Sorry Blogger, I Went Tumblr

Just to make sure y'all know, I migrated over to Tumblr because I like their formatting better. No more email blasts, so you either can Follow if you have a Tumblr account, or just check in whenever y'all want.

LOVE!
http://youshouldknow2.tumblr.com/

The Space Between Visuals and Audio

As of yesterday I had never heard of an artist called The ILLZ. Then I happened upon one of his videos, which was so beautifully shot to exactly match the mood, tone and content of the song that I had to see more. After finding his site I saw that he is currently working with videographer Krystopher Rey-Talley to create a project entitled the "In Between Video Series" with the aim of proving that "simplicity truly is the highest form of sophistication."

With most of the videos featuring one verse, and no chorus, I'd say that simple, effective and intriguing seem to be the end result. I want more, which is what they want. And since they're making a video for every track on the album before they release the audio version, I'd assume by the time it drops I'll want the whole album. In the meantime, I just keep watching the videos. I'm caught in between the visuals and the audio. Simply brilliant.

Give yourself a few quiet moments to watch these videos (they're thinking songs people, you gotta be in the right head space for that). If you're feeling the vibe and want something to tide you over till these tracks are released, click here to download the free LP from 2009. Tracks from the videos will be released August 17.

MPA (My Public Apology)


The Moment You Feel Definite Hope


Dreams of Life and Beth

Mos Def Worth Your Time

This classic track comes from 24 Hour Karate School, the latest compilation from Ski Beatz, the producer behind Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt album. Mos is featured on many of the tracks, so don't sleep on the September 7th release. In the meantime, vibe out to Cream of the Planet.

Living Up to the Hype

Before I moved out here, I kept hearing how great Brooklyn was. Anytime something gets talked up too much, it's pretty inevitable that you're gonna be disappointed because your expectations were set too high. For once, this proved to be untrue. Since moving to Brooklyn I am constantly amazed with how many layers it has to peel back. 

So in honor of my admiration for my new home, here's a pretty dope blend and video done by the good folks at Cookin Soul. 

Hello, Brooklyn. It's been a pleasure getting to know you.

Sounds, Smoke & Amsterdam

I'm still convinced that one of the best things you can give someone is music. Luckily, since moving to NYC, I've met a good amount of people who know about music. How refreshing.

Through a music exchange, the homie Frei hyped me to some fellas out of Amsterdam by the name of Full Crate & Mar. I'm not sure what Amsterdam has in the water — but I think we all know what they have in the air — which must be part of the reason these musicians come out with some of the smoothest, most melodic, laid back music around. Full Crate & Mar definitely have a similar vibe to one of my favorite producers, Nicolay, the man behind The Foreign Exchange brilliance.

If you find yourself with a little down time this 4th of July weekend, cool out to some of these sounds. See if you can't see the smoke rising in the air as you let this song wash over you. Not to mention, this video is pretty awesome. You know I love when a video matches a song.



Note: Make sure you get to the 1:40 mark.  After you've inhaled them in, if you want some more of their good stuff, cop their EP, Conversations With Her.

Helping You Get Over

The Roots' latest album, How I Got Over, drops tomorrow and per usual, they came super correct. You might recall the first single video I posted back in February in honor of the anticipated classic albums of 2010. Having gotten my hands on a pre-release version, let me assure you The Roots do not disappoint. Below are two of my favorite tracks off the album, The Fire and Walk Alone.

UPDATE: since those vids got pulled for copywrite, check the new video for Dear God, 2.0.

Thankfully you never have to walk alone if you have the right tune running through your headphones. Music is therapy and The Roots are next level analysts. While I have no intention of thanking Drake for anything, the Roots I will definitely thank now.

Heavy Artillery

You know, sometimes the crazier the world gets, the more I need loud music. Like maybe if the beat is hard enough I won't think about how insane 2010 has been so far.

Last week Kanye dropped his new single, Power, off his upcoming album Good Ass Job, that is reminiscent of the Jesus Walks militaristic gospel type beat that first brought Kanye into the game as an artist. Then we also have General Patton from Big Boi, off his July anticipated album, Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, that also has that church choir meets marching band style.

Perhaps I'm not the only one in need of a loud, consistent base line this year. When the going gets tough, guess we all gotta find a way to reload, whether through religion or repetitive rhythm.

Visualizing the Great Spill

This whole oil "spill" thing has made me stop and think about just how much stuff we "spill" onto the earth in general. There's a lot more being dumped into the oceans than just oil, unfortunately.

While the news has been pretty grim this year, ignorance won't help anyone. But sometimes it's pretty damn impossible to comprehend the magnitude of all that's going on. Thankfully we have artists like Chris Jordan who has taken the numbers and made art out of them, producing functional, educational and stimulating pieces that help bring it all to scale. His Running the Numbers exhibit showcases that while a photo is worth 1,000 words, it can also capture 106,000 aluminum cans.

