New Music: Nas

Nas' new album is out, and was released with no title, to the surprise of no one. The title controversy, at this stage in his career, felt like a desperate ploy for attention and publicity, and it worked, since this is the most people have talked about him in years. His stunt gave me low expectations for the album (after all, if it was any good he wouldn't have to pull shit like this to get people to talk about it), but I was really surprised by how good it actually turned out.

Lyrically, he's as solid as ever. He's at his best when he's doing just solid poetry and not trying to write hooks, which why he falls apart during "Breathe" and "Make the World Go Round" (which features a WTF appearance of Chris Brown). The usual complaint about Nas remains valid: his beats are fucking useless. His beats are usually a couple bars long and looped endlessly through the track with no fills or variation. The real highlights are tracks like "Queens Get the Money" and "Project Roach", tracks that are all about the words and don't give a shit about pop hooks.

More Remixes: Danger Mouse Remixes Zero 7

Since Danger Mouse has been involved in every album people care about lately, I thought I'd throw even more hype on the pile by posting his remix of Zero 7's "Somersault".

Remixes: Ting Tings Vs Garbage

The vocal transitions need work, but the songs sound nice together and the video looks cool. "Shut Your Mouth" vs "Shut Up and Let Me Go" (with some Black Eyed Peas towards the end to up the cool trash factor). Many, many of you will despise this with a passion, but enough you will love most of it as much I do for posting it to be worth it.

New Music: The Pharell-Casablancas-Santogold collaboration

IT'S HERE! Julian Casablancas, Pharell, and Santogold came together to make a song for a new Converse All-Stars campaign, and the result worked out brilliantly. "My Drive Thru" does a shockingly good job at being to fit in on both a Strokes album and a Santogold album, and will most likely remain my favorite pop song of the summer.

Music Videos: "Flashing Lights", Part II

So, Kanye West made another crazy-ass video for "Flashing Lights" because he wasn't getting enough attention this week. Apparently there's a third one coming too. I liked this one better than the first; there's less shock value, but it's so much more interesting visually. I hope this video trilogy stunt brings more attention to this song, because it really deserves be the hit that "Stronger" was.

Covers: Usher as classical music

WE'RE BACK! Finally. Anyway, here's a vid of phenomenal pianist David Sides performing "Love In This Club" as a full-scale piano solo. It works so much more than you would ever expect it to.

Classic remixes: Jay-Z vs The Verve

Mashups are still very underground at this point, and get very, very limited distribution because of copyright issues. So, it's very rare for a mashup to become so renowned that it attains "classic" status among people who listen to them. Classic mashups include but are not limited to: Freelance Hellraiser's Strokes v Aguilera remix, the mashup that started it all; "Rapture Riders", the Blondie-Doors remix that was one of the first mashups to be distributed on an official album; "Smells Like Teen Spirit" vs "Billie Jean", required listening in Mashups 101; and Eminem's "My Name Is" vs "Back in Black". Here's another classic: "Bittersweet Symphony" vs "Dirt Off Your Shoulder". It's so seamless that it makes the original songs sound wrong the next time you hear them.

Music videos: New Kanye ("Flashing Lights")

My third-favorite song on "Graduation", "Flashing Lights", is the new Kanye single. The new video is incredibly simple, but is making huge waves because at the end Kanye is stabbed to death with a shovel. Spoiler alert!



By the way, the radio edit of the song is only 2:48, but the full version pushes 4 minutes and is far superior. So if you like the video but never bought/heard the full album, pick up the original cut of the song on iTunes.

Live Music: West, Winehouse, Keys, and Underwood @ the Grammys

First of all: Yayz to Amy Winehouse for taking home the most-deserved 5-win haul since Alicia Keys. Now let's get to the important part: the live performances.

I don't really care about country. Actually, I'm pretty sure we have post labels for every mainstream genre except country. But even I can't deny how amazing Carrie Underwood performed last night. I don't care if country's not your thing, you WILL cheer on the inside when she says "The next time he CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEATS... you know it won't be on me..."


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Amy Winehouse took home some much-deserved awards, but her performance was really disappointing. It was probably the most talked-about thing of the night though, so we're posting it so you can judge for yourself if you missed it last night:

Amy Winehouse 2008 Grammys Rehab
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Kanye West's performances completely owned, and we tried to post "Stronger", but for whatever reason the videos keep getting taken down from streaming video sites for Copyright claims. We'll post a working link as soon as one comes in.

And now, for the best performance of the night, at least in our opinion: Alicia Keys (with some help from John Mayer), singing the hell out of "No One". "Back to Black" was a better album than "As I Am", but Alicia Keys has always been able to do something that Winehouse probably will never be able to: Keys performs so much better live than she does on her album. She really pumped some new life into this song, and gave it an epic sound that I never heard in the original.

