I haven’t really listened to much turntablist stuff in a while. There was a golden era a good few years ago, but I guess since computers are cheaper and more accessible, more people are getting down on the Ones & Zeros instead of the Ones and Twos.
For the most part, it’s easy to understand: you take some vinyl, find a cut or break, get your ‘wikky wikky’ on, and you’re golden. There’s plenty of video out there on youtube where you can watch people do some amazing stuff on the turntable, but I’ve never seen anything like DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s “Hard Sell”.
Sure, the two of them are masters of the turntable, masters of the beat. All of their loops and beats and everything I heard was done live on stage, as one would expect. No pre-recorded anything, all effects done through pedals or loopers. Fine and dandy, except for this latest project, Hard Sell, they decided to mix it up a bit… by ONLY using 45s?!?!?!?
Their entire show is done using only original-press 45 rpm records… you know, the little ones with the big holes in the middle. The record spins faster, there’s less room to play, and the DJ needs to be quick like a bunny, and oh were they quick. There was everything from the 50’s through today thrown into the soup and mixed together deliciously like only fine chefs like the two of them could. At one point, the two of them set some beats, walked way from the turntables, and sat down at a fancy dinner table in the middle of the stage to enjoy a light supper while the beat went seamlessly on.
Their mad skills, combined with remote control cameras, and some sort of super secret ninja wrist cam allowing you to see EXACTLY what Cut Chemist was doing is precisely why DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s “Hard Sell” blew my mind.
Catch them on tour in the following locations:
Jul 5, 2007 Milkveg, Amsterdam, Holland
Jul 6, 2007 GMEX, Manchester, UK
Jul 7, 2007 T in the park, Scotland
Jul 8, 2007 Oxygen, Ireland
Aug 11, 2007 Maeshima, Summer Sonic, Osaka, Japan
Aug 12, 2007 Marine Stadium, Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan
Sep 15, 2007 Treasure Island Music Festival, San Francisco
Michael Moore’s Sicko: Oprah was right
Let me start off by saying that I’m not really a big fan of Michael Moore. His documentary style is about as fair and balanced as Bill O’Reilly, but at least what he’s saying is more or less for the good of the people.
That being said, his new film “Sicko” is absolutely incredible. When I first heard he was doing a movie about health care, I thought, “Who gives a crap?” Sure, I hear about it all the time, but does it really matter? Aren’t there more important things he could be concentrating on? Thing I could be concentrating on? But now that I’ve had the chance to see it, I can say without a doubt it is probably the most important movie anyone should see this year. Yes, even more important than “Knocked Up”.
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