Sole Collector "The 100 Greatest Kicks"

1. Nike Air Jordan XI
2. Nike Air Force 1
3. Converse All Star
4. Nike Air Jordan III
5. Nike Dunk
6. Nike Air Foamposite One
7. Nike Air Max 95
8. Nike Air Jordan IV
9. Adidas Superstar
10. Puma Clyde

Other Notables:

13. Vans Slip-On
16. Nike Air Jordan V
18. Nike Air Max I
21. Vans Era
29. Reebok Omni Pump Lite
34. Nike Air Max 90
37. Nike Air Max 97
39. Vans Old School
68. Nike Air Force 180
72. Nike Air Huarache
78. Vans Sk8-HI
79. Vans Half Cab
80. Etnies Sal 23
83. ES Koston I

Rodriguez

There was a mini-genre of singer/songwriters in the late '60s and early '70s that has never gotten a name. They were folky but not exactly folk-rock and certainly not laid-back; sometimes pissed off but not full of rage; alienated but not incoherent; psychedelic-tinged but not that weird; not averse to using orchestration in some cases but not that elaborately produced. And they sold very few records, eluding to a large degree even rediscovery by collectors. Jeff Monn, Paul Martin, John Braheny, and Billy Joe Becoat were some of them, and Sixto Rodriguez was another on his 1970 LP, Cold Fact. Imagine an above-average Dylanesque street busker managing to record an album with fairly full and imaginative arrangements, and you're somewhat close to the atmosphere. Rodriguez projected the image of the aloof, alienated folk-rock songwriter, his songs jammed with gentle, stream-of-consciousness, indirect putdowns of straight society and its tensions. Likewise, he had his problems with romance, simultaneously putting down (again gently) women for their hang-ups and intimating that he could get along without them anyway ("I wonder how many times you had sex, and I wonder do you know who'll be next" he chides in the lilting "I Wonder"). At the same time, the songs were catchy and concise, with dabs of inventive backup: a dancing string section here, odd electronic yelps there, tinkling steel drums elsewhere. It's an album whose lyrics are evocative yet hard to get a handle on even after repeated listenings, with song titles like "Hate Street Dialogue," "Inner City Blues" (not the Marvin Gaye tune), and "Crucify Your Mind" representative of his eccentric, slightly troubled mindset. As it goes with folk-rock-psych singer/songwriters possessing captivating non sequitur turns of the phrase, he's just behind Arthur Lee and Skip Spence, but still worth your consideration.

Little Joy

Formed around the talents of Rodrigo Amarante (singer/guitarist from Brazilian indie rock outfit Los Hermanos), Fabrizio Moretti (drummer for the Strokes), and Binki Shapiro (a Los Angeles-based singer), Little Joy came to fruition after a chance encounter between Amarante and Moretti at a festival in Lisbon, Portugal. Moretti, Shapiro, and Amarante -- the latter had relocated to Los Angeles to appear on Devendra Banhart's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon album -- eventually moved into a house in L.A.'s historic Echo Park (Little Joy stole their moniker from a cocktail lounge within walking distance from their home) and began hashing out songs. The group's eponymous Rough Trade debut arrived in late 2008.(allmusic)

