You Made Me Realise

So, Coachella really lived up to expectations. I had lots of fun, got to spend time outdoors with my lady, and got to see some great bands: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Paolo Nutini, Glass Candy, Public Enemy, Peter Bjorn & John and MIA (except for her annoying-ass DJ) all killed it. There really weren't many disappointments. The only ones I can think of were Clipse & Glasvegas canceling and there being a lack of diversity with the Sahara dance tent acts (since when did EVERYONE start using bassy thump thump thump beats and hard electro synths?)

However, as expected, my favorite performance was by My Bloody Valentine. MBV is one of my favorite groups and after not being cool enough (or old enough, maybe) to know about them in the early 90s, I found them a few years ago and figured I'd never see them live. Well after missing them in Santa Monica last year, I was amped to see them at Coachella. And they did not disappoint.

My favorite part of the performance, was the rumored "noise holocaust" section of You Made Me Realise, which was supposed to be the loudest, most insane thing that one is supposed to experience in their concert-going life. Well, the rumors, were true. It was insane and incredible and a wonderful soul named Suprefan has placed the video on YouTube for you to enjoy.

As good as the videos are, they just don't do justice to the sheer insane force that was this "noise holocaust". Truly an unforgettable experience. What was lots of fun was watching people retreat from the stage covering their ears. Ha ha! And I took the whole 15 minute onslaught sans ear-plugs.

Mad props go to my girlfriend who doesn't really like MBV (or noise, in general), but who experienced the entire set and, I believe, actually enjoyed herself.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Amazing!

Soundtrack for the Week! (April 20-April 26)

Hey Everyone,

Sorry this is a day late. I went to Coachella this weekend and took yesterday to recover (report on the show to come). I'm in a much better mood this week so this one won't be so wrist-slicingly morose. This is some of my favorite stuff I've gotten or re-found in the last couple of weeks:

Soundtrack Vol. 2. (April 20-April 26) - Download link at the bottom of the Post

1. Valley of Death - Rick Ross
2. Gazzillion Ear - DOOM
3. Intro/Outside Perspective - John Robinson
4. Geto Boys - Glass Candy
5. Still Dope - Empress Starrh
6. Day N Night (Remix) - Kid Cudi feat. Collie Budz
7. She Don't Wanna Man - Asher Roth
8. The Look of Love (9th Wonder Remix) - Slum Village
9. I Know You - Illogic
10. 6 AM - Blueprint
11. Oh Yeah - Jackson Jones
12. Broken Language - Smoothe Da Hustler (feat. Trigger the Gambler)
13. Something Else - Jadakiss feat. Young Jeezy, Snype Life, Bully, AP, Boo Rossini & Blood Raw
14. Break 'Em Off - MF Grimm
15. (You're Puttin') A Rush on Me (Special Herbs Remix) - Stephanie Mills
16. Find A Way - Stoupe (feat. Lorrie Doriza)
17. Knocked Up (Kings of Leon Cover) - Lykke Li
18. Love Like Jazz - Prince

Get it HERE

Peace,
Dre'

Re-live the majesty that was...The 2009 University of North Carolina Men's Basketball Team!

Suckas hate us...Holler!

Relive Coachella 2008

And get prepared for Coachella 2009! We only went Saturday last year, so here's some Saturday highlights:

MGMT


Boys Noize


Kate Nash


Hot Chip


Cafe Tacuba


M.I.A.


Animal Collective


Kraftwerk


Portishead


Sorry, No Prince videos available. Booo!!!

Jamie Foxx vs. Miley Cyrus

If y'all haven't heard this, this will make you laugh. It sure made me laugh. Out loud. This is Jamie Foxx CRUSHING Miley Cyrus after the Grammy's. To be fair, Foxx is kinda wrong for this one, but Miley Cyrus needs to STFU talking about grown folks (folks with actual talent & ability). Anyway...

If you don't find this funny you either:
1. Are a Miley Cyrus fan
2. Are way too uptight, or
3. Found this blog by mistake...

Update: New Rick Ross

Hey Everyone,

I really didn't feel like updating today. I've had a crappy day at work, and things are kinda sucking for me right now (Please, Coachella, come soon...). But this isn't a blog about my life, so here's some new music for you cats...

Rick Ross
Deep Than Rap (2009)
Quite simply, the best hip hop album so far this year (yes, better than DOOM). Ross is on his game with this one. Every beat is dope, lyrics are fresher and wittier (he goes at 50-Cent AKA Curly) while being more introspective (Ross even admits to being a C.O.) and the guest appearances don't feel like a waste.

