Listen To This: Swim

I've been waiting a long time for a chance to post this song, which is a shame because it's really a winner.  Florida band Surfer Blood hearkens back to the stadium rock of another time with this great cut off of their debut album, Astro Coast.  Between the power chords and the heavy reverb on the vocals, this is a good old-fashioned rock song, and that's a good thing.

Surfer Blood- Swim [Amazon]

Surfer Blood- Astro Coast [Album] [Amazon] 

Listen To This: Paperboy

Yesterday, we had a (short) discussion in the comments about me posting hip-hop.  I said this: "
I'm not gonna stop posting hip-hop, but as my music knowledge increases I can be more selective with the hip-hop I post because I now have alternatives ," and that's what I'll stand by. Artists like B.o.B, Cudi, Lupe , and Kanye will continue to get posted, and I will be more discerning with the rest.  With that said, here's the newest B.o.B cut, a collab between B.o.B and Charles Hamilton.

B.o.B & Charles Hamilton- Paper Boy

via 2dopeboyz

History Lesson: Simon and Garfunkel

As the weather heats up and the sun finally comes out, I thought I would give a shout out to one of the greatest folk bands of all time, a band that epitomizes the carefree joy of summer.  I'm sure you've heard of them.  Any acoustic indie band in the last 50 years owes a whole lot to this duo, whose fantastic guitar playing and close harmonies continue to wow our generation.  Interestingly enough,  Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in elementary school, and, despite having broken up, still play together today.  I chose to post the first three  four (thanks, Wink) upbeat and chill songs (one only by Simon) that came to mind, and all of them are fantastic, a real testament to their skill as musicians and storytellers.  Also, for those of you confused as to the completely different musical direction the blog has taken, sit tight because I'm sure more good hip-hop will come soon.

The Best of Simon & Garfunkel [Amazon]

Something I Like: Baby Hates Miley Cyrus

This is departure from the things I usually post, but this video is just too perfect.

BONUS!!: Dog joining exercises

While we are on the subject of youtube videos...

Listen to This: Rude Boy (rmx.)

I haven't actually heard the original version of Rihanna's Rude Boy, but Wale decided to hop on a remix so that's what we have today.

Wale- Rude Boy (rmx.)

Also, there were a few mixtapes and songs I didn't post due to my self-imposed one post a day limit, but you can check back sometime next week for those.

BONUS:  Wale vs MIA- Chillin On The Plane 

Lady Gaga sounded like she was trying to be MIA on Wale's Chillin', so here's the inevitable Chillin'/Paper Planes mashup.

 Brand-x- Chillin' On The Plane (MIA vs. Wale & Lady Gaga)

 

Listen to This: TDA Quick Mix Vol. 5

The talented duo comprising Tape Deck Apocalypse has been hard at work churning out mixes for your listening pleasure. Here's another dope one, including an original TDA track.  Enjoy.

Tape Deck Apocalypse- TDA Quick Mix Vol. 5

Listen To This: Excuses

This is a phenomenal single from California band The Morning Benders from their newest album, Big Echo.  The strummed guitars and two part harmonies remind me of early Beatles, while the lush production reminds me of later Beatles.  I don't, however, want to put The Morning Benders in The Beatles' shadow because they are a great band in their own right.  I can honestly and confidently say that this is one of the best new songs I've heard.

Also, I've partnered with Amazon's online store in order to monetize the blog without cluttering the page with obnoxious ads.  Every time you buy a song via a link on the blog, I get a small cut of the profits.  It's the same price as on iTunes, so it would be fantastic if you chose to take this route and buy from Amazon through me instead.

The Morning Benders- Excuses [Amazon]

The Morning Benders- Big Echo (Album) [Amazon]

BONUS!!:

The band also channeled their inner Phil Spector in this live orchestra backed version of Excuses. 

Listen To This: Stuntin' Like Mufasa

The title track has been burning up the blogosphere, so I thought I'd throw this one up just for kicks.  This mashup mixtape by DJ DoYou smashes together hip hop vocals and beats from Disney movies.  The mixes are decent, and I probably won't be listening to these next week, but the tracks are fun, funny, and interesting.  These would be perfect to show your friends in a bout of nostalgia or to bump at a party for some laughs.

