2007

2007 has been a pretty great year as far as music goes, so these are our top picks in music (among other things). and also, here's where we lose all cred for not mentioning the super underground album you pretend to like so you can get cred at your favorite elitist message board.


ROSHAN/GRIZZLY:

MUSIC

honorable mentions

the bled - silent treatment
midnight juggernauts - dystopia
maroon 5 - it won't be soon before long
consequence - don't quit your day job
unkle - war stories

top 40 albums of the year

40. m.i.a. - kala
39. 65daysofstatic - the destruction of small ideals
38. saves the day - under the boards
37. young love - too young to fight it
36. coconut records - nighttiming
35. the starting line - direction
34. oh, sleeper - when i am god
33. digitalism - idealism
32. circa survive - on letting go
31. brighten - king vs. queen
30. talib kweli - ear drum
29. simian mobile disco - attack decay sustain release
28. the fall of troy - manipulator
27. rilo kiley - under the blacklight
26. bloc party - a weekend in the city
25. deas vail - all the houses look the same
24. as cities burn - come now sleep
23. bear colony - we came here to die
22. justice - †
21. the shins - wincing the night away
20. thrice - the alchemy index: volume I: fire
19. boys noize - oi oi oi
18. chromeo - fancy footwork
17. minus the bear - planet of ice
16. timbaland - shock value
15. the receiving end of sirens - the earth sings mi fa mi
14. jimmy eat world - chase this light
13. radiohead - in rainbows
12. the graduate - anhedonia
11. chase pagan - oh musica!
10. every time i die - the big dirty
9. jay-z - american gangster
8. explosions in the sky - all of a sudden, i miss everyone
7. common - finding forever
6. envy on the coast - lucy gray

5. cassino - sounds of salvation



from the ashes of northstar (a band who i've been in love with since 02, and a band whose break-up i'm still suffering from) came cassino, but to the surprise of fans, sounded nothing like northstar. cassino brought a soothing blend of indie and folk rock. and you can't really go wrong with anything nick torres does.

4. lupe fiasco - the cool


so after hearing 06's food and liquor, i decided that lupe's next album would be fucking huge, and sure enough, he delivers. dude has stepped up his game in every aspect of it, and continues to make incredible hip-hop. i know it's a little rash putting this as my 4, considering it's been out for three weeks, but i don't care.

3. thrice - the alchemy index: volume II: water


ok, so this shouldn't be a surprise to see thrice on one of my lists. however, they released two EP's together this year, one of which was mindblowing, and one of which i believed was subpar, albeit a great release. thrice's water is an experiment, exploring themes heard on vheissu's "atlantic." haunting melodies and beautiful electronics..sold.

2. moving mountains - pneuma


pneuma is a brilliant record. the first time i had heard this album, i was floored, and have continued to listen to it on a regular basis. there is no doubt in my mind that this will be a highly underated album, since not many people have listened to or have been exposed to the band, but i definitely recommend them.


top 10 EPs of the year:

10. umbrellas - beach front property
9. the carps - the young and passionate days of carpedia
8. dustin kensrue - please come home
7. the reign of kindo - the reign of kindo
6. tokyo police club - smith
5. the cool kids – totally flossed out
4. paper rival - paper rival
3. portugal. the man - it's complicated being a wizard
2. nightmare of you - bang!

1. as tall as lions - into the flood

they had my album of the year in 06, and they continue to blow me away. no words needed. this band is incredible.

honorable mentions

the chain gang of 1974 - when the apple drops
in: aviate – speak


top 5 disappointments:


1. portugal. the man - church mouth
this band was one of my favorites, but i really couldn't dig any of these songs. it's a damn shame. they shouldn't have dropped the keys.

2. coheed and cambria - good apollo, i'll be burning star IV - vol II: no world for tomorrow
3. thrice - the alchemy index: volume I: fire
4. silverchair - young modern
5. boys night out - boys night out

MOVIES

top 10 movies:


1. superbad
this movie was one of the funniest movies i've ever seen. i've seen it 5 times now, and have laughed through the entire thing every time. best decision ever: buying the dvd.