Baron Davis and Steve Nash - Step Brothers

Department of Eagles-In Ear Park

Department of Eagles' work from when they were still known as Whitey on the Moon UK was repackaged so much that when In Ear Park was released, it felt like the band had a much bigger discography than they actually did. The Whitey on the Moon UK LP (which became The Cold Nose after the band's name change) was based on the same core set of songs, give or take some bonus tracks, that Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus recorded in college with their friends as their only intended audience. In Ear Park is Department of Eagles' first full-fledged, self-contained album, and it shows just how far the pair has come since their early days. Their playful, detailed approach to crafting sounds remains, but Rossen's stint in Grizzly Bear helped hone his songwriting skills, and life experiences enriched them: In Ear Park was inspired by his childhood, dedicated to his late father, and named after what he called one of his favorite places to go as a boy. The band frames these very personal observations in experimental, symphonic/acoustic/electronic pop, using its grandiosity to convey the power of memories. "In Ear Park"'s rippling guitars conjure up a far-off, sun-dappled yesterday, and the way its backing vocals and waltz rhythms swell capture the way a memory can completely immerse someone. Van Dyke Parks' widescreen sound is a major influence, especially on the excellent "Teenagers," which, with its elegantly woozy guitars, pianos, woodwinds, and '20s style megaphone vocals, feels nostalgic for a time much longer ago than when either Rossen or his father would have been teenagers. Similarly, Rossen's dreamy warble of a voice sounds older than his years, particularly on "Herringbone," where he sings "when you are gone, you are gone." The oddness of his vocals is a perfect fit for the dazzling amount of stuff going on in these songs -- which, not surprisingly since Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor and Chris Bear play on it, recalls Rossen's work with his other band. "Phantom Other" builds from simple vocals and acoustic guitar to bubbling keyboards, massive guitars, and drums, while "Classical Records" incorporates footsteps, toy piano, and double bass into its darkly trippy swirl. In Ear Park's sonic flights of fancy are impressive in their own right, but even more so on the most tightly structured songs, such as the haunting standout "No One Does It Like You," a bouncy, wistful homage to '60s pop that's so yearning, it seems to be nostalgic for nostalgia. The album doesn't finish as strongly as it began -- "Waves of Rye" and "Therapy Car Noise" feel formless compared to In Ear Park's first half -- but this album is a big step forward for Department of Eagles, a playground of sound that celebrates the pull of memories and music.(AllMusic)

TV On The Radio

The new album is very inconsistent. There is a bunch of garbage with a few gems mixed in. My favorites are "Family Tree" which oddly sounds alot like Coldplay and "Love Dog".

Fleet Foxes

Borrowing from ageless folk and classic rock (and nicking some of the best bits from prog and soft rock along the way), on their self-titled debut album Fleet Foxes don't just master the art of taking familiar influences and making them sound fresh again, they give a striking sense of who they are and what their world is like. Their song titles reference the Blue Ridge Mountains — never mind that they're actually from Seattle — but it's the ease and skill with which they mix and match British and American folk and rock from the far and not too distant past that makes the band's music so refreshing. While this mix could be contrived or indulgent, Fleet Foxes use restraint, structuring their flourishes into three- and four-minute pop songs full of chiming melodies and harmonies that sound like they've been summoned from centuries of traditional songs and are full of vivid, universal imagery: mountains, birds, family, death. Despite drawing from so many sources, there's a striking purity to Fleet Foxes' sound. Robin Pecknold's voice is warm and sweet, with just enough grit to make phrases like "premonition of my death" sound genuine, and the band's harmonies sound natural, and stunning, whether they're on their own or supported by acoustic guitars or the full, plugged-in band. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and "Meadowlarks" show just how much the Foxes do with the simplest elements of their music, but Fleet Foxes' best songs marry that purity with twists that open their sound much wider. As good as the Sun Giant EP was, Fleet Foxes saved many of their best songs for this album. "White Winter Hymnal" is remarkably beautiful, building from a vocal round into glorious jangle pop with big, booming drums that lend a sense of adventure as the spine-tingling melody lightens some of the lyrics' darkness ("Michael you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in summertime"). The suite-like "Ragged Wood" moves from a galloping beat to sparkling acoustic picking, then takes a trippy detour before returning to a more thoughtful version of its main theme. "Quiet Houses" and "He Doesn't Know Why"'s driving pianos show off the band's flair for drama. Dazzling songs like these are surrounded by a few songs that find the band leaning a little more heavily on its influences. "Your Protector" nods to Zeppelin's misty, mournful side, and "Blue Ridge Mountains" is the kind of earthy yet sophisticated song CSNY would have been proud to call their own. But, even when the songs aren't as brilliant as Fleet Foxes' highlights, the band still sounds alluring, as on the lush interlude "Heard Them Stirring." Throughout the album, the band sounds wise beyond its years, so it's not really that surprising that Fleet Foxes is such a satisfying, self-assured debut. (AllMusic)

MGMT

This band is opening for Beck on his US Tour

Dr. Dog

"Let go of the old ones/We've got some new ones," sings Scott McMicken on "The Old Days," a woozy parlor-room piano-rock reverie. The Philadelphia band's albums have always sounded like they should be filed alongside "old ones" like the Band, the Beach Boys, the Beatles and the Bonzo Dog Band, but Fate feels less like a straight tribute to Dr. Dog's elders and more like a finely tuned collage.

