This is the official logo for the London Olympics 2012. It apparently cost £400,000 to design and now some critics have found some really disturbing resemblances with some Simpson characters.
Look here, for some explanations, but be aware, there is some sexually provocative material there.
"Love it or hate it, people smoke marijuana - lots of it. In some states marijuana consumption and posession have been decriminalized, and even legalized for medicinal purposes. But, have you ever wondered how large the economics of Marijuana were? Us too. As a result ,have decided to put together this graphic, which illustrates the popularity of marijuana consumption, the federal tax dollars spent to keep marijuana illegal, and the possible tax revenues that could be generated if marijuana production were legalized and taxed like any other agricultural product. It is especially interesting, with regards to the Great Recession."
Seems that nowadays many new upcoming dancehall and also some roots reggae artists seem to have pretty cool or weird short names, usually just 5-6 letters long. Or what do you think of these:
- Jagwa - Bramma - Smuji - Jahfe - Fambo - Sadeki
If they wanna get more traditional names, they should check out the Reggae name generator
I shall refer to me myself and I as "Deyazmach Dread" from now on.
The Google Street View application thingy is apparently quite awesome. You see what really goes on on dem streets, worldwide too. Robberies, violence, peeing, people with big guns, puking, flashing titties, Samurai sword fights, people getting arrested and whatnot.
Some people's been complaining about the loss of privacy and shit like that but I say f**k that, if you do stupid/cool stuff on public place, someone is bound to see you, or even better you're actually asking for it. Damn, that what human life is like. Hatzios Kriton would approve.
The mighty Cocomotion club is back this week at Nolla Bar! And with yet another guest from Helsinki's dj elite. Fummer, that is!
Fummer's been the number one combatant for nu/space/beard disco and balearic sweetness in Helsinki for ages. He's been playing that stuff for years at club nites such as Workout, Low Phantasy, Family Man, Gods of Eden, doing mixes and blogging with his Music Must Go Beyond Itself crew. So the dude knows his stuff!
Come by on saturday, will you! I've even got a brand new edit done for the occasion, a little extended mix of a late 1980's post-new wave/pre-alt rock/AOR classic...
Yes, finally. I've seen Mr Vegas at Sumfest in JA 2002, but his career has been strong ever since, so it's gonna be fresh still in 2009. Actually Mr Vegas is one of the few dancehall acts that has had a long career and is still pon dem charts. Although the current hit"I Am Blessed" has a kinda .... annoying gospel chorus? Well he looks like an older preacherman in the pic above, so the shoes fits.
Hot Gal Today, Heads High, Lean With It, Mus Come A Road.... So def.
Google's translate -feature is quite hilarious (don't bother clicking if your finnish skills ain't kicking). I actually think that we should start talking and writing like this, like 12 year old kids text messaging and smoking trees at the same time.
I'm not a big follower of baseball, but I luv the classic Yankees logo & clothing. And I appreciate the fact that they originate from the county of Bronx, the birthplace of hip hop.
But I am a big fan on anthems and here's one anthem for the Yankees , congratulations for taking home 27th World Series title.
This is the real thing for all of you Potters and wizzards: Magic Wand -remote control.
"The Kymer Magic Wand is basically a universal remote control that is capable of learning up to 13 different infrared (IR) codes from your existing remotes and then replaying those codes when the spellcaster makes any one of 13 different gestures. Among the gestures that the wand can recognize are rotate, left and right flicks, something called Big Swish, Push Forward and Pull Back.
I saw this thing in action the other day and I'll haffi get me one of those thingies. Think about it: you could easily put a spell on your tv, xbox or macbook with flick of a wrist. I say whooooah.
So, to start a new 'Dropping Riddim Knowledge' series here today's Riddim is called 'What What', as made famous by Capleton's 'High Grade' and which samples heavily The Neptunes produced classic 'Superthug' by N.O.R.E., check out the live version below.
And If I remember correctly, Superthug was The Neptunes' real breakthrough hit as a production team way back in 1998, or something.
Anyway, it's still a banger even if IHMO Capleton would kick Nore's ass any day because 1.) he dresses in way funkier style, and 2.) he's more likely to be seen blessing a hefty Chalice, instead of drinking Crystal out of some stupid blingy pimp cup or something.
DISCLAIMER:
I know hardly anything about Jamaican riddims in general. The most common databases do not say anything about the What What riddim but High Grade is supposed to done to Okay riddim instead... whatever.
Reggae music is best served fresh, but sometimes even older hits seem to work. Just like with Jussi's recent post about Sizzla, A man who hasn't done too much interesting in the last few years, but his songs live on.
A newer artist Konshens has been popping up here and there. Today I heard this song once again on my way to work (babylon!) and it kept ringing in my head all day long. It's over a year old (means ancient is patois), but it still hot!
