Hip Hop Mixtape: Don Cannon & DJ Infamous

It's no Da Drought 3, but buried among my spam was an e-mail promoting a pretty sick mixtape by Don Cannon and DJ Infamous. I gave it a listen, and liked what I heard.

CHECK IT OUT, WHUT WHUT!!

Anotha Day: Up The Way Pt. II - Don Cannon & DJ Infamous

Songs of the week: 1/27/09

The return of songs of the week..hooray
***
songs of the week #18
1. Diva - Beyonce (The female version of a hustler)
2. Part 1 - Badaptations (Piano cover of "First Breath After Coma")
3. Dat New New - Kid Cudi
4. Nobody Move - Eazy E (I love songs about bank robberies)
5. To Protect And Entertain (Crookers Remix) - Busy P (Crookers make everything better, even Busy P)

Piano Rendition of "The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place"

My friend Katie sent me to this, and I think it's pretty badass: a piano version of Explosions In The Sky's opus, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place.

The arrangements are a little bit slowed down, but it's still rather boss, and brought me back to an album that is forever essential.

Download here, and let me know if the link goes bad.

Happy Monday!

Funny mixtape

I guess this is funnier if you are intimately aware of my recent dating history, but a pretty boss friend of mine told me she made me a mixtape.

"Oh?" I replied, intrigued, thinking this might lead to a sexual congress of the highest degree.

My hopes were quickly vanquished however, when she sent me to tiny mixtapes:

"Dating mentally unstable girls is my favorite vice"

For what it's worth, there are some decent songs, so maybe check it out perhaps a little.

Obama Mash-up

This is pretty sick - a guy named Tim Shaw did a live mash-up of Barack Obama's inauguration speech.

Like I said, it's pretty sick. Mad props, as the saying goes.

CHECK IT OUT:

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Excuses, Excuses!

So, I know you must think that I'm full of more shit than a toilet, but I swear I have a reason for abandoning this page for the last couple days - yeeeeah my computer was broke.

Except for reals.

PEDROPHILIA, WHAT?!

Goings on

Eyyyo, it's friday. TGIF.

On Monday I make my return to the frozen north, and this "cold front" has vanquished my hopes of soaking up all the Florida sun before I go back...Too bad.

But, today marks the release of a film I've been awaiting for a long time: Notorious, the Biggie Smalls biopic. Quite possibly more important is the release of the movie's soundtrack (buy it, fool!), which features the first "new" material since the underwhelming Born Again and Duets collections.

In other news, My Morning Jacket has a Live EP, Benjamin Bixby (Andre 3K's clothing line) might go under, and, yeah, another M.I.A. remix.

Whew, I almost broke a sweat.

Love Lockdown Cover/Remix

I know I'm a few weeks behind the curve on this, but I finally heard the Mason Proper cover / LCD Soundsystem remix of Kanye's "Love Lockdown". It features some Mason Proper over the LCD beat of "Get Innocuous".

The most surprising thing? It was actually pretty good??? No way!

(Also, by the way, please let me know when links go bad so that I can re-up. Sweeet)

Love Lockdown Gets Innocuous (Kanye West vs. LCD Soundsystem) - Mason Proper

Songs of the week: 1/13/09

In honor of this Friday's release of Notorious, five Biggie Tracks.

***songs of the week #17
1. Niggas Bleed - The Notorious B.I.G. (Stupid motherfuckers had to go and double park by a hydrant)
2. Juicy - The Notorious B.I.G. ("It was all a dream...")
3. 10 Crack Commandments - The Notorious B.I.G. (Rules to live by)
4. Me and my Bitch - The Notorious B.I.G. (A love song, in a crazy, fucked up way)
5. Going Back To Cali - The Notorious B.I.G. (LAX)

Band of the Week: Allison Weiss

I told my sister Christian, "That the time has come. You don't listen to Allison Weiss? Don't worry you're not the only one, okay? Last night I was listening to her through my neighbor's door, then his young boys turned on their PS2. Its true!

***

band of the week #9: Allison Weiss (Official Site)(Myspace)

The guitar is one of music's most popular weapons when embarking on overt musical missions. A favorite of funnyman John Mayer, Canadian indie singers Tegan and Sara, and El Mariachi, who uses his guitar in such a skillful manner that he killed a wanton Mexican General on two occasions. I must not also forget that he used it to serenade the always sexy Selma Hayak, on two occasions as well. Selma Hayak! One two occasions! With a guitar!

Allison Weiss has a similar ability, with the ears of young men and women. Her music is playful, but not sugar coated. Sincere, yet not over-sentimental. Good, and not bad. Her song "Let Me Go" displays a simple sweetness in music, that many yearn for yet don't find. Well you've found Allison Weiss--enjoy!

Update! Update!

Hey all,

Just got back from my cruise this morning - it was a good time, I might even torture everyone with a few pictures, depending on my mood. The sun was bright, the beer in abundance, and the casino bountiful - yay for five dollar blackjack.

Tomorrow or so I'll get back into the normal rhythm of posting, with the next couple weeks seeing a handful of album reviews, mash-ups in the works, and probably a guest post or two.

