i would listen to all these xlr8r best of the year tracks

Buraka Som Sistema
Black Diamond

the track is "Luanda / Lisboa". i don't love this, but i like okay. it does bump a bit. a little too much high frequency french squelch for me, but that's just me, i am more of a low end kinda guy. but the track is pretty "tight", as the kids would say.

Loving these reviews scott; I actually lol a bit at several of them, in a good way. I have heard of about 2%* of the music, but thread pacing good for scatterbrained spotifying.

*) xpost or 3 now Buraka showed up

Dam-Funk
Toeachizown

the title track. kind of a fucked up track to be bumpin' in your ride, but okay. dig the beats. mostly beats here. i like the decaying aspect to this. there is a lot to work with here. um, and by that i mean you have a lot of cool elements to make a song with. cuz it's not much of a song. is this the last track on the album or something?

i started out hating that SND track (not familiar with them at all), but was all in after ~4 minutes

Doom
Born Like This

"ballskin" here and its only a minute and 30 seconds long. lots of, um, cuh-razy linguistics. it's doom. you know. he does that thing. you like it probably. you've heard it. it's that thing he does. beats aren't blowing me away.

the Dam-Funk thing they posted is a mix of samples from a bunch of songs on the album (the best album of the year)

i ain't gonna lie, i kind love the hudson mohawke track here

Ghosts on Tape
Predator Mode

the track is "Predator Mode (Roska Remix)". i dig the beats okay, but i gotta be honest, i would soooooooooo get laughed out of town if i drove down main street with this blaring from my speakers. mostly cuzza the ancient house music synths.

Guido
Orchestral Lab 12" + Beautiful Complications

"orchestral lab" kinda says it all, because, again, this is more for lab rats than for solid citizens looking to party. the female vox are beside the point, and i could probably throw down 50 dirty south instrumentals that beat it to a pulp, but it's not BAD or anything.

Hudson Mohawke
Butter

the track is "fuse". yeah, i dig this. it's smooth! like butter! the flutey synth riff is addictive.

Joker
Digidesign + Purple City EPs

this would actually make a good backing track for a dirty south rap single (the track is "digidesign"). it's southern rap-worthy! still, i don't really need to hear it again. this Joker joker has talent, but this is nothing earthshaking.

Kingdom
"Mindreader" b/w "You"

yeah, no thanks.

Hah, I just started looking at the lists on xlr8r's site and they used the artwork that someone created for a torrent site for the Junior Boys album.

scott, keep rolling, this is better than many of the individual reviews this year

Lazer Sword
Gucci Sweatshirt EP

oh, really, no, go away. honestly, don't bother with this. i've got a butt burglars 12-inch i can sell you cheap.

Maluca
El Tigeraso

i would totally play this in my car. i would weather the laffs. this is thoroughly enjoyable.

in fact, i really want to hear the whole album now.

Mavado
Mr. Brooks... A Better Tomorrow

um, this is not my kinda thing. or at least this song isn't. i have to turn this off cuz i'm in public...

from all appearances, maluca only has one song out

Nosaj Thing
Drift

forgive me again, but if this is bumpin' you, you may need a bump realignment. this is smooshy like a marshmallow. do they thank the humpback whale that was the inspiration for this track in the credits?

Ghislain Poirier
Soca Sound System

my new age father in law would like this too. you wouldn't want to see him dance to it though.

Raekwon
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II

lots of, um, cuh-razy linguistics. it's raekwon. you know. he does that thing. you like it probably. you've heard it. it's that thing he does. beats aren't blowing me away.

Sabo & Cassady
Bersa Discos #6

peppy! probably fun to dance to. nice latin/electro fusion. i would not buy this.

forgive me again, but if this is bumpin' you, you may need a bump realignment.

Lol, I kinda eye-rolled when I saw Nosaj Thing in bumping, and I like Nosaj Thing.

Schlachthofbronx
S/T

i can see blasting this on your segway. or maybe a scooter. on your way to work at the schnitzel haus.

fun thread! i am following along w/ you. there's not a song i like on this bumpin' list.

I'm glad this thread/XLR8R, for helping me realize that Brock Van Wey is AKA Bvdub, who I have been liking for the last year or so.

xx-post That's short-form blog reviews/blurbs versus long-form magazine reviews in a nutshell. I read reviews and articles to learn more about music, not just to tell me what I should like. How am I going to get to know how to branch out? Randomly download or buy a hundred things, or read a good review and liner notes to figure out how to get more of what I like?

okay, i'll see how much bubblin' i can get thru before i have to go home for dinner. "bubblin'-future-bass-funky-tribalist-flexstep 'nuum" that is.

uh oh: "Haterz can see their way to the message boards."

