Smell ya, 2010

Note: These lists are numbered, but only to satisfy convention. I happen to be one of the most indecisive human being on the planet, so pretty much everything other than my album of the year designation is arbitrarily ranked.

Albums of the year

1. Kanye West | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. Menomena | Mines

3. Flying Lotus | Cosmogramma

4. oOoOO | CDR021

5. Tyler, the Creator | Bastard

6. Earl Sweatshirt | EARL

7. Arcade Fire | The Suburbs

8. Gorillaz | Plastic Beach

9. The Radio Dept. | Clinging to a Scheme

10. Grouplove | Grouplove

Honorable mention: Young the Giant | Young the Giant

Songs of the year

1. Kanye West | “All of the Lights”

2. Gorillaz | “Empire Ants”

3. Menomena | “Taos”

4. Marco del Horno & DJ Swerve | “Ho! Riddim (Vocal Mix) (ft. P-Money)”

5. Zeds Dead | “White Satin”

6. oOoOO | “No Summr4U”

7. Arcade Fire | “Empty Room”

8. Salem | “King Night”

9. Bassnectar | “Bass Head”

10. DJ Fresh | “Gold Dust (Flux Pavilion Remix)”

Honorable mentions: Kanye West | “Christian Dior Demin Flow (ft. Kid Cudi, Pusha T, John Legend, Lloyd Banks & Ryan Leslie)” and Big Boi | “Daddy Fat Sax”

Top personal discoveries of the year

1. Joker | “Psychedelic Runway” (2009)

2. Deadmau5 | “Strobe” (2009)

3. Maserati | “Monoliths” (2009)

4. Xploding Plastix | “Sports, Not Heavy Crime” (2001)

5. Nujabes | “Aruarian Dance” (2004)

6. Deltron 3030 | “3030” (2000)

7. The Soul’s Release | “Elska Min” (2007)

8. Scarub | “If You Only Knew” (1999)

9. Lemon Jelly | “The Staunton Lick” (2000)

10. Ott | “The Queen of All Everything” (2008)

Honorable mention: The Beta Band | “Dry the Rain” (1998)

Most anticipated albums of 2011

1. Radiohead | LP8 (TBA)

2. Joker | LP1 (TBA, Universal)

3. Sugar Glyder | Lovers at Lightspeed (February 11, self-released)

4. Madvillain | LP2 (TBA, Stones Throw)

5. Kanye West & Jay-Z | Watch the Throne (TBA)

6. Anything and everything Night Slugs

7. The Avalanches | LP2 (TBA)

8. Explosions in the Sky | LP6 (TBA, Temporary Residence)

9. Desto | LP1 (TBA) [wishful thinking?]

The Man, The Myth, The Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The Man, The Myth, The Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

If you like it, please consider sharing this with your friends, posting it on your Facebook, and/or tweeting the link to @kanyewest. As always, Muzjiks appreciates your loyal readership.

Kanye West: Through the Wire

Stenchman: Part 1

[video: vaguely related]

This guy knows how to wobble and wobble with conviction. Stenchman brings a unique wobble bass to the bro/dubstep (I can't tell which he is yet) genre. The following are dangerously unclean cuts. The wobble bass on these four is some of the grimiest, wide-wobbling I have ever heard. I'll stop not making sense and come to your own conclusion. Look for another post concerning Stenchman very soon.

His name is Stenchman for christ's sake. Oh, and Swine--the last one is for you.

Burial: "Archangel" (Stenchman Remix)

Phoenix: "Lisztomania" (Stenchman Remix)

Stenchman: "Overtaker"

Stenchman: "Prime Time Swine"

Big thanks to www.likedubstep.com for sharing these.

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Swag on Swag

More from OFWGKTA...

Dem Hoes ( 2009) by Wolf Haley

Let's Dance (2009) by Wolf Haley

Now Until Sin: 12.26.10

I decided to take Christmas off for the series. The time off allowed me to take inventory of the amazing releases from Xmas 2010. Now, I have never celebrated Christmas "officially," but I assume there has to some kind of hangover involved. Heavy meats, deserts, booze, and distant family can be a lethal mix for someone trying to be productive on the Sunday after Christmas--so, what's the point? Embrace it and enjoy the 2nd track from The Fall, the Gorillaz iPad album (when is the marketing for that little Damon Albarn nugget going to start, Steve Jobs?).

