Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass (2007)

[nZa]

Naspa

[Jules Verne]

pt mine conteaza mult prima ascultare ... nush... e dubios albumu...in afara de Catacomb Kids nimic notabil....si sa mor daca nu sufar din cauza asta....

[sunrah]

nu cred ca asta ar fi un album pe care sa-l ascult o singura data si sa poti da verdicte. valabil pentru toate discografia lui, nu doar pentru none shall pass.

[arigo]

dasdasda

[adapter]

CARE-I FAZA CU SAGEATA???

[sunrah]

hahahha. superba.

[arigo]

sageata este sinonima cu "dispari", "usa e acolo", "mananci cacat", "pleaca-n pula mea ca aberezi", "eject" etc. cand primesti sageata inseamna ca esti dissuit

[sunrah]

[adapter]

dar totusi, CARE-I FAZA???

[arigo]

dar totusi, CARE-I FAZA???

[adapter]

du-te d'aicea ca nu te cred








































go back where you came from!

[sunrah]

asa. revenim multumind.

***

Welcome to the latest edition of Pitchfork's Guest List. Each week, we ask one of our favorite artists to fill us in on what they've been up to lately: which tracks they can't stop spinning, what books they can't put down, and what new bands they've caught on tour. This week it's Aesop Rock, who reveals which breakfast dish is sure to lure him out of bed, desperately covets a UGK beat, and reminds us to get the Led out every once in a while.

>> Favorite New Songs of the Past Year

Crikey. I know it's a cliché, but there's so little new shit I like (or listen to actively). When I do, I get pretty fixated on songs and listen to them over and over, rather than listening to them in the context of the albums they appear on. I guess I'll just throw some of the past year's fixations out there.

Tom Waits' cover of "Goodnight Irene" form his most recent triple CD [Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards] will be the song I will drink beer to if I ever choose to drink beer in my life. That version of that song is what a guy that doesn't know what being drunk feels like pictures being drunk to be in a perfect world. I would want my entire drunken experience to be in the form of a bar sing-a-long, where I can drown my problems in alcohol loudly, while the rest of the town has my back(ups). And it's absurdly long, which adds to the drunk-people-dont-know-when-to-quit aspect of it. So good.

I got a car last year, and listening to music in the whip is such a great feeling. Clipse's "Ride Around Shining" became a bit of a theme, probably because of the car. I feel like rap should always be listened to in a car. The beat is so minimal, but the drums knock amazingly. Even though at this point we all are aware of some of the Neptunes' tricks, they really do know how to make a song that you want to go back to. Clipse may be two of the only MCs left in the "mainstream" world of rap, and in my opinion they can easily hold their own up against the underground as well. Beyond strong lyrics, voices, and flows, those two posses something that rap tends to forget these days: style. They have a chemistry and style about the group that drips off every word. This particular song has such an eerie vibe about it. I suggest you buy, or rent, or steal a car and listen to it. It's a tuff song, even in a Toyota.

That new UGK song, featuring Outkast, "Int'l Player's Anthem", is phenomenal. What a beat. That shit is so great to me. It's so weird. I'm actually listening to it now. Fuck, I want this beat. I mean, what the fuck? I actually wouldn't even know what to do with this beat. Fuck this beat, man. FUCK. What the hell is this shit?! Everyone rips it. Andre is basically just like, "fuck you all" these days. He does so much shit, and the whole world is like, "Fuck him, he dont rap no more," then he just does something like this to be an asshole. Fuck.

>> Favorite Older Songs at the Moment

EPMD's "For My People" is on constant rotation these days. The whole Business as Usual album, but that is the track that I skip to most. Erick Sermon comes out the box like, "AHHHHHHH" on that shit. So amped. These guys were a fucking "group"!!! I mean, talk about chemistry. That song is just amazing, raw, hard as hell NY shit. Super murky. I will never grow tired of it. Ever.

I pulled out The Extinction Agenda the other day, probably because I've been reading about Pharaohe so much lately. So many sick cuts. I guess I'll go with "Bring It On" today. Monche is so hungry out the gate on this one. I remember hearing this shit at the time and thinking, "Yes, I want all rap to be this." That verse may very well be the one that got people saying that Pharoahe is one of the greatest MC's ever. The beat is just angry. Like, apocalyptic angry. Prince Po does not slack on this either. You feel like they're both gunnin' for it on this track in particular, like it was a rap contest. The remix is ridiculous, too.

