Never, In The Taste Of Rain

The sidewalk seems endless when the air does not move.  The humidity is high, and the sun buries its heat at the surface where my shoe-soles tread.  The N train, on its raised tracks, awaits 7 more blocks ahead - higher ground, heavier air, hotter heat - but not for me.  It sits, waiting the storm ahead to cool its outer shell, and to welcome back the rain, for it's only been an hour or so since last she poured.  Last night, she stormed, wicked in her foreign accent, in a language she cursed thunder and sparks - electricity across the dark - skies, as I witnessed in awe.  I welcome her return.  3 blocks to the train; never, in the taste of rain, has she tasted so sweet...

Never, In The Taste Of Rain Track Listing:

    1.    (0:00:47) Tajai RAINDANCE - One part of the Souls of Mischief and Hieroglyphics crew out in Oakland, CA.  Tajai and crew blew up the hip hop world in their debut LP, '93 til Infinity, while they were preparing to graduate high school.  They followed up with a lesser well-received LP by commercial critics, No Man's Land, and from there sunk deeper into the underground realm, where they remain godlike.  It always fascinates me how such talent in hip hop can break into the mainstream and then fall back into the underground because it's too 'intelligent' or too 'innovative' for commercial pop.  Two of the most well-known examples are Hieroglyphics and The Freestyle Fellowship.  Well, after numerous LPs and collaborations between the entire Hieroglyphics crew, respect will always be there, and this track is a prime example of Tajai's genius on his solo record, Power Movement. 
    2.    (0:03:10) Chali 2Na feat. Talib Kweli LOCK SHIT DOWN - Speaking of underground hip hop, here's a 'fish' that jumped more into the mainstream smoother than most other underground heads.  Chali 2Na was one of the original contributors to The Good Life/Project Blowed back in the late 80s and early 90s.  Everybody reading this needs to check out the film This Is The Life: How The West Was Won.  It is a recent documentary directed by a Good Life queen/Project Blowedian, Ava DuVernay, from Figures of Speech.  It is a underground documentary, but you can obtain this.  Even on Netflix, if you are in the US.  Please support the Blowed, and you will receive great information on how these brilliant artists came to be.  Chali was always recognized for his deep baritone voice, and has collaborated outside of his group, Jurassic 5, with artists from around the world.   
    3.    (0:06:34) Peter Gabriel GROWING UP - Genesis wasn't really the same without Mr. Gabriel, and he went on to have a brilliant solo career.  This track is from his Up record, which was less commercially successful, mostly due to the length of each track.  Since, Gabriel has produced world music around the globe, and is more concerned with humanitarian duties.  He was honored with the prestigious Polar Music Prize in 2009 for his musical contributions.  Gabriel also recently won a grammy along with Thomas Newman for their song Down To Earth, which was featured in the brilliant Pixar film, WALL-E. 
    4.    (0:13:27) Prince COLONIZED MIND - Prince Rogers Nelson, hehe, never actually said his full name before, is one of the most dedicated musicians our world has heard.  This year, he released three LPs alone: Lotus Flow3r, Mplsound, and Elixr.  This track is from Lotus Flow3r.  Many may know, but Prince plays all the instruments on the majority of his albums, with backing vocals, etc. 
    5.    (0:18:03) Dead Weather SO FAR FROM YOUR WEAPON - Jack White, one of the greatest musicians living today, forms another band, this time he decided to step behind his first love - THE DRUMS!!!  He's good.  REALLY GOOD!  After I heard he was going to release this album with him on drums, my respect for this man shot even further through the roof of music than I thought was possible.  This time, he brings Alison Mosshart of The Kills on vocals, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar and keys, and the brilliant Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs on bass.  Jack Lawrence, like White, plays most other instruments as well.  Talented band.  This is off their debut record, Horehound.
    6.    (0:21:30) Bitter:Sweet A MOMENT - Another great track from this LA sass-act.  Shana Halligan's voice is incredible, and the composition/production by Kiran Shahani of the songs are top-notch.  This is from their LP, Drama.
