So I did not know this but Beck has been posting acoustic versions of his songs from Modern Guilt. Which is awesome considering that on a few songs from that album you can not understand what he is saying. So now the songs are stripped of all the electronic craziness and are pure allowing for you to hear the stuff he wants to lay down. He is also supposed to release a limited edition EP with the acoustic tracks which is very exciting. I personally prefer the acoustic version of almost any song over its over produced counter part. Must be the song writer in me.

I use the word “best” to describe my favorite 5 bands/artists of the 2000s because I respect my own opinion that much. I don’t really expect you to show it the same respect. Regardless, these are the 5 best bands and artists of the 2000s in no particular order. What you’ll find is the artist name and the albums they’ve released during this decade. Which amazingly enough is drawing awfully close to it’s end. We’ve only got about a year and a half left until the “tens”?

RADIOHEAD (Kid A, Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows.)

OK, there is some order to my first listing. I think Radiohead is the best band of this decade. Amazingly enough they were also the best band of the 1990s on the strength of OK Computer & The Bends (nevermind Pablo Honey.)

There hasn’t been a band as consistently awesome Radiohead since The Beatles broke up. They don’t seem capable of making a bad album at this point. And their very best albums (Kid A & In Rainbows) set the standard. In my view they are very likely the best two albums of the decade.

BECK (Sea Changes, Guero, The Information, Modern Guilt)

Beck is another one of the top artists of the ’90s that has kept it rocking into the 21st century. In fact I think at this point I’d take his ’00s output over his ’90s (although it was really great too.) I’m not a huge fan of Guero (although it has it’s moments) but the other 3 albums he’s released this decade (include this year’s Modern Guilt) are all excellent.

AKRON/FAMILY (Akron/Family,Meek Warrior,Love Is Simple)

I must particularly recommend their debut self titled album Akron/Family released in 2005. Meek Warrior was actually somewhat of a disappointment for me (although like Beck’s Guero it has it’s moments.) But their most recent album Love Is Simple is a great trip that I do recommend. They are also really excellent live.

Here’s a song with, believe it or not, a catchy beat that makes the song fantastic! And it is coupled with one of the best music videos I’ve ever seen with my own two eyes! Here’s Beck’s Youthless, from his latest album, ‘Modern Guilt’. Available Now.

Après de longues et éprouvantes révision -plus éprouvantes que les exams même-, je peux enfin m’étendre les doigts de pied en éventail sans me sentir coupable.

Hier Reda Allali (chanteur de Hoba Hoba) faisait remarquer à la radio que “Le Rock’n'Roll n’a plus de nationalité. Il n’est plus anglais, ni américain”. Jusque là pas de quoi allumer un pétard. Il ajoute : “Preuve en est les bréziliens Tito and Tarantula et leur Rock crasseux. Fermez les yeux et imaginez vous de grosses motos double cylindres, des bonshommes à moustaches et de longues routes cheminant dans le désert.” L’aspect motard et veste en cuir est pas visible dans tous leurx morceaux par contre. Il faut recourir à leur Myspace vu que je n’arrive pas à trouver des vidéos correctes sur Youtube.

Finalement c’est rassurant de voir qu’un peu partout dans le monde le virus du rock commence à se propager. Peut être pas aussi vite que la grippe porcine mais ça avance.

Pour les gens qui sont enfermés dans un abri nucléaire sur la planète Mars mais qui ont quand même l’accès internet pour atterrir sur mon blog, jetez un oeil à Dark Night of The Soul le dernier album de Danger Mouse. Tout le monde parle de leur tentative de “révolutionner la vente de disques”. En effet la totalité de l’album est téléchargeable gratuitement ici. Et histoire de pouvoir se payer ses lunettes de soleil class le gars met en vente une pochette d’album contenant un CD vierge (à vous de graver) et un livre de photos d’une centaine de pages. L’ensemble est plutôt sympa et on compte la participation de Julian Casablancas (le génialissime chanteur des Strokes), Iggy Pop et The Flaming Lips.

