And on a much lighter note...

-NN

I thought that was funny the post dilla quote, I didnt hear the cd yet and was not making a commentary on it or james. That shit is funny, I guess it means people doing traditional sample based hip hop production? Anyway it was not my intention to belittle its just tongue in cheek. I like how your telling me to relax when your the one freaking out for nothin.

Pete asked me to blog about my new BEAT MACHINE CD I did for Scion A/V. I figured if I’m gonna go in I might as well really go in so here is a complete liner notes / behind the beat type thingy on the 14 track compilation.

WARNING: BELOW CONTAINS THE VERY SELF-INDULGENT, OVER ANALYSIS OF MUSIC THAT I USUALLY TRY TO AVOID. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The people at Scion initially asked me to make a hip hop CD cause they do a lot of hip hop tours and they cant really be giving out Kitsune & iHeartcomix CDs at those. I told them the only rap like stuff I was feeling enough to fill a whole CD right now is this new post-Dilla beats movement that’s been thriving so hard thanks to parties like LA’s Low End Theory and releases like Beat Dimensions Vol. 1. Scion was with it and to their credit they never mettled in my process (I’m the only one to blame). They simply gave me a budget and let me do what I wanted.

One big catch though, these beats all had to be sample free. To me beats and samples go together like rock and guitars, so this was troubling to say the least. Luckily the producers I worked with were just as apt at freaking a synth as they were with records. Plus I love synthesizers!

TRACKLISTING

Intro – Spindles is one of my best friends since high school. We were just driving around one night and he was playing this beat and I knew I wanted it to set off the CD. It’s like some NYC in the dead of winter shit. Also I was partly responsible for his ASR getting stolen by a crack head coming thru his window in Oakland back in the day, so I kind of owed him.

Sandwich Terror – Dorian Concept is from Austria. I first heard him at Benji B’s monthly Deviation party. He freaked the MicroKorg live like this and I was instantly a fan.

Keep It Tidy – This is my favorite track on the CD. Bullion first came under my radar cause Kutmah would play this Pet Sounds / Dilla remix like every time he DJ’d. Bullion must have sent me almost 10 versions of this track before he settled on the one your hearing. What’s crazy is that each version was so dope and different they could make up a whole other album. We also went back and fourth on the name of the track and I eventually lost.

Extra FUNK – Exile’s the homie and I always liked how he has a really strong signature feel to his drums (which is pretty much how I judge beats). He was the first person I hit up for a beat and I got this, done and done. I kind of thought the whole project was gonna take a week to finish cause this went so easy. Durrrrrrrrr.

Heat Wave 2 – When I first moved to LA I would hear Lotus beats here and there floating around. I always thought they were dope, but like most beats at that time (especially in LA) I thought they were a bit too derivative of the Jaylibs. Maybe I wasn’t listening close enough cause by the time his first album dropped it was clear to everyone that Lotus was inventing a whole new style of beats, flipping his laptop beyond the way his predecessors flipped samplers. He’s clearly running this beat shit and if you’ve seen him live you know that that’s a fact.

Boxed In – Mike Slott is in a crew called LuckyMe with Hudson Mohawke, Rustie and a bunch of other artists and musicians based out of Glasgow. If you need some inspiration they’re little outfit is a treasure trove. The original version of 'Boxed In' on Mike’s beat tape was a lot more stripped down than this one. When he handed in this master I was almost contemplating asking him to dumb it back down. Glad I didn’t cause that would have been retarded (I think the A&R power was going to my head). This one has the perfect balance of busyness and bangingness.

Tetris – I was trying to get something from Waajeed from day one and had pretty much given up when I randomly ran into him at an ALLIDO showcase. He gave me some “I was in Europe” excuse but it was all good cause by the time I got home there was a .zip in my inbox that made me go back to Scion and ask for more budget. The way the beat changes up at the end wasn’t on the og version, so I like to think I got two beats for the price of one. Good looks Jeedo!

The Jawn – One reason I really wanted to get Jay on the project was that he was one of the dudes who put together the Beat Dimensions album and I felt a little guilty for biting the concept (honesty game). When I emailed him about getting something he ended up forwarding my email to a million hungry producers, who started flooding my inbox with beats. I remember I was working on MOBRODER and Naeem and Hoff couldn’t understand why I had all these beats that apparently used the same drum break (aka beat stutter). I did get a lot of dope shit though and if your reading this and you sent me something thank you, I only had so much room.

Viberian Twilight Part 2 – Dr. Who Dat? AKA Jneiro Jarel AKA too much shit for me to keep up with. He’s s kind of like a dude from the 90’s who’s not stuck in the 90’s (I mean that as a complement). I met Jneiro for the first time at that show GLK, Lotus and I did at Cargo. I threw on ‘Do Your Thing’ during my set and JJ came up and started rapping along with it. We were all a bit out of our minds that night, so I guess that’s why Gaslamp all of a sudden came out of nowhere, snatched the mic and started selling CD’s to the crowd. WHAT? It was the greatest thing ever. Sorry Will you knew that story was gonna end up on the blog eventually.

Rough Copy – This guy Samiyam. First time I met him he was chilling in front of the Lab after destroying an in store with Lotus. He had one of those bags with a mesh pocket and mad porno mags hanging out, no shame in the game. His beats are crazy and he was also one of the first dudes I approached to get a track. I think he’s the next big thing or something, we’ll see.

12's in 8 – Like everyone else I first read Riggins name on the Welcome To Detroit album credits. It wasn’t until I got that Roots track ‘Quills’ that I realized how dope he was. I think the name of this track has something to do with it's time signature (try to freestyle to it, it’s like a waltz). I had to really wheel and deal for this one, but I needed some straight up beat shit since I was getting so many busy tracks from the youngsters.

