More on Music

I had a chance to listen to Mick Boogie's version of the Marco Polo's Port Authority. The mixtape is a lot better than the CD. I think what the CD is missing is some sort of unifying theme or sound. The mixtape is better tied in together than the CD. This is a decent mixtape -- definitely not Mick's best work -- but it's alright. It's not as good as Kanye West's mixtape. Also, I might seem like I wasn't clear on the last post, so I should make a clear statement on the Port Authority: pedestrian and lackluster. There are some nice beats, but that doesn't mean that the instrumentals could stand on their own (like the RZA's or DJ Shadow or Nujabes, etc.).

I also had a chance to listen to an advance copy of Talib Kweli's Eardrum. The good news is that its better than the "Beautiful Struggle", but its not at the level of "Quality" or "Reflection Eternal". There are a few spots on this where it does sound similar to the stuff on the "Beautiful Struggle", which was horrible. While there are some good moments on this, it can be at times be a little weak. It doesn't have the start-to-finish depth that you see on "Quality".

Speaking of start to finish depth, DJ Skeezo's J Dilla Beats Rhymes and Life mix CDs are first rate. I think I picked this up a few weeks ago, but only got a chance to listen to it this week. This is a 2 CD mix of the late J Dilla's work as a producer (e.g., A tribe Called Quest, Common, Busta Rhymes, among others) and as an artist (his solo work, Jaylib, and Slum Village). If you're a fan of J Dilla then you have to check it out. If you don't know much about J Dilla then check this out and you'll get a pretty good idea of why guys like ?uestlove from the Roots wears a "I heart J Dilla" t-shirt.

I had a listen to an advance version of The White Stripes "Icky Thump". I liked a few things on it (they had an eastern/middle-eastern sound to them), but not much more than that. I don't really listen to this kind of stuff, so it might fit some other people's tastes more than mine.