Kevin Drew ft. Taryn Manning: Summer Ashes (Culture Code Remix)

I put on a sweatshirt today.

You can caterwaul and carry on all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that the weather is changing and bro-tank and shorts weather is fading like the autumn leaves lovely colors. That doesn't mean we have to mourn summers warm embrace however...

I think it means we should rejoice in 'Summer's Ashes' and dance until the moonlight, eh? Enjoy this rager that builds to a gorgeous pinnacle at the 1:21 mark. A little dubby at times, but lovely nonetheless! Thanks to Keaton Brown for continuing to serve as my direct IV drip of quality music!

Said The Whale: Helpless Son (Tear-Jerker)

It's funny how life works. I nearly scrolled right past Said The Whale announcing their new music video, putting it off as just another video. Something urged me to click the link however, and after I saw in the description that they cried while writing the song, I knew I had to watch attentively rather than let the internet suck my soul on ten different windows while it played. Boy am I happy I did.

This song and video are emotional. They are powerful, they are tragic, they are hopeful. I cried watching it. I hadn't realized the weight behind the words until I saw them held up before me by sons and daughters holding their parents. Losing my mother to breast cancer, the song spoke to me as if written specifically for my life story, but even without a traumatizing family event, every single human being needs to watch this video. It tells and shows a story of love, of friendship, and is a reminder to cherish each and every day with those we love. The words:

I'll keep you close with all my might 

And I'll always call you back on time

Just really choked me up, but the song finds such hope in such unbearable sadness, and that's what family is for: making the dark times a little more bright together. Disease, age, and the cruelty of life can seem overwhelming, and being the 'helpless son (or daughter)' is nothing new for far too many children, but take the advice of Said The Whale. Seize on the wondrous gift that every day you get the chance to show the ones you love that you care. Ask them, "all about their youth, the boys they kissed, the men they knew, the places that were dear to you." Be in their lives before they're no longer in yours. Love and be love-full every day. Always. 

I Miss You Mom. Always. 

The Beatles: Michelle (Groovefunkel Living Strings Remix)

The hook to this song has been running through my head for a few days now, and I thought to myself, "I'm sure people have made some snazzy remixes of it!" After wading through disgusting dubstep attempts at poor Michelle, I found this groovy (Groovefunkel if you will) remix, which changes very little, but gives the song a fresh spin. I'm loving it! As my roommate quoteth, "I feel like I'm walking through Paris right now!" If The Beatles can't provide you a smashing Tuesday, then you need to seek professional help (or perhaps Satellite Stories, because they seriously can do no wrong). Enjoy and download below! 

Jhene Aiko: Bed Peace (Feat. Childish Gambino)

Anything featuring the one and only Childish Gambino is a classic, and my goodness am I thankful that I was introduced to Jhene Aiko through Childish! Jhene's voice is sultry and smooth, and makes for the perfect slow jam for a slow start to the week. Snuggle up and follow her on SoundCloud here for oodles of beautiful songs with sick beats. Childish jumps in at the 2:24 mark for some spoken word rapping that just feels good and has a sleepy, relaxing vibe. This song is delectable and one of my favorite discoveries of the week! Enjoy and get excited for the new Childish Gambino album 'Because The Internet'! Happy Monday peeps! 

If you're digging the Jhene Aiko vibe, you'll fall in love with her free-styling over the chillest beat.

Passion Pit: Little Secrets (Incredible Front-Row Live Show)

Even though the lyrics are:

Let this be our little secret, no one needs to know we're feeling higher and higher and higher! 

I'm still going to let you in on the secret: Passion Pit kills it. Full of energy, extremely hipster, complete with sexy-smooth guitars and impressive vocal ranges, they were quite the sight to see front row at the Greek Theater in L.A.! 

The Joy Formidable opened for Passion Pit (whom incidentally, just for future reference are named after the term for early drive-in theaters coined thusly because of their privacy and appeal to horny teens) and were quite entertaining but brief. They strode out just a three member band, with the front-woman dressed in yellow and appearing to be a sweet, tiny lady. Boy was I wrong. The second her fingers started flying on the guitar, all cuteness flew out the window as they wailed through their songs with her sometimes kicking the drum set and generally being badass, finishing by smashing her guitar on the drums. The drummer was hilarious, looked like Russell Brand, and would make ridiculous, maniacal faces at the camera people whenever they tried to photograph him! The third member of these Welsh alternative rockers was shredding his guitar as well, and since the reaction of the pit was fairly tranquil and I was one of the few people nodding their heads and dancing along, he came in front of me, and played his guitar over me, leaning out over the crowd, screamed and whooped in my face, and when I yelled and whooped back just as much he tousled my hair and continued playing. I'd never been front row before and hadn't had that much interaction with a band before, so I was fairly stoked! 

