"Tonight I feel IMMORTAL!!"

Ahhh yeeeaa @ducidni is back on his solo dolo, making his characteristically moody music. This time, he took a unique approach sampling @whoisMGMT's Congratulations...in reverse..

Ok, so heres what I did.I took one of my favorite bands MGMT's song "Congratulations", put it in reverse, sped it up, and produced over it

— Scott Mescudi (@ducidni) March 1, 2013

Nobody can invigorate an audience with a somber tone like the Man on the Moon can. For those keeping track at home, Immortal is the second single (following King Wizard) off his upcoming album Indicud, dropping April 29th. On a side note, can't wait to hear Solo Dolo Part II with @kendricklamar...#Indicud

Kid Cudi - Immortal

"We're Only Young and Naive Still, We Require Certain Skills"

If you would have blind folded me and made me listen to the song below, I would have told first off it has to be @passionpit. If you'd then give me a second guess, I'd probably question you then say if it's not them, then it's gotta be MGMT. After denying my second guess and telling me it's this new group, The Naked and Famous, I'd probably say WTF! followed by #GTFOH. Then I'd go research them and find more of their music...

Which brings me to this post where I get to tell you about this new group from New Zealand called @TNAF, which consists of five members David Beadle (bassist), Thom Powers (singer-guitarist), Aaron Short (synth player), Jesse Wood (drums), Alisa Xayalith (co-vocalist/keyboardist). Their debut album Passive Me, Aggressive You was released about 8 months ago in September and managed to climb atop the New Zealand charts. As far as the name of their band, it came from the song Kid by Tricky with the lyrics "Everyone wants to be naked and famous." When asked to elaborate on the group title, band members Aaron Short elaborated saying:

"We were all just really big fans of Tricky around the time of the band forming - Thom, Alisa and I - and thought it was really fitting for the way we were looking at things at the time and it was something that stuck with us. There’s a bit of irony there, for so many people there’s a lot of stuff attached to the music industry and musicians in terms of everyone wants to be a big famous rockstar and all that kind of stuff. At the time of us starting the band out it’s always remained a big principle for us, it’s never been what we’ve been about. Stuff like getting in the charts and the awards we’ve had it’s all really overwhelming and you can’t help be really pleased with the result, but at the same time it’s never been the absolute focus of why we’re putting music together and why we’re doing what we’re doing." - Source

Yea I agree, I'm a few months late on this track, but it's making my XM satellite radio subscription worthwhile since I found this gem from across the world on there. Check out the video for the track below...

The synthesizers sucked me in on first listen and perfectly augmented the upbeat, rolling beat. The MGMT and Passion Pit comparisons come from the childlike, carefree vibe their lyrics give off. The fun and dreamy vibe is infectious to me as I've had this in heavy circulation since finding it last night. You might ask, what could possibly make this track more likable?

Enter @chiddybang or more specifically @XaphoonJones, who is doing his absolute best to make me forget about @corybold with all these dope remixes he's pulling off of late with his partner in crime, @realchiddy. The sample is executed perfectly and flipped all Hip Hop like any self respecting Hip Hop fan would hope. The bubbly synths are where I draw the Cory Bold comparisons, but I need to be clear in saying that ya boy Xaphoon can absolutely hold his own producing a beat (PROOF).

Can't go wrong with either of these and I'm gonna keep the @TNAF original track on heavy repeat as I give their album a spin...#BetterLateThanNever

The Naked and Famous - Yonug Blood (Chiddy Bang remix)

Videos of the Week 04/28

Whole lotta noteworthy videos, performances and movie trailers dropped this week. Consider this a catch up post on all of the above...

Lupe Fiasco - Words I Never Said Video

The Cool Kids - Bundle Up Video (Directors Cut)

Kid Cudi Performs Pursuit of Happiness in NYC with MGMT

30 Minutes or Less Movie Trailer (Aziz Ansari, Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride & Nick Swardson)

X-Men: First Class Official Trailer

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (Official Trailer)

Alabama Tornado Almost Taking Out Bryant-Denny Stadium

MGMT Daytrotter Session

Currently rated #8 in music blogs on the internet, Daytrotter has always been a great place for new artists to get notoriety through a unique recording. It's rare though, that you get an act as well known as @whoismgmt to do some acoustic covers like Daytrotter did a little over a week ago.

While I wasn't even remotely a fan of the 180 MGMT pulled on their last album, I still respect the hell out of their old school 70's sounding funk and instrumentation. Take for example, one of the few tracks I liked on their last album I Found a Whistle. It was a great track to start with, but the acoustic version of the track is a clear standout on the four song session. The pure moods style dreamy organ offset by the slow and steady acoustic guitar create a dreamlike, out of this world sound that is intensely calming.

