The Hood Internet

The Hood Internet – “The XX Gon’ Give It To Ya (DMX vs. The XX)”

The Hood Internet strikes again! This time around, the Chicago party-starters tackles an early-2000s “classic” from a gangster rapper with legitimate street credentials (that’d be DMX), and a song from a trio of moody London twenty-somethings (that’d be The xx). The result not only gives us this so-bad-its-good song title, but a really clever mashup that makes you think differently about both songs (or just makes you dance your ass off – you decide!). DJ ABX and STV SLV FTW.

Rich Aucoin – “Human After All (Daft Punk Cover)”

The music website Cokemachineglow is celebrating their eighth anniversary this year, and to mark this special occasion, the fine folks over there are putting up these nifty Fantasy Podcasts, featuring covers of their favourite songs over the past decade from their favourite artists/bands. The first edition is particularly heavy with Canadian acts, including Halifax’s Dog Day covering Panda Bear’s “Ponytail”, Montreal’s The Luyas’ version of Radiohead’s “Motion Picture Soundtrack”, and Toronto’s vitaminsforyou’s version of The xx’s “Shelter”, among others. The standout though? Without question, that honour goes to Mr. Aucoin’s take on a classic from everyone’s favourite French duo (sorry Justice!). Daft Punk’s “Human After All” is a favourite set staple of DJs everywhere, because no matter where or when you are playing, the crowd will go ape-shit for it every single time. Hardcore Daft Punk fans might be a little surprised by the Haligonian singer-songwriter’s take on the song though – it’s melancholic, full of emotion, and dare I say it? – almost human-sounding (cue the sound of booing for that lame pun).

Warrior One – “Bad Like Jimmy Cliff”

If you don’t knew who Jimmy Cliff is, then you need to immediately stop what you are doing, and go listen to “Many Rivers To Cross”. While you’re at it (hey, its not like you had anything else better to do), listen to the entire The Harder They Come soundtrack to the 1972 film of the same name, which Cliff also starred in. To make a long story short, Cliff is the greatest musical export to come out of Jamaica not named Bob Marley, and this year was one of the five inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So it was about time he got a song named after him, and stepping up to the plate is London duo Warrior One (producer Carl Faure and DJ Eoin Bradshaw), who deliver this dancefloor banger, that sounds like a bunch of old reggae records duking it out with a bass drum at a rave. Bonus: Warrior One is the name of a master yoga pose dedicated to Virabhadra, the name of a fierce warrior incarnation of Shiva, who had a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet, and wields a thousand clubs whilst wearing a tiger’s skin. How badass is that?

YelaWolf feat. Bun B – “Good To Go”

You thought I was going to throw that new Drake single on here, didn’t you? Psych! While I love “Over” as much as the next guy, those looking for Rap’s Next Great Hope, might be better off looking south of the border. Like way, way, way south. YelaWolf is a scrawny, heavily-tattooed Alabama skate rat (his real name is Michael Wayne Atha), who is poised to have a breakout year in 2010, thanks to his tongue-twisting raps and a blue-collar work ethic. So far, he’s have gotten love from everyone from Kanye West to SPIN, and Washington Post music blogger Chris Richards recently wrote that the rapper was “one of the most riveting performers at SXSW, thanks to a nasal, petulant sneer that reaffirmed rap music’s rebel spirit”. After I sent this track to one of more hip-hop-knowledgeable friends, he compared the rapper’s rapid flow to “Luda Vs. Cee-Lo” – a vocal comparison which isn’t too far off. Having some friends in high places of course certainly hasn’t hurt either – so far YelaWolf has guested on Juelz Santana’s excellent Bob Dylan lyric-cribbing “Mixin’ Up The Medicine”, recorded a song with Raekwon, and is currently touring with Philly’s Wiz “Mr. Say Yeah” Khalifa.

Shitty Carwash – “this is what celine dion would sound like if she had a dick”

Here’s the unfortunate, but true, reality about SXSW and every other major North American music festival: for every amazing new artist or band discovered and signed to a big fat record contract, there’s twenty other shitty, generic-sounding artists and bands playing a gig somewhere. So, needless to say, when I downloaded a 100% legal torrent with just over one thousand songs from acts that played SXSW last week, I expected sifting through a fair amount of crap to find the real gems. One way to make sure you stand out from the pack? Give your metal band a name that you should never, under any circumstances look up the meaning of on Urban Dictionary, and vulgarly reference a Canadian icon (?). Austin’s Shitty Carwash gets it. Not a bad song either.