Alicia Keys et John Mayer - No one
Uploaded by Rubyowen

Remixes: Amy Winehouse vs 50 Cent

This right here is a perfect example of what a good rap/non-rap mashup should sound like. It's an instrumental loop from "You Know I'm No Good" underneath the vocals of "I Get Money", and it works extremely well. I never liked most of 50 Cent's work, but after hearing this I think it's because he settles for really dull beats most of the time ("Ayo Technology" being the exception to the rule-- thank you, Timbaland). But here, "I Get Money" really comes alive thanks to Mark Ronson's ridiculously dynamic instrumental. Anyway, this mashup comes with a cool video to stare at. Enjoy.

Random Track of the Day: The MIA-Timbaland collaboration

I've been meaning to post this ever since "Kala" was released, but I just never got around to it. "Come Around" was a track that MIA and Timbaland collaborated to produce that was originally intended to be included on "Shock Value", but for whatever reason, it didn't make the cut, and ended up on MIA's new album instead. It's "Shock Value"'s loss; this song is better than 90% of that album. At least it eventually found the light of day, because it's ridiculously addictive. Also, the song proves why MIA is one of my favorite lyricists working in the music industry right now. The lyrics are copy/pasted below the Youtube embed. The "In a far away land" verse is ridiculous. In a good way, obviously.



M.I.A.:
Check my coat in and I paid the dollar,
Sidekick rings, "what's up? holla!"
Text the address, I'll see you later
Baby come down
Come down, come down, come down
run down, run down, run down
Run, make a run, make a run, make a run, make a run, make a run down
A dun da da dun da da dun da da dun da da dun dun
Beat goes on
A dun da da dun da da dun da da dun da da dun dun
Beat goes on

In a faraway land we got shit made
Ray-Ban shades, warheads laid
Babies born in air raids
My girls run the Everglades
Indian tribesmen gamble spades
Indian chicks, they get men laid
Milk and honey, smoke high-grade
Gold and diamond, gems and jade
Ride up on our tanks, invade
Blow up thing to save our nam
Mina, Rina, Tina, Sabrina
Being a super Indian babe
We black market, we black made
We hit shit out when it rains
Would you come down and catch my train?
Would you run down and play this game?

Check my coat in and I paid the dollar,
Sidekick rings, "what's up? holla!"
Text the address, I'll see you later
Baby come down
Come down, come down, come down
run down, run down, run down
Run, make a run, make a run, make a run, make a run, make a run down
A dun da da dun da da dun da da dun da da dun dun
Beat goes on
A dun da da dun da da dun da da dun da da dun dun
Beat goes on

Timbaland:
Baby girl
You and me, need to go to your teepee
The moon is full, and I'm shining.
Baby, I know you see me.
Put a hump or two on your back
Jst like that
Oh girl you're on fire.
I don't wanna be in love with you
Imma just break you off and say goodbye
The night is young
Don't make me wait,
You just might miss your chance.
I'm gon' tell you the truth
Timbaland, I'm the motherfuckin' man.
Today's the day, girl, let me get that
Don't get mad
In fact, let me hit that
I've been overkilling them, I break backs
Come down, run down
Girl, where your place at?

M.I.A.:
Check my coat in and I paid the dollar,
Sidekick rings, "what's up? holla!"
Text the address, I'll see you later
Baby come down
Come down, come down, come down
run down, run down, run down
Run, make a run, make a run, make a run, make a run, make a run down
A dun da da dun da da dun da da dun da da dun dun
Beat goes on
A dun da da dun da da dun da da dun da da dun dun
Beat goes on

Timbaland:
Don't get it twisted baby girl, baby boy 'cause Timbaland ain't dead
Don't get it twisted baby girl, baby boy 'cause Timbaland ain't dead
Bounce

Covers: Jamie Cullum British-ifies "Frontin"

Here's another cover in the category of "Hip Hop Covers That Most Hip Hop Fans Would Despise". Jamie Cullum did a British Jazz-sounding cover of Pharrell's old hit "Frontin", and it was really cool even though on paper you would expect it to be boring as hell.

New music: Lupe Fiasco

The new Lupe Fiasco album "The Cool", came out today, and it sounds amazing. It's an album that you can't really fully process at once, so I need to find time to listen to the whole thing without distractions. So far, I think the best song on the album is "Streets on Fire", which just radiates intense atmosphere from the first second. I wish there were more people like this guy in the music industry.

Remixes: Eurythmics vs Eminem

This mashup is hella old, but it's one of the best ever made, so I'm posting it anyway. I will never get sick of this.

Random Track of the Day: W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.

"D.A.N.C.E." always annoyed the crap out of me, but this Wale song makes me not mind it. "W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E." was easily my favorite song on the Wale mixtape (If you haven't heard it, Google it, because it's brilliant). The awesome lyrics (Was I the only one a little surprised when he called out the Lindsey Lohan-Samantha Ronson situation?) somehow manages to salvage a sample from a song that I hate so much.

New Music Tuesday: Kanye, 50, Alicia Keys, Rogue Wave, and Hot Hot Heat

The two biggest releases this week are obviously "Graduation" and "Curtis", but I already recapped those last week, so I won't go through them again. Here's the post.

New stuff: New Alicia Keys single, called "No One", the lead single from her third album. Her voice sounds a little more strained than usual, and the song is a lot more basic than what we're used to hearing from her, but it's still a solid effort. Should play well on the radio.



