Oh I remember the very first time I heard Barry White. I was in high school and taking a weekend trip with my friend’s family to Penn State for a football game. During the ride, they said they had to play the obligatory travel music and one of the first songs to come on was “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything.” As I sat there cracking up watching my friend do his best worst Barry White impression, I couldn’t help but love every minute of Barry. I guess it showed because they quickly repeated the song.

Today’s song, however, is actually off the same album. Barry’s first #1 single came out in 1974 with “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe.” When I listen to this song, I realize something. I don’t necessarily know what I want in a woman, but I know one of her qualities better be that she will make love with Barry White on. Haha.

Barry White – Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe [YSI]

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I needed a good laugh today and this always does it for me. For as ridiculous as this song is, it’s history with me is actually worse. I had originally found this song my freshman year of college when Penn State offered free Napster to all students on campus. Well Napster only actually had the A Cappellas of DJ Assault so for the longest time, I had only heard Assault rapping about asses and titties (in pairs nonetheless). Then one grand day, I got to hear the backing track realized the absurdity of the song as a whole was too much to dislike no matter how bad it was.

As a sidenote, this is actually the second version of the song that was released. He initially released Ass-N-Titties on an EP in 1997. The problem for Assault is that it was only about one girl at a time. Clearly not enough for this guy. So in 2001 he released this new version with the bisexual bitches who do they friends and he loves them hos for lettin’ Assault join in.

DJ Assault – Ass-N-Titties [YSI]

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I believe that the pairing of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse was a match made in pop heaven and my favorite work Danger Mouse has done. I might be wrong about the latter part of that statement because DM has done so much amazing work in his career. Something about his musicality mixed with Cee-Lo’s smooth vocal style drew me into their 2006 album, St. Elsewhere. The extremely famous first single, Crazy,  off St. Elsewhere change so much with how we acquired music. I don’t know if it still holds the record but for the longest time, Crazy was the most legally downloaded song. It boosted iTunes users and overall sales and has been on too many top songs lists to count, yet it never reached number 1 on any US chart.

I believe Crazy will live on as one of those songs epitomizing the first decade of the 21st century. And once again to further their musical talent, Gnarls Barkley have morphed Crazy into a song that has more than one sound. The first song in today’s post is a live stripped down version of the song that Gnarls performed for a website called From The Basement (video below). I love the vocals on this version so much and the purity and truth in Cee-Lo’s voice.

For the second song today, I so wanted to post something from their 2008 album, The Odd Couple, but I just couldn’t. The album just didn’t live up to St. Elsewhere in my opinion. And for as much as I love some songs on it, none can top the joy that Smiley Faces gives me. It’s so upbeat musically, and the lyrics paint just enough of a picture for you to fill the rest in with your life.

I want to be you – whenever I see you smilin’
Cause it’s easily one of the hardest things to do
Your worries and fears become your friends
And they end up smilin’ at you
Put on a smilin’ face

Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (Live Stripped Down Mix) [YSI]

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Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces [YSI]

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Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (Live From The Basement)

So yeah I posted the same song on Friday, but with Hype Machine being down and not working right, I don’t think it got to enough people. And I’m digging this song quite a bit. I’ve just recently gotten into these guys and the remixes make it a nice transition going from dance music to this. Also, on Friday, I kept my post pretty short. Good thing too because I ended up falling asleep for 3 hours immediately after posting. Woops. That’s what I get for staying out late on a work night.

Anyway, I woke up early on Saturday morning to try and get tickets to the Virgin Mobile Freefest in Baltimore this September. After dealing with the frustration of Ticketfly, I actually was able to get my free tickets to the show. These guys will be there as well a bunch of other big names. I believe Ludacris is headlining and I can’t wait. Seeing Luda would complete my rap trifecta of artists I felt were necessary to see: Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and now Luda. Check out the whole line up here including Edward Sharpe, MIA, and many more that often appear on the Hype Machine.

