Noisettes+ Kanye=Pure Genius

Mick Boogie and Terry Urban have done it again. They have combined two great music combos and produced an eargasmic list of 8 tunes on the Wild Young Heartbreaks. They set Noisettes songs against Kanye's 808s & Heartbreaks.
The thing that makes Boogie so good is that he totally combines the songs. He doesn't just mend them together. He changes the tempos and some instruments of Kanye's songs for the background and keeps the Noisettes lyrics and melodies the same. So basically you'll be listening to this an be like "oh my goodness this sounds familiar!" Just like sampling, but more intense. One really good example of this is "Cheap Cops." I love it, the strings version of "Robo Cop" is awesome.
If you haven't heard of the Noisettes, look them up. They are an indie rock band from London. The lead singer, Shingai Shoniwa, blows my mind. Her voice is so powerful. I'm starting to think London only breeds strong and powerful singers...it's kind of ridiculous. They have the funky Janelle Monae feel with a more rock feel.
Get this mix here.
Here are 2 tracks I really like.

So Much Fun in the Music World

Yesterday was a fun day in the world of music. It was the perfect day at Syracuse for a music lover like me. The day started off with Juice Jam and ended with the VMAs....oh and one more announcement.
This year Juice Jam brought in The Cool Kids, Jack's Mannequin and Girl Talk...a pretty solid line up. I would like to applaud the organizers except the order of performance. Who starts off with The Cool Kids??? My line up would have been Jack, Kids, Girl Talk. The Cool Kids were awesome and then you get Jack's Mannequin up there singing about emo stuff and I wanted to slit my wrists....not an action before I want to jump up and down for Girl Talk. C'mon Organizers!!!!
I understand that Jack's Mannequin may have a bigger following than the Cool Kids but the order of energy just doesn't mash well. I was so depressed that I left even before Girl Talk got on stage. Probably a poor decision on my part, but I just wasn't feeling it. It's a good thing I've seen him before, but it would've been nice to see him again....oh well.
The thing that did make it all worthwhile was meeting the Cool Kids. They're mad chill. So here's the story:
So after the performance my friend Edwin and I walked over to the fence and I was like I should just yell and see if he'll [Chuck] will come over, so I yelped out this puney scream of "Chuck" and Edwin said C'mon I know you can do better and I refused so he yelled and Chuck actually looked over and motioned to us....ah-mazing!
So Chuck comes over and I tell him I'm the girl who tweeted him the night before about going to Chucks and he was like "so you're that girl." Saying it in a weird tone and I responded "Yeah, I guess I'm that girl." So were just chatting, we take a photo and then a crowd starts to form. We could tell Chuck was a little peeved, but he was chill about it. After a good 10 minutes of craziness, Mikey came out to the crowd. So Edwin and I are just chillin there and letting the crazy people take their photos and this cracked-out-girl says "What's his [Mikey] him?" and I bluntly say, " Are you serious?!? He just did a whole song about who he is and what his name is!" she says, "oh i must have missed that!" After another 10 minutes we finally talked to Mikey..told him about chandelier. Too bad they we're leaving by 5 or I think we could've gotten them to chill with us.


Needless to say the crowd was crazy and it wore me out. At least I got to rest before the madness of the VMAs.
OHh the Kanye incident, Lady Gaga trying to prove she's not a guy with her outfit, Lil Mama ruining the ending, Hov and Alicia Key's awesome performance, and we must not forget the awesome MJ tribute that almost made me cry...I'm trying to stay strong here. If you didn't watch the VMAs catch some clips at mtv.com. It's one of the only music things MTV shows now so I feel like it's necessary to give it a watch.

OH and the announcement!!! John Legend is coming to Cuse on the 23rd to speak about his Show Me campaign. He responded to me on twitter last night and I went crazy...I'm that big of a fan. So look out for more info on that.

