Joseph Schaeffer

Top 15 Albums of 2010, Summer Edition

2010-08-15T12:05:00.000-04:00

Because I couldn't pick just 10...

Janelle Monae - ArchAndroid. I've listened to this album at least twenty times and discover something new each time. I don't think I've heard someone combine rock, neo-soul, and hip-hop this effectively in a long time.
Robyn - Body Talk (Pts. I & II). American artists, take note. This is how pop should be done - smart.
Die Antwoord - $0$. A concept album, an art project, but incredibly original and addictive.
M.I.A. - MAYA - It's difficult to make world music accessible, but M.I.A. accomplishes it and dominates the pop charts
Curren$y - Pilot Talk. The best album to come out of New Orleans in the last five years, the Carter II and III included.
Sleigh Bells - Treats. Great noise pop.
Drake - Thank Me Later. I had low expectations for this, but Drake lived up to the hype and more. Original and creative, well played
Marina & The Diamonds - Family Jewels. Pop with a punk twist.
Best Coast - Crazy For You - Great indie rock for summer
Damian Marley & Nas - Distant Relatives. Took a while to come out, but well worth the wait. Damian provides the creative force & Nas provides the energy.
Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude. Stoner rap, but original and amusing
Uffie - Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans. This album came out a couple years too late, but still delivered a couple pop gems.
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Pt II. Great Neo-Soul. Nuff Said.
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach. No longer as creative as the first two albums, but still better than most everything else out there.
B.o.B. - Adventures of Bobby Ray. Makes the list for combining all sorts of different genres into hip-hop and being a smash pop success.

J Dilla - Vibe's iMeem playlist

2009-01-22T14:44:00.000-05:00

Vibe magazine has a playlist of their favorite J Dilla beats on iMeem. J Dilla is my all-time favorite hip-hop producer, so this is definitely worth a listen. Honorable mentions would include Madlib, Dr. Dre, Grandmaster Flash, Kanye, the Neptunes, Scott Storch, Timbaland, Q-Tip, and others I'm sure I forgot. None beat the late Jay Dee, though. Link.

DJ Strizy - Please Steal This MixCD

2009-01-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

DJ Strizy - a local DJ - recently released a mixtape with some remixes of popular rap songs. It's pretty surreal to hear WV get a shout-out on a mixtape. I think that's a first. It's available online if anyone is interested. Search Google for DJ Strizy.

DJ Strizy - PLEASE Steal This MixCD
128 MP3 CBR

TRACKLIST
01 Lil Wayne - Ms. Officer
02 M16 - Them Cars
03 Stat Quo - The Sun
04 Ludacris f Jay-Z & Nas - I Do It For Hip Hop
05 R. Kelly - Life of the Party
06 T-Pain - Can't Believe It (Remix)
07 Slim - So Fly (Remix)
08 Busta Rhymes - Arab Money
09 Ron Brows f Jay-Z & Nas - Pop Champagne
10 Q-Tip f Eve - Getting Up
11 Q-Tip - Q-Tip For President
12 N.O.R.E. f Ron Brows - Rotate
13 T- Pain f Ludacris - Chopped N Screwed
14 Bun B - You're Everything
15 Stat Quo - That's Me
16 B-Hyphen - Intro
17 B-Hyphen f Tune - Champion
18 Beyonce - Diva
19 Sean Paul (YoungBloodz) - I'm a Hoodstar
20 Scarface - High Powered
21 DJ Monstalung - Monstalung Speaks
22 Eminen - I'm Having a Relapse

Lady Sovereign - I Got You Dancing

2009-01-19T13:16:00.000-05:00

Remix of "I got you dancing" from Lady Sovereign's upcoming record Jigsaw. I think you either love her or hate her, but I'm personally excited about the new album.! (via RCRDLBL)

Mos Def - Quiet Dog

2009-01-15T11:06:00.005-05:00

New single from Mos Def from his upcoming album. I can't wait! (via RCRDLBL)

M. Ward - Hold Time

2009-01-13T14:15:00.001-05:00

NPR is streaming M. Ward's upcoming album "Hold Time" for free online. After an initial listen, I'm quite impressed. It's very folksy & reminiscent of Bob Dylan in places. Article with link to streaming audio.

