Sage Francis and Li(f)e

For some reason or another, I've been writing a lot about rap lately. But while Wale brings the more mainstream go-go-infused D.C. hip-hop and Boots Riley makes more political rap-funk, Sage Francis does his own thing. The Rhode Islander's music is much closer to slam poetry, with music backing all over the place that reminds me slightly of Gorillaz. I like all these rappers for different reasons, and Sage Francis has the most biting, bitter, cynical one-liners of all.

You can't be exposed to Sage Francis without noting his appearance. He's about the polar opposite of what you think of as a rapper: a bald, fat white guy with a huge beard. He got into rap at first through being one of the biggest figures in the Providence, RI slam community. As far as indie rap today goes, he's one of the best.

His newest album, Li(f)e, is almost a spiritual counterpart to 2007's magnificent Human the Death Dance. While Human the Death Dance is incredibly angry and sad, Li(f)e (which came out this May) is much more uplifting and hopeful. It reminds me of the way Radiohead's Kid A is "everything falling apart," and their following album, Amnesiac, is everything coming back together. Sage Francis is always very philosophical in the topics he writes about and there's still ample cynicism here, but now there are more songs about, well... life. The lead single from the album, strangely enough, is the final track, "The Best of Times." It's a chronicle of his life up to this point, reminiscing about being a kid. There's no way you would have seen this track on Human the Death Dance, but they're both great albums.

There are also a lot of songs on this album that tell stories. The album opener, "Little Houdini," is the story of a man breaking out of prison and committing horrendous crimes just to get back to see his mother again, who's dying of a terminal illness. "Three Sheets to the Wind," which has a fantastic thumpin' bass line, is more of a conversation with God. I've noticed a motif throughout Sage Francis' work is a connection between God and sexuality. At the end of "Civil Disobedience" on Human the Death Dance, he has a rambling one-sided dialogue with God:

"And to you: I know you. I know you much better than you think I do. I hope we meet sometime. I'd love to shake your hand and, um... maybe get a kiss right there, on my face. And uh, I don't know... maybe have sex a little bit."

The idea of sex with God is one that probably makes some people feel a little uncomfortable, but I love it in how jarring and powerful it is. It's a reference back to the days of Greek gods, who would sleep with mortals all the time. In "I Was Zero" on his new album, Francis raps:

"I find my part of the problem in part of me

There's always been a difference between who I am and who I want to be

It's either 'Jihadist freak' or 'Jesus seamster'

I heard God is coming, and she's a screamer."

But I think my favorite line of the album is a simple one that comes from the very eerie "16 Years," another song tracing back his life to high school.

"I was voted 'Least Likely'. That's it. Just 'Least Likely'."

Boots Riley, the Coup, and Street Sweeper Social Club's new EP

Boots Riley is one of my all-time favorite people. His Oakland-based political rap group, the Coup (click the link, it's a fantastic song), has been around since 1991 and writes far sharper activist commentaries than any current political punk groups who've been around since then like Bad Religion or Anti-Flag. They're perhaps most famous to a wider audience for the controversy surrounding their 2001 album, Party Music. Slated to be released in early September '01, the album cover happened to feature... the World Trade Center being blown up. The band was forced to delay the album until November and change the cover to a much less offensive image. Riley was never quite satisfied with the change:

"There's been a whitewash in the media over the past couple days over what the US' role in the world is, and the fact that they kill hundreds of thousands of people per year to protect profit. Now how can I get to the point where I could be saying that on the world stage, and interrupt the lies that CBS, CNN, NBC, and everyone is saying? In my view, that [would be] by keeping the cover. Not because I think by looking at the cover you get all of this message that I'm telling you, but as a way to have a platform to interrupt the stream of lies that are being told right now."

I don't always agree with some of the extremes he goes to in his views, but I hugely respect Boots for what he does. In 2006 Riley teamed up with fellow leftist political musician Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame to form Street Sweeper Social Club, a political rap-rock supergroup. They released their self-titled debut album last year, and this past week, released The Ghetto Blaster EP.


