Del The Funky Homosapien - Catch A Bad One 12"

Elektra (1993)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

 If you've been reading any of my Wednesday posts, you've definitely read mention of Del The Funky Homosapien. He & his Hieroglyphics crew are responsible for my favorite releases in the history of hip hop. I had decided that I needed to get my hands on the various golden era singles from those groups as the B sides and remixes were sorely missing from my collection on vinyl.

We've finally arrived at the first single from Del's second album, No Need For Alarm.  I've mentioned before that No Need For Alarm is my favorite hip hop record of all time, but I'm not sure I've also pointed out that "Catch a Bad One" is my favorite song from that album.  The very first time I heard that crazy cello loop I was instantly hooked.  I couldn't say for sure if I heard this song before the album itself was released.  I don't remember seeing it played on Yo MTV Raps, and I have no real memory of buying the album or how I knew it had been released.  I usually have a pretty solid memory for that sort of thing, but these details have sadly been lost to time.

I never had this single back in the 90s, and it didn't seem like a big deal.  It's mostly album tracks with "Catch a Bad One," "No More Worries" and "Wack M.C.'s."  All great songs for sure, but I already had them on the album.  The only exclusive track was a remix of "Catch A Bad One," so never splurged on the cassingle.  It wasn't until many years later that I realized that this remix really wasn't much of a remix at all.  It's essentially an entirely new song.  New beats, new lyrics, pretty much new everything.  Sure, Del does reuse four of the words from the original hook, but aside from that it's pretty much all new.  It's great and I'm really pleased to finally have it on vinyl.

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Catch A Bad One":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpP_DslgZvY&ab_channel=DelThaFunkeeHomosapien-Topic

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Catch A Bad One" (Remix):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mC1bVAh_iY&ab_channel=DelThaFunkeeHomosapien-Topic

Quaker Wedding - In Transit LP

Salinas (2020)

I'm pretty sure that when it comes to records I've been sent this year, when the album in question is by a band I had not heard of before, this Quaker Wedding album is the best one I have listened to in 2020.  When this came in the mail, I was intrigued by the artwork and wanted it to be good.  Once the opening chords of "Sinking Ship" blasted out of my speakers, I knew this record was going to be a keeper.

When I listen to this album, I can hear echoes of other bands that I like. There is an Off With Their Heads/Dear Landlord quality in the vocals.  And of course the great grandaddy touchstone certainly sounds like Jawbreaker to me, but none of these comparisons really do Quaker Wedding justice.  They're not a No Idea sound alike band and to me the most obvious difference between Quaker Wedding and the bands I just compared them to is how much of the album is built on slower and more mid tempo songs.  Sure, there are a few fast paced rockers, but where the album really excels is when the band is taking their tame and building their sound.

I'm uncertain if it was written this way on purpose, but sitting here six months into a pandemic that has kept me from seeing friends and living a normal life, I can really latch on to the themes of isolation and melancholy that are prevalent on the record.  But what really grabs me is how these feelings aren't the defining characteristic of the album.  While they are there, to me the end result is much more uplifting and hopeful. This is a band worth checking out.

Quaker Wedding - In Transit:
https://quakerwedding.bandcamp.com/album/in-transit-2

Booker T & The MG's - The Complete Stax Singles - Vol. 1 (1962 - 1967) 2xLP - Blue Vinyl

Real Gone Music (2019)

Instrumental music isn't always my bag.  I can get down with an occasional Ventures song and I love the Minibosses, but when you try to play any of that emo Jade Tree instrumental stuff from the early 2000s, it's like NyQuil for me.  But of all of the instrumental bands in the history of recorded music, the one I like the best is Booker T & the MG's.

It doesn't hurt that Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn ended up in the Blues Brothers.  The fact that they are the backing band to most of the best songs in the history of Stax also works in their favor.  But even if you disregard all of the accolades they acquired working with others, their standalone work is still of the absolute highest caliber.  There are few bands that can sink into a groove the same way that Booket T & The MGs do.

The rhythm section of Al Jackson Jr. on drums with Lewie Steinberg or Donald Duck Dunn on Bass (Steinberg: 1962-1965/Duck: 1965-1967) lay down an unshakeable foundation.  You could almost throw anything on top of it and still end up smelling like roses.  The fact that what was added in is the incredible guitar work of Steve Cropper and the keyboard wizardry of Booker T is what makes the band stand out, even with no vocals.

