn't need to beat the shit out of women nor kill people to get that attitude across.

The music is just as good, as this album saw Run-DMC adding so much to the rap sound and not just with "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith. Check "Is It Live" for a great congo-y beat. Or listen for all of the scratches and riffs, the introduction of rock samples like "My Sharona" on "It's Tricky," the various layers that took rap out of its minimal stage. It's not surprising that this album would take rap to the next level of popularity, as it is a huge sonic leap. Rick Rubin and Jam Master Jay were the architects on this one, changing the world and my life in 1986.

Buy your copy now, if you don't already own it. This is an essential, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 album. You need it in your life. You need

Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of LIfe

Stevie Wonder, "Love's In Need Of Love Today" (YSI link)

Stevie Wonder, "Village Ghetto Land" (YSI link)

Stevie Wonder, "As" (YSI link)

Okay, things are almost back to normal. In the past few weeks, we have had our computer stolen, our phone broke and our wireless went out for a few days. Despite all of that, I feel pretty damn great and ready to get back into the thick of things here. We've got a new sick computer, we're rocking an iPod and listening to more music than we have in months and John McCain made the worst VP pick in history. Not bad, not bad at all. We aren't going to ease our way back in either; we're going right into the deep end this week, reminding everyone of what this blog is all about and why it's the best around.

We're starting with one of those Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 albums, stone-cold essentials, a "you need this in your life or your life is unfufilled" jawns. Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life. I've spent the past week listening to this one on repeat, feel like I've kinda lost Stevie in the waves of singles and new shit and digging. I forgot how utterly perfect this entire LP is, more than three decades later. Normally I save this for the end, but you need to buy this album ASAP. You just bought it? Good. Let's continue.

I've been trying to put my finger on what makes this one so great, beyond the fact that there's lots of great songs. The best I've come up with is that this is as human a work as there's ever been, timeless stuff that deals with life in all of its glory and hardship. He sings of love, sadness, politics, anger, you name it. I'm not the type to drone on about how they don't do it like they used to, but I'm not sure there are any popular artists today who would be willing to be this open and honest with their audience. Or maybe it's the fact that Wonder, even at his most exuberant, doesn't seem far away from remembering the dark places, the parts of the world and himself that hurt. One of his song titles sums it up perfectly: Joy Inside My Tears. I guess that's always been the key for me with non-dance music, that darkness-tinged perspective. Or maybe I just love the fact that the man talks about love and happiness so openly and unabashedly, as this is all I want to hear right now.

It's a sprawling, a 21-song, two-disc masterpiece and I cannot recommend it more highly. It was hard to choose songs to put up, as they are all good. This should be a good taste of what you can expect, including the bonus CD track "Saturn" that is totally cosmic. I truly believe that Stevie can make your life better and there's absolutely no reason to delay these changes. Buy the album now, thank me later. If you already have it, you know what to do. Spend today listening to this one and let the magic fill you all over again. Yeah!

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House - House Nation

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation" (YSI link)

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation (The International Remix)" (YSI link)

The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation (Track'n The House)" (YSI link)

Oh lordy, we're getting right back to full speed here at Pound for Pound. I contemplated starting off slow, maybe throwing up some new stuff that the kids are going nuts for now. But, fuckit, I know that my readers are the best in the world and they don't need to take it slow, we can jump right back into the thick of things.

Let's head right to the deep end, back to Chicago, mid-80s, one of Pound for Pound's favorite times and places for a classic track from The House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, "House Nation." For the record, the Rude Boy House is the one and only, Farley "JackMaster" Funk, a.k.a. Farley Keith. This one dropped on our favorite label, Dance Mania, in 1986 and would soon become an anthem in the UK rave scene of the late 80s. This one's like a template for the sound we like here - sharp, primitive drums, a sick, kinda eerie bassline and a sample repeated over and over, a man's voice imploring the "House nation". It's all stripped down, consisting of few parts, but yet it sounds so damn perfect to my ears it's hard to believe how they can make it work. It has these peaks and valleys throughout, perfectly using the tempos

The remixes aren't quite at the level of the original, but are damn good in their own right. The International Remix is a shorter trip with some random new samples thrown into the mix. It doesn't have the peaks and valleys of the first one, it pretty much goes hard and fast (that's what she said) for the beginning, then slows down to a crawl towards the end with a final race to the finish line. The Track'n the House version is very similar to the original, the drums are switch up a bit, sounding a little less bassy and little more metronomic. For the most part, the original should do, sounds a little darker and filthier, but your mileage may vary.

