VAPESTA

VAPESTA

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Heavy in the trunk so they say I'm heavy hittin'

A year ago, all hints of legitimacy in Ludacris’ career seemed long gone. Last year’s “Release Therapy” LP was a complete dud, watered down with vanilla club songs and nauseating sap stories with Mary J. Six months later though, The Artist Formerly Known As Chris Bridges has been putting out bangers of his own as well as a few primetime feature spots. His most recent single, the Clinton Sparks-produced all-star throw down “Down in Da Durty” has been on heavy rotation nation-wide as of late. The spots on Felli Fel's "Get Buck in Here” and DJ Khaled and Vapesta-approved “I’m So Hood Remix” have made Luda an elite feature rapper (see Wayne, obviously). 

mp3: Down in Da Durty (zShare)

mp3: Get Buck in Here (zShare)

mp3: I'm So Hood Remix (zShare)


Octopus Project


The Octopus Project has been around for a few years, but they were completely unknown up until they won a Myspace contest last year to open at Coachella. They sound like the music everyone wants to hear: emotional robot music. Granted, these robots are a bit nerdy, but they still fucking rock (Wikipedia says that's called "indietronica"). Plus, there's definitely enough pulsating percussion to satisfy any electro-dance-fag (Copyright 2008).

It's all instrumental, and it is sick.

Here's some (mp3) highlights from their 2007 album Hello, Avalanche (Peek-a-Boo) --

Mmaj (zShare, 4.7mb)

I Saw the Bright Shinies
(zShare, 4.55mb)

Truck (zShare, 2.5mb)

Vampire Weekend


Vampire Weekend is a nice little indie rock band out of NYC. They first came into popularity via the blogosphere, most notably when they were listed on Stereogum, a fine blog I may say. They seem to have the roots of many other great indie bands from NY such as the strokes, yeah yeah yeahs, etc. They all attended prestigious colleges in the area and met up there (Columbia in this case for VW). Their latest album dropped recently and has achieved great reviews with many in the indie rock scene. Their album even scored an impressive 8.8 from pitchfork.

kids dont stand a chance
a-punk

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Crookers

The Crookers are yet another duo out of Italy who throw out some real bangers. Very similar to the Bloody Beetroots in my opinion. They have been making remixes, edits, originals that all have been rocking the club scene. I feel like every good video of a studio B performance or any other similar venue needs to have either a crookers track or a justice track in it for it to be well liked. Here are two sawngs from the group, be sure to check these guys out.

knobbers
love to edit

Kosheen, Singles


Kosheen is from the UK. They are a electronica/alt group that have come up with some hits on the UK and UK indie charts. In 2001, they released their first, Resist, and recently in 2007 released with Damage. "Overkill" was their first single on Damage, and has some remnints of The Chemical Brothers, also from the UK. Sian Evans' powerful and non-forgiving vocals, and sinister ambience with Decoder and Markee: they are Kosheen. Anyway, heres singles from there first....and their latest. Enjoy.




2007 Damage:




2001 Resist




Pride (Not a single)



Monday, January 28, 2008

Neu Deutsche Härte (New german hardness)

ODD MUSIC MONDAYS

Unfortunately the titles reference has nothing to do with sexuality. However it does happen to deal with a genre of music in Germany. The sound of this genre can be explained as German metal mixed with aspects of industrial music and keyboards and synths. Here at Vapesta we are an equal-opportunity employer in regards to music, so nothing should be left untouched (except for anything by Michael McDonald). So im going to post even more peculiar music every Monday. My favorite NDH band has to be Rammstein with Oomph! at a close second. This sound appeals to very few people and surprisingly I dont consider myself to be in the groups or cliques that support these genre the most (the weird metal kids and hardcore Europeans). Im sure people have heard some Rammstein stuff so I chose to post some of their not as popular stuff.

Sensucht (live)- Rammstein
Moskau- Rammstein
Wo Bist Du- Rammstein
Träumst Du- Oomph!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Nightcrawlers: 1993 single "Push The Feeling On"



Nightcrawlers was a music project put together by John Reid reigning from East Kilbride, Scotland. In '93 the group put out a catchy club track, entitled "Push The Feeling On". However, this track was not the first track I discovered from these guys. "Surrender Your Love" is a similar dub track and is deffinetly a house classic. Love these 2 tracks as well as "Don't Let The Feeling Go" that I'm adding as well. The whole reason im putting these considerably vintage songs on is because regardless there first hit single was in 1993, I however have not been listening to house or electro for even close to that long. I discovered all these songs about a week ago, and for me this shit is on heavy rotation right now. Thats pretty nuts, but whoever hasn't discovered these should give a listen.

