Music - 2004

Trimmin' the Fat - 2004 Music I dig
I've cut a bunch of albums that weren't really doin' it for me and reorganized and added an album (Lil Flip) and ranked my singles of the year thus far.
Enjoy suckas.


Albums
1. Madvillain - Madvillainy
2. Kanye West - College Dropout
3. Arthur Russell - The World of Arthur Russell
4. Arthur Russell - Calling out of Context
5. David Banner - Baptized in Dirty Water
6. Wiley - Treadin' on Thin Ice
7. Lil Flip - U Gotta Feel Me
7. Junior Boys - Last Exit
8. Murs - 3:16
9. Superpitcher - Here Comes Love
10. Dangermouse - The Grey Album
11. Cee Lo - Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine
12. Three 6 Mafia - Da Unbreakables (Screwed and Chopped)
13. Mission of Burma - OnOFFOn
14. Young Gunz - Tough Love
15. N*E*R*D - Fly or Die
16. Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse


Singles
1. Usher feat. Ludacris and Lil Jon - Yeah
2. T.I.-Rubberband Man
3. Jay-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder
4. Ying Yang Twins - Salt Shaker
5. Ghostface Killah - Tush
6. David Banner ft. Static – Crank It Up
7. Basement Jaxx - Good Luck
8. Madvillain - All Caps
9. Kiley Dean - Keep it Movin'
10. Jay-Z – 99 Problems
11. Cee-Lo - I'll Be Around
12. Junior Boys - High Comes Down
13. Jacki-O - Slow Down
14. Sage Francis F/ Brother Ali & Slug-Doomage
15. Young Gunz - No Better Love
16. Basement Jaxx - Plug It In
17. Missy Elliott - I'm Really Hot
18. Lil Flip - Game Over
19. Twista feat. Kanye West and Jaime Foxx - Slow Jamz
20. Pitbull - Culo

The rest (in no order):

Erick Sermon-Relentless
Kanye West-All Falls Down
G-Unit – Wanna Get to Know You
Bubba Sparxxx – Back In the Mud
Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name
Juvenile ft. Mannie Fresh – In My Life
Britney Spears - Toxic
LCD Soundsystem - Yeah
Modest Mouse - Float On
Sleepy Brown F/ Outkast-I Can't Wait
Big Tymers-No Love (Beautiful Life)
N.E.R.D.-She Wants To Move
Maroon 5-This Love
Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Maps
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Rubicon
Obie Trice ft. Nate Dogg – The Set Up
Kylie Minogue – Red Blooded Woman
Richard X ft. Javine – You Used To
Tussle - Don't Stop
B&S - I'm a Cuckoo
Alicia Keys vs. Gregory Isaacs - You Don't Know My Name
R Kelly - Step in the name of Love remix
Royce da 5'9 - Hip-Hop
Dead Prez feat. Jay-Z - Hell Yeah
GM Grimm - Dancing
Wiley - Problems
Vast Aire - Look Ma No Hands
Memphis Bleek - Murda Murda
Ghostface Killah feat. Jadakiss - Run
Nas - Star Wars

So many singles...

These are in no order, but there've been tons of dope singles droppin' this year...here's an incomplete compilation. Again, in NO order!

