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all my old posts are on there as well.
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Jack Penate's second album is awesome and The XX made one of the debut's of the year. The two come together on Jamie from the XX's remix of the new Penate single "Pull my Heart Away", one of the highlights of the new album. He adds in that lo-fi sound which is commonplace on "The XX" as well as some great subtle bass. One of the best remixes i've heard in a while. DL below.

Jack Peñate-Pull my Heart Away (Jamie XX Remix)

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Toronto, Detroit, Chicago and New Orleans unite on this huuuge track. The internet has been going crazy for this, especially Eminem's verse which is outstanding. If Relapse 2 is more The Warning/his verse here than Relapse 1 we are in for a treat. Kanye is brilliant, as he has been all year and Drake holds his own well. Lil' Wayne has been pretty heavily criticised for his verse on here, but I think it's good. He only sounds substandard because the other 3 do so well. The ridiculous amount of material he is on kinda makes it fair enough if he sounds a little tired now and again...wiki says he has featured on 38 tracks so far this year. Fuck.

This track is brilliant. DL below



Forever feat. Kanye West, Lil' Wayne and Eminem-Drake

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After pulling out of V last weekend, rumours of internal divisons and fights between the brothers were widespread. Last night the band were due to play Rock en Seine in Paris but pulled out after an alleged altercation between the brothers involving smashed guitars. Then Noel posted this on the bands website last night:
"It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight," he said. "People will write and say what they like but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer. Apologies to all the people who bought tickets to the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan."

So Noel is out pending a make up. Which means Oasis are pretty much over. Admittedly the band have not made an album close to Definately Maybe or What's the Story since the 90s, but the band still have a vast array of brilliant indie-rock songs. I guess it's good they split now, rather than carry on and sound more and more like a far inferior version of themselves 10 years ago...Catch one of my favourite Oasis tracks after the jump.

Oasis-Slide Away

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I have wanted to watch this for quite a while (since Sarah Chalke was in it) and now it is finally getting a proper showing in the UK. Aparently it was on fiver and bbc2 at some point but out of sync hmmm. How I Met Your Mother is being billed by E4 as a replacement for Friends (so was The Class though ahem...). I hope its half as good. Season 1 aired in the US in 2005, but will premiere on September 4th at 7.30pm on E4. Season 1 will be shown every weekday from then on. Not sure if they have the rights to anything further, very exciting anyways.
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So i havent really posted in 15 days, but I was away for 7 of them! In Madrid! Which is amazing, as is the above 7 floor superclub Kapital...a bit of a catchup of what I missed back home below...

Jay-Z reveals official tracklisting; 2 Blueprint 3 songs leak
So a couple of weeks ago I was misisnformed that this would be the official tracklisting for the Blueprint 3. I was pretty grossly wrong. The album will have 15 tracks and is much less Kanye biased than I originally thought.
Kanye features on 2 tracks and produced 7.
Timbaland produced 3.
The Neptunes produced 1 (very good news).
No.ID produced 5.
Swizz Beatz produced 1 and features on it.
The Inkredibles and Al Shuz produced 1 track each.

Features will include the above, Drake, Kid cudi, Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, Pharrell, Mr hudson, J Cole and luke Steele from Empire of the Sun! No MGMT or Nas though! Full tracklisting on wiki.
The Drake feature produced by timbaland has leaked and it is amazing. The beat is so good, Jay kills it. "Tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls, its 2010 not 1864". no Drake verse but hey maybe we'll see a collab on Drake's album. Listen here
A less good track Reminder has also leaked, also produced by Timbaland. Listen here
This album is going to be so gooooood.

Arctic Monkeys release Crying Lightning, get reviewed by Pitchfork
So I'm still undecided on Humbug. Sure its a good album, but doesn't grab me the way both of their first 2 did. I think Pitchfork's review captures my feelings pretty perfectly, read here. Crying Lightning also got released physically, with an exclusive vinyl being sold through Oxfam, pretty cool!! Here is one of the bsides, a Nick Cave cover, Red Right Hand.
Arctic Monkeys-Red Right Hand

The Very Best's Warm Heart of Africa leaks and its amazing
I'm not even on it for African music, not even when I spent 10 weeks there this year, but this album is really something. I think its the clear Western influence (provided by Radioclit) in tandem with the Malawian vocals and sound of Esau Mwamwaya that really make this what it is, a contender for album of the year. The title track feat. Ezra Koenig has long been available, and on Rain Dance M.I.A. shows she can spit on pretty much any type of beat and sound amazing. Below is Chalo which sounds like it samples the theme tune to "Fun House"!!!!
The Very Best-Chalo

Good Shoes return; thank me for naming this blog after one their songs
Well...not the second bit...but the Mordeners have returned with a song that sounds pretty similar to their debut, but thats by no means a bad thing. Listen on their myspace now. The band tour this autumn, they are great live, you should go see them!

