Video: Kanye West - Good Morning (official video)

Yep, it's the very impressive Good Morning that premiered at the Murakami Exhibit ages ago. Makes me want to pull out that vintage vinyl copy of Graduation and start throwing down some moves to Good Life. Maybe not.

Download: T.I. feat. Rihanna - Livin' your Life

The Former Felon and Fulltime Rapper T.I. has teamed with Maybelline's own Rihanna, for a synth and violin spiced trap attack in the form of Live your life. Doesn't quite match the heights of What you know or Rubberband Man, but still sounds like he's got some of his swagger back.

Download: T.I. feat. Rihanna - Livin' your Life (Zshare)

The Dog Ate My Book Review: The Long-Player Goodbye Travis Elborough & Old Rare New: the Independent Record Shop

These two new books try to alert us to the fact that Vinyl is dying. Well, duh. People have been saying that for years. Doesn't stop people collecting vinyl. Just makes it rarer. That said, the books offer an intimate look into the vinyl generation.
Via The New Statesman

Download: Keri Hilson - Slow Dance

Timbaland Protege Keri Hilson goes for dolo with her new single 'Slow Dance'.

Download: Keri Hilson - Slow Dance

Video - Common (feat. Pharrell) - Announcement

Heresy, I can hear the haters call. Common and Pharrell? Yeah, here's the video to Com's low-key summer single, which doesn't amount to much, but sounds great doin' it. And with this being summer, there's nothing wrong with that

Download: T.I. feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil Wayne - Swagger like Us

As Jeezy would say... Yeahhhhh! And Jeezy is about the only platinum playa not on this track. It's not the slam dunk I wished it was, but how often do you get all these guys on the same beat? Not often.

Download: T.I. feat. Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil Wayne - Swagger like Us

Download: 88 Keys (feat. Kanye West) - Stay up! Viagra

Rather nice track from an album that executive produced by 'Ye.

Myspace: 88 Keys
Download: 88 Keys (feat. Kanye West) - Stay up! Viagra

Product Placement: Beats by Dre

Yes, it's true, Dr Dre has his own signature line of headphones. Beats is a speaker wire company, and they tapped Dre to develop a product that could withstand the rigors of Hip Hop and Rock Music. And so, Beats by Dre was born. Although, with a price tag of $439, I imagine not a lot of us will check them out. They are ipod compatible too, in case you were wondering.

Video: Ne-Yo - Miss Independent

Ne-yo is back with another single off his latest album.

Interesting Ne-yo fact: He is currently developing an animated series for Cartoon Network, called "What The Bear". The series is centered around a rude bear that has been in jail in another dimension. Ne-Yo wrote the story and drew the characters for the series. The series will also feature original music produced by Ne-Yo (Wikipedia).

Stream: TV on the Radio - Golden Age

TV on the Radio would normally not feature on this site, given they are neither Hip-Hop nor Dance (Rules are rules), but seeing as this new track is, in their own words 'Funky', I'm willing to let it slide. Oh, damn, they were right. New album Dear Science drops 9/23.

Stream: TV on the Radio - Golden Age

Spotlight: Awesome Tapes from Africa

Awesome Tapes from Africa promotes African music from Gospel to Afrobeat. But what it also promotes, and is becoming known for, is African Hip-Hop. This offshoot of Western beats and rhymes is known as HipLife, and has been featured in magazines such as Fader.

Awesome tapes is another reason to remind ourselves of how lucky we are to be able to experience music our forefathers never had access to, and also just how much great music is out there. The listening experience of Hiplife is definitely enlightening and invigorating, a great addition to the ears of any Hip Hop purist.

Video: The Game feat. Lil Wayne - My Life

Download: Coldplay - Violet Hill (Justice Remix)

They don't let up on this one. Sounding more like Metallica than Coldplay, the Justice boys serve up an industrial banger.

Download: Coldplay - Violet Hill (Justice Remix)

Download: Lupe Fiasco - Birds & the Bees

An old, but unreleased, Lupe joint, produced by Kanye. You don't hear me complaining.

