So this fucking song rules and everyone knows that but my real beef right now is that I've never heard this Sunset mix before. Honestly, this is definitely this song in it's purest form. Everything about this mix is perfect: Slowed down (Check) Tropical (Check) Sexy A.F. (Check). Nuff said, Shit's on point.
So, I'm a little late to the new album but my good friend Andrew rectified that situation today. I must say that this opening track is an amazing way to start off a piece of work. It flutters with arpeggiated xylophones accompanied by layer upon layer of synth, guitar and vocal structures that will leave you in an amazonian tribal state. Long story short, this shit rips! Listen below.
I've come to the conclusion that Kevin Parker needs to remix every song ever written. I know it sounds mildly extreme but I think it would be very beneficial to me. You see, there's a lot of music out there that I just plain don't like; anything by U2 or Pitbull, pretty much the entire genre of reggae (aside from a few Bob Marley hits). This remix might not be the best example of that, considering I already liked the original Miguel track before this was released, but I'm obsessed with this new version. It leveled up the original on a huge scale. That being said I'm convinced that Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) will be producing a gigantic pop album for the likes of Katy Perry, Rihanna or Kylie Minogue, or someone on that level. It's the only possible outcome. The way his career is moving the only logical step now is to become a pop producing icon. He's the next Mark Ronson. Ok, the remix is below also accompanied by a video that was made for a segment of the remix that features Miguel and Parker sitting in dining room chairs in the water at a cloudy beach. Enjoy.
For those of you who know me you know that Coachella is the only thing I can talk about for around 3 months of the year. The second that line-up drops it consists of about 80% of all the conversations that I have. And trust me, I'm well aware that it's annoying. I know that I sound like a dying steam punk that can only talk about burning man who wears an old stovepipe hat and rides a bicycle that has glow-sticks for handlebars and a neon couch cushion for a seat, but honestly, I can't fucking help it. All I give a fuck about is music. These 3 days make up for every time I've ever zipped my pants too fast and caught one of my balls. It makes up for the well over 3000 Adios mother fuckers that I've poured for a sea of retards. It makes up for every car accident, every break-up and every hangover I've ever had. Some people have mass (boring) I have three days in the desert with a satchel of magic goombas accompanied by every band I could ever wanna see, aside from Kendrick (How the fuck did we not get Kendrick this year?). That being said I've spent the last 5 days compiling a playlist that spans 74 songs long, that's four hours and fifty one minutes to be exact, of every band that I think that I might wanna see without a single repeat. Not a single band is represented on this list more than once. Honestly this playlist is designed for two reasons 1: to make everyone who is going realize just how mother fucking dope this year is gonna be and 2: to make everyone else who isn't going suffer from the most jealous rage that one could ever endure. This year is gonna be so fucking good that I'm afraid that after the weekend is over I will never have a good time again for the rest of my life because nothing will compare to the line-up that we are dealing with this year. Press play, I fucking dare you. Seriously though, press play, I spent like 20 hours making this thing......
Is it possible to have a midlife crisis at 32? I guess it's probably better to get it out of the way now instead of when I become the CEO of a toilet paper company. A toilet paper company where I would park my obtrusive SUV in the front lot, in a spot that is painted in perfect block font "MR. Fawcett". Where I would leave said spot to drive to my slightly impressive track home in the La Jolla Hills. And, it is there that I would silently drink Lynchburg lemonade in my "study" whilst my 2-3 shit head kids would proceed to ruin the small ass wipe empire that I have built for them.
Anyways, I just got sent a private link to the Living Hours new album from Force Field PR. Honestly, the second I pressed play it reminded me that being a bartender who plays in a band that only my friends like and writes a shitty blog for solely cathartic purposes is infinitely better than what I'm "Supposed" to be doing with my life.
The album come's out on February 19th and it's fucking amazing. Like for real, be on the lookout. I'm speechless. Here's the opening track. The OPENING track people! Who starts a fucking album this epic?! I wish I could post the whole album because it's damn near perfect. Oh and also, They play the Casbah on April 8th. So don't fuck it up, and make sure you get there. Cause for real, shit's next level.
