.

Download Now: "The Noose of Jah City"-King Krule

2011-11-28T21:03:00.010-06:00

I know it's been a while since i rapped at you, and for this, we are sorry. As I went on a run today for the first time in a long time, I came to the realization that there are no real winners when this blog goes neglected, just like there were no real winners when I was neglected as a young child. I kid! My parents are great!

Anyways, this King Krule track kinda krules. Like a young, modern day Joe Strummer or Billy Bragg, Archy Marshall aka King Krule sucks you in with the rawness of his voice over a fresh, yet subtle beat. I don't what's more capitivating, the fact that he was born in 1994(that makes him 17 if you're playing at home) and he's singing lines like "My soul is left to drown, suffocating in concrete” or the way he annunciates all his E's.

Judge for yourself.

Download: "The Noose of Jah City"-King Krule

Watch Now: "The Greeks"-Is Tropical

2011-06-16T17:10:00.001-05:00

The track is solid. The video is special. See for yourself below.

IS TROPICAL - THE GREEKS (official music video)

One Day We're Gonna Live in Paris...I Promise.

2011-06-15T12:02:00.003-05:00

This morning I asked out Paris Hilton. It looked and sounded like this.

To mark such a wonderful denial I have included a mp3 of "Paris" by Friendly Fires. Enjoy!

PARIS-FRIENDLY FIRES(AEROPLANE REMIX)

Watch and Download Now: Gordon Voidwell

2011-02-28T14:14:00.006-06:00

If Prince and Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip had a baby, it might look and sound like Gordon Voidwell. No, seriously. Voidwell drops a interlude on his mixtape with a snippet of Hot Chip's "Down with Prince." Like a wonderful buffet of geek chic, new wave, hip hop, synths, and funk, Voidwell throws it all out on the table. But this ain't no Shoney's, homies. This is the real deal. Like Farnsworth Bentley, but with actual talent. Voidwell takes many elements from the past and makes them sound like they're from the future, with no barrier stopping him from combining so many different genres. What's even more intriguing is that Voidwell is able to make race and socioeconomic commentary with his lyrics while still making the music sound like one big party.

Peep the party below.

Download Now: White Friends-Gordon Voidwell

Download Now: Ivy League Circus-Gordon Voidwell

Download Now: The Third Twin aka Daft Punk?

2011-01-12T13:50:00.005-06:00

So.... Supposedly, Daft Punk will be playing in 2011 under the mysterious name The Third Twin. This could all be a hoax, but maybe not, since The Third Twin is scheduled to play the Arenal Festival in Spain in August alongside heavy hitters like the Simple Minds, and the Cranberries... Excerpt from Arenal press release below. The Third Twin zip file below that. You decide.

"The Third Twin is a French electronic music duo which is getting very popular around the business in the recent months. The reason is simple: They are directly related to the famous Daft Punk. They are in the second edition of the festival which takes place from August 4-7 at the Playa El Arenal from Burriana, Castellón, Spain. The show up of this mysterious group opens the Arenal Sound line up 2011.

The stage name of The Third Twin emerged supposedly with the aim of publishing the issues proposed by Daft Punk to Disney's movie Tron: Legacy. The company initially considered the material too oriented to electronic sounds because of that they refused it. The company ordered a new batch of compositions more orchestral and traditional which finally took part of the soundtrack of the film which was recently released with great success.

Daft Punk could not sign with their original name, music themes nor use any clear reference to the film for legal reasons. That is the reason why the well-known French electronic tandem had to use allegedly that pseudonym.

The result was The Third Twin or TTT, a music project which contain the songs published that is part of that band sound rejected. It was compiled together in an album entitled Homemade where you can find those tracks such as "Evil Minds" "Technolers" or "The Time is Over." The Third Twin has their own profile on MySpace where they have an extensive music material and songs that made Homemade and reached a great amount of visits on YouTube. (http://www.thethirdtwin.com)

Arenal Sound becomes one of the many international festivals on this category to bring significant DJ's highly praised at the time, The Third Twin. (http://www.arenalsound.com). Just wait and see their performance at the festival to discover if the mystery is revealed."

Download Now: THE THIRD TWIN

TOP 25 ALBUMS OF 2010

2010-12-06T12:09:00.027-06:00

Two Thousand and Ten! When did it start? How is it already over? If you didn't know, I kinda like music. ALOT. Sort of overly obsessed. This year brought in some serious gems. Any other year the National would have been my #1 album, but Arcade Fire and LCD had to put out some amazingness that just blew mind. Does it get any better than when "Dance Yrself Clean" clean breaks? Does it get any better than putting headphones on and listening to The Suburbs all the way through like 90 times in a row? And why isn't Robyn my girlfriend yet? FYI, Damon Albarn is genius. Blur better play the U.S. in 2011. Champ by Tokyo Police Club is definitely the most underrated album of the year. And the Walkmen keep churning out albums that make me feel like I should be driving across the country on a deserted highway. When Chris Keating of Yeasayer sings the following on "Ampling Alp," you just know that everything is right in the world and 2010 was indeed an amazing year for music. "Now the world can be an unfair place at times/But your lows will have their compliment of highs/And if anyone should cheat you/Take advantage of or beat you/raise your head and wear your wounds with pride." Nuff said. Thank you 2010.

1. Arcade Fire-The Suburbs
2. LCD Soundsystem-This Is Happening
3. The National-High Violet
4. Robyn-Body Talk Trilogy
5. Gorillaz-Plastic Beach
6. Local Natives-Gorilla Manor
7. Yeasayer-Odd Blood
8. The Walkmen-Lisbon
9. Tokyo Police Club-Champ
10. Hot Chip-One Life Stand
11. Wild Nothing-Gemini
12. The Golden Filter-Voluspa
13. Miami Horror-Illumantion
14. Fitz and the Tantrums-Pickin' Up the Pieces
15. Twin Shadow-Forget
16. Surfer Blood-Astrocast
17. Vampire Weekend-Contra
19. Sleigh Bells-Treats
20. Diamond Rings-Special Affections
21. Die Antwoord-$.O.$.
22. Tame Impala-Innerspeaker
23. The Soft Pack-The Soft Pack
24. Secret Colours-Secret Colours
25. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Beat The Devil's Tattoo

***Kanye should be on this list but I've only had it for 3 weeks now, so it's tough to say where it would fall.

Honorable Mentions: Rusko-O.MG.!
BBU-Fear of A Clear Channel Planet
Gaslight Anthem-American Slang
Best Coast-Crazy For You
Frightened Rabbit-The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Download Now: "Pickin' Up the Pieces"-Fitz and the Tantrums

2010-12-01T16:39:00.016-06:00

A few people have accused me of only listening to one type of music--dance music. That's an extremely false accusation. I listen to all different kinds of tunes on a daily basis. Just today I've listened to the Walkmen, LCD, The National, Hussle Club, Bowie, BRMC, The Horrors, Syl Johnson, Foals, and The Golden Filter. There's no method to my madness! I love it all. If you pigeon-hole yourself to only listening to one type of music, you're making a mistake in life. You're also dumb, ugly, and empty inside. God gave us all these different music genres so they could be heard and enjoyed. The least you could do is have an open mind and explore the wonderful gift that is music.

Although I'm not an expert in the genre, I do indeed like cutting a rug to some good soul music. As of late, there's been somewhat of a trend of white guys getting on the soul train and taking it for a ride. Mayer Hawthrone, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, and Los Angeles-based Fitz and the Tantrums are just 3 examples of why white guys singing soul music is kinda the new black. Though only time will tell where the above mentioned fall in soul's history, on "Pickin' Up the Pieces," Fitz and the Tantrums do it real and perfectly. Soul music comes from the soul and hits you in the soul. With lyrics like "I am oh so tired of loneliness/But the world don’t change" and "But i’m inclined to tell you somethin’/you never show me how you cared for me," this holds very true. I feel like my soul is getting stung by a punch from Ali while I'm simultaneously floating like a butterfly from such a grooving rhythm that the Tantrums provide. To top off it off, "Pickin' Up the Pieces" has dueling vocals. Dueling vocals always get me, but guy/girl dueling vocals are the best. On the second verse, backup vocalist Nicole Scaggs almost outshines Fitz on what is one hell of a track.

Download Now: "Pickin' Up the Pieces"-Fitz and the Tantrums

Editor's Note: You're not dumb and ugly.

Listen Now: "Take Me Over"- Cut Copy

2010-11-22T17:42:00.005-06:00

I was gonna blog about something else today, but then I heard this song. New Cut Copy! It sounds so very Australian. As I was explaining to a friend, via email, who could not access the track due to their work taking all the fun out of work, and blocking quality music sites, I told him "Take Me Over" sounded like this....

"The beginning sounds like Men at Work. Then it starts sounding like Cut Copy with OOOOOOOh's and AHHHHHHHHHH's. Then it sounds like Men at Work and then it sounds like Cut Copy again."

So good. With Hearts on Fire, I reach out to a vegemite sandwich.

Cut Copy - "Take Me Over" (Radio Edit) Premiere by modularpeople

Download Now: Take 'Em Up-Shit Robot

2010-11-17T13:00:00.025-06:00

Shit Robot, aka Marcus Lambkin, has put out one of the finer dance records this year, his long-awaited debut, From the Cradle to the Rave(DFA Records). Although the title of the album leaves something to be desired, the music and beats on the album do not disappoint. This should come as no surprise, 'cause pretty much everything that comes out of the DFA factory turns to gold. And with guests like Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip and DFA master sensei and LCD Soundsystem frontman, Mr. James Murphy, Shit Robot has made sure his contribution in the DFA gold-making process is a success.

Upon listening to From the Cradle to the Rave, one would think that Taylor or Murphy might steal the show on the album. This does not hold true, however, as Nancy Whang (LCD Soundsystem and The Juan Maclean) completely steals the show with her vocals on the standout track, "Take 'Em Up." Full disclosure: After seeing LCD Soundsystem 7 times this year(nerd or awesome? Probably both), I have developed quite the crush on Ms. Nancy. She's one of those girls that's cool without even trying. On this track, her almost seductive vocals make staying at the party for way too long sound like a good idea. Note: When you think it's time to leave, LEAVE. If you're not convinced of Nancy's charm, wait till the 4:37 mark where she kinda crushes it with a Deborah Harry-like rap that's also very reminiscent of her vocals on LCD's "Get Innocuous."

Watch the awesome video for "Take 'Em Up" and Nancy in Rotoscope below! Btw, more girls need to start wearing puffy Zubaz-like pants. You just got own it like Nancy does!

DOWNLOAD NOW: "TAKE 'EM UP"-SHIT ROBOT

Shit Robot - Take Em Up from Eoghan Kidney on Vimeo.

Bonus Viewing: THE NANCY SHOW!!!

Download Now: All Day-Girl Talk

2010-11-15T11:18:00.005-06:00

Girl Talk released his new album today. For free. It's called All Day. You'll probably have an easier time downloading the album right here then through the Illegal Art website. So, yeah, download it.

