Brett Gaylor's most engaging documentary, RiP: A Remix Manifesto, screens at the Mezzanine (444 Jessie Street at Mint) in San Francisco at 7pm this Thursday (July 23) as part of the San Francisco Film Society's (SFFS)  SF360 Film+Club series. It will be a fun evening that will also include a live video mashup by London's notorious audio visual remix masters Eclectic Method, plus a DJ set by Adrian and Mysterious D from the popular locally based mashup party Bootie SF. Tickets are $12/SFFS year-round members, and $17/general, available here.

In the new documentary, filmmaker/web-activist Gaylor, who will also be present at Thursday's Mezzanine screening, examines the ever-evolving subject of copyright in this digital age; a hot button topic if ever there were one, and one that has been at the center of many recent high profile lawsuits. For RIP: A Remix Manifesto, which was six years in the making, Gaylor interivews many informed sources from near and far who are all affected somehow by the film's subject matter. Included are Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig, Brazil's Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow. But he turns his cameras' main focus to reigning mash-up and sample-king Girl Talk (or Greg Gillis, as they call him at home) to help get to the heart of the issue of sampling without permission, and the changing status of copyright law in this digital/information age.

1) The Jacka Tear Gas (SMC)

2) Big Rich Heart of the City (3 Story Muzik)

3) Raashan Amhad Soul Power (Crown City Rockers)

4) Wu Tang Chamber Music (KR Urban/KOCH)

5) Dead Prez + DJ Green Lantern Pulse Of The People (Turn Off The Radio Vol. 3) (IMG)

Thanks to Luis at the San Francisco Amoeba Music for this week's Hip-Hop Top Five Chart, which is  60% homegrown Bay Area talent this week, including the number this week at the Haight Street store: The Jacka and his latest full-length, Tear Gas. The album from the Mob Figaz member is doing well on the Billboard charts too. It debuted at #4 on the music trade magazine's Rap Charts, #12 on the R&B Charts, #13 on the Indie Charts, and at #93 on the Top 200 albums chart, 

With studio assistance from a dozen different producers, this follow up to The Jacka's popular 2008 mixtape, The Street Album, is the hard working Oakland-born/Pittsburg-raised rap artist's most diverse sounding release to date. Tear Gas features mic guests from far beyond the Bay, including Houston's Devin The Dude and Philly's Freeway. Of course, the Mob Figaz member is also joined by some of his Yay Area peeps such as Mistah F.A.B., Andre Nickatina, and Zion I. Converted to Islam, The Jacka lets his faith be known on the album via lyrics such as "in Allah we trust, I try to purify my heart, because I’m a slave to my thoughts. I’m a monster out here, because I change when it’s dark" in the song "They Don't Know," on which he is joined by Freeway, who is a fellow Muslim.

127 Bands, 5 Stages, 3 Days and 1 Mean Sunburn.

"Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival - April 17-19th, 2009 or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Find 30 Reasons To Love a Weekend in the Desert."

- By Scott Butterworth



Day #15 - Artist #15 - Girl Talk:

Not a girl. And there's no talking.

Gregg Gillis, hailing from Pittsburgh, is a DJ/mashup extraordinaire that has released four albums since 2002, and is the sole proprietor of the musical chop shop persona that is Girl Talk.

I'm surprised Girl Talk's most recent album, Feed The Animals, released in 2008 by rabble-rouser sampling label Illegal Art, wasn't sold in a brown paper bag. Possibly due to the controversy it anticipated (by failing to legally license any of the sampled music), the album provides no song titles or identifing information anywhere on the packaging except for what looks like a ransom note folded inside the case, listing hundreds of songs/artists sampled for the album.

Feed The Animals encompasses the last 40+ years of music and pop culture into 53 minutes and 53 seconds of "I can't believe he just did that..." internal monologues. Think mash-up inventor DJ Z-Trip meets 80's physical comedian Gallagher. (Including plastic sheeting on the laptop. See photo -------> )

Continue reading...

Jameoblog Top Ten: 08:18:08

1) Wale - "The Kramer" (10 Deep/elitaste.com)
2) Fatlip - "What Up Fatlip? (Breakbot RMX)" (Delicious Vinyl)
3) NaS "Sly Fox" (Def Jam)
4) KRS-One "Pick It Up" (KOCH)
5) Jean Grae + 9th Wonder - "2-32's"  (Blacksmith)
6) Alltruisms - "Jalopy" (Gravel Records)
7) James Brown - "There Was A Time (Kenny Dope Remix)" (Verve)
8) Paris - "Get Fired Up" (Guerrilla Funk)
9) Girl Talk - "Don't Stop" (Illegal Art)
10) A.G. Cubano feat. The Jacka, San Quinn, & Matt Blaque - "I'm Winnin"  (City RIch/Blackhouse Ent)

On Wale's instantly engaging song "The Kramer," off his recent Nick Catchdubs mixed-Seinfeld themed The Mixtape About Nothing album-length digital download, he jumps head in and addresses the current hip-hop driven cultural use and abuse of the N word and, to a lesser degree, the B word. The Washington DC emcee, whose name is pronounced "Wah-Lay," uses Michael Richards' (aka Kramer on Seinfeld) infamous N word tirade, which he samples at the beginning of the track, as the jumping off point to address society's current use of the N word and its contradicting implications when used by blacks or whites-- specifically the dilemma of white diehard rap fans continually hearing the N word in their favorite music.

Once upon a time in ye olde pre-digital days, music fans would have to trek to their local record store on a certain day, usually a Tuesday, to acquire new music. It was the only way. And in the great new documentary Good Copy Bad Copy, the sample-happy artist Girl Talk reminisces about those long gone days when some of his fondest memories were formed. In the film he recalls when as a kid he was accompanied to the record store with his parents to buy the then new Nirvana CD Nevermind and how, sadly, that this nostalgic relationship no longer exists for most young blossoming music fans today.

Directed by European Andreas Johnsen, the engaging Good Copy Bad Copy, which so far has only been seen on the Danish Broadcasting Corporation television station, is a well worth watching documentary about music, copyright, and culture, and where it is headed. The one-hour documentary also features interviews with Danger Mouse, Siva Vaidhyanathan, Lawrence Lessig, and others. Below is a clip from the film. Fittingly, this film, which is supportive of copyright free file sharing, is available for free download. You can access the torrent of the XviD version at The Pirate Bay on the site goodcopybadcopy.net. However, since the film producers have still only recouped a quarter of their production costs, they do request a donation -- but only if you liked the film. And I think you will. 


For even further info, check out rosforh.com. On their homepage you can also check out clips from another good music-related documentary, Curtain Raising: Musicians in East Africa.