“We Don’t Even Live Here” — P.O.S. and his “Weird Friends” showcase just how far ahead they remain of mainstream hip-hop via new video
I’ve been a champion of P.O.S.’s magnificent hip-hop effort We Don’t Even Live Here since it came out late last year, but the rapper continues to find ways to mine that album for gold as the new year gets going, proving he leads the genre’s vanguard by a wide distance. Reset your opinions of hip-hop by giving these lyrical anarchists a listen or ten. They won’t be beat, and any chance to dig deeper into their catalog is worth the effort. Their tour was cancelled last year due to P.O.S.’s imminent need for a kidney transplant, but they will be playing Sasquatch! Fest with Mumford and Sons, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, the XX and an astonishing number of other cutting edge alternative artists, when the festival takes over George, Washington on May 27, 2013. Based on everything I’ve heard about his live shows, this won’t be one to miss.
Check out the video below! It definitely deserves a shot at wider mainstream acknowledgement, even as the band refuses to give up an ounce of their indie credibility to get it.
FEATURED SONG: Clockwork Radio – “Feel It Up”
Clockwork Radio
Something about this new song “Feel It Up” by Clockwork Radio makes me think of a sonic alliance between Vampire Weekend and Crowded House. It’s an invigorating pop listen which builds its reputation more and more as you play it. Featured prominently on their new EP Unbuntu, which is available via purchase at Bandcamp, or for free if you choose to “Pay With A Tweet” by sharing the EP on Twitter or by suggesting the EP to your friends on Facebook.These alt-rockers, based in Wales, have had a measure of success in parts of Europe, but to this point have been an undiscovered gem here in the States. Here’s hoping they don’t stay that way for long — songs like this need to be spread around!
FEATURED SONG: Blisses B – “Regal Goodbyes”
Blisses B definitely brings the hooks to break you out of the winter doldrums.
Fans of Vampire Weekend and Stornoway need to prepare for immediate auralgasms, because Blisses B’s single “Regal Goodbyes” is going to rock your world. Their album, Thirty Days, Sixty Years, has been out since late 2010, but the San Francisco band has yet to find its well-deserved breakthrough. Still, we have this song, and what a hook it builds, twisting psychedelic pop influences in with the genre-bending explorations of artists as disparate as Paul Simon and Andrew Bird, with enough sun-drenched melodies to make it the perfect antidote for the winter blues. Check out the song, then head to the band’s website to hear the rest. You won’t be disappointed!
FEATURED SONG: Zun Zun Egui – “Fandango Fresh”
In the eyes of Zun Zun Egui, the sexy worm gets the bird ... nice!
Wherever you fall on the pop spectrum, there’s a great deal to love about the U.K.’s latest musical export, Zun Zun Egui. This is prog-pop that takes experimental to a hook-filled level which makes them accessible as much to fans of Vampire Weekend as they’d be for more old-school folks who appreciate the avant-pop contributions of Frank Zappa or David Byrne. Their video for “Fandango Fresh” speaks for itself, a sunny effervescent example of what makes music “pop” in the grand scheme of things. Their album, Katang, is already out in Europe and will see release here in the States on November 8th. Don’t delay … the sexy worm gets the bird! and truly amazing music waits for no one.
DOWNLOAD: Zun Zun Egui – “Fandango Fresh” (MP3)
FEATURED SONG: Paul Simon – “The Afterlife”
It’s clear after ten seconds of Paul Simon’s new single, “The Afterlife,” that the American songmaster is back in his best form, making So Beautiful or So What, his upcoming spring release, all the more difficult to wait for.
For all of you who are too young to understand why Simon is a legend of American songwriting, think for a moment about whose albums Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints inspired the complete sound of popular indie act Vampire Weekend. But when the man’s at peak form, he puts all the imitators to shame … “The Afterlife” is one of those perfectly “Simonesque” songs that sucks you in from the first hints of bluegrass-meets-zydeco bliss, and it’s distinctly him. Very few artists today can lay claim to such a solid blueprint.