DJ DoYou- Stuntin' Like Mufasa (mixtape)

Midnight Nightlight Monday: Death Suite (rmx)

On the one hand, you have minimalism. On the other, maximalism. There is a time for each. But frankly, why go minimal when you can go balls-to-the-wall insane maximal? Luckily, I've the just the track to satisfy all your wildest maximalist dreams. British producer/DJ Erol Alkan and German producer/DJ Boys Noize team up for a literal barrage of sound in "Death Suite", but the ante is upped with the killer remix courtesy of Bobermann, aka Bob Rifo, aka The Bloody Beetroots. Spastic, unrelentingly raw rides, crashes, and hi-hats, and a death-groan synth that warps, sputters, and wonks its way through the floor and your head. An ominous, thundering kick, just-right tempo, and the cavernously fluid, 8-bit main riff round out this remix, which was built entirely for the peaktime dancefloor. And at just under 5 minutes, it'll be gone before you even realize it! A workout of a cut, indeed.- Nitelite

You can check out more electronic tunes on Nitelite's blog, Midnight Nightlight
Also, check out even more dope electronic music at NoizeGasm.

Listen To This: World Tour (Chop Suey Slash Up)

Not really any good hip hop released lately (yes, I know about the two new Drake songs, but slow RnB is not my cup of tea).  I'm sure there's gonna be more soon, but in the meantime, here is an oldish but still awesome mix of Wale's World Tour.  This version sounds even more triumphant than the original, which I didn't think was possible.  Enjoy (this may be my only post for the next few days).

Objectiv One- World Tour (Chop Suey Slash Up) (Wale vs. Grand Funk Railroad) [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

via Music Ninja

Listen To This: TDA Quick Mix Vol. 4

Another dope mix from Tape Deck Apocalypse.

TDA- Quick Mix Vol. 4

I Liked It: Iron Man 2 Soundtrack

Yes, I know I still need to review Plastic Beach, Valleys of Neptune, and Broken Bells (and College Dropout, I know), but AC/DC's Iron Man 2 Soundtrack is an easy one to do and I'm tired.  The album is a nice mix of the big AC/DC songs (Back In Black, T.N.T.) and some lesser known ones.   If anything, this served to get me even more excited for Iron Man 2 (which doesn't even seem possible).  AC/DC fans will probably already have most of these songs, but if you haven't really listened to the metal greatness that is AC/DC (or misplaced your AC/DC audio files like I did), this is as good place to start as any.

Also, apparently that last post was post number 100, so that's kinda cool.

History Lesson- Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End/Her Majesty

I need break from hip hop and indie, so here's a song by a relatively unknown British band called "The Beatles".  This is the medley from the end of Abbey Road which encompasses four songs and all of their talents.  From the pure melody of "Golden Slumbers" to the solos (one from each band member) in Carry "That Weight" to the simple yet effective "The End" to the playfulness of "Her Majesty", this song is a perfect and often overlooked example of the pure musicianship of the four lads from Liverpool.

The Beatles
Medley

Abbey Road (1969)

Listen To This: I Want You D.A.N.C.E./One Thousand Nine Hundred And One Folks

Today we have two mashups which go outside of the mashup convention of a hip hop vocal over a different instrumental.  One song combines the child-choir vocals of Justice's Dance with the fantastic Mo-Town production of The Jackson 5's I Want You Back, and the other is an interesting mix of Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John (everyone loves that whistle) and the epic 1901 by Phoenix.  Check both of them out below.

Jackson 5 vs. Phoenix- I Want You D.A.N.C.E [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

Peter Bjorn and John vs. Phoenix- One Thousand Nine Hundred And One Folks [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

Something I Like: Chicago

Today we have a really amazing, semi-old song from Sufjan Stevens.  This song really worries me because it's from 2005. 2005? Really? I slept on this for five years?  And what's worse is that it's not like I hadn't heard of him, I had just heard the name and chosen to ignore it.  If I hadn't downloaded Chiddy Bang and listened to the song which samples this one, I would never have listened to Stevens or this song.  I think it's a cause for concern because who knows how much other amazing music I've missed out on by ignoring recommendations or judging artists based on their names.  I guess for now all I can do is keep exploring.  Anyway, this is an incredible song written, performed, and produced by Sufjan Stevens.  The incredibly composed instrumentals blend perfectly with Stevens' relaxed vocals.  Don't be like me and make the mistake of ignoring this song.

