Hypetrak's Friday Weekly Picks - September 27
It looks like my little joke about blogging in the middle of the hurricane came back to bite
It looks like my little joke about blogging in the middle of the hurricane came back to bite me. You may have noticed that last week there was no Hypetrak Friday weekly pick entry (we know you cried yourself to sleep…sorry). This was because Hurricane Ike hit the gulf coast and playa hated on my electricity. However, if you haven’t noticed by now we at Hypetrak are a resilient bunch and got right back on our grind as soon as electricity permitted. Not a moment to late either, because this week was chocked full of some dope music for us to get over our worries with. Videos, MP3 downloads and remixes have been coming in with hurricane force wind and leaving a path of goodness in it’s wake. Today we bring you the best of the week despite the weather. Check it out below, click on the links and stay a while. Check out our picks after the jump.
Radiohead – Reckoner Remixes
In case you have been in a coma for about eight years. Here’s a bit of a recap on the state of modern rock music. Radiohead has been the most important band in terms of originality, innovation and just plain rocking your face off. The band has taken one of it’s neo-classics from their last album In Rainbows entitled “Reckoner” and put the stems of the song on their website for novices, professionals and any kid with a laptop to remix. The result is a truck load of remixes from some accomplished musicians. We have posted some of the best of the bunch on Hypetrak for your listening pleasure. My favorite from the bunch is Flying Lotus’ electronic take on the joint. Check it out and decide which is your favorite.
Despite Vampire Weekend’s horror movie inspired name, the band is not a mascara wearing goth band pining about how horrible the world is. In fact, it’s probably the exact opposite. The ivy league school educated group bring some of the happiest, most unpretentious rock that we have heard in a long time. For their new joint “Ottoman” off of the Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist soundtrack the boys don’t rock the boat a bit and we’re grateful for it. The track has uptempo guitar strums, a jolly yelp from Ezra and African pop influence. Pretty much the exact thing that was on the bands’ debut album. Come over to Hypetrak, download the song and brighten up your day.
Lupe Fiasco feat. Pharrell, Q-tip & Sarah Green – Paris Tokyo (Remix)
When Lupe Fiasco unveiled the melodic “Paris Tokyo” on the critically acclaimed, gold selling The Cool it became crystal clear that the alleged Tribe Called Quest v. Lupe beef was at least a misunderstanding and at most a blog and music forum mythical creation. The intoxicating jazz tinged instrumental was vintage Native Tongues and lyrically the light hearted, playful content sounded like Phife and Tip in their heyday. Therefore, it isn’t coincidental that when Lupe decided to remix the album standout he would pick Q-tip to provide a verse. He also gets some heat from Skateboard P and Sarah Green for the track. “The Black Rat Pack” do the track justice, giving the original a serious run for it’s money.
At some point music critics and journalists will finally buy a dictionary and thesaurus and find a better word than “hipster” to define music that can’t be conveniently fit into an already tailored made box. Until then anyone they see rocking a rope chain and doesn’t rap about selling crack will have to bear the confusing title. The label doesn’t seem to bother the siblings who make up genre bending Hip Hop crew The Knux as they continuously knock us over the head with dope music. The video for “Bang! Bang!” from the album Remind Me In Three Days takes notes from classics like Micheal Jackson’s “Beat It” video and the “West Side Story” musical. However, the music is anything but throwback. The song is a mixture of punk, electro and of course Hip Hop, a hybrid that sounds more familiar to the ears then one would think. Check out the video by clicking the link and keep an eye out from this group.
