Vinnie the Intern #20: "Microwave, Meet Your Maker"

In celebration of 20 blogs, I'd like to give a playlist of my top 20 songs of the week. Some are new, some are old favorites, and some old-but-new favorites.

A video to watch: Check out the new, non-NO LOVE DEEP WEB track from Death Grips titled "True Vulture Bare." The video is a collaboration with Director/Animator Galen Pehrson and just as most of Death Grips' material, it is as unsettling as it is beautiful.

Hymie's Basement (2003/Lex Records)

A song to listen to: Keeping in line with being at times unsettling is Hymie's Basement's "Ghost Dream," which is featured in this playlist. I recently came across Hymie's Basement (a side project of WHY?'s Yoni Wolf and Fog's Andrew Broder). Released in 2003, a majority of the album is a take on the American Dream and way of life. "Ghost Dream" tells the tale of a man who takes a detour to find a bass guitar at a city dump before he makes his way to a school dance. As he swerves his van to avoid a couple he plunges into water and slowly drowns. One of his final thoughts is that the water was soaking out the starch of his new dress shirt. Ending on the the chorus "Brand new skinny ghost, meet your brand new angel monster  Microwave, meet your maker." Any WHY? fan should love it.

Vinnie the Intern #15: WHY?'s Mumps, Ect. and The xx's Coexist

I am back with a couple album review/recommendations! This week I will be reviewing two highly anticipated albums. The first, WHY?'s Mumps, Ect. will be out next month, but has already leaked. The second, The xx's Coexist had big shoes to fit, but filled them nicely.
  

WHY? - Mumps, Ect (Out 10/09/2012 on Anticon)

With some of the sweetest sounding arrangements this year containing a mass of juxtaposing lyrical content, WHY? returns with their fifth full length album Mumps, Ect. This summer WHY? released their great Sod in the Seed EP. Watch the video for the title track off that EP below.

Vinnie the Intern #13: A Playlist for the Fall

In the middle of summer I pieced together a playlist of how to stay cool. Sadly the final days of summer are rapidly approaching. The grandiose sounds of summer will be traded for sparse, brittle sounds of fall such as leaves crunching and blowing in the wind. This playlist should complement that well. 

From Stereolab and Royksopp's thumping and chiming that beg to be played at a backyard get together to the downright dreary and unsettling "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl" (most notably in the Life and Live version 2:55 and on), this playlist should take you through the end of summer and get you ready for the harsh winter that will be here before we know it.  

King Krule - Rock Bottom/Octopus - Single (9/24/2012)

Note that the track, Zoo Kid's "Rock Bottom," is an early version of the song by the young man now known as King Krule. Check out the new version here. A song that builds, finds its clarity in its climax with repeating the final lines from "Empty Cans" by the Streets off of his album A Grand Don't Come For Free.

"It is the end of something I did not want to end. The beginning of hard times to come.

But something that was not meant to be is done. And this is the start of what was."

Additional Details:

1. Stereolab - "Brakhage" - Dots & Loops 

2. Royksopp - "Poor Leno" - Melody A.M.

3. Netherfriends - "Don't Invite Me" - Calling You Out

4. WHY? - "The Hoofs" - Elephant Eyelash

5. Atlas Sound - "Autumn Intro Cascading Into University Courtyard" - Bedroom Databank Vol. 2

6. Zoo Kid - "Rock Bottom" - U.F.O.W.A.V.E.

7. Sharks Keep Moving - "Cashmere, Washington" - Desert Strings And Drifters

8. Deerhunter - "Basement" - Turn It Up, Faggot

9. Xiu Xiu - "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl (Live)" - Life and Live

10. Misfits - "Halloween" - Legacy of Brutality

11. Gorillaz - "November Has Come" - Demon Days

12. The Sky Corvair - "Swallow Water" - Unsafe At Any Speed

13. Mount Eerie - "November 22 2003, 4:45 PM" - Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie

14. Atlas Sound - "Winter Vacation" - Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel

15. Sufjan Stevens - "The Winter Solstice" - Peace: Songs for Christmas, Vol. V

Vinnie the Intern Blog #10: The End of Summer.

The summer is about to end and this intern must resume his scholarly duties. But don't worry, if you have at all enjoyed these blogs, there will be much more on the way. I am happy to report have been given the go-ahead to continue writing a weekly entry for Saki. 

