This Is a Test

This Is a Test

Track Listings

1. Xperiments

2. Chamber Music

3. Original Affairs (Version)

4. Candlelight Club

5. Fungk

6. Life

7. I'm Not Scared

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
The artist djezi has been making heads nod since he was dj'ing house parties in junior high school in his hometown of Miami. Since then, he has expanded his musical outlets to include making some quite imaginative electronic/hip-hop music. Not bound by a particular genre or style, he will write an uptempo party starter as readily as a smooth acid jazz groove. The common thread would be that the sounds will be original, fresh, and detailed. A musician who makes music for its own sake and its own reward. Lend djezi an ear. Or two.

Product Description
Attention to the details of songwriting, beat construction, and musicianship are the substance of djezi’s first commercial musical offering this is a test….

An instrumental album equal parts percussive and melodic, aggressive and relaxed capable of leaving electronic fans shaking, hip-hop heads with their jaws on the floor, chill-out cats quivering, and trip-hoppers feeling nice for a second or two; this is a test… is as pure as it gets.

With thick layers of instrumentation, samples and beats marked by djezi’s trademark for switching styles (sometimes mid-groove!) to keep you engaged, djezi is able to combine the melodic eclectics of Boards of Canada with the experimental aesthetics of Aphex Twin and the bold beats of DJ Shadow. All while crafting a tightly produced EP appealing to hip-hop, chill-out, and electronic fans alike (with close attention paid to the head-nod, foot-tap, and rump-shake).

To put it another way, djezi’s this is a test… is music that requires much of the listener. It assumes the listener is intelligent and unwilling to compromise his tastes and hasn’t forgotten how good music makes you move and feel. djezi exists to create inspired music for the inspired listener.

Here is an album that is multi-faceted without being unfocused or cluttered. This is the album you can road-trip with. This is the album you can crank at the party. This is the album you can sip a drink to. This is a test. Relax, it’s open mind.

This Is a Test,Djezi,Dealer's Choice Sound Recordings, Inc.,Imagine a mix of the melodic eclectics of Boards of Canada with the melodic aesthetics of Moby and the bold beats of DJ Shadow.

This is Not a Test
Average customer rating:

...

2nd Time Around

Not Her Best, But Not Bad

I really like this album.

Test for Missy

This is Not a Test
Missy Elliott
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music
General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Under Construction

Miss E... So Addictive

Da Real World

The Cookbook

Supa Dupa Fly

ASIN: B0000AKO2Z
Release Date: 2003-11-25

Tracks:

Baby Girl Interlude/Intro
Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch
Wake Up
Keep It Movin
Is This Our Last Time
Ragtime Interlude/I'm Really Hot
Dats What I'm Talkin About
Don't Be Cruel
Toyz Interlude/Toyz
Let It Bump
Pump It Up
It's Real
Let Me Fix My Weave
Spelling Bee Interlude/Spelling Bee
I'm Not Perfect
Outro

Amazon.com

There's a reason rap enthusiasts breathlessly await new Missy albums. Maybe it's because her work is so uninhibited--who else but Missy would marvel at the magic of, er, self-love gadgets like she does on "Toyz"? And tastefully too! Perhaps most A-list rap stars don't need sexual aids to get their groove on, but Missy's looking out for the 95 percent of the female rap population who might not look like Halle Berry. Some would apologetically rock fake hair extensions, but Missy celebrates them on "Let Me Fix My Weave." The self-deprecation continues on the jazzy "I'm Not Perfect." But This Is Not a Test is not all about Miss E. With her beat-wizard buddy Timbaland, she's on a crusade to revitalize what they feel is a stagnating commercial rap marketplace. It reaches its apex on "Wake Up" (featuring Jay-Z), where she reminds us that wearing big Liberace chains and driving high-end sport utility vehicles is not all that important. Sure, most of the guest collaborations here either sound unpolished or unnecessary, but, like Bahamadia, Missy's one of the few modern-day femcees who would rather push envelopes than lick 'em. Despite its title, this album does test rap's experimental boundaries with much success. --Dalton Higgins

Customer Reviews:

..........2006-12-09

I remember when Missy was on 106 & Park promoting this album, they asked her how she got the album done so fast. Missy bluntly replied that her record label made her. (It was released, more or less, just a year after Under Construction. For some reason, instead of trying to promote that excellent album, they stopped everything and made her go back and record another. It goes to show you just how dumb the people at Elekatra Records were. Since then, the record label has fallen to pieces and their artists have been handed over to Atlantic Records. Sylvia Rhone, who used to be the head of Elektra, went to Motown Records and is screwing up eveything there,too.)

