Sizzla b/w The Agrovators (extended sample)

Lutan Fyah b/w I-Octane (extended sample)

Yami Bolo b/w Dean Fraser (extended sample)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.thegoldbrick.net/dunza-2010-aka-blood-dunza/feed/ 0 http://www.thegoldbrick.net/inna-ruminations-stylee-4/ http://www.thegoldbrick.net/inna-ruminations-stylee-4/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:25:30 +0000 The One Nero http://www.thegoldbrick.net/?p=6530 Cheers to Esperanza for the heads up on Lint’s lo-fi performance at Blast Surf and Skate in Playa del Ray, CA. Check “The 11th Hour” (video/mp3) and “Olympia, WA” (video/mp3).

Madlib serves up a rare interview in the latest edition of LA Weekly. Check Jeff Weiss’ three-page article here.

Psyched about the newest installment of the Madlib Medicine Show series. High Jazz serves up more vibes from the Yesterdays Universe with the addition of a few new projects to the collective. Sick.

Aloe Blacc showcases a few tunes, off his upcoming album Good Things, at La Favela Chic in Paris. Counting the days until this record drops.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Need to catch up on the quality releases from Colored-Inc. Especially the Hard 2 Find series! Give their jukebox a listen for a superb mix of tunes from their catalog including an exclusive Grant Phabao ‘Jazz Rework’ version of “Could Be Bitter” from Carlton Livingston’s Bridge of Life LP.  Couple freebies are on offer over there as well. Grab Franck Biyong & Massak’s Afro-Beat tune “U.P.C.” off the Visions of Kamerun LP and Doctor L’s Spiritual Jazz x Slam Poetry tune “Vocal Kid-Napping” off his Land-Escape LP.

Hadn’t been over to Voodoo Funk in quite some time. Frank’s photos from a trip to Ghana and Nigeria earlier this year are on another level! Check ’em out. (Pic.1, Pic.2, Pic.3) Holy shit!

Check the sounds from the collaboration between Dr. Lloyd Miller and the Heliocentrics on their self-titled Strut release. Dig the vibes here.

Detailing the events that led up to the ‘Red Shirt’ protests, that took place from March until May in the Ratchaprasong district of Bangkok, would take way too long. To reference the issue, visit the Bangkok Post’s timeline titled ‘A Decade of Thai Politics’. Glad the conflict is over and some normalcy has been restored to the capital. Interesting to follow the daily events and see how it escalated. Had to wait for it all to calm down before heading there since the U.S. Embassy is located where the heart of the conflict took place and I was not afforded the time to just go and wait it out. Probably best for me as I would have undoubtedly put myself in a dangerous position by being overly curious to check out the situation. Ended up there a few weeks after and, aside from CentralWorld including Zen and other surrounding buildings being torched beyond repair, there was little to no evidence of any two-month standoff on the very streets where it all took place. The Big Clean-Up Day definitely accomplished its task. However, the damage had already been done in ways beyond physical evidence. Now, it is just waiting to see what event will take place next, when it will be and where. Check the Big Picture for some astounding photographs of it all. Set #1 and Set #2.

Followed the NBA Playoffs via the choice selection of videos available at NBA.com. Would love to check the hardwood action via a live feed, but I ain’t got it. However, I tuned in to NBA Radio for Game 7 of the Finals recently. Nice to hear the voices of some of my favorite announcers in The Association; Jim Durham, Hubie Brown and Dr. Jack Ramsay. Legendary crew. Respect to the Lakers for grabbin’ the rings for 2010. Champions hold down home court for the last two games of a series and they did just that. Tip of the hat to the purple and gold.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Well executed shirt on someone’s behalf for this sweet Phil Jackson shirt. 11 rings for the Zen Master!

The Golden State Warriors unveiled their new logo for the upcoming 2010-11 season and it is surely the best jersey The Association has seen in years. Inspired by “The City” jersey from 1966-71 (aka the most boss hoops jersey of all time) and others from that era. Killer! That Secondary Logo B would make a boss lid for sure.

It’s World Cup time! Reason enough to finally purchase a television. First time I’ve had one of those in two and a half years and after flippin’ through the channels available on local cable, I was missing out on nothing exciting at all. Nice to have these games at the click of a button though. My selections to view the matches are either the Thai feed on Channels 3 or 7 with a clear picture and Thai commentary or the Astro Sports feed from Malaysia with a fuzzy picture and English commentary. I’ve opted for the Thai feed with a low volume and Dancehall/Dub vibes on the hi-fi (reminds of the State Street Soundsystem days back in 2002), then switching to the other feed at an eventful moment for some proper insight. Enjoyable thus far except for the horrendous sound of the vuvuzelas and the absolutely pathetic officiating.

