Strange Sounds #14

Art by Ariel Olivetti; Doctor Strange Annual #1 (2019)

Jay-Z & J Dilla - American Gangsters (Unreleased 2007 Mix Project)

More info here.

#TBT

Dream Them Dreams: A Tribute Mix to Combat Jack

Strange Sounds #13 (Tribute to Chris Cornell)

Strange Sounds #12

Strange Sounds #11

Strange Sounds #10

Strange Sounds #9

Strange Sounds #8

Strange Sounds #6

Original artwork by Steve Ditko

Strange Sounds #7

Like you I was shocked to hear of David Bowie's passing. What an iconic musician and artist. His creativity was truly unrivaled. I've spent the past 24+ hours (again, like you!) excavating, immersing myself in, and all around enjoying his extensive catalog. As a result, I've put together this mix, Strange Sounds #7, in tribute. (Strange Sounds #6 was poised to drop this week, but we're gonna put that one on the backburner for just a bit.) Celebrate his life and enjoy this hour of wonderful music. One.

Strange Sounds #7 (Tribute to David Bowie) by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Tracklisting:
1. David Bowie - Moonage Daydream
2. Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
3. David Bowie - Rebel Rebel
4. Mick Ronson - Like a Rolling Stone
5. Lou Reed - Hop Frog
6. Queen - Cool Cat (Demo)
7. Dana Gillespie - Andy Warhol
8. Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing
9. Seu Jorge - Life on Mars?
10. Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World
11. Iggy Pop - Tonight
12. Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes
13. Lou Reed - Satellite of Love
14. David Bowie - Collector/I Love Life (Interview)
15. David Bowie - Lazarus
16. David Bowie - Space Oddity (Demo)

 

Once again, I'd like to thank all the amazing HHIReaders who have contributed to the tip jar so far. Much appreciated! Like I said before, if you're feeling generous, please consider a contribution to Hip Hop Is Read. It's not tax-deductible, but if my work receives a nice amount of financial support, I can promise I'll keep doing this for years to come... Thank you!

Strange Sounds #5

Original artwork by Craig Russell

By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth! Doctor Strange has returned!

Time flies! It's already been OVER half a year since I released a new entry in the Strange Sounds series - not to mention new volumes of The Tape Deck, sample sets, etc. Don't call it a comeback, but here's Strange Sounds #5: yet another assortment of non-hip-hop randomness I just so happen to love. Plenty of cool s**t here to whet your palette and keep you on your toes. Enjoy... and turn it up!!

Strange Sounds #5 by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Tracklisting:
1. Marc Bolan - Eastern Spell
2. Sweathog - Hallelujah
3. Ty Segall - You're the Doctor
4. Fuzz - Pollinate
5. Orchid - Sign of the Witch
6. Wimple Winch - Save My Soul
7. Sound Machine - Woman
8. Shiver - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
9. Outrageous Cherry - (You're Not) A Nice Girl
10. The Gods - Time and Eternity
11. Spot - In My Dreams
12. Waterloo - Why Don't You Follow Me?
13. Liberation Suite - Run, Run, Lucifer
14. Pink Fairies - Heavenly Man
15. The Flock - Tired of Waiting
16. The Rolling Stones - Heaven
17. Lou Reed - Magic and Loss

 

2Pac - Still Ballin' 2015 (feat. Kurupt & Nas)

Kobe Bryant - Still Ballin' | Legends Never Die

Still Ballin' 2015! This is a little project I worked on to celebrate Kobe Bryant passing Michael Jordan on the NBA's all-time scoring list. My beat. My mix. My video. My childhood hero. Enjoy.

Strange Sounds #4

Original artwork by the incomparable Steve Ditko

Strange Sounds #4 is arriving a bit earlier than scheduled for two reasons: 1) I wanted this mix to coincide with the Blu-Ray/DVD release of Guardians of the Galaxy, and 2) now I've got more time to work on my year-end Hip Hop Is Read projects (which I know you'll love). Okay. So what does this mix have to do with Guardians of the Galaxy? Well, if you've seen the film, you know that apart from Groot, the true show-stealer was the film's phenomenal soundtrack. I knew nearly all the songs from the OST and was compelled to hum or sing along to Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, the Jackson 5 and many more when I saw GOTG in the theater on opening weekend. Not only that, I was inspired by the film to start this Strange Sounds series in the first place!

