Mystery soundtrack

5th of June - Mystery Artist - 1967

This is the soundtrack for:

a) A Kurosawa film
b) An Israeli war movie
c) An arty French gangster pic
d) A Western starring Lee Van Cleef
e) A police thriller set in Shanghai

Answer (Hat tip to Waxidermy)

Top 3: hip hop commercials

#1. Wet Pets (Wet Pets, San Pablo)

A Bay Area classic. Best line: "Kick back with hamsters and dogs / parakeets, rabbits and scorpi-awns."


#2. Singin' in the Rain Remix (Volkswagen Golf)

I love when Gene Kelly busts out the arm wave and the slow strobe light breakdown. Clearly, this is the work of David Elsewhere.


#3. The Pasta Dude (Domino's Pizza)

Guilty pleasure.

Francisco Aguabella

Agua de Cuba - Francisco Aguabella - 1999
Sentimiento de un Latino - Francisco Aguabella - 1999

It's kind of sad when a world-class conguero has to practice silently in his own apartment because of neighbors' complaints.

At least Francisco Aguabella won't have to hold back this weekend when he plays with the Puerto Rico Golden Jazz Stars at Yoshi's. (Still not too late to get tickets!)

Over the years, Aguabella has played with loads of jazz musicians, from Dizzy Gillespie to Sinatra, although the work I'm most familiar with is his 1999 Afro-Cuban jazz classic "Agua de Cuba." That record has some great songs, including the two tracks above. Listen for the blazing timbale solo midway through "Sentimiento de un Latino."

Bat Makumba

Last night I saw Bat Makumba at the Independent. I didn't know much about them before yesterday, although I liked that they were SF locals and named their band after a Gilberto Gil song. They put on a great show with heavy funk and Latin grooves, and managed to throw in some shoutouts to classic Brazilian artists like Tim Maia and Leny Andrade. They also pulled off an unexpected cover of Professor Longhair's "Big Chief" that had a great New Orleans feel for it. Maybe they got the idea from Lily Allen?

I'm going to keep an eye out for Bat Makumba around SF. Their new album is coming out next month, and they're going to be playing at the Great American Music Hall. It's worth checking out. I just hope the DJ between sets doesn't play Club Med fiesta songs next time.