D.I.Y. Pop

[dark-splendor]

[electrickenzo]

Animated version of Tame Impala’s Innerspeaker album cover.

[930club]

9:30 VIDEO: Gardens & Villa

We sat down with Gardens & Villa…and by ‘sat down’ we mean trapped them in their dressing room to answer questions, because, well, we love them. Watch & spin that ‘Dunes’ record. You’re welcome.

'Dunes' is out NOW. Get it here.

Video shot and edited by Rick Gonzalez.

[diypop]

guys. girls. people who post cat pics. I just started a radio show podcast thing called #TenSongs. each week I'm gonna pick 10 songs about a subject or of a genre. The first one is my musical origins.

[diypop]

the year in hip hop

this one was an interestin' year for hip hop. gotta say there were a fair few releases that didn't live up to the hype (lookin' atchu, H to the IZZO) as well as some that didn't really force you to think all that much (this one's for the soft as a short stacka pancakes wid too much buttah and syruppp Drizzy Drake, like homie so soft he should have his own line of toilet paper from Cottonelle or some shit). 

that being said, some rappers really did come with it in 2013 and this is the time to recognise their achievements. 

Top Five Hip Hop Albums of 2013

1. Pusha T - My Name Is My Name 

already written extensively about this album and y'all can read the review here. 

2. Kanye West - Yeezus

you know, the fact that Kanye would make an album like this shouldn't surprise anyone. you'd think we'd all been desensitized to Kanye releasing weird shit, but then Yeezus dropped and so did our jaws. 

during the first few plays of this album, I told my friends Yeezus was more ignorant than peein' on the Vatican while guzzling a bottle of cham while fingerin' a prostitute. and that's kind of what listening to this is like.

put simply, no one's really making music like Kanye and the homie deserves to get some praise for executin on an album a lotta rappers couldn't have pulled off with their rep intact. compare Yeezus and Jay's Magna Carta ... forget about it. 

like it, hate it, love it, you probably at some point got asked this year what you thought about it.

3. Chance, The Rapper - Acid Rap

already wrote about it, and you can read it here. 

4. Shad - Flying Colours 

dunno why so many people sleep on / forget about Shad, but unlike his soft as Cottonelle wid aloe fellow Canadian rapper Drake, he actually comes with something different with each release, and Flying Colours is a continuation of that trend. 

if you haven't listened to Shad, download The Old Prince and TSOL as soon as you can. no one raps as intelligently as Shad. he's about as close to real rap as it gets just from a pure flow perspective. add in that he's original, doesn't drop the n word in every other bar, Shad brings something new to a genre that needs it. 

Flying Colours presents an argument that hip hop can be smart, funny, and cool all at the same time. whether it's lines like "Can Wesley Snipes get a Leslie Feist, what’s good?" from "Y'all Know Me" or "Running like a Kenyan cause I’m Kenyan (ask my mama) / Yeah I’m running like a Kenyan see I’m running like Obama" from "Stylin"; Shad's wordplay is unmatched. 

anyway, go support real rap and buy this album.

5. El-P & Killer Mike - Run The Jewels 

this would also end up on a list of albums I never would have expected to like from 2013, but just how much Run The Jewels got slept on this year surprised me. 

El-P and Killer Mike don't really make music like you're used to hearing, and in a world of mass emulation, we need guys like them to challenge our ears. when I first heard this on the 31 bus going from Glover Park to Foggy Bottom, I wasn't sure what was hitting my ears. that's always a good thing. 

sometimes Run The Jewels is hard to listen to. it's not an album I find myself playing over and over again until I have every verse memorized and am able to repeat every weird intonation. but not every record can be like that. this isn't a record for the club, or even for a college party. this is an album for when you're tired of the spoon fed pop bullshit a lotta people mis-labeling hip hop these days. 

