Backed With

2010-01-23T21:28:00.000-08:00

End Times

It's been a while since I posted anything new, but I've noticed that many of my favorite mp3 blogs are getting the axe, so I'm going to take the initiative and do the same. Aside from that happening, there's also the fact that I'm pretty busy with Totally Crushed Out, my book, being a family man and my day job to really put time into ripping obscure shit. I may do this again, but in a different form; Redefine may have an mp3 blog in the near future, at which point, I'll be contributing to that. So stay tuned, true believers. I'll leave you with this:

2009-11-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

One Point Two
"Demo"
(Self-Released)

Before Gatsby's American Dream wowed pop-punk kids, there was once One Point Two, a band that consisted mostly of members who'd go on to Gatsby's and Casey Bates, Fueled by Ramen's producer du jour. It's pretty much in the vein of Blink 182, but there's some interesting stuff in this demo.

Download Here

2009-11-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Ras Kass
"Soul On Ice"
(Priority)

Conspiracy theorist and all-out killer lyricist Ras Kass is one of those dudes who just never caught a break. He was aligned with the well respected Western Hemisphere crew, was the strongest part of "Come Widdit" -- one of the best posse cuts of all time, started the Golden State Warriorz with Saafir and Xzibit and, for a brief spell, worked with Dr. Dre.

Ras's 12" solo debut, "Won't Catch Me Runnin'" b/w "Remain Anonymous" is one of hip-hop's best singles. His "Soul On Ice" LP is regarded as a disappointing debut, but it's actually one of hip-hop's lost gems and far more deserving than the tepid 3 mics that "The Source" gave it.

Download Here

2009-11-20T21:53:00.000-08:00

Polar Bear Club
"Demo"
(Self-Released)

Buffalo's Polar Bear Club is having a pretty big year. First, they announced the signing to Bridge 9, then they released the fantastic sophomore album "Chasing Hamburg." Now they're on tour forever, but they've had to start somewhere.

This 2005 demo is the band's first effort and, despite the recording quality, shows the band's promise at such an early stage. Easily one of my favorite demos of all time.

Download Here

2009-11-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

Blue Sky Mile
"S/T"
(Ohev)

Seattle-based Blue Sky Mile was a band that couldn't really fit in a specific category. They had elements to their songs that were math-y, but they were too emo (in the truest sense of the term) for the indie rock crowd and too indie rock for the emo kids. That being said, they were probably amongst the most underrated bands in the city.

They found a home in Louisville's Initial Records, but it happened after Initial stopped growing as a label and other outlets like Fueled by Ramen and Vagrant had taken the reigns.

This is long their out-of-print debut EP on Florida's Ohev and is a split production between Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla and former Seaweed guitarist Clint Werner.

Download Here

2009-11-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Deftones
"Back to School (Mini-Maggit)" Maxi-Single
(Mav. Germany)

Deftones get a pretty bad rap (no pun intended). It sucks that they get lumped in the same categories as disposable 90s nu-metal shit like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park or whatever other crappy bands experienced even a little bit of airplay on M2 or The Box. Unlike those other bands, the Deftones were really great at a) crafting amazing songs and b) thinking outside the genre.

Their "B-sides and Rarities" collection featured a bevy of unpredictable covers like Sade's "No Ordinary Love" and The Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want." Live, they've been known to do a medley of Ice Cube's "Wicked" along with Weezer's "Undone." This is years before the concept of "mashup" permeated popular thought.

This post is of their maxi-single of "Back To School," a song that originally appeared as "Pink Maggit" on "White Pony." The story behind the song is pretty funny, but I'll let this Wikipedia entry say the rest. In any case, this single is pretty cool if only for the live versions of the songs, as well as a really haunting acoustic version of "Change."

Download Here

2009-10-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

Autumn Poetry
"Poietes (Red Demo)" and "From October to Marge"
(Self Released/West of January)

Autumn Poetry was pretty much the original Mountlake Terrace (Brier, maybe) band. Their influences are clearly within the realm of early 90s emo like Sunny Day and Christie Front Drive, but done in a way that isn't boring or trite.

The "Red Demo" and "Marge" are from 1999 and 2002 respectively and are the most intact of how I remember the band to sound like. In 2003, Autumn went through a personnel change with the rhythm section leaving the fold and with the addition of their new members, there was a stylistic shift, focusing on more rocking, uptempo songs.

Download Here (both files)

Download "Red Demo" Here (Dave told me that one of the tracks on the Red Demo was corrupted, probably because the .rar file was too large; so here's "Poietes" as a separate file)

2009-09-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Blink 182
"Live EP"
(Unreleased)

Before the band released "The Mark, Tom and Travis Show" the only places you could find live Blink recordings were online bootlegs or as b-sides from their European releases. This EP takes all the live b-sides from the singles that were released from "Enema of the State." There are some pretty good performances here and the banter is top notch. Many of these were recorded in 1999 so you can hear some really rough live versions of these hit songs.

Download Here

2009-09-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

New Found Glory
"Live in Seattle 2000"
(Unreleased)

This is recording is a bootleg from the same show as the Fenix TX post below. Interesting sidenote: this is the band's first Seattle show. How about that?

Download Here

2009-09-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Fat Joe
"Jealous One's Envy"
(Relativity)

Sony dropped the ball on this one. Even though this album shipped gold, it pretty much is a footnote in the storied career that belongs to Fat Joe aka Joey Crack. Mostly known for Scott Storch-produced hits, collaborations with the late Big Pun, Diddy and a bunch of other dudes, this sophomore album by Joe features a lot of production from DJ Premier and Lord Finesse.

