10.25

Hittmanic Verses (Hittman, 2005)

Finally got around to checking out the solo work of all things told probably the best part of 2001.  And it doesn't disappoint!  Probably the best and certainly the smartest album I've heard that's at least 70% fucking bitches.  Great beats, killer wordplay, not so long that it gets stale (well, maybe a bit towards the end).  The last third of the album transitions from bangers to more atmospheric music admirably.  I wouldn't expect too many other people to like it as much as me but yeah, it really vibes with me.

Choice cuts: The Hiznit, When It Comes to the Hoes, Bloww

10.23

Iron Works (Ka, 2008)

I had the nastiest feeling listening to Firehouse that it was lightning in a bottle, but I expected at least some of that unheard of imagery and insane wordplay to resurface on Ka's album.  But lyrically it's mostly pretty bland street stuff.  Stylistically it's unique among what I've heard: obnoxiously low-end beats and lyrics delivered in a slow scratchy whisper.  I still believe in Ka on the strength of Firehouse so I'd like to listen to this again and some of his other stuff, but as of now he's going in my untapped potential file.

Choice cuts: DNA, Mr. Officer, Children

Run the Jewels (Run the Jewels, 2013)

Quite fun, but the scope of the lyrics don't quite match the monumental beats.  Still some great stuff in there on that end though.  The more melodic stuff is gorgeous, I'd love to see them expand on that.

Choice cuts: DDFH, Sea Legs, No Come Down

10.22

Visions of the Tenth Chamber (Popa Wu, 2000)

You know you're in trouble when one of the better tracks on your album is one of the weaker ones on another mediocre album.  Or when you're not featured in any capacity on your own album.  I picked this up at Amoeba expecting some crazy experimental spoken word shit from Popa Wu, but it's just a collection of songs by mostly bad rappers.

Choice cuts: New Improved, Prepare for the Buddha Monk, How It Goes

RAP Music (Killer Mike, 2012)

Damn, I don't think I've heard an album that's resounded more with me politically.  I appreciated the shift from the political to the personal as it progressed too, though I think I like the former more.  Also Mike and El-P are as ideal a synthesis of rapper and producer as I've heard.  Doesn't have a huge amount of replay value, but for kind of a small album it's about as good as it gets.

Choice cuts: Big Beast, Jojo's Chillin', Reagan

10.20

Rope (Alfred Hitchcock, 1948)

Man, I thought Jimmy's character was tight, what happened?  I was expecting him to murder the two dudes, or something better.  But before it totally leaps the tracks in the last five minutes it's a pretty cool movie.  I love how Granger when he's not succumbing to nerves or alcohol is actually as suave and evil as Dall, and how Dall for all his fronting really comes apart sometimes.  And the set's pretty amazing, I love that kind of stuff.  I don't know what's up with this one shot shit though, there are several very prominent cuts.

10.18

Roots (Curtis Mayfield, 1971)

Not quite on the level of Superfly, but not far from it either.  Curtis makes soul into an ecstatic experience.

Choice cuts: Underground, Now You're Gone, Love to Keep You in My Mind

10.17

Mosaic in Confidence (Peter Kubelka, 1955)

Strongest in its quieter, more solemn moments.  Looks great, even in a low quality rip, but nothing to write home about for me.

Mothership Connection (Parliament, 1975)

I don't think funk will ever be my favorite genre, but it's hard to imagine it getting much better than this.  So fucking fun.  Handcuffs is the odd man out, but it's a tight song in its own right

Choice cuts: Mothership Connection (Star Child), Unfunky UFO, Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication

White Dog (Samuel Fuller, 1982)

80s film stock, having torn up everything contemporary in its path, evidently couldn't stop there and felt the need to ruin the aesthetic of one of old Hollywood's greatest directors. Despite that Fuller's obviously still at the peak of his game; even more than Hawks, he's all about movement and timing but to a very different end. I haven't been afraid of dogs since I was a kid but this reignited some of that. It's frightening in a lot of ways actually I'm guessing the dissenting remarks about its vapidity come from the same crowd who hate on Showgirls, i.e. object to a classical style of writing and acting within modern films; I found it to be one of the more coherent pieces of philosophy on film.

10.16

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (Charles Mingus, 1963)

I don't know enough about jazz to say anything insightful about this, but it's sheer magnificence.  I already loved Mingus on the basis of Oh Yeah but this is easily the best non-lyrical album I've heard.

Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang (Raekwon, 2011)

Nothing more or less than fun.  Even when he's recycling the same shit he's been recycling since 97 Raekwon still sure knows how to put together an album.  I love his mission statement for the project: "Before [Wu], I was on the block.  I was living in Shaolin.  So this album just shows the street side of me, challenging the great side of Wu-Tang."  I can't say I heard much of that on the album, or anything out of the ordinary for that matter, but its more than a solid soundtrack for running deliveries.

Choice cuts: Silver Rings, Snake Pond, Moleasses

10.15

Beneath the Surface (GZA, 1999)

This is a major disappointment.  The beats on the whole aren't too far behind Pro Tools, but there aren't any standout bangers either.  It's biggest failing is that it's one of the least album-like albums I've heard since the 60s, and instead feels like a random melange of guest verses and skits.  GZA's lyrics are still often brilliant but limited here mostly to battle rap, which while fun is far from his richest subject matter.  Some good guest verses, I liked Hell Razah more here than on the Sunz of Man album.

