Musical Boners

El-P - The Full Retard

El-P is one of the figureheads of the alt-hip-hop scene, having founded the massively influential Definitive Jux label. He’s stayed ahead of the curve since the early nineties, and is currently associated with many of the hottest names in alternative rap - Danny Brown and Despot amongst others appear on his new record Cancer 4 Cure, and he samples Das Racist’s Heems on True Story, which feels almost arrestingly ahead of the times. The record is incredibly solid and fresh, and while he chooses his guests well it’s this - and another solo track, Drones Over BKLYN - that stand out most of all. 

Against - Eastern Express

Cool as hell hip-hop. It sounds like a down tempo version of everything you’ve ever wanted from music. Enjoy!

Squarepusher - 4001

Squarepusher is as close to dubstep as I get before I throw up.

Battles - Ice Cream

I am definitely late to the Gloss Drop party, but now it’s all I want.

drinkdog:

World’s End Girlfriend - 風と共に目覚め

A simple piano track from a simple band. Very mystical, they sound like discovering new things and falling in love with them. You should definitely give them a try when you can.

(via hedonismdog)

Flashing Lights - Badbadnotgood

From my personal favourite release of 2012 so far (It’s free!) Badbadnotgood cover Kanye West’s ‘Flashing Lights’ to absolute jazz/avant-garde/fun perfection. Give it a listen.

Steve Earle - I Feel Alright

if you like everything except rap and country you may want to find a different music blog to follow. This shit is so good, forreal.

The Mountain Goats - Absolute Lithops Effect

Much like most of you, I imagine, for reasons of varying degrees of stupidity and seriousness, I have had times when I’ve felt utterly hopeless; times when you know you’re not going to be able to fix a situation by yourself but you can’t imagine going to anyone else for help. In those times, I’ve never found any piece of music that feels more like the one friend you can trust than this song. As awful as you may feel, a tiny fraction of you might remember how it feels to be ok on hearing it. 

Doomtree - Bolt Cutter

Doomtree’s music is like someone’s alt-hip-hop fanfiction: whatever it is that draws you to the genre, they’ve got it. Broad musical backgrounds? Sure. Smart, literate lyrics with machine-gun delivery? Yep. Commitment to a local scene? For sure - if you’re lucky enough to live in the Twin Cities area, apparently you can catch a member live pretty much once every few weeks. Healthy edge of darkness and menace? That too. More importantly, they do all of it well.