The company you keep podcast vol.3

It took a lot longer than I had planned to get this up, hope you like it. Feel free to share the love with your friends.

Run down:
1. Jack Penate - Pull my heart away
2. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a dream
3. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero's - 40 Day dream
4. The Ghost is Dancing - The Darkest Spark
5. Kill it Kid - Send me an Angel Down
6. The XX - Stars
7. The XX - Islands
8. Kid CuDi - Up, Up and Away
9. Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
10. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Deathbridge in Lethbridge
11. Ghostland Observatory - Rich Man (Live from ACL '07)

Follow the white rabbit below:

http://www.box.net/shared/ismzi0ahi8

The XX - voyeurism for your ears

So, I've been sleeping on this one for a while. If you've been paying attention, there is a chance you've heard of The XX before. They have been getting more and more attention in the last couple months. It wasn't until I had a long drive, where I listened to the whole album, front to back that I fully appreciated it. The group is made up of a handful of 20 year olds, which blew me away. Mostly because of the level of insightfulness in the lyrics. The most notable thing about the band is the vocal delivery of co-vocalists Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Smith. The way they craft their songs is very unique, sometimes they sing in a call and response fashion, sometimes trading versus, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes even singing different lyrics over the top of each other. Sounds chaotic, but it works. As previously stated, it wasn't until I listened to the complete album that I realized every song is built around the type of lyrics that would make most people uncomfortable if you walked into a room with two people sharing them. It's almost as if they took their pillow talk and played music over the top of it. It's like voyeurism for your ears.

This is not to down play the musical aspect of the band. Although tough to pin down to any specific genre, it's not a departure from mellow electronica or what is known as "shoegazing". The other notable thing about the self-titled album is it's clear lack of a stand out single. Each time I listen, I distinguish a different song as "the one".
It delivers, give it more than a once over.

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon

It has been awhile since I've awaited a hip hop album release, so long I can't remember when. However, I've been listening to some tracks from Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon recently.......a lot. Kid Cudi, for those not familiar, is a musician from Cincinnati. More or less, he released a mixtape, it caught Kanye's attention, Kanye signed him and the two started working together. Cudi co-wrote some songs from Kanye's 808's and Heartbreak album. This leads us to Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon, which is slated to be released Sep. 15th. There have been a few singles released, nothing that really got me excited. But, as is now status quo, the album got leaked a few days ago. I got my ears on a few of the other songs from the album that are stinking up the spot, because they are the shit.

Cudi is a breath of fresh air in the world of hip hop. (a world I honestly don't frequent) His lyrics are not filled with bravado and machoism. Instead choosing to focus on his dreams, fears, issues and emotions. Simultaneously, making him seem vulnerable and easy to relate to; two things that are certainly not associated with MC's in general. His delivery, on some songs, is actually singing as apposed to the familiar cadence of hip hop. Add to that the fact that most of his songs could be played by musicians, not just some producer with a lap top and keyboard. True to form his album features a slough of guest spots, there's the not surprising (Kanye, Common) and the could be surprising (MGMT). Either way, count me as a fan.