Welcome back

I was a bit worried that Tip's straight out of prison stuff might be "Dead and Gone parts 2-20". Luckily, this is very much not that. Can't wait to see what else he's got.

Disco in the new era

I'm just gonna say that if you like Disco and/or House, you might want to be all over anything that Tensnake puts our right now. This is the A-side to his new 12" "Coma Cat" and I like it very much.

if you're cruisin', I got that trunk muzik

Yelawolf's Trunk Muzik tape is the first of hopefully many good rap tapes that I've come across in 2010. Wolf's White Rapper-ness is quite noteworthy and interesting (and Brandon Soderberg has already written something noteworthy and interesting about it), and but it's far from the only reason that Trunk Muzik is worth your time. When I first heard Yelawolf on Juelz' "Mixin' Up the Medicine" the voice grated a little, but that's gone away almost completely. Turns out he's sneakily charismatic, whether he's whispering, flowing double time, or singing. The Bun B and Raekwon songs on the tape are great, but this sinister storytelling joint is my favorite right now.

Big things continuing to flow from Alabama in 2010 if this start is any indication.

So Gone

Do yourself a favor and go over to the homeboy Timmy's site Zone 2 Homebrew to read his interview with Huntsville MVPS G-Side, whose Huntsville International is out next week and I can't fucking wait for.

Diamonds and di, diamonds and

I realized we hadn't ever posted this so why not. Obviously Jackie is one of the sillier looking rappers in recent memory, so enjoy that while also enjoying how fire this song is.

I don't wear tight jeans like the white boys

(via OnSmash)

So apparently there's a video for Gucci's "Wasted", and thank the good lord above that it's for the vastly superior version with Plies. I heard this song on Hot 97 the other day and almost cried when OJ da Juiceman came on instead of Plies. Gucci's final verse on here is wonderful too, especially the "Magic City Monday, ball playin' wasted/middle finger up and drinkin' Thunderbird wasted/12 pack wasted/I need more cases/and Gucci not a racist/all my diamonds caucasian" ending. One of my jams of the year so far. Really hope Gucci's album drop this year.

Baby put your handcuffs on me

Apparently JoJo is currently in the major-label hell that seems to affect so many of our favorite R&B singers these days, which will be quite a shame if it stops this single from attaining the hit status it so richly deserves. The sudden changes into four-on-the-floor were kind of jarring at first, but now I've listened to this song like 15 times in the last week with no end to the madness in sight. Get it together, Blackground Records.

Belated Tuesday Kapitalizm

Things you should cop this week? Well, on the music front the winner seems to be the Field's new record, Yesterday and Today. I was absolutely in love with this guy's first album and while this one might not be as spectacularly gorgeous, it makes up for it by expanding the Field's rhythmic pallette quite a bit. It's still far from super-adventurous in that regard, but there's definitely a bit more bounce in his step and he even slows down on a few tracks.



DVD-wise, you should really see My Bloody Valentine 3D and, since it doesn't look like Netflix is shipping 3d glasses, you might have to bite the bullet and cop the DVD, which comes with four pairs of them. The dialogue is eh, the twists aren't very original but, as a whole, MBV3D is a pretty sweet entry into the shlock-horror sweepstakes. Lotsa sharp things going "through" the screen, an incredibly long nude scene, what more could you ask for?

Tuesday Capitalizm

I looked over today's release schedule so I could, you know, tell yall what to spend money on, and the only thing that stood out to me was Desire Lines by Meanderthals, a balearic supergroup of sorts composed of the Idjut Boys and Rune Lindbaek, who have both been cranking out super smooth edits and beach-bound tunes for a while now. This is the perfect season for music like this; an awesome record as we surf slowly towards summer. Listen to the opening track "Kunst or Ars" above and click here (or, better yet, holler at your local dealer of sun-kissed, breezy disco) to buy it.

reppin' for California Wives

(photo from Cali Wives Facebook group by Maria used without permission, cuz, you know, it belongs to Facebook anyways :) )

So the dudes above are Chicago drunkards California Wives. I know three of them (degree of knowledge varies from well enough to say wassup to well enough to hump on a dance floor as a way of saying hi) and was a big fan of Javier and the Bear, the last hard rockin' dynamo they were in. I say this only to let you know that I hold them to an even higher standard than the average asshole rock quartet.

Well, turns out they're still pretty damn good. I was admittedly worried when I heard the dudes once responsible for "Fight You For Your Woman" were in what sounded like...gasp...an indie band but any doubts have been allayed and I've been listening to the 4 jams they have up on their myspace quite a bit. "EL84" has really hooky guitar playing and it's definitely one for the spring, flowers blooming, shorts getting brought out, etc..

My favorite, though, is definitely "Fill Things Out", which sounds like it belongs in a montage from a late 80s teen comedy, but in a completely different way than, say, the cunting Bravery sounds like it belongs in a late 80s teen comedy. Awesome songwriting, with enough suburban pathos in the bassline alone to to sustain about ten car rides to house party of the year.

Again, give these boys a visit on the internets and see em live ASAP.

Up to 11: It's March!

It's a new month somehow, and I'm gonna go put up 11 new songs on the sidebar to your right for your listening pleasure. New hotness. Real Talk. (If you want one last sweet listen [or several] to the Winter edition of Up to 11, it's right here)

- We start off with my favorite jam from the Juan Maclean's long-awaited the Future Will Come LP, out on DFA next month. The album is super fun and bookended by his two awesome singles from last year, but the (non-"Happy House") highlight is "One Day", which is an awesome, poppy boy-girl house song that explodes into an awesome euphoric climax in the last of its four minutes. The only thing wrong with it is that the climax doesn't last like 4 more minutes. Gimme remixes.

- Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back and messing around with all kinds of new wave electronic textures, which I kind of thought was a bad idea. But what do I know, cuz while I don't love this as much as their rawk debut, it's eons better than the last one so far. I give you the lead single, "Zero", which just goes off into the stratosphere.

- Three rap songs in a row next, with some nice surprises. Ya boy Souljaboytellem first, and this ain't gonna start no dance craze. It's some ultra-minimal grime-y shit with the kid spitting fast and out of breath. Fun. Then the highlight of Weezy's Hottest Nigga Under the Sun mixtape, the Pharell duet "Yes". Pharell's Weezy impression is suspect, but the beat is absolute fire, I think, def one of my best things Pharell's done in a long time. Finally, Cam'ron is back with, of all things, an ode to the Midwest. The beat is by RI's AraabMuzik and is some real widescreen yet grimy shit. Cam still got nonsense charisma, this is heat.

- Back to Brooklyn for These Are Powers and "Little Birds", a booming ride through what I can only assume is some kind of Guillermo Del Toro filmed carnival. I have to remember to bring this CD back next time I go to Chicago, I wanna hear it in the car with the bass up.

- The lone R&B song this week is already a huge hit, but I've been playing it so much I might as well. Of course, it's the Ron Howard approved "Blame It", from Jamie Foxx and T-Pain. I haven't really thrown/been to a big party since I started jamming this, but I'm sure it will be glorious.

- Some dance music towards the end. Still catching up to 2008 of course, here with Matias Aguayo's "Walter Neff" on Kompakt, fun, sexy pop-techno as the Chilean tends to offer. Super catchy non-verbal vocal hook at 2:15. I'm always in favor of that. Then some new New York house, courtesy of Terre Thaemlitz aka DJ Sprinkles. It comes from Midtown 120 Blues, a house album that takes great care to explicitly place itself in a specific historical context and explore what that means, through the music but also through spoken word bits and titles, such as "House Music is Controllable Desire You Can Own". Then some Italo by way of sometimes disco, sometimes prog group Zombi. This is definitely their disco side, and it's as hard hitting, dramatic, and expansive as you'd expect form a disco outfit who love Dario Argento soundtrackers Goblin as much as Zombi do.

- We close with a track that you simply must hear. Even if "deep house" isn't exactly a phrase that makes you teem with anticipation, this is definitely going to be one of the truly special tracks of 2009. It's "Rushing to Paradise" by House of House and it's absolutely epic, over-the-top, maximalist, and spectacular. It's about six minutes of deep, piano-laced build until a sweet break down and a peak (complete with vocals) that should have the kids going crazy. Must hear out.

Thoughts? Ideas? What new shit are yall pumping in March?(/commentbait)

Look right

So a new feature here at YMD, given how we mostly post about old songs but there is a bunch of new music I'm mad excited about, I'ma try to install this imeem playlist of new hot shit, on the sidebar. It'll be updated every month or two with new hotness and hopefully some folks will find enjoyable new-ish jams to jam to.

This first playlist is basically my favorite stuff of late 2008/2009 so far, and it starts with the previously mentioned Fever Ray, aka Karin from the Knife. It's a wonderful dirge, and the production on the vocals (both the typically Knifey parts and the parts on which you can here her mouth clicking) puts it over the top.

Next we have my new fave Taylor Swift, who is apparently playing NYC in August. Lord willing, I will be there. "Forever & Always" is one of my favorite songs from her 2008 album Fearless and is apparently about Taylor's breakup with Joe Jonas. Her and Miley are performing together at the Grammys this weekend, and if they do this song I can see the Jonas Brothers exploding, which, though I have nothing against them, would be hilarious.

Lily Allen's #1 UK single is called "the Fear" and is quite excellent. I'm mixed (but edging towards positive) about Lily's ultra self-aware reflections on celebrity, but the song is gorgeous.

Then there are selections off of new records from two of my freshman year faves, Franz Ferdinand and the Junior Boys. The Franz is nothing new for them, but really fun. The JBeez is a lovely, fairly minimalistic little electro-soul number, and this wonderful, gentle saxophone appears for a bit, and everyone (except the people who will hate it) is happy.

That is followed by a Lindstrom remix of Boredoms, from the excellent and unexpected new Super Roots 10. It's wondrous, maximalistic disco overload, that makes Boredoms and Lindstrom seem like a completely natural pairing.

Then comes the R&B section. The-Dream put out one of last winter's best records, and "Rockin That Thang" will hopefully launch his new record to greater commercial success. The man has a way with vocal harmonies. There are two tracks from the bangin R&B Kings 2009 Volume 2 mixtape (automatic audio watch on that link). I'm as surprised as you that my second favorite track on it is a Jagged Edge song produced by Jermaine Dupri, but it's smooth as hell and I hope it's a single. Ciara and Chris Brown's "Turntables" is the best though, an unstoppable, 200mph dance track that better be huge by the end of the year. Also in R&B land, Cassie producer Ryan Leslie's album is finally coming out and it closes with the hilarious and gorgeous "Gibberish". Listen for yourself.

We close with "I Am Speaking Through Barbara" by the Fun Years, my favorite track from Kompakt's Pop Ambient 2009 comp. We don't listen to a whole lot of ambient here at 2009, but this track is straight gorgeous.

Hope these serve yall well in the winter. Holler.

If I had a heart I could love you

Run don't walk here to watch the video for "If I Had A Heart", the first single from the self-titled debut by Fever Ray (aka Karin from the Knife). The video is really, really great, as is the album, which you can buy in MP3 for only 9 bucks from Amazon (the physical copy will be out in March). It's a beautiful, haunting record; one that I definitely expect to be listening to a lot this year.