You have to love the inclusion of the nylon strings on the album. On both "Revolving Doors" and "Hillbilly Man," those guitars paint beautiful soundscapes on their own. Can't wait to hear some acoustic versions of these songs. For now, we'll just have to do with this. By the way, each track comes with its own photograph--the photo for "Revolving Doors" is included below. What a nice touch, 2D.

Christmas is over, we made it another year my Jewish brethren.

Gorillaz: "Revolving Doors"



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Now Until Sin: 12.24.10

For some reason, I have been running into Mike a lot recently. The 30 for 30 on his stint with the Birmingham Barons has been circulating around the ESPN networks, I have caught myself watching 1 too many Bulls games recently, and I just made an amazing MJ related purchase. Now, this tune just came across my radar. It had the "1996 bulls" in the tag, and let's be honest, how can it suck?

Little Red: "Rock It" ('96 Bulls Remix)
via@ www.analoggiant.com

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Insane in the Brain

Sure, in terms of musicality, so-called brostep may be a total gimmick, but I don't think anyone can resist a good drop. So here's a handful of some of the most mental drops I've come across. Likely, this is just part one of many, but for now, four tracks will have to suffice.

Ready. Set. Rage.

Plan B: Love Goes Down (Doctor P Remix)

Noisia: Alpha Centauri (Excision and Datsik Remix)

Netsky: Iron Heart

J. Rabbit: I'm So Happy

Phoner to Arizona

As the Christmas Eve offering of the Gorillaz advent calendar, Damon Albarn and the gang have released the first cut off of The Fall, an instrumental track with a lot of synthesized bleeps and bloops. It's only track one, though, so I guess you could consider this the equivalent of Plastic Beach's "Orchestral Intro." Only one more day to wait until we have the LP in its entirety! There's literally nothing Santa schlep down the chimney that would make me a happier SWiNE than The Fall—which is a good thing because that fat schmuck doesn't come to my house.

Gorillaz: Phoner to Arizona

Now Until Sin: 12.23.10

[Grooves so hard, it hurts]

Prince: "D.M.S.R."

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More new Deadmau5

Still not Strobe...

Meowingtons Hax more. by fuckmylife

Golf Wang

Above: "Bastard" and "French" performed live at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood

I have a confession: I have a man crush on OFWGKTA's Tyler, the Creator. I follow him @fucktyler on Twitter, I've spun Bastard countless times, and I have a playlist on my iPod filled with every single Odd Future release. Tyler explains the appeal well in "Seven," the second cut off of Bastard: "Because I'm 17, compose my own beats, lyrically I'm dope enough to ass fuck the guy who made nicotine." Or maybe the allure is in those lethargic beats of which Tyler speaks, listlessly stumbling forward like the Wicked Witch of the East on barbiturates and giving Disaro's best a run for their gravewave money.

And if it's not the high-quality material this crew is producing at such a young age, it's Tyler, the Creator's perfectly gravelly voice. Pause. But really, the first time I heard him rap, I was sure that there was some kind of pitch shift or filter on his voice. It's got the gnarl of street veteran whose vocal chords have seen a bit too much smoke in their day—not a high schooler. In fact, I'd go as far as to proclaim Tyler, the Creator the joint recipient of the Best Rapper Voice award along with CyHi da Prynce (exhibit a: "she found out about April so she chose to Maaarch"; exhibit b: "my name ring beeellz"; exhibit c: "thugs think I'm a Blood 'cause I won't take this red suit oooff").

I'm sure that my love for all things OFWGKTA will yield a much longer piece in the future, but I'm trying to direct all my creative juices into this Kanye piece I'm working on (HYPE!), so I'll quit now before I dig myself deeper into a hole with all these questionable remarks about how much I love some dudes' voices. Now, get the hell on the East Coast's Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All bandwagon. I'm the driver.

