First Base - Babe Ruth

First Base by Babe Ruth (1972)

Incredibly funky psych-rock album. The most well known song from this album among b-boys and their fans will definitely be "The Mexican" which is used widely at battles and jams around the world.
It starts off very hard with "Wells Fargo" then slows down significantly with "King Kong", an instrumental, and "Black Dog".

The female vocalist has a very distinctive squeeky quality to her voice. I find that it adds personality to her vocals it but I could see how some might be turned off by it.

Favorite: "The Mexican" "Wells Fargo"

Distant Star - Bill Charlap

Distant Star by Bill Charlap (1997)

jazz pianist, Bill Charlap's fifth studio album. I'm constantly amazed at how prolific jazz artists are with their releases!

This album starts off heavy on the improvization but calms down significantly by the 3rd song, "Last Night When We Were Young". It stays pretty mellow through the remaining six songs and finishes off smoothly with "The Heather On The Hill".

Favorite: "While We're Young" "Last Night When We Were Young" "The Heather On The Hill"

A Bugged Out Mix by Hot Chip

A Bugged Out Mix by Hot Chip (2009)

just what the title indicates, this mix is all over the place. This is just the latest installation in the "Bugged Out Mix" series. Other volumes include those by Miss Kittin, Erol Alkan, Klaxons & Felix da Housecat. for more info on the the crew behind the compilations, go get BUGGED Out!

It took me a little while to get drawn into the mix, which is fine because it runs over 2 discs, clocking in at almost 2.5 hours! The first disc is a bit tech-y for my taste but by the time they drop their own "Take It In", I was feeling what they were doing.

The second disc is less electronic, even featuring cuts from Hall & Oates, Terence Trent D'Arby, Biz Markie and Zapp & Roger. Like I said, all over the place!

Favorite: Ican "Chiclet's Theme", District One - "One2One", The Andrews Sisters - "Rum & Coca Cola", Robert Palmer - "Looking For Clues"

Depart From Me... - Cage

Depart From Me... by Cage (2009)

the cover image gives you a really good idea of how depressing this album is. mostly not anything i'd care to listen to more than once.  As a general rule: I want no singing from my rappers. The production is really moody & synth-y with lots of bass.  I could maybe get behind an instrumentals release.

Least Favorite: "Kick Rocks" "Captain Bumout"

Favorite: "I Lost It In Havertown"

Song For My Father - Horace Silver

Song For My Father - Horace Silver Quintet (1964)

today is my father's birthday.  he would have been 69 years old.  without him, i would never have developed the love and passion for music that i will always have.  for that, i am forever grateful. 
R.I.P. Jon Evans Manousos  1/21/1941 - 12/10/2005

I listened to this album a lot right after my dad passed away. Though it is a fairly chill jazz album, it's not at all depressing.

Favorite: "Song For My Father" The airy phrasing of Carmell Jones' trumpet is truly stellar.

Bright Like Neon Love - Cut Copy

Bright Like Neon Love - Cut Copy (2004)

 

Favorite: "Saturdays" "A Dream"

 

Born Like This - M.F. Doom

Born Like This - M.F. Doom (2009)

Favorite: "Yessir!" ft. Raekwon - then again, rhyming over ESG's "U.F.O." beat isn't really fair.  Everyone sounds good over it.
"Cellz" really finds Doom at his best with his signature clever wordplay and comic-book inspired beats.