Cougar Microbes

As a special bonus treat here is a video of Party Supplies, who famously gave us this remix of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros‘ ‘Home‘, performing a spot of live remixing. Impressive stuff indeed.

Additionally here is a sprinkle of Party Supplies on tracks from the our # 1 and # 2 albums of 2010.

TRACKS:

Another weekend and another Kanye West video for Cougar Microbes. ‘Monster‘ was recently banned by MTV due to its alleged misogynistic content and the objectification of women.

Whilst I can see where they are coming from with this one Kanye is hardly the worse than countless other videos, fashion shoots and tv programs. Besides, Nicki Minaj‘s presence on the song could be seen a strike back for girl power, especially considering her verse is the best thing about this song.

Regardless of all of the above this is a kick ass video for a kick ass song.

TRACKS:

Somebody give Kanye West some valium please because the man is in over-over-over-drive. The amazing ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy‘ continues to be a hit machine and his latest video instalment is typically bombastic.

‘All Of The Lights‘ features Elton John for christ sake and even has a, believe it or not, decent Fergie lyric.

This is also the first video I can remember to come with an epilepsy warning.

TRACKS

I was delighted to see Arcade Fire won the Album Of the Year Grammy last night. Considering they were competing against the likes of Eminem, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga this was a huge achievement but ‘The Suburbs‘ deserves all the plaudits because from start to finish it is flawless.

The band blasted through ‘Month Of May‘ whilst 2 BMX riders raced around stage in what looked like mens sunglasses and video cameras for helmets. I can only imagine these are the same kids riding their bikes that the band sing about in ‘Sprawl I’ (Flatland).

The band went on to perform the brilliant ‘Ready To Start‘ where Régine Chassagne‘s delicate backing vocals proved to be positively spine tingling.

Best moment of the night besides Win Butler‘s bewildered look when accepting the award  has got to be Kanye West, who lest we forget also released an epic album, tweeting his support for the album.

For what it’s worth compared to a Grammy ‘The Suburbs’ was easily my album of the year as well.

I feel like music is in safe hands for a few more years.

TRACKS:

Somewhere in between starting his own “Yo, Ima let you finish BUT…” meme, endless twitter rants and outlandish extended music videos Kanye West found time to record his best album to date. Following the auto-tune obsessed meanderings of ‘808s & Heartbreak’ you would have been right to wonder if Mr West had relinquished his rapper ambitions. That claim is soon laid to rest.

The superstar had already begun hinting at what he was about to cook up with his ‘G.O.O.D Fridays’ project but when ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ dropped in late november so did a few jaws. Has Kanye finally released an album to match the size of his ego?

The album states its intentions early by kicking off proceedings with the track ‘Dark Fantasy’ with its outlandish faux British Alice In Wonderland-esque introduction. This is followed by a bombastic gospel choir and some head bang demanding verses which make this the perfect prologue to this album acting as a vindication of his state of mind.

Having kicked off in such impressive fashion he keeps delivering upon this stellar standard throughout. As can be expected there is a multitude of gueststars on display but it is interesting to note that only 5 tracks actually feature rappers. West has always been more of a producer than a rapper in my mind so it notable that two of my standout tracks, the bass lead and ego fueled ‘Power’ and ‘Hell Of A Life’, see him largely going it solo whilst delivering some of his most memorable lines.

Still, when you consider that tracks such as ‘Monster’ and ‘So Appalled’ feature an array superheroes including Jay-Z, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, CyHi Da Prynce, Swizz Beatz & The RZA and that ‘All Of The Lights’ samples the voices of the likes of John Legend, La Roux, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Elton John (!) and it starts to become clear that Kanye’s Blackberry is the ultimate musical wet dream.

Fortunately these inspired guest performances, with notable mention for Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj, don’t bloat the album but rather play another small part in the larger picture in Kanye’s vision. ‘Fantasy’ suggests total control over music and image and this album is intentionally, and somewhat surprisingly, light on skits and interludes. However it is not lightweight as a result of it. In fact its “meager” 13 tracks come in at 70 minutes without ever outliving its welcome guaranteeing value for money.

Few artists polarize opinion as much as Mr Kanye West. A few weeks ago I was at a house party where the conversation naturally turned to music and the best albums of 2010. My admission that I thought very highly of ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ was met with slight bewilderment. When I asked if my interrogator had actually heard the album he responded that he had no real interest because he disliked the artist. .

Think what you will of Kanye West the man but in ‘Fantasy’ he has not only released a timeless hip-hop album but possibly one of the best albums of the past ten years.

TRACKS:

NEXT: #01 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

PREVIOUS: #03 Cougar Microbes Top Albums of 2010: Les Savy Fav – Root For Ruin

As part of his G.O.O.D. Fridays series Kanye West just unleashed another banger. ‘So Appalled’ features the skills of RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swiss Beatz and Cyhi The Prince in what is a tense and somewhat gloomy track.

Better still, it seems MC Hammer wants to make a comeback album purely to retaliate against the Jay-Z verse calling him out

TRACKS:

Kanye West – So Appalled (feat. RZA, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Cyhi the Prynce)

Get the tracks from the G.O.O.D. Fridays series here.

Yo ‘WHY?’ I’m real happy for ya and I’ma let you finish….. BUT Tubelord’s ‘Our First American Friends’ is the best late contender for album of the year 2009.

Released on 12th October the Kingston (London) quartet’s offering showcases angular guitar hooks, vocals which meander effortlessly from harmony to cacophony, and a determination to keep song structures interesting and varied. Add a couple of recurring themes to the mix and you’ve got yourself a group who understand the craft of writing an album as opposed to a collection of songs.

Tubelord bravely draw on less fashionable post hardcore acts from the turn of the millennium. Think Piebald crossed with And None of Them Knew They Were Robots, with big The Get Up Kids style harmonies.

One slight criticism that I have is with the placement of tracks. The first half of the album flies past while the second half comes across as more contemplative in tone. While this in itself is a nice idea the effect is that the album does lose a little momentum on first listen. However, as the songs become more familiar this undoubtedly becomes less and less of a negative feature.

While ‘Our New American Friends’ may not quite make enough of a late surge to claim my highly coveted ‘album of the year’ gong it wins ‘top debut album of 2009’, hands down.

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post by Kenny the mischievous

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TRACKS:

Tubelord – Propeller

This is where I alienate half my readers by writing about my second biggest love, football. The new season is about to begin in all the major European leagues (if it hasn’t already begun) and its looking like exciting times; unless you are an AC Milan supporter that is. 

Back in January I wrote a thinly veiled attack on Manchester City‘s hostile transfer policy. Sadly in that post I correctly prophesied the inevitability that Kaka would move to Real Madrid.

Turns out all the money in the world CAN buy you prestige.

TRACKS:

Beethoven’s Fifth Gold Digger (Kanye West vs. Beethoven vs. Walter Murphy)

Gold Mahna Mahna (Kanye West Vs. The Muppets)