WEIRDO (Remix Suite)

Free download today. It’s the WEIRDO (Remix Suite). It’s a collection of remixes of the song “Weerdo” from Hollyweerd. There’re a bunch of dank producers on it. Download that shit. For free. At the bottom of this post.

I found this mixtape on 2DB. As soon as I saw the track list, I was impressed. There’s work from 9th, Aeon, Khrysis, Miles Bonny, and more. The one way it could be better is if it was just the beats, but beggars can’t be choosers. I mean, that shit’s free. The horn part at the end is bangin. That’s the upside of every track. Bangin horn part. Album art’s pretty great, too.

It’s definitely worth downloading. You can never have too much music. Enjoy.

Download it.

Stik Figa

Recently, I’ve been bad at updating this on time. My last exam is tonight, so hopefully I’ll be able to be a little more on top of things soon. Having said that, today’s article is about Stik Figa. There’s a link to a free mixtape at the end, so at the very least, get that.

I found out about Stik Figa through a MelloMusicGroup tweet. I’ve gotta confess, I clicked his name because it reminded me of stic.man. You can visit Stik Figa’s official blog. Look around, there might be some good stuff. It’s where I found the mixtape.

The mixtape’s called Hello, Goodbye, and it’s produced by D/Will. It’s all out of Kansas City, Missouri, which isn’t the first place I’d think to look for hip-hop, but these dudes are holding it down. The production is super clean, and the flow is smooth. The overall feel of the album is pretty somber, dealing with suicide and whatnot, but it’s done very tactfully.

“Happy” and “Goodbye–Credits” are probably my favorite tracks. I especially love the beats on these tracks. “Goodbye–Credits” is almost eight minutes long, and it includes three different beats. The best beat of the entire album is the last one on this track. It plays the album out, with no words over it or anything. A perfect ending to a great mixtape.

Also, “Starched Dickies” has a video that you can watch. It’s pretty dope. I also found this video of D/Will and Stik Figa live. Watch it.

You should definitely download the mixtape, especially considering it’s free. Stik Figa and D/Will deliver. It’s called Hello, Goodbye, and you can get it for free right here.

Download it.

The Mercury Program

When Eu linked me to Antarctic the other day, I found out about another band called The Mercury Program. They’re from Gainesville. And they’re plenty dope.

I’m not gonna lie to you, my 3 readers. Every song is good. They have a formula, seems like they’ve been using it, and it works. They’ve been around since 1997. “You Give Me Problems About My Business” is a dope track, and it’s the most played on their MySpace. “A Crusading Theme” is another one you can listen to. Both of those tracks are off of 2003’s EP Confines of Heat.

The Mercury Program released their latest album this past November. It’s called Chez Viking, and as soon as I scrape up enough money, I’m planning to make a purchase. They‘re a very consistent group, and I’m glad they’ve recently released stuff. I’m probably going to sample a few of their tracks; they seem like a very sample-worthy group.

You can buy Chez Viking from The Mercury Program’s official site. The album’s $12, and not only do they play great music, they’re out of Gainesville. It’s a group you should definitely support. Listen to them, and if you’ve got the money, buy their album.

Our Lady Peace – Exclusive Concert Coverage (Freebird Live 12/04/09)

About a month ago, I bought tickets to see Our Lady Peace. I was psyched. I was then informed there was a decent chance of getting to hang out with Common and Cudi after their show, which happened to be on the same day. I chose Common and sent the everydaymusic army (Chris) out in full force to see Our Lady Peace.

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This past Friday, I saw Our Lady Peace live in concert. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re a Canadian rock band that debuted 15 years ago. Since then they’ve sold over 5 million albums, won a slew of Juno and MuchMusic Awards, and even ranked on my Arbitrary Top 10. In fact, it was their Live album that earned the honor, which is why I’ve wanted to see them live for over 7 years now.

I was supposed to go with Alexei, but he bailed to smoke pot with Kid Cudi. What actually happened was he got rained on for three hours, and I witnessed a sensational musical performance that rivaled any I’ve seen. (Thanks for the ticket, ReefLex!)

It took place at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach, which is a step down from the sold out arenas the band is used to playing. The venue was packed both upstairs and down; Peach and I barely had space to stand. We arrived at 11 to a show that started at 8, but within five minutes the headliners came on. “Perfect timing,” I thought, as a random drunk splashed beer on me. That’s how most of my nights end, not start.

