the blog of Jerry Bolton
Archive for November, 2008
…paperseasonfall08
1Current Tunage: Mars Ill – The Life And Times Of A Simple Man
Old Ironsides. Classic Mars Ill material circa 2007.
I know, I know. I’m waiting too! Lots coming down the pipelines as soon as it’s ready. How does this sound:
2 Papers (aka Essays), 1 Journal, 1 Presentation, 1 Assignment. 1 week.
This week, that is. Yeah, I thought you’d understand: I’ve been up to my neck and down on my knees.
Anyways, I was just chilling out to some traditional Mars Ill grooves, namely the 5 Year Anniversary Edition of their 2001 classic debut “Raw Material”. Essentially, it’s kind of like a best-of. See, “Raw Material” was released twice. First it was released by Sphere of Hip-Hop (back when they did a little cd-releasing, instead of just being the kings of online conscious hip hop distro and assimilation). It had a couple tracks on it, namely “Destined to Be” and “Under the Sun” (featuring Listener) that weren’t on the next (and much more common) release. Which was the Uprok Records release, which instead of the aforementioned tracks, had two new ones – “The Abolition of Manchild” and “Fade to Black” featuring Sintax the Terrific. Other than rearranging the track orders, the two releases were identical in their remaining 17 tracks, quite a few of which were instrumental.
On the 5 year anniversary, they have all four of the above tracks. They also removed the beloved “Sphere of Hip Hop, Part 2″, but added “Sphere of Hip Hop, Part 3″ to fill the void (you can only fit so much on a disc). Further adding to the fray, they’ve added two versions of a song that was lost in Dust’s basement closet, entitled “Flipside” – represented with two beats, one by Playdough, one by Dave Kelly.
The only interesting catch? Everything but the “new” tracks is instrumental. Which is fine, because freaks like me have all the other songs already anyways.
I’m reminiscing about the 20-01 folks, and the ‘niscin is good.
…because his mercy is ‘merciless’
03 years ago
Title: Merciless EP
Artist: JustMe & Sintax the Terrific
Label: Illect Recordings
Length: 6 Tracks / 19:32
One part playa, one part Puritan,
All parts Prodigal Son sent to return
(Sintax on “Compound Interest”)
In a genre where albums regularly clock in over 15 tracks and at least an hour of playtime, EP’s are fairly scarce – and even more difficult to ingest. Typically you have a boatload of beats and rhymes to ingest with which to assess the artists’ heart and soul and style. To have just a scant six tracks and twenty minutes of playtime to accomplish the same feat is no small order.
This is particularly true when the EP in question features the dynamite duo of JustMe and Sintax the Terrific. Southern California’s JustMe is known for his past work with early 2000′s crew The SolSeekers and for his current run with supercrew Scribbling Idiots. He also has one solo record out (One Man’s Trash) and another on the way. Sintax is best known as being one of the nine mouth-pieces in rap-godzilla-monster posse Deepspace 5 and for his two well-received solo albums, Simple Moves and Curb Appeal. Both emcees are well-known and respected in the Christian “Triple H” (Holy Hip Hop) community. Thus, the combination of the two is timely and more importantly it promises good things.
As expected, good things abound on Merciless. The dynamic of doing a collaborative EP is one that JustMe and Sintax approach in a very fluid and manageable way that comes across as being anything but forced and results in some really remarkable intertexting and crossplay. The best example of this would be the first track, “Saturation Point”, where they each have a distinct overall form of the same beat and the beat morphs back and forth between those two forms (and a multitude of subtle variations) as they take their turns – each one going for about 16 bars at a time. The effect is brilliant and it gives a perfect introduction to the rappers as well as to the EP; it showcases their distinct styles while drawing them together to highlight their united voice. The song’s content itself is equally impressive, essentially capturing a fictional conversation’s dialogue back-and-forth.
This united front proves to be a formidable strength throughout the record, as JustMe and Sintax have never really been ones to shy away from difficult or heady topics. Both prove themselves formidable in terms of deftly weaving meaningful orthodox theology and philosophy of life throughout their verses on Merciless. Topics include life and how to live it, death, the mysteries and wonders of God’s justice and mercy in Christ, and quite a bit more. All of this is remarkable considering they cover this ground in a mere six cuts.
