Aye Aye Aye If I was a butterfly I would want Die Antwoord and DJ Hi-tech to be my ninja protectors fo sho. Fok this is like, the coolest music video I have ever seen in my whole life.  These South African ninjas are hard… core all up in the interweb!  Like gameboys you don’t want to play these games, boys.

Die Antwoord performs “Zef” music, Zef being an Afrikaans term which loosely translates to the American equivalent of Redneck. Their lyrics are funny and explicit, and performed in both Afrikaans and English. Members of the band consider themselves as Hip Hop artists, but specifically refer to their music as zef rap-rave. Die Antwoord is a presentation of entertainment persona rather than that of authentic cultural identities.

These crazy fucks are raising to fame and Artek (the oldest survivnig person with a disease called Progeria, thanks to Ninja’s protection from death) will be around long enough to experience the samurai super stardom.

http://www.dieantwoord.com
http://www.myspace.com/dieantwoord

Related posts:

1. Buy. Sell. Horrify!
2. Death Metal Is For Kids
3. Jones’ Good Ass BBQ And Foot Massage

Related posts:

1. RoboCop Vs. Predator: An Essay
2. El Senior T
3. Buy. Sell. Horrify!

So anyway, First Aid Kit, they’ve already gained some notiriety by covering Fleet Foxes and putting it on their first EP, but their debut album “The Big Black & The Blue” is out on the 25th January 2010 and it’s really good. This is the single “Hard Believer”. As young as they are, the only way I could think they got this good is because they have awesome parents who showed them good music at a very young age, cuz damn they’re ahead of the game. That is unless all girls from Sweden look 14 and are actually older, I hope liking this band doesn’t make me a pederass.

http://www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit

Related posts:

1. Subsidize These Farmer Boys!
2. El Senior T
3. Top Of The Pops

Axe to Fall just sounds better too. No other band has better sounding tone on their guitars. I don’t give a shit what you say. First, Jane Doe was an experiment in analogue recording, and You Fail Me sounded good, but it seemed guitarist/engineer Kurt Ballou hadn’t figured out the digital realm just yet. Well, this is one of the best recorded metal albums I’ve ever heard. The drums cut though the wall of guitars like a razor. And good thing too, drummer Ben Koller has never sounded better. His intense ultra complex fills compliment the songs like peanut butter and chocolate. It’s like when lego pieces fit together just right, expect this lego piece has 2,456 pegs to fill. Everyone in the band is at the top of their game. The guitar hooks come flying by fast and furious, like Vin Diesel is constantly hitting the NOS button.

The big difference with Axe To Fall from their previous work, besides being a little more prog rock, is the appearance of guest musicians. “Effigy,” one of four songs on the album that comes in under the two-minute mark, features Steve Brodsky and Adam McGrath of Cave In on guitar and that group’s drummer, J.R. Conners, behind the kit. Uffe Cederlund of Disfear takes over lead guitar on “Wishing Well,” while Steve Von Till of Neurosis sings on “Cruel Bloom” and Genghis Tron’ Mookie Singerman does guest vocals on the seven-minute album closer, “Wretched World, which sounds like a Tom Waits song from hell. Also included are members of The Red Chord and Himsa It really adds a great new flavor to the album. 40 minutes of pummeling metal can be hard to listen to sometimes. It’s really amazing that a band that tours as much as Converge does, and has been around so long can still put so much thought and passion into their music. Everyone will be comparing this to Jane Doe. I’m just not sure about deciding which one’s better, they each have their own identity.

If you are already a fan of Converge, then you just found your favorite metal album of the year. It may be a bit more prog rock than their previous couple releases, but it’s got everything you would expect and some sprinkles of awesomeness on top. Also, Axe to Fall’s “Dark Horse” joins the ranks of “The Saddest Day” and “Concubine” as absolutely blistering opening tracks from the Converge catalog. It will be played at all live shows from now on. Axe To Fall just drips with powerful emotions brilliantly characterized by violent and grim music.

Verdict: Rockit

http://www.convergecult.com
http://www.myspace.com/converge

Related posts:

1. Album Review: Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return
2. Album Review: HORSE The Band – Desperate Living
3. Top Of The Pops

I don’t even want to go through the tracks because they all sound the same. When Kris Norris left, I really think the band suffered. There is one highlight lurking in the depths of all the over played metal riffs. Track number 3, “The Tides”, sounds like a more mature rewrite of “An Epitaph” off of So Sedated. It’s got that great rolling rhythm that’s more apparent in their earlier albums. And it’s got two great solos. Another good thing about this albums is it doesn’t have one of the dumbass “singles” they put on their two previous albums. You know “Demon(s)” from “Deliver Us” and “Convalescence” from “Undoing Ruin”. Soooo lame. But besides that, not much here. “No God” and “Blessed Infection” sound like a bunch of high school kids wrote it. The bands said that this album was going to have tons of energy filled with “aggression and speed”. Well just because you put fast drums behind songs doesn’t mean they’ve got energy. Bad form DH. I hope with the next release they really go back to how they were, not two albums ago because those weren’t really that good either, but 4 albums ago, when their songs had some honesty in them. Back to a band jam packed with super catchy and melodic metal riffs ready to mosh to.

Verdict: Knock It.
http://www.myspace.com/darkesthour
http://www.darkesthour.cc

Related posts:

1. Album Review: HORSE The Band – Desperate Living
2. Album Review: Converge – Axe To Fall
3. Top Of The Pops

HORSE The Band, one of the most interesting bands around today. An enigma wrapped in a paradox, floating in a pool of sewage. Their fifth album teeters on the brink of brilliance, but unfortunatly just isn’t quit there yet. The album’s jam packed full of great musical ideas that seem to stay with you longer than their previous releases. Titled “Desperate Living” after the notorious John Waters film, the album really embodies how the band has lived through the passed couple years and how it feels about the cannabalistic music business it barely stays a part of.

“Cloudwalker” opens up the album to somewhat odd result. The track really showcases the major changes in the band, mainly turning the focus to keyboardist Erik Engstrom’s synth. It’s a bold choice to put as the first track, because most listeners aren’t going to get what they expect and might get turned off.  Well don’t because this change doesn’t ultimatley become a bad thing as the album progresses.  The songs end up turning from metalcore, to more prog metal with a lot of more experimentation. The third track, “Failure of all Things” is a little more of the HORSE of old. But what makes this track great is that it doesn’t rely on the old hardcore cliches that they’ve used before. Less chug chugs with synth on top, but instead it cleverly builds up to one of the biggest sounding endings on any HORSE song.

The middle of the album features two of the strongest tracks. First off is the tongue and cheek “Science Police”.  Pretty much take “Sex Raptor” and mix it with the music from chemical plant zone in Sonic 2. It ends up having one of the catchiest synth licks HORSE has ever put together. “Shapeshifter”, the albums first “single”, well at least the one they made a video to, has to be the most enjoyable song on the album. Featuring guest vocals by Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, the song really shows how far they’ve come as songwriters and how much range they actually have. The ending, features elaborate synth melodies layered with soft vocals resulting in a truly emotional prog metal piece.

Anther track that features big change is “Lord Gold Wand Of Unyielding (feat. Lord Gold and His Purple Majesty)” With vocals sung by, you guessed it, Lord Gold Throneroom. Well basically it’s got a disco beat with an almost pop rock chorus. Who knew Lord Gold has good pipes? Just after they’ve hit you with a lot of melody, here comes Big Business. A track that’s obviously a tour story, it acts more like the b-sides of previous albums. Finishing off the album are “Rape Escape” and “Arrive”. The first of the two is one of the most interesting songs the band has ever written. A seven minute prog piece thats got a bridge that sounds like a tasteful ode to Crystal Castles, and finishes off with some amazing classical piano that pretty much says, “hey we know what were doing”. The fact that heavy guitar comes in with ear piercing screams of horror over the piano reminds us that it’s still HORSE we’re listening to. Finishing off is “Arrive”, one of the strongest songs on the album. It’s got all we’ve come to know and love about ‘em. Great synth, heavy guitar, and the obligatory gang vocals round out this tasty jam which is sure to bring the ruckus live.

Desperate Living really shows they’re maturing as a band with more focused songwriting and lyrics. The fact that Eric’s synth is leading the band and Nathan is taking a back seat may not be a bad thing, but it is different. If one is expecting more of the same, it didn’t happen. But don’t hold it against ‘em. Just cause a band makes an album that’s different than earlier work doesn’t make it bad. It probably won’t turn any haters of HORSE onto the band, but the feeling that they’re growing may bring in new fans who thought they’re older work was too chaotic and cliche.

Verdict: Rock It!
http://www.myspace.com/horsetheband
http://www.horsetheband.com

Related posts:

1. Album Review: Converge – Axe To Fall
2. Album Review: Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return
3. Top Of The Pops

The music video for the song ‘Alice’, an electronic piece composed using sounds recorded from the Disney film ‘Alice In Wonderland’ The artist, Pogo, has a few others like this. All using original sounds and video from the films to create something new and beautiful. There is also this amazing video remix on yooouuutuuube.com which is absolutely mesmerizing! Here’s another highlight from his collection.

Some others include, Mary Poppins, Harry Potter, Willy Wonka, and The Secret Garden.
www.myspace.com/pogotracks
www.last.fm/music/Pogo

Related posts:

1. Buy. Sell. Horrify!
2. Subsidize These Farmer Boys!
3. RoboCop Vs. Predator: An Essay

For some weird ass reason this was bouncing around in my head for a week. If I didn’t write it down, MJ’s ghost would haunt me until I justified his pop existence. So…..here’s a little review of albums that, sold millions of records each, still were able to keep the integrity of the artist, and age well with time. So I’m writing these in no particular order. Some of these are obvious and some not so much. So maybe it’s time ya give em a chance?

Peter Gabriel – So (1986)
This is a great example of a veteran musician making a record to sell, but still keep his sound and integrity. He had come a long way from being the curious 19 year old dressing up like a vegetable and playing 15 minute long prog songs. Check this lyric from “Big Time” (I’ve had enough, I’m getting out to the city, the big big city, Ill be a big noise with all the big boys, there’s so much stuff I will own.) Tell me he wasn’t self-aware of his soon to be worldwide popularity. The song is clearly pointing out his potential rise to fame and living the superstar life. Gotta respect the artists who were self-aware. It almost made it seem like he took stardom with a grain of salt. Gabriel had four huge hits, “Red Rain”, Sledgehammer”, “Big Time”, and “In Your Eyes”. But also managed to sneak in his dark, brooding sense of experimentation with the haunting “We Do What Were Told” and the oddly uplifting “Don’t give up”. In the entire genre that would be 80’s adult pop/contemporary or whatever, this is the best there is. Inventive songwriting, catchy hooks, thoughtful lyrics, all wrapped up in a nice pop package, ready for middle class white folk to gobble up. Don’t forget about those ground-breaking videos that one could say were responsible for MTV’s early success.

BeeGees/Various Artists – Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack
For anyone who was too young for disco and asks about it, just play this record and nothing else, (ok maybe some visual aids of John Travolta in that white suit could help). They could get an entire portrait of the disco era. Skip the ABBA and Donna Summer, this was better, well some ABBA’s pretty good though. I used to hate this shit. But I never listened to it. Disco is really easy to hate. Give it a chance, really. I think what gets overlooked about this album is Barry Gibbs amazing singing. Remember that this was before Auto-tune and digital editing, and the harmonies on songs like “Night Fever” and “How Deep Is Your Love” are perfection. With 15 million copies sold, that doesn’t even seem enough, this thing was a national obsession. Discos opened up all over, and everyone wanted to shop at Disco Pants & Haircuts, so they could walk down the street to “Stayin’ Alive” with their best strut. There were some hidden gems on the record too. How cool was Walter Murhpy’s classical music regurgitation? It was saying, hey i know this music is campy and fun and I’m gonna parody the genre by putting some of the greatest pieces of music ever over a disco beat. Hip-Hop artists figured that out about 12 years later by putting recognizable hooks over hip-hop beats. This album was an event.

Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair (1985)
I love this album. And this was written to sell, Roland Orzobal once said he wrote “Shout” because he heard the word a lot in other hits from the past. But guess what? that song is amazing, It’s simple and original, and nothing sounds like it. “Everybody Wants To Rule the World” completely embodies the 80’s get rich, greed filled, cocaine, live fast die young lifestyle. You know the stuff Patrick Bateman would like. Well, he might think it’s a little too “new wave” for his tastes. But what I think what makes this album still great today is the production. Orzobal and Smith were notoriously detail oriented in the studio (I think only second to Steely Dan). Its pitch perfect in every way. Just think of that scene in Donnie Darko where “Head over Heals” plays and it pans through the hallways of the high school. That song is the 80’s. It did what every other pop/new wave artist wanted to do: sell records, but not make another Rick Astley piece of crap. It had real emotion attached to it, real passion. Meticulous song writing made these songs really stand out in an era full of some of the worst music ever made. I’m looking at you Billy Ocean. But take it away from its era, and it still resonates with any steely-eyed youth. It was the logical step for the band to take after the deeply intense debut “The Hurting.” What ended up being too dark for mainstream audiences, was necessary for the process to culminate with “Big Chair,” their best selling and most relevant record to date. Following “Big Chair,” with the solid but bloated “Seeds of Love,” and subsequent albums thereafter, the band substituted audience awareness for musical conceit. Too bad they never recovered.

Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982)
Duh, i mean who doesn’t like “Thriller?” Seven out of the nine songs on the record were top 10 singles. It sold 110 million copies worldwide. Even the library of congress preserved it, deeming it culturally significant. So when robots have finally taken over and its been thousands of years and they want to learn about the human race, they can head on over to the library of congress, read countless blueprints from the Apollo program, watch David Lynch’s Eraserhead, and dance the night away to “Thriller.” I’m not even gonna bother talking about each song. We all know them. But what’s great about this record is that it hits just as hard as it did in 1982. Play this at any wedding, club, or sweet 16 birthday and you’ve got everyone doing the moonwalk and trying to stand on their toes. No single musician in history is as recognizable or worshiped as MJ was, and still is. Even the hits that people don’t think about too much anymore still resonate. P.Y.T and Wanna be Starting Something are packed with amazing production value and great hooks. Its the King at his peak. You got Jesus, and then MJ.

Prince – Purple Rain (1984)
This was a soundtrack, but kinda. Somewhere along the line when writing these songs, someone decided to make a movie using these jams. Good decision. “Sign ‘O The Times” may be musically stronger, but being a double album, its hard to put it ahead of this one. Purple Rain just fucking rocks. There is so much fun packed into this record, you find something new every time. Put this on loud and dance with your significant other in your apartment until the neighbors call the cops. It’s awesome. Also, It seems to be the most focused of Prince’s releases, even with his foray into pop, he doesn’t give up his funk and R&B roots. His songwriting was at it’s peak, and with the help of the revolution, it all came together more ambitiously yet focused than ever before. With the eerie “When Dove’s Cry” to the menacing grind of “Darling Nikki,” Prince managed to do his thing without compromising the pop sensibilities. This album in particular has influenced a wider range of artists than one would expect. Foo Fighters have covered “Darling Nikki”, Green Day and Incubus cover “Let’s Go Crazy” while the indie rock band, Of Montreal cover “Computer Blue”. It just seems to get better with age.

Carole King – Tapestry (1971)
It’s too bad I only recently got into this record. I missed out on playing this for chicks when I was single. They would’ve eaten this shit up. I was at work, which at one point turned into the set of VH1’s Free Radio, and there was this poster of some chick with a cat sitting in a window. So I’m like who’s this? After giving me some shit for not knowing, my boss tells me it was huge and it had all these hits, blah blah blah. So I take a listen to this thing, and do it with your lady, you might get some for being sensitive. Nelly Furtado, Alanis Morrisette, Fiona Apple, Sarah McLaughin all owe Carole King their respective careers. I may not be a fan of any of them, well pretty much anyone who would play at Lilith Fair, but it’s cool. I don’t think I’m the proper demographic they’re looking for. Ok maybe Nelly Furtado and Fiona Apple, they have some pretty interesting stuff. Something else cool about this is the minimal production which really brought out intimate lyrics, very easy to listen to, and easy to like. Good thing James Taylor said to start singing your own songs, and stop writing huge hits for everyone else, she came out with a standard for the genre.

