boner4mgmt: the glitter penis chronicles continued.

dl: GLITTER PENIS - So Many Days (Z)
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I keep promising myself that I'm not going to write any MGMT-related posts for a long time after the BONER4MGMT series. I've even been holding off on posting some more Glitter Penis tunes I found on the mgmtfans Livejournal forum. Apparently the powers that be are trying to test me, as I have just received an e-mail from a mysterious character known as Flick Noopy with a link to glitterpenis.com. Upon loading the page, one is greeted by two names (Noopy Stivitz and Loranzo Solo) sandwiching the band's name. Clicking Noopy's name will bring you to his blog--- a collection of drawings, historical figures, IM conversations and macaroni doing the macarena. Clicking on the text below his name brings you to a page where you can enter your e-mail address to receive two full-length Glitter Penis albums entirely free.

For those of you who are just joining us, Glitter Penis is a group that Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT started with his Memphis/high school friend Dan. They recorded one full-length album entitled River Offices in 2003, narrated by a cowboy named Gordon Johnson. The other album is a collection of "greatest hits" recorded between 1998-2001. All of the recordings vary in quality and awesomeness, but there are a few gems in the mix that hint at the eventual progression of sound of MGMT.

BLOGGER NOTE: While this post is very Andrew-centric, it should be noted that I just discovered that Ben Goldwasser of MGMT is from Westport, NY. My family vacationed and continues to vacation at Lake Champlain off a road between Westport and Port Henry, NY. All I'm sayin' is that it's kind of random.

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BONER TRACK: GLITTER PENIS - Never Been To Earth (Z)
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- SITE IT - LAST IT - HYPE IT -

the pumpsta: don juan.

dl: THA PUMPSTA - Don Juan (Z)

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I've had Tha Pumpsta on my radar ever since long ago when I wrote about the Black Peter Group. After first hearing him, we had a number of IRL encounters (which include maybe shaking hands while going to a few bars with a group of other people after an Old Gold show and standing near him while he smoked a joint at a venue which will remain nameless). Basically, we're like best friends now, you know?

Okay, I'm obviously lying since the first time I saw him live was two weeks ago at the OS Arthouse. He'll be performing again tomorrow night at The Annex (152 Orchard Street) with a similar line-up to the October 11th show--- Black Peter Group, Living Days, Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker, & Shunda K of Yo Majesty (w/ Jerzy). While I missed Black Peter Group at the last show, I did happen to take a shot with Gio and bond over a mutual enemy of ours. Regarding Living Days, one commenter on my post about them wrote, "I know i'm gushing but they really did restore something in me." I can't agree with that sentiment any more. I can't even begin to express my love for Bunny and Black Cracker, and I did the booty klap so hard last time I saw Shunda K that I was afraid my booty would fall off. What I'm trying to say is... you need to get your ass to this show.

Take a listen to "Don Juan" (produced by Leif) off of Tha Pumpsta's latest project Bass Black Treble White, courtesy of Fanatic Promotion.

EDIT: Benni E is also performing as part of Shunda K's set, so you really need to get your ass to this show.

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BONER TRACK: QUIEVE f/ THA PUMPSTA - Baby I Dig Your Magic Johnson (Z)

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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

roy g and the biv: socks on.

dl: ROY G AND THE BIV - Socks On (Z)

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I don't even understand how Roy G and the Biv have the audacity to be this awesome. From the first few seconds of "Jungle Fever", I was hooked because I half expected Pusha T or Malice of the Clipse to bust out with a verse. When the vocals came in, I felt like I was listening to Justin Timberlake and the lyrics reminded me of that ridiculous Craig David song with the Willy Wonka video ("What's Your Flava?"). Somehow this pop/R&B sensibility is kept up while going into Daft Punk or Chromeo territory a little later in the song. There are points throughout their self-titled EP when I hear a little Phoenix, a little R. Kelly, a little Prince, a little Hall & Oates, but it's always a lot of awesome. This is me whispering in your ear, "Do you want to feel awesome tonight?" This is you not being creeped out and listening to Roy G and the Biv. This is you feeling awesome.

It's been a while since I've been so overwhelmed by a band's awesomeness that I can't even think of synonyms for awesome. Roy G and the Biv's self-titled EP is now available through their page on the space and should be on iTunes soon. I'll be sure to let you know when "soon" is, because you deserve to be awesome.

