CoMO entertainment community sounds off on favorites
Published Dec. 3, 2008
Bustrip, local hip-hop artist
Favorite Album: DJ Muggs & Planet Asia — Pain Language
"I liked it because Muggs is one of my favorite producers, and Asia is one of my favorite rappers. Great beats, great lyrics."
Favorite Song: The Roots — "Get Busy"
"I liked it because it was real minimal, especially for The Roots. It laid a pathway for MCs to follow. Every time I listen to it in the car I almost get in an accident because I'm nodding my head so hard!"
Favorite Dance Party Track: Lil Wayne — "A Milli"
"I think it's pretty catchy and the beat is really catchy. Lil Wayne is probably the hardest rapper out. This beat was probably the most freestyled over this year."
Favorite Slow Jam: Kanye West — "Love Lockdown"
"You have to put Kanye on a survey, or he'll find out."
Favorite Movie: "Iron Man"
"It was the only movie I saw in 2008, and it really was badass."
Favorite TV Moment: Barack Obama's Presidential Acceptance Speech
"The moment man — all the campaigning and 'Yes We Can' finally culminating was great. America made a great decision eight years later. It was a great moment in history."
Favorite Concert in Columbia this year: Atmosphere, Blueprint and Abstract Rude at The Blue Note
"I love hip-hop and that's the biggest act I've seen come through. The crowd went apeshit. It was packed and the place had great energy."
Artist of the Year: The Roots
"The album (Rising Down) they made was a classic. It was the return of Black Thought the MC. He's so underrated, but I think he's one of the best ever. It was a really dark, stripped down album. To keep coming up with albums like this after I think, 15 years is amazing to me."
Pants, bartender at Eastside Tavern
Favorite Album: This Will Destroy You, This Will Destroy You
Favorite Song: "Blood Mountain," This Will Destroy You
Favorite TV Moment: A little moment I like to call the entire "King of Queens" series.
Favorite Eastside Tavern karaoke performance: Dan Friesen's rendition of Paul Anka's "She's Having My Baby."
Favorite New Non-Alcoholic Drink for Your Straightedge Self: Diet Dr Pepper
Favorite Boy Band Comeback: No question. New Kids.
Steddy P, local hip-hop mogul
Favorite Album: Doontree, a self-titled album collective of MCs from south Minneapolis.
"Its 21 songs, it's a lengthy album but it has everything you need from a complete album. There's one girl named Dessa who sings and raps the whole time, and she's just amazing. Her and P.O.S. make the album for me."
Favorite Song: "Boom Box" — JBOMB ft. DJ Mahf
"JBOMB can sing an acoustic song about hip-hop and actually pull it off right."
Favorite Dance Party Track: "Enjoy" — Tech N9ne
"I'm from Kansas City, I grew up on him. I felt like this song was something new for him to do, it isn't the same kind of song. It's really upbeat and it makes you feel good."
Favorite Slow Jam: Black Spade — "Good Crazy"
"The production and it's somewhat local. It's hip-hop, but it's like grown man hip-hop."
Favorite Movie: "The Dark Knight"
"Hands down. The Joker. It's all about The Joker."
Favorite TV Moment:
"Barack Obama's acceptance speech on election night simply because it's history."
Favorite Concert in Columbia:
"The last Atmosphere show at The Blue Note, or really just the whole Bluebird Festival. It was great. They pulled it off."
Highlight from a Steddy P show:
"Definitely the Dear Columbia release show on July 2, 2008. It's my best and most accessible record to date and a lot of people came out for it."
Billy Schuh, frontman, The Foundry Field Recordings
Favorite Album:
"Of course I need to tip my hat to Gentleman Auction House — Alphabet Graveyard, Sinkane — Color Voice and Drew Danburry — This Could Mean Trouble, You Don't Speak For The Club. But outside of Emergency Umbrella releases I was taken with Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago. This album is simple, haunting, well-crafted. It caught me at the exact right time."
Favorite Song: Hush Arbors — "Sand"
"Former Columbia resident, now London-based Keith Wood, has spent a lot of time writing for his project Hush Arbors. He recently released a self-titled full length on Thurston Moore's label Ectstatic Peace! Records. This song has been in my head for days on end."
Favorite Dance Party Track:
"I have to admit, I'm not much of a dancer, nor do I party too much, but right now anything that is created by Columbia-based duo Haii Usagi can fit on any dance party mix. Keep a close eye on this band."