Fucked Up & Duchess Says – “Year of the Ox”/”David’s Plan”

Two of Canada’s best bands, Toronto’s Fucked Up and Montreal’s Duchess Says recently got together to record a session for CBC Radio 3′s Bande à Part series. They recorded Fucked Up’s sprawling “Year of the Ox” and Duchess Says’ “David’s Plan”, with Damian Abraham and Duchess Says frontwoman Annie-Claude Deschêne sharing vocal duties, and the result is throat-shreddingly great. Besides, nothing says punk rock quite like a string section, a lot of coloured tape, and Damian’s awesome purple sweater with a wolf on it.

The Dead Weather – “Die By The Drop” and “Old Mary”

Jack White cannot be stopped. That is an undisputed fact. But when he keeps out putting music this good, then who are we to try and stop him? The man of many hats, who is pictured in this month’s Rolling Stone in his Third Man Records office, recently announced that we can expect The Dead Weather’s sophomore album in the not-so-distant future. If the first two tracks from Sea of Cowards (which is rumoured for a May release date) are any indication, than the band is picking up right where they left off with Horehound, while somehow managing to sound even heavier and darker than you thought possible. “Die By The Drop” is the obvious pick to be the first single; it’s a bluesy, garage-rock barnburner, with Alison Mosshart’s shrieking vocals leaving me asking why I thought Sleigh Bells’ Alexis Krauss could ever replace Mosshart as my indie rock frontwoman crush. “Old Mary” is the B-side, a slower, more dirge-like chant with Jack White reciting what sounds like a prayer and some interesting use of piano. I’d throw up a link to listen to both songs, but alas, the site that posted them this morning has since received a cease-and-desist notice. For now, head over to the band’s website and check out the eerie artwork, and keep your fingers crossed that these guys come back to Toronto soon.

Broken Social Scene – “World Sick”

Oh hey, new Broken Social Scene single. So nice of you to join us. Won’t you come in and stay awhile? Arts & Crafts have always boasted a pretty stellar lineup of acts, and every new release is carefully scrutinized, given the Canadian independent record label’s history for giving bands such as Stars and Metric their start, not to mention launching the solo careers of artists such as Feist, Amy Millan, Jason Collett, etc. However the label was started, and became a household name, because of the sprawling collective known as BSS, whose last album was five years ago. In case you’ve been living under a musical rock for awhile, it looks like the Broken Social Scene-sized hole in our hearts will be filled this year, starting with the release of the band’s fourth album (the curiously-titled Forgiveness Rock Record) this May. They also have a string of festival dates, culminating in their Toronto Island-curated show on June 19, with a reunited Pavement, Band of Horses, Beach House, Timber Timbre, and others. “World Sick” is the first single from the album; an almost seven-minute sprawling epic with soaring guitar hooks and a frustrated Kevin Drew singing the poignant line, “I get world sick every time I take a stand.” Did I mention we featured it first? Just checking.

The National – “Vanderlylle Crybaby Geeks”

It should be no secret by now that I love this band. It should also be no secret that the band’s upcoming fifth album, High Violet (currently scheduled for a May 11th), is one of my most anticipated albums of the year. They’ve been road- testing several of the new songs for awhile now, including this one, and finally they’ve confirmed the finalized song titles and track listings. I think my friend described the Brooklyn outfit best when she wrote on my Facebook wall, “Why does The National make my heart so happy?”. “Vanderlylle Crybaby” is just one of those songs that tugs at the heartstrings, something that we’ve come expect and love from The National, who will be playing not one, but two upcoming dates in Toronto at Massey Hall (June 8th and 9th, tickets are still available).

Metric – “Black Sheep”

Last year, Metric was asked by director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) if they’d like to work on some music with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich for Wright’s latest film, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The movie is based on the popular Scott Pilgrim comic book series, stars Michael Cera, and was shot mostly on-location in Toronto. “Black Sheep” is the result, a tightly-wound synth-rocker, that was left over from the Fantasies recording sessions. Fair warning: if you aren’t already a fan of the band, then this song probably isn’t going to change your mind. But if you’re like me, and prefer it when Emily Haines is singing like she’s still got something to prove to the world (and let’s face it, she doesn’t really at this point), then this song might be for you. You can listen to “Black Sheep”, as well as Fantasies B-side “The Gates”, for free by becoming a fan of Metric on Facebook.