Monday, March 31, 2008

tricky - pre millenium tension (1996)



tricky has had quite a career to this point. an early member of massive attack, dating bjork, movie appearances (see the 5th element), fist fights with goldie, constant tension with both the american and british media, etc, etc.

put all that aside, and the dude has made some of the most innovative albums within the trip hop genre (a label he absolutely hates.. my bad). maxuinquaye may be his most praised album, but this is my personal favorite. the song christiansands is one of my favorite songs of all time. harsh, half whispered-half sung-half rapped vocals set the course for the album, alongside long time collabator (and babys momma) martina topley-bird's soothing vocals. musically, the album is moody, the beats are on point, and the album is about as far from cohesive as it gets.. in a good way. i got introduced to this album when i was in jr high by my older brother, and it still gets consistent play. get in on what little panda was feeling back in the day.

video for christiansands:


tricky on myspsace
.

download pre millenium tension:


- panda

Sunday, March 30, 2008

video: lupe fiasco - hip hop saved my life (2008)

easily one of the best songs in modern day hip-hop. the video is incredible, and an opus to my hometown. what's not to love?



download:

lupe fiasco - hip hop saved my life (featuring nikki jean)


-grizzly

Saturday, March 29, 2008

schnuffel bunny - snuggle song (2008)

it's our duty to bring you the hottest jams.
so weworemasks has a sworn duty to bring you....


THE SNUGGLE SONG.



SONG OF THE YEAR.

Friday, March 28, 2008

the american masquerade - unveiled (2007)



great group of dudes from my hometown. caught them play at UH last night, which was cool since i haven't seen them since they were called 1977. they play a good mix of pop/folk/rock with electronic elements infused throughout to get your jollies going. for some reason they've always reminded me of limbeck with electronics.

do yourself and check this EP out. shit is gold. one of the few houston bands that are worth your time.

BE FRIENDS WITH THE AMERICAN MASQUERADE OR DIE.

download unveiled EP:



-the grizzly masquerade

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

album review: lydia - illuminate (2008)



currently my most listened to album. it's brilliant. check the review out.

preview songs(right click, save as):

this is twice now
i woke up near the sea

review:

read.
read.
read.

buy the album here.

-grizzly

Monday, March 24, 2008

the futile - demo ep (2008)



"this is my breakdown.. so let's see you dance."

the futile (aka some british kid named nathan), is a breath of fresh air in the singer/songwriter/home recordings genre. intensely personal/introspective lyrics, well placed electronic flourishes, and catchy melodies make this something i can find myself listening to regularly without getting bored. plus, he's giving the ep away, so i thought i'd try to get him some hype. spread the word about this one, i can see this one going places.

the futile on myspace.

download the futile ep (his link):



- the panda

album review: alive in wild paint - ceilings (2008)



here's my review for alive in wild paint's debut album, ceilings, which hit stores last tuesday. this is a great release, definitely recommend checking it out.

check out these tracks (right click, save as):

alive in wild paint - ceilings
alive in wild paint - a vespertine haunting

read.
read.
read.

-grizzly

Sunday, March 23, 2008

death cab for cutie - i will possess your heart (2008)



not many bands could have a four minute intro to their single and manage to keep me interested. this song's been getting some heat, but i love it. can't wait for narrow stairs.

download:

death cab for cutie - i will possess your heart

-death cab for grizzly

video: count & sinden - beeper f/ kid sister (2008)



hit me on my beeper beeper beeper beeper.
i love this song. check the snazzy video, too.

-grizzly

the receiving end of sirens - the afterglow (2008)



ha, well i know this is the second TREOS post in a week, but whatever. upon announcing their break up, the dude bros have posted their last song appropriately titled, "the afterglow." tear.

download:

the receiving end of sirens - the afterglow

-grizzly

kanye west f/ the game - crack music (remix with the game's verse)



the game's verse was pulled from the original for whatever reason, but this version has it. and as far as i know, this is the best version out there. if i'm wrong and if anyone has a better version, you know where to find me.

regardless, this is the version that should've been on late registration.

that's that crack music.

download:

kanye west featuring the game - crack music (remix with the game's verse)

-grizzly

Thursday, March 20, 2008

sxsw 2008 (EPIC POST)



whoops. i got caught up in updating, and completely forgot to write about sxsw.

