Archive for the ‘Rap’ Category

Round Up Time

Posted: September 22, 2012 in Acoustic, Alternative, Americana, Folk, Indie, Music, Pop, Psychedelic, Punk, Rap, Rock
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Round Up Time.

Time to catch up with all that’s new, good, interesting, oddball, and plain strange. You can sift for the nuggets of gold yourself, or take our advice and try them all…after all it is the weekend.

We have a new track from longstanding favourite Amen Dunes, Sixteen comes from the forthcoming arts and literary project The Unified Field, and we also have a second taste of Why?’s new album in the shape of Strawberries.

Your Youth is a loud alternative band from Brooklyn that doesn’t totally exist, a two-person crash-course in celebrating and subverting pop: lyrics under mountains of guitars, a grip of gigantic hooks, and the slick bombast of “major-label sound”. Try the two and a half minute chainsaw guitars of Thick Gold (Bodied) from new EP Battery. Meanwhile, Now You Are One Of Us is Taken from the forthcoming album, The Corner Man, by The Cairo Gang, the outfit of wunderkind Emmett Kelly, long time conspirator in the Bonnie “Prince” Billy band.

Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs, is a new album from unusual folk singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe, this cut, Appalachia, bodes extremely well for the album as a whole, while the Zolas deal in modern, bouncy, left field, indie-pop. Knot In My Heart comes from their debut album Ancient Mars which is due for a UK release on 3rd December.

Pete Fijalkowski (ex Adorable and Polak) and Terry Bickers (ex House of Love and Levitation) have recorded an album, Broken Heart Surgery, it is a late-night introspective affair that they plan to release in spring of 2013, but to get the ball rolling they’re releasing a free download of I Don’t Give A Shit About You. As the title suggests, those who are profanity-averse might wish to avoid, but underneath the sweary surface is actually a love song of sorts. Not only that, it is brilliant.

Download Amen Dunes – Sixteen mp3 (from The Unified Field)

Dqownload Your Youth – Thick Gold (Bodied) mp3 (from Battery EP)

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Mega Video Round Up

Posted: February 27, 2012 in Alternative, Americana, Country, Electronic, Folk, Indie, Metal, Music, Psychedelic, Rap, Rock, Ska, Soul
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We’ve been trawling through a whole mass of videos recently and here are some of our favourites assembled for your viewing and listening pleasure.

First up is Crybaby’s video for excellent debut I Cherish The Heartbreak More Than The Love That I Lost, shot in the gloomy surrounds of Bristol hospital and is a noirish loveletter to the exquisite pain of a broken heart.

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Hotly tipped Essex 4-piece The Milk’s new single Broke Up The Family is a stormer of an anthem.

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Death Hawk are new to us, and it isn’t the greatest video to be fair, but the pounding psychedelia and Sabbath like riffs of new song Shining has been a real treat and makes it worth sharing.

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By Contrast, Saint Motel’s At Least I Have Nothing is a introspective work made up of a combination of 16mm, Super 8, Flip-Cam, Video, Cell Phone, and still photography that they’ve accumulated throughout the years. It fits the upbeat nostalgia of the song perfectly.

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Describing her sound as ‘Doom Soul’, Cold Specks’ music is steeped in the musical traditions of the Deep South. With influences from the Lomax Field Recordings and James Carr to Bill Callahan and Tom Waits, her sparse arrangements and chain gang rhythms stop you dead in your tracks.

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Hindershot make unusual, complex, catchy indie-pop that calls to mind everything from Soft Cell to T-Rex. The video for Curse Us All is a colourful one of wanton destruction.

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Brother Gruesome have featured a few times on MM and are established faves of ours. This is the video for the pounding Cut It Out, a song off their cassette tape that was released by Slanty Shanty Records in 2010.  A little late coming, but it is a great song with a cool video featuring street artists from Oklahoma.

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You & I Belong is the first single from Simone Felice’s debut solo album. Another great song, fun video.

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Danish sextet Alcoholic Faith Mission has debuted a new video for Running With Insanity from new album Ask Me This. Watch it and download it.

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We take a considerably more rustic turn with Max & The Wild Things video for the excellent Wind Through The Window. Just the feel of a barn-dance stomp and that banjo lead was enough to remind me of the halcyon days of the Cropdusters.

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Popstrangers hail from New Zealand and make a most edifying racket from a cauldron of grunge, shoegaze, psychedelia and noise pop. The video for What Else Could They Do comes heartily recommended.

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We’re hoping for big things for Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny this year. This is a live session recording for the new single Sweet Tooth Bird. Like sherbert filled with razor blades.

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Beirut have just posted a new video for Vagabond from last year’s excellent The Rip Tide.

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Sweet Lights have this beautifully animated video for Endless Town – the new single out on March 5th via Highline.

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The Skints are about as close to rap as we get, but this hybrid of rap, ragga, rock and ska beats on Ratatat is undeniably infectious. Like the Selecter crossed with Senser…maybe.

