DMX - Ruff Ryders' Anthem

My good luck on reading week brought me to another good haul from Value Village.  DMX's It's Dark and Hell Is Hot was my OMG moment, but I also picked up Spirit by Jewel, Believe by Cher and Daft Punk's Homework.  Good day for me, eh?  But back to the rap now.  DMX's words are always raw and rough, and before the "up in here" days, he was doing things like this.  It's Dark... is a good album for the gangster fans, and fifteen years later, is still as fresh as it was the day it came out in 1998.  Even for a debut this is solid work. 

Give a dog a bone, leave a dog alone, let a dog roam and he'll find his way home.

"Ruff Ryders' Anthem" stood out to me because it completed the holy trinity for rap: the beats, the rhymes, and that something special that makes it brilliant.  I'm looking forward to blasting this in the summer when I get the chance to drive my dad's truck, to be one of those people who blast rap around town.  I don't care too much, that's what this song was made for.  You're either a Ruff Ryder or you're not, and I like to think we all have a little inside us.  I'll leave it to you to decide, and because it made me laugh, here's the song info from Wikipedia:

Many believe this was the fucking time when DMX showed what real shit he was capable of. This song is what gave DMX his fame, many n***** think he is his alter muthafucking ego in this song.

Dry The River - Demons + King James Remix

From London comes my new favourite indie band of the moment: Dry The River.  I like to think of these chamber pop stars as a grown-up One Republic with just a touch of Mumford & Sons.  Perfect.  I first found them through rcrd lbl, with the King James Remix of their "Demons," and then had to go hunting for the original.  It's a very sweet love song, beautifully crafted with some stunning lyrical work: the north isn't true til it's leading me to you.  "Demons" may be a slow wedding song, but it's brilliant.  Any indie fan is going to get right into this.

The remix is something a little different.  King James, whoever he may be, leaves the general structure of the song intact but takes it from wedding song territory (not that there's anything wrong with that) and to a watery land where everything has an echo.  It's a little danceable once the beats kick up, I'll give it that, but still retains that sweet and delicate feel.  Both versions are something special in their own right, worthy of a good listen and perhaps even a download.

Teeth - Care Bear

Another day under grey clouds here, but what gangster rap can't solve, perhaps electro can?  Noise-dance trio Teeth gives us the infectious "Care Bear," which is even approved by one of my roommates (so you know that you'll like it and it's not just one of my weird obsessions of the moment).  She said, "Laura, can you send this song to me?" and given the choice of a plain song video and a crazy music video on Youtube, I went with the crazy video.  True story.

Now to the song.  "Care Bear" is a beeping, fuzzy, somewhat-noisy (but nothing harsh, don't worry) track that has made it onto my workout/party playlist for a reason.  It's pump-up music that was made to make you feel good, and it works like a charm.  Lead vocalist Veronica So is also an electro darling, and the boys on drums and electronics complete this triangle of power.  Sure, "Care Bear" may evoke images of colorful bears and rainbows, but this is the theme song of Noise Bear.  Move over, Sunshine!

Freddie Gibbs feat. Kirko Bangz - Bout It Bout It

As we traverse through another grey week here, I'm on the hunt for anything that may get me through the dreary hours spent studying mapmaking.  Of course, I've gone back to my first love, gangster rap, for the solution, and what a solution it is.  I've been a Freddie Gibbs fan for a bit now, and "Bout It Bout It" comes off of his recent release Baby Face Killa, also where "The Hard" (that lovely masterpiece) originates from.  With the help of Kirko Bangz (listen to "Drank In My Cup" now!), we've got a catchy number on our hands.  "Bout It Bout It" is slick, and those squeaky beats are infectious and then some.  The album may still be available for free online, so if it is, get on it.

Evanescence - Tourniquet

Okay, I'm about to make you all feel like old dinosaurs.  Ten years ago today was the release of Evanescence's debut album, Fallen.  Yeah, I know, right?  I first heard of them a little later than that, close to the end of 2003 when I was eleven years old and still a gangster rap nut.  Evanescence is one of the bands that brought me into metal, and for that, I am a forever fan.  My favourite song from Fallen isn't one of the singles, but "Tourniquet." 

So what does "Tourniquet" have that songs like "Going Under" and "Bring Me To Life" don't?  They're all dark songs, but "Tourniquet" is a moody work of art.  The song was originally intended for a Christian metal band, though, but you may not notice it until you look into the lyrics.  Amy Lee and the boys take it away from that genre and give it that hard-rock-and-a-little-symphonic sound that came out of Fallen.  Simply the way "Tourniquet" flows isn't half-bad either, in fact, it's brilliant.  I've been in love for the past nine-and-a-half years, so here's to another near-decade with Evanescence.

Anthony Hamilton & Elayna Boynton - Freedom

I really hope you've seen Django Unchained.  If you haven't then you're missing out the reason Christoph Waltz and Mr. Tarantino each won their second Oscars.  Don't even get me started on the soundtrack.  Well, because you asked...yesterday I was on the subject of sweet indie that could fit in with Kimya Dawson and Juno.  Today, it's tracks from the wild west fit for Django.  You've got the western numbers, soulful cowboy tunes, and even some rap for the hip-hop enthusiasts.  Then there's this, from soul singer Anthony Hamilton and the hard-to-search Elayna Boynton.

"Freedom" may not be the main theme of the movie, but it's got Django down pat.  Hamilton and Boynton sing over bells, guitar and light piano work, interlacing verses, choruses and all that fun stuff to create something brilliant.  I am looking for freedom, and I'm also looking to keep listening to this as long as I can.  "Freedom" is rich with soul and life, and with a message of searching for the illusive freedom, you know it can't be far away.

Okay, you've now all been musically freed.

We Were Bears - Baby Animals

I've made references to "Juno music" before.  It's indie stuff that sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack for Juno (one of the best soundtracks ever, in my humble opinion).  We Were Bears falls into this category.  They're an English three-piece that you probably haven't heard of, but you're missing out, my friend.  "Baby Animals" comes off their Paws For Effect EP, which came my way via a post on Tumblr, and as far as I know, it's still free to download.  Most of the songs in this collection are rather short, but this one is the longest, and it is adorable.  It's a sweet story of friendship and perhaps love that lies beneath it, sun over a light acoustic guitar with a few claps throughout.  This is what pretty indie is, and always will be.