I love having a nice double LP of some of their greatest songs all in one place.  The pressing sounds great and these songs just come alive when the volume is nice and loud.  The only thing that I don't love are that four of the songs are Christmas songs.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music and the Booker T Christmas album is a long time favorite, but it's a little weird to be listening to the record and have a few Christmas songs pop up in the middle when it's August.  I certainly understand the desire to call something the complete singles and have it actually be complete, but if they left those 4 off the release, I wouldn't have been too bummed.

Booker T & the MG's - "Green Onions":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjBRyG8HouM

Booker T & the MG's - "Hip Hug Her":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV4Td-Me8L8&ab

Booker T & the MG's - "Boot-Leg":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM3RnmmLdMo

Del The Funky Homosapien - Made In America 12"

Elektra (1993)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

If you've been reading any of my Wednesday posts, you've definitely read mention of Del The Funky Homosapien. He & his Hieroglyphics crew are responsible for my favorite releases in the history of hip hop. I had decided that I needed to get my hands on the various golden era singles from those groups as the B sides and remixes were sorely missing from my collection on vinyl.

Made and America is essentially a standalone single that came out in 1993.  It was after I Wish My Brother George Was Here, but before No Need For Alarm was released in November of that year.  The song originated on the soundtrack for the film of the same name starring Ted Danson and Whoopi Goldberg.  Had I not Googled the name of the movie, I wouldn't have known that.  Never heard of the film and it's pretty odd that one, Del is on this soundtrack and two, his song got a single and a video when Gloria Estefan and DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince also have songs on it.

While I do not remember ever seeing the video played on Yo MTV Raps, I do remember the cassingle of this popping up in 1993 at some point.  It's a fun single that has three different versions of the song.  The main one is Whoopi's Mix and that's the one that appears on the actual soundtrack and is the version the video was made for.  Solid song for sure and I dig the percolating bassline that the track is built on.  Del's lyrics are sort of in an in between stage as well, he's not delving into the more complicated rhymes that would become the calling card of No Need For Alarm, but he's definitely upped the ante when compared to some of the songs from his debut.

The other two remixes, one by the SD50s and the other helmed by Del, are also good takes on this song.  I think I probably like Del's version the best of the three as the beat us upbeat and the bass riff is a head nodder.  While I wouldn't rank any of these versions if I were to list the very best Del tracks, that's not a knock on these.  Del's discography is pretty much the best one in the history of hip hop, in my humble opinion.  These tracks float around in the middle of the pack, but it's mostly due to how incredible his body of work is.

Del The Funky Homosapien - Made In America (Whoopi's Mix):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2DL6l9EvQk&ab_channel=UPROXXVideo

Del The Funky Homosapien - Made In America (Del's Mix):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QP1L4Q0-PY

The Beekeepers - Song Demos Cassette

Self Released (2019)

I get a decent amount of tapes sent to me to review.  I hate tapes.  But, I don't mind hearing new bands, so when there is one that's good, it makes the slog worth it.  Unfortunately the vast, vast majority of the tapes that get sent to me are terrible (excluding most of those sent by Snappy Little Numbers, their track record is significantly higher than everyone else's).  Like really, really bad high school style punk rock bands.  Everyone has to start somewhere, and I get that, but that doesn't mean you have to send your tape to me.  I'll feel an obligation of guilt to actually write about the stupid thing.

That said, every so often a pretty decent tape slips through.  This Beekeepers cassette is one of them.  It's not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it's also not terrible.  Jangle heavy guitars shimmering along to vaguely 60s style pop rock.  There's a hippie vibe for sure, but at least they've got the pop part down.  All of the songs have nice, melodic verses and reasonably catchy choruses.  Where they lose me a bit is the vocals.

The voice is something that will take some getting used to.  There's definitely something of a Muppets/Kermit vibe to them, which isn't inherently bad, but I found it a little bit distracting as I went through the tape.  Song Demos is a reasonably pleasant little cassette.  I wouldn't go out of my way to pick it up, but you could do worse than spending a few minutes digging through their songs on Bandcamp.