Old folks tend to say something about 'eating an apple a day...' but I say: listening to at least one track made to the classic Sleng Teng riddim a day cannot do nuttin' but good for you.
So here's Reggie Stepper with his massive 'Under Mi Sin Ting' for your enjoyment.
Eli Escobar is a way good dj and a friend of Finland who remembers to visit Helsinki often enough. He's also got the coolest music blog and he's a sought-after remixer, putting out official remixes as well as nice bootles (like this one on a Top Billin EP, for example). But the man is a renaissance hero: he's even done some tracks of his own. Like this new one called Glass House. And it has a really nice throwback video.
You might think whatever about Sizzla's recent adventures and opinions on many things but this is ATMO simply one the most slammin' Jamaican tracks I've heard lately. And yes, I know it's waaay old but who cares? Worth several rewinds at any dance!
Lo and behold! We finally have a new layout and graphics done for this blog. And a new title too, "Life Of Kriton", which is basically what the whole blog is all about. Awesome!
Weezer and Lil Wayne, written by Jermaine Dupri... hands up, who saw this coming? Rivers Cuomo getting busy some the most generic jiggy-rap lyrics like "I gotta have Patron, I gotta have the weed..." Loads of trance-rap synths, Wayne's voice morphing into River's voice.
Sort of very ridonkulous and retarded, but still sort of amusing. On the chorus the production kinda sounds like Linkin Park, though...
Mad White Jamaican has been some sort of a Internet Phenomenon or Meme for some time. He may not be most hilarious comedian on earth, but you must admit there's something funny about this concept - an eminem lookalike with a trenchtown accent. Seen?
It's on again this weekend. As guest deejay, we're having Mange from Sweden (and the ever expanding Nerd Network Helsinki crew) who knows his italo like his back pockets! Info from the flyer above.
And on top of that, Magnus made a special promo mix for Cocomotion! Get it here, track list on the comments section.
This song reminds me that I should repair my old Groovebox to get my hands on its' filter knobs & arpeggios. To get that classic, durttty arpeggio sounds!
Btw this duo is coming to Helsinki tomorrow, so be there if this is your cup of juice.
"Police believe at least 60 young Brazilians have lost their lives in funk balls; dozens more have sustained serious injuries. Some have been paralyzed, some blinded.
Funk balls look like ordinary nightclubs with one big difference: They play music that incites the crowd to bloodshed. Funk's anger is contained not only in lyrics of murder and revenge but wrapped up in the very sound of the music, in a rhythm that chimes with the speed of a fist smashing into an enemy's flesh."
We all operate on Macs nowadays and many people love to 'personalize' their laptops with stickers and whatnot. Anyway, this is seriously the coolest design on any Mac laptop I've seen so far.
Last nite Snoop Dogg brought his pound to Helsinki for the third time. I honestly didn't have too high expectations - I excpected a good show from a charismatic rapper, but the show was actually top notch. The band was a bit progressive at times, but I really digged those arrangements that gave a new edge to the classics. The biggest surprise was when Lady Of Rage came on stage and they started playing "Afro Puffs". Big respect for the lady!
Snoop is mos def one of the only really big rappers that have had a long career, quite current hits and still manage to amaze you live.
I know that MySpace has lost the game to Facebook (at least if we measure daily users and user activity), but it still works prett well e.g. as a promotion channel for bands and artists.
However - I've been trying to delete my profile from MySpace for a week now, but I can't seem to manage to do that. I've clicked the proper buttons and tried to send my profile to the digital graveyard but no.
So Myspace guys: send me the f***ng confirmation mail so I can really delete my profile. It's nothing personal, it's just friggin frustrating and reeaally bad customer service.
We all know what Spotify has done to (free / ad sponsored) streaming audio. What I wait for is the next spotify for video, both tv series and full length movies. Hulu has been a big thing in the States for almost a few years now, and we all remember the hype around Joost but there must be something happening soon.
In the meanwhile check out Speedcine, one version of what this could be in the future.
The Cocomotion club (at Bar Nolla, Helsinki) is tomorrow for the fourth time now, with the almighty Flipperi from Top Billin crew / Nightrunners / Helsinki 78-82 (a brand new hella good project!) as a guest DJ!
so i thought what better way to celebrate it than to to make a promo mix! The first Cocomotion mix evah!
Here it is: a massive hour plus mix of some balearic pop, electronic, disco and whatnot, including your favorites like The Art Of Noise, The Police, hannulelauri, Hercules And Love Affair, Desire, Helen, Studio, Pineapples, Holy Ghost! etc... (see track list on the comments!)
This starts to look like a reggae blog nowadays (well - we're into reggae, but also lots of other stuff too). I still had to blog this as well, it's Vybz Kartel's Yuh Love (prod. by Dre Skull).