Jacki-O - Slow Down
Usher feat. Ludacris and Lil Jon - Yeah
Britney Spears - Toxic
Twista feat. Kanye West and Jaime Foxx - Slow Jamz
Jay-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder
LCD Soundsystem - Yeah
Modest Mouse - Float On
Cee-Lo - I'll Be Around
Basement Jaxx - Plug It In
T.I.-Rubberband Man
Kanye West-All Falls Down
Sage Francis F/ Brother Ali & Slug-Doomage
Sleepy Brown F/ Outkast-I Can't Wait
Big Tymers-No Love (Beautiful Life)
N.E.R.D.-She Wants To Move
Maroon 5-This Love
Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Maps
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Rubicon
Obie Trice ft. Nate Dogg – The Set Up
Bubba Sparxxx – Back In the Mud
Juvenile ft. Mannie Fresh – In My Life
Jay-Z – 99 Problems
G-Unit – Wanna Get to Know You
David Banner ft. Static – Crank It Up
Kylie Minogue – Red Blooded Woman
Richard X ft. Javine – You Used To
Basement Jaxx - Good Luck
Junior Boys - High Comes Down
Tussle - Don't Stop
B&S - I'm a Cuckoo
Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name
Alicia Keys vs. Gregory Isaacs - You Don't Know My Name
Madvillain - All Caps
Young Gunz - No Better Love
R Kelly - Step in the name of Love remix
Royce da 5'9 - Hip-Hop
Ying Yang Twins - Salt Shaker
Ghostface Killah - Tush
Dead Prez feat. Jay-Z - Hell Yeah
GM Grimm - Dancing
Wiley - Problems
Vast Aire - Look Ma No Hands
Missy Elliott - I'm Really Hot
Memphis Bleek - Murda Murda
Ghostface Killah feat. Jadakiss - Run
Lil Flip - Game Over
Kiley Dean - Keep it Movin'
Erick Sermon-Relentless
Pitbull - Culo
Nas - Star Wars


If I've missed some great singles, let me know, people! Post below.

1. Madvillain - Madvillainy
2. Kanye West - College Dropout
3. Arthur Russell - The World of Arthur Russell
4. Arthur Russell - Calling out of Context
5. David Banner - Baptized in Dirty Water
6. Junior Boys - Last Exit
7. Wiley - Treadin' on Thin Ice
8. Murs - 3:16
9. Superpitcher - Here Comes Love
10. Young Gunz - Tough Love
11. Jay-Z - The Grey Album
12. Cee Lo - Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine
13. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
14. Three 6 Mafia - Da Unbreakables (Screwed and Chopped)
15. Mission of Burma - OnOFFOn
16. N*E*R*D - Fly or Die
17. Savath and Savalas - Apropt'a
18. Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse
19. Twista - Kamikaze
20. Probot - Probot
21. GM Grimm - Digital Tears
22. Air - Talkie Walkie
23. Girls Aloud - Sound of the Underground

1. Madvillain - Madvillainy
2. Kanye West - College Dropout
3. Arthur Russell - The World of Arthur Russell
4. Arthur Russell - Calling out of Context
5. David Banner - Baptized in Dirty Water
6. Murs - 3:16
7. Superpitcher - Here Comes Love
8. Young Gunz - Tough Love
9. Jay-Z - The Grey Album
10. Cee Lo - Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine
11. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
12. Three 6 Mafia - Da Unbreakables (Screwed and Chopped)
13. Mission of Burma - OnOFFOn
14. Savath and Savalas - Apropt'a
15. N*E*R*D - Fly or Die
16. Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse
17. Twista - Kamikaze
18. Probot - Probot
19. GM Grimm - Digital Tears
20. Air - Talkie Walkie
21. Girls Aloud - Sound of the Underground

Junior Boys - High Come Down

This is definitely the best non-hip-hop track I've heard this year thus far. Texturally, it's a glitchy electronic piece, a midtempo pop song with heart-on-its-sleeve vocals and keyboards dripping with vibrato. The obvious touchpoint is to 80s synth-pop songs, mixed with 20 years worth of dance and electronic music. What I found most interesting, however, is how almost R&B this track sounds - as if the vocal melodies and keyboards came straight from a long-lost Boys II Men or Mark Morrison joint that was thrust upon a glitchy super-modern electronic backing track. This song is mournful, wistful, and - dare I say it - SOULFUL. This is some soulful white boy shit. Give it a try.

N*E*R*D - She Wants to Move

Although I'm not nearly as annoyed by the lyrical conceits of "her ass is a spaceship..." as other people, this song is definitely the sound of a band going through the motions. Check out the far superior Native Tongues remix, or even the DFA remix, which is decent. The original is pretty uninspired. Better than most rock songs I've heard lately, but that doesn't mean much.

