I went out to Coachella this weekend and, for the most part, I wasn’t really that impressed.  A lot of acts just don’t know how to get the crowd going.  One band that is the complete opposite of this is Dr. Dog.  They were very impressive.  It was my third time seeing them and I was blown away, again.  They might be my favorite act out there right now.  Even when they were having some sound problems with one of the guitars on stage, it was still an awesome set.  I think their most recent album Fate is great, one of the best albums of 2008, but the songs sound so much better when they’re performed live (at least for me).  The band’s touring experience is starting to show and it makes for a great live performance.  ”Army of Ancients” is a perfect example of a song that is much better when it’s live (again, for me).  I still can’t get it out of my head.  ”The Ark” was another personal favorite of mine and also of a friend who hadn’t ever seen or heard of Dr Dog before.  They opened with a slightly sped up version which made the crowd go completely nuts and set the pace for the rest of the show.  Needless to say, my friend’s a fan now.

MP3: Dr Dog – Army of Ancients
MP3: Dr Dog – The Ark

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Asleep In The Bread Aisle hit stores today.  ”Lion’s Roar” is definitely a stand out track for me. Asher Roth comes pretty hard on it but I don’t think Busta Rhymes has sounded this good since Leaders of the New School and his early solo career.  With all the leaked tracks out there, by now you should know- if it’s a Oren Yoel production it’s gonna be dope.  And the smooth hook from New Kingdom‘s Noah King ties it all together and makes it a song you want to rap and sing along to.  Oren Yoel’s also worked with another great up and coming hip hop artist in TiRon whose mixtape Ketchup is featured in the LA Times for the top ten best hip hop albums of the year.

Asher Roth ft Busta Rhymes and New Kingdom – Lion’s Roar (produced by Oren Yoel)

TiRon – Shine On (produced by Oren Yoel)

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An interesting Nas remix album was released last month called the Far East Project.  From the name, it sounds like it’s a bunch of Nas tracks remixed by Asian DJ’s and producers.  Because “Far East” could mean Asian, right?  I’m not racist, I swear.  Anyway, I haven’t heard of any of the guys who remixed the tracks but some of them are really well done.

Mp3: Nas featuring AZ – Life’s A Bitch (Jugg remix)
MP3 SAMPLE: Nas featuring Amerie - Rule (Ajap S remix)

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Recently, I’ve had a couple of tracks sent to me via email and SoundCloud.com.  Some of the songs were actually really good.  I don’t know why I expected anything different but I was kind of surprised at how much I enjoyed these:

• The first is “Folkie Song #2″ by Rosie and Me out of Curitiba, Brazil.  It’s indie, acoustic, folk music but it’s got a rock kind of edge to it.  And like all things Brazilian, I pretty much love everything about it.  It’s a very cool track they got here.  As if they didn’t even care when recording the song, you can even hear the microphone get bumped a couple of times, but it just makes the song sound cooler.  I’m really digging this one.
  MP3: Rosie and Me – Folkie Song #2
• The second is by The Unravelling from their album 13 Arcane Hymns.  They’re a rock/progessive act out of Calgary and if you check out their myspace, you’ll hear some serious metal.  ”In The Safe House” isn’t exactly metal though.  It’s catchy and dark at the same time and it’s a really well arranged song.  Their other songs on myspace are well written tracks too.  These guys probably have awesome live shows with lots of energy and songs that build and really get crowds going.
  MP3: The Unravelling – In The Safe House
• The last one is by a group called Pree.  These guys are from D.C. and their music combines a lot of elements from different genres that I like a lot.  Give the whole song a listen, it’s really impressive stuff.  The quality isn’t amazing, but the track is a great one nonetheless.  These guys have something very interesting going on and now I’m definitely paying attention.
  MP3: Pree – In The Parlor

Rosie and Me

The Unravelling

Pree