B.o.B.- “B.o.B. Presents the Adventures of Bobby Ray”

I know its finals and I don’t have time to be doing this, but I just got the best album I’ve heard all year. Atlanta’s own B.o.B. is on point from start to finish. He’s more than your typical “drugs, money, and swagger” rapper, and even samples Vampire Weekend on the track “The Kids.” Download this now!

B.o.B. featuring Janelle Monae- “The Kids”

B.o.B. featuring Rivers Cuomo- “Magic”

-PBrods

Summer Songs

Sorry it’s taken so long for me to update the blog, but hopefully this will make up for the absence. Seeing as it’s nice out, here are three songs perfect for rolling the windows down and driving fast. The first is a standard of Southern Rock, the second is from the west coast, and the third song comes from the city of Minneapolis. Hope you enjoy, and if you have any more ideas, leave them in the comments!

The Allman Brothers Band- Jessica

Eagles- Take It Easy

Brother Ali- Blah Blah Blah (feat. Slug of Atmosphere)

-PBrods

This Is My Shit

You probably have heard of Japan based 80kidz before from their plethora of remixes that have flooded the internet since 2007-2008. However, last year they came out with their first album ‘This Is My Shit’ and have just released a new EP, ‘Voice’. They jump from sounding poppy to funky to hard with ease, and to all those who say that the distorted electro sound is dated, you’re missing out – or just hatin’.

Voice – 80kidz

For more tasty treats for the ears, check out their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/80kidz
-Meenerz

LCD Soundsystem- Drunk Girls

James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) is at it again. His new track, “Drunk Girls,” is a highly danceable single off of his upcoming album, This Is Happening. Frankly, the song is phenomenal, and is something in the vein of his past two lead singles, “Daft Punk is Playing at my House,” and “North American Scum.” LCD Soundsystem are scheduled to play Coachella later this month, and the album will hopefully come out this summer.

-PBrods

Matt and Kim to Headline Rockfest

WMRE and SPC’s Rockfest on April 24th will feature Brookly duo Matt and Kim as headliners! The pair released their most recent album, Grand, in 2009, and I’m guessing you know this song:

-PBrods

Heavy Ro Updates!

Our music director Wyatt sent over these descriptions of the new albums that you’ll be hearing on WMRE…

Artist: The Morning Benders
Album: Big Echo
Key tracks: Excuses, Promises, All Day Day Light
Sounds like: elephant 6 collective but with california influence

The Morning Benders came onto the scene a couple years ago with their highly praised debut album Talking Through Tin Cans, and now they’re back and sounding even better. Big Echo has a more mature sound but still has some straight up pop songs that are hard not to dance to (listen to All Day Day Light it will make you so happy!!). I also recommend the wall of sound song Excuses, featuring members of Girls, Port O’Brien, John Vanderslice, and others. The morning benders are proof that good pop music still exists!

Artist: Broken Bells
Album: Broken Bells
Key tracks: The High Road, Citizen, October
Sounds like: well, like the shins and danger mouse

Broken Bells is a new project from James Mercer of the Shins and Danger Mouse. It’s a good album but at times kind of slow. But enjoyable nonetheless, with plenty of melodies and some experimentation.

Artist: Wrench in the Works
Album: Decrease/Increase (Courtesy of the good folks at Facedown Records)
Key tracks: Gethsemane, Vultures, Pocket Watch

Taking the innovation of a “contempo-noise” alternative genre and joining it with the fundamental excellence of bands like Converge, Deadguy and Zao, Wrench in the Works has honed a style of progressive music that is genuinely unique and savagely majestic. A sound which is brutally aggressive joins with well-written metal-influenced hardcore to show its unabashed rebellion against the genre’s restricting conventions. As experimental metal begins to flow with the mainstream, Wrench in the Works desists from the gimmicks that plague the stage during so many metal-hardcore hybrid shows, allowing the unconventionality of their writing to shine through.

