This song is a movement in itself already. I swear I’ve seen like thirty folks throw it up on Facebook in ten days or so it’s been out. It’s funny though. When songs like this drop, I tend to feel like it’s poetic justice. Cee-Lo is one of those cats that’s written a few dozen amazing songs, and only a few of them ever really get that mainstream ubiquity (“Crazy” being the most obvious example). It’s good though. Max said last night that he’s juiced to see what Mr. Green does next, and I think that’s the mark of a great artist. So here go the visuals for the most viral song on the internet right now. If you don’t crack a smile watching this, you might want to look into these.
They say this is the place
where angels come again
They say that this is the place
where it all can happen for you…”
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For the kids like myself that grew up in ’90s, I think most of us remember an era when MTV was the purveyor of all things cool. Beavis & Butthead and Daria aired daily, The Real World wasn’t scripted yet and alternative, electronica, and hip-hop music inspired some of the dopest music videos of all time. The music video was a full-fledged art form, complete with superstar directors (Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry) and full of weird shit an eight year-old kid probably shouldn’t have been watching.
But hey. Now that MTV programming is almost exclusively dedicated to quality, thought-provoking programming like Jersey Shore and The Hills, it’s hard to see why anyone would be nostalgic for a time when these five-minute masterpieces ruled the small screen. In any case, Pitchfork picked 50 of their favorites, and luckily for us nostalgia junkies, Maaria gave me the heads up. Check here for the full list, and hit MORE for a few of my personal favorites.
Good songs come from a lot of different places. I remember last month at the Foreign Exchange show at Yoshi’s SF, Phonte spoke on the all-too-common, and frankly unnecessary debate between “mainstream” and “indie” fans. The Foreign Exchange proceeded to hit us with the musically inclined, neo-soul versions of “Turn My Swag On” and “Stanky Leg”, among others. That shit was comedy. The point being that at the end of the day, it’s all music, and the lines people tend to draw often have more to do with perception than musical quality. With the Bowties crowd, maybe I’m preaching to the choir. You guys have some eclectic tastes, which is why I can drop some Diddy and some Beach House in the same post, and not really think twice about it. Anyway, we’re glad to have you behind us. The best is yet to come.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It’s usually better to keep things simple. With the video for “Fuck You”, Cee-Lo’s songwriting is front and center, and with good reason. This is just a really, really well-written pop song, and it’s something most of us can probably relate to. All analysis aside though, this record put a big, stupid smile on my face last night. And not that many records are capable of doing that. Thought you might dig it too.
If you’re looking at resumes, there’s not many singers with better references than Bilal Oliver. Having worked with Dilla, Dr. Dre, Common, Jay-Z and The Clipse, to name a few, Bilal has been one of the most quietly ubiquitous voices in hip-hop and soul music over the past decade or so. It also doesn’t hurt that his voice is undeniably one of the best in popular music. So why his solo career never really took off would seem like a mystery, if you didn’t take into account the big label politics, leaks, and other bullshit that kept him from blowing up on a larger scale. Fortunately, that’s all old news, and Bilal is back to taking the approach that got him to where he’s at. Making undeniably dope, genre-bending soul music for the people. The appropriately-titled “Restart” is the first single from Airtight’s Revenge, due out on Plug Research September 14th. Might just have to cop that vinyl.
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There’s a few things I like to think I know about art. And among them are a few ideas pretty closely related to this video. For one, less is more. Doing something simple often says a lot. Secondly, emotional investment in one’s work is important; it allows to art to be a release for the artist, and it makes the piece resonate with it’s audience that much more. Thirdly, a magnetic and talented performer can make anything worth watching. For all of those reasons, the video for “Cold War”, shot in a mental asylum in a single take, is one beautiful piece of art. Janelle continues to impress.