I actually heard "Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin the other day, and I was like, "Jesus, man, what a fucking song." It's funny 'cause a group like that, you know in your head that they are amazing, but you almost forget because there is so much beyond actual music that is attached to the name Led Zeppelin at this point. It took me years of not hearing the song, then hearing it randomly, to just be kinda re-bowled over. It's funny 'cause my brother lately has been on this big Led Zeppelin thing, like, "I know you know they were awesome, but I mean they were AWESOME, have you heard it lately?!" I know what he means. I mean, sure, to say Led Zeppelin is awesome is pretty stupid, but fuckin' A, those guys were AWESOME. Have you heard that shit lately? "Moby Dick"? Jesus Christ.

>> Favorite New Band

I stumbled upon Black Moth Super Rainbow recently, who I understand have a couple projects out, but they are new to me. Their most recent record is damn good. Very moody, almost like a slow hip-hop tempo, in the low 80s and 70s bpm. Real weird and synthy in an evil analog way. Dim vocoder. Just a really murky feel to the whole record. Like music that was created by a bunch of people stuck in a trench filled with tar and bugs. It's got a persistent crawling feel to the record, with drums that have a definite head nod, so you aren't lost in some world of lost synth sounds. It's got enough structure to have a backbone, but enough weirdness to separate it from the other vertebrates.

>> Favorite Song Ever

After much inner debate, I can safely proclaim that Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" may, in fact, be the best song ever recorded.

>> Best Recent Concert

I saw Tortoise last week at the Independent in San Francisco. They are always fun to watch. I thought it was great that they had all the drums set up sideways at the front of the stage. It was a great departure from the drummer-dead-center-in-the-back thing that you always see. They do fantastic stuff with percussion, two drummers, etc. So to see it up close was great. When you think of it, it's kind of odd that usually the drummer sits in the back, while everyone else stands in the front. A drummer is always so hidden. This was cool to see.

>> Last Great Film I Saw

I just saw Michael Moore's new one, Sicko, which I found to be probably Moore's best and least biased work. I thought it was really amazing and completely infuriating. I'm not usually one to be like, "America sucks!" but I definitely left the theatre thinking of my future options in foreign countries, which I have never really done before. I actually made some calls to some people I know in Canada (America's hat) just to ask some questions. Before that, I would say, Children of Men was one of the better movies I've seen in years. Idiocracy was fun, too.

>> Last Great Book I Read

I just picked up Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library: No. 17. It has pictures! To be honest, I think Chris Ware is the only person whose books I've actively and consistently purchased for years. I buy other art-related books too, but for the record, Ware is another hero of mine. As for novels...very few, and verrrrry far between.

>> Favorite Piece of Musical Equipment

I'd have to say my good old Ensoniq ASR-10. A bit of a beast, it weighs a ton, it's pretty out-dated sampler-wise, but it's always been the centerpiece of my studio. It has a ton of bugs and glitches, and it has a mind of it's own sometimes-- it has spontaneously deleted many things I've worked on, but I love it. It fights with me. Sometimes it wins and just takes away my music. Other times I've left it on for a month straight and it works like a charm with no problems. It occasionally vomits out an incredibly loud white noise sound at an ear-piercing volume. My friend poured a soda in it once by accident; it totally went haywire and stopped working. I left it off for a week and turned it back on, and voilà! It's got a lot of personality.

>> Favorite Record Shop

Well, these days I'd say Amoeba, as I'm in the Bay. It really has everything. I go there mostly to re-buy things I've lost over the years, so I can play them in my car. I recently re-bought The Extinction Agenda, Aquemini, Walking With a Panther, To the East Blackwards, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, and... something else. I forget what. It was a pretty solid trip.

>> Best Purchase of the Past Year

I had a savage eggs benedict the other day. It was dope. There's really nothing quite like a good Benedict. There's also nothing quite like a bad benedict, but that's different. My breakfast usually consists of a large coffee and some stale breakfast-y bread product from the local store, so in the event that I get the chance to take the time out to properly fuck up an eggs benedict, I do so.

