When it comes to music, no matter what the genre, it’s hard to escape the narcissism of taste. How many times have you met someone who has professed about how they grew up on their parents’ record collection, which, by all accounts, had to have been the most extensive record collection on the face of the planet. As if this nostalgic tale somehow made their taste in music more justifiable or authentic than your own. I’ll tell you one thing, I must have met the most people with the coolest parents ever than anyone I know apparently.
Mom or pre-Vietnam Steve Aoki?
I’m not going to lie. There is so much stuff I never cared for till later in life. I listened to my parents’ music just like everyone else and just like everyone else, it was mostly The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Now, embarking on my first EP, I’m trying to incorporate a little bit of everything but I’m finding a lot of inspiration from older R&B and funk. Now I love my RSS Reader to death but there is something about scavenging the internet for blog electro that only really satisfies the part of me that makes DJ sets and mix CDs because all I can think about is how many people would potentially make out to that song.
On the other side of things, when it comes to recording, I really step back to find the music I really care about. I suppose going on a blog and downloading music really removes a lot from the music itself. There isn’t really much of a story behind any of it. So naturally, I go to the things that really peak my interest about the artist.
WaxPoetics is a magazine out of Brooklyn, NY dedicated to older R&B, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, and much more. When was the last time you picked up a magazine who solely talked about music without some other gimmick to draw in the readers? Hey remember what was on the cover of last month’s Rolling Stone?
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that in my 4 issues of WaxPoetics, I’ve never read a bad or uninteresting article. The style of journalism and storytelling is very unique and anyone who isn’t even familiar with the artists or music can easily pick up this magazine and find an article that they really enjoy. Besides all the great articles, their Re:Discovery section is a gold mine of song reviews that really turn you on to some great music and if you produce music in any manner, it’s pure treasure. The photography is very intimate and the whole magazine from cover to cover reeks of pure passion for the music. Don’t just buy an issue. Subscribe to it. You will have to physically touch a magazine but give your keyboard a rest, friend.
Recent Re:Discovered Favs:
SSO - Tonight’s The Night
Dyke and the Blazers - Funky Bull
The Hoodz - Oo Li Oo
