The most honest song on the radio is Lets Get Retarded. That's not a problem for people who wanna, but it is for me. But I've found a solution in Vitamin Records, the Muzak for my generation.
I can't tell you the names of half of the jams I love, that's because they're mostly ambient instrumentals with some electric scratch, tabla and dub thrown in. If you know Fila Brazillia, Talvin Singh, Prefuse 73, and Squarepusher, then you know where I'm coming from. These are the cool inheritors of the beginning of the new era in electronic music started by Herbie Hancock, Thomas Dolby, Afrika Bamabattaa, Twilight 22, New Order and the Art of Noise back in my college days when I still wanted to get retarded. Oh did I forget Kraftwerk?
But like I mentioned in the Non Guilty Pleasure of French Hardcore Rap, there are still some bomb ass beats out there that occasionally I need to indulge. The problem is, as De La says, I'm sick of ... well the whole nine:
I'm sick of bitches shakin' asses I'm sick of talkin' about blunts, Sick of Versace glasses, Sick of slang, Sick of half-ass awards shows, Sick of name brand clothes. Sick of R&B bitches over bullshit tracks, Cocaine and crack Which brings sickness to blacks, Sick of swoll' head rappers With their sicker-than raps Clappers and gats Makin' the whole sick world collapse The facts are gettin' sick Even sicker perhaps Stickabush to make a bundle to escape this synapse
No worries no more. Well, for a few cuts at least I have found a simple instrumental paradise in Vitamin Records. These days I'm digging some downloads from iTunes (although I am beginning to prefer AmazonMP3) with versions of Radiohead & Snoop.
Yesterday I was listening to the Vitamin strings do their rendition of Stairway to Heaven and in it's own way it is awful. Nothing hangs together in that song as rendered on violins and cello - you can tell that it's missing drums. So as I listen to alternates of originals, I will notice what's missing besides lyrics. Still, to have Deep Cover redone in Dub is a blessing of many sorts. I'm diggin' my vitamins.
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