The Greatest Angioplasty Mix You Ever Will Hear

You want commitment? i'll give you fucking commitment.

Who here had an angioplasty earlier today, raise your hands? Just me? Well then.

Actually not the biggest of deals, it was just a maintenance thing from my earlier cyborg implant. Without going into too much gross detail, because of the artery that needed the ballooning, they went in through the groin with the tube. i realized after the fact that the male nurse gave me a landing strip (or manding strip, if you will). Am i a nurse bitch now? Anyone? Help? Please?

mp3: Dirty Blue Balloons (Failure from Fantastic Planet)

mp3: Black Balloon (The Kills from 5-14-09 KEXP Performance)

mp3: traveling at the speed of a balloon (Left Channel from Products of the Secondhand Circus)

mp3: 99 Luftballoons (Nena from Nena)

Beat Meet: The Back Up Edition

Can we get a round of applause for Ms. Megan's brilliant effort last week? While i was enjoying the 111 degree beauty of Phoenix and flying through thunderstorms with enough turbulence to have me grabbing the leg of a stranger sitting next to me (OK, she was a cute, blonde, Canadian nurse, but still), she was getting it done for you here at LET. At the very least, you should offer her a kiss on the cheek at the next show you see her attending. She likes that. Of course, who doesn't like getting kissed on the cheek? Nobody. Not even your grandfather.

The one good thing that came of my overly busy work week last week was the amount of time i spent on a plane. More specifically and importantly, the amount of time that afforded me to catch up on some excellent beat tapes making the rounds.

The kids over at the WEDIDIT Collective have been busy. Long timer Earnest Blount posted his work with yet another collective, this one called NOVA (i guess your collective needs to be in all caps to be taken seriously these days). The result is Illumination!, with contributions by Chris Adams and (waves:delicious), to name a few. The great thing about these groups/guys-who-get-together-to-assumedly-smoke-a-shitload-of-weed-and-play-beats is that each one has a distinct sound. These cats make music for long distance UFO runs between intergalactic convenience stores, particularly apropos if your alien captain has the munchies. Separately, WEDIDIT posted the latest from Juj, who may or may not actually be the guys in the collective itself. Regardless, the beats are fresh and crisp, not unlike good lettuce. And i'm talking romaine, motherfuckers. None of that cheap Iceberg shit here.

mp3: Golden_Dawn (Chris Adams: A Human Expressing Experience from Illumination!)

mp3: howlamme (Earnest Blount from Illumination!)

mp3: Manners (Juj from Slack)

In a world of beat production, crate diggers increasingly are getting left behind in the discussion of what's popping on the scene these days. Proving that Madlib isn't the only one out there making strides on the wheels of steel, Left Channel are back with a new one, Food and Entertainment. Sampling everything from old cartoons to "Waiting for Guffman," the boys continue to perfect their craft, building loopy beats for a madhouse world. Well done again, lads.

mp3: FOOD (Left Channel from Food and Entertainment)

mp3: Eunuch with a Hammer (Left Channel from Food and Entertainment)

Who needs to have friends in a collective when you know the cats at the label? Svetlana Industries has dropped a new mixtape featuring such roster stars as Prohor and Teebs, all for the low, low price of whatever you feel like spending. You can't beat that with a stick, and these beats are bumping, so whether you go cheap bastard or Medici with your patronage, you're still not spending enough for what this beast is worth.

mp3: Eye 2 (Prohor from Come On Let's Go)

mp3: Everyone Alive Wants Answers (Teebs from Come On Let's Go)

And finally, i've inadvertently been sitting on this one for a few weeks now, not entirely sure where to place it. Probably more trip-hop than anything else (think instrumental Zero 7), it's a haunting piece with underlying beat sensibilities. Perfect way to end the day, perfect way to end this post.

mp3: Cats in the Flat (Franklin from Wool Recordings)

My Blogger Went to Vegas And All I Got Were These Dope Beats

Damnation, what a vacation! You'd love to know about the time spent with the supermodels and various celebs in the VIP section of the club, but this isn't some celebrity sighting blog, folks. Go elsewhere for that bull crocka. i will say it was a true blast to reconnect with an old friend and welcome her new hubby into the fold, as it were.

As you fellow working schlubs can imagine, i had quite a plateful of work when i got home, but what can you do? It certainly was worth it, ain't no 'bout a doubt it. That being said, i haven't really had time to come up with a meaningful mix for the weekend or anything like that just yet. To ease back into the saddle, here are a couple of dope beat joints i've found recently to share with you fine people.

You've probably heard about it before now, but Stones Throw is offering all the tracks from J Dilla's Donut Shop for the low, low price of signing up for their newsletter. i strongly recommend you do so.

Sign up for the newsletter here.

mp3: Safety Dance (J Dilla from Donut Shop)

mp3: Sycamore (J Dilla from Donut Shop)

i keep telling you people that the We Did It Collective does not fuck around, and i keep telling you the truth. i don't exactly know how they continually find the new talent, but if my on-going beat production lessons bear fruit, maybe i can get an invite, too. Depakote is the latest to drop a bomb on me, The Gummo Album. Deft mixes and cuts of overall soulful and funky grooves. Yes, that is some Funkadelic in there.

mp3: Darby (Depakote from The Gummo Album)

mp3: Freak of Nature (Depakote from The Gummo Album)

And to round things out, a little something from ye olde inbox. It took me a while to decipher just who was who on these projects since i didn't have a handy chart, so allow me to allow him to elucidate.

"Museum is the name of the whole crew: Art&Craft, 3rd Party, the Contortionist, the Hermit and Keno 1. The museum album was released in 2002 on CD only and was a very limited run. It was very popular so I am re-issuing the album as a free mp3 download for all the folks who missed it first time round.The Hermit went on to record as Nostalgia 77 and Keno 1 went on to record as Natural Self. Myself and 3rd Party record as Left Channel and Products of the Secondhand Circus is our album."

Both are master blasts, featuring tricky cuts and sample work. Like most of the music that works in the genre, these cats have an obvious ear for pastiche and apparently deep crates. i'm a bit more fond of Products myself, but that's simply because it strikes me as the more eclectic of the two pieces, and i lurvs me some weird assed eclecticism when i hears it.

mp3: Splinters (The Hermit ft. Art&Craft from Museum)

mp3: Standard Bearings (Left Channel from Products of the Secondhand Circus)