Eight Hip Hop Tracks to Bang In Yr Ear

Thank Mario for the tunes.  In this CoVid-19 time, music, as always, remains our greatest resource.

Here are eight more bangers to get yr' ear up.


Roddy Rich - The Box


Da Baby, feat. Roddy Rich - ROCKSTAR


Lil' Wayne - I Don't Sleep


H.E.R. - Slide


Jenevieve - Baby Powder


BlowMONEY x POOHZUDA - Poles Out


Future - Accepting My Flaws


Young Thug, feat. Future - Relationship

10 Hard-Hitting, Hardcore, Hard-Rhyming Hip Hop Classics

I am not aware of when I first heard Hip Hop music, but I have been alive through its entire history.  I have been fortunate enough to listen to many of the old greats and continue to kick it with the new wave of rappers and Hip Hop.  

Recently I have been listening to a lot of old school Hip Hop on my long commute to and from work, and have been really loving the lyrical and thematic depth of these hard-hitting bangers.

(BTW, just in case you are not aware, Puerto Ricans invented Hip Hop along with African Americans.  We were there from the very beginning in the Bronx and Spanish Harlem.  we helped create Hip Hop culture - graffiti, break-dancing, MC'ing, and DJ'ing, all of it.  Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.)


Public Enemy - Louder than a Bomb




KRS-One - Sound of da Police 




Poor Righteous Teachers - Rock Dis Funky Joint




Gang Starr - Skillz





RUN DMC - Down with the King





Special Ed - I Got It Made





Eric B. & Rakim - Microphone Fiend 





Public Enemy - Shut 'Em Down




Scarface - Never Seen a Man Cry 





RUN DMC - Peter Piper

Ten Favorite Tony Bennett Tracks, to Class Up Your Life

Mr. Tony Bennett himself.

My wife, the ever-lovely Elizabeth, has been a huge Tony Bennett fanatic since she was a young girl and would listen to her dad's records at home.  She exposed me to the deep cuts in the massive Bennett catalog of music, and I was hooked.   We were also fortunate enough to see the master perform with his small Jazz quintet at Jones Hall in downtown Houston some years ago.  That was an amazing show.  Here are ten of my favorite Tony Bennett tracks for your pleasure.

I WANNA BE AROUND

THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT

FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE

IT HAD TO BE YOU

THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE

STRANGER IN PARADISE

THE GOOD LIFE

SPEAK LOW

THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU

FLY ME TO THE MOON

Five more Hip Hop bangers to please your earholes

Here we go again! It has been a while, but I again offer you five more Hip Hop tracks that have been bouncing around my head lately. As always, some are fresh and new, and some are old and new-to-me!


SHECK WES - YKTS

YOUNG THUG (Feat. J. Cole, Travis Scott) - The London

TOBY NWIGWE - FÛËGØ

FUTURE - Mask Off


FUTURE - Might As Well

The Hips to the Hops - The LATEST BANGERS to hit my ear drums.

It has been quite a while since I have posted some new tracks here at RXTT's Favorites. Here are ten more songs to enjoy as we head into the heat of Summer 2019. As usual, some are older, some are brand new, so enjoy!

MIGOS - Stripper Bowl



DOJA CAT - Juicy


OFFSET - Cloud


21 SAVAGE - A Lot


BUN B - Recognize


FUTURE - Might As Well


POST MALONE - Wow


YOUNG DEJI - Snapchat


RICHIE VOLVO - V12


RXCH PABS feat. Ritchie Volvo - Mutombo

Ten More Hip Hop Bangers in the Ear of RXTT

Once again, another installment of the ten tracks I have been banging on the commute lately.  This will be a bit heavy on the Travis Scott, for his new album ASTROWORLD is quite awesome.  As always, some of these are older tracks, some are FRESH.

Travis Scott - Sicko Mode

   


 J. Balvin - Machika






Travis Scott - Stargazing




Quavo - LAMBTALK



 
Young Thug - Gain Clout



 
Young Thug - It's a Slime





Slim Thug - Caddy Music




Devin the Dude - Doobie Ashtray





Travis Scott - Can't Say




Big Boi - Kill Jill

RXTT's Top Ten VAN HALEN Deep Cuts

There was once a band from southern California that somehow combined precision heavy riffs, complex melodic harmonics, and the infectious party enthusiasm of a 16 year old at their first kegger.  That band was Van Halen. (For the purposes of this post, and for my own sanity, I will not be delving into the "Van Hagar" era after the departure of Diamond Dave.)