Download: Lupe Fiasco - Birds & the Bees

Video: Hollywood Holt - Hollywood

Hollywood
by videos22

Download: The Streets - Banquet Remix

Mike Skinner is back, and atop the Bloc Party's biggest hit. Yes, it's the Mike the we knew when he was last champion of the people, back in his Grand don't come for free days.

Download: The Streets - Banquets Remix
Via Dirty Sexy Music

The last Madonna album I thoroughly enjoyed was Music, and it pains me to say, but that album was released 8 years ago. Sheeek! I don't know if it was the Guy Ritchie influence, the calming loss of direction through Kabbalah or what, but Madonna had lost her golden touch. She couldn't stay ahead of the game and unleash the next big thing on us when she released her new album.

This track takes us back to a time when Mad's was breaking barriers (and ball's), and was effortlessly gliding along urban disco rhythms in her Like a Virgin days. The remix updates the sound, Sebastian Tellier style, with chops and cuts, whilst still retaining the beating heart at the centre of this discotheque classique.

Download: Madonna - Into the Groove (Sidechains Remix)
from Rewind available through Buffet Libre DJ's

Download: Re-up Gang feat. Joss Stone - Celebrate

The Re-up gang's latest album was a bit disappointing, but still welcome in that getting two Clipse releases in one year can't be a bad thing. What made it less than stellar, and stellar is what their previous work most definitely is, was the commercial beats and the coke-rap mantra atop them. In this track however, the Thornton's let down their weaves, bring out the bottles and models (and Joss Stone, and just celebrate. I guess they can afford to now.

Download: Re-up Gang feat. Joss Stone - Celebrate

Download: LadyHawke - From Dusk til Dawn (Canyons Garage Disco Mix)

I'm no massive LadyHawke fan by any stretch, and have to admit I came upon them through one of the remix of Paris is Burning, rather than through one of their originals. But never mind, because the focus here is on the stellar remix work of Canyon's. It's a dead-on party track, and the only thing that disappoints me is that their is no-one at my house right now to hear it crank.

Download: LadyHawke - From Dusk til Dawn (Canyons Garage Disco Mix)

Download: Jay-Z feat. Kanye West - Jockin' Jay-Z

Must be 'Ye Day! Here's Jay Hova and he's taking the knuckle duster to Noel Gallagher over a spare yet thumpin' Kanye beat that's reminiscent in tone to 99 Problems.

Download: Jay-Z feat. Kanye West - Jockin' Jay-Z via PingleWood.com

Video: Kanye West - Champion

Kanye is still basking in the considerable ambience left by his glow in the dark tour. The last track we saw get the video treatment was Homecoming, which featured a silhouetted Chris Martin and 'Ye on the back of a semi.

Champion features a puppet West who has been selected for the Olympic Games(seemingly as his own country, which is quite funny) and competes in the 100m sprint. Given that this race is possibly the biggest event on the game calendar, West shows once again that his cultural finger is firmly on the pulse. Not sure how many BPM's he's clockin though.

Kanye West "Champion Video" Official Directed by NEON from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Download: Kanye West - Flashing Lights (Diplo Remix)

I just heard this. Crazy! I been digging on the Diplo/Santogold Top Ranking mixtape for a couple weeks now, and then I hear this. Make's the day seem worth it, doesn't it?

Download: Kanye West - Flashing Lights (Diplo Remix)

Homer takes a photo of himself every day for 35 years

Hey, I have a sense of humour.

Video: Santogold - Lights Out

Santogold has been omnipresent lately. Whilst still basking in the glow of effervescent praise for her debut album, she also just released a new mixtape with Diplo called Top Ranking (which is also Stellar) and been doing the live thing with Coldplay (Oh, and there was that Drive Thru song with Pharrell and the dude from the Strokes).
So here's the video for new single Light's Out, a slow burner of an indie pop song with a gorgeously uplifting chorus. The video is chic and colourful, like a Max Headroom Redux, but it lets the music do the talking, and it talk well.

