January 9, 2010
Albums To Look Forward To In 2010
THIS WEEK IN HIP HOP
Wow. It seems like yesterday the world was freaking out about Y2K, and now in the blink of an eye, it’s 2010. The past decade treated me well, and I hope it did the same for everyone reading this, but frankly, it was not too good for the majority of the world’s inhabitants. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that in the next 10 años we make major improvements in the ways in which we treat each other. Anyways, that’s enough of me being thoughtful and preachy, let’s talk about music.
Quan, our other This Week In Hip Hop man, in his unpredictable top 10 list of albums in 2009 requested that I critique his selections, and provide my own. Although I felt that there were some questionable picks to say the least (Juicy J in the top 5?!?), I think his article did a great job of letting the world know that hip-hop as a genre is tremendously diverse, as is the taste of its followers. There is absolutely nothing wrong or contradictory about a die hard Wu-Tang fan enjoying Gucci and Wayne. Hip-Hop is not dead; in fact I think it’s the genre of music most oversaturated with legitimate talent. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to make my own list of favorite albums from 2009. While I must admit that I did hear a lot of new music last year, I still don’t feel like I even scratched the surface of the quality content that was released. I unfortunately didn’t listen to the new Souls of Mischief, Zion I, Tanya Morgan, The Clipse, UGK, De La Soul, Slum Village, etc… so without experiencing those projects, I don’t feel like I can do justice to critiquing an entire year’s worth of albums. Sorry Quan.
On the other hand, I know that there is a lot of music that I am looking forward to in 2010, so without further ado, I want to let y’all know what I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for this year.
Black Milk, Sean Price and Guilty Simpson | Random Axe
You may already know that I am thoroughly impressed with the quality of music that Duck Down Records is putting out, and from the slew of projects they have slated for 2010, Random Axe is the one that I’m the most excited about. When I first heard that Black Milk, Sean Price and Guilty Simpson were collaborating, it seemed to good to be true, but after they leaked “Monster Babies,” it was official. This group is for real. Unfortunately, Black Milk’s hard drive crashed, and with it all of Sean P’s recorded verses were lost. To make matters worse, Kimbo Price only writes his verses on his cell phone, and he purchased a new one, so the written words were gone too. So it wasn’t released in ’09 like it was supposed to be. Instead, Duck Down is hoping to make Random Axe available to the masses in the first quarter of 2010. As long as Sean kept his morale high through the hardships and made sure to persevere, this album could be one we remember in 2020.
More on Albums To Look Forward To In 2010
Watch Alicia Keys and Jay Z Play “Empire State of Mind” at the World Series; The Blueprint 3 Sucked and I Hate the Yankees – This Performance Manages to Negate Everything; Conclude: “Man, New York Rules” [Spin]
Former Harlem Shake (Not an Ice Cream Based Treat) Todd Goldstein Releases His First LP as ARMS Kids Aflame Stateside TODAY (Stream “Tiger Tamer” Here); Meanwhile, I Shamelessly Self Promote Our Website by Linking You to Our Coverage of ARMS at CMJ [Jezebel Music]
The Books Book (Heh?!) First Tour in a While; Somehow Manage to Dodge L.A., New York, and Chicago (Possibly Due to Fear of Urban Heckling? Just a Thought); Much Anticipated New Album Due Out “Early Next Year” [Pitchfork]
Download New Track From Brooklyn Psych-rockers Yeasayer, “Ambling Alp” (Does the Overproduction Present on this Single Secure That Yeasayer is Releasing 2010’s Veckatimest? Yes.) Odd Blood Released Early 2010 [Brooklyn Vegan]
Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon Will Release an Album Together December 22; Release C.S.I. Like Teaser Trailer (Hopefully That Means Album Will Be Ridden With Murder, Poorly Rendered CGI) [Prefix]
