Once every three months I list the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently.
Every Saturday, I post a 15-20 minute podcast featuring some tracks I’ve been jamming the previous week, as well as some commentary and random musings from yours truly. Enjoy!
Tracklist:
Gorillaz – DoYaThing (feat. James Murphy and Andre 3000)
Ben Browning – I Can’t Stay
Colleen Green – Goldmine
Kendrick Lamar – Cartoon and Cereal
Available for download now at the Converse blog, Gorillaz’ highly anticipated collaborative track with James Murphy (formerly of LCD Soundsystem, of course) and Andre 3000 (sort-of formerly of Outkast, obviously) is an upbeat dance fest featuring a rapid-fire verse from Andre Benjamin near the end. Listen loudly, download quickly, and repeat incessantly.
Probably the finest musical stocking stuffer this year as far as greatest hits collections go, Gorillaz have delivered a near-perfect package of their best songs. Every single from the group in their ten years of productivity is here, from the breakthrough “Clint Eastwood” to the iPad-created “Doncamatic.” My personal favorite treat is the Soulchild remix of “19-2000,” by far an improvement from the original and one of my favorite remixes from the last decade.
The collection is great at highlighting the mood shifts and subtleties from Damon Albarn and his crew masquerading as outlaw cartoon monkeys. It also serves as a reminder, in case one forgot, that Gorillaz quickly transformed from a gimmicky side project to a badass legendary entity. Add this one to your playlist for road trips and rowdy Friday nights. There’s nothing here that won’t make you grin from ear to ear.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
150. Kanye West – Stronger
The Daft Punk-sampling first single from Graduation not only showed a compelling progression in West’s production, but it showcased his always-improving lyrical prowess. Kanye’s known for his incessant bragging and unfathomable ego, but with beats and words this precise, this banging, this funny, he continued the consistency of delivering on his Cassius Clay-channeling talk.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
280. Say Anything – Wow! I Can Get Sexual Too
At this point I feel I need to make a quick reminder (especially to my music snob friends) that a lot of the songs in this list are not really songs I listen to on a regular basis. Most of them are here for nostalgic purposes and to give a perspective of my preference and its evolution over the past ten years. Having stated that, I love all these songs; they all hold a special place in my….uh, music heart. And, as they say, much like most countdowns, as the numbers get smaller, the hits get bigger. So hang in there, hipsters!
That being said, this song is really dumb. The lyrics are stupid, in a Bloodhound Gang kind of way (look for them later in the list, kids!), and this band really does nothing for me. But when this song came out, I rocked this bitch like it was “Stairway to Heaven.” And just try not to smile once while listening. The guy’s voice is humorously absurd, much like the story he’s telling.