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Short is sweet, with this 90 second video for Pillow Talk’s rootsy Faux Fur, the lead track from their new EP of the same name.

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Gently harmonious five-piece Good Dangers feature a stripped back version of their song Abigail, filmed in a skate park. Download the full version too.

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And lastly, new MM faves Town Hall have produced their own unique take on Ja Rule & Ashanti’s Always on Time. Watch it and download it.

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Download Town Hall – Always On Time mp3 (Ja Rule & Ashanti Cover)

Gil Scott Heron RIP

Posted: May 29, 2011 in Hip Hop, Music, Rap, Rock, Soul
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Gil Scott Heron – April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011.

Download Gil Scott Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised mp3

Mad Mackerel Recommends…Goldishack Guerillas

Posted: January 17, 2011 in Alternative, Music, Rap, Rock
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Goldishack Guerrillas is a break from the usual fare on MM (but in a wholly good way) and reminds us nostalgically of our youth and barrelling around in Oxford’s Zodiac to rap metal bands like  Senser, RATM et al.

Like all the best rap metal, this is a band on a mission:  the Guerrillas are fighting back with a raucous mix of hip hop, guitars and political will to bring a message louder than any television.

Organic in its nature and sound, Goldishack had long been a headquarters for freestyle emcees and musicians. But when a holiday vacation turned into a war zone in 2006, things at the shack would never be the same. Lebanon was up in flames, and Goldi and his family were on the run from an Israeli bombing campaign. After a few harrowing weeks and a high-profile military evacuation, Goldi found himself in the hotseat of American news and a target of politicians and pundits.

Back at the Shack, rage was building and the Guerrillas were born.

Fast forward and GG is on a roll with the release of War in 2009, and two more albums are nearing completion, Goldishack is now headquarters for the musicians who seek more from their country, leaders and media. So without further ado, we present the Goldishack Guerrillas: your antidote to the war on justice.

Visit their Bandcamp here where you can buy the digital album for $5 or a physical copy for $10.

Download Goldishack Guerillas – Lazy Fat Stupid American featuring Rush Limbaugh mp3 (from War)

Download Goldishack Guerillas – Bulldozer mp3 (from War)

Introducing…Lexicon

Posted: October 25, 2010 in Alternative, Indie, Music, Punk, Rap, Rock
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We’ve already posted one superb Ramones cover recently (by Port O’Brien), but there is always room for another. And it might not be quite the usual MM fare either.

After releasing two successful indie hiphop records and becoming one of the bigger names in the LA underground hiphop scene, Lexicon became frustrated. At first they were content in simply being a part of the scene they grew up admiring and idolizing — they were more concerned with impressing the discerning underground heads than blowing up. But as the scene grew stale Lexicon knew that something needed to change. So instead of building on the props they’d achieved in the underground scene, they tore it all down, in order to build something different.

Calling upon for inspiration all of the rock and new wave music that blared from their parents speakers while they were growing up, Lexicon realized that by combining these elements with their deep knowledge of hiphop they could finally express themselves the way they wanted to.

Mixing their broad range of influences from A Tribe Called Quest to The Strokes to N.E.R.D. to Roxy Music…the duo flawlessly flow their way through this new sound with an appealing confidence and an ever-present sense of humor. Their inherent knack for wordplay and songwriting results in vivid imagery and enjoyable slice-of-life stories that are relatable to anyone.

The proof of the pudding is always in the eating though, and their Ramones cover comes up trumps. Check it out below, together with an equally entertaining track from the album.

Visit their MySpace here.

Download Lexicon – I Wanna Be Sedated mp3 (Ramones Cover)

Download Lexicon – Junk Food mp3 (from Rapstars)

Buffetlibre & Amnesty’s Peace Project – 180 tracks for not very much

Posted: June 5, 2010 in Alternative, Country, Electronic, Folk, Indie, Music, Pop, Rap, Rock
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We may be late in coming across Buffetlibre and Amnesty International Catalunya’s Peace Project, but that’s no reason not to give it a bit more publicity.

Basically, for a donation of anything upwards of five Euro’s (that’s about £4 or $6) you get to download 180 tracks from artists all around the world. It covers all the continents and features artists from more than fifty countries. And there are some very well known names amongst them offering exclusive tracks, covers and remixes. They include The Antlers (offering a remix of Two), Port O’Brien’s own superb take on the Ramones, Voxtrot, a remix from Ra Ra Riot, Asobi Seksu, Dan Deacon, Dent May, A Place To Bury Strangers, Micah P Hinson, Sic Alps and many, many, many more.

You can buy quickly and easily from the website here – and it includes a pop up radio so you can even try before you buy. However, at that price, for those tracks and for that cause, it seems pretty much a no brainer to us.

Download a couple of tasters below and then go and get the other 178 tracks…

Download Voxtrot – Whiskey And Water mp3 (from Peace)

Download The Crocodiles – Nothing To Be Done mp3 (from Peace) – Pastel’s cover.

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