Beat Fighter II – RUN-DMC vs. SNSD

In the early days of hip-hop parties, before any actual rap records were produced, the ten-second intro of Bob James' jazz-fusion masterpiece "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" was a party starting staple-- not that it ever had to be played at the beginning of a party, per se. But it was likely that at some point during a jam those valued ten seconds would be hyper-extended by a deejay who'd bounce between double copies twirling on parallel turntables. For the many of us who were exposed to hip-hop in the era of actual rap records, the first time the "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" intro was ever heard was most likely by way of "Piper Piper", the smash second single from Run-DMC's 1986 album, Raising Hell. Now three decades later (Four, actually, since its original 1975 incarnation!), the South Korean pop group Girl's Generation, aka SNSD, has breathed sexy new life into James' finely-aged jazz-fusion jam with the late 2013 release of the K-Pop hit, "Lips."

Press play 'n' enjoy.

[Press-N-Play®] Run-DMC – Peter Piper
[Press-N-Play®] Girl's Generation – Lips

The Sweet Taste of KJAMM

There are a few J-Pop podcasts to which I'm currently subscribed. At timely and sometimes not so timely intervals each one will download automatically to my mp3 player to serve up a tasty new batch of East Asian audio treats. The best of these, averaging three episodes per month and thus being the one I enjoy the most often -- as well as simply the most -- is the very affable KJAMM podcast. Devoted to the modern music of Korea and Japan, the show is hosted by the sweet-n-sexy Sam Brown, the diva-licious Jon Black and the willing 'n' able Abe White. With each episode the trio lovingly caters to listeners a very thoughtful mix of contemporary 'jamms' that range from r&b, pop and hip-hop to electro rock, dance and even jazz (apparently just to make sure the show provides all of the essential vitamins and minerals a growing ghost in the shell needs). On top of the musical main courses, each episode also offers various side dishes of pop culture laced opinion and commentary--courtesy of the multiple-personality disorders of the show's insanely quick-witted hosts. The 26th of January brought the hardworking KJAMM crew to the show's 50th episode, a noteworthy notch on the belt of any such labor of love. If you, like I do, often find yourself famished for the newest sounds in K and J-Pop (Yeah, it's filling--but then you're hungry again twenty minutes later, right?), pour yourself a cup of jasmine tea, grab a hot buttered biscuit and spread on a honeyed heap of KJAMM. The show is available at iTunes™, PodOmatic™ and through other fine podcast providers.

St. Paco
Your Kung Fu Sucks