Song of the Day: "Congratulations"

It seems like everyone is getting jobs, internships, or getting their feet through the door of their dreams lately so I just wanted to dedicate this song of the day to you guys...you know who you are. Hopefully everything will keep falling into place for everyone else. Just keep positive and listen to great music..

"i got the key to happiness and all the copies
remember this day like you bought a poppie
and damn how it get so nice"-Drake

And for all the reader who are offended by Drake's cursing here's a song for you too. We'll just saying your Amazing for doing your thing..haha

Dido and Kanye Mash Up

I love mash ups so when I saw this on Kanye's blog I had to share it. It's kind of a interesting combo, but I think it works. Check it out.

Why Kanye is Great

Go here http://hypebeast.com/blog/jeyperie/blog/2009/04/10-reasons-why-kanye-west-is-the-greatest-music-artist-of-the-decade/

Amazing

You've probably seen the stills for the video, so here's the actual video for you with the interview on 106 & Park.  Definitely shows Hawaii's beauty. 

Song of the Day: "It's Over"

I'm a big lover of John Legend and then he threw in Kanye and it was a match made in heaven for my little ears. Not the most cheery song, but there are many things that are over for me right now so I thought I'd pick for today. I love Kanye's verse...sooo good with a little bit of humor. "We lost the four leaf clover."

New Stuff for the G.o.o.d Crew

So much stuff has happened for  g.o.o.d. these past couple days. Here's the list:

1. Kid Cudi was officially signed to Universal Motown records.

2. Kanye has a new ad campaign with LV featuring Amber. You can click here to see more.

3. Big Sean dropped his much anticipated mixtape. It has a lot of tracks but it's pretty good. Click here if you want it.

Freestyle Video

So I'm in the computer lab without headphones and I don't want to be annoying, but I figure this has to be good if it's Kanye, Common, and ERYKAH BADU. Where has she been?..other than on twitter. 

Songs of the Day

I have two completely different songs in my head right now, but the songs of the day are going to be "Pumpkin Soup" by Kate Nash and "Maybach Music II" with Rick Ross, T-Pain, Kanye, and Lil Wayne.

The latter is a ridiculous (in this context, great) collaboration with some of the best rappers.(yeah I said it). The hook is catchy, the instrumentals are great, and each verse has something rememberable.

"Pumpkin Soup" is just playful and makes me want to have a good day, which is always hard for mondays.

Changed Man

Kanye posted this on his blog today. Kudos to him for being a changed man. Maybe it has something to do with his new girl too. I'm glad to see he has someone good in his life now. You can go to http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/220762 and watch the episode. It's pretty hilarious.

From Producer West

Mr. West posted a mixtape of songs he produced on his blog. Some of the artists are people I've never heard of, but maybe I'm just a little slow. There are 22 songs, so enjoy. Check it out on his website or download here. If you don't know how to decompress rar files go to http://www.unrarx.com/ and download the program. It's really easy. 

Clearer Version

Kanye put up a better version of the "Pokerface" remix. It's called "I Poke Her Face." Ha.

Enjoy.

It's That G.o.o.d G.o.o.d

For Kanye's Complex feature they made a 3-d model of him that could be played around virtually...well someone at SWAY Studios had a little fun and made this ridiculous video. Maybe it's in response to his comment about fashion and gay guys..I don't know, but it's funny.   

Kanye Dance from SWAY Studio on Vimeo.

Kanye and Kid Cudi also did a little remix of  the popular "Pokerface." There's a lot of noise goin on in this so hopefully a clearer version will pop up somewhere. Click here to listen/download. Let me know if the link doesn't work.Also check out the "Ego" Remix of Kanye and Beyonce here.

More New New

Last night I was on a streak of finding new stuff and it continued on today...I love it when that happens. So I'm just going to give you a run through. The first few mostly have a soul vibe to them. I hope this is the future of music because I would be sooo happy.

1. Hal Linton- He's another singer from Barbados. In my opinion more need to come over if they're like him. When he performs he definitely gets into it. He's signed to Universal Motown and you can tell why when you listen to him.I twittered him to see where we can get his music, so I'll let you guys know that if and when he responds. Here's his vibe session.

2. Laura Izibor- She's come from Ireland. Like she said in her vibe session "There are black people in Ireland." She was featured in Vibe's November issue, so we should be hearing more from her. She is yet another singer with a soul vibe...I'm lovin that. She also plays the piano, so another bonus. 

 

3. Noel Gourdin is signed to Epic Records. He is inspired by the oldies. His songs are similar to John Legend, Robin Thicke and D'Angelo, but he didn't has his own flair. Here's his vibe session.  

4. LeVar Thomas. I found him through twitter...it's amazing. I'm not going to tell you a lot

about him right now because he agreed to do an interview, so just look forward to that.

5.  "I'm the Shit" Remix with DJ Class and Kanye is good. click here.

6. "Hey Girl" by Keri Hilson. This song is just ridiculous but of course I like it for some reason. It's definitely any party girl's theme song. click here.

7. If you didn't click on the link for the post I blogged last night, the song is by n.e.r.d with santigold and lil wayne. Check it out if you didn't before. Here.

8. "By Myself" Juelz and Lil' Wayne . check it here. I don't know why I like it but I do. 

9. "She Came Along" Sharam ft. Kid Cudi. I'd never heard of Sharam before, but I'm glad I found him. He's a pretty famous dj who has won a grammy. This collab is really good.  Check it out here., 

It's the Remix and So Much More

For my daily reading of blogs yesterday I saw an amazing thing. 

I loved this song before and now it's even better. Kanye blogged about this song when q-tip's album first came out and how much he loved it, so it was kinda inevitable that he would collaborate with him. If you want to listen to it just click here. 

Other things:

-Why is it that music videos these days are mad trippy and have space in them? Or maybe it's just videos Kanye and Kid Cudi do. Look at this one for example:

N.A.S.A. - New Music - More Music Videos

Music and Shoes

First off I want to say thanks for all the nice feedback from yesterday's post. It was a lot of fun to do..thanks Josh! If you guys have any friends or know anyone that would be willing to be interviewed and is good let me know. 

Since I haven't found any new music in the past 24 hours, I'm just going to open your eyes to the connection between music and shoes. It's pretty ridiculous. Here are all the connections I could think of:

1. Kanye West and his Louis V. shoe line. I personally love the red ones. There's something about guys with red shoes that I love.

2. Lupe Fiasco has a new line with Converse and the red campaign. I don't know if I really like them but at least money is going to a good charity.

3. Jessica Simpson and her slutty shoe line. Some of them are actually really cute. Too bad I can't walk in 3-4 inch heels. And I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that she now makes more money through her shoes than her music.

4.There's the converse campaign with Santogold and Pharrell and that one other dude. The made a song for it too...pretty sweet.

5. Nelly's AF 1 song. that just makes me laugh.

6. Vanessa Hudgens and her endorsement of Ecko. Do I even need to mention her sneaker song again. But here's the video if you didn't look at it before...Just because it makes me laugh uncontrollably. 

7. Like I said before the whole incident with Cudi getting tasered at a Reebok event.

8. Paolo Nutini's song with the Puma commercials

9. These boots were made for walkin- Nancy Sinatra or Jessica Simpson or the others

10.My adidas - RUN DMX

11. Elvis's Blue Suede Shoes--I'm think he made suede shoes hot.

12. The whole connection with Nike running shoes and Itunes. The shoes link up to Itunes for a specific playlist and then it also helps with your training. I read in my ADV book that it actually has motivational speaking in between songs and if you get sluggish it will play a song that will pump you up. It actually seems pretty cool if you read into it.

13. Amy Winehouse Fuck Me Pumps song...hilarious. I was trying to put the video up but it won't allow me to embed it, but listen to it if you can.

14. KC and the Sunshine Band- Boogie Shoes...i have some good memories with that song and it's good to listen to while you're gettin ready.

**And there are lots more I'm sure. 

Great Conversation

Right now I have this urge to write even though I have a lot of reading to do for a class, but seeing as I'm freezing, tired, and a little lazy, I'm definitely going to write about something other than what I intended to write about today. Last night I had some great words with a friend and I thought I'd enlighten everyone. ha

First, I would just like to reflect on the coldness of Syracuse right now. It is brick outside. I whipped out my real winter jacket and if you know me that is just unheard of. I would just like to reflect on songs that are about coldness for a bit.

1. It's Cold Outside- good ole bing. If you pay attention to the lyrics it definitely is about rape or it alludes to it.

2.Refuge (When It's Cold Outside)- my lover john. :) Now I'd be happy if he sang this to me especially since it's always cold here.

3. Coldest Winter- Kanye. I know he's not literally saying it's cold out, but I'm a Kanye fan so I had to reference it.

4. Cold Beverage- G. Love. Sometimes cold things are ok...like a nice drink.

5. In the Cold, Cold Night- White Stripes. 

6.Cold as Ice- Foreigner. Oh what a great old rock song.

OK done with that randomness. Onto my great convo.

First topic: Grey Album

So my friend was downloading jaydiohead, thanks to this blog, and was like hey you remember the grey album? And i was like oh my goodness I totally forgot about it, but yes. (Now that just sounds ridiculous because of the "likes" but it was a brief moment of epiphany) I think I may like jaydiohead a little more, but one can never go wrong with the beatles and jay-z so the grey album is definitely still good. You should listen to it if you haven't because DJ Danger Mouse and the jaydiohead guy used some same songs to make their beautiful or eargasmic , as some would say, combinations.

Second topic: The Roots Rising Down album

Definitely a good cd. Wale (who I intended to post about today but was too lazy to go into detail about) is featured on one of the songs and I definitely didn't realize it. Also check out "Birthday Girl." It's kinda creepy, but catchy at the same time.

Third topic: Kanye

So I was asked about my opinion of Kanye. And the convo went like this (hopefully you don't mind me posting this, if not let me know and I'll just paraphrase):

kt: i personally kinda love him. I think the whole thing about auto-tune is a lil crazy because he can't sing but it really didn't help him. i think his lyrics are genius and he's definitely a great producer

the more i read about him too i feel like he's changed a lot

and i feel like i understand more about his rashness of ego

j:really?

kt:i'm not saying he's the best out there

but he's good

j:i miss him

i want collge dropout and late registration kanye back

graduation was...ok

but not up to par with the previous two

kt:this is true

he's definitely trying to evolve more with culture though

like right now i feel like people want r&b

j:yea i get that, but damn, start rapping again

why do you think people want more r&b these days?

kt:i dunno man. i just have that inner feeling. People are more and more about sex and r&b is like damn i can play that will gettin it in. it's like goin back to the days of boyz II men

but then you do have more rappers coming out that do both so there is hope

j:that makes sense

total sense

but i really hope rap comes back like it was

r&b is cool, but everybody is gonna try to do it

a lot of people tried to rap

and the bad rappers, just got shunned, cuz people know its bad

but for some reason

when someone who cant sing, tries to sing

kt: people love it

everyone loves it.

kt:and i want to slap them

meee tooooo

So there's some of my great convo. Then I had abruptly had to go take pictures..ughh. Totally ruined the moment. Hope everyone is having a great day and if you're somewhere where it's cold, I feel for you. Get some hot cocoa, lay in bed, and listen to some good ole music.

Set the Mood

In the words of Justin Timberlake, "Let me set the mood right, oooh ooh. Cause I'm gonna make you feel alright.Oooh ooooh" You may think I'm going to write about setting the mood for some baby making, but this is not that case. 

I'm talking about how which music is being played can drastically change my mood. Have you ever been to a party and your having a great time and then some horrible song comes on and you just can't function because of it? Definitely happens all the time when you're at frat parties. Last night I was at a bowling alley and they were playing some throwbacks like cyndi lauper, michael jackson, and those unknown bands but their songs rock. It made me soooo happy. 

What I'm trying to say is that music usually is able to set me in the right kind of mood. If it's rainy, like it is right now in good ole Cuse,  I listen to some John Legend, Joss Stone, or stuff that I can just sing along with or relax to. If I'm about to go out, I listen to lively stuff like mondotek or rap. When I'm pissed I listen to everything to try to get me happy again. When I'm heart broken, I listen to Kanye. 

Then there's those times when music can't even make me happy. That's just seems blasphemous since I love music so much, but sometimes things just suck balls.

So my request from you is to help me find that music to bring me out of those dark times..haha That sounds so dramatic but I want some enlightenment into what music helps people out of their lowly times.

The Battle for My Ear: Kid Cudi vs. Drake

WARNING: This is going to be a long post so get ready. I suggest getting a snack to semi-distract yourself.

So I've come to the realization that there has been an emergence of a lot of new players in the rap/ hip-hop scene and I thought I'd look into it. The two that stood out to me where Kid Cudi and Drake.

vs.

So I'll start with a little background of each of them so you can get a feel of what they're coming from and maybe it will help you with your decision of who you like better.

KID CUDI

His real name is Scott Mescudi...Kid Cudi is definitely a better name. Good choice on his part. He's 25, reigning from OHIO...woo midwest. He is signed to g.o.o.d music, so there's definitely an influence of Kanye. This is probably why I lean a lil more toward him. He was a part of Kanye's Welcome to Heartbreak, Paranoid, and Heartless.

DRAKE

His real name is even better....Aubrey Drake Graham. He's Canadian..wooo double whammy of misfortune. (Sorry, but ever since I was hit by a French Canadian semi-driver I don't like them) He is 22 and a former actor on Degrassi. I'm pretty sure one of his main influences is Lil'Wayne since Wayne is featured in several of his songs. This might be the reason why I don't lean toward him. 

So here's the scoop of their mixtapes. Brace yourself because this is where it's gonna get long and detailed. 

KID CUDI: A Kid Named Cudi (17 tracks)

1.Intro

2.Down & Out

- All I have to say on this one is that I like the beat.

3. Is There Any Love (ft. Wale)

-Definitely one of my favorites. The hook is really rememberable. And I love the "Can't stand evil bitches with their fendis" line...ooh how it reminds me of Syracuse girls.

4. CuDi Get

The little kid's voice is just hilarious.

5. Man On The Moon (The Anthem)

6. The Prayer

He's actually singing on this one and when that happens I'm always hooked. Also reminds me of when I was younger and always said my night prayers. But all around good song.

7.Day N Nite

My favorite song and probably the most known song of his. The lyrics are really good. I suggest reading them if you have the time. http://recycledlovesongs.com/indie-music/kid- cudi-day-n-nite-lyrics. Also check out the video. I know I've already said this before but it's pretty great.

8. Embrace the Martian 

9. Maui Wowie

Pretty great that this song is just about smoking Maui Wowie. And I gotta love the reference to John Legend's Get Lifted. He's even laughing in this song..c'mon.

10.50 Ways to Make A Record

Oooh his singing voice. Love his lil vibrato in there. And the subject of the song is good.

11.Whenever

The line "My heart beats faster when you open your thighs." WOoooow, that's all I have to say. Also the added symphony in the back is great. Him also sounding a lil like Busta when he says whenever is just great.

12. Pillow Talk

Now this song is more like speaking and it's pretty blunt. One of the lines that was just ridiculous to me was " smell good like new shoes." Now if he's a lover of new shoes..ok but shoes..really? I don't particularly want to be compared to the smell of shoes.