Thanks to James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, who played this at PS1 on Saturday and reminded me how amazing this song is and how it kills the dancefloor. Messrs. Murphy and Maloney killed it, hope you didn't miss it. Okay, that's our first post in the return. Like riding a bike, people, like riding a bike.

Whodini - Whodini

Whodini, "The Haunted House of Rock" (YSI link)

Whodini, "Underground" (YSI link)

Whodini, "Magic's Wand" (YSI link)

Whodini, "Rap Machine" (YSI link)

Oh my G-d, I think I'm having a rap attack! It's been too long since I did any hip-hop here. I could give a whole spiel about why this is and masculinity and women and my own disgust with what I was hearing, but that would be boring. I'll just say that I hope to return more to my roots with an emphasis on the early days of the genre, when it was still trying to find its voice amidst electro, disco and house. I'm not gonna lie, it feels so good to be back home.

I'm also not gonna lie at how rad I think the self-titled debut LP from Whodini is. Released in 1984 on Jive Records, it's classic electro-rap, all synths and drum machines and wordy raps, Whodini is everything I could ask for. The group consisted of vocalists Jalil Hutchins and Ecstasy (John Fletcher) plus DJ Drew Carter; they were one of the first rap groups to enjoy a good deal of popularity, breaking out of the one-hit wonder ghetto. Their sound, at least on this one, sounds like it's at the crossroads between rap and electro, brittle beats and synths, other times it has an r&b/rap mix, out in front of the new jack swing sound of the late 80s.

The classic Whodini song is "Magic's Wand," which was originally conceived as an advertisement for a popular NYC DJ Mr. Magic. If you're thinking that's the coolest part of the story behind this song, you're wrong. The producer is Mr. "Blinded Me With Science," Thomas Dolby. How cool is that? It's like an 80s dream, Anthony Michael Hall in a John Hughes movie wearing Z Cavaricci pants. Dolby turned out a synth heavy number with a big elastic bassline, some vocodered vocals, people shouting in the background, percussion and keys that sounds miles away from what you'd hear on the radio today. There's a similar template on the other tracks, love how much slower and stretched out these tracks sound, it sounds so much more dancefloor friendly than the bangers today. Check "The Haunted House of Rock" for a Grateful Dead reference! Yeah! Steal your face!

I'd definitely recommend picking up Funky Beat: The Best of Whodini, a good overview of their career which lasted more than a decade. This group helped define the genre before it became the global sound it is today, still sounds great all of these years later.

El Coco - Cocomotion

Quito, Ecuador mural, courtesy of J H-B

El Coco, "Cocomotion (Parts I & II)" (YSI link) 320

El Coco, "We Call It Disco" (YSI link) 320

El Coco, "Love To The World" (YSI link) 320

I spent yesterday at an orientation for the 826NYC group, a prerequisite to become an after-school tutor. Yes, that's right, Pound for Pound is a step closer to having a real day-to-day impact on the kids. Not just on an mp3 basis, but in a real life, real talk way. I will have free rein to teach them the evil of suburbs, the importance of universal health care, the beauty of boobs and to love themselves and each other (i.e. to be opposite of me) I will be able to create a new generation for the Pound for Pound massive, extending our reach and our power.

Most of all, I want to teach them about the power of disco to save their lives. With that in mind, let's continue to spread the word with some more classic 70s magic, a few tracks from El Coco's Cocomotion LP. El Coco was ostensibly a vehicle for the producers Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder, who would make write the music, play it and find the vocalist to finish it off. They would make a handful of hits, including the massive 2 part, 10 minute+ "Cocomotion." This one's more of a slow-burner, a slinky kinda number that grooves throughout. It's a prototypical classic sound, with strings and horns and even a flute lead the way. However, there's definitely a different sensibility at work here, perhaps informed by Rinder's jazz training. While there is a steady pulse throughout, it never goes all out, always feeling a bit laid-back. Even the vocals have a whispery quality, they're quite far from diva-level.

