Biopic: CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story (2013)

CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story
Biography, Music

When I heard about this biopic I had to go and find it. I grew up with TLC, they were my high school jam ya'll! Seriously, I remember hanging out with the girls in the quad and working out all the dance moves during lunch. We even did No Scrubs as one of our music assignments; I can still remember the lead guitar tab for that song.

I won't talk too much about the film because you should go watch it. I found it very nostalgic and a little weird to watch scenes that I can actually remember happening, reenacted by these three girls who look, dance and speak a lot like the real thing. I remember after they won a bunch of awards and were asked by the media how the high life was going and they revealed they hadn't actually made any money. I remember Lisa - Left Eye - burning down a house and causing all kinds of a ruckus.

The three actresses - Keke Palmer, Drew Sidora and Niatia 'Lil Mama' Kirkland - did an amazing job. They recreated all the video clips as we saw them. I actually got to a point in the film where I forgot they weren't the real thing and that they were acting. In fact, Lil Mama did so well at portraying Left Eye that T-Boz and Chilli signed her up to be a part of TLC 2.0. They performed together at the AMAs just a few days ago. I didn't particularly like that performance, but her part in this film was brilliant.

If you grew up with TLC like I did, you should watch this film. Very nostalgic, very in-your-face honest, very good.

4 out of 5 waterfalls...

RIP Lisa Lopes

Music: Urthboy - Smokey's Haunt (2012)

Urthboy - Smokey's Haunt (2012)
Australian Hip Hop

Urthboy is a machine! Not only does he run the awesomely successful Elefant Traks but he's also part of Australian Hip Hop super group, The Herd. On top of the six albums released by The Herd - one of which was just last year - Urthboy has four brilliant albums of his own! Talk about a man on a mission! I don't think any of us really expected him to release another album this year but here we go, how lucky are we?

And that's not all! On top of all the albums and managing and goodness knows what else, he's been touring for half the year with The Herd on the Future Shades tour, then there was the quick Naive Bravado tour in celebration of the first single from this album.... and I'm pretty sure he'll be back to travelling around Australia again very soon to tour the entire album. I have to say, this guy is amazing live! I've seen him countless times now and with Jane Tyrrell and El Gusto backing him up on stage, his flow is as tight as you would expect from a veteran like Urthy and the atmosphere on stage and in the crowd is jumping. Every. Single. Time. Oh, and he always has great supports such as The Last Kinection, Horrorshow, Hermitude, Mantra and many more!

At number twelve on the Australian Urban charts - Triple J's feature album this week - Smokey's Haunt features the ever present and always fabulous Jane Tyrrell, Aussie R&B singer Daniel Merriweather, folk singer Bobby Flynn, Alex Burnett of Sparkadia, plus hip hoppers such as Delta, Solo of Horrorshow and Jimblah. There are also a couple of people I haven't heard of before; Texture Like Sun and Ev Jones. What an eclectic mix of blues, folk and hip hop! I love it!

Highlights for me have to be On Your Shoulders ft. Solo and Jimblah and Calling Cards ft. Texture Like Sun & Ev Jones. This album has the usual comfortable Urthboy bounce feeling and even though I haven't had the chance to listen to the lyrics properly, I just know there is going to be some word gems in there. Urthy's style of smart hip hop is one of the reasons I love this genre so much.

Go Buy It! Check out Dr Seuss Meets Elefant Traks at the Sydney Opera House!

4 out of 5 Cat in the Hat's...

[Bonus]

Smokey's Haunt cover art is by the multi-talented Jane Tyrrell! Check out some of her stuff here!

Music: Seth Sentry - This Was Tomorrow (2012)

Seth Sentry
Australian Hip Hop

If you know anything about this guy, then you know how long we've all waited for this album to come out. The short 5 track Waiter Minute EP released in 2008 is one of the best EPs I have in my collection. It still gets solid play in my house. So what took him so long, I hear you asking. Well, besides Seth being extremely Lazy (as you can see here) and an addictive gamer, he's pretty much a damn perfectionist!

Since getting the EP, I've had the extreme pleasure of seeing Seth live four or five times. You can see some of my crappy home videoing here: Waitress Song, Our Song w. Horrorshow. Having seen him so many times, I've had the pleasure of hearing some of these songs already; such as Campfire, My Scene and Room for Rent which has some amazing lines and a punchy sound. Material for the next single? I think so!

