Written by pistachionut on Monday, 16 of November , 2009 at 7:03 pm
It’s been a while, and it’s time. The first track this week comes straight out of 2004. We can definitely file Chrisitina Milian in the “what ever happened to…” cabinet. “Dip it Low” was her one big hit, and maybe it was just before its time. It sounds like something on the radio today more than anything else from 2004, save maybe “Yeah!” by Usher. What a shame…
The second is a necessity. Taylor Swift has been in the news out of praise and scandal, but her music is undeniably catchy. For those who like Kelly Clarkson, Swfit’s music is a small step away. “You Belong With Me” is Swift’s sassy love song. You have to embrace it. Love it for what it is. God bless pop music.
Written by pistachionut on Monday, 7 of September , 2009 at 1:19 pm
It’s been a while, but it’s back. I guess we’ll consider this the “end of summer jams” edition. Songs that were pretty big this summer and are fizzling just like the season itself. First off is Biz Markie’s classic, “Just A Friend.” If you didn’t hear this on that Heineken commercial, you probably weren’t watching TV all summer. Aside from the message of don’t drink and drive, that commercial brought out the song’s true intention: togetherness.
Another great summer jam was Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.” Needless to say, the lyricism here is expert. Nobody has ever rhymed about making a pussy whistle before. Taking that to another level, Drake brings the Andy Griffith theme song into question, and a few minds caved in.
One last jam would be Keri Hilson’s guest-laden track “Knock You Down.” This song contains my favorite pop lyric of the decade, with Ne-Yo singing “I used to be commander in chief of my pimp ship, flying high // ‘Till some pretty little missile came and knocked me out the sky…” Now you may have noticed that ship was bleeped out on the radio, but have no fear, that’s still the lyric. It just sounded overwhelmingly close to “shit.” Enjoy this one, it’s the best of the worst.
Written by gzabriel on Monday, 27 of July , 2009 at 3:25 pm
Long time no GMM guys! Well this week is gonna be a little different, for this week is a GMM Discovery. You know, one of those bands you find out about that you can’t decide if it’s good or so radio ready that you’ll get killed if you say you like it. We were emailed recently by Miles Fisher, a Dallas born actor and musician. He said he’d been reading our blog since this very feature was in its teens. We were charmed and thought we’d take a listen to his debut EP (downloadable for free on his site), self described as “edgy pop with accessible hooks”.
The EP begins with “Don’t Let Go” which kicks off with an almost Wolf Parade like guitar and a pulsating synth bass. Miles’ voice is very accessible and likable, and when backed by a huge kick drum, anthemic guitars, and a powerful synth, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. The second song is “What We Know”, which ups the tempo, adding chopped vocals and a more frantic synth to give the song a less conventional feel. I have to say: I think it’s the best song on the EP. The formula of straightforward pop and lyrics combined with quirkier, more electronic instrumentation finds a perfect balance on this song. My only wish is that it had a more memorable hook.
The next song is Half A Beer Left which goes for a folkier sound than the others. The song is a bit less interesting to me than the others as the slower pace coupled with the slight awkwardness in the choice of instrumentation make for a weaker song. The final song may be polarizing. A cover of The Talking Heads song, “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”, has Miles chopping up himself speaking to add an interesting percussive element and using uplifting piano and strings to give the song an buoyancy and lightness. Elements of glitch are most prominent on this song as the guitar and piano are constantly being cut up and repeated. While this song may be a bastardization for some die hard Talking Heads fans, the excellent use of piano, well done glitched vocals, and strength of Miles’ singing shows promise for the young musician. And personally, I like it. I look forward to seeing if Miles can further refine that balance between accessible and edgy, as he so adequately put it.
Written by willshoob on Thursday, 21 of May , 2009 at 2:46 pm
“I Never Knew You”, the brand new video from Definitive Jux artist Cage premiered this Monday, May 18th on MTV2’s Unleashed airing hourly all day. The directorial debut for actor Shia LaBeouf, who also appears in the video, “I Never Knew You” narrates the powerful story of Cage’s debut single from the forthcoming album Depart From Me. Filmed this February at various locations in downtown Los Angeles, the video simultaneously portrays a performance by Cage, a characteristically intense experience, while the story of “I Never Knew You” unfolds. The video also featuring cameo appearances from fellow labelmates and collaborators El-P, Aesop Rock, Yak Ballz, F. Sean Martin, and Alex Pardee.
Also happening on the 18th, MTV2.com will release Cage’s I Never Knew You EP as a free download. The release marks the first time that MTV has offered a full EP for download, only having released individual tracks in the past. The five song EP features the title track as well as 4 exclusive songs not included on the forthcoming album Depart From Me (out July 7th on Definitive Jux).
