July 31 is National Dance Day! For any of you who are SYTYCD fans, I’m sure you already know this. Founded in 2009 by Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, Carrie Ann Inada, and Katie Holmes, The Dizzy Feet Foundation offers scholarships to dance students through its Scholarship Program. Scholarships of up to $10,000 are be granted annually. This year, Nigel and the DFF has set July 31 as National Dance Day. In other words, get out there and dance: in a conga line, on your own, as a flash mob, etc, etc.

Anyway, Napoleon and Tabitha, AKA Nappy Tabs, have put together a short dance for National Dance Day (video below) for everyone to learn and this is the song they have it choreographed to. Download the song, learn the dance, and celebrate National Dance Day. As described on their site:

As part of his commitment to support dance education and physical fitness in communities throughout the United States, Nigel Lythgoe is launching National Dance Day on July 31, 2010. National Dance Day will include a variety of dance themed activities for people of all ages. It will empower, challenge and inspire everyone to try various styles of dance ranging from hip-hop to ballroom to anything that moves. Above all, it will encourage everyone to DANCE as a means to stay fit and be healthy.

Just have some fun. Here’s Flo Rida to help with that. Check out DFF’s website or So You Think You Can Dance on Fox for more info.

Flo Rida – Club Can’t Handle Me (ft. David Guetta) [YSI]

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Nappy Tabs Choreography

Full length (10:57) freestyle available below. Having seen Chiddy Bang live and hearing Xaphoon rave about Chiddy’s skills as a freestyler, my hopes were high when listening to this. However, I don’t think he necessarily killed it. I mean he definitely did well and much better than I could ever do but not nearly as good as some other freestyles I’ve heard. That being said, I understand just how difficult it is to freestyle for 11 min straight. I’m not even sure I could give an un-rhymed speech for that long so I have the utmost respect for people who can do it. Like I said, he did well, just didn’t kill it. Today’s two audio files are an excerpt from the full freestyle as well as a separate ending freestyle he did live for Philly’s Q102. The full length freestyle is also available below if you’re interested.

This performance is also the first time Chiddy Bang had their upcoming album promo in hand. The album is due for release on August 24, confirmed by Xaphoon at a live performance. From the brief glimpse I caught, the album cover appeared to be very similar to the iTunes “Opposite of Adults” cover (pictured above in post).

Chiddy Bang – Live Freestyle (Philly Q102 Exclusive) (Excerpt) [YSI]

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Chiddy Bang – Live Ending Freestyle (Philly Q102 Exclusive) [YSI]

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Full Length freestyle available here:
Chiddy Bang – Live Freestyle (Philly Q102 Exclusive) (10:57)

As I sifted through my soundcloud today, I found a few tracks that piqued my interest a little but just didn’t really do it for me. Then I opened my inbox and in there waited this. I gotta say, I’m usually not into house music. It just bores me to be quite honest but Trafik has done something different. Their music is so… big! The solid bassline mixed with the high treble sounds is what does it for me personally. Instead of a wall of sound being thrown in my face, I feel definition throughout the song.

Dark Times is the first track off this UK electro duo’s newest album, None But The Brave, which was released on June 21 (I believe only in the UK but I may be wrong about that.) As described in their press release: “The long awaited third album from Trafik blazes an improbable trail through the sonic space somewhere between ethereal cinematic scores and storming DJ weapons.” With their most recent work being used in CSI and Nike campaigns, it could be quite the change we hear from these guys with this album. Check out more of their work on their Myspace.

Trafik – Dark Times [YSI]

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Apparently I forgot about my own Sunday theme I wanted to go with: Summer Sunday. Missed two weekends of it. Oops. Well, here’s my next installment of it and I’ll try to remember for now on. This cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful classic song “Summer in the City” comes from the 1999 compilation album “M.O.M., Vol. 3: Music for Our Mother Ocean” featuring Butthole Surfers. They’re cover adds that “back of my neck feeling dirty and gritty” feel to the song really well. And on a day that is 95 degrees and feels like 99 outside, this song just fits the mood. Guess I’m gonna go change from jeans to shorts. Relax and stay cool today (easier said that done for my northern hemisphere readers, I’m sure).

