For 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.
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 AlthausBlu, “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!
Sunday Metal Song: Helmet, “In the Meantime”
Posted in Sunday Metalhead Minute with tags helmet on Monday, January 5, 2009 by Ryan Buege
If you haven’t noticed from the lack of posting on the site lately, everyone at mind inversion seems to be enjoying their winter break far too much right now. Things should be picking up again here shortly; I’ll be covering several awesome metal shows in the area over the next few months featuring Meshuggah, Krisiun, Kreator, Exodus, and many more. In the meantime (pun intended), I’m here to satisfy your Sunday Metal Stoner craving with some riff-heavy rocking straight from the fretboard of Page Hamilton.
Helmet, “In the Meatime” (from Meantime, 1992)
January 2009 Playlist
Posted in Downloads with tags El Guincho, Evidence, Hercules and Love Affair, January, Kurtis Blow, LA Riots, mp3, P.O.S., Playlist, The Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, The Scanners on Saturday, January 3, 2009 by Erik Burg
These are breaks. Break it up BREAK it up BREAK IT UP!
Hello again boys and girls, it’s that time of the month again (no…not that time) for a nice little playlist to get you through these treacherous winter months here in the midwest. There’s no real flow to this thing, so it’s not a playlist as much as it is just tracks together in one spot that I’ve had on repeat lately. I suggest them all, of course, so if you’re bored or just looking for some new material to get into give these a peek. Hope you all enjoy! xoxo Erik
The Black Keys – “The Lengths”
Hercules and Love Affair – “Raise Me Up”
Hello 2009
Posted in Music News with tags 2008, 2009, animal collective, anticipation, avey tarre, geologist, mp3, Music, Panda Bear, resolutions on Thursday, January 1, 2009 by Erik Burg
- Their live show in ’08 was my high point, and their new album is shaping up to be my ’09 highlight too
It’s that time of year again, for a new year. And good thing too, I personally am beyond ready to put 2008 behind me, but what should I be looking forward too? Not sure really, resolutions? a “fresh” start? Obama? All of the above I suppose, but let’s face it, nobody sticks to their resolution (let me be the first to admit that I already ruined mine) and that whole “fresh” start thing is just lame.
2009 has started off pretty well for me (minus the whole resolution thing). I mean, the first two hours of the year was spent dancing to Hercules and Love Affair and then having a drink with the man himself. So maybe I should look forward to the new musical horizons. Yeah…there we go, music. And what better way to celebrate the first New Music Tuesday than with a stellar release from musical geniuses Animal Collective, their new release Merriweather Post Pavillion, which recently leaked, is shaping up to be one of their strongest releases to date.
So how about that, great music to jump start 2009 and hopefully pave the way for a year that’s much better, to me at leas,t than last year was. I’ll have a full review of Merriweather up as soon it hits shelves officially on the 6th, until then enjoy this new track. Happy New Year!
MIND INVERSION 