The second Passion Pit came out the venue erupted, and it was a non-stop sing-along from thousands belting it out and dancing it out along with Passion Pits varied catalogue of music. Michael Angelakos (the lead singer) was a jumping bean on stage, striding back and forth feet from us for their entire set, and he fed off the energy of the crowd and led the whole venue in the choruses with joy! He literally had to towel off in between every song he was sweating so much from his performance! The one downside to this incredible night in L.A. with Meghan Proulx was that Michaels vocals were sometimes so high that they were drowned out by the rest of the instruments, and only audible when his voice went deeper. That it was still an unbelievable show despite the fact that you couldn't quite make out some of the vocals is a testament to the fact that they put on a great show! If you ever have the chance to see Passion Pit, DO IT! 

'Little Secrets' was one of my favorite songs of their performance, for they had the whole crowd jumping up and down, "higher and higher and higher" during every chorus, and you could just tell what a great time the band and the whole crowd was having! Enjoy, and happy sunday! 

Icona Pop: All Night (Cash Cash Remix)

Icona Pop have broken into the mainstream effortlessly, while retaining their fringe status, and are masters at crafting addictive hooks and builds. 'All Night' is one such sick hook, and I have full confidence that this song will fuel your weekend. Enjoy! 

If this isn't quite hard hitting enough for your taste, then check out the Cash Cash Remix or Captain Cuts remix! I'm personally digging Cash Cashes take on it, full of grimy sickness and sick griminess! Enjoy!

Van She: Idea of Happiness (Quirky Australian Electro-pop!)

For those enthusiasts of pink christmas trees, banana hammocks, dance parties, sun-tanning bed casualties, pool, and lots of other weird, random things, than Van She is for you! If you can't tell from the picture above, they're perfectly normal and there is nothing to see here...

They're actually batsh$% bonkers guys. I was being facetious. The Australian electropop neo-psychedelic group is actually quite talented and I'm a big fan of 'Idea of Happiness'! As weird as the music video is (and I'm talking WEIRD here people), it's a very catchy song and the fact that the meteorite that they're holding above has eyes should not be a deterrent in any way shape or form! Imagine what a twisted world we would live in if you discriminated against all sighted meteorites before learning about their true character!

The song is great and any lyrics encouraging me to dance hit right where it counts! Positivity, quirkiness, and dance: what more do you need! Enjoy!

If that is just too weird for you, here's a fairly accessible and upbeat remix by Robotaki who is pretttttttty dope. Snag a free download below!  

Lemaître: Splitting Colors (Club Mix)

Seriously though Lemaître, you gotta cool it on how sick all your songs are or your going to infect the whole planet like World War Z magnitude! Norwegian Indie Electronic just doesn't get any better than this folks! 

Hard hitting, grimier than a Montana pig race, full of creepy yet hauntingly beautiful children's choirs, and with more punch than the red talking hawaiian pitcher, this song is an experience. A solid build all the way to 1:30 can't prepare you for the drop. The fadeouts into the kids voices is my favorite part, especially when the beat picks up again. Not for the faint of hearted, you may hate this one, but if you like it, you're really going to like it! Enjoy and download for free below! 

Figgy: Can't Hide (Summertime Jamming)

Call me a summertime dreamer who just won't let go of the feel-good sunny vibes, but summertime jams just get me going! Figgy turns the funk level to chill perfection and implores the sun, waves, and fun to never hide. Grooving into laid back echoing lyrics, the song glides through its first minute, then brings in the female vocals for a call and response that just screams lazy, idyllic summer days. Enjoy and download below! 

I must flee my friends, "And essays to write before I sleep, and essays to write before I sleep."

The Bloodsugars: Happiness

Needing something not TOO fast paced, not TOO slow, and with just the right dose of positivity to fuel your monday? Look no further than The Bloodsugars! 'Happiness' really sums up this track, and you can't help but be smiling by the end of it. Shimmering and dreamy with an almost 8-bit Mario-Kart feel at the beginning, the second Jason Rabinowitz's voice comes bursting in, you realize that, "Baby, this song is your happiness." Brooklyn indie-rock hasn't been this sweet and endearing since MGMT, Grizzly Bear, or Yeasayer! Enjoy immensely, and I hope this happiness translates throughout your entire week! 

