YO! KALX Raps! - Show 2 Playlist

In the spirit of the election that just passed and Veteran's Day this Tuesday, Nov. 11, I decided to do a political-themed set for my second YO! KALX Raps! Show. You'll find the playlist after the jump. You can catch a new YO! KALX Raps! in two weeks.

Show 2 - Political Theme
10 November 2008

1. Brother Ali - “Mr. President (You’re the Man),” Produced By Brother Ali
   
2. Mic Break
3. Blue Scholars - “BUTTER&GUN$ (Loyalty II),” BUTTER&GUN$ EP
4. Talib Kweli - “More or Less” feat. Dion, Ear Drum
5. Nas - “Black President” feat. Johnny Polygon, Untitled
6. Common - “The People,” Finding Forever
7. Mic Break
8. Rhymefest - “More” feat. Kanye West, Blue Collar
9. The Coup - “The Repo Man Sings For You” feat. Del tha Funky Homosapien Steal This Album
10. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - “The Message,” The Essential Grandmaster Flash
11. Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth & B.o.B. - “Change Gon’ Come," Unknown Album
    
12. Mic Break
13. The Roots - “Rising Down” feat. Mos Def fand Styles P, Rising Down
14. Animal Farm - “Peace” feat. KRS-One, The Unknown
15. Mic Break
16. Wyclef Jean - “If I Was President,” If I Was President (Single)

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Show 14 Playlist - Halloween Show

Sorry for the delay, but after the jump you'll find the playlist from my Halloween show. I had a fantastic time with the show and was glad a few people called in to share in the fun. One caller was nice enough to say that KALX should put me on during the day because I'm better than most of the DJs on the air, which is a kind sentiment but probably untrue.

Show 14 - Halloween Show
28 October 2008

1. Michael Jackson - “Thriller,” Thriller
2. (Mic Break) RJD2 - “2 More Dead,” Deadringer
3. Andre 3000 - “Dracula’s Wedding” feat. Kelis, The Love Below
4. Nina Simone - “I Put A Spell On You,” Enjoy Your Own Blues
5. Billie Holiday - “Strange Fruit,” The Definitive Collection
6. RJD2 - “The Horror,” Deadringer
7. Coldcut - Ron Granier “Theme from Dr. Who,” Journeys by DJ
8. Lupe Fiasco - “The Cool,” Food & Liquor
9. (Mic Break) Danny Elfman - “Men In Black Main Theme,” Men In Black
10. Folklore - “The Ghost,” The Ghost of H.B. Beaverman
11. Creedence Clearwater Revival - “Bad Moon Rising,” 1969
12. JJ Grey & Mofro - “The Devil You Know,” Orange Blossom
13. Warren Zevon - “Werewolves of London,” Excitable Boy
14. Led Zeppelin - “Ramble On,” Led Zeppelin II*
15. (Mic Break) Ennio Morricone - “Pazuzu Theme,” The Exorcist II
16. The Dead Science - “Throne of Blood (The Jump Off),” Villainaire
17. Gnarls Barkley - “Necromancer,” St. Elsewhere
18. Jay Reatard - “An Ugly Death,” Matador Singles '08
19. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - “A Nightmare on My Street,” Elvira Presents Monster Hits
20. (Mic Break) National Philharmonic Orchestra - “Preludio,” Psycho
21. Nuclear Bubble Wrap - “THX (Intro),” Advance At Nothing
22. Sarah Jessica Parker - “Come,” Hocus Pocus
23. Various Artists - “The Time Warp,” Rocky Horror Picture Show
24. Various Artists - “Feed Me (Git It),” Little Shop of Horrors
25. Ray Parker Jr. - “Ghostbusters,” Ghostbusters
26. Tricky - “Excess,” Blowback and Queen of the Damned
27. Johnny Cash - “The Man Comes Around,” American IV and Dawn of the Dead
28. (Mic Break) Various Artists - “Children’s Black Mass,” Midnight
29. Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, “The Monster Mash” The Original Monster Mash
    
30. Benji Hughes - “The Mummy,” A Love Extreme
31. The Dutchess and the Duke - “I Am Just a Ghost,” She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke
32. HorrorPops - “Walk Like a Zombie,” Bring It On!
33. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins - “Little Demon,” Elvira Presents Monster Hits
34. The Mighty Underdogs - “Monster,” Droppin’ Science Fiction
35. Tracy Jordan - “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah,” 30 Rock
36. (Mic Break) The Centuries - “Outer Limits,” The Surf Creature
37. The Moondoggies - “Undertaker,” Don’t Be a Stranger
38. The Puppini Sisters - “Panic,” Betcha Bottom Dollar
39. The Cramps - “Zombie Dance,” Bootleg
40. Various Artists - “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” Haunted Mansion: Haunted Hits

*This was a listener request. He wanted a Led Zeppelin song and "Ramble On" was the only Halloween-ish thing I could come up with on the fly because Robert Plant sings about Mordor. Read more!