They had a tiny stage to work with, so there wasn’t a lot of jumping around. I’m sure after a decade and a half of touring I wouldn’t be so keen on it either. But between the lightshow setup behind them and the pure experience of the band, you couldn’t tell Freebird from Madison Square Garden. Especially if you’d been drinking.

They started fast and hard, without saying a word, like real men always do. I regret not bringing a camera, but the memory card is full and I don’t have a cable to upload the pictures, so I didn’t bother with it. Halfway through the show I realized I could have bought a camera from the Walgreens across the street, but fuckit, not that many people read this blog anyway. I did, however, write down a full set list (one of the very few artists whose entire catalog I know by name) plus a few notes, and am kind enough to share it with you:

“Burn Burn“

“Superman’s Dead“

“Innocent“

“Clumsy“

“Paper Moon“

“Escape Artist“

“Is Anybody Home?” – The entire first chorus was sung solely by the crowd, which was amazing to watch and be a part of. Raine responded with “You guys are awesome”, which I already knew but it was probably nice for the other people.

“Somewhere Out There“

At this point, Raine started talking about Tiger Woods. He told us that at the previous show, they dedicated a song to him in his defense, but that they’d changed their mind since. “Fuck that, the guy’s got everything in the world and he still cheats… so this next song is dedicated to those who still have morals and values.”

“Bring Back The Sun“

“One Man Army“

“Naveed“

“Automatic Flowers“

“All You Did Was Save My Life“

After this song, the band left the stage. They made it look realistic, too – threw their picks into the audience (all of them, and there were a lot positioned up and down the mic stands), did the same with the drumsticks, thanked the audience, and just left. Of course, nobody was fooled, and we all chanted something like “OLP” or “Encore” or maybe we just yelled a lot. Anyway, it worked (like they would even end their set on such a throwaway song), and the band reassumed battle positions. OLP then informed us they had been in Orlando the night before, and that it was a pretty epic crowd, but that we kicked their asses. I’m sure the next night they said the same thing about us, but whatever. It’s how the pros roll. They then finished out the set with…

“4 AM“

“The End Is Where We Begin“

“Starseed“

No two ways about it, the 16 song performance was epic. They played like seasoned veterans, and worked the crowd exceptionally well. I feel like there’s no point on elaborating; it was exactly as amazing as expected. The claustrophobic setting didn’t deter them a beat, and they played with the same passion as they do on the big stage. The only song I really wanted to hear but didn’t was “Life“, but the band just announced this week that they’d be touring Canada in 2010. They plan on performing all of Clumsy one night, and Spiritual Machines in its entirety the night after. They’re doing this for a dozen cities. That’s dedication. So, maybe I’ll make it up there for those. Oh yeah, and Our Lady Peace’s next album has also been rumored to drop in 2010. Big year. I have so much respect for this band, and it’s increasing exponentially. But, Kid Cudi’s good too, LOLOLOL.

SET & RA

I’ve been slackin on these posts, and I’ll continue to blame exam week. Good news is I’ve had a bunch of new music to help me through it. I’ve had Shay-J’s new album lined up for a few days now, but I keep moving it back. I’d like to do a track-by-track review, and I feel like I’ll do a more complete job if I wait until after my last exam. Today, it’s a new mixtape from Mandeep Sethi.

I met Mandeep Sethi when he came to UF to play for the Asian Student Organization or something like that. A couple of Hip Hop Collective members got to chill with him, and he gave me his first mixtape for free. It’s called Paleofuture, and you can download it off bandcamp.

Recently, he’s released a new mixtape called SET & RA. He’s on this album with MC Sahku and Povan Beats. There’s a lot of Indian influence in the beats. It sounded like most, if not all, of the samples were from Indian films or various Indian songs.

Lyrically, most of the tracks are on the socially conscious tip. “Well.Water” is a great example of the social consciousness. The health care thing, the welfare thing, the working for the state thing, all dope bits. “Breakin Ya Tongue” is probably one of my favorite tracks. The city hall bit reminds me a bit of dead prez’s track “Hip Hop” (start of the second verse).