One song in particular which gripped me lyrically was the EP’s fourth, entitled “Death is Real”. The best way to explain why is to share some of the profundity with you directly. First, we hear the beginning of the first verse, from JustMe:
In the words of Paul – “I’m the worst sinner”
Living it up while the starving get thinner
Dinner for the flies, Beginner to the wise,
Even God knows what it’s like to die
Like sight to eye, that fades away
Some sooner than later, can’t wait for the Day…
(JustMe on “Death Is Real”)
Later on in the song, Sintax drops this bomb of a verse. This was pretty much the crown verse of the record in my mind, and really served as a beautiful closer on a beautiful, haunting track. Here it is:
Yo, I’m back from the dead to tell you that it’s for real
Out-of-body born-again-believer appeal
I’m feelin’ eager to peel back the ether intact
You might have read some CS Lewis but you don’t know Jack
The brain’s an artifact, body is a relic
But the soul is where it’s at, in fact the new black velvet
Forget what you know, put your hands to the ceiling
Like I’m so post-modern my feelings have feelings
Living in a fantasy world living fancy
Pearls got us strung out on vanity – Girls,
It’s like insanity’s the rule, peace the exception
So I’m feasting on a diet of gruel and resurrection
Hyperbole the tool to wake you from the daydream
Genius is a fool and real rap is mainstream
Death is rebirth, but I’d have to kill you to prove it
‘Cuz life really starts when you lose it (gotta lose it)
(Sintax on “Death is Real”)
Musically, the beats are all very solid. There’s a lot of variety in the sampling and a lot of depth in the layering of sounds throughout the beats. Production was handled by JustMe himself and I’d venture to argue that he outdid all the beats on his first solo record One Man’s Trash by a fairly wide margin on this EP (which I found a little strange – but I guess we can chalk it up to growing experience as a producer). The beats aren’t tiring or annoying as beats can often be, and they generally pulse with a kind of chill and meditative vibe that can actually really permeate the skull and get caught up in it – or, in other words, they can get stuck in your head. That’s always a good thing where rap beats are concerned.
It began on the wrong side of the tracks:
Lack the art of facts, and lack the art of laughter,
Exactly what I’m after – Not knowing, not showing
The signs of a grand design.
Find a fine rhyme in the silence like a pantomime
And to find letting my actions speak louder,
‘Til factions of doubters
Get crushed into powder (and raised again)
It’s called ‘grace’, my friend!
(JustMe on “Rough Crossing”)
All in all, this is a really fly EP – there’s a lot of great moments and the variety of back-and-forth, verse-and-bar trading that JustMe and Sintax supply throughout the disc gives it a lot of gumption as well as uniqueness. Many lesser joint EP’s just have emcees trading off verses and maybe singing the chorus together, so it was great to see some new variations on old ideas.
Bottom line, it left me wanting more – maybe a lot of it. This is a testament to the quality and ability of these emcees, as well as to their ability to give hearers a unified conversation-slash-monologue to take part in and/or be in awe of. Both emcees bring their ‘A’ game, and this means that Merciless isn’t your usual second-rate afterthought EP, but instead an example of two artists coming together with one purpose and one vision to share one message in an impactful manner. It’s everything a rap EP should be.
Here’s a closing thought, on the topic of the mysterious co-existence of Justice/Wrath and Grace/Mercy as attributes of God in Christ, given from His perspective:
Every last breath makes reality true,
I’m unabashed in the way I feel love for you
‘Cuz I dashed everything to make your soul renew
I was merciless the way I showed mercy to you
(Sintax on “Merciless”)
JustMe and Sintax the Terrific are merciless in the best imaginable way on Merciless. Cop it.
4 mercies out of 5.
Standout Tracks: Saturation Point, Compound Interest, Death Is Real, Merciless.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
November 14, 2008
…a list or two
0Current Tunage: Underoath – The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed
Lost In The Sound Of Separation is incredible.
So. There’s about a month and a half left in the Oh Eight, which may be a bit early to do this, but I feel like doing it now.