Float Away (above) gets stuck in my head really badly, almost as badly as Waitress Song and Train Catcher off the EP... on this album I can hear myself singing Room For Rent over and over and the hook to Ten Paces will be another one of those tunes that will never leave my brain again. The sweet croony tunes of Ali Barter (who I had to go and look up after hearing, found this!). Ali is the only real feature on this album, besides some back up vocals from Grey Ghost and Leon Thomas, but in saying that, the behind the scenes guys are some names you've probably heard before; Trials (Funkoars), Matik and Mantra.

I love Seth's laid back style of rapping, he makes it sound so effortless, but then I have to actually listen to his tracks to pick up some golden one liners such as "I see the Devil in a short skirt, hot as hell." - Ink Blot Test.  Also, the album art by Jagi is amazing!

This review pretty much wrote itself. So excited to have this album, glad it's doing so well! Try not to take as long for the next one, eh Seth? Ha! Buy it here!

4 out of 5 nerds...

"On the one hand there's low rent, on the other you'll wonder where your clothes went. It's simple the house is a fish bowl. The wow factor, wow what a shit hole. The Mansion. I just came to say goodbye 'cause the room for rent was, mine..." - Room For Rent

Movie: StreetDance 2 (2012)

StreetDance 2 (2012)
Drama, Music, Romance

This movie is so crap. I wish they'd just skipped the plot line altogether and just made it a documentary about dance, if they'd done that I might have actually liked it. I haven't seen the first one but I assume it's just as crap, the movies generally are.

Having said that, the dancing is amazing! Sofia Boutella has some damn fine legs! *fans self* I had to watch her original dance twice. The final dance was pretty awesome too and even though I hated this movie, I still found myself cheering along for the good guys to win.

The story is your usual one; Guy (Falk Hentschel) enters dance competition, loses badly and spends the rest of the film putting together a new team and trying a new style so he can go back and beat the guys who walloped him before. Of course everything goes to plan and he gets the girl in the end.

Very predicable. No recognizable actors but I'm assuming they are actually all dancers. not actors... and you can pretty much tell that fact when watching it. Don't bother unless you're really bored, I don't know why I did... and yet, I bet after I post this review I will go watch the first one...

1 out 5 flamingos....

Music: Jimblah - Face the Fire (2011)

[REPOST DUE TO AWESOME NEWS]

Our buddy Jimblah has been signed to Elefant Traks!!! 

Get this album for FREE from www.jimblah.com

Jimblah - Face the Fire (2011) 
Australian Hip Hop, Indigenous

I heard a lot of hype about this guy before I came across his music - or so I thought until I started writing this review! Since then I've realised he featured on a track on A-Love's album Ace of Hearts.

Jimblah was the 2007 winner of the Hilltop Hoods Initiative - which is a fantastic government grant set up by the Hilltop Hoods to help young Australian hip hop artists make and distribute music. And so last year, the long awaited Face the Fire was released.
I've been listening to this album non-stop for about a week now. I tend to do that when I get new music - listen to it on repeat until I get sick of it, then rotate it through my 10k long list of songs... I have to say, this album is doing well. I'm still listening to it on repeat and still enjoying the hell out of it.

I don't know how much attention artists put into the construction of track order - or whether they notice it at all - but I tend to think a lot about it (thanks High Fidelity for teaching me the proper order to put tracks on a mixtape), and I think this album flows really well.

The first track - My Life - is an introduction to Jimblah as an actual person. I love the listing of his family and people close to him - it's as if he's inviting us to be a part of it all. Love it - so much better than just the usual random intro track most hip hop albums have. It sets the tone for the whole album.

I'm not going to do a track by track, as much as I would like to, but I'm pretty sure track 2 is my fave on the album...I say pretty sure because as I listen through, I change my mind... haha. The title track, Face the Fire... I don't know what to say exactly... is empowering and sad and inspirational and I just love it. 

Check out Jimblah on Reverbnation

I could keep talking about how he's doing brilliant things helping out Indigenous musicians, how he's a fantastic DJ and producer and just a straight up nice guy, but I thought I'd just recommend you buy the album and follow him on twitter.

4 out of 5 ancient Aboriginal rock art...

Documentary: Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap (2012)

Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap (2012)
Documentary, Music, Hip Hop

This documentary is entertaining, knowledgeable and really, really interesting even if you're not a fan of hip hop. Hosted and directed by Ice-T who most of this generation knows for his acting roles in shows like SVU. Some who've been around a little longer will remember what an awesome rapper he was before he even thought about acting. Even though I remember him rapping, for some reason it had just slipped my mind how damn popular he was back in the day. Watching this doco and hearing some of his special guests talk about how they used to have his tapes (yes, tapes!) before they got into the game made me realise that I actually know quite a lot of his tunes! 

T is the perfect person to do this kind of feature; he has all the background knowledge and the proper contacts. There was one point when he was interviewing WC or maybe it was Ras Kass (I'm not sure 'cos this is the first time I didn't take notes as I was watching!) and they asked him whether he'd gotten in touch with Xzibit. When T said no, they promptly offered him Xzibit's personal phone number and address, and you know what? When T rocked up at his house, he took the time to sit down and have a chat. Who else would be able to do that?

And they're not even the biggest names he's got on this awesome piece of film. Legends such as Afrika Bombaataa, Kool Keith and Doug E. Fresh, not to mention KRS-One, Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Nas and so many more that I can't even list them! T asks them questions like why do they think that Hip Hop isn't a more respected genre of music, how do they go about writing a song and what lyrics from other MCs get stuck in their heads. KRS even tells us the story of how he was literally pulled up at a battle for his clothes and thought Oh, hell no! got up and battled back! That is so very cool.

I suppose I should bring up my own views in here somewhere. You all know how much I love Australian Hip Hop and I know I am biased but I just find the lyrics and beats so attractive. I steered away from typical American Hip Hop because I wasn't a fan of all the songs about bitches and niggers. I hate that! This doco made me rethink this; maybe I was too quick to judge. So today, I started (softly) with an album everyone has been raving about; Nas' Life Is Good. I know, it's not an old one but I need to ease myself into this, alright?! You know what, I'm freakin' loving it!

Another reason I chose Nas, besides all the guys on Twitter going on about the awesomeness of the album, is because of his comments in this documentary. When asked why he thought Hip Hop didn't get more respect as a genre he replied that it's threatening. How dare they talk like that and make poetry out of their broken English, these people from the streets and slums with vocabularies that will stump most college graduates. How dare they come in and spit magic like that, wear their caps and pants like that....and he's right! Listen to the clip here.

When asked about people who were absent such as Jay-Z and Ludacris, T said; "The only thing you'll say to criticize this movie is you didn't see your favourite rapper but trust me, your favourite rapper's favourite rapper is in this movie."

Really good, really enjoyed this. Very thought provoking and makes me want to start writing bars. Definitely going to get myself a copy of the DVD when it comes out in October. Give it a go, you can pre-order it here!

5 out of 5 Kool Keiths...

Music: Unwritten Law - Swan (2011)

Unwritten Law
Post Grunge, Alternative Rock, Pop Punk

I know, something a little different from what I would normally post.... but every now and then I get a little sick of listening to hip hop and have to switch to something rocky. I picked these guys today 'cos they have been a favourite of mine for years now. I was introduced to Unwritten Law at the age of fifteen by my boyfriend at the time and haven't looked back.

Yes, they are from the era of Sum 41 and Blink 182 and so are more punk rock than most of the other stuff I listen to, but that makes it better for me I think; a bit nostalgic for my early teen years. Their style hasn't changed that much over the years either and even though I expected this album to be different, what with the gap of six years between Swan and Here's To The Mourning, I was relieved to find it just like the old Unwritten Law that I know and love.

Besides the punk rock, I'm also lenient on this band in particular for their lyrics. I normally rant and rave about music having to be lyrically meaningful... I am totally opposite in this opinion with this particular band. I have no idea why, maybe because I liked them as a teenager so I give them a bit of leeway. Maybe it's because I love the actual music and it's nice to have some real drums and guitar to listen to. (I have to say a lot of hip hop artists these days use live bands, love love love that! There's just something about the sound of actual instruments instead of it all being electronically produced...)

So anyway, I had this album on pre-order, got the Live and Lawless CD/DVD package (which has the best cover I've ever seen on a CD) and a Swan t-shirt as a part of the pre-order, which made me ecstatically happy. Not long after I received the CD my housemate/ex and I went and saw them live for the third or fourth time. The video below is me filming on my crappy little Nokia in the middle of the mosh... It's a cover of Australian band Grinspoon's More Than You Are and it's one of the only covers I've seen Unwritten Law do. These guys consistently throw the craziest shows I've ever been to, the crowd is nuts, jumping around like psychos but I've never seen a fight break out...

I think that's the last time I see them live though... Not long after the show we went to, I found out that the bassist, PK, who is one of my favourite members, and the drummer Steve both quit after an altercation with lead singer, Scott Russo. I cannot express how disappointed I am that these two have left but I 'spose nothing lasts forever right? and I'm lucky enough to have several brilliant, memorable years/gigs/albums that I will remember forever.

The album itself is a bit short I think but it's the same length as previous albums. I think I just got so excited about another album that I expected too much. Either way, this is the album I go to when I think I'm about to OD on hip hop, it will continually be on my rotation, along with all their previous albums, probably forever.

