Blog: The Stu Reid Experiment

I'm not sure exactly when this mixtape dropped, but Cee-Lo recently let loose a pretty awesome group of tunes called Stray Bullets . It's a sweet selection of signature Cee-Lo soul (particularly once you get past the first track), featuring his voice - a feature which is matched by no other male singer currently in music. His velvety voice is distinctive and enough to carry a song without any effort. I could listen to him sing for hours. A few tracks stand out on this mix for me, although the whole thing is worth checking out. [...]

Continuing my Appalachian jaunt here's some more ukulele (and guitar and mandolin) music from Boston-based The David Wax Museum. I don't know a lot about them, but The Persimmon Tree is a delightful and jaunty folk gem. I should really find out more about The David Wax Museum before my time in Boston is up. The David Wax Museum - The Persimmon Tree ( YSI ) ( filesavr )

Summer driving is unique and especially when it is through some delightful countryside certain music is necessary. This week I am making my way through North Carolina and Virginia and in addition to the new Big Boi and Black Keys, there is going to be a good deal of ukulele. The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele emerged from the Mississippi wilderness in early 2009 and definitely lives up to its title as unabashed feel good happy music. You Can't Force a Dance Party should be the anthem of every dour-in-the-heat hipster this summer. [...]

I was sitting in my apartment with my roommate the other day, talking about one of my favorite topics in recent memory: How much Drake's new album sucks. I wrote a diatribe...ahem, a review, over on Pretty Much Amazing, so I won't go into too much detail here. Just let it be known that I think it's boooooooooring. As an example of this, my roommate played Drake's pretty forgettable "Over." Drake whines, doesn't rap particularly well, and generally doesn't take advantage of a sick beat. [...]

I love Pogo. Unabashedly and completely. I think pretty much everything he touches turns to gold, and he manages to take a completely variable palette and produce a consistent and recognizable sound. You might remember him from his excellent remixes of Alice in Wonderland or the dreamy "Upular" he crafted out of snippets of Up . If you know his stuff, you'll be happy to hear he's back. If you don't know his stuff, you should be shivering in excitement. Build up much? Yes. But hopefully worth it. The first fresh catch out of Pogo's camp [...]

For me at least Lykke Li got lost in the glut of Scandinavian imports that have been flooding the music scene in past years. I got her debut Youth Novels when it was released in 2008, but until recently had only granted it a passing listen. Perhaps on Ellie Goulding withdrawal I turned to Lykke Li and have been pleasantly surprised. Without much of the electro pomposity and veneer of much of the current girl pop, Lykke Li crafts addicting hooks that belie their simplicity. Handclaps, exposed rhythms, pianos and her delicate, yet extremely flexible voice create depth [...]

After the disappointing Attack and Release , The Black Keys are back with Brothers , a tight and joyous work. It might just be me, but after a bunch of albums that while enjoyable had all begun to blend together for me, Brothers has reinvigorated my love of The Black Keys. The rhythms are tight, the guitars razor sharp, and the howling precise. The boys sound like they're having a ton of fun again after a stifled period. The first half of the album is catchy and upbeat and while the second half meanders both emotionally [...]

Two gorgeous remixes passed by my desk in the past week or so, and I just need to share them with you. The mixes retouch one of my favorite new artists, Local Natives, and another artist who has recently been welcomed to my music library, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. The Local Natives remix is by Teen Daze, and adds a solid beat and some swirling synths behind the looped chorus of "Wide Eyes," one of the many excellent tracks on Local Natives' Gorilla Manor . It jazzes up a [...]

Hope everyone had/is having a great 4th of July weekend here in the US of A. I'm up on Lake Winnipesaukee, so here's a picture of a cute pug on the lake and some light warm weather tracks. The Oberhofer track in particular has it all - hand claps, jangly things, as well as plenty of ooohs and aaahs. Katy Perry - California Gurls (Passion Pit Remix) ( YSI ) ( filesavr ) Oberhofer - o0O0o0O0o ( YSI ) ( filesavr ) Foster the People - [...]

Well, it's the day of our fine nation's independence, which is call for celebration. We may be knocked out of the World Cup, we may continue to lose in the World Baseball Classic, and we may be steadily trying to ruin things all around us in the world, but America's still pretty cool. Let's celebrate by shooting some things up into the sky and then blowing them up. Here are some tunes to soundtrack your pyrotechnics. Animal Collective - Fireworks ( YSI ) ( filesavr ) [...]