I was hanging out at the mall near by and this suddenly started playing of the PA. A perfect soundtrack for these last days of summer. Could have played it a bit louder, though.
Nowadays more than nine out of ten of all singles sales are made in digital form, for albums that figure is reversed. Therefore Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are soon starting to launch digital album covers that inlcude "computerised version of the sleeve notes that come as standard with a CD, including lyrics and artwork, and videos"
Nice idea, but let's see if has any effect on the changed consumer behaviour. I mean, the music album is a concept created in the 60's and the world has changed a lot since.
It's only August, but I guess I have found the best reggae riddim of 2009. It's a version of the classic "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle - thee song from the TV-series "Cops".
This is a fresh version, nice songs by Buju Banton, Burro Banton, Busy Signal, Perfect and others. More here...
Here's a couple of my new reggae favourites than surely will be heard on friday at Fillarikorjaamo. Ramping Shop has been a huge hit for some time now, but check out Tarrus Riley & Macka Diamond as well, pretty nice stuff there as well. And Movado's ballady chune is big as well.
It's on again next friday 7.8. with HennyMan and Alppila spinning discs like last time. I'll try to bring some new dancehall tunes & old punk rock classics, Alppila will mos def play some house music. And we promise to put a lot of AOR in between as well.
This seems to be a quite new riddim, although the original ladygagagaga version is quite washed out by now. But this is once again done in a typical jamaican style. Warning: lyrics contain explicit sexual references.
I have never been following the dnb-scene, although I've lately been diggin' some older jungle stuff. However, last nite on a boring flight I had to rewind this song several times on my iPod. It's Cold Jazz and Wezzler Featuring Joey Fever - Serious Things. Basically a reggae singjay song with dnb-beat, but this has really strong vocals and a catchy chorus
I'd like to hear a more traditional remix of this still.
Yes, it's on again! This time with Hennyman and Alppila spinning some weird science with guest appearances as well. Hennyman will be filling his Chrome Messenger bag with classics & fresh picks from Jamaica and Alppila will have a wide selection of electronic pop I guess. And 'cos we also rock Serato nowadays, you can expect anything from us, 'cos we hold no barriers when it comes to mixing great songs together. Mos Def a short MJ appreciation set at some point. Or then not.
So come to Korjaamo this friday to witness the fitness! Take yer bike as well.
The marriage of reggae and rap was a big trend in the 90's and I'd personally like to see more of that stuff coming out. I mean for an example the stuff that Nas and Damian "Junior Gong" have done in the past is sooo great (see this). Well now it seems that this ganja-lovin' duo is back in the studio and on the road mixing the roots to the hop. The snippet "As We Are" from the album to come sounds just what it should sound like. Damian is one of the best toasters on the market and Nas has always mastered the skill of clear and distinctive rapping.
Once again, it comes from Sweden. This one's called Pacemaker. It's a handheld portable DJ-gear to democratise the DJ culture. Good be nice add on to those summer picnics.
And yes, one of the master minds behind this is Stakka Bo... Y'all remember this hit from the past?
We're all waiting for Jay-Z's upcoming Blueprint 3 -release. The album was initially said to feature a lot of songs that utilized the voice-altering technology, Jay recently removed all Auto-Tune from BP3, recording 'D.O.A.' instead. Apparently, he's sick of the trend. Well, autotune can be annoying but what's the stuff about dissing tight jeans?
"you boys jeans too tight, you colors too bright, your voice too light. I might wear black for a year straight, I might bring back Versace shades. this ain’t for z100, Ye told me to kill y’all to keep it 1 hundred, this is for hot 97, for Khalid we the best’n, yeah this is just violent, death of autotune, moment of silence."
All right, us Kriton Boys have been booked to spin dem funky rekkids at the Fillarikorjaamo Club in the Korjaamo in Töölö every first Friday of the summer months, starting this week. First at the terrace, then later inside the club. The sound selection will be eclectic to the max and it'll be hot & sweaty fo'sho. We'll be there in different constellations with some others kids spinning vinyl too. There'll be plenty of other cycling-related activities there too, read more here and see yo'all out there!
Just to remind that one thing is cooler than Rancid, and that's Operation Ivy. Of course Armstrong and Freeman we're founding members of this band as well.
Op Ivy is too hectic for any occation, their sound was kinda crappy at all times, they play too fast for their skills, but they rocked the Gilman Street 924 back in the days.
"We got it right, you got wrong, Were still around (Last one to die) Were going up, youre going down Were still around (Last one to die)"
They're growing old and their gnarly tattoos are fading, but Rancid still can make a kick ass album. The new cd "Let The Dominoes Fall" comes with cool bonus material (making of -DVD, guitar picks, posters, an acoustic version cd). It may not be a classic as "Out Come The Wolves", but this is simply a nice album. The lyrics are pretty much about living in the Bay Area, which is a subject these guys seem to know a lot about. I really dig these guys, 'cos they sure ain't no CEO-punk or emo/neo type of anything, they've been pretty loyal to their game.