Happy January?

Erin McCarley - Love, Save The Empty

2009

Official Site

Buy (Amazon)


4/10

From Erin McCarley's Official Site: "McCarley’s brand of honesty doesn’t come without the occasional flash of regret. “I’ve looked back at some of these songs recently and thought to myself, ‘Are you serious? I can’t believe I put that out there!"

Erin McCarley got her start doing music on weekends, covering country music during her undergraduate days. Now at 30 years, she has released a debut album that has a pop-rock methodology. This pop-rock methodology is used to perpetuate an over-sentimental and sadly, a mediocre piece of music. Her first track Pony (It's OK) isn't all that bad, it reminds me of Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Mile. With its repetitious piano chant and catchy "ladadadadadadadada" hook, it will surely be featured in an Anne Hathaway movie about New York City, relationships, and finding yourself, while wearing $345.00 pair of high-heeled Tod's.

As I listen to her album, I couldn't help but compare McCarly's performance to Weezer's River Cuomos. "Blue Suit" and much of her album features the kind of angst evident when one is in the throes of a relationship. "Oh, wise one/If you knew the answer why'd you ask the question? /Oh, wise one /If you're such a someone/Why do you give nothing to anyone." Yes, there is sadness, but her eloquence as a songwriter is clearly in its infancy. The Washington Times went as far as listing her as their "4 to watch out for" and recommended her to Sheryl Crow fans. Four minutes, I think is what they meant. I also find that insulting to Sheryl Crow fans because the Sheryl Crow I know, has a commanding voice in her music, which is far from "droning".

After listening to the album several times, I found that McCarley's voice meta-morphs into a droning, that sounds like that of a UVA Cypher. In the words of MADtv alumni Keegan Michael Key, Cuomos and Crow, "take it to a ho' nudda' levool! McCarley's debut album misses the mark.

Songs of the week: 1/6/09

Welcome, welcome, to the first installment of "Songs of the Week" for 2009.

Here's hoping everybody had a safe and happy New Year! Woooo...

***songs of the week #16

1. Leave All Your Doubts About Me - Teamforest (Interesting, to say the least)
2. Giving My Sadness A Name - Matt Butcher (I saw this guy live last week with Roppongi's Ace, and he was pretty amazing)
3. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (Sampled on Tha Carter III)
4. Part 1 - Beneva vs. Clark Nova
5. No Matter What - T.I.

Band of the week: Proxy

band of the week #8: proxy (myspace)

What a surprise? The act that I pick for Band of the Week is electronic.

But, electronic music = fun, fun, fun.

Hopefully, you've heard of Proxy, if for no reason other than the fact that the track "Raven" made my top 20 songs of 2008 list. While, in my opinion, the best song in their rather limited oeuvre, their Dance In Dark EP definitely merits a listen or two as well.

My Five Most Anticipated Albums of 2009

Maybe it's just me, but 2008 was a rather slow year for music - or, at least, for the sort of music that I listen to. In actuality, it was probably an average year, seeing releases from names like Lil' Wayne, Fall Out Boy, and Beyonce, as well as countless others.

But what about kids like me? You know, the insufferable fucking hipsters? That's not to say that I don't enjoy the music of the aforementioned (although Fall Out Boy is pretty hit or miss), it's just that 2008 seemed to bring little more than teasers and disappointment. The hiatuses of Godspeed and The Blood Brothers were made permanent, Stars and Manchester Orchestra released short EPs to whet the appetite, and Glassjaw remained silent (again). And all the while, heavy hitters like Death Cab, TV On The Radio (I seem to be alone on this), M83, and Of Montreal rested on their laurels, turning lackluster efforts that underwhelmed in every sense. Sure, there were some great releases, but that's for another post. The point here is that, after the year this has been, I am particularly excited to see what the next twelve months has to offer.

And so, without further ado, the five albums that I cannot wait to hear, be it in 2009 or 2099...

***
1. Brand New - ?

It took 3 years and a couple of leaked demos between Deja Entendu and The Devil And God (released in 2006). So, now it's 2009 - time for some more Brand New. As mentioned in their recent e-mail, Brand New should start touring sometime this year with an album to hopefully follow.

I'll be first in line to hear it.

2. Glassjaw - Glassjaw!

(You Think You're) John Fucking Lennon was a nice start, but amounted to little more than a tease. No more Head Automatica, no more United Nations. Daryl Palumbo, it's time to put up or shut up. I want Glassjaw, and I want it now.

3. This Is My Suitcase - ?

They're fun, and I want to hear more. Duh.

4. mewithoutYou - mewithoutYou & Friends

I know that nothing's going to top Brother, Sister. But I'd really love to hear them try.

5. Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing

I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child was a great major debut, and I think that Manchester Orchestra has a few great records left in them. When I saw them a couple weeks ago, they played a few new songs (one of which had the chorus "Mean everything to nothing"), and I was pretty impressed. Their EP was enjoyable enough, and I have high hopes for the forthcoming LP.