Lowrider

Like Ying and yang rap needs balance, you have had the Top Ten East Coast Rap so now its time for the sunshine (and gin) drenched West coast.

Looking at the last 25 years, the West coast tunes have not been as prolific but they have created some of the most iconic and heavy hitting rappers every to make there way in the industry. So here it is in all its bloods n crips and gun toting, LA Raider supporting gangster, sorry gangsta hype:

NWA – Straight outta Compton

7A3 – Coolin the Cali

Ice T – New Jack Hustler

Cyprus Hill – Insane in the brain

Kid Frost – La Raza

Sir Mix a Lot – Baby got back

Dre Dre – Still Dre

Lord Finesse – Return of the funky man

Tupac – California love

Snoop Dogg – Gin and Juice

Example of East Coast inspired Hip Hop graffiti

The last 25 years has seen rap or hip hop grow from back street lyrical ‘battles’ to a multi million dollar industry. Defined by frantic, poetic verse, precision scratching, fresh beats and stylish sampling, rap is not only a music genre but also has its own culture.

Being an Adidas shod, Kangol wearing, gold rope festooned double hard homey from Harlem is no longer a prerequisite for listening to slick lyrics….but it helps.

Quick ten have selected their all time favourite raps.  Problem is, there so many good tunes, we had to do this in two parts. Part one (which doesn’t come with free binder) Top 10 East Coast raps.

All you have to decide is are you East coast or West Coast?

Gangstarr – Just to get a rep

Public Enemy – Nation of Millions

RUN DMC – Tricky

Erik and Rakim – Paid in Full

De La Soul – Eye know

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo – Streets of New York

Naughty by Nature – O.P.P

Beastie Boys – Fight for your right

Tribe Called Quest – Can I kick it?

Notorious B.I.G – Hypnotise

And here’s a free one that isn’t good enough to make the grade but everyone hits the dance floor when its played:

House of Pain – Jump around

Lost in the music

The 90s, a time of bucket hats, adidas trainers, white gloves, dodgy shell suits and dance music. Whether it was trance, house, techno, jungle, drum n base or rave; the 90s were synonymous with laser and pill powered dance parties.

Love it or hate it, the sounds of the 90s dance culture got people moving and even uncoordinated white boys could pull out a move or two that fitted the beat.  The Quickten have put together our favourite Dance tracks of the era (albeit a little mainstream but still good) reach for your whistle, turn up the sound and make some noise in the house!

Utah Saints – Something Good

Dr Baker – KAOS

808 State – In Yer Face

Usura- Open Your Mind

Datura – Eternity

SL2 – On A Ragga Tip

 Sash – Ecuador

Guru Josh – Infinity

Urban Hype – A Trip To Trumpton

Faithless  - Insomnia

The updated version of Utah Saints – Something Good

Another young life ended at 27

The world has lost a great deal of talent to untimely deaths and the music industry seems to suffer the most. These young stars not only influenced the music industry but often defined an entire generation.  The strange thing is that a large proportion of these young and talented musicians or rockstars died prematurely at the age of 27, is there a link to their talent or the demanding industry in which they find themselves in?

Amy Winehouse is just one of the latest victims to fall short of their 28th birthday.  Do these young stars suffer from the high expectation of their public thrust upon them at such an early age?  Fame driving them towards excess at the bottom of bottle or at the tip of  needle?  Or do they simple lack the support of genuine people who care more about their well-being rather then their bank balance?

But who are the most famous of these Rockstars to become part of this infamous club at the age of 27?