Walk The Moon: Quesadilla and Iscariot (Best Concert Ever?)

I was so flabbergasted by this concert that my body made me sleep until 7 in the afternoon today (admittedly after getting 3 hours of sleep and working for 4 hours and then returning to bed). I've never experienced so much energy at a concert. 

Imagine 3,700 young bright-eyed lovers and dreamers, faces painted, eyes aglow, lungs burning from jumping up and down non-stop for nearly 4 hours, vocal chords straining after singing out loud and proud along with three of the happiest most uplifting bands ever. Imagine all this accompanied by amazing friends who shared your insane excitement for Walk The Moon and were ready and willing to make the night, as The Mowgli's described it, "the best night of our lives". This concert was life-changing! 

Smallpools opened the show, and though their discography may be small, their hearts are huge and overflowing with thumping, uplifting tunes! We were stuck behind a veritable wall of really tall guys for Smallpools, which put the tiniest of dampers on their performance, but after Smallpools exhausted their repertoire of songs, we realized that these behemoths who blocked even my view were actually some of the coolest guys ever! Over the subsequent hours of dancing and unparalleled frivolity we did choreographed dances with them, they lifted one of us onto their shoulders for a song, and we sang our hearts out with them and the other thousands having the greatest time ever. Check out Smallpools debut single 'Dreaming' here!

The Mowgli's played next, and my goodness are they a positive bunch! In between each song they would share with the crowd a tidbit of wisdom or kindness and were constantly encouraging everyone to go out into the world and perform random acts of kindness and love! Their music more than reflected their bubbly positivity, and the whole mass of concertgoers had wide smiles on their faces and hands in the air for the entire set. Highlights like 'San Francisco', 'The Great Divide', and 'Carry Your Will' were stunning live, and The Mowgli's really left you happy, hopeful, and assured that you need to start living each day to the fullest. Check out their inspiring music here!

Walk The Moon...What can I even say to begin to capture the majesty of their music and stage presence? Every single second of every song was so moving and so powerful, and I can't think of a single instant in which I wasn't wholly wrapped up in a state of pure ecstasy as we all raised our voices to the air. 'Next In Line', 'Quesadilla', 'I Can Lift A Car', 'Jenny'...every single song was breathless bouncing exultation! A few songs into their set, Nicholas Petricca, dripping in sweat and beaming ear to ear called out to the audience: 

I see all of you dancing and sweating. How many of you are dripping in sweat? 

(To which we all responded with whoops and yells signifying our gross sweat levels)

Well that sweat is all the sh$% of the week. All the things you've been worrying about and all the things that have been eating away at you. 

You're sweating all the ugly sh$%, all the bad sh%$ out, and what's left is just you. And all that goodness left inside you is powerful! So powerful in fact that you have the strength to lift anything up! 

His lovely interlude led perfectly into their song, 'I Can Lift A Car', and everyone danced all the harder for the rest of the night, dancing and singing away troubles, woes, worries, and heartache. I honestly can't think of anything more therapeutic than a Walk The Moon concert: it was impossible to have a bad moment! 

'Anna Sun' was of course unbelievably wild and rambunctious and we couldn't have asked for better individuals surrounding us as we all just jumped around wildly and haphazardly screaming at the top of our lungs and hugging and crying and laughing and smiling wider than the moon. Holy moly, it was good. If any of you EVER have even the slightest chance of seeing Walk The Moon live, first invite me, and second, make the most supreme effort known to man to make it happen! They're life changing and I don't think I've bonded with people more at any other event. 

In the words of The Mowgli's:

When I find what I was made for 

this soul of mine will finally find some peace 

So I will smile and I’ll see you there. 

This soul of mine wants to cherish music close to my heart for the rest of my days, and I hope to see you all there! 

As part of Walk The Moon's 7in7 series (in which they made seven music videos in seven days with no budget or film crew) they put together this lovely rendition of 'Quesadilla' complete with silly string battles, piñata shenanigans, and lots of fun! Enjoy!

 One of the most poignant and beautiful moments of the concert was when they played the slow ballad 'Iscariot', which is so deep and wonderful. Check out this simple airport-filmed version below! 