Download Now: All Day-Girl Talk

Tracklist:
01. Oh No
02. Let It Out
03. That’s Right
04. Jump on Stage
05. This Is the Remix
06. On and On
07. Get It Get It
08. Down for the Count
09. Make Me Wanna
10. Steady Shock
11. Triple Double
12. Every Day

Download Now: "Something Else"-Diamond Rings

2010-11-10T15:54:00.026-06:00

If you've visited us before, you'd know that we have been big fans of Diamond Rings(John O'Regan) since his infancy. We were instantly captivated by his first single "All Yr Songs" and mesmerized by the NBA jerseys that filled the accompanying video. Now, John O. is back with his debut album, Special Affections, which is filled with 10 tracks that I will now coin as Bedroom Polaroid House.

The album is filled with many gems, but Special Affections' standout track is clearly "Something Else." With a killer homemade beat and a super catchy guitar riff that reminds me of New Order's "Ceremony," Diamond Rings' admiration for a special someone comes off so sincerely with that mild lisp that accentuates many of his lyrics. There's a serious innocence that fills all of John O's vocals throughout the album that makes it extremely difficult not to like Diamond Rings and Special Affections, so it should come as no surprise that his music and eye make-up are currently garnering so much buzz. Bedroom Polaroid House, FTW!

Click here to read an interview that we did with Diamond Rings last year.

Download Now: "Something Else"-Diamond Rings

Download Now: The Tangible Presence of The Miraculous-The Crystal Ark

2010-11-09T13:28:00.016-06:00

Epic and Banger. These are two words that have been extremely misused in describing music as of late. Daft Punk at Coachella '06 equals epic. Band of Horses at the Metro, not so much. Queen at Wembley '86 equals epic. Weezer at the Aragon, probably not. Actually, definitely not.

Banger. The remix that your friend made the other day, not really (though i do give them credit for trying 'cause remixing is not an easy task). "The Tangible Presence of the Miraculous" by The Crystal Ark? Yes. Total banger.

Released on DFA, Gavin Russom has created a track that is both epic and a banger. If you've seen LCD Soundsystem before you may recognize Gavin as the multi-instrumentalist with the involuntary "business in the front, party in the back" look, and on this track he takes the lead, creating a 12 minute plus monster. With a pulsating Brazilian influenced beat and sensual Latin vocals, "The Tangible Presence of the Miraculous" is dance floor ecstasy in non-pill form. At around the 8:32 mark, your life as a music fan peaks in glee as you and the dance floor are, indeed, ON FIRE. BOOM!

Enjoy.

Download Now: The Tangible Presence of The Miraculous-The Crystal Ark

Download Now: "Some Might Say"-Secret Colours

2010-11-08T14:08:00.008-06:00

I have a new favorite Chicago rock band. They're called Secret Colours and they rule. Call them psychedelic, call them shoegaze or just call them awesome, Secret Colours combine all these elements to make music that would get Anton Newcombe so excited, he might kick you in the face. Sure, they sound a bit like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, but the BJM sound like a bunch of other bands too, so quit making comparisons and let's enjoy the fact that both bands pay homage to sounds of the past and they both do it well.

On "Some Might Say," my favorite track off of Secret Colours' self titled debut, the dreamy instrumentation and the buried vocals exemplify Secret Colours' divulgence into the past. With the vocals at a whisper you're put in a relaxed state of mind throughout the song until you're hit with a bomb of distortion and a rocking guitar solo. That's how I like my rock 'n' roll. Dreamy and distorted. Pretty much, if you sound remotely like the Jesus and Mary Chain, I'm gonna like you. Secret Colours, I like you. You may sound like the past, but you're presently my new favorite Chicago band. Way to go, dudes!

Secret Colours play Subterranean on Friday at 9pm. $8.

DOWNLOAD NOW: SOME MIGHT SAY-SECRET COLOURS

Watch and Download Now: Red Lights-Holy Fuck

2010-10-19T16:25:00.004-05:00

I loved it. It was much better than Cats. I'm gonna see it again and again...

DOWNLOAD NOW: RED LIGHTS-HOLY FUCK(zshare)

Watch Now: Gorillaz on Letterman

2010-10-08T11:51:00.009-05:00

Gorillaz did Letterman last night. They also did a little mini-concert at the Ed Sullivan for some very lucky people and not suprisingly they brought along some guests. We don't need to go too much into detail cause I'm sure you already know it was awesome. Damon Albarn is a genius, and despite their age, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon look as cool as ever. For real.

Download Now: "Barbara Streisand"-Duck Sauce

2010-10-04T17:04:00.003-05:00

Duck Sauce, the DJ duo consisting of A-Trak and Armand Van Helden, are about to drop their second single, "Barbara Streisand" on Fool's Gold Records. Guess what? It's hot. Repetitve? Yes. Hot despite the repetition? Double Yes. And what does a hot track need to take it to the next level? A hot video with like EVERYBODY in it and New York City as its playground. The only thing that this video is missing that would break the thermometer is me, but I'm told I'll make the director's cut extended mix....

Download Now: MP3-"Barbara Streisand"-Duck Sauce(zshare)

Download Now: Young Love-Maximum Balloon

2010-09-27T17:14:00.020-05:00

So the story goes like this....David Sitek, aka the white guy in TV On The Radio, starts making a solo album, tries to sing over his self produced music and sounds like shit. Lucky for him, he's got some cool friends with better voices and enlists them to guest on his side project, Maximum Balloon. It's no surprise that this album is pretty amazing. After all, Sitek has been the man behind the production on TVOTR's three studio albums, arguably some of the best and innovative music from the previous decade. The pretty amazing part becomes even more amaze when the guests include David Byrne, Karen O, Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon, and Tunde and Kyp from TVOTR.

"I'LL SHOW YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT THE ABOUT THE END OF TIME..."

Though the previous vocalists mentioned above do a great job on their respective tracks, it's Katrina Ford, singer for Baltimore based band Celebration, that steals the cake for me on "Young Love." Behind some of Sitek's thumping drum and synth beats, Ford's voice sucks you in, and orders you to join her in the "big parade," full of better times, big dreams, and hopefully a lot more albums produced by David Sitek, which all pretty much rule more than a ruler. Check the mp3 below for personal verification of awesomeness.

Download Now: MP3-"Young Love"-Maximum Balloon(zshare)

Download Now: Holidays-Miami Horror

2010-08-23T19:02:00.014-05:00

....and we're back! I've been accused of severely lacking posts this summer, and, well, the accusations are true. I've been busy working, watching the World Cup, and attending many concerts(anybody see the Strokes at Lollapalooza? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. JULIAN!). Anyways, as the summer days get shorter, and the sun disappears only to be replaced by the miserable, dark Chicago winter, I promise to be a better blogger and provide you with some quality hits. Cause we're all about the hits over here....

So, what's the feel good hit of the summer? Everybody has been creaming in their pants since Cee-Lo dropped "Fuck You" last week, and, sure it's a catchy little number, but I'm sure after you hear it a gazillion times like you heard "Crazy" you won't feel the same way in a couple months. Enter "Holidays" by Miami Horror.

For the past few years, Australia has been kind enough to dance floors around the world by giving us Cut Copy, Empire of the Sun, Midnight Juggernauts, etc... With its first full length, Illumination, Benjamin Plant, the main man behind Miami Horror, promises to join his fellow countrymen in musical goodness, and with Illumination, he has perhaps surpassed his compadres. "Holidays" is an instant dance floor classic. It's a disco-house-funk nugget whose bass line screams of urgency. Like, you urgently need to get on the dance floor and forget about whatever is going on in your life, and cut some serious rug. Lyrically, Plant does an amazing job of matching the music's immediacy. While listening to this track, you can close your eyes and envision an entire dance floor getting down and shouting, "I DON"T KNOW JUST WHERE YOU CAME FROM, BUT I NEED YOU NOW!!!"

Fuck you, Cee-Lo. This is my song of the summer.

Download Now: Holidays-Miami Horror(zshare)

Freddie Gibbs-Straight from the G-A-R-Y

2010-08-04T19:06:00.005-05:00

Freddie Gibbs is the champ.

21 blunts a day?!?!? I don't do 21 of anything in a week...

DOWNLOAD NOW: FREDDIE GIBBS-GI PRIDE

Watch Now: R. Kelly at the World Cup Opening Ceremonies

2010-06-11T21:37:00.007-05:00

This is just legendary. And the way that R. whispers World Cup at the beginning of the performance is priceless.

Watch the Pied Piper of R&B crush the stage and blow South African minds with "Sign Of A Victory" below.

Download Now: Home-LCD Soundsystem

2010-05-18T16:27:00.006-05:00

By now you've probably had the new LCD Soundsystem album for months and months, but it officially came out today. Mr. Murphy was very hurt last month when he got news that This Is Happening had already been leaked to the interweb, begging not to share LCD's third, and most likely last album with your friends and to wait till the proper release date to hand it out. I'm not sure how well those pleas were heard, but since today is the day, I will now give you my favorite track off what is currently my favorite album of 2010.

"JUST DO IT RIGHT. MAKE IT PERFECT AND REAL."

If this is LCD's last album, they are going out with a serious bang by having "Home" as the last track on the album and the last song that the public will get to hear from them. Sure, you can hear the Bowie and Talking Heads influences lightly sprinkled throughout the album, and "Somebody's Calling Me" does sounds too much like "Nightclubbing" by Iggy Pop, but "Home" is pure LCD. Ok, so maybe "Home" does sound a little Talking Headish, but you tend to forget that when James Murphy delivers such sensible lyrics that, well, hit home. I find it kinda awesome that Mr. Murphy is leaving us with what I believe is his most personal track by LCD to date. It leaves you hanging and makes you wonder what else James could have had up his sleeve for his band. I suppose this is his intention, to leave us wondering and to go out on top, cause this could be it. And it is happening. LCD's swan song. James is going home. Forget your past, this is your last chance now. Grab your things and stumble into the night...

DOWNLOAD: Home-LCD Soundsystem

P.S. I can't wait till LCD reunites and plays Coachella 2020.

Download Now: "Enter the Ninja"-Die Antwoord

2010-05-06T15:45:00.012-05:00

My initial reaction to hearing Die Antwoord (Afrikaans for "The Answer") for the first time was something like this, "This is fucking weeeiiiirrrrd." Consisting of Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and DJ Hi-Tek, Die Antwoord is taking weird to a whole new level and everyone seems to be loving them for it. Freshly signed to Interscope, the South African threesome have build a massive buzz on the interweb by releasing weird ass videos and their weird ass album, $O$, for free consumption. Much has been said about if Die Antwoord is for real or a joke, but it doesn't really matter when the joke sounds completely original and like nothing that's out there right now. Hells, they only played a 20 minute set at Coachella and it was one of the most talked about sets of the weekend. Maybe the joke's on Die Antwoord.

"FUCK. THIS IS LIKE THE COOLEST SONG I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY WHOLE LIFE"

Of all the songs on $O$, "Enter the Ninja" seems to be the most accessible, i.e, the least weird track on the album, mainly cause you can almost understand everything that they're saying. Check the mp3 and video below and decide for yourself if Die Antwoord is worth the hype. Personally, I'm in ninja.

Joke's on us.

DOWNLOAD NOW: "ENTER THE NINJA"-DIE ANTWOORD

Coachella 2010. A Review Of Sorts...

