rock show! you came to see a rock show!
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peaches fatherfucker a friend recently remarked to me that he liked the idea of peaches more than he did peaches herself. which could mean that the whole concept of a trash talking horny white girl foaming at the mouth over raucous digital noise appealed to him, but when he got too close he didn't like what he saw. or maybe he just didn't dig the music. whatever the case, peaches is much more than just some novelty act- she's real, she's all up in your face and some people don't play that. on her second album she manages to piss off and offend almost everybody, and that's just based on the title alone. so does what's inside live up to the hype? only time will tell. but let me just state for the record that i not only love the idea of peaches. i love peaches. you go girl.
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sixtoo duration/antagonist survival kit
dj/mc/bassist/trumpet player/visual artist sixtoo is a walking talking human enigma. a verbal supporter of keeping hip hop "real", he constantly tests its limits and defies the listener to redefine the genre while somehow staying true to its original spirit of freshness and irreverence. and that's because that for rob squires, hip hop is more about a state of mind than a specific style of music. which is why after being one half of the deified sebutones and putting out one of anticon's most acclaimed hip hop records, 2001's "songs i hate (and other people moments)", sixtoo didn't think twice about releasing an all-instrumental album, 2002's "duration". "duration" strayed far from the safe hip hop fields, incorporating live instruments and elements that wouldn't be out of place on a squarepusher or amon tobin record. in fact, it was based on the strength of "duration" that sixtoo was signed to ninja tune, a label known primarily for its roster of electronic music artists. "duration" deservedly went on to even greater acclaim than "songs..", and his next project was widely anticipated for well over a year. "antagonist survival kit" is the product of that wait, and it is well worth it. sixtoo gets back to showcasing his impressive lyrical abilities as well as his dexterity as a dj and producer, but he has also maintained the same kinds of instrumental passages that made "duration" so compelling. there are also a lot of elements of dub on this record, an interesting sidenote since rob started out as a dub & reggae dj many years ago before falling in love with hip hop. like all of his previous releases, "antagonist" takes a long time to grow on you but once it does it does not let go.
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style wars dvd
back in 1982 this little documentary called "style wars" was shown for the first time on pbs. ostensibly a fairly detached look at the graffiti (and, by extension, breakdance and hip hop) scene in new york city at that time, it was to go on to become one of the most influential films of all times and is considered by many to be the greatest documentary ever produced for television. now "style wars" has been released on dvd and you can find out for yourself. first of all, the film, despite being a little clinical at times, truly is incredible. we not only get a sneak peek into some amazing artwork that covered new york's subway trains at the time (long since gone), we get to personally meet many of the scene's most revered artists and get some insight into what made them tick. and these are not hardened gang runners or drug dealers: most of them are very young (early teens), many of them are white or latino as well as black, and all of them are very human and very endearing, and their enthusiasm for what they do- which is essentially creating their own inner city culture out of a void- imbues the entire film. the true strength of "style wars", however, lies in the fact that it transcends the documentary genre and presents us with a very real drama and conflict that rivals and surpasses most fictional movies. these artists are not only doing battle with the transit authority and the city itself, they are crippled by internal divisions as some writers blatantly tag over other's hard work, ruining hours of creation with a 20 second throw-up. the worst of these is a writer called "cap", and when the film finally introduces him to us it's truly chilling. besides the movie itself, this dvd is chock full of some incredible extras including an extensive gallery of train pieces, outtakes, interviews with the artists and filmmakers and more. "if you want to know what hip hop is really all about, see a film called style wars." krs-one
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if you have anything you'd like to submit for review, send it to me at zeroboutique.com, po box 47014, halifax, nova scotia canada b3k 5y2. if you would like to send in a review i may post it but no guarantees. -j
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