Little Girl – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse et Julian Casablancas
Just War – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse et Gruff Rhys

Pour ceux que ça intéresse Danger Mouse avait également sorti un album pirate à présent introuvable The Grey Album remix du Black Album de Jay-Z et du White Album des Beatles. Jay-Z est plutôt cool mais la major détenant les droits d’auteur des Beatles a pris ça assez mal. Danger Mouse est également le producteur de Gorillaz et du Modern Guilt de Beck entre autres.

Petite playlist du moment : click click
Des trucs à peu près énergiques parce que c’est l’été, des trucs plus relax parce qu’il faut bien faire bronzette, un peu de Eels et de Nouvelle Vague pour fêter leur nouvel album réspectif…

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It should come as no surprise to anyone that Beck Hansen is pretty excited to be free of the shackles of a major record label.  Indeed, the artist known as Beck has fulfilled his contract with the release of his eighth major label studio release, last year’s solid Modern Guilt. 

In fact, while his career may have lost some mainstream momentum in the 15 years since his Loser days, the reality is that the output on those albums has ranged from consistent to amazing even as he’s slowly morphed into an elder statesman for indie musicians.

Beck

And now, on the precipice of his 39th birthday and in the unique position of enjoying the creative freedom that most musicians envy, Beck has launched something called Record Club at beck.com.

I’m not exactly clear on how this works or what the plan is for his Record Club sessions, but the news hit the web today in a big way (click here for the link to Rolling Stone’s story).

Best I can figure out, he and his friends will be re-recording classic albums and then streaming the audio and video at his website.  At this writing, he’s got a great version of “Sunday Morning” available on the site, apparently foreshadowing the future appearance of his cover versions of the rest of the classic, The Velvet Underground and Nico.

I’m all for this Record Club project, with its interesting insight into Beck’s pastiche of musical influences and current accomplices, and I look forward to experiencing the music in whatever form Beck chooses to deliver it.

But I hope that Beck doesn’t forget about creating some new material soon to add to his own growing legacy.  Whatever Record Club offers as a way for him to purge the last vestiges of his major label experience, I certainly expect it to manifest itself into something at least as original and lasting as everything that has preceded it.

Talking with some friends recently while looking back in time at some of the bigger solo acts of certain decades, we wondered where our david bowie or bob dylan was.  Please don’t tell us the 2000’s will be remembered for the rise and fall of Britney.  We want another rise and fall of ziggy stardust.  That is, where have all the innovative, game-changing pioneers gone?  Speaking specifically of solo artists, we could think of very few pop(py) solo acts that really had stood the test of multiple albums and decades of shifting styles to remain relevant.  Then we thought of Beck.

Beck may still live in the hearts of all the dropout-minded high schoolers from the mid-90’s with the buzzkill anthem “Loser” or the alt-rap block party “Where It’s At”, but post Odelay Beck has seen lots of shape shifting and certainly plenty  of wonderful songs.  What makes Beck unique is what makes any solo artist who sells lots of records over multiple decades unique: the ebbs and flows of evolving musical output.  Beck has worn many masks as a performer and music maker, and just as Picasso in his own right had a blue period, a cubist period, and a surrealist period, so Beck has had an indie period of rawer, rougher song-writing, a more avant garde period, a Sea Change period, and a more mature poppy period which he is still in.  To want Beck to return to the 90’s sound is to wish him to artistically devolve.

Beck’s beginnings as a 90’s alternative oddity have certainly shaped what was expected of him as a career musician.  This is why, in my opinion, 2002’s Sea Change marked the game-changing album for beck.  1999’s Midnight Vultures, while possibly being the of ultimate realization of Beck’s neon house-party dreamland, is somewhat expected given previous musical eccentricities.  But it was the aptly-named Sea Change (or was it the 3 years between albums) that decidedly altered beck not only in terms of overall sound, but in terms of perception.  All of a sudden, he wasn’t a pop music showcase.  The script was flipped and all the bells and whistles that beautifully decorated his song-writing on albums past had been stripped away, leaving nothing but a guitar to lean on.  I specifically remember my dad and I sitting down to watch David Letterman during my freshman year of college before Sea Change had been released.  My dad asked who beck was, and after playing a couple tracks it was clear that my dad, who only has a heart for Simon and Garfunkel, would not be interested.  When Beck came out to play the simple, meditative “Lost Cause”, I heard a distinctly surprised “hmph!” from the other side of the living room.  How could he not?