Speaking of that Astro Sports feed. Malaysia, time to check yourself in the commercials department. At the half, they feature some of the dumbest fucking commercials I’ve ever seen. Amazing these things get funded by companies. Example #1: MYEG.com. (shown immediately after the first half of every single match). Example #2: Cap Tangan’s Ngan Yin peanuts. (shown immediately after the MYEG.com commercial every single damn time).

While flipping the channels, I’ve seen very little awesome programming and a whole heap of garbage. Among the awesomeness were these: Speargun Hunter, Bob Munden using a revolver to open a safety pin by grazing the side of it from 15 yards away (no video, but downright amazing!), Michael Yon interview on MCOT, BBC World News, Buddha Bless’ video for “Fire“,  Monster Fish, Boomerang (hilarious to watch classic cartoons overdubbed in Thai).

Among the garbage were these: FOX News, Goldfrapp’s video for “Alive” (huh?), Star Channel from India (no video but some of the weirdest programming ever, like an acid trip gone wrong), Barney and so many other things that left me scratching my head.

This one is for Khun Ree. Captured among the insanity of Khao San Road in Bangkok. Remember this song (the first one in the video) from Phuket Town niteclub days.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Overheard on Khao San Road: “Yo brotha, can you spare a dollar?” – Guy from the States. Took me by surprise since asking for money is not a normal practice in Thailand and hilarious in the sense that if you are going to beg in a different country at least ask for the proper currency and find a place to do it that is not flooded with low-budget backpackers. Dumbass.

I’ve passed by this shop, in Phuket Town, a million times and have been wanting to post a picture of  it for years. Its name is Goo!.net. 555.

Collection of photographs taken in the last couple months.

Haad Bo Le, Koh Yao Yai

Ao Lo Pha Lai, Koh Yao Yai

Ao Pileh, Koh Phi Phi Le

Rasada Pier, Phuket Town

High Above Samut Prakan

Vespas and World Cup Fever on Khao San Road

Don Sak, Surat Thani on the way to Koh Samui

My Backyard in Lamai, Koh Samui, Surat Thani

]]> http://www.thegoldbrick.net/inna-ruminations-stylee-4/feed/ 2 http://www.thegoldbrick.net/the-legendary-h-johnson/ http://www.thegoldbrick.net/the-legendary-h-johnson/#comments Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:47:29 +0000 The One Nero http://www.thegoldbrick.net/?p=6554 Easily my favorite radio DJ ever and possibly my favorite person in the world, H. Johnson, host of Jazz Classics every Saturday on WABE 90.1, was featured in Access Atlanta this past week. If I lived back in the ATL, I’d definitely attend the “Tribute to H. Johnson” event at Cafe 290 on Monday the 21st. Glad PBA will be filming it, so I can possibly check it out some time in the fall when it airs. Read Bo Emerson’s article here and tune in to Jazz Classics here. Nuff respect to the coolest cat to ever walk this planet!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Paris DJs serves up a delightful mixtape titled Make the Mix by Digging from DJ Tommy TNT, guitarist extraordinaire for the likes of Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Bronx River Parkway, and El Michels Affair.

Pass at your own peril on this set from Karl Hector & the Malcouns. Recorded live at ChoiceCuts in Dublin; May 2009.

Found Silhouette Brown’s sophomore effort appropriately titled Two while grabbin’ the links for this post. Didn’t know it was scheduled and there’s little doubt that the Broken Beat and Nu-Jazz vibes will be equally as nice as the debut album sounded.

Also found Shapes 10:01 from Tru Thoughts while doin’ this. Looks like it is filled with more exclusive tracks from their exceptional roster of artists. Pick it up in three parts: Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3

Johnny Cash’s American IV: Ain’t No Grave represents the Man in Black’s final recordings before his death in September 2003. This one is essential, as are all the other volumes in the series.

The Slackers return to Hellcat Records with The Great Rocksteady Swindle set to be released on 20.04. Boss vibes soon come.

If you missed Gilles Peterson presents Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound, released last year, then do yourself and your ears a favor and grab it now. Magnifico!

As usual, the Stones Throw camp continues to drop gem after gem. Lovin’ these recent additions to the crates.

Soundway continues to put out amazing Nigerian-music compilations. Check the latest editions to their catalog; Nigeria Special Vol. 2: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds and Nigerian Blues 1970-76 and Nigeria Afrobeat Special: The New Explosive Sound in 1970s Nigeria.

Stopped by Wat Komniyaket, the temple and school next to my house, a few weeks ago to check out what all the activity was about. Turns out they were having a “Field Day” for five schools in the area. Brought back good memories of me doing the same thing when I was their age. However, one noticeable difference was the lack of shoes on all the kids. Classic Thai style.

