Terrible Chris' Fave Albums of 2010, Part Trois

Ready for some more? The build-up is orgasmic, isn't it?

11. Autolux, Transit Transit--Sure, i would have liked to have heard this a few years ago, too, but that doesn't make it any less impressive.

mp3: Supertoys (Autolux from Transit Transit)

12. Baths, Cerulean--Yet another kick ass beat CD.

mp3: Lovely Bloodflow (Baths from Cerulean)

13. jj, Kills Mixtape--A free mixtape that stacks up with some of the best of the year. Take that, you RIAA motherfuckers.

mp3: KILL THEM (jj from Kills Mixtape)

mp3: NEW WORK (jj from Kills Mixtape)

mp3: HIGH END (jj from Kills Mixtape)

14. Liz Phair, Funstyle--Fuck you, Bitch Spork, this thing had plenty of moments.

mp3: Oh Bangladesh (Liz Phair from Funstyle)

15. Vampire Weekend, Contra--While my esteemed contemporary at Berkeley Place felt much differently, i thought this was a nice, light hearted pop affair that holds up after multiple listens. If nothing else, it shows how to use Autotune correctly.

mp3: Horchata (Vampire Weekend from Contra)

Another Free Music Friterday

My somewhat insincere apologies for another late one of these, friends. i had tickets to see Cinematic Titanic last night, and i just couldn't get this one done prior to that hilarious event. Then i got home, an epic battle with a pizza was waged, and things that were supposed to happen did not. What can you do? It's an imperfect world, i tell you what. Anyways...

i find Kid Cudi to be particularly hit-or-miss for my tastes, with his best stuff often being the odd single here and there. However, the latest leak from his upcoming Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager samples St. Vincent's "The Stranger," so that pretty much guaranteed inclusion here.

mp3: Maniac (Kid Cudi ft. Cage from Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager)

i'll be honest, aTelecine probably wouldn't have hit my radar (or anyone else's) if not for the inclusion of one Ms. Sasha Grey, but she's in the, what, avant-garde noise troupe?, so here we are talking about the band. i like to imagine that most music has its corresponding drug of choice to take while listening--cheap liquor for the blues, E for raves, weed for everything--you get the point. For this, i'm thinking acid/E candy flipping, but maybe that's just me. It's like what Shlohmo might make if he were touched repeatedly in bad places by his mom's boyfriend to my ears. Incidentally, i would like full and total props for demonstrating restraint and not using the phrase "Double Vaginal/Double Anal Penetration" once in this entire review. Oh wait. Damn it.

mp3: It's All Write (aTelecine from A Casette Tape Culture)

mp3: I Came I Sat I Departed (aTelecine from A Casette Tape Culture)

Can't say as i know much about Themselves, but if Baths saw fit to do a remix, i'm going to post it.

mp3: Deadcatclear II (Baths Remix) (Themselves from CrownsDown & Company)

Liz Janes, of Sufjan Stevens fame, is back with her first full-length in five years. For Say Goodbye, she's taking a stab at a soul sound. From the first single, it sounds like she's going to do a fine job. Pick it up 12/7/10.

mp3: I Don't Believe (Liz Janes from Say Goodbye)

Now i feel bad about that Shlohmo comment earlier. To rid ourselves of that image, here's his latest remix. Sorry, guy.

mp3: April Showers (Shlohmo Remix) (Jed and Lucia from Apostrophe/April Showers 10'')

And as we ride off into the sunset, this jangly, dare i say twee (dare, dare!), number by Pepper Rabbit. Me likey.

mp3: Older Brother (Pepper Rabbit from Beauregard)

Late Night Free Music Friday: The After Hours, Beat the Meet Edition

It's been a looong fucking week at the office, but i ain't gots no time for none of that bullshit and various other grammatically incorrect vernacular vehemence! That being said, there was just too much good music this week not to share. As it happens, i probably could have made this a Beat Meet just as easily, but check your calendar, bitches.

I'm gonna get you high today, 'cause it's Friday; you ain't got no job... and you ain't got shit to do.

