Sleigh Bells

Sleigh Bells – “A/B Machines”

Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to Brooklyn buzz band no. 45, 056, Sleigh Bells. Their recipe for success? Take one guy (Derek Miller, former guitarist in Florida hardcore outfit Poison The Well) and one girl (singer Alexis Krauss, who spent time in the teen-pop group RubyBlue). Next, record some demos and have a major coming out at the CMJ music festival in New York City, all without having a full-length album to your name. Add upcoming tour dates at pretty much every major American music festival (including SXSW, Coachella, and the Pitchfork Music Festival), stir in a healthy dose of blog love, and you’ve got yourself a winning formula. “A/B Machines” is a delicious slab of glitch-pop, complete with buzz-saw guitar licks, distorted drums, and Krauss’ giddy chanting. According to a recent post on their MySpace, we can expect the debut album from the duo sometime this year. Also, the word on the street is that these two are going to helping out with producing the upcoming M.I.A. album (that’s your cue to get excited). Sleigh Bells will be opening up for Yeasayer at Lee’s Palace on May 1st, so get your tickets while they last.

Woodhands – “P’iss”

If you haven’t heard it yet, Woodhands’ new album is good. Really, really, really fucking good. The dynamic duo of Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt have managed to outdo themselves with this album; Remorsecapade contains some of the most sexually-charged (“Sluts”), emotion-baring (“I Want To Be Together”), frenetic (“Coolchazine”) and anthemic (“CP24″) songs that the band have recorded to date. And while it’s far too early in the year to call, I’m pretty sure that come next December, we’ll be seeing this album on a lot of people’s “best-of” lists. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, we get this absolutely hilarious “Z-side”, a tongue-in-cheek stab at none other than the music website everyone loves to hate, Pitchfork. As far as diss tracks go, it’s certainly no “Ether”, but it does sample Kanye outbursts, lets Werb scream random obscenities and complain about the site’s poor HTML coding, and allows Banwatt to rap and give Eminem a run for his money. This might even better than the duo’s cover of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl”, and that’s saying something. Get it for free over at Paper Bag Records’ website, and check out Woodhands’ MySpace for upcoming tour dates near you.

Rihanna – “Rude Boy (Diplo Rudeboyz Remix)”
Major Lazer feat. Elephant Man – “Halo (Beyonce Cover)
Major Lazer feat. Busy Signal & M.I.A. – “Sound Of Siren”

Diplo is by far one of the funniest “celebrities” that I follow on Twitter. But when the globetrotting DJ isn’t Tweeting about wild partying in New Orleans (“Switched slipped pon some beeds and broke his coxix”), or starting faux beefs with everyone from Sean Kingston to Miley Cyrus, he’s sharing new tracks and remixes. And Diplo’s been busy lately. During the Grammy Awards, we got this tongue-in-cheek cover of “Halo” in response to Beyonce’s winning night, and shortly after, a mashup of Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” and M.I.A.’s “Boyz” and another new Major Lazer track. Can anybody stop this guy? Oh, and expect a new Major Lazer EP this spring, featuring a remix from none other than Radiohead’s Thom Yorke (!!!).

Jay-Z – “Lucifer (Mako Reactor)”
Clipse – “Virginia (Lost Woods)”

I don’t play video games. Maybe its because, unlike most children of the 90s, I grew up with two younger brothers in a household without a video gaming system. Occasionally I’ll pick up a plastic Rock Band axe or the microphone, but when my roommates start killing zombies on Left 4 Dead 2 or trash-talking 12-year-olds on Halo online (how do you like that not-so-subtle product placement?), it doesn’t really interest me. I’m not trying to be preachy, because I waste more than plenty of time on my MacBook, but video games have never been my proverbial cup of tea. However, there is something geeky cool about a mixtape that takes songs from some of the biggest names in rap today, and mashes them from instrumentals from classic video games. And as Massachusetts’ Team Teamwork know, you can’t get much more classic than Final Fantasy 7 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, pairing Hova’s Black Album gem with the former, and the drug-hustlin’ Clipse’s “Virgina” with the latter. Download them both for free via Team Teamwork’s website (via Matt Braga).

Erykah Badu feat. Lil Wayne & Bilal – “Jump in the Air and Stay There”

What is it about Erykah Badu that brings out the best in other musicians? As Chris Rock once joked to Rolling Stone, “Outkast did a great record [Aquemi] while Andre was with Erykah. Common made a great record [Electric Circus] when he was with Erykah. Before I write any more jokes, I think I’m gonna call Erykah Badu.” This time around, she’s getting Lil Wayne to bring his A game, on this track from Badu’s forthcoming album, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (which is easily an early contender for the worst album title of the year). And let’s face it – Wayne could probably benefit from a swift kick in the behind these days, and he rises to the challenge, to contribute some sharp verses that remind us why he might just deserve his self-appointed “Best Rapper Alive” title. “I go nuts like a Danish”? Great line. If Weezy teaming with the woman who has been called the “Queen of Neo-Soul” isn’t enough to get you excited, this song samples from Parliament Funkadelic and also features a crooning hook from soul singer Bilal. Yes, that Parliament Funkadelic. Hell of a music video too.

Japandroids – “Art Czars”

“Here’s your money back, here’s your punk rock back.” If you didn’t think that Japandroids could get any better, than this newest single from Brian King and David Prowse, proves that the Vancouver duo are more than a one album wonder after making the sublime Post-Nothing. Unfortunately these guys won’t be making an appearance at this year’s Canadian Music Week, but you can catch them in Toronto on April 3rd, when their upcoming North American tour brings them to the Horseshoe Tavern.