Go see live music my friends! There's nothing like it. :) 

Dante The Don: Kids Walls (Mashups fer dayzzz)

Damn son! Gus Pierce, a friend who likes his music filthy and his EDM filthier just showed me an epic mash-up from Dante The Don which seamlessly blends MGMT, Sultan & Ned Shepard into one high-intensity mix of epic proportions! 

I seem to be on a mashup craze these last few days, but the music keeps on giving, and I just can't refuse these sweet, sweet sounds! The first few seconds of this one assure you it's going to be big, the lyrics at 0:30 floating on top of the MGMT beat is way too sick, and then the clap comes in, and the vocals get distorted and it's all building and you're getting way too excited and you're at the edge of your seat and it keeps getting better and better and better and then more synths come in and ahhhhhhHH!HH!H!H!H!H!H!H!H!!!!!!!!!! 

The 2:00 mark is joyful. Snag this free download below and have the most stupendous of Friday's EVER! I'm seeing Walk The Moon in L.A. and could not be more stoked out of my mind! 

Wait What: Dead Wrong Intro (Biggie vs. The XX!)

I think we can all agree that the reopening of the federal government, the fact that the weeks already almost over, and the fact that today was 50's day in the commons and I got to participate in a pie eating contest are reasons to celebrate with a classic song. The Notorious B.I.G. is a timeless hero and self proclaimed "rap slayer", and The XX are, well, The XX. What happens when the sexiest beat known to man combines with the notoriety of the biggest of big? 

Pure gold. That's what. 

This is beyond sick, and if you haven't heard the entire 'Notorious XX' album from Wait What then you should really sit yourself down and be transported for an entire album of XX and Biggie mashups! Listen here and the whole album is free to download! 'Intro' is one of The XX's most majestic and elegantly simply songs, and melds so perfectly with some classic Smalls. Enjoy and download below! 

The Paper Kites: Young (Mesmerizing Music Video)

I swear to you guys that I listen to a diverse range of music, but so many great bands that I've already posted keep releasing incredible stuff and I can't do a disservice to them! 

The Paper Kites have literally stolen perfection from the dictionary, redefined it, and then made a music video to match. Poignant and splendid as usual, 'Young' is classic Paper Kites: unparalleled fantasticness at a slow and peaceful pace. Taking seven days to photograph more than 350 peoples facial expressions and then taking ten days to cut together the 4,000+ photos, The Paper Kites did their homework on this one! The seamless transition between hundreds of faces singing along to the song is uncanny and even a little bit off-putting. Absolutely worth watching though! Enjoy!

Isosine: Poetic (Anna Kendrick, Kendrick Lamar ft. Drake, Florence and the Machine Mashup)

The title 'Poetic' says it all. This mash-up is one of my favorites of all time with its simple elegance and poise. Combining the unlikely line-up of Kendrick Lamar, Anna Kendrick, and Florence and the Machine, this song has it all and goes through such beautiful progressions. Verrry chilled out but engaging through and through, Isosine can do no wrong! Enjoy immensely and download for free below! 

CHVRCHES: The Mother We Share

CHVRCHES are seriously about to explode. They're just way too good! Every song off of their debut album 'The Bones Of What You Believe' is stunning and so breathtakingly orchestrated. Lauren Mayberry's voice is a thing of beauty, and the amazing beats and instrumentation that the rest of CHVRCHES provides make for something unreal! You need to go buy this now!!!!!!

'The Mother We Share' is indie gold and, "I'm in misery where you can seem as old as your omens" is too great. Pick this up this instant! 

'Gun' is another incredible song, and has a far more trippy music video. If you aren't addicted after these two gems, you may need to see an otolaryngologist pronto. Also, you should probably say that word three times just to be safe...Enjoy!

Buy their debut album on iTunes here! Have a freaking awesome friday fueled by CHVRCHES! 

Matt & Kim: Let´s Go (Stefan Dabruck Remix)

Matt & Kim are so high energy already, that it's truly amazing this remix can pack any more intensity and dance-friendliness in! Somehow, impossibly, Stefan Dabruck did just that and made this a certified banger (that's pretty much what every EMD only blog calls every song, regardless of if it's served with mash, so I thought I should throw it in!). A lovely build with Matt's voice until 1:40, vocals enter at that point, and then all fury and 'Le'ts Go'-ness is unleashed at 2:33 when it drops like it's as hot as those aforementioned bangers and mash! Great song, great original, great that it's Thursday. Enjoy! 

If you want to stick to the original, it's below, complete with a pleasant photo shoot music video, in which Matt & Kim are so photogenic that they give the photographer a transcendent epiphany...I think...Enjoy!

