Riff Raff on Selector

I can't say that I'm a fan of dude's music, but watching this video makes me confident that I would love to chill with Riff Raff.

T.I. featuring Andre 3000 "Sorry"

If it has Andre 3000, it is an automatic Beer in the Hand ­™.

Evy Jane "Nothing So Great"

Evy Jane does a great performance over at Yourstru.ly.  This rendition of "Nothing So Great" invokes an image of a car wreck on Christmas Eve, with a man stumbling away from the wreckage and watching the bloody drip of his nose mix with the falling snow.  Feeling  dazed, scared and fragile, he takes a seat on the sidewalk.

Paste Magazine's 50 Best Albums

For some reason, (most likely to be FIRST!!!), blogs and magazines begin releasing "Best of 2012" lists in November.  Here is Paste's 50 Best. 

I would like to take the moment to give the credit that was lost as a casualty to this FIRST!!!ness to The Roots' Undun. 

50 Grimes – Visions
49 Kelly Hogan – I Like To Keep Myself In Pain
48 Lord Huron – Lonesome Dreams
47 Baroness – Yellow and Green
46 Damien Jurado – Maraqopa
45 Punch Brothers – Who’s Feeling Young Now?
44 Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
43 Stars – The North
42 Bettye LaVette – Thankful N’ Thoughtful
41 Of Monsters And Men – My Head is an Animal
40 Todd Snider – Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
39 Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
38 Dr. John – Locked Down
37 Shovels & Rope – O Be Joyful
36 Cat Power – Sun
35 King Tuff – King Tuff
34 Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory
33 Howler – America Give Up
32 Woods – Bend Beyond
31 The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
30 David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant
29 Killer Mike – R.A.P Music
28 Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits
27 John K. Samson – Provincial
26 Bob Dylan – Tempest
25 Grizzly Bear – Shields
24 Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now
23 Jens Lekman – I Know What Love Isn’t
22 Hospitality – Hospitality
21 The Lumineers – The Lumineers
20 The Mountain Goats – Transcendental Youth
19 Rufus Wainwright – Out Of The Game
18 Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city
17 Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself
16 Tame Impala – Lonerism
15 Jack White – Blunderbuss
14 The Walkmen – Heaven
13 The Shins – Port Of Morrow
12 El-P – Cancer 4 Cure
11 The Men – Open Your Heart
10 First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
09 Beach House – Bloom
08 Japandroids – Celebration Rock
07 Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
06 Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls
05 Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
04 Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel …
03 Titus Andronicus – Local Business
02 Father John Misty – Fear Fun
01 Frank Ocean – Channel Orange

Death Grips Discuss Their Future

Death Grips talk about what's next (Via Pitchfork)

Big Boi "In the A" featuring T.I. and Ludacris

Awww, yeahhhh.

Dr. Cornel West

I recently finished Cornel West's Democracy Matters and was pleased to discover that he was so deeply affected by music. Throughout the book, West cites the blue, jazz and hip-hop as being important players in his conception of democracy and, by extension, his philosophy.

In this clip from Examined Life, Dr. West speaks about Truth, with his section on music coming in at the 6 minute mark.

Lil' Wayne Plots Retirement

Word on the street is, Lil' Wayne is retiring after the release of The Carter V.

Let that sink in.

Now, COMPOSE YOURSELF! Stop screaming "Why, Tunechi, WHY?!?" and give the man time to explain what is compelling him to leave.

1. He has been rapping since he was eight. "That's a long time", said Lil' Weezy.

2. He is a man that wants to pursue other things. On what he plans on doing after retirement, per The Examiner:

“I’d be a skater/sports analyst” he said of an ideal future profession. “My day job will probably be sports analyst and I’ll skate all night instead of being in the studio all night.”


*Wayne also added "I'll also take a lot of shits. I love that shit. Haha, that wasn't even meant to be a joke. I just like shit--anything to do with it. Maybe I'll be a janitor." He looked off pensively before adding, "Nah, I got toilets in my crib, I'll just shit there." If Lil' Wayne's lyrics are to be believed, he indeed has ten bathrooms and can shit all day. 


*I made this part up, but I'm pretty sure it played a huge role in his decision to retire.

