Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel Cover Vampire Weekend

This is just weird.  Hot Chip teams up with Peter Gabriel to cover the Vampire Weekend track Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.  I think it's pretty cool.  Download the mp3.  

Thanks PMA.

Sufjan Stevens Gets Hip-Hopped

The NYC hip-hop duo Metermaids has transformed Sufjan Steven's brilliant Illinoise album into a hip-hop album titled Nightlife In Illinoise. From what I've listened to it's pretty interesting. They are clearly striving for Grey Album status, but it's not that good (but what is?). If you appreciated the sweeping beauty of the Sufjan Stevens and have an appreciation for hip-hop, it might be worth your while. You can download individual tracks or the entire album here.

Another N.A.S.A. Jam featuring Kanye & Santogold

Ok, so now I'm pretty jazzed up about this N.A.S.A. business. N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) is comprised of DJ Squeak E Clean and DJ Zegon and their forthcoming album The Spirit of Apollo is supposed to feature everyone. Literally everyone is on this album. It's nuts. I found a track listing thanks to this dude's blog.

N.A.S.A. LAUNCHES ‘THE SPIRIT OF APOLLO’ ON FEBRUARY 17, 2009

1. “Intro”
2. “The People Tree” (feat. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift of Gab,& Z-Trip)
3. “Money” (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip)
4. “NASA Music” (feat. Method Man, E-40, & DJ Swamp)
5. “Way Down” (feat. RZA, Barbie Hatch, & John Frusciante)
6. “Hip Hop” (feat. KRS-One, Fatlip, & Slim Kid Tre)
7. “Four Rooms, Earth View”
8. “Strange Enough” (feat. Karen O, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, & Fatlip)
9. “Spacious Thoughts” (feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith)
10. “Gifted” (feat. Kanye West and others TBD)
11. “A Volta” (feat. Sizzla, Amanda Blank, & Lovefoxxx)
12. “There’s a Party” (feat. George Clinton & Chali 2na)
13. “Whachadoin?” (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold & Nick Zinner)
14. “O Pato” (feat. Kool Kojak & DJ Bãboa)
15. “Samba Soul” (feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert)
16. “The Mayor” (feat. The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, DJ AM & Scarface)
17. “N.A.S.A. Anthem”

Uh. Yes please.

Check out this sick new jam. It's called "Gifted" and it features Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li. It's a pretty dancey thing. Kanye raps. The quality isn't great. Kanye's vocals are a little quiet, but it is a leak after all. I look forward to hearing the real thing.

Download the "Gifted" mp3.

Watch the "Money" music video.

"Number One" - Eminem produced by Dr. Dre

New Eminem leak.

Dre produced it.

A dude at Interscope records said the following about Eminem's next album:

"We only tried to put him out this year to replace Dr. Dre, but we got into a quagmire. Eminem was always coming next year. But what happened was, I lost Dr. Dre to Eminem. Dre had to stop making his album to finish Eminem's album. Eminem hit a streak, and when a guy like Eminem gets on fire, you stop everything."

I can't wait for Relapse.

Download "Number One"

"Money" - N.A.S.A ft. David Byrne, Chuck D,Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, and Z-Trip

I found this video on Pitchfork from a new duo called N.A.S.A. This track, titled "Money" features an incredibly eclectic (and awesome) guest list: David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, and Z-Trip. I'll be honest with you, I only know who David Byrne and Chuck D, but those two guys piqued my interest enough to investigate the video. And I'm glad I did. It has a sick raggea hip hop sort of vibe. The forthcoming album from N.A.S.A., titled The Spirit of Apollo, is rumored to feature collaborations from David Byrne, Tom Waits, M.I.A., members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kool Keith, CSS' Lovefoxxx, Spank Rock, John Frusciante, Fatlip and Slim Kid Tre from the Pharcyde, E-40, Gift of Gab, Chali 2na, KRS-One, George Clinton, Seu Jorge, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Amanda Blank, Z-Trip, and DJ Qbert, Kanye West, Chuck D, Ghostface Killa, the Cool Kids, Scarface, and Santogold.

Whoa.

If that doesn't make you look forward to the February 17 release date, I don't know what will.

Check out the video here.


NOTE: My blog finally got noticed! By the copyright people! Hopefully, yall were able to get that incredible Jay-Z track "Brooklyn (Go Hard)" because that post was taken down and I was warned against posting copyrighted material in the future. Sooooo I've decided to start posting more YouTubes and links to other sites that have downloads rather than post the actual download itself. This will mean a little extra work for my three loyal Midpoints readers. Sorry guys, it'll be a little more work for you.

