Singleversity #2

Audiversity’s weekly column on random music in exactly 144 words.

(Ed. - Originally this was called Threeversity, but in the spirit of simplicity we've decided to retroactively relabel all of these posts. The content remains unchanged.)

MA:
(#144 of a random playlist generated from my ever-changing database of 12,500+ songs)



I’m not too pleased with what the spirits of random chose this week: RJD2’s “Clean Living.” Not that I dislike the song, but RJ is an artist I have fell out of sorts with in the last year. I have yet to hear his new album, but everyone seems pretty up in arms that he turned his back on hip-hop. Did you actually listen to Since We Last Spoke? Did you really not see it coming? All rants aside, “Clean Living” was my favorite song from that disc until I heard where he sampled that amazingly elastic bass line from, Pure Essence’s "Third Rock." To say RJ sampled liberally would be putting it lightly. Personally, I like the original version better; it’s the actual definition of smooth-prog-funk, a genre explored way too rarely. Who knew underground Cincinnati circa 197? was so silky smooth.

JR:



Mythos was mainly guided by the cosmic wisdom of Stephan Kaske. A similar figure to Silver Apple's Simeon, Kaske was seemingly touched by the burning knowledge of the night sky; not simply an electronics guru AND sitar wiz, this "high school dropout" was capable of incredible flute wizardry. "Message" is culled from 1975's Dreamlab, a testament to the power of psychedelic drugs to pry open frontiers of the mind otherwise not yet within our evolutionary reach. Train your senses on the sound of a hovering spaceship; synth, drums, bass, and flute all combining, intensifying, bursting forth with manic energy. Suddenly the hovering, fluorescent shape of Kaske in your dreams, riffing madly on that flute to open interdimensional doorways. Its a one-off affair, much like a DMT trip; living forever with "We are brothers!! Put Your Weapons Away!!" emblazoned in gold on the back of your eyelids.

PM:

As my name is Patrick and my heritage is 100% Irish-American (the last of a dying breed), St. Paddy’s Day is a soft spot for me; also, it never gets old hearing people ask what I’m doing for “St. You Day!” Seriously. In the spirit of the holiday, here’s something from three guys who are always in the mood to talk about how Irish they are: Wolfe Tones (named after Theobald Wolfe Tone, 1798 Irish Rebellion leader) have been banned from Aer Lingus flights and taken off Irish radio for being a little too Irish (in Ireland, even!). “Come Out Ye Black and Tans” is my favorite anti-English song, a 1920s jig originally written by Dominic Behan and shortened here to three verses. You can be sure I’m only going to remember the chorus after my sixth Guiness later tonight... Sláinte to that, then.