TOP TEN RECORDS RELEASED or discovered by me IN 2008 (mostly no particular order):
x LOST IN THE SOUND OF SEPARATION – underoath
x II – maylene and the sons of disaster
x BAKESALE – deepspace5
x CURB APPEAL – sintax the terrific
x SLOW FLAME – mars ill
x THE ALCHEMY INDEX VOLS. 3&4, AIR & EARTH – thrice
x THE SILVER CORD – the classic crime
x THE IV EDITION – braille
…the master(s) plan
3Current Tunage: Emery – The Smile, The Face
My favourite thing they’ve done since The Question. It’s kind of a mixup of the sound they had on that record and the one they had on I’m Only A Man… which turns out to be quite a compelling mixturosity.
It’s coming. I’ve been writing.
In other news:
We have bookshelves! Thanks to mes parentes for aiding us with their ample vehicle space (ours is far from ample enough to fit bookshelves, even boxed up ones) and for helping assemble and make light the work.
So, today, I’m stocking them. And that means a lot of moving things around and hauling.
Today has also seen: replacing a light fixture, buying some new blinds (that ended up being the wrong width by 2 inches – sigh@returns), and hopefully before the day is out, more writing.
I don’t know how people write good books (even short ones) without taking eight years… they must have someone paying them to stay at home all day locked up and with a proverbial, imaginary gun to their head the whole time.
Love.
…storm the gates of
2Current Tunage: Brandon Heath – Give Me Your Eyes
Catchy. If I hadn’t known better before listening, I would have expected horror-core or some kind of death metal. I can just see it now, in some horror movie… creepy protagonist faces the camera and says in a deep, very spooky baritone: GIVE ME YOUR EYESSSSSSSsssss… yikes. Great song in spite of my apprehension, and no, it’s not horror. Or “-core” of any sort. Heh.
Work is coming along well on my next “Second Reformation” post (I’ve started referring to them as “chapters” and to the series as a “book” – yikes). I’ll post it when it’s all ready. Its actually going to be another introductory … “chapter”. More of an outline of where I’m going, my core text (taken from the book of Revelation), and my non-emergent “trajectory” and intended narrative arc as I tell the story of… churching and how to do thereof. Yes.
So, patience and understanding, beloved readers. Ask yourself if you have the discipline (or time) to write a few thousand words each week (besides those required by your place of employ or scholastic endeavor), and have grace upon me – a mere blog artist.
In the meantime, I give you a bit of junk food to tantilize your mismatched tastes… namely, a music review. You can read it below.
Peace and Fire, friends.
…put the drum beat back in my heart
03 years ago
Title: Daylight Is Coming
Artist: Remedy Drive
Label: Word Records
Length: 11 Tracks / 34:40
If there’s one thing this world has a shortage of, it’s piano pop-rock bands – specifically, good ones. For all the Switchfoots and Coldplays out there, there’s 100 million other bands I won’t dignify by naming who fill radio airwaves with the most inane drivel. Remedy Drive is, for lack of a simpler way to introduce them, none of the above… exactly. Remedy Drive is more like what happens when you pump your stereo so full of the aforementioned Coldplay and Switchfoot that it starts to pour out this kind of gelatinous, filial harmony.
All of which is to say… it takes something special to be an unsigned, independent band for ten years. This is what Remedy Drive did, mostly under the name “Remedy”, and prior to that, “The Aslan Band”. Blessedly, they tagged a “Drive” on the end of “Remedy” and avoided future confusion as a David Crowder Band record. I’m not even gonna touch “The Aslan Band”… yikes.
Remedy Drive is four brothers. They harmonize well. They play their instruments well. The brother who does lead vocals sounds like a rather direct cross between Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman. Quite direct. In fact, when I first heard Remedy Drive, my immediate thought was that it must be a Switchfoot side-project (not that Jon Foreman doesn’t have his hands full). I was surprised to learn that no, it wasn’t Switchfoot and no, it wasn’t Coldplay either. I was intrigued.
I went from intrigued to quite interested when I found out that their final independently released disc, 2006′s Rip Open The Skies sold over 20,000 copies.