Run The Jewels isn't real hip hop in the sense that it wants to take you back to a time when rap sounded the way Biggie and Pac made it. but it is a throwback in the sense that it challenges you, gets in your face, makes you almost hate it because of how confrontational it is, but you end up loving it anyway. it's like Yeezus in that way, but not by anyone nearly as established as 'Ye. 

Top 15 Hip Hop Songs of 2013

1. Numbers On The Board - Pusha T 

2. Control - Big Sean feat. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica

3. WHOA - Earl Sweatshirt feat. Tyler, The Creator

4. They Die By Dawn - The Bullitts feat. Yasiin Bey & Jay Electronica

5. New Slaves - Kanye West 

6. Hood Pope - A$AP Ferg 

7. Cocoa Butter Kisses - Chance, The Rapper feat. Vic Mensa & Twista

8. Stylin - Shad feat. Saukrates 

9. The Return - Danny Brown feat. Freddie Gibbs

10. 1 Train - A$AP Rocky feat. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Action Bronson, & Big K.R.I.T. 

11. The Rockers - Action Bronson feat. Wiz Khalifa 

12. Nosetalgia - Pusha T feat. Kendrick Lamar 

13. Chum - Earl Sweatshirt 

14. Banana Clipper - Run The Jewels feat. Big Boi

15. Y'all Know - Shad

so that's about it from me on the genre of hip hop for 2013. also, I'd be stupid for not showin love for A$AP Rocky's Long Live A$AP, A$AP Ferg's Trap Lord, and Earl Sweatshirt's Doris. All three were fantastic albums in their own right and if I wasn't too lazy to write a longer list they would have been discussed more. all three were better than Drake's Nothing Was The Same (which was actually not terrible, but not much of it stuck with me after the first week and that's why that specific album didn't make my list. for me Drake is too poppy now to really be considered a rapper) ANYWAY. 

that's it guys. all in the game for 2013. 

[diypop]

top of the pops, 2013 edition (part one)

what can I say fam, 2013 was a year for music. I won’t front though, there was a lotta hype around the releases and not all of them really lived up to it. Jigga dropped something new when no one expected it, and the result made you realize why no one was walkin’ round the internet bein’ like “You know who needs to release a new album? JAY Z.” 

excepting the disappointment of Magna Carta, Holy Grail some musicians truly made some memorable shit worth talkin’ about. this is the list where I tell you all about what of it mattered to me.

Best EP: Carroll - Needs

now I’m not just saying it because the lead singer of this band and I have been friends since high school, but this little EP is a treasure to have in your iPod. what I love about it is that Needs feels familiar without being derivative. lead singer Brian Hurlow’s vocals always remind me of a softer version of Jeff Mangum’s, while also borrowing a little bit from Ryan Adams as well. I saw them perform the material from Needs when I was in Minneapolis in November and these guys can bring it as well when necessary. it’s only five songs, but it’s worth more than a few plays. 

Best Achivement in Hip Hops: Pusha T - My Name Is My Name

excepting a few other releases, there was none more anticipated for me thanMNIMN because, put frankly, I fuckin’ love Pusha T. like excepting tha god Yasiin Bey/Mos Def, King Push has the best flow of any in this here particular game. 

Yeezus definitely had more “what the fuck” moments than MNIMN, but song for song the latter beats the former. Push said in multiple interviews that a lotta hip hops this year been like easy listenin’, no artist came out with anything that raw, harsh, or challenging. I’d agree with that. 

The soft-as-a-stack-of-pancakes-former-high-school-drama-show-actor-wid-a-tongue-sweeter-than-maple-syrup dude Drake definitely went back to basics in manner of speaking with Nothing Was The Same but it didn’t do a whole lot for me after a coupla plays. There were a few good tracks, but it wasn’t all that. 

