The Naked and Famous

A good find by my lady. Not sure if I'm late on the bus with these guys, but I'm loving it. Stew, I know you'll be down.

James Blake

Been tracking James Blake for a while now, with a few small dubsteb tracks and remixes leaking over the US from the UK last year.  He's got a sound I'm not sure how to really describe on this album - he started as more of a dubstep guy but with a post-1999-Radiohead-twist (see the last video below).  Recently he put out the CMYK EP, and shortly after we got the Feist do-over of "Limit to Your Love" (I prefer the latter better than the original).  Just released now, finally, is his full length, which after a couple of listens is everything I hoped it'd be.  It's a little less dubstep-ish, but still heavy on deep bass and trancey rhythms, with his own spooky and swooning voice added to the picture.  Enjoy a few tracks below, and grab the album!






Some older dubsteb-ish type Blake:

Kanye with Bon Iver (!), and More

I've been tracking Kanye's GOOD Friday's for a little while now, as he's been releasing a new cut each Friday for the past month or so.  He's been killing it ever since he put out the song "Monster", ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, & Nicki Minaj.  On that note, Mos Def recently signed with Kanye's production/mgmt company G.O.O.D, or, Getting Out Our Dreams, who's roster now boasts Mos, Common, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, John Legend, and plenty more.  Anyhoo...

I just caught wind of a Kanye song which features the main sample from Bon Iver's "Up In the Woods."  If you're a Bon Iver fan in any capacity, you know the song - more auto-tune than T Pain.  It's definitely interesting to say the least, but I think pretty damn good and I can't help but continue to be amazed at the genre-bending songs Kanye's been putting out.  Remixing Bieber, teaming up with Bon Iver, appearing on a re-hash of a 30 Seconds to Mars album - and on top of this, putting out new music with Jay-Z, Cudi, Mos, Common, and more.

The guy's a busy dude, and I couldn't be happier, because I haven't had this much new music to look forward to on a weekly basis in ages.  Pay attention to Kanye's lyrics in "Lord Lord Lord." Vulgar - but just awesome.  Never heard douches and booby traps sound so good.  Enjoy some tracks below, just keep playin em:

Kanye - "Lost in the World" ft. Bon Iver

Lost In The World-Kanye West feat. Bon Iver by nadiaCBSRADIO

Kanye West - "Runaway" ft Pusha T

Kanye West - Runaway Feat Pusha T (CDQ) by tkatlanta

Kanye West - "Monster" ft. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, & Nicki Minaj

Kanye West - Monster by uristocrat

Kanye West - "Lord Lord Lord" ft. Mos Def, Swizz Beatz, Raekwon, Charlie Wilson

Kanye West featuring Mos Def Swizz Beatz Raekwon Charlie Wilson -Lord Lord Lord by Hypetrak

Beats Antique

Some funky beats with a little Eastern flare - sounds best with volume turned upppp.  Enjoy (or as nate would say, in joy).

New(ish) Big Boi

It's all over the internetz today so why not add it here for all of you music lovers? Below is a track that was supposed to appear on Big Boi's most recent and most excellent Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty. The track didn't appear apparently because of contractual issues between Big Boi and Andre 3000's labels. But, as all great things, it leaked on the internet. Below is a video of it and Fader has it to download.

I just have no title that's worthy of this

Whether or not you like Arcade Fire (which you probably should), this is one of the neatest things I have ever seen in the history of the internet, and more important, in the history of music videos.  I just ask you all to at least give it a try, I really think you won't regret this.  Just make sure you have a fast internet connection.

Welcome to the future (?), enjoy:

Arcade Fire (presented in HTML5) - "The Wilderness Downtown"
http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/


thx to my music loving girlfriend

Cee-Lo - "Fuck You" (yep, that's the name of the song and it's amazing)

Cee-Lo, one half of Gnarls Barkley, close associate and songwriter of Outkast, and the guy in this picture with me on the left, just put out a new cut that is without a doubt the most catchy and to-the-point song of the summer.  Eamon's "Fuck It" from my sophomore year ('03?) just got knocked out of first place for best break up song ever.  This tops it.

Forget the new Enrique, forget that new sweet song with Eminem and Rihanna (or however you spell her damn name, I always forget where the 'h' goes), and definitely forget the hottest kid of August (not Bieber, it's that stupid opera singing girl from America's Got Talent).  Here is summer's latest and greatest hit.

