Connecting the dots - sampling the past

One of the things I like about hip-hop is the samples that are taken from older music.  I'm not sure where it all started, perhaps at the beginning of hip-hop, but I'm certain it's used often.  One early stand-out track for me is Kanye West's Gold Digger.  That being said, it was Jamie Foxx that sung Ray Charles' lines from "I got a woman" rather than using a true sample.

From the local seen, Torontonian Shad had a lot of airplay success from "Rose Garden"- I love the sample of the original 1967 version by The Three Degrees.



A go-to album for me that does a wonderful job of sampling older classics with fresher electronic sound is  Nina Simone's Remixed and Reimagined.  Her voice has such a beautiful range and mood.

For hip-hop and electronica, the samples seem to come mostly from old soul, jazz and R&B.  Quite different to the Chris Sheppard's dance mega-mixes of The Cult in the 80's.

But what set this off was the recent Drake Rihanna single "Take Care".  I knew I knew the simple piano sample, but thought it was from a Nina Simone track.  But a few Google searches later took me to the original source: Gil Scott-Heron.  I'd downloaded the wonderful Jamie XX remix of Scott-Heron's "I'll Take Care of You" about a year ago.

I love connecting the dots.

Upcoming concerts of interest - Fall 2011

Here are some new and recommended concerts coming up over the next few weeks and months:

• Tedeschi Trucks Band 10/25 The Music Hall
• Coeur de Pirate - that lovely French voice you hear on CBC 2 and 1/2 of Armistice 11/11 The Mod Club
• Noah & The Whale - liking their new album - 11/8 The Phoenix
• Noel Gallagher - set to sing some Oasis classics plus songs from his new album 11/7 and 11/8 Massey Hall
• Blue Scholars - friendly hip hop from Seattle 7/7 Wrongbar
• Metronomy - one of Q Magazine's most Exciting Acts On Earth 10/26 The Mod Club
• Anna Calvi - another of Q Magazine's most Exciting Acts On Earth 12/8 Lee's Palace
• St Vincent - their name keeps coming up - 12/15 The Phoenix

In the column on the right on the blog page you'll also see an ongoing list of upcoming concerts, an overlap of here with some one-offs.

I've finally gotten around to setting up my YouTube account properly and thought a channel dedicated to upcoming Toronto concerts would be a nice touch - enjoy.

Where I find new music: Part 9 - Fashion shows

Remember Fashion Television (FT) that used to show on CityTV ? Well, it's no longer on CityTV, although it does now have its own cable channel. Well, I used to watch it. It was on around the same time as The New Music, and along with all the beautiful ladies and clothes, I also liked the accompanying music. If you've ever seen the show, I'm sure you can never forget hearing the intro track - Obsession by Animotion every week (sorry the video is way too embarrassing to embed here).


Well, boys will be boys, and yes I'm still guilty of enjoying beautiful ladies on the runway and especially around Christmas time when Santa delivers an early stocking stuffer in the form of the Victoria Secret Christmas Fashion Show (this year's show is set for Nov 29th at 10pm on CBS). Sorry distracted there for a few moments, back to the music...well, the first VS show I saw on TV included the fabulous sexy dance track - I like the way you move by Bodyrockers (2:45 mark) and it cemented my feelings toward music and the fashion runway. Sorry, rockers, mostly dance music, R&B and hip hop here...but for me, this music is pretty damn sexy.

Now I put a draft down a while ago that noted a Crystal Castles track called Vietnam. I don't remember exactly why I noted the reference but I did find a connection between their music and fashion.

So, the point of this post, if you like fashion, dance music and beautiful people, there's some great music to be found on the fashion show runway. Although sometimes it's a little hard to find, don't worry, send it my way and I'll work on it for you. Now only if I could mix my love of photography with this peccadillo.

Sharing the love (or, where other people find new music)

Last weekend, I drove to Montreal and back with a few teammates for the Grand Master's Ultimate tournament. Although we only managed 1 win for the weekend, we played pretty well and I really enjoyed hanging out with a great bunch of guys and ladies. I was a passenger this year and the driver had his kind music on the way to Montreal. He asked if anyone else had some music, but I didn't push the point. On the way home, I offered up some new tunes to the guys, saying I was interested in what they thought of the mix and I thought they might legitimately enjoy a few new finds. If you know me, I've always been the guy to bring his own mixed tape to a party or these days, have a loaded iPod or iPhone at the ready. I'm a little more shy these days about pushing my music, but the memories of friends saying they enjoyed my music, keeps the inner DJ in me alive. After all, that's where I came up with the PJMixer alias.