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BONER TRACK: ROY G AND THE BIV - Somebody's Watching Me

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- BUY IT - SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

of montreal: skeletal lamping.

dl: OF MONTREAL - Gallery Piece (Z)

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I just copped Of Montreal's latest album Skeletal Lamping off of AmieStreet the other day, and I'm pretty in love with it. I've always had a passive love for Of Montreal, based off of a few songs I've heard here and there. I know, I know. It's a sin that this is the first album I own by them, so give me time to fucking repent and shit, ok?

Since anyone who would care about reading this post probably already has a copy of Skeletal Lamping, I've also included an older remix by Seattle's U.S.E. (United States of Electronica) who need to drop their new album, like, yesterday.

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BONER TRACK: OF MONTREAL - Requiem for OMM2 (U.S.E. remix) (Z)

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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - WIK IT - HYPE IT -

niyi: i love you all.

dl: NIYI - I Love You All (Pick A Doll remix) (Z)

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In the immortal words of the illustrious poets 3LW, "haters are gonna hate". But Niyi isn't having that shit. I came across Niyi's tunes a long time ago when I was writing about the lovely cartoon-obsessed Namalee, and it must have been fate that I stumbled across his page on the space this past weekened to finally have a listen to "I Love You All". While I'm pretty sure that writing about Niyi is so September and the single has been out for some time now, you need to put it in your earholes now.

The original tune has a rockier vibe than most of Niyi's work, fueled by it's anti-hater chorus "I bet you didn't think that I'd be still here. Well, I love you. Yes, I love you all." It's an anthem for anyone who's been told they can't do something, containing equal amounts of optimism and anti-pessimism. It's like watching Akeelah and the Bee, except at the end Akeelah flips everyone the bird and is like "Yall suckers didn't think I could spell like that, eh? Well, fuck all the haters." I'm positive that anyone experiencing the October slumps can get down to this, and they can even take the acappella and make their own version if they can't get down to Niyi's original. I'm a big fan of the mysterious Pick A Doll store's remix of "I Love You All", which takes the original to new heights of optimism and happiness. You can almost picture Niyi laughing in the haters' faces while listening to it, and I like to think that optimism is defined by the thought that one day you'll be able to laugh in the faces of those who said you just couldn't do it.

If you got skills (or even if you don't), you can download the parts of "Amelia" and "I Love You All" to bust out a remix. I encourage you to send it my way, and you're given full permission to laugh in my face if I don't post it and you become totally famous.

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BONER TRACK: NIYI - Amelia (Z)

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t-pain: pr33 ringz.

dl: T-PAIN f/ E-40, SOULJA BOY, SHAWTY LO, YOUNG JEEZY, RICK ROSS, LIL WAYNE, & T-WAYNE - Like I Outta (Z)

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Last night a T-Pain saved my life. Seriously. You can say what you want to say about T-Pain, and I understand your frustration. He's been responsible for a handful of the most annoying hits in the past year-- "Low", "Kiss Kiss", and list goes on. With that said, he has also been responsible for a handful of tunes that have breathed new life into me and restored my faith in pop music. I can't explain it, and, no, I can't believe it... but I have a respect for T-Pain that no grown man should admit to.

I know I'm over a month late on this, but I'm sure I'm not the only person who wasn't aware that T-Pain dropped Pr33 Ringz, a mixtape promoting the release of his upcoming album Thr33 Ringz. I once read an interview with T-Pain in which he stated that he only raps when he's feeling angry. Considering the majority of tracks on Pr33 Ringz have him rapping, he really must have been pissed while recording this. Anger can be the only explanation for a line like "That bitch look like a toucan that's eating froot loops at a gay parade" ("Nappy Boy or Die"). As hard as I try to be offended by that, I can't stop laughing at the imagery. This is probably an indication that my T-Pain addiction is reaching problematic levels.