Listen To This: Little Lion Man

I think I discovered the issue I was having with finding indie music. In hip-hop the most popular stuff is likely the worst, and the best music is a few degrees below that.  In indie, the music I enjoy most is the most popular indie which is by definition of indie a few degrees below what is the most popular.  So yeah, basically I put way too much thought into this.  Anyway, here is a track from Mumford and Sons, a British band which creates beautiful epics such as this one.  The band follows the same formula on many of their songs (build up, build up, build up, build up, CLIMAX), but that doesn't make listening to one of their songs any less rewarding.  The banjo is an oft-utilized instrument in many of their pieces, giving them a new and unique sound.  Sit through this track to the end, you will not be disappointed.

Listen To This: 3/15

Semi-new music here in order of goodness.

Chiddy Bang- Under The Sheets (rmx.) [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

Matt and Kim- Daylight (Troublemaker Remix ft. De La Soul) [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

B.o.B- I Don't Know Ya

Dwight K Schrute v, Lil' Wayne- Office Musik (Clockwork Edit) [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

I would normally never ever post a Lil' Wayne song, but this mashup was just too sick to ignore.

BONUS!!: OK Go- This Too Shall Pass Music Video 

(Thanks for the tip on this insane video, Peter)

DOUBLE BONUS!?!: KiD CuDi- Pursuit of Happiness (Alternate Version)

Cooler, trippier, and better than the original

That's it for now. Should be back to one post a day soon.

Midnight Nightlight Monday: Give It All You Got (Danger Beach Remix)

Life got in the way of blogging, so I haven't checked for any new music yet.  Come back tonight for some fresh new tunes. In the meantime, let's see what Nitelite has for us this week.

The best moments of summer are, simply put, fun. Unadulterated, simple, and so enjoyable you never want them to end. So what better way than to encapsulate summer than with a track that could undoubtedly end up a summer vacation anthem? French producer Danger turns up for remix duties on Lil' Jon's "Give It All You Got", and boy does he deliver. Trancey, glowing synths show up first over typical Lil' Jon jargon, before one of the most elastic basslines I have ever heard in my entire life shows up. The rhythms are insane; perfectly complimentary, and a solid mix of pop, R&B, even a little bit of hip-hop. Most of all, it's danceable. Damn danceable. The synths wheeze and literally bounce inside your head. A rubbery, blisteringly catchy track; vocals, synth lines, basslines and all. And at under five minutes, this will definitely become a hit track. Everything about this track is summer: catchy, body shakin', and indefinitely memorable. YEEEEEYEAH-Nitelite

You can check out more electronic tunes on Nitelite's blog, Midnight Nightlight
Also, check out even more dope electronic music at the newly created NoizeGasm.

Listen To This: Don Quixote

After that deluge of posts, I realized that not everyone has the time or desire to go through 8 posts if they don't read for a day.  I'm gonna try to limit myself to one post a day, which is better for both me and most of you guys.  Here's a good quality live version of the newest Coldplay song, from their show in Buenos Aires.  It is either a tribute to (if you're an optimist) or plagarized from (if you're a pessimist) a Bruce Springsteen song.  Its sounds like Coldplay, so if you don't like Coldplay you won't like this. Also, I just got the new Broken Bells CD (late, I know) so I'll review that soon.

Listen To This: Who Don't

The Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Jennings asked Wale to make him a pregame warmup song, and this is what happened.  I'm not really feelin' it, but I figured some of you will.

Wale- Who Don't

Listen To This: Sunlight

As I continue on my journey of discovery, I have found that my tastes tend more toward songs that are either sunny and poppy or epic and grand.  This song by Harlem Shakes is more of the former, an upbeat pop ballad with a beyond-catchy chorus.  Enjoy.

Hype: Tron Legacy

Here is the newest trailer for the remake of Tron (which I still need to see).  I think this movie will be pretty good.  I really like the clean glow of the virtual world, and the plot looks different enough to be interesting. Also, Daft Punk created the soundtrack, so that at least will be good for sure.