Give the tracks a listen for yourself and if you're like me, you'll hopefully gain a little bit of the confidence back in them their previous album robbed you of. Third times a charm? We'll see...
MGMT Daytrotter Session by Hypetrak

Chiddy Bang feat MGMT - Opposite of Adults (Kids)

I know I know, I'm like a year late on this one since it surfaced around Oct 2009, but I skipped Throwback Thurs this week and their debut album The Preview is dropping in about a month. I'll probably end up doing a New Artist Spotlight on Chiddy Bang as soon as they start releasing some more new music, but in the meantime this will be more of an hors d'oeuvre to the main course.

When I hear Chiddy Bang, I liken them to a mix of Kids in the Hall with Travie McCoy. So yea, you could put Proto, who is the rapper in a lot of their tracks, in the same breath as Naledgeof Kidz In the Hall and Travie McCoy. They've got that fun, easygoing vibe to their tracks, which add to their sort of Indie/Organic Hip Hop sound. I say organic because their subject matter has substance and their sound is somewhat unique and unprocessed. Seeing that I've always been a big MGMT fan and I'm a growing Passion Pit fan, I find it pretty cool that they frequently sample them in their music. For being 19, these dudes are pretty innovative and their fresh Indie vibe is a shot of life to Hip Hop. There will be more to come on this blog from these guys, but as a first impression check out their big head video for Opposite of Kids as well as the track below...

Chiddy Bang - Opposite of Adults (Kids)
| Download

Mikey-Mike's Indie Music Corner Debut: Yeasayer

Welcome, Ladies and Gentleman, to Mikey-Mike's Indie Music Corner! I'm here to get you up-to-date on all things Indie; I take the best of what's out there, and bring it to you in an easy to use, easy to access format. Think Sparknotes for hipster-trends!

I'm starting out with a bang folks, so I hope you like it!

Yeasayer is a band from Brooklyn, and they've been doing big things ever since their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, was released in 2007.

Here's a couple reasons why you might have heard of them:

First off, they opened on tour for MGMT, who as we all know, blew the f*** up.

Also, their song Sunrise was featured during the end-credits of an episode of Entourage. (The one where Vince's house gets broken into, and the guys freak out, getting guns and Ari's international security team to protect them.)

I'll admit, I wasn't always sold on Yeasayer, and sometimes I still have my doubts, but one thing's for sure, these guys make hits!

The first time I really took note of them was on the Dark Was The Night charity album. Designed to raise funds for HIV and AIDS, this double disk release featured a who's-who in indie pop; Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, The Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear all lent tracks, as did Ben Gibbard, Iron & Wine, and Feist.

Needless to say, this album was a big deal. But there was one song that I kept going back to, and it was Yeasayer's song Tightrope. It's incredibly catchy, and with empowering lyrics like "Wishing never solved a problem. If you want to get it big time / go ahead and get it, get it big time!", I was most definitely smitten. Give it a listen...

Yeasayer - Tightrope
| Download

Cover Art for Odd Blood Album

Tightrope built quite the buzz leading up to their second album release, Odd Blood, and they didn't disappoint. The first single, Ambling Alp, showed that these guys were for real. Not only did Yeasayer make another indie hit, but they did so while telling the inspirational story of 1930's boxer Joe Louis, who became a political icon, in part, because of his defeat of Max Schmeling, the pride of Nazi Germany. Track below...

Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
| Download

And last, but most definitely not least, is the song ONE. This song leaves me chanting the chorus every time. "No / You don't move me anymore. And I'm glad that you don't / 'cause I can't have you anymore." It seems to be about fighting an addiction, whether it be a former lover or a substance, I'm not sure, but I love it nonetheless.

Yeasayer - ONE
| Download

In the end, I hope you give these BK boys a chance. They sing of standing up for what you believe in, and fighting to make your dreams come true, and as musicians, they've done exactly that.

Throwback Thurs: "Me, I Cried Out 'God!', You Dared Me in the Dark"

Last week Three Six Mafia, this week Passion Pit...you had to see that coming right? I don't think there's a transition from last week to this week that would ever do that justice, but I'm continuing the Indie/Synth/Electro mood I've been in of late. I decided to Throwback Thurs about 15 months back to May '09 when a group from Cambridge, Massachusetts called Passion Pitt decided to drop a debut album that I equate to MGMT's Oracular Spectacular. Their debut album, Manners, made some serious waves and generated a them pretty huge, devoted fan base, especially in Europe. I compare the two bands because they've got that same out there, weird electro sound, with even more off the wall lyrics. As an anecdote, here's the beginning of my favorite track of theirs, To Kingdom Come:

That's a frosty way to speak
To tell me how to live next to your potpourri
All this talking pulls my teeth
I believed in you, you believed in...Me!