Lil Wayne Never Sleeps

If he did, there is no chance in hell that his output would be as insanely prolific as it is. Last week he brought us the Dedication 3 mixtape. This week we get The Drought Is Over Part 6: The Reincarnation mixtape. I just started listening to it and I already like it better than Dedication 3, but who knows what next week will bring. The mixtape starts with the infamous interview where Weezy explains that his next studio album will be called Tha Carter III, but will have none of the same songs as what we know now as Tha Carter III. He explains that he wants everyone to like Tha Carter IV and what he is working now simply isn't what Tha Carter IV is supposed to be...I guess. Best rapper alive? Sure. Easy to decipher? Not so much.

Ok, I'm a few more songs in. This shit is awesome, you gotta check it out.

Even if you aren't a Lil Wayne fan, you have to admit that is the single greatest album cover of all time. Lil Wayne has wings. And a baby. And a river of blood.

Download The Drought is Over Part Six: The Reincarnation.


BONUS: I have no idea what this song is from. It was labeled as being part of TDIOP6:TR but it certainly isn't on the mixtape. It's called Hot Revolver and he sings some Green Day lyrics and I have no idea what is going on, but it's really cool. Download it here.

Who The F!@# Is Kevin Rudolf?

He is the latest artist to sign to Cash Money Records and he continues to team up with some of the biggest names in rap. First it was Lil Wayne and now it's Nas. I can't quite wrap my brain around his stuff. Love it? Yes. Understand it? No. It's like alt rock. Except it's dancier. So like Fall Out Boy/Panic At The Disco. But not. It's club anthem dancey, like Rihanna/Lady GaGa. But it has guitar solos. And rap. I have no idea what's going on, but I like it. Check out the mp3: NYC featuring Nas.

Dedication 3

Lil Wayne with DJ Drama. just released his first mixtape since the release of Tha Carter III. I'll be real honest, I was not impressed by Dedication 3 at all. I thought it relied to heavily on other rappers and not enough on Lil Wayne himself. My first impression was actually that the skits where Weezy just talks were the best parts of the mixtape. Luckily, I took the time to go back and listen again. I was wrong. Dedication 3 is great. It takes about five tracks to really hit it's stride, but once it does it's smooth sailing for the rest of the album. The skits get funnier. The beats/samples get better. DJ Drama continues to refer to himself as "Barack Odrama". Wayne goes crazier. He say's it best himself:

"You get money and you get crazy. I get crazy and I get money."

Download it for free here.

New Wale

I've been busy, sorry I haven't posted lately.  I'll blame the music industry's lack of notable new stuff instead of blaming my overcrowded schedule.  Check it:  DC rapper Wale (pronounced Wah-lay) has just signed on to make a record with producer extrodonaire Mark Ronson (whose solo cover album was one of my favorite albums of last year).  If my math is correct, the combination of Ronson's slick producin' and Wale wit and lyricism should make his forthcoming album Back to the Feature pretty awesome.  This single, Warwick Avenue, features Duffy and is a pretty neat little jam.  Download the mp3 here and check it out for yourself.  

If you've never heard of Wale you should definitely check out two of his mixtapes.  The first, 100 Miles and Running features one of my favorite songs of the year: W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.  The song features the DC rapper spittin' over one of my favorite songs from last year D.A.N.C.E.  I never thought that Justice could be used as a rap beat, but I guess that's just a tribute to Wale's genius. The second mixtape worth checking out is The Mixtape About Nothing.   It's a Seinfeld themed mixtape.  'Nuff said.  Do yourself a favor and download The Mixtape About Nothing and 100 Miles and Running.  If nothing else you MUST hear W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.

Kanye and Coldplay ft. Jay-Z

Two new tracks for your ears:

1.  Kanye had an outragous party, that as far as I can tell from his blog, consisted of nothing but concrete, lights and naked women.  He premired his new album 808s & Heartbreak for the nude crew and released another Auto-Tune filled mp3 of a song called Heartless.  

2. Jay-Z has yet again teamed up with Chris Martin and the Coldplays.  Although billed as a remix with Jay-Z, this version of Lost! is pretty much the same except for the verse Hova adds in the last part of the song.  It's cool, but kinda dissapointing.  Maybe it's just because the quality isn't great, but I'm less than impressed.  Download it for yourself, maybe I'm wrong. 

New Eminem!!!