Listen To This: Two Weeks/ Make Her Mine (Ruined by Intuition)

Here are two new songs from a very interesting new project from rapper Intuition, titled I Ruined These Songs For You. I'll let him explain.

Remember when you used to make actual tapes for your friends, or a girl you liked? You’d spend hours trying to come up with the right songs in the right order, trying to appease your friend’s preferences but show your tastes as well. The side project I’m going to release later this month takes that exact idea, but just one step farther. I took a collection of 11 songs that I love (no rap music), songs that I think fans of any type of music would love, and I added a verse to each. I didn’t chop the songs up and flip the samples for brownie points. I didn’t try to make something new out of these songs. I just tried to leave the original songs alone as much as I could, and added one verse over each song to make it seem as if I was invited into the studio with the band to collaborate. All of these collaborations are, of course, unauthorized, but I tried to make each verse as relevant to the songs’ original lyrics as I possibly could. The genres range from classic soul to modern indie rock, with a little bit of everything sprinkled in between. Some of the songs might be very familiar to you, and others may not, but I feel that I’ve added a nice little compliment to each of them (you might think I ruined them though). Enjoy.- Intuition

 Listen for yourself below.

Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks (ft. Intuition)

Mayer Hawthorne- Make Her Mine (ft. Intuition)

Something I Like: Nothing On You (Video)

Here is the video of B.o.B's latest single (I posted it back in December when it first came out).  The video is pretty cool, and you should definitely listen to the song if you haven't yet.

Listen To This: Flash Delirium

A few years ago, MGMT made name for themselves with beautifully simple songs based around lush and memorable synth riffs. Their new song sounds nothing like that.  I'm still deciding how I feel about this, but I thought I'd post it anyway.  See for yourself.

MGMT- Flash Delirium [DIRECT DOWNLOAD]

mp3 courtesy of thephotongod

Listen To This: Billionaire

I can already tell this week is gonna be crazy in terms of content, so check back often and scroll down to make sure you didn't miss anything (if this deluge of songs keeps up I'll probably push some of the indie songs to next week).  Here is a chill song from Travie McCoy (lead singer for Gym Class Heroes) and Bruno Mars (from B.o.B.'s Nothing On You).   I'm really feelin' the great vibe on this one and Bruno Mars continues to kill it (I've never been a fan of R&B, but Bruno Mars may change my mind).

Travie McCoy ft. B.o.B-  Billionaire 

via 2dopeboyz

Listen To This: I'm Back

T.I.'s is another one of those rappers for whom I will post everything they put out.  Granted, sometimes his southern accent is sometimes hard to understand, but he's been putting out good music for a while now.

T.I.- I'm Back 

via 2dopeboyz

Hype: Iron Man 2

I freakin' love trailers.  The way filmmakers edit footage together to create intense 2 minute clips is something I really enjoy and sometimes the trailers are even better than the movie (cough..Jumper).  So yeah, the Hype section is where trailers for movies, games, TV shows, and anything else will go.  And what better way to start than possibly the movie that I am most anticipating: Iron Man 2.  This trailer is legit, and I have no doubts that the sequel will be as good as or better than the first one.  On a semi-related note, the Academy was spot on in every category last night (possibly the first time in award show history?).

BONUS: Raaaaaaandy Declares War On Justin Bieber

Midnight Nightlight Monday: Peanuts Club

It's Monday, so that means Nitelite's here. I freakin' love the video for this song.

Electro can only do so much. Loud, abrasive, jarring, all these traits eventually mold together to drive the listener off the deep end. Once in a great while, though, there comes along an anthem that plays the line clearly and deftly. "Peanuts Club" is that anthem. Tribal, thunderous, and ridiculously self-aware, Noob & Brodinski's "Peanuts Club" charges out the gate with an apocalyptic kick drum and a bassline more warped than Brett Favre's ability to decide whether or not he's going to stay retired or not. Soon after, the synth line drops; an acidic, tersely squelchy riff that bounces and flips through your eardrums for the rest of the track. Best played at high volumes, in cars, and at late hours. Beautifully and simplistically rhythmic, but lethally effective.

You can check out more electronic tunes on Nitelite's blog, Midnight Nightlight
Also, check out even more dope electronic music at the newly created NoizeGasm.

Listen To This: I Do My Thing

Busy day today.  Here is the newest Cudi track off of his next album (this is the song he’s been performing acapella at many of his shows).  I would’ve been happier without Snoop on this cut, but I’m still really liking his new, more upbeat vibe.  If the whole album has songs like this and Up Up and Away, I will be one very happy Cudder fan.  He also seems to have improved his singing, which bodes well for the future.

Kid Cudi ft. Snoop Dogg- I Do My Thing 

via 2dopeboyz

Check back tomorrow and the rest of this week for a lot more music (I have a tough math test tomorrow, so naturally I decided spend the evening working on the blog.. I mean studying.

I Liked It: Black Dynamite & Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Two reviews in one today!! Jackpot!!

The first movie I watched this weekend was a comedy in the vein of Airplane! or Kung Pow!. Black Dynamite is an explosively hilarious (see what I did there?) parody of 70s blaxploitation films.  The  brilliantly written movie effectively utilizes both subtle and slapstick humor, and I laughed from beginning to end.  Shot with on special film, Black Dynamite effectively captures the look of 70s films, while intentional gaffes intelligently poke fun at the film-making of the time.  This is the funniest movie I've seen in a while, so I highly recommend it.

The second movie I watched was Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs(possibly the complete opposite of Black Dynamite). The animators at Sony outdid themselves on this one, as the colorful animation is a feast for the eyes (see what I did there?).  The eye candy and plot (a scientist invents a machine that turns water into food and accidentally launches it into the clouds so that food rains down from the sky) would have been enough to make this a perfectly credible kids movie, but the intelligent humor and dialogue make this film enjoyable for people of all ages (parts of the movie seem tailor-made to be watched under the influence of hallucinogenics).  All in all, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs has enough substance to make it a meal that a lot of people, adults included, will enjoy (see what I...never mind).

Green Zone, She's Out Of My League, and Hot Tub Time Machine all come out soon, so one those will probably one of the next movies I review.

Listen To This: Two Weeks

I've been listening to indie like crazy trying to figure out what I like. Surprisingly, I haven't yet found the incredible volumes of amazing music which I expected.  I found some songs to have lyrics that I found to be overly pretentious, and other songs were just plain weird.  There's a sweet spot in my mind that a song has to hit in order for me to keep listening to it.  Here's one example by Grizzly Bear which combines harmonized vocals and a Beatlesque piano riff to create a great feel-good track. Also the video is weird, but sweet.  This is the kind of song I am looking for, so if you know any similar songs feel free to shoot them to me in the comments. 

BONUS: The Hood Internet - Two Weeks Of Hip Hop

Something I Like: The Hood Internet

In the last 5 years, mashup artists are popping up left and right. With the increased availability of software, instrumentals, and a capellas, anyone with a computer and a lot of time can create a credible mashup.  The Hood Internet tweaks the basic formula of mashing by using only indie and electronic instrumentals.  They create nice, clean mixes which are a joy to listen to.  You can listen to and download most of their music for free at their website.  I'll post my favorite one of their mixes in the next post.

Listen To This: House Forever

This song isn't new, but I don't have to post new songs all the time. Docta Dawe mashed the vocals from Forever with Teardrop by Massive Attack (the theme from House). The new instrumentals lend Drake's vocals a hypnotic quality, and the instrumental fits surprisingly well. Docta Dawe also took the liberty of only using the verses from Drake and Eminem, a decision which I strongly agree with (Kanye's verse was so-so and Lil' Wayne was...Lil' Wayne).

Docta Dawe- House Forever (Drake v. Massive Attack) [DIRECT DOWNLOAD, right click this link and choose save as]

Listen To This: Over

New Drake from his debut studio album Thank Me Later, which drops...soon...yeah I don't know when yet. The song isn't bad but the hook sounds really off to me.  Judge for yourself.

Drake- Over

via 2dopeboyz

Listen To This: Open Road

If you like the stuff I've been posting in the past, you might not like this song. Conversely, this may be the only song that I've posted so far that you like.  Anyway, I like it, so I get to post it because I'm the boss.  I discovered this song via thesixtyone, and was instantly taken in by Matthew Mayfield's emotional vocals and deep lyrics.  Enjoy.

