Childish - 3005

Donald Glover. Or when entered into a wu-tang translator: Childish Gambino. Childish Gambino is a 30 year rapper and actor from Los Angeles. If you've never seen him act before then you might recognize him as "Troy" from Community.

Recently, Childish released a song titled "3005." If you've ever heard any of his rap before, it is a much softer version and it sounds like "Heartbeat" as opposed to "Bonfire" or "Freaks and Geeks." I really like 3005. I think that Childish is one of the best lyricists in the game right now. His raps are so clever and witty and most of the time, they are pretty funny. For example, in one of his songs he says "eating Oreos like these white girls that blow me." Now, I know that that is really inappropriate but it's kinda funny, and he's full of lyrics like that. But anyways, 3005 is really catchy and he sounds good as a rapper and a singer in this one. I hope that there is more to come from this single and possibly another album from Childish in the near future. 

THRILLER

THRILLER. So since today is Halloween, we watch Michael Jackson's famous Thriller music video in class. I had never actually seen the full eleven minute video and I had only seen the dancing parts in the past. I think that the video was amazing, especially for something that came out 1982. It did look really cheesy at some points like when he transformed into a werewolf and the girl was just standing there screaming, but if that video was made with today's technology and effects, it probably would've looked a lot cleaner and smoother. Also, I kinda think that it is insane that they had to put a religious warning up before they showed the video. Nowadays, if something like were to be put up, it would seem ridiculous. 

I've always been a fan of Michael Jackson and I've always thought that he was really talented. I think that the Thriller video just emphasizes his lyrical, musical and choreographical (if that's a word) abilities. I can't wait to listen and watch of more of videos, and eventually discover his impact and how he reshaped music in the 80s.

Magna Carta Holy Grail or Yeezus?

I know this wasn't all that recent, but Kanye and Jay-Z each released their most recent albums, Yeezus and Magna Carta Holy Grail, during the middle of the summer and I nothing else big has come out recently so I thought I'd talk about these. I listen to both of these records all the time and they may not be Kanye or Jay-Z's best piece of work, but I like both of them. But which is better?

Kanye's album was actually pretty disappointed following his last one. This album only has ten songs and I personally think that two of them are awful, so that's only 8 tracks. What I like about it is that Kanye has the ability to make every song sound completely different. Each song sounds independent and he raps with a different flow in each one. His lyrical ability is on the decline but he's still an incredible producer and he can make hits. I like his features on the album and I think he made the right decisions with who to put on each song. Overall, I think that he put out four songs that were alright, three more that are good and one that is really good. Next time, I'd rather see him put out more songs and pick up his lyrics.

Jay-Z's album was good too. Actually it was really good. Jay-Z had less features and worse production than Kanye but he's a WAY better lyricist. And that makes Jay-Z a MUCH better rapper. I mean you have to be able to "rap" to be a "rapper." And that's exactly what Jay-Z does and that why I think he's without question the best rapper alive and arguably the best rapper to ever pick up a mic. He's got a great rapping voice and a great flow. This wasn't his best piece of work, but it was still really good. This is why Magna Carta without question was better than Yeezus. My favorites are "Crown" and "Somewhereinamerica" and they're both posted below.

The Who & The Rolling Stones

Before actually sitting down and listening to each of these bands, I hadn't know much of anything about. I just thought that they were both extremely popular and really talented in addition to that. I knew that both of them had played at the Super Bowl and honestly, I HATED each of their performances. But then I look and see that Bruno Mars is playing at the Super Bowl this year and think: Could it get any worse? But to get back to the point, I had no real knowledge on either band.

I thought that the Stones were awful. It was probably the worst thing I've heard since one of my friends tried to become a rapper. They just didn't sound like good musicians and their album was loaded with covers (The one original they had wasn't my favorite either). This might be due to the fact that it was their debut album, but although I haven't heard much of their other stuff, there's no way they can be this "legendary band," which is the way that they are perceived. This is the first thing that we've tried out this year that I honestly hope to never hear again.

Now The Who is an entirely different story. Unlike the Stones they sound like more talented musicians and their original didn't sound like trash. I enjoyed listening to a handful of their songs and "My Generation" stuck out above the rest. Also, they seem like the type of band that would entertaining in concert and it seems that they'd have entertaining videos. I mean the drummer blew up dynamite on stage and didn't tell anyone that he was doing it, and so if that doesn't grab you're attention then I'm not sure what does. So I look forward to listening to more of The Who and much much less of The Rolling Stones.

Beastie Boys & New Music

So I had realized that other than very few exceptions, I don't have any hip hop or rap music released before 2000 in my iTunes library. So I decided to download "Licensed To Ill" by the Beastie Boys because other than their song "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" that was in guitar hero, I had never really heard any of their stuff.  But, I really really liked this album. I never realized how hard these guys went. I like how it's a group of three white rappers that can all jump in and out of each verses and it flows really well. I plan on downloading Paul's Boutique soon and hoping that that is just as satisfying.

Now I'm a big fan of Eminem. Well... kinda. I'm a fan of everything he released before 2005. His more recent stuff I've found to be garbage. BUT, he's put out three new singles for his newest album and they are all pretty good. This past week he released song called "Rap God" which is really really good. His beats are all really good and he just sounds revived. He's starting to do less screaming and more rapping but there's still a fair amount of screaming. I think that this will be his last project, and I hope he continues to go out strong.

Rock vs. Pop

I think for a lot of people, it is really challenging to distinguish the difference between Rock and Pop. However, I don't really find it that difficult. I think that Rock music is more traditional. By that, I think of Rock music as being stuff that is OLD. For example, I would consider everything that we've listened to so far as rock music. The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones are all examples of Rock Music. 

