Sunday Metal Song: Darkest Hour, “No God”

Posted in Sunday Metalhead Minute with tags , , , , , , , on Sunday, May 24, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Outside of Ringworm and BTBAM, this band is the only Victory Records band that I even pay attention to anymore. Period. Over the years, the label’s taste have seriously gone downhill, but they have managed to hang onto a select few of aggressive musics finest names (and the most extensive and respected hardcore back catalog in existence). After you download the sampler containing their newest song from their forthcoming release The Eternal Return (..their first release since the departure of shredder Kris Norris and a self-professed return to the aggression and speed of Hidden Hands..), I won’t have my feelings hurt if you delete all the other tracks. Scratch that – I actually recommend you delete the excess songs to focus on the thrashy goodness contained within this reintroduction to a band that has never let me down yet.

DOWNLOAD: Darkest Hour, “No God” (from The Eternal Return, available 6/23)

Your friends @ Mind Inversion will be live tweetin’ from Soundset ’09 all day today

Posted in Mind Inversion Exclusive with tags , , , on Sunday, May 24, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Hello devoted Mind Inversion hip-hop heads! Our day has finnnnnnallly arrived!!!!! Soundset ’09 begins in only a few hours, motherfuckers!!!!!!

It’s only two AM on May 24th, and I’m probably too drunk to make this post right now (that’s up for debate, right??….), but nevertheless, that’s no reason to hold off. This is the day that the most noteworthy live music festival in Minnesota returns for its second year (..of hopefully many, many more to come..), and over 2/3rds of our staff will be there in Canterbury Park with VIP tickets to be direct witnesses and integral participants of the whole celebration of brilliant modern hip-hop art going on throughout the day…

For better or worse, we’re biting on to the Twitter hype that finally consumed the U.S. in ’09 and will be live tweetin’ the whole show tomorrow. If you wish you join Timmy, Erik, and all of their friends for the hour-by-hour updates from THE must-see underground hip-hop festival in the country this year, join us HERE.

Hope to see ya’ll there, and if not, stay tuned to the madness tomorrow and hold on for what promises to be the most epic concert recap of our first year on the web.

MI LIVE TWEETS: twitter.com/MindInversion

TIMMY’S PERSONAL TWITTER PAGE: twitter.com/DillaHead

Mind Inversion’s Sound Immersion 05/09 (Vol. 4)

Posted in Sound Immersion with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Friday, May 22, 2009 by Erik Burg

May Sound Immersion

The team here at Mind Inversion are back to offer you faithfuls another monthly mix tape. This month we’re going with a summer theme. Some of songs feature summer in the title, and others simply remind us of this time of year. Though it’s not yet 90 and humid here, the end of the spring semester just screams summer!  I just barely managed to stay sane throughout my first year, and many of the other contributors have also been working diligently towards their degrees. The picture is a nice reminder of Mind Inversion’s home here in the midwest, a place most of us will be at for at least part of the summer. So let’s all celebrate with this terrific mix, dedicated to the greatest time of the year. Enjoy the sun, enjoy the freedom, but most of all enjoy the music!

Missed the other Sound Immersions? Get them here: Vol 1 Vol 2 Vol 3

Sound Immersion 05/09 (Vol. 4): Summer

1. Beck – “Electric Music and The Summer People” (Ryan)
2. Black Milk – “Tronic Summer – Black Milk (Tim)
3. …And You Will Know Us By Our Trail of Dead – “Summer of ’91” (Dan)
4. Islands – “Jogging Gorgeous Summer” (Erik)
5. Frank Black – “Los Angeles” (Terry)
6. Erlend Oye – “Like Gold” (Dan)
7. Pink Floyd – “Wish You Were Here” (Terry)
8. Pavement – “Summer Babe” (Tim)
9. Now, Now Every Children – “Sleep Through Summer” (Ryan)
10. Jens Lekman – “A Sweet Summer’s Night On Hammer Hill” (Erik)
11. Refused – “Summerholidays Vs. Punkroutine” (Ryan)

DOWNLOAD the whole mix

Northern Outpost Season 2, Episode 2: Lucy Michelle & the Velvet Lapelles

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , on Friday, May 22, 2009 by Ryan Buege

By this point in time, I’m pretty sure that anyone and everyone interested in the music made by Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles in this city should have caught wind of what they’re doing – so I won’t waste space trying to hook you in. Instead, just enjoy this clip of this super creative local art rock powerhouse in HD. It’s rare to witness a band like this captured so vividly in such intimate quarters, and this episode is solid proof that Maxwell Becker needs to be commended for creating such an amazing addition to the Minneapolis music and art community. As always, I’m waiting patiently to see what gems the Owl Recording Studio and Northern Outpost cherry pick out of the Minneapolis music community throughout the rest of the season.

Happy Birthday To One Of The Greatest…

Posted in Downloads, Media, Music News with tags on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Tim Althaus

biggie Today would have been the 37th birthday of one of the greatest emcees of all time, The Notorious B.I.G. This guy was one of the greatest fire spitters that the game of Hip-Hop has ever seen. There aren’t many lyricists even today that can rhyme like Biggie did. He released two albums, and to this day both of them are highly regarded and considered classics.