So probably even Missy knows this is not her best work. The prodcution is nice and I can listen to the whole album without skipping a song, but some just sound plain and rushed. Missy starts doing some of her own production on here, which is alright. Even Timbaland's beats do not sound as fresh.

Don't get me wrong... I really like this album, and if anybody else recorded it, it would've been fine. I'm just expressing that this is not her best work ever. As I said before, I can listen to the whole album without skipping, so it is good. (I am not being generous with the rating, it's really four stars.) I would recommend buying this, maybe used, but buy Da Real World or Under Construction before. Those are her two best in my opinion. This is definitely nothing near to her worst, though.

2nd Time Around.......2006-05-16

Missy came back again with another knockout album. This Is Not A Test is a true testament that life doesn't revolve around material things, but having a good time, and having God in your life and making sure you are still grounded and having family and friends is important. The tracks are not stellar by any means, but they are funny and danceable. Some of the songs that she sings are mediocre- due to the limitness of her alto, but she can sing with as much conviction as a dead cocateau. Overall, I like the whole album, not one of her best, but it's better than the first 3! Grade: B-

Not Her Best, But Not Bad.......2005-07-08

While THIS IS NOT A TEST! is definitely not the highlight of Missy Elliott's discography, it is by no means a bad album. This is still signature Missy with her R&B balladry and alternative rap "freshness". The production is flawless and the arrangements are as unpredictable as ever. Missy spits rhymes and croons sultry ballads. Yet, THIS IS NOT A TEST! does have its high points as well as low points.

As per the other Missy Elliott's albums, the album begins with an intro which in this instance features Mary J. Blige. Then when proceed into "Pass That Dutch", one of the albums better tracks, but it isn't stellar by any means. It lacks the hit quality that songs like "Get Ur Freak On" (MissE...So Addictive) or "Work It" (Under Construction) had. It is still fun nonetheless.

The next song is "Wake Up" which features Jay-Z. While the background arrangment and drum programming are cool, the song has flaws. Missy's rhyme is fine, but Jay-Z surprisingly delivers a rather average if not mediocre performance, a surprise for the great Hov. Either way, the hook to this selection is surprisingly catchy, which saves it.

Skipping "fillers" such as "Keep It Moving" feat. Elephant Man and "Is This Our Last Time" feat. Fabolous, the next mega moment of THIS IS NOT A TEST! is "I'm Really Hot". This is by far the highlight of the album. Not only is it signature Missy, its hook is really catchy making it easily comparable to "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It". This makes the album worth it. Following it is a not too shabby, fun duet with R. Kelly called "Dats What I'm Talkin'About" in which Missy goes into R&B diva mode with the great Pied Piper of R&B himself. Sure, it can't compare to the classicism of say "Take Away" which feature Missy & Ginuwine (MissE...So Addictive), but it is again, a better track.

"Don't Be Cruel" is okay, yet it doesn't hold its own against tracks such as "I'm Really Hot". "Toyz" is fine as well, but you begin to see diminishing quality, which makes THIS IS NOT A TEST! slightly weaker than Missy's previous titles. Still, as "I'm Really Hot" states... "radio says I'm killin' 'em"; That statement couldn't be truer, even on this lesser effort. Missy is what creativity is about and what music is about; she tries not to conform which makes her different and makes each and every album she releases very unique, engaging, and exciting. I've already reviewed and listened to THE COOKBOOK and Missy raises the bar, just as she did on previous albums. Either way, this is still a 3.5 to 4 star album for me. I highly recommend Missy!