It's pretty much lost to the hands of time, until now. Enjoy.

Download Here

2009-09-27T19:22:00.001-07:00

The X-Ecutioners
"Raida's Theme EP"
(Asphodel)

This single came out before their debut album "X-Pressions." Roc Raida passed away two weeks ago and I'm going to put up his titular theme song for the rest of the world to enjoy. This EP has some great alternate remixes and "The Countdown" from "X-Pressions."

Download Here

2009-09-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

DJ Shadow

"One to Grow On"

(MCA)

MCA released this promotional EP, "One to Grow On," in anticipation of DJ Shadow's album "Private Press." Some of these songs appear on the Deluxe Version of "Endtroducing..." or haven't been commercially released at all. Most of all, however, it has Cut Chemist's remix of "The Number Song" which is pretty sick.

Download Here

2009-09-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Death Cab for Cutie
"Live at the Crocodile Cafe 11/2000"
(Unreleased)

This is a short, 10 song set from Death Cab when they were the support for Pedro the Lion. Many of the songs are culled from "The Fobidden Love EP" and "We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes." There's some pretty awkward banter from Gibbard and the live version of "President of What" is pretty rad.

Download Here

2009-09-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

Fenix TX
"Live in Seattle 11/2000"
(Unreleased)

Fenix TX is not a mind blowing pop-punk band, but they had a couple of pretty solid albums with their self-titled debut (originally released as River Fenix) and "Lechuza." This San Diego-by-way-of-Texas quartet led the way for Drive Thru to (briefly) take over the pop-punk scene for a minute.

This recording is from the Graceland (now El Corazon) on their headlining tour with New Found Glory, Good Charlotte and Lefty.

Download Here

2009-09-19T08:19:00.001-07:00

Tevin Campbell

"I'm Ready"

(Qwest/Warner Bros)

This kid was the golden child of R&B in the early 90s. Co-signed by both PRINCE (Prince!) and QUINCY JONES (The Q!), Tevin Campbell's new jack-esque pop debut, "T.E.V.I.N." spawned a hit single in "Round in Round," which was also used in the "Graffiti Bridge" soundtrack. Campbell's sophomore album, "I'm Ready" was much stronger and a bit more on the personal side.

Personally, I think it's one of the best R&B albums of the 90s -- it's earnest and introspective lyrics was a stark contrast to R. Kelly, Silk and the other oversexed male figures in the urban music market. Even though the guy has gone onto largely work on Broadway or get arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover cop, you can't deny how great this record is.

Download Here

2009-09-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Bahamadia

"Kollage"

(Pendelum/EMI)

Bahamadia was one of the mid-90s additions to the Gang Starr Foundation family (which included Freddie Foxxx, Big Shug, Group Home, Jeru the Damaja and a ton of other dudes). Debuting in a year that also saw the release of the D&D Project and Lord knows how many Premier remixes, Bahamadia's "Kollage" was largely overlooked, which is a shame because there was great singles on this like "True Honey Buns" and "3 tha Hard Way."

Download Here

2009-09-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Owen Hart
"Lunchbox Rollercoasters"
(Self-Released)

Tacoma grind band Owen Hart is next level. The emotionally brutal lyrics is equivalent to the group's true to heart hardcore sound. This is their demo from 2004, "Lunchbox Rollercoasters." They've put out a few more releases and gone on about a billion tours since then, but I highly recommend catching them whenever possible.

Download Here

2009-09-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

The Get Up Kids
"Live in Seattle 10/9/1999"
(Unreleased)

This recording was from the soundboard at the RCKNDY in Seattle when the Get Up Kids were on tour in the fall of 99, hot off the release of "Something to Write Home About." This bootleg was floating around Napster and other filesharing sites in the embryotic days of mp3 trading.

To celebrate the Get Ups current reunion (and subsequent reissue of their seminal album), I'm sharing this totally sweet recording, which is much funnier and cooler than the live album that Vagrant put out a few years back as this bootleg has all of the stage banter and drunkeness that the gang is known for.

Download Here

2009-08-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

Alternate Eightyfive
"Kill the Moment"
(Sardakaur)

Alternate Eightyfive was part of the same conglomoration of Seattle bands that included Schoolyard Heroes, Acceptance, Kane Hodder and Vendetta Red. Despite my personal opinion that among those bands, these dudes were the best, they were often plagued with issues in terms of playing outside of the city. This is their only recording and it's really fucking good. In the vein of early Glasseater or Kid Dynamite.

Download Here

2009-08-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Shoes For Imelda

"Telephrend"

(Self-Released)

Mountlake Terrace screamo. Good times. Dave Wood was in this band, along with my cousin Jay and James, who I've known for over 20 years or some such. Download it if you like Jimmy Eat World and/or Glassjaw.

Download Here

2009-08-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

The New Avenues

"Demo 2001/02"

(Self-Released)

The New Avenues was a band that my friend Keegan started wayyyyy back in the day. It's heavy on the powerpop a la Weezer and the Cars. It's good stuff. Keegan's one of those dudes who plays pretty much every instrument and knows his way around a hook. I highly recommend this as it's a bonafide summer jam.

Homedude has a new project called Anti-Aging, also worth checking out. Maybe if I stop being lazy, I'll post the demo up here.

Download Here

2009-08-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Countdown to Life

"EP"

(AMP/State of Grace)

Before Broadway Calls was out making some of the best pop-punk right now, Ty Vaughn and Josh Baird were in the hardcore outfit, Countdown to Life. While the band's debut, "Tragedy is Irresistable" has some pretty great moments, they're split with Thirty3 has some of the most promising songs.