I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who has read these blogs and to Carrot Top who took me in for yet another summer! This was a busy summer of press releases, inventory, and preparing shipments. It is something I surely will miss but I know the good folks at Carrot Top and Saki have not seen the last of me. With four months left in the year, there is still so much talk about. I will be writing about the newest albums and judging by this fall's large amount of highly anticipated releases, I should not be short on music to talk about.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes

Bonus blog within a blog: The new Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti album, Mature Themes, is now streaming on NPR. The album opens with the zany "Kinski Assassin." This Doors-"Light My Fire"-esque track contains the usual Ariel charm: lyrics first seeming out-there and laughable which become infectious upon multiple listens. Try to not repeat the hook "Who sunk my battleship? I sunk my battle ship!" to yourself during your listening pleasure. "Only In My Dreams" is a love song in the way that only Ariel Pink can do love songs and is an immediate standout. Most comparable to their 2010 breakout, Before Today, more-so any other in their catalogue proves to be a good thing. The basslines are just as solid and even possibly improved is Ariel Pink's voice. Anyone looking for the weirdness that is present on their earliest releases can rest easy knowing that it is still very present. "Schnitzel Boogie" is among the more odd tracks including lyrics about eating schnitzel set to a catchy bassline and a gang of lively backing vocalists. "Pink Slime" features some glowing synths and hyper-active vocals which is followed by the dreamier, Beach Boy styled croon of "Farewell American Primitive." The flow of the album is vital to the album's success. Acting as a true closer, the seven-minute murky, hypnotic "Nostradamus & Me" has Ariel announcing "goodbye" through a progressive drone (a contradiction, I know.). "Baby," the actual closer is another stand out. While it is undeniably Ariel, I felt it was best that it put the Donny and Joe Emerson cover at the end of the record as to not disrupt the album's flow as a whole. The album is out August 20th. Make sure you check this one out! Highly recommend!

JJ DOOM - Key To the Cuffs

Animal Collective - Centipede HZ (Set to premier next week!)

Death Grips - NO LOVE DEEP WEB

WHY? - Mumps, Ect.

I will also be preparing a top 50 songs of 2012 in early December. For now I will leave you with "Twenty Seven;" the bizarre, tempo shifting gem from the new WHY? EP, Sod In The Seed, which can be downloaded in its entirety off of their label, Anticon's Soundcloud. Enjoy!

Vinnie the Intern Blog #4: The State of Hip-Hop

I have been a hip-hop fan for as long as I could recall. My first memory of hip-hop was playing my brother's cassette of Dr. Dre's "Dre Day" as loud as I could on my boom-box. I chose Biggie over Tupac and Jay-Z over Nas. I shuddered as hip-hop became an auto-tuned, radio-processed mess. But through all of this, there have always been true artists that have continually defined the state of hip-hop. The artists I list in this blog gave me the same feeling that I remembered while listening to "Dre Day" all those years ago. 

WHY? - Sod In The Seed - EP(Anticon/Aug 14th)

Last week Oakland's WHY? released "Sod In The Seed" off their Sod In The Seed EP due out on August 14th. It is WHY? at their finest. With its gripping opening line, "Let's review some recent facts...," I was immediately reminded of the first time I heard Alopecia (2008), my favorite WHY? album (as well as on of my general favorites). The song is available for free download on the band's Soundcloud. The reference of Whole Foods and Mac G4s bring to mind a time when vocalist Yoni Wolf spoke of R. Crumb exhibits, being at a Silver Jews show, and Showbiz Pizza. The band backing the ramblings are sounding as solid as ever. With bells and a steady bass line, WHY? appeal to hip-hop fans and indie rock fans alike.

Joey BADA$$ - 1999 (Cinematic/Creative Control)

Exciting newcomer, Brooklyn's Joey BADA$$ released his mix-tape 1999 with assistance from his group PRO ERA and from producers such as Knxwledge and MF DOOM. While the rousing fact may be that this artist is only 17, I find it equally incredible that this would not be out of place if you nesteled it between A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory (1991) and Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the 36 Chambers (1993). Songs like "Survival Tactics" and "Killuminati" both featuring spots by PRO ERA confidant, Capital STEEZ, are proof that gritty New York hip-hop is not just a thing of the past. Joey BADA$$ and the rest of PRO ERA are true artists to watch out for. Check out the video for "Survival Tactics" below.

Death Grips have earned much praise for their abrasive sound that includes Zach Hill on percussion and MC Ride on vocals. Their videos, similar to their musical prowess, have an emphasis on being innovative without a cushy budget, despite being on a major label (Epic Records). Last week Death Grips released their newest video "Double Helix" off of The Money Store, released in April. 

Another artist picking up quite a bit of attention is Azealia Banks with her debut EP, 1991, released earlier last month. Banks received praise for her single "212" towards the end of last year, which now has upwards of 22 million hits on Youtube. The single, along with the previously released "Liquorice" both made appearances on 1991, making up half the album. The other half, I am pleased to say delivered to these high expectations. Especially the exceptional title-track which takes form more in progressive-house rather than hip-hop. Banks will release her follow up to 1991, the mix-tape Fantasea, next Wednesday.

When I hear claims of the state of hip-hop is in dire need of change, I have to respectfully disagree. There is a lot going on in the world of hip-hop that feels new and exciting. Anyone interested in something new in hip-hop should look no further than WHY?, Joey BADA$$, Death Grips, or Azealia Banks.