Pop, Review | An In depth Review of Alison Gold’s “Chinese Food”
Posted by Mel on October 15, 2013
It is not often a pop song strikes me in such a way that I can’t stop playing it or thinking about it. The last time it happened was a couple years ago with what will forever and always be my favorite song, “Payphone” by Maroon 5. I loved it upon first listen, but then one fateful night my adoration for it got intensified in a very big way. I was 17 years old and at a house party. I had my favorite snapback on backwards and was leaning against the wall drinking a diet Dr Pepper when I saw a guy and a girl leave the couch they were on to go upstairs together for some reason, so I made my move and snagged a seat on the couch. I was just chillen there on the couch… by myself… like always… when a girl came over and sat next to me. She said “heyy”, I said “sup”. “Why aren’t you drinking a beer” she asked. “Not a huge fan of the taste” I replied. She then handed me hers, urging me to try it. I did of course because that’s practically kissing which is practically dating which was a big deal for me at the time. “It’s alright I guess” I said as I handed it back to her. Now I don’t know whether or not it was by accident, but the series of events that followed were the without a doubt the highlight of my senior year.
She just looked at me and smiled. She did that for like 20 seconds. When she sat down she sat extremely close to me, our legs were practically touching, it was actually quite rude of her. She then got up and as she was doing so her hand touched my arm and part of my upper thigh region. It was also at that exact moment that “Payphone” came on. I sat there in a state of euphoria until the song finished. She was also wearing flip flops so it was especially hot. I wasn’t quite sure if what had just gone down had in fact gone down but I looked across the room and the Australian guy who kissed me on the cheek against my will in the second grade was standing there watching and he confirmed with a series of head nods that it did.
I never thought my love for Maroon 5’s “Payphone” could be matched, but then I heard this. Press play, watch the video and I can only hope you experience the high that Alison Gold’s “Chinese Food” gave me. Once you check it out, click past the break to read my in depth review of perhaps the greatest pop song to come out all year.
Hip-Hop, Review | Drake – Nothing Was The Same (Review)
Posted by dshaq on September 23, 2013
Drake told us on his Versace remix that his album would come out in September, “just wait on it”. We have and on Tuesday it will finally be released to the public. Now we all know that it is available to the public, why else would I be writing a review on this album right now then? To be perfectly honest, I have not been a huge Drake fan these past couple years. However, I think at this point we can pretty much call him the Lebron James of the Rap Game. An egregious comment? Maybe, but what we cannot deny is that love him or hate him. Drake has a talent unmatched by nearly everyone else. Drake has implanted his name in the rap game for the last handful of years, with his previous mixtapes and of course his last album, Take Care.
“Nothing Was The Same” is quite simply put, a masterpiece. Its’ blending of so many different sounds and samples, matched with the many different vocal ranges that Drake provides really displays the true talent he possesses. What I think makes NWTS so amazing, is a perfect mix of both Drake’s singing and his rapping. Everyone loves hating on Drake for this, however with the rest of the album, it’s pretty difficult to say that he doesn’t go hard. (Song that best describes this: Furthest Thing) Songs like “Worst Behavior”, “Poundcake”, which has a phenomenal verse from HOV, and “Too Much” all pack heat. I easily think that this is the best LP from a rapper this year. Yes, I’m aware that Kendrick, Kanye, and Jay-Z all had albums come out this year. I highly encourage a deep listen to this album. Although a quick skim will suffice to a listener’s ear, Drake’s true genius is shown throughout the flow of the whole album. Make sure to buy the album tomorrow when it releases.
Dshaq’s top tracks:
Furthest Thing
The Language
Poundcake/Paris Morton Music
Too Much
Events, Review | North Coast Music Festival Recap
Posted by dshaq on September 19, 2013
Summer’s last stand, North Coast Music Festival’s motto, could not have been more accurate depiction of this past Labor Day weekend. With a lineup up to par with Lollapalooza, Coachella, and other big festivals, North Coast brought the house down beginning with Friday, where the festival had to be evacuated due to severe weather. While it dampened the mood for a little, the festival resumed and big names such as Mac Miller and Passion Pit killed their performances.
Saturday brought out some pretty good performers for the afternoon, such as Flatbush Zombies, who were probably my favorite performance of the whole festival, but also DVBBS, Futurerock, Gramatik, and Nas. Gramatik put on a killer set, straight shredding on the guitar. Nas also killed it as well, performing most of Genesis. I’m pretty sure my life has been completed from seeing that live. Finally by the end of the night, it was a tough decision: Afrojack or Big Gigantic? Torn between the two, I chose Afrojack. Although I did end up going to Big Gigantic for a little bit, Afrojack was definitely the right choice. It was one of the best sets I’ve heard in a while, incorporating a wide variety track list but he always kept the crowd jumping and engaged. That was one of the things that I noticed at Big Gigantic: although they played a great live show and sounded fantastic, the crowd was nowhere near to as upbeat as the people at Afrojack.
While the first two days were a lot of fun, they had nothing on Sunday. By far the best day of the festival packed with names such as Danny Brown, A-Trak, Madeon, Cherub, Datsik, Rebelution, Wu-Tang Clan, Purity Ring, and Lotus, it was easy to understand why Sunday reigned supreme. I began my day at Danny Brown. The Detroit native put on a fabulous performance incorporating old stuff from XXX and The Hybrid but also some of his newer stuff. He even brought out GBE member, SD, and the crowd went absolutely nuts for it.