WU LYF Break Up

I haven't been keeping up on music news, with family and Thanksgiving and whatnot consuming all of my time. So, imagine my surprise when I see a headline saying one of my favorite bands has broken up. WU LYF have gone on to greener pastures. Godspeed, fellas. I hardly knew ya. Read more here.

In memoriam:

Himanshu - Wild Water Kingdom

For me, there has always existed a Matt Damon/Ben Affleck dynamic to Das Racist. The same type of presumption that (speciously) suspected Matt Damon was the real mind behind GoodWill Hunting leads me to believe that Himanshu is the real mind behind Das Racist, with Kool A.D. just playing a complementary, coat-tails-riding Ben Affleck role. Now, I know this is untrue--a listen to Palm Wine Drunkard shows that Victor has bars (albeit weird fucking bars). This doesn't stop me from being more excited about a release from Heems than Kool A.D.  And with greater expectations comes a greater potential for failure--which is why Wild Water Kingdom is impressive. It is exactly what I thought it would be.

Heems goes Beast Mode/Lebron vs. the Celtics on this mixtape. His bars have never been so consistently sharp. He also does a great job selecting the production on this one (almost exclusively from his boys, of course) to highlight his razor-sharp tongue. 

Himanshu, like Jonah Hill, seems to squirm when pegged as the "funny guy" and has actively tried breaking from this mold. With Wild Water Kingdom, Hima crystallizes a perfect display of his manifold qualities--the funny dude, the politically minded, the pop-culture obsessed, the hip-hop scholar, the social commentator, the word play god, the nu-90's flow ambassador--which proves to be an exciting listen. 

Oh, and he has come up with the best ad-lib since Gucci Mane's "burr" with "Heemaaaa"

Cloud Nothings "Stay Useless" Live

Shouts to La Blogotheque and PitchforkTV for this one of Cloud Nothings rocking out in an abandonded train.

Is it just me, or does Dylan Baldi's voice sound particularly good on this?

Action Bronson's Album Art is Amazing

Kendrick Lamar - The Jig is Up

Word play all day. Bars over everything. Fuck Shyne.

Alt-J and Moutain Man "Buffalo"

I am here 
after 
swallowing 
up surprise

Don Trip - Help is on the Way

About a year or so ago ( i dunno, mind slips me) I downloaded Don Trip and Starlito's Stepbrothers mixtape and found a couple of southern stars-in-the-making. Much like that mixtape, Don Trip's newest output  Help is on the Way makes up for its lows by having nosebleed-inducing highs.

While there are far, far too many R & B/ gangsta-emo tracks, they are made up for by tracks like "All On Me", where Don Trip uses his scorched earth vocals to bridge the gap between the introspectively tender lyrics and the irascible Boi 1da beat.

Keep an eye out (like aye aye captain) for Monsieur Trip in the future. Check the mixtape below, or download it for yourself wherever fine mixtapes are hosted.

The Babies "Get Lost"

So, that Kanye remix was a little disappointing.

Luckily, I found a pleasant surprise with The Babies.  Comprised of one member each of Woods and Vivian Girls, respectively, The Babies pumped out a nice new-age, nostalgia-tinged, blog-tastic americana gem with "Get Lost".  Hopefully, the rest of the album is just as good.

Rihanna "Diamonds Remix" by Kanye West

Full disclosure: I didn't even listen to this track before posting. This is how confident I am in the genius of Kanye West. When I see a Pitchfork headline imploring me to listen to a 'Ye remix of  Rihanna track, I immediately say "Yes, please" and post the link for posterity purposes. This is just one of the rules of my life. You're welcome, I'm sure.

Sebastian Schuller "Nightlife"

Good song. Better video. Shouts to Emily Kai Bock and Evan Profosky for making another gem.
 

Memory Tapes "Neighborhood Watch"

So hold your breath
no more use in saving face
What did you say?
This isn't life
at least its not our own
so wear me down till there's nothing at all 

Christopher Owens Announces Tour

Christopher Owens is comin' to Boston in January. Fuck yeah. Check out the other dates here.

