Carlos Santana Is The Man

A lot of people are familiar with Santana and the main guy in the band, Carlos Santana, even if it's for "Evil Ways", "Black Magic Woman", or the songs he's done since his amazing musical career comeback from the "Supernatural" CD onto the present day. Even if you forget all that (I prefer to forget most of the poppy stuff that he's done in the past 10 years personally) he and Santana have put out some incredible sounding music; I'm not talking about the "made for radio" stuff that was done in the 80's; you want to skip that. But, songs such as "Soul Sacrifice", "No One To Depend On", and "Europa" do a great job of showing how they did a tremendous job of blending rock, jazz, and Latin themes into one spicy package, not to mention showing off his tremendous guitar-playing skills.

For example, the live album that he did with Buddy Miles. Here is more info on Buddy. As it says in the Wikipedia entry he recorded a tune called "Them Changes", first with Jimi Hendrix in a concert at the Fillmore and then on a solo album (a song I will upload soon features horns sampled from this very ditty). I am putting up those versions of the song also, as they are both good and quite funky, and also as comparison to the main song I wanted to rip and upload.

Buddy and Carlos did a live album together and the one song I've heard from it is their version of "Them Changes." I first heard it on this album, which was one of the best 10 dollar finds I've ever bought and in the future I'll put up some other tracks from that. I was blown away when I heard the song. It is faster paced than the previous incarnations, Buddy sang his ass off, Carlos shredded his guitar part and the backing band kept up with the frenetic pace.

Hats off to everyone for that tune; if I ever find the album in a store I'll buy it; the sound samples for the other sounds make it sound like something I want to own.

Jimi Hendrix/Buddy Miles, "Changes" (5 MB,128 Kbits/second)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=9C56344B

Buddy Miles, "Them Changes" (3.08 MB, 128 Kbits/second)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=9029D6A4

Carlos Santana/Buddy Miles, "Them Changes" (Live) (8.04 MB, 192 Kbits/second)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=912DF6D1

That song makes you forget all about "Smooth" or "Maria, Maria", doesn't it? I'll be busy the rest of the week so who knows when I'll make my next update on here.

What A Great 99 Cent Deal.

No I'm not talking about Wendy's Dollar Menu deals. Late in 2003, I was still living in Illinois but my mom had moved down to Florida already. I was on break from school and I spent some time visiting in The Sunshine State. One night I went to the Virgin Megastore at Downtown Disney and for 99 cents (not including tax) they offered a CD single of Ferry Corsten's "Rock Your Body Rock." On it were three versions of the song plus a live version of Ferry's "Go", which is a song you might have heard somewhere even if you didn't know what it was called. I'm putting up the "Original Extended Mix" of the song. The single edit of the song is fine, but the tune is so damned good that you want to hear the full almost 7 minute version that you can get from the Extended Mix. It's one of my favorite dance songs… hell, it ranks pretty high on my all time favorite song list, if you can believe it. It's a tremendous trance-y (as opposed to house music or any other sub-genre of dance; this song has a vocal, sure, but it's an electronic voice and it only says a few words) tune that deserves a listen, even if you don't usually partake in this genre.

Ferry Corsten- Rock Your Body Rock (Original Extended Mix, 9.41 MB, 192 Kbits/second)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=2969A924

Tuesday I will have up an awesome song from the 70's that I doubt too many people have heard, but it deserves to be heard.

The Worst Song of 2007?

Even though the album came out in 2005, I first heard the song on the radio a few days ago, so that's why I consider it a 2007 ditty. It's "Cupid's Chokehold", by Gym Class Heroes. I've only barely heard of this band before but after hearing this abomination on the radio I looked them up and saw that not only were they associated with Fall Out Boy, but their lead singer, Patrick Stump*, sang the chorus . That's a huge demerit right away, but their regular singer isn't much better, and their lyrics seem to be inspired by LFO's "Summer Girls", and that's not meant as a compliment. The obnoxious and girly way it's sung grates on your nerves but want to know what's worst of all?