Jimi Hendrix - November 27, 1942 to September 18, 1970.  Their best known album was: The Jimi Hendrix Experience

 Kurt Cobain - February 20, 1967 to April 5, 1994. Their best known album was: Nevermind

Jim Morrison - December 8, 1943 to July 3, 1971. Their best known album was: Doors

Janis Joplin - January 19, 1943 to October 4, 1970. Their best known album was: Pearl

Amy Winehouse - 14 September 1983 to 23 July 2011. Their best known album was: Back To Black [Explicit]

 Brian Jones - 28 February 1942 to 3 July 1969. Their best known album was: Beggars Banquet

Richey James Edwards - 22 December 1967 to 1 February 1995. Their best known album was (well known after he passed but this album was made up completely of lyrics he left behind): Journal for Plague Lovers

Dave Alexander - June 3, 1947 to February 10, 1975. Their best known album was: The Stooges

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan - September 8, 1945 to March 8, 1973. Their best known album was: Grateful Dead

Rudy Lewis –  23 August, 1936 to May 20, 1964. Their best known album was: Under The Boardwalk

Sweet, sweet music

They say that music can soothe the soul and for many it does more than that.  It can remind them of their first love, their favourite night out, or even trigger memories from their childhood (my dad use to sing Dean Martin to me when I was a youngster and bring’s back many a happy memory, even had “Ain’t That a Kick In The Head” play at my wedding and may have meant my slight biased opinion in Deano making number 8 in the Top Ten Greatest Singers list).

But as our lives get more compact and the technology that deliver’s our personal symphony improves exponentially beyond it’s humble beginning’s back in 1972 with the first portable personal stereo, so does the need for crisp, clear and ear shacking sound.

So to cut through the crap and get your ears the best possible sound, we have built this who’s who of trusted and supremely engineered headphones brands.  No more crackling or interference from work colleagues trying to get your attention as you complete that last piece of creative genius….we know, we tried some of the best the brands had to offer and a fog horn could have gone off in the office and not interrupted our music bliss.

Sennheiser – The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Sennheiser HD 598 Audiophile Headphones

AKG - The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: AKG K702 Headphones

Grado – The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Grado Professional Series PS1000

Bose – The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones

Shure – The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: SE535-V Triple High-Definition MicroDriver Earphone

Klipsch - The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Klipsch Image S4i Premium Noise-Isolating Headset

Etymotic - The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones

Audio-Technica - The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Audio-Technica Noise-cancelling Headphones

Nokia - The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-905

Skullcandy - The Quick Ten’s favorite pick is the: Skullcandy G.I. Stereo Headphones

The legendary crooner Dean Martin.

Music is a funny thing, it can invoke so many emotions and bring back memories in an instant.  Music research at Harvard has even been linked to helping patients recover from cardiac procedures.  But there are certain singers out there who have made such an impression on their global audience that they will forever be immortalized in musical history.

Now this list is not necessarily determined by pop culture or number of units shifted (although it has been a factor in helping break deadlocks or arguments in the office) but more a combination of aspects, even respected musical reviews.

1. Freddie Mercury – Queen, The Platinum Edition
2. Stevie Wonder – The Definitive Collection
3. Tina Turner – All The Best
4. Elvis Presley –  All the Number 1 Hits
5. Mick Jagger – The Rolling Stones, Hot Rocks
6. Ray Charles - Genius Loves Company
7. Bob Marley – Legend
8. Dean Martin - Dino: The Essential Dean Martin
9. B.B King – Complete Collection
10. Stevie Nicks – Fleetwood Mac’s Greatest Hits

The One and Only

It’s not often you find a podcast that is truly brilliant and has you coming back for more every single time.  But Tony Colman and the crew at Hospital Records continue to deliver the goods week in week out within the realms of drum n bass.

We enjoy the Hospital Records podcast so much here at The Quick Ten we thought we would honor it by breaking down the Top Ten tracks that have been played during the Podcasts of 2009.   These tracks have given us the inspiration to keep going during some pretty long and stressful days and nights.  Looking forward to 2010.

1. Logistics – Transporter
2. Mutated Forms – Pessimist
3. The Temper Trap – Science of Fear (Mistabishi Remix)
4. High Contrast - When the Lights Go Down
5. Sigma – Paint it Black
6. Subwave – Stars Get Down
7. Johnny L – Microdaze
8. Logistics – Repetition
9. MJ Cole – Sincere D+B mix
10. Danny Byrd & Brookes Bros – Paper Chase
11. Electrosoul System feat Ashley Slater – Sunshine