2010-05-03T16:15:00.018-05:00

It's been two weeks since the culmination of Coachella 2010, and I think we're finally prepared to put into words what we saw over a course of 3 beautiful days in the sun. When the lineup was released late in January we released a gasp of "oh, no you didn't Coachella?" which was followed by a gasp back from Coachella with a "oh, yes we did." And did they ever... Not surprisingly, the 11th edition of Coachella sold out, making it only the 4th Coachella ever to do so. Double not surprisingly, there was alot people in attendance this year. 75,000 to be exact. Each day. That's alot of people. With that said, I never waited more than 5 minutes for a bathroom, or 2 minutes for water. Apparently, there were alot of complaints via the internets about wait times, etc., but I didn't really see it. I dunno, maybe those people were at another festival.

Anyways, the music! Over a three day span, I was able to catch 37 bands ranging from the hottest rapper in the game and his girl wearing his chain(Jigga and B), to Colombian rock(Atreciopelados), to the geekiest white guy in the history of music, and no I'm not talking about Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Erlend Øye. Apart from Wale singing "Use Somebody" (really? btw, you were 45 minutes late. Did you really have to drop Kings of Leon? You're suppose to be rapping. Bad idea, dude), and the sound during Passion Pit (no fault of the band, but their audio guy kinda struggled to get a good mix throughout the set) everybody that I saw ranged from really good to amazing.

My Favorites:

LCD Soundsystem: If I was forced to pick a favorite for the entire weekend, it would have to be LCD and Mr. James Fuckin' Murphy. In the no pressure spot of playing before Jay-Z on the mainstage, Mr. James and his crew delivered by throwing down some serious and epic disco jams. Jumping up and down to "All My Friends" with all my friends was quite touching, but it was the intensity of "Yeah" that really threw LCD's peformance over the top for me. LCD Soundsystem is from the future.

Them Crooked Vultures: I won't say that I was surprised by this set, cause that would be really ignorant of anyone to say, being that there's members of Nirvana and Led Zeppelin in TCV, but I guess I was surprised at how they totally brought the rock thunder like I've never seen it brought before. TCV's set started with John Paul Jones playing slide on a 9 string bass. That's not a misprint. Do I need to say more? I think not, but I will cause I feel bad for the bald guy playing rhythm guitar that wasn't in Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, or Queens of the Stone Age. Actually, I don't feel bad when I come to think of it. That guy has a pretty sweet job!

Major Lazer: Going into Coachella 2010 I didn't know who would be best musically, but I was pretty certain that Major Lazer was gonna be the biggest party. Need proof? Please watch the video below. From the second that Diplo and Switch dropped their first beat, the entire Mojave Tent went absolutely apeshit. Led by their front/hypeman Skerrit Bwoy, who is absolutely insane, and dancers whose moves are best reserved for a futuristic strip club (I've never seen dance moves like this in my life! The physics of them is just impossible) Major Lazer had everybody jumping and screaming like the world was about to end. It would have been a really good way to go out. Pon de Floor!

The Specials: Who said Ska is dead?!? A fully reunited Specials brought it back to life in the desert in 2010. The Specials were impeccable in their performance and in their style with those fresh suits and those Fred Perry's as the sun went down on Friday evening.

Club 75: Busy P, DJ Medhi, Cassius, and Gaspard from Justice. Five French men. All dressed in white. The set started by Busy P melancholically exclaiming into the mic, as only a French man could, "Welcome to Paris." From there on it was a 90 minute Parisian dance party on a Sunday afternoon. And, yes, i stayed the entire 90 minutes.

Favorite thing I heard at Coachella: As Jay-Z held court on the mainstage he tried to connect with the indie crowd by trying to get everybody to make some noise for some of his favorite bands that were playing throughout the weekend. "Let's hear it for Passion Pit! Let's hear for Grizzly Bear! Let's hear it for The Yeasayers!" The Yeasayers?!? Oh, Jigga, you're so cute sometimes. To his credit, Jay, with Beyonce, was spotted throughout the weekend checking out all the indie bands that the kids love these days. You know, the XXes, The Beach Houses, The Grizzly Bears...

Favorite personal moment of the weekend: Standing at the way back of the Gobi tent watching the Whitest Boy Alive(Erlend, you are the whitest boy alive, by far) and turning around and realizing that to the left of me I could see Jay-Z performing and then turning to the right and realizing that I could see John Lydon(aka Johnny Rotten) grimacing at the crowd,with the rest of Public Image Ltd. behind him, like only Johnny Rotten can, and realizing this will never happen again and this is fucking awesome.

All in all, my 6th Coachella in a row was a great success, and again my favorite weekend of the year. Thank you to Goldenvoice for putting on the best festival in the U.S., and maybe the world. And a super-duper-uber thank you to all my Coachella friends that I get to share this experience with year in and year out. You guys are the best! Cuddle Party Forever!

Coachella 2010

2010-04-25T21:29:00.001-05:00

Thoughts on Coachella 2010 coming soon....

Download Now: "The Green Room"-The Tins

2010-04-06T19:35:00.010-05:00

It's been a minute since our last post, but there's a real good reason for that. We've been criss-crossing the country in search of the perfect follow-up to "She Comes Alive." I think we found it! Our journey finally landed us in the always sunny, Buffalo, New York. Like Portland, Buffalo has given us some great things. What they are, I'm not totally sure, but I'm sure they're all great. Well, they did give the us the Buffalo Bills of 90s, who went to 4 Super Bowls in a row, and lost them all, most notably Super Bowl 25, when the kicker missed a game winning field goal, "wide right". This helped spawn Buffalo '66, which gave us Vincent Gallo, who also gave us The Brown Bunny, which is probably the most uncomfortable movie you will ever watch.

The Tins is a Buffalonian three piece that use guitars and synth sounds, combined with dueling vocals to help create a immediacy in their sound. "The Green Room" is the complete opposite of "She Comes Alive." In the latter track, the joys of love are celebrated with the the blinders on. The too good to be true part of a relationship. "The Green Room" is the part when it's all over and fallen apart. At about the 3:40 mark, the song and protagonist breakdown, completely aware that he wishes nothing but the worst to whomever just broke his heart/ruined his life. It's a little sad, it's a little sad. But we've all been there. We've all been a little "She Comes Alive" and a little bit of the "The Green Room." It's the best part of life! And it makes for amazing songs...

Download Now: "The Green Room"-The Tins

Download Now: "She Comes Alive"-Baby Monster

2010-03-25T18:21:00.008-05:00

Portland has given us some great things throughout the years. What they are, I'm not totally sure, but I'm sure they're all great. Well, they did give us Arvydas Sabonis (via Lithuania), and that's more than enough when it comes to giving. Enter Baby Monster. Baby Monster just dropped this nugget of bouncy, electronic goodness that would even make Arvydas Sabonis blush. Really, it's that good. "She Comes Alive" is a love song. We've all been there before...in love with that special someone... like she's the only one in room... before she ruins your life 3 months later! I kid, I don't even know what I'm talking about cause it usually only takes 2 months. Anyways, if you're falling for someone right now and in that honeymoon period, this should be the soundtrack to your blindness.

Download Now: "She Comes Alive"-Baby Monster

"Day Dreaming"-Kid Sister

2010-03-23T16:38:00.010-05:00

Kid Sister just released this video for her next single, "Day Dreaming." This track finds Kid Sister singing a little bit more than rapping, but it still works for me. She's adorable, and this video is further proof of that. The Soul Machine, Cee-Lo Green(Gnarls Barkley) does some guest backup vocals, and Flosstradamus pops into the video, too. Kid Sis can make my donuts anytime! Like this...

Download Now: Hussle Club

2010-03-22T15:30:00.009-05:00

I think I may have found my anthem for my summer of unemployment. Combining a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-esque bass line and a song title that would make Morrissey and Marr jealous, NYC's Hussle Club is about to make some serious noise with "I Have High Expectations For What I Want To Be But In The Mirror I Don't See Them Staring Back At Me," leading the way. Hussle Club is the sole creation of Prince Terrance, who's kept the backbeat for numerous bands, including Santigold and Major Lazer. Could you really be just a drummer with the name Prince? Never. On "High Expectations," Terrance goes on some post new wave tip while lyrically connecting with a generation of disenchanted hipsters. It's at the chorus filled with handclaps and sleigh bells that you realize no matter happens in life, everything will be alright in the end. At least that's what I keep telling myself...

Download MP3: I Have High Expectations For What I Want To Be But In The Mirror I Don't See Them Staring Back At Me,"

The XX on Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon

2010-03-18T09:24:00.011-05:00

The XX hit up Jimmy Fallon last night. Oh, to be young again. Check out "Islands" below.

"I Feel Better"-Hot Chip Video

2010-03-17T09:36:00.002-05:00

Hot Chip just released a hilarious new video for "I Feel Better," finally putting the Hot Chippers in the boy band light that they deserve. They're total heartthrobs. In my eyes, this is the standout track off of One Night Stand. When the beat drops a minute in, I feel like I'm being transported into a scene in Trainspotting. You know, when Renton moves to London? Exactly. Watch the video below.

Hot Chip - I Feel Better

Hot Chip | MySpace Music Videos

"Ganglord"- New Morrissey Video

2010-03-15T21:07:00.011-05:00

Moz just released this little video to coincide with his b-side compilation from last year, Swords. The video finds Morrissey walking through the streets of Moz Angeles, and hanging out with a couple of his band members at a cemetery. Where else would Morrissey hang out with his band members? Duh. Gangs, Latins, L.A., and death theme this track, which can almost be seen as a prequel to 2004's, "First Of The Gang To Die." Rest in peace, Hector.

"Wait & See"- New Diamond Rings Single

2010-03-12T12:27:00.011-06:00

Our favorite Canadian, John O, aka Diamond Rings, has just released a new single this week on the German imprint, Tomlab. "Wait & See" finds Diamond Rings taking a more serious tone compared to his first single, "All Yr Songs." He's changing all the rules while hanging out with all the freaks and ghouls. A long way from sharing his warmest sweater with his favorite person in "All Yr Songs." Regardless of the tone in the lyrics, "Wait & See" is just as infectious as his previous single. Diamond Rings has quite the future ahead of him if he keeps on delivering all these catchy tunes. Look for his full-length debut, Special Affections, this spring on Tomlab.

I'd post an mp3 of "Wait & See," but it's only 1.98 on Itunes (with a kick ass Sebadoh cover for a b-side!). Don't be cheap. Support the artist. He needs money for eye make-up.

Diamond Rings will be opening for Think About Life this Sunday at Schubas. 8pm. 8 bucks. Diamond Rings will also be playing a handful of shows at SXSW next week in Austin, TX.

Check the video for "Wait & See" below. Someone asked me the other day how I would describe Diamond Rings, and I responded with a cross between Christian Laettner and Ziggy Stardust. What do you think?

New LCD Soundsystem

2010-03-12T10:10:00.010-06:00

LCD Soundsystem will be releasing a new, yet to be named album this spring, and gave some peeps at the Yves Saint Laurent fashion show a preview of a possible, forthcoming track. No repetitive lyrics on this one, just some pretty straight, sick, and hauntingly epic beats. On April 17th, Mr. James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem will bring the funkiest dance party the Coachella mainstage has ever seen. Yours truly will be in attendance and can not wait to report back.

Check the track and fashion below. Nice dress, Yves!