This split was originally released as an insert in an issue of AMP Magazine but was later repressed as a full-length split, adding extra songs from "Tragedy."

The songs in this download are the three unreleased songs.

Download here

2009-07-30T22:53:00.000-07:00

Breathless Mahoney
"Techniques for Better Breathing"
(self-released)

This was the final EP that my old band put out. It's like Boy Sets Fire meets Thrice. The band featured me, Jiles O'Neal (from the Cootees), Collin Horn (Sinking Ships) and Chris Jacobsen (Wait in Vain, Alternate 85, and Set Your Goals). Not much else more to write. Download it, it's good times.

Download Here

2009-06-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Demos plz. K thnx.

I was digging through my shoebox of promos and I realized that I have a ton of old demos from bands that friends of mine have been in. Some have promise and others....well, they're my friends for a reason. Over the next few days, I'll be posting demos from some defunct bands and you can decide on whether you like them or not.

I also encourage people in bands to submit their demos to me and I'll be more than happy to post them. I'm cool like that.

2009-05-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Various Artists
"A Fadeaway Records Sampler"
(Fadeaway)

AP once declared Fadeaway the Sub Pop of Long Island, NY, which I could kind of see, but there were a ton of great bands on their roster including Miracle of 86, The Movielife, Get Up Kids, Thisyearsmodel, Last Days of August, Glassjaw...the list goes on. This is a sampler that I got at a Get Up Kids show in 2000 and it has a bunch of sweet songs on it, most of which are out-of-print.

Tracklist:

1. Last Days of August - "Words I Wish Were Mine"
2. Now She's Gone - "Ride"
3. Miracle of 86 - "Surprise Me"
4. The Movielife - "Maybe It's Nothing"
5. Thisyearsmodel - "One Million Volumes"
6. Glassjaw - "Midwestern Stylings (acoustic)"
7. Bonus Track

Download Here

2009-05-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Ambitious Career Woman

"...To Avoid a Lawsuit"

(Lujo)

I don't know if this shit's still in print, but Ambitious Career Woman is one of my favorite bands of the last few years. Their abrasive Drive Like Jehu-esque sound meshed with elements of garage rock made them one of the most unique, yet underrated bands in Seattle. Also, my old band did, like, 50 million shows with them and some of the best memories I have playing in bands are related to these dudes.

Download Here

2009-05-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Home Grown/Limbeck

"Connection EP"

(Utility)

As far as I know, this is the only release from Adam Lorbach's Utility Records. Lorbach doubled as the bassist and co-vocalist for Home Grown, who's put out some of my favorite pop-punk records of recent years. This split with Limbeck shows the latter band's poppier side and Home Grown writes the kind of song that only Home Grown can write.

Still, this is one of the better splits that I've heard and is overall a great recording for all parties involved.

Download Here

2009-05-09T22:44:00.001-07:00

Little Yellow Box
Discography
(self-released/Negative Progression)

Little Yellow Box was a band from the east coast who were brash and would've fit well with the Dischord roster. They ended up on Negative Progression, but were lost in the sea of bands like Coheed and Cambria and Finch. This post has their two EPs, one of which was a self-titled, self-released demo, the other was the EP put out by Negative Progression. Enjoy.

Download Here

2009-04-12T23:13:00.000-07:00

Lifetime
"Seven Inches"
(Black Cat/Temperance)

Some of these songs appeared on the Lifetime compilation, "From the Swamps of New Jersey," that Jade Tree put out a few years ago, but for me, a Lifetime fan, I felt that the comp was a little overwhelming with both the official version of "Background," as well as the demo tracks. It just seemed so needless. This pre-Hello Bastards release compiles all of Lifetime's seven inch songs that followed "Background" and has a really great version of Billy Bragg's "A New England."

Download Here

2009-04-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Boysnightout
"Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses"
(One Day Savior)

At present time, they seem like they're on a bit of a hiatus, but Ontario's Boysnightout is one of the hold outs from the early 2000's screamo explosion that actually evolved and turned into a much, much better band. Listen to their last two records "Trainwreck" and "Self-Titled" and you'll find it's a far cry from the metal-cum-pop-punk sound of their debut EP "Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses." There are some tracks from their first LP, "Make Yourself Sick," that appear on this EP, but these earlier versions are much more raw.

Download Here

2009-03-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Boogiemonsters

"Riders of the Storm: The Underwater Album"

(Pendulum)

Along with the Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, Questionmark Asylum, Digable Planets and a host of others, the Boogiemonsters were a hip-hop quartet who were able bypass the grittier aesthetic of mid-to-late 90's rap. From the Cal Tjader-styled cover of their first album, "Riders of the Storm," it's clear that they were set apart from the Mobb Deeps of the time. Their record is heavy on New World Order conspiracies, but not as heavy as their follow up sophomore, "God Sound," in which half the group quit and didn't quite have the appeal of their earlier offering.

Download Here

2009-03-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Eat World

"Self-Titled/Wooden Blue"

(Wooden Blue)

Like Weezer and The Bronx, Jimmy Eat World has about fifteen different "self-titled" recordings. This is their first album which came out on Arizona's defunct Wooden Blue Records. Unlike the popular J.E.W. albums, Tom Linton sings all the songs on this recording, and it's ridiculously fast and is very much in the vein of bands like J. Church and random Fat Wreck bands.

