Gooood moooorning PSU!!!: Paper, radio? Radio, paper?

Goddamn, those stories sure were interesting. Dignity Village, Benefits for peace, a city full of art openings and new drinking games for the weekend, what a humdinger. Am I right or am I right? I thought so. Fuhget aboot it eh.

You’re tuned in to the daily Vanguard, I’m you’re host DJ Miles and we got a great column coming your way after this message from the author, so stick around, you won’t regret it.

Hi Portland State. I’m Aaron Miles and like many of you I had a tough week. That’s peachy though, because we love it don’t we! Fuhget aboot it, know what I’m sayin? I get a get a bit confused sometimes. Why can’t I just wear satiny dresses everyday? So anyway, did you hear the one about the …

Whoa there little fella. Sometimes I start the column and think I’m doing my radio show. It’s an easy mistake: they both involve being naked or draped in le super tutu while mounted atop a soft springy chair, good music, a sometimes successful attempt at entertainment, the fear of failure and the fact that I have to do them both every week; stress or not. I bet there are even more intellectual similarities I can’t conjure up that you don’t want to hear anyways.

So this is ya’ll’s lucky week. I’ll do a radio show column and you can read about some music, other miscellany, and hopefully be entertained. Think of it as the love child of a highly entertaining entertainment column and a CD review section that you just can’t take your naughty little hands off! Or think of it like your sexy friend who’s a gemini or another split personalitied freak that you can’t keep your naughty, little hands off! (Speaking of gemini’s have you seen the Vanguard Haiku Horroscopes
? Heelarious.) Or think of this column like the softest of toilet tissues, it’s still good for something right?

Alright Portland, I hope you feel as good as I do in le super tutu – I wish you had one too, I’d reach right out and … well whatever. The weather has been great lately, but I do hope you will spend a few moments with your buddy Miles. Turn off that wretched news, slip into something a little more comfortable, hug your neighbor, big spot or your furry pussy and like Marvin Gaye says: lets get it on.

We’ll kick off the Miracle Mile with a cut from a compilation entitled Dub Infusions 1989-1999
I could almost play this whole album. There’s good cuts here are from: Kruder & Dorfmeister (the kings of down-tempo electronic), Wally Badarou, Fila Brazilia and even a decent one from Beats International a.k.a. Norman Cook.

I’m really starting to believe in the power of dub. The rhythms usually fall right around ones happy place, the rich bass feels good on the backside and lyrics if any are usually conscious and true, since it was music born out of a tumultuous Jamaica. The Euro-producer’s on this comp. do alright, though. Big props to local band Systemwide for representing the dubwise style and other progressive electronic eccentricities.

While we’re probing some releases from the recent past let’s peep another comp.:Mushroom Jazz 3, dj Mark Farina
Om Records. In popular culture, this comp’s selections would be called “Trip-Hop.” They ride with that boom boom clack drums, and have relatively simple music layered across the top. Many would also call the style downtempo electronic. There’s good cuts from Jaffa, King Kooba, Dynamic Syncopation and Bahamadia.

Next up: Stereolab
“Sounddust.” I could pick out many of these new songs that bounce along like only a Stereolab song can: full of organs, just the right amount of computerized blips and gargles and lovely vocals. I feel like I’m in a French caf? and I’ve never been to France. I see little berets on bricks and gray skies, but there is good in that somewhere. Some of these tunes need to be skipped. They’re uninspiring light pop tunes that run together. Production from John McEntire and Jim O’Rourke help, but the fact is they didn’t have a full albums worth of material.

We always need a little social education on the Miracle Mile, so let’s check out the latest collection by and for a man living on death row while a substantial amount of hard evidence exists to prove his innocence.

prod: mumia cover hereMumia Abu-Jamal
“175 Progress Drive.” On Alternative Tentacles. This disk, like the labels previous two Mumia releases, has great readings by Mumia and many eloquent guests including Assata Shakur, Michael Franti, Ossie Davis, Bob Marley and Ruben Hurricane Carter; another man wrongfully accused of murder and eventually released. This collection differs from the previous two because it includes bytes from Jamal’s radio reporting days at NPR. His thoughtful reporting and subject matter makes me wish he was still around and that NPR still provided a voice for the people. Education abounds on this one disc and Jamal’s voice is extra haunting with the natural reverb provided by his death row cell.

To end the show in a typically fun and funky way lets check a couple new singles out. First up Dungeon Family
“trans DF Express” This is some ghetto-liscious easy on the backside, funky ass hip-hop. It’s got a P-Funk style chorus asking us to ride the express. The Dungeon Family is the extended crew that includes Outkast and Goodie Mob. This cut has tight verses from Andre and Cee-Lo from Goodie Mob. There’s thirteen guys on the cover and I don’t know what they all do other than look funky and tough. I can’t wait to find out on the album.

DF cover hereLast up it’s back to where the real shit is in all genres, the underground. I love the new EP from San Francisco’s DJ Zeph “The Movement” on Wide Hive records. The title track has a fresh funky beat, a decent hook and good vocals from Azeem (whose album featuring the cut “George Bush is Gangster” is pretty damn good as well). Equally as good from Zeph is the B-side, Bronx Zulu, an instrumental with a driving funky beat and real live horns and guitars.

So that’s what I’m feeling. Thank’s for spending this part of your day with me.

Peace.