87. Ghostwhirl (feat. MF Doom) (Remix) by Jonathan Toth from Hoth

"Ghostwhirl (Remix)" by Jonathan Toth from Hoth feat. MF Doom

Written by Jonathan Getzchman and MF Doom
Produced by DJ Crucial
Released on Ghostwhirl (single) (2005)
Warning: Explicit Lyrics
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Jonathan Getzchman (aka Jonathan Toth from Hoth or J-Toth) went to my high school. He's older than me, so I didn't know him then, but I got to know him after college when he started rapping. I was introduced to him by two of his collaborators (who I did know in high school): an artist named Peter Seay (aka Calc2) and another rapper named Tucker Booth (aka Tucker Booth). After college, I spent most of the next five years as a camp counselor, working at a few different camps throughout the year in Missouri and Michigan. When I wasn't working, I would try to find time to come to St. Louis to visit friends and family. During many of those trips, I would end up attending one or more local hip hop shows with Calc2, Tucker Booth, and J-Toth. It was a fun time in my life.

I really enjoyed being around a ton of cool, talented, driven people trying to make a go of it as musicians and artists, and J-Toth was squarely in the middle of it all. He had his own home recording studio and record label called the Frozen Food Section. Quite a few artists used his studio and label to record and produce their records. It was all sweat, spit, and Pro-Tools.

Something that really set J-Toth apart was that he had real goals. He actually had a big poster made listing his goals like tracks on a CD. It sat right in the middle of his apartment/recording studio. One of those goals was to collaborate with quite possibly the biggest name in underground hip hop, MF Doom.

Looking back, it's hard to believe that J-Toth actually made it happen. This was a big deal, and not only did he make it happen, but he managed to produce a pretty darn good track out of it. It's a great song, and I feel strongly that I would feel that way even if I didn't know J-Toth. The original version of the song is on his Lovecycle album, which is a concept album about John's love life. While the album version is excellent, it's almost impossible to not enjoy DJ Crucial's remix more. (Using one of the most iconic guitar intros of all time as a sample is kind of unfair.) Jonathan Getzchman had a dream, made it a goal, put in the work, and made that dream a reality.

Right now "Ghostwhirl (Remix)" by Jonathan Toth from Hoth feat. MF Doom is (probably) my 87th favorite song of all time.