Stream New Untitled Dum Dum Girls Jam…Which I Want Desperately to Hate, Because it’s the Fucking Dum Dum Girls, But it Sounds Straight off Nico’s Chelsea Girl, and I Have a Soul [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Massively Overrated Band/Possible Co-Originators of What We Now Call “Indie” Spoon Formally Announces New Record, Transference, Set To Release January 26; Expect it to be Innocuous, Bland, Immensely Popular, and Contain Slightly Veiled References to Weed [Pitchfork]
compiled by Max Sebela
Stream Another 17-Minute Memory Tapes Jam, “Walk Me Home”…It’s Halloween Spooky, And Leads To Fun Puns Such As “Monstrous Memory Tapes” or “Memory Terrifying Tapes” [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Nas Joins Courtney Love and Method Man On List of Musicians Who Owe a Shit-Ton in Back Taxes (For Nasir, $2.5 Million); Well, Life’s a Bitch (Eh? Get it?) [Prefix]
Stream New Of Montreal “Wet Butcher’s Fist” Off the HHBTM Single, Which Sounds Like It Was Recorded It Was Sounded Underwater, and Features Kevin Barnes Admitting to Wanting to be a Sex Offender [You Ain’t No Picasso]
Canadian Hardcore Band/Polaris Prize Winners Fucked Up To Release Singles Collection, The Two-Disc Couple Tracks; Released January 26 [Pitchfork]
Stream All of Devendra Banhart’s What Will We Be a Week In Advance of Its Release – This Album Isn’t Nearly Strange Enough; I Thought The Warner Bros. Were Supposed to be Pretty Crazy [Stereogum]
Animal Collective Joins Animal Rights…Collective, PETA, In Fight Against Bludgeoning Seals; If You Don’t Want To See a Seal Bludgeoned, Don’t Watch This Video [I Guess I’m Floating]
The Roots Push Baked Upcoming LP How I Got Over To Early 2010; Meanwhile, The Roots Still Playing on Jimmy Fallon Every Night, So No One Has Any Shortage of Roots (Except Licorice Root…I Can’t Get Enough of That) [Idolator]
Watch Norwegian Sleep-Folk Duo Kings of Convenience Play a Bunch of Songs in the Spin Studio Off Released-Today LP Declaration of Dependence; Grow Bored In a Matter of Seconds, Take Nap [Spin]
Madonna Getting Sued By Her Neighbor For Rehearsing To Loud; Shouts of “Damned Kids With Their Grasping at Straw Attempts at Former 80s Glory” Heard From Neighbor’s Apartment [NME]
Lego Freddy Mercury Will Appear in Lego Rock Band; Lego Moustache and Chest Hair Not Living Up To Precedent of Actual Moustache and Chest Hair [Idolator]
compiled by Max Sebela
October 17, 2009
VH1 Honors Def Jam’s 25th Anniversary
THIS WEEK IN HIP HOP
On Tuesday, VH1 aired the 6th installment of their annual Hip-Hop Honors awards ceremony. While in previous years the show has followed a format similar to a Hall of Fame induction ceremony, this year’s program was dedicated solely to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the most important Hip-Hop record label of all time: Def Jam. One would hope that all music fans know at least a little about Def Jam, but even if you have been trapped under a sunken ship for the past 25 years, and think you’ve never heard of the label, I guarantee that your ears have frequently come in contact with Def Jam’s music. Def Jam has been home to Hip-Hop’s most elite artists since day one. Their untouchable roster has included: The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, EPMD, Jay-Z, Nas, The Roots, Scarface, Ludacris, Method Man, Redman, Ghostface Killah, and DMX among hordes of other influential and extremely talented musicians. These artists combined with the visionary genius of Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and Lyor Cohen literally changed music forever.
VH1 deserves a ton of credit for putting on this event. For a TV station that built itself upon safe music for the middle-aged, and then developed into a reality TV powerhouse, when it comes to shining light on what Hip-Hop is all about, they surprisingly drop a steaming shit all over BET and MTV. Let’s try to forget about the White Rapper Show and focus on the fact that they have not only included hip-hop artists in Behind The Music and Storytellers since the hit series’ inceptions, but additionally, have consistently used Hip-Hop Honors as a great way to expose younger generations to the great rap artists of the past. We should all be thankful that at least one station has done the wonderful deed of dedicating a miniscule 5% of their programming to quality Hip-Hop.