"This all I want you to do with me. Put your drink down, pick it back up, drink it, put it back down, pick it up again, drink it some more, put it down on the bar, slide it across the bar, tell someone to pass you your drink back, pick it up again, put it in my mouth, I'ma take a sip of it, put it back down, I want you to pick it back up, then you take a sip of it, and then both of us drunk as fuck and the person that you slid it to the first time"--- T-Pain's equation for getting drunk, as explained on "Don't Stop The Party"

A line from T-Pain's rap on Ciara's new single "Go Girl" sums up my love for him-- "Even with an IQ of 42, they say I'm a motha, motha genius." I don't care if T-Pain isn't the most intelligent musician out there. I don't care if he's indirectly making America a little dumber. He's a genius in a way that most people don't understand. Just take a listen to "Like I Outta". If you listen closely (okay, you don't have to listen that closely), you'll notice that none of the featured rappers are actually on the track. Given that he could have easily convinced half of them to hop on the track, it seems odd, no? WRONG. Take a listen to the chorus "Grab your microphone, set your autotune, and I'ma bust a verse on your ass like I outta do". This is clearly a commentary on other musicians biting off of his autotune style, so he's stolen the style and (in some cases) voice of rappers to demonstrate his point. Okay, it's not necessarily genius. But it's totally fucking brilliant, and I don't get why more people aren't talking about this track.

Please download Pr33 Ringz immediately so we can discuss how odd and incredible it is. Now.

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BONER TRACK: T-PAIN f/ DJ KHALED - Superman (Z)

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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - FACE IT - WIK IT - HYPE IT -

living days: somebody else.

dl: LIVING DAYS - Somebody Else (Z)

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I'd like to tell you more about Living Days, but I simply don't have much to work with. Apparently the lead singer used to be in this band. They seem to have some sort of affiliation with Tha Pumpsta, Mirror Mirror, White Williams, Man Man, and Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker. Evidence seems to point out that they've played a few shows with Tha Pumpsta, and they'll be playing together again this weekend at the OS Arthouse (La di Da di Rock da Party, as mentioned in my last post). This show happens to coincide with National Coming Out Day, so at least we know that they're totally cool with gays and if you don't like that you can stop reading this blog, like, now. Oh, I think they also like ghosts.

I couldn't quite figure out what "Somebody Else" reminded me of, so I asked my co-pilot in love, GPK. The answer: the second coming of the Sneaker Pimps (see "Bloodsport" particularly). I can totally agree with this description, given that both "Bloodsport" and "Somebody Else" simultaneously stress me out and make me want to dance a little. Only a little. We both agreed that the vocals were slightly reminiscent of The Cure, but let's not talk about the fact that they're still making music and pretend this is their second coming too.

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BONER TRACK: LIVING DAYS - Go Oblivion (Z)

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- SPACE IT -

benni e: la di da di rock da party.

dl: BENNI E. - Take These Girls To Church (Z)

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I try to stay away from metablogging about the status of this blog, but an unannounced September hiatus was necessary in the ITMS!! universe. Sorry yall, now we're back...

You may remember Philadelphia rapper Benni E. from a lil ol' post I wrote in April, and now she's gearing up for her NYC debut tomorrow night at the Original Sessions Art House (17 John Street, between Broadway & Nassau). She'll be on at 10PM as part of the band/DJ series La di Da di Rock da Party, hosted by Shunda K of Yo Majesty. This week's party will be a listening session for Yo Majesty's Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid, featuring an eclectic set of performers-- Benni, Old Money Crew, The Vanguard, and Elza. The October 11th line-up is not something to miss with Leif , Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker, Boy Crisis, Tha Pumpsta, Black Peter Group, Living Days, Stay High, and Leb Laze.

But forget about the party! Well, don't forget about it...go to it. Let's pay attention to the audio in this post. "Take These Girls To Church", affectionately known as "Girls 2 Church", is a cut from Benni E.'s debut mixtape Microphone Influenza. Unlike "Call Me Daddy" or any of the songs you may have heard on I Wanna Fuck Dirty Harry or terf- work, Benni's flow on this track departs from her usual hard-edged faster flow to deliver us from evil in a sing-songy manner. It's a perfect blend of critical, political, and playful. When I saw Benni open for Yo Majesty and Does It Offend You, Yeah? at Johnny Brenda's, the crowd broke out into some church-inspired dances, spinning in circles with their hands in the air testifying. Swagger, charisma...whatever you want to call it. Benni's got it. She's been recording some incredible new material, and I've heard rumors of a new mixtape being in the works. YESSS.

Oh, and remember that time I erroneously posted DJ Orion's remix of Yo Majesty's "Booty Clap" as the original? The tune, actually produced by Basement Jaxx, has been making the rounds lately. Check it below if you haven't already. Reminder: Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid, the debut full-length of Yo Majesty, is now streaming on the space. I'm proud of the girls for finally getting that album out, though a little sad about some tracks that became casualties along the way.

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BONER TRACK: YO MAJESTY - Booty Clap (Z)

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- SPACE IT -