New Brothers From Another

The boys at Brothers From Another (Isaiah Sneed and Coleman DeLeon Jones) have just put out a new EP called Too Soon and, simply put, I am blown away. I don't know where to begin with this, Breeze and Goonstar--Jones and Sneed respectively--have really stepped up to the plate, it seems that this whole rappin' thing has turned from cool hobby to something serious, and it shows. They've managed to take the same subject matter (girls, girls, girls) and made itmore engaging and complex than most of the pros can do. Of course, it's not just the rhyming that's an improvement from June's Roots.Seeds.Stems, the production is 1000x fire as well. With beats from former Lakesiders Schuyler Karr and Morgan Backus and engineering from current student Spike Anderson, the sound is crisp and keeps me fiending for more.

Stand out tracks include "Poison Ivy" featuring guest MC Yola and "Candy". In the former, a chopped up vocal sample is layered across a thick bassline and drums a la J Dilla's headnodder "Won't Do". The latter features an ultra-jazzy upright bass and tons of smooth keys to top it off. All in all, this new release is supreme dope. I've already cycled through it at least four times, I can't figure out if it's because I know these guys or because this may be some of the freshest 206 sickness out this year. Props, props, props.

Also, ups to Catherine Schmidt for the artwork. Is there anything she can't do?

Links to other BFA downloads can be found at their blog: http://brothersfromanother.wordpress.com/

Avatar: $380 Million of Win

Just saw Avatar this weekend. Needless to say it more or less blew my mind. I saw this in 3D at Pacific Place with a bud and was thoroughly impressed. The plot and acting were so-so, good enough to engage me and cheesy enough for me to not take it so seriously. However the centerpiece of the whole production was the revolutionary new effects Mr. Cameron brought to this movie, twas quite insane. Wearing the glasses, it took me awhile to adjust to the 3D epicness but after about an hour it turned out to be quite manageable. Soon enough it looked real enough that I was in it, and all the glowing trees and flying pterodactyl/dragon/serpent things, well, you know.

In sum, great Christmas movie for anyone and everyone, except for those who can't spend more than 160 minutes without their phone on.