Sunday Music: The Baldwin Brothers

In the last month, I've had the misfortune to hear some really bad sampling. Bad sampling happens when the artist has little depth or breadth of musical knowledge and/or lacks the talent to actually compose. Using an eight-second loop from Queen's "We Will Rock You," is pathetic. After being subjected to the last (courtesy of one of Girl Talk's mashups), I had to go home and listen to The Baldwin Brothers' Cooking With Lasers, just to cleanse the palate.

I'm not sure why I purchased Cooking With Lasers back in 2002--just dumb luck, I guess. All I know is that I've listened that CD to death. If it were on vinyl, it would be scratched and dinged beyond recognition. Childhood friends (not brothers) TJ Widner and Jason Hinkle created a sizzling combo of funky samples and instrumentals that they facetiously called "junktronic." The samples on CWL are mostly obscure or unrecognizable and deftly mixed, which makes it...whaddaya call it...MUSIC.

The Baldwin Brothers appear to be on permanent hiatus, and a Google search indicates that Widner and Hinkle are sticking to their day jobs. It's too bad, but at least they left this gem for repeated listening, and perhaps to provide some schooling for callow young mixologists.

"Funky Junkyard," "Urban Tumbleweed" and "Dream Girl"


"Viva Kneivel"


Cooking With Lasers (at cdbaby.com) [Link]