This morning a song from Eminem's long awaited sixth LP, Relapse, hit the blogosphere. We've been hearing for some time now that the album would be entitled King Mathers, and based on this title alone I assumed that this would be a return to greatness.  Although I wouldn't describe any of his albums as weak, the latest few have failed to capture the extreme controversy and genius present in his first slew of albums.  The new song, titled I'm Having A Relapse, isn't bad.  I haven't had a chance to listen to it enough to disect the lyrics, but after a first listen, I'm definitely a fan.  It's only two minutes, but hey, its two minutes from a dude we've been waiting a long time to hear.  The leak has been surrounded by some unsubstantiated rumors that new albums from 50 Cent, Eminem, and Dr. Dre will all be released in relatively close succession starting late 2008 and continuing into early 2009.  Apparently, Dre has produced most of Relapse (awesome) which has allowed Mr. Mathers to spend most of his time working on lyrics (awesome).  But let's be real, Dretox/Detox is the one that we are all waiting for.  50 Cent's album is set to be released December 9, but neither Relapse, nor Detox have any confirmed release dates.  Enough chit-chat, snag the I'm Having A Relapse mp3 here.

A Milli: Live with The Roots!

Lil Wayne and The Roots.

?uestlove plays drums AND does all of the "A Milli"s.  

Enough said.

Download the mp3.

Fall Out Boy Returns With Yet Another Absurdly Titled Single

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet is the leatest Fall Out Boy song and it precludes their upcoming album, Folie a Deux set for release on November 4th.  Folie a Deux literally translastes to madness shared by two, and Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet refers to the habitual head-first-slider/gamblin' machine Pete Rose.  Who knew?  I didn't. Luckily, wikipedia did.  Anywho, the song is pretty solid.  If I had to guess the release of this next album will continue the pattern of incredibly fun singles, and relentlessly forgettable album fluff.  However, I should note that the fact that I'm giving them even that much credit shows years of growth and increased tolerance to a band I once dismissed.  Listen via YouTube here. 

Oh No! Oh Yes!

I have a nasty habit of forgetting about how good Andrew Bird is.  His last album Armchair Apocrypha is a beautiful, whistle filled journey that is at worst very fun and at best genius.  Mr. Bird has announced that his next album, titled Noble Beast, will released January 27, 2009.  I know it's a long way off, but luckily we've got a nice little stream of Oh No, a song from the new album.  This song is pretty solid, but do yourself a favor and check out Armchair Apocrypha. 

The Killers New Single

The Las Vegas based synth-rockers, The Killers unleashed their sprawling new single simply titled Human today.  Last week the band announced Day & Age, the follow up to their grossly underrated Sam's Town, will be released on November 25th.  Human sounds like The Killers version of Viva La Vida, if only for the steady bass drum that plays through the whole song.  But if you ask me, and you haven't, the similarities don't end there. Layered synths, strings and elements of U2 worshipping are all present.  Check it out for yourself and download the mp3 directly by right-clicking here.

Keep It Like A Secret (Machine)

One of my favorite bands from my high school years, The Secret Machines, has returned with a slick new jam called Atomic Heels.  This single precedes their upcoming Secret Machines album, set to be released on October 14.  The compact Atomic Heels marches through a mid tempo groove, building to soaring space rock climax, in classic Secret Machines style.  Although I doubt it is likely to top my favorite song of the groups, Lightning Blue Eyes, it is definitely a great track.  Despite line-up changes, I think this single is a good indication of another solid album from the Texas via New York band.  Click here to download the Atomic Heels mp3, courtesy of Spin magazine.

Dead & Gone (T.I. STRIKES AGAIN!!!)

T.I. is unstoppable.  I never thought I wouldconsider myself a T.I. fan but the dude has released and/or leaked four songs in the past few weeks and I haven't heard one I didn't like.  I'll admit I was dissapointed by what should have been the collaboration of the century, Swagga Like Us.  Any song that features Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne AND a sample of M.I.A.'s insanely cool Paper Planes should be, mathmatically speaking, the best song ever.  Instead, Swagga Like Us is decent at best.  Enjoyable, sure, but not the world ending collaboration it should have been.  Then I heard the undeniably fun Whatever You Like.  This song is everything pop-rap-excessess should be.  Within hours of my first listen of the track, the phrase 'whatever you like' was solidified as more than just a  song title, but rather a whole new paradigm, nay, a lifestyle.  Then another collaboration! But instead of the best rappers in the business, T.I. called upon the top pop singer in the industry: Rihanna.  Sampling O-Zone's Dragostea Din Tei (made famous by the Numa Numa dude), Livin' Your Life is another guarunteed chart topper.  Soaring choruses from Rihanna and some pretty respectable verses from T.I. make Livin' Your Life a bonafied anthem.  But did T.I. stop there?  Is there anything left to prove?  Apparently, there is, because today yet another track surfaced this time featuring the greatest pop musician of our generation: Justin Timberlake.  Dead & Gone is awesome.  I'm tired of writing about T.I. and frankly, amazed that I had this much to say about a guy I never gave any serious credit to just weeks ago.  Check the song out, and when T.I. takes over the world, remember that I told you so. 

