Cover Of The Day-Money To Blow

From here one out I'm going to let remixes be included in the cover of the day's. I don't mean none of that techno-tized remix crap, dumbed down and sped up for the cast of Jersey Shore to fist pump and smush to. That's a whole new playlist on my iTunes. In order for a remix to land on my prestigious list (psych) it must be pretty intriguing. So hurs da remix of da day.

As I've said in an earlier post, Young Money is like a zoo full of rappers, and "Money To Blow" is like the art the elephants paint; not perfect, and overhyped, but at least it's not feces. The track is a hodge-podge of Birdman, Lil' Wayne, and Drake. The track doesn't really bring much of anything new to the table. It's got some dark spacious synth chords seering in the back ground the whole time, with a typical 5 word chorus that includes adding 12 syllables to the word blow (I'm going to try to look at it like an accomplishment, but I'm sure it's not). Despite it's mediocrity, it's got some substance. The rapping isn't bad and there is a pretty cool flute synth floating around quiet a bit; not to mention beats I've come to expect to be pretty good. It's listenable, but I hate when songs are just listenable.

A-Trak brings a whole new aspect to the song; fun. To quote Pitchfork where I found this track, "A-Trak and Drake share a sense of humor, celebrating the absurdities of club life, without making it sound any less fun." That really says it all. The song does have some simple techno moments, but in a way, it's alright, because A-Trak allows it, but never takes it all that seriously. It's like a fun Kanye West. Anyways, the remix has plenty of up-beat to it, and I can't get it out of my head.

Original

REREREREREMIIIIIIXXXXXXXX!X!X!X!X!X!X!

I can't get a widget for this so go to this site a read the original review I saw on it. The track is there too.

Vampire Weekend-Contra

Earlier this week I was skimming around Paste looking for some decent new artists who weren't so cool that I didn't understand them, and I stumbled upon this story. Is Indie Dead? Now, I would be thrilled if you all would read this article, but realistically, seeing as it is quiet lengthy, I'll sum things up for you. "Indie" is 1. Not what it ever was in the first place, and 2. The opposite of what it used to falsely be. Indie Started out as a technical term for any record released on an independent label, one of the Davids of the music industry, instead of the suit-wearing money-stalking executive Goliaths. If The Black Eyed Peas were released on some little label based out of Portland, they too would be "indie". HOWEVA, "indie" was morphed over years. Only a short time after "indie" had hit the playing field it meant something of a very different nature. Indie was now the uncool music. It started out as the punk rock movement, who made sure they were not at the status quo. The leather clad sons on anarchy would listen to anything that no one else would, leaving a very small following. But, over time, uncool has become cool. The nineties brought a lot of angst and revolt against everything right, and through this past decade, that angst has turned into quirk, at an extraordinary pace. We appear to be in this awkward puberty stage in music where discovery of the strangest sound is the next big thing. While the "indie" music has been great for music in general, it is no longer "indie". Indie is about as individual as a pseudo-suicidal emo in Hot Topic. It is dead, or at least, somewhat ironically, different.

Vampire Weekend is one of the primary "indie" bands on the scene. They are polo-clad Jewish New Yorkers who could rock out in a country club, and no-one would care. The band consists of the four Columbia grads Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, Rostam Batmanglij, and Chris Tomsom. The band gained buzz around their college, playing for literary clubs, and recording EP's in their own dorms. The real peak of VW's train to fame was in 2007 when, like so many artists nowadays, their Myspace took them to places unprecedented in Columbia University band history. Ever since the release of their first self-titled album, The band has been busy recording this new album, Contra, and touring. If the planets align right, I'll get to see them myself in March.

Contra is a fresh twist on the same Afro-pop the band the band is so famous for. While most of the songs have the same sound, every track has a few things that have really been experimentally tweaked. For instance, "Holiday" contains distortion the you will not hear at all on the first album. The harpsichord in "M79" and "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" has been replaced with acoustic guitar; a first for the band. One of the quirkiest changes is the auto-tune used in "California English". Were not talking "Shawty lemme smack that booty" auto-tune, it's just a slight little enhancer to the fluid drums and occasional chord spurt in the background. Vampire Weekend loves to reference pop culture from a distance, mentioning Lil' John and how boring English drama's are now, all in one song. The auto-tune, though very interesting and pleasant, could be the band's calling to the DOA(See Jay-Z's hit Death Of Auto-tune). Many critics think that the band is just trying to get that "indie" sound, but the great thing about bands are that, for the most part, their making music, not a stereo-type. Vampire Weekend doesn't care what they are. They won't take out their ska guitars and african beats to please people, and that in itself makes the band "cool" in my book.