Street Sweeper Social Club has got some great songs, but I can't help but think they pale in comparison to the Coup. Tom Morello is famous for his quirky effect-laden guitar playing, but it runs a little dry here. Coincidentally, Rage Against the Machine started in 1991, the same year as the Coup. But since then, while Boots Riley has come up with tons of different things to talk about (I continually enjoy each of the Coup's albums more than the last), Morello seems to be short on ideas. His post-Rage Against the Machine band, Audioslave, kind of sucked, and his guitar work with Street Sweeper Social Club just sounds recycled.

The Ghetto Blaster EP is a bit of a disappointment as well. That's not to say it's bad; the lyrics are solid and the music is okay, but it just doesn't innovate as much as it could. The EP is seven tracks: three original songs, three covers, and a remix. The three originals, "Ghetto Blaster," "The New Fuck You," and "Scars (Hold That Pose)" are fine enough, sound like many of the songs on their full-length album. The remix is a "Guitar Fury" version of one of the best songs on the full-length, "Promenade". The covers are the most interesting. One is a cover of LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," which is pretty standard. One is actually a cover of a song by the Coup, "Everythang." The last is the highest-profile track on the EP, a cover of English political artist MIA's excellent breakout hit "Paper Planes". I love hearing people's re-interpretations of other artists' songs in covers, but SSSC's version is a fairly predictable guitar-driven version. I can't help but feel like this was a missed opportunity to do something much more awesome.

Street Sweeper Social Club is decent, but Tom Morello is dead weight on Boots Riley's musical expression. I can't wait for the Coup to start recording again.

Wale's Attention Deficit, and D.C. music

In the '80s and '90s, the Washington, D.C. punk rock scene was in full force. Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Nation of Ulysses--the list goes on and on. D.C. had arguably the most important indie music scene in the country. It died out in the '00s, where the highest profile band from our area was... Good Charlotte.

Today, really the only major successful artist from D.C. isn't a rock band, but a rapper: Wale. As far as mainstream rap/hip-hop goes, he's a breath of fresh air, drawing on his D.C. go-go influences for the backbeat of some excellent lyricism. I'm not into a ton of rap music, but Wale is effectively the flagbearer for our city's music today, so I had to take a listen. His full-length album Attention Deficit is a great mix of creative beats and hooks that make Wale appeal to a wider audience while still retaining his artistic integrity. His most famous song is undoubtedly "Chillin," his collaboration with Lady Gaga (huh?) which is basically a District of Columbia anthem.

Many of Wale's songs do fall into mainstream trappings, but his creative choices of samples to use as well as his fun-but-still-sharp rhyming style keep it interesting. He says he named the album Attention Deficit because the lyrics are all over the emotional spectrum; there are obviously going to be some cliche partyin' songs, but the topics range from politics to dealing with fame to racism. Perhaps my favorite indicator that Wale's heart and soul went into writing this album are the numerous Nintendo references: rhyming about Kirby and Punch-Out!! is something I don't think most MTV rappers today would do.

Oh, and Wale played the tailgate party before D.C. United's home opener this season. That always makes me like someone more. Did I mention he's rapped about Ovechkin, Eric Lindros, and the throat-slashing of Richard Zednick? And that he released two Seinfeld-themed concept mix tapes?

Hopefully the success of Wale will lead to a re-energized District music scene. He's no Ian MacKaye, but Wale shows the rest of the country that "Hey, there's something here besides a bunch of government buildings."

