If any of you don’t know who Buff1 is, you better find out fast. Buff1 is from Ann Arbor, Michigan which is no big surprise, (Michigan is taking over the game), and in my opinion he’s one of the best emcees in the game right now(he’s also a part of The Athletic Mic League). This is a video for a track on his latest effort There’s Only One for the track “Dream Streets”. This video is very sentimental and has a real message to it, to be honest you don’t see to many music videos like this one. The video shows Buff doing volunteer work and feeding homeless people (I’m guessing either in Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti) for the better of the community. This is a great song and video from one of the strongest releases of last year.
Archive for January, 2009
Video: Buff1, “Dream Streets”
Posted in Video with tags Ann Arbor, Athletic Mic League, Best of 2008, Buff1, Hip-Hop on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Tim AlthausMPLS free show: Høst (and others) @ the Hexagon Bar
Posted in Concert Dates with tags ambassador gun, desolate void, høst, hennes sistse høst, said the shotgun to the head, vernal pool on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Ryan Buege
FREE! Any smart Minneapolis music fan should do themselves a huge favor and check out this free showcase this week from some of the areas best metal bands. For those not aware, Høst has been recently been afforded the honor of receiving Decibel Magazine‘s 25th Best Extreme Metal Album of 2008 (placing them somewhere between internationally beloved bands such as Testament and Opeth). It’s quite an honor for a small band from the Minnesota scene that has barely had the chance to play 20 shows locally. Not to mention, their s/t album was my favorite regional metal release of the year. Høst is an innovative journey that takes both black metal and experimental rock through new ideas; a blizzard of an album that will please fans of all types of progressive and extreme music. Opening support is provided by Minneapolis grind’n’rollers Ambassador Gun, St. Paul deathgrinders Said the Shotgun to The Head, gritty Eau Claire metalheads Desolate Void, and Minneapolis metalgazers Vernal Pool. See you there!
FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE!
Review: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavillion
Posted in Music Reviews with tags 2009, animal collective, Best, Downloads, freak folk, Girls, Merriweather Post Pavillion, mp3, Panda Bear, pop, Psychedelic, Review on Thursday, January 8, 2009 by Erik BurgPretty Much Amazing: “Take the time to really listen and understand what direction Animal Collective is trying to go. If you do, I think you’ll find a band you can really get behind: A band that makes music for music lovers.”
Pitchfork: “Although it will be tagged as Animal Collective’s “pop” album, Merriweather Post Pavilionremains drenched in their idiosyncratic sound, a record that no one else could have made.” “But Merriweather feels like a joyous meeting in a well-earned, middle place– the result of all their explorations pieced together to create something accessible and complete.”
Not much has been left unsaid about Animal Collective’s newest album Merriweather Post Pavillion. Those two quotes above give a fine example of the kind of perfection and praise that this album is receiving, and has been receiving for weeks now.
My personal history with Animal Collective has been a bit rocky, I have to admit. At first I hated the group for their music, it was just so weird and different and felt so disjointed upon first look, but when I took the time to listen to an album all the way through it became quite apparent that they truly were making music for music lovers. And Merriweather is no different, an album steeped in more harmonious vocals and musical clarity than any of their other works, this disc is one of the most impressive I’ve heard in a very long time.
Tracks like “My Girls” and “Brother Sport” are monstrous songs that will catch you by surprise if you’ve never listened to Animal Collective before. As the P4K reviewer said, this disc is certainly their “pop” album, and that’s why it has so much potential. “My Girls” is their most accessible track to date, but that’s not to take away from it because it’s probably going to go down as their finest track ever laid down as well. “Brother Sport” reminds listeners of AC member Panda Bear’s incredible album Person Pitch released in 2007.
It really would be easy to go on about Merriweather for thousands of words, but there would be no reason, because like any other Animal Collective album this just has to be heard and an opinion formed on your own, not through reading this review or another number of the thousands now out there. All I can say fro sure is that this is AC’s best album, most accessible album for first time listeners, and and album that will be talked about for years to come.
9 9.5 10/10
Skillz: The Wire 5 Minute, 5 Season Rap-Up
Posted in Video with tags HBO, Hip-Hop, Skillz, The Wire on Thursday, January 8, 2009 by Tim AlthausFor those of you out there that are huge enthusiasts of HBO’s series The Wire this one is truly for you. If you have listened to any of Skillz’s end of the year Rap-Up’s, you know that this guy can spit about a lot of information in a short amount of time. He single handedly goes through a summary of each season of The Wire with that razor sharp flow that Skillz is known for. I personally have been listening to this guy a lot lately and I have to admit that I wish I would have started listening to this guy earlier, he has some serious mic skills (no pun intended). To be honest there aren’t many guys that can sound as natural on the mic as Skillz.