James Bond + Alicia Keys + Jack White = Another Way To Die

This unlikely duet from The White Stripes/Raconteurs front man Jack White and singin' sensation Alicia Keys is the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Reminiscent of some of the classic Bond theme songs from the 60s and 70s, Another Way To Die is with out a doubt one of the more original songs to be written for 007.  I don't think that either of these individual artists would have been a particularly strange choice for a Bond theme but the pairing of the two certainly is.  It gets wierder.  A clip of the tune was recently featured in a Coke Zero commercial and shortly after it aired, Jack White issued a statement that claimed this commercial was done without his blessing. Although conceptually bizzarre, the cascading horns, heavy piano chords and fuzz-box guitars combined with Key's smokey vocals and Jack White's signature wail make Another Way To Die one hell of a jam.  Click here to listen to a stream of the track or here to download the mp3.

Of Montreal? Of Course!

Of Montreal is a pretty nutty band, so I shouldn't have been so surprised when I found out that they are releasing their forthcoming album Skeletal Lamping (check the nutty album art here) in a variety of formats such as CD, vinyl, t-shirt, wall decal, sticker set and paper lamp. For those objects less inclined to store music, a digital download will also be included. Like I said, nutty. Also, nutty, if not bat-shit crazy, is Nonpareil of Favor, the first single from the album. Download the track here, courtesy of P-Fork.


Furthermore, I've decided to, in honor of this insanity, list my top five albume release gimmick/packaging


THE TOP FIVE CRAZIEST ALBUM RELEASES SCHEMES (in order)

5. Bright Eyes - Digital Ash In The Digital Urn/I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Why release a double-album when you can release two single albums on the same day? Indie-neo-Dylan-singersonger-savior-wonderchild Connor Oberst is also not above cashing in on some sweet marketing ploys. I'll admit that material is substantially different and artistically speaking, it was probably the right call...but still.

4. Nine Inch Nails -Year Zero, YEAR&()(&ZE()*_)*R_)E(*M#$%@IX@@errwhatever, Ghosts I-5, The Slip

Trent Reznor is nuts. He makes two albums in like a decade and then goes crazy and starts releasing albums on a daily basis. The crazy starts when the Rezonator leaks Year Zero on a USB drive by dropping it in a bathroom in Europe. I mean with technology being what it is, what difference does it make if you start your marketing campeign in a European bathroom. Then come a ton of viral websites that all are in weird codes and shit. Then the remix album, months later, then come the Ghosts. Part one of the 5 part, two-disc epic was released for free with the other four parts availble as a download, a two-disc set and even some crazy super expensive thing. Then comes the Slip. For free, released as a thank you to all of fans for buying the last bunch of albums. Then that was rereleased as a two disc dvd thingamabob. Nutty.


3. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping

Scroll up.

2. Beck - The Information

Blank album cover and a bunch of stickers that let you design your own album cover.
Weird? Yes. Awesome? Obviously. Jams? Sick.

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Announced mere days before the release, Radiohead's incredible 7th LP In Rainbows was released for the price of free-ninety-nine, or how ever much you wanted to pay for it. This concept lead for other artists such as the aformention NIN, Girl Talk and plenty of other artists who have started releasing albums for free, with the option to pay. As an added bonus AmpLive made a remix album and released it for free to anyone who actually paid for In Rainbows. Like most things Radiohead does, this was as innovative as it was awesome. Oh yeah, and the album itself is just shy of perfect.

Rockdown! Pt. 2!

Unsatisfied by the initial release of Love Lockdown, everybody's favorite egoist Kanye West returned to the studio record new drums and vocals for the lead off single to his upcoming album. The changes made in the studio cleaned up elements of the song that previously sounded a little messy. Check it out. Stream it from Kanye West's blog or download the mp3

Rockdown!

