Let's go to hell together: How Buck 65 killed it.

I'm in the mood for this #20
Rotate this #2


Image courtesy of CBC


I remember the first time I saw the video for "Kennedy Killed The Hat". I was working in a dingy gay bar, it was mid-afternoon and I was watching MuchMusic.

Now, I had heard Buck's earlier stuff under the monkier Stinkin' Rich and a few pieces of his work with Sixtoo under the monkier of The Sebutones. I had loved his last album, "Talkin' Honky Blues", and I remember seeing him as a clerk at my local news stand. I even remember telling him I had found some bootlegg stuff of his online from an unreleased album. He thanked me for telling him and told me he would find out who leaked it.

To me, Rich Terfry was the face of Halifax Hip Hop.

And then he pulled out with Secret House Against The World. Gainsbourg references (both lyrically and musically), rough edged drum breaks, a cover of an old Halifax band and of course, my absolute favorite, Kennedy.



There he was, his shirt off, that rip roaring, DFA 1979 sounding guitar (whom one of its members, under another moniker would later remix), that delivery, and that chorus that just gets stuck in your head, the words points of reference to the strange world in Buck's head:


And we're surrounded by assassins
fantomas
mutantes
and serpents
werewolves and sex fiends
New York
New York City
Lafayette Street
Alright now
Bang Bang
London Paris
shoot the lights out
Come on now baby


That was in 2005. Three years, another record and all of a sudden, I hear another version of Kennedy, this time featuring CKDUers Mike Catano on drums and Laura Peek on vocals and other sundry musical items. Gone is the heavy drum beat, here is a melancoly dirge, accented by Peek's voice, supporting and lifting Buck out of the netherworld of his own deadpan.


Listen here, and enjoy

Clear is still the new black.



***

Moody Morning Music for June 1st, 2008. Now with over 70% CanCon! Enjoy.

Gonzales, "Overnight", Solo Piano
Sigur Ros, "All Alright", Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Arcade Fire, "In The Backseat", Funeral
Feist, "Limit to your love", The Reminder
Jose Gonzales, "Love will tear us apart", Veneer
Young & Sexy, "The city you live in is ugly", Stand for your mother
Portishead, "Machine Gun", Third
Islands, "J'aime vous voir quitter", Arm's Way
Wolf Parade, "The Grey Estates", At Mount Zoomer
Immaculate Machine, "Wo Xiang Tanbai (Dear Confessor)", 7"
Broken Social Scene, "Windsurfing Nation", S/T
Stars, "Take me to the riot", In Our Bedroom after the war
Duchess Says, "Rabies (Baby;s got the)", Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs
You Say Party! We Say Die!, "Downtown mayors goodnight, Alley Kids Rule", Lose All Time
Gwen Guthrie, "7th Heaven", Padlock EP
Crystal Castles, "Air War", S/T
Gonzales, "Slow Down (Feat. Teki Latex)", Soft Power
Cut Copy, "Out there on ice", In Ghost Colours
MSTRKRFT, "Bounce (feat. N.O.R.E.)", Bounce EP
Thom Yorke, "The Clock (Surgeon Remix)", 12"


Moody Morning Music for July 8th, 2008. Enjoy

Gonzales, "Overnight", Solo Piano
Buck 65 feat Laura Peek & Micheal Catano, "Kennedy Killed The Hat (acoustic mix)
Thom Yorke, "Harrowdown Hill (12" mix)
Black Keys, "All you ever wanted", Attack & Release
Wolf Parade, "Language City", At Mount Zoomer
Sigur Ros, "Goddledigood", Med Sud I Eryum Vid Spulum Endalaust
Bloc Party, "Tulips (Club Version)"
Stars, "What I'm trying to say", Set yourself on fire
Tokyo Police Club, "The Nature Of The Experiment"
The Gossip, "Jealous Girls (NYPC Remix)"
!!!, "Heart Of Hearts", Myth Takes
Duchess Says, "Tenen Non Neu", Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs
Danger Doom feat. Cee-Lo, "Benzie Box", THe Mouse & The Mask
Zapp, "Dance Floor"
Santogold, "Les Artistes (Molecule Mix)"
Girl Talk, "Give me a beat", Feed The Animals
Crystal Castles, "Vanished", S/T
Cut Copy, "Heart's On Fire", In Ghost Colours

Rotate This: Uh Huh Her & The Clicks

Cat's out of the bag, I've tripped and fallen into the well of nostalgia. Halifax is great, but growing up on the periphery of Toronto has spoiled me. The more I fall in love with new bands, the deeper into a depression of what's-now-gone I sink.

Majority of the following acts I am about to list rarely, if ever, play here. But instead of waxing poetic on my adolescences spent sleeping on Yonge Street to catch a glimpse of Melissa Auf Der Maur signing autographs, nervously approaching Allison Wolfe post-Bratmobile's set, hanging out with The Donnas, tearing up the night after I got dumped at a Sleater Kinney show, watching my best friend Ashlee dance on-stage two nights in a row with Courtney Love singing "Mailbu" to her, I'll imagine a city where I can catch The Clicks open for The Cult. A booming metropolis where I can eat my little L Word-loving heart out at an Uh Her Her concert. Heck, even see the Peej (PJ Harvey) herself perform.

In Toronto's alt-weekly NOW, reviewer Sarah Liss aptly described The Clicks music as "what might happen if Chrissie Hynde and the Murmurs' Leisha Hailey fell in love, got Bowie to help out with insemination and gave birth to an indie rock love child."

I suppose I can't really complain; upcoming concerts on the horizon do include: Bob Dylan, The Sadies, The Constantines, Leonard Cohen and Sarah Slean. This afternoon I had a lovely chat with those darling fellas from The Coast on the night of their CD release "Expatriate" from a gig in Vancouver. Ian even sweetly asked about the fate of Oh, Beautiful! Majestic! Eagle!

For the record, we remain on hiatus (also known as no longer). In the upcoming weeks I am scheduled to chat with Leisha Hailey and Camillia of Uh Huh Her. Not to mention a highly anticipated record shopping spree in Toronto later this month. Rotate This and Sonic Boom look out, here she comes armed with a recently paid off Visa card in her pockets. I suppose I'm just being a bit brattish. The trouble is I'm a girl who wants everything. I want to bake, decorate and eat the entire cake - icing, cookie crumbs, ice cream and all.