Checked out Avatar recently. Definitely awesome in regards to the visuals…even when watching a bootleg copy on my laptop. Can’t imagine how killer it’d look on the big screen…or IMAX for that matter…or in 3D…or with psilocybin in the system! Overall, it was an entertaining film, story was a bit formulaic, visuals were stunning to say the least, running time was rather long, deserving of special effects awards, but certainly not deserving of any “Best Picture” awards. As for the complaints regarding the Papyrus-font subtitles, I couldn’t comment on it as my bootleg DVD contained Verdana typeface and the translation was in German! Still have no idea what the meaning of all of the Na’vi dialogue was. Oh well, I wasn’t overly glued to the storyline anyways.

Films that left a much more satisfying impression that I watched recently were The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Informant.

My co-worker told me she had a dream that she found me in my office on the brink of death with blood coming out of my mouth and in a pool around me. After telling me about the dream, she asked me what my age was, so I answered. I asked why she wanted to know and she told me that it was a lucky dream and she was going to play my age in the underground lottery in her village. Thoroughly confused in regards to the link between visions of my death and the luck of the lottery.

Took another trip out to the Similans, a group of nine islands about 60 km offshore from where I live. Never fails to amaze me when I go out there. Stunning!

Flippin’ through my Thai crates just got way fuckin’ easier thanks to ThaiTunes. Here’s what the crates looked like before and here’s what they look like after. Should’ve hunted that script down years ago. Som boom baep!

Holy shit was the NBA Slam Dunk Contest a huge letdown this year. Weak! Totally fuckin’ weak! I’m gonna refrain from getting’ on my soapbox for this one otherwise this’ll run on for far too long. Here’s to hopin’ next year’s event will be totally opposite of this year’s. On a better note, the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, showcasing the finalists who won throughout the states in local competitions, was awesome. Super sick jams from those cats and The Air Up There’s 360 reverse two-handed flush was beyond nasty. Plenty of other sick dunks in the mix too. Message straight to David Stern’s head: Check your league before hittin’ L.A. next year, revise the rules, and let these amateurs (read “professionals” when it comes to dunking) put on a show. You be the judge. Hella easy to see the Association blew it this year for the Slam Dunk Contest.

Cheers to Esperanza for the heads up on The Morning Benders “Excuses” video. Totally out of touch with the indie rock world and this was a nice refresher. Just picked up the full length, Big Echo, to see how the whole set sounds.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stussy will be releasing a three-part J Dilla documentary this month to honor the legendary producer who passed away four years ago this month. Check Part One below and be on the lookout for Part Two on 17.02 and Part Three on 24.02.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A small collection of pictures from last weekend. Took a ride up to Thap Tawan, Baan Nam Khem and Koh Kho Khao which are all about twenty minutes to the north of my house.

Another stunning Khao Lak sunset, fireworks on the beach, cabaret show, drinkin’ Leo brew in the yard, buffet of Thai/Chinese dishes, 10,000 Black Cat fireworks strung to a bamboo pole, Muay Thai fights on Channel 7, lucky drawing for “Ang Pow” envelopes for nineteen kids, hilarious dance shows by the kids before getting their envelope, shooting coconuts out of trees with a rifle, hiking up into the rubber trees in Natoey and a blanket of stars above with a strikingly clear view of Mars. That’s what Chinese New Year was like here in Phang Nga. Gong Xi Fa Cai! All the best to everyone in the Year of the Tiger.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Madlib Medicine Show No.1: Before the Verdict; Stones Throw, 2010

Click here to view the embedded video.

It was late-July when I got notice of the new fall line from Brixton. Stellar lids and threads as usual and I gravitated to the new version of the “Castor” fedora immediately. Eyed the natural-straw model (not shown on the site anymore, but can be seen here) for weeks and then decided I was gonna fork over the cash for one. Unfortunately, the shipping costs to Thailand were outrageous to say the least, so my plan was nixed.

In the weeks and months to follow, I thought of asking Santa Claus (who I had always thought was my parents) to give it to me for Christmas and have it included in the next package they would send my way. Never did though and kinda figured I could just live without it.

Well…on Christmas Eve, I was suiting up in my Santa Claus costume for the surprise arrival, via longtail boat mind you, to our gala dinner on the beach, and had to stop by the housekeeping office to get some safety pins. I opened the door and, lying atop the table, was a fuggin’ natural-straw Brixton Castor!

After simultaneous eyes buggin’ out, doin’ a triple take and my jaw droppin’ to the floor, I picked it up to see that the size was perfect. The manager told me the room that had checked out earlier that day had left it behind and it was all mine if I wanted it. She didn’t even have to finish the sentence before I was rockin’ it and makin’ my way out the door. Amazing how life works sometimes.