Long story short, Marvel, get at me. I want to select the tracks to be featured in the upcoming Doctor Strange film! Think of Strange Sounds #4 right here as my OST demo tape. Alright, I know this pitch will most likely fall on deaf ears, but I'm just throwing it out there anyway: Strange Sounds #4 is a handpicked selection of tracks I feel would be perfect for the upcoming film. I know it's not the usual fare; usually this series is reserved for obscure music and this mix has a bunch of pop tracks. I'm just following the GOTG Awesome Mix Vol. 1 formula with my own little interpretations and idiosyncrasies. So give it a listen, lemme know what you think, and may the Vishanti watch over thee!

Strange Sounds #4 by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Tracklisting:
1. The Doors - Strange Days
2. Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff
3. Aretha Franklin - Day Dreaming
4. Three Dog Night - One
5. John Lennon - Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)
6. Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic
7. Sly & The Family Stone - Everybody Is a Star
8. Cream - Strange Brew
9. Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic?
10. Alive 'N Kickin' - Tighter, Tighter
11. The Monkees - I'm a Believer
12. Tommy Roe - Dizzy
13. Black Sabbath - The Wizard
14. Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy
15. America - You Can Do Magic
16. Pilot - Magic
17. Marvin Gaye - You
18. The Temptations - Cloud Nine

 

Strange Sounds #3

Original artwork by Paul Smith

"Take him to Detroit!"

I grew up on the music of Motown Records. Classics by Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Diana Ross, etc. all had a significant impact on me. But as I grew older and branched out into all types of genres from all across the map, I kinda came full circle and reacquaintanced myself with other kinds of music from the Motor City: ROCK MUSIC! There are sooooooo many great rock bands from Detroit. Garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, proto-punk... you name it, Detroit's got it! Strange Sounds #3 takes a look at a slew of bands from Detroit, as well as a handful from neighboring cities like Ann Arbor and Flint. This mix is semi-chronological, making our way up from the late 60s (MC5, The Stooges) to present-day bands (Outrageous Cherry, The Raconteurs). Lotta great stuff in here. As usual, I try to balance the well-known with the obscure; so while I may hit you with a live version of Detroit-born Alice Cooper's infamous "No More Mr. Nice Guy", I'll follow it up with Frut of the Loom or Frijid Pink. Who? You better get familiar...! I feel like I'm hitting my stride with this Strange Sounds series and #3 might just be my favorite one yet! I wanna thank everybody who's listened to the series thus far, commented, critiqued, praised etc. You've really encouraged me to stick with it and keep this passion project alive. Thank you. Now that we've got that outta the way, let's enjoy the music! Turn it up!!

Strange Sounds #3 by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Tracklisting:
1. Kentucky Fried Movie (1977) - "Take him to Detroit..."
2. Power of Zeus - It Couldn't Be Me
3. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
4. Alice Cooper - No More Mr. Nice Guy (Live)
5. Dennis Coffey - Getting It On
6. Rare Earth - Get Ready
7. Detroit - Long Neck Goose
8. Up - Hassan I Sabbah
9. Frut of the Loom - One Hand In Darkness
10. Rodriguez - Only Good for Conversation
11. The Frost - It's So Hard
12. The Third Power - Gettin' Together
13. The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog
14. Brownsville Station - Go Out and Get Her
15. SRC - Up All Night
16. Death - Rock-N-Roll Victim
17. Frijid Pink - Crying Shame
18. Destroy All Monsters - Bored
19. The Detroit Cobras - I'll Keep Holding On
20. Outrageous Cherry - If You Want Me
21. The Raconteurs - Salute Your Solution
22. The Dirtbombs - Motor City Baby

 

Strange Sounds #2

Original artwork by Gene Colan (Doctor Strange Volume 1, Issue #172.)

I had a lot of fun putting together Strange Sounds #1. I felt an obligation to myself - and of course you, the listeners - to follow up with a strong sophomore attempt. Strange Sounds #2 is a Halloween-themed mix full of eclectic rock tracks to get your heart racing. The mix begins with a segment from Vincent Price's 1963 film The Raven and works its way up to the bone-chilling "D.O.A." by Bloodrock. I'm interesting in hearing feedback on this series, so please let me know what you think in the comments section below. Enjoy... If you dare! Excelsior!

