Tales of the Salty Bag

In the spring of 2010 I saw a notification that Brother Ali was to tour through the prairies. Since this was the first chance I had to see the black albino since I got into his music I jumped at the chance to see him perform. Initially I could find no mention of a Winnipeg show, there was however a Saskatoon date. My sister was living in Saskatoon at the time so what better excuse to visit than what I could only assume would be a stellar rap show. The opener for the tour was listed as Fashawn, I had never heard of him before but that wasn't overly surprising. I took it upon myself to check out Fashawn's myspace in the weeks leading up to the show so I would at least be familiar with a few of his songs. Upon first listen of Boy Meets World (his Oct 2009 debut album) I was hooked. The production (from Exile), lyrics, flow.. everything was absolutely top notch, dare I say flawless. Fast forward to April 6, 2010..Brother Ali, BK One and Fashawn blew me away. I was now hooked on Fa...

Peanuts and Corn is one of the most important labels in Canadian rap/hip-hop/(whatever you want to call it). Shit, they're one of the most important labels in independent music. Rod Bailey has consistently produced/released some of the most top notch rap albums that North America has to offer. If you are unfamiliar with P&C you should try to change that and celebrate their entire catalogue. With that said, today I am specifically focusing on one release from Peanuts and Corn, 2004's Nothing is Cool from mcenroe and Birdapres . I am not a rap aficionado, I dabble here and there, but I honestly believe that this is a Classic album. This masterpiece was produced by mcenroe with co-production from Birdapres and cuts from DJ Hunnicutt. The beauty to this albums production (as with all P&C releases) is that it's timeless. There was no trend hopping, just perfectly curated beats from music lovers who have obviously seen a crate or two in their time. The lyrics througho...

The Gaslight Anthem is boring. If you asked me in 2010 to recommend a band, I would have very enthusiastically directed you towards The Gaslight Anthem. Sink or Swim, Senor and the Queen and The '59 Sound were damn near perfect. They had energy, heart and were catchy as hell. American Slang was a slight departure with an overall slower tempo than I had grown accustomed to however it was still a very strong effort. Since then, each subsequent album has grown slower and more subdued. About 3/4 of each of their last 2 albums seem to be dedicated solely to slow dances or meticulously inspecting your shoes. To me it doesn't even feel like the same band. What was The Gaslight Anthem now feels like the Brian Fallon vanity project; it feels like one mans vision masquerading as a band. What's left of a once majestic beast is the bland shell of a band that had so much potential. The energy is all but gone, majority of the songs feel forced..it's time for a name change.   My ba...