Bon Iver Blood Bank

2009-01-13T11:10:00.005-05:00

Great new track from Bon Iver, who put out one of the best albums of 2008. Streaming directly from RCRDLBL.

Jay-Z - Brooklyn Go Hard

2009-01-12T14:49:00.000-05:00

I'm really looking forward to Notorious (imdb), the biopic about Notorious B.I.G.'s life & the soundtrack promises to be great. I've been hearing Jay-Z's Brooklyn Go Hard on XM for about a month, and it's a standout track w/ a great sample of Santogold. I'd embed it from YouTube, but there aren't any official links up.

Marina & The Diamonds

2008-12-19T12:09:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share an mp3 from Marina & The Diamonds, an indie group on the Neon Gold label. The first single -- Obsession -- is pretty good. Link is below & will stay active as long as Neon Gold decides to host it.

Marian & The Diamonds - Obsession

Note: I am not hosting this. This mp3 is provided by the label & the link will cease to work if & when they remove it. If you own this mp3 & want me to remove the link, please leave a comment.

Dschinghis Khan

2008-12-18T20:19:00.000-05:00

This is absolutely fantastic. Thank you Germany.

Lykke Li & Bon Iver -- "Dance Dance Dance"

2008-12-18T16:43:00.000-05:00

This video is of Lykke Li & Bon Iver performing Dance Dance Dance in LA. Very addicting music from two of 2008's indie darlings.

B.O.B. Does Auto-Tune

2008-12-11T13:36:00.000-05:00

I heard this on XM the other day & the DJ was cracking up. He played it twice in a row & led a sing-along the second time.

Top 10 Albums of 2008

2008-12-01T11:51:00.005-05:00

The Hype Machine is calling on all bloggers to contribute their submissions for the Top 10 Albums of 2008. After last.fm, this is my favorite site on the web, so I feel bound to oblige. In reverse order, my favorite albums of 2008 are:

10. Kanye West - 808's and Heartbreaks
This is a fairly solid album, although I'm not sure that it will stand the test of time. I think Kanye overused the vocoder & autotune, although it fits the popular style of the moment. Standout tracks: "Say you will," "Heartless," "Love Lockdown," "Paranoid," and "RoboCop"

9. She & Him - Volume One
M. Ward & Zooey Deschanel made a fantastic record. I put this one on while studying & never looked back.

8. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
Lil' Wayne deserves a mention on this list for the simple fact that he had enough material left over to actually release an album. Although his constant guest appearances (Let it Rock, for instance) have since gotten a little old, I still enjoy this album. Standout tracks: "Mrs. Officer," "Mr. Carter," "A Milli," "Got Money," "Tie My Hands," and of course, the ubiquitous "Lollipop"

7. Vampire Weekend
My favorite indie-rock band of the year, Vampire Weekend produced a solid debut album. Standout tracks: "A-Punk," "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," and "Boston"

6. The Ting Tings - We Started Nothing
Perfect dance music. Standout tracks: "Great DJ," "That's Not My Name," and "Shut up and Let Me Go"

5. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
The year wouldn't be complete without Ryan Adams releasing an album. I'm biased anyway, so I'll recommend simply listening to the entire album.

4. Lykke Li - Youth Novels
Great Swedish dance-rock

3. Illa J - Yancey Boys
J Dilla's younger brother's debut album doesn't disappoint. Full of unreleased beats from J Dilla, it also features great lyricism & rapping from Illa J. A underhyped gem.

2. Santogold - Santogold.
I don't think any other album of the year impressed me the way Santogold's did, unless...

1. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
NYC's dance-electro duo put out the best album of the year. "Electric Feel" alone nearly warrants top billing, but the entire album is fantastic.

Honorable mentions: Bon Iver, Hot Chip, Beck, CSS, The Cool Kids, Fleet Foxes, Guilty Simpson, Q-Tip, and The Roots