Diurnal Insomnia – Ge-ology is a close friend. Next to Ronson, djing with him taught me the most especially when it comes to record knowledge. If you don’t know about his track record as a producer and artist google him or something, he’s had his hand in a lot of shit. On the down side, Geo I love you but you move mad slow! I was waiting so long to get this from him I even tried going over to his crib one day and playing one of his million synths to get him to finish like “what about just adding this?” I find that technique works well, if you show someone what they don’t want to do they all of a sudden know exactly what they do wanna do.

Almost There – I really wanted to put a beat on this CD (dur…) but of course I waited till the last minute to work on anything and then had to come up with something in the middle of moving from LA to NYC. I called it Almost There cause it’s like almost the sound I was looking for, but not quite there. Kind of reminds me of some Keyboard King shit.

Broken Language – AJ from SEED, described Onra to me as a Parisian kid who dresses like Justice but makes beats, ok. He sent me a lot of real hard beats but I picked this break beat lounge track cause I wanted something a little bit more up beat so dance djs might have something to play on the CD. Not sure if I achieved that goal.

Thanks to everyone involved in this thing & on & on & on. Especially the unsung hero’s like J.Kim, AJ, Jamie Strong, Nasty Nate, GLK, Jake Jefferson, Raj, Alex Chase, Jason, Dana, Haul and of course Jeri!

Most importantly I can’t thank FREEGUMS enough for the art/cover design. You killed it!!!

THESE CD's ARE PROMO ONLY. YOU CAN ADD THEM TO YOUR ORDER HERE OR STOP BY THE LAB IN NYC OR LA TO SNATCH ONE UP.

OR come by Savalas tonight or 87 Ludlow Saturday and i'll sort you out!

"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"
"post-Dilla beats movement"

Our President has phenomenal swagger.
Hussein takin a much needed afternoon off, sittin courtside at the Wizards vs. Bulls game, sittin with normal fans (who probably are all secret service agents, considering NO ONE goes to Wizards games anymore).

Yo John Oates, your boy Daryl Hall was on 7st this morning filming a cameo in a TV show...true story...

i miss watching video music box

tim dog once traded me a joint(i think it might have been laced) for a funkdoobiest cd
i clearly came ahead in that transaction

speakin of schmoove...

we finally got this guy to do a guest mix on TTL Radio!
Listen in for unreleased joints from Da Hardy Boyz and Pocket Checkers, plus a gang of emo-electro-wave treats as only Jemz could put together. This should hold you over until (or if?) that Second Cousins 2 mix comes out....
GET IT!

Schmoove invention right here...can somebody say shamwow???

-NN

looks like a lot of fun...
check out lab heads Greg Caz, Sean, and Monk going tet to tet at Black Betty

so about a month ago my man remix187 passes out on my couch and in the morning says "i saw a mouse last night" at which i said something along the lines of that can't be true because i don't have any food in my loft. this is very true since i eat at only the finest of establishments for every meal. also, he was drunk.

so the other morning i wake up to get ready for work and i go into the bathroom to see this little mouse kickin it. we just kinda stood there and looked at each other like "o'hai! i'm in here pissin" yeah that's what i gotta do too. so last night me and the girl decided to see if that was just a onetime thing. i don't like when animals stay at my spot and don't pay rent. so we put out some $1.06 bargain brand frosted flakes to see what's up...

needless to say when i woke up this morning, the frosted flakes were no more. i don't know how he's living since i don't have shit; maybe from the restaurant i live above. but whatever it is the first instance i see of damaged 1200 wires he's gettin the vic'tored. thhwaaaaap!

As promised, the debut single from Congorock is out now as a digital exclusive on Turntable Lab (with vinyl berry berry soon!). It's the seventeenth (!!!) release on our fine little label, and we couldn't be happier.

>> BUY "RUNARK" ON TTL DIGITAL

"Runark" is a a perfect calling card for Congorock, four-and-a-half minutes of breakbeat thump and raved up 8-bit synth drops. The single comes backed with an amazing extended remix by Jokers Of The Scene as well as two more Congorock originals, "Exodus" and "Hybro." The digital release also features an additional Runark remix by His Majesty Andre. More from this Italian original coming soon!

Another edition of the almost lost parallel universe..
enjoy...

-rikrok

no time for anything - i'm hustling like a boss tycoon

after our first night in the D, someone tagged our van. Next day I wiped it off with gasoline.

on our day off we found these douches peacocking at a techno party.

the woodbridge spot in detroit has some art up for sale


housing for wayne state university kids

the next day we started the drive from detroit to portland, where we play Holocene on March 26.

worlds largest in iowa, but they probably all say that

at least they sell swords

first truck stop i've seen with a dentist and movie theatre

framed on the wall

chrome up

on thru nebraska

this truck was transporting space station parts

if you are in Portland OR, come out to Holocene tomorrow!

Jeezus PETE take down that MTV KOREA post it's making the blog unbearable to check! Also what is Woody doing on MTV KOREA? Now even Asians think Asians all look the same?

something to fight off the monday demons...

check the drum play at 4:30...