Choice cuts: Beneath the Surface, Hip Hop Fury, 1112

10.12

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)

I still dig it, but it's hard to believe the guy who made this had Once Upon a Time in the West in him two years later.  A lot of its overstated, and that music cue after some of the lines gives the slide whistle in DOA a run for its money.  But it's an epic treasure hunt western!  I was especially digging the sense of place and the movement between places this time, I think that lends the film much of its scope.  And the finale more than makes up for any previous shortcomings.

10.11

Pro Tools (GZA, 2007)

It took me a few listens to decide how much I liked it; it's definitely a minor album in a lot of ways but the more I heard it the more I enjoyed it and ultimately I think it deserves a huge amount of respect on the strength of the lyrics alone.  Not only is the GZA coming with utterly brilliant, vivid rhymes but some of the guest verses are out of this world too.  The production's fine, it's mostly basic loops, but if this is considered a step up from his other post-Liquid Swords projects in that department...ho boy.  But anyhow as a rapper this is an album for me to study closely.

Choice cuts: Pencil, 0% Finance, Firehouse

10.10

Black Sunday (Cypress Hill, 1992)

The appeal of Cypress Hill is lost on me.  Sen Dog seems to be the better lyricist, or maybe his few verses are just welcome refrains from B-Real's voice.  Anyhow I tended to enjoy the songs he was on more.  It does have a cohesive sound, which I appreciate, but on a track-by-track basis the production mostly comprises recognizable samples that have been used better elsewhere.

Choice cuts: Insane in the Brain, Cock the Hammer, Hits from the Bong

10.09

Drunken Master II (Jackie Chan and Lau Kar-leung, 1994)

I think this is the first movie I've seen dubbed instead of subtitled, except for spaghetti western type stuff that was filmed in multiple languages.  That was pretty out there.  The film's sense of humor is so not up my alley, but the fight scenes are pretty impressive.  Nowhere near as good as Shanghai Noon overall.

10.08

Down to Earth (Monie Love, 1990)

For such a bubbly cover it's a surprisingly negative album.  Other than a couple of dance songs it's mostly criticizing other people.  Not that they aren't valid criticisms.  She never reaches the heights of her verse on Ladies First but it's a solid album throughout.

Choice cuts: Ring My Bell, Just Don't Give a Damn, Swiney Swine

Northstar (Northstar, 2004)

Well I found the album with the guy who cut his dick off in the bargain bin at Amoeba.  The first time around I thought this was trash, but it's decently fun once you get used to it.  Some of the beats are crazy out of place, and none of them are remotely sophisticated for a project the RZA was so involved in.  The Killarmy features are the best verses by far.

Choice cuts: We Got It, Nuttin, Destiny

10.07

Nightfall (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)

Every department goes all in on this.  The writing is giddily awesome and Tourneur shines.  Bancroft and Ray play off each other beautifully.  The end doesn't have the same air of perfection as the beginning, but it does go out with a bang.

The Gunfighter (Henry King, 1950)

I've never seen a western that's so much a portrait of one guy before.  In many ways it's my kind of movie, mostly consisting of a guy standing and sitting around an empty saloon, and a lot of credit goes to Peck for keeping it interesting.  It's a modest movie but very well done.

10.06

Gone Girl (David Fincher, 2014) (theatrical)

Damn, definitely one of Fincher's best.  It would fall apart without the right actors, and Rosamund Pike just blows it out of the water.  Neil Patrick Harris is the only one I didn't like, he felt like he was kind of overselling it.  It has a plastic, deodorant ad aesthetic that suits the material perfectly.  Aw, it's kind of adorable too.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam, 1988)

Like many Gilliam films, the details are divine but the whole is somewhat lacking.  This time it feels like the first two episodes of a TV show about Munchausen, which would have to take us on many more adventures to do justice to the title.  But in the moment it's often magical.

10.03

The Last Shall Be First (Sunz of Man, 1998)

I was really looking forward to this, but there wasn't much to grab onto lyrically or rhythmically for me.  I get the sense that Killah Priest is these guys' Killa Sin, and his degree of absence is sorely felt a la Fear, Love & War.  The best songs are almost invariably the ones that involve founding members of Wu Tang.

Choice cuts: Natural High, Shining Star, Collaboration '98

10.01

Party Girl (Nicholas Ray, 1958)

No one captures movement through space like Ray, what a genius.  The dance sequences here are incredible, the rest of the movie's alright.

09.30

S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (One.Be.Lo, 2005)

Listening to this its clear that Masters of the Universe was a lightning in a bottle type situation but he's still an amazing rapper in his own right.  He's gotta be one of the best battle rappers ever but he doesn't limit his output to just that; I've got a lot of respect for his variety.  The album's pretty awesome too.

Choice cuts: Sleepwalking, Rocketship, Unparalleled

09.29

Dog's Dialogue (Raul Ruiz, 1977)

Not a favorite, but definitely very Ruiz and completely successful.