Cover Of The Day-Dead Leaves And A Dirty Ground

Today's cover comes from a man whom I consider the greatest musician of the decade, and is translated by one of my favorite entertainers playing today. "Dead Leaves And A Dirty Ground" is the opening track to The White Stripes famous White Blood Cells. The lead guitarist, Jack White, wrote the song with a lot of influence from old blues singer Son House, which explains the grit in the crunchy guitar and the tremolo in Jack's voice. The song is essentially a hard-pressed blues jam, and it is a beautiful song, exploring all kinds of chord structures and distinct ragged sounds from the guitar and drums.

The cover comes from Chris Thile(pronounced Tee-lee, I think), a man I've seen live three times, once with Chris Thile and The How To Grow A Band, once more with the new moniker of the first band, The Punch Brothers, and once with Nickel Creek. I first heard Thile's super folksy Appalachian version of the song the first time I saw him in Knoxville. It really came off well on stage because they band just sped through it, while still nailing all sorts of intricate string solos. The song is a powerful song that has a touch of nostalgia in its old ragtime atmosphere. The track opens up Chris Thile and the How To Grow A Band's sole album, How To Grow A Woman From The Ground.

Cover Of The Day-London Calling/War

I haven't expressed my love of Bruce Springsteen yet, so I will now; I absolutely adore The Boss. There is not a performer in America that I respect more than this guy. He put on the best concert of my life back in November on the third to last show of a two year tour that included three hours and thirty songs of pure music magic. Bruce has recorded 269 songs, but he has played twice as many on stage throughout the years. See, the most intriguing thing about a Bruce Springsteen show is that he takes six or seven requests every show, and while you get your basic hits; Born To Run, Born In The USA, Thunder-road, you also get the deeper cuts; Rosalita, Thunder-crack, Growin Up, but must intriguing of all are the songs that Bruce has never played. It all started, as far as I know, with a fan bringing a sign with The Clash's famous hit "London Calling". Bruce brought it on stage, met with his band for about five minutes, and proceeded to bang it out cleaner than any normal musician should do. NO PRACTICE! That's carazay. He came back the next week and opened his show with the tune. Here's the result.

Original

I didn't realize that was a cover until just now so you get two covers today! FTW!

Anyways, for my show the boss got the call for a little ditty called "Ring of Fire" by a man named Johnny Cash. Nobody to big in Nashville or anything... The place blew up, and everybody sang along. I was entrances at how amazing it was without a single run through. I repeat. NO PRACTICE. THAT'S FREAKIN CARAZAY!

Now for today's song(number two!). The original song "War" was a grimly soulful plead to bring home the kids in Nam' from the heart of American soul singer Edwin Starr. The song was very catchy, but featured much more bouncy saxophones and jaunty trap set than the rugged Springsteen take. Bruce took the song and polished it down with his huge rock riffs and drums as loud as the guns in question. Accompanied with a tremendous story at the beginning, a skill Bruce is famous for, the song constructs the terrifying jungle with horns calling out like wild animals, drums exploding like a cannon, and a voice roaring orders of peace in same tone as the generals you see in the movies. The song has really stood the test of time, spreading a message that pertains now as much as it ever did in 1986. The song is on the Live from 75'-85' album, which is one of the best albums you can buy.

fun.-Aim and Ignite

Well, I've been kind of hung up on the words this week, but bear with me here. The other day I got a peculiar word stuck in my head, and I wish I could tell you how it got there. Thump. No, not the slang for sexual intercourse made popular by frat bros, jocks, and guido's. Thump; like a rabbit. The more I would say it the more I felt the word. Thump sounds exactly like what it means. Its a striking word; very clean and aggressive. Another great is husky. Say it. HUSKY. It's a rough word. When I think of the word husky two things come to my mind; lumberjacks, and the Russian women's softball team. It's big and hairy and in your face. Greasy works too. Saying greasy or even thinking about it has this real slimy feeling, like motor oil trickling out of your mouth. Sounds fun right?

fun.(recognize the under-case and .) sounds like what they mean. fun.(the band) is a fun(the adjective) band. It's music that's hard to listen to on those days where your girlfriend dumps you because your dog died and you're crying like a baby (because it happens quiet a bit), but perfect for those days when you just won the super bowl and you're on your way to a date with Blake Lively(because that's even more likely). It is the best day of your life music. fun., basically started out as the unplugged version of itself. Nate Ruess started The Format with Sam Means, and the band became a local hit and produced two very good acoustic guitar driven pop albums. However, the douche bag that is the music industry via Atlantic Records, dropped the duo, and the group sort of fizzled out. TO BE CONTINUED......