Jamaica Eliminates Sex and Violence From Airwaves

The nation of Jamaica has instituted an island-wide ban of all music which glorifies violence or sexual activity.
The ban, which became official earlier this week, is targeted at quelling the growing dancehall trend called "daggering," where participants stimulate sexual intercourse on the dance floor. The style was popularized by dancehall star Mr. Vegas, who released a song and video of the same name last June. Under the new regulation, all music with lyrics detailing murder, arson, rape, and gun violence cannot be heard over Jamaica's TV and radio broadcast systems. Furthermore, DJ's are not even allowed to be play censored versions of songs, as the intent and suggestive nature of the tracks would still be discernible. As the country's most popular music genre, dancehall stands to be the most affected by the new ruling. In recent years, the genre has endured heavy international criticism for the vehement anti-gay stance many of its artists advocate. However, the decree will also limit the accessibility of Soca and Hip-Hop on the island. Soca music is rarely explicit, but sometimes utilizes sexual innuendo in its lyrics and is a staple sound of Jamaican street carnivals. Hip-Hop has strong roots with the Caribbean island due to Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc, who helped launch the genre of Hip-Hop in the 70s, after migrating to New York City in the late 1960s.At press time, there has been no organized movement to challenge the government's ruling on free speech grounds.

Blooodclaat!!! Mi say mi wan fi wine n Dagger w mi sexy body gal! Lawdamercy!!!!

-NN

Michna with Raw Paw from System D-128 on Vimeo.

Dont forget your video holmes!

So I never got the chance to tell some of you that I formed a band and am currently touring with them. We kicked it off on friday in Detroit, and it was pretty bonkers

The party was at the Trumbullplex, a pretty legendary venue in the D. Even the FBI has it on their radar.

The 323 crew set it off with a fashion show, then we played..

We're being billed as Michna with Raw Paw.. a four piece live band..

That's Cru Jonez on Drums and Sampler

System D-128 on A/V Synths

Myself on Bone, Sampler, and DMX controls

Grancentral on Tenor Sax, Keys and EFX

Come out and see a show:
and add us as a friend -( we need some )

Tour Dates:
Feb 20 @ The Trumbullplex - Detroit, MI
Feb 21 @ (Cancelled due to snowstorm) - Milwaukee, WI
Feb 26 @ Holocene w/Eliot Lipp & Nosaj Thing - Portland, OR
Feb 27 @ Caterina Winery w/The Sight Below - Spokane, WA
Feb 28 @ New Frontier w/Eliot Lipp, The SIght Below, E-Team - Tacoma, WA
Mar 1 @ Chop Suey w/Eliot Lipp, Linda And Ron’s Dad, E-Team, Trashy Trash DJs - Seattle, WA
Mar 6 @ Ghostly 10 Year Party at Mezzanine - San Francisco, CA
Mar 7 @ Turntable Lab LA w/Freegums Instore - Los Angeles, CA
Mar 7 @ Major Warehouse Party Afterhours (Egg Foo Young DJ set) - Los Angeles, CA
Mar 8 @ Ghostly 10 Year Party at Jimmy's Lounge (Daytime Event) - Los Angeles, CA
Mar 8 @ Kava Lounge w/Eliot Lipp, DM Progress, Jabba Bakes & Eddie Turbo - San Diego, CA
Mar 9 @ The Crosby w/Eliot Lipp - Santa Ana, CA
Mar 11 @ The Rogue Bar w/Eliot Lipp and Thru The Wires Crew - Scottsdale, AZ
Mar 13 @ Limelight w/Eliot Lipp - San Antonio, TX
Mar 14 @ The Parish w/Eliot Lipp - Austin, TX
Mar 17 @ Red Fez - Austin, TX
Mar 18 @ Mohawk w/ Christopher Willits, Dosh, The Chap, & Themselves - Austin, TX
Mar 19 @ The Fader Fort (Egg Foo Young DJ Set) - Austin, TX
Mar 22 @ Lola’s w/Eliot Lipp - Fort Worth, TX
Mar 23 @ TBA - New Orleans, LA
Mar 25 @ TBA - Miami, FL
Mar 27 @ Sharab Lounge w/Brazil - Gainesville, FL
Mar 28 @ The Honey Pot w/Eliot Lipp & Sensory Overload Crew - Tampa, FL
Mar 30 @ TBA - Orlando, FL
Apr 1 @ Mellow Mushroom w/Eliot Lipp - Tuscaloosa, AL
Apr 2 @ Zydeco w/Eliot Lipp - Birmingham, AL
Apr 3 @ Tasty World w/Eliot Lipp - Athens, GA
Apr 4 @ Brooklyn Museum w/Hernan Bas (Michna DJ Set) - Brooklyn, NY

Last weekend I went down to Blacksburg VA to DJ this weekly party called Boogieburg.



Shit was of the charts, one of the best gigs I've had in a long time. These kids were getting down, hands in the air, cheering at every build-up, and just not giving a F#%*. It's such a pleasure to DJ for an open-minded crowd like this. Big shout out to Joey, Gaskings, Ben, Flo, and the whole Boogieburg family!!





One of the promoters rigged a leaf blower so that it would unfurl an entire roll of toilet paper like a cannon. That and multiple confetti poppers made the kids go even more nuts!



On another note, i just recently re-stocked my old Boomin Booty Breaks CD at the Lab, and I found this flyer tucked inside:





This is a party Ayres and I tried to start when Savalas first opened. The flyer is Classic. In the end, Savalas wasn't ready for the low-end, and we only did 2 parties, after which they hired Ayres to play "normal" hip hop.
Who's down to start this up agian?? I'm fiending to play these records....

And lastly, I'm off to Honolulu tomorrow to DJ a Brazilian Street Carnaval. Surfs up haters!

RUN IT!

wow, this comic book nerdus thing is gettin out of hand...
woodman represent

The newest Fool's Gold single, "Enjoy What You Do" by Trackademicks, is up for sale as of today on TTL Digital. Vinyl coming soon (that Dust La Rock art deserves the shelf space!) meanwhile you can cop both volumes of Track's great remix CDs with Tap.10.

