MOG

I had planned on putting up three different posts for each review I wanted to do, but thought why not just throw everything into one.
So here goes:
Cadence Weapon - Afterparty Babies
Can I just way, "WOW!" This record blew me away. Not because it was all that different from a lot of backpacker hiphop out there, but it is different. It felt less like an academic street scholar throwing around obscure references (which he does, a lot) and more like a genuine record, i.e., document of this guy's life. I like the way he plays around with (stereo-?)typical hiphop, especially mainstream, mainstays, like "singing" his own chorus on "Do I Miss My Friends" while still taking them on later in the album. I need to listen to it more to get the full effect of the message, but for now it's in full rotation on my iPod.

The Kills - Midnight Boom
I've been waiting for this record for so long and my expectation level was raised so high that I thought for sure I was going to be disappointed. Was I? Hell no!
The Kills do hiphop! What? Did you say the Kills do HIPHOP? Yup. That's what I said.
Just like they did on their last two records with appropriating the blues for their deep down in the gutters, sleazy, 70's NY rock, the new record filters breakbeats, heavy bass, and scratching through the band's hazy, cocaine-laced worldview. From the Velvet Underground produced by El-P sound of the opening track, "U R A Fever" (with even the spelling of the title aping the hiphop penchant for purposely shortening and misspelling words for visual effect) to the heavy bottom and fuzzed-out gutiars on M.E.X.I.C.O. (my fav track so far) this album has it all and does what the Kills do best. Loving it!

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
You ever have that one friend who is super-genius smart, but can totally explain chaos theory and recent revelatory finds in archaeological digs in Namibia or wherever and sound completelt understandable? So, you nod your head like you know what he's saying because he's so engaging that you just kind of go with it?
That's Vampire Weekend to me.
I have had this album on repeat for weeks now since it came out and I love it to death. The world music rhythms keep my head nodding, the melodies are just awesome, and the lyrics, so completely academic and booksmart, have me humming the tunes while googling terms like "kafir" and "kefia" and references like "Walcott". They are smart, but the record never sounds aloof and that makes a big difference.
OK, off to bed. See ya in the morning MOG.