More on VH1 Honors Def Jam’s 25th Anniversary
Stream New Vampire Weekend Song, “Horchata” (Which, Yes Is a Traditionally Latin Seed-Based Beverage) – Let The Love/Hate/Casual Indifference Begin! Contra Released January 12, 2010 [Brooklyn Vegan]
Watch Mark Hoppus From Blink 182 Cut Fall Out Boy Frontman Pete Wentz’s Hair, In a Supposed “Death of Emo” Move; Elsewhere, Emo Dies, As Pete Wentz Was Last Human Being Alive to Still Have That Awful Haircut…Emotion Somehow Continues Existence [NME]
Brooklyn’s In The Tube-d Psych Rockers, Suckers – Who Released One of My Top 5 Singles of This Year – Sign To Gigantic; Announce Debut LP [Pitchfork]
Stream Excellent New Track From Brooklyn Slumber-Rockers Bear In Heaven, “Dust Cloud;” Their Debut Beast Rest Forth Mouth Released October 13 [Stereogum]
Method Man Turns Himself Over To Island District Attorney For Owing $37,799 In Back Taxes; Allegedly Repeatedly Told D.A. To “Shut the Fuck Up,” As D.A. Continued Denying Having Heard Him, And Encouraged Meth To Repeat His Statement In a Louder Tone [Idolator]
Stream New Glitched-Out Single From South Carolina’s Toro y Moi “Blessa,” Which May Be Glitchy Enough To Produce Actual Seizures, and Kind of Sounds Like He’s Just Turning The Volume Up and Down Like an Eight-Year Old [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Watch Philly Tribal Indie Duo Pattern is Movement And Members of the Roots Cover D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” (Yeah, That One Where D’Angelo Is Completely Naked); Luckily, These Guys Chose to Keep Clothes On [Pitchfork]
Stream New Frightened Rabbit (The Scottish Emo Band That Isn’t the Twilight Sad) Song, “Swim Until You Can’t See Land;” Song Instructions Are Impossible For Anyone Who Lives On Mainland United States, Frightened Rabbit Found Alienating [FatCat]
by Max Sebela
The Pope Criticizes Glasgow Band For Destroying Bible. Let’s See How He Feels About Censorship After His Album Drops! [NME]
That’s Right, The Pope is Dropping his Debut LP This November. Holy Shit. [Prefix]
Watch Heath Ledger-Directed Video For Modest Mouse Song “King Rat” [Rolling Stone]
Another Reason I Prefer Ghostface: Method Man Allegedly Shoots Fan With Pellet Gun. [AllHipHop.com]
In Case You Cared, MTV Revealed The Nominees For 2009 VMAs [Idolator]
Unfortunately, Mistah F.A.B.’s “Hit Me On Twitter” Video Overlooked By VMAs, but We Think You Should Check It Out Anyway [Idolator]
Nick Cave Releasing Double CD, Will Be In NYC To Talk About His Book [Brooklyn Vegan]
My Bloody Valentine To Give Away Earplugs At Shows. But I Like That Battered Eardrum Feeling! [NME]
compiled by Erin Sheehy
Northside Festival Badge Holders Turned Away at Shea’s Stadium [Brooklyn Vegan]
Ballet Troupes to Perform to Music of Arcade Fire and Spoon [NME]
Raekwon, Method Man, and Ghostface Killah Re-Bring Da Ruckus on “New Wu” [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Weezer, Christina Aguilera, and the Eagles Get Their Own Radio Stations [Idolator]
Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket, and M. Ward Create Monsters of Folk [NME]
Andrew WK’s New Show Consists Solely of Destroying Stuff [Idolator]
Thurston Moore Gets a Signature Guitar; Can Be Played Without Bow [Pitchfork]
Post-Punk Heroes At the Drive-In May Reform [NME]
Animal Collective Video For Merriweather Cut “Summertime Clothes” is Frightening [Prefix]
Phil Elverum’s Mount Eerie to Release Wind’s Poem August 18th [Pitchfork]
compiled by Max Sebela
HEALTH Announce North American Fall Tour, Three Summer Shows in New York [Prefix]
UK DJs Arrested for iTunes Scam [NME]
Backstage Passes to Whoever Finds Alice Cooper’s Bag of Horror Films! [NME]
Ghostface, Method Man, Redman Will Hit the Road With “The Footprints In Hip Hop Tour” [Brooklyn Vegan]
TV On The Radio Remix Gang Gang Dance’s “First Communion” [Stereogum]
What? Pete Doherty Arrested? [NME]
SPIN Magazine Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Purple Rain with Free Tribute Album [SPIN]
Fiery Furnaces Debut New Album at Philly Show [SPIN]
Girl Punk Legends The Slits Announce New Album [Prefix]
Sonic Youth Take North America, Take Down Radiohead [Stereogum]
New Raveonettes Track From In-Progress LP [Stereogum]
compiled by Erin Sheehy
