Mixtape Spotlight: STN MTN / Kauai

Well I'm back. Its been so long since I've posted anything.....ya know, school is a thing >.<

Childish Gambino - STN MTN / Kauai 

   Glad to be back, talking about my favorite artist: Childish Gambino aka THE genius. Just to give my overall opinion about this mixtape (that dropped last October): incredibly dope.
   Though a majority of it (STN MTN) was samples (and I'm a fan of music production) it was still great that Bino just went in with hot verses and amazing vocals. He represented the ATL very well (I'm from Philly, don't mistake me lol) with straight bars.
   Kauai was produced by Donald and his close friend Ludwig, which Donald showed off his vocals greatly. I have to say it was my favorite half of the mixtape as a whole. Since it was, I'll be giving a song by song review of the Kauai EP.

1. Sober

I love this song so much! Production and lyrics are amazing Honestly, it's quite different than genres he did before, its pop! Not really a pop fan but this song makes me think otherwise. Actually this entire EP is very experimental and just different. It very inspiring and rare for an artist to be so diverse and creative like him.

2. Pop Thieves (Make It Feel Good) ft. Jaden Smith

First off, shout out to my boy Jaden. His music has been very inspiring and dope lately. Its great to see someone my age do great things. This song is pretty awesome. Not much to it other than that besides the fact that Bino can sing his ass off :-)

3. Retro

Great song, though the chords sound very very familiar.....whatevs. It sounds like something that should be on the radio but hell, all his shit should be lol. Also lyrically, i love it.

4. The Palisades ft. Christian Rich

This is my shit! Lyrically I fell in love with this song. Definitely something to play in the summer time on a beautiful day.

5. Poke ft. Steve G. Lover

On this one, I just wanna say his brother has BARS lol. Still not as good his bro though. 

6. Late Night in Kauai ft. Jaden Smith

While you may think Jaden Smith is just talking nonsense..... Ok well he is but this all of the story of the "boy". This story goes all the way back to Because The Internet. So with it all being connected, I think its great.

7. 3005 (Beach Picnic Version)

Great remix to the originally great song. Bino and Ludwig got skills

So long and thanks for reading!

Band Spotlight: Rise Against

Malik Frierson

 Hello Music lovers today I'm giving the band spotlight to a group that really deserves it and that band is Rise Against. This band makes nothing but Quality Rock. From its awesome and sick use of guitar to the stellar vocals of Tim Mcllrath. There are so many reasons to love Rise Against. My absolute favorite song from them has be survive. All their songs are filled with energy and passion that makes you just want to jump up and move your body to them. Bottom line this band is awesome and more people should listen to them. Why are you still reading this? Go listen to Rise Against NOW!!

New Three Days Grace album coming!

Malik Frierson

Get hype people Three Days Grace will be releasing a new album on March 31st called "Human". The album will feature the already released singles "I Am Machine" and "Painkiller" along with brand new songs. This will be the first album with the lead singer Matt Walst. Let's hope he starts out strong. Here's the full track listing below. Get hype people Three Days Grace! 

1. Human Race
2. Painkiller
3. Fallen Angel
4. Landmine
5. Tell Me Why
6. I Am Machine
7. So What
8. Car Crash
9. Nothing’s Fair In Love And War
10. One Too Many
11. The End Is Not The Answer
12. The Real You

DELUXE EDITION DISC 2:

1. Every Other Weekend
2. Painkiller (Live)
3. Let You Down (Live)
4. Human Race (Atmosphere Version)  

Top 5 Anti Love Songs

Malik Frierson

Valentine's Day is near and I bet your planning a romantic day with your significant other. But if you're like me you'll be thinking "Valentine's day eww kill it with fire" and you will have your puke buckets ready for the social media overload of happy couple pictures. So to support the anti love movement I've made a list of my top 5 favorite anti love songs. Let's begin shall we.

