Issue 090
July 2012
Greek metal? Check. British alternative singer-songwriters? Got ‘em. Dark hip-hop? In abundance. UFC 155lb’er Mac Danzig has a track for every occasion.
What type of music do you listen to?
“I listen to everything. I listen to a lot of hardcore and underground hip-hop, folk music, metal, death metal. I really listen to a diverse range of music. My taste is really broad. I’ll be listening to Jethro Tull one day, then Judas Priest the next, then maybe some ambient music. I’ve got a broad spectrum when it comes to my music taste. It all depends on how I’m feeling on the day.”
Who are your favorite artists right now?
“I’m a huge fan of Jedi Mind Tricks. They’re my friends, but they really put out music that I’m into. I like AZ a lot. I’ve followed him for a long time and try and stay up on all the things he does, even though he doesn’t get as much attention as he used to when he was collaborating with Nas a lot.
“The National are an indie rock band who came out with an album called High Violet which I loved. I really enjoyed the last Wu-Tang Clan album, but nothing is going to beat 36 Chambers. And I don’t go a single week without listening to Bad Religion.”
What type of music do you listen to when you’re training?
“I listen to some good, hardcore hip-hop, man. It depends what I’m really enjoying at the moment, as it changes all the time. Lately, it’s been a lot of Jedi Mind Tricks, Army of the Pharoahs, Immortal Technique, Big L, Nas. Big Pun gets played quite a bit. Just the hardcore, driving stuff that has good production. I’ll even throw in the Gravediggaz’ record, which is a really great album.”
What music do you walk out to?
“I want to come out to something that gets me pumped up, but at the same time doesn’t distract me. I don’t want to be one of those guys, whose walking out and just into the music and not the fight. I want to be able to walk out to a song that gets me ready, not a song that I have to get ready to. I come out to Jedi Mind Tricks a lot. I’ve come out to them at least four times in the UFC.”
SHUFFLE
Hit shuffle and name the first five songs that come up. No cheating
The Smiths:
A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours
“I pick and choose what songs from The Smiths that I like, because I can’t listen to them all, but certain tracks like this one are badass. The lyrics and poetry behind it are really cool.”
The Lost Children of Babylon:
Distant Traveller
“They’re a group from Philadelphia. They’ve got some badass songs, and they’re on some mystical kind of stuff. Great production, too.”
PJ Harvey:
Down by the Water
“This is one of those tracks that I was listening to a lot in the ‘90s. She had this heavy industrial feel to what she was doing and wasn’t just some poppy, female rock singer. She had a grittiness that I really like, which was kind of like what Glenn Danzig was doing back in the day when he went through an industrial phase. She had that same feel.”
Dreddy Krueger Presents. . . Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture:
Think Differently
“A lot of the album was produced by RZA and it has a bunch of guest spots. It has Roc Marciano, Vordul Mega, Casual and Tragedy Khadafi. I’m a big fan of Tragedy. He’s hardcore.”
Rotting Christ:
Coronation of the Serpent
“This song was from their first album, which was really underground and gritty. They’re a Greek metal band. It’s a pretty badass song. The production is horrible, but it’s got so much energy.”