Tyler, the Creator: Sandwitches (ft. Hodgy Beats)

MellowHype: Chordaroy (ft. Earl Sweatshirt and Wolf Haley)

Earl Sweatshirt: Luper

Domo Genesis: Super Market (ft. Ace Creator)

Now Until Sin: 12.22.10

Sorry this is late, but better than never. The Knocks are a electro duo that I have become very fond in the last few months. They write great dance tunes, perform live, and make great remixes. This is their 2nd or 3rd single (not sure what actually clarifies a song as a single anymore) after the epic, "Dancing With The DJ." Wham, bam I blacked out. The song is about selective memory after an epic night. L'chaim.

The Knocks: "Blackout"
Learn more @ http://heavyrocmusic.com

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Taylor Gang or teabag a bear trap

Ricky Rozay: Former correctional officer

New Rick Ross song featuring Wiz Khalifa just released via Twitter. Guess what they're is rapping about? Morality and the importance of the War on Drugs. Just joshin'.

Rick Ross ft. Wiz Khalifa: "Retrosuperfuture"

New Deadmau5

Still waiting on that Strobe killer...

Deadmau5 - Limit Break by fuckmylife

B-A-N-A-N-A-Z

For normal people, Christmas is about family and giving thanks and presents and food and all that lovey-dovey bullshit. For me, Christmas 2010 is about one thing and one thing only: The Fall. On Saturday, Damon Albarn and the Gorillaz will be releasing their so-called "iPad album" on their website. (It's only available to stream for non-fan club members, but fuck knows it will be all over the Interwebz minutes after it's put up.) Comprised exclusively of songs written and recorded during the Gorillaz American tour, The Fall is a separate entity entirely from Plastic Beach; however, the LP is sure to have ample noodlings of Albarn on synthesizers, a direction hinted on Demon Days cuts like "Dare," developed further throughout PB, and continued on "Doncamatic (All Played Out)," the only track we've heard since Plastic Beach's release this past March.

It's this "Doncamatic" track that's likely to offer the most accurate hints in terms of what kinds of sounds will be populating The Fall. Although the original version of "Doncamatic" is stellar in its own right, the Joker remix found on the single release puts a purple spin on the tune. Let this one hold you over until Christmas morning, kiddies.

Gorillaz: "Doncamatic (Joker Remix)"

Now Until Sin: 12.21.10

More traditional tonight. One thing I can't understand, though--how did this song not blow up? Chris Brown beatin up the beat (oh!), Yeezy with a above average verse and a killer hook. I guess Jive just doesn't have the distribution to get this in the hands of radio DJs and the oh so important bloggers...totally possible. This is indie major, man.



Chris Brown (feat. Kayne West): "Down"

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Swag

The posse that brought you 2010 standouts Bastard (Tyler, the Creator) and EARL (Earl Sweatshirt) dropped this Christmas-themed gem today on the OFWGKTA website. The beat is languid and lurching, as is typical of Tyler, the Creator's production, and Earl Sweatshirt returns from the abyss (boarding school?). What better Christmas present than Golf Wang's weirdo drugged-out raps and an Earl sighting?

For the record, in a totally non-elitist way, I'd like to remark that it amazes me how few people still don't know about these guys. They're making some of the freshest hip hop I've heard in a long time. Don't sleep!

Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy Beats, and Tyler, the Creator: Fuck this Christmas

Important

Save us and the rest of the internet. Support net neutrality.
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Now Until Sin: 12.20.10

Day 2 of the countdown: maybe not your traditional bump and grind but...I just feel a little dirty when I listen to this cut from Sound of Silver. The chunk of muted guitars and that subterranean bass line can drive you crazy, man.


...at least he's relaxed.

LCD Soundsystem: "North American Scum"

"I know you wouldn't touch us with a ten foot pole."
Yea, that dirty.
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Return to the airwaves

Video unrelated.

For all of our loyal listeners, the wait is almost over. MuzjiksFM live from WALT studios in Davidson, NC, will be back on air beginning in January, so start carving out an hour of your life every Thursday at 10 PM so that you can spend it with us. And, as always, we will be offering a podcast and, this go around, Soundcloud uploads of every episode for your continued pleasure. As the date grows closer, check back here for the streaming link and more information. Until then, we suggest you subscribe to our podcast (click that big purple icon on the right sidebar) right now and enjoy your time here on the blog.

Oh, and here's some dubstep, foo'...