Everyone who likes rock music knows their big hits, and boy were they big, but Van Halen was never a band that padded their albums with trifling shit and third-class songs.  Some of the most inventive guitar-work and amazing tracks can be found digging deep in the albums.  Here are my ten favorite.

♦

 
VAN HALEN - Girl Gone Bad
(This track off of the album 1984 starts off with those sweet overtone harmonics that Eddie Van Halen was so righteously famous for.  It then kicks into a balls-to-the-wall rager with some amazing riffage.)




 
VAN HALEN - Unchained 
(From the album Fair Warning, this track starts off with a riff that I have yet to get over.  No matter how many times I see this video I always wish I was able to see Van Halen in their prime live.)
 


 

VAN HALEN - Beautiful Girls
(As the ultimate party band ever to exist, Van Halen had many tracks that were not face-melting guitar freakouts.  Songs like this one, with that sexy-ass swing, helped Diamond Dave entertain the fans just as much as the guitar wizardry of Eddie.  These lines basically define Dave's persona, "Now, I'm a seaside sittin'/ just a smokin' and a drinkin'/ I'm ringside / on top of the world / I got a drink in my hand / I got my toes in the sand / All I need is a beautiful girl")




 
VAN HALEN - Drop Dead Legs
(Speaking of FAT riffs, the one that anchors this sultry track is one of my faves.  That "brown" sound that Eddie worked up through his guitar effects was amazing. Everyone tried to copy it, and diluted its impact.)






VAN HALEN - Somebody Get Me a Doctor (In the midst of all the hard riffs and drums and screams the guitar does a great mimic of a chugging locomotive, something that harks back to old country blues tradition, where the rhythm of the guitar was to mimic the rhythm of the old steam trains.  Love the various changes in it, and Diamond Dave can be heard cheering Eddie on in his bad-assery!)





 
VAN HALEN - D.O.A.
(Van Halen's 2nd album has so many amazing riff-heavy rockers.  The sound you hear at the beginning of this track is the sound of the RAWK GAWDS announcing their presence.  Love how this track gets faster and faster and faster...)





VAN HALEN - Little Guitars
(The Van Halens were classically trained musicians at a very young age, who switched over to guitar and drums the better to rock us all.  From time to time Eddie would show off his classical guitar techniques, such as the intro to this track.  This track off of Diver Down is fun AF and melodic and just beautiful.)




 
VAN HALEN - Hang 'Em High
(A rager from the word GO.  Everything blasts forth.)





VAN HALEN - House of Pain
(Not many Van Halen tracks can be categorized purely as Heavy Metal.  This track from their mega-hit 1984 album contrasts wildly with the more pop-melodic hits like Jump and Panama.  SO AWESOME.  SO HEAVY.)





VAN HALEN - I'll Wait
(One of the albums I would listen to on my Walkman headphones while mowing the lawn as a kid was 1984, and this track started off side 2, so when I would flip the cassette, I knew I was gonna go off in my head.)

Ten More Bangers to Please Your Ears

The music continues to come, and I continue to blast these tracks in the whip on the way home from work.  Here are ten more Hip Hop tracks I have been digging lately, for your enjoyment. 



BIG SEAN - Pull Up N Wreck



 
GORGEOUS GEORGE - Watermelon Jolly Rancher





 
RICH DA KID - Plug Walk
 



YOUNG THUG - On Fire
 


 
JEAN GREY, QUELLE CHRIS - Gold Purple Orange
 


 
FUTURE w/ YOUNG THUG - 200
 


 
MIGOS - Motorsport
 


 
CARDI B - I Like It
 


 
FUTURE - Trap Niggas
 


 
FUTURE & YOUNG THUG - No Clap
 

Some old bad-ass tracks that I have just recently grokked

One of the greatest things about music and music fandom is that every single day new songs and new recordings are released into the world's ear-holes and there is just no way to catch it all, or to even sample most of it.  This allows for rediscovery!  Sometimes I hear a track and think, "Oh shit this track is awesome," only to find it is 30+ years old and I just never got a chance to listen to it.  This post is a collection of some of these oldie discoveries that I have been loving BIG TIME.

Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric?
 
(Tubeway Army is the name of the first project by Gary Numan, the pioneer who brought the extremely unnerving and awesome song Cars to our consciousness.  This track is from 1979)

The Congos - Fisherman

(Jamaican music in the 70's was just so prolific, with so many acts and so many great tracks. I never got around to enjoying this classic group, The Congos, although I had heard mention of them. This is an amazing track.)

The Nashville Teens - Tobacco Road

(I first heard this song when it was on David Lee Roth's solo debut, "Eat 'Em and Smile." I thought it was great. The OG though? so HEAVY! I love it.)