In the next few weeks, I will try to post a little bit more music like this (or even more poppy), because in my opinion pop music (not on the radio) is returning to the level of quality present in the 60s and 70s (maybe not, but it's still good).  Of course, I only started listening to this kind of music like a month ago (4 months if you count Phoenix, but that was the extent of my listening), so I'll probably be posting songs that are old news to people who keep up with this music.  However this blog is about me (conceited?) and as my music taste continues to evolve, so will the blog.  Bear with me and enjoy the music (and maybe start commenting a little if your name isn't Wink?).

Listen To This: 3/03

Alright, another one of these lazy posts for you guys. Also, if you're thinking "Why is he posting all of this hip-hop that I'm not interested in? I'm more interested in other kinds of good music," don't worry. In the near future I will begin to post more songs like 1,2,3's Confetti, so stay tuned for that (to be honest, I'm embarrassingly unversed in this type of music, so bear with me and send me any songs that you think have posting potential). Anyway, on to the "new" music.

One song that I couldn't post the download link for despite liking it a lot is Big Sean's Way Out (I didn't really like Big Sean from the song or two I heard before but since his Supa Dupa Lemonade Freestyle, he's really been growing on me). You can listen to it here (and if you're really resourceful, you'll find a download link there too).

Next is a tagless version of a song off of the already posted May 25th mixtape. Even if you already downloaded the mixtape, I would recommend redownloading this song because the the mixtape version for some reason unnecessarily loops the first 2 bars like 3 times, which really annoys me.  I also have the untagged version of F*ck the Money if anyone is interested.

B.o.B ft. J. Cole- Gladiators (Untagged)

B.o.B ft. Asher Roth- F*ck The Money (Untagged)

Here is a new track from Consequence (G.O.O.D. Music fans will remember him from Gone and Whatever U Want).  Unfortunately, some of you will only download this for the Maino feature. Whatever it takes, I guess.

 

Consequence ft. Maino- Down This Road

Is that it? Really?  I guess I thought I had more. Check back tomorrow for the first of many more indie, pop-y, and/or rock-y tracks (wow, I need to learn more adjectives). Also, the author of the book I last reviewed has agreed to an interview (yeah, he's awesome), so if you wanna quick read First Contact or, It's Later Than You Think, you can shoot me a question you want answered.  I'm gonna go ahead and go to sleep right now because I'm pretty sure every word I type after this is gonna be a rambling mess of unintelligible garbage.  This happens like every time I get real tired, I just start writing and writ....good night.

I Liked It: First Contact: Or, It's Later Than You Think

For me, the true mark of a truly spectacular book is not that I can't put it down- that happens to me with a lot of books. What really distinguishes a book is that my first impulse upon finishing is to pick it up and start it all over again.  First Contact: Or, It's Later Than You Think by Evan Mandery is one such book.  Mandery writes with the easy humor of Vonnegut or Adams, taking the reader through a surreal, hilarious encounter with aliens.  Philosophical yet hilarious, satiric yet optimistic, First Contact had me laughing from the first paragraph all the way through the acknowledgements.  I strongly recommend this novel to anyone who appreciates intelligent humor and good writing. Hit me up after you read it and we'll discuss.

Midnight Nightlight Monday: Kilometer (A-Trak remix)

Oops, almost forgot what happens on Mondays...

Sebastien Tellier, although not familiar to many, is a wildly successful French singer/songwriter with numerous ties to producers and DJs around the world, and so when his acclaimed album "Sexuality" hit shelves, it was bound for the remix treatment, the best of which is A-Trak's frivolous, sensually bassy remix of "Kilometer." A-Trak cooks up magic with sharp, warped synth stabs, a body-melting bass riff, the right amount of electronic strings, and the absolute perfect use of vocals. The main riff floats and glides over the buzzing, humming synth stabs, while Tellier's vocals deftly caress the sound for a beautiful marriage of maximalism and musicality. A warm, throbbing, best-of-both-worlds remix that doesn't overstay its welcome and gets stuck in your head upon the first few seconds of listening.- Nitelite

You can check out more electronic tunes on Nitelite's blog, Midnight Nightlight