RIP: Issac Hayes - Smooth Soul Legend

Isaac Hayes, smooth soul man, actor, noted scientologist and voice of Chef from South Park, passed away this weekend.
The creator of the Theme from Shaft (amongst many other massive hits) will be sorely missed.
He was working on a movie with Samuel L Jackson and the also now deceased Bernie Mac called Soul Man about Blues music in the 50's and 60's.

Download: John Legend & Andre 3000 - Green Light (MSTRKRFT Remix)

My love of MSTRKRFT has been well documented, and the love don't stop with this great remix of a pretty-good-already r&b track from Legend and Andre 3000 (the man of a thousand dope guest verses).

Download: John Legend & Andre 3000 - Green Light (MSTRKRFT Remix)
Via Sheena Beaston

Video: Kanye, NERD, Lupe - Everbody Nose (Dir: Hype WIlliams)

Misty Place Bar - Melbourne

You know you're at the Misty because you're on Hosier Lane, home to some of the most creative grafitti and street art in Melbourne. Misty is smack bang in the middle of it, and keeps in tune with artistic vibe with its art deco interior.

You could pass it off as a hipster playhouse, if it wasn't for a few things.
The Music: The DJ spins a delightful mix of dance and indie pop (I heard Annie and Ratatat amongst others in the time I was there).
The Cocktails: Delicious, and although they're pricey, they're worth it.
The Staff: Friendly and funny, yet also efficient.
The Toilets: Belying the trendy front room, the toilets are pure trashiness, and I couldn't help taking this pic.

Video: Jay-Z & Kanye West - Blueprint 3

Could it be true? Let's all jump on the buzz bus as Kanye introduces Jay-Z at a recent concert to the chant of Jockin Jay-Z, Jock-Jockin Jay-Z.

As the clip is on Kanye's Blog, and is titled Blueprint 3, tongues are definitely wagging. Is it from Jay's new album???



BLUEPRINT 3 from kwest on Vimeo.

Download: The Kills - Cheap & Cheerful (SebastiAn remix)

If you read my article a couple days ago about Melbourne's 3rd Class nightclub and thought to yourself 'yeah, that all good and well, but what is the atmosphere really like', then you best download this afro-tastic SebastiAn remix and wait for the mind-melt.

Download: The Kills - Cheap & Cheerful (SebastiAn remix)

Burial unmasked

The man who crafted the mercurial dubstep classic Untrue, has finally revealed his true identity. And yes, he is a man. A young man named Will Bevan actually, and according to his myspace page, he's from South London and would like to keep it all low key, so he can just focus on the tunes.

Download: Muse & The Streets - Who Knows Who

It's been a minute or two since we heard from either of these groups, but ever since Mike Skinner started opening for Muse, he found himself wanting to collaborate with them. And so it's turned out, and the resultant faux-RATM blast is a quite nice breath of fresh air.

Download: Muse & The Streets - Who Knows Who

via Turn the Page

Download: Stevie Wonder - Superstition (Justice Remix)

Those lovely french boys are at it again, rejigging the classic Stevie Wonder track.

Download: Stevie Wonder - Superstition (Justice Remix)

Melbourne Trip - The Good, The Good and the Ugly

Sorry for the lack of posts guys, but I just got back from a four day stint in Melbourne. Partied a little too hard (if that's possible), but the result of that is a little insight into the Melbourne nightlife. I will update one venue per day, starting with the venerable 3rd Class.

3rd class is a no-nonsense hedonistic monstrosity that piqued my interest when it was mentioned in an in-flight magazine by the lead singer of Cut Copy as his club of choice. First of all we rocked up too early, and found our selves in a service elevator going to a janitors closet. Luckily, a couple of young ladies out the front set us straight on the entry procedures, and we were in.

It was grimy, but not literally, more visually and was a major turn-on. The music was top notch, if you like your dance rock loud and hard. The crowd was fun too, and obviously down for a good time, which was the whole point. We danced until we could dance no more, and in-between time I would go to the loo and peer through a whole the wall out onto the dancefloor. Like I said grimy. I would recommend this place for anyone who appreciates dancing and drinking over looking good.

Duckboard Place, Melbourne
Phone (03) 9662 4555