So, enjoy this new banger, oh so cleverly titled "Fuck You."  Damn I love this song:


Thx to Frommer.

Friday the 13th's Goodness: Brett Shady

Happy Friday Yall,

This is one of those 'lucky it fell in my lap' songs, as I've been listening to it all week and having some serious foot tapping sessions. There unfortunately isn't a ton of music to listen to online by this talented dude, Brett Shady, but what a great song this is, titled "Angels, Ghosts, and Demons." Lyrically full of personal experiences and ups and downs, musically upbeat, and easily evoking early Johnny Cash - it's a great jam. Call me an emo guy, but the final minute of the song actually gets to me a bit, it just seems deep rooted from somewhere, always have to wonder what experiences artists write about in their songs.

I'd highly recommend listening to the song in its entirety. Foot tap away (as everyone whose already heard this song will attest to), and it's 2010 so hopefully you have Flash installed on your computer):

214
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]


Right click on me and hit save as to download
Buy the album: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/BrettShady/from/viglink
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/brettshadysongs

Thanks to Kristin A.

New Big Boi - Satisfies need for new Outkast Album

Big Boi, the more technically skilled rapper of 'Outkast,' finally released "Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son Of Chico Dusty" after many a leaked song, and plenty of speculation.  The album is quite good.

The high notes for me include the surprising Scott Storch produced single, "Shutterbugg," and the thumpin' "General Patton," which exudes that T.I. sort of bass banging, head nodding, one arm up on the wheel with all windows down, sort of feeling.

"Shine Blockas" was a leaked single a few months back, and if it weren't for the fact that I've listened to that song in anticipation of this album at least 200 times, I'd say it's by far the best song on the album, and one of the best hip hop songs this year.  Here's a few cuts, the album is well worth buying for some solid, true summer hip hop from one of the best.

"General Patton" (damn this song is good)


"Shutterbugg

Stereomood

I feel like this is perfect for anyone who's actually reading this... Music for your mood - enjoy.

Stereomood

Dear God 2.0

Caught this on Pitchfork.  I think I was one of a select view who really enjoyed the Monsters of Folk album - granted a few downer songs on the album ("Baby Boomer"), but also a couple dandy's ("Say Please").  "Dear God" was also high on my list, and I think The Roots actually did a nice job with this one.  ?uestlove's snare really snaps so it goes perfectly with the original, although Black Thought is sort of depressing...  I like it, we'll see how the rest of The Roots new (what is this, the 19th record they've put out?) album pans out.

MP3:> The Roots: "Dear God 2.0" [ft. Monsters of Folk]

A Classic

Pearl Jam is my favorite band.  It's a pretty simple thing for me really.  No band has brought the same energy and intensity into their records, concerts, and fan base involvement than them, ever, in my opinion.  Or at least in my lifetime.  Today I found a super old video of PJ performing "Alive" on SNL.  This song is one of the greatest to be performed by any band, with one of the greatest guitar solos by any player, with the one of the most intense and amazing lead singers in rock and roll.  Plus seeing Eddie with a Sox hat on, and Stone Gossard with a ponytail is funny.

If at 3:15 in this video you don't get what I'm talking about, then we need to have a heart to heart.

Pearl Jam - Alive @ SNL
by Olpio

MGMT [Finally]!

Took long enough...  The MGMT gang is back with a ridiculous (or redonkulous, if you will) song.  It's got flavors of The Beatles, a sort of 50's-era harmony-wop sound at about the middle of the song, the White Stripes, and of course it sounds like MGMT - which is to say it sounds like a bunch of dudes on copious amounts of peyote and gin jamming out in a studio.  The end of the song is especially serendipitous, kinda makes me want to go drink a Jolt Cola.

Today we're also celebrating "Large Vocabulary Words Day" in America.

Enjoy!

Local Natives

Enter Local Natives, a group which makes it difficult for me to describe their sound - - because they represent the sound of so many others in one.  And that's a good thing.  Their harmonies are clearly rehearsed and urgency can be heard in the lyrics of several songs, including "Airplanes," which represents the emotions of losing someone  as well as any song in recent memory.  An interesting note as well - it's rare to go from a folksy-pop start in a song like the Natives' "Who Knows Who Cares," to a full blown (almost get-up-and-dance) jam session towards the end of the track, and they  pull it off beautifully. 


