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.

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. 

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.

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.)

Live: Asobi Seksu/Mates of State

I'm not sure if I know many people who enjoy waiting through a set by a band they have never heard of before the act I paid to see takes the stage. I certainly don't. Even in the case of bands that are halfway decent, my impatience tend to get the best of me. I have even been bored through sets of bands that I really enjoy when I anticipate the headliner more. This concert was no exception. It certainly seemed like whoever was about to warm up for Mates of State, couldn't possible impress or entertain me. And with a name like Asobi Seksu, I was pretty sure nothing good could come of the situation. However, it turns out that every so often the planets align themselves in such a way that even I turn out to be wrong. Don't get me wrong, this does not happen often and when it does I am just as surprised as everyone else. Ego aside, it didn't take me long to realize that the New York based Asobi Sesku are a pretty solid act.

Let me get this out of my system before I actually provide a semi-coherent analysis of their show: Asobi Seksu is like My Bloody Valentine meets Sigur Ros, while wishing they were Sonic Youth, and, maybe just because I've been listening to them quite a bit lately, a touch of TV on the Radio. Now that I got all of my pretension out of my system (or at least as much as I can in one sitting at least), we can proceed.

My initial reaction to Asobi Seksu was that we were in too small of a venue to fully capture the breadth of their sound. With synths and distorted, reverberating guitars, the band created a unique and cohesive sound that seemed too large, chaotic and beautiful to be confined to a room slightly larger than a walk in closet. Each instrument weaved into the others and yet, the different elements retained their own value in a way that separated them from the others. During the set I was entranced. It was one of those rare occasions where something you are hearing makes it so you can't look away. What I am trying to say is: this band is good. All of this and the headliners hadn't even taken the stage yet.

The last time I saw Mates of State was at Lollapalooza on a side stage and the brutally hot weather made it difficult to enjoy their music. Due to the conditions and size of the audience, their performance did not pull me in as much as I had hoped. I figured that if I had a chance to see them in a smaller venue, then I would be able to see Mates of State at their best. I was right.

Excuse my inability to be original, but a married couple playing pop music together is high on my list of Cutest Things Ever. I'm sorry, but it's true. They seemed just as excited to be playing music together as we were to hear it and despite an audience of fewer than a hundred people, Mates of State pumped out pop melodies like they were the biggest act in the industry. Their energy was equalled only by their humility, interacting with the crowd like they were playing a show for old friends even altering their set list on the spot to accommodate. After having fun with a number of dancier tracks, drummer Jason Hammel announced they were just going to keep playing dance songs for a while.

The couple's chemistry plays a big part in both their live show and their studio recordings. They alternate vocals and sing them more to each other than to the audience. On the recordings it adds another dimension to their particular brand of pop, and on stage it simply helps everyone else feel the love. Additonally, both will sneak glances at the other and let a little smirk slide. It is this subtle display affection that makes their music so genuine and lovable. Even though you can't see it on their albums, you can definitely hear it, and once you see the chemistry on stage you fall a little bit more in love with everything that Mates of State is.

Jay-Z: Kingdom Come

Just three months ago I recall sitting at my desk, on my computer and reading the first rumours of the impossible occurring. It was alleged to have three different titles and three different release dates by three different sources. Soon after, the shroud of mystery began to slide back and the truth poked its head out. The impossible was about to occur: Jay-Z was coming out of retirement with a new album. Clearly, my excitement was difficult to contain. The Michael Jordan case(s) aside, how often does the best ever there ever was decide to quit and come back?

I suppose I should have expected a cheesy opening monologue. But as the opening notes unfolded from my stereo, something rather unexpected occurred: I was bored. Like a kid unwrapping socks at Christmas, I was shocked and disappointed. Me and Hov were off to a rocky start so far, but then like finding a wad of Benjamins inside those socks, the second track alleviated any fears. Sampling the classic Allman Brothers Band song Whipping Post, the song Oh My God's beat pops like a one-two punch. His energy is as powerful as it ever has been. But despite the fire of songs like Oh My God, Show Me What You Got, and Trouble, gone is some of the edge that made Jay-Z famous.

This may be for the best. The man has had ten years on the scene and has re-invented himself with each album to some degree. This album sees a large departure from the feel of previous albums like The Black Album and The Blueprint. The lyrics reflect the sad fact that Jay-Z is in his late 30s, incredibly reach and is running out of enemies. There is much less aggression and even though it would be overkill to have every song pull an audible knife on the listener, the album lacks anything comparable to songs like Takeover or Threats. The only thing that comes close is Dig A Hole, in which says "I give em enough rope/they put themselves in the air/ I just kick the chair" and a chorus with the order to "Dig a hole/ bury yourself". Threatening? Maybe. Lazy? Just a touch. Rather than staring the enemy in the face, he almost seems to think that he has become so big that enemies just die on their own. Maybe I just miss the Jay-Z who had to fight to get to the top.