I really like this album........2005-06-24

This album is very hilarious and fun to dance to. Missy is so gifted. I really think she could be a comedian if she wasn't an EMCEE. Her singing isn't bad either. I was really impressed with this album. I didn't give it five stars because I can skip several songs on this CD, but otherwise I was very impressed. Her standout songs are Pass That Dutch, I'm Really Hot, Dats What I'm Talkin' About, Toyz, Don't Be Cruel, and Let it Bump. If the CD wasn't filled with moaning I'd give it 5 stars.

Test for Missy.......2005-06-15

I remember this album when I was in the 11th grade. This album is boisterous and the beats are tight. I love this CD. This album was to set aside all prior achievements,and free herself of any pre-conceived notions as to what the album should sound like. This album was not an exception. Timbaland produced the bulk of this album. The album adds some new moves to her game,including a nod to the kind of '60's black activism. She offered a hip hop remisx to the black power movement,threading some socially conscious food-for-thought amongst the album's songs. Her trademark ciphering an instinctual ability to build characters out of the strangest sounds and atmospherics is in full display on the album. The album also reflect some past nuggets. This album has been certified Platinum. Remember,this was 2003-2004.

Average customer rating:

wow
This is a great cd!

This Is Not a Test!
Missy Elliott
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Under Construction (Clean)
Miss E... So Addictive
The Cookbook [Clean]
Supa Dupa Fly

ASIN: B0000DZTIR
Release Date: 2003-11-25

Tracks:

Intro - Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott
Pass That Dutch - Missy Elliott
Wake Up - Missy Elliott, Jay-Z
Keep It Movin - Elephant Man, Missy Elliott
Is This Our Last Time - Missy Elliott, Fabolous
I'm Really Hot - Missy Elliott
Dats What I'm Talkin About - Missy Elliott, R. Kelly
Don't Be Cruel - Beenie Man, Missy Elliott, Monica
Toyz - Missy Elliott
Let It Bump - Missy Elliott
Pump It Up - Missy Elliott, Nelly
It's Real - Missy Elliott
Let Me Fix My Weave - Missy Elliott
Spelling Bee - Missy Elliott
I'm Not Perfect - The Clark Sisters, Missy Elliott
Outro - Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott

Customer Reviews:

wow.......2003-12-20

really really good. not as good as under construction but still good.

This is a great cd!.......2003-11-30

This cd is great! It is almost as good as her last one. Maybe even better! I recommend this cd to anyone who likes rap music. Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

This Is Not a Test
Gangsta Bitch Barbie
Manufacturer: Choosey Mom
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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Nullset

ASIN: B00005YCB1
Release Date: 1999-06-22

Tracks:

Suplex Ninja
Six.5
Godzilla
Kingpin
Fluff O Nutta
1-2-5-7-9
Downsize
What You're Afta

Average customer rating:

Movie Moods Extraordinaire!
Wolfram provides the score - you provide the images
A Wolfram Wrightwood Winner!
Ears Only?
The Veil Was Pierced

Piercing The Celluloid Veil

Manufacturer: Wrightwood
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004Z0M2
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

Dogged Pursuit
Big Sky
Wistful Disappointment
Wondrous Journey
Ethical Dilemma
Farewell
Serpentine
Unseen Terror
Credo
The Test of Time
The Slasher
A Pensive Moment
Innocent Facade
Piercing The Celluloid Veil
Chase
Fanfare
Elegy
Dance
Corridors (A Concerto for Orchestra)

Customer Reviews:

Movie Moods Extraordinaire!.......2001-11-21

This CD is a wonderful compendium of music that sounds like it could have come from some terrific motion pictures - a true potpourri of styles. The orchestral music is rich and lush, evocative of romance, terror, sadness, excitement and joy. Unfortunately, since amazon took down the sound samples, you can't hear any of that here.