I've listened to the album several times through now, "Gorilla Manor," and each time I catch something I recognize in there.  I get Fleet Foxes one minute, Cage the Elephant the next, with a little reggae and a little punk thrown in there.  Did I just mix Fleet Foxes and punk?  Yep. They really do fly through genre barriers and do it quite successfully, but to reassure you, it's a fully original sound.  It's not that their music is completely groundbreaking, it's the fact that they successfully have written impressive lyrics to a pretty diverse sound of tracks, and so far I haven't hit the 'dud' song on this album.  Gonna go give it another listen.  This is a favorite so far, give it a chance through at least 1:05 where it goes a little funky.





One more must listen (yes really)
http://popup.lala.com/popup/937030202301621944

This is bad.

Ugly Duckling

Back in the day, a bunch of us were all about a hip hop group called Ugly Duckling. They pretty much debuted whatever they wanted, put out original cuts and for the most part were easy to associate with, a very Dilated Peoples feel.  They still continue to make music out of Southern Cali, which has gotta be tough at this point, but hey, I'm not poo poo-ing anyone's dreams.  Here's a recent song, has a solid old school feel:




And a classic if you're interested:

Best of 2009

It's a Friday, I have no work today, and I've been listening to music for the past hour.  What better time than to reveal the much awaited list, the best of 09.  I know, you just jumped out of your seat.  Here's part 1, best albums - I'm not putting sound in, I'll do that for songs later.

Best Albums of 09:

5) Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
I felt like Rock was back with this one - it was grungy and heavy with bass lines, and Dave Grohl was born on a drum set stool and is back there again, the best since Nirvana.

4) Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
I may take flak for this, but "Woods" is gorgeous.

3) Pearl Jam - Backspacer
Yes, I really do think this is one of their best albums, especially of the past 10 years.  There are a lot of really, really good songs, especially the first half of the album with "Got Some" and "Amongst the Waves."

2) Passion Pit - Manners
No album has been as fun and energetic than Manners.  One second I'm chilling to it, the next minute it makes me want to go run 5 miles (Little Secrets has been on my 'run' playlist all year).  Plus, they don't mess around with their bass lines, which gives it that good umph that every pop-dance-funk album needs (look at Radiohead's bass lines, for me they make a world of difference).  I had the highest of expectations when I saw them in concert, and it they did not disappoint at all - one of the best, similar to Girl Talk.

1) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion

This album gave me a better appreciation for progressive and 'exploratory' music and all music in general.  It made me give other music a second listen, because after listening to MPP about 900 times, I heard something new or found something different I liked every time, it's just that good.  Weird 5/4 tempos, intros that lasted way too long but somehow fit, repeated choruses that didn't get old. There was not a better effort at creating something completely unique and different this year.

Diggy Dig

So Stew posted the Blakroc preview below, and the album is pretty sick, particularly songs featuring the angriest rapper on earth, Billy Danze from MOP (see MOP Classic below)

But since I'm "the Wildcard" which is just totally sweet and exactly what I'm looking for as a description in life, here's a far stretch for ya. I bring you Diggy Simmons, the son of Rev Run (Joe Simmons) of Run DMC. Considering 'Tricky' is one of the greatest songs ever, and I mean ever, you figure the kid of Rev Run must have some talent right? Well, in my opinion, the little guy actually ain't all that bad. Why this is relevant to the music world I do not know, but enjoy, it's a Saturday and I'm still drunk from last night.

Loudness

this is just completely ridiculous and awesome and loud and awesome and awesome. sorry to butt in, just had to throw it up on the site.

Blakroc - From The Black Keys

I had to basically hack into Pitchfork to get this link to play, so you damn well better enjoy it. The Black Keys - one of the best out there, went a little nutty and decided to put together a hip hop project. At first it sounds like a crazy/bound -to-fail idea - until you put Mos Def, RZA, Raekwon, Q-Tip, Ludacris, Pharoahe Monch, Billy Danze (the angriest dude from MOP), and Jim Jones - all on one LP with The Black Keys.

They have some good teasers on their website too, check it out: http://blakroc.com/index.html

Here's the sample, it's a song with Mos Def and Jim Jones with The Keys in the back. Just when I was getting down on hip hop again...