"Giving Up the Gun"-Vampire Weekend on Saturday Night Live

2010-03-08T10:27:00.006-06:00

This weekend's SNL was probably one of the best in a long time. It helps that Zack Galifianakis is absolutely hilarious, but it also helps when the musical guest flourishes in what can sometimes be a shoddy audio mix. Vampire Weekend overcame the audio troubles of past musical guests, and delivered pristine versions of "Cousins" and "Giving Up the Gun." It was on the latter that VW showed a national audience that they are worthy of the hype, and probably gardnered even more haters. Don't hate the player, only hate the Polos...

BBU Mixtape! Fear of a Clear Channel Planet

2010-03-03T17:19:00.013-06:00

Chicago's own BBU (Bin Laden Blowin' Up) just released a brand new mixtape playing homage to Public Enemy's, Fear Of A Black Planet. Fear Of A Clear Channel Planet finds BBU delivering some politically infused lyrics combined with that Chicago hip-hop/juke sound that I love. Add to that some Rockwell samples, a little Common and Lily Allen, some Justice, and shout outs to Bad Brains, Black Star and Too Short, amongst repeated shout outs to Chicago and you got yourself the right ingredients for a serious mixtape. Who da fuck is you?!? CHI-TOWN BLOWIN' UP!

Download: Fear Of A Clear Channel Plant

"Odessa"-Caribou

2010-02-22T13:40:00.013-06:00

Oh, Canada. You may have lost your hockey game last night, but you should feel like winners for having Dan Snaith, aka Caribou, as one of your citizens. On 4/20, via Merge, Caribou will be releasing Swim, the follow up to the Polaris Music Prize winning, Andorra. If "Odessa," the first single from Swim, is a preview of what to expect from the forthcoming album, we are in for a real treat. Sounding suspiciously like Erlend Øye, Snaith juxtaposes a love lost/abandoned with one of the most infectious beats that 2010 has seen so far. Be warned, this song will get stuck in your head for days.

To accompany the release of "Odessa," Caribou has just put up a video where we follow a female protagonist through a not so winter wonderland of half dissolves, which for full effect would be best viewed on 4/20, the release date for Swim. Watch below.

Download: Odessa-Caribou MP3(Zshare)

Valentine's Day Special-Mayer Hawthorne

2010-02-14T15:55:00.016-06:00

Oh, Valentine's Day. As we sit here on this Valentine Sunday alone, blogging, eating Bon Bons and watching sad movies, we realize that love is hard and indeed, a battlefield. Lucky for us, hundreds of men and women have been able to describe these emotions and feelings through song and lyric. Music is not one dimensional when it comes to love. Can't express your love to someone? "Open Arms" by Journey can help you. Heartbroken, miserable, trying to hang on? This happened to Bob Dylan (and you). That's why he wrote, "Most Of The Time."

Enter Mayer Hawthorne. Michigan born, and L.A. based, Mayer Hawthorne is quickly making quite a name for himself in the love game. His debut album, A Strange Arrangement, was released last year on Peanut Butter Wolf's, Stones Throw Records , after PBW got some of Hawthorne's demos, with PBW initially thinking they were tracks from the past. Channeling Motown, Hawthorne goes through all the different varieties and flavors of love on A Strange Arrangement. Hawthorne does the Motown sound so well, that you almost forget that the album was made in 2009, and, more so ,that he's a nerdy looking white guy. But love is colorblind! And these are modern times where anything is possible! This album is the real deal. Buy it!

Look for Hawthorne this spring opening up for Passion Pit.

Watch video of Hawthorne's first single off of, A Strange Arrangement, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" below, hearts included. And check Hawthorne and his band doing my favorite track, "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't That Pleasin' Nothin' " on Jimmy Kimmel.

Hot Chip on Jimmy Fallon w/The Roots!

2010-02-04T18:29:00.010-06:00

Hot Chip, one of my favorite bands, played "Late Night w/Jimmy Fallon" last night. As if that wasn't good enough, the legendary Roots (not to be confused with the legendary music journalist, Snooki) backed them up on "One Life Stand" off of the brand spanking new album by the same title. One Life Stand will get its official U.S. release on Tuesday. Though it will never live up to the greatness that is The Warning (one of my favorite albums of the previous decade), it does sound a bit more cohesive than their last release, Made In The Dark. I am not, by any means, saying that Made In The Dark was a bad album. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's got some serious jams, but it was a very slight comedown from The Warning. Just a little, tiny comedown.

Picking a favorite between the last three Hot Chip albums is like picking a favorite between Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant during the Chicago Bulls championship runs throughout the 90's. Though they all have their redeeming qualities, Horace's goggles, Scottie's smooth character, we all know that Michael was the greatest, just like The Warning will always trump all other Hot Chip albums, now and forever.

The Hot Chippers play NYC tonight. You can check out the show over here starting at 8pm, central time.

Snooki interviews Phoenix

2010-02-04T12:51:00.003-06:00

Yeah, I'm not lying. This is why television was created. For moments like this. I'm pretty sure Phoenix's career is now complete. A Grammy and a interview by the legendary music journalist, Snooki.

MTV Shows

Together Through Megabytes #3-Midnight Conspiracy-Chromeo Remix Edition

2010-01-31T12:18:00.029-06:00

The boys of Midnight Conspiracy have hit a dinger with their new remix of Chromeo's, "Night By Night." In honor of its release, LOUIS KHA, 1/3 of Midnight Conspiracy, was kind enough to answer some questions for the third edition of "Together Through Megabytes." Results below.

MRLT: How did the remix for "Night by Night" come about?

LOUIS KHA: Graham was actually working on another remix, and I took what he had and just randomly started playing with it, mixing it into other songs as part of a mix tape. And miraculously, it sounded fantastic with Chromeo's Night By Night. So it got reworked and we sent a rough copy to Dave from Chromeo and he loved it! It was funny because we had 2 remixes of the same basic underlying instrumental. We debated for awhile what to do with it, and in the end decided to release it as a Chromeo remix. We might go back and release the other remix one day. We'll see haha.

MRLT: What else does Midnight Conspiracy have cooking in terms of remixes, parties, shows, casseroles, etc?

LOUIS KHA: The next remix we'll release will be a dubstep take on Esser's Headlock. That should be out in a few weeks. After that we have on deck official remixes for MSTRKRFT, Editors and Cool Kids x Hey Champ to name a few. Plus Crystal Castles will feature a remix we did of Crimewave on their upcoming remix album, which should come out around the same time as their original album, whenever that may be.

In terms of parties, we've really been focusing on this new party called Delorean Nites on Feb 6 at Lincoln Hall. Headlining will be Designer Drugs along with Skyler, Broken Disco 1980 and Punky Fresh.

We've been trying to do less gigs in hopes of really focusing on making this a huge party. You know how all those other cities have giant electro parties at concert venues with stages and all you see is straight up crowd surfing mayhem from the likes of Steve Aoki and Le Castle Vania? Well, we're really trying to bring that to Chicago. We feel that's lacking in Chicago. And Designer Drugs is perfect for the first party. They play really hard, banging electro, so it's going to be crazy. Plus they've been gaining a lot of momentum. They recently sold out a 1000 plus venue in El Paso, Texas of all places!

And hopefully the size of Lincoln Hall will be able to support bringing in larger electro DJs that often overlook or skip Chicago on their tour because the market isn't big enough here. And we made it 18+. The kids tend to make it crazier, and plus it's good to expose the youth to the music and artists that you really want to push. They're more open minded and going to be the ones that determine the future of electronic music, or of anything for that matter.

We've made a mix tape for the party which features 2 of our remixes and should be representative of the kind of music to expect.

MRLT: You go by the name of Midnight Conspiracy, you play a night at Angels and Kings called "Disappear Here," and you're now doing "Delorean Nights" over at Lincoln Hall. I'm sensing a sort of "dark" theme here. What's up with that and are you guys open to sunshine and playing beach parties?

LOUIS KHA: I see you've caught on to the dark theme. The 90s were happy and full of sun-worshiping candy ravers. The 2000s kind of smacked everyone back and made them aware of the worlds troubles. If the 90s and 2000s were like the roaring 20s where everyone got rich off of the fed's excessive liquidity orgy, and everything came crashing down at the end of the last decade, then the 2010s will be like the depression of the 30s. Hence, the dark theme. That being all said, one of the set of Mikul's T-shirt and album cover designs for us is in the style of bright, colorful cartoony art. So that really set us back in terms of going for this dark theme. Ooops.

"Night By Night"-Chromeo (Midnight Conspiracy Remix) MP3 (Zshare)

Check out Midnight Conspiracy at "Delorean Nights" on 2/6 at Lincoln Hall. Tickets are going fast....

"Beginning of the End"-New Track From Justice

2010-01-26T22:30:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: It's a fake. Everyone got duped.

Your second favorite French electronic duo just dropped this track on the internets...

Download and enjoy.

"Beginning of The End"-Justice mp3(zshare)

"Radiohead For Haiti"-Los Angeles- The Music Box at the Fonda

2010-01-25T08:37:00.007-06:00

Last night, Los Angeles was lucky enough to witness this little band from Oxford, England called Radiohead perform in front of a very intimate crowd of 1,300. In town recording new material for their upcoming album, Radiohead decided to do their part and contribute all ticket sales to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Fans paid a minimum of 452 dollars a ticket towards a great cause and their Radiohead addictions.

Due to distance and 452 dollars we were not able to attend. However, our dear friend and L.A. correspondent, Chris Johnson did! Here's what he had to say...

"The setlist was created by the gods and the sound was better than I have ever heard them, easily. My favorite show is still Liverpool the day Kid A came out, but this is easily a close second. The band was just having a blast, the sound was phenomenal, seeing Radiohead with actual walls was just ridiculous."

Well said, Chris. Setlist and video below...

01 Faust Arp
02 Fake Plastic Trees
03 Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
04 The National Anthem
05 Nude
06 Karma Police
07 Kid A
08 Morning Bell
09 How To Disappear Completely
10 A Wolf at the Door
11 The Bends
12 Reckoner
13 Lucky
14 Bodysnatchers
15 Dollars & Cents
16 Airbag
17 Exit Music

Encore #1
18 Everything In Its Right Place (Thom)
19 You And Whose Army?
20 Pyramid Song
21 All I Need

Encore #2:
22 Lotus Flower
23 Paranoid Android
24 Street Spirit (fade out)

Canada For Haiti "Help I'm Alive"-Metric

2010-01-22T21:31:00.006-06:00

You probably missed this one if you don't live in Canada. Ms. Emily Haines does a wonderful acoustic version of "Help I'm Alive" off of Metric's latest album, Fantasies.

"Help I'm Alive"-Metric (Album Version) mp3 (zshare)

VCR-The xx

2010-01-21T19:57:00.002-06:00

The xx has just released this video for "VCR" off their amazing self-titled debut. This song's my jam.

Coachella 2010-How Are Things On The West Coast?

2010-01-18T14:33:00.009-06:00

It's that time of year again... In about 12 hours or so we will all know the lineup for the 2010 edition of Coachella aka Disneyland for music lovers. I have been to many festivals around the country and year in and year out, Coachella always comes out on top. It's like Christmas, Prom, your birthday, and the last day of school combined. This festival has done it all.