"The Breeze" begins as a trembling folkie ballad for acoustic guitar, piano and harmonica, then trippy multitracked vocal harmonies ride in on a reggae-lite bass line. "Army of Ancients" is a gospel-flavored power ballad that nods to John Lennon and declares, "I'll skip the sermon and stick to the booze!" The pleasantly apocalyptic "100 Years" crossbreeds a weathered Workingman's Dead levity with a Sgt. Pepper circus vibe. It's all more evocative than memorable, with the exception of "From," a harmony-rich keeper about love and God and choo-choo trains with singalong verses and a perfectly constructed guitar break. More like that one would be nice. But then again, some of life's greatest pleasures are the ones you don't quite remember in the morning.(Rolling Stone)

Albert Hammond Jr.

A big part of what made Albert Hammond, Jr.'s first solo album, Yours to Keep, such a pleasant surprise was that it sounded like a lively working holiday right after the Strokes' albums were beginning to sound like a job for the band. And because Yours to Keep was such a pleasant surprise, expectations were higher for its follow-up, ¿Como Te Llama? Maybe it's just coincidence — or the fact that a couple more years passed since First Impressions of Earth was released — but ¿Como Te Llama? sounds a lot more like a Strokes album than Yours to Keep did. A few songs, like "G Up" and "Miss Myrtle," have the happy-go-lucky, Beach Boys-meet-Guided by Voices pop whimsy of Hammond's debut, but he spends most of the album tracing the sound of his day job. That's not necessarily a bad thing: "In My Room" boasts the same contrast between aggressive playing and flowing, almost soft melodies that make the Strokes so great when they're at the top of their game. "The Boss Americana," which intersperses choppy verses with fluid choruses, would be a standout on an album released by Hammond or his main band. Hammond sounds like he's channeling Julian Casablancas' world-weary Noo Yawk rasp on "Borrowed Time"'s vocals, while its angular riffs and rhythms nod to Spoon and Elvis Costello. "Victory at Monterrey," which pairs a disco-tinged beat with spring-loaded riffs, serves as one of many reminders on ¿Como Te Llama? of what an entertaining and distinctive guitarist Hammond is (the searing solo on "GfC" is another one). Obviously, Hammond — along with the rest of the guys in his band — has more right than most of the acts who copy the Strokes to borrow that sound, as well as more finesse with it. Actually, it's when Hammond ventures further from this territory that ¿Como Te Llama? sags a little. The '50s-inspired melodies on "Rocket" and "You Won't Be Fooled by This" don't sound as fresh as they did on Yours to Keep, and some of the breakup ballads are a little too indulgent for their own good. However, "Feed Me Jack or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers" is one of the album's most charming and affecting songs despite its mouthful of a title. Some of ¿Como Te Llama?'s individual songs are stronger than the material on Hammond's debut, but as a whole, it's a shade less engaging than Yours to Keep — though it's still enjoyable enough to please most Strokes fans(AllMusic)

Zack Is Back

Anti- Records is pleased to announce the signing of One Day As A Lion. An on-going creative collaboration between two like-conscioused individuals, One Day As A Lion will release their eponymous debut EP worldwide on July 22nd.

The band writes:

“One Day As A Lion is both a warning delivered and a promise kept.”

“A defiant affirmation of the possibilities that exist in the space between kick and snare. It’s a sonic reflection of the visceral tension between a picturesque fabricated cultural landscape, and the brutal socioeconomic realities it attempts to mask. One Day As A Lion is a recorded interaction between Zack de la Rocha and Jon Theodore from Los Angeles, California.”

“The name taken from the infamous 1970 black and white, captured by legendary Chicano photographer George Rodriguez featuring a center framed tag on a white wall in an unspecified section of Boyle Heights. It reads: ‘It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb.’ This record is a stripped down attempt to realize this sentiment in sound.”

This one is for you, Joel.

Beck Modern Guilt Preview *NEW*

Coldplay - Violet Hill

What's the verdict on the new album?

Kobe and the Jackass Crew

Beck and Danger

“It was the most intensive work I’ve ever done on anything,” Beck says the day after finishing his new record, sounding slightly dazed. For his 10th studio disc, Beck worked with Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse — who’s overcommitted as both a producer and a member of Gnarls Barkley, which just released a record of their own. “It was like trying to fit two years of songwriting into two and a half months,” Beck says. “I know I did at least 10 weeks with no days off, until four or five in the morning every night.”

