Monday, June 30, 2008

video: glastonbury festival live sets: jay-z/lupe fiasco(2008)



i just spent the last hour watching the shit out of these sets. lupe plays an incredible set and made sure to drop lines about why hip-hop is still alive. young h-o-v sets the venue on fire. he freestyles over a millie, has a wonderwall cover, and runs through a shit load of his old hits. highly recommended.

lupe fiasco - full set live at glastonbury (video)

jay-z - full set live at glastonbury (video)

-grizzly

p.s. i just watched the HOV set for the second time and it is just as revolutionary.

t-pain - talla ho walk (2008)



you either hate him or you love him, but talkbox's #1 fan, t-pain comes sassy with some cee-lo shit on this song. i don't care what anyone says. this shit is dope and hilarious in the same. he hits some solid rhymes on this one.

t-pain on myspace

download:

t-pain - talla ho walk

-g-pain

ra ra riot - ra ra riot (2007)



saw these guys open up for tokyo police club last summer and had a lot of fun during their set. solid group of dudes out of syracuse. just smooth indie-pop for summertime. it'll do you good. these guys have a full length coming out on barsuk (who they recently signed to) in mid august called "the rhumb line."

ra ra riot on myspace.

download:



-ga ga grizzly

Saturday, June 28, 2008

eye alaska - yellow & elephant ep (2008)



ok, so let's try to look past that the picture above me looks like four d-bags went ape shit in their local forever 21, and get to the fact that these dudes have a real soulful thing goin on. they're kind of like the fearless records version of as tall as lions. crooning vocals, jazzed out tempos, and laid back rhythms. this is some real chilled out, summer nights shit. i suggest picking up that girl you've been feelin' this summer, taking her for a late night drive, putting "roll right over" on, and letting eye alaska take care of the rest..

their ep 'yellow & elephant ep' is new.. which means you aren't getting the entire thing here. but here's a couple of tracks to get you started. get dowwwwwwn.

eye alaska on myspace.

download roll right over.
download i knew you'd never fly.

- eye panda

big sean - finally famous mixtape



19 year old big sean is a recent signing to kanye west's g.o.o.d. music label. nothing earth shattering, but i'm liking what i'm hearing. click the album cover to hit up the mixtape at datpiff.

big sean on myspace.



- panda

(p.s. does anyone else think the good logo would make a sick tattoo?)

Friday, June 27, 2008

lupe fiasco - me and my sneakers (2008)



likewise, what is weworemasks without a lupe fiasco post? this is a new track that was meant for a-trak's running man album, that didn't make the cut. why? clearance issues. so it's being passed out on the web, of course.

download:

lupe fiasco - me and my sneakers (prod. by a-trak)

-grizzly

(i promise i didn't mean for there to be this many a-trak related posts. dude has taken over this blog.)

kanye west - gotta pose (unreleased)



what is weworemasks without a kanye west post? this is an OLD ass track, judging by the way ye sounds. straight heat.

download:

kanye west - gotta pose (unreleased)

-grizzly

p.s. everyone needs to get off the man's shit for bonaroo. glow in the dark tour > every tour ever created.

the count and sinden - beeper (a-trak remix) (2008)



yet another jam i slept on. am i late on this one? i don't care. it's still dope.

a-trak on myspace

download:

the count and sinden - beeper (a-trak remix)

-g-trak

p.s. i love kid sister. look how happy she is in the picture, haha.

common - announcement f/ pharrell (2008)



ok, this song is MILES better than that throwaway U.M.C. track that leaked a few weeks back. skateboard p kills it on this one. i'm disappointed in the push-back of invincible summer, but at least he'll have time to tighten the album up. maybe he'll use his COMMON SENSE (sorry) and trash UMC while he's at it. har har har.

common on myspace

download:

common - announcement f. pharrell

-universal grizzly control

snowgoons (2008)



my boy kyle (who has probably given me 79 recommendations since the blog started) put me onto the snowgoons, and "wow" is all i have to say. snowgoons are a production duo out of germany and the entire album is a compilation of sorts, featuring a shit load of emcees. seriously, a shit load.