Vince Staples, is very rapidly becoming my favorite thing in hip-hop. Mother fucker cut's bars so heavy he makes Alcatraz look like candy-land. He paints the hood red, even though I'm pretty sure his bandana runs blue. Lift me Up is a murderous ass beat that's drenched in some of the most hood ass lyrics one could ingest. It's songs like these that gives me hope that hip-hop isn't being completely hi-jacked by pussies on some hotline bling bullshit.
I just opened my laptop to the most prolific video of the year. This Kendrick album has been rippling through the entire music community for the last couple months. Changing the way that hip-hop can be translated to the rest of world. A message from the ghetto forcing the rest of the world to look at the problems that the portion of our country, that aren’t guarded by suburban gated communities, face every single day. This video encapsulates the duality of the entire To Pimp A Butterfly album.
Beginning with the poem that rings through the entire album and a very real look at the current state of affairs with in these currently not so United States. The symbolic gestures of aggression and struggle show everything from a lit Molotov cocktail being thrown at a graffitied rainbow to the tired and weathered faces of people who know the true meaning of poverty. Cash being thrown around a lit dumpster we cut straight to a man escaping an arrest only to be shot in the mother fucking back like so many individuals over the past couple months.
Cut to Kendrick in his tore up whip with his crew shouting the truth and giving the world goose bumps. Pan back to four police officers carrying said whip like Kendrick is a mother fucking prince about to get fed grapes off the vine and shit. The symbolism from this image is fucking indescribable, all I can say is what I actually said, out loud, alone in my house, “Fuck Yeah, das wha sup.”
Cut to Kendrick doing doughnuts around a fucking cop car in a brand new spotless muscle car with the most gangster ass toddler you’ve ever seen in your fucking life throwing stacks of cash out the window. Kendrick floats through the streets as if in a dream standing above the city on light polls letting the whole world know that everything will in fact “be alright.” Only to have one-time roll up and cap our hero in the chest with a fucking finger gun. As Kendrick descends back to the streets and the reality of the world, we hear the echo of the same poem that we began with to show yet again the same duality that is represented time and time again through the entire To Pimp A Butterfly album. The screen goes black then flashes to our boy lying in the streets only to look in the camera and give a smirk. There it is again….
Drop the goddamn mic, I dare a mother fucker to make a better video this year. If you could win oscars for music videos then Colin Tilly would snatch that shit in a heart beat.
Do you ever wish that The Beach Boys and The Shins would slam down in a drunken night of hate sex to give birth to a band that uses loads of beachy synth lines and crunchy guitar riffs? No?... Me either that would be disgusting to watch. But I am very glad that the Painted Palms sound like a nice combination of the previously mentioned sounds. If you're doing anything on Saturday you should probably cancel it and go to this instead. Unless of course you were already planning on going to this, then you should just do what you were already gonna do cause this is show is gonna be titties! OK see you at Soda on Saturday. Buy tickets here.
Hey kids it's Thursday and it's cloudy outside (I know, worst day of your life blah blah what the fuck ever.) Anyways get your seasonal depression under control with a heavy dose of Papercuts, and not the shitty ones you got in elementary school everyday cause your stupid baby hands couldn't figure out how to hold a piece of paper. The band kind of Papercuts, the one with melodic wavy guitars and tribal drums. Also you can get drunk at Soda Bar which everyone knows is the best temporary cure for any type of depression. OK see you dewds tonight.
Before I get to the video, can we talk about the fucking synths that they use on this track? Shit is so dark and dance-y and nothing shy of exactly what you would wanna hear during the type of sexual explorations that end in bite makes and scratches in a laundry room of an abandon house you broke into. And don't even get me started on the video. I'm pretty sure I dated this babe in Junior high. She was one of the hottest girls at my school and she claimed to be a witch. When we broke up she told me she put a death spell on me. Just cause the trick was nuts doesn't excuse the fact that she was a full blown dime piece. That being said I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want the babe in this video to put a voodoo hex on me.
There is something irresistible about a solid three piece harmony met perfectly with a smooth ass horn section. Myron & E pull out all the stops with this perfectly balanced slice of Temptations flavored pie. Press play below then get your ass down to Seven Grand and get your motha-fuckin boogie on.
