The New Draft

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Assorted Nuts (courtesy of Jesse Wolf)

Irony

gravity for the win

Assorted Nuts

Illustration Fail

Bridge Over The River Why?

Oi!

In the vacuum of punk, no one can hear you fuck up.

Getting Down to the Roots

The Roots are my favorite rap group. This became apparent to me after I listened to their song "Atonement" of their 2006 release Game Theory (currently my favorite Roots album). What originally drew me to the track was the interesting instrumentation, which included an accordion, an instrument not usually found in The Root's sound pallet. On a second listen, I noticed that the chord progression of the song sounded familiar. I instantly thought of "You and Whose Army" by Radiohead, but I dismissed the similarity as coincidence. With another listen I realized that the guitar line was in fact a sample of the Radiohead song, accompanied by a sample of Thom Yorke's vocals. While I was originally surprised by this because I never really noticed The Root's sampling, I nonetheless had to give them props on music taste. Radiohead samples aside, what makes this track great is the classic Roots sound. The bass keeps a solid groove and the drum holds down the beat while keeping it interesting. The track features Jack Davey of J*Davey, laying down a sultry chorus.

The power of The Roots lies in the band. The problem with a lot of rap music these days is that it sounds too produced. The sounds are synthetic and everything is wrapped all too tightly in a box. A live band will always sound better than electronic instruments. There's more energy, more power, and more substance. It's raw, edgy, and real. Also important to consider is how multiple musicians can affect the song writing process. Instead of having one producer and one vocalist working on a song, there is more creative input with the inclusion of different musical voices.

The Roots have inspired many imitators, however none can compare. A principal reason for this is that The Roots are always changing things up. The formula for their albums is never the same. The Roots always keep it fresh, changing their style and featuring different collaborators every time.

Album Review: "For All I Care" by The Bad Plus joined by Wendy Lewis

Ah fuck it, I can't let Blogged Drainpipe die easily, because I'm pretty sure no one will be there for the funeral. Well if anyone's out there I got something for you. This month I have decided to review The Bad Plus' newest album For All I Care. The Bad Plus is a acoustic avant-garde jazz trio from the Midwest. Now that might not sound to exciting, but I assure you they kick ass and rock harder than most bands out there. Yeah that's right, these guys rock. The Bad Plus is a jazz group that is influenced by the likes of Rachmaninov and Nirvana just as much as they are influenced by the work of jazz musicians like Ornette Coleman. 

Since their debut in 2000, The Bad Plus have perhaps become best known for their pop repertoire, covering such rock songs as "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Karma Police", "Iron Man", "Immigrant Song", and "Tom Sawyer". While they also compose their own pieces, For All I Care is their first all-covers album. On it they cover pieces by Pink Floyd, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Milton Babbitt, and others.

The next notable difference between For All I Care is the presence of vocals. This time around The Bad Plus are joined by Minneapolis indie rocker Wendy Lewis, who has performed with several bands and worked with Andrew Bird.

There are several stand-out numbers on this record. The album starts out with a lurching version Nirvana's "Lithium". Lewis' vocals are laid lazily over a stretched-out beat (the band extended the lines of the song by adding half a beat, changing it from 4/4 to 5/8). The drunken feel fits perfectly with the song. "Long Distance Runaround" starts with a bit of a latin feel before progressing into a swing ballad. Next the band moves into a classical number, Milton Babbitt's Semi-Simple Variations, a jittery piece that darts around.

Overall, this is a good album. The band's interpretation of the songs are at most times faithful and interesting. The Bad Plus is a good group for the jazz novice and pop music fan.