Pixies reunion-Check
Madonna-Check
Radiohead-Check
Black Star-Check
Gang of Four reunion-Check
Rage Against the Machine reunion-Check
Prince-Double Check
Daft Punk-Triple Check

Seriously, the last two on that list are my #1 and #2 shows of all time. Daft Punk, who had not played in the U.S. in years, took all the money Coachella gave them and spent it on kick ass robot suits and a ridiculous stage set up. I'm sure everyone inside that tent was expecting a great time, but I don't think anybody had any idea that two guys in robot suits were gonna play from the middle of a pyramid that lit up. I will never forget turning around during Daft Punk's set and looking at all the faces behind me that were simultaneously expressing total awe and pure joy. You could hear people randomly screaming out, "Oh, My God!" as if God was actually on stage. And then in '08 he was. His name is Prince.

I could go on and on about Coachella's past, but it is Coachella 2010 that is upon us. Though the fully confirmed lineup will not be out till the early morning it is most likely that you will see all of these bands on the poster...

Muse, Gorillaz, Phoenix, Passion Pit, Miike Snow, Echo and the Bunnymen, The xx, Delorean, Faith No More, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, The Beastie Boys, The Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, Devo, Yeasayer, Spoon, Mayer Hawthrone, Deerhunter, The Ravonettes, Beach House, and Them Crooked Vultures. And that's only 22 bands! There's about 80 more that I haven't mentioned (not that I know who they are, but Pavement and Thom Yorke might be on there...). Rumors are flying as to who will be the last headliner (Muse and Gorillaz are the other two supposedly) Names being thrown around include Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, and definitely not David Bowie. In other words, this year is looking pretty amazing.

Like I said before, nothing is set in stone till that poster appears on the Coachella website in a few hours. We will just have to wait and see... Tune in.

Till then watch some of Daft Punk's set from Coachella '06, my #1 concert of all time. I get goosebumps from head to toe every time I watch this.

Oh, what this?!? Daft Punk Coachella '06 Set 1 and Set 2. Click for download (Zshare)

Blur-"No Distance Left to Run" Double Disc DVD

2010-01-17T10:37:00.009-06:00

Blur is set to release "No Distance Left To Run," their documentary chronicling last year's reunion, on February 15th on DVD. Included with the documentary will be another DVD of Blur's massive reunion show in London's Hyde Park. If you can't wait till February, I highly suggest you head over to Itunes and purchase "All The People," which is the audio portion of said reunion show. "All The People" has been available for a couple months now and it is most definitely worth a purchase. Nothing like hearing 50,000 people singing all the words, but also all the guitar parts. This is probably my favorite live album ever and if I would have put live albums on my top albums list for 2009, it would have been at the top, it's that good. I get major chills every time I hear the crowd singing along to "The Universal." A small crime that Blur decided not to bring the reunion to the States. Can't one of these festivals pay them a boatload of money and get them over here? What the french, toast? Trailer for the Hyde Park show below.

Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-13T20:12:00.007-06:00

I would feel pretty ridiculous blogging about something else other than the earthquake in Haiti. I had plans of posting a review of the new Vampire Weekend album today, but it would seem foolish and frivolous of me to talk about something like that when so many people are suffering right now. Some people are estimating over 100,000 deaths. That's alot of human lives. That's alot of fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters whose lives have now been torn apart. This is a massive tragedy.

My cousin who has been living in Haiti for the past 5 years tells us that there is nothing. No food, water, nowhere to sleep and that everything is just destroyed. Anyways, don't want to sound too preachy, but I do want to say that if you stumble on this blog today and are reading this and you haven't donated yet, please do. A few dollars can go along way in the such a poor country, the poorest in the western hemisphere. Instead of buying a couple songs on Itunes or eating out, use that money to help the people of Haiti. You know you can afford it. They need that money more than we will ever know.

Here's some links and info of where you can donate. Sometimes it's as easy as just texting a few numbers.

Text YELE to 501501 to automatically donate 5 dollars. YELE is a foundation run by Wyclef John.

Text HAITI to 90999 to automatically donate 10 dollars to the Red Cross.

Click here for a list of very reputable charities working in Haiti

Partners in Health. If you're curious about Partners in Health and Haiti I suggest you pick up "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracey Kidder to get a feel for the situation in Haiti.

Thanks for listening.

"There's Space For Ol Dat I See"-M.I.A. Brand New Track and Video

2010-01-12T15:36:00.005-06:00

M.I.A. is just the coolest girl in the world. Be Mine.

Warning: Song and video are rather hypnotizing.

LT Slide-Electric Glide

2010-01-11T21:06:00.006-06:00

This video has already received a WTF from Pitchfork today, but what they fail to mention is that it's got some serious Chicago roots. The lyrics were written by Mike "MikeShot" Warzin and his homeboy Brandon Pierce. Together they will be famously known as Night Sweat. Though MikeShot now resides in Portland, he is a Chicago native, and a very serious Bulls fan (and he might be the only other straight man that I know that likes shoes as much as I do). We like this, and without getting into too much detail, you should most definitely keep an eye and ear out for Night Sweat in the future.

Guess what else? The music for "Electric Glide" was done my Chicago's own, Flosstradamus!

CHICAGO! STAND UP!

The White Stripes-Under Great White Northern Lights Trailer

2010-01-06T20:18:00.011-06:00

2010 will not only be filled with amazing albums, but also some pretty sweet music documentaries. Between the Blur reunion doc and the White Stripes, Under Great White Northern Lights, music nerds will be rushing to theaters to get their rock on as they daydream of being Damon Albarn or Jack White.

Under Great White Northern Lights, follows Jack and Meg White through a 2007 tour of Canada (Canada is the country right above the United States) as they play weird places like bowling alleys, hockey rinks (duh), and igloos. Ok, maybe I'm lying about the last one, but they do play "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" on a bus. How cool, weird and Jack White is that? They also play a show that consists of one note. Not one song, not one verse, just one note. Just one... Thanks guys! While all this rock n' roll is occurring, Meg White is falling into a quiet depression which eventually leads the current hiatus that the White Stripes are on. Folks, what we got here is a movie! Can't wait. Trailer below.

Flavor Flav-I'll Never Let You Go

2010-01-04T12:59:00.003-06:00

I really want to believe that this is a joke, but I think Flav is being serious, and has finally, and officially, lost his mind. Hey yo, Chuck?!? Do something about this! Flav is destroying PE's name! Make it stop!

Don't Block My Shine, Shawty.

2010-01-03T11:13:00.005-06:00

Watch the new video for "Shine Blockas" by Big Boi feat. Gucci Mane below. Free Gucci!

Big Boi Ft. Gucci Mane - Shine Blockas from SNORT THIS TV on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-24T21:28:00.000-06:00

Joe Strummer-8/21/1952 - 12/22/02

2009-12-22T19:00:00.012-06:00

Joe Strummer died 7 years ago today. He is a true legend and shall never be forgotten. The Clash were the best and my favorite (as evidenced by the ink on my back) . Both the band and Joe died way too young. The progression and output from album to album, in such a short period of time, is staggering and phenomenal. They really were "the only band that mattered," and Papa Joe led the way...

Back in June of 1981, the Clash played New York City for 17 days in a row, sometimes playing matinee shows before the evening gigs. This is an interview from the "Tom Snyder Show" during that 17 day stand.

Without the Clash there would be no M.I.A., no U2, no Green Day, no some many hundreds of other bands. They were the first to blend rock and hip hop together, and inspired so many. True pioneers.

If you're a fan of the Clash, or of music and music documentaries in general, you must watch "Westway to the World" and "The Future is Unwritten."

Hope you're still singing in heaven, Joe! We miss you.

Japandroids

2009-12-21T20:27:00.008-06:00

One of my favorite things about the end of the year is reading everyone's "best of" lists. It's a friendly reminder of what you may have missed throughout the year. I'm kinda upset that I didn't hear Japandroids album, Post-Nothing, until this weekend. To me, Japandroids is like that person that you were kinda of friends with but never REALLY hung out with too much and then all of sudden you hang out for real and think, "Why haven't we hung out before, you're like the coolest person ever." I had been hearing good things about Japanroids throughout the year, and just missed their set at Pitchfork. Minor fail for 2009, but better late than never.

The thing that I like most about Japandroids is that it reminds me of some of the music I was listening to circa 1999. It's got that dualing vocal, fist pumping, sing along, call and response that I dug back then. I think they have a name for that kinda music, but I forgot what it is...

Watch Japandroids perform, "Young Hearts Spark Fire" at Pitchfork below. Download below that.

"I don't wanna worry about dying, I just wanna worry about those sunshine girls."

"Young Hearts Spark Fire"-Japandroids (Zshare)

"Who Cares?" Gnarls Barkley Video by Tyler Mintz

2009-12-21T18:45:00.010-06:00

My dear friend, Tyler Mintz, has made a video for Gnarls Barkley's, "Who Cares?" Tyler resides in Brooklyn, where he is getting his Masters in Visual Arts Design, at the School of Visual Arts, which is nothing like ordering pancakes at the International House of Pancakes. Apart from being one of the hairiest people I know, Tyler is obviously one of the more talented people that I've met. Need evidence? Watch the video below! When he's not creating badass videos, Tyler likes eating Zebra Cakes, Barry Manilow, and dancing to Simian Mobile Disco in his Snuggie.

Anybody have Cee-Lo's or Danger Mouse's number or email? I think they need to see this.

Correction: Tyler is studying Design, not Visual Arts Design. I am studying neither.

WHO CARES? from tyler mintz on Vimeo.

Together Through Megabytes #2-Diamond Rings

2009-12-17T20:22:00.019-06:00

We are super pleased to be doing our 2nd edition of "Together Through Megabytes" with John O., the man behind the mask, er, eye makeup, of Diamond Rings. Diamond Rings has been catching some serious buzz lately with the single and video for "All Yr Songs" So much so, that it was named "Video of the Year" and the #5 top song for 2009 on this very blog. John O. was nice enough to sit down and answer some questions regarding the video, warm sweaters, and Canada. Results below.

MRLT: For all of those who don't know, who is Diamond Rings?

John O: Diamond Rings is the name of my personal musical project. It's basically a chance for me to let things out and follow whatever influences and desires I feel inspired by in the worlds of music, fashion, and art. It's a really important thing for me right now.

MRLT: "All Yr Songs" has caught some attention since its release, were you a
bit surprised?

John O: Yes and no. Both myself and my pal Colin Medley (who directed the vid) were really pleased with everything once we'd got the finished product together, but the Internet is a weird place! There's so much great stuff floating around out there but if things don't catch on right away it's easy for them to get buried. So we put it out thinking that our friends would like it and although we were hoping for it to catch on internationally, we weren't going to let that affect how much we really enjoyed the process of producing the work itself.

MRLT: Is the song directed at someone specifically, cause I don't know about
you, but I don't lend my warmest sweater to just anybody, especially in the winter?

John O: Yeah, especially when you live in Toronto! It's cold here! But seriously, I don't like to reveal too much in the way of the meanings behind my lyrics because I want people to be able to interpret my songs in their own unique way. All I can do is write for myself and put it out there for others to internalize and project on to their own real life situations. But I will say that the song is definitely directed towards a specific person with whom I share a close relationship.

MRLT: Lets talk about the video, how did it all come together?

John O: Like I said, my pal Colin is a prominent fixture on the music scene here in Toronto. He's always shooting bands and I have the good fortune of sharing an apartment with him. I had just recorded the song and it was his idea to make a video for it. What we ended up with came out of our mutual love of early 90s rap videos and green screen effects. My cousin Lisa Howard did the make-up, styling, and choreography. It's worth noting that we shot the entire thing for about the price of two medium pizzas that we had for lunch on the day of the shoot.

