Blog: Terrapin Sound

God, I am over this weather. Every time I open the door, I want to run back inside and cuddle with my computer and some nice beats. Wait, what's that I just said? Yes, some nice crack beats, the kind I find over at SERVEmeCRACK \. Our buddies over at SmC have come up with some great beats to rage to, study to, get loose to, or even to just listen to if that's your thing. My personal favorite is the recently-posted Deadmau5 mashup "You and I in Brazil," a great [...]

You could say that Moses Michael Levi (formerly Jamal Michael Barrow) has been through plenty. Spending nine years in jail plus an additional two and a half on parole can really take a chunk of time out of one's life. Before his incarceration for the involvement in a high profile shooting, 'Shyne,' as he is known, was on his way to becoming a prolific artist. Shyne was discovered by renowned producer Clark Kent (no relation to this Clark Kent ), who had previously worked with the late Notorious B.I.G. Subsequently, he signed with [...]

• Shyne - Messiah
• Shyne - Shyne - Roller Song

T Bone Burnett and Greg Kot @ Summit10 from Future of Music Coalition on Vimeo . Check out this interesting Q&A with producer and musician T Bone Burnett as he talks with Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune about today's digital technology and the effects it is having on music. Around the 35th minute, look out for Terrapin Sound writer David Botwick-Ries as he questions Burnett about ways to raise awareness to college students about the differences in listening to MP3's versus "old school" records.

When creating a dorm studio, you can only go as far as your software. Without a relative mastery of your programs, creating quality recordings can be very difficult. As I mentioned last week, my recording setup is driven by a small handful of computer applications, none more important than the one I will discuss this week: POD Farm from Line 6. Before I get started on the actual software, I want to quickly go over the external interface that interacts with POD Farm. There are many Line [...]

At every point during a college student's career, especially at the University of Maryland, you will most likely live in a residence hall for a semester or two. The accommodations of the halls are not always the best, which only makes it harder on a unique breed of university student: the college musician. Unlike the college scientist, college politician and college journalist, the practicing of a musician's art is extremely difficult. With all the "noise" and "racket" that musicians tend to cause, it makes it especially difficult to practice, play or record anything without the complaint from [...]

When Russell Simmons speaks, people listen-After all, he is one of the most successful music icons pretty much ever. Simmons created the groundbreaking hip-hop label Def Jam; started his own clothing lines, Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and American Classics; co-founded the Foundation for Ethical Understanding; he is the editor-in-chief of GlobalGrind.com, and, since May 2005, has been contributing blogger to the Huffington Post. When he came to the University of Maryland to talk to students last Wednesday, he talked about life. The stripped-down event featured Simmons sitting backwards on a chair in front of a [...]

Kanye has teamed up with the British duo La Roux to remix their hit song "In For the Kill". He has already made it known that he loves what the group has been doing and now he has finally worked with them. They're also in the process of filming a music video for the remix. Check out the remix here.

Heh. The puns are never-ending. Though the next two weeks might be hell in a bucket (see last post ), something about old school Jay-Z usually makes me feel better. My prescription for midterm blues: Listen to this once and go back to work. Midterms are almost over, cheer up.

This post is a little bit more about me than usual. See, I love the Dead and, more than the Dead, I love my birthday. It came to pass that when I started searching for shows in the great sea of Dead audience recordings, the first ones I checked out were shows that went down on my birthday. There are a lot of remarkable shows by all sorts of bands spanning the last twenty years that have been played on December 16. For example, a cosmic coincidence dictated that Phish played one [...]

The Philadelphia-based Chiddy Bang rocked the University of Maryland last Thursday night. Chiddy working his magic on the mic alongside Xaphoon Jones doing his thing on the drums and beat machine turned the Stamp Student Union into a Thursday night hotspot. From the first song to the last they had the crowd dancing, jumping up and down, and having a blast. The duo continues to tour the world, going nearly nonstop between venues as varied as Glastonbury Festival in England, New York City's famed Highline Ballroom, and our Grand Ballroom. Chiddy Bang is [...]