Desto: Cold VIP

Slugs that go bump in the Night

I'm admittedly pretty disillusioned right now after having experienced and been disappointed by my first live dubstep gig this past weekend in Atlanta (more on that later), but as long as there's labels like Night Slugs around, there's still hope for the movement—no matter how many raving, MDMA-maddened bros there are to dilute the solution. With a roster consisting of Jam City, Girl Unit, Egyptrixx, Velour, and Kingdom among others, NS has been unbelievably consistent in releasing one quality record after another. And did I mention that NS released a roster-spanning compilation at the end of last month? With head-spinning tunes from track one to track thirteen, the compilation could've very well been a five-year retrospective, but Night Slugs have only been at it for one year. Along with the Hyperdub, DMZ, and Circus, it's no stretch to categorize NS up there with the trailblazers of the genre—if not sprinting ahead of them tauntingly with its innovative mix of dub, electro, glitch, IDM, and UK garage.

Perhaps this is the label's biggest compliment, however: if you played me twenty dubstep tracks and asked me to pick out the Night Slugs releases, I probably could do it. Not because my ear is stellar or because I'm all-knowing or anything like that, but rather because there's a certain sheen to everything NS puts out. From the Day-Glo color palette employed in the album art to the meticulous mastering that ensures precise kicks and delightful sound separation, Night Slugs makes it perfectly clear that they mean business and aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Endgame + Velour + Girl Unit + Kingdom=

http://nightslugs.net/

Now Until Sin: 12.19.10

Every day from here to 2011, we will be featuring a unique party track. This is a way for me to both get my head screwed on straight for a special NYE/NYD trip and to possibly create the mix of all mixes. This will be meticulously curated and I hope you have the time to appreciate our selections. We are going to start with a pretty dusty record from MC Breed.

MC Breed: "Well Alright"

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Prog Hop + Eggnog

So the acclaim for MBDTF has spiraled out of control. The amount of praise of Kanye West's latest album has become a national epidemic for which there is nor will be a vaccine (check Muzjiks in the coming days for more on that). What hasn't been mentioned enough, in my opinion, is the structural formation of some of these album tracks and tracks included in Yeezy's "Good Friday" series. I have personally never seen anything like this. These are hip-hop jazz epics. The man has collected what he has dubbed the best in his genre at the given time (or what he has access to) and allowed them to take free reign over a melodic idea. Please listen to John Coltrane's "Moment's Notice" and note the melody that begins at :39. This is the nugget that drives the piece, but John Coltrane (tenor saxophone), Chris Fuller (trombone), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Paul Chambers (D Bass), and Kenny Drew (keys) all get their hacks before the whole thing is bookended by the piece's outro.



Listen to "Monster" and "So Appalled" and tell me you don't feel the same thing. Kanye grabs a melodic idea, flushes it out, and lets his friends shit all over it. Listen to "Christian Dior Denim Flow" and the new single, "Christmas in Harlem" and dismiss them as b-sides; I dare you. Now you have no excuse, the latter two are featured below in down-loadable MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 format.

Enjoy yourselves, now you can say you listen to jazz.

Kanye West: "Christmas in Harlem"

Kanye West: "Christian Dior Denim Flow"

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Twitter Live Report: Dub the Halls

A break from grind gives the both of us time to reimmerse ourselves in the blogosphere. Within the hour, I will make the arduous journey down to Atlanta for The Masquerade's Dub the Halls show, braving the snow and sleet for this meeting of the dub gods on our side of the pond. Throughout the gig, I will be tweeting pictures and updates @muzjikssteven.

Blue Foundation: Eyes on Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)

J. Rabbit: Ninja Gaiden

Nero: Innocence

SWiNE

Young Canuck

So the site is a little rusty. Everyone is done with finals, I have two arms to work with and I figure we should start throwing up some music. Dream pop baby--picked this up from the G vs. B November mix and just cannot stop spinning. Young Galaxy is signed to Arts&Crafts (good for them, they seem to know what they're doing). I hope you enjoy the song. Look for more soon. We loooove you.

Young Galaxy: "Peripheral Visionaries"






















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All I Want for Christmas is Filth

All I Want for Christmas is Filth by derphead