January 31, 2009

Tobacco

I've been spending a good deal of time going back and forth between Roswell, GA and Athens here. Besides the constant opportunities to lose my cool and consider running people off the road or follow them to their garage to teach them proper turn signal etiquette, I've enjoyed listening to my favorite radio station covering the metro Atlanta area: Album 88.5. GA State's broadcasts are far superior to Tech's 91.1 and even UGA's own overly pretentious 90.5. Despite my love for Album 88, I had never called the station before the fateful evening when they helped me discover Tobacco's "Hairy Candy." The track talks to the same sexually ambivalent part of me that recommends Crystal Castles.

Hairy Candy


FYI: Tobacco is a member of Black Moth Super Rainbow, a band I have little experience with. I will surely be raiding their catalog shortly.

IshyBeatz + Shay-J // What We Live For


Click the above banner for a FREE independently produced album by my good friend Ishmal Lewis.

In short, he went from hearing Mozart and Bach, to Coltrane and Monk, to Dre and Timbaland...

And from pianos and guitars, to drum machines and turntables

And he gots alot of stuff to get rid of...


Ishmal says it best. He works his magic on a whole slew of different instruments, and Shay-J offers a nice accompanying style and influence. The full album review and interview will be published in the coming weeks!

Click me if you feel like making a donation to the group.

METRIC





The real songs refuse to upload, so here are some music videos.
January 28, 2009

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel


Never Had Anybody Like You

This is my favorite song off M. Ward's 2009 release, "Hold Time". The song features Zooey Deschanel; I think Zooey has one of the best female voices ever...I mean, come on, we all saw Elf. Unfortunately, Deschanel's part is pretty minor in this song, but hey, she's still hot. The album as a whole hasn't been released yet, I listened to a leaked copy over the course of this week, and it's pretty damn good. In addition to Deschanel, the album also features guest performances from Lucinda Williams as well as members of Grandaddy and DeVotchKa. I hope M. Ward comes somewhat close to Athens this year...
January 26, 2009

Weezy's LALA



lalalalalalalalalalalalalalaicantgetenough

HIPHOPADDICT
January 24, 2009

Bambara


Lullay

Bambara is a rock trio from Athens. I've had the awesome experience of hanging out with both Blaze Bateh and William Brookshire from the group, both are really cool guys. This song is from Bambara's debut self-titled album; it's my favorite song off the album. These guys are incredibly unique and have tons of energy, I'd absolutely recommend seeing them live if you get the chance. Let me know what you think!
January 19, 2009

Crystal Castles vs. the Little Ones



Evan was right to recommend Crystal Castles, but he forgot their bestest song, which is actually a fantastic remix of the Little Ones' "Lovers Who Uncover." I wish I could speak as highly about the Little Ones version of their own song, but I can't; it isn't nearly as sexy as this here remix by Crystal Castles.

Lovers Who Uncover

Here's a kind of guess quality youtube radio rip of U2's new single from their upcoming album No Line on the Horizon. It's typical U2 minus the Edge's obsession with guitar delay....so...I'm not a fan. I think it sounds like the band is going for a more organic and rough sound, but Brian Eno's sleek production kind of works against that. All in all, it's a disappointment.
January 14, 2009

Crystal Castles


Crystal Castles - Courtship Date

Obsessive is the only word that can describe my listening habits of late. Crystal Castles is not the sort of band one can forget about after turning off their music. It lodges itself inside of your mind with an agreeable sort of tenacity.

Hailing from Toronto, Canada, this duo (Ethan Kath and Alice Glass) combines digital effects passages, dripping with synthesized drumbeats, with Glass' distorted vocals. Hot stuff.

Crystal Castles on Myspace
January 12, 2009

Minty Fresh Beats x (Jay-Z + Radiohead) = Jaydiohead



No Karma
99 Anthems
Change Order

What do you get when you have NYC hip-hop producer Minty Fresh Beats do a mashup of various Jay-Z and Radiohead songs? A badass fucking collection of songs, that's what. I'd even venture as far as to say this is better than Danger Mouse's Grey Album. Yeah, yeah, I know...you're skeptical because so many mediocre mashups have been done, especially with Jay-Z...but this one's different. Minty Fresh has a great ear for both beats and combinations. Furthermore, he's actually a Radiohead fan; proof is in "Change Order", which uses "Gagging Order" a beautiful Radiohead b-side with just two instruments acoustic guitar and vocals. I never thought in my wildest dreams that Gagging Order would work with someone rapping over it...but somehow it does. Enjoy.
January 11, 2009

Call On Me



I'm sure everyone has heard this song, but someone just recently showed me this video and...it's amazing.

MGMT - Kids



Thank my Media Assemblage Theory Professor, Dr. Rai for this gem.
January 9, 2009

Desaparecidos' Read Music, Speak Spanish





















Man and Wife, the Latter (Damaged Goods)
Manana
Survival of the Fittest/ It's a Jungle Out There

This band feels a lot like Conor's original Commander Venus. Really raw, punk and emo influenced, angsty Conor screaming and jamming out with a lot of rock and power. Desaparecidos, in the discussion of the disillusionment of suburban American in the face of culutral homogenity and commerciality.

How superficial can we get?
January 7, 2009

Blitzen Trapper


Furr

Blitzen Trapper is an experimental folk band out of Portland; I found them through an online Sub Pop sampler and thought they were pretty sweet. Furr is a really chill folk song with some mild sonic experimentation in the midst of the really clean production. It struck me as a song that would go well in a Wes Anderson movie.

Oh, sorry about the lack of posts over the break. No more breaks for a while. I hope.