2. grindhouse
3. the darjeeling limited
4. american gangster
5. smokin' aces
6. black snake moan
7. i am legend
8. the bourne ultimatum
9. reno 911: the movie
10. knocked up

honorable mentions
live free or die hard
hot fuzz

top 5 worst movies:


1. epic movie
this movie is complete shit. i couldn't even get through 30 minutes of it. and if it's worse than 300 and spiderman 3, then do everything you can to not watch this awful trash.

2. 300
3. spiderman 3
4. ratatouille
5. evan almighty

honorable mentions
anything with nicholas cage that i haven't seen

TELEVISION

top 5 television shows (/fanboy of):


1. the office (season three)
the dynamic of this show is wonderful, and gets exponentially better every season. season 4 was shaping up to be amazing, but fuck the writers strike. and cmon, jim and pam finally got together.

2. the black donnellys (entire series)
3. lost (season three)
4. prison break (season two)
5. 24 (season six)

top 5 reality shows (i was lured into all of them, i swear)


1. rock of love
ok shit, this show was so funny. the people on it were ridiculous, and it was equally creepy to hear bret michaels say, "i'm so pumped up," every episode. this is quality entertainment.

2. the hills
3. a shot at love with tila tequila
4. i love new york: 2
5. the real world: sydney

RADIO

top 10 'top 40' singles (obviously excluding kanye west)


1. snoop dogg - sexual eruption
this song is so catchy and ridiculous. hands down, one of snoops best songs...ever. it's brilliant, really.

2. 50 cent f/ justin timberlake - ayo technology
3. dj khaled f/everybody - i'm so hood (remix)
4. ne-yo - because of you
5. omarion - ice box
6. chris brown f/ t-pain - kiss kiss
7. playaz circle f/lil wayne - duffle bag boy
8. fabolous f/ ne-yo - you make me better
9. flo-rida f/ t-pain - low
10. soulja boy - crank dat soulja boy

hope you dug my choices, if not, do your job as a human being and check all of those artists out. see ya in 08. happy new year.

-grizzly


JEROME/PANDA:

EPs

honorable mention:
portugal. the man - it's complicated being a wizard
nightmare of you - bang!
the chain gang of 1974 - when the apple drops

top 5 EP's of the year:

5. stadium - change of plans, we're coming home
4. the carps - the young and passionate days of carpedia
3. placebo - extended play 07
2. the cool kids – totally flossed out

1. as tall as lions - into the flood



as tall as lions embody everything music should be and after releasing the best album of '06, they bring you the best ep (and some of the best music) of '07. fall in love.

top 40 albums of the year:

40. silverchair - young modern
39. the starting line - direction
38. hot hot heat - happiness ltd.
37. daft punk - alive 2007 (only this low since cause a live album)
36. the number 12 looks like you - mongrel
35. dear and the headlights - small steps, heavy hooves
34. the honorary title - scream and light up the sky
33. devendra banhart - smoky rolls down thunder canyon
32. maroon 5 - it won't be soon before long
31. saves the day - under the boards
30. chromeo - fancy footwork
29. bjork - volta
28. blaqk audio - cex cells
27. rocky votolato - the brag and cuss
26. digiitalism – idealism
25. consequence - don't quit your day job
24. chris brown – exclusive
23. simian mobile disco - attack sustain decay release
22. the graduate - anhedonia
21. minus the bear - planet of ice
20. m.i.a. - kala
19. the dillinger escape plan - ire works
18. boys noize - oi oi oi
17. timbaland - presents: shock value
16. talib kweli - eardrum
15. rufus wainwright - release the stars
14. dizzee rascal - maths + english
13. jimmy eat world - chase this light
12. patton oswalt - werewolves and lollipops
11. radiohead - in rainbows
10. saul williams - the inevitable rise and liberation of niggy tardust!
9. jay z - american gangster
8. wax tailor - hope & sorrow
7. common - finding forever
6. nine inch nails - year zero

5. justice - †


a lot of why i placed this album so high has to do with what justice have made of themselves in 07 and what them becoming who they are has done for dance/electronic-based music. this album does speak for itself though.