Beware, Jordan might have you rethinking your own contribution to the Great Spill.

Music Musts

Sorry y'all. Been a bit busy with moving and whatnot, but I'm trying to get back into this blog thang. Given that these two must-have albums dropped today, I couldn't let these pass without some screen time.

Jannelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

Ms. Moane's amazing funky unique style, coupled with features from Saul Williams and Big Boi, make this album a must buy. Amazon has it for $7.99. For less than the price of lunch you can have some feel-good music forever.

NaS & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

Anyone who heard Road to Zion knows that it's hard to deny that NaS and Junior Gong make a brilliant team. This album doesn't disappoint musically or lyrically, allowing both artists to explore their african roots. As Marley said in the New York Times' article, "By the time Africa is developed it will be the Wonderland of the world... But it nah go just drop out of the sky. So we have to put in work." While the amount of work Africa needs may seem daunting, at least now we've got some theme music to whistle to while we work.

Parting Sounds

As many of you know, I'm jumping coasts and heading to New York. Hence, the delay in posting lately. That being said, I couldn't leave you without something to vibe out to while I'm getting settled 3,000 miles away.

So here are two videos: one by an artist you know, one by an artist you don't. And rest assured, I'll keep feeding your musical soul, should you choose to accept the offering.

Theophilus London you probably don't know about, and you'll probably want to. He dropped a mixtape today called I Want You that you can download for FREE here. You can thank me later. His MySpace has his hometown listed as Brooklyn. How perfect.

Below is a video for Humdrum Town, off London's last mixtape, This Charming Mixtape, that is also fantastic. Know about him.




Lupe Fiasco you should know already know about. The visuals for I'm Beaming made me smile, so I wanted you to smile too.

Remix Gone Right

I'm not usually a fan of remixes, especially when the original song is already strong on its own. But every now and then a DJ gets it right.

DJ Earworm (worst name, ever?) has many mash-ups on his website, but this one—Reckoner Lockdown—blew me away. He took Reckoner by Radiohead (which I'd list in my top five favorite Radiohead songs) and Love Lockdown by Kanye West (which I never loved, but thought the beat was cool) and put them together to make one awesome song. Granted, it's more Kanye than Radiohead, and I'm not advocating that it's better than the original Reckoner, but the two songs blended together just sound right. And then a cat named Instamatic made a video for it. Don't you just love YouTube sometimes?

Take a listen and if you're feeling it, check out DJ Earworm's site where you can download a bunch of his work for free. Most of his other blends aren't really my style, but music is in the ear of the beholder.

Everything Falls into the Hands of Music

I'm reading this amazing book right now, Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann, and at one point one of the characters says, "Everything falls into the hands of music eventually. The only thing that ever rescued me was listening to a big voice."

Let that one marinate in your mind for a moment.

Ironically, the same day I read that passage I also discovered Little Dragon. Coincidence? Not only is their musical composition beyond magical, it only takes one listen to realize the singer most certainly has a big voice. And with a feature on the new Gorillaz album, be prepared to know about this Swedish band sooner rather than later.

So whether you're in need of some rescuing, or not, take a listen to the big voice that is Little Dragon. Eventually you'll find some place for them in your life.




**Note: Huge thank you to Mel for putting me onto them!!

Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba bump

I know I said I wouldn't post music, but this track has too much bounce to not pass it along (below).



After listening to this track, how badly do you want the Left Foot album, like, now? For Your Sorrows, Shine Blockas and now Shutterbug? Good sign of what Sir Luscious has in store for us. No album release date yet, unfortunately. For now you'll just have to bump this track on repeat.

Props to 2DopeBoyz for the download.

Spring is in the Airwaves

If you don't know about Janelle Monae yet, this video might convince you to pay attention. Not only can she sing and dance, she's also super original and just about the most adorable thing I've seen all year.

Tightrope, off her new album The ArchAndroid, is guaranteed to get you in the mood to move. And with a feature from Big Boi, who can complain? Though, after seeing her style, I can't help but wonder why Andre 3000 wouldn't have been all over this? He should be up in this video moving and shaking alongside Ms. Monae.

With Erykah's album dropping yesterday, and this video falling today, I'd say that springtime isn't just in the air, it's in the airwaves.



**Note: Sorry for the ads before the video. MTV has this all locked up right now.

Sun Breaks

Last week got me down on humanity a bit. Adults lobbing racial and sexual slurs at each other over health care, priests abusing power and children, Palin telling her fans to go "reload." Sometimes when humans let me down, I search for beauty, light and art to remind me of how much greatness there is in the world. Just like a sun break on a rainy day, the right use of light and color can change your whole perspective. Here's to the sun breaks amidst the storm.

