This has been around for some time now but nostalgia for these 8 bit sounds only gets sweeter. It’s a medley of hip hop songs recreated in classic NES 8 bit beeps and boops. The songs were created and arranged by Jesse Tugboat and the track list follows:

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This Radiohead remix is relatively old to the internet but new to me. It’s from a entire remix album called Me and This Army: Radiohead Remix which features some hip hop mashups and electronic remixes of some classic Radiohead songs. There is also a version of creep done with a robotic voice instead of good old Thom.

Radiohead – Daytona 500-Ghostface [Panzah Zandahz Remix] (zshare)

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I haven’t spent nearly enough time with this new album to give you a full assessment but honestly, who would I be to think I could tell a MSTRKRFT fan whether or not the new album is worth listening to? I think we’ve all been waiting for far too long for this. What I can say is different about this album is the number of guest vocals featured. We’ve got everybody from Ghostface Killah to Lil Mo making appearances.

Hip hop remixes of MSTRKRFT have always been around but having them planned out and done for the original songs with original lyrics is amazing. Click Click feat E40 seems to be floating around the internet right now so I’m posting a few great songs that I haven’t seen around yet.

MSTRKRFT – 1000 cigarettes [feat Freeway] (zshare)

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MSTRKRFT – Word up [feat Ghostface Killah] (zshare)

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PS I realize rye rye isn’t actually a little girl
Diplo – Wassup Wassup Feat. Rye Rye [dd pesh Remix] (zshare)

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No mp3 this time, just an video for Kid Cudi’s Day n Nite produced by So Me. You’ll probably recognized the animation style from Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. video.

This is something pretty different than what is normally talked about on these pages but change is good right? When a friend told me about The Field and described it as a European minimalist electronic artist and played me a quick clip, I was reluctant. But I gave it a honest try and what I discovered is that every alien element I had previously sensed was quickly assimilated into my consciousness became both ordinary and amazing.

If you’re like me and you don’t listen to this kind of music often, you’ll have to let your ears learn to listen to The Field. It’s strongest element is also it’s most limiting and what I mean by that is there are many situations in which I just can’t picture listening to The Field. Any particularly extroverted or social situation for example. That being said, it’s amazing for activities that require focus, like writing or working. I was reading some of the comments on The Field’s last fm page and one girl said that her work productivity increases by 50% when she’s listening to The Field and having listened to the album through a few times now, I know exactly what she means.

I don’t often read pitchfork, but they seemed to have gone apeshit for the album I’m talking about From Here We Go Sublime. They gave it 9.0 rating and put a big red “best new music” sticker next to it, which I think is supposed to make you want to listen to it more. I did however agree with most of the reviewers comments, caveat I didn’t read the whole thing. One useful thing I did glean from it was instead of thinking of the music as repeating, think or it as revolving. This is very true because although the beats repeat, the production gives a very real third dimension that is not at all repetitive and allows you to immerse yourself in moments.

The Field – A paw in my face (zshare)

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If the first two songs I’ve heard from the upcoming Phoenix album are any indication, May 25 will be a good day for synth rock fans everywhere. I’m hearing vocal wailing reminiscent of Kevin Barnes and looping dance guitars to boot. You can download the single 1901 from their website, but why don’t you just do that here instead?

I’m starting to think about instituting a rule that a band’s web design must be proportionate to how good their music is. Luckily, although Phoenix’s web design is pretty over the top, their music is also very good. However there are many cases in which this does not balance out, and then I’m left with a horrible empty feeling. Let’s all of us make sure no one has to feel like that again.

Update: A full tracklisting of the upcoming album

01 Lisztomania
02 1901
03 Fences
04 Love Like A Sunset Pt. 1
05 Love Like A Sunset Pt. 2
06 Lasso
07 Rome
08 Countdown
09 Girlfriend
10 Armistice

Phoenix – 1901 (zshare)

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Phoenix – Lisztomania (zshare)

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Jonathan Davis has been rapping from almost as long as I’ve been alive and his career is currently in it’s 21st year. Two decades of relevance is no small feat in the rap world, and Q Tip has pretty much done it all. Hell, he even dropped a verse in that Deee-lite song “Groove is in the heart” although that might not be what he’d like to be remembered by.

He also converted to Islam sometime in the 90’s and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. I know right? This track called Move is a perfect example of how Q Tip has both changed and stayed the same since his days with A Tribe called Quest and I just love those horn beats. I found this great picture of Q tip and Erykah Badu so I just had to throw in a Badu related song as well. Granted it’s a cover done by My Morning Jacket but she is much better to look at.

Q Tip – Move (zshare)

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My Morning Jacket – Tyrone [Erykah Badu Cover] (zshare)

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Here’s a cover The Roots did of A Milli in at a Miami show which is bittersweet to me because it’s something I know we won’t be seeing too much of when they start putting in 5 days a week playing as Jimmy Fallon’s (shudder) back up band when he takes over for Conan O’Brien. Almost every Roots fan I’ve talked to has reacted to this with a mixture of shock, disbelief and disappointment but I’ve finally come to terms with it. I read an interview with them that said they were conflicted on the decision too and went that way so that they could avoid the rigors of touring and enjoy the stable lifestyle in one city. I suppose they’ve earned it, but Jimmy Fallon just leaves me unsettled. Enjoy one of your last root-flavoured suppers.

The Roots – A Milli [Lil Wayne Cover] (zshare)

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It’s been a few years since I’ve considered listening to Cursive, I’ve heard about them through friends for quite a while but never took the extra step to actually listen to them. I finally did that yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. Maybe because my ears have lately been over saturated with hip hop or perhaps I’m just out of my mind. Dorothy at Forty is an aggressive kind of track that I think might be about being middle aged and dealing with mediocrity.

By the looks of it most of the members are over 30 and approaching middle age so maybe that explains the theme. Either way it’s a lot of fun and it’s been a while since I’ve heard a band that makes a lot of noise without being obnoxious and that’s exactly what Cursive is for me. A successfully loud and noisy band. The second song is a little more chilled out but has it’s louder moments also. Both of these songs are from their last album Happy Hollows which was released in 2006 but they have a new album coming out in a few weeks (March 10, 2009) called Mama, I’m swollen.

Cursive – Dorothy at Forty (zshare)

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Cursive – Into the Fold (zshare)

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