The Rockin' Rebels - Wild Weekend

(One of the greatest joys must be the early rock instrumental. They are just bad-ass. This classic, from 1962(!!!), makes me feel like I am having the greatest time of my life just because it is playing.)

Josef K - Sorry for Laughing

(I know nothing about this act. I ran across this track very recently and it hit me good.)

Orange Juice - Rip It Up

(This perfect song, from 1982, is, like many of my favorites, a bouncy tune paired with cynical and upset lyrics. Glasgow natives.)

Top Ten Baby Dayliner tracks

"Baby Dayliner, another hit baby..." 

Baby Dayliner, the sobriquet of one Ethan Marunas, has been an RXTT favorite ever since the good ladies of the Alley Theatre Costume Shop introduced my ex-wife to his first album, High Heart & Low Estate, which was brought back from NYC by one Andrea Lauer, designer extraordinaire.  I loved the tunes and would play his records at our weekly poker nights.  It has been over a decade since Baby Dayliner's last album release, Critics Pass Away.  He is back soon with a new 4-song EP titled You Push I'll Go.  Awesome.

In tribute to my main man Baby Dayliner, here are my ten favorite Baby Dayliner tracks.


BABY DAYLINER - Raid!


BABY DAYLINER - Silent Places


 BABY DAYLINER - The Triumph of Sarah's Past
 

BABY DAYLINER - The Way You Look Tonight
 

BABY DAYLINER - Through These Hills
 

BABY DAYLINER - At Least


 BABY DAYLINER - Party Scenes
 

BABY DAYLINER - Critics Pass Away
 

BABY DAYLINER - Hoodlums In The Hit Parade
 

BABY DAYLINER - Shah With That

RXTT's Top Ten Neil Young Tracks

I do not remember when it was that I actually started to like Neil Young's music. As a youngster I thought everyone associated with his early era, the folk rockers, the Crosby Stills and Nashies of the musical world,  were so fucking boring.  I needed to hear chaos and aggression and most of all energy.  Around my sophomore year in college my friend Barnaby Struve (former VP at Three Floyds Brewery, and currently working at Stigberget in Gothenburg, Sweden) left me in his room chillin' with Neil Young's Harvest Moon playing.  Around the time Neil started singing about a lonely night spent with his dog I was swept up.  I could not believe it.  Since then I have explored Neil Young's records and found so much skronk, so much distorted, angry rock n roll, in equal parts to his soft and wise and funny folk and country tunes. I love hearing the man play guitar. He brings it all Live.


Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Cortez The Killer (Live 2001)


Neil Young - Like a Hurricane (Live 1982)


Neil Young - Harvest Moon (Live 2010)


Neil Young - The Needle & The Damage Done (Live 1971)


Neil Young - On The Beach (Live 1999)


Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Cinnamon Girl (Live 1991)


Neil Young - The Loner (Live 2002)


Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) (Live 1991)


Neil Young - Ambulance Blues (Live 1998)


Neil Young - Cowgirl In The Sand (Live 1971)

 

Ten Hip Hop Tracks I've been Bangin' on the commute

I am a  resident of Houston, TX (AKA Screwston, H-town, Da H, Space City, Hou-stoned, etc.) and because of this I have the curse of a long commute in to work.  Most Houstonians do, and it is not an exageration to say that many people have commutes that are an hour or more.  Quite a few people I work with drove 3 hours a day just going to and returning from work.  This allows for a large number of talk radio stations, especially sports talk, but that gets tiring after a while.  I use this time to blast music from my car.  This is a collection of ten hip hop tracks I have been blasting lately.  Some are very new, and a few are old tracks I am re-exploring.  Enjoy.


Travis Scott (feat. Kendrick Lamar) - Goosebumps


Digable Planets - Black Ego


Future - Codeine Crazy


Rae Sremmurd - Swang


Future - Good Dope


Young Thug, Travis Scott - Pick Up The Phone


Rich Homie Quan - Word of Mouth


Future - Rent Money


De La Soul - Breakadawn


The Roots - Act Too (Love of My Life)
 

Bands that Michael Cavazos introduced me to

Bands that Michael Cavazos introduced me to

1.       Polvo – I had seen the stickers and decals with the word “Polvo” on them on cars parked outside the old Sound Exchange location in Houston TX.  I never knew what they were.  No one I knew mentioned them in conversation.  One day, I got word from Michael that he had made a mix tape of 90 minutes worth of choice Polvo material.  He said he thought I would love it because they did not tune their guitars on purpose.  He came over and we hit play and the fucking awesome noisy riff of “Fractured (Like Chandeliers)” came into my brain, and never left.   I played that mix tape endlessly in my car, and Polvo became one of my favorite bands ever.

