August 2012 Hotlist Week 1

Matthewdavid - "Jewelry" 2012

This EP is just stellar. The opening track, "Gold Rope" is probably my most listened to song this month. The way he flips The Rolling Stones "Miss You" sample is beyond impressive. I want to hear him do more beat scene oriented stuff like this, instead of his other more experimental noise based stuff.

Chelsea Grin - "Evolve" 2012

I'm not good with metal sub-genre categorizations, but these guys are semi-unique sounding to me, with their approach to the vocals. Nothing mind blowing, but it's a good listen. The standout track on here to me is called "Lilith".

NGUZUNGUZU - "Fact Mix 334" 2012

This mix is pretty damn fresh. They know how to get a dance floor moving while maintaining full credibility with people like me. Not an easy feat.

J Dilla - "Respect The Detroit Architect" 2012

Not sure exactly what the nature of this release is, but it's one of 3 new Dilla albums floating around out there right now. I already had about 1/3 of these songs already in my collection, but there is come cool shit on here I never heard before, or only heard in DJ sets before. Mostly rap songs and not instrumental stuff.

Todd Barry - "Super Crazy" 2012

I hadn't heard much of his stand-up before, but i'm liking it a lot. This is his new Comedy Central special. I like his super sarcastic observations. The Tom's of Maine bit on here had me crying laughing.

Louis C.K. - "Live At The Beacon Theater" 2012

The historic game-changing $5 download. In audio form. I love the bit about the kid in his daughter's class he hates.

The Gift Of Gab - "The Next Logical Progression" 2012

It's Gift Of Gab, so you know it's still good, but this album doesn't really hold a candle to his first solo album, or the first few Blackalicious albums. He's one of those artists that fell into the trap of making the greatest music of his career during the earlier part of it, and now he's not wack, or even really fallen off, but the new material just isn't as interesting in comparison.

Karriem Riggins - "Stones Throw Podcast #74: Karriem Riggins Produced That" 2012

Just like the title says. This mix is a good representation of how unappreciated this guy is as a producer. He has a bunch of classics under his belt, but is not even close to a household name.

Buckethead - "3 Foot Clearance" 2011

Just Buckethead, doing what he does, as usual. Pretty dope.

Mayday - "Take Me To Your Leader" 2012

Something new from Strange Music. This album kinda uses the Drake approach, where they want to appeal to people who like rap and pop, and try to give people the best of both worlds. I'm not really into it, but I feel like this album would go over well with people who like Yelawolf a lot.

Fiona Apple - "The Idler Wheel" 2012

I don't know why i'm so surprised at how good this album is. At this point I should just realize that the stuff she puts out is going to be pure gold no matter what. Maybe it's the long lengths of time in between albums that makes me wonder about quality of new stuff, I don't know. Her older woman voice is really amazing, and I actually prefer it to her younger voice from the first couple albums. I'm sure this will be a contender for album of the year at the end of the year.

Amon Tobin - "Box Set Disc 4: Rarities" 2012

I don't like this one as much as some of the other discs in this box set, but it's still got a few great songs.

Mobius Band - "City vs. Country EP" 2005

Something old I got from my Ghostly International subscription. Pretty lame sounding rock music, in my opinion.

Gojira - "L'enfant Sauvage" 2012

Seems more mainstream sounding than their older stuff, but not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it's OK to try and be slightly more palatable to the 93X crowd, as long as you don't let the music actually suffer because of it. Definitely a strong new metal release.

"Fake Four Record Sampler Volume 4" 2012

Collection of a lot of the new and upcoming singles from what has become more or less the premier indie rap label. It's not all hip hop though. There's stuff like Child Actor, which is like some avant-pop type stuff, and also Gregory Pepper, who is a weird Why?-like artist. Even a lot of the "rappers" on the label are making stuff that barely resembles rap sometimes, like Busdriver or Ceschi. They definitely are THE label to watch for nowadays. They always keep you on your toes.

Louis C.K. - "Hilarious" 2011

Can't get enough Louie.

Melvins - "Lysol" 1992

Brushing up on my Melvins again, now that I know that i'm going to the Grumpy's show in September. This album really isn't too memorable in the grand scheme of their career for me, but it still rocks.