Sunday, January 13, 2008

Hot fuckin' fire!

If you missed it, The Dream released his album Love Hate to little fanfare. You might even say that the album is a bit of a glamour project after his success as a co-writer for Rihanna's "Umbrella". However, his debut is far from just your typical producer/writer-cum-rapper fare. It's full of terrific R&B songs (including his first single "Shawty is a 10") and a few club bangers, including this one - "Ditch That...". Sporting a Dr. Dre type of beat, it's a sonic masterpiece.

Check it out.

The Dream - Ditch That...

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posted by b, 1/13/2008 02:05:00 PM | link | |

Saturday, January 05, 2008

#1: Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

Here we are. #1. Could it have been anything else?

Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." is just a fucking party. That's all it is. From start to finish. I'm sure it's been said about 30000 times by 30000 people but it sounds like Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" meets some electro, but modern. It could be played in 1975, it could be played in 2025. I get the feeling I'll be spinning this one until the record breaks, and then I'll just have to buy another one.

Welcome to 2008.



Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

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posted by b, 1/05/2008 02:43:00 PM | link | |

#2: M.I.A. - Paper Planes

Hello controversy!

If you didn't hear, apparently it's not cool to have gun shot sound effects on David Letterman's television show. This made M.I.A. pretty upset and as a result, she's... well, not. happy. But the song "Paper Planes" itself is really just terrific, good enough for #2 on my list. Let's put it this way - if Snoop did this song, it would have been the top song in America. The lyrics are just fucking gangster as hell, people. I mean, good God. Like, they're Johnny Cash-level of gangsterosity, which is terrific.



M.I.A. - Paper Planes

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posted by b, 1/05/2008 02:43:00 PM | link | |

#3: Kanye West feat. Daft Punk - Stronger

Kanye's second single off of Graduation was the song of the summer (IMHO), Stronger. The huge beats carefully lifted from Daft Punk's classic song "Harder Better Faster Stronger" are mixed into Kanye's bombastic lyrics and they form what is a pretty remarkable mix of hip hop and electro. Kanye has shown time and time again that when he's got a big beat behind him, he's nearly unstoppable (see: "Jesus Walks"), and he proves it again here. The song feels like a mission statement - a calling out.

Plus, DP makes an appearance in the video, so that's cool.



Kanye West feat. Daft Punk - Stronger

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posted by b, 1/05/2008 02:43:00 PM | link | |

#4: Rihanna - Umbrella

I will honestly admit I'm a bit sick of this song. And I'm pretty sick of the "ella ella ay ay"s that I hear whenever I play this. But no other song this year was so simple and yet so perfectly produced. It's a four minute tribute to devotion and love, and Rihanna fucking kills it. I would have liked to have seen what Britney or Mary J. Blige would have done with it, but I get the feeling that Rihanna really was the perfect person for this song.



Here's one of the eight-million covers done of "Umbrella", this time by the Italian pop-punk group Vanilla Sky.

Vanilla Sky - Umbrella (Rihanna Cover)

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posted by b, 1/05/2008 02:43:00 PM | link | |

#5: UGK feat. Outkast - Int'l Players Antthem: I Choose You

In some ways, Pimp C's death was a perfect time to go - as one half of UGK, he had just released a critically acclaimed album, loved by both hip-hop heads and indie geeks and with what some people think was the best song of the year in "Int'l Players Anthem: I Choose You". First, the sample choice is truly awesome. The opening of the song, where Andre explains his choice to marry is just perfect - you actually feel what he's saying - maybe settling down isn't a bad idea, even for a player. From there, when the beat drops, it's a three and a half minute celebration of manhood and a strange sort of fidelity.



UGK feat. International Players Anthem (I Choose You)

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posted by b, 1/05/2008 02:43:00 PM | link | |