Peace, sorry i’ve been slacking…this has been a very rough few weeks, particularly this past one.
Anyways, here is a really cool interview with Emile [who produced “In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)”, “Soundtrack 2 My Life”, “Solo Dolo (Nightmare”), and "CuDi Zone" on KiD CuDi's Man On The Moon album]. He actually goes through and you can listen to the track as he talks about making it.

Most of the time it was just CuDi and him in the studio, he started playing with some sounds until CuDi heard something he liked, then he started building chords and etc. with CuDi right there vibing with him.
I think this process is really rad, and extremely telling of the kind of music and entire album they made. That’s such an organic way of making music, which has become unorthodox in today’s internet-industry. I would love to see more artists work like this…I think we would hear even better music from some artists than we do now. This is how Kanye has done most of his albums (most notably 808’s and Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3).

On another note…I think i’m gonna try to start posting a “Song of the Week.” Partly 1. because I want to start keeping track of random mp3s that i dig on for a few days then forget about, and partly 2. because i want those of you who don’t really spread your musical listening horizons very far, i think you might be interested in some shit i rock. I sort of like to think I spread my horizons quite deep. So be on the lookout for that. So…

Take care ya’ll…I’ll be around.
Peace, and feel the love.

Complex has an interview with Kid Cudi’s co-manager, Emile, who also produced most of Cudi’s album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day.

Complex also did an interview with Ratatat, on the two tracks they produced on Cudi’s album.

Source: CtotheJL

The man sometimes referred to as “The Urban Gentleman” has previously worked with Raekwon (”Ice Water”) and Obie Trice (”Wanna Know”), but it’s with Cudi’s project that Emile is truly making a name for himself. After producing the majority of the A Kid Named Cudi mixtape with Plain Pat, Emile shifted his focus to work on Cudi’s studio album. (The trio have since started their own indie label, Dream On.) On Man On The Moon, Emile’s touch is apparent from start to finish—he produced “In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem),” “Soundtrack 2 My Life,” Solo Dolo (Nightmare),” and “CuDi Zone.” In this exclusive interview, Emile breaks down how each track came to fruition, and also talks about the first night he met Cudi…

Read more @ Complex

“Au grand jour, ils passaient comme une bande de nègres culbutés dans de la vase.”

__

“Que de misère! Et toutes ces filles, éreintées de fatigue, qui étaient encore assez bêtes, le soir, pour fabriquer des petits, de la chair à travail et à souffrance! Jamais Ça ne finirait, si elles s’emplissaient toujours de meurt-de-faim.Est-ce qu’elles n’auraient pas dû plutôt se boucher le ventre, serrer les cuisses, ainsi qu’à l’approche du malheur?”

Pursuit of Happiness teams Kid Cudi up with Ratatat & MGMT taken from Cudi’s major label debut album Man on the Moon: End of Day which is due in stores (9-15-09).

Pursuit of Happiness – Kid Cudi Feat. MGMT & Ratatat

Rapper: Kid Cudi
Label: Dream On
Release: 2009

Act I: The End of Day
1. “In My Dreams” – 8.7
2. “Soundtrack 2 My Life” – 9.1
3. “Simple As” – 9.5

Act II: Rise of the Night Terrors
4. “Solo Dolo” – 9.4
5. “Heart of a Lion” – 9.2
6. “My World” – 9.5

Act III: Taking a Trip
7. “Day N’ Nite” – 9.6
8. “Sky Might Fall” – 9.0
9. “Enter Galactic” – 8.4

Act IV: Stuck
10. “Alive” – 9.8
11. “Cudi Zone” – 9.3
12. “Make Her Say” – 8.8
13. “Pursuit of Happiness” – 9.7

Act V: A New Beginning
14. “Hyyerr” – 8.9
15. “Up Up & Away” – 9.6

Comments: Woah! That’s right I just decided to review a rap album. This album is more than just rap though. There’s a lot of electro, a lot of psychedelia, and a lot of mainstream hip hop. Cudi does not lack talent. He might just be the top rapper out there today. Emile, who produced four tracks, is really sharp on those tracks. Kanye West failed to meet my expectations, but still is decent on this. The two jams that feature Ratatat are the best in my opinion. Really really awesome. The last track is awesome too.

Final Grade: 9.2

KiD CuDi’s album, Man on The Moon: End of Day will be dropping September 15th. Yes, I’ve already listened to the album in it’s entirety. Yes, I will be copping come it’s release because after my second listen, I think we have a modern classic on our hands…

Download: Alive (Ft. Ratatat) – KiD CuDi
Download: Soundtrack 2 My Life (Prod. Emile) – KiD CuDi

Another album trailer can be peeped under the jump…

Sigh… First Blueprint 3, then Cuban Linx 2, now End of Day. I’m still holding out ’til the 15th and buying that hard copy. For those who can’t wait: hit up Google.
Third track on Man on the Moon, produced by Emile. You might recognize this flow as the controversial “written” Cudder did when he was on 106 & Park with Kanye.

Kid Cudi – Soundtrack 2 My Life

What’s this?! What’s this!? Is this a CDQ leak of one of my, personally, most anticipated songs off one of the most anticipated albums of the year, Man on the Moon: the End of Day? Yeah, this is “Soundtrack 2 My Life”. Sounds extremely good. Make sure to check this out. Emile on production.

