Written by lupethefiasco on Monday, 10 of November , 2008 at 4:59 pm
My Itunes was on shuffle and Dennis Wilson’s “Common” came on, just a few minutes ago. I heard the piano line, and immediately thought “why do I have that DirecTV commercial song on my Itunes.” Turns out that Dennis Wilson wrote a piano riff that Sara Bareilles must have liked. I’m not saying that she necessarily stole the piano line, but it does just sound like a modern, spiced up version of his song. Both MP3’s are located below, so decide for yourself. Enjoy!
Dennis Wilson- Common
Sara Bareilles- Love Song
Category: Miscellaneous
Written by lupethefiasco on Monday, 10 of November , 2008 at 3:47 pm
I’ve recently fallen back in love with the Alt-Punks known as Green Day. Back in the day as a young lad, I was a die hard fan for the boys from Berkeley (no homo). After I matured a little bit, I started to fade away from the “3-chord power punk music scene.” But as time went I on, I now realize that “American Idiot” is a very good album for what it is. If you’re expecting intricate rhythmic patterns and crazy guitar riffs, Green Day isn’t for you… But if you enjoy simple, catchy music and have an open mind, you’ll realize the genius that is Green Day. I have a couple of “American Idiot” tracks for you, and one from “Dookie” (my personal favorite). Anyways, enjoy!!!
Green Day- Are We The Waiting
Green Day- Homecoming
Green Day- Basket Case
Category: Guilty Music Monday
Written by lupethefiasco on Sunday, 9 of November , 2008 at 3:29 pm
I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate one of 2008’s best songs. TV On The Radio’s “Family Tree” is a dramatic, epic, beautifully written song that gives me the chills every time I hear it. Probably overshadowed by some of the more upbeat, catchy songs, “Family Tree” is definitely worth checking out. Tunde’s voice is really on display, as he belts really emotional, deep lyrics. The piano line as well, is just as haunting. They reach some kind of musical orgasm as the drums and strings come in, and it seems as though they have created a perfect song. This may seem like an exaggeration, but this is truly one of the better songs I’ve heard in a long, long time. I highly encourage everyone to give it a listen… You won’t be disappointed.
TV On The Radio- Family Tree
Category: Miscellaneous
Written by pistachionut on Sunday, 9 of November , 2008 at 1:37 pm
It happened in this order: Vampire Weekend becomes Pitchfork acclaimed, MGMT finds success due to Andrew VanWyngarden’s good looks.
Vampire Weekend’s debut self-titled album dropped in January of this year, but it had been blogged up for a long while before that. They met at Columbia, and formed under influences of Paul Simon and African drums. Ezra Koenig’s Jewish charm and catchy hooks propel the band to critical acclaim. They were soon forgotten about, however, as MGMT released Oracular Spectacular later that month. They had received a large recording contract from Sony and just finished a tour with of Montreal. Their notable style of “Psych-pop” earns them a large following. The following’s main contributors, however, are teenage girls, fawning over Andrew’s looks and style. The Coachella performances of both bands were decidedly lackluster, but MGMT somehow came out of the festival with superstar nature.
Seemingly next in this line of college educated east coasters, Passion Pit hail from Boston, MA. Originally a Valentine’s day gift from front man Michael Angelakos to his girlfriend, their EP Chunk Of Change is generating quite a buzz. They’re currently holding a remix contest for the single “Sleepyhead.” Look out for Passion Pit, as right now, “Sleepyhead” is definitely on my list of top songs of 2008.
Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
Vampire Weekend - Campus
MGMT - The Youth
Category: Miscellaneous
Written by gzabriel on Thursday, 6 of November , 2008 at 8:11 pm
I’m going to be frank here: I started listening to this album under the assumption that it would be generic and bland house music for an hour, this may have tilted my final view on the album. We at the Tape aren’t big fans of straight up “house” music. When Surkin drops French House Track 42 we’ll play along but it’s nothing that we go crazy over. We like the derivatives of the French Touch and those who got inspired by acid and techno but when we hear an 8 minute song with a 4/4 beat and some plucky chords drenched in delay and reverb we generally don’t flip out. So I guess Deadmau5 had an unfair disadvantage as I started listening to his -almost- cleverly titled “Random Album Title”.