Ke$ha Covers Bob Dylan

Ke$ha does a solid "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" cover

Nardwuar and Waka Flocka

'Bout damn time. The ultimate Beer in the Hand ™ man Nardwuar nerds out and interviews Waka Flocka Flame:

Spirit Spine - Atlantic Downs

This Spirit Spine character is good at making music.

Chris Brown Promotion

These were posted in Stockholm in "promotion" of an upcoming Chris Brown concert, just in case anyone felt like giving money to a complete piece shit who happens to be able to dance.

Charli XCX Super Ultra Mixtape

Super Ultra is the follow up to the excellent Heartbreaks and Earthquakes mixtape released earlier this year by the English angel Charli XCX.  Download it for free at her website. Below is her take on one of the best tracks of the year, How to Dress Well's "Cold Nites".

Gucci Mane - Intro

First song off Gucci's latest mixtape Trap God

Big Boi ft. A$AP Rocky and Phantogram "Lines"

If the headline doesn't get you excited, you're in the wrong place.  So fucking hot.

King Krule "Rock Bottom" Video

One of my favorite songs of the year gets a video:

The XX at House of Blues

I saw The XX at the House of Blues a few weeks ago.

I'm not in the mood to do a full Beer in the Hand or Beer in the Face™ , but overall, I'd give this one a  Beer in the Hand. But a domestic, bottled beer. Nothing too fancy.
A few thoughts

• The XX have clearly gotten more comfortable playing live since their first tour of the states, but they are still just standing onstage playing songs almost identically to how they sound on the record--nothing extraordinary, really. The concert is really just listening to the songs with a bunch of people around. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
• Chairlift was good live.
• Don't come to a god damned concert and take pictures of yourself the entire time. Christ on a fuckin' cracker, do people have no manners anymore? This country is going to hell in a handbasket! 
• I stopped complaining about the HOB for a few minutes and decided to appreciate what it has to offer--its a really nice venue. I'm spoiled.

Daughn Gibson - All Hell

When I first heard the singles from Daughn Gibson's All Hell earlier this year, I wrote it off as too derivative--why wouldn't I just listen to Johnny Cash, I thought.

Oh, younger me. You were so stupid.

All Hell is a hell of an LP. With a voice alternating between Johnny Cash and dude from Merchandise, Gibson puts a modern twist on a timeless sound. (I know that the previous eight words can be used to describe just about every good record this year, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. It's a sign of the times, really. I'm gonna reserve the rest of this thought for a later date)

So, after being so impressed with this album, I began to wonder why I didn't like Gibson initially. He's signed to a label I love, has gotten patted on the back from all of my favorite tastemakers, and even has a great origin story. How could this happen? I have three theories:

1) Sometimes in my musical life, I need a primer. King Dude was the perfect primer for Daughn Gibson. Previously disregarded as too derivative, I listened to Gibson's All Hell with a completely new perspective after listening to Love earlier tonight.

2) Timing is everything. Maybe when I heard some tracks earlier this year, the stars weren't aligned, my chi wasn't centered, I hadn't gotten laid recently, I just wasn't ready for it.

3) The wrong first song.  I have completely written off albums--nay!--musical careers, because the first song I heard left a sour taste in my mouth. In this instance, I believe it was "Rain on the Highway" which, while is great as a part of the album, left me thinking his style was going to be redundant and derivative. Dumb.

Check out "Lookin' Back on '99",which beats out every Chromatics track for my selection of what will soundtrack a montage at the the end of a heist movie when the characters have split up and are trying to elude the police.

King Dude - Love

King Dude's LP Love is a wonderful debut. Go buy this record.

Toro Y Moi and Hodgy Beats "So Many Details Remix"

Bespectacled chill-wave god Toro Y Moi gets blessed by Hodgy Beats on this remix to "So Many Details"

Joey Bada$$ and the Roots Crew

Kendrick Lamar

I've been listening to Kendrick Lamar almost exclusively this last week. This album is even better than I'd thought initially.
I can't help but think with every listen "Who has the imagination to make a record like this?"

Alt-J win the Mercury Prize

Yezzir.

Epic Records Drops Death Grips

Good. Fuck 'em.