feature: Spotify

I wanted to hate Spotify. I don't need another way to consume music. I've already got more than is healthy -- iTunes, 8tracks, Winamp, Turntable.fm, Last.fm, iPod, What.cd, Soulseek, Myspace, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, Google Music, Mumu Player, streams and downloads from various blogs and websites -- not to mention my turntable which is sitting neglected in the corner. Music fans of years past had the problem of finding new music. Now we come up with excuses NOT to listen to the music our friends are recommending us.

video: Mastodon - Black Tongue

Here's two things I enjoy: Mastodon + woodworking. The Hunter is out September 27th.

video: Grizzly Bear - Knife

Missed this video when it came out. Good stuff.

track: Tech N9ne feat. Ceza, JL, U$O, Yelawolf, Twista, Busta Rhymes, D-Loc, Twisted Insane - Worldwide Choppers

This track is nuts. Nine very fast and technical rappers, just doing their thing really well. Unknowns are placed next to newcomers and legends. By the time it gets to Busta's verse, I have a stupid grin on my face every time.

video: The Flaming Lips + Lightning Bolt - I Wanna Get High But I Don't Want Brain Damage

I was going to say that this track sounds like Boredoms or Ween or something, then I remembered that that already happened -- Z-Rock Hawaii. So it sounds like that. Wayne does a little intro, the video is psychedelic.

video: Pusha-T feat. Tyler, the Creator - Trouble on My Mind

Check out my previous post on this track + a link to a Pusha-T mixtape here.

track: Girls - Vomit

track: Kanye West & Jay-Z feat. Otis Redding - Otis

show review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra - The Bishop, Bloomington IN, 7/16/11

video: Beastie Boys feat. Santigold - Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win

video: Big Freedia - Excuse

My first experience with Big Freedia was an opening slot for Major Lazer. I had no idea what I was in for. She came out on stage dressed like some kind of gay cop from the future. She had a bunch of female dancers on stage with her, with only one job -- shaking their asses. But Big Freedia out-ass-shook them all. Shit got freaky. She calls her music 'sissy bounce,' for obvious reasons. Here's a lesson.




Download this song + the rest of the EP for free here.


Here's a video of her performance at a Portland strip club after the Major Lazer show.

concert video: Animal Collective - Pitchfork Music Festival 2011

Here's video from Animal Collective's set at Pitchfork last night. They played 4 or 5 new songs, with "Did You See the Words," "Brothersport," "We Tigers," and "Taste" sprinkled in. Deakin was back, Panda Bear was behind a full drum kit, and Avey was yelping. They were generally a lot more fun to watch than the MPP-era 'bunch of guys standing behind samplers' stuff. New live Animal Collective songs are always kind of difficult to pin down, but they sounded closest to the Strawberry Jam sound to me. Needless to say, it was very trippy.



I'd be willing to bet that Animal Collective will have an album out before the end of the year. They headlined Pitchfork in 2008 as well, and played 4 (then) new songs which ended up being on Merriweather Post Pavilion, which leaked at the end of that year. I don't think Pitchfork would have had them headline this year without some inside knowledge about a soon-to-be-released album. Anyway, enough of my Animal Collective fanboy nerdery.

(ANIMAL COLLECTIVE AOTY 2011 [or 2012]!!!)

concert stream: Pitchfork Music Festival

Stream it here. Set times (EST) are after the jump.

mixtapes: Curren$y - Covert Coup + Death Grips - Exmilitary

Lull you to sleep...



...then wake you back up.



Both of these albums are free:

Death Grips - Exmilitary
Curren$y - Covert Coup

mixtape: Lil Wayne - Sorry 4 the Wait

Here's the mixtape Lil Wayne put together as an apology to fans for Tha Carter IV being pushed back. He raps over the "Gucci Gucci" beat, which alone is worth the download if you ask me. Get it here.

By the way, if you don't already have Da Drought 3, Dedication 2, and No Ceilings, get those first.

(unofficial) video: Ty Segall - Girlfriend

preview: Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch the Throne

Tracklist:
1. No Church in the Wild (feat. Frank Ocean)
2. Lift Off (feat. Beyoncé)
3. Niggas in Paris
4. Otis (feat. Otis Redding)
5. Gotta Have It
6. New Day
7. Prime Time
8. Who Gon' Stop Me
9. Murder to Excellence
10. Welcome to the Jungle
11. Sweet Baby Jesus (feat. Frank Ocean)
12. Love You So (feat. Mr. Hudson)

Bonus Tracks:
13. Illest Motherfucker Alive
14. H*A*M
15. That's My Bitch
16. The Joy (feat. Curtis Mayfield)

Release date hasn't been confirmed, but it's looking like August 2nd. Let's hope "Welcome to the Jungle" has nothing to do with the Guns N' Roses track.