All in all, the wordplay is there, the subject matter is there, and the production value is there. The best part is that it’s free. That’s 24 tracks, for free. Can’t beat that. You can get it at the SET & RA bandcamp page. Visit it, get a free mixtape, and listen to it.

Antarctic

There’s a group from St. Augustine called Antarctic, and they’re pretty cool (pun completely intended). They do dope instrumental stuff, and you’ve gotta hear it. If you’re not a fan of everydaymusic on facebook yet, you should get on that.

The other day on facebook I saw that Eu Jacksonville became a fan of some band called Antarctic. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to investigate. My ears were satisfied with what I found. Antarctic is apparently a group out of St. Augustine, Florida, and they play instrumental rock. They kind of remind me of a cross between The Slip and Explosions in the Sky, except with a bit of a harder side. The guys are incredibly talented, and the music, at least from what I’ve heard, does a good job of spreading through the incredibly vast “instrumental rock” genre. It can be hard and heavy one second, and transition seamlessly into a smooth and quick sound.

The MySpace has three songs up. “Bergen” is my favorite. It’s a good example of what I was talking about above, with the whole seamless transition thing. I haven’t been able to find much of their music other than what’s on their MySpace. I found a video of them playing live. I think “Pasea La Salamandria” is the song they’re playing in the video. The fact that it’s pretty good isn’t terribly surprising. Instrumental music tends to be more enjoyable live on the whole in my opinion.

Antarctic is signed to Hello Sir Records. You can visit their site to purchase Antarctic’s self-titled debut album. On their MySpace, it says Antarctic is supposed to be having an album release show on the 26th of December with Fin Fang Foom. It says 8:00 PM, but the venue isn’t up yet. If you’re interested in attending, keep checking back to their MySpace. Antarctic is definitely a band worth keeping up with. I’m interested to see what happens with them. It’s always nice to see some good music coming out of Duval. Keep up the good work, boys.

Hip Hop Collective – Get it, Got it, Good

I’ve got two exams to study for, so this is gonna be quick. The upside is you get a free mixtape. Gainesville’s own Hip Hop Collective has released their Fall 2009 Mixtape. It’s called Get it, Got it, Good, and you should get it. Get it?

The mixtape is 23 tracks long, and you can get it for free by visiting the Hip Hop Collective’s bandcamp site. The album flows pretty well, and it displays many different artistic styles (spoken word, hip hop, scratching, instrumentals, etc). This album truly is “hip hop” in every sense.

“hiphop” is the opening track on the album, and it was a good choice to start the album out. It’s a spoken word piece from Poets, INC. President Dianna Ferguson. “Instrumental B” was another track that caught my ear. It’s a laid-back beat put together by Santa Fe student Daniel Linton. Reminds me a lot of DJ Alibi type stuff. “Painting of a He” by DJ Robzilla is another track worth hearing on the album. Robzilla melts the wax on this track, as he seems to do on a regular basis. You can see him every Thursday night at The Laboratory. It’s called Funky Dope Thursdays. Check it out.

As far as the conventional “hip hop” tracks on this album are concerned, there were three tracks that really impressed me. “Street Poetics” by Eval “Big Eezay” Smith is a great track, with a calm, piano-driven beat, and some great samples. This track immediately got me bobbin my head. Dope stuff. “Honey” is another great track, especially because of the balance. The beat, the vocals, the verses are all equally impressive and none is particularly dominant. The track is by Dillon and it features Stacy Epps on the vocals and Paten Locke on the beat. Dillon’s album Studies in Hunger drops on Dec. 8. You can find more info on his site.

“Can I Kick It? (2009)” is the final track that I’d like to talk about. I saved it for last because it’s by Shay-J, whose latest album Lost in a Vast Abyss of Hip Hop dropped this past Friday. I’ve listened to it once, and after I hear it a couple more times, I’ll be putting up a track-by-track review. If you went to the Common and Kid Cudi show this past Friday, you got to see Shay-J open for them. He’s moving toward big things, and his latest album is a sign of that. Watch for the review later in the week.

I’ve written twice as much as I thought I would about this album, so clearly it’s worth downloading. You get an entire, 23-track album for free. What’s not to love?

Download it.

Common and Kid Cudi (And Shay-J!)