Also on deck from FG are new singles from Congorock, Kid Sister, DJ Gant-Man, Alexander Robotnik, Crookers, Malente, Bag Raiders, LA Riots and more, plus a biiiiiiiig compilation LP for the summatime. Stay tuned!

me likee the dunks...

most anti-climatic trade deadline ever...

Man that Dre Day party in Minnesota looks just like this "eatin watermelon and fried chicken" party I had at my place a few years back, but I think mine was probably better cause we all burnt cork and rubbed it on our faces and it was so dark nobody knew who was who, all you could see was teef....

I just got back from doing a weekend in Europe, and I won't bore you with the sordid details of missed flights, 18 hour layovers, pod hotels, etc. Somehow I had to take 7 flights in order to play in 3 cities. It was all worth it to play heavy bass music on the Funktion One soundsystem at Supa in Trondheim.

Lots of clubs claim to have "the best sound system in the world" or whatever but if I hit the lottery, we would be putting these in Southpaw. The only other places I've played on them are Cielo, Wrongbar in Toronto and Smartbar in Chicago (the downstairs of Metro). It's really crazy how loud and clean you can play on a Funktion One system, and it just sounds perfect. It's really a visceral experience to get to hear your shit on something this nice. They're really expensive and if the club wants it to continue to sound great they bring in one of the Funktion One guys every so often to EQ the whole system. Supa took it a step further and put in one of these:

I'd never even seen a Funktion One mixer before. The EQs are so much fun, I don't think I touched the crossfader more than 10 times in 2 hours. For more speaker porn go check out their website:
http://www.funktion-one.com/.

Correction: in yesterday's Daily, the Flashing Lights 2 CD was listed as "DJ Ayres - Flashing Lights #2." It should have said "DJ Ayres, Nick Catchdubs & Jubilee - Flashing Lights #2." Those are my dudes and they are the best. Also I think Nick is higher profile than I am these days. We're all three back in Manhattan this Friday, pouring rave juice to celebrate Nick Hook's birthday. It's going down at upstairs from the Dim Sum restaurant at 88 East Broadway:

If you don't feel like waiting for the FREE CD to ship, you can download it and get the tracklist at www.djayres.com/flashing.

For the 80s babies, Eleven and I are doing a release party for the new Glamorous Life 3 CD, available at your neighborhood Turntable Lab. The party is at Ella, 9 Avenue A btwn Houston & 2nd Streets, this Thursday, Feb 19.

Lastly, Jess Jubilee just showed me this:

The Sleeping Bear.

!!!

My goodness....

I apologize my Bloggermaniacs,
normally I NEVER post youtubes,
but this one...
I felt I needed to share with the world....

Note to all girls in the world:
Tighten yo shieet up.
Winter time is over.
No mo' guts + bellys poppin out = You got the KRANG-stomach.

Meet Savita Bhabhi, the real reason behind the internet boom in India.

Today is DRE DAY. We celebrated early in Minneapolis this past weekend and it went off. Here are a few highlights.

screenprinted 40 bags.

Our $20 Sack Pyramid grand champions Hayley and Medium Zach

The party was 18+

Trama performing in a chronic haze with the pyramid in the background.

Malt liquor was too real for her.

Burlesque screenprinter and resident chronic-know-it-all Bennie.

Oh yeah it was Valentine's Day too.

Espada, our A+ host for the night.

$20 Sack Pyramid in full effect.

Don't forget the many officially Burlesque-certified parties poppin' off tonight and over the next few days. Check your local listings!

hopefully my sperm will produce something like this

happy birthday dr. dre

an everybuddyscelebratin'

TONIGHT

GUEST LIST IS FULL.
but you can still get on the reduced list by clicking here

Workin' the knobs!!!

and Fakin' the Funk!!!

-NN

I just got back from doing a weekend in Europe, and I won't bore you with the sordid details of missed flights, 18 hour layovers, etc. It was all worth it to play heavy bass music on the Funktion One soundsystem at Supa in Trondheim.

Lots of clubs claim to have "the best sound system in the world" or whatever but if I hit the lottery, we would be putting these in Southpaw. The only other places I've played on them are Cielo, Wrongbar in Toronto and Smartbar in Chicago (the downstairs of Metro). It's really crazy how loud and clean you can play on a Funktion One system, and it just sounds perfect. It's really a visceral experience to get to hear your shit on something this nice. They're really expensive and if the club wants it to continue to sound great they bring in one of the Funktion One guys every so often to EQ the whole system. Supa took it a step further and put in one of these:

I'd never even seen a Funktion One mixer before. The EQs are so much fun, I don't think I touched the crossfader more than 10 times in 2 hours. For more speaker porn go check out their website:
http://www.funktion-one.com/.

In yesterday's Daily, the Flashing Lights 2 CD was listed as "DJ Ayres - Flashing Lights #2." It should have said "DJ Ayres, Nick Catchdubs & Jubilee - Flashing Lights #2." Those are my dudes and they are the best. We're all three back in Manhattan this Friday, pouring rave juice to celebrate Nick Hook's birthday. It's going down at upstairs from the Dim Sum restaurant at 88 East Broadway:

If you don't feel like waiting for the FREE CD to ship, you can download it and get the tracklist at www.djayres.com/flashing.

For the 80s babies, Eleven and I are doing a release party for the new Glamorous Life 3 CD, available at your neighborhood Turntable Lab. That's at 9 Avenue A btwn Houston & 2nd Streets, this Thursday, Feb 19.

Lastly, Jess Jubilee just showed me this:

The Sleeping Bear.

early heads-up
9pm, March 7th
Freegums Art Show
Michna Band Live Performance

Turntable Lab LA
more info coming...

afterparty with Major
featuring J-Rocc!