NOW. Nate, being the musical entrepreneur he is. decided to move to New York and began fun. with Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost. After the band snagged producer Steve McDonald and had songs arranged by the legendary Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Aim and Ignite was recorded and here we are today.

I think the thing that intrigues me the most about this band is that they sound like what I would produce. Now, it's not my favorite group, not by a long shot. The band has their faults; they have a very slender range of variety, and at times they start to sound like Panic At The Disco, which is dangerous at best. However, if I had the talent and ability at my disposal to record and album, I think the results would be very similar. There are three things that really draws me to this music.1. The band has stated that the album was influenced by the vast amount of Broadway musicals the band had seen prior to recording. I don't think that musicals are "gay" or "stupid"; I really enjoy them. Rich experimental orchestration and great harmonies are actually very impressive. Anyways, the songs have a very theatrical feel, always lightly bouncing along despite the multitude of instruments being played, and fun. uses three part harmony as well as anyone since Queen. 2. I go ape over a well placed string instrument, and this albums is chock-full of that crap. I don't think there is a single song that doesn't have at least a violin. Seriously, it's almost as amazing as 3. ROGER JOSEPH MANNING JR.!!!!! This guy is THE man. Yea, that one. In case you don't know who this saint is (and lets be honest, you don't) he is one of the prominent members of Jellyfish, one of my top three bands of all time. The man is a pop genius with a constantly swirling mind of jovial piano riffs, peppy vocals, snappy rhythms, AND I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! I can shamelessly plug Jellyfish all day but i'll stop here.

Every track is so happy-go-lucky that Edgar Allan Poe would have snapped his fingers and shamelessly sung like Miley Cyrus to it. Despite my PATD reference earlier, they really do have interesting songs. If anything the band extracts the good qualities the emo-rockers have and leave the stupid make-up and disco ball behind. "Walking The Dog" features a quirkiest little rim click that really kicks off the song, shortly picked up by a rain of Passion Pit-y electro-rock showers. The song features everything from ska-guitars to harpsichord. Where else will you hear that? Another track, "All The Pretty Girls" opens with a homage de force to Queen with a huge three part harmony tag. The song really acts as a microcosm to the whole band, projecting a desperately optimistic love message, backed with cheers of joy from the trumpets and cellos. To close, don't listen to this in a bad mood expecting a pity party. fun. Is going to pick you up and throw you on your feet, whether you like it or not. So absorb the music and have a great day.

Sudan 365-A Beat For Peace

I just got the chance to hear this incredible pseudo-documentary/drum beat/call to action encouraging the general public to push leaders at a referendum for the country in 2011 to put a stop to the war for good. It includes the drummers from Radiohead, The Police, Elbow, Pink Floyd, and Snow Patrol, as well as well over twenty different ethnic drums from all over the world. It's especially neat for a drummer, like me.

Disclaimer: If you're going to watch it, watch the whole thing, because the end is great.

Cover Of The Day-Don't Dream It's Over

I haven't posted something in a while. Sorry, if you care. I get this intense feeling that no-one is reading this, but I do know I have a few followers, so thank you to everyone who gives me the time of day. Let me know who you are and i'll send you a crazy awesome mix-tape or something.

Anyways, today's cover is from the son of a famous Renaissance Man, Richard Thomspon. His son Teddy picked up many of his folksy attributes and really punches emotion into his songs, for what I can tell. To tell you the truth, this is the only song I know by the guy, BUT TRUST ME, it's a good one. Here's a picture of the guy to make up for my incompetence.

The original song comes from a classic little band called Crowded House who contributed a significant amount of music in the 80's. I love some of the song writing their main guy thought of. I can't keep going about the two artists because I don't know much about either one, so hurr ya go.