As we advance farther in time, I think that music is now more technology advanced. For example, the beastie boys rapped over beats that included a guitar and drums, while nowadays most rappers go over hooks and loops that have been technologically modified. I would throw almost every form of music that released recently into the Pop category. Whether it's Drake, Taylor Swift, or 2 Chainz, I believe that all of these new and upcoming artists fit into the pop category. I'm not exactly sure why I look at it this way, but most likely it's because of how I listened to music growing up.

ACL

So as I am sure you are aware of, ACL was this past weekend, and for the third consecutive year, I attended. This year probably had the worst lineup it has had since I've been going. I think it was mainly a bunch of really old bands that older people would enjoy.

On Friday, I got there pretty early around noon. I know Asleep At The Wheel goes to ACL like every year and I'd actually never seen them before and since that was like the only thing going on at 12, I checked them out. I couldn't stand them and so my friends and I left and checked out Dana Falconberry.  Even though there weren't that many there to see her, I thought that she was pretty good, and it was worth it to go out of my way to see her. Next I saw Thao & the Get Down Stay Down and they were kinda weird, so after listening to them I went to get a pretty good spot for Jimmy Eat World. Jimmy Eat World was TERRIBLE. I hadn't really heard any of their songs other than "The Middle" and most of them just weren't very good. They played The Middle last and I didn't even stay for it because the part before was so bad. After that I went and got some food, then went and got a spot to see fun.  fun. actually wasn't too bad, or at least better than I expected.  When the guy came out and said "Austin, let's get TUNRTUP!!!" I was like "wow wtf is this" because he's no Juicy J. But they sounded good and had some good songs that I'd never heard before. It was really just a giant step up from Jimmy Eat World. Right after that ended I went to the Honda stage to camp out for Kaskade. Okkervil River was on before Kaskade and they were pretty good. It was nice to catch them before the dubstep concert. Kaskade had a really fun concert with the lights and dubstep but his bass drops all sounded the same and the music really wasn't that great. I had to take the SAT the next morning so I left about an hour into Muse.

On Saturday I got to the festival around 4 because I had to take the SAT in the morning so I went to Portugal. The Man.  They played their popular song first and that was nice, but I really didn't enjoy the rest of their music so I left that concert a little early to get a good spot for Kendrick Lamar. Before Kendrick was Grimes and she had the weirdest show I've ever seen. She had these interpretive dancers around her and she was playing the strangest music. I just couldn't wait for that concert to end so I could see Kendrick. Kendrick really wasn't as good as I expected and his hour went by extremely fast. After Kendrick my friends and I caught some of The Cure and some of Kings of Leon and left.

On Sunday, I got I to ACL around 3 and instead of seeing Paper Diamond, I saw Grouplove.  Grouplove was awful and I just really wasn't feeling their music. Probably the worst decision of the concert to Grouplove because everyone who went to see Paper Diamond said that it was awesome and I was stuck at Grouplove instead.  After that, I saw Toro y Moi. Toro y Moi was actually pretty good. They had some chill songs that were nice to listen to. After them, I went and saw Eric Church. I've never really been much of a fan of country music but he was my favorite act of the day. Once he had finished, I was exhausted from such a long weekend and so I went and got some food downtown, and called it a weekend.

Having A Bad Day

Whenever I'm having a bad day, I do a number different things. I always lay down and either eat, sleep, watch TV, play xbox or listen to music.

I usually like to eat either barbecue or I'll find something around my house to eat. I love to put turkey pastrami and provolone cheese on a sandwich and heat it up in the oven. There are tons of different things on TV I'd watch. I would watch sportscenter at any time, no matter the situation, but when I'm having a bad day, I'll usually go on Netflix and try to find things to watch. I used to watch Arrested Development and Breaking Bad, but I finished both of them and so now I started watching How I Met Your Mother. When I listen to music, I'll usually play an album or a mixtape straight through. That's usually the only way I listen to music anyways. When I'm having a bad day, I'll usually throw on some of Big Sean's stuff or Kendrick Lamar's stuff.

My Name Is My Name

If you're looking for some new "quality" rap, listen to some of Pusha T's new album.  His album is titled "My Name Is My Name."

Just in case you've never heard of Pusha T, he's actually kinda old. He's 36 years old. He used to be in rap duo with his brother and the due was named Clipse. In 2010 Kanye signed him to the G.O.O.D. Music label and this is his second album under that label.

Before this, I really didn't care for him and didn't really think he was any good. But a few days ago I was on one of my music blogging sites and I saw that his album had leaked and so I streamed it while I doing some math homework. He actually has a nice flow and I think he's really good.

If you're going to check out on of his songs, I'd recommend "Hold On" or "Nosetalgia." Also he has an older song that features Tyler the Creator called "Trouble On My Mind" and that's probably another one of his best songs. The music video is also pretty funny because Tyler is in this and he does a bunch of funny stuff and it's after he broke his foot so he's in this scooter thing.

Reggie Watts

Although some of the other unspirited kids in class didn't take much interest in Reggie Watts, I thought that he was HILARIOUS.  But on top of being so funny, he's also really really talented in terms of music. I thought it was really cool how he was able to freestyle while at the same time he was looping his voice.

Also the man is on a TED talk, which is even funnier.  The TED talk is entitled "Reggie Watts disorients you in the most entertaining way." And he speaks french!! If you haven't seen that yet, then I'd encourage that you check it out. I really like how he's able to loop his voice and then alter it, and do all of LIVE. Reggie Watts is very very talented and if I ever get the chance to see him, I'll be buying tickets for sure.