Heard Here

Jeff Buckley
Grace

Jeff Buckley is my hero. I should say “was,” I suppose, in response to his tragic demise in a freak drowning accident in the Mississippi River some years ago, but I refuse to do so. In any case, Grace, his first (and only) full-length album, is a wonder. At least three of the songs will become your favorites. My personal favorites are “Last Goodbye,” a song I am wont to play on repeat all night, a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” which Rufus Wainwright did a splendid rendition of in his concert at Finney, and, last but not least, the magnificent “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over,” a track which prompted a rather large scale printmaking project my senior year of high school. And then, of course, there are all the other songs on the album that are also sometimes my favorites.
The earlier releases (Live at Sin-e and other more bootleggy things) are nice, as is the two-CD set (Sketches for) My Sweetheart the Drunk, which was released posthumously. They are imperfect, however and leave you wanting more. One gets the feeling that Grace was the only CD that Buckley (or Jeffy, as I like to refer to him) really controlled every aspect of, the only album that ended up exactly the way he wanted it. His others are also essential parts of any Buckley fan’s collection, especially Mystery White Boy, a live CD comprised of different tracks at different shows over the course of the tour promoting, Grace. But Grace is where it’s at.
Buckley also liked to do covers, and you gotta’ love a guy who takes a stab at everyone from Leonard Cohen to Nina Simone to Van Morrison and even Schoolhouse Rock (“Three is the Magic Number,” which doesn’t appear on this album) in the span of a few years. But Grace…ah, Grace. How can you resist it?
This is love, wailing, wanting and desire set to music. You need this album if you just broke up with your boyfriend, if you want to woo your girlfriend, if you’ve had a horrible day, if you’ve had a life-affirming day, if you need to go to Gibson’s to buy cigarettes, or if you’re driving to Denny’s at three in the morning. Even those who are irritated by his occasional high-octave noodling will not be able to deny the beauty of the other 90 percent of the album. Jeff Buckley is a gorgeous voice in a gorgeous body. Jeff Buckley is my boyfriend. If you don’t have this album, you are in dire need.

–Emma Straub

X-ecutioners
Built From Scratch

Hip-hop has long been centered on MCs whose lyrical flows have often distracted attention away from the DJ, another key element in hip-hop music. Most people can recall such prominent pairs as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, or Eric B. and Rakim, but for the most part DJs have been given a back seat in the mainstream music eye. The X-ecutioners, four turntable specialists from New York City, with their latest effort Built from Scratch, re-assert the DJs first-place status, creating smooth mixes over everything from hip-hop to rock and reggae.
The X-ecutioners are no newcomers to the music industry. Rob Swift, Mista Sinista, Roc Raida and Total Eclipse formed their group in the late ’80s and have been a major force in the hip-hop scene ever since. Built from Scratch is their second-full length album and features such well-known artists as Linkin Park, M.O.P., Pharoahe Monch and Xzibit. The album includes mixes over easily recognizable samples, but also includes throwback Motown sounds and heavy metal vibes.
With Built from Scratch, the first turntable group to ever enter a studio and record a full-length LP, the X-Ecutioners prove that what they do is more than just scratching records. The album’s beat-juggling use of live instruments and tracks filled with the flows of famous microphone fiends represent what DJ culture is all about: creating infectious rhythms for the world to bob their heads and dance to.

–Christina Morgan