NYC skating at it's finest!!! "It's mad beautiful man!!!"

Btw-that's a Charlie Manson tune so beware!!!!

-NN

I'd say it's def about that time for a Tn'A break mates!

-NN

Anybody else notice the Hundreds ripping off Pubes old t shirt idea?

+

=

Tons of new gear comin' in.
Lovin' some of these throwback's from The Hundreds. Since their bringing back T & C's primitive look, I hope they redo the Gotcha Fish somehow. I wore mine until it was tattered and hole-y.

Although it's winter in NY, fuck it, I wear my sunglasses at night.
Obey

Enjoi comin correct as usual

And some new goods from Rogue Status...

Last but not least...Really nice to see the hip hop shelves getting some love. It's been a while!

PEACE!

i knew the blog was strong with the design nerdus... but didn't know we had such a strong comic nerd base. boy genius is a trekkie if you can believe that.

ps. it's cooler as the thing

i was trying to figure out how long it would take woody to point
out pete's comic book character misstep........not very

I feel like we're at a place and time where motherfuckers have no choice but to come correct. Every aspect of our culture is saturated w/ copy-cats, blatant thievery, and corporate hooliganism. Which brings me to Pete's previous post..

Fuck the designer, design team, and/or execs who let this one slip by. It's a weak bite off the old Jolt logo. I would have designed a logo a billion times better for half the price. Consider that an open invitation..

---

I don't drink Pepsi. Never have, never will, it's just a personal preference. I'm a Coca Cola fanatic till the day I die. However, I do like the old Pepsi logo quite a bit. Super iconic and straight to the point, brief timeline below..

Yo why's Pepsi gotta play a ninja out!?

For more, check out the NY Post's opinion here and download the much contested and ridiculed branding guide here.

---

Getting back on the subject of good design, what's up w/ the new issue of RE:UP Magazine playa?! I'm just saying is all..

(in nerd voice)

ACTUALLY PETE that's Paul Chadwick's Concrete, not The Thing.

Jack Kirby rolling over in his grave etc

time for some PHaterade

the world is becoming sterile... i have an aunt that sends us household goods like toothpaste, shampoo, etc from Germany, cause she really believes that they have better shit. it might be true, but all their products look super-generico. nicely designed, yes, but no soul or character... everything starts looking the same... which takes me to...

gatorade... i know it's this a first phase rebranding, but this looks like 2nd year design school project.... i want fake sweat, gatorade-spelled out, and some funk... the commercials are even worse... remember gatorade gum? that was the best...

another high profile rebranding... i don't even have to say anything. funny thing is, i used to work for the company that did this garbage (while trying to launch the lab).... dude might as well be giving the heil hitler sign

what? this looks so generico.... i want a big fat juicy, dripping orange on my oj box not some color gradient representation... (however the new orange shaped bottle-top is genius)... and what's up with the arian black and white photography again? i want to blast these girls in the face... wait, can i say that?

on the other end of the spectrum, a pizza place by my apt put these signs up... i walked by yesterday, and they were out of bizness...

leaving you on a positive note, i've yearned for these signs they have at St. Mark's Comics for years... been tempted to gank em, but i wouldn't do that.... in the smoking one, The Thing is saying "it doesn't hurt".... hilarious... on the hours one, The Thing looks the same everyday... genius.

Just to offset all this basketball, jock bullshit....

Sundance On Demand. So fucking good.

If it's Sunday.... It's Meet The Press

Emperor Axelrod on Meet The Press this morning saved me from THE. WORST. ALL-STAR. SATURDAY EVER.

Someone please tell me why Dwight Howard took off his normal Orlando Magic jersey to reveal a skin-tight, suspect (meaning homo) version of the exact same jersey?

BREAKING NEWS:
Black Jesus aka Allen Iverson cut off his braids!!

enjoy yourdelf today...

** STACKSWELL - MY LOVE IS FREE **

Love is in the air! Don't forget to play this tune tonight dudes!

-NN

the Lab is back at APT this coming thurs for the second edition of Too Big For NY...

LETS GO!

i need someone to run to viet-nam banh mi so 1 on broome and pick up a #13, hot... shipset, you will then place this into order #128138

if not,

thank you.

another classic

redux

Time for BG CLASSIC!!

"Oooh look at that look from the defending champion!!"

"You call it and it's all over baby."
"Party time!!!"
Kissing the white tang afterwards = you now know where Boy Genius gets his style from

a-trizzle contesto....
we're giving away copies of the super-limited, promo-only nike - a-trak - serato record.

what you have to do:
create a lab-style blog post, send us the text and images for your post and we'll post the best ones... who knows where it will end. wanna battle boy genius? talk about design shit? do a record check?

send entries to jay /// at /// turntablelab

get the A-Trak song at itunes or whitelabel

us vs. mexico was kinda anti-climatic... yes, us won, but mexico looked like a poopy taco.

and now to the main event...
argentina vs. france

- not as fluid as a game as i expected, but what do expect when you have 3 of the top ten defensive center-mids on the field at once (plus toulalan probably in the top 15). the few battles between diarra and mascherano were epic and so intense. i would hate to play against pesky pretty boy Gago... dude is like the Elf from Lord of the Rings... and all over the place... Diarra is badass, can't believe Arsenal had him...

- no creativity in the middle... neither team had the difference maker in the middle. who's gonna take the weight? i was excited to see Yoann Gourcuff, but not that impressed, yet. reminds me a bit of Ballack...

- watching the game with my argentine friend was interesting. i guess he's used to a level of excellence, so he's either super pissed or making these grunting caveman shouts of approval. he'll curse out an argentine player on one play and kiss his balls the next.... ever eat a steak with an argentine, same thing... he looks at the steak like he's pissed at it, like he could throw it on the ground and step on it at any minute...