Burton remembers Beck’s stamina during their late-night sessions: “He’s like a machine. I always got tired before he did. I stayed pretty late, but I’d usually hear the next day how late it went.” The resulting album, tentatively titled Modern Guilt, is full of off-kilter rhythms and left-field breakdowns, with an overall 1960s British vibe. Beck’s vocals float over the music as if he’s singing along to some mystical radio station in the next room. The title track has the groove of a good Zombies single, while the twangy guitar and uptempo beat of “Beggars Shoes” make it sound like Beck’s cruising at maximum speed down Route 66. The lyrics include lines about the ice caps melting down (and “the transistor sound”), but there were many earlier versions. “I can’t tell you how many times I wrote and recorded a complete song,” Beck says, “and then just took everything away but the drumbeat and wrote a whole new song.”

Beck and Danger Mouse knew each other casually before making the record — some of Beck’s former musicians ended up playing with Gnarls Barkley — but they were both surprised at how naturally they worked together. “It felt like we could have been making our fourth record together,” Beck says. “It did help that we share a lot of musical references. We spent the first week just talking about different records. His knowledge is pretty deep, especially with some of the obscure late-Sixties, early-Seventies rock.”

The original vision for Modern Guilt was 10 short tracks. “I was hoping all the songs would be two minutes long,” Beck says, “but then I got rid of all the short songs.” Each song started with Beck playing acoustic guitar over a drumbeat: If it made the cut, they’d flesh out the music, usually with Burton playing keyboard bass and Beck playing most of the other instruments. There were just a few guests: Joey Waronker added drums to the epic “Chem Trails,” which would have fit in nicely on an early Pink Floyd record. And Cat Power’s Chan Marshall added backing vocals to a few tracks, including the melancholy “Walls,” which includes the lyric “Some days are worse than you can imagine.”

Modern Guilt doesn’t have an official release date yet, but sources close to Beck say that he’s likely to rush it out in June, much like the recent blitzkrieg of releases from Gnarls Barkley and the Raconteurs. For Beck, always eager to shake up music-industry practices, the disc marks the end of his major-label contract. “I’ve had this deal since my early 20s,” says Beck, 37. “I don’t have any plans at the moment. It’s anybody’s guess where things are going week to week with the music business.”

Dr.Dog "The Girl" Beck Remix

Summer Sounds

It's starting to heat up here in Arizona. So you know what that means:
Lots of Dub, Reggae and whatever sounds good in the warm sun.

Classic.


Dub.


New Gold.

St. James Infirmary

I was feelin' kinda down and out last nite after the Suns got crushed by the Spurs. So, I listened too this song about 20 times in a row and had a few Blue Moon's.
Thanks Louis, I feel much better.

Jim Noir

His debut album Tower of Love set the bar pretty high for the one-chap band that is Jim Noir. The tunes were all super memorable and the sound was a bliss inducing mixture of burbling electronic beats, layered vocals reminiscent of '60s sunshine pop, trippy arrangements that harken back to the heyday of British psychedelia, goofy lyrics that always bring a smile, and instantly familiar melodies. Apparently, Noir liked the sound, too, since his second album replicates it, refines it and, in the best possible way, retreads it. It's easy to cut him and the album some slack since it's only the second one he's released. If it were his third, or fifth, record to have the same sound and feel, then it'd be a problem. On Jim Noir, it's like a second helping of a particularly good meal. Or more specifically, a second giant cupcake with a big glop of frosting on top. The songs are just as bubbly, the lyrics reach acceptable levels of silly (CDs vs. vinyl, going on a holiday, and having songs stuck in your head are some of the topics covered) and Noir generally sounds like he's having the time of his life making this album. The only problem with the record is that there are no stand-out tracks like Tower of Love's "My Patch" or "Eenie Meenie" to be found. As the stereotypical A&R weasel might say; "I don't hear a single." That could be a fatal flaw except that the overall quality of the record is so high and the sound is so perfect, you don't feel like there is something so terribly important missing. Songs like the lovely ballad "On a Different Shelf," the tough as nails rocker "What U Gonna Do" (which is sure to get played like crazy on Little Steven's Underground Garage) or the impossibly chipper and bouncy "Happy Day Today" are more than enough to salve any wounds and make the album a satisfying listening experience. If the third album comes out sounding exactly like this, we may need to re-examine Mr. Noir and his bubble machine, but for now it's enough to frolic giddily in the froth. (AllMusic)

Psych/Pop in 08'

Jim Noir "Ships and Clouds"

There Can Only Be One: Nash/Kidd

Can't wait for the playoffs. Nice use of Radiohead song.

