Kid Sister

Chicago emcee Kid Sister finally released her long awaited and anticipated album, Ultraviolet (a total of 3 years in the making).  Kid Sister has risen straight out of the the Chicago electro scene and this album is proof, just look at the album credits.  The tracks on this album are produced by some of the most sought after and talented producers in electronic music today including Rusko, Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso, Sinden, XXXChange, Brian Kennedy, Herve, Yuksek, and DJ Gant-Man, not to mention her brother J2k of Flosstradamus and her boyfriend Fools Gold Records exec. and superstar DJ A-Track.  Its not hard to see how this more a dance album than it is a rap album.  I love Kid Sister, she stole my heart when her music first started surfacing in 2007.  Unfortunately the album is defiantly not what it has been hyped up to be over the last 3 years (its kinda hard to live up to that much hype anyway).  Almost half the album is old material that has been out for quite sometime.  All of that said it is understandable why some might be unenthusiastic and even disappointed with Ultraviolet.  Nonetheless, Ultraviolet (even if a year or two late) is an innovative fusion of club rap and electronic music that only continues to grow in popularity and demand.  The album is seamlessly mixed from track to track creating a continuous mix that feels like a DJ set.  This continuity only exists in transition due to the variety in styles throughout from disco to juke to dub-step.  Kid Sister’s debut is a solid album.  She has proven she can make some really bang’n music I just hope it doesn’t take as long next time.

Kid Sister- Ultraviolet

1. Right Hand Hi
2. Life On TV
3. Big n Bad
4. Step feat. Estelle
5. Let Me Bang 2009
6. Pro Nails feat. Kanye West
7. Daydreaming feat. Cee-Lo
8. Switch Board feat. DJ Gant-Man
9. 54321
10. Get Fresh
11. You Ain’t Really Down
12. Control

Kid Sister came to SLC this month and put on a great show in a tiny little club.  W Lounge went off.  Peep some of the pics I took below (she is such a babe).

Check out the rest of them here.

The Mixtape Vol. IV

Chicago boys The Hood Internet just dropped the fourth mixtape in a series of party smashing mixes featuring their original mashup productions.  There are a lot of just plain awful mashups floating around on the internet but the Hood Internet are among a small number of DJs/Producers that for the most part have gotten it right.  The Mixtape Vol. 4 has a blend of mainstream hip-hop, electro, and indie music that is sure to whet the whistle of just about everyone at any given party or gathering of people under the age of 30. Download The Mixtape Volume 4 (with separated tracks) HERE.

The Mixtape Volume Four:
1. Intro
2. David Banner vs Fujiya & Miyagi - Get Like Pterodactyls
3. The Beastie Boys vs Matt And Kim – Good Ol’ Fashion Rump Shaker
4. Kanye West vs Cage & Aviary – Touch The Television
5. Lil Wayne (feat. Babyface) vs Royksopp – Comfortable Up Here
6. Passion Pit vs Juvenile – Back That Sleepyhead Up
7. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince vs Daft Punk – Summer Circuit
8. Public Enemy vs HEALTH vs Nosaj Thing – Bring The Tabloid Sores
9. AZ (feat. Ghostface) vs The Golden Filter – Solid Gold From New York
10. Modest Mouse vs Kanye West – Floating Paranoia
11. Clipse vs Yuksek – Kinda Like A Big Break
12. Weezer vs Glass Candy – Buddy Holly’s Imagination
13. Bangers & Cash vs Bag Raiders – Bang Raiders
14. Amanda Blank vs VEGA – No Reasons To Like You Better
15. Michael Jackson vs Ratatat – Billie “Wildcat” Jean
16. Kid Sister (feat. Pitbull) vs Phonat – Free Control Ocho
17. Twista (feat. Erika Shevon) vs Boys Noize – Wetter And Jeffer
18. Flo Rida (feat. Ke$ha) vs MSTRKRFT – 1000 Times Right Round
19. R. Kelly (feat. Keri Hilson) vs Sally Shapiro – Number One Christmas
20. Drake vs The Rapture – Best Jealous Lover I Ever Had
21. Bon Iver vs Friendly Fires vs Aeroplane – Lump Sum Of Paris
22. Jeremih vs Handsome Furs – Birthday Furs
23. Yung LA vs Solid Gold – Who Ain’t I Gonna Run To?
24. Major Lazer (feat. Santigold) vs Dirty Projectors – Hold The Stillness
25. Dead Prez vs Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks Of Hip Hop
26. Soulja Boy vs Joe Jackson – Swaggin’ Out
27. OJ Da Juiceman (feat. Gucci Mane) vs Discovery – Make The Loop Aye
28. Glasses Malone vs Chromatics – A Moment To Remember Haterz
29. Paper Route Gangstaz vs Animal Collective – Animals Collecting Money
30. B-Hamp vs Little Boots – Ricky Bobby Boots
31. Ghostface Killah vs Beirut – Save Me Concubine
32. Keri Hilson vs The Glitch Mob/TVOTR – Red Dress Turnin Me On
33. Dorrough vs Bibio – Fire Ant Paint Job
34. Outro

