Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought?

Jun
23

With songs like this, who else could Gothenberg belong to? At this point, only Studio–their fellow brothers in Balearic–can match the dulcet dub disco of Air France. Their ode to their Swedish seaside home is nothing less than magnificent–redolent of sun-singed strolls, fish fries along diamond-laced shorelines, and the benevolence of the warm season. Few… Continue reading »

Jun
23

The 5 0′ Clock Shadowboxers-The Slow Twilight

There’s no right way to write about your friends’ music. Gush effusively and you look like a fawning cheerleader. Ignore it and you do a disservice to the people that should matter the most. That said–conflict of interest aside–The Slow Twilight is not only one of the finest indie-rap records of recent vintage, but it’s… Continue reading »

Jun
20

Wale-Back to the Feature Mixtape

A link for those of you who don’t obsessively troll rap blogs. Zeus is already calling it the best release of the year thus far. I haven’t listened yet, but if Wale uses “bojo,” or “trank” to diss other rappers, I’ll de facto concur. The cover is heavy. ZIP: Wale-Back to the Feature

Jun
18

The Streets-”Blinded by the Lights (Nero Remix)”

Last night, in the midst of Joker’s absolutely brilliant set at the awkwardly named Dubstep at the Roxy, Scion House Party, somewhere between a screwed-up, gonzo version of “I’m So Hood” and kinetic eardrums pop permutations of “Do It” and “Digidesign,” he let loose a wild rendering of Nero’s remix of The Streets’ “Blinded by… Continue reading »

Jun
17

The Strange Dreams of Paul White

Regardless of whether or not you think Dilla was the decade’s best beatmaker (my vote goes to Otis Jackson Jr.), it’s difficult to argue that he hasn’t been the most influential. After all, Myspace is stained by thousands of fisher kings sampling 128 KBS MP3′s of The Sylvers, thinking they got souulll. Paul White is… Continue reading »

Jun
14

The Tasteful Souvenir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgawkrfE2E4 A few years back, when Stylus stalked the land of the living, a small core of our writers banded around Souvenir’s brilliant, 64–a Stereolab meets Fujiya & Miyagi, meets Annie amalgam of surf guitars, chromatic keyboards, and sultry vocals. Or Little Boots, before Victoria Hesketh was a gleam in Atlantic Records’ coffers. The ever-discerning… Continue reading »

Jun
06

K-Dot-”Kurupted”

With Kurupt and Quik’s BlaQKout rightfully eliciting praise from most corners of the Internet, there’s a timeliness to “Kurupted,” K-Dot’s Young Gotti homage. While the Compton rapper has yet to crack the NMC circuit like his brethren Glasses Malone, Nipsey Hussle, and Jay Rock, he’s reportedly got the streets and suits buzzing, with rumors of… Continue reading »

Jun
01

Catch Nosaj Thing’s “Drift”

There are two kinds of drift. Blurry aimless float, or ethereal, blissful buoyancy. The 24-year old born Jason Chung opts for the latter, with his white widow smoke beats, recorded under the Nosaj Thing alias, honed in the Low End Theory laboratory. Drift, his full-length debut on Daddy Kev’s Alpha Pup records isn’t just a… Continue reading »

May
31

Mike Love Presents – The Best of Bad Boy Radio Freestyles (1997-2007)

Were this a truly inspired collection, Mike Love would’ve embraced his Beach Boys nomenclature, and forced the rappers in question to rhyme over “Surfin’ Safari,” “Surfin U-S-A,” and “Be True to Your School,” to say nothing of the 2Pac contrast implied in “I Get Around.” Still, the Chicago hip-hop radio staple did rap nostalgists a… Continue reading »

May
27

Caetano Veloso-”Tarado Ni Voce”

I’ll take the new Caetano Veloso record over the new Bob Dylan any day. Maybe it’s because I have no idea what he’s saying. For all I know, this could be a concept album about McDonald’s cutting down the rain forest. Or the Brazilian Relapse. Kevin Elliot speaks Portugese and he likes it. I trust… Continue reading »