Download Here

2009-03-23T19:13:00.001-07:00

Lords of the Underground

"Here Come the Lords"

(Pendulum)

One of Marley Marl's post-Juice Crew proteges, Lords of the Underground (Doitall, Mr. Funky and DJ Lord Jazz) had a pretty explosive debut album with "Here Come the Lords." Despite a public thumbs down from the legendary Lord Finesse, there's no denying that this album has some serious hits on it, like "Chief Rocka" and "Funky Child."

Download Here

2009-03-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

INI
"Center of Attention"

(Unreleased)

In 1995, following his split with CL Smooth, Pete Rock helmed the production for INI, a group that was made up of Grap Luva, Rob-O and Rass. Rock appears on a few tracks, but Grap Luva and Rob-O are pretty strong rappers in their own right. This album was originally supposed to come out on Elektra and was shelved. It's come out on vinyl as a bootleg and the UK-based BBE Records released it 2003. BBE has since taken it out of production, but it doesn't mean that people shouldn't be able to hear it.

Download Here

2009-03-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

Endor
“S/T”
(Self-Released)

Hailing from Temecula, CA, Endor featured Matt Barcalow, who happens to be the brother of Nate Barcalow of Finch, so comparisons were to be anticipated. Endor wasn’t an incredibly groundbreaking band, but they still managed to put out a solid debut EP during a time when you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a screamo act of some sort.

Download Here

2009-03-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

DJ Q-Bert
"Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Muzik: a Preskool Break Mix”
(ISP)

Q-Bert’s “Preskool Break Mix” is something of a classic in the world of mixtapes. Q-Bert packed in some of the most important b-boy breaks, scratch routines and samples within a 60 minute timeframe. Nearly every notable song from the “Ultimate Beats and Breaks” series is stuffed on this tape

Download Here

2009-03-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

DJ Babu

"Comprehension"

(Self-Released)

This is probably one of the best mixtapes of all time. Released in the mid-90's, Fat Beats reissued it again on cassette (and CD, I believe) in 1999 when Babu's profile was hightened further with his work in Dilated Peoples, as well as the Beat Junkies and the billion DJ videos he was featured in.

Filled with cuts, jazzy breaks and homemade beats by Kan Kick, Babu (before the Mixtape or Duck Season), D-Styles, Shortkut and Melo-D, I would say that this mixtape is one of the most traded and dubbed cassettes of all time.

Download Here

2009-03-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Eat World
"Live at Sonic Boom Records"

(Unreleased)

Whether you're a 30 year old Jade Tree Records devotee or an 18 year old college freshman, you've surely crossed paths with Arizona's finest band, Jimmy Eat World, at one point or another. Maybe it was the first time you heard "The Middle" while shopping at Macy's, or it could be getting drunk on New Year's Eve and pontificating the meaning of life while listening to "A Sunday."

This recording was made using a Mini-Disc recorder and edited by yours truly. It was during a stop on their 2002 fall tour with Weezer and Tenacious D. The band was really just Jim and Tom, along with Rachel Hayden of That Dog and The Rentals playing an acoustic set at Sonic Boom Records (Ballard) in Seattle.

1. The Middle

2. Lucky Denver Mint

3. If You Don't, Don't

Download Here

2009-02-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

Large Professor, "The LP"

Originally slated to come out on Geffen in 1995, Large Professor's solo debut, "The LP," was shelved after two singles -- "The Mad Scientist" and "Ijuswannachill" failed to make much of an impact on radio. For years, "The LP" circulated as a bootleg after promo copies became subject to the technological breakthrough that is file-sharing sites.

There have been several versions of various qualities of this album that have been unofficially released, but Large Professor has all but moved on. His excellent follow-up and actually released album, "1st Class" came out on Matador and he's currently promoting his new record, "The Main Source." But for the man who gave Nas his start and is probably one of the most prolific producer/MCs in the history of hip-hop, "The LP" will be a lost classic.

Download Here

2009-01-31T17:14:00.000-08:00

X-Ecutioners, "X-Pressions"

Easily one of the best hip-hop records of all time, the X-Ecutioners -- Roc Raida, Rob Swift, Total Eclipse and (at the time of this recording) Mista Sinista -- were one of the big three DJ groups, alongside the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and the Beat Junkies. Yet of those crews, the X-Men (as they were also known) were the only ones to have an enormous impact in terms of pop culture and relevance [1]. They had a few records that came out on Sony which featured the likes of Linkin Park and Rob Zombie (keep in mind that this was during the apex of nu-metal), but their most enjoyable work came in the form of these independent released recordings, such as their debut, "X-Pressions," which is a mishmash of turntable compositions, live instrumentations and traditional MCing.

Download Here

[1] Not including Skratch Pikl Mixmaster Mike's role as the fourth Beastie Boy, mind you.

2009-01-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

Fielding, "S/T"

Fielding was a pleasant surprise in the summer of 2005 when I was just starting out with Redefine. Vivian asked me to do a bunch of quick reviews and I found this one to be particularly great. In many ways, Fielding has a lot of the best elements of cute indie pop -- great harmonies, lyrics and the musicianship is top notch.

Unfortunately, The Militia Group didn't really do much with them and I've seen their self-titled record in the $.99 bin quite a few times. This record is kind of hard to find, so I'm posting it on here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Download Here

Fielding on Myspace

2008-11-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

THE RETURN

New rare songs coming back. And as a gift, I put something up on the Coolness for you.

Love,

ryan

2007-08-09T07:02:00.001-07:00

i haven't updated this batch in a while. right after i thought i would make my triumphant return to the mp3 blogging world, too.

i've thought about shuttering backed with and posting these mp3s at random on chasing coolness. let me know what you think.

