#22. The Budos Band – The Budos Band III

I’ma do it.  I’ma do the one thing a music reviewer should probably never do.  I’ma cite another review – actually two reviews.  And hell, I’ma do more than just cite ‘em.  I’ma link to ‘em.  Run tell that.

And before I do, I’m going to explain why, because I’m sure it seems lazy (it is), and I’m sure it seems like a cop-out (only kinda).  But honestly, I don’t have anything informative or descriptive to say about The Budos Band or the type of music that they play that hasn’t already been said better by one of these writers – I’m just here to tell you that I really like this record, and you should, too.  Now have a quick read and educate yourself on the Budos:

Nate Patrin’s Pitchfork review

Thom Jurek’s AllMusic.com review

And for good measure, their Wikipedia page

Now, if you happened to come back to reading my original material, and you think that sounds like something you might be into, let me at least do a little bit of my own work and tell you why I like this record…

Do you ever feel like the characters in old movies seem cooler than their modern day counterparts?  I don’t mean “hard” or “kickass” or whatever…  I just mean cool.  Well, I think some of that has to do with a little bit of nostalgia, and for us youngin’s, mystique.  And then there was just the inherent panache of yesteryear, all of those little, classy details that nobody, save for maybe George Clooney, does anymore.

Speaking of Clooney, it’s kind of how Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven remake (and it’s ridiculous but endearing sequels) almost managed to capture the same sort of style and swagger that the Rat Pack version had back in the day (even though, let’s be honest, that version’s pretty boring).  But, instead of commissioning a band like The Budos Band, who is well-versed in mining the territory made famous in the Blaxplotation genre (which consistently made it’s lead characters look Super Fly), Soderbergh opted for the-great-in-his-own-right David Holmes, who took a more groove-jazz approach and ultimately added more to the background than it did to the characters’ cool.

I guess that’s the appeal to having a record like this in your back pocket (read: iPod).  There are just those times where you want to instantly throw on some cool-ass music that makes you feel like a cool cat from back in the day, cold got to be.  Whatever you’re doing – you could be sitting in the car wash, riding on the subway, waiting at the laundromat, delivering pizza, linking to other reviews in your review – whatever it is, if the Budos Band is soundtracking you, you are officially the coolest muthaf*cka running that show.

Available on iTunes

RIYL:  Anything on Daptone Records, The Go Team’s “Junior Kickstart”