I finally got the download link for this album when I checked my MySpace for the first time in about two weeks. It’s over at the MTV2 Subterranean Blog, and unfortunately you have to download each track individually, not as a whole album. Although I feel as though the individual track download is kind of bogus, I don’t think that the EP is going to be the same. Make sure you download this FREE EP, and also go out and get Depart From Me when it drops in July.
Download: I Never Knew You EP
Prepare to hype or hate. It’s that time once again to praise some of the world’s best selling artists for follow up albums. Canadian super group Broken Social Scene are finally recording a following up to their self-titled third album, full band and all. Radiohead are also quick to start recording the follow up to their hugely successful 2007 album In Rainbows.
Which one am I more excited for? Go ahead and reference the title of this column for the answer to that one. Radiohead is good and all (sort of) but the coordination and complication that comes with Broken Social Scene recording a full band album makes their news all that much more exciting than lame Thom Yorke and co. recording some stuff.
Here are the official words from each camp on the recording of the albums:
Radiohead -“It’s at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we’re just looking at all the bits and thinking what’s next?…It was very noisy and chaotic and really fun.” via Bassist Colin Greenwood.
Broken Social Scene -“I can’t tell you what this record will sound like, who from the other great bands will be involved, but I can tell you it feels amazing to be in Chicago recording.” Guitarist/everything man Kevin Drew.
Radiohead is recording with their longtime producer Nigel Godrich. Broken Social Scene is recording with mastermind John McEntire, of Tortoise and Sea and Cake fame. I guess I’ll really be a dick about it when both sure-to-be-amazing albums hit the shelves.
Until then, enjoy these tracks!
Radiohead – “Nude” Live at BBC Radio Theatre London
While “Starry Eyes” got a somewhat official release back in 2007 when James Murphy and crew were tearing up your summer playlist, the track was coupled on the tail end of the amazing “Freak Out / Starry Eyes”. Waxploitation and their running Causes benefit album series were lucky enough to score a stand alone studio recording of “Starry Eyes” on Causes 2.
If you haven’t heard the song yet or if you’re a newcomer to the awesomeness that is LCD Soundsystem, “Starry Eyes” might not be the best starting point, but it’s a track that is gleaming with synthesizers more reminiscent of some of the other artists on DFA. The track doesn’t even feature Murphy on vocals, instead trading him in for now Juan Maclean faithful Nancy Whang.
It’s a fairly repetitive track, relying heavily on the echoing snare hits and lyrics that come across as scattered and just plain weird. It’s by no means LCD’s best effort, but it’s a cool gem for long time fans because it introduces and exemplifies various aspects of the band that are rarely seen on their records. Enjoy!
LCD Soundsystem – “Starry Eyes Original” Causes 2 Exclusive
Thanks to Shamz over at OKP for this one. The Beat Junkies have made a sampler mix of Dilla’s new album Jay $tay Paid for all of the fiends (like me) who can’t wait for this album. I am downloading this one as we speak so I can listen to this all night tonight. Make sure you download this one to get a good preview of what is to come on June 2nd. If you want to check out the artwork and track listing for Jay $tay Paid can go here. Join me at the record store on June 2nd to pick up one of the best albums of this year.
Download: Jay $tay Paid (sampler mix), Mixed by the Beat Junkies.
Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz
Here is some more great music for the Mighty Minneapolis. This time it comes to us from Prof & St. Paul Slim. It just so happens that Ant is the executive producer of the album, so you know the production is going to be fire. These two emcees know how to elevate the skill on the mic and I think this album is going to end up being a great collaboration. I remember the first time I heard St. Paul Slim on Atmosphere’s track, off Strictly Leakage, “Crewed Up”. He had one line that went, “I’ma tell ya’ll I’m about to make a small fortune by taking small things and blowing em’ out of proportion”, from that line alone I knew that this guy was going to be sick as hell. The first time I heard of Prof was for his video for “Rocketman“. If I may add, the video for “Rocketman” is absolutely brilliant and Prof sure as hell know how to rock the mic as well.
I will have a review up for you guys real soon, because needless to say I am going to be listening to this album quite a bit the next few days. Make sure you download the album because it’s free!
Download: Prof & St. Paul Slim, Recession Music
Also check the video for the lead single from Recession Music, “Fire”:
As I sit in my new favorite cafe here in La Crosse, The Root Note, I day dream about May the 20th. It’s the day Animal Collective, along with opening act Grouper hit the main room at First Ave. It’s a concert that sold out like country music shows do at the Xcel Center. So yes, anticipation is brewing.
May 18 @ Royal Oak Music Hall, Royal Oak Michigan: SOLD OUT
May 19 @ Riverside Theater, Milwaukee Wisconsin: Tickets (!)
May 20 @ First Avenue, Minneapolis Minnesota: SOLD OUT
So the fact that Animal Collective and NPR teamed up last night to stream the band’s set form the 9:30 Club in Washington DC was all the more reason for me to get excited. It was essentially a look inside the band’s tour, a two hour romp through the Baltimore trio’s best work. And you’re more than welcome to stream the entire thing for yourself at their archives, or even just check out the set list.
