here at b3sci, we love chicago and quite right we also love rock and roll, and third we love to get down. so using that scale lets see how the yolks stack up… the yolks are a three piece band from chicago (+1). the yolks play some great fuckin’ rock and roll (+2). and “wandering” is just one of the many tunes on the band’s self-titled LP we can seriously get down to . (+3)
rating: 8.5
Soulive – “Prototype” (Feat. Nigel Hall)
jazz outfit soulive enlist the pipes of portland, maine soul singer nigel hall on this cover of the andre 3000 tune. “prototype” (the song) is well enough that it would be a good look on more or less any competent singer in the genre. but nigel hall’s delivery of dre’s really just flat out gorgeous melody lines really got our attention. props to soulive for seeking out this collaboration.
buy soulive’s “up here” LP
nigel hall on myspace
rating: 7.8
Sergeant – “Counting Down the Days”
Sergeant – “Swiftly Does It”
Sergeant – “K OK”
not that they’re directly changing the face of rock and roll, Sergeant make their subtle impact by simply throwing down on some proper britpop. it’s just brits doing what brits do best. yet when it comes to so many UK guitar bands nowadays, it seems Sergeant take the different path. there’s no bull shit, no fluff, and what everybody else seems to be doing… doesn’t matter. what does matter is what you can hear flowing through their veins… their roots of jangly guitar hooks, melody melody melody and yes… songs. wait, songs?! right.
after their major label conflict a few years back, the lads in Sergeant have since been hard at work on getting new and old material out to the world. “Counting Down the Days” is the new single of several which have been released via various indie’s the past few months. all of which, i can only hope are leading up to an album.. and tour in the states. right? again… eh?
when it comes to new UK artists, i always think about how the britpop explosion in the 90’s happened. for those who haven’t seen it..LIVE FOREVER: The Rise and Fall of Britpop is a brilliant documentary featuring the evolution of britpop from the 80’s to it’s “demise” in the late 90’s. it features priceless commentary on the subject from the gallaghers, jarvis cocker, damon albarn, blahblah soo many more. a great watch! check it below
rating: 8.3
Kellen & Me: “Joann’s Great Big Noose” (exclusive download!)
Kellen & Me: “Serenity Song” (exclusive download!)
if you’ve frequented Chicago’s local songwriter venues, you might have been fortunate enough to catch one of the scenes newest best kept secrets… experimental folk songsmith Kellen & Me. amidst preparation of his first full length album, b3science caught up with the multi-tasking instrumentalist between sets, night jobs and excessive pondering for a brief Q&A.
b3sci: so you’re a one man band?
kellen: yeah, i use a loop pedal for spontaneous rhythms and abstract elements, but i do so that the focus isn’t on the pedal- it’s more on the song and the melodies.
b3sci: do you prefer flying solo, or do you one day wish to rock a band?
kellen: at first i thought having a band was the ultimate goal, but what i was looking for wasn’t coming, so i said fuck it, it’s not gonna stop me. in the future a band could be great, but only the right band will do.
b3sci: have to ask. what’s you favorite dental instrument?
kellen: umm, gotta go with the mirror.
b3sci: the big one or little one?
kellen: the little one they go in your mouth with. i wish i had one of those… i think spys use them to look around corners.
b3sci: while were on the subject, who’s your favorite globalist front group?
kellen: you mean like the free masons? yeah them. really anybody that uses symbolic imagery. you know the whole marketing of symbolic things using subconcious imagery. i actually grew up in a town with a whole bunch of masons. their were a bunch of temples with no windows and stuff. they were always kind of interesting to me.
… they never let me in, but i did meet a mason when i was pruning apple trees in wisconsin. he’d told me they’d been watching me ever since i was a young child. he was a very serious man. i didn’t believe him, but it peaked my curiosity.
b3sci: haha do you think their watching you right now?
kellen: it’s flattering, i wouldn’t mind if they were. i could definitely use their support.
b3sci: how did you make that incredible video for “Batteries and Frequencies”
Kellen: i stumbled on this technique when i was in high school and just kind of started messing with it.. you plug a video camera directly into the audio video output of a television, and then shine the camera into the television. you’ll get all sorts of images from the light feeding back depending on how you hold the camera. you’ll get all of these free association kind of images.
b3sci: what are you looking to accomplish with your music
kellen: i’m playing music to make some sort of interpretation of my own inner world and to bring it out into reality, and hopefully people will want to listen to it.
b3sci: when can we expect a record?
kellen: yeah i’ve been working on new songs. i have a batch of stuff and hope to have a full albums worth of new material out soon.
b3sci: looking forward to it. thanks for chatting
kellen: thanks for having me, bye.
get music from kellen & me here. and check out his video for “Batteries and Frequencies” below..
Kev Brown – “Hennessy Rap Pt. 3” (Feat. Kenn Starr, Raheem DeVaughn, Eric Roberson & Wayna)
“hennessy rap, pt. 3” is some smooth shit. kev brown rules …this much we know. but check the features… kenn starr on the rhymes? yeah! (tell us more!) raheem devaughn singing the hook? oh yeah!!! (raheem can blow) wayna AND eric roberson singing back-up? fuck yes!! (we are SOLD! sign us on that dotted line.) kev brown’s “random joints” EP is out now on low budget, get familiar.
rating: 7.7
AFTA-1 – “Love Suite 2 (Sit Still)”
afta-1 is one our favorite new producers. “love suite 2” is some straight up amazing shit. we love how the warm tones of this record just kind of of float in the mix and really just sort of elevate up and off the downbeats/upbeats. right so… if you need us, we’ll be up on that neptunian shit. peace, crackers.
rating: 7.7
Johnny Cash – “Cocaine Blues (Live)” buy it here
a blue mustached stranger does some serious bumpage in front of poor ernie (3:10). it’s only downhill from here
Lee Fields & the Expressions – “My World Is Empty Without You”
wow, this absolutely kills. funk journeyman lee fields’s cover of the supremes classic “my world is empty without you” is one the best songs we’ve heard this year. holy shit at the arrangement of this song, the cool backing vocal tones, the simple clean guitar strums, the subtle use of organ, and wow lee fields lead vocal delivery, equal parts bobby womack’s throaty swagger and otis redding’s emotive tailing off the downbeat. lee fields’ “my world” LP is out now on truth & soul records. check it out, the entire record is awesome.
rating: 9.3
Joe Henry – “The Man I Keep Hid”
“The Man I Keep Hid” is new from Blood From The Stars due 8/18 via Anti. Joe’s alt. country, rock, jazz and folk roots add some eclectec tones to the track’s bluesy nature, a theme that is prevalent throughout the record. and while never achieving the same level of popularity that his label and genre partner Tom Waits has, Henry’s artistic consistency has bore him a longevity of career not often accomplished. who cares about popularity when you can continue to inspire? a wise man did once say… “it’s better to burn out than to fade away”. so what burns out for the consistent? i suppose it’s up for discussion..
rating: 8.2
i CANNOT wait to hear this record, holy shit…
excuse us while we mark out over greg cartwright. this is rock and roll, kids. there is so much spirit in this music. this is music that HAS to be played and HAS to be heard. and, oh man, are we psyched to hear it! catch that holy ghost, holla!
rating: 8.2
“Uprising” will be the first single off of Muse’s fifth studio release The Resistance. much more like them and less like the aforementioned, this track is a stadium stomper. and from what’s been heard of the album thus far, Muse should at least be maintaining their arena/festival headlining credentials for some time to come. yeah – it’s an anthem, “SO C’MON”
rating: 7.2