5. "Too Close" By  Alex Clare

  Let's start with something soft. Too close is a fantastic song about not being able to love someone. The song uses elements of dubstep, rock, and soul to create a heavenly melody that is perfect to use for gentle break up. It's not as blunt with its anti love lyrics but it really gets to the point and you understand it and you get a great song stuck in your head.

4. "Hallelujah" By Fit For Rivals

This song is a little more aggressive with its anti love feel. It's fast paced and energetic. The lyrics are clearly directed to a former lover who did the singer wrong. Speaking of the singer Renee Pheonix does a fantastic job of conveying emotion through the song along side the fast paced drums and the powerful energetic guitar. The last song was a gentle done with love song this is way less gentle. 

3. "I almost told you that I loved you" By Papa Roach

This song is one of my all time favorite songs. It has a very cynical view of love. The singer actually sounds very selfish. Say he has no feelings of love towards his significant other but he almost blurted it out during sex. The only good things he attributes to his lover is their sexual abilities. The song is a hardcore rock song with strong powerful use of guitars and drums. This is one of papa roach's more rock focused songs so it has little to no rap elements. In the end this song is about being selfish and cynical when it comes to someone's feelings which is why it makes the list 

2. "F**K You" By Celo Green

If you've been alive you've probably heard this song. The song is filled with the energy of a man who just had his heart broken and is filled with emotions. The best thing about this song to me is its simplicity. It's extremely sympathetic to anyone who's been dumped. While the other songs focused on not liking love this song conveys the pain love brings. Which is why it makes the list. Plus Celo green is just such a great artist

1. "Love Is Hell" By Theory Of A Deadman

Out of all the Anti love songs this is my favorite. The amazing use of guitar mixed with the great vocals make this one of Theory Of A Deadman's best work. The lyrics directly curse love and prefers the worse possible fates then suffer falling in love. If you hate love and love rock then this song is a must listen

Thank you for reading and remember screw love :).

F.E.A.R By Papa Roach Review

Malik Frierson

Hello music lovers of the amazing land of porn and funny cat videos known as the Internet . It is I your resident handsome nerd Malik Frierson here to review for you the latest album by Papa Roach titled "F.E.A.R." Let me start by saying I loved this album. It was filled with good songs. The first song actually explains the the acronym title of the song. The "F.E.A.R" actually stands for  "Face Everything And Rise" quite the opposite of the pants pissing fear you all know. A couple of the songs have a theme about self destruction and self loathing with in their lyrics. While others have themes of redemption and betterment of one's situations. This creates a perfect balance for the album. Papa Roach continues to expertly mix elements of rap with elements of hard rock. This is evident particularly in the song "Gravity" which is perhaps my favorite song on the album not just because it features the talented, and amazingly beautiful Maria Brink ,but because of it's amazing use of the instruments while Jacoby and Maria sing together. Jacoby Shaddix and Maria Brink are a match made in rock heaven.

If you love Papa Roach, if you love Maria Brink, if you love rock music go listen to this album you will not regret it. Why are you still reading this? Go and listen to this album now! Untill next time music lovers

Band Spotlight: TeamHeadKick

Malik Frierson 

TeamHeadKick YouTube channel:

http://m.youtube.com/user/teamheadkick

  Hello music lovers. Today I'd like to give recognition to an Internet band known as TeamHeadKick. Let me just say The music made by this group is made by gamers for gamers. If you consider your self a hardcore gamer then this band is for you, if not move along. TeamHeadKick makes rock, rap hybrid songs. They are extremely creative with there use of lyrics.TeamHeadKick's songs are based on popular video games. Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Borderlands. TeamHeadKick is also creative with their album titles. My favorite would have to be "Pwn Star"

If you love video games, and raunchy lyrics then TeamHeadKick is the band for you. Examples of great THK songs would be "Drop The Base" "Lag City" and "Make You Bleed." Creative use of words, music based on gaming and awesome use of instruments give TeamHeadKick the well deserved spotlight. This has been your handsome nerd Thank you for reading. 