Since Sea Change, Beck has not strayed too far from his 90’s pop roots, but has certainly added a much more glossy sheen to his patented sound.  Guero blew out the speakers of 2005, proclaiming the return of the funky, back-alley, beat-happy Beck we have come to love.  ”Hell Yes”, “E-Pro” and a couple others have become live standards and fit perfectly along side “Devil’s Haircut”, “Hollywood Freaks” and other Beck catalogue staples.  The Information, 2006’s out-of-nowhere release had similarities with Guero and sometimes felt like a b-sides version of Guero.  This is not to say that “Nausea”, “Strange Apparition” and “Think I’m in Love” (among others) aren’t great Beck songs, but when held up to his other albums this one seemed to be his most vanilla.  Maybe it feels this way because there was such a simple (and reductive at times) musical feel to apply to the previous albums: Mellow Gold is an early morning coffee jolt of backyard electro-folk.  Odelay was the slacker-rapper hodgepodge.  Mutations was a very upstanding, singer-songwriter incarnation of the beck sound.  Midnight Vultures, the aforementioned neon house-party.  Sea Change was the slow-burning exhibition of singalong, sunset-ing tunes.  Guero was the “Beck is back” album, decked out in all the typical beck jams.  Then comes The Information.  I just can’t decide where it belongs in the scope of Beck’s colorful career.

Last year, Modern Guilt marked yet another subtle mutation in form.  The 10 short tracks that form this album all exude a certain confidence that seems to sound like Beck is really enjoying himself with his music again (not that he wasn’t at any point).  A mature and content Beck showed off his polished song-writing skills all over the album.  It’s been a great career to follow, and hopefully one that will continue and be remembered as representative of some kind of musical image of the 1990’s and 2000’s.  It wouldn’t disappoint me at all to see him identified with either of those two decades of my life.  He’s got to be one of the more memorable musical figures from these last two decades, not for antics, drug rehab, or other publicity-generating fluff.  Beck will be remembered for being a steady, often brilliant artist of music.

i was out and about today and i saw this video and i felt that i just had to share it with those of you who haven’t yet seen it.

this song comes to us from beck’s latest release modern guilt.

“youthless”

David “Beck” Hansen has long been one of my favorite musicians. I discovered him when Guero came out and its lead single, “E-pro”, was blasting from the radio. Then I went back and dug through his past releases (I now own most of them). And each one has its own very particular power for me. Which is why it’s such a drag for me to have conversations regarding him which, regardless of the musical content of his work, seem to focus on a few preconceived notions about Beck as an artist. Here I shall rant about the worst two of these and why I wish people would stop talking about them.

“This Album Is Not Like Odelay And Therefore Blows”

A great album. Like several other Beck albums.

Yeah, alright, we get it, you really liked Beck’s ’96 breakthrough album, Odelay. And nobody’s going to say that it wasn’t the incredible album that you claim it is. Tracks like “Devil’s Haircut” and “Where It’s At” became instantly iconic, and the whole album rolls together with the Dust Brothers’ production into one very cohesive and successful artistic statement. The problem here is that ever since critics fell in love with Odelay, they could not shut up about the fact that Beck has changed his style with each successive album. Then when Guero came out in 2005, they complained because with the return of the Dust Brothers’ production, it was apparently too much like his prior work.