13. Save My Soul

I really like this one. It shows how people all of a sudden want to be in your life when you get successful or have a little light shown on you. Good line : "Everybody wanna stick on me like a leech."

14. T.G.I.F. (ft. chip the ripper)

15. Cudi Spazzin

Sample from N.E.R.D. never a bad thing to do.

16. Cleveland is the Reason

17. Heaven At Nite

About this whispering...hmmm Very chill so I like.

You can listen to this or download it at this link.

DRAKE:So Far Gone (17 tracks)

1.Lust for Life

2. Houstatlantavegas

One of my favs. Definitely think I'll always have a memory attached to it. His voice is just pure sex in this song. The singing is good and then the transition to rapping is flawless. I wouldn't mind if he was singing this to me. ..ha

3. Successful (ft. Trey Songz and Lil Wayne)

So the lil choir singing at the beginning...that's interesting. The hook of " i want the money..the cars..the clothes..the hoes I suppose.I just wanna be successful" is catchy. This song is full of catchy phrases...just like most of lil' wayne's songs. My other favorites are "This lost boy got fly without the peter pan" and  " shopping spree to get whatevers in store." Overall I like this one.

4. Lets Call it Off (ft. Peter Bjorn and John)

5. November 18th

Damn!!! That voice is a lil creepy. With lyrics like "pussy's only pussy" and "I'll just fuck you like we're in Houston" I don't think i'm a big fan of this one. What do these really mean? Definitely not a turn on.

6. Ignant Shit (ft. Lil Wayne)

Definitely an array of "ignant shit" listed off with sampling. I want new stuff..cmon. Then lil wayne's contribution to this track was pretty ridiculous.

7. A Night Off (ft. Lloyd)

So this is what goes through an artist's mind. So you think this was a considerate song about taking a night off from the studio to hang with your girl, but i'm pretty sure he's just taking a break so he can sex you up.  Then the line "I know what to do wit it" is too deep for his range. It sounds like he's going to take my soul and then right after he says that he goes into this high pitch girly voice....not a good decision.

8. Say Whats Real

9.Little Bit (ft. Lykke Li)

So this is the first song I ever heard from him...probably why it's my favorite. But I do have to say I struggle if I like Lykke's original version or this remix. I like his contribution but i wish they would have kept the line of " for you I keep my legs apart and forget about my tainted heart.."

10. Best I Ever Had

Another song I really like. It's nice in general but then the line "You're the FUCKIN best" kinda ruins the mood. Then when he says "Make your pussy whistle like the Andy Griffith theme song" with the emphasis and drawn out "whistle" it's just not pleasant. It reminds me of Opie which reminds me of Gingers...ughhh. But i do like this line "you can have my heart. We can share it like the last slice."

11. Unstoppable (ft. Santogold and lil Wayne)

The reference of Mr. Feeny cracked me up. Drake was only on the track for 51 secs out of 3:30 minutes. Again Lil Wayne's contribution was ridiculous. Some of the things he says just flabbergast me.

12. Uptown (ft. Bun B and Lil wayne)

13. Sooner or Later

Does he really deserve a second chance? sounds a lil desperate

14. Bria's interlude

15. The Calm

16. Outro

17. Brand New

Umm I dunno if people really want to know about past relationships. " Did he give you lovin like this?" "Is anything I'm doin brand new?" Kinda reminds me of the scene from Closer with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen and he's asking about her six with Jude Law.   ..ohhh geez.

You can listen or download his mixtape right here

So there's the break down of their mixtapes. Hopefully you found this interesting.If not I'm sorry I put you through this. If you haven't noticed I kinda like Kid Cudi a bit more. I think his mixtape is a better collection of songs. I like Drake's singing voice a lot better, but I think Cudi is better with some of his lyrics. Drake is more like Lil'Wayne in that he has catchy phrases, but I want someone who can do it all.