Kanye West released a new single and has started leaking details about his forthcoming album. The new song is called "Love Lockdown" and it was debuted at the MTV VMA's this past weekend. The songs is a departure from pretty much all of his previous material, but I like it. Coming off of the larger than life egotism of "Stronger" and the whole Graduation album, I'm surprised but none the less, incredibly intrigued by this new direction. The song is comprised of a pulsing beat, rythmic piano and what I can only assume is a robot clone of Kanye West. Either that or a vocoder. It's weird, it's simplistic, and I like it. Check it out.
Listen to the stream on Kanye West's blog or download the mp3 here.

(BONUS: Check out Ye's sweet post on a Heath Ledger Joker action figure. What a baller. On top of the world, and he's blogging about toys. Baller.)

It's ALIVE! Best Summer Albums of 2008

Aaaand were back from a very long self imposed hiatus. I've decided to start writing this again, but I am not making any promises in terms of format. I'm just going to write what I want. If you don't like it, you can shove it. But you don't like it, you love it (thanks for that line, Rivers). And on that note I'd like to count down my top 5 Albums of Summer 08:


5. Weezer - Weezer (The Red Album)

I might like this album better than I like the Green Album. It's no Pinkerton or Blue Album, but it's pretty fun. The first four songs are incredible. The rest of the album is fun and enjoyable. A good summer jam, but nothing too legendary. Just another very solid album from a band with a very solid career. The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived shines above the rest with a seemingly endless amount of movements and crescendos, and includes a spoken word breakdown that is responsible for the quotation featured in the intro of this post.


4. Cookin' Soul - OJAYZIS (Oasis vs. Jay-Z Mixtape)

So much damn fun. Fans of either artist will enjoy the reinterpretation produced by Cookin' Soul. Although neither the best free album of the summer, nor is it the best mashup album of the summer, OJAYZIS is blast and a half. The mixtape begins with a live performance of Wonderwall by Jay-Z from this years Glastonbury Festival. From there, the hits start rolling, and there is no looking back.


3. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

When the first song of an album released in mid July has a chorus that exclaims "We're gonna build somethin' this summer!" you know your in for some good old fashion summer jams. Although it's no Boys and Girls In America, Say Positive is an incredibly good album. Hitting on many of the very themes and ideas that define summer, this album is a great summer soundtrack for excessive amounts of drinking, smoking, grilling, roadtripping and well, building shit. Over-all, Stay Positive is more than just a great summer album, it is easily one of the best albums of the year and a worthy follow-up to the nearly perfect predacessor.


2. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

You do the math:

Every fun song you've ever heard

- The songs that appear on Night Ripper

+ Summer

x The best mash-up artist I've ever heard

= Feed The Animals

'Nuff said.


1. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III

Club jams? Check. Social and politcal commentary? Check. Guest appearances galore? Check. Song about being an extra-terrestrial? Check. Best Summer Album of 2008? Hell yes. Tha Carter III, in addition to being probably the best album of the year and perhaps one of the best rap albums of all time, it's one of the most fun rap albums I've ever heard. This album's balance of style and substance is unparelled. It's original, vicious, funny, poignant and above all, brilliant. From where I'm sitting, there is only one song on this album that doesn't have the potential to be a real hip-hop classic. Coming in at a whopping 77 minutes, this album does two things that rarely happen in the world of rap: live up to hype, avoid fluff. I say this as a music listener/critic who used to think Lil' Wayne was a talentless hack: Tha Carter III is one of the best albums I've ever heard, and it is most certainly the Best Summer Album of 2008.


Peace.

Best of 2007

Top Albums of 2007

1.    Radiohead – In Rainbows
2.    The National – Boxer
3.    Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
4.    Battles – Mirrored
5.    Justice - Cross
6.    Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War
7.    Kanye West – Graduation
8.    Interpol – Our Love To Admire
9.    Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
10.    Feist –The Reminder
11.    Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist
12.    BSS Present Kevin Drew – Spirit If…
13.    Mark Ronson – Version
14.    Bruce Springsteen – Magic
15.    LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
16.    Foo Fighters – Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
17.    Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
18.    Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
19.    The White Stripes – Icky Thump
20.    Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass
21.    Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
22.    Rilo Kiley – Under The Black Light
23.    Britney Spears – Blackout
24.    Lily Allen – Alright, Still
25.    Queens of the Stone Age – Era Vulgaris
26.    Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before The Ships Even Sank
27.    Explosions In The Sky – All of a Sudden I miss Everyone
28.    M.I.A. – Kala
29.    Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
30.    Kings of Leon – Because of the Times


I'll post songs soon.

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