Guru and DJ Premier of Gangstarr

When it comes to American Hip Hop, Gangstarr will survive the test of time as years pass. Brooklyn based (or Boston-depending on who you talk to) They have a solid formula, a clear message, and a producer/DJ that is a big fan of classic jazz. Gangstarr released their last album in 2003.


In 2010 Guru passed away from health reasons. This is a cool homemade video found on youtube and a sample of the subject matter that Guru was pretty consistent with through 6 Gangstarr albums.


DJ Premier produced and mixed every album but also made beats for other artist. These are 2 good examples.

Natacha Atlas: Mon Amie la Rose

It's not alot of times that you hear an Arabic singer, sing in French, with Arab influenced music. Wikipedia can expain it better:

"Atlas was born to a father of Moroccan, Egyptian, and Palestinian ancestry[1] who was born in Jerusalem and a British mother who had converted to Islam..." (wikipedia)

The song itself is a remake of a song from 1965 by Francoise Harding, that was based on a poem by Cecile Caulier and Jacques Lacombe. Translated, it seems pretty deep.

Ahu: Mo Kolours

..to break the Viking theme. Not the biggest fan of Ahu but the video is creative and the production of the music is pretty nice.

Moondog: Viking on 6th ave.

Aaron Copland is probably the best known American composer, but in my opinion Moondog is the least known and better of the two, and likely one of the greatest untold stories yet to be told to a mass audience. (although, online rumors say that Jeff Bridges is likely to play him in a film adapation)

In a nutshell, Moondog was born in the midwest, went blind when he was about 9 yrs old from a dynamite exploded in his face. Got into music from his dad who was a preacher for a church. He moved to NY alone and was basically homeless (he did rent a 9'x9' closet to sleep in) but spent his days building/inventing instruments and playing them on the corner of 6th ave. in NY --- dressed as a viking. Eventually discovered by producers and musicians, cleaned up and sent to Germany to record his compositions with an orchestra. An amazing person. born 1916-death 1999

here are 2 samples of his sound and the bottom footage is of him on 6th ave. that recently popped up on youtube.

Valhalla Rising (2009) directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

...speaking of Russian composers, Vikings and Peter Jackson. Valhalla Rising: A group of Vikings travel to the Holy Land get lost and end up in North America. An extremely well shot and a good looking movie..the story..so so, but I liked it. Shot on the RED EPIC Camera (Digital, but looks like film). This is the camera that Peter Jackson is using to film the 'Hobbit' movies...a sign that the days of using actual film are numbered. I thought this was someones homemade trailer with Tchaikovsky playing over all the violent scenes in the movie, but it's on youtube under the Vertigo Films Distribution account.

Alexander Nevsky (1938): Directed by Sergei Eisenstien/Composed by Sergei Prokofiev

I guess this was the time Symphonies were transitioning for films as musical scores. If this plays at your local orchestra I suggest watching it, its pretty cool. Prokofiev was a well known Russian composer better known for 'Peter and the Wolf'. As far as the movie, some of these old flicks like Metropolis and Birth of a Nation are pretty impressive even in todays standards, they were the big budget movies of there time. Also, Peter Jackson must have used this as reference because alot of the shots are almost identical to Lord of the Rings.

Le Coeur Est Un Metronome -2007 France, animated short by J C Mbotti

Bands of England...

...The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Radiohead..the list goes on. It's no secret when it comes to the bands that come out of England. I would love to live in England for a year or 2 just to soak up the artistic motivation behind the society. Whether it's film, music, or design America is run by too much large corporations focused on mass market. If it doesnt appeal to 90% of the market it wont sell, this leads into the dumbing down of all artistic effort here. I would think that this mindset sets a tone for the creative process. Fortunately the bands below came from England. Had they originated from America you would likely never have heard of them, or they would never exist the way they do now.

Portishead "Only You": Directed by Chris Cunningham. not their best song but their coolest video. (i mean really,it must have taken alot of effort to get rid of those bubbles.)


The Good the Bad and the Queen: Album Teaser. Im just glad to hear their working on another album.


Siouxsie and the Banshees "Forever": again not their best song but a cool homemade video.

Chuck D / Public Enemy

1990 Public Enemy released their 3rd album, "Fear of a Black Planet" which had 20 songs. People might argue this but in my opinion, it's the hip hop equivalent to the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper album. Both albums musical production is well done and different for it's time. Each song varies from the next making every song sound different and memorable. Both albums carry a powerful message that makes it hard for a listener to walk away not thinking a bit differently about society. The lyrics of these albums is what made them relevant then, and now.

found this on youtube, its the intro and 1st song on the album. it's not an official video but has some really cool footage. note: after 1:40/sec it isnt part of the actual song.


in 2010, the album celebrated it's 20th anniversary. I was 18 yrs old then, and after listening to this album...

“Sometimes In The Stars”

A music video done for Australian group "The Audreys" animated by Ari Gibson & Jason Pamment. While the music isnt necessarily my cup of tea, the animation definitely is.

Sometimes the Stars from The Audreys on Vimeo.