Butthole Surfers – Summer in the City [YSI]

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Check the rest of my summer tunes here.

I was really hoping for another comeback in today’s World Cup game but again Ghana has beaten the US. I’m not really sure even what to post today. I’m kinda depressed now. O I know! How about a song of hope and happiness. If you can’t tell, I started writing this post before I actually chose what song Iwas going to write about. Obviously Matisyahu’s message in “One Day” is about so much more than a loss in a soccer game but the hope he is preaching is so universal.

That we don’t want to fight no more

They’ll be no more wars

And our children will play, one day

Matisyahu – One Day [YSI]

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P.S. – Sorry it said “New Album Version” on Hype Machine. I thought I fixed the ID3 so it didn’t say that. Oops.

So I know the original version of this song has both a really big base of fans and really a big base haters. I, however, am very much a fan. And, to be honest, so are a lot of you considering just how well my first post of it did on HypeM. Anyway, here’s a remix that was sent to me somewhat recently and I really like it. It doesn’t take away from the song. It just adds enough to play it in a club, or at a party. I gotta say, I totally dig it. I know some of you out there aren’t going to like it and that’s fine, but next time anyone comes to my parties, this will definitely be on the playlist.

B.O.B – Airplanes (ft. Hayley Williams) (DJ Megaman & Panic City Remix) [YSI]

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Today’s song choice was simple and for obvious reasons. I work in a school and today was the much anticipated last day. Well, not last day in the normal sense. I have two weeks off before going back to work summer session. Regardless, this 1972 school anthem has always been one of my favorite ways to leave school for the summer. This was Alice Cooper’s first big hit and, honestly, it’s what I most remember him for without a doubt. Anyway, if you are out of school just for summer, or even forever as Cooper says, enjoy it. Carpe totem.

Alice Cooper – School’s Out [YSI]

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The Fray meets Jimmy Eat World. Yeah, I think that’s accurate. So I was recently sent this song by Brothers At Sea and I’m digging it. I don’t know much about them except that formed just last April 2009. This song is off their This Is Our Redemption Melody EP available here.

As described in the email I received, “All five of the Orange County, CA musicians are under 20, but have more-than perfected their blend of uplifting, buoyant, guitar-driven melodies at a time most of us would be stressing neck deep in how to understand college life, all-nighters and the wealth of newly-afforded freedom that comes with it all.” Take a listen for yourself and you decide. I really hope these guys make it because it will be very interesting to see how a band of under-20s progresses, grows, matures, and evolves. Enjoy.

Brothers At Sea – For Being Brave [YSI]

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♫ Check out yesterday’s post (completely unrelated to today’s) because Hype Machine never posted it… ♫

DJ Format is a a DJ out of England who started in 2003 and really is best known for the video to his song “We Know Something” (video below). This song features Akil and Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 as the emcees and from the first time I heard it, I’ve always really really enjoyed it. I once read that the video included these costumes because on the day of the shoot, the guys couldn’t show up to shoot it. However, due to budget restrictions and other things, the director decided to shoot it anyway and the solution was costumes on everybody. I don’t know if this true or not so if you have a source to confirm it, hit me up. As an aside, the shark costume was also used in two more DJ Format videos: The Hit Song and Vicious Battle Raps.

The other song today I chose is “The Hit Song.” Although Format worked with Chali 2na and Akil in the first song, he worked with Abdominal in the second. Abdominal and Format worked together on most of the songs from Format’s 2003 album “Music for the Mature B-Boy” which both of today’s songs are off of. The Hit Song also has a pretty cool video you can check out here.

DJ Format – We Know Something (ft. Akil and Chali 2na of Jurassic 5) [YSI]

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DJ Format – The Hit Song (ft. Abdominal) [YSI]

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DJ Format – We Know Something (ft. Akil and Chali 2na of Jurassic 5)

My sister graduated from high school today and even though this song came out in 1999, it’s still one of those songs that just exemplifies high school graduation. So a big congratulations to my sister and the class of 2010. I chose this version of the song because I think it really does have stronger emotional impact when hearing the quotes intertwined into the song. Once again congrats to the SEN10Rs.

Vitamin C – Graduation (Friends Forever) (with talking) [YSI]

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