Multimedia artist Daniele Buetti manipulates photos, using wisely placed perforations on aluminum light boxes to take his art to a level of illuminated brilliance.




This video, done by a fan of Kanye's, is for of my favorite songs by Mr. West. It's a great thinking song. I appreciate this video for the symmetry between the music and visuals, allowing you to completely connect with the vibe of the song.

While I don't love this new song by Kelis, I will say that this video is a stunning blend of videography, color and movement. 

Sink Appreciation

In honor of World Water Day, I'm offering you two perspectives on the global water crisis. I know it seems like there's a new crisis everyday, making it easy to get apathetic and numb. The only way I can ever stomach the daily digestion of global crises is if something tangible is presented along with the crisis— steps I can take that don't involve giving away thousands of dollars or selling everything I own. That's why I like both these videos—they offer more than just a problem, they also present various steps you can take, should you choose to accept this mission.

The first video is from charity: water, an organization that has provided clean water to over 1 million people in 3 years. Snap. But they do more than talk the talk, they show the walk. Their website displays everything from google maps to videos to iconography to demonstrate clearly and effectively just how much they've given and where they've given to. Their new campaign, Unshaken, highlights their renewed efforts in Haiti.

The second video is made by the creators of The Story of Stuff (an awesome graphic video about, well, stuff). This time the video hones in on The Story of Bottled Water and how we Americans became bottled water crazy.

It's a classic Goldilocks situation of too much, too little. Some of us have too much clean water so we got duped into paying for something we can easily get for free, while others have too little clean water and can't get access to it no matter how hard they try. On World Water Day, perhaps you can consider what small move you can make to help alleviate this disparity. Raising a glass of tap water in your honor.

More New Erykah Off New Amerykah

Erykah produced by Madlib? Yes, please.




Cover art by Emek. Click here to see more of Emek's brilliance.

If At First You Get Booed

I came across these videos the other day and it made me think of all the people I've spoken to lately who are second guessing themselves. Believing in your talent and finding your own voice are often easier said than done, but ultimately pretty damn important in defining who you are and what you do.


Take these two videos of Lauryn Hill. I still maintain that she's the most talented female lyricist to ever bless any mic. But you'll see that when she first appeared on the Apollo stage, not only did she not woo the audience with her voice, she actually got booed. Props to her for sticking it out and finishing the song, but you'll notice that the song she was singing was not her style. Granted, she was only 13, but still. You can tell she wasn't really feeling it. The second video? Her voice, her style, her talent. Thankfully for all of us she didn't let that experience defeat her. 


Here's to finding your voice, whatever that means for you.

God and the Glock

Bay Area artist Al Farrow has an affinity for creating replications of various religious gathering spaces. This, of course, is not revolutionary. What is unconventional, however, is the medium he uses: gun parts. From the scope to the trigger, the handle to the bullets, the pins to the chamber, all pieces of the gun are utilized. Farrow doesn't offer much explanation as to the message behind his medium, but if a picture is worth 1,000 words, a synagogue, mosque or cathedral made from glock parts has to be worth at least that many.

Check out all his reliquaries here.

Study for Mosque Reliquary

Synagogue (II)

Trigger Finger of Santo Guerro VI

**Props to DShell for pointing me towards this amazing work. Go see his work in person at the deYoung in SF.

Maybe If MTV Played Music

I don't own a TV, mostly because 99% of what I want to watch I can get on my laptop. However, I am aware that TV is still a huge part of most American's lives—especially kids. What bums me out is how different TV is today than when I was a kid. When I was a kid (yeah, I said it), the only "reality" TV was Real World, which was just a bunch of 20-somethings fighting and drinking. Twenty years later, that show has somehow resisted evolution and maintained airtime on MTV. But what hasn't maintained airtime, ironically, are shows that actually play music videos.

When I was a kid I looked forward to Fridays so I could watch the Top 20 Video Countdown. (They even played the full music video). And, of course I also watched Yo MTV Raps, which is truly responsible for hip hop evolving from a New York phenomenon to an international obsession. Watching these shows is how I realized the power music can yield while expanding my awareness of genres and artists. Music videos also helped ingrain in me the value of experiencing art.

Sometimes it takes a video to connect to a song. Today's post is in honor of artists who make great songs whose video I never saw because they never got airtime on the Music Television channel. Go figure.

Basement Jaxx feat. Lisa Kekaula

Good Luck

Chemical Brothers feat. Q-Tip

Galvanize

k-os

4 3 2 1

Zion-I feat. K. Flay

Coastin

Blu feat. Billie Holiday

Amnesia