it was a pretty rad time. my friends and i got there on thursday night, and found out that there was not much we could actually get into at 9:30 pm. so after we found a parking spot, we trekked down the festival to find something to do. one of my friends calls us up and tells us about the DIM MAK party, which we had rsvp'd to, and a party kid sister is supposed to play, so we went there.

dj mom jeans, also known danny masterson, was playing a pretty great set, backed by an open bar and an incredible oak lodge with a balcony and worthwhile ambience. steve aoki followed with heat, and i'd say i was impressed. the man gets a lot of shit. kid sister did NOT play, so we left, and headed to some other house where i ran into the coolest jew known to man, a-trak, or who some of you know as kanye's dj. we shot the shit for a little while, and we turned in around 4 a.m.

all in all, a successful day one, despite not going to any shows. i also forgot to mention that i dented my car, because i was trying to snake this parking spot from some asshole. karma is a bitch. however, keep this in mind for later. it shall be brought up again.

day two/friday saw an early rise for the shirts for a cure/photo finish records showcase at red 7. we had to get in line early as to beat the crowd for the hot water music reunion show.

got in, watched tiger lou, (whose new album the loyal came out recently. be sure to check that out) after we realized the bands we want to see aren't playing for a while, we accidentally caught dizzee rascal's set across the street.

after that, we rolled over to beauty bar to see the beasts in portugal. the man. a nice surprise to their set was seeing kirk huffman of kay kay and gatsby's fame play guitar for p.tm. ran into him later when i was watching limbeck, who is probably the happiest band ever.

trekked back over to the photo finish show, and i heard most of nada surf's set. they sounded good and played some songs off of their new album, lucky, which i still haven't listened to.

missed paper rival, but no biggie. caught steel train, who played mostly new songs off of trampoline. envy on the coast played next, and ripped through songs off of lucy gray and managed to squeeze a sassy cover of talib kweli's "get by" in their set. saw a good 30 minutes of hot water music's set, and it really wish i got into this band a lot more than i did when i was younger. the crowd was nuts, and the band was dead-on. then, went back, and caught all of anthony green's overall entertaining set.

by this point, my friends and i were exhausted and blitzed beyond belief, so we grabbed some pizza and sat on the side of the road for a good hour or so before heading off to the iheartcomix vs. mad decent blowout, only to get there to a line of 500+ hipster assholes who also rsvp'd to the same party. we immediately vetoed the idea, headed back into town. ended up rolling to whisky bar for an ocelot set. partied late into the wee hours of the morning, hung out on a hill to wipe the slate, hit up some kerby lane pancakes and a bitch of a waitress, and headed home.

day three/saturday was overall a disappointment. saw a lot of dope shit, but overall ended the night without seeing rx bandits and russian circles at the sargent house showcase, which pissed me off to end.

despite the disappointment, i managed to catch the last few songs of tokyo police club's set, which included "citizens of tomorrow." and i did finally get to see digitalism, who played a decent set and chromeo, who absolutely went off. easily the most fun set of the festival. not to mention, they had an 80s cover medley, with don't stop believin', your love (yes!) and anyway you want it. that stubb's texas tea goes off, too.

after that, i met kid sister in the street, and it just furthered my crush on her. she has a bubbly attitude, and calls everyone 'her babies.' i semi-yelled at her for having her toes done up. teddy bears!

then, hit up the purevolume ranchfor free shit from last.fm and an open bar. free fiji and free vitamin water. the power was out so we decided to load up on everything good and pure and leave.

wanted to see talib kweli tear it up, but a 2 mile intoxicated walk in the afternoon heat was not relevant to my interests at the time.

so we headed to the waterloo park festival to relax for a while before what was supposed to be rx bandits, the cool kids (wuttup autobot?) or mstrkrft (which i am still sour about missing in houston), both of which were my reserve shows if i missed rx bandits, and both of which were at capacity.

caught yeasayer, which to say the least is a weird fucking band. also at the festival, saw bits and pieces of:
1. islands (any ex-unicorns is fine by me.)
2. matt+kim (another iheartcomix act)
3. lucero (who are absolute trash. WOULD NOT WATCH AGAIN. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND.)
4. the breeders (ha, and yes, they played cannonball.)

then i capped off the night with a seizure-inducing simian mobile disco set. after heading back to get turned away from EVERY SHOW KNOWN TO MAN due to full capacity, i ended my night with a limbeck set and an open bar. disappointing end to a saturday night filled with amazing shows.

bands i missed and regret:

1. rx bandits
2. the cool kids
3. vampire weekend
4. mstrkrft
5. boys noize
6. kid sister
7. russian circles
8. city and colour
9. talib kweli
10. kevin devine

needless to say, i'm getting a fucking wristband next year.

also, if you don't read this, i will fucking kill you. it took me over an hour.

p.s. no bunnies were harmed in the attending of sxsw, as i didn't get the chance to run into him. maybe next year, sweetheart.

p.p.s. the dent in my car mysteriously disappeared on the way home. there is no trace of the dent or scuff ever being there. thanks to whichever bum in austin pulled it out. i owe you a cheeseburger.