At least he can not be accused of not progressing as an artist. Like it or not, this is a step in a new direction. That direction just happens to be an aging rapper trying to reinvent himself. But its not all bad. The album, though different overall is well done. It has a fair share of surprises like Anything which features Usher and Pharrell. When I hear of that collaboration, I thought that there was no way they could fail. I was wrong. It is actually one of the least original and developed songs on the album. But when I heard that Jay-Z would have a song featuring Chris Martin, I quietly snickered to myself. I love Coldplay and Jay-Z but at the time I thought that there could not have been a more misguided and hopeless collaboration. Much to my surprise, their song, Beach Chair (which even sounds lame), is one of the best and most progressive songs on the album.

As relaxed and passive as the album is at times, it is still the best ever doing his thing. In most cases, the relaxed feel translates to a slow grove, and only rarely results in boredom. Its certainly no Black Album or Blueprint, but overall I really enjoy this album. Some fans will undoubtedly reject this for the reasons I've discussed, but the album represents a new Hov. And a new, if not perfectly realized, direction by Jay-Z is still better than most others can ever hope to achieve. Take him or leave him, he is still the best.

Pavement

Last Tuesday, 90's indie rock heroes, Pavement, re-released their third full length album in a two-disc format with a large number of b-sides and session outtakes. This (re)release prompted me to go on a somewhat of a Pavement binge, and now they shall be the subject of this post.

My own Pavement story begins in the backseat of a one of my friends cars. I couldn't tell you where we were driving to, but I certainly remember hearing the song Shady Lane for the first time. My friend who was driving made the hilarious "this song sure is short" joke a minute and fifteen seconds in, (listen to the song, you'll know what I mean) just before the second verse came in. I had a reputation with these friends of being a music elitist who new every indie band ever, and I could tell that I had missed something and was too shy to ask who the song was by. When I got home, I Googled the lyrics I could remember and that led me to Pavement. Our relationship has been great ever since.

Pavement's music is defined by their notoriously laid back sound and quirky songwriting. Mix that in with a bit of uniquely catchy noise pop and you've got yourself Pavement. They have a generally accessible sound, however their first album Slanted & Enchanted is decidedly rough around the edges. I would recommend either Brighten the Corners or Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain for those who are just now discovering them. Additionally, the newest re-release, Wowee Zowee, is also worth the time and money. At times, their sound can be abrasive and chaotic, but if you give them a chance, you will quickly find that they are worthwhile. Tragically, Pavement has long since disbanded so don't expect new material anytime soon.

And now my gift to you is this, the Pavement Starter Kit. Fifteen Pavement songs that start with their easiest to love and then dig deeper into what makes and defines Pavement.

1. Cut Your Hair - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
2. Shady Lane - Brighten the Corners
3. Rattled by the Rush - Wowee Zowee
4. Summer Babe - Slanted & Enchanted
5. Range Life - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
6. Father To A Sister of Thought - Wowee Zowee
7. We Are Underused - Brighten the Corners
8. Elevate Me Later - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
9. Date With Ikea - Brighten The Corners
10. Gold Soundz - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
11. AT&T - Wowee Zowee
12. Stereo - Brighten the Corners
13. Stop Breathin' - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
14. Camera - Cut Your Hair b-side
15. In the Mouth of a Desert - Slanted & Enchanted

Introduction

I am starting this blog to be a place for me to share my thoughts, primarily on the topic of music. I hope that it will be a resource for people who wish to expand their musical horizons. The motivation behind this is simply that I have noticed a stratification amongst music listeners, and I have (foolishly) taken it upon myself to bridge some of the gaps. Far too often I encounter people who either don't know much beyond what is played on Top 40 radio stations or listen exclusively to what Pitchfork Media recommends to them. But at the heart of both of these, and any other music listener for that matter, resides the same thing: an unconditional love for music. I have been a member of each of those parties at some point in my life, but I have since rounded out my taste and landed somewhere in the middle. My goal is to share the music that I fell in love with and hopefully others will enjoy as well. Music is not about sales figures, but rather about the music itself. Whether you like what I write about or not, all I ask is that you keep an open mind. The biggest mistake I ever made, as a music listener, was to put a limit on the types of music I would listen to. I offer these suggestion to be not the supreme law of the land, but simply to be suggestions. Its only my opinion, so feel free to agree or disagree. I will probably be doing reviews of new albums, lists, band features, and whatever else I feel like. Enjoy.