The XX release the XX
The XX have been hyped like a bitch by the blogosphere over the last couple of months, but for once it turns out the hype should be believed. The XX is a really good, very lo-fi album. The band play Leeds/Reading this weekend before supporting Florence and the Machine this autumn.
The XX-VCR

Simian Mobile Disco release Temporary Pleasure
I got myself pretty hypd for this so I guess I'm pretty disappointed overall. its a decent album but quite a bit is filler; here is one of the highlights.
Simian Mobile Disco-1000 Horses Can't Be Wrong

Frank Turner's Poetry of the Deed leaks very early.
...and its pretty great...except (as with his first 2 albums) the quality does slide towards the end...(excluding TBOMAMF). Sons of Liberty is truely a piece of genius, as are Live Fast Die Old and Try this at Home. I'm not posting any tracks because I'm scared of his record label, so here is a hypem link, there a few newbies there

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I dont even watch the show, but randomly saw it last night. This guy has serious talent. Danyl to win!!
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huge...i thought it was new but aparently (according to wiki) it was on a 2006 mixtape. Bside to his new single Hard Night Out, also big.
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Someone's looking for a number 1.

Not exactly the direction I was looking for Kano to take, but its not bad...seems like Kano has jumped on the autotune bandwagon just as it is about to die out, or at least in the form he uses here....
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LA X
Thats LA X
NOT LAX
Take note

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Literally the best thing ever. This was his first public appearance after 2 years in the army and its bad ass. He had so much talent and versatility, I doubt there have been many better performers ever. Sinatra was also amazing singing Love me Tender all upbeat mashed up with Witchcraft. I wish I was alive back then. They sure don't make them like they used to.
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Every bit as good as it was on first listen. mp3 below

David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland-When Love takes Over (dj blame remix)

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for once its nice weather, here is a perfect chilled playlist to go with the sun!!


Jay-Z-Feelin' It feat. Mecca
The Roots-Episodes
OutKast-West Savannah
Notorious B.I.G.-Big Poppa
De La Soul-Eye Know
A Tribe Called Quest-Luck of Lucien
Q-Tip-Life is Better feat. Norah Jones
Nas-Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)

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Kanye West to produce 9/13 of the tracks, and both of the bonus tracks (which surprisingly include we made history). Tracklisting below:

1. "What We Talking About" Kanye West
2. "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" No I.D. 4:16
3. "Weigh Me Down" (feat. Kid Cudi) Kanye West
4. "Unforgiven" Kanye West, MGMT
5. "Run This Town" (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) Kanye West 4:35
6. "Empire State of Mind" (feat. Nas) Kanye West, No I.D.
7. "When It Comes to This" Timbaland
8. "Always" (feat. Drake) Kanye West
9. "Scenes from the Past" No I.D., Kanye West
10. "Everyday a Star Is Born" (feat. Mr. Hudson) Kanye West
11. "Already Home" Kanye West
12. "Forever Young" (feat. Mr. Hudson) Kanye West
13. "Thank You" No I.D.
Bonus tracks
# Title Producer(s) Length
14. "Sound of the 70s" Kanye West
15. "We Made History" (feat. Tony Williams) Kanye West 4:40

Producers in bold. Some very exciting potential collaborations there; a joint production by Kanye and MGMT, newcomers Drake and Kid Cudi featured, Mr Hudson on two tracks-he really is gonna be massive-, and another Nas collaboration!
The Timbaland collab will also be very interesting, the two have previously combined on such classics as Dirt off your Shoulder, Hola Hovito and Big Pimpin.

September 11th cannot come soon enough!

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The remainder of Septembers excitements below...

Indie/Alternative
September 7th
Jamie T-Kings and Queens
So Sticks and Stones was amazing, as was the rest of that EP, and as is the second single from kings and Queens, Chaka Demus. Jamie T is ready to explode back onto the scene, with his unique style of indie/ska/rock/rap, and I fully expect it to be an improvement on the already brilliant Panic Prevention. One of the UK's finest, no doubt. Tracklisting here
Sample Track: Jamie T-Chaka Demus
Excitedness Rating: 9/10

Frank Turner-Poetry of the Deed
Another highly talented British solo artist, but one of an entirely different nature. Frank Turner's lyrical genius comes from his ability to write songs to appeal to a 1000 different emotions; nostalgia, empathy, anger, frustration, humour and more. First single The Road is hardly a classic, but I expect alot more, and I'm positive he will deliver. Tracklisting here
Sample Track: Frank Turner-The Road (video)
Excitedness Rating: 9/10


Zero 7-Yeah Ghost
Zero 7 are set to take a more upbeat approach with their 4th album, after mastering ambient/chillout dance over the last decade. It's been 8 years since their debut Simple Things, and its continued influence is telling of how good that album is. Very interested to hear the new direction the band are taking.
Sample Track: Zero 7-Everything Up (Zizou)
Excitedness Rating: 7.5/10

The Cribs-Ignore the Ignorant
Completing a stellar day for releases, The Cribs drop their 4th album, and first with Johnny Marr. First couple of songs have been very divisive; some claim Johnny Marr improves a flailing band, others that he ruins them. Neither of the new songs have the energy of some of the band's old stuff and they have certainly lost some of their immense live reputation since becoming a four-piece. Could be genius, could be shit.
Sample Track: The Cribs-We Were Aborted
Excitedness rating: 7/10

