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week 4...

happy thanksgiving, er, holidays everybody. with tofurkey day around the corner, i'm decidedly thankful for all the music i get, which has been, for the most part, free. in keeping up with the theme of this mp3blog, i'm hitting you guys with seven rare tunes and one new jam that i have to share with the world...

1. Nump featuring Turf Talk, "Slizzerrd"

Nump is a fresh faced rapper from the Bay Area, whose ties to the legendary E-40 has garnered him one hell of a solo album called "The Numpyard," released through 40's Sick Wid It label. This song features a sample from a staple of French and American animated television and is way more of a tribute than that shitty Gnarls Barkley song.

2. Saves the Day, "Jodie (Acoustic Bug Sessions Version)"

This version of "Jodie" appears on the tour-only acoustic EP, "Bug Sessions." For those who don't remember, "Jodie" is the final track from Saves the Day's debut, "Can't Slow Down," and its lyrics are suggestive of the kind of dense lyricism that Chris Conley would exhibit in subsequent recordings.

3. The Smoking Popes, "Megan"

For many kids, this song is familiar because Bayside relentlessly butchered it on their acoustic EP which was released earlier this year. For music fans in their 20's (and Morrissey), they know "Megan" from the Smoking Popes' final release on Capitol Records, "Destination: Failure." The band's two albums on Capitol are long out of print, so this may be the only way for you to hear the O.G. version of "Megan" without trying to find the bastard on eBay.

4. Keepsake, "The Beginning of the End of Sound"

Before screamo penetrated mainstream media and social consciousness altogether, a little band from Florida called Keepsake were one of the few to take the style that Rites of Spring briefly showcased and gave it up a pop-punk polish. This is the first track from Keepsake's "End of Sound" album, originally released in 2000 on Eulogy Records.

5. Bone Thugs N Harmony featuring Eazy-E, "Foe tha Love of $ (Radio Edit)"

Wu-Tang and Fiddy Cent all incorporate sound effects like kung-fu punches and gunshots to bleep out the swear words in their songs, while other rappers simply play the curse backward, though you usually could tell what they're saying. Back in the day, rappers had to rerecord their verses sans swearing in order to get radio play. Eazy-E's verse in the original "Foe tha Love of $" is easily one of the most distinct guest spots in the last ten years. If you walked up to a random rap fan and said, "Standing on the corner straight slangin' rocks," that person would be forced to reply with "aww shit here the muthafuckin' cops!" out of sheer awareness of the line. The radio edit of the song softens up the line and replaces "motherfucker" with "stupid sucker" which adds to the absurdity of Eazy-E's gangsta persona. Let's also not forget that the man donated to the Republican party.

6. JT the Bigga Figga featuring Mac Mall, "Game Recognize Game (Remix)"

JT the Bigga Figga is a hero in San Francisco. The man brought himself up by his own bootstraps and created his own rap empire without any major label, save the two years his label Get Low received distrobution through Priority Records. Now the guy is touring with Snoop Dogg and writing books on getting in the rap game. "Game Recognize Game" is a song that was a local hit back in 1994 and this remix is essentially a radio version.

7. Further Seems Forever, "There I Said It (Demo)"

Earlier this year, I reviewed the Further Seems Forever retrospective and I couldn't help but mention the awesomeness of this track. For anybody who owns the first two albums, but don't have this song, I give you this as a gift. The compiliation is not worth your $15.

8. Brand New, "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad (Radio Remix)"

In a bit of label shuffling, Brand New ended up on Razor & Tie, a BMG imprint, who gave their debut full-length, "Your Favorite Weapon," a big push. Their lead single and video "Jude Law" was re-recorded for the radio and given the sheen. Anyway, the vocals on this version are far better than the original album version and you can hear guitar parts that are either buried or non-existant in the O.G. copy. Oh yeah, buy their new record, too.

posted by ryan @ 9:43 AM