It's pretty fair to say that Gardens and Villa is on a short list of my favorite dance bands. Any musical outfit that can successfully include a flute track into the majority of their songs is worthy of a grand amount of praise. It seems that they have done it yet again in ensuring that I will be listening to nothing but this album for the next three weeks. Press play below but be warned that the chances of you listening to anything else for the next few weeks is very slim.
Enjoy.
I remember the first time I heard Youth Lagoon and it really sunk in how unique and stirring it was to make such calming but layered songs. Mutual Benefit definitely shares this quality. It feels like after every other bar there is another blanket of tones until there just isn't any room left for anymore instruments. There is a very safe and euphoric vibe that comes along with all of his tracks. They all seem to hit you with a warm glow. Listen to the sounds below and then get your ass over to the Soda Bar. See you kids tonight.
There is something to be said for grand scale vision. When an individual can see something so clearly in their mind that the only choice they have is to breath life into their musings. Yoann Lemoine's vision is of epic proportions, in his early beginnings he started as an animator which eventually led him to directing his friends music videos. After a while he began to attract work from pop icons such as Lana Del Ray, Katy Perry, Moby and the list goes on. When he began his voyage as Woodkid he wanted to tell the story of a boy turning into a man. The entire experience that is Woodkid is an enveloping evolving intricate story line. My favorite part of this project is that it is such a huge endeavor that it can't be expressed correctly without the involvement of a mass amount of people. The orchestra, the visuals and lighting, the insane amount of epic theatrics that go into this mans project are all displayed so well when you see Yoann standing on a stage surrounded by but slightly removed from his massive orchestra. Rarely do we get to see such huge displays in story telling that are pulled off so beautifully. If you need some convincing just watch the opening segment for his show in Paris posted below. See you on the Polo fields.
I don't think it's possible for me to be disappointed in a Kevin Drew track. This new jam entitled "Good Sex" is no exception to that rule. Drew has a real life charm that allows such lines as "Good sex, it never makes you feel clean" in a song and still come off as endearing. Peep the track below, it's definitely gonna be in my rotation for the next few weeks.
I've been waiting for a song like this for quite a while now. Something to get lost in. A song to plug my headphones into that is filled with perfect whining guitars and insanely echoed vocals. A sound to fill my head with to drown out the rest of the world. I just found my new obsession. I can't wait for this song to end so I can start it over....
Little Joy's Guitarist, Rodrigo Amarante, Just released his new album. After giving it a full listen it's completely obvious just how much of an influence he has on some of the Devendra Banhart tracks that he's been involved with. The entire album is beautiful and calming and a breath of fresh air amidst all the Mumford and Sons bullshit bandwagon that everyone has been jumping on. Check out the track below and stream his entire album, CAVALO, here if you dig this ditty.
This Sunday Keep Shelly in Athenswill be grasping us all in their melodic grip of mantra like synths and electronic haziness. The Greece native duo will be entrancing us all into a night of endless head bobbing and shoulder swaying. I for one will be in a hoodie, absorbing the beat and moving my feet. The whole night should be pretty awesome considering they're playing with Chad Valley so prepare to sway your asses off for the entire night. Grab tickets here and I'll see you kids at the show.
The new Cut Copy album, Free Your Mind, drops in the states on the 5th of November. Judging by this new track it appears that Cut Copy is still one of the only bands around who have perfected creating the audible equivalent of an industrial sized confetti cannon. Kinda wish I had some neon face paint and a black light right about now, not gonna lie.
After SNL last night, Arcade Fire aired their half hour teaser episode to promote the upcoming album. I've gotta say it's got me pretty excited for the new tunes. The whole episode is featured around a night club dance party making it pretty obvious, as if we all didn't see it coming after the announcement of James Murphy's involvement, that we should be expecting a shit load of epic dance tracks on the new full length. The Show is littered with hilarious cameos from the likes of; Michael Cera, Bill Hader, and many more including a scene where frontman Edwin Butler pushes Bono off stage which made me pretty happy. I always enjoy a good Bono joke. I fucking hate that guy. (Also I predict that we will be seeing these cats at Coachella this year. Which should be a good starting position for Golden Voice to redeem themselves for forcing us to sit through Phoenix's shitty ass set last year.) Enjoy!
