THE REPORT: 8/11/23
CHRIST DILLINGER AND ACID SOULJAH DO THE PETER GRIFFIN
Christ Dillinger & Acid Souljah “Family Guy”
It seems as if Family Guy has really crept back into the zeitgeist over the past few years. There is another Christ Dillinger collaboration with a rapper named Hank Trill, who does an almost AI-sounding parody of the King of the Hill main character—the musical equivalent of a misprinted bootleg shirt found in the parking lot of a basketball arena. Somehow, “Family Guy” isn’t even the first Acid Souljah song to reference the show; he has another called "Peter Griffin," but this one is better. It’s got that ill speed-up-slow-down style that makes the track smack like it's seasick and drunk on a party boat.
Cowgirl Clue puts a donk on pop-country. Her music is a refreshing combination of Uffie-esque rap, turborave insanity, and pedal steel guitar. None of her recent tracks have gotten those proportions as right as her 2022 single “Trailblaze,” but “Rodeo Star” is still bootcut hardstyle supreme. I’m curious if Taylor Swift will ever hear it.
E-40 (Feat. Turf Talk) “The Bay”
“This slap right here is hyphy on steroids.” Indeed, E-40, indeed: The beat hits like Young L through a fuzzbox. Turf Talk’s timeless aggro delivery makes me want to do ninja-style hardcore kicks in the parking lot of a Staples. There’s been a fair amount of E-40 on John’s Music Blog, but that’s only because he has been saying cool stuff in a cool way for almost 40 years.
I like some Zoomer neo-jungle. The kids don’t get it completely “right,” but that makes it more interesting. The drum programming here is a little scattered. I’m picking up notes of Bogdan Raczynski on the back of my palate. Subtle notes of Bogdan.
I stumbled across this novelty electronic Strokes cover while listening to a radio rip of a post-9/11 John Peel show. I guess that’s what I do with my time: I listen to old radio shows; I comb YouTube for punk demos; I stumble through endless middling internet rap playlists. I’m not proud of my continued engagement with music and youth culture, but god knows I’m trying to accept it.
MIX OF THE WEEK: “Soup To Nuts w/ Scratcha Classical Special”
In the middle of what is probably the best radio I have heard all year, Scratcha DVA poses a quandary: “What is the ‘Pulse X’ of classical music?” It’s an interesting question… What is the classical equivalent of that fundamental grime instrumental? If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like if a British DJ did pirate radio-style drops and rewinds over the second movement of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” wonder no more. It sounds sick as hell! “Is this one not going to go off in the rave? Banger.” The classical stuff starts at around the 30-minute mark.
RIP DJ CASPER and Robbie Robertson, two American music heroes!