1. the simpsons - "they'll never stop the simpsons"
featured on a clip show episode where springfield roasts homer, "they'll never stop the simpsons" is an awesome jaunt that pretty much brings validity to the title of the song.

2. prozack turner - "bang it (madlib remix)"
prozack turner was the white guy who rapped in foreign legion. after some time toiling away in the underground scene, dude signed with dreamworks and used some of that spielberg money to fund his impressive debut, "death, taxes and prozack," featuring production from pete rock, jake one, dilla, organized noize, the alchemist and a host of others. sadly, dreamworks rejected the record and prozack was left wander the earth with one of the best albums ever. "bang it" features madlib behind the boards, as well as some pretty killer one liners.

3. jimmy eat world - "sweetness (demo)"
so for whatever reason, you mickiefickies aren't listening and have gone out of your way to buy those stupid jimmy eat world reissues. if you have no idea what i'm talking about, read this. anyway the only really "rare" track is this song, which i've taken the liberty of uploading for all y'all.

2007-06-21T10:37:00.001-07:00

new jams...

so, i realized that blogamp doesn't allow separate mp3 links for these files. if you want to download these songs, hit that "mp3" button on the side of the player.

1. Mood, "Cincinatti"
Before Hi-Tek started rolling with Talib Kweli, Mos Def and the other Rawkus/Okayplayer cats, he was making beats for Ohio's Mood, a largely ignored group on Blunt Records. Mood found a sound in the vein of conspiracy theorists like Boogiemonsters, but had the ferocity of thugged out New York rappers like Mobb Deep.

2. Mountain Brothers, "Thoroughbred"
Philly's Mountain Brothers made a name for themselves by signing to Ruffhouse/Columbia, and publicly addressing the label's inability to release their record, "Self Vol.1," which had mostly to do with the fact that Sony had no idea how to market an Asian-American hip-hop group short of playing on stereotypes. Eventually, the MBs struck out on their own and released "Self" via Magnificent Butcher, their own imprint. "Thoroughbred" is the b-side for their single "Galaxies."

3. DJ Shadow, "Dark Days" (Main Theme) and "Dark Days" (Spoken For Mix)
Josh Davis aka DJ Shadow scored music for a documentary called "Dark Days," a film that followed a group of homeless people living in the sewers. Sadly, I fell asleep halfway through the movie, but the songs are as black as the film's title suggests.

2007-06-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

week...whatever...

it's been a little bit more than a few weeks since i last updated this. let me assure you that the problems with blogamp have since ceased (read comments below) and really it was about me catching up with my life. admittedly, mp3blogs are fun, but setting deadlines for myself, the shit became work. now it's back to fun.

this week i thought i'd set it off with some of my favorite cover tunes. if you don't like these versions of the songs, take it up with the performers, but in some cases, i prefer them to the originals.

1. Jimmy Eat World, "New Religion"
This track from Mojo Records' "Duran Duran Tribute Album" was a lost track in a sea of pop-punk and ska bands reworking other hit tunes such as "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Girls On Film" and "A View to Kill." "New Religion" is one of Duran Duran's lesser known songs and Arizona's finest give it their emotional makeover, complete with haunting harmonies and loud bridge. It's a definite precursor to their style on 2001's "Bleed American" and 2004's "Futures."

2. Mock Orange, "Only In Dreams"
Back in 2002, there were two Weezer tribute albums that came out, one with relatively unknown bands and one with fairly well known bands. The former had stronger tracks on it, yet was pretty hard to find, while the latter was released on a larger indie and no doubt pressed numerous copies based on the strength of who appeared on it. Mock Orange's version of the Weez's slow jam, "Only In Dreams" showed up on the latter comp via Dead Droid Records, "Rock Music: a Tribute to Weezer." In spite of other well known bands (Dashboard Confessional, Midtown, Piebald, Further Seems Forever, Elliot, The Ataris, The Stereo, Glasseater, etc.), "Only In Dreams" had the kind of pop appeal and romantic morose feeling that made the original tune so great. In many ways, I prefer this cover to the original, missing bass intro and all.

3. Pedro the Lion, "Metal Heart"
This originally appeared on Pedro's "Tour EP '04," a limited release collection of cover songs and old PTL standards. Here, David Bazan and T.W. Walsh take a stab at Cat Power's "Metal Heart" and are able to do it justice. At least a little bit, anyway.

2007-05-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

an update? for real?

i'm bringing this ish back in a sec. i'm just working on some other stuff momentarily. maybe this will hold you herbs over for a little while:

2007-02-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

huh? what?

so for whatever reason, blogamp isn't allowing me to upload any music to their site, so i'm not sure when i'm going to update this shiz. keep checking back, i guess.

2007-02-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

week 11...

*[note: for some BS reason, Blogger isn't allowing me to publish this entry with the BlogAmp player, therefore, if you want to hear these songs, you're gonna have to download them. My bad, er, Blogger's bad.]

I'm back from my much-needed temporary internet exodus. Work's been super busy and I use my downtime to update this, the Coolness and the Crack, but since there's no downtime...you get the idea.

So who's sick of the cold winter days? I certainly am. While it hasn't been raining and there's actually sunlight for most of the day, it's still freezing outside and I feel like I have to drink hot sauce to stay relatively warm. Another surefire way to stay warm is to break out some New Jack Swing dance moves. For this week's post, I found some R&B hits from the early '90s that you'll surely appreciate.

