LPC Mixtape Series, Vol. 3, October 2010: Monster Jams

As you may have heard earlier this month, EA Sports decided to do the right thing: release the new version of NBA Jam as a separate entity from NBA Elite 11. For people like me who essentially worship the original arcade game, this is fantastic news. Considering the game gets its proper release in about two weeks, I felt it was only appropriate to give the game a good tribute with the title of this mixtape.

As usual, you'll get the varied selections from our writers - everything from Kings of Leon to Coil. As the writer who has to put these mixes together at the end of every month, I greatly enjoy the variety our writers bring to the table. Maybe having 28 writers on the staff does that for you.

Tracklist:

1. Suis La Lune - In a Deep Hole With Clay and Remorse
2. Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em
3. Electric Six - American Cheese
4. Javiera Mena - Hasta La Verdad
5. Le Révélateur - Statues
6. Kings of Leon - Radioactive
7. King Tuff - Sun Medallion
8. Titus Andronicus - No Future, Pt. III (Escape From No Future)
9. Coil - Tattooed Man
10. Strawfoot - Strawfoot Waltz
11. Atlas Sound - Criminals
12. Deep Thinkers - The Technicolor B-Boy Slide Show
13. ANBB - I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground
14. Spiritualized - Electricity
15. Mark McGuire - Brothers (For Matt)
16. Echo & the Bunnymen - The Cutter
17. Circle Takes the Square - A Crater to Cough In
18. Star Slinger - Deerhunter - Helicopter (Star Slinger Remix)
19. Band in Heaven - A Tunnel Into Your Dreams (Demo)
20. Thoughts Paint the Sky - Akt II: Konflikt - Zwickmühle

As always, enjoy the mixtape.

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(photo from Altered Zones)

Other matters from October:

• All of LPC's staff would like to thank our 5,665 visitors to the site last month. That's a new monthly record of visitors for the blog!
• The complete plans for our end-of-year bash on the blog will be posted soon. In addition to the staff polls, we'll add something for the readers as well.
• We can't encourage you enough to leave comments on our posts. We want your feedback!

Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love (2010)

First listen: I guess it's alright. I Didn't See It Coming and the title track were probably the biggest highlights.

Second listen: It's pretty good. Some other highlights are Come on Sister, I Want the World to Stop and Ghost of Rockschool.

Third listen: It's solid. I Can See Your Future, I'm Not Living in the Real World, and Sunday's Pretty Icons are pretty great as well.

Fourth listen: Hmmm... Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John and Read the Blessed Pages aren't bad either.

So at first it was kind of just a bunch of semi-bland pop tunes with a couple highlights, but then more and more tracks became more and more appealing until all that's really left is Calculating Bimbo. What an ugly pairing of words. I think it could be the same exact song with a different name and I'd like it more. It's also the The Boy Done Wrong Again of Write About Love, in that it's a slow song that throws off the upbeat vibe the album has going before and after it. It's not as big a buzzkill as The Boy Done Wrong Again (but then again I Didn't See It Coming, Come on Sister and I Want the World to Stop don't provide as big a buzz to kill as If You're Feeling Sinister, Mayfly and Judy and the Dream of Horses do), and really, it's not a bad song at all, just kind of plain.

Other than that the album's pretty air-tight and filler-free. The highs aren't staggering, but it's a very consistent album that doesn't really show any major faults. Maybe not exactly what the biggest fans wanted, but I find it hard to complain about.

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Kokayi - Robots & Dinosaurs (2010)

Kokayi's album is loosely based on the theory that the majority of the rappers in today's game are either robots, emcees who pump out whatever it is they're known for with no emotion, or dinosaurs, those who were once great but have since passed their prime. As such, in this album he attempts to innovate through original production, touch on emotionally significant topics, and... rap well. He more or less succeeds in all three categories. The production switches between organic and electronic fairly seamlessly (the latter is more innovative than the former, but the former is probably more enjoyable). He gets emotional multiple times, but it's hardly overbearing and doesn't take over the whole project, something that labelmate Kno recently got criticized for in Death is Silent (specifically with depression instead of emotion as a whole). And... he raps well.

There's many different types of songs on Robots & Dinosaurs, from the jumpy synths of Roxtar to the piano-based Only to the psuedo West coast driving anthem Drive, to the flow-fest Ninety 5, featuring Kokayi, Substantial and Tonedeff (who goes a little overboard). However it never seems disjointed or all over the place. It all works as a whole. Kokayi does flex his vocal chords quite a bit, singing quite a few choruses. He's not the best singer, but there isn't a single instance where it doesn't work. His son joins him singing the closer Chanticleer, which is a nice touch seeing as he also 'narrates' the album by describing robots and dinosaurs from a kindergartner's perspective.

Roxtar was picked as the first single, which is a little odd for two reasons. One, it's one of the weaker songs on the album. Kokayi just kicks some decent raps with band names littered throughout (surprisingly he gets pretty obscure, referencing such bands as Jesus and the Mary Chain) and an alright chorus with a guitar solo contrasting the synth beat for the closure. It's an enjoyable song, but there are many better ones. Two, Only is easily the most accessible (and probably best) song on the album. Kokayi raps and sings about his love struggles over a great, self-produced piano line. Fortunately, it was chosen as the second single.

One of the best parts of the album is how little filler there is. Not every song is great, but every song is memorable. Kokayi has a great sense of musicality and it shines through all over. The features are kept light; the only song featuring guest rappers is Ninety 5 and the only song featuring a guest singer is Hiya. This provides a very intimate feel and really allows you to get to know Kokayi, as a rapper, singer, producer, and, to some extent, as a person.

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Track of the Day: November 2nd, 2010

Been playing a lot of NBA 2K11 and I'm really digging this track, so our track of the day will be the Canadian Indie band The Russian Futurists with Paul Simon

Paul Simon- The Russian Futurists

Sleigh Bells- Treats (2010)

Sleigh Bells is a Noise Pop duo from Brooklyn, NY. The duo is Derek E. Miller , the former guitarist for Poison The Well and Alexis Krause from the teen pop group Rubyblue.

The duo met in 2008 when Miller was waiting tables and happened to come across Krause and mentioned he was looking for a female vocalist for a music project. With her mother's support, Krause accepted Miller's offer. Thus Sleigh Bells was formed. Treats is their first album, the song Tell Em was released as a free download in April 2010. Picking up this album , I did not know what to expect but in the end, I throughly enjoyed my Treats and consider this one of the better albums I've heard this year as well as Tell Em being one of my top songs of 2010.

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Track of the Day for November 1, 2010

I'm so clever.

Electric Wizard - Black Masses (2010)

Electric Wizard are back and I have to say that they're as heavy as ever. The riffs seem more focused this time around and more groovier than in the past. In a way it takes elements from several of their album and combines them into one. And that is not a bad thing.

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