2.       Operation Ivy – All I can remember of when Michael introduced me to OpIvy, as the hip kids used to call them, is sitting in the back of a car loaded with Instigators, flying down Highway 59, and blasting these hyper fast songs with freaky syncopated ska beats.  It felt new, like when I first heard Minor Threat.  I dug the shit out of it and soon bought my own copy of their music.

3.       Superchunk – Fuck Superchunk. Ha!

4.       Fugazi – I had heard just one Fugazi album prior to seeing that Michael was the sickest, most intense, most devout Fugazi fan, and through him I began to dig into their catalog.  Man, am I glad I did.  Fugazi is amazing stuff.  13 Songs and Repeater are two of my all-time favorite albums.  Michael and I went to see Fugazi perform and it was bad-ass.  On that night, we coined the term “couch rock” to describe the opening act, Explosions in the Sky, who are better enjoyed sitting on cushy sofa while enjoying intoxicants at home.

5.       Le Tigre – Michael and I both share an obsession with Kathleen Hannah of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre fame.  Jean Instigator and his ladies at the time would always be blasting Bikini Kill, and Michael started playing Le Tigre videos which hooked me.  

6.       The Metroschifter – Kentucky’s own Metroschifter.  Michael bought their Strawberries EP because the cover was awesomely designed.  He is wont to do such things.  I remember listening to it with him and thinking this was some good shit!  I went out and got it myself, and several other Metroschifter albums.  

7.       Sebadoh – Michael knew I was a huge Dinosaur Jr. fanatic, loving their slack ways, and J. Mascis’ sleepy, don’t-really-care drawl.  He was a big fan of the band that Lou Barlow created after being booted from Dinosaur.  Because of this I ended up exploring all of Sebadoh’s music, and thank Mario I did, because the shit is so GREAT.  We have had the chance to see Sebadoh live several times and it always rules.

8.       Drive Like Jehu – Sometimes Michael likes the perfectly produced, immaculately recorded tunes (see the Built to Spill below) and sometimes he likes to blast off!  Drive Like Jehu blasts OFF!  Man, what a weird, disjointed, eminently amazing band!  Michael would praise their LP’s and how bad-ass they were and I had to get me some!  Their self-titled debut and their 2^nd LP, Yank Crime, are masterpieces of jagged aggressive noise rock.  That’s what I love!

9.       Built to Spill – beautiful melodies, complex, inter-weaving guitar lines, expert songwriting and amazing musical craft, all wrapped up in the package of a college rock band.  This stuff makes Michael cry from his snake-eye he loves it so much!  I had heard mention of Built to Spill and seen their records reviewed in the magazines, but never got into them until Michael made me a mix-tape containing the choice nugs.  I feel deep into it, and have enjoyed the shit out of BTS ever since.  We went to see them live in concert and it was an amazing thing.  So many guitars!!!  What a bad-ass band.

10.   Slint – This was one of those bands I had heard mention of, like some sort of legend or myth in the indie rock underground, but could never find any of their music (pre-Youtube days) to sample it.  I would hunt it down at record stores to no avail, until Michael lent me the soundtrack to that shitty dull movie “Kids”, which ended on a Slint song, “Good Morning Captain.”  I played that song over and over again, getting more and more sucked into its weirdness and bleak guitar sounds.  It was AWESOME.  I soon found Spiderland and proceeded to fully immerse myself in Slint.  There was no going back.

Ten More Hip Hop Tracks Twisting my Melon, Man.

It is time once again for a run down of the latest Ten Hip Hop tracks I have been blasting in the car ride home from work. Some of these are very recent and a few are tracks I have been jamming for a while or I found digging through some of these guy's back catalog. Remember to turn up the bass and lay low on the treble. As always, thanks to the good folks at Street Flava, especially D Solo!


Future - Xanny Family


Young Thug - Wyclef Jean


Migos - Bad and Bougie


Travis Scott ft. Future - High Fashion


Rae Sremmurd - Real Chill


Future - March Madness


2 Chainz - El Chapo Jr.


Plies - Racks up to My Ear


Rae Sremmurd - No Flex Zone


DJ Chose - Everywhere I Go

RXTT's Ten Latest Hip Hop Tracks He is Obsessing Over

It is yet again time for a list of the ten Hip Hop tracks I have been blasting from my car to survive the 1 hour commute each way to work and back.   As usual, thanks to all the local Houston radio stations, the fellas over at the Sonic Youth Gossip Forum's "Louder's Hip Hop Cafe", and my man D-Solo whose TV show Street Flava still gets lit every Saturday night at 11:00 PM. Not all of these are super current, but I am always digging up older stuff I missed out on.