By the way, check out video of Kanye's show at SXSW this year, featuring guests from his own G.O.O.D. Music label (Mos Def, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Pusha-T, Big Sean, Mr. Hudson, CyHi da Prynce) and Jay-Z.

album stream: Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain in the Cloud

video: Cat's Eyes - Face in the Crowd

Cat's Eyes is a side project of The Horrors. They do the retro pop girl group thing that so many bands are doing these days, but they pull it off so much better than most. The songs are more varied than lots of those bands -- maybe in part because they switch between male and female lead vocals on the tracks. This album is slinky, dark, sexy, and a little warped. I dig it.

album stream: Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

I've thrown up an album stream of this Shabazz Palaces LP before, but I just have to make sure everyone has heard this. STRONG AOTY contender here. It's rap for people who don't like rap (and people who do like rap). Otherworldly, forward thinking stuff. Throw it on your stereo, play it loud.

video: John Maus - Believer

I mentioned John Maus a few times in my last post, and I'm digging his album quite a bit, so I figured I should share some of his stuff.

videos: R. Stevie Moore - I Like to Stay Home + I Need Your Love

I recently learned of R. Stevie Moore (or finally took notice of his name being tossed around) from a review of John Maus's new album, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. R. Stevie Moore is a weird cat. He's the best kind of weird -- the kind who records freaky drug-damaged pop music in his basement for decades and self-releases it on hundreds of cassette tapes and CD-Rs. If you've ever heard Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, you'll realize as soon as you watch these videos that Ariel basically owes his career to this guy. (BTW, John Maus apparently played keyboard for both Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti AND Animal Collective in the past. If you dig Ariel Pink, check out John Maus as well -- you won't be disappointed.)

R. Stevie Moore has been self-releasing music since 1968, and he's just now going on his first tour in 2011. Sadly, it looks like I got into his music about 20 days too late, as he came through my area last month. Let's hope this first tour isn't his last.

tracks: Pusha-T feat. Tyler, the Creator - Trouble on My Mind + Lil Wayne - Tunechi's Back

It's been a good year for rap so far, and it's looking to only get better. Here's a pair of hot tracks from some upcoming releases that I'm excited about. They look promising.


Tyler, the Creator collaborates with two of his biggest heroes on this track -- Pusha-T (of Clipse) and the Neptunes. It's a cut off of Pusha-T's upcoming EP, Fear of God 2: Let Us Pray. That's out August 23rd. Check out the pretty decent mixtape from this year, Fear of God, free here. Good to see Pusha-T doing good things after the disappointment that was that last Clipse album.

Pusha-T feat. Tyler, the Creator - Trouble on My Mind


Lil Wayne put together a mixtape as an apology for his oft-delayed upcoming LP, Tha Carter IV. It should be out August 29th. The mixtape, Sorry About the Delay, is out July 13th. Here's a track from it.

Lil Wayne - Tunechi's Back

album stream: The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles

The Cool Kids are now streaming their long-awaited debut LP, When Fish Ride Bicycles. Head over to Facebook for the stream.

video: Das Racist - Who's That? Brooown!

Wow. Somehow I missed this awesome video from one of Das Racist's two excellent free mixtapes from last year. Their first proper LP, Relax, is coming out September 13th.

feature: Album Covers So Bad They're Good

Mastodon just released the cover for their upcoming album, The Hunter. I really love it, but I've got a feeling that I might have a thing for bad album covers. What do you think of these? What are your favorite bad album covers?

Mastodon - The Hunter

preview: Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Looks like a new album from Girls is being announced with a (no longer) mysterious widget. Father, Son, Holy Ghost is out September 13th. Check out the album cover and tracklist after the jump.

feature: Most Anticipated Albums of 2011.5-2012

We're at the halfway point for 2011, so it's time for two things: 1) taking stock of the albums released so far, and 2) looking at what's coming for the rest of the year. I've been keeping a running tally of my favorite albums of 2011 on the right-hand side of the page (I'm only a little bit behind on that -- been adding a lot of albums lately, will be adding more soon). The list below is some of the releases I'm most looking forward to in the second half of 2011.

First off, there's been some chatter lately about two of the most anticipated albums of the year. The first is the Kanye West/Jay-Z collab Watch the Throne, rumored to be coming out July 4th (It became available for pre-order July 4th; release date is August 2nd). The second is the long-awaited follow-up to Justice's †, announced for a fall release date. No title or specific date yet, but we do have a tracklist.



Check out the rest of the list after the jump.

video: Death Grips - Guillotine

I'VE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT PUTTING DEATH GRIPS' EXMILITARY ON MY MUST LISTEN LIST ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. I'M PRETTY SURE I LOVE IT, BUT DAMN IS IT FATIGUING. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TAGGING THIS AS HOBO-RAP. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN YELLED AT BY A BUM ON THE STREET, YOU'LL KNOW WHY. THIS ALBUM IS UGLY. IT'S LOUD. IT'S EXHAUSTING. IT'S DIALED UP TO 11 AT ALL TIMES. ZACH HILL DRUMS ON IT, THE SAMPLES ARE INTERESTING AND FAR-REACHING, AND THE RAPPER ANGRILY YELLS ABOUT ADDICTION AND OTHER UGLY TOPICS IN ALL CAPS FOR THE DURATION OF THE MIXTAPE. IT'S FREE - CHECK IT OUT.