Ok so normally this blog is dedicated to music that people are sleeping on, or what Alex is currently listening to but this post is about the internet. Specifically one site, http://www.myxertones.com, I know some of you reading this a addicted to your cell phones, your pics end up on rada, and if you could get rid of the crappy expensive ring tones and replace them with good music that you actually listen to you would. Well heres the deal, on of my friends back at NU sent me that link, its a free service that allows you to upload your own ring tone files, old songs, random sound clips and converts it and sends it to your phone for the price of a pic message, most plans now include at least a few a month. So if your tired of "Hava Naguilla" , check it out. and let me know if you upload any good songs. peace.

Posted by john at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

the Coachella music fest and its fans will be RAGING for 3 straight days with this years line-up. According to both the LA times, 91x Rock San Diego, and now finally the organizers of the concert, this years 3 day Coachella fest will attempt to top last years Madonna house set. The entire line up for this years show can be found below or here, but the biggest names on this show have been semi Silent for years. Bjork, the beautiful and somewhat eerie Icelandic songstress, will headline on Friday. A perfect follow up to their huge 2006, which included new live shows and a release of their first studio double disc, the Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline an impressive Saturday lineup, that includes the likes of GhostFace, Ozomatli, and Tiesto. But the real surprise is the headliner for the third and final night, not since the Battle of LA, has the American Southwest been so spontaneously rocked. Thats right Willie Nelson will be headlining the third night, but Willie will not be alone, the other headliner for this years 2007 Coachella Music Fest will be a reunite Rage Against the Machine. Though the tickets are alittle pricey this show will be worth it, and if your still on the fence about it sit back put in Evil Empire and try to stay seated.

Posted by john at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I remember when I left New York I was having a certain feeling of unease about everything. When I moved into my place in Brooklyn I was one of about three white guys, the others were friends of mine and a goth dude named "Bones." By the time I moved out I'd sometimes see only white faces on the walk back from the L. That's not to mention the just overwhelming vibe of apathy I was getting off everyone, although to be fair a lot of that was the amount of time I spent at NYU every day.

Anyway, the standout track off the upcoming LCD Soundsystem album (Sound of Silver) is a rocking slow-jam called "New York I Love You." It's basically James Murphy talking about how disappointing New York has become in the last couple of years. It's become safe and bland and boring, mostly with the influx of a bunch of relatively well-to-do white people with too much time and money on their hands.

However it is called "New York I Love You" after all, and in the end we all still love New York, no matter how upset we are with it. So for all you NYC dudes and ladies out there, keep holding it down and proving me wrong.

And since I have no moral compass, here's some tracks off the leaked LCD Soundsystem reckit:

North American Scum [zShare]
New York I Love You [zShare]

Posted by darrell at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Since I moved to the West Coast about a year and a half ago, I have come to three conclusions. 1) No matter what type of weather you grew up in when the winter comes, you will inevitably turn into a huge weather vag. ( I used to run around upstate NY in shorts when it hit 50 and yesterday I was in a long sleeve, coat, and jeans bc it was " cold like 55 or so" and I was "underdressed" ) 2) Everyone out here thinks the East coast starts in Chicago and consists of a few states that they can't really place in order but they know where NYC is. and 3) if it isn't hyphie or old skool, West Coast, its gettin about Zero radio play. ( I saw this first hand at the Wu's First show as a clan since the loss of ODB) when the radio stations prefered to hype home town hero Snoop and more marketable Kanye West and Sean Paul, so it was no shock to me that I had to resort to the internet to get my yearly fix of Skillz.

I first came across (Mad) Skillz, the Virginia based ghostwriter and rapper, in Boston in 2000 when he and his hype man opened for Xzibit at Avalon. Skillz, the highlight of that show came out to a small crowd and ripped it before the X to the Z came out to a capacity house and slowly emptied it out. Skillz stole the show with "Ghostwriter" a song in which he called out all of the mainstream acts for using his rhyme and , from Lil' Kim to Mase, Skillz claim to write for em all, and only get paid by some. Then before leaving the stage he and his hype man did a ping-pong back and forth freestyle using only classic lines from classic rhymes.

After that show I searched every bootleg outlet for (Mad) Skillz songs but only found one thing, a little franchise that Skillz had been puttin together since before the y2k. Skillz yearly Wrap Up. A once a year treat where Skillz jacks the years most recognizable beats and then dissects the previous year in hip hop the way only he can. Other biters tried to jump on this back in 03, so Skillz quit the franchise, but Southern and East Coast Dj's and fans wouldn't let it rest and resurrected it. Skillz ripped it in 03, '04, '05, and here's '06.

download Skillz "'05 Wrap Up" [Breakdown FM Odeo Blog]

download Skillz "06 Wrap Up" [zshare]

Posted by john at 01:11 PM | Permalink

I'm back from my winter vacation with lots of new music. My friend was kind enough to take me record shopping in Tokyo and I picked up some really awesome stuff. Most of what I bought was Japanese thrash/fastcore. Up until now I'd remained relatively ignorant about it, but here are the three bands you need to check out.

1. GAUZE (ガーゼ)

These guys are in their forties or something, they've been around since the begining of hardcore, and they were kind of old then. Well let me tell you, I had the chance to see them live in Tokyo and they kick every other hardcore band's ass. 30-40 minutes of some of the most blisteringly fast thrash I'd ever heard, non-stop, no song breaks. They performed physically on the level of Converge or something. Their records don't disappoint either. Check out the following:

download kao o aratte denaoshitekoi (wash off your face and go start over) [zshare]
go to the band's website

2. MIND OF ASIAN

Kick-ass thrash from an all-female group of four. These guys toured the US last year, so maybe you saw them. Maybe not. Well you should have. Coming from a scene where females at shows are a huge minority (I saw 3 at the GAUZE show), and where they certainly never play music, these girls are not only bold and innovative, but they are awesome at what they do. And what they do is rock your face off:

download konna yo no naka (in this world) [zshare]
download aoi shima (blue island) [zshare]
buy chinmoku no kiri no naka (in a silent fog) [amazon]

3. Jellyroll Rockheads

Sadly this band has disbanded, but that doesn't stop their discography of fun, accessible thrash from completely blowing me away. This was the highest recommendation of my friend Max, and I can see why. An awesome thrash/garage/punk blend that goes great with activities like skating, driving, knitting and even eating jellyrolls...whatever they are. Listen:

download Road To Ruin [zshare]
download No Skate No Thrash [zshare]
buy Wake Up, Music [thrash on life]

Posted by darrell at 01:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)