No one really likes Monday mornings. Getting up early is weak. Work is weak, unless you’re job is really that clean (Crosby, Will and the rest of the Google staff, I see you). But hey, getting up early has its upside sometimes. Take right now for instance. It’s been a slow ass week, so today’s a good day to drop a gang of new tracks. For the folks who missed the latest snippet from Andre 3000, feel free to peep below, and expect to see the CDQ off Jeezy’s album soon. The K-Os & Drizzy is serious, the Röyksopp is a jam, the Matthew Dear is geeked and that Twista damn near gave me chills. One of the best verses I’ve heard in a minute. Anyway, there’s a bunch of new shit to check out, and the last two songs are about hard drugs, which is cool too. For the folks on the grind, I hope you work somewhere where it’s cool to have some headphones on.
So where do you go after you’ve done it all musically? Well after the polarizing, genre-stretching autotune opus that was 808s, I guess a return to his hip-hop anthem comfort zone makes sense. Following up the portrait of “Power”, Mr. West stopped by Angie Martinez’ show earlier today to premier the latest from his forthcoming, still-untitled album. Accompanied by a soulful pair of appearances from Beyonce and Charlie Wilson, Ye drops quotables left and right (“I’m Socrates, but my skin more chocolatey”), over smooth fare from No I.D. with a little help from Lex Luger (Rick’s “B.M.F.”). It’s unmastered, and as far as the new material we’ve heard so far, it’s pretty light stuff. But given that there’s only so much summer left, it’s pretty good timing. Thoughts?
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Whether we’re looking at albums, or artistic statements, I think few are more important or more impressive than the ones we’ve had a chance to see from Ms. Badu so far this year. Two important things to keep in mind about Erykah though for this one. For one, she’s a hip-hop head. Secondly, she likes to throw curveballs every once in a while. So if the collab/short-film with Ricky Ross sitting shotgun wasn’t quite what you expected, that’s okay. The best artists keep us guessing, and this one is something special. I’d recommend waiting this one out til the end.
I had a feeling it was going to be like this. From the animated live shows to the breath of fresh air that was their debut EP, Tha Boogie has been high on my list of young artists to watch for a minute now. “I See U”, apparently the first single from their upcoming project, finds them at their best, not to mention their funkiest. Riding out an infectious bassline lifted from Saadiq’s Instant Vintage gem “Charlie Ray”, the track leads off with the famous sample from the intro to Tony Toni Tone’s “Feel Good”, only to find their mentor surfacing at the end to lend some additional vocals. If the album sounds anything like this one, we should have a lot to look forward to. I know Jesse feels me.
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Damn, is it really August already? By some folks’ logic, I think that’s supposed to mean Summer should be winding down. Personally, I like my glasses half-full, so let’s just say there’s a whole month left. Lately, I’m pretty partial to the Freddie Gibbs tape, but Arcade Fire, Slum Village and Seu Jorge’s new projects have all been getting some burn too. For my B-Town folks, I’m not mad at the latest from the Cataracs either. A little pop shit is only healthy. Hit MORE for all of the above, plus the new single from Wayne and Drizzy.
“Here comes the sun, little darlin’
Here comes the sun
I say
It’s all right, it’s all right
Little darlin’,
It’s been a long, cold and lonely winter,
Little darlin’ it feels like years
Since you’ve been here
Here comes the sun, little darlin’
Here comes the sun
I say
It’s all right, it’s all right…”
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Unheard music from Ms. Hill is pretty rare. I’d say every blue moon, but it’s really more like every few blue moons. Without stating the obvious, I feel like it’s kind of tragic that Lauryn never went back to the studio for any extended period of time after Miseducation. All exaggeration aside, it really was one of the most important records to drop during my lifetime. And it’s not like there’s anyone to blame either. Becoming that famous that quickly would get to anybody’s head. So given the history, any new music she drops is appreciated. Who knows when it was recorded, but “Repercussions” feels like a quick trip back to when the picture to the left was probably taken. Back when Lauryn was racking up Grammies, and inspiring kids like myself. Or my sister. Or most of the people I know. Word is she’s back in the lab too. For now, catch her at Rock The Bells in August.
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