The Beekeepers - Song Demos:
https://the-beekeepers.bandcamp.com/album/song-demos

Record Store Day Haul #1: Archers of Loaf - Raleigh Days 7"

Merge (2020)

Record Store Day lost its sizzle for me several years ago. At this point there's very little of interest to me in the never ending sea of rereleased, fifteen dollar 7"s from bands like Toto.  What started out as a cool way for independent record stores to get a few exclusives to drive people to the stores, quickly turned into a cash grab with overpriced and generally shitty releases.  That's not to say there aren't a few pieces of gold still out there.  Without fail there's always at least one release every year that I want and this year it was an Archers of Loaf 7".  This is the only record I bought this record store day, making it a haul of 1 record.  But it's a good one and I want to thank my buddy Scott for pointing me in the direction of an online store that was carrying it.

This was actually supposed to be the first new Archers single in twenty some odd years, but the pandemic pushing Record Store Day around means that it's now the second, with "Talking Over Talk" beating it to the punch.  Also due to the pandemic, I was just able to buy this online.  The record store I usually go to didn't seem to have the greatest policies for safety and social distancing, so I opted to hit refresh a couple hundred times from my computer instead.

As far as the songs go, I think that "Raleigh Days" is the best of the four that have been released so far.  It has an upbeat and driving rhythm with great guitar work and Eric Bachman's harsh, but wonderfully melodic vocals.  It takes me back to the sort of songs they were doing when Vee Vee came out.  And any chance to hear Archers blasting out noisy pop songs is a real treat for me.

The B side on this one is a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man."  It's actually a really good version of the song.  Archers do an excellent job of making the song their own musically.  But the vocal melody of the original is just so iconic, it's hard to make that sound like anything other than just a cover song.  It's a fun listen but I'm more interested in new Archers of Loaf songs.  I hope I get to hear more soon.

Archer of Loaf - Raleigh Days 7":
https://archersofloaf.bandcamp.com/album/raleigh-days-b-w-street-fighting-man

Del The Funky Homosapien - Dr. Bombay 12"

1992 (Elektra)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

 If you've been reading any of my Wednesday posts, you've definitely read mention of Del The Funky Homosapien. He & his Hieroglyphics crew are responsible for my favorite releases in the history of hip hop. I had decided that I needed to get my hands on the various golden era singles from those groups as the B sides and remixes were sorely missing from my collection on vinyl. This one is the third and it's the final single from Del's first album.

The album version of "Dr. Bombay" is definitely one of the highlight's of Del's debut.  It didn't get the same sort of airplay that "Mistadobolina" received, but unlike "Sleepin' on My Couch," I do remember it being on Yo MTV Raps at least a couple of times.  For the remix on this single, the beat is not as layered as the album version, and the stripped down production really puts the emphasis on the lyrics.  In a lot of ways it sounds more in line with the styles Del would be known for in a couple of years.

The other remix is of "Hoodz Come in Dozens," this one tackled by the SD50s.  While good, I don't see it being the huge departure from the original the same way that the "Dr. Bombay" is.  The last track on this 12" is the previously unreleased "Eye Examination."  This one was produced by Del and again is a glimpse into what Del was going to unleash into the world when No Need For Alarm came out in 1993.  The beat has hints of Tribe Called Quest, but is still filtered though that bay area funk sound.  Del uses this canvas to put down the type of lyrics and rhyme structures that it seems only he can do.  Killer song and it's a shame that it's not one of his more well known tracks.

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Dr. Bombay (Remix)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J4mx5_fJBM&ab_channel=DelThaFunkeeHomosapien-Topic

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Eye Examination":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgJ8DqOfZBo&ab&ab_channel=DelThaFunkeeHomosapien-Topic

Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Fake Nature LP (/250)

Big Neck (2020)

Despite the font size of Fake Nature being much larger on the album cover, the name of the band is Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.  That's an excellent band name as both a movie reference and just a general bad ass name for a punk rock band.  I can't say I had super high expectations going in, the animal heads on the band members as their cover art made me wonder if this was going to just sound trashy, but as it turns out, I really dig this album quite a bit.

The band is absolutely a garage-y punk band at heart and I hear echos of the Carbonas on quite a few songs, particularly in the way the guitar riffs blast through.  The guitar tones are warm, but have just enough crackle to give the songs a tight, yet at the same time slightly ramshackle vibe to them.  Finding that balance is such a difficult thing to do and it maintains all of the band's energy while producing a record that doesn't sound like shit.  The majority of the vocals are carried by Sal Go and her delivery is powerful, but still pretty melodic at the end of the day.