Cage and Shia LaBeouf will be hosting an episode of MTV2’s Subterranean on Thursday May 28th.
Written by pistachionut on Monday, 18 of May , 2009 at 7:31 pm
I’m too lazy to look up the number. Really. If you care, I think we’re in the 50s. Anyway. The first song is a classic, per usual. Everyone needs to remember this one. Summer of ‘03 I think. Maybe ‘04. Usher had just Let it Burn and now it was time for his Confessions. Everybody was ready and eager. I nearly cried when I found out his bitch on the side said she had one on the way. That tear shed when he told me these were his confessions. Before “Trapped in the Closet,” there was this. The original R&B saga.
And now for something a little more under the radar, although it’s been getting tons of buzz on the blogs lately. Chiddy Bang have taken MGMT’s smash “Kids” and turned it into a rap song. I really don’t want to like it. I ended up really, really liking it. It’s just hard to deny.
Written by pistachionut on Monday, 23 of March , 2009 at 7:47 pm
We have a jam-packed GMM this week. It’s the date that celebrates one year’s worth of GMM! So let’s get into it.
Willie is really opposed to this one. Asher Roth’s “I Love College” is slowly creeping its way up charts and into people’s hearts. I found myself despising this song at first listen. That was about three months ago. Since it’s been getting radio play, it’s just been getting stuck in my head. And I can’t get it out. And it’s genius. The lyrics are the tackiest and most clever things in the word simultaneously. I honestly never thought I’d love a song that rhymes “pong” with “Iverson” and “Olajuwon.” Props to Mr. Asher.
Pitbull’s “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” has a similar charm. This song should not be nearly as good as it is. The product is vastly greater than the sum of the parts. This jam is a staple of everyone’s new favorite radio station, Latino 96.3 (RIP 103.1).
We also got sent a remix this week of Akon’s “So Damn Beautiful.” The remix is by VIKING, who also did a pretty good edit of Kid Cudi’s “Dat New New.” The remix is actually pretty fucking good, so featuring it on GMM may seem like a bit of an insult, but it’s not. The sheer guilt the original material is so guilt inducing that this is the only place on the blog it’s anywhere near suitable.
Last, and certainly not least, is guilty goliath LMFAO. These guys are a fucking joke. And I’m not sure if they know that. “I’m In Miami, Bitch” is the tackiest and most typically “2009″ of anything out there right now. It’s the sum of everything that’s happened to hip hop in the past few years. And it’s awful.
Written by willshoob on Monday, 2 of March , 2009 at 7:22 pm
UPDATE: GRIZZLY BEAR JUST LEAKED. BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!
Everyone, welcome to the year of the 21st Century Breakdown. In honor of them being from the bay area, I’m going to say that I’m hella, or even hecka excited for the new album.
[link removed]
Next, we have a bad band covering a bad song, but it somehow turns out wonderfully. It’s The Fray covering Kanye West’s “Heartless.”
Last but not least, we have Discotech’s remix of Eminem’s “Crack A Bottle.” This sure as hell isn’t anything close to the “Whatever You Like” remix, but it’s a lot better than Eminem’s original.
Written by hKWAP on Monday, 9 of February , 2009 at 6:54 pm
While still basking in the glory of the Lakers victory over the Cavaliers, I did something that I don’t believe I’ve ever done before…I watched the Grammys. Very aware of the corporate, lip-synched, auto-tuned bullshit that I was about to witness, I begrudgingly flipped to CBS and sunk into my couch with the cynical and pretentious attitude that you might expect from someone who writes for a music blog. However, there were definitely some guilty music gems amid the incessant rambling of Neil Portnow, who randomly implored our President to appoint a secretary of the arts to his cabinet, as well as Sam Jackson claiming close friendship with Justin Timberlake. Here are some live recordings and videos from last nights standouts.
Radiohead With USC Marching Band (not very guilty but necessary to include)
Written by willshoob on Monday, 2 of February , 2009 at 5:04 pm
The Knicks are losing to the Lakers by 11 at halftime. This sucks. I didn’t know a team could be so successful with only two talented players. Oh well. Anyways, we are quickly approaching the 52nd week of GMM, which means that I’ve been doing this for a year. That’s exciting.
To start, we have a song by a band called The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I think they’re a KROQ band. This song is ridiculously guilty. I wish I could write hooks this catchy. Anyways, this song is called “Face Down” and it’s about abuse. It’s heavy shit.
Cam’ron can’t sing. Does that make this song fantastic, or does that make this song terrible? I vote for fantastic, but you should listen to it and make an informed decision for yourself. Rock the vote.
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