Dillo Day 2008

It's that time of year again, when Northwestern students throw down the books and go crazy for one day. And by go crazy I mean party in ways similar to most regular college students on any given weekend. And by Northwestern students, I mean the Northwestern 500 plus a few others; everyone else will still harbor away in libraries somewhere.

Though I'm no longer really connected to Northwestern in any way, I'm making a pilgrimage back for the weekend festivities, as is Kyle. This year's line up looks to be pretty strong again, and overall I think there's been an increasing trend in the quality of groups they've been bringing in each year. Last year's line up was really strong as well, but unfortunately the day was somewhat marred with crappy weather that pushed the concerts indoors and meant only students with Wildcards could attend. I had been planning on catching some of my favorite acts such as Cake, Lupe Fiasco, and the Roots, but when my non-NU buddy got rejected trying to use someone else's Wildcard we returned home and instead I just drank my face off (and all subsequent scenes are missing).

However this is a new year. Headlining this year's Dillo Day is none other that one of Chicago's best rappers in Common. This is without question my favorite headliner they've had since I started going to Dillo Day. Common is one of my favorite hip hop artists and I can't wait to see him live. I still rank his album Be as one of my favorite, if not the favorite, hip hop albums.

The other acts for the day include Third Eye Blind, Broken Social Scene, and The Cool Kids. I think they've done a good job of getting a diverse group of performers to appeal to different people. Third Eye Blind is a great act for drunk kids who want to belt out their favorite songs from middle school (as long as they don't play any new crap) and Broken Social Scene are well established in the artsy indie genre that college kids seem to enjoy these days. The Cool Kids are the one group I question how well they will be received mostly cause I don't think people know much about them (myself included).

There are also a couple DJ groups to fill in the gaps as well. One is Chicago duo Flosstradamus, who will be spinning their up tempo beats with lots of catchy samples and hooks. Another is Northwestern's battle of the DJs winner Clash Gordon, who gets the opportunity to open for Common. As I was perusing the music acts for this year I gotta say that Clash Gordon proved to be a pleasant surprise. Clash Gordon is a Northwestern student majoring in music technology or something like that and has modeled himself in the mold of Track Nine favorite Girl Talk. Despite being a young DJ, I was impressed with his abilities and most importantly his ear for hearing how songs should come together.

Just like Girl Talk, his hook is putting together clips from songs in completely different genres and turning them into something new. Now this is nothing unique, and there are thousands of DJs all over the internet doing the same thing. But most of the stuff released is just not good, and it really takes an ear to be able to put the clips together into something unique and interesting. When I originally heard they had a battle of the DJs, my first reaction was that the winner would be terrible, but now I am actually excited to go hear Clash Gordon and see how he does live.

If I actually manage to stumble out there in time...

If you're still in Evanston I hope you are planning on partying and enjoying music all day this Saturday, and hopefully I will be joining you. If not at least check out the groups here, its pretty good quality all around.


- Alec

The Controls

Somewhere in underground New York circa 1999, The Controls released a legend of an album called One Hundred. Somewhere in Kingston, Canada circa 2002 my roommate Steffonn stumbled across it and played it repeatedly enough that it became one of his favorite albums. And then circa March 2008 in Pittsburgh, Steffonn bought the album and spun it a few times in our place. Now I'm addicted as well.

I've been slowly getting into more and more house music (maturity? I don't know...), and there are certain artists that really get me to nod my head. The Controls have a little bit of Portishead in them, and the laid back flow of an album you'd hear at your local trendy lounge with a $15 martini in hand. The beats in One Hundred are definitely the focal point of a lot of the songs. What really makes this album unique are two things. First, the singer's voice seems to float up into the air like smoke from a cigarette. It's sensual and yet attention-grabbing at the very same time. The Controls also incorporate a unique backing of sounds from synth keys to car horns to classical guitars.