>> Best Thing I Did This Year

Well maybe it's a dumb answer, but finishing my newest record felt pretty damn good. I invested so much into it, so tying a bow on it really felt satisfying. It's pretty hard to explain to anyone who hasn't been in that situation, but it's really a unique feeling. For a few seconds after you finish mastering, before the marketing and promo shitstorm kicks in, you actually get to bask in being done, and while I usually keep pretty busy with more music, there is definitely a short period of time dedicated to lying around the house.

>> Favorite Music Venue

Maybe the 9:30 Club in D.C. Such a clean, well kept, loud, welcoming venue. Very nice people, great stage and sound system, big without feeling impersonal, great backstage, just a really impressive venue. Bowery Ballroom definitely feels familiar at this point, so that place has got it's own charm. The Fillmore in San Francisco has a great vibe too.

[sunrah]

i was chosen as mtv's featured artist for the week of sept 17th. promo spots including performances, interviews, and general buffoonery. this will be running on mtv's main channel all week around the clock, before and after shows and commercials, etc. it will also be on mtv.com. I just shot all the stuff in nyc a few days ago. perfomances feature rob sonic and dj big wiz (minus accapella sections), and blockhead is featured in much of the buffoonery-part. there's also a lot of people in animal costumes playing in a video arcade, a live monkey, and much more.

dan wolfe, who has made some of the best skateboard videos the genre has to offer over the years, has been working away on a video for the bonus track "pigs". its kind of a side project for everyone (and totally unrelated to skateboarding), but should be really cool. i'm supposed to see that in the next day or two, and we'll probably just float it around the internet and get as many people to see/hear it as possible. some fun shit. no budget. without giving away too much, i will say jeremy fish was also involved.

i am playing bioshock for xbox 360. so far it's pretty badass, but i have only a few days left til i gotta finish rehearsals and hit the road, so i am trying to run thru it as quick as possible. we shall see. im not a huge first person shooter fan, but the game is undeniably well done.

superbad was really funny.

best
a.r.

word

[sunrah]

Enter the twisted mind (and basement) of backpack rapper Aesop Rock when he and cohorts stage a screwy cable access TV show that includes love advice, knife throwing and a trained monkey.

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1569127&vid=174240

[sunrah]

Someone somewhere down the line is going to bring in the fact that Aesop sounds like a guy who uses too many words, metaphors and unnecessary “verbage” along with those moody and oddly constructed beats that he’s taking himself too seriously or depressing or simply “too conscious” to be listened to.

If Aesop Rock spoonfed you his lyrics so as not to leave anything to the imagination, used typical 16-bar verses, placed them neatly between his hooks, rode the kick and snare of the song, and clocked in the song at three minutes and change, Aesop Rock might not be at the creative pass he finds himself today.

Aesop Rock sat down with AllHipHop.com and broke down his songs, why he chose the music and what his thought process was behind the lyrics for None Shall Pass. Consider his responses liner notes so that you can have a little bit more incite into Ian Bavitz.


“Keep Off the Lawn”

Aesop Rock: I thought it was a general introduction song. And I was really trying to emphasis that I was cutting out all the braggadocio and arrogance on the album. I wanted to do more story-related material and paint pictures that way; I didn’t want to talk about me. So I’m setting up the fact that you’re going to hear a bunch of stories as opposed to anything else.

“None Shall Pass”

Aesop Rock: This is the title track to the album. And the main theme is people judging other people, whether it is you judging people or people judging you. It’s how you see people; the good people, the bad, the ugly, the a**holes. It’s a coming of age song without trying to be “corny” by saying that. It’s not only reflective of me to see where I stand. But it’s a theme for the rest of the record.

“Catacomb Kids”

Aesop Rock: It’s just about mischief on Long Island, New York. “Catacomb Kids” is real high school era stuff, back when I was driving along in my grandfather’s car or spraying people with Super Soakers. I mention one of my friends who killed himself. It’s up and down, warped memories. I wanted to set the tone for a “back in the day” track without saying anything about “rocking Pumas” or “being on the block.”

“Bring Back Pluto”

Aesop Rock: If you remember, they [scientists from the International Astronomical Union] denounced Pluto as not being a planet anymore. So I used Pluto as my base for a song about rooting for the underdog. And that theme of being the underdog pops up again throughout the album.

