Ludacris "Release Therapy"

Ludacris "Release Therapy" (2006)
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mp3 vbr kbps / 92mb

Label: Def Jam
Projected release date: 26 September 2006
Producers: Jermaine Dupri, The Neptunes, Kanye West, Rick Rubin, Trak Starz & DJ Toomp

ok one of the more anticipated hiphop albums to come out this year still rocks the basic 808 presets, leaving myself asking "is there something i should start using in my own productions here?" that, and screwed up vocal samples. instant-platinum shit right there.

the usual luda seems to still be around, albeit the new haircut. producer-wise, again, the usual suspects applies and it's good to see rick rubin (rage against the machine, red hot chilli peppers, mars volta; and more recently, lil jon, justin timberlake and this luda) back in the more major hiphop projects these days. and uh try guessing which track mr dupri did (hint: it sounds like his joints in usher's 2004 records ...and almost every other joints he made after that). track starz contributed the trademark chingy-esque synth, this time with that distinctive grindin' kick, which segues nicely into the obvious: the neptunes. you could almost never put a finger on the neptunes' style these days (just ask any hiphop producer kid at soundclick) but its nonetheless distinct and it does it job in Release Therapy.. luda's always been a fan of la musique des neptunes, regardless whether it's good or shit. oh well they're *only* us$250k a pop anyway.

to me, tracks worth mentioning here are; "girls gone wild" for its synth and drums programming; "ultimate satisfaction" because of its vocal fucking up; "mouths to feed", "tell it like it is", and "slap" for lyricability; "runwaway love" for its percussions and mary j; "freedom of preach" because of the rhodes; and "end of the night" for the poorly treated jazzy guitar recording - i just like imperfections in ultra-major album recordings. it gives wannabe music producers false impressions that they can get away with fucking everything.

i read somewhere in a ludacris interview, he wants to "tell like it is" in this album. i've always thought that's what he had been doin all these years.

all you could expect from a current modern hiphop release. not as modern as some of timbaland's recent works, but even so, current, to say the least. now that this one's out in the open, let's all wait for jay-z's album before we ultimately say which one's a better record this year. clipse's hell hath no fury, i hear you say? now that's an entirely different post, kids.

The Killers "When You Were Young" Single

The Killers "When You Were Young" Single (2006)
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mp3 256kbps / 6.5mb

Label: Vertigo
Producer: Alan Moulder & Flood

the all jump-up chord progressions, party-ready nord lead and microkorg pads, rage-frenzy vocals and your standard Flood (u2, depeche mode, smashing pumpkins) production - this track cant help but reminisce the production style of some recent u2 records - wide, amped up vocals and classic-rock drum recording and placements. its probably Flood, or even Moulder's distinctive modern brit-rock sound or it's probably coz u2 sold just a little over a gazillion records last year. i dont know.

i cant help but notice the interestingly-retro reverb of choice used on brandon flowers' vocals. you would've thought that it would get tiring after a while, thinking it's some phase the music industry is going through - but it works in this one, as it always has been in the killers' records. the thing about synth-pop these days is that no one really knows whether it's the retro-ability of it that's keeping it afloat, or if these people are really re-inventing pop-rock using expensive synths? whatever it is, keep the synths in there - and that pseudo-solo / riff in the middle of the track is rather charming too on this track- something of the killers that we're probably more than used to by now.

ok and that chord progression drop right before the bridge is magic. who the fuck does that shit anymore these days and *still* make it work?

goddammit. synth-pop came and went and now it's here again, and its staying, it seems. you just have to make sure you're on Vertigo - and you can record whatever damn genre you want.

John Mayer "Continuum"

John Mayer "Continuum" (2006)
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rs / mp3 192kbps / 69mb / cocoamusicrip

Label: Aware / Columbia
Producers: John Mayer & Steve Jordan
Tracks: 12 (check: Amazon)

goddamit! mayer just decided to not call john alagia (lifehouse, dave matthews band) as producer again and its probably the best decision he could ever make. especially when he decided to take up drummer & percussionist extravaganza steve jordan (john mayer trio, alicia keys) to sit on the herman miller chair this time around, to put drums upfront in the recordings. where drums should really be, bitch!

anyway, lemme clarify i never liked john mayer and/or his recordings before this. he was a wanker, and for all i care, he's still is. but not this album though. nice job mr jordan. kudos.

RETROSPECTIVE: Massive Attack "Mezzanine"

Massive Attack "Mezzanine" (1998)
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mu / mp3 192kbps / 83.5mb

Label: Wild Bunch Records
Producers: Massive Attack & Neil Davidge
Tracks: 11 (check: Amazon)

this album is so timeless it makes you wanna tell most modern producers to just quit at whatever they're doing and work at the post office. 1998? fuck that. the production values in here will still be fresh in the year 3018. true story.

ok, maybe i'm a bit of a sucker for the vocals of liz frazer, arguably-pioneering adventurous synth works and percussion-driven recordings; but when a bunch of artists as eclectic as Jose Gonzales to Incubus to Nothing Like You covers your shit, you must be doing something right.

massive attack's jazz and hiphop tendencies really flourish on this one. downtempo by nature, i'm claiming this a 'timestamp' of the chillout electronic music era that gave birth to the ideas of zero7, wicked beat sound system, basement.nebula and télépopmusik.

call me masochistic but the dark moods of this record makes me happy.

Robin Thicke "The Evolution of Robin Thicke"

Robin Thicke "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" (2006)
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rs / mp3 VBR kbps / 96.3 mb / fmrip

Label: Star Trak / Interscope
Projected Released Date: 03 October 2006
Producers: Robin Thicke, Pro Jay, The Neptunes
Tracks: 16 (check: Amazon)

this album has been pushed back so many fucking times it's not funny. but then again, we gotta remind ourselves that he's with the Star Trak imprint now: pushback central. anyway, first listen just makes you wanna say "watered down timberlake" but fuck that, jt hasnt got a fraction of the credibility this muthafucker has. robin thicke is the original white boy rnb with black music credibility. whatever that means.

fair share of the alan thicke kid on the piano and production credits, the thicke-ish lyrics are always magical, in my opinion. dubbed pharrell williams' protege, i really dont know whether thats a good thing or not. mr hugo and mr williams obviously had to be in there, probably one of their last ones together before this current "produced by pharrell williams for the neptunes" era. but i digress...

charmingly ignorant hiphop grooves thrown in there, necessary uber-ballads, the standard thicke "i'm-not-stevie-wonder-therefore-i-dont-give-a-fuck" vocals, star trak recording quality and the impossibly minimal but ingenius music composition - semi-mainstream rhythm & blues dont get more modern and current than this, kids.

music for a sunday afternoon, definitely.