Rae Sremmurd - Black Beatles


Young Thug - Swizz Beats


Rae Sremmurd - Look Alive


Young Thug - Check


Vince Staples - Norf Norf


Future - Perkys Calling


Lil' Yachty - One Night


Future - Wicked


Migos - Top Floor


Larry League & Lil' Yachty - Top Floor


 

RXTT Favorite: CHUCK BERRY! Ten Faves

Chuck Berry

On Tuesday, October 18, 2016, my main man Chuck Berry will turn 90 years old.  I have always loved Chuck Berry tunes, ever since, as a little kid, I would play old Chuck Berry 7" singles on people's turntables.   I distinctly remember dancing around with friends from church to My Ding-A-Ling...  Ha!
Chuck Berry is Rock & Roll to me.  As I grew up and listened to more music and read more about musicians, I often heard mention of Chuck Berry as a primal, seminal influence on people.  He was one of the first to combine Soul music, Country music, and Rhythm & Blues music into the fiery, energetic, driving music that became Rock & Roll, and he was most definitely the BEST.  Chuck Berry's music does what the best, the very, very best of music does, and that is to make you feel ALIVE! 

CHUCK BERRY - COME ON


CHUCK BERRY - TOO MUCH MONKEY BUSINESS




CHUCK BERRY - THIRTY DAYS (TO GET BACK HOME)


CHUCK BERRY - YOU CAN'T CATCH ME


CHUCK BERRY - AROUND AND AROUND


CHUCK BERRY - LITTLE QUEENIE


CHUCK BERRY - REELIN' AND ROCKIN'


CHUCK BERRY - NO PARTICULAR PLACE TO GO


CHUCK BERRY - JOHNNY B. GOODE


CHUCK BERRY - NADINE

RXTT's Top Ten Jane's Addiction Songs

Jane's Addiction, for the kids!

I have always been attracted to music and bands that scared me or unnerved me somehow.  If the band also had high-energy music then all the better.  Between the ages of 8 and 14 or so most of my musical focus was on Heavy Metal music, punk music, and hardcore music.  I wandered about on the periphery of a lot of other weird bands that the odd kids at my schools liked (bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, etc.) but I was not yet ready to dive fully into the depressed emotions.  I was still stuck on anger and volatility.  Metal music moved me then, and still does.  However, I was searching for something truly deranged, unhinged, and musically fresh to my ears.  Enter Jane's Addiction.
I have a vague memory from what I think was my 7th grade year, of seeing a cassette in someone's backpack with a bizarre cover painting.  It appeared to be some sort of bondage vampire.  

Jane's Addiction's self-titled debut, a live album!

 
The name on the cassette was even more weird, "Jane's Addiction."  Instantly my freak-dar (freakness-proximity-radar) went into overdrive.  I ended up running to Sound Exchange at the earliest convenience to find this cassette. I must have listened to it a dozen times before I figured out what the hell I was listening to!  I did not have any frame of reference.  Most of the bands I listened to at the time were hyper-masculine, and Jane's Addiction melted all that away.  Yet, they were still angry as fuck and INTENSE.  It was awesome.
I listened to Jane's Addiction's next albums like a man possessed.  Nothing's Shocking WAS shocking!  Songs about Ted Bundy!  Songs about a woman's heroin addiction and life as a prostitute!  Songs about self-reflection in the shower while you're pissing yourself!  It was new territory.  Their next album, Ritual de lo Habitual, continued the insanity, expanding it, until it felt like the entire album was a coded story transporting me to some far away place.  Right when they were poised to take over the world with their insanity, inner-band turmoil broke them up.  (Actually, it was lead singer Perry Farrell's egomania and assholery that broke them up, but oh well...)  They have since regrouped, without master-bassist Eric Avery who wrote most of my favorite Jane's Addiction songs.  I don't care about that.  I will forever adore their first albums.  Here are my top ten favorite Jane's Addiction songs.

 Jane's Addiction - Mountain Song



Jane's Addiction - Stop


Jane's Addiction - Jane Says
 

Jane's Addiction - Ocean Size
 

Jane's Addiction - Three Days
 

Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
  

Jane's Addiction - I Would For You 

Jane's Addiction - Classic Girl
 

Jane's Addiction - Up The Beach
 

Jane's Addiction - Then She Did