...When I threw my gladiator's helmet onto MOG's proverbial colusseum floor and began posting on here back in August I did so with reviews of albums I'd either covered in publications or just happened to be listening to at the time, to see what in the hell "this MOG Thing" was all about...well, the wheel in the sky kept on turning and I'm still throwing shite on here and have gotten with a grip of cool folks since I started typing on that fateful fall day...it seems that when the year draws to a close we all get re-united with our inner Casey Kasem and take stock of the year that's receding in the rearview mirror-- evidenced by the slew of "Top 10 albums to rate top 10 albums to" posts...I got the fever too and will succumb to my inner Rob Gordon and so, in the spirit of the barrage of "best-of" lists and posts that are no doubt going to keep on comin' until 11:59:59 on December 31st, I'm going plunk down my two cents with a composite of excerpts (with links to the whole thing) from some of those reviews I'd mentioned...just for shits 'n giggles...maybe provide you with a chance to utilize that "*back button*" but, hopefully, to turn you onto some tunage that you might want to cop-- that is the whole point of the exercise, right?
Although he’s been around for a minute beforehand, many were introduced to Jonathan Richman’s musings as the musical filler between sequences of the Farrelly Brothers’ film There’s Something About Mary but one listen to Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love, and you’ll find many reasons to continue doing so. “My Baby Love Loves Me” is catchy in an acoustic Ziggy Stardust kind of way and “In Che Mondo” sounds like a Gipsy Kings outtake gone all kinds of wrong but in a good way..."*continued*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/10339
On the deluxe edition of Rastaman Vibration, the first disc contains all of the cuts issued in the spring of the US’ bicentennial (1976) in the original configuration but there’s more. This CD also holds the anthemic single “Jah Live” and previously unreleased versions of “Roots, Rock, Reggae” (in both an unreleased alternate mix and a dub piece), alt. mixes of “Want More”, “Crazy Baldhead”, War” and “Johnny Was.” For all you “fiends” who want to hear “sumpin’ new from the vaults”, there’s also a rare B-side called “Concrete” which is a very “kind” dub version of “Roots” that begins with vocals that sound like the Gong’s dialing in directly from the “Zion-I” switchboards..."*continued*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/10529
It’s a shame that when DJ Muggs’ took a step back from Cypress Hill to make a foray into rock music production to record the LP Dust, he didn’t get more heat. The intro cut “I Know” begins with a blend of Major Tom meets Cree Summer that leads to the first real song called “Rain.” The second cut is quite cool. I see a wide range of influences from way back (Velvet Underground or Neil Young, anyone?)..."*continued*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/10537
Although I find it tough to stomach a lot of the hip hop swirling around the sonic toilet bowl these days (I’m an old-school head) I’ll waver a tad to pull your coat about Dälek’s LP Absence which begins with the cut “Distorted Prose” that starts off with an acapella flow that soons turns on the listener with a snarl and then all of a sudden the music moon stomps up in your grill-piece like Godzilla in downtown Tokyo... "*continued*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/10212
Asura’s Lost Eden floats out of speakers like nimbus stratus aural puffs as soon as “play” is pressed. New Age heads looking for something interesting in the atmospheric pop vein will get their kicks with “From the Abyss” which offers wails from way past Pluto’s zip code..."*continued*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/10343
Common’s Electric Circus begins serenely enough with an instrumental soul chant called “Ferris Wheel” featuring vocal sweeps by Vinia Mojica and Marie Dauline (of Zapp Mama) which folds evenly into the cut “Soul Power.” Common sallies forth on the latter with verve by making short shrift of the “usual suspects” that currently clog the audio/ video airwaves. This joint’s lyrics are augmented by freaky-deaky loop beats while Common"*...continued*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/10940...there, it's done...I can sleep easy knowing that I've gotten at least one list in-- not a best of, just a lookie-loo...that top 10 favorite colors list will just have to go on the back burner...MOG on, like champions, yo...
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