their most recent album 'black snow' has been bumped constantly for the past few days, and the east coast flavor really shines. above all, the entire album basically breaks faces and ruins lives.

since it's a new album, it's not getting posted, but here's a little taste. if you like any of these tracks, i suggest checking out 'black snow' immediately.
recommended listen for any fan of lyrical hip-hop. .

snowgoons on myspace

download:

snowgoons - black snow
snowgoons - who?
snowgoons - this is where the fun stops

-snowgrizzlies

kid cudi - embrace the martian (2008)



kid cudi is a slick dude i just stumbled upon recently. how i haven't found out about him earlier is beyond me. he comes from cleveland, ohio (bone thugs!) and he's definitely gonna be comin' up in the next few months. cudi is on a-traks label, fools gold and he's fusing hip-hop, electronics, r+b, pop and soul into a fresh, yet familiar sound. he has an ep called "day n night" out on itunes right now, so get on that. but for now, check out these two tracks.

kid cudi on myspace.

download:

kid cudi - embrace the martian
kid cudi - london girls

-g-thang

Thursday, June 26, 2008

ADD US ON TEH SPACE.

we wore masks myspace page is officially up. add us and commentz our pixomgz. and tell your friends. especially the hot slutty ones. aaaaaaaah word.



- fat bears.

DOPE BRAG.

not that anyone cares, but i had to brag. i'm sure you ye heads will dig.

i just ordered the tom ford aviator eyeglasses that ye's been rockin lately. shine = on.



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

the faint - the geeks were right (2008)



HOT FIRE. put down your hipster flavor of the week and listen to one of the bands that propelled this shit into those deep-v wearing hands in the first place. fascinatiion will be in the top 10 of the year, easy.

download:

the faint - the geeks were right

-grizzly

muxtape (2008)



so we're gonna run this new feature from here on out. it's called muxtape. every sunday (or monday, cause we'll probably forget) we will provide a new 10-song mixtape to share with our readers. these are not necessarily recommendations or what we're listening to, just something we want to share with you lovely people. if you are really awesome, you'll make one for us and post your links in the comments. make it happen. if you don't, that's ok. we hate you anyway.

from here on out, click the small tape on the right side bar to listen to it.

click to listen to our muxtape!
click to listen to our muxtape!
click to listen to our muxtape!

-weworemasks

p.s. kendall, i give you permission to steal and implement this idea immediately.

recover - rodeo and picasso (2001)



here's another one from a texas gold star, recover. we've posted about em before here and here, so be sure and grab those while you're at it and enjoy their debut lp, rodeo and picasso.

download:



-rodeo and grizzly

Monday, June 23, 2008

pretty girls make graves - good health (2002)



easily one of my favorite bands of all time, i'm kind of upset with myself for not posting about these guys (and girl) earlier. i mean, i'm sure there are plenty of you out there that're down with this band.. but perhaps there are some that aren't.. or perhaps it's been a minute since you've put this album on.

i remember hearing a couple of songs from them in either senior year of high school or freshman year of college. it took me a long time to find a physical copy of this album before finally coming across it at waterloo records in austin. the musical interplay between the members of this band is something that is totally missing in music today. intricate, noodling guitar lines weave their way through one of the dopest rhythm sections i've ever heard. all tied together with andrea zollo's sharp vocals and sharper lyrics. this was all made that much better by their live show. i saw them open for alkaline trio about five years ago, and i didn't even care (as much) about seeing alk3 live after pretty girls make graves were done.

it was definitely a shame to hear about the members going their separate ways last year, but they all have new projects going on. i'm way too lazy to post myspace links to their various bands, but i know if you go to pgmg's myspace page, all their new bands are in their top people. i do know that guitarist jay clark is in jaguar love with cody votolato (of waxwing/blood brothers fame) and johnny whitney (also of blood brothers fame). man.. the seattle indie music scene is so fucking incredible.

pretty girls make graves on myspace.

download good health:


- panda

the cambiata - "to heal" (2008)



describing this band is going to be difficult. i can't think of a single band they sound like, and their ep is too diverse to put into any one genre. there's strings, horns, keys.. there's crooning vocals (think somewhere between daniel johns and a young daryl palumbo), intense melodies, interesting lyrics.. it's all here. with influences like the beatles, radiohead, silverchair, and jeff buckley, it's no wonder this twenty-seven minute ep is such an epic listen.

since it's a new release, i'm not posting their ep. i bought it off their myspace page last night, and it's worth every penny of the five bucks i spent. so i'm highly suggesting you do the same. check out the tracks on their myspace, and i promise.. you'll definitely be picking up what these guys are putting down.

believe the hype.

listen to the cambiata on myspace.

