Frank Wu
Watch: MGMT With The Flaming Lips for “Kids”, Join Kid Cudi for “Pursuit of Happiness”
During their performance at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis this weekend, MGMT joined the stage during The Flaming Lips‘ set, with the two groups performing an acoustic version of MGMT’s well-known “Kids”. You can check out a fan-recorded video of the performance above.
A few days back, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser also made an appearnce on stage with rapper-turned-rocker Kid Cudi at the Roseland Ballroom. Cudder and MGMT performed their single “Pursuit of Happiness” from 2009’s Man On The Moon: The End of Day. Fellow contributors Ratatat did not, however, make an appearance. Check out a fan-recorded video below.
Listen: Tyler, the Creator – “Tron Cat”
The third song to drop from Tyler, the Creator‘s highly-anticipated sophomore LP Goblin is “Tron Cat”, following “Sandwitches” with fellow OFWGKTA member Hodgy Beats and the viral hit “Yonkers”. The new song, which was first previewed along with the album cover here, is a standard Tyler cut, featuring an ominous, yet surprisingly simple beat and his signature twisted rhymes. You can listen to the song below.
Goblin will be released on May 10th via XL Recordings.
Goblin Tracklist:
01. Goblin
02. Yonkers
03. Radicals
04. She
05 Transylvania
06. Nightmare
07. Tron Cat
08. Her
09. Sandwitches
10. Fish
11. Analog
12. BSD
13. Window
14. AU79
15. Golden
Chiddy Bang Freestyle For 9 Hours Straight, Release New Mixtape
Chidera Anamege, the rapping half of Chiddy Bang, is currently performing an eight hour freestyle in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for “Longest Freestyle Rap”. The rap is live from Las Vegas for MTV’s digital music awards show, The OMA’s. Watch the performance live here.
You can help out by suggesting topics for the freestyle via Chiddy’s Twitter using the hashtag #RapWorldRecord.
The Philadelphia duo will also be releasing their new mixtape, Peanut Butter and Swelly, later today. Links will be provided when available.
Track: Curren$y & Alchemist – “Scottie Pippen (feat. Freddie Gibbs)”
Track: “Scottie Pippen (feat. Freddie Gibbs)”
Artist: Curren$y & Alchemist
Release Date: April 20, 2011
Label: Jet Life Recordings/Warner Bros.
This cut, taken from Curren$y‘s fifth studio album Covert Coup, features Curren$y and Freddie Gibbs trading verses over a dark, moody backing track courtesy of The Alchemist. Although only two verses long, “Scottie Pippen” is a nonstop showcase of both rappers’ lyrical and technical talents. Curren$y’s distinctive New Orleans drawl opens the track, bringing in a few basketball references and his signature punch lines before allowing Freddie Gibbs to take over the mic — and take over he does. Gibbs’s verse highlights the rapper’s incredible flow and rhymes, with the Indiana-based rapper spitting perhaps the strongest verse on the entire album. Seriously, is it even allowed for a feature to go this hard on a track?
“Scottie Pippen (feat. Freddie Gibbs)” is from Covert Coup, out now via Jet Life Recordings/Warner Bros. You can download it for free here.
Rating: 9/10
Odd Future Ink Record Deal, Start Odd Future Records
LA rap collective OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) have inked a deal with RED Distribution/Sony to form their own independent label, Odd Future Records. The new label will operate under the Sony Music umbrella, but will be completely independent in terms of creative control — something that is essential to Odd Future’s authenticity and image as a musical and artistic act.
Odd Future frontman Tyler, the Creator will still be releasing Goblin via XL Recordings on May 10, 2011, which will be the group’s first physical release. And as for the new record label’s first release? The group says that they have yet to decide and will begin planning a release schedule in the near future.
Free White Lies Single and New Tour Dates
London’s White Lies are giving away a free MP3 download of “Holy Ghost”, the second single from the band’s new release Ritual. The band will be launching a seven-city tour in the United States by making an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on May 16. They will return to the States later this summer with an appearance at this year’s Lollapalooza. Download the MP3 and check out the band’s tour dates below.
White Lies
May 17 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
May 19 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
May 20 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
May 21 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
May 24 – Austin, TX – Antone’
May 25 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
May 26 – Mexico City – Vive Cuervo Salon
August 5-7 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Video: Tyler, the Creator Loves Golf, Becomes Thurnis Haley
In a promo video for his forthcoming studio album Goblin, OFWGKTA leader Tyler, the Creator plays the golf-loving Thurnis Haley, discussing his passion for the sport.
Goblin, Tyler’s second album, will be released on May 10, 2011 via XL Recordings and will be the Los Angeles rap collective’s first physical release.
Wilco Announce Single “I Might” Via dBpm Records
Wilco announced via their Facebook page that the first release from their new record label, dBpm Records, will be a new single from the band. The 7″ will feature “I Might” and a cover of Nick Lowe’s “I Love My Label”. How fitting!
You’ll be able to purchase the single at the Wilco-curated Solid Sound Festival during June 24 through June 26 in North Adams, Massachusetts. Wilco will be headlining the first two dates of the festival. It will then be available for purchase everywhere in July.
No dates have been announced for the band’s follow up to 2009’s Wilco (The Album), but as Spin reports, the band has already laid down twenty tracks. Frontman Jeff Tweedy says, “I do think it’s a little bit more obnoxious and irreverent of a pop record than people have heard from us, maybe, ever. And that’s exciting. But I have no doubt that the second this record becomes available there’s somebody sitting in a basement at their computer with the word ‘meh’ already typed up, waiting to post a review.”
We’ll keep you updated as more details arise.
Lost In The Sound Sessions: Hailey, It Happens – “Brighter”
Chris Cleary and Bobby DiBari, the duo behind eletropop band Hailey, It Happens, performed their single “Brighter” acoustically in our newest Lost In The Sound Session. Their album Aurora (read our review here) was released independently on April 5, 2011 and was mixed by Paul Levitt (The Dangerous Summer, All Time Low). You can stream the entire album over at the band’s Purevolume page.
Coachella 2011: Arcade Fire – “Wake Up”
Arcade Fire‘s Saturday night set at Coachella was widely appreciated by fans, with the Canadian indie-rock band returning to the stage that helped launch them into the limelight way back in 2005. As they closed their main set with “Wake Up”, hundreds of giant, glowing beach balls floated down on the crowd from above the stage, changing colors from blue to red to green.
Check out the performance and the band’s setlist below.
Setlist:
Month of May
Rebellion (Lies)
No Cars Go
Haïti
City With No Children
The Suburbs
The Suburbs (Continued)
Crown of Love
Rococo
Intervention
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
We Used to Wait
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Keep the Car Running
Wake Up
Encore:
Ready to Start
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Connect