Starring Larry David.  Written and Directed by Woody Allen.  What more could you ask for?  Here’s the trailer.  

Opens June 19th.  Can’t wait.  CLICK HERE for Westcheddar’s LARRY DAVID’S GREATEST HITS Part 1 and 2.  That’s all.

While many of you were out on Cinco de Mayo throwing back Coronas and partying, I was up late catching up on new music I missed while I was away on my honeymoon.  Here’s five relatively new artists who have stuff out that I’m really feeling right now:

1.  Mayer Hawthorne, pictured above, is a late twenties white dude out of Ann Arbor, Michigan signed to underground hip hop label Stones Throw records.  Only thing is, he doesn’t rap.  He makes throwback soul music.  Think Amy Winehouse with a dick (minus the psychotic behavior and hardcore drug use of course).  Though he’s said flat out he’s not a trained vocalist, from what I’ve heard so far he’s got a knack for songwriting and does a mean falsetto.  Check out the video for his song “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”, which features his heart-shaped vinyl that the single was pressed up on.  Supposedly this is the first song he ever recorded as Mayer Hawthorne.  It’s super dope.

And here’s a live clip of him performing an unreleased cut “Green Eyed Love”.  Piff.

Want more?  I sure do.  His album is coming soon, but for now go on Itunes, he’s got a couple singles out that are all pretty sweet.  And watch this interview below to get know to him better, which features some more live clips too…

2.  The Cool Kids, who I have written about before, have a new mixtape out with DJ Don Cannon called Gone Fishing (see cover below).  I’m a big fan of these dudes.  Love the raps, love the beats.  They’ve got an old school style with their production, they say fly shit, and they both have ill voices that complement each other perfectly.  I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, they’re my favorite new rap group.  The new mixtape is more of the same, so if you like what you’ve heard in the past, you’re gonna dig this.  

They have an official album coming soon too called WHEN FISH RIDE BICYCLES, but for now this will hold you over.  Peep the behind the scenes look at the making of the project.  Oh, and the download link too.  Duh.

DOWNLOAD COOL KIDS GONE FISHING

3.  I’ve been wanting to do a post about Chester French for a while now, I was just waiting for the right time.  I heard someone recently describe them as The Beatles meets Outkast.  Pretty accurate.  Well, their album LOVE THE FUTURE just dropped a couple weeks ago, which has a bunch of sick songs on it.  My personal favorites from the album include “Beneath the Veil”, which is an ill song about death, “Time to Unwind”, and of course the first song I ever heard from them over a year ago on Entourage, “She Loves Everybody”.  And as a prelude to it they put out a great mixtape project with Clinton Sparks called JACQUES JAMS VOL. 1: ENDURANCE.  

The mixtape tells the story of their rise from Harvard University undergrads to major label rock hop stars with hilarious skits, great self produced songs, and tons of A-List special guests (peep the list on the cover above).  Standout cuts include “2 Mans” and “Nerd Girl”, though there are many highlights.  Even the Mad Rapper (from Biggie’s Life After Death album) makes an LOL appearance!!!  Download the mixtape for free and then cop their album (video for “She Loves Everybody” is below).  Do it.  Now.

OFFICIAL LINK TO CHESTER FRENCH MIXTAPE

4.  The Kid Daytona, a BX rapper co-signed by Cipha Sounds, has a fantastic new EP style project out called DAYTONA 500, which is built completely off Bob James “Nautilus” samples.  The chops and loops are crazy on all 7 tracks (intro actually features the original record), as are the rhymes.  He goes in.  Get that asap.  The cover and link are below…

DAYTONA 500 DOWLOAD LINK VIA DONTGETGASSED.COM

And as a little bonus, here’s a commercial that Daytona did with Cipha Sounds for a single he put out earlier this year called “Fly Shit”.  I had to put this up because Ciph’s sporting a Dirty Jax Bully shirt, and that’s family…