St. Lucia: The Way You Remember Me (New Album!)

St. Lucia is back in fighting form! The masterminds of track after catchy track, and the openers for Two Door Cinema Club for over a year now, St. Lucia are unstoppable and just released their full length debut album today! 'When The Night' is a stunning debut, and packs so much emotion, so many beats, and so much fun into 12 songs. I'm a massive fan! I got to see them open for TDCC last year, and now will get a repeat performance November 1st, knowing who they are this time! Pumped beyond belief! One of the coolest new songs is 'The Way You Remember Me', which is full of energy and beautiful throughout, then brings in the funkiest sax at the 2:38 mark. These guys are destined for indie-dance-exuberance fame!!!!!!! Such a powerful song! Enjoy and purchase the new album from iTunes here! 

This is a pleasant little homemade video of some friends going to concerts, living life to the fullest, and grabbing their dreams by the horns.

Also, if you haven't heard the leading single, 'Elevate', you best be getting on that right away. It does what the title implies. 

Overwerk: OVERWERK - Daybreak (GoPro HERO3 Edit)

Thanks to all the people posting this awesome video on Facebook! It has a great soundtrack courtesy of Overwerk, great locations courtesy of my hometown Jackson Hole, and unbelievable epicness thanks to the fact that humanity is amazing and pushes their own boundaries each and every day. Why can't we all just be joyful 20-something's jumping out of hot-air balloons and having the time of our lives!? 

This video is classic Devin Supertramp! He films the coolest stuff in the world, finds great music to go along with it, and brings a smile to my face every time! Enjoy this crispy clear adventuresome brilliance right away! Base jumping has never been so based! 

And if you're looking for a free download of this bumping song by Overwerk, look no further than right below! 

Typhoon: Young Fathers

After an incredible trip into the San Bernardino mountains this weekend, bagging Mt. Dobbs, Mt. Jepson, and San Gorgonio mountain (the highest peak in Southern California at 11,503 feet), I've returned to trade blogging for weathering sub-freezing wind and adventure in the wilderness. It was magical to see city lights stretching into the distance at night, witness mountain ranges on all sides so close to bustling metropoli (is that plural metropolis's?), and to be in the company of such fine friends! We survived the Pumpkin House Crazies against all odds, had our fair share of imitation honey, and took more selfies than I'm proud to admit. 

It was so nice to return and listen to music again, and no song has been standing out to me like this one recently! Typhoon stole my heart when I saw them open for The Decemberists in Salt Lake City, and they've matured and really come into their own with their new album! 'Young Fathers' is so unique and has a super engaging opening that pauses unexpectedly a few times, then comes rushing back! The 1:40 mark is incredible when the female vocals enter in, but the whole song carries real emotional intensity and is brilliant! Some great lyrics, and unbelievably catchy! Enjoy, and support them on iTunes or Amazon or wherever you purchase your music by buying their new album 'White Lighter'! 

Also, this just came up on Soundcloud, and it's epic! Typhoon covers Frank Ocean's 'Thinking About You', and it's free and beautiful!

Zonnestraal: De Hofnar (Kav Verhouzer Remix) (Some Excellent Horn-Filled Chillstep)

Say that song title 7 times fast! You think I'm joking, but if you don't I will find you and I will make you listen to wonderful music and eat scrumptious food and watch hilarious tv shows with you...

You've been warned. 

Chillstep at it's best, 'De Hof...ahem. I got this. 'De Hofnar' by Zonnestraal and remixed by the brilliant Kav Verhouzer is gold. At exactly the 1:00 mark this song gets unreal! The 1:20 mark adds funky funky funky horn, the 1:48 mark inserts wonderful dancing lyrics, 2:10 returns to the funkiest most summertime filled horns ever, and then your off for the best six minutes of 'feel-good' ever. I'm blown away by the quality of this song, and for real, check out Kav Verhouzer on SoundCloud and Facebook, he's doing some dope things! Enjoy and happy Friday!

Captain Cuts: Dancing With Avicii (Avicii vs. The Knocks)

Everyone loves a nice, energy filled mash-up, and this is pure adrenaline and a straight dose of dopamine! By the 15 second mark I am jiggling like jelly and bobbing like a buoy!  The Knocks vocals are so wonderfully worked in, and the tune of 'Levels' is still one of the greatest melodies I've ever heard. I don't think I've ever NOT danced to it. Thank you Captain Cuts for fueling my thursday! Snag a download below! Enjoy!

