Are we human? Or are we dancer?

Serious questions for serious times.

Seriously. Check out the new track from The Killers.

The Killers - Human



Also, check out this older track which I enjoyed thoroughly.

The Killers - All These Things That I've Done



This track was also featured in a relatively recent Nike commercial.

Nike - Courage

Stem Madness

DJ Earworm - Reckoner + Lockdown

DJ Earworm just dropped this mashup of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" and Radiohead's "Reckoner"

See DJ Earworm's site for more info on stems.

Spicy Hot Link (Part II)

Mos Def for President (via The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones)



I don't think he got The Cool Kids endorsement, so I don't think I'll be voting for him this time.

Also, while perusing the New Yorker, I came across this article, Beyonce's Guide on Successful Relationships.

Spicy Hot Link

The Cool Kids say you should vote. I also say you should vote. Does that make me a Cool Kid? Yes.

The Cool Kids on Voting



Also, check out this relatively new track from aforementioned Cool Kids.

The Cool Kids - Delivery Man



You can download the track for free (w00t!) from their label's website here.

Also for your viewing pleasure

Andy Samberg - Jam the Vote

Hova Grab Bag

Jay-Z drops a pretty good verse on this remix to this Coldplay track from earlier this year. The remix will be released on Prospekt's March, an EP with tracks that were left off of Viva la Vida, in November.

Coldplay - Lost+ (remix feat. Jay-Z)

Also, I thought I'd share another good recent track that Jay dropped earlier this year. We had a shortened version earlier this year, but now, here's the full version in all it's glory.

Jay-Z - Jockin' Jay-Z

(Free downloads via Passion of the Weiss)

Early polling suggests...

Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

Early reviews are in, and they are (mostly) positive.

Passion of the Weiss
Fader

Also, get the new single for free. w00t!

Kanye West - Heartless

Mos Interrupted

I attended a concert this weekend in Golden Gate Park, The Band Shell Music Summit. The concert and festival was intended to promote "sustainable living, while showcasing national talent to the public." There were a lot of acts there, but mostly I was there to see the headliner Mos Def.

Unfortunately, we were only able to listen to 20 minutes of his set before the park police came and shut down the show. Apparently, there can be no music in the park after 6 pm. You can, however, smoke whatever you want with impunity. WTF?

In spite of being cut off, it was still a pretty good set. Mos did mostly new material. Also, as the park police were shutting him down (literally cutting off his mic), Mos led the crowd in an a capella version of "Umi Says." That part was great.

Mos Def - Umi Says



Also, of note, girls love Mos Def. Many of the girls at this concert were swooning when Mos was smiling. Actual swooning occurred.

Canadian Reflection

Chromeo - Momma's Boy



Originally from Canada. Collaboration between P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel / Arab) and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch / Jew). Impressive.

Draws from 80s influences - synthesizers, keyboards, "Take on Me"-type animation, etc.

I had this conversation with a couple of my friends the other day when this video was on.

Friend 1: Oh I really like this song.
Me: Yeah, it's by this band called... uh... CHROMEO!
Friend 2: What? Chromeo?
Me: Yeah, the guy with the beard who's singing - that's DJ A-Track's brother?
Friend 1: Who?
Me: Yeah, A-Trak. Kinda famous DJ. He made this really popular remix of Stronger last year.
Friend 2: What?
Me: DJ A-Trak. He's made some other stuff, too. I put a post on the blog about him a while ago.
Friend 2: [Obvious disdain] Right... your blog.
Friend 1: [Faking recognition] Right, right, right .
Me: You guys suck.

Pretty much the conversation I had (except without the hyperlinks).

Also, during this conversation, we came to the realization that Chromeo is the Canadian version of Gnarls Barkley. A collaboration between a tall, white guy and a shorter, rounder man of color. (See pictures here: Chromeo / Gnarls Barkley / Chromeo / Gnarls Barkley.) The only difference is that the front man and producer roles are switched. Insightful? I think so. Useful? I think not.

Unreal

Amy Poehler - Sarah Palin Rap



This whole thing seemed totally unreal. I'm still not even sure that it happened.

I actually prefer gin martinis

Alicia Keys & Jack White - Another Way to Die



Theme song for the upcoming Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Daniel Craig shows up in the last few frames of the video (via a clip from the trailer), but other than that, not so remarkable. I do like the song, though.

Bizarro World

A new wave of strange hip hop videos has hit the airwaves recently.

Exhibit A: T-Pain - Can't Believe It (feat. Lil Wayne)
T-Wayne - as the duo has come to name itself - released this video a couple of months ago. First, T-Pain as a travel agent takes us on a worldwide tour taking us to exotic destinations (like Wisconsin and Toronto). This tour is interspersed with T-Pain as a ring leader / carnival barker / magician taking us on a tour of a circus / carnival / magic show. Lil Wayne makes an appearance mumbling some unintelligible lyrics. Can't quite pinpoint why I enjoy this, but I do.

Exhibit B: Common - Universal Mind Control (feat. Pharrell)
This video has everything. Tron-like computer graphics. Stark black and white broken with psychedelic rainbow tunnels. Pharrell as a robot. Also, I swear I saw a schematic for mitochondria in there.

Exhibit C: Kanye West - Love Lockdown
Supposedly some elements of the video were inspired by Patrick Bateman (of American Psycho fame). I'm not sure I see that, but I will say this. What in the what? Sparse living room setting. Kanye seemingly agonizing over some heartache. Tribal warriors. Giant women in DayGlo paint. It's simply surreal. The song itself is a real stretch for Kanye. This video is just something else entirely. Is 808s & Heartbreak going to be a concept album? If so, what's the concept?

P.S. Kanye premiered this video on Ellen on Oct 7. He performed the same song later in the show. Talk about expanding your audience.

It's Time for an Acrostic

M is for Mariah and the dirty rumor that she's preggers. Uh oh...

O is for OMG. Cuz that's what Urrrsher's new video made me say.

N is for Notorious BIG, and what promises to be a disappointing biopic: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/notorious/

D is for DJ Khaled, who I can't stand. Pitchfork can't either.

A is for Aubrey O'Day, who is rumored to have gotten kicked out of Danity Kane - we'll find out for sure tomorrow on MTB4. And here's her dirty little interview in Complex. Blech.

Y is for Young Jeezy's interview in ESPN the mag. You think he'd come up with something better than "Put On" for when asked what his at-bat song would be.

Where Is The Love?

Timbaland recently collaborated with Chris Cornell for Cornell's soon to be released album Scream. Some of you may remember Cornell from his semi-famous group of the nineties Soundgarden. Others may not remember Cornell at all.

The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones just wrote a fairly good article on the rise of Timbaland and the recent collaboration with Cornell.

Here's the only song that Frere-Jones seems to genuinely appreciate from the new album.

Chris Cornell - Ground Zero

(For those of you who know Cornell only from his Soundgarden days, this song will be a significant departure from that image.)

Not sure how much I like this song. Vaguely familiar to other Timbaland works (e.g., baby noises from Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody," mouth sounds from One Republic's "Apologize" and Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right," beats and interlude from anything on Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, etc.). Cornell's voice also somehow reminds me of Cee-Lo from Gnarls Barkley.

One small quibble I have with Frere-Jones's article: He states that Timbaland is perhaps the most important producer of the past decade while noting that the Neptunes may have challenged him for that spot but cites no other contenders for the throne. What? Where's the mention of Kanye West? All I ask for is a mention. I know that I'm coming across as a partisan here, but seriously. Not even a mention. (And speaking of Kanye, the release date for 808s & Heartbreak has been moved up to November.)