5.  Another dude I’ve been listening to recently is Nickelus F, a rapper out of Richmond, Virginia.  He’s a real dude.  I like his street style of rap, and the subject matter he talks about in his lyrics.  Plus he picks good beats to rock over.  A couple of my friends have told me he reminds them of Jay-Z in his Reasonable Doubt days.  I can kind of see the comparison, mainly because of the voice and the smooth flow, but this guy has his own unique struggle to discuss, and I can feel it in his songs.  There’s a lot of rappers out there that are ok, but Nickelus F stands out to me because he can put together songs and has a good ear for music, plus you can tell from his rhyme patterns and wit that he’s a smart dude.  His most recent album is called HEATHEN, which has a couple songs that I’ve had on repeat for the last month.  Check below for links to “Prideful” and my wife’s favorite “Woo Sah”, which contains the illest Sesame Street sample you’ve ever heard.  And if you like those two, go ahead and discover the rest of his latest music the way I did, on nahright.com.  He leaks songs all the time, and has a new mixtape and album coming out this month so use the link below to keep up with him and check for older material too, like the HEATHEN album and a bunch of sick freestyles from early 2009 (he’s got older stuff too that’s supposedly real fresh and I heard he murders cats in battles)….

Nickelus F “Prideful”

Nickelus F “Woo Sah”

Nickelus F on Nahright

NICKELUS F HEATHEN LP DOWNLOAD LINK

There’s alot of other music out too.  The big boys are dropping all spring.  The Jadakiss album has been out, and also the new Rick Ross album which I like (he’s got great production).  And Eminem and Cam’ron have new releases set for this month too.  But I highly suggest you check out the 5 artists above and their recent efforts.  It’s time to put some more new dudes in rotation.  Still not satisfied?  Here’s a bonus pick for you:

*Andrew Bird “Oh No”.  I don’t know much about this indie folk guy other than that he’s from Chicago and plays all the big festivals, but I heard this song on WFUV a few weeks ago and fell in love with it.  This cut is off his album NOBLE BEAST.  If you like The Shins like I do, you’ll most likely dig this:

Okay, so that’s what I’m into right now.  Thanks for checking this post out, hope it led you to some new music that you like.  More Ip’s Picks to come.  Peace.

Saturday Night Live was a major part of my childhood.  So many comedy and music legends have touched that stage.  I’ve been wanting to read the book above, LIVE FROM NEW YORK, the uncensored history of the show, for a long time, and I finally got around to buying it before my honeymoon.  I finished it probably halfway through the trip, and I loved every page of it.  It’s comprised of interviews with all the actors, writers, and producers of the show from 1975 to the present (Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Lorne Michaels, Conan O’Brien, Larry David, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, etc.) woven together to tell the Saturday Night Live story in chronological order.  It’s remarkable how many of my favorite comedians were a part of the show at one point in their career.  Check the pic below of the original cast from the first season…

The interviews from page to page are really in depth, and the book goes into all sorts of tales of sex, drugs, rock n roll, and of course comedy.  I mean, those dudes from the first five years, like Dan Akroyd, Jon Belushi, and Bill Murray and all those guys, used to smoke HELLA TREES right up in the NBC offices, not to mention drink like maniacs and do all other sorts of drugs.  And the book really goes in depth describing the creative process and constant stuggle of writing sketches and putting the show together every week.  From the friendships to the love affairs to the beefs (yes, there was MAD BEEF behind the scenes), I had a hard time putting it down.  Check it out, especially if you’re a an SNL watcher.  Go to your local book store to cop it before they close down like all the record stores in town.  Am I the only one who still likes to buy books and music in an actual store?  Here’s a clip from the opening of the 15th anniversary show to get you warmed up for the book featuring a bunch of big stars, and also a link to the SNL website with lots of clips and history to surf through past and present…

Saturday Night Live Website

The second book I read on my trip, written in the same style of pieced together interviews as the SNL story, was THE SKILLS TO PAY THE BILLS (cover above), the story of The Beastie Boys.  Very similar to LIVE FROM NEW YORK, this book tells the chronological history of the rap group through sit downs with all three members as well as everyone else involved with their early days at Def Jam including Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and Lyor Cohen (who used to be their manager), and all the other major players who were part of their success (Matisyahu’s manager and former President of Capitol Records is interviewed too).  Lots of crazy tales from the road and their life in both NYC and LA, and a look at the creative process behind the making of their classic albums.  A very fun and easy read, especially for me because I used to idolize these guys, especially Ad-Rock, as a young teenager.

