Tag Archives: xenochrony

03/10/2016 · 6:03 pm

Joe’s Garage

The greatest concept album of all time is Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage.

That’s not my opinion. It’s fact. Joe’s Garage is superior to any rock concept album you could offer in comparison. And I tell you this emphatically; mankind will never produce anything in the future that surpasses it.

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Filed under Faint Signals, Thousand Listen Club, Zappalogy

Tagged as 1970s, 1977, 1979, 200 Motels, Arthur Barrow, Ben Watson, comedy, Dale Bozzio, Denny Walley, depression, Frank Zappa, Ike Willis, jail, Jeff Simmons, John Smothers, John Williams (graphic artist), Martin Lickert, Missing Persons, Patrick O'Hearn, Peter Wolf, political correctness, Terry Bozzio, Tommy Mars, Toto, Vinnie Colaiuta, Warren Cuccurullo, Wilfrid Brambell, xenochrony

01/03/2016 · 12:00 am

The Ur-Sample

Sampling in hip-hop is important because it can send you backward in time, when it’s done well. It’s crate-digging shared on wax. The best samples offer a window into the mind of the producer, and a peek at the most obscure records in their vault. Since legally all sources must be credited, you can check the liners and draw up a shopping list. The torch of the turntable is carried on.

And oftentimes, forgotten geniuses of the past get their due.

There’s an unspoken rule in hip-hop culture; it’s based in appropriation, so it’s all about forging something fresh out of a juxtaposition of elements. A sample is looped over a beat by a DJ, before the MC begins to rap. The right samples are crucial; they provide the hook of tonal immortality.

ursample1
The handsome gent in the photo above is David McCallum. He is the most widely-heard yet unknown dude in rap music.