Last Night A DJ Saved My Life

06/Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown/No Air

OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!

Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008

05/Coldplay/Viva La Vida

I still don't know what this song is about. And were it to come through some speakers in my vicinity yeah, I'd sing along, but I can't guarantee that the words coming out of my mouth would match those being sung by Mr. Martin himself. But I will say this: I get this song. I buy what it is selling. The minute it hits my ears I get lost in its epic swell. I hear those Calvary choirs singing, I know St. Peter won't call my name, and I'm chanting for my voice to be heard no matter the key, or whether or not I am hitting it. Viva La Vida! Cause when I'm lost in its luster I'm in a good place, on top of the world. And I, along with my mighty battle cry, rule.

07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon

08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop

09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad

10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl

13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline

19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)

21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)

07/TV on the Radio/Dear Science

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Diggin' On You.

New flava in MY ear!

Metronomy.

A Thing For Me.

PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008

06/Solange Knowles/Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams

Two girls. One household. Downstairs is Big Sis busy playing dress up. She’s got her Alicia Keys records going. Leona Lewis’ Bleeding Love is sitting pretty, next in line on her iPod, and some Barbara Streisand, along with Mariah Carey’s Music Box disc. Some Fosse is on the screen and everyone’s taking notes. Meanwhile upstairs is baby girl, alone but at peace; calm and collected and armed with a pen. Scattered across the floor are the CDs from her favorite soul groups of music days past. Notes fly up from the floor below. Engulfed in a wall of sound (horns, slick rhythms, “shoo opp, shoo opps”, and pitch perfect melodies), she takes the pen to the page:

“Get me, get me, out of this box
I feel so claustrophobic in here
Leave your labels, leave with no vision
Hear my voice and feel with yo ears
I'm no soul girl quipped with no afro
I'm just my God given name

I'm not becoming expectations
I'm not her and never will be
Two girls going in different directions
Striving towards the same galaxy
Let my star light shine on it's own
No, I'm no sister
Just my God given name

And I'm sorry if this planet that I'm living on is quizzical
My lyrical ambitions sometimes don't ring a bell
I'm sorry if my visual don't line up with my feelings
And my physical exhibit doesn't represent me well
I'm sorry if I'm curious, delirious, and I don't take life serious
I mirror the life of a millionaire
I'm sorry if I'm talking shit
But I really do mean well”

She looks up. Smiles. Welcome to Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams. Leave your expectations at the door. Don’t come here looking for some B. Knowles throwaways. Listen without prejudice and hear what she has to say. Hear this, these tales of a young, gifted, and black woman who’s gone through the motions just like you, regretting one night stands (the old school throwback in the making that is T.O.N.Y. (The Other Night, WHY?), dancing in the dark trying to get right after giving up her heart up to someone who didn’t realize how good he had it, and asking for shelter from the 6’0 Clock Blues. These are her trials and tribulations, written in her own script, and presented in Motown tinged Technicolor. She’s not B and never will be; she’s just her God given name, and these are her Hadley St. Dreams. Get acquainted.
KEY TRACKS: Would’ve Been the One/Sandcastle Disco/I Decided, Pt.1

08/The Cool Kids/The Bake Sale EP

09/Conor Oberst/Conor Oberst

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Bush on His Record

Words.

FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity.

"...In a more than hour-long interview, Mr. Bush tells me about his tenure. He ticks off his personal list of domestic achievements: No Child Left Behind, which he says was not only an "education reform" but a "civil rights measure"; a costly Medicare prescription-drug program, which also created health-savings accounts and put "people in charge of their own health-care decisions"; his faith-based initiative, which he says was not about making the state a "religious recruiter" but about creating a government mentality that says "if it works, fund it"; his tax cut, which he credits in part for "52 months of uninterrupted job growth." He also is proud of "fighting off protectionism and promoting trade," and his success at getting Trade Promotion Authority back in 2002..."

OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!

Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008

06/Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown/No Air

No one likes having their heart broken. And when push comes to shove, we do all that we can to keep this from happening. We beg, we plead, we fuss, and we fight, as if our life depends on it, especially when immersed in a teenage love affair, where the person you call your boyfriend or girlfriend is the center of your universe. Take this song for example, which perfectly encapsulates how it feels to go through the motions with the one you love when you’re young and hopelessly “in love.” The sentiments are simple and undeniably believable thanks to the “late night phone conversation” nature of the lyrics, and, of course, the convincing and honest delivery of the song’s two leads. Neither of them can breathe or live without the other person by their side, and when they sing it you believe it, cause you know the feeling is true.

07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon

08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop

09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad

10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl

13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline

19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)

21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)

HUFFINGTON POST: United Nations: First Gay Rights Declaration Wins Much Support, United States Opposes It

Friday, December 19, 2008

AMERICA!

"FUCK YEAH!"

Ahem. Sorry, it just puts a huge smile on my face to know that was on shown on network television.

That is all.

Of Montreal.

An Eluardian Instance.

Live on Letterman!

Oh Word?

FILE UNDER: Words/A Moment of Clarity.

"Alone among major Western nations, the United States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

In all, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding declaration _ which backers called a historic step to push the General Assembly to deal more forthrightly with any-gay discrimination. More than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them homosexual acts can be punished by execution.

Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries. There was broad opposition from Muslim nations, and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review..."

Hmm. I wonder if Rick Warren had anything to do with this?*

*I kid, I kid!

PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008

07/TV on the Radio/Dear Science

It’s a well-known fact that Gangstas don’t dance, they boogie. And when they do, you best believe that it was a conscious decision, their way of saying, ‘you know what, “F**k you war! Ain’t no bombs fallin’ on me”, I’m ready for the good times, starting right here, RIGHT NOW!’ These thoughts (and words) permeate TV on the Radio’s latest LP Dear Science, a grandiose and raucous adventure in sonic wonderland that plays it both ways, acknowledging the fragile state of the world today while refusing to remain complacent and wallow in the downtrodden waters of lost hope. Do I feel lost in the shuffle? Yes. Am I “scared to death that I am livin’ a life not worth dying for”? Yes. But will I let this stop me from letting me live/make sense of it all? No, for there’s a light at the end of this tunnel, a “Golden Age comin’ round”, and you and I together form a bond as strong as a family tree, and in these dark times, that’s enough to make me feel alright. So put on your red dress, and let the good vibrations overtake you; “let it move right in”; “let it kiss your face”; “let it sow your skin in perpetual embrace.” You can do this. I can do this. WE will do this. All it takes is a shake of the hips and the unraveling of your fist. Trust in me and just believe, cause I can see it; I can feel it, that Golden Age comin’ round the bend. And I refuse to let it stop me from reveling in the boogie. All I ask is that you don’t let it stop you too.
KEY TRACKS: Dancing Choose/Golden Age/Lover’s Day

08/The Cool Kids/The Bake Sale EP

9/Conor Oberst/Conor Oberst

08/Lil Wayne/A Milli AND Lollipop

OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!

Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008

07/Panic at the Disco/Nine in the Afternoon

Ah, Nine in the Afternoon. A time and a place where thoughts can bloom, and your eyes are the size of the moon. Catch a glimpse of Panic at the Disco’s video for this track, and you’ll soon find yourself lost in a world of sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. It’s a joyous affair rife with top hats, marching bands, fantastical settings, and circus animals. It’s quite the spectacle, and a wonderful visual accompaniment for this sugary pop confection from the Las Vegas showmen. Lead singer Brandon Urie and the gang sing and play this song with child like wonder and enthusiasm. The harmonies are high spirited and merry, sprinkled with just the right amount of good cheer. And the music (Horns, and pianos, and strings! Oh my!) is just as colorful and buoyant. Put it all together and it feels oh so good, just the way that it should, when it’s Nine in the Afternoon.