The record is solid from start to finish, but I have to point out the song "Perverse Mortgage" in particular.  It's a bit of a change of pace from the rest of the album as it leans further away from the band's usual sound and reminds me a lot of the band Smalltown.  Just a little bit of bouncy, mod sounding guitar work and the band knocks the song completely out of the park.  This is a band definitely worth checking out.

Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Fake Nature:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/stop-worrying-and-love-the-bomb-fake-nature

Diaz Brothers - Diaz Brothers LP

Boss Tuneage (2020)

In addition to his highly renown work with Leatherface, Dickie Hammond had is fingers in quite a few other incredible bands.  From HDQ to Doctor Bison, Stokoe to (Fatty) Jones, pretty much everything he touched turned to gold.  The hole that remains from losing Dickie is somewhat immeasurable, but when an album like this comes along it makes things feel a little less empty.

Diaz Brothers are something of a continuation of HDQ, but when Neil Cox joined up it was insisted that it be a new band, not HDQ without Dickie.  Over the course of this album's phenomenal ten tracks, the presence of Hammond looms large, but the album is stellar in its own right and is easily one of the best records I've listened to in 2020.

More than anything, I feel a kinship with the one album that The Jones released many moons ago.  For a long time, I've felt that it is an overlooked part of the UK melodic punk canon, but was always one of my very favorites.  Like Gravity Blues, this album's foundation is built on furious guitar riffs, interesting chord progressions and Golly's incredibly powerful vocals.  This is a band firing loudly on all cylinders, but with a keen grasp on songwriting that lets them weave melodies through, without ever sacrificing the oomph.

I've said many times that my favorite ever time in music was the early to mid 90s UK scene.  So many of my favorite bands came from there and so many more were influenced by that time.  This Diaz Brothers record is every bit as good as the very best from that time period.  Considering what a shit year 2020 has been, it's really nice to have a record this good to help get through the bad times.

Diaz Brothers - Diaz Brothers:
https://bosstuneagerecords.bandcamp.com/album/diaz-brothers

Del The Funky Homosapien - Sleepin' On My Couch 12"

Elektra (1991)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

If you've been reading any of my Wednesday posts, you've definitely read mention of Del The Funky Homosapien. He & his Hieroglyphics crew are responsible for my favorite releases in the history of hip hop. I had decided that I needed to get my hands on the various golden era singles from those groups as the B sides and remixes were sorely missing from my collection on vinyl. The second 12" single that Del released was also from the I Wish My Brother George album, "Sleepin' On My Couch."

As a single, it's not really all that interesting.  Just the album version fo the song along with the instrumental.  On the B side is "Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo," the same as the B side for the "Mistadobolina" single.  Though this time out, it's just the album version and the album version instrumental.  No remixes here.  More than anything, I wanted this in my collection for the artwork and just for completist purposes.

As big a Del fan as I was and despite how frequent the "Mistadobolina" video got played on Yo MTV Raps, I have zero memories of ever seeing the video for "Sleepin' On My Couch" get played.  I've seen it on the internet since then, but back in the day, I'm not even sure I knew it was a single from the album.  It's a great fun song and was always one of the album tracks I gravitated towards, but I guess as a single, it just didn't make the same inroads as "Mistadobolina" did.

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Sleepin' On My Couch":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m4Bxvkpnew&ab_channel=DelFunkeeHomosapien

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p2vUsGKcTg&ab_channel=DelThaFunkeeHomosapien-Topic

Bauwave - U R Everything LP

Salinas (2020)

U R Everything is the debut from Bauwaves, which likely explains why I hadn't heard of them prior to this record showing up recently.  At least that can be a partial reason, I sure feel like there are a ton of bands floating around these days that I'm unfamiliar with.  Regardless, Bauwaves are one of those bands so I had no frame of reference when I put this record on for the first time.

They first thing that struck me is the sludgy guitars and the fuzzed out vocals.  Though the band's Bandcamp page makes reference to early SST records, what jumped to my mind is early 90s Pacific Northwest noisy, indie rock.  I wouldn't have been shocked to hear this band on one of those Kill Rock Stars compilations that were particularly influential to me when I was figuring out music.  Though I'd probably most expect to find them on the Slice of Lemon comp.  Don't ask me to explain why, I just picture it in my head that way.

