Jay-Z: "Reminder"
Jay-Z has moved some 26 million units, so he's allowed to spend a whole verse rapping about his record sales. "I crush Elvis in his blue suede shoes/ made the Rolling Stones seem sweet as Kool-Aid too," he rhymes, sort of, on "Reminder," a track from his upcoming record The Blueprint 3. But if [...]
Sampling the thought-streams of DC musicians past and present.
Tabi Bonney:
–You know how I know I'm a professional rapper now? Cuz I just be randomly grabbing my nuts wherever I am: the dollar store, church, pool etc
–I think that the ppl who named "nutella" were either high or extreme comedians. Ain't no way I will [...]
Asobi Seksu: "Transparence"
For a while there Asobi Seksu was one of the last purveyors of noisy, sexy, dream pop and if you were looking for a shoegaze fix, they were the band to go to. Then My Bloody Valentine reunited and the Brooklyn-based duo had to find a new schtick. This alternate version of "Transparence," [...]
Weezer: "(If You Are Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To"
If ever there was a rock star who needed to get back in touch with his lowly teenage self, it's Rivers Cuomo. Weezer's best moments were driven by nostalgia for D&D, heavy metal, and awkward romance–all things the singer has been unable/unwilling [...]
Thom Yorke: "All For The Best (Marc Mulcahy Cover)"
The original version of this song was pretty stripped down to begin with, but Yorke's cover–drawn from a benefit/tribute album dedicated to Mulcahy–is, unsurprisingly, even darker and emptier. With little but the bare shuddering of an emaciated drum machine and his own layered voice Yorke converts Mulcahy's [...]
Neon Indian: "Should Have Taken Acid With You"
Houston, Texas/Brooklyn, New York's Neon Indian waxes nostalgic about a missed opportunity to experience romance whilst getting experienced. The music–Daft Punk-style dance pop rendered with bargain bin synthesizers–suggests that he eventually found another opportunity to drop out. But that doesn't make this moody gem any less affecting.
Kid [...]
Atlas Sound/Panda Bear: "Walkabout"
If you were among those who downloaded the half-finished version of Atlas Sound's (aka Bradford Cox) new record, Logos, after he accidentally leaked it a several months ago, well, shame on you. Luckily, Cox went back and changed a few things. Apparently "Walkabout," a collaboration with Animal Collective's Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), [...]
Julian Plenti: "Only If You Run"
It's not much of a surprise that Julian Plenti, the solo project of Interpol's Paul Banks, sounds a lot like Interpol. "Only if You Run" has the same clean and spacey guitars, the same reverb drenched outro-vocals, and the same sounds-cool-enough gobbledygook lyrics that Banks' other band has been working [...]
Wale: "Pretty Girls"
Wale reps DC, his hometown, hard in this song, which is rumored to be drawn from his upcoming debut full-length Attention:Deficit. "Come to DC and I can make you a believer," he raps over a slow and funky hook. But Wale's forgetting that DC, well NW at least, has long been characterized as [...]
Beck: "I'm Waiting For My Man"
The Velvet Underground's original version of this song made scoring drugs sound exotic and cool. Beck's cover, on the other hand, is probably a little closer to reality. The second offering from the singer's Record Club website, where the singer will be covering The Velvet Underground & Nico in its [...]
