Even after five albums and an EP, the Mates of State still have plenty to say. Their current album entitled "Re-Arrange Us" is a hit with critics, including those at Paste Magazine and KCRW.
Check out the video to their current single, "My Only Offer". If you like what you see and hear, check out their previous Pitchfork-Media-approved album, "Bring It Back", for more good times. I've included a video off that album for your enjoyment, after the jump.
From The Mighty Underdogs debut full length album, Droppin' Science, we're featuring the video for "Gunfight" this week! It's a pretty awesome video by Ben Stokes they have going on, and I just love the opening verse that contains the lines, "I stepped out the saloon / About a quarter to noon / Might as well have been a quarter to doom!"
Let me count the ways I love the song Sleepyhead (embedded above) by Passion Pit. They have a really rich, layered sound with an awesome buildup to the electronic parts of the jam. Awesome. And the video was made with absolutely no computers, purely lo-fi stop-motion, cranked-down goodness.
On this week's EPIC FU we sat down and talked to Hayden Black, who's best known on the web for creating the comedy series Goodnight Burbank and Abigail's Teen Diary. We've known Hayden for a few years now, and it's been great to watch the hard work he has put into his production elevate his profile and gain new audiences.
Remember that old Disney movie where the kids flew into a semi-animated world of adventure? That's how the awesome video for Thursday's Epic Spotlight kind of begins... but way more fun! The Black Kids take off from a roller coaster to an odyssey that totally beats what those kids on the flying bed had. We're talking hover boards, laser-emitting goggles, and transforming vehicles here. The song itself? Even cooler! The video for "Look At Me (When I Rock Wichoo)" throws back to Speed Racer and a bunch of other 80's Saturday morning cartoons that I can't name because I fail at that whole decade.
Can I count the number of ways I love this song and video? Lyrics Born is our Epic Spotlight for this Thursday's show, and if you like hip-hop with a party flavor this jam could be your summer anthem. Another great jam submitted to us by Adam Wallenta, aka Illusemcee, who's rapidly becoming a regular resource for the latest in indie hip-hop.
Lyrics' most recent album, "Everywhere at Once," features live band members and other Cali-based hip-hop producers like Jake One and Trackademicks. The awesome video for "I Like It, I Love It" was directed by Neon.
Last Tuesday we chose Time Machine as our Epic Spotlight. Guess what? We're spotlighting them again this week. One of their other singles, "The Groove That Just Won't Stop", is another treat.
Time Machine hails from Los Angeles and, like Steve mentioned last time, is composed of emcees Biscuit, JetSetJay, and producer DJ Makealek. This song is a nice throw back to old school hip hop and makes me want to cruise around in a convertible with the top down. The video, which is actually produced in part by JetSetJay, makes use of stop motion and neon animations to take us through a night out with two of their friends. It definitely has my foot tapping.
This past Tuesday we shined the spotlight on Time Machine and their jam The Unfortunate Twist featuring Greg Nice off of their new album Life is Expensive. Our friend Adam Wallenta pointed out this one to us, so hat tip to you, sir.
Time Machine is part of the indie hip-hop scene with emcees Biscuit and Jet Set Jay, and DJ / Producer Mekalek. They also recently did remixes of MIA and Kid Sister/Janet Jackson that have been getting a lot of play.
On Tuesday's episode we gave our Fu of of the Week award to KCRW -- during our trip to their studios in Santa Monica we were lucky enough to run into Salt and Samovar while they performed on Morning Becomes Eclectic. Some of the guys from the band spoke with Zadi on camera for a few minutes, and only a small portion of that interview aired on the show.