Nightcrawlers-Push The Feeling On

Nightcrawlers-Surrender Your Love

Late of Pier


Late of Pier...yet another electro-rock-punkish type group that fit into the "Nu Rave" genre (if it even is one at that). The main distinguishable factor for this band for me is the singing. For some reason the singers style and choice of lyrics add something extra to this band. Heres one of my most played songs over the past couple weeks.

bathroom gurgle

In addition to that ive been watching alot of these Blow Up party vids on youtube. They look like a real good time.

BLOW UP

Friday, January 25, 2008

realistic upcoming concerts


Justice @ the Paradise in Boston
Digitalism @ Webster Hall in NYC

anybody who wants to go, let me know

Boner-chella


Get your boners ready.

Some vintage electro

When I think of sampling, I think of the Avalanches. This electro group from Australia put together one of my top favorite albums of all time. According to wikipedia, the group used over 3500 samples in their album, Since I Left You. I find this mind boggling because mashup artist Girl Talk has said in an interview that his samples take over 2 hours for each one to make. The album is absolutely great with its samples GALORE. They combine aspects of hardcore electro, hip hop, punk, disco, and even folkish type stuff. Here are a couple tunes off their only album. Im praying this supposed new album comes out relatively soon and they make a tour through the states so Id be able to catch them at a Studio B-type venue.

live at dominoes
etoh
frontier psychiatrist

Thursday, January 24, 2008

"Good bitch, good dick sucka"


Our idols over at Discobelle hooked the blogosphere up with Raziek a week or two ago. His “Good Bitch” is fire, splicing Cash Money clichés with energetic bounce trax, a style loosely dubbed “Eurojuke.” His “Too Cool for School Mixtape” is his true opus though, incorporating vocals from Robyn to George Michael to Akon over French club synth trax, similar to what A-Trak did last year on the “Dirty South Dance” mixtape.

mp3: Good Bitch (zShare)

mp3: Too Cool For School Mixtape (zShare)

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Spank rock + Cool kids

Most of the hip hop ive listened to as of late has fallen into a couple categories. The "older" stuff that I listened to when I was big into hip hop, such as MF Doom, Del, Wu Tang,.... Another group being the stuff Rob posts. The third group has been slowly moving up into many of my playlists. This third group is this new sound coming out of Philly, Chi-town, B-more, and NYC. Artists such as the Cool Kids and Spank Rock, in particular have caught my ear. They are a bit different in their lyricism, with Spank Rock creating the second coming of 2 Live Crew almost, and the Cool Kids using slightly toned down lyrics when in comparison with Spank Rock. However, both groups encourage this underground culture that I find very similar to alot of the electro going on now. Especially since they use elements of electronica in some their songs as well. The fashion of the these two new acts also seems mingle elements of these two genres. Here are a couple of my favorites from these two artists.

cool kids- pump up the volume (flosstradamus remix)
cool kids- 88
spanrock ft. amanda blank- loose

"I told her to tattoo my name on her spine..."


Admittedly, we’ve been on Lil Wayne’s figurative sack since the inception of Vapesta. With his “Da Drought 4” hitting the streets and my iTunes last month, the perpetual fellating of Young Money can only continue through today. DD4, unlike DD3 and most other Lil Wayne mixtapes, features original beats, most notably by Swizz Beats, Kanye and the Runners. The mixtape is yet another appetizer to 2008s (and 2007s…sigh) hip-hop entrée, The Carter III. Here are a few hot ones out of the batch.

mp3: Ask Them Hoes (zShare)

mp3: One Night Only (zShare)

mp3: Get Too Comfortable prod. Kanye West (zShare)

Monday, January 21, 2008

Some 80's alternative


Ah, the genre of 80's alternative. Some very weird shit in this unique brand of music. Ill give out some of the bread and butter of 80s alt. Im gonna throw out a little bit of The Cure, Joy Division, New Order, and Depeche Mode (my personal fave). Joy Division probably would have been my favorite if the depressed lead singer Ian Curtis hadnt killed himself, and thus they couldve released more of their awesome music. Well anyway, this is a good toss up with most of my recent posts being indie or electro. "You need to diversify your music nigga" in the words of the Wu Tang Clan (slightly altered in this case to fit for context).

Temptation- New Order
Love Will Tear Us Apart- Joy Division
Dream On- Depeche Mode
Personal Jesus- Depeche Mode
Boys Dont Cry- The Cure
Lullaby- The Cure

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2007: #1 "Int'l Player's Anthem" by UGK ft. Outkast


In hindsight, “Int’l Player’s Anthem” was the swan song for UGK. With the recent death of Pimp C, one half of the southern rap duo, so ended the Underground Kingz. The legacy of the Dirty South’s founding fathers lives on though, be it through unreleased material on message boards or with Bun B’s Weezyanic (sp?) tear on recent bangers, from Luda’s “Down in Da Durty” to his own “That’s Gangsta.”