"We Call It Disco" is a lot shorter but maybe even sweeter, as great organ and synth chords help this one to such great heights. The vocals are front and center here as well, always love to hear some proud lyrics about disco and the club. Finally, "Love To The World" the B side to the Cocomotion 12", is as uplifting as the title suggests, a strings-heavy track that sits between the previous two songs. It has a few peaks and subsequent quieter periods. The whole album is excellent, a great example of how the disco sound could create

Model 500 - No UFO's

Model 500, "No UFO's (vocal)" (YSI link)

Model 500, "No UFO's (instrumental)" (YSI link)

I hinted at a new theme this week and it begins now. We're gonna pay tribute to one of the great American cities and one of the spiritual homes for Pound for Pound, Detroit. I'm a little embarrassed that I haven't done this sooner, but the extra time has given me a chance to dig a little deeper into the music that has come out of the city in the past two decades. I want to dedicate all of these posts to one of its native daughters, JH-B, and all of the people who haven't run and still live in that city and try to bring it back to its former glory.

I can't think of a better place to start our exploration than with one of the most important artists in the history of electronic & dance music and a Pound for Pound legend, Juan Atkins. Considered by most to be the driving force behind the development of the Detroit techno sound, Atkins' vision and drive would envelop the entire city and change the face of electronic music forever. We'll hopefully discuss this more in time, dig deeper into the early history of Detroit techno. If anyone out there would like to add on or provide some guidance for me, I'd love to hear from you.

Atkins recorded under many aliases, but the Model 500 one might be the most influential in techno terms. Originally released in 1985, "No UFO's" was the first release on Atkins' own Metroplex and the second 12" Atkins put out under the moniker. I feel like techno is the most intimidating of electronic genres; I mean, it has always been for me. I imagine hard, relentless beats and a sexless world, overrun by microgenres and stoicism. For anyone else who has always felt intimidated, this might be a good starting place, at the roots. The vocal version is a classic, futuristic music that takes you like 40 years in the future when we are all flying around and have personal robots. A lifeless voice talks about paranoid conspiracies, while a sick, rubbery bassline melts your face.

Let me end with a cool quote about Detroit and its history from Atkins that I came across in this brief, but brilliant, interview:

"Berry Gordy built the Motown sound on the same principles as the conveyor belt system at Ford's. Today their plants don't work that way -- they use robots and computers to make the cars. I'm probably more interested in Ford's robots than in Berry Gordy's music."

Shannon - Let The Music Play

Shannon, "Let The Music Play (original 12" mix)" (YSI Link)

Shannon, "Let The Music Play (instrumental)" (YSI link)

Shannon, "Let The Music Play (1989 European Remixed version)" (YSI link)

Every so often I will realize that I haven't posted a favorite and feel the need to immediately rectify that. Shannon's "Let The Music Play" is a perfect example, a stone-cold classic dance track that everyone has heard and needs in their lives. From that unforgettable synth melody to the great vocals, it's a timeless piece of music. I love the vocals, not sure that they get enough attention, since the music is so great. But, Shannon provides a nice counterpoint to the cold electro, singing about a lover who has found someone else on the dancefloor. Love love love the concept, telling the DJ to let the music play and it will bring this guy or girl back to her.

Originally released in 1983, it's hard to realize how great this single's impact was. It was the first electro track to feature female vocals, hearkening back to the classic disco diva days. I mean, can you think of a more perfect Pound for Pound track than one that sits at the crossroads of disco and electro, while simultaneously paving the way for freestyle? The producers on this one are none other than Chris Barbosa and Mark Liggett; Barbosa is credited with founding the freestyle sound and one can hear that blueprint on this track with the syncopated beats and Latin American rhythm. He is also the man behind the 1989 European Remixed version, which extends the original and makes things a bit busier.

This is an essential piece of dance music history, so let the music play.