-grizzly

mos def - true magic (2007)



attn: anyone who says mos def has fallen off:

kiss my ass.

dude's so on point, it's ridiculous. if you ain't in the real, then you ain't in the real. true magic is a display of the rawness mos def is capable of. i heard so much shit talked about this album, but man.. get real. this shit is HIP HOP to the fullest. get off whatever college rapper you're listening to right now and get on this shit.. either cause you missed it the first time, or you just didn't give it a chance.

mos def on myspace.

download true magic:


- panda is so sinserious about it.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

the toxic avenger - superheroes ep (2007)



yes, toxic avenger is back on our blog. and i'd say it's been a while. anyway, this is the ep he released last year.

my only complaint with this ep is the lack of songs, but the escape remix makes it well worth it.

the toxic avenger on myspace

link taken down per request. however, feel free to buy the five song (two songs, three remixes) album here for only $8.50 + shipping.

-grizzly

night facilities - the remixes/volume one (2008)


(this picture will take you to the download)

this is a great (and free) remix album courtesy of night facilities, a 17-year-old DJ whiz-kid. don't pass this one up. the daft punk remix of "prime time of your life" is worth the download alone.

night facilities on myspace

-grizzly facilities

park - it won't snow where you're going (2003)



park was just one of those bands that never took off. they toured with the right bands, played the right music, but just never caught on. even though they're broken up now, there's no reason not to give this album a spin.

a little generic, considering what's out now. however, this is just an all-around great record, and one of my favorites from back in the day. a great soundtrack for all the sad bastards out there.

download:



-it won't snow where grizzly is going

rx bandits - the resignation (2003)



first off, i want to give a huge 'fuck you' to whoever booked the sargent house showcase with russian circles and rx bandits at a measly 200 (if that) capacity venue on a saturday night during south by southwest, preventing me to catch what would've been easily the best set.

anyway, the resignation is a masterpiece. this is easily one of my favorite records of all time. it's also one of the most well-crafted, diverse and cohesive albums from any band, anywhere.

fun fact: this album was released on my birthday in 2003. it was fate.

rx bandits on myspace.

download:



-grizzly

treasure fingers - 40 minutes in the champagne room (2008)



i recently was put onto this ditty from an asian nerd named bertilla, and it rules. it's a mixtape by treasure fingers. good mix of electro, pop and funk, perfect for grinding on strangers.

treasure fingers on myspace.

download:

treasure fingers - 40 minutes in the champagne room

-grizzly fingers

the receiving end of sirens - break-ups, b-sides and acoustics.



another one bites the dust. a couple of days ago, the receiving end of sirens announced that they're breaking up, to the dismay (or joy) of many. personally, i love this band, and nearly everything they've done. great dudes, great live show. i'll miss em.

here are some acoustics and a b-side, some with casey, some without. two of them are old, two are a little newer.

treos on myspace.

download:

the war of all against all (acoustic)
this armistice (acoustic)
weight/wait
the salesman, the husband, the lover (acoustic)

-grizzly

Thursday, March 13, 2008

sxsw bound

ahhh, south by southwest. this is the first year i will truly get to enjoy it, since i'm above 21. heading up to austin tonight, should be catching the cool kids and kid sister, among some other crap.

i'll be sure to do a report of what i actually did and when and where i got arrested because i ran into the bunny from the justice show a couple of weeks ago.

godspeed!

-grizzly

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

placebo - meds (2006)



placebo are a band who's name you may have heard a million times without ever actually listening to them (i'm sure we all know that one art kid that worships lead singer brian molko). well make this your chance to get into it. fans of moody alt-rock like ours, portishead, etc.. should definitely be able to get into this. i wouldn't necessarily call this their best album, but it's a great intro to the band. the classic placebo formula is definitely there.. androgyny, lyrical references to sex/drugs/love, catchy/melodic choruses, and so on. if you're already a fan, then you know what's up.. if not, here's your chance to join the cult.

placebo on myspace.

download meds:


p.s. these dudes easily have the best album covers ever. just look at this one, and sleeping with ghosts.