I like Ross. Don't like 50. I'm feeling this.

Enjoy it HERE.

My Coachella!!!

Well...I'm really excited about Coachella this year. Last year I was a little nervous, it being my first year and it being the biggest festival-type event I'd been to and not knowing the scene and everything. But now, I feel like a pro and I'm ready to tackle the desert like a champ.

Thing is, last year I went for the headliners (I went on Portishead/Prince night) and this year the headliners are kind of meh (I'm going Saturday and Sunday so I'm missing Sir Paul.) However, the lower and mid-tiers are great both days.

So, since set times were announced a couple of hours ago, I made up my tentative schedule. It's pretty jam-packed, but I'm sure I'll get bored by someone on my list and move to something new. Looking at the schedule posted, there are some HUGE gaps in the Sunday schedule, so there may be room for some adds.

What do you guys think? Anyone I'm missing out on?

(Full Set Times are HERE...)

MY SATURDAY

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
1:45-2:30

Liars
2:30-3:15

TheNewNo2
3:15-3:45

Surkin
4:05-5:00

Amanda Palmer
5:00-5:50

Bloody Beetroots
6:00-6:30

TV On the Radio
6:30-7:15

Fleet Foxes
7:25-8:15

M.I.A.
8:55-9:45

Chemical Brothers
9:30-10:15

Glass Candy
10:15-10:50

MSTRKRFT
11:10-Close

MY SUNDAY

Vivian Girls
12:45-1:30

No Age
1:45-2:30

Fucked Up
2:50-3:40

Lykke Li
4:05-4:55

Peter Bjorn and John
5:00-5:50

Clipse
5:50-6:15

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6:15-7:15

Devendra Banhart
7:15-7:50

MY BLOODY VALENTINE!!!
7:50-9:00

Public Enemy
9:00-10:10

Throbbing Gristle
10:10-11:00

Etienne De Crecy
11:00-Close

Kid Cudi & Charles Hamilton

I haven't been checking for a lot of new cats lately, but these are two that I'm really feeling.

Kid Cudi
Album: Stoner Charm (Mixtape)
Best Track: Paranoid (GOOD Music Remix)


You heard Kid Cudi on Kanye's last album, 808's and Hartbreak and he's been all over the place lately on remixes by everyone Santogold to 88 Keys to Alchemist and Mr. West himself. Stoner Charm collects all his tracks to date. For fans of Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Common

Get it HERE

*****

Charles Hamilton
Album: And Then They Played Dilla
Best Track: Convincedindecision


Charles Hamilton is a different cat. Dude calls himself Sonic (after the hedgehog), likes Indie Rock and Emo (I don't even like Emo) and rocks pink headphones (he kinda bit Cam'ron with that though). Most importantly, he's got rhymes for days. He's dropped like 8 different mixtapes in the last year and this one, And Then They Played Dilla, is my favorite. Charles raps and sings over beats from Dilla's Donuts. Even better, the instrumentals are included.

Get it HERE

It's MF Doom Day!

What up people,

Well it's Day 2 of the revamped Blog and I'm back with an update. A MEGA update. Woo hoo!

In case you didn't know, hip-hop's most enigmatic personality, MF Doom, recently released his new album, Born Like This. While it's not as good as Operation: Doomsday and Mm Food (both certified classics), it's one of the best hip hop albums to come out lately and has been in constant rotation in my CD player for weeks.

Formerly known as both Zev Love X (when he was a member of KMD) and MF Doom. Recently, the Metal Finger Villain has dropped the MF and goes only by the name of DOOM. Well, we're going back to the Halcyon days when Doom had the MF and was dropping albums like nobody's business. I've decided to upload some of his harder to get stuff, because all of the straight MF Doom releases are available for purchase.

So without further ado...DOOM!

Special Herbs Vol. 1-10
5 albums worth of sick Doom instrumentals. Many of the beats used on his (and others') albums are included here. This is a treasure-trove of dopeness. Check 'em out...

Vol. 1-2
Get it HERE


Vol. 3-4
Get it HERE


Vol. 5-6
Get it HERE


Vol. 7-8
Get it HERE


Vol. 9-0
Get it HERE

MF Doom/MF Grimm - MF EP
This is a collaborative EP put out by our man Doom and his boy (or his ex-boy) MF Grimm. This albums features 3 Doom cuts and 4 Grimm cuts, each featuring instrumentals. Don't know why Doom and grimm aren't boys anymore. I think it may have to do with the greenbacks.