- panda

ps i've never heard these guys mentioned anywhere, so i'm curious as to what people think. hook it up with some feedback.

pss i'm going to do a post about their lead singer's old band later. more on the post hardcore tip, but also a worthwhile listen.

we wore masks. - excuses, excuses (2008).



dear artists/readers that have been emailing us/myspace messaging us/instant messaging us,

we are sorry for the following things:

1. not responding promptly.
2. getting drunk, checking our email/myspaces/IMs, passing out before responding, and forgetting we read the emails the next day (this is the case more times than not).
3. being brown.

if you're an artist, don't be afraid to follow up (p.s. we encourage artists of ALL mediums to get at us, not just musicians). if you're a reader, don't be afraid to keep dropping knowledge on us. and if you're either of those and have never gotten in contact with us.. please feel free to befriend us (we'll be creating a wwm myspace page in the not too distant future), email, IM, etc.

thanks for the support.. because we're brown, we couldn't survive without it.

- jerome/roshan/panda/grizzly

Sunday, June 22, 2008

cee-lo green - ... is the soul machine. (2004)



obviously, we all know cee-lo from gnarls barkley and goodie mob. but dude released to really fucking good solo albums that went largely overlooked.

featuring production and guest spots from artists like timbaland, the neptunes, pharrell, and ludacris.. cee-lo manages to touch on a wide variety styles both vocally and musically. touching on everything from southern rap to r&b to soul and funk.. cee-lo's got the game on lock.

cee-lo green on myspace.

download cee-lo green... is the soul machine:


- panda

Thursday, June 19, 2008

girl talk - feed the animals (2008)



shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit.

every party in 2008 now has a soundtrack.
gregg gillis' beast machine girl talk has put up their new album a la radiohead in the revolutionary "pay-what-you-want" format.

download "feed the animals" HERE and begin taking your pants off:

girl talk on myspace.

illegal art on the web.

-wwm

cody chesnuTT - the headphone masterpiece (2002)



the best thing you can possibly do for yourself is get this album for the cred. i mean, come on, how dope and in the know will you be next time you're on your favorite message board and you drop this name. mother fuckers will be like "yoooooooo, this cat is down."

what you will discover, once (if) you give the album a chance, is exactly what you read in the album's title. a lo-fi masterpiece made in a bathroom, by a man who's as strange as he is soulful. this album would be the end result of jimi hendrix, sly stone, and d'angelo sitting around painting their ideal portrait of a musician.

it's confusing, it's raw, it's soulful, it's sexual.. it's what you should be listening to right now.

cody chesnuTT on myspace.

download the headphone masterpiece:


(p.s. obligatory mention about chesnuTT being featured on the roots classic single "the seed 2.0" (a remake of chesnuTT's "the seed").

- the panda masterpiece

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

dvd recap: jay-z - fade to black (2004)



this isn't an official review, rather just something that i decided to blog about. as a huge HOVA fan, i can't believe i hadn't purchased or watched this before yesterday. this entire DVD is the only proof you need to backup claim's of hov's greatness and his contribution to hip-hop. it's filled with cameos of some of hip-hop's finest who worship his work, both on and off stage.

throughout the documentary of his "final show," you get these snippets of him working in the studio, intertwined with his live set at MSG and the energy he has is unparalleled by most. being able to watch 100% of madison square garden lose their shit over one guy has to be one of the dopest things a fan of hip-hop could want to be a part of. it's no wonder the man's american gangster tour sold out in minutes.

if hov actually retired, this would've been the best way to go out.

i recommend buying a used copy off of amazon or something, which is what i did. best 6 bucks i've spent in a while.

