http://giantstepsproductions.com/

My first Middleton. Heaven awaits. This ones for the troops....

Sun, 27 May 2012 18:10:31 -0500

My first Middleton. Heaven awaits. This ones for the troops. (Taken with instagram)

tomorrow @ The Blackheart (86 Rainey — The Least Douchey...

Sat, 26 May 2012 09:21:50 -0500

tomorrow @ The Blackheart (86 Rainey — The Least Douchey Bar on Rainey)

Frank Smith. Good Music Club, ya heard.

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:32:49 -0500

Frank Smith. Good Music Club, ya heard.

"Do you care what bank your pizza shop borrowed money from to start that business? Probably not,..."

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:45:19 -0500

“

Do you care what bank your pizza shop borrowed money from to start that business? Probably not, right? Never occurred to you. The potential pizza shop owner found a bank he felt comfortable with, who offered him terms he could live with, and he went with them. Now you eat the product that initial loan helped finance, but the bank does not impact the taste of the pizza.

Labels are banks. For some of us, they are also friends. And for others they are part of an overall aesthetic. But at the end of the day they are a financial partner you borrow money from. A bank.

I want to make this clear because there seems to be a lot of confusion over why bands pick labels. On my band’s website, http://selfdefensemusic.com , we get questioned about every label we choose to work with. “Why do you associate yourself with LABEL XY, they put out records for INSERT DISMISSIVE COMMENT ABOUT LABEL LISTENERSHIP. Get a clue!”

In the view of some people, we’re too indie a band for our label home, Deathwish Inc. And, in the view of other people, we’re too gritty for labels we’ve partnered with on one-off releases (RFC, for example). Some people believe us to be “cool” and wonder why we would choose to work with UNCOOL LABEL YX.

Here’s the thing: Whatever adjectives the listener uses to define us, that’s his/her interpretation and not how we view ourselves. We view ourselves as musicians. And we rely on labels to fund our recording and distribution. We rely on banks.

And when the bank manager shakes my hand and tells me he believes in my pizza parlor and he wants it to succeed not just so I can pay him back, but because he thinks the world needs more pizza parlors, I DON’T FUCKING TURN HIS MONEY DOWN BECAUSE HIS BANK DOESN’T USE A COOL FONT FOR IT’S LETTERHEAD. I DON’T TELL HIM TO FUCK HIMSELF BECAUSE HIS BANK HAS AN UNCOOL NAME. AND I DON’T LET THE OPINIONS OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE DEAL POISON MY VIEW OF THE BANK.

I take that dude’s money and I make pizza.

Some people want to define themselves by the label they’re affiliated with. Maybe they believe it will help them get ass or maintain a cooler-than-thou status among their peers. I don’t exactly know their motivations. But I do know those motivations, whatever they are, have nothing to do with music.

The labels we’ve gotten on best with have been our friends. We like what they stand for (almost uniformly the thing they stand for is “doing whatever they want”). But just like all my friends, I don’t feel the need to see eye-to-eye with them on every topic. I don’t go through my friend’s iPods and choose not to interact with them based on what I find. I don’t do that with label rosters either. Come at me like a peer, show me respect, offer me the resources to make art- I’ma find a way to work with you.

To bands: Work with labels who treat you like you want to be treated. Define yourself, don’t rely on a label.

To fans: Fuck off. Smart musicians work with people who give them the ability to make music. They don’t choose partners based on the fickle preferences of listeners who need a label to complete their fragile sense of self.

To labels we’ve worked with: We appreciate the shit out of you for giving us resources to do the thing that makes us happy. May you all grow horns and put out uncool shit I would never listen to. I don’t give a shit because you’ve done right by me and that’s all I ever asked of you.

”

- Patrick Kindlon (Self Defense Family)
Great great rant….

this made me LOL. i love my brothers in...

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:15:40 -0500

this made me LOL. i love my brothers in Junius.

joseph-em:

Alternative Press article with a stupid quote by me about the band “Failure”….i said this… “they managed to write a conceptual, space rock album about drug use that actually charted”… are you kidding me? like they’re the only ones who’ve ever written an album about drugs, what about fucking Pink Floyd!?… and I was censoring myself because i didn’t want to say “heroin” abuse because apparently i don’t think kids have ever heard of heroin…. i’m an idiot… and even if i did say heroin, what about… pink floyd!? …and they’ve sold millions more albums then Failure with plenty of songs about about heroin and have constantly been in the charts since 1960’s. Come on!!! … again, i’m an idiot.