Wolfram provides the score - you provide the images.......2000-11-08

I love the title of this CD - and it fulfills its promise, actually "piercing" the veil of movie-music and making us realize it stands alone. Better yet, it brings its own imagery. Films without music would be amazingly empty. But it turns out music without film is surprisingly full - at least it is when Mark Wolfram composes it. He has the gift of truly great composers - the ability to translate emotion into music, and when we listen, the emotions course through us. Anyone who loves film score CDs will love this and play it over and over again, whether as background for a lovely evening, or as a listening adventure in your favorite recliner. The most visual musical experience you can imagine, this CD has it all! The listener is transported from the tense jeopardy of a crime drama to the soothing amblings of a long awaited trip home. He takes us through every genre - modern crime, historical, science fiction, soap opera, epic, and everything in between. It's as though we journey from Siberia to the great American plains, from the high Rockies to down and dirty streets. Wolfram takes us from contemporary symphonic passages to historical interludes to futuristic sojourns; from tension to humor, from macabre to benign. Is there anything Mark Wolfram CAN'T compose? I suspect not. I wonder why we don't see his name more often on the big screen? I know we will.

A Wolfram Wrightwood Winner!.......2000-10-11

Mark Wolfram has scored a real winner with 'Veil'. Musically and emotionally, it can be turbulent and - more often - soothing all at the same time. Its impact is very similar to what I experienced the first time I heard the score for 'The Piano'. 'Veil' is what you want to listen to in a darkened room while wrestling with a problem, or simply unwinding after a long day. My only criticism is that the cuts are too short. I'm left wanting more! Please hurry with your next offering, Mr. Wolfram.

Ears Only?.......2000-10-03

Close your eyes and listen to Mark Wolfram's Piercing the Celluloid Veil and you are at the movies, sitting in the third row on the left. Eminently evocative, stimulating to the imagination, wholly engrossing, and productive of many images, this CD will take you away with vision after vision.

The Veil Was Pierced.......2000-09-27

Listening to this recording was an astonishing experience for me. I followed the suggestions in the liner notes, turned off the lights, added candles and just listened. I am a writer, though not a screen writer. Immediately a story began to play in my mind's eye. I got characters, action, a plot and everything. In fact, I am going to write that story and dedicate it to Mark. Bravo! And thanks for the inspiration.

Average customer rating:

Clubs, Thugs, Sex And Drugs
2 Shay
Manufacturer: Memphis Sound Record
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Southern Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Like a Grown as Man
True Game

ASIN: B00066G0ZC
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Tracks:

GET IT CRUNK
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
BREAK DA BRICKS
WORLDWIDE
MEMPHIS IS
PIMPS, PLAYERS, HUSTLERS, MACKS
BALL-A-HOLIC
CLUB SECURITY
SHAKE IT FOR ME
YEYO
CLUBS, THUGS, SEX AND DRUGS
WEINER WORLD
STREETS IS WATCHING
HATERS
NOISE
MINISTER PINK MCCLOUD
DO SOME FREAK SH*T
QUIET STORM
MAKIN DOLLARS
ATTORNEY FEES

Product Description

First we gave you Da Ruins "Pocket Squeeze" then the Memphis Car Audio mix CD "Street Hospitality Vol. 1 w/music from Lil Flip, Young Wan, Eight Ball & Al Capone & others.. Now we present to you the highly anticipated CD, "Clubs' Thugs, Sex and Drugs" by 2 Shay. This is the latest southern banger from Memphis Sound Records/ Shay-Dawg Entertainment. This is the future of the new "Memphis Rap Scene". Included are the hits "Ball-a-holic", "Shake it for Me", "Pimps, Players, Hustlers, Macks", "Break Da Bricks Down" and "Memphis Is". 2 Shay has produced and remixed songs featuring Nelly, Ced Sinat, Co-Defendants and others. Get this one! Southern Rap and hip-hop; at the top of the food chain. Holla atcha boy!