            The David Banner-produced “Int’l Player’s Anthem” is a soap opera of sorts, in its self-aware absurd dramatization of every rapper’s greatest fear--weddings. Banner laces his trademark energetic drum rolls with a church choir singing wedding vows. Andre 3000 of Outkast opens the song with by admitting he’s leaving the game indefinitely to get married. When the drums kick in (and as in any David Banner song, they kick the fuck in), Pimp C rips straight through Andre, swearing to a life of promiscuous sex and wood grain wheels. Bun and Big Boi repeat the same sentiment that Pimp C put forth.

            As the unspoken champions of the now lucrative southern rap clique, the Underground Kingz effectively passed the torch to their heir apparent, Outkast, on “Int’l Player’s Anthem,” a torch that’ll burn as long as the legacy Bun and Pimp left, or as long as the sticky green that Pimp always kept in his Swishers.

mp3: Int'l Player's Anthem ft. Outkast (zShare)

Friday, January 18, 2008

the go! team


The Go! Team released their sophomore album earlier in 2007 and have successfully followed up their debut album. Their distinct style that includes some nasty drum beats, thumping bass, and the rap/singing/cheerleader-esque chanting of vocalist Ninja always catches my ears. They featured a lot of guest appearances on the new album and most notably, the Chuck D. song entitled Flashlight Fight is great. It combines the vintage go! team sound with the lyricism of Chuck D. that we all know he is famous for. The actual lyrics are drowned out in the sound of the actual band, but the song somehow works. Here are a couple of my favorite tracks off the newest album, and luckily most of them are singles.

wrath of marcie
flashlight fight
grip like a vice

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2007: #2 "We Takin Over" by DJ Khaled and Friends


n + T.I. + (Lil Wayne * 4) – Busta Rhymes + Akon = x

if x= “We Takin Over” when n= “I’m So Hood (Remix)”, then x= way better song


mp3: We Takin Over (zShare)



Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2007: #3 "You" by Lloyd ft. Lil Wayne


Once more, “The Next Rapper in Line” reminds us just why he claims “Hip Hop” as a pseudonym on Lloyd’s “You.” As the one redeeming quality of Murder, Inc. (unless the Shyne deal materializes), Lloyd steps up on this track. His soft crooning over an equally smooth synth-ridden bounce beat is complimented by Wayne’s raspy Holly Grove drawl. The closing verse by Weezy Wee contends for the best of the year. His flow and signature wit have never been sharper (“You know you give good brain like you graduated from a good school…”). Woof. 

mp3: You (zShare)

Million $ Mano


Mano has been throwing down some monster remixes of popular songs. Hes been cutting them up and looping small parts and making everything more up tempo (hence some remixes called up tempo edits LOL). I feel hes made great dance tunes even more dance able by doing this. Here are a couple tracks from him and his mixtape via his myspace. I would love to see this guy live just because he seems to take these catchy poppy mainstream tracks and puts an entirely new spin on them.

mix tape via his myspace
flashy lights
stronger
shawty is a ten

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2007: #4 "Can't Tell Me Nothing" by Kanye West

It’s safe to say that “Can’t Tell Me Nothin” will make the cut on Kanye’s greatest hits CD a few years down the road. The DJ Toomp (“What You Know”) aided track is explosive, creating an appropriately intense atmosphere (even for Ye’s standards) to match the rapper/producer’s accusatory and frank lyrics. The blogosphere has been dominated by Mr. West this year though, and frankly, I’m getting sick of him (Not really). Hit up the video link too, it's a LOLocaust.

mp3: Can't Tell Me Nothing (zShare)

Video: Can't Tell Me Nothing (by Zach Galifianakis and Will Oldham)

Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2007: #5 "Blue Magic" by Jay-Z


True to form, rap’s Air Jordan made yet another triumphant return this year. After 2006’s wholly wack Kingdom Come LP, his American Gangster album was the gold standard for hip-hop releases this year. Jay returns to the dope game on its first single, “Blue Magic.” Produced by The Neptunes, the hook is crooned ever-so-eerily by a falsetto-ed Pharrell over deliberately spaced/spacey drum rolls and hollow organs. Ever the badass, HOV boasts of his life of crime, stating that Reagan made him a monster and that “fishscale in my veins like Pisces.” Despite his recent announcement to step down as Def Jam shot-caller, Jigga hasn’t been this powerful in his music since The Blueprint.

mp3: Blue Magic (zShare)