Akon calls T-Pain

Bon Iver

Bon Iver is the work of Justin Vernon. He isolated himself in a remote cabin in Wisconsin for almost four months, writing and recording the songs on For Emma, Forever Ago, his haunting debut album. A few parts (horns, drums, and backing vocals) were added in a North Carolina studio, but for the majority of the time it's just Vernon, his utterly disarming voice, and his enchanting songs. The voice is the first thing you notice. Vernon's falsetto soars like a hawk and when he adds harmonies and massed backing vocals, it can truly be breathtaking. "The Wolves (Acts I & II)" truly shows what Vernon can do as he croons, swoops, and cajoles his way through an erratic and enchanting melody like Marvin Gaye after a couple trips to the backyard still. "Skinny Love" shows his more of his range as he climbs down from the heights of falsetto and shouts out the angry and heartachey words quite convincingly. Framing his voice are suitably subdued arrangements built around acoustic guitars and filled out with subtle electric guitars, the occasional light drums, and slide guitar. Vernon has a steady grasp of dynamics too; the ebb and flow of "Creature Fear" is powerfully dramatic when the chorus hits it hard not to be swept away by the flood of tattered emotion. Almost every song has a moment where the emotion peaks and hearts begin to weaken and bend: the beauty of that voice is what pulls you through every time. For Emma captures the sound of broken and quiet isolation, wraps it in a beautiful package, and delivers it to your door with a beating, bruised heart. It's quite an achievement for a debut and the promise of greatness in the future is high. Oh, and because you have to mention it, Iron & Wine. Also, Little Wings. Most of all, though, Bon Iver. (from AllMusic)

Wisconson and North Carolina connection. I know a few cool peeps from those states...

Bon Iver "Flume"

Happy Birthday - The Beatles

Thanks to everybody who gave me a 30th B-day shout out through various ways: call, text, blog, note, letter...thx peace.

Figure 8

I was on vacation last week and took off to LA and Hollywood for a few days. One of the cool things I got to do was take a picture in Silverlake where Elliott Smith shot the cover for his Figure 8 album.

Elliott Smith "L.A." mp3 from Figure 8

http://www.divshare.com/download/4036130-ee7

Catchin' Up On Some Readin'

Shaq???

When I first heard about the trade I was pretty pissed. The Matrix for an old Shaq Diesel? I've never been a Shaq fan. How can you be a fan of a guy who can't even hit 50% from the free throw line? But the more I think of it a healthy Shaq could put the Suns over the top this year and let's face it the Suns are running out of time. The Nash master has maybe a 1 0r 2 of more MVP type years before Chris Paul becomes the best point guard in the league. The Suns need more rebounding especially offensive boards and now Amare can play his natural position of power forward. I can't wait for this years playoff season

Best Of 2007 Part Three

The next song is from a duo from Maryland. I recommend the whole album, I had a hard time picking one song from the debut. They also have a new album coming out in February 26th , 2008.

Beach House "Master of None" mp3

http://www.divshare.com/download/3544531-af9

Best Of 2007 Part Two

The next track of my best of 2007 is by a group called Taken By Trees. The vocalist in this group is, Victoria Bergsman. She was also the vocalist in a band called The Concretes. But, you probably will recognize her voice from Peter Bjorn & John's song "Young Folks" where she sang the female lead.

Taken By Trees "Taken Too Young" mp3

(great song wouldn't be surprised if you hear this in a upcoming Ipod commercial)

http://www.divshare.com/download/3370446-ca5

Happy New Year

So another year has come and gone...

To celebrate each past year I usually make a mix tape of the previous years best or favorite songs. Sometimes not all of the songs came out in the previous year but maybe they are classics that I can't stop listening too or songs I just discovered that year. This year I checked my Ipod and Itunes to see what were my most played songs for the past year. I will make several blog posts over the next several weeks with my favorites of 2007, so check back.

I'm going to start with a Clipse song that got remixed with a Lee Fields and the Expressions track, one of my favorite hip-hop tracks of the year.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Y3P34E7B