Deerhoof "Sexy, But Sparkling"

I 
wanted to 
remember you

Guided By Voices "She Lives in an Airport"

She lives in an airport
she gives little bottles to me

PAPA "Put Me to Work"

Darren Weiss puts out some new post-Girls material of his own. It might be better than Christopher Owen's latest. God dammit, guys...why did you break up?

Christopher Owens "Here We Go"

Sometimes, I love being wrong. Christopher Owens dropped his first solo effort and it is really, really good.

October Playlist

A collection of some of my favorite songs I've been listening to this month:

King Dude "Holy Land"

If this storm brings about the end of days, I want this song to be blasted from every speaker as the sunlight fades:

Sinkane "Jeeper Creeper"

layers on layers on layers on layers

Storm's A-Brewin'

In honor of Tropical Storm Sandy fixing to rock Boston, some storm songs:

Wild Nothing "Paradise" Video

Wild Nothing and Michelle Williams.

Lil Wayne Sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

This is the longest that Lil Wayne has ever been on the mic without making a reference to defecating.

Kendrick Lamar - good Kid, m.A.A.d. City

Just finished my first listen of Kendrick Lamar's full-length debut good Kid, m.A.A.d City and it is somewhere between damn good and outstanding. What makes it even better is that I took off my headphones knowing that  this is one of those records that I will enjoy more and more with each listen.

Kendrick has found that perfect middle ground between pouring out hundreds of dense, intricate bars  (which rap purists love) and making tracks with infectious hooks over complimentary  beats (which causal listeners love).  This is by no means an easy feat--some of my favorite rappers have never been able to put this together in their entire careers, let alone on their first LP.

Even more impressive is that this album doesn't succeed by playing it safe. On the contrary, good Kid, m.A.A.d. City succeeds by deftly executing risky decisions. Featuring story tracks about topics ranging from inner-turmoil and self-consciousness to murder and alcoholism, it never feels sluggish, despite the fact that many tracks last longer than five minutes. The production is superb, paying homage to the west-coat vets that paved the way while having a decidedly forward-thinking inclination. The bars are sharp and the lasting message of the album is poignant without being preachy. This LP is impressive in both scope and delivery. In short, it is a great freshman release.
Shit, it's just a great release--no modifiers needed.

The Black Keys and Rza "The Baddest Man Alive"

Perfect.

Mean Creek Youth Companion LP

I dropped by Newbury Comics and picked up the new Mean Creek LP Youth Companion. 
I am happy to hear that one of Boston's best bands has put out a strong record.

I'm a huge fan of "The Reason Why" and "The Comedian" which round out the record. Check out the latter below, as well as some of their other work at their bandcamp. And buy the record, ya stingy bastards.

Krill

These guys are gonna be playing with TOPS at Lilypad in Cambridge on Sunday night. As fate would have it, I don't work Monday. Future, meet plans.

TOPS "Double Vision Home Movie"

This is pretty great:



Be sure to check the Bandcamp

Ryan Hemsworth FACT mix 352

Get like me and download this fucking amazing mix by Ryan Hemsworth for FACT Magazine.

PVT "Shiver"

This track, along with "Nightfall", is making a strong case as to why I should buy this LP when it drops.

Local Natives "Breakers"

Waiting for my words to catch 

like I'm trying to strike a match 

that's soaking wet

see through skulls see through skin

leave all the lights on

you cant see out but they can see in

Indians "Cakelakers"

A perfect song for autumn:

Die Antwoord "Fatty Boom Boom"

While you and I were working our 9 to 5s, Die Antwoord were making this:

DJ Muggs "Dank"

Hell, yeah.

Check this new DJ Muggs track below and download the EP here.

Fleetwood Mac "Tusk"

If you're in a marching band and you aren't playing "Tusk" as a part of your set, shame on you.

Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr. could have never made an album after Green Mind and they would have been golden in my book. But, 21 years after that release, they dropped I Bet on Sky and it is magnificent.

"See it on Your Side"

Some Thoughts on Pusha T

I finally got around to listening to G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer LP. It's tight, but you knew that. Kanye's beats are fucking stupid good, but you knew that. That's not why you're here. You're here to read about how awesome I think Pusha T is (unless you're my girlfriend, in which case you're sick of hearing me talk about it).

