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Underground > Radio & Music >

Exercise 1: No references

No star here laces

09:14 / 16.05.02

So I was perusing the 'where's the love' thread and thinking that nearly all the descriptions therein enthuse about music by referring to other music. So in this thread, we don't do that. In here we describe hated or loved music without reference to other stuff like genres, radio djs, distortion pedals, drum machines etc. We use DESCRIPTIVE language.

And if this thread dies an early death then its final proof that none of y'all really love music.

No star here laces

09:37 / 16.05.02

When erick sermon says 'sucker'

I feel chills, the hair on my neck actually does stand up. He says it in the middle of EPMDs "Get off the bandwagon" when the music has just stopped for a second. It seems like Erick just felt he had to comment, had to summarise the contempt that drips from every beat of this track in one word. When erick sermon says 'sucker' you know he means it. He's visualising the string of saliva trailing out of the lips of the sucker and leading to the end of his cock.

This track is all about suckers - suckers who're messing, suckers you're trying to get paid off what we made - anyone and everyone who ever copied anything Erick and Parrish did. Which is kind of why I love it - you can't copy EPMD! Erick's lisp doesn't make him sound retarded or girly - it makes him menacing. He sounds like he doesn't give enough of a shit about you to speak clearly. And the delivery is so slow. But it's not at all laid back. How do they do that? The whole sound is incredibly dense (also intense) without needing to pack lots of layers in.

In fact it's very minimal. Just rubbery and pounding. The groove has a stretchy feel - maybe the texture of well chewed gum. But well chewed gum that's been modelled into the shape of a glock and waved in your face - sucker.

Fengs for the Memory

10:50 / 16.05.02

Fear. The brooding menace at the heart of Slint's Spiderland. Which twists and coils out the speakers until there is no where left for you to go. You have to listen to it, they make demands of you. The vocals that drip feed you images, until the screamed finale to 'Good Morning Captain'
really does make sense of the whole record. The most exciting, brutal, fucked up album i have ever heard.

14:22 / 16.05.02

Great idea, Lyra!

Hmmm...I mentioned that Cee-lo album before (it's called cee-lo green and his perfect imperfections), and my co-worker brought it back to the office today. I'm really enjoying the paradox of hearing each instrument clearly (I can focus individually on the crashing cymbals, the rollicking piano, the thumping bass, the buzzing stacatto horns, or the vocal that is a rare thing – nasal without being whiny), yet all the sounds coalesce into this deliciously swampy ooze that thickly pours itself over my brain and makes me feel real, real good.