It’s a god damn shame that legends in the game like Biggie had to go down the way that they did. They say that the good die young, and that’s no fucking lie. Biggie’s flow was so vicious, but at the same time was ridiculously relaxed. There will be another like him.

For the commemoration of Biggie’s B-Day I would like to put up what I would consider my favorite track by him which is “The What” featuring Method Man. These two emcees collaborate on a totally different level and tear things apart.

Happy Birthday & R.I.P. Christopher Wallace (May 21, 1972-March 9, 1997)

Download: Notorious B.I.G.: “The What” (Featuring Method Man)

From The Rail: Sights and Sounds of Animal Collective Live @ First Ave. 5/20/09

Posted in Audio, Concert Reviews, From The Rail, Video with tags , , , , , , , , on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Erik Burg

AC Avey tall close      It’s been a long wait since the release of Merriweather Post Pavillion, since this show was announced, since the tickets went on sale. May the 20th seemed like it would never arrive, and as I spun everything from Spirit They Came to their newest live tracks, the prospect of seeing Animal Collective live seemed more myth than reality. 

      But enough of the deification. The show has obviously come and gone, but the hype surrounding these guys both as a live act and on record is sure to stay. I got the chance to see the trio last year at the Pitchfork music festival, and they were good. But the set was very short and the band seemed a little passive with their enthusiasm of actually headlining the festival. Last night though, Animal Collective took the stage and commanded an energy from start to finish like few bands can. It was captivating and jaw-dropping while at the same time extremely fun and enjoyable. 

      The set list was great as well. Obviously playing plenty of tracks from Merriweather, the band also managed to open with the older “Chocolate Girl”, played “Chores” and “Fireworks” from Strawberry Jam, and also knocked out “Who Could Win a Rabbit” from Sung Tongs. Highlights of the night include the comparatively stripped down yet overly amazing version of “My Girls” and the five minute breakdown in the middle of “Fireworks” that came as close to a guitar or drum solo that you could ever see from Animal Collective. 

      Stage set-up was even stunning. The lighting for the show was spectacular, that is unless you get seizures easily. For the rest of us though, we were treated to strobing color almost constantly, making the sight of Panda Bear singing on “Guys Eyes” even more beautiful than I ever imagined. The giant ball that hung above the stage, along with the giant optical illusion, err, album cover in the background made sure that stage was completely utilized.

      It’s a tour and concert I want to be proud to tell my kids about someday. You saw Woodstock? You saw Hendrix? You saw Ringo? I saw Animal Collective, one of the most influential and boundary pushing bands of my age. Describing how important they are to music might be cliche, but Animal Collective might be one of the only bands from this entire subculture worth talking about years down the line.

      So there’s plenty of video and photos for you to check out of course. Please excuse my terrible half-singing half-yelling along to some of the songs, I apologize. Enjoy! 

 

AC Panda singing

AC Avey bubble

 

AC Geologist

AC Panda red

AC Panda and Avey flash

AC Avey side

AC Avery and Panda Green

AC Avey B and W

 

Earth Crisis concert photos at Station 4 via Degross Punk Photography

Posted in Art with tags , , , , , , , , , , on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Ryan Buege

This is the second time I’ve posted about a local punk and hardcore show that was captured by Degross Punk Photography, and there’s something about the vividness of Degross’s photographs that I don’t think I’ll ever get over.

Head over to his blog to view his entire set from the recent Earth Crisis headlined gig with Walls of Jericho, Reign Supreme, Unholy, and Blood Stands Still at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Soundset 2009 Mix By DJ Concept!

Posted in Audio, Downloads, Media with tags , , , on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Tim Althaus

Soundset mix

Another shout out to Jake Money for this one. Soundset is only 3 more days away! Jake Money and DJ Concept came up with a great idea to release to the first “unofficial official” Soundset Mixtape. Concept did a great job of mixing up headliners and openers to make a great mixtape. I’m downloading this one right now. Follow me after the jump for the tracklist and download link. Continue reading

Eyedea & Abilities Tell “This Story” Well

Posted in Downloads, Media with tags , , , , on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Tim Althaus

eyedea_abilites To be simply put, this is some great news. “This Story” is the first single off of E & A’s first album in five years. Rhymesayers Entertainment will be releasing their new album By The Throat on July 21st. From the synopsis I read over at Ipso Facto (Shouts to Jake Money) it sounds like this album is going to be nothing short of a masterpiece. For those of you who have heard the previous material that Eyedea & Abilities have put out, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I have to say that my expectation level for this album is pretty high. When artists like E & A go on a five year hiatus (as a group), you know they are going to come out with something special. By the throa

To the right is the cover art for the new album, which is also very epic. I know I’m definitely going to be at the record store on July 21st to pick this one up, I hope you guys are to.

Download: Eyedea & Abilities, “This Story

Tortoise “Prepare Your Coffin” for Beacons of Ancestorship w/ music video

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Vodpod videos no longer available.

It’s true; it really has been almost five years! The wait is soon over friends, so don’t fret. New jazzy prog-tronic goodness will be coming from Tortoise by way of their sixth album Beacons of Ancestorship on June 23rd and they are previewing the new album via Pitchfork with a b/w video for the jazzed out “Prepare Your Coffin” that will make any architecture major giddy. Check it out above.

Also, I encourage you to preview Beacons of Ancestorship at their official site: HERE