I originally planned on going to go see Our Lady Peace today, but I’ve decided to go see Common and Kid Cudi for free at UF instead. All in all, it’s a great day for concerts. The one I’m most excited about, though, is Shay-J.

Common and Kid Cudi are going on tonight at 7 PM, for free, at Flavet Field at UF. It’s bound to be a dope show, and hopefully I’ll get to go backstage or something with the Hip Hop Collective. Maybe I’ll even get to snap a picture or two. We’ll see.

Before the show, at 6:30, you’ll get to see local artist and Hip Hop Collective member Shay-J open up for Common and Cudi. Shay-J’s new album Lost in a Vast Abyss of Hip Hop drops today, and I should be getting a copy of it soon. There should be a track-by-track review up sometime next week. I’m aiming for Monday, but I have two exams that day, so there’s a chance it could get pushed back.

If you’re not already, you should join the Shay-J Fan Club on Facebook. You should also look into becoming a fan of everydaymusic. Either way, come out tonight to Flavet Field at 6:30 to check out Shay-J and stay to see Common and Cudi, all for free.

Blind Pilot

What’s the worst thing to have on an airplane? A Blind Pilot! As well as over 3 oz. of liquid. That was terrible. Here’s Chris talking about Blind Pilot.

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Yo everybody, let me level with you. I don’t really feel like writing tonight. I’m gonna do it anyway, because the name of the blog sort of dictates that I do so. But I won’t be happy about it, and I refuse to put in a respectable effort. That being said, today I’m talking about an indie band from Portland, Oregon. So, now that I’ve narrowed it down to either Modest Mouse, The Dandy Warhols, The Shins, The Decemberists, or Elliott Smith, which will it be? Well, it’s none of them. It’s a band called Blind Pilot. See what I did there? Gotcha, bitch!

Blind Pilot started out as two people: Isreal Nebeker on acoustic guitar and Ryan Dobrowski behind the drums. Both are avid cyclists, so before recording their first album, they toured the west coast on their bicycles, lugging the instruments in custom-built bike trailers. Then they did it again after they released their first album, 3 Rounds And A Sound. Why haven’t I moved out west yet?

In 2009, however, they put together a full size band to better match their album while touring, and opened for The Decemberists on a national tour. They also played at Lollapalooza (and likely a host of other hippie degenerate festivals). Good for them. But what does that mean for you?

It means you need to start listening to them now, so that when they’re a notorious indie staple, you can be the best Pretentious Hipster Douchebag Who Listened To Them Before Everyone Else you can be.  I’ll do you a solid and start you off with some songs, but just remember – you owe me. Big. The band is most well known for the single “Go On, Say It“, which is a good tune. But my favorites are “The Story I Heard“, “One Red Thread“, and the title track, “3 Rounds And A Sound“. You can’t go wrong with any of the songs, really, but a lot of them sound too similar and begin to blend together. But if it’s the type of music you’re into, it’s probably a good thing. Anyway, the band is Blind Pilot, check them out and thank me later. Or now. Now’s good too.

The Sound Providers

Usually I try to post around 1:00 AM of the day that I’m writing for, but I’ve decided to change that. I think the posts will now be coming the day of. Try to appeal to different demographic, you know? Seems like I’ve got the 2:00AM Facebook lurkers on lock. Today, the Sound Providers invade your ears.

The Sound Providers were started in 1998, and their latest release came in 2006. I believe they’ve been kind of dormant in the past few years, but I haven’t really bothered looking into it. Half the duo (Jason Skills) moved to Florida, and I’m assuming Soulo is still in San Diego, so it would make sense that their music production has slowed down. Either way, they made enough classics for me to go back to over and over again and still be impressed.

“Autumns Evening Breeze” is the first track you’ll want to check out. This is the most popular track according to their MySpace and last.fm pages. It’s the first one I heard, and it managed to get me hooked. Hopefully it’ll do the same to you. “Jazz at the Cove” and “Pacific Vibrations” are two more tracks I really liked a lot. The beats stay fresh, and they use some killer samples. “Night Steps” is a great track to freestyle over, with a dope little bass line.

You can purchase a digital download of their 2004 release An Evening with The Sound Providers, on Amazon for only $8.99. That’s a 21-track album, for like 9 bucks. They’re a group that you deserve to listen to. Super relaxing stuff. You know you love it.