September 14th
The Very Best-Warm Heart of Africa
Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit's project are set to release an album next month. The former is Malawian, and sings in Chichewa, the country's national language; the latter are a production duo who have remixed diplo, santigold, m.i.a. and more. Only a couple of songs have been made available, including Warm Heart of Africa (also the album title) featuring the irrepresable Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend. M.I.A. is also expected to feature on the album.
Sample Track: The Very Best-Warm heart of Africa feat. Ezra Koenig
Excitedness rating: 8/10


Muse-The Resistance
The Resistance was described as "A beautifully recorded, strong, sweeping, fighting, uplifting, rocking, lilting and inclusive record about love." by Zane Lowe, but for us mere mortals only Uprising (awesome) and United States of Eurasia (Queen?) have been released. It's 3 years now since Black Holes... 3 years in whcih the band have probably improved and developed even more. Tracklisting here. Glastonbury headliners next year?
Sample Track: deleted
Excitedness Rating: 8/10

The Big Pink-A Brief History of Love
Highly tipped at the start of 2009, and now heavily hyped by the NME, are very much post MGMT indie, as many new bands have been this year. The album is streaming on their website all this week, I have listened once and wasnt overly impressed.
Listen to the album here

September 21st
Monsters of Folk-Monsters of Folk
Folk supergroup comprising of Conor Oberst, Jim James, M.Ward and Mike Mogis reunite with a self titled debut album which has Bright Eyes fans quivering with excitement. The band are touring North America and Europe in the autumn.
Sample Track: deleted
Excitedness rating: 8/10


Basement Jaxx-Scars
The two songs i've heard from this, Raindrops and the Santigold featured Saga are amazing. I have always found them a mixed bag, making some amazing dance tunes (Red Alert, Romeo, Jump N Shout), but also some painfully cheesy ones (oh my gosh, do your thing). I have high hopes for their 5th album though; joining Santigold on
guest duty will be Lightspeed Champion, Yoko Ono (!) and Sam Sparro.
Sample Track: Basement Jaxx-Saga feat. Santigold
Excitedness Rating: 8/10

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Fuck the season 2 haters.
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At his best he made some of the best pop songs ever...at his worst...well, we all heard Rudebox...Robbie returns with a new single, Bodies, out on October 12th, with 8th album Reality Killed The Video Star out November 9th. Williams has worked with Ronson, Horn and all importantly Guy Chambers, marking the first time they have worked together since 2002's Escapology, i.e. when Robbie went shit. He is set to tour Europe early next year, with a number of dates at the O2, when Jackson was scheduled. Click read more to get a classic Robbie Williams mp3

Robbie Williams-Let me Entertain You

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This came out in February, but i heard the whole thing for the first time only this morning. I think i misunderestimated how good Drake is going to be and how much he is capable of. As Pitchfork mentions, this is real post 808s hip-hop, taking influence from a huge amount of artists creating what is an amazing mixtape. The Lil' Wayne influence is blatant, as is the Kanye West notably the quick switch between rapping and singing. But as well as being an awesome rapper (you can also hear some Jay and Biggie in the way he raps), he is an immense singer. Almost Maxwell good....and he has huge commercial appeal. When Thank Me Later comes out I fully expect it to be played everywhere. I cant wait. 4 x mp3s below!

Drake-Let's Call It Off (feat. Peter, Bjorn and John)
Drake-November 18th
Drake-Say What's Real
Drake-Unstoppable (feat. Santigold and Lil' Wayne)

Say Whats Real, in which he raps over Kanye's Say You Will, is haunting.
Lil' Wayne is on 4 tracks on this mixtape but gets destroyed by Drake on all 4. Considering Tha Carter 3 was widely regarded as the best rap album of 2009, Drake has done very very well.

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The new Noah and the Whale album has leaked a whole month early, and it's amazing. Charlie Fink's lyrics are beuatiful, inspired (I suspect) by his break up with Laura Marling. The Guardian has their review spot on. This is such a pleasant surprise for me, I was not a fan of their debut; my favourite song was 5 years time and it is clear they have come a long long way since then. I cannot wait to buy this on 31st August. Link below for one of my favourites, I Have Nothing.


(mp3) Noah and the Whale-I Have Nothing
Starts off a bit Bon Iverish dont you think?
Pre-order it: Amazon

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The Eminem/Mariah feud takes another turn with this new Eminem track. Although it may just be a diss track, it is better than anything on Relapse imo. If you want to read about the whole decade spanning scandal, there is a very good summary here.
I think it was a bit silly of her to deny it in the first place, its obvious something happened, i dont think Marshall would have bothered to go on about it for 8 years if it was made up. Fair play to her though, Obsessed is a pretty funny song and so blatantly about him. Enough gossip talk...mp3 after the jump.

Eminem-The Warning (mp3)

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The Fly TV on MUZU.

Special band. Short bursts is also on the fly's website.
edit: the player above is actually very good, you can watch numerous fly videos right here.
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