"Ladies & Gentlemen, It's My Honor & My Privilege & My Great Joy to Introduce This Next Band & Please, Give It Up for The Future of Hip-Hop:" Places & Spaces' Debut ALIVE (self-released)

Places & Spaces are a self-described "Hip-Hop Rap Boom-Bap Golden Age" production duo hailing from Switzerland consisting of old friends Naturetone and Zooki. "For the past 20-some years, Naturetone & Zooki went places, different places. In the early 1990's they made beats together and pioneered Swiss Hip-Hop as part of the group Three Tree Posse [AKA 3TP]," reads Places & Spaces' Bandcamp description. Places & Spaces' first song, also titled "Alive," initially appeared on now-defunct label, World Around Records' final compilation, We Are World Around Vol. 6. I actually had the opportunity to speak with Patric (Naturetone) as part of my label-encompassing We Are World Around Vol. 6 double-header piece earlier this year. Naturetone & Zooki first worked together as 3TP between 1993-95 and met back up again in 2016 at "some beat-making sessions run by a mutual friend for another project" and they decided then, to reconvene and record music together for the first time in 20 years, as Places & Spaces— in fact, named after Donald Byrd's critically-acclaimed 1975 Blue Note album, Places and Spaces. At the time of The Witzard's We Are World Around Vol. 6-centric piece, Patric told me he and Zooki "already [had] about 30 beats ready," which they "planned to release in the coming months;" information concerning their proper ALIVE follow-up should come around the first of November.

Now, it's been nearly eight months since World Around Records folded and Places & Spaces made their soft debut with "Alive" and we have their slightly scaled-back full-length, ALIVE, self-released last Saturday, October 14th. ALIVE is a refreshing 22-track slab of Instrumental Hip-Hop, reminiscent of Jaylib's coveted 2003 album Champion Sound, Clams Casino's Instrumentals I-IV comps. The Dust Brothers' multi-layered production work on Paul's Boutique, DOOM's Madlib-produced MADVILLAINY, and College Dropout-era Kanye. Places & Spaces have effectively inter-woven a handful of recognizable vocal samples from some of music's finest including Mos Def AKA Yasiin Bey, Kanye, Beastie Boys, James Brown, Nas, Biggie, Diana Ross, Les McCann, Sun Ra, Richard Pryor, Rakim, Digable Planets, and a few others. Naturetone additionally told me, via email: "we have also used some voices from the Wattstax: [Highlights from The] Soundtrack. You know, I am a big fan of The Bomb Squad and Wattstax was used heavily on Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation [of Millions to Hold Us Back] album. Just love this one!" Naturetone & Zooki's soaring reunion/debut as Places & Spaces, ALIVE, is currently available for streaming and download on a Name-Your-Price basis from their newly-launched Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages. If you dig what you hear, throw them a couple "bones" and feel free to Follow Places & Spaces on Twitter (@plcsnspcs,) Instagram (placesandspacesmusic,) and Facebook (@placesandspacesmusic.)

"Let Me Shine for You:" Lindsay Lohan for Playboy (Winter 2011-12 Leak)

Lindsay Lohan essentially embodies exactly "What NOT to Do In Hollywood :" Fame, fortune, success... sex, drugs & Rock "N" Roll . Within a fairly short period of time, Lohan somehow managed to obtain a plentiful helping of POWER @ a very young age. This gradual rise-downfall was captured on film; Between 1998-2010, she portrayed a wide array of roles across the silver screen in movies including: Mean Girls, Bobby , Herbie Fully Loaded , Georgia Rule, Machete , and Freaky Friday . Between rapid-paced film shoots, Lindsay Lohan also found time to record 2 Pop Rock albums for Casablanca , Speak (2004) and A Litter More Personal-Raw (2005). Needless to say, Lindsay Lohan has gotten roped up in a lot of troubles and woes with the law over the last 3-5 years... a vicious cycle of drugs, arrest, court, rehab, "daddy issues," jail time [Repeat]. That's the pure basics of it - But Google that shit for additional info, if necessary. Towards the end of

[W]reckless, Topless American Youth: Lana del Rey - "Born 2 Die" (Britney Spears Birthday 30)

Lana del Rey [Lizzy Grant] effectively became 2011's "It Girl" with the release of her phenomenal debut single, "Video Games" (Stranger) . Like many struggling singer-songwriters, Grant has been signed, dropped, and significantly changed her public image since bursting onto the scene (2009). With that said, it can be assumed that Lana del Rey has collected just as many "haters" as she has avid supporters. To be perfectly honest, the only other artist I can think of that made this much commotion... garnered so much wide-spread buzz/hate and critical acclaim -- right out of the gates -- with just one track is Britney Spears . And maybe in this post- Mike musical era, that's the true synthesis of Pop Culture: Britney Lynn Spears . After months of repeated teasing and speculation, Lana del Rey 's major label debut, Born 2 Die will [finally] be released this coming Jan. 30-31, 2012. Pitchfork reports that it will feature "Off to The Ra

Liberty Bell Cracked In 1/2: Ween - "Freedom of '76" (Gene Ween's Final Send-Off)

Chocolate & Cheese (1994) was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. I was in some sort of BMG Music Club , where you'd buy 5 CD's and then get 10 for "FREE." It was all sent through mail order and you picked the titles from some special booklet. I'm almost positive that Chocolate & Cheese's side boob-baring album cover was what initially drew me in... mind you, I was 12-15 and the zany Ween logo/middle finger CD graphic really didn't hurt either. Honestly, I forget how I really felt about it @ the time, but a few years later, my older cousin Josh told me that Ween were this BIG college "jam band." CKY did some sort pf 93.3 radio takeover to promote their new album and played "Freedom of '76" late that night on air. Needless to say, I re-visited Chocolate & Cheese @ about 20-something this go 'round and I fucking loved it! Ween were really weird, yet talented... almost too talented. I can vaguel

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