Just to get in mood, check out some old hits as well...
I was really into some crappy hair metal bands back in the 80's when i was a school kid. Like not even just Poison, Winger, Ratt, Warrant and Dokken, but even ones that weren't as popular, but still equally crappy. Like Danger Danger from New York. They looked (and sounded) like bunch of little girls, but i didn't care. And at least their first album cover was pretty cool - in a geeky airbrush way (see above).
And all this blabbering leads me to this: last friday i met this nice dude named Jan at the Cocomotion club and he said that he has a blog called Danger Danger. And not just any old blog, but actually a really cool one. A music one. So unless you're still into crap hair metal, go check it out!
Sweet lord, this tune has been on massive power play recently at my place. A massive seasonal tune - and also a future Cocomotion anthem. Cosmic friggin swede-rock from 1981.
I must state that this blog is not a political forum with a particular agenda , so our intention is not to promote drugs, crime, or anything illegal. We just find the whole drug culture just plain interesting as a part of our modern society and its' subcultures.
And as especially weed has had a long history with jamaican music (and hip hop as well) I have to put the third ganja-influenced link here in a row. It's Ward 21 and the BEST EVER ganja tune. It's all about the blue smoke.
(But we still promote tolerance in all of it forms - we're a bit hippies that way)
I haven't been too active with Twitter, but the whole online microblogging thing is kinda interesting as a phenomenon. You could think of Twitter as the biggest online discussion forum in the world. And tracking those discussions can be quite addictive.
There are some cool tools for that, try e.g. Twitscoop that shows a tag cloud in realtime of what people are tweeting about. Pointless, maybe, but fun in a way. Somebody's actually tweeting about Cosby now. Is it Bill or Theo perhaps they're buzzing about?
You could also track Twitter trends from Twist, which is kinda like Google Trends.
Brand new summer, brand new club. Yours truly, Fiil Inc will be starting a monthly Balearic/pop/disco club night with Lauri Soini a.k.a. 80's Cop at Nolla Baari. So if youre in town (Helsinki that is) next friday (22nd May) be sure to come and say hi. And enjoy the raw power of really smooth music. Maybe something on the lines of this:
I've always been a fan of the crazy comedy flicks from Airplane! to American Pie. If the DVD cover says that it's Rated R for strong sexual content, crude humor, language and drug use it most likely going to do the trick for me. I haven't seen "Observe & Report" yet,, but based on this trailer it must have all of the above. I mean the scene with these coked up fake cops beating up kids with skateboards- you gotta love it.
Waste five minutes with this video and you know what goin' on in the 'Paname!' These Parisian kids are def on some next gen 'ish here. Just like they should too.
I also like the fact that they all seems to have Le Gibus as their HQ and I actually used to live right across the street from it the last time I stayed in Paris. Good to know they still keep it keeping on over there.
Passion Pit from Boston is my new favorite electronic pop band. Their first mini album "Chunk Of Change" came out late last year (on Frenchkiss in the USA and through - OMG- Sony Music in Europe) and it was all killer no filler. The above video, "The Reeling" , is the first single off their upcoming debut album "Manners" (out May 19th). All whiny falsetto vocals, massive pop hooks, electro disco beats, layers and layers of synth, vocal harmonies and sweet melancholy vibes.
You cant help but love this stuff: their official label site says that the main Passion Pitter Michael Angelakos (who actually does all the music by himself in the studio) is equally influenced by both Giorgio Moroder AND Randy Newman! Also Google/imdb tells me that "Passion Pit" is the name of a 1985 porn film with Traci Lords and John Holmes, so how could you ever go wrong with something like that?
Now that the hype's growing more and more here in Finland as well, you outta check out Andy Milonakis- "Let Me Twitter That". Andy's a bit disturbed in my opinion (in a positive way, kinda...), but this has a certain truth in it. "My baby needs pampers, let me twitter that...."
If you think that the iPhone is still too much for your wallet and you have a history of liking let's say... more accessible versions of known those more expensive brands, then this might interest you.
They're making a chinese version of the iPhone, it's a bit fatter and uglier and doesnt work that well, but it's way more cheaper and looks the same if don't come too close to it. They just call it "HiPhone"
Our main man Fiskars (also known as one third of the six-legged party machine Top Billin) is one helluva graphic designer. Now this dude can draw them stick figures, to say the least. During the last few years, countless 12" record sleeves, cd-covers, t-shirts, party flyers, posters, even skateboards have had the priviledge to become illustrated with Fiskars' crazy nice vectors.
So if you don't know, ya'll better recognize. The man has put a new portfolio site out there for you to enjoy. Here you go: www.Luxux.com