While for some artists, varying it up between albums marks artistic progress, Beck is constantly accused of having lost his way in some sense after that album’s release. As a result, the critics haven’t given several of his albums their full due, including 1999’s party-fueled Midnite Vultures and 2008’s haunting, meditative Modern Guilt. Come on, guys. Let’s be adult here. Beck really hasn’t made a single record that would not be considered a huge breakthrough for another act (including ‘98’s Mutations, even though it may not be my personal favorite).

The Onion’s A.V. Club said it best: “It’s as if creativity were a mountaintop that, once scaled, prevents any further ascent.”

“Beck Is A Scientologist Hurr Hurr”

Weird, yes. But does it play guitar on Beck's latest record?

Yes, fine, Beck is a believer in the religion that the Internet loves to hate, Scientology. Yes, some of the doctrines of that religion are pretty out-there and possibly even bizarre. That’s his right, and really, guys, it doesn’t have anything to do with his music, so don’t let it affect how you listen to and professionally review his albums. What bothers me more, personally, is when they throw in a ‘witty’ remark to reference his faith for a laugh. It strikes me, personally, as unprofessional and childish. Leaving aside my personal disdain for the whole harassing-Scientology-is-funny thing, the fact is that his personal beliefs just do not apply when you are discussing the album unless there is specific occasion for it due to the music.

Oh yeah, then there is this guy, writing for Stylus Magazine. Don’t really even need to say what I think about that.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Sorry for being overbearing. I get intense sometimes… To make up for it, here’s the video for what is almost certainly the best track off ‘08’s Modern Guilt, “Gamma Ray”:

-Owen

2008. Guilty. Very Modern

Beck

Modern Guilt

!!!!

2008,

Interscope Records

de Ionuţ Titus Ileşoi

Man.In.Fest, septembrie 2008

A vorbi despre Beck este ca şi cum te-ai apuca să vorbeşti despre o copilărie, o adolescenţă, o maturitate şi toate culorile şi sentimentele (mai ales cele stridente); toate “puţin” altfel decât cele normale… Iar când Beck revine, odată la doi sau trei ani, efectul e garantat să dureze. De data aceasta, “bec(k)ul” s-a aprins world-wide, în 8 iulie 2008, când a văzut lumina ultimul său produs discografic: Modern Guilt (apărut în US la Interscope Records şi în restul lumii la XL Records).
Dar, pentru a ajunge în prezent trebuie să trecem puţin prin trecut… Astfel
că, pe data de 8 iulie 1970 se naşte la Los Angeles, CA, Beck David Campbell,
fiu al actriţei Bibbe Hansen şi a bluesman-ului David Campbell. Ajuns la
vârsta de 18 ani, înregistrează independent primul său album, totalmente
necunoscut şi rămas obscur pentru întreaga planetă, până în ziua de azi: A
Banjo Story (1988). Nimic altceva decât country music reciclată
într-un mod revoluţionar, absurd şi imposibil de descris, plin de nonsens:
“atmospheric recordings“. Amprentă muzicală ce v-a rămâne o constantă şi care va da tonul – extrem de simplist şi jucăuş – al artwork-ului celor 4 albume independente apărute până în 1994 (şi încă câteva de studio). Amprenta se nuanţează şi mai mult atunci când, la începutul anilor ‘90, Campbell se mută o perioada la New York, unde activează în mişcarea underground “East Village anti-folk scene“, ce combina sunetul folk/country cu estetica punk a momentului.

Pentru publicul român, Beck rămâne încă la era hit-ului din ‘93: Loser,
de pe faimosul şi incoerentul Mellow Gold (1994, Geffen Records), hit ce
l-a consacrat pentru eternitate; i se pot adăuga, poate, câteva hit-uri de pe
monumentalul, strident-multicolorul şi maturul Odelay (1996, Geffen
Records, reeditat în ediţie de lux în primăvara lui 2008) cum ar fi Devil’s
Haircut, The New Polution, Jack-Ass, Where It’s At. Şi cam atât.