    7.    (0:25:34) Busdriver ME - TIME (WITH THE PULMONARY PALIMPSEST) - I'm certainly not going to stop pounding you all with Project Blowedians, unless all of a sudden they start thinking dumb, and make crap music.  Another unbelievable performance by this freak of nature, Busdriver, rhyming over Mozart's Sonata in A Major, taking on the note changes and rhythm pattern like a jazz soloist.  This is off his newest LP, Jhelli Beam, under the Anticon record label. 
    8.    (0:28:10) Panic At The Disco I WRITE SINS NOT TRAGEDIES - Shocked that I would put this on here?  Oh, me too.  Can't help but to like their changes and stops throughout their debut album, and this single was quite outstanding.  The drummer, Spencer Smith, can really dictate the rhythm well, keeping a tight groove on the melodic part, and wrapping perfectly around the heavy guitar sections.  The singer and pianist, Brendon Urie, is a great performer and leader to the group, and if you have seen them live, then you probably would have a bit more respect for these youngsters.  Oh, they dropped the '!' at the end of 'Panic' for the release of the second album.
    9.    (0:31:09) Patrick Watson TRACY'S WATERS - Still wondering why this guy's band isn't more respected than critics have been giving him lately.  I truly think there's a bit of angst after he won the Polaris Music Prize over Arcade Fire and Feist in 2007, so we'll see if he will win this year's honor again.  This is off his latest, Wooden Arms. 
    10.    (0:34:08) Peace Orchestra DOMINION - Austrian producer of Viennese trip-hop-dub, with a dope track here off his 1999 album, Peace Orchestra.  I also featured an earlier track, Who Am I, off the same album which was used in the Wachowski Brothers' Animatrix project. 
    11.    (0:40:43) Nine Inch Nails LA MER - This beautiful track is off Trent's The Fragile (Left) album, which is probably my favorite piece of work Trent has done overall.  The balance between the Left (brain) and Right (brain) LPs is impeccable, and as a whole, represents something many musicians often fail at - creating a successful and listenable double-LP album.  The minimalism used to create building blocks towards a creative explosion of sound at the end of this track, polyrhythmically, and his drums and melodies are brilliantly emotional.  Trent has recently announced that his current tour will be the last in NIN's foreseeable future.  Sad. 
    12.    (0:44:08) Pop Levi WANNAMAMA - Another great Pop track off of Never Never Love.  Pop Levi is a multi-instrumentalist and singer from the UK who used to work with Super Numeri and Ladytron. 
    13.    (0:47:34) 4hero WHY DON'T YOU TALK? - Unbelievably, this is just a duo of electronic composers, who are considered pioneers of breakbeat hardcore, and were nominated in 1998 for the Mercury Music Prize in the UK for their album, Two Pages.  This track is from their Play With The Changes LP and showcases brilliant progressive jazz with a flair of free soloing.  Brilliant horn sections and drum sequences, and one can sense the John Coltranesque soloist playing over the music throughout the track.   
    14.    (0:51:58) The Beatles A DAY IN THE LIFE - The ending track to one of music's greatest achievements, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  On this track, John and Paul come out of their personas, and showcase their true musical characters - John speaking generally of politics and social commentary while Paul takes the personal approach within the life of a single individual.  With George Martin at the helm and The Beatles, the world will probably forever remember them as being the single greatest force in music.  Sgt. Peppers...is often hailed as the greatest album of all-time, yet not one of the tracks hit No. 1 on the billboard charts, due to its cohesive whole as a concept album. 
    15.    (0:56:21) Bibio LOVERS CARVINGS - British music producer, Stephen Wilkinson, set out to shock this time around, and has produced one of 2009's most refreshing albums with Ambivalence Avenue.  He is currently under the Warp Records label, and it shows!  Brilliant.  Apparently he studied odd sounds at Middlesex University in London, drawing from field recordings and found sounds. 
    16.    (1:00:06) Bright Eyes LOVER I DON'T HAVE TO LOVE - Conor Oberst is one of America's best singer-songwriters, and it proves true with this wicked track from Lifted: Or The Story is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground, which he made with his band around 22 years old.  This is a brilliantly dark track, as per his usual, but the keys and drum lick are absolutely catchy, haunting, and purely perfect, especially once the strings come rolling in on the chorus.  His lyrics, as usual, are brilliantly written, and his emotions drip from every note.