True.

Wait a minute...

If tracks YOU would want to listen to for 24 hours are "junk food" then what tracks are "healthy food" you would feed your KIDS?   That would actually be closer to what I'm asking in the first place.

And if masterbation is like junk food what the hell is the opposite?

That analogy has me interested...  dirty as my mind is, I can't imagine where you were going with that.

Posted By A.G.C. on 11 Sep 2009 08:09 PM
Nice post Cosmic Gypsy...

I'm trying to integrate the way I play guitar and bass and write songs with making beats and mixing (which I'm completely new at). It's not going very well in my opinion. It's like having a twisted ankle or something, like one leg is good and the other almost unusable.

Like I was watching Jimmy Fallon the other night and suddenly I became fasinated with the guitar player from the Roots. Like the way he plays, it's like he's playing an MPC but he's playing guitar. The way he phrases his lines when he plays it sounds like it samples. It's the craziest thing I ever saw/heard.

Like, I was completely unaware of the slight rhytmic differences in the way certain (not all) sample based players phrase ish. I don't want to list stuff that I don't think has "feel" but (in my mind) some of the stuff called Hip Hop or Rap has it and some don't (IMO). I could be wrong but I'm sure I could throw out a name of two FL guys that (just about) everybody here would say "that's got a soulful rhythmic feel, that doesn't".

On the other hand "mood" I think (whether you like either of these guys) most people would agree that their most famous songs both create a "mood" effectively (whether you like that certain "mood" or not).

So I'm more looking for what someones thoughts are on "feel" and "mood" when comparing songs they choose to listen to than looking for a blueprint for "feel" and "mood".

Then again maybee everybody is just as happy listening to the great Hip Hop song "Sweet Home Alabama" as that country classic "Let Me Ride". I mean it's all just music right?


More "broken leg" Hip Hop... It's all the craze with the kids.

-=Rate My Beat=-

Interesting you say that about the Roots. I've seen an interview with ?uestlove where he said his whole drumming style was trying to make his playing sound like it was programmed. Everything he listened to was made on an mpc or an sp or some other groove machine, all quantised and everything, so when he was playing drums he was trying to play like the machines. The Roots are like a live band which play like a programmed sample.
And Dilla is the inverse of this, dilla's whole style was to create drum tracks in a machine that sounded like they were a live drum kit. He'd listen to records and try and pick out points where the drummer misses a beat or the guitarist plays a bum note.

If tracks YOU would want to listen to for 24 hours are "junk food" then what tracks are "healthy food" you would feed your KIDS? That would actually be closer to what I'm asking in the first place.

This is an example of what I mean by "healthy food".

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6544780394da3980/

The song is "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", it's 13 minutes long, and it has an instrumental intro of about 8 minutes. Most pop songs climax a few seconds, and are finished after about 3 minutes. This song is a challenge to the notion that music has to be like fast food, in so far as instant satisfaction goes. And incidently, it's one of the best songs ever composed, in my opinion. Not because of it's complexity, but because it's just pure expression. It has about 4 movements, you'll see what I mean when you hear it.

The hip-hop equivalent of that kind of artitstry, in my opinion, would be MF Doom. In paticular, if you listen to "Venomous Villain", at first you'll be like "this ish is just weird". After a few listens, especially of the first three tracks, you'll start to appreciate just how beautifully crafted the beats are, in their own strange ways, and in the long run are far more rewarding to listen to than "Outta Control" by 50 cent. I used to listen to that on repeat for about month. I never listen to it anymore. I still listen to Venomous Villain every now and then after yeas of owning it.

And if masterbation is like junk food what the hell is the opposite?

That analogy has me interested... dirty as my mind is, I can't imagine where you were going with that.

Haha. The opposite would be good sex. You sweat more for it, but it pays off more in the end. lol

Dat makes sense! All of it.

This is my "junk food" right now. Federal - White Rhinos



There's just something so hypnotic about this to me.

Some guys (who make good beats, not me) should approach this kid about recording on their beats.  He's talking bout some deep ish for such a young whipper snapper.

If I'm not mistaken, the instrumental is taken from Jay-Z's Black Album. It might be a UK edition bonus track or something, but i'm pretty sure is on that album. Anyways, it's sick! Did you listen to the track I posted above? Just wondering what you thought of it...

