Yes, We Can Dance

That DNC business dragged for a while, but the dude who spoke at the end was pretty good. I hope we see more of him for a while. Anyway, some of the shit he said really made sense, so in the spirit of unity, I present songs in which different races come together, for the common goal of making all people dance. Well at least making some people dance, while others kind of dance, maybe not sure if they should just nod their head or what, or just go for it and if they look like honkies, say they're being ironic. Anyway....

First up is a track from TI, who, based on some of what's leaked from the new album, is currently suffering from guest and sample-itis. His last track, for instance, featured an M.I.A. sample under guest spots from Kanye and Jay-Z. Talk about blowing your load. I'm surprised Converse Sneakers weren't involved. Anyway, these two trends continue with his newest "leaked" track, albeit on a more acceptable level, as both his guest (Rihanna)and sample (the famous-thanks-to-YouTube "baya-dee" song) are borderline inspired, if more than a bit cheesy. As in REALLY cheesy. But kind of fun, too. Whatever the song is, it's an interesting detour for the ultra-serious Atlanta rapper:

TI feat. Rihanna - "Live Your Life" (right click to save)

Next is Dan Black, a British hipster who seems like a major douche if you consider his Myspace page, which lists his hometown as London/Paris, and features other questionable elements. Some consider him douchey by artistic standards as well, but whatever you say against him, you can't deny he has balls. His first experiment released over the net is a concoction made from "Umbrella", the Starman score, and obviously a Notorious rapper from the NYC:

Dan Black - "HYPNTZ" (right click to save)

Continuing today's curiously pop-y post is a track from a new artist named Kevin Rudolf. Rudolf is a former guitar player for the likes of Timbaland, Nelly Furtado, etc, so he's used to making Top 40-friendly "board-room rock". His first single is entertaining junk food, but a guest spot by internet (and, well, everyone's) darling Lil' Wayne cranks the whole thing up a few notches.

Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil' Wayne - "Let it Rock"

Changing tracks, here's a collision of sounds that's not exactly pre-planned, but nonetheless stands as more than the sum of its parts. This one is a permanent staple on my pre-gaming playlist, and always goes over well:


R. Kelly vs Broken Social Scene - "I'm a Flirt/Shoreline"

And finally, something just for fun. This movie is awesome:


The Ralph Sall Experience - "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" (from Hamlet 2, right click to save)

Olympic Hangover

First Things First: No, that picture is not photo-shopped, and no, I have no idea where it's from, but I hope it was taken at the most Couture fashion show in Paris or something.

Now that the Olympics are over, I have no fucking clue what I'm going to do with the 2 hrs of each night/morning I've spent skimming through the primetime block of events(okay, sometimes it was less, if all I had to look forward to was that track and field shit. sorry, but I just don't give a fuck about Jamaica). Wait, I started this thing; problem solved. Now onto the music, which I've gotten into again now that I've de-glued my eyes from the tv.

First up is highlights from the Sunset Junction music festival, which I attended on Saturday and had a fucking blast at. It was my first year, and I learned two very valuable lessons:

1) Never ride the rides, even if drunk, semi-attractive girls run up to you and ask you to take them. They were built by hateful carnies and are designed to tear apart necks and kill spirits. Just say no to carnies!


2)Whenever the Cold War Kids come into town, fucking see them. They surpassed their live show hype for me, and made me 300% more excited for the new album next month. All the tracks they previewed were gold, but only one has been released for public consumption so far:


Cold War Kids-Something is Not Right With Me (right click to save)




[Bonus: Click HERE to stream part of another track, set to a rather cool video montage. If you need another reason to get hyped for the record or their return to LA in a few weeks, this might do the trick.]

Also playing at the festival this weekend was a local band known as The Henry Clay People, which is slowly but surely gathering a solid following on the Silverlake scene, thanks to the constant plays they've been getting on indie103. They've got some decent songs in their catalog, but the new single is very impressive, and should only fuel their fire:


The Henry Clay People - You Can Be Timeless (right click to save)

This past week brought two new LP releases of note. By now, I'm sure you've heard Bloc Party released their third album digitally, THREE DAYS after it was announced. Appropriately titled Intimacy, it finds the band stripping away the ambitious but flawed excesses of last year's Weekend in the City, with a heavy emphasis on their electronic elements. It's a pretty successful effort, and a pleasant surprise to have at all, but still, nothing comes close to the highs of Silent Alarm, though the one-two punch of the icy "Signs" and the red-hot "One Month Off" comes mighty close, halfway through the album. Here's the latter:

Bloc Party - "One Month Off" (right click to save)

Last week's other new release is a different kind of surprise. The Walkmen are best known as that band from the Volkswagen ad a few years ago (Their song "We've Been Had" played over that ridiculously over-exposed commercial where those hipster douches drove through their childhood), but their new LP is nothing short of a revelation. On a whim, I downloaded it last week, and it grabbed me immediately. Singer Hamilton Leithauser's ace songwriting and haunting vocals have grown on me even more with each listen, to the point where putting it on a best of '08 list seems a no-brainer. At the very least, in a summer full of sleeper albums, this may be the greatest one of all. You can download You & Me off i-tunes, and I really can't recommend it enough. Here's a taste:


------Song of the Week-----

The Walkmen - "Postcards from Tiny Islands" (right click to save)



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And now, lest The Walkmen steal too much of that other band's thunder, I present something just for fun:


Bloc Party vs Madonna - "Groovecopter" (right click to save)




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Welcome. And Fuck the Man!

So here we are. What started as a humble joint venture between my Muxtape account and my Myspace blog has turned into this, thanks to the actions of the RIAA. While no details are readily available, Muxtape appears to be in some deep shit with the music industry, and quite frankly, it's too big of a hassle for me to be bothered with. Of course, we were heading towards this road already, what with my little project gathering steam, but the apparent demise of Muxtape (at least in its current state) has propelled me into getting HARDCORE, meaning this will cease to be a monthly event, and begin being a weekly or, if I get crazy, semi-daily thing (posting, that is). PS: Click the song titles to hear them, and possibly do other things with them, if you haven't figured that out yet.

Now that that's out of the way, onto the music, which today, is all about my Most. Favoritists. Songs....of all time (for you new people. If you don't like any of these, you probably won't dig the new music that's going to be posted here):

1. Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago" (Live at BAM, 11/03/07)

I wish the quality were slightly better on this, but it's worth it to own, just for the stunning arrangement of an already perfect song. It's a shame I never got to hear it live this way, as I left NY three days earlier.

Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago" (Live at BAM)

2. Wolf Parade - "I'll Believe in Anything"

One band I did recently see in concert was this one, and they did not dissapoint. Hearing this song live will easily go down as one of the highlights of my year.

Wolf Parade - "I'll Believe in Anything"

3. Big Country - "Wonderland"

This is a band that's never gotten the recognition it deserved (at least in the US), but is unquestionably one of the very best of the past 25 years. Chances are "In A Big Country" is the only one of their tunes that you've heard, but their catalogue is much deeper than most know.


Big Country - "Wonderland"

4. The Verve vs. Jay-Z - "Brush That Bittersweet Shoulder Off"

Now here's something just for fun. One of the most basic, yet flat-out best mash-ups ever created.

The Verve vs. Jay-Z - "Brush That Bittersweet Shoulder Off.