geekent's Buy Nothing Year

Re-Review - Speakerboxx/The Love Below - Oh, this was indeed one of the most praised albums of 2003, and one of the highest regarded hip-hop albums of the past decade, and because there was so much talk about it, and an utter dearth of quality rap music in the early 00's, I bought into it by buying the album. But here's the thing, I listened to each disc maybe two times each, three times at most. They're technically curious albums that do indeed reshape the conventions of the hip hop genre, but at the same time, Speakerboxxx is a little too close to the norm, while The Love Below is virtually impenetrable. Critics had been hailing Andre 3000 as a genius, but The Love Below comes off as self-indulgent and is about 70% unlistenable. At least Speakerboxxx has songs, actual proper songs which have the potential of affecting you. The Love Below is ice cold with it's lengthy interludes and "mood setting" which doesn't catch on. Within Speakerboxxx "Ghetto Music" is an intriguing mix of crunk bombast and soul, "Unhappy" is intriguing in structure and sound, followed by "Bowtie" which falls into a Bootsy-infused funk. The hit "The Way You Move" actually surpasses "Hey Ya" in longevity and still comes off like a classic party jam as opposed to a played-out one. Overall, Big Boi-driven Speakerboxxx stands out, for sure, from most rap albums of this decade, but at 19 songs, it's full of excess, instead of a lean, tight album which it could have easily been. It's actually one worth listening to a few more times. With The Love Below, though, it would seem Andre 3000 is trying more to escape the hip hop label than redefine it. Swing, jazz, soul, funk, and pop from across the decades all play a role in in Andre's touted masterwork, but it's a mess of silliness, refined crass ("Roses", "Spread") and, I reiterate, self-indulgence. It's a mess that doesn't translate into much sense of enjoyment beyond the tired "Hey Ya".
Video: Roses (feat. Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald)
Rating (keep/sell/undecided): sell

Re-Review - Get Outta Dodge - I saw Huevos Rancheros in a hole-in-the-wall joint in Thunder Bay back in 2000 where I bought this album on CD, another on a slice of vinyl and a t-shirt, and they tossed in a free 7" with the works. There were about maybe 2-dozen people at the show, but primarily because Thunder Bay is a little... backwards... and the bulk of the people there, even conscientious university students, don't really pay much attention to music outside the mainstream or support live acts. Anyway, the surf/rockabilly sounds of Alberta's Huevos Rancheros are as always welcome listening. Though not quite as hook-laden or playful as Canadian predecessors Shadowy Men on a Shadow Planet, they can hold their own with the legends of surf-rock like Link Wray and Dick Dale. Like any good instrumental bank, Huevos Rancheros tell a song without words, using only bass, drums and guitar. Get Outta Dodge evokes briefly, but perfectly, the sense of a small western town with some frenetic shenanigans going down. "Interstate Death Toll" is the standout track, but amidst the flurry of dust flying, still fits just fine right in the mix. High energy, and straight out rockin'. Even though I don't pull it off the shelf as much as my Shadow Men albums, they are formidable accompaniment for any tiki party or road trip.
Rating (keep/sell/undecided) - keep
Video: "Get Outta Dodge"


Re-Review - Under The Influence mixed by DJ Spooky - Mixtapes are compilations that reveal the inner workings of a DJ's mind. It garners insight into the music that moves them or challenges them, and the assembly of a mix shows us their ingenuity, their creativity, their humour as well as their talent. DJ Spooky, though working primarily in electronic rhythms, has always broken boundaries, playing with live jazz or ambient sound structures, flirting with video game score structures, toying with hip-hop formulas and both deconstructing and reconstructing what turntables and computers can contribute to music. With this mix, he assembled a glorious list of some of the most innovative electronic acts (and some of their most notable tunes) into one album, but with a purpose. With under the influence, that subliminal kid, puts the pieces of separate puzzles together to make an audibly stunning collage that showcases how disparate artists can overlap and converge. In all cases the underlying unifier is rhythm, whether it's electronic pulses or snapping hi-hats. I don't know if his essay about how the mix examines a new world (wide web) without borders of though or sound is truly reflected by the mix, but the mix can most certainly be inspired by the ideology. It's a sensational melee of electronic, world, ambient and hip hop landscapes. Pulsing from start to finish it has a definite heart in the center of it, and a mind prevailing up top. Solid listening for the intellectronica set.
Rating (keep/sell/undecided) - keep