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (1977)
Pop music is unpredictable. In Fleetwood Mac’s case the departure of guitarist Bob Welch — who’d reduced the band to re-cutting pointless and pretentious versions of old standards — amounted to the biggest break they ever had. With that and the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac suddenly became a California pop group; instead of boring ass blues/rock jams, they started turning out bright little three-minute singles with a hook in every chorus. Beautiful vocal harmonies and lyrics about relationships sell records. In the two years since the previous album, things had become rather difficult within the group. “They didn’t realize this immediately,” said McVie, “but them creating such a good album together lifted them out of their misery.” How awkward was it for Stevie Nicks singing backups for “Go Your Own Way” on stage. It’s too bad FM radio has ruined some of the songs on this album, perhaps a rant on that some other time. They just have a habit of playing the same tracks over and over. But that’s not the band’s fault, I just wish I could’ve heard this one for the first time without thinking of Bill Clinton’s campaign run. Just skip tracks 4 and 5 and its still got some sweet jams.

Beach Boys (ok, Brian Wilson)- Pet Sounds (1966)
I like “Pet Sounds.” Brian Wilson is a musical genius. Listen to this record with headphones and you can hear his deeply personal lyrics and real emotion pouring out. Put it on in the background and it sounds like bright catchy pop. This album has two distinct levels. More so than any other on this list. The Beatles heard it and made Sgt. Peppers. Actually Capitol records, the label, considered not releasing the album at all. They thought it wasn’t accessible enough. Yeah, good call douchebags. Pretty much any musician of importance in the past 30 years has also cited Pet Sounds as one of the all time classic albums. Eric Clapton stated that “I consider Pet Sounds to be one of the greatest pop LPs to ever be released. It encompasses everything that’s ever knocked me out and rolled it all into one.” Elton John has said of the album, “For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement. I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded. It undoubtedly changed the way that I, and countless others, approached recording. It is a timeless and amazing recording of incredible genius and beauty.” Bob Dylan has said of Brian Wilson’s talents, “That ear — I mean, Jesus, he’s got to will that to the Smithsonian.” Yup.

The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
I decided on this Beatles album because it’s their most focused pop album, at least is to me the week. I go through phases with their releases. At different points in my life I’ve sworn each album is the best. I guess it all depends of where I am in my life. With this one they wanted to emulate Pet Sounds, so they did. I think its better, Rolling Stone doesn’t think so. But what do they know, they put U2’s “Joshua Tree” as a better album than “Dark Side of the Moon” on their top 500 list. I can remember the first time I heard this thing, I mean really heard it. I think everyone knew these songs from somewhere else, (thanks Joe Cocker and The Wonder Years.) But the first time it all came together was when i got ahold of a used record player for free and needed stuff to play on it. So I sifted through my parents old LP’s and actually found some gems. At first I was obsessed with side A of the White Album. No one could convince me any other Beatles was better. So i put on Sgt. Peppers while doing some cleaning around my apartment, and once I was done, I sat down and finished listening to it while staring at the cover and artwork thinking, well that’s it. Everyone’s just trying to be like this. It all sounded oddly familiar, not because I had heard this album before, but because i had heard the last 30 years of music try to sound like it. Some people say “A Day in the Life” is the best song ever written. Even though that’s way too ridiculous to even come up with the prerequisites for this, you would be hard pressed to not include that song in the argument

Hey Hipster, just because they were popular and your parents liked them, doesn’t make them lame, so steal em from your parents’ cd collection when you go home for Thanksgiving.

Related posts:

1. Album Review: Converge – Axe To Fall
2. Album Review: HORSE The Band – Desperate Living
3. Album Review: Darkest Hour – The Eternal Return