-grizzly

bloc party - flux (japan edition) (2008)



oh my dear lord. these remixes are honestly some of the best bloc party shit i've ever heard, even though they're all remixes. my speakers caught fire the first time i played it.

bloc party on myspace

download:


(not official artwork)

-grizzly party

elliott smith - from a basement on a hill (2004)



elliott's smith's posthumous compilation of sorts. it get's a lot of shit, and yes, figure 8 is a much better album, but i was listening to this album earlier, not figure 8. i shouldn't have to warn you, but just in case: this is a very sad bastard-friendly album.

download:



-grizzly

a-trak - sunglasses is a must (2006)



completely raw ass DJ set. a-trak is a world-renowned dj and simply put, has all of the proof to back it up. this is the DVD-audio of the set from his dvd, sunglasses is a must. which reminds me, i need to pick that up.

a-trak on myspace

download:



-g-trak

album review: coldplay - viva la vida (2008)



check out my review for the new coldplay album:

here.
here.
here.

great album, i really suggest picking it up. makes me forget about the abomination that was x&y.

also, i got "hired" to write for allhiphop.com, and i will probably be sticking to alternative reviews. this review will be my first, so whenever it gets posted, i'll send all you assholes there to give my review some hits and i'll love you all forever.

-grizzly

Friday, June 13, 2008

n.e.r.d. - lazergun carrying/my drive thru (2008)



seeing sounds hit stores this past tuesday, and obviously was overshadowed with the release of tha carter III. anyway, here are two b-sides from the album, both are just as solid as any song on the album.

first one has julian c. from the strokes and santogold, who has been getting bigger as of late.

n.e.r.d. on myspace

download:

n.e.r.d. - my drive thru f. santogold and julian casablancas
n.e.r.d. - lazergun carrying

-g.e.r.d.

lupe fiasco - i keep it gutter like/gangsta's groove (200?)



i love this man. two unreleased tracks have surfaced in the past few, and all of you need to get them immediately.

lupe fiasco on myspace.

download:

lupe fiasco - i keep it gutter like f/stack bundles (r.i.p.)
lupe fiasco - gangsta's groove f/ gemini (now known as gemstones)

-grizzly

the mars volta - de-loused in the comatorium (2003)



despite loving the shit out of tremulant, frances the mute, and the bedlam in goliath, i highly see them (or pretty much any other band) releasing an album of this caliber. an absolute masterpiece.

the mars volta on myspace.

download:



-the grizzly volta

men women and children - men women and children (2006)



i randomly decided to listen to this album at work today, and i had to refrain from all the toe-tappin, footworkin, and head-bobbin that is involved with listening to this album. it's summertime, so let's roll the windows down and embarrass ourselves and blast this album as loud as possible.


men women and children on myspace

download:



-men women and grizzlies

mickey factz - the leak vol I (2008)



i'm a bit late on this tape, but i honestly believed that i had already posted about it. turns out i just posted one damn song and it's a remix at that. anyway, get on this little ditty. it's good and i'm sure he'll be igniting the blogroll in no time.

mickey factz on myspace

download (link is courtesy of gfcny):

mickey factz - the leak vol. I

-grizzly factz

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

album review: lil' wayne - tha carter III (2008)



Artist: Lil' Wayne
Album: Tha Carter III
Record Label: Cash Money Records/Young Money Entertainment
Release Date: June 10, 2008



Lil' Wayne is one of the busiest, most hard-working and sought out emcees in hip-hop. For the last three years, the 25-year-old phenomenon has hopped onto any and everybody's songs, from Destiny's Child to The Cool Kids to Fat Joe. He has also managed to become the cash cow for Cash Money Records and is the CEO of his own label, Young Money Entertainment.

Business endeavors aside, Tha Carter III has been highly anticipated in the hip-hop community, topping several "most-anticipated of 2008" lists and being on the receiving end of endless hype. With the bandwagon growing and the hype on a steady increase since the release of Tha Carter II, one can imagine the pressures of being able to put out an album that will live up to and possibly surpass expectations.