RainyDawg Radio

My little brother is making his radio debut over at the University of Washington's campus radio station, RainyDawg. Scoop Rubio has his first show, "Sounds From the Underground" tonight from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST. From here on out—barring unforeseen circumstances—you can catch him at the same time, same place every Thursday night.

My brother is the person who sparked my interest in hip-hop and I've always admired his taste and knowledge of the genre. He's been a DJ spinning parties for a few years now, so I'm pretty excited about his move to radio. He's got a huge personality and a great sense of humor and I know he's going to do a kick ass job. If you like underground hip-hop, definitely tune in. I know I will be. Read more!

YO! KALX Raps! - Show 1 Playlist

You'll find the full playlist from the return of YO! KALX Raps! which aired Sunday night/Monday Morning, October 27, midnight to 1 a.m. I decided to kick things off with a set of local Bay Area hip-hop, so check it out for a survey of some of the region's best acts.

The next YO! KALX Raps! will be Nov. 10, midnight to the 1 o'clock hour. Tune in.


YO! KALX Raps! - Show 1
27 October 2008

1. Zion I - “The Bay (Hyphy Remix),” The Bay (Main 12” Single>
2. Souls of Mischief - “Batting Practice,” ‘93 Till Infinity
3. Raashan Ahmad - “The Crush,” The Push
4. Blackalicious - “Powers,” The Craft
5. The Pack - “Vans,” Based Boys
6. Goapele - “Got It (Remix)” feat. E-40, Got It (Single)
7. Deltron 3030 - “Virus,” Deltron 3030
8. DJ Shadow - “Midnight In a Perfect World,” Endtroducing...
9. Living Legends - “Waterguitar Blues,” UHB Vol 3.: Against All Odds
10. The Grouch - “Show You the World,” feat. Raphael Saadiq, Show You the World
11. People Under the Stairs* - “San Francisco Knights,” The Next Step
12. Digital Underground - “The Way We Swing,” Sex Packets

*Granted PUTS is not a Bay Area group, they give mad love to our fair city on this track and The Next Step was released on San Francisco label Om. Plus, it's a damn good song. Read more!

CORRECTION: YO! KALX Raps! Starts next Sunday

So I got to the studio to do my show and it looks like the music department double-booked, so YO! KALX Raps! will be back on the air next Sunday night/Monday morning.

Just to give you a preview, I'll be playing all Bay Area hip-hop to kick off my YO! KALX Raps! tenure. I'm hoping this will be an amazing show since I have another week to work on it. And also, two Sofistafunk shows in one week! Read more!

Yo! KALX Raps!

As of this Sunday, I will be producing KALX's one-hour hip-hop show "Yo! KALX Raps!" every other Sunday night/Monday morning from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m.

I've inherited the show from DJ Pone, a fantastic Bay Area DJ who also produced the Sunday Morning Cultural Outreach Show, which sadly is no longer on the air (I stumbled across an interesting article here.)

It's be shame to lose Pone to a new locale, especially how underrepresented hip-hop already in on KALX's airwaves. I have some big shoes to fill, but I'm looking forward to carrying the torch and sharing my hip-hop tastes. Read more!

It's Rock 'n' Roll, Baby!

While googling for album art, I stumbled across a series of albums by Rockabye Baby! that translate rock songs into lullabies posted on a the blog dDaunloz Music. Parents interested in indoctrinating their kids into rock music early in life now have an effective means of doing so. However, by choosing source material from popular rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Radiohead, Rockabye Baby! is clearly meant to appeal to parents just as much as to their young'uns. I'm always a sucker for an interesting cover, so I decided to give some of these albums a spin.

I haven't gotten a chance to listen to all of them, but I have skimmed through the No Doubt, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead albums (the No Doubt one seems particularly relevant since Gwen recently gave birth to her second son—I wonder if she plays No Doubt lullabies for her kids). Given that traditional rock 'n' roll instrumentation is converted into glockenspiel, mellotron and vibraphone among other dainty instruments, it's hard to avoid sounding like carnival music. Consequently, most of it sounds like something clowns would play their kids, covers by a steel drum band (we actually had one of these play every year at the high school I went to), karaoke backing tracks or elevator muzak.

Not exactly a shining review, but there are some tracks so far that stand out as interesting and wholly listenable lullaby renditions. On the No Doubt album, the group turns "New," a fast-paced and driving track into And "Rock Steady" (one of my all time favorite No Doubt songs) becomes even more mellow and more delicate in this sleepytime arrangement. The value of these albums, besides putting little nuggets to bed, is the lush intricacy with which the covers are wrought. Without the vocal tracks, the instrumentation of these songs jumps to the forefront and different aspects of a song are brought out. When these covers aren't creeping me out by making me think of clowns, they are intriguing and enjoyable—and probably great for taking a nap to. Read more!