Two Sides of the Coin: "Never Too Late" Video

Malik Frierson and Tamira Thomas

Link to video: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lL2ZwXj1tXM

Malik:Greetings music lovers from across the web it is I, your resident handsome nerd Malik Frierson. Me and cowriter Tamira Thomas. We will discuss the video  of one of my favorite songs from my favorite band of all time it's "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace.

Tamira: Let me start off by saying that surprisingly, I enjoyed the song. 

Malik: Glad to hear. So what were your thoughts of the video while you were watching it?

Tamira: Well, honestly I think the video was poorly edited because quick cuts different things that were going on in the video (and there was a lot going on in the video). But I got the message. But maybe you can explain it anyway.

Malik:Well ok then. The video sends a message about not giving up. It's about persevering and staying strong through some really dark times. I really appreciate the message and it gives the song a special place in my heart because I love the song and I have kind of a personal connection to the song.

Tamira: True, true, true. I respect it. Though it's rare in the music I listen to, I do like videos and the song the selves that display a DIRECT message that uplifts and encourages people. And also though I may not feel (emotionally) the song as much as you....I do get it. And I appreciate music like this.

Malik:  Well put. Now what did you think of the song it self?

Tamira: I liked it. I can't really compare it to one of my favorite rock songs (because I don't have one) but I did enjoy it. I see why you consider them one of your favorite bands.

Malik: Well I think that wraps up our discussion. This has been another great collaboration between your resident handsome nerd Malik, and the mistress of melodies Tamira. Until next time music lovers.

Two Sides of the Coin: "Sober" Video

Tamira Thomas and Malik Frierson

Childish Gambino Drops A New Video for "Sober"

The video:

Our Review:

Tamira: Let me first say that I love this song so when I heard that there was a video, I got totally excited. And it was one of my favorite song from last year. This video is very special in its simplicity. 

Malik: Let me say second I know very little about Gambino. He played Spider-Man in that one cartoon so he's ok in my book. On to more current matters this video was sure something.

Tamira: To me, this video was so raw and unexpected,  being that at the end, you would think that Gambino was going to "get the girl". Malik, what do you think about that aspect of the video?

Malik: It was a very oh what's the word....Understandable aspect. I appreciate its simplicity. I've seen to many music videos with overly complex and full of non sense.

Tamira: Yeah, that's the thing I love about CG. He's so diverse and unpredictable with music and videos. And let me be honest, since this video has came out (which was only 3 days ago), I have watched it about 30 times. It is very intriguing. I loved the way he dances and how this video connects to his last two videos.

Malik: Yea I compared this to the other video you had me watch and I ended up hurting my head. He's really creative with his videos. I feel he realizes some fans want simplicity while others want complexity.

Tamira: You hurt your head? Lol ok. Well how do you feel about the song? I think it's different from a lot music from his past but yet it's one of my favorite song from him. I know you're a rocker so don't be too harsh...be honest.

Malik: It's ok just not my cup of inebriation inducing drink. I don't hate it. I'm apathetic towards it. When I listen to it I think it's alright just not something I would have on repeat on my phone.

Tamira: Understandable. Welp. My overall interpretation of the video is that Gambino (who is an immortal alien monstar dude) tries to make everyone around (mortals) as happy as possible even if it's giving them the littlest joy because in reality, he lives forever while everyone else's lives are short. So it's a lonely life for him and also maybe throughout the video he was fighting whatever is inside him and it seems like it won as he goes back to the same seat just waiting and looking as gloomy as before. And to point out the clock staying at 9:30, that symbolizes that time means nothing to him....Just a great video. 

Malik: Yeah I just thought he was trying to pick up a hot lady. But yours sound better.

Tamira: Maybe I just think deeply. Lol. 

Be sure to check out the video and thanks for reading! 

Malik: So long from your resident Handsome nerd.