MNIMN definitely was. even though Push was out there talkin’ like this album isn’t poppy, it is. all that said, Push brings something for everyone with this album. whether it’s Numbers On The Boards, which features a pummeling beat and some of Push’s best lyricism, Hold On with Rick Ross and some Yeezy croonin and auto-tunin, S.N.I.T.C.H. with Pharell and some Wire references, or Nosetalgia with Kendrick Lamar, this album hits you in the chest with every track. and for an album with a feature on almost every track, it’s a testament to Push that this album still feels thoroughly his.

Best Thing I Listened To For The First Time This Year That Came Out A While Ago: J Dilla (entire catalogue)

I always hate that I can’t include stuff I heard for the first time this year because it wasn’t released this year. fuck that. anyway, J Dilla.

there’s really only one person responsible for this, and her name is Lizi, the most based and awesome girl I met this year. Dilla’s whole catalogue is brilliant, and for a guy who LOVES stuff like Flying Lotus, I dunno why I had never bothered with Dilla before. But when I listened to Donuts I nearly fell out of my chair, my head was bobbing that much. 

Best Achievement Mix(tape)ology: Chance, The Rapper - Acid Rap

2013 was definitely a year for the dudes with weird sounding voices (more on that later when I talm bout Rhye and King Krule). all of the weird and raw guffawing on this tape threw me off a bit. Acid Rap definitely lives up to its title. Chance is all over the place during it, at times tender and understanding while at others completely off the wall with shit. he has a mind for this here game and he flexes it very well with understanding which tracks require which approach. whether its the assuring Everybody’s Something or the ignorant Smoke Again and Juice, this tape has a lot to offer. go get cuz its free. 

Best Album From Dudes Everyone Knows Well: Atoms For Peace - AMOK

man I can’t even begin to say the level of hyped I was for this one. Thom Yorke’s solo album Eraser was great but we hadn’t heard much from him since, and when Radiohead got back in the stu to put out King Of Limbs, Yorke’s solo career got put on hold until late last year, when his new band Atoms For Peace released their single “Default”. you know that look you exchange with a friend when shit’s about to go down? it was like that for all of us Radiohead nerds when Thom shared the release date. 

Unlike a few other anticipated pro-jects, AMOK was not a let down in the slightest bit. Thom, along with famed Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Chili Peppers bass slapper extraordinaire Flea, Joey Waronker who plays drums for R.E.M., and some Brazilian dude, put out some boundary pushin’ type shit that knocked and provoked a few thoughts as well. Thom’s a weird dude, everyone who has seen the video for “Lotus Flower” knows that, but the fact that the same guy who made records like The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, etc. etc. still can make compelling shit is a real compliment to his talent. 

Best Achievement In Music: King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath The Moon

the. most. anticipated. album. of. this. year. 

well, for me anyway. ever since album of the year winner from 2012 Frank Ocean name dropped King Krule in an interview with the beeb, I’ve been tracking down all of KK’s material and trying to get my friends to listen to it. his self-titled EP released in 2011 teased at what the 19 year-old had in his locker, and 6FBTM delivered on it. 

for a kid who is just now legal to drink in Canada, his low growl of a voice can be off-putting and ultimately a turnoff for many people whose music opinions I respect. but for me it just hit me in a different way than anything I’d ever heard before and left a real impact. 

songs like Out Getting Ribs, Easy Easy, Neptune Estate, Lizard State, The Krockadile, Ocean Bed, Foreign 2, all were highlights for different times of my 2013, and will always stick with me. Out Getting Ribs is also in my top songs of 2013 (that will be released later) and just cut me up, man. such harsh beauty. 

Album That I Was Supposed To Love But Never Got Into: Arcade Fire -Reflecktor

not much to say here, because I never listened to it enough to have a lot to say. i played it a few times and just never really got it. I’ve always liked Arcade Fire but never really LOVED Arcade Fire, and for me this just did next to nothing. I’m sure it’s great, just like Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires Of The City did something for some people. but I’ll have to holla “LATE PASS” when in 2014 I listen to this one again and totally reevaluate my priorities. 