A Brief History of John Baldessari #learn

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:08:36 -0500

A Brief History of John Baldessari #learn

Thin Lizzy shots at the Blackheart on a Sunday? Don’t mind...

Sun, 13 May 2012 15:47:13 -0500

Thin Lizzy shots at the Blackheart on a Sunday? Don’t mind if I do. (Taken with Instagram at The Blackheart)

Noon to Five at the Blackheart… This fuggin guy, cheap...

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:36:41 -0500

Noon to Five at the Blackheart… This fuggin guy, cheap micheladas y mimosas and blues on the jukebox all day long…. Wanna hang out? (Taken with Instagram at The Blackheart)

slash future. may 19 @ spiderhouse

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:39:50 -0500

slash future. may 19 @ spiderhouse

mrducker: Adam Yauch photographed by Ari Marcopoulos In 2004 I...

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:17:41 -0500

mrducker:

Adam Yauch photographed by Ari Marcopoulos

In 2004 I wrote a feature for The Fader about Beastie Boys. It was supposed to be tied to their album To the 5 Boroughs, but it was really about me and my relationship to these three men who had such an impact on the person that I am. Look backing on it, like anything written almost ten years ago, there are things I wish I had done differently, but the ideas inside it were true then and are true now. The Beastie Boys opened up the world’s cultural possibilities to me and showed me how you can develop as a human being.

These are the last two paragraphs of the piece:

I’ve long maintained that hip-hop won’t get better—whatever “better” means—until someone figures out a better rhyme for “party” than “Bacardi.” For the last two decades, the Beastie Boys have been some of the most likely rappers to stumble upon that holy grail. To me they’ve always been like older, distant cousins: guys I didn’t get to see that often, but when I did, I could learn about cool records, bite a little of their style, and get a sense of how my life should be going in ten or 15 years. Maybe that’s why Check Your Head has been sounding so good lately as I settle down in LA, get a dog and figure out which of my immaturities I want to keep.

Two years ago I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a Sunday in New York when I saw Adam Yauch with his preschool-aged daughter. He was wearing an orange and yellow camouflage sweatshirt with baggy pants. He was about to turn 40, but his outfit didn’t look strange on him. He just looked like how more dads are going to start looking. Well, at least how I probably will.

I’ve been in Los Angeles since 2003, I’m on my second dog, at this point the immaturities I still have I doubt will ever go away. I’ve got two kids, I’m still relatively far from 40, my pants and sweatshits are more form-fitting than they’ve ever been (fashions change).

I hope that I’m as good a dad as Adam Yauch seemed to be that day. And I hope that I bring just a fraction of the inspiration, creativity and compassion to the world that he did.

UPDATE: The FADER published my full story from 2004: http://www.thefader.com/2012/05/04/beastie-boys-new-slang/

tumblklaat: Mick Boogie Presents BEASTIE BOYS: THE GRAND ROYAL...

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:08:24 -0500

tumblklaat:

Mick Boogie Presents BEASTIE BOYS: THE GRAND ROYAL MIXTAPE

In honor of the Beastie Boys being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last week… I thought it’s finally the right time to do a Beasties mixtape. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time… something people have asked me to do for a long time, actually… but I wanted it to mean something. Now, it’s finally the right time.

I present to you Grand Royal. 80 minutes of my favorite Beastie Boys rarities, remixes, demos, live versions, out-takes, and more. If you’re a Beasties fan, I guarantee you find something new and exciting on this mix!

Download it here, here or even here!

Being that this mix is so important to me, I wanted to make it extra special. Something beyond just an audio experience. I called my friend Jonathan Mannion, the legendary photographer (8 Jay-Z albums, 3 Eminem albums, Lil Wayne, Nas, Aaliyah, the list goes on and on), and we decided to re-shoot the iconic cover from the Beastie’s 1989 classic Paul’s Boutique.

In fact, the mix download is filled with all sorts of extra photos and bonus content provided by Jonathan Mannion (aka Jonathan Hörnblowér) and his design partner, GoodThingYoureHere.com.