Dope Albums I've heard this year, updated (and in no order):

1. Kanye West - College Dropout
2. David Banner - Baptized in Dirty Water
3. Jay-Z - The Grey Album
4. Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse
5. GM Grimm - Digital Tears
6. Young Gunz - Tough Love
7. Savath and Savalas - Apropt'a
8. Twista - Kamikaze
9. Air - Talkie Walkie
10. Girls Aloud - Sound of the Underground
11. Superpitcher - Here Comes Love
12. Cee Lo - Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine
13. Arthur Russell - Calling out of Context
14. Arthur Russell - The World of Arthur Russell
15. Three 6 Mafia - Da Unbreakables (Screwed and Chopped)
16. Probot - Probot
17. N*E*R*D - Fly or Die
18. Murs - 3:16

And I have yet to hear, for some reason: Madvillain. I'll be buying it, assuming its being sold at Best Buy, on Tuesday.

Big fucking update
Since I'm going on spring break now and won't be posting for a while, I figured I'd make a huge-ass review of many of the songs I've heard thus far this year. So here we go.

Eamon - Fuck It
I'll admit it, I'm moderately entertained by this song. I wouldn't be against bumping it in the ride if it came up on the radio. Its fun to sing along with. But really, the novelty of its profanity-laden lyrics wears out its welcome fairly quickly. "Fuck you, you ho, I don't want you back." Yeah I'll be sick of this pretty soon.

Richard X - You Used To
This is some cool dance music from Richard X's 2003 album, a solid effort called Presents His X-Factor. The vocals remind me of some early 80s electro by Shannon or Siedah Garrett or something. I dig it.

Bubba Sparxxx - Back in the Mud
One of the strongest tracks on Bubba's extremely strong recent album, "Back in the Mud" is a thrilling slide through the mud that rides along atop bouncing Organized Noise production. The song's caffeinated and energetic production is matched by Bubba's inspired flow - a worthy followup to "Deliverance." The "Bombs over Baghdad" for 2004.

Alicia Keys - You Don't Know My Name (Reggae Remix)
Like the original, except you can dance to it. It complements the original quite well.

Ludacris - Splash Waterfalls
There are like a million love songs out there right now, and each one of them seems better than the last...This was probably my least favorite track on Chicken and Beer but it's actually better than I gave it credit for initially. Ludacris is as clever as always, and although the beat rides an uninteresting sample a little too long for my taste, this is a strong single, albeit Luda's weakest yet. Which isn't saying much, cuz like every single he releases is hot.

LCD Soundsystem - Yeah
I feel I should weigh in on this now cuz I know its going to top a lot of people's year-end lists come December. Essentially, this song fails for me because it seems so intentionally engineered to appeal to people who were too cool for dancing a few years ago. It has all the pieces in place, and I dig it a lot more than most of the Rapture tracks I've heard, but it still just seems so uncool to listen to - which is ironic because its supposed to be dance music for cool kids. I'm reticent to dismiss it totally because its not a disaster and the DFA seem to have good intentions - introduce "the kids" to music they would normally have ignored - but "the kids" show up bundled with racial and social baggage that I find obnoxious. How can a guy at one of my parties dance to the Rapture and tell me "disco sucks!" when I try to play Chic? I mean, say what you will about the Rapture, but they ain't got nothin on Chic. Nor do LCD Soundsystem. Chic didn't need no dance "freakout" at the end of their songs to get people's asses moving. The groove in "Everybody Dance" makes me want to dance. The groove on "Yeah" makes me want to buy a mocha and drive my Jetta to Schubas. Fuck that shit.
LCD's also hurt by the fact that this is only the second-best song entitled "Yeah" to come out this year, and its only March.

Usher feat. Ludacris and Lil Jon - Yeah
I know I already reviewed this, but I'd just like to say its fucking awesome. Aight on to the next one....

Sean Paul feat. Sasha - I'm Still in Love with You
This is a more traditional-sounding release from Paul, and while it's nowhere near as good as his amazing single "Like Glue," its another strong track. Try not to sing along, I dare you. Who thought we'd hear horns like this in a pop song these days?

The Walkmen - The Rat
This is the best song they've done, but it sounds like U2. This does not bode well for this band. Also, I saw them live this summer and they held my attention for a couple songs. A couple. Ah well. I hate guitars anyway.