Tha Carter III opens up with "3 Peat" a track that glorifies Wayne's personal trifecta of his current and past albums, also the anchor on which most of the album relies on. "Mr. Carter" is among the most enjoyable songs, as Dwayne Carter and Shawn Carter follow-up 2007's "Hello Brooklyn" from Jay-Z's American Gangster and team up together once again for another classic hip-hop song.

Other standout tracks include "Tie My Hands," in which Weezy steps up as the frontrunner of New Orleans and takes on political challenges. Aside from clichéd shots at the president, the song is a must-listen. "Shoot Me Down" and "Dr. Carter" are also choice selections from the record.

One of Tha Carter III's strong suits is diversity. Although there are many songs on TC3 that tackle drug addiction, politics and the pressure's of the hip-hop community, Weezy manages to lighten the mood in several songs with an abundance of ad-libs, snarky comments and his trademark laughter, all of which he has patented in his own style.

The production team behind Tha Carter III is another beneficial asset to Lil' Wayne. The record is comprised of pristine work from some of hip-hop's finest, including Kanye West, who lent his talents on four songs, including "Shoot Me Down" and "Let That Beat Build." Other notables include Swizz Beatz and Just Blaze, among many others.

Another advantage to Tha Carter III are its guest artists, who deliver and in most cases, overshadow Weezy. Along with Jay-Z, Fabolous, Robin Thicke and Babyface all make cameos on the album. T-Pain, 2008's go-to guy for hooks, makes an appearance on "Got Money," which will surely be a huge summer hit.

For every impressive track on the album, there is an equally appalling track. Aside from the atrocious single "A Milli," songs like "Phone Home" and "La La" are filler and do nothing but stunt positive feedback about the overall product.

To sum up, Lil' Wayne will become a casualty of his own hype. Aside from singing his own praises, Weezy does very little to supplement his claims for being "the greatest rapper alive." Regardless, the album will sell like hotcakes due to his dedicated fanbase.

For an artist who spends countless hours in the studio hopping onto remixes and releasing mixtapes, you would hope that he would put as much effort into an official studio release to support his outlandish statements. Despite being one of the most charismatic rappers, Tha Carter III is a lackluster testament to the legacy of Lil' Wayne.


Grade: C+
(i've thought about it for a while, and my review didn't really justify a D. i think my bias against wayne was getting in the way of giving it a fair score, haha. sue me.)




-lil grizzly

Saturday, June 7, 2008

nas - hero (2008)



yep, here it is. the first single off of nas' upcoming untitled album. if the single is this good, i honestly can't tell you what i expect from the rest of the album. absolutely ridiculous.

link is courtesy of 2dopeboyz.

download:

nas - hero f. keri hilson

-grizzly

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

rufus wainwright - poses (2001)



i'm not gonna front like rufus wainwright doesn't have my heart, because then i'd be a liar. and my mom taught me that it's not nice to lie.

if you haven't ever given rufus wainwright a listen, you're doing yourself a grave injustice. you're missing out on a crooner in the truest sense of the word. the man is a musical genius, and he's got the bloodline to prove it. there isn't anything about this album that is short of amazing. from the lush instrumentation, to the lyrics, to wainwrights (both his, and his sister martha's, who does guest vocals on several tracks) captivating voice. discover.

rufus wainwright on myspace.

download poses:


- panda

lupe fiasco - cold world (unreleased)



this unreleased lupe track is out there floating around, but what kind of blog would we be if we didn't keep up with the blogses?

pure fire. get with it.

lupe fiasco - cold world

- panda fiasco

interview: justin beck/glassjaw (june 2008)



the fine folks at GJNET have posted a brand-new interview with justin beck of glassjaw fame. even if you hate the band and want them to die, you need to read this interview. one of the funniest interviews i've ever read.

if you're not convinced, check out this excerpt:


Why do you think it is that you have a bigger fan base/can play bigger shows after a 5-6 year hiatus than when you were a 'full time' band?

I just think the options are getting slim. What, are you going to go
to an Avenged Sevenfold concert?



read the rest of the interview here.

be sure to check out our other posts here and here.

GJ2008

-grizzly