Back in the 80's I used to have a hip-hop mixtape full of rappers like Ice-T, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Digital Underground, and DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince. The Fresh Prince track, and mixtape highlight, was Girls Ain't Nothin But Trouble, the original, dirty version.

Mixtapes have a way of fusing your memory. Like when you hear a song on the radio that you had on a mixtape a long time ago, you'll automatically start singing the next track on the tape when it ends. My first memory of Will Smith was of a guy rapping:

"I got scared when she started to yell
so I hit her with a trash can and ran like hell"

Not of "So I handed her my wallet and ran like hell" and not of this guy:

Once DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince were signed, Jive Records rereleased Rock the House with cleaned up lyrics and squeekier image. Later that year they also released "He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper", which blew up huge.

It took me a few days, but I finally managed to track down an mp3 of the original dirty version. I was just about to go searching through my box of tapes when I got it. (Thanks ChrisW!)

Here it is. It's violent, makes little sense really, but rocks the house. (hehe) Get it while you can:

DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince - Girls Ain't Nothin But Trouble (Dirty Version)

Continue for the full lyrics...

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Tool / Isis - Aug 22, 2006
Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place

When tickets went on sale for Tool, all I could find were 2 tickets way in the back. Screw that. I've never had shitty seats to a Tool concert ever. So I thought about it, I don't know anyone that likes Tool. And even if I did manage to convince someone to come with me, I'd end up paying for their seat, we'd be in shitty seats, and I'd be having a worse time wondering if they had a good time or not. So I changed the quantity to 1 and found a single seat in Row 6. Perfect. Now I knew I'd have a great time. It's like a solitary version of fate. I found out later some friends were at the show, but I still wouldn't have given up my seat.

It got even better when I heard Isis would be opening. Maybe they coulda got KISS on the bill to get an all 4-letter band tour. This would be now the 3rd time I've seen Isis in the last 2 years, which officially makes them, uhmm, the band I've seen the most often in the last 2 years. Isis played for 30 minutes. Which in epic post-metal terms, means they played 4 songs. The tracklist was So Did We, new song Dulcinea, Backlit, and another new song.

You know you're an Isis fan when you know the LYRICS. Hell, you're a nerd if you can match the song title to the song.

They were great, I hope they made some new fans. I'm glad no one boo'd them. Even if it is dorks wearing Tool t-shirts at Tool concerts. Though it sucked to see they too were selling t-shirts for $40, when last time they were selling them for $15. But thats the difference between playing GM Place and Richards on Richards.

Tool was next. An hour later. My seat was great though, 15 ft away.

Maynard wore a shirtless cowboy outfit: jeans, giant belt buckle, cowboy boots, and a mohawk. The cowboy hat was only worn during Rosetta Stoned. You need a cowboy hat when singing into a bull horn. It adds credibility. He was in a great mood all night. Talked a lot and was thoroughly enjoying his stomping crab like dancing.

Drummer Danny Carey wore a Lakers Kobe Bryant outfit. His kit is massive and awe inspiring. There needs to be a camera over top showing him playing every song. Just amazing, the guy's a warhorse.

The sound was actually quite good for the first 4 songs, but became a bit muddled in the middle. The bass was especially loud. Like Sun0))) rib-cage shaking loud at times. I took my earplugs out for the last song, Aenima. Apparently the guitars were ear-drum piercing loud all night as well.

I didn't care about the setlist this time. They coulda played nothing old and I woulda been happy. The stage show coulda been better though. There was a 2m tall width: 100%; video screen and some overhead lighting for most of the show. Only later did they bring down the lights, turn on the green lasers, and raised the christmas light-like spirals for Lateralus. Even though they kinda looked like 3 lit up uteruses (uterii?), still pretty cool and fitting for the song. Since Tool doesn't do encores, for the break, they all got up and sat together on the stage for a few minutes, soaking up the applause.

Also, I can still memorize Tool setlists:

Stinkfist (extended)
The Pot
46 & 2
Jambi
Schism
(brief Lost Keys intro)
Rosetta Stoned
(interlude with drum solo!)
Sober
Right in Two
Lateralus
(encore break)
Vicarious
Aenima

Last week Quinn from From Blown Speakers polled a few local bloggers, radio, and alt weekly types to submit a ranked list of their 10 favourite local acts. He's compiled the lists and posted the Top 23 Vancouver Bands. Other than the top 10, the results are kinda surprising. A lot of great bands didn't make the list and I haven't even heard of some of the others like Maplewood Lane, Ghost House or Bontempi.

