Metal Lungies

Not as magical as Skream’s remix of La Roux, but still great. Those drums are extremely satisfying.

via The Fader

Penguin Prison

Sooo I just survived my first day of SXSW Music… barely. As I write this, all I can think about are my aching feet. Thank God I brought some comfortable sneakers, because my feet are really killing me and I’m just starting.

Anyway, the day started off with me getting into town, getting some amazing goat burger from a food truck called the Giggling Goat. So hip-hop. Oh, and I refuse to try BBQ. Linked up with the homie Jeff Weiss aka Hannibal Moncrief, who I’m sharing quarters with.  Then it was time to get my badge wristband.  Out of nowhere we got a free ride from Chevy to the convention center. As Weiss said, “Thank you Based God.” Just walking around the convention center seemed daunting. One could probably spend all his time there without even hitting the streets.

With the wristband cutting off the circulation to my right hand, it was time to see some music.

Here is who we saw (of what I remember):

Young L, Sean Garrett, Penguin Prison, DJ Premier with NYGz & Nick Javas, Chiddy Bang, DJ Cam, Erk The Jerk, Ellie Goulding, Killer Mike (who brought out Trae), and Clock Opera.

Highlight of the night: Penguin Prison.

Random Notes:

Ran into DJ Michael 5000 Watts at a showcase and talked very briefly. He mentioned that he’s working on a project where he is flipping dubstep. Be on the look out for that!

Food Turcks… good lord are there a lot of food trucks. Is a SXSW 15 possible in like five days? At this rate, I might need to buy a bunch of new jeans when I get home.

That’s it for now, be sure to follow the latest on the twitter feed.

Yeah, you read that title right, ML had to cut the procrastination & curb the lallygagging, and to finally go to the madness that is SXSW. About the title, it does say Hip-Hopish, but we touche the whole spectrum in our picks.

If you read this blawg, chances are you subscribe to some of our music tastes, so here are some of our picks from the official showcases (note: we didn’t pick things that would jam up your whole schedule or overlap, because a big part of SXSW is finding and discovering new music on your own…and having enough time to stuff your face with bbq (but…salad for us, please)).

If the following 2 things occur: I am not passed out somewhere, and I have wifi, I will try to have daily updates on the blog. Regardless, be sure to check the twitter, @metallungies where we will have rants, pictures, and deep thoughts about our time at SXSW. Look for a grand ol’ recap next week…or something.

Wednesday

*9:15pm Chiddy Bang

*10:20pm Freddie Gibbs

*11:15pm Gold Panda

*11:30pm Reks

*12:00am Ellie Goulding

*1:00am DJ Cam

*1:40am Cyhi Da Prynce

Thursday

*3:00pm Blaqstarr

*8:00pm DATAROCK

*8:30pm Dom Kennedy

*9:00pm Big Sean

*9:50pm G-Side

*10:35pm Kokayi

*12:00am MNDR

*1:00am Yelawolf

Friday

*7:30pm Catchdubs

*8:00pm DJ Eleven

*10:00pm The Cataracs & Dev

*10:45pm Collie Buddz

*11:30pm DJ Nu-Mark

*12:00am Chromeo

*12:40am EPMD

Saturday

*8:00pm IAMDONALD

*9:00pm Dominique Young Unique

*10:00pm Bird Peterson

*11:10pm Big KRIT

*12:15am Gangrene

*1:00am The Hood Internet

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“Overwhelmed” is right. Bilal rides down the electro-psych neo-soul rabbit hole with a careening electric guitar, pulsating synths, and dusty attic drums. These two last bumped heads when Daedelus remixed Bilal’s single “Restart” last year.

Bespoke drops April 26. Tour dates after the break.

via RCRD LBL
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I, like Son Raw, find dance remixes of classic hip-hop tracks repugnant, even offensive. But Dash EXP’s remix of “Everyday Struggle” is actually a worthy Biggie tribute because it keeps the anger of the original and even amplifies it. The sped up vocals bring out an urgency in Biggie’s voice without sacrificing any of the grit. It takes Biggie off the stoop in Bed-Stuy and into the machine city in the Matrix right before Neo fights Mr. Smith.

Bonus: Matty G’s “The Realness,” which gives Mobb Deep the dubstep treatment. Respectfully, of course.

More slurred mumbling from Ghostpoet with the addition of a fiery verse from East Ham, London rapper Kano (no Kano).

Any new artist who’s not trying to get beats off the homies is trippin’ right now. If you’re trying to get beats off like Timbaland or someone like that, you’re trippin’ on some old shit. The smart people are going to go and get a beat off Nosaj, or Hudson Mohawke – someone like that.

–Flying Lotus

Or Shlohmo. “Places” starts off in left field neo-soul territory, but it slowly morphs into something more ambient. Oddball touches like white noise and the sound of a coin sliding across a table distinguish it as a product of LA’s thriving beat scene. Bilal, this one is all you. The Places EP comes out March 15.

Download: Shlohmo – Places

via Pitchfork

Nicolas Jaar took “Fail Forever” by Danish electronic pop band When the Saints Go Machine, stripped it of its dance-pop sensibilities (for the first three minutes, anyway), and turned it something that might play out of an antique music box.

via FACT magazine

Peep the original below.

In the Long Island suburban haven of my childhood, there is a large Jewish community. This meant that in the Summer of 2001, I went to at least one bar-mitzvah every week. These parties all had the same exact faces, the same kosher caterer, and the same spiky-haired DJ. This guy had bar-mitzvahs down to a science. He knew exactly what we wanted to hear and nothing stirred up the preteen horny like 112. We sang “Peaches & Cream” word for word and we all clapped it up on “Dance with Me” when Q, Daron, and Mike sang, “If you’re sexy and you know it, clap your hands.” I was all about the Beanie Siegel remix of “Dance with Me” and I still have Jay-Z’s verse on the “Peaches” remix memorized.

As you can imagine, Son Raw’s expert mashup of Skream and 112 hits me in a special place. This takes me back to long hot nights of gelled back hair and virgin pina coladas.

Download: Skream vs. 112 – Sublemonavailable (Son Raw Mashup)

via Passion of the Weiss

Jamie xx got beats. On We’re New Here, due out February 21, Jamie Smith of The xx remixed Gil-Scott Heron’s comeback album “I’m New Here” with amazing results. I’ve been stuck on “Running” and “Home” — cold entrancing electronic head-nodders. Old man Heron becomes another instrument in Jamie’s arsenal. His grizzled mutterings bring Jamie’s spacey sounds down to Earth, or at least somewhere in the stratosphere.