Stress Eater - Everybody Eats LP - Red Vinyl

Silver Age (2024)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

If you know me, you know I love early 90s hip hop.  If you know me, you also know that I really struggle to find hip hop that came out after 1994 that I can connect with.  I'll occasionally find something from the later 90s or early 2000s that scratches a similar itch, but as far as new records being release right now, it's exceedingly rare that anything makes sense to me.  The one exception to that is Czarface.  You may be able to tell from the artwork that Stress Eater is a new group from that same 'Czarface Universe.'

Where Czarface is 7L, Esoteric and Inspectah Deck, Stress Eater is 7L, Esoteric and Kool Keith.  So, we get the really nice production that is what always draws me into Czarface and then we swap out one of the guys from Wu Tang for one of the guys from Ultramagnetic MCs.  Not sure how this is a record that could possibly miss for me.  And it does not.  I mean is has a song called "Mecha and the Sole Brother" and that is one of the best song names I've seen in a long, long time.

The thing about Czarface (and now Stress Eater) that really sets it apart from most hip hop these days is the production.  It's full, it's varied, it has loud drums, it's everything I like about the sound of 90s hip hop without actually sounding like it's from the 90s.  I mean, there are echos, for sure, but it sounds like a modern evolution of that sound - not a carbon copy of an older sound.  

Lyrically, Esoteric is coming out with his usual rapid fire, pop culture heavy lyrical flow.  Dropping references that I chuckle about and also making some deep cut comic references that go completely over my head, his raps always hit for me and make me pay attention to what he's saying.  Speaking of paying attention to lyrics, Kool Keith is one of those MCs that always benefitted from repeated listens.  

For me, this is the best Keith has sounded since the 90s, and a lot of that is because he finally has top tier production that really take advantage of his unique delivery.  I feel like you'll always get the best results from Kool Keith if you give him a beat that has a steady, consistent pace.  He's at his best when you let him go off beat if he needs to, rather than forcing him to adapt to some bizarre, nutty production.

It's nice that it seems like we can count on a Czarface project most years.  I'm hopeful that means we can also start to count on future Stress Eater records in the future.  I dig this every bit as much as any of the Czarface records I have.

Stress Eater - Everybody Eats:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l9VsBx05p_mg8SmPSSMJOeFOuoGyCh3DM

Czarface & MF Doom - Super What? LP

Silver Age (2021)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Most Wednesdays I write up something about an album from around 1988 - 1994, what I consider to be the best time for hip hop.  Lately I've been finding the occasional record that was released as late as say 1995 that I hear for the first time or rediscover.  Those are momentous occasions.  But today we go even crazier.  This album came out this year.   And I like it.  Will wonders never cease.

Czarface and MF Doom have collaborated on an album before, but Super What? is my first time dipping my toe into that pool.  I've never listened to Czarface before as I knew Inspectah Deck from Wu Tang was involved and I've never been a Wu Tang fan to be honest.  As far as MF Doom goes, I love his work with KMD from the 90s, but his other work is more hit and miss for me.  I'm not sure what made me go take a listen to this new release, but I'm glad I did.

My biggest beef with modern hip hop is that I find the beats to be weak and uninspired.  I can't really get down with minimalism in hip hop as I need the big bass lines and boom bap snare cracks to connect.  Super What? has the sort of production work that I really can get behind weaving in classic 90s vibes that Czarface (mostly) and MF Doom (here and there) lay down colorful verses and interesting rhyming patterns.  You're going to get my attention if you drop a lyric about pro wrestler Orange Cassidy.  It's a short album, maybe even too short.  But the quality that they maintain from start to finish is quite astounding.

Not only is this the best new hip hop album I've heard in years and years, I'm impressed enough that I plan on seeking out some other Czarface albums to see if this was a one off anomaly, or if there's finally new hip hop I can pay attention to.

Czarface & MF Doom - Super What?:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mYAXEFn5fxMQqqZ2huvNamnAgxqUaLgdQ

Bob Mould - Silver Age LP

Bob Mould - Silver Age LP, a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Merge (2012)

As a long time fan of Bob Mould (full confession, I prefer Sugar to Husker Du, I know, blasphemy), it's been a little depressing watching his output over the last 10-15 years or so. A decent record with a few good songs here, a record with about 50% decent songs there, a terrible electronic album... It just seemed to me that he lost his fire and wouldn't ever be relevant to me again. Then he goes and puts out the Silver Age, just to make me look like an asshole.

This record rips from start to finish. It's almost like he got Sugar up and running again and magically woke up 20 years younger with the kind of energy he's put into this record. Song after song of aggressive, well thought out and exciting guitar pop music. Easily the best thing he's put out since File Under Easy Listening and one of the absolute best records of the year. In one record Bob Mould has gone from awesome guy of the past to a guy that I absolutely can't wait to see what he does next. Please keep it Mr. Mould, I am absolutely paying attention again.

Bob Mould - The Descent:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MdhsCeasBQ

Bob Mould - Star Machine:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RALObIcjmy0