Rogue Wave has a new album called "Asleep at Heaven's Gate". One of the best American indie rock albums to come out in the last few months. My favorite song from the album, "Lake Michigans", plays like The Shins with a little more bite.



Hot Hot Heat's new album "Happiness Ltd" is out. The album is pretty basic stuff for indie music and doesn't really take any chances, so it didn't really do much for me, but I still really love the track "Give Up" and have ever since I found a bootleg of it a few months ago. Plays like a more indie version of Franz Ferdinand.



Next week: Chamillionare, The Donnas, LCD Soundsystem EP, Nelly, Twista, KT Tunstall, and Matt White.

Album leaks: Kanye vs 50

You all know the story. Kanye vs 50, two of the biggest egos in the industry, Graduation vs Curtis, blah blah blah. Now that the albums are both floating around on the internet, America can listen to both albums and decide who the winner is. In my opinion: Kanye wins in a landslide.

"Curtis" exists for one reason and one reason and one reason only: so Curtis Jackson III can remind you how fucking tough he is. He really has nothing else to say. The album really doesn't do anything new or interesting, and except for "Ayo Technology", the entire first 2/3 of the album is forgettable and sounds exactly the same. It's a little hillarious that Fitty said that Kanye raps like a robot considering that he (50) sounds like he's sleepwalking through every track. He's taken that laid-back sound so far that he sounds completely bored with what he's talking about. And at the same time, the album takes it self so damn seriously. And honestly, I don't think I would dislike this album as much as I do if it wasn't for how fucking arrogant 50 is about what a genius he claims to be. The only two tracks that I really wanted to listen to a second time were "Ayo Technology" and "All of Me", and the only reason those tracks were good were because of the involvement of Timbaland and Mary J Blige. 50 himself didn't bring a whole lot to either one. Timbaland (collaborating with Justin Timberlake) produced "Ayo"'s trippy, slick, computerized beat, and MJB provided vocals for "All of Me", giving the album a way needed shot of passion. Buy these two on iTunes and forget about the rest.





Kanye's new album, though, is way more exciting to listen to, and there's more creativity in the first three tracks (not counting the intro, because who cares) than the were 50's last three albums combined. He pulls from an eclectic set of samples, not all of which totally work for me, but it's so much more unpredictable than "Curtis". "Graduation"'s production is damn near perfect, except for a small slump from tracks 7-9. The highlights besides "Stronger", which deserves every bit of the ridiculous radio play it's getting, are "Champion" and "Big Brother". Check out the album:

New music Tuesday: Aesop Rock and Collective Soul

Aesop Rock, definitely one of the most amazing artists in the Alt-Hip Hop world right now is back with new album "None Shall Pass". The title track has damn good lyrics, and I really have no idea how this guy is able to put words together the way he does. The distant, trip-hop-like beat also really adds a lot to the song. The best new song of the week:



By the way, "Float" is an amazing album, and you need to buy it right now.

Also in hip hop, Nelly's new single "Wadsyaname" was released yesterday. It's not bad. I won't spend too much space on it since you've probably already heard it on the radio by now:



Finally, Collective Soul's new album "Afterwords" is now available. I couldn't find anything from the album on iMeem or Odeo, but here's the iTunes link to check out what the album sounds like. It's pretty good, and isn't nearly as pop-sounding as its first single "Hollywood" made it seem.

Next week: Hard-Fi and Calvin Harris.

New Music: Matt Nathanson, Wyclef Jean, and John Lennon

It's mostly a slow week for new music, but a few good things came out today. First, Matt Nathanson's sixth album, "Some New Hope", was officially released. It was leaked a few months ago, but you can officially buy the album at iTunes now. It's a good album, and he hasn't lost any energy after 6 records. You can listen to the entire album at VH1's website. For fans of: "Execution of All Things" by Rilo Kiley, "Under the Iron Sea" by Keane, and "Everyone's In Everyone" by Patrick Park. Best track: "Car Crash":



Also, Wyclef Jean has a new single featuring Akon, Lil Wayne, and Mia. It's called "Sweetest Girl", and it's better than I thought it was going to be. Nothing amazing, but it sounds good enough. If this gets sold right, it could easily be a hit single.


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Also, just an alert that the John Lennon catalog has FINALLY been made available for online purchase.

This is really slow week, but next Tuesday the blog will explode when new albums by Imperial Teen, M.I.A., The Flaming Lips, Rilo Kiley, and The New Pornographers are released.

Covers: Mat Weddle Acoustifies "Hey Ya"

This might be my favorite cover ever. I loved the original "Hey Ya", but never heard a good cover of it. Razorlight's was hillarious, but embarassing. Supersuckers' version was fun but dumb. But Mat Weddle from the band Obadiah Parker did a cover that sounds like the complete opposite of the original, but it's still recognizable as "Hey Ya". It's a different kind of amazing. Actually, this is from a year ago, and I feel like an idiot for not knowing about it until last weekend, but at least I found it eventually. I don't know why hip-hop-to-acoustic-indie covers are the best covers, but they really are.