I have been totally obsessed with Robyn recently, particularly the first four songs on her awesome new album Body Talk Pt. 1 . It's the first of three proposed releases in 2010, and if the rest live up to the standard set by this one, she will win the year. The album has a sheen to it that is undeniable - it's pop genius. While the first half is considerably better than the second, it's plenty to sustain me. [...]

In my very first post ever , ages ago, I made brief mention of my love for A Tribe Called Quest. I've been listening to them a lot of late, so I figured it might be time to drop a couple of their tracks. Anyhow, so it was the Beasties that turned me on to the Tribe, via 1994's "Get it Together" which featured Q-Tip. I remember researching Q-Tip, discovering Tribe, and listening to a few of the [...]

There are two types of remixes that I like - remixes that give a new style to a good track and remixes that give a good beat to a pop track. I recently stumbled across two such remixes that really got me excited. I know I've been posting a lot of remixes lately (kind of the kick I'm on when I'm not listening to albums in order to write reviews) so hopefully you can dig it. The first remix is of Radiohead's iconic "Idioteque," possibly one of the best songs in that legendary band's oeuvre. Another site [...]

We've posted more than once about Sleigh Bells (as has everyone else in the world). Succinct summary: we love them. They're raw, they're loud, and they don't seem to be bound my many conventions. It's blistering music that isn't like much else you'll hear these days - unless you count M.I.A. and the other artists currently trying to replicate/cultivate the Sleigh Bells sound. Maybe that unique fire is what has caused almost every mash-up/remix attempt I've heard incorporating Sleigh Bells has fallen a little flat for me. It's [...]

Janelle Monae's recent piece of art/album The ArchAndroid is awesome. It manages to be original, daring, catchy, and filled with hits all at the same time, which is a pretty remarkable feat. We here at TSRE having been singing Monae's praises for a while since Metropolis: The Chase Suite announced her arrival as a sci-fi queen. All that energy and endearing weirdness carries over. Sources have been comparing The ArchAndroid to Outkast's Stankonia for a host of reasons, not the least of which being they are both from Atlanta and share local [...]

The long running and storied Newport Folk Festival is July 30 - August 1 this year and the lineup looks fantastic. I cannot even due the lineup full justice. There are the classic veterans like Richie Havens and exciting young(er) guns like Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes and Blitzen Trapper. There seems to be a good combination of folk and R&B with Sharon Jones on the docket. Even Steve Martin is performing. I am hoping to make it to Sunday for what looks like a wonderful day music perfect for a summer day on the water. Can [...]

As can be expected, xylophones and highly caffeinated rhythms take center stage on Lemonade's new Pure Moods EP. Unexpectedly though, they sound more streamlined, cohesive, and increasingly reggae inspired on the new disc. While no longer as out of control, this can be both a positive and a negative, they retain that crazy edge. This Real Slime Bounce remix is still my favorite offering from Lemonade. It is unstoppable. Lemonade - Lifted ( YSI ) ( filesavr ) Lemonade - Real Slime Bounce (Mashepest remix) ( YSI ) ( [...]

As I already fully disclosed, I am completely obsessed with The Tallest Man On Earth these days. Also these days, I've become obsessed with a song he covered for La Blogotheque last year - Jackson Browne's "These Days." It's an oft-covered song that I had never heard before, remarkably, so I was excited to hear that it's a popular song amongst talented musicians. In recent days, my playlist has featured heavy rotation of the many versions of this song. Remarkably, the tune was originally written by Jackson Browne at the age of 16. Nico was the first to record the [...]

Do you ever hear an artist's music for the first time and instantly realize that said music is clearly going to be a thing for you going forward? I experienced one such moment this week, and I'm going to share it with you in hopes that it might be a thing for you too. So, I've been watching the HBO series Treme. From the first preview I saw, I was pretty excited for this series—a show by the same writers as The Wire about musicians in New Orleans? Sounds like a pretty lethal combination, and it is. It [...]

I had a lot of trepidation going into The XX's set at Bonnaroo - I'd heard a lot of mixed reviews of their live show. Luckily, with 1am quickly approaching, their set struck a chord - it was a sleepy group of songs that closed the first night of Bonnaroo perfectly. On the heels of a dynamic set from Local Natives and the best set I've seen thus far from Neon Indian, The XX wove together songs from their debut to hazily bring us back down to earth. The XX are [...]