Blu, “TilWeDie”
Posted in Downloads with tags Below the Heavens, Blu, Evidence, Johnson & Jonson on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus
Here’s a new one from the cat known as Blu. This guy is going to be one of the emcees that you want to be looking for in the near future. He’s had a buzz about him in the underground circle for the last two years, and it’s well deserved because not many emcees work as hard as this guy does (next to Evidence I don’t think there really is anyone). This track has Blu molding himself to a track with beautiful strings and vocal samples. The thing that makes Blu different from a lot of emcees is that he can pretty much flow over anything that you throw at him.
Also, if you haven’t done it yet go out and get Below the Heavens & Johnson & Jonson both of them are straight fire!
Skillz: The 2008 Rap-Up
Posted in Downloads with tags Detroit Hip-Hop, Okayplayer, Rap Up, Skillz on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus
It’s the beginning of a new year and that means that the boy Skillz has his 2008 Rap up. If any of you have ever heard the year in Rap Up by Skillz, you know that shit is usually hilarious. This guy is a monster on the mic and never disappoints when he is rhyming. Skillz also plans on making a video for the Rap Up so you know you better stay tuned for that because you know I will have that up when it’s out.
Video: Neko Case, “Making of” Middle Cyclone
Posted in Video with tags alt-country, neko case on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 by Ryan Buege
Neko case has recently posted an awesome video online previewing her new album, Middle Cyclone. This red-headed alt-country darling has my favorite female voice in music and this album looks like it should be pretty awesome; kudos to her for what appears to be an extremely organic recording process. I’m sure the atmosphere of the barn amplified the musicians sound quite nicely. Middle Cyclone will be available on March 3, 2009.
MONO prepare new album release
Posted in Music News with tags japanese, mono, post-rock on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 by Ryan Buege
The elusive Japanese quartet of ethereal, engaging, dynamic post-rock noisemakers known as MONO has finally revealed more information about their followup to the brilliant 2006 album, You Are There. In their words:
Now we can officially announce the release of our 5th album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind. It has been 3 years since the release of our last album and we are truly grateful to still be able to create our music today. Being together as a band for 10 years has brought forth some changes and has hopefully allowed us to grow. We have created a special site to give you a preview of what to expect from Hymn To The Immortal Wind. Please check it out.
According to their website, Hymn To The Imortal Wind will see a U.S. release on March 24, 2009! Right now, for your listening pleasure (we’re bypassing MONO’s flash program), here is the first song from the album, “Ashes in the Snow“. Mark your calendars! Tracklist is:
1. “Ashes in the Snow” (DOWNLOAD MP3)2. “Burial at Sea”
3. “Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn”
4. “Pure as Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)”
5. “Follow the Map”
7. “Everlasting Light”
All Zune 30GB freeze at once?
Posted in News with tags Bill Gates, Brick, Happy 2009, Microsoft, Zune on Monday, January 5, 2009 by Tim Althaus
I was at work on Wednesday (for those of you that can’t remember it was New Year’s Eve) and one of my co-workers came up to me and asked me how to reset his Zune (I have an 80gb). I immediately took the player and tried to reset it with no resolution. I thought that this was very odd considering it always worked for me. My co-worker then went to the computers at work and checked the Internet, it turns out Bill and the boys over at Microsoft announced that every 30gb generation one Zune froze at the exact same time. Message boards and blogs were lighting up with posts from people that were absolutely irate about their player “biting the dust”. I don’t know about you people out there reading this, but I literally have no idea what I would do if I had no means to play the music I love. I would probably reach for the nearest shank and end my misery.
Apparently the freeze has something to do with the leap year and once the clock got ready to strike 2009 the player was doomed for freezing. There are a few DIY tutorials online, but they seem to be way to much work just to get your player working again. I read somewhere that they were calling this “one of the biggest software failures in history”, if you think about it, there are potentially millions upon millions of these players out there. Bill Gates and company could have a very serious issue on their hands for the near future.
Free DJ Set: DJ Concept Live J Dilla Mix!
Posted in Downloads with tags DJ Concept, J Dilla, Ruff Draft on Monday, January 5, 2009 by Tim Althaus
This is a link to a live mix by the man known as DJ Concept, and he did this set live in NYC. This is a great collection of music from my idol and favorite artist J Dilla. This mix covers everything from the Pharcyde/Tribe Called Quest days all the way up to Ruff Draft and everything that was in between. J Dilla was an absolute genius, and the impact that this man and his music have had on my life is remarkable.
If you are unfamiliar with Dilla please take a listen to this mix because it really is a great collection of tracks that Dilla was featured on and produced. At just under an hour long this mix will not disappoint.
Download: DJ Concept Live Dilla Set
Spotted at Ipso Facto
One more thing folks: TURN IT UP!
MIND INVERSION 