The track 'Shadow of A Man' showcases a lot of the things I mentioned earlier. The silky singing, some small classical guitar licks in there, and a heavy beat that keeps you right on pulse with the song. 'Terrified of Nothing' begins with a smooth guitar line and train horns. The beat slowly fades in complementing the singing that almost gets up to a hip-hop speed. This is my favorite track on the album. A little flamenco complements the last track I posted called '100'. This one has a more electronic, snappy feel to it. Along with some synthesized voices and a crisp synth-beat, some harmonies evolve throughout the tune. Crank it up to max volume and leave in on in your house as background. Soon enough...you'll be addicted too.

The Controls - Terrified of Nothing

The Controls - Shadow of A Man

The Controls - 100

Heiruspecs

I'm a little short on new stuff to write on right now, so instead I'm opening up the vaults and posting on a very underrated hip hop group out of the Twin Cities that I've been listening to a lot again lately. The group is known as Heiruspecs, and they have been making great hip hop for about 10 years now. But these guys aren't you're standard hip hop act; they actually play instruments and perform as a live band. It's right along the same lines as The Roots only with a bigger influence of funk in the songs.

Personally, I really dig the stripped down, basic sound of Heiruspecs. It really pushes them musically as they have a lot less to work with when only using a drum set to create the beats. Their songs vary quite a bit as they range from up beat funk tunes to slower, darker, more driving songs. Overall though the music behind the songs provides for great backing tracks, and the rhymes provided by primary MC Felix and his partner Muad'dib flow smoothly on top.

Despite musical and lyrical talents, the group has never found success in the mainstream. I guess really this doesn't surprise me given the recent trends of hip hop and rap in general, but it's really a shame because I think a lot of people have missed out on their stuff. They haven't been the most prolific of bands over the past decade though. In 10 years of existence they've only produced 3 studio albums, two of which I have, and 2 live albums. Their last true studio album, A Tiger Dancing, came out in 2004, which was about when I first heard of them. So essentially they've put out almost nothing since then, with the exception of their 2007 live album which contained some new tracks as well as old ones. Rumor has it they are working on a new album, but other than that I have no info.

But until then there are still plenty of great tracks from their two main albums, Small Steps and A Tiger Dancing. The first song, "5ves", is one of their strongest and was the only one of theirs to ever receive any attention. It has a cool, steady vibe with a great keyboard hook. The other two are great examples of them employing catchy funk-style beats and bass lines to give the songs life.

Heiruspecs - 5ves

Heiruspecs - Work

Heiruspecs - All Fall Down


- Alec

Moving with Van Morrison

Well....I just found out today that in mid-June I'll be moving to Atlanta. Pretty exciting news for me. It's kind of ironic that when I was a little kid, that was pretty much the only place in the world I wanted to move so I could watch my favorite baseball player, David Justice. Now, it's a reality.

I wanted to post on my favorite ATL artist or something like that...but we already posted on T.I., so I went a different route. This one is about Van Morrison. I never really listened to Van Morrison until the past few months after I got a copy of Moondance. This is actually thanks to my friend Meg, who in High School snuck a few Van Morrison tracks onto my computer. I would listen to them now and then, and suddenly a few months ago I was addicted so I picked up Moondance.

There is a reason that this CD is so highly rated on Amazon by so many people. If you have not listened to it...you should. It's an absolute classic. Van Morrison's unmistakeable voice is complemented so well by the guitar, piano, and horns throughout. 'And It Stoned Me' was the song that Meg stuck on my computer a long time ago, and I love it because it feels just like a breezy summer night. However, there is no better tune than 'Into the Mystic'. This is one of those tunes that if you would hear it anywhere, I think that you would immediately drop all that you are doing just to listen for three minutes. It's a great song about being together with someone you love, and singing doesn't get much more real than when Van Morrison wails 'I want to rock your gypsy soul!' for the second and third times.

So for you old Van Morrison fans, dust off this CD and pop it in one more time. Rediscover what you loved. For you new ones like me, catch up 18 years, give it a spin, and let me know what you think. I know I'll be sitting on my wraparound porch on many a summer night in Atlanta chilling to this tune.


Sorry, guys...song links had to be removed at the request of the label. Go buy the CD!

Check out his new stuff here.... http://www.losthighwayrecords.com