Actually, David Gilmour used to be my ish... I've heard this song a lot of times already, I do a mean Glmour impression. After I get me a strat (planning on it soon) I'll throw something up for ya. But yeah, that song is the ish! Some of Santanna's experimental stuff, Hendrix, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Roy Buchanan, Duanne Alman, Jose Feliciano (california dreamin' and light my fire) ... man I used to slow up them records half speed and rip them guys off something fierce when I was fifteen or so... Guys who told stoies by using notes and rhythm, some with feel, tellin great stories with music. Tellin' a story... Gilmour is telling a story on this one.

Then I heard Coltrane... (Miles Davis Kind of Blue and Coltrane's version of My Favorite things) Then I started listening to Miles Davis more closely (My Funny Valentine off the Ballads album) that's when I learned how to fry faces (Coltrane) and make the girls cry and drop their panties (Miles) with the guitar.

That song I posted (you like it so hot) was seriously some ish I threw together in less than an hour just to demonstrate recording vocals in passes to get better breath control. You can't really hear anything like that in it. It was just me doing a "elevator music" type impression of Santanna.

But yeah, that song brings back a lot of memories... good times.... good times...

I know what your talking about as far as "good food" though. Like the first time I heard Jeff Beck in the yardbirds I was like "bad beatles or clapton impression", then I heard his cover of Charles Mingus' Goodbye Porkpie Hat... Got Damb! ish almost made me cry. Tellin' a story... painting a picture...

How you do that with drums or samples? Can't say I ever listened to drums that closely, just felt them, you know what I mean?

I mean, I can play drums, but just kinda "hat goes on the verse, ride goes on the chorus" type of way if that makes sense. I don't analyse what I'm doing I just kind of follow the music.

Trying to program drums first... it's nothing like playing the drums (at least to me) cause it's kind of backwards from the way I drum. When I'm drumming I put a crash if what I'm heaing tells me to.

This is really hard to describe.... I'm probably not making any sense at all. I mean when I sit down to make a beat I ususally start with the drums, that's where I really feel like I'm lost. Then the whole beat is like robotic or something. Like, there's just a bunch of space there and WTF do I do to create a mood? Maybee I should start from the Bass or Guitar or something instead but that seems kind of backwards from how I see most people do it. I'm gonna try to listen to the drums and sample drops real closely on the stuff you mentioned.

I'm gonna find them other songs asap and let you know how it's coming...

Haha I love this. ATM Blink 182 is my masturebation (I decided that it was a more appropriate analogy as it's the basis for most of their songs). Whenever I just need some music it's the first place I turn. Though when I really want some high quality music I go to Radiohead or Fatboy Slim. I can't listen to that music all the time but when I do listen to it it absolutely blows my mind.


Poetry for the insane.
Who's in a bunker?
Who's in a bunker?
Women and children first
And the children first
And the children
I laugh until my head comes off
I swallow till I burst
Until I burst
Until I

Who's in a bunker?
Who's in a bunker?
I've seen too much
You haven't seen enough
You haven't seen it
I laugh until my head comes off
Women and children first
And children first
And children



Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time

Ice age coming
Ice age coming
Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both
Ice age coming
Ice age coming
Throw them in the fire
Throw them in the fire
Throw them in the

We're not scare mongering
This is really happening
Happening
We're not scare mongering
This is really happening
Happening
Mobiles quirking
Mobiles chirping
Take the money and run
Take the money and run
Take the money

Here I'm alive (background: and first and the children . . .)
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time

Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time

and first and the children . . .

Yeah boy! Nice...

Actually are there any other Radiohead fans on here?

I can't say I'm truly a fan... I'm sort of a "secondhand fan" of radiohead through my son and my wife who listens to them all the time.

Speaking of which one of my other sons talks about MF Doom all the time, I never really listened to him cause he never plays it without headphones. Holy ish, that was not what I was expecting at all! I see what your saying about being the equivalent to the stuff I listen to on guitar... It took me a few listens to "get it". Guy has got mad skills. I had to get out of beat mode and get into "art mode" if you know what I mean. Yeah, that totally was an eye opener for real. Seriously I didn't ever hear anything like that (from a hip hop perspective) in my life. Like I've heard musique concrete' and all that in college but this was like the modern day version of that with flow and ish. However I don't know how "healthy" it is for me to listen to that since he's a supervillian and all... (lol)

Hmm I would think that you would really like Radiohead particularly all the earlier guitar driven stuff, you could appreciate the musicality.