I actually love reading interviews more than anything else, so these two books were perfect for my trip.  In fact, I posted a while back about another great collection of interviews book that Rolling Stone put together, check the link here, and also below is the video for my favorite Beastie Boys song “So What’cha Want”, off the album pictured above Check Your Head, which was just re-issued with remastered tracks, bonus cuts, and unreleased material (link for that is below too along with their official website)…Hollerrrrrrrr.

Beastie Boys Official Website

Check Your Head Collectors Editions

I haven’t heard much about the next season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, other than the lead cast of Seinfeld is slotted to make a guest appearance (dope).  However, Larry David is starring in the upcoming Woody Allen film WHATEVER WORKS, which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival later this month.  So to celebrate, I present to you Westcheddar’s own LARRY DAVID’S GREATEST HITS PART 2:

Larry Buys weed from a guy on the street to give to his father who is suffering from glaucoma.  Amazing.

Cheryl and Larry renew their wedding vows after 10 years.  This is so funny, especially since I’m about to get married myself.  I love how he doesn’t want to commit to her for eternity, only until death.  He finally gives in at the end.  Still, a hilarious concept to want to be single again during eternity.

This is great.  Larry checks into a hotel in New York City, and the bellhop describes every amenity in site.  Classic.

One of the all time best Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes is when Larry trips Shaq by accident while sitting courtside at the Lakers game, and then no one wants anything to do with him afterwards.  This clip is from the day after he trips Shaq, and he goes to Starbucks with his wife Cheryl.  He’s so annoying in this scene.  I love it.

*That’s all for now.  Stay up to date with the latest in the world of Larry David at this great fan blog:

WWW.LARRYDAVIDFAN.COM

And if you missed Westcheddar’s LARRY DAVID’S GREATEST HITS PART 1, check it out HERE.

Back in 2003 during my days living in Washington D.C., my boy DJ Roz and I had a nice little mixtape spot at the Lake Forest Mall in Gaithersburg, MD.  It was great.  Straight cash coming in, all the mixtapes we wanted, a great set up in a local urban clothing store with lots of cool and appreciative customers.  We were the first of our kind in that area, and we always had exclusives from New York and down south too.  At the time, Rocafella Records was really hot, and Peedi Crack, a hood MC from Philly and recent Rocafella signee, was starting to buzz.  I was a big fan of his, mainly because he was just a ferocious spitter and had an ill style, and he picked good beats to rock over.  Plus he did collabos with lots of my favorite Rocafella/Philly artists.  So Roz and I decided to put out a couple mixtapes of our own under our store name, Strictly Classics.  This was our first one.  I gathered the music from anywhere I could find, Roz took care of the artwork, and as a promotion, we gave the CD out free with anyone who purchased three or more mixtapes from our spot.

Since then, Peedi never got a chance to put out his album on Def Jam, and Rocafella and State Property had its share of breakups and problems.  Peedi went to jail and back, got into beef with Hov after getting kicked off Def Jam, and managed to put out lots of material that never really popped off the way I thought his stuff was going to pop back in 2003.  But STRICTLY CLASSICS PRESENTS THE BEST OF PEEDI CRACK is timeless, and features lots of exclusives (trust me) from when he first came out on Rocafella.  Download it here…

DOWNLOAD STRICTLY CLASSICS PRESENTS THE BEST OF PEEDI CRACK

More Strictly Classics circa 2003 mixtapes to come….

Here’s my Top Five hip hop albums of all time, in order of release date…

 

 

 

 

Discuss.

I’ve heard a lot about My Morning Jacket in the past years, especially when I have conversations with people about Band of Horses, The Shins, or Fleet Foxes (my indie bands of choice).  But no matter how hard I searched, I just couldn’t find a song of theirs that I liked!  Well last weekend, on my car ride home from the Jersey Shore with a couple of my dudes (BACHELOR PARTY: BANANAS!), this song came up on Jiggs’ shuffle.  I labeled it a classic instantly.  My Morning Jacket “Just One Thing”.

