Underrated - D part Deux

DJ Shadow - "Building Steam With a Grain of Sand,"
"The Number Song," "Midnight in A Perfect World," - Endtroducing...

DJ Shadow made a whole lot of hip-hop records without a single rapper on them. Eventually he moved on to U.N.K.L.E. and his Hyphy project that incorporated rappers, but he reminded quite a few heads that despite the MC-centered nature of the rap solar-system, the music mattered. In fact, DJ Shadow made it clear that a milk-crate-diggin' vinylphile could create hip-hop music that was indisputably Art, with a capital A.

His entire Endtroducing... album is atmospheric and dense, full of stutter steps and twists. Chances are, you've heard at least one of the tracks employed as background music in film or television, and indeed, the songs are good mood music. But they are equally rewarding when actively listening to them. The dark corners of each drum beat, the bits of space and silence, tiny crackles and slightly out of tune pianos. I can't pick just one, so here's three. (His LaLa page won't link the three best tracks, so I guess it's their loss if nobody buys them from blog links.)








Doves - "Caught By the River," The Last Broadcast - Once again the entire album The Last Broadcast is highly underrated. If you like British rock of any colour--shoegaze, chamber-pop, mid '90s second invasion-style, or any other pigeonhole--and you don't have this album, go get it.

"Caught By the River" is near the top of my list, which I'll write someday, of perfect songs for accompanying the final moments of a film. This particular song would be a perfect fit for a melancholy, yet ultimately triumphant tale of a boy coming of age in an era of extreme upheaval. He doesn't get along with his parents/family and makes a grievous error that he must overcome, but not before he loses a loved one on the path to redemption. Or maybe I just stole the narrative thread to the song and made a movie out of it. Doesn't Bruckheimer always do that, too? Wooo-hooo, I'm gonna be rich!

Caught By The River - Doves