After Partying Hard, the occult, and Gundam: Andrew W.K. tackles improv piano

Andrew W.K. is the renaissance man of partying. He's released a slew of party-themed hard-rocking albums as well as one of covers of songs from Japanese TV shows, and travels the world as a motivational speaker telling people to love themselves and enjoy life. He's got a Twitter account full of PARTY TIPS such as "PARTY TIP: Life isn't about waiting for the rain to pass. It's about partying hard in the rain and getting wet!" and "PARTY TIP: Take a giant sea turtle, and gently remove its shell. Then fill the shell with chips and dip!" He even shows up on Fox News to make funny faces and plays Insane Clown Posse concerts to get their fans' knickers in a twist. AWK is basically a professional troll.

He's also famous for the controversy surrounding his identity. All his albums have a guy named "Steev Mike" in the liner notes, and conspiracy theorists think Steev Mike is actually the Puppetmaster--that Andrew W.K. isn't a person but a corporate product played by many different people. It doesn't help that AWK puts occultish imagery in the background of his otherwise fun-loving music videos.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. To me, the most intriguing Andrew W.K. release is 55 Cadillac. It was a short album released last year, not of party anthems but of... new-age spontaneous improvisational piano pieces themed around driving a '55 Cadillac at night.

It's hard to believe the guy who created this:

Also wrote this (there's ambient sound for the first 30 seconds or so--feel free to skip ahead):

There are no vocals through the whole album, so far all we know, Steev Mike really wrote this. But to me, 55 Cadillac is the greatest proof that Andrew W.K. is a real person (well, and the fact that AWK hosts a kids' game show on Cartoon Network called Destroy Build Destroy where they do exactly what the title implies). A shady corporation would not release this album: a collection of lengthy piano tangents with no radio singles to speak of. It's a truly artistic complement to the rest of his music which, I admit, is more about the fun of Partying Hard than it is about the quality of the songwriting itself. Andrew W.K. is a true partier. As he tweets:

"14 years ago I told my guidance counselor that PARTYING would be my career. He scoffed and said, 'Yeah right'! #WhosLaughingNow?"

Well, and "PARTY MEAL: Malted milk balls w/ diced Reese's cups in cream, and a buttermilk biscuit w/ chili-butter on the side." Indeed, AWK. Indeed.

Amanda Palmer + Ukulele + Radiohead = success

Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele is Amanda Fucking Palmer's first full release since leaving Roadrunner Records, the six-year home of her band the Dresden Dolls and her solo project. She had a tumultuous relationship with the label, who supported the Dolls in full when they released their debut but left the band in the dark immediately after the release of their second album. Now she's releasing an EP of Radiohead covers. On ukulele. And it only costs 84 cents, unless you want to donate more. Buy it.

AFP has a very polarizing voice. It's very deep for a female singer, and her sort of brash style goes against classical music thinking. My brother (who's in a choir) absolutely despises her, but I love it. Being both a big Dresden Dolls fan and a big Radiohead fan, I went into this expecting a lot. Let's take a gander at the EP, track by track. The links in the titles go to the original Radiohead songs.

1. "Fake Plastic Trees" - It's a solid cover, but it's a shame the EP starts with this song--it's very direct and not changed up from the original very much, other than that it's played on a uke.
2. "High and Dry" - Another slow song from The Bends. The fact that Radiohead's early music translates so easily to ukulele makes it not as interesting as I'd hope.
3. "No Surprises" - This one's from OK Computer, but no surprises here. I'm getting a bit disappointed at this point.
4. "Idioteque" - Finally. This song kicks ass. Partially because Kid A is lightyears ahead of Radiohead's previous work, but also because the more complex composition leads to much more interesting uke/piano/vocal work by AFP. This is the epic cover I was waiting for. It makes up for the three "just okay" songs before it. I'll go through a new phase a week from now, but as of this writing, the "Idioteque" cover is my favorite track on the EP.
5. "Creep" (Hungover at Soundcheck in Berlin) - I was worried about this, because "Creep" is one of my least favorite Radiohead songs. It's off Pablo Honey, their first album, which is amateur at best. On top of that, it's one of their most popular singles, probably for a lot of the same "pop sensibilities" reasons I dislike it. But AFP pulls it off magnificently. This is the only live track on the album, recorded at a soundcheck before a show. Before she begins, AFP laments, "This is the saddest room I've ever played to." And the song is beautiful. It reminds me of "Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, which was probably the first ukulele song I ever purchased on iTunes. I'd go so far as to say I like Amanda Palmer's version of "Creep" more than Radiohead's original song.
6. "Exit Music (for a Film)" - I was ecstatic to see this song on the track listing. It's the only song on this album that wasn't a hit single (I know they didn't release any Kid A singles, but "Idioteque" is arguably its most famous song), and it's a fantastic way to end the cover album. This is the most un-ukulele song on the EP, featuring piano heavily, but it keeps the dark, brooding tone of the original song with a very AFP-esque twist.