Wrap your head around that for a sec...but don't try too hard because you may cease to give a sh** after you realize the allure of the track is the high pitched harmony on the hook, blending with the jumpy, but well meshed keyboard and synthesizers that provide the organized electro chaos concoction that ends up being a surprisingly soothing and funky beat. If you're wondering what they look like in action...or at least a wacky, produced version of what they look like, check out their video for To Kingdom Come below:

Man those dudes look like some serious nerds, which couldn't be cooler to someone who blogs daily and has a job in IT #GetAtYaBoyGWDJ. Their weird videos make the MGMT comparisons even more dead on, but I'd give the more filled with funk nod to the Electric Feel-ers, while @passionpit has clearly become a bigger hit overseas in the UK as more of an electro Indie hit, dominating British dance floors. To summarize @whereismgmt = American funk, @passionpit = British funk...am I off base on that?

Regardless, two good bands that you should probably get learned on before some Brit calls you a bloody square!

Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come
|Download

Kid Cudi feat Chip tha Ripper - All Talk

Pretty crazy that a track this good is seen by Cudi as "an idea i had that me and Chip decided to do for fun. as of right now its not on anything, we just recorded it and put it out just for the fuck of it." - Source

The background is borrowed from LCD Soundsystems's track Dance Yrself Clean. Check out the track below if you're curious, but everything from the lyrical sample at the end to the electro beat breakdown between verses comes from this track.

Entertaining how he used a clip from Christian Bale's expletive laden Terminator set meltdown and blended it with LCD Soundsystem's sampled lyrics of "Talking like a jerk, except you are an actual jerk and living proof". Very fitting, fun, lighthearted, it's all good, I laughed if you were wondering.

Let's see Ratatat, MGMT, LCD Soundsystem...I'm starting to see a pattern here of Indie/Rock/Electro groups that Cudi is hitting up...in a presumable attempt to corner the Indie Hip hop crowd? Hell, more power to you Moon Moon man...wait I mean Rager? For all of you that missed the announcement, below is going to be his next album's title...due out sometime in the Aug/Sept range.

Give it a listen, it's a little different, but I guess different is normal for Cudi.
Kid Cudi feat Chip tha Ripper & Christian Bale - All Talk | Download

Slept On: MGMT

Let it be known I am not a fan of the ordinary. Originality and creativity are two necessary components of good music, their presence can't be understated. Enter MGMT or The Management as they are known by some.

Yes I'm fully aware they haven't released an album since 2007 and even then it was only a 10 track album, 3 songs of which were retreads from their Time to Pretend EP released in 2005.

How would I describe their music? Trippy electro funk is the best I got. I applaud them because their use of synthesizers is wonderful. Their sound comes off as so upbeat and free, I'd almost categorize it as new school Hippie music. There's just something about the lead singer's plain delivery that contrasts so well with their funk filled electro rhythms.

Why post about them now, they've been out for a while now right? Well, my reason is two-fold...
1) They have a new album coming out in about April 2010 titled Congratulations .
2) I was watching the movie Sex Drive, a movie I had watched in the theaters when it came out and now have watched it on re-run on HBO of late. I'm not kidding I'm really considering seeing a upcoming movie Hot Tub Time Machine, mostly because of Clarke Duke, who single-handedly made Sex Drive watchable. Back on subject, the are embarking on a journey down to Nashville, TN in the movie from Chicago and as they are leaving, MGMT's song Time to Pretend comes on with those unforgettable synthesizers. Give it a listen, perfect Soundtrack song:

MGMT - Time to Pretend


Yea we all remember their song Electric Feel, which I've been jocking hardcore since the first time I heard it. And for good reason, my goodness that track has more funk than a someone opening up a gallon of milk that's been sitting out in the sun all day. Call it manufactured funk, hate it is because it's being done by a couple of Hippie white kids if you want, it's that type of time machine track that can't help but stand out because of how delightfully fresh it sounds. Give it another listen if you haven't in a while, I just did and subsequently re-added it to to the newest iPod playlist...

MGMT - Electric Feel

God I love this video...it's sooo incredibly weird...



I'd be remiss if I didn't also post my third favorite song off their album Oracular Spectacular titled Kids. The lyrics on this one are waaay out in left field talking about "picking insects off plants" and all, but it gives off this psychedelic dreamy vibe that makes for easy listening. Oh yea it was also nominated for a announced a Grammy in 2009 for the category of Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

MGMT - Kids


Needless to say, I appreciate their music because it's so different than anything any other artist is trying to do. It's fitting that they collaborated with Kid Cudi on The Pursuit of Happiness because musically they're both on another planet, which is a reason I'll always be in both of their corners cheering them on.


Moral of the Story: Why be vanilla when you've got the ingredients to be cookies n cream or some other crazy flavor like banana caramel lime? It's like why say the F word when you can mouth it in like 20 other ways?? (ok that was a terrible segway, I really just wanted to post this video, because it's hilarious).
Aziz Ansari - "Why would I blow up Chick-Fil-A it's F-ing delicious??"