I probably would have liked this more in the 90s than I do now.  While I do not dislike it, the muddy production and the almost underwater-like vocals don't have the same currency with me today as they did when I was twenty.  Back then, if I had heard one of the faster songs like "Years Later" I probably would have at least gone digging around the record store bins to see if I could find a 7" of theirs to hear more.  But today, I don't see this as something I'll listen to all that much.  Though it definitely does have its moments.

 Bauwave - U R Everything:
https://bauwaves.bandcamp.com/album/u-r-everything

Pavement - Sensitive Euro Man Picture Disc

Matador (2020)

Twenty-five years ago in 1995, Pavement released Wowee Zowee.  It was the first album I heard by them and to this day it remains my favorite.  I'll always be thankful for my friend Scott in high school playing the record for me.  In my opinion it is just an absolutely perfect record.  For its twenty-fifth anniversary, Matador has reissued the record on vinyl, and while I don't need another copy of the full length, I did need to pick up the little bonus record they put out with it.

This shaped picture disc is meant to mimmic the speech bubble on the cover of Wowee Zowee and the flip side image on this is all yellow and says "PAVEMENT?" across it, along with the track information. It contains two songs.  The A side is "Sensitive Euro Man" originally from the I Shot Andy Warhol soundtrack.  On the B side is "Brink Of The Clouds/Candylad."  This was from a 1994 radio session that was recorded in Australia.  Both songs are interesting and showcase the weirder side of Pavement, but I don't think either really warrant a standalone shaped picture disc.

These tracks were both collected on the special edition 2xCD Wowee Zowee set that came out some years ago, the Sordid Sentinels edition.  That release contained a ton of B-sides and rarities.  I really wish that rather than creating an expensive picture disc with two songs, Matador had gone forward and released all of that material on vinyl.  They started that process awhile ago by putting out Secret History Vol. 1, focusing on the extra tracks from the Slanted and Enchanted era, but the project never went past that release.

I for one would have taken Vol. 3 over this release any day.  While this picture disc is neat looking, it's mostly just a fancy trinket to add to my collection of Pavement records.  There's no way I wouldn't have bought it as I need to keep my collection as complete as I possibly can, but it's not something I'd ever listen to all that much.  Now Secret History Vol. 3?  I'd listen to that all of the time.

Pavement - "Sensitive Euro Man":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFDbhqkr4iw

Pavement - "Brink Of The Clouds/Candylad":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGTzHvMOUa4

Del The Funky Homosapien - Mistadobolina 12"

Elektra (1991)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

If you've been reading any of my Wednesday posts, you've definitely read mention of Del The Funky Homosapien.  He & his Hieroglyphics crew are responsible for my favorite releases in the history of hip hop.  I had decided that I needed to get my hands on the various golden era singles from those groups as the B sides and remixes were sorely missing from my collection on vinyl.  The first one up is the very first Del single, "Mistadobolina."

The album version of this song is the one that got me hooked on Del when I was in eighth grade in 1991.  That video playing on Yo MTV Raps would end up being so profoundly important in my musical education and the album version fo the song appears on this 12" along with a remix.  The remix is solid and has a good beat to it, but it doesn't really compare to the much more well known original.  The other album track that makes an appearance is "Ahonetwo, Ahonetwo."  Again, a great album track along with a really fun remix.  I think that it's better than the "Mistadobolina" remix, but it's still not as strong as the original album version.

The real highlight of this single is the exclusive track "Burnt."  This is a Hieroglyphics posse cut and marks the very first time Casual and members of Souls of Mischief would appear on wax.  This is a fantastic song and really showcases the sound that Hieroglyphics would go on to cultivate and in many ways perfect over the next few years.  It's not dripping with P-funk the way Del's full length is, but instead it showcases the collective's homegrown sound. Listening to it now and realizing it came out in 1991 is pretty nuts.  It feels way ahead of its time, both in production and in the lyrical dexterity that the crew would soon become known for.

Del The Funky Homosapien ft. Hieroglyphics - "Burnt":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVsrIeveDAI

Del The Funky Homosapien - "Mistadobalina (Remix)":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVLGYREn4-s