Strange Sounds #2 by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Tracklisting:
1. The Raven (1963) - "Duel to the Death"
2. Alice Cooper - Welcome to My Nightmare
3. Sasperella - Spooky
4. Donovan - Season of the Witch
5. The Lollipop Shoppe - You Must Be a Witch
6. The Yellow Payges - Devil Woman
7. Black Sabbath - Lady Evil
8. Sabattis - The Devil's In You
9. The Chocolate Watchband - Devil's Motorcycle
10 Roky Erickson & The Aliens - Night of the Vampire
11 Skyhooks - Horror Movie
12 Beck, Bogert & Appice - Black Cat Moan
13 Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman
14 Luv Machine - Witches Wand
15 The Sonics - The Witch
16 Mother Sunday - Midnight Graveyard
17 Bloodrock - D.O.A.

 

HHIR Merch: L.A. Slackers T-Shirt

I may be a die-hard Lakers fan, but I'm not an idiot. The 2014-2015 NBA season hasn't even begun and I can already guarantee that this year's gonna be yet another bust for "L.A.'s team." But that's alright 'cause sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. And the Lakers sure know how to lose lately!

Kick off the new season in style with the first official Hip Hop Is Read t-shirt!

 
* Proceeds go to keeping your computers, smartphones, and MP3 players loaded with great music. And to my landlord. *

Strange Sounds #1

   

Trying something a little different with this one. As some of you may know, my digital music collection is massive. It grows exponentially every year and I've gotta keep buying external hard drives to feed this disgusting habit. I don't just collect hip hop, of course. I try to cover all grounds. In the past few years, I've gotten back into rock. All sorts of rock. Progressive, fuzz, garage, stoner, freakbeat, drone, space, desert, doom, you name it. Most of this music could fall into the "psychedelic" category, I guess. Now when I think psychedelic, I can't help but think of Doctor Strange, one of my favorite Marvel characters. In PBS' 2013 documentary series, "Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle", there was a segment on Jim Steranko ("the Jimi Hendrix of comic book art"), his work on the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." series, as well as other psychedelic-inspired characters, stories, and artwork in the Marvel Universe - namely Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer. In "Superheroes", they kick off this trippy segment by playing Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love". That's when I first got the idea for a Marvel-themed psychedelic rock mix series. Additionally, I was inspired to start something like this after going back to checking out Henry Rollins' EXCELLENT weekly radio show here in Los Angeles on KCRW.

So here we go: Strange Sounds #1. I thought it'd be fitting to kick off #1 by focusing on songs which explicitly mention Doctor Strange in the lyrics (Pink Floyd, T. Rex, Country Joe & the Fish, Paul Roland). I've also got tracks from albums that contain images of Doctor Strange in the record cover artwork (Pink Floyd again, Al Stewart). Then I've also got some classics like CCR's "I Put a Spell on You" and The Doors' "People Are Strange", appropriately enough, as well as various other strange odds and ends. As the series progresses, I'm definitely gonna try to hit you with some obscure s**t you've NEVER heard before. I've already got plans for #2 (Halloween themed!) and #3 (it's a secret... for now), so make sure you stay up to date on this monthly series. Anyway, enough talking; just enjoy the music! Feedback is welcomed, of course. (Oh, and is anybody else interested in the upcoming Doctor Strange movie like I am!?) Turn it up!!

Strange Sounds #1 by Boom Bap Beatnik on Mixcloud

Tracklisting:
1. Dr. Strange (1978) - "Let it begin, master..."
2. Pink Floyd - Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
3. Iron Butterfly - Unconscious Power
4. T. Rex - Mambo Sun
5. Country Joe & the Fish - Superbird
6. Gentle Giant - Funny Ways
7. Al Stewart - Terminal Eyes
8. Paul Roland - Stranger Than Strange
9. The Attack - Strange House
10. Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put a Spell on You
11. The Doors - People Are Strange
12. The Modern Lovers - Astral Plane
13. Paul Roland - Dr. Strange
14. The Bobby Fuller Four - The Magic Touch
15. The Outsiders - Doctor
16. Night Beats - Love Ain't Strange (Everything Else Is)
17. Sapphire Thinkers - I Feel a Bit Strange
18. Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno - Ecstasy in Hell
19. Pink Floyd - Cymbaline

 

#SOTY2013 Coming Soon...

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