4. chase pagan - oh musica!


one of the most overlooked artists in music today (stress on the word artist). soaring vocals, lush arrangements, and a refreshing take on song writing.


3. lupe fiasco - the cool


this album is so much more important to hip hop that will be realized. he raised the bar in every aspect of what makes a good emcee and lyricist.

2. bloc party - a weekend in the city


a lot of people were disappointed with this album but i thought it showed amazing growth. it's like the soundtrack to a bret easton ellis novel, which isn't too far off of what my life has been the past year.

-panda




and our number one album of the year:



1. kanye west - graduation
did you really think we would pick anything else? seriously, gtfo.


roshan and jerome would like to thank anybody who reads this blog, especially in the last five days (yeah, we've noticed the hit increase!). what would reallllly be tight is if you nerds started leaving feedback and telling us how much you love or hate us or the shit we post about.

we expect to keep this babyblog up in the year 2008, and we've been cooking up ideas for new additions and features, so sit tight and don't go anywhere. and if you feel inclined, feel free to hype your lists to us and tell us that our lists are trash (even though you probably wont).

with love,
-the panda and the grizzly.


final thoughts on 2007:

"07 was a good look, only getting fresher in 08!"
-panda

"2008: here's to hoping the RIAA leaves us alone."
-grizzly

eminem - 8 mile road (2002)

ok, so i like eminem. and no this isn't a rec for the 02' flick. big deal, now once we get past that, you can listen to this song. yeah, it's definitely a little old and not to mention, overshadowed by the movie's lead single lose yourself, but this is more than likely em's best song.

the track basically it goes with the movie (yes, 8 mile) and the whole theme of a white rapper in a predominantly black neighborhood, yadda yadda yadda.
this song is fucking nuts. the third verse alone destroys most songs that are coming out today. complex rhymes and a dope beat. can't go wrong with that.

download:

eminem - 8 mile road

-grizzly

dj khaled - i'm so hood remix - (2007)

ok so dj khaled is definitely one of the biggest tools in hip-hop right now. all he seems to do is yell a bunch of shit like "we the best" and "that's real." he's just a straight up jackass.

however, this song is heat. everyone has their share of guilty pleasures and this is no exception.

about:
1. a lot of artists i don't really like have verses on here (lil wayne, birdman)
2. artists that i really like have verses on here (ludacris, big boi, busta rhymes)
3. artists i don't have an opinion on have verses (fat joe, rick ross)

and sure enough, t-pain sings the hook. who else would? anyway, this track is a love/hate kind of deal, so give it a shot.

and be glad that dj khaled doesn't spit on any of this, and just yells "i'm so hood!"

download:

dj khaled f/ young jeezy, ludacris, busta rhymes, big boi, lil wayne, fat joe, birdman and rick ross - i'm so hood (remix)

-dj grizzly

outkast - stankonia (2000)

outkast is fresh.
outkast is clean.
ha ha ha ha ha,
outkast luvs deez hoes.



outkast on myspace.

download stankonia:



-grizzly

head automatica - decadence (2004)

so daryl palumbo is basically the dopest guy ever. when he first put glassjaw on hiatus for what was a "dance-pop" record, "what the fuck?" basically summed up the glassjaw fanbase's overall sentiment.

though it was a doubted project, palumbo pulled through with an extremely hook-filled, sassy rock project, to be released as "decadence." working with dan the automator couldn't have hurt, either.

head automatica on myspace.

download decadence:



-grizzly

happy holidays

wwm would like to say "holler" and "happy holidays," however you decide to spend them!


love,
the bears.

p.s. 2007 has been a pretty dope year for music, and everything else, so a huge end of the year post is in the works for this weeks, and will feature the panda and the grizzly's year end lists in albums, EPs, movies, and other bullshit. so be on the look out for that. shit's gonna be huge.