Enjoy!

Kid Cudi – Soundtrack 2 My Life

Kid Cudi’s debut album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day drops on September 15th.  This is something you definitely need to go out and get.

ACT 1 – THE END OF DAY:
1. In My Dreams (Cudder anthem)*
Produced by Emile
2. Soundtrack 2 My Life*
Produced by Emile
3. Simple as…*
Produced by Plain Pat

ACT 2 – RISE OF THE NIGHT TERROR:
4. Solo Dolo (nightmare)*
Produced by Emile
5. Heart of a Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)
Produced by Free School
6. My World Feat. Bill Cravens*
Produced by Plain Pat, Jeff Bhasker

ACT 3: TAKING A TRIP
7. Day N Nite
Produced by Dot Da Genius
8. Sky Might Fall*
Produced by Kanye West
Co-Produced by Kid Cudi
9. Enter Galactic
Produced by Mat Friedman of ILLFONICS

ACT 4 – STUCK:
10. Alive (nightmare) Feat. RATATAT*
Produced by RATATAT
11. Cudi Zone*
Produced by Emile
12. Make Her Say
Produced by Kanye West
13. Pursuit of Happiness (nightmare) Feat. MGMT & RATATAT*
Produced by RATATAT

ACT 5 – A NEW BEGINNING
14. Hyyer Feat. Chip The Ripper*
Produced by Crada for Motion Music
15. Up Up & Away*
Produced by Free School

Man. It’s nice to see how Cudi is sticking with the dudes who have been with him since the beginning, despite his major label status. This is gonna be an interesting record.

Kid Cudi – mixtapes

Kid Cudi – Dat Kid From Cleveland

Download mixtape – Kid Cudi – Dat Kid From Cleveland

Kid Cudi - Dat Kid From Cleveland

Kid Cudi – Dat Kid From Cleveland

Kid Cudi - Dat Kid From Cleveland - Tracks

Kid Cudi mixtape – A Kid Named Cudi

Download mixtape – A Kid Named Cudi

Kid Cudi - A Kid Named Cudi

Download mixtape – A Kid Named Cudi

Kid Cudi - A Kid Named Cudi - Tracks

Easily my favourite out of the seven shorts featured over the last week, what is it they say? Save the best till last! Burn-E is a short that was released with the DVD version of Wall-E and interlinks with scenes from the actual film. Any fan of Wall-E, or rather animation or any of the Pixar shorts featured this week will love this.

]]> http://matthewceo.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/pixar-week-day-6-presto/ Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:04:15 +0000 matthewceo http://matthewceo.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/pixar-week-day-6-presto/

The man that needs no introduction; Presto.

It may be apparent from the name, that this short was released with Ratatouille. Being roughly 10 minute long, and not of the best quality, it’s perfectly understandable if you prefer not to watch this short, but it’s rather humorous and you may even learn a thing or two. Remy and Emile tell their tale of how they came to be.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is one of the most loved children’s books of all time. Many in the fi lm industry considered it “unadaptable to the big screen” but the fi lm adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze, was a feast for my adult brain and a flashback to my childhood.

The text of the book is only nine sentences long so turning it into a movie was totally different than adapting something like the latest from Dan Brown or Harry Potter. Like the book, the movie is out of the ordinary, but in a different way. The movie is made for a more mature audience than the book, but it stays true to its roots.

Sendak, one of the producers of the film, personally chose Spike Jonze to direct the fi lm after watching Being John Malkovich. The author/producer felt that Jonze could “connect with his original vision for the fi lm adaptation”. Sendak was right to put his trust in Jonze. Sendak says his books are “all variations on the same theme: how children master various feelings”. Sitting in the theater felt like reconnecting with the experiences I had as a child (the book was one of personal favourites from back in the day). The movie discusses important issues of family, belonging, anger, and companionship. The balancing act of appealing to both young and old puts strain on the fi lm but in the end it was profoundly moving and thought provoking.

Although the movie feels like its for an older audience it stays true to its child at heart roots. The monsters are scary but real and the way they interact and learn is what puts a whole other layer on the movie. Book reviewer Francis Spufford described the book as “one of the very few picture books to make and entirely deliberate and beautiful, use of the psychoanalytic story of anger.” The movie encapsulates this use.

The most striking theme of the movie was family. In the book the focus is more on tribes but as one reads more about the original book one begins to understand Sendak’s familial theme. The original concept for the book featured horses instead of monsters. Sendak could not draw horses, so he used caricatures of his aunts and uncles, whom he had studied critically in his youth as an escape from their weekly visits to his family’s Brooklyn home. For the opera version Sendak gave the monsters the names of his relatives: Tzippy, Moishe, Aaron, Emile, and Bernard. In the movie their names are different.

The soundtrack was the one disappointing part for me. It felt intrusive on some moments where the feelings from the scenes didn’t match the jarring music playing in the background.

The movie was truly different and does deserve the unprecedented hype it has received. I highly recommend it, especially if you have read the book to a child or as a child.

Where the Wild Things Are stars Max Records as ‘Max’, Catherine Keener as his mother, while James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano and Forest Whitaker provide the voices of the Wild Things. The screenplay was adapted by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers.

-Kemp Edmonds (BCIT Alumni)