* FOB is one of my all-time least favorite bands, truth be told. They're flat out terrible (sorry, friends I know who love them!) I mean, I honestly thought that girl jeans wearing Peter Wentz was their lead singer! I hope that doesn't erode my credibility or anything; I just had to be honest there.

These hipster bastards (they reference that painter Bob Ross and MySpace in their songs… yep, hipsters all the way) actually sampled a Goddamn Supertramp song for this tune! It's the title track from "Breakfast in America"; these pansies don't come close to being cool enough to singing anything involving Supertramp. Supertramp, even at their advanced ages, could probably whip the Bejeezus out of Gym Class Heroes! How dare you use this song and then totally butcher it while you use it for an abomination of an ode where the lyric you jacked from the song doesn't make sense in "Cupid's Chokehold." When Patrick caterwauls "Take a look at my girlfriend, she's the only one I got. Not much of a girlfriend, I never seem to get a lot," it doesn't sound too complimentary of the new piece of ass he's got. Yet, the rest of the song he brags to his parents about how she's so great she makes him pancakes and has porcelain skin; what sense does this make? Do you like the ho or not? Christ, I thought the lyrics to Fergie's solo songs were confusing! See what I mean when I say this may be the worst of 2007 even though we're not out of January yet?

Gym Class Heroes, "Cupid's Chokehold" (5.75 MB, 192 Kbits/second)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=44A829D8

Oh What An Autobiography They Had

I apologize for putting this up at this time but when I tried to do this in the afternoon Blogger was down.

In January of 2004 I went to a music store in Rockford and they had a bargain bin. I searched through it and besides picking up Hulk Hogan's album for $2.99 (that album's terrible and yet it's so bad it's good; it's easy to find those songs online if you search for "Hulk Hogan And The Wrestling Boot Band") I also found for $2.99 the Motley Crue album Supersonic and Demonic Relics

It's more an interesting thing to pick up if you're a fan of the Crue rather than a must-have like their best-of albums or "Dr. Feelgood" or "Shout At The Devil." But, the live version of "Dr. Feelgood" they have here, which was recorded in Dallas during what I have to assume was their 1989 world tour for the album, is smokin' hot. Besides it sounding a lot like the studio version, the band also does the usual "Get the audience to sing along to the chorus" at the end; all you fans of Motley or lovers of 80's metal will want this, oh yes I know you will.

Motley Crue, "Dr. Feelgood" (Live)

http://www.bigupload.com/d=B53F8D01 (9.2 MB, 192 K bits/second)

Expect my next update sometime on Friday.

Ghost Ride The Whip

In the future I will discuss what kind of hip-hop/rap I'm a fan of but just note that I'm not a real "backpacker" who listens to underground rap or anything of that sort. I don't listen to one particular style of rap, although note that I tend to prefer the good production rather than a good rapper. I know, I know…

As with all types of music, there is some hyphy that is better than others and if it starts to sound alike then I tend to get turned off by it. I haven't heard too many songs from that particular style of rap but some of it is cool. Note that I'm not really a fan of the culture of hyphy where you "act retarded" on purpose; if you jump out of your car at a red light, run around it once or twice, then jump back in, you're a moron, in my opinion.

I randomly was looking for tunes from E-40; he has a unique voice and delivery, and I wanted to see what was out there. I stumbled upon a tune known as "I Wear My Stunna Glasses At Night" and I had to d/l it, as I thought, "No way could a hyphy tune sample that Corey Hart song," and yet that's exactly what it is. Whether your opinion on "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" (that song grew on me after I used to hate it), this tune sounds pretty good (it has a nice beat) and the rapping's not bad either. E-40 sings the last verse. Note that this is the "clean" version of the song but there's only two words that are edited so it shouldn't be a hamper to anyone.

The Federation Featuring E-40: "I Wear My Stunna Glasses At Night"

http://www.bigupload.com/d=5C6E2551 (4.88 MB, 160 bits/second)

That song is from an album yet to be released, so here is their first album.