Best Achievement In Rick Rolling: Rhye - Woman

listen to this album and tell me your first thought wasn’t “damn that girl can sing!” if you can, maybe you’re just way smarter than everyone else and we need to set up a call between you and Barry Obama to talk about just how special you are. 

put simply, I LOVE this album in a I wanna light some candles, drink wine, and cuddle with a girl kinda way. hope the resulting image from that sentence wasn’t too PG-13 for y’all, it’s just how I feel. anyway break out the bottle of red and dark chocolate, and put this on fam, and yo girl will love that shit. 

in all seriousness, great album, in a totally unexpected and different from everything else released this year kind of way. for their lead singer Melosh, it was another win (hashtag Seinfeld).

Best Achievement In Accessible Girly Sounding Sugary Pop Music: HAIM - Days Are Gone

if you ain’t about this album right now, there’s not much I can do for ya. it took me a while to get around to it, but between all the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models shoutin’ this one out on Instagram and it generally getting a lot of praise, this definitely caught my ear this year. 

I have a few more awards to give out, so stay tuned. this is all for now. 

[diypop]

gonna drop my all the music you shoulda been listenin' to in 2013 list soon, fam. you've been warned. 

[ofalltheginjointsinallofthetown]

"I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if you never take it seriously, you never get hurt, you never get hurt, you always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends."

Penny Lane, Almost Famous (2000)  (via makemefeelcheap)

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[the60sbazaar]

[thischarmingcharlie]

[diypop]

this song is one of my favourites from this year. 

Jai Paul - str8 outta mumbai. 

[wuphmusic]

[madstahs]

[vinylmeplease]

Kurt Vile - ‘Wakin On A Pretty Daze’ + Sloe Gin Fizz

Ingredients: 2 ounces sloe gin, 1/2 ounce lemon juice, 1 teaspoon super fine sugar, club soda.

Mixing Instructions: Mix ingredients in cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass and fizz an inch or so from the top. Splash the soda on top so that it foams.

Notes: All you need to know about Philly-rocker, Kurt Vile’s fifth studio album can be found in the opening track, “Wakin on a Pretty Day”. That absolutely is not to say one shouldn’t listen to the rest of the album, but simply that the DNA contained in the sauntering 9:30 ballad showcases all the ingredients that make Vile’s music sneakily addictive. The silvery twang of the guitar stretched out alongside Vile’s meandering vocals make music that could easily be passed by on first listen, but contain the intangible quality of get-under-your-skin-ness that all artists desire and few attain. Vile’s lyrics are sharp, his understanding of his own musical strengths is beyond his years. Putting it all together the result is a strong album that can be paired with no other drink, but a sloe gin fizz…I seldom feel as strongly about an album/cocktail match. Cheers!

purchase vinyl: Amazon || Insound

[930club]

NEW TRACKS: King Krule - ‘Neptune Estate’

Put this on repeat and don’t stop. That’s how brilliant King Krule’s new single is. So good, in fact, that Tyler, the Creator tweeted about it. No wonder, since “Neptune Estate” floats over an almost OF level bass heavy drum track, thriving on the beat’s momentum throughout. A string of electric keyboard chords soon join the sample followed by Krule’s poisonously bitter lyrics, “Can you bear just one more night?/I wanna be with you./I wanna be used.” - words plaintively speaking to the most basic sense of human desperation. In “Neptune Estate” Krule wants whatever he can get. The problem is that he can’t have anything from this girl. She’s done with him, and all he has left is a place in her mind. It’s a devastating feeling as the track plunges you down to its melancholic oceanic depths, flooding your mind with a time when your love too was unrequited. But you’ll want to take the dive again as soon as it’s over.  

King Krule’s first full length album, 6 Feet Below The Moon is due out just after the artist’s 19th birthday on August 27th. It may be the best album of the year.

6 Feet Below The Moon is streaming now via NPR.

-Spencer Swan 

[probs99]