The U.S. Dollar Bill x Freemasonry. Bet you don’t know the connection. Check Eye of the Phoenix: Secrets of the Dollar Bill for an intriguing investigation.

Bonobo’s first-single, “The Keeper“, off his forthcoming, currently-untitled album has been out for a short while, but perhaps you overlooked it. Pick it up here and view the video below. No doubts that the full-length will be just as stellar as his previous output.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Upgraded to Firefox 3.5.5. Some nice features in the new release, however they could have warned me that “Clear all private data without asking” was checked as a default. Upon closing, my quick access to searches and sites I’ve been using for months and months are all gone. Ugh.

No Brasil.org did the monumental task of compiling all of the albums from Richard Dimery’s “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die” book. Not all of them are choice in my book (e.g. Scissor Sisters is included, but The Abyssinians Satta Massagana is not), but there’s way more than enough essentials laced throughout to keep you occupied for a helluva long time.

It had been a few years since I watched The Spook Who Sat by the Door, but I revisited it a few weeks ago. The story of the first black CIA operative who later drops out to train the inner city men of Chicago, then spreads the knowledge to other major cities in the US, and then launches an all-out assault against the fucking system. Brilliant cinema. I downloaded my copy, but apparently you can just stream it over at Google video.

Oliver Nelson is providing the soundtrack to my writing and compiling with his stellar The Blues and the Abstract Truth. Mellow vibes.

Oliver Nelson – The Blues and The Abstract Truth; Impulse, 1961

Flippin’ through Banksy’s “Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall” the other night. Awesome stuff.

New Thai slang I learned this week. “Nong chai rong hai” which literally translates into “My little brother needs to cry”, but actually means you’re goin’ to take a piss.

Congrats to the Yellow Jackets on being ACC Champs. Sucks about the loss to the Dawgs this year, but we’re BCS bound to Miami and, well, they’re off to Shreveport. Sting ‘em at the Orange Bowl!

A repost from a few years ago just for the hell of it. Hilarious album covers.

Dillon x Paten Locke. Studies in Hunger. Food for thought. Food for the soul. Food for the body. Food for your ears and mind. Dine on the Mega Mix before you get the main course.

Until recently, I never knew that Hepcat’s “Marcus Garvey” was originally written and performed by Bongoman Byfield and appeared on the flipside of The Skatalites “Guns of Navarone” 45 released by Island in 1965. Interesting find, to me at least. Check both versions.

The Skatalites are playing in Pattaya and the Wailers are playing on Koh Phangan this coming week. Top-class vibes in the Land of Smiles. Pissed that I won’t be attending either one, but life goes on.

Just my luck. Decided I’d try to get the time away from work to make the trip up to Koh Phangan for the Wailers x Job2Do show. Called my friend up to get the location details and whatnot. Turns out it’s canceled. Damn! Would’ve been sweet.

Looks like rainy season has finally finished up for this year. On the agenda, spending more time viewing the horizon below.

Merry Christmas to all and especially to the folks back home in the ATL. Below is some nostalgia for you. It’s The Pink Pig at Rich’s!  If you’re not from the ATL, or if you are and have been living under a rock, then you can read and listen to Kathy Lohr’s “Atlanta’s Pink Pig Brightens Spirits, 55 Years On” story, from All Things Considered, which documents the relationship between a giant pink-pig skytrain and Christmas in Atlanta. Good memories for sure.

Enjoy these holiday vibes that I’ll be spinnin’ this time of year. Two classic albums that have been present on the hi-fi since childhood, another record that perfectly regrooves the traditional Christmas songbook, and a final platter (…with ridiculously-boss cover art) filled with stone-cold Funk & Soul rarities in the Yuletide tradition.

]]> http://www.thegoldbrick.net/seasons-greetings-2/feed/ 0 http://www.thegoldbrick.net/hoops-fever-or-the-lack-thereof/ http://www.thegoldbrick.net/hoops-fever-or-the-lack-thereof/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:50:51 +0000 The One Nero http://www.thegoldbrick.net/?p=4604 This is the time of year when hoops fever is supposed to be in full effect. NBA on TNT doubleheaders every Thursday, featured games on Wednesdays and Fridays on ESPN, and Sunday doubleheaders on ABC. Not to mention the glory days at 1041 when NBATV was hooked up and supplied 24-hours of content. Now, the action on the hardwood only makes it to my eyes via some Web highlights every now and then. Not enough to make me feel involved. So it goes.

Well, check the two videos below which reminded me how much I miss The Association. Best facials from throughout November and, while D-Wade’s is supremely nasty, my favorite was A.I. 2.0’s monstrous jam. My goodness. Replay, then replay, then replay…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

By the way, I’m lovin’ the Sixers decision to go back to the 80s logo. That red, Adidas track jacket is looking hella sweet! So does the Court Series version.