To show that I like a variety of music, tomorrow I will upload a live version of a well-known 80's metal song.

I Think I Have A Handle On This Now

Pretty much right after I posted the Fatman Scoop entry I decided to edit it to make it look more like the music blogs out there, with the necessary links to the CD's you can find the songs on and all that shiznit. I also tried to plug my blog by signing up for a few places (which are linked on this page), including The Hype Machine. I'll cross my fingers and hope that I start getting random traffic here, so putting all of this work into this page will be worthwhile.

I'll be back on Tuesday to post that hyphy song, but note that later in the week I'll post what I think may already be the worst song of 2007. Yes, already.

Fatman Scoop Can Make Any Song Better

On another day I'll post some Chicago Bears related songs in celebration of them making the Super Bowl, but for now I'll start this rodeo off by talking about the famed "hype DJ" from New York.

I am a person who hates MTV (and note that "they hardly play music videos anymore" is only a small part of it) and how they turned into a network that appears to only appeal to 16 year old girls. Deeper than that, though, is how they seem to perpetuate a way of life that promotes a mindless mindset, much disrespect, and a culture that centers itself on material issues, instant gratification, and a "you have to be rich" attitude. Look at how they have us gawk at all the rich people on MTV Cribs, or how we have to see a bunch of teenagers live to excesses in My Super Sweet 16.

To me, MSS16 is great trainwreck television. Even if they only rent those extravagant cars for their bratty kids and they actually drive a Civic and they pay people to cause trouble at the parties (charges that are allegedly true, but don't even get me started on how "reality" TV shows are anything but) and even if the kids just "play it up for the camera", it's still a great source of unintentional humor. How ungrateful they act towards their parents is depressing, but it's still a source of much hilarity seeing how bratty they act when these Paris Hilton's in training don't have things go their way. You always have to love it when all the rich and successful people fall flat on their face and fuck up in front of everyone (that's why tabloids are so popular), even if they are kiddies you only get to know for a half hour. Some of them are worse than others, of course; Sophie in particular is a hateful pigwoman who would make a great pro wrestling heel as they just have something to them that makes you want to hate them (when she opens her mouth it would seal the deal). The girl who's going to be on the show next looks to be Sophie 2.0; I can't wait.

But, then there's some girls who seem to be pretty nice, especially in comparison to the worst ones. The dame I will bring up does have something to do with the 3 songs I will post here in a moment. She is Meleny of Long Island. Besides the fact that she's pretty hot and she's having a Sweet 18 party and thus you can ogle her without feeling like someone who needs to have Chris Hansen from Dateline bust in on them with cameras (I have a feeling that "perverts" make up a good size of the MSS16 audience), she seems to be a nice person. The overprotective father thing is always a minus, but that's beside the point. She's Persian so her father must follow the old country way (no, not THAT country way, Iron Sheik fans, although I would still like to… oh nevermind). She cares about her family and wasn't particularly mean to them which is nice and more than what you can say about some of the snotty "princesses" that you tend to see on there. I also liked the bit of cockiness and brashness she had. Say what you will, but I didn't mind too much that she liked to brag often that she was filthy rich or that with the sunroof of the BMW 7 series car she wanted, she could "wave goodbye to those that wish they were driving this car"… that's great. The 7 series is more something that her parents would want rather than the hipper 5 or 3 series, but maybe she just wants the spacious backseat room for a late night tryst with her lover, I don't know. Even better, when you look at the show's website and the videos where the ladies (and two dudes) from the previous season meet up with each other in New York (hey, shut up, stop snickering) you see Mel and her sister walking to the building and she says that she wants to be the villain amongst the group and then she and her sis diss the most annoying girls-and those girls WERE irritating, so good call there. It's a funny thing to do when the other people from the season could see her make those comments, but that makes it all the more amusing. Not so much was her falling flat on her face (literally, from her high heels, I have to guess), but those are the breaks.

The thing about her that actually applies to the downloads I'm offering up is that not only does she like DJ Skribble and had him invited to play at the party, but she also brought in Fatman Scoop*. As I've said in other places, Fatman Scoop can make any song better. Really, I can't come up with any reason why he would be *hated* by anyone. I'm glad he got some recognition with "Lose Control" and "It's Like That".

* Of course, when the party is shown they feature only the two other guests, which are the lesser known Vic Latino and Lucas Prata; typical MTV logic for ya. If you look at the other videos MTV has on their page for the show, you'll see Scoop at the party, and his rather unwise decision to take off his shirt.

Note: With these files you need to have a program to unzip them, but it only takes a few minutes to download a program like Winzip or something else, so I couldn't possibly imagine it being an issue for most people in this day and age.

Crooklyn Clan w/ Fatman Scoop, "Get Your Hands Up", from the Save the Last Dance soundtrack.

This was the first song I ever heard from Scoop, and I fell in love right away. It was on a random radio station in Tennessee while I was driving from Illinois to Florida. This is a very good way of introducing yourself to him if you haven't heard his hype man style before.

http://www.bigupload.com/d=3E97F8A2 (4.97 MB, 192 K bits/second)

Miri Ben-Ari, w/ Fatman Scoop and Vicious, "Jump & Spread Out".

Ari is known as "The Hip-Hop Violinist," due to her playing on such cuts as "Jesus Walks" and "Overnight Celebrity." On her own album, she has various guest stars sing songs. On this song you hear that a fast tempo song that features a violin can work.

http://www.bigupload.com/d=FDB72CBD (4.67 MB, 160 K bits/second)

Sasha w/ Fatman Scoop, "Coca-Cola Shape (Dat Sexy Body Remix)".

Sasha is a reggaeton DJ, so you know what to expect before downloading. Fatman explains that he prefers girls whose "ass is better than your waist", thus explaining why he likes girls that are shaped like a Coca-Cola bottle (but a cute face is important too, according to him).

http://www.bigupload.com/d=491159B9 (6.28 MB, 192 K bits/second)

I hope you enjoy these tunes. I'll be back on another day to post a new song (there's no set limit on how many songs I'll have per post, but I shouldn't post more than once a day). I'll try to do this on a frequent basis but it depends on my schedule and all those other factors.

I don't mean for this to be a hip-hop centric site, but really, it's just what I feel like putting up at any random moment. You never know what to expect. I do know, though, that if I put up one of these on Tuesday, it will be of a rather unique hyphy song. Just to be on the safe side, check out this blog on a daily basis. Hey, no harm could come from it...

Oh yeah, and to find CD's from these artists, click on these links:

Even though it doesn't have the song, here's the Save The Last Dance Soundtrack.

Coca-Cola Shape: Reggae Gold 2005 CD

Miri Ben Ari Hip-Hop Violinist

Introduction

Hey, if you want to learn more about me, visit my MySpace page at www.myspace.com/blairpac and my Livejournal wrestling page at http://blairreviews.livejournal.com

I decided to create a new blog where I can post download links to random songs that I happen to like and aren't popular things that you can find anywhere (so, no link to the newest Saliva or Beyonce track, for example) but aren't the usual songs that are featured on these music blogs, i.e. tunes that almost everyone hasn't heard of before, much less the artists who created the songs (Sea & Cake? Magnetic Fields? Who are these people... but maybe this opinion is not that accurate; oh well, it's my blog so I'll stick with my opinion).

I don't have any website space to host the songs so I'll be using www.bigupload.com.

I'll include the usual "Remember to delete this after 24 hours of use" (even though no one does this) just to cover my own ass. I don't want any federal authorities at my house. If at all possible buy the albums the songs come from (unless it's a remix you can only find online, that is), again to cover my posterior.

That is all. Stay tuned for a Fatman Scoop special where I post 3 of his tunes. Oh I dream for the day that I get listed on http://hype.non-standard.net/