“Fumes”

Aesop Rock: “Fumes” is both a love and drug story where everyone dies in the end. I wanted to be able to paint a picture and have a story that wasn’t based on anything about me specifically. It’s a time-period piece. But as I get older, I’m finding I pinpoint and become more aware of situations like what I talk about in “Fumes.”

“Getaway Car”

Aesop Rock: I had Cage and Breezy Brewin, both Weathermen artists...and this song goes back to right around late 2000 and early 2001 where I wanted to quit my day job and get into music. So I said I’d give myself a year and see if rapping would get me somewhere. But I told Cage and Breeze that I wanted “Getaway Car” to be about a major life-change experience. So Breeze wrote about a job situation he was in before he started rhyming, and Cage wrote about being in a mental institution and wanting to get out and do music.

“39 Thieves”

Aesop Rock: As silly as it sounds, “39 Thieves” is about hanging out in parking lots. And when I was growing up in Long Island that’s what we did. We’d hang out in groups, talk, kick bottles and cans, broke s**t, and wrote graffiti. And if we got kicked out of the parking lot, we went on to the next one. But now that I think about it, I did think about my high school years a lot with this record.

“The Harbor is Yours”

Aesop Rock: This is a children’s story. I wanted to go for a folktale with this song. And it’s told in a “once upon a time” attitude. “The Harbor is Yours” is literally about a pirate who finds a mermaid out in the ocean, but no one he knows believes that he’s found or seen a mermaid.

“Citronella”

Aesop Rock: A lot of people blame television for their and other people’s problem. And “Citronella” looks at going back and forth about television, the pros and cons, and the fact that people can’t really watch a television show of substantive nature behind it.

“Gun for the Whole Family”

Aesop Rock: El-P produced this one and he’s on the song as well. But when we were discussing what to do for a song, we wanted something based on how amused we are as a society with violence. It’s almost funny, and El-P and I laughed at this, because everyone should be watching the news with a bucket of popcorn. So the visual for “Gun for the Whole Family” that we saw was El-P and I sitting out on the street in lawn chairs, bucket of popcorn in hand, watching the city go to s**t; and the pervasiveness in both reality and movies with violence.

“Five Fingers”

Aesop Rock: I wanted a song about stealing s**t. So “Five Fingers” goes back to when you were a child and stealing; taking anything when you were young, whether it was a pack of gum or whatever. But as you get older, now you’re stealing samples. So I turned that whole concept of stealing cookies and transferring that notion into stealing s**t that isn’t yours as you get older; music, money or whatever. But I’m also trying to make it positive because now that you’ve stolen it, it’s yours.

“No City”

Aesop Rock: “No City” is really my sad song of the [album]. In essence, I’ve had a couple of people I know in the hospital over the past year. But I wanted “No City” to say that everyone should be civil to one another on a human level because there is so much at stake in life. And I felt that “No City” really points to the fragility of human beings.

“Dark Heart News”

Aesop Rock: Rob Sonic produced “Dark Heart News” and he’s also on the song. And the idea behind it was that Rob and I were selling copies of the Dark Heart News, our newspaper. So we’re out there yelling “extra, extra,” on the corner. But the Dark Heart News is the paper for scumbags, the lowlifes, the bums and the gritty and grimy people. If you can’t identify with Fox News or your local newspaper, then you go to the Dark Heart News. It’s a newspaper for all the fuckups and the depression kids. But again, the song plays to the underdog theme, much like “Bring Back Pluto.”

“Coffee”

Aesop Rock: My friend John Darnielle, who’s in a band called Mountain Goats, came in to help me with this song. And “Coffee” talks about being peaceful with each other, but that that doesn’t necessarily mean I want to hang out with you. It’s saying, “I’ll be nice to you when I see you, but f**k off. We don’t need to hang out.” And if you let “Coffee” play through, after that song there is a hidden track called “Pigs.” And this song is funny in a number of ways. I was trying to describe the typical fat guy in a suit, smoking a Cuban cigar and drinking. It’s literally being a pig. But it’s also a metaphor. It’s talking about pigs as animals but it relates pigs to human beings.