Aesop Rock at Wonder Ballroom 10/25

Aesop Rock,
originally uploaded by Alex Rando.

Aesop Rock sounds sinister. I think his voice reminds me of Dr. Dre, but do I want to download "Bitches Ain't Shit" to check? I sure don't. I know Aesop Rock reminds me of the mix-tape gem "Sky is Falling" by Blackalicious, who I otherwise don't like as much as my liberally-educated indie-loving demographic should indicate. I enjoy most of Aesop Rock's produced songs, and I'd like to be super-excited about his show next week at the Wonder Ballroom. But I listened to some crappy crowd-screamy recordings of his live stuff, and the music was not interesting enough to make me endure the screamers. The mashup (shudder) "We Share Our Mother's Jumper Cables" is illustrative. Normally I loathe mashups, but this one's great. Aesop Rock's voice is fantastic, and pairing it with better music shows how much the boring, flat beats in some of his own songs weigh him down. The music is still great, but the potential is even greater.

Aesop Rock - We Share Our Mother's Jumper Cables
Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass [YouTube][Buy mp3!!!]
Aesop Rock - Basic Cable [Buy mp3!!!]
Aesop Rock - Coffee (feat. John Darnielle) [Buy mp3!!!]
Prefuse 73 - Black List (feat. MF Doom and Aesop Rock)
Aesop Rock - No City
Evil Nine - Crooked (feat. Aesop Rock) [YouTube]