I also collaborated with my friends at Homage to do a limited-edition tee for the release… with portions of the proceeds going to Adam Yauch’s favorite cancer charities. Support the tee here!

TRACKLIST:

01. Beastie Boys – Mick Boogie & nVMe Intro (0:56)
02. Beastie Boys – The Skills To Pay The Bills (Original Version) (2:20)
03. Beastie Boys – The Vibes (2:52)
04. Beastie Boys – Time To Get Ill (Live Remix Version) (1:55)
05. Beastie Boys – Sure Shot (Nardone/Large Professor Remixes) (2:37)
06. Beastie Boys – Jimmy James (Original Version) (2:10)
07. Beastie Boys – Four Fly Guys (Feat. Hurricane) (3:14)
08. Beastie Boys – Intergalactic (Original 94 Version) (1:39)
09. Beastie Boys – Root Down (Free Zone Mix) (3:02)
10. Beastie Boys – Get It Together (Buck-Wild Remix) (3:44)
11. Beastie Boys – In A World Gone Mad (Original Mix) (2:55)
12. Beastie Boys – Negotiation Limerick File (Handsome Boy Modeling School Mix) (2:41)
13. Beastie Boys – Alive (2:47)
14. Beastie Boys – Hey Ladies (Paul Nice Remix) (3:18)
15. Beastie Boys – Dope Little Song (1:46)
16. Beastie Boys – Shake Your Rump (Madlib Remix) (2:11)
17. Beastie Boys – Stand Together (Live At French’s Tavern, Sydney, Australia) (2:18)
18. Beastie Boys – The Maestro (Live Version) (3:07)
19. Beastie Boys – The Sounds Of Science (1:32)
20. Beastie Boys – Gratitude (Live @ Budokan) (3:13)
21. Beastie Boys – Pass The Mic Part 2 (3:48)
22. Beastie Boys – Stop That Train (3-Way Mix) (2:08)
23. Beastie Boys – Spam (Feat. Milk Dee) (3:22)
24. Beastie Boys – So What ‘Cha Want (Butt Naked / Soul Assassin Remixes) (3:45)
25. Beastie Boys – Sabotage (Live Version) (2:48)
26. Beastie Boys – Beastie Revolution (3:31)
27. Beastie Boys – Honky Rink (Previously Unreleased) (2:00)
28. Beastie Boys – Benny And The Jets (Live Feat. Biz Markie) (3:57)
29. Beastie Boys – Netty’s Girl (3:18)

DOWNLOAD HERE

THE SUN ALSO RISES...

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:04:21 -0500

THE SUN ALSO RISES...

get hip.MRS. GLASS every Sunday at the Blackheart.

Wed, 02 May 2012 11:54:48 -0500

get hip.MRS. GLASS every Sunday at the Blackheart.

so good. Boufrndz “And So It Goes…” listen.

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:58:40 -0500

so good. Boufrndz “And So It Goes…” listen.

Musicurious: Boyfrndz | And So It Goes... EP

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:58:07 -0500

Musicurious: Boyfrndz | And So It Goes... EP:

yeah! BOYFRNDZ.

musicurious:

Released on: 25 February 2012
They’re from: Austin, Texas
Sounds like: the soundtrack to a Rube Goldberg machine.
Hear it: Bandcamp

________________________________________________

I’m gonna be up front with you guys: Boyfrndz does not inhabit a genre that I normally listen to….

get hip. Bertrand Belin.

Tue, 01 May 2012 09:12:19 -0500

get hip. Bertrand Belin.

dayum i am in love with this. stonesthrow: Quakers feat....

Tue, 01 May 2012 09:02:14 -0500

dayum i am in love with this.

stonesthrow:

Quakers feat. Jonwayne. Quakers is the 35-member hip-hop collective produced by Geoff Barrow (Portishead), Katalyst, 7Stu7. The album is 40+ tracks. http://stonesthrow.com/quakers

It was a no go for this hobo… (Taken with instagram)

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:07:39 -0500

It was a no go for this hobo… (Taken with instagram)

@ The Blackheart (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:41:11 -0500

@ The Blackheart (Taken with instagram)

I don’t always drink beer, but when I do it’s...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:46:00 -0500

I don’t always drink beer, but when I do it’s usually cider. Or Guiness. (Taken with instagram)