Realitatea e că bec(k)urile s-au mai aprins între timp de multe ori, lăsând în urmă 8 albume de studio, 2 Ep-uri, 25 de single-uri şi mai mult de 30 de videoclipuri. Dar şi, odată cu ele, mai multe trenduri ce deja sunt landmark-uri în Occident: adevărate atitudini. Ele îşi au originea şi în artwork-ul extrem de variat al fiecărui album în parte, fiecare total diferit şi ca stil muzical, conferindu-i un fel de caracter proteic, nu cameleonic; căci Beck este un anti-trend prin excelenţă. Iar faptul că aparţine Biserici Scientologice (declaraţie făcută în 2005) îl face şi mai special…

Dacă imaginea promovată de acesta prin albume şi clipuri vi se pare că aduce a kitsch, atunci aveţi dreptate; dar e un kitsch intenţionat, la limita
absurdului, a extravaganţei, autodepăşindu-se şi transformându-se în acel
“altfel de a fi” ce-l caracterizează atât de bine pe muzician şi versurile lui. În toată discografia acestuia cuvântul cheie este auto-ironia (cu orice preţ şi prin orice modalitate).

Dar, revenind în prezent şi la caldul Modern Guilt, acesta poate fi considerat un moment aparte în creaţia lui Beck, aşa cum melancolicul Sea Changes (2002, Geffen Records) a fost pentru vremea lui, deschizând o perioadă de creaţie discografică caracterizată prin versuri lipsite de incoerentă şi absurditate, perioadă de maturizare deplină şi conştientă (cu mici MARI excepţii: The Information, 2006, Interscope Records). Adunând în total zece compoziţii ce nu depăşesc 34 de minute în total, noul opus discografic (produs de Danger Mouse a.k.a Brian Joseph Burton, producătorul unor artişti precum Gorillaz, The Rapture, Martina Topley-Bird şi The Shortwave
Set) pune punctul pe un i important în viaţa lui Beck… vârsta.

Disecând albumul, găsim în primele trei şi cea de-a zecea piesă (Orphans,
Gamma Ray, Chemtrails şi Volcano) un tripping sound psihedelic al anilor ‘60 amintind, într-un fel, de The Rolling Stones şi a lor Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967, Decca Records), de Pink Floyd şi, mai târziu, de Nektar cu al lor LP A tab In the Ocean. Infuziile de beat-uri electro, dublate de un fel de distorsion, se regăsesc pe piesa a cincea şi a zecea (Youthless şi Volcano) în care este vizibilă amprenta producătorului Danger Mouse.

Cu piesele şapte şi opt (Replica şi Soul of a Man) suntem puşi faţă în faţă cu un sound indie-grunge, în genul The White Stripes şi Gomm. Iar, apropo de The White Stripes, Beck cântă cu aceştia pe ultimul lor mini-Cd: Conquest
(2008, Warner Bros. Records). Ce-a de-a noua piesă (Profanity Prayers)
este tipică Beck şi, pe lângă Gamma Ray ce aduce mult a surf-rock, albumul ca întreg este unul organic, bine închegat şi impregnat cu un fin iz melancolic.

Unii critici, cum ar fi Dan DeLuca, de la Philadelphia Inquirer, numesc albumul un “antidote to information-age overkill“, însă pentru mine e un tripping sound halucinogen în spiritul anilor ‘60. Un fel de retro-revival, o vinovăţie prezentă, “modernă”, pe care Beck şi-o însuşeşte într-un mod aparent inexplicabil. Toate acestea dublate de nişte versuri ce îl demască:
“I think I’m stranded, but I don’t know where” (Orphans) şi “I feel uptight when I walk in the city / I feel so cold when I’m at home” (Modern Guilt)

… prefigurând parcă unele inexplicabile griji ale vârstei (38 de ani împliniţi în ziua lansării albumului). Îl recomand cu multă căldură chiar dacă eu îi acord, pentru moment, nota 9. Audiţie plăcută!