- panda

20k!

ohhhh shitttttttttttttttttttttt.


we've reached 20,000 hits.
thanks to all of the nerds that visit us.


-the panda and the grizzly

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

thrice - come all you weary (2008)




there is very little that this band does that is wrong. this new song is no exception. this is off of their more organic and stripped down 'earth' EP due out in april, as part of the alchemy index.

download:

thrice - come all you weary

-grizzly

lupe fiasco - superstar (remix) featuring young jeezy and t.i. (2008)



ok, so hopefully, all of you have heard "superstar" by now. this is an excellent remix a friend sent me. all three verses are pretty incredible, but lupe lays this shit to waste.

download:

lupe fiasco - superstar (remix) f/ young jeezy and t.i.

-grizzly

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

glassjaw - el mark ep (2003?)



daaaaaaaaaaamn. another glassjaw post. this is somewhat rare and was always a pain in the ass to find. it's the itunes EP they called 'el mark' somewhat soon after worship and tribute released. these dudes will probably never release a bad song, and after starting this ep with "who the fuck wants to live forever?," who could think otherwise?

also included is the absolute definition of a gem, convectuoso, a song known to have been booted off of worship and tribute (and by far the only thing that is wrong with it) because roadrunner records are a bunch of twats.

enjoy.

glassjaw on the web.

download:

glassjaw - el mark EP
glassjaw - convectuoso

tokyo police club - in a cave (2008)



man i love this song. it's off of their highly anticipated new album, elephant shell. hopefully i'll catch one of their sets at sxsw, if not, they're playing a show here at the end of march. such a fun live show. get stoked.

tokyo police club on myspace

download:

tokyo police club - in a cave

-tokyo grizzly club

consequence - don't forget em' (remix) (2008)



this is an insanely dope remix of consequence's single.
different beat. guest vocals from yeezy. fool proof formula.

consequence on myspace.

download:

consequence - don't forget em' (remix) f/ kanye west

-grizzly

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

concert review: justice (march 3, 2008)



before i say anything:

1. i'm not trying to rub this in panda's face
2. number one is a lie
3. apologies for number two

this shit went off. i'll keep it short and simple: don't miss this show.

this was the first time i've seen justice, and they have a hell of a stage presence for two glorified DJs. they pretty much played all of †, we are your friends, and a couple of remixes for the encore, including METALLICA'S MASTER OF PUPPETS (???) no lie.

oh and mehdi was dope as well. fancy was supposed to play, but cancelled. whatevs.

also, i'd like to thank the dipshit in austin, texas who decided to wear a bunny costume and CROWD SURF (yes, not a typo) at a justice show. i'd also like to thank this bunny for kicking me in the face and giving me a nosebleed. i hope you enjoyed the 6 punches to the face/back of the head. it was well worth my ejection from stubbs.

holla back bunny, i live in houston. we have unfinished business. and i won't be wearing a grizzly bear costume.

-roshan

Saturday, March 1, 2008

glassjaw - kiss kiss bang bang ep (1997)



ohhhh lordy. this is the EP that started the golden era of glassjaw. mark my words:

glassjaw's next album will destroy the planet.

until then, enjoy the ep if you haven't already.

download:

rails to russia (2008)



i recently got an email telling me to check these guys (and girl) out. definitely a good call, considering we've gotten a few less-than-stellar requests in the same vein. rails to russia is a fresh group out of brooklyn, new york, and they play the type of rock meant for stadiums and festivals. not in a shitty radio rock way though. as for the sound, fans of muse, mute math or something similar to those groups could definitely get down to this. the band is currently busy recording a new album and perfecting their live show. definitely excited to hear more from them in 08. in the meantime, get on these tracks.

p.s. i love the band name.

check em out on myspace:

rails to russia on myspace.

download:

turning into you

turning into you (lissmore remix)

-grizzlies to russia

65daysofstatic - the destruction of small ideals (2007)



this band is straight fire. yeah, yeah. post-rock. i know. but this album rips. 65daysofstatic...somewhat similar to russian circles, and play on the heavier side of things. i missed my chance to catch these guys live on the fear before tour last
summer. epic fail.

65daysofstatic on myspace

download:



-65daysofgrizzly