Scary Gaga

I have to be honest, i’m scared of Lady Gaga.  Maybe its because she is so out of this world and over the top or maybe i’m just intimidated by her overpowering sexuality and dominant psyche.  Her cat eyes in this video are going to give me nightmares.  Bad Romance is the sixth single off Lady Gaga’s re-release of Fame called The Fame Monster.

remi|xx

This song has been on repeat in my itunes for quite some time now..its addictive to say the least.

“You’ve got the love I need to see me through”

Florence and the Machine – You’ve Got the Love (XX remix)

 

XX

The xx – xx

STAR WARS in Concert @ Energy Solutions Arena 10/16/09

Katie got me front row tickets to Star Wars in Concert for our anniversary.  She rocks!  I know she knows I am a nerd (I played in the Illinois Star Wars Collectible Card Game Regional Tournament when I was 16) but there is no way she can prepare for the nerd explosion that is gonna take place tonight.  Will I be taking a toy lightsaber to the show? YES.  Will there be lots of other grown men in costumes and/or with other miscellaneous Star Wars paraphernalia? YES. This is gonna be awesome, no doubt about it.

People I might expect to see tonight:

…ok so probably not Megan Fox but the others seem pretty likely.

Playground Mix

DJ kiDD wiDD- Playground Mix

1. Q-Tip- Gettin Up (Hot Pink Delorean Remix) [kiDD wiDD intro edit]
2. Deadmau5- Catbread
3. Ashton Shuffle- For Everyone (Stupid Fresh Remix)
4. Shakira- She Wolf (Calvin Harris Remix)
5. Fake Blood- I Think I Like It (kiDD wiDD edit)
6. Diplo & Laidback Luke Hey- (Nadastrom Hot Latin Dub)
7. Kid Cudi- Make Her Say (Nadastrom 88 Dub)
8. Major Lazer- When You Hear the Bassline (Dance Area Remix) [kiDD wiDD bassline edit]
9. FPI- Going Back to My Roots (Figure Remix)
10. Alex Gopher- Handguns (Dada Life Remix)
11. Dada Life- Let’s Get Bleeped Tonight
12. Groove Diggerz- Body Flow (Tits & Clits Remix)
13. Fake Blood- Fix Your Accent
14. Audiostalkers- Sex
15. Little Boots- Remedy (A1 Bassline Get Hype Remix)
16. AC Slater- Jack Got Jacked (Udachi Remix) [Tommie Sunshine Relax Edit]
17. La Roux- I’m Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)
18. Foreigner-Cold As Ice (Bastille Remix Shortened Edit)
19. NORE- Floatin’ In The Sky (Bird Peterson Remix)
20. Esser- Lets Work It Out (A1 Bassline Remix)
21. Example- Watch The Sun Come Up (Fred Falke Remix)

I like Girls

San Francisco indie-rock band Girls released their debut album Album last week.  After first listen I was struck by the deep melancholy and nostalgia of Album.  Girls’ have a distinct 60’s pop-rock sound reminiscent of Elvis Costello and Buddy Holly combined with the more drug induced music of the era. Album’s warm lo-fi production feels like a used record you pulled out of a dusty record store crate.  Much in the same way that an old used record find does Album really grows on you with each listen.  While the pace and tempo of the album varies, the mood is consistent throughout.  This is an album you listen to when things just aren’t going right but you accept it and keep going.  The angst and hurt though never manage to overwhelm or drag the music down.  Girls’ Album is a solid compelling debut from the young bay area musicians.