You would think that selling out nearly every venue on their tour was enough, but Animal Collective have now officially released and
officially sold out of The Animal Crack Box vinyl set that everyone and their mother have been salivating over. The triple-vinyl box set collects various live tracks and unreleased material from the bands tribal years from 2000-2003 period. If you happened to have $92 laying around and happened to be on the internet and happened to stumble upon the first blog that wrote about it (Pitchfork) you might have been lucky enough to load the page fast enough to get a copy. Oh well I guess, The rest of us poor souls will just have to wait for the MP3s to come leaking out of some dude’s basement.
Until that time though, you can check out the new track that Panda Bear, Avey, and Geologist have been playing live. It’s working title is “Bleed” and can be had in a handy MP3 form already thanks to Collected Animals. “Bleed” seems extremely unpolished still, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the track still evolve even over the length of this tour. The track sounds a little too mythical, a little too slow, but the Avey and Panda melodies are a nice treat none-the-less. It’s not as good as the other new live track, “What Would I Want Sky”, but it shows once again the talent that these three men have at crafting music seemingly on the fly. Grab it below:
After releasing an EP and LP under his full name, Seth Kauffman has taken a bit of a different route with his new project. Taking on the name Floating Action, Kauffman released his first album April 21st. The self-titled debut has not only created more buzz with long time fans, but has created a new fan base around Kauffmna outside of his already very close followers.
Very much in line with the Caribbean treat I wrote about the other day, Floating Action is like a more sunny version of Park the Van label mates Dr. Dog. Recording all of the instrumentals and vocals by himself, Kauffman is able to create a unique sound that is specific to himself. It’s a sound that’s synonymous with 60’s Roy Orbison and yet still seems terrifically fresh in today’s light.
It’s Kauffman’s voice, more than the music itself, that sets Floating Action apart from many of the other acts making music similar to this. The lead track on Floating Action, “50 Lashes”, puts Kuffman’s fluctuating falsetto to the test. The way he is able to change pitch mid-verse is outstanding, and with that subtle effect is able to craft a sound much more original, distinct, and quite frankly enjoyable.
But don’t take my word for it, check out the awesome “50 Lashes” from Floating Action right here below. And the album Floating Action is out now, so be sure to scoop that up as soon as possible too. I’d highly suggest getting it from the best mp3 related website out there: Amie Street. Enjoy!
I still can’t get over the artwork for the new Dilla album (which is featured to the left) because it’s incredible. This is the first track I have had the pleasure of hearing, and it features up and coming Detroit emcee Danny Brown. It was actually up a few days ago over at 2DopeBoyz, but I didn’t have a chance to get it up at the time.
This is a nice Dilla beat that I haven’t heard before (which is always nice), and Danny Brown spits some ridiculous verses over this great instrumental. I want you guys to realize that Danny Brown is an emcee that has some amazing talent. It makes me really happy to hear another great artist coming out of Detroit because it’s a city that just keeps pumping out great sound. I am going to make a conscious effort to get everything that this guy puts out.
Make sure you check out this track because it is incredible. You better also make sure you go out and cop Jay $tay Paid out on Nature Sounds June 2nd.
Download: Dilla Bot Vs. The Hybrid (Featuring Danny Brown)
N.A.S.A‘s more than audacious project of an album Spirt of Apollo has been polarizing to this point. It’s not quite a hip-hop album, it’s not quite the electro album it tries to be at points either.
Here is where doctor Steve Aoki steps in to cure the problem. Taking what is arguably the album’s best track “Gifted” featuring Kanye West, Santogold, and Lykke Li, Aoki gives the song a strong does of banging electro medicine. Turning many of the choruses into mashed-up tweaked-out bass-ladened masterpieces, Aoki delivers once again. I’ve heard endless amounts of Aoki production, mixes, and remixes already, but I have to say that this might be his strongest to date.
Aoki is able to make “Gifted” sound like it was always this dirty European techno track, going back and listening to the original is almost a let down knowing that it never reaches the peak that Aoki takes it to in this remix. If you enjoy anything in this line of work, it’s worth checking out for sure. Enjoy!
N.A.S.A.- Gifted (Feat. Kanye West, Santogold, Lykke Li) Steve Aoki Remix
The beloved folk-pop group Fleet Foxes have already toured once in support of their chart topping 2008 release of the same name, and now they’re sketching out some more dates for this summer as well.
The tour is fairly scattered, including many festival dates both here and across the pond, but the boys were nice enough to squeeze in a First Avenue show on August 9. Tickets are on sale now for $22 (get them here). If you’re a fan of their records at all they are certainly worth seeing live, when I had the chance to see them at Pitchfork last year the acoustics of an outdoor setting didn’t bog them down at all, and they still sounded amazing. So I know I’m certianly excited for a more intimate setting, but if you’re a big festival goer there are plenty of chances to see them at these fine gatherings:
5-25 Sasquatch
6-23 Hove Festival
6-26 Glastonbury
7-31 All Points West
8-07 Lollapalooza
Fleet Foxes released a new single today as well. The “Mykonos” 7″ features the awesome “False Knight On The Road” on the B
side. MP3s of False Knight have been floating around on the web for a while now, but here it gets a well deserved official release. “False Knight On The Road” is well worth the purchase, the echoing vocals recorded mostly by frontman Rob Pecknold are much more in line with his or fellow Fox’s J. Tillman solo projects, but the song could have just as easily appeared on their self-titled group debut. If you’re broke though, or out a record player, check the MP3 below for what you’re missing. Enjoy!
MIND INVERSION 