like the moon
Next Tuesday (Feb 2) will be the initial meeting of the first class I’m teaching at MIT. I’m excited about the course, a new one, which invites students to read along with me and collectively investigate what I’ve been calling music industry — that is, a broader understanding of musically-propelled cultural practice than something like […]
Read More →Boima’s post about a Panamanian/Nigerian jerk-off made me wonder about this Suku Castro character calling out “TODO MUNDO JERKEANDO!” So I did a quick googlywuzzit on his name and landed on this page, which not only hosts yet another interesting example of jerk practice in Panama (a mix containing no Spanish verses but cut’n’pasting several […]
Read More →I suspect some dear readers out there, much as they like me, are getting sick of seeing my bristly face when they load the page, so I figured I’d get something else up here at the top, though I don’t have time for a proper post right now. One thing about those beard shots — […]
Read More →Not as extreme a contrast as last year’s before and after, but better photos —
Read More →Not only do Flack and I share a penchant for experimental party music, we also share the experience of being dads to two young kids — in his case, twins! Of course, I’ve given lots of thought to seeking sounds for babies, and I’ve been meaning to make a mix of my own reflecting some […]
Read More →It’s a little hard to believe, despite having lived thru 24/7/365X2, but yesterday was Nico’s second birthday! Our walking, talking little girl is no longer a baby, by a long shot. But she continues to delight and surprise. Here’s a recent video of us playing on either side of my iPhone — One of these […]
Read More →[Since we’re talking about reggaeton again, and about the absence/return of dembow, it seems like a good moment to repatriate the following riddimmeth0d post from early 2006. The post, a complement to an article on reggaeton I wrote for the Boston Phoenix, features a mix which uses the dembow drumloop to string the songs together, […]
Read More →When Boima was in Boston recently, back from a trip that brought him to Dubai and Dar es Salaam (aka Bongo) Nairobi, he mentioned that he noticed CDs on sale on the street, like the one pictured below, which compiled current hip-hop (and r&b) instrumentals, presumably for local rappers and singers to use for their […]
Read More →Ok, back to reggaeton. So, once again, back to questions of vitality and vocality. Or, how it’s doing and for whom & from whence it speaks. one way of looking at the “reggaeton” “crash” (and recovery?) I was tickled to see Birdseed name reggaeton genre of the year for 2009, fully contra Gavin’s provocative post […]
Read More →I’m thrilled that Joro-Boro is due to join us tonight for a little Beat Research. A few months ago, I received a fortuitous email from him, linking me to a new mix he’d put together, full of what he called his “favorite local dirty sounds” — a familiar if distinctive melange of polyrhythmic electronic dance […]
Read More →If you enjoyed the funkcarioca fingersandwiches I shared a while back, you’ll probably also get a kick out of Joao Brasil‘s latest commercial for Do Bem bebidas, riffing on the plinky-plink shuffle of tecnobrega: h/t kiddid
Read More →Just a quick post to let you know that Beat Research will be leaping into 2010 tonight with a special guest appearance by Chief Boima. We’ve been lucky to host Boima’s distinctive blends of the best dance music on the planet — with a heavy slant toward African and Afrodiasporic jams — a couple times […]
Read More →DJ Earworm offers up his latest year-end mashup retrospective, putting together the top 25 songs of 2009. For me, despite how remarkably well it all hangs together, this doesn’t quite have the magic of last year’s collage, but it’s still a great way — much as I would prefer to never hear those BEP songs […]
Read More →BIG NIGHT TONIGHT! First, I’ll be making another radio appearance — this time far briefer — via Benjamen Walker’s new show on WFMU, Too Much Information. Friends and longtime readers know that I’ve been a fan of Ben Walker’s programs for some time now. For those who aren’t familiar, Benjamen has been making some of […]
Read More →tis the season for donning hats & maybe getting clobbered by a classmate Last Wednesday night I was the guest of Emily Corwin, host of The Neighborhood, a weekly radio show broadcast from Cambridge/MIT on WMBR. As she billed it — With trusty laptop in tow, Wayne wears all his hats at once –– musician, […]
Read More →[I haven’t made another Xmas mix since this first attempt four years ago, and I’m not quite sure why. Despite my nostalgia for the sounds of the season, I think I quickly reach saturation. Anyway, I repost this for those of you who haven’t heard this before and are not yet feeling oversaturated. For those […]
Read More →[Sticking to the seasonal, here’s another musical maneuver I pulled on some well-worn Christmas fare. Given the recent resurgence of talk about homophobia in reggae — not to mention what must be some serious shadenfreude over Buju Banton’s arrest — I have to admit that, sharing Rizzla’s frustration, I’m a little ambivalent about adding, um, […]
Read More →[This is the first in a series of several reblogged posts from the now defunct Riddim Meth0d blog. I figured I’d start with some seasonally appropriate fare, so look for a couple more X-mas related things to follow. This post was originally published on Dec 21, 2005.] not to be a humbug, but it occurred […]
Read More →Sadly, our ol’ group blog, Riddim Meth0d (actually, named after the article), has fallen into disuse and disrepair, w/ 400,000 unmoderated comments and countless foreign phishing outposts that have long slipped past the outmoded filters — not to mention, no new posts for almost 2 years now. I myself last posted there back in May […]
Read More →Astoundingly, a full four months earlier than her sister did, Charlie has started walking — basically skipping the crawl, or scoot, altogether In response, Nico has gone incognito, posing as the matriarch of a local panda clan We could hardly feel prouder
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