MRLT: There's a bit of a controversy going on with the video and Youtube and
Sony, what happened and what's the latest news?

John O: Basically, Sony's UK office erroneously claimed copyright infringement because my stage name is the same as that of a single released by a rapper on their label called Chipmunk. Youtube deleted the video at Sony's request, and it wasn't until we went public through our Myspace page that a bunch of blogs started talking and word got back to Sony officials here in Canada. They realized that they had no real grounds to accuse us of anything and ended up putting the video back online pretty fast.

They're supposedly sending us some limited edition Modest Mouse 7" records and a Beyonce album as compensation for our troubles. We've been checking the mailbox every day and can't hardly wait!

MRLT: There's some serious NBA paraphernalia in the video, are you a big basketball fan?

John O: Growing up I was huge into sports. Now I'd say I'm more attracted to the iconography and the idea of sports than the actual players and teams themselves. There's a certain nostalgic appeal and a sense of belonging that comes with participation in the sports world and I find that rather comforting.

MRLT: When you were younger did you know that music would play such a big part in your life and what were some of your bigger musical influences growing up?

John O: When I was younger I don't think I ever really thought about music like something that was a part of me, but at the same time, when I look back a few years I can see how important it was in shaping who I am. My biggest influences were probably the bands and artists that I heard around the house growing up. Stuff like Fine Young Cannibals and Steve Winwood were huge. I got really into rap when I was in high school, so I'd probably have to put the late Notorious B.I.G. and Illmatic by Nas on the list, too.

MRLT: What is a typical day in the life of John O., is there a day job?

John O: I get up pretty early and make coffee and breakfast. Depending on what day it is I'll either work on my music or I'll work on some art. I'm trained as a visual artist and also do lots of design work for bands in Toronto. Silk screening shirts, putting together show posters, photocopying 'zines - stuff like that. I'll usually switch it up at lunch and do whatever I wasn't doing earlier. Sometimes I go to the library and get some books to read.

Right now I'm reading Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, which is from the early 90s and deals with lots of stuff that I'm finding relevant to my own work as Diamond Rings. It basically has to do with confusing traditional gender stereotypes through dress and fashion.

MRLT: How has growing up in Canada shaped you as an artist and what's it like being part of the Toronto scene?

John O: I can't really say because I haven't lived anywhere else, but I'd imagine that being in Canada has made me feel a bit more like an "underdog" if that makes sense. It's definitely harder to get international recognition north of the American border, and because of how our country is laid out geographically it can make touring a really big hassle. Toronto is great though, I've met so many great people since I've moved here and we all try to help each other out.

My favourite local band right now is called Ghost Bees. They're twins and they play really spooky music inspired by Eastern European folk traditions and witchcraft! Sometimes I perform with them, as well as my BFF Katie Stelmanis who makes totally bonkers MIDI beats and sings like she should be in the opera. I also play in an alternative rock band called The D'Urbervilles, who are the best people ever.

MRLT: There's a Diamond Rings full length coming out in 2010, what should expect from it?

John O: Yes, it's called Special Affections and it will be coming out in spring 2010. Musically I'd expect everything from early 1980s New Order to late 2000s Usher. It's all pretty much MIDI beats with lots of live piano and vintage synth overdubs. I'm mostly proud of the lyrics though. I wrote each of these songs for special people and I really think it captures an exciting and important time in my life. Colin and I are going to make videos for almost every song too!

MRLT: Should we expect a tour of the U.S and a visit to Chicago soon?

John O: Yes and yes. Although there's nothing confirmed as of right now. But you'll be the first to know.

MRLT: Lastly, top 5 albums of 2009 for you and is there anything you feel people might have missed in 2009 that you want them to know about?

John O: 1. Timber Timbre - S/T
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
3. Fever Ray - S/T
4. Why? - Eskimo Snow
5. Handsome Furs - Face Control

And yeah, my number one pick Timber Timbre is probably the best artist in Toronto right now. His album is probably one of the most genuinely honest and downright spooky things I've ever heard in my life. He's great.

Look out for Diamond Rings in 2010. Watch a live performance of "Something Else" shot by Colin Medley below. This song is just as catchy, if not more than "All Yr Songs." Check it! And thank you, John O!

All Yr Songs-Diamond Rings-mp3 (Zshare)

Yeasayer-Odd Blood

2009-12-16T08:52:00.005-06:00

With releases from Spoon, Interpol, Arcade Fire and the Strokes, 2010 is shaping up to be a colossal year for new releases. One album that might steal the cake is, Odd Blood, by Yeasayer. It's not even out yet, uh, it's not even 2010 yet and it's already making a case for album of the year for 2010. It's the Merriweather Post Pavilion of the new decade...

Watch the video(SFW!) for the amazing new single "Ambling Alp" below.

Yeasayer plays the Metro on April 29th, 2010

Top 20 Albums of 2009

2009-12-13T17:37:00.025-06:00

Making lists is hard, but fun. These are my top 20 albums for 2009. I definitely had multiple silent raves listening to all of these throughout the year. Everyone should listen to these albums. There's something for everybody. If you're looking to get your dance on, or your rock on, or your sad on, or your juke on, or your "we're like the 900th band to sound like Joy Division, but somehow do it well without sounding like complete and total ripoffs," or your Canada on, or your makeout on, or your " I feel like I'm running in the Olympics in slow motion and dancing at a rave at the same time," or your Jigga on, or your leather on, or your French pop that's sung in English, that is so amazing even though sometimes what you're singing about doesn't make complete sense to me and at times it sounds like you're singing with marbles in your mouth, which is an endearing trait that you carry and if my Ipod could talk to me, it would say, "can we please listen to something else! Sheesh." I think you get my point. Tres bien Phoenix! Tres bien 2009!

P.S. Where's my jetpack? You promised!

20. La Roux-La Roux
19. Jay-Z-Blueprint 3
18. Discovery-LP
17. The Rural Alberta Adavantage-Hometowns
16. White Lies-To Lose My Life
15. Jack Peñate-Everything is New
14. The Very Best-Warm Heart of Africa
13. Morrissey-Years of Refusal
12. Fuck Buttons-Tarot Sport
11. Kid Sister-Ultraviolet
10. We Were Promised Jetpacks-These Four Walls
9. Annie- Don't Stop
8. The Horrors-Primary Colours
7. The Whitest Boy Alive-Rules
6. Delorean- Ayrton Senna
5. The Big Pink-A Brief History of Love
4. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion
3. Yeah Yeah Yeah's- It's Blitz!
2. The xx- The xx
1. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

New Hot Chip Video-"One Life Stand"

2009-12-11T15:53:00.005-06:00

I'm gonna wait on my top albums until Monday. Till then watch the new Hot Chip video for "One Life Stand." The song is a definite toe-tapper.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand (MySpace Exclusive)

Hot Chip | MySpace Music Videos

Top 40 Songs of 2009

2009-12-10T15:45:00.013-06:00

Here are my top 40 songs for 2009. I love all these songs and at some point or another during 2009, I would play these over and over, like a little kid. I think I played "Big Bills" about 30 times in a row the first time I heard it. These really should read 1A to 1NN, they're all so good. Each song comes with a link so you can hear them/watch the video.

1. Big Bills-Flosstradamus
2. 1901-Phoenix
3. VCR-The xx
4. My Girls-Animal Collective
5. All Yr Songs-Diamond Rings
6. Runaway- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. No Reasons-Vega
8. Bulletproof-La Roux
9. Paranoid-Kanye West
10. Empire State of Mind-JayZ feat. Alicia Keys
11. Animal-Miike Snow
12. 11th Dimension-Julian Casablancas
12. Drugs in My Body-Thieves Like Us
14. When We Swam-Thao and the Get Down Stay Down
15. Ulysses-Franz Ferdinand
16. Audacity of Huge-Simian Mobile Disco
17. Warm Heart of Africa-The Very Best
18. Sea Within A Sea-The Horrors
19. Something Is Squeezing My Skull-Morrissey
20. Feather-Little Dragon
21. Death-White Lies
22. Deli-Delorean
23. Hazel- Junior Boys
24. Dominos-The Big Pink
25. Dustland Fairytale-The Killers
26. Bad Times-Annie
27.The Fear-Lily Allen
28. Things Will Never Be The Same-jj
29. M.A.G.I.C.-The Sound of Arrows
30. Only if We Run-Julian Plenti
31. Hell Knows I'm in Love-Hamarrin and Robin
32. Thunder and Lighting-We Were Promised Jetpacks
33. Pull My Heart Away-Jack Peñate
34. Jake Summers-Fight Like Apes
35. So Insane-Discovery
36. The Reeling-Passion Pit
37. Right Hand Hi-Kid Sister
38. Keep A Secret-The Whitest Boy Alive
39. In the Summertime-The Rural Alberta Advantage
40. Destroy-Moneypenny

Best/Favorites of 2009

2009-12-09T17:55:00.024-06:00

Top 5 Concerts
1) Phoenix-Park West, Chicago-6/13/09 - a couple weeks after the "official" release of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, these dashing and smiley Frenchmen destroyed the Park West. It sure helps that Thomas Mars sang "1901," on a table right above me for an encore. Only regret is that I didn't put a thousand dollar bill in his pants for playing such an awesome concert.

2) Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Lollapalooza, Chicago 8/8/09- "We're not even suppose to be here."- Karen O. Replacing the Beastie Boys as Saturday night's headliner, Karen O showed that she was born to headline.

3) The Very Best-Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago 7/19/09 While folks watched the Flaming Lips do the same ol' thing for 900th time, a select few cut some serious rug over at the Very Best stage to end the weekend in style.

4) My Bloody Valentine-Coachella, Indio,California 4/19/09-Green grass, palm trees, mountains and the sound of 100 airplanes on 50 lawnmowers going off at the same time=Priceless.

5) Cut Copy-Vic Theatre, Chicago, 3/18/09-Favorite album of 2008, seen live in 2009.

Favorite concert moment: The Cure being shut down at Coachella. First they turned off the big screen TV's. Then they turned down the music. Then they cut off everything but the bass. Then everything. But after more than 3 hours the Cure kept on going, the crowd helping them on vocals, and ending with Robert Smith screaming the lyrics to "Grinding Halt." A fitting and epic end. Cure.

Best Thing I Heard Said at a Concert: Morrissey at Coachella "I smell burning flesh." Classic Mozzer.

Best New Artist: The XX. Honorable Mention: Delorean

Favorite Twitter: @Diplo. The man never sleeps. Just tweets. It takes real talent to be able to be so funny with only 140 characters on a consistent and daily basis.

Favorite TV Show: Gossip Girl. Only bad thing about this show is that it's called Gossip Girl. It's kinda difficult being a straight man and starting a conversation with, "Hey, did you watch Gossip Girl, last night?!?" XOXOLOLZ. Bonus points for the music they play during the show and having Sonic Youth on a episode.

Favorite Movie: Che. Ok, so it was officially released at the end of 2008, but I haven't seen a better movie since. Talk about epic. How Benicio Del Toro, and the film in general, did not receive some serious hardware in 2009 is beyond me. I can only begin to wonder why....

That's all for now. Top songs tomorrow, followed by albums on Friday. Stay tuned.

