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Girltalk is the mashup genius. His style is frenetic, tantalizing your ears with a mix just long enough to make you want more before he moves on. There is something for everyone in his music. He weaves classic rock, 80s pop, 90s grunge, hip hop and electronic beats together flawlessly. How does he come up with this stuff?

Once Again
Too Deep
Ask About Me
Give and Go
Bounce That

Girltalk will be performing in Seattle at the Capitol Hill Block Party on July 27th. I’ll be there. Will you?

Ping me if you want the whole mix!

I really have to give all of the credit to Eric on this one. He bought their album Jungle Gym Jungle last year. I stole it and never gave it back. muahaha.

I don’t know much about these guys. Apparently the seven of them went to highschool together in Michigan or something.

Need I say more? Just listen to the tunes. You will dig, I promise!

Let’s Go
Watch Me
f.e.v.e.r.

I’m realizing more and more that the terms east-coast and west-coast are losing their meaning in hip hop.  In the 90’s they had two distinct sounds. The east brought us jazzier, more musical compositions, charged with politically conscious lyrics.  The west brought us gansta rap and Dr. Dre’s legacy of horror-film-esque synth lines.  Now we have a whole onslaught of hip hop artists on the west coast producing sounds that follow in the footsteps of the legendaries of the east.  Using regions to describe different styles of hip hop can still be useful, but I take it with a grain of salt.  We can’t confidently identify a hip hop artist that we haven’t heard before as belonging to a certain geographical location anymore.

That brings me to Zion I, a duo out of Oakland California. To me, they have an undeniably “east-coast” sound.   Amp Live is a Producer and DJ, and Zion an emcee with a solo career.  Together they are electric.  

Zion I has been in the game for a decade. Since 1997, their sound has evolved to become more robust with each release.  My personal favorite is their 2005 LP, True n’ Livin’.

Temperature - featuring Talib kweli
Doin’ My Thang
Luv

Family Business (2004) and Break A Dawn (2006) are also worth checking out.

Salt in the Game
Target practice - featuring Deuce Eclipse and D.u.s.t.

I’m so glad I’ve added this gem to my collection. Lifesavas is a hip-hop duo out of Portland, Oregon. They are on the Quannuum label along with two of my other favorites, Blackalicious and DJ shadow. For those of you familiar with those artists, that should speak volumes to their substance and quality.  For those of you who are not, behold!

From their first full length release, Spirit in Stone:

Hellohihey - very classic sound, great flow
Skeletons - There is a skit preceding this track. It starts about 1:32 in.

From their upcoming album, Gutterfly:

Double Up
Dead Ones - Featuring Fishbone

You can learn more about them on their myspace page, which includes a detailed bio and a few tracks I haven’t posted here.

On May 9th, they will be performing at Neumos in Seattle. Come out and play!

In the spirit of Junkie XL’s upcoming performance at the Heavens tonight, I decided to research this artist and buff up on my knowledge a bit before the show.  My first introduction to Junkie XL was recent, with his release of Music from SSX Blur.

Today I downloaded a few of his albums, dating back to Saturday Teenage Kick released in 1998.  What I want to know is, how did I miss Junkie XL?!  In 1998, I was on the cutting edge of electronic music.  Atleast, I thought I was.  This album is full of big beats akin that of the Chemical Brothers and Crystal Method.  It’s quality stuff that I wish was part of my collection a long time ago.

Billy Club
100 - You’ll have to forgive the sketchy quality of this track.  I downloaded the special edition of Saturday Teenage Kick and thought it was too good not to post. If anyone has a better copy, give me a shout.

Some newer stuff:

L’Envers
Today
Cortina D’Amprezzo

When I first heard Flyentology I was watching the video, directed by Adult Swim, on youtube. The song features Trent Reznor, and I did not catch on to the fact that it was actually written by El-P until later. I thought maybe it was a track off of Trent’s upcoming album, Year Zero.

El-P’s voice sounds a hell of a lot like Trent Reznor. Have a listen for yourself.

Flyentology - El-P ft. Trent Reznor
Flyentology (Cassettes Won’t Listen Remix) - El-P ft. Trent Reznor

Smithereens - El-P

God Given - Nine Inch Nails
Zero Sum - Nine Inch Nails

There is nothing I could possibly say that would pay enough tribute to Sage Francis.  The bio on his website does some justice to his story, but you really need to hear this lyricist in action to glimpse the depth of his talent.

I’m still relatively new to Sage Francis. I’ve been listening to “A Healthy Distrust” repeatedly since downloading it a month ago. With each listen, layers peel away to expose undercurrents that were not obvious to me before. Since then I’ve acquired his first full-length release “Personal Journals”, along with a few EPs and an album by the Non-Prophets, a collaborative effort with Joe Beats.

He is a master of his craft, with clever lyrics like “I’m leaving naysayers stumped like rain forests” and “She wants to dance to my pulse but I got heart murmurs.”  Strip the lyrics away and you have elements of folk, and downtempo beats worthy to stand alone that are somewhat remeniscent of the likes of DJ Shadow and Unkle.

Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Makeshift Patriot
Escape Artist - my top choice
Sea Lion
Bridle

There will surely be more to follow. I’ve only scratched the surface.

Move.meant is an ensemble out of Los Angeles, belonging to the conscious hip-hop arena. I was amazed by the first track I heard by them, Move On. How does hip-hop this good go unrecognized?

Also in their portfolio is a radio station called The Bassment. I started listening to it at work on a daily basis last fall. I thought I knew a lot about hip-hop, and then they schooled my ass.

Finally, their long awaited full length album, The Scope of Things, was released last Tuesday. At best, I’m bored with it. The tracks don’t differentiate from one another and there aren’t many standout hooks like their two previous EPs. However, there is one song on the album that I really enjoy called Someday.

 I really hope that Move.meant is not a one trick pony.  I’ll be waiting with bated breath for something different from them.  Until then I’ll keep the Move.meant and Good Money EPs in my rotation and I suggest that you do the same.

Ah, Timbaland. You love him, even if you don’t know it.

Originally I was going to write about his new solo album, which is so bad it doesn’t dignify a song post, and rant about how he should stick to production.  Instead of all that negativity, I decided I’d emphasize on his successful and influential career as producer extraordinnaire.

His contributions to the music industry are legendary, collaborating with artists such as Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, Nas and Justin Timberlake.  He has a signature style that permeates through all of his work, and you’ll know he’s there with the occassional “uhn” or “freaky-freaky-freaky.”   It is likely that you have heard all of these songs before, but try listening to them side by side.  Once you get a feel for his style, you’ll be able to identify it in songs you’ve never heard before.

Work It - Missy Elliot
We Need a Resolution - Aaliyah
Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
Dirt Off Your Shoulder Jay-Z
Indian Flute Song - Timbaland & Magoo

I always save the best for last.  On April 9th, Bjork’s new Single Earth Intruders,  produced by his one and only, will be released.  I used my voodoo powers on the Internets to snag it a few days early.

Earth Intruders - Bjork