Sound of Silver Turns 10: How LCD Soundsystem help me grow up

“Sound of Silver, talk to me. Makes me want to feel like a teenager. Until you remember the feelings of. A real life emotional teenager. Then you think again”

LCD Soundsytem’s “Sound of Silver” isn’t an album that I discovered in 2007 and I wouldn’t have been ready for it then. It’s an album that makes more sense as you get older and experience life. On the surface, it’s a great dance record made by one of the best producers this century in James Murphy. But underneath those pulsing rhythms and sly lyrics is an album that not only touched my soul and made me ponder life, it’s an emotional piece of work that’s as introspective as it’s fun

I found a kinship in Murphy because he didn’t find success until his 30s. When I discovered LCD at 26, I had just quit my job and was looking for something to keep going. I was single (not for much longer) and when I heard “All My Friends”, it made me feel something. Missing my friends, missing college, feeling like I tried so hard to be a success that I missed something in the journey. (“you spend the next 5 years trying to get with the plan and the next 5 years trying to get with your friends again”).

When I first heard the full album around around 2011, I didn’t know what to expect besides the twin killing of Someone Great and All My Friends. What I got was something that made me dance, think and cry. An album that had what I call “soul on the dance floor” and transformed LCD Soundsystem from a great live band with singles to a band that spoke to life.

Happy 25th birthday to Nevermind, Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Low End Theory

25 years ago today, three albums dropped that became game-changers. It wasn't planned. Nobody knew what they'd do. It was pure organic history and pure organic shifts in music with Nirvana's Nevermind, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magic and A Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory.

All of them built up in their own way. Nirvana was blowing up in Seattle but Alice in Chains and Soundgarden were starting to make impacts on radio as well. The Chilis were Los Angeles legends just taking mainstream success with Mother's Milk but were known for punk-funk and rowdy shows around the country. Tribe? An incredible debut that had New York and others anxious to see what they'd do next adding to the Native Tongues landscape.

There's more than enough words on Nevermind today. The album that made most of us know who Nirvana was. The classic cover, the classic songs still getting play on radio so that when I was in high school (98-02), I knew them like they just came out. As much as Smells like Teen Spirit is overplayed, there's still a rush when you hear those opening chords and that chorus that brought in a new generation.

Now I've learned more about music to know Teen Spirit was heavily influenced by Boston's More Than a Feeling and The Pixies soft-loud dynamic (quiet on the verses, loud on the chorus - something you can really hear on "In Bloom").  "Come As You Are" stole the riff from Killing Joke's "Eighties" but it still sounds so murky and beautiful that you can't help but enjoy. It doesn't rob Nirvana of their power or how that album ushered in grunge in 1992.

Oh and "Breed" is one of my favorites because it hints at Nirvana's punk roots. To me, this song is all about Krist Novoselic's heavy bass and Dave Grohl's heavy drumming. Kurt Cobain has a nasty guitar solo that just fires me up but this was all about the total band just going all out, probably why I've had it on my running playlist a few times.

Contrast that with "On a Plain" which always moves me on the Unplugged version. Something about that record makes me feel the pain in Kurt's voice and it's perfect near the end.

Then we have Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Rick Rubin on board to help mature the Chili Peppers sound. But you know something funny? I waver on this album being my favorite sometimes with Mother's Milk.

Don't get me wrong. BSSM has my favorite Chilis songs. "Suck My Kiss" is just so raw and fun every time I hear it. The Power of Equality is one of the more underrated intros in their catalog. The title track has some heavy funk in there and "Sir Psycho Sexy" is hilarious and wild. And of course, "Under the Bridge" is a great love letter to L.A. and so uplifting to me even though it's a depressing revisit into drug abuse.

But something about it lacks the raw punk sound and wild energy of Mother's Milk. Part of that is Rick Rubin robbing that in folks he produces (and I wondered if my burned CD robbed some of that sound in college) but it's missing from BSSM. So I guess there's different things I love about BSSM than Mother's Milk but what I love is great.