Just out of curiosity how do your family (particularly kids) feel when you started making beats? Sorry for bringing age into this but I just couldn't imagine any of the adults around here (even the musical ones) even considering getting on the computer and making hip hop.

I do like Radiohead, but I wouldn't consider myself a "fan" of any music... I like it all. I don't see any divisions, there's nothing I can't steal. I will listen to Roy Clarke just as easily as Oscar Peterson just as easy as the Sex Pistols just as easy as anything else.
As far as what my kids think, I don't think they think about it.

I've been playing music profesionally since I was 16, so they didn't really notice any difference I suppose. I mean up until about 3 years ago (when I went back to college) that's how I fed everybody and all three of my kids just knew that was dad's job. I think it was weirder for them when I wasn't playing music at all when I first started back to school (math was taking all my "free" time at first). Dad not doing music was probably very disconcerting for them cause that's all they knew. I always learned new things, praticed, added something to the tool belt, learned a new instrument, messed around on computers. I'm an unusual person, but that is usual for them if you feel me? When I started becoming like all the other Dad's my kids were like, "aren't you gonna play guitar"? or "Why don't you play guitar for my friends?" I'll tell you what was weird, my mother-in-law started in on me about not playing anymore and she had been bitching about me for twenty years!

Then my son wanted to start rapping. He was like like asking me stuff about music so I showed him a few things. Then he wanted to start making beats and I bought Acid and FLStudio for him. He was constantly asking me how to do this or that so I just picked it up that way. So really the computer is kind of like learning a new instrument which again, they are very used to since I would have to learn to play mandolin or something for some job and me locking myself in a room and scouring the internet for info on how to do what I'm trying to learn is nothing new.

So I guess the way I look at it, there are veeerrry few people who do what you do, period. I think that there are not very many kids doing anything creative besides playing guitar hero or posting nasty comments on youtube. So in all honesty, out of the subset of older black profesional musicains you'd probably find quite a few that have just recently switched from drum machines and the like to computer based composing whereas kids like you who are actually doing something that uses their brain? Not to bring age into it, but most of the kids around here wouldn't even consider getting on the computer and making any kind of music. It's kind of sad.

-=Rate My Beat=-

Hmm really, not a fan of any music in particular? Ok when you've just been camping for a week and come home and just need to hear some music what do you put on? I know that I'll instantly go to my punk/skater rock everytime even though I like just about every style of music.

Posted By Fisha on 14 Sep 2009 03:23 AM
Hmm really, not a fan of any music in particular? Ok when you've just been camping for a week and come home and just need to hear some music what do you put on? I know that I'll instantly go to my punk/skater rock everytime even though I like just about every style of music.

I click on a track name to leave feedback...

Seriously, you asked...  I actually just got back from camping and I couldn't wait to see who made progress or dropped some mad science.  I definatly have a lot of admiration for some of the people here.  But again I wouldn't say I was a "fan".  I just look at the latest list, look at my sidebar and enjoy something new from a friend or listening to a potential new friend.  Right now that's kind of my ish.  I'm actually much more likely to play a game of chess on the computer than listen to music after a trip usually though, I'm a chess freak.

However, I must admit to searching for Forest Whitaker's version of "Dick in a Box" several times in the last few weeks as well as "I'm on a Boat"  Featuring T-Pain.  I'm probably much more likely to watch something like "White and Nerdy" than listen to music just for the sake of it.  Parody of the absurdness of the music business if far more entertaining to me most of the time than listening to music just for fun. 

I did create a new channel of Trip Hop lately on my pandora account cause I was watching Mad Men and found out that music was under the Trip Hop catagory there so once again, something new, I'm all about the new (to me, not actually new).  I'm always on the lookout for some "zone out" music to study to or play chess to.

Actually I have to admit to being a fan now that I think about it...  Those funking hamsters on that car commercial...  OMFG I love that commercial,  Those hamsters freaking rock!  I tried watching the original band (Goldfish) and they weren't nearly as interesting as those hamsters.  I mean they are so freakin' cool... bobin' their little heads with their little ipods.  The look on the faces of those other hamsters who ain't cool cause they ain't rockin out... priceless.

(actually I'm just joking)


I love the video of them guys playing the mpc and synths, it's off the freaking hook.