Harlem – “Psychedelic Tits”

If you ever wondered what would happen if King Khan and the Black Lips hooked up while on peyote, and had a illegitimate love child together, then wonder no longer. Not to be confused with Brooklyn’s Harlem Shakes, Harlem are three guys from Austin, Texas who enjoy a nice pair of cutoff denim shorts, Patrick Swayze’s performance in Dirty Dancing, and some band named Nirvana. They also enjoy making scuzzy garage-rock songs about drugs, Disneyland, and their dream girls, not necessarily in that exact order. From last year’s album, Free Drugs, which was made available as a free online download, “Psychedelic Tits” ain’t exactly Shakespeare when it comes to lyrics. But it is infectiously catchy, and it makes me want to drag out my BBQ in the middle of winter, invite a few friends over, crack open a tall boy, and have a party in my backyard. The band recently signed to Matador and their debut album, entitled Hippies, will be out April 6th. Harlem will also be touring around the States the next two months, but unfortunately, there are no Canadian dates as of right now. You can check out this song, and several more, by moseying on over to Harlem’s MySpace.

Oh No Forest Fires – “A Letter Of Apology To My Parents For Becoming An Alcoholic (Song For Claudia)”

R.I.P. Oh No Forest Fires, we hardly knew ‘ye.

Phoenix – “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Bob Dylan Cover)”

If anyone still had any doubts about Phoenix being the biggest band in the world right now, than the last two weeks should have silenced any doubters. First they won the ridiculously-named Grammy for “Best Alternative Music Album”, which resulted in some absolutely hilarious awkward interviews on the red carpet, including one with MTV Jersey Shore celubu-tard Snooki. If that wasn’t a big enough crossover, how about “1901″ in a fucking car commercial? Or “Liztomania” in the trailer for a godawful-looking Hollywood romantic comedy? Just when you thought these guys had completely sold-out though, they go ahead and put out this stripped-down, unpretentious cover of Bob Dylan’s “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, a song that appeared on Dylan’s 1966 classic Blonde On Blonde. Recorded as a live five minute acoustic cover for the German magazine Musikexpress, this song has no flashy synths or dance-pop drum beats, just strumming guitars and Thomas Mars’ earnest vocals. It looks good on them.

Mixtapes?

Whatever happened to the mixtape? It used to be the ultimate gesture of love; the hours spent choosing what songs would win over the object of your desire, the careful sequencing for maximum effect, and of course, the homemade artwork and handwritten track-listing – but the last few years have not been kind to the mixtape. If video killed the radio star and MTV killed the music video, than surely MP3s and file-sharing websites have a hand in the downfall of the mixtape.

That said, I am going to make an attempt to prove to you loyal Singing Lamb readers, that the mixtape isn’t dead, with the help of some artists that are putting mixes together these days to promote their own material and help introduce new artists to the world. Sure, the tape cassette may have all but dropped off the face of the earth, but there are still plenty of mixtape-styled CDs available in stores and often free online.

So I found myself a few weeks ago in Play De Record, on Yonge Street, on an assignment and got a chance to talk with an employee by the name of Ryan Stevens about the record store. If you find yourself in the downtown Toronto area, be sure to check it out – they specialize in all sorts of music from dance to local hip-hop to soca & reggae – not to mention a large selection of music production equipment and classic and current vinyl. To make a long story short I ended up walking out of the store with a copy of the stellar new Top Ranking Santogold – A Diplo Dub mixtape. Featuring a whopping 35 tracks, including songs from The Clash, Aretha Franklin and Three 6 Mafia – not to mention plenty of unreleased material and remixes from Brooklyn’s Ms. Santi White herself, it flows smoothly thanks to the master touch of the pride of Philadelphia, Diplo. You can get it here without paying a cent.

While we’re on the subject of Diplo, if you haven’t checked out his Mad Decent Radio podcasts on his websiteor available for free on iTunes, you should definitely do that. Look out for his Diplo In a Trainwreck remix of Radiohead ‘s “Reckoner” while you’re at.

The king of the mashup, Girl Talk aka Greg Gillis, was in Toronto last week and everywhere you went you could see his face staring back at you on the covers of Eye Weekly and NOW magazines. According to iheartcomix, France’s Leam is “kind of like the French version of Girl Talk, only not as over the top.” Listening to his Your Fucking Melting Pote Vol. 2, which includes French pop, club bangers and timeless classic hits, I’d be inclined to agree.

Alright, we’re getting there, I promise. Finally we have Washington, D.C. hip-hop artist Wale (which is pronounced wah-lay, as in not the large marine mammal) who in collaboration with DJ Nick Catchdubs, have released several well-received mixtapes. The first was 100 Miles and Running which has the best remix ever of “D.A.N.C.E.” with Wale rapping overtop, and now we have The Mixtape About Nothing. That’s right folks; it is indeed a Seinfield-themed mixtape. However for those of that typically wouldn’t have anything to do with hip-hop, Wale just might surprise you. “The Kramer” samples Michael Richards’ racist rant at a comedy club back in November 2006, and sees Wale weighing in intelligibly on the “n-word” and race relations in the United States.

More recently released mixtapes

The Hood Internet – The Mixtape Volume 3
The Kickdrums – Things Don’t Change
Weird Tapes – Blue Skies Captain
DJ K-Tel podcasts (especially the Bad Ass Blue Bees and Punk Ass Bitches mixes)

So hopefully this public service announcement didn’t fall on deaf ears, and I urge you all when you’re finished here to go and make your own mixtape for someone that you care about (or your sworn enemy, whatever floats your boat). As for myself, you’ll excuse me while I finish mine for my friend, which hopefully I can get finished before his birthday on the weekend.

Cheers,
Max