What have we been listening too? Well lets see...

ASAP Rocky's new mix-tape just broke the illustrious' Pitchfork's Album Reviews and it walked away with a simple score, 8.2. Pitchfork also labeled it "Best New Music". After listening to this mixtape, it is official. This mixtape is amazing! Clams Casino's beats are perfect and the timing and lyrics are phenomenal. That being said, this might just be the beginning of the end for this "new on the scene" lyricist. It just seems that rappers that have a strong showing with their mixtapes are usually prone to releasing a less than stellar official release. I say usually because that isn't always the case (i.e. Tyler the Creator's Goblin). If Rocky's mixtape gets a more official release (i.e. Mellowhype's Blackened White), then we might see something really take off. I would like to think that with the right label behind him ASAP Rocky could really show out, to the levels of Wiz Khalifa. I guess that isn't saying much. Swag. Anyway, take this link to DatPiff to download the mixtape.

ASAP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP

Atlas Sound is Bradford Cox's group. Cox is the lead singer of hipster-cherished group Deerhoof. We here at earbuds are pretty happy to have found an early track from Atlas Sound that we use in our intro and outro on the podcast. Anyway, Atlas Sound is really blowing up. With mentions all over the web, the new album is doing stellar. This write-up may be a little late, but I think it is worth it. You can find the new song Te Amo, by Atlas Sound on our playlist. You can listen to that playlist by clicking the play button at the bottom of the page. If you don't see the play button, then I guess you suck. Have fun leading a mediocre lifestyle. 

Atlas Sound

Also, Happy Veterans Day! Now, sit down and be annoyed by some horrible songs that commemorate our fighting forces. Love those guys, but these songs are so terrible. 

3 Doors Down - Citizen Soldier (If you are in America and you saw a movie in 2008 - 2009 then you are most likely annoyed by even hearing the opening guitar)

Kid Rock - Warrior (This too over-saturated movie going audiences)

Drowning Pool - Let The Bodies Hit The Floor (its national metal day ((11-11-11)) and this is like a commemorative song of the military now right?)

Godsmack - I Stand Alone (Another metal one, I guess this is metal. This is all just really annoying right?)

So veterans rock and this music is junk, we can do better America!

OK now! For the last bit here I would like to plug my top tracks of 2011 play list on spotify, here. So here is the link. 

Best tracks of 2011

Later 

S!D

rage against pop music (music occupying Occupy) a few tracks...

So everyone knows about the movement that is happening on the left side of politics lately, that is Occupy Wall Street or just OCCUPY. This group of citizens that is tired of corporations getting rich while the hard-working masses get poorer. They started out by organizing a sit-in of Wall Street and caught the eye of the world as a motivated protest. They also caught the eye of protest rawkers everywhere including Radiohead, Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), and rapper/poet Talib Kweli. The latter two of the three actually picking up the microphone and playing at the "event" protest. This is important for a number of reasons. It helps get the word out, of course. However, it also serves as a rare opportunity to see Jeff Mangum preform. No pop artist preformed.

Jeff Mangum preforming live @ Occupy Wall Street

Talib Kweli preforming live @ Occupy Wall Street

Radiohead was heavily rumored to make a surprise appearance at Occupy Wall Street. A rumor that they later debunked, however they lent their support to OCCUPY shortly after explaining their stance against corporations on the Colbert Report. This leads me to try to figure out just what Radiohead is doing recently and why they seem to be popping as of late. It has been a few months now since the release of King of Limbs and Radiohead is just now performing songs like Lotus Flower and Giving Up the Ghost on the late night TV show circuit. Well earlier this week Radiohead released a mixtape TKOL RMX 1234567 that features chill-waveish remixes of 19 songs. (I have included a link to listen to the mixtape). It seems to me that Radiohead isn't finished releasing The King of Limbs. I think that they have much more to do with it and they are planning some really big things. The release of the album was just the first. I am expecting really big things in the near future from Radiohead.

 

Radiohead - Lotus Flower (Jaques Greene Remix)

This week a former bassist for Weezer died. Mikey Welsh played with the group during their Green Album period, and toured with them during their re-claiming of success. I personally caught Weezer a number of times during this period and the band looked like they were so happy. I am happy to have seen Mikey Welsh in concert when he still appeared happy. It sucks when things just don't work out for people. Mikey Welsh will be missed.

Weezer (w/ Mikey Welsh) - Don't Let Go, Island in the Sun, American Gigolo, and Crab (Live 2001)

S!D

earbuds. Episode 1 - The guys ramble on... like Zeppelin

Hey everyone this just like our banner above says we have a blog and a podcast. Well this is it. This is the podcast. Below are a few songs that we talk about during the podcast. Listen up and let us know what you think. Oh... here are those album covers, you can see that LMFAO has no creativity in that department.

Florence & The Machine - Shake It Out (The Weeknd Remix)

The Weeknd - The Birds (Part 1)

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire - Huzzah

Ida Maria - Forgive Me

Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans

Childish Gambino - Bonfire

S!D & ASH

Track Review! -- Lana Del Rey "Kinda Outta Luck"

Lana Del Rey "Kinda Outta Luck"    This song serves as an adequate mission statement for the type of retro-pop diva aesthetic Lana Del Rey and her label are trying to cultivate. The intro begins with a lonely guitar plucking in dusty sepia tones that summon the same early 70's pulp feel of a Quentin Tarantino movie while Del Rey lazily laments along to before a rush of popcorn drums enthusiastically race to the sonic forefront and announce the song proper. Lana immediately switches gears and bounces along with the simple, but effective 1-2-3-4 step bassline singing "Femme Fatale/ Always on the run/ Diamonds on my wrist/ Whiskey on my tongue" with an air of knowing sweetness and don't-give-a-fuck confidence that you can almost smell a mixture of vanilla perfume and whiskey vapor coming out of the speakers.

     The chorus brings in a cadence of hand-claps as Ms. Rey begins an ocsillating sing-song voice that coolly rubber bands up and down as she playfully asks if it's, "wrong wrong THAT I think it's KINDA fun WHEN I hit you IN THE back OF THE head WITH A gun". She comes off like a female sociopath version of Ferris Bueller who always gets what she wants but you still can't help but think she totally deserves to get away with all of it.

     Lana Del Rey has been getting a lot of attention based on just a few songs which is a weird consequence of our modern "gimme gimme gimme" attitude towards music and right now she hasn't produced another track as unabashedly pop as "Kinda Outta Luck", and seems to be leaning towards a more moody fair based on the few other .mp3's I've heard. Hopefully I'm not getting excited over a fluke of a song and in-spite of her growing visibility, and the artistic pressure that brings, Lana Del Rey remembers to take a day off and just have some fun every once in a while.

Bueller?