I played the shit out of this record when it came out. I haven’t listened to a lot of his early output but from what I have heard, this is probably my favorite Beck record. The album clocks in at 30 minutes but those 30 minutes are pretty damn perfect. Produced by DJ Danger Mouse, this record has an old school 60s vibe to it. It seems like Beck was influenced a bit by Caribou since the album is filled with hazy drums and beautiful melodies that Caribou is known for. My favorite from the record is the tripped out “Chemtrails” with its amazing drum outro. Check this out if you like blissed out psychedelic pop tunes with an old school vibe. If you are a big  Bob Dylan fan, you might have noticed that the album cover is an homage to Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”. For more information about the album cover, check this out.

Party people temos uma novidade!

A partir de março, a Killing the Dance passa a contar com mais um membro na equipe! Agora no dia 28 de março será a estréia do Lucas Penido, editor- chefe do site fashionista The Hype Br, como Dj residente da festa!!!

Quer dizer, compereçam todossss para a estréia bombástica dele na festa e vamos qubrar tudo, pq vai ser B-A-B-A-D-I-T-O!

Segue a baixo as infoz completas pra vc e seus amigos se jogarem no dia 28!

beijos

Lais e Marcelo

28/03 – Sábado – Killing the Dance @ A Torre

Djs:
Caio Gobbi + Camila Fremder
Fabio Motta & Pacolli
Paula & Gil Reboredo (B.Luxo)
Lais Pattak & Marcelo Elídio
Sergio Caldas & Leon Gurfein
Lucas Penido (The Hype Br)

Door: Eduardo Laurino
Listas e afins: euvounafesta@hellokitty.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=57105464490

Domingo é uó né?

hahaha

Lais Pattak recomenda esse vídeo lindo com essa música linda do Beck q tb é lindo, pra vc ouvir e ficar bem susse no aconchêgo do lar

♥

His star may have fallen recently, but I have not given up on Beck.

Beck

Far from it, actually.  His Modern Guilt was one of the unsung releases of last year and his recent addition to the War Child: Heroes compilation is an instant classic.

On top of that, he’s actually a very interesting dude.  Therefore, when Beck lists his five favorite things at spinner.com, it’s definitely worth a look-see.

The concept may actually motivate me to put together a similar list at some point in the future.  Don’t expect Fellini references on my list – maybe something more along the lines of “Jump Around” at Camp Randall – but, still, it’s an interesting concept worth exploring.

As for Beck, take a few minutes to enjoy some of his music both new and old.

Prepare to be eyefucked. Somebody’s gotta do MTV’s job, right? 29 different visuals coming at you:

Artist: Death Cab for Cutie
Song: Grapevine Fires
Album: Narrow Stairs
Analysis: Excellent song, and great choice for a video. It gives the other animated videos of this month a good run for their money. Narrow Stairs has surprisingly stayed with me since it was released last summer. I highly recommend the album, if you haven’t checked it out yet.

Song: I Used to Get It In Ohio
Artist: Cam’ron
Album: Crime Pays
Analysis: Cam’s second low-budget video from Crime Pays. I’ve never been to Ohio so I can’t tell you how accurate his rhymes are...

Song: Can’t Stop Me
Artist: Jadakiss
Album: The Last Kiss
Producer: Neo da Matrix
Analysis: Video’s alright, see my thoughts on the song here. Still pumped for The Last Kiss.

Song: Circulate
Artist: Young Jeezy
Album: The Recession
Producer: Don Cannon
Analysis: Hands down the best song from The Recession, and probably Jeezy’s best song ever. He can thank Don Cannon for that.

Song: Blame It [ft. T-Pain]
Artist: Jamie Foxx
Album: Intuition
Producer: Christopher “Deep” Henderson
Analysis: I usually don’t post to R&B songs, but the cameos in this video are crazy. Even Ron Howard plays a big part! Definitely worth a watch for that alone, plus the song is kinda catchy.

Song: Replica
Artist: Beck
Album: Modern Guilt
Producer: Danger Mouse
Analysis: Boring video, and not the best song from the album, but Beck still remains awesome.