album review: lupe fiasco - the cool (2007)

this is merely a hype post for one of our favorite emcees, lupe fiasco. hopefully this time around, with the release of sophomore album the cool, lupe finds that fresh spot he's reserved in the hip-hop game.

the bears at weworemasks are huge fans of lupe and urge you to check out his new record.

i recently did an album review of the cool, which can be read here. (hey, if jerome can plug his band, i can plug my press!!)

i'm positive this will be another mainstream hip-hop release that flies over people's heads, but that's their loss.

the cool follows a concept of a fatherless boy, raised by two parents. one is the streets, and one is the game. lupe talked about the concept in another interview, but i'll post a healthy excerpt for you here.

I expand on the story, I introduce two other characters, the Game and the Streets. The Streets is a female. She's like the action personification of the streets, the street life, the call of the streets. The Game is the same way. The Game is the personification of the game. The pimp's game, the hustler's game, the con man's game, whatever.

Then they've got supernatural characteristics. Like the Cool, his right hand is rotted away. The only thing that rotted away was his right hand (as is shown in his video "Superstar"). It represents the rotting away of his righteousness, of his good. And the Streets and the Cool kind of have a love affair going on. So she's represented by this locket. And the locket has a key and it's on fire. And as a gift to the Cool on his rise to fame, she gave him the key. And the key represents the key to the Streets. So she wears a locket around her neck at all times.

And the way the story goes, she has given that key to tons of people throughout time. Al Capone, Alexander the Great, whatever. She's giving them the key to the Streets. Fame and fortune-- but also the prices. The Game, he's represented by a stripped-down skull, a skull with dice in his eyes and smoke coming out of his mouth. The billowing smoke is actually crack smoke. It's not a full concept album; it's more spread over like five [tracks], really abstractly.[3]

music video for "dumb it down," the first street single off of the new album:

album review:

READ.
READ.
READ.

buy the cool:


amazon.

best buy.

it's only 10 bucks. no excuse.

-grizzly

midnight juggernauts - dystopia (2007)

midnight juggernauts is a 3-piece out of melbourne, australia. these aussies have been around for a hot minute, putting out 7 inches and doing remixes that you've probably heard before. they recently released their debut album, dystopia in the summer of 07, and is a solid collection of songs, including favorites like tombstone and into the galaxy. i've also included some extra goodies for you.


midnight juggernauts on myspace.

download dystopia:



download:

dragonette - i get around (midnight juggernauts remix)
the presets - down, down, down (midnight juggernauts remix)


-grizzly

ghostland observatory - delete.delete.i.eat.meat. (2005)

so we've posted about ghostland observatory before. a great band from austin, tx that most people (myself included) have begun to catch onto in 2007.

check out their debut, delete.delete.i.eat.meat.

ghostland observatory on myspace.

download delete.delete.i.eat.meat.:



-grizzly

russian circles - enter (2006)

russian circles are an instrumental band out of chicago, and are one of my favorite instrumental acts. i hate to keep dropping the post-rock tag, this group bring some fury to a genre that tends to be on the "pretty" side. enter is an album that does this genre of music a great amount of justice, and is a very underrated album. i didn't even discover this album until it was halfway through 2007.

they'll be releasing a new album in 08, so be on the lookout for that.

russian circles on myspace.

download enter:



-grizzly

lies in disguise

lies in disguise is made up of electro dj's blake miller (from moving units) and le castle vania (who if we haven't posted about yet, we will soon). they're teaming up to bring some heat to the dance floor. and they do it well. they've only got one track out so far (a remix of party shank's "penis vs vagina", but it's definitely a banger. watch out for this project in '08 as they've got original tracks coming out soon. they're on the move.

lies in disguise on myspace.
party shank - penis vs vagina (lies in disguise remix).