The Hood Internet


I stumbled across this blog via missingtoof looking for some mashup adventure. This blog features mashup tracks by two guys DJ STV SLV and ABX. Some of the tracks are really tight, theres so many different mashups on the site. I particularly liked the mike jones vs air mashup because ive been listening to a lot of air lately. Id suggest searching through the archives and downloading anything from artists you like.

mike jones v air

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Top 10 Hip Hop Tracks of 2007: #6 "Sky's the Limit" by Lil Wayne


Any Top 10 list this year would be incomplete without (at least) one track from Lil Wayne’s Da Drought 3. Surpassing last year’s Dedication 2 release with DJ Drama as Wayne’s best release to date. He shows up everyone in the rap game on their own beats on DD3, from Nas to T.I., Jay-Z (twice) to Beyonce (?!). His 5-minute rip over Mike Jones’ “Mr. Jones” beat is the most powerful of the bunch, though. The track features the darker side of the rapper, as shown on his “Dipset” (DD3) and “Money on My Mind” (Tha Carter II). “Sky’s the Limit” reads more like Weezy’s Manifest Destiny than his “Ambitionz as a Rider,” assuring that he’ll stop at no cost to be the best, even describing his snail-mailing his opponents’ heads to their respective mothers. We’re convinced.

mp3: Sky's The Limit (zShare)

Monday, January 14, 2008

Apex Twin


One of the most influential contributers to electronic music, aphex twin has put out songs in almost of genre of electro music. His music videos are also insane when he teams up with director Chris Cunningham, most noticeably "Come to Daddy" and the Rubber johnny vid. Some of his best stuff came off his Selected Ambient Works 85-92 album. Here are a couple of my favorite songs.

bouncing ball
come to daddy
maximum electronica
windowlicker

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

illedelpia



Ive been searching around for some miscellaneous tracks lately, via mixes ive seen on youtube by guys like steve aoki and other san fran hipster guys. I came across a couple I really liked. The first being a monster remix of golden skans originally by the klaxons done by sebastiAn. I think this guy will overtake justice eventually once he throws some more original tracks out and releases his album, but i dont know if itll be as successful in the mainstream as justice. I added a track by aoki I heard on one of his mixes entitled "Awww shit". Reminds of the STFU track i posted earlier. Ill finish this set of 3 tracks with a song by green velvet, who i never heard of until recently and am familiarizing myself with his stuff now. The track "shake and pop" featuring walter phillips is pretty tight. I heard it in an aoki mix and he mashed it with the STFU track that I liked as well.

Just for kicks I added the vintage classic, "Never gonna let you down", by Rick Astley. Its a great song to throw on to make people go "Oh what the fuck is this...oh this isnt bad...lol ive heard this shit before..." and then you quickly throw on something good.

Aw Shit- Steve Aoki and others
Never Gonna Give You Up- Rick Astley
Shake and Pop- Green Velvet ft. Walter Phillips
Golden Skans (sebastiAn remix)- Klaxons

the horrors of it

The Horrors are another one the the NME hyped bands in the UK. They have a distinct sound that involves 80's alternative-esque lyrics with simple, loud riffs and thumping drums and bass. Their sound is pretty different from anything ive heard recently, theyre definitely worth a listen. Here are a couple tracks off their 07 album, Strange House.


draw japan
she is the new thing
count in fives

Sunday, January 6, 2008

MSTRKRFT rmxs

Its amazing how two former rock guys start spinning and throwing out remixes that sound like theyve been doing it their whole life. Their first original album The Looks released in 2006 and had some killer tracks. In addition to that MSTRKRFT has thrown out some killer remixes. I already posted the D.A.N.C.E. remix which rocks. Here are a couple more:

Tenderoni- Chromeo
Mother- Wolfmother
Monster Hospital- Metric
Got Love to Kill- Juliette and the Licks



DFA1979

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Good party tunes



I decided to pick out a couple bangers that go well at parties. Hopefully these parties have people with some kind of appeal for electronica, otherwise people will think youre weird and just tell you to turn the shit off (hey its happened to all of us).

Classixx has come out with some monster tracks in late '07, and Cold Act Ill is a party banger at heart. The chorus repeats "We came here to get started/retarded (x2)/ cold act ill or get retarded" which begs for the party goers not only to get started by dancing, but then follow that up with some binge drinking and/or other party drugs in order to fulfill getting "retarded".

Cold Act Ill (radio edit)- CLASSIXX

In addition to that, the cleverly entitled jam "Shut the fuck up" really gets people going. And, hey if "You dont like it, leave and get your money back".

Shut the Fuck up (mouth to mouth edit)- STFU

The Bloody Beetroots have to stop. First of all theyre Italian which is ridiculous. Then they cant make a bad song. STOP.

Miscommunication (Bloody Beetroots Remix)- Timbaland