U2: Yahweh (Rambling Origin Story Of My Love Of Music, and Birthday Post For My Father)

In celebration of my fathers birthday I thought I'd share a song that we both love and cherish. My dad fostered in me a love of music, and introduced me to U2, and we were both struck by how great this song was in IMAX theaters when we had the magical experience of seeing U23D at The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. with just the group of parents and students we were with way back in 7th grade. Still one of the clearest and most beloved memories of my life was having an IMAX theater empty except for 25 or so kids and parents, everyone standing up and singing and dancing in the aisles, all feeling as if we were actually AT a U2 concert. This song, 'Yahweh' played during the end credits, and though I'm not positive, I'm sure that my super-sensitive and compassionate father probably cried during it. Afterwards, much like the child in the picture above, our whole group of close friends skipped down the literally-empty D.C. streets at night in the rain, singing at the top of our lungs and puzzling as to how we weren't being filmed in some uplifting documentary. It ranks amongst the most special experiences of my life. 

A few years later my very first concert spoiled me forever after. U2 opened their 2009 tour in Chicago on September 12th, AND I WAS FLIPPING THERE, NOT 15 FEET FROM BONO AND THE EDGE!!!!!!!! I got to go with both of my parents, and those magical moments, beneath the massive U2 stage nicknamed 'The Claw' (picture below), dancing and singing with them are forever engrained in my memory. The concert was also engrained in our ears for many days afterwards as our ears rang with a majesty that just wouldn't be silenced. That was the only concert I ever got to attend with my mom before breast cancer wrenched her so unnecessarily and horribly from life. I hope that the concert structures are even more impressive and the music even more raucous and joyful wherever you are now mom! Anyway, that concert awoke in me an insatiable hunger for live music. I wanted to feel that rush, that communal ecstasy again. Thanks to the blessing my parents bestowed upon me with a simple concert ticket, I have since seen 57 bands just in the last year and didn't start keeping a record until recently, so have probably seen many more. Live music is my greatest joy (certainly my biggest money-suck) and my most exuberant passion. To think that it all started with hearing my parents play songs in the living room is wild, for music has since become a massive part of who I am, what I spend my time doing (look at me writing this at 3 in the morning) and what I hope to do until the day I die. 

Thank you a trillion times over Dad. Every child needs to thank their parents infinite times a day for EVERYTHING they've done, but even the thank you's for this one facet of my upbringing could reach outside our solar system, wave hello to the original Voyager satellite, and return to earth ten times over. I am so inspired by you each and every day, and the fact that you still stay up far past your bedtime (you know, we're talking intense stuff like 9:00 PM here) to see bands you love like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Further give me hope that perhaps somewhere deeply hidden in my DNA there is the coding to be awesome, full of vitality, and incredible, even after I have to become a boring adult. I know you're busy, and don't have the same infinite internet patience that I possess, so I'll stop rambling, but Dad, I just want to wish you the happiest of happy birthdays ever, and thank you for everything you've done for me, do for me, and have shown me in my life. I'm truly blessed. I love you! 

The Claw! 

Oh right! This is a music blog! The whole video of the amazing instrumental version of 'Yahweh' that played way back in D.C. isn't available on the interwebs, but this one is pretty great, and starts using the U23D footage at the two minute mark. 'Yahweh' is a really incredible and touching song. Enjoy!

"Take this soul stranded in some skin and bones and make it sing"

P.S. 

Dear Congress,

My love of U2, and arguably of music, was awakened at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. Don't deprive other children of the opportunity afforded me by keeping the government shut down over your petty disagreements. There are National Parks that need to be inspiring wonderment, Museums needing to feed inquisitive young minds, and a blogosphere needing to be annoyingly cynical about other things. Let's move past this! 

Sincerely, 

Miles Yazzolino 

Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake: Holy Grail (Wick-it Remix)

This is just kind of a wild, fun remix. Static gives way to normalcy for a few seconds, back to a real nice synth progression and vocal splices, then everything bursts open at the 2:10 mark, in what sounds like it's going to be a really grating and annoying way, but for some reason I find the little escalating electronic sounds addictive and Wick-it always knows when to reign things in so that he can make the next drop that much weirder. Right on that unpleasant/really-really-awesome-and-different dividing line, this song for the most part pleasantly surprises me and when Wick-it used the tag "grail-step" for the song on SoundCloud, I knew I had to listen to it. Enjoy!