Professor Steinski
Title: What Does It All Mean?
Artist: Steinski
Label: Illegal Art
Funkier than Zappa, smarter than The Avalanches, and happier than Negativland: Steinski’s works are listenable, infectious, and energetic beat collages that make you sway and stomp. This album collects both the early collaborations between Steve Stein and studio engineer Douglas Di Franco—the famous lessons series that buzzed from bootleg tapes to bootleg tapes after their radio releases—and also Steinski’s subsequent mashups and remixes. Quite good. For more info, you can visit the label site, or you can read Steinski’s own blog. And of course, you can buy the album.
Double Dee and Steinski – “Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop)”
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This third installment of Steinski and Di Franco’s lessons trilogy is crazy good. A maelstrom of recognizable snippets and melodies, bucking beats melting into one another, and a hopping energy that unifies the entire track. This song is satisfying at each second.
Steinski (Rough Mix) – “Swingset (10 Beautiful Girls Mix)”
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I think when I heard the tap dancer beat ¾ through the song I got hooked. This is just one small section of Steinski’s magnificent mashup for Solid Steel/BBC London. Again, each moment satisfies.
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