You hear Anthony Kiedis show that he's a solid songwriter. You hear John Frusicante show why he's a musical genius even if the fame drove him away during the tour. His guitar work on "I Could Have Lied" is incredibly soulful and hints at the goodness he'd show on later albums. So the album has some wonderful highs I love all the time and it blew them up from the L.A. alternative scene they shared with Fishbone, Jane's Addiction and more to be rock legends.

I just have a weird relationship with it as a super duper Chilis fan. Oh and if you don't like "Give It Away" you don't have a soul. Period.

Now Low End Theory. I've written words already about this being the first Tribe album I heard but with Phife Dawg having left us, it's key to remember his presence is why this album stands out. We knew about Q-Tip being a great MC from the debut. We knew the first album was well-produced so the second would have it. But Phife's presence makes it have more oomph.

His intro on "Buggin Out" still gets me excited as much as hearing that bass kick in. His solo cut "Butter" showed the personality I'd become a fan of when I dug into Tribe.  And of course, his back and forth on Check the Rhime with Q-Tip became a new standard for group interplay.

I still love this album for what it has overall. The heavy bass sound. The immaculate production and Q-Tip giving us gems on "Verses from the Abstract" (The world is kinda cold and the rhythm is my blanket). It's hip-hop that was smoothed out but no less great. You can hear it now and know that the Native Tongues wasn't just De La Soul's left field greatness but it was also Tribe finding their own lane and giving us timeless music.

"Scenario" will be played forever and ever and ever and we'll get hyped like dungeon dragons with Busta. But today's birthday means we'll also miss Phife Dawg much more. The 5-Foot Assassin who gave us wonderful chemistry with Q-Tip and made Tribe one of my all-time favorites.  A classic album with bass and rhymes for days and helped usher in the alternative rap sound that Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers and more started.

Happy birthday to three game-changers. Timeless works of art that will never leave my ears or many of us who grew up in their aftermath.

Electric Relaxation: White Stripes "Fell In Love With A Girl"

With news last month that the White Stripes have officially disbanded, I figured I'd take it back to when I first heard the song that was probably the best 2 minutes of rock of the 2000's.

Rock was starting to come back with Staind ruling the airwaves and The Strokes bringing in a new sound (they'll get their own ER post soon). I was just starting to listening to the local rock station more than the hip-hop one because I felt like rock was challenging my ears more and more of my friends were into it. Then I heard "Fell in Love With a Girl" and it sounded like nothing else on the radio.

The blistering guitar, the snarling yet incessant vocals, the power drumming. And only 2 people made this sound???!!!! You couldn't tell me that only Jack and Meg White made the sound of a full garage band. No way!

Then I saw the video. Easily one of the coolest videos of 2002 and one of the most innovative videos of the decade. Remember, this was when hip hop videos were super flashy and rock videos were pretty tame. It only added to their aura of this raw band from Detroit that wasn't going to sound or look like anybody else. Course back then, we were still wondering if Jack and Meg were indeed brother and sister.

This song made me excited for rock music. It was a song about falling in love and captured the confusion of not being sure what to do. It was powerful and heartfelt. Joss Stone tried to give this song more soul but even though I loved it then, it can't hold up to Jack's unique take.

Everything about them was fresh and original as they followed the tradition of the MC5 and Ted Nugent's Detroit sound. As history would show us, they stamped their own mark on rock music with classic songs like "Seven Nation Army" and "Icky Thump". They stayed famous but never lost their edge or creative force.

Now it's a memory as Jack continues his work with the Raconteurs and Dead Weather. I feel happy to know that I remember the exact moment when I heard a song that was a gamechanger and still sounds as brilliant as it did first time. Thanks for the memories, Jack and Meg.