- i heard yesterday, that one out of every 12 corner kicks, a team should score.... that's probably the odds you get when messi touches it in the attacking third.

i didn't know tanned-johnny depp-pirates were allowed to play...

WMC 09'!!! Bring Em Back!!!

-NN

Forgot about this mix i did for this video game years ago. Lots of classic tunes from all different genres in the mix...enjoy the music...

Btw-Winter Music Conference is less than 6 weeks away, who's getting hyped?

-NN

all you procrastinators
don't forget about the valentines day special
we have going at east village lingerie / girly store Azaleas
more info...

a couple of y'all have already taken advantage, let's go!!!!

New fave politcal blog of the moment. Thank you, Erica (queen majesty).

b/w

So Mrs. P and I moved to Washington Heights last week, and i'm still moving shit over. Today I'm at my parents' crib, going through vinyl i haven't touched in forever and seeing what stays and what gets tossed...

Operation Ivy - Energy LP
I recently saw some high school girl on 23rd st. rocking this hoody. As much as I loved this record, I stopped paying attention after Rancid.

Stereolab - Dots and Loops
This record got me through college. My love for this record is beyond words. This copy's kinda scratched up though, anyone have another to sell/trade?

Fausto Papetti "22e Raccolta"
Fausto Papetti records are worth copping for the covers alone. "Papettis" are also a good one to add to the ever-growing list of euphemisms for breasteses.

Candy Flip - "Strawberry Fields Forever" 12"
When I was working at the Lab, Pete and I were talking about this record and how i had the cassingle in my car. One day, he shows up with it and just gives it to me; what a nice boss. Very bromantic. It's only gay if the balls touch.

LOTUG - "Chief Rocka" 12"
Not a huge deal, but my very first attempt at DJing was mixing this then-new record into Onyx's "Shifftee". Which makes me old.

Mel Cavaricci is the best DJ name ever and makes me want to become P-Skidz.

I just threw this mix together the other night. Under the alter ego of MEL CAVARICCI! It's a collection of guilty pleasures and quiet storm butter jams! FUN! Just in time for Valentine's!

Click here to download.

Make sure to hit up your friends, significant others & future exes with it! :)

ENJOY!

The Recession is even hitting Diddy . . . light bills mixed in with the benjamins.

italy vs. brasil - the world derby
observations...
- robinho's goal was like a 2001 iverson crossover. the final touch right after the cut-back was genius. - brasil always wins me over... i might hate on them, but they play well, nothing in soccer compares
- ronaldinho really elevated his game yesterday. some bad passing aside, his ball control and shielding was top percentile....
- melo is quickly becoming one of my favorite new brasilians... so strong in the middle, arsenal need a player like him
- even though it seemed like they were dominated, italy could have easily won this game... they can win ugly... props to zambrotta, my pick for italian of the match
- even in limited time and at midfield, daniel alves showed why he might be the best attacking defender in the game....

today
south korea vs. iran
england vs. spain
us vs. mexico
argenina vs. france
and so much more...

almost forgot...
dunga: buttersoft leather

guess who's comin to dinner?

you got the sega.. i'll bring the HIBACHI!

I'll fuck you up in NBA Jam, Stacks.

No one can beat me using them....
Note: That's Harvey Grant, not Horace.
Note: He wasn't that nice at dunking at all

Starting to feel like i'll never get a record out... so fuck it here's an edit I did a year or two ago in Tokyo... It's good to be home NYC...

spencer pratt ayres and his creepy flesh colored beard came to visit.

more for The Soup fans, this might be one of my favorite Soup clips ever...

as some of you have noticed,
our site has been acting funky today...
working on fixing it...
the mgmnt

random Delancey St. sightings
i found this gem outside of OTB with "KILL JEWS" written on the back of a racing form. I wonder what we did this time......Bernie M. maybe? who knows

at least the economic depression has forced the price of tang to an all time low.

nightmare madess lineup
2009 season

random city sightings...

i love this sign, i should have taken it... love to my italian-americans, but you guys are shady.... haha, ain't no colored people win this election....

shot of the tile in jasper's walk-up... bet the super didn't know he was creating some super-complex constructivist art that also spoke volumes on urban decay and cut paste aesthetics....

not city related... on my last trip i went to that deadstock store &Still next to stussy store on la brea.... awesome collection of vintage starter, deadstock sports gear, general 80s gear (benetton rugbys!), vintage WWF, and much more... what really got me though was the rack of original, deadstock T & C shirts they had in the front.... damn, i have bought like 2 t-shirts in 3 years, but I had to buy one (this one was $40).... too many memories... my first skateboard was ordered through the back of a skate mag and it was a giant, heavy as phuc T & C deck with ventures and huge sims wheels.... plus all the guards (tupperware party as we'd call it back then...). i will wear with pride.

some shots of &still from laist

set the dvrs...
argentina vs. france, 3pm, ESPN2
in HD!!!

all the big guns are playing, including messi and ribery... quite possibly the 2 most in-form players on the planet.... it's been a minute since we've seen messi on an international level like this, let's see if all that progress on Barca will translate to the world stage. also curious to see how france's domenech has changed the old squad up for a run at the next world cup... haven't heard much about em...

speaking of france... went to check out The Class movie all the critics are raring about... it definitely lives up to the billing... if you were the smart ass in your class, it's definitely worth checking as it captures the student - teacher mind games down to a tee... don't expect cheesy american style education movie like dangerous minds...

damn jasper, got me curious about twitter....
talking about this "cloud" and shit.
i already spend way too much time on my iphone checking soccer and hoops...

turntable lab twitter

did you know that turntable lab LA has one already?
Turntable Lab LA Twitter

so does blu jemz...

damn you jasper.

a question that has been floating throughout my mind as of late is where is Cody? and how is his "TA?" some of you may remember that bad-hammer vanity plate, most will not. can we get a reup circa year 2000?

okay so i was gonna do this big post today about an awesome book i got at this gallery on saturday and yeah, well you can purchase it here so i'm not bothering - buy it though!

amaretto & brandy up in the soy latte

lunch in the back of the 4runner - stackswell on the go

end of the weekend

p.s.
shipset, thank you for being on top of the game. i can't wait to get home today and open up the staple thymus hunting shirt i had copethed. speaking of staple.. timmy, whuddup cutty!