SURFER BLOOD

2009-12-08T21:12:00.014-06:00

I will continue my "Best Of 2009" tomorrow, but I just wanted you to take a listen to Surfer Blood. They're from Florida and they're GOOD. You really can't go wrong with a name like Surfer Blood.

"Take It Easy"-Surfer Blood-mp3(zshare)

Video of the Year-2009-Diamond Rings-"All Yr Songs"

2009-12-07T17:38:00.007-06:00

There's so many things that are right with this video. Winter sweaters, the running man, and dueling Glenn Robinson and Larry Johnson basketball jerseys are just a few of the highlights that are squeezed into this 2 minute and 44 second masterpiece. Not to mention the song is just so damn catchy. So catchy, that I bought the 7 inch immediately upon hearing it and I don't even own a record player. Well done, Diamond Rings!

UPDATE!!!: 12/9/09-I just received this email from John O. of Diamond Rings....

Hey Mauricio,

Wow! Well I'm totally flattered. Thank you so much. I'm glad you liked the video. Unfortunately, Sony BMG isn't so thrilled. It was taken down this morning on account of some sort of copyright violation. Here's the press release we've been sending out. Feel free to spread the word.

For Immediate Release:

Sometime on the morning of Wednesday, December 9th the Diamond Rings
music video "All Yr Songs" was removed from Youtube at the request of
Sony/BMG on the grounds of copyright infringement. Neither video
director Colin Medley or myself were consulted by either Sony/BMG or
Youtube before the video was removed and we therefore are unclear as
to whom or what we are infringing upon.

Colin has since received an email from Youtube stating that "we
received a notification of claimed copyright infringement regarding
the video from Sony BMG Music Entertainment. When we're notified that
a particular video uploaded to our site infringes another's copyright,
we remove the material as the law requires." To make matters worse,
he has been informed that his Youtube account status is "not in good
standing" and further "strikes may result in the termination of your
account". Colin's numerous videos have helped a great many bands reach
far beyond the physical boundaries of the Toronto scene, so for him to
potentially lose a means of disseminating his hard work would be a
real setback for our entire music community.

Despite all the crap, we're working hard to get the video back online
as soon as possible and will keep everyone notified with any new
developments in "Colin and John O's Most Bogus Corporate
Misadventure". Hopefully this is all just a big misunderstanding and
Sony/BMG will call us up tomorrow to offer the both of us a whole
bunch of autographed Beyonce or Modest Mouse albums for our troubles.
In the meantime I'm totally throwing out my Sony Sports Walkman.
Panasonic Shockwave XBS rules!

Heads High,
John O

The xx-Bottom Lounge 12/1/09

2009-12-02T18:18:00.012-06:00

...but I was there. In 2009, when The xx played Chicago for the first time... When I start losing my edge I'll be able to tell the kids that I, indeed, was there. The xx is the best new band of 2009. And not just on record, but also in concert. Like the album, the xx's live show transfixes you with their subtle beats, and dreamy boy/girl vocals. It's like somebody is coming up from behind you and whispering something in your ear that you may or may not want to hear. And then you turn around and face your whisperer with the, "Oh, wow. I can't believe you just told me that" face. The music is dark and sexy, as is the stage show. You could barely make out the band members faces, who were dressed in all black and resemble teens that haven't fully gone through puberty, with their fresh fades and shy eyes. Young in looks, but mature in sound, The xx sounded like they'd been on tour for years, and not on their first go-around of U.S. cities. Many complain that there's nothing new and exciting in music, but this is it. I can't wait till they turn 25. No pressure, dudes. I'm excited. Watch some video that I shot of The xx performing "Crystalised" below.

Together Through Megabytes-The Hood Internet

2009-11-30T14:35:00.016-06:00

Welcome to a new segment of the blog that we would like to call "Together Through Megabytes." We will be providing you with interviews, conducted via the internets, with some of our favorite bands and artists. First up, is the Hood Internet. The Hood Internet just released their 4th mixtape full of mashups earlier this month. If you've never heard of the Hood Internet think Girl Talk, but with less chaos. And if you've never heard of Girl Talk, your life is probably boring and you should stop reading this right now and re-evaluate things. If you're still reading, read on and listen to what 1/2 of the Hood, STV SLV, has to say about the new mixtape, smoking weed with the GZA, and world domination.

MRLT: Mixtape 4 was released this month, congrats. Did you guys do anything special to celebrate such a momentous occasion?

STV SLV: I emailed ABX some virtual champagne.

MRLT: What's the process you guys go through putting a track together?

STV SLV: Sometimes it's a great idea that works right away, moreso there's a lot of trial and error, but generally it's things like: isolating loops to make instrumentals, getting the vocal cadence to fall in the right place, tempo stretching, pitch bending... various permutations of those processes.

MRLT: Have there been instances where you guys try a combo and it just doesn't work?

STV SLV: Numerous. We post some of those (that fall on the tolerable side) at the end of every year. Some are too bad for that, even. I did this Doobie Brothers vocal over a Broken Social Scene track... major fail. That one probably won't get out.

MRLT: Some might say that you're trying to be ironic mixing all this Southern hip hop and indie together, but you're really big hip hop fans and Cash Money for life, right?

STV SLV: Yep. I didn't really get into hip hop until college, and I started out on that underground shit (Hieroglyphics, Rhymesayers) before I got hipped to CMR and Three 6, etc. There's so many good facets to almost all styles of rap and hip hop. Just as there are to almost all genres of music.

MRLT: Recently heard that you guys did some work with the GZA. How did that come about, and did you have WTF moment, like "he's from the slums of Shaolin and I'm from Minnesota?"

STV SLV: The GZA is a big Mando Diao fan and wanted to rap over one of their tracks, so he called on the Hood to remix their song "Dance With Somebody" so he could put some bars on it... then we flipped it and got the homie Cadence Weapon in on it too. Had a bit of a WTF moment since it's one of the biggest projects we've worked on to date, but the WTF was moreso from the amount of weed being smoked, less regarding geographic origins.

MRLT: Ever tried to get any of the artists that you use to perform together? Friendly Fires and Bon Iver could have worked at Lollapalooza... And if you could get any of the combos that you've guys have used to play live together which would you like to see?

STV SLV: There was actually a performance on the Brit Awards earlier this year where Estelle and the Ting Tings performed together in the precise style from a Hood track that had preceded the award show by 8 months.

MRLT: How'd the cover art come about and are your muscles really that big?

STV SLV: We hit up our girl Karen Tisel to make this cover epic. We were thinking: Mixtape Volume Four, we're gonna need four swords. And the only reason to have four swords is if you're slaying a fucking dragon among a bunch of other what have you. As you can see from the cover, all of the aforementioned was slain.

MRLT: Now that the mixtape is out what are you guys working on next? World domination?

In 2010 we'll be working on a Hood Internet album that's not going to be mashups. We're gonna have a bunch of original production on there with some guest spots from musicians that are our friends or acquaintances. From there, yes: world domination.

Download the Hood Internet's lastest mixtape, Volume 4, over here

Blur Documentary-No Distance Left to Run

2009-11-28T20:20:00.002-06:00

This looks absolutely amazing.

Fuck Buttons-Empty Botttle-11/21/09

2009-11-24T19:38:00.017-06:00

It should be noted that in a 48 hour period, the Empty Bottle had 3 different shows with headliners named Fuck Buttons, Depressed Buttons, and Fuck Knights. Sadly, I missed the last two because I am neither depressed or a knight, but I'm super into buttons and I don't give a fuck, so I just had to see this show. Right, right, right....

Actually, I had to see the show cause Fuck Button's sophomore album, Tarot Sport, has been in my playlist quite alot lately. The English duo, consisting of Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power, got things off to a banging start on Saturday night with "Surf Solar," the lead track off Tarot Sport. From there they just kept on going for an hour straight, barely stopping, and continuing their aural assault on an audience that, at least in the front, was feeling the beat. In concert, Fuck Buttons raise their music to another level. The noise is louder, the beats are heavier and the atmospheric epicness is increased tenfold. The music makes you feel like you're running in a marathon in slow motion and you're about to win the race. Like "Chariots of Fire," but with a really fat beat. I think it would be fair to say that all in attendance won the race, but probably lost some hearing...

Between the Pixies and Fuck Buttons it was a highly successful weekend of music! A few Fuck Buttons pics below.

The Pixies-Aragon Ballroom-11/20/09

2009-11-22T16:19:00.013-06:00

The Pixies played the Aragon on Friday night in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release of Doolittle. The night started with the some b-sides, then Doolittle was played in its entirety, in order, note for note, and done so with precision and perfection. As uncomfortable as they may seem on film, the Pixies seemed pretty comfortable playing together on Friday night. Simply put, they were amazing. Highlights included a sing along during "Hey," strobe lights galore during "Into the White" and a all girl mosh pit during "Isla de Encanta" and "Nimrod's Son." People still mosh? Click here to view the setlist. Pics below.... And video of "Dead!"

Cousins-New Vampire Weekend Video

2009-11-20T13:28:00.003-06:00

2010 is looking pretty darn good for new releases. Spoon, Hot Chip, Interpol, and Vampire Weekend will all be releasing new albums before you can even say Arcade Fire. Watch "Cousins," the first video from VW's sophomore release, Contra, below. Such a catchy, little song, innit?

THE HEAVY

2009-11-17T18:20:00.005-06:00

Thoroughly enjoying The Heavy's sophomore release, The House That Dirt Built. The Heavy hail from the UK and cross genres like soul, garage rock, and reggae that help create a chaotic beauty of an album. Would not be surprised to see them hit up the U.S. summer festival circuit as the token "soul" band.

Watch the video for the rocking single, "How You Like Me Now?" below.

Annie-Don't Stop

2009-11-15T19:33:00.009-06:00

After much delay, Annie will finally be releasing her 2nd album, Don't Stop, this Tuesday. This album finds the Norwegian making a slight change in sound. The beats are harder, the voice is stronger, all the while Annie maintains her adorable Scandinavian charisma that made her first release, Anniemal, so addicting. On "The Breakfast Song" Annie asks, "what do you want for breakfast?" Well... Pannekaker, Annie! Duh. And your hand in marriage...

Watch the video for the ready for the dance floor banger, "Songs Remind Me Of You" below.

In the Flowers- New Animal Collective Video

2009-11-13T13:51:00.004-06:00

Probs my favorite track off Merriweather Post Pavilion. The video, like the song, is everywhere, but equally as awesome.

"No more missing you while I'm gone."

The xx-Islands

2009-11-12T19:05:00.003-06:00

Just watch and listen and enjoy... "I am yours now, so now I don't ever have to leave."

Goodbye Sonotheque...

2009-11-11T19:00:00.007-06:00

Sonotheque will be closing its doors for good this weekend. Sonotheque was most definitely, by far, my favorite place in Chicago to go cut the rug. It was a club, without being a "club." You could wear whatever you wanted to, and the buttoned down shirt, douchebag factor was almost non-existent. The thing that I liked most about it is that it crossed genres. Indie kids, hip hop heads, goths, and just regular old people looking to have a good time got down to business on the dance floor together with no real pretensions. It goes without saying that the soundsystem was banging and the dj's, no matter what night, got people moving.