Now I see why people kept recommending these guys to me.  Unfortunately, I checked out the rest of the album (they’ve got a bunch of albums, this is off IT STILL MOVES which is like their second or third LP) and couldn’t find anything else that really grabbed my attention.  Someone prove me wrong, please.  Holler in the comments section if you know any other classic My Morning Jacket songs that are of the caliber of “Just One Thing”.  If you don’t, I’ll just continue to play this tune on repeat.  Peace out.

I’ve listened to this one song alot in my car for the past few weeks, so I thought I’d share it with my loyal readers because it is really dope.  This is a type of rap music I always liked.  Real laidback and lyrical, with an ill sample and hard drums.  Blu, who is from California (my birthplace), is considered one of the leaders of the new school of rap.  I must say I’ve heard alot of his songs over the past couple of years, but this is the first one that I have ever played on repeat.  It’s called “Amnesia”.  Check it out…

Oh, I’ve been banging this too.  The Cool Kids “Pennies”.  I put some of the middle school kids I work with up on these guys, and now it’s all they listen to.  Supposedly this song is the first leak off their official debut LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles.  Sounds crazy.  Peep the video…

And here’s an alternate video (the Decon Version) of “Pennies”…

Peace.

I’ve been following Kid Cudi’s budding career since sometime last spring when I first heard his stoner anthem “Day N Nite” on myspace.  I forget how I stumbled across it, but I dug it from the first listen and put a bunch of my friends onto the song (like my boys the Cuddy brothers whose last name shares the same pronunciation), and they in turn were feeling it too.  It’s a dope track, with an ill sing-songy flow and a spaced out beat.  It reminded me instantly of my own college days, walking around dazed and confused, trying to find myself.  Boy it sure blew up, and it deserved to.  Now even the 7th grade kids I work with are into the song, probably because they hear the remix with Jim Jones (which made the song worse and that’s speaking as a Dip Set fan) on Hot 97 every hour of the day.  It’s crazy how big a song can get in six months or so.  And now Kid Cudi’s rolling with the best team around, Kanye West’s label G.O.O.D. Music.  He’s definitely not nearly as talented as Kanye, but I’m rooting for him.  Check out his brand new video for “Day N Nite”, it’s excellent, and directed by the same guy who did Kanye’s video for “The Good Life”…

Want more?  What, you haven’t heard his mixtape A Kid Named Cudi?  It’s a bit overrated, but still pretty fresh.  There’s a couple cool songs on there (check out “Maui Wowie”), and he gets props from me for sampling my dudes Band of Horses and even re-making a Paul Simon classic.  Here’s the free download link if you missed it, and keep your ears open for Kid Cudi’s debut album in 2009.

A Kid Named Cudi Mixtape

There’s all sorts of white rappers out there, from all different walks of life.  Some of them I actually like (The Beastie Boys, Eminem, Evidence, Folk & Stress), and some of them I just get a big kick out of, because they are mad funny to me.  It’s not that they aren’t good, I just can’t really take them seriously.  And I’m not sure they want me to.  Especially this guy Bo Burnham.  Wow!  One of the kids where I work put me on to this video, and I loved it instantly.  Dude is hysterical, and I think he knows it, and as silly and weird as he is, he actually spits crack.  Check this video of him performing his song “Bo Yo”.  It’s got almost 7 million views!!!

On the other side of the white rapper spectrum, there’s self proclaimed “King of da Burbz” John Brown, who is best known for coming in second place on VH1’s The White Rapper Show.  I always liked this guy.  His personality is hilarious, and “Hallelujah Holler Back”, his catch phrase, is just plain awesome.  He’s not a bad rapper, I just can’t tell if he’s being serious or not.  Watch his latest video, I kinda like it.  The song is called “Another Day in Da Burbz”, filmed in his hometown of Davis, California.  As he says, “It’s so religious”…..Ha!

Not sure where I fit in to this wide spectrum of white rappers.  I definitely want to be taken seriously, so don’t compare me to these guys.  The spectrum actually gets wider than the distance between Bo Burnham and John Brown.  There’s white rappers out there that are really from the hood and spit serious gangster shit, and super nerdie ones that went to Ivy League schools who try to fit as many syllables into each word as possible.  And there’s everyone in between.  It’s tricky finding the good ones sometimes, but I guess there’s room for all of us.