Table, I wasn't really criticising XLR8R, more just amused by how the general definition of "bumping" (and this is everywhere it seems, so maybe I'm the one with the problem) appears to be "you can nod your head, verrrrry slowwwwly, in time..." Nosaj Thing are good though, I get exposed to endless amounts of this post Flying Lotus stuff and they stayed with me.

Hopefully "bubbling" will be more up my alley.

it's really just about putting things in a box to get those hits. sad, i know, but eh).

at least scott is listening to everything. since there aren't even blurbs on these, i think most people's instinct is to listen to a few seconds each of the ones that look interesting and move on, unless something really catches their ear (or at least that's what i did).

xp

Anyone up for providing a definition (serious or otherwise) of "flexstep"? I am filled with trepidation all of a sudden.

yeah i usually listen to the first minute - if i start skipping forward it's a pretty bad sign.

That Matias Aguayo track is great, isn't it? The use of vocal samples as instruments really reminded me a lot of Roisin Murphy's 'Tell Everybody'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUPleuj42w0

Table, I wasn't really criticising XLR8R, more just amused by how the general definition of "bumping" (and this is everywhere it seems, so maybe I'm the one with the problem) appears to be "you can nod your head, verrrrry slowwwwly, in time..." Nosaj Thing are good though, I get exposed to endless amounts of this post Flying Lotus stuff and they stayed with me.

Hopefully "bubbling" will be more up my alley.

― Tim F, Wednesday, 23 December 2009 22:44 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yeah, I was expecting the Bumpin run-down to be all house music and electro-boogie 'cos that what my definition/understanding of "bumping" has always been.

xp it's the first Matias Aguayo track I've liked

xxpost - I'd love it if that were true Jordan.

Rockapads, search "Are You Really Lost" and "So In Love" immediately.

2562
Unbalance

now THIS is bumpin'! this would sound great loud. but i'm just listening thru my laptop. i gotta hook up my laptop to my stereo. i'll get on that. is this flexstep? well, i'm a flexstep fan then. i've been in a tech-y mood lately. did anyone hear the album by emptyset that came out this year? not the same thing at all, but its another album i love to play loud. keep my speakers on their toes.

Brackles
Get a Job + LHC EPs

not that long of a sample, but i think i get the general idea. i know i might be out of line when i say this, but it has to be said: Brackles are no 2562! there, i said it. i feel better now. i think i just want stuff that is bracing and sharp as opposed to the old googily woogily. know what i mean?

flexstep is xlr8r name for dubstep that is flexible?

Q: how did scott find this set of XlR8R lists?

Cooly G
Love Dub EP

this sounds like something off of a 90's dance mag cd sampler. if there is someone who gets really excited by stuff like this, then i am probably not in the same aesthetic boat as them. it just sounds lazy. and not in a languorous luv-a-dub-dub kinda way. just in a lazy way.

A: i got an e-mail with links to them.

A: i got an e-mail with links to them.

snap !

Dark Knight
Reasons, What's Your Name?, My Bitch

wow, okay, maybe this is just about genre nuances that i'm not sharp enough to spot, cuz i really do feel like a hater all of a sudden. this just sounds positively moldy to me. if you told me that this came out in 1992 i would believe you. nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't do ANYTHING to make me excited about it.

Donae'o
Party Hard

i like this. i like the rhythm of it. not the kind of thing i ever listen to, but it's very appealing to me for some reason. i even like the phone call in the middle of the song.

Bumpin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Bumpin

Dreamin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Dreamin

Jackin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Jackin

Trippin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Trippin

Bubblin: http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2009/12/Bubble

But I suggest let Scott do his thing in full first

El-B
The Roots of El-B

vocals kill this for me. music isn't bad. again, could be a decent southern rap backing track. from 2002. but i love southern rap production, so its a compliment. sorta.

Falty DL
Love is a Liability + Bravery

okay, i think this is a medley of tracks. so it's kinda hard to process. it's not very enjoyable, but there is a lot going on. maybe i'm not smart enough for this. it could be the future of something? it's pretty sci-fi. i would need more time with it. but then again i don't really know if i want more time with it. hmmm, it's a puzzle...

Floating Points
Vacuum Boogie EP + J&W Beat EP

this is more my speed. in fact, i wish it were longer and that they took more time adding all the elements together. because i like all the individual pieces that make up the track. i like how everything comes together and appears and disappears. very methodical, kind of anonymous, but a good kind of anonymous. it's all about building a perfect little space house to live in. look, there's a space pie cooling in the windowsill! mmmmmm....