Kanye West – Graduation
released September 11, 2007

I have listened to very little of Kanye West before this album. I had heard his stuff… I even think I’ve had one of his albums but never gave him a listen. Why? Well, I didn’t think it was all that good and I kept seeing him all over the press. He shot to stardom in like 2005 to know range and has taken advantage of the press the whole time. He’s done and said some stupid things but doesn’t everybody? So once I heard a little bit of his new album Graduation in my friends car I knew I had to get it. First and foremost, “Stronger” is a rad song. Once I heard Daft Punks sampling of Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger I knew I had to hear more. Most people don’t even know he sampled Daft Punks track which kind of sucks but that’s why I’m here to update you a little bit. After I listened to that like way too many times I decided to listen to the rest of the album. I came to the conclusion, “Wow, the whole album is really really good.”

From the other single “Good Life (featuring T-Pain)” to “Everything I Am,” “Homecoming (featuring Chris Martin),” “Big Brother,” “I Wonder.”… they are all good. I will say that in my opinion Kanye isn’t much of a raper per se. He and his dj lay down sick tracks but his rapping kind of lacks. I think this album is a huge success for his career and an overall really good album but if he can smooth out his rapping skills I think the next one will be even bigger.

Well, the title says it all. I really have to go see this…
Here’s a track listing, it’s well worth knowing.

1. Chaje Shukarije – Esma Redzepova
2. Born To Be Wild – Fanfare Ciocarlia
3. Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm 1
4. Siki, Siki Baba – Kocani Orkestar
5. Gypsy’s Kolo – Jony Iliev & Band
6. Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm 2
7. Eu Vin Acasa Cu Drag – Stefan de la Barbulesti
8. In my country there is problem (Throw the Jew Down the Well)
- Borat & Anthony Hines
9. Grooming Pubis – Erran Baron Cohen
10. Magic Mamaliga – O.M.F.O.
11. Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm 3
12. Money Boney – O.M.F.O.
13. You Be My Wife (featurings Belinda Bedekovi?) – Borat
14. Ederlezi – Goran Bregovic
15. Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm 4
16. Mahalageasca (Bucovina Dub) – Mahala Rai Banda vs. Shantel
17. Dialoguing excerpt from moviefilm 5
18. O Kazakhstan – Erran Baron Cohen

Enhanced CD Content:
1. Cheese – (Deleted Scene)
2. Humor Coach – (Entire Scene From Film)
3. O Kazakhstan (sing-a-long clip with lyrics) – (Entire Clip From Film)

Borat: Myspace | Official Website

My favorite tracks on the album are “Back To Life,” “Don’t Want To Stay,” “Hope Song,” and the singles that I mentioned before. Their sound isn’t just Alternative or Rock, but they throw in a bit of Electronica to get you dancing. Honestly, I think Rock Kills Kid has the potential to be big, like The Killers big. That may be a crazy thing to say to some of you, but I think it could happen. I highly recommend this album if you like Phoenix, The Killers, Maximo Park, The Rakes, well, I really just say you should buy this album.

Rock Kills Kid: Myspace | Official Website

MP3′s : go to this post.

OK Computer is arguably one of the best albums that Radiohead has put out. Among Radiohead fans this is quite a debate. Some think Hail To The Thief is the best album they have put out. Either way Radiohead is amazing in many ways. First, the mixture of art and music has always intrigued me. When I purchased the special edition book + cd for Amnesiac I was, well inspired to say the least. One other thing I love about OK Computer and generally all Radiohead is the fact that it is hard to understand what lead singer Thom Yorke is singing most of the time. You can listen to a song and think he is singing something, yet look up the lyrics and it’s something completely different.

As for OK Computer, I absolutely love this album. Brings back memories of driving around and skating with buddies in summer and listening to this album over and over again. It has soft tracks, like “Exit Music (For A Film)” and then the rock like “Airbag” and “Paranoid Android.” Every so often Ok Computer is the fall back listen to album at any given time. Anybody who loves music must listen to this album, and pretty much all Radiohead. For a grip of information on Radiohead, check out the Wikipedia entry.

Radiohead: Official Website

Some select tracks from the album…
MP3 (right click save as)
Radiohead – Airbag
Radiohead – Karma Police
Radiohead – Paranoid Android
Radiohead – Exit Music (For A Film)

I havn’t really written about Morningwood as much as some people but I like them nontheless. There is a battle between Morningwood and We Are Scientists on who will get big and whatnot. As for me, I’ll about We Are Scientists, but also like Morningwood.

Enough about the battle, more about the music… Here’s a couple tracks to chew on.

We Are Scientists: Myspace | Official Website
Morningwood: Myspace | Official Website

MP3 (right click save as)
We Are Scientists – Mucho Mas (non album track)
Morningwood – Jetsetter

Ok Go Oh No
I first heard about these guys a little bit before their “A Million Ways” dance video spread all over the internet. I thought it was one of the raddest things I had ever seen. Then, I totally forgot about them until I just picked up Oh No, after hearing “A Million Ways,” on satellite radio. I really like this rock album, for many reasons. First off because it’s rock, and the some of the songs are catchy and just fun to listen to. This isn’t really a review or anything, I’m just saying Oh No is a good listen, so do it!

Besides it being a good album, and they also have a some good video’s to watch. Check them out

Ok Go: Myspace | Official Website

On Tuesday The Light Footwork released their debut album, “One State Two State.” I enjoy this soft indie rock album, especially the little keyboard mix-ins. At times alot of the tracks sound the same to me. I like songs that grab my attention, and don’t get me wrong there are a few on this album. One of those being the “single” sorta is “Coastlines Are Landmines,” and also the other two free songs “The Art of Everyday Communication Part 1,” and “Rapture Good, Rupture Bad.” The vocals in “The Art of Everyday Communication Pt. 1″ are wonderfully mixed with a catchy tune.

Overall a good debut album. I don’t really like writing long reviews, so I’ll like you to You Ain’t No Picasso if you wish to read further.

The Light Footwork: Myspace | Official Website

MP3′s (right click save as) If you like these, then buy the album from their wesbite!
The Light Footwork – The Coastlines Are Landmines
The Light Footwork – Rapture Good, Rupture Bad
The Light Footwork – The Art of Everyday Communication Part 1

I’ve liked Minus The Bear for awhile now, for a few reasons. 1)They play good music 2)That’s a cool band name 3)They have cool track names.

Their fifth and latest album Menos el Oso released in August 2005 is a keeper. “Menos el Oso,” is spanish for “Minus the Bear,” (if you use online translators they say “except the bear”) which further adds to their cool naming schemes. This album is a little slower than the last album, Highly Refined Pirates yet still rocks in the usual Minus The Bear style. “El Torrente” (english: The Torrent) is one of my favorite tracks on the album along with “Puchaca (Pachuca) Sunrise.” The guitar melodies rock, yet are peaceful throughout each track. For me it’s one of those band that I can always listen to and this album I can listen to straight through without skipping a song. [Same thing with Bloc Party's Silent Alarm album] The one negative thing I have to say, each track has too much of the same sound. Yes that is their style, but I want a little more diversity. Even though I can listen to the album all the way through, it gets old.

Pitchfork kinda likes it and gave it a 7.1 – Read the review.
Purchase Menos el Oso from Amazon.com