1. SWV featuring Wu-Tang, "Anything (Remix)"
In 1994, the Wu-Tang had not become the international powerhouse that they were destined to be, so their parent company, RCA paired Ol Dirty, Method Man, and U-God with Sisters With Voices, or SWV, one of their most successful R&B groups. The equally badass original version of this song was on the "Above the Rim" soundtrack, but the remix edges that one out because hey, it's got the Wu.

2. Jade, "Don't Walk Away (Mack Daddy Stroll Remix)"
Oh Jade, how you still bump hard in the clubs with your singular successful track. For whatever reason, Jade went absolutely nowhere after this song dropped in 1992 and it's a shame because if they had more songs like this, I'm certain that they could've been the next, um, Expose or some such.

3. MoKenStef, "I Got Him All the Time (He's Mine Remix)"
Like Jodeci, MoKenStef was plagued by creating a ridiculous group name from its members names, Monique, Kendra and Stefanie. Signed to Def Jam during the heyday of radio-friendly crooners like Montell Jordan and Domino, MoKenStef's "He's Mine" was a song about a girl claiming her cheating boyfriend for herself. Despite its really idiotic lyrical content, it managed to pop up on several BET video shows. There's a version of this remix with Grand Puba, but for now, you'll have to sit through the Puba-less tune.

4. Boyz II Men, "Motownphilly (12" Remix)"
Of all the collective groups in the Michael Bivins' East Coast Family, Boyz II Men were by and far the most lucrative. Of course, they did get their start somewhere and this single is where most of the nation discovered Nate, Wanya, Shawn and the big dude with the deep voice whose nickname was "Bass." I prefer this edit of the song because it starts off with the Boyz doing some acapella mumbo jumbo, as opposed to the album version which begins with drum hits ala Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison."

2007-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

week 10...

It's too early to write and I'm frying myself, preparing for the online version Jeopardy, which may or may not get me on the show. Without sounding too crass, I'm boning up on my knowledge of useless information. Here's this week's downloads:

1. Blue Sky Mile, "Ten Minutes"
Chris Walla produced this now-defunct Seattle band's debut EP. Even though Initial Records pushed them as the next Thursday and Brand New, you could hear more of a midwest rock influence with them.

2. Xzibit featuring Mobb Deep, "Eyes May Shine (Remix)"
The b-side for Xzibit's second single, "Eyes May Shine (Remix)" features production by Mobb Deep as well as some pretty harsh lyrics, even by the infamous Mobb's standards.

3. The Nonce, "Mix Tapes"
My friend Dave has this song called "Ol' School Sessions" where he borrows elements of songs from the early-t0-mid 90's era hip-hop. The Nonce's seminal single "Mix Tapes" is explored on the second verse.

2007-01-12T07:54:00.000-08:00

week 9...

This week, I'd thought I'd switch it up a bit and cull selections from my tape collection. That's right, TAPE COLLECTION! Admittedly, I feel like I have a pretty sick tape collection, but then again, I am subjective in my opinion. I don't know about you, but the weather here in Seattle has been a little bit on the sucky side. It's cold as hell and there's snow and ice all around my neighborhood. God, I can't wait for summer.

1. Genius/GZA featuring D'angelo & Inspektah Deck, "Cold World (Remix)"
"Cold World" is a dark tale of abandonment, drugs and ghetto life. The original was haunting enough, but the addition of D'angelo's smokey vocals and RZA's production makes this the kind of song that tugs at your heartstrings and sense of fear.

2. Illy Funkstaz, "Bloodshed and War" (featuring Mobb Deep)/"I'll Make U Famous (Remix)"/"Verbal Glock"
Illy Funkstaz was the adult version of kiddie rappers, Da Youngstaz, who had a minor hit with "Hip-Hop Ride." After the fall out of posi-rap acts like Lords of the Underground, Pete Rock and CL Smooth and Digable Planets, Da Youngstaz signed to Marley Marl's Pop Art label, donned some hoodies and bandanas and made "The Infamous" and"Ready To Die" the soundtrack to their lives. While it's a little difficult to take these kids seriously, you can't deny the production of their thug rap, even if it is a little lame.

3. Big L, "MVP (Summer Smooth Remix)"
Fuck the winter! I'm psyching myself up with THE summer jam from 1995. While Lord Finesse did not produce this version (Salah handled the remix duties), I prefer this version over the DeBarge-sampled original for nostalgic purposes.

2007-01-04T06:18:00.000-08:00

week 8....

Is it really week 8? Has it really been two months? I guess it's a bit longer since I took some extended breaks for the first three posts, but it's been a little nice to do this on a regular basis. This week's post is all hip-hop. As my band begins a somewhat lengthy hiatus, I find myself making hip-hop music once again, as is such, I'm entrenching myself in the rap music that I'd grown to love over the last 19 years or so. Yes, I really have been a hip-hop fan for that long. My original idea for this week was to do an extensive post of the best posse cuts of all time. I decided to stagger some of the songs for future posts. There actually may be one day when I run out of songs to share with you guys.

1. Tha Alkaholiks,"The Next Level (Remix)"
Diamond D of D.I.T.C. fame produced the original version of this track which appeared on Tha 'Liks 1995 album, "Coast II Coast," but he also took a stab at the remix. Personally, I prefer this version of the song to the original, what with the horn and piano samples and all. This song also has the best Tash lyric of all time: "You got a bad name like Dick Butkus." Classic.

2. Various Artists, "The Points (Easy Mo Bee Mix)"
The particular mix appears on the "Panther" soundtrack. There's also a single that boasts two other remixes by DJ U-Neek (of Bone Thugs fame) and Mista Lawnge of Black Sheep. This version is the best one, production-wise. I would like to have shared the 14 minute extended mix featuring every rapper on the planet, but I didn't have the patience. Maybe someday.