Get it HERE

MF Doom as King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
An album dropped pretty soon after Operation: Doomsday, this is unfairly one of Doom's most unhearlded and least spoken-about albums. Perhaps it's because he dropped it under his Monster Island alias. Still, the albums is pure Doom: classic, slightly skewed beats, pop-culture-filled lyrics, and his patented weird-vocal-samples-cum-cartoon-show-dialogue.

Get it HERE

Congratulations to Al Franken!

Al Franken has FINALLY been named the winner in the Senate race for Minnesota. Easily the funniest member in the U.S. Congress, Franken was formerly a member of the SNL cast and has recently been a radio talk-show host and a political satirist, par excellence. He wrote one of the funniest and most sharply-written books I've ever read, LIES and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them about Fox News and other Conservative pundits.

Congratulations Senator Franken!!!

Why Bjork Rules: Exhibit A

Check out the way she pronounces Arvo Part. And what good taste she has...

Soundtrack of the Week - Visuals

In case you don't fee like downloading the whole Soundtrack Week mixtape, here are YouTubes of most of the tracks:

Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused:


Jesus and Mary Chain - The Hardest Walk


My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise


The Ecstasy of St. Theresa - Icecream Star


Joy Division - Something Must Break


Fugazi - Waiting Room


Lali Puna - Come On Home


MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker


Guilty Simpson - I Must Love You

Sonic Youth - Disconnection Notice


Yo La Tengo - Sometimes I Don't Get You


Lou Reed - Sad Song (Berlin Version)


Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees


Charalambides - Dormant Love


Enjoy

The Best Albums You've (Probably) Never Heard #1...

The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Susurrate
(for fans of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Asobi Seksu, Shoegaze)


The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa are a band from the Czech Republic. They began as a shoegaze band and have now morphed into a somewhat-cliched electronica act. But their early stuff is absolutely amazing. Susurrate is their first LP and is, I think, the best Sheogaze album ever (yes, better than Loveless or Pygmalion). It is loud, melodic, noisy and beautiful. Perfect for my current state of mind.

Get it HERE!

Soundtrack for the Week! (April 13-April 19)

Hey Everyone,

It's amazing how music can understand what's going on in your life, articulate it better than you ever could and help you sort through it.

So, with that, a new feature I'm implementing with Black/Metal/Blues is a Soundtrack for the Week. This is a random (okay, not that random) sampling of the music I'm listening to that week. Usually the music will reflect my mood at the period of creation. So without further ado, the first installment:

Soundtrack Vol. 1. (April 13-April 19) - Download link at the bottom of the Post

1. Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused
2. Free Kitten - Roughshod
3. Jesus & Mary Chain - The Hardest Walk
4. The Faith - What's Wrong With Me?
5. My Bloody Valentine - You Made Me Realise
6. The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - IceCream Star
7. Joy Division - Something Must Break
8. The Deftones - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
9. Fugazi - Waiting Room
10. Electrelane - Cut & Run
11. Lali Puna - Come on Home
12. MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend - Heartbreaker
13. Kanye West & Kid Cudi - Paranoid (GOOD Music Remix)
14. Guilty Simpson - I Must Love You
15. Cam'ron & Tom Gist - Today Was a Bad Day
16. Sonic Youth - Disconnection Notice
17. Leonard Cohen - Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
18. Yo La Tengo - Sometimes I Don't Get You
19. Velvet Underground - Sad Song
20. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
21. Charalambides - Dormant Love

Get it HERE

What do you guys think about the mix?

Later,
Dre'

Back Like Cooked Crack!

So, I know it's been a minute since I updated this blog. It's my bad. Alot of things in my life have been put on hold as of late, but that's about to end right now.

Ladies and gentlemen, the rebirth of Black/Metal/Blues!

I will be updating frequently (hopefully several times a day) but I definitely won't go months between updates. I think I'm gonna try to focus the blog more on music (downloads of rare, out of print stuff or mixtapes from yours truly), with occasional commentary on sports, movies, politics, life, etc.

So please, check back often and holler at me. I'm also online on:

Facebook: Search for Andre Mallette Jr.
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/andremallettejr
Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/westwoodnupe

First update is coming momentarily....