Jamie xx: One of the Most Important Men in Music?

The most defining feature of The xx's self-titled debut were the hushed back and forth vocals of Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim. Rather than creating a bigger sound with a hit record under their belt, the band has actually paired down their sound for their forthcoming second record, Coexist (set for release on September 10.) Though their calling-card breathy vocals, simple melodies, and passionate lyrics are still intact, the real star of the album is member/producer Jamie xx's subtle drumming and electronics. Despite being a quieter record, Coexist is much more musically varied and complex than The xx.

Why It Doesn't Matter that Joey Bada$$ is 17.

Every bit of ink spilled about rapper Joey Bada$$ starts with the fact that he is only 17 years old. Though it initially seems noteworthy that Joey is producing quality music at such a young age, last weeks' release of his mix tape, 1999, proves that Joey's age is entirely inconsequential. Rap has a long history of teenage artists emerging and gaining popularity, from The Fresh Prince and Soulja Boy to Bow Wow and Romeo. Most young rappers undergo a rebranding in an attempt to remain relevant. Bow Wow and Romeo proved to be mere youth novelties, after dropping the "Lil" in front of their names, both have been inconsequential as MCs. Soulja Boy transitioned from pop-rap internet superstar to spaced out Lil B associate. After releasing a few acclaimed albums in the late 80's and early 90's, The Fresh Prince became Hollywood superstar Will Smith. Even the Odd Future crew, who rode a wave of success due in equal parts to their youth and shocking lyrical content have already reached a point of diminishing returns. Odd Future leader Tyler the Creator seems very aware of this, and in an interview with Spin Magazine, talks about his music evolving in a completely different direction.

The Wildly Divergent Careers of Fiona Apple and D'Angelo (Coming Full Circle?)

Singers Fiona Apple and D'Angelo are very different stylistic performers, but both emerged in the mid-90s on a wave of critical success, the strength of their artistic visions and breathtaking, affecting voices. Both singers scored unlikely top 25 hits and burst into public consciousness because of controversial, body barring videos (D'Angelo for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" and Apple for "Criminal.") At this point the similarities seem to end. D'Angelo fell into addiction and stopped making music while Apple, after battling years of label drama, released the well-recieved Extraordinary Machine and toured extensively in support of it.

Coachella 2012 Diary April 22, 2012

After two full days of festival-going, I got a little later start to the third day, but with such a stacked lineup Sunday evening there was no time for fatigue to set in.

Santigold: Not much of a Santigold fan, her Sunday afternoon warm-up set was in no way noteworthy. She had dancers in crazy outfits and performed her uninspired M.I.A./Gwen Stafani hybrid songs. And that was that.

araabMUZIK: Basically only knowing his production work with Dipset and his Electronic Dream hit "Streetz Tonight," I didn't really know what araabMUZIK's live show was all about. I heard rumors about  his skills on the MPC drum machine, but had my doubts. araab-produced Dipset cuts "Get it in Ohio" and "Salute" are solid hip hop beats, but don't hint at an exceptionally talented drum machine master. Initially, I was surprised at how dubstep-y araabMUZIK's set sounded, incorporating almost none of the hip-hop of his Dipset work or the dreamy electronica of Electronic Dream. As a casual electronica/dubstep listener, araab's set wouldn't have done much for me without his calling card, the MPC. While simultaneously dropping beats and jamming away at the drum machine, he solved the one problem I tend have with live electronica music, that the live shows seem so sterile. To my untrained eye, I can't really tell what the artists are doing onstage at any given time, being unable to differentiate what is preprogramed and what is improvised in a live environment. And if you need any video proof, araabMUZIK is just ridiculous and must be seen in person.

Coachella 2012 Diary April 21, 2012

Since the writing delay has been entirely too long we will jump right into thoughts about Coachella Day 2.

Destroyer: With temperatures reaching 106 degrees, Destroyer breezed through a set of songs mostly from their excellent 2011 album, Kaputt. The lounge-y saxophones and soft rock harmonies were a perfect accompaniment to the oppressive heat, but it seemed strange that Dan Bejar, one of the elder statesmen of literate indie rock, was relegated to a side stage in one of the day's first time slots.




Azealia Banks: Azealia Banks, a highly blog-hyped cross between Lil Kim and M.I.A., was a huge letdown. Only playing slightly over half of her allotted 40 minute stage time, she didn't seem ready or polished enough for a big league Coachella performance. She did bring the energy and got the crowd going with her performance of "212" but as recent post-Coachella single "Jumanji"proves, Banks has a lot more to offer.

Coachella 2012 Diary April 20, 2012

With the post-Coachella fun hangover finally starting to subside, its time to write some thoughts about the festival. Some of these ideas might be expanded into their own posts later but for now heres a short running dairy:

Kendrick Lamar: Though it would have been nice to see Mea open the festival or Abe Vigoda early in the day, but getting prepared for the long haul and a slight wristband malfunction prevented this from happening. Despite slow start, Kendrick Lamar proved to be an ideal Coachella kick-off. Obviously unintimidated by the main stage, Kendrick ripped through his set with amazing technical skill and stage presence. In this interview Kendrick talks about the energy of weekend two being much better (probably due to weather) and playing a few more songs. After coming out for one of the only impromptu encores I saw the entire weekend, Kendrick blew the top off with "Cartoon and Cereal." Overall, one of the best hip-hop shows from one of the most talented and promising rappers in the game.




Gary Clark Jr: Not knowing much about Gary Clark Jr, he was a plesant virtuosic surprise. On record he comes across as a solid blues-rock frontman, but in concert he shines, shredding his guitar relentlessly for minutes at a time before bringing it back with his roughly beautiful blues voice. Definitely a can't-miss live performer.