It was a fun and thanks to Quinn for doing it. Here's my full ballot and comments:

Top 10 Vancouver Bands

1. Destroyer

   It usually takes a couple years before declaring an album as solid. It takes me about 2 days for Destroyer records. And in that time I've declared a new "favourite song on the album" about 6 different times.

2. Ladyhawk

   Ladyhawk is THE Vancouver band I most want to be HUGE. The Dugout is still my top contender for Song of the Year.

3. 3 Inches of Blood

   In metal it's so easy to dismiss a band for the vocals alone. If they suck, they'll either eat the mic and do the Cookie Monster thing, or bury the vocals low in the mix. But in 3 Inches of Blood the vocals stand out the clearest. Cam Pipes (apparently his real name too) has one of the best metal vocals I've heard in years. This is really an under-rated metal band. The nerdy, but sincere, lyrics about orcs and stuff make me smile every time. How can you not like a song where the first line is "In the year 4055, Wykydtron came to life". And if you don't like Deadly Sinners you don't like metal.

   Enemies of metal, your death is our reward.

4. Pink Mountaintops / Black Mountain

   I'm cheating and declaring this the same band. When I heard the new PM album, I thought McBean had mixed up his Pinks and Blacks. Instead of songs about fucking, there were songs about war and drugs. So I ignored it for a while but came back to it a couple months ago and am really enjoying it now. Just took a while to ditch the expectations.

   Black Mountain is still doing it's thing really, really well. They just put out a 7" on Suicide Squeeze that has 2 new songs that no one's really heard, but are some of the best they've done.

5. The New Pornographers / AC Newman

   Any other songwriter writing indie pop songs as good as this? Nope.

6. Blood Meridian

   Also part of the whiskey fueled Vancouver Beard Collective. I haven't picked up the new album yet, but I hear it's pretty good and I really liked the Soldiers of Christ EP.

7. The Christa Min

   Someone sign this band please! Their recent Devil and Tex Watson 7" is an epic psych rock song over 2 sides.

8. The Weather

   The only unsigned local band's whose full length album I enjoyed from first to last song this year.

9. The Book of Lists

   I haven't seen them live in over a year and a half, and they were okay then. The Red Arrows EP was good and showed more promise. I keep coming back to it. I'm hoping their next full length establishes them, at least in Canada.

10. Channels 3 & 4

    Vancouver needs more noise bands that don't suck.

deftone.com - the debonair house mix - 33:16 mins, 30.5MB

I made this for myself as background music for work. It's all house music with no vocals. At least I think it's house. I can never tell exactly with dance music genres. Maybe it's intelligent house! I don't even listen to that much house music.

I've been keeping the mixes short since listening to anything over 50 mins feels like homework. This way they're short and disposable.

Also, I will eventually make some non dance music mixes. I've just been so bored with indie rock lately. Expect some metal and 80's punk mixes.

Tracklist:

• Booka Shade - In White Rooms
• Ricardo Villalobos - lazer@present
• Digitalism - Zdarlight
• Shit Robot - Triumph
• Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - Relevee (Carl Craig Remix)
• Lindstrøm - Monsteer

Subscribe to the podcast of these mixes.

"Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat."

I bet he was just trying to get his shoulder back in place.

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Some quotes:

Scott Seward on recommend me some dance thread.

Shit Robot is a horrible name. it's like giving up on the whole idea of having robot in your name. it's like, why even bother? so lazy. i'll bet that album is really lazy. ... if you can't have the proper respect for robots, then you shouldn't be making robot music. i am boycotting all future shit robot releases.

Owen Pallett, of Final Fantasy, on his plans if he wins the Rogers/Yahoo sponsored Polaris Music Prize:

"If 'He Poos Clouds' wins, I'm founding a new award with the prize money. It's called the "Rogers Wireless Biggest Tits in Canada" award. I'm writing the mission statement right now."

I'm rooting for The Deadly Snakes.

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Jessica Simpson is selling a personalized mp3 with your name in the song. I know they won't have Pinder, but at least have Bort!

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If you've been thinking, when can I get some God-damn bible games for my Xbox? Wait no longer! Left Behind Games is a real-time strategy game about The Rapture. Maybe you get to battle the Serpent of Rehaboam. It's in Revelations people! [via The Daily Show]

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deftone.com drinking game: take a shot for every Simpsons reference.