Are You There, Thom? It's Me, God

Thom Yorke is superhuman. At his gig with Atoms For Peace last night in Oakland, he not only jammed onstage (something that he never does), but he followed it by playing the live rarity "Follow Me Around" for the first time since 2006 and only the tenth time ever (not including the soundcheck in Meeting People is Easy). For those of you going to Coachella where you'll have to choose between the Gorillaz and Atoms For Peace on Sunday evening, you officially have the most beautiful dilemma of all time.

EDIT: Holy. Fuck.

Episode 14: All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling

Playlist
1. MUZJiKS Intro (ft. Samuel L. Jackson and The XX)
2. Picture Book: Sunshine
3. Blur: Out of Time
4. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Home
5. Freelance Whales: Generator ^ Second Floor
6. Das Racist: You Oughtta Know
7. The Hood Internet: How Purple Can You Go (Joker vs. Ludacris)
8. Cloud Cult: Take Your Medicine
9. Spoon: The Underdog
10. DJ Jeff Jones: I Want Your Replay (Jackson 5 vs. Iyaz)

We've Been Legitimized!

Just a quick announcement that when telling your friends and linking to Muzjiks, you can now use the simpler and more official-looking URL http://muzjiksradio.com. Danny and I have purchased this domain name so that the rather tedious "blogspot" part of our URL is no longer necessary to access the blog.

Imma let you finish, but Girl Talk had the greatest mashup of all time!

Expanding on one of the highlights from the mashup-revolutionizing Feed the Animals by Girl Talk, this takes the "No Diggity"/"Flashing Lights" marriage from "Still Here" and fashions it into a full song. Although it does lose some of its initial wow factor because it's essentially an continuation of an existing idea, the track nevertheless bumps. It makes you wonder what 808s and Heartbreak might've been like without AutoTune and instead with the sensual Blackstreet or an otherwise talented group of R&B singers...

Blackstreet vs. Kanye West: No Flashing [alt]

H to the Grizz-O, V to the Grizz-A

Funny thing: Grizzly Bear's going mainstream, and Jigga's going indie. At any rate, these are two of the biggest names in their respective genres at this moment, Ed Droste the mastermind behind GB's meteoric rise within the indie community and Jay-Z a hip hop juggernaut ever since he palled around with Biggie in the mid-nineties.

Allow me to make a conjecture: hip hop has evolved from its inception as a disco offshoot with the Chic-sampled "Rapper's Delight" in 1979 to conscious hip hop like Grandmaster Flash to the politically-charged rap of Public Enemy to NWA's gangster rap to the rise of the underground hip hop movement to the crunk fad to the bling bling era to the current club rap I see the genre in today. Now, with that grammatically correct yet long-winded and hard to read sentence in mind, I'd like to propose (somewhat hopefully) that the next wave of hip hop is this indie-hip hop fusion that someone like Jay-Z can foster. Artists like Chitty Bang, KiD CuDi, and Mike Posner are already exploring the potential of this musical marriage, but it's still a nascent idea.

For the moment, though, let's just settle for this mashup of Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" and "Empire State of Mind" with Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks." Enjoy.

Jay-Z vs. Grizzly Bear: Get That Week State of Mind [alt]

The car's on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel...

I'm at a loss for words. The mythical Godspeed You! Black Emperor has returned. Save a Pink Floyd reunion, Radiohead playing in my backyard, or Damon Albarn serenading me with "Out of Time" as he simultaneously metamorphoses into 2D, this is literally the best news I've ever heard. Some how, some way, I will see this band live. My left nut is officially up for grabs for anyone who gets tickets to a GY!BE gig and is willing to trade. Right is negotiable, too.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Tiny Silver Hammers (Part 1)

EDIT: And just for the record, Muzjiks beat Pitchfork to the punch on reporting this...

You So Strange

Funky, weird-ass, art-rock trio Menomena has just announced the release of their 4th album. Mines will be released via Barsuk on July 27. The announcement has just reminded me of my discovery of the band and has given me a great excuse to write about them. You may also remember a little Menomena shout-out in my (not so much of a) concert review this past December. Nonetheless, here's Menomena's youthful yet unsettling march tune, "Boyscout'n."

Menomena: "Boyscout'n" [Buy]


/TB

Fly Like Paper, Get High Like Wayne

Weezy's behind bars and MIA's got a one-year old baby boy and her third LP on the way. What happens when you take Diplo's genius "Paper Planes" beat and pair it with some of Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.'s hottest rhymes? Listen.

Lil Wayne vs. MIA: A Milli Paper Planes [alt]

69,000 hits!

Bombs Over Bobby Ray

There's no good reason why B.o.B. (aka Bobby Ray) shouldn't be a household name. Blending the soulful yet spitfire emceeing of vintage Andre 3000 with an infectious R&B voice, the guy is the whole package (did I mention he's a self-taught guitar player?). He does the rapping/hook-singing schtick better than Drake could ever dream. He has an uncanny knack for creating catchy melodies. That said, this criminally slept-on ATL native's time may have finally come, his breakthrough single "Nothin' On You" currently the runner-up to Rihanna's "Rude Boy" on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the 21-year old has been around the game far longer the average radio listener may know: since 2007, B.o.B. has released six mixtapes and done countless guest appearances, perhaps his best known on T.I.'s Paper Trail jam "On Top of the World." It's about time this talented artist got the recognition he deserves. Pick up his debut LP, The Adventures of Bobby Ray when it drops on April 27.

Nothin' On You REMIX (ft. Big Boi) [alt]
Lonely People [alt]
I'll Be in the Sky [alt]
Don't Break My Heart [alt]




















(click album art to preorder)

Follow Up

Go Outside from Helene Park on Vimeo.

April Fools?

Although it may be an elaborate April Fools joke, Green Plastic has details an intriguing developing news story. Apparently, Radiohead has in the works an interesting distribution technique for a studio version of the near-mythical live rarity "Big Boots." Please don't be messing with my heart, Thom...

In more believable Radiohead news...
a post on the AtEase message boards claims drummer Phil Selway has confirmed that the band is heading back to the studio in May to continue work on the elusive LP8.

Jack White Meets the '80s

It's been a while since we've heard from The White Stripes. Granted, Jack White—an artist a la Damon Albarn or MF Doom who seems to have his hands in multiple side projects at any given time—is active with The Dead Weather, who just recently announced their upcoming tour. However, the Detroit man-woman duo that graced us with the anthemic "Seven Nation Army" and the critically lauded White Blood Cells hasn't released any new material since 2007's Icky Thump. Whether you claim The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, or The White Stripes as your favorite Jack White effort, one thing's for sure: the guy is a creative genius. Until the Stripes make their dramatic return to the scene, here's a clever mashup of "Seven Nation Army" and 1980s New Wave duo Eurythmics' one hit wonder.

The White Stripes vs. Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams are Made of Seven Nation Army [alt]