A Tale of Two Soundtracks: "Drive" vs "Themes For An Imaginary Film"

Here are the three immediate courses of action I took after watching Ryan Gosling's performance as a stuntman/mechanic/getaway driver in director Nicolas Refn's recent film, Drive:

1. Got in my car. Put on my leather driving gloves. Drove an intense ten minutes to the nearest Dick's Drive-In. Ordered a Deluxe with extra tartar sauce.
2. Googled "white scorpion jacket from Drive." Started planning my next Halloween costume.
3. Downloaded and listened to the movie's amazing soundtrack for the rest of the night.

New El-P album "Cure For Cancer"

Five years after El-P's last solo release, a new album titled Cure for Cancer is set to drop on May 22. The elder statesman of underground alternative rap, El-P founded the important independent label Def Jux (home to RJD2, Aesop Rock, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Cage, Murs and Mr. Lif) and has released four classic hip-hop albums: as a member of the seminal 90's group Company Flow (Funcrusher Plus), producer of Cannibal Ox (The Cold Vein), and under his own name (Fantastic Damage and I'll Sleep When You're Dead). El-P has managed to maintain a remarkable level of quality throughout his career as a rapper and producer and both released tracks from Cure for Cancer fit right in with the rest of his catalogue.

"Drones Over BKLYN" is an unmannered virtuoso track about the end of the world backed by an unnerving spliced drum sample that was one of the best but most underrated hip-hop tracks from 2011.
El-P-Drones Over BKLYN.mp3

The brand new "The Full Retard" is an abrasive slice of boom-bap filtered through the production of The Bomb Squad.
El-P-The Full Retard.mp3

New Arcade Fire "Abraham's Daughter"

The Arcade Fire have released their new track from the soundtrack to the upcoming young adult blockbuster The Hunger Games. With a steady, foreboding drum beat and chanted etherial vocals from Régine, the song sounds unlike anything the Arcade Fire's back catalogue. Frontman Win Butler describes the song and creative process:

“We were interested in making music that would be more integral in the movie, just as a mental exercise. And there’s an anthem that runs throughout the books, the national anthem of the fascist Capitol. So as a thought experiment, we tried to write what that might sound like. It’s like the Capitol’s idea of itself, basically. It’s not a pop song or anything– more of an anthem that could be playing at a big sporting event like the Games. So we did a structure for that, and then James Newton Howard made a movie-score version of it that happens in several places in the film.”

Another new track, the instrumental "Horns of Plenty" will also appear on the upcoming soundtrack. "Abraham's Daughter" is available for streaming here and here.

The Juxtaposition Is What I Live For

It's really hard for me to articulate my taste in music. If you were listening to my iTunes on shuffle, you could hear anything from Fleetwood Mac to Waka Flocka to John Talabot. The best way to describe it is that I take an eclectic approach to music; I seek out artists in multiple genres that I can connect to.

One thing I thoroughly enjoy in a song is when unrelated qualities are combined to make something new. The mixture of an aggressive beat, gospel piano, and opera singer in HAM, as well as the end product of a Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX collaboration, are examples of the juxtaposition I seek out in music.

The following videos are great representations of what can result from the combination of two entirely different things. You wouldn't think rap and Wes Anderson/Woody Allen movies could work together, yet both videos prove they can. 

Gorillaz featuring Andre 3000 and James Murphy-DoYaThing

I guess the karate monkey has to be James Murphy?

Converse's successful 3 Artists, 1 Song series has new entry, a collaboration between Blur and Gorillaz' Damon Albarn, Outkast's Andre 3000, and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy. The resulting electro-funk blast "DoYaThing" sounds about exactly how one would expect. The song is available for download here at the Converse web site with a video to follow on February 29 and an assumedly more interesting twelve minute version of the track to debut on the Gorrilaz website in the coming weeks.

UPDATE: The extended version is available to listen to here.

The Caretaker-Extra Patience (After Sebald)

Leyland James Kirby has been making electronic music under The Caretaker guise since 1999, slowly evolving from slightly difficult early ambient work to the more accessible 2011 and 2012 albums' An Empty Bliss Beyond this World and Patience (After Sebald). Naming his project The Caretaker in homage to Jack Nicholson's character in the Shining, Kirby creates music inspired by the films' elegant prewar parlor-tunes and wide open spaces. Samples from 1920's and 30's phonograph recordings crackle and hiss before being manipulated into loops and layered with vocal snippets. After the parlor based tunes of An Empty Bliss Beyond this World, Patience (After Sebald) takes on the more subdued tone of it's source material, Austrian composer Franz Schubert's 1927 piano piece, Winterreise.

Any discussion of The Caretaker's music tends to initially focus on Kirby's preoccupation with memory loss and the role of music in the reconstruction and recollection of memories. Though such an academic topic is undoubtedly the inspiration for Kirby's music and an interesting point of exploration, such talk often obscures how enjoyable The Caretaker's music actually is. The Caretaker's reserved experimental ambient pieces are exceptionally well done and immediately enjoyable, with each listen revealing new layers of music.

Kirby has released an album of free outtakes, Extra Patience (After Sebald), available for a limited time here on his Bandcamp page.

The Shining Ballroom Scene:


Similar to: William Basinski, Tim Hecker, Max Richter

SBTRKT-Hold On (Sisi BakBak remix)

SBTRKT-Hold On (Sisi BakBak remix)


This new remix of SBTRKT’s Hold On by the mysterious Sisi BakBak, rumored to be Thom York. You know what they say, if it looks like Thom York, sounds like Thom York, tastes like Thom York, and feels like Thom York...then it must be Thom York.