I will forever associate Sonotheque with a certain group of people and a certain place in time...Blackout Sunday during Lollapalooza won't be the same without a trip to Sono. Where else could I have met Hot Chip and in a drunken stupor ask them repeatedly who their favorite soccer teams was? I think the Chubby Chipper wanted to kill me, I annoyed him so much. Ahh, too many fun memories...

Rest in peace Sonotheque... and lets cross our fingers that something lame doesn't open up in your place.

Joakim Hearts Diplo

2009-11-10T21:21:00.005-06:00

Joakim Noah getting down to Diplo at Lollapalooza this year. Also, if you're wondering, Joakim is wearing Le Coq Sportif hi-tops this season. How cool is that? Thanks for the info Mikeshot.

Morrissey-Started Something, But Couldn't Finish (again...).

2009-11-08T12:42:00.005-06:00

Morrissey took a bottle to the head last night in Liverpool and instantly said goodbye to the stage and audience. Just two weeks ago Morrissey collapsed onstage and had to cancel some dates on his current tour. Poor Moz...

Oh Yoko

2009-11-07T09:15:00.004-06:00

Will you tell your mom to quit screaming into the microphone... Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band visited the Jimmy Fallon Show on Thursday night. Results below...

Halloween-Minor Update

2009-11-05T21:07:00.013-06:00

I'm still trying to brush off all the candy from Halloween so we'll keep this simple...

Chromeo, Crystal Castles, and Boys Noize was pretty amazing. Scariest costume of the weekend has to go to Alice Glass from Crystal Castles dressed up as herself. Seriously, she is absolutely mental. I think she eats children at snack time.

Other costumes that I enjoyed included Teen Wolf, a very nicely constructed "Were the Wild Things Are" costume by my old roommate and her boyfriend, and myself as Prince. I also played DJ at a Halloween party on Saturday night and by all accounts it was a raging success. FYI, I am available for all occasions. Baby showers, Thanksgiving, golf outings, etc. You just let me know. Oh, and all apologies to the girl dressed up as Lady GaGa who kept asking me to play Lady GaGa. I'm sorry, but I don't support terrorism.

Look out for a ton of concert reviews, some album reviews and maybe an interview or two in November. It's all happening...

Julian Casablancas-"11th Dimension" Track Review

2009-10-27T22:11:00.011-05:00

Julian Casablancas is coming out with his first solo album next Tuesday. He's the lead singer in this band called the Strokes. They're good. Actually, they rule more than ruler. Sadly, it seems like the Strokes are having a little bit of trouble recording their 4th album, but luckily we have Julian's record to hold us over until the Strokes get it together (get it together, dudes. please. thank you).

"11th Dimension" is the lead single off Julian's new album, Phrazes For The Young. It sounds like the Strokes crossed with Miami Horror and the theme song from "Saturday's Night Main Event." The Strokes definitely tried to play with keyboard/synth sound on songs like "12:51" with guitar pedals but on "11th Dimension" Julian says fuck it, this is my own album and goes all out with the synth which sounds amazing and ridiculously catchy. Julian's voice is just as wonderful as he delivers those awesome one liners like he did with the Strokes ( "I just nod, I never been so good at shaking hands." Simple, yet awesome.)

Personally, this track sounds just as good or maybe even better than anything that the Strokes have released. It's possible that it just sounds refreshing to me cause Julian is taking a chance with some different sounds on this tune and hopefully the rest of the album, which I can't wait to hear.

Phrazes For The Young will be released next Tuesday, November 3rd. You can buy it on Itunes for the low, low price of 4.99 or as Julian's website states, for less than a pack of smokes.

Travis-Martyr's 10/24/09

2009-10-26T20:38:00.008-05:00

I was first introduced to Travis back in 1999 when I made a visit to London to see some friends that were studying abroad. I bought both Good Feeling and The Man Who at a CD shop at Heathrow while waiting for my plane back to the U.S. I really fell in love with The Man Who. So much so, that I remember going to one of those Q101 Jamboree crap shows just so I could see Travis (sidenote, I saw alot awful things that day, like the Bloodhound Gang. Gross.).

Fast forward 10 years to Saturday night and there I was seeing Travis for the 2nd time. Well, it wasn't all of Travis, just half. Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop played a stellar 2 1/2 hour set that spanned the bands career and they did it in chronological order, starting with the first song that Fran ever wrote, and ending with the last one.

Best part of the show, actually there were two best parts of the show. 1) Fran gave insight to every song that they played that night. Did you know "Driftwood" was inspired by "Cheers?" Or that "Why Does it Always Rain on Me?" was written because of a rainy holiday in Israel, and not cause it "rains on his soul"(insert French accent) like a French DJ suggested at the height of the song's popularity?

2) There was a projection screen at the back of the stage that allowed Fran to show pictures of everything, from pics of the band with Paul McCartney to pictures of his 3 year old son who is obsessed with Michael Jackson.

I'd be a fool to go through all the songs that they played. Lets just say that if you're a Travis fan, all bases were covered. From beginning to end. If they come to your city, go see this show. Or go to New York in a couple weeks. They're playing something obscene like 6 shows in a row while in NYC. If you don't, it will rain on your soul.

La Roux

2009-10-21T20:57:00.005-05:00

La Roux was scheduled to play the brand new Lincoln Hall tonight, but had to cancel due to illness (already rescheduled for 2/1/10). I've caught some flack for enjoying La Roux's music, but I'm not quite sure why. La Roux's sound is like the Knife and Robyn had a baby. La Roux combines the darkness of the former and the pop of the latter, all the while keeping the infectious beats that made both Robyn and the Knife successful.

Here's a clip of La Roux performing the totally awesome "Bulletproof" at Germany's Melt! Festival this summer...

Halloween

2009-10-20T19:00:00.001-05:00

What are you gonna be for Halloween this year? Here's what I'm thinking...

Anybody want to be part of the Revolution?

Rain Machine-Double Door 10/17/09

2009-10-18T17:32:00.007-05:00

A couple things should be noted about this show...

1) The crowd was rather scarce. I would be polite if I said the Double Door was half full (maybe a 1/4 full?). This was surprising. You would think that in being part of one the most critically acclaimed bands of the past decade (TV on the Radio) that Kyp Malone's side project would be able to a draw crowd. This did not happen. I can only wonder why.

2) Kyp Malone's facial hair is amazing up close. It's like he's wearing a ski mask where you can only see a person's eyes and nothing else. His beard engulfs his face like Santa Claus. How his girlfriend or wife finds his lips to kiss him is beyond me. He's like an Ewok, and his voice is his weapon.

Rain Machine's songs ranged from pretty good ("Give Blood') to downright epic ("Smiling Black Faces"). Backed by a band that just seemed happy to be on stage, Malone used the stage as his altar like he was giving the crowd a sermon. And like any good sermon, his voice had soul, power, and was simply mesmerizing at times. It sucked you in and took you on a journey, never leaving you feeling like you were being subjected to his feelings and thoughts; rather, it left you feeling like you were doing the happy dance with all the other Ewoks at the end of Return of the Jedi...

The Horrors

2009-10-08T16:46:00.005-05:00

Due to a prior engagement called vacation, I will not be able to attend The Horror's concert on Sunday at the Double Door. If I wasn't busy trying to get the sand out of my shoe, I would totally go. Their sophomore release, Primary Colours, has been a favorite of mine in '09. Need evidence? Check this video for the, dare I say, hauntingly epic, "Sea Within a Sea."

Quickies

2009-10-07T17:54:00.008-05:00

-Bad Lieutenant aka New Order without Peter Hook, plus some other guy are playing their first U.S. show at Park West on November 18th. There's a presale on Friday, password is sinkswim. In other news, Peter Hook has admitted to forging Ian Curtis' autograph on Joy Division memborbilia. Douche. Bag.

-Girl Talk is playing the Congress Theatre on NYE. Tix are already on sale and fairly cheap for an NYE party. 35 dollars. Last year's Justice NYE party at the Congress was pretty awesome...

-Chris Cornell joined Pearl Jam on stage last night in LA for "Hunger Strike." Temple of the Dog. Watch video here. This does not make up for the fact that Chris Cornell put out an album with Timbaland. Douche. Bag.

-Apparently, Animal Collective is putting out another album this year. Has anyone ever had the #1 and #2 album in the same year on Pitchfork's best album list???

-Thom Yorke told the crowd in L.A. that he'll be back next year to play again. Coachella rumors already started.

Phoenix-The Remixes

2009-10-06T19:39:00.023-05:00

From Cadillac commercials to SNL, Phoenix has kinda been everywhere the past few months. By now it's safe to say that Phoenix has become a full blown French phenomenon, much like Gerard Depardieu in the 90's. Only time will tell if their 4th album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, holds up as well as Green Card did.

With an album filled with so many amazing songs, it is only logical that a gazillion remixes be born. In the past week we've already seen remixes of "Fences" by Animal Collective and the Soft Pack. The former sounding like, duh, Animal Collective, and the latter sounding like a lost Velvet Underground track that would make Warhol proud.

With that said, my favorite remix so far comes from FelipeMusica. I don't know much about Felipe other than he is French and that he's made an easy, breezy, super fantastique, reggae remix of "1901." This remix is the perfect background music for my dream vacation to Jamaica. Red Stripe, jerk chicken, reggae music and Phoenix! As fall and cold weather slip into our lives again, let this be our lead track on the soundtrack to our daydreams.

Listen to FelipeMusica's remix of "1901" right here.

Quickies

2009-10-05T19:50:00.000-05:00

Listen or download Vampire Weekend's new single, "Horchata" here. I only got through 90 seconds of this song before my computer died. I then proceeded to take my daily afternoon catnap only to wake up with this song stuck in my head. Only 90 seconds...More cowbell? No. More xylophone? Yes, please. VW's new album Contra drops January 12, 2010.

Thom Yorke played the Echoplex in Los Angeles on Friday night. Band members included Flea, Nigel Godrich, and, uh, Thom Yorke! Download bootleg over herrre.

Jack Peñate-Everything Is New

2009-09-30T18:29:00.001-05:00

Apart from having a sweet moustache and a Blagovejich-esque top, Jack Peñate has pure gold with his new album, Everything is New. The anxiety and urgency in Peñate's vocals immediately suck you in and take you on a journey through life, love, and death.

Peñate makes all three sound so good with bouncy, disco like bass lines and what at times seems like giant samba band backing him up. Standout tracks "Pull My Heart Away" and "Lets All Die" scream of, well, live audiences screaming the choruses back in celebration. In "Lets All Die" he celebrates and embraces death in a such a manner that it makes you want to start a conga line to heaven (or hell).

Watch his video for "Pull My Heart Away" right here. And see him live this fall opening for Miike Snow.

First Post-The Big Pink

2009-09-28T22:16:00.000-05:00

Welcome to MauricioReyesLikesThis.blogspot.com. This is the first post of many to come. We have many things already planned including interviews with Beyonce, Daft Punk, and the Jo Bros. In this world you either get a big thumbs down or a big thumbs up. Lets get down to business...

The Big Pink

A BIG thumbs up has to be handed out to the Big Pink. Their first full length, "A Brief History of Love" has been getting some serious play on the Ipod and on constant repeat in my head for the past couple weeks. It combines all the things I love about British music. It's a got some shoegaze, big anthems, and that certain swagger that only Brit bands possess. And they have a girl drummer! You can never go wrong with a girl drummer. Watch the video for "Dominos" here.