Song: Short Fuse
Artist: Black Lips
Album: 200 Million Thousand
Analysis: Originally reviewed the song last month, and it’s only grown on me even more. I’m a sucker for animated videos, too.

Song: Day ‘N Night
Artist: Kid Cudi
Album: Man on the Moon
Producer: Emile
Analysis: Probably my favorite hip hop video of the month. I love everything about it, from the song down to the rotoscoping.

Song: The Wrestler
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Album: Working on a Dream
Analysis: The song’s alright, but not up to Bruce’s greatness standards. But the film it’s inspired by is just plain awesome. The Wrestler is up there with The Dark Knight in my favorite films of 2008.

Song: The People Tree [ft. David Byrne, Chali 2na & Gift of Gab]
Artist: N.A.S.A.
Album: The Spirit of Apollo
Analysis: Definitely one of the stranger albums so far this year, but The People Tree grew on me (pun not intended). It reminds me of a Gorillaz-style hip hop song, featuring Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Gift of Gab from Blackalicious, and lead singer of the Talking Heads, David Byrne. It’s also featured on The New Classics’ February 2009 Mixtape.

Song: Firstborn
Artist: J. Tillman
Album: Vacilando Territory Blues
Analysis: Solo track from the drummer of the Fleet Foxes. Nice slow track, with a mesmerizing video. Don’t fall asleep.

Song: Welcome to Heartbreak
Artist: Kanye West
Album: 808s and Heartbreak
Producer: Kanye West
Analysis: Hopefully the final video from Kanye’s supremely disappointing album. Unique concept for a video though, unless someone royally fucked up encoding it and they just decided it looks better with all the video scrambles.

Song: Generation Lost
Artist: B.o.B.
Album: Who the Fuck is B.o.B.? (mixtape)
Producer: B.o.B.
Analysis: My favorite track off the mixtape besides ‘I’ll Be in the Sky‘. The video’s kinda wack but if you haven’t heard anything from B.o.B. before, watch it anyway, then download the mixtape.

Song: Dead & Gone [ft. Justin Timberlake]
Artist: T.I.
Album: Paper Trail
Producer: Timbaland
Analysis: Talk about a song growing on you. When Paper Trail first came out, I had dismissed this song as one of my least favorites on the album, but ever since it’s been released as a single, I’ve liked it more and more. Now, it rivals ‘On Top of the World’ for my favorite track on that LP.

Song: Part of Me
Artist: Royce da 5′9″
Album: Street Hop
Producer: Carlos “6 July” Broady
Analysis: After this seeing video, and hearing Royce’s other single ‘Shake This’, all signs are pointing to Street Hop being one of the best hip hop albums of 2009. This is a must watch video.

Song: Tunnelvision
Artist: Here We Go Magic
Album: Here We Go Magic
Analysis: From a group I don’t know much about, but I’m digging the song. The video is more or less like a low-fi version of the iTunes visualizer.

Song: Circulate (100 Bars)
Artist: Termanology
Album: If Heaven Was a Mile Away (A Tribute to J Dilla) (mixtape)
Producer: J Dilla
Analysis: Term doesn’t appear in this one, but it’s still a cool look at the painting of a mural of J Dilla, with a dope song playing in the background.

Song: Kingdom of Rust
Artist: Doves
Album: Kingdom of Rust
Analysis: A narrative video from the group that created one of my favorite songs of all time, ‘Caught by the River’.

Song: Losing Out [ft. Royce da 5'9"]
Artist: Black Milk
Album: Tronic
Producer: Black Milk
Analysis: Top notch shit right here. A video for one of the top 5 songs of 2008. If this track doesn’t get you amped up, check your pulse.

Song: For Whom the Bell Tolls [ft. Phonte, Blu & Will.I.Am]
Artist: Evidence
Album: The Layover
Producer: Khrysis
Analysis: I singled this track out as the best song on Blu’s latest mixtape, but at the time I didn’t know that it was actually Evidence from Dilated Peoples’ track. Dope song by three amazing MC’s, and the great musical mind of will.i.am (seriously though, outside of the BEP he’s pretty good).