#1 Stunna

Fuck a Starter jacket.
El Presidente shows off his new flightsuit jacket onboard Air Force One.
I need that jacket.

Frisco's own DEEJAY OM, a good friend of mine has put together a new soul mix, full of rare tasty gangster groove's free for you to download, enjoy.

This is a chance to look into the mind, thoughts, and feelings of Deejay OM and experience the soul-wrenching and heart-shattering experience of my "break-up" or "heartbreak" mix. A mix which has great personal meaning, and was made as a means of healing my own pain. It is intended to be a panacea, a medicine which helps to heal others going through the same struggle. I've offered it as a free download so that it may spread and help to heal the wounds inflicted by those caught in the heat, or aftermath, of the hearts battle for love. It is a concept mix which is patterned after the thoughts, feelings, mixed emotions, and changes one goes through once the break-up begins and carries through to the end by dealing with what truly came to be...like it or not, it's about putting yourself on the line, being heart-broken, and learning to pick yourself up and move on. Each and every song has been hand picked because of content, feel, and overall message and was then placed in the mix corresponding to the stage of where one is at processing their lost love, and most importantly their own broken heart...music heals....and whether it's the music and bitter tears of Jesse James, the very rare Jackson 5 song and their hopeful search for something to fill that void in your heart, the anger of the Berwick Players, or the encouraging words of Frankie Beverly to dry your eyes and stop crying...I guarentee this mix will make you feel something deep down within. It is the blood from my soul...music for a heartbreak.

DeeJay Om - Blood From My Soul

Turntabaleism is so far advanced nowadays dudes are battling robots...

-NN

ok, this not a pervy post.
rather, valentine's day is coming up
and we've partnered with our East Village sister store Azaleas
to give a special discount to lab peoples...
mention "lab discount" in the store, and get 20% off your purchase.
girls love everything in the store, the shop girls are super-helpful
and you can get see-through stuff like the one above (the #1 request during Vday).
also, they're giving out Momofuku cookies with every purchase.

Azaleas
223 east 10th street between 1st and 2nd ave.
see more stuff

everyday on my walk to the subway, i pass by literally a hundred places to eat... i probably have hit up about less than 10 of those in my years of ny... creature of habit. today, totally randomly, i decided to go this Australian meat pie shop that's right by the 2nd ave F stop. it's called Tuck Shop. The pies looked small, so i ordered two. i just ate one... and it's kicking my ass right now. feels like i got hit by a truck... they taste good tho, might have to go back. give it up for Australian Meat Pies.

time to get your recession on.

hoya paranoia. i would never rock nyu gear (or any other college), but i love rocking gtown gear. i might even rock the shiny gtown starter. before the horrendous slide, Boy Genius ordered me up this year's We Are Georgetown shirt... it arrived in the midst of the this unexplicable meltdown. i normally go see them play St. John's in the garden every year, but I'm skipping this year, don't know if i could handle a loss to the red.

new Fool's Gold records arrived. Dust going for that 80s minimalist type thing.... white vinyl is so miami vice...

i order books sporadically for the site, but there's a ton of good shit out there right now... look for them on the site... these two are going up tonite... strictly for the design nerdus. also coming soon, new signed books from shepard fairey and ryan mcginness

right now is buying time for Fall clothing... just got the enjoi catalog, and died laughing at this new glove. yes, they're really producing these.

spotted a lion in the office...

Fresh picks from yours truly,

Been feeling these select goods from WESC

And here's some cool jeans from Analog that won't leave a gash in your wallet,
Dylan Jean

Analog
Omar Jean

some fresh colorways of Gravis favorites and more...
Metro Bag - Grey

Gravis
Metro Bag - Baltic

Can't really get too much of Parra
The Of Best Book

Mezco restocks come with perfect timing with the the new Notorious movie...
The Notorious B.I.G. Figure - Blue Sweater

if you wanna be a synth master, look to Arturia
V Collection True Analog Emulation Software Bundle

and Numark does it up for all the new digital jocks out there...
NS7 Controller w/ Serato ITCH

catch you on the flip.

photek remix of dr octagon - lets go!

over the years, i've heard from several people about a dude in the UK who had a huge stash of original MoWax records... i've even emailed with the guy... he sent me a huge list of stuff, but it never materialized... but recently, we got a big shipment of original presses, stuff i haven't seen in years from Shadow, Money Mark, Dr. Octagon, UNKLE, Krush... and some stuff i've never seen before like weird promo pressings... we're putting them up in batches on the daily starting today...

Tampa is in tha Building...

getting flashbacks to freshman year at nyu with this one

Acrassicauda, the band featured in Heavy Metal Baghdad, has finally gotten out of Iraq and moved to America.

Here they are backstage at a Metallica show with James Hetfield, who gave them a guitar and signed it WELCOME TO AMERICA.

Read the article here.

"Boy Genius got the hood on smash!!!"