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros – Desert Song (Turbotito Remix by Filip Nicolic) [YSI]

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Bonus, another remix:

♫ Edward Sharpe  The Magnetic Zeros – Home (RAC Mix)

I’m usually not big on country music AT ALL but when it comes to a solid Summer Sunday post, this is perfect. A nice little acoustic guitar with some storytelling combined with an overall carefree mood make this perfect sitting on the beach and just relaxing. Maybe a mixed drink is more appropriate for the beach than a beer but now I’m just being picky. I also like the fact that the story kinda changes through the song. He takes that the carefree mood on the beach and just applies it to his entire life. I guess in some ways I feel the same way about life and thats really why this song breaks down my “I dislike country” barriers.

I’m just gonna drive up by the lake
And put my ass in a lawn chair, toes in the clay
Not a worry in the world, a PBR on the way
Life is good today, life is good today

Zac Brown Band – Toes [YSI]

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I was out till 2AM last night and had work at 7:45 this morning. Needless to say, it’s time to crash. I leave you to begin your weekend with this: a remix of Desert Song by Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros. I think it now has a Radiohead feel. Your thoughts? (Yeah, short and sweet so now I can nap before heading our again tonight)

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros – Desert Song (Turbotito Remix by Filip Nicolic) [YSI]

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Bonus, another remix:

♫ Edward Sharpe  The Magnetic Zeros – Home (RAC Mix)

I recently borrowed a family members car and he happened to have XM radio. I used to have it but haven’t in 2-3 years now. Well I got bored of my normal alt rock and pop stations so I started scanning the channels and came across the classic soul channel (ch. 60 if memory serves me correct) and loved it. I realized just how much soul music I really enjoyed even more than a lot of classic rock I listen to. Needless to say, in the coming weeks, my Throwback Thursdays may become a bit more soulful. Today, I’m going with the classic Ray Charles and decided to do two songs.

Ray Charles – What’d I Say [YSI]

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Ray Charles – Georgia On My Mind [YSI]

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Heading to Philly tonight to see Manchester United play the MLS team, Union. Really pumped for this because I don’t know the next time I’ll get to see Man U play again. Now if any of you reading are Soccer Hooligans, I’m not choosing any one premier league team over another. I’m just excited to get to see the Red Devils (or any other EPL team) play, period. But oh yeah, I need to post a song today so I’ll guess I’ll go with my favorite band who happens to be English, Muse. Although this is not one of their most popular songs, Assassin is one that I love to drive to and get pumped.

Muse – Assassin [YSI]

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P.S. – If there are any DJs out there who might be interested in remixing this (preferably not dubstep), I’d be all about posting it!

There’s something about Kate Nash’s “I don’t give a f***” persona in her lyrics that gets me to listen so often. So today, I’m posting up two of hers. And these aren’t two from her latest album. Instead, I went with my two favorite songs of her 2007 album “Made of Bricks.” They happen to be 2 of the 5 singles that were released off that album and charted fairly well in the UK. Which I guess brings me to my next point. How does a country the size of the UK get so many more charting artists compared to the US? Is it all because the southern states are trapped in the country music mode? Meh, here’s some Kate Nash for you.

O yeah, her easy-to-hear English accent kinda does it for me too.

Kate Nash – Pumpkin Soup [YSI]

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Kate Nash – Foundations [YSI]

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Chiddy’s new album is due for release on Aug 24 this summer, but in the meantime, they have been working on some other things, namely videos for EVERY song off The Swelly Express! They posted the video for Dream Chasin’ on their facebook today and I really enjoy it. With my background in film, I’ve learned to appreciate simplicity done well, and, to be honest, they did it really well (video below, check it out). The video is nothing more than a ride in a cab through NYC yet it kept me intrigued. There were crazy graphics or over the top special effects. It was just them (and some friends at times) riding around chilling, being swell.

Oh, and I definitely have to admit, I am such a sucker for tricky wordplay even more than actual rapping style. From his Harvard/GW Carver/peanuts reference to his Phelps/Lane, Lois/Superman combinations to his subtle MGMT line (“feel fated to pretend”), some rappers can just draw me in with their educated lyrics and combination of words.

Chiddy Bang – Dream Chasin’ [YSI]

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Chiddy Bang – Dream Chasin’ Video