3. Da Brat featuring Notorious BIG, "Da (Dirty) B-Side"
This track is probably more widely known for being on the "Bad Boys" soundtrack, though it was largely ignored since Keith Martin, Jon B and Diana King all had singles from that record. The mix that I give you was the B-side (hence the title) for Brat's second single, "Fa All Y'all," and has swearing on it, unlike the "Bad Boys" mix.

4. O.C., "Time's Up (DJ Eclipse Radio Remix)"
Oh man, THREE O.C. songs in as many weeks? You bet your ass.

5. Frankie Cutlass featuring Sadat X, Redman, June Lover and Doo Wop, "You and You and You"
For some reason in the mid-90s, there was this huge push for New York DJs to put out full-lengths with their rapper friends, which eventually evolved into the surging mixtape scene we have now. Frankie Cutlass is one of those NY DJs who was able to con Relativity Records into giving money to put out an album with a bunch of really awesome rappers on it. The record tanked, but it does have some pretty good songs on it. It's called "Politics and Bullshit," if you ever find it, I recommend picking it up. I found mine at the $.99 rack at Tower Records in New York, of all places.

2006-12-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

week 7...

this week i was going to unearth tunage from my boyee (word to flavor flav) just be (nee: corey ball), but i could find the discs that had his songs. next week, however, justice will prevail! for week seven, i offer some out-of-print video hits and some overlooked jams from the source's heyday.

1. Bush Babees, "The Love Song"/"Gravity"/"3 MC's"
Having dropped the "Da" from their collective moniker, as well as their relationship with industry little man, Jermaine Dupri, New York's Bush Babees rebounded in 1996 by being accepted into the Native Tongues Version 2.0 (which was pretty much De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Tribe Called Quest, D'angelo, The Roots, and almost all of Rawkus Records' NY rappers). The Ummah -- Jay Dee, Ali Shaheed, Questlove, and D'angelo -- produced a number of tracks on their sophomore album, "Gravity." Shawn J. Period and Pos from De La rounded out the rest. "The Love Song" with Mos Def was pretty much the only single from the record, but the other two tracks I added "Gravity" and "3 MC's" (featuring Q-Tip), should've been singles.

2. Capleton featuring Method Man, "Wings of the Morning (Dynamik Duo Remix)"
Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" is one of the most easily recognizable breaks. Marley Marl freaked it for the Juice Crew's "The Symphony" and the Black Crowes did some awful cover of it. In this track, dancehall selecta Capleton is joined by hot-Wu-member-at-the-time Method Man on a remix for his breakthrough U.S. single "Wings of the Morning." Ironically, Lil' Jon (yes THAT Lil' Jon) produced this song over 10 years ago, while we're all sort of scratching our heads now at the fact that Lil' Jon can actually produce a song that doesn't require looping shitty keyboard presets.

3. Luniz featuring Dru Down, Richie Rich, E-40, Shock G/Humpty Hump, Spice 1, "I Got 5 On It (Bay Ballas Vocal Remix)"
Posse cuts! One of the greatest things about hip-hop is just imagining the rappers you could pair up on one song and then having them come together for the love of money! Off the heels of such successful mid-90's posse cuts like "The Points," "Cowboys," and "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)," Oakland's Luniz banded together some of the Yay Area's biggest rappers to appear on a bloated version of their weed anthem, "I Got 5 On It." Interestingly, there's a video for this song that looks like the "Flava In Ya Ear" video except that it's in color, but I suppose the concept of rappers rapping in a white room isn't really stretching the imagination too far.

4. Pedro the Lion, "Backwoods Nation"
Ah, it wouldn't be a hip-hop post without adding some David Bazan in the mix to spice it up, eh? This is probably one of the best Pedro the Lion songs and it doesn't appear on any proper album. I've only seen this performed once, at the album release party for "Control" where he performed the entire record from start to finish, tacking on this song at the end of their set. You can find this song on Jade Tree's "Location is Everything" sampler, but it's also been re-recorded for David Bazan's solo debut. I prefer this version, but the new version is just as haunting.

2006-12-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

week 6...

it's about that time for sleigh bells and all of that. i sat around my living room this morning trying to think of what songs i should hit you guys off with this week. i was thinking of putting up some holiday tunes, but that would be way more cliche. even for my taste. plus, i've worked in retail during the holidays and having to hear wham's "last christmas," even if it's jimmy eat world's version, can be pretty grating on the ears. so instead, i'm hitting you off with some uber rare and out-of-print hits from the past.

1. Invisible Skratch Piklz - "Gimme My Goddman Money"/"The Real Hip-Hop Shit"/"Makin' Me Bioootch"
These songs are from Volume 5 of the infamous "Shiggar Fraggar Show," a pirate radio show from the 90's in which DJ crew, Invisibl Skratch Piklz would get stupid drunk and/or high and just scratch for hours on end. There's also some awesome commentary from MC U.B. These days, it's easy for rappers to put out these mixtapes that have the kind of budgets that they usually spend for a studio album. This is what a real mixtape should be -- just a bunch of dudes, holed up in a room doing what they do.

2. Jungle Brothers featuring De La Soul and Q-Tip - "How Ya Want It (We Got It) (Native Tongues Mix)"
What a coup for the JBs. After a period of inactivity, they blasted back on the scene in the late 90's with this Roc Raida-produced jam. The booming bassline and the JB's playful banter with De La Soul made this a certified underground hit. This is a lesser known remix with Q-Tip, thus representing the big three groups of the Native Tongues -- A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Jungle Brothers.