If you buy the EP from her website you get a bonus track, "Creep" (Live in Prague), but it's not "officially" part of the album so I'm not taking it into account when judging the work as a whole. As an aside, it's a good track, but not as great as her "Hungover at Soundcheck in Berlin" version. Anyway, the first half of Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on Her Magical Ukulele is only okay, but the second half more than compensates. And it's all only 84 cents, cheaper than a single song on iTunes, so I don't know why you wouldn't buy this album. Buy this album.

Baltimore, exploiting fans, and why I like flags

This past Friday, I posed a question on Facebook and Twitter: "What should I do in Baltimore while I'm there this weekend?" I received tons of responses. They covered a wide array of exactly two different answers:

• "Leave as quickly as possible"
• "Go to the aquarium!"

Apparently people from the D.C. area aren't fans of Charm City, less than 40 miles away. Is it the proximity? Is it envy of Baltimore's tall buildings and waterfront allure? Is it the sibling complex, resentful toward our little brother to the north?

I travel up I-95 to B-more about once a month for concerts, since touring bands seem to be attracted there and all too often skip D.C. entirely. Rams Head Live is a fancy venue, but I hate it. It's got this "Rock Star Entrance" deal, where if you show up and pay $10 (in addition to the price of your ticket), you get to go inside before everyone else. It's exploitation of the fans. In this economy with ticket prices skyrocketing, anyone who's willing to shell out the money to see a band live is clearly already a pretty big fan who wants a good spot to see them--they're basically forced to cough up the extra ten bucks. This is capitalism in its most pure form: "You don't HAVE to pay the additional money!" But as a good fan, you feel almost obligated to do it. DC's 9:30 Club has got it right; if you want the best spot, you have to sit out in the cold for longer than everyone else. This means the more hardcore fans get the better spots, while the casual "I guess we'll see this band" fans have to stand in the back. Everyone pays the same price. Democracy.

But I digress: other than Rams Head, Baltimore is a great city. It's got awesome symbols. As a flag enthusiast, Maryland's kicks Virginia's ass, and gives DC's a run for its money. On top of that, the Baltimore city flag is a perfect compliment to its state flag. And you know what? Baltimore knows it. The city features their flag (and the state flag) everywhere you look. I haven't been to Richmond in a while, but I don't recall seeing nearly as many Virginia flags anywhere, and although the Richmond city flag is well-designed, I don't think I've ever seen one in real life.

Baltimore's epic symbols don't end there. As the home of Edgar Allan Poe, raven imagery is used throughout the city, and not just as a reference to the football team. Plus there's the city beer, Natty Boh (National Bohemian if you want to get technical). I wish D.C. had an iconic city beer. The visage of the brew's moustachioed, one-eyed mascot can be seen everywhere, like a sentinel cyclops watching over the city.

It's strange that only an hour away is a city that's completely different from our own. The government buildings replaced by a harbor, the half-smokes replaced by crab cakes. B-more isn't as bad as people from D.C. think it is. And one thing remains the same: the Washington Monument. While Washington's Washington Monument is the classic phallic symbol, Baltimore's Washington Monument is perhaps an even more realistic man-meat, head and all.