It's pretty crazy what I, Boy Genius, can do with a little bit of weed, Freeway's first album on iTunes, and an hour of photoshop... philly stand up!! where you at ayres!? where you at diplo!? Damn I miss Philly....

Boy Genius got it in like 10 in the mornin'
And I can get it to ya like 10 while you yawnin' mang...
Still deliver the order mang!
And I ain't talkin' bout chicken and gravy mang!

"What We Do"

"Roc Da Mic"

"R.O.C., I run this blog shit...."

Best Dre beat ever? Definitely has my vote...who else was using those Tom Scott drums back then??? Massive Attack maybe??? He doesn't make beats like this anymore...straight up G Funk fo' da Trunk...

Btw-Had a super good time at 205 last year (what up Elle!) ...party is highly recommended...Colt 45 40s too...

-NN

Dre Day 2009 Dates announced:

February 14th @ Varsity Theater - 1308 4th St. SE Minneapolis, MN
February 18th @ Santo's Party House - 96 Lafayette St. New York, NY

Featuring the return of the $20 Sack Pyramid & The Chronic Photo Booth, and NYC will have visuals by System D-128

This shot was taken February 18th 2008 in NYC. Click here to attain pertinent info and correctly prep your ipod

i just got off the phone with Adam Williams aka Mr Stokes from Shanghai.. After conquering the DJ scene out there he finally decided to move back home to the US.

When we hung up I got inspired to post some 2007 China photos that I haven't shown anyone (Cause who really hangs out in ny? )

These flix are from one of the many many DIY events him and Dan and Chris were always cooking up.

So when I was in town for a month, we had to set it off. (Chris is a South Florida OG living in Shanghai)

The idea was simple. Throw a Miami Bass Roller Jam in Shanghai China.

technically, this cat is chinese... i definetly ate a few of those !

there are many aspects of shanghai (ie the warmth of the women) that are totally opposite of miami.

why not? (the only people who might get this are gonna be frenchies or australians)

mounting the manatee.

all of our event sponsors flaked. But Manatee Productions came thru ..

Chris aka Santo Chino dropping some Gucci Crew. (Chinese locals scratch their heads)

Mr. Stokes

in the back room we set up the Roller Jam. First problem: where do you get skates? Even if you know how to speak fluent chinese and ask "where can i buy rollerskates" you will recieve a blank stare and probably a "what?" Second Problem: If you do find skates they are gonna be size 5 at largest. So, we clearly didn't find skates but found "strap on" wheels.

These frenchies were the first to show up, --the girl in Yellow brought her own skates

Out of the 1,300,000,000 people in China, I can safely say Chris is the only one with a Luke Skyywalker T Shirt.

To maximise the Tony Montana effect we put a bowl of flour in the bathroom

The chinese people gave it a blank stare. (They just don't have coke out there). After the sucess of this event, a few weeks later we found a real rollerrink and threw a party threre that was all you can drink. (Woody made a movie out of it). Pics on that coming soon

arsene negotiates cut throat like a korean mom...
arshavin deal finally done!
let's get this cheddah!

go there

unusually warm sunday in the city... much needed. after shooting some flicks at roc's lair, i spent the day walking around the city. this is the aftermath of the chinatown celebrations... chinatown is already pretty grimy, but today it was like a medieval village.

stopped by the Annex... nacho neil holding it down as always... check out the sale going on right now if you're in the area

i love this corner... one of the things i designed that i am most proud of...

damn, the Lab bench has seen some better days. this thing is gnarly!

went into the bodega and got super-confused by this sign? camel cold medicine? no dip on ice.

my walk took me back all the way to my old hood in the west village... stopped by generation records and they are still doing their thing. love the weird selection of records on the wall with the editorial tags on them... was tempted to pick up that Siouxsie record and a copy of Nitzer Ebb's second album. for all the metal and punk collectors, check out the basement, they have some cool stuff...

lastly, even tho i wanted the Cards to win, i have to give it up to Steelers owner Dan Rooney. this superbowl victory was a momentous occasion for minority coaches in sports. Rooney crushed the old, rich white man stereotype, and proved all the naysayers wrong in hiring a young, largely unproven black coach who led them to victory...

Hottie of the Week

saturday night i received this from my dawg "T.LP" while simultaneously texting the boy Jemz about how i was gonna drop Carl Bean to make the hoards of chad's & becky's feel funny inside like when they climbed the rope in gym class.

that next morning i heeded the words of this keen listener and retired for the day to spend some good time with the one i care about [no not the vodka]. if you need me i'm out back on the heated porch with Lily.

It's a good day to be me if I were 12 years old.

So maybe both of these have the same title. And maybe both of them will stink x100. But this is the wonderful/horrifying thing about living in 2009 and beyond, and that is the fact that LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FICTION YOU EVER READ OR SAW IN YOUR LIFE will eventually become a movie either directed by Michael Bay or starring Dennis Quaid as the president.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

GI Joe: Rise Of Cobra

the circle you look at doesn't rotate. the circles you don't look at rotate

Some people certainly aren't feeling the recession crunch and this guy is definitely one of them. Here he is messing around in his newly constructed "Fantasy Factory"...

You can catch him and a whole cast of others tomorrow night in the new Alien Workshop video premiering in NYC...

Tues February 3rd
Tribeca Grand Screening Room
Time: 7PM-2AM (4-5 Screenings)
Admission: Free
Address: 2 Avenue of Americas, NYC

-NN

fuck a job, fuck the economy and fuck commerce, i need to move to vegas.
gee'n off @ the venetian
1/2 sitting with 1k

2/5 sitting with 3 racks of 5 hundge each with 7 hundge in cash behind

who wants to bank roll me?