Light Rotation:

artist: Chasing Kings
album: The Current State of Our Future
key tracks: The Current State of Our Future, All My Life
sounds like: in the vein of Dr. Dog and the Beatles
Chasing Kings are an up and coming band from around my parts in Los Angeles with a unique sound and lots of potential. They consistently put on a great live show and they’re also “hella” hilarious. Shwayze not the only music Malibu has to offer folks (thank god)

Canada’s Best Kept Secret

Here in these lovely States, Canada is not usually concidered a force to be reckoned with especially in the world of hip-hop. I was pleasantly surpried to have been proven wrong a few weeks ago when I met Canadian photographer Loni Schick. She’s one of those rare peopel that has a keen eye for what hip-hop really is. After meeting her, I’m offically of the opinion Hip-Hop that isn’t dead; it just pulled a Maxwell on its anxious fans and is hiding in Canada somewhere (Loni probably knows where).We can only hope that Hip-Hop in true Maxwell style comes back to these Great States better than ever. Until then, Loni will probably its messenger to the rest of the world. In any case, they say “A picture is worth a thousand words” and she’s got a lot of them so many languages are soon gonna be needing many more new words to describe the quality of her work. So go on, listen to the little minions of procrastination in your head, click away, and feast your eyes.

Blog: http://cupcakesandmixtapes.blogspot.com/
Website: http://lonischick.carbonmade.com/

PS Apparently Loni’s a bigger sneaker fanatic than I thought. Check out her other blog about the coolest and latest in footwear on her other page: http://femalesneakerfiends.blogspot.com/

Omotola / BLK Orpheus

Gorillaz- Plastic Beach

With the release of their heavily anticipated third studio album, Plastic Beach, the Gorillaz seem to have repudiated all doubts of legitimacy and grounded themselves as one of the top British bands influencing the international music scene. Members Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett revitalize the band’s idiosyncratic mix of hip-hop and alternative rock into a more orchestral tonality by fusing electronic and dub sounds to create a mélange of awesomeness. Now while I might seem somewhat prejudiced towards this new album, this slight bias stems not from my endearment to the Gorillaz, as before Plastic Beach I was not that much of a fan of their previous multi-platinum albums, Gorillaz and Demon Days. Rather, it springs from the reaction I had after listening to the album in its entirety and what everyone can hopefully expect from the Gorillaz in the future.

The album begins with something that is dear to me, which is orchestral music performed by Sinfonia ViVA of the midlands (I play violin…). Now many might stop reading here and discount this CD due to the connotation the word orchestral evokes, yet the Gorillaz only use this orchestral combination sparsely throughout the album. The album then transitions to a partial introduction/track by the legend himself, Snoop Dogg, which foreshadows the quality of what the listener is about to receive. With favorites such as, “Stylo, Plastic Beach, and Pirate Jet,” listeners experience the electronic-rock infused style of music that seems to be the new hipster sound that is sweeping the music industry. “Plastic Beach” scarily resembles the likes of MGMT and the Killers, while “Stylo” features renowned artist Mos Def that takes a backseat on many tracks throughout Plastic Beach.

While most know the Gorillaz to be the virtual “cartoon-like” band that has music videos so trippy, indieplex might not even air them, this public persona is what adds to the peculiar nature of their music. Tracks such as, “White Flag” and “Superfast Jellyfish” are more towards their hip-hop roots that got them where they are today and will most likely continue with them until Gorillaz retire. With featured artists such as Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Bashy, and Kano, this album has more soul than James Brown could ask for. The melodic nature of most songs details the time put into making not only catchy tunes, but something with style and flare that cannot be replicated. Like many of its clients, Virgin Records has an international winner that will not only bring in more revenue in these debilitating economic times, but also be around for much longer.

Album Grade: B+/A-

-Will Matthews

Listen to Will and Jeff Quinn on Will and Jeff’s Radio Show! every Friday from 9 to 10 PM on WMRE.fm or Emory channel 26!

She & Him – In the Sun

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel have released the new single from their upcoming Volume 2, which they’ll release under the name She & Him. Deschanel, who recently starred in 500 Days of Summer, pursues Ward through a high school and attempts to get his attention despite that Ward is a little too old to be there. Despite this, the video is great, in the vein of Feist’s 1 2 3 4. The new She & Him album comes out on the 23rd, but hopefully this will be enough to hold you over until then.

-PBrods

New Daft Punk Music

As you may or may not know, Daft Punk (my favorite band) is doing the entire sountrack for the upcoming Tron sequel, Tron Legacy, which also features recently-minted Oscar winner/The Dude Jeff Bridges. The above trailer, released today, features heavy, frightening beats from the film, which comes out on December 17th. I’m not sure how indicative this is of how the film will sound, but it’s Daft Punk so I’m sure it will be sick.

Bonus Beats: Daft Punk- HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGER (Alive 2007)

-PBrods