New Track Rundown

Believe it or not, bands are still releasing music on the internet (?!) and I've compiled the best of it here. Another surprise is that I am including a song by a rap-rock project (?!) established by the guys from ingenious blues-rock duo The Black Keys.

Blakroc's self-titled debut LP is out on November 27 and features an impressive guest list: Mos Def, RZA, Raekwon, Q-Tip, Ludacris, Pharoahe Monch, M.O.P.'s Billy Danze, Jim Jones, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. Together, the dudes are establishing their own label, Blakroc, to release the album. Check out a trailer for the record with Rae reading lyrics off of his Blackberry here. The cover is the image featured above.

Planets of Old Cave In

Cave In is easily one of my favorite bands ever and I was devastated that I missed their performance at Great Scott on July 19, 2009 since it sold out instantly. As luck would have it, I am getting another chance to see the band live and so are their other fans in the greater Boston area. This will be the first time I've seen them since their 2003 Lollapalooza appearance at The Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ. Cave In, Trap Them, and Narrows have announced the following mini-tour for November:

Song of the Day and 249 Other Songs You Need to Hear from the 2000s

"We've Been Had" is a song that I feel in love with from the first time I heard it at the beginning of the decade. The song begins with a glimmering piano vamp that gently eases itself into the mix and is complemented by jangly guitars amid sparse drumming and bass. Hamilton Leithauser's nostalgic lyrics delivered like a manic Bob Dylan complete the picture establishing the song as an instant classic. The song comes from The Walkmen's 2002 debut full-length Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone.

Another Smoke-Filled World

I was watching a lecture given by Lawrence Lessig on the captivating intellectual platform TED.com. In it, he explains the importance of the RW (Read/Write) style of artistic consumption or 'Remix Culture' as opposed to a RO (Read Only). I also am reading his book Remix and I couldn't agree more with a lot of his points on the state and future of copyright law. Below is the video of the lecture and an example of the importance of finding new voices through artistic remixing.

Engage in New Battles

Live video of three new songs by creative math rock outfit Battles have surfaced courtesy of We Listen for You. These serve as excellent teasers for their upcoming album and have me aching for studio versions. "Sanford and Son" especially embodies everything I love about the band.