Big Boi released his debut solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty back in July. It was his first studio release since Outkast released Idlewild back in 2006. He's now taking his new hits on tour throughout America. Although he will perform a good amount of songs from his new LP, he's sure to perform numerous Outkast hits. His first show on the tour was in Miami and you can watch it right here. Check out the tour dates after the break. [...]

His last album, Raymond vs. Raymond , hit #1 on the charts. Now he's back with "Hot Tottie", featuring Jay-Z and, rumor has it , Ciara on the final version, is the hottest track on the airwaves. Stream the song after the jump! Ever since I caught this on Power105.1 , I've been hooked. It's the first single off of Usher's next EP, Versus. Check it out here or here .

The New York City natives are going on the road to promote their newest album which will be self-titled. The album, which is their first in three years, is set to hit stores on September 7 and will be Interpol's fourth CD. The band just added a handful of shows in the U.S. to their tour, too. Click more for the schedule. 07-29 Richmond, VA – The National 07-30 Norfolk, VA – The NorVA 07-31 Atlantic City, NJ – House of Blues 08-04 Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre 08-05 Boston, [...]

Remember when we interviewed Mike Posner last fall? After two College Park performances and a huge jump in popularity, Posner now has a new album coming out: 31 Minutes to Takeoff, expected August 10th. The latest track from this album, "Bow Chicka Wow Wow," is up on Pigeons and Planes for your listening pleasure. Give it a spin, and let us know how you like it! "Bow Chicka Wow Wow" by Mike Posner

• Mike Posner - Bow Chicka Wow Wow

To kick off the yearly excitement about who's playing where, moe. has announced that they will be closing out their 20th-anniversary tour with two nights at the House of Blues in Boston. Two-night packages will be available for $75 on moe. ticketing starting Saturday morning at 11AM EST. Now, let the games begin...

Everyone at the Facebook headquarters got a special treat; according to 2dopeboyz , Kanye previewed a little bit of his fifth album a-cappella to the employees. Tracks include: "Lost in this World", "Chain Heavy", and "Mama's Boyfriend." According to Consequence of Sound , the album will be titled either Good Ass Job or Record for Hype , and will be released September 14 by GOOD Music. Check out some YouTube clips of the performance: "Lost in this World"/"Chain Heavy" [...]

See you November 4!!! Earlier in the summer, I found a track on Pigeons and Planes that immediately shot up to the top of my iTunes most played: "Ambien (Sleepy Trip)", a mashup of the Trina and Lil' Wayne track "Don't Trip" with the Passion Pit song "Sleepyhead" by mixmaster Brenton Duvall . Something about the eeriness of "Sleepyhead" backing Wayne's distorted, drugged-out voice makes "Ambien" the perfect track to play on repeat. We've moved from the heat wave to cloudy skies and rain; set yourself up inside with a cold [...]

The grassroots spirit is alive and well in College Park, Maryland. The Washington D.C. suburb, which plays home to the University of Maryland, has emerged as a vibrant music scene as of late. Notable local acts like the Flying Eyes, who will tour in Europe this summer, and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have helped create a musical culture that thrives on the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) lifestyle. It was this brand of independent ambition that spawned the Domefest Music & Camping Festival. The brainchild of Jeremy Schon, lead guitarist of the band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, and Ben Curwin, keyboardist [...]

Photo Credit: Haya Levy Ryan Cabrera returned to the Santa Fe Café Saturday night to promote new music while reconnecting with his College Park fans. Known mostly for his massive head of spiked hair and acoustic harmonies, Cabrera has decided to change up his music style for a new album that should be released in 2011. The album will feature songs that have a more "dance oriented" feel according to Cabrera; however, they will still subscribe to the rock genre. "I wanted to make [...]

Weezer graced the stage at Byrd Stadium, Friday night, along with Ben Folds and Battle of the Bands winner Ivy Rose, for Student Entertainment Event's 27 th annual Art Attack; however, the reactions from audience varied for each performance. Student Entertainment Events proved that the Art Attack show gets bigger and better every year, with the help of sponsors IMP, Verizon Wireless and Pepsi. With about 12,000 tickets sold, this year's show proved to be a major box office hit. The opening band, Ivy Rose, was an [...]