Listening to this LP, I  was again reminded how much I love Pusha T. He isn't my favorite rapper of all time, but he may be the coolest rapper of all time. The moment you hear that ugchkk you know some dope shit is about to happen. He commands attention and fulfills the expectations with his punch lines every. single. time.

Whereas Kanye is sure to sprinkle in some cubic zirconias with his gems, Pusha T keeps his sixteens as flawlesss as the diamonds on his Audemars Piguet. Case in point:

Photek "Pyramid"

Big Sant and Big K.R.I.T. "Say That Shit"

Goose down overcoat cussin' like a sailor

Radiohead - Kid A

Radiohead is regarded as one of the greatest bands of the last twenty years all time. Saying you don't like Radiohead, in certain circles, is social suicide. Trust me, I know. I've had my wrists slit on more than one occasion. When the topic of Radiohead arises, I usually scoff, mutter something about how they are overrated, and begin slinging ad-hominems at the one who was praising. (Depending on how drunk I am, muttering and slinging are sometimes replaced with shouting and slurring.)

Then, this weekend, it finally clicked.

I listened to Kid A and got it. It was like Saul being converted to Paul.

Maybe I just wasn't in the right state of mind on my previous listens.
Maybe I just hadn't heard enough music to appreciate it.
Maybe I'm just older and wiser.
Whatever the case may be...I can finally say I get why people love this band.
I don't love them--I'm far from that--but at least now I can understand why others do. By that, I mean the likelihood of me screaming at someone for fawning over Thom Yorke and Co. has drastically decreased.  Babysteps, amiright?

Don't get any ideas, Ani Defranco. Your music will always be whack to me. Shots fired!*

*at, like, twenty crunchy baristas

Yo La Tengo

The great part about listening to music is that there will always be more to listen to.
There are always prominent, genius artists that I haven't yet had the privilege of experiencing.
Like Yo La Tengo, for example. Why had I never listened to their work before now?
I'm currently working my way through I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. It's pretty great.
Damn, 90's college rock was the shit. I was born ten years too late.

Titus Andronicus "Still Life with Hot Deuce and Silver Platter"

After the Gaslight Anthem record debacle of 2012, Titus Andronicus are primed to be the best band in Jersey. This track, shifting towards a more americana feel, shows why.

How to Get Ahead in the Blogospheric Era

There are three routes to gaining notoriety in the frenetic, fragmented Blogospheric Era:

1) Be reckless and ever-present. This is an old-school approach that has been adopted by musicians for years, in the form of getting arrested for public nudity, smashing up hotel rooms, and doing heaps of cocaine. This method worked for David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and Madonna as much as it does for the current enthusiasts Kanye West, Lady Gaga and Madonna. Take to twitter. Make outlandish public statements. Wear dresses made of meat. Create controversies where they don't exist. Be rebellious.
Be consciously provocative

2)Have a great origin story. Robert Johnson allegedly sold his sold to the devil in exchange for guitar chops. Justin Vernon went to a cabin and recorded on a 4 track during a fever-dream of influenza and heartache. Willis Earl Beal tried out for the X-factor and lived in his grandma's basement. Washed Out is from Georgia.

3) Be mysterious. In an era where 99% of  information is at your fingertips, being the 1% captivates. Wu Lyf didn't release a picture for months (1970s equivalent--3 years). No one knows the true identity of Captain Murphy. MF DOOM has pissed off many an audience by having phonies perform instead of he at many shows. The newest addition to this ever-growing list of mystery artists is called The Child of Lov. The song is called "Heal".

How To Dress Well At Brighton Music Hall

I saw How To Dress Well play on Sunday night at Brighton Music Hall in Allston. It was the single most moving performance I have ever witnessed. It was life-affirming. It was the closest thing I will ever have to a religious experience.

Some takeaways:

• The projected videos shown throughout the show were crafted perfectly for the live versions of each track. Krell and Co. incorporated the visuals expertly throughout the set--(pauses in sound were synced with pauses in video, Krell's emotions were imitated on the screen, etc.) One particularly striking moment came when, after a pregnant pause, Krell clapped in perfect harmony with the shift in video to black, only for the screen to flash to white imagery as the song climaxed.
• Much like Tom Krell, the performance held the perfect blend of being taken very seriously by the artist while not making you feel like you had to be impressed. It was laid-back but very well rehearsed.
• The live version of 'Ready For the World" was fantastic. The first verse heavily featured the violin which, along with the articulated vocals, made it feel like you were seeing an old friend for the first time in years. The second verse was the cover of R.Kelly's "I Wish" and the third was sung over a dance remix to the track. 
• "Set it Right" will forever live in my mind. Krell singing "..i miss you" to a crowd that was so enamored you could hear a pin drop was breathtaking. And then the bass dropped. The floor literally rumbled as Krell Diva'd out his vocals and my jaw hit the floor. Amazing. 
• Krell came back for the encore to do an impromptu, a capella cover of Xix Xiu's "Clowne Towne". As he began his falsetto, a pool table could be heard releasing balls for a new game. As he started into "Decisions"--now having walked away from the microphone entirely-the faint clanking of billiards shots could be heard in the background as the crowd watched in utter silence. It was surreal. It will never be duplicated. It is the very reason I go to concerts.

Jay-z Live Tonight on Youtube

Jay-z is streaming his last concert of the Barclays Center christening tonight at 9:30. If you need me, I'll be on my couch, hunched over my laptop.

Also, this is pretty great:

Baauer "Dum Dum"

Young Marble Giants "Salad Days"

Think of salad days
they were folly and fun 
they were good
they were young

Beer in the Hand™: Book Recommendation Edition

Beer in the Hand™ to Rob Sheffield for his book Talking to Girls about Duran Duran.

It is quintessential Rob Sheffield--heartfelt, hilarious and full of information.

I was afraid that this book would crumble under my unreasonably high expectations, as I adore Sheffield's previous memoir Love is a Mixtape. I am pleased to report that I  am halfway through the book and it is holding up with Atlas-like strength (Shrug-free, might I add. Fuck you, Ayn Rand). I am loving every page of it.

Check it out.

GWAR Covers Kansas

This is fucking epic.

As part of AV Club's excellent Undercover Series, GWAR takes on Kansas' "Carry on My Wayward Son". The results are everything you would hope they would be.


GWAR covers Kansas 

Stereogum Rates Jay-z Albums

Stereogum has compiled a list of Jay-z albums from worst to best.

I think they have it wrong.

How can Vol.3 really be above Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint and Black Album? I'm dumbfounded.

My top 5 goes as follows:

5. Vol.2...A Hard Knock Life
4. Watch the Throne
3. The Blueprint
2. Reasonable Doubt
1. The Black Album 

Depending on the day, one might rise or a drop a spot. On no day does Vol.3 come into the top 5. Never. Not even once.

AraabMuzik "Runway Bass"

You are now listening to AraabMuzik

Death Grips "No Love"

Shit is crazy and amazing. And crazy amazing.

It is ridiculous that we live in a country where you can turn on prime time television and see countless acts of violence but you can't show a penis on the cover of an album without people freaking out about it.

Love to Death Grips-- I love 'em to death.

Yuna "Lullabies" (Jim-E Stack Remix)

Shelter Point "Braille"

Don't worry I'll be there
the air you breathe
Don't worry I'll be there 
The sights you see

>

YOUNG & SICK "House of Spirits"

Like a foggy walk home from the bar at midnight.

AlunaGeorge "Watching Over You"

MarioandRnBandupside-downtunnelsandCaptain Planetandpuresex.

LOL Boys "Changes" (CFCF Remix)

Things won't change until we do
Things won't change until we do

The Sinclair

I just heard about this new venue, The Sinclair, opening up in Boston Cambridge and I'm pretty excited about it. Especially because the upcoming shows include Titus Andronicus, The Dirty Guv'nahs and Death Grips.

The Mats Getting the Band Back Together

According to the n00b paper-blog The Rolling Stone, Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg have gotten together and recorded some cover songs  for the benefit of Slim Dunlap.

That's pretty great news. The Replacements are one of the bands that I picture being able to pull off the aging-rocker thing that has eluded lesser men since the dawn of time the 1970's.
I hope this collaboration is a sign that they will re-unite for another record because that record would be great. I don't know why I am so certain, but I know that I mean it.

Every. Single. Day.

Every day for the last two months one song has popped in my head.
It is the worst and best part of my day.
It symbolizes both the banal repetition of my life and the random inner workings of my mind.
It is saccharine and over-produced and decidedly 90's.
Its is as overwrought as it is catchy.
It is way too fucking long.
It is the best song that was never made from the fictional, gay love-child of Michael McDonald and Lindsey Buckingham.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn