Customer Reviews

DJ SHADOW & CUT CHEMIST - FREEZE

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i got this cd used for 5 bucks at a cd/record convention, it was all scratched, but wanted to hear it. it played well enough for me to realize this is something special. the problem with the cd is the sound quality, it's a room recording, so it's a little hollow and flat. that being said you need the cd AND dvd to enjoy it fully. the dvd is sick kiddies, sick. i thought it would be some trip hop/techno exercise with scratches over it. and boy was i WRONG. it turns out to be a set of rare soul/funk/r&b and some old school hip hop thrown in for good measure. the mixin is impeccable, it's all on 45's, which means more when you see them scratching tiny records, it is both funny and amazing at the same time. the same can be said of the freeze set as a whole. you are either laughing and nodding your head, smiling and nodding your head, or just nodding your head. no lie, i was shocked these white boys had it in them. being black, i didn't think this freeze set would get me into music made by people of my ethnicity, but it has. there are some songs that if you know your stuff, you'll be like "oh that's from...", so that's cool. then there's stuff that you're like "where the f*&k did they find THAT! then realizing they are super serious "crate diggers" i mean you've seen scratch right? with dj shadow in "the basement" of that record store? it's mindblowing to say the least. cut chemist is nasty as well and i will not play favorites, his love of the music he plays is evident. everyone's enjoying themselves, that's very visible, and makes it all the more lovable.

Length:: 0:42 Mins

If you want to understand the phonomonon of crate digging, get Freeze. This movie is a documentry, actually, the documentry, about how hip hop sample mavins collect their beat sources.

You see these DJs--yes, Shadow and Chemist are right here, although not enough--combing the shops, practicing on their turntables, working in clubs, and sitting in the middle their massive collections.

How you feel about this film may depend not how you feel about crate-digging, but turntableism. If you think hip hop is crap and samplers are theives, you will be turned off. But if you, like

me, feel found music is a great idea and making new music from old--and old records--is an exciting prospect, Freeze is a eyefull.

I am not a turntableist, but I am a music lover and album horder. I get all-a-quivery when I see these guys collections. I only wish they would go more into detail about the records these guys buy.

Which raises a another qeustion: are these DJs only buying for beats, or do they listen to all this music?

First, this is a classic. You have some of the best turntablists on the West Coast doing a show...with all 45s. Insane. But you probably know this DVD is great. DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Nu-mark, Z-trip. The practice sessions were also great to see. Overall, a must for anyone who is interested in 90s hip-hop or turntablism.

One note about the packaging: it scratches the DVDs up pretty badly. The DVD is not adequately held in place by the DVD case, so it moves around and ends up having circular scratches on it. I sent back the first scratched DVD I purchased for a replacement and the second was scratched up just as badly as the first. I ended up taking the second DVD I received to a used DVD shop and they were able to use their machine to resurface the DVD. Only cost $1, so no complaints there. It plays fine now. Just know that you might have to get this resurfaced as the packaging for this DVD is terrible.

This is a great DVD. I had to have it after listening to the CD constantly for weeks. The pro's include: interviews with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, behind the scenes video, the showmanship on stage. The con's: the sound quality is worse than Brainfreeze the CD, the "Dance the Slurp" song is edited off the DVD. This is definitely worth checking out, but somewhat disappointing.