The Chuckness

In time for the show on Saturday night, The Knocks have released a little teaser for their upcoming single “Brightside”, due out October 19th on A&M/Octone Records.  Just enough to give you blue balls until Saturday.

Limited tickets are still available! Pick em up here and choose “Will-call” to avoid the inevitable line that The Knocks and The Middle East attract on a Saturday night.

Word on the street is that they have a slew of “Brightside” remixes coming out as well, including one from the 16-year old teen prodigy Lenno.

G-Eazy’s always good for some absurd samples. That being said, Janis Joplin may be going over the line a bit…but I dig it. Here he goes off about rich girls and Benz’s, with his token G-Eazy flow. If you’ve yet to pick up his previous mixtape The Endless Summer, you’re missing out.

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Download: G-Eazy (feat. Janis Joplin) – Mercedes Benz (The American Dream)

In order to celebrate the finishing of his album yesterday, Wale put up his next single, ”Lotus Flower Bomb”, for free download. Unlike his previous release, this will be on Ambition, which drops on 11-1-11. I really like this song; the beat is simple and smooth, the chorus is addictive, and Wale’s flow fits perfectly. It definitely has a R&B vibe to it as it’s a song catered to the ladies, which doesn’t deter from it’s quality. Snatch this up below and be on the look out for Wale’s sophomore album in about a month.

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Download: Wale – Lotus Flower Bomb (Feat. Miguel)

Following the epic collapse of the Boston Red Sox, I feel like listening to strange vibes. Rostam Batmanglij, one of the vocalists behind Vampire Weekend (and side-project “Discovery”), just released a brand new solo track; and it’s weird as hell. It’s funny how you can hear similar elements in the song that have made Vampire Weekend one of the more popular indie bands of the past few years. The tribal drums and chimes are a dead-giveaway. As for “Wood” itself; it’s a little too bizarre for me, but it’s worth the listen nonetheless. If you’re a fan of Vampire Weekend, check it out.

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Download: ROSTAM (of Vampire Weekend) – Wood

I was gonna go with The Peach King’s cover art for “Little Things” here, but it’s unspeakably boring. When I did a Google Image search, this photo came back too — and it spices things up around here. Gives the post a little excitement.

Anyways, this song is a doozie of a sleep-inducer. Starts out in the beginning and you realize that The Peach Kings are either the most relaxed, emotionless human beings on planet Earth, or they just downed two Xanex each and are zonked out of their minds. Either way, they don’t give a shit about anything, thus they don’t sweat the little things. And there’s your title. Boom. Case closed. Press play.

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Download: The Peach Kings – Little Things

I really didn’t want to do this.  I had the same reaction you’re all going to have when I pressed play for the first time — I was way into the beat, and then completely thrown off when Dominique Young Unique brought her flow into the track. Just totally ruined everything for me. I couldn’t get past the beat though — so I gave it another chance, which was when I became fully addicted to the chorus. Now I’ve found myself blasting this all afternoon, digging her punchlines, and I have no one to blame but myself.

Let the hate begin.

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Download: Dominique Young Unique – Gangster Whips

[via The Music Ninja]

Kele, the lead singer from Bloc Party, has branched off into his solo efforts — and this right here is his lead single off of his upcoming EP The Hunter (due out 11/7). Just a completely different direction from Bloc Party — it’s not even worth comparing this to the band’s material. He seems to be following the current trend of the dubstep influence, we’ll see if it works for him.

Only three more days until our first sponsored event featuring The Knocks and Capital Cities. Limited tickets are still available HERE — but I figured I should dish a couple away to the loyal fanbase as well. Hit this post with a comment letting me know why you should be lucky enough to join our rage festivities. I’ll let you know who the winner (+ guest) is come Friday at 5 p.m.

Doors open at 8 p.m. @ The Middle East in Cambridge on Saturday night. Bring your proper rage attire and be prepared to crush $4 Narragansett tall-boys. If you’re 21 of course. Can’t wait to you see you there.

The Knocks:

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Capital Cities:

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This is one of those tracks that has absolutely no information to go along with it. I got nothing on the band. I got nothing on the song itself. I’m just coming up with zeroes everywhere. Sometimes that’s the best way to go into a song — you have no expectations whatsoever. Just press play and see what happens to you.

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Download: Carousel – Games

[via The Music Ninja]

Today marks the moment of J. Cole’s introduction to the world on a grand scale, with the release of his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. The first signee to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, Cole has had a significant buzz behind him since people first got their hands on “Lights Please” back in 2008. It’s been a grind for the North Carolina native to come full circle since getting signed by Jay-Z, but today is the day that he can sit back and admire the work he put into making this moment happen.

From the get-go, one thing is undeniably glaring when listening through Cole’s debut album: the man is an unbelievably great story-teller. His lyrics weave together to create a series of vivid vignettes, something that’s hard to find in the hip-hop industry these days. He’s not jumping on every beat and just going for the most witty metaphors or the most creative wordplay. He’s getting on each individual track and telling a captivating story with mind-boggling wordplay; there’s a difference between the two. Whether or not the stories are about his personal life isn’t the big picture here. The fact that I’m so invested in each individual story is worth more than anything, and I believe he set out with this end effect in mind.

When I listen to an album for the first time, I have extreme ADD. I listen to each individual track, looking for something to hit me right off the bat. By the time the fifth or sixth track comes along and a song hasn’t grabbed me, I get impatient. Am I the only one who does this? I don’t know, but what I do know, is that Cole World: The Sideline Story is a different kind of experience. I honestly can’t even tell you what initially grabbed me upon a first listen of the album, if anything — but I kept listening. Then all of a sudden I was playing “Mr. Nice Watch” 15 times in a row. Then “Can’t Get Enough”. Then “Lost Ones”. Then “Lights Please” again. Then “Nobody’s Perfect”. Then “Cole World”. Before I knew it, I was replaying nearly every song on the album. I can’t tell you the last time this has happened to me, but I really wanted this album to be great, and the more I listen to it, the better it gets.

The fact that this album is a “grower” is awesome, but it also worries me. I’m afraid that some people might give it one spin, not find anything that immediately grabs their attention, and toss it aside. It deserves so much more than that. After a couple of listens, you’ll find yourself fully immersed in his story-telling abilities and jarring production skills. Will it do well in the mainstream? “Can’t Get Enough”, “Mr. Nice Watch”, “Nobody’s Perfect” and “Lights Please” all have the potential to do really well on the radio, but I’m not entirely sold. He’ll have his time for radio smashes and club records in the future. For now, let’s take this for what it is; a beautifully painted picture of a talented young man’s realization of his dreams.

Support J. Cole’s efforts, and pick up the album on iTunes.

As always, if you need some help deciphering the lyrics, head over to the dude’s at RapGenius — they got it taken care of.

Highlights:

1.) “Mr. Nice Watch” (feat. Jay-Z)

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2.) “Lost Ones”

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3.) “Lights Please”

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