- panda

moving mountains - moving mountains ep (2006)

if you haven't heard pneuma by moving mountains before, feel free to kick yourself in the genitals.

moving mountains creates beautiful music, plain and simple. i cannot stress my love for this band enough. this is their self-titled ep released before pneuma (and fans of pneuma will hear original versions of a few songs as well).

create some buzz, and someone fucking sign them.

moving mountains on myspace.

download moving mountains ep:



check out a live video of a new song they played at a recent show:



expect huge things from this band in 08, including a new ep. fingers crossed for a tour.

-roshan

tokyo police club - smith (2007)

so we've posted about tokyo police club before, so feel free to read up and check out a lesson in crime there.

tpc recently signed to saddle creek records and put out an online/digital ep called "smith." most of these songs were available in some form over the internet, but i guess this is just a formal (somewhat) release.


tokyo police club on myspace.

download smith ep:



-tokyo grizzly club

saul williams - the inevitable rise and liberation of niggy tardust! (2007)

first of all, how slick is the bowie reference in the album title? i know. and he took that shit to another level. anyway, i know i've posted about saul williams before, but i don't think i've talked about his latest album since it's release. the special thing about this one is that it's a collaboration with trent reznor (of nine inch nails, for those of you who live under a rock), and is available for free download on his website. if you want to be awesome, you can pay some money and get a higher quality download. but the dope thing about this is that either way it's drm free, and the lowest quality is still 192kbps. plus it comes with lyrics and .pdf artwork. we're talking about a mash up of two musical geniuses as far as i'm concerned. and you can get this shit for free, or for a few bucks. i'm not gonna lie, you're flat out retarded if you don't get on this. the album is incredible and deserves some hype. so here it is, on our humble little spot of the interweb. expand your mind, son. hype, hype, hype.

download the album @ niggytardust.com.
download the album @ niggytardust.com.
download the album @ niggytardust.com.

- panda

p.s. read the wonderful letter saul wrote on his website concerning the album/method of release:

My Dearest Friends and Fans,

It is my greatest honor to present to you The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!,
my new album produced by Trent Reznor and mixed by Alan Moulder. The wall of sound that we've created is tagged with such graffiti that a passerby would seek out doors and ways to ENTER. Once inside a world defined by dreams come true they'd find aligned with the simplest act of sharing what we treasure. Most people aren't aware of the world of art and commerce where exploitation strips each artist down to nigger. Each label, like apartheid, multiplies us by our divide and whips us 'til we conform to lesser figures. What falls between the cracks is a pile of records stacked to the heights of talents hidden from the sun. Yet the energy they put into popularizing smut makes a star of a shiny polished gun. The ballot or the bullet for Mohawk or the mullet is a choice between new times and dying days. And the only way to choose is to jump ship from old truths and trust dolphins as we swim through changing ways. The ways of middlemen proves to be just a passing trend. We need no priests to talk to God. No phone to call her. And when you click the link below, i think it fair that you should know that your purchase will make middlemen much poorer...

NiggyTardust!

love,

Saul

YEAH UFFIE'S GOT IT.

ok it's time. it's time for me to profess to the world (and by world, i mean the dope ass people that read this blog) my love for this woman. she's the love of my life, and she doesn't even know it. she's picking up steam right now and you should get the fuck on the bandwagon now so you can say you've always been in the know once she takes over in '08. i'm posting a few random tracks to get your next party started, plus sebastian's remix of "pop the glock". she's on the label of labels (ed banger), brings the heat to the mic, and makes boys and girls alike swoon. dig?

uffie on myspace.
download some bangers.

- pan, pan, panda of course

i hate nicholas cage

for today, i recommend you take several minutes out of your day to reflect on how big of a douche nicholas cage is. dude sucks. he makes every movie the visual equivalent of chinese water torture.

now, you might ask, "hey roshan, why do you hate such an awesome actor? he was in rad movies like face/off and gone in 60 seconds!"

i'll give you the fact that they were entertaining movies (and the only tolerable movies in his reportoire), but would have been infinitely better had mr. cage not been in them.

you may also ask, "hey roshan, what brought on this onslaught of hatred towards nick cage?"

well, i happened to see a commercial for his new movie, national treasure 2, and i remembered how shitty of a person and an actor he was.

have a nice day!

