"Ooo ooo, did you hear that, do you recognize it?" I ask my wife all the time.

I've always been fascinated with the origin and history of song's hooks, lyrics, chorus, beats, you name it. It makes me giddy to hear something I've heard before--not just because of the feeling of familiarity, but also because it's like finding a hidden clue and then it begs me to solve the puzzle.

A while back now, we had the chance to see Jay-Z, our seats even got upgraded to floor seats just about 5 rows away from the man himself. One of the songs that hadn't ever caused much of a stir in me, that hit Elicia, was Jay's "99 Problems". So I went down this path of examining the lyrics, and started getting caught up in the connections in the hip-hop scene.

So let's start it off with the history and connections of "99 Problems". Wikipedia does an excellent job already so I won't try to pretend I uncovered much more than contributors have already.

In summary, it all started with Brother Marquis of 2 Live Crew and Ice-T having a conversation back before 1993...and subsequently released in Ice-T's "99 Problems" on his Home Invasion album, and then a slightly tweaked version by Marquis in the song, "Table Dance".

Here are the songs:
Ice-T - 99 Problems (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bicN4ryVQSI

2 Live Crew - Table Dance (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChhhXnogmYg

Then, over 10 years from the first time the hook materialized, Jay-Z releases "99 Problems" in 2004
https://vimeopro.com/somesucharchive/mark-romanek-12-02-15/video/95947494
(sorry YouTube doesn't have it..Tidal is going to be HUGE ya'll)

Ice-T isn't the originator of all the songs you've listened to. Let's take one of his songs where he brings in a classic to one of his songs.

"I'm Your Pusher"from Ice-T (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nODi6OECzs

Then Eminem takes it for a spin and puts his own flavor on it, of course, in "I'm Shady (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wYWdcanEIc

Already, ready for it? Where did the hook for these songs come from? Curtis Mayfield's 1972 song, "Pusherman". In this gem, he communicates a powerful, simple, and straight-forward message stemming from the drug problems ravaging inner-city America at the time. Damn.

Anyways -- the point here is, I love chasing these things down and knew I had to share this journey with you. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, and if I can actually keep up with this blog moving forward, I'll turn it into a little series. For now, just happy to finally get a post up on here after years.

Life is hard.
Listen to beautiful music while you can.

It's a beautiful day here in Seattle. I knew when I woke up this morning, I needed to pass the music of SKYES along to everyone to get the day on the right path--for that matter, the weekend.

The new Quarks EP had me excited after I first got a taste of the melodies that are both soothing and strong. I started the EP with "Dry"because it's the most-hyped on the EP. Sometimes I like to start with the hype song to see if the band will be something I can get into or not. It's not a perfect science, sometimes I am compelled one way or the other and it helps though.

"Dry" starts off like the perfect beach song, soft and smooth. Fifty-one seconds into the song however, it turns into a real listening experience that you don't want to miss. It's the kind of song that makes you turn up the volume and picture the story in your head. It's moody, but the composition of the song still keeps it positive.

I then had a good listen of "Give Me More", and this song seems to better showoff Dallin Knightly's (vocals/piano) range. It has a slow rhythm that again is strong, and a powerful reflection of the group. At the 2:50 mark you feel that power surge through, and it breaks into a Kavinsky-feeling beat, that I loved.

Give it a listen, and support them by filling up your weekend playlist with their new EP. Nice work guys. Their official website can be found here: https://skyesmusic.com/

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to." -Timbaland

This quote never was so applicable, despite it being something I seem to bring up all the time in casual thinking of music when things happen. I know many of you have probably lost hope on this blog, but I also have hope you haven't. Almost three years it's been in the back of my mind, and I'd like to try to catch up.

I'll start with some recent things and then work my way backwards with a few mega-posts after I think of a good way to compile some music I've found and loved over the years.

For now, check out GUNSHIP

Their self-entitled Gunship album (released in 2015) starts with "The Mountain", and twelve tracks later you've been transformed back into the 80's. The way I found out about Gunship was rolling through the depths of Reddit and stumbling upon track three's music video for "Tech Noir".

Bask in it's glory


It's quite ridiculous, but c'mon how good is the music and claymation? 5/5 stars.

I can't believe I hadn't seen it up until now, and I hope you feel the same. Enjoy the album and let me know what you think. Would also love any messages on whether you prefer single artist posts or mega song-dumps.

Thanks for reading as always, and welcome back.

Great group, some real catchy songs. Fun music videos don't hurt either. Love the poking they do on music, it made me remember that there is something special about "real instruments". No hate for the digital game though, none whatsoever. Just different and each have such great merits.

Enough about my philosophy, check out Goldfish's "One Million Views".