R Kelly - Step in the Name of Love (Remix)
R Kelly's dropping hit after hit, and although none of them are as good as the "Ignition (Remix)," this is a terrific smooth dance track. Kelly really does have a great voice and he knows how to wrap it around the beat. "One thing's for sure...I'm gonna put on my dancing shoes." The song rides a clap drum and gentle guitar sample into the flute line that coincides with the chorus. "Smooth" is an understatement really - this song floats along effervescently into the night and my feet try in vain to echo its perfect shuffle as I keep my eyes locked on the girl across from me. Oh well. Its more about gently holding your girl's hips and singing along when Kelly harmonizes with himself. "...it's the looove slide..."

G-Unit - Wanna Get to Know You
God this sample is wonderful and this is by far the best G-Unit track yet - I really didn't care for the other ones I've heard. It's one of the holy trinity (Mel Gibson reprazent!) of incredible love songs getting constant rotation now, along with Young Gunz and Ludacris. Best line - "I can make a 40-year-old feel like a young lady." Good to know that the guys from G-Unit don't discriminate. But seriously, the sample is what drives this song and I could sing along with it all day. The first time I heard this song we were unloading the recycling truck with the doors opened and the radio on full blast and it made me want to dance with a leaking bag of beer cans. If that's not a ringing endorsement I don't know what is.

J-Kwon - Tipsy
Ehh this is pretty weak. The beat makes me think of high school basketball. This should be a good thing, but for some reason it's not.

Royce Da 5'9" - Hip Hop
This is DJ Premier on some "Above the Clouds"-style shit - strings both symphonic and plucked. At this point Premo's style is really starting to sound like a throwback - this could have come out in 1997 - but I can't say I'm gonna hate because of it. There's something so reassuring at this point about Premier's trademark drums and chopped samples. Premier production is HOME. Although do we really need another nostalgic track about "true" or "real" or "authentic" hip-hop? Fuck yeah we do if Premier's behind the 1's and 2's. Fuck you home boy with your progressive crunk shit.

Sage Francis feat. Brother Ali and Slug - Doomage
I like this song because MF DOOM's piano chords sound like the climactic moment of my favorite jazz tracks, when the soloist slips into a tension-building vamp that dissonantly contrasts with the music around it. But Doom has looped this shit up for the verses, where Ali, Slug, and finally Sage Francis ("and I'm SO SINCERR!!!") drop some ridiculously clever verses. Confrontational like WHUT! DOOM droppin' heat on the production tip and perfect verses from the MCs...neo-classic track.

Ghostface Killah feat. Missy Elliott - Tush
If this isn't a hit I'll eat my headphones. "THIS THAT FIRE!" shouts Missy at the beginning - dead on. The beat is on some soul-shuffle horn-blasting vocal-sampling handclapping fingersnapping bounce-shit that makes me want to dance like no other track this year. Missy and Ghostface are the perfect complements for each other - Ghost's amped up style flexes on some "somebody say ahhhhhhh GHOST IS BACK!" and Missy flows right over the beat as if she was dropping it on a Timbaland track - only she's not. This song is for dancin' no doubt with a 40 in one hand and girls all around and wow I love this song.

David Banner - Crank It Up
This is some serious aggro-crunk for your trunk. "YOU PUNK, ASS, BITCH!" The song is all glowering "if looks could kill" hatred and braggadocious over buzzing synths and plodding drums and I can't believe I just sang about how proud I was of my SUV! Crank that shit up though forreal. This beat is hype.

Dope albums I've heard in 2004....
(in no order)


1. Kanye West - College Dropout
2. David Banner - Baptized in Dirty Water
3. Jay-Z - The Grey Album
4. Stereolab - Margerine Eclipse
5. GM Grimm - Digital Tears
6. Young Gunz - Tough Love
7. Savath and Savalas - Apropt'a
8. Twista - Kamikaze
9. Air - Talkie Walkie
10. Girls Aloud - Sound of the Underground
11. Superpitcher - Here Comes Love
12. Cee Lo - Cee Lo Green is the Soul Machine
13. Arthur Russell - Calling out of Context
14. Arthur Russell - The World of Arthur Russell
15. Three 6 Mafia - Da Unbreakables (Screwed and Chopped)
16. Probot - Probot

More on the way...