-roshan

death from above 1979 - you're a woman, i'm a machine (2004)

listening to this album yields the following things:

1. sexy results

DFA1979 on the web.

it's a shame they only released one album, but at least we have mstrkrft.

download you're a woman, i'm a machine:



-grizzly from above 1986

goodbyetomorrow - goodbyetomorrow ep

this ep was recorded post-travis bryant (letter twelve/terminal) joining the band. i haven't really heard any of this bands music prior to bryants joining, but this is a very good, chilling 3-song ep put out by equal vision.

also notable is this band has recently undergone a name change, and are now known as alive in wild paint, which in my opinion, is a much better band name.

they'll be putting out a full length in '08, so be on the lookout for these guys.

alive in wild paint on myspace.

download goodbyetomorrow ep:



-grizzly in wild paint

recover - challenger (2003)

this is a recover "album" posted after the release of this may be the year i disappear. it's more of a collection of b-sides and new demos the band had put on their website for free. it has a lot of good songs on it, and this is extremely hard to find.

also, grab ceci n'est pas recover while you're at it, here.

recover on myspace.

download challenger:



-grizzly

video: kanye west - mtv interview

this is why i love kanye west.

-roshanye

i'm alive.

gotta love the grizz for keeping the blog up while i've been slackin. i'm working on a computer switch right now and don't have access to my music. get on everything he tells you to, cause he's putting up some dope shit. i'll be back at this soon enough with some new shit for you to get into. holler atcha boys.

- panda fell off

cassino - new jerusalem (demo version)

cassino is fucking amazing. this is the original version of new jerusalem (new version can be heard on their myspace page.

the original version was released several months after the original three demos (the gin war, platano and american low) were released, and i almost enjoy the original version more. it is a more raw and stripped down version, played by nick torres and his smooth vocals and an acoustic guitar in what sounds like a bathroom.

also, this band has absolutely no record label, so buy the album from their merch site (if they restock), and if not, buy a shirt or something. these dudes definitely deserve your support.

cassino on myspace.
cassino merchandise. (BUY SOMETHING)

download:
cassino - new jerusalem (original/demo version)

music video for american low:


-grizzly

jose gonzalez - heartbeats (the knife cover) (2005)

this is a rather different take on the knife's "heartbeats," found on gonzalez' 2005 release veneer.jose g. really transformed this song into something else.

also, this just seems like the type of cover that you will love very much or wish that it was never recorded.

jose gonzalez on myspace.

download:
jose gonzalez - heartbeats (the knife cover)

-grizzly

christians and lions - more songs for the dreamsleepers and the very awake (2006)

christians and lions is the brainchild of massachusetts natives ben potrykus and his brother sam potrykus. ben has kept busy in the last few years with a million different projects, and most notably as the ex-frontman of the receiving end of sirens.

this is a totally different project, though. christians and lions released this album in the summer of 06 on eca records, and it's just an overall solid indie folk-rock release. a lot of songs seem to have a southern tinge (in my opinion), which is weird considering they're from MA.

this album is now out of print, so enjoy.

christians and lions on myspace.

download more songs for the dreamsleepers and the very awake:



-grizzly

jay-z - vh1 storytellers (2007)

so like any other sunday, i was relaxing at home, watching a shit load of television. i was going through the guide and noticed an episode of vh1 storytellers on the MHD channel, and it was none other than hov.

this was recently taped (research says october 24th), only a few weeks before the release of his new album, american gangster. storytellers is a show where the artist lets you inside of the creative process behind some of their songs, and this particular episode was dope because hova gives you an introspective look into his past as a drug dealer and a hustler and the relation of the movie/album to his own life.

he played 8 songs, backed by a band of around 10 people, aptly called "the roc boys." this was one of the best hours of television i've seen in a while.

vh1 has kindly uploaded the entire set to their site, so check that out here.

my only complaint is the lack of "success," "no hook," and "ignorant shit," which are three of my favorite tracks off of the album. beggars can't be choosers though.

-grizzly