Lil Wayne is no Ice-T - A Brief History of Rappers Who Rock

So Lil Wayne's Rebirth is finally out in stores and sadly it has that dreadful "Prom Queen" single on it. It's been a year since i heard it and i still can't that ugly yell out of my head. The LA Times' hip-hop guru Jeff Weiss pretty much obliterated the album as being as bad as I thought it would be.

I heard a quote from Wayne that said this wasn't a typical rock album but what he thought rock should be. Great, so an occasionally talented rapper (when he's focused, he's solid) is going to change the sound of another genre? Riiiiiight.

Put it this way, if Weezy was a white rocker who said he wanted to rap, we'd call him a poseur. We'd laugh at him for trying to be something he's obviously not. So i'm flipping on Black dudes who are trying to be rockers but don't know jack about rock music. I've done this since the Shop Boyz (aka Party Like A Rock Star) said they had no idea who Kurt Cobain was.

About 20 years ago, another well-known rapper made the cross into rock. But unlike Wayne, he knew his history all the way to its Black origins. He knew he couldn't just do it for kicks because rock back then was starting to get harder. Groove metal was taking over and with Metallica and Guns' N Roses leading the way away from hair metal, he had to bring that same edge from rap into rock.

Enter Ice-T's heavy metal band Body Count. Unlike Wayne, Ice got credible Black musicians he went to high school with and they wrote fiery songs describing their surroundings as well as being Black artists in a predominantly White art form. It was pure Black rage and Ice was actually singing, not rapping (check this cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe")

It was hard, it was aggressive and it was a statement. Most people know about the uproar over "Cop Killer" but if you listen to "Born Dead" or "There Goes the Neighborhood", you can tell Ice wasn't playing. This was real - he went on Lollapalooza and got support. He did a song with Slayer on the Judgment Night soundtrack.

Wayne sounds like he's playing around with guitars, Ice was trying to have a true metal band and he got respect from rock heads just because he was doing it right. Not posing.

Here's some more tracks and artists who truly went "wild like rock stars who smash guitars" (c) Inspectah Deck

Public Enemy - When they linked up with Anthrax for "Bring The Noise" in 1991, it was historic. Chuck D and Flav already shouted them out in the original so it was a perfect blend. But the group already showed their rock chops with "She Watch Channel Zero" from Nation of Millions - they came with it over a classic Slayer track. They tour today with a full on band and still rock as hard as they did 20 years ago.

Run DMC - the fathers of this genre. DMC said that they weren't trying to be the best in hip-hop, they want to be the kings of rock so that's why they had songs were heavy on guitars. "Rock Box", "King of Rock", and of course "Walk This Way". The list goes on - you should already know their credentials.

The D.O.C. - "Beautiful But Deadly": I only heard this track when I finally got my hands on No One Can Do It Better, a gem of an album that lets you know how sad it was his voice was forever altered. Anyways, he goes hard over a riff from Funkadelic and does his own take on "Poison" before Bell Biv Devoe even thought of it.

Jay-Z "99 Problems" - yeah he borrowed the title and hook from Ice-T and he took the opening of the last verse from Bun-B. This was one of his finest songs and if you can't bang your head to this, stop reading and go enjoy some good music. Hard guitars, hard drums (c/o of "The Big Beat" - one of hip-hop's great samples).

Lil Jon "Stop F***in With Me" - another Rick Rubin production and another dope Slayer sample. Jon said he wanted to create a hip-hop version of Suicidal Tendencies "Institutionalized" and he did. To me, this is crunk as anything he's ever done. Listen while driving and it'll be hard to stay focused.

That's just a sample of how genres have crossed over well. Of course Rage Against the Machine is a perfect example too and they're one of my favorite bands but I wanted to keep this solely hip-hop to show you that these "hard rock" songs rappers do now lack the bite and the edge.

So a word of advice to Lil Wayne. Stick to your day job. You already released a great mixtape last year in No Ceilings. Get focused on make your next album better and stop trying to be a poseur. This could be one of the biggest flops in recent memory and if the label doesnt want it to fail, release Drop The World so they can hear Eminem murder the track and this album.