So they guys liked a lot of the tracks and I said I'd burn them my top 10. I'm not certain when I'm going to see them again, so I thought I'd post them here for the broader group. I hope you like a few tracks. Yes, they are ordered, my mood and progression.



We are seeing We Are Augustines tomorrow night at Wrongbar in Toronto; shots from last time we saw them



Shots from Motopony's gig at the Horseshoe last week for Vivoscene





Canadians Beatrice Martin (from Coeur de Pirate) & Jay Malinowski (from Bedouin Soundclash)




shots from The Monkey's summer Toronto concert



Foster the People are playing here in Toronto on Saturday night and The Sound Academy



Please, please come and play in Toronto boys



Shots from The Vaccines at the Horseshoe last winter



Drat, forgot to post those pics, hold on...there you go, photos from Beady Eye Sound Academy concert

We Are Augustines at The Horseshoe

We Are Augustines at The Horseshoe - #107/365, a photo by PJMixer on Flickr.

First time seeing this tight New Yorker group - heartfelt lyrics and energized rock 'n roll. They opened for The Boxer Rebellion to a full and excited crowd house at The Horseshoe.

Concert updates - Spring 2011

I haven't posted upcoming concerts in a while and now we're past winter hibernation, the number and quality of visiting artists is on the rise.

Bigger gigs

• Peter Gabriel - June 22nd Molson Amphitheatre - heard rave reviews from my friend in NYC who saw him last year with same orchestral setup
• Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs - May30th Massey Hall - love his sound and my bro says he's brilliant live
• Paul Simon - May 7th Sound Academy - yes, you read that right, smallish venue
• U2 July 11th Rogers Centre - forgot they were coming back, if it's anything close to 2009 show it will be a knockout
• Adele - May 18 Air Canada Centre - recently moved from Kool Haus to accommodate ticket demand

Tempted to go

• Black Keys and Cage the Elephant - July 7th Molson Amphitheatre - should be a humdinger of a show - mosh pit action
• Dirty Vegas - April 24th Mod Club - easy-on-the-ear driving dance melodies
• Supertramp - June 12th Molson Amphitheatre - perfect lawn show

Retro Alley

• Journey and Foreigner - Aug 9th Molson Amphitheatre
• Echo & The Bunnymen - May 16th Phoenix
• The Cars - May 20th Phoenix or Sound Academy 
• Bob Seger - April 12th - one of my old favourites from the motor city
• Duran Duran - April 25th Phoenix

Highly acclaimed

• TV on the Radio - April 18th Sound Academy - new album is supposed to be very good, which is saying a lot for following up their brilliant 2008 release
• Tinie Tempah - May 2nd Wrongbar - massive Brit hip hop star plays small TO club
• My Morning Jacket - July 11th Kool Haus 

What I'm going to

• Arctic Monkeys and The Vaccines - May 21st Kool Haus - seen the Monkeys twice and want more, seen hot Brits The Vaccines at the Horseshoe this past winter - sure to get the crowd going and give the Monkeys a run for their money
• The Boxer Rebellion - April 18th Horseshoe - they put on a fab show here last time around and looking forward to a repeat show now the new tracks have sunk in more
• Beady Eye June 20th Sound Academy - what mood will Liam be in ?

Friend and lovers love 'em

• James Blunt - April 26th Massey Hall
• Death Cab for Cutie - May 18th Phoenix

Full listing can be found on Now and Torontowide.com.

Where I find new (old) music: Part 8 - the used record store

I met an out-of-town friend today for lunch who was visiting Toronto for the first time.  We met at the Queen Mother Cafe on Queen West and he had walked past Kops Records on the way there and made a comment about stopping in after lunch.  I hadn't been in Kops for a long time and quickly felt comfy surrounded by very famliar album covers.  I do have a turntable set up at home, but only really use it for nostalgia trips now and again, so I no longer buy vinyl.  However, slipping through the bins I quickly found one of my old favourites that I'd forgotten about.  No I didn't buy the album, but I did just buy it online.