The album is barely an album, which is fine, it’s hard to pull of somewhat of a concept for this kind of music so I’m fine with it when it’s basically a DJ mix consisting of only original material. That’s cool with me. The album opens with Sometimes Things Get, Whatever, one of the best tracks on the album melding faint wobble bass with a breakdown marked by a memorable gritty synth line and some atmospheric chiming. The robotic reminder of “sometimes things get complicated” adds more to the recognizable appeal and the beat remains pretty much unchanged throughout the whole song which is fine if not a little anticlimactic after the breakdowns. The track moves into Complications, a groove driven by a pulse and a slightly ominous congo like percussion. The pulse grinds on itself as the track swirls around and around driven by those evil drum sounds. The congos blend into the next track Slip; one of my favorites on the album. Driven by some rhythmic plucks that swell for the first minute until breaking down into a driving groove complimented by the occasional, almost brass like, stabs. The song manages to keep your attention as its main beat is hastened by a quick percussive pattern and a airy pad.
Slip transitions into Some Kind of Blue and at this point things start to become less defined and quite repetitive. Some Kind of Blue centers around a throbbing synth, hints of bongo like percussion, and some pads and stabs. Not too interesting. The next track Brazil is a prime example of that classic huge house sound. The song is obviously familiar and a little generic but it does exactly what it was made for. If you hear those massive chords dripping with delay and don’t get excited then shame on you. Deadmau5 delivers a fun, even if a little bland, track to dance to. Moving into Alone With You, another generic track on the album, based around a xylophone like swirl and an accompanying saw wave there’s nothing new here. I Remember brings in serious club business with cheesy female floating vocals and uplifting plucks and pads, I hope people go crazy for it. I Remember transitions into a classy rendition of Faxing Berlin, the track everyone should know by now, and then moves into the track in its original form. I don’t want to say much about the track but its Deadmau5’s most exemplary track so love it or don’t. Drifting into Arguru, a harsher sound centered around shots from a distorted synth and a few playful licks from a more distant one. The album closes with So There I Was opening with a dark pulse and eventually opening up with some celestial blips and then dropping down and minimal with a kick drum and bass.
Random Album Title does what its supposed to do, make you dance, or rather provide DJs with the materials they need to make you dance. It’s not an album really, and Deadmau5 knows that so there’s no point in knocking it for being so much more of a mix than an album. Maybe it’s the format then that frustrates me so much as I listen to it. It just doesn’t work when listened to all at one time. That coupled with my predisposition to not really liking the genre of music. Cutting one of the biggest producers/electronic acts in the world right now some slack, it has its moments and will obviously be played and over played. But listening to a 1.2 hour DJ mix of house, minimal, and trance is just not something I can happily do.
Deadmau5 - Slip
Category: Dance, Weekly Album Review, gzabriel
Written by lupethefiasco on Thursday, 6 of November , 2008 at 5:34 pm
Musicians express their feelings and ideas through music. This is obvious, because they’re musicians… It’s their job. But when something so inspirational and uplifting occurs, for example (our election two days ago) they tend to get even more inspired and make songs from the heart. So when Obama won, a bunch of new songs rose up, almost all of them rejoicing this country’s latest victory. I have 3 songs and a video for all of you… Enjoy!
Brother Ali- Mr. President (You’re The Man)
Jay-Z- History
Nas & DJ Green Lantern- Election Night (Recorded On November 4th, 2008)
P.S. The video got taken off youtube for some reason, my apologies.
Category: Hip-Hop
Written by gzabriel on Wednesday, 5 of November , 2008 at 8:11 pm
A while back we posted about Miracles Of Modern Science an orchestrally based pop band from Brooklyn. Well now they’ve just released their debut EP in a remastered and redone state for FREE on Amazing Wow. If you want to hear some classy instrumentation married to some quality space pop music for free, for sure check them out (again).
Category: Pop, gzabriel
Written by gzabriel on Tuesday, 4 of November , 2008 at 8:37 pm
Category: gzabriel
Written by lupethefiasco on Tuesday, 4 of November , 2008 at 4:40 pm
Just a few new songs for you all that have been in heavy rotation in my Itunes.
Another great remix from DiscoTech. If you like this remix, make sure to check out his remix of Kanye West’s “Homecoming.” It’s fantastic.
T.I.- Whatever You Like (DiscoTech Remix)
I don’t know exactly what it is, but it does involve M.I.A., Blaqstarr, and B’More… So I’m happy.
M.I.A.- Save Ur Soul (Feat. DJ Blaqstarr)
88-Keys’ debut album either came out today, or in a couple of weeks. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t come out for a little while, and Amazon just fucked up. Anyways, enjoy a couple of songs off the album.
88-Keys- Stay Up (Viagra) (Feat. Kanye West)
88-Keys- Ho Is Short For Honey (Feat. Kid Cudi)
Category: Miscellaneous
