IM // UR | Blood Diamond Mixtape

BEFORE TODAY by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

It doesn’t take much to make me feel stupid. Trying to find the words to describe the debut album of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at 4AD is just one of many examples I could give you. To me, ‘Before Today’ sounds like an album that Kevin Barnes could be recording if he loved goth bands more than funk ones. Or like the cold wave genre entering a multicoloured psychedelic stage instead of glazing at it's own depression. Don’t mind my threadbare examples; this is the album that will make it onto every interesting top 10 of the year and you don’t wanna miss it.

WE // R \\ WEARING

I can't resist (probably overpriced) basics-with-a-twist. My wardrobe, full of T by Wang, Oak, Bassike and yes, American Apparel is proof of this; and since in Australia, a new favourite has emerged in the form of Nathan Smith. His selection of supersoft tees, tanks and dresses have sucked me into buying multiples of a number of styles in different colourways. You just can't go wrong with these though! Addictively and endlessly wearable - and not in actual fact, overpriced in the slightlest - Nathan Smith is the way forward for your wardrobe.

WE // R \\ WATCHING

I don’t think any series will treat teenagers the same way that Freaks and Geeks did almost 10 years ago. Although relying on every teen American cliché they could, this series was the closest thing to reality you could get whilst still being something fun and interesting to watch – cause, you know, life is boring. With bands like The Who, The Clash and XTC being either part of episodes or the soundtrack, this 80’s based cult show was short-lived (only 18 episodes), but long enough to enrich the careers of some young actors (i.e. James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps and, erm, Linda Cardellini) and is greatly missed. Can we have a movie about them meeting again in the 00’s?

WE // R \\ GOING

Once, a friend of mine wanted to take me to this 'cheap Chinese restaurant', situated in the heart of Liberdade, a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo. When we got there the place was packed, but because it looked cheesy and kinda poor, I didn't want to wait it out. It took another friend for me to go back there and fall in love with it. Now, every time the mood for some freshly made noodles (you can watch the chief making the noodle dough through a window) framed in some horribly painted pink walls takes me, I go for Rong He. Did I mention the food is also incredibly generous and cheap?

WE // R \\ READING

The ultimate in peeping tom into other, cooler, more fashionable, richer, quirkier and more-hipster-than-thou lives is Todd Selby's The Selby. Having previously been an internet only voyeur's dream, Todd has just last month released The Selby Is In Your Place, a coffee table tome full of twee drawings, colourful interiors and people showering. Half of the images in the books are favourites from the website and the other is stuff he hasn't published online yet. So go check it out, maybe buy it if you can to make your crappy coffee table in your crappy apartment that little bit cooler with pictures of someone else's cool stuff.

Blood Diamond Mixtape

Monday // July 13, 2009 at 07:00 // filed under Music

Buraka Som Sistema's Blood Diamond Mixtape

So more Buraka Som Sistema news - they've dropped their latest mixtape entitled the Blood Diamond Mixtape, conceived, mixed and produced by J-Wow aka Lil John.

This mixtape ain't just a diamond, it's a GOLDMINE (HA feeble I know, I know. Look, its 7am. 'Nuff said). It's also a perfect example of the further cross culturality (is that a real word?) in music and new contexts that the current wave of '3rd world beaters' are putting various 'ethnic' influences into.

Like, when the guitar riff sample kicked in on the Radioclit vs Guns 'n' Roses track, my eyes widened in mild disbelief - I mean, I realise that 'Sweet Child 'O Mine' is as much of a party choon as the next total cheese ball, but after having heard it twice in as many days in this kind of context I can't help but feel I'm missing something...when did the Gunz actually get cool? I didn't realise that they'd gone so far into being good that they were bad, that they had come back to good again.

Another moment was Toy Selecta's remix of Buraka's latest single 'IC-19'; reminded me of DFA's remix of Paper Planes - enjoyable.

The whole thing was handled with mad skillz; this mixtape is super nimble. For some reason I generally associate a heavy weight feel with kuduro and Buraka Som Sistema in general, and this was as light footed as their previous work on Lykke Li's track. Some wiiiicked beats are dropped, and I was utterly sold by the time I hit 'Aqui Para Voces (Favela Funk Samba BSS Mix)' as it contains one of my favourite funk samples EVER (vamos começa essa brincadeira gostosa?).

All the tracks are super short, the shortest clocking in at 42 seconds and the longest by far being the Buraka remix of Lykke Li's 'Dance Dance Dance' coming in at 3mins 42. The brevity of the tracks was a great move, offsetting the wit of the mixtape brilliantly, showing off Buraka's nicely exercised musical muscle on this one without at all being strained.

HAWWWT.

Go get the mixtape HERE. RUN. NOW.

Tracklist after the jump >>

Tracklist:

01. Diamonds are Forever Intro
02. Dj Znobia feat Jaime Foxx- Africa
03. Buraka SOm Sistema - Kalemba (wegue wegue) Afrikan Boy remix
04. Os Lambas - Sapo (BSS Edit)
05. Radioclit vs Guns'n'roses - Sweet Secousse of Mine (Bss edit)
06. The Kiss - Black Diamond
07. Tunes for Baby That Won't Drive You Crazy - Black Diamond
08. Buraka Som Sistema - IC19 (Toy Selecta remix)
09. Buraka Som Sistema - Aqui Para Voces (FAVELA FUNK SAMBA edit)
10. Buraka Som Sistema - Wawaba (James Braun Copyflex remix)
11. Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance (BSS Remix)
12. Dirty Tricks - Black Diamond
13. Rusko vs Puto Prata - Let's Go (BSS Edit)
14. Buraka Som Sistema - R.I.A.D.
15. J-WOW feat Aloe Blacc - Off with ya head
16. Buraka Som Sistema - Gang Bang feat Blaya
17. David Zé - O Guerrilheiro
18. Johnny Clarke - Come Back To Me
19. Buraka Som Sistema - Sound of Kuduro (D1 remix)
20. Zomby feat Pongolove - Kuduro Rumours (BSS Edit)
21. Rusko - Cockney Thug (BSS Remix)
22. Paul Simon - Diamonds on the soles of her shoes