A Day in Rock History: April 13th, 2010

Posted in Off Topic, Random with tags , , , , on Friday, January 13, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

On this day in rock n’ roll MGMT released their second studio album Congratulations. This was the much-anticipated follow-up album to their debut album Oracular Spectacular. Up to this point MGMT had ridden a tidal wave of success from their first album that was filled with more club and electronic vibes than an actual rock n’ roll sound. It was no surprise to me the negative reception that their second album received after the release on April 13th, 2010.

Personally, I thought their second album was better than the first. It is more true to their sound and who they want to be as artists. To the naysayers that only gave the album a listen once or twice I suggest you put the album back on and give it another listen. This time listen to it like you have never heard the album Oracular Spectacular but rather listen to it from a stand point of a music fan. Now, what do you hear? You hear an album that takes you on a trek back to the rock of the 60’s or 70’s. This is what the American rock duo of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser wanted to do. They do not sell themselves short and do what the masses want but rather what they want. I would hope that you do not sell yourselves short by not giving this album another listen. Sometimes when you do not get what you expect you are getting a present.

On a furthernote, you should probably pull both albums back out of the archives and reconnect with them because they are currently in the process of making their 3rd studio album. This album will be a self-titled album, and its supposed to drop in 2012 at some point. Now, if you are expecting them to go back to the sound of Oracular Spectacular, I would say think again. If the way their sound changed from their first to their second album is any sign of where the duo plans to go then get ready for another pleasant surprise. Another present from MGMT is in the works, Congratulations!

Album Download: Strong Arm Steady, Arms & Hammers

Posted in Album Download, Media with tags , , , , , , on Thursday, January 12, 2012 by Tim Althaus

Strong Arm Steady announced that they will be launching a new website, and to celebrate this, they are offering their latest album Arms & Hammers for free download. Arms & Hammers is a high quality West Coast Hip-Hop outing with incredible production and great guest appearances; production features include DJ Kahlil, Madlib, Nottz & Blaqthoven, and guest appearances include Talib Kweli, Chace Infinite, Planet Asia, KRS-One, The Game, Too $hort and Kurupt. If you are a fan of dope Hip-Hop, I surely wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a great album at the price of free99.

Download: Strong Arm Steady, Arms & Hammers

Video: Gangrene (Alchemist & Oh No), “Vodka & Ayahuasca Will Blow Your Mind”

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , , , on Thursday, January 12, 2012 by Tim Althaus

Alan the Chemist and Oh No have teamed up to release a sophomore LP to follow up their 2010 debut Gutter Water. From the sounds of “Vodka & Ayahuasca Will Blow Your Mind”, things really haven’t changed a whole lot since Gutter Water; this album is going to be based around super dope beats and grimey ass lyrics. The video doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter. You can jump over to Amazon to pre-order Vodka & Ayahuasca here.

Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz

Big Gigantic Does it BIG with NOCTURNAL

Posted in Album Download, Audio, Media with tags , , , on Thursday, January 12, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

The duo from Boulder, CO really has out done themselves with their new album NOCTURNAL; not only is it free but it’s also phenomenal. This is one of those albums that can literally melt your face while you are melting away into your couch. If you haven’t heard of this electronic duo I suggest you go to their website, and take full advantage of the free download.

Once you start listening be fully aware that you will need about 53 minutes of your day to complete the voyage into a futuristic space that is NOCTURNAL by Big Gigantic. The track “Beginning Of the End” blends melodic horns with an electro-funk sound in such a way that this is far from the Beginning Of the End for these two but rather the progression into the bright future.

After you download this album feel free to download the rest of their discography from their site. Now that they have hooked you up, return the favor and hook them up by attending one of their shows. If you like the music, you will love what you will see while in attendance. Trust your ears now and your eyes later.

Statitk Selektah & Termanology, “Shining”

Posted in Audio, Downloads, Media with tags , , , , on Thursday, January 12, 2012 by Tim Althaus

I was on the Smoking Section the other day, and to my surprise, Statik Selektah & Termanology dropped their debut single from their forthcoming sophomore LP 2012. Their debut album, 1982, was one of my favorite albums of 2010, and I still constantly give it spins; Statik’s beats are crazy, and Term’s rhymes are as potent as the dopest red bud out there. These guys are quickly becoming one of my favorite tandems, and “Shining” further solidifies that status; Stat uses a myriad of samples to concoct a beautiful beat, and Termanology does his thing and leaves the mic battered and bruised.

Download: Statik Selektah & Termanology (1982), “Shining”

Video: Skyzoo, “Could’ve Struck the Lotto”

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 by Tim Althaus

I was on Twitter yesterday when I noticed that Skyzoo was getting a lot of tweets about a new video; it turns out that everyone was buzzing about the visuals for the track “Could’ve Struck the Lotto” from his most recent outing The Great Debater. In my opinion, Skyzoo is one of the top three emcees in the game right now. The way he writes his material is incredible; I love having to go back and peruse through his albums so I can delve further and solidify my understanding of what’s being said. Do yourself a favor and check out this top tier lyricist.

Hip-Hop Quotable: “All that we In Search Of… is to Fly or Die/so to have you Seeing Sounds that’s inside the Sky/is Nothing I suppose/so if I was alone/them sounds that you seein’ is all that I really know”

It’s Like We Never Left…

Posted in News with tags , , on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 by Tim Althaus

Many of you might have wondered… “What the hell happened to Mind Inversion”? Well, we don’t really have an exact answer for that; it’s really a culmination of things from school to legal issues, but we can assure you that we are going to be back and better than ever. We will have the usual daily music news that you came to love from Mind Inversion, but you will also be getting concert reviews and weekly columns. We hope that the hiatus we’ve taken hasn’t completely lost all of our followers, and we can assure you that 2012 is going to be the best year Mind Inversion has had yet.

Thank You,

The Mind Inversion Team

Fashawn, “Hard” (Freestyle)

Posted in Audio, Downloads with tags , , , on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Tim Althaus

This kid is seriously the shit. I love everything that he comes out with, and I really look forward to following his career in the Hip-Hop game. Fashawn was recently chosen for this year’s XXL Freshmen 10 for 2010, and this is one of his cuts off of the XXL mixtape. This shit seriously does go hard, and I think it’s tenfold better than the original Rhianna track. You may remember that Royce completely nuked this track a while back with his brother Kid Vishis, and I think Fashawn does pretty close to the same thing.

Download: Fashawn, “Hard” (Freestyle)

Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz

Video: Kam Moye, “Splitting Image”

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Tim Althaus

This is another video that I’m very ecstatic about. I have to start off by saying that I criminally slept on Kam Moye’s album Splitting Image, and I definitely payed for it; I can honestly say that it’s one of my favorite albums right now. Many of you may be wondering who Kam Moye is… He is also known as Supastition. Kam Moye can spit his ass off, and his lyrics are truly something else. I’m pumped as hell that Kam came out with a video for the title track on the album. “Splitting Image” is one of the deepest and most personal songs I’ve heard in a long time, and the video is equally as good.

Video: Reflection Eternal, “In This World”

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , , , on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Tim Althaus

Yeah I know, I’ve been behind the curve this last week, but talk about amazing visuals for an amazing track. A little while back I posted Kweli & Hi-Tek’s first single, “In This World”, off of their new album Revolutions Per Minute, and this is the music video for the same track. The video is directed by Punit Deshi who also directed the video for The Soul Asssassins track “Classical”; Dehsi is one of the best music video directors I’ve seen in a long time. Man, I love every single aspect of  this video; there isn’t one thing I don’t like. I am anxiously counting down the days until April 6th is finally here.