Buy Swan here.

5 out of 5 punk rockers...

[Fave Song] 

Will always be Cailin but on this album.... Dark Dayz

Music: The Last Kinection - Next of Kin (2011)

The Last Kinection
Australian Hip Hop, Indigenous

The Last Kinection are a brother and sister duo, Weno and Nay, plus long time friend DJ Jaytee Hazard signed to Elefant Traks. They are all no stranger to the spotlight with Nay having been signed as part of R&B duo Shakaya at the tender age of sixteen - I actually remember these gals, you can see one of their music vids here - and Weno and Jaytee were awarded MusicOz' Best Indigenous Artist in 2005 for their part in group Local Knowledge. All in all, these are some talented and dedicated people!

Now it all makes sense! I've heard Nay rap before and was blown away - there are just not enough female rappers around for my liking - but I did not expect to hear her singing! Of course, at the time I'd completely forgotten she was in Shakaya. She's amazing; she has this brilliant singing voice that you can't help groove along to and then she blasts that out of the water with her straight to the point raps. These guys are on my list of people to see live!

I was about halfway through the album before I  heard the first didgeridoo. I'd been expecting it but I always forget what an awesome instrument it is. There was one song - Prove Them Wrong - that used the didgeridoo in a way I've never heard before; a womp womp bass line! Brilliant! Not only have they used an Aboriginal instrument but there are entire songs in their language; Ywar-Gu. I wish I could translate it, hell, I wish I could speak it! I do not understand why we learn French and Italian in schools and not any of the hundreds of languages indigenous to Australia. How does that work? These languages are dying, it's so sad!

Besides some funtastic features such as Briggs, Rival MC, Lotek, Simone Stacey (Shakaya), Ozi Batla (The Herd) and Omar Musa (Moneykat), there is some great use of instruments. The didgeridoo features heavily, as I've already mentioned, but there are some killer guitar riffs and at the very beginning an awesome harmony from a piano.

This album and group is huge for Indigenous music in Australia. Expect big things!

4 out of 5 didgeridoos....

[Lyics: Millions of People]

So many days have come and gone,

so many things I been doing wrong,

but now I see millions of people are feeling just like me.

So many things I could of said,

so many things I shoulda did

but I didn't, I didn't and now they keep telling me;

that anything you want in your life you can have it,

but they never said how hard it'd be to grab it,

chasing my dreams like an addict all I have left are a few bad habits.

Music: Rainman - Bigger Pictures (2012)

Rainman
Australian Hip Hop

Don't judge the album on the video above; the song is awesome but I found the video clip tedious and boring. This album is not tedious and boring. It's got some fantastically funky beats and the flow from song to song is so good, and you all know how much I love a nice flow!

This 15 track album, despite having an Intro track - which I'm never really a fan of, it's like cheating by adding another track to the album count - the beginning of this album had me hook, line and sinker. Rainman's style reminds me ever so slightly of early Urthboy and I was just a little surprised to see this album was distributed through Obese Records and not Elefant Traks. Then I heard Rainman will be on the decks for the Melbourne, Byron and Brisbane leg of Urthboy's Niave Bravado tour. Nice choice Urthy!

Can't See You has me rocking in my chair and singing the hook aloud. It's such a good song to start the album with; the beat is rocking and the hook is catchy. The last line of the song has been stuck in my head all week, I knew it was from another hip hop song but it just wouldn't come to me. Then the husband came to the rescue; The Herd - We Can't Hear You. That made me giggle, ironic.

Muse Sick; it took me a little while to realize the play on words here. Yes, I know, sometimes I'm a bit slow. Love the smooth guitar riff in this track and I'm a sucker for a wicked womp womp bass line like the one that runs through the middle of this song. Not only that, but it has a killer addictive hook. Man knows how to arrange a song!

I found myself singing along to half the tracks after only hearing the album once. That's a good sign in my book! Features such as Seven, 4th (Vegas Aces), Muph, Tommy Illfigga and Calski rock my socks! Then there's some new names I haven't heard of before; Laneous, Kel On Earth (Bankrupt Billionaires), Yuin Huzami, Leah Carr, Pear and Youka. Ten points for anyone who can give me any info on these artists!

As per usual, this album has been on repeat all week....and it's still rocking! Buy it here!

4 out of 5 glasses...

"Push em both out like you're blowing a kiss, now flatten em out and make it look ridiculous." - Duck Face


[UPDATE]

@geeoh108 ps re more info: pear is from pear & the awkward orchestra, Youka is from Killbot Kindergarten, Yuin is from Coalition Crew...
— Rainman (@rainmantic) August 8, 2012