RZA for Nike

The RZA produces metal? Apparently so! More here.

Archival Thursdays: Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi (2001)

'Geogaddi' by Boards Of Canada is a timeless release without a doubt. Though not as good as their previous album 'Music Has The Right To Children', it's definitely become classic material. Their work is pure genius and I won't forget how excited I was when Warp Records released the first promotional material on their website regarding 'Geogaddi'. I was anticipating this release for months, and Warp did a darn good job of avoiding any pre-releases or leaks to the internet, though there were several fake albums on-line by other artists' albums claiming to be 'Geogaddi' on download sites such as Soulseek. After finally listening to the real deal, I was completely blown away by the tracks "Music Is Math" and "1969" and soon enough the entire album was on constant rotation on a daily basis.

I purchased this gem in 2001 at my local Virgin Megastore which is now gone, unfortunately. I used to go there every Saturday and buy records. So incredibly sad! Anyway, check out how much this baby fetches for on eBay these days...should I sell it?

Seen On The Street

Seen On The Street is a photo-set on flickr from fellow cyclist Sasha E which exhibits the daily commuter bikes of NYC messengers and riders. His photos are great and he can really capture the essence of the bicycle in it's natural setting. Below are some of my favorites from the set, click here to view the rest.

Archival Thursdays: System Of A Down - Toxicity (2001)

First time I heard System Of A Down was through a co-worker, and I couldn't stand to listen to their stuff for more than a minute. It was too fast and experimental. To me, it sounded like music for people with A.D.D. It was one of their first albums and their sound was definitely heavier, but years later when 'Toxicity' came out and I heard "Chop Suey" for the first time, I was immediately drawn to them. Then I started listening to the rest of the album via-online and I fell in love with their sound, which made me finally appreciate their earlier, harder releases. If I were to recommend any S.O.A.D albums to anyone, it would sure as hell be this one. I'd say start with the classic title track "Toxicity" and keep going down the line. This is definitely one the those albums one should hear at least once in their lifetime, I mean after all, it's produced by Rick Rubin!

I nabbed this release from the used bin at Yesterday & Today records here in Miami about 2 years ago.

Rumble Through The Bronx

Rumble Through The Bronx is an annual alleycat race that takes place each summer during the steamy month of July. Riders race throughout the Bronx and stop at various checkpoints to get their manifests signed, ending at the beautiful Pelham Bay park. The video below was filmed during last weeks race by MonsterTrack winner Crihs with a mounted Go-Pro cam. Looks quite amazing and really captures the feel of being behind those handlebars. But for one reason or another, lately NYC alleycats have been known to end a little sour. The ending of this video will clarify what I'm talking about.

Rumble Through the Bronx 7 2010 New York from crihs on Vimeo.

Old Beta Bodega Website

Back in early 2000, Miami was home to a slew of independent record labels releasing IDM/Electronica, one of them being the mysterious Beta Bodega Coalition which had a very unique way of combining music & politics. My good friend Gabe has been recently posting on his blog some great classic archives/artwork from his old record label Merck from that time, which in turn reminded me that I still have an active link for the first version of the intricately designed (at least during that era) Beta Bodega website, designed by Leekon. It's basically all flash and pretty simple when you look at it this time around. However, nothing beats that nostalgic feeling when browsing the site, from the list of events, to the labels, artists and DJ's that became nobody's, to just reading the text throughout. Definitely worth checking out if you were a part of this scene during those great years. Click here for the full experience.

Sm:)e on your Vigorelli

Cinelli is having an awesome contest this month strictly for Vigorelli owners. Basically all you have to do is submit a photo showing "how happy you are when your with your Vigorelli" and you could win a custom painted Vigorelli signed by the great Antonio Colombo, owner of Columbus Tubing & Cinelli. Pretty easy if you ask me. Unlimited entries are allowed, so snap away! Come to think of it, I might go in on this deal and see if I can grab me another Vigorelli! Submissions must be sent in by the end of this month. Click here for more info, peep the flyer below.

Dumped 7.0

Archival Thursdays: Ministry - The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste (1989)

Al Jourgensen AKA Ministry produced some of the most conventional industrial to ever grace our ears, which in turn made his sound unique in every way. His best albums produced were during the 80's and early 90's, back when he was with the legendary Wax Trax records from Chicago. One of them being 'The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste'. What turned me onto this album was hearing "Burning inside" during each mosh-pit, every weekend at The Kitchen Club here in Miami. My first time listening to the album, I instantly fell in love with the track "So what" with it's dark, brooding bass and catchy riff. Then soon after, the rest of the album followed.

I bought this LP at this short lived record store on Lincoln Road in South Beach called Extreme Music and CD's. They specialized in nu-wave, goth, industrial, ebm and electronica and carried mostly CD's, but they did have a few records. It closed soon after I bought this release and became a latin/world music CD store that was also short lived. Too bad.

Supreme summer sale!

The posts are lacking, the beer is flowing and the temps are insanely above normal, this only means one thing...the long, dog days of summer have arrived. Summertime also means it's time for Supreme's annual summer sale! For all those who bash Supreme for their prices, now is the time to save %30 on select items. They usually don't place the stuff that is selling hardcore on sale, it's pretty much the coats and jackets and pants, but it's still worth checking out as you might find something useful for the fall/winter. The sale starts today at 11am at all U.S. locations and their web store as well.

Archival Thursdays: Giorgio Moroder - E=MC² (1979)

Apologies for my lack of posts this week, too much shit going on all at once. No precious time for anything really. But there's always time for an Archival Thursday. This one is dedicated to the great Giorgio Moroder and his 'E=MC²' release from 1979. There has never been a full length synth-pop album released before this one, and to Giorgio's benefit, 'E=MC²' gained worldwide notoriety overnight. Shortly after, he began working on movie soundtracks and started producing notable artists such as Blondie, Donna Summer, David Bowie, France Joli, among others. Anyway, back to the album, all the tracks seamlessly flow into one another and Giorgio keeps a strong synth presence throughout, which is what attracted me to this in the first place. "Baby Blue" and the title track "E=MC²" are my personal favorites, however the rest of the tracks are seriously solid and interesting.

I obtained this album from my older brother's great record collection which I was lucky enough to inherit. Thanks Roly! :)

Archival Thursdays: Deftones - Diamond Eyes (2010)

This Archival Thursday is dedicated to the great Deftones. I'm not going to sit here and tell you how good their latest release 'Diamond Eyes' is, I already reviewed this gem a few months back on here. But what I can tell you, in-case you're too lazy to read it, is that as far as I can remember I've never heard an album that is solid all the way through, from front to back. There is always at least one shitty "filler" track on each and every full length, but not this one. And since they just announced their stop at The Fillmore here in Miami Beach this August, making me feverishly hit-up the computer the day tickets went on sale, I figured it's the perfect release for this Archival Thursday.

This copy was purchased on eBay and is the limited white vinyl version. Click here for Deftones tour dates and to buy tickets. Now is the time!