3. The Strokes - "New York City Cops (Live in Vienna)"
This is a pretty good live bootleg of the best Strokes song ever. I'm not huge on this band, but when I first heard this track, I was all about it. Sadly, the track was left off their debut, "Is This It," so as to pay respect to the officers who were busy saving lives during 9/11.

2006-12-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

week 5

sorry for the lag.... i guess i forgot to update the site. my bad. in all fairness though, the holiday season is hard for a guy like me. and by "guy like me" i mean someone who doesn't remember things save bits of pop culture. oh well.

1. Brand New "aloC-acoC (Coca-Cola)"
This is the b-side to their single "Sowing Season." it's not on the album and to avoid getting sued by the biggest label conglomerate in the world, i'm seriously only going to leave this up for a week. peep it while you can, because it actually sounds pretty good, in a "it's hard to find a friend"-Pedro the lion sort of way.

2/3. OC "Far From Yours" and "My World"
These two songs were sort of put together for OC's "Far From Yours" video from way back in '97. "Far From Yours" is a OC's attempt at a commercial radio single, which rocks a slick Brothers Johnson loop. "My World" is classic DJ Premier.

4. Shai "Baby I'm Yours"
If you check out this mp3blog often enough, you'll notice that I have a spot in my heart for '90s R&B. Shai is one of the best groups that have long been overshadowed by Boyz II Men and Blackstreet. Side note: I saw Shai in the summer of 1993 and my mom, of all people, managed to harass some people backstage and she got my CD signed. Seriously.

5. The Hit, "Caliber"
The Hit was a short-lived band from Seattle. They kind of sounded like Jawbreaker. This is probably their best song.

2006-11-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

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.

2006-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

week 3...

i almost forgot to put something up this week. my bad.

so a little while ago, i wiped my hard drive of numerous mp3s and burned them to several data discs. this week's three tracks are some of what i kept because they're some of my favorite songs from the last 10 years or so.

first up we have one of my favorite emcees, common. this is a remix of the title track from 1994's "resurrection," back when dude was known as common sense. the original was produced by no.id. and it's awesome, but this large professor remix is just solid. and out of print. it also reminds us all that before kanye breathed some new life into common's dead career, he was once a rapper who stood on his own.

anybody who was into tooth and nail bands during the 90's is sure remember ghoti hook, a band often eclipsed by mxpx and...well, mxpx. their cover of "walking on sunshine" is pretty sweet and far superior to any of the songs on mxpx's "on the cover" album.

and finally, matthew sweet is one of those guys whose music you never admit to liking for fear of alienation and rejection. well, if people don't want to hang out with you because you like a little matthew sweet, i say "fuck 'em." this guy -- had he been a booze hound -- could've been where ryan adams is today, instead, he's largely respect and put out an album with former bangel susanna hoffs. "farther down" is from one of my favorite movies of all time, "can't hardly wait," and is played at a very important part of the flick.

2006-11-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

week 2... or something like that.

i'm not sure how long this blogamp shit is going to fly (the beta version i'm using is free until nov. 10th), so i'm going to hit you off with a few more jawns before i scramble to find a host for these mp3s. if you didn't get a chance to download the donny hathaway, billy bragg or the movielife, sorry yo.

for this week, i'm giving you some pretty rare jams starting with bad boy records' forgotten girl group, total. before danity kane or dream there was total. they had the ulitmate spring song back in 1995 with "can't you see," which rocked the sweet "payback" sample and one of the best notorious b.i.g. guest spots ever. the song on this week's playlist is a remix of total's third single, "kissin' you." funny enough, the single was orignally released in the winter of 1995/96, dormant, then rereleased during the summer with a raphael saadiq (tony toni tone, lucy pearl, etc.) remix. when you listen to this remix, you'll understand why it was THE summer jam. ironically, i'm putting up this remix at the end of fall. oh well.

the controls is a little friendlier to the fall/winter seasons. in essence, the controls were just another portishead/morcheeba rip-off group, but they had a very strong single with "terrified of nothing." this remix was produced by rob swift, formerly of the x-ecutioners, and sounds like a throwaway beat from his awesome solo album, "the ablist." you don't really hear that much scratching in songs anymore, so it's cool to hear it on this, even though this song is like 8 years old.

glassjaw is one of my favorite bands of all time and rather than put up one of their screaming, angry songs, i'm posting the acoustic version of "midwestern stylings," an old song that was supposed to appear on their last album "worship and tribute." but that didn't happen and showed up on some singles and samplers as a b-side. glassjaw singer, daryl palumbo, is now in head automatica and a few other rap-related indie rock groups. blah.

2006-10-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

so a long time ago, i took the "backed with" name because i wanted to have an mp3blog for rare songs, etc etc. and then i sort of forgot about it. well thanks to the awesome power of blogamp, i can bring you the hits!

for this inaugural post, i uploaded three of my favorite songs. ever.

the first is donny hathaway's "little ghetto boy" from his "live" album. if the song sounds familiar it's because dr. dre used it for 1993's "the chronic." 2pac may have used it too. it's a pretty famous song.

the second song is billy bragg's "a new england." it's my favorite billy bragg song of all time and i listened to it a lot while i was writing my book.

lastly, we have a track from long island quasi-hardcore/pop-punk outfit, the movielife. "sailor tattoos" is from their split with exnumberfive. an acoustic version of the song appears on the tour version of their final album "40 hour train back to penn," but this full-band version is rare and out of print.