Daylight Is Coming is Remedy Drive’s first album as a signed band. It shows. The production is clean and doesn’t get much in the way of the sound, the harmonies, the essence of what they were up to. Thus, they avoided the “first-time we have a budget” blues which are known to be caused by over-production and losing your vocals and instruments in 800 pounds of sonic effects. Put more simply, the production is clean, fitting, and draws attention to all the bright and enjoyable moments the record has to offer.
Musically, Remedy Drive is about what you’d expect from a genetic mishmash of Coldplay and Switchfoot: lovely piano, lovely singing, and best of all, lovely harmonies that are made all the more glistening because of the foursome’s family ties – they all have similar voices, so uniting them results in the kind of harmonious cascade that only genetics can produce. It’s a beautiful thing, and because they couple it with ten years of songwriting experience, it has plenty of opportunity to shine.
The only real downside to the record is lyrical.
First, the positive: the lyrics are hope-permeated, uplifting, and center around the ideas of rebirth, salvation, and regeneration (a stark example is the stellar track “Heartbeat”).
Second, the criticism: There’s not a lot of lyrics – many of the songs have fewer than 15 lines, most of which are short lines. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, however one of the challenges which that kind of approach poses is that you need to say a lot, meaningfully, in just a little space. I didn’t really feel that they were up to that challenge, and I felt as though the lyrics were very straightforward, and at times they seemed very much like I had heard them somewhere before (cliché, perhaps?).
Try this on for size:
All of my castles in the sand – washed away again
And I’m left back where I began tonight
The only thing that can ever fill me up
Has been right in front of me all the time
(from “All Along”)
In the same vein, quite a few of the songs clock in at under 3 minutes… consequently the 11-song album clocks in at just over 30 minutes – quite short even by pop-rock standards. By means of comparison, Coldplay’s recent and critically acclaimed 11-track Viva La Vida came in at 50 minutes and Switchfoot’s latest, Oh, Gravity, clocked in at 12 tracks and 45 minutes of playtime. Put in contrast like that, and taking into account the shortness of the lyrics, it’s hard to miss. You really begin to notice that the songs are mostly chorus (generally a fault of dodgy pop-rock) and that they’re over just when you’re starting to feel them.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, the best song on the record is “Heartbeat”, which sports the longest verses as well as (in my opinion) the best writing on the album. Further, it captures Remedy Drive at their strongest… the album is full of vagueries and generic talk, and when the lyrics really develop there’s actually a lot to chew on; it just doesn’t happen often enough. It also has a really great refrain involving some “oh oh oh” back-and-forth harmonizing-slash-chanting that really hits the spot.
So, what can I say? Musically, Remedy Drive hit the jackpot. Although they sport a tonne of feel-good Switchfoot and Coldplay likeness, those bands are rightfully acclaimed for their excellence and so to be compared to them is definitely a strength and not a weakness. The music is crisp, sharp, clean, clear, harmonious, and masterfully executed. The lyrical content is minimalist and often falls short of really developing the ideas and the themes of the record. That said, when they really apply themselves, the lyrics are more than just listenable, they’re excellent.
If this was Remedy Drive’s debut, I’d be saying they’re full of promise and heading in the right direction.
However, since they’re old indie stalwarts, my advice is this:
Invest more time in writing your lyrics and developing your songs so that they’re not all over before they begin and aren’t mostly chorus. Your music, harmonies, instrumentation, and production all hit the mark, but your content is sorely lacking. Man up and write us a remarkable, meaningful, and well-thought-out sophomore label record and we’ll crown you part of the pop-rock trifecta.
By way of conclusion, I submit this to you, dear reader: This is a great album. My wife LOVES this album. It’s a dissapointing album, when I consider the potential the band has to deliver something downright PERFECT… but it’s great nonetheless. If you’re into pop and rock and you’re a big fan of Switchfoot and Coldplay and singing along with wonderful harmonies and great instrumentation… you’ll really, really dig Daylight Is Coming. Get it, love it, and join me in hoping that they hone their text-crafting skills and beef up their quantity for the next go ’round.
3.5 drum beats out of 5.
Standout Tracks: Heartbeat, Something Made To Last.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
November 2, 2008
