iFFY The Bad Man

   So keeping with the 'new-artists-that-I-hope-blow-up' theme of the night, here's a song from a relatively new artist out of Miami named iFFY The Bad Man. I've heard this song a few times on Sirius radio in the past few weeks and absolutely love it. The sound is a bit of a more laid back Bruno Mars but somehow it comes out sounding edgier and more honest, I think. According to iFFY's website the song Do You "evokes the heartbreak of young love gone awry on the summer streets". I'd say that's accurate.

   The video for the song apparently just hit the internet today and is beginning to gain views. iFFY doesn't seem to have a ton of music on the net, but I'm telling you, if this guy doesn't blow up soon I'll eat a hat or a shoe. I think there's a couple different versions of this song floating around, the Sirius version sounds a bit different than the video version and the Spotify version is different from both, but there's literally nothing I don't like about this song. Sure, call me a pop-lover, whatever, it's a great end of summer song. Check it out below and follow iFFY on Twitter HERE

The Weeknd - Thursday

   So last post I waxed on a bit about Kanye and Jay Z. I do, legitimately think they deserve what they've gotten, and the titles of kings defending their thrones, but if what I keep hearing and reading it right, there may be a new prince in town; and he's Canadian. Abel Tesfay, better known as The Weeknd has just dropped a new, free, downloadable album entitled Thursday and it certainly sounds like it could give some of the best R&B and hip-hoppers a run for their money in the coming months.


   Thursday plays out airy and calm but at the same time quite dark and reminiscent of a circus at times with the different amount of feelings that these songs mix. The album sounds amazing. And the quality is terrific, right up there with the best. The stand out for me really is the single right now titled Birds Part 1, for which I've included the video below. You can download the album, which I recommend doing, HERE and check out the video below to get a taste of the sound. I think you'll like it.

Let's Talk Thrones

   I'll get right to it; It's easy to dislike Watch The Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West's new collab album. It's actually called Watch The Throne, as in, these two are protecting their 'kingdom', pretentious much? But rightfully so, I think. I'll admit it, I didn't pay attention to the build up of the album. I didn't follow anything, really, that had to do with this album. But when two artists like this make some moves, it helps to eventually pay attention.

   But then I started listening. Reading about how these two were fighting over the album, and then how they weren't fighting, and then I heard some of Otis which samples Otis Redding, and then I saw the video, which features the boys tearing apart, rat-rodding, and hooning a 2011 Maybach 62 (which costs oh just $423,500 - $463,000) full of models, and then how the duo opened a store in SoHo wrapped in gold with the Maybach on display to sell the album, and, what made me write this, I read this article on the lengths the artists and production team went to keep this album from leaking to the public - which is pretty much did not.
   There's a reason these two are watching the throne, and it's because of all of this. These two know how to be kings. Check out the video for Otis below. 

Converse Has Done It Again

   Well Converse's "three artists, one song" deal seems to have made another pretty awesome song. Here Matt and Kim, Soulja Boy, and the unlikely Andrew W.K. come together to create a really neat sounding, almost spooky-but-driving-Matt-And-Kim-influenced song. Give it a listen below, and check out Converse's other mash-up creations.

Matt & Kim, Soulja Boy and Andre W.K., "I'm A Goner" by The FADER

Best Coast - Surprisingly Creative

   I've written on here more than once that I'm a music video guy. I can't stand a video that has no plot, no thought, and no direction. That said, Best Coast just released a video for the song Our Deal and it has all of what I just mentioned. Also, it has an interesting celebrity cast, and was directed by Drew Barrymore, believe it or not. Want to try something neat? Next time you hear a cool song, close your eyes and imagine what you think the video for it would be. Then YouTube the song and see how correct you are. If you're more wrong than right, I'd say it's a good video. Here's the video for Our Deal:

Get More: MTV Supervideo, Music, Best Coast

Real Music

   It's pretty easy nowadays to get caught up in music that's easy to get to, easy to listen to, and doesn't require much thought. I'm all for radio music, don't get me wrong, I definitely can enjoy the four on the floor, over-produced, definitely-going-to-be-a-hit songs, but sometimes they just get...annoying. One can only hear about putting their hands in the air so many times before it just gets a bit stale. So the other day when I listened to a great NPR report titled How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song, it got me thinking. The report talks about the creation of Rihanna's Man Down and tallies up the cost of production to about a quarter of a million dollars for one song that didn't do very well this summer.
   Yesterday I sat around for a while looking for some interesting music. And I think I found a song that could break the funk of boring, million dollar flops lately. The song comes from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and contains a ton of noise, quirky music, and interesting video, and great lyrics. It's refreshing. The song is called The Death of You and Me and I'd recommend a listen and watch of the video below:

p.s. I know it's been a bit since my last update, but with job hunting, graduation, and moving around a blogger can only do so much! Expect frequent updates soon.

Kanye's Work of Art

   So if you haven't heard, Kanye dropped his new video for Monster (which has been close to finished for six months) with Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj and people are predictably in a tizzy because it shows what seems to be dead women. The video starts off with a disclaimer but, c'mon, it's not very bad. Check out Kanye's latest "epic" below and tell me what you think in the comments. Is this a "bad" video? I don't think so, but some people seem to:

   Also, it is very refreshing to hear this song uncensored. Not that I'm for crazy language all over, but I think this song is really hindered by radio censoring. Enjoy!