Average customer rating:

This Is Not A Test
Radio Reset
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000S6098Y

Product Description

1 Gotta Tell It All To You 2 Middle Of The Street 3 This Dance 4 Never 5 Here With Me

Average customer rating:

This CD rocks me like only a hurri-can

This Is Only A Test
Stay Tuned
Manufacturer: Self-Released
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000BGQU2U
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Tracks:

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
Alice (New Girl in Town)
Mary Tyler Moore (Love is All Around)
Mr. Belvedere (According to our New Arrivals)
Rawhide
S.W.A.T.
Charles in Charge
Happy Days
F-Troop
The Jeffersons (Movin' On Up)
G.I. Joe
Silver Spoons (Together)

Product Description

First there was Hendrix. Nirvana followed decades later. Now, in the new millennium, Seattle has spawned its latest rock sensation. OK ... at least they're from Seattle. With the tumultuous force of Mt. Rainier, Stay Tuned has erupted onto this town's storied music scene, igniting venues throughout the Pacific Northwest with virtuoso keytar riffs, nostalgic lyricism and wicked cool hair. When the band appeared on The BJ Shea Experience on KQBZ in Seattle, Ian "Prime Time" Sterling declared, "If you get enough (Jaegermeister) shots down ya ... this would be the best band you've ever heard." Far from your average tribute band, Stay Tuned is one of music's most unique acts, taking television theme songs and "recontextualizing" them into scorching rock 'n' roll anthems. Where some see nothing in television but a vast wasteland, Stay Tuned finds vast inspiration. The self-proclaimed "Ultimate Television Rock Experience" has taken 12 audience favorite songs to create "This is Only a Test." "This is Only a Test" features TV themes familiar to millions including "Happy Days," "Rawhide" and "The Jeffersons" in completely new and original arrangements. Produced by Stay Tuned and Brin Addison (whose previous producing credits include artists Chris Cornell, the Smashing Pumpkins, Smashmouth, and The Indigo Girls), the album brings all the excitement and energy of the band's live stage shows home in a masterfully crafted CD. Comprised of Matt Krahlman (keyboards, lead vocals), Randy Williams (bass) and Fred Donaldson (drums), Stay Tuned formed 3 years ago with the goal of bringing something unique to the local music scene. Inspired in part by Seattle's own Presidents of the United States of America, the band puts on a rockingly entertaining live show where everyone in the audience knows the lyrics and gets into the act. Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? Well it's Stay Tuned, and you should know it (apologies to fans of the Mary Tyler Moore show).

Customer Reviews:

This CD rocks me like only a hurri-can.......2005-10-14

I've listened to the best from over the years.. The Beatles. Jimi Hendrix. Led Zepplin. David Hasselhoff. But this CD is overflowing - brimming if you will - with epic rock versions of TV Show Themes and is destined to be hailed as one of the most important CD's of the 21st Century. Okay.. I might be overstating things a bit here. But the CD is awesome.

Being a huge fan of sitcoms of the 80's growing up and becoming familiar with the classics on Nick at Nite, this album feeds an unexplainable thirst inside my twisted skull to relive those moments I spent sitting dumbfounded and dumb in front of the "boob tube". TV Theme Songs are sort of a lost art nowadays. Today's TV Shows, with few exceptions, simply don't have the same artistry that the songs of the 60's - 80's had. And I'm glad to see a band, filled with three strapping, talented young men I might add, taking those memorable tunes and bringing them to a whole new generation. Moreover, they really make the material their own.

"Silver Spoons" and "Charles in Charge" really get me going, "Happy Days" cools me down and "The Jeffersons" and "F-Troop" make me want to punch through the top of my car when I'm driving around with "This Is Only A Test" cranked. Being a keyboardist myself, I really dig the vintage keyboard sounds and wicked keytar riffs of Matt Krahlman. If I didn't know better, I would've thought it was a guitar. But it isn't. And rarely do I know anything better or, really, anything at all. Stay Tuned has a mean vintage sound - similar to Deep Purple really - combined with a modern alternative rock edge. Hard to describe but really great, rockin' tuneage.

The CD really captures the live energy of Stay Tuned that I've seen in their shows and I'm really glad I could support them. If you're a fan of television, television themes, keytars or, really, just something different, buy this CD.