09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad

10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl

13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline

19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)

21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)

9/Conor Oberst/Conor Oberst

Thursday, December 18, 2008

PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008

08/The Cool Kids/The Bake Sale EP

Meet Mikey. He Rocks. Meet Chuck. He rhymes and crafts beats. Together they’re known as the Cool Kids, and this is their Bake Sale EP, fresh out the kitchen, hot and booming like an 808. Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed and Evan "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll keep it fresh by taking it back, placing an emphasis on the rhymes, the beats, and youthful braggadocio of hip-hop’s early days when a diss was as smooth as a sentence out of Billy Dee’s mouth (Peep the brief reminder of one’s swag in A Little Bit Cooler), and knowledge was dropped without you even knowing it. No bombast, no gimmicks, no clutter, just 2 MCs (one playing DJ) “pedaling down the foot hills” with “wheelies on the front” jingling baby, and keeping it hot like a Basement Party. That’s what’s up.
KEY TRACKS: What Up Man/Mickey Rocks/A Little Bit Cooler

09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me) AND Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad

OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!

Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008

08/Lil Wayne/A Milli

AND

08/Lil Wayne feat. Static Major/Lollipop

A freestyle rap and a love song. A song about nothing, and a song about the art (and the act) of seduction. Lil Wayne the hip-hop head, and Lil Wayne the smooth talking, slur-crooning lothario/pop star. Two songs whose underlying theme is the same: “Motherf***er I’m ill!” Magnificent riding of the beat and booming bass heavy 808 grooves aside, these songs are just as remarkable for what they represent: An artist at the top of his game doing what he do, how he wants to. And you? “You do what you can do about it”, which is accept it with no questions asked, give in to the sound and sing and rap along, as is expected when your chillin' in Wayne’s World.

AND

10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl

13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline

19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)

21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)

PITCHFORK: More Animal Collective Drama, Bradford Cox Weighs In

The Hype Machine.

FILE UNDER: A Moment of Clarity/REAL TALK: The "Calm Down/Pump your Brakes" Edition.

Relax.

Today's Moment of Clarity comes courtesy of Deerhunter's Bradford Cox RE: Animal Collective, new music, and leaks:

"Total Bullshit. Someone actually had the nerve to hack into their e-mail account and send this out [A supposed e-mail from AC's Brian Weitz asking fans to leak their upcoming album Merriweather Post Pavilion, in full]. The truth is that AC do not want their album to leak and are trying very hard to avoid the drama around said album that has risen to a fever pitch.

I am not trying to involve myself in AC's business, I am just voicing my own independent opinion.

Back in the 90's when I was first starting to make 4-track tapes I had a game where I would make a fake version of an album I was anticipating. If Pavement's Brighten the Corners were coming out soon, I had to wait till release day to hear it. I would record a set of songs that I would want the Pavement album to sound like. Some of those songs ended up becoming Atlas Sound and Deerhunter songs years later.

My advice to those who are so desperate for AC's album to leak is to pick up instruments and make your own version of what you would want it to sound like. Respect the BANDS wishes and wait till release day. Then you can compare your new songs with theirs. Who knows. Maybe your album will be the one people are wanting to leak next year."

Jokes. I can dig it.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Down, Down, Down.