Favorite Slow Jams:
"All my slow jams are from the '60s and '70s. Nothing grabbed me this year that I would deem a 'slow jam.'"
Favorite Movie: "Man On Wire"
"Thank you True/False Film Festival. Simply put, it's a fantastic film."
Favorite TV Moment:
"Watching Jon Stewart announce Barack Obama as our next president, and then of course Obama's acceptance speech."
Favorite Concert in Columbia:
"Not so much my favorite show, but my favorite moment. Bon Iver at Mojo's. This show was the same night as the NCAA Men's Basketball Final between Kansas and Memphis. The bar left the TV on right before Bon Iver's set and surprisingly the crowd was really into the game. The game was exciting, Kansas came back and won, much to the dismay of Mizzou-faithful at the show that evening. Well, the energy was very high for the game, and I kept thinking, 'How is Bon Iver and their quiet set of songs going to follow all that?' Well they did, and I have never been a part of such an attentive audience. When Cat Power played at Mojo's a couple of years before it wasn't this quiet. Everyone in that room was drawn into every song. Very good showing following a raucous game."
One Foundry Field Recordings Tour Highlight:
"It has been a slow travel year for the Foundry this year, but we did take time to travel to Champaign, Ill. for the Pygmalion Festival. We got to take in a Monotonix set. Holy shit! This is a band that needs to be seen. Monotonix move their drums, their amps, their stage props, and their audience to every corner of the venue and beyond. Again, a must-see band."
Drew Wilson aka DJ Alpaca Radio
Favorite Album: The World Keeps On Spinning — East Ash Street Band
"These guys took an awesome lineup into the studio and came back with a classic album you never want to skip through, the same way you don't fast forward through Dark Side Of The Moon or The Beastie Boys' Mix-Up."
Runner-Up: Rewind — Grimy Styles
"Sick dub band from Austin, Texas. They played a 2 p.m. set in a small tent at Wakarusa this year and stole the whole festival."
Favorite Song: "Beaver Blink Remix" — OOAH
If you're not already fucking with OOAH and the Glitch Mob, start now. Innovative electronic hip-hop producers/DJs with low-frequency bass wobbles, grinding synths and gangster samples guaranteed to move the room."
Runner-Up: "Girls On Bikes" — Steddy P
"Recorded in Los Angeles with The Earthworms and Hi Fidel, feel-good jam of the summer, horns and strings that'll make you loathe Missouri winter."
Favorite Dance Party Track: "Flashlight" — Eliot Lipp
"NY-based analog prodigy's best offering — what he does with vintage keyboards and a drum machine will smash your best beat on ProTools."
Runner-Up: "Hold On, Im Comin" — Sam and Dave
"I have to thank my dad for most of my old-school soul music game. I LOVE dropping this when the room is already warmed up — if you're not too cool for oldies it can be the best song all night. The only problem is finding something to follow it with."
Favorite Slow Jam: "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" — William Bell
"Ludacris and Killah Priest both sampled this song before I ever heard the original. Did some digging and found the original Stax Records version, definitely one of my all-time favorites."
Runner-Up: "Sound Czech" — Grimy Styles
"Contemplative down-tempo jam, slow dub at it's best — reverb drums and melodica will chill you out no matter what mood you're in."
Favorite Movie: "Box Elder"
"Great comedy, shot in Columbia over four seasons capturing the town on quality film for the first time. And most of you will recognize the landlord's character if you've ever lived near downtown."
Favorite TV Moment: Barack Obama's election night speech at The Blue Note
"Watching Obama speak to the country on the Blue Note's giant screen was one of the coolest, proudest moments of my life, without a doubt. Had two drinks in my hand."
Runner-Up: Tina Fey's Sarah Palin on "SNL"
"Do you think Sarah Palin is pissed Tina Fey looks better as her than she does? And Larry Flynt isn't giving her much slack either."
Favorite CoMO Concert: Bassnectar at Mojo's
"When this dude comes to town, game over. Period. One of the few shows I've been to where the scene was so colorful and alive it didn't even seem like Mojo's anymore."
Runner-Up: The Hood Internet at Mojo's
"One half of the Chicago mash-up duo brought his laptop to Columbia in May, rivaling Girl Talk for best energy at a one-man show — girls grinding onstage to Go! Team vs. Game and a M.I.A. double-time '$20' remix? Yes please."
Favorite Alpaca Radio Show: NORML 4/20 House Party w/ Alpaca Radio, East Ash Street Band, Steddy P, Bustrip and Woodro Recuds
"Do I really need to explain this one?"