Song: Nasty Girl [ft. Plies]
Artist: Ludacris
Album: Theater of the Mind
Producer: Swizz Beatz
Analysis: Purely for the eye candy. It’s actually not a bad club song either.

Song: I Love College
Artist: Asher Roth
Album: Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Producer: Mike Caren
Analysis: I liked it better with the Weezer sample, but ‘I Love College’ is one of my favorite party songs of the last 6 months. I’m really pulling for the kid to blow up.

Song: Nothing to Worry About
Artist: Peter Bjorn & John
Album: Living Thing
Analysis: I’ve already discussed my grievances with this song, but this video is so fucking cool. I guess it settles the age-old question that yes, Asian greasers are hilarious.

Song: Can You Tell
Artist: Ra Ra Riot
Album: The Rhumb Line
Analysis: This album really crept up on me this winter, and surprisingly I’ve kept every song from it on my iPod. Next to ‘Each Year’, this is my favorite song from the LP. There’s actually a bar called the Rhumb Line in Greenport, Long Island that I’ve been to a few times, anyone ever been there?

Song: Mykonos
Artist: Fleet Foxes
Album: Sun Giant EP
Analysis: Such a stellar song, from an EP that got glossed over last year for the Fleet Foxes self-titled LP. Really amazing video, too. Music doesn’t get much better than this.

Song: Letter to Big
Artist: Jadakiss
Album: The Last Kiss
Producer: Trackmasters
Analysis: Jada’s most intimite song, and one of his best. I don’t get whats up with the Cosby sweaters though.

Song: Four Provinces
Artist: The Walkmen
Album: You & Me
Analysis: In my opinion, this song is the Walkmen’s best since I heard ‘The Rat’ a few years back. I like the video a lot, too. It makes me want to go back to my own childhood.

Song: Falling Down
Artist: Oasis
Album: Dig Out Your Soul
Analysis: I’m not the biggest supporter of Oasis mostly because everytime I read an interview with them they just talk a lot of shit. But I can’t hold that against their music, and this is a really good song. Probably their best since ‘Champagne Supernova’.

Song: I Hate My Job
Artist: Cam’ron
Album: Crime Pays
Analysis: Killa Cam returns to the hip hop after a 2 year absense, with a different, more humorous perspective on his rhymes. I haven’t really been a fan of his material, or his style since Purple Haze in ‘04, but Crime Pays has me intrigued now that he’s dropped the whole Dipset gimmick (or more accurately, they’ve dropped him).

So hopefully this is the last catch-up megapost I have to do, but there is some great stuff in here. Anyone have a favorite?

Este clipe de “Replica” traz a imagem do próprio Beck. Low-profile, preto e branco, minimalista e um pouco soturno demais. A faixa é uma das melhores de seu último álbum, Modern Guilt.

Have you ever listened to Beck and just thought, “Man… I wish he would just let loose and be a whole lot weirder.”  I did while listening to Modern Guilt.  It’s not bad, by any means – with the exception of “Chemtrails” (which damn near put me to sleep) I loved every song on the album.  It’s definitely good – but I’m waiting for another classic from Beck, and this disc doesn’t have it.

si pudiera sostener
ofrecer ahora
con esas capas de hielo derritiéndose
con el sonido de un transitor
y mi chevrolet todoterreno
dando vueltas

vamos pequeño rayo gamma
dentro de un huracán

vuestros cerebros son aburridos
como un refugio de una casa que está ardiendo
y la ola de calor pronuncia tu nombre
ella tiene una corona de cactus
con un punto en su entrecejo
y ella habla como dentro de una nube
con su semblante girando

me golpea como un rayo gamma
dentro de un huracán

estoy quitando las espinas
la chimenea ilumina fuera de mi ventana
quiero saber que he perdido hoy

vamos pequeño rayo gamma
dentro de un huracán

tu cuerpo es aburrido
como un refugio en una casa ardiendo
y el agua estancada pronuncia tu nombre