WALL STREET JOURNAL: More California Towns Face Bankruptcy

PUT THE NEEDLE ON IT!: Tauwan's Top Albums of 2008

9/Conor Oberst/Conor Oberst

Los Angeles looks like a lot different today. Sunlight is nowhere to be found, the air is brisk, and drops of water are falling from the sky. The sidewalks are clear, the roads are slick, and those who must sit behind the wheel of their vehicles to get from Point A to Point B are driving cautiously, carefully, as the rain falls down and washes our sins away. It’s another one of those rare Los Angeles days where one is again reminded that other seasons do indeed exist and that the best thing to do is simply stay indoors, keep to ourselves, (or surround ourselves with loved ones), clear ours head, revel in the calm, and ride out the storm. Today, there’s no need to get away. It’s best to seek refuge and find solace in those aforementioned moments of clarity. As the rain continues to fall and the sun remains at bay, I have sought comfort and warmth in the muted and melancholic confines of a clear and evocative musical composition. And on this cold rainy day I have sought comfort in the sound of this album, brought to us by the man from whom the album gets its name. Clearing his head and getting away, Conor Oberst places the Bright Eyes moniker on the shelf for a minute, retreats to Mexico with a few musical instrument wielding friends (also known as the Mystic Valley band), and gives us this, a richly colored collection of songs filled with clear and present ruminations on the world around him, the people around him, the things around us. And with the current diffusion of sound in these slick Los Angeles city streets, I too can see clearly, hear clearly, and easily immerse myself in Mr. Oberst’s earnest storytelling and immaculately crafted alt-country/folk ditties brought to us from south of the border. He, like me, just wants to “stop reading the weather charts”, clear his head, and revel in the calm.
KEY TRACKS: Get-Well-Cards/Lenders in the Temple/Moab

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Federal bank bailout isn't trickling down, panel told

No alarms.

FILE UNDER: POLITICS AND AMERICA: Now that we've found love, what are we gonna do with it?/Words.

And no surprises.

The "bailout" take 394. ACTION!:

"In this hard-hit corner of the nation's mortgage meltdown and credit crisis, it's hard to find anybody who sees evidence that the Treasury Department's $700-billion rescue plan is working after two months.

In the first public hearing of the Congressional Oversight Panel -- a three-member board mandated to keep close watch on the bailout program enacted in October -- economists, local bankers, beleaguered homeowners and government officials said here Tuesday that the billions of dollars paid out by Washington to the banking industry were not filtering down and that Nevada's desperate condition was growing worse.

Clark County has the nation's highest foreclosure rate. Unemployment has jumped above 7% and lines for free food at charity centers are growing.

"It is a sad day when a child writes to Santa that all she wants for Christmas is food," said Julie A. Murray, who operates the Three Square food bank.

She was one of the approximately 150 people who attended the hearing on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The government's solution to the crisis was to bolster the nation's banking system by handing out about $250 billion to scores of banks.

But "there is little evidence of what effect these billions of dollars are having on us," said Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard University law professor who chairs the panel.

Warren has repeatedly asked Treasury Department officials for an explanation of their strategy and how the bailout is supposed to help solve the credit crisis, but so far her panel has not received any answers."

Well what do we have here?

Flight of the Conchords.

Season 2.

The online season premiere full length teaser extravaganza.

Shout out to the folks over at

Gawker for putting this on my radar!

OBSESSION! My heart goes a BOOM BOOM TAP!

Tauwan's Top "25" Singles of 2008

09/Estelle feat. Cee-Lo/Pretty Please (Love Me)

AND

09/Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Elliot/Need U Bad

When did I finally succumb to the club friendly “If I were a rich girl” vibes of Estelle’s American Boy? July 2008. But this track? This track right here? Fell in love instantly. Why? Cause it speaks to me. I can relate. Wanting love, needing love, accepting love flaws and all. It’s something to which we can all relate, right? It’s the same reason why I also fell head over heels in love with the slow burning reggae tinged flavor of Jazmine Sullivan’s Need U Bad. But let’s be real here, it ain’t just the bare and honest sentimentality that ropes you in, it’s also the delivery, and Estelle (along with Cee-Lo), and Jazmine (with a little help from Missy Elliot) deliver these songs and heartfelt sentiments with such soul bearing passion and honesty that you can’t help being compelled to listen, and hope that in the end, love will rule supreme.

AND

10/Ne-Yo feat. Jamie Foxx and Fabolous/She Got Her Own (Miss Independent RMX)AND The Dream/I Luv Your Girl

13/Britney Spears/Womanizer AND
Nine Inch Nails/Discipline

19/Kidz in the Hall/Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)

21/Ashanti/Good Good AND Slim feat. Shawty Lo and Yung Joc/So Fly (RMX)