Girls – Album

Volcano Choir

Following the enormous success of Justin Vernon’s solo debut under the moniker Bon Iver, the indie-folk singer songwriter has teamed up with post-rock outfit Collections of Colonies of Bees to release a collection of experimental songs as Volcano Choir in the album Unmap.  While For Emma, Forever Ago had a stripped down and organic feel the beauty was in the subtlety of its intricacies.  Unmap is Vernon taking it a step farther and making that complexity the central focus of the music.  Volcano Choir is practically in a genre of its own (get ready..ridiculous made up genre coming up), prog-math-folk-pop.  There are definite similarities with Animal Collective and Talk Talk on this album but they are minimal, Unmap is very unique.  This album is really hard to describe but i’ll use a shallow analogy that is useful nonetheless.  If for Emma, Forever Ago was Vernon’s Ok Computer then Unmap is his Kid A/Amnesiac (the analogy also serves to point out the Thom Yorkness of Justin Vernon, especially in “Mbira In The Morass”).  While listening to Unmap it is clear that Vernon is still the driving force in the music, employing many of the musical techniques used in Bon Iver.  The difference is that they are now layers upon layers deep.  Vernon’s voice becomes part of the thick musical fabric of each non-traditional experimental song on the album, excepting “Island, IS” the closest to conventional track.  The symphony of multi-tracking reaches its climax on the penultimate track, “Still”, a reverb-heavy, fully developed, orchestral-like arrangement of the song “Woods” from the Bon Iver Blood Bank EP.  It is obvious that Volcano Choir does not have the mass appeal that Bon Iver has but Unmap is an incredible album and impressive achievment nonetheless. This is one of those albums you just gotta lock yourself in your room to listen to while lying on your back, eyes closed, taking it all in.

Volcano Choir – Unmap

The Beatles Remastered

I am an unashamed audiophile, anyone who knows me can attest to that.  I love music but I love high fidelity music even more. So it is no surprise the Beatles have completely taken over my home/car stereo and ipod since last week.  Over the last four years the entire Beatles back catalogue underwent an extensive digital remastering process culminating in its full reissue on 9-9-09 . If you aren’t already a Beatles fan the 16 remastered LP’s probably won’t induce a state of full blown Beatlemania.  Yet for those of us who already hold the legendary quartet in high regard, the remasters are sure to consume with a newfound love and appreciation.  It doesn’t matter what album or track you start with, the sound coming through the speakers will blow you away. The recordings haven’t changed, rather they reveal things you’ve never heard.  It is clear that the engineers at Abbey Road Studios took painstaking care to maintain the original integrity of the albums while still breathing new life into them.   Each album sounds as if it were recorded yesterday.  John and Paul’s voices are piercingly crisp and clear.  Paul’s bass lines have an incredible fullness and definition not present in the ‘87 versions.  The percussion on every track leaps out of the speaker with every hit of the stick. What really jumps out on the remasters is all the studio work that made the Beatles so groundbreaking in the first place, the layered vocals, intricate percussion, exotic instrumentation, orchestrations, tape manipulations, and effects.  The visual equivalent of listening to these albums is watching a movie in an IMAX theatre, the quality in undeniably superior. You will hear things that have always been there but just never heard.  The remastered Beatles catalogue truly shines a new light on one of the greatest musical groups in history.

Posting the entire Beatles catalogue here would probably be ill-advised but I have to post my favorite album for your “previewing” pleasure.  Below are the links to the FLAC and ALAC versions of Abbey Road (listening to the remasters in MP3 or any other shitty compressed format defeats the purpose of the remastered music.  Both FLAC and ALAC are lossless types of data compression, meaning there is no loss in audio quality when compressing music for digital consumption.  If you use itunes make sure you download the ALAC version of the album since itunes does not support FLAC files).  One last thing, for god sake don’t listen to this on your computer speakers.  For full enjoyment and effect play it loud on a real stereo system or with a nice pair of headphones pressed against your ears.

Beatles – Abbey Road 2009 Remaster (FLAC)

Bealtes – Abbey Road 2009 Remaster (ALAC)