Search - Kodiak Brinks :: Stand for Nothing Fall for Anything

STAND FOR NOTHING, FALL FOR ANYTHING by Kodiak Brinks (aka Adam Mansbach) Coalition Kodiak Brinks ? vocals Kelvin Sholar ? electric piano Brian Horton ? flute and saxophones Jonathan Powell - trumpet Ameen Saleem ? upright bass The Apple Juice Kid ? drums I wanted to do a track that called for unity and action, but without being all corny about it ? something that addressed the need to get together as artists and as people, but also acknowledged the kind of apathy that plagues the best of us, and the absurdity of the kinds of things we let distract us. I did an early version of this song with Kelvin for one of his albums, and this was one of the first cuts we recorded for this project. To me, Brian?s horn arrangement is the flyest thing on this whole album ? he did it the night we recorded it, played it for us the next morning and blew everybody away. Unfuckwidable (featuring Vega Victoria) Kodiak Brinks ? vocals Vega Victoria - vocals Kelvin Sholar ? organ Brian Horton ? flute and saxophones Ameen Saleem ? upright bass The Apple Juice Kid ? drums DJ Frane - turntables I wrote these lyrics in my head while I was walking along the train tracks from Stockholm to the suburbs ? seems like I always write more when I?m out of the country. Kind of an ode to Brooklyn, kind of a free-floating joint with a lot of interlocking thoughts in it. I was in LA a month after we recorded this, and randomly enough, I saw Natalie Cole at a party. I considered telling her about this song, but then I figured I?d better not. We A Di Don (featuring Jah Daniels) Kodiak Brinks ? vocals Jah Daneils - vocals Hotta Fire - vocals Kelvin Sholar ? clavinet Ameen Saleem - electric bass The Apple Juice Kid ? drums DJ Frane ? turntables Our take on the Jamaican soundclash tune, with Jah Daniels doing the reworked hook to an obscure Johnny Osbourne joint. The cats laced this one, no question, especially Ameen with the thick-ass bassline. I wrote the lyrics in Greece, right before the session, and we put it down in one take, based on one of Juice?s beats. I had to sing the chorus myself initially, before we got with Jah Daniels, in my bullshit Dave Chapelle-as-Mr-Nice-Guy-why-would-I-wear-dis-hat Jafakin accent. So for months, I?d be playing people the rough mix and saying ?you just gotta ignore the chorus.? Frontlines Kodiak Brinks ? vocals Kelvin Sholar ? clavinet Brian Tester - guitar Ameen Saleem ? electric bass The Apple Juice Kid ? drums DJ Frane ? turntables This is a piece from my poetry collection, genius b-boy cynics getting weeded in the garden of delights ? a pretty self-evident lyric, I guess, inspired by a lot of ?hip hop academics? I?ve come across over the years, and also by Gil Scott-Heron?s poem ?Brother.? Word Around the Planet Kodiak Brinks ? vocals Kelvin Sholar ? electric piano Ameen Saleem ? electric bass The Apple Juice Kid ? drums DJ Frane ? turntables This is one of my favorite joints, probably because I wrote it the day before we put it down. The beat is based on a blues record I looped, and Juice just kills it ? I?ve played with him longer than with anybody else, from street corners in Croatia on up, and I?ve never found a better hip hop drummer. Juice has such a profound understanding of the kind of space and dynamics the music requires, and his feel is incredible. Just as all the great jazz drummers, from Elvin back to Papa Joe, had to understand how to play behind singers, Juice really knows how to complement an MC. He listens at an unparalleled level. In the last year, he?s started producing too, and now he?s winning all the beat-battles they have down in North Kack, so watch out for him. Bedtime Stories (featuring I Witness, Deadeye Willie Waterhouse and Flipside Nefarious of Seven League Boots) Kodiak Brinks ? vocals I Witness ? vocals Deadeye Willie Waterhouse - vocals Flipside Nefarious ? vocals Kelvin Sholar ? organ and melodica Brian Horton - saxophones Jonathan Po