After Danny, we darted over to A-Trak and the next two hours of A-Trak and Madeon, back-to-back, was amazing. A-Trak just knew how to get the crowd into it, dropping a New Slaves trap remix then going straight into Bugatti then straight to Aint worried bout nothin. Breath taking. Madeon was next and had some big shoes to fill after what A-Trak just did, but the French wonder kid put on a show nothing short of spectacular. After those two were finished, we made our way over to Cherub and watched them perform. I’ve seen Cherub before, but they were just as good as I remembered. Hold You and Doses and Mimosas got the crowd going wild and they had some jam sessions during the middle of their songs. Finally it was time for Wu-Tang clan. The best part about that was that they were performing all of 36 Chambers. All the while showing love to ODB, Wu-Tang did their thing up there. I almost shed a tear of joy when CREAM was played. Then straight out of left field, like Friday, they stopped the show and evacuated the festival due to severe weather warnings.
Although it was a bit anti-climatic, the festival was a surreal experience that will definitely have me coming back in the next coming years. A nice closed environment makes it easy to navigate while being close enough to see and hear all the artists perfectly. A big thanks to North Coast for their hospitality and see you at Union Park next year!
Review | Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones
Posted by CHAZZZ on September 17, 2013
I recently got hit up by Sumpto (an awesome college rewards site – all college students out there should check it out!) to try out the new Jabra Wireless Revo Headphones. If I’m in the car, walking around campus, studying or just hanging out at home I am constantly listening to music. One problem I often run into with my current over-the-ear noise canceling headphones is the wires are always get in way, so I was very excited to try these wireless noise-canceling headphones. I received them from the company a few days ago and I have never fallen in love with headphones more than these. I have had these on all day and they are the perfect everyday headphone usage, providing top-notch sound quality and great noise canceling. They are an over-the-ear headphone and easily one of the most comfortable pairs I’ve ever put on. They have a very slim design and are not too bulky on your head so you can definitely rock these on campus and not stick out (unlike other headphones). The bluetooth sound quality is very good and as a sound quality geek, this was very important to me. Most wireless headphones sacrifice a lot of sound quality but the Jabra Wireless Revo headphones provide top notch sound quality. These headphones are amazing and I recommend them to any music lover out there, they are the perfect headphone for any college student. Be sure to check them HERE.
Events, Review | 5 Things I Learned and Saw At Electric Adventure
Posted by Middy on August 22, 2013
In a little Throwback Thursday edition of event reviews, we have Electric Adventure, the 2-day festival that took place at Six Flags, in New Jersey over the 3rd and 4th of August. It combined a bass and trap heavy lineup, with some of the premier roller coasters on the eastern seaboard, giving you an experience where your adrenaline was always pumping, unless you were waiting in line for rides. The lineup was well rounded with guys like Dillon Francis, Seven Lions, GTA, 12th Planet and Zeds Dead all performing over the 2 days. Click past the jump for a few photos and some things I learned and saw at the festival.
Albums, Progressive House, Review, Trance | BT – A Song Across Wires (Album Review)
Posted by Middy on August 22, 2013
BT is not a producer you can put in a box and say he is trance or ambient or glitch, he is all of those things and so much more, so much more. He is one of the pillars of trance with his album “Ima” back in 1994 that helped shape the trance sound that become what so many love and yearn for today. As a classically trained musician, getting his degree from Berklee College of Music, BT when he isn’t producing some of the most critically acclaimed pieces of electronic music, he is scoring movies like Monsters Inc and Fast & Furious (just the first one). His pieces take you on musical journeys, notably his more ambient stuff, like “This Binary Universe”. He is also a great programmer and computer geek that led him to develop the stutter edit that is being used by everybody, and I mean everybody.
One cannot praise BT enough because he does it the right way, has worked incredibly hard to get where he is today, and did not get it cheap, in one case had to sell his car to finish the full project for “This Binary Universe” (2006). He is also a great guy (we got to sit down with him for an interview, coming soon) and he is brilliant.
His 9th artist album is strong departure from the rest of his material, going strictly for music that is accessible in clubs and festivals. It is interesting to hear his interpretation on modern dance music because of BT’s background in music and his strength in composition. With much of mainstream dance music becoming stale, an innovator like BT trying his hat at a more danceable sound is a relief because you know it will be something new and hopefully inspiring to others.
Events, Review | Paris & Simo @ Lavo NYC 7/27/13 (Review)
Posted by Middy on August 6, 2013
Anybody familiar with high-end nightlife in NYC, knows Lavo and its reputation for an incredibly strict door, good-looking patrons, over-priced drinks and top-line DJs. There are plenty of places in NYC with the first three, but few have added the last one to their repertoire.
On this particular night, I was a bit sluggish from getting home from a rather aggressive night of drinking with Moiez the night before, thus I was hoping Paris & Simo would bring it to keep me going. After quickly crushing a Red Bull at a nearby Duane Reed, a walked down the familiar block of 58th in between Park & Madison, seeing drunk dudes and chicks spilling out of cabs and town cars, yelling at each other as if their hearing was already gone before they made their way into the proper line. Navigating the line is an art, pushing your way through entitled VIPs and b-rate models, just hoping to be seen by somebody, it is your job to be noticed in the mixture of plastic…. and plastic.