Old school gets a lift from the new generation, which is an excellent thing for beat music fans. Brad Laner has a new one out called Natural Selections. What caught my immediate attention, however, was the fact that Baths decided to remix the first single. The Master of the Tub adds his airy touch to an already otherworldly jam. For the helium minded, natch.

mp3: Crawl Back In (Baths Remix) (Brad Laner from Natural Selections Remix)

Ever since i saw them open for Lykke Li a couple of years back, i've been impressed by Wildbirds & Peacedrums. And every new track i hear shows growth and improvement from the last, highlighting their growth as musicians. On this new one, the percussion heavy band adds steel drums to create a breezy, slower jam that's a nice send off to the quickly fading summer.

mp3: The Drop (Wildbirds & Peacedrums from Rivers)

OK, i've dug 2010's foray into fuzz-reverb-heavy, Spector-esque chick bands as much as the next guy, but i think i'm about ready for this phase to wrap itself up. i'm well aware that Frankie Rose and the Outs comes from the highest of pedigrees within the genre, and this track isn't too shabby, but let's watch ourselves here, eh, kids? Too much of a good thing is just going to give you gas, children.

mp3: Little Brown Haired Girls (Frankie Rose and the Outs from Frankie Rose and the Outs)

i kept meaning to check out Prince Rama, but there are only so many hours in the day, right? Of course, much like with Mr. Laner above, it only took the right man to remix things to pique my interest. Enter Sun Araw and one hell of a tribal treatment to his highness' beat.

mp3: Storm Worship (Sun Araw Mix) (Prince Rama from Shadow Temple Remix)

And now a hearty thank you to the fine folks over at the Brainfeeder camp who just decided to overload us with audio riches this past week. Teebs' first single, "Arthur's Birds," for his Brainfeeder debut, Ardour, sounds like the music made by cyborg parakeets, so we've got that. The Gaslamp Killer is getting ready to drop a new one, too. To tease Death Gate, they've released a new track with Gonjasufi, which quite frankly, is the best Gonjasufi track i've ever heard; the two apparently like-minded artists just nail this Far East sounding jam. And what would Brainfeeder be without the magic of their maestro, Flying Lotus, behind it? That's conjecture for another day when we've got more weed than we do now, but you can groove along with him as he sits in with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble from this set, live in Los Angeles, July 23rd, 2010.

mp3: Arthur's Birds (Teebs from Adour)

mp3: When I'm in Awe (ft. Gonjasufi) (The Gaslamp Killer from Death Gate)

mp3: Drips/Take Notice (Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble ft. Flying Lotus from a live show in LA, 7-23-10)

With the weather hopefully just starting to cool off a bit, i think i'm going to have to make good on my promise to start "paying back" Levi for their incredible Pioneer Sessions with the purchase of some denim. This week, it's Nas' take on Slick Rick's classic, "Hey, Young World."

mp3: Hey, Young World (Nas from Levi's Pioneer Sessions)

Just when you think you've had enough and right after i bitched about having too much of a good thing, you don't think i'd send you off without this wafer thin offering from Low End Theory, did you? Here's Podcast 17, featuring Daddy Kev and Baths (sumbitch is everywhere lately, which is nice). Oh my.

mp3: Episode 17: Daddy Kev and Baths (Low End Theory Podcast)

Now off with you, and for my U.S. compatriots, enjoy the start of a long weekend.

Beat Meet

i really need to come up a name for this recurring column. "Beat Meet" seems to be both truthful, as we're here to discuss the latest i've dug up from the beat music scene, plus the double entendre in the name is just childish enough to work for me. i'll gladly accept other suggestions should any of you care to post in the comments, but we may just have a winner here.

Anyway, as luck would have it, we have a particularly good haul this week.

From one of my all-time favorite labels out there today, the folks over at Project:Mooncircle have remained busy. Hell, Robot Koch apparently is working on the Madlib model and will drop his Songs for Trees and Cyborgs this October. The LP comes essentially on the heels of his phenomenal Listen to Them Fade EP, which came out just a few months back. This time around, the Mad German Maestro teams up with the likes of Boxcutter, 1000 Names, Doshy, RQM and Graciela Maria, amongst others. Koch happens to be one of my favorites in the game right now. His stuff demonstrates a bit more of the European sensibilities you don't always find in U.S. beat scene, more structured and textured than a lot of the other players out there. Just to get you pumped, we've got an early listening treat for your ear holes.

mp3: Brujeria (robot koch vs graciela alatorre) (Robot Koch from Songs for Trees and Cyborgs)

The other main reason this week is so good is that i finally got off my ass and downloaded a new browser, thereby allowing me the ability to download from the fantastic XLR8R site. Holy Christ, it's like a freakin' treasure trove of grooves over there! And guess what? They had even more Robot Koch, remixed by my hero, Alex B.

mp3: Devil Drums (Alex B Remix) (Robot Koch from Friends of Friends Volume 3)

What's more, Alex B just released a brand new podcast mixtape for XLR8R, thereby bringing perfect symmetry to where we are. And thus, it all returns to foot wear.

mp3: XLR8R Podcast: Alex B - August 24, 2010 (Alex B from XLR8R website)

Hell, while we're at, i dug up a boatload of remixes over there that need to be shared with you lucky bastards. Truth be told, i don't know too much about the first two actual artists, but you know of my love for Shigeto and Flying Lotus. Of course, the last one is just the opposite; i'm way down with Baths (thanks, Ernie and Bert!), but couldn't tell you too much about the One AM Radio or the Los Feliz Ladies Choir. All share one thing in common, however, and that's that they're all bad mama jammas.

mp3: Lost Where I Belong (Flying Lotus Remix) (Andreya Triana from Lost Where I Belong)

mp3: Black Canyon (Shigeto's As I Inhale Mix) (Ana Caravelle from XLR8R site)

mp3: Hall (The One AM Radio Remix feat. The Los Feliz Ladies Choir) (Baths from XLR8R site)

Since i'm feeling so generous today, i've got to also throw love towards We Did It Collective yet again for these two new gems from jonwayne, both from his upcoming Doodles CD. Sounds like that's only going to be available at shows, so pick up these tracks and say you got there first.

mp3: Big Like Curby (jonwayne from Doodles)

mp3: Infinite (jonwayne from Doodles)

The Pro~Ef camp just sent us over a sample of their upcoming adventure score series, Compression Chamber, due out September 21st 2010. Stuttering beats over hazy grooves. Me likey. If you've read this far, i'm guessing you will, too.

mp3: Paper Trail Exerpt (Pro~Ef from Compression Chamber - Episode One: Paper Trail)

Taco Thursday Mixtape Love

OK, today's mixtapes have absolutely nothing to do with tacos, but i've clearly got them on my mind, so make of that what you will. Me, i'm thinking dinner. i know what you were thinking, though. Sinner.

Rapidly becoming LET faves, the Glitch Mob just dropped a new mixtape, Drink the Sea Part II: The Mixtape. They teamed up with the folks at MiskhaNYC to produce it, so there's that. i seem to recall recently seeing some article decrying all this recent corporate sponsorship of music, but i've got to say, the stuff coming from the fashion industry camps (Levi's Pioneer Sessions, Converse) seems to be pretty money. Hell, Red Bull Academy's stuff alone is worth the price of admission, and you couldn't make me drink that horse piss. (Yes, i realize they're not fashion, but they are corporate, which was my ill made point.) Before i digress any further, though, this mix essentially is smooth groove sailing from start to finish.

mp3: Drink the Sea Part II: The Mixtape (The Glitch Mob from Drink the Sea Part II: The Mixtape)

Speaking of sponsored mixtapes, the folks over at Heart Music Group have put together a doozy for a warehouse party they held earlier this week in L.A. The mixtape has unreleased tracks by each of the acts that played. i snagged it based on the inclusion of LET man-crush Baths (no homo), but the entire thing is pretty dope. Blissed out beats and spacey jams here, kiddos.

mp3: Nordic Laurel (Baths from Heart Symbol (freaking blogspot won't let me do the actual symbol because it keeps trying to read it as source code; uf dah))

mp3: Magic Kingdoms Kick My Teeth In (Light Pollution from Heart Symbol)

Predominately Blunted Beats

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