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Living life while it's still around. I enjoy intercourse with unicorns and carriage rides pulled by platypi. This blog isn't for the faint of heart.
Music Blog: http://celestialtunes.tumblr.com/
A track off his debut EP from a couple years back, I discovered “Paris” and M.O.O.N. himself through a hyper-violent indie game that came out around the same time. While the game had a solid soundtrack that didn’t feature a single weak tune, something about this one has resonated with friends and I for years. The ominous, grimey sounds are reminiscent of an underground crime scene placed in an 80′s style movie, something that one would even expect to see on the tracklist for the movie Drive from a few years ago. It’s a tune that seems to put one in a hypnotic trance that almost suggests dark themes and a sense of aggression. Definitely a song worth listening to during a night drive down an empty highway.
Today’s song is a groovey electro-pop beat with delightfully funky notes that seem to transcend musical decades in it’s blending of sounds that seem to come from the 70′s, 80′s, and current day tunes. It’s a charming toon that you can’t help but bob your head to as the dance-y sounds fill your ears.
Give it a listen & check out what else these guys have to listen to on their souncloud
Hey guys, I know I’m not active on here anymore, I’m not really into social media as much as I used to be and prefer to use it more for information such as news and articles and such these days. However, I plan to be active on this blog, a collaborative effort by some friends and I to share our passion for music. A follow would be much appreciated, and every time someone follows us, Odin lets another puppy live.
Album Review: The Underachievers - Evermore: The Art of Duality
In a world of overproduced beats and “big pimpin” and “pussy, money, weed” type lyrics, lyrical genius has become progressively rarer. Lyrics containing true depth and meaning seem almost nonexistant in most songs that have a heavy production value to them, often featuring ambient beats that maintain a “gangsta” sound to them whilst one raps about their consumption of copious amounts of drugs. The Underachievers are one of the few exceptions to this: while their beats indeed have a feeling of lots of production, and their lyrics often focus on the highs and sometimes lows of drug use, their new album Evermore: The Art of Duality is a fantastic sophomore album that delves more deeply into the overlying themes aforementioned, depicting the struggles of growing up in Flatbush and the slow, oftentimes dangerous decline into a life full of drugs & skewed politics.
I stand in the Constellation Room of the Orange County Observatory, a smaller, side-room that I’ve never been in before despite my countless visits to the venue for numerous shows. The fairly smaller crowd is scattered about the floor at the base of the stage, many of us sipping our freshly poured beers as we wait for the performance to begin. First, the bandmates take the stage, adjusting their equipment until at last, Shamir Bailey himself appears, his thin, neat dreads tied into the signature bun that he is often seen wearing. The crowd begins to cheer as he says hello in his overalls that are half on while the other half sags off of his shoulder to reveal a shirt bearing 90′s cartoon character Doug & his dog. He is quick to thank us before beginning his set, consulting his keyboardist between each song because, according to him, he never memorizes his sets before performing them, leaving the job to her.
It’s pretty crazy realizing that Jay Rock, member of west-coast hip-hop collective Black Hippy, hasn’t released an major release album since his days with Strange Music in 2010 with the release of Follow Me Home. Since then, he was pretty inconsistent with releasing any noteworthy material, which some singles here and there along with a couple song features on fellow Black Hippy tracks. Five years later, we have arrived upon a new LP from the Los Angeles native, with the titular 90059 being a nod to the zip code of the area Rock has spent a majority of his life in. For those that aren’t already familiar, Rock’s repertoire consists of mainly personal accounts of growing up in poverty and being surrounded by gang violence. Let’s delve into this record and see if the five year wait was worth it.
Album Review: Future & Drake - What a Time To Be Alive
Two of the biggest names in mainstream hip-hop right now surprised the world with the announcement of a new collaboration mixtape. Despite various hoax rumors, Wheelchair Jimmy and Future Hendrix have come to give what the fans have wanted since the culmination of the rumors and have dropped What a Time To Be Alive. If you are unaware of what these two have been doing this year, let alone the past couple of years, you need to climb up out of that hole you’ve been living in and pay attention. Since the release of Future’s surprisingly well-received Monster mixtape, the Atlanta crooner has subsequently been busting out some quality product through the purely Zaytoven-produced Beast Mode, the hard-hitting 808 production of 56 Nights and the sizzurp odes of Dirty Sprite 2. On the other hand, Canadian collaborator and hip-hop behemoth Drake has recently released his If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late mixtape, a project that even I have deemed to be one of the best projects of the year. Awaiting the follow-up to Beast Mode from Hendrix, as well as the Views From the 6 effort from Drizzy, we have come across a very Future-sounding album, laiden with nothing but Drake features, hard-hitting trap beats and drugged-out crooning. Despite the polarizing opinions I’ve been hearing, this collab mixtape still can be deemed as little something to hold us out for a bit for both artists’ next upcoming solo records.
It’s been a long time coming for Houston-based rapper Travi$ Scott. After signing to the production wing of G.O.O.D. Beats, Scott continued expanding his fanbase through releases such as the ominiously trap-flavored Owl Pharaoh as well as Rodeo precursor, Days Before Rodeo. After constant delays, Scott’s big break finally comes through with the release of his debut album via Grand Hustle Records. After listening through the LP, one can come to notice that his sound is definitely something that is distinct in comparison to fellow current Houston rap artists such as Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Z-Ro and even Kirko Bangz. As opposed to straight up (no pun intended) chopped n’ screwed-esque instrumentals and drugged out lean ballads, Scott separates himself with a sound that consists of very dark and ominous yet hard-hitting trap flavored beats, accompanied with hauntingly murky Autotuned crooning and slightly commonplace delivery, the latter being one of Scott’s noticeable flaws in my eyes. However, I was very impressed with this debut effort, mainly due to his darkly grandiose instrumentals, his inclusion of guest verses that work and the overall cohesiveness of the project. Despite generic subject matter and occasional Autotuned vocal delivery, the presentation and character of the album give it reason to be a notable work of Scott’s repertoire.
It’s crazy to think that there already have been so many quality high profile hip-hop releases in the year 2015 alone, ranging from artists such as Drake, Earl Sweatshirt, Kendrick Lamar, GhostFace Killah & BADBADNOTGOOD, Lupe Fiasco, Jopey Bada$$, Open Mike Eagle and many others. At.Long.Last.A$AP, however, was deemed among one of the most anticipated albums of 2015 after the announcement of the cancellation of the A$AP Mob collective album L.O.R.D., leaving many fans wondering what to expect next of the Harlem based rap group. Between then, A$AP Rocky released a small array of southern trap-inspired tracks such as Multiply, a gritty and boastful banger that rips on today’s fashion industry, and Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2, a braggadocio-filled anthem accompanied with a booming bass and eerie synths echoing back and forth. Tracks as such gave hope for those who expected an A$AP Ferg-esque sound in regards to subject matter and instrumentation, however I was skeptical towards the sound that he was going for overall, possibly delving into a more trap-inspired sophomore slump of an album as opposed to revisiting his roots with the OG chopped-and-screwed southern influence reminiscent of producers such as Clams Casino and labelmate A$AP Ty Beats. I was wrong. Well, somewhat.
Ambient sounds fill the dark of the venue as cheers begin, the pit situated before the stage filled to the brim with sweaty bodies packed together like anchovies in a tin. The collective body of people squished together begins to flow about with excitement, and upon the drop of the beat and the flash of the lights, it begins to roll like a chaotic